Report: Apple Blocks Java Due To "Security Issues"

In a story many mainstream publications didn't touch, Apple blocked Java applications from running on  Mac computers. The story, originally published by the Associated Press, appeared in the Mercury News.

The rationale for Apple's actions was that Java was notably vulnerable to "security issues." According to the AP file, the Department of Homeland Security issued a recommendation earlier this month for users to disable Java to "avoid potential hacking attacks." Oracle, which owns Java, has tried to provide fixes for the allegedly dangerous issues. It seems curious that Apple's decision was made now. Java has a relatively long history of use and is not an obscure programming langauge. It's hard to believe Java's security issues are just being discovered.

The timing of these episodes is curious. Today's New York Times put on a full-court press, including a top-of-the-paper story, about the hacking of its computer systems allegedly committed by agents of the government of the People's Republic of China. The Wall Street Journal also claimed it was the victim of Chinese hackers. Earlier this month, reports circulated about supposed Iranian hacking of Western banks and Saudi Arabian institutions.

Report: Killer Cats Slaughter "Billions" of Other Animals Annually

(photo: bbc.com)

From the "You Can't Make This Up Department":

A BBC article today cited a report in Nature Communications that claimed cats were responsible for killing billions of other creatures annually. The felines' victims included birds and mice. Feral and stray cats were particularly lethal.

As one researcher noted, "'Our study suggests that (cats) are the top threat to US wildlife."

University Acknowledges It Publicized Inflated SAT Scores

The American university system desperately needs reformation. With a corrupting tenure system at the heart of the issue, Academia struggles with basic truth on an almost daily basis. Where else can one find institutions whose tuition charges rise at exponentially higher levels than the reigning inflation rate? Where else can one find staff paid six-figure compensation packages for a few hours of work per week, while farming out "real" teaching to minimum wage teaching assistants? Where else can coaches get paid millions while scientists get bubkas?

Bucknell University
(photo: forbes.com)

The list of grievances goes on and on. The latest outrage from the land of higher education comes from Bucknell University. The school recently admitted it had provided misleading student body SAT score information for years. The goal? Apparently to improve the school's ranking on mindless lists such as those concocted by US News and World Report.

At least that's what one gathers from an article on the subject in today's online edition of The Washington Post. Not surprisingly, Bucknell administrators revealed the story on Friday, which assured minimal attention for the bad news. The U's spin is a case study in litigation avoidance while seeming to provide a moment of perestroika for the institution.

Meanwhile, just who was responsible for Bucknell's black eye? "'...(E)nrollment management leadership no longer with the university prepared these inaccurate numbers,' Bucknell president John C.  Bravman said in a statement." (No questions from the press corps, please.)

Ah, but the story wasn't quite done. "It was unclear why the problem occurred," the Post reported. "'We can't discern people's intentions,'" officials said on the Bucknell Web site," (please, no questions), "'but at a minimum the inaccurate numbers show an inexplicable inattention to the accuracy of data that the university is obligated to manage carefully and report on completely.'"

Well, did anyone bother to ask to "discern (those) people's intentions?" If not, why not? In the absence of such obvious inquiry, one could surmise that the atmosphere that breeds corruption at the university level continues.

I hope you swallow hard when that next tuition bill from your son's or daughter's college comes in, along with a notice that next year will "regrettably require higher tuition and fees..."

Iceland President: "Why Do We Consider Banks To Be Like Holy Churches?"

Icelandic President Grigsson
(photo: http://www.forseti.is/)

In all the financial media's hoopla over the high-profile, big-think, but little-action event known as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, one breath of fresh air emerged. That came courtesy of Iceland's president Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, whose nation painfully experienced fiscal disasters similar to those Lehman Brothers symbolized in the United States.

Grimson asks -- and answers -- not-so-rhetorical questions such as why banks are considered capitalism's sacred cows, too big to fail, too powerful to scrutinize, and too arrogant to question. The financial blog zerohedge.com posted on Grimsson's remarks. The post includes a video clip of the complete, three-minute interview of Grimsson.

The Icelandic president's comments and his line of reasoning are absolutely spot on. It's ironic his remarks came during the victory lap of one Timothy Geithner. The now former US Treasury secretary worked overtime to ensure America's largest financial institutions felt as little pain as possible for their acts of corporate folly. Instead, taxpayers were offered a poisoned chalice masquerading as a "solution" to the prospect of a second Great Depression.

Hank Greenberg

Former AIG chairman Hank Greenberg's disingenuous lawsuit against the Federal government approaches the chalice from an insider's perspective. In essence, Greenberg claimed the Federal actions, which essentially took over AIG, were designed to funnel money from the insurance company to major Wall Street institutions. Geithner played a very strong role in this situation, which included paying Goldman Sachs and other firms one hundred percent on the dollar for certain AIG instruments they held. What's unusual about that arrangement is that firms typically take a haircut on these fire sales. Greenberg asserted these actions were really a back-door bailout of Wall Street's "too big to fail" holy churches.

The corruption, which is at the heart of these issues, runs very deep. The excellent financial writer Bethany McLean notes that directions, such as jailing bankers, quickly enter deep waters that defy 
simplistic answers to these issues. One area which would impact the corruption, in her view, is to hit the bankers where they feel it -- their compensation. That approach, along with Icelandic president Grimsson's views, are useful starting points in what promises to be a long, difficult fight against very entrenched, powerful constituencies.

1999 Swine Flu Infected 20% of People Worldwide

(photo: LA Times)

A BBC report cites medical research that suggests one in five people worldwide were "infected" with swine flu during the 1999 pandemic.

The study, led by the World Health Organization, noted that all infected people did not develop "full-blown flu." The virus was especially problematic for children; researchers noted one-half of schoolchildren most likely contracted the flu.

The 1999 incident reminded me about the considerable mayhem this year's flu in the United States has caused. Many colleagues have missed work, their children forced to be absent from school, the risk factors for the health of the elderly have escalated. I went into disease prevention mode: I washed my hands as often as possible, I absolutely avoided sneezers and coughers, and I got as much rest as I could. I dreaded air travel, as airplanes are made-to-order disease incubators and ideal environments for their spread.

If the 1999 pandemic, which affected one in five adults globally, is any indication of worldwide distribution patterns, this year's viral attacks will have impacted far more people. However, one just has to muddle through this situation as best one can. It's not as if retreat into a sterile bubble is an option.

Zuckerberg to Host Chris Christie Mixer in Palo Alto

Mark Zuckerberg
(photo: forbes.com)

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg will host a campaign fundraiser for New Jersey governor Chris Christie next month, according to a report in siliconvalley.com. The handshake-and-handout fest will continue Mr. Facebook's puzzling connection to the Garden State and its politics. Zuckerberg initially linked to New Jersey around the time the movie The Social Network flashed across American movie screens. As you may recall, Zuckerberg offered many millions to "help" the cause of "school reform" in Newark. If you are asking for evidence of the "school reform," you're not alone. Few have seen any changes in the Newark schools that warrant the donation and subsequent secrecy surrounding its use. Newark mayor and liberal media darling Cory Booker have worked overtime to squash inquiries about the funds and their utilization. It took a successful ACLU lawsuit on behalf of a Newark community organization to compel the Booker administration to release e-mail about the funds, Booker's role in their distribution, and the mayor's plans to "reform" the school system.

Sheryl Sandberg
(photo: theatlantic.com)

Meanwhile, conservative media darling Christie (well, he was beloved by the right-wing until the governor experienced his St. Paul at Damascus moment during Hurricane Sandy) is working to position himself as presidential material. Why Christie believes Silicon Valley is a more appropriate venue to test the DC waters than, say, Seaside Heights, is a fascinating question. On the other hand, what's curious about Zuckerberg's tango with the New Jersey GOP's capo is the visible political connections the company has with the Democratic Party via Facebook's resident brain, Sheryl Sandberg.

My gut tells me Christie doesn't have a chance in the presidential sweepstakes. I don't think he'll survive the primaries. VP? Maybe, but only if the top of the ticket says "Bush."

Making Radio Waves Over Afghanistan

I listen to Bloomberg when I drive to work in the morning. I enjoy listening to the business community discuss situations without having to deal with the dreadful circus known as financial television. Today's program, however, offered a disturbing peek into the thinking of the so-called elite.

Tom Keene
(photo: mediabistro.com)

The offender was Tom Keene, Bloomberg's generally engaging, intelligent morning radio host. During his interview with someone from Davos, Switzerland, Keene compared two American presidents. He postulated that one former commander-in-chief faced a war during his time in office, while Barack Obama does not.

This statement, delivered almost without any real reflection, would have astonished the American soldiers in Afghanistan ducking real bullets on a daily basis. The genesis of Keene's thoughtless assertion comes from a deep place in the American psyche: the Afghan conflict does not lend itself to media glory; the American public would like the war to simply vanish; the Central Asian country is the very definition of "remote."

President Obama managed to deftly extricate the United States from its ill-conceived Iraq invasion and subsequent occupation. American troops, however, remain in Afghanistan, surrounded by hostile nations unified in their desire to see the US out of Central Asia. It's a war by any other name, and a very dangerous one.

A postscript: Keene also interviewed Jacob Frenkel, the wise former governor of the Bank of Israel. Frenkel observed that those who believe in "an eye for an eye" retribution ultimately will result in a society largely inhabited by the blind.

Girl Scouts Robbed While Selling Cookies

Chester County, Pennsylvania does not often come across as the "wrong side of the tracks." Various degrees of prosperity characterize this suburban Philadelphia area. Consequently, most towns in the county would seem to be safe venues for the sale of Girl Scout cookies.

That feeling changed recently when a thief pinched a table where Girl Scout cookies were being sold and donations for military veterans were being collected. According to a report in philly.com, the robber lifted twenty dollars from a cash drawer and some money from a collection jar.

No cookies were ripped off during the incident.

Original Batmobile Auctioned for Four-Plus Million Dollars

Original Batmobile, with its creator George Barris
(photo: Motor Trend)

My wife knew someone who owned a Batmobile replica. He drove the vehicle around northern New Jersey and thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was frequently stopped by law enforcement. They were disappointed when the vehicle's driver was not in a Batman costume, and when he didn't violate any speed limits.

However, the replica was not the real thing. The original Batmobile was recently auctioned to a Phoenix collector for over four-and-a-half million dollars. According to a report in today's online edition of the Chicago Tribune, the Batmobile's new owner plans to keep -- BOP! -- the famous ride -- ZAP! -- in his living room -- OOF!

As Robin might have said to his caped colleague, "Holy One Percent, Batman!"