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October Surprise.
Down to the wire, the October Surprise was unleashed upon the Democrats yesterday. Surprisingly it wasn’t launched by the Republicans, but instead the liberal’s very own “useful idiot” John Kerry. "You know, education - if you make the most of it - you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq," With that comment the Old War Dogs are pleased to make known their own 11th hour October surprise: The Old War Dogs Forum is now open for membership at This site was to be announced next week, but in light of Kerry’s comment and the importance of next week’s elections we hope you will visit what promises to be an exciting place for discourse on the issues of the day. Participation does require registration, so don’t be shy. |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on October 31, 2006 at 07:57 PM in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | | | |
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UPDATE: All of the Turkeys Aren’t in Turkey
Thanks to all of you that have recently visited my temporary web site page to view my tribute to the Turkish hackers that plagued and defaced my site. I hope you enjoyed watching it as much as it was therapeutic for me to create. In real life I am a computer geek, albeit a mainframe COBOL dinosaur. I utilize PCs, the internet and web sites as a recreation and pastime. I am by no means skilled in the intricacies of the modern computer languages and communication protocols, but I really am not totally clueless either. My initial attempts to uncover the hackery at my site was done through the red lens of rage and frustration. I have thought of little since the incursion at my site occurred back on 9/11. But in creating my Flash response, and writing a post here at OWD about my trials and tribulations, I was ready to begin a serious perusal of my sites code and database tables. My wife came down from our bedroom this Sunday morning to find me working at the computer as I have been doing in every spare moment in the last week. “Your dog needs and wants you to take her to the fields for a run today!” Being a dog myself, I couldn’t deny that I had been neglecting a very special member of our family. So off we went. The pent up energy of my German Short Hair pointer was soon unleashed as she galloped full speed about the open fields and out of site in into the high brush. It made me feel great to watch her and be away from this damn PC for a while. I returned home calm and satisfied that I had for at least a few moments rejoined the real world and had a life outside the blogosphere. Refreshed with this reality check, I resumed my hack search in a new direction. It did not take more than 15 minutes to discover the hack had not been in the code files but the database itself. After stretching my shoulder out of whack while patting myself on the back, I bit by bit was able to trace all of the database defilements and soon had my site back to its normal state. Backed up NOW! I then embarked on doing the things I knew how to do, to prevent future attacks, or at least make them more difficult. It was only a few minutes after restoring my site that I was checking site visit logs and noticed a very high rate of visits to my site from the same hackers that had defaced it before. I have spent hours entering large IP ranges to block their access to my site. But now I was able to see where they were going and what new vulnerabilities they were attempting to exploit. In a way, they were pointing the way for me to tighten things up, while giving me new IP addresses to block. Right now, I am just one tired mutt trying to keep a dozen wolves away from the flock. But unlike my statement to change platforms and hosts from my last post, I have decided to stick it out where I am and draw a line in the sand. They may knock me back down again, but I will continue to learn, add to my defenses and come back again. What saddened me today is that not all of the IP address on the attack today came from Turkey. Some came from other Western European countries, Australia and the U.S. Wow! I don’t know whether I am contending with Islamofascist or just a bunch of snotty computer geeks who take thrills from piling on. But as my friend and fellow OWD JB says, “Bring it on!” If some that read the first post on this subject didn’t see the comments left behind, one of interest was from a Turk calling himself TiT. He claims to be the leader of the group responsible for hacking my site and ended his comments with “lol Christians.” For the uninitiated lol is email-speak for ‘laughing out loud.” A few others have since commented on the oddity of his name. I for one have taken it one step further and located his image on the internet. Since it may not be appropriate content for OWD, I warn you before clicking on the link to my site that displays his image. For the link to TiT’s image click If you missed my tribute, it may still be seen at Hopefully the site will be fully restored for normal access tomorrow, or it may once again be defiled by my new Turkish friends and NATO allies. Just why did the Pope apologize? No matter what, I shall return and return and return… |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on September 17, 2006 at 03:53 PM in , , , , , , | | | |
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Bill's Bites
The webmaster's blog-within-a-blog. Continuously updated and bumped, newest items at the top.
Down Dog Today's "Bill's Bites" may be on the short side, partially due to 9/11 posts and partially due to the situation I alluded to ; I won't say more about that today but I'm going to have to tomorrow.
Naptime, for a good purpose I usually take a short nap about this time to give my 9 year old nephew some computer time. Don't know what he usually does with it (Nintendizens: What's a "cheat"?) but I'm usually tired about this time anyway -- Sorta trained myself to be to keep peace in the family. Today said nephew came in looking for the cordless phone just as I was admiring , saw "9/11" on the screen, and hung around a while reading over my shoulder. We ended up agreeing that today I'll take a longer nap than normal so he can read a bunch of 9/11 OWD posts, and that Uncle Bill will be available for Q & A afterward, or at any randomly chosen time in the future. Don't want my nephew to ever understand war. Don't want my grandson to, or my sister's grandkids. Hell, I don't understand war, and I've been there, done that, got the moody spells to prove it. Later. *** 19:33 Dog with a toothache. When it rains it pours.
I will not submit Just added something new to our sidebar. It looks like this:
Five Rurik thinks you should see:
Angry Dog I really don't want to move off TypePad and start over, but this is getting fookin' ridiculous. 10:30 in the morning on 9/11 and TypePad goes down for an hour and a half. Supposedly they're back up now but you can't leave trackbacks on TypePad sites until further notice. Snarrrllll.
As always, don't miss .
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Contributed by Bill Faith on September 11, 2006 at 07:57 PM in , , | | | |
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Winning the War--Post 9/11
I have been out of pocket and off the blog for a while dealing with some personal problems, but I couldn't let the anniversary of 9/11 pass without commenting about why I have such strong feelings for fighting and winning the War on Terror and such disdain for the leftists and Democrats who are undermining it. Five years ago this morning, someone came into my office and told me a plane had hit the World Trade Center and asked me to turn on my TV. I did and shortly thereafter watched as the second plane hit the second tower. I recognized the United colors immediately, and a chill went down my spine; you see, my eldest daughter Julie is a flight attendant for United and at the time was stationed in Newark. I immediately called her cell phone and got... voice mail. I had company issues to deal with--informing our employees, meeting with other members of management to discuss whether to shut down the office for the day (we didn't) -- so I called Julie's husband and told him to get to a TV, call Julie and keep on calling till he reached her, then call me back. It took several anxious, prayerful hours to learn that Julie was okay, grounded on the West Coast. It was only later that we realized Julie had been a crew member of United Flight 93 all that summer until being transferred to another route two weeks prior to 9/11. That was the airliner on which the passengers stood up to the terrorists, the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. I and my family know full well just how close to the bone this war is. These Islamofascists will kill anybody to achieve their ends, starting with Americans and Israelis. None of us, none of our families, is safe. We have to win this war if we wish to continue to exist, not just as a nation, but as living individuals. I don't think we are pursuing the war with all the seriousness and ruthlessness it deserves for such a monumental life and death struggle. America's left and virtually the entire Democrat Party view this war as little more than a springboard for getting back in power. Therefore, they will do anything and everything they can to undermine this president, undermine our military and undermine the hearts and minds of the American people in order to better position themselves to recapture Congress and the White House. They are despicable and I have no tolerance for them whatsoever. If I had it in my power, I would find a way to strip them of citizenship and cast them off our shores. As it is, I tell the dissenters, "I hope you and your family are killed by terrorists." That rattles them and shocks them and moves them to say, "What a terrible thing to wish upon a fellow human being!" To which I reply, "That is exactly what you are wishing upon me and my family, so it only seems fair that you suffer that fate first." There are a lot of lies circulating around America these days, not to mention around the world. Willful fabrications such as the "Bush Lied, Thousands Died" line that the left and the Democrats sling with impunity. Lies such as the great canard, "I support the troops but not the war." Anybody with half a brain knows that such a sentiment is absolute B.S. If you doubt me, look at all the slips among leftist cowards holding high elective office--people such as Senators Kerry and Durbin and Congressman Murtha--comparing American soldiers to Genghis Khan and Nazis and convicting them of war crimes before an investigation is even under way. They do not support the troops any more than they support the war. They are craven liars and cowards, unfit to lick the boots of the lowest ranking infantryman. I am disgusted with our country for ever having elected such dishonorable excuses for human beings and disgusted with the people who follow them. I am disgusted with our so-called allies, the French, the Germans and yes, even much of the British people, who will turn tail and run as soon as Tony Blair is out of office. I am disgusted with our new "friends" the Russians and our would-be "friends" the Chinese for using the rise of Islamofascism as a lever against the United States, even though they dig their own graves in doing so, for the Islamofascist menace poses a threat to them as well as to us. I am disgusted with the Saudi pigs who accept our protection, yet are completely intolerant of our religions and our customs and who fund and educate in the ways of evil current and future terrorists. I am disgusted with Muslims in general, who speak from both sides of their mouths and practice a religion whose very teachings promote violence and intolerance. I am disgusted with the news media, who now view themselves as citizens of the word instead of Americans, maintaining what they call "objectivity" that is throughly biased against our nation and toward those who would murder us. I am disgusted with Israel, which snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Lebanon recently, and with the United States for bowing to international pressure instead of openly joining Israel in stamping out not just Hezbollah, but Syria and Iran as well. I am disgusted with the United Nations, the world's most useless organization, where a bunch of Third World dictators call the shots, and we help pay for their anti-American, anti-Israeli activities. And I am pretty disgusted with this president, who started off on the right foot but allowed the liars on the left free rein in defining his administration in the most negative of terms, to the point we have now reached, where the Party of the Big Lie now stands a good chance of recapturing at least one house of Congress and eventually even the presidency. I am disgusted with American secular leftist Jews, approximately 80 percent of whom are allied with the Democrats and the anti-Israeli crowd, who refuse to see the parallels between today and 1938 and appear all to willing to get into line in front of the gas chamber barely 60 years after their parents' and grandparents' generations were almost exterminated. And I am disgusted with the American people, who are so obsessed with short-term gratification and creature comforts that they blame their own country for fighting back against animals who want to kill us all. I think we need to take the gloves off. We should torture, maim and kill anybody who takes up the Islamofascist cause. We should make their sponsor states and their families pay for their evil deeds. We should use some of the billions of dollars in weaponry people like me have gladly paid their taxes for, including nuclear weapons, if necessary, in order to beat the enemy into a bloody pulp and force their unconditional surrender. And we should excise once and for all the political correctness that has us searching American grandmothers instead of Middle Eastern men of terrorist age and that prevents us from carpet bombing insurgent havens such as Fallujah or nuclear facilities and government infrastructure in Iran out of existence. In short, we need to soundly defeat this enemy and force a reformation to his religion while we still possess superior weapons and while all one-billion Muslims in the world are not openly against us. Peace through strength is the the only option. Out-terrorizing the terrorists and their supporters is the only strategy that makes any sense. Our lives, our futures, our country and Western Civilization itself are at risk. If we remain weak and decadent, we will all perish. Evil will win. A light will go out in the world. If we fight to win, with everything at our disposal--EVERYTHING--we will vanquish our evil foe. There are no in-betweens, no compromises, no shades of gray at stake here. Everything is in stark black and white. Our anger should be white hot, our resolve unshakable and our application of force overwhelming. That is the only lesson of 9/11. |
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Contributed by Shane Briscoe on September 11, 2006 at 02:35 PM in , , , | | | |
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(
Left as a comment on :
Thank you, sir. *** I understand from James that he's editing like crazy trying to get a video up to go with the MP3. Watch for it. *** Email from James:
It's a big download, but worth it. Full disclosure: The speakers attached to this computer died a couple of days ago (at least I hope that's it) and I can't afford new ones right now (ref: ). The slide show's beautiful and James never recorded anything in his life that didn't sound good. Check it out. |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on September 10, 2006 at 05:16 PM in , , | | | |
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Have you forgotten?
5 years. It seems like yesterday.
On 9.11.2001 I was the webmaster over a departmental bulletin board/knowledge base site at a company in the Dallas area. On the morning of the 12th Kelvin Reed emailed me this and I immediately posted it. The website was supposedly "for company business only" but I never heard a word about it:
Poster exhibit of 9/11 victims via Moussaoui trial exhibits. Click photo for hi-res larger image. ()
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*** Don't miss Mrs. Greyhawk's excellent photos from that day: , , , , , ***
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Contributed by Bill Faith on September 9, 2006 at 09:51 PM in , , | | | |
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A bitter pill
On December 7, 1941 2388 people were killed including 48 civilians. The next day our President offered these words, in part:
Later we learned that one of our adversaries was concerned:
On September 11, 2001 2973 people were killed, including 125 military personnel. We've had no declaration of war so I can't offer any speech worthy of citation. We DO have many who believe we did the deed ourselves, or at least deserved it. Our enemy mocks us and invites us to join him. On the fifth anniversary of the event politicians will posture and pundits will wring their hands or beat their chests. Nothing will change. I'll skip it, no TV, no blogs, no newspapers, the taste is too bitter. |
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Contributed by Zero Ponsdorf on September 9, 2006 at 06:22 PM in , , | | | |
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Of Flags and Firefighters
I’m not one to jump on the anti-Wal-Mart bandwagon because as one who now lives in a very small town in a remote area of one of the least populated states, I appreciate the fact that the presence of the Bentonville Behemoth tends to keep local merchants from jacking up prices affordable only to the trendy jet-setters who fly in here for weekends and holidays. And, overall, I believe that Wal-Mart is truly a good thing for America, especially for those folks who can’t afford to shop in the trendy, upscale department stores. Admittedly, I did send a registered letter to H. Lee Scott, Jr., Wal-Mart CEO, earlier this week advising him of the deplorable management of his local investment, but that has nothing to do with the cause of today’s dismay. Well, actually, in a way, it does. My complaint to Mr. Scott centered on the deplorable out-of-stock situations we locals have to deal with because his manager can’t seem to master the basics of inventory control. The problem today was also related to an out-of-stock situation but what truly enraged me and another customer, a young firefighter, was an in-stock situation. You see, this firefighter and I were looking for flags to display Monday, September 11th, to honor our nation and the brave Americans who gave all for their country that day. The firefighter was displaying more outrage than I, which is understandable considering the heavy casualties inflicted on his chosen brotherhood on that tragic day. So what was the problem? Well, as I said, it was an out-of stock: no American flags of any size shape or description in this Wal-Mart store, this in a city where the primary employer is the United States Air Force. Now wouldn’t someone with just a modicum of marketing savvy possibly anticipate that, on the weekend prior to the fifth commemoration of the Pearl Harbor Day of the 21st Century, there might be a slightly elevated demand for patriotic symbols like, say, American flags? Well, nope, not here; not a single American flag was to be found within the cinder block confines of this merchandising mega store. OK, OK, somebody slipped up; stuff happens, right? So, you must be asking, why were the young firefighter and this tired old veteran so pissed? Well, Scottie Boy, it may just have been the numerous MEXICAN FLAGS that were IN STOCK, occupying most of the shelf space in the area designated for patriotic materials. Yep, Mexican flags in various sizes, just hanging there waiting for the many local Wal-Mart customers whose primary allegiance belongs to that bifurcated government a thousand miles to the south. Worse, there was even a selection of Brazilian flags. Brazilian? Yeah, that’s what I said, too, BRAZILIAN? GOOD FRICKIN’ GRIEF!!! And here I thought all these Wal-Mart clerks who don’t speak English were Mexicanos. Guess that could also explain the proliferation of all those Brazilian grilled meat restaurants that I seem to be seeing more and more of in my business travels. Later at the Home Depot, where I did find American flags, and only American flags, I encountered the angry young firefighter again. He was still seething and promised that Wal-Mart management would be getting an angry letter of righteous outrage. As I walked out to my car with my flags, I thought, “Bet he’ll never get an answer.” Then I thought, “You, know, maybe if we put something at Old War Dogs, we could give this angry young firefighter a soapbox beyond anything he could hope for on this weekend leading up to a day in which firefighters should be honored as something special to all Americans. So here it is Dogs. How about your Wal-Marts? They have more Mexican flags than American? Russ Vaughn |
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Contributed by Russ Vaughn on September 9, 2006 at 05:17 PM in , , , , | | | |
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Remembering September 10, 2001
For the next several days, ink splatters on newsprint, pixilated images wafting through the airwaves and burning brightly on millions of computer monitors will commemorate the emotional events of 9/11. As it is my nature to avoid crowds, I choose to focus on the America that existed on September 10, 2001. In looking back, it is difficult to contemplate 9/10 outside the context of 9/11. While researching the headlines from our last days of innocence, I expected to find some significant contrast to the news stories of today. After 9/11 and nearly five years into the Global War on Terrorism, I instinctively felt that America had to be fundamentally changed, more focused, perhaps more mature. But, then again, perhaps not. The following Chicago Tribune headlines from the thirty days leading to September 10th in both 2001 and 2006 tell the story. Immigration 2001 - “Immigration deal ‘must be fair,’ U.S. says White House will target lawbreakers.” While the White House has maintained a ‘fair but tough” stance on illegal immigration, no new laws or enforcement of existing laws appears to be imminent. Meanwhile, illegal aliens have become the envy of many hapless sports franchises, by picking up corporate sponsorship from a major beer distributor. After a rough week crossing through arid deserts and swimming the Rio Grande, “It’s Miller Time.’” President Bush 2001 - “Lawmakers battle Bush over secrecy; Executive privilege debate rages anew.” “Well, the liberals still have not forgiven Bush for ‘stealing’ the 2000 election. Their hatred is so blinding that they still will imperil our national security in an attempt to undermine our chief executive.” Israel 2001 - “Bombs rattle Jerusalem; Palestinians say blasts are reprisal for leader’s death.” “Israel still can do no right. It has no right to defend itself. It has no right to exist.” Osama bin Laden 2001 - “U.S. citizens alerted about possible threat.” Richard Boucher declined to comment on whether the threat came from Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, wanted in the 1998 U.S. Embassy attacks. “I’m waiting for the shrewd investigative reporter to announce that bin Laden has discovered a secret method of traversing the Space/Time continuum. How else does one explain that all headlines continue to report his activities of three to five years ago?” Rumsfeld 2001 - “’Rumsfeld poised to dump 2-war strategy. New Goal: Defeat one enemy, repel a second.” “Strategy or fantasy? Have we defeated an enemy or repelled them? The same questions remain unanswered.” North Korea 2001 - “North Korea proposes to renew talks with South.” “I guess the South decided to talk back.” Iran 2001 - “Iran cracks down again; detains liberal filmmaker.” “Where is the ACLU when you need it? How can anyone worry about nuclear programs at a time like this?” UN/Kofi Annan 2001 - “U.S., Israel abandon UN race summit; Powell denounces ‘hateful language’ in proclamation.” “Still the model of diplomatic efficiency, this anti-Semitic gathering of third world tyrants do nothing more than legally evade millions of dollars in NYC parking fines.” NY Yankees 2001 - 9/10: Yankees lead Boston in the A.L. East by 13 games. “Some things never change.” My research was intended to discover a naïve and narcissistic country five years ago. I am disheartened to admit that I only had to look at today to find it (so who is naive?). It is no wonder that we have not progressed. While we are engaged in a multi-front Global War on Terrorism, Americans at home are unaffected. There are no shortages, rationing, blackouts or shelters. Instead, we are blessed with a strong economy and abundance as we smugly sit in our comfortable living rooms anxiously awaiting a new season of American Idol. Except for the men and women of our military and their families and friends, there is no visible sign that America is in a struggle for its very survival. For most Americans, the biggest battle anticipated this weekend is between Peyton and Eli Manning. Are you ready for some football? While others rightfully remember the atrocities of 9/11, we should be mindful of 9/10. Nothing has really changed. Isn’t it time? |
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Contributed by The Gray Dog on September 9, 2006 at 03:08 PM in , , , , , , , , , , | | | |
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The NORAD 9-11 Tapes
Here is an unusual view of September 11. Vanity Fair has published No teaser quotes, just go read it. This is an important article. First, it should kill the pernicious myth that the USAF shot down one of the airliners. Second, an even more important, it gives us a look at an unfolding crisis. When its SHTF writ large everything comes apart at the seams. The people are hit by information of which they cannot make heads or tails because it is a totally unimagined situation. If its something they've well-trained for and are expecting, its not SHTF. Not only are they hit by valid information which makes no sense, but also by even vaster amounts of false information and misleading warnings. this is the essence of coping with every disaster, civil or military. You don't know what is going on, and the situation keeps changing faster than you can get out in front of it. This same sort of confusion and disorientation is what will occur again at the next Terrorist surprise. I guarantee that. And no, you cannot train for every imaginable scenario. There's not enough time and resources to train for everything, so you train for some, hope you guessed right, and get called names when the enemy thinks eve further out o the box than you did. But of course, if you think and plan for the really drastic possibilities, you will be called an alarmist or a paranoid. As of September 10, airliners were hijacked as hostages, not as attack weapons. A tip of the helmet to Walt Boyne. -Rurik |
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Contributed by George Mellinger on September 7, 2006 at 07:24 PM in , , , | | | |
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Flying The Flag
I couldn't agree more. |
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Contributed by Bill Faith on September 4, 2006 at 02:16 PM in , , | | | |
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9/11 is Democracy Day
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Contributed by Bill Faith on September 3, 2006 at 12:28 AM in , , , | | | |