Hurricane Ike swells to category 4

Hurricane Ike has been upgraded to a category 4 storm as it approaches the Caribbean [wunderground.com]. Hundreds have already died in the wake of hurricanes Hanna and Gustav in the past two weeks [BBC]. Aid has already started to arrive in Haiti to help the thousands who have been left homeless by the storms [CNN]. Bad weather has also claimed at least two lives in the UK following flooding across many areas [BBC]. But it is India that has seen the worst weather in recent weeks. Tens of thousands have been made homeless in the Bihar region, near to the border of Nepal, and the death toll there is still unknown [BBC].

McCain claims "change is coming"

John McCain made his acceptance speech before a loyal and enthusiastic crowd of Republicans on Thursday. It was a carefully scripted speech so there were none of the mistakes occasionally seen in some of McCain’s addresses. Search for McCainisms on the internet and one will find many howlers. One particular mistake stands out where McCain spoke of Putin being the prime minister of Germany. But there were no slip ups on Thursday.

Re-inventing the party

Much of the focus at this years convention has been biographical. Looking at John McCain’s military service, a video was played prior to the presidential candidate stepping out to address the crowds at St Paul. With the slogan of “Country First”, McCain hopes to convince voters that he serves not his own interests, but those of the American population.

It has been a convention that has been selective in its memory of the past 8 years under George W Bush. “Four More Years” has been replaced with the simpler “USA” and “Change is Coming”. The War on Terror has been mentioned but it was not as high on the agenda as previously seen.
Cheney was nowhere to be seen, as he spent his time fleeting between Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Ukraine. Even President Bush made his address from the White House via a video link. In fact the whole atmosphere was markedly different from the Republican convention last time round when the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger gave his support to the presidential candidate and terrorism and the war dominates speeches.

This time round a page had been turned. It was time for change. But not for a different party. He told Obama and his supporters that they had his “respect and admiration despite our differences”.

“Much more unites us than divides us,” he said “we are fellow Americans”. But he insisted “we’re going to win this election” to cheers of more USAs.

His speech was interrupted by several anti-war demonstrators. But as protestors attempted to call out, the crowds launched into calling out in cheers of “USA”.

Palin "stands up for what's right"

Speaking about his running mate, Sarah Palin, McCain praised her for “tackling tough problems like energy independence and corruption”.

“She has balanced a budget, cut taxes and she’s taken on the special interests...She’s the wonderful mother of five children”, John McCain said.

“She’s helped run a small business, she’s worked with her hands and knows what it’s like to worry about mortgage payments, and healthcare, the cost of gasoline and groceries. She knows where she comes from and she knows who she works for. She stands up for what’s right and she doesn’t let anyone tell her to sit down”.

Change...

He insisted “change is coming” and promised to keep his word. “I don’t work for a party, I don’t work for a special interest, I don’t work for myself. I work for you”.
And he spoke of how he wanted to win back the trust of all Americans and went on to criticise Barack Obama’s policies. McCain said he would cut taxes while insisting his opponent would raise them. He added that he would open up new markets, something which he claimed Obama would eradicate. And McCain said he would cut government spending while Obama would increase it. This strategy “would create jobs while his tax increases will eliminate them” McCain insisted.

John McCain moved on to talk about health care, welfare benefits and education, all of which he said he would change to give every American an equal footing.

On energy, he proposed to increase off shore drilling, develop clean coal technology build more nuclear generating stations and build electric automobiles. “It’s an ambitious plan but it’s time to show the world how Americans lead”.

“I’d rather lose an election than see my country lose a war”.

McCain insisted he would not let al-Qaeda strike the US again. He spoke too of the threat posed by Iran which “remains the chief state sponsor of terrorism“ and of “Russia, which invaded a small democratic neighbour to gain more control over oil supplies”.

McCain finished by saying he would draw on all his experience to ensure an “enduring peace”. And he slighted Obama saying he did not have the experience. “I have that experience and the scars to prove it, Obama does not” he said.

In his final summing up gave an inspiring statement which pulled the audience together. “America is the greatest country on Earth. With hard work, strong faith and a little courage, great things are always within our reach. Fight with me, fight with me, fight for what’s right for our country. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children’s future. Fight for justice and opportunity for all. Stand up to defend our country from its enemies. Stand up for each other. Stand up, Stand up, Stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We’re Americans. And we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history, we make history” [CNN BBC / Sky News].

Hurricane Ike upgraded to category 3 storm

Hurricane Ike has been upgraded to a category 3. Although it is 5 days away from the east coast of the United States its rapid upgrade from a category one in only a few hours has increased concern. As the clear up gets underway in New Orleans, Florida may be the next to feel the full force of this building storm. Hurricane Hanna has gradually broken up in the meantime and meteorologists are keeping a watchful eye on tropical storm Josephine which is trailing behind Ike.

Google Chrome is not so shiny

Google Chrome - Error messages, risky user agreements and security issues

It has been available for a little over 24 hours but Google’s latest venture is already spawning critics [BBC]. The new web browser, Google Chrome, is, at first sight, clean and simple to use; but many aspects are lacking and some features simply don’t work. The scroll feature as used by many laptop users with a touch pad fails to work as it should. Scrolling down works, if rather fast; but on reaching the bottom of the page it becomes stuck. The user is forced into using the arrow keys or the ‘home’ key to return to the top of the page.

Attempting to copy a link from the address bar into Microsoft Works Word Processor fails. Any such attempt results in this message appearing, “The information you copied exceeds the size limit for pasting into the Word Processor. Try reducing the size of you selection, and then copy and paste again”. Strangely, copying a link into a Word document does work and becomes an ‘active’ link. But copying the link into blogger also results in unexpected results. Paste the link from Google Chrome’s address bar and the link fails to become ‘active’ in the blogger compose page. As a result the link fails to show the full hyper text mark up language [html] if one subsequently switches to the ‘edit html’ page.

Other issues are much more serious. On Wednesday several tech websites put out a story that suggested users may be prone to virus attacks. The browser which is still in beta could result in so called carpet bombing attacks. Security researcher Aviv Raff discovered the bug within hours of Google Chrome‘s release on Tuesday. The bug is said to be an amalgam of an Apple Safari carpet bombing vulnerability with a Java glitch revealed at the Black Hat USA 2008. Raff posted proof on the concept exploit code on the vulnerability, demonstrating how the new Google Chrome bug enables users to unknowingly launch malicious executables directly from their browser.

A malicious hacker could entice users into downloading onto their Windows desktop a specially-crafted java archive file, typically with a social engineering ploy. Once a user opened a malicious link or visited a harmful website, malware would then be installed on the user's PC, which would get executed without warning.

However Google have said their browser does not pose a major risk and users have control over what they download and where they save it. Google said that by default, the new browser downloads files to a separate "downloads" folder, as opposed to the user's desktop. The "downloads" folder is not in the default DLL search patch, which subsequently avoids some potential security problems, Google said.

"This may be different for Vista depending on imported settings from the default browser, which may direct downloads to the desktop, but Vista security mechanisms help mitigate potential risk to users. Google Chrome takes things a step further by refusing to automatically download files, such as desktop.ini and *.local files, that have the potential to manipulate window preferences and change the order in which DLLs are loaded," said a Google spokesperson in an email. "However, should users wish to be prompted before each file download, they can enable this functionality by choosing 'Ask where to save each file before downloading' on the Minor Tweaks tab in the Options dialog."

Some have also questioned some privacy issues with the new browser. The auto-suggest feature of Google's new Chrome browser does more than just help users get where they are going. It will also give Google a wealth of information on what people are doing on the Internet besides searching. Provided users leave Chrome's auto-suggest feature on and have Google as their default search provider, Google will have access to any keystrokes that are typed into the browser's Omnibox, even before a user hits enter. It has many privacy advocates very hot under the collar [CNET].

On the plus side the browser does work faster. But if security becomes a major issue, Google’s new baby may get left behind in all the web traffic [News.com.au]. There were more worries for some users over the issues of copyright and protecting ownership of material. One blogger noted that part of the licensing agreement for Google Chrome was particularly frightening ...the EULA grants Google: 'a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content that you submit, post or display on or through' [CNET].

But within hours of this being spotted Google rewrote its licensing agreement. Many critics suggested the language would allow Google to use any web content displayed in Chrome without getting copyright permission. However, Google said it borrowed language from other products, "in order to keep things simple for our users," when it inserted the copyright provision in the Chrome licence.

"Sometimes, as in the case of Google Chrome, this means that the legal terms for a specific product may include terms that don't apply well to the use of that product," Rebecca Ward, senior product counsel for Chrome, said in a statement. "We are working quickly to remove language from Section 11 of the current Google Chrome terms of service. This change will apply retroactively to all users who have downloaded Google Chrome." Well that's a relief ! [reseller.co.nz]

Media digs claws into Sarah Palin

UK media has slated the vice-presidential candidate

Sarah Palin remains under a media spotlight as her crucial speech at the Republican convention approaches. From the moment Republican presidential candidate John McCain named her as his running mate the debate begun as to whether he had made a good choice. On CNN’s The Situation Room, Jack Cafferty said he questioned McCain’s judgement and added that he may have handed the Democrats the election. And this was before revelations that Sarah Palin’s unmarried daughter was pregnant. Attention also turned to the father of the baby, Levi Johnston, who described himself on his My Space webpage as a “f***ing redneck”. This was picked up by several British newspapers who emblazoned the details on their front pages. The Daily Express ran with the headline “The Vice Presidential Candidate, her pregnant teenage daughter and the redneck boyfriend” while the Daily Telegraph said the “Daughter’s ‘redneck’ boyfriend adds to Palin’s campaign woes”. It can’t be a comfortable ride for McCain as one salacious story after another emerges. And already some are looking for the beauty queen photos!

The Guardian, another British paper, revealed today that Palin had been involved with a party calling for an independent Alaska. Already a video has emerged on You Tube which clearly shows her calling for change and a “self sufficient state” while wishing all at the Alaska Independence Party convention good luck. This is despite denials by Palin that she belonged to the party. The AIP message “One Alaska” is in the direct contrast to the Republican slogan of “One Country”. Other revelations that have emerged about Palin is that she attempted to ban books from a public library, something that also sits uncomfortably in a country that promotes and celebrates free speech. All these stories are fuelling the tabloids who have accused her of being unable to control her children and of having more than just a few skeletons in her closet.

On Channel Four News, Jon Snow described McCain’s announcement as being “like a grenade with the pin removed”. Tonight’s address will be closely watched and picked apart by journalists across the US and here in Britain looking for further explosive material to plaster on their front pages in the coming days. McCain’s decision to choose Palin has certainly grabbed media attention, but perhaps not the kind of attention he expected.

Pakistani PM survives assassination attempt

The Prime Minister of Pakistan has survived an assassination attempt while travelling through Rawalpindi according to reports. There are accusations of a lapse in security following the attempt on the leader’s life. PM Yousaf Raza Gilani was said to be unhurt which occurred as he was being driven along the highway between Lahore and Islamabad. The assassin’s bullets struck the window on the right side of the black Mercedes in which the Prime Minister was travelling. The bullet proof glass prevented the two bullets from passing through and Gilani is continuing with his duties. CNN reported that the PM had only recently taken to using a bullet proof vehicle after recent security threats.

Hurricane Gustav hits US as category 2

Hurricane Gustav has failed to bring the massive destruction predicted in some of the worst case scenarios. After sweeping across the Gulf of Mexico, hurricane Gustav reduced from a category 4 to a category 2 by the time it hit the US coast. Over 2 million people had heeded Mayor Ray Nagin’s warnings and evacuated from New Orleans and the surrounding area. Flooding has been much reduced despite the heavy rain and storm surges. This has been partly due to the flood prevention put in place following the devastation of hurricane Katrina 3 years ago. The wind damage has also been less but there have been some high winds with speeds topping 168 Km/h and gusts of up to 210 Km/h. As the hurricane made landfall at Cocodrie television reporters broadcast live from the coast though few were blown off their feet. CNN did have several technical problems as they broadcast from New Orleans. But the news coverage failed to provide the dramatic pictures some might have expected to the relief of millions of residents of the city of New Orleans.

As the storm subsides there remains the high risk of tornadoes and violent thunderstorms. There remains a watch on another hurricane which is currently developing. Meteorologists reported that Tropical Storm Hanna was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it passed through the Bahamas on Monday. The National Hurricane Center has said Hanna could make landfall Friday near the Georgia/South Carolina border. Cuba was badly hit by Gustav though there were no deaths or injuries reported. But across the Caribbean more than 80 died, 50 from Haiti alone [CNN / BBC / Sky News].

More than 22 dead in south China quake

An earthquake measuring 5.6 according to the USGS has struck southern China killing at least 22 people. According to Xinhua News more than 100 were also injured in the earthquake which struck near to the borders of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces. The tremor hit at 16:30 local time on Sunday [08:30 GMT} near to the town of Panzhihua in Sichuan province [26.335N, 101.906E] and reports say rescue efforts have been hampered by heavy rain [BBC].

US braced for "storm of the century"

President Bush is making his way to Texas to oversee hurricane relief and rescue efforts ahead of the expected landfall of Gustav. The hurricane swept across Cuba last night packing winds in excess of 240 Km/h. The storm which has been measured at a category 4 and has since dropped to category 3. But it may increase to a category 5 by the time it strikes the southern US coast early Monday morning. Thousands have been urged to leave New Orleans where the hurricane is expected and curfews have been put in place by Mayor Ray Nagin [BBC]. The mayor minced no words as he described the hurricane as the "storm of the century" and told residents to "get their butts out of New Orleans".

There are fears the hurricane might do devastating damage to the region’s oil facilities. The 4,000 rigs in the Gulf supply 25% of the US's crude oil and 15% of its natural gas. Around 100 were severely damaged by hurricane Katrina three years vago and there are fears that any significant damage will greatly affect fuel prices [BBC].

Speaking tonight, President George W Bush said it was, “Very important to listen to instructions made by officials“ and asked residents not to “take unnecessary risks”. He said he would travel initially to San Antonio but would not immediately travel to Louisiana until the “situation allowed” [CNN / Sky News].

More attacks in Xinjiang leave 2 cops dead

Two police have died in more violence in north west China
Xinhua News has reported.
The incident occurred on Wednesday as they investigated an attack which happened on August 12th . Besides the two officers killed, five others were also injured in a knife attack in a corn field in Kizilboyi Town, in Kashi's Jiashi County. And on Friday police in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region killed six people and arrested three others during their investigation into the killings of five police and security staff this month, this according to the state news agency. According to the report on the Xinhua website police encountered nine suspects in a corn field in Ying'erlike Township, Shule County, Kashi Prefecture.

During a "desperate struggle" one militia man and an armed soldier were injured a police spokesman was quoted as saying. At least 6 people were killed after police then opened fire. Three others were injured and taken into police custody. Police say the suspects were linked to attacks on August 12th and the 27th .

Four security staff were attacked at a road checkpoint in Yamanya Town, Shule County, on August 12th . Only one of the four survived, but suffered injuries [China Daily / BBC]. On the 4th August 16 police died and another 16 were injured after they were attacked by militants armed with grenades [BBC].