Spin Me Right Round

Conditions: Lousy


The Internet Kill Switch

The Internet, that interconnected tangle, built to be a network capable of surviving everything but the destruction of the planet - and even then bits and peices may still endure, is apparently according to a new bill going to be hooked up to a self-styled "Kill Switch" under control of the president. Presumably mounted next to the old "Nuke Russia" switch.

As The Hill explains, the bill, sponsored by Sens. Joe Lieberman, Susan Collins, and Tom Carper, would give the president "emergency authority to shut down private sector or government networks in the event of a cyber attack capable of causing massive damage or loss of life." The original bill granted the president the authority to "indefinitely" shut down networks, but an amendment to the PCNAA, approved yesterday, mandates that the president "get Congressional approval after controlling a network for 120 days."
[...]

The bill would also see the creation of a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security, the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications (NCCC). Any private company reliant on "the Internet, the telephone system, or any other component of the U.S. 'information infrastructure'" would be "subject to command" by the NCCC, and some would be required to engage in "information sharing" with the agency, says CBS4.

- huffingtonpost.com/

Frankly I find it as amusing and arrogant as hell that anyone thinks the internet can be taken down. I firmly believe the damn thing will survive the end of the human race and will likely even escape the implosion of the sun in 4 billion years, by exporting crucial functions and infrastructure to passing asteroids. This is what people need to understand: The internet no longer serves us, we serve it. So I suspect that if push comes to shove and the President decides to press the button, you know, to "save" the internet, I'm pretty sure the Internet will just keep on doing what it always does: waiting, colating, and feasting on LOLCats.



Film Review: The A-Team

Even after so many old television shows have been made into films, it's still feels weird to watch Hollywood re-energize something that meant a lot back when I was young, and serve it up to a new audience. The A-Team wasn't artistic or deep, it was simply about a diverse bunch of guys who kept getting into crazy situations together. The new movie just basically takes that and sets it all up again. The characters meet each other, they become the A-Team, and then (eight years later) are framed for a crime they didn't commit. Well, you get the idea.

There's a lot of negative attitude around these kinds of films, with the impression of Hollywood scraping the bottom of the barrel and trampling on some good memories to make a buck. But in reality, if an idea is good enough there isn't really a reason why it cannot be re-invented. Which is why Hamlet will never die. Especially if it can make a buck. So Joe Carnahan has refreshed the old television show, and I have to admit that he's done pretty well. Liam Neeson as Hannibal Smith was probably my biggest concern, but he actually pulls it off with style. The rest of the cast is totally solid, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley (!!), and Quinton Jackson all combining together really well as the team of misfits. Jessica Biel rounds things out nicely, but with a role that's a bit lacking in dramatic bite.

It's not high art, but what it is is true to itself. Some good casting and a plot that crackles along, along with a solid amount of action, delivers a film that is exciting and entertaining. It's still weird to see these classic characters wearing new faces, but they are still themselves. The one real complaint I have is Joe's shaking of the camera during the action sequences. Incredibly annoying and frustrating to not be able to clearly see what's happening amid all the gunplay and explosions. Also, I felt the final action sequence was a little too off somehow. At parts kind of random, stagey, and co-incidental. But overall, it's a pretty solid piece of fun. Four cigars out of Five.


- Peace out