World Trade Crash and a bit about computers

From: Don Maslin <donm_at_cts.com>
Date: Tue Sep 11 23:57:28 2001

On Tue, 11 Sep 2001, Bill Pechter wrote:

> > On Tue, 11 Sep 2001, Richard Erlacher wrote:
> > > > Sadly, the only way in which such acts can be anticipated and
> > > prevented in the future is for us to give up some of the privacy we
> > > cherish. Technology and law protect those who enjoy this privacy.
> >
> > On Tue, 11 Sep 2001, Sellam Ismail wrote:
> > > "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary
> > > safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
> >
> > Thank you, Sellam
> >
> > Those who would destroy the country in the name of protecting it are a
> > bigger enemy than those who attacked this morning.
> >
> > --
> > Grumpy Ol' Fred
>
>
> > To all of you over there:
> > I can?t describe what I felt when having heard those bad news an seen the
> > first pictures... Tears are in my and many German eyes feeling with everyone
> > injured or the people who have lost relatives or friends... As my English is
> > not very good I?m not going to try to say more. Words are missings for those
> > feelings...
> >
> > Thomas
> > (from Germany)
>
> We live in very strange times.
> My daughter's friend's dad may have lost his best friend on the 108th
> floor of the 2 World Trade Center... but he doesn't know his friend's
> status yet.
>
> I think that most people around the world would feel for the loss of
> life of the folks in the building. I grew up in New York and
> attended schools there before moving to New Jersey.
>
> I was a history major before getting in to this computer industry.
> I've worked with folks from all over the globe in multinational
> companies.
>
> I don't think I'm unusual in my view that this type of action deserves
> decisive punishment when the people responsible are found.
> If you allow it to drive the civil population into a state of fear and
> panic and if we begin to curtail freedom of speach and assembly they
> will be winning.
>
> The only way to avoid events like this is to increase security at
> airports -- which often is lax in this country... I've heard
> of real security at airlines like El Al which does a serious
> baggage and weapons check.
>
> I'd hate to see this anti-foreigner attitude take hold for real.
> Historically it usually occurs for a short period of time before
> people realize we're a nation built mainly of foreigners who came here
> to avoid pogroms and repression on economic, religious and
> ethnic grounds.
>
> I really don't think I'm a great fan of either President Bush or
> former President Clinton, but I really feel that the military and
> intelligence community have not done enough to get ready for the
> new non-traditional methods of conflict and we're headed for more of
> this.
>
> I've worked out of Fort Monmouth for DEC and other organizations and I
> know the bureacracy there has kept the military from using the
> commercially available technologies effectively.
>
> The US military is way too wedded to the old mil-spec way of
> doing things. Wired had a good article showing that they're beginning to
> hire consultants to adjust their method of doing business.
>
> They used to draw up specs for things they needed which caused their
> costs to be hire than off-the-shelf technology would have been.
> Building custom limited production devices is expensive.
> Luckily they cancelled their MCF Military Computer Family project
> which was building a Vax work-alike computer in the mid-80's
> when the MicrovaxII became available off the shelf.

I think that you need to explore whether it is the military or the
Congress that created and fostered the Mil-Spec and contractual wickets
that are finally being whittled down. No argument, however, that it
was/is costly and unproductive.
                                                 - don

> They're beginning to adapt. I hope it will allow us to avoid losing our
> freedoms to have the security all folks want and deserve.
>
> Bill
> --
> d|i|g|i|t|a|l had it THEN. Don't you wish you could still buy it now!
> bpechter_at_shell.monmouth.com|pechter_at_pechter.dyndns.org
>
Received on Tue Sep 11 2001 - 23:57:28 BST