LOTTOMIKE's Blog

i think there is a good chance 5555 could hit soon......

look for 5746 in tennessee soon.........

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In Event of Big Web Disruption, U.S. Is Ill-Prepared, Study Says



The U.S. is poorly prepared for a major disruption of the Internet, according to a study that an influential group of chief executives will publish today.

The Business Roundtable, composed of the CEOs of 160 large U.S. companies, said neither the government nor the private sector has a coordinated plan to respond to an attack, natural disaster or other disruption of the Internet. While individual government agencies and companies have their own emergency plans in place, little coordination exists between the groups, according to the study.

   


   
"It's a matter of more clearly defining who has responsibility," said Edward Rust Jr., CEO of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., who leads the Roundtable's Internet-security effort.

Other companies with leaders active in the effort include FedEx Corp., International Business Machines Corp., Dow Chemical Co., Hewlett-Packard Co., CA Inc., Alcoa Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Pfizer Inc.

The study points out that a massive Web disruption could potentially paralyze banks, transportation systems, health-care providers and voice calling over the Internet.

The chief problem: There are so many public and private institutions that handle security-related tasks that their responsibilities often overlap, creating inefficiencies that can bog down an emergency response, according to the study.

Security officials at some banks and other companies have established groups to swap data about Internet threats. Companies that make the technology behind the Internet itself have an informal group of their own to discuss security issues. Meanwhile, a government body called the National Cyber Response Coordination Group is meant to manage a response to Internet emergencies.

Yet those groups' roles are often unclear, and no system is in place to coordinate their efforts, the study says. It cited "serious problems stemming from the lack of consolidation, including the fact that these organizations are not accountable for their actions."

The group said the public and private sectors should develop a closer relationship in preparing for an Internet disruption.

   
   
   

It also suggested that the government fund a panel of experts who could assist in developing plans for restoring Internet services in the event of a massive disruption

The government should invest in developing a good early-warning system for Internet emergencies -- the cyber equivalent of the warnings provided ahead of a hurricane or other natural disaster, the Roundtable said. The private sector should also decide on one process for sharing information with each other and the government during an Internet emergency, the group added.

look for 7449 to hit soon in tennessee......

· U.S. Population to Hit 300 Million in 2006


WASHINGTON (June 25) - The U.S. population is on target to hit 300 million this fall and it's a good bet the milestone baby - or immigrant - will be Hispanic.

   
Latinos Drive Population Growth
   
   


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No one will know for sure because the date and time will be just an estimate.

But Latinos - immigrants and those born in this country - are driving the population growth. They accounted for almost half the increase last year, more than any other ethnic or racial group. White non-Hispanics, who make up about two-thirds of the population, accounted for less than one-fifth of the increase.

Phil Shawe sees the impact at his company, Translations.com. The New York-based business started in 1992, when it mainly helped U.S. companies translate documents for work done overseas. Today, the company's domestic business is booming on projects such as helping a pharmacy print prescription labels in up to five languages or providing over-the-phone translation services for tax preparers.

"It's been a huge growth area for our business," said Shawe, the president and chief executive. "Not only is the Hispanic market growing faster than the average, but it is also growing in purchasing power."

When the population reached 200 million in 1967, there was no accurate tally of U.S. Hispanics. The first effort to count Hispanics came in the 1970 census, and the results were dubious.

The Census Bureau counted about 9.6 million Latinos, a little less than 5 percent of the population. The bureau acknowledged that the figure was inflated in the Midwest and South because some people who checked the box saying they were "Central or South American" thought that designation meant they were from the central or southern United States.

   
Population by the Numbers
   
   

Getty Images 299,058,932

U.S. population on Sunday morning according to the Census Bureau's population clock



   
Most people in the U.S. did not have any neighbors from Central America or South America in the 1960s. The baby boom had just ended in 1964, and the country was growing through birth rates, not immigration, said Howard Hogan, the Census Bureau's associate director for demographic programs.

People responding to the Census survey - which uses the term "foreign born" rather than immigrant - are not asked whether they are legal or illegal.

In 1967, there were fewer than 10 million people in the U.S. who were born in other countries; that was not even one in 20. White non-Hispanics made up about 83 percent of the population.

Today, there are 36 million immigrants, about one in eight.

"We were much more of an insular society back then," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "It was much more of a white, middle-class, suburban society."

As of midday Sunday, there were 299,061,199 people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau's population clock. The estimate is based on annual numbers for births, deaths and immigration, averaged throughout the year.

The U.S. adds a person every 11 seconds, according to the clock. A baby is born every eight seconds, someone dies every 13 seconds, and someone migrates to the U.S. every 30 seconds.

At that rate, the 300 millionth person in the U.S. will be born - or cross the border - in October, though bureau officials are wary of committing to a particular month because of the subjective nature of the clock.

Hispanics surpassed blacks as the largest minority group in the 2001, and today make up more than 14 percent of the population.

The growth of the Latino population promises to have profound cultural, political and economic effects.
















"I think we've already seen these changes," said Clara Rodriguez, a sociology professor at Fordham University.

"I think the music has been influenced by the Caribbean rhythms and the Latino singers," Rodriguez said. "I think economically, clearly immigrants are coming to work."

Don't forget the salsa-ketchup wars, well-publicized since salsa surpassed ketchup in U.S. sales in the 1990s, pitting the two condiments in a seesaw battle for supremacy ever since.

Many people are embracing the changes, but some are not, as evidenced by the national debate on immigration. The growing number of Hispanics is closely tied to immigration because about 40 percent are immigrants.

"I think there is a little bit of a culture shock effect, especially with the language," said Frey, the demographer. "But as people get to know their new neighbors, they find they are not that different from them."

The U.S. added 2.8 million people last year _ a little more than a million from immigration and about 1.7 million because births outnumbered deaths.

   


   
The U.S. is the third largest country in the world, behind China and India. America's population is increasing by a little less than 1 percent a year, a pace that will keep it in third place for the foreseeable future, said Carl Haub, a demographer at the Population Reference Bureau.

The world, with a population of 6.5 billion, is growing a little faster than 1 percent a year.

By the time the U.S. population hits 400 million, in the 2040s, white non-Hispanics will be but a bare majority. Hispanics are projected to make up close to one-quarter of the population, and blacks more than 14 percent. Asians will increase their share of the population to more than 7 percent.

Those percentages, however, are just projections. They are subject to big revisions, depending on immigration policy, cultural changes and natural or manmade disasters.

"In terms of projecting out a year or two, we're not too bad," said Hogan of the Census Bureau. "In 2043, I don't think anybody here would think they are particularly accurate."

One thing is certain: A lot more people who say they are Central American or South American will actually be from those places.

"The over 40 population dominated by the baby boomers, they're the ones in power now," said Frey. "But when we get to 2043, a lot of them will not be with us anymore. Those under 40 will be in power and we will be even more of a global society."

look for the 5668 to hit soon in tennessee.......

Asia Watches U.S. in Korea Missile Impasse

   


   
TAIPEI, Taiwan (June 24) - Many Asian nations would cheer if the Americans shot down a long-range missile tested by North Korea, but a failure would raise unsettling questions for allies that rely on the U.S. military umbrella.

The response to North Korea is being watched by U.S. allies as a barometer of how committed Washington is to protecting them. Some already worry the drawn-out conflict in Iraq may make the United States wary of getting involved in other foreign conflicts.

The U.S. government has said it is relying on diplomacy to head off the suspected test, but there has been speculation it might use its fledgling missile defense system. The Taepodong-2 is believed capable of reaching the American mainland, which is troubling for U.S. officials because North Korea claims to have nuclear weapons.

If the U.S. shot down the missile, "the Japanese would see it as proof that the Japan-U.S. alliance is reliable, and feel confident that the United States will come to the rescue," said Takehiko Yamamoto, international politics professor at Waseda University in Tokyo.

A successful strike would also lead to more calls for a stronger U.S.-Japan security alliance, he said.

But if the U.S. interceptor missile missed the target, Japanese public opinion could become split, Yamamoto warned. Some would want more military spending to improve the system, but others would call for more diplomacy and perhaps looser ties with America, he said.

The United States and Japan signed an agreement Friday to strengthen their cooperation on missile defense. The signing came just hours after Japanese officials revealed that a high-resolution radar to detect incoming missiles had been deployed at a base in northern Japan.

Andrew Yang, a senior analyst at the Chinese Center for Advanced Policy Studies in Taiwan, said failing to hit the missile would be a colossal embarrassment for Washington and would fuel doubts about the missile defense system's role in regional security.

He said Taiwanese are watching how the situation plays out because the island might have to rely on U.S. forces in case China's military tried to forcibly reunite Taiwan with the mainland regime. Taiwan split from China amid civil war in 1949.

Knocking down North Korea's missile "would send a clear message that the U.S. would not be threatened by belligerent military actions," Yang said. "It would send the message that the U.S. is willing to defend its allies in the region."

Attempting to shoot down the missile would be a high-stakes gamble for the Pentagon itself. President Bush ordered the controversial and expensive program accelerated after taking office, and critics question whether it will work.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency, refused Friday to say whether the system was on alert for a possible intercept mission. But he noted it was designed specifically to defend U.S. territory against missile threats from North Korea.

Washington also must consider that taking a shot at a North Korean missile could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, which is one of the world's most heavily militarized regions.

"South Korea probably wouldn't support it openly," said Kenneth Wells, director of the Center for Korean Studies at Australian National University. "There would be some division in the government, but if they were forced to make a comment one way or another, I suspect it would be that it wasn't a helpful thing to do."

Yang said China also wouldn't want to see U.S. forces try to down the missile. "The bottom line for China is that they don't want any escalation of tension in the region," he said.

Still, K.S. Nathan, a regional security analyst at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said many Asians would be pleased to see the U.S. stop the missile test.

"I think the general consensus would be to see that North Korea is disciplined in some way or prevented from launching the missile," Nathan said.

Hugh White, head of the Strategic and Defense Studies Center at Australian National University, said there are other non-diplomatic factors being considered by the Americans.

He said that while it would be gratifying for the Americans to knock down the missile, they might be better off letting the North Koreans launch it.

"They'll learn a lot about the state of North Korean technology," White said. "A lot of my friends in the CIA are saying: 'No, no, no. Let it fly."'

4856 is a number i've been betting online for a dollar for tennessee.
sure could use the nine grand! looking to move so it would help......

thanks for all the feedback on the computer issues to those who have helped me.still haven't figured it out.it stops for hours then acts up over and over......

studying North Korea's nuclear moves?


WASHINGTON - There may be no such thing as a North Korea playbook for would-be nuclear proliferators.
But many Western leaders suspect Iran of trying to emulate North Korea's secretive development of nuclear weapons. And as both nations continue to command international attention for their nuclear programs, it's clear the two countries watch each other for "how to" lessons in nuclear diplomacy.




This week, each of these nations has demonstrated its ability to command attention. North Korea said it might disregard past commitments and test-launch a new intercontinental missile, and Iran set a timetable of mid-August for replying to the US and other countries about their package of incentives - later than the US wants.

For each of the besieged regimes, experts say, an underlying goal is to establish a level of international respect, especially in relations with Washington. To help achieve this, these experts say, the powers of Tehran are no doubt studying the more experienced Kim Jong Il for dos and don'ts, and vice versa.

"Not only do they watch each other, but they may indeed compare notes," says Jonathan Pollack, a North Korea expert at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. Noting that North Korea has supplied Iran with missiles and other technology, he adds, "The North Koreans do have certain on again, off again relations with Iran, so they may do more than just study each other's experiences."

In recent months, North Korea had retreated from the world stage as the spotlight shifted to Iran and international efforts to end its uranium-enrichment program. That changed this week when Pyongyang - miffed by the lack of attention, many analysts say - hinted through diplomatic channels that it might be preparing to test-launch a new intercontinental missile.

The United States had been eyeing North Korea's moves. Earlier this month, it said that satellite photos and other evidence suggested Pyongyang was preparing the test launch. The long-range missile is particularly disconcerting to the US and other countries because a successful one could reach well beyond North Korea's immediate neighborhood - potentially to Hawaii or Alaska.

If nothing else, North Korea's actions got it back to where many analysts say it wants to be - the focus of international attention. At a US-European Union summit in Austria this week, President Bush and European leaders concentrated on North Korea, as well as Iran: They called on Pyongyang not to carry out any destabilizing missile test, while pressing Tehran to respond soon to a package of enticements to suspend its enrichment program.

"Iran has been getting a lot of attention lately, and this may have provoked the North Koreans to take some action, because they don't like to be ignored," says Robert Einhorn, a former assistant secretary of State for nonproliferation, now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "They may see this [test launch] as a way to put themselves back on the international agenda."

Of course, North Korea's rumblings about a prospective missile launch may be about more than a desire to rival Iran for attention, Mr. Einhorn says. For one thing, he notes that Pyongyang has not carried out a missile test since the late 1990s, so the regime may be under internal pressures to advance its technology.

"You can only do so much testing on the ground, so I'm sure there are military pressures in North Korea to prove the design of this missile," he says. Besides that, he adds, "You enhance your deterrence by demonstrating your capability."

Pyongyang may also be trying to enhance its leverage with the US and others in stalled six-party talks on its nuclear program. For example, Einhorn says, the North Koreans may think they've found a way, with the threat of a missile launch, to press the US into dropping punitive measures it has successfully imposed on the North's financial operations.

While Einhorn says there is no direct evidence of any kind of learning relationship between Pyongyang and Tehran, he does believe it stands to reason that the two would watch each other.

"I wouldn't be surprised if [Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad and other hard-liners in the regime say, 'Why do we back down at the last minute, when you look at the North Koreans and see that they make a threat and carry through - and on the whole that has not been a losing approach for them?' "

Others say that Tehran may indeed be following the Pyongyang playbook - but just as much to see what not to do.

"It's hard to believe the Iranians would put themselves in the same category as the North Koreans. There are so many differences between them," says Paul Kerr, a nonproliferation expert at the Arms Control Association in Washington.

Iranian officials, including national security adviser Hassan Rohani, have indicated in speeches given in recent years that Tehran has studied the cases of North Korea, Iraq, and Libya. "The suggestion is they have opted for some kind of middle ground," says Mr. Kerr.

Above all, Tehran has a much higher level of diplomatic and economic exchange with the world, he says, and would not aspire to Pyongyang's isolation. And North Korea has nothing like the sea of oil that Iran sits atop.

But what Tehran and Pyongyang certainly have in common, Kerr says, is a preoccupation with the idea that what the US really wants is regime change. And with both countries remaining fixations of the Bush administration, it is likely that the two watch each other for pointers on successfully maneuvering with the US.

Indeed, the US, by turning North Korea's missile-launch preparations into a major international confrontation, may be giving both countries an unintended lesson in how to provoke the US, says Mr. Pollack of the Naval War College.

"What North Korea is up to is not as obscure as people make it out to be, if you realize that what they want most of all is a response from us," he says.

Pollack says the test-launch controversy - which elicited more immediate response from Mr. Bush and other top administration officials than some North Korean actions - reflects the "tool kit" that Pyongyang employs to try to reach its real objective, which is direct talks with the US.

Given Tehran's interest in the same objective, he says Iran is certainly watching Pyongyang's success or failure as it weighs its own response to international entreaties on its nuclear program - which include the promise of talks with the US.

look for quads soon in one of these states

kentucky
virginia
georgia
pennsylvania
oregon
indiana

the 5447 could show in tennessee soon.......

Seven Charged in Alleged Plot to Blow Up Sears Tower
Indictment Says Men Sought to Work With al-Qaida


WASHINGTON (June 23) -- Seven young men arrested in an alleged plot against the Sears Tower were part of a group of "homegrown terrorists" who sought to work with al-Qaida but ended up conspiring with an informant, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Friday.

   





   

Outlining an alleged plot to bomb the Sears Tower in Chicago and a federal building in Miami, Gonzales told a Justice Department news conference: "They were persons who for whatever reason came to view their home country as the enemy."

The seven individuals -- ranging in age from 22 to 32 -- were indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami. Six were taken into custody in Miami Thursday when authorities swarmed a warehouse in the Liberty City area, removing a metal door with a blow torch. A seventh was arrested in Atlanta.

The alleged terrorists -- five U.S. citizens, a legal immigrant from Haiti and a Haitian national who was in this country illegally -- were expected to appear in federal court in Miami later Friday. They had taken an oath to al-Qaida and sought help from someone they believed was a member of the terrorist organization, the indictment alleged.

Said Gonzales: "The convergence of globalization and technology has created a new brand of terrorism. Today terrorist threats come from smaller more loosely defined cells not affiliated with al-Qaida but who are inspired by a violent jihadist message, and left unchecked these homegrown terrorists may prove to be as dangerous as groups like al-Qaida."

Gonzales outlined the contents of an indictment handed up Thursday, which identified Narseal Batiste as having recruited and trained others beginning in November 2005 "for a mission to wage war against the United States government," including a plot to destroy the Sears Tower.

   
   
To obtain money and support for their mission, the conspirators sought help from al-Qaida, pledged an oath to the terrorist organization and supported an al-Qaida plot to destroy FBI buildings, the four-count indictment charged.

Batiste met several times in December 2005 with a person purporting to be an al-Qaida member and asked for boots, uniforms, machine guns, radios, vehicles and $50,000 in cash to help him build an "'Islamic Army' to wage jihad'," the indictment said. It said that Batiste said he would use his "soldiers" to destroy the Sears Tower.

Gonzales said "the individual they thought was a member of al-Qaida was present at their meetings and in actuality he was working with the South Florida Joint Terrorism Task Force."

In February 2006, it said, Batiste told the "al-Qaida representative" that he and his five soldiers wanted to attend al-Qaida training and planned a "full ground war" against the United States in order to "kill all the devils we can." His mission would "be just as good or greater than 9/11," the indictment accused Batiste of boasting.

The seven defendants were charged with conspiring to "maliciously damage and destroy by means of an explosive" the FBI building in North Miami Beach and the Sears Tower in Chicago.

They were are also charged with conspiring "to levy war against the government of the United States, and to oppose by force the authority thereof."

Residents living near the warehouse said the men taken into custody described themselves as Muslims and had tried to recruit young people to join their group. Tashawn Rose, 29, said they tried to recruit her younger brother and nephew for a karate class.

She said she talked to one of the men about a month ago. "They seemed brainwashed," she said. "They said they had given their lives to Allah."

Residents said FBI agents spent several hours in the neighborhood showing photos of the suspects and seeking information. They said the men had lived in the area for about a year.

Benjamin Williams, 17, said the group sometimes had young children with them. At times, he added, the men "would cover their faces. Sometimes they would wear things on their heads, like turbans."

Managers of the Sears Tower, the nation's tallest building, said in a statement they speak regularly with the FBI and local law enforcement about terror threats and that Thursday "was no exception."

Security at the 110-floor Sears Tower, a Chicago landmark, was ramped up after the Sept. 11 attacks, and the 103rd-floor skydeck was closed for about a month and a half.

"Law enforcement continues to tell us that they have never found evidence of a credible terrorism threat against Sears Tower that has gone beyond criminal discussions," the statement said.

In Chicago early Friday, people headed to work in the Sears Tower knew about the potential threat but didn't plan to change their routines.

In addition to Batiste and Augustin the defendants were identified as Patrick Abraham, or "Brother Pat"; Stanley Grant Phanor, or "Brother Sunni"; Naudimar Herrera or "Brother Naudy"; Lyglenson Lemorin, also known as "Brother Levi" or Brother Levi-El"; and Rotschild Augustine, or "Brother Rot."

Lemorin was arrested in Atlanta.

Joseph Phanor, the father of defendant Stanley Grant Phanor, said he didn't believe "anything they say about" his son being involved in a terrorist plot.

"This boy, he's not a violent boy. He never got into trouble. ... He didn't want to kill people," the elder Phanor told The Associated Press.

He said his son and his friends studied the Bible together in Miami. "All I know is that they have a construction job there and they have a contract to do some construction job. That's what he told me," he said.

The person they believed to be an al-Qaida representative gave Batiste a digital video camera, which Batiste said he would use to record pictures of the North Miami Beach FBI building, the indictment said. At a March 26 meeting, it went on, Batiste and Burson Augustin provided the "al-Qaida representative" with photographs of the FBI building, as well as video footage of other Miami government buildings, and discussed the plot to bomb the FBI building.

But on May 24, the indictment said, Batiste told the "al-Qaida representative" that he was experiencing delays "because of various problems within his organization." Batiste said he wanted to continue his mission and his relationship with al-Qaida nonetheless, the document said.

got into a big fight tonight over nothing that was made into a big to do.we got into it over who runs this and who runs that.stupid.i threw my hands up and gave in.the household is very peaceful and quiet now,lol........

i'm looking to get that straight pick 4 hit online.sure is a lot you could do with nine thousand dollars!!

a couple times i went and bought the number for a dollar straight at the gas station.thats another five thousand dollars


so what could you do with 14 thousand dollars?   a lot!!


stay tuned..........