Logic’s End

The situation on the ground in the Georgian Republic is becoming more desperate by the day. Ramifications of what Russian and Georgia are now referring to as an all-out war will inevitably leave their mark on the region for decades.

Some in the international press seem to suggest this war is once again about oil pipelines and natural resources. While that may indeed factor into the equation, it’s merely an ancillary cause.

This is a conflict that is rooted deeply in the history of the region, more than most casual observers have yet to comprehend.

Traditionally known to the Ancient Greeks and Romans as Caucasian Iberia, the region we know today as Georgia was located inextricably on the eastern fringes of both Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar’s vast empires. As with a great many things in life, the location sometimes determines just about everything.

If a house is built on a fault line, the prudent owner ought to expect and prepare for earthquakes.

The Georgian people bore the brunt of Persian Empire’s wrath as it rather quickly laid waste to what was once Alexander the Great’s territory. Not long thereafter, the Georgian’s experienced more tumultuous times as the balance of power in the world toppled steadily toward the Romans and subsequently into the hands of the Ottomans.

Georgia, by the 18th Century, had finally turned to the Tsar’s of the Russian Empire for protection–of which seldom arrived. Georgia eventually joined the Russian Empire, only to declare independence by WWI.

It has been an ongoing conflict both domestically as well as internationally over who should ultimately govern the Georgian people. Familiarity with the oppressive hand of their former Soviet possessors and the promise of powerful new allies from the west help make the argument for continued independence.

Putin, on the other hand, having just completed a “statue of liberty” power play, seems to favor the notion of the Russians as the traditional peacekeepers of the broader region,  with Georgia being the key.

“Georgia’s aspiration to join Nato … is driven by its attempt to drag other nations and peoples into its bloody adventures”

–Vladimir Putin, quoted from The Times Online

Ironically, as history would have it, Georgia is once again at the farthest reaches of western influence and protection as the world’s great western powers are occupied elsewhere.

The war ravaging parts of Georgia is not as much about sacking Georgia as it is about deciding who get’s the right to protect Georgia. Thus, it begs a couple of questions: what great threat does Georgia need protection from, and what does that suggest about the state of global politics?

Sometimes ignorance is bliss, especially when it comes to laying down your credit card information on the Internet. You see the little padlock icon, maybe a few graphics about how the site is “hacker safe” or tested regularly, and it makes you feel are warm inside.

We pay our loans, pay bills, play games, and even order our dogfood on the net.

The padlock, to put it quite simply, means that there’s a secure connection taking place using what is known as SSL. It encrypts the data you transmit, and verifies that the place you are transmitting to matches the identification information on what is known as a SSL certificate (sort of like an ID badge for a site that allows it to start the secure transfer of data).

What happens when somebody makes a fake ID? More than free beer, much more. Therein lies the rub: with recent DNS bugs (think of DNS as the postal service and DMV for the Internet, it’s the thing that indentifies sites and gets your data where it needs to go) it’s possible for anyone with the right knowledge to make a fake IDs and funnel all the free credit card and other private data they can hold on to before they’re found out.

Not serious enough to worry about? Dan Kaminsky, the black hat hacker who first exposed this bug, has posted a video on his blog to demonstrate the industry response. The world’s technology professionals are scambling (myself-included). Just have a look at how fast the first of many holes was patched:

When it comes to Internet Security, there exist a dangerous few who grasp its true meaning. Generally, it isn’t something you do in a overnight in your mother’s basement.

You won’t wake the next morning with inexplicable taco stains on your Grand Theft Auto t-shirt, a hangover, and magically secure server.

Internet Security is a full time job. It demands an impecable regard for ethics and an relentless attention to details.

Even with the best tools, it’s no job for lightly girded loins. It’s more than just computers and passwords, security is an art.

Xerox understood security when they lost the mouse to the boys from Apple.

Hitler understood it when the allies cracked his enigma machine.

Even the mighty Roman empire got a good look at the business end of security when a gate to Constantinople was left open for the Turks.

The question:

Would you prefer your security to have a hard time guarding a chili-cheese-chelupa?

Or would you like it to be the equivalent of the man who led the largest coastal invasion force of the 20th century?

I know who I’d pick, and I don’t care much for Taco Bell…

As long as you haven’t been living your life in an Afghan cave, you’ve probably witnessed first hand the power of Photoshop. Can’t find bigfoot? Photoshop! Want a free pizza and don’t have a coupon? Photoshop! Keep getting rejected by E-harmory? MS Paint!? NO! You guessed it… Photoshop!

I present to you the photo above, from the New York Times. Try as you might, sometimes you just can’t physically churn out enough ballistic missiles to put the fear of God, or perhaps Allah in this case, into your enemies.

If you’re the Iranian Revolutionary Guard what do you do, where and to whom do you turn?

This guy! Who, in response to a cleverly crafted SPAM email, Photoshops your truly “massive arsenal of tyranny” before you email bomb it to the International Press! Absolutely genius! 

First of all, I “hope” that everyone had an excellent Independence Day! Though I found myself enjoying an ice cold Guinness, hardly as American as Yeungling Lager, I managed to find a moment to reflect upon the state of this grand republic, as it stands.

Judging from the image above, many of you are probably thinking to yourselves: “Oh no! Louis has gone Liberal!”. Rest easy my friends, nothing could be farther from the truth. I merely sought to use the imagery of the Obama campaign to illustrate how far we’ve come from the prudent plans of the founding fathers.

 As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed. As long as the connection subsists between his reason and his self-love, his opinions and his passions will have a reciprocal influence on each other; and the former will be objects to which the latter will attach themselves

– Publius (James Madison), The Federalist #10

Nobody running for President this year understands Federalist mojo better than Obama, a former professor of Constitutional Law himself. If the modern presidency is about appealing directly to peoples passions, we couldn’t pick a better candidate.

We’ve come a long way from the established merit and diffusive character of presidents long passed. To win the oval office today, you’d do well to ensure you have: a large pile of cash and the best gameshow. Obama is outspending his rivals, and reports indicate he’s planning a nomination in an NFL Stadium.

“Change!” has occurred in this republic. To what extent and what ends? Guided by one man’s hope and vision or the people’s? We have a choice and responsibility to decide. 

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy’s not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Not expecting nor seeking battle, in the course of two short months, I find myself peering out onto a battlefield shrouded by fog from atop the watchtower of a formidable castle that houses no less than the digital livelihoods of the workers and owners of some 200 small businesses.

The Internet is feudal Europe after the fall of Rome. Enemies without faces, names, or common languages are poised to attack from any direction at a moments notice, without just reason or provocation. They never sleep, and their numbers are so large that to preempt an attack would be an exhaustive exercise in futility. A prudent man plans defenses well.

Imagine, a castle that attracts guests from all throughout the countryside, all needing daily entrance to goods stored in their holds. Each guest has a key, the very same key. Not only are the keys identical, but they open the door to a communal hold. Everyone crams inside, grabs what they need, and gets out whenever they please.

This castle works for the people for quite some time. However, as more people visit the hold, access is increasingly slow and tedious. Moreover, thieves look to the hold as a golden opportunity for creating panic and making off with whatever they choose grab in the confusion.

A prudent solution is to construct a more secure and efficient castle. Everyone gets their own hold and key. One could even place a guard outside each hold’s door, while still allowing guests access to individual holds much more quickly. Should a thief make a mess of one hold, it’s easier to spot, stop, and quickly repair his handiwork. 

Such is life on the watchtowers of IT Administration.

While most IT administrators would be comfortable with an SDK, notepad, and perhaps a domain server, I believe that with all that technology under you, a little tom-foolery is in order every now and then to break up the monotony. That’s how you end up working with a fellow employee that’s THIS important!

Welcome! Let this mark the beginning of my parliamentary re-emergence into the world of blogging. Most of you are here, quite frankly, because I sent you this way. I am humbled. Let me know what you think so far.

Big plans are in store for logics end, a dash of IT journalism and a healthy helping of political commentary, all mixed up with, fingers crossed, just the right proportion of lively feedback and discussion.

The combination of an election year and a newly found position as Director of IT Operations at a local web hosting/marketing firm should provide motivation for countless discussions in earnest. So enough with the formalities… check back soon!