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Warning: mktime() [function.mktime]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 14

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 23

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 25

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 27

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 28

Warning: mktime() [function.mktime]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 14

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 23

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 25

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 27

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 28

World Events& Technology& Privacy& Internet& Legislation
Warning: mktime() [function.mktime]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 14

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 23

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 25

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 27

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 28
20 Aug 2007 01:33 pm

Skype’s Excuse for Outage Seems Flimsy

Skype’s Heartbeat blog recently posted an explanation of why there was a massive Skype outage affecting millions of customers on Thursday, August 16th carrying through until Friday. Their explanation was that there was a bug in the Skype client software that was made evident by a major Windows Update that culminated in the simultaneous rebooting of machines throughout the globe.

While it seems plausible on the surface, if you look at how Windows Updates actually work, it seems far less so. Even if set at the default time of 3 in the morning for a Windows update and restart, this has some randomisation built in, and it goes by the local system clock. If EVERYone in the world had his computer set to reboot at 3 in the morning, they still wouldn’t all reboot at once because there’s simply more than one time zone in the world.

They go on to say:

Normally Skype’s peer-to-peer network has an inbuilt ability to self-heal, however, this event revealed a previously unseen software bug within the network resource allocation algorithm which prevented the self-healing function from working quickly. Regrettably, as a result of this disruption, Skype was unavailable to the majority of its users for approximately two days.

Again, this seems a little less than truth. Massive Windows updates have happened hundreds upon hundreds of times since Skype’s inception, and this bug only just now cropped up?

Mathaba News Agency reveals their take on the reason behind the Skype outage, which, while a bit over the top, is at least as plausible as the Skype “we had this bug that suddenly cropped up out of nowhere even though it’s existed on our network for years and years” explanation.

It does seem far more likely that a poorly-tested and rushed software update was likely the cause of this error than simple random chance, but with Skype covering its tracks by blaming other companies, it’s unlikely we’ll ever know the truth behind the outage.

Perhaps if Skype had opened its communications protocol instead of clamping down on it in an effort to squeeze as much money from third-party developers as possible, any actual bugs in the system might have been discovered and fixed years ago instead of cropping up all of a sudden for no stated reason. This is the hazard of relying upon Skype for stability and security instead of a provider that uses a more open protocol such as SIP. There’s no way to really know what’s going on behind the scenes.

Government& World Events& Globalisation
Warning: mktime() [function.mktime]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 14

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 23

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 25

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 27

Warning: date() [function.date]: It is not safe to rely on the system's timezone settings. You are *required* to use the date.timezone setting or the date_default_timezone_set() function. In case you used any of those methods and you are still getting this warning, you most likely misspelled the timezone identifier. We selected 'America/New_York' for 'EST/-5.0/no DST' instead in /home/www/crashthesystem/docroot/wp-includes/functions.php on line 28
17 Aug 2007 08:46 am

Erasing the Last Thirty Years

At the end of the last US administration, there was a budget surplus, there were steps being taken to foster peace in the Middle East, the US had close and warm ties to Russia, relying on their aid in many situations, and the momentum seemed to have no end in sight. Now, just seven years later, the US is becoming more and more isolated in a world that has seemingly turned against it.

The country’s debt, brought on by years of warfare, is massive. The Middle East is more unstable than it’s been in decades. Russia, tired of constantly being shut out of global affairs, has begun to roll back time and treat the US more as a Cold War enemy. Even the once staunch ally of the US, Britain, has begun to distance itself from the constant missteps of the current administration.

Where once we had a world on the move toward harmony, we now have a world fractured into powerful groups all struggling to maintain regional order.

Over the last eight years, we’ve seen the European Union emerge as a major power, garnering its strength from the power of many nations, each with a history rich in diplomacy and compromise. The war in Iraq has left the once proud bloc of Middle Eastern nations in tatters, a home to constant unrest and external militant influence. North Korea has threatened the Asian nations with nuclear disaster. Communism is rapidly becoming a popular movement in Latin America, with Chavez, in his charismatic and often predictably unpredictable behaviour, leading the charge for its revival. And more recently, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has been seen in the news more and more, touting its opposition to a US-dominated world.

Iran, which has been a thorn in the US’ side for quite some time, has lately become a powerful voice of anti-Western ideology, working hard to gather power in the weakened Middle Eastern community. With its open declaration of nuclear ambition, and its accused support of militant fighters in Iraq, Iran is feeding off publicity and instability in a way that can’t be ignored. Its brazen refusal to change its goals in the face of opposition has left it as a powerful voice even in the SCO, in which it is only an observer nation.

Russia has begun moving back to its Cold War treatment of the US, with bombers making more frequent and more brazen flights past US airspace in an effort to display its regained military strength and its disdain for its treatment at the hands of the US over the past several years. While the US has gained a reputation in the world community for increasing human rights abuses, it continues to lambaste other countries for human rights violations in a seemingly hypocritical manner. Russia has often been the target of US complaints because of its abuses in Chechnya, but lately, the Russian government has fought back, telling the US to pay more attention to its own human rights record and not to meddle in the affairs of Russia. The increased tension has caused a definite rift between two countries that were once well on their way toward healing decades of hostility.

Thirty years ago, there was open hostility with Iran, the US was in a cold war with Russia, and the nations of the world were split into many powerful blocs, all struggling for dominance in global positioning. It took almost twenty-five years to move the world toward a more harmonious age, and only seven years to watch it dissolve into the chaos and strife that once again dominates the globe. For a US administration run by someone who considers himself “The Uniter,” this is indeed a feat of incredible hypocrisy.

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