Running an ISP in a Warzone

musatov writes "SGT Coughanour, David A (HHC 1-110th Infantry US Army) speech on NOTACON 3: "Right now I am currently serving in Iraq where I run IT operations for a small chunk of the Sunni triangle. One of the major projects that we have accomplished here is setting up an ISP that supports 350 subscribers. It has also survived multiple mortar attacks, and is built entirely on Linux." Download video (80 MB QuickTime) Requires latest QuickTime installed. A mirror is available for people to download it."

Comments

Wuss.

[XorNand]

I used to work at an ISP in Detroit.

Re:Wuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

crap. i came in here to say exactly that, and here there's one post, and thats it.

thanks.

next time go with FROSTY PISS!!!11!1

kthx

Re:Wuss.

[buanzo]

So what? I've been hired to securify some ARGENTINIAN ISPs! :P

Re:Wuss.

[xornor]

Just out of curiosity, where did you get the idea for your user name??

XorNor

Re:Wuss.

[LuisAnaya]

Well, I worked on an billing installation in Colombia. A car bomb blew up a couple of blocks from the office.

I can relate to Detroit though :).

Re:Wuss.

[XorNand]

I was getting ready to tell you it's a pair of logic gates when I noticed your name. heh. To be honest, I have no clue; it was probably 5 years ago. Knowing myself though, it was just some random thought. This is the only place I use the name though. If I could change it, I would.

Re:Wuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone want to argue which is more dangerous to servers; slashdot.org or motars?

Re:Wuss.

[RexRhino]

Have you ever been to Detroit?

1. Most places in Detroit are safe.
2. The places that ARE very dangerous you would never go to if you worked for an ISP.
3. Even if you DID go to the dangerous places, you would still be statisticly more likely to die of a heart attack, diabetes, or get hit by a car.

Detroit saw the worst during the late 70s and early 80s, and is now going through a process of gentrification and redevelopment. Can't you find another city in the U.S. to make fun of and be a boogyman for white suburban fear? The Detroit cliche is getting a little old.

Re:Wuss.

[XorNand]

I live 30 minutes west of Detroit; off of Baseline (aka, 8 Mile) Rd. in fact. I'm allowed to poke fun at the city (and the Lions).

Re:Wuss.

[sbrown123]

Well, at least Detriot is a real place. The "Sunni Triangle" is about as real as the Bermuda Triangle. Dangerous? Hell, it's probably hard to find any place in Iraq that's not dangerous right now with a damn civil war going and the Turks looking like they are gonna open a can of whoop-ass on the Kurds again.

Re:Wuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm.. Just out of curiosity (Really Really bored..)

(A XOR B)(A NAND B) = A XOR B
(A XOR B)(A NOR B) = 0 ;) you can reduce your names and still mean the same thing!

Re:Wuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dunno anything about detroit or argentina, but over here
in iraq we just upgraded to the latest kernel on our linux box
and everything is rock stable H^H^H^H^H^H^H

#Connection reset by mortar ....

Re:Wuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

actually, according to time magazine, most of iraq is quite safe - they even doubt a civil war. they show a map of iraq, which shows poll results broken down by provence. in all the areas exept those around the sunni triangle the people are 70-80% in favor of our being there and say that life is better now. it is just the sunni triangle that you hear about in the news and which brings down the numbers.

it is like getting a single 'f' when your gpa is a 3.5. it drops things big time.

Re:Wuss.

[Savantissimo]

If you get your news from Time, then you are an idiot. Parts of Iraq may not be getting blasted, but the water will still give you dysentery, and the child mortality rates are still way above pre-1990 levels.

Re:Wuss.

[sentientbeing]

Well done. You have out-nerded the nerd.

You have won slashdot.

This site will now close.

Re:Wuss.

[Cat_Byte]

Can't you find another city in the U.S. to make fun of and be a boogyman for white suburban fear? The Detroit cliche is getting a little old.

Hey...any town full of 300 lb Lions is dangerous.

It could be worse. I went to Michigan and someone there asked me if I rode a horse to school or work in TX. Cliches will never die.

At least the guy talking about Detroit was kidding. This guy was quite serious and embarassed.

Re:Wuss.

[sbrown123]

Oh please, enlighted one, tell us of this haven in Iraq where people walk the streets without fear with happy-to-be-democratic smiles on their faces?

Re:Wuss.

[vertinox]

Have you ever been to Detroit?

Yes... Of course the gun shots and car vandalism happens in any big city.

I felt that I saw a bit too much of it first hand on my small trip to Detriot.

Still... The blocks and blocks of burnt out houses still is pretty bad.

Much worse than say... North Philly.

But I don't know if Detroit is worse than Camden (across the river from us).

Re:Wuss.

[SupremeTaco]

Yup, I remember visiting that area on business. Was REAL glad when I left, too.

Re:Wuss.

[Anonymous Coward]

I almost believed you, until you said something about Time magazine.

Wow

[Xest]

Maybe it IS possible to run an ISP in Manchester (UK) after all!

Re:Wow

[sendtwogrey]

Always amazed Merseyworld is there when I check.

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

shithole != warzone

There's no reason to run an ISP from Manchester, rent a rack at the exchange and set up offices as far away as possible. With the current price of property in Manchester a single employee needs > 30k PA to make it worth their while getting out of bed! That's 30K just to sweep the floor or stand around a shop all day; give my regards to inflation.

Re:Wow

[TheManifold]

Apart from the high prices in Manchester (UK in general), what's wrong with the ISPs here?

(I live in Manchester too, and I have no complaints.)

Re:Wow

[madnuke]

I know someone whos running an ISP, local company down the road called Vispa.

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

United United United!!!!!

Re:Wow

[98jonesd]

Vispa!
Fantastic company, head office is about 60 seconds walk from me.

Linux immune to mortar attack!

[CockMonster]

Who'd a thunk it?

Re:Linux immune to mortar attack!

[mrogers]

Do you have to install any special patches to make your system immune to mortar attacks? My Linux box sometimes crashes when I just set fire to it and kick it downstairs (stock 2.4.16 kernel with SMP disabled).

Re:Linux immune to mortar attack!

[Mr2cents]

The real question is: who's shooting mortars? SCO is really getting low methinks...

Did I get it right?

[caluml]

Linux: Maybe useful against insurgents.


(Did I get it right?)

Re:Did I get it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

They are not insurgents but freedom fighters.

Re:Did I get it right?

[boisepunk]

They're not insurgents. They're terrorists.

Re:Did I get it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

Merry Christmas

Re:Did I get it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess the US army and its associates are fighting an illegal war.

Anyhow, this will probably be one of your most favorite sites: http://icasualties.org/oif/
My guess is: everything is going very well...
I'm waiting for the day the number on the above website will equal the number of casualties
of the WTC-disaster. After all, the war in Iraq is supposed to have something to do with 9/11???
Doesn't it...

Cheer up!

Re:Did I get it right?

[epgandalf]

It should be:
Particularly effecitve against an insurgency. /Fark reference, originally "Not particularly. . ."

Re:Did I get it right?

[stewwy]

no WRONG... howevermuch you disagree with them they are NOT terrorists they are fighting against an occupation of their country by a foreign power and even if you agree with the aims and objectives of that operation (I don't by the way, or rather I do not believe the stated aims and objectives; democracy and the rule of law. Nowhere in them is oil mentioned!)
Even calling them insurgents is being a bit disingenuous although by stretching a point I could agree. However unpalatable 'freedom fighters' is more the correct term, at least by any dictionary definition.

Re:Did I get it right?

[ringbarer]

islamic terrorists at that.

Although one could easily argue that all mudslums are terrorists. They would be right.

Re:Did I get it right?

[caluml]

Yep, that's the one. Damnnit.
Got modded troll by non-Fark readers too.

Re:Did I get it right?

[visgoth]

Well, from what I've seen on tv, and read on the web and in newspapers, there are a good number of partisans/freedom fighters/insurgents/whatever you want to call em causing US soldiers grief in Iraq.

Then you've got the Sunni vs Shia mini-war, which Hussein kept suppressed while he was in power.

There's also a whole bunch of asshats streaming in from other countries so they can "pursue jihad against the infidel" or whatever they call it.

Re:Did I get it right?

[c6gunner]

They're fighting against an occupation by killing their countrymen? Have you SEEN the casualty figures? These fuckers kill something like 10 Iraqis for every 1 US soldier. I don't remember George Washington blowing up crowded markets in order to kill 3 British soldiers, or putting American children in the path of British horses and then blowing up all of them when the brits come to a stop.

Whatever term you decide to use for them, don't for one minute beleive that their goals have anything to do with freeing Iraq from opression or occupation. The vast majority of your "insurgents" employ terrorist tactics, and their ultimate goals have more to do with gauranteeing power for themselves and their supporters than with bringing freedom to the average Iraqi. If that doesn't make them terrorists, then you must be employing a very unusual definition for that word.

Re:Did I get it right?

[iamlucky13]

Well, without resorting to nitpicking over dictionary definitions (although I did doublecheck "insurgent" on dictionary.com to make sure I'm not totally off base), I'd say insurgent fits. They are fighting against the currently established authority, and they are the minority. Most Iraqis seem to just want to get on with their lives. I think they want to trust the democratic process, but there's too much other crap going on for it to function like it should (or at least as well as it does in other countries).

I think it's also appropriate to argue that there are some terrorists among their ranks. Remember, those are people who's primary weapon is fear. Beheading people on television is an attempt to instill fear, not win battles. Suicide bombers...I don't know which label I'd apply to them, but blowing up a mosque isn't really a tactical or strategic move.

Re:Did I get it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

Could be so wrong but i dont believe the US had todo there anything in the first case. The so called 'terrorists' and 'WMD' and that kinda crap has nothing todo with what's going on right there. This is nothing more then modern colonialism in order to secure some sweet crude oil. And apperently some people arent happy with the current situation being oppressed by some new dictators who isnt even from their own people.

Re:Did I get it right?

[stewwy]

Irrelevant comment, makes no difference as to who they are killing, did we call the french resistance terrorists when they killed 'colaborators'? and do you know the war in which most americans where killed? ..yes its the civil war
By the way look up the history of the american war of independance first before you make comments! http://www.worcestershireregiment.com/wr.php?main= inc/h_boston_massacre
after one quick google and by your definition of 'terrorist tactics'
Not wishing for a moment to defend the killing of anybody, but you are in error in conflating freeing from oppression and freeing from occupation the two are not the same or even related
I AM sure the goal of all the opposition groups is to remove foreign troops from their country and I am equally sure that each group has its own agenda after that. Think how you would feel if foreign troops where camped on the white house lawn
'terrorist tactics' seems to be defined as anything done to the coalition , legitimate tactics is defined as anything done by the coalition,
BTW why do you think the civilian iraqi casualty numbers caused by the occupying troops are so vague? could it be that the news is being manipulated ? If it where not I would have to doubt the inteligence of the US military, its a standard tactic in any conflict.

Re:Did I get it right?

[stewwy]

wholeheartily agree! my point is more along the lines of the use of language and how perceptions can be slanted by the constant and repetitive use of emotive terms,
and also the point that a terrorist is an aggressor whereas these people are reacting against aggression.

Re:Did I get it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well said.

But the average Slashdot reader isn't interested in hearing that these so-called "freedom fighters" will do things like pass out poison to families with kids, telling them it's free bird flu vaccine from the Americans.

Right now, they think I'm making this up.

At the end of the day, the only evil they believe in is some kind of vague corporate badness manifested by "oppressive" DVD copy protection schemes and proprietary file formats in office software.

Fortunately, they're exactly the demographic least likely to actually vote or otherwise act in any way. They're annoying, but harmless.

Re:Did I get it right?

[vertinox]

They're fighting against an occupation by killing their countrymen?

As much a as a "countryman" a Serb is to a Croatian.

If you hadn't been paying attention there are about 3 types of Insurgents.

1. The old Saddam Bathists and Sunni Supports
2. The Al Queda Terrorists (mostly foreign)
3. And the Shia Militias

Or rather... The Sunni's and Shia's have no problem killing each other since they see each other as two different groups and the foreign Al Queda don't mind who they kill since they aren't Iraqi.

Each have their own agenda, but I do agree they don't really benefit the average Iraqi.

Re:Did I get it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hi bitch. It doesn't take a BA in political science (which I have) to know that you don't know what the fuck you are talking about in terms of what a "terrorist" is, despite the fact that the definition may be contested in academia.

Please, do yourself a favour: go to jstor.org (or your local university library) and search for "terrorist". Fuck, go to oed.com. Learn what the term means in standard definitional as well as political science application context. Then come back, repost, apologize for your ignorance, and carry on.

Notice I'm not providing you with a definition? Teach a man to fish ...

Re:Did I get it right?

[Marcos Eliziario]

Hey man, they are not killing collaborators, you know that. They are killing everyone that happens to be in the way of their bombs. they are not putting bombs on military installations or even government facilities, they are putting bombs in front of schools, mosques and hospitals. It takes a bit of truth-streching to compare that with french resitance. And by the way, I don't know in which world do you live, but in this world an absurdely high proportion of the iraqi terrorists are not from iraqi after all. See the lists of suicide bombers, and on the majority of cases they are from Siria, afghanistam, Arabia and so on. So, too much for your argument. Have you seen boy? they had elections, most of the iraqi people voted (different from americans, they value the right to vote) and all they want is to live peacefully. If there were no terrorist attacks financed and operated by non-iraqi nationals, probably the US troops would had gone away a long time ago. But each terrorist attack makes more difficult to the US to retire their troops. The terrorists don't want to free their country. They want to cause instability, to make the elected government to resign, and to stage a coup of state against those who have been democratically elected. That you don't like americans tatics in iraqi is one thing, one thing that probably I could even agree with you, that you don't like Bush's way of doing things, ok, I can also agree with you. But don't come calling suicide baby killers freedom fighters, and don't be so silly as to compare those monsters with the heroes from french resistance.

Re:Did I get it right?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Americans firebombed Japan, then nuked it twice, killing up to half a million people. They firebombed towns full of civilians with houses made out of paper and wood.

The insurgents' actions are horrible, but don't for one second think that the US isn't guilty of similar things in the past.

Re:Did I get it right?

[retards]

The alternative is for them not fight at all, since Coalition firepower is completely superior. Interresting that many people see Coalition forces as heroic as they shoot missiles from helicopters at people armed with AK-47s and RPGs, while someone willing to take his own life by blowing himself up to get at the enemy (whoever that may be) is seen as a coward.

Let us, for the sake of argument, say that the occupation of Iraq is categorically wrong. How exactly should Iraqis resist this occupation when conventional tactics againts Coallition forces are sure to fail due to inferior firepower?

Re:Did I get it right?

[c6gunner]

Funny you should say that. I'm actually half Serb and half Croat. While I lived in Yugoslavia, we all got along fine. The whole conflict blew up because of a bunch of idiotic extremists and politicians who decided that slaughtering eachother might be a good idea. Pretty good parallel to what's happening in Iraq. But nobody was suggesting that the way to end the Serb-Croat conflict was to get the "UN occupation force" out of the country.

Re:Did I get it right?

[c6gunner]

Interresting that many people see Coalition forces as heroic as they shoot missiles from helicopters at people armed with AK-47s and RPGs

Ah, yes, that old stereotype. Seen much of that have you? Goddamn media misrepresentation. FYI helicopter support is rarely used for such targets. Most of the time coalition troops mix it up on the ground, putting themselves in increased danger in order to protect the lives of innocents. THAT is why they're seen as "heros" by those few who get it. It's easy to blow yourself up in the middle of a crowded shop, taking 2 soldiers, and 20 civilians with you, in the beleif that you'll go off to heaven and get your 72 virgins. Hell, fucked up american kids commit murder-suicide all the time, and they don't even beleive in the 72 virgin bullshit. It's much harder to go after someone you know is suicidal, knowing that if you buy it you'll be leaving a wife and kid to watch over your casket, and KNOWING that you probably COULD call in support to level the area instead of putting yourself at risk.

Let us, for the sake of argument, say that the occupation of Iraq is categorically wrong. How exactly should Iraqis resist this occupation when conventional tactics againts Coallition forces are sure to fail due to inferior firepower?

Whether the occupation is wrong or not, there are two things which need to be considered:

1) Will the type of violence which the insurgency can employ harm the Americans more, or the Iraqi people more.
2) Does that same violence have any hope in defeating the US forces.

When all you're really accomplishing is to harm yourself and your people, without doing any damage to your enemy, it's time to consider new options.

It's very similar to the Israel-Palestine situation - Palestinian terrorist groups have no hope in hell of defeating Israel. If they had a legitemate goal to achieve through their bombings, they might have been succesfull, but it's become clear that they can't even agree on what they really want. AND over time it's become quite clear that their killings don't accomplish anything except reprisal killings by the Israelis. So the time has come where the Palestinians should be considering new options. Yet all they're able to do is fight between eachother, and blow up an occasional Israeli cafee to give themselves some legitemacy in the eyes of their people.

Getting back to iraq, the insurgency has a snowballs chance in hell of defeating the US. That should be quite clear to anyone not completely brainwashed by the anti-American propaganda. Meanwhile, the Americans have repeatedly stated quite clearly what their goals are in Iraq, and have stated that once those goals are met, they will depart. So what makes more sense - kill thousand of your own people and cause the rest to live in poverty without basic ameneties and services by retarding the development of the infrastructure.....OR join the police force, join the army, work WITH the Americans to rebuild your country...and then IF they refuse to leave, THEN blow the fuck outta them? If the insurgency had not sprung up immediately after the invasion, I can gaurantee that US troops would not be in Iraq right now. How can you call what they're doing an "occupation" when their primary goals consist of giving Iraq it's own army and police force, and rebuilding their infrastructure? And, if the "insuurgents" are the ones fighting for Iraq, what exactly is it that the new Iraqi army, and the Iraqi police are doing? The way I see it, THEY are the REAL heroes. They have inferior equipment and inferior training to their american counterparts. They're at increased threat of being kidnapped and beheaded, or otherwise executed. Every time one of them lines up to JOIN the military or police force, he knows there's a good chance that some suicidal son of a bitch might blow him up along with the rest of the recruits. Yet they still join by the hundreds. How can anyone have any respect for the "insurgency" when compared to such heroic individuals? There's just no comparison.

Re:Did I get it right?

[stewwy]

Don't get me wrong I am not condoning anything that they do. but to call them terrorists is in my opinion wrong regardless of their acts. I am sure most people could give you lists of attrocities commited by both sides. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation they, and the vast majority of the Iraqi population want foreign troops out of their country, Using the word 'terrorists' just serves to obscure the rights and wrongs of the situation. I agree that each attack makes it more difficult to withdraw, but is that not due to the 'macho' attitude prevalent at the moment rather than the rights and wrongs of the situation? In saying that they want to cause instability and your emotive comments afterwards you claim to know what their motives are, is that just what you've been told ? or is that just good propaganda from the US? I'm not so arrogant as to claim that I know ALL their intentions good or bad. Using the words 'suicide baby killers' is just stupid, and makes finding a solution more difficult.Looking back I can remember similar comments about the IRA during the seventies and now it seems OK to talk with them and even allow their political wing power. My comparison with the resistance is justified I think, after all the Germans probably called them 'terrorists'

My point is mainly (and perhaps not articulatly enough spelled out in my original post) that using emotive language to trash your opposition is standard practice, and that we should not fall for this type of creeping propaganda

Re:Did I get it right?

[retards]

Ah, yes, that old stereotype. Seen much of that have you? Goddamn media misrepresentation. FYI helicopter support is rarely used for such targets.

Some, but also camera footage from gunships blowing people to smithereens. But I admit I am dependent on others accounts in this matter.

Will the type of violence which the insurgency can employ harm the Americans more, or the Iraqi people more.

This is a valid point, but the rebels cannot (I assume) get close to Coallition forces except when they are in areas with many civilians.

Does that same violence have any hope in defeating the US forces.

No, not 'as such'. However, a prolonged occupation and climbing casualities can sway public opinion in Coallition countries and force a withdrawal.

Getting back to iraq, the insurgency has a snowballs chance in hell of defeating the US. That should be quite clear to anyone not completely brainwashed by the anti-American propaganda.

True, if you are speaking of a military defeat. However, if the US was to withdraw a large amount of troops from a turbulent Iraq, most people would see that as defeat.

Meanwhile, the Americans have repeatedly stated quite clearly what their goals are in Iraq, and have stated that once those goals are met, they will depart.

And those goals are what, world peace? Stability in the Middle East? Germany is still has US troops and bases, the war ended in 1945. Ditto for Japan.

How can anyone have any respect for the "insurgency" when compared to such heroic individuals? There's just no comparison.

I don't respect the insurgency, but I also don't respect the "liberators of Iraq" (illegal occupiers) or the "police of Iraq" (a de facto sectarian milita). Iraq is going down the same road as Yugoslavia did and it's time the US & the UK started eating that big serving of international "I told you so" they have waiting.

I Run Gentoo

[repruhsent]

How does this affect me?

Gives new meaning to disaster recovery plans

[qwijibo]

I've always found disaster recovery plans to be an annoying necessity in large businesses. I'd hate to see all the other paperwork that would be needed if my systems were subjected to mortar attacks. That certainly justifies the need for clustering over a WAN.

Re:Gives new meaning to disaster recovery plans

[Anonymous Coward]

I think mentioning terrorism might be the new Goodwin's law, but at that risk, do you recall the WTC attacks? I used to work for a company whose servers were located in the WTC, thankfully I worked in Chicago. I may have been one of the first in Chicago to know something was wrong when all of our connections went down. Of course I just thought it was a network problem at first.

Re:Gives new meaning to disaster recovery plans

[plopez]

Don't for get to factor in cluster bombs.... :)

Re:Gives new meaning to disaster recovery plans

[tinkerghost]

I was working tech support that day.
You would not believe the number of people calling to complain that they couldn't see what was going on down the street because of the smoke and/or dust and they couldn't watch the news because their cable TV and internet services were not working.
Geeee, there are whole blocks of your city missing, why do you THINK your Cable is down?
IIRC - the basement of one of the towers housed a major peering point as well as a network satilite feeds.

Re:Gives new meaning to disaster recovery plans

[qwijibo]

I don't mean to discount all disaster recovery plans in large companies. That's certainly a good example of why they exist.

However, I think the one size fits all approach goes overboard. For example, I need to create a disaster recovery plan for an environment that was considered small enough that all but one member of the development team was downsized after completion of the project. A DR plan was not a serious consideration at the time, so the information that would have been needed for a rational plan is no longer available. Right now, it's nothing more than a paperwork requirement.

The reality of most DR plans is that they come down to the approach in "Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel" - your personal disaster recovery plan can be to drive across town and get a job at a company that didn't have a disaster. I suspect this is eerily close to the truth in most cases.

Re:Gives new meaning to disaster recovery plans

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, plus the damage to 60 W Hudson right next to the site, which housed a number of colocates and all of Verizon's stuff.

Re:Gives new meaning to disaster recovery plans

[Nintendork]

I was working for Microsoft doing NT Server networking support. I was on the phone with a customer when my grandmother IMed me about the first plane. I'd be willing to bet that she was faster than your network monitoring . In all seriousness though, I had an open case with someone who died. I left it open for a month, knowing that he worked at the WTC. I would call and leave messages that I hoped he'd return. Eventually, I spotted his name on the victim list. He was a really nice guy. Not one of the ones I'd put on punishment hold. :(

Comcast is in Iraq?!

[6350']

Multiple mortar attacks would explain a lot about my isp.

Re:Comcast is in Iraq?!

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't you mean Cox?

Re:Comcast is in Iraq?!

[caca de toro]

Hehe..!

Re:Comcast is in Iraq?!

[ImaLamer]

The mortar attacks would slow down if the connection would just stay up!

--Yours Truly,

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

Re:Comcast is in Iraq?!

[garwain]

Multiple mortar attacks would explain a lot TO my isp.

Video isn't going to last long, so...

[MattGWU]

Here's the best line: "And there are couple of reasons why we do it: The uh...the DoD gives us an MWR cafe, for every 1000 troops you get something like 6 to 12 computers. And that's great, except some of the grey-list sites are kind of blocked so basically you can't get porn off it, among other things."

Runner up:
"Managed to get a Power Mac G5 smuggled in from eBay"

Re:Video isn't going to last long, so...

[Myself]

Runner up:
"Managed to get a Power Mac G5 smuggled in from eBay"

Yeah, that line drew quite the chuckle from the audience too. You should've been there, his talk was pretty cool.

Seriously, getting the simplest of gear over there sounds like quite a challenge, but persuading an eBay seller to mislabel the contents of a package is probably much easier than the government requisition channels of a similar but "official" operation. The independent ISP always has a role, and you can generalize this to municipal wifi efforts too. When the government controls the pipes, what sites do they block?

Kind of redefines..

[mike2R]

Bulletproof hosting..

American ISPs operate in a warzone

[Anonymous Coward]

A war on freedom.

Now

[kryten_nl]

Now that's running Linux in sandbox mode.

Re:Now

[MrHeartbreak]

SandBAG mode, more like.

Multiple mortar attacks? Big deal.

[Overzeetop]

If they can survive putting an 80MB video file on the front page of /., well, lets just say I'll be far more impressed.

Re:Multiple mortar attacks? Big deal.

[b0wl0fud0n]

The file is not on his main web server. His website is still running using the Mambo CMS.

Re:Multiple mortar attacks? Big deal.

[Anonymous Coward]

they have just 350 subscribers...lots of bw left over to host a 80mb file for /.

Re:Multiple mortar attacks? Big deal.

[alta]

Well, it's been up for an hour and it's downloading at 117KB/secon my t1... I'm impressed ;)

Re:Multiple mortar attacks? Big deal.

[Some Bitch]

Joomla actually.

Re:Multiple mortar attacks? Big deal.

[Anonymous Coward]

15:50:52 (2.36 MB/s) - `notacon06_hajjinet.mp4' saved [85070922/85070922]

Stop The Insurgency: +1, Patriotic

[Anonymous Coward]

Call your senator and demand the arrest, trial, conviction, and
sentencing of Al-Qaeda.

Thank you for support.

Have a war_free day,
Kilgore Trout, M.D.

Linux?

[Squalid05]

Linux...easy.. The hard task is doing that with Windows.

Re:Linux?

[ToxicBanjo]

Linux...easy.. The hard task is doing that with Windows.

"M$ Mortar-Shield" was to be a feature of Vista... but subsequent "code restructuring" required the proposed XP Firewall add-on to be dropped. ;)

Re:Linux?

[einhverfr]

Nah, the morter attacks have a tendency to blow out nearby Windows(TM).

All I can say is...

[Billosaur]

It has also survived multiple mortar attacks, and is built entirely on Linux.

Is there anything Linux can't do?

Re:All I can say is...

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there anything Linux can't do?

Yes, getting you a girlfriend while under mortar attack :P

Re:All I can say is...

[rootofevil]

Gain consumer acceptance.

Be relevant to joe sixpack.

Not intended to be a troll.

Re:All I can say is...

[labalicious]

... get you a girlfriend or laid for that matter.. ;P

It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

It's about time that TCP/IP was tested in the conditions it was designed for.

Seriously, other that to act as a recruiting tool for the U.S. Army, what's the news here? All-Linux mom-and-pop size ISPs have been the norm, I think, as far back as 1994 or so.

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[Anonymous Coward]

All-Linux mom-and-pop size ISPs have been the norm, I think, as far back as 1994 or so.

Any references?

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[eln]

I don't know what ISPs you've worked for, but most of the places I've worked for weren't getting hit by mortar rounds while I was trying to manage the servers. I mean, I know ISP jobs are stressful anyway, but I would think that sort of thing might ratchet the stress level up just a little bit.

I don't think the interesting thing here is that he's running Linux necessarily, but rather that they can keep an ISP going at all in that sort of environment. Of course, I'd be running Linux in that situation too, as anything that could keep me from having to come into work to babysit the servers while the bombs are flying would be a positive.

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[xxxJonBoyxxx]

I didn't say any were still in business, but in 1994 I had a couple of subscribers to my all-Linux ISP as did five or six other kids who were in or near my class.

Between 1994 and 1996 I worked with at least four slightly larger start-ups (one in the back of a bakery) who also fit the all-Linux mom-and-pop bill.

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[everphilski]

www.netwurx.net
www.nconnect.net
www.theramp.net

All linux based (Started out as) mom-and-pop ISP's from the midwest, although they have grown. All started in the 95-96 timeframe.

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[Narc]

Yes, because open source stops shrapnel!

Linux has bollocks all to do with the stability with regards to mortar fire. It's the fact that all the hardware hasn't been blown to shreds yet!

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[dknj]

Aw working in IRAQ isn't that bad. at least you take in $80k tax free (about the same as making $125k w/ taxes assuming single male, no deductions, getting fucked by uncle sam)

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[CagedBear]

Ummmm, yea. The topic is about an active duty Sergeant, not an overpaid consultant, setting up an ISP. I've never been in the military, but a quick search produced a chart showing his salary to be somewhere in the neighborhood of $25,000 a year, not "$80k tax free".

http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/pay/bl 06enlbasepay.htm

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[multipartmixed]

Do American troops not get "overseas pay" and "danger pay"?

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[moochfish]

You're right, where's the news here? I mean the McDonalds down the street from me gets hit by mortars all the time and they keep serving cheese burgers without skipping a beat too.

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[fobitt]

Well as soon as we get the last few scripts ready for time travel I'll go back to the first Gulf War and set one up. Then will you be happy?

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[fobitt]

Ouch, I wish it were true. Contractors make a good deal of change, but as for soldiers we're definitely not doing it for the money. I've been in for 8 years, work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week and clear about $4,000 a month. Not bad, works out to roughly $12 an hour.

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[KFK2]

Oh they do, But they also don't have to pay federal income tax for any month in which they spent a day or more of in the "war zone" or however it goes.. I do believe it's limited though. Really is a nice bonus.. besides, what's the point of federal taxes when you have a federal job?

Re:It's about time that TCP/IP was tested...

[Mistah Blue]

A SGT in the US Army does NOT make $80K USD / yr. I don't know what you've been smoking, but better try something different.

Lol, runs on Linux

[Pinefresh]

but you have to DL quicktime for windows to watch the video

Re:Lol, runs on Linux

[OmegaBlac]

I realize parent was modded funny, but mplayer (with up to date codecs) will play the video just fine. VLC on my Debian box can play it somewhat with audio intact, but the video is fuzzy.

Re:Lol, runs on Linux

[evilviper]

This video, and just quicktime is general, is pure H.264 video, with AAC audio, in an MP4 container. 100% standards compliant. Any decent video player should handle it.

It's actually quite nice that one of the 3 big commercial multimedia programs uses 100% non-propritary codecs.

Real has always been propritary, and even though they opened up their player, they've kept the codecs locked-up under strict click-through EULAs.

WMV3 (aka WMV9/VC-1) is going to be an SMTPE standard now, but that doesn't make the asf (aka wmv/wma) file format open, nor the audio codecs.

Re:Lol, runs on Linux

[Prof.Phreak]

Hmm... even 64bit Linux?

The point grandparent was making is that QuickTime isn't an open format.

Re:Lol, runs on Linux

[Halo1]

QuickTime is open, but the codecs people use to encode the content they put in a QuickTime container aren't necessarily. That said, at least VLC (and probably mplayer too) can perfectly play H.264 video and AAC audio without the need for any binary codecs.

Overated

[Eol1]

"right now I am currently serving in Iraq where I run IT operations for a small chunk of the Sunni triangle. One of the major projects that we have accomplished here is setting up an ISP that supports 350 subscribers. It has also survived multiple mortar attacks,"

Wah. Dude there are like 8 wireless providers on BIAP alone, 4 in the IZ. You can get sat from a variety of providers and wireless in Iraq is easy as hell. Survive morters attack my ass. The bases get mortered everyday. Unless you are telling me your NOC got a direct hit (which I highly doubt as I have worked in here for 2 years now and read the daily attack reports) ANY wireless network (or hell, wired) can survive Iraq. Quit talking yourself up like you are something special so you can increase your value when you leave the service.

Hell I can say "I have built a nationwide microwave backbone (centered on signal hill) to feed a variety of sensors (real time video) to the user (soldier) that has survived rockets, morters, small arms, and hell, even blimps falling from the sky". Give me a break, Iraq isn't that bad garrison and you know it. I have a better chance of a backhoe in american taking out my backbone than a fucking mortar. I hate people that talk themself up.

Also you aren't building jack and you know it. All the SECNET11 stuff you aren't briefing in an open forum, NIPR isn't allowed wireless (if you are building a wireless NIPR network, you are in direct violation of AR25-2 regardless of what you command thinks .. you need a 1 star DAA to overrule this, not some captain or LTC), and all the commerical wireless is contract or civilian built. If you built one of the many adhoc wireless network I sniff on a regular basis, bet I have already cracked your WEP key. Only one WEP key I don't have yet and its some local Iraqi ran network. Not you. Fucking showboats.

Re:Overated

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell I can say "I have built a nationwide microwave backbone (centered on signal hill) to feed a variety of sensors (real time video) to the user (soldier) that has survived rockets, morters, small arms, and hell, even blimps falling from the sky". Give me a break, Iraq isn't that bad garrison and you know it. I have a better chance of a backhoe in american taking out my backbone than a fucking mortar. I hate people that talk themself up.

You're just bitter because:

1. You didn't showboat before he did
2. You have a small penis and are overly defensive

Seriously, nobody made you watch this.

Re:Overated

[marauder079]

Spoken like someone who has never beeen there!

Re:Overated

[fobitt]

Yes you could say that you have built a nationwide microwave backbone, and you did. Congratulations. Also there is a world of difference between Baghdad and Habbaniyah. Take a convoy between here and there sometime. And no, none of the work I do on SIPR or NIPR will ever get talked about. That is what I am paid to do. This is a side project so we can all check our email. All of us. Not just the people lucky enough to have an office, or the time to hang out at BIAP all day cracking WEP keys. Good job flexing your l33t haxor skills on a few poorly defended APs, and invading other people's privacy.

Re:Overated

[Eol1]

"take a convoy to Habbaniyah"

Been there, done that a couple months ago and been to places even smaller, more obscure, and more dangerous (and yes I either helo or ground convoy once a week to a variety of places all over the country ... just centerd out of BIAP). After all, command wants sensors in interesting places. You know damn well building a wireless network on Habbaniyah is no more difficult that building it in any place in America. Tell me, has your uplink or NOC survived a direct mortar hit yet as you seem to imply (surviving rocket attacks and all. You are trying to pass yourself off as some hot shit kid for when you get out but you are not doing anything fancy and defintely doing shit lower speed that the true professional IT folk in Iraq rebuilding the data infrastructure for both the civilian gov, MNF-I, and the commericial providers. Your a fucking poser and it annoys me. As bad as some REMF trying to pass himself off as a secret squirrel to his friends back home.

Bombproof Linux

[Garridan]

See. If he hadn't been running Linux, I don't think he'd have uptime through those mortar attacks. Windows just can't handle that kind of abuse. I think that's an oft-forgotten selling point of Linux that should be cited more often.

Yeah, your OS has cool graphics. But how does it stand up against a mortar attack?

They get nasty DDoS attacks...

[b1t r0t]

Distributed Dispersal of Shrapnel, that is.

They also have to watch out for TCP/IP packets that arrive out of ordnance.

Re:They get nasty DDoS attacks...

[tmasssey]

Do I smell a new RFC coming? IP over Ordinance? Certainly faster than IP over Avian Carrier, even if it *does* have QoS...

Re:They get nasty DDoS attacks...

[KnightStalker]

Talk about your malicious packets. Coming soon: New SandBag(tm) Firewall...

Told you!

[Weaselmancer]

Linux really is a bulletproof OS!

Re:Told you!

[todd10k]

Ohh snap, funniest comment of the last few days. Mod up.

Ping Statistics

[kaoshin]

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, KIA = 0 (0% KIA)

Re:Ping Statistics

[Odiumjunkie]

TTL = ~13 minutes

Re:Ping Statistics

[carlosm3011]

More appropiately, they should appear as KIT (killed in transit) :-)

Re:Ping Statistics

[Tribbin]

Ouch, TTL drop.

So, what about a Mac?

[www.sorehands.com]

When the a Mac in the war zone they have a display an small IED (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_explosive _device ) on the screen?

But Windows systems are good in a war zone, a soldier can easily use the BSOD function.

Re:So, what about a Mac?

[Anonymous Coward]

When the a Mac in the war zone they have a display an small IED [...]

Let me guess. You really are a Mac user, right?

Mario, Luigi, and others

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought Mario and company will finally get Internet service when they go to the Warp Zone.

IT + NRA

[jbeaupre]

I wonder if anyone has tried that for real. Some sort of multiple server system up and running when someone puts a bullet through one without the system missing a beat. Now that's a video that would get some attention, both for the insanity and technical merit.

Re:IT + NRA

[idontgno]

Some sort of multiple server system up and running when someone puts a bullet through one without the system missing a beat.

Would a storage (disk array) subsystem do? Here you go.

Re:IT + NRA

[joib]

I wonder if anyone has tried that for real. Some sort of multiple server system up and running when someone puts a bullet through one without the system missing a beat. Now that's a video that would get some attention, both for the insanity and technical merit.


Funny you should say that. HP just did it with their high end storage array. See here.

Re:IT + NRA

[Lando]

Hmmmm,
        I can understand that the video might be entertaining, however, since they picked the spot to shoot at, nothing is really said about the reliability of the system. On the other hand, I have seen IBM machines shot, electricuted and other "accidents" in the field that kept running.

However, the cost for IBM equipment is also more expensive than just buying multiple generic systems and running them out of different data sections... so funny clip, but not really impressive.

Lando

PS, also the techs in the clip chose where to shoot the dang thing right?

PSS, I am anti-HP nowdays since they are no longer an engineering company.

Re:IT + NRA

[RedLaggedTeut]

Welcome to the states and a video that is 1/3rd a disclaimer

So many choices to troll on...

[Gothmolly]

Lets see, there's the Linux angle, with optional (anti)piracy garnish.
Then there's the Iraq angle.
Then there's the "we should be feeding people before we bother to set up ISPs in the 3rd world angle".

Gosh.

S/N ratio dropping to zero in 10...9....8....7....

Re:So many choices to troll on...

[Anonymous Coward]

...6...

Re:So many choices to troll on...

[multipartmixed]

An ISP and an internet cafe is all a third-world country needs to feed itself.

Hello! My name is Muhamed! My father was the chief boot licker to his excellency of filth, Sadam Hussein. While he was licking his boots, he stole many dinars from his pantleg cuff, and hid them in our house. Now, we have a basement filled with ONE BILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS, but have nowhere to spend them!

Please be to you, kind sir, send some hookers, and you will receive 25% of my ONE BILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS as your fee! Also, please make sure the hookers are not wearing socks!

Thank you and God Bless!

Re:So many choices to troll on...

[killjoe]

Iraqis were starving but mostly that was due to the sanctions imposed on them. Before the sanctions it was a fairly well off population living under a secular socialist dictatorship.

The sanctions did cause immense suffering mainly because they were implemented after Bush the elder destroyed a lot of infrasture like water treatment plants, factories, roads, bridges, electrical generation facilites etc. The UN estimated that more then a million people died as a consequence including hundreds of thousands of children.

Having said that I for one am greateful there is an ISP in iraq. The voices of the iraqis would not be heard otherwise. I have learned so much from reading the iraqi bloggers. I would reccomend everybody else seek out the read them too. Your news outlets are not giving the real story (if you live in the US).

Sheesh

[Anonymous Coward]

Talk about a Denial of Service attack.

'Linux under mortar'

[unity100]

Talk about proving an o/s ! Now Linux needs to be tested under Mars conditions only.

Re:'Linux under mortar'

[maGiC_RS]

Isn't it running on those rovers that drive around Mars and take photos?

Re:'Linux under mortar'

[Anonymous Coward]

No, its VxWorks. See link here: (http://www.windriver.com/portal/server.pt?space=O pener&control=OpenObject&cached=true&in_hi_ClassID =512&in_hi_OpenerMode=2&in_hi_ObjectID=371)

I wonder what else is blocked.

[Valdrax]

"And that's great, except some of the grey-list sites are kind of blocked so basically you can't get porn off it, among other things."

I wonder how good their access to news is considering that 85% of our troops think that their role in Iraq is to retaliate against Saddam for his role in 9-11. There seems to be a disconnect between what the troops believe and what the President has publicly stated before and after the war started.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, considering they can still email and phone home as well as hit the major news websites, I'd say the troops are at least as well as informed as those of us at home. As for your polls re: retaliating for 9/11, it's not as black and white as you make it out to be. If you're saying that it's a direct cause and effect situation, I'd agree that it's a little shaky. If you're asking the troops whether they think that stabilizing the mideast after 9/11 is a worthy cause, they I can see how many would agree with that.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[gad_zuki!]

Dick Cheney was on TV not too long ago defending the Saddam-9/11 connection to some reporter.

I guess 9/11 revenge feels better than say strategic geopolitical and regional dominance for future energy concerns, err I mean "saddam has WMDs and will give them to terrorists. We don't want to wait for the mushroom cloud."

So, has OJ found the real killer yet?

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[stupidfoo]

"The poll, conducted in conjunction with Le Moyne College's Center for Peace and Global Studies"

I'm sure we'd all give the same credence to a study done by Fox News and PNAC.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[DerekLyons]

I wonder how good their access to news is considering that 85% of our troops think that their role in Iraq is to retaliate against Saddam for his role in 9-11. There seems to be a disconnect between what the troops believe and what the President has publicly stated before and after the war started.

It's unsurprising that a large proportion of the troops think that - when nearly as large a percentage of the general population believes the same thing!

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Jeremi]

I wonder how good their access to news is considering that 85% of our troops think that their role in Iraq is to retaliate against Saddam for his role in 9-11.

Well, isn't that true? Just because it turns out that Saddam had nothing to do with 9-11 doesn't mean it's not our reason for being there.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[squidguy]

Access to media outlets is not generally blocked -- I can't think of a single site that is, unless it includes pr0n. The only exception may be some of the European rags that included the so-called "page 3 girls" nudie pix. And those used to be up...may still be now.

Here's an idea for those naysayers who are using this article for political grandstanding (pro or con) -- join the military and discover for yourself what is blocked or not.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

There is no way I would join the military until they let you decide which military action you want to be involved in and which you oppose. I would have opposed the illegal invasion of Iraq and chosen not to go. In the military this would have been called "disobeying orders", since they don't give their troops the freedom of choice that is a basic human right.

When the military is more democratically run, they might stand a chance of getting useful recruits.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

Speaking as someone who did their year in Iraq (Nov 03-04) and has since ETS-ed, the only non-porn sites I noticed being blocked were some video game sites. This site was accessible, for example, and at one point while looking up information on ETS-related ARs I came across the website for one of those organizations dedicated to helping soldiers get early discharges or conscientous objector status, and it wasn't blocked. However, I can't claim to have made any sort of thorough investigation since I found the info available via the Early Bird (http://ebird.afis.mil/), which is basically a geo-politically focused press clipping service run by the DoD. That and poking around seeing what I could get access to in the NGIC (National Ground Intelligence Center) website on SIPRnet. Oh, and I know that Al-Jazeera's website was accessible.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

Bullshit stats man. PLEASE take the hate somewhere else.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Hydrophobia]

I have 200,000 buddies who aren't useless in the slightest and I rely on them every day to do their job effectively and without complaint, the military is full of amazing hard working people a great many of them are very mindful patriots as well, a great many of them disagree with the war, but they go anyway, why? Because they love their country, and could care less about the stupid partisan politics that the people of this country refuse to involve themselves in other than cursory complaining.

Their is a democracy, but the people refuse to vote there, the people refuse to involve themselves in their countries politics, so tell me, who's fault is it, me and my 200,000 buddies all working our asses off to better our country in at least some way, or you, mocking my friends and my fellow men/women at arms?

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[billcopc]

If the government of the United States of America had any inkling of wisdom in global politics, they would have changed their name to the United States of Planet Earth. As it stands, for every small step forward, the Bush administration makes a huge leap backward. The only good thing about it, is the value of the US dollar is steadily dropping. Maybe one day India will outsource to the USA once the west is turned into a third-world country from its misdeeds.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Slider451]

It's called "the service" for a reason. If you can't count on the guy next to you when the going gets tough, or unpopular, you might as well stay home. Glad our soldiers don't have to worry about you watching their backs.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[monoqlith]

Hmmm...yes, I can see how they might agree with that, just as 30% of Americans still agree with Bush even though he's reframed the Iraq argument four times: from "Saddam has WMD" to "Saddam has links with terrorists" to "Saddam has committed crimes against humanity" to "We want to redraw the map of the middle east and spread democracy." Ironically it is the last one that has been the most true for the most time, and the fact that the administration couldn't tell us the true reason in the first place indicates that the administration knows the majority of the American public that didn't vote for him in 2000 couldn't tolerate such insane messianic posturing. The problem with the idea that we are stabilizing the Middle East post-9/11 is that, well, we are not stabilizing the MIddle East, we are de-stabilizing Iraq, and with that the rest of the Middle East. Thinking that invading a country can somehow stabilize that country or its surroundings is foolhardy. "Regime change" annihilates order - you have to pick up the pieces quickly and re-assert order in a competent and logical fashion after you perform regime change, or you risk a long period of chaos, as we are seeing with Iraq. Moreover, who said the MIddle East was somehow de-stabilized by 9/11? Our efforts should be directed at Iran. So, the idea that there is literally *any* connection between Saddam and Al Qaeda has always been patently, 100% false, and that most of our troops appear to believe that one exists is very curious(while I don't know about the integrity of the poll in the parent post).

And now there are talks of military action against Iran and weapons tests involving plans for tactical nuclear weapons to use in such a military action - a three-war president? That is unprecedented, and for good reason.

You can't spread democracy at the barrel of a gun. Freedom is not freedom if it is imposed on people by force.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[monoqlith]

Correction: I meant that our efforts should be directed against Afghanistan and finding Osama bin Laden.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Slider451]

Well said. Wish I had mod points for you.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm 100% against the war, and 100% agree with your post. Nicely put, man. All these pseudo-liberal, pseudo-intellectual democrat douchebags need to stop talking out their ass and realize that to some, certain things extend beyond rooting for their as-corrupt-as-the-republicans team. When you're fighting out there, you're not fighting for an ideal or a flag, you're fighting first and foremost for your buddies next to you. There's a reason Smedly Butler is popular reading in the Marines: he spells it out for you. You may not have realized it before you signed up, but you're a glorified corporate security guard. You're fighting to ensure the stability of a source of economic gain to companies with defense contracts. Well, now that you realize it, fight for your brother next to you, because otherwise you'll both die. War may be a racket, but that doesn't mean the soldiers fighting it are racketeers.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[eaddict]

Just because it turns out that Saddam had nothing to do with 9-11 doesn't mean it's not our reason for being there.

So why are we there? The human siutation in Africa was/is worse. N Korea SAYS it has nukes. Why did we go? What was the good enough reason for causing all the death and destruction?

Maybe you have some insight most people don't.... care to share?

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Jeremi]

So why are we there? [...] Maybe you have some insight most people don't.... care to share?

I guess I didn't make myself clear enough in my previous post. To clarify: At one point or another, a large enough portion of Congress believed that Saddam colluded with Al-Qaeda in the planning and execution of 9-11, and a large enough portion of the American public believed the same, to allow the Bush Administration to go to war. Perhaps the Bush Administration also believed it, or perhaps they merely propagated the idea because it helped them achieve their goals. In any case, the "terrorist connections" meme, along with the "Saddam has WMDs" meme, are what convinced the USA to go to war with Iraq. Both ideas were false, of course, but nonetheless that's how we got there.

Note that I'm not at all trying to justify the invasion: I think it was a self-defeating fiasco at best, and a war crime at worst. I'm just saying that our reasons may be invalid but they are nevertheless the reasons we gave; and perhaps that is what the soldiers meant.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

I have 200,000 buddies who aren't useless in the slightest and I rely on them every day to do their job effectively and without complaint, the military is full of amazing hard working people a great many of them are very mindful patriots as well, a great many of them disagree with the war, but they go anyway, why? Because they love their country, and could care less about the stupid partisan politics that the people of this country refuse to involve themselves in other than cursory complaining.

If they disagree with the war, then they shouldn't be participating in it. "Love for your country" should not blind you to moral questions of what is right and wrong, otherwise you end up with war crimes, atrocities, and illegal invasions of nations on false pretences.

Questions of whether something are morally right or wrong are not "stupid partisan politics". If you don't stop and question whether what you are told to do is justified, then you really are just an automaton.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

All these pseudo-liberal, pseudo-intellectual democrat douchebags need to stop talking out their ass and realize that to some, certain things extend beyond rooting for their as-corrupt-as-the-republicans team.

There is no way I would ever support a party as conservative as the Democrats.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's called "the service" for a reason. If you can't count on the guy next to you when the going gets tough, or unpopular, you might as well stay home.

There is a difference between "unpopular" and "immoral".

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[metallic]

When the military is more democratically run, they might stand a chance of getting useful recruits.

Well, the problem is that democracy just doesn't work when you are being shot at. If you stop to try to form a group consensus, odds are you will be dead.

Re:I wonder what else is blocked.

[Slider451]

You're welcome to your opinion, even as a soldier. And, as a soldier, you still have the right to express that opinion at the ballot box. What you don't have a right to do is betray the oath you took because you don't like the orders you've been given. Oaths still mean something, especially to members of the military.

In the end, you always have a choice. The Army can't take away your freewill (cue Rush, the band). You can desert. Just be prepared to face the consequences. Again, I'm glad you chose not to enlist in the first place. You did your fellow soldiers a favor.

All things aside . . .

[Badgerman]

It's just very, very neat to see how people do technical work like this in adverse situations.

I'm passing this one on to my branch's VP of disaster planning. He's very cool, and likes to have a little "extra" to hit people over the head about good planning.

MORTAR COMBAT!!

[Anonymous Coward]

The subject line says it all...

Captured Packets?

[slashbob22]

KIA packets are fine, you know they are dead. You have to watch out for those MIA (Missing in Action) packets. I would imagine that your enemy is trying to capture as many as possible and then interrogate them to get some useful information.

Re:Captured Packets?

[Lucractius]

turn in the geek card... your sig is wrong ...

farnsworth is the proffessor... your quote comes from the leader of the floating brains !

Re:Captured Packets?

[RockWolf]

Must be using EtherReal with the new 805.9 Human extension. It seems to be buggy, though; there are no unique addressing identifiers.

Re:Captured Packets?

[Elitist_Phoenix]

I think you need to activate kernel filtering and recompile!

Pshaw. That's easy.

[Peldor]

Anybody can survive a mortar attack.

Let's see them survive a mortar hit.

i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[Anonymous Coward]

I was stationed at Camp Taqaddum for about 10 months in 2005. The MWR internet center was across camp a few miles so I decided to set up my own satellite based connection. Peak usage was about 80 soldiers and marines, fed off of multiple wireless APs.

The ability to be in constant communication with family while we were not out on missions (we did security patrols of our Area of Operation) was a great boost to morale. Web cams and email meant you could see and talk to the people that mattered most to you.

We sold the operation to another unit just before we left, and there were 3 other systems I helped set up in our area serving other groups.

To the current soldiers, marines, and others at Camp Taqaddum: Give 'em Hell and keep your buddyies safe!

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[traveller604]

To the people of Iraq who are being violated by the americans and brittons and other war mongers. Give 'em HELL and keep safe!

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[Anonymous Coward]

lock and load, come get some!

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[fobitt]

Yes I have nothing better to do with my life than take a year long time out to violate the people of Iraq... If you want to talk about violation, let's be honest and talk about what Saddam's troops were doing to the Iraqi people before we got here. I am unsure how you perform the mental gymnastics it will take to equate the two, but I am sure you will find a way.

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[Anonymous Coward]

I think his point is "Why are we over there in the first place?"

Also, when did it become the role of the U.S. to liberate all people subject to an "evil dictator/terrorist(tm)?"

Honestly, how did we go from Afghanistan to IRAQ and soon to IRAN?

What did we accomplish? And please don't state that we removed "Saddam from POWAH!." That's not what we initally set out to do.

Very simple question ... why?

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[Anonymous Coward]

I was stationed at Camp Taqaddum for about 10 months in 2005

Heh. That's pretty funny. I ran a network near TQ for about 7 months in 2005/2006 and some whiny "information assurance" civilian contractor bitches came in and ordered us to shut off our wireless network. We asked why, and the obnoxious jerk said it was because another privately run wireless network in TQ was causing problems. So it was your fault. :-)

We ended up stringing CAT5 all over the place and were up & running again a few weeks later. At our peak we had about 300 people paying in $20/month to fund our dedicated satellite bandwidth. Sickeningly expensive ... roughly $4K/month per megabit on the downlink. But worth every penny.

I too used a Linux based firewall / web proxy / captive portal. Worked beautifully.

We sold the operation to another unit just before we left, and there were 3 other systems I helped set up in our area serving other groups.

:-) I also sold our system to some pilots there for a yearlong tour. Did the same with the system we ran in Afghanistan the year before.

As you said, it's a tremendous morale boost. The free internet cafes universally suck. Better than nothing ... barely. Crappy machines, long lines (usually >1 hr), short time limits (usually 30 min), atrocious speeds (at times it was impossible to get more than 2-3 emails to load in Yahoo Mail in a 30 minute session), poorly implemented content filters. There's a lot to be said for being able to chip in a few $ to a private network and get an ethernet drop to your bunk.

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[petermgreen]

i see 3 main possibilities

1: they decided the needed to finish the job sometime and this gave them a perfect excuse.

2: they actually belived the wmd stuff

3: oil.

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[Circus Cyaneus]

Just wanted to say thank you for your service. It is amazing that this technology is available now. When my brother was in Gulf War 1, it took three or four months for us to get his first paper letter. And his ship didn't have any email.

Re:i also ran an ISP in the sunni triangle

[traveller604]

Yes let's think what killed more people. Saddam in power for a very long time or US and other war criminals playing war games for a few years.

Re:Pshaw. That's easy.

[Aqua_boy17]

Let's see them survive a /.ing. THEN I'll be impressed.

But can it survive a ....

[mikael]

It has also survived multiple mortar attacks,

But more importantly, can it survive a slashdotting?

Additional Mirrors

[c0nman]

Here are a few mirrors to use up. I'll probably bring them down after a few TB of transfer...

New Jersey
http://www.def-con.org/~nocfed/downloads/notacon06 _hajjinet.mp4

Texas
http://www2.def-con.org/~nocfed/downloads/notacon0 6_hajjinet.mp4

Re:Additional Mirrors

[Jeff Nelson]

how helpful, nf.

now get back to work...

hehe

Re:Additional Mirrors

[c0nman]

NEVER!

Hell, I still have a few hours until my shift starts anyways. ABUSE MY BANDWIDTH!

survival...

[mengu]

It has also survived multiple mortar attacks

Are they using HP Storageworks maybe?

http://h71028.www7.hp.com/ERC/cache/49205-0-0-225- 121.aspx?bodycontentparams=320065-0-0-0-121&ERL=tr ue

BSOD

[Anonymous Coward]

This certainly gives "Blue Screen of Death" a whole new meaning.

Sounds more like a Lunix/Windows user

[Anonymous Coward]

Apple's customers are like no others--a rich blend of the most sociologically elite with those seeking elegant, simple computing... Unlike users of Intel/Windows computers, a significant portion of Apple's users are active , exploratory , avant-garde and early adopters . The activities they enjoy are unique in the way that they more often incorporate rich media such as video and music as well as more active prosumer behavior than many more passive Windows [and Linux] users.

-- MetaFacts, Inc.

With above-average household income and education levels, the Mac population [is] very attractive [ intellectually as well as physically .]

-- Nielsen/NetRatings (as quoted by C|NET)

Some name...

[Perseid]

NOTACON? Sounds like an ISP funded by Nixon.

Re:Some name...

[Anonymous Coward]

Except, in reality, NOTACON isn't an ISP at all, but is a technology conference - something which would have been plainly obvious had you clicked on the damn link.

Re:Some name...

[Perseid]

Yes, but the thing is, Mr. AC, if I'm whoring for a +5 funny, I don't need to click the "damn link".

well if linux is involved

[Anonymous Coward]

maybe this IS a just war.

sounds like an IBM accountant during WWII: "but look how fast it counts them!"

Another mirror

[stefanb]

since the one in the summary has stopped working already...
http://www.lassitu.de/notacon06_hajjinet.mp4

The futileness of censorship

[gravesb]

So a Soldier in Iraq avoided hostile fire, an extremely ineffective logistics system, a broken mail system, US Army censorship, and demands on his time from his day job to set up a computer system that allows him information that he couldn't get elsewhere. That goes to show the initiative of the NCO in our Army today, as well as how pointless it is to censor information. **AA should figure that out. I know the Army is trying to deal with blogs leaking information, and they have a lot more power over their people than the **AA does over its "customers." (Although I am sure the **AA is jealous of the entire Gitmo thing.)

Re:The futileness of censorship

[stmr]

Great emotional post. Certainly brought a tear to my eye.

so what?

[Geekboy(Wizard)]

computers don't care if bullets are fired near it. and if bullets were fired at it, then it wouldn't matter what OS it was running.

Priorities

[SuperBanana]

SGT Coughanour, David A (HHC 1-110th Infantry US Army) speech on NOTACON 3: "Right now I am currently serving in Iraq where I run IT operations for a small chunk of the Sunni triangle. One of the major projects that we have accomplished here is setting up an ISP that supports 350 subscribers.

"Major projects"?

So the general Iraqi population doesn't have security, hospitals, reliable power or water....

...but thanks to the Army, 350 people have internet access?

Re:Priorities

[c6gunner]

Yeah because it's obvious that he was speaking about the entire effort in Iraq instead of just himself and a handful of guys.

Do you LIKE being a twat?

Re:Priorities

[jag7720]

Get over it...

Re:Priorities

[weedrk]

Our troops do try to help where they can w/ water, power and food. Sadly, the insurgents destroy most of their and the Iraqi governments efforts. As far as this guy setting up an ISP for his soldiers to stay in touch with their families and keep up with current events, I say more power to him. As far as you saying "So what" to his efforts, then I feel sorry for you. Unless you have been over there, then I think you have not the slightest clue about what you are speaking. Try not to belittle our troops, please. They did not choose to go to Iraq and they may or may not believe in the war itself, but I think it shows alot of ingenuity that they can set up a network that can stay up in those harsh conditions. Also, since I am in the military and I know firsthand what these brave soldiers are going through, I feel compelled to let you know that I think you are a complete F-tard. Stop parroting whatever hollywood and the news media crap out onto you tv. If you think that the U.S. military isn't bending over backwards to help these people, then you need to either join up and help or get a plane ticket and head on over. Obviously you know how best to change the situation over there for the better, you loudmouthed jerk.

Re:Priorities

[DigiShaman]

Dude, this guy specializes in networking, NOT power and water engineering. So regardless of whether or not these people lack security, hospitals, power, and water...he can't do squat about it. He CAN however apply his skill set to getting a network up and running.

Re:Priorities

[Mistah Blue]

I couldn't have said it better myself. I'm a veteran myself. Keep your six cleared.

Yes, it works..

[LuisAnaya]

I IM chat with one of my high school buddies that is serving in Iraq. They get about 1/2 an hour of computer use to email friends and family. My friend logs in and checks the class bulletin board and chats with whomever is online. So far, it has worked. One thing he noticed was the he was not able to run some chat java applets. Other than that, it works well and at least I'm happy to know that he's still well.

MOD PARENT INTERESTING

[Anonymous Coward]

This was a cool video! Mod it up!

Mortar attacks

[Anonymous Coward]

Gives a new meaning to the term "The Server Crashed"

Re: Not true

[Anonymous Coward]

As someone who was over there I really wonder where zorby.com got their info. 85% think we are there to retaliate against Saddam; nope. I'ld have to say that 85% percent believed we were there for the oil (granted this was at the beginning of the war, immediately after the WMD fiasco). I'ld even say that 15% still believe that we are there for WMD. But noone I know thought it was ever about Saddam and a link to 9/11.

Quotes

[J05H]

Sgt. Coughaner was quoted afterward, "We survived the Sunni Triangle, but got 0WN3D by Slashdot!"

Computers need the electrical grid to work.

[FatSean]

Last I heard, only about 25% of the population has power at any given time. Try fixing that first, before you start bragging about an ISP.

Re:Computers need the electrical grid to work.

[thryllkill]

Yeah, you know, cause the guy who is trained to set up and administrate ISP level networks also has a job designing and implementing power grids. He's kind of a "do all" dude. That's what makes the army so cool.

Re:Computers need the electrical grid to work.

[timeOday]

Speaking of which, does anybody think "Army of One" is a strange slogan for the Army? You join the Army to be a cog in a big machine, not to imitate Rambo. Or maybe they mean the opposite - that all the soldiers effectively fuse into a unified fighting force?

Re:Computers need the electrical grid to work.

[Slider451]

It's actually an "Army of small teams", since most work is done at the squad (12) and team (4-6) level. But "The Few, The Proud" was taken.

I propose a new slogan, particularly for IT workers in the Army:
"It's Like Office Space, With Guns"

Mod Parent UP!!! Open Source to the Rescue!

[Anonymous Coward]

Parent makes a valid point.

I don't think you CAN do this with windows! To have all the functions that a rag-tag ISP needs, DNS, REG-AUTH, WWW, GW, DHCP, PROXY, FIREWALL, BACKUP's & secondary services..... (and those services I've forgot), ALL running on minimal HARDWARE INFRASTRUCTURE.. Equate his 'Gateway' PC to run running Windows Server 2K/2K3 and software for ALL those services, and see if it holds up performance wise (P4, 2G ram, 170 user online max ??). Sorry, Windows on that machine w/ the matching software for services WOULD NOT be able to handle its role.

The security aspect of running it all on windows is a whole different can o' worms .....

I'd like someone to point to an ISP operation 'like that in TFA', that runs solely on windows. Any ISP worth a grain of salt has *nix spread where critical infrastructure is required!!!!

/former ISP employee

Brings a whole new meaning...

[tobiasly]

...to the term DMZ.

Tachyon!

[pointbeing]

I work for an agency under DoD. We've deployed several Tachyon systems in southwest Asia. Tachyon is a satellite solution with one fixed option and two mobile options. We had problems in the beginning with regular T1 lines being cut by insurgents or vehicles - and it takes weeks to get a new line run that we decided to go satellite.

The coolest system of the three that Tachyon offers is the 'Auto-Deploy CAS' system, where you just plug it in, push a button and the thing finds the satellite on it's own.

A bit spendy, but we've found them to be the most reliable solution for broadband communications.

Very Informative

[jag7720]

That guy is going to get a great job when he ETSs.

That was a great presentation and gave me a lot of great ideas.

Re:IT + NRA + Legalese

[Ajehals]

I Like the riders in the video:

"The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty..."

and

"HP shall not be liable for any damages... lost profits, business interruption ... personal injury .. if you perform a similar test"

So anyone out there (especially in the states where you are allowed to arm yourselves to defend against rogue HP Disk Arrays and such like) thinking this would be a good idea should think again. And remember, to completely erase data on a HP disk array you will have to use something more efficient than .308, I suggest a B61 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B61_nuclear_bomb) although Im not sure if your right to arms extends to these....

Re:Linux immune to mortar attack! - to be patched

[ChaseTec]

This is actually a bug, Linus will release a patch in a day to correctly explode in a motar attack.

And which software do you use...

[Expert Determination]

...to ensure that the users can only visit right wing pro-war web sites? Or is that part of the operation handled further upstream?

Re:And which software do you use...

[fobitt]

Wouldn't that be a huge waste of time. Everyone over here signed up for it and went willingly. Despite Kerry's fear mongering statements, there is no draft. If a soldier is politically minded, 9 times out of 10 you can guess which side they are on. More importantly, its not the role of a soldier to agree or disagree. That choice is made when you decide to enlist. Under Clinton, I did my job. Under Bush, I am still doing my job. Also it is incredibly insulting to have you imply that I am depriving other soldiers of access to a free press, when you have absolutely nothing to back that statement up with. On NIPR and MWR networks, the DoD blocks the same things that most companies and schools do for the same reasons. Please, remove your tin foil hat. There are enough issues that a real to worry about.

Mod AC parent up as he brings field experience.

[Valdrax]

Good. I figured that access to news probably wasn't blocked and reget insinuating that it might be.

A more logical guess is a lack of time and interest in the news and a greater trust for what your commanders and buddies believe than what the media says. Is that the case?

Re:Mod AC parent up as he brings field experience.

[Anonymous Coward]

How about, they know more than you do about the situation there, rather then "why are they wrong" about it?

Re:Mod AC parent up as he brings field experience.

[Valdrax]

How about that's exactly what I said. I said to mod him up because he knew more about the situation than I did. I never said he was wrong.

I then offered a guess for why the poll said that most soldier believe something that's plain wrong which he didn't talk about. Again, I didn't contradict anything he said.

So, what are you talking about now?

Re:Mod AC parent up as he brings field experience.

[Anonymous Coward]

Original AC here while I wait for the password reset e-mail to come through (I made an account intending to join the discussion months ago, and promptly forgot about it). Thanks, and as for the matter of time, I'd say that it depends both on the individuals and the units. I had more access to the net than some, and definately more access to SIPRnet (although that didn't come until about 4-5 months into our deployment when the Lt. Col. decided he wanted our forward site attached directly to the TOC for more direct mission tasking and reporting.). On the other hand I know a lot of the MI soldiers had much more net time than I did because they had more computer time. With that said, when people had limited time on their hands they usually wanted to use the internet time available for, well...MWR: E-mail, IMs to wives and/or girlfriends, etc.

As for trust...again, it depends, although in general I know that a lot of the people I served with had a generally low opinion of the news media in-country, a low opinion that I share to some extent. For example, while I don't know how seriously the population at large took Geraldo's little "And here's exactly where we are and where we're going" diagrams during the initial fighting, most of us saw that sort of thing as a direct threat, either to our friends or to ourselves, and we still haven't forgiven or forgotten it (he was not greeted warmly when allowed back during my time there). When it comes to commanders, I can't speak for units outside my own, but generally the chain didn't concern itself with putting out news, local or otherwise. They had enough info to put out on R&R rotations, when the RIP/TOA was going to happen, etc. The main things they had to say on the MWR tents was not to violate OpSec over the net and to shut them down for 24-48 hours when we took casualties to ensure that the families were notified through official channels rather than via the grapevine.

but can hajinet survive a slashdotting?

[stevetures]

but can hajinet survive a slashdotting? Let my download accelerator GO! Steve

another cliche

[Anonymous Coward]

So I guess that 50% of the adult population there ISNT illiterate anymore?

Dont worry, guys like you will work their hardest to make sure those 'cliches' are moved to some other town so that they dont make you look bad.

Re:another cliche

[Siffy]

Not anymore, Detroit's adult population is only 47% functionally illiterate now! Don't worry, people get to make their own cliches these days. This one is my favorite:

http://www.comptoncity.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton,_California#C rime
http://www.governmentguide.com/community_and_home/ morganmostdangerouscities.adp
http://www.venturi-staffing.com/la_ui.asp

That's right! The 15th most dangerous city in the US, with a homicide rate about eight times higher than the national average and an unemployeement rate (8.5%) almost twice the national average, is "a great place to live, work, and raise a family."

Re:another cliche

[lysergic.acid]

Compton Community College has also recently lost its accreditation as a nationally recognized educational institution.

Yes, a fine place to raise a family indeed...

Robust against incompetent leadership?

[SimHacker]

Sure it can survive multiple mortar attacks, but how long can it survive having an incompetent liar running the war?

Rumsfeld should resign immediately!

-Don

Re:Robust against incompetent leadership?

[Anonymous Coward]

But Bush said Rumsfeld is doing a good job. Who am I to disagree? I mean, if you want a reliable source as to the judgement of Rumsfeld's performance, I can't think of any better source than the President himself!

Re:Robust against incompetent leadership?

[SimHacker]

Republican code words: "Rummy is doing a heckuva job."

Since Bush is such a pathological liar, that means Rumsfeld will be resigning soon!

-Don

It works by self-selection

[cicho]

The guy called his site hajinet, after all. When he gets back home, he's gonna settle in Alabama and run a new ISP called niggernet. But Linux will make him feel good.

This post not indended as flamebait, just an observation on how outrageously jingoistic a name the guy picked. And no-one has called him on it yet.

Re:It works by self-selection

[kristjansson]

Hey, he could have also called it Haji Manuk ibn Harem net. I think that would have been appropriately offensive. (Haji == 'pilgrim', Manuk == 'anal receiving homosexual', ibn Harem == 'son of the brothel'. excuse my horrific transliteration of Iraqi Arabic)

And, as an aside, I'd like to point out that in every war, the enemy gets demonized to some degree. War makes people do inherently fscked up things that most people would not naturally be inclined to do, and vilifying the enemy, making him less than a full-fledged human being, makes it easier to do the fscked up things. Unfortunately, it doesn't fly when you're fighting COIN ops, and have to go for "hearts and minds".

By the way, getting really offtopic, we borrowed the derogatory use of the honorific title of haji from the locals, who use it to deride foreigners. Yes, they called us the bad name first.

Re:It works by self-selection

[belmolis]

What makes you think that hajinet is offensive? hajji means "one who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca". Seems to me it is like calling your ISP Pilgrimnet. Nothing offensive about that.

Re:It works by self-selection

[Anonymous Coward]

The guy called his site hajinet, after all. When he gets back home, he's gonna settle in Alabama and run a new ISP called niggernet. But Linux will make him feel good.

Ah, another self-righteous and ignorant Slashbot. Please allow me to enlighten you.

a) By itself, the term "Haji" is not disrespectful. It merely means the person has made the at-least-once-in-a-lifetime trip to Mecca required by Islam.

b) The locals refer to the markets they set up outside US military bases as "Haji-marts" ... their words. This was true in Afghanistan as well as Iraq, both times I was deployed.

c) "Haji-net" is actually the term used by both the US military and US contractor (ie, KBR) personnel to distinguish official government/DOD networks from network access privately purchased from either the locals or other sources. When you sit down at one of the computers for your mandatory network security training, the class specifically addresses the use of private networks and specifically refers to them as "Haji-nets."

d) The locals advertise both "Haji-net" and "Haji-TV" services to US military personnel. For good ol' American Greenbacks, you can get your very own Free-To-Air satellite TV dish and receiver from a local national entrepreneur. For quite a few Greenbacks more, you can get a 2-way satellite internet system installed by them (this is true at least in Afghanistan; I don't think security concerns will permit local workers on many US bases in Iraq).

This post not indended as flamebait, just an observation on how outrageously jingoistic a name the guy picked. And no-one has called him on it yet.

Perhaps no one has called him on it yet because it's not a racist, derisive term, and because he didn't coin the phrase?

Why don't you go look for something else to get outraged about, you smug ignorant twit?

Figures

[TitsNbeer]

"ISP that supports 350 subscribers"

So that's where my 350 Billion in tax dollars go.

Re:Figures

[ToxicBanjo]

...my 350 Billion in tax dollars

Those are some harsh taxes... maybe you need a new accountant?

You're joking, right?

[FatSean]

You think this is the work of that 'one guy'? Nah, it's an Army PR push. If the Army wants good PR, as I suggested, try getting the juice on reliably first.

Re:You're joking, right?

[itsdave]

what are you talking about? did you actually watch the video? or read anything?

this guy set up an ISP for his fellow soldiers, not for the general Iraqi population.

how could this possibly be a PR stunt?

the world is now supposed to think the U.S. military is great because they set up internet service for themselves?

yeah.. that is a fine PR campaign. you clearly do not know what your talking about.

MORON.

Coral Cache

[greenjello4]

The Coral Cache works too if you don't mind waiting a few minutes for it to negotiate a connection. I've been getting about 20-50 Kbps on a semi-reliable shared small college connection. http://hajjinet.com.nyud.net:8080/video/notacon06_ hajjinet.mp4

alternate title

[blckwidow]

"Running an ISP is a Warzone"

This gives a new

[g0bshiTe]

meaning to the term "Somebody set up us the bomb!"

Dude.

[nortcele]

Can't you find another city in the U.S. to make fun of...

Jokes must play off stereotypes, or else they fail to draw laughter. You know, Montana is little tired of sheep jokes. Florida is tired of chad/ballot/dumb voter jokes. Roll with the punches and laugh. It was a well timed and placed pun.

Re:Dude.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is someone going to mention California? I can think of a quite a few cliches about the Golden State: the absurb preponderance of beautiful women, not to mention herpes.

The carelessness that leads our dumpsters to overflow with high-grade computer hardware, not to mention the dangerous medical waste that results from the many attempts to treat herpes.

The magnificent parties of fabulous opulence and splendour, not to mention the fact that half the people invited won't go lest someone notice their latest herpes outbreak.

In short, it's a great state. Visit sometime. But do yourself a favor and watch out for the pickpockets.. They could have herpes.

Re:Dude.

[FoodSlayer]

This is probably a troll and I know I shouldn't but but seriously what is up with the herpes and california obsession?

I'm suprised that...

[dexomn]

Nobody has commented on the connotation of the term 'hajjinet'.

civilians must protect those in military?

[Anonymous Coward]

(Please feel free to strengthen the arguments in this off-topic post.)

In order for the U.S. military to operate effectively, there must be strength in the chain of command. Following orders is critical, dissent cannot be tolerated .

Therefore, it is up to the non-military citizens of the U.S. to provide a check on the transient civilian military leadership (president, vp, sec defense).

This is nominally the job of the U.S. congress. But when the dominant party in congress is the same as the party controlling the white house, congress is very unlikely to act responsibly with respect the their oversight of the executive branch.

FURTHERMORE:

Bush/Cheney knowingly and willingly used faulty intel to argue for removing Saddam from power.

Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld knowingly and willingly disregarded professional military advice for stabilizing Iraq after general military victory.

These acts resulted in the deaths of U.S. military personnel and Iraqi civilians.

These deaths were preventable, either by not entering into this needless war, or by conducting the war according to professional military planning. People would still die in the event of military conflict, but creating a completely insecure and destabilized country where people die needlessly for years on end was avoidable.

These acts by Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld constitute gross criminal negligence and incompetence resulting in death (manslaughter).

So my question for those in uniform is: to the extent to you are allowed to address these points, what should we (American civilians who are not memebers of congress) do about it?

Re:civilians must protect those in military?

[Bios_Hakr]

>>So my question for those in uniform is: to the extent to you are allowed to address these points

We can vote. Other than that, we have a very limited view. We are given objectives and are required to meet those objectives. We will never been in a position to vote on strategy. Neither will you.

The people vote for a leader. The leader decides a strategy. The military commanders decide on objectives and milestones. The grunts kill the enemy and try and stay alive.

>>, what should we (American civilians who are not memebers of congress) do about it?

All you can do is vote. However, once a can of worms is opened, it's impossible to close again. We can never leave Iraq. We can, however, vote for leaders that are willing to apply the same effort to Iraq as our grandfathers applied to Germany and Japan. Maybe in 50 years or so, Bagdhad will be a hot tourist spot.

Re:civilians must protect those in military?

[Anonymous Coward]

All you can do is vote. However, once a can of worms is opened, it's impossible to close again. We can never leave Iraq. We can, however, vote for leaders...

Well, the votings over, but that doesn't leave us unable to effect change.

Yes, now that we're in Iraq we have to see it through. But we are still pursuing a failed strategy. We need more 'boots on the ground' to finish off the job. We need to clear out the enemy and take away weapons, stabilize/rebuild infrastructure, and finally effing finally start to make Iraq secure. This would be best done with massive international coooperation in the form of manpower and money. But this administration is not respected here nor around the world and so no one will kick in.

So 2 things should happen. (1) Justice: we need to punish this administration (Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld) for their incompetence. In other words: criminal prosecution. (2) A new adminstration replacing the current one will not be commited to failed policy, and will therefore be able formulate a new plan for getting Iraq on its feet, and us out alive.

The point of the post you responded to is that:
- People in the military are willing and able to risk their butts, and even sacrafice their lives, for American security.
- But people in the military are generally unable to punish or remove people higher than themselves in the chain of command when those people fail.
- Civilians are not suject to military law, so they should at least fight at home to make sure that those who fight abroad have competent leadership.
- Therefore, either the FBI should conduct a criminal investigation into this adminstration, or the American people should conduct some sort of, I guess, "citizens arrest"!

I find it especially galling that those who are willing to die for the country are being taken advantage of. Presendential leadership that acts in any way not completely consistent with respecting this commitment should not be tolerated AT ALL. It is certainly immoral, and should be clearly illegal.

Re:civilians must protect those in military?

[banzai26]

The real failure - was this soldier not installing Windows - like he was told! Of course - soldiers do what they need to make it work - despite what they are told :-p

Danger pay?

[blueZ3]

Soldiers in a recognized hazardous area get "danger pay" (don't recall the exact name as it's been a while), but I'm always surprised by what people think about danger pay. When I was in the gulf the first time around, danger pay amounted to $220 per month. AFAIK, there's no special pay for being stationed overseas.

Did I get it right? - No

[kadathseeker]

Here's the difference:

Insurgent - guerilla fighter. Maybe not regular army, but attacks primarily military or militant targets. The US Special Forces engage in this "asymmetrical warfare" sometimes.

Terrorist - attacks primarily civilian targets, avoids military targets, not in any kind of regular army. Noteable for use of kidnapping, media manipulation, and handmade explosives used in surprise manners such as car bombs.

If all they did was car bomb checkpoints, they'd be guerillas, and valid combatants, likely gaining the rights of soldiers under the Geneva convention. Targeting buses full of children does NOT make you a soldier, merely a criminal, no matter you intents, and leaves you with only basic human rights.

A simple solution

[The Famous Druid]

Just go into your firewall settings, and set up a very large 'DMZ' ;)

ar 25-2

[HBI]

Wireless NIPR would be permitted if it met FIPS 140-2. Read your reg.

I know of a few people who are doing it right now actually.

So...bzzzt.

Congratulations

[Anonymous Coward]

You've been added to my mod down list when I get mod points.

stuff that messes up the connection

[r00t]

They need to block big stuff: video, CD images...

They need to block software: spyware, adware, etc.

In some places they have to go over a satellite link or worse.

DoD civilian tech in theater

[SonicSpike]

This is from my 24 year old cousin who is a computer tech for the DoD working in Iraq and Afghanistan. His dad was special forces and my cousin was raised in Germany because that is where they were stationed.

His job is to see that AAFES (Army supply stores) network and POS terminals are installed and work correctly.

When he sent me this e-mail this morning he said "I do not want you to wonder why I may be in federal prison." Talk about a way to wake up to one's morning e-mail!

________________________________________
Subject: An issue needing rectification.
From: "Henderson, Zachary D."
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 07:27:03 +0100
To:

Mr.. President,

My name is Zachary Henderson, and I am faced with an inequity I can no longer stand.

That, after serving as a Department of Defense civilian for almost sixteen months in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, I am required to pay federal and state income taxes.

As you may be unfamiliar with the present tax laws, please allow me to elucidate. Military members serving in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan are not required to pay taxes. I do not begrudge them that at all; they have taken an oath to serve. A contractor, working for more than 330 days outside the United States, fall under the Foreign Earned Income Tax Credit, and their first 80,000 is tax free. As a Department of Defense Employee working for the Army and Air Force Exchange service, I am not entitled to that exemption..

I am fully aware of my responsibilities as a citizen. As an Eagle Scout, I am well versed in civic duties and the requirements of the individual in the role of the state. However, this inequality between Department of Defense civilian employees and contractors is not rational. As a man of principal, this dilemma is now intolerable, and I can no longer stomach it.

I face the same mortar attacks as soldiers and contractors while on bases, and I have. I face the same risk of getting shot at while traveling and I have. Yet all the others out here sharing the dangers that I face enjoy a benefit that I do not.

I submit to you that this is wrong, and I will countenance it no more. Therefore, I am notifying you in writing that I am refusing to file my taxes for the year 2005, and will not file them for 2006, either.

I am fully aware of all the consequences of my actions. I implore you to do all in you power to resolve this issue. Allow those to serve in equal danger to receive equal benefits.

This letter is being sent to you, Vice-President Cheney, Mississippi Senators Lott and Cochran, Representative for the State Of Mississippi Rodger Wicker I.R.S. Commissioner Everson, and the Stars And Stripes newspaper, to draw attention to this plight, and to ask for a speedy resolution for the almost 500 in the same crux that I am in.

I thank you for you time and attention to this matter.

Zachary D. Henderson
Presently in Bagram, Afghanistan

Re:DoD civilian tech in theater

[JhohannaVH]

Hoorah! He shouldn't *have* to pay those taxes either. I wonder how they can make that delineation? The Feds at least should be able to put some kind of clause in the tax paperwork for a massive exemption of something anyways.

Keep your head low Zach, come home safe!

No money for WIndowz :)

[dialbat]

From what i saw in a video, he used Linux because of the cheapness, rather than reliability. Most of the service men, used WinXP laptops, and only a small 5% used linux, and only cuz they didn't know how to use system. The best system is one you know how to use, and not Linux or Windows.

Thank you

[JhohannaVH]

HELL YEAH!!!!!!! OOOOOH Rah! Thank you so much for your duty and your service. What you guys do makes it all so much better for the families here at home so they can see their boys and men. (Boys = sons in this case) Thank you so much for standing out there on the wall for us here at home.

I second that!!! Give 'em Hell!

Whenever the military allows details, it is PR.

[FatSean]

You think he didn't have to get approval to run the setup? You think he didn't have to get approval to talk about it? Geee...CS grads are down in the US, recruitment has finally reached the new lowered bar, and warfare is becoming more and more computerized. And here we go, on Slashdot, with this article.

Whatever.