DL Open Thread: Friday, November 22, 2024

‘The Salt Typhoon’: China’s Infiltration Of US Telecom Networks:

The Chinese government espionage campaign that has deeply penetrated more than a dozen U.S. telecommunications companies is the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history — by far,” a senior U.S. senator told The Washington Post in an interview this week.

The hackers, part of a group dubbed Salt Typhoon, have been able to listen in on audio calls in real time and have in some cases moved from one telecom network to another, exploiting relationships of “trust,” said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a former telecom venture capitalist. Warner added that intruders are still in the networks.

The effort was not directly election-related, Warner noted, as the hackers got into the telecom systems months earlier — in some cases more than a year ago.

The networks are still compromised, and booting the hackers out could involve physically replacing “literally thousands and thousands and thousands of pieces of equipment across the country,” specifically outdated routers and switches, Warner said.

I admit it–they had me at ‘Salt Typhoon’.

Why Democrats Suck: Charles Schumer Edition:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reached a late-night deal with Republicans on Wednesday to speed up the process for voting on some of President Joe Biden’s remaining judicial nominees, while agreeing not to hold votes on others.

The agreement ― cut by Schumer, independent Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), and some Republicans ― means Schumer is teeing up votes on nine of Biden’s district court nominees and planning to confirm all of them when the Senate returns from Thanksgiving. GOP senators agreed not to impose delays on the process for these nine nominees.

Biden’s appeals court picks whose nominations are now officially dead because of this deal are Adeel Mangi, nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit; Karla Campbell, nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit; Julia Lipez, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit; and Ryan Park, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.

This agreement is not sitting well with progressive judicial advocacy groups.

“Any deal that would result in President Biden’s four remaining circuit court nominees being denied a vote is categorically unacceptable,” Maggie Jo Buchanan, managing director of Demand Justice, said in a statement. “These are critical seats that have real impacts on everyday Americans ― we cannot allow Trump to fill them with radical extremists.”

“If Democratic Senators are already rolling over this easily while they still have power, we are in for trouble when Trump actually assumes office,” she said.

Besides, Joe Manchin?  Kyrsten Sinema? I can’t even…

Ex-Mace Aide Channels–Me:

“‘Protecting women’ in Congress would be introducing a bill to bar Matt Gaetz, a sexual predator with an affinity for underage girls, from ever walking those halls again, rather than dropping a messaging bill that’s sole goal is getting on TV,” Johnson wrote on X on Wednesday.

Mace also appears to be fundraising off her anti-trans bathroom bill. Johnson posted a screenshot of a fundraising text for Mace that said, “I don’t want to see your junk in my bathroom. It’s Rep. Mace[.] The Trans Mob wants to k*ll me. But I FOUGHT BACK,” and included a URL that redirects to Mace’s campaign website.

Johnson replied to the text on X, writing, “I don’t want to see your botched, cheap hooker-inspired boob job on my television. Can we introduce a bill to bar that?”

Well, somebody could.

Time-out for a rant.  We’re now seeing the announcement of these ‘transition teams’ for incoming soon-to-be officeholders. Despite many of the notable ideas and successful legislation coming from the progressive wing of the Party, these transition teams look like they were chosen out of the Delaware Way locker-room.  Matt Meyer.  Marcus Henry.  John Carney.  Other than Laura Sturgeon, who should head up the education team instead of the nebulous group that Matt has assigned her to, we’re looking mostly at garbage in/garbage out.  End of rant.

Will Matt Meyer Adopt This Idea?  Thanks to a tipster for sharing this:

As Gov. Wes Moore prepares to cope with another Donald Trump presidential administration — which could cause upheaval in infrastructure, immigration and federal jobs — he’ll get help from private consultants at the cost of $190,000.

The state government entered into a contract this month with Accenture, an international management and technology consulting firm.

Accenture will research Trump’s proposed agenda and how it will affect the state’s priorities and programs, according to a two-page purchasing agreement between the state and the firm. Accenture will conduct “risk management and scenario planning” that will help the state prioritize its efforts and determine potential legal challenges against the administration.

“With billions of dollars in potential liabilities for the state, it would be reckless of the Moore-Miller Administration to not be prepared for any challenges it may face due to new policy direction taken from the federal government,” the statement read.

Not saying that this is a good idea or a bad idea, just that it’s–interesting.  Which is what I strive for and occasionally succeed at offering.

Wilmington A Hopeless Mess On Marijuana Sales.  Let’s see–‘Give us the money’;  ‘Ban sales’;  ‘Allow sales only where the people want it’.  All this before dim-bulb anti-marijuana crusader John Carney takes office.  My one thought?:  If you don’t allow sales, you don’t get to share in the proceeds.  Same holds true for Dover.  Oh, and for Suxco.  What a buncha maroons.

What do you want to talk about?