Linux as flawed as Windows XP

Hi,

I'm no Linux expert but I seem to remember that you can do a very similar thing to linux if you have a bootable linux CD. It allows you to get root access to the hard drive in a linux PC, and a physical lock is the only defence in the Linux case as well. If I'm correct, perhaps you'd better do a similar linux scare story :-)
Cheers,
Nick

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Hi Mike... someone claimed in the replying letters that security would be different with W2K than with XP. Well, not.
Go to:
http://www.oo-software.com/ -- it's called O&O Bluecon
They have a software which will manipulate the W2K boot floppies (creates a new one). To avoid the lengthy boot procedure, you can subsequently have them converted into a single ISO to burn it onto a boot CD. What this will do for you is boot you through the floppy contents in no time and it will offer you many sexy admin options, one of which is to change or delete the passwords, of course, Administrator as well. So you can kick those out in one second and gain full access. Therefore, I doubt that security is any better with W2K.

Name and email address supplied

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As a former SUN Employee I would love to see SUN embrace something besides Solaris and SPARC. Or make Solaris work with more mainstream applications. Unfortunately StarOffice is not one of them. While it tries to do things that Microsoft Office does, it fails miserably. Sun should abandon that product along with about 1/2 it's product line, streamline and begin to innovate. Stop chasing Microsoft through the COURTS and beat them in their pocketbooks by making JAVA so good that the world cannot live without it. Sun wastes more money on lawyers and old products than it does with anything else...oh and real estate too. Do you know it laid off a great portion of workers that worked from home, provided their own connections, and delivered more productivity than those in the office? Yes, it's true.

Name and email address supplied

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Everything from here on is about Israel/Palestine.
The Inquirer is not a political website by nature. One of our regular contributors happens to be in Israel and wrote a piece about his experiences. We will not enter into or publish any more correspondence on this issue. If you have a burning desire to express your views on the situation, please visit our discussion board.

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As if it is not enough that arabs kill us every chance they get, be it in New-York, Tel-Aviv or Bali, now we have to listen to their propaganda on the pages of theinquirer.net!

Please, let's stick to the Intel versus AMD conflict.
Mike

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I'd just like to say well done to Paul for writing the piece and to you for publishing it. It's probably not the whole truth but it's a heck of a lot more than we're getting from any of the governments involved (not forgetting the deafening silence from ours on this issue).

LeeE

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THIS FLUFF ARTICLE ABOUT PALESTINIANS BEING KILLED FOR NO REASON BY THE ISRAELIS IS NOTHING FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. I HAVE MANY FAMILY MEMBERS THAT LIVE IN ISRAEL AND THE REALITY IS THAT THE ARABS/PALESTINIANS DO NOT WANT TO LIVE AND CO-EXIST IN PEACE! THEY ROUTINELY KILL WOMEN CHILDREN AND INNOCENT BYSTANDERS IN THE NAME OF FREEDOM, BUT IN REALITY THEY DON'T WANT FREEDOM THEY WANT ALL JEWS TO DIE! JUST LOOK AT THE WHOLE MIDDLE DO YOU SEE ANY DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS! AFTER STARTING COUNTLESS WARS AND LOSING EACH ONE THE ISRAELI PEOPLE OFFERED THEM TO STAY AND LIVE IN A PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE.

AS A KID GROWING UP I CAN REMEMBER THE TERRIBLE LIVING CONDITIONS THAT ISRAELI FAMILIES FACED AND MY GRANDMOTHER WOULD ROUTINELY SEND MONEY TO HER FAMILY MEMBERS. IN THE 50 YEARS THAT ISRAEL HAS EXISTED AND THRU ALL THE ATTACKS ON THEM BY THEIR NEIGHBORS THEY PERSEVERED AND BECAME A NATION WITH A VIBRANT ECONOMY AND HAVE ONE OF THE BEST RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES WITH OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS.

CONTRAST THAT WITH THE PALESTINIANS! LONG BEFORE ARAFAT SHOWED UP THEY LIVED AND STILL DO FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL THEY TEACH NOTHING BUT HATRED IN THEIR SCHOOLS. THEY HAVE IN 50 YEARS ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING!!! FURTHERMORE WHERE ARE ALL THE ARAB NATIONS? THE ONLY TIME THEY SEEM TO HELP, IS WHEN A SUICIDE BOMBER BLOWS UP INNOCENT ISRAELIS YES THEN THEY SEND CHECKS TO CONGRATULATE THE FAMILIES ON KILLING ISRAELIS. BUT ARE THEY THEIR TO HELP, HELL NO! THEY KILLED 25000 PALESTINIANS WHEN THEY TRIED TO COME IN TO THEIR COUNTRY, BUT DO YOU HEAR MUCH ABOUT THAT!!
YET ONE LOOKS AROUND AND SEES THEIR MISERY AND THINKS IT IS THE SOLE FAULT OF THE ISRAELIS. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!!
WHILE THE AVERAGE JOE SITTING IN FRONT OF THE TV SEES ISRAELI INCURSIONS, IT IS ONLY BECAUSE OF THE COUNTLESS MURDERS THAT OCCUR DAILY IN ISRAEL. YET WHEN AN ISRAELI SOLDIER KILLS AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER, "BY ACCIDENT", THEY ARE COMPARED TO THE PALESTINIANS ON AN EQUAL FOOTING. HOW SAD IT IS TO SEE THE DEATH OF COMMON SENSE~!!

LET ME END BY SAYING THAT MOST OF THIS COULD BE RESOLVED PEACEFULLY BY NEGOTIATING AND THROWING ALL THE FANATICS OUT.

SINCERELY,
NATHAN

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Hello Mike. I'm one of your readers (obviously), and an Israeli. And I want to tell you how I see it. It's quite long, I know, but I think you've been seeing a not-so-balanced picture of this tragedy. Most people probably do, but when you're a well-known person and you're posting your p.o.v, it comes with a responsibility. You become a reporter, a journalist. You owe it to the truth to at least know our side. Or so I think.

It's an ugly fight between nations, it's been going on for a century, and it's much more complicated than what you described. By the way: I appreciate, even admire, your courage to visit these godforsaken places most people gladly discuss but don't really know what they're like. It's easy throwing advices in from outside. So thanks for taking the hard route.

We know what it's like, because we've been in those dirty towns, villages. We haven't been living there, we've been there as soldiers (most Israelis serve for 3 years and then do reserve duty for about a month each year, as you probably know). It's not a nice experience either, it's frightening. We hate being there, hate what we look like to these people. But we know there is no other option. It's that bad. This onslaught of terror has been going on for more than two years now. The whole first year was a steady deteriorating situation, where we tried one approach after the other trying to contain the violence, and in the end we got to the worst one, a full occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. If you don't believe me, check the newspapers from that time. People tend to forget. By the way: when I say worst, I mean for the Palestinians. For us, it's the only method that is, to some extent, effective against the terror attacks at all.

Here's how I see it. Please correct me if I'm wrong:
At the eve of this madness we proposed an agreement to the Palestinians. It was a generous offer (actually it was so generous that p.m. Barak who made the offer knew he'll probably loose the elections because of it). None of the sides were happy with it, but it could be (barely) accepted on both sides. Clinton supported it. Arafat rejected it. He believed he could achieve more by violence. I know it sounds like propaganda, but I can back my claims, it's the sad truth. He thought that the Israeli society will not tolerate thousands of casualties. But the I.D.F. was well prepared and we suffered hundreds of casualties, not thousands. They suffered more. The worldwide media turned against him. Both Israeli and Palestinian societies grew more right-winged as the death toll rose, the terror demon could not be shoved back into the bottle. He lost control of the street. From there on it just went downhill.

At this point a sensible argument would be: "But what about the settlements? Can you blame the Palestinian people for resisting an oppressor? They ARE doing the right thing after all, don't they? These are freedom fighters, not fanatics!".

Here's my answer:
1. Most of the settlements (containing about 80% of the Jewish population) should (and will) be dismantled. Period. The remaining few have too much military importance or are just too damn big to be moved. All of the settlements in the Gaza strip should be dismantled. They have no military significance whatsoever and I suspect they were only put there as bargaining chips for the peace treaty negotiations to come.
The peace treaty that p.m. Barak Offered acknowledged that realistically some settlements cannot be dismantled, but 96% of the land will be transferred to full Palestinian control, including a compensation (in land elsewhere) for the 4% where the settlements will remain.

2. To call us an opressor is to forget the facts:
a. Two years ago, when it began, the I.D.F was not in the Gaza strip and the West Bank at all, except around the Jewish settlements. The Palestinian authority received control over these areas as a result of the Oslo agreement, signed about 8 years ago. We have no desire whatsoever to oppress a foreign people. What do you think, we get some fun out of this? that we get minerals or gold, like the European 'enlightened' colonialist nations, who criticize us, did to Africa and where not?
b. Throughout our short history, we had to defend ourselves time and time again against massive Arab armies. Did you notice how tiny Israel is? if we lost just once (and it came pretty close to it in 73'), there's nowhere to run to. We were fighting with our backs to the sea. A Tank can cross Israel, from the border to the shore, in 15 minutes.
Why mention this? because the people who now define themselves as Palestinians (They can if they want to, it's their legitimate right) were then Jordanian citizens. They were the ones who wanted to destroy us. I think under the circumstances, it's obvious why Israel created such a strong army, why we are a little paranoid when it comes to security arrangements.

3. They ARE freedom fighters. They are also terrorists, as long as they target civilians (Those Kassam missiles you mentioned? they don't use them against military targets. They shoot them at settlements inside and outside of the green line). It's not this definition that bothers me, but the cynical, horrible use the Palestinian regime (and terror groups especially) make of these young men. They bring them up on hatred, intense and diabolical, in manners which would shock you. This kind of education mixes well with fanatic religion, and that's how you create hundreds of suicide bombers, young people so blind they can get into a bus, hotel lobby or restaurant and butcher everyone there. Do you see? it's all about education. And once you see their schoolbooks and summer camps activities, you understand that behind the stage, the current Palestinian regime is not interested in peace, it wants Jihad warriors. When they stop educating for hatred, then there'll be a chance that violence will die out, even if it would take some time. As it is now, what hope do we have? That's why want a change of regime there.

So that's it then. On both sides there are extremists, who capture all the media attention, as there are all over the world, but most Israelis and Palestinians just want to live in peace with each other. Don't forget that for many years we lived together without any problem. They used to work here and we used to buy at their villages and cities. We have Palestinian friends (which we're worried about, we don't know how they're faring, the army seals the West Bank and Gaza from Israel, trying to stop suicide bombers from stealing into Israel. We haven't heard from them, except for rumors, for two years now).

By the way: From some of the things you mentioned, I got the feeling the tour you were on was guided by Hamas. Do not be fooled by their "care for the society". This method of building schools and hospitals for the to win the people's hearts and cooperation (and using their schools to bring the youth to their point of view) is well known to be used by Fundamental groups. They usually charge practically nothing for services rendered in these facilities (they are heavily funded from outside, usually by a much larger Fundamental organization or country), and so transfer people from the government institutions to their parallel system, until they create their own "state-within-a-state". It's also being done in Lebanon (by Hezbollah), and actually copied inside Israel also (by a fanatical religious group, who became quite successful because of that).

Again, sorry for the size of this message, but it is, after all, a complicated conflict. Whole libraries might be required to do a proper job of getting to the bottom of it. And although the solution is simple (peace!), to maneuver the politics of the middle east to achieve it and to make it last, that might require a small miracle.

Arnon

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