This from Fox News via the EFF.

The days of an open, largely unregulated Internet may soon come to an end.

A bill making its way through Congress proposes to give the U.S. government authority over all networks considered part of the nation’s critical infrastructure. Under the proposed Cybersecurity Act of 2009, the president would have the authority to shut down Internet traffic to protect national security.

The government also would have access to digital data from a vast array of industries including banking, telecommunications and energy. A second bill, meanwhile, would create a national cybersecurity adviser — commonly referred to as the cybersecurity czar — within the White House to coordinate strategy with a wide range of federal agencies involved.

The need for greater cybersecurity is obvious:

— Canadian researchers recently discovered that computers in 103 countries, including those in facilities such as embassies and news media offices, were infected with software designed to steal network data.

— A Seattle security analyst warned last month that the advancement of digital communication within the electrical grid, as promoted under President Obama’s stimulus plan, would leave the nation’s electrical supply dangerously vulnerable to hackers.

— And on Tuesday the Wall Street Journal reported that computer spies had broken into the Pentagon’s $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project and had breached the Air Force’s air-traffic-control system.

Nonetheless, the proposal to give the U.S. government the authority to regulate the Internet is sounding alarms among critics who say it’s another case of big government getting bigger and more intrusive.

Silicon Valley executives are calling the bill vague and overly intrusive, and they are rebelling at the thought of increased and costly government regulations amid the global economic crisis.

Others are concerned about the potential erosion of civil liberties. “I’m scared of it,” said Lee Tien, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based group.

“It’s really broad, and there are plenty of laws right now designed to prevent the government getting access to that kind of data. It’s the same stuff we’ve been fighting on the warrantless wiretapping.”

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W. Va, who introduced the bill earlier this month with bipartisan support, is casting the legislation as critical to protecting everything from our water and electricity to banking, traffic lights and electronic health records.

“I know the threats we face.” Rockefeller said in a prepared statement when the legislation was introduced. “Our enemies are real. They are sophisticated, they are determined and they will not rest.”

The bill would allow the government to create a detailed set of standards for cybersecurity, as well as take over the process of certifying IT technicians. But many in the technology sector say the government is simply ill-equipped to get involved at the technical level, said Franck Journoud, a policy analyst with the Business Software Alliance.

“Simply put, who has the expertise?” he said. “It’s the industry, not the government. We have a responsibility to increase and improve security. That responsibility cannot be captured in a government standard.”

…

Warning bells for liberty should be resounding in our minds.

From the Personality Pages Site.

“Highly creative, artistic and spiritual, they can produce wonderful works of art, music and literature. INFPs are natural artists. They will find great satisfaction if they encourage and develop their artistic abilities. That doesn’t mean that an INFP has to be a famous writer or painter in order to be content. Simply the act of “creating” will be a fulfilling source of renewal and refreshment to the INFP. An INFP should allow himself or herself some artistic outlet, because it will add enrichment and positive energy to their life.”

It’s requoted from the Personality Page  site.  I should quote it directly but… a research paper this ain’t.

An aritistic outlet like say… music?  “Priests don’t do music”,  is the saying I often hear.  But priests are human beings too  — as far as I am concerned.   An artistic outlet like writing maybe?   For now I am venturing into an artistic outlet which involves creatively preparing another cup of coffee.

Pax Christi.

Thoughts on Divine Mercy Sunday…

The readings this weekend speak of the recreation brought about by Christ’s sacrifice; and the overflowing of Divine Mercy which cleansed us all and restored the spiritual nature of man in grace.

Joseph Solovetchik wrote in The Lonely Man of Faith, about the covenental community created in Genesis II. Man is created in humility, from dust; he tends the garden and keeps it safe, he is alone.

And that is not good!

When Eve is created, he and Eve are now in a covenental relationship with one another and with God. I, Thou, God. The loneliness which exists in our hearts, often as a relestness, is an experience which leads us ultimately to our Creator, in community with others (the other, as it were.) That’s precisely the type of community we see in Acts 4:32-3:

The community of believers was of one heart and mind,
and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own,
but they had everything in common.
With great power the apostles bore witness
to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus,
and great favor was accorded them all.
There was no needy person among them,
for those who owned property or houses would sell them,
bring the proceeds of the sale,
and put them at the feet of the apostles,
and they were distributed to each according to need.

It’s not communism, or socialism. It’s living in community and working in mercy and wisdom while retaining the genius of one’s precious and unique individuality, made in the image and likeness of God. One lives in community with others, and with God’s Spirit permeating the lives of the community.

Genesis I speaks of man being created with woman, and together they live in creation, working in its splendor as noble beings created in the image and likeness of God.

In the second reading today the Apostle John writes:

And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Being victors of the world through faith in Christ, a very simple idea, is presented to us as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection. The idea of dominion over the created realm echoes forth from Genesis I; all things are restored in Christ.

Mercy… “is said to be a virtue influencing one’s will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another’s misfortune”.

St. Catherine of Siena described the unfogiveable sin as a refusal to accept God’s mercy. One can think upon Judas Iscariot who, after betraying Jesus, confessed he was wrong yet went and hanged himself rather than finding repentance and mercy. The Apostle Peter betrayed Christ in a different way, yet endured to the end, seeking the humility needed for forgiveness and mercy.

St. Catherine also wrote that we grow in love only during our life on earth. That’s not a great amount of time when compared to all of eternity. It’s a reminder to accept some of life’s misfortunes with humility, to find in our hearts a place for repentance, forgiveness and understanding, and to dwell upon the concept of mercy as it shows in our actions, our thoughts, our words. God is, and can be, merciful unto us. Are we merciful to others, living in Christ’s peace as we sojourn upon Earth?

Who says society’s going down the tubes? Youth today hold great promise for the future. Watch this twelve year old deliver a vibrant message much more eloquently and fervently than many from older generations are even wont to attempt. Bravo.