Virtual Reality Check...

"I was trying to have Cyber-Sex with a girl on the Internet the other night and she wouldn't go all the way, so I had to rape her." - Anonymous

From the Guardian Unlimited, via the Drudge Report...

Russia accused of unleashing cyberwar to disable Estonia

A three-week wave of massive cyber-attacks on the small Baltic country of Estonia, the first known incidence of such an assault on a state, is causing alarm across the western alliance, with Nato urgently examining the offensive and its implications.

While Russia and Estonia are embroiled in their worst dispute since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a row that erupted at the end of last month over the Estonians' removal of the Bronze Soldier Soviet war memorial in central Tallinn, the country has been subjected to a barrage of cyber warfare, disabling the websites of government ministries, political parties, newspapers, banks, and companies.

I can't remember a more horrible tragedy that I cared so little about.

Although, on second thought, I would approve of public torture and horrible death for anyone convicted of designing Computer Viruses and such...

I don't know exactly how to feel about this story. On the one hand, I cannot imagine my life without the Internet and my computer (which, incidentally, is in the computer hospital at the moment... A victim of a terrible power surge type accident. My Wife is hoping for a speedy recovery so that she can soon have her computer back.)

On the other hand, I have never, until this article, heard of the Country of Estonia, I know of absolutely no U.S. National Interests involving the Country of Estonia, and really could not care less if Estonians are having a hard time because they cannot look at Internet Porn these days because their leaders have picked a fight with Russia.

I guess the thing that I am supposed to be concerned about is the fact that the Russians have the technology to conduct this type of attack against another Country.

But then again, if they have it, then we pretty much have it. And if we have the technology, then we are probably at least WORKING on a defense against it... Most likely we already have one.

Bottom line:

While it is annoying when the Internet and our electronic equipment doesn't work the way we want it to, bear in mind that a mere hundred years or so ago, we lived without any of it.

Americans went to the Moon with slide rules and vacuum tubes, and machinery with big, round, plastic knobs marked 1 through 10. (Unless you are one of those free-thinking Pot-smokers who believes that the Moon landing was a scam... If you are, then I don't know how to help you.)

The truth is, I am not very worried about this. While I guess it kinda sucks to be an Estonian right now and everything, I really don't know enough about Estonia to know whether I should hate them worse than I am supposed to hate Russians. Maybe they had it coming.

Beats me...

But I am pretty sure that the Estonians are probably not the most computer savvy group of people on the planet. They will survive this attack. As a matter of fact, I would bet that to the average, everyday, off-the-street Estonian, this situation probably only means that they have to actually GO to the bank rather than manage their account on-line, and beyond that, it does not really affect their lives very much at all.

And now we know that Russia can do this type of thing.

If it happens here, we will have a pretty good idea where it is coming from.