Chinese microchips used to spy on domestic computers

QUANTICO, Virg. -- American intelligence agencies have discovered what one analyst is calling Manchurian microchips, manufactured in China, that are designed to allow PLA spies to gain access to government, commercial and personal computers.

Although the accusation sounds almost too sensational to believe, several sources in U.S. intelligence agencies and corporate security consultants have confirmed the basic outlines of the published story. Countermeasures are being taken to diminish the treat to national security computers but the scope of the problem is nearly universal.

Fortunately, for the rogue microchips to be useful to China, Microsoft source code would need to be pilfered on a regular basis, as it is updated by the corporation, an unlikely scenario. None the less, the discovery sent alarm bells ringing throughout government agencies and corporate boardrooms. As technology becomes pervasive, technology security will become increasingly important to government and commercial entities.

McCain finally gets an endorsement from Al-Qaida

JERUSALEM -- Senator McCain's sinking poll numbers suggest that he may lose by a bigger margin than any presidential candidate since Senator McGovern's quixotic run in 1972. However, the Jerusalem Post is reporting that a private Maryland intelligence contractor has discovered that Al-Qaida is hoping for a McCain presidency and is willing to back up their endorsement with more than $20 contributions to McCain's campaign fund.

"If al-Qaida carries out a big operation against American interests," the message said, "this act will be support of McCain because it will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaida. Al-Qaida then will succeed in exhausting America till its last year in it."

Whether al-Qaida will carry through with their threat to attack the U.S. in support of their candidate is an open question. Some conspiratorial observers have fretted that Republicans will attempt to undertake an October Surprise to keep possession of the presidency. Is McCain kissing cousins with Bin Laden? We just don't know. Now is the time for Senator McCain to explain his intimate relationship with the hottest terrorist with a dialysis machine.

Some have suggested that McCain was brainwashed by the Communist North Vietnamese while undergoing torture as a prisoner for five years and is now a Manchurian Candidate. What if that was simply a ruse to cover up his true loyalty, to the ultra-right Wahhabi wing of Sunni Islam. The Schadenfreude Post is seeking any additional information from readers about this explosive suggestion. America is at a crossroads. Do we want an angry old man with terrorist sympathies as president or the guy who once sat on a community foundation board with a leftist nut case. It is a tough choice but I think I'll go with the socialist over the terrorist.

Lastly, if an opportune attack on America strikes in the next two weeks, let's all remember cui bono.

Christopher Buckley breaks the chains of familial bondage

WASHINGTON -- When erudite pundit and author William F. Buckley died earlier this year, most observers painted a picture of gentleman scholar, who gave conservatism a voice when it reached a state of intellectual stasis in the 1950s. His only child, Christopher Buckley is currently in the news for his recent endorsement of Senator Obama for president. His act is a final symbol of independence for a man who was always overshadowed by a dominant father, notwithstanding his own success on the bestseller lists.

Beyond the symbolic act of breaking with his family's political tradition, Mr. Buckley's recent comments in the New York Times suggest a far more nuanced portrait of his father.

As a father myself, I look at every small achievement of my son with awe and hope. Not so was the relationship between Mr. Buckley and his father.

As to his own father, it was “a complicated relationship,” he said. Early on, the elder Mr. Buckley was enthusiastic about his son’s writing. But as the son racked up one best seller after another, the father grew deeply critical. Mr. Buckley can quote word for word: “Sorry, this one didn’t work for me,” or, “As regards your new book, my views are negative.” When his father inscribed books to him, he signed them, “Bill.”

That a father would allow his own ego and petty competitive spirit undercut his son's confidence and innate desire to please is incomprehensible. In his mid-50s, Mr. Buckley is finally shaking off the bonds of that perverse conditioning. He is free at last. That is something that should make his parent's proud.