tagged w/ Internet
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"On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new treaty giving the United Nations unprecedented powers over the Internet. Dozens of countries, including Russia and China, are pushing hard to reach this goal by year's end. As Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said last June, his goal and that of his allies is to establish "international control over the Internet" through the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a treaty-based organization under U.N. auspices.""On Feb. 27, a diplomatic process will begin in Geneva that could result in a new... more
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I have been a member of Tree Nation for going on five years now. Tree Nation is a free Internet community/organization where you can be a part of planting thousands of trees in four separate forests globally to help counter deforestation and desertfication right from your modem. Their original forest in the heart of Niger has now planted over 52,000 trees on their way to the goal of 100,000 for 2012! All total over 397,000 trees have been planted. I have several trees planted there in my name as well. There are other forests in Columbia, Nicaragua and their newest in Madagascar. This article is about a new moringa park being introduced in Niger and also about beginning to use agroforestry in their Niger plantation.
We see so much deforestation taking place in our world and so many negative effects from our behavior. This is one bright spot proving that people globally can join together in good spirit to work to make the world a better place.I hope you check it out and maybe even become part of the solution in planting trees in places where they are most needed now.
Excerpt:
"Alongside planting trees, we are beginning to farm fruits and vegetables as we cultivate the trees planted. Our goal is twofold: to enhance the quality of the soil and the growth of the trees through agroforestry and to take advantage by selling the products farmed in the process.
So far, we have planted tomatoes, aubergines and cucumbers. While the first two have yielded good results, many cucumbers have been lost owing to the pest of caterpillars. We are, however, going to continue farming the vegetables and we hope to make the most of distribution outlets in the capital of Niamey and in local markets to sell them alongside our production of Moringa leaves.
The Moringa plantation:
We have also decided to reorganise our site to open a new Moringa park. 15 metres wide, it runs alongside the channelling strip used for channelling the irrigation from the basin, which is a round 200 metres long. It will be ideally placed to take advantage of the water well and our soon-to-be-in-place micro irrigation system, by using the border irrigation technique, which involves irrigating a whole area of land at one time. As for our old park, until the irrigation system has been expanded it will only be being farmed on a seasonal basis.
In all, over the last few months we have harvested around 200 kg of Moringa leaves. And, while we’re on the subject, we thought you might want to know that we’ve just collected our first Baobab leaves since they were planted 4-5 years ago!"I have been a member of Tree Nation for going on five years now. Tree Nation is a free... more
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In order to understand the very basis of money, it is best to contemplate how it developed in the first place. Once society developed past the clan stage, when barter, trade and so forth arose, it became the practice to place value on the products of Human energy expended. If One used One's energy to build a bow, go out hunting, kill an animal, process the carcass, and transport the meat back to be traded or bartered for, this gave that meat value. The bow components were free, as was the animal. The same was true for the farmer, who expended meaningful energy in tilling, sowing, tending, harvesting, and, if need be, transporting what that farmer produced. The produce had value. Even the gatherer expended meaningful energy in seeking things to gather and transporting the find back to be used as "money" for other things. The miner expended the meaningful energy to find the (free) ore, hew it out of the earth, and transport it.
From these beginnings, the practice of using coin and other objects arose to represent this meaningful energy expended when transporting large amounts of goods, as well as needing something anOther had but not having the specific thing the Other wanted, became problematic. And from this, Humans went on to bills, when coins and jewels and other objects became too cumbersome. And lately, We have added electronic funds, as even bills are cumbersome in million unit, billion unit and trillion unit transactions.
But the foundation of all these monetary units is the meaningful energy expended, whether Human or external (oil, coal, nuclear, etc.) energy.
Given this, it becomes clear that an addition of abundant energy - in the form of overunity ("free energy") and robotics (to replace Human energy in necessary work no One wants to do), the need for money in any form - barter, trade, work exchange, coin, bills, electronic funds... - becomes unnecessary.
If one removes the cost of the energy - Human and external - all down the line, what is left is freely given by this planet We inhabit.
Now, of course, many would say, "But there IS no "overunity" to be had!" And in that, They would be incorrect. There have been many solutions to energy production and distribution which have been avidly suppressed and hidden by the power elite. They are fully aware that, by adding energy which is free, Their power over others, in the form of money, will dissipate, leaving Each to control Self but no Others. Though there are examples of things such as cars that run on water, extracting energy from the planet's magnetic field, and so on that have had patents bought and buried, or threats to lives (of the inventors Themselves as well as Their families), to actual murders, I know of one such technology that not only offers overunity but also gravity control. And, unlike most of these other examples, is negentropic (negative entropy) in its function. Cooling is seen in this technology, as opposed to heating.
That science/technology is electrogravitics.
Back in the 1950's, electrogravitics, with the Biefeld-Brown Effect as its foundation, was being pursued at all the major aerospace companies: Lockheed, Boeing, Convair, Lear and many others were excitedly exploring what electrogravitics has to offer. Sometime, around 1959 or early 1960, this work became highly classified, and though ostensibly for its "weaponization" concerns, the true reason it became highly classified was because of its overunity capabilities. The power elite grasped that THAT was the biggest threat to Their continued control.
As a source of energy, electrogravitics is ideal. From it, We can have energy that is free of pollution, is easily constructed, and does not contribute to the entropy of the universe. Because it is so ideal, and because the power elite seem bent on Naziesque control of the planet - with "Patriot" Acts, NDAA's, TSA's, and other fascist enactments - it is vital that the awareness of such technology spread to the tipping point. If We can achieve that, Humanity will demand this tech and free itself from:
● Poverty
● Hunger
● Slavery (outright or wage slavery)
● War (most wars are incited to ensure profit for the war suppliers and "infrastructure rebuilders")
● The control of the many by the few
● The LOVE of money (the root of all evil)
● The need to pay for education (going deeply into debt or forgoing education)
● Products made to fail so as to ensure future sales
● Hidden cures (cures are not a money-maker in the long run; sick People keep paying)
● Spam
● Aggressive advertising
● Focus on the material
● Politics for Self- or special-interest
● GMO for control of food
● Water control
● Hydrofracking, rain forest clearing, oil drilling, coal mining
● Corporations
● Corporate "farmers" paid to NOT produce food (so as to keep the prices inflated through supply and demand)
● Doctors who are more interested in money than patients
● Bankers
● Insurance
● Interweb takeover
● "Voting" machines with proprietary software (why would a simple vote-counting program need to be proprietry??? Why do We accept such things???)
● Waste (presently supermarkets alone throw out hundreds or thousands of tons of food a month, distributing by profit and not need, other waste such as packaging can virtually be eliminated, products will not be made to break so as to ensure future sales)
There's more, but as One can see, just this list is an elimination of most of the problems We presently are beset with.
To the end of achieving the tipping point of awareness, I am offering a petition to the US Military (which presently controls the science of electrogravitics) to release this information. I offer it here in the hopes You sign, and not only that, spread the awareness of what I have presented and of the petition itself.
http://www.change.org/petitions/us-military-release-the-technology-of-electrogravitics
I thank You for reading and for considering My petition.
Twitter: @AmaterasuSolar http://www.tumblr.com/blog/amaterasu101In order to understand the very basis of money, it is best to contemplate how it... more
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Because I need a link:
http://amaterasu101.blogspot.com/2011/03/let-us-forgive.html
Let Us Forgive.
Let Us forgive the Down Trodden, who are reviled because They “take advantage of the system.”
Let Us forgive the Power Elite who choose to create the Down Trodden by hiding technology and news.
Let us forgive the Toadies, who know They behave unethically, but the money and status lure Them astray.
Let us forgive the Slaves, who have but a piece of the total picture and dutifully fulfill Their Work ethic tasks in return for some time They think is free.
Let Us forgive the Stars, the Ones who show Us what Others want Us to see.
Let Us forgive the Influences who see Beings of Human construction as cattle or sheep.
Let Us forgive the Influences who have held so little faith in Beings of Human construction.
Let Us forgive the Liars, whether Down Trodden, Power Elite, Toadie, Slave, Star or Influence.
Let Us forgive the Incurious, who reject much data and do not investigate.
Let Us forgive Those amongst Us who do not believe as We do in matters of the Spirit.
Let Us forgive Beings born of a different nature than Ourselves, be the difference in preferences, physical configuration, capacity, ideology, coloration, or status – within the Three Laws.
Let Us, instead, stand both tall and humble – tall in the knowledge that We are true Beings who are capable of Love, and humble in the awareness that We are equal to all Others.
Let Us show We are worthy of forgiveness and want Our place as equals by forgiving Our equals.
Petition for the release of electrogravitics, to free Humanity of hunger, poverty, war, and the control of the power elite:
http://www.change.org/petitions/us-military-release-the-technology-of-electrograviticsBecause I need a link:
http://amaterasu101.blogspot.com/2011/03/let-us-forgive.html... more
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Internet vices
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neham
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added this
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3 months ago
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Continued from Part 1 - http://current.com/community/93670291_the-end-of-entropy-part-1.htm
If we insist that all farming be organic – in its true sense, and not some trumped up legal definition – our food will grow ever better. If we insist that mining is done with a conscious awareness for retaining beauty and structure, our impact will be small and repairable. If we insist that manufacturing be done such that it is free of pollutants, our planet will remain healthy and abundant. If we are using the Plenum Energy, the energy we use will be clean (and fracture drilling, oil pumping, coal mining, rain forest clearing and other nasty behaviors and consequences associated with petrofuels will be eliminated). If we set this parameter of the seed with the drive to be thoughtful of our planet, our planet will thrive.
If we demand open-source in all technology, we remove fears of machines “taking over.” Code can be looked at, published on the web – and better code will be worked out by those whose bliss it is to program things. A distrust of proprietary code (or any other hidden thing) should be promoted. Such a setting in this parameter of the seed will bring forth the best we can create.
By creating robots to do all the necessary work no one (or not enough people) wants to, we release ourselves to do what we enjoy – we are released from slavery, having cast it off onto our machines. This seed parameter is one only now available to humanity. Never before in our history have we had the option to create mechanical slaves for every “dirty job.” Therefore, it, along with the addition of a negentropic energy source, will provide a frame for unique emergence, a new societal framework, a new consciousness.
With a central website, in forum style, to address major issues – divided into local sections, regional sections and global sections, with “votes” at a certain level elevating the problems and solutions to the next level to be voted on by a greater number – we can collectively coordinate to solve the issues of this planet. This seed parameter will see an emergence of human unity as a race and as a planet.
Setting a focus of fulfilling one’s own bliss, exchanging the “work ethic” for a Betterment Ethic, will see very much happier people, and far better results of efforts made – a job is done far better by someone who loves to do it than by one who feels compelled against their main desire. No job will be required to live well, but any job one wants to do is open to be done. I quote again from Rifkin’s [u]Entropy[/u] (p. 210) to illustrate the differences between the scarcity paradigm and the new abundance paradigm, as it relates to work:
[quote]… [T]he authoritarian structure of the workplace robs the individual worker of a chance to join in a community with his fellows to make decisions and develop his talents. Unable to join with others to explore his potential and creativity, the individual is forced to retreat into a shell in which he has neither meaningful rights nor responsibilities at his work. All he is left with is a job, a place to make money, and a degrading environment to which he must submit, eight hours of every day.[/quote]
Thus we can see how a seed parameter of encouraging one to follow one’s bliss – since in this new paradigm one can – uplifts each one of us and increases the value of consciousness in society.
Having described the seed, how might it be expected to manifest? One of the first products that is likely to be seen are “power boxes,” which will be sold, initially. These would be units that had a mechanism to draw on the Plenum Energy and outlets to plug in our air conditioners, stoves, heaters, refrigerators, freezers, and so forth. This would allow us to move anywhere and bring our comfort items with us. We could “go camping” and still have our amenities, and many will. Eventually these items will each have their own units within.
As the cost of energy is removed from the production line at every stage, things will become less and less expensive, and at some point, will be given freely.
Other observables will include:
• Money falling into disuse
• Motivation from the heart as opposed to profit
• “Greed” becomes meaningless
• Peace
• Abundance for everyone
• Elimination of corruption
• Power over others supplanted by power over self
• Elimination of GMO’s
• Great reduction in violence
• Creative pursuits increased greatly
• A healed planet
• Reduced or eliminated hoarding
• Value placed on human-created art, textiles and products
• Focus on cures, not patentable chemicals that sicken for profit motive
• Human interaction with only those whose company is enjoyable (reduced social friction)
• Robotic stewardship of the planet
• Increased love and compassion
• Greatly reduced stress
• Wondrous works
• “Live and let live” behavior
• Most “laws” become unnecessary
• Corporate power eliminated
• Products made to last – no “planned obsolescence”
• Waste reduced to virtually nil
• Food nutrition increased for all
• One’s reputation becomes the “coin” one uses
• Personal responsibility for one’s own behavior
• Spiritual growth
• Slavery (outright or wage-slavery) abolished
• Human dignity encouraged
• Increase in charitable behavior
• Self autonomy
• Things are done because someone cares – from raising children to caring for others
From this list, it is clear that many issues we now face will be solved. Wealth will be measured in richness of character, rather than in deposits to a bank account. And we will spend our time doing what we like to do, being with the people we like and share interests with. Inventions, rather than being suppressed, will burgeon, and the “Star Trek universe” may be within our grasp, with things like transporters and replicators emerging.
And spiritual growth and communication will be encouraged as we find a greater amount of our time available to pursue the exploration of our inner dimension.
And though this is not a solution to every issue arising from human interaction – we will always have our personal disagreements – the overall health of society will skyrocket. Yes, we may still argue with others over the smaller issues in our lives, and some may choose to behave violently, but the numbers of occurrences will drop to a level we would consider statistically insignificant. Definitely a vast improvement over what we see today.
When you consider what I present here, ask yourself these questions:
Does this threaten a pet vision – passing laws, say, to solve a problem you see, or a view of striking it rich – that you have of your future? Does this scare you? Do you look for reasons that it won’t work? (All you envision as barrier issues – are scarcity paradigm views…)
Then ask yourself why working towards what I present here won’t solve the issue you want to solve, why you wouldn’t be rich in what I show to you, why it wouldn’t fulfill your idea of heaven, why you are afraid, and/or why you look for reasons it won’t work – rather than apply the proactive will to make this happen.
If we each choose to create this, since we have all it would take, consciously co-creating towards this goal, what I present would happen. It would take enough of us reaching a tipping point before it would all be downhill, and you may choose your future behavior. Speak for abundance, or reduce the chances that this will ever happen by keeping silent.
In closing, I recommend any who work for someone else and also are privy to information (such as methods of extracting usable energy from the plenum) give strong consideration to coming forth with what is known. In the end, you and all of us will be better off – and even today’s power elite will retain their life style, if not their power over us.Continued from Part 1 -... more
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Following the news on the tragic accident today on Jaba road near Ramallah, due to clash of track with school bus, where at least nine children and one teacher were killed and tens were injuried, Israeli comments on facebook, were inhumane to say the least.
Comments on Israeli news website Walla’s post on it’s Facebook page about the accident, showed despicable satisfaction and celebration by Israelis and a disgraceful wish there will be more of such:
Benny: Calm down, they are Palestinian Children.
Tali: It seems like they are Palestinian children.. Thank God..
Tal: Thank God they are Palestinians
Ajala: Great less terrorists!!!!
Eliya: Only Palestinian children were injured about ten.
Itai: Thank God its Palestinians, let it be such bus every day.
Aleyah: calm down, Its a bus with Palestinian children, lets pray there will be deaths, or at least severe injuries, this is great news to start the day with.
End of translation.
Please note the likes on each one of the racist and hateful comments.
And no one tell me this is exception and not the Israeli mainstream.Following the news on the tragic accident today on Jaba road near Ramallah, due to... more
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The raid that ravaged Megaupload was just the start. A powerful trade group that lists the biggest names in the entertainment biz as its members has called-out dozens of countries in their latest report and is insisting on sanctions against them.
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has submitted its annual watch list to the Office of the US Trade Representative, and in it they single out Canada, China, Russia and India — as well as over 30 other countries — for allegedly failing to do all they can to protect the intellectual property rights of American entertainers.
The review, the 2012 Special 301 Report, was filed with the USTR last week and warns the federal office that numerous nations allegedly “deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights or that deny fair and equitable market access to US persons who rely on intellectual property protection.”
As a response for these allegations, the IIPA suggests that the trade office take actions that range from increasing prosecution sentences for search engine operators, create legal incentives for cooperating Internet Service Providers and, in some cases, force foreign ISPs to block users access to questionable site altogether.The raid that ravaged Megaupload was just the start. A powerful trade group that lists... more
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This March 8th, the FBI is planning to unplug DNS servers it set up to help eliminate malware from over half of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies still infected in early 2012.
The change could potentially leave a great number of Internet users without access to the Web.
InfoWorld reports:
...the feds replaced the criminals' servers with clean ones that would push along traffic to its intended destination. Without the surrogate servers in place, infected PCs would have continued trying to send requests to aim at the now-unplugged rogue servers, resulting in DNS errors.
The malware, called DNSChanger Trojan, is said to illegally redirect traffic and prevent users from accessing the updates necessary to remove it. Without access to these critical patches, these large companies, government agencies, and home users are said to be more susceptible to hackers.
This prompted InfoWorld to wonder:
This fact does raise the question of why so many Fortune 500 companies and government agencies have failed to notice they have a problem, as they presumably have IT security professionals on staff who should be monitoring such incidents.
Those computers still infected with the Trojan will not be able to access the Internet after the FBI shuts down their temporary servers.
(read all about it at link)This March 8th, the FBI is planning to unplug DNS servers it set up to help eliminate... more
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Here's the follow-up story that I promised folks yesterday:
...our system of education is producing tremendous numbers of people with access to great amounts of data but no real idea what to do with it. That have, at most, been “educated” in a way that stops at the top end of the Information step of the DIKW Hierarchy (at best – there’s a good argument to be made that it doesn’t even go that far). This lower-level education philosophy doesn’t inculcate more rigorous critical thinking processes and it doesn’t usher the student through the Knowledge/Ideology barrier.
The result: a nation of people who believe strongly, but who lack the orientation to think past their dogmas, and who, thanks to a combination of widespread ignorance and highly sophisticated disinformation engines (like pretty much all corporate media), are awash in Data and neatly packaged disInformation (remember, neither Information nor Data are inherently “truthful”) that can be used in online “debates.”Here's the follow-up story that I promised folks yesterday:
...our system... more
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Thankfully, SOPA and PIPA went down to defeat in the United States but the lobbyists have not given up and have, instead, turned their attentions to Canada. House of Commons bill C-11, known as the Copyright Modernization Act is poised to be approved by Steven Harper’s majority government after debate was finished in less than 1 day. Then off to the Conservative dominated Senate for approval, and off to the Governor General to be signed into law.Thankfully, SOPA and PIPA went down to defeat in the United States but the lobbyists... more
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What I do know is that this is the defining characteristic of the people who dominate public discussions on things like the economy and Climate Change these days—people who can sound like they know what they’re talking about, but on closer inspection clearly don’t. But they’ve somehow, often by accident, managed to acquire the ability to sound good. And because they sound good, they’re convinced themselves, and others, that they know something, and that something is worth sharing. It’s a low rent version of the Categorical Imperative—if I can say something, no matter how foolish, I should. George Monbiot is right–these people are fundamentally stupid. But we let them drone on because we’re too goddam polite. There was a time when natural selection would have weeded many of these people out. No longer.What I do know is that this is the defining characteristic of the people who dominate... more
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Anonymous is 100% total and complete bullshit. Attacking the CIA and other establishment giants is only going to bring us internet restrictions.
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Online collective Anonymous has pledged a “crusade” against Israel. Claiming the country is committing “crimes against humanity” and gearing for “nuclear holocaust”, the group promised a campaign against the Israeli government.
In their statement issued early on Friday, Anonymous accused Israeli leaders of creating false democracy, serving the interests of a “select few” while “trampling the liberties of the masses.” The group said that Israel manipulates public opinion with a combination of “media deception” and “political bribery”.
Addressing the Israeli leaders, Anonymous stated that their “Zionist bigotry” is to blame for killings and displacements, adding that “as the world weeps” they are planning their “next attack”. The group pledged not to allow the attack to happen.
"You label all who refuse to comply with your superstitious demands as anti-Semitic and have taken steps to ensure a nuclear holocaust,” said the Anonymous. “We will not allow you to attack a sovereign country based upon a campaign of lies."
The group promised a three-step campaign against the current government of the country.
These will include “systematically” removing it from the internet and turning Israel into a free state, the third step remaining undisclosed.
However, in announcing the news, Israeli daily Haaretz comforted its readers by saying that the group is far from putting all of its threats into reality. The group previously threatened to attack the Knesset’s website but failed to fulfill the promise.
Still, in one of the recent developments Anonymous did crash the CIA website, which remained down hours after the attack. The group said it did this for “lulz”, meaning “for laughs”.Anonymous is 100% total and complete bullshit. Attacking the CIA and other... more
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Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/madonna-fans-israel-government-delay-war-iran-concert-article-1.1020447#ixzz1m1QRffBL
Well some good news finally on Iran!
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Israeli Madonna fans are asking their country to give peace a chance — at least until after the Material Girl's late-spring concert there.
They're rallying around, what else, a Facebook page, called "Bibi don't start a war with Iran until after Madonna's show on May 29."
Translated, that message suggests that Israel will eventually attack Iran if Iran doesn't back off on its nuclear development program.
But it asks that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delay any such action until after the Madonna show, because of the likelihood that foreign artists would not want to play in a country with a war in progress.
Israel, like other countries with a history of military tension, has been a nervous gig for some artists over the years, going back to the 2001 cancellation of a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.Read more:... more
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Next time you visit YouTube to watch funnier videos make sure who have added some extra o's to the lol since Google calculates the number of o's in LOL to weigh the funny content. Confused? Well, YouTube in its blog post revealed a new way of(technically, algorithm) to sort out the funny videos. In simple English, YouTube has decided to prioritize the videos on four parameters:
http://hoowstuffworks.blogspot.in/2012/02/why-number-of-os-in-lol-matter-on.htmlNext time you visit YouTube to watch funnier videos make sure who have added some... more
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File this one under, "Sometimes futurists actually get stuff right." OpenCulture.com has unearthed a remarkably prescient short film from 1967 (wrongly labeled as 1969 in the embedded video below) that shows a family using an Internet-like technology on their home and work computers to buy goods and bank remotely via "fingertip shopping."
The film was made by the Philco-Ford Company as part of its "House of the Future" series, which also predicted that programmable microwaves and flat-panel computer displays would be available in 1999. The gender roles assigned to the married couple in the film are pretty cringe-worthy—she does all the online shopping on her multi-display computer while he sits in his office and waits for the bills to get piped over to his own rig—but the speculative technology depicted proves to be as spot-on as the Susie Homemaker plot now seems positively archaic.
(more at link)File this one under, "Sometimes futurists actually get stuff right."... more
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Next post
Patent Troll Claims Ownership of Interactive Web – And Might Win
Copyrights and Patents
The mother of all patent troll trials unfolds in Texas where Google, Amazon and Adobe are fighting a patent claiming ownership over online video, image rotation and search auto-complete. We explain and start a series.
TYLER, Texas — The city of Tyler, Texas, is better known as the nation’s “rose capital” than as a hotspot of the technology industry. It’s a quiet, conservative city of about 100,000, full of wide streets and big trucks.
This week, though, Tyler is the site of a remarkable battle over the history of the World Wide Web — a trial that could affect the future of e-commerce. The federal courthouse downtown is packed to the brim with dozens of lawyers, representing the world’s biggest internet companies, including Yahoo, Amazon, Google and YouTube.
A succession of pioneers of the early web — including the web’s father, Tim Berners-Lee himself — have flown in from around the world to denounce two software patents they believe threaten the future of web innovation. East Texas has transformed itself into something of a haven for patent suits over the past several years, but by any standard, the trial now underway is an extraordinary circus of dark suits.
How did all the trouble start?
Michael Doyle, a low-profile Chicago biologist, claims that it was actually he and two co-inventors who invented — and patented — the “interactive web” before anyone else, while they were employed by the University of California back in 1993. Doyle argues that a program he created at the UC’s San Francisco campus, which allowed doctors to view embryos over the nascent World Wide Web, was the first program that allowed users to interact with images inside of a web browser window. The defendants hotly contest that, saying that it was programs like Pei-Yuan Wei’s pioneering Viola that first offered this functionality.
Today, Doyle and his lawyers say he’s owed royalty payments for the use of a stunning array of modern web technologies. Watching online video, having a “search suggestion” pop up in a search bar, or even rotating an image of a sweater you might want to buy on an online shopping site — all are said to infringe on the idea-space of Doyle and his company, Eolas Technologies.
To those who follow high-profile tech litigation, the name Eolas may sound familiar. The company sued Microsoft back in 1999, winning a $521 million jury verdict in 2003 that shook the tech world. While that verdict was overturned on appeal, Microsoft ultimately settled rather than re-try the case. The full settlement amount wasn’t disclosed, but the University of California revealed that its cut was $30.4 million; since an Eolas lawyer at one point described UC’s take as 25 percent, minus expenses, it suggests the company got well over $100 million from that case.
The Microsoft verdict got the attention of tech community in a big way. Eolas was denounced in some quarters as a “patent troll” — the company has never launched its own web browser, or any commercially successful technology that’s well known, for that matter.
Groups that felt the impact of the patent started to take action. The W3C, the global web standards group, contacted the patent office directly, sending a letter signed by Berners-Lee warning that unless the Eolas patent was invalidated it would cause the “disruption of global web standards” and cause “substantial economic and technical damage to the operation of the World Wide Web.”
But while the PTO initially rejected the Eolas patent claims in reexams, Doyle and his lawyers were dogged in insisting they had the right to some kind of patent claim. The office ultimately reversed course — a fact now being trumpeted to an East Texas jury by Eolas’ lawyers.
Eolas’ lawyers have actually used the struggle against the patent to bolster their claim that it’s an important invention. Mike McKool, the lead lawyer for Eolas, told the jury during opening statements that tech companies have been attacking the patent ever since 1995 — when it was still three years away from issuing.
Eolas Becomes Texan to Pursue a New Suit
By the time Eolas settled its case against Microsoft in 2007, the business of “patent trolling” had begun to coalesce around a few popular venues, most notably the small towns of East Texas.
While the Microsoft suit was underway, the company applied for a second patent, which it received on Oct. 6, 2009. The same day, Eolas filed suit — in East Texas — against more than 20 big companies, including Apple, Playboy, Perot Systems, Blockbuster, Citigroup, eBay, and Frito-Lay — all for using the “interactive web.”
Most of those companies settled; eight remain as defendants. In addition to the internet companies mentioned above, GoDaddy, JC Penney, Staples, and CDW Corp are in the case. In documents filed last month, Eolas lawyers said they will seek damages of more than $600 million against those eight companies, with more than half of it coming from Google and Yahoo.Next post
Patent Troll Claims Ownership of Interactive Web – And Might Win... more
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As AFP predicted in the Feb. 6 edition, the call by the publisher of The Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler, for Israel’s Mossad to utilize its American-based assets to assassinate Barack Obama has been almost entirely suppressed by the mainstream media. In contrast, the story has been big news in Israel and widely reported in Jewish community newspapers all across America.
Most astonishing—in response to Adler’s provocation—is that there are many Jewish writers openly acknowledging there is a deep hatred for Obama within the Jewish community, which most Americans presume to be strongly supportive of the president.
And although there have been attempts to paint Adler’s Atlanta Jewish Times as being somehow without influence, one of Adler’s regular columnists is Chuck Berk, a leader of the Republican Jewish Coalition, who—as recently as Dec. 30—was pictured in the Times in the company of Israel’s consul general in Atlanta, along with the governor of Georgia and several state senators.
In the meantime, Scotty Reid—columnist for a black-oriented Internet site, ThyBlackMan, raised important questions: “Are there Israeli assassination teams in the U.S.? If Israeli Mossad agents are based in the United States, what they are doing?”
Reid also noted that, “Adler is not just some crazed or mentally impaired individual publishing outlandish conspiracy theories.” Instead, Reid emphasized, Adler is not only publisher of a weekly newspaper but also producer of a local television show on which he has interviewed a number of Israeli government officials.
While JTA suggested most Jews still claim to support Obama, it did not mention that polls showing significant Jewish opposition to Obama could be enough to cause Obama to lose the electoral votes of key states, particularly in the Northeast, where politically active Jews in large numbers reside.As AFP predicted in the Feb. 6 edition, the call by the publisher of The Atlanta... more
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by Ryan Gallagher - 05 February 2012
In the last twelve months it has attacked government websites in Syria, declared cyber war on a brutal Mexican drug cartel, and exposed an anti-WikiLeaks "dirty tricks campaign" allegedly plotted by a prominent US security firm. But on Friday, Anonymous, a diffuse network of internet hackers, reached a new level when it intercepted and leaked a conference call between FBI agents and Scotland Yard detectives.
The astonishing feat - confirmed as genuine by the FBI - was apparently carried out after the hackers breached email accounts belonging to the authorities. In doing so, they were able to snoop on communications being exchanged between forces involved in a joint international anti-hacking operation across England, Ireland, Holland, France, Denmark, Sweden and America. In a piece of surreal real-life theatre, the tables were embarrassingly and dramatically turned. The investigators became the investigated; the watchers became the watched.
The call in question, which lasts around 16 minutes, is one of the boldest leaks ever produced by the hackers, and it may also be one of the most revelatory. A fascinating glimpse into a highly classified world, it shows the extent to which the Metropolitan police is willing to collaborate with its foreign counterparts as part of cyber-crime investigations, even if doing so means interfering with the British judicial process. At one point during the call, for instance, one of the Scotland Yard detectives tells his FBI colleagues that they secretly delayed an ongoing court case involving two UK-based suspected hackers - Jake Davis and Ryan Cleary - at America's behest.
"Following some discussion with the New York office, we're looking to try and build some time in to allow some operational matters to fulfil on your side of the water," the Scotland Yard detective is quoted as saying. "We've got the prosecution making an application in chambers, i.e. without the defence knowing, to seek a way to try and factor some time in, that won't look suspicious." He goes on: "Hey, we're here to help. We've cocked things up in the past, we know that."
The FBI has previously declined to comment on whether it would pursue extradition of Cleary or Davis, both of whom are facing a series of charges in Britain for their alleged involvement with Anonymous and its affiliated offshoot, LulzSec .
The call suggests, however, that the US could indeed be building its own case against the hackers. Davis in particular, who stands accused of being the audacious LulzSec spokesperson known online as "Topiary", would no doubt be wanted by the Americans. Over a two-month period in 2011, LulzSec perpetrated a series of high-profile attacks on the websites of US-based multi-national corporations and state agencies - including the CIA and the US senate - making it a prime target for cyber-crime investigators within the FBI.
Prior to the leaked call, it was clear that Davis's legal team already suspected US involvement on some level. This was made apparent last month, during a short hearing at Southwark Crown Court, when Gideon Cammerman, Davis's lawyer, expressed concern about outside interference, asking prosecutors that any "letters of request from a foreign jurisdiction" are presented to him when evidence is formally exchanged on 30 March, prior to Davis and Cleary entering pleas on 11 May. (A letter of request is a method used by a foreign court to seek judicial assistance, such as to obtain information or a witness statement from a specified person.)
Responding to concerns raised by Cammerman, a source within the Crown Prosecution Service said that they could not officially comment on the matter of foreign involvement until after 30 March, but stressed both prosecution and defence had a "common interest in the case being tried here [in the UK] effectively," hinting that any possible US extradition request could hinge on the outcome of the British trial.
In the meantime, the key question is whether Anonymous is sitting on more hacked information as explosive as the conference call, which, depending on its content, could have potentially massive repercussions.
To some extent, the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic have now been put on the back foot. Likely rattled and aghast that their own private conversations were hacked by the very hackers they are paid to investigate, they will be apprehensive about what could come next.
Cleary's lawyer, Karen Todner, has starkly warned that "whole cases could be blown apart" as a result of future security breaches; Anonymous, as ever, has promised more revelations are yet to come.
"You think we're done? Fuck no," tweeted one of its most prominent hackers, Sabu, on Friday. "Truth is we're still in the agents (sic) mailbox right now."
Ryan Gallagher is a freelance journalist based in London. His website is hereby Ryan Gallagher - 05 February 2012
In the last twelve months it has attacked... more
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According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Google spent approximately $390,000 (out of $3,760,000.00 total) on SOPA and PIPA lobbying including efforts to educate lawmakers on SOPA and the DMCA. The question, then, is whether the massive search and advertising giant was for or against the bill – and why so much money was spent to argue the case.
The document, available online in PDF here, is fairly succinct and covers a number of topics, thereby explaining the massive cash outlay. Here’s the specific mention of SOPA:
Here’s the specific mention of SOPA:
S. 968 – Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011; S. 978 -
Commercial Felony Streaming Act; S. 2029 – Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade Act; H.R. 3261 -
Stop Online Piracy Act; Digital Millennium Copyright Act service provider safe harbors; Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Google was unavailable for comment for this piece but it’s clear that most organizations with a dog in the fight spent some money on lobbying. Wikimedia spent a mere $10K on their efforts, at least according to documents we found. The MPAA made its interests clear in the media but less clear in FEC filings, pouring in $850,000.00 in lobbying money while mentioning nothing of its stance.According to filings with the Federal Election Commission, Google spent approximately... more
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