tagged w/ Current Tonight
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If you use an Android or Blackberry phone, likely it houses a piece of hidden software which logs the content of your text messages, web searches, and other activities, and transmits the information back to company headquarters. Android developer Trevor Eckhart last week released information and started an uproar about a widespread rootkit, called Carrier IQ, that's capable of logging everything you do and comes preinstalled on a ton of smartphones-including various Androids, Nokia phones, and BlackBerrys. Here's how it works and how you can get rid of it.
What Is Carrier IQ?
Last week, 25-year old Eckhart discovered a hidden application on some mobile phones that had the ability to log anything and everything on your device—from location to web searches to the content of your text messages. The program is called Carrier IQ, and unlike the Android malware that's been causing such a stir, it actually comes preinstalled by the manufacturer of your phone. In fact, you can find it on a bunch of different devices, including Android, Nokia, and BlackBerry phones. It's what's known as a rootkit—a program with massive amounts of privileges that hides its presence from the user. It was originally designed to log things like dropped calls and bad data connections for troubleshooting purposes, but manufacturers like HTC and Samsung have modified it to run in the background, completely undetectable, with no option to opt out of its "services". At best, it slows down your phone, and at worst, anyone on the other end of the application could, in theory, read your text messages, see what you search on the web, and much more.
Worst of all, after being confronted, phone manufacturers, wireless carriers, and Carrier IQ themselves have tossed around blame, saying they aren't doing anything wrong. Some have and their privacy policies aren't super specific on what they collect and use. Sprint claims they are "unable to look at the contents of messages, photos, or videos" using Carrier IQ, but Eckhart claims differently. I highly recommend reading Eckhart's article for a deeper look at how Carrier IQ works and how it's manifested itself on certain devices.
Update: Our original article stated that the software also came preinstalled on iPhones and dumphones, which has not been confirmed. That information came from this article at Geeks.com, and we actually believe that to be a typo. Considering it hasn't been mentioned in any other source, and that the iPhone isn't on Eckhart's list of affected devices, we're removing it until other sources say otherwise. Thanks to everyone who pointed this out.
Update #2: It looks like Carrier IQ does, in fact, run on iOS, but in a much more stripped down version that isn't so offensive to the privacy-conscious. It's also very easy to turn off. Check out this blog post for more information.
How to Tell If It's Running On Your Phone
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Right now, Android users are the only ones able to detect and remove the program. However, depending on your phone, you may have to be rooted to do so. Once rooted, running the "CIQ Checks" task in this app on XDA will tell you whether it's running on your system. On HTC phones, you can also search for the app in Settings > Applications as described in the video above, but using the Logging Checker app is the most reliable way to check.
Note also that if you're running an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) based ROM—like CyanogenMod—you do not have Carrier IQ installed on your system. These apps are based on the original, open source version of Android, and don't include any carrier or manufacturer additions like Carrier IQ. If you're using a modded version of your manufacturer's ROM, however—for example, a modded HTC Sense or Samsung TouchWiz ROM—you could still have it installed. To avoid this, either flash AOSP based ROMs, or flash ROMs with Carrier IQ specifically removed (many will say NOCIQ or something similar on their description pages).
How to Remove It From Your Device
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If you want to remove it from your device, you have two choices. Either flash a custom ROM that doesn't contain Carrier IQ (as described above), or use Eckhart's Logging Test App to remove it. Both solutions require rooting your phone.
To remove it with the Logging Test App, download the original app and then buy the $1 pro license from the Android Market. Then, open it up, hit the Menu button, and tap "Remove CIQ". This will completely remove it from your device.
Update: Some of you are noting problems with this function of the Logging Test App, So be wary if your phone isn't one of the devices it's confirmed to work on. As always, make a backup before you use anything with heavy root permissions. If you'd rather not deal with the Logging Test App, I highly recommend flashing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod instead.If you use an Android or Blackberry phone, likely it houses a piece of hidden software... more
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December 18,2010 by Sarah Lieberman:Hoodwatch Media affiliate Chicago| It's no secret that in this life we will surely die someday,but sometimes, a time spent in life is too short. Some time over the labor day weekend, Atlanta rapper, and music composer Lord Hector Diono was remixing a previous release in his studio in Decatur Georgia when he received a phone call from a chief insider to his music nucleus, Mr. Dwight Wash of Forrest,Mississippi about 7pm Saturday September 4, this year. Hector was informed that his good friend and confidant Leteaka Coston had passed away earlier that morning from a massive heart attack,dead at the age of 29. Today we announce Hector's decision to release a piano composition he wrote in memory of Miss Coston to the entire world. The single is entitled "I Hope You Shine"(A Letter To Lateaka Coston) and will appear on itunes, one of many music outlets contracted to the rapper he'll use to spread the word about how much Miss Coston meant to him and his closest friends. The free version is available now at http://lordhectordiono.bandcamp.com/track/i-hope-you-shine-a-letter-for-lateaka-coston Hector told his online media staff October 18, 2010, "plain and simple, this will not stand,she was too damn young to go like this". Since then the rapper and music composer has been trying to complete the music project he deemed at times too hard to carry out. Lord Hector finished the project on Saturday December 4, 2010 and sends his deepest regards to her family and life partner Drama Franklin.The record will be released on his indie label; Dark Town Music Group and distributed by Island Def Jam Music on Christmas Day December 25, 2010(Updated December 25, 2010) Now Available on Napster.com| http://music.napster.com/lord-hector-diono-music/album/%E2%80%9Ci-hope-you-shine%E2%80%9D-%28a-letter-to-lateaka-coston%29---single/14079656#s_module Story by by Sarah Lieberman [UPDATE] by Jess Glass August 22,2011 Lord Hector Diono commemorates the 30th birthday of his fallen friend Ms. Lateaka T. Coston, Marietta, Georgia who would've turned 30 years old on August 24, 2011. A memorial tribute single released Friday August 19,2011 entitled "Reach For You" http://www.amazon.com/Reach-For-You-Memorial-Tribute/dp/B005HZV37C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314010447&sr=8-1 The single is another attempt to add some closure for our CEO whom I spoke with on August 2, 2011 and came to my own conclusion that he is still very much affected by the sudden loss of Ms. Coston but shows improvement on the length of time he can actually talk about her demise. This single will also list as a free download for family, friends, and interested listeners of this latest composition which will be available August 24, 2011 http://islanddefjam.bandcamp.com/track/happy-birthday-lateakareach-for-you [STORY] by Jess Glass August 22,2011| Hoodwatch Media affiliate Athens,GeorgiaDecember 18,2010 by Sarah Lieberman:Hoodwatch Media affiliate Chicago| It's no... more
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Hatsune Miku has topped the pop charts in Japan, sold out stadium concerts and become a legitimate cultural phenomenon. The interesting thing is that Miku doesn't exist -- at least not in any traditional sense of the word. Miku is a computer-generated avatar that performs songs with the help of a live band. But unlike say, Gorillaz, a cartoon band that merely serves as the public face of an artistic collective, everything about Miku comes from a computer. She is the product of a company called Crypton Future Media, which synthesizes Miku's voice using Yamaha's Vocaloid software.
Creating the character -- which appears as a girl with blue pigtails and a cyberpunk version of the traditional Japanese school-girl uniform -- was a meticulous process. First, the creators recorded voice actress Saki Fujita making individual phonetic sounds at a specific pitch and tone. Then, they recombined the samples and fed them through the synthesis software to produce an almost endless number of words and sounds. Users can actually purchase a copy of Miku to run on their home PCs, and have her perform songs of their own creation.
Despite Miku's availability for private performances on home PCs, crowds still shell out for live concerts, where Miku is able to whip her legions of fans into a frenzy (as seen in the video below). At these sold-out shows, Miku is materialized, so to speak, as a 3-D hologram. She parades and dances around the stage as she belts out pop-rock songs, while her human band provides a musical backdrop for her J-Pop crooning.
The tech behind both the vocals and the public displays is impressive, but we have a feeling this will remain a distinctly Japanese phenomenon. American consumers don't seem like they're ready to shell out the big bucks to watch a 'Final Fantasy' character robotically plow through second-rate Avril Lavigne knockoff tunes.Hatsune Miku has topped the pop charts in Japan, sold out stadium concerts and become... more
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Mike Shanklin undoes the myth of the "Military Hero" syndrome
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Several sovereignty-surrendering treaties are piled on Barack Obama’s desk waiting to be slipped past the U.S. Senate when the new Congress is seated in January. He is unlikely to act during the election season, but concerned citizens must remain on guard while the international propaganda machine is grinding away.
Propaganda is so effective that well-meaning Americans are being exploited. Jim Horn, vice president of Colonial Williamsburg, is supporting having the historic city designated a “World Heritage Site.” The designation would give the UN, not Virginia, control. The UN could say where roads or buildings could or could not be built. Under this arrangement, the locality could only plead for changes and could be denied.
It’s notable to recall that the Rockefeller family was instrumental in establishing Colonial Williamsburg, just as that family sold the land for the establishment of the UN’s headquarters along the East River in Manhattan.
The Williamsburg connection is especially well documented in the late Ferdinand Lundberg’s noted book The Rockefeller Syndrome. The proposed UN site includes historic Jamestown, Yorktown National Battlefield and Colonial National Historic Park.
Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown and the battlefield are already “world heritages” without UN bureaucrats being involved. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the New World (not the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock, Mass.). It was in Williamsburg that the Virginia state legislature (then called the House of Burgesses) was established. Now meeting in the Virginia capital, Richmond, it is the longest continuing legislative body in the United States. It was at Yorktown that the British surrendered, largely ending the Revolutionary War.
But under the UN’s World Heritage Site designation, control will go to its Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly referred to as UNESCO, which has been called a “global school board” by critics.
Other pending sovereignty-surrendering treaties:
� The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. Already 87 jurisdictions have signed on to its global “tax standard.” The OECD is demanding that nations increase their taxes under an international cartel. Your personal financial information would be available to OECD bureaucrats. Its ultimate goal is a global tax collected by the UN. Such a direct tax on the “citizens of the world” is pending before the UN General Assembly.
� The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This treaty has been pending for 30 years, since President Jimmy Carter signed it in 1980. Twice, it has been voted favorably out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It is strongly supported by Obama (a self-proclaimed “citizen of the world”) and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. If ratified, Americans could be induced to abandon Mother’s Day. The treaty proclaims that celebrating Mother’s Day violates women’s rights by perpetuating a negative cultural stereotype.
� The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), signed by President Bill Clinton in February 1995. It is supported by Obama. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is leading the fight for ratification. Under this treaty, the UN becomes your house nanny, with absolute authority. Tell your child to be home by 10 p.m. on a school night? If you do so, the purpose of this treaty would mean your son could protest to UN bureaucrats who would decide the issue. Did you “ground” your child for bad behavior? The UN may second-guess and punish you.
The Law of the Sea Treaty, or LOST, also has been monitored by this AFP writer and will be tracked over the next few months. It would give the UN effective control over the oceans and the almost infinite mineral wealth underneath them, among other things.
Call either 202-456-1111 for the comment line or 202-456-1414 for the White House switchboard to talk to an operator. Listen to the prompts.
http://americanfreepress.net/html/pressure_obama_239.htmlSeveral sovereignty-surrendering treaties are piled on Barack Obama’s desk... more
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PARIS – Citizens of the world's richest countries are getting fatter and fatter and the United States is leading the charge, an organization of leading economies said Thursday in its first ever obesity forecast.
Three out of four Americans will be overweight or obese by 2020, and disease rates and health care spending will balloon, unless governments, individuals and industry cooperate on a comprehensive strategy to combat the epidemic, the study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
The Paris-based organization, which brings together 33 of the world's leading economies, is better known for forecasting deficit and employment levels than for measuring waistlines. But the economic cost of excess weight — in health care, and in lives cut short and resources wasted — is a growing concern for many governments.
Franco Sassi, the OECD senior health economist who authored the report, blamed the usual suspects for the increase.
"Food is much cheaper than in the past, in particular food that is not particularly healthy, and people are changing their lifestyles, they have less time to prepare meals and are eating out more in restaurants," said Sassi, a former London School of Economics lecturer who worked on the report for three years.
That plus the fact that people are much less physically active than in the past means that the ranks of the overweight have swelled to nearly 70 percent in the U.S. this year from well under 50 percent in 1980, according to the OECD.
In 10 years, a full 75 percent of Americans will be overweight, making it "the fattest country in the OECD," the report said.
The same factors driving the epidemic in the U.S. are also at work in other wealthy and developing countries, Sassi said. "There is a frightening increase in the epidemic," Sassi said, "We've not reached the plateau yet."
The lifespan of an obese person is up to 8-10 years shorter than that of a normal-weight person, the OECD said, the same loss of lifespan incurred by smoking.
In the U.S. the cost in dollars of obesity, including higher health care spending and lost production, is already equivalent to 1 percent of the country's total gross domestic product, the report said. That compares to half a percent in other OECD countries, Sassi said.
These costs could rise two- or threefold over the coming years, the OECD said, citing another study that forecast obesity and overweight-related health care costs would rise 70 percent by 2015 and could be 2.4 times higher than the current level in 2025.
The OECD found that rates of obesity, defined as a body mass index above 30, show a wide variation across its member countries, ranging from as little as 3-4 percent of the population in Japan and Korea to around one-third in the U.S. and Mexico.
"However, rates are also increasing in these countries," the OECD said. Outside the OECD, obesity rates are rising at similarly fast rates in countries such as Brazil, China, India and Russia.
The OECD advises governments on economic growth, social development and financial stabilityPARIS – Citizens of the world's richest countries are getting fatter and... more
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The so-called DREAM Act would create an official path to Democratic voter registration for an estimated two million college-age illegal aliens. Look past the public relations-savvy stories of "undocumented" valedictorians left out in the cold. This is not about protecting "children." It's about preserving electoral power through cap-and-gown amnesty.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced this week that he's attaching the DREAM Act to the defense authorization bill. With ethnic activists breathing down his neck and President Obama pushing to fulfill his campaign promise to Hispanics, Reid wants his queasy colleagues to vote on the legislation next week.
Open-borders lawmakers have tried and failed to pass the DREAM Act through regular channels for the past decade. That's because informed voters know giving green cards to illegal alien students undermines the rule of law, creates more illegal immigration incentives and grants preferential treatment to illegal alien students over law-abiding native and naturalized American students struggling to get an education in tough economic times. This bad idea is compounded by a companion proposal to recruit more illegal aliens into the military with the lure of citizenship (a fraud-ridden and reckless practice countenanced under the Bush administration).
DREAM Act lobbyists are spotlighting heart-wrenching stories of high-achieving teens brought to this country when they were toddlers. But instead of arguing for case-by-case dispensations, the protesters want blanket pardons. The broadly drafted Senate bill would confer benefits on applicants up to age 35, and the House bill contains no age ceiling at all. The academic achievement requirements are minimal. Moreover, illegal aliens who didn't arrive in the country until they turned 15 -- after they laid down significant roots in their home country -- would be eligible for DREAM Act benefits and eventual U.S. citizenship. And like past amnesty packages, the Democratic plan is devoid of any concrete eligibility and enforcement mechanisms to deter already-rampant immigration benefit fraud.
The DREAM Act sponsors have long fought to sabotage a clearly worded provision in the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) that states:
"Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an alien who is not lawfully present in the United States shall not be eligible on the basis of residence within a State (or a political subdivision) for any postsecondary education benefit unless a citizen or national of the United States is eligible for such a benefit (in no less an amount, duration, and scope) without regard to whether the citizen or national is such a resident."
Ten states defied that federal law and offered DREAM Act-style tuition preference to illegal aliens: California, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Washington. The last time DREAM Act champions tried to tack their scheme onto a larger immigration proposal, they snuck in language that would absolve those 10 states of their law-breaking by repealing the 1996 law retroactively -- and also offering the special path to green cards and citizenship for illegal alien students.
Despite the obvious electoral advantage this plan would give Democrats, several pro-illegal alien amnesty Republicans crossed the aisle to support the DREAM Act, including double-talking Sens. John McCain, Richard Lugar, Bob Bennett, Sam Brownback, Norm Coleman, Susan Collins, Larry Craig, Chuck Hagel, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Mel Martinez and Olympia Snowe, as well as presidential candidate Mike Huckabee (who champions even greater illegal alien student benefits than those proposed by Democrats). After paying lip service to securing the borders, McCain promised DREAM Act demonstrators this week that he supported the bill and would work to "resolve their issues."
Out-of-touch polls might want to pay attention to the world outside their bubble. A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows that Americans across the political spectrum favor tougher enforcement of existing immigration laws over rolling out the amnesty welcome wagon. When asked, "Do you think immigration reform should primarily move in the direction of integrating illegal immigrants into American society or in the direction of stricter enforcement of laws against illegal immigration?" solid majorities of registered Republicans, Democrats and independents chose stricter enforcement over greater integration of the illegal alien population.
Democrats outside the Beltway have grown increasingly averse to signing on to illegal alien incentives -- especially as the Obama jobs death toll mounts and economic confidence plummets. Here in Colorado, a handful of Democrats joined Republican lawyers to kill a state-level DREAM Act amid massive higher education budget cuts and a bipartisan voter backlash.
Asked why she opposed the illegal alien student bailout, one Democratic lawmaker said quite simply: "I listened to my constituents." An alien concept in Washington, to be sure.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1170564The so-called DREAM Act would create an official path to Democratic voter registration... more
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Wheat prices rose further on Friday in the wake of Russia’s decision to extend its grain export ban by 12 months, raising fears about a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007-08.
In Mozambique, where a 30 per cent rise in bread prices triggered riots on Wednesday and Thursday, the government said seven people had been killed and 288 wounded.
Vladimir Putin’s announcement on Thursday extended an export ban first introduced last month until late December 2011, sending wheat and other cereals prices to a near two-year high. It came as the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation called an emergency meeting to discuss the wheat shortage.
The crop problems in Russia, which suffered its worst drought on record this summer, and elsewhere, have heaped pressure on US farmers to supply the world’s wheat. The US Department of Agriculture has increased its estimates for US wheat exports to $8bn for the current crop year.
The 2007-08 food shortages, the most severe in 30 years, set off riots in countries from Bangladesh to Mexico, and helped to trigger the collapse of governments in Haiti and Madagascar.
Meat price surge fuels fears of food inflation
Global meat prices have hit a 20-year high as robust demand from emerging countries has coincided with a drop in production by exporters such as the US and Australia, fuelling concerns about rising food inflation.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s index of meat prices rose in August to its highest level since 1990, up 16 per cent over the past year, after lamb prices hit a 37-year high, beef prices climbed to a two-year high and the cost of pork and poultry prices rose
Meat production has stagnated in top exporting countries as livestock farmers suffered a series of misfortunes from severe droughts in Australia and Latin America, to low prices in the early 2000s and record high feeding costs.Wheat prices rose further on Friday in the wake of Russia’s decision to extend... more
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Satoshi Kon, the Japanese director of animated films such as Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress and the Inception-influencing Paprika, has died at the young age of 47. The director reportedly lost a battle with cancer.
News of the director’s passing originally came via a tweet from Takeda Yasuhiro, then seems to have been confirmed by other sources, such as the UK Anime Network.
I’m by no means an authority on anime as a form. But the artistry of Kon’s films is impossible to ignore, and his best work had the ability to bring anime to new audiences. In many ways, he was second only to Hayao Miyazaki as an anime director who could command a global audience. News of his passing comes as a great shock.
A writer and animator working since the early ’90s, Kon’s directorial career began with the 1998 release of Perfect Blue, and he really began to come into his own with films like Tokyo Godfathers, in 2003. The mind-bending Paprika is likely his most-seen film, and appears to have had a significant influence on Christopher Nolan’s film Inception.
Satoshi Kon had spent the past couple years working on a new film, The Dream Machine, which was slated for release in 2011. I do not know the current status of that film, nor of plans for any eventual completion and release. We’ll dig for updates on that project. In the meantime, take a look at the trailers for Kon’s films, and check out the ones you haven’t seen.
http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/08/24/satoshi-kon-director-of-paprika-and-tokyo-godfathers-has-reportedly-died-at-age-47/Satoshi Kon, the Japanese director of animated films such as Tokyo Godfathers,... more
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SF Weekly reports that a man committed suicide last night at a Swell Season show in Saratoga, California. The suicide happened while the band was on stage, between songs. The man jumped from the roof of the Mountain Winery, falling about three stories and landing onstage.
According to witnesses quoted in the SF Weekly report, the man landed a few feet away from Swell Season co-leader Glen Hansard. Doctors in the audience attempted to revive him. Afterward, paramedics tried and then abandoned CPR. The show immediately ended.
Billboard has a statement from the Swell Season: "The band, crew and all involved with them are shocked and saddened by the unfortunate events of last night. Their hearts go out to the victim and his friends and family."
The man's name has not yet been released.
http://pitchfork.com/news/39819-man-commits-suicide-on-stage-at-swell-season-concert-in-california/SF Weekly reports that a man committed suicide last night at a Swell Season show in... more
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Tristan Perich's 1-Bit Symphony is an electronic composition in five movements on a single microchip. Though housed in a CD jewel case like his first circuit album (1-Bit Music 2004-05), 1-Bit Symphony is not a recording in the traditional sense; it literally "performs" its music live when turned on. A complete electronic circuit—programmed by the artist and assembled by hand—plays the music through a headphone jack mounted into the case itself. The project is set to be released on Cantaloupe Music on August 24, 2010.
http://www.1bitsymphony.com/Tristan Perich's 1-Bit Symphony is an electronic composition in five movements on... more
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Citing a German news report, Techeye.net reports that Google has purchased small UAV "microdrone" aircraft manufactured by Germany's microdrone GmbH, perhaps for use to augment the company's Street View mapping data. Techeye says:
The UAVs being flogged are mini helicopters with cameras attached that can be flown about all over the place. They're quiet and resemble sci-fi UFOs for the vertically challenged alien.
They can fly up to 80km per hour, so Microdrone CEO Sven Juerss suggests they'll be brilliant for mapping entire neighbourhoods really quickly and relatively cheaply.
Even before Google started data mining on open web networks its Street View operations were controversial, with Google Maps picking up on people who didn't exactly want their faces plastered all over the internet. With the kind of high-angle aerial shots this sort of kit can achieve, it boggles the mind as to the sort of images that may be accidentally captured.
Our take: Skepticism is warranted, and outrage is probably premature.
Our understanding is that FAA certification procedures for civilian UAVs operating in domestic airspace are not yet in place, so it is not clear that the regular operation of such UAVs would be legal -- never mind prudent from a privacy or public-relations point of view.
http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/2010/08/does-google-plan-to-fly-its-own-uav-spies-in-the-sky.htmlCiting a German news report, Techeye.net reports that Google has purchased small UAV... more
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The earth could be hit by a wave of violent space weather as early as Tuesday after a massive explosion of the sun, scientists have warned.
The solar fireworks at the weekend were recorded by several satellites, including Nasa’s new Solar Dynamics Observatory which watched its shock wave rippling outwards. Astronomers from all over the world witnessed the huge flare above a giant sunspot the size of the Earth, which they linked to an even larger eruption across the surface of Sun.
The explosion was aimed directly towards Earth, which then sent a “solar tsunami” racing 93 million miles across space. Images from the SDO hint at a shock wave travelling from the flare into space, the New Scientist reported.
Experts said the wave of supercharged gas will likely reach the Earth on Tuesday, when it will buffet the natural magnetic shield protecting Earth. It is likely to spark spectacular displays of the aurora or northern and southern lights. Scientists have warned that a really big solar eruption could destroy satellites and wreck power and communications grids around the globe if it happened today.
Nasa recently warned that Britain could face widespread power blackouts and be left without critical communication signals for long periods of time, after the earth is hit by a once-in-a-generation “space storm”. The Daily Telegraph disclosed in June that senior space agency scientists believed the Earth will be hit with unprecedented levels of magnetic energy from solar flares after the Sun wakes “from a deep slumber” sometime around 2013.
Dr Lucie Green, of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Surrey, followed the flare-ups using Japan's orbiting Hinode telescope. It remains unclear, however, how much damage this latest eruption will cause the world’s communication tools. "It looks like the first eruption was so large that it changed the magnetic fields throughout half the Sun's visible atmosphere and provided the right conditions for the second eruption.
"Both eruptions could be Earth-directed but may be travelling at different speeds.
“This means we have a very good chance of seeing major and prolonged effects, such as the northern lights at low latitudes." A Nasa spokesman was unavailable for comment.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/7923069/Nasa-scientists-braced-for-solar-tsunami-to-hit-earth.htmlThe earth could be hit by a wave of violent space weather as early as Tuesday after a... more
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NEW ORLEANS — Gaffe-prone BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward — who incensed many on the Gulf Coast by saying he wanted his life back as they struggled with the fallout from the company's massive oil spill — will be replaced, a senior U.S. government official said Sunday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not been made, was briefed on the decision by a senior BP official late last week.
The government official did not know who will replace Hayward or when it will happen. One of the most likely successors is BP Managing Director Bob Dudley, who is currently overseeing the British company's spill response.
Earlier Sunday, BP spokesman Toby Odone seemed to downplay media speculation about Hayward's departure, saying he "remains BP's chief executive, and he has the confidence of the board and senior management."
BP's board would have to approve a change in company leadership. An official announcement could come as early as Monday.
It's been more than three months since an offshore drilling rig operated by BP exploded off Louisiana on April 20, killing 11 workers and setting off the spill. A temporary plug has stopped oil from gushing for more than a week now, but before that the busted well had spewed anywhere from 94 million to 184 million gallons into the Gulf.
Since the explosion, Hayward has made several highly publicized gaffes. Among them: going to a yacht race while oil washed up on Gulf shores, and uttering the now-infamous: "I want my life back" line.NEW ORLEANS — Gaffe-prone BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward — who incensed... more
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In preparation of the new website launch EmbraceTheCulture fashion house releases a 30 sec teaser of the new commercial. The full length will be released along with the launch of the site. As well with the help of our friends over at TheUndesigned we are able to bring to you a whole new insight into the company. We hope you enjoy
Commercial Concept:
the idea that we all think we are alone and the only way out is through but in this journey you touch peoples lives, the lights are in essence the people and when you meet your counter point in that instant you realize you've never been alone. you are a culture to be embraced.
tell all your friends!
www.etcfashionhouse.com I www.theundesigned.comIn preparation of the new website launch EmbraceTheCulture fashion house releases a 30... more
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Me and my brother had been disgusted with the graffiti and one of the local parks. Taggers had wrote stuff like: "Alexis is gay", "_______ is a sl*t." So we decided to go to the park and clean it all up, while shooting a short pod about.Me and my brother had been disgusted with the graffiti and one of the local parks.... more
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TORONTO -- As if Al Gore doesn't have enough on his plate, his Current TV collaboration north of the border with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. looks to have died an unheralded death.
A year after the Canadianized Current TV web and digital channel venture got the green light to launch here, Canada's public broadcaster on Friday said the joint venture, while not formally severed, has been "dormant" for some time.
The CRTC, Canada's TV regulator, OK'd the Canadian-driven digital channel and website to launch here with at least 35% user-generated content.
And in line with Canadian ownership rules, the CBC was to hold an 80% interest in the operating company Current Media Canada, with the U.S.-based Current TV retaining a 20% voting interest.
But the CBC, which has driven far further onto the Internet and digital platforms than rival Canadian networks, withdrew from the multiplatform venture with Current TV just as Gore's cable channel initiated a management and programming overhaul.
It doesn't help that Current TV's Joel Hyatt, who unveiled the Current TV venture up north with the CBC back in late 2008, is gone, having been replaced as CEO by Mark Rosenthal, the former MTV Networks COO.
The irony of Gore not making a go of his Current TV service in Canada is the former U.S. vice president and environmental campaigner initially bought the CBC's then Newsworld International TV service in 2004 and transformed it into Current TV as a 24-hour channel available in 70 million households around the world.
Via:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/world/news/e3i17f324ee1f3a862a5729fb7f6a120715
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This is very unfortunate news for Current and for Canada. I will continue to watch the current programing online and hope that, at some point, the american feed gets picked up as a premium offering here.
Thanks for the attempt current. Maybe next time.TORONTO -- As if Al Gore doesn't have enough on his plate, his Current TV... more
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New Delhi – For most of us who never became concert pianists or even made it to mediocre, what was the point of learning to play the piano as a child? The boring scales, the silly little tunes, the hours of practice until we finally learned a song anyone recognized?
The simple answer is "not much." But the more profound truth is that we were learning a metaskill.
Metaskills are skills needed to learn how to learn. They are higher-order skills – like critical thinking, the ability to organize information, the strategy of building on what was previously learned, and the belief that repeated practice can make perfect, or at least result in some improvement.
The principle is that in the process of learning how to do one thing really well, we learn how to learn.
So through Yo-Yo Ma's mastery of the cello, Picasso's immersion in art, and Einstein's deep study of physics, they each learned how to learn. And while the subject can become an all-consuming passion, it can also form a smaller part of our lives.
The subject or topic is almost unimportant – only it's easier and more enjoyable if we choose something we are interested in: filmmaking, music, writing – the list is endless. Going very deep into one subject, learning and understanding it over a course of several years, acts as a point of reference that is useful when we learn other subjects.
The Eastern cultures have realized the value of this idea for a long time.
The daily meditation and the repetition of a mantra are all ways to train the mind, to calm it into a state of long-term focus and readiness. The old Hindu "guru-shishya" (teacher-student) relationship stretched over many years and meant the student literally lived with the teacher in order to learn, or rather absorb, his particular expertise.
German philosopher Eugen Herrigel saw the learning of any technical skill as a way to train the mind. In his classic book "Zen in the Art of Archery," he says, "Childlikeness has to be restored with long years of training in the art of self-forgetfulness" such that the archer and the target became one.
In his book, "Awaken the Giant Within," motivational guru Anthony Robbins writes, "Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all of our resources on mastering a single area of our lives."
Even Howard Gardner, renowned author of the theory of multiple intelligences, values the attainment of a single expertise. He calls it a "disciplined mind" and explains four steps to achieve one: 1) identify an important topic or concept; 2) study it deeply over a significant period of time, using various examples and modes of analysis; 3) approach the subject in a variety of ways and from various perspectives; 4) and give performances and presentations to show true and deep understanding.New Delhi – For most of us who never became concert pianists or even made it to... more
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Its critics have suggested it amounts to little more than sitting inside a giant tin can in a Moscow hangar with no sun, no fresh water, no alcohol and (one assumes) no sex for 520 interminable days.
But as the six fearless volunteers this afternoon sealed themselves inside a simulated mission to Mars, grinning and waving goodbye to their families before "blast-off", scientists insisted they were embarking on an unprecedented experiment that was no laughing matter.
The crewmen – three are Russian, one French, one Chinese and one a Colombian-born Italian – won't emerge from their isolation until November 2011.
Their goal is to recreate a return journey to the red planet, spanning a year and a half, complete with simulated emergency situations and realistic psychological pressures.
The astronauts would be free to leave the experiment at any point, Fuglesang said, adding that he was confident none of them would.
Mars 500 is designed to recreate as closely as possible the conditions of a spacecraft hurtling through the solar system. A return flight to Mars – 34 million miles from Earth – would take between 18 months and three years.
The six crew will spend 250 days performing flight tasks and experiments along the way – with half of them spending 30 days "on the planet" and the others remaining "in orbit". Getting home will take a further 240 days.
The 550 sq metre complex that will be their home includes four windowless modules for sleeping, working, storage and for medical and psychological experiments. Each man has a tiny 6 sq metre room. TV is banned but the crew can send emails and communicate with "ground control" via an authentically Martian time delay of 20 minutes. They can also take books, DVDs and video games.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/jun/03/mock-mission-mars-moscow-hangarIts critics have suggested it amounts to little more than sitting inside a giant tin... more
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