NO SUCH THING as objective reporting

Back in my heyday (sp?), otherwise known as when I was 20, I was a part-time copy editor for a city newspaper with about 25,000 daily subscribers. Every once in a while, I got to pick stories from the Associated Press to be put in the paper. Other times, I had to cut 1,000-word stories by more than half to fit the space allotted.

What I learned:

1. There is NO SUCH THING as objective reporting.

2. Decisions on what to report is largely based on what the business believes the viewers/readers/listeners are interested in.

3. As such, newspapers with a largely caucasian/Republican base are less likely to report on a Mexican family's struggle for citizenship or a black man proven innocent after years behind bars.

4. The subjectivity doesn't end there. Even when stories are run, reporters decide what angle to take . Notice how many newspapers have a "Business" section versus how many have a "Labor" section. The little guy isn't focused on for two reasons. One, he doesn't pay the newspaper's bills, and two, she is still dreaming of when she's no longer poor and thus wants to know about stock markets and insider trading.

5. Then there's what information to share about the story that's been decided on. Say, for instance, a newspaper is going to write about a high school track coach who's been convicted of pedophilia. The story could include the following information: how to talk to your children about pedeophilia; how many cases the coach was convicted of; two students' accounts of what a good teacher the coach was; one team member's account of walking in on the coach with a fellow teammate; how many people are convicted of pedophilia each year; what the school's going to do for the high school students; what background checks and other measures the school uses when hiring. Now, the newspaper only has room for half of the information I just listed. Someone has to choose.

6. And how does that information get chosen? By people. Who are ALWAYS subjective. Say we have three reporters who can report the story. One is the mom of a child on the junior high football team. One is a sports fanatic. The third downloads porn during spare time. Think you're likely to get three different stories? Oh, yeah, baby. Now, the stories will almost always be accurate, truthful, and unbiased in the telling. But the telling of the story is only what we see. So much more goes on behind the wizard's curtain.

:)Kim Edwards

http://wooran.com

An argumentum ad populum

The mainstream media likes to keep us confused. I need no help in that department. It scares me when people blindly follow the herd. Many times the facts are never revealed to the public. More people need to challenge the information that is presented to them.

An argumentum ad populum (Latin: "appeal to the people"), in logic, is a fallacious argument that concludes a proposition to be true because many or all people believe it; it alleges that "If many believe so, it is so." In ethics this argument is stated, "if many find it acceptable, it is acceptable."

Some things never change. I may be married to a marine, but I can't for the life of me see the logic in blowing things and people up. This just does not compute.

http://wooran.com

9/11/2006 RELIGIOUS TERRORIST ATTACK

The mainstream media may not have alerted you to the fact that there was another bomb attack on American soil on 9/11/2006, on the fifth anniversary of the first 9/11 attack.

If it seems strange that such an event wasn't picked up by the right wing conservative media echo chamber to fan the flames of fear in the U.S. and rally more Americans to the cause of fighting a global war on terror, the reason for this lapse is simple:

The religious terrorist, in this case, was a Christian extremist who bombed an abortion clinic.

Martín Rizzi said:

I think that most religiously motivated terrorists would agree with this goal, in fact, many of them are actively working toward the goal of having only a single religion-- theirs.

Personally, I think valuing diversity would be a better goal. I think people should not argue about things that can't be proven to exist. Carl Sagan spoke for me (you might go to my "Pale Blue Dot" thread if interested).

I dont really know about this "religiously motivated terrorists" stuff;

supposedly in Iraq these religiously motivated terrorists blow up mosques;

i dont buy it; i think that religiously motivated terrorists is just a meme.

Marcus B.

http://wooran.com

What the public believes to be true

I really don't know what to believe about Iraq having Weapons of Mass Destruction. At times I feel we will never know the truth.

What the public believes to be true

U.S. adults believe that the following are true about the war in Iraq:

* Seventy-two percent believe that the Iraqis are better off now than they were under Saddam Hussein (slightly down from February 2005 when 76 percent said this was true).

* Just over half (55%) think history will give the U.S. credit for bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq (down substantially from 64% in February 2005).

* Sixty-four percent say it is true that Saddam Hussein had strong links to Al Qaeda (the same as 64% in February 2005).

http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=684

chaos and violence

We all get ripped off everyday when people cause chaos and violence. What makes them use these methods of expressing themselves?

http://wooran.com

Thanks Harry

I always say things the wrong way. I do not think terrorism or any crime can be attributed to poverty.

"The poor person is the victim of, NOT the perpetrator of, terrorism."

I disagree.

http://wooran.com

Chemical may stop alcohol craving

Scientists say they have found a way to stop an alcoholic's craving for drink.

A team from Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute discovered blocking the action of the brain's orexin system can also prevent someone relapsing.

Team members say their work could lead to the development of drugs which could act as orexin blockers.

Orexin-producing cells are also thought to play a part in regulating feeding, so the researchers believe they could also help treat eating disorders. Read More

Saddam Hussein

I really don't know what to believe about Iraq having Weapons of Mass Destruction. At times I feel we will never know the truth.

What the public believes to be true

U.S. adults believe that the following are true about the war in Iraq:

* Seventy-two percent believe that the Iraqis are better off now than they were under Saddam Hussein (slightly down from February 2005 when 76 percent said this was true).

* Just over half (55%) think history will give the U.S. credit for bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq (down substantially from 64% in February 2005).

* Sixty-four percent say it is true that Saddam Hussein had strong links to Al Qaeda (the same as 64% in February 2005).



http://wooran.com

Casualties have now exceeded 25,000

Three years and nine
months after the U.S.-led Coalition
began its war against Saddam Hussein, researchers have quietly recorded
another grim milestone in the cost of the conflict. American military
casualties have now exceeded 25,000.

Native Americans

Stephanie O'Keefe said:

Could what was done to the Native Americans be considered terrorism?

Marc Roth said: YES

Professional Soldier

I see from your profile Stephanie you are the wife of a marine

As a professional soldier your man is exposed to great danger.

thus it is with some sensitivity i address you in this thread.

It is apparent you are a good person with a mind and a heart.

Your natural empathy for the man you love makes you want to

channel your human warmth and passion into a rehabilitation facility

for injured war veterans so these persons get have their life again;

maybe not all of their life, but at least a part of the life they had.

When someone is a soldier he has no right to anything but obey.

The issue of wounded Eurasia War veterans is a very serious one.

Both the physically wounded and also the emotionally wounded ones.

Martín Rizzi

TERRORISM - Can it be eliminated? If so, how? What is your plan?

In order to answer the question, I first need to define what terrorism is according to me. It is an act of violence intended to both inflict fear in a group of people and get a specific message heard. That being the case, the Boston Tea Party was just as much an act of terrorism as 9/11 was--the most important difference being the loss of innocent lives on 9/11.

What do we then do to stop terrorism from happening?

We stop the need for it. Terrorists don't use terrorism as a first response. At no point in time did someone read the newspaper, get mad about an issue he/she just learned about for the first time, and decide to nuke a city in response. Terrorism is a last resort, something people do when they can find no other way to be heard. Terrorism comes out of anguish, turmoil, and devestation.

To stop terrorism, then, ...

--We need to teach parents like those of the students who did the Columbine shootings to look for the signs of disturbed teens and to get them help.

--We need to acknowledge that the Israel/Palestine situation is horrible and that talking isn't enough. Reparations need to be made, counselling needs to be inacted, healing needs to be nurtured, and education about cultural differences and acceptance needs to happen.

--We need to wean our children away from the selfish, immediate-gratification, anti-social worlds of television and video games. We now have several generations of people who barely know how to communicate because communication has become unnecessary when all we need to do is push buttons to exist. Every person who is living such a life is a person who is not helping in terrorism, war, injustice, and strife.

--We need to stop pretending the American way is the only way and acknowledge that we're just as big of f-ups as the rest of the world. We're full of gluttony and greed, egocentricism and Nihilism, yet Americans are affronted when people in other countries act the same way.

--We need to learn to listen to people. Truly listen. We need to know why the IRA continues to fight and why the Una Bomber, well, bombed. We need to listen not to prove them wrong, but to find solutions for the problem and for their pain. We need to listen in order to know how to listen to the next person before he/she becomes a terrorist.

--We need to start within ourselves. How many people's ideas have you felt like annihilating today? None? Really? Don't you want cannibalism to end? Racism? Genocide? Remember, the people who commit acts of terrorism have an injustice that they want to end, too. I'm not saying terrorism is ever right, but I am saying that we need to understand it before we can, well, annihilate it.

Kim Edwards

Thank You

Stephanie, thank you; your words are helpful to understanding your POV, demonstrating you are a good person with a good mind.

Martín Rizzi

I don't even get the whole using Marines to blame Bush comment.

Who is using marines to blame Bush and for what?

Most of the people talking on here have a better grip on the chronology of this whole war than I do.

Can someone refresh my memory, how many days were we from a U.N. decision on how to approach Iraq's bluff on WMD?

Does anyone want to fess up if they believed that Iraq really had WMDs in the first place? I knew they didn't if you want to know why.

Marc Roth

Wounded Warriors

I agree. I am just very protective of our marines. I understand everything you say and my head tells me you are 100% right. My heart on the other hand breaks for my boys. The fact of the matter is, these wounded men and women are the kids that grew up next door to you and me. They need help and I am here to try and accomplish that by any means possible.

Welcome to O-net

Hi Stephanie. Welcome to O-net. I like what you're trying to do to create a home for our wounded warriors.

However, with all respect for your service, Saddam had no nuclear program. He had no weapons of mass destruction. He was fully cooperating with Inspectors at the time the U.S. decided to make war. The inspectors were forced to leave to avoid being bombed by the U.S. These are all indisputable, historical facts.

Bush lied to start the war for reasons we'll probably never know unless, of course, the motive was simply more profit for Haliburton and the oil companies. But I suspect it's more complex than that.

I'm not saying Saddam wasn't a brutal dictator. I would, however, say that the Iraqis were better off under Saddam than they are now. In fact, 600,000 Iraqis would be alive now, instead of dead, had the U.S. not gone to war with Iraq.

In my opinion, our wounded warriors are all victims of the neocons' lies and deceit, and the more fully it's understood how terribly and unconscionably these soldier's loyalty to our country was abused in the Iraq mission, the sooner they can help bring the criminal neocons to justice and, I would hope, further their healing process through that endeavor.

Marcus B.

"traditional American pride"

Traditional American Pride is dying of a sick cancer.

Unions that once brought cleanliness and safety to jobs out grew themselves and became greedy petri dishes for inflated pay rates, and laziness.

Banks are spoiling us using a backwards IQ test called a credit score, which is creating a jealous rage in our consumers such that we have to work to pay off our debt, because it’s growing so rapidly.

As a means to an end good ole American logic says take a few shortcuts here, cheat there, stab that guy in the back and get ahead.

Traditional American Pride - started with a good hard day’s work that is very hard to find today.

Marc Roth

"Support" needs to be real and tangible, not just declared

I think it's the lack of tangible support that is the problem. If the veterans had a nickel for every person who has a "Support Our Troops" magnetic ribbon on the back of their car, they'd be able to afford better treatment and healthier places to live and heal. (Okay, maybe more than a nickel, but you get the idea-- the "Support" needs to be real and tangible, not just declared).

The government is not currently funding care for veterans adequately, so I don't think it's enough for people to just be taxpayers to say they support the troops (just my opinion).

Marc Roth said:

In fact I think the sentiment carried across all party lines is that we support our troops even if we don't support the war. This may be a valuable lesson that has carried forward from Vietnam, but at any rate I don't see anyone hardening against our men and women in uniform.

Marcus B.

WOUNDED WARRIORS SUPPORT OMIDYAR GROUP PROPOSED

I'd like to follow up Stephanie's project with a new group here on Omidyar specifically for exploring creative way to help wounded warriors.

Please visit the New Groups section (Groups Tab, sub-tab: New Groups) and co-sponsor this new group to help get it started. It'll take five additional new group sponsors to get this going.

The issue of terrorism is too big to solve with one kind of activity-- I think we have to break it down into specifics and deal with those specifics in order to be more effective.

I think I get now where Stephanie was coming from about people using Marines to Bush-bash (paraphrased). If we harden our hearts against veterans because of the perception that they voluntary supported the illegal war in Iraq, then we are, in effect, punishing them for Bush's crimes, and that's cruel and unfair.

So, what can Omidyar.net do for/with veterans to make good things (or at least better things) happen?

Marcus B.

Al-Qaeda already here

Until about a year ago, IDF Intelligence estimated that "Israel was not being targeted by al-Qaeda". Since these estimates were made public, reality has hit Israeli intelligence in the face. The global arena vis-à-vis Israel turned out to be rife with activity and al-Qaeda recently announced that Israel is one of their primary targets.

http://www.ict.org.il/apage/3491.php

Bin Laden's Declaration of War

"By God's grace," bin Laden says on the tape, "we have formed with many other Islamic groups and organizations in the Islamic world a front called the International Islamic Front to do jihad against the crusaders and Jews."

"And by God's grace," he says at another point in the tape, "the men ... are going to have a successful result in killing Americans and getting rid of them."

CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen, who interviewed bin Laden a year earlier, believes the tape depicts a key moment for al Qaeda.

"They're going public," Bergen said. "They're saying, 'We're having this war against the United States.'"

CNN.com - Previously unseen tape shows bin Laden's declaration of war

Consequence of Poverty

I agree that terrorism is in no way a consequence of poverty. The individuals I was referring to are far from poor.

They feel they are justified in causing terror and destroying their neighborhoods. They blame this type of behavior on poverty.

Killing of Americans, both civilian and military

The following link has a statement from Osama bin Laden and his associates purports to be a religious ruling (fatwa) requiring the killing of Americans, both civilian and military. This document is part of the evidence that links the bin Laden network to the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm

The US had a task force of FBI agents dedicated to investigating Osama bin Laden

The US had a task force of FBI agents dedicated to investigating Osama bin Laden. For years they warned us he was going to attack America. Their reports were ignored.

10 years before 9/11 Bin made declaration of war against America and Saudi. He had been thrown out of Saudi. He took refuge in Sudan. He then hand picked Saudi's for 9/11. He wanted the Americans to think Saudi's had done it. He wanted us to go to war with Saudi. Killing two birds with one stone. It is about hate.

We knew he would attack us one day. We just did not know when or where.

UNDERSTANDING

Marcus B. said:

Hi Tom, many of are still waiting for a complete investigation of 9/11, which, as yet, has not been done in order to find out who, exactly, "they" are.

It is interesting that the Bush administration has done everything it could to resist, forestall, white-wash and minimize 9/11 investigation.

Since our freedoms are, essentially, derived from our constitution, I also find it interesting that the greatest threats to our freedoms are the PATRIOT act and the MILITARY COMMISSIONS act, in terms of eroding constitutionally guaranteed rights. We know exactly who pushed those acts through Congress.

What if Bush revealed the correct motivation for 9/11 (They hate our freedom), but misidentified the perpetraitors?

Tom Braddock said:

We need to start with UNDERSTANDING why they decided to to take this course of action. What is it that we are doing as a nation that has them so riled up against us?

Answering the question, "WHY do they hate us so much that they would take this course of action (9/11)?", would be the best thing we could do as a nation. We need to check OURSELVES, before we wreck ourselves.

Absolutely. The "They hate our freedoms" canard is total BS. If you want to know why they hate us, read their statements. I recently bought a translations of all of Bin Laden's public statements and have read some of them. He says absolutely not one word about "our freedoms". By contrast, he has one hell of a lot to say about our policies. I'm not saying we should retract every foreign policy we have, but we should consider how we can secure our country and our interests without totally pissing off the entire Muslim world.

Sheldon Greaves

Kennedy was absolutely excoriated by the press for not going to war

Jeff Mowatt said:

Last night here in England on the primary BBC channel, they screened '13 days' an account of the Cuba crisis starring Kevin Costner. How much resemblance it bore to actual events , I'm not in a position to judge, but it painted a terrifying picture of the Kennedys trying to hold back the hawks who were itching to escalate to a full scale conflict.

Seeding thought perhaps, that GW might be sitting in the place of JFK and could be found wanting when it came to the crunch?

Glad you brought this up. What isn't generally remembered is that following the crisis, Kennedy was absolutely excoriated by the press for not going to war over this. Now considering that most of our naval assets were at various times being tracked by a Soviet sub armed with a nuclear torpedo that could have taken out entire squadrons, plus the whole nuclear missile thing... whatever you think of Kennedy, he earned his pay during those two weeks.

Sheldon Greaves

Psychology of poor people

By Martín Rizzi


Other people are like you; they do not want to harm anybody.


Terrorism is synthetic violence; terrorism is focused fear


for the purpose of forcing people to change and to accept


conditions of globalization. I simply do not see evidence


that terrorism flows out from the psychology of poor people


thus IMO it were futile to address the scourge of terrorism


by speculation what motives or justifications poor people


might have to commit terrorism ?¿ IMO terror is NOT coming


from the poor people at all, it is authored by rich people,


police and intelligence agencies, mafias, and covert players


of dirty power games for the purposes of money, drugs, and power.


That terrorism is an exponent of a popular condition, i seriously doubt.

Accepting people's differences

Both of you make some very good points. I have never understood the whole concept of killing in the name of the lord.

I fear that if we all think and act exactly the same, life would become boring. I believe our differences are what make life interesting. Personally I have never wanted to harm anybody because of their POV. The only way I could hurt anybody would be in self defense.

Words have never hurt me, but people do.

Terrosism - Can it be eliminated? If so, how? What is your plan?

Munnu Morrish said:

Terrosism is human and terrorism on the globe is based on religious lines.I think lets have asingle religion and see what would be the outcome.

I agree; a single religion for humanity would be ideal.

Terror is, i believe, based on religious lines because

the British Empire's Great Game and War of Civilizations

Thee is certainly no natural contradiction between Islam

and Mosaic Christianity. The three are continuous, all

of these religious furthered the One God idea that Moses

got from the priest scientists at Egypt's Temple of Ammon.

To this, we get into what? Dictatorships? Tyrrany? Oppression? Annihilation of those who won't convert? Been there, done that. One time, we called it the Holocaust. Another time we called it the Inquisition.

And since a single religion is best, maybe we also need a single race, culture, economic status, and eduction level. Of course, we'll need to burn books and forcibly take people's money away from them, but it'll be for the greater good--like it was in Russia, right? That surely worked out for the best.

Forcing people to assimilate is not the answer. Accepting people's differences is.

Kim Edwards

Duke's Top Ten Questions

What is the cost of tuition at Duke? Is there a difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition?

Duke admits U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and a limited number of foreign students without regard to financial circumstance or aid eligibility and meets 100 percent of each admitted student's demonstrated need. There is no difference in tuition for in-state or out-of-state students, although students from North Carolina may qualify for certain merit scholarships that are specific to geographic regions of the state.

Estimated costs for 2006-2007 are:


Tuition & Fees: $34,202

Room: $4,950

Board: $4,390

Personal expenses/books: $2,508

Total Cost of Attendance: $46,050

Duke's Top Ten Most Frequently Asked Questions

http://wooran.com

Hynix Develops 800 MHz Memory Module

Hynix Semiconductor said Sunday it has developed the world's first 800 MHz memory module using 60-nano 1GB DDR2 DRAM.

The chipmaker received approval for its 60-nano DRAM chip from Intel in October and has now developed the 60-nano DDR2 memory module this time, passing Intel's Advanced Validation Lab (AVL) test. The final test result will be officially announced early next year. The new memory chip comes in two types: one with a speed of 800 MHz and the other with a speed of 667 MHz. It also helps hike productivity by a whopping 50 percent, the chipmaker says. In addition, such cutting edge technologies as a “three-dimensional” transistor and three-layered metal allocation boost storage capacity and processing speeds. Read More



http://wooran.com

More Marines may be needed in terror war

The Marine Corps may need to increase in size to sustain deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan without sacrificing needed training or putting undue stress on the corps, the new Marine commandant said Wednesday.

At a breakfast meeting with reporters, Gen. James Conway also warned that it could take years to adequately train and equip the Iraqi security forces — longer, perhaps, "than the timeline that we probably feel ... our country will support."

"This is tough work, it doesn't happen overnight," and patience by the American people will be needed, he said. On the plus side, he said Marines he's talked to in recent days are encouraged by the progress they are seeing among Iraqi forces.

Conway said the current pace of Marine rotations to Iraq — seven months there and seven-to-nine months at home — is limiting other types of training that units can receive and could eventually prompt Marines to leave the service.

"There is stress on the individual Marines that is increasing, and there is stress on the institution to do what we are required to do, pretty much by law, for the nation," said Conway.

The goal, he said, is for units to spend twice the amount of time at home as is spent on deployment — for example seven months deployed and 14 months at home.

At the same time, Conway would not rule out extending the Iraq tours for some Marine units if needed for a short period of time. Several Army units have been extended for several months, but the Marines have done that only rarely and for weeks rather than months.

Conway, who took on the Marines' top job just eight days ago, said there are two ways to deal with the ongoing stress on the Marines: "One is reducing the requirement, the other is potentially growing the force for what we call the long war." Read More

Concerns to air over anti-sub range

MOREHEAD CITY - In 2004, Joe Shute noticed something funny happened with the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament in Morehead City.

The weeklong fishing tournament coincided with an offshore Navy training exercise, said Shute, who owns a bait and tackle shop in Atlantic Beach and runs inshore and offshore charters.

Blue marlin were plentiful on the first day of fishing, Shute said.

"The second day they turned on their maneuvers, and we didn't catch any more fish until the end of the week until they quit," Shute said. Read More

Microsoft takes phisers to court

Microsoft is helping law enforcers hunt down criminals who try to steal bank account details on the internet and has initiated 129 lawsuits in Europe and the Middle East, the US software company said.

One court case in Turkey has already led to a two and a half year prison sentence for a so-called "phisher" in Turkey, and another four cases against teenagers have been settled out of court, Microsoft said on Wednesday, eight months after it announced the launch of a Global Phishing Enforcement Initiative in March. Read More

Man charged after Internet chats with 'girl'

An Oshawa man faces luring and prostitution charges following online conversations with a police officer posing as a 12-year-old girl.

The investigation began Oct. 17 when an undercover York police officer became engaged in sexually explicit conversations with a man online.

During the conversations, which continued over a period of four days, police say the man expressed a desire to meet with the "girl" for sex.

The man also suggested that he would pay the girl money when they met, investigators said.

A suspect was arrested on Nov. 21 after a meeting was set up in Mississauga.

Jeffrey Totman, 28, has been charged with two counts of luring and one count of juvenile prostitution.

Anyone with information is asked to contact York police at 905-453-2121 ext. 3490 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Read More

Pentagon stays the course with laser weapon

The threat of cancellation no longer looms over the Pentagon's Airborne Laser effort, but senior program officials say they are taking nothing for granted as they prepare for a missile-intercept demonstration in 2008.

Several clear test milestones have been laid out for the Airborne Laser in 2006 so that senior Missile Defense Agency officials will be able to measure its progress, according to Air Force Col. John Daniels, the effort's program director.

The Airborne Laser, or ABL, is a Boeing 747 aircraft being equipped with a high-powered chemical laser to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase. Chicago-based Boeing Co. is the prime contactor on the effort.

Read More

Firefox has a password flaw

The Internet browser Firefox 2 has a problem with its "password manager" that could allow a hacker to obtain usernames and passwords from Firefox users, Newsfactor.com reports.

The Mozilla Foundation, which maintains Firefox's code, has acknowledged the problem. It has an extensive discussion going on here about what it calls "bug #360 493."

According to Newsfactor, the same problem could affect Internet Explorer as well.

Newsfactor also reports that "neither Mozilla nor Microsoft has released a patch for the problem, but users can avoid (the) attacks simply by disabling their browsers' autosave features for usernames and passwords. In Firefox, the feature is found in the 'Options' window under the 'Tools' menu. read more

Gabriel's Homecoming

  

Gabe's Homecoming

 
 
 
  

More trouble for Hubble

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AP) -- The main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope has shut down unexpectedly for the second time this year, the operators of the orbiting observatory announced Friday.

The Space Telescope Science Institute, which coordinates use of the telescope, said the camera shut down Saturday.

Program managers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt and at the institute were investigating the cause and what action to take.

In the meantime, observations on the Hubble were being rescheduled to use other instruments, the Baltimore-based institute said. more »

IBM to Build Supercomputer Powered by Video Game Chips

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 6 - The Department of Energy said Wednesday that it had awarded IBM a contract to build a supercomputer capable of 1,000 trillion calculations a second

read more

WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?!

is a new type of film. It is part documentary, part story, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations. The protagonist, Amanda, played by Marlee Matlin, finds herself in a fantastic Alice in Wonderland experience when her daily, uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing the uncertain world of the quantum field hidden behind what we consider to be our normal, waking reality.

Pennsylvania town gets tough on immigration

Hazleton cracks down on illegal immigrants as Hispanic population soars

NBC VIDEO

• City to vote on immigration
July 13: The mayor of a Pennsylvania town on Thursday weighs a proposal to curb illegal immigration by ordering its undocumented residents to leave. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports......read more

A Wireless Chip the Size of Grain!

HP has announced the development of a miniature, wireless data chip that according to the company, is capable of providing broad access to digital content in the physical world.

"Memory Spot", a research team at HP Labs, has developed this memory device based on CMOS (a widely used, low-power integrated circuit design). The chip is just about the size of a grain of rice or smaller (2 mm to 4 mm square). These chips can be fixed on a sheet of paper or stuck to any surface, and the company says, will eventually be made available as a booklet with self-adhesive dots.

Some of the potential applications of this device include storage of medical records on a hospital patient's wristband; provision of audio-visual supplements for postcards and photos; help in the pharmaceutical industry's fight against counterfeit; beefing-up of identity card and passport security; and supply of additional information for printed documents.

Ed McDonnell, memory spot project manager, HP Labs, said, "The Memory Spot chip frees digital content from the electronic world of the PC and the Internet, and arranges it all around us in our physical world."

HP claims that the chip has a ten megabits-per-second data transfer rate, which is ten times faster than Bluetooth wireless technology, and comparable to Wi-Fi speeds, giving users instant retrieval of information in audio, video, photo, or document form.
.............................read more

Microsoft shutters Windows private folders

Following an outcry from corporate customers, Microsoft is removing an add-on feature to Windows that allowed users to create password-protected folders.

The feature was introduced as a free download last week. Almost immediately, people raised questions over how businesses would grapple with the ability of individual workers to encrypt their data.

"Private Folder 1.0 was designed as a benefit for customers running genuine Windows," Microsoft said in a statement to CNET News.com on Friday. "However, we received feedback about concerns around manageability, data recovery and encryption, and based on that feedback, we are removing the application today. This change will take effect shortly." ...........read more

Wounded Warriors

Wounded Warriors was founded in March, 2003 to support the Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines who were evacuated from Afghanistan and Iraq to the Landstuhl (Germany) Regional Medical Center for treatment for injuries and wounds stemming from Operations “Enduring Freedom” and “Iraqi Freedom”.


Because of the financial support Wounded Warriors received, we were able to support other military hospitals in the States and Iraq by purchasing laptop computers and other morale items to be used by the staff and patients. »more

Military contractors make billions on the front line

Business is booming for those willing to tackle one of the most dangerous jobs on Earth. Lucrative U.S. government contracts go to firms called on to provide security for projects and personnel -- jobs that in previous conflicts have been done by the military. read more

The Complete, Unofficial TEMPEST Information Page

Across the darkened street, a windowless van is parked. Inside, an antenna is pointed out through a fiberglass panel. It's aimed at an office window on the third floor. As the CEO works on a word processing document, outlining his strategy for a hostile take-over of a competitor, he never knows what appears on his monitor is being captured, displayed, and recorded in the van below.

Firefox snaps at Microsoft's heels

Mitchell Baker does not look like a typical technology geek. The first thing that makes her stand out is the dyed red hair, draped in a style that is perhaps best described as more new romantic than new economy....Read More

Google has released a Linux

version of the popular Picasa image management application. Built with Wine, it doesn't perform as well as native applications.Read More

Firefox Victory

It's just one minor battle in a war it likely won't win, but Mozilla's Firefox has tasted victory--and it is little and orange....Read More

Ubuntu open source OS available on Sun Sparc servers

Ubuntu, one of the most popular desktop Linux distributions, will be available on Sun Microsystems Inc.'s UltraSparc T1 processor-based servers starting in June....Read More

Microsoft chatting about buying Ebay

THE New York Post has confirmed that Microsoft has been involved in top secret discussions to buy eBay. Apparently the Vole wants to merge eBay into its MSN portal as part of its war on Google. Talks have ... Read More

Forensic Felonies

A new law in Georgia on private investigators now extends to computer forensics and computer incident response, meaning that forensics experts who testify in court without a PI license may be committing a felony....Read More

Dell and Google team up in bid to break Windows

MICROSOFT'S dominance of the computer software market came under attack today after PC giant Dell and internet search engine Google reached a landmark deal....Read More

How A Criminal Might Infiltrate Your Network

One of the great mysteries in security management is the modus operandi of criminal hackers. If you don't know how they can attack you, how can you protect yourself from them? Prepare to be enlightened....Read More

Bloggers can shield sources

In a decision that could set the tone for journalism in the digital age, a California appeals court ruled Friday that bloggers, like traditional reporters, have the right to keep their sources confidential. ...Read More

Proof

The daughter of a brilliant but mentally disturbed mathematician, recently deceased, tries to come to grips with her possible inheritance: his insanity. Complicating matters are one of her father's ex-students who wants to search through his papers and her estranged sister who shows up to help settle his affairs. read more

Brute Force: Cracking the Data Encryption Standard

Brute Force: Cracking the Data Encryption Standard is the story of the life and death of DES (data encryption standard)In the early 1970s, the U.S. government put out an open call for a new, stronger encryption algorithm that would be made into a federal standard, known as FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard.). Numerous solutions were submitted as the DES candidate, including one from IBM. The IBM solution, originally called Lucifer, was chosen to be used as the encryption algorithm. After that, it became known as DES....Read More

REALITY IS A SHARED HALLUCINATION

Howard Bloom 04.12.1997

HISTORY OF THE GROUP BRAIN VIII - 35,000 B.P. and Beyond.

The artificial construction of reality was to play a key role in the new form of global intelligence which would soon emerge among human beings. If the group brain's "psyche" were a beach with shifting dunes and hollows, individual perception would be that beach's grains of sand. However this image has a hidden snag - pure individual perception does not exist. read more »

UN Sabotaging US Dangerous

Eric Shawn: UN Sabotaging US Dangerous

From NewsMax.com

By Joan Swirsky

"The U.N. Exposed: How the United Nations Sabotages America's Security and Fails the World" by Eric Shawn. Penguin Press, 336 pages.

Eric Shawn's new book "The U.N. Exposed" is a blistering attack on the world body's corruption, hypocrisies, greed, ineptitude, scandals and crimes against humanity - and it delivers knockout punches on every page.

Shawn, a veteran Fox News Network anchor who has covered the United Nations for years, mourns the demise of the organization that, in his childhood and adolescence, stood for everything he stood for: "world peace, cooperation, compassion and goodness."

Al Franken, Hillary, Kennedy, Michael Moore Caught!

A new book by a top investigative journalist exposes the blatant hypocrisy of liberals who loudly espouse principles they disregard in their own personal lives.

In "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy," Hoover Fellow Peter Schweizer reveals the glaring contradictions between the public stances and real-life behavior of prominent liberals including Michael Moore, Ted Kennedy, Al Franken, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Ralph Nader – among others.

NewsMax has a free offer for this new book – Go Here Now.

Wayne LaPierre Dreads A Hillary Presidency

He notes with disbelief that the U.N. just held a conference on the Internet that was chaired by a delegate from China.


"China has just shut down 47,000 Internet cafés," he recalls. "They just hired 4,000 more Internet security police to jail anyone in China that writes anything critical of the government on the Internet, and yet their delegate is chairing the U.N. conference on the Internet, and they held it in Tunisia, a country that is jailing journalists for free speech.


"If the U.N. gets control of the Internet, we are going to have an iron curtain around the world descend on free speech," he concludes. read more »

Oracle Database and Grids:

Oracle Database 10g runs on all industry-standard platforms and moves from a single instance to Grid Computing without changing a single line of code. As a result, you can adopt Oracle grid technology with minimal investment, zero disruption, and fast ROI. Oracle Database 10g lowers the cost of ownership through automated management while providing the highest possible quality of service, making it the ideal choice for large enterprises and small and midsize businesses alike. Learn more »

Seizures & Epilepsy

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, NC

The City of Jacksonville’s Water System (System) recently violated a drinking water standard. There is no reason for concern for the water quality . Although there is no need for alarm, our customers have a right to know what happened and what is being done to correct this situation.

Pursuant to 40 CFR §§ 141.140(a)(1)(ii)(A) and 141.40 (a)(5)(ii)(A), the System is required to collect two samples of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) List 1 contaminants in one twelve-month period during the years of 2001-2003. The System failed to collect two samples six months apart of the UCMR List 1 contaminants during the required time frame. The System collected only one sample in June 2002, which showed no evidence of any List 1 Contaminants and was not aware of the requirement for a 2nd test within 6 months. Therefore, the System is in violation of 40 CFR §§ 141.140 (a)(1)(ii)(A) and 141.40 (a)(5)(ii)(A). There is no reason for concern for the water quality . The System will be performing the two required samples during January 2005 and June 2005.

Please direct any questions to Ray Holder at (910)938-5272 from 8:00am – 5:00pm weekdays.

Asperger syndrome

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Asperger syndrome (sometimes called Asperger's syndrome, AS, or the more common shorthand Asperger's), is characterized as one of the five pervasive developmental disorders, and is commonly referred to as a form of high-functioning autism. In very broad terms, individuals with Asperger's have normal or above average intellectual capacity, with IQ's at least 80 and atypical or poorly developed social skills, (Social IQ's lower than 75) often with emotional/social development or integration happening later than usual as a result. read more

Building the Feng Shui Way

sponsored by K Hovnanian Homes
K. Hovnanian Adds Certified Feng Shui Consultant to Resources for Homebuyers

Feng Shui - the art of building homes in harmony with the owners' surroundings and personalities - has moved from the topic of jokes to such importance that one of the nation's largest builders has added a certified Feng Shui consultant to the resources available to customers and salespeople. more »

Gates on Google - News - ZDNet:

How Microsoft will compete in the "new Web"


CNET News.com exclusive: At Microsoft MIX 06 in Las Vegas, reporter Martin LaMonica asks Bill Gates what the software maker is doing to challenge Google and IBM.

Airborne Laser

The Boeing-led Airborne Laser team exposes the Airborne Laser's conformal window during a test flight. Such an exposure is necessary for the weapon system to complete its mission of shooting down a ballistic missile during the boost phase of flight.

Beowulf (computing)

(Redirected from Beowulf cluster)

The Borg, a 52-node Beowulf cluster used by the McGill University pulsar group to search for pulsations from binary pulsars.


The Borg, a 52-node Beowulf cluster used by the McGill University pulsar group to search for pulsations from binary pulsars.


Beowulf is a design for high-performance parallel computing clusters on inexpensive personal computer hardware. Originally developed by Donald Becker at NASA, Beowulf systems are now deployed worldwide, chiefly in support of scientific computing.


A Beowulf cluster is a group of usually identical PC computers running a FOSS Unix-like operating system, such as Linux or BSD. They are networked into a small TCP/IP LAN, and have libraries and programs installed which allow processing to be shared among them.


There is no particular piece of software that defines a cluster as a Beowulf. Commonly used parallel processing libraries include MPI (Message Passing Interface) and PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine). Both of these permit the programmer to divide a task among a group of networked computers, and recollect the results of processing.


The name comes from the legend of Beowulf.

read more »

Gabriel and Stephanie Charron

STROKE: Remember The 1st Three Letters...

My friend sent this to me and encouraged me to post it and spread the word. I agree. If everyone can remember something this simple, we could save some folks. Seriously.. Please read:

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) she said only tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up, Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (i.e. . It is sunny out today)

R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

{NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke}

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

What if Jesus survived the crucifixion?

'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' author Michael Baigent makes shocking assertions against the conventional account of Jesus's death in his new book
Read an excerpt of Baigent's new book

CBS News Video / CBSNews.com:

Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" talks about wounded soldiers who've come back from Iraq and the hardships they encounter as they rehabilitate their bodies and their lives. read more

US-CERT: Technical users:

The Department of Homeland Security Software Assurance Program is seeking review and comment on the following documents:


* Security in the Software Lifecycle. Submit comments using this form.
(Comments due by February 21, 2006)

* Secure Software Assurance Common Body of Knowledge. Submit comments using this form.

(Comments due by February 21, 2006)
read more

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department - 601 East Trade Street

Homeland Security


The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department provides Homeland Security through Partnerships, Prevention, and Preparedness


PARTNERSHIPS: The department is engaged in partnerships with a host of other City and County agencies; other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies; the business community; and most importantly, with the residents of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. read more

Local News | News for Charlotte, North Carolina | WCNC.com:

Police investigate possible carjacking



Officers at the North Tryon Division of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are investigating the report.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are searching to find two people who may have been kidnapped from a fast food restaurant Tuesday. An alarming 911 call from the victim even has officers on edge. read more

Wounded Warriors

Our armed forces are actively engaged in Operations “Enduring Freedom” in Afghanistan and “Iraqi Freedom” in Iraq. Along with our coalition partners, soldiers and Marines are actively seeking out those terrorists and insurgents whose sole aim is to terrorize and destabilize the emerging democracies of Afghanistan and Iraq. Because these are combat operations, Marines and soldiers are wounded or injured and require treatment at medical facilities in Afghanistan, Iraq, Germany and in the United States.

Wounded Warriors, through its generous contributors, supports hospitals and medical facilities in the Afghanistan and Iraq theater of operations, Germany and the United States by donating morale and comfort items such as televisions, DVDs and computers and peripherals for use by the patients and hospital staff.In order to provide the best support possible, we have developed and maintain an extensive list of points of contacts at the military hospitals in the United States and overseas. Our contacts include hospital administrators and military chaplains who support those who are medically evacuated from the field and we, in turn, support them by filling the morale and comfort requirements that they identify . Because we work closely with the hospital staffs, we donate only those items that are needed to best support their patients and operations.

Communication with our contributors is essential. Our monthly newsletter is delivered electronically to thousands of e-mail accounts around the world. We provide our contributors with the latest news and a report of how their generous contributions are being invested. Wounded Warriors is a lean organization. We have no employees. While we maintain an office address for our registered agent, we have no office space. All of our business is conducted over the internet: a true virtual organization that ensures that 95% of the contributions it receives go to the soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines it supports.

John D. Folsom
Colonel, USMCR

Soldiers Take Out Snipers in Salah Ad Din

Rakkasan platoon kills one sniper and detains another while on patrol.
By Pfc. Cassandra Groce
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
SAMARRA, Iraq, Jan. 18, 2006 — One sniper was killed and another detained near a canal along the Tigris River in Samarra, Iraq by a Rakkasan platoon while on patrol Jan. 9.

"Snipers have been harassing us in this area and been a problem."
1st. Lt. Richard Hawkins, 1st Platoon Leader
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
The soldiers of Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th



read more

Americans Must Understand U.S. Is at War, General Says:

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2006 –
The American people must remind themselves every day that the United States is at war, a top Army general said today.

Army Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute here, said that 21st century warfare is more about "will and perception, than taking territory or enemies killed."

The will of the American people and people around the world to confront the terrorists and defeat them is the center of gravity in what Pentagon officials are calling "the long war," Odierno, assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

The enemy realizes this, he said. "Ultimately, they believe they will be more patient than Western states and they will, over time, win out," he said.

Information is just as critical as firepower in the long war, Odierno said, and this, too, the enemy understands. read more

Blackwater USA

Blackwater was founded in 1997 from a clear vision developed from an understanding of the need for innovative, flexible training and operational solutions to support security and peace, and freedom and democracy everywhere.


Our founder is a former U. S. Navy SEAL. He created Blackwater on the belief that both the military and law enforcement establishments would require additional capacity to train fully our brave men and women in and out of uniform to the standards required to keep our country secure.


Blackwater USA consists of five separate business units: Blackwater Training Center (the largest private firearms and tactical training center in the U. S.), Blackwater Target Systems, Blackwater Security Consulting, Blackwater Canine, and Raven Development Group. We also have relationships with our strategic partners, Aviation Worldwide Services and Greystone Ltd.


We are not simply a "private security company." We are a professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations firm who provides turnkey solutions. We assist with the development of national and global security policies and military transformation plans. We can train, equip and deploy public safety and military professionals, build live-fire indoor/outdoor ranges, MOUT facilities and shoot houses, create ground and aviation operations and logistics support packages, develop and execute canine solutions for patrol and explosive detection, and can design and build facilities both domestically and in austere environments abroad.


Blackwater lives its core values of excellence, efficiency, execution, and teamwork. In doing this, we have become the most responsive, cost-effective means of affecting the strategic balance in support of security and peace, and freedom and democracy everywhere.

read more

WHO: Flu pandemic threat growing

The World Health Organisation says that the threat of a bird flu pandemic is growing every day, as Turkish officials step up efforts to halt outbreaks and Iran sets up a buffer zone between the two countries.


Shigeru Omi, the WHO's regional director for the Western Pacific, said on Thursday that Asia was still the epicentre of the threat to global health. read more

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs:

The Department of Veterans Affairs has selected a 214-acre property near Dolington in southern Bucks County as the site for a new national cemetery in southeastern Pennsylvania. (more »)

2nd Battalion 6th Marines - Deployed Update:

HELLO EVERYONE, MY NAME IS LIEUTENANT COLONEL SCOTT AIKEN AND I AM THE BATTALION COMMANDER OF SECOND BATTALION, SIXTH MARINES. THIS MESSAGE WAS UPDATED ON december 31, 2005


the iraqi people anxiously await the announcement of the results of their election; democracy is progressing well.


we have seen an increase in insurgent activity; all indications point towards al-qaida.

christmas day consisted of a reduced schedule, religious services for those interested, and a holiday feast as good as conditions would allow. all thoughts were of home. read more

Fighting to Stay Active

Marines' Hearts, Warrior Spirits Help Overcome Loss of Limbs
Sometimes the hardest battles of the Global War on Terrorism aren't fought on the front lines of the battlefields. Marines at hospitals at home and abroad face the struggles to surmount life-altering injuries and fight to stay in the Corps they love.

During past wars, Marine Corps amputees were discharged, but modern technology and the Naval Service's Disability Evaluation System offer some of them the chance to continue their active duty service. read more

United States Secret Service:

Insider Threat Study

In collaboration with CERT/CC of Carnegie Mellon University, the Secret Service is developing the Critical Systems Protection Initiative (CSPI) to assist private industry in evaluating and managing potential problems before they happen.
Read More...

Five U.S. Marines Killed in Recent Iraq Action

WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2006 – Five American Marines serving in Iraq died during operations against the enemy over the past two days, officials said today.


Three U.S. Marines with Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), were killed by small-arms fire in separate attacks while conducting combat operations against the enemy in Fallujah today.


Another Marine assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed in action when a roadside bomb attacked his vehicle during combat operations near Karmah yesterday.


And a Marine assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), was killed when his vehicle encountered a roadside during combat operations near Ferris yesterday.


The names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and release by the Department of Defense.


Related Site:

Multinational Force Iraq

BlackHawk Products Group :

THE BLACKHAWK MISSION STATEMENT

To design, manufacture and globally distribute the World’s Finest Gear to our Military and Law Enforcement Professionals. To enhance operator efficiency, confidence, and mission completion.

To rule our industry with unparalleled DEDICATION to EXCELLENCE through TEAMWORK, PERFORMANCE and SERVICE.

Energy Policy Act (EPAct): Federal Fleet Requirements:

Federal Fleet Requirements


The Energy Policy Act (EPAct) set forth the statutory requirements for the acquisition of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) by Federal agencies. In fiscal year (FY) 2000 and beyond, 75% of light-duty vehicle (LDV) acquisitions in covered fleets must be AFVs. Vehicles that weigh less than 8,500 lb gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) are considered LDVs. Signed in April 2000, Executive Order (E.O.) 13149 directs Federal agencies to reduce petroleum consumption by 20% in their fleet AFVs. In addition E.O. 13149 requires the use of alternative fuels in AFVs. The executive order reinforces EPAct.

High Risk Communities Eligible for $765 Million in Security Grants

January 3, 2006--The Department of Homeland Security announced $765 million in direct funding for high threat urban areas as part of the fiscal year 2006 Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI). UASI provides resources for the unique equipment, training, planning, and exercise needs of select high threat urban areas.