Australian IT - Google yields to China (Eric Auchard in San Francisco, JANUARY 25, 2006): "AS it fights US Government demands to turn over data, Google is introducing a new service for China that restricts access to services such as email, chat rooms and blogs.
The new Chinese service at www.google.cn will offer a censored version of Google's popular search system that could restrict access to thousands of terms and web sites.
Terms may include issues like independence for Taiwan or Tibet or outlawed spiritual group Falun Gong."
25.1.06
Doctors claim suspended animation success - Health And Fitness - smh.com.au
Doctors claim suspended animation success - Health And Fitness - smh.com.au: "Doctors claim suspended animation success
London: Researchers are testing potentially life-saving techniques for keeping humans in a state of suspended animation while surgeons repair their wounds.
US doctors have developed a method of inducing hypothermia to shut down the body's functions for up to three hours.
In tests, they reduced the body temperature of injured pigs from 37C to 10C before operating on them and then reviving them.
Now they are applying for permission to test the procedure on casualty patients without a pulse who have lost large amounts of blood, New Scientist magazine reported.
It is thought this method and others could one day be used on car crash and gunshot victims, as well as in the battlefield to treat wounded soldiers.
A surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Hasan Alam, has tested the technique about 200 times on pigs, with a 90 per cent success rate."
London: Researchers are testing potentially life-saving techniques for keeping humans in a state of suspended animation while surgeons repair their wounds.
US doctors have developed a method of inducing hypothermia to shut down the body's functions for up to three hours.
In tests, they reduced the body temperature of injured pigs from 37C to 10C before operating on them and then reviving them.
Now they are applying for permission to test the procedure on casualty patients without a pulse who have lost large amounts of blood, New Scientist magazine reported.
It is thought this method and others could one day be used on car crash and gunshot victims, as well as in the battlefield to treat wounded soldiers.
A surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Hasan Alam, has tested the technique about 200 times on pigs, with a 90 per cent success rate."
24.1.06
Cyberpresse | Le Soleil
Cyberpresse | Le Soleil: "� la veille de l’�lection du prochain gouvernement f�d�ral, plusieurs s’interrogent sur les intentions de Stephen Harper quant au Protocole de Kyoto. Il faut dire que durant l’ann�e 2005, M. Harper est rest�pratiquement muet sur cet enjeu. Pourtant, en 2002, M. Harper �tait on ne peut plus explicite : � En ce qui concerne l’accord de Kyoto, nous serons le seul parti �la Chambre qui non seulement s’opposera �sa ratification, mais exhortera les provinces et tous les autres qui sont en mesure de l’appliquer �le rejeter, et nous nous engageons pour notre part �abroger cet accord �la premi�re occasion. �"
Whale spew find may net $1m for family. 24/01/2006. ABC News Online
Whale spew find may net $1m for family. 24/01/2006. ABC News Online: "A family on South Australia's west coast has discovered a rare specimen of whale vomit on the beach that is tipped to be worth over $1 million.
The specimen, known scientifically as ambergris, is sought after by perfume companies and worth about $US20 per gram."
The specimen, known scientifically as ambergris, is sought after by perfume companies and worth about $US20 per gram."
20.1.06
Smooth Operator - The only website broadcast 24-7 into space!
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The Proposed Iranian Oil Bourse - Print Version
The Proposed Iranian Oil Bourse - Print Version: "The Iranian government has finally developed the ultimate 'nuclear' weapon that can swiftly destroy the financial system underpinning the American Empire. That weapon is the Iranian Oil Bourse slated to open in March 2006. It will be based on a euro-oil-trading mechanism that naturally implies payment for oil in Euro. In economic terms, this represents a much greater threat to the hegemony of the dollar than Saddam's, because it will allow anyone willing either to buy or to sell oil for Euro to transact on the exchange, thus circumventing the U.S. dollar altogether. If so, then it is likely that almost everyone will eagerly adopt this euro oil system:
* The Europeans will not have to buy and hold dollars in order to secure their payment for oil, but would instead pay with their own currencies. The adoption of the euro for oil transactions will provide the European currency with a reserve status that will benefit the European at the expense of the Americans.
* The Chinese and the Japanese will be especially eager to adopt the new exchange, because it will allow them to drastically lower their enormous dollar reserves and diversify with Euros, thus protecting themselves against the depreciation of the dollar. One portion of their dollars they will still want to hold onto; a second portion of their dollar holdings they may decide to dump outright; a third portion of their dollars they will decide to use up for future payments without replenishing those dollar holdings, but building up instead their euro reserves.
* The Russians have inherent economic interest in adopting the Euro - the bulk of their trade is with European countries, with oil-exporting countries, with China, and with Japan. Adoption of the Euro will immediately take care of the first two blocs, and will over time facilitate trade with China and Japan. Also, the Russians seemingly detest holding depreciating dollars, for they have recently found a new religion with gold. Russians have also revived their nationalism, and if embracing the Euro will stab the Americans, they will gladly do it and smugly watch the Americans bleed.
* The Arab oil-exporting countries will eagerly adopt the Euro as a means of diversifying against rising mountains of depreciating dollars. Just like the Russians, their trade is mostly with European countries, and therefore will prefer the European currency both for its stability and for avoiding currency risk, not to mention their jihad against the Infidel Enemy."
* The Europeans will not have to buy and hold dollars in order to secure their payment for oil, but would instead pay with their own currencies. The adoption of the euro for oil transactions will provide the European currency with a reserve status that will benefit the European at the expense of the Americans.
* The Chinese and the Japanese will be especially eager to adopt the new exchange, because it will allow them to drastically lower their enormous dollar reserves and diversify with Euros, thus protecting themselves against the depreciation of the dollar. One portion of their dollars they will still want to hold onto; a second portion of their dollar holdings they may decide to dump outright; a third portion of their dollars they will decide to use up for future payments without replenishing those dollar holdings, but building up instead their euro reserves.
* The Russians have inherent economic interest in adopting the Euro - the bulk of their trade is with European countries, with oil-exporting countries, with China, and with Japan. Adoption of the Euro will immediately take care of the first two blocs, and will over time facilitate trade with China and Japan. Also, the Russians seemingly detest holding depreciating dollars, for they have recently found a new religion with gold. Russians have also revived their nationalism, and if embracing the Euro will stab the Americans, they will gladly do it and smugly watch the Americans bleed.
* The Arab oil-exporting countries will eagerly adopt the Euro as a means of diversifying against rising mountains of depreciating dollars. Just like the Russians, their trade is mostly with European countries, and therefore will prefer the European currency both for its stability and for avoiding currency risk, not to mention their jihad against the Infidel Enemy."
Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran - Sunday Times - Times Online
Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran - Sunday Times - Times Online: "Israel readies forces for strike on nuclear Iran
Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv, and Sarah Baxter, Washington
ISRAEL’S armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed."
Uzi Mahnaimi, Tel Aviv, and Sarah Baxter, Washington
ISRAEL’S armed forces have been ordered by Ariel Sharon, the prime minister, to be ready by the end of March for possible strikes on secret uranium enrichment sites in Iran, military sources have revealed."
"Intelligent design" not science: Vatican paper - Yahoo! News
"Intelligent design" not science: Vatican paper - Yahoo! News: "PARIS (Reuters) - The Roman Catholic Church has restated its support for evolution with an article praising a U.S. court decision that rejects the 'intelligent design' theory as non-scientific."
19.1.06
Google rebuffs feds over access to search data - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com
Google rebuffs feds over access to search data - Tech News & Reviews - MSNBC.com: "Google rebuffs feds over access to search data
Bush administration wants details of what users look for
NBC VIDEO
Launch
• Google subpoenas
Jan. 19: NBC's Pete Williams reports on what the Justice Department is looking for
Nightly News
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• Google resists pressure on website searches
• US Justice Dept subpoenas Google over online porn law
• US Justice Dept subpoenas Google over online porn law
• Google makes massive push into content
• Blackberry gets Google Talk and Google Local
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• CIA confirms speaker on tape is bin Laden
• Google rebuffs feds over access to search data
• Police: Man faked death to avoid child support
• Test your innate geometrical sense
• Witherspoon’s Globe gown was worn by Dunst
• Most viewed on MSNBC.com
• Scientists overjoyed with comet samples
• Sept. 11 workers die of respiratory problems
• Pluto mission lifts off after days of delay
• Dozens of endangered sea turtles found dead
• Justice for a rape, 30 years later
• Most viewed on MSNBC.com
• Google rebuffs feds over access to search data
• Police: Man faked death to avoid child support
• Reports on college literacy levels sobering
• Vatican paper raps ‘intelligent design’
• ‘Wicked’ Wilson Pickett dies at age 64
• Most viewed on MSNBC.com
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Updated: 8:24 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. is rebuffing the Bush administration’s demand for a peek at what millions of people have been looking up on the Internet’s leading search engine — a request that underscores the potential for online databases to become tools for government surveillance."
Bush administration wants details of what users look for
NBC VIDEO
Launch
• Google subpoenas
Jan. 19: NBC's Pete Williams reports on what the Justice Department is looking for
Nightly News
LIVE QUOTE
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CHANGE
% CHANGE
• GOOG 436.45 -8.46 -1.90%
QUOTE LOOKUP
Enter Company Symbol
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Data: MSN Money and IDC Comstock delayed 20 min.
MSN Tech & Gadgets
Turn digital photos into Polaroids
Related Links
# Weekend project: Computerize your car
# The new and improved Web
# Government Web sites are keeping an eye on you
Related Stories
| What's this?
• Google resists pressure on website searches
• US Justice Dept subpoenas Google over online porn law
• US Justice Dept subpoenas Google over online porn law
• Google makes massive push into content
• Blackberry gets Google Talk and Google Local
Most Popular
• Most Viewed • Top Rated • Most E-mailed
• CIA confirms speaker on tape is bin Laden
• Google rebuffs feds over access to search data
• Police: Man faked death to avoid child support
• Test your innate geometrical sense
• Witherspoon’s Globe gown was worn by Dunst
• Most viewed on MSNBC.com
• Scientists overjoyed with comet samples
• Sept. 11 workers die of respiratory problems
• Pluto mission lifts off after days of delay
• Dozens of endangered sea turtles found dead
• Justice for a rape, 30 years later
• Most viewed on MSNBC.com
• Google rebuffs feds over access to search data
• Police: Man faked death to avoid child support
• Reports on college literacy levels sobering
• Vatican paper raps ‘intelligent design’
• ‘Wicked’ Wilson Pickett dies at age 64
• Most viewed on MSNBC.com
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Updated: 8:24 p.m. ET Jan. 19, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO - Google Inc. is rebuffing the Bush administration’s demand for a peek at what millions of people have been looking up on the Internet’s leading search engine — a request that underscores the potential for online databases to become tools for government surveillance."
18.1.06
Does lack of snow indicate Mount Fuji's about to blow? - MSN-Mainichi Daily News
Does lack of snow indicate Mount Fuji's about to blow? - MSN-Mainichi Daily News: "Some experts say that it would not be surprising for Mount Fuji to erupt at any moment.
'It's my personal belief that magma build-up inside Mount Fuji has already reached a critical stage,' Prof. Masaaki Kimura, a seismology professor at the University of the Ryukyus tells Shukan Post. 'Mount Fuji erupts about once every 300 years. And it's been about 300 years since Mount Fuji's last eruption. Volcanoes go in periods where they're active for about 300 to 400 years and then dormant for 300 to 400 years. But, it's a matter of simple arithmetic that Mount Fuji is due to erupt pretty soon.'
It seems the natural world fears that Fuji-san is about to blow, too. Since the start of 2004, frogs and stinkbugs once prominent in the area have virtually disappeared. Some see this as a sign that they've sensed something untoward is about to happen and they're avoiding the place like the plague. Observers have noticed this phenomenon, too.
'The most recent change has probably been the sudden disappearance of sparrows around the mountain since about the middle of October,' Hideaki Kuribayashi, a photographer who bases himself near Mount Fuji, tells Shukan Post. 'Normally, sparrows flock to this place, even in the middle of winter.' (By Ryann Connell)"
'It's my personal belief that magma build-up inside Mount Fuji has already reached a critical stage,' Prof. Masaaki Kimura, a seismology professor at the University of the Ryukyus tells Shukan Post. 'Mount Fuji erupts about once every 300 years. And it's been about 300 years since Mount Fuji's last eruption. Volcanoes go in periods where they're active for about 300 to 400 years and then dormant for 300 to 400 years. But, it's a matter of simple arithmetic that Mount Fuji is due to erupt pretty soon.'
It seems the natural world fears that Fuji-san is about to blow, too. Since the start of 2004, frogs and stinkbugs once prominent in the area have virtually disappeared. Some see this as a sign that they've sensed something untoward is about to happen and they're avoiding the place like the plague. Observers have noticed this phenomenon, too.
'The most recent change has probably been the sudden disappearance of sparrows around the mountain since about the middle of October,' Hideaki Kuribayashi, a photographer who bases himself near Mount Fuji, tells Shukan Post. 'Normally, sparrows flock to this place, even in the middle of winter.' (By Ryann Connell)"
17.1.06
Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online
Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online: "A contract is still a contract – even if it is a contract to kill
By Alan Hamilton
A woman who hired a hitman to kill her has been awarded �2,000 because she is still alive
IT SOUNDS like the law of 1920s East Side Chicago, but it is also the law of England.
A contract is a contract, even if it is a contract to kill.
Break it, and if the mob don’t get you, Maidstone Crown Court will."
By Alan Hamilton
A woman who hired a hitman to kill her has been awarded �2,000 because she is still alive
IT SOUNDS like the law of 1920s East Side Chicago, but it is also the law of England.
A contract is a contract, even if it is a contract to kill.
Break it, and if the mob don’t get you, Maidstone Crown Court will."
14.1.06
Iran Focus-Iran to hang teenage girl attacked by rapists - Women - News
Iran Focus-Iran to hang teenage girl attacked by rapists - Women - News: "Tehran, Iran, Jan. 07 – An Iranian court has sentenced a teenage rape victim to death by hanging after she weepingly confessed that she had unintentionally killed a man who had tried to rape both her and her niece."
8.1.06
Your phone records are for sale
Your phone records are for sale: "Your phone records are for sale
January 5, 2006
BY FRANK MAIN Crime Reporter
The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone -- for a price. Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts."
January 5, 2006
BY FRANK MAIN Crime Reporter
The Chicago Police Department is warning officers their cell phone records are available to anyone -- for a price. Dozens of online services are selling lists of cell phone calls, raising security concerns among law enforcement and privacy experts."
Drivers find a snitch - Yahoo! News
Drivers find a snitch - Yahoo! News: "Drivers find a snitch
Fri Jan 6, 7:30 AM ET
It's common knowledge that airplanes have 'black boxes' that record flight data so safety experts can reconstruct what went wrong after an accident. But few motorists are aware that their late-model cars contain similar devices - and that police and insurers might use the data against them.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here
Six states (Arkansas, California, Nevada, New York, North Dakota and Texas) have recently passed laws requiring that automakers notify motorists of the devices, known as event data recorders (EDRs), and limiting access to them. Nevada's law, which took effect Jan. 1, requires the owner's permission before data can be retrieved.
In the absence of any federal guidelines, the states are wise to set some parameters. The devices, the size of a pack of cigarettes, are in more than 70% of all new passenger vehicles, foreign and domestic. The
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants them in every new car sold in America, but that fortunately hasn't yet happened because of privacy concerns.
EDRs monitor speed, braking, seat-belt use, steering and more. Ideally, the data can sort out responsibility for accidents and lead to improved vehicle design.
But will police download the data to assign blame after a crash? Can auto insurers use the information to raise premiums or cancel policies? Will lawyers demand access in order to sue you or others? The answers are unclear. Few guidelines exist over who owns the data, and court rulings vary.
With the spread of the devices and NTSB's pressure to mandate them, it's time for the federal government to establish reasonable rules so that all motorists are informed of the devices' presence and who owns them.
EDRs can lead to safety improvements. But it's wrong to demand that motorists ride with a silent snitch under the hood."
Fri Jan 6, 7:30 AM ET
It's common knowledge that airplanes have 'black boxes' that record flight data so safety experts can reconstruct what went wrong after an accident. But few motorists are aware that their late-model cars contain similar devices - and that police and insurers might use the data against them.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here
Six states (Arkansas, California, Nevada, New York, North Dakota and Texas) have recently passed laws requiring that automakers notify motorists of the devices, known as event data recorders (EDRs), and limiting access to them. Nevada's law, which took effect Jan. 1, requires the owner's permission before data can be retrieved.
In the absence of any federal guidelines, the states are wise to set some parameters. The devices, the size of a pack of cigarettes, are in more than 70% of all new passenger vehicles, foreign and domestic. The
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants them in every new car sold in America, but that fortunately hasn't yet happened because of privacy concerns.
EDRs monitor speed, braking, seat-belt use, steering and more. Ideally, the data can sort out responsibility for accidents and lead to improved vehicle design.
But will police download the data to assign blame after a crash? Can auto insurers use the information to raise premiums or cancel policies? Will lawyers demand access in order to sue you or others? The answers are unclear. Few guidelines exist over who owns the data, and court rulings vary.
With the spread of the devices and NTSB's pressure to mandate them, it's time for the federal government to establish reasonable rules so that all motorists are informed of the devices' presence and who owns them.
EDRs can lead to safety improvements. But it's wrong to demand that motorists ride with a silent snitch under the hood."
5.1.06
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Jesus 'healed using cannabis'
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Jesus 'healed using cannabis': "Jesus w as almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings."
2.1.06
Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World
Jerusalem Post | Breaking News from Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World: "The United States government reportedly began coordinating with NATO its plans for a possible military attack against Iran.
The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel collected various reports from the German media indicating that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are examining the prospects of such a strike.
According to the report, CIA Director Porter Goss, in his last visit to Turkey on December 12, requested Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide military bases to the United States in 2006 from where they would be able to launch an assault.
The German news agency DDP also noted that countries neighboring Iran, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, and Pakistan were also updated regarding the supposed plan. American sources sent to those countries apparently mentioned an aerial attack as a possibility, but did not provide a time frame for the operation.
Although Der Spiegel could not say that these plans were concrete, they did note that according to a January 2005 New Yorker report American forces had entered Iran in 2005 in order to mark possible targets for an aerial assault."
The German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel collected various reports from the German media indicating that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are examining the prospects of such a strike.
According to the report, CIA Director Porter Goss, in his last visit to Turkey on December 12, requested Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide military bases to the United States in 2006 from where they would be able to launch an assault.
The German news agency DDP also noted that countries neighboring Iran, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, and Pakistan were also updated regarding the supposed plan. American sources sent to those countries apparently mentioned an aerial attack as a possibility, but did not provide a time frame for the operation.
Although Der Spiegel could not say that these plans were concrete, they did note that according to a January 2005 New Yorker report American forces had entered Iran in 2005 in order to mark possible targets for an aerial assault."
30.12.05
United Press International - NewsTrack - Bush was denied wiretaps, bypassed them
United Press International - NewsTrack - Bush was denied wiretaps, bypassed them: "WASHINGTON, Dec. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush decided to skip seeking warrants for international wiretaps because the court was challenging him at an unprecedented rate.
A review of Justice Department reports to Congress by Hearst newspapers shows the 26-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court modified more wiretap requests from the Bush administration than the four previous presidential administrations combined.
The 11-judge court that authorizes FISA wiretaps modified only two search warrant orders out of the 13,102 applications approved over the first 22 years of the court's operation.
But since 2001, the judges have modified 179 of the 5,645 requests for surveillance by the Bush administration, the report said. A total of 173 of those court-ordered 'substantive modifications' took place in 2003 and 2004. And, the judges also rejected or deferred at least six requests for warrants during those two years -- the first outright rejection of a wiretap request in the court's history."
A review of Justice Department reports to Congress by Hearst newspapers shows the 26-year-old Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court modified more wiretap requests from the Bush administration than the four previous presidential administrations combined.
The 11-judge court that authorizes FISA wiretaps modified only two search warrant orders out of the 13,102 applications approved over the first 22 years of the court's operation.
But since 2001, the judges have modified 179 of the 5,645 requests for surveillance by the Bush administration, the report said. A total of 173 of those court-ordered 'substantive modifications' took place in 2003 and 2004. And, the judges also rejected or deferred at least six requests for warrants during those two years -- the first outright rejection of a wiretap request in the court's history."
28.12.05
Ecuadorean Pyramid Scheme Sparks a Panic - Yahoo! News
: "QUITO, Ecuador - A 71-year-old provincial notary who died in a luxury hotel room earlier this year left behind a teenage girlfriend ? who said he'd been on cocaine and Viagra ? and a crumbling $800 million pyramid scheme that has blossomed into a nationwide scandal.
ADVERTISEMENT
Jose Cabrera's sudden death sparked panic among thousands of people who gave him a minimum of $10,000 each over two decades in exchange for up to 10 percent monthly interest.
Most were rank-and-file police and military personnel ? more than 6,500 of them ? and residents of Machala, the port city where Cabrera was based. But the scandal has spread to high-ranking current and former military officials, judges, politicians and their families.
The head judge of the Machala Superior Court resigned after acknowledging that he had invested $15,000. Ecuador's former commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff put in $45,000 and the wife of a former defense minister contributed $125,000, local media have reported."
ADVERTISEMENT
Jose Cabrera's sudden death sparked panic among thousands of people who gave him a minimum of $10,000 each over two decades in exchange for up to 10 percent monthly interest.
Most were rank-and-file police and military personnel ? more than 6,500 of them ? and residents of Machala, the port city where Cabrera was based. But the scandal has spread to high-ranking current and former military officials, judges, politicians and their families.
The head judge of the Machala Superior Court resigned after acknowledging that he had invested $15,000. Ecuador's former commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff put in $45,000 and the wife of a former defense minister contributed $125,000, local media have reported."
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