Obama’s NSA “Reform” Panel Will Report to James Lied-To-Congress Clapper
August 13th, 2013Via: Ars Technica:
President Obama held a news conference on Friday at which he promised reform—but groups who wanted to see real reform in the surveillance area were understandably skeptical.
Obama made promises that he would “work with Congress” to produce better oversight, but he treated the recent leaks about NSA spying as more of a PR problem than anything else. The leaks had been revealed “in the most sensationalized manner,” he stressed. But Obama maintained that the programs were not being abused. Notably, the president didn’t suggest he would reduce the amount of surveillance taking place in any way.
But the “high level group of outside experts” that Obama promised to convene is unlikely to change any hearts and minds, unless its composition changes. Today it was announced the “outside” committee would report to James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence—one of the officials most scorned by reformers.
It was Clapper who dissembled in front of a Congressional committee when he was questioned directly by NSA critic Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) back in 2011. Wyden asked if “any kind of data at all” was being collected on millions of Americans. “No sir,” said Clapper at the time.
Now, with at least some of the facts about widespread surveillance making headlines, Clapper maintains he thought Wyden was just talking about e-mail and that “mistakes will happen.” Wyden’s question, of course, was about “any data at all”—which is not only the phrase Wyden used, but the question that was sent to Clapper the day before.
Increased TV Viewing by Children Associated with Subsequent Decreases in Vocabulary and Math Skills, Classroom Engagement
August 12th, 2013Via: Nature:
Background:
Using a large population-based sample, this study aims to verify whether televiewing at 29 mo, a common early childhood pastime, is prospectively associated with school readiness at 65 mo.
Methods:
Participants are a prospective longitudinal cohort of 991 girls and 1,006 boys from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development with parent-reported data on weekly hours of televiewing at 29 mo of age. We conducted a series of ordinary least-squares regressions in which children’s scores on direct child assessments of vocabulary, mathematical knowledge, and motor skills, as well as kindergarten teacher reports of socioemotional functioning, were linearly regressed on early televiewing.
Results:
Every SD increase (1.2h) in daily televiewing at 29 mo predicted decreases in receptive vocabulary, number knowledge scores, classroom engagement, and gross motor locomotion scores, as well as increases in the frequency of victimization by classmates.
Conclusion:
Increases in total time watching television at 29 mo were associated with subsequent decreases in vocabulary and math skills, classroom engagement (which is largely determined by attention skills), victimization by classmates, and physical prowess at kindergarten. These prospective associations, independent of key potential confounders, suggest the need for better parental awareness and compliance with existing viewing recommendations put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
More:
Children’s Poor Motor, Social Skills Linked To Too Much Television Watching
Extra Hour Of TV Can Ruin A Child’s Educational And Social Opportunities
World Changing Technology Enables Crops to Take Nitrogen from the Air
August 12th, 2013Via: University of Nottingham:
A major new technology has been developed by The University of Nottingham, which enables all of the world’s crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilisers.
Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.
Professor Edward Cocking, Director of The University of Nottingham’s Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation, has developed a unique method of putting nitrogen-fixing bacteria into the cells of plant roots. His major breakthrough came when he found a specific strain of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in sugar-cane which he discovered could intracellularly colonise all major crop plants. This ground-breaking development potentially provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The implications for agriculture are enormous as this new technology can provide much of the plant’s nitrogen needs.
…
N-Fix is neither genetic modification nor bio-engineering. It is a naturally occurring nitrogen fixing bacteria which takes up and uses nitrogen from the air. Applied to the cells of plants (intra-cellular) via the seed, it provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix nitrogen. Plant seeds are coated with these bacteria in order to create a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship and naturally produce nitrogen.
New Company Allows Organizations To Hire Fake Protesters
August 11th, 2013Via: Ben Swann:
So, no one supports your cause? No problem. You can hire supporters- even protesters. A company started last October by 22-year-old Adam Swart provides just this service. In a telephone interview I spoke with Swart about his new found success. “I came up with the idea on a visit to Estonia,” says Swart. At the airport, Swart says he saw a man who was being swarmed by a crowd of excited onlookers. He tells me, “I thought- Why can’t I have that kind of attention?” And so, Swart’s company, Crowds on Demand, was born.
Swart says that business is doing extremely well. According to their website, their office is located in a swanky downtown LA office suite. He says his biggest client so far was a $10k contract, but he would not disclose the client. Not bad for a 22-year-old kid. “We do most of our business through word of mouth. We are able to provide our customers with top-notch service, so they spread the word to other potential clients,” says Swart.
Research Credit: almaverdad2
‘A Cookie for the Real World’: Devices Hidden in London’s Recycling Bins Track Smartphones
August 11th, 2013Via: Wired:
The unique identifying numbers of over half a million smartphones have been recorded by a network of recycling bins in central London.
Hundreds of thousands of pedestrians walking past 12 locations unknowingly had the unique MAC address of their smartphones recorded by Renew London.
Data including the “movement, type, direction, and speed of unique devices” was recorded from smartphones that had their Wi-Fi on.
First reported by Quartz, the data gathering appears to be a Minority Report-esque proof-of-concept project, demonstrating the possibility for targeted personal advertising.
“It provides an unparalleled insight into the past behavior of unique devices — entry/exit points, dwell times, places of work, places of interest, and affinity to other devices — and should provide a compelling reach data base for predictive analytics (likely places to eat, drink, personal habits etc.),” reads a blog post on the company’s site.
In tests running between 21-24 May and 2-9 June, over 4 million events were captured, with over 530,000 unique devices captured. Further testing is taking place at sites including Liverpool Street Station.
Renew operates around 100 recycling bins around London, primarily in the City of London, which double up as digital advertising boards. 12 of those bins, were fitted with tracking devices.
The project is the first use of a piece of technology called Presence Orb. Launched by Presence Aware in March of this year, Presence Orb is described as a “A cookie for the real world”, in reference to web cookies that track your online behaviour across sites.
Connections Between Michael Hastings, Edward Snowden and Barrett Brown — The War With the Security State
August 10th, 2013Via: WhoWhatWhy:
At the time of his death in a mysterious one-car crash and explosion, journalist Michael Hastings was researching a story that threatened to expose powerful entities and government-connected figures. That story intersected with the work of two controversial government critics—the hacker Barrett Brown and the on-the-run surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Any probe into Hastings’s untimely death needs to take into account this complex but essential background.
Research Credit: Pookie
A Material That Could Make Solar Power ‘Dirt Cheap’
August 10th, 2013Via: MIT Technology Review:
A new type of solar cell, made from a material that is dramatically cheaper to obtain and use than silicon, could generate as much power as today’s commodity solar cells.
Although the potential of the material is just starting to be understood, it has caught the attention of the world’s leading solar researchers, and several companies are already working to commercialize it.
Researchers developing the technology say that it could lead to solar panels that cost just 10 to 20 cents per watt. Solar panels now typically cost about 75 cents a watt, and the U.S. Department of Energy says 50 cents per watt will allow solar power to compete with fossil fuel.
Eating Raw Garlic Twice a Week Nearly Halves Risk of Developing Lung Cancer
August 10th, 2013Via: CBC News:
Eating raw garlic twice a week can cut the chances of lung cancer by almost half, new research suggests.
The results, published online Wednesday in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, showed those who ate raw garlic at least twice a week cut the risk of lung cancer by 44 per cent, even if they were exposed to high-temperature cooking-oil fumes, which is thought to be another trigger for the disease.
The herb even reduces the risk in smokers by 30 per cent, the research suggested.
Research Credit: almaverdad2
Japan’s Day Trading Elite
August 10th, 2013Via: Bloomberg:
Murakami calls himself the smallest player in a group of seven day traders who chat with each other online, vacation together, and cumulatively buy and sell almost $100 million in stocks each day, using borrowed money to increase the size of their bets.
…
“These guys are pros,” says Jesper Koll, head of Japan equity research at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in Tokyo. “They’re acting like a proprietary trading desk at a major investment bank.”
Making money isn’t easy, Murakami says. With $100,000 in savings and no experience in the market, he started trading stocks from a desktop PC in 2005. Within two months he’d lost half his stake. He kept improving his results, but trading in Japan’s stagnant market was like trying to sail a boat without any wind—until this year. “When shares don’t move, you can’t get an opening for a trade,” he says. “Now that the market is moving, I feel like I have to make the most of it.”
Japan Gets to Know a Quadrillion as Debt Hits New High
August 10th, 2013Via: Bloomberg:
The late Senator Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.) is famous for allegedly saying, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” It might be apocryphal—the Dirksen Congressional Center has found no evidence that the late Illinois Republican ever made the quip—but it certainly resonates as the political parties spar over sequestration and Americans become even more accustomed to thinking somewhat casually about what should be unfathomably big numbers.
In Japan, however, billions are for amateurs. With public debt more than 200 percent of GDP, the Japanese have long measured their red ink in hundreds of trillions of yen, at least until now. The Japanese crossed into uncharted fiscal territory Friday following news that the country’s gigantic national debt has for the first time just exceeded ¥1,000 trillion—in other words, more than one quadrillion. The country’s outstanding public debt, including borrowings, increased 1.7 percent in the second quarter of 2013, Japan’s Ministry of Finance announced, putting the national debt at a record ¥1,008.6 trillion ($10.46 trillion).
Just how big is a quadrillion? In yen, as Bloomberg News explains, the amount is larger than the economies of Germany, France, and Britain—combined.
