~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #24
From
human being <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Sat, 26 Apr 2003 22:07:57 -0500
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Electromagnetic News & Views -- #24
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00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (4/26/2003)
01) Top Stories of Electromagnetism
02) Electromagnetic health & medicine
03) Electromagnetic trash & treasure
04) Electromagnetic security & surveillance
05) Electromagnetic power & energy
06) Electromagnetic current & human affairs
07) Electromagnetic transportation & communication
08) Electromagnetic matter & information
09) Electromagnetic trends & inventions
10) Electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
11) Electromagnetic business & economics
12) Electromagnetic art & artifacts
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00) --commentary--
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TODAY is "PINHOLE DAY"!
Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day
see top stories for URL...
[ send your tips for improving the newsletter to
human@electronetwork.org ]
===================================================
01) --top stories--
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Scientists urge shell clear-up to protect civilians
Royal Society spells out dangers of depleted uranium
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,938412,00.html>
"Hundreds of tonnes of depleted uranium used by Britain and the United
States in Iraq should be removed to protect the civilian population,
the Royal Society said yesterday, contradicting Pentagon claims it was
not necessary."
// another thing to worry about if you have a pacemaker...
Non-lethal landmine zaps intruders with 50,000 volts [graphic]
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993650>
"The Taser Area Denial Device is based on the Taser electric shock
weapon, widely used by police forces around the world. A pair of darts
is fired at intruders from a distance of about seven metres, and a
high-voltage electrical pulse is delivered through lightweight metal
cables to the darts. The electric shock incapacitates the intruder by
overriding their neuromuscular control ( New Scientist print edition,
15 February 2003). ... "Each battery-powered TADD has up to 12 pairs of
darts that can be fired independently at different targets, and is
capable of delivering a total of 200 three-second shocks."
Parallel Universes // more on multiverses...
Not just a staple of science fiction, other universes are a direct
implication of cosmological observations
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=000F1EDD-B48A-
1E90-8EA5809EC5880000>
Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day [goto 'gallery']
SUNDAY APRIL 27th, PHOTOs ONLINE
<http://www.pinholeday.org/>
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02-- electromagnetic health & medicine
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When the dust settles // DU...
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,937902,00.html>
"Depleted uranium may be far more dangerous than previously thought-
and we could be dealing with the fallout for many generations to come."
White Noise Delays Auditory Organization In Brain
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/04/030418081607.htm>
"Exposure to continuous white noise sabotages the development of the
auditory region of the brain, which may ultimately impair hearing and
language acquisition, according to researchers from the University of
California, San Francisco."
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03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
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Recycling not easy for PC makers // Japan leading innovation...
<http://news.com.com/2100-1041-997755.html>
"...The upside is that by examining the recycling process, computer
makers are starting to change the way they build their gear, making it
easier to dispose of the volumes of obsolete systems--and a handful of
potentially toxic ingredients they contain--in an environmentally
friendly way..."
"...And it's not just PC and printer makers that are getting in on the
act. On Monday, cell phone carrier AT&T Wireless announced a program to
take back unwanted phones. Those that can be salvaged will be donated
to the Red Cross, while other phones will be recycled..."
Anything into Oil // thanks *. [beware the first photograph]
Technological savvy could turn 600 million tons of turkey guts and
other waste into 4 billion barrels of light Texas crude each year
<http://www.discover.com/may_03/featoil.html>
"In an industrial park in Philadelphia sits a new machine that can
change almost anything into oil." "...the thermal depolymerization
process, or TDP ...is designed to handle almost any waste product
imaginable, including turkey offal, tires, plastic bottles,
harbor-dredged muck, old computers, municipal garbage, cornstalks,
paper-pulp effluent, infectious medical waste, oil-refinery residues,
even biological weapons such as anthrax spores. According to Appel,
waste goes in one end and comes out the other as three products, all
valuable and environmentally benign: high-quality oil, clean-burning
gas, and purified minerals that can be used as fuels, fertilizers, or
specialty chemicals for manufacturing."
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04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
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Oh, Nooo! What If GPS Fails?
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/start.html?pg=6>
"Wormser looks forward to the day when the next generation of GPS
technology is put into place - and paid for by the private sector,
which accounts for 90 percent of the system's usage." "... He's pushing
a subscription-based model in which the military would provide
commercial GPS services. The system would be administered by a civilian
agency, which would coordinate with industry."
Now Digital, Spy Camera Technology Widens Gaze
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/21/technology/21CAME.html>
"Sales of digital surveillance systems and the services required to
install them are growing rapidly at a time sales of many other
technologies are limited by tight corporate budgets."
New spy tools--for good or evil? // Clipper-router...
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-997590.html>
White House security adviser resigns // things must be really bad...
White House cybersecurity adviser Howard Schmidt has resigned his post,
becoming the second top government adviser to leave this year.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1009-997840.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>
The paradox of privacy
Recently, I was the victim of an electronic privacy attack.
<http://news.com.com/2010-1071-997381.html?part=ctx&tag=chl>
Decoding Computer Intruders // cyberwar, hackers, virus coders...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/24/technology/circuits/24viru.html?th>
An Electronic Tag for the Peripatetic Pet // chipping domestics...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/24/technology/circuits/24pets.html?th>
Throw Away the Internet; Start All Over
The original designers of the Internet had no reason to consider
security issues, writes Security Supersite Editor Larry Seltzer—so they
didn't. Could we throw away the old Net and do it right?
<http://security.ziffdavis.com/article2/
0,3973,1036052,00.asp?kc=SCZD103039TX1K0100568>
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05-- electromagnetic power & energy
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EUROPA - News on Euopean H2 developments // thanks *
<http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/energy/nn/nn_rt_hlg3_en.html>
Texas [Nuclear] Reactor Vessel Is Leaking Water
<http://nytimes.com/2003/04/19/national/19NUKE.html>
Tokyo's cracked nuclear reactors may power up again
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993653>
Baghdad 'should stay within Opec'
<http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=49517&Sn=BUSI>
"Some analysts are predicting that Iraq, now under the control of US
forces, would leave Opec to rid itself of the system of export quotas
assigned by the group to its members, thus flooding the market with
more oil and bringing down prices."
[and] OPEC to Consider Crude Production Cut
<http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/5677830.htm>
Russian oil merger may shut door on U.S. majors
<http://reuters.com/
financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=mergersNews&storyID=2607518>
// beautiful photo of a nightscape with geomagnetic storms, too...
A Star with two North Poles // via SciTech Daily Review...
Sometimes the Sun's magnetic field goes haywire, and the effects are
felt throughout the solar system.
<http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/22apr_currentsheet.htm>
'The vast region of space filled by the Sun's magnetic field is called
the heliosphere. All nine planets orbit inside it. But the biggest
thing in the heliosphere is not a planet, or even the Sun. It's the
current sheet--a sprawling surface where the polarity of the Sun's
magnetic field changes from plus (north) to minus (south). "We call it
the 'current sheet,'" says Riley, "because an electrical current flows
there, about 10 -10 amps/m 2." The filament of an ordinary light bulb
carries sixteen orders of magnitude (10 16 x) more amps/m 2. But what
the current sheet lacks in local amperage, it makes up in sheer size.
The sheet is 10,000 km thick and extends from the Sun past the orbit of
Pluto. "The entire heliosphere is organized around this giant sheet."'
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06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
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US sees the lights go out as states scrimp and save
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-657051,00.html>
'"The Big Turn Off" in Missouri, which has dimmed electric light by a
third in most government buildings, is typical of the desperate
scramble to save pennies. In Kentucky, every other ceiling light has
been turned off in the State Capitol.'
The ~real West Wing, coming to a modem near you
Wednesday's web event exemplifies efforts by the Bush team to reach the
public - directly, and online.
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0418/p02s02-uspo.html>
The Virtual Activist Training Guide 2.0 // via Dev-Media list...
<http://netaction.org/training/>
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07-- electromagnetic transportation & communication
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Revolution by remote : Invented as a way to avoid ads, the remote
control has changed our cultural channels for good, from war coverage
(click!) to relationships (give me that!).
<http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-baker13apr13,0,2459991.story>
Satellite Radio Gains Ground With Right Mix of Partners
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/21/technology/21RADI.html?th>
Microsoft to Use Radio Waves on Devices // SPOT. via NewsScan...
<http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030424/D7QK3R1O1.html>
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08-- electromagnetic matter & information
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Secretive Agency's Maps to Pave Way for Iraqi Relief
High-Tech Details That Aided Military To Be Released
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8184-2003Apr21.html>
"...the city maps prepared with NIMA's help are more detailed than
those available from other sources and reflect the increasing use in
public mapmaking of digitized imagery taken by high-resolution cameras
carried by satellites."
How Scanners Work
<http://home.howstuffworks.com/scanner.htm>
The outlook for displays is bright, literally // Screens. via Gizmodo
<http://pd.pennnet.com/Articles/
Article_Display.cfm?Section=Articles&Subsection=Display&ARTICLE_ID=17372
6>
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09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
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// apparently Iomega Zip disks are now in decline or a slump,
// which made it seem logical that flash-memory may be taking
// over, not only from the floppy, but possibly the Zip disk,
// the CD, where burned-DVDs will deal with rich media files
// and archiving these (or very large storage harddrives, as
// a backup OS database). Compact Flash, a choice that thus far
// has seemed safe for products is now going to offer a smaller
// format that interfaces via USB with a computer, so CF & other
// card-readers would not be needed as computer accessories. this,
// like LED lights, fuel cell batteries, and OLEDs are the kinds
// of technologies that seem to indicate a changing EM industry...
Secure Digital gains ground in memory
<http://news.com.com/2100-1041-997849.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>
// ah ha. as thought, people may someday get blogged-out, as
// writers with ideas and this is a great assessment of how
// writing everyday in one format versus less-immediate ways
// of processing and presenting ideas may be quite different.
William Gibson 'gives up blogging' // quite funny...
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/30403.html>
"Gibson told Lillington that the daily confessional might ruin his
creative process. He's quite right to think so. He's an artist, which
means he collects and refines ideas over time, and has a gift for
organizing his language to maximal effect. Put another way, he chooses
his words carefully, and he chooses the contexts in which they will
have most impact. (Optimizing compiler writers will understand what we
mean - blabbing webloggers probably won't)."
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10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
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// quite an article on all things EM warfighting, from making
// a cell phone call and getting bombed via drones picking up
// the signals and coordinates, to psy-ops using 400w speakers
// to flush the enemy troops out of cover, to the JOC as the
// 'brain' of the operation, to a chaos orchestrated via EM
// advances to an extent not possible in the first Gulf War...
The Secret War
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/899657.asp?0cv=KA01>
"For the first time, the Air Force dropped "tank buster" bombs
dispensing heat-seeking bomblets that float down by parachute, sniffing
for tanks and then hammering them with munitions designed to penetrate
their vulnerable topsides." ... "The carnage happened off screen."
EM QUOTE from: The Saddam Files
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/902240.asp>
"In his hometown of Tikrit, every lamppost has a picture of Saddam
attached: smiling in traditional Arab garb, in business suits or
military uniforms."
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11-- electromagnetic business & economics
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HEADLINE: From Power Grid to Schools, Rebuilding a Broken Nation
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/20/international/worldspecial/
20REBU.html?th>
Legislating Open Source
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21312.html>
Banks cash in as more bills are paid online
<http://news.com.com/2100-1019-997701.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>
"...paperless bill-paying is hitting its stride and becoming a
standard operating procedure for an increasing number of consumers."
Andy Grove on the confident leader // related to all things .edu...
<http://news.com.com/2009-1087-997426.html?part=ctx&tag=chl>
"[The new framework is] proven to be not computing-based but
communications-based. In it, computing is going to be subordinated to
the communication task..."
"The revolution in quality control and manufacturing techniques that
has taken place in the last fifteen years was data-driven and
systems-driven and statistical-process-control-driven. The U.S. economy
has benefited incredibly over the last fifteen years without a change
in strategy, just by seriously embracing the science of manufacturing
and quality control."
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12-- electromagnetic art & artifacts
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Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day [click 'gallery']
SUNDAY APRIL 27th, PHOTOs ONLINE
<http://www.pinholeday.org/>
Open Swap: NYC, Saturday April 26 from 1:00-5:00. // via thingist...
"Projects and Prototypes OPEN SWAP is an outdoor digital exchange that
celebrates the culture of sharing, indicative of interactions in
creative practices and everyday life. Bring your PDA's, iPOD's,
portable drives, laptops, and various gadgets to beam, trade, and give
away your items of personal media. These could be software or code
you've written, a vintage PDA app, or some of your favorite digital
photographs."
<http://www.nsu.newschool.edu/blur/>
The Future of War conference: Aesthetics, Politics, Technologies
May 2-3, 2003 The New School, NYC...
<http://www.firstpulseprojects.net/bombproject/future_of_war.html>
"What do the Department of Defense and the computer gaming industry
have in common? What kinds of strategic alliances is the Pentagon
making with Hollywood? How is the American Institute of Architects
connecting with the military's designs for a "new security
environment?" Are artists collaborating with, exposing, or resisting
the military by deploying technologies of simulation, data
surveillance, tracking, and computer vision in their work?"
// the following is a propaganda item of sorts, and is included
// here for the fact that these talking devices have taken some
// historically significant events and EM-recorded words and in
// turn have made them into war-themed dolls, capturing a media
// and world event in this artifact, to play back again & again...
Iraq war action figures become hot items
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/04/19/action_figures/index.html>
The art of DNA, Back to bases : Fifty years after its discovery, the
double helix is twisting itself ever deeper into popular culture
<http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1730781>
Brian Eno: Music for Airports - 2/1 simulation via Quicktime...
<http://www.ualberta.ca/~nfriesen/eno/>
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