~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #35

[human being <human@electronetwork.org>]

===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #35
===================================================

00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (7/10/2003)

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

===================================================
00) --commentary-- Nuclearization...

It is strange to begin to read past daily and weekly news
about the increasing development of nuclear weapons and,
with them, threats of their use, and begin to be numbed.
Hard to document here the relevance of major missile launches
tied with nuclear programs, at the same time multiple states
are sharing threats of annihilation. Breaking through mental
and emotional atrophy, beyond politics it is proposed, sheer
consequences of this 'old' nuclear warfare approach brings
increasing concern in the rhetoric. This is largely in part
to the electromagnetic effects of the weapons themselves,
or so it seems from a novice understanding, and nuclear
weapons in relation to land mass and population centers,
and explosive weapons versus the dirty bomb variety. Why
write about this in a time such as today? Not entirely
certain, yet when the hairs on the back of one's neck are
up on end from an intensely charged atmosphere, or similar to
those on a cats back, the nuclear complacency needs to lift.

It is also difficult in an environment where ethics are
impossible to use as a standard, and not an abstraction,
so this is tip-toeing around a very basic idea. And that
is, a story was just read about a threat to the existence
of country 1 by a faction in country 2, parts of different
competing worldviews right now. The latter country may be
matching the existence of a nuclear program in the former,
and yet not the capabilities, it would seem, by rhetoric
which talks in explosive terms. That is, the desire of a
group in country 2 to level country 1, leaving nothing on
the ground. What is difficult to comprehend about such an
approach to nuclear rhetoric is that whatever one may do
with a nuclear weapon is, it would seem, not limited to
the direct impact area, but the toxic fallout would be
spread region-wide, on the very allies of country 1, and
in effect, would make a place valued for its significance
to a whole region uninhabitable by anyone, or any country.

This is not to say anything about nuclear strategies but
about common sense about what nuclear weapons actually do
when put into action, and how their use by mere existence
does not preclude success in war. It seems they could be
very complex if used at possible scales, and may be one
reason explosive nuclear weapons have not been used in
any wars as far as has been reported (as compared to
depleted uranium shells or bullets, say, which are more
like a distributed dirty-bomb in a large environment.)
If one is in a small country, say, country 2, it may be
to their defensive advantage that any nuclear weapon
may effect the neighborhood and bring other forces into
contention for radioactivating a people's total existence,
while at the same time championing their allegiances.

It seems that countries that previously developed early
nuclear weapons that are for continent-continent use,
have changed their strategies as their arsenals have
not been put to use beyond testing, at these scales.
In the US the effort is to make 'smaller scale' nuclear
weapons, which would likely be more controllable in the
way they effect country-country or even internal effects,
while the larger scaled weapons may be useful only in one
scenario of conflict, and to use them as such would be
to limit their potential use. A large country which is
also fighting another large country may use large-scaled
nuclear weapons, yet still the fallout would go beyond
the borders of a country, and effect external relations,
pulling others into the conflicts. Is it possible, even,
besides total chaos and madness, to rationalize nuclear
war even if threatened. That is wondered. Not as an
ideological position,  but as an idea in these years.
Years ago pondering the rise of nuclear weapons, it was
an issue not even on the map for citizens, while today
it is in the news, but citizen knowledge has not changed
much and open or veiled threats of nuclear warfare is
not a major concern or leading in the news. No answers,
though something likely in these days would appear to
be that the 'explosive' nuclear weapons programs versus
the dirty-bomb weapons programs might be of equal or
even greater concern if it were by conducted by states.

As such dirty-bomb warfare can be isolated, hidden, and
possibly carried out without the explosion but with the
more isolated and long-term effects of tactical nukes
of the explosive variety. For the larger countries, the
use of explosive nuclear weapons on any scale seems to
be a stalemate in terms of complex, conflicting agendas
between various bordering nations. And it would seem
that older nuclear states could still deploy weapons
of vast destruction but also give warning to targets
prior to attacks, to leave the premises or else, which
in itself would appear to make that situation untenable
unless it were in retaliation for a dirty-bomb attack,
and the deadlier and more destructive weapons deployed.
Maybe this is what is meant by 'pandoras's box'. It is
the sense that maybe such nuclear talk could suddenly
actually lead to further escalation of nuclear risks,
war, and the cosmic scale of violence and power that
may be symbolic for a 'nuclear state', yet which is
also part of a complexity that may have helped prevent
the easy use of such weapons after WWII in conflicts,
as there is something ethically impossible about their
use, about rhetoric of wiping-a-country-off-the-face-
of-the-Earth, and expecting anyone else to agree with
such an option in this day, no matter what the politic.

This is mostly naive thinking, but it is more than is
available in most of the press about the actual use of
such weapons in a conflict today, as weapon of choice.
Strange to say, but about a decade ago, got a used PC
laptop and was fascinated by a game (never being a
gamer, nor since) which was called 'civilization' or
something by Sid Meier or someone (also, SimCity).
What was learned from running through the game was
that it was based on certain rules of international
development by which it programmed game play, and
this was documented within the game book on strategy.
What one could do, if developing a competing nation,
is to spend money on research & development (R&D),
which over a period of time in the game, could then
wield a new technology which would prove advantageous
to a civilization's own development, and also relations
with other, competing civilizations. And, one would
need to work to acquire the technologies of other
advancing nations to keep up with other, future modes
of R&D for advancement. One of these was nuclear R&D,
powerplants if memory serves, and also nuclear weapons.
Either one could invest in the initial discovery, or
try to defeat an enemy or trade to get such esoteric
knowledge, or risk being in a potentially weakened
position, and overrun due to lack of any deterrence.

What was interesting about this perspective on states
acquiring nuclear weaponry was that it could be for
many reasons, one of which is the ability to be in
a certain rank of the dirty-dozen (or baker's dozen)
of nuclear countries today. Another is the aspect of
nuclear science being fundamental to physics which
are probing questions such as the beginning of the
universe, questions about matter, energy, life. And
it is unclear where the dividing line can be between
such questions, and dual-use knowledge for weapons.
It would seem that societies of vastly impressive
inquiries may seek such knowledge and possibly even
be able to explore the cosmic aspects of nuclear-
science, in some way, without the 'inevitable' march
towards nuclear madness, as part of global knowledge.
If nuclear knowledge is only viewed in terms of its
weapons and the rhetoric is threatening as such, it
is likely it is and will always remain about war.
Though it is curious if, if co-existence of people
in a world is a realistic dimension to the nuclear
developments of global civilization, if some ethical
rule about the realities of both explosive and dirty-
bomb attacks would be made known in advance, as the
global battlefield seems very local on nuclear scale,
with weather patterns shifting fallout, where strikes
could take out a world's heritage, and retaliation
could vaporize a populace or country in active war,
possibly with some legitimacy in a mutually-assured-
destruction (MAD) scenario, only between various
scales of country-country where the entire world
may not go up in at once, but two or more states
may escalate to the point of total nuclear exchange.

The more isolated a country is, the more difficult
it would seem to be to defend against an attack or
a counterattack, as the explosion may not spread
far outside its borders (it is unknown how far the
fallout could spread, probably dependent on weather
patterns and winds, and things like oceans, seasons).

The smaller and more enmeshed a country is, the more
likely it would seem it could be defended by proximity
to other like- or unlike-minded neighboring countries,
as the fallout would also be their concern, and also,
if explosive, the blast damage, cancer, economic ruin.
Though a dirty-bomb attack in such a place would be
more contained and seemingly a greater threat in that
its effects on neighboring countries could be scaled
down to a degree, it could then be used to legitimize
the use of retaliatory nuclear strikes as a defense.
What this is to speculate is that there may still be
some balance in nuclear developments, even with the
dirty-bomb scenarios in relation to larger weapons,
then also, explosive but smaller tactical weapons
as defenses against dirty-bombs, horrible as it is
to contemplate, there have been constant warnings
that this is a reasonable future of global warfare.

By this vague approximation trying to relate dirty-
bombs with explosive megaton nuclear weapons, there
seems to be plenty of opportunity to explore what
any nuclear confrontation today would entail, well
prior hopefully to escalations and the equal threat
of hair-trigger, opaque responses to new environs.
In a way, maybe if there were more software programs
that created certain dynamics, it would be possible
to learn 'history' and relations between questions
and peoples and cultures, from multiple points of
view, to enable something a textbook cannot achieve
in its active examination of such dynamic situations.
Maybe software is actually a living book, writing a
way of perceiving, but one which can also enable a
different type of active engagement with questions,
by simulating or constructing or taking them apart,
rearranging them, putting them back into relation.
Maybe there is a dimension to nuclear knowledge that
has part to do with cultural relevance, and may not
primarily be about weapons of war for active use,
but for representation of a certain level of the
advancement of collective knowledge in a competitive
state. If states were able to cooperate in some way
about nuclear knowledge- and its relation to such
things as the meaning of life, religious beliefs,
sacred knowledge, power, energy, cosmological and
metaphysical stuff that religions are founded on,
maybe the part that is not maniacal could be dealt
with in terms different than those bent on war and
threats of war, and these dealt with in this regard.

It is clear this is foolish to write about, to share
such naive thoughts, yet that sense that something
may 'just happen' is less about orange-alerts and
more about the precipitating one-way nuclear threats
and their open dismissal, it would seem, in current
affairs. So, to share these basic thoughts is not
meant to be to pretend any depth of understanding of
these questions, but a basic awareness, and a basic
literacy of the issues, the context, so as to be
able to gauge them. And why this is written is that
in the current environment, despite all the threats
and warnings, a fatigue sets in, and a numbing to
the threat of nuclear warfare has been realized,
that which two or so years ago would have had the
press in a frenzy of post-apocalyptic scenarios.
In today's environment, though, at least here, it
is as if nothing is happening along these lines, as
if it does not exist until it happens, and is then
to be reported, to be explained, to be rationalized
as a tragedy that could have been averted, if only...

Education and knowledge and awareness and dialogs
and discussions and scenarios and questions and
many things could precede vastly-complex and often
uncontrollable outcomes, if only considered in
advance, and in an open and inclusive reasoning.
That is why software may be potentially useful in
this regard, in that a million people could run a
'history' or scenario problem and work through it
in different ways, even changing the code, or making
options that were not available in the original but
in a spin-off open-source model of a shared idea of
the dynamics of a question. And, if this was to be
a model which included multiple perspectives of events
and of subjects such as nuclear acquisition, in the
context not of mathematics isolated from everything
else, or the mining of rare materials, but also the
religious traditions, the role of scientific and
technological knowledge of a culture, its identity,
its cultural beliefs, and these in relations to
others, maybe instead of the SIMs Online full of
virtual gangsters, it could be thinkers and people
of the most complete knowledge of the dynamics,
parallel processing the present, and writing this
relationship in code, and working on relating the
structures that are in common worldwide, with those
that are unique to a given place or people. Maybe
software, as a way of thinking about and proactively
addressing unanswerable questions, and policy, is
a potential for a new way to relate internationally,
nationally, locally to the global and vice versa,
as a living story. One involving nuclear weapons,
yet also nuclear science, particle physics, etc.

Like 'Civilization' maybe the common electromagnetic
civilization, not specific to one place but more of
a fact of existence shared by cultures, interpreted
differently in ways but common in others. Today the
rhetoric is oddly enough another software title, and
others apply, such as "Empire, Railroad Tycoon, and
Capitalist" etc. Yet that initial game that launched
many of these later ones had an ethical dimension,
some global perspective, and a purpose for playing
which was learning, in a general way, by exploring
the dynamics of relations between choices and events.
What if software could aid in establishing new order
between vastly different (but similar) systems, to
use R&D to invest in finding other options than MAD
when a nuclear attack or accident someday does occur.
That is what is needed here, to put some hope in an-
other scenario than what seems the most likely: chaos.
And, if it is to be a dreamer or wishful thinker, it
is believed preferable to complacency to nuclear war.


===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------

Court Allows Suit on Cheney Energy Panel // Energy Task Force...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26380-2003Jul8.html>

[recurring thought, in general, on ealier news mentioning
the use of the e-bomb in Iraq, simultaneous with the power
grid problems surfacing, within a few days. is it possible
that the e-bomb may have had unintended consequences, and
could have potentially done more or a different damage than
was previously imagined? it is speculated here that until
more news comes out about this e-bomb's use, that it cannot
be discounted from the current, and mysterious, lack of
power in Iraq. there is no word on what connection may or
may not exist between the two events, and grid problems.]

Iraq rumour mill grinds on // power-outages + X-ray vision claims
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3049300.stm>

	""Power cuts are the Americans' greatest failure," the driver told me  
at the end of the seven-hour long journey through the desert from the  
Kuwaiti border." .. ""Electricity, electricity is so important. If they  
only fixed that," he said with a look of frustration rapidly going over  
into a resigned expression." .. He then added: "You know what, I think  
they are punishing us because of the continued attacks on their  
soldiers." ... ""The Americans," an Iraqi worker in Al-Rashid district   
told me, "drove around in a Baghdad suburb announcing in a loudspeaker  
'security for us in return for electricity for you'"."

RFID Site Security Gaffe Uncovered by Consumer Group
<http://cryptome.org/rfid-docs.htm>

Wal-Mart cancels 'smart shelf' trial:  Wal-Mart Stores has unexpectedly  
canceled testing for an experimental wireless inventory control system,  
ending one of the first and most closely watched efforts to bring  
controversial radio frequency identification technology to store  
shelves in the United States. // RFIDs...
<http://news.com.com/2100-1019_3-1023934.html?tag=fd_lede1_hed>

// a very intriguing read, especially the colonial mindset
// of phone companies versus innovative new developments...

Searching for a Dial Tone in Africa // VoIP as internet-destiny
<http://nytimes.com/2003/07/05/business/worldbusiness/05VOIC.html>

	"[I]n parts of Africa the Internet is serving as a powerful force for  
change, primarily by allowing companies and individuals to make  
international telephone calls far less expensively than through  
conventional channels." ... '"It is precisely in places where no  
infrastructure exists that Wi-Fi can be particularly effective," Mr.  
[Kofi] Annan said, "helping countries to leapfrog generations of  
telecommunications technology and empower their people."' ... "Here in  
Ghana, the national phone company is waging a sporadic campaign against  
its own citizens who use the Internet to make or receive telephone  
calls from America and Europe, periodically turning off the lines of  
those suspected of doing so."

// the ubiquity of the EM infrastructure and its 'invisibility'
// may have been utilized for its stealth in urban jungle, or
// guerrilla, warfare assaults due to its inherent camouflage...
// the symbolism is odd, given that the e-power system is down...

	QUOTE: "July 5 Seven Iraqi police recruits died today as explosives  
packed into a utility pole near a police station went off during the  
graduation ceremony for the first American-trained class for a new  
police force." "More than 70 people were injured as shrapnel from the  
metal pole and the bomb ripped through a large crowd around noon..."

from: 7 U.S.-Trained Police Cadets Are Killed in Iraq Explosion
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=68&u=/nyt/20030705/ts_nyt/ 
7ustrainedpolicecadetsarekillediniraqexplosion&printer=1>

// this article is telling. it is greatly odd that such a student
// project would be 'surprising' to anybody inside or outside of
// government, especially those in the security establishment...
// nor is the basic idea necessarily bad, 'understanding the
// physical infrastructure of the internet' also enables it to
// be rationalized, to shape its impact, not be passive to its
// future development. insterad, it is illicit knowledge it seems.
// if this is the case, things are too far behind reality to adjust.

Dissertation Could Be Security Threat // GIS critical infrastructure
Student's Maps Illustrate Concerns About Public Information
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23689-2003Jul7.html>

	"... [T]his George Mason University graduate student has mapped every  
business and industrial sector in the American economy, layering on top  
the fiber-optic network that connects them." ... '"He should turn it in  
to his professor, get his grade -- and then they both should burn it,"  
said Richard Clarke, who until recently was the White House  
cyberterrorism chief. "The fiber-optic network is our country's nervous  
system." Every fiber, thin as a hair, carries the impulses responsible  
for Internet traffic, telephones, cell phones, military communications,  
bank transfers, air traffic control, signals to the power grids and  
water systems, among other things.' ... "Gorman compiled his mega-map  
using publicly available material he found on the Internet. None of it  
was classified." .. "Five years ago, he began work on a master's degree  
in geography. His original intention was to map the physical  
infrastructure of the Internet, to see who was connected, who was not,  
and to measure its economic impact."

Switch on for powered data networks // e-power over ethernet!
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3054894.stm>

	'Mr Lehr said electric plugs, power outlets and voltages were  
different all over the world but ethernet used the same small range of  
connectors and cables no matter where it was installed.' ... '"The RJ45  
connector is a universal outlet," he said. "It's the only one identical  
in Asia, Europe and the US."'


---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & medicine
---------------------------------------------------

// drudgeport.com has had a lot of EM headlines lately, like
// this one, lightning strike thru lip and tongue piercings...

Becky survives holiday horror lightning strike
<http://icberkshire.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0300reading/ 
content_objectid=13137879_method=full_siteid=50102_headline=-Becky- 
survives-holiday-horror-lightning-strike-name_page.html>

The Lure of Data: Is It Addictive? // 12 steps for dataholics?
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/06/business/yourmoney/06WIRE.html>

	"These speed demons say they will fall behind if they disconnect, but  
they also acknowledge feeling something much more powerful: they are  
compulsively drawn to the constant stimulation provided by incoming  
data. Call it O.C.D. -- online compulsive disorder." ... "[Dr.  
Hallowell and John Ratey] have their own term for this condition:  
pseudo-attention deficit disorder. Its sufferers  do not have actual  
A.D.D., but, influenced by technology and the pace of modern life, have  
developed shorter attention spans. They become frustrated with  
long-term projects, thrive on the stress of constant fixes of  
information, and physically crave the bursts of stimulation from  
checking e-mail or voice mail or answering the phone."

How language stunts creativity
As the brain dies, new artistry is born
<http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=C37BFDB8-575C-4551- 
9BAF-59175119F4A8>

	"Could the damage of strokes, or Alzheimer's, blunt
trauma or electromagnetism awaken the artist within?"

// one long-held thought has been that as the rock-and-rock/
// electrically-amplified music generation (baby boomers+) age
// that the demand for hearing aids, and innovations in basic
// technologies will be better advanced and integrated into new
// devices and services. so far have not seen/heard of advances
// in basic hearing devices as of yet, though. yet, the policy
// change below indicates a shifting demographic (potentially),
// and makes one wonder what the impact of blaring .mp3s 24/7/365
// on ears will be over a period of decades of close encounters...

FCC: Mobile Phones Must Be Hearing-Aid Compatible
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&ncid=581&e=9&u=/ 
nm/20030710/tc_nm/telecoms_wireless_hearingaids_dc>

	"About one in 10 people in the United States are hearing-impaired and  
6 million use hearing aids or cochlear implants, devices that restore  
some hearing to deaf people. Hearing-impaired users often experience  
interference and lost phone connections when using wireless ( news -web  
sites ) phones." .. " The agency cut a 15-year-old exemption for the  
industry and ordered that within two years handset manufacturers must  
offer and carriers must sell two mobile telephone models that cut down  
on interference." ... "The group noted that hearing aids also interfere  
with computer monitors, fluorescent lights and high-definition  
televisions."

Bone mimic makes anti-decay fillings // e-charge.
Smart cement swaps ions with saliva to keep cavities at bay.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030623/030623-16.html>

---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------

Game sparks anti-social behavior online // psychosocial SIMs...
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/07/06/sims/>

	"The popular commercial game, where thousands of people interact  
electronically, is turning into a petri dish of anti-social behavior.  
And that's raising questions about whether limits on conduct should be  
set in such emerging virtual worlds, even if they are huge adult  
playpens." .. "Some players have reported online spats leaking out of  
the game -- players have hacked into others' accounts, posed as  
acquaintances and spread rumors about real people through instant  
messaging. Some have even reported identity theft."

Recycling Program a Tough Cell // cellphone reuse...
<http://wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,59530,00.html>

Global illegal CD market swells // $4.6 billion market...
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3053523.stm>

// thought migratory birds also navigate this way, including
// using magnetic fields, and internalized mental star-maps...

Dung beetles push by the light of the Moon: Insects use
nocturnal polarisation to stay on the straight and narrow.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030630/030630-5.html>

	'"It's important to move in a straight line or they steal each other's  
balls," she says.'

---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------

Police and FSB Listen In on Mobile Phone Calls // honest...
<http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/07/10/012.html>

	"Mobile phone providers switched off their encryption systems for 24  
hours on a government order, allowing the Federal Security Service and  
the police to eavesdrop on all calls." .. "An alert notifying callers  
that their conversations could be listened in on popped up on  
cellphones around Moscow at 9 p.m. Tuesday and lasted until 9 p.m.  
Wednesday on an order by the Communications Ministry. The alert,  
depending on the model of cellphone, is usually either an exclamation  
point or an unlocked padlock."

AT&T locks down hot spots // VPN wi-fi security...
<http://news.com.com/2100-1039_3-1024175.html>

	'In a bid to win more business customers, AT&T will extend the same  
network security measures it makes available for broadband and dial-up  
connections to 2,000 "hot spots."'

Security unease as government buys software // important...
<http://news.com.com/2100-1009-1023414.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>

Start-up streamlines e-mail encryption // Voltage Security...
<http://news.com.com/2100-1009-1023457.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

	"Gabrenya, a 42-year-old American, stressed that he had seen no  
evidence of espionage or other wrongdoing by Platform employees either  
in Canada or China. But he said that he was concerned about two  
possibilities, that sensitive government information was not receiving  
adequate protection and that the Chinese software operation could be  
infiltrated by foreign agents who could tamper with software being used  
by United States government agencies."

Samsung Electronics bans camera phones from key factories
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1509&u=/afp/20030707/ 
tc_afp/skorea_samsung_it_company_030707080259&printer=1>

Study: Wi-Fi users still don't encrypt
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/69/31567.html>

	"Security vendor AirDefense set up two of its commercial "AirDefense  
Guard" sensors at opposite corners of the exhibit hall at the Boston  
World Trade Center, the site of the conference, and for two days  
analyzed the traffic flowing between conference-goers and 141  
unencrypted access points set up by the conference for public use, and  
by vendors on the floor." ... "...AirDefense's Brian Moran [said] "The  
real shocking part was how many people attached to their corporate  
e-mails without any kind of encryption."

There's a Bug in My Seat Cushion // the QinetiQ hotseat RD&D...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/04/international/europe/04SEAT.html>

Who's Watching You Surf? : Citizen-rights groups turn
to courts, Congress to keep tabs on legal surveillance.
<http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111451,00.asp>

Hackers break into thousands of Web sites (7/6/2003)
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/07/06/hackers/>

The Anonymity Doomsday Factor
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1185295,00.asp>

	"The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) may become  
indirectly responsible for our inability to stop the next terrorist  
attack on the US. Hear me out on this one."

Bar code replacement may send data on consumers
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/07/08/transmitters/>

[and] Posting Prompts Complaints on Smart Tags
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37144-2003Jul10.html>

P2P's little secret
<http://news.com.com/2100-1029-1023735.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

IBM Introes Language to Automate Privacy Compliance // NewsScan
<http://www.ebizq.net/news/news075503.html>

The ABCs of Network Security:  It requires constant vigilance, with  
regular applications of available network patches. The ideal approach  
for most companies is to have a day-to-day scanning program along with  
patch management—done either internally or outsourced to a consultant.
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21892.html>

	'Hurley told NewsFactor that there are only some 75 people in the  
world who are true experts in security testing, since the process takes  
knowledge of software source code and a thorough understanding of the  
databases, technology and applications used by an enterprise.'

---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------

Many U.S. Industry Giants Ignoring Global Warming
<http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2003/2003-07-09-11.asp>

	"Most of the nation's largest carbon dioxide emitting companies are  
failing to assess, disclose and address the financial risks posed by  
climate change, according to a new study of 20 of the world's largest  
companies. Unlike many of their foreign rivals, American industry  
giants such as ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Southern  
Company and Xcel Energy, continue to pursue business strategies that  
discount the global warming threat..."

I.R.S. Inquiry Creates Anxiety in Synthetic-Fuel Industry
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/05/business/05FUEL.html>

Fuel Cells May Power Cell Phones, Laptops
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21869.html>

Energy Department's Reclassification of Nuclear Waste Illegal
<http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2003/2003-07-08-09.asp#anchor3>

Greenspan Ditches 'Green' for Natural Gas // retropolicy...
<http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=3069546>

Scientists discover a new way to slow speed of light:
By controlling its travel at normal room temperature,
it could lead to benefits for computers and fiber optics.
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0711/p02s02-usgn.html>

	"Today, if heavy traffic stifles travel along a particular path in a  
network, packets are steered into large coils of fiber-optic "delay"  
lines that hold up the packets' departure until the traffic thins or an  
alternate route is picked. Those coils, often consisting of fiber-optic  
lines nearly a mile long, could be replaced by a "slow light" device a  
few inches long, Mr. Bigelow says."

Revolutionary Tungsten Photonic Crystal
Could Provide More Power For Electrical Devices
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/07/030709064316.htm>

	"The demonstration, led by Sandia physicist Shawn Lin, exceeds in  
output a well-known law formulated a century ago by Max Planck, one of  
the founders of modern physics. The equation, called Planck's Law of  
Blackbody Cavity Radiation, predicts the maximum emissions expected at  
any wavelength from ideal solids." ...  "The somewhat startling Sandia  
results exceeded these predictions by four to 10 times at near-  
infrared frequencies, says Lin." ... "Standing in his equipment-  
cluttered laboratory, Shawn Lin grins happily among the vandalized  
wreckage of a number of ordinary light bulbs from K-Mart..." ... "In  
its little chamber, like a kind of witches' Sabbath for light bulbs,  
the bulb, though formerly dead, now glows again, but with a distinctly  
yellow light."

Microbe fuel cell packs more power
New anode harvests ten times more electricity from bacteria.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030630/030630-9.html>

Accelerating Universe theory dispels dark energy
Tweaking gravity does away with need for strange forces.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030630/030630-7.html>

New glass lets in light not heat: Composite that cuts
infrared could reverse greenhouse effect in glazed offices.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030623/030623-2.html>


---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------

Internet Helps Make Candidate a Contender // Howard Dean...
<http://nytimes.com/2003/07/05/national/05NET.html>

'Benjamin Franklin': The Many-Minded Man // NYT bookreview...
<http://nytimes.com/2003/07/06/books/review/06ELLIST.html>

It's Hard, Being a Chinese DJ
<http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,59299,00.html>

In Search of the Perfect Cup, the Old Coffee Pot Is Passé
<http://nytimes.com/2003/07/07/nyregion/07COFF.html>

	"Espresso extremists began to surface in the late 1990's, when a  
generation of coffee lovers, primed by Starbucks and probably having  
trouble sleeping, met in late-night chats at an obscure  newsgroup,  
alt.coffee."

Going Wireless in the Wilderness // wi-fi zoo?
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59546,00.html>

---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transportation & communication
---------------------------------------------------

Dot-com bust has freed up freeways // silicon valley...
STUDY SHOWS SHARP DECREASE IN SANTA CLARA COUNTY TRAFFIC
<http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/6248774.htm>

Ericsson floats idea for 'Lite' Bluetooth spec // Zigbee?
<http://www.commsdesign.com/story/OEG20030707S0069>

	"With or without a new derivative, Bluetooth has already inched its  
way into industrial applications. It is used in tests, trials and small  
deployments for horizontal industrial and medical apps."

Satellite Emergency Beacons Ready for Hikers, Skiiers
<http://ens-news.com/ens/jul2003/2003-07-07-01.asp>

	"Signals from the personal locator beacons (PLBs) are picked up by  
satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric  
Administration (NOAA). The new beacons, soon to be available at outdoor  
sports and electronic retail outlets across the country for about $550,  
utilize the same technology used for satellite tracked distress alerts  
carried by aviators and mariners."

FCC chief says tech is wild card
<http://www.washtimes.com/business/20030707-101146-5642r.htm>

	' "You can't have the NRA in the debate saying there are gun-hating  
media liberals, and at the same time, I've got Code Pink screaming  
about the conservative prowar bias of the media. And then I'm supposed  
to somehow reconcile that?" Mr. Powell said.'

McDonald's to Expand Wireless Web Plan // global McWiFi?
<http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/6257849.htm>

Wi-Fi group approves new standard // 802.11g
<http://news.com.com/2100-1039-1023951.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

Cell Phones, Billboards Play Tag  // Hypertags...
<http://wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1452,59548,00.html>

NEC unveils TV cellphone // next, PDAs PVPs, and Tablets...
<http://money.cnn.com/2003/07/10/technology/nec_tv_cellphone.reut/ 
index.htm>

Imaging Vineyards From Space Will Benefit Europe's Wines
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/07/030708093403.htm>

Solar Challenge revs up // 2,300 miles. (.US Tour de France?)
Cars to harness Sun's energy for race along US Route 66.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030707/030707-10.html>

How GPS Receivers Work
<http://travel.howstuffworks.com/gps.htm>

---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------

Google cache raises copyright concerns // to kill a WWW-cache?
<http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-1024234.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed>

Special Report: Should You Nix Unix?
<http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/report/>

Fundamental Physical Constants
<http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/index.html>

How CGI Scripting Works
<http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cgi.htm>

Satellites hunt for buried treasure  // -9 meter P-band radar?
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993923>

Gladiator-style 'wars' select out weak programs
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993922>

	"Dubbed Grid Wars II, the contest held at the ClusterWorld conference  
in San Jose, California, last month was like a software version of  
television's Robot Wars and Battle Bots. In each battle, programs  
fought to gain control of processing power in a huge parallel computer."

Machines that Reproduce May be Reality // JohnnyVonn
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21893.html>

Dark matter may be undetectable
Super-WIMPs might hide ninety percent of the universe.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030707/030707-2.html>

New subatomic species found
Collision debris yields five-quark particle.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030630/030630-4.html>

Openness makes software better sooner // bug-free theory...
Sharing code for computer software is best way to rid it of bugs.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030623/030623-6.html>

	"The theoretical model of software debugging devised by Damien Challet  
and Yann Le Du of the University of Oxford has some sobering messages  
for companies who prefer to keep their software proprietary 1.  
'Closed-source' software, finessed by staff hired to work on  
information that users send in, requires higher-quality programmers and  
more users to attain the same level of perfection as open-source  
software in a comparable time." .. "In other words, for a given set of  
users finding and reporting bugs, and programmers correcting them,  
open-source software will always be debugged faster than closed-source  
software, the researchers reckon."


---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------

See-through magnets get hard: Ultralight transparent
material might make new memory and display devices.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030623/030623-1.html>

	"It looks like smoked glass, weighs no more than balsa wood and it's  
magnetic."

// gadget-watch... VPN handheld, megapixel phonecam with
// removable storage, LCD monitor-TV, DVD video recorders...

Summer Gadgets Arrive in Japan
Smart handhelds, tiny digicam, living room tech,
and some pricey items debut overseas.
<http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,111396,00.asp>

Endless summer of DSL discounts // US broadband deficit +VoIP
<http://news.com.com/2100-1034-1023465.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

	"Consumer trends, however, eventually caught up with the Bells. U.S.  
households began upgrading to broadband and most of them turned to  
cable. Meanwhile, cable companies continued to invest heavily in  
providing voice services through their cable lines." .. '"The real game  
going on is as cable jumps into IP telephony, it's scaring the heck out  
of phone companies," said Dave Burstein, editor of industry newsletter  
DSL Prime.'

Motorola puts nanotubes in screens // NED (nano emissive display)
<http://news.com.com/2100-1008_3-1023408.html>

	"The molecules emit electrons when an electric current is applied to  
them. An array of cells composed of carbon nanotubes could be used to  
"paint" images on a screen, if individual cells within the array can be  
made to turn on and off fast enough in a coordinated fashion."

Visionaries see flexible computers using less power
<http://www.eet.com/sys/news/OEG20030710S0048>

Logging off ... for good // internet dropouts on the rise...
<http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/07/09/hln.wired.logging.off/>

	"According to the [Pew Internet & American Life] study, overall growth  
has slowed since late 2001. The study says one reason for the leveling  
off is that the number of people dropping offline roughly equals the  
number of newcomers logging on each month."

Noise thermometer accurate at frigid extremes: Electric device
takes ultra-low temperatures without having to be calibrated.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030616/030616-18.html>

---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------

U.S. satellite feeds to Iran jammed
May be linked to the anniversary of student uprisings
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/936772.asp?0cv=CB10&cp1=1>

	"U.S. government officials as well as Iranian Americans and  
communications satellite operators confirm that all U.S.-based  
satellite broadcasts to Iran are being jammed by an unknown group or  
individual, possibly Iranian agents operating out of Latin America."  
... '"There are ways of determining the location of the interference,'  
he added. 'It is complex and time-consuming. Basically, you look at  
minimal interference other nearby satellites are experiencing and then  
you triangulate.' ... 'As for the actual jamming, its simply a matter  
of aiming a strong signal at the uplink transponder on the satellite  
and overwhelming the Farsi language broadcasters' signals.' 'Said the  
investigator: "You need a dish, some power, not too much. You put up a  
test pattern ... and do a sweep and find the transponder on the  
satellite you want to jam. It could even be smaller than the standard  
6-meter dish. It could be a small dish with a lot of power."'

Gladiator robot looks to join Marine Corps // RoboMarine...
<http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jul/07/mn/mn01a.html>

	"The 4-foot-tall, 1,600-pound concept vehicle recently was  
demonstrated at Camp Smith, launching dozens of smoke rounds downrange  
that could have been tear gas, or stingball and flashbang grenades."  
... "The Camp Smith demonstration of the Gladiator was based on a  
scenario in which an angry mob of 600 activists in a desert city  
refuses to disperse." ... '"It's a very easy machine to operate," he  
said. "It's like a video game. You have a joystick and you drive it  
forward, backward, right or left."'

Bush pushes for next generation of nukes
<http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-07-06-nuclear-usat_x.htm>

// it is interesting to note how recording messages in
// electronic media such as TV and radio for massive
// consumption, can delay the ability to locate the
// origin of its production in time and space, as a
// strategic way to communicate during conflict. there
// might be some kind of signature signal in media just
// as with those of gun barrels and bullets, such that
// 'static' may indicate certain weather patterns...
// also in the news that one of Saddam Hussein's cohorts
// is being tracked by his mobile phone signature and the
// cellphone is said to used in Austria or Belgium now...

Is It Saddam on Arab TV or Hoax? // EM-Headline...
<http://wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,59533,00.html>

New ISS Duty: A Military Outpost? // MOL, STP...
<http://www.space.com/news/iss_military_010924-2.html>

	"[T]errestrial threats to ground links could mean putting military  
personnel in orbit, Davis explained. That reduces vulnerabilities and  
pushes command and control functions into orbit and out of harm's way,  
he said." ... "A recent study of collaboration between civil space  
agencies, military and intelligence services found a number of areas  
ripe for follow-up. NASA could assist military space strategists in  
honing critical capabilities, including: satellite servicing and  
repair; on-orbit refueling; artificial intelligence, such as automated  
reasoning, intelligent use of data, and human-centered computing; as  
well as forecasting space weather."

Being Invisible
Next-gen optical camouflage is busting out of defense labs
and into the street. This is technology you have to see to believe.
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.08/pwr_invisible.html>

	"A real invisibility cloak, if it's going to dupe anyone who might see  
it, needs to represent the scene behind its wearer accurately from any  
angle. Moreover, since any number of people might be looking through it  
at any given moment, it has to reproduce the background from all angles  
at once. That is, it has to project a separate image of its  
surroundings for every possible perspective."

SCARCITY OF HUMAN INTEL ON IRAQI COMMANDERS MADE THEM ENIGMAS
<http://cryptome.org/iq-enigmas.htm>

	QUOTE: "In an indictment of U.S. intelligence capabilities that echoes  
criticisms raised by various observers after the Sept. 11, 2001  
terrorist attacks, the  division's report bashes the U.S. military's  
reliance on intercepting [electromagnetic] signals and images, rather  
than human intelligence, which involves interrogations, informants and  
spies."

---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------

With iChat, Who Needs a Phone?
Apple's latest tech wizardry makes voice calling over the Net
a snap. That could be a push off a cliff for today's telecom giants
<http://yahoo.businessweek.com/technology/content/jul2003/ 
tc2003079_0737_tc056.htm>

// "I thought this would be a good time to reflect on the trade-
// offs and expectations about this kind of corporate giving
// and whether you should be suspicious of geeks bearing gifts."

Product Placements in Learning Environments:
 From Keystone-Mast to Micrsosoft. Steve Cisler
<http://eduaction.net/productplacement.html>

Adobe Discontinues Mac Program // earlier, MS axed Explorer...
<http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/030707/adobe_apple_1.html>

// I was not aware prison workers built electronics. it makes
// me wonder if it goes beyond manufacturing and may be also
// training and educational aspects- that is, knowledge and
// building a career from this (potential) opportunity in
// an otherwise very difficult social-political context...

UNICOR - Electronics. // guided missiles from prison labor...
<http://www.unicor.gov/online_store/storefront_electronics.htm>

Buyer beware // online auction scams...
<http://news.independent.co.uk/digital/features/story.jsp?story=423009>

---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic art & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------

Researchers Use Lab Cultures To Create Robotic 'Semi-living Artist'
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/07/030709063842.htm>

	"Gripping three colored markers positioned above a white canvas, the  
robotic drawing arm operates based on the neural activity of a few  
thousand rat neurons placed in a special petri dish that keeps the  
cells alive. The dish, a Multi-Electrode Array (MEA), is instrumented  
with 60 two-way electrodes for communication between the neurons and  
external electronics. The neural signals are recorded and sent to a  
computer that translates neural activity into robotic movement."

THE FIN PROJECT: FROM SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES
A Sculpture by John T. Young // Nuke Sub fins...
A Global Monument to World Peace and Recycling
<http://faculty.washington.edu/jtyoung/fins.html>

Giant printer goes on show : Two Swiss researchers have created
what could be the largest portable ink jet printer in the world.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3045158.stm>

Clash, Then Synthesis: Joys of a Laptop Jam // laptop musicians...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/10/technology/circuits/10jamm.html>


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