~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #75
From
human being <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Tue, 13 Jan 2004 18:40:07 -0600
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #75
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (1/13/2004)
01) Top Stories of Electromagnetism
02) Electromagnetic health & safety
03) Electromagnetic trash & treasure
04) Electromagnetic security & surveillance
05) Electromagnetic power & energy
06) Electromagnetic current & human affairs
07) Electromagnetic transport & communication
08) Electromagnetic matter & information
09) Electromagnetic trends & inventions
10) Electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
11) Electromagnetic business & economics
12) Electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
===================================================
00) --commentary--
Big changes this week in regard to Paul O'Neill, former Secretary of
Commerce. One of these is that the war in Iraq was planned prior to
9/11, in January of 2001 -- with 'maps of oilfields' -- which have been
mentioned here previously, with reporting by others online. At the same
time, Andrew Fastow's case with Enron on 98 charges of fraud was to
come up before a judge, and the judge decided against a plea bargain,
thus breaking down the possibility. With superb timing, Mr. Cheney made
some kind of appearance in the the public to talk about how great his
heart is. At the same time he surfaces, WMDs are alleged to have shown
up in Iraq. All of these are EM-related issues, in larger part or
minute detail. The weirdest EM-related news heard this week was also
related to the 'new' future moonbase and mission-to-mars that is to be
pitched: the reason given on a financial television show by one of the
especially interested parties was, something to the effect, ~well,
there's a lot of metal (or iron) there~ (on the moon), ~and therefore
it would be good for datastorage.~ Another similar quote was to inhabit
the moon for then the .US could get rare elements for advanced fusion
energy power for the Earth. So everything seems to be coming together
now... how current events are often EM related. (that is, oil, policy,
energy, business, corruption, mineral mining in space, future energy
sources, weapons of war, geostrategy, politics.)
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
// note: oil went above 35.00/barrel today in the .US...
Oil prices hit highest level since Iraq war // via drudgereport.com
<http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1073280986133&p=1012571727085>
MAPS AND CHARTS OF IRAQI OILFIELDS:
CHENEY ENERGY TASK FORCE // thanks *
<http://www.judicialwatch.org/071703.c_.shtml>
1. Iraq Oil Map.PDF
2. Iraq Oil Foreign Suitors.2.PDF
3. Iraq Oil Foreign Suitors.1.PDF
4. UAE Oil Map.PDF
5. UAE Oil Proj.PDF
6. SA Oil Map.PDF
7. SAOilProj.PDF
Iraq: the Struggle for Oil. By James A. Paul. Executive Director,
Global Policy Forum. August, 2002 (revised December, 2002) //thanks *
<http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2002/08jim.htm>
'The US and the UK governments also see control over Iraqi and Gulf
oil as essential to their broader military, geo-strategic and economic
interests. At the same time, though, other states and oil companies
hope to gain a large or even dominant position in Iraq. As
de-nationalization sweeps through the oil sector, international
companies see Iraq as an extremely attractive potential field of
expansion. France and Russia, the longstanding insiders, pose the
biggest challenge to future Anglo-American domination (US-UK), but
serious competitors from China, Germany and Japan also play in the Iraq
sweepstakes.'
[and] Report: Pentagon Auditors Altered Files // .US energy task force,
too?
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=542&u=/ap/20040111/
ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/watchdog_fraud_2&printer=1>
'Pentagon auditors spent 1,139 hours altering their own files in order
to pass an internal review, say investigators who found that the
accounting sleuths engaged in just the kind of wasteful activity they
are supposed to expose.' .. 'When the auditors in the New York City
office learned well in advance which files a review team would check,
they spent the equivalent of more than 47 days doctoring the papers and
updating records from several audits, the Defense Department's
inspector general concluded. Administrative staff, audit supervisors
and other employees also participated in the scheme.' ... 'The defense
agency, which audits government contracts, is the same one that
recently reported that Vice President Dick Cheney's former company,
Halliburton, may have overcharged the Army as much as $61 million for
gasoline in Iraq.' ... 'The report said agency employees believed that
"upgrading" the working papers was a normal and acceptable practice and
that they did not try to hide what they were doing.'
EM-quote: TPM by Joshua Marshall (January 11, 2004 -- 12:02 AM EDT)
<http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_01_04.html#002399>
'Along these lines too, I've never been one who believes that oil --
in a direct sense -- was a key cause of this war. (By 'direct sense' I
mean, the desire to have direct financial control over oil reserves as
opposed to a general recognition that stability and friendly states at
the key supply points of the world's oil supplies is of vital concern
to the US.) But big decisions like this always have a myriad of
motivations behind them and multiple parentage. Explanations tend to
be quite over-determined. But I hear more and more about what's in
those Cheney energy task force records. Might be time to revisit that.'
N. Korea urges U.S to accept nuke freeze
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2004/01/11/korea/>
'International and domestic pressure is mounting for the Bush
administration to accept the North's offer of a freeze as a compromise
to rekindle six-nation talks on the nuclear standoff.' ... 'While
previously rejecting such offers, the United States -- against the
backdrop of the delegation's visit -- called Pyongyang's latest
proposal a "positive step forward." South Korea hailed the plan as
creating "atmosphere" for new negotiations.' ... 'The North has
insisted it needs nuclear weapons as a deterrent against a possible
U.S. attack. It says it will freeze its nuclear programs as a first
step if Washington lifts sanctions against it, resumes shipments of
heavy oil, and removes North Korea from the State Department list of
countries that sponsor terrorism.'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
EM-related quote: Confessions of a White House Insider // pollution
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040119-
574809,00.html>
'... losing debates before they had begun. The President asked for a
global-warming plan one minute and then while it was being formulated,
announced that he was reversing a campaign pledge to cut carbon
dioxide emissions and pulling out unceremoniously from the Kyoto
global- warming treaty, short-circuiting his aides' work. The President
was "clearly signing on to strong ideological positions that had not
been fully thought through," says O'Neill.'
// there has been previous debate concerning using the Internet
// as a catch-all reason for socail ils, and thus controlling it
// as a way to cure social ills of more disturbing societal ills.
// how can such issues be addressed, without taking away privacy
// of everyone as a result. so as to destroy these exploitations.
Internet to blame for rise in child abuse, says study
<http://www.4ni.co.uk/nationalnews.asp?id=24276>
Future Of Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment Lies In Tumor 'Barcode'
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040112071137.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
EM-quote: VP would back ban on gay marriage // drill global, ski local
<http://www.denverpost.com/cda/article/print/
0,1674,36%257E11676%257E1881360,00.html>
'The vice president defended the administration's recent bullish
efforts to expand exploration and production of natural gas in the
Rocky Mountain region. "There is such an enormous demand for gas out
there around the country. Prices are high, and we need to develop those
resources from the standpoint of our national energy requirements," he
said.' .. 'When asked about the environmental cost of such production,
Cheney expressed confidence that development could go hand in hand with
conservation.' .. '"One of the things I was always sensitive to as a
Wyoming congressman was all those folks on both coasts who want to tell
us how to do our business in the Rocky Mountains when in fact we have
done a great job protecting and preserving the environment over the
years," Cheney said. "That is why they like to come to places like
Jackson Hole and Aspen to vacation."'
Flight Sim enquiry raises terror alert // via cryptome.org
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/34776.html>
'Cheney is portrayed as an unstoppable force, unbowed by inconvenient
facts as he drives Administration policy toward his goals.'
EM-related quote: FLASH CARD, part of the NewsScan newsletter
<http://www.newsscan.com/>
"Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the
usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody
thinks of complaining." (Jef Raskin)
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
// -- what homeland security color are you? red? yellow? or green?
// if safe, get your free green card, or green freedom card, soon.
// read that boarding passes for planes have 'SSS' on them, as of
// now, or three asterisks, '***' as a signifier for watch-listed...
Air Travel Database Plan Is Set To Advance // prepare 4 profiling...
U.S. Seeks Passenger Records to Rate Risk // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A8504-2004Jan11>
'Despite stiff resistance from airlines and privacy advocates, the
U.S. government plans to push ahead this year with a vast computerized
system to probe the backgrounds of all passengers boarding flights in
the United States.'
'MRI system for semiconductors' // signal analyzer?
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4302884.html>
'Leisz, 50, is founder, president and CEO of Wavecrest Corp., an Eden
Prairie manufacturer of equipment that is fast enough and accurate
enough to detect flaws in even the fastest of the hyper-speed
semiconductors now under development.' ... 'Today, the speed of
Wavecrest's products is measured in attoseconds, which is the time it
takes light to traverse not a hair, but an atom. Whoops, there's that
glaze again.'
// radio scanners make mention of specific frequencies used by
// fast food restaurants (between 30Mhz-60MHz, somewhere, it
// seemed), and, it is imagined if such a frequency was found,
// one can listen to drive-in exchanges, also said commonplace.
// thus, it would seem if the radio frequency is known then a
// simple soldered transmitter kit could be made just for this...
Hackers heckle drive-in diners
US police are hunting hackers who tapped into the radio
at a fast food drive-through and insulted customers.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3385743.stm>
Errant E-Mail Shames RFID Backer
<http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,61868,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_4>
'The e-mail, written by a college intern at GMA, reads, "I don't know
what to tell this woman! 'Well, actually we're trying to see if you
have a juicy past that we could use against you.'"'
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
The Barreling Bushes
Four generations of the dynasty have chased profits through cozy
ties with Mideast leaders, spinning webs of conflicts of interest
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-
phillips11jan11,1,6328600,print.story>
New Calif. wind farm seen as model for wind energy
<http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0105windfarm-ON.html>
'High Winds' turbines are taller, more powerful and more efficient
than older generation turbines, which means the project can generate
more energy with fewer machines. Each turbine generates 1.8 megawatts,
18 times more than the 100-kilowatt turbines built two decades ago.' ..
'Older turbines can't rotate from side to side, so they often remain
idle, and only operate at maximum efficiency when the wind blows in the
right direction. High Winds' turbines swivel to face oncoming breezes,
capturing energy at wind speeds as low as eight mph, said FPL spokesman
Steven Stengel.'
Magnetars, The Most Magnetic Stars Known,
More Common Than Previously Thought
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040108080312.htm>
Privacy in an Instant - How Smart Windows Work
<http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/smart-window.htm>
How Quartz Watches Work -
<http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/quartz-watch.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
Cuba tightens control over Internet
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2004/01/09/cuba/>
'Cuba's communist government already heavily controls access to the
Internet. Cubans must have government permission to use the Web legally
and most don't, although many can access international e-mail and a
more limited government-controlled intranet at government jobs and
schools.' .. 'Now Cubans will need additional approval to access via
the nation's regular phone service. Since few Cubans are authorized to
use the Internet from home _ only some doctors and key government
officials _ the new law amounts to a crackdown on illegal users.' ..
'The law states that the move is necessary to "regulate dial-up access
to Internet navigation service, adopting measures that help protect
against the taking of passwords, malicious acts, and the fraudulent and
unauthorized use of this service."'
Poll: Alternative news gaining influence
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2004/01/12/alt_news/>
[and] KTIS Radio buys two Iowa stations, Associated Press
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4313416.html>
'That kind of fundraising success has become routine for the
noncommercial station since 1998, when KTIS overhauled its FM offerings
to include a grouping of catchy Christian contemporary music, news
feeds and traffic reports, bookended by announcers touting a subtle
evangelical message.' .. 'Meanwhile, its AM dial broadcasts the
"teaching and preaching" typical of most Christian radio stations.' ..
'During its September "Sharathon" event, KTIS raised enough to cover
its annual operating budget of $2.6 million in 36 hours and finished
the three-day on-air drive with a total pledge of $4.8 million.' ..
'Minnesota Public Radio's October pledge drive lasted more than a week
and fell $150,000 short of its $1.9 million goal, said MPR spokeswoman
Suzanne Perry.'
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
// 75% less money, could be a repeat of the early PC clone wars...
Scooter clone takes on the Segway-- You could soon see a lot more
people zipping around on stand-up Segway-type electric scooters.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3388663.stm>
New TVs Are Easy to Admire, Tougher to Comprehend // digital dystopics
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5386-2004Jan10.html>
'It is becoming harder to buy a television set than a personal
computer. The unheralded side effect of the digital transformation that
promises to bring TV sets new levels of quality and performance is that
they've become much harder to decipher.'
Researchers Testing Way To Communicate
To Soldiers On Battlefield Through Vibrations
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040108073318.htm>
How Photocopiers Work -
<http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/photocopier.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Random Acts of Spamness // increasing streams of data pollution...
<http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/
0,1377,61886,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2>
'By throwing a hundred or so random words rarely used in sales spiels
into each e-mail missive, spammers hope to thwart Bayesian filters by
making the spam appear to be personal correspondence. Incorporating
words that might be used in legitimate e-mails is also intended to
poison the checklist the filter uses, forcing it to mark, for example,
e-mails with somewhat common words like Amazon and fish as spam
indicators.' ... 'Some spammers have started hiding hash busters from
consumers by formatting the filter-fouling gibberish in white text on a
white background. Users probably won't see it, but the filters will
still be able to "read" it.'
Original Electromagnetic Clocks // this is great. see controller...
<http://www.bmumford.com/clocks/emindex.html>
// see clock set for Standard, Universal, and Sidereal. via PHYS-L...
[and] Sidereal Clock: Keeps time by the stars instead of the sun
<http://www.bmumford.com/clocks/sidereal/>
'Most clocks keep "solar time". A solar day is one in which the earth
makes one rotation and the sun returns to the same place in the sky.
Astronomers keep time in relation to the stars, with what is called
"sidereal time". A sidereal day is one in which the earth makes one
rotation and the stars return to the same place in the sky. A sidereal
day is a little bit shorter than a solar day because the earth is
moving around the sun and it must turn a little bit farther each day to
face the sun.' ... 'Objects in the sky are located by their celestial
position. This position is commonly given as "Right Ascension" and
"Declination". Every astronomical object has these coordinates. For
example, The star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion is at Right
Ascension 5 hours 55 minutes and Declination 7 degrees 24 minutes. The
Right Ascension is sidereal time. This allows you to know what
celestial objects are "up" if you know what the local sidereal time is.
Once you have a sidereal clock on your wall, if you see that it's 5:55
local sidereal time, you know that Betelgeuse and Orion are on the
meridian. If it's 18:37 sidereal time, Vega and the constellation Lyra
are on the meridian. If you're familiar with celestial coordinates, a
sidereal clock allows you to keep in touch with what's going on in the
sky even during the daytime when the stars cannot be seen.'
EM-quote from: The Allure of an Outpost on the Moon
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/13/science/space/13SPAC.html>
'"I think there is a lot of data hidden away on the Moon that remains
to be unraveled," Dr. McKay said. "The lunar regolith is like a giant
tape recorder that has been running for billions of years."'
EM-quote from: Confessions of a White House Insider // EM media...
<http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101040119-
574809,00.html>
'Suskind had access not only to O'Neill but also to the saddlebags he
took with him when he left town, which included a minute-by-minute
accounting of his 23 months in office and 19,000 pages of documents
on CD-ROM.'
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
PBS funding up after 3-year dry spell // .US public cyberspace, oil
<http://salon.com/ent/wire/2004/01/10/pbs/>
'Exxon Mobil Corp., which had given "Masterpiece Theatre" $300 million
over 35 years as sole sponsor, will end its association with the
program after this spring.'
// this platform (audiovisual) makes a lot of sense, going beyond
// the .mp3 + addon failed strategy (ref. handspring), and into a
// device that could be used by artists for showing slides (maybe,
// with a port hookup, on a tv), for showing movies or running an
// installation in a gallery of these things, where an art center
// could have people come in and install their works, upload them
// into the larger display (audiovisual) network, or to plug-into
// it using, possibly, something small and AV enabled. battery-life
// probably would not be an issue if it could be plugged in with a
// jack for such uses. something like this on an airplane to watch
// a movie, even television, it is possible, would be possible, even
// radio. battery life though for AV is apparently more intensive,
// and so maybe demand for such a device in addition to cellphones
// can bring massive R&D innovation in batteries & micro-fuelcells.
// (consider the state of 'pocket televisions' as comparable in that
// they have smaller screens, often with issues of screen quality
// for broadcast and refresh rates of color LCDs, and though they
// had battery issues (besides mobiles and PDAs) and these PMCs
// have bigger screens and will also be using video intensively).
// first thought was it was what an iPod was going to be, then
// also, that it looks like what these 'tablets' were meant to be.
Creative's new gizmo steals the show// Zen Portable Media Centre (PMC)
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/techscience/story/
0,4386,229389,00.html>
'According to Creative, though small, the Zen PMC can carry hundreds
of hours of video and thousands of songs and images.'
Gates Details Vision of 'Seamless Computing' at CES
<http://www.technewsworld.com/perl/story/32562.html>
'In his keynote address at the 2004 International Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, Microsoft chairman and chief
software architect Bill Gates expanded on the company's vision for
"seamless computing," demonstrating software designed to deliver
unified digital experiences and make the technology in consumers' lives
work as a connected whole. '
// see: Figure 1: Type of Sensor by Home Appliance Type, 2003
// washing machines appear to have the most sensors in them...
Sensors: Bringing the World of Tomorrow...Today
by Michael Rasche, industry research manager, Frost & Sullivan
<http://www.appliancemagazine.com/zones/supplier/14_controls/
editorial.php?article=282&zone=14&first=1.>
'We live in a world that is starving for information. We want it
immediately, in greater detail, and in higher volumes. Through the
wonders of sensors, the 21st century promises to make information about
our homes, and what is happening within it, more readily available and
easier to access.'
Kodak to stop selling traditional cameras in U.S. // via gizmodo.com
<http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/
nwdt_rt.jsp?section=news&feed=reu&src=201&news_id=reu-n13315682-
u2&date=20040113>
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
The Barreling Bushes
Four generations of the dynasty have chased profits through cozy
ties with Mideast leaders, spinning webs of conflicts of interest
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-
phillips11jan11,1,6328600,print.story>
Park Police Bomb Their Terrorism Test // dirty-bomb-dud. via drudge...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11312-2004Jan12.html>
Rebels Hit Philippine Power Plant; 7 Die
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-philippines-
rebel-attack,0,1306566.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
'Lucero said the rebels intended to destroy the power plant, about 50
miles south of Manila, and cause a widespread blackout on the main
Philippine island of Luzon.' .. '"They intended to paralyze the
livelihood of the people ... and they would just be alienated from the
masses," Lucero said.' .. 'The rebel spokesman told DZRH radio the
attack was "in response to the directive of the party to intensify
tactical offensives" and to punish the soldiers based in the area for
human rights violations.' .. '"The attack was directed at the
detachment," Rosal said. "In truth they did not do anything to (the
facility)," he said.'
Pentagon plots turning scooters into robots
<http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/01/08/1073437401302.html>
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
The Barreling Bushes
Four generations of the dynasty have chased profits through cozy
ties with Mideast leaders, spinning webs of conflicts of interest
<http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-
phillips11jan11,1,6328600,print.story>
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
An Archaeology of Imaginary Media -- Excavating mankind's dreams
of the ultimate communication medium. February 5 - 8, 2004,
De Balie - Centre for Culture and Politics, Amsterdam
<http://www.debalie.nl>
Sanyo at CES '04 // concept-phone prototypes. via gizmodo.com
<http://www.mobileburn.com/gallery.jsp?Page=2&Id=584>
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