~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #119
From
brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Thu, 17 Jun 2004 22:03:14 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #119
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (6/17/2004)
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-- (keywords: Cheney, War, Nuclear, Terrorism, Oil)
Two things are etched into memory right now- one is a warning by Al
Qaeda that there would be an attack after three months time, which
coincided with the handover in Iraq possibly (June 30th) or it could be
July. Yet, very little if anything is being said about it, besides a
warning in the .US that it will get 'hit and hit hard', apparently an
indication of things to come. With all the nuclear, chemical, and
biological (WMD) issues there is basically no public information on
what-to-do in case of an emergency, at least in the .US now. The use of
a 'dirty bomb' has recently been downplayed in the press (radiological
device), possibly because of its traceability to a point of origin and
abilities to sniff out radiation levels to some extent. Though, the
issues of nuclear blast and radioactive fallout still concern at least
one citizen as it is a logical sequence to consider the material
availability and indefinite time into the future, that such an attack
will likely occur by intent or accident. And, what to do, if one knows
something is going to happen and there is time to act? There is said to
be no civilian defense in the case of a nuclear attack (MAD, mutually
assured destruction, it is assumed, by strategic intercontinental
missiles arriving by the dozens) -- yet, what if for some reason there
is a moment of time to prepare. What does one do? It seems that in the
case of a nuclear blast there could be at least one thing to do, and
that is to look at the surrounding local geography for a valley or some
place that may be below the blast. An Army document below seems to
confirm that landforms can provide cover from a nuclear blast, and so
it may not be the worst thing to consider local landforms in a worst
case scenario, just because of the threats that exist. It is written
here with any idea of what Al Qaeda has planned, hopefully Allah is not
willing on such an inhumane vision of the world and human
relationships, yet as there is _no information and basically silence is
substituing for proactive addressing of concerns by some hidden/secret
workings of world-class bureacracy it may be a good thing to consider
what individual can do if WMD do indeed hit. Therefore, not speculation
as much as a vain hope that something can be done, even in the worst
case scenarios, to try to engage these issues in some way.
Secondly, news of the 9/11 commission indicates that critical strategic
(and electromagnetic) communications on that fateful day did not work
as planned. And, stunningly, even on Air Force One, the presidential
airlift, there was apparently an inability to make contact with
Washington D.C. during this time. It reminded me of a photograph right
after 9/11 of President Bush, used in an advertisement to 'show he is a
resolute leader', to paraphrase typical language used to describe that
this was not exploiting 9/11 for partisan gain, but that it showed a
resolute leader in control of the situation. The 9/11 report, today, as
reported and spoken of by one of the members (Gorelick, on PBS'
NewsHour) directly contradict the photographic portrayal as seen on the
Whitehouse.gov website: 'After departing Offutt Air Force Base in
Nebraska, President George W. Bush confers with Vice President Dick
Cheney from Air Force One during his flight to Andrews Air Force Base
Sept. 11, 2001.'* Apparently, if the 9/11 commissioners are correct, it
would seem to be that this photograph does not represent the actual
situation as testified (not under oath) by Bush-Cheney in front of the
9/11 commission, in that their communications were a mess at this time
and basically did not work, nor in command and control of the situation.
see image: *Bush on AF1 airplane on telephone directing 9/11 response
http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/september11/01.html
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/september11/01.html>
screenshot: http://www.electronetwork.org/temp/911/advert.jpg
<http://www.electronetwork.org/temp/911/advert.jpg>
[Caption could be: .US President having trouble with electronic
communications on Air Force One. Instead this was 'sold' as being an
image of a leader directing the response to 9/11 in command of the
situation.]
// NORAD lost. VP Cheney conveys phantom threat against Presidential
airplane.
// (sidenote: Cheney asks for directive to shoot down planes and _waits
until
// 'sometime' later, when someone walks into the room to give them the
OK,
// after being asked if it is alright by a military officer. VP said
urgent,
// yet does not convey the information to the intercepting jets in
flight.)
// (or, as it is in the headlines now: CHENEY'S shoot down orders too
late).
Note: Transcript: 9/11 Commission Hearings for June 17, 2004
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49429-2004Jun17.html>
'LEHMAN: President Bush told us in our interview that he was deeply
dissatisfied with the ability to communicate from Air Force One. He
told us that this was a very major flaw.' .. 'Has this been fixed? And
are you personally satisfied that those communications have been
improved sufficiently so that he will have -- a president will have the
connectivity that he didn't have that day?' .. 'MYERS: Let me answer
that for the record so I can be very specific on that. Let me answer
that for the record...'
'LEHMAN: Captain, were you satisfied with the connectivity you had
with the White House, with the vice president and through him to the
president, or directly, say, to Air Force One?' .. 'LEIDIG: We were
connected to the White House and I was satisfied with the
communications to the White House.' .. 'LEHMAN: Do you have any
personal lessons learned? You're no longer there, but you certainly
went through one of the most frantic crisis as to those arrangements.'
.. 'LEIDIG: Sir, the most significant lesson, and I think you've, kind
of, zeroed in on it, was the communications capabilities and the
ability to bring leadership at the important organizations together to
make a decision in a timely manner.' .. 'LEIDIG: We were hampered that
day by communications. And any improvements in that area would be
significant.'
'ROEMER: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.' .. 'Captain, just a brief follow-up
to Commissioner Lehman's last question. He asked you: Were you
satisfied with your connectivity to the White House and Air Force One?
You said you were satisfied with the White House. Were you satisfied
with Air Force One?' .. 'And I think it's been conveyed to you that in
our interview with the president, the president said he was very
frustrated and troubled with connections and connectivity that day.' ..
'LEIDIG: Sir, I can't speak to the connectivity with Air Force One. I
was connected to the White House. And my understanding is Air Force One
was in contact with the White House situation room. I was not in
contact with Air Force One.' .. 'ROEMER: So you have no knowledge of
that?' .. 'LEIDIG: No, sir.' .. '(UNKNOWN): Is there no NMCC protocol
to connect directly with Air Force One?' .. 'LEIDIG: Yes, sir, there is
a capability to do that. On that day, we were connected with the White
House.' .. 'ROEMER: Why weren't you using that other capability?' ..
'LEIDIG: I don't recall, sir.''
'BEN-VENISTE: And you recall at some point -- we have it at 10:37 --
that the vice president of the United States reported on that call that
there was an anonymous threat against Air Force One using the then code
name Angel; that it was to be the next target. Do you recall that,
sir?' .. 'LEIDIG: Sir, I think that occurred right after I was relieved
on the watch by General Winfield (ph). I -- right after we resolved
what was going on with United 93, around that time, General Winfield
(ph) took over.' .. 'So I'm familiar because I've looked at the
transcript, but I wasn't on the conference at that time.' ..
'BEN-VENISTE: Now, let me ask General Eberhart and General Arnold
whether that information was communicated to you in any real-time
basis.' .. 'EBERHART (?): No, sir, not to me.' .. 'BEN-VENISTE: The
information, according to the staff, that that was another phantom
report, that there was no anonymous call, there was no use of the code
name Angel for Air Force One or a statement that Air Force One was to
be next. And yet that mythology was perpetuated for some weeks, if not
months, thereafter. And as we know, those things -- it's hard for them
to go away.' .. 'So to the best of your knowledge here, do you have any
information which would suggest that there was a threat received on
September 11th against Air Force One?' .. 'EBERHART (?): I was not
aware of it that day nor this day, Mr. Commissioner.' .. 'ARNOLD (?):
Nor was I.' .. 'BEN-VENISTE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.' .. 'KEAN: That
concludes our questions for this panel. I want to thank you all very
much for your service and for taking the time to be with us today.'
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
// static facts are at odds with 'truth.' policies that don't change in
20 years
// are, contextually, not based on the circumstances as the original.
'truth' is
// rarely absolute except for 'true belief' it shifts, changes. except
Cheney's,
// a dictatorial position wills/declares 'what is' true regardless of
actuality.
Cheney Won't Back Down on Saddam-Qaeda Links -Aides // bizarre.
terrorist wins?
<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5442226>
'A White House official said Cheney's assertion, which he repeated
this week, that the ousted Iraqi leader had long-established ties to
al Qaeda, were based on "facts."' .. '"Hell no!" another
administration official said when asked if Cheney would retract his
statements after the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks
found no evidence that Iraq aided al Qaeda attempts to strike the
United States.' .... 'Administration officials disputed suggestions
that Cheney's comments conflicted with the report's findings.'
// must read. absolutely incredible. (*emphasis* ~added~)
[and] CHENEY: CLEAR LINKS BETWEEN SADDAM, AL-QAEDA;
CALLS NY TIMES ARTICLE 'OUTRAGEOUS' Thu Jun 17 2004 19:00:33 ET
<http://drudgereport.com/flash3.htm>
'Vice Pres. CHENEY: Gloria, the notion that there is no relationship
between Iraq and al-Qaida just simply is not true.' .... [and] 'BORGER:
In hindsight, Mr. Vice President, are you disappointed in the quality
of the intelligence that you received before launching an attack
against Iraq?'.. 'Vice Pres. CHENEY: I can't say that, Gloria. I
think the decision we made was exactly the right one. Everything I
know today, everything the president knows today, we would have done
exactly the same thing. Saddam Hussein was an evil man...' .... 'Now
could we have better intelligence? You always want better
intelligence. If you had complete knowledge on these kinds of decisions
and issues, you wouldn't need a president to make the decision; some
*robot* could. The President has to make judgments. You go to the
president of the United States and you lay down a very strong case that
this guy is ~all the things I've said~ plus had reconstituted his
weapons of mass destruction program, tell him it's a slam dunk case and
you've got the ongoing evidence of a relationship with al-Qaida and we
had 9/11...' [note: a very pregnant non-denial denial] 'BORGER: Now
just to go to a few more subjects sort of potpourri very quickly, there
is obviously as you know an ongoing investigation into who within the
Bush administration may have leaked the name of a covert CIA operative
to Bob Novak, who is a columnist in The Washington Post. Can you say
that no one in your office was involved in this?' .. 'Vice Pres.
CHENEY: Gloria, you need--you get the same answer the president gives
when he gets asked this question. This is a matter that is being
looked at by the Justice Department. You need to go to the Justice
Department if you have any questions about the matter.' .. 'BORGER:
And that's all you'll say on that?' .. 'Vice Pres. CHENEY: That's
all.'
[and] Smack That Cheney-Bot!
Vice President Dick Cheney keeps repeating the nonsensical claims about
the link
between Iraq and Al Qaeda as if he has a microchip malfunction. By
MAUREEN DOWD
<http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,304609,00.html>
'Like the Stepford husbands, G.O.P. bigwigs could have met in a smoky
men's club and decided they wanted a W. who was a little less pushy and
a little more sunny. All world domination, all the time, can be
wearing.' .. 'The Republicans messed up their first attempt at this,
when they took Dick Cheney to an undisclosed location to switch him
with a replicant. Instead of an affable, reassuring presence, as he was
in Bush I, the Bush II vice president is a macabre automaton who keeps
repeating, over and over, as contrary evidence piles up, that Saddam
and Al Qaeda were linked...' .... 'Mr. Cheney isn't programmed to
process evidence that shows he was wrong; he simply keeps repeating the
same nonsensical claims as if he has a microchip malfunction.'
// surprising about global business people and companies being unable to
// fathom the need and abilities to change: the entrepreneurship that
made
// many of the largest companies the way they are: they went ahead of
the
// curve, took risks, and saw a need and did something about it, they
did
// not expect their profits to be locked-in to a static business that is
// the opposite of innovation- they had to earn their business through
an
// engagement with issues not by denials hidden by invisible
marketplaces.
// global companies scared of losing their shirts -- it is inevitable
-- it
// will happen, unless business strategies allow changes for new
realities.
Oil chief: my fears for planet // there's money in change, too...
biz.101
Shell boss's 'confession' shocks industry // bingo. via drudgereport.com
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1240566,00.html>
'In an interview in today's Guardian Life section, Ron Oxburgh,
chairman of Shell, says we urgently need to capture emissions of the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which scientists think contribute to
global warming, and store them underground - a technique called carbon
sequestration.' .... 'His words follow those of the government's chief
science adviser, David King, who said in January that climate change
posed a bigger threat to the world than terrorism.' .... 'Mr Oakley
said a gulf was opening between more progressive oil companies such as
Shell, which invests in alternative energy sources including wind and
solar power, and ExxonMobil, the biggest and most influential producer,
particularly in the US.' .. 'In June 2002 ExxonMobil's chairman, Lee
Raymond, said: "We in ExxonMobil do not believe that the science
required to establish this linkage between fossil fuels and warming has
been demonstrated."' .... '"If [India and China] choose to burn their
coal, we in the west are not in a very good position to tell them not
to, because it's exactly what we did in our industrial revolution."'
[note: 200+ years ago]
Diplomat: info may show Iran nuke cover-up // industrial vs. nuclear
diplomacy.
<http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2004/06/17/iran_nuke/>
'The agency was looking at intelligence that Iran was razing parts of
a restricted area next to a military complex in a Tehran suburb, the
diplomats said on condition of anonymity.' .. 'Satellite photos showed
that several buildings had been destroyed and topsoil had been removed
at Lavizan Shiyan, one diplomat said.' .... '"It's vanishing now, so
they need to look at it," said the diplomat, adding that the agency
also was focusing on other sites. The diplomat did not elaborate.'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
// it has been said there is no civilian defense against a nuclear
detonation,
// which, if considered in tersm of bunkers and a surprise attack, may
be true.
// yet, if there were advanced warning given of such an attack, it may
be one
// option to seek protection in the landscape, such as river valleys or
other
// geographies that may not be directly hit by a blast. all speculation
yet in
// searching online about protective landforms, this was found in a
training
// manual for the military. therefore, because there is absolutely,
still, no
// preventative measures (go shopping!) - it seems fair to share an
idea of a
// possibility should one find themselves with warning, and time of
decisions.
// it would be good to know what types of foods would be best to eat
(nutrients)
// in case of certain attacks and what kind of consumer masks may limit
effects.
// something, anything, to give a sense of what to do would be very
helpful...
FM 7-92. HEADQUARTERS. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY. 1992
THE INFANTRY RECONNAISSANCE PLATOON AND SQUAD (AIRBORNE, AIR
ASSAULT, LIGHT INFANTRY) -- APPENDIX B: NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL,
OR CHEMICAL ENVIRONMENT OPERATIONS // d.i.y. civil defense.
<http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/7-92/
fm792_11.htm>
'B-5. PROTECTION -- The best protection from the immediate effects of
a nuclear detonation is cover in fighting positions, culverts, ditches,
or behind hills. Soldiers face away from the explosion, close their
eyes, and cover all exposed skin. They stay down until the blast wave
passes and until the debris stops falling. Then, they check for (and
treat) injuries, check damage to equipment and supplies, and prepare to
continue the mission.' .. 'a. Radiation is the only nuclear effect
that remains after a nuclear detonation. It can last for days or even
years, and it can cover a large area. Since radiation cannot be
detected by human senses, radiac equipment must be used to detect its
presence. The procedures for radiological monitoring, surveying, and
reporting must be prescribed by SOP. (For more information, see FM
3-3.)' .. 'b. If the reconnaissance platoon stays in a fallout area,
all soldiers stay in positions that have overhead cover if possible.
They cover their mouths and noses with scarves or handkerchiefs to
prevent from inhaling radioactive particles. The teams continually
monitor the radiation level in the area.' .. 'c. Once the fallout has
passed, soldiers brush the radioactive dust off their clothing and
scrape the dirt from the area around them. Radiacmeter operators
continue to monitor and report radiation levels. All soldiers wash
themselves and their equipment when possible. The time the platoon
stays in a contaminated area depends on the amount of radiation that
the soldiers have been exposed to, the intensity of the radiation, the
protection available, and the needs of the mission.'
'B-10. PROTECTIVE MEASURES IN CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARFARE -- 'A
CB attack can occur without warning. Soldiers must know exactly what
to do and how to do it without hesitation. Their lives depend on it.'
.. 'a. Chemical Attack . A soldier's main protection against a
chemical attack is his protective mask. The mask protects against
inhaling chemical agents. If an attack is imminent or if chemicals
have already been employed, soldiers should mask--...' .. 'b.
Biological Attack . Information on the enemy's use of biological
agents is passed from higher to lower. The best local defense against
biological warfare is strict enforcement of all preventive medicine
(prescribed immunizations) and field sanitation measures and high
standards of personal hygiene. Leaders must ensure that water and food
resupply is obtained from approved sources.'
VR tool re-creates hallucinations // new media psych: a trip for
mind-modelers.
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/061604/VR_tool_re-
creates_hallucinations_061604.html>
'In a survey conducted by fellow researcher Jennifer Tichon, students
said they could adequately diagnose mental illnesses like schizophrenia
that include hallucinations, but said they didn't really understand
what it was they were diagnosing.' .. 'The hallucination simulation
software is a three-dimensional environment something like the game
Quake, said Ericsson. The researchers interviewed a patient to get
descriptions of a set of real-life hallucinations, then depicted them
in the software.' .... 'The environment is a model of a psychiatric
ward. "As the user navigates through the ward, hallucinations occur,"
said Ericsson.' .... 'The technical challenge to creating the virtual
psychiatric ward was finding a scenegraph that achieved high enough
frame rates to make the model realistic enough, said Ericsson...' ....
'The researchers' next step is to increase their library of
hallucinations by interviewing more patients.'
Early Intervention Lessens Impact Of Autism
Contrary to popular fears that half of autistic children will never
speak,
new findings by the University of Michigan show just 14 percent of
autistic
children are unable to talk by age 9 and 40 percent can speak fluently.
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040616063622.htm>
'Autistic spectrum disorders impact the normal development of the
brain processes related to social interaction and communication skills.'
When will you hit menopause? Ultrasound test predicts 'reproductive
age'.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/040614/040614-5.html>
'... Scientists can now [...determine...] how many eggs are inside a
woman's ovaries, and thus how many reproductive years she has left.'
.... 'The technique measures the size of a woman's ovaries by
ultrasound, which produces images of internal body organs using
sound-waves...' .... 'The number of a woman's eggs peaks at several
million in the female fetus. As a woman ages, the number of eggs
declines and the ovaries shrink. At menopause, there are only about
1,000 left.' .... 'The warning would help women to pursue assisted
reproduction techniques ... before her egg count falls too low.'
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
How Spam Works:
<http://computer.howstuffworks.com/spam.htm>
[and] Where SPAM comes from // .MN
<http://www.spam.com/>
[and] Governor Tim Pawlenty ... wearing a SPAM shirt.
<http://www.governor.state.mn.us/PhotoGallerys/
DailyPhotoGallery.asp?blid=375>
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
// makes one wonder if there may be a network-based attack planned by
Al Qaeda
// in regard to upcoming threats, if the network could be brought to a
halt...
// note: the North American (NE) power outage was speculated as
potentially
// being the result of a terror-hack-attack, though this notion
disappeared...
Major website blackout blamed on massive attack
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99995113>
Espionage May Have Driven The Evolution Of Bee Language
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040616065114.htm>
'Bees are among a very limited number of species, besides humans, able
to abstractly encode information about the physical world into signals
understood by receivers. While scientists do not know what kind of
communication the two species of bees employ within their hives, Nieh
says his team's finding that they are able to spy on each other's
olfactory markings sheds light on the long-standing mystery of why some
other stingless bees and honeybees evolved one of the most
sophisticated forms of animal language, strategies that would allow
them to inform their kin about distance and direction to a food source
while inside the hive.'
US fever over political 'bugging' // 32 years ago, from the archives...
Adam Raphael, Washington. Monday June 19, 1972. The Guardian
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/fromthearchive/story/0,12269,1241218,00.html>
'Why five men were needed to do the job and why they were using
relatively obsolescent bugging devices is still uncertain. "It is
fantastic," said one local wire-tapper today. "That kind of bugging
equipment went out with high button shoes. Those guys have got to be
circus bums."'
US firm spread hostage video // terror-hack. via drudgereport.com
<http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1544211,00.html>
Wireless Eyes May Be Watching // ~a multitude of cameras.~ via TSCM-L...
<http://cnniw.yellowbrix.com/pages/cnniw/
Story.nsp?story_id=52568825&ID=cnniw&scategory=Telecommunications%3AWire
less&>
'A recent survey by the Custom Electronics Design and Installation
Association showed security concerns were the top reason customers
wanted wireless products. In fact, 31 percent said a centralized home
security system was the most important home networking system.' ..
'Home theaters were second at 19 percent.'
// it would be interesting to model the demographics of a given
convention in
// terms of gadgets and data available on those gadgets, most probably,
both in
// security terms for their loss, their street value, but also for the
damages
// that could result, and get a sense of what the gathering of certain
sectors
// in a single place may bring together, in terms of data rich
targeting, such
// that if corporate accounts were on laptops with data to steal, it
coul be
// quiet a heist if identity theft attacked all these accounts at one
time, say
// a half-trillion dollars that happens to arrive with a 3-day (R&R)
conference.
// thus, might 'countermeasures' need to exist for convention centers
or some
// kind of insurance policy should concerted attacks happen in physical
space...
Thieves steal laptops, cell phone at crime prevention fair // what if:
bankers?
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2004-06-17-crime-
fair-crime_x.htm>
Spy Work in Iraq Riddled by Failures // *** uranium from Niger
unexplained.
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/latimests/20040617/
ts_latimes/spyworkiniraqriddledbyfailures>
'America's high-tech collection of communications intelligence and
imagery from satellites and sensors is also under fire.' .. 'Experts
say the NSA's powerful eavesdropping equipment netted hints of illicit
activities in intercepted e-mails, telephone calls and military
messages. In many cases, however, intelligence analysts were unable to
identify who was talking to whom, or even about what, according to
officials.' .... '"It's scandalous," said Sharon Squassoni, an
intelligence expert at the Congressional Research Service. "The
satellite analysts couldn't tell the trucks were red."' .... 'Several
mysteries remain concerning the prewar intelligence...'
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
French Workers Cut Champs Elysees Power
<http://www.reuters.com/
newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=5439675>
'French electricity and gas workers hit central Paris in their anti-
privatization strike on Wednesday, briefly slashing power to the
Champs Elysees, the presidential palace and the U.S. embassy.' ..
'Workers also curbed the top European power exporter's power flow to
Spain and hit operations at Gaz de France 's terminals and storage
facilities, the CGT union said.'
[and] Protesters Cut Power to Eiffel Tower // 15 minutes...
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&ncid=721&e=6&u=/
ap/20040616/ap_on_re_eu/france_power_protests>
'Protesters are worried that opening the door to outside investment
will ultimately put utilities in private hands, threatening their jobs
and retirement benefits.' .. 'French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre
Raffarin, whose private house in western France suffered an outage
Tuesday, insisted the government would not back down.' .. '"We will
follow this reform through to the end," Raffarin told TF1 television.
"Power outages here or there won't stop us."'
EM-quote: 'Bin Laden overruled Taliban leader to order assault' //
nuclear...
<http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/
FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373064177&p=1012571727162>
'While the report shows that the September 11 plot was planned over
several years, al-Qaeda faced numerous obstacles in carrying out the
plan. Mr Mohammed, who was captured by US forces in March 2003, told
interrogators that he initially wanted to hijack 10 aircraft and hit
other targets such as nuclear power plants and buildings on the west
coast.'
Yukos trial starts with defiance // .RU oil oligarch
<http://www.iht.com/articles/525339.html>
'The judges also fulfilled one of President Vladimir Putin's promises
regarding the case, agreeing to open the trial to media coverage,
though not to television cameras...' .... 'The court room at the
Meshchansky Court here in Moscow has little spare space for observers
from the news media or the public, however, and the opening on
Wednesday morning produced a jostling rush for seats by scores of
Russian and international journalists...'
---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
// private (religious) programming via mass media, a.k.a. ~spiritual
dramas~.
// note: .US public subsidizes EM spectrum real-estate for private TV
sects...
TV Networks Seek Ratings in Higher Power // was Reality TV, now
Metaphysical TV.
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=602&ncid=602&e=7&u=/
nm/20040615/lf_nm/leisure_tvspirit_dc>
'"People have wanted spiritual entertainment for a long time, but the
powers that be said, 'No. Nobody will buy that,"' [Della Reese] told
Reuters. "Now it's come to the place where you know there's nothing
else going to save you but the grace of God."' ... 'Network executives,
too, have become believers. In a media landscape of increasingly
fragmented viewership, they say the success of religious fare elsewhere
in U.S. pop culture is shaping their age-old quest for the Holy Grail
of commercial television -- a mass audience.' .... '"If they're looking
for an untapped market, this is it," she said, noting polls that show
most Americans profess a belief in God and nearly half counting
themselves as born-again or evangelical Christians.' .. '"Americans are
a very religious people, but our popular culture expressions have not
always reflected that," [Jana Riess] said. "Those same people who read
the 'Left Behind' books would also like to see films and television
shows that reflect their values and their spiritual principals."'
Emory Researchers Study The Effects Of Zen Meditation On The Brain
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040617081841.htm>
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
Magnetic Levitation: QUESTION: What is magnetic levitation? How does it
work?
<http://www.hindu.com/seta/2004/06/17/stories/2004061700391600.htm>
'The forces acting on an object in any combination of gravitational,
electrostatic, and magnetostatic fields will make the object's position
unstable.' .. 'The reason a permanent magnet suspended above another
magnet is unstable is because the levitated magnet will easily overturn
and the force will become attractive. If the levitated magnet is
rotated, the gyroscopic forces can prevent the magnet from overturning.'
Evolution Theory to 'Breed' Better F1 Racing Cars // (no cellular
automoto)
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=585&ncid=585&e=9&u=/
nm/20040616/sc_nm/science_britain_formula1_dc>
// incredible steering wheel interface, as if a nintendo-built fighter
jet.
// the bright/neon knobs and a screen on the steering wheel, when most
.US
// car crashes are from people switching the radio station or
cellphone talk.
// remote data analysis, real-time diagnostics, wireless, sensors,
adaptation.
[and] Computers Chase the Checkered Flag // ** (future speed design)
<http://nytimes.com/2004/06/17/technology/circuits/17prix.html>
'The wheel, about half the size of those in most passenger cars, is
essentially a computer, with electronic controls governing hundreds of
elements of the car's performance and a display giving Schumacher an
instant reading on his status, from his lap speed to his location on a
course map.' .... 'Once in the driver's seat, he sits alone. But as he
races, his Ferrari team can track even the most minute aspect of the
competition, capturing data in multi-megabyte wireless bursts each time
the team's cars flash past the pits, often in excess of 200 miles an
hour.' .. 'The data is transmitted to a computer center in the team's
garage on the pit lane, where it is analyzed by more than a dozen
technicians. It is simultaneously sent over the Internet to a larger
data center in Maranello, Italy, where more complex analysis is done to
help the team boss, Jean Todt, plot strategy from his seat in front of
a computer screen on the pit wall and talk by radio with the drivers.'
.... '... The Ferrari team's wireless data system provides data on more
than 500 aspects of performance - readings that can enable the pit crew
to tell the driver whether he is handling the car correctly through the
corners, to gauge whether parts are about to fail and take preventive
action, or to plot strategy based on tire wear.'
Fragments boost 3D TV // ** 3Mbs and ~virtual gravity~
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/061604/
Fragments_boost_3D_TV_061604.html>
'The formidable technical challenge in presenting real-time,
free-viewpoint three-dimensional video is the enormous amount of
information contained in the stream of video information.' .... 'Key to
the method is a way to issue updates to a three-dimensional image by
inserting, deleting and updating just the changed portions of a video
frame. These changes from multiple cameras are processed and merged
into a single video stream. This way the three-dimensional geometry of
the image does not have to be recalculated for every frame, which
reduces computational load and network bandwidth consumption, said
Würmlin.' .. 'The system calculates two-dimensional pixels from
multiple cameras to determine the position, orientation and color of a
set of irregular points in the three-dimensional space. The method
represents these dynamic point samples, or three-dimensional fragments,
independently of each other.'
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
// dendrites sound somewhat similar to a capacitor in how they
function. or r/c.
Gray Matters: New Clues Into How Neurons Process Information // **
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040616064016.htm>
'The team found that the summation of information within an individual
neuron depends on where the inputs occur, relative to each other, on
the surface of the cell.' ..... 'While recording the voltage at the
cell body, the team would deliver shocks through one or two stimulating
electrodes directed to different locations in the dendritic tree, for
example, to the same or different dendritic branches.' .. 'They would
then compare the voltage response at the cell body as the two inputs
were activated first separately and then together.'
Super rich can afford their own language // new acronym: Ultra-HNWIs...
'High net worth individuals,' 'mass affluent' among descriptions
<http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5226726/>
'Those whose art collections and oil wells put them in a category of
their own expect "platinum treatment," once reserved for institutions.
That could include offering sophisticated financial tools, such as
those that measure a portfolio's risk in the face of market swings.' ..
'These ultra-HNWIs have, according to the Chappuis,
"multi-jurisdictional needs." This might mean they have a villa in
Tuscany and an apartment in London, as well as a mansion in
Connecticut.' .. 'They get their own "Family Office," a team of
professionals serving their accounts under a single umbrella (sometimes
referred to as a "virtual network").'
Fractals show machine intentions // em-arch
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/061604/
Fractals_show_machine_intentions_061604.html>
Natural Protection - How Animal Camouflage Works
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/animal-camouflage.htm>
Web Addresses Extending Their Global Domain
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46214-2004Jun16.html>
'The usefulness of Internet addresses could expand even more if
various experiments pan out. Airlines, for example, are exploring how
they might let people type such strings as "1876.aero" into their Web
browsers and get status reports for individual flight numbers. Also in
the works is an object-naming system that would link radio-frequency
identification tags in retail and manufacturing goods to Internet
addresses. The idea is to track items in stores, manufacturing plants
and other locations via the Internet. An addressing system for physical
objects -- some call it "the Internet of things" -- could vastly expand
usage of the domain system.' .. 'Yet the overarching trend affecting
Internet addresses today is hyper-growth outside the United States --
and outside the ".com" registry...'
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
// artifically intelligent robotic extensions of larger em
infrastructures.
Internet ups power grid IQ // *** em-architecture. robot for dwelling
in...
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/061604/
Internet_ups_power_grid_IQ_061604.html>
'Despite decades of advances in building controls, electric grid
management tools and communications technology, buildings remain fairly
isolated and uncoordinated consumers of electricity.' .. 'Researchers
at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have devised a system that
leverages communications across the Internet to adjust building power
use.' .... 'The building management software was tailored for use with
Internet-based demand-response systems -- modified to interpret XML
signals, for instance -- under programs sponsored by the California
Energy Commission.' .. 'Berkeley researchers wrote an XML schema based
on work by Infotility Inc., an energy market information software and
Web services company.' .... 'Beyond price, systems could be programmed
to respond to changes in air quality, to participate in emissions
trading schemes, to tap into sustainable energy sources, to coordinate
the responses of groups of buildings, and possibly to minimize local
brownout threats and price spikes, according to Connors. "There's still
some wiggle room. But, all in all, it's a very cool beginning," he
said.'
Quantum Dots See In The Dark:
Nanodevices Promise Improved Night Vision Goggles, Medical Sensors And
More
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/06/040615080327.htm>
'The atmosphere is opaque to most infrared, but it is transparent for
a narrow "window" between 8 and 12 microns. Night vision goggles,
military target tracking devices and environmental monitors utilize
this range of wavelengths.' .... 'Unlike their alternatives, quantum
dot infrared detectors strongly absorb radiation shining perpendicular
to the plane of an array of quantum dots.' .. 'By contrast, the
alternate quantum well detectors don't pick up radiation that shines
straight down on them.'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
// reporting from New Scientist on US-UK Non-Proliferation Treaty
hypocrisy...
Conspiracy threat to anti-nuke treaty // *** Mutual Defense Agreement
(MDA)
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996016>
'The US and UK governments will this week be accused of conspiring to
break the international agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear
weapons.' .. 'The claim will be backed by detailed evidence of the
large-scale collaboration by the two countries to develop their nuclear
arsenals, an activity that the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT)
is specifically designed to prevent.' .. 'The claim comes from the
British American Security Information Council (BASIC), a think tank
based in London and Washington DC. Although the UK and the US
cooperated on nuclear matters throughout the Cold War, the extent of
their collaboration since then has never been documented.' .. 'However,
BASIC has managed to glean something of the scope of the collaboration
from official sources. The figures show that the collaboration remains
surprisingly strong, despite the commitment of both countries under the
NPT to disarm.' .... 'The exchanges of personnel, information and even
nuclear materials are part of a US-UK accord known as the Mutual
Defence Agreement, which is at the heart of the "special relationship"
between the two governments. Signed in 1958, it allowed the two
countries to exchange anything to do with nuclear weapons short of the
weapons themselves.' .. 'This covered expertise, technology, bomb
components and nuclear explosives such as plutonium and highly enriched
uranium, but the extent of the cooperation has always been a closely
guarded secret.' .... 'The agreement was last renewed in 1994 and runs
out in 2004. The US and UK are now finalising another 10-year
extension, which they hope to sign within the next few days. This has
prompted BASIC to challenge the legal and moral legitimacy of the
renewal.' .... '"The [Mutual Defence Agreement] is inconsistent with
the spirit and letter of the NPT," he told New Scientist . Before the
agreement is renewed, he suggests it ought to be referred to the
International Court of Justice in The Hague.'
NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION: Limiting the Nuclear Club---Iraq, North Korea et
al.
J. I. Katz. Department of Physics Washington University, St. Louis.
(1993)_
<http://wuphys.wustl.edu/~katz/prolif.html>
'Although Stalin controlled atomic bombs for the last four years of
his life, and hydrogen bombs for some fraction of that time, there was
no catastrophe. A man and system which murdered tens of millions of
people with bullets, famine, and prison camps never used the most
powerful weapons in history. Even the boundaries of the Soviet occupied
territories and sphere of influence, which had rapidly expanded in
1945-48, did not grow further after the Soviet development of nuclear
weapons in 1949.' .... 'Iraq is the most serious case of attempted
proliferation. Its intent has been proven and its leadership is
aggressive. It is now defeated. The present [1993] close inspection
regime is unique, and negates any short-term threat. It is important
to recognize that the political will to maintain the trade embargo and
to do political battle when Iraq obstructs inspection will not last
indefinitely, and has weakened since the Gulf War. It is now
essential to plan a permanent control regime on which we may depend for
the indefinite future, after the present trade embargo is relaxed and
Iraq becomes again a wealthy oil exporter. The aggressive intent of
Iraqi regimes, and the political culture which produces it, must
prudently be assumed to be immutable, and the control regime may have
to be maintained for many decades, or even longer.'
Sweeping stun guns to target crowds // wireless EM guns, crowd control,
ethics.
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996014>
[examples] 'A weapon under development by Rheinmetall, based in Dorf,
Germany, creates a conducting channel by using a small explosive charge
to squirt a stream of tiny conductive fibres through the air at the
victim ( New Scientist print edition, 24 May 2003).' .. 'Meanwhile,
Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS), based in Anderson, Indiana,
will be one of the first companies to market another type of wireless
weapon. Instead of using fibres, the $9000 Close Quarters Shock Rifle
projects an ionised gas, or plasma, towards the target, producing a
conducting channel. It will also interfere with electronic ignition
systems and stop vehicles.' .. '"We will be able to fire a stream of
electricity like water out of a hose at one or many targets in a single
sweep," claims XADS president Peter Bitar.'' [plus laser system...]
Radio Record Paints Chilling 9/11 Picture // hijacked planes. ~37
minute gap.
<http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040617/D838SFDO2.html>
'"We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be O.K. We are
returning to the airport," a hijacker, believed to be Mohamed Atta, the
alleged ringleader of the 19 hijackers, told the passengers of American
Airlines Flight 11. The tape was played for the audience at the
commission's hearing.' .. 'That transmission was the first inkling
federal air traffic controllers had of the hijacking of American
Airlines Flight 11 shortly after takeoff from Boston's Logan Airport at
8 a.m. EDT. Atta had been speaking to the plane's passengers, but the
radio transmission was received at the FAA's Boston Center.' .. 'As FAA
controllers tried desperately to contact the plane, which had changed
its transponder code, they picked up another transmission, also
apparently from Atta.' .. '"Nobody move. Everything will be O.K. If you
try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just
stay quiet."' .. 'Controllers tried to contact the military, even
trying to raise a military alert center in Atlantic City, N.J., unaware
that facility had been phased out. The FAA finally reached the
appropriate military office at 8:37 a.m.' .. '"We have a problem here,"
the FAA's Boston Center told NEADS, the North East Air Defense Sector.
"We have a hijacked aircraft headed towards New York, and we need you
guys to, we need someone to scramble some F-16s or something up there,
help us out."'
Nuclear agency admits Iran error: The UN atomic energy agency has
admitted wrongly reporting that Iran withheld information from it.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3815105.stm>
'The IAEA reported in June that Tehran had failed to inform it about
importing magnets for advanced centrifuges which can produce
weapons-grade uranium.' .. 'However, it now says Iran made an oral
statement about the magnets in January.' .... 'But IAEA Director
General Mohamed ElBaradei played down the importance of the admission.'
.. '"This is not a major mistake. Iran could have corrected it," he
said.' .. 'He added that "this technical correction doesn't change the
fact that we need more transparency from Iran" in reporting on its
nuclear programme.'
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
EM-headline: Signals Are Mixed as U.S. Retail Sales Rise
// the way China and other countries who are developing newer
infrastructures
// today could provide techniques for growth and adapting to emerging
and also
// existing conditions in the realm of all countries. those in
economics and in
// policy likely have some handle on governments and energy policies in
terms of
// development strategies. yet China also seems to be very active in
its dealing
// with its rapid development, and like the solar projects these could
bring
// options to other countries in how to address a wide-range of issues
in terms
// of city planning, infrastructure, and geography, even democratic
structures.
// in the sense that, taken together, maybe someday the .US will be
utilizing an
// approach developed in Africa or China or South America or Eastern
Europe in
// learning how to better integrate its suburbs as peripheral nodes
than as the
// foci of an unsustainable megacity built on industrial techniques of
sprawl...
China raises electricity prices to cool down overheated industries //
EM policy.
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-06/17/content_1530030.htm>
'In order to curb blind expansion of the industries consuming large
amounts of electricity, the Chinese government has decided to adopt
differentiating power prices for six raw material sectors,namely
alumina, ferroalloy, calcium carbide, caustic soda, cement and steel.
Punitive higher power prices will apply to enterprises that fail to
meet the requirement of national industrial policy.'
Will power crunch upset global investors? // see above.
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-06/15/content_1526078.htm>
'While most believe the current passion of investors will not cool,
investors could choose to move plants to provinces such as Sichuan, and
Hubei or cities like Chongqing where electricity demands are more
easily met.' .. '"Those provinces rich in energy supply will be
investment targets," Zhang Jianyu, a visiting scholar with Tsinghua
University told China Daily.' .... ' Xu Dingming, a leading official
with NDRC's Energy Bureau said China's output of primary energy was
equal to 1.603 billion tons of standard coal last year, up 11 per cent
over the previous year.' .... 'But demand outpaced supply as shortages
of coal, power and oil were reported in many areas of China, whose
economy grew by 9.1 per cent last year, and more than 7 per cent in the
two years before 2003.' .. 'Xu said China is now in the middle stages
of its industrialization phase characterized by faster development of
energy-extensive machinery, auto, iron and steel sectors.' .. 'Urban
residential consumption of energy also rose dramatically due to the
country's fast pace of urbanization and improved standard of living.'
.. 'The per-capita energy consumption for urban residents is 250 per
cent more than that of their rural cousins, said Xu.'
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
Art Unfolds in a Search for Keywords // could be patented technology
<http://nytimes.com/2004/06/17/technology/circuits/17info.html>
'"Imagination Environment" starts with a live television news
broadcast that is displayed at the center of a wall-mounted array of
nine computer monitors. A software program scans the broadcast's
closed-caption stream and selects keywords that prompt Internet
searches for images. Seconds after the live audio is heard, the news
broadcast is surrounded by pertinent photographs and illustrations on
adjacent screens, as well as some images completely unrelated.'
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