~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #126
From
brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Thu, 15 Jul 2004 13:28:44 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #126
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (7/15/2004)
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--
Again this past week there has been a reinteration of the terrorist
threat to the .US (and possibly abroad, if taking into account
speculations on how many plans are executed simultaneously). There is
mention of the 'energy-related' infrastructures being targeted, which
if it is not clear already what threat that entails, would become very
clear after a day without power, indefinitely. Though something keeps
cropping up-- these mysterious 'computer failures' at various places.
It may be power companies, for instance, that have a glitch. Or, as
with yesterday's news, another airport, both O'Hare lost power and the
MSP airport here had somewhat serious computer problems, directly
affecting aircraft. Now, imagine that instead of one airport having one
problem, that a coordinated attack on the logistical system of the
airports were to happen simulaneously, -- with planes in flight -- and
without the high-levels of coordination needing to land, or reroute
given the fuel. You could have dozens if not hundreds of planes in the
air in a state of chaos should several hubs be taken down at one time
in a certain geographical proximity, beyond rerouting. The dependence
on computers to fly and land aircraft can be threatened with a
computer-reliant system. So, it is wondered what the backup plan is,
should multiple 'port' infrastructure (energy-related) systems go
offline. This is mentioned not to speculate, but because there is no
public commentary about such a thing, and the clock is ticking and such
malfunctions could show a pattern that would be relevant however they
were disrupted, say by a space storm.
On the subject of energy-related infrastructures, VP Cheney will be
visiting the Minneapolis Convention center this Saturday, so an attempt
will be made to get some documentary photographs of signage related to
energy issues like Enron, Oil, etc. If anyone on the list will be
there, hope to meet you. Will have monopod, camera, and bicycle. Some
past documentation, separated from the essays, can be found at:
http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?rid=42679
ex. Enron, Halliburton, Oil, etc...
<http://www.mnartists.org/uploads/users/user_2940/
12bea936e4030dc37645b45387214e0a/12bea936e4030dc37645b45387214e0a.jpg>
<http://www.mnartists.org/uploads/users/user_2940/
a6b11084503895b1c9ac8cf8e20f2f26/a6b11084503895b1c9ac8cf8e20f2f26.jpg>
<http://www.mnartists.org/uploads/users/user_2940/
411ce6c0e6ff1bf319e16059b2de9de7/411ce6c0e6ff1bf319e16059b2de9de7.jpg>
* note: there was a configuration issue with the list so that bounced
mails and other commands sent to the 'worker' e-mail address did not
get delivered. my apologies, hopefully this is now fixed. as a result,
dozens of bouncing e-mail accounts (and some spam rules, potentially)
have been culled from the list ranks. as I had not received messages
prior to this sent to the worker e-mail, if ever there is a
non-response to a question or list issues, please e-mail either human
(at) electronetwork.org directly. thanks and sorry about this.
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
Long Knives Out For Cheney // op-ed. VP will visit MPLS.MN this
saturday...
<http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_9545.shtml>
'Cheney's secrecy over the Energy Task Force – Executive Privilege,
notwithstanding -- has cast a cloud of suspicion in the voter’s minds
about the credibility of the Bush Administration. Who were the
participants? What was discussed? And, most importantly, was war with
Iraq contemplated as part of a policy to secure America ’s energy
supplies?' .... 'And, as if all this {much, much more!} was not enough,
thirdly, and finally, later in the day on July 6, the former Senator
from New York Alfonse D'Amato came flat out and publicly called for
Cheney’s head.' .. 'It must be distressing to Cheney that no one came
to his defense.'
[quote] Learning From Terror Alerts // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,663746,00.html>
'... officials tell TIME, the FBI has raised a specific MO in a
classified intelligence bulletin sent to 18,000 local law enforcement
agencies last week. The advisory, headlined "Potential Terrorist
Threat to U.S. Energy Infrastructure," says that "recent terrorist
attacks and incidents occurring overseas highlight terrorists'
interests in targeting energy-related infrastructures." The bulletin
cites three coordinated suicide boat attacks at the Arabian Gulf oil
terminal in Iraq on April 24, a May 1 attack on ADB Lummus Global
petroleum facility in Saudi Arabia and a May 29 attack, also in Saudi
Arabia, on Arab Petroleum Investments Corp. While there is no specific
intelligence of an impending attack in the U.S., the bulletin says
officials are tracking several "suspicious incidents" in the country.'
// if there were a geomagnetic reversal there is possibly also a need
to build
// shelters to protect from space weather and radiation now held back
by these.
// this is one reason for EM-architecture which takes a cue from the
settlement
// colonies on the moon and mars and space station designs, to protect
from the
// environment of space- and what can be adapted to terrestrial
dwellings, such
// as UV protection, sealing spaces, air re-conditioning, even
earth-suits which
// (if extremely dangerous to walk outside, with cancer just from
exposure) are
// potentially worst-case survival haute couture, with such gear needed
to go
// out in SUV land like the moon-buggies of old. Maybe such a dystopia
is not
// to match the moon colony utopia of earlier years, right away, though
gradual
// changes in such directions seem possible given changes in large
environments.
// note: like lava, human-made pottery also records the earth's
magnetic field.
// note: the earth flip-flops over time as part of an adaptive cycle of
change.
Will Compasses Point South? // ** see side-graphic: "Start of a Flip?"
<http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/13/science/13magn.html>
'Deep inside the Earth, the magnetic field arises as the fluid core
oozes with hot currents of molten iron and this mechanical energy gets
converted into electromagnetism. It is known as the geodynamo.' ....
'On a planetary scale, the magnetic field helps shield the Earth from
solar winds and storms of deadly particles. Its so-called magnetosphere
extends out 37,000 miles from Earth's sunlit side and much farther
behind the planet, forming a cometlike tail.' .... [on recording flips]
'It turned out that continuous flows of seabed lava became alternately
magnetized over the ages as the polarities of the Earth's field
switched one way, then the other. The seabed acted like a huge tape
recorder, and the same proved true of the layered deposits of old
volcanoes on land.'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
Retinal display guides near-blind // Steve Mann-like...
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/071404/Retinal_display_guides_near-
blind_Brief_071404.html>
Major Electrical Fire Burns in Madrid
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-spain-
fire,0,492562.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
Nevada Waste Site Plan to Proceed Despite Ruling
<http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20040713_528.html>
'The Bush administration will proceed with a plan to build a nuclear
waste site in Nevada this year despite a court decision ordering it to
prevent radiation leaks for more than 10,000 years, a senior Energy
Department official said on Tuesday...' .... 'Radioactive releases
could peak in 300,000 years and the administration must assure
safeguards on that scale, the court found.'
[quote] Senators Jeffords and Lautenberg Introduce Bill to Encourage
Green Buildings // via archnewsnow.com
<http://jeffords.senate.gov/~jeffords/press/04/07/070804greenbldgs.html>
'In the United States, buildings account for: 36% of total energy use;
65% of electricity consumption; 30% of greenhouse gas emissions; 30% of
raw materials use; 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually) and
12% of potable water consumption...'
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
Report: $9.4 billion network to secure Saudi borders // via
drudgereport.com
<http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/breaking_5.html>
'"The Ministry of Interior has approved a $9.4 billion contract with
the French government to install an electronic defensive shield along
this border in the fall of 2004," the report, "Saudi Internal Security:
A Risk Assessment," said.' .... 'Such a system would integrate
acoustic, seismic, radar, magnetic, and infrared sensors to detect
movements of people and vehicles in the border area. In 1990, Thomson
CSF, the predecessor of Thales, completed a $5 million feasibility
study.'
// the thing about the blackmarket in nuclear secrets seemed to be,
much like
// pirated software, a bunch of files burned together on a single disk,
as if
// a copy would be all that is needed to compose an illegal mix-disk of
WMDs...
More Disks Lost at Los Alamos // the missing nuclear zipdisks...
<http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,64214,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_5>
'On Friday afternoon, Los Alamos officials admitted that two Zip
removable hard disks containing secrets from the lab's Weapons Physics
Directorate had disappeared...'
Chip Implanted in Mexico Judicial Workers // got chipped?
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=&e=8&u=/ap/20040714/
ap_on_hi_te/mexico_chip_implants>
'"It's only for access, for security," [the spokesman] said.' .. 'The
chips also could provide more certainty about who accessed sensitive
data at any given time. In the past, the biggest security problem for
Mexican law enforcement has been corruption by officials themselves.'
.. 'Aceves said his company eventually hopes to provide Mexican
officials with implantable devices that can track their physical
location at any given time, but that technology is still under
development.'
DR Congo uranium mine collapses // wide-ranging, including nuclear,
issues...
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3887373.stm>
'The Shinkolobwe mine supplied the uranium in the bombs which the
United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II.'
.. 'It was officially closed earlier this year but people still mine
there for cobalt, used in mobile phones.' .. 'Nuclear experts have
raised fears that Congolese uranium could fall into the hands of terror
groups...'
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
Athens Officials Warn on More Blackouts
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-greece-
blackout,0,1498666.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines>
'A heat wave and heavy air conditioner use are key factors that could
create another blackout during the games.'
Two New Case Studies of State Support for Renewable Energy // (midpage)
<http://www.wapa.gov/es/greennews/default.htm>
ELECTRICITY consumption sets a new record
Sunday Times - Johannesburg,South Africa
ELECTRICITY demand sets record
Rocky Mountain News - Denver,CO,USA
CALL for electricity retailers to break down bills
Scoop.co.nz (press release) - New Zealand
NK Given A Go By In CMPisation Of Electricity Bill
Financial Express - New Delhi,India
BUSINESS hot at coffee shops with electricity
WHAS 11.com (subscription) - Louisville,KY,USA
KAZAKH corp. ups electricity output 5.5%
Interfax - Kazakhstan
ELECTRICITY companies sue over nuclear waste costs
Canton Repository (subscription) - Canton,OH,USA
---------------------------------------------------
06-- Electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
The Geek Syndrome: Autism - and its milder cousin Asperger's syndrome
- is
surging among the children of Silicon Valley. Are math-and-tech genes
to blame?
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aspergers_pr.html>
[and] Think Different? -- Autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen on
"mindblind"
engineers, hidden pictures, and a future designed for people with
Asperger's.
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/baron-cohen.html>
[and] Take The AQ Test
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html>
[quote] Oddly Enough- Notable Quotes // relates to em-media/celebrity
culture...
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=9&u=/
nm/20040714/od_nm/quotes3_dc>
'"I'm so not ready to die. It petrifies me. I go alone. I go to a
place I don't know. It might be painful. It might be the end. My
thought is that it is the end. I become nameless, and I spent a
lifetime being known." --WILLIAM SHATNER, 73, pondering mortality at a
TV Critics Association Meeting in Los Angeles, quoted in The
Philadelphia Inquirer.'
Dot.com guy goes bust and changes name // wish AP newsfeed was still
free...
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2004/07/14/dotcom/>
<http://dotcomguy.com/>
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
North Korea opens pilot Web portal // www.kcckp.net
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=857&ncid=757&e=10&u=/
nm/20040714/od_uk_nm/oukoe_korea_north_internet>
'The new portal provides the North Korean telephone numbers of state
trading companies that offer products raging from "stylish dresses of
fine workmanship" to ferrous and nonferrous metals.'
Ilkone i800: Mobile Islamic Handset
<http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/ilkone-i800-mobile-islamic-handset-
017498.php>
Tritium Flatenna: Cardboard and Foil Antenna // parabolic wi-fi
attachment...
<http://www.gizmodo.com/archives/tritium-flatenna-cardboard-and-foil-
antenna-017493.php>
Multi-projector system gets diverse // interesting many-to-one
display...
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/071404/Multi-
projector_system_gets_diverse_Brief_071404.html>
'The underlying principle of the system is that each projector is
self-contained, but can sense neighboring projectors, determine their
geometric location, and cooperate to create a combined display.'
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
// then: 'i am, in existence, extended.' now: 'i am, in essence,
extended.'
When the Brain Says, 'Don't Get Too Close' // mental-body schematics...
<http://nytimes.com/2004/07/13/science/13body.html>
'A century ago, neurologists noticed that when ladies wearing big
feathered hats ducked through entryways, they would align their bodies
just so. It was as if they could feel the tops of doors with the tips
of the feathers.' .. 'From this and other observations, the scientists
concluded that each person holds within the brain a mental
representation of the body and its parts - even the clothing it wears -
as it moves through space.' .... 'The new research draws on the
principle that the brain forms internal maps of the external world;
groups of cells hold mental models of everything a person sees, hears,
feels and knows. The brain also forms a mental map of the body itself.
Clumps of brain tissue represent each hand, foot, trunk or lip. If
someone touches your hand, cells in the brain's "hand area" become
active.' .... '... researchers say that large machines can become part
of the body map...'
[ref. meditations] see Dualism...
<http://www.counterbalance.net/theogloss/dual-body.html>
'In its classic formulation, in the work of Rene Descartes , mental
phenomena are taken as, in some respect, non-physical. The mind for
Descartes is a non-physical substance, because minds have no spatial
properties and physical reality is essentially extended in space, minds
are wholly non-physical. This can be contrasted to ‘body’, which is
physical and does have extension in space. In this way the reality of
the human person has been divided into two distinct areas.'
Ultraviolet powers pixels // image...
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/071404/
Ultraviolet_powers_pixels_Brief_071404.html>
<http://www.trnmag.com/Photos/2004/071404/
Ultraviolet%20powers%20pixels%20Image.html>
Probabilities ease genetic logic // **
<http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2004/071404/
Probabilities_ease_genetic_logic_071404.html>
'The researchers' algorithm allows the processors to exchange the
probabilistic model rather than a population of individuals, which cuts
communication time because the model is much smaller than the
population, according to Lobo.' .... 'A probability vector is a
sequence of probabilities that each represent the chance that a given
bit in a string of bits is a 1 or a 0. The probability vector is
determined by looking at all the bit strings that represent individuals
and determining that, for instance, six out of ten first bits are one,
four out of ten second bits are one, and so on.' .. 'The communications
savings grows as the population grows, according to Lobo. A population
of one million individuals and a 1,000-bit problem represents one
gigabit of information; the compact genetic algorithm cuts this to
20,000 bits.'
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
Roomba hacked, floors even cleaner // beyond Furby...
<http://www.engadget.com/entry/4071977118819522/>
Boards `to deter sharks' // via engadget.com
<http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,10131332%255E2682,00.html>
'Devices emit electrical fields around the surfboard, which the
company says impact on the sharks' snout, causing them discomfort and
forcing them to stay away.' .... '"It is flawless technology on all the
evidence to date, but legally we can't guarantee it," Mr Hartley said.'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
// this is an incredible overview document which precedes documentation
of
// earlier (and later?) .US nuclear planning and gives a sense of the
scale
// of a MAD (mutually assured destruction) exchange, where nearing .5
billion
// people only from one opponents's missiles barrage, in a MAD launch
of WMD.
// that could likely be added to by any reciprocal mutal destruction
planning.
// now: considering the seriousness of this nuclear question, to have
someone
// who is an ideologue (VP) in such a position to determine probable
outcomes
// with regard to human in the nuclear balance - may not be such a good
judge
// if the dials, levers, and lights of the nuclear console sing siren's
songs.
// note: VP Cheney is pushing newer nuclear weapons stockpiles &
powerplants...
The Creation of SIOP-62: More Evidence on the Origins of Overkill
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 130 // ***
Edited by William Burr. Posted July 13, 2004 // via cryptome.org
<http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB130/>
* A full nuclear SIOP strike launched on a preemptive basis
would have delivered over 3200 nuclear weapons to 1060 targets in
the Soviet Union, China, and allied countries in Asia and Europe;
* A full nuclear strike by SIOP forces on high alert, launched in
retaliation to a Soviet strike, would have delivered 1706 nuclear
weapons against a total of 725 targets in the Soviet Union, China,
and allied states;
* Targets would have included nuclear weapons, government and military
control centers, and at least 130 cities in the Soviet Union, China,
and allies;'
'While newly and less recently released documents on SIOP-62 tell us
much about the nature of the SIOP-62 and the forces that pushed it
forward, much important information about the first SIOP remains
classified. Some details, such as the targets on the NSTL, may never be
declassified, at least not for many years. So far, no documents are
presently available that detail the gross explosive yield or the
fatality estimates associated with the SIOP-62 strikes. Based on their
access to the Burke files, Kaplan and Rosenberg found that the
megatonnnage for the alert force was 2164 or slightly lower (2100).
According to Kaplan, a strike by the total SIOP force would produce an
explosive yield of 7,847 megatons. 175 million Russians and Chinese
would be killed by the alert force, while a strike by the committed
force would kill an estimated 285 million with 40 million more injured.
(Note 5) As suggested by a recent study, casualty estimates produced by
the JSTPS need to be treated cautiously because target planners saw
blast damage as the foremost destructive effect of nuclear weapons
thereby seriously underestimating the destruction that mass-fires would
cause. (Note 6)'
U.S. Firm Supplied Nuclear Black Market // via cursor.org...
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&u=/ap/20040710/
ap_on_re_eu/nuclear_black_market&printer=1>
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
[photo] Bush is asked question about Enron's Key Lay... // via
cursor.org
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/040708/photos_ts_afp/
040708125254_jg418y7h_photo1>
'US President George W. Bush walks away from a briefing with the
media, refusing to answer questions after he was asked about Enron and
the reported indictment of former CEO Kenneth Lay, who was a close
adviser and fund-raiser for Bush and his father, earning him the
presidential nickname of 'Kenny Boy.''
[and] excerpt: Transcript - White House Talk. // coincidence?
Dan Froomkin - White House Briefing Columnist
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37500-2004Jul8.html>
'Question-- Missoula, Mont.: How does it look or play out that GW
"gee, I hardly knew him" Bush and Kennyboy Lay have the same defense
trial lawyer? You think Kenny boy got a referral fee?
'Answer-- Dan Froomkin: I think it is notable, but by no means
culpable, that they share an attorney (if indeed they do.) I think this
Sharp guy is turning into a real story, though! And we know almost
nothing about him.'
// one of the more exciting developments online has been the uploading
of
// century's old data from various collections and archives. the
reference
// to Lexis-Nexis by newspeople is enviable to those who gain access-
yet
// if 100 years of news articles were placed online, for research, for
// reference, the increased ad-dollars could make up for loss of control
// of the existing model of information distribution. the
quick-archiving
// of news may pre-empt the value of a developed or developing story and
// defeat its natural propulagation as information, limiting its impact.
// also, it is also likely 'googlenews' plays into this, as it is actual
// competition for NY Times content, also with _free, custom newsalerts
// which add value and may be the future of the net newspaper business-
// instead of every newspaper repeating each other's syndicated content,
// part and parcel, maybe the papers would diversify their offerings to
// reflect a depth of social, cultural, & other issues by reporting it.
// (i.e. investigative journalism of today's issues, and the options.)
Searching for The New York Times // google, blog, archives, news
paper....
<http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64110,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_3>
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
Digital Scrolling Name Tag Badge // via engadget.com
<http://www.cleanersonline.com/DigitalNameTag/products.htm>
// there's a lot that could be said about many things in this article,
though
// to refrain on all except the juxtaposition of the MS intellimouse
and the
// new, facadal/shell mouse by a brand-name 'world class' designer is,
well,
// it would seem a different economics altogether, like a niche market.
the
// innovations in mice, with ergonomics, optical tracking, mutiple
buttons,
// scroll wheel _are the high-design in mice today, (or, there are even
more
// bleeding edge options to be found) but a Starck mouse is not
high-design
// any way the same sense (the science, technology, art of the mouse
itself).
// the first mouse (Engelbart, Xerox Parc?) was certainly "high design"
in
// a sense of both art and archaeology, by which millions, copied,
followed.
// the application over a mouse-cover or shaping a mouse as a style is
not
// 'the essence' of the electronics of a mouse ... unless made of wood?
or,
// maybe the outside of the mouse is totally unrelated to what is
inside of it.
Philippe Starck, Building a Better Mouse // designer electronics...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40137-2004Jul9.html>
'At $35, the Starck mouse won't be costly enough to qualify as desktop
couture. But it does suggest untapped potential for style from the
world of haute technologie. So far, Apple remains the only company
designing computers so beautiful they have become objects of desire.'
[versus] New Swedx wooden computer gear
<http://www.engadget.com/entry/2127025256957770/>
Phonecam photos aspire to art
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3879633.stm>
radical. radiators. // via gizmodo.net
<http://funfurde.blogspot.com/2004/07/radical-radiators.html>
Open Source Web Design is a community of designers and site owners
sharing free web design templates as well as web design information.
Helping to make the internet a prettier place! // via enorgis.com
<http://www.oswd.org/>
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