~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #139
From
brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>
Date
Thu, 26 Aug 2004 00:19:47 -0500
===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #139
===================================================
00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (8/26/2004)
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--
* listening to the local classical music station, sometimes the CD that
is playing of a performance will start to skip and make surreal sounds
very out of place with the music itself. it was then wondered if there
has ever been a classical performance where a traditional piece played
is interrupted in intervals by a 'skipping record' effect, of if static
has ever been added to a live performance. or, for that matter, skipping
of compact disks by some instruments, to reincorporate accidental media.
* the idea of the remote-controlled or remote-interaction (tele- suffix)
built environment, such as a haunted house or art exhibition space has
another possibility in the realm of 'theme parks' and their design of
various interactive installations (could be a place of hybrids of online
and offline interaction). for instance, architects often refer to the
'playing god' issue within design (deity as great designer, versus a
human designer). it is a type of check-and-balance for an ethical and-
or moral dimension to what actions one may make/take, it seems, with a
design idea. (such that a building canopenly be judged in these terms,
as a type of bellwether line that probably was crossed a long time ago,
what with the ignoring of building codes and the WTC collapse and no
major changes in design education or fire codes or structural designs;
no fundamental rethink, that is). yet, if offline, if there were some
place that people could enter into, as a ride or interactive experience
which is fun but surprising, such as with spraying water and movement
and sounds - and people could inhabit this space and even interact in
some way with this environment: which is some anonymous person(s) who
is/are able to control the environment for a short period of time- in
this interaction between those inside some local, built space and, the
online component of person's all over the world, able to log into a
website and pay to access 'root' status (god status) and see video of
people in this room, and press a button and see these people on their
screen get drenched and have certain interactions, from a perspective
of inside the computer (cyber) space, while those inside may interact
within another mental (cyber) space, in trying to imagine who it is
they are dealing with. also, the issue of scale, where a room of
people may be interacting with a person sitting at a desk and the
aspect/issues of control that arise with that im/balance, and then
also that a person at a computer may see those in the room as very
tiny on a screen, like a video-game. this is potentially a very bad
idea, though a redeeming quality may be if these roles could be
explored in tandem so that those who control are themselves in the
position of the controlled and vice-versa, and maybe it is not with
a great distance, but a short distance, routed through a local net,
so the spatial and other aspects may be experienced in proximity to
one another. it would seem that it could be a way to gain or offer
novel 'perspectives' of various situations (not just physical as
it could be through reenactment of some thing from various roles,
to feel or experience the positions, to potentially gain a greater
understanding of the issues/questions/ethics/views involved in it).
this is one way for online/offline built environments to interact.
===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------
// consider what it may mean if a person in control of .US energy policy
// were corrupt and using the positive oil market readings to cover for
// a strategic vulnerability of the much greater national interest, and
// if a time to release oil passed and went, unbudged, when it was very
// critical to work the dynamics of the market as it now, newly exists-
// and instead the stragegic reserve is used as a political reserve...
US may use oil reserve if half imports lost-Cheney // VP controls
energy policy.
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25604527.htm>
'Cheney made it clear that the White House was not budging from its
position, and would not release emergency oil unless there was a
"national crisis."' .... '"So as a general proposition, it's been our
belief that we ought to save that (stockpile) for true emergencies,
and those kinds of emergencies would arise, as I say, if Saudi Arabia
or Nigeria or one of the other major foreign suppliers to the U.S.
wasn't able to continue to fulfill their commitments to us," he said.
"I think that's how we'll continue to operate in the future."' .. 'The
kind of shortfall that Cheney described would be the equivalent of the
United States losing its top four oil suppliers -- Canada, Mexico,
Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The four nations exported 5.9 million
barrels per day to the U.S. market during the first half of this
year.' .... *** 'Cheney, the former head of oilfield services giant
Halliburton Co. <HAL.N>, said oil and gasoline prices are high because
world oil supplies have not kept pace with strong demand.' **** //
(not Iraq fiasco, Enronomics, etc.)
[reference] em-related: Dick Cheney: a man of influence
on the front lines but somehow still in the background
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/08/25/
politics1508EDT0649.DTL>
'For decades a reliable conservative, Cheney always has attracted
philosophical foes. But now, to his detractors, he's nothing short of
the administration's Darth Vader, the man who helped push the nation
into an ill-advised war, wrongly implied a connection between Saddam
Hussein and the Sept. 11 attacks, held secret meetings to craft an
energy policy and once ran Halliburton, the energy services company
that won a no-bid contract in Iraq.' .... 'Cheney went east to Yale but
flunked out, returning to Wyoming, where he finished college and
married. As the draft was taking young men to Vietnam, he received five
student and marriage deferments. Years later he explained: "I had other
priorities in the '60s than military service."' .... 'In 1991, he left
government and took the top job at Halliburton, remaining in the
private sector until Bush invited him to be his running mate four years
ago.'
Oil rich, dirt poor // GDP $1.85 billion
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1290989,00.html>
'Exxon is already exporting nearly 300,000 barrels of oil a day to the
US and Marathon is investing $3bn in one of the world's largest gas
plants.' .. 'Mr Obiang, say his opponents, is only in power as long as
the west and its companies want him to be.' .. 'The question of where
the oil money is going is becoming embarrassing to the president. It is
believed that oil and gas should already be benefiting the country by
at least $2bn a year.' .. 'But there is little evidence that the oil
money is going anywhere but to Mr Obiang, his family or a small elite
of advisers, government officials and security chiefs...'
// if memory serves, right before .US President Clinton left office, he
// weakened .US commitment to the Kyoto protocol for economic reasons...
// in the end, the money will either go towards insurance payments for
// clean-up, or for preparing better options/environments for living in
// (thereby, changing the equation by doing something about the
problems,
// and not waiting until damage arrives to do the rear-view mirror
fixup).
UK to take tough line against US over Kyoto -- // **
Blair prepares to split with Bush over climate change treaty as
he assumes presidency of the European Union. // free day passs...
<http://salon.com/news/feature/2004/08/24/guardian_uk_kyoto/>
// this headline is included only to demonstrate how isolated .US policy
// has become, with .IQ, oil consumption, global warming, missile
defense.
// this means that the .US is basically alone in rejecting Kyoto, and if
// Russia were to ratify it, it would help to lead the changes ahead...
// also, the Kyoto treaty is part of the .UN as are many initiative that
// address climate change outside of current .US political
strangleholds,
// such as pollution figures, digital divide, electronics waste, etc...
[and, headline, for context] Blair breaks with Bush on West Bank
settlements
Russian Computer Expert Predicts Internet Terrorist Attack // via
drudge...
<http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/08/24/internetend.shtml>
'First of all, the United States and Western Europe will suffer from
the attack, Gostev was quoted by the agency as saying. The head of the
labs, Yevgeny Kaspersky, reminded the audience that similar attacks had
earlier paralyzed the Internet in South Korea. He added that it would
be “impossible” to stop terrorist organizations if they “get down to
business”.'
---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & safety
---------------------------------------------------
Color my world // physics, MEG, filters, lenses, light... (spectacles)
reg.req
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/4943500.html>
'In his early 30s, he met a librarian who had taken a five-day course
taught by Helen Irlen, a California educational psychologist. In the
early 1980s Irlen identified a visual perception disorder called
scotopic sensitivity syndrome, also called Irlen syndrome. It is not
officially recognized by the medical community.' .. 'The librarian
offered Adams a simple treatment that is the hallmark of Irlen's
teaching -- tinted eyeglass lenses and colored overlays on printed
materials. He said it helped him read without difficulty. The treatment
also is used for eyestrain and headaches.' .... 'Irlen developed the
treatment while researching adult learning disabilities at California
State University at Long Beach in the early 1980s. Some people, she
theorized, can't tolerate certain light wavelengths, which create
stress in the brain.' .. 'In her patented treatment, the offending
wavelengths are blocked by colored plastic sheets, called overlays,
that are placed over printed material or by tinted eyeglasses. Both are
intended to calm the visual storm in the brain and reduce distortions
on printed materials.'
Terrified of needles? Help is on the horizon // SonoPrep (SciTech Daily
Review)
<http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/19/
terrified_of_needles_help_is_on_the_horizon/?rss_id=Boston%20Globe%20--
%20Front%20Page>
'A Franklin company will begin selling a futuristic device next month
that painlessly injects medications through microscopic pores in the
skin -- holes created by low-frequency vibrations instead of
high-anxiety needles.' .. 'The hand-held, ultrasonic device applies
sound waves to the skin for 15 seconds, disrupting a protective
membrane to allow fluids to flow in or out. The openings allow larger
molecules, including those of many drugs, to pass through quickly.
After 24 hours, the skin returns to normal.' .... 'The product,
invented in the laboratory of MIT bioengineer Robert Langer, is at the
leading edge of technology being developed to deliver medicine
painlessly, more efficiently, and in a more targeted way than pills.
Researchers say these efforts could make needles obsolete in medicine.'
Bahrain Loses Power in 130-Degree Heat // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-bahrain-power-
outage,0,6565705,print.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines>
'Temperatures soared by midday to about 130 F when wind and humidity
is factored in. Bahrainis sought relief by driving in circles in their
air-conditioned cars. Some fled to shopping malls, hospitals, airport
lounges and other places that had enough auxiliary power to run air
conditioners -- until such facilities began to feel overwhelmed.' ....
'Essa Amin, a 57-year-old historian, recalled that when air
conditioning was first introduced here in the 1950s, Bahrainis had to
get government permission to install a unit because they used so much
power...'
Phone Therapy May Improve Depression Treatment // ** TCM/TP
<http://www.reuters.com/
newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=6059400>
---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------
Fried Apple Battery Pics
<http://john.hoke.org/archive/2004/08/fried_apple_bat.php>
Reactors Trim Radioactive Waste
<http://www.wired.com/news/technology/
0,1282,64690,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1>
'Nuclear energy has its proponents, but finding anyone who feels safe
around nuclear waste dumps has been a chore for the government...' ....
'For nuclear power plants to become more efficient and reduce the
amount of waste produced, fuel must be processed at higher
temperatures, according to David Hill, the associate lab director for
energy and engineering sciences at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge
National Lab . Hill, whose lab is the lead agency in developing
materials for so-called Generation IV reactors, said reducing the
amount of nuclear waste is an important secondary aspect of the
research.' .. '"The question is how much nuclear waste a society will
tolerate," Hill said.' .... 'According to the NEI, Generation III
reactors were developed in the 1990s, and Generation IV will be
functional around 2030.'
---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------
// beware all wireless voting machines: request a paper ballet instead.
// it could be unencrypted and manipulated in-transit, or it could be
// encrypted and the vote count manipulated and encrypted. these aspects
// of the wireless transport of votes are often unaddressed in stories,
// yet with war-driving and the rest of wireless capture abilities, and
// manipulating signals, it is an important lapse to not addresst this
// voting security issue: by law, (if remembering) one can request to
// vote (and get a receipt) on a paper ballet, so audits can be done.
// have written to well-known internet security experts about this and
// received no response to date about the wireless tranmission holes...
E-Vote Machines: Secret Testing // beware crack-the-vote political
machine
<http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,64668,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_7>
// it would seem that the most basic of off-the-shelf security could be
// temporarily implemented, if even a sensitivtiy-adjusted
proximity-alarm
// which attaches to the metal cage, to go off if anything touches it.
or,
// even though surveillance cams are anathema, it would seem that a
webcam
// network (public, even) that is online could be placed with signage in
// the area around the gas pipes. interesting to know what the natural
gas
// is used for, and in what seasons, to see what might be affected
most...
// else, there are even tree-mounted remote-view cameras (hunting
catalogs)
// which could temporarily be used (with public signs) to watch these
areas
// and with infrared photographs triggered by movement or heat, et
cetera...
// the pipelines remind of the importance of major bridges and
vulnerability
// because of their carrying pipes (water, electrical, natural gas
possibly)
// to another side of an area that may otherwise be cut-off without
supplies.
Republican National Convention Preparation 5 // photoessays...
<http://cryptome.org/rnc05/rnc-prep-05.htm>
Virus alert: Spies prize Webcams' eyes
<http://news.com.com/Virus+alert%3A+Spies+prize+Webcams%27+eyes/2100-
7349_3-5320674.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>
'The Rbot-GR virus follows a fairly traditional malware route of
exploiting Microsoft security vulnerabilities and installing a Trojan
horse on infected machines. However, the worm also spies on users by
taking control of their Webcam and microphone, then sending images and
soundtracks back to the hackers, according to antivirus firm Sophos.'
.... '... An infected Webcam may show an "active light" when it's being
used, but Webcams without such light would offer no giveaway the hacker
is watching.'
Nokia to offer encryption tool
<http://news.com.com/Nokia+to+offer+encryption+tool/2100-1037-
5322306.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>
---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------
Turkmenistan to Boost Electricity Export to Iran // int'l powerlines...
<http://www.iranian.ws/iran_news/publish/article_3459.shtml>
Wave power delivers electricity to grid // three options offsea...
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1289272,00.html>
'The Pelamis machine has a 750-kilowatt output, sufficient for up to
500 households, and is the first of a number of advanced prototypes
being tried out in Orkney before being put into commercial production
by Ocean Power Delivery of Edinburgh.' .. 'The plan is to have 40
machines together in a wave farm occupying a square kilometre (0.386 sq
mile) of sea, supplying electricity sufficient for 20,000 households to
the grid via a single cable under the seabed.' .. 'In principle, wave
machines use the sea's vertical rise and fall to create changes in
pressure, analogous to those on the pistons in the cylinders of a car
engine, which are harnessed to drive a turbine; an underwater tide
machine uses the alternate ebb and flow to drive a turbine directly.
Along with off-shore wind, wave and tide power are potentially a vast
electricity resource for the UK.'
STORM leaves 256 residential areas without electricity in Ukraine
ITAR-TASS - Moscow,Russia
TEN Adansi communities to get electricity
GhanaWeb - Accra,Ghana
ONTARIO Risks Soaring Electricity Prices, Shortages, Globe Says
Bloomberg - USA
NO sufficient, efficient, cheap electricity with Napocor sale
Manila Times - Manila,Philippines
NZ electricity situation 'urgent'
Stuff.co.nz - New Zealand
[followup] Plaintiffs drop suit on wiring surcharge // reg.req
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4946223.html>
'A suit to prevent an insurance premium surcharge on homes with older
electrical wiring was withdrawn Tuesday, as the plaintiffs explained
that their demands were met by Gov. Tim Pawlenty's decision Friday
against approving the surcharge.' .. 'A hearing in the case had been
set for today in a Ramsey County court, where a judge was to be asked
to determine whether there is a connection between electrical wiring
and racial discrimination.' .. 'A decision in the case could have
affected all Minnesota homeowners by determining what evidence is
needed to justify different premiums for different-age wiring. The
insurance industry says that the older the wiring in a home, the higher
the risk of fire.'
---------------------------------------------------
06-- Electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------
American women win softball gold – then look human // dreams are EM
events...
<http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/olympics/other/20040823-1705-
cnsoly-softball.html>
'The humanness was all too apparent on the teary faces and in the acts
of the American players in the immediate aftermath of their 5-1 victory
over Australia in the championship game at Olympic Softball Stadium.
After the initial celebratory pileup in the Greek dirt, one after the
other, they went over to embrace head coach Mike Candrea. Each squeezed
him tightly for the longest time.' .. '"We love you, Coach," said
pitcher Jennie Finch, who played for Candrea at the University of
Arizona. "We just love you."' .... 'Condolences were indeed just as
fitting as congratulations to Candrea, who lost his wife to a brain
aneurysm a month ago. Sue Candrea, who was joining her husband on Team
USA's pre-Olympic tour when it happened in Wisconsin, was 49.' ....
'Candrea said he hadn't had a dream in a long time, but did have one
Sunday night. In it, Candrea said, his late wife visited him to ease
his mind with two words:' .. '"She told me, 'Chill out,'" he said.
"That was Sue."'
HK firm develops cyber girlfriend-- For men without a partner,
help may be at hand - in the form of a virtual girlfriend.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3591856.stm>
'All virtual girls will look the same - but each girl will behave
differently - depending on how much money is spent on her.' .. 'On top
of a general subscription, men will be charged a fee to buy flowers and
gifts for the virtual girlfriend.' .. 'In return, she will introduce
them to different aspects of her life, like letting them meet her
female friends - also electronic images.' .... 'The company has plans
to introduce a virtual boyfriend for women, although it remains to be
seen how it will persuade them to spend extra money on the game.'
---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transport & communication
---------------------------------------------------
Quantum Teleportation across the Danube Demonstrated
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000637AF-BD3C-
1123-A74383414B7F4945>
'Rupert Ursin and his colleagues at the Institute for Experimental
Physics in Vienna fired a laser through a barium borate crystal to
generate two pairs of photons. One pair is entangled, which means that
if something disturbs the state of one, the other feels the effects as
well--even when they are not physically connected. By separating the
entangled pair, the scientists successfully transported information
about the state of one photon to the other. Using fiber-optic cable
laid under the water in sewer pipes, together with microwaves sent
across the air above the water, three distinct states were teleported
across the Danube. Over the course of a 28-hour experimental run, the
system was correct 97 percent of the time.'
---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------
Why are there more thunderstorms during the summer?
<http://science.howstuffworks.com/question646.htm>
Copyright Bill Needs Big Changes
<http://www.wired.com/news/politics/
0,1283,64697,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_2>
'The Consumer Electronics Association, the American Library
Association, Public Knowledge and DigitalConsumer.org, along with other
technology and consumer groups, recommend amending the legislation so
"only someone who distributes a commercial computer program that is
'specifically designed' for wide-scale piracy on digital networks could
be held liable for copyright violations," according to a press
release.' .. 'ISPs, venture capitalists, credit card companies, banks,
advertising agencies, IT help desks and librarians would be exempt from
liability. The proposed alternative would also codify the 1984 Supreme
Court Sony Betamax decision, which found that products capable of
substantial non-infringing uses, such as home video recorders, are
legal. '
---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------
[photo] writing bike // em-based... (online-offline)
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?g=events/pl/
011902gop&a=&tmpl=sl&ns=&l=1&e=5&a=0&printer=>
Intel Cuts Prices in Preparation for New Product Line
<http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=26532>
'Intel has slashed prices by up to 35 percent on some of its Pentium 4
and Itanium processors, bringing down the costs of some desktop and
notebook computers by as much as $200.' .... 'Also, Intel can be
expected to continue its focus on microprocessors for ultra-portable
computers, which is a segment that it currently has all to itself at
the moment.'
---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------
[photo] electrical distribution poles/lines in Iraq...
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/040824/
ids_photos_india_wl/ra2777588498.jpg&e=2&ncid=>
North Korea likens Bush to Hitler // neocon nuclear policy...
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3589766.stm>
'President Bush explained in a speech in Hudson, Wisconsin, last
Wednesday, his decision to ask other countries in the region to help
him persuade the North to disarm.' .. '"I felt it was important to
bring other countries into the mix, like China and Japan and South
Korea and Russia, so there's now five countries saying to the tyrant in
North Korea, disarm, disarm," he said.' .... 'A North Korean Foreign
Ministry spokesman, in comments carried by state news agency KCNA,
responded: "This clearly proves that the DPRK [North Korea] was right
when it commented that he is a political imbecile bereft of even
elementary morality.....'
Surging Oil Prices to Squeeze U.S. Profit Margins // the gas tax
cometh...
<http://www.reuters.com/
newsArticle.jhtml?type=reutersEdge&storyID=6047456>
'In the next two to three quarters, higher oil prices will squeeze
profits for companies exposed to oil -- especially because they are
not yet operating in an inflationary climate where they can casually
expect to raise prices, said Bill Cheney, chief economist at MSC
Global Investment.' .. 'The chemical and transportation industries,
especially airlines, will take the largest direct hit, but others such
as those that depend on discretionary consumer spending will also
feel the pain.'
The Rambo Coalition // plausible, on media-war...
<http://nytimes.com/2004/08/24/opinion/24krugman.html?hp>
'How have they been able to get away with it? The answer is that we
have been living in what Roger Ebert calls "an age of Rambo
patriotism." As the carnage and moral ambiguities of Vietnam faded from
memory, many started to believe in the comforting clichés of action
movies, in which the tough-talking hero is always virtuous and the
hand-wringing types who see complexities and urge the hero to think
before acting are always wrong, if not villains.'
Will a planned defense shield defeat real missiles? // *** 'virtual'
proof...
<http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=0008368E-7CA5-
1126-BCA583414B7FFE9F>
---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------
Oil prices may rise as fighting limits exports
Al Jazeera - 22 hours ago
Playboy bares more of Google
<http://news.com.com/Playboy+bares+more+of+Google/2100-1038-
5322333.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>
'The original Playboy article, released in the September issue,
threatened to delay the anticipated deal because of U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission rules that bar executives from promoting their
business before a public offering. To avoid a postponement, Google
added the entire article, with corrections, to its paperwork filed with
the SEC, days before its offering was approved.' .. 'Now Playboy is
exposing a little bit more of the article that fell on the cutting-room
floor.' .. '"Since there was so much interest, we thought we'd post all
of the interview to the Web site," said Theresa Hennessey, a
spokeswoman for Playboy.'
---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic artworks & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------
// it seems likely that such collections of internet advertising will be
// hugely informative as artifacts to internet-archaeology (of the
internet)
// and interpretation, and as such web ads may someday tell stories of
this
// time in ways that other mediums are unable to. commercial internet
art,
// ephemera at least... a historical museum may find of it of great
value.
// sidenote: 'the internet' would be a very small part within an EM
museum.
A Site for Banner Ad Freaks // for the 'museum of the early internet'
collection
<http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64642,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1>
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