~e; EM observations #20

[brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>]

[keywords] Stakkato hack,  $25/barrel oil, PDA-pod,
holywood gaming machineries, neurostimulation,
control and embedded systems, signals intelligence,
online hate crimes, cyberwar theater, VPN cryptoflaw,

-- special section on ongoing nuclear events --
nuclear brinkmanship, ITER nuclear fusion,
radioactive accident, mock-nuclear accident,
nuclear treaty disintegrating,

===================================================
electromagnetic observations -- #20
===================================================

* nuclear developments: the .UN nuclear non-proliferation meeting
is said to be in free-fall, Iran is going to stop .EU talks and
start to enrich Uranium, North Korea is speculated to use weapons-
grade uranium for nuclear-weapons by shutting down their reactor,
a .UK nuclear plant is leaking, and a worldwide mock-nuclear plant
attack scenario is staged in Europe, while .UN sanctions threatened
for North Korea and Iran by some nations, while others openly balk.
what 'polarized' axes is nuclear diplomacy aligning itself by?

* on 'searching' as hunting and gathering vs agriculture...
one critique of computers today, Apple in particular, is that
the evolution of the OS has disregarded new innovative approaches
to managing very diverse kinds of information. a 'search engine'
is the best solution to date for finding bits and pieces of data
archived on computers, in order to do work. it is not a framework
for organizing information in meaningful ways or even interacting
with widely diverse things. this remains in a dysfunctional realm
of filing cabinets and endless (paper icon) files, notes, etc etc.
whereas if there was some planning for cultivating related data,
new ideas and frameworks for relating things, then the highest
interaction with data organization may not be single search-and-
retrieve methods, but instead based in more complex structures
based on language and ideas, and the growing and cultivation and
harvesting of these. ontology, taxonomy, etymology, metadata,
relational databases, the operating system functions based on
filetype and date and software programs and not ideas themselves.
with Apple, from the OS 9 (and well before that) to OS X, there
has been no advancement in the ability to manage and clarify
complex ideas and information at the level of the OS itself-
it remains in basically the same, basically dumb, paradigm.
this is why a 'search engine' either in the OS or online can
compete with the idea of being an OS or a desktop in itself-
that is the level of too simple a simplicity for dealing with
ideas as 'data' today, without the complexity of real thought,
creativity, imagination going into the ideas themselves, and
instead relegates ideas to hacks, tweaks, and tinkerers who
can tweak these machines to do something a little more custom
when the overall OS architecture is not yet designed to do it.
until Apple focuses itself on its OS innovation all the hype
in the world generated by legions of users will not reflect
the need for OS' to serve ideas and not just as a commercial
conduit for specialists of whatever stripe. a new 'generalist'
operating system would help in exploring meaning, new ideas,
organizing of information and exploration of imaginations--
it is not just another software application but an entire OS,
an experience in using computers that helps develop meaning.
maybe it is not an 'operating system' but something else, a
meta system organizing modular subsystems in multiple ways.
whatever it is, it is hoped someone will transcend the OS...
and hype given to detailing will be deserved for a new general
experience of using, interacting, and working with computers.

* idea for em art & artifacts exhibit: involve local utilities
and corporate museum and private collections in an assemblage
of artifacts from the electrical infrastructure, including the
details of the distribution grid, like transformers that have
'cutaway' models to show the inner workings, and rare objects
that power companies hold onto past their usable life because
they are important artifacts and valued in some way for what
they are (like old switching gear, lighting fixtures, etc.)
then exhibit them as if ancient artifacts from ancient Greece,
on pedestals and rarified and interpreted as cultural objects.
cut-away cabling, power grid maps, and other concepts could
be visualized and educate how these compose a larger system.
in addition, early radio and television and home appliances
could be added to this foundation for more readily recognizable
artifacts to be experienced in relation to necessary gridwork.
and it could be replicated as any idea anywhere in the world,
exhibiting local artists with local industrial artifacts, etc.

===================================================
--urls--
===================================================

// this article is relevant to many major world issues right now,
// including nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, terrorism, oil, war,
// gasoline prices, OPEC, oil imports/exports, drilling, pollution,
// .US energy policy, nuclear diplomacy, geostrategic relations, etc.
// given the dynamic, there's the odd chance that a backroom deal may
// be underway leveraging Iraq and Iran's domestic nuclear power, in
// a .UN framework, held together by the mid-east quartet in a way
// that develops a foundation for a shared mid-east peace, somehow.
// such as, if it is 'to lose something to gain something more'...
// then again, it may not even be possible given how things are going.

[quote] Amidst doubts, CIA hangs on to control of Iraqi intelligence  
service
http://news.yahoo.com/s/krwashbureau/20050508/ts_krwashbureau/ 
_bc_usiraq_intelligence_exclusive_wa

	'Al Ameri, the Badr Brigade commander, said the Bush administration's  
Iran "phobia" is unreasonable. Like it or not, he said, it's time for  
the Bush administration to accept the fact that Iraq's first  
democratically elected government comes with a longstanding friendship  
with the anti-American mullahs next door.'

// account of signals intelligence capabilities, such as being
// able to pick-up certain cellphone frequencies/signatures in
// (remotely) monitored war zones to aid in decision-making...

The Calipari Slaying and the Cell Phone Diversion
http://cryptome.org/nsa-heroes.htm

Body electric // on neurostimulation... *** bugmenot.com
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5390655.html

	'"Nervous tissue is highly electrically excitable," said Mark Rise,  
senior scientist at Medtronic Inc. "So it's a natural extension to  
apply the technology that was developed for cardiac pacing therapies to  
the nervous system."'

PalmOne hails the 'Mobile Manager' // driving evolution of PDA...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/05/09/palmone_admits_mobile_manager/

	'As we suggested last week, PalmOne [and its new Mobile Manager  
platform] is thinking of a cross between pocket hard drives, USB Flash  
disks, PDAs and media players, and has come up with a unit that is, in  
essence, removable storage with the ability to view and interact with  
data.'

Internet Attack Called Broad and Long Lasting by Investigators
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/10/technology/10cisco.html

	'The crucial element in the password thefts that provided access at  
Cisco and elsewhere was the intruder's use of a corrupted version of a  
standard software program, SSH. The program is used in many computer  
research centers for a variety of tasks, ranging from administration of  
remote computers to data transfer over the Internet.' .. 'The intruder  
probed computers for vulnerabilities that allowed the installation of  
the corrupted program, known as a Trojan horse, in place of the  
legitimate program.'

[and] Flaw found in VPN crypto security
http://news.com.com/Flaw+found+in+VPN+crypto+security/2100-1002_3- 
5705185.html
http://www.niscc.gov.uk/niscc/docs/al-20050509-00386.html?lang=en

Controlling The Real World With Computers
::. Control And Embedded Systems .::
http://www.learn-c.com/

	'This site uses hands-on experiments to show the basics of how real  
things in the real world are controlled with computers. That means it's  
about most of the computers in the world. Most computers don't sit on  
desks, but are used to control things that don't look anything like a  
computer, such as factories, spacecraft, toys and appliances. This site  
provides the opportunity to learn basic control and embedded system  
concepts while taking advantage of the low cost and conveneince of  
using a PC as a platform...'

Hate Online, Role of Industry Debated // surveillence...
http://www.technewsworld.com/story/34570.html

	'This week, a Paris conference on Internet hate sites and the fight  
against online racism is drawing attention to what European officials  
call a "growing problem" in the form of hate speech and racist  
propaganda on the Web.' ...
	'"Many ISPs are hiring ex-law-enforcement officials who can review  
content and help them to know what to do in a certain situation when a  
complaint has come in on a site," Krishna added.'

[and] Anti-Japanese Hostilities Move to the Internet-- Chinese and  
South Korean Hackers Blamed for Digital Barrage Designed to Cripple Web  
Sites
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/09/ 
AR2005050901119.html

	'Analysts compare the current situation to the "Sino-U.S. cyber-war"  
of 2001. In April of that year, a Chinese fighter jet collided with a  
U.S. spy plane conducting surveillance off the coast of China and  
crashed into the South China Sea. During the ensuing diplomatic  
confrontation, hackers in China claimed to have launched attacks on as  
many as 1,000 U.S.-based Web sites.' ...
	'There is no indication that the Chinese or South Korean governments  
sanctioned the attacks, which appeared to originate with computer-savvy  
youths and seasoned hackers in those countries, Japanese officials  
said. In addition, the Chinese government, as part of a broader attempt  
to quell anti-Japanese protests across China, has quietly moved to  
block public access to Web sites advocating cyber-attacks on Japan.'

More than meets the eye: Motorola announces nanotube displays
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050510-4887.html

// re: the U.S. defense microelectronics industrial base...

US Department of Defense weighs in on electronics outsourcing
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050504-4879.html

// (and it would be nice to utilize 1 billion .US dollars to fund a
// public Electromagnetic Education Iniative all over the world...)

INTERVIEW-White House wants oil price at $25 a barrel // drudge
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/ 
story.jsp?id=2005051118340002871177&dt=20050511183400&w=RTR&coview=

	'An administration official said later that Hubbard was speaking  
"theoretically about a goal, but the White House is well aware that  
markets set the price for oil."' ...
	'Asked what can be done now to push oil toward $25 a barrel, Hubbard  
gave few specifics other than conservation, encouraging Americans to  
buy hybrid vehicles and the long-standing proposal to open the Arctic  
National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.'

iPod health warning // hasten deafness & hearing aids...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005212074,00.html

Developers uneasy about new game consoles // hollywoodization...
http://news.com.com/Developers+uneasy+about+new+game+consoles/2100- 
1043_3-5704069.html?part=rss&tag=5704069&subj=news

Angel Light ascends to God Light. Part One. // * (engadget)
http://www.baytoday.ca/content/news/details.asp?c=8267

	'Troy Hurtubise admits he can’t program a VCR.'
	'But the North Bay inventor said he has reconfigured his  
see-through-walls Angel Light and used it to reverse Parkinson’s  
disease symptoms in one patient, shrink and eliminate breast cysts in  
another, reduce the size of cancer tumours in lab mice, regenerate  
plant growth, and hasten seed germination.'

// funny to hear videogame soundeffects in music these days...

Painters find inspiration in Pac-Man and other classic video games,  
tapping growing interest from nostalgic fans and newbies alike.
http://news.com.com/Marios+new+mission+Artists+muse/2100-1043_3- 
5705493.html?tag=xtra

------------------------------
nuclear events
------------------------------

Russian Official Calls Iran’s Nuclear Development “Legitimate”
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/05/12/russiairannuclear.shtml

	'“It is legitimate and legal,” she said, adding that differences  
between Russia and the United States regarding Moscow’s nuclear  
cooperation with Iran were “narrowing”.'

[and]  Tough European warning to Tehran
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4540215.stm

	'An Iranian news agency says the country's top nuclear negotiator,  
Hassan Rohani, has warned that Iran will no longer respect the Nuclear  
Non-Proliferation Treaty if it is prevented from using nuclear  
technology for peaceful purposes.
	"If Iran cannot exercise its rights with in the framework of the NPT,  
it will no longer have any respect for this treaty," Mr Rohani said.'  
...
	'Correspondents say that Iran may be engineering a controlled crisis  
to obtain more concessions in the talks, but Western officials warn  
that this is misreading the mood in Europe, which is not willing to  
tolerate Iran violating its agreements.'

Nuclear non-proliferation efforts faltering // last paragraph...
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7368

	'Experts fear that the fragile UN system meant to prevent new  
countries from developing nuclear weapons is in danger of  
disintegrating. "It looks as if the international non-proliferation  
regime is being stressed to breaking point," says Nigel Chamberlain, a  
nuclear analyst from the transatlantic think tank, the British American  
Security Information Council.
	'"All sides are playing a dangerous game of brinkmanship, inside and  
outside the UN conference chamber, in Iran and in North Korea, and the  
stakes are very high," he told New Scientist .'

Fixing Radioactive Leak // .UK
http://7am.com/cgi-bin/wires02.cgi?1000_2005051108.htm

	'About 20 tonnes of uranium and plutonium dissolved in concentrated  
nitric acid escaped through a cracked pipe into a huge chamber which is  
too dangerous for humans to enter.'

[and] Frozen talks over fusion reactor warm up // ITER June-July 05
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7361

	'ITER would work by heating isotopes of hydrogen to hundreds of  
millions of degrees, creating a plasma of charged particles. Confined  
by magnetic fields in a doughnut-shaped machine called a tokamak, the  
particles would collide and fuse, producing high-energy helium nuclei  
and neutrons.
	'The uncharged neutrons would escape the tokamak, creating heat that  
could be used to generate electricity. But the positively charged  
helium nuclei would be trapped by the magnetic fields and would help  
sustain further fusion reactions.'

[and] Europe stages nuclear crisis test
Nuclear experts are simulating a major accident at a power plant
in Romania to test the global response to a disaster.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4535899.stm

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