Lot 49

Farewell Tuvalu

The world has just shifted on its axis, but not in the way you might first imagine. A group of nine islands, home to 11,000 people, is the first nation to pay the ultimate price for global warming. For many years the most interesting thing to happen to the Pacific island state of Tuvalu was the sale of its internet domain name, .tv, for $50m (£35m). But, just as Tuvalu has traded in its virtual domain, it is about to lose its real one. The authorities in Tuvalu have publicly conceded defeat to the sea rising around them. Appeals have gone out to the governments of New Zealand and Australia to help in the full-scale evacuation of Tuvalu's population. After an apparent rebuff from Australia, the first group of evacuees is due to leave for New Zealand next year.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 12:14 PM | Permalink

'Fellowship' One Flight Closer

Over the weekend a precious cargo reached the shores of the United States -- the final cut of the first film of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. From that final cut will come 10,000 prints of The Fellowship of the Rings, which will be spread around the globe for its public launch on Dec. 19. The film contains "a lot of love and blood, sweat and tears, and I think it shows in it; and it's quite special to all of us," said Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 11:10 AM | Permalink

Microwave beam weapon to disperse crowds

Tests of a controversial weapon that is designed to heat people's skin with a microwave beam have shown that it can disperse crowds. But critics are not convinced the system is safe. Last week, the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in New Mexico finished testing the system on human volunteers. The Air Force now wants to use this Active Denial Technology (ADT), which it says is non-lethal, for peacekeeping or riot control at "relatively long range" - possibly from low-flying aircraft.

There's also some question as to whether the weapon will damage the victim's eyesight.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 10:00 AM | Permalink

Army to Fund Video Games for Aspiring Commanders

The U.S. Army, in an unprecedented alliance with Hollywood and a major university, is providing funding and technical advice for video games that aim to hone the skills of the next-generation of military field commanders.

...thus further validating the term military-entertainment complex.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 01:36 PM | Permalink

Safeguards Punish Consumers, Not Pirates

Microsoft's new Windows operating system, XP, promises a platform much more crash resistant than the company's previous offerings. Unfortunately, XP also contains an anti-copy mechanism: product activation. This feature is supposed to take aim at software piracy, but the truth is it's just another example of a rapacious monopolist abusing computer users who are helpless to do anything about it.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 11:05 AM | Permalink

Technological advances are liberating news reporting

The star of the current conflict in Afghanistan is the video satellite phone. This allows live broadcasts to be beamed directly from a war-torn and technologically primitive country. Liberated from landlines and truckloads of satellite dishes—the modern equivalent of those horse-drawn carts—journalists can talk to the camera where they please, without being beholden to the authorities.

The article concludes that technology will soon trump censorship. I hope so, but awareness of abuse comes cheap this days. The real question is whether technology will banish apathy. I'd try to formulate an answer, but I think there's something good on TV tonight.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 09:58 AM | Permalink

Pentagon Probes New Afghan Bombing Mishap

The Pentagon has received information indicating that U.S. warplanes on Monday might have accidentally bombed a home for senior citizens near the Afghan city of Herat, a senior defense official said on Tuesday. The official, who asked not to be identified, spoke a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denied a charge from Afghanistan's ruling Taliban that U.S. bombs ripped a hospital in Herat in western Afghanistan, killing more than 100 people.

Smart bombs. Dumb intelligence.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 10:38 AM | Permalink

FBI considers torture as suspects stay silent

American investigators are considering resorting to harsher interrogation techniques, including torture, after facing a wall of silence from jailed suspected members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, according to a report yesterday. More than 150 people who were picked up after September 11 remain in custody, with four men the focus of particularly intense scrutiny. But investigators have found the usual methods have failed to persuade any of them to talk. Options being weighed include “truth” drugs, pressure tactics and extraditing the suspects to countries whose security services are more used to employing a heavy-handed approach during interrogations.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 03:54 PM | Permalink

Germ Banks Sell, Swap Anthrax

Two germ banks tucked away in the smog and sprawl of the hemisphere's largest city stock dozens of petri dishes filled with anthrax, the bacteria that have sparked a worldwide panic. But there are no armed guards, no security cameras and no health officials tottering about in germ-proof space suits. In fact, these labs in Mexico City sell, swap or even give away the potentially deadly microbe to those with scientific credentials. Scientists estimate that germ banks from Bangkok to Buenos Aires, Paris to Perth, keep dozens of strains of Bacillus anthracis, the germ that causes anthrax, and millions of other potentially deadly bacteria on hand for research purposes. Prices vary from country to country.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 03:37 PM | Permalink

U.S. Arms Unmanned Aircraft

The use of the armed RQ-1 Predators is a revolutionary step in the conduct of warfare. The slow-moving, propeller-driven aircraft have been flown by the Air Force for six years to gather intelligence, most recently in combat during the Kosovo war in 1999. But now the Air Force has outfitted them with Hellfire antitank missiles, powerful weapons usually carried on helicopters, the officials said.

Somewhere, in a secure Air Force facility, there's a kid with a joystick and a fire button that works.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 10:46 AM | Permalink

How vulnerable are the Saudi royals?

The Saudi regime "will explode in time," he said. "It has been playing a delicate game." As for the terrorists responsible for the September 11th attacks, he said, "Now they decide the timing. If they do a similar operation in Saudi Arabia, the price of oil will go up to one hundred dollars a barrel"—more than four times what it is today.

Fascinating reading. There's a particularly interesting account of how the US botched its chance to kill Mullah Omar, the Taliban's reclusive leader.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Phone lie detectors to test insurance claims

Insurance companies are introducing lie detector tests to combat an increase in fraudulent claims. From next April, customers who call some of Britain’s biggest companies to make a claim will have the stresses in their voices analysed to ensure that they are telling the truth. A message will flash up on a screen at the insurance company indicating whether the caller is a high, medium or low risk. Those who appear to be high risk will face further investigation before their insurer decides whether to proceed with the claim.

Those wishing to communicate with such companies should buy a good text-to-speech program, type their messages, and have their computers do the talking.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 09:55 AM | Permalink

Law Professor Sparks a New Debate Over Flaws in Digital-Copyright Act

An interesting Q&A with Jessica Litman, a Wayne State University law professor and the author of Digital Copyright (Prometheus Books, 2001)

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 10:57 AM | Permalink

Convergence indeed: Picking cotton for Bill

Imagine that suddenly, all distributions of GNU/Linux were illegal in the United States. As well as Zope, Python, Perl, Apache, and all other open source software products. While that arguably may not be the goal of the Security Systems Standard & Certification Act (SSSCA), it would surely be a result. The SSSCA would outlaw any digital device—including personal computers—that did not include a copy protection mechanism. Right now the only thing keeping it from happening are the events surrounding 11 September.

My favorite tidbit: MIT professor and RSA Data Security co-founder Ron Rivest has referred to the proposed legislation as the “Digital Rectal Thermometer Security Act.”

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 10:44 AM | Permalink

It was only a matter of time...Terrorist or Not?

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 09:16 AM | Permalink

RIAA Wants to Hack Your PC

Look out, music pirates: The recording industry wants the right to hack into your computer and delete your stolen MP3s. It's no joke. Lobbyists for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) tried to glue this hacking-authorization amendment onto a mammoth anti-terrorism bill that Congress approved last week. An RIAA-drafted amendment according to a draft obtained by Wired News would immunize all copyright holders -- including the movie and e-book industry -- for any data losses caused by their hacking efforts or other computer intrusions "that are reasonably intended to impede or prevent" electronic piracy.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 11:28 AM | Permalink

Falwell-Robertson-Bin Laden Quiz

Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and Usama bin Laden have a lot in common. Take the quiz and see if you can identify statements by each of these "leaders."

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 09:16 AM | Permalink

Outcry Over Pinky And Yellowy

Scientists have developed the first pig with a fluorescent yellow snout and trotters using jellyfish DNA. Researchers in the US say the work is a step towards growing animal organs for transplants - which could save thousands of human lives. But opponents have said the work is a freak show and a perversion of science.

The picture is a bit creepy.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 02:48 PM | Permalink

Freedoms Curtailed In Defense Of Liberty

Responding to the threats facing America's free democratic system, White House officials called upon Americans to stop exercising their democratic freedoms Monday.

Those unfamiliar with The Onion might well read this and nod solemnly.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 09:38 AM | Permalink

As seen on Slashdot.org, the ACLU has put together a chart detailing the ramifications of various proposed anti-terrorist laws on civil liberties (you know, the ones that are left).

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 10:35 PM | Permalink

Everyone should have a roll of Osama bin Laden toilet paper.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 03:58 PM | Permalink

Jedi Knights achieve official recognition as a religion

Jedi Knights have gained official recognition as a religion in the UK Census 2001. Coming very near the bottom of an official list of religions put out by the Statistics Office, Jedi Knight is known by the code 896. Heathen comes in at 897. Followed by Atheist at 898 and lastly None with 899. It's not exactly a ringing endorsement though since the 800s come after every other religion, no matter how obscure, and 700 is used for all "other religions."

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 01:04 PM | Permalink

Ad Firm to Suspend Images Mid-Air with New Device

Shoppers may soon see images of advertised products floating in mid-air, a Hungarian-U.S. firm said on Monday at the unveiling of a new projection device.``This innovative new media is based on American hardware and Hungarian software,'' Csaba Rakosy, managing director of Holomedia, told a news conference. An appliance the size of a vending machine projects still or moving images about 16 inches in size which the human eye perceives as floating in mid-air, offering what developers say is a very effective marketing tool.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 12:53 PM | Permalink

NASA's new frontier: Selling space

A draft document issued by NASA is circulating among space-exploration advocacy groups and industry insiders. Titled "Enhanced Strategy for the Development of Space Commerce," the report proposes what would have been anathema to many within the agency before California businessman Dennis Tito became the world's first paying space tourist, thanks to the Russians. Among the ideas put forth in the document, which NASA says is a work-in-progress: Allow limited tourism on the space station, but with transportation from the Russians or future commercial spaceships (probably not the U.S. shuttle); seek family friendly corporate sponsors that could plaster their emblems and logos alongside NASA's; and permit merchandising that promotes the so-called NASA brand.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 11:42 AM | Permalink

SlugBot: Enemy of Slugs

In the near future, the very mention of SlugBot could send waves of terror through the slug community, while farmers will sing its praises. A prototype robot capable of hunting down over 100 slugs an hour and using their rotting bodies to generate electricity is being developed by engineers at the University of West England's Intelligent Autonomous Systems Laboratory.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 11:20 AM | Permalink

New Code Tracks Genes, Not Jeans

Researchers on Friday unveiled a potentially important tool that could lead to better medicine and also help combat biowarfare. It's based on the same idea that in 1973 brought about the UPC bar code -- which created a standard code system that, can be affixed to every product and distinguishes it from every other product in the marketplace. These new Nanobarcodes, however, will not be found on beer cans or cereal boxes. Rather, their inventory keeping is done at the molecular and cellular level.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 09:38 AM | Permalink

Brain-scans can defeat terrorism, InfoSeek founder claims

Just when you thought crowd surveillance with facial recognition gear was the sickest idea circulating, some naive do-gooder comes along with 'brain fingerprinting' to detect evil memories, loudly urging its use as a public security measure in the wake of the 11 September tragedies. Steve Kirsch, founder of InfoSeek and current CEO of data management outfit Propel Software, reckons that the relevant technology companies could deliver a working system of brain fingerprinting databases and a companion retina scanning system for (supposedly anonymous) identification reference in something like ninety days' time. And this will "infallibly" defeat terrorists, he fervently believes.

If the Register's barbed reporting weren't reason enough to read this article, I'd mention the brilliantly imagined Microsoft employment pre-screening interview toward the end of the piece.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 03:24 PM | Permalink

The 09/27/01 entry at Web log mors.ante.servitium features an Mercury News story about Frank Chu, who is familiar to anyone who works downtown in San Francisco. Walking to lunch today, I was expressing my annoyance that his sign was incoherent. Now that it seems he's rented his sign to advertise Quizno's subs, I'm already nostalgic for the days when he didn't make any sense.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 04:14 PM | Permalink

Ancient Secret System Moves Money Globally

Quetta, Pakistan, Oct. 2 — With nothing more than a telephone and a fax machine, Tarir Khan transfers money almost anywhere in the world — no questions asked, no names used and no trail for law enforcement to follow. Mr. Khan is a small cog in a far- reaching network of informal banking known as hawala, the Arabic word for trust. Although it is illegal in most countries, including here in Pakistan, authorities estimate that billions of dollars flow unseen by regulators through the hawala system worldwide.

A fascinating article. It's the real world equivalent of the anonymous digital currency long sought after by cypherpunks. Very, dare I say it, Pynchonesque.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 11:38 AM | Permalink

Fusion power 'within reach'

"There are still very many difficulties but perhaps in a few decades we could have commercial fusion reactors in cities providing cheap pollution-free power," says Dr. Alan Sykes of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 02:53 PM | Permalink

Spotted on Slashdot: A Miniaturized Thermoelectric Generator Powered by Body Heat

Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. today announced that it has developed a miniaturized thermoelectric generator -- a half-inch diameter ceramic-based "battery'' that converts low gradient body heat flow into electrical power. This "battery'' is a solid-state device, does not contain any chemicals and would never need any replenishment. At the present time, this revolutionary device generates 1.5 volts of electricity with 10 micron amps and is able to operate continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 12:34 PM | Permalink

Authors Ask Editors to Treat Fay Weldon's New Work as an Ad, Not a Book

A group of 20 authors sent letters today to 85 book review editors asking them to treat Fay Weldon's new work "The Bulgari Connection" as what it is -- an advertisement for the Italian jewelry firm of that name.

Posted by Thomas Claburn at 09:52 AM | Permalink