Archive for July, 2011
Famine in Somalia
July 21st, 2011Via: Guardian: By officially declaring parts of Somalia to be in the grip of famine, the UN will be hoping to galvanise governments and the public into action to address the food crisis in east Africa. The UN estimates that 12 million in the region are now in need of emergency help and warns that […]
Gun-Smuggling Cartel Figures Possibly Were Paid FBI Informants
July 21st, 2011Via: Los Angeles Times: Congressional investigators probing the controversial “Fast and Furious” anti-gun-trafficking operation on the border with Mexico believe at least six Mexican drug cartel figures involved in gun smuggling also were paid FBI informants, officials said Saturday. The investigators have asked the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration for details about the alleged […]
ACLU Lawyer on License Plate Scanners: “What Kind of a Society Are We Creating Here?”
July 21st, 2011Via: Boston Herald: Civil libertarians are raising the alarm over the state’s plans to create a Big Brother database that could map drivers’ whereabouts with police cruiser-mounted scanners that capture thousands of license plates per hour — storing that information indefinitely where local cops, staties, feds and prosecutors could access it as they choose. “What […]
Banks Pay Back TARP Funds by. . . .Borrowing from Treasury
July 21st, 2011Via: Contrary Indicator: Generally, banks that repaid CPP funds did so with cash raised from earnings, or by raising new outside capital. In finance and banking you always have to read the fine print. And if you go back to the report, you’ll notice that the fine print accompanying the entries for each of the […]
Apple OS X Lion: ‘Apple borrows so heavily from iOS that at times, cycling through features makes the whole thing feel like you’re merely operating an iPad with a keyboard attached.’
July 21st, 2011All I see is a large iPod that serves as a tamperproof vending machine. —Apple’s iPad as Metaphor for The Nightmare Future of Computing If Apple has its way, and if the sales of its mobile devices carry on in the manner they have up until now, a post-PC outlook will even fit devices that […]
Irish Prime Minister Unfurls On Catholic Church In Parliament
July 20th, 2011Via: Irish Times: Taoiseach Enda Kenny today told the Dáil the Cloyne report exposed an attempt by the Holy See to frustrate the inquiry into clerical sex abuse. Addressing the House, Mr Kenny said: “The rape and torture of children were downplayed or ‘managed’ to uphold instead, the primacy of the institution, its power, standing […]
iPhone App Listens to Television Commercials
July 20th, 2011Definitely see the one about Harnessing the Power of Feedback Loops before you read this. Via: AdAge: You’re sitting on the couch with the TV on and phone in hand. As a commercial starts, a smartphone app hears what you’re watching. It then serves up links, coupons or music downloads corresponding to what it hears […]
Britain: Police Officer Involved with Killing of Jean Charles de Menezes Made Head of Counter-Terrorism at the Metropolitan Police Service
July 20th, 2011Via: Telegraph: Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, 51, was given the new responsibility following the resignation of John Yates, who stepped down in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. Research Credit: JD
The Children’s Illustrated Clausewitz
July 20th, 2011Via: The Children’s Illustrated Clausewitz: Guten Morgen, Class! For our first lesson, we will talk about what war is, why we go to war, what we get from war, what some of its primary characteristics are, and a little of what it takes to be successful in war.
India Reveals World’s Biggest Uranium Discovery
July 20th, 2011Via: AFP: A new mine in south India could contain the largest reserves of uranium in the world, a government official said in remarks reported Tuesday, signalling a major boost for the energy-hungry nation. The Tumalapalli mine in Andhra Pradesh state could provide up to 150,000 tonnes of uranium, Srikumar Banerjee, secretary of the Department […]
