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SOPA, PIPA, ACTA, & H.R. 1981 Vs Internet Freedom
Bernanke Lights a Fire Under Gold and Silver Prices
“Party on!” was Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s message to Wall Street yesterday, as he announced that the Fed will be keeping interest rates at “exceptionally low” levels until late 2014, owing to concerns about stubbornly-high unemployment and the sustainability of the current statistical recovery. Bernanke also confirmed that for the first time in the Fed’s 99-year history, the institution will explicitly target a 2% inflation rate, as measured on the Personal Consumption Index (PCI). Other central banks have long had explicit inflation targets, but not the Fed.
Unsurprisingly given their enthusiasm for easy money, the market response to this move was euphoric. The Dow gained 0.64% to settle at 12756.96, while the Nasdaq tacked on 1.14% to settle at 2818.31. Asian and European exchanges have also reported Read more…
DNA Hackers: Synthetic biology weaponized virus, zero-day exploit to infect your brain?
From the let’s get futuristically freaky department, future hacking crimes could take a decidedly sinister twist; not hacking to breach systems but brains, bodies and behaviors. This DNA hacking goes way beyond potentially using police bees to bust biohackers, or even storing unhackable data in box of bio-encrypted bacteria. It’s not science fiction to hack insulin pumps or to use jamming signals to stop hackers from lethal pacemaker attacks, but now bioengineers and security futurists are warning that the day is coming when criminals and bioterrorists hunt for vulnerabilities that will give a new meaning to zero-day exploits. In the future, a weaponized virus will aim to infect you, your brain and body biology, and not just your computer or mobile device.
While some people resist the idea of needing antivirus or other security software defenses for their smartphones, in the world of synthetic biology, a world where bits, bytes, atoms and biology mix dreams with nightmare realities, it could be lethal to lag behind in patching potential vulnerabilities. Some day, when you hear about something going ‘viral,’ it Read more…
US negotiating larger presence in Philippines
With an eye toward China’s growing influence in the South Pacific, President Obama and the Philippines are negotiating a greater US military presence on the island nation, the Washington Post said.
Discussions are to continue Thursday and Friday in Washington, but it appears the US military will return to the Philippines 20 years after losing its foothold there.
“We can point to other countries: Australia, Japan, Singapore,” a senior Philippine official told the Post. “We’re not the only one doing this, and for good reason. We all want to see a peaceful and stable region. Nobody wants to have to face China or confront China.”
American troops left Subic Bay in Philippines in 1992 because a new treaty could not be signed. A volcanic eruption a year earlier forced them from Clark Air Force Base.
Now the American plan is for Read more…
Strategic Importance of Iran for Russia and China: Eurasian “Triple Alliance”
CONFRONTATION BETWEEN MILITARY BLOCS: The Eurasian “Triple Alliance”
Despite areas of difference and rivalries between Moscow and Tehran, ties between the two countries, based on common interests, have developed significantly.
Both Russia and Iran are both major energy exporters, they have deeply seated interests in the South Caucasus. They are both firmly opposed to NATO’s missile shield, with a view to preventing the U.S. and E.U. from controlling the energy corridors around the Caspian Sea Basin.
Moscow and Tehran’s bilateral ties are also part of a broader and overlapping alliance involving Armenia, Tajikistan, Belarus, Syria, and Venezuela. Yet, above all things, both republics are also two of Washington’s main geo-strategic targets.
The Eurasian Triple Alliance: The Strategic Importance of Iran for Russia and China
China, the Russian Federation, and Iran are widely considered to be allies and partners. Together the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, and the Islamic Republic of Iran form a strategic barrier directed against U.S. expansionism. The three countries form a “triple alliance,” which constitutes the core of a Read more…
Is your smartphone telling every website you visit your telephone number?
O2 mobile users in the UK are venting on Twitter today, fuming at their discovery that their phone number is being shared with every website that they visit over the network.
I found a colleague who owns an iPhone on the O2 network, and we tried it out for ourselves. Making sure we turned off his WiFi connection, we used the O2 mobile network to access the web. Read more…
Chinese supertankers hired for Iran oil
Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a unit of the world’s largest shipbroker, announced the two supertankers were booked to carry about 2 million barrels of crude from Iran’s Khark Island to China.
Qi Lian San, a large crude carrier anchored near Singapore, was booked to load 270,000 tons of crude at Khark Island from Feb. 3 to Feb. 5 and carry the cargo to China, Clarkson said.
The Chinese oil trader, Zhuhai Zhenrong Co., also booked an unidentified ship owned by the National Iranian Tanker Co. to load 265,000 tons of crude in Khark Island on Jan. 29 and sail to Read more…
UM study links climate change, decline in songbird populations
University of Montana biology professor John Maron, left, and Thomas Martin, UM biology professor and U.S. Geological Survey scientist, explain the reduction of songbird populations in Arizona due to changing climate conditions.
JOHN CREPEAU/Missoulian University of MISSOULA — A decline in snow at high elevations has led to shrinking songbird populations in the mountains of northern Arizona, a new study by two University of Montana scientists found.
Some of the same bird species inhabit Montana.
U.S. Geological Survey senior scientist and UM professor Thomas Martin, along with UM biology professor John Maron, recently published the findings of their six-year study on indirect effects of climate change on ecosystems.
The abundance of deciduous trees and songbird populations have declined over the past 22 years because of decreasing snowpack above 8,000 feet in northern Arizona. Because of less snow, elk remain at higher elevations for longer periods of time, browsing on plants that provide cover and nesting places for birds.
The study is available now online, Martin said, while a hard copy of the journal Nature Climate Change is due out next month.
“The indirect effects of climate on plant communities may be Read more…
Nodding disease kills 200 children in Uganda
By Pascal Kwesiga
Over 200 children have so far died of the mysterious Nodding disease in northern Uganda where it broke out three years ago.
The Ministry of Health reported early this month that it had recorded 66 deaths as a result of the disease. The number has since more than tripled.
The ministry on Tuesday also announced that the number of children infected with the disease had also risen to over 3,000 from 2,000 that was reported at the beginning of this year.
In an interview with New Vision, the commissioner for health services, Dr. Anthony Mbonye, said they were investigating reports that the disease that has been concentrated in Kitgum, Lamwo and Pader districts has spread to Lira and the surrounding areas.
Mbonye added that in Tumangu sub-county in Kitgum, almost every household has at least a Read more…
Japan Earthquake 2012: Study Warns of Major Tokyo Quake
Japan has already suffered one earthquake in 2012. But the New Year’s Day rumble caused little damage because it was centered deep below the surface. A new study warns, however, that the Tokyo region has a 70 percent chance of experiencing a major earthquake within four years.
(Photo: Reuters / Kyodo) On March 11, a tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake resulted in widespread damage in Japan's Fukushima prefecture and destroyed a nuclear power plant. Vehicles, ships, buildings were washed away by the giant flood that resulted from the 8.9 magnitude quake. A new study suggests the Tokyo region of Japan could suffer another major earthquake within four years.
Seismologists at the University of Tokyo said the study was based on an increase in earthquake activity in the region following the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami that killed almost 20,000 and led to a nuclear disaster. Working at the university’s earthquake research institute, the seismologists said the number of earthquakes in the region is rising — to 343 of 3.0 magnitude or higher in the past six months versus 47 the previous six months.
The seismologists believe that the probability of bigger earthquakes increases proportionately with smaller earthquakes. Therefore, the team has calculated a 98 percent chance of a 6.7 to 7.2 magnitude earthquake for the Tokyo region in the 30 years and a 70 percent chance over the next four years.
“When we ask when a probability of such a quake reaches 70%, then we get a 70% chance over the Read more…
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