John Sez: Some interesting footage of a huge meteor coming down in South Africa. Or was it Dr. Evil returning to Earth in his giant Bob’s Big Boy?
 
 
John Sez: Wow, just a few days after ‘Climategate” breaks and now we have even more pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

The next few weeks should be interesting for this story.

Story from the Telegraph:

Climategate: the scandal spreads, the plot thickens, the shame deepens…

Wow! The scandal just gets juicier and juicier. Now it seems that the Kiwis may have been at it too – tinkering with raw data to make “Global Warming” look scarier than it really is. (Hat tip: Watts Up With That; Ian Wishart)

The alleged villains this time are the climate scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NiWA) – New Zealand’s answer to Britain’s Climate Research Unit. And to judge by this news alert by the Climate Science Coalition of NZ, both institutions share a similarly laissez-faire attitude to scientific accuracy.

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John Sez: It seems that hackers have broke into the e-mail system of the University of East Anglia (the most prominent center for research into the supposed theory of ‘global warming’) and what they found and later released are thousands of correspondences that seem to indicate that the most prominent people in the movement have fudged scientific data, manipulated research to suit their agenda, concealed evidence that went against their theory, made a concerted effort to publicly demonize anyone who argued with their agenda, and even suppressed doubt from scientists in their own community about the theory of global warming itself.

One could say that the data recovered by the hackers is a fake perpetrated by those who oppose the theory…after all, the debate (where it is allowed to happen) is hot and heavy. But representatives of The University of East Anglia have admitted to the press that these are indeed their e-mails.

In other words, everything that we have been told by proponents of the global warming theory is a potential fraud.

Science, no matter the discipline, is always plagued by a certain amount of politics and internal pressure. But the outright lies which have built up the case for global warming have caused a great deal of global damage.

The entire ‘climate bill’ passed by Congress a few months ago (which basically sets up a frame work for  a new economic stock market of sorts centered around carbon emissions as well as an excuse for the government to spy on your home with carbon emission monitors) and similar laws passed in numerous countries around the world, the amount of money that has gone to organizations who are supposedly on the ‘right side’ of the debate and into the pockets of the already super-wealthy (like Al Gore), and the hundreds of billions  of tax dollars which have been sunk into projects to combat something which may not even exist, are now shown in a new light – a light that tears down the wall put up by the cronies of the corporations and politicians who have been fronting this special interest group, and replaces it with a large, open field of debate which will hopefully destroy this fraudulent movement once and for all.

Now don’t get me wrong – I know full well that the amount of pollution on our planet can only prove disastrous to everything that lives upon it. We can only rape the planet for so long, before ‘mother’ decides to scold her children.

But imagine if all the energy, money and political power were going towards stopping the real reasons our planet is falling apart (in my opinion the massive dumping of waste by corporations, the suppression of real alternative energy by the powers that be, the amount of junk floating around in our orbit, and the wanton destruction of the last remaining bits of untamed land are great places to focus these resources) instead of backing a fraudulent neo-religion, which does nothing more than allow for a destruction of civil liberties and moves massive amounts of wealth into the same pockets of those who have screwed up our planet in the first place.

What a wonderful world.

For the full story read here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

And here is video break down of the story and what it could mean from film maker and radio host, Alex Jones:

 
 
John Sez: A couple of months ago I posted about a French law that was up for vote which contained a similar measure. Now, it seems, that France isn’t the only place that is trying to institute such draconian measures…it’s now the world – or at least some cockamamie group of unelected officials who are trying to impose their ‘order’ on the rest of us.

According to the leaked report, it works like this: if you are accused (note: not convicted, not brought before the courts, not arrested, simply ACCUSED) of illegally downloading material from the internet three times, you will lose your access to the internet. Even on its face, such a law or treaty obligation is complete and utter rubbish, and rife with the possibility of massive abuse by whatever ‘council’ is in charge of filing and enforcing on these accusations.

What if a teenager is DL’ing in his home and hits the three strikes and you’re out rule? Will the rest of his family be forced to suffer the penalty of the loss of the internet?

What about erroneous accusations? I have personally heard of many stories of people being accused of illegal uploads of THEIR OWN music, which they owned all rights and copyrights on. Will people loose thier access due to a faulty charge?

How about people who leech bandwidth, or net cafes and libraries with WIFI access? Will they lose their internet service due to criminal activities beyond their control?

I would also think that it would be all too easy for governments to target political opponents or dissidents in their country and force a loss of internet access, thus promoting censorship and a loss if individual rights and liberties.

Also noted in the report is that ISP’s need to proactively police copyright violations. Considering the cost to carry out such a mandate in man hours and legal costs this will, in effect, mean the end of Youtube, playlist.com, online file storage companies, and millions of personal web sites.

The way that a great many governments have been clamping down on freedom of expression of their citizens (notable are  the US, France, China, Iran, and England) I wonder if this is not so much a play to protect copyright owners (of which I am one and I HEARTILY DISSAGREE with this proposal) and more of an outright attempt to wrest control of the internet from the hands of the people and have it regulated, seized and sterilized by the governments involved in the treaty.

Story from Raw Story:

Global treaty could throw file-sharers off Internet after ‘three strikes’

File-sharers could be jailed under proposed ACTA provisions

Leaked details of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement being negotiated in secret by most of the world's largest economies suggest Internet file-sharers could be blocked from accessing the Internet if they are repeatedly accused of sharing copyrighted material, say media and digital-rights watchdogs.

And the worst-case scenario could see popular Web sites like YouTube and Flickr shut down because of a provision in the treaty that would force them to monitor everything uploaded to the site for copyright violations.

Internet law professor Michael Geist published details of "leaked" portions of the discussions on ACTA on his blog Tuesday, as a new round of ACTA negotiations began in Seoul, South Korea. The US, along with all the countries of the European Union as well as Japan, Canada, Australia and a handful of other countries, are involved in the negotiations.

"The provisions would pave the way for a globalized three-strikes and you're out system," Geist blogged Wednesday, referring to a proposal from copyright holders to have Internet service providers cut off service to anyone accused at least three times of illegally sharing copyrighted material.

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John Sez: I would say that it’s a given that when money enters the scene of any ‘cause’ – more so this one, considering how many billions of dollars are floating around  – one has to question the ethics of proponents who stand to make huge windfalls of power and monetary gain. Al gore is no exception. Let’s remember that he was a politician long before ‘An Inconvenient Truth’.

Personally, I think that Gore (and many like him)  profiting as much as he has (and potentially will) from this highly disputed science should lead to speculation and doubt that he is in this for the best interest of the planet and the ‘little people’, and not just fronting this movement simply for the betterment of his pocket and global standing.

Story from PrisonPlanet:   

     Al Gore Set To Become First “Carbon Billionaire”
CO2 tax agenda front man lining his pockets on the back of global warming fearmongering     

 Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com

The New York Times has lifted the lid on how Al Gore stands to benefit to the tune of billions of dollars if the carbon tax proposals he is pushing come to fruition in the United States, while documenting how he has already lined his pockets on the back of exaggerated fearmongering about global warming.

As is to be expected, the article is largely a whitewash and takes an apologist stance in defense of Gore.

However, the NY Times‘ John M. Broder does reveal how one of the companies Gore invested in, Silver Spring Networks, recently received a contract worth $560 million dollars from the Energy Department to install “smart meters” in people’s homes that record (and critics fear could eventually regulate) energy usage.

“Kleiner Perkins and its partners, including Mr. Gore, could recoup their investment many times over in coming years,” states the report, highlighting the fact that Gore is “well positioned to profit from this green transformation, if and when it comes.”

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John Sez: And they also found Klingons around Uranus.

 

 

 

Sorry…I couldn’t help that…I just HAD to.

 

Story from BBC, Video from AP:

New ring detected around Saturn
By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News
 
A colossal new ring has been identified around Saturn. The dusty hoop lies some 13 million km (eight million miles) from the planet, about 50 times more distant than the other rings and in a different plane.

Scientists tell the journal Nature that the tenuous ring is probably made up of debris kicked off Saturn's moon Phoebe by small impacts.

They think this dust then migrates towards the planet where it is picked up by another Saturnian moon, Iapetus.

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John Sez: A very interesting bit of musical technology which has both pro’s and con’s. On the positive side, something like this might encourage an interest in music for children who may have never even thought to pick up an instrument. Also, the possible applications for disabled children (say, mid to high functioning autism) could be a great enhancement in both education and a better quality of life for those afflicted.

On the down-side, children who rely on the technology might be discouraged when they actually pick up a real instrument and find that it is harder and requires more dedication.  Also, are you really learning to play when you’re ‘mistakes’ are fixed as you go?

Either way, it looks like a heck of a lot of fun!

Story from createdigitalmusic.com

Kids Making Music: Interactive Music Box Draws Experience from Games By Peter Kirn

Ten minutes. Four or five kids (or adults). Make a song. Go.

That’s the idea behind the Youth Music Box, developed by Silent Studios and Chris O’Shea. (Our friend Chris you may recall from various interactive projects and the blog pixelsumo; he sends this project our way.) The software is build in openFrameworks, the C++-based creative coding environment for artists.

With keys, drums, and yes, even a scratching DJ-style interface, the music box brings together kids for quick music making, inspired by the phenomenon of musical games. The experience is guided by genre, with some effort to make sure whatever they do sounds good, but it’s extraordinary how effective it is at conveying the experience of the successful jam. It’s a bit of a confidence builder, in other words, for a group musical experience, perhaps more so than those ear-splitting, cheap plastic recorder consorts I recall from my youth.

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John Sez: No, the title above is not a simple eye-grabber to get you to read further. The proposed bill (S773) is being floated by Senator Rockefeller, and will authorize the President to take control of the internet (even to shut it down completely) if he feels that there is an internet ‘threat’ to the country or in any state of ‘cyber emergency’. Go check the tally, and you’ll find out that the US has been in a continual state of emergency since 9/11, reauthorized over and over again by congress. So, in effect, the president may use any powers defined under the Emergency Powers Act – or those defined in this pending bill, for that matter – at any time, for any reason, simply because he says it’s an ‘emergency’.

There is also a section which creates a federal license for ‘cyber security’ specialists, which also refers to mandatory oversight of certain computers and systems in the private sector; in other words federal oversight of private computers and systems run and owned by US citizens.

Let’s see…possible war with Iran/Russia/China/North Korea/Somalia/Venezuela/ Sudan, an act of ‘homegrown terrorism’, massive demonstrations and rallies against the government, the swine flu scare…all seeming justified reasons for declaring a state of cyber emergency, and all are possibilities on the horizon. Then, instead of the free-flow of news and ideas, we will be constrained by the ‘approved’ message by the ‘approved’ media, which have already proved themselves bought and sold by the powers that be.

Story from CNET:

Bill would give president emergency control of the Internet

Internet companies and civil liberties groups were alarmed this spring when a U.S. Senate bill proposed handing the White House the power to disconnect private-sector computers from the Internet.

They're not much happier about a revised version that aides to Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, have spent months drafting behind closed doors. CNET News has obtained a copy of the 55-page draft of S.773 (excerpt), which still appears to permit the president to seize temporary control of private-sector networks during a so-called cybersecurity emergency.

The new version would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat. Other sections of the proposal include a federal certification program for "cybersecurity professionals," and a requirement that certain computer systems and networks in the private sector be managed by people who have been awarded that license.

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John Sez: What an incredible bit of tech this is. Of course, using it simply for advertising is not going to really peek into the possibilities. Greeting cards, video content in magazines and news papers (think Harry Potter), band posters (think of a young girl squealing with delight at her full video Jonas Brother poster on her wall), and clothing with video screens (dry clean only?) are all potential uses of this tech. 

 I’ll bet that this will be very common tech soon, and we will see it everywhere and on everything within ten years.

Story from the BBC:

Video appears in paper magazines

The first-ever video advertisement will be published in a traditional paper magazine in September.


The video-in-print ads will appear in select copies of the US show business title Entertainment Weekly.

The slim-line screens - around the size of a mobile phone display - also have rechargeable batteries.

The chip technology used to store the video - described as similar to that used in singing greeting cards - is activated when the page is turned.

Each chip can hold up to 40 minutes of video.

The first clips will preview programmes from US TV network CBS and show adverts by the drinks company Pepsi.

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John Sez: Back in June I posted about how the EPA was suppressing data which was opposed to the current theory of global warming. And now, only after it was about to be legally forced to become public, the data which all the models that the global warming theory are based on mysteriously disappears. Add to that the amount of money which is being made from ‘Green” products and services (and the fact that a whole new stock market of sorts is being set up in order to generate even more money via carbon credits), and one can surmise that things aren’t what they seem to be.

As far as I’m concerned, the planet needs our help – but the folks who have offered us the problem/reaction/solution have lost all creditability.

Story from The Register:

Global Warming ate my data We've lost the numbers: CRU responds to FOIA requests

By Andrew Orlowski

The world's source for global temperature record admits it's lost or destroyed all the original data that would allow a third party to construct a global temperature record. The destruction (or loss) of the data comes at a convenient time for the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in East Anglia - permitting it to snub FoIA requests to see the data.

The CRU has refused to release the raw weather station data and its processing methods for inspection - except to hand-picked academics - for several years. Instead, it releases a processed version in gridded form. NASA maintains its own (GISSTEMP), but the CRU Global Climate Dataset, is the most cited surface temperature record by the UN IPCC. So any errors in CRU cascade around the world, and become part of "the science".

In 2007, in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, CRU initially said it didn't have to fulfil the requests because "Information accessible to applicant via other means Some information is publicly available on external websites".

Now it's citing confidentiality agreements with Denmark, Spain, Bahrain and our own Mystic Met Office. Others may exist, CRU says in a statement, but it might have lost them because it moved offices. Or they were made verbally, and nobody at CRU wrote them down.

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