American Buddhist Net

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Talks with China over censorship have reached an apparent impasse and Google, the world’s largest search engine, is now “99.9 percent” certain to shut its Chinese search engine, the Financial Times said on Saturday.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

This is getting interesting. Whatever else, if Google leaves there will be a strong reaction in China. Dirty politics aside, the nub of this issue is an open Internet versus a closed one. Google is favored by better educated Chinese, who will probably still be able to access it on servers outside of China. Ultimately, I don't think China has a chance in this fight if the US plays its cards right, which so far it has been doing. Clinton's strong statements about Internet freedom last week and the FCC's proposals today greatly enhance Google's position. Clearly, these statements were made with an understanding of the Google-China dispute. I have had almost nothing but problems with US foreign and domestic policy for a long time, but this all looks fine to me. The Chinese model for the Internet has essentially no argument in its favor. At the same time, the US cannot easily abandon its own basic principles of free speech, so the two are natural adversaries on this front. Add to that the power of an open Internet on China's population and you have another reason for the US to take the position it has. Progressive Chinese should want China to lose this one. Ultimately, this matter comes down to technology, and that is one genie no one - not even China - will be able to put back in the bottle. ABN

The Federal Communications Commission is proposing an ambitious 10-year plan that will reimagine the nation’s media and technology priorities by establishing high-speed Internet as the country’s dominant communication network.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

This is a must-read and something we have to pay attention to. From what I see in this short piece, the plan looks very good. The devil will come in details that grant too much power to corporations or that permit censorship. ABN

Rainbow trout with six-pack abs and burly shoulders have emerged from a University of Rhode Island laboratory, and could someday find their way to humans' dinner tables. That's assuming diners don't panic at the sight of the muscular ichthyoid awaiting their knives and forks.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

A former Transportation Security Administration contractor is being charged in Colorado for allegedly injecting malicious code into a government network used for screening airport security workers and others.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

IN the wake of the Congressional hearings on the Toyota recalls, we have heard various proposals for countering unintended acceleration in automobiles.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

In this tutorial “Spiritual Growth” I’ll walk you through the steps of taking a photo of a monk and turning it into a rich contemplative piece of work. We’ll be covering everything from photo manipulation to masking and much more. So let’s roll up our sleeves and dive right in!

(This tutorial was inspired by and is dedicated to, my good friends, the monks who reside at the Oregon Buddhist Vihara. Thank you all, for your devotion and dedication to making this world a better place!)

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Dan Nocera: Personalized Energy from PopTech on Vimeo.

MIT Professor Dan Nocera believes he can solve the world’s energy problems with an Olympic-sized pool of water. Nocera and his research team have identified a simple technique for powering the Earth inexpensively – by using the sun to split water and store energy - making the large-scale deployment of personalized solar energy possible.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2010) — Engineering researchers have crafted a flat surface that refuses to get wet. Water droplets skitter across it like ball bearings tossed on ice.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

It was announced on Friday that the Transportation Security Administration plans to extend the use of full body scanners to eleven additional airports in the United States over the next two years.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Some of the main doubts about this technology are: 1) it does not check body cavities (this doubt might get worse if it did; see #2); 2) it is almost certainly a health hazard; 3) it is invasive and creepy; 4) they have already lied about whether it saves photos; 5) it has been supported by and benefits former high-ranking DHS personal who obviously know how to lobby the department; 6) it is expensive. Air security is necessary. But do scanners do the job? ABN

ScienceDaily (Mar. 5, 2010) — A nanoparticle growing in popularity as a bactericidal agent has been shown to be toxic to fish, according to a Purdue University study.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

SAN FRANCISCO--Homeland Security and the National Security Agency may be taking a closer look at Internet communications in the future.

The Department of Homeland Security's top cybersecurity official told CNET on Wednesday that the department may eventually extend its Einstein technology, which is designed to detect and prevent electronic attacks, to networks operated by the private sector. The technology was created for federal networks.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

When the Feds say they may "eventually extend" something like this, it usually means that they are already doing it and want to test public opinion to see if they can do more. Why not just start quartering troops in our homes? ABN

The short video made its way around China’s Web in early 2006, passed on through file sharing and recommended in chat rooms. It opens with a middle-aged Asian woman dressed in a leopard-print blouse, knee-length black skirt, stockings and silver stilettos standing next to a riverbank. She smiles, holding a small brown and white kitten in her hands. She gently places the cat on the tiled pavement and proceeds to stomp it to death with the sharp point of her high heel.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Researchers in Japan have created the first superconducting material based on a molecule of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Although the superconducting transition occurs at a chilly 18K, the simplicity of the molecule, which consists of just five benzene rings, suggests that it will open the door to other molecules that have higher transition temperatures.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

...The program is designed to look for indicators of cyber attacks by digging into all Internet communications, including the contents of emails, according to the declassified summary.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

PHILOMATH, Ore. — Organic farmers fear this year's spring breezes will be carrying pollen from genetically altered sugar beets, which they say could render their crops worthless, and they hope to persuade a federal judge this week to halt the plantings nationwide.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

The biggest threat to the open internet is not Chinese government hackers or greedy anti-net-neutrality ISPs, it’s Michael McConnell, the former director of national intelligence.

McConnell’s not dangerous because he knows anything about SQL injection hacks, but because he knows about social engineering. He’s the nice-seeming guy who’s willing and able to use fear-mongering to manipulate the federal bureaucracy for his own ends, while coming off like a straight shooter to those who are not in the know.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a speech in which she made it clear that Internet freedom would be a major theme of the US government's attempts to get information to the citizens of repressive governments. Things haven't change much in the interim, with the conviction of Google executives in Italy serving as a reminder that it's not simply repressive regimes that put companies in legal hot water. With those events as a backdrop, the US Senate's Judiciary Committee heard testimony today on Internet freedom that emphasized how challenging it will be to find a way to open up the flow of information in repressive regimes.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Google’s China Exit Strategy: Watch This Space

Web Firms Under Fire to Protect Human Rights

U.S. unveils cybersecurity safeguard plan

The Pentagon’s mad science arm may have come up with its most radical project yet. Darpa is looking to re-write the laws of evolution to the military’s advantage, creating “synthetic organisms” that can live forever — or can be killed with the flick of a molecular switch.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON -- A journey from Earth to Mars could soon take just 39 days -- cutting current travel time nearly six times -- according to a rocket scientist who has the ear of the US space agency.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

LINO LAKES, Minn. – Ever since his 1996 Toyota Camry shot up an interstate ramp, plowing into the back of an Oldsmobile in a horrific crash that killed three people, Koua Fong Lee insisted he had done everything he could to stop the car.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Yobie Benjamin

...The unintended consequence of a surveillance state is the creation of a surveillance society. The nuance of the legal system provides anyone willing to spend the money on lawyers, litigation and the discovery process to effectively get all the information on anyone they want. Bottom line: Most general counsels' offices in most companies will NOT decline to give information requested by a court order, approved subpoena or discovery request, whether it is a criminal or civil matter.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Benjamin makes a very good point. Well-worth reading. ABN

David Cope’s software creates beautiful, original music. Why are people so angry about that?

LINK TO ORIGINAL

THE minister in charge of the Government's web censorship plan has been caught out censoring his own website.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

A coalition of human rights campaigners on Tuesday urged the US government to fund efforts led by the Falungong spiritual movement to circumvent Internet censorship in China and other nations.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Government backtracks after proposing measures including terminating broadband connections to curb filesharing (updated)

LINK TO ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - U.S. communications regulators will unveil on March 17 a blueprint aimed at bringing fast affordable Internet access to more than 90 million Americans being held back by fees and technology.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Who controls the internet? Well, at the moment a trade agreement known as ACTA is being negotiated by the U.S., Japan, the European Union, Canada and more than a dozen other countries, and, if ratified, would significantly regulate what you can and can’t do online. ACTA’s rules will supersede each country’s local laws. Oh, and the whole affair is secret. Danny O'Brien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation explains the possible impact on net users worldwide.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

The school accused of remotely activating computer webcams to spy on students in their homes has denied the charges, although it acknowledged that the functionality was available for the purpose of recovering stolen computers. If the school actually engaged in spying, even with the aim of protecting students, "the administrators themselves became the predators," said tech attorney Ray Van Dyke.

LINK TO ORIGINAL