Yahoo News
The Mexican Government continues the War on Drugs.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Feedjit does not Like Relevant Science
I was registering to Feedjit so my nice face from ten years ago will appear in every place I go which has the gadget. Obviously I used Relevant Science, my beloved, and oldest blog.
I found out they consider it inappropriate. Go figure. It is their loss.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Jon Stewart: My Man!
''Did the bill pledging federal funds for the health care of 9/11 responders become law in the waning hours of the 111th Congress only because a comedian took it up as a personal cause?''
YES
'' “I’ll forever be indebted to Jon because of what he did.”''
''“I have to think about how many kids are watching Jon Stewart right now and dreaming of growing up and doing what Jon Stewart does,” Mr. Thompson said. “Just like kids two generations ago watched Murrow or Cronkite and dreamed of doing that. Some of these ambitious appetites and callings that have brought people into journalism in the past may now manifest themselves in these other arenas, like comedy.”''
Close to Two Million US Dollars for Assange
The FT informs us about this later development.
Julian Assange has signed book deals worth more than £1m in the US and UK, to allow the WikiLeaks founder to cover his legal fees and maintain the whistleblowing site.
He will be racing a disgruntled former colleague to release an autobiography telling his side of the WikiLeaks story. Both books are to be published by divisions of Random House next year.
Mr Assange is fighting allegations of sexual assault in Sweden while trying to continue the gradual release of thousands of US diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.
Released on bail by the British high court in mid-December, he spent Christmas wearing a tracking tag, confined to a friend’s mansion home in East Anglia.
The US administration, which has been angered and embarrassed by successive leaks of its foreign-policy secrets through WikiLeaks, is believed to be exploring ways to prosecute Mr Assange.
The controversy did not dissuade readers of Time magazine voting Mr Assange their “person of the year” for his campaign for freedom of information and radical transparency from governments.
He has agreed an $800,000 (£520,000) contract with Knopf, a US imprint of Random House, the Bertelsmann-owned publisher, and another £325,000 deal for the UK with Canongate, an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh.
But although the deals are expected to net Mr Assange more than £1.1m ($1.7m) after the book is sold in other countries and serialised in newspapers around the world, Mr Assange said he had agreed to write his autobiography only reluctantly.
“I don’t want to write this book, but I have to,” he told the Sunday Times. “I have already spent £200,000 for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat.”
Mr Assange did not describe how he would divide the proceeds from his autobiography between his own personal legal costs and the operational funds required by WikiLeaks, which he has described as a large and distributed organisation that is not solely reliant on him.
WikiLeaks’ operational costs have more than tripled since it drew up budgeting plans at the beginning of the year, due to the increased scope of information it has reviewed and published. Before “cablegate”, it released huge amounts of files about the Iraqi and Afghan wars.
The whistleblowing site relies largely on donations from individuals, but had its fund-raising channels curtailed after several US financial services firms stopped processing payments to its account.
Bank of America, MasterCard, Visa and PayPal have all stopped directing funds to WikiLeaks in recent weeks. They deny Mr Assange’s accusations that the actions were politically motivated. Mr Assange’s Swiss bank has also frozen his account.
Last week, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a former WikiLeaks spokesman, announced he would publish a tell-all book next year about his time with the site.
Crown Publishing, another division of Random House, will release “Inside Wikileaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website” in 14 countries in February.
The author, who called himself Daniel Schmitt when he worked at WikiLeaks, fell out with Mr Assange over the running and strategic priorities of the site.
He has said that the allegations of Mr Assange’s sexual misconduct would be better handled privately and have become a burden to WikiLeaks.
Julian Assange has signed book deals worth more than £1m in the US and UK, to allow the WikiLeaks founder to cover his legal fees and maintain the whistleblowing site.
He will be racing a disgruntled former colleague to release an autobiography telling his side of the WikiLeaks story. Both books are to be published by divisions of Random House next year.
Mr Assange is fighting allegations of sexual assault in Sweden while trying to continue the gradual release of thousands of US diplomatic cables through WikiLeaks.
Released on bail by the British high court in mid-December, he spent Christmas wearing a tracking tag, confined to a friend’s mansion home in East Anglia.
The US administration, which has been angered and embarrassed by successive leaks of its foreign-policy secrets through WikiLeaks, is believed to be exploring ways to prosecute Mr Assange.
The controversy did not dissuade readers of Time magazine voting Mr Assange their “person of the year” for his campaign for freedom of information and radical transparency from governments.
He has agreed an $800,000 (£520,000) contract with Knopf, a US imprint of Random House, the Bertelsmann-owned publisher, and another £325,000 deal for the UK with Canongate, an independent publishing house based in Edinburgh.
But although the deals are expected to net Mr Assange more than £1.1m ($1.7m) after the book is sold in other countries and serialised in newspapers around the world, Mr Assange said he had agreed to write his autobiography only reluctantly.
“I don’t want to write this book, but I have to,” he told the Sunday Times. “I have already spent £200,000 for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat.”
Mr Assange did not describe how he would divide the proceeds from his autobiography between his own personal legal costs and the operational funds required by WikiLeaks, which he has described as a large and distributed organisation that is not solely reliant on him.
WikiLeaks’ operational costs have more than tripled since it drew up budgeting plans at the beginning of the year, due to the increased scope of information it has reviewed and published. Before “cablegate”, it released huge amounts of files about the Iraqi and Afghan wars.
The whistleblowing site relies largely on donations from individuals, but had its fund-raising channels curtailed after several US financial services firms stopped processing payments to its account.
Bank of America, MasterCard, Visa and PayPal have all stopped directing funds to WikiLeaks in recent weeks. They deny Mr Assange’s accusations that the actions were politically motivated. Mr Assange’s Swiss bank has also frozen his account.
Last week, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, a former WikiLeaks spokesman, announced he would publish a tell-all book next year about his time with the site.
Crown Publishing, another division of Random House, will release “Inside Wikileaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website” in 14 countries in February.
The author, who called himself Daniel Schmitt when he worked at WikiLeaks, fell out with Mr Assange over the running and strategic priorities of the site.
He has said that the allegations of Mr Assange’s sexual misconduct would be better handled privately and have become a burden to WikiLeaks.
What a Difference Three Years Make
When I moved back to Mexico three years ago, I was hoping that some of that oil money will find its way to my pocket. Now the Wall Street Journal and Paul Krugman tell us the same story. Oil is over ninety dollars a barrel.
Nevertheless this time around I want to take another view on a very similar situation. I know more.
The Mexican Government of Felipe Calderon is corrupt to the core and crooks are going to take the money.
The world is not that simple, but I know that evil doers are active, very active in Mexico, and that we are almost seven billion people on Earth.
This does not look well.
Nevertheless this time around I want to take another view on a very similar situation. I know more.
The Mexican Government of Felipe Calderon is corrupt to the core and crooks are going to take the money.
The world is not that simple, but I know that evil doers are active, very active in Mexico, and that we are almost seven billion people on Earth.
This does not look well.
DADT, yes: DREAM, no
''The part that pisses me off the most is that while DADT was repealed, the DREAM Act burned in hell. The DREAM Act, which to me is a much more urgent social issue, would give permanent resident status to illegal immigrants who went to high school in the US, and who served two years in the military or went to a four-year college. So you know what that means! If you’re illegal but went to a fancy school such as Princeton or, even, a big state school like the University of Texas, we’re not letting you in. America is getting used to its gays. We’re just not ready for them to be well-educated illegal Mexicans yet.''
SpliceToday
SpliceToday
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Hector Lopez is Home for Christmas
La Jornada reports the freedom of a young Mexican who will get to spend Christmas with his mom and younger brother.
I read the NYT article about the SAME event but they did not write the good Christmas news, go figure!
NYT is Abenezer Scrouge!
Read about it in The Oregonian.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Scientific American: WikiLeaks
The U.S. learned a hard lesson in data security on November 28 when WikiLeaks, an organization championing whistle-blowers, began publishing what it claims will amount to more than 250,000 leaked U.S. embassy cables. This release was not the first, or even the second or third, major WikiLeaks publication of the year: in April it posted a video depicting a U.S. military helicopter attack on supposed insurgents in Iraq, and in July and October it posted sensitive reports on the Afghan and Iraq wars. But "cablegate" was apparently the final straw for the U.S. and its political allies. The documents describe international affairs from 300 embassies dated from 1966 to 2010 containing diplomatic analyses of world leaders, assessments of host countries and internal discussions about international and domestic issues.
Although no hacking seemed to be involved (many observers think that U.S. Army Pvt. Bradley Manning simply copied the data and gave it to WikiLeaks), the furor shows that modern technology makes securing information difficult—and retaliation easy. After WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (pictured) was arrested on December 7 in the U.K. based on unrelated allegations of supposed sex crimes, his supporters went on the offensive, launching cyber attacks against the Web sites of MasterCard, PayPal, Visa and other organizations as well as people perceived to have wronged Assange and his operation.''
Sciam
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
9/11 Health Bill
''2:46 p.m. | Updated The Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and others who became sick from breathing in toxic fumes, dust and smoke after the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.
The vote, passed by unanimous consent, came soon after a deal was reached between conservative Republicans and Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. The New York Democrats agreed to changes demanded by the conservative lawmakers, who raised concerns about the measure’s cost and prevented the bill from advancing in the Senate. After drawing criticism in recent days from Democrats and Republicans alike, the Republican senators backed down.
Under the new agreement, the bill provides $4.3 billion over five years for health coverage to the 9/11 workers, instead of the original $7.4 billion over eight years.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand called the deal a “Christmas miracle.”''
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Time
Everything does not happen at once!
I can remember them at the same time, but they did not happen at the same time.
What is time?
Last night I saw my son's work:
I can remember them at the same time, but they did not happen at the same time.
What is time?
Last night I saw my son's work:
Nanostructures at UCSB: Breakthrough of the Year; Science Magazine
Professor Cleland directs work at UCSB that will change the world. Read his group's WebPage.
Breakthrough of the Year According to Science Magazine.
Breakthrough of the Year According to Science Magazine.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Four from Sunnyvale!
I AM NOT A HACKER.
Black Suit with White Shirt Open in the Collar
La Jornada
Also from CTV Winnipeg.
Is that a Uniform?
I saw John Pilger wearing that outfit with Amy Goodman in Democracy Now!
I will have to buy me a suit.
Also from CTV Winnipeg.
Is that a Uniform?
I saw John Pilger wearing that outfit with Amy Goodman in Democracy Now!
I will have to buy me a suit.
1-D Electric Field
If you are interested in this collaboration, then read this note.
Many years ago John Kogut posted a preprint at SLAC. Take a look at his book: A Gentle Introduction to General Relativity.
The idea is very simple, really. Conservation of charge decrees that the flux out of a bounded region counts the electric charges inside. We have a counting problem.
In one dimension, the region where the sources reside is one dimensional (1-D). The boundaries through which the flux passes are zero dimensional!, i.e., points. Therefore the divergence of the field
, is equal to the source. The equation is this:
The meaning is this:
The difference between flux to the right and to the left is equal to the sources in between. The problem now is to implement
in Google Docs.
If you see the Spreadsheet I posted below I simply used:
IF(row(
4)=row(4),1,0)
Many years ago John Kogut posted a preprint at SLAC. Take a look at his book: A Gentle Introduction to General Relativity.
The idea is very simple, really. Conservation of charge decrees that the flux out of a bounded region counts the electric charges inside. We have a counting problem.
In one dimension, the region where the sources reside is one dimensional (1-D). The boundaries through which the flux passes are zero dimensional!, i.e., points. Therefore the divergence of the field
The meaning is this:
The difference between flux to the right and to the left is equal to the sources in between. The problem now is to implement
If you see the Spreadsheet I posted below I simply used:
IF(row(
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Fidel Castro on Julian Assange
Havana. December 15, 2010 - Reflections of Fidel - The empire stands accused
(Taken from CubaDebate)
(Taken from CubaDebate)
JULIAN Assange, a man known only to a very few in the world some months ago, is demonstrating that the most powerful empire to have existed in history can be challenged.
The daring challenge did not come from a rival superpower; from a state with more than 100 nuclear weapons; from a country with millions of inhabitants; from a group of nations with vast natural resources which the United States could not do without; or from a revolutionary doctrine capable of shaking to its foundations the empire based on plunder and exploitation of the world.
He was just a person barely mentioned in the media. Although he is now famous, little is known about him, apart from the highly publicized accusation of having sexual relations with two women, without taking due precautions in these times of HIV. A book on his origins, his education, or his philosophical and political ideas has not as yet been written.
Moreover, the motivations which led him to the resounding blow that he delivered to the empire remain unknown. All that is known is that morally, he has brought it to its knees.
The AFP news agency reported today that the "creator of WikiLeaks is to remain in prison despite obtaining his release on bail [...] but he must remain behind bars until the appeal filed by Sweden, the country applying for his extradition for alleged sexual crimes, is resolved."
"…the attorney representing the Swedish state, [...] has announced her intention of appealing the decision to release him."
"…Judge Riddle established as conditions for the bond of $380,000, his use of an electronic bracelet and complying with a curfew."
The same cable noted that, in the event of his release,
"… [Assange] must reside in a property belonging to Vaughan Smith, his friend and president of the Frontline Club, the London journalists club where WikiLeaks established its headquarters a few weeks ago…"
"… [Assange] must reside in a property belonging to Vaughan Smith, his friend and president of the Frontline Club, the London journalists club where WikiLeaks established its headquarters a few weeks ago…"
Assange stated, "My convictions are unfaltering. I remain true to the ideals I have expressed. If anything this process has increased my determination that they are true and correct…"
The valiant and brilliant U.S. filmmaker Michael Moore publicly offered the assistance of his website, his servers, his domain names and anything else he could do to "…keep WikiLeaks alive and thriving as it continues its work to expose the crimes that were concocted in secret and carried out in our name and with our tax dollars …"
Assange, Moore affirmed, "is under such vicious attack [...] because they have outed and embarrassed those who have covered up the truth."
"…And regardless of Assange's guilt or innocence [...] this man has the right to have bail posted and to defend himself. [... ] I have joined with filmmakers Ken Loach and John Pilger and writer Jemima Khan in putting up the bail money."
Moore’s contribution amounted to $20,000.
The United States government barrage against WikiLeaks has been so brutal that, according to ABC News/Washington Post surveys, two out of every three U.S. citizens want Assange to be taken before the U.S. courts for having disclosed the documents. On the other hand, nobody has dared to challenge the truths that they contain.
Details of the plan drawn up by the WikiLeaks strategists are not known. It is known that Assange distributed a significant volume of communications to five major media transnationals, which currently possess the monopoly of much of the information, some of them as extremely mercenary, reactionary and pro-fascist as the Spanish PRISA and the German Der Spiegel, which are utilizing news items to attack the most revolutionary countries.
World opinion will continue closely following everything that happens in the context of WikiLeaks.
Responsibility for being able to know the truth, or not, about the cynical politics of the United States and its allies will fall squarely on the right-wing Swedish government and the bellicose NATO mafia, who so like to invoke the freedom of the press and human rights.
Ideas can be more powerful than nuclear weapons.
Taken from Granma.
Oh Yeah, Here is my Information
''This is to inform you that we are of current plan to upgrade our Email Account and You have to confirm and upgrade your account by replying to this mail with your user name(......) and password(......) for confirmation of account.
Account access info!''
Account access info!''
I am not a sucker!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tom Friedman understands Information
''But here’s the fact: A China that can choke off conversations far beyond its borders and superempowered individuals who can expose conversations far beyond their borders — or create posses of “cyber-hacktivists” who can melt down the computers of people they don’t like — are now a reality. They are rising powers. A stable world requires that we learn how to get the best from both and limit the worst; it will require smart legal and technological responses.''
NYT
Mr. Friedman has it right. We entered a new Era last week.
NYT
Mr. Friedman has it right. We entered a new Era last week.
Does Warrenville Count?
NYT
Emanuel is challenging the nay-sayers who claim he is not a Chicago resident,
I'm back in Warrenville; can I run for Mayor also?
Emanuel is challenging the nay-sayers who claim he is not a Chicago resident,
I'm back in Warrenville; can I run for Mayor also?
The Cloud
''3. It works on every device with a web browser.
In traditional computing, some programs work only on particular systems or devices. For instance, many programs written for a PC won’t work on a Mac. Keeping up with all the right software can be time-consuming and costly. In contrast, the web is an open platform. Anyone can reach it from a browser on any web-connected device, regardless of whether it’s a desktop computer, laptop, or mobile phone. That means I can use my favorite web apps even if I’m using my friend’s laptop or a computer at an Internet cafe.''
From 20 Things ...
Virginia and South Dakota
Census Data Reveal Pockets of Wealth and Poverty
By SABRINA TAVERNISE and ROBERT GEBELOFF
Published: December 14, 2010
Video Game?
Most of my diggs to digg,com are in the Science, or Politics classification. I hesitate on the Assange saga tag. Today I started to classify this as Gaming. Thinking of it, what about Whack-A-Mole Assange?
Michael Moore Statement on Behalf of Julian Assange
You can read his affidavit at the bottom of this blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments