FEMA sorry for fake news briefing
By Spencer S. Hsu | Washington Post 6:33 PM CDT, October 26, 2007
WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency's No. 2 official apologized Friday for leading a staged news conference Tuesday in which FEMA employees posed as reporters while real reporters listened on a telephone conference line and were barred from asking questions.
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Saturday, October 27, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Remotely Halt Auto
Device can remotely halt auto chases
GM Will Equip New Vehicles With a Device Allowing Police to Remotely Stop Them
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
October 9, 2007 12:23:23 PM PDT
Police will be able to remotely halt some high-speed pursuits with technology being unveiled today that aims to cut chase-related deaths.
General Motors gm plans to equip 1.7 million of its 2009-model vehicles with the system that allows pursuing officers to request that engines of stolen cars be remotely slowed to idle speed through the OnStar mobile communications system.
...
GM Will Equip New Vehicles With a Device Allowing Police to Remotely Stop Them
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
October 9, 2007 12:23:23 PM PDT
Police will be able to remotely halt some high-speed pursuits with technology being unveiled today that aims to cut chase-related deaths.
General Motors gm plans to equip 1.7 million of its 2009-model vehicles with the system that allows pursuing officers to request that engines of stolen cars be remotely slowed to idle speed through the OnStar mobile communications system.
...
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
The thoracic outlet syndrome is a positional compression of the subclavian artery, vein, and brachial plexus nerves in the so-called thoracic outlet area. The degree of compression and the involvement of each of the anatomical areas varies.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Near-Simultaneous Worldwide Outbreak
Ten Steps
The first step in preparing for such an event is mental-emotional...
...
● The cost of creating a virus is dropping exponentially. If Carlson’s Curve continues to hold true, the cost of a base pair will drop to between 1 and 10 cents within the decade. Thus, a researcher could order all the necessary base pairs to create a smallpox virus for between $2,000 and $20,000.7 The equipment he needs to assemble the virus will cost an additional $10,000.
● Bio-hackers are following in the footsteps of their info-hacker predecessors. They are setting up labs in their garages and creating products. Last year, a young British researcher invested $50K in equipment and produced two new biological products. He then sold his company, Agribiotics, for $22 million. We can assume hundreds, if not thousands, of young biology students are now in their basements attempting to make new biological products.
These discrete but related events mean that it is becoming increasingly easier for a small group and perhaps even an individual to create a virus such as smallpox and use it as a weapon.
Some experts have reassured us that even if a small group can create a biological virus, it is the testing, storage, and dissemination that are the most difficult steps in weaponizing a biological entity. They are right—if the creator uses traditional methods. However, a person can avoid the requirement for testing by selecting a known lethal agent, such as smallpox. He already knows it can thrive outside the laboratory. Storage and dissemination problems can be solved by tapping into the increasing trend of suicide attacks worldwide—he simply injects the smallpox directly into suicide volunteers, who become both the storage and the dissemination systems.
Using a few volunteers and commercial airlines, a terrorist group can create a near-simultaneous worldwide outbreak of smallpox.
...
The first step in preparing for such an event is mental-emotional...
...
● The cost of creating a virus is dropping exponentially. If Carlson’s Curve continues to hold true, the cost of a base pair will drop to between 1 and 10 cents within the decade. Thus, a researcher could order all the necessary base pairs to create a smallpox virus for between $2,000 and $20,000.7 The equipment he needs to assemble the virus will cost an additional $10,000.
● Bio-hackers are following in the footsteps of their info-hacker predecessors. They are setting up labs in their garages and creating products. Last year, a young British researcher invested $50K in equipment and produced two new biological products. He then sold his company, Agribiotics, for $22 million. We can assume hundreds, if not thousands, of young biology students are now in their basements attempting to make new biological products.
These discrete but related events mean that it is becoming increasingly easier for a small group and perhaps even an individual to create a virus such as smallpox and use it as a weapon.
Some experts have reassured us that even if a small group can create a biological virus, it is the testing, storage, and dissemination that are the most difficult steps in weaponizing a biological entity. They are right—if the creator uses traditional methods. However, a person can avoid the requirement for testing by selecting a known lethal agent, such as smallpox. He already knows it can thrive outside the laboratory. Storage and dissemination problems can be solved by tapping into the increasing trend of suicide attacks worldwide—he simply injects the smallpox directly into suicide volunteers, who become both the storage and the dissemination systems.
Using a few volunteers and commercial airlines, a terrorist group can create a near-simultaneous worldwide outbreak of smallpox.
...
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Ozone Hole ‘smaller than usual’
2007 ozone hole ‘smaller than usual’
The ozone hole over Antarctica has shrunk 30 percent as compared to last year's record size. According to measurements made by ESA’s Envisat satellite, this year’s ozone loss peaked at 27.7 million tonnes, compared to the 2006 record ozone loss of 40 million tonnes.
...
Will Media Report Flaw in Manmade Ozone Hole Consensus?
By Noel Sheppard | September 28, 2007 - 09:27 ET
One of the most disgraceful assertions from global warming alarmists such as soon-to-be-Nobel Laureate Al Gore is that a scientific consensus exists concerning man's role in climate change.
Of course, skeptics around the world accurately counter that science isn't accomplished by a show of hands, and that until it can be proven that man is indeed responsible for the slight increase in global average temperatures in the past 100 years, the percentage of people who "feel" that way is totally irrelevant.
With that in mind, a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature (subscription required) tears apart the "scientific consensus" regarding the cause of a hole in the ozone layer, and should act as a warning to folks claiming that the climate change debate is over, assuming of course the media pay any attention to this paper.
...
The ozone hole over Antarctica has shrunk 30 percent as compared to last year's record size. According to measurements made by ESA’s Envisat satellite, this year’s ozone loss peaked at 27.7 million tonnes, compared to the 2006 record ozone loss of 40 million tonnes.
...
Will Media Report Flaw in Manmade Ozone Hole Consensus?
By Noel Sheppard | September 28, 2007 - 09:27 ET
One of the most disgraceful assertions from global warming alarmists such as soon-to-be-Nobel Laureate Al Gore is that a scientific consensus exists concerning man's role in climate change.
Of course, skeptics around the world accurately counter that science isn't accomplished by a show of hands, and that until it can be proven that man is indeed responsible for the slight increase in global average temperatures in the past 100 years, the percentage of people who "feel" that way is totally irrelevant.
With that in mind, a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature (subscription required) tears apart the "scientific consensus" regarding the cause of a hole in the ozone layer, and should act as a warning to folks claiming that the climate change debate is over, assuming of course the media pay any attention to this paper.
...
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
When Choice Is Demotivating
When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a Good Thing?
Sheena S. Iyengar - Columbia University
Mark R. Lepper - Stanford University
Abstract
Current psychological theory and research affirm the positive affective and motivational consequences of having personal choice. These findings have led to the popular notion that more choice is better, that the human ability to desire and manage choice is unlimited. Findings from three studies starkly challenge the implicit assumption that having more choice is necessarily more intrinsically motivating than having fewer options.
...
Sheena S. Iyengar - Columbia University
Mark R. Lepper - Stanford University
Abstract
Current psychological theory and research affirm the positive affective and motivational consequences of having personal choice. These findings have led to the popular notion that more choice is better, that the human ability to desire and manage choice is unlimited. Findings from three studies starkly challenge the implicit assumption that having more choice is necessarily more intrinsically motivating than having fewer options.
...
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