tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151961562024-03-06T22:28:56.562-08:00The Fall of HumanityRandy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.comBlogger3013125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-67777851625942098542010-12-09T08:40:00.000-08:002010-12-09T08:43:38.024-08:00A defense of WikiLeaks: Some inconvenient facts<div><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">No one wants to require diplomats to wear bathing suits and work in glass embassies, and you can have qualms about the effects of (some of) what WikiLeaks has done or will do without signing on to the fury with which it's being pursued.</p><p style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);"> Consider the following points, presented in no particular order.</p><p><a href="http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20101209_A_defense_of_WikiLeaks__Some_inconvenient_facts.html">Read the rest.</a><br /></p><span><a style="color: rgb(0, 51, 153);" href="http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/82985662.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-80554714980718349032010-07-13T12:27:00.001-07:002010-07-13T12:27:58.013-07:00You can't fight violence with violence<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Halting mass violence, including terrorism, requires a political will to address the problem at its roots. That requires western nations to revise their foreign policies in ways that do not generate and sustain cycles of violence. Unfortunately, such political will appears unlikely at this stage of human history.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727684.700-you-cant-fight-violence-with-violence.html'>Read the rest.</a><br/></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-64743329136939940602010-05-16T21:13:00.001-07:002010-05-16T21:13:26.617-07:00Ronnie James Dio, Rock Vocalist, Dies at 67<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>RIP Ronnie James Dio. Thank you.<br/><br/><a href='javascript:pop_me_up2('http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/05/17/arts/17dio_CA0.html','17dio_CA0_html','width=387,height=600,scrollbars=yes,toolbars=no,resizable=yes')'><br /><img height='242' width='190' alt='' src='http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/17/arts/17dio_CA0/17dio_CA0-articleInline.jpg'/><br /></a><br/><br/><a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/arts/music/17dio.html?src=mv&ref=arts'>Read more.</a><br/></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-49791701393037559482010-04-19T06:00:00.001-07:002010-04-19T06:00:35.782-07:00The Rightnetwork<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>We’re creating a welcome place for millions and millions of Americans who’ve been looking for an entertainment network and media channel that reflects their point-of-view. Rightnetwork will be the perfect platform to entertain, inform and Connect with the American majority about what’s right in the world.</font><br/><br/>Because we certainly don't want to challenge our thinking of anything we perceive to be correct.<br/><br/>Even if we're wrong.<br/><br/>Read more <a href='http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/comcast-partners-bring-new-right-wing-broad'>here</a> and check out more promo videos <a href='http://www.politico.com/blogs/onmedia/0410/Report_Comcast_to_acquire_rightwing_network.html?showall'>here</a>.<br/><br/></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-32089540585728508562010-02-15T19:32:00.001-08:002010-02-15T19:32:58.258-08:00Scientists discover the secret of ageing<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>The answer is complex, and will not produce an elixir of eternal life in the foreseeable future.<br/><br/>But the scientists expect better drugs for age-related illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease, to emerge from their discovery of the biochemical pathway involved in ageing.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/436a39a0-1a6e-11df-a2e3-00144feab49a.html'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=f5fcfc55-9041-8f93-8712-1fcc5c272374' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-2321466069325218362010-02-12T06:18:00.001-08:002010-02-12T06:18:11.830-08:00Feds push for tracking cell phones<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>In that case, the Obama administration has argued that warrantless tracking is permitted because Americans enjoy no "reasonable expectation of privacy" in their--or at least their cell phones'--whereabouts. U.S. Department of Justice lawyers say that "a customer's Fourth Amendment rights are not violated when the phone company reveals to the government its own records" that show where a mobile device placed and received calls.<br/><br/>Those claims have alarmed the ACLU and other civil liberties groups, which have opposed the Justice Department's request and plan to tell the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that Americans' privacy deserves more protection and judicial oversight than what the administration has proposed.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10451518-38.html'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=174db0b4-8cf8-8ad4-84ce-dc15f8fb48e9' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-67147183364892472702009-12-06T19:43:00.001-08:002009-12-06T19:43:14.625-08:00The Fiction Of Climate Science<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Many of you are too young to remember, but in 1975 our government pushed "the coming ice age."</font><br/><br/>I remember.<br/><br/><a href='http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/03/climate-science-gore-intelligent-technology-sutton.html'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=d4493d94-3db8-87b4-b7ba-bc60c024d3db' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-14296826908785829422009-11-20T22:31:00.001-08:002009-11-20T22:31:03.522-08:00Climategate<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>But perhaps the most damaging revelations – the scientific equivalent of the Telegraph’s MPs’ expenses scandal – are those concerning the way Warmist scientists may variously have manipulated or suppressed evidence in order to support their cause.</font><br/><a href='http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100017393/climategate-the-final-nail-in-the-coffin-of-anthropogenic-global-warming/'><br/>Read the rest.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=c42601a5-0ffa-82b2-894f-e8636f956905' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-11340472125438902382009-11-11T06:27:00.001-08:002009-11-11T06:27:39.432-08:00Vatican looks to heavens for signs of alien life<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>"Just as there is a multitude of creatures on Earth, there could be other beings, even intelligent ones, created by God. This does not contradict our faith, because we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom."</font><br/><br/>What a cop-out. "...we cannot put limits on God's creative freedom"?<br/><br/>I see this as religion "evolving" (after all, Galileo was imprisoned and Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for their thoughts.) so as to try and stay relevant. To try and keep its power and influence over people.<br/><br/><font color='#33ffff'>Funes maintained that if intelligent beings were discovered, they would also be considered "part of creation."</font><br/><br/>Interesting, no? Now what if those intelligent beings look nothing like us humans? Did "god" really create us in "his" image then? I'm betting that "logic" (if you can call it that) will evolve too once they realize it can no longer hold water.<br/><br/><a href='http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hf92aHEwYT87J1XPP4JrIusKBT-AD9BSTO1G1'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=c2fe71b5-1111-88eb-8a14-f0251b159f8e' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-73850788030164398082009-11-06T20:14:00.001-08:002009-11-06T20:14:18.571-08:00Report: 237 millionaires in Congress<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall.</font><br/><br/>And how can they possibly understand the issues of average Americans? That's right. They can't.<br/><br/><a href='http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29235.html'>Read more, then replace Congress with people who actually represent the American people.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=190a5f8e-b048-8440-910b-e4a6e537d1e0' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-74802313582234524252009-10-29T21:11:00.001-07:002009-10-29T21:11:14.914-07:00No men OR women needed: Scientists create sperm and eggs from stem cells<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>But it raises a number of moral and ethical concerns. These include the possibility of children being born through entirely artificial means, and men and women being sidelined from the process of making babies. <br/><br/></font><div style='border: medium none ; overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;' id='TixyyLink'><font color='#33ffff'>Opponents argue that it is wrong to meddle with the building blocks of life and warn that the advances taking place to tackle infertility risk distorting and damaging relations between family members. <br/></font><p><font color='#33ffff'>The U.S. government-funded research also offers the prospect of a 'miracle pill' which staves off the menopause, allowing women to wait longer to have a child. <br/></font></p><p><font color='#33ffff'>It centres on stem cells, widely seen as a repair kit for the body. </font></p><p><font color='#33ffff'>Scientists at Stanford University in California found the right cocktail of chemicals and vitamins to coax the cells into becoming eggs and sperm.</font></p><p><a href='http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1223617/No-men-OR-women-needed-artificial-sperm-eggs-created-time.html'>Read more.</a><br/></p></div><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=2e2b1ffc-f21d-839f-a143-5a2f2cbc3b85' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-6636325326133267062009-10-02T05:31:00.001-07:002009-10-02T05:31:31.699-07:00Scientists find path to fountain of youth<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><span class='lingo_region'><font color='#33ffff'>The fountain of youth may exist after all, as a study showed that scientists have discovered means to extend the lifespan of mice and primates</font><br/><br/><a href='http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.9dd9f35bd76b9fc96fd39c548f04e9bb.241&show_article=1'>Read more.</a><br/> </span><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=f32b8783-b2e7-8c1a-bc66-d61a514f7951' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-55221326352895095202009-09-23T19:33:00.001-07:002009-09-23T19:33:11.485-07:00India’s lunar mission finds evidence of water on the Moon<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Dreams of establishing a manned Moon base could become reality within two decades after India’s first lunar mission found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface.<br/><br/>Data from Chandrayaan-1 also suggests that water is still being formed on the Moon. Scientists said the breakthrough — to be announced by Nasa at a press conference today — would change the face of lunar exploration.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/space/article6846639.ece'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=fa6ca4ba-2053-8740-915f-a89d63a0e384' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-74150951742539006712009-08-29T20:22:00.001-07:002009-08-29T20:22:30.965-07:00Bill would give president emergency control of Internet<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Translation: If your company is deemed "critical," a new set of regulations kick in involving who you can hire, what information you must disclose, and when the government would exercise control over your computers or network.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10320096-38.html'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=e4b30555-b9ba-8879-9838-b183e56d4f3c' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-18489136020377243892009-08-26T19:29:00.001-07:002009-08-26T19:29:31.978-07:00DNA swap could cure inherited diseases<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>The prospect of a human baby with three biological parents has moved closer after scientists created monkeys using a technique that one day could stop children from inheriting severe genetic diseases.<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>The technique is controversial, however, because the children it creates would inherit genetic material from three parents. The mother and father would contribute most of their child’s DNA but a small amount would come from a second woman donating healthy mitochondria.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6811080.ece'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=262edbe0-b8a8-8a61-a26d-8427c2715b67' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-1491091024175306642009-08-22T19:08:00.001-07:002009-08-22T19:08:20.481-07:00Artificial life will be created 'within months' as genome experts claim vital breakthrough<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>The first artificial lifeform is likely to be a simple man-made bacterium that proves that the technology can work.<br/><br/>But it will be followed by more complex bacteria that turn coal into cleaner natural gas, or algae that can soak up carbon dioxide and convert it into fuels.<br/><br/>They could also be used to create new vaccines and antibiotics.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1208047/Life-order-Man-organisms-months-say-biologists.html'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=ca40e2b4-deb8-83bb-9443-28fdd3fe5192' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-82782118837831190062009-08-17T21:04:00.001-07:002009-08-17T21:04:29.864-07:00Conservatives Now Outnumber Liberals in All 50 States, Says Gallup Poll<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>At the same time, more Americans nationwide are saying this year that they are conservative than have made that claim in any of the last four years.</font><br/><br/>Ouch.<br/><br/><a href='http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/52602'>Read more unless you're over at Fox News.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=6aba116d-da55-8dca-b963-8831eb0d8be0' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-56959262390162312652009-08-17T20:58:00.001-07:002009-08-17T20:58:23.702-07:00Building block of life found on comet<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>The amino acid glycine, a fundamental building block of proteins, has been found in a comet for the first time, bolstering the theory that raw ingredients of life arrived on Earth from outer space, scientists said on Monday.</font><br/><br/><a href='http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE57H02I20090818'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=25b55e84-91f8-8da9-984c-fe325d0e7806' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-30219517686138444452009-08-15T13:40:00.001-07:002009-08-15T13:40:50.107-07:00The brutal truth about America’s healthcare<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>They came in their thousands, queuing through the night to secure one of the coveted wristbands offering entry into a strange parallel universe where medical care is a free and basic right and not an expensive luxury.<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>In the week that Britain's National Health Service was held aloft by Republicans as an "evil and Orwellian" example of everything that is wrong with free healthcare, these extraordinary scenes in Inglewood, California yesterday provided a sobering reminder of exactly why President Barack Obama is trying to reform the US system.</font><br/><br/>Healthcare is a basic right, not a luxury.<br/><br/><a href='http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-brutal-truth-about-americarsquos-healthcare-1772580.html'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=c606a0e0-74a1-866a-8003-9e1b4524a459' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-39598510973177892262009-08-14T17:45:00.001-07:002009-08-14T17:45:59.115-07:00Senators exclude end-of-life provision from bill<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Key senators are excluding a provision on end-of-life care from health overhaul legislation after language in a House bill caused a furor.<br/><br/>...<br/><br/>A health care bill passed by three House committees allows Medicare to reimburse doctors for voluntary counseling sessions about end-of-life decisions. But critics have claimed the provision could lead to death panels and euthanasia for seniors.</font><br/><br/>Reality is fiction. Education is ignorant. Fear sells.<br/><br/><a href='http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090813/ap_on_go_co/us_health_care_end_of_life_2'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=cab26e3b-0800-83a8-bf0e-1fba2a54eb20' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-37102894699614015732009-08-11T19:00:00.001-07:002009-08-11T19:00:40.990-07:00Are we on the brink of creating a computer with a human brain?<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Instead, most neuroscientists believe that our feelings of self-awareness, pain, love and so on are simply the result of the countless billions of electrical and chemical impulses that flit between its equally countless billions of neurons.<br/><br/>So if you build something that works exactly like a brain, consciousness, at least in theory, will follow.<br/><br/>In fact, several teams are working to prove this is the case by attempting to build an electronic brain.</font><br/><br/>Fascinating.<br/><br/><a href='http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1205677/Are-brink-creating-human-brain.html'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=ed96f511-a6b3-8864-849e-c90b69349a43' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-20097434992794227352009-08-07T19:47:00.000-07:002009-08-07T19:48:35.117-07:00Teenage WastelandLoved it.<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZOkNIUw0c2s&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZOkNIUw0c2s&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-42500021300119028612009-08-06T18:12:00.001-07:002009-08-06T18:12:39.542-07:00Rest in Peace John Hughes<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>Let's look at his legacy. The man either wrote or directed (or did both) some of my all time favorite films, including FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, SIXTEEN CANDLES, WEIRD SCIENCE, PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES, UNCLE BUCK, PRETTY IN PINK, NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION, THE GREAT OUTDOORS, DUTCH and HOME ALONE. </font><br/><br/>Thank you, Mr. Hughes. Rest in peace.<br/><a href='http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41966'><br/>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=48468e63-d838-8b43-b52a-d8223622a1a0' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-74282236670242861722009-08-06T10:03:00.000-07:002009-08-06T10:06:10.489-07:00For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics<span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">The rising stature of statisticians, who can earn $125,000 at top companies in their first year after getting a doctorate, is a byproduct of the recent explosion of digital data. In field after field, computing and the Web are creating new realms of data to explore — sensor signals, surveillance tapes, social network chatter, public records and more. And the digital data surge only promises to accelerate, rising fivefold by 2012, according to a projection by IDC, a research firm.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/technology/06stats.html?emc=eta1">Read more.</a>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196156.post-92013718821400232082009-08-04T06:19:00.001-07:002009-08-04T06:19:55.749-07:00Britain To Put CCTV Cameras Inside Private Homes<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><font color='#33ffff'>As an ex-Brit, I’m well aware of the authorities’ love of surveillance and snooping, but even I, a pessimistic cynic, am amazed by the governments latest plan: to install Orwell’s telescreens in 20,000 homes.<br/><br/>£400 million ($668 million) will be spend on installing and monitoring CCTV cameras in the homes of private citizens. Why? To make sure the kids are doing their homework, going to bed early and eating their vegetables. The scheme has, astonishingly, already been running in 2,000 family homes. The government’s “children’s secretary” Ed Balls is behind the plan, which is aimed at problem, antisocial families. The idea is that, if a child has a more stable home life, he or she will be less likely to stray into crime and drugs.<br/><br/>It gets worse. The government is also maintaining a private army, incredibly not called “Thought Police”, which will “be sent round to carry out home checks,” according to the Sunday Express. And in a scheme which firmly cements the nation’s reputation as a “nanny state”, the kids and their families will be forced to sign “behavior contracts” which will “set out parents’ duties to ensure children behave and do their homework.”</font><br/><br/>Wow.<br/><br/><a href='http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/britain-to-put-cctv-cameras-inside-private-homes/'>Read more.</a><br/><br/><div class='zemanta-pixie'><img src='http://img.zemanta.com/pixy.gif?x-id=c9b974b9-6e01-8485-aec2-f0a15cc0b6a4' alt='' class='zemanta-pixie-img'/></div></div>Randy Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02697322503634553470noreply@blogger.com0