What Adam Curry is reading

Jason L Hill (JfreakingWho) : The new science! @adamcurry @cl...
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  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 20:26
  Jason L Hill (JfreakingWho) : The new science! @adamcurry @cl...HeyI'm using a new app called Via.Me to share my life in pictures, video, and sound.Check it out and follow me: http//via.me/download
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  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:36
  KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- Jamaica may be able to benefit from newly found deposits of rare-earth elements that are key ingredients for smartphones, computers and numerous other high-tech goods, the Caribbean island's top mining official said Tuesday.Science, Technology, Energy & Mining Minister Philip Paulwell said Japanese researchers believe they have found "high concentrations of rare-earth elements" in the country's red mud, or bauxite residue.China is now the world's main supplier of rare-earth elements, which are minerals that play a critical role in making products from basic communication devices to high-tech military weaponry. Worried by that dominance, manufacturers around the globe have been spurring searches for other sources that could be profitably mined.In a statement to Jamaica's Parliament, Paulwell said researchers from Japan's Nippon Light Metal Co. Ltd. believe rare-earth elements can be efficiently extracted in Jamaica, where a once-flourishing bauxite industry has fallen on hard times.Paulwell touted the discovery as a potentially significant boon for the Caribbean island's chronically sputtering economy."We are at the starting line of an opportunity that has the potential to redefine Jamaica's economic prospects in a positive way," he told lawmakers. "... The government of Jamaica perceives the extraction of the rare-earth elements that are present in Jamaica to be an exciting new opportunity to earn much needed foreign exchange and create jobs."A pilot program will establish the scope of any potential commercial project on Jamaica, which is about the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The environmental and planning agency has already authorized the pilot program but other government agencies still need to examine it.Nippon Light Metal has agreed to invest $3 million in buildings and equipment for the pilot project while also being responsible for operating costs. Any rare-earth elements produced during this phase will be jointly owned by Jamaica and the Japanese company. Negotiations for commercialization are expected to occur at a later date.China has built a virtual monopoly on supplying rare-earth elements to the world's manufacturers, thanks to cheap labor and low environmental standards. It alarmed companies around the world in recent years by reducing exports and at the same time building up its own industries, saying the curbing of rare earth exports was needed for environmental protection.Last year, the World Trade Organization created a panel to evaluate China's rare earth exports after the U.S., the European Union and Japan complained about the curtailment of Chinese sales of rare earth minerals.Rare earths aren't scarce, but few places exist with enough concentrations to mine profitably, and they are difficult to isolate in a purified form and require advanced technology to extract.Jamaica had previously tried to get rare earth minerals from the country's red mud around bauxite mining grounds, but Paulwell said it faced major challenges in attempting to extract minerals from the bauxite tailings.Last January, Nippon Light Metal approached Jamaica saying it had the capacity to extract rare-earth elements and wanted to evaluate the local red mud. Since then, it has done chemical research and successfully extracted some rare-earth elements, Paulwell said.Representatives of the company could not immediately be reached for comment.If the pilot project is a success, Nippon Light Metal hopes to extract 1,500 metric tons of rare-earth oxides annually, Paulwell said."It is clear that this resource presents an opportunity Jamaica must pursue, and which must be managed in such a way that Jamaica and Jamaicans benefit significantly," he said.---David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter/com/dmcfadd
Taranis | £125 million Drone To Be Tested In Australia | Photos
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  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:03
  Video will begin in 5 seconds.
  Drone testing heading down underBAE Systems unveil the super-sonic and radar invisible Taranis drone that will soon have its first test flight in Australia.
  An unmanned British stealth drone that can fly faster than the speed of sound and go undetected by radar will soon have its first test flight in Australia.
  The £125 million ($190 million) Taranis, named after the Celtic god of thunder, can attack targets across continents, automatically dodge missiles and other efforts to bring it down and independently identify targets. It can refuel in mid-air and carry weapons including laser guided bombs and missiles.
  Designed to avoid having to put human lives at risk on long and dangerous missions, the drone will be flown for the first time in a series of tests over the Australian outback early this year, Britain's Telegraph reported.
  Taranis ... named after the Celtic god of thunder.
  The maker of the drone, BAE Systems, conducts much of its unmanned aircraft work and research in Australia, with its engineering hub based in Melbourne. BAE did not respond to a request for comment but told the Telegraph that Taranis will "have a major impact on the future of the UK military".
  With a length of 12.5 metres and a wingspan of 10 metres, Taranis is purportedly even more advanced than current US drones such as the Reaper and Predator.
  Drones have become a mainstay of warfare but are shrouded in secrecy. The US, ramping up its drone program under President Barack Obama, has used them against "kill list" targets in place such as Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.
  Coming to Australia ... the Taranis drone.
  About 95 per cent of targeted killings since the September 11 terrorist attacks have been conducted by drones, ProPublica reported. The US drone war has been carried out remotely from the US as well as through secret bases around the world, including from Australia.
  Andrew Davies, senior analyst of defence capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force have used surveillance drones but not armed ones.
  He said he believed that for Britain's Taranis tests Australia appealed because it contains a lot of wide open spaces with next to no electromagnetic signals. He believed the tests would take place around Woomera in South Australia.
  The Department of Defence in Canberra said a number of countries including Britain use Australia for tests of this type due to larger range areas with less congested airspace.
  "For security reasons, details of the location and timing of specific tests or trials of this type are classified and not disclosed prior to the trials," a Defence spokesman said.
  During the test flight Taranis will reportedly fly a simulated mission where it must seek out potential targets and avoid threats such as ground to air missiles. Once it identifies a target, it will only attack after given the all clear by mission command.
  But Davies believes it is only a matter of time before drones are making decisions for themselves.
  "I think there's certainly some things to be concerned about; if you look at what's called Moore's Law, which is something in the world of computers that says that processing power essentially doubles every 18 months or two years, [and] it's inevitable that there will be machines sooner rather than later that are able to evaluate the environment around them and make their own decisions," he said.
  "When you look at that in its application to warfare that opens the possibilities of systems that you just let go and they make their own targeting decisions. I think there are both ethical and practical problems with that."
  He said drones such as Taranis were designed from the start as a "weapons delivery platform" but drones currently in use "are really surveillance drones that have had weapons bolted on to them".
  It is estimated about 3000 people have been killed in US drone strikes, including hundreds of civilians which has led to significant controversy. Australian academics have previously told Fairfax Media that the expanding drone program poses human rights and privacy risks and there is a very real danger they could fall into the hands of those aiming to hurt the West.
  Davies said the appeal of drone technology for the military was that unlike manned aircraft they "have the ability to hang around almost indefinitely".
  "Any form of air strike runs the risk of civilian casualties on the ground and it doesn't matter whether it's manned or unmanned," he said.
  "Like most aspects of warfare there are upsides and downsides to it ... it has been very effective in targeting particularly the leadership of Al Qaeda but it has a downside in terms of both the incidental killing of civilians and the anger it creates in local communities."
  In parallel with the military applications, civilian use of drones has been ramping up in Australia in areas such as real estate, mining, environmental surveying and emergency services. In October last year hobbyists used a drone to find a "missing" bushwalker with no human intervention as part of a CSIRO competition.
  Boeing subsidiary Insitu Pacific, based in Australia, has trialled its Scan Eagle drones for use in bushfire monitoring and for tracking marine mammals around oil and gas fields in Australia, managing director Andrew Duggan told Fairfax Media.
  "We're really trying to turn the focus of these systems on to replacing or supplementing manned aircraft in missions where pilots and air crew might be at risk," he said.
  Duggan said he had also had interest from potential clients who want to use drones for shark spotting and for pollution monitoring on the Great Barrier Reef.
Dreamliner grounded - chicagotribune.com
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  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:32
  Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s on Wednesday after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing, the latest in a series of incidents to heighten safety concerns over a plane many see as the future of commercial aviation.Shares in the Chicago-based Boeing Co. were down 4.4 percent in premarket trading on the news.
  All Nippon Airways Co. said instruments aboard a domestic flight indicated a battery error, triggering emergency warnings to the pilots. Shigeru Takano, a senior safety official at the Civil Aviation Bureau, said a second warning light indicated smoke.
  Wednesday's incident, described by a transport ministry official as "highly serious" - language used in international safety circles as indicating there could have been an accident -- is the latest in a line of mishaps -- fuel leaks, a battery fire, wiring problem, brake computer glitch and cracked cockpit window - to hit the world's first mainly carbon-composite airliner in recent days.
  "I think you're nearing the tipping point where they need to regard this as a serious crisis," said Richard Aboulafia, a senior analyst with the Teal Group inFairfax, Virginia. "This is going to change people's perception of the aircraft if they don't act quickly."
  ANA, which said the battery in the forward cargo hold was the same lithium-ion type as one involved in a fire on another Dreamliner at a U.S. airport last week, grounded all 17 of its 787s, and Japan Airlines Co suspended its 787 flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
  The two airlines, which operate around half of the 50 Dreamliners delivered to date, said they would decide on Thursday whether to resume Dreamliner flights the following day.
  COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW
  The 787, which has a list price of $207 million, represents a leap in the way planes are designed and built, but the project has been plagued by cost overruns and years of delays. Some have suggested Boeing's rush to get planes built after those delays resulted in the recent problems, a charge the company strenuously denies.
  Both the U.S.Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said they were monitoring the latest incident as part of a comprehensive review of the Dreamliner announced late last week.
  ALARM TRIGGERED
  ANA flight 692 left Yamaguchi in western Japan shortly after 8 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Tuesday) bound for Haneda Airport near Tokyo, a 65-minute flight. About 18 minutes into the flight, the plane descended and made an emergency landing 16 minutes later, according to flight-tracking website Flightaware.com.
  A spokesman for Osaka airport authority said the plane landed at Takamatsu at 8:45 a.m. All 129 passengers and eight crew evacuated via the plane's inflatable chutes. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said five people were slightly injured.
  At a news conference - where ANA's vice-president Osamu Shinobe bowed deeply in apology - the carrier said a battery in the forward cargo hold triggered emergency warnings to the pilots, who decided on the emergency action. "There was a battery alert in the cockpit and there was an odd smell detected in the cockpit and cabin, and (the pilot) decided to make an emergency landing," Shinobe said.
  In a statement later, ANA said the main battery in the forward electrical equipment bay was discolored and there were signs of leakage.
  Passengers leaving the flight told local TV there was an odor like burning plastic on the plane as soon as it took off. "There was a bad smell as soon as we started and before we made the emergency landing there was an announcement and the stewardess' voice was shaking, so I thought this was serious," one passenger toldTBS TV.
  Another man told a local broadcaster: "There was a strong, burning smell, but the smoke appeared after they opened the emergency doors, after we landed."
  Marc Birtel, a Boeing spokesman, told Reuters: "We've seen the reports, we're aware of the events and are working with our customer."
  Robert Stallard, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said lost revenue at the Japanese airlines could prompt compensation from Boeing. "What started as a series of relatively minor, isolated incidents now threatens to overhang Boeing until it can return confidence, and this looks to be a near-term challenge given the media's draw to all things 787," he said.
  UNDER REVIEW
Obama announces 23 exective actions, asks Congress to pass gun laws '' This Just In - CNN.com Blogs
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  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:04
  President Barack Obama announces 23 executive actions on gun control, separately asks Congress to pass gun-control lawsObama asks Congress to pass laws that would: require background checks on all gun sales; restore a ban on "military-style assault weapons"; ban gun magazines with capacities of more than 10 rounds; and toughen penalties on people who sell guns to those who can't have themBelow are the latest updates as they come to us. Also, you can read our full story.[Updated at 12:43 p.m. ET] Senate Democratic leadership sources tell CNN that passing any new legislation will be extremely difficult because more than a dozen vulnerable Democrats from conservative states will probably resist much of what the president is pushing, according to CNN's Dana Bash.
  These Democratic sources say the most likely legislation to pass will be strengthening background checks, since it is the least overt form of gun control and it also appeals to gun rights advocates' emphasis on keeping guns away from people with mental health and criminal problems.
  [Updated at 12:42 p.m. ET] Reaction to Obama's announcement is starting to come in. From Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, whose state was the site of the December 14 school massacre that prompted Obama to examine gun control steps:
  "In the hours after the worst of our fears were confirmed, in the midst of the grief and sorrow over the loss of 20 innocent children and six dedicated educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School, there was one question on the minds of people across Connecticut and around the nation: How do we make sure this never happens again? Today the president took the critical first step toward answering that question. The common sense measures he proposed today are something that we should all be able to agree on, and I want to commend him and the vice president for their work on this issue."
  From Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner:
  "House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations. And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that."
  [Updated at 12:22 p.m. ET] The announcement is over, and Obama is signing the 23 executive actions. These actions are in addition to laws that Obama wants Congress to pass. Here, according to the White House, are the 23 executive actions that he and his administration will do:
  1. "Issue a presidential memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system."
  2. "Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system."
  3. "Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system."
  4. "Direct the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks."
  5. "Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun."
  6. "Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers."
  7. "Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign."
  8. "Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission)."
  9. "Issue a presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations."
  10. "Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement."
  11. "Nominate an ATF director."
  12. "Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations."
  13. "Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime."
  14. "Issue a presidential memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence."
  15. "Direct the attorney general to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies."
  16. "Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes."
  17. "Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities."
  18. "Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers."
  19. "Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education."
  20. "Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover."
  21. "Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges."
  22. "Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations."
  23. "Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health."
  [Updated at 12:17 p.m. ET] Obama says he acknowledges that Americans have certain unalienable rights, but with those rights come responsibilities, and that Americans are "responsible for each other." These rights '' including those to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness '' were denied to victims of high profile shooting such as those at Virginia Tech last decade and the December 14 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
  Obama called for public pressure on Congress and the gun lobby to push for stronger steps against gun violence, saying "the only way we can change is if the American people demand it."
  "Let's do the right thing ... for (shooting victims) and for the country that we love so much. Thank you. I'm going to sign these orders," he said.
  [Updated at 12:10 p.m. ET] More details on what Obama said about the 23 executive actions he's poised to take: The actions, he said, include those that would strengthening background checks on gun sales and expand safety programs in schools.
  He hasn't said what all of the 23 actions would do.
  [Updated at 12:09 p.m. ET] Obama says he will nominate B. Todd Jones, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as its permanent chief. The agency has lacked a permanent leader for six years.
  [Updated at 12:07 p.m. ET] Obama says he will sign 23 executive orders relating to this issue today.
  He also will ask Congress to pass laws, including ones that would:
  '' require universal background checks (background checks on anyone who would buy a gun, whether in stores or at auctions and conventions)
  '' restore a ban on "military-style assault weapons" (the ban expired in 2004)
  '' ban gun magazines with capacities of more than 10 rounds
  '' tougher penalties on people who sell guns to people who aren't allowed to have guns
  [Updated at 11:59 a.m. ET] President Obama has started to speak, and he's thanking Biden for his work to recommend gun-control steps in the past couple of weeks.
  Obama also is acknowledging four children who are sitting being and to the left of his podium. These children were asked to attend the announcement because they wrote letters to Obama after the December 14 shooting at a Newtown, Connecticut, school.
  The nation should be motivated to keep children such as these from harm, he said. "Their voices should compel us to change," and that's why he asked Biden to come up with recommendations that the country should execute "right now" to curb gun violence, Obama said.
  [Updated at 11:56 a.m. ET] "The world has changed and it is demanding action, it is in this context that the president" asked me to come up gun-control recommendations, Biden said.
  Some of the recommendations that Biden's task force gave to Obama on Monday include executive orders that the president can make without congressional approval, Biden said.
  [Updated at 11:53 a.m. ET] Vice President Joe Biden has begun the event with an acknowledgement of the December massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, where 20 children and six women were killed. "It's been 33 days since (the nation's heart) has been broken" by the Newtown shooting, he said.
  He's also addressing the Newtown victims' relatives who are attending the White House announcement.
  [Initial post, 11:38 a.m. ET] The moment for President Barack Obama to announce his gun-control proposals is about to arrive.
  Obama and Vice President Joe Biden are expected to unveil '' around 11:55 a.m. ET ''gun control proposals that, according to a source, will include background checks on all gun sales, a ban on assault weapons, and a ban on gun magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds.
  This post will have details on Obama's proposals as they are announced. Check this page starting just before noon ET, and refresh often for updates.
  The announcement at the White House comes after Biden led a task force to make gun-control proposals, partly in response to a December 14 shooting that killed 20 children and six women at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
  Details emerge on gun control proposal
  NRA: Obama an 'elitist hypocrite'
  Opinion: No, hypocrisy is at the NRA
  Oregon sheriff: 'Unconstitutional' gun control laws won't be enforced
  GOP senator vows to fight 'king' Obama
Why We're Raising the Signature Threshold for We the People | The White House
  Link to Article
  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:23
  Macon PhillipsJanuary 15, 201306:00 PM EST
  When we launched We the People, none of us knew how popular it would be, but it's exceeded our wildest expectations. Through the past year, interest in We the People exploded and we're closing in on 10 million signatures.
  When we first raised the threshold '-- from 5,000 to 25,000 '-- we called it "a good problem to have." Turns out that "good problem" is only getting better, so we're making another adjustment to ensure we're able to continue to give the most popular ideas the time they deserve.
  Starting today, as we move into a second term, petitions must receive 100,000 signatures in 30 days in order to receive an official response from the Obama Administration. This new threshold applies only to petitions created from this point forward and is not retroactively applied to ones that already exist.
  In the last two months of 2012, use of We the People more than doubled. In just that time roughly 2.4 million new users joined the system, 73,000 petitions were created and 4.9 million signatures were registered.
  As we've seen overall use skyrocket, more petitions are crossing the threshold '-- and doing so much more quickly.
  In the first 10 months of 2012, it took an average of 18 days for a new petition to cross the 25,000-signature threshold. In the last two months of the year, that average time was cut in half to just 9 days, and most petitions that crossed the threshold collected 25,000 signatures within five days of their creation. More than 60 percent of the petitions to cross threshold in all of 2012 did so in the last two months of the year.
  It's wonderful to see so many people using We the People to add their voices to important policy debates here in Washington and bring attention to issues that might not get the attention they deserve. This increasing adoption strengthens our resolve to build new features, including an API that would allow other popular online petition platforms to integrate with our official one. To that end we've released the source code to We the People and would love to connect with any enterprising engineers who want to help out.
  Here's a quick overview:
  Related Topics: Technology
table layout template
  Link to Article
  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:04
  HF SDR(Software Defined Radio) transceivers
  All published designs and materials are free for personal and non commercial use. Other use for commercial purpose are not allowed without permission from the author.
  Low power SDR HF I/Q S/H(Sample and Hold) transceiver CW,SSB.- ADTRX1 from 30 kHz-35 MHz with external LO-part1
  HF SDR transceiver called ADTRX1 (analog + digital) is compilation of the results and previously published designs. ADTRX1 is working to the 35 MHz and it is a very simple and promising design all with classic size thru holes components. It is very good introduction in to the new SDR technique of the HF transceiver design. Most of demanding specification for HF transceivers are in software now, not in hardware like in classic HF transceiver design. Part 1 is giving description main ADTRX1 board, results and basic connections
  HF SDR transceiver ADTRX1-YU1LM part1.pdf
  ADTRX1 SDR Transceivers built by Andrey US5EQQ
  ADTRX1 SDR Transceivers built by Wolfgang DK2CQ
  ADRX1-V1 SDR transceiver built by Gena UA6XW/9with his PCB version
  VIDEO about ATRX1-1 SDR transceiver built by Christopher HB9TJM
  http://www.hb9tjm.net/hamlog/blog/
  Low power SDR HF I/Q S/H(Sample and Hold) transceiver CW,SSB...- ADTRX1 from 30 kHz-35 MHz with external LO-control booards B1 and B2- part2
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiverpart 2 . In this article I am describing different possibilities with new control hardware boards B1 and B2. I made PCB corrections for ADTRX1 and new ADTRX1-1 version with 2 AF gain position like it is done in the SDR receivers DR2 ,DR2A.. . The receiving path in ADTRX1 is going always through the SB card and for transmission I am describing here 3 ways how to perform it. First way is completely digital with using SB card only , second way is completely analog with built in hardware and third way is mixture solution partly digital partly analog hardware. In the moment when I started design and experimenting with control boards there ware not freeware software for transmission. Now we have few software and situation is a quite different. The readers can decide individually how to do transmission.
  HF SDR transceiver ADTRX1-YU1LM part2.pdf
  ADTRX1-1 SDR transceiver built by Danil UR3VCD
  ADTRX1-1 SDR transceiver + input/output BP filters built by Serg UA3PRQ
  ADTRX1-1 SDR transceiv=er with control boards B1 and B2 built by Gabriel Scevlikfrom Slovakia
  Low power SDR HF I/Q S/H(Sample and Hold) transceiver CW, SSB.. - ADTRX1 from 30 kHz- 35 MHz with built in LO and control board B3 and B4 -part3
  Low power SDR HF I/Q S/H (Sample and Hold) transceiver based on use 74HC4053- ADTRX1 from 30 kHz-35 MHz with new boards B3 and B4. These new boards will enable easy RX/TX control interface with PC. Operation is possible on 3 bands harmonically related. The boards have built in 4 channel crystal oscillator with QRP 5Wout power amplifier with LP/BP.
  `HF SDR transceiver ADTRX1-YU1LM part3.pdf
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiver modified and built by Alex EU1ME
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiver built by Eugene RU6AI
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiver built by Daniel CT2JVM as graduate work in OFDM transceiver
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiver built by Jean-Michel TR8JH
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiver built by Pierre F1MGL
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiver built by Alexey RA4UDC
  ADTRX1 SDR transceiver + PA + LO Si570 LO built by Franck F1SSF
  HF SDR Transceiver -AVALA-01 from 1.5 MHz- 52 MHz
  Mono-band SDR transceiver AVALA-01 is ADTRX-02 low power SDR transceiver with built in QRP power amplifier and band oscillator all on one board. Transceiver is optimized for work with one (or two) sound card and M0KGK, Rocky ,PowerSDR SR40 and PowerSDR- IQ software. With unique PC control setup AVALA-01 can work with all types modulations SSB, CW, DIGITAL.
  HF SDR Transceievrs AVALA-01 -YU1LM.pdf
  HF SDR Transceievrs AVALA-01 Corrections-YU1LM.pdf
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver first prototype built by author Tasa YU1LM/QRP and output spectrum at 7MHz Pout=36dBm(4W)
  AVALA-01 REV-2A SDR transceiver for 7MHz inWWWPX-CW CONTEST 2008 2 WR / 2 EU 400 QSOs Power SDR +N1MM software in practical operation) built by author Tasa YU1LM/QRP
  AVALA-01 REV-2 SDR transceiver for 3.5MHz built by Sasa YU1EO
  AVALA-01 REV-1 SDR transceiver built by George UB5LCM
  AVALA-01 REV-2 SDR transceiver for 14MHz with mix 56 MHz LO built by Miki YU1KM
  AVALA-01 3 band 4 channel SDR transceiver built by DuÅko YU1RK with his version PCBs
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver built byDule YT1DL
  AVALA-01 SDR transceivers + DDS AD9851 LO built by Pierre F1MGL
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver built by Zilvinas LY3X
  DT2+DR2 as SDR transceiver built by Cezary SP5HTT
  DT2A+DR2 as SDR transceiver built byGerard F6BSZ
  AVALA-01SDR transceiver with external PA stage built byAlexeyRA4ADC
  AVALA-02 SDR core with PA for ADTRX1 SDR transceiver built byPeter SM2HJJ
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver built byZeljko 9A3RU and Zeljko 9A3ZV
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver built by F8BOJ
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver with power supply +28v !!!! redesigned, corrected errors and PA 18W built by Sandeep VU3SXT
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver built byIK1JNS
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver built by Dragan YU1AS
  AVALA-01 SDR transceiver built by Bodo DJ9CS with seriously improvement see article about AVALA-01 errors
  AVALA-01 SDR core built by Douglas CO8DM
  ADTRX-8 unpublished 1W 2 band SDR transceiver dimensions 100x160mm built by Rado S57RD
Ultimate QRSS kit
  Link to Article
  Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:12
  The ultimate QRSS Transmitter Kit is produced by Steve G0XAR and Hans G0UPL in 30, 40, 80 and 160m versions. The price is 15.39 GBP + shipping. This is approximately 19 EUR or 24 USD.
  To order: PLEASE VISIT THE SHOP
  InstructionsDOWNLOAD KIT INSTRUCTIONS BY CLICKING HERE - printed instructions are not supplied with the kit.
  SPANISH KIT INSTRUCTIONS v1.04 CLICK HERE - many thanks to Luis EA2COA who generously spent a lot of his time translating the instructions into Spanish.
  Firmware Version History - please CLICK HERE
  The kit supports the following modes:
  - QRSS mode (plain on/off keyed slow CW)
  - FSK/CW mode (frequency shift keyed slow CW)
  - DFCW mode (dual frequency CW)
  - WSPR mode (Weak Signal Propagation Reporter)
  - Slow-Hellschreiber (frequency shifted slow-Hell)
  - Full-speed Hellshreiber
  - Half-speed ("DX") Hellshreiber
  - CW (plain CW)
  - Customisable FSK patterns
  Other features:
  - 24-character LCD + two-button user interface
  - User-programmable (callsign, message, speed, FSK, mode, etc.), settings stored in EEPROM
  - GPS interface, for locking the frequency in slow-speed modes
  - On-chip generation of WSPR encoded message (no PC required)
  - WSPR maidenhead locator can be generated from GPS-derived latitude/longitude
  - Selectable ''frame'' size, for stacked QRSS reception
  - Plain CW callsign identifier at selectable interval
  - Produces 150mW RF output, or AF output for driving an SSB transceiver
  - Higher output power by additional PA transistor and/or higher PA supply voltage
  The kit contains the PCB, LCD, programmed microcontroller and all board-mounted components. Download the instruction manual using the link above. The PCB is quite compact and moderate care is required in the construction. A rich array of functionality is provided by the design; please read the instruction manual to understand the facilities provided. Builder modifications will be shown on this page as they are developed!
  Note for WSPR users: the 30m kit has a 10.140MHz crystal which is suitable for either the QRSS sub-band or the WSPR frequency. Therefore on 30m the kit can be used as a standalone WSPR transmitter. On other bands you may need to supply a suitable crystal for the WSPR frequency on that band. Alternatively you could use this kit in the AF output mode, fed into a conventional SSB transmitter set to the frequency of your choice.
  Kit photos (click for larger versions):
  Solder mask errorThe PCB has an error, where solder-mask is incorrectly applied to the toroid pads. This is easy to scrape off with a knife or screw-driver blade.
  Read more...
  GPS NotesHere are some notes about which GPS module to use, what to consider when purchasing a GPS module, and the method of frequency stabilisation used in the kit.
  Read more...
  Right-angled LCD mountingJohn VK6JY sent photos and an explanation of how to connect the LCD at right-angles to the PCB, convenient for a front-panel display for example.
  Read more...
  LCD connection method of Mike G8NXDMike G8NXD had problems splaying the LCD pins to connect wires, and describes his solution.
  Read more...
  LCD connection method of David G8OQWDavid G8OQW describes an elegant display connection solution using a ribbon cable connector.
  Read more...
  One night's 30m WSPR operating, by Tony G0BZBJust one night of operating 30m WSPR using the bare kit gave plenty of WSPR hits for Tony G0BZB (09-Sep-2012).
  Full size image...
  One night's 20m WSPR operating, by Philip G4JVFPhilip ordered a custom-made 20m crystal from QuartzlabUK (costing more than the kit price!) with the kit operating into a 132-foot Windom antenna, and was rewarded with WSPR spots worldwide over a 24-hour period (20-Sep-2012).
  Full size image...
  WSPR and Hell, by David VE3KCL in TorontoDavid VE3KCL operates from Toronto FN04 and the screenshot (left) is W4HBK's grabber at 1,700km distance. David uses two BS170's with heatsink, and got 800mW at 12V supply, subsequently lowering it to 250mW. He uses WSPR and Hellschreiber to a G5RV antenna.
  Full size image...
  Kit version history:VersionDateFeaturesv1.0019.May.2012- Original kit firmware versionv1.0123.Jun.2012- Bug fix: to the ''Frame'' parameter (beacon can sometimes stop transmitting after 1 hour)- Lowered the minimum frequency from 1,000,000 Hz to 450,000 Hzv1.0222.Jul.2012- Bug fix: correcting the operation of the on/off keying in some modesv1.0331.Jul.2012- Bug fix (cosmetic only): baud rate setting so it only accepts numeric characters- Bug fix (cosmetic only): ''frame'' mode, waiting display was incorrect- Improved GPS stabilisation algorithm- Added ability to use different cursor types on the displayv1.0407.Aug.2012- Bug fix: correcting the conversion of GPS latitude and longitude to Maidenhead locatorv1.0528.Aug.2012- Bug fix: When ''Start'' is non-zero, it always transmitted one frame on the hour- Removed the restriction on zero ''FSK (Hz)'' parameter- Output a high signal on connector F0 when the GPS is enabled and the frequency is locked- Now a space character in a custom message turns off the carrier- New TEST2 mode cycles the frequency range in 128 frequency steps.v1.0623.Sep.2012- New "Reset to factory" feature- Output a high signal on connector pin F2 while transmitting a frame.v1.0712.Oct.2012- Ignore any invalidly decoded GPS locator (no not write to EEPROM).- Bug fix: rare Latitude/Longitude to Maidenhead locator conversion problem.
Al-Qaida carves out own country in Mali - Yahoo! News
  Link to Article
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 22:25
  BAMAKO, Mali (AP) '-- Deep inside caves, in remote desert bases, in the escarpments and cliff faces of northern Mali, Islamic extremist fighters have been burrowing into the earth, erecting a formidable set of defenses to protect what has essentially become al-Qaida's new country.
  They have used the bulldozers, earth movers and Caterpillar machines left behind by fleeing construction crews to dig what residents and local officials describe as an elaborate network of tunnels, trenches, shafts and ramparts. In just one case, inside a cave large enough to drive trucks into, they have stored up to 100 drums of gasoline, guaranteeing their fuel supply in the face of a foreign intervention, according to experts.
  Now that intervention is here. On Friday, France deployed 550 troops and launched air strikes against the Islamists in northern Mali, starting battle in what is currently the biggest territory in the world held by al-Qaida and its allies. But the fighting has been harder than expected, and the extremists boast it will be worse than the decade-old struggle in Afghanistan.
  "Al-Qaida never owned Afghanistan," said former United Nations diplomat Robert Fowler, a Canadian kidnapped and held for 130 days by al-Qaida's local chapter, whose fighters now control the main cities in the north. "They do own northern Mali."
  Al-Qaida's affiliate in Africa '-- al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM'-- has been a shadowy presence for years in the forests and deserts of Mali, a country hobbled by poverty and a relentless cycle of hunger. Last year the terror syndicate and its allies took advantage of political instability in Mali to push out of their hiding place and into the towns, taking over an enormous territory larger than France or Texas '-- and almost exactly the size of Afghanistan.
  The catalyst for the Islamic fighters was a military coup nine months ago by disgruntled soldiers, which transformed Mali from a once-stable nation to the failed state it is today. The fall of the nation's democratically elected government at the hands of junior officers destroyed the military's command-and-control structure, creating the vacuum which allowed a mix of rebel groups to move in.
  After the international community debated for months over what to do, the United Nations Security Council called for a military intervention on condition that an exhaustive list of pre-emptive measures be taken, starting with training the Malian military. All that changed in a matter of hours last week, when French intelligence services spotted two rebel convoys heading south toward the towns of Segou and Mopti. Had either town fallen, many feared the Islamists would advance toward the capital, Bamako.
  Over the weekend, Britain authorized sending several transport planes to bring in French troops. Other African nations have authorized sending troops, and the U.S. has pledged communications and logistical support.
  The area under the rule of the Islamist fighters is mostly desert and sparsely populated, but analysts say that due to its size and the hostile nature of the terrain, rooting out the extremists here could prove even more difficult than it did in Afghanistan. Mali's former president has acknowledged, diplomatic cables show, that the country cannot patrol a frontier twice the length of the border between the United States and Mexico.
  AQIM operates not just in Mali, but in a corridor along much of the northern Sahel. This 7,000-kilometer (4,300-mile) long ribbon of land runs across the widest part of Africa, and includes sections of Mauritania, Niger, Algeria, Libya, Burkina Faso and Chad.
  "One could come up with a conceivable containment strategy for the Swat Valley," said Africa expert Peter Pham, an adviser to the U.S. military's African command center, referring to the region of Pakistan where Taliban fighters once dominated. "There's no containment strategy for the Sahel, which runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea."
  The Islamists in northern Mali had been preparing for battle long before the French announcement, according to elected officials and residents in Kidal, Timbuktu and Gao, including a day laborer hired by al-Qaida's local chapter to clear rocks and debris for one of their defenses. They spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear for their safety at the hands of the Islamists, who have previously accused those who speak to reporters of espionage.
  The al-Qaida affiliate, which became part of the terror network in 2006, is one of three Islamist groups in northern Mali. The others are the Movement for the Unity and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO, based in Gao, and Ansar Dine, based in Kidal. Analysts agree that there is considerable overlap among the groups, and that all three can be considered sympathizers, even extensions, of al-Qaida.
  The Islamic fighters have stolen equipment from construction companies, including more than $11 million worth from a French company called SOGEA-SATOM, according to Elie Arama, who works with the European Development Fund. The company had been contracted to build a European Union-financed highway in the north between Timbuktu and the village of Goma Coura. An employee of SOGEA-SATOM in Bamako declined to comment.
  The official from Kidal said his constituents have reported seeing Islamic fighters with construction equipment riding in convoys behind 4-by-4 trucks draped with their signature black flag. His contacts among the fighters, including friends from secondary school, have told him they have created two bases, around 200 to 300 kilometers (120 and 180 miles) north of Kidal, in the austere, rocky desert.
  The first base is occupied by al-Qaida's local fighters in the hills of Teghergharte, a region the official compared to Afghanistan's Tora Bora.
  "The Islamists have dug tunnels, made roads, they've brought in generators, and solar panels in order to have electricity," he said. "They live inside the rocks."
  Still further north, near Boghassa, is the second base, created by fighters from Ansar Dine. They, too, have used seized explosives, bulldozers and sledgehammers to make passages in the hills, he said.
  In addition to creating defenses, the fighters are amassing supplies, experts said. A local who was taken by Islamists into a cave in the region of Kidal described an enormous room, where several cars were parked. Along the walls, he counted up to 100 barrels of gasoline, according to the man's testimony to New York-based Human Rights Watch.
  In the regional capital of Gao, a young man told The Associated Press that he and several others were offered 10,000 francs a day by al-Qaida's local commanders (around $20), a rate several times the normal wage, to clear rocks and debris, and dig trenches. The youth said he saw Caterpillars and earth movers inside an Islamist camp at a former Malian military base 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Gao.
  The fighters are piling mountains of sand from the ground along the dirt roads to force cars onto the pavement, where they have checkpoints everywhere, he said. In addition, they are modifying their all-terrain vehicles to mount them with arms.
  "On the backs of their cars, it looks like they are mounting pipes," he said, describing a shape he thinks might be a rocket or missile launcher. "They are preparing themselves. Everyone is scared."
  A university student from Gao confirmed seeing the modified cars. He said he also saw deep holes dug on the sides of the highway, possibly to give protection to fighters shooting at cars, along with cement barriers with small holes for guns.
  In Gao, residents routinely see Moktar Belmoktar, the one-eyed emir of the al-Qaida-linked cell that grabbed Fowler in 2008. Belmoktar, a native Algerian, traveled to Afghanistan in the 1980s and trained in Osama bin Laden's camp in Jalalabad, according to research by the Jamestown Foundation. His lieutenant Oumar Ould Hamaha, whom Fowler identified as one of his captors, brushed off questions about the tunnels and caves but said the fighters are prepared.
  "We consider this land our land. It's an Islamic territory," he said, reached by telephone in an undisclosed location.
  He added that the Islamists have recruited new fighters, including from Western countries.
  In December, two U.S. citizens from Alabama were arrested on terrorism charges, accused of planning to fly to Morocco and travel by land to Mali to wage jihad, or holy war. Two French nationals have also been detained on suspicion of trying to travel to northern Mali to join the Islamists. Hamaha himself said he spent a month in France preaching his fundamentalist version of Islam in Parisian mosques after receiving a visa for all European Union countries in 2001.
  Hamaha indicated the Islamists have inherited stores of Russian-made arms from former Malian army bases, as well as from the arsenal of toppled Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, a claim that military experts have confirmed.
  Those weapons include the SA-7 and SA-2 surface-to-air missiles, according to Hamaha, which can shoot down aircrafts. His claim could not be verified, but Rudolph Atallah, the former counterterrorism director for Africa in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, said it makes sense.
  "Gadhafi bought everything under the sun," said Atallah, a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel, who has traveled extensively to Mali on defense missions. "His weapons depots were packed with all kinds of stuff, so it's plausible that AQIM now has surface-to-air missiles."
  Depending on the model, these missiles can range far enough to bring down planes used by ill-equipped African air forces, he said. However, they will be far less effective against the forces of the West, with their better equipment.
  Another factor in the success of military intervention will be the reaction of the people, who, unlike in Afghanistan, have little history of extremism. Malians have long practiced a moderate form of Islam, where women do not wear burqas and few practice the strict form of the religion. The Islamists are imposing a far more severe form of Islam on the towns of the north, carrying out amputations in public squares, flogging women for not covering up and destroying world heritage sites.
  The Islamists' recent advances draw on al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb's near decade of experience in Mali's northern desert, where Fowler and his fellow U.N. colleague were held captive for four months in 2008, an experience he recounts in his recent book, "A Season in Hell."
  Originally from Algeria, the fighters fled across the border into Mali in 2003, after kidnapping 32 European tourists. Over the next decade, they used the country's vast northern desert to hold French, Spanish, Swiss, German, British, Austrian, Italian and Canadian hostages, raising an estimated $89 million in ransom payments, according to Stratfor, a global intelligence company.
  During this time, they also established relationships with local clans, nurturing the ties that now protect them. Several commanders have taken local wives, and Hamaha, whose family is from Kidal, confirmed that Belmoktar is married to his niece.
  Fowler described being driven for days by jihadists who knew Mali's featureless terrain by heart, navigating valleys of identical dunes with nothing more than the direction of the sun as their map. He saw them drive up to a thorn tree in the middle of nowhere to find barrels of diesel fuel. Elsewhere, he saw them dig a pit in the sand and bury a bag of boots, marking the spot on a GPS for future use.
  In his four-month-long captivity, Fowler never saw his captors refill at a gas station, or shop in a market. Yet they never ran out of gas. And although their diet was meager, they never ran out of food, a testament to the extensive supply network which they set up and are now refining and expanding.
  Among the many challenges an invading army will face is the inhospitable terrain, Fowler said, which is so hot that at times "it was difficult to draw breath." A cable published by WikiLeaks from the U.S. Embassy in Bamako described how even the Malian troops deployed in the north before the coup could only work from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m., and spent the sunlight hours in the shade of their vehicles.
  Yet Fowler said he saw al-Qaida fighters chant Quranic verses under the Sahara sun for hours, just one sign of their deep, ideological commitment.
  "I have never seen a more focused group of young men," said Fowler, who now lives in Ottawa, Canada. "No one is sneaking off for R&R. They have left their wives and children behind. They believe they are on their way to paradise."
  ___
  Associated Press writer Baba Ahmed contributed to this report from Bamako and Mopti, Mali.
  ___
  Rukmini Callimachi can be reached at www.twitter.com/rcallimachi
  Baba Ahmed can be reached at www.twitter.com/Babahmed1
Statement by the Press Secretary
  Link to Article
  Source: White House.gov Press Office Feed
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:29
  The White House
  Office of the Press Secretary
  For Immediate Release
  January 14, 2013
  On Monday, January 14, 2013, the President signed into law:
  H.R. 443, which authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to convey specified properties from the United States to the Maniilaq Association in Kotzebue, Alaska;
  H.R. 1464, the "North Korean Child Welfare Act of 2012," which requires the Department of State regularly to brief Congress on efforts to advocate for the best interests of North Korean children;
  H.R. 2076, the "Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012," which clarifies that assistance provided by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security at the request of State and local law enforcement officials in the investigation of mass killings and other violent acts is within the scope of Federal employment;
  H.R. 4212, the "Drywall Safety Act of 2012," which directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a final rule, or adopt an alternative standard, that would limit the sulfur content contained in drywall; establishes a mandatory drywall labeling requirement; and updates current remediation guidance for homeowners;
  H.R. 4365, which specifies that the Thrift Savings Plan accounts of Federal employees are subject to Federal tax levy under the Internal Revenue Code;
  H.R. 4606, which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue right-of-way permits for natural gas pipelines located within the boundary of Glacier National Park in Montana;
  H.R. 6029, the "Foreign and Economic Espionage Penalty Enhancement Act of 2012," which increases the maximum fines for stealing trade secrets with the intent to benefit foreign entities from $500,000 to $5 million for individuals and from $10 million to the greater of $10 million or three times the value of the stolen trade secret for organizations;
  H.R. 6060, the "Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act of 2012," which extends Department of the Interior's authority to spend up to $6 million annually through Fiscal Year 2019 for the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Implementation Program and the San Juan River Basin Program;
  H.R. 6328, the "Clothe a Homeless Hero Act," which requires the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration to make every reasonable effort to transfer unclaimed clothing recovered at airport security checkpoints to local veterans' organizations or other local charitable organizations for distribution to homeless or needy veterans and veterans' families;
  H.R. 6364, the "World War I Centennial Commission Act," which establishes the World War I Centennial Commission to plan activities to commemorate the centennial of World War I;
  H.R. 6586, the "Space Exploration Sustainability Act," which extends from July 1, 2016, through December 31, 2020, authority for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to make certain payments to Russia related to work on the International Space Station; and extends, to entities that apply for licenses in calendar year 2013, authority for the Department of Transportation to pay claims for damages resulting from commercial space launches or reentries above the amount of insurance required by Federal law;
  H.R. 6621, which amends various provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act enacted in September 2011 and other provisions of Federal patent law;
  H.R. 6655, the "Protect Our Kids Act of 2012," which establishes a Commission to study and provide recommendations to reduce fatalities resulting from child abuse and neglect; and extends and amends the authority of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Contingency Fund;
  S.J. Res. 44, which grants the consent of Congress to the State and Province Emergency Management Assistance Memorandum of Understanding entered into between States in the upper Midwest and the Provinces of central Canada;
  S. 3331, the "Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012," which provides intercountry adoption accreditation standards for the adoption of children from countries which are not parties to the Hague Adoption Convention;
  S. 3454, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013," which authorizes fiscal year 2013 appropriations for U.S. intelligence-related activities and establishes and amends various intelligence-related authorities;
  S. 3472, the "Uninterrupted Scholars Act (USA)," which authorizes, in certain circumstances, the release of child education records without parental consent, and eliminates parental notification requirements for information requested for certain court proceedings;
  S. 3630, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Waterford, Wisconsin, as the Captain Rhett W. Schiller Post Office;
  S. 3662, the "Lieutenant Ryan Patrick Jones Post Office Designation Act," which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service in Westminster, Massachusetts, as the Lieutenant Ryan Patrick Jones Post Office Building; and
  S. 3677, which makes a technical correction to clarify that the requirement that Federally-regulated lending institutions deposit flood insurance premiums and fees in an escrow account on behalf of borrowers only applies to "residential" improved real estate.
Texas State Rep Files ''Firearms Protection Act'' Bill, Would Make Federal Gun Bans Unenforceable Within State's Boundaries'...
  Link to Article
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:23
  Don't mess with Texas.
  AUSTIN '' State Rep. Steve Toth (R-The Woodlands) has begun the process to file legislation assisting the protection of the Second Amendment of the United State Constitution.
  The ''Firearms Protection Act'' bill would make any federal law banning semi-automatic firearms or limiting the size of gun magazines unenforceable within the state's boundaries. Anyone trying to enforce a federal gun ban could face felony charges under the proposal.
  ''We can no longer depend on the Federal Government and this Administration to uphold a Constitution that they no longer believe in. The liberties of the People of Texas and the sovereignty of our State are too important to just let the Federal Government take them away. The overreach of the federal administrations executive orders that are do not align with the Constitution, are not very popular here in Texas,'' said Toth.
  Along with Wyoming, Texas will lead the country in continuing to stand for the sovereignty to run Texas as Texans see fit while exercising the Bill of Rights Amendments 2& 10 to ''prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers '... [to] extending the ground of public confidence in the Government.''
Liberal Academy Member Calls For Oscars Boycott Of ''Zero Dark Thirty'''...
  Link to Article
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:23
  If it has the bed-wetters worked up it has to be a good movie.
  Via Guardian:
  Hollywood studio Sony has been forced into a fresh defence of the controversial film Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, after a member of the body that organises the Oscars called for a boycott.
  Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Ampas) member David Clennon said last week he would not be voting for Kathryn Bigelow's film, which has been nominated for five Oscars, and urged others to snub a movie that he said ''promotes the acceptance of the crime of torture, as a legitimate weapon in America's so-called War on Terror''. Writing on the truth-out.org website, he added: ''I cannot vote for a film that makes heroes of Americans who commit the crime of torture.''
  In response, Sony president Amy Pascal said she was ''outraged'' that an Academy member would try to influence the voting process. ''Zero Dark Thirty does not advocate torture,'' she said on Friday. ''To not include that part of history would have been irresponsible and inaccurate. We fully support Kathryn Bigelow and [screenwriter] Mark Boal and stand behind this extraordinary movie. We are outraged that any responsible member of the Academy would use their voting status in Ampas as a platform to advance their own political agenda.''
  Keep reading'...
MSNBC's Cro-Magnon Lib Martin Bashir Compares The NRA To Hitler'...
  Link to Article
  Source: Weasel Zippers
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:19
  Apparently liberals like being told by a Brit how awful their country is. Why else would Martin Bashir and Piers Morgan be on TV?
  Via Newsbusters:
  MSNBC's Martin Bashir, the man who compared Rick Santorum to Stalin, on Monday declared that the National Rifle Association ''deserved to be equated with Hitler.'' The arch-liberal cable anchor highlighted NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre's contention that disarming the Jews partly contributed to the Holocaust. A horrified Bashir asserted, ''And so with that theory being promoted by the NRA, we've seen the most abject and abhorrent suggestion that the President of the United States is somehow the equivalent of Hitler'' on the issue of firearms.
  Keep reading'...
BBC News - 'Insulting words' crime ditched
  Link to Article
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:16
  14 January 2013Last updated at18:05 ETThe crime of "insulting" someone through words or behaviour, which once led to the arrest of a student for asking a police officer whether his horse was gay, is to be dropped.
  Home Secretary Theresa May confirmed to MPs that the government would not seek to overturn a Lords amendment scrapping the ban.
  The director of public prosecutions has said it will not hinder his work.
  But Labour warned that it could remove protections for minority groups.
  Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act currently means that "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour" might be deemed a criminal offence.
  Burning poppiesIt has been strongly criticised by free-speech campaigners, and in December the House of Lords voted by 150 to 54, a majority of 96, to remove the word insulting.
  The move was championed in the upper chamber by former West Midlands chief constable Lord Dear.
  Continue reading the main storyIt is important to make sure we can protect freedom of speech but it is also very important to make sure we can protect vulnerable groups from unfair discrimination''
  End QuoteYvette CooperShadow home secretaryMrs May told MPs: "I respect the review taken by their Lordships. They had concerns which I know are shared by some in this House that Section 5 encroaches upon freedom of expression.
  "On the other hand, the view expressed by many in the police is that Section 5 including the word insulting is a valuable tool in helping them keep the peace and maintain public order.
  "Now there's always a careful balance to be struck between protecting our proud tradition of free speech and taking action against those who cause widespread offence with their actions."
  She said the government had supported the retention of the word insulting to prevent people swearing at police officers, protesters burning poppies, or "similar scenarios".
  'Victory'Ahead of the Lords vote, Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer wrote: "We are unable to identify a case in which the alleged behaviour leading to conviction could not properly be characterised as 'abusive' as well as 'insulting'.
  "I therefore agree that the word 'insulting' could safely be removed without the risk of undermining the ability of the CPS to bring prosecutions."
  Mrs May said that, following Mr Starmer's intervention, ministers were "not minded" to challenge the Lords amendment to the Crime and Courts Bill.
  But shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper pressed the government to produce an "assessment of the impact of Section 5 of the Public Order Act on different groups, particularly on minority groups".
  "Many people have said that the existing Section 5 has formed some sort of protection," she told MPs.
  "It is important to make sure we can protect freedom of speech but it is also very important to make sure we can protect vulnerable groups from unfair discrimination."
  Campaigners say that different interpretations of the word insulting have led to spurious arrests, such as the arrest of a teenager for holding a "Scientology is a dangerous cult" placard.
  Simon Calvert, campaign director for the Reform Section 5 group, said: "This is a victory for free speech.
  "People of all shades of opinion have suffered at the hands of Section 5. By accepting the Lords amendment to reform it, the government has managed to please the widest possible cross-section of society. They have done the right thing and we congratulate them."
Lamce Arsewrong
  Link to Article
  Source: Lame Cherry
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:06
  I really do not care about this fraud Lance Armstrong, as it is not my French cycling career worth millions that was ruined by his fraud domination of a stupid bicycle race. That is the problem with Europeans in the first place in they gravitate toward fag sports and then have to stick knives in people's asses at soccer games or go beat up their Italian wives, because there is no manly blood involved.
  Why I address this now is simple. People are holding up Live Strong, which is when they are attacked by cancer, want some support system to make the terror of it not so bad.
  Armstrong is a reprehensible ass, like the New England Patriots are assss in stealing Super Bowls, several of which would have belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers.Armstrong is a bully, and whether his bullying was due to his whatever he was taking is a Joker point.
  That same point though in "his cancer survival" is something no one is addressing, because maybe Lance Armstrong brough cancer on hisself by his additive intake, and when he stopped doping, the cancer lost it's food source and the body healed itself.Furthermore, did Armstrong keep doping and that is the reason he was able to overcome whatever cancer he had.
  See that is what Lance Armstrong would come clean about if he cared about people. Armstrong should be a lab rat for testing to examine exactly what was his miracle cure. For that matter how about hauling in Ruth Bader Ginsburg to see just how she lived through pancreatic cancer which kills all others in about 6 weeks.
  Is always odd in these things in how for the longest time people just died from cancer, and then the majority quit being poisoned costing all they had, and then by miracle these cancer survivor stories started showing up in people were cured...........Yet now we see Lance Armstrong, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Fidel Castro free and cured, and yet others like Hugo Chavez is a living corpse, like so many other people who are poor for instance..........just what is it in the cancer thing that LIVE STRONG represents a segment of well insured and moneyed people who survive cancer, while the rest of the bunch like my cousin Dottie with liver cancer dies in a few months.
  Of course, Oprah Winfrey is not going to be asking these things. Like how autism comes more with vaccines. How fast food additives now give asthma. How the connected elite never get cancer, and cancer is just one of those things that culls the ones who are not of the upper classes.
  Lance Armstrong only came clean on this stuff because of that money pit foundation. That is why they changed the name of that place long ago, so as to keep the money pit piled high as cancer people flock to it for an illusion to keep them from this terror experiment which this population of Americans is being studied in the mutant self regeneration of cells for immortal existence.
  So everything Lance Armstrong is, is a fraud, like riding a bicycle is some sport or Olympic event. Bicycles are what fags ride, because the small penis bunch is riding Harleys with leather to make up for their psychopathy.Yes all of this starts getting really disgusting when one knows in forensic psychology what is going on in the grey matter. Europeans like fag sports, because they have lost every war since the 7 Years War........that is almost 300 years of losers where the aggressive ones are dead under the sod, and the sods are above ground breeding with shemales a bunch of queers who ride bikes and lose to Lance Armstrong.
  Do you really get how fag Armstrong is, in he had to dope hisself up to beat a bunch of queer Europeans with girl DNA?
  Daisy DaisyGive me your answer doI'm half doped upTrying to win the tourThe dope might give me cancerI can count on a cureBut I know conceitWill be discreetWith Oprah and Gayle on the view
  Hey Lance, how about donating a few hundred thousand to the blog as penance.
  Let's end with this..........
  Yes more comforting than that guy girl Lance photo at the beginning.
  agtG 262
Shades of Gray (Aaron Swartz: The Weblog)
  Link to Article
  Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:15
  What do you do when someone says something obviously false? Do you correct them? Do you ignore them?
  On three spearate occasions Bill O'Reilly noted that he previously worked for Inside Edition and said ''we won a Peabody award'' or ''they won a Peabody award'', sometimes noting it was the highest journalism award in the country.
  Al Franken called the Peabody Award people to investigate; they laughed and said Inside Edition had never won a Peabody award.
  Franken called O'Reilly. O'Reilly looked into it, called him back, and said it was a Polk award. ''Okay, Al, go after me if you want'' he concluded. Franken, suprised that O'Reilly invited Al to go after him instead of thanking him for helping O'Reilly avoid another embarassing mistake, decided to do just that.
  Franken told the Washington Post, which published the fact. Newsday picked up the story.
  O'Reilly was outraged, and called it ''Attack Journalism'' on his show. ''Guy said about me ['...] O'Reilly said he won a Peabody Award. Never said it. You can't find a transcript where I said it. ['...] it's totally fabricated.''
  The New York Times's Janet Maslin reviewed Franken's book, writing ''Mr. Franken makes a bull's-eye out of Mr. O'Reilly. First the prize: he shows how Mr. O'Reilly's erroneous claim that he won a Peabody Award evolved into even bigger fibs once it was challenged.''
  On his show, O'Reilly responded ''Maslin's gleeful libel demonstrates the viciousness that has enveloped The Times. ['...] I knew that once I took on The New York Times the paper's character assassins would take dead aim on me. That is why few journalists will ever criticize The Times. ['...] I never said I won a Peabody Award. Transcripts prove that and the defamatory charge has been refuted time and time again.''
  NPR's interview show Fresh Air invited O'Reilly on to respond to claims by Franken. The host, Terry Gross, presented O'Reilly with the above evidence. O'Reilly repeated his assertion that he never said he won a Peabody award (''that is an absolute lie'') and noted that he said they (Inside Edition) won a Peabody award, not himself. ''All I was doing was sticking up for my former program,'' he noted. ''I had no dog in the fight.'' (audio, around 12:30 in)
  The hypocrisy makes my mind spin. Franken points out O'Reilly made a mistake about a journalism award, giving him the chance to correct it. O'Reilly complains that journalists who make a mistake are practicing ''attack journalism'', without giving the journalist a chance to correct things. Maslin makes an error in summarizing Franken's book. O'Reilly attacks her, calling her a ''character assassin'', again without giving her the chance to respond.
  Who's doing attack journalism? Who's being a character assassin? It would certainly seem to be O'Reilly, but he does have some good points. The journalist did make a mistake that made O'Reilly look a little worse than he is. The Times and Fresh Air did give Franken pretty much a free ride while putting O'Reilly under severe scrutiny.
  O'Reilly uses all the right phrases. He says he's trying to be an independent, taking good ideas from both parties, trying to solve real problems, and trying to present real facts. And his lies have just enough truth to them to make you want to believe them. The liberals and the real journalists really do want to be accurate, and so his words have an extra sting. Who do you believe? Who do you attack?
  What if they continue to repeat it? Are they malicious? Misguided? Simply taking another, but still reasonable, point of view?
  Dave Winer, 2003-06-08: ''I read a piece yesterday about SixApart and their standards compliance. Interesting, but they do RSS in a funky way. I guess they are picky about which standards they support and how. They respect the W3C, but they don't respect RSS.''
  06-14: ''To people who want to know why I called Movable Type's support for RSS funky, here's why. I want all blogging tools to produce the same RSS, modulo differences that are rooted in real differences between the products.''
  But every blogging tool produces different RSS, in different ways. Folks wanted to know what made Movable Type funky and others not. Dave went on for weeks playing 20 questions, saying this feed is funky, this feed is not. Folks in the RSS world were tearing their hair out, trying understand why Dave was attacking them, and what they were doing wrong.
  Finally on 06-30 he explained: ''A feed is funky if it uses extensions to provide information that can be expressed by core elements.''
  Now Dave could have said this from the beginning. We could have had a discussion about whether this is a good thing or a bad one and why. But instead Dave simply defined it as bad and attacked those who didn't play along.
  After that, Dave seemed to drop things for a while.
  Then, on 10-07, George W. Bush starts a weblog. Dave Winer complains ''The Bush RSS feeds are a total mess. ['...] I wish someone would explain to me why a user like the President of the United States has to have such a jumble of formats. Does anyone else care how hard it's going to be to move this mess forward? (Impossible, actually.) I've really tried to get people to play together. Didn't happen. At least we can be truthful about our failures, as it gets too late to fix them. ['...] Maybe we can have a grown up conversation about this some time, and try to make the best of a very bad situation.''
  It sounds to me like a) Bush had to go through a lot of work and confusion to get his RSS feeds to work, b) his RSS feeds are very confusing for users, c) his RSS feeds are going to be very confusing for aggregator developers, d) it's going to be impossible to update RSS, e) RSS has failed, all because people aren't playing together. (Which, Dave apparently takes to mean, doing what I say.) None of this is true.
  Bush's feeds were most likely generated automatically, or cleaned up with a simple copy-and-paste, his feeds are very easy to use, they validate and work in probably every reasonably-complete aggregator, his feeds are no harder to update (or ''move [their] mess forward'') than if they had done things Dave's way, and RSS has been an amazing success, and, as evidenced by the Atom project, everybody's willing to admit RSS's failures, play together, and move forward with the possible exception of Dave.
  I'm sure the next time something like this comes up, Dave will make another attack.
  Why is this? Does Dave believe in what he's saying? Is he saying it, even though he doesn't believe it, to get other people on his side? Is he upset that people aren't doing what he says and he's using this as an excuse to attack them? I don't really think there's anyway to know. Even if he claims to believe it, he could just be lying about that strategically.
  So I don't know whether to try and convince Dave (which he rarely allows anyone to do) or attack him for knowingly manipulating people for personal gain (which is a pretty serious allegation if you don't know for sure that it's true).
  As far as I can tell, the only way out is to have him slip up and admit the latter. (The Republicans have done this. After continuously complaing about ''liberal bias'' in the press, party chair Rich Bond admitted in the Washington Post, 8/20/92, that this was part of ''a strategy'', saying ''If you watch any great coach, what they try to do is 'work the refs.' Maybe the ref will cut you a little slack next time.'') Until then, I'm stuck: unable to try and convince him good faith and unable to expose his bad faith.
  What if they get people to agree with them? Are they a conspiracy? Biased? Driven by other motivations? Amoral? Immoral?
  The White House continues to make nonsensical claims. Iraq could kill us quickly.We need to stop forest fires by cutting down the trees.Giving your money to rich people will help the economy. And the press continues to report them unquestioningly.
  The best illusration of this I've seen is Ruben Bolling's comic, ''Up: Down. And Down Is Up, Says Administration''.
  Why does the media go after democrats for the most minor things, but give Bush a free ride on even the most outrageous claims? They refrain from discussing problems scandals until the Bush administration comes out and admits them. (The Valerie Plame affair was discussed on the Internet for months; only when the Justice Department announced an investigation did the major media report.)
  The obvious answer is that the journalists have a right-wing bias. But studies seem to indicate that most journalists are Democrats. Franken claims that journalists have other biases, like a tendency to go for the easy or salacious story, but even these tendencies aren't applied evenly.
  Upon reflection, only one explanation makes sense: there are powerful right-wingers who will hurt journalists after even a minorly liberal political story.
  I don't know if these folks are third-parties, like readers and demagogues who threaten to cancel advertising and subscriptions, or bosses, like Rupert Murdoch, whose ideology and self-interest are strongly to the right, and who force the media they own to stay that way. I'd be interested in any evidence one way or the other. Either way, the result is disgusting.
  What if everyone starts to say it? Do you question your belief? Your sanity? Your life?
  The RIAA has been incredibly effective at convincing people that downloading a Madonna MP3 is, if not the moral equivalent murdering innocent babies, at least intrinsically morally wrong. How did they convince everyone of something so absurd?
  1. Take an absurdly extremist position. Cary Sherman, RIAA President: ''Every time you download a song, you're hurting an artist ['...] you're basically going up to someone who worked on that song to feed their 2 yr. old baby, and you're killing that baby.'' (Okay, he didn't actually say that, but it sounds like something he might say.)
  2. Repeat this position in public often. ''Stealing is stealing.'' ''Downloading a song is no different that walking out a store with a CD.'' ''What's the difference between downloading a song, and stealing someone's car?'' ''If you're someone who downloads a song, why wouldn't you murder innocent babies?''
  3. Get the media to agree with you.The New York Times, The Washington Post, and thousands of others all agree: ''stealing is stealing.''
  4. Watch the public fall into line. I explain to smart, friendly, liberal people why downloading isn't intrinsically harmful, and they always go, as they've been taught, ''yeah, but you have to agree, it is wrong''. The worst part is, half the time I'm tempted to agree with them.
  What's wrong with me?
  I want to believe. I want things to be simple. This side is right, this side is wrong. This side is fair, this side is evil. This is the truth, this is the lies. I like it when Franken, Pilgrim, Stallman, and Chomsky present it all so simply. Folks always say ''The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between.'' But why doesn't anyone go visit it? Things keep getting mixed up. And I keep getting mixed up. And I don't know how to fix it.
  posted October 09, 2003 09:20 PM (Politics) #