President Obama Signs Executive Order Freezing All Iranian Government Assets Held in US Banks

File Photo of Iran Central Bank in Tehran (Subject to license)

It seems like the long-threatened war with Iran is going to happen at some point soon. There is simply too much saber-rattling for it not to happen. Case in point, the latest executive order from President Obama that freezes Iranian assets in US banks. Once money is frozen, it usually isn't too long before the bombs will be falling!

Please note that there is no Executive Order number yet, but I will add it when it is actually published.

###

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 06, 2012
Executive Order -- Blocking Property of the Government of Iran and Iranian Financial Institutions

EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -
BLOCKING PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT OF IRAN AND IRANIAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), section 1245 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (Public Law 112-81) (NDAA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957 of March 15, 1995, particularly in light of the deceptive practices of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks to conceal transactions of sanctioned parties, the deficiencies in Iran's anti-money laundering regime and the weaknesses in its implementation, and the continuing and unacceptable risk posed to the international financial system by Iran's activities, hereby order:

Section 1

(a) All property and interests in property of the Government of Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in.

(b) All property and interests in property of any Iranian financial institution, including the Central Bank of Iran, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in.

(c) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person, including any foreign branch, of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

Section 2

I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type of articles specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to section 1 of this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.

Section 3

The prohibitions in section 1 of this order include but are not limited to: (a) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; and


(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

Section 4

(a) The prohibitions in section 1 of this order apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the effective date of this order.

(b) The prohibitions in section 1 of this order do not apply to property and interests in property of the Government of Iran that were blocked pursuant to Executive Order 12170 of November 14, 1979, and thereafter made subject to the transfer directives set forth in Executive Order 12281 of January 19, 1981, and implementing regulations thereunder.

Section 5

(a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.

Section 6

Nothing in section 1 of this order shall prohibit transactions for the conduct of the official business of the Federal Government by employees, grantees, or contractors thereof.

Section 7

For the purposes of this order:

(a) the term "person" means an individual or entity;

(b) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization;

(c) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States;

(d) the term "Government of Iran" means the Government of Iran, any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including the Central Bank of Iran, and any person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Government of Iran;

(e) the term "Iran" means the territory of Iran and any other territory or marine area, including the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, over which the Government of Iran claims sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction, provided that the Government of Iran exercises partial or total de facto control over the area or derives a benefit from economic activity in the area pursuant to international arrangements; and

(f) the term "Iranian financial institution" means a financial institution organized under the laws of Iran or any jurisdiction within Iran (including foreign branches), any financial institution in Iran, any financial institution, wherever located, owned or controlled by the Government of Iran, and any financial institution, wherever located, owned or controlled by any of the foregoing.

Section 8

For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render those measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 12957, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1 of this order.

Section 9

The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order, other than the purposes described in section 11. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions and authorities to other officers and agencies of the United States Government consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order.

Section 10

The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to exercise the functions and authorities conferred upon the President by section 1245(d)(1)(A) of the NDAA and to redelegate these functions and authorities consistent with applicable law. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby further authorized to exercise the functions and authorities conferred upon the President by section 1245(g)(1) of the NDAA to the extent necessary to exercise the other functions and authorities delegated in this section and may redelegate these functions and authorities consistent with applicable law.

Section 11

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Energy, and the Director of National Intelligence, is hereby authorized to exercise the functions and authorities conferred upon the President by section 1245(d)(4)(D) of the NDAA and to redelegate these functions and authorities consistent with applicable law. The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, is hereby further authorized to exercise the functions and authorities conferred upon the President by sections 1245(e)(1) and 1245(e)(2) of the NDAA and to redelegate these functions and authorities consistent with applicable law. The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, is hereby further authorized to exercise the functions and authorities conferred upon the President by section 1245(g)(1) of the NDAA to the extent necessary to exercise the other functions and authorities delegated in this section and may redelegate these functions and authorities consistent with applicable law.

Section 12

This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

Section 13

The measures taken pursuant to this order are in response to actions of the Government of Iran occurring after the conclusion of the 1981 Algiers Accords, and are intended solely as a response to those later actions.

Section 14

This order is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on February 6, 2012.

BARACK OBAMA

Harvard Law School Food Law Society to Host a Raw Milk Debate!

As far as I know, I have never had raw milk*. However, I have heard many stories about its alleged benefits. Personally, I have never liked the pasteurized milk in the grocery stores (except in Frosted Flakes), because it just always seemed weird to drink the liquid from another animal. Nevertheless, there are numerous arguments on both the pros and cons of milk and I won't go into them here. However, the Harvard Food Law Society will host a debate where people will discuss these things. If I lived near Harvard, I would have to go check this one out.

Please note that the below press release was released by attorney Fred Pritzker (or someone representing him) and for disclosure purposes of this blog article, Pritzker is anti-raw milk.

###

Raw Milk Debate at Harvard Law School

Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker will be participating in a debate about raw milk at Harvard Law School on February 16, 2012. He and Dr. Heidi Kassenborg will be arguing that raw milk is an unsafe product.

Food safety attorney Fred Pritzker has been invited to participate in a raw milk debate sponsored by Harvard Law School’s Food Law Society. Pritzker, senior partner at PritzkerOlsen, P.A. and Dr. Heidi Kassenborg, Director, Dairy & Food Inspection Division, Minnesota Department of Agriculture will be debating the dangers of raw milk consumption. Opposing them will be Sally Fallon Morell, President, Weston A. Price Foundation, and David Gumpert, Author, The Raw Milk Revolution, both leading raw milk proponents.

The debate is scheduled to be held on February 16 at Harvard Law School in the Langdell South classroom at 7:15 pm. The event is open to the public.

###

Image Source: Jgharston (Subject to license).

*Please note that in the United States of America, a green top represents buttermilk and not raw milk. The above photo is a file photo of a "green-top" milk bottle (for raw, unpasteurized milk) from the United Kingdom.

NYPD Considering Using Unmanned Aerial Drones to Monitor City Streets and Parks

One of my favorite sayings from the Internet radio shows is "track, trace and database!" It is essentially the electronic surveillance network grid that has been established worldwide. Residents of the Big Apple may find themselves under even further surveillance as New York City Police Department appears to want a new tool in its fight.

Namely, the NYPD is taking a cue from the U.S. military and is considering adding an unmanned drone fleet to this arsenal. I will bet that this fleet won't be looking for foreign insurgents or enemy terrorists in NYC. It is more likely that these drones "that can shoot live missiles" will be patrolling for NYC residents or perhaps even "enemies" of the State. The video also explains a little about the proposed drone program.

In a recent email obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, an NYPD Detective in the Counterterrorism Unit asks the Federal Aviation Administration about the use of drones as a way to protect the city.

Source: WPIX

Royal Saudi Air Force Participates in U.S. Red Flag Exercises at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada

I had no clue what a "Red Flag exercise" was prior to posting this article, but now I know, and as they say, knowing is half...

The Red Flag exercises, held periodically at the Nellis Air Force Base since 1975, are very realistic aerial war games. The purpose is to give pilots from the U.S., NATO and other allied countries an opportunity to practice and refine their skills for real combat situations. This includes the use of "enemy" hardware and live ammunition for bombing exercises within the Nellis complex. The exercises with flares and all kinds of aircraft can make a spectacular show, especially at night. There are usually two or three sorties per day (except on weekends): One or two sorties during daytime and one in the evening or at night. The night exercises usually inlude only one half of the daytime forces.

There are two teams, the good guys (Blue Team) and the aggressors (Red Team). The Red Team is composed of Nellis AFB-based pilots specially trained for this purpose, flying F-15 and F-16 aircraft. The Blue Team is composed of the various guest "players" in their native aircraft.

The above quoted information is from an older website, so I cannot vouch for how accurate the information is in 2012. This exercise will also include military participants from South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

From The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia:

A series of joint exercises, dubbed Red Flag 5, have begun at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada with the participation of the U.S. Air Force, the Saudi Royal Air Force, and Republic of Korean Air Force. The Saudi contingent includes pilots, technicians and aides operating several fighter jets. The exercises are scheduled to last for ten days.

###

Red Flag 12-2 scheduled Jan. 23-Feb. 3

Release Number: 010112

1/10/2012 - NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. - -- Southern Nevada residents may notice increased military aircraft activity as the Air Force conducts Red Flag 12-2 Jan. 23 - Feb. 3, 2012.

Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. The exercise is hosted north of Las Vegas on the Nevada Test and Training Range--the U.S. Air Force's premier military training area with more than 12,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land. With 1,900 possible targets, realistic threat systems and an opposing enemy force that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world, Nellis and the NTTR are the home of a "peacetime battlefield," providing combat air forces with the ability to train to fight together, survive together and win together.

The 414th Combat Training Squadron is responsible for executing Red Flag and the exercise is just one of a series of advanced training programs administered at Nellis and on the NTTR by organizations assigned to the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center.

Throughout the Red Flag exercise, more than 90 aircraft are scheduled to depart Nellis twice a day, around noon and again around 6 p.m. Aircraft may remain in the air for up to four hours. The flying times are scheduled to accommodate the other flying missions at Nellis and provide Red Flag participants with valuable training in planning and executing a wide-variety of combat missions.

The exercise will include units from:

Nevada, Colorado, South Dakota, Louisiana, Utah, California, Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Massachusetts and Oklahoma flying aircraft including the F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, E-3 Sentry, B-1 Lancer, and KC-135 Stratotanker.

In addition to U.S. aircraft, the Saudi Royal Air Force and the Republic of Korea will participate with their nations' F-15 aircraft.

For more information about Red Flag, call the Nellis Public Affairs Office at (702) 652-2750 or go to http://www.nellis.af.mil/redflag-nellis/.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Nellis will hold a Red Flag Media Day Jan. 31, 2012. Outlets interested in attending the media day can email your name, date of birth, media outlet represented and coverage goals for Red Flag 2-12 to 99abw.pacurrent@nellis.af.mil no later than Jan. 22, 2012. International Media must also submit nation of origin and passport number. Media requests submitted after Jan. 23, 2012, will not be facilitated.

-30-

Animation of Approaching Potent Solar Proton Pulse Storm from Sunspot 1402!

Sunspot 1402 is spitting out a whole lot of energy these days. The animated .gif above shows that the solar storm will hit the Earth tomorrow morning. However, there is no word on whether there will be electronic chaos on the planet.

Late Sunday, the sun aimed a huge coronal mass ejection (CME) at our planet, along with a "solar energetic particle" event – the largest since September 2005 – which is expected to cause a solar storm of highly energetic protons to hit us on Tuesday at 9am Eastern Time, plus or minus seven hours.

Source: The Register

DARPA Creates Time Cloak That Can Mask Events by Distorting Light

I am always intrigued by DARPA, because it is the government's "mad scientist" wing that comes up with all types of crazy inventions. The latest one is a "time-cloak" which can mask an entire event. This differs from an invisibility cloak which will causes an object to disappear from optical view, but is still detectable by other methods. The time-cloak causes the entire event to simply disappear from detection. Although it is currently only available on a small scale, if the Pentagon ever perfects the technology, it will be able to create the ultimate secret spy.

In movie magic, people and objects can appear or disappear or move from place to place in an instant. Just stop the camera, move things around and start it again. Now, Cornell researchers have demonstrated a similar "temporal cloak" -- albeit on a very small scale -- in the transport of information by a beam of light.

Source: Cornell Chronicle

U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Congress Can Allow Certain Public Domain Works to be Restored to Copyright

Golan v. Holder (Congress Can Pass Legislation to Copyright Works in the Public Domain)

This particular Golan v. Holder ruling is the result of the U.S. coming into compliance with various international intellectual property treaties including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (as a part of The Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA)). As a result of these treaties, Section 514 of URAA (Section 104A in the Copyright Act) grants copyright protection to works protected in their country of origin, but lacking protection in the United States for any of three reasons: (1) The United States did not protect works from the country of origin at the time of publication; (2) the United States did not protect sound recordings fixed before 1972; or (3) the author had not complied with certain U.S. statutory formalities.

In 1996, copyright was automatically restored in certain foreign works that were then in the public domain in the United States but were protected by copyright or neighboring rights in the source country. Owners of a restored work were directed to notify reliance parties if the owner of the rights planned to enforce the rights. One means of notification was filing with the Copyright Office a Notice of Intent to Enforce (NIE) a Restored Copyright.

Works encompassed by §514 are granted the protection they would have enjoyed had the United States maintained copyright relations with the author’s country or removed formalities incompatible with Berne. As a consequence of the barriers to U. S. copyright protection prior to §514’s enactment, foreign works “restored” to protection by the measure had entered the public domain in this country. To cushion the impact of their placement in protected status, §514 provides ameliorating accommodations for parties who had exploited affected works before the URAA was enacted.

The potential danger of this ruling is that it provides an additional precedent for Congress to "re-copyright" works that may have fallen in the public domain. While this ruling applies to foreign works, there may come a time where Congress attempts to pass (or actually passes) legislation to re-copyright public domain works by American authors. If so, the constitutionality of any such law will have to be judged versus the Copyright Clause. Until then, this ruling will govern.

Has Your Doctor Received Money from the Pharmaceutical Industry?

The money in the pharmaceutical industry is staggering at times. I've had friends who used to work as sales reps in the pharmaceutical industry pushing various medicines and it was big money at its finest. The best reps received trips and lavish getaways at choice destinations around the world, and these perks were reserved for the reps who generated the most sales in their respective territories. Sales were based on the number of prescriptions that were written by the doctors in the territories.

Needless to say, some of the sales reps did whatever was necessary to get the doctors in their territories to write more prescriptions for the drugs the reps were pushing - including offering things of consideration such as meals, trips, gift certificates or even ca$h. Just like payola in the music industry, except this was payola for people's health.

Perhaps your doctor has received monies from the pharmaceutical industry and you want to know this information. If so, you can check the ProPublica database to see if your doctor is listed as being a recipient of pharmaceutical monies. Please note that this database is not an exhaustive search, but rather, it is the information that has been disclosed by twelve (12) companies.

For decades, drug companies kept the names of their speakers -- and how much they paid them -- secret. But over the past two years, companies have begun posting this information on their web sites, some as the result of legal settlements with the federal government. ProPublica took these disclosures and assembled them into a single, comprehensive database that allows patients to search for their physician.

Source: ProPublica

China's Space Activities in 2011 (Information Office of the State Council White Paper)

China Space Activities in 2011

This is a white paper about China's space programs is from the Chinese government, so take it for what it is. This document will definitely present the Chinese program in the most favorable light, so it might even be considered propaganda! I am quite sure that is what my grandfather would have called it if he was still alive to read this story - propaganda.

The next five years will be a crucial period for China in building a moderately prosperous society, deepening reform and opening-up, and accelerating the transformation of the country's pattern of economic development. This will bring new opportunities to China's space industry. China will center its work on its national strategic goals, strengthen its independent innovative capabilities,further open to the outside world and expand international cooperation. In so doing, China will do its best to make the country's space industry develop better and faster. At the same time, China will work together with the international community to maintain a peaceful and clean outer space and endeavor to make new contributions to the lofty cause of promoting world peace and development.

Electronic Arts Files Lawsuit Saying Use of Trademark Brands in Video Games Is Free Speech

EA Battlefield 3 trademark suit

I deal with intellectual property from time to time, so EA's lawsuit seeking a judicial declaration that the use of brands in video games is free speech is interesting to me. I will provide updates to this article as the Court makes its ruling(s). The case can be viewed above or in the sourced article below.

In its latest claim, EA is asking a California court to declare that its use of Bell helicopters is a form of artistic expression protected by the First Amendment. It claims the helicopters help depict realistic combat in Battlefield 3, a game set in 2014 in which players can command US soldiers in Paris, New York and Tehran to stop an impending nuclear attack.

Source: paidContent.org

Senator Schumer Advocates Hancock Field as National Test Site for Unmanned Drone Flights

I just want to point out that these drones flights will depart where civilian flights will depart, because the Hancock Field Air National Guard Base is co-located with Syracuse-Hancock International Airport. I was pretty shocked when I when I read this article about Senator Schumer pushing for drone flights in Central New York at Hancock Field in Mattydale, New York. For what purpose will these particular drone flights (see video above) be used for? According to Schumer, he feels that it will be beneficial to Central New York and to others.

He [Sen. Schumer] said that “making Hancock a test site for this technology would be a boon for Central New York, creating jobs and bringing new investments to our defense contractors that provide thousands of good paying jobs.”

I want to know what type of tests the military will be operating with these drones, especially in civilian airspace. I don't have a problem if the military wants to play with its hardware and toys on the bases, but I cannot imagine many military bases (especially ones on the East Coast) being large enough to allow a drone to operate at its full capacity. If the military brass starts flying flights in New York, they will be in every other State soon enough and then it is just a matter of time before a plane has a mid-air collision with one of these drones.

I wonder if Senator Schumer will be receiving any campaign donations from the various defense contractors who will eventually get the aforementioned investments as per the National Defense Authorization Act.

Source: Syracuse.com

Texas Department of State Health Services to Aerial Drop 1.8 Million Doses of Rabies Vaccine This Month

I have to thank a Facebook friend for posting a news story today that caused me to research this matter about the aerial vaccination program in Texas. Texas says that the annual aerial vaccine program has been effective in controlling rabies, but I wouldn't expect the State to say anything else. 1.8 million doses of a vaccine is a WHOLE lot of doses, so what happens to the vaccines that aren't consumed by animals? Could these vaccines somehow get into the food and water tables? And what ingredients are in this rabies vaccine?

I guess I should do a little bit more research on this vaccine to get answers to these questions, but until then, the brochure for RABORAL V-RG® can be viewed here.

###

DSHS Combats Rabies With Aerial Vaccine Drop
News Release
Jan. 2, 2012

The Texas Department of State Health Services this week begins its annual airdrop of rabies vaccine baits over portions of southern and western Texas in the continuing effort to protect people and livestock from rabies. Planes will take off from airports in Zapata and Alpine around dawn Wednesday, Jan. 4 and from Del Rio on Thursday, Jan. 12. They will drop about 1.8 million doses of rabies vaccine over the next month as part of the DSHS Oral Rabies Vaccination Program.

“This approach has been a huge success,” said veterinarian Ernest Oertli, the vaccination program’s director. “We haven’t seen a single human case of rabies in the areas covered by the program since it started in 1995, and the number of animal cases has dropped dramatically.”

Animal cases of the canine strain of rabies in southern Texas fell from 122 in 1994 to zero in 2000. There have since been single cases in 2001 and 2004. The fox strain, prevalent in western Texas, dropped from 244 animal cases in 1995, the year before the project expanded to that area, to zero in 2010 and 2011.

“We have effectively eliminated these two strains of rabies from Texas,” said Oertli. “Now our goal is prevent them from being reintroduced as animals move in and out of the state.”

The vaccine dose is enclosed in a small packet dipped in fish oil and coated with fish meal crumbles. The baits don’t pose any risk to humans, but people should avoid handling them since human contact makes it less likely a wild animal will eat the baits.

Rabies is a deadly virus spread through the saliva of infected animals, usually by a bite. Preventing rabies is critical because once a person or animal displays symptoms, the disease is almost always fatal.

DSHS urges everyone to have their pets vaccinated against rabies, as required by law. Vaccinating domestic animals is essential to stopping the spread of rabies.

-30-

(News Media Contact: Chris Van Deusen, DSHS Assistant Press Officer, 512-776-7753)

DSHS Press Office on Twitter

Last updated January 02, 2012

FLASHBACK: U.S. Government Allegedly Spies on Protesters with Insect-Sized Spy Drones (2007)

I have read about these "insect" drones in the past being used to spy on protesters, but aside from a U.S. Air Force post some time back I have not written much about them. I don't know why I decided to finally blog about it tonight, but if the government had these types of drones in 2007, I wonder what it has five (5) years later. Check out what some people in the crowd had to say about these drones.

Vanessa Alarcon saw them while working at an antiwar rally in Lafayette Square last month...

...I look up and I'm like, 'What the hell is that?' They looked kind of like dragonflies or little helicopters. But I mean, those are not insects."

Out in the crowd, Bernard Crane saw them, too.

"I'd never seen anything like it in my life," the Washington lawyer said. "They were large for dragonflies. I thought, 'Is that mechanical, or is that alive?' "

Source: Washington Post

One Hundred (100) Years of World History in Ten (10) Minutes (1911-2011)(Video Mix)

I am a big fan of history. I would highly recommend the above video to anyone with an interest in history. The video summarizes the last 100 years of world history through video clips. In case the video is not displaying above, click here for a different link.

Homeland Security Allegedly Establishes Key Word Search Watchlist on Social Networks

Whenever I read an article that seemingly confirms my suspicions in the world around me, it is not usually a surprise. In this case, a privacy watchdog group (The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)) has sued the government and in its complaint it is alleged that the DHS has a watchlist on Facebook and Twitter for people who search certain words and/or terms. Say "collapse" or "infection" and you just might end up on this watchlist. Considering the history of coverage on Remixx World! with the H1N1 infection and the alleged 2009 bank run collapse, I am quite sure the DHS has this site tracked, traced and databased!

As part of the initiative, the agency [DHS] would "establish [fictitious] usernames and passwords" to spy on users and record their activities based on a number of search terms, including "human to animal," "collapse," "outbreak," and "illegal immigrants," the complaint says.

Source: Courthouse News Service

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Agrees to Let Customers Keep Analog, Mechanical Utility Meters

I don't really have to much to say about this decision by PG&E to allow its customers to keep their analog meters, except to say that I agree with it. I don't like the SmartMeter™ technology, because it makes it too easy for some centralized authority to track, trace and database my detailed energy use. Nevertheless, if I want futuristic Jetsons technology in my home, then I will probably have to accept SmartMeters™ at some point. However, I am not at that point yet, so I applaud this decision by PG&E!

###

PG&E Supports Giving Customers Who Opt-Out of SmartMeter™ The Choice of Using Analog, Mechanical Meters Utility Further Addresses Customer Concerns Over Wireless Technology

Release Date: December 19, 2011
Contact: PG&E External Communications (415) 973-5930

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – To provide customers who have concerns about wireless SmartMeter™ technology with alternative options for recording their energy use, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) today asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to give customers a choice to use traditional analog, mechanical meters. This request offers another customer option in addition to the utility's proposal last March to turn off the radios in its opt-out customers' SmartMeters™.

"Some customers remain concerned about SmartMeter™ technology and want alternatives," said Helen Burt, PG&E's Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. "Through comments to us and the CPUC, they are clear that an analog meter is the option they prefer to address their unease with wireless technology."

PG&E is installing digital, wireless SmartMeters™ throughout its service area in Northern and Central California as part of a statewide program to enhance the safety, reliability, and affordability of its gas and electric services. Similar metering programs are now underway at utilities throughout the country and around the world. To date, PG&E has installed nearly nine million gas and electric SmartMeters™.

Independent studies repeatedly have affirmed the safety and accuracy of SmartMeters™. However, in response to comments from some customers, PG&E last March proposed offering them a choice to turn off the radios in their SmartMeters™. The utility also provided customers with the option to delay the installation of new SmartMeters™ until the CPUC approves a way to opt-out of the program. Now, in response to further customer feedback, PG&E today asked the CPUC to approve analog meters as an additional alternative to receiving a SmartMeter™.

Burt added, "Personal choice is important to our customers. In response to their requests, we are asking the Commission to approve an option for customers to receive analog meters."

The CPUC is expected to issue its SmartMeter™ opt-out decision soon. That decision will likely ask customers who opt-out of the program to pay an initial fee and some reasonable monthly charge to cover the costs of manual meter reading and other associated operational and billing issues.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit: http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.

Joint Chiefs Says United States Is Ready for War with Iran

I have said once and I will say it again, "laser wars, nothing, but laser wars!" It looks like the war drums are pounding and the next hit is Iran. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey says so:

"I am satisfied that the options that we are developing are evolving to a point that they would be executable if necessary," he said.

I'm not surprised. What is the general supposed to say? A general would lose his stars if he ever admitted that America wasn't prepared for any contingency. I bet the military has contingency plans that would make Hollywood story writers green with envy.

The good general also says that the military is ready to destroy Iran's "secret" nuclear (or nookular if you ignant) arsenal on President Obama's order.

Source: CNN

Scientists Demonstrate Decoded Neurofeedback Method of Potentially Downloading New Skills Into Human Brains Like The Matrix

We all knew that it was just a matter of time before some scientists began developing Matrix-like cerebral technology. Please don't sleep, and think that Matrix-like technology is limited to the movie screen. If a novel technology is depicted in a movie, then that technology either already exists or it will soon be developed by some agency like DARPA.

###

Press Release 11-257

Vision Scientists Demonstrate Innovative Learning Method

New research suggests it may be possible to learn high-performance tasks with little or no conscious effort

December 8, 2011
View a video showing researchers explaining Decoded Neurofeedback.

New research published today in the journal Science suggests it may be possible to use brain technology to learn to play a piano, reduce mental stress or hit a curve ball with little or no conscious effort. It's the kind of thing seen in Hollywood's "Matrix" franchise.

Experiments conducted at Boston University (BU) and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan, recently demonstrated that through a person's visual cortex, researchers could use decoded functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to induce brain activity patterns to match a previously known target state and thereby improve performance on visual tasks.

Think of a person watching a computer screen and having his or her brain patterns modified to match those of a high-performing athlete or modified to recuperate from an accident or disease. Though preliminary, researchers say such possibilities may exist in the future.

"Adult early visual areas are sufficiently plastic to cause visual perceptual learning," said lead author and BU neuroscientist Takeo Watanabe of the part of the brain analyzed in the study.

Neuroscientists have found that pictures gradually build up inside a person's brain, appearing first as lines, edges, shapes, colors and motion in early visual areas. The brain then fills in greater detail to make a red ball appear as a red ball, for example.

Researchers studied the early visual areas for their ability to cause improvements in visual performance and learning.

"Some previous research confirmed a correlation between improving visual performance and changes in early visual areas, while other researchers found correlations in higher visual and decision areas," said Watanabe, director of BU's Visual Science Laboratory. "However, none of these studies directly addressed the question of whether early visual areas are sufficiently plastic to cause visual perceptual learning." Until now.

Boston University post-doctoral fellow Kazuhisa Shibata designed and implemented a method using decoded fMRI neurofeedback to induce a particular activation pattern in targeted early visual areas that corresponded to a pattern evoked by a specific visual feature in a brain region of interest. The researchers then tested whether repetitions of the activation pattern caused visual performance improvement on that visual feature.

The result, say researchers, is a novel learning approach sufficient to cause long-lasting improvement in tasks that require visual performance.

What's more, the approached worked even when test subjects were not aware of what they were learning.

"The most surprising thing in this study is that mere inductions of neural activation patterns corresponding to a specific visual feature led to visual performance improvement on the visual feature, without presenting the feature or subjects' awareness of what was to be learned," said Watanabe, who developed the idea for the research project along with Mitsuo Kawato, director of ATR lab and Yuka Sasaki, an assistant in neuroscience at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"We found that subjects were not aware of what was to be learned while behavioral data obtained before and after the neurofeedback training showed that subjects' visual performance improved specifically for the target orientation, which was used in the neurofeedback training," he said.

The finding brings up an inevitable question. Is hypnosis or a type of automated learning a potential outcome of the research?

"In theory, hypnosis or a type of automated learning is a potential outcome," said Kawato. "However, in this study we confirmed the validity of our method only in visual perceptual learning. So we have to test if the method works in other types of learning in the future. At the same time, we have to be careful so that this method is not used in an unethical way."

At present, the decoded neurofeedback method might be used for various types of learning, including memory, motor and rehabilitation.

The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan supported the research.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Bobbie Mixon, NSF (703) 292-8485 bmixon@nsf.gov

Program Contacts
Lynne Bernstein, NSF (703) 292-8643 lbernste@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Takeo Watanabe, Boston University (617) 353-1103 takeo@bu.edu
Mitsuo Kawato, ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories kawato@atr.jp

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2011, its budget is about $6.9 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives over 45,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes over 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards over $400 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

Get/Receive News Updates by Email

Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page: http://www.nsf.gov
NSF News: http://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media: http://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/

Congress Agrees to Nullify Traditional Incandescent Light Bulb Ban

*Please see below for the image key

I have never bought one of those newfangled, compact fluorescent bulbs, and I never planned to do so even with a pending a Congressional ban. I would have had to find a legal alternative for my energy needs, because I was not going to use a fragile, glass bulb that contains mercury. Fortunately, it appears that Congress is going to void the previous law that was set to ban traditional light bulbs.

Congressional Republicans dropped almost all of the policy restrictions they tried to attach to the bill, but won inclusion of the light bulb provision, which prevents the Obama administration from carrying through a 2007 law that would have set energy efficiency standards that effectively made the traditional light bulb obsolete.

I have not been able to find the actual bill text, but I hear the provision is tucked within 1,200 pages of Congressional language.

Source: Washington Times

*Image Key: Diagram showing the major parts of a modern incandescent light bulb.

1. Glass bulb
2. Inert gas
3. Tungsten filament
4. Contact wire (goes to foot)
5. Contact wire (goes to base)
6. Support wires
7. Glass mount/support
8. Base contact wire
9. Screw threads
10. Insulation
11. Electrical foot contact

FLASHBACK: Twenty Percent (20%) of Human Genes Have Been Patented (Intellectual Property Landscape of the Human Genome)(2005)

Do people own their bodies? Legally, does a person own the intellectual property in the genetic composition of his/her body? According to this 2005 study I stumbled across from a few years ago, it is arguable whether a person truly owns the intellectual property in his/her bodies and genetic composition.

Our results reveal that nearly 20% of human genes are explicitly claimed as U.S. IP. This represents 4382 of the 23,688 of genes in the NCBI's gene database at the time of writing (see figure, right). These genes are claimed in 4270 patents within 3050 patent families.

A person should think about that the next time before he/she gives blood or other DNA to a medical facility. That facility could easily use (or license) that genetic material as the basis for some type of bioscience process and then claim the intellectual property in the ownership of the results in the process.


Source: Science Magazine

Image Source: Antony-22 (per: Creative Commons Attribution - Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)