If you're planning on buying a laptop bag in the near future, you may want to wait a little bit. TSA to allow laptops to stay in approved bags.
"There's a new option for people annoyed at having to take their laptops out of their bags at airport security. The Transportation Security Administration will now allow travelers to leave their computers inside "checkpoint friendly" cases."
"TSA said it reached out to bag manufacturers this year to design laptop cases that would provide a clear, unobstructed image of the computer as it passed through an X-ray machine. The agency said the new bags will be available for purchase this month."
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
The Girl in the Window
The girl in the window in The St. Petersburg Times is one of the saddest things I've ever read, and I couldn't stop until I got to the end.
"Three years ago detectives and a social worker arrived at a dilapidated house in Plant City and made a heartbreaking discovery: A tiny girl living in a dark closet."
"Three years ago detectives and a social worker arrived at a dilapidated house in Plant City and made a heartbreaking discovery: A tiny girl living in a dark closet."
The FBI's emerging, leaking case against Ivins
Glenn Greenwald examines The FBI's emerging, leaking case against Ivins. Tidbits like:
"Within less than 24 hours, we went from 'a New Jersey mailbox used to send the anthrax was less than 100 yards away from a sorority for which Ivins harbored an intense life-long obsession' to 'the mailbox was near a storage closet used by a sorority that Ivins used to frequent 27 years ago and by a specific chapter that Ivins appeared to have absolutely nothing to do with.'"
"Within less than 24 hours, we went from 'a New Jersey mailbox used to send the anthrax was less than 100 yards away from a sorority for which Ivins harbored an intense life-long obsession' to 'the mailbox was near a storage closet used by a sorority that Ivins used to frequent 27 years ago and by a specific chapter that Ivins appeared to have absolutely nothing to do with.'"
Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad
Lord help me, I actually think this is funny. Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad:
And honestly, her energy policy is the most complete I've heard any candidate state vocally (their web sites have more details), but really, I wish the real candidates could fit as much in a few sentences during the debates.
See more funny videos at Funny or Die
And honestly, her energy policy is the most complete I've heard any candidate state vocally (their web sites have more details), but really, I wish the real candidates could fit as much in a few sentences during the debates.
MA Passes Global Warming Solutions Act
Global Warming Solutions Act Passes the Legislature.
"Late last night [7/31] the State Senate and House gave final approval to the Global Warming Solutions Act, a bill that will make Massachusetts a national leader in implementing global warming solutions and commit the state to making the pollution reductions that scientists say are necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming."
"The bill empowers the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to regulate greenhouse gasses from all sources across the Commonwealth, mandates a reduction of 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050 and instructs the administration to develop a shorter-term goal of between 10% and 25% below 1990 levels by the year 2020 as well as limits for 2030 and 2040."
"Late last night [7/31] the State Senate and House gave final approval to the Global Warming Solutions Act, a bill that will make Massachusetts a national leader in implementing global warming solutions and commit the state to making the pollution reductions that scientists say are necessary to avoid the worst impacts of global warming."
"The bill empowers the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs to regulate greenhouse gasses from all sources across the Commonwealth, mandates a reduction of 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050 and instructs the administration to develop a shorter-term goal of between 10% and 25% below 1990 levels by the year 2020 as well as limits for 2030 and 2040."
Monday, August 04, 2008
Innocents in Guantánamo
This is from a month ago, All Together Now: “Torture of Prisoners Is Immoral, Unwise, and Un-American” "Huzaifa Parhat, well into his seventh year at Guantánamo, had a civilian judge review the evidence for his detention for the first time last week. The court ruled that the Pentagon’s Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) declaration that Parhat was an unlawful enemy combatant is ‘invalid.’ They declared that Parhat must be released or given a new hearing."
Don't accept it when the right says that those at Guantánamo are terrorists, or al Qaeda, or even a threat to the US. Some of them are innocents, that we've held and tortured for, in this case, over 6 years.
Don't accept it when the right says that those at Guantánamo are terrorists, or al Qaeda, or even a threat to the US. Some of them are innocents, that we've held and tortured for, in this case, over 6 years.
Inside Professor Obamas Classroom
Last week the New York Times had an article, Teaching Law, Testing Ideas, Obama Stood Slightly Apart. They followed up in their blog with Inside Professor Obamas Classroom "We’ve asked four legal experts to take a look at then-Professor Barack Obama’s course materials and offer some insight into what they say about Mr. Obama’s teaching methods, priorities and approach to the Constitution."
Air Force Cracks Software, Carpet Bombs DMCA
Does the US federal government have the right to hack and pirate software of US companies? Apparently the answer is yes. Air Force cracks software, carpet bombs DMCA. You have to read this article, it's not long. The backstory is amazing, "Showing the sort of personal initiative that only gets people into trouble"... "Davenport responded by selling his code to Blueport, which attempted to negotiate a license with the Air Force, which responded by hiring a company to hack the compiled version by deleting the code that enforced the expiration date."
Furthermore, it seems "The United States, as [a] sovereign, 'is immune from suit save as it consents to be sued . . . and the terms of its consent to be sued in any court define that court’s jurisdiction to entertain the suit.'" So, since The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) doesn't state an exception, so no one can sue the US government if they violate it.
I sent this article to my congressman. Copyright is broken, can we please fix it?
Furthermore, it seems "The United States, as [a] sovereign, 'is immune from suit save as it consents to be sued . . . and the terms of its consent to be sued in any court define that court’s jurisdiction to entertain the suit.'" So, since The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) doesn't state an exception, so no one can sue the US government if they violate it.
I sent this article to my congressman. Copyright is broken, can we please fix it?
Greenwald on Anthrax Story
Last week, Glenn Greenwald wrote extensively about Vital unresolved anthrax questions and ABC News. If the anthrax attack was really from an employee at US government lab involved with out own biological weapons research, then what about all those claims that the anthrax used in the attacks came from Iraq?
"Much more important than the general attempt to link the anthrax to Islamic terrorists, there was a specific intent -- indispensably aided by ABC News -- to link the anthrax attacks to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. In my view, and I've written about this several times and in great detail to no avail, the role played by ABC News in this episode is the single greatest, unresolved media scandal of this decade. News of Ivins' suicide, which means (presumably) that the anthrax attacks originated from Ft. Detrick, adds critical new facts and heightens how scandalous ABC News' conduct continues to be in this matter."
Today he followed up with Additional key facts.
"Much more important than the general attempt to link the anthrax to Islamic terrorists, there was a specific intent -- indispensably aided by ABC News -- to link the anthrax attacks to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. In my view, and I've written about this several times and in great detail to no avail, the role played by ABC News in this episode is the single greatest, unresolved media scandal of this decade. News of Ivins' suicide, which means (presumably) that the anthrax attacks originated from Ft. Detrick, adds critical new facts and heightens how scandalous ABC News' conduct continues to be in this matter."
Today he followed up with Additional key facts.
McCain Hypocracy
McCain is now going after Obama for being a celebrity. As
digby points out McCain's campaign had to remove a story from its website that included "A political celebrity, McCain is considered a top contender for the nomination." Ugh.
Here's anotherd,, "Sen. John McCain claims to not know anything about FactCheck.org, the fact-checking Website run by University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, that has cited 11 McCain campaign advertisements since June 20 for false or misleading information. Now it turns out that his own campaign uses the Website when it suits its purposes."
digby points out McCain's campaign had to remove a story from its website that included "A political celebrity, McCain is considered a top contender for the nomination." Ugh.
Here's anotherd,, "Sen. John McCain claims to not know anything about FactCheck.org, the fact-checking Website run by University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center, that has cited 11 McCain campaign advertisements since June 20 for false or misleading information. Now it turns out that his own campaign uses the Website when it suits its purposes."
Between The Folds
Saw this in the Globe today...Between The Folds: A Forthcoming Documentary on the Science and Art of Origami. There are two short films on the site, 6 Artists: On Origami, and Origametria, Using Origami to teach geometry.
Movie Review: Tell No One
Here I had better luck with a French film. Tell No One is based on an American novel and is crime thriller. The writer/director Guillaume Canet is a well-known French actor who starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Beach, but this film more than makes up for that one.
Alex Beck is a pediatrician who's wife Margot was murdered 8 years ago at a secluded lake they visited yearly. When two bodies are found that are linked to Margot the police reopen the case. Simultaneously, Alex receives an anonymous email message that suggests Margot might be alive. After not too long, Alex is on the run.
The story is dense and has a lot of twists and turns. At times I felt a little lost but it held together. There's a long denouement and I did struggle with reading subtitles that went on that long and involved so much exposition about other characters. At the end I had only two questions but others in the group I saw it will were able to answer them quickly and I could answer their questions.
Apparently the ending is different from the novel, and the author actually likes the film's version better. The pace is fast and there is a reasonable amount of action A wonderful foot chase compares well to The Bourne Ultimatum, but with an everyday man instead of a super-spy. Crossing a highway is in fact dangerous.
The actors, aside from Kristin Scott Thomas were unfamiliar to me. All did well in their roles, particularly François Cluzet as Alex.
I wish more films were as good as this one. It's well worth seeing.
Alex Beck is a pediatrician who's wife Margot was murdered 8 years ago at a secluded lake they visited yearly. When two bodies are found that are linked to Margot the police reopen the case. Simultaneously, Alex receives an anonymous email message that suggests Margot might be alive. After not too long, Alex is on the run.
The story is dense and has a lot of twists and turns. At times I felt a little lost but it held together. There's a long denouement and I did struggle with reading subtitles that went on that long and involved so much exposition about other characters. At the end I had only two questions but others in the group I saw it will were able to answer them quickly and I could answer their questions.
Apparently the ending is different from the novel, and the author actually likes the film's version better. The pace is fast and there is a reasonable amount of action A wonderful foot chase compares well to The Bourne Ultimatum, but with an everyday man instead of a super-spy. Crossing a highway is in fact dangerous.
The actors, aside from Kristin Scott Thomas were unfamiliar to me. All did well in their roles, particularly François Cluzet as Alex.
I wish more films were as good as this one. It's well worth seeing.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
6 Degrees of MSN Messages
Study confirms 'Kevin Bacon' theory .
"With records of 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people from around the world, researchers have concluded that any two people on average are distanced by just 6.6 degrees of separation, meaning that they could be linked by a string of seven or fewer acquaintances. The database covered all of the Microsoft Messenger instant-messaging network in June 2006, or roughly half the world's instant-messaging traffic at that time, researchers said."
Ok, why does MSN save the IMs after they've been delivered?
"With records of 30 billion electronic conversations among 180 million people from around the world, researchers have concluded that any two people on average are distanced by just 6.6 degrees of separation, meaning that they could be linked by a string of seven or fewer acquaintances. The database covered all of the Microsoft Messenger instant-messaging network in June 2006, or roughly half the world's instant-messaging traffic at that time, researchers said."
Ok, why does MSN save the IMs after they've been delivered?
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Friday, August 01, 2008
Blu-Ray from Netflix, Disc or Stream
LG Blu-ray Box to Get Streaming Video from Netflix
"Netflix fans will soon have another new option for watching movies. On Thursday, the company made famous by sending DVDs to consumers via snail mail announced, in conjunction with LG Electronics, the imminent availability of a Blu-ray disc player that will also allow Netflix subscribers to view streaming video of movies and TV shows."
That's right, it streams blu-ray like their roku box does but it will also play blu-ray discs. To stream blu-ray I suspect you'll need a good broadband connection. It is an interesting way to differentiate the box from other blu-ray disc players, this one also streams from Netflix. Not sure about this one.
"Netflix fans will soon have another new option for watching movies. On Thursday, the company made famous by sending DVDs to consumers via snail mail announced, in conjunction with LG Electronics, the imminent availability of a Blu-ray disc player that will also allow Netflix subscribers to view streaming video of movies and TV shows."
That's right, it streams blu-ray like their roku box does but it will also play blu-ray discs. To stream blu-ray I suspect you'll need a good broadband connection. It is an interesting way to differentiate the box from other blu-ray disc players, this one also streams from Netflix. Not sure about this one.
Customs Policy For Taking Your Laptop
I wrote recently about how Customs Can Take Your Laptop. Bruce Schneier follows up that "The U.S. government has published its policy: they can take you laptop anywhere they want, for as long as they want, and share the information with anyone they want...It's not the policy that's amazing; it's the fact that the government has actually made it public."
Movie Box Office Charts
Here are some interesting and pretty Movie box office charts. "Each page displays trends in the top 25 movies at the box office for each weekend in a year. The color is based on the movie's debut week. Because of that, long-running movies will gradually start to stand out from newer movies with different colors." And they were created using Lisp.
This is the one for 2008 so far (click for bigger with rollovers).
This is the one for 2008 so far (click for bigger with rollovers).
Best Star Wars Costumes at Comic-Con
Comic-Con: Best Star Wars Costumes. Some are very impressive. Pretty in Pink Princess Vader was scary.
Army Lab Anthrax Suspect a Suicide
Military.com reports Army Lab Anthrax Suspect a Suicide.
"A top U.S. biodefense researcher apparently committed suicide just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him in the anthrax mailings that traumatized the nation in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a published report.
The scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who worked for the past 18 years at the government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Md., had been told about the impending prosecution, the Los Angeles Times reported for Friday editions. The laboratory has been at the center of the FBI's investigation of the anthrax attacks, which killed five people."
The Washington Post has some more Md. Anthrax Scientist Dies in Apparent Suicide.
"A top U.S. biodefense researcher apparently committed suicide just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him in the anthrax mailings that traumatized the nation in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a published report.
The scientist, Bruce E. Ivins, 62, who worked for the past 18 years at the government's biodefense labs at Fort Detrick, Md., had been told about the impending prosecution, the Los Angeles Times reported for Friday editions. The laboratory has been at the center of the FBI's investigation of the anthrax attacks, which killed five people."
The Washington Post has some more Md. Anthrax Scientist Dies in Apparent Suicide.
Old Pop Culture Quiz
Someone mailed this quiz to me. It's an odd test. Most are TV or commercial references, but others are just general pop culture. I got 18/20 missing 1 and 13.
Four Movie Reviews
I've fallen way behind on my movie reviews, so let me catch up with some short ones.
Hellboy II - Was a lot of fun. It's not what you think. Sure, it's a superhero fights demon story and it's not quite Buffy, but it is also a romance. Hellboy might look all demony but he's a big lug. And it has the best use of a Barry Manilow song in any film, and I mean that seriously. I thought the early fight scenes were a little weak and it drags a little about 2/3 of the way through, but the end picks up nicely. Guillermo del Toro's visuals are of course magnificent. If Dark Knight is still sold out or if you've seen it a few times and want more superhero stuff, this is the movie to see.
The Wackness - Teenage angst set in NYC. Josh Peck, who I've never heard of but has apparently done lots of things, plays Luke Shapiro, a high school graduate feeling lost before going to college. He makes money selling pot and is trying to sell a lot this summer to help his somewhat dysfunctional family's money problems. One of his big customers is Dr. Squires, a psychiatrist played by Sir Ben Kingsley. He's a bit spacy and dare I say wacky but you can see how this relationship developed as they exchange therapy sessions for drugs. Squires has a daughter in Luke's class named Stephanie and they start hanging out, even as Squires marriage to Stephanie's mom (Famke Janssen) is falling apart. I'm not sure there's much new here, but it's bit darker than the normal kid learns a life lesson film. Alright there is something different, I never would have expected to see Sir Ben Kingsley make out with Mary-Kate Olsen, and I feel a bit scarred for it.
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - I've never been a big fan of Hunter S. Thompson. I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and found the first chapter to be amazing and the rest pretty boring. I didn't know much else about him aside from the various spoofs of his alter ego Raoul Duke in Doonesbury and Transmetropolitan. But this is a documentary by Alex Gibney who also made Taxi to the Dark Side and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room so I wasn't surprised that it was interesting all the way through. Johnny Depp reads some of his works and various politicians and his colleagues talk about his effect on them. I loved the quote (I think by Pat Robertson) that his reporting on one political event was the most accurate and least factual of all. I'm now curious about Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 and how people believed that Edmund Muskie was addicted to ibogaine. The soundtrack has lots of good 60s/70s music, though some of it repeats a little much.
Rendition - I missed this last year because of the middling reviews but caught it on DVD. Anwar El-Ibrahimi is an Egyptian who's been living the US for years and is married to all american Reese Witherspoon. After a terrorist bombing and a misdialed phone number he's rendered and tortured to find out what he knows. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a CIA analyst who starts to question what is happening but his boss, played by Meryl Streep is too hard line. Witherspoon is working through official channels (that is Peter Sarsgaard) to find out why her husband got on the plane but not off and is not having any success. There's a sub plot following two young Egyptian lovers and a twist but it doesn't quite fit into the film. Maybe I've read too much about this and seen too many documentaries on it but I didn't think the film went far enough. The interviews with people who've had this happen to them describe how it's totally changed their personalities. The effects are devastating and this film has too many white middle class Americans talking how dangerous things are. Eh.
Hellboy II - Was a lot of fun. It's not what you think. Sure, it's a superhero fights demon story and it's not quite Buffy, but it is also a romance. Hellboy might look all demony but he's a big lug. And it has the best use of a Barry Manilow song in any film, and I mean that seriously. I thought the early fight scenes were a little weak and it drags a little about 2/3 of the way through, but the end picks up nicely. Guillermo del Toro's visuals are of course magnificent. If Dark Knight is still sold out or if you've seen it a few times and want more superhero stuff, this is the movie to see.
The Wackness - Teenage angst set in NYC. Josh Peck, who I've never heard of but has apparently done lots of things, plays Luke Shapiro, a high school graduate feeling lost before going to college. He makes money selling pot and is trying to sell a lot this summer to help his somewhat dysfunctional family's money problems. One of his big customers is Dr. Squires, a psychiatrist played by Sir Ben Kingsley. He's a bit spacy and dare I say wacky but you can see how this relationship developed as they exchange therapy sessions for drugs. Squires has a daughter in Luke's class named Stephanie and they start hanging out, even as Squires marriage to Stephanie's mom (Famke Janssen) is falling apart. I'm not sure there's much new here, but it's bit darker than the normal kid learns a life lesson film. Alright there is something different, I never would have expected to see Sir Ben Kingsley make out with Mary-Kate Olsen, and I feel a bit scarred for it.
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson - I've never been a big fan of Hunter S. Thompson. I read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and found the first chapter to be amazing and the rest pretty boring. I didn't know much else about him aside from the various spoofs of his alter ego Raoul Duke in Doonesbury and Transmetropolitan. But this is a documentary by Alex Gibney who also made Taxi to the Dark Side and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room so I wasn't surprised that it was interesting all the way through. Johnny Depp reads some of his works and various politicians and his colleagues talk about his effect on them. I loved the quote (I think by Pat Robertson) that his reporting on one political event was the most accurate and least factual of all. I'm now curious about Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 and how people believed that Edmund Muskie was addicted to ibogaine. The soundtrack has lots of good 60s/70s music, though some of it repeats a little much.
Rendition - I missed this last year because of the middling reviews but caught it on DVD. Anwar El-Ibrahimi is an Egyptian who's been living the US for years and is married to all american Reese Witherspoon. After a terrorist bombing and a misdialed phone number he's rendered and tortured to find out what he knows. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a CIA analyst who starts to question what is happening but his boss, played by Meryl Streep is too hard line. Witherspoon is working through official channels (that is Peter Sarsgaard) to find out why her husband got on the plane but not off and is not having any success. There's a sub plot following two young Egyptian lovers and a twist but it doesn't quite fit into the film. Maybe I've read too much about this and seen too many documentaries on it but I didn't think the film went far enough. The interviews with people who've had this happen to them describe how it's totally changed their personalities. The effects are devastating and this film has too many white middle class Americans talking how dangerous things are. Eh.
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