Regulating Web companies threatens Internet freedom

Scalise: Regulating Web companies threatens Internet freedom - The Hill's Hillicon Valley: Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the chairman of the influential Republican Study Committee, argued on Wednesday that regulation of up and coming Web companies should be viewed as "attacks on Internet freedom at large." Speaking at the State of the Net conference in Washington, Scalise encouraged lawmakers and federal agencies to use a light touch on governing the Internet, saying that it has flourished on its own over the years.
"When there isn't market failure, the government should just stay away," Scalise said. "These efforts to regulate important stakeholders across the entire Internet ecosystem should be viewed as attacks on Internet freedom at large." "Even if the government picks winners and losers in the fiscal market ... we should hold the Internet to a higher standard," he added. "The Internet is just too important to go down that slippery slope." Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/278941-scalise-regulating-web-companies-threatens-internet-freedom#ixzz2J9qtZaF3

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Obama's second term agenda? It's already over.

Gene Healy: Obama's 'second-term blues' have begun | WashingtonExaminer.com: " "Preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action," --Obama"

IRS targeting, Benghazi failure and "talking points" cover up, DOJ snooping reporters--Obama appears clueless, inept, impotent--little did he expect, I imagine, that his administration would be the target of "collective action" to preserve individual freedoms less than six months into his second term!

Nor can you lead a country based on a mission of plausible deniability which, apparently, is all this White House is interested in maintaining, at all costs. Someone needs to tell Obama, and his White House staff, there won't be any more political campaigns--they can stop the "spin" and focus on doing "something"--"anything"--useful, for once.

Obama's second term? You can pretty throw it all away--the entire agenda just got burned up by Benghazi, the IRS, and DOJ scandals. Wait till the Obamacare "train wreck" pulls into the station in a few months. It's going to be the longest 4 years of his life--and much different than he had imagined. I wouldn't trade places with the guy, would you?

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Record-setting Burmese python captured in Miami-Dade County Florida

The Burmese python is an invasive species that has negative impacts on the Everglades ecosystem and its native wildlife. The FWC actively coordinates with local, state and federal partners, including university researchers, native tribes and nongovernmental organizations, on the research, management and capture of pythons.

FWC News: Record-setting Burmese python captured in Miami-Dade Co.:
A Miami man has caught and killed the longest Burmese python ever captured in Florida: 18 feet, 8 inches. The python was a 128-pound female that was not carrying eggs, according to University of Florida scientists who examined the snake. The previous record length for a Burmese python captured in the wild in Florida was 17 feet, 7 inches. . . . (read more at link above)

A big, big snake!

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FWC Releases Rescued Florida Panther Siblings (video)

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - YouTube: "Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologists released two endangered Florida panthers in 2013, a brother and sister that they rescued as kittens about one and a half years earlier. FWC biologists captured the then 5-month old kittens after their mother was found dead in September 2011. Without that intervention, the kittens likely would have died a short time later"

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US Government Proposal Seeks to Wiretap Internet Communications

Proposal seeks to fine tech companies for noncompliance with wiretap orders - The Washington Post: "A government task force is preparing legislation that would pressure companies such as Face­book and Google to enable law enforcement officials to intercept online communications as they occur, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the effort. Driven by FBI concerns that it is unable to tap the Internet communications of terrorists and other criminals, the task force’s proposal would penalize companies that failed to heed wiretap orders — court authorizations for the government to intercept suspects’ communications." (read more at link above)

Washington doesn't get it--pass all the laws you want--that won't accomplish anything. The "bad guys" will always find another technology or "work around." In the meantime, innocent citizens will have lost their right to privacy.


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Navy dolphins find rare old torpedo off California

Dolphins are amazing!

Navy dolphins discover rare old torpedo off Coronado - latimes.com: " . . . Marine mammals have been trained at the Navy's Point Loma facility since the 1960s. Several species were tested before the Navy settled on the bottlenose dolphin and the California sea lion. Dolphins, in particular, have deep and shallow diving capability, great eyesight and a biosonar system that scientists admire but don't fully understand. At the Point Loma facility, 80 dolphins and 40 sea lions are being trained for mine detection, mine clearing and swimmer protection. When the U.S. led an invasion of Iraq in 2003, dolphins were rushed to the Persian Gulf to patrol for enemy divers and mines. Dolphins guard U.S. submarine bases in Georgia and Washington state. This fall, dolphins will deploy for a mine-hunting mission off Croatia. . . ." read more at link above


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Computers for Dogs

Computers for Dogs?  Cats will still be smarter!

Scientists to design computers for dogs
Business Standard
UK scientists are designing computers that can be used by dogs so they can play, operate household appliances and even communicate with their owners. Researchers at the Open University are working with several dog charities to train the animals and ...

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Google's Chief Internet Evangelist on Creating the Interplanetary Internet

Google's Chief Internet Evangelist on Creating the Interplanetary Internet | Wired Science | Wired.com: " . . . Working with NASA and JPL, Cerf has helped develop a new set of protocols that can stand up to the unique environment of space, where orbital mechanics and the speed of light make traditional networking extremely difficult. Though this space-based network is still in its early stages and has few nodes, he said that we are now at “the front end of what could be an evolving and expanding interplanetary backbone.”. . ."

That's Vint Cerf--always thinking ahead!


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The Cat Who Wouldn't Spy: A CIA Fail

This is horrible--this is kitty abuse!--

The Cat Who Couldn't Spy: A CIA Fail : Discovery News: "“In an hour-long procedure, a veterinary surgeon transformed the furry feline into an elite spy," Anthes explains, "implanting a microphone in her ear canal and a small radio transmitter at the base of her skull, and weaving a thin wire antenna into her long gray-and-white fur.” The goal was to transform the female feline into “a living, walking surveillance machine.” Anthes said the CIA hoped to train the cat to sit near foreign officials, in order to eavesdrop on their conversations. Amazingly, the poor cat lived through the operation. “For its first official test,” Anthes wrote, “CIA staffers drove Acoustic Kitty to the park and tasked it with capturing the conversation of two men sitting on a bench.” “Instead,” she continued, “the cat wandered into the street, where it was promptly squashed by a taxi.”" read more at link above


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Warner Brothers sued for unauthorized use of Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat

Hey--whaddya think you're doing WB and 5th Cell??

Warner Brothers sued for unauthorized use of Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat | Ars Technica: "Warner Brothers is facing a federal lawsuit for using two feline-themed Internet memes in a video game without their creators' permission. The authors of "Keyboard Cat" and "Nyan Cat" have sued the media giant arguing that the game Scribblenauts, published by WB Games, infringes their copyrights and trademarks. The game's developer, 5th Cell, is also named in the lawsuit."


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Tweepi hiring

Received this from Amer Kawar at Tweepi--which I pass along to those looking for work (and qualified):

Hi Velcro,

We are working on new Tweepi features and a new Twitter/Facebook marketing platform. We are currently hiring a frontend developer and a UX designer. Details at http://tweepi.com/jobs/.

Available positions:User Experience UX designer (contract, off-site)
Frontend PHP/JS developer (contract, off-site)

We are hiring off-site, which means applicants can be anywhere around the world, with the potential for a full-time position afterwards.

Please spread the word to anyone you think might be a good fit.

Thank you,
Amer Kawar
Founder and CEO of Tweepi

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Schrödinger's Cat (video)

Schrödinger's Cat - 60-Second Adventures in Thought (6/6) - This famous experiment tackling quantum theory involves a cat in a potentially lethal box.

Nine lives?

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Kitty Cams UGA Research

Kitty Cams UGA Research: " . . . The most common risk factors experienced by suburban free-roaming cats include: crossing roads (45% of our sample), encountering strange cats (25%), eating and drinking substances away from home (25%), exploring storm drain systems (20%) and entering crawlspaces where they could become trapped (20%). Eighty-five percent of project cats were witnessed exhibiting at least 1 risk behavior. Male cats were more likely to engage in risk behavior than female cats and fewer risk behaviors were witnessed by older individuals. Total time spent outside also influenced the number of risks experienced by free-roaming cats. . . ." (read more at link above)

Been there, done that!

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Strategy for South Carolina alligators

Interesting--gators--

Clemson to help design strategy for SC alligators
The Tand D.com
The Clemson researchers will provide scientific support for the agency as it designs a long-term adaptive plan for harvesting alligators in a way that ensures their survival, identifies critical habitats and enhances economic benefits for landowners ...

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DRM, HTML5, Internet Freedom

Protect Internet Freedom - 

Free Culture Foundation » Blog Archive » Don’t let the myths fool you: the W3C’s plan for DRM in HTML5 is a betrayal to all Web users.:

Protect internet freedom: tell the W3C that DRM has no place in their standards.

Help Defective by Design, the Free Software Foundation‘s campaign against DRM gather 50,000 signatures against DRM in HTML5.

Sign the petition here:
http://www.defectivebydesign.org/no-drm-in-html5

You can also contact the W3C here:
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/contact




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