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WillyT
WillyT's Journal
WillyT's Journal
January 6, 2014
Secrets of Highclere Castle - Upstairs/Downstairs... And The Plans For Us By The 1%...
January 6, 2014
Maybe I'm Misunderstanding Woo... But... Wasn't There A Time When...
Medicine was woo... or manned flight... landing on the moon... chemistry... geology... psychology... sociology...
Hell... the entire modern world would have been considered woo a hundred or two years ago.
Please set me straight.
January 6, 2014
AP/HuffPo | By By PHUONG LE
Posted: 01/05/2014 2:24 am EST
<snip>
SEATTLE (AP) — A new labor contract that was approved in a close vote by Boeing machinists secures a major airplane contract for the Seattle area, but it also moves workers away from pensions. National union leaders, the state's governor and the company all hailed Friday contract approval — which defied local union bosses — as a vital boost to the region's economy. The tight count exposed deep rifts in the once-powerful union, but with plenty of states lining up to give Boeing exactly what it wanted to get work on the 777X, the aerospace giant had a tremendous advantage.
"It shows that even a strong local is vulnerable and has a limited defensibility to slow the tide of concessions that has been going on across the country," said Leon Grunberg, a sociology professor at the University of Puget Sound who co-authored a book, "Turbulence: Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers." He added Saturday, "This is happening with a company that's doing very well financially."
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers approved an eight-year contract extension late Friday by 51 percent, a turnaround from November when the same workers voted down a previous offer by 67 percent. The passing margin was about 600 votes of about 23,900 counted, according to Wilson Ferguson, president of a local unit of District 751.
Ferguson said Saturday that the vote diminished the local union's power since it conceded some hard-fought benefits they won't be getting back. Foes of the contract opposed the idea of freezing the machinists' pensions and moving workers to a defined-contribution savings plan.
<snip>
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/05/boeing-labor-contract_n_4543638.html?utm_hp_ref=business
New Boeing Contract Is 'Turning Point In The Labor Movement' (Not The Good Kind) - AP/HuffPo
New Boeing Contract Is 'Turning Point In The Labor Movement' (Not The Good Kind)AP/HuffPo | By By PHUONG LE
Posted: 01/05/2014 2:24 am EST
<snip>
SEATTLE (AP) — A new labor contract that was approved in a close vote by Boeing machinists secures a major airplane contract for the Seattle area, but it also moves workers away from pensions. National union leaders, the state's governor and the company all hailed Friday contract approval — which defied local union bosses — as a vital boost to the region's economy. The tight count exposed deep rifts in the once-powerful union, but with plenty of states lining up to give Boeing exactly what it wanted to get work on the 777X, the aerospace giant had a tremendous advantage.
"It shows that even a strong local is vulnerable and has a limited defensibility to slow the tide of concessions that has been going on across the country," said Leon Grunberg, a sociology professor at the University of Puget Sound who co-authored a book, "Turbulence: Boeing and the State of American Workers and Managers." He added Saturday, "This is happening with a company that's doing very well financially."
Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers approved an eight-year contract extension late Friday by 51 percent, a turnaround from November when the same workers voted down a previous offer by 67 percent. The passing margin was about 600 votes of about 23,900 counted, according to Wilson Ferguson, president of a local unit of District 751.
Ferguson said Saturday that the vote diminished the local union's power since it conceded some hard-fought benefits they won't be getting back. Foes of the contract opposed the idea of freezing the machinists' pensions and moving workers to a defined-contribution savings plan.
<snip>
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/05/boeing-labor-contract_n_4543638.html?utm_hp_ref=business
January 5, 2014
By MASAKAZU HONDA - Asahi Shimbun
1/4/13
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Shimbun
<snip>
URUMA, Okinawa Prefecture--Yoshitatsu Uechi recalls with disgust the disregard for worker safety, the makeshift plans and the cost-cutting measures, including the use of adhesive tape on key equipment, at his job last year. He said an emphasis on saving time and expenses was clear when he helped to build storage tanks for radioactive water accumulating at the site of Japan’s worst-ever nuclear accident.
“I couldn’t believe that such slipshod work was being done, even if it was part of stopgap measures,” Uechi told The Asahi Shimbun.
He was one of 17 workers from Okinawa Prefecture who were sent to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on June 28, 2012. The 48-year-old from Uruma said he worked on foundations and storage tank assembly between July 2 and Dec. 6, 2012.
He said he was sent to various places at the site, including “H3,” an area now known as the spot where high radiation levels have been found due to leaks of radioactive water from the storage tanks. The leaking tanks are just part of the problem of contaminated water that continues to build up and leak into the ocean from the plant.
One rainy day in late October, Uechi and a colleague were told to wear yellow raincoats on top of their protective gear and head to the “E” area close to H3. They were instructed to cover the openings of five or six storage tanks that lacked their top lids.
Uechi climbed to the top of a nearly 10-meter-tall storage tank and found white adhesive tape covering an opening about 30 centimeters across. The tape was all that separated Uechi and the surface of radioactive water only 50 cm below. After using a blade to remove the tape, Uechi said his legs trembled at the sight of shiny raindrops hitting the water surface...
<snip>
More: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201401040008
Worker Aghast At Shoddy Work On Fukushima Radioactive Water Storage Tanks - Asahi Shimbun
Worker aghast at shoddy work on Fukushima radioactive water storage tanksBy MASAKAZU HONDA - Asahi Shimbun
1/4/13
The Asahi Shimbun (朝日新聞?, IPA: [aꜜsaçi ɕimbɯɴ], literally Morning Sun Newspaper, English: Asahi News) is one of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010,[3] was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun. The company has its registered headquarters in Osaka.
The newspaper had an alliance with the International Herald Tribune, which is owned by The New York Times. Until 2010, they published the International Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun daily for English readers, which replaced Asahi's previous English-language daily, the Asahi Evening News. In 2010, this partnership was dissolved due to unprofitability and the Asahi Shimbun now operates the Asia & Japan Watch online portal for English readers.[4] The Tribune cooperates with Asahi on Aera English, a glossy magazine for English learners.
The newspaper had an alliance with the International Herald Tribune, which is owned by The New York Times. Until 2010, they published the International Herald Tribune/The Asahi Shimbun daily for English readers, which replaced Asahi's previous English-language daily, the Asahi Evening News. In 2010, this partnership was dissolved due to unprofitability and the Asahi Shimbun now operates the Asia & Japan Watch online portal for English readers.[4] The Tribune cooperates with Asahi on Aera English, a glossy magazine for English learners.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Shimbun
<snip>
URUMA, Okinawa Prefecture--Yoshitatsu Uechi recalls with disgust the disregard for worker safety, the makeshift plans and the cost-cutting measures, including the use of adhesive tape on key equipment, at his job last year. He said an emphasis on saving time and expenses was clear when he helped to build storage tanks for radioactive water accumulating at the site of Japan’s worst-ever nuclear accident.
“I couldn’t believe that such slipshod work was being done, even if it was part of stopgap measures,” Uechi told The Asahi Shimbun.
He was one of 17 workers from Okinawa Prefecture who were sent to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on June 28, 2012. The 48-year-old from Uruma said he worked on foundations and storage tank assembly between July 2 and Dec. 6, 2012.
He said he was sent to various places at the site, including “H3,” an area now known as the spot where high radiation levels have been found due to leaks of radioactive water from the storage tanks. The leaking tanks are just part of the problem of contaminated water that continues to build up and leak into the ocean from the plant.
One rainy day in late October, Uechi and a colleague were told to wear yellow raincoats on top of their protective gear and head to the “E” area close to H3. They were instructed to cover the openings of five or six storage tanks that lacked their top lids.
Uechi climbed to the top of a nearly 10-meter-tall storage tank and found white adhesive tape covering an opening about 30 centimeters across. The tape was all that separated Uechi and the surface of radioactive water only 50 cm below. After using a blade to remove the tape, Uechi said his legs trembled at the sight of shiny raindrops hitting the water surface...
<snip>
More: http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201401040008
January 4, 2014
Martyn Williams - PCWorld
Jan 3, 2014 6:32 AM
<snip>
The U.S. National Security Agency is attempting to build a new breed of supercomputer that theoretically could make short work of cracking most keys used for encrypted communications.
The project to build “a cryptographically useful quantum computer” is part of an $80 million research project called “Penetrating Hard Targets” that is taking place at a campus in College Park, Maryland, according to The Washington Post. The newspaper quoted documents it said were provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-seeks-to-build-quantum-computer-that-could-crack-most-types-of-encryption/2014/01/02/8fff297e-7195-11e3-8def-a33011492df2_story.html
Since the early days of encryption, an important defense in the security of each system has been the amount of time it would take to attack and discover the encryption key. The longer the time required, the greater the motivation and financial investment needed to discover the key.
As computers have gotten more powerful, longer encryption keys that are harder to crack have been employed, so today keys of 256 bits or more are common, especially for sensitive information. Even with a powerful supercomputer, experts generally agree it would take many years to crack a single key of 256 bits or more.
Quantum computing turns all of that around...
<snip>
More: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2083760/report-nsa-looking-to-crack-all-encryption-with-quantum-computer.html
Report: NSA Looking To Crack All Encryption With Quantum Computer - PCWorld
Report: NSA looking to crack all encryption with quantum computerMartyn Williams - PCWorld
Jan 3, 2014 6:32 AM
<snip>
The U.S. National Security Agency is attempting to build a new breed of supercomputer that theoretically could make short work of cracking most keys used for encrypted communications.
The project to build “a cryptographically useful quantum computer” is part of an $80 million research project called “Penetrating Hard Targets” that is taking place at a campus in College Park, Maryland, according to The Washington Post. The newspaper quoted documents it said were provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/nsa-seeks-to-build-quantum-computer-that-could-crack-most-types-of-encryption/2014/01/02/8fff297e-7195-11e3-8def-a33011492df2_story.html
Since the early days of encryption, an important defense in the security of each system has been the amount of time it would take to attack and discover the encryption key. The longer the time required, the greater the motivation and financial investment needed to discover the key.
As computers have gotten more powerful, longer encryption keys that are harder to crack have been employed, so today keys of 256 bits or more are common, especially for sensitive information. Even with a powerful supercomputer, experts generally agree it would take many years to crack a single key of 256 bits or more.
Quantum computing turns all of that around...
<snip>
More: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2083760/report-nsa-looking-to-crack-all-encryption-with-quantum-computer.html
January 4, 2014
BY BRIAN FUNG - WaPo
January 4 at 4:07 pm
<snip>
"Has the NSA spied, or is the NSA currently spying, on members of Congress or other elected officials?" That's the question Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) put to the National Security Agency's chief in a bluntly worded letter Friday. It seems, however, that the agency cannot categorically say no.
Sanders didn't use the word "spy" lightly. He was careful to define his terms, indicating he meant the collection of phone records from personal as well as official telephones, "content from Web sites visited or e-mails sent," and data that companies collect but don't release to the public.
When asked by The Washington Post, an NSA spokesman said that the agency's privacy safeguards are effective at covering all Americans.
"Members of Congress have the same privacy protections as all U.S. persons," the spokesman said. "We are reviewing Sen. Sanders’s letter now, and we will continue to work to ensure that all members of Congress, including Sen. Sanders, have information about NSA’s mission, authorities, and programs to fully inform the discharge of their duties.”
The answer is telling. We already know that the NSA collects records on virtually every phone call made in the United States. That program was renewed for the 36th time on Friday. If members of Congress are treated no differently than other Americans, then the NSA likely keeps tabs on every call they make as well.
<snip>
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/01/04/the-nsa-refuses-to-deny-spying-on-members-of-congress/
The NSA Refuses To Deny Spying On Members Of Congress - WaPo
The NSA refuses to deny spying on members of CongressBY BRIAN FUNG - WaPo
January 4 at 4:07 pm
<snip>
"Has the NSA spied, or is the NSA currently spying, on members of Congress or other elected officials?" That's the question Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) put to the National Security Agency's chief in a bluntly worded letter Friday. It seems, however, that the agency cannot categorically say no.
Sanders didn't use the word "spy" lightly. He was careful to define his terms, indicating he meant the collection of phone records from personal as well as official telephones, "content from Web sites visited or e-mails sent," and data that companies collect but don't release to the public.
When asked by The Washington Post, an NSA spokesman said that the agency's privacy safeguards are effective at covering all Americans.
"Members of Congress have the same privacy protections as all U.S. persons," the spokesman said. "We are reviewing Sen. Sanders’s letter now, and we will continue to work to ensure that all members of Congress, including Sen. Sanders, have information about NSA’s mission, authorities, and programs to fully inform the discharge of their duties.”
The answer is telling. We already know that the NSA collects records on virtually every phone call made in the United States. That program was renewed for the 36th time on Friday. If members of Congress are treated no differently than other Americans, then the NSA likely keeps tabs on every call they make as well.
<snip>
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/01/04/the-nsa-refuses-to-deny-spying-on-members-of-congress/
January 4, 2014
By CARSON WALKER - DU/AP
01/03/14 06:35 PM ET EST
<snip>
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The weather warnings are dire: Life threatening wind chills. Historic cold outbreak. Bitter cold temperatures.
Winter is normally cold, but starting Sunday tundra-like temperatures are poised to deliver a rare and potentially dangerous sledgehammer blow to much of the Midwest, driving temperatures so far below zero that records will shatter.
One reason? A "polar vortex," as one meteorologist calls it, which will send cold air piled up at the North Pole down to the U.S., funneling it as far south as the Gulf Coast.
The temperature predictions are startling: 25 below zero in Fargo, N.D., minus 31 in International Falls, Minn., and 15 below in Indianapolis and Chicago. At those temperatures, exposed skin can get frostbitten in minutes and hypothermia can quickly set in because wind chills could hit 50, 60 or even 70 below zero.
Temperature records will likely be broken during the short, yet forceful deep freeze that will begin in many places on Sunday and extend into early next week. That's thanks to a perfect combination of the jet stream, cold surface temperatures and the polar vortex — a counterclockwise-rotating pool of cold, dense air, said Ryan Maue, of Tallahassee, Fla., a meteorologist for Weather Bell.
"All the ingredients are there for a near-record or historic cold outbreak," he said. "If you're under 40 (years old), you've not seen this stuff before."
Snow already on the ground and fresh powder...
<snip>
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/03/cold-us-temperatures_n_4538827.html
And:
Cold U.S. Temperatures Expected To Break Records As 'Polar Vortex' Blasts Midwest -AP/HuffPo
Cold U.S. Temperatures Expected To Break Records As 'Polar Vortex' Blasts MidwestBy CARSON WALKER - DU/AP
01/03/14 06:35 PM ET EST
<snip>
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The weather warnings are dire: Life threatening wind chills. Historic cold outbreak. Bitter cold temperatures.
Winter is normally cold, but starting Sunday tundra-like temperatures are poised to deliver a rare and potentially dangerous sledgehammer blow to much of the Midwest, driving temperatures so far below zero that records will shatter.
One reason? A "polar vortex," as one meteorologist calls it, which will send cold air piled up at the North Pole down to the U.S., funneling it as far south as the Gulf Coast.
The temperature predictions are startling: 25 below zero in Fargo, N.D., minus 31 in International Falls, Minn., and 15 below in Indianapolis and Chicago. At those temperatures, exposed skin can get frostbitten in minutes and hypothermia can quickly set in because wind chills could hit 50, 60 or even 70 below zero.
Temperature records will likely be broken during the short, yet forceful deep freeze that will begin in many places on Sunday and extend into early next week. That's thanks to a perfect combination of the jet stream, cold surface temperatures and the polar vortex — a counterclockwise-rotating pool of cold, dense air, said Ryan Maue, of Tallahassee, Fla., a meteorologist for Weather Bell.
"All the ingredients are there for a near-record or historic cold outbreak," he said. "If you're under 40 (years old), you've not seen this stuff before."
Snow already on the ground and fresh powder...
<snip>
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/03/cold-us-temperatures_n_4538827.html
And:
January 4, 2014
Question: If Edward Snowden Is A Traitor... For Violating His Sworn Oath..
Why is it that the NSA is not Similarialy accused???
So far... two out of three Federal judges have determined that the NSA activities are most likely unconstitutional.
And... By Inference... the NSA MAY HAVE ALSO VIOLATED THEIR OWN OATHES!
Why are they off the "traitor" hook ?
Hipocracy, MIC, Fearful Americans...
Or are we just basically sheep?
January 3, 2014
By Eric W. Dolan - RawStory
Friday, January 3, 2014 11:29 EST
<snip>
Pope Francis recently urged the faithful to understand reality by looking at it “from the periphery” in order to avoid becoming fundamentalists. Francis meet with 120 superiors general of men’s religious orders at the Vatican in November. His comments were published Friday by La Civiltà Cattolica, a Rome-based Jesuit weekly.
“I am convinced of one thing: the great changes in history were realized when reality was seen not from the center but rather from the periphery,” the pope said.
To look at something from the periphery, the pope explained, meant analyzing reality through a variety of viewpoints, rather than filtering all experience through a centralized ideology.
“It is not a good strategy to be at the center of a sphere,” he said. “To understand we ought to move around, to see reality from various viewpoints. We ought to get used to thinking.”
“I often refer to a letter of Father Pedro Arrupe, who had been General of the Society of Jesus,” the pope continued. “It was a letter directed to the Centros de Investigación y Acción Social (CIAS). In this letter Father Arrupe spoke of poverty and said that some time of real contact with the poor is necessary.”
“This is really very important to me: the need to become acquainted with reality by experience, to spend time walking on the periphery in order really to become acquainted with the reality and life – experiences of people. If this does not happen we then run the risk of being abstract ideologists or fundamentalists, which is not healthy.”
<snip>
More: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/03/pope-francis-condemns-fundamentalism-urges-setting-an-example-over-proselytizing/
Pope Francis Condemns Fundamentalism, Urges Setting An Example Over Proselytizing - RawStory
Pope Francis condemns fundamentalism, urges setting an example over proselytizingBy Eric W. Dolan - RawStory
Friday, January 3, 2014 11:29 EST
<snip>
Pope Francis recently urged the faithful to understand reality by looking at it “from the periphery” in order to avoid becoming fundamentalists. Francis meet with 120 superiors general of men’s religious orders at the Vatican in November. His comments were published Friday by La Civiltà Cattolica, a Rome-based Jesuit weekly.
“I am convinced of one thing: the great changes in history were realized when reality was seen not from the center but rather from the periphery,” the pope said.
To look at something from the periphery, the pope explained, meant analyzing reality through a variety of viewpoints, rather than filtering all experience through a centralized ideology.
“It is not a good strategy to be at the center of a sphere,” he said. “To understand we ought to move around, to see reality from various viewpoints. We ought to get used to thinking.”
“I often refer to a letter of Father Pedro Arrupe, who had been General of the Society of Jesus,” the pope continued. “It was a letter directed to the Centros de Investigación y Acción Social (CIAS). In this letter Father Arrupe spoke of poverty and said that some time of real contact with the poor is necessary.”
“This is really very important to me: the need to become acquainted with reality by experience, to spend time walking on the periphery in order really to become acquainted with the reality and life – experiences of people. If this does not happen we then run the risk of being abstract ideologists or fundamentalists, which is not healthy.”
<snip>
More: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/03/pope-francis-condemns-fundamentalism-urges-setting-an-example-over-proselytizing/
January 3, 2014
By: Kevin Gosztola - FDL
Friday January 3, 2014 11:40 am
<snip>
At the annual Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg, Germany, journalist and security researcher Jacob Appelbaum gave a talk where he revealed various spy tools the National Security Agency (NSA) has for conducting surveillance. He told the audience that top secret documents detailing these spy tools were being published by German newspaper Der Spiegel.
What received the most attention in his talk was “DROPOUTJEEP,” spyware which allows the NSA to have total access to a user’s iPhone. But, as Appelbaum pointed out, this obscures the reality that the NSA does not need physical access to compromise electronic devices. The agency is capable of compromising devices through the network.
By far the most stunning aspect of his talk is one which has received minimal attention. As his talk was about to finish, he asked, “What if I told you that the NSA had a specialized technology for beaming energy into you and into the computer systems around you? Would you believe that was real or would you believe that was paranoid speculation of a crazy person?”
Appelbaum then informed the audience that such a device actually exists. It is a portable continuous wave generator or continuous wave radar unit. (He also called it a “Philip K. Dick-inspired nightmare.”)
Here’s the document for the spy tool from Der Spiegel:
<snip>
More: http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/01/03/the-nsa-has-special-technology-for-beaming-energy-into-computer-systems-you/
The NSA Has Special Technology for Beaming Energy Into Computer Systems & You - FDL
The NSA Has Special Technology for Beaming Energy Into Computer Systems & YouBy: Kevin Gosztola - FDL
Friday January 3, 2014 11:40 am
<snip>
At the annual Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg, Germany, journalist and security researcher Jacob Appelbaum gave a talk where he revealed various spy tools the National Security Agency (NSA) has for conducting surveillance. He told the audience that top secret documents detailing these spy tools were being published by German newspaper Der Spiegel.
What received the most attention in his talk was “DROPOUTJEEP,” spyware which allows the NSA to have total access to a user’s iPhone. But, as Appelbaum pointed out, this obscures the reality that the NSA does not need physical access to compromise electronic devices. The agency is capable of compromising devices through the network.
By far the most stunning aspect of his talk is one which has received minimal attention. As his talk was about to finish, he asked, “What if I told you that the NSA had a specialized technology for beaming energy into you and into the computer systems around you? Would you believe that was real or would you believe that was paranoid speculation of a crazy person?”
Appelbaum then informed the audience that such a device actually exists. It is a portable continuous wave generator or continuous wave radar unit. (He also called it a “Philip K. Dick-inspired nightmare.”)
Here’s the document for the spy tool from Der Spiegel:
<snip>
More: http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2014/01/03/the-nsa-has-special-technology-for-beaming-energy-into-computer-systems-you/
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