Skeptical that this was actually the case, fellow panelist Lucky Green quickly filed two patents soon after the conference. The patents described methods for using the Palladium infrastructure to assist in the enforcement of software licensing. Green has a third patent application on the way. "

Wired News: Can a Hacker Outfox Microsoft?

"The devices, some already tested in the Balkans and Afghanistan, range from Palm-style handhelds that use English-language cues to play prerecorded foreign phrases, to a two-way voice translator developed partly at Lockheed Martin's Owego plant that allows speakers of English and Serbo-Croatian to hold a shaky conversation. "

CNN.com - U.S. soldiers get talking translators - Oct. 6, 2002

"Sodium is really rather dangerous. If we had been anywhere within 15 feet of this explosion, it would have sprayed us with molten sodium and sodium hydroxide. Even a tiny amount in the eyes would have been a serious medical emergency."

Weird Science: Dropping lots of sodium into a lake

"The Ekahau Positioning Engine (EPE) 2.0 can locate 802.11-connected wireless PDAs, laptops and other terminals--including voice over IP telephones--to, the company claims, within about a meter."

News: WiFi software tracks you down

"The domestic "threat environment" is as bad as it was in the summer of 2001, before the September 11 attacks, Tenet said. "

I'm watching this hearing on CSPAN right now. Its very interesting. Tenet in particular looks very smart here. I think he is well regarded for good reason.

Thompson pointed out that Tenet's warning seems to be in conflict with the executive threat level (currently yellow). Tenet says he is planning to talk with the executive on this, but he is letting his opinion be known regardless.

The basic issue here is FBI and CIA communications SYSTEMS and information SYSTEMS. This is essentially computer geek stuff. (Mueller specifically mentions that he is running Oracle 9i. :) ) The new methods of information operation in the FBI may cause concern. Whereas before the FBI tried to avoid collecting information which is not admissable, they are trying to change this culture. This makes sense from an intel perspective. I think they are going the right direction there. What is the civil liberties impact of this? It could be quite serious. It could also be nothing to worry about (what is not admissable is still not admissable). The problem is that this concern was only mentioned in passing and not seriously discussed. There may need to be a new balance here.

Catch this on CSPAN if you can...

I need to do more thinking about this.

CIA tells Congress we're about to be hit again.

"While doing research for a yarn I found these observations on Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) from three gentlemen -- David Reed, Dan Bricklin and Ray Ozzie -- who can legitimately claim to have collectively done more than most to kick-start the PC revolution."

Interesting collection of webloggings on these three sites.

politechbot.com: Why fathers of PC revolution are wary of digital rights management

"Especially put into the context of other types of terrorist alerts (e.g., against bridges, water supply facilities, nuclear reactors, airports, or embassies abroad), one is left wondering whether these alerts are strategically distributed according to a planned agenda, with the additional benefits of indirectly putting blame on countries or technologies that stand in the way of U.S. global political, economic, and cultural hegemony, by carefully injecting them into the text of these warnings."

This paper attempts to make a case that articles about Al'Q's use of steganography are in effect protecting the government from the possibility of political dissent even if this is unintentional.

Hacktivists or Cyberterrorists? The Changing Media Discourse on Hacking

The third technique for stimulating broadband is to encourage innovative new wireless technologies."

Odlyzko on the Broadband industry

"I doubt if the average American knows enough about Canada to make a reasoned assessment, what the pros and cons might be," said Waller. "There's really an abysmal level of ignorance about Canada in the United States so I don't know what conclusions you can reach."

From a historical perspective, there hasn't been a real push by Americans for annexation since the 19th century, he added. "

The recommendation of this article is obvious troll bait, but I'll respond anyway.

Most Americans view their country as being better then other countries. Canada in particular is viewed as being silly because, other then being "better then" Canadians, Americans don't really see themselves as being otherwise different, so whats the point?

Thats actually a good question. The fact is that Canada is really two countries: 1. British North America. 2. French North America.

Either identity in and of itself would be a lot more interesting then what Canada has got. Being British means something significant culturally which Americans try very hard not to be. (Ever wonder WHY Americans spell colour wrong?? It was intentional and deliberate.) Being French is even more so obviously not being American.

But, in order to maintain national cohesion, Canada, in the last 40 years, and tried very hard to eliminate these cultural identities. If not for this effort, Canada would not exist, and the economic implications of that would be bad for everyone concerned. The new national identity that replaces the old two is one which is scarcely 30 years old. It simply doesn't have enough history or uniqueness to present a real solid creed that people can identify as being "not American."

Of course, most people OUTSIDE the United States hold the two countries in a very different light. Mostly this is because, again, Americans tend to view themselves as being better then other cultures. Other cultures respond to this with resentment. So, liking Canadians is a way to identify with what you like about American culture without having to sacrifice your resentment.

On the other hand, what this professor is afraid to say is that the 38% of Americans who support "annexing Canada" are simply being bumptious. The fact is that if the U.S. "annexed" Canada the Repubicans would never win another election and the U.S. would loose a powerful associate in international relations, with no real economic benefit for either side as the border is fluid anyway.

--

In rereading this I should add that this view of Canada is quite Euro-centric. Immigration policies in the last 20 years have had a dramatic impact on the country's cultural makeup, and the Native Americans in Canada are increasingly politically savvy and culturally significant. Canada is, in fact, at the very start of a melting pot phase which could make the traditional french/english dichotomy insignificant. Its also possible that these people are simply using Canada as a generational stepping stone toward moving into the US. It will take several generations for this to play out and it will be interesting to see what differences (if any) emerge between the two countries over that time. I think that the amount of diversity that currently exists in Canada has the potential to produce some very interesting results verses the slowed diversification of the US, where the dominant English culture strongly resists threats. Unfortunately, the results of this are measured in generations and may not be apparent in my life-time.

Should the US annex Canada?

Customers of Gabelli mutual funds lost an average of 44% of their portfolios last year, but Mario Gabelli made $47 million. He and many other big-name fund executives have yet to scale back their pay despite their dismal performances.
"

Mutual Fund Managers swimming in cash while your retirement plans squandered