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| compos mentis. Concision. Media. Clarity. Memes. Context. Melange. Confluence. Mishmash. Conflation. Mellifluous. Conviviality. Miscellany. Confelicity. Milieu. Cogent. Minty. Concoction. |
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Rebuilding the World Trade Center Site |
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| Topic: War on Terrorism |
2:31 pm EDT, Jul 16, 2002 |
Plans to rebuild the World Trade Center (WTC) site in Manhattan were unveiled today. CNN offers visualizations of the plans and is taking an Internet vote to gauge initial public response. It is said to be unlikely that any of the six plans will be chosen directly; rather, they are starting points for further discussion. Rebuilding the World Trade Center Site |
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The National Strategy For Homeland Security [PDF] |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
2:16 pm EDT, Jul 16, 2002 |
President Bush today released the first National Strategy for Homeland Security. The purpose of the Strategy is to mobilize and organize our Nation to secure the US homeland from terrorist attacks. Excerpts from the table of contents: Threat and Vulnerability
Organizing for a Secure Homeland
Critical Mission Areas: Intelligence and Warning; Border and Transportation Security; Domestic Counterterrorism; Protecting Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets; Defending against Catastrophic Threats; Emergency Preparedness and Response
Foundations: Law; Science and Technology; Information Sharing and Systems; International Cooperation
Costs of Homeland Security
Conclusion: Priorities for the Future The National Strategy For Homeland Security [PDF] |
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US Telecom Earnings to Suffer from Weak Demand |
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| Topic: Telecom Industry |
6:32 am EDT, Jul 16, 2002 |
The major US telecoms will post dismal Q2 results that reflect the scant demand and falling prices that have plagued the industry for months, souring share values and forcing several companies into bankruptcy. Analyst: "There's a continued downturn in the telecom industry with no sign of recovery. [Until business spending recovers] the telecom sector is not going to recover. It's not going to be an upbeat quarter." Another: "I don't think we'll see much, if any, recovery." Sprint is expected to post a 7% drop in revenues. Sprint PCS will cut its growth target for the year. Wireless operations at Verizon, SBC, and BellSouth will also suffer. SBC and Verizon will continue to cut capex. Meanwhile, IBM and Intel are pushing them to increase capex for an 802.11 infrastructure. Are they attempting to simultaneously reduce and increase capex? US Telecom Earnings to Suffer from Weak Demand |
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Bush Is to Propose Broad New Powers in Domestic Security |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
6:00 am EDT, Jul 16, 2002 |
The Bush administration's broad new proposal for domestic security, to be made public on Tuesday, calls for sweeping changes that include the creation of a top-secret plan to protect the nation's critical infrastructure and a review of the law that could allow the military to operate more aggressively within the United States. Among the proposals: Create an "intelligence threat division" in the new department that uses what the plan calls "red teams" of intelligence experts. These teams would act like terrorists and plot attacks on vulnerable new targets in the country so that means of preventing such attacks can be devised. The plan calls for the first thorough inventory of the country's critical infrastructure both public and private followed by a secret plan to protect it. The inventory would include, for example, highways, pipelines, agriculture, the Internet, databases and energy plants. The plan begins with an acknowledgment of the difficulty of defining the problem: "Terrorism is not so much a system of belief ... as it is a strategy and a tactic." The plan proposes to make better use of the military to counter domestic threats. Bush Is to Propose Broad New Powers in Domestic Security |
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It Slices! It Dices! Nanotube Struts Its Stuff |
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| Topic: Nano Tech |
5:53 am EDT, Jul 16, 2002 |
It is stronger than steel and far sharper than a pin. It shoots electrons and draws away heat. It can become the thinnest of wires and, potentially, electronic devices almost as minuscule as molecules. It is the nanotube, "the strongest material that will ever be made." The prospect of a strand that is long, strong and thin conjures dreams of epic engineering like spinning a 22,300-mile-long cable out of nanotubes to tether a satellite in orbit around the earth, and then building an elevator that goes from the ground floor literally into outer space. Make way for the space elevator! It Slices! It Dices! Nanotube Struts Its Stuff |
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They've Seen the Future and Intend to Live It |
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| Topic: Nano Tech |
5:49 am EDT, Jul 16, 2002 |
Dr. Ralph C. Merkle is celebrated as an inventor of the encryption technology that allows secure transactions over the Internet. But that was a long time ago. These days, he is better known as a leading theorist of molecular nanotechnology, the still unperfected art of building machines that are little bigger than atoms. Nanofactories will churn out everything from rocking chairs to rocket ships, superior to any ever made, at "the cost of potatoes and wood," in Dr. Merkle's words. Nanocomputers will interface directly with the brain, vastly increasing human intelligence. And nanobots will cruise through bloodstreams, banishing disease and debility. They've Seen the Future and Intend to Live It |
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'Virus of the Mind', by Heather Nova |
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| Topic: Music |
8:37 pm EDT, Jul 15, 2002 |
Well I was watching this talk show the other day
And on it there was this guy
And he was saying "When you let other people tell you what's right
when you leave your instinct and your own truth behind
that's a virus of the mind,
that's a virus of the mind" ... It's in the deep of your soul, it's on the tip of your tongue
It's the feeling you get, when you feel young
It's in the sound of a beat, it's in the base of your spine ... I'm pretty happy, living in my
My own sweet time, living in my
I'm pretty happy, and I don't need your
Virus of the mind
Your virus of the mind "This guy" was Richard Brodie, author of the book, _Virus of the Mind_, which is all about memetics. "This talk show" was The Oprah Winfrey Show. Nova sort of co-opts the concept for her song, but it retains a kernel of the basic truth about memes. 'Virus of the Mind', by Heather Nova |
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Silicon Valley Without Trimmings |
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| Topic: Tech Industry |
7:09 am EDT, Jul 15, 2002 |
Within walking distance of Stanford, where the economist who coined the term "conspicuous consumption" once taught, a dark reality is playing out. Having already gone from boom to bust, many dot-commers are coming to something worse. Unable to make payments, they are selling luxury cars, canceling home renovations and returning jewelry by the box. This region has grown accustomed to high-technology highs and lows over four decades, but the current dot-com collapse has lasted longer and cut deeper. And the recently affluent technology workers who had come to believe in the "long boom," the idea that prosperity would be permanent, are quietly giving up their flashy signs of success to make ends meet. "There is a sense that money could go and jobs are not that stable. Those things are beginning to loom in people's consciousness." John Markoff comes back for chapter two of the Valley gloom and doom story ... Silicon Valley Without Trimmings |
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Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance |
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| Topic: Science |
11:37 pm EDT, Jul 14, 2002 |
Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology And Cognitive Science An NSF/DOC-sponsored report; pre-publication edition released in June 2002 Sections include: Motivation and outlook; Expanding human cognition and communication; Expanding human physical performance; Enhancing group and societal outcomes; National security; Unifying science and education. The integration and synergy of nano-bio-info-cogno originate from the nanoscale. These converging technologies remap the main societal paths, towards more functional and coarser pathways instead of the less organized and finer mesh we have now, and with an increased focus on people. New patterns are envisioned in working habits, in economic activity, and in human civilization. ... A vast opportunity is created by the convergence of sciences and technologies starting with integration from the nanoscale, having immense individual, societal and historical implications for human development. ... Technology will increasingly dominate the world, as population, resource exploitation, and potential social conflict grow. Therefore, the success of this convergent technologies priority area is crucial to the future of humanity. Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance |
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Brookings Report Urges Congress to Revise President Bush's Homeland Security Proposal |
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| Topic: Politics and Law |
1:46 pm EDT, Jul 14, 2002 |
A new report from a team of homeland security experts at the Brookings Institution recommends that Congress modify key elements of President Bush's proposal. The report concludes that the Bush proposal "merges too many different activities into a single department, including many that have little day-to-day connection with one another." The authors recommend that Congress include in the new department only border, transportation, and infrastructure security agencies, plus a major new intelligence assessment and analysis unit. The full report will be distributed and discussed, and questions about it will be answered, at a briefing on Monday, July 15, at 9:00 am. The briefing will also be webcast live. Brookings heavyweights oppose most of the White House's plans on homeland security. They side with Congress and applaud them for "not seeking scandal." Is anyone listening? Can an effective department be created? Brookings Report Urges Congress to Revise President Bush's Homeland Security Proposal |
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