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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 56 declined, 9 accepted (65 total, 13.85% accepted)

Privacy

How to Change the World: "Barcode All Humans at Birth"-> 1

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "Papers Please Dept.:
Elizabeth Moon, author of an extensive corpus of Science Fiction, opines for the BBC: “If I were empress of the Universe I would insist on every individual having a unique ID permanently attached — a barcode if you will; an implanted chip to provide an easy, fast inexpensive way to identify individuals. It would be imprinted on everyone at birth. Point the scanner at someone and there it is. ... In war soldiers could easily differentiate legitimate targets in a population from non combatants... Anonymity would be impossible as would mistaken identity making it easier to place responsibility accurately, not only in war but also in non-combat situations far from the war." Does it make sense to establish military and criminal accountability at the potential expense posed to privacy and liberty?"
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Science

Why Are Cells Powered by Proton Gradients?->

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "Virtually all cells "breathe" by pumping protons, in the form of hydrogen ions, across a membrane. Molecular biologist Leslie Orgel considers this the single most counterintuitive idea in biology after Darwin's, and the only one to bear comparison with the concepts of Heisenberg, Schrödinger, and Einstein. Brainchild of biochemist Peter Mitchell, the concept was controversial for a twenty year period now known as the "ox-phos wars". The wars drew to an end only after Mitchell received the Nobel Prize in 1978. Complex life is dependent on this process, but only now are the pertinent questions being asked, about why this is so."
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Sun Microsystems

Sun Cooling, Soon to Have Four Poles, Say Japanese Astrophysicists-> 1

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "Officials of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and the Riken research foundation said on April 19 that the activity of sunspots appeared to resemble a 70-year period in the 17th century. Known as the Maunder Minimum, temperatures are estimated to have been about 2.5 degrees lower than in the second half of the 20th century. The researchers also found signs of unusual magnetic changes in the sun. Normally, the sun’s magnetic field flips about once every 11 years. The solar observation satellite Hinode found that the north pole of the sun had started flipping about a year earlier than expected, with no noticeable change in the south pole. It's possible the north pole could complete its flip in May 2012 but create a four-pole magnetic structure in the sun, with two new poles created in the vicinity of the equator of our closest star."
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Censorship

Ruling in UK: ISPs Must Block The Pirate Bay->

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "BBC reports today that the High Court here in Britain has ordered that ISPs must block access to the Pirate Bay. The judgement was handed after an earlier blocking request was refused by ISPs, who would not block the site unless a court order was made, as is now the case. Interestingly, Virgin Media is an ISP which is complying in dissent with the remedy. Part of the Virgin Group which arguably has a stake in the position taken by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) an equivalent to America's RIAA. "Sites like The Pirate Bay destroy jobs in the UK and undermine investment in new British artists" Chief BPI executive Geoff Taylor said that the court "has confirmed that The Pirate Bay infringes copyright on a massive scale. Its operators line their pockets by commercially exploiting music and other creative works." Other affected ISPs include Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and British Telecom"
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Russian Stock Market Mysteriously Halted "Indefinitely"->

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes ""bears for the bear" dept: It's not the setup for a Yakov Smirnoff joke: "In soviet Russia, stock market halts you." Rather more seriously, all trading appears to have been suspended, and after the third delayed time for re-opening, the closure has been announced ominously: "The technical suspension of trading to be extended. The situation has been recognized as an emergency. Further actions will be announced shortly." There is very little news available about this, and it is unknown if these are technology problems or manged by the Russian state — but Zero Hedge has been tracking the issue. At this time, a site hacking and defacement has now been largely ruled out."
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The Military

US Journalists Targeted by Pentagon Propaganda Contractors->

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "While conducting investigative reporting on civilian contractors in the Pentagon's "InfoOps" Internet propaganda operations, two reporters found themselves the subject of a highly targeted, professional media manipulation effort. Reporter Tom Vanden Brook and Editor Ray Locker found that Twitter and Facebook accounts have been created in their names, along with a Wikipedia entry and dozens of message board postings and blog comments. Websites were registered in their names. Some postings merely copied Vanden Brook's and Locker's previous reporting. Others accused them of being sponsored by the Taliban. "I find it creepy and cowardly that somebody would hide behind my name and presumably make up other names in an attempt to undermine my credibility," Vanden Brook said. If these websites were created using federal funds, it could violate federal law prohibiting the production of propaganda for domestic consumption."
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Security

Hacker Posts Details of 3 Million Bank Accounts in Iran->

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "Khosrow Zarefarid warned of the security flaw in Iran’s banking system providing affected institutions of the details, including 1,000 captured bank accounts. When the affected banks, including the largest state institutions didn’t respond, Khosrow then hacked 3 million accounts across at least 22 banks. He then dropped these details — including card numbers and PINs — on his blog: ircard.blogspot.ca. Three Iranian banks Saderat, Eghtesad Novin, and Saman have already warned customers to change their debit card PINs. "Zarefarid is reportedly no longer in Iran, though it is unclear when he left.""
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The Almighty Buck

Are You Being Taxed By Your Boss?->

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "I guess this explains why the pothole in the state expressway is still awaiting repairs. Goldman Sachs, General Electric, Sears are among over 2,700 companies withholding income from their employees — but instead of sending the money to the state coffers they're keeping it for themselves. With the legal blessings of your own state."
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Earth

Russian City Ever Watchful Against Being Sucked Into Earth->

Submitted by Jeremiah Cornelius
Jeremiah Cornelius writes "Dmitry Rybolovlev bought the most expensive apartment ever sold in New York City — the $88 million penthouse at 15 Central Park West — did much for local real estate values. But in Berezniki, the mining city where he made his fortune, properties have literally been plunging. "Imagine putting a sugar cube in a cup of tea," Mikhail A. Permyakov, the chief land surveyor for Uralkali, the company that owns the mine. "That is what happened under Berezniki." Berezniki is afflicted by sinkholes, hundreds of feet deep that can open at a moment's notice. So grave is the danger that the entire city is under 24-hour video surveillance. In 2008 a government commission cleared Mr. Rybolovlev of wrongdoing, blaming past unsafe practices for the sinkholes. A senior official close to Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin says that Mr. Rybolovlev bears some responsibility, even though he sold the mine after the occurrence of the first great openings."
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Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it.