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Submission + - Canadian military developing stealth snowmobile (www.cbc.ca)

Submitted by innocent_white_lamb
innocent_white_lamb writes: The Canadian military is currently testing a $620,000 hybrid-electric stealth snowmobile. Testing includes speed, towing capacity, endurance, mobility, usability, and of course, noise emissions.

The testing and most other information about the stealth snowmobile is secret and very little information has been released other than the fact that it does exist. One document reads ""The noise level of an internal combustion engine cannot be reduced to an acceptable level for missions where covertness may be required, especially given the increased propagation of sound in cold, dry, Arctic air". Therefore, National Defence's research agency is "pursuing the development of a 'silent' snowmobile for winter operations in Canada, specifically in the Arctic."

Michael Byers, an Arctic policy expert, questions the need for a stealth snowmobile. "I don't see a whole lot of evidence that criminals and terrorists are scooting around Canada's North on snowmobiles and that we have to sneak up on them," he said.

Submission + - The Death of the American Drive-in

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Claire Suddath writes in Businessweek that the number of drive-ins in America has dwindled from over 4,000 in the 1960s to about 360 today and since Hollywood distributors are expected to stop producing movies in traditional 35 millimeter film by the end of this year and switch entirely to digital, America’s last remaining drive-ins—the majority of which are still family-owned and seasonally operated, could soon be gone. "We have challenges that other movie theaters don’t,” says John Vincent, president of United Drive-In Theater Owners Association and the owner of Wellfleet Drive-In in Cape Cod, Mass. “We have fewer screens and can only show one or two movies a night. Now we have to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to stay in business.” According to Vincent, only 150 drive-ins have converted to digital so far—the other 210 have until the end of the year either to get with the program or go out of business. It may seem silly to fret over the fate of 210 movie theaters whose business model is outdated, even compared with regular movie theaters but Honda Motor Co. is offering help with a program called “Project Drive-In.” The car company is planning to give away five digital projectors by the end of the year. Winners will be determined by voting from the public, which can be done online through Sept. 9 at ProjectDriveIn.com. “Cars and drive-in theaters go hand in hand,” says Alicia Jones, manager of Honda & Acura social marketing, "and it’s our mission to save this slice of Americana that holds such nostalgia for many of us."

Submission + - Feds target instructors of polygraph-beating methods (mcclatchydc.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Federal agents have launched a criminal investigation of instructors who claim they can teach job applicants how to pass lie detector tests as part of the Obama administration’s unprecedented crackdown on security violators and leakers.

The criminal inquiry, which hasn’t been acknowledged publicly, is aimed at discouraging criminals and spies from infiltrating the U.S. government by using the polygraph-beating techniques, which are said to include controlled breathing, muscle tensing, tongue biting and mental arithmetic.

So far, authorities have targeted at least two instructors, one of whom has pleaded guilty to federal charges, several people familiar with the investigation told McClatchy. Investigators confiscated business records from the two men, which included the names of as many as 5,000 people who’d sought polygraph-beating advice. U.S. agencies have determined that at least 20 of them applied for government and federal contracting jobs, and at least half of that group was hired, including by the National Security Agency.

By attempting to prosecute the instructors, federal officials are adopting a controversial legal stance that sharing such information should be treated as a crime and isn’t protected under the First Amendment in some circumstances.

Submission + - Ubuntu Edge Now Most-Backed Crowdfunding Campaign Ever

Submitted by Volanin
Volanin writes: After nearly a month of its assumed happening, Ubuntu Edge has now passed the $10.2 million mark, thus making it the most pledged-to crowd-funder in history. While the Ubuntu Edge campaign is to be commended for reaching such a mammoth milestone as this, it can’t quite claim ultimate victory yet, since it's just short of making one-third of its $32 million goal with a little less than a week left. Can they do it?

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