174962627
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cold fjord writes:
Actor James Earl Jones, star of stage and screen has died at 93. Jones is famous for roles in such films as the Star Wars series, Field of Dreams, The Hunt for Red October, the Lion King, Conan the Barbarian, and Doctor Stragelove. Jones also appeared as a guest star in various television shows such as the Big Bang theory, and others, Jones defied expectations as he was mute between ages 6-14, after which he spoke with a stutter for years. Jone's high school English teacher inspired Jones to memorize and recite poetry, and eventually engage in debate and dramatic readings. Jone's favorite? Edgar Allen Poe. Jones went on to college at the University of Michigan where he joined ROTC. After graduation Jones was commissioned as an Army 2nd Lieutenant and completed Infantry Office Basic Course and Ranger school. After leaving the Army Jone's theater career blossomed. Early on Jones had a reputation as a Shakespearean actor which soon widened into a number of roles in other plays, eventually leading to television and movie roles. Jones won a number of awards, including two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a special Tony for lifetime achievement, a Grammy, and an honorary Oscar.
Jones retired from voicing Darth Vader in 2022, but agreed to have an artificial intelligence program re-create his voice in future shows.
132303070
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cold fjord writes:
Sir Ian Holm, a classically trained actor celebrated for his interpretations of Shakespeare, and with an astonishing range work in important science fiction and fantasy films, has died at age 88. Holm’s depiction of King Lear was celebrated, and he brought Puck to life in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” But most people on Slashdot will remember him for a few other roles, such as Bilbo Baggins, in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and two of the “Hobbit” movies. Holm also appeared in “Alien” as the android Ash, as Napoleon in “Time Bandits,” and Cornelius in “The Fifth Element.” Holm received a Tony Award in 1967, a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in 1998, a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1981, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Chariots of Fire. Holm received royal honours in 1989 and 1998.
102918368
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cold fjord writes:
Britain's Ministry of Defence and GCHQ signals intelligence establishment have put forward a plan to increase staff devoted to offensive cyber operations by 2,000, quadrupling it over current levels. Funding would also increase by at least £250m. The initiative comes on the heels of a multiyear cyber campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and in the face of a growing cyber threat from Russia. General Sir Richard Barrons commented that, "By adopting offensive cyber techniques in the UK we are levelling the playing field and providing new means of both deterring and punishing states that wish to do us harm. . ." — Relations between Britain and Russia have grown tense since a former Russian intelligence officer and his daughter were poisoned with nerve gas in Britain by two men believed to be Russian military intelligence officers.
99382475
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cold fjord writes:
US and British troops have completed a first of its kind exercise using robots for breaching a complex anti-tank / anti-personnel obstacle as part of what was titled the "Robotic Complex Breach Concept demonstration" at the Grafenwoehr training area in Germany. The exercise included a number of robotic systems, including remotely controlled British Army Terrier engineering vehicles (5 cameras, including thermal imaging) , UAVs for reconnaissance and chemical agent detection, and the M58 Wolf under remote control and used to provide smoke screens. The demonstration was viewed by officials representing a number of US Army branches, the British Army, the US Marines, and others organizations. British Warrant Officer Robert Kemp stated that breaching enemy obstacles is one of the most dangerous tasks on a battlefield, and that, "Any breach like this will have enemy weapons trained in on the area . . . Roboticizing breach operations takes away the risk of life and makes clearing enemy obstacles much safer." US Army officer 1st Lt. Felix Derosin said, "As an engineer, this means a lot to me . . . The casualty rate for a breach is expected to be 50 percent. Being able to take our guys away from that, and have some robots go in there, is a very positive thing for us. In the future, this can save engineers' lives." — Youtube video, courtesy of Stars and Stripes.
99238911
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cold fjord writes:
The Chinese Tiangong 1 space station reentered the atmosphere over the central South Pacific around 8:15 AM (0015 GMT) and mostly burnt up according to the China Manned Space Engineering Office. According to an astrophysicist at Australian National University the debris landed approximately 100 km (62 miles) northwest of Tahiti. The 10.4 meter space station was launched in 2011 to carry out docking and orbital experiments in preparation for putting a permanent space station into orbit by 2023.
96534381
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cold fjord writes:
Extremetech reports, "At CES 2018 this week, Intel’s CEO . . .declared the company’s new 49-qubit quantum computer represented a step towards “quantum supremacy.” A 49 qubit system is a major advance for Intel, which just demonstrated a 17-qubit system two months ago. Intel’s working with the Netherlands-based Qutech on this project, and expanding the number of qubits is key to creating quantum computers that can deliver real-world results. . . . “Qubits are tremendously fragile: Any noise or unintended observation of them can cause data loss. This fragility requires them to operate at about 20 millikelvin – 250 times colder than deep space.” This is also why we won’t be seeing quantum computers in anyone’s house at any point."
96327675
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cold fjord writes:
As seething discontent has boiled over in Iran leading to mass protests, protesters have taken to the streets and social media to register their discontent with slogans like, “Not Gaza, Not Lebanon, my soul for Iran” and ”Leave Syria, think of how we are doing.” The government has been closing schools and shutting down transportation. Now, as mass protests in Iran go into their third day there are reports that internet access is being cut in cities with protests occurring. Social media has been a tool for documenting the protests and brutal crackdowns against them. Iran previously cut off internet access during the Green Movement protests following the 2009 elections. At the same time the Iranian government is cutting internet access they have called on Telegram, reportedly used by more than 40 million Iranians, to close the channels used by protesters. Telegram is now closing channels used by the protesters while Telegram itself may be shut down in Iran.
96135581
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cold fjord writes:
The New York Post relays news from New Scientist that during the 2017 Geophysical Union Conference scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory reveled that they are planning an interstellar exploration mission for the year 2069. The goal is to send a probe to Alpha Centauri some 4.3 light years away. NASA is working on technology to allow a spacecraft to reach 10% of the speed of light which might allow them to reach Alpha Centauri as soon as 44 years. A number of technologies are being explored, although there are many practical hurdles. The New Scientist article adds that the 2016 NASA budget directed NASA to study interstellar travel that could reach 10% of the speed of light by 2069.
87604251
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cold fjord writes:
State level marijuana legalization efforts across the US have been gaining traction driven by the folk wisdom that marijuana is both a harmless recreational drug and a useful medical treatment for many aliments. However some cracks have appeared in that story with indications that marijuana use is associated with the development of mental disorders and the long term blunting of the brain's reward system of dopamine levels. A new study has found that marijuana appears to have a widespread effect on blood flow in the brain: "Published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, researchers using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), a sophisticated imaging study that evaluates blood flow and activity patterns, demonstrated abnormally low blood flow in virtually every area of the brain studies in nearly 1,000 marijuana users compared to healthy controls, including areas known to be affected by Alzheimer's pathology such as the hippocampus. . . . According to Daniel Amen, M.D., ... "Our research demonstrates that marijuana can have significant negative effects on brain function. The media has given the general impression that marijuana is a safe recreational drug, this research directly challenges that notion. In another new study just released, researchers showed that marijuana use tripled the risk of psychosis. Caution is clearly in order.""
87367981
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cold fjord writes:
James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, resigned last night. Clapper spent 30 years in military intelligence at the National Imagery and Mapping Agency. He was selected to be the Director of National Intelligence in 2010 with responsibility for 17 US intelligence agencies. Clapper was DNI during the monumental Snowden leaks of documents from NSA and various allied intelligence agencies as well as the release by WikiLeaks of the documents provided by (at the time) Private Bradley Manning. Besides the Snowden and Manning leaks, Clapper was engulfed in controversy over testimony to Congress in which he is alleged to have lied about NSA data collection in responding to a question from Senator Wyden. Clapper had previously stated he would leave at the end of the Obama administration. Clapper's resignation clears the way for incoming president-elect Trump to appoint his own Director of National Intelligence.
87350321
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cold fjord writes:
It will soon be a bit more difficult for Britain's Royal Navy to rule the waves as it gives up anti-ship missiles as a result of budget cuts. That will force the Royal Navy to go "old school" and rely upon naval gunfire for ship to ship combat. Cannon fire as the primary means of ship to ship combat has been largely obsolete since the 1950s following the invention of guided missiles in World War 2. Prior to that canon fire had been the primary means of naval combat for hundreds of years, and the Royal Navy had developed it handling of naval guns to a high art. Although Royal Navy cannon once ranged up to 16" guns on battleships the largest gun currently in active service is a 4.5" gun. That will leave the Royal Navy unable to engage targets beyond approximately 17 miles / 27 km whereas Harpoon missiles provide an 80 mile / 130 m range. The loss of anti-ship missile capability will begin in 2018 and may last for 10 years for warships, and 2 years for helicopters. The Sun quotes a naval insider who said: "It’s like Nelson saying, ‘don’t worry, I don’t need canons, we’ve got muskets.’" The loss of missile capability heaps more misfortune upon a naval force that recently has seen its available frontline combat force drop to an unprecedented 24 warships.
81949031
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cold fjord writes:
Steven Hawking, 150 fellows of the Royal Society (three Nobel laureates among them), and the Astronomer Royal, are warning that exit from the EU by the UK could be a disaster for science in the UK. An immediate issue would be restrictions on travel and how that would result in scientists from around the EU no longer coming to the UK to work. That would make the UK less competitive for new talent. It would also mean that scientists in the EU with grant money would be less likely to bring their research and grant money to the UK to perform their work. Switzerland is listed as an example of the resulting harm. The scientists make the point that freedom of travel for scientists is as important for science as free trade is for economies. This point of view is not shared by all.
81904729
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cold fjord writes:
General Michael Hayden (Retired), who served as head of both the NSA and CIA, has taken a position supporting Apple in its conflict with the FBI. Apple is fighting a court order to assist the FBI in breaking into the government owned phone used by one of the two dead terrorists responsible for the recent San Bernardino massacre. General Hayden stated, “You can argue this on constitutional grounds. Does the government have the right to do this? Frankly, I think the government does have a right to do it. You can do balancing privacy and security dead men don’t have a right to privacy. I don’t use those lenses. My lens is the security lens, and frankly, it’s a close but clear call that Apple’s right on just raw security grounds . . .", and, "I get why the FBI wants to get into the phones but this may be a case where we’ve got to give up some things in law enforcement and even counter terrorism in order to preserve this aspect, our cybersecurity.”
81381397
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cold fjord writes:
Nick Gillespie at Reason is heading to The Free State Project's annual Liberty Forum. being held this weekend in Manchester, New Hampshire. One of the highlights and a big draw this year is the keynote address by Edward Snowden via the Internet. Nick Gillespie will be interviewing Edward Snowden. Snowden is also scheduled to answer questions from participants submitted ahead of time. There are already reported to be 2,000 Free State Project members in the state, and reports from Brian Doherty indicate they are already effecting change: "Over 1,900 Free Staters already are there and we've reported here at Reason on some of what they're already accomplished, from getting 15 of their brethren in the state House, challenging anti-ridehail laws, fighting in court for outre religious liberty, winning legal battles over taping cops, being mocked by Colbert for heroically paying off people's parking meters, hosting cool anything goes festivals for libertarians, nullifying pot juries, and inducing occasional pants-wetting absurd paranoia in local statists."
80657611
submission
cold fjord writes:
Former Justice Department attorney Thomas Tamm sparked an intense public debate about warrantless surveillance nearly a decade before Edward Snowden. Tamm tipped reporters in 2004 about the use of nonstandard warrantless procedures under the Bush administration for intercepting international phone calls and emails of Americans. New York Times reporters James Risen and Eric Lichtblau used Tamm's revelations to help them win a Pulitzer Prize. Barack Obama criticized the program and the Obama administration Justice Department announced in 2011 that it would not bring criminal charges against him. Unfortunately Tamm is now facing disciplinary hearings before the D.C. Office of Disciplinary Counsel which prosecutes the D.C. Bar's disciplinary cases. Tamm is facing ethics charges that could result is his disbarment, revoking his law license. Tamm is alleged to have "failed to refer information in his possession that persons within the Department of Justice were violating their legal obligations to higher authority within the Department” and “revealed to a newspaper reporter confidences or secrets of his client, the Department of Justice.” Tamm currently resides in Maryland where he is a public defender. The effect of the D.C. case on him there is unclear. Tamm's attorney, Georgetown University law professor Michael Frisch, says the delays seen in this case are not unusual in D.C., it can take years for matters to play out. Another of Frisch's clients, who exposed the interrogation of "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, believes the prosecution is political persecution.
