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Communications

Submission + - FBI's Unknown Eavesdropping Network (wired.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Building off the design mandates of CALEA, the FBI has quietly built a sophisticated, point-and-click surveillance system that performs instant wiretaps on almost any communications device, according to nearly a thousand pages of restricted documents newly released under the Freedom of Information Act, Wired News reports. The surveillance system, called DCSNet, for Digital Collection System Network, connects FBI wiretapping rooms to switches controlled by traditional land-line operators, internet-telephony providers and cellular companies. It is far more intricately woven into the nation's telecom infrastructure than observers suspected.
Space

Submission + - The Solar oxygen crisis

Astrophysicist writes: The Astrophysical Journal publishes this week an article about the abundance of oxygen in the Sun. Oxygen (O) is the third most abundant atom in the universe, behind Hydrogen (H) and Helium (He). Most of the H and He was formed in the Big Bang, which means that O is the element most frequently produced by nuclear fusion reactions in the interior of the stars. The solar abundance of O, which is key in Astrophysics because of its use as a calibration reference for other objects, was thought to be well established since the 80s. However, recent evidence indicates that it has been overestimated by almost a factor of two. A revision of the Solar oxygen abundance would have a cascading effect on other important elements, such as Carbon, Nitrogen and Neon, whose abundance is only known relative to that of O. In addition to the impact on the chemical composition of many stars, models of solar interior may require some reworking in order to be consistent with the new data.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Things are looking up

The Goodies are coming to Canberra!!! I'm going to Sydney for the weekend. Saw Steamboy at the Electric Shadows theatre last night, I'd give it an 8/10. Lots of good eye candy and a reasonably good plot. Plus have a concubine, so finally getting some semi-regular sex ;) Always makes for a happy person.
User Journal

Journal Journal: What a crazy world we live in.

First Journal Entry.

Reading news items on slashdot sometimes gets me down, just read the article about Mr47 / Winny, sort of hope that things don't go that way in Australia, hope that the FTA with the US gets voted down so we don't have changes to our copyright act. I think that copyright should last only 10 years. As tech keeps changing and makes the old stuff out of date, there is a big chance that lots of stuff could be lost.

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