"At the end of the experiment they were recalled and scrapped."
In reality, they scrapped them as soon as they won their lawsuit against CARB. That ruling effectively reversed state law that required electric vehicles--the entire time GM was leasing electric vehicles, their lawyers were fighting to overturn laws that required electric vehicles be sold. The EV-1 was GM's response to those requirements, and when the requirements were reversed they repossessed all the EV-1s and crushed them.
First hand experience with this type of behavior...What started out as an anecdote from an instructor turned into a lesson in Big Business.
Many years ago I attended an automotive trade school with the intention of focusing on fuel systems and computerized engine controls. One of my instructors, while explaining the demise of carburetors, mentioned a modified Chevy V-8 getting 80 MPG. I pressed him on this claim. He went on to tell the story of the Moody Brothers, racers at heart and some of the best race-engine builders of their time. As my instructor explained it, while experimenting to extract every ounce of horse-power from their engines, they discovered something that everyone had simply over-looked--fuel evaporation.
The way I understand it, they discovered that much of the energy in gasoline (and other modified fuels used in racing) is lost as a result of incomplete combustion--the fuel/air mixture consisted of many large droplets of fuel, rather then a completely evaporated and gaseous mixture. The result was incomplete combustion and lost potential energy, not to mention an increase in pollutants such as carbon monoxide and free hydrocarbons. To remedy the situation, they remote mounted the carburetor and installed a series of venturi--one after the other--inline to the intake manifold. The venturi were not used to draw additional fuel into the charge, but rather to simply expose the fuel charge to rapidly alternating pressures. This alternating effect literally breaks up the droplets to the point the air/fuel charge consists of air and a gaseous fuel. The result was a more complete burn of the incoming fuel. The Moody Bros simply found a very simple way of vastly increasing the efficiency of carbureted engines. My instructor (who was apparently involved to some degree--he also claimed to have gotten 60 MPG from a pair of Weber carbs in his VW Bug) boldly stated that the Moody Brothers had achieved 80 MPG with an otherwise-stock Chevy 350. I had serious doubts--why wasn't everyone doing this then? I asked him as much. He stated that shortly after word got around in the close community of engine builders, Standard Oil simply offered them $11,000,000 to outright buy the rights/patent from them. Being the 60's, they'd have been fools to not take the offer--that was a huge amount of money back then.
I still wasn't sold. So I decided to try it myself.
At the time, I owned a 1960 Ford Falcon Ranchero with a stock 170CI straight-6 engine. It was an odd engine in that it had a integral intake manifold--it was literally part of the cylinder-head with no gasket. But another oddity caught my eye not long after that day in class--a 1" thick plate of metal located between the carburetor and the intake. After a little thinking, I realized the only purpose it served was as a location to mount a PCV valve. This was an after-thought on the part of Ford--they had just recently realized that drawing off the fuel that accumulated in the crankcase oil drastically increased engine life, and as a result had hastily added PCV valves during assembly by adding this small plate.
I took the plate off and used J-B Weld to create a venturi inside this plate. My brother came up with the ingenious idea of using a melted candle to create an instant mold for the J-B Weld--I simply got the J-B Weld where I wanted it, placed the plate on some waxpaper, then poured melted candlewax into it. The wax instantly cooled into a mold allowing the J-B Weld to cure overnight without sagging. The next morning, after a little sanding, I put everything back together and fired it up.
The first thing I noticed was instant throttle response--no more gulping when the pedal was mashed to the floor. On test drive, the vehicle seemed to have significantly more power, allowing me drive up a certain hill in the area in 3rd gear, whereas before a downshift to 2nd was required. Back in the garage, I pulled the single jet out of the carburetor, heated it up and filled it with a plug of solder. I then re-drilled it to 50
"... they hire the smartest, and some of the smartest are crooks."
Hire? They buy you out. You are now them, only you have no real tasks but spending the millions they just gave you to keep you on the bench and off the playing field...and your mouth firmly shut.
Rivalry, my ass. The only rivalry I see is from Microsoft, leaving us the old "lesser of two evils" scenario. In other words, no choice. It's a good cop/bad cop routine meant to keep us in a state where we have no options.
Think back to the list of major players that Snowden exposed, then look at the following lists of acquisitions and you'll see just how much of the tech world has been compromised.
Great...I guess you don't even have to be the NSA to get access... Nice find, Supra.
From the AirSage Website (my emphasis):
"AIRSAGE GENERATES BILLIONS of anonymous location data points, transforming over 5 terabytes of signaling data every day into valuable, relevant and accessible information.
Taken separately, anonymous signals don’t mean much, but in aggregate they form a detailed picture of clusters of people showing how and when they move through the day.
On roadways, clusters of signals are often a key indicator of congestion and heavy traffic, so knowing where and when these clusters appear is the first step in helping others to avoid those locations. Or helping planners address the congestion with road improvements or alternate forms of transportation.
AirSage locates cell phone signals to within a few hundred feet extremely useful for businesses and advertisers, providing unprecedented insight into the behavior of consumers at specific locations and at different times during the day.
Tap into this data to understand locations, behaviors, and movements – vital information for advertisers, corporations, commercial carriers, departments of transportation, and urban planners – any group that needs real-time geo-targeted information to plan, build and grow."
"Remove the tag before you go do something naughty but keep it in your car other times."
Pointless--they're already tracking your vehicle, and have been for years. I've discussed this in the past--The T.R.E.A.D. Act allowed the US government to force RFID tracking devices on the entire nation. The Firestone/Ford Explorer-rollover issue was used as reason to pass this legislation. Removing those tags is not only a federal offense, driving over a sensor (they're everywhere there is a stop-light sensor, utilizing the same antenna) without tags is sure to get you noticed eventually...and singled out. You'd end up drawing more attention then leaving them alone. Repealing the T.R.E.A.D. Act is the only way your getting rid of this problem.
From linked article: "Embedded in a tire or affixed to the sidewall, an RFID tag the size of a grain of rice is a powerful tire-tracking tool. Some tiremakers have already recognized its potential. Some commercial truck and aircraft fleets use RFID to identify tires and to ensure regular service. Tires used in NASCAR racing are embedded with RFID to keep tabs on these high performance tires. Many in the auto industry have identified recalls as one of its possible uses. With a chip embedded in the sidewall and inexpensive readers installed in service shops (or an interface with the vehicle computer), motorists could have the status of their tires checked every time they take their vehicle to be serviced, or through their instrument panel." ( https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZrXHlyRR8y4J:http://www.safetyresearch.net/Library/Recalls_RFID.pdf%2BFirestone+tire+RFID&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&client=firefox-a&hl=en&ct=clnk )
Here are some specifics regarding one manufacturer of the technology:
"Lets face it, security and privacy were not designed into the protocols we use on the internet today, they were bolted on afterward, and the government played a big (and self serving) part of that effort."
For those that doubt that statement, please read the documentation provided by the none other than the NSA itself.
That page was posted by the NSA 4 1/2 years ago and updated in May 2013. Surprisingly, they name names--exactly who worked on what--and even go so far as to provide addresses and personal information for these people. These names can be used to locate networks of "cooperation", just like the NSA uses metadata to find out things about us. For instance, one of the key writers in this document ( http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc6318.txt?number=6318 ) when Googled is linked to this document-- https://www.google.com/patents/US6243467 , which in turn adds more names. Follow the names, and see just how much trust you have afterwards.
Dig through the links! Very informative! Start asking yourself what crypto might be safe from the NSA, and you'll quickly realize--the further you dig--that none of it is safe from the NSA. They've identified and created "secure" versions of almost every protocol, for themselves (Suite B), and stuck the rest of the world with lesser versions, versions that would obviously be crackable given that they possess something better.
To be honest, I'm a little surprised that page is still available. I suspect it won't be for long.
" Apple is not consolidating a list of user profiles with fingerprint scans that the NSA or any policing agency could then demand access too."
I pretty much assume everyone that has an interest--however slight--will immediately bend over for the NSA and cough up everything they have. Why? Because it is pretty obvious that everyone is lying. Corporations covering their asses, Clapper himself lying directly to Congress numerous times, governments feigning surprise and disgust although the leaked documents clearly show their direct involvement. Has nobody else noticed the massive PR blitz all of these implicated companies have started in the last few weeks? Fuck that--we've all suspected these people of massive fraud, corruption and manipulation on a global scale for a very long time. They've done well covering it up with the media outlets they own, but Snowden has pulled aside the curtain and shown us the Wizard. Your suspicions and intuition were correct.
We all have to assume we are being lied to--anything less leaves us just as exposed as if we continued to believe the likes of James Clapper. Assuming Apple is acting in your best interests is just plain stupid. In terms of privacy and electronics, my advice would be the exact opposite--TRUST NOBODY. While you may be an entirely trust-worthy person in your field of expertise, even you cannot vouch for the guy in the next cubicle, or the guy running the company (and making the big bucks).
It sounds like they combined the once-external system that AOptix was selling to the government, combined it with some old Sony technology ( http://netsecurity.about.com/b/2007/08/30/new-sony-rootkit-found-on-usb-flash-drive.htm ), miniaturized/integrated them and gave it all to you for a modest price increase. You never have to type a password again, nor do you have to go to jail to get finger-printed. As an added bonus, the 911 operator will know it's actually you calling for help!
"... A communications channel is opened between the wireless power source and the device to be charged..."
Guess I was right about the communications...(http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4193059&cid=44813519)
My take on this whole thing.
This tech, once miniaturized (notice, that was mentioned several times in the articles) and incorporated into devices, will essentially allow anyone with one of these "towers" to open a line of communication with any enabled device in range. Drive-by device sniffing, without requiring the device to "run" power-consumptive hardware or software--it literally charges your battery rather than create a load on the device. It might also be used to power-up devices that have the batteries removed for security measures.
And this company has ties to Microsoft (physically headquartered in Redmond since founding in 2008, in addition to the social/business connections). Considering the relationship between Microsoft and the NSA, this sounds like a sales pitch/market-softening effort to me. Who the target is for such an effort, I've no clue, but I have serious doubts this is about charging your damn phone.
"Ossia is challenging people's imagination about what is possible with wireless power. Ossia's flagship product, Cota, redefines wireless power by safely delivering remote, targeted energy to devices as far away as 30 feet without line of site. Built on Ossia's patented smart antenna technology, Cota automatically keeps multiple devices charged without any user intervention, enabling an efficient and truly wire-free, powered-up world that is always on and always ready. Headquartered in Redmond, Wash., Ossia operated in stealth from its founding in 2008, and launched to the public in September from TechCrunch Disrupt 2013 in San Francisco."
From the article: "Cota is inherently safe, as safe as your Wi-Fi hub," Zeine said. "A Cota-enabled device sends out a beacon signal that finds paths to the charger, which in turn returns the power signal through only those open paths back to the receiver, avoiding people or anything that absorbs its energy."
Ok, so it has a two-way connection between the "transmitter" and "receiver". It wouldn't be hard to modulate the energy output levels from both devices to encode data, both directions, all operating in the same spectra that our most ubiquitous communications devices also happen to use.
Again, from the article: "...Starbucks coffee shops, for example, use Powermat technology to allow patrons to charge properly equipped smartphones and tablets on tabletops."
And...
""Just think, this could forever eliminate that annoying chirp from the mystery smoke detector with a dying battery at 3:00 in the morning," Zeine said." (my emphasis!...lol. I can't believe he actually said that.)
"Care to supply actual evidence of these claims?..."
Oh, please. If I had actual physical evidence, I'd be in some NSA sub-basement right now.
What I am doing is exactly what the NSA does with the Prism program--looking at metadata--and by doing so illustrating networks of influence, cronyism and funding. Seriously, look at the following list of current and past employees of Boston Consulting Group and tell me if you really trust a single name on that list, by default. Everyone on that list was trained, educated and placed by BCG. Now look at where those people are today--they are among the most powerful people on the planet.
The networks of power and control they create are subject to the same security faults as the networks they spy upon--associations are as often as telling as the actual works they perpetrate. The moment you start working as a group is the moment your associations can be used to identify your group.
And to directly address your post--Do you have any evidence to support any claim that I am wrong? See what I did there? Pretty clever, huh?
Redhat is fully involved with the NSA, as is Intel (look at the links I provided in my other post). Neither company can be trusted for anything anymore. All of their products are now questionable in terms of NSA backdoors as a result of their previous (and in my opinion, ongoing) relationship with the "Big 3" consulting firms as well as the NSA.
Blacklist those involved, and start looking for alternatives. Permanently. And, please, do not take my word for it--research these people yourselves, make the connections yourselves...come to your own conclusions. Start trusting your own instincts, rather then swallowing everything in the media (including Slashdot...there be spies here, too).
Were JC and I just censored out of an article? When logged in, there about 25 posts at the top of the thread that are visible that are not visible at all, regardless of filter-slider settings when not logged in.
Try it. Look at what is visible when logged in, vs when not logged in. Totally different thread, IMHO.
"The moral is obvious. You can't trust code that you did not totally create yourself...."
I agree, but that doesn't really help us in the real world--writing our own code doesn't reasonably work out for most people. So, what's the solution to your dismal conclusion? Ferret out those that cannot be trusted--doing so is the closest we will ever come to being able to "trust the code".
So, how does one go about ferreting out those that cannot be trusted? The Occupy Movement had almost figured it out, but wandered around aimlessly with nobody to point a finger at when they should have been naming names.
The NSA has made it clear that making connections--following the metadata--is often enough to get an investigation started. So why not do the same thing? Turn the whole thing around? Start focusing on their networks. I can suggest a good starting point--the entities that train the "Future Rulers of the World" club. The "Consulting Firms" that are really training and placing their own agents throughout the global community. These firms are the world's real leaders--they have vast funding and no real limitations to who and where they exert influence. In my opinion, they literally decide who runs the world.
Pay close attention to the people associated with these firms, the inter-relatedness of the firms and the other organizations "Alumni" end up leading. Pay very close attention to the technologies involved and the governments involved.
Look through the lists of people involved, start researching them and their connections...follow the connections and you start to see the underlying implications of such associations. I'm not just talking the CEO of Redhat (no, Linux is no more secure then Windows), but leaders of countries, including the US and Israel.
THIS is the 1%. These are the perpetrators of NSA surveillance, to further their needs...NOT yours. People with connections to these firms need to be removed from any position of power, especially government. Their future actions need to be monitored by the rest of society, if for no other reason then to limit their power.
As George Carlin once put it so well..."It's all just one big Club, and you are not in the fucking club."
"... or even the "mag" suddenly cut out for that matter."
Don't worry--we've worked diligently to address this issue by placing plutonium-core, self-contained electric cells every 500 meters along the track. Each section is self powered.
I hope that alleviates your concerns regarding a steady supply of safe, reliable power. I appreciate this opportunity to answer all your questions.
I know...The Washington Post. Take it with a grain of salt if you must.
For more information on who we really have to blame for all of this shit, read on. While long, the article I link below describes--by name--some of the US companies involved in supplying the Middle-East with chemical and biological weapons. While the article focuses on Egypt, it also clearly illustrates the fact that Syria received much of their chemical weapons from Egypt, who in turn received various levels of support, in the form of both materials and technical knowledge, from US AND British Interests, including the US military. By no means does this limit involvement to the US and Britain--many other players are involved.
Highly informative history of Chemical and Biological use/capabilities in the Middle-East. Google cached version linked (I love using Google to help inform people about the abuses they help perpetrate).
The US uses other nations to test biological and chemical weapons, and now goes about calling for war when someone uses them. We GAVE them these technologies, now use the very same weapons as an excuse to impose our will upon them, and the media is complicit.
In regards to his continued efforts as the resident NSA Shill here at Slashdot, I respect his dogged determination to continue the fight, futile as it may be.
Keep it up--you've become a de facto inside-line on what the Feds want us to believe. It's like having our own mole inside the NSA.
"Seriously what US politician would be so stupid, so publicly shameless as to put their name to a document like that and not expect to be laughed at globally."
Apparently, Eric Holder.
But seriously--the two-party system has, over time, become a bad rendition of the "Good Cop, Bad Cop" routine. I guess it's the Democrats turn to be the "Bad Cop".
The ONLY thing that is going to fix this is to vote out every single Senator, Congressperson, Governor, Mayor, and of course the President/Vice-President that have anything to with either the Democratic or Republican parties. This also includes all positions that were filled by appointment by members of either party. A clean slate. Yes, I understand that this is a huge undertaking, if only because it will be incredibly difficult to find enough people to fill their seats--people willing to make needed changes in terms of electronic voting (we need verifiable paper ballots for recounts!), lobbying reform, criminality on the part of elected officials (yeah, like some jail-time for Holder and Clapper, among others) and all of the other serious threats to The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
The very first step is convincing those perfectly capable, honorable people we all know to run for office. I'm sure most of you people reading this know at least one person that fits those simple prerequisites--capability and honor--that you might think would be great in office, but have some minor flaw that you think would preclude them. Now let me ask you this--Do you think that little flaw is worse then what is going on now? Personally, I think wiping one's ass with the Constitution is a far greater crime then, say, smoking pot, yet for some reason we have a president that studied constitutional law for ten years and seems to think what he is doing is just fine.
Seriously. Do you know someone that would be able to do the job? With Honor and respect? Ask them to run for office! Help them run for office! Anything but the "Elite" we have running our country right now.
Unfortunately, you probably describe the apathy of a great deal of Americans accurately with that comment--it truly saddens me. However, I did notice that your comment was moderated Insightful rather then Funny. I take some solace in that, for it isn't really funny at all and others apparently agree.
I composed and sent two emails today.
The first was sent to Rick Larsen to inform him that he will not be receiving any votes from our extended family that live in his district (including myself) as a result of his voting Nay in regards to the Amash Amendment (#100) of HR2397. He lost 11 votes from constituents just within my own family--if only a little over 1% of this district feels the same as my family does, he is done here in Washington State. He won by a mere 1% in the last election.
The second email went to Patty Murray in regards to the Senate Appropriations Committee vote we are currently discussing--I think squeezing other nations over what amounts to a whistle-blower is horrible foreign policy, and expect any nation subject to such reprisals to become hostile and uncooperative in the future. I then informed her that she too lost 11 votes for that decision. Patty Murray won the last election by just 2% of the vote.
So, it isn't as bad as it looks in terms bringing about change--voting out those that are complicit in undermining the Constitution of the United States, undermining our standing in the global community and betraying the trust of the American People is quite doable. The hard part will be finding honorable people to run in their place, but hey, you've got to start somewhere. Write those emails. It's really no more difficult then posting here on Slashdot.
"... as it also provides incentives to any nation who dislikes the US to kill him simply so the information gets released."
Ironically, the countries that are complicit in the NSA Prism program actually have a reason to keep him alive for the very same reason--he dies, their complicity becomes public knowledge.
Any ideas on why we are reading about Norwegians tracking the sun when the following article now sits on the third page of the submissions Firehose?
"NSA Still Funded to Spy On US Phone Records,Vote Fails Submitted by turp182 on Wednesday July 24, 2013 @03:58PM turp182 writes "The Amash Amendment (#100) to HR 2397 (DOD appropriations bill) failed to pass the House of Representatives (this link will change tomorrow, it is the current day activity of the House) at 6:54PM EST today, meaning it will not be added to the appropriations bill. The amendment would have specifically defunded the bulk collection of American phone records.
Roll call may not be available until tomorrow.
Subjective: Let freedom be reigned." Read the 3 comments"
One of the comments has the vote tally for each House Member.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
Slashdot Mirror
"At the end of the experiment they were recalled and scrapped."
In reality, they scrapped them as soon as they won their lawsuit against CARB. That ruling effectively reversed state law that required electric vehicles--the entire time GM was leasing electric vehicles, their lawyers were fighting to overturn laws that required electric vehicles be sold. The EV-1 was GM's response to those requirements, and when the requirements were reversed they repossessed all the EV-1s and crushed them.
Citation:
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/smart-transportation-solutions/advanced-vehicle-technologies/electric-cars/californias-zero-emission-1.html
First hand experience with this type of behavior...What started out as an anecdote from an instructor turned into a lesson in Big Business.
Many years ago I attended an automotive trade school with the intention of focusing on fuel systems and computerized engine controls. One of my instructors, while explaining the demise of carburetors, mentioned a modified Chevy V-8 getting 80 MPG. I pressed him on this claim. He went on to tell the story of the Moody Brothers, racers at heart and some of the best race-engine builders of their time. As my instructor explained it, while experimenting to extract every ounce of horse-power from their engines, they discovered something that everyone had simply over-looked--fuel evaporation.
The way I understand it, they discovered that much of the energy in gasoline (and other modified fuels used in racing) is lost as a result of incomplete combustion--the fuel/air mixture consisted of many large droplets of fuel, rather then a completely evaporated and gaseous mixture. The result was incomplete combustion and lost potential energy, not to mention an increase in pollutants such as carbon monoxide and free hydrocarbons. To remedy the situation, they remote mounted the carburetor and installed a series of venturi--one after the other--inline to the intake manifold. The venturi were not used to draw additional fuel into the charge, but rather to simply expose the fuel charge to rapidly alternating pressures. This alternating effect literally breaks up the droplets to the point the air/fuel charge consists of air and a gaseous fuel. The result was a more complete burn of the incoming fuel. The Moody Bros simply found a very simple way of vastly increasing the efficiency of carbureted engines. My instructor (who was apparently involved to some degree--he also claimed to have gotten 60 MPG from a pair of Weber carbs in his VW Bug) boldly stated that the Moody Brothers had achieved 80 MPG with an otherwise-stock Chevy 350. I had serious doubts--why wasn't everyone doing this then? I asked him as much. He stated that shortly after word got around in the close community of engine builders, Standard Oil simply offered them $11,000,000 to outright buy the rights/patent from them. Being the 60's, they'd have been fools to not take the offer--that was a huge amount of money back then.
I still wasn't sold. So I decided to try it myself.
At the time, I owned a 1960 Ford Falcon Ranchero with a stock 170CI straight-6 engine. It was an odd engine in that it had a integral intake manifold--it was literally part of the cylinder-head with no gasket. But another oddity caught my eye not long after that day in class--a 1" thick plate of metal located between the carburetor and the intake. After a little thinking, I realized the only purpose it served was as a location to mount a PCV valve. This was an after-thought on the part of Ford--they had just recently realized that drawing off the fuel that accumulated in the crankcase oil drastically increased engine life, and as a result had hastily added PCV valves during assembly by adding this small plate.
I took the plate off and used J-B Weld to create a venturi inside this plate. My brother came up with the ingenious idea of using a melted candle to create an instant mold for the J-B Weld--I simply got the J-B Weld where I wanted it, placed the plate on some waxpaper, then poured melted candlewax into it. The wax instantly cooled into a mold allowing the J-B Weld to cure overnight without sagging. The next morning, after a little sanding, I put everything back together and fired it up.
The first thing I noticed was instant throttle response--no more gulping when the pedal was mashed to the floor. On test drive, the vehicle seemed to have significantly more power, allowing me drive up a certain hill in the area in 3rd gear, whereas before a downshift to 2nd was required. Back in the garage, I pulled the single jet out of the carburetor, heated it up and filled it with a plug of solder. I then re-drilled it to 50
"... they hire the smartest, and some of the smartest are crooks."
Hire? They buy you out. You are now them, only you have no real tasks but spending the millions they just gave you to keep you on the bench and off the playing field...and your mouth firmly shut.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_acquisitions
Rivalry, my ass. The only rivalry I see is from Microsoft, leaving us the old "lesser of two evils" scenario. In other words, no choice. It's a good cop/bad cop routine meant to keep us in a state where we have no options.
Think back to the list of major players that Snowden exposed, then look at the following lists of acquisitions and you'll see just how much of the tech world has been compromised.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Apple
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Facebook
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Yahoo!
And take a close look at Twitter's acquisitions--Bluefin Labs and Whisper Systems, in particular.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Twitter
For added emphasis on ubiquity:
https://www.google.com/search?q=disguised+cell+towers&btnG=Search&client=firefox-a&hs=v3H&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&tbm=isch
and...
https://www.google.com/search?q=flagpole+cell+towers&btnG=Search&client=firefox-a&hs=v3H&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&tbm=isch
Read some of the articles attached to the images...everywhere.
Great...I guess you don't even have to be the NSA to get access...
Nice find, Supra.
From the AirSage Website (my emphasis):
"AIRSAGE GENERATES BILLIONS of anonymous location data points, transforming over 5 terabytes of signaling data every day into valuable, relevant and accessible information.
Taken separately, anonymous signals don’t mean much, but in aggregate they form a detailed picture of clusters of people showing how and when they move through the day.
On roadways, clusters of signals are often a key indicator of congestion and heavy traffic, so knowing where and when these clusters appear is the first step in helping others to avoid those locations. Or helping planners address the congestion with road improvements or alternate forms of transportation.
AirSage locates cell phone signals to within a few hundred feet extremely useful for businesses and advertisers, providing unprecedented insight into the behavior of consumers at specific locations and at different times during the day.
Tap into this data to understand locations, behaviors, and movements – vital information for advertisers, corporations, commercial carriers, departments of transportation, and urban planners – any group that needs real-time geo-targeted information to plan, build and grow. "
"Remove the tag before you go do something naughty but keep it in your car other times."
Pointless--they're already tracking your vehicle, and have been for years. I've discussed this in the past--The T.R.E.A.D. Act allowed the US government to force RFID tracking devices on the entire nation. The Firestone/Ford Explorer-rollover issue was used as reason to pass this legislation. Removing those tags is not only a federal offense, driving over a sensor (they're everywhere there is a stop-light sensor, utilizing the same antenna) without tags is sure to get you noticed eventually...and singled out. You'd end up drawing more attention then leaving them alone. Repealing the T.R.E.A.D. Act is the only way your getting rid of this problem.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TREAD_Act
Specifically,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_pressure_monitoring_system#Legislation
From linked article:
"Embedded in a tire or affixed to the sidewall, an RFID tag the size of a grain of rice is a powerful
tire-tracking tool. Some tiremakers have already recognized its potential. Some commercial truck
and aircraft fleets use RFID to identify tires and to ensure regular service. Tires used in
NASCAR racing are embedded with RFID to keep tabs on these high performance tires. Many in
the auto industry have identified recalls as one of its possible uses. With a chip embedded in the
sidewall and inexpensive readers installed in service shops (or an interface with the vehicle
computer), motorists could have the status of their tires checked every time they take their
vehicle to be serviced, or through their instrument panel."
( https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZrXHlyRR8y4J:http://www.safetyresearch.net/Library/Recalls_RFID.pdf%2BFirestone+tire+RFID&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&client=firefox-a&hl=en&ct=clnk )
Here are some specifics regarding one manufacturer of the technology:
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_cXTVCFeXZIJ:http://www.lawfuel.com/860-to-950mhz-rfid-tire-tag/%2Btire+RFID+federal+law&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hl=en&ct=clnk
Interestingly, I found the following article--front-page, main headline--in a nearby news-outlet this morning. By the time I started writing this post, it had been yanked from the outward-facing website:
http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2013/09/12/3200503/study-proposes-tolling-interstate.html
"Lets face it, security and privacy were not designed into the protocols we use on the internet today, they were bolted on afterward, and the government played a big (and self serving) part of that effort."
For those that doubt that statement, please read the documentation provided by the none other than the NSA itself.
http://www.nsa.gov/ia/programs/suiteb_cryptography/
That page was posted by the NSA 4 1/2 years ago and updated in May 2013. Surprisingly, they name names--exactly who worked on what--and even go so far as to provide addresses and personal information for these people. These names can be used to locate networks of "cooperation", just like the NSA uses metadata to find out things about us. For instance, one of the key writers in this document ( http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc6318.txt?number=6318 ) when Googled is linked to this document-- https://www.google.com/patents/US6243467 , which in turn adds more names. Follow the names, and see just how much trust you have afterwards.
Dig through the links! Very informative! Start asking yourself what crypto might be safe from the NSA, and you'll quickly realize--the further you dig--that none of it is safe from the NSA. They've identified and created "secure" versions of almost every protocol, for themselves (Suite B), and stuck the rest of the world with lesser versions, versions that would obviously be crackable given that they possess something better.
To be honest, I'm a little surprised that page is still available. I suspect it won't be for long.
Gears?
Looking at the photo of an Issus on the Phys.org link, I'm more interested in the jet propulsion the little bugger appears to be using.
" Apple is not consolidating a list of user profiles with fingerprint scans that the NSA or any policing agency could then demand access too."
I pretty much assume everyone that has an interest--however slight--will immediately bend over for the NSA and cough up everything they have. Why? Because it is pretty obvious that everyone is lying. Corporations covering their asses, Clapper himself lying directly to Congress numerous times, governments feigning surprise and disgust although the leaked documents clearly show their direct involvement. Has nobody else noticed the massive PR blitz all of these implicated companies have started in the last few weeks? Fuck that--we've all suspected these people of massive fraud, corruption and manipulation on a global scale for a very long time. They've done well covering it up with the media outlets they own, but Snowden has pulled aside the curtain and shown us the Wizard. Your suspicions and intuition were correct.
We all have to assume we are being lied to--anything less leaves us just as exposed as if we continued to believe the likes of James Clapper. Assuming Apple is acting in your best interests is just plain stupid. In terms of privacy and electronics, my advice would be the exact opposite--TRUST NOBODY. While you may be an entirely trust-worthy person in your field of expertise, even you cannot vouch for the guy in the next cubicle, or the guy running the company (and making the big bucks).
"... Instead, it is still a higher priced product, although not nearly as pricey as the 5S, and the 4S is free with contract."
Sure, it's more expensive, but look at all of the new features it comes with.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/iphone-biometrics/
It sounds like they combined the once-external system that AOptix was selling to the government, combined it with some old Sony technology ( http://netsecurity.about.com/b/2007/08/30/new-sony-rootkit-found-on-usb-flash-drive.htm ), miniaturized/integrated them and gave it all to you for a modest price increase. You never have to type a password again, nor do you have to go to jail to get finger-printed. As an added bonus, the 911 operator will know it's actually you calling for help!
"... A communications channel is opened between the wireless power source and the device to be charged..."
Guess I was right about the communications...(http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4193059&cid=44813519)
My take on this whole thing.
This tech, once miniaturized (notice, that was mentioned several times in the articles) and incorporated into devices, will essentially allow anyone with one of these "towers" to open a line of communication with any enabled device in range. Drive-by device sniffing, without requiring the device to "run" power-consumptive hardware or software--it literally charges your battery rather than create a load on the device. It might also be used to power-up devices that have the batteries removed for security measures.
And this company has ties to Microsoft (physically headquartered in Redmond since founding in 2008, in addition to the social/business connections). Considering the relationship between Microsoft and the NSA, this sounds like a sales pitch/market-softening effort to me. Who the target is for such an effort, I've no clue, but I have serious doubts this is about charging your damn phone.
Starts to make more sense....
From the Ossia Inc. LinkedIn page...
"Ossia is challenging people's imagination about what is possible with wireless power. Ossia's flagship product, Cota, redefines wireless power by safely delivering remote, targeted energy to devices as far away as 30 feet without line of site. Built on Ossia's patented smart antenna technology, Cota automatically keeps multiple devices charged without any user intervention, enabling an efficient and truly wire-free, powered-up world that is always on and always ready. Headquartered in Redmond, Wash., Ossia operated in stealth from its founding in 2008, and launched to the public in September from TechCrunch Disrupt 2013 in San Francisco."
No. At least not in this implementation.
From the article:
"Cota is inherently safe, as safe as your Wi-Fi hub," Zeine said. "A Cota-enabled device sends out a beacon signal that finds paths to the charger, which in turn returns the power signal through only those open paths back to the receiver, avoiding people or anything that absorbs its energy."
Ok, so it has a two-way connection between the "transmitter" and "receiver". It wouldn't be hard to modulate the energy output levels from both devices to encode data, both directions, all operating in the same spectra that our most ubiquitous communications devices also happen to use.
Again, from the article:
"...Starbucks coffee shops, for example, use Powermat technology to allow patrons to charge properly equipped smartphones and tablets on tabletops."
And...
""Just think, this could forever eliminate that annoying chirp from the mystery smoke detector with a dying battery at 3:00 in the morning," Zeine said." (my emphasis!...lol. I can't believe he actually said that.)
Think about the implications for a moment.
"Care to supply actual evidence of these claims?..."
Oh, please. If I had actual physical evidence, I'd be in some NSA sub-basement right now.
What I am doing is exactly what the NSA does with the Prism program--looking at metadata--and by doing so illustrating networks of influence, cronyism and funding. Seriously, look at the following list of current and past employees of Boston Consulting Group and tell me if you really trust a single name on that list, by default. Everyone on that list was trained, educated and placed by BCG. Now look at where those people are today--they are among the most powerful people on the planet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notable_employees_of_Boston_Consulting_Group
The networks of power and control they create are subject to the same security faults as the networks they spy upon--associations are as often as telling as the actual works they perpetrate. The moment you start working as a group is the moment your associations can be used to identify your group.
And to directly address your post--Do you have any evidence to support any claim that I am wrong? See what I did there? Pretty clever, huh?
Redhat?
For those that are not aware of his past, Jim Whitehurst--CEO of Redhat--was once Vice President of Boston Consulting Group...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Consulting_Group
(see following list of other employees of BCG)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notable_employees_of_Boston_Consulting_Group
As I pointed out is another post ( http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4183357&cid=44792345 ), Boston Consulting Group is a central component of the "1%" and their influence around the world.
Redhat is fully involved with the NSA, as is Intel (look at the links I provided in my other post). Neither company can be trusted for anything anymore. All of their products are now questionable in terms of NSA backdoors as a result of their previous (and in my opinion, ongoing) relationship with the "Big 3" consulting firms as well as the NSA.
Blacklist those involved, and start looking for alternatives. Permanently. And, please, do not take my word for it--research these people yourselves, make the connections yourselves...come to your own conclusions. Start trusting your own instincts, rather then swallowing everything in the media (including Slashdot...there be spies here, too).
Can anyone explain what happened to several of the posts in this thread (I cannot get them to load IN the thread), including the following:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4183357&cid=44791915
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4183357&cid=44792345
(last one is my own post)
Were JC and I just censored out of an article? When logged in, there about 25 posts at the top of the thread that are visible that are not visible at all, regardless of filter-slider settings when not logged in.
Try it. Look at what is visible when logged in, vs when not logged in. Totally different thread, IMHO.
"The moral is obvious. You can't trust code that you did not totally create yourself...."
I agree, but that doesn't really help us in the real world--writing our own code doesn't reasonably work out for most people. So, what's the solution to your dismal conclusion? Ferret out those that cannot be trusted--doing so is the closest we will ever come to being able to "trust the code".
So, how does one go about ferreting out those that cannot be trusted? The Occupy Movement had almost figured it out, but wandered around aimlessly with nobody to point a finger at when they should have been naming names.
The NSA has made it clear that making connections--following the metadata--is often enough to get an investigation started. So why not do the same thing? Turn the whole thing around? Start focusing on their networks. I can suggest a good starting point--the entities that train the "Future Rulers of the World" club. The "Consulting Firms" that are really training and placing their own agents throughout the global community. These firms are the world's real leaders--they have vast funding and no real limitations to who and where they exert influence. In my opinion, they literally decide who runs the world.
Pay close attention to the people associated with these firms, the inter-relatedness of the firms and the other organizations "Alumni" end up leading. Pay very close attention to the technologies involved and the governments involved.
Look through the lists of people involved, start researching them and their connections...follow the connections and you start to see the underlying implications of such associations. I'm not just talking the CEO of Redhat (no, Linux is no more secure then Windows), but leaders of countries, including the US and Israel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Consulting_Group
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKinsey_and_Company
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain_%26_Company
THIS is the 1%. These are the perpetrators of NSA surveillance, to further their needs...NOT yours. People with connections to these firms need to be removed from any position of power, especially government. Their future actions need to be monitored by the rest of society, if for no other reason then to limit their power.
As George Carlin once put it so well..."It's all just one big Club, and you are not in the fucking club."
"... or even the "mag" suddenly cut out for that matter."
Don't worry--we've worked diligently to address this issue by placing plutonium-core, self-contained electric cells every 500 meters along the track. Each section is self powered.
I hope that alleviates your concerns regarding a steady supply of safe, reliable power. I appreciate this opportunity to answer all your questions.
Bob, Senior Design Administrator
TEPCO
Always has been "All f*&ked up..."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/history-lesson-when-the-united-states-looked-the-other-way-on-chemical-weapons/2013/09/04/0ec828d6-1549-11e3-961c-f22d3aaf19ab_blog.html
I know...The Washington Post. Take it with a grain of salt if you must.
For more information on who we really have to blame for all of this shit, read on. While long, the article I link below describes--by name--some of the US companies involved in supplying the Middle-East with chemical and biological weapons. While the article focuses on Egypt, it also clearly illustrates the fact that Syria received much of their chemical weapons from Egypt, who in turn received various levels of support, in the form of both materials and technical knowledge, from US AND British Interests, including the US military. By no means does this limit involvement to the US and Britain--many other players are involved.
Highly informative history of Chemical and Biological use/capabilities in the Middle-East. Google cached version linked (I love using Google to help inform people about the abuses they help perpetrate).
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:M2BQfifHFuwJ:http://www.acpr.org.il/pp/pp046-shohame.pdf%2BThe+Evolution+of+Chemical+and+Biological+Weapons+in+Egypt&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&gbv=1&filter=0&hl=en&ct=clnk
Short form?
The US uses other nations to test biological and chemical weapons, and now goes about calling for war when someone uses them. We GAVE them these technologies, now use the very same weapons as an excuse to impose our will upon them, and the media is complicit.
Who else, but Cold Fjord?
In regards to his continued efforts as the resident NSA Shill here at Slashdot, I respect his dogged determination to continue the fight, futile as it may be.
Keep it up--you've become a de facto inside-line on what the Feds want us to believe. It's like having our own mole inside the NSA.
"Seriously what US politician would be so stupid, so publicly shameless as to put their name to a document like that and not expect to be laughed at globally."
Apparently, Eric Holder.
But seriously--the two-party system has, over time, become a bad rendition of the "Good Cop, Bad Cop" routine. I guess it's the Democrats turn to be the "Bad Cop".
The ONLY thing that is going to fix this is to vote out every single Senator, Congressperson, Governor, Mayor, and of course the President/Vice-President that have anything to with either the Democratic or Republican parties. This also includes all positions that were filled by appointment by members of either party. A clean slate. Yes, I understand that this is a huge undertaking, if only because it will be incredibly difficult to find enough people to fill their seats--people willing to make needed changes in terms of electronic voting (we need verifiable paper ballots for recounts!), lobbying reform, criminality on the part of elected officials (yeah, like some jail-time for Holder and Clapper, among others) and all of the other serious threats to The Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
The very first step is convincing those perfectly capable, honorable people we all know to run for office. I'm sure most of you people reading this know at least one person that fits those simple prerequisites--capability and honor--that you might think would be great in office, but have some minor flaw that you think would preclude them. Now let me ask you this--Do you think that little flaw is worse then what is going on now? Personally, I think wiping one's ass with the Constitution is a far greater crime then, say, smoking pot, yet for some reason we have a president that studied constitutional law for ten years and seems to think what he is doing is just fine.
Seriously. Do you know someone that would be able to do the job? With Honor and respect? Ask them to run for office! Help them run for office! Anything but the "Elite" we have running our country right now.
"...Dancing With the Stars is on, never mind."
Unfortunately, you probably describe the apathy of a great deal of Americans accurately with that comment--it truly saddens me. However, I did notice that your comment was moderated Insightful rather then Funny. I take some solace in that, for it isn't really funny at all and others apparently agree.
I composed and sent two emails today.
The first was sent to Rick Larsen to inform him that he will not be receiving any votes from our extended family that live in his district (including myself) as a result of his voting Nay in regards to the Amash Amendment (#100) of HR2397. He lost 11 votes from constituents just within my own family--if only a little over 1% of this district feels the same as my family does, he is done here in Washington State. He won by a mere 1% in the last election.
The second email went to Patty Murray in regards to the Senate Appropriations Committee vote we are currently discussing--I think squeezing other nations over what amounts to a whistle-blower is horrible foreign policy, and expect any nation subject to such reprisals to become hostile and uncooperative in the future. I then informed her that she too lost 11 votes for that decision. Patty Murray won the last election by just 2% of the vote.
So, it isn't as bad as it looks in terms bringing about change--voting out those that are complicit in undermining the Constitution of the United States, undermining our standing in the global community and betraying the trust of the American People is quite doable. The hard part will be finding honorable people to run in their place, but hey, you've got to start somewhere. Write those emails. It's really no more difficult then posting here on Slashdot.
"... as it also provides incentives to any nation who dislikes the US to kill him simply so the information gets released."
Ironically, the countries that are complicit in the NSA Prism program actually have a reason to keep him alive for the very same reason--he dies, their complicity becomes public knowledge.
Any ideas on why we are reading about Norwegians tracking the sun when the following article now sits on the third page of the submissions Firehose?
"NSA Still Funded to Spy On US Phone Records,Vote Fails
Submitted by turp182 on Wednesday July 24, 2013 @03:58PM
turp182 writes
"The Amash Amendment (#100) to HR 2397 (DOD appropriations bill) failed to pass the House of Representatives (this link will change tomorrow, it is the current day activity of the House) at 6:54PM EST today, meaning it will not be added to the appropriations bill. The amendment would have specifically defunded the bulk collection of American phone records.
Roll call may not be available until tomorrow.
Subjective: Let freedom be reigned."
Read the 3 comments"
One of the comments has the vote tally for each House Member.
From The Gentleperson's Guide to Forum Spies:
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
http://cryptome.org/2012/07/gent-forum-spies.htm