Topic: DRUGS - on September 27, 2008 at 12:16:00 PM CEST
Government want to grow own dope
It may be classified as a class B drug in Britain, but the Sri-Lankan government is thinking about growing their own marijuana.
Cannabis has been illegal in Sri-Lanka since the 1890's but an alternative medicine group want exemption to grow it.
The weed is used in many traditional Ayurvedic medical preparations in the country and The Ministry of Indigenous Medicine has broached a plan to grow 4,000kg a year of the plant.
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Topic: COMPUTER - on September 27, 2008 at 12:10:00 PM CEST
Business card web server
Hacakday offers instructions on how to create the smallest web server you ever did see: it occupies the dimensions (except depth, of course!) of a business card! I can't see myself handing these out at meetings any time soon, however. Not, at least, without creating a bomb scare.
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Topic: COMPUTER - on September 27, 2008 at 12:04:00 PM CEST
Happy Birthday to GNU
British humorist Stephen Fry has produced a video to mark the 25th Anniversary of RMS's launch of the GNU operating system. Watch and celebrate here.
This is an extraordinary milestone to mark. I'll keep a list of celebratory videos here (email me with any links). Congratulations to Richard on the success of this movement launched as an idea 25 years ago (September 27 is the date), and more importantly, thank you to Richard for this movement launched as an idea 25 years ago.
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Topic: GOOGLE - on September 27, 2008 at 12:02:00 PM CEST
Google Offers $10million Prize Fund for Ideas that will Change the World
This week, as part of their tenth birthday celebrations, Google have announce the launch of project 10^100 (ten to the 100th), an innovative scheme designed to inspire and fund the development of ideas that will help to change the world.
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Topic: GOOGLE - on September 27, 2008 at 12:01:00 PM CEST
Google Patent Could Kill Off Cellphone Contracts
Google's keyword auctions redefined web advertising. Now, a patent filing reveals, the search company wants to do the same thing for wireless services.
Google's patent filing describes "devices, systems and methods" that would automatically poll nearby wireless services to find the best price for a voice or a data connection for a "portable communications device." That connection might come via a cellphone carrier, a WiMax provider, or even a Wi-Fi hotspot. According to the patent, users can either manually select the bid they like best or they can allow the device to connect automatically with the lowest-cost provider.
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Topic: GOOGLE - on September 27, 2008 at 11:59:00 AM CEST
Google umgeht Mobilfunkanbieter
Google erfindet mal wieder das Offensichtliche: Ein Handy, das von sich aus die günstigste, beste Mobil-Verbindung herstellt. Außerdem beschweren sich Indies über MySpace Music und Briten verlieren die Daten von 11.000 Lehrern. Das und mehr im Überblick.
Google beweist wieder einmal Souveränität und erfindet das Offensichtliche: Ein Handy, das von sich aus die günstigste Mobil-Verbindung herstellt – abhängig von der jeweiligen Situation; sei es per Handy-Netz, WiMax oder über einen drahtlosen Internetzugang für Voice-over-IP. So zumindest steht es in einem Patent-Antrag, den Google-Schnüffler ausfindig machten.
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Topic: SECURITY - on September 27, 2008 at 11:51:00 AM CEST
Give Away Your Identity Faster Than Ever, in a Single Swipe
Homeland Security loves Windows Mobile and so should you. What? Aren't you used to the Man telling you what to do and what to like by now?
With the help of 3M's new Mobile ID Reader, prepare to expect more hard 'encouragement' from the authorities at event checkpoints from now on. They'll likely be using the new security reader from 3M, which is a rugged, portable device with an OCR swipe that reads MRZ and RF chip data from passports and Visas.
The Reader quickly verifies data against local or international watch lists, through wireless networks.
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Topic: SPY - on September 27, 2008 at 11:45:00 AM CEST
Austria’s Little-known Intelligence Community since 1945
There exist several persevering clichés about the small Alpine Republic of Austria; one of them, and not the least beguiling, pertains to the fact that since its creation in 1918/19 as a result of the disintegration of the old Habsburg Empire it has assumed the distinction of being an eldorado for spies, peddlars of misinformation and dozens of meddling intelligence services. If this is true – and we know that most clichés are valid to a great extent – then we are confronted with a strange phenomenon as to this day relatively little reliable information exists about this aspect of life in Austria, neither about the dealings of foreign intelligence elements within Austria nor about the Austrian institutions created and sustained to foil these alleged intelligence intrusions.
This article focusses on the intelligence situation of and in Austria since the end of World War II when the people of Austria, perhaps surprisingly for most of them, were given a second chance at nation-building, albeit under totally different conditions from those in 1918/19. By early May 1945 it was occupied by the four major victorious Allies of World War II who, at least initially, were determined to direct and control every facet of public life in Austria until, by their estimation, stable and secure democratic conditions were established. This control, total at first but progressively loosened over the ten long years of military, diplomatic and civilian dependence under occupation, was soon coloured by the emerging differences and controversies among the Allies themselves as their attention, already by mid-1946, started to switch from epuration of Austria and of Austrians from Nazism and fascism to mutual observation between the Western Powers on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other; this was done in pursuit of larger ideological aims and military interests in Central Europe. Thus Austria rather quickly became an intelligence battleground of the Great Powers against each other and particularly of the two Super-Powers, „defending“ their territory of influence at the geopolitically crucial but increasingly more ideologically determined dividing line running through the country from Upper Austria in the north to Burgenland in the south-east.
got to know the last chief of the heeresnachrichtenamt, a Mr. deutsch, back in the 60s in vienna - he had to step down now due to bribery allegations regarding a deal with eads of the austrian army under the conservative/extreme right coalition from 1999-2006.
his father worked under my father in the gestapo in the early 40s.
just cleared some boards recently from old correspondence after 1945 of my father, will give all politically relevant letters to the Dokumentationsarchiv des österreichischen Widerstandes (= documentary archive of the austrian resistance)
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Topic: POLITIK - on September 27, 2008 at 11:43:00 AM CEST
AUSTRIAN ELECTIONS - The Populist and His Protégé
Jörg Haider used to be Austria's far-right scourge, the populist who could win elections. Now Heinz-Christian Strache, his former protégé, has stepped into his shoes. The two men hate each other, but dissatisfaction among Austrian voters this Sunday could give them unprecedented power.
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