A device that can detect gas being squeezed out of rocks could become the first reliable method for predicting earthquakes, according to its developers, who are about to test the device for the first time.
Scientists suspect that radon gas is released from cavities and cracks in rocks into soil and groundwater before an earthquake strikes. But commercially available detectors are too expensive to test this theory in a wide scale trial.
Now, Mexican and European scientists have developed a prototype of a simple detector cheap enough to use in large tests.
Vladimir Peskov, a member of the design team and a physicist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said they aim to use a network of the cheaper detectors to test the theory that radon is released as layers of rock around a strained fault line deform before a sudden quake-causing slip.
The device is based on a technology that is already used in extreme environments such as the CERN particle physics laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland.
It consists of a 20-centimetre long, nine-centimetre wide aluminium tube which contains a number of wires along its length connected at either end to electrodes. When radon gas enters the tube it strips air molecules of electrons, triggering an electric current in the wire. Unlike existing detectors it works in ambient air.
The design was presented at the Vienna Conference on Instrumentation and a related paper is in press in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment.
"This is an impressive breakthrough," said Heikki Sipilä, an industrial engineer who has been developing gas detectors since the 1960s, and was not involved in the research.
"The detectors are simple and production costs low because no filling gas or expensive materials are needed," he told SciDev.Net.
Peskov told SciDev.Net that his team is planning to test several devices in the Bari region of Italy, which experiences frequent "micro earthquakes".
Tom Hockaday, managing director of ISIS Innovation, a UK technology transfer company, said that the devastating 2010 Chile and Haiti earthquakes had highlighted the dearth of technologies across the spectrum — from predicting quakes to helping with aid efforts.
Although this detector sounds promising and relatively straightforward, he said, full implementation would require fitting each detector with a radio transmitter to broadcast a signal, which might complicate its rollout in developing countries.
"There are challenges in deploying highly complex technologies in areas with relatively undeveloped infrastructure," said Hockaday, adding that it could be difficult to convince companies to invest in such early-stage technologies.
However, the inventors are optimistic and are seeking for collaborators from around the world to test the device. The long-term goal is to conduct full-scale testing along a number of fault zones with international backing, they told SciDev.Net.
If the device is proven reliable in upcoming field trials then they may be of particular interest to developing nations where the human impacts of earthquakes and related tsunamis are often at their most devastating.
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Months in the making, this toolkit is designed with you in mind. It contains a breakdown of how to take individual action and encourage others, create and host events, outreach to the media and ally organizations, and plenty more. Everyone is an activist.
Bradley Manning Support Network All material on this website is released into the public domain unless otherwise indicated. Link and attribution appreciated.
I read your [date] article entitled [title] on the topic of Wikileaks. While I liked/had some issues with your coverage of the controversy surrounding Julian Assange, I was very disappointed that you failed to mention the other principal person involved in this controversy, the American soldier Bradley Manning without whom Wikileaks would not be a household name. US Army Intel Analyst Pfc. Bradley Manning is alleged to have released the “Collateral Murder” video, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diaries, and the US Diplomatic Cables.
Twenty-three year old Manning has been in solitary confinement in the military brig at Quantico, VA since last May. He is awaiting trial for a charge of indirectly “Aiding the Enemy,” which may result in the death penalty. This case is alarming not only because of the conditions of Manning’s pretrial confinement, which have prompted investigations by Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, but also because the charges imply that those who blow the whistle on war crimes and government corruption via a public source, such as a major newspaper, may now be tried for indirectly “Aiding the Enemy.”
Letter 2 (Word Count, 193):
Dear Editor,
I read your [date] article entitled [title] on the topic of Wikileaks. While I liked/had some issues with your coverage of the controversy surrounding Julian Assange, I was very disappointed that you failed to mention the other principal person involved in this controversy, the American soldier Bradley Manning without whom Wikileaks would not be a household name. US Army Intel Analyst Pfc. Bradley Manning is alleged to have released the “Collateral Murder” video, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diaries, and the US Diplomatic Cables.
In a chat log prior to his arrest, Manning said he hoped the released cables would result in “worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.” Famed Pentagon Papers whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg has compared Bradley’s actions to his own, both in intent and result. Of course, the “War on Terror” has changed U.S. culture significantly since the days when Ellsberg was heralded as a hero for helping end the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, international support for Bradley Manning is building, and hopefully his name will soon be as recognizable as those of Julian Assange or Daniel Ellsberg.
Letter 3 (Word Count, 203)
Dear Editor,
I read your [date] article entitled [title] on the topic of Bradley Manning, the US soldier alleged to have released to Wikileaks the “Collateral Murder” video, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diaries, and the US Diplomatic Cables.
You failed to mention the controversy surrounding the conditions of Manning’s pretrial confinement. Although he has not been tried or convicted of any crime, twenty-three year old Manning has been in solitary confinement in the military brig at Quantico, VA since last May, without access to sunlight or meaningful exercise. He is forced to strip naked before bed each night, and to stand at attention naked the next morning. According to Marine spokesperson 1st Lt. Brian Villiard, this is for PFC Manning’s own protection. However, Brig forensic psychiatrists have consistently maintained that there is no mental health justification for the prevention-of-injury watch imposed on PFC Manning.
The conditions of Manning’s confinement have prompted investigations by Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. The U.S. was once regarded as an international leader for the quality of our justice system and our fair treatment of prisoners, but the shameful treatment of pretrial prisoner Bradley Manning seriously calls that into question.
Researchers in Germany have developed the world's thinnest "pico" video projector.
The prototype device contains an array of carefully shaped microlenses, each with its own miniature liquid-crystal display (LCD). The device is just six millimeters thick, but it produces images that are 10 times brighter than would normally be possible with such a small device.
Handheld pico projectors can be used to display movies, maps, or presentations on nearby surfaces. But the projections can be difficult to view in direct sunlight because the light source isn't very powerful. The new lens system is small enough to be incorporated into a slim smart phone.
Increasing the brightness of a projection normally means increasing the area of the light source used, says Marcel Sieler, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering in Germany. Sieler was involved with developing the prototype. But to increase the area in this way requires a thicker lens to focus the larger image. "As the area of the light source increases, so does the volume of the lens," says Sieler. The result is a much bigger projector.
Sieler and colleagues created a novel type of lens that focuses light from a relatively large light source while remaining thin. The prototype video projector consists of 45 microlenses colored red, green, or blue. Each lens has an LCD with 200 by 200 pixels behind it. The light passing through each LCD is focused through a lens, and together each image is superimposed on top of each other to produce the final image. The design was inspired by a type of microlens array known as a "fly's eye condenser," which is normally used to mix light from different sources.
April 7, 2011. In his latestblog post, Bradley’s attorney David Coomb’s reports that:
“the defense has been working to facilitate an official visit for Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Mr. Juan Mendez (the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture), and a representative from Amnesty International.”
Allowing such visits would not only provide the opportunity for an expert investigation into Bradley’s conditions of incarceration, but would also help raise the profile of Bradley’s case in the national media. The above officials have finally been granted the right to visit Bradley, but with a twist.
“The Quantico Brig Order P1640.1C, paragraph 3.17 allows two types of visitors for a detainee, ‘authorized’ and ‘official,’” explains Coombs. ”The difference between them is described herein the Brig rule.”
Unexpectedly, the officials are only being granted “authorized” visits with Bradley. A key difference between the two types of visits is that an authorized visit, which is normally granted to family members and friends, is subject to careful monitoring, including video and tape recording. Evidence from these visits can be used against Bradley in court.
“The Government’s position is that the above individuals are not entitled to an official visit because none of these individuals are conducting ‘official government business.’” Yet, none of these individuals have “established a proper relationship with the prisoner prior to confinement,” as required under the Brig rule for “authorized” visits.
Somehow an investigation by the United National Special Rapporteur on Torture doesn’t qualify as official government business.
Check out ourtoolkitfor the addresses of the Quantico officials, if you’d like to let them know how you feel about their decision.
250 of the US's most eminent legal scholars have signed a letter protesting the treatment of accused Wikileaks sourcePfc. Bradley Manning. Manning is accused of passing thousands of secret government documents to WikiLeaks and has beencharged with "aiding the enemy", a capital offense. As reported in theGuardian, the letter says that Manning is being held in "degrading and inhumane conditions" that are not only illegal and unconstitutional, but could amount to torture.
Theletterwas published in theNew York Review of Booksand written by Bruce Ackerman of Yale Law School and Yochai Benkler of Harvard Law School. This excerpt from the letter details the conditions Manning is held in and charges that these violate the US constitution(I have added emphases in italics):
For nine months, Manning has been confined to his cell for twenty-three hours a day. During his one remaining hour, he can walk in circles in another room, with no other prisoners present. He is not allowed to doze off or relax during the day, but must answer the question "Are you OK?" verbally and in the affirmative every five minutes. At night, he is awakened to be asked again "Are you OK?" every time he turns his back to the cell door or covers his head with a blanket so that the guards cannot see his face. During the past week he was forced to sleep naked and stand naked for inspection in front of his cell, and for the indefinite future must remove his clothes and wear a "smock" under claims of risk to himself that he disputes.
The sum of the treatment that has been widely reported is aviolation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and the Fifth Amendment's guarantee against punishment without trial. If continued, it may well amount to a violation of the criminal statute against torture, defined as, among other things, "the administration or application…of… procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality."
...President Obama was once a professor of constitutional law, and entered the national stage as an eloquent moral leader. The question now, however, is whether his conduct as commander in chief meets fundamental standards of decency. He should not merely assert that Manning's confinement is "appropriate and meet[s] our basic standards," as he did recently. He should require the Pentagon publicly to document the grounds for its extraordinary actions -- and immediately end those that cannot withstand the light of day.
The signatories of the letter include:
Bill Clinton's former labour secretary Robert Reich
President Theodore Roosevelt's great-great-grandson Kermit Roosevelt
the former president of the American Civil Liberties Union Norman Dorsen
the novelist Kwame Anthony Appiah
Laurence Tribe, a Harvard professor who is "considered to be America's foremost liberal authority on constitutional law" and who once taught constitutional law to Barack Obama and was a key backer of his 2008 presidential campaign
A fulllistof scholars who have signed the letter can be foundhere.
Benkler stated in theGuardianthat "it is incumbent on us as citizens and professors of law to say that enough is enough." He added that the treatment Manning is being subjected to is being used "warning to future whistleblowers" and that it is "tragic that it is Obama's administration that is pursuing whistleblowers and imposing this kind of treatment."
Also, Ackerman points out that, under the Pentagon's own rule book, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Manning's jailers could be prosecuted for abusing him according to Article 93 of the code, that "any person who is guilty of cruelty toward any person subject to his orders shall be punished."
Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have denounced Manning's harsh treatment, which the United Nations' rapporteur on torture is also investigating.
I hope President Obama takes this letter very seriously. The letter notes that Wikileaks has "touched every corner of the world" and emphasizes that the whole world watches America and observes what it does, not what it says -- and the treatment of Bradley Manning does not speak well for us.
In coastal desert countries like the United Arab Emirates fresh, clean water is a lacking resource. Desalination is a necessary process to receive fresh water, but it often harms the environment by returning concentrated saline back to the ocean. Abu Dhabi's Environment Agency recently announced that they have developed a new solar-powered desalination system that would cut costs and be more eco-friendly.
In desert areas like the Emirates, dust and high temperature often impair the efficiency of solar panels in existing desalination plants. New technologies remedy these problems while reducing the cost of water treatment. In a press release, the agency said that two pilot sites, in Sweihan and Hameem, have shown that the negative environmental impact of desalination can be reduced, along with operating costs. Each plant is capable of producing about 35 kilowatts per hour, having a total capacity of 1050 kilowatt/hour.
Trials of the new solar power system are being tested at 30 different locations within the country. If the new process proves to be successful, Saudi Arabia and other countries will begin to use the system.
Desalination is the most effective way of cleaning water, and several plants already exist in the United Arab Emirates. However, the process can have adverse environmental impact, mainly concentrated saltwater being returned to the sea and killing marine life. New systems like the one developed by the UAE can eliminate or mitigate this problem, resulting in the same amount of clean water but with less damage to the environment.
So far 30,000 US supporters have taken action to stop forced 'virginity testing' in Egypt! Thank you for standing with Egyptian women to protest the abuse. If you haven’t done so yet, send a message to Secretary of State Clinton to demand immediate action: HERE!
After army officers violently cleared Tahrir square of protesters on March 9, 2011, at least 18 women were rounded up in military detention. The protesters told Amnesty International that they were beaten, given electric shocks, subjected to strip searches while being photographed by male soldiers, then forced to submit to ‘virginity checks’ and threatened with prostitution charges.
We're demanding that Egyptian officials investigate the allegations and stop this shocking and degrading treatment of women protestors. Call on Secretary Clinton to use her influence to demand immediate action.
Amnesty International has today (23 March 2011 - TA note) called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate serious allegations of torture, including forced 'virginity tests', inflicted by the army on women protesters arrested in Tahrir Square earlier this month.
After army officers violently cleared the square of protesters on 9 March, at least 18 women were held in military detention. Amnesty International has been told by women protesters that they were beaten, given electric shocks, subjected to strip searches while being photographed by male soldiers, then forced to submit to 'virginity checks' and threatened with prostitution charges.
'Virginity tests' are a form of torture when they are forced or coerced.
"Forcing women to have 'virginity tests' is utterly unacceptable. Its purpose is to degrade women because they are women," said Amnesty International. "All members of the medical profession must refuse to take part in such so-called 'tests'."
20-year-old Salwa Hosseini told Amnesty International that after she was arrested and taken to a military prison in Heikstep, she was made, with the other women, to take off all her clothes to be searched by a female prison guard, in a room with two open doors and a window. During the strip search, Salwa Hosseini said male soldiers were looking into the room and taking pictures of the naked women.
The women were then subjected to 'virginity tests' in a different room by a man in a white coat. They were threatened that 'those not found to be virgins' would be charged with prostitution.
According to information received by Amnesty International, one woman who said she was a virgin but whose test supposedly proved otherwise was beaten and given electric shocks.
"Women and girls must be able to express their views on the future of Egypt and protest against the government without being detained, tortured, or subjected to profoundly degrading and discriminatory treatment", said Amnesty International.
"The army officers tried to further humiliate the women by allowing men to watch and photograph what was happening, with the implicit threat that the women could be at further risk of harm if the photographs were made public."
Journalist Rasha Azeb was also detained in Tahrir Square and told Amnesty International that she was handcuffed, beaten and insulted.
Following their arrest, the 18 women were initially taken to a Cairo Museum annex where they were reportedly handcuffed, beaten with sticks and hoses, given electric shocks in the chest and legs, and called 'prostitutes'.
Rasha Azeb could see and hear the other detained women being tortured by being given electric shocks throughout their detention at the museum. She was released several hours later with four other men who were also journalists, but 17 other women were transferred to the military prison in Heikstep.
Testimonies of other women detained at the same time collected by the El Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence are consistent with Rasha Azeb and Salwa Hosseini's accounts of beatings, electrocution and 'virginity tests'.
"The Egyptian authorities must halt the shocking and degrading treatment of women protesters. Women fully participated in bringing change in Egypt and should not be punished for their activism", said Amnesty International.
"All security and army forces must be clearly instructed that torture and other ill-treatment, including forced 'virginity tests', will no longer be tolerated, and will be fully investigated. Those found responsible for such acts must be brought to justice and the courageous women who denounced such abuses be protected from reprisals."
All 17 women detained in the military prison were brought before a military court on 11 March and released on 13 March. Several received one-year suspended prison sentences.
Salwa Hosseini was convicted of disorderly conduct, destroying private and public property, obstructing traffic and carrying weapons.
Amnesty International opposes the trial of civilians before military courts in Egypt, which have a track record of unfair trials and where the right to appeal is severely restricted.
So far 30,000 US supporters have taken action to stop forced 'virginity testing' in Egypt! Thank you for standing with Egyptian women to protest the abuse. If you haven’t done so yet, send a message to Secretary of State Clinton to demand immediate action: HERE!
Note:There were several drafts of the proposal created before the sixth and final version was delivered. The emails released by Anonymous contain each of them. Most of the changes are formatting related and minor corrections.
The proposal starts with an overview of WikiLeaks, including some history and employee statistics. From there it moves into a profile of Julian Assange and an organizational chart. The chart lists several people, including volunteers and actual staff.
One of those listed as a volunteer, Salon.com columnist,Glenn Greenwald, was singled out by the proposal. Greenwald, previously a constitutional law and civil rights litigator in New York, has been a vocal supporter of Bradley Manning, who is alleged to have given diplomatic cables and other government information to WikiLeaks. He has yet to be charged in the matter.
Greenwald became a household name in December when he reported on the “inhumane conditions” of Bradley Manning’s confinement at the Marine brig in Quantico, Virginia. Since that report, Greenwald has reported on WikiLeaks and Manning several times.
“Glenn was critical in the Amazon to OVH transition,” the proposal says, referencing the hosting switch WikiLeaks was forced to make after political pressure caused Amazon to drop their domain.
[Earlier drafts of the proposal and an email from Aaron Barr used the word "attacked" over "disrupted" when discussing the level of support.]
The proposal continues by listing the strengths and weaknesses of WikiLeaks. For the strong points, there is the global WikiLeaks following and volunteers. Outlining the weaknesses, the proposal lists financial pressure - due to the companies refusing to process WikiLeaks’ donations at the time - and discord among some of the WikiLeaks members.
“Despite the publicity, WikiLeaks is NOT in a healthy position right now,” an early draft of the proposal noted. “Their weakness [sic] are causing great stress in the organization which can be capitalized on.”
Some of the things mentioned as potential proactive tactics include feeding the fuel between the feuding groups, disinformation, creating messages around actions to sabotage or discredit the opposing organization, and submitting fake documents to WikiLeaks and then calling out the error.
“Create concern over the security of the infrastructure. Create exposure stories. If the process is believed to not be secure they are done. Cyber attacks against the infrastructure to get data on document submitters. This would kill the project. Since the servers are now in Sweden and France putting a team together to get access is more straightforward.”
After the tactics are discussed, the proposal outlines the highlights for each of the three data intelligence firms. From there, it concludes that in the new age of mass social media, the insider threat represents an ongoing and persistent threat “even if WikiLeaks is shut down.”
“Traditional responses will fail; we must employ the best investigative team, currently employed by the most sensitive of national security agencies.”
The emails released by Anonymous make no mention of the proposal’s success or failure. Aside from a single meeting confirmation with Booz Allen Hamilton, and an email that expressed hope that HBGary was going to “close the BOA deal”, there is no other data available.
Since the attack on their company, HBGary has issued a single statement via their website, and declined to comment when questioned by several news organizations.
“HBGary, Inc and HBGary Federal, a separate but related company, have been the victims of an intentional criminal cyberattack. We are taking this crime seriously and are working with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities and redirecting internal resources to investigate and respond appropriately,” the statement reads.
“To the extent that any client information may have been affected by this event, we will provide the affected clients with complete and accurate information as soon as it becomes available. Meanwhile, please be aware that any information currently in the public domain is not reliable because the perpetrators of this offense, or people working closely with them, have intentionally falsified certain data.”
While some of the information in the public domain may be false, the emails and documents seen by The Tech Herald certainly look legitimate. It is unlikely that Anonymous would bother to forge 50,000 emails, in addition to the screen shots of internal software, PDF files, Word Documents, or PowerPoint slides released to the public.
However, on Tuesday evening, HBGary’s accusal that Anonymous was falsifying information started another round of rage on IRC, where some who associate under the banner of Anonymous gather.
As a result, there are rumors that more emails will be released in the coming days, including those belonging to Greg Hoglund, the co-founder of HBGary.
After a tip from Crowdleaks.org, The Tech Herald has learned that HBGary Federal, as well as two other data intelligence firms, worked to develop a strategic plan of attack against WikiLeaks. The plan included pressing a journalist in order to disrupt his support of the organization, cyber attacks, disinformation, and other potential proactive tactics.
Update:
The Tech Herald was able to get in touch with Glenn Greenwald for his reaction to being singled out in the WikiLeaks proposal. He called the report creepy and disturbing. Moreover, he commented that the suggestions for dealing with WikiLeaks, along with the assumption that the organization could be undermined, were “hard to take seriously.”
The listed mitigations, such as disinformation or submitting false documents, have been discussed before. In 2008, the Pentagon had similar ideas, so that aspect of the document was nothing new.
Greenwald, as a journalist, is a prolific writer on media topics. He is a harsh critic of political figures and the mainstream media. The suggestion made by the proposal that he would pick career over cause is “completely against” what he is about, he told us.
“The only reason I do what I do is because im free to put cause before career,” he said.
Pointedly, he reminded us that his work includes taking aim at political figures, which could be a source of professional leverage with scoops or favors, as well as news organizations who could offer him gainful employment. None of these actions paints a picture of a man who would pick career over his passion.
Update 2:
WikiLeaks is hosting an official mirror of the sixth and final draft of the report. You can see a copyhere.
Update 3:
Palantir Technologies has severed all ties with HBGary Federal and issued an apology to reporter Glenn Greenwald. More detailshere.
Update 4:
Berico Technologies has cut ties as well. More information ishere.
Original Article:
The tip from Crowdleaks.orgis directly related to the highly public attack on HBGary, after Anonymous responded to research performed by HBGary Federal CEO, Aaron Barr. Part of Anonymous’ response included releasing more than 50,000 internal emails to the public. For more information, the initial coverage ishere.
What was pointed out by Crowdleaks is a proposal titled “The WikiLeaks Threat” and an email chain between three data intelligence firms. The proposal was quickly developed byPalantir Technologies,HBGary Federal, andBerico Technologies, after a request from Hunton and Williams, a law firm that currently countsBank of America as a client.
The law firm had a meeting with Bank of America on December 3. To prepare, the firm emailed Palantir and the others asking for “…five to six slides on Wikileaks - who they are, how they operate and how this group may help this bank.”
Hunton and Williams were recommended to Bank of America’s general council by the Department of Justice, according to the email chain viewed by The Tech Herald. The law firm was using the meeting to pitch Bank of America on retaining them for an internal investigation surrounding WikiLeaks.
“They basically want to sue them to put an injunction on releasing any data,” an email between the three data intelligence firms said. “They want to present to the bank a team capable of doing a comprehensive investigation into the data leak.”
Hunton and Williams would act as outside counsel on retainer, while Palantir would take care of network and insider threat investigations. For their part, Berico Technologies and HBGary Federal would analyze WikiLeaks.
“Apparently if they can show that WikiLeaks is hosting data in certain countries it will make prosecution easier,” the email added.
In less than 24-hours, the three analytical companies created a presentation filled with publically available information and ideas on how the firms could be “deployed” against WikiLeaks “as a unified and cohesive investigative analysis cell.”
On January 2,The New York Times wrote abouta late night conference call held by Bank of America executives on November 30. The reason for the call was to deal with a statement given by WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange on November 29, where he said that he intended to “take down” a major American bank. The country’s third largest financial institution needed to get the jump on WikiLeaks, so they started scouring thousands of documents, and auditing physical assets.
Shortly after the late night conference call, the email from Hunton and Williams was sent. Booz Allen Hamilton, according to the Times, was the firm brought in to help manage the bank’s internal review.
A month after the proposal for the initial December meeting on WikiLeaks was created, email messages from HBGary Federal show plans for a meeting with Booz Allen Hamilton. The meeting was set after Barr emailed Hunton and Williams about information he was gathering on WikiLeaks and Anonymous. Later, this information would be the direct cause of Anonymous’ attack on HBGary.
On page two you will find an overview of the proposal developed by the three data intelligence firms.
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