||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THINGS WE HADN'T STARTED WORRYING ABOUT YET
CBS - The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning against a
new type of terrorism carried out by women who appear to be pregnant. It
may be the newest wave in suicide attacks: a prosthetic pregnant belly
serving as a compartment for explosives. The belly opens up from the
front and the explosives are placed inside. . . Authorities say there is
"no specific, credible intelligence" that says terrorists are planning
to use women and suicide bombers to attack, but the warning was sent to
agencies across the country in the wake of recent attacks overseas.
http://kdka.com/national/pregnancy.prosthetics.terrorism.2.652628.html
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AUTOMATING WRITING BOOKS
MARC ABRAHAMS, GUARDIAN - When a professor invents a machine that writes
books, and then uses that machine to write more than 200,000 different
books, there arises the question, "Why?"
Philip M Parker, a professor of management science at Insead, the
international business school based in Fontainebleau, France, patented
what he calls a "method and apparatus for automated authoring and
marketing. . .
Says Parker, "there is a need for a method and apparatus for authoring,
marketing, and/or distributing title materials automatically by a
computer." He explains that "further, there is a need for an automated
system that eliminates or substantially reduces the costs associated
with human labour, such as authors, editors, graphic artists, data
analysts, translators, distributors, and marketing personnel."
The book-writing machine works simply, at least in principle. First, one
feeds it a recipe for writing a particular genre of book - a tome about
crossword puzzles, say, or a market outlook for products. Then hook the
computer up to a big database full of info about crossword puzzles or
market information. The computer uses the recipe to select data from the
database and write and format it into book form.
Parker estimates that it costs him about 12p to write a book, with,
perhaps, not much difference in quality from what a competent wordsmith
or an MBA might produce.
Nothing but the title need actually exist until somebody orders a copy.
At that point, a computer assembles the book's content and prints up a
single copy.
Among Parker's bestselling books (as ranked by Amazon.co.uk) one finds
surprises.
His fifth-best seller is Webster's Albanian to English Crossword
Puzzles: Level 1.
No 6: The 2007 Import and Export Market for Ferrous Metal Waste and
Scrap Excluding Waste and Scrap of Cast Iron and Alloy Steel in United
Kingdom.
No 21: The 2007 Import and Export Market for Seaweeds and Other Algae in
France.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,2252153,00.html
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WHERE PINK AND BLUE COME FROM
COLOR LOVERS - Pink in many cultures has come to mean girl. It's been
attached to the logic that says 'pink for a girl and blue for a boy'.
The exact historical occurrence of this seems to point to after World
War II:
"The preferred color to dress young boys in was pink! Blue was reserved
for girls as it was considered the paler, more dainty of the two colors,
and pink was thought to be the stronger (akin to red). It was not until
WWII that the colors were reversed and pink was used for girls and blue
for boys" - Dress Maker Magazine
"Battleship gray, navy and military khaki ruled during World War II. But
once the war ended, so did the somber tones that reflected those serious
years of deprivation, and color made a comeback. Having replaced men in
wartime industries, Rosie the Riveter of the '40s returned to being
Susie Homemaker in the '50s. Reflecting the "pink is for girls mom in
the kitchen father-knows best" mentality, she was admonished to "think
pink" - to wear pink lipstick, drive a pink car, or buy pink household
appliances." - Color Symbolism and Trends
Pink has a range of cultural meanings beyond the more western one of
'pink for a girl/' Pink in Native American cultures symbolizes work and
creativity. In Asian cultures it often means marriage where it's more
closely linked to the western meaning.
"Pink causes the hypothalamus to signal the adrenal glands to slow their
secretions, thus reducing heart rate and blocking anger" - Brain/Mind
Bulletin (reported in Science Digest, Nov/Dec 1980)
http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/10/01/
pink-for-october-to-support-breast-cancer-awareness/
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BREVITAS
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WORLD
TIMES, UK - Every visitor to the European Union would have to provide
fingerprints before being allowed to enter, under plans unveiled
yesterday to clamp down on illegal immigration. The move to record the
arrival and departure of non-EU citizens and to store the data in a
single European database is part of a wider overhaul of border security.
. . The scheme has been criticized by civil rights groups. They fear
that it could lead to a "fortress Europe" mentality against foreigners
and to identity theft if the data were lost or stolen.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3366326.ece
ECO CLIPS
GREG GERRITT - The Earth seems to have stored just enough petroleum on
the planet for people to use it to eliminate all the forests, and fill
the sky with greenhouse gases, leaving us with a massively crazy weather
system hopped up on CO2 and no forests to help tame it or to be used for
rebuilding.
METAEFFICIENT - The largest modular green roo, has been installed on top
of the new "Court at Upper Providence" shopping center in Pennsylvania.
The 2.3 acres green roof was constructed with Green Grid modules. These
modules are made with recycled plastic, and they contain small but
hardly plants like sedums. The lightweight modules are then delivered to
the facility, where they are laid out on top of the roof. As many as
4,000 square feet can be installed in one day.
http://www.metaefficient.com/architecture-and-building/
largest-modular-green-roof-ever-23-acres.html
OUTLYING PRECINCTS
WALL ST JOURNAL - Maggie Williams, a confidante of Mrs. Clinton from
when she was first lady, has moved to assert her control following the
departure last weekend of former campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle. . .
But the campaign has something of a shell shocked feel, as staffers
privately chew over a blowup last week where internal frictions flared
into the open. Clinton campaign operatives say it happened as top
Clinton advisers gathered in Arlington, Va., campaign headquarters to
preview a TV commercial. "Your ad doesn't work," strategist Mark Penn
yelled at ad-maker Mandy Grunwald. "The execution is all wrong," he
said, according to the operatives. "Oh, it's always the ad, never the
message," Ms. Grunwald fired back, say the operatives. The clash got so
heated that political director Guy Cecil left the room, saying, "I'm out
of here.". . .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120295209438666989.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone
POLITICAL WIRE - The Associated Press reports that "top Democrats,
including some inside Hillary Clinton's campaign, say many party leaders
-- the so-called superdelegates -- won't hesitate to ditch the former
New York senator for Barack Obama if her political problems persist.
Their loyalty to the first couple is built on shaky ground.". . .
Possible last ditch strategy: "Two senior Clinton advisers, speaking on
condition of anonymity to discuss the race candidly, said the campaign
feels the New York senator needs to quickly change the dynamic by
forcing Obama into a poor debate performance, going negative or
encouraging the media to attack Obama. They're grasping at straws, but
the advisers said they can't see any other way that her campaign will be
sustainable after losing 10 in a row."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/02/13/
signs_of_desperation_in_clinton_campaign.html
NY POST - A prominent member of the national Democratic Party has
circulated a sharp e-mail saying the removal of Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle was disloyal to Hispanics and
should give "pause" to superdelegates and voters. The e-mail from,
Steven Ybarra, a California superdelegate who heads the voting-rights
committee of the DNC Hispanic Caucus, was sent to fellow caucus members
in the hours after word broke that Solis Doyle - the most prominent
Latina in Clinton's campaign - would be replaced by another close
Clinton loyalist, Maggie Williams, who is black. . . "Apparently,
loyalty is not a two-way street," he wrote. "Latino superdelegates like
myself . . . will have cause to pause."
http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http:
//www.nypost.com/seven/02122008/news/nationalnews/
super_latino_slams_clinton_97237.htm
IF YOU WANT to find establishment Democrats you can't go to a much
better place than Ward Three in Washington, DC. In the DC primary, 12 of
the ward's precincts gave over 60% to Obama and four gave him 54%-59%.
MORE CLINTON MONEY EXAMINED BY NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18958566
MCCAIN VOTES AGAINST WATERBOARDING BAN
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/mccain-waterboarding-fail
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THINGS WE HADN'T STARTED WORRYING ABOUT YET
CBS - The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning against a
new type of terrorism carried out by women who appear to be pregnant. It
may be the newest wave in suicide attacks: a prosthetic pregnant belly
serving as a compartment for explosives. The belly opens up from the
front and the explosives are placed inside. . . Authorities say there is
"no specific, credible intelligence" that says terrorists are planning
to use women and suicide bombers to attack, but the warning was sent to
agencies across the country in the wake of recent attacks overseas.
http://kdka.com/national/pregnancy.prosthetics.terrorism.2.652628.html
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AUTOMATING WRITING BOOKS
MARC ABRAHAMS, GUARDIAN - When a professor invents a machine that writes
books, and then uses that machine to write more than 200,000 different
books, there arises the question, "Why?"
Philip M Parker, a professor of management science at Insead, the
international business school based in Fontainebleau, France, patented
what he calls a "method and apparatus for automated authoring and
marketing. . .
Says Parker, "there is a need for a method and apparatus for authoring,
marketing, and/or distributing title materials automatically by a
computer." He explains that "further, there is a need for an automated
system that eliminates or substantially reduces the costs associated
with human labour, such as authors, editors, graphic artists, data
analysts, translators, distributors, and marketing personnel."
The book-writing machine works simply, at least in principle. First, one
feeds it a recipe for writing a particular genre of book - a tome about
crossword puzzles, say, or a market outlook for products. Then hook the
computer up to a big database full of info about crossword puzzles or
market information. The computer uses the recipe to select data from the
database and write and format it into book form.
Parker estimates that it costs him about 12p to write a book, with,
perhaps, not much difference in quality from what a competent wordsmith
or an MBA might produce.
Nothing but the title need actually exist until somebody orders a copy.
At that point, a computer assembles the book's content and prints up a
single copy.
Among Parker's bestselling books (as ranked by Amazon.co.uk) one finds
surprises.
His fifth-best seller is Webster's Albanian to English Crossword
Puzzles: Level 1.
No 6: The 2007 Import and Export Market for Ferrous Metal Waste and
Scrap Excluding Waste and Scrap of Cast Iron and Alloy Steel in United
Kingdom.
No 21: The 2007 Import and Export Market for Seaweeds and Other Algae in
France.
http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,2252153,00.html
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WHERE PINK AND BLUE COME FROM
COLOR LOVERS - Pink in many cultures has come to mean girl. It's been
attached to the logic that says 'pink for a girl and blue for a boy'.
The exact historical occurrence of this seems to point to after World
War II:
"The preferred color to dress young boys in was pink! Blue was reserved
for girls as it was considered the paler, more dainty of the two colors,
and pink was thought to be the stronger (akin to red). It was not until
WWII that the colors were reversed and pink was used for girls and blue
for boys" - Dress Maker Magazine
"Battleship gray, navy and military khaki ruled during World War II. But
once the war ended, so did the somber tones that reflected those serious
years of deprivation, and color made a comeback. Having replaced men in
wartime industries, Rosie the Riveter of the '40s returned to being
Susie Homemaker in the '50s. Reflecting the "pink is for girls mom in
the kitchen father-knows best" mentality, she was admonished to "think
pink" - to wear pink lipstick, drive a pink car, or buy pink household
appliances." - Color Symbolism and Trends
Pink has a range of cultural meanings beyond the more western one of
'pink for a girl/' Pink in Native American cultures symbolizes work and
creativity. In Asian cultures it often means marriage where it's more
closely linked to the western meaning.
"Pink causes the hypothalamus to signal the adrenal glands to slow their
secretions, thus reducing heart rate and blocking anger" - Brain/Mind
Bulletin (reported in Science Digest, Nov/Dec 1980)
http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/10/01/
pink-for-october-to-support-breast-cancer-awareness/
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BREVITAS
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WORLD
TIMES, UK - Every visitor to the European Union would have to provide
fingerprints before being allowed to enter, under plans unveiled
yesterday to clamp down on illegal immigration. The move to record the
arrival and departure of non-EU citizens and to store the data in a
single European database is part of a wider overhaul of border security.
. . The scheme has been criticized by civil rights groups. They fear
that it could lead to a "fortress Europe" mentality against foreigners
and to identity theft if the data were lost or stolen.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3366326.ece
ECO CLIPS
GREG GERRITT - The Earth seems to have stored just enough petroleum on
the planet for people to use it to eliminate all the forests, and fill
the sky with greenhouse gases, leaving us with a massively crazy weather
system hopped up on CO2 and no forests to help tame it or to be used for
rebuilding.
METAEFFICIENT - The largest modular green roo, has been installed on top
of the new "Court at Upper Providence" shopping center in Pennsylvania.
The 2.3 acres green roof was constructed with Green Grid modules. These
modules are made with recycled plastic, and they contain small but
hardly plants like sedums. The lightweight modules are then delivered to
the facility, where they are laid out on top of the roof. As many as
4,000 square feet can be installed in one day.
http://www.metaefficient.com/architecture-and-building/
largest-modular-green-roof-ever-23-acres.html
OUTLYING PRECINCTS
WALL ST JOURNAL - Maggie Williams, a confidante of Mrs. Clinton from
when she was first lady, has moved to assert her control following the
departure last weekend of former campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle. . .
But the campaign has something of a shell shocked feel, as staffers
privately chew over a blowup last week where internal frictions flared
into the open. Clinton campaign operatives say it happened as top
Clinton advisers gathered in Arlington, Va., campaign headquarters to
preview a TV commercial. "Your ad doesn't work," strategist Mark Penn
yelled at ad-maker Mandy Grunwald. "The execution is all wrong," he
said, according to the operatives. "Oh, it's always the ad, never the
message," Ms. Grunwald fired back, say the operatives. The clash got so
heated that political director Guy Cecil left the room, saying, "I'm out
of here.". . .
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120295209438666989.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone
POLITICAL WIRE - The Associated Press reports that "top Democrats,
including some inside Hillary Clinton's campaign, say many party leaders
-- the so-called superdelegates -- won't hesitate to ditch the former
New York senator for Barack Obama if her political problems persist.
Their loyalty to the first couple is built on shaky ground.". . .
Possible last ditch strategy: "Two senior Clinton advisers, speaking on
condition of anonymity to discuss the race candidly, said the campaign
feels the New York senator needs to quickly change the dynamic by
forcing Obama into a poor debate performance, going negative or
encouraging the media to attack Obama. They're grasping at straws, but
the advisers said they can't see any other way that her campaign will be
sustainable after losing 10 in a row."
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2008/02/13/
signs_of_desperation_in_clinton_campaign.html
NY POST - A prominent member of the national Democratic Party has
circulated a sharp e-mail saying the removal of Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle was disloyal to Hispanics and
should give "pause" to superdelegates and voters. The e-mail from,
Steven Ybarra, a California superdelegate who heads the voting-rights
committee of the DNC Hispanic Caucus, was sent to fellow caucus members
in the hours after word broke that Solis Doyle - the most prominent
Latina in Clinton's campaign - would be replaced by another close
Clinton loyalist, Maggie Williams, who is black. . . "Apparently,
loyalty is not a two-way street," he wrote. "Latino superdelegates like
myself . . . will have cause to pause."
http://www.nypost.com/php/pfriendly/print.php?url=http:
//www.nypost.com/seven/02122008/news/nationalnews/
super_latino_slams_clinton_97237.htm
IF YOU WANT to find establishment Democrats you can't go to a much
better place than Ward Three in Washington, DC. In the DC primary, 12 of
the ward's precincts gave over 60% to Obama and four gave him 54%-59%.
MORE CLINTON MONEY EXAMINED BY NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18958566
MCCAIN VOTES AGAINST WATERBOARDING BAN
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/mccain-waterboarding-fail
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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