Globalism – Page 40

Big Problems, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Internet, Latest News, Latest Trend

Microsoft Switches Off Privacy for Hotmail Users in War-Torn and Repressive States

March 26, 2011

Say goodbye to privacy on Hotmail if your country is in a state of chaos.

For reasons unknown, Microsoft has changed the settings on Hotmail to disable HTTPS for users in several countries including Bahrain, Morocco, Algeria, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Hotmail users in those countries can now be readily spied upon by ISPs and their governments. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has some good perspective…

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Analysis, Culture, Current Events, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Music

U.S. Internet Piracy Is on the Decline

March 25, 2011

Internet piracy is on the decline in the U.S., according to new research from NPD Group.

The percentage of the U.S. Internet population using a P2P file-sharing service to download music has decreased from 16% (28 million users) at the end of 2007, to 9% (16 million users) in the fourth quarter of 2010 — the very quarter that LimeWire was forced to shut down its file-sharing service. In the quarter previous, a federal judge ruled against LimeWire in a copyright infringement case versus the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)…

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Analysis, Animals, Big Problems, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

Half Of All Primates Threatened With Extinction

March 24, 2011

Not long for this planet?

According to an article on the National Geographic website, nearly half the primate species are in danger of becoming extinct from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bush-meat hunting.

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Analysis, Globalism, Human Behavior, Latest Trend

Study: Religion on the Verge of Extinction in Some Countries

March 23, 2011

Percentage religiously unaliated versus time in four regions: (a) the autonomous Aland islands region of Finland, (b) Schwyz Canton in Switzerland, (c) Vienna Province in Austria, (d) the Netherlands

A study recently released by a team from Northwestern University and the University of Arizona shows that religion and religious affiliations may be on the verge of extinction in the nine countries studied. Utilizing a mathematical model of nonlinear dynamics, the team analyzed data from censuses taken in nine different countries dating as far back as a century.

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Business, Corporate Manipulation, Current Events, Entertainment, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

In The Race For More Spectrum, AT&T Is Acquiring T-Mobile For $39 Billion

March 21, 2011

T-Mobile is getting swallowed up by AT&T. Is this a good thing?

As anyone who has read a tech blog in the past few years will know, AT&T has been under attack for not being able to match the network capacity of larger rival Verizon. And when they won the majority of the bids for the open spectrum in 2008, Verizon also had a clear path to the future. Now AT&T is taking another path: buying T-Mobile…

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Analysis, Big Problems, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Science & Technology News

Tragedy in Japan May Be Most Globally Disruptive Natural Disaster in Modern Times

March 20, 2011

An elderly woman cries in the devastated town of Rikuzentakata in Iwate prefecture.

There are events in history that sear themselves into the world’s collective imagination, and enter the realm where myth meets heartbreaking reality.

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Big Problems, Breakthrough Thinking, Business, Globalism, Green Friendly, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues

Google Recruits Scientists to Use New Media to Tackle Climate Skeptics

March 19, 2011

In an effort to help improve communication regarding global warming issues and to counter the rampant ‘noise’ made by fossil fuel industry-funded climate skepticism, Google’s philanthropy arm has launched a new program focused on bringing together scientists, communications experts, and the world of social media. Google has tapped 21 top climate researchers to be fellows on the project, and they plan on mapping out a way to get accurate, scientifically sound information on climate to the masses.

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Analysis, Animals, Big Problems, Globalism, government, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, New Discoveries

Naval Sonar Exercises Linked to Whale Strandings

March 18, 2011

Whales are affected by Naval Sonar Exercises.

Scientists have long been aware of a link between naval sonar exercises and unusual mass strandings of beaked whales. Evidence of such a link triggered a series of lawsuits in which environmental groups sued the U.S. Navy to limit sonar exercises to reduce risk to whales. In 2008, this conflict rose to the level of the US Supreme Court which had to balance potential threat to whales from sonar against the military risk posed by naval forces inadequately trained to use sonar to detect enemy submarines. The court ruled that the Navy could continue training, but that it was essential for the Navy to develop better methods to protect the whales.

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Analysis, Economy, Globalism, Science & Technology News

Wealthiest Countries Are Also the Smartest Countries: Study

March 18, 2011

The smartest 5 percent, made a big contribution to the strength of their economies.

It’s not just how free the market is. Some economists are looking at another factor that determines how much a country’s economy flourishes: how smart its people are. For a study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, researchers analyzed test scores from 90 countries and found that the intelligence of the people, particularly the smartest 5 percent, made a big contribution to the strength of their economies.

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Breakthrough Thinking, Globalism, government, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, Latest Trend

U.S. Military Developing False Online Personalities to Counter “Enemy Propaganda”

March 17, 2011

The US Central Command (Centcom) has purchased software that creates false online personalities for what it calls “information operations.”

Using the software, one member of the U.S. Military can control up to ten different fake accounts that appear to belong to civilians living in other countries. The government purchased the software from California-based Ntrepid for $2.76 million.

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Breakthrough Thinking, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, New Inventions, Science & Technology News, Space

First Space-Based Gas Station Set to Open in 2015

March 16, 2011

Space gas to become a reality soon?

In space, no one can hear you scream — about the soaring prices at the pump, that is. For what will be the very first time, plans for a space-based satellite filling station have been announced, with a launch date set for 2015. It may sound like a bit of unnecessary convenience some 22,369 miles above our heads, but experts say that the gas station will do much more than make Earth a planetary truck-stop. “This is a first-time-ever, huge, huge, huge event,” says the director of the Space Protection Program — and it’s sure to make space a little cleaner, too.

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Analysis, Crazy Stuff, Globalism, Historical Perspectives, Latest News

Japan’s Earthquake Causes Day to Get a Tiny Bit Shorter

March 13, 2011

The rotation has changed ever so slightly.

You won’t notice it, but the day just got a tiny bit shorter because of Friday’s giant earthquake off the coast of Japan.

NASA geophysicist Richard Gross calculated that Earth’s rotation sped up by 1.8 microseconds. That’s because of the shift in Earth’s mass caused by the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. A microsecond is one-millionth of a second.

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