Gift for Iraqi school children lost

In February of this year, you and I, the American taxpayer gave the Iraqi school children a gift – laptop computers, 8080 of them. But due to a clerical error they were sent to Umn Qasr, not Babil – where they were intended to go. So they sat in a ship in Umn Qasr until they went missing. The US caught up with them when 4200 of them were auctioned off in April to an Iraqi businessman. In September the auctioned computers were recovered. The remaining 3880 have not been found. I hope we take this more seriously the next time we have a chance to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi’s.

Original Article

U.S. Gift for Iraqi Students Offers a Primer on Corruption – NYTimes.com

Is RIM being singled out?

Update: November 1st, 2010

Good News: India has decided to ‘Let Go’ of the possible ban of Blackberries

India Calls off Blackberry ban

Update: September 2, 2010

According to an article on Security at CNet news, India now wants Google, and Skype to share its encrypted information

Google and Skype now requested to share information

Update: August 30, 2010

Indian Government has given Blackberry (RIM) two more months to iron out its differences. (From The New York Times)

Blackberry Gets a 2-Month Reprieve

Indian Government and The RIM corporation

India is requesting RIM to share its encrypted messages with them. On the surface, it seems as thought RIM is being singled out. After all, India is a rapidly growing market for telecoms. RIM just wants to assure its subscribers of their privacy. When we take a closer look at the issue, the Indian government does have a very legitimate concern. The use of encrypted service is nothing new: One Blackberry user sends a message to another Blackberry user. From the time it leaves the first phone, until the time the second user reads the message, it has been encrypted. This means that if a 3rd party with some kind of snooping device were to intercept the message, they would not be able to read it.

The government is concerned that, in the wrong hands, encryption could be used to hide activities from them. All Blackberry has to do is allow the Indian government to view the encrypted messages to monitor for illegal use.

Maybe this is overly simplistic, Or maybe it would satisfy booth parties involved.

RIM Falls to 17-Month Low as India BlackBerry Service Ban Looms – Bloomberg

Visitors to National Parks

Visitors to Our National Parks need to remember that they are still in wild place, not a Theme park kind of place. The animals are still wild, the terrain can put us in a compromising position, and the weather can change suddenly. Technology from an outdoor store: like a GPS, camera, video recorder, water purifiers… These gadgets are all great for enhancing the ‘outdoor experience’. They are not a substitute for common sense! According to a recent New York times article, a Grand Canyon hiker called emergency services because his water tasted too salty. Technology Leads More Park Visitors Into Trouble

It is good not to rely solely on technology for decision making, but use it as a part of the outdoor experience. In Colorado, a type of rescue insurance is available to the public. An outdoors man or woman can purchase a Search And Rescue card for less than $15. This insurance covers the costs of a rescue, should that event ever be necessary.
Get one here: CORSAR Card Cards are also available at Outdoor stores like REI.

Happy Hiking,

Greg

Dear AT&T: Soon We’ll All Be Data Hogs

Dear AT&T: Soon We’ll All Be Data Hogs. I am looking forward to increased network capacity. Unlimited for all!!

I Find this interesting, Lithium demand is going to Grow…

Demand for Lithium to Grow, and Chile’s Desert Will Be Key Source (Video) : TreeHugger

Japanese computer puts pi in its place – Related Stories – SmartBrief on ExecTech

Japanese computer puts pi in its place – Related Stories – SmartBrief on ExecTech

Keep up the good work gentlemen