The U.S. government is apparently spying on all Internet traffic and voice calls goingthrough AT&T’s backbones, according to a former employee of the company who testified before the Congress. Mark Klein, a former AT&T technician, says that the National Security Agency (NSA) installed special equipment which splits communication backbones and sends an exact copy to the government. Indiscriminately, and without any warrant. The U.S. government could peek at any e-mail, Web search, phone call or data transfer sent trough AT&T which also serves more than a dozen global and regional telecom providers. Contrary to the government’s version which claims the surveillance program as aimed at overseas terrorists, Mark Klein said the large majority of the data sent by AT&T to the NSA was purely domestic. Mr. Klein saw wiring diagrams for an AT&T office in San Francisco, where he worked, which showed special optic splitters were installed to send the entire traffic to a secret room built by the NSA. ‘That was my ‘aha’ moment,’ Klein said. ‘They’re sending the entire Internet to the secret room.’ ‘This splitter was sweeping up everything, vacuum-cleaner-style,’ he said. ‘The NSA is getting everything. These are major pipes that carry not […]
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Nearly four in five U.S. adults, or 178 million people, access the Internet at home, in the office or at other locations, a Harris Poll found. The 79 percent July-October figure compares with 77 percent in February-April 2006, 74 percent in February-April 2005, 66 percent in spring 2002, 64 percent in 2001 and 57 percent in spring 2000, poll producer Harris Interactive said. When Harris first began tracking Internet use in 1995, 9 percent of adults reported they went online. The amount of time people spend online also has risen, with the average number of hours a week at 11, up from 2006’s nine hours and 2005’s eight hours, Harris said. While it is still true the online world is dominated by young, generally affluent people, 9 percent of those online are 65 or over, 39 percent did not attend at least some college and 13 percent have incomes of less than $25,000, Harris said. Harris surveyed 2,062 U.S. adults age 18 and over by telephone in July and October. Figures for age, sex, race or ethnicity, education, region, number of adults in a household and other factors were weighted to bring […]
WASHINGTON — AIDS vaccine researchers are worried about the future of their field after learning an experimental HIV vaccine not only does not work, but just might make recipients more susceptible to infection with the AIDS virus. They are worried about their volunteers and the future of AIDS vaccines in general. And they are worried because they cannot understand how a vaccine would make a person more vulnerable. Researchers from Merck & Co, which makes the vaccine, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is helping develop it, said on Wednesday they believe a type of common cold virus used as the basis of the vaccine may somehow have made their volunteers more susceptible to HIV. They are meeting this week in Seattle to hash through the data and figure out what happened. This is what they know: Out of 1,500 people vaccinated, 82 became infected with the AIDS virus. Of these, 49 got the vaccine and 33 got a placebo shot. While they are counseling volunteers that they may have raised their own risk of becoming infected, they are also trying to figure out what happened. ‘The data are disappointing […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California sued the federal government on Thursday to force a decision about whether the state can impose the nation’s first greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and light trucks. More than a dozen other states are poised to follow California’s lead if it is granted the waiver from federal law, presenting a challenge to automakers who would have to adapt to a patchwork of regulations. The state’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., was expected after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed last spring to take legal action. ‘Our future depends on us taking action on global warming right now,’ Schwarzenegger said during a news conference. ‘There’s no legal basis for Washington to stand in our way.’ At issue is California’s nearly two-year-old request for a waiver under the federal Clean Air Act allowing it to implement a 2002 state anti-pollution law regulating greenhouse gases. Eleven other states have adopted California’s standard as a way to combat global warming and five others are considering it. ‘Our position is that it’s time for EPA to either act or get out of the way,’ said Lee Moore, […]
ORLANDO, Florida — Energy drinks boost blood pressure in even the young and healthy people and may leave hypertensive adults more charged up than they bargained for, researchers said here. Consumption of two energy drinks a day increased systolic blood pressure by 10 mm Hg and heart rate by five to seven beats per minute, according to a small study reported at the American Heart Association meeting. Although this degree of change may hold little danger for most young patients, it likely would be clinically significant with regular consumption or in patients with cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, said James S. Kalus, Pharm.D., of the Henry Ford Medical Center in Detroit, Mich., and colleagues. ‘If you know you have cardiovascular disease or are taking medication to lower blood pressure, it is important to avoid energy drinks until we learn more about what they do,’ he said. Energy drinks typically contain high levels of caffeine and the amino acid taurine. These compounds have been shown in previous studies to have an impact on cardiac function and hemodynamic status, although the data available for caffeine are controversial, Dr. Kalus said. The study included 15 healthy volunteers (53% […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
