Song(s) of the Day # 2,300 Langkamer
1 hour ago
Monday, 21 March 2011
BBC World Service to sign funding deal with US state department
The BBC World Service is to receive a "significant" sum of money from the US government to help combat the blocking of TV and internet services in countries including Iran and China.
In what the BBC said is the first deal of its kind, an agreement is expected to be signed later this month that will see US state department money – understood to be a low six-figure sum – given to the World Service to invest in developing anti-jamming technology and software.
The funding is also expected to be used to educate people in countries with state censorship in how to circumnavigate the blocking of internet and TV services.
It is understood the US government has decided the reach of the World Service is such that it makes investment worthwhile.
The US government money comes as the World Service faces a 16% cut in its annual grant from the Foreign Office – a £46m reduction in its £236.7m budget over three years that will lead to about 650 job cuts. The money will be channelled through the World Service's charitable arm, the World Service Trust.
The deal, which is expected to be formally announced on International Press Freedom Day, 3 May, follows an increase in incidents of interference with World Service output across the globe, according to its controller of strategy and business, Jim Egan.
BBC Persian television, which launched in early 2009 and airs in Iran and its neighbouring countries, has experienced numerous instances of jamming. The BBC Arabic TV news service has also been jammed in recent weeks across various parts of north Africa during the recent uprisings in Egypt and Libya.
"Governments who have an interest in denying people information particularly at times of tension and upheaval are keen to do this and it is a particular problem now," said Egan.
Another area in which the BBC World Service is expected to use the US money is continuing its development of early warning software.
This will allow it to detect jamming sooner than it does currently where it relies on reports from users on the ground.
"Software like this helps monitor dips in traffic which act as an early warning of jamming, and it can be more effective than relying on people contacting us and telling us they cannot access the services," said Egan.
The BBC also expects to use state department money to help combat internet censorship by establishing proxy servers that give the impression a computer located in one country is in fact operating in another, thereby circumnavigating attempts by repressive governments to block websites.
"China has become quite expert at blocking websites and one could say it has become something of an export industry for them – a lot of countries are keen to follow suit," said Egan.
"We have evidence of Libya and Egypt blocking the internet and satellite signals in recent weeks."
Egan added that the battle against jamming is likely to be an ongoing one because repressive countries are likely to develop methods to counter any anti-censorship technology that is developed.
"It is a bit of a game of cat and mouse," said a BBC source.
Ben Dowell @'The Guardian'
In what the BBC said is the first deal of its kind, an agreement is expected to be signed later this month that will see US state department money – understood to be a low six-figure sum – given to the World Service to invest in developing anti-jamming technology and software.
The funding is also expected to be used to educate people in countries with state censorship in how to circumnavigate the blocking of internet and TV services.
It is understood the US government has decided the reach of the World Service is such that it makes investment worthwhile.
The US government money comes as the World Service faces a 16% cut in its annual grant from the Foreign Office – a £46m reduction in its £236.7m budget over three years that will lead to about 650 job cuts. The money will be channelled through the World Service's charitable arm, the World Service Trust.
The deal, which is expected to be formally announced on International Press Freedom Day, 3 May, follows an increase in incidents of interference with World Service output across the globe, according to its controller of strategy and business, Jim Egan.
BBC Persian television, which launched in early 2009 and airs in Iran and its neighbouring countries, has experienced numerous instances of jamming. The BBC Arabic TV news service has also been jammed in recent weeks across various parts of north Africa during the recent uprisings in Egypt and Libya.
"Governments who have an interest in denying people information particularly at times of tension and upheaval are keen to do this and it is a particular problem now," said Egan.
Another area in which the BBC World Service is expected to use the US money is continuing its development of early warning software.
This will allow it to detect jamming sooner than it does currently where it relies on reports from users on the ground.
"Software like this helps monitor dips in traffic which act as an early warning of jamming, and it can be more effective than relying on people contacting us and telling us they cannot access the services," said Egan.
The BBC also expects to use state department money to help combat internet censorship by establishing proxy servers that give the impression a computer located in one country is in fact operating in another, thereby circumnavigating attempts by repressive governments to block websites.
"China has become quite expert at blocking websites and one could say it has become something of an export industry for them – a lot of countries are keen to follow suit," said Egan.
"We have evidence of Libya and Egypt blocking the internet and satellite signals in recent weeks."
Egan added that the battle against jamming is likely to be an ongoing one because repressive countries are likely to develop methods to counter any anti-censorship technology that is developed.
"It is a bit of a game of cat and mouse," said a BBC source.
Ben Dowell @'The Guardian'
Warning:
Subject: Possible threat to MCBQ
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There are substantiated indications and warning of possible denial of service attacks on MCBQ by supporters of Wiki-leaks and PFC Manning. It is possible that these attacks will be timed to coincide with protest activity that is scheduled to take place in the vicinity of MCBQ on 20 Mar. Possible threat courses of action could include denial of service attacks on phone, email, and internet services, and could include harassing phone calls (i.e. bomb threats) and mail disruption (i.e. suspicious packages). Additionally, though there is no direct threat, it is possible that actual physical penetrations onto MCBQ property may be undertaken to cause infrastructure damage, vandalism, or harass USMC personnel.
The Base has been involved in detailed response planning with local, regional, and national authorities and is appropriately postured to minimize/mitigate likely threat activity. Because the exact intent of the protest groups is not known, nor the form of attack they may undertake, MCBQ commands and activities should carefully review their OPSEC and physical security posture.
Recommended actions for MCBQ tenant commands and organizations:
1. Develop alternative communication plans (i.e. installation command net and cell phones) to ensure the ability to communicate with MCBQ emergency services during a denial of service attack.
1. Develop alternative communication plans (i.e. installation command net and cell phones) to ensure the ability to communicate with MCBQ emergency services during a denial of service attack.
2. Review MCBQ bomb threat procedures (attached).
3. Review MCBQ procedures for suspicious packages (attached).
4. Area commands shall ensure Installation Command net radios are fully charged and accessible.
5. Ensure Command Duty Officers are briefed on the threat and know the proper response to threatening/harassing phone calls
6. Ensure non-essential fax machines are turned "off"
7. Remind all personnel to be alert for suspicious activity and report it immediately to the MCBQ Security Battalion using the Eagle Eyes hotline (703-432-EYES).
8. Building managers should ensure building perimeters are regularly inspected and that all unmonitored exits are locked when not in use (consider limiting access to a single entrance and mandating ID checks).
9. Remind personnel to avoid posting or discussing aspects of any MCBQ response on Face-Book or other social media forums.
10. Remind personnel, to be aware of phishing (both email and telephone) attempts to gain information about MCBQ personnel or operations.
Additional information concerning protest activities, to include any gate closures, changes to Force Protection Condition, excepted traffic delays, etc., will be distributed via a MCBQ FROSTCALL later this week.
Pete Streng
Director of Operations
3250 Catlin Avenue
Quantico, VA 22134
703-898-9875
Whistleblower slams Japan nuclear regulation
A nuclear industry whistleblower who helped design protective containment vessels for reactors has attacked the Japanese government, its nuclear industry and regulators over their safety record.
Dr Masashi Goto, a nuclear engineer, resigned from his job at the Toshiba Corporation over safety concerns.Toshiba supplied two of the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant that was stricken by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
Dr Goto criticises his country's record on nuclear safety.
"We have the government commission overseeing nuclear safety standards and in my opinion they are not doing their job," he told ABC correspondent Eric Campbell last Thursday in Tokyo in an exclusive interview for Four Corners.
He says the Fukushima crisis shows Japan has not yet learned the lessons of history.
"At Three Mile Island the nuclear fuel melted. Fuel is melting here now," he said.
"We have to design reactors to withstand melting fuel rods. Right now the reactor will break down due to the heat generated by the melting rods."
Dr Goto alleges that in Japan's nuclear industry profits take precedence over safety standards.
"No-one says it officially or openly. When setting standards for future earthquakes, the thought is of money - how much is it going to cost?" he said.
"This underlies the government's decision making. They are thinking the costs could have a bad repercussion on the economy."
Dr Goto says one of his special research interests at Toshiba was how to make containment vessels stronger.
He says Japan's nuclear safety standards have been based on an insufficient acknowledgment of the potential severity of natural disasters.
"What's wrong with the standards is that the anticipated level of the worst-case-scenario earthquake is not correct," he said.
"Seismologists have different opinions and predictions. Some say bigger quakes are coming. Others say a big one is unlikely.
"Decisions have been made based on the opinion of the more optimistic seismologist and the opinions of the pessimistic ones are ignored."
The earthquake that shook Japan on March 11 was magnitude 9.0 - the strongest recorded earthquake in Japan, and far stronger than the country's nuclear industry had anticipated.
Despite this, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, which operates the Fukushima plant, boasted in its corporate publicity that its nuclear power stations were "designed for the largest conceivable earthquake" and that "all designs provide margins of safety capable of withstanding even natural disasters".
Grim warnings
Further grim warnings are given in tonight's Four Corners by nuclear experts and activists who have been interviewed over the past week.
American Damon Moglen, director of Friends Of The Earth's climate and energy project, points to the presence of as much as a quarter of a tonne of plutonium in Fukushima's No. 3 reactor, which suffered an explosion last Monday.
"The problem there is, if that plutonium fuel is melting inside the core, if it's being vented out or if an explosion were to break the containment open, we could have - and we have as much as a quarter of a tonne of additional plutonium in that reactor - we could have radioactive releases containing plutonium, which would be just yet another horror to have to deal with," he said.
Dr Ziggy Switkowski, former chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), warns the crisis at Fukushima has done a "great deal of damage" to the industry.
"The nuclear industry has, over time, worked as well as it has because of people's confidence in the integrity of reactors and acceptance that many of the issues associated with the management of spent fuel and waste were properly handled," he said.
"But we've always understood, and we saw this happen in Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, that if the community trust is breached by whatever development, it will take a long, long time to recover it.
"I think this is a turning point for the industry."
Quentin McDermott @'ABC'
Protein found in brain cells may be key to autism
Scientists have shown how a single protein may trigger autistic spectrum disorders by stopping effective communication between brain cells.
The team from Duke University in North Carolina created autistic mice by mutating the gene which controls production of the protein, Shank3.The animals exhibited social problems, and repetitive behaviour - both classic signs of autism and related conditions.
The Nature study raises hopes of the first effective drug treatments.
Autism is a disorder which, to varying degrees, affects the ability of children and adults to communicate and interact socially.
While hundreds of genes linked to the condition have been found, the precise combination of genetics, biochemistry and other environmental factors which produce autism is still unclear.
Each patient has only one or a handful of those mutations, making it difficult to develop drugs to treat the disorder.
Shank3 is found in the synapses - the junctions between brain cells (neurons) that allow them to communicate with each other.
The researchers created mice which had a mutated form of Shank3, and found that these animals avoided social interactions with other mice.
They also engaged in repetitious and self-injurious grooming behaviour.
Brain circuits When the MIT team analysed the animals' brains they found defects in the circuits that connect two different areas of the brain, the cortex and the striatum.Healthy connections between these areas are thought to be key to effective regulation of social behaviours and social interaction.
The researchers say their work underscores just what an important role Shank3 plays in the establishment of circuits in the brain which underlie all our behaviours.
Lead researcher Dr Guoping Feng said: "Our study demonstrated that Shank3 mutation in mice lead to defects in neuron-neuron communications.
"These findings and the mouse model now allow us to figure out the precise neural circuit defects responsible for these abnormal behaviours, which could lead to novel strategies and targets for developing treatment."
It is thought that only a small percentage of people with autism have mutations in Shank3, but Dr Feng believes many other cases may be linked to disruptions to other proteins that control synaptic function.
If true he believes it should be possible to develop treatments that restore synaptic function, regardless of which protein is defective in a specific individual.
Carol Povey, director of the National Autistic Society's Centre for Autism, said: "Animal research can help advance our understanding or the role of genetics and their influence on behaviour, however it is only a small part of the picture when it comes to understanding autism.
"Human brains are far more complex than those of other mammals, and it is believed that a variety of factors are responsible for the development of the condition."
@'BBC'
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