Hi-Sci-Fi

This image was uploaded with the post SF Author Dr. Peter Watts Gets Arrested at the US Border, Thrown In Detention, Now Facing Charges.

by Irma Arkus

over at BoingBoing, hot news item is that Dr. Peter Watts, a scifi Hugo nominee, has been detained at the US border for reasons unknown.

After border patrol decided to conduct a search of his rented vehicle, Watts faced physical abuse by the officers, was stripped half-naked and spent almost a day in a cold detenion cell.

Seizure of his personal computer, flash drive, and even his paper notepad was explained as a way to halt terrorism: “even my fucking paper notepad withheld until they could find someone among their number literate enough to distinguish between handwritten notes on story ideas and, I suppose, nefarious terrorist plots,” explained Peter in his own words.

After being harassed and abused by the border officials, and posted bond for his release, Dr. Watts was sent out in his shirt, in a midst of a cold Ontario snow-storm.

Now, Dr. Watts faces charges of assault against a federal officer. How questioning a search amounts to an assault is still unknown, but one thing is for sure, Dr. Watts will need a lot of financial support to dispute the charges in Michigan.

To help with his situation, please send your support funds via PayPal to donate@rifters.com

This image was uploaded with the post Asteroid Explodes Above Indonesia With Force of Three Hiroshima Bombs.

by Irma Arkus

New Scientist is reporting on the asteroid that caused a “dramatic explosion” above Indonesia on Oct. 8th. Just how dramatic? About 50,000 tons of TNT worth of drama. The worst part is not so much that the asteroid in question had the power of three Hiroshima nuclear bombs, that could have devastated Indonesia and cost countless lives, but rather that the entry of the asteroid was undetected.

While this time, Indonesia has escaped a narrow destruction, due to the asteroid breaking apart in upper atmosphere, some 15 to 20 km above Earth’s surface, neither telescopes detected its entry or approach, nor any other instruments have detected its entry to the Earth’s atmosphere.

This is a cause for concern, say scientists, who point out that we’ve vested billions of dollars into developing expensive communications satellites that seem to spy on everyone these days. Maybe we could invest a few more dollars to ensure Earth’s safety. [New Scientist]

This image was uploaded with the post Baloon Boy Story: So Much More Under That Surface of Crazy.

by Irma Arkus

Yesteday I was mesmerised by a headline, as was the rest of the world, describing a frantic father calling Fox News to help him retrieve his adventurous boy who flew off in a makeshift helium balloon.

The drama was accentuated by Fox Newscasters giving some rather violent advice in parenting, including the suggestion that the father should apply some physical violence in teaching his son a lesson.

But the drama continued, and the more it did, the more we wanted to find out just what kind of family this is, that has an attic, a helium balloon parked, and a father, Robert Heene, who is a supposed “Psyence Detective.”

Did you say “Psyence detective?

Not only did I learn about “psyence,” but I also learned about Heene’s personal belief development: he describes that his firm belief in aliens is a result of an incident at a fast food restaurant where he hit his head against the tile floor and lost consciousnes.

Precious. Watch the Heene’s below:

Balloon Boy on Wife Swap 1 of 5by sdwfdura

UPDATE: Oct 17, 2009 10:17 pm

The assistant of Heene’s, Robert Thomas, has worked on the UFO-like baloon, apparently as a form of a promotion for their TV-show pitch.

He also describes Heene as a man experiencing paranoias and getting more desperate for money. Also, Thomas’ familiarity with the family places serious doubts that Falcon, the child in question, would have hid from his father to begin with.

The Gawker exclusive also has two audio interviews with Thomas worth listening to HERE.

This image was uploaded with the post Basic Building Block For Life Found Abundant In Space.

by Irma Arkus

Glycine, a basic compound from which proteins are built of, has been found in the Wild 2 comet dust samples.

The abundance of this amino acid in comet dust may be a signal that life is common, and often seeded by comets and meteors: “The discovery of glycine in a comet supports the idea that the fundamental building blocks of life are prevalent in space, and strengthens the argument that life in the universe may be common rather than rare,” says Carl Pilcher, NASA astrobiologist working on the project. [AFP]

This image was uploaded with the post HiSciFi: Temporary Down.

I am wading through your letters and emails and thank you for sending words of concern. Many have asked why the postings and the show have been “off air” for a few weeks now?

Our host station, CJSF 90.1FM has experienced some server changes / errors… call it what you want, either way a few shows that were recorded live have literally disappeared into the ether, leaving me in tears. I wouldn’t be sentimental, but after working my little butt off to arrange the interviews, and bring you the select news in an audio form, losing a copy of those seemed horrific, demoralizing and plain discouraging.

Next few weeks are looking up though - we will have an interview by Kipleigh Brown, Chase Masterson, and none other than Peter Mayhew, better known as Chewbacca.

Coolness galore we have prepared for you aside, the news have been killing me, softly.

Between debilitating arguments in an economic recession regarding money, copyright, eroding rights and freedoms, net neutrality, Pirate Bay, torrent technology, and more devastatingly, environment and climate change…I needed to take a personal break for a few weeks…a la vacation, to clear my head so to speak.

So do forgive me for being MIA for a week or two, and I hope you come back to visit us again, and as always, and most faithfully, listen to our show.

Sincerely,
Irma Arkus

This image was uploaded with the post Health Insurance Investments In Big Tobacco Revealed.

by Irma Arkus

Privatisation of health care is a fabulous thing, if you are a health insurance company, that is.

According to the latest report in the New England Journal of Medicine (Vol 360:2483-2484, no. 23, Jun 4, 2009) by Boyd, Himmelstein and Woolhandler, the insurance companies in US and abroad have been confirmed to own stock in tobacco manufacturing amounting to almost $4.5 billion in investment. The largest being Prudential.

In other words, the lovely people who are vested in keeping you healthy, are also intentionally vested in manufacturing and distributing variety of cancer-causing substances.

Introduction of a US national health care coverage is currently a hot topic, as people are faced with a broken health care system. This report only adds fuel to fire, as health insurance companies directly profit and twofold, from patients suffering due to use of tobacco. [NEJM, subscription required]

by Irma Arkus

WHO announced today that H1N1 is indeed a global pandemic. The first global pandemic in last 40 years has already infected some 30,000 people across the globe, including South and North America, EU and Middle East.

Mexico, where the virus was thought to have originated, has experienced many deaths from influenza complications. The flu has been detected across the world and reported cases amount to whopping 30,000 infected and growing.

The fears are that due to current southern hemisphere weather, the virus will mutate into an even deadlier strain that would potentially result in greater number of deaths.

Currently in Canada, concerns are primarily over aboriginal populations: any flaws in providing adequate health care will undoubtedly result in deaths of a fragile population.

Additionally, major questions and concerns entail Africa: the reporting currently does not entail any parts of Africa, which happens to be a huge continent. Noone is certain as to how many cases of the flu can be found in different parts of African continent.

by Irma Arkus

In December of 1900, the Ladies Home Journal published its “prophecies,” speculations on what the world will be like as researched by John Elphreth Watkins Jr.

“These prophecies will seem strange, almost impossible. Yet they have come from the most learned and conservative minds in America” writes Watkins, describing in detail the “dawn of 2001.”

While many predictions bear political leanings of the era, such as the entry on South American countries, seeking entry to the Union, due to the expanding European interests; others are either funny or remarkably accurate.

“Five Hundred Million People,” declared the Journal, “there will probably be from 350,000,000 to 500,000,000 people in America…by the lapse of another century.”

Or “Ready-Cooked Meals will be Bought from establishments…they will purchase materials in tremedous wholesale quantities and sell the cooked foods at a price much lower than the cost of individual cooking.” While that prediction is relatively true, the explanation of how these will be delivered is far more amusing. “Food will be served hot or cold to private houses in pneumatic tubes or automobile wagons. The meal being over, the dishes used will be packed and returned to the cooking establishments where they will be washed.” Ahhh, the joys of mass catering.

Food will apparently not be exposed to air as “storekeepers who expose food to air breathed out by patrons or to the atmosphere of the busy streets will be arrested with those who sell stale or adulterated produce.” This prediction is of course, far ahead of its time. Even ours perhaps, as we seem to be only starting with increased policing.

Resources such as coal are predicted to run out, while hydro-electric power, harnessed from “every river or creek” is predicted, as well is the power of the ocean: “along the seacoast will be numerous reservoirs continually filled by waves and tides washing in. All of our restless waters, fresh and salt, will thus be harnessed to do the work which Niagara is doing today: making electricity for heat, light and fuel.” This electricity is also predicted to affect food supply, as “in cold weather he will place heat-conducting electric wires under the soil of his garden and thus warm his growing plants. He will also grow large gardens under glass. At night his vegetables will be bathed in powerful electric light, serving, like sunlight, to hasten their growth.”

Say goodbye to your cherry tomatoes, as the fruit of the future will be giant. While I cannot disagree with the statement “Strawberries as Large as Apples,” as they seem to be size of potatoes these days, and taste as much too, or the fact that most fruit will be seedless, the Ladies Journal does predict for some giant fruit: “One cantaloup will supply an entire family,” or “Peas as Large as Beets,” and “Roses will be as large as cabbage heads.”

The sadder ones are “There will be No Wild Animals.” Ladies Journal predicts that wild animals will only be preserved in private hands, or circus. This one, ominously, has almost come true.

And the expectation of free university education for all, is but wishful thinking.

Read all about it here. [via Reddit]

This image was uploaded with the post Leo Awards: We Like Mostly Sci-Fi.

by Irma Arkus

I am running a tad late reporting this, as Leo Awards were held a few days back, but the fact that so many awards were handed to science fiction shows is worty of note.

Unlike in other parts of the world, where science fiction gets a mere mention for a great FX, CGI or costumography, Canada seems just fine with its huge number of science fiction productions.

Indeed, this year’s Leo Awards honoured quite a few achievements on popular sci-fi shows and fan favorites.

Amongst notable winners, Brad Wright won for Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama for his work on “Stargate Continuum,” joining Paul Sharpe, Iain Pattison, Graeme Hughes for Best Sound on same production.

None other than Michael Shanks won for Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama, also for “Stargate Continuum,” while Amanda Tapping won for Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for Sanctuary “Requiem.”

Joining our Stargate champions on Leo Awards is also Tyler Labine, winning Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series for Reaper “Coming to Grips.”

I am still coming to grips that Reaper is considered a “dramatic series,” rather than comic relief.

List of other winners as following:

Best Dramatic Series
Stargate Atlantis
Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Brad Wright, Robert Cooper,
Carl Binder, Martin Gero, Alan McCullough, John Smith - Producers

Best Direction
in a Dramatic Series
Robert Cooper
Stargate Atlantis - Vegas

Best Screenwriting
in a Dramatic Series
Alan McCullough
Stargate Atlantis - The Queen

Best Cinematography
in a Dramatic Series
Michael Blundell
Stargate Atlantis - Vegas

Best Picture Editing
in a Dramatic Series
Mike Banas
Stargate Atlantis - Vegas

Best Overall Sound
in a Dramatic Series
Kelly Cole, Patrick Ramsay, Bill Mellow,
Joe Watts, Hugo De Le Cerda, Kevin Belen
Stargate Atlantis - Enemy at the Gate

Best Sound Editing
in a Dramatic Series
Steve Smith, Matthew Wilson,
Kirby Jinnah, Jay Cheetham, Jason Mauza
Stargate Atlantis - Enemy at the Gate

Best Production Design
in a Dramatic Series
James Philpott
Smallville - Quest

Best Costume Design
in a Dramatic Series
Valerie Halverson
Stargate Atlantis - The Queen

Best Make-Up
in a Dramatic Series
Todd Masters, Nicholas Podbrey,
Sarah Pickersgill, Harlow MacFarlane
Sanctuary - Warriors

Best Visual Effects
in a Dramatic Series
Mark Savela, Shannon Gurney,
Kodie MacKenzie, Viv Jim, Dan Weir
Stargate Atlantis - First Contact

Best Guest Performance by a Male
in a Dramatic Series
Ryan Robbins
Sanctuary - Edward

Best Guest Performance by a Female
in a Dramatic Series
Gabrielle Rose
Sanctuary - Edward

by Irma Arkus

The Church of Scientology has stepped on too many toes, as it has officially been banned from contributing in any fashion to Wikipedia entries. While Wikipedia previously banned individuals from promoting their own agenda by re-editing the entries on Wikipedia, this is the first time that a high-profile organisation has been banned from doing so.

Today, the Arbitration Committee has blocked all IPs associated with the Church of Scientology.

The surprise move should actually not be such a surprise, as according to The Register article: “multiple editors have been “openly editing [Scientology-related articles] from Church of Scientology equipment and apparently coordinating their activities.” Leaning on the famed WikiScanner, countless news stories have discussed the editing of Scientology articles from Scientology IPs, and some site admins are concerned this is ‘damaging Wikipedia’s reputation for neutrality.’”

The main concern over the Church of Scientology contribution is the fact that “the [Church of Scientology] Office has organized massive efforts to remove Scientology-related materials and criticism from the web.”

This is not the only public relations crisis that the Church of Scientology is dealing with at the moment. The Church of Scientology could be dissolved in France, should the seven of its French leaders be convicted of organized fraud and illegal pharmaceutical activity.

The case in France may provide some illuminating information on how exactly the Church of Scientology gained so much power and money in a matter of decades, as the court case involves three plaintiffs who describe their astronomical expenditures for books, electrometers and “purification packages.” In one case, a plaintiff describes spending all her savings, and even taking out loans, in the sum of some $30,000 to purchase all that the church required of her. Upon changing her mind and deciding to leave the church, she requested a refund, and the church leadership refused her request.

Moreover, the issue that will be addressed in French court is not only the appetite for money, but also the willingness of the leadership to provide curatifs, mainly vitamins peddled at high costs to their followers. In this case, Church of Scientology acts as a “pharmacy.” [The Register, The Associated Press]

This image was uploaded with the post FDA: Cheerios Are a Drug, According to Advertisements.

by Irma Arkus

According to FDA, Cherrios labeling statements are so exaggerated that the product in question, the doughnut-shaped cereal, is technically an unapproved drug.

Labels by General Mills describe Cheerios as following:

• “you can Lower Your Cholesterol 4% in 6 weeks” “
• “Did you know that in just 6 weeks Cheerios can reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Cheerios is … clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A clinical study showed that eating two 1 1/2 cup servings daily of Cheerios cereal reduced bad cholesterol when eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.”

That, accoring to FDA, makes Cheerios a drug, intended for use in lowering cholesterol and treating hypercholesterolemia, and that is not what the product is intended for.

There are medical statements on both front and back of the cereal box.

General Mills already has a statement posted on their site, but there is no budging from the straightforward FDA letter.

by Irma Arkus

Intel has been charged by EU and fined for anti-competitive prices. The fine is largest to date, reaching the sum of $1.06 billion, and establishes that Intel has been paying off manufacturers and retailers to use Intel chips instead of AMD.

The Intel’s anti-competitive behavior has been confirmed for the period between 2002 and 2007. [BBC]

by Irma Arkus

Overwhelming amount of articles have appeared today, purporting that billions of dollars are “lost” due to piracy of software and cultural materials.

The IT industry lost some estimated $9 billion last year.

While the articles tout “piracy” as the overwhelming cause, the majority of money pinpointed as a source of this “lost” revenue are major movements toward PC trade in developing countries such as China and India.

Ars Technica provides for some hard analysis of the figures, including pointing out the obvious inconsistencies: “The US showed the lowest level of PC software piracy at 20 percent, and was joined on the bottom end of the scale by Japan, New Zealand, and Luxembourg. Still, the BSA claims the US had the highest dollar losses at $9.1 billion due to its being the biggest software market.”

The reason? US consumers pay top dollar for the software.

The figures themselves are overwhelming because they are based solely on RETAIL prices of software and some really fuzzy accounting principles.

In one article, BSA translates the potential $9b revenue as a loss of $24b dollars in taxes. This of course, would only occur whence corporations actually do declare incomes and eliminate offshore tax havens. And even then, the sum of money still would not translate into a magical $24billion.

For one, the estimates imply that all software will be sold at retail prices.

Secondly, the jobs estimated to be lost by the piracy of software, exclude the estimated jobs created by the use of software.

Similarly, the movie industry moans about the lost revenue due to the downturn in ticket sales, but not only does the research keeps on confirming that distribution of films illegally also fuels the DVD sales, but the actual sales of DVDs are underreported as part of those revenues. [ArsTechnica]

by Irma Arkus

The SciFi network is changing its name to SyFy. The reason?

Apparently, the genial marketing excercise will broaden the appeal of a network specialising in supernatural and science fiction materials to encompass housewives who have lost their remotes, children who do not know the meaning of words “science” and/or “fiction,” and people who are ashamed of watching science fiction in general.

The arrogance of such a rebranding exercise usually results in disenfranchisement of the already existing fans.

And what is SyFy anyways? Any ideas?

by Irma Arkus

NYTimes has a panel with Joss Whedon, and it is open to its members. You get to ask questions, rate existing questions, and eventually get answers from Joss Whedon himself.

Check it out here.

by Irma Arkus

A more unusual approach by Canada’s Finance Minister is drawing attention, as Jim Flaherty issued a public invitation to all who want to express their opinion for fiscal stimulus, to be included in Budget of 2009.

So, if you know of anyone who already has millions, or billion of dollars, lets all get together and make sure that we give them more money. Alright! Lets go!!!

See link for more information.

Oh, you guys missed us. I know. But happy new year! You may have been wondering what’s going on, so I’ll give you the downlow. We’ve had “snowmageddon” for a few weeks - I am not kidding, that is what they actually called it - for a few weeks, Vancouver has been covered in the white stuff and if was the cause of much panic, and no-show.

So, what did I do? I went for a much deserved, and long awaited vacation.

Don’t ask too many questions. Just know that I’ve missed doing the show, and everyone is antsy to get rolling again. So, show time!!!

Sincerely,
Irma Arkus

This image was uploaded with the post Going Japanese: Cell Phone Use in Tub.

by Irma Arkus

Turns out, Japanese ARE attached to their gadgets. According to AHN, recent polls reveal Japanese to have such profound attachment to their cell phones, that 41.2% percent of users admitted to using their mobiles in the bathtub.

Read more here, or just click on photo to get a full size kawaii image :)

by Irma Arkus

Election results in Canada last night confirmed that public opposition to Bill C61 has produced results in certain districts. As Conservatives are expected to continue pursuing passing of Bill C61, it is important for voters to communicate with their local representatives, especially Conservative ones.

Michael Geist blog published a list of MPs who took an active stance on Bill C61:

* Carolyn Bennett, Liberal MP, St. Paul’s, ON
* Ujjal Dosanjh, Liberal MP, Vancouver South, BC
* Glen Pearson, Liberal MP, London North Centre, ON
* Joyce Murray, Liberal MP, Vancouver Quadra, BC
* Marlene Jennings, Liberal MP, NDG-Lachine, QC
* Paul Szabo. Liberal MP, Mississauga South, ON
* Gerard Kennedy, Liberal MP, Parkdale-High Park, ON
* Frank Valeriote, Liberal MP, Guelph, ON
* Shawn Murphy, Liberal MP, Charlottetown, PE
* Mike Savage, Liberal MP, Dartmouth-Cole Harbour, NS
* Bonnie Crombie, Liberal MP, Mississauga Streetsville, ON

* Charlie Angus, New Democrat MP, Timmins-James Bay, ON
* Olivia Chow, New Democrat MP, Trinity-Spadina, ON
* Libby Davies, New Democrat MP, Vancouver East, BC
* Bill Siksay, New Democrat MP, Burnaby-Douglas, BC
* Dawn Black, New Democract MP, New Westminster–Coquitlam, BC
* Irene Mathyssen, New Democrat MP, London-Fanshawe, ON
* Wayne Marston, New Democrat MP, Hamilton East - Stoney Creek, ON
* Jean Crowder, New Democrat MP, Nanaimo–Cowichan, BC
* Denise Savoie, New Democrat MP, Victoria, BC
* Judy Wasylycia-Leis, New Democrat MP, Winnipeg North, MB
* Pat Martin, New Democrat MP, Winnipeg Centre, MB
* Alex Atamanenko, New Democrat MP, BC Southern Interior, BC
* Paul Dewar, New Democrat MP, Ottawa Centre, ON
* Chris Charlton, New Democrat MP, Hamilton Mountain, ON
* John Rafferty, New Democrat MP, Thunder Bay Rainy River, ON
* Niki Ashton, New Democrat MP, Churchill, MB
* Don Davies, New Democrat MP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC
* Jack Harris, New Democrat MP, St. John’s East, NF
* Megan Leslie, New Democrat MP, Halifax, NS
* Bruce Hyer, New Democrat MP, Thunder Bay Superior North, ON
* Carol Hughes, New Democrat MP, Algoma Manitoulin Kapuskasing, ON
* Linda Duncan, New Democrat MP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB
* Malcolm Allen, New Democrat MP, Welland, ON

If you are not represented by any of above, make sure to communicate your wishes as a voter, and make sure that your MP knows that his voters stand against Bill C61.

by Irma Arkus

Election outcomes are trickling in, and for now, the Conservatives have won 146 seats of the 308 seats in the house. This marginal growth of seats pushes Conservatives 20 seats more than previously held.

Conservative Party leadership was faced not so much with competitive party platforms from New Democratic Party, Liberals and the newly included in debates, Green Party, but rather voter unease over issues of economic stability.

Conservatives’ aggressive, US-style campaign seemed to win over most voters over in beginning of the election race, as polls initially indicated an ensured majority victory. However, the global financial crisis that spread like wildfire in recent weeks, gave voters pause.

Additionally, Conservative’s staunch position in support of Bill C61 and Bill C10, drew a sharp line between right-wing and left-wing Canadian politics. As Conservatives appeared to be in opposition to funding of arts programs, and in support of draconian Copyright Act that would benefit large conglomerates, very much deterred youth voters from joining the ranks of Conservative supporters.

More updates to follow.

This image was uploaded with the post Election Canada 2008: Copyright & Bill C61.