Hi-Sci-Fi

When Hubble detected the SCP 06F6 in February of 2006, the astrophysicists were stunned and reaching for explanations but had none.

The event, 200 days long, has shown an object that gradually brightened, and then continuously faded, and the only explanation for the behavior was that we’ve witnessed, for the very first time, a star consumed by a black hole.

However, the event is further complicated by the length of the star going supernova. Whereas regular stars take about 20 days to reach maximum brightness, the SCP 06F6 took more than a hundred days for the same process.

Upon closer examination, the spectrum analysis revealed a possibility of high levels of carbon. While carbon seems the most likely suspect, the analysts suspect that the matter burned up may be more complex as carbon is “not a perfet fit,” according to Kyle Barbary of the University of California, Berkeley, lead author of the 2008 paper on the object’s discovery. “No possibility suggested so far is conclusive,” he says.

Check out Babary’s paper available for download here. [SkyandTelescope.com]

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]

Some of Bach’s compositions were written for Lituus, a horn instrument, similar to a trumpet. But the instrument itself has disappeared, with no surviving examples to be found. Until now, that is.

Lituus is two-and-a-half metres long, with a curved, bell-shaped end. And the recreation was done using a computer program by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) that re-designed it based on description of appearance and sound found in literature. [ TelegraphUK]

by Irma Arkus

Three patients suffering from acute corneal disease had their sight restored using an experimental stem cell technique.

The findings, published in journal Transplantation, reveal a simple technique using stem cells that would attach themselves to damaged areas of removed corneal lens tissue. The technique is touted to be so simple that it require no sophisticated equipment and could be used to restore sight in third world countries.

The process lasts only 10-14 days and results speak of moderate improvements in sight. [TheAustralianNews]

by Irma Arkus

I had to pinch myself, and you will probably not believe it either, but Short Circuit, the story of Johnny 5, a self-aware robot who gains consciounsness and an endearing personality due to an accidental electrocution, is going to be remade.

Yup. JOHNNY 5 will be remade. Remade. Remade. Remade.

While the remake was something that the studios have been toying with since 2008, Dan Milano, known for his regular contribution to Robot Chicken, is tapped for writing the screenplay, according to Hollywood Reporter.

So, there you have it.

by Irma Arkus

If you’ve missed the premiere of Caprica, do not sweat. The pilot left me lukewarm, and it is a self-contained introduction, so you haven’t missed much. Then again, the fact that BSG is no more, makes me want to watch *anything* Ronald D. Moore had his hand in.

Caprica depicts the planet as it is birthing an artificial intelligence that will evolve into Cylons, ultimately resulting in a demise of an entire civilisation.

While competent in casting and direction, the cinematography is nothing that will leave you impressed, leaving an image of a clunky TV-special, hungering for some additional funding.

Introduces Eric Stoltz (The Fly II, Killing Zoe, The Butterfly Effect) as Daniel Graystone, a powerful IT mogul, who discovers that it is his daughter who is a true genious.

Upon her untimely death, Daniel discovers that his daughter programmed a sophisticated avatar, which encapsulated her personality and ultimately gains consciousness.

Daniel, experimenting with security robots, in an effort to get major military contracts, gives his daughter’s mind a new body, allowing the AI to gain a new interface with the world that surrounds it.

Meanwhile, the same event that killed his daughter leaves Joseph Adama, played by Esai Morales, without members of his family, as he is left a single father.

That is pretty much it. Not much there, huh?

The latest news are that Caprica has been picked up. Pilot for Caprica may not be impressive, but the show will go on, meaning that the idea of a prequel will at least have a chance to tell the story.

Since we are hurtling towards destruction of our planet, seemingly doing nothing but either suffering pangs of hunger (if you live in South Asia) or writing our blogs (yours truly), we have nothing better to do than ruin everything that made our childhoods pleasant, hence, the remakes of your favorite action/sci-fi films.

Total Recall is being remade, and according to the Hollywood Reporter, none other than Kurt Wimmer is given the task to write the script for the reimagining of the instant classic that made Arnold Schwarzenegger’s guttural noises immortal.

Total Recall is based on Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” novelette, first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1966). The protagonist is Douglas Quail, a simple construction worker who wishes for a vacation to Mars, but unable to afford the real thing, ventures to Rekal, a corporation specializing in implanting false memories. During the procedure, Rekal staff discovers that Quail is a real spy, who had his memories altered.

Now, Kurt Wimmer is to do justice to Philip K. Dick’s novelette, which should be relatively interesting, as the 1990 version of the film had a staff of some four writers who worked out details such as the three-boobed lady.

Wimmer is known for his work on The Thomas Crown Affair, Equilibrium, Ultraviolet and Street Kings, which exemplify him as a screenwriter who is versatile and can attack variety of genres.

All in all, I would not be entirely certain why Paul Verhoeven’s film of the 90’s is already prime remake property, if not for the fact that I am keenly aware of the “nostalgia” factor. Studios love this stuff. Because they can sell it to us over and over again and we are hitting our mid 20ties, even 30ties.

Maybe this time however, we’ll actually get something to rival the science fiction classics such as Blade Runner, rather than having another bad revision of Philip K. Dick storytelling, as was the case of Next, featuring Nicholas Cage.

Now as for the boobies….

When we announced that film version of popular comic, Thor, is about to enter production, I was deliriously happy. Thor was one of my favorites, simply because he was a deity who hung around superheroes. And he was handsome, blond, tall and Scandinavian, all of which I find to be relative qualities of hotness.

Kenneth Branagh, the man who did so much Shakespeare that he was easily confused with Henry this and that for decades, will be directing.

Now, the casting has begun, and I am slightly taken aback by the choice of actor who will portray Thor himself: Chris Hemsworth has been confirmed as the lead for the film.

You may remember him as the jowly, all American, beefy dad of Captain Kirk in the new Abrams version of Star Trek. As in, not wildly Scandianvian, but merely blond and muscular, as if imported straight from a McDonalds or Manwich commercial.

I am thoroughly disappointed. And the filming hasn’t begun yet.

When I say Scandinavian, I mean Dolph Lundgren, or members of the Europe doing the Final Countdown. I do not, I repeat, not expect someone like Chris Hemsworth to come along for the ride.

My hopes that the film will dip into other than all-American social pools for casting have diminished greatly.

Release date for Thor has been set for May 20, 2011.

by Irma Arkus

In US, federal judges ascertained that cases illegal domestic surveillance of American citizens are to be dismissed, based on the fact that Telecoms have immunity from prosecution under the controversial FISA Amendments Act (FISAAA).

Dozens of cases tying government’s illegal wiretapping and communication surveillance have been brought to the courts by the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

As previously discussd, EFF in particular addressed a case of NSA wiretapping activities in San Francisco. These, EFF argued, are unconstitutional.

Now that the cases of wiretapping and surveillance of US citizens are to be dismissed, EFF and American Civil Liberties Union will appeal on the basis that FISAAA is unconstitutional.

According to EFF’s latest press release, “The retroactive immunity law unconstitutionally takes away Americans’ claims arising out of the First and Fourth Amendments, violates the federal government’s separation of powers as established in the Constitution, and robs innocent telecom customers of their rights without due process of law.”

Signed by President Bush in 2008, the FISAAA allowed for the dismissal of the lawsuits over the telecoms’ participation in the warrantless surveillance program if the government secretly certifies to the court that the surveillance did
not occur, was legal, or was authorized by the president.

Then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey filed that classified certification with the court in September and demanded that the cases be dismissed.

“The immunity legislation that the court upheld today gives the telephone companies a free pass for flouting the law and violating the privacy rights of millions of their customers,” said Ann Brick, ACLU of Northern California
staff attorney.

by Irma Arkus

Since David Tennant revealed that he is to depart from the franchise, I’ve been feeling pangs of loss. He is, after all, one of the best Doctors to arise, standing right up there with Tom Baker as one of my top two favorites.

When Matt Smith was announced as the new face of the Doctor, I admittedly, freaked out a little. Too young? That’s kind of what I thought when Tennant came along too. Too inexperienced? Definitely. The only time we got to previously “see” him in, was in Billie Piper’s X-mas specials, “The Ruby in the Smoke” and “The Shadow in the North.” In a roundabout way, I presume that that was how Mr. Smith indeed ended up connected to the Doctor Who franchise itself.

But rumours are that in his audition, he puffed and huffed and blew all other competition away. Casting has been assuaging us that he is an amazing fit for the Doctor, and that naysayers will be proven wrong.

The new companion for the new Doctor has been announced too, however.

Tall glass of gorgeousness, Karen Gillan, is the new companion. While everyone touts Gilan’s small role in the “Fires Of Pompeii” from last season, I recall her from a failed pilot that showed off the undeniable fact that Gillan is a supermodel calibre of beauty, with the kind of face that you cannot peel your eyes off of, sporting a pair of bright, large eyes, and a whole lot of red hair.

by Irma Arkus

Oh Torchwood, how much I’ve missed you!

Torchwood is coming back with a 5-part special Children of Earth. The trailer is finally out and available for viewing (click here.)

Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner are executive producers, and they are also joined by Peter Bennet in that department.

Director of the “Children of Earth” special is none other than Euros Lyn who directed a slew of familiar stuff, including nine episodes of Doctor Who, including: The Girl in the Fireplace, Tooth and Claw, The Runaway Bride, and Silence in the Library.

Judging from his previous work, Lyn has a taste for fast-paced story-telling grandeur, assuring us that this will be the highlight of the summer.

Russell T. Davies is quite heavily involved with this special, as he himself has written the opening and the closing chapters of the special, the first and the last episode.

Davies is joined by James Moran, known for his writing of Doctor Who, Crusoe and Primeval. Moran has written the famed Doctor Who “The Fires of Pompeii” screenplay.

Additionally, John Fay is involved with the writing, and he has sharpened his tools with a bit of Coronation Street and Robin Hood.

The story brings back Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) to fight a danger that “throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiralling into danger” says the BBC.

What we can glance from the trailer, the children stop. All children stop. All the children in the world suddenly stop, and turn into something manipulated by a dark alien force, announcing its arrival. And noone else is there to stop them, except for Torchwood. And the British army.

C. June Wolf has a free book giveaway on her site. Free book! You can win a copy of Finding Creatures and Other Stories, prefaced by Charles de Lint and signed by C. June Wolf herself, by merely posting a comment. A comment! That takes like…a second or something.

yeey.

by Irma Arkus

It is THE time. Summer approaches, meaning that many shows are either looking at cancellations, or crossing their fingers and hoping to get picked up. Which brings me to my sore point: “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” is canceled.

Despite the “Terminator 4” dangling Christian Bale, MCG’s efforts have proven to be less than successful, allowing Fox executives for a speedy removal of a show that has been actually quite good, but not good enough in ratings.

Why people did not watch Sarah Connor Chronicles is a mystery.

The show not only goes back to basic science fiction premise established by James Cameron, depicting machines from the future in an attempt to manipulate the past in order to kill the leader of the human resistance from their time line, but also features solid cast, an interesting story arch, and fantastic action sequences.

Lena Headey and Summer Glau most definitely bring something to the screen. Even though Headey was impossible to imagine as the tough, gun-wielding matron, she did an amazing job at doing the gloomy Sarah Connor, brooding over her son’s future apocalyptic struggle.

But that is not the only thing that made this show into pure source of entertaining awesomeness. We’ve been missing strong female characters, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles brought it on by the handful. Both Glau and Headey performed exquisitely as two ladies that surpass anyone in the action department.

And let’s not forget marvelous Shirley Manson who managed to deliver outstanding role of the cold steel mama, Catherine Weaver: a sophisticated liquid terminator pretending to be a shadowy industrialist, who is pursuing her own agenda, separate from other machines, refusing some day in the future, to join Connor in his task.

Furthermore, the writing deserves a mention. Introduction of Glau’s character, Cameron, who happens to be a sophisticated, new generation of Terminators, starts to pose questions of what the machines are attempting in the present and the future. The question of what they might be evolving in to and why, presents juicy enough material to keep you seated and thinking about possibilities.

While “possibilities” seemed endless, the show itself is unfortunately looking at the deep dark end.

I guess we’ll never find out how John Connor grows into the post-apocalyptic warrior and mastermind. I am just glad I got to see some of it. If you’ve been missing this one, I highly recommend you get a copy and watch it.

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

This week we have Jody Thompson as our guest, an actress who has a mile-long list of shows to her credit, many of which happen to be our favorites.

She tells us of her experiences on Flash Gordon, as well as her role in the fabulous remake of Alien Trespass, a film that is to appeal to all lovers of classic B-Movies, and pin-up goodness of days gone by.

We also give you the goods on Bisphenol-A, and we simply cannot stop talking about Star Trek.

by Irma Arkus

We’ve been waiting this for years. If you’ve been a long time listener, than you are well aware that amongst the shows we’ve been mulling over as worthy of a restart, “V” has always been on our minds. And our wishes are coming true.

The trailer for the pilot of “V” remake by ABC network is already out, and worthy of your attention (view it here).

Scott Peters, known for his work on 4400, is writing for the show. And the pilot, as well as the series promise a revolving door of familiar faces. Morena Baccarin, familiar to all as Inara Serra of Firefly, or feared Adria of Stargate, is going to be the face of Anna, the alien emissary.

Another Firefly face is Alan Tudyk, who will play Dale Maddox, and Scott Wolf of the “Party of Five” fame, will be Chad Decker, one of the humans caught in the events prompted by alien Visitation.

While the first show, made in 1983-84, features some budget-conscious television making, the premise itself was worthy of note. The Visitors, alien, technologically sophisticated, quickly engage in trade and diplomacy with leaders of humanity. Unfortunately, the Visitors are revealed to have ulterior motives, and though resembling humans, are actually bi-pedal lizards disguised as humans.

The lizard bit is not the most interesting part, as genetic compatibilities between humans and Visitors are established later on. Their appearance aside, it is the reaction of the human “leadership” that is most important, as speedy establishment of militarised society, aiming to preserve their relatively important technological trade with new partners, turn our society into a highly controlled one. Those deemed anti-Visitors are quickly dispatched into concentration camps without any broad questions by the media or public.

The first show was to question how society grows to ignore great tragedies and injustices, such as the Holocaust, examining whether our society would be willing to ignore human rgiths abuses for the sake of profit and benefits brought by the Visitors. By the time the fascist undertones of their brave new world become apparent to public, it is alas too late, leaving only a handful of human resistance members to fight off a major threat to the human race.

These messages were important in 1980s. They may be more important now than ever before.

by Irma Arkus

The latest news on Japanese manga are all about getting arrested.

A US manga collector, Christopher Handley, has been found guilty of possessing drawings depicting child pornography, after US Custom Service authorities examined the materials sent to Hendley’s home from Japan, and determined that it depicts sexual acts with minors.

For anyone familiar with manga and hentai…sexual acts constitute a great deal of content. And despite the fact that the experts brought into the case agreed, Henley has been convicted of owning child pornography, and is looking at sentence that may land him up to 15 years in prison.

The unprecedented action against Henley who according to his lawyer has collected *everything manga* rather than just comics with sexual content is causing waves of panic amongst collectors and fans of Japanese manga in US. And justifiably so.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is outraged, as this conviction means that many of comic book collectors and afficionados are in danger of being arrested and incarcerated. [CLBDF]

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 week on HiSciFi, we bring you reviews of Star Trek and Macros Frontier, and a special interview with Dan Payne, the actor who has pretty much been “that Wraith guy” in Stargate Atlantis.

Moreover, Payne is currently starring as Dollar Bill, a member of Minutemen in Snyder’s version of the “Watchmen,” and gives us the goods on his new role in Dolph Lundgren’s upcoming “Icarus” Payne is also spilling the beans on his experiences with Stargate SG-1, and Battlestar Galactica, and even gives us hints on the new and upcoming show “Defying Gravity.”

by Irma Arkus

The reveal of judge Tomas Norström presiding over the Pirate Bay Four case as a biased judge sent shockwaves through Sweden. Norstrom was found to be involved with a number of active copyright-reenforcement lobbying groups. The case, Pirate Bay Four lawyer stated, was biased.

Now, the plot thickens, as the judge Reviewing the case circumstances, Ulrika Ihrfelt, has been removed herself from involvement…for being biased.

Ihrfelt was to determine whether Norström’s judgment can be dismissed in favor of a re-trial. Now, however, due to the discovery that Ihrfelt herself is a member of those same lobbying groups, she will no longer be in charge of the investigation.

The plot thickens though - even if Ihrfelt was removed from the case, Swedish courts apparently have a difficult time finding members who are not tied to the lobbying groups. Currently, three new judges have been appointed to review the case appeal.

Even though the court stated that the three are uninvolved with pro-copyright lobbyists, simple Google searches confirmed otherwise. Anders Eka, for example, has been found to be tied to The Stockholm Center for Commercial Law organisation, whose members are also Monique Wasted and Peter Danowsky, prosecution lawyers in the Pirate Bay Four case who generally work on behest of movie and music industries.

Currently, it is the question of Norström’s bias that must be determined. And the results of the review will be seen in a matter of weeks. [TorrentFreak]

by Irma Arkus

The biggest newsbuster to come out in the world of anthropology / paleonthology is the discovery of Ida, an fossilized lemur from Eistocene period. The finely preserved lemur is 47 million years old, and is said to posses opposable thumbs and a particular bone in its foot, that ties development of simians in a single, unified swoop.

News have been all over this. The most interesting part of Ida’s story is the background of the find itself though.

Ida was apparently found over 20 years ago, and has been admired as a Picasso or a fine Gaugan in private hands of a collector. If it wasn’t for Prof Jørn Hurum, who painstakingly collected 1 millon pounds from various European parties, the fossil would have remiained in private collectors hands.

The second part of the story is the Messier quary, near Frankfurt, Germany. The site, now recognized as a World Heritage Site for its abundance in paleonthological finds, was initially recognized as a great site for refuse dumping.

And finally, the solemn conclusion of swarming interest regarding this particular find comes from the mouth of ever-genial and ever-controversial P.Z. Myers (well worth reading his blog, Pharyngula) who says:

“She’s beautiful and interesting and important, but I do have to take exception to the surprisingly frantic news coverage I’m seeing. She’s being called the “missing link in human evolution”, which is annoying. The whole “missing link” category is a bit of journalistic trumpery: almost every fossil could be called a link, and it feeds the simplistic notion that there could be a single definitive bridge between ancient and modern species. There isn’t: there is the slow shift of whole populations which can branch and diverge. It’s also inappropriate to tag this discovery to human evolution. She’s 47 million years old; she’s also a missing link in chimp evolution, or rhesus monkey evolution. She’s got wider significance than just her relationship to our narrow line.”

Well said Mr. Myers. Well said indeed.

by Irma Arkus

Last time we spoke to Erik Dubbleboer (find copy of interview few articles below this one), president of Mininova.org, he assured us that Mininova will not be affected by current lobbying efforts to curb piracy. Now the tides have changed, and Mininova is announcing Torrent removals.

In our interview with Dubbleboer, we asked whether Pirate Bay Four trial or generally, lobbying, is affecting distribution of content on Mininova. Dubbleboer assured us that they are not going to be affected by external pressures, that trial will not have consequences on Mininova.org operations, and that policy in place by which rights holders can inform Mininova of copyright infringement upon which administrators remove the mentioned torrent, exists and works quite well.

Now, however, Mininova.org is succumbing to pressure of lobbyist, as it announced a “Torrent Removal Trial.” The brief information promises that they are utilizing content recognition trial, similar to that of YouTube, in order to remove all copyright content.

The flood of responses by disappointed fans and users has been overwhelming, as people expressed their anger over the move.

We are yet to find out how successful the technology in question is, and whether any legally posted content will be affected by this technology.

by Irma Arkus

A new Swedish government proposal leaked and reported by Dagens Nyheter daily newspaper reveals efforts of the Anti-Piracy lobbyists to legally curb piracy in Sweden. The proposal is similar to that of recent French efforts, by which ISPs store user data, identify and report those sharing copyright materials over Internet.

ISPs in Sweden currently do not store user data, but if proposed legislation were to be adopted, they would store six months worth of user data, that would be acessed by authorities.

This would place ISPs in a peculiar role of watchmen, or a security detail. Furthermore, this type of surveillance clashes with existing rules and rights of EU citizens.

The Pirate Party response to the proposal is vehement according to TheLocal.Se:

“Storing the data means that the state has a register of all contacts ordinary people have via the internet and the telephone, even though they aren’t suspected of any crime. It violates the constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights,” said Christian Engström, “The internet isn’t a playground where politicians get to do what they want. The constitution applies, even on the internet. We have the right to keep our private lives private.”

The legislation is currently under review. Parliamentary response is expected in a matter of weeks.[TheLocal.se]

by Irma Arkus

According to Wired, new research into how hearty is soybean plant has astounded scientists, who revealed that the plant will flourish in impossible conditions, even radioactive soil.

The hostile ground surrounding Chernobyl has supported soybean plants which adapted to the polluted and radioactive grounds.

The world’s largest nuclear accident is still home to plants that manage to defend themselves against radiation. Biologists explain that the cause of their survival are proteins activated when plants try to protect themselves against genetic damage.

Martin Hajduch, a plant biotechnology expert at the Slovak Academy of Sciences has analysed the plants proteins, determining that the plants have adaptation mechanisms which protect them against heavy metals, salt, and radiation. As a result of these protective mechanisms, the levels of Cesium-137 in the soybean plants and their seeds were found to be remarkably low.

While Hajduch does not encourage eating the plants, the discovery may lead to new techniques of scrubbing radioactive areas, and even terraforming of other hostile environments on Earth and other planets. [Wired]

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

France has approved its three strikes policy as a part of its new anti-piracy legislation.

The new regulation, supported by Nicolas Sarcozy is a draconian version of an anti-piracy law currently under review by EU.

Initially, the vote was rejected, but now, the government has voted yes to what may come to shape the landscape of Internet browsing for generations to come in France.

According to the new regulation, anyone caught illegally sharing any copyrighted material will be suspended from using the Internet.

currently, EU has a measure that prohibits termination of a user’s access without a court order.

While France is an EU member state, the new regulation is considered one of the most draconian and aggressive anti-piracy regulations to date.

According to EU, Internet Access is a fundamental right, same as right to freedom of expression and freedom of access to information, making French regulations clash with that of the European Parliament.

Most consumer advocates and free speech activists are appalled at the passing of such legislation in France, arguing that it denies the alleged pirates the right to challenge the charges in court. The fear for most however is that the French government will have free hand at accessing personal information of users, without a court order, invading peoples privacy in the name of protecting business interests.

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]

This is what happens when you have two monkeys and a microphone.

Seriously though. We decided that we CAN tape some more conversations, so it pretty much descended into Tarek and myself goofing off for 20 minutes. Be warned!

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

Today’s big news is all about Thief 4. The game has been confirmed to be in development by Eidos. Additionally, Deux Ex, the third installment in the franchise is in production. Deus Ex 3 is actually going to feature a prequel, rather than a sequel to Deux Ex 2, which is a bit of a relief - the second installment was after all, a major disapppointment for the fans of the games.