http://duvet-dayz.com about life, technology, gadgets, politics, the planet earth and other interesting things. Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:10:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en http://duvet-dayz.com/archives/2010/01/24/1112/ http://duvet-dayz.com/archives/2010/01/24/1112/#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:10:23 +0000 fpp http://duvet-dayz.com/?p=1112
Wouldn't it be great to switch people on and off like Androids - the wet-dream of any totalitarian state and dictatorship.
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During the last days VBS.TV has made a series of videos available created by them while traveling in Liberia (so far mainly Monrovia and surroundings) and talking to local journalists, war lords, slum inhabitants and other "normal people". A story about civil war, drugs, AIDS, child soldiers, rape, daily killing, corruption, cannibalism... - it shows how deep the rabbit hole goes in one of the poorest countries and failed states on this planet.
The series comprises 8 short videos with different stations of their "travel" through Liberia of which so far 4 are online on their site.
What they have so far not covered is how much foreign aid is sunk into this country and what actually happens with it...
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The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door. That's the only difference."
Ralph Nader - American attorney, author, lecturer, political activist
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Adeste Fideles laeti triumphantes,
Veníte, veníte in Bethlehem.
Natum vidéte, Regem Angelorum:
Veníte adoremus,
Veníte adoremus
Veníte adoremus Dóminum
While the "fidelis" this year like in the years before merely get some kind of fair ground in Bethlehem - if they are allowed to go there with specially arranged package travel or diplomatic passports - one thing is different from the days this song and its lyrics have been composed.
While the shepherds around Bethlehem still speak a language that today is called Arabic (or some local dialects) there would be no "...En grege relicto, Humiles ad cunas Vocati pastores approperant ..." (translated in the English version as: See how the shepherds, Summoned to His cradle, Leaving their flocks, draw nigh with lowly fear) -
there are guys with machine guns and tanks hindering the shepherds to even get close to the cradle - so Christmas would not happen these days again.
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A glimpse of this year's holiday decorations at the White House.
When you see the decorations put up and created by many volunteers across the country you can feel their joy, love, wishes and hope with those who have some chance to make this world a better place for many and not just a very few.
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One for the night - certainly fitting pretty well with some of our more recent posts.
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This video is out of a series of short videos starting with "How to Live a Meaningful Life" up to "Reflects on Goodness" all of them interviews by the great BigThink web site with U.C. Berkeley social psychologist Dacher Keltner.
If you interested in Professor Keltner's work and that of his colleagues at the...
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So the vast "show and photo opportunity" meeting in Copenhagen is coming to an end now and could someone please tell what has actually been achieved in this huge media event.
A 3 page document with some teasers but now clear road-map on who-does-what-and-when. The talks on atomic weapons between the U.S. and Russia that happened at the same venue might prove to be more outcome oriented then that other show.
Will the bankster be allowed to expand their casino games with derivatives / virtual money creation for them to the so-called "Cap & Trade" certificates and thereby will most certainly create a world-wide crisis that will be bigger by orders of magnitude than the current financial crisis?
Will someone start to limit the global levels of pollution instead of fostering opaque trading schemes that are only good for story telling and profiteering - read: the industrialized nations reduced their pollutions - e.g. by 30% while at the same time the polluters have just shifted those factories somewhere else where these are then for whatever reason not counted into the scheme?
Will the whole thing like in other areas e.g. pandemics be handled by some kind of fund or financial instrument that in the past have regularly proven to be the most inefficient way, without any accountability or actual transparency, blowing money on themselves and their buddies, often institutionalized corruption and rates as bad as US$ 1000 put in and a mere US$10 arriving at the actual cause?
Well let's see what the soon to happen next meeting in Berlin will bring...
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...The Known Universe takes viewers from the Himalayas through our atmosphere and the inky black of space to the afterglow of the Big Bang. Every star, planet, and quasar seen in the film is possible because of the world's most complete four-dimensional map of the universe, the Digital Universe Atlas that is maintained and updated by astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History...
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Great interactive data visualization of the changing market share for the leading web browsers since 2002.
The source code for the animation is available by right clicking on the flash animation.
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What the MIT Media Lab describes as "Computing with a wave of the hand" makes the much hyped implementation of current multi-touch screens look like technology from another century (which it actually is).
The new system allows gestural control without the need to touch the screen's surface of screen elements with 3D objects and hand movements in 3D space near the screen - think Minority Report on a small screen. Watch the video below to see it in action...
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]]> http://duvet-dayz.com/archives/2009/12/11/1102/feed/ http://duvet-dayz.com/archives/2009/12/09/1101/ http://duvet-dayz.com/archives/2009/12/09/1101/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:44:14 +0000 fpp http://duvet-dayz.com/?p=1101
Things you can do with Photoshop and paper - 2000 frames edited in Photoshop and then printed out and shot each one with a digital camera. Of course you then have to put all the single shots together again.
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The climate and development organization Germanwatch has today published its Global Climate Risk Index 2010. The Global Climate Risk Index analyzes to what extent countries have been affected by the impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heatwaves etc.).
The Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) developed by Germanwatch analyzes the quantified impacts of extreme weather events in terms of people that have died from them, as well as economic losses that occurred. It is based on data from Munich Re´s Nat-CatSERVICE® which is one of the most reliable and complete data bases on this matter. While it does not take into account aspects such as sea-level rise or glacier melting, climate change is an increasingly important factor for the occurrence and intensity of these events. The CRI can therefore provide an indication of levels of exposure and vulnerability to extreme events which countries should see as a warning signal to prepare for more severe events in the future. The fifth edition of the CRI looks particularly at the impacts of extreme weather events from 1990 up until the most recent available data – 2008...
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Habana, Habana, dreaming about Havana, music video with the song "Unicorno" by Silvio Rodriguez.
What a beautiful moment...
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Not too long ago this voice was heard - but then silenced by murderers and thugs that have changed the face of this beautiful country for many years.
RIP - Victor - you will never be forgotten - but those who caused your death should be forgotten forever - their lives made never exist - but not their wrong doing and crimes.
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Enjoy - a great animation produced this year.
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No comment - see the GreenPeace "I am sorry" campaign.
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Some more facts about "those leaked climate change emails" that have mobilized all those figures now claiming there's nothing to be frightened about - its all a "scam" - you name it - well you know - just carry on watching TV - you know like the GOOOOOD people.
Yes Bernie that's how you got those 50 billions but we're not sure that this also works with mass manipulation.
And in completely unrelated news by these maSS-manipulators - the leading industrial nations - might be again announced during the Copenhagen photo opportunity - have agreed to shell out USD 10 Billions per year to fight those "non-existing" threats to human race on this planet - providing those monies to countries who are hardest hit by climate change - small island states - developing countries with long and low coast lines - i.e. BangLadesh - but don't worry - nothing to fear here - move on - and if that won't help - well there is still "duck and cover" that worked so well in the 1950s with the atomic bribery...
-- So grandma is fine - and she lived for almost 80 years now - there ain't no warming - she always says she's feeling cold...
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One and a half hours of great Techno - available also for take away - as MP3 download from SoundCloud.com.
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This is captain Kirk, Spock and all the others meeting Pulp's "Common People" - red shirts included...
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Amnesty International has started a new campaign against worldwide poverty called "1 Million Clicks Against Poverty".
They are supported by eboy who's large scale pixel graphics are well known around the Internet and fans...
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And the second one - also from Lenny Kravitz.
Look what's the matter - am I lost - this life's a disaster - what is the cause...
...when you're real with yourself you will ever be...
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Now two more songs from our Bahamian Lenny Kravitz
We think these fit well with today's "World AIDS day".
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Is it already another year down the drain - World AIDS DAY again - did we miss something? Certainly not with regards to that topic.
Business as usual - story telling, promises, shoulder rubbing and clapping wherever you look. But less and less are looking. They have problems - much more problems themselves today than a year ago - and they don't want to listen to promises of if-you-give-us-another-xxx-billions-we-will-do-something-you-could-have-for-a-few-millions-with-no-problem-anywhere-else stories anymore.
Maybe this time around even some politicians and top bureaucrats that all the years before have happily looked "...the other way..." are starting to understand that some "real" results might even forward them.
Maybe there is some common sense reappearing. That funding mass murderers, torturers, mass rapists, organized crime and - you name it - actually might not change the situation of those that suffer from this fatal disease. Maybe someone who has the power will finally stand up and say: It's enough - we will not fund the perks of parasites and clowns anymore - we will actually do something for the people...
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One of Lenny Kravitz' greatest songs. He recently put a whole series of his videos up at YouTube.
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Things you can do with these black disks besides playing music.
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Planet Stupid's new Polar Bear ad causing quite a stir since a few days.
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If your interested in HPC or want to learn about the great response and interest NVIDIA got for their new GPU / Cuda solutions at the SC09 show last week listen to Andy Keane, General Manager of NVIDIA's' Tesla GPU business unit.
Carry on with the good work - we're all hoping to get a hand on a Fermi board soon.
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Some songs from Moby's latest album "Wait for me" - available online at SoundCloud.
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A must see video clip for Massive Attack's new record "United Snakes".
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