Saturday, October 29, 2005

Commissioner Critical of ID Cards Bill

The Information Commissioner believes the measures set out in the National Identify Cards Bill go "well beyond" the requirements to set up a secure, reliable and trustworthy ID card system.

"The measures in the Bill go well beyond establishing a secure, reliable and trustworthy ID card. The measures in relation to the National Identity Register and data trail of identity checks on individuals risk an unnecessary and disproportionate intrusion into individuals’ privacy. They are not easily reconciled with fundamental data protection safeguards such as fair processing and deleting unnecessary personal information."

Read full report (PDF)

Guantanamo ordeal of cameraman

The USA continues abusing human rights in Guantanamo.

I don't understand how they can systematically torture & sexually abuse prisoners at the same time as saying they are against terror.

Cameraman Sami Muhy al-Din al-Hajj, a Sudanese national, was arrested by the US military while working for Aljazeera during the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and detained in Guantanamo for four years without trial.

He has suffered extreme physical and sexual abuse and religious persecution.

Full report by Asim Khan & Mahfoud El Gartit Wednesday 26 October 2005

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Ecological organic disposal of of human remains


Conventional graveyards use up precious space. Cremations pollute the atmosphere. I've always thought that the best thing to do would be to freaze-dry the human body & turn it into fertilizer.

Now there is a Swedish company that does just that. Using a tecnique they call Promession it is possible to mulch the organic remains in order for it to become healthy soil.

This is done using an entirely closed individual process in which the corpse is freeze-dried in liquid nitrogen. This makes the body very brittle, and vibration of specific amplitude transforms it into an organic powder that is then introduced into a vacuum chamber where the water is evaporated away. The now dry powder then passes through a metal separator where any surgical spare parts and mercury are removed. In a similar way, the powder can be disinfected if required. The remains are now ready to be laid in a biodegradable (mulch able) coffin. There is no hurry with the burial itself. The organic powder, which is hygienic and odourless, does not decompose when kept dry. The burial takes place in a shallow grave in living soil that turns the coffin and its contents into compost in about 6-12 months time. In conjunction with the burial and in accordance with the wishes of the deceased or next of kin, a bush or tree can be planted above the coffin. The compost formed can then be taken up by the plant, which can instil greater insight in and respect for the ecological cycle, of which every living thing is a part. The plant stands as a symbol of the person, and we understand where the body went.

See their site at Promessa Foundation

Illustration of process here

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

UK ID card a recipe for massive ID fraud, says Microsoft exec

According to the Register...
Microsoft UK National Technology Officer Jerry Fishenden has warned that the UK ID card scheme could trigger "massive identity fraud on a scale beyond anything we have seen before." Writing in today's Scotsman, Fishenden says that the security implications of storing biometrics centrally are enormous. "Unlike other forms of information such as credit card details," he says, "if core biometric details such as your fingerprints are compromised, it is not going to be possible to provide you with new ones."

Read complete article

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Buddhist monks in Monkmobiles and bulletproof robes



Yeap! Buddhist monks now travel like the pope...

Major Songphon Eiamboonyarith, a defense contractor who has invented bulletproof tuk-tuks (motorcycle taxis), "umbrellas that shoot rubber bullets, bullet-proof baseball caps and a hand-held device to fire a man-sized net 30 feet (10 m) to stop a villain in his tracks."

See this page...

Monkmobiles and bulletproof robes

Thursday, October 06, 2005

bike repairs

If you need some advice on fixing your pushbike try this site...

bike repairs :: http://www.bikeforums.net/

very usefull!

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

tiddly wiki

I've just been trying out this site...

http://www.tiddlywiki.com/

It is an entire wiki site on a page. A very nifty bit of Java scrpting.

You can use it for makin your own non-linear notebook on anything you want to. I've saved it on my hard disk as my home page & will take it with me on a pen memory when I'm traveling.