Breaking News Thread Version 2.0

[Colorado700R]

He joined NSA purposely to leak info. Prism was just oppertune. He's a self righteous coward, hiding behind an information freedom flag.

[Peelz]

He joined NSA purposely to leak info. Prism was just oppertune. He's a self righteous coward, hiding behind an information freedom flag.

well said.

[Krandall]

He joined NSA purposely to leak info. Prism was just oppertune. He's a self righteous coward, hiding behind an information freedom flag.

It's crazy. I've gone back and forth so many times. Being a person in Information Security. Part of me was like.. this is crazy.. it didn't surprise me.. But to hear it publicized.. It was kind of scary.. But then.. my daily job.. I have lots of information about my company.. That there's no way I'd ever talk about.. Only because, as part of my job, I have a code of ethics that I must follow and adhere to.

[Peelz]

He joined NSA purposely to leak info. Prism was just oppertune. He's a self righteous coward, hiding behind an information freedom flag.

It's crazy. I've gone back and forth so many times. Being a person in Information Security. Part of me was like.. this is crazy.. it didn't surprise me.. But to hear it publicized.. It was kind of scary.. But then.. my daily job.. I have lots of information about my company.. That there's no way I'd ever talk about.. Only because, as part of my job, I have a code of ethics that I must follow and adhere to.

uhhh yeah. nicely said Rando.

Though not nearly as much access as you would have, the access to credit info is crazy. that's why I have to have a locked room with security clearance....

shit, theres a safe in here with a bucket load of one dollar bills. I always crack jokes about snaggin a bag and hittin da tittie bars! 

Cracking jokes is one thing, but its your job, you don't f**k around. 

[Krandall]

INSANE

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351204/description/Paralyzed_rats_relearn_to_pee

Paralyzed rats relearn to pee

Paralyzed rats can now decide for themselves when it's time to take a leak. Animals in a new study regained bladder control thanks to a new treatment that coaxes severed nerves to grow.

Instead of dribbling out urine, the rodents squeezed out shots of pee almost as well as healthy rats do, researchers report June 25 in the Journal of Neuroscience. The study is the first to regenerate nerves that restore bladder function in animals with severely injured spinal cords.

"This is a very big deal," says neurologist John McDonald of the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Md. If the treatment works in people with spinal cord injuries, he says, "it would change their lives."

Unlike paralyzed rats, severely paralyzed humans can't leak urine to relieve a full bladder. Unless injured people are fitted with a catheter, urine backs up into the kidneys. "These people get kidney failure all the time," says study leader Jerry Silver, a neuroscientist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. "It's a terrible problem. If they didn't have the catheter, they would die."

Some of the worst spinal cord injuries sever the bundle of nerve cells that reach from a mammal's brain down through the vertebrae. The neurons can't just grow back. Instead, the cells' stumps get stuck in a gummy thicket of scar tissue that forms around the wound.

Silver's team has spent years refining a technique to tear down scar tissue and encourage damaged nerve cells to grow. The researchers snip out a healthy nerve bundle from between rats' ribs, graft it onto a damaged section of spinal cord and then add an enzyme that chews up scar tissue. In 2006, his team used the technique to return some limb control to rats with one paralyzed forepaw. And in 2011, they helped paralyzed rats regain the ability to breathe.

In both cases, the rats retained bladder control after their injury because researchers had snipped only halfway through the bundle of spinal cord nerves. For the new study, the researchers chopped out a hunk of the rats' spinal cords, severing the entire nerve bundle and leaving a gap about the width of a pencil. They then pumped up the treatment protocol from the earlier studies by adding a growth factor to the injury site.

Over several months, the damaged nerves slowly regenerated. They inched down through the grafted nerves, and then, says Silver, "they kept going and going like little Energizer bunnies." After six months, the rats could mostly control their bladders and could even wiggle their legs a bit.

The new method may have potential beyond restoring bladder control. It could also restore sensation to the skin, which could help paralyzed people detect and avoid bedsores, says neuroscientist Lars Olson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. "This is one of the most important steps that I have seen in recent years," he says.

[Peelz]

the rodents squeezed out shots of pee

only on raptorsource will I ever be able to hear such an eloquent sentence. 

And for this, Krandall, I thank you. 

[Krandall]

You are most welcome

[Krandall]

Sad stuff. 

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/22729016/ariz-fire-crew-that-lost-19-worked-front-lines

Ariz. fire crew that lost 19 worked front lines

YARNELL, Ariz. (AP) - The 19 firefighters killed Sunday in Arizona were part of an elite crew known for working on the front lines of region's worst fires, including two this season that came before the team descended on the erratic fire that claimed their lives.

All but one member of the Prescott-based Hotshot crew died in what was the deadliest wildfire for firefighters in the U.S. in decades.

Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo said the 19, whose names had not been released, were a part of the city's fire department.

Before the fire near Yarnell, the group - one of 13 Arizona Hotshot crews - had been profiled in local media last year as they prepared for the fire season and this year as they took on a blaze near Prescott earlier this month.

"The Hot Shots may be fighting the fire with fire," Prescott firefighter and spokesman Wade Ward told the Prescott Daily Courier in an interview last week (http://bit.ly/10tLAsZ). "They may be removing the fuels from the fire, or building a containment line that might be a trigger point for farther down the line."

He told the newspaper members of Hotshot crews are highly trained and work long hours in extreme conditions as they carry out the most demanding of tasks. When the deadly blaze near Yarnell erupted Friday, it came amid a severe heat wave that gripped much of the West. It grew out of control as it was fanned by gusty, hot winds Sunday.

"By the time they got there, it was moving very quickly," Fraijo told The Associated Press of Sunday's fire.

Hotshot crews - there are more than 100 in the U.S. - often hike for miles into the wilderness with chain saws and backpacks filled with heavy gear to build lines of protection between people and fires. They remove brush, trees and anything that might burn in the direction of homes and cities.

The Prescott-based crew last year had four rookies on its 22-member squad, according to a Cronkite News Service report that profiled the group (http://bit.ly/Id3Ca8).

State forestry spokesman Art Morrison told the AP that the firefighters were forced to deploy their emergency fire shelters - tent-like structures meant to shield firefighters from flames and heat - when they were caught in the fire.

The Cronkite News Service had featured the group in its story practicing such deployment in a worst-case scenario drill.

"One of the last fail safe methods that a firefighter can do under those conditions is literally to dig as much as they can down and cover themselves with a protective - kinda looks like a foil type - fire-resistant material - with the desire, the hope at least, is that the fire will burn over the top of them and they can survive it," Fraijo said Sunday.

"Under certain conditions there's usually only sometimes a 50 percent chance that they survive," he said. "It's an extreme measure that's taken under the absolute worst conditions."

unf.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/firefighter-widow-describes-text-messages-husband-died-190531276.html

[Peelz]

 

saw a news soundbite  with the Dad of one of the firefighters...

really cool.

Dad is like "of course were incredibly sad, and will be for some time. But my son knew the risks, and wouldnt want to go out any other way, and I am proud as hell of him, and his kids will grow up with that pride, no more questions, please"

yeah!

[Krandall]

Hero Fukushima ex-manager who foiled nuclear disaster dies of cancer


The former Fukushima supervisor of damage control works at the tsunami-devastated nuclear power plant has died of cancer. His decision not to follow a corporate order prevented Chernobyl-like explosions of overheated Fukushima reactors.


The ex-head of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Masao Yoshida, 58, died at a Tokyo hospital of esophageal cancer on July 9, 2013. Doctors have maintained repeatedly that Yoshida's illness has had nothing to do with exposure to high doses of radiation.

Yoshida is believed to have prevented the world's worst atomic accident in 25 years after the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986.

After March 11, 2011, when an earthquake and tsunami struck the Fukushima nuclear plant, General Manager in the Nuclear Asset Management Department of the Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TEPCO) Masao Yoshida remained in charge of the rectification of the consequences of the disaster for more than six months, barely leaving the station.

It was Yoshida's own decision to disobey HQ orders to stop using seawater to cool the reactors. Instead he continued to do so and saved the active zones from overheating and exploding. Had he obeyed the order, the whole of north eastern Japan would possibly have been uninhabitable for decades, if not centuries.

After the catastrophe, the Japanese government ordered the forced evacuation of about 80,000 residents from a 20km no-entry zone around Fukushima plant which became unlivable.

On November 28, 2011, Yoshida was admitted to hospital, where cancer was diagnosed.

Five months after the tsunami, Yoshida testified to a government disaster investigation team.

In December 2011, he stepped down as head of Fukushima nuclear power plant.

He underwent several operations including an emergency brain surgery when intracranial bleeding was detected in late July 2012. He also suffered a non-fatal stroke.

Though it was announced later that Yoshida could not be questioned by prosecutors due to his failing health, the testimony he gave to the investigation team was thoroughly inspected as filing a criminal case against him was considered.

In August 2012, Yoshida went against traditions of Japanese corporate culture and recorded a video diary for human resources development consultant Hideaki Yabuhara.

"I felt we have to find ways to get our message across ourselves. We have to find ways to properly tell our experiences," he explained his position, because "the human element has been lost" from the many investigative reports written about the accident at Fukushima.

In the video Yoshida shared his feelings and fears towards the disaster.

He recalled the most tragic moments of the catastrophe, when he and his workers thought they would all die due to explosions of hydrogen that were collecting inside damaged reactor blocks.

"When that first [hydrogen] explosion occurred, I really felt we might die," Yoshida shared, adding that he believed that all those present at the site at the moment had been killed in the explosion. But when he found them alive, though hurt, "I felt awful for those injured, but I felt like Buddha was watching over us," he said.

"The level of radioactivity on the ground was terrible," recalled Yoshida, but the workers of the plant "leaped at the chance to go" trying to fix the situation with the reactors. "My colleagues went out there again and again."

The huge risk of new explosions and radiation contamination at the plant, none of the 250 workers fighting the disaster at the factory actually deserted the operations, while the tsunami in the outside world killed their relatives and destroyed their homes.

"It was clear from the beginning that we couldn't run," Masao Yoshida said. "Nobody on the ground said anything about pulling out of the site."

TEPCO admitted that it was Yoshida who brought the nuclear plant's workers together and kept their spirits up while battling the catastrophe.

"He literally put his life at risk in dealing with the accident,'' TEPCO President Naomi Hirose said in a statement. "We keep his wishes to our heart and do utmost for the reconstruction of Fukushima, which he tried to save at all cost."

[Peelz]

  good read.

[Krandall]

Navy to attempt 1st unmanned carrier landing

http://news.yahoo.com/navy-attempt-1st-unmanned-carrier-landing-093729424.html

this is SWEEEEEET

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Navy will attempt to land a drone the size of a fighter jet aboard an aircraft carrier for the first time Wednesday, showcasing the military's capability to have a computer program perform one of the most difficult tasks a pilot is asked to do.

If all goes as planned, a successful landing of the X-47B experimental aircraft will mean the Navy can move forward with its plans to develop another unmanned aircraft that will join the fleet alongside traditional airplanes to provide around-the-clock surveillance while also possessing a strike capability. The aircraft's success would pave the way for the U.S. to launch unmanned aircraft without the need to obtain permission from other countries to use their bases.

The X-47B experimental aircraft will take off from Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland before approaching the USS George H.W. Bush, which is operating off the coast of Virginia. The drone will try to land by deploying a tailhook that will catch a wire aboard the ship and bring it to a quick stop, just like normal fighter jets do. The maneuver is known as an arrested landing and has previously only been done by the drone on land at Patuxent River. Landing on a ship that is constantly moving while navigating through turbulent air behind the aircraft carrier is seen as a more difficult maneuver.

"Your grandchildren and great grandchildren and mine will be reading about this historic event in their history books. This is not trivial, nor is it something that came lightly," said Rear Adm. Mat Winter, the Navy's program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons.

Just like a traditional airplane, if the landing has to be called off for any reason at the last second, it can perform a touch-and-go maneuver. It performed nine such maneuvers in May, when it also took off from an aircraft carrier for the first time.

The X-47B will never be put into operational use, but it will help Navy officials develop future carrier-based drones. Those drones could begin operating by 2020, according to Winter. Four companies are expected to compete for a contract to design the future unmanned aircraft, which will be awarded in Fiscal Year 2014.

The two experimental aircrafts that have been built for the first round of testing will be retired and placed in museums at Patuxent River and at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida.

The move to expand the capabilities of the nation's drones comes amid growing criticism of America's use of Predators and Reapers to gather intelligence and carry out lethal missile attacks against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen.

Critics in the U.S. and abroad have charged that drone strikes cause widespread civilian deaths and are conducted with inadequate oversight. Still, defense analysts say drones are the future of warfare.

The X-47B is far bigger than the Predator, has three times the range and can be programmed to carry out missions with no human intervention, the Navy said.

While the X-47B isn't a stealth aircraft, it was designed with the low profile of one. That will help in the development of future stealth drones, which would be valuable as the military changes its focus from the Middle East to the Pacific, where a number of countries' air defenses are a lot stronger than Afghanistan's.

The X-47B has a wingspan of about 62 feet and weighs 14,000 pounds, versus nearly 49 feet and about 1,100 pounds for the Predator.

While Predators are typically piloted via remote control by someone in the U.S., the X-47B relies only on computer programs to tell it where to fly unless a human operator needs to step in. The Navy says the aircraft relies on precision GPS navigation, a high-integrity network connection and advanced flight control software to guide itself.

Developed by Northrop Grumman under a 2007 contract at a cost of $1.4 billion, the X-47B is capable of carrying weapons and is designed to be the forerunner for a drone program that will provide around-the-clock intelligence, surveillance and targeting, according to the Navy, which has been giving updates on the project over the past few years.

"It has taken several years of software development, thousands of simulated landings in high fidelity labs and many hours of flight test in the Patuxent River landing pattern to prove this aircraft is up for the challenge," Capt. Jaime Engdahl, program manager for the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System wrote in a blog post. "Today X-47B is ready!"

The X-47B can reach an altitude of more than 40,000 feet and has a range of more than 2,100 nautical miles, versus 675 for the Predator. The Navy plans to show the drone can be refueled in flight, which would give it even greater range.

[rookie]

Landing on an aircraft carrier using a computer system is already being done. The F-18 (C, D, E, F, G classes of F-18's) all have a computer system that land the plane for them. Being in an EA-6B squadron (who has the computer system in the plane as well but isn't as accurate as the 18's) we make fun of the 18 pilots because they make a perfect landing everytime, but they critisize our pilots if they bolter (miss the arresting gear). Our Pilots actually have to fly the jet when landing instead of sitting back and letting the auto pilot landing system do the job for them. I am 99.99% sure the plane will land first time if they are using a computer system.

[Peelz]

hater. 

[Krandall]

It has some christian propaganda in it. But.. I think we can all appreciate this.

A guy vs Westboro Baptist.

http://imgur.com/a/gGNMH