US, Europe Press China to Plunge Tech Security Rule

Global technology suppliers face an alarming Chinese deadline to expose the inner workings of computer encryption and other security products in a move the United States and Europe say is protectionist.

Suppliers must fulfill with the rules that take effect Saturday or risk being shut out of the billions of dollars in purchases that the Chinese government makes of smart cards, secure routers, anti-spam software and other security products. Encryption codes and other trade secrets would have to be disclosed to a government panel, and the foreign companies’ worry they might be leaked to Chinese rivals.

It is the latest in a string of disputes over complaints Beijing is using regulations to support its companies at the expense of foreign rivals. It comes less than a month after China defused a separate clash with the United States and Europe by scaling back a plan to favor Chinese technology in government procurement.

Bill Gates touts Teach for America, McDonald’s burgers at MIT

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Patron Bill Gates today told Massachusetts Institute of Technology students that there are opportunities for the school's brightest minds to solve some of the world’s biggest problems.

There are less than 100 scientists working on malaria, a disease that kills more than a million people a year, Gates said.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an endowment of $33.5 billion, supports research and programs in health, education and technology in the United States and developing countries.

Gates stressed that investing in schools is crucial to improving the standard of living. But he said it’s not necessary to go outside the U.S. to work on failing schools.

Gates had no idea of how poorly our education is working, he said. Over 30 percent of kids drop out of high school and if you are a minority the number is over 50 percent. Of the ones who complete high school, many of them have had a really poor education.

Gates hailed the 96 recent MIT graduates who joined Teach for America, a national nonprofit that human resources outstanding college graduates to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools. Every one of those kids who chose the program would have had other opportunities that would have been far more productive, Gates said

How essential Islam might overcome the West: A reprise

A decade ago they argued that radical Islam might repel the West into acquiescence through the mass forgo of Muslim lives. During the past two weeks Iran has almost invited a nuclear exchange with the West, in a series of statements that blend a disturbed sort of bristle with malicious calculation.

Iran's Kayhan press service warned last week, if the US strikes Iran with nuclear weapons, there are elements which will react with nuclear blasts in the centers of America's main cities. Meanwhile, Behzad Soltani, the number two man at Iran's Atomic Commission, proclaimed last week, Iran will join the world nuclear club within a month in a proposal to daunt possible attacks on the country, adding, No country would even think about attacking Iran once it is in the club.

By the normal standards of subtlety, these statements appear grotesquely false as well as self-defeating. If Iran brags openly that it has delivered nuclear weapons to terrorists weapons that it does not yet possess it invites a Western military response. The menace itself demonstrates that Iran is confident that the West is too supine to respond. Iran has taken our assess well the theocratic rule evinced an infinite enthusiasm for sacrifice during its decade-long war with Iraq in the 1980s. It is swayed, and with good reason, the eventual horror of a military conflict is too terrible for the West to bear.

Barack Obama's favorite weapons

President's Obama's firm approval, CIA pilotless Predator and harvester whirr planes firing Hellfire arsenal are killing actual and alleged high-level terrorists. As Jane Perlez reports flying overhead, sometimes four at a time in Pakistan, the drones are also betrothed in targeted assassinations in Afghanistan. It has been reported but the CIA and President Obama give us no facts that in his first year, Obama has approved more of these strikes than in George W. Bush's eight years.

Operated half a world away by remote control in Langley, Va. and outside of Las Vegas, the deaths sometimes accidentally include those of guiltless civilians, and are criticized here and in the targeted countries as extra-judicial executions.

Amid the growing argument, State Department Legal Adviser Harold Koh insists that these whine attacks fulfill with all applicable law, including the laws of war.

Koh, when he was Dean of Yale Law School, was a strong opponent of the legal rationalizations of the Bush-Cheney war on terrorism. He is now part of what I call The Obama alteration, along with such other fervent opponents of the previous administration's dark side as Attorney General Eric Holder and CIA Director Leon Panetta. These former critics are now loyal members of the Obama team.

Liverpool Put Up for Sale, New Chairman Appointed

London Premier League club Liverpool went up for sale on Friday after American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett appointed Barclays Capital to find a buyer.

Following several terminology of curiosity from third parties, the Club has engaged Barclays Capital to warn on the sale process, a report read on the club website (www.liverpoolfc.tv).

The Club has the full sustain of its existing bankers for this process and has financing in place which will fully support the Club's operations.

Liverpool, sixth in the league after a disappointing season, also said that British Airways Chief Martin Broughton had been allotted as chairman with immediate effect and will manage the sale process.

Al Zahra Hospital Organizes Health Awareness Clinic

Al Zahra Hospital, the first and largest private general hospital in the UAE, planned on Monday its first university health clinic, which took place in Sharjah at the American University of Sharjah campus. The clinic intended at spreading health awareness among young people in the UAE, and was the first in a series of clinics to be organized by Al Zahra that will tour the universities and malls of the UAE in the coming months.

This type of direction program is vital for instilling healthy habits in young people and spreading a culture of prevention. Al Zahra Hospital is dedicated to this cause and we encourage individuals, organizations and communities to understand the importance of this issue, said Dr. Tariq Mehmood, Marketing and Public Relations manager at Al Zahra Hospital.

The campaign plagued students, staff members and faculty, who came in droves to participate. They were all given health screenings, including measurements of BMI, blood pressure, sugar levels, and lung capacity. At the end of the camp, participants were issued health certificates and given directions on how to lead a healthier lifestyle.

Dangers of kids abusing prescription drugs: Physicians warn parents

With information of increased prescription drug overdoses in emergency departments, the nation's emergency physicians are issuing a strong warning to parents about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, which are now the second most abused drugs, after marijuana. Hospital visits caused by accidental and unintended prescription drug overdoses went up 37 percent between 1999 and 2006, according to new data released by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Often when you hear that someone has overdosed on drugs you think of illicit substances, such as cocaine or heroin, said Dr. Angela Gardner, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. But parents need to know that many young people are taking prescription drugs from the medicine cabinets. Many of the kids mistakenly believe the drugs are not addictive, and they do not recognize they can be lethal.

Practically three-quarters of a million people (741,425) needed emergency care in 2006 because of prescription drug abuse. The types of prescription drugs most commonly harmed are painkillers, such as OxyContin and Vicodin. Also, central nervous system depressants such as Valium and Xanax, are common. Twelve- to 14-year old girls are more likely than boys to have abused prescription drugs and to have higher rates of confidence.

Wilma Man killer Service Likely to Draw Thousands

Cherokee Nation officials expect thousands of people at the memorial service today for former tribal Chief Wilma Man killer, one of the most apparent American Indian leaders in recent years and among the few women to ever lead a major tribe.

The memorial for Man killer, who died Tuesday at age 64 after a spell with pancreatic cancer, will be held outside at the Cherokee Nation Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah, about 70 miles east of Tulsa.

Volunteers helped set up about 3,000 chairs, and seating will be available during a service that will emphasize Cherokee culture, tribal spokesman Mike Miller said Friday.

Mankiller led the Cherokee Nation, which now has about 290,000 members, from December 1985 until 1995, when she decided not to run for re-election. Under her decade of supervision, the tribe tripled its conscription, doubled employment and built new health centers and children's programs.

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom the highest civilian honor in the U.S. from President Clinton in 1998. She met with other U.S. presidents and dignitaries, but was also known for working closely with everyday members of the tribe.

UC Berkeley suspensions draw ACLU censure

UC Berkeley battered its authority by cruelly punishing two student protesters with little evidence of illegal behavior and should change its policies before violating the rights of dozens of others facing restraint, the American Civil Liberties Union told Chancellor Robert Birgeneau this week.

The university's attorney did not quarrel most of the ACLU's objections. We take their letter seriously, said Mike Smith, campus counsel. The recommendation they have about the Student Code of Conduct, they agree with some of them.

The university has been cracking down recently on students who participated in any of several campus protests against budget cuts in November and December. The administration has accused at least 63 students for violating the Code of Student Conduct, which the ACLU said should be modified to protect student’s rights in accordance with state law.

In a nine-page letter, the ACLU analyzed the cases of two students junior Zach Bowin and sophomore Angela Miller who were present on Dec.11 when dozens of protesters shattered windows, lamps and planters at Birgeneau's campus residence. They are the only students disciplined so far. As reported in a recent Chronicle story, dozens of others are being offered suspensions of varying lengths in exchange for avoiding the possibility of more cruel punishment.

Wind Turbine Electrical Control Systems AMSC receives $20mn order

American Superconductor Corporation, a universal power technologies company, announced that it has received an initial order for full wind turbine electrical control systems worth more than US$20 mn from Ghodawat Energy Pvt. Ltd. (GEPL). Under the provisions of the contract, AMSC will begin shipping the electrical control systems to Ghodawat in the middle of calendar 2010 and will complete all shipments by the end of calendar 2013 at the latest. Ghodawat is the sixth customer to place a volume production order for wind turbine power electronic components or systems with AMSC over the past 12 months.

Pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and energy independence are growing, global concerns that are helping to drive the agreement of clean, renewable power, said Shrenik Ghodawat, Managing Director of GEPL. We are now beginning the production of wind turbines in India that are at the leading edge of technology to help meet this critical need. Our goal is to achieve 25 percent market share in India's wind power market while also building our business in foreign markets.

AMSC's wind turbine electrical control systems and core electrical components include the company's proprietary PowerModuleT power converters, hurl and yaw converters, SCADA systems and other power electronics. They enable consistent, high-performance wind turbine operation by controlling power flows, regulating voltage, monitoring system performance, controlling the pitch of wind turbine blades and the yaw of the turbines to maximize efficiency.

Assembly-line schools from a long-gone era

Despite the fading of most of the steel mills from our state, the assembly-line method is alive and well. It can be observed nearly intact in many of our high schools. The traditional high school structure emerged as a parallel to the factory model that saw a division of labor, mechanical routines and large-scale production as the most efficient way to make things whether the products were steel beams, automobiles or prolific citizens.

Consider the start of seven classes a day, 45 minutes each, in rooms filled with students sitting in orderly rows writing down notes and completing cyclic exercises in preparation for multiple-choice exams. This is an efficient method of material production, but it's no way to educate human beings.

Under such conditions, it should not be surprising that the products these industrial-era schools discharges into our communities often lack the ability to join forces with others and hold in the critical analysis necessary for success in a complex society. Many of our young people are set wandering in a world they don't fully understand and have skills to influence.

Cloud Computing Improves Security, Unisys Architect Says

It's nice to see usual wisdom flipped on its head sometimes. A good example of CW flipping comes with remarks by Unisys Chief Architect Scott Sanchez, who will convey a gathering at the upcoming Cloud Expo at the Javits Center in New York entitled, How Cloud Computing Improves Security.

The thinking behind this title, of course, runs counter to the soaked of hands and gnashing of teeth by IT managers and consultants about the potential security problems posed by a student body left shit to Cloud Computing. As he writes, we are constantly bombarded with articles and presentations about the security risks in cloud computing and why organizations need to be concerned about them as they consider a move. The truth is that organizations need to be concerned about security but they needn’t be paralyzed by fear.

In fact, he continues, the sensitive concern we are seeing has actually become a prompt to action and has begun to drive cloud security to a whole new level.

Scott's session, which will be held on Tuesday, April 20 at 9:10am, will spotlight on the key areas where a successful voyage to cloud computing can actually improve security and reduce risk, and address some of the major issues to account for before and during that migration, he writes.