Category: Science & Technology

The New Space Race

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The New Space Race 

The competition in space is a looming threat to peace on earth.

The New Space Race

By D. S. Mitchell

 

Back To The Moon

The U.S. touched down on the moon and did a walk about, planted a flag, collected a pile of rocks and came back home. That was way back in 1969. With that landing the U.S. effectively won the space race of that era against it’s saber rattling, cold war enemy, the Soviet Union.

The Vision

NASA’s  new moon program is called Artemis. Artemis 1 orbited the moon and returned with loads of information, but did not carry human beings. The vehicle landed safely in the Pacific Ocean after a 42 day mission. In the Artemis 2  phase NASA plans to send astronauts to the  moon and return them safely to earth. A colony will be built over a period time where astronauts will visit and stay for weeks at a time.

Two Primary Goals

The goal is to establish a continual human presence on the moon. In the NASA plan a space station orbits the moon and a base camp is established on the surface; all fueled by small nuclear reactors.  The goal is basically two fold. One is to mine the minerals on the moon and two is to test whether human beings can live in space for months, potentially years, safely. NASA’s ultimate goal is to use the moon as a staging site for its race to Mars.

NASA’s SLS Rocket

The SLS rocket has cost over $93 billion to develop. The SLS is the most powerful rocket ever built, taller than the Statue of Liberty, and capable of carrying 27 tons of cargo. The big drawback of the SLS is that they can only be used once, making them inefficient. By contrast the super-heavy launch vehicle Starship, being built by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for use as the lunar landing vehicle is re-useable.

 What Role Does SpaceX Fill

SpaceX beat out Blue Origins, owned by Jeff Bezos to provide the lunar lander for Artemis 3, in a contract worth $3 billion dollars. Starship will ferry astronauts from their Orion capsule orbiting the moon down to the surface. But so far the SpaceX rocket has not been tested. Needless to say if SpaceX can’t deliver on time the whole project will be set back accordingly

Moon Geography

The Apollo astronauts landed at the equator. The Artemis astronauts will land and explore the South Pole, which features steep mountains as well as deep crevices that hold water ice. The Chinese have announced their plan for an exploratory mission  to that same region. It looks like it might get crowded up there.

Lunar Diversity

In 2022 the Chinese and the Russians agreed to co-operate in building a joint lunar base.  China sent a rover to the moon surface in 2013. They plan over the next decade to send at least three more rovers to the  moon,  their goal is to eventually land astronauts in the early 2030’s. The Chinese and the Russians are our rivals and the tensions here on earth could easily be transported off planet. Bill Nelson, NASA administrator highlighted tensions by accusing the Chinese of stealing U.S. secrets, at the same time the Chinese are deploying spy balloons over our country. In addition to the government missions, both Blue Origins and SpaceX intend to fund private venture missions of their own, separate from NASA. Capitalism at it’s finest.

Artemis Accords

NASA is partnering with the UK, the EU, Canada, and Japan to build a lunar space station. The U.S. has taken the lead in establishing a legal framework for international lunar co-operation. The Accords were written by NASA and the U.S. State Department. Twenty-one countries have signed the pact, most importantly two have not, China and Russia, calling the pact  “colonialist” paving the way they say for the U.S. and her allies to “loot” the moon’s resources before anyone else can get there.

TikTok and Security Concerns

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TikTok and Security Concerns

Governments around the world suspect China will weaponize customer information

TikTok and Security Concerns

The number of countries banning TikTok, a video sharing app, is growing over concerns that China is collecting data on customers that may later be weaponized by the Chinese state.

By D. S. Mitchell

The Five Eyes

The United States, Canada, Britain, New Zealand, and Australia have each recently banned TikTok from federal government devices amid growing concerns over the app’s ties to China.  The aforementioned countries form the so-called “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing partners. Government experts fear sensitive information could be exposed when TikTok is downloaded, especially on government devices. The recent U.S. ban applies only to government devices, although numerous US lawmakers are advocating an outright ban of the app. Both the FBI and the FCC warn that ByteDance could share TikTok user data with China’s authoritarian government.  More than half of the 50 US states have banned the app from government devices. An outright ban of the app was blocked in the United States Senate at the end of March.

Inside United States 

TikTok has 150 million users in the United States. Pew Research estimates that roughly two-thirds of US teens use TikTok. Aside from the security threat there is also concern that TikTok’s content could harm teenagers’ mental health. Researchers said in a December report that eating disorder content on TikTok had accumulated 13.2 billion views.

Other Countries Follow U.S. Lead

The European Parliament, European Commission, and the EU Council, the three top EU bodies, have all banned TikTok on staff devices, citing cybersecurity concerns. Estonia, France, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, India, Afghanistan, Taiwan, and Pakistan have also recognized the danger TikTok presents and have restricted its use on all government devices.

CEO Claims Independence From China

TikTok is owned by the Chinese technology company ByteDance. The company CEO, Shou Zi Chew, recently appeared before the U.S. Congress and testified that the company is run independently and does not share data with the Chinese government. Furthermore, CEO, Shou Zi Chew aggressively disputed accusations that TikTok collects more customer information than other social media companies and describes the recent bans as “without deliberation or evidence.”

Why All The Excitement?

The deepening rivalry and the growing tensions between the United States and China are central to these actions. The Biden Administration believes China intends to harness user data to fuel influence operations directed at American citizens. From the large number of countries banning the app on government phones also see a looming threat. ByteDance denies that any user data is at risk and claims it cannot be accessed by Beijing. But  the reality of the situation is clear; Chinese law obligates any company or citizen to aid state intelligence. Let me repeat that, Chinese law obligates any company or citizen to aid state intelligence. That fact alone should make us all a bit uneasy.

On The Other Hand

Observers of the situation claim the biggest danger to American privacy is not the Chinese government but rather a system that allows any tech company to harvest users’ data. Many folks are asking where has Congress been? While ranting about TikTok the US Congress has failed to pass even the most basic comprehensive privacy legislation to protect our data from misuse by any and all tech companies.

 

Learning About OLED Technology

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Learning About OLED Technology

 

Learning About *OLED Technology

*Organic light emitting diode

By D. S. Mitchell

 

If you are thinking about upgrading your current laptop, you may want to think about buying a PC with an OLED screen. Pronouce it OH-LED.  OLED is a carbon-based semiconductor film layer that emits light when electricity is applied.  The result is an amazingly beautiful image. I’m sure you’ve seen the superskinny TV’s and smartphones and PC’s. Well now, the technology is available in laptops.

Graphic designers, digital artists, photographers, video editors, game designers and animators love the clean, stunning images that OLED technology provides. The technology allows fast-moving images because of 120-Hertz refresh rates, something especially loved by gamers and movie lovers.

With OLED each pixel is its own light source, there is no backlighting required, unlike other screen technologies, such as LCD (liquid-crystal display). Because of this the screens produce incredible contrast levels. Those contrasts produce deep, dark blacks, colors on an OLED appear to jump off the screen. Furthermore OLED has the ability to display more colors with greater color accuracy. One manufacturer, ASUS, claims its OLED screens can display more than 60 times more colors than its LCD counterpart.

Another OLED advantage includes a greater consistency of brightness across the screen. An OLED screen produces up to 600 nits (a unit of brightness) whereas an LCD screens typically produces only 250 nits. This technology provides wider viewing angles which is easier on your eyes. OLED’s produce  up to 70% less harmful blue light than most LCD screens, because OLED’s use only the light needed without the white backlight.

There are a variety of factors that go into your decision to purchase a new laptop. Besides the processor, the engine that drives your PC’s performance, graphic capabilities a big deal for gamers, storage capacity, and the kind of drive (hard drive or solid-state, and how much system memory (aka RAM) you need, now add screen technology to the wish list.

Prices for an OLED laptop have come down in price recently. OLED’s are however, on the average $100 to $200 more than an LCD, with all other specs being equal. Some OLED devices have ultra-high-definition 4K displays and/or touch screens which also add to the laptops base cost. Those using the OLED display say they’ll never go back. So before you buy another LCD check out the OLED technology before you buy. I love it.

Adoption Is Not the Alternative to Abortion

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OPINION:

Adoption Is Not the Alternative to Abortion

It is time to worry about the health and well-being of children already born and recognize that adoption is not answer to abortionhildren

OPINION: 

Adoption Is Not the Alternative to Abortion

 

By Megan Wallin-Kerth

 

With all the news about Roe V. Wade, many conservative talking points have come to the forefront; for, let’s just say, reconsideration. Most of these I’ll leave for others to debate, but one really gets under my skin, because—unlike the hundreds of other thoughts, some more sensible than others—this refrain is ludicrously simplistic and yet very familiar to me. You’ve probably heard it too, at least a dozen times. Here’s a hint: What’s the oh-so-wonderful alternative to abortion?

Adoption.

Always. Without fail. Rarely a dissenter. And yet, how many people shouting this have actually adopted a child? And of those, how many adopted the kids who are considered “difficult to place?”

For those willing to admit that they know diddly-squat about the adoption process or the foster care system, I’ll give more context.

Most infants, particularly white infants from healthy but low-income mothers (think high school or college students), are placed easily into homes that are generally also white, generally middle class or upper middle class, and have usually passed several levels of intensive screening (varying in different states) prior to becoming a parent through adoption. Those are the facts. White babies usually get sent to somewhat affluent white homes. Babies from other backgrounds sometimes linger for longer times, or often get adopted into homes where their culture of origin is, if anything, a sidenote. Add identity crisis to abandonment issues.

However, infants of any monetary, cultural or ethnic background truly have it much easier than children: The children who are taken away from their natural parents after they’ve already started to reach the stage of being toddlers or even older children have a more challenging path ahead.

First, they have the grief and loss that comes with being torn from the parents and family system to whom they are already well acquainted, as well as the customs, traditions, sense of belonging and additional factors that make up one’s feeling of being “home.” They lose it all, and yet they are expected to accept the culture of a new household, family structure, and repeatedly relay their trauma to a constant barrage of social workers and therapists who make it clear that the events which occurred “need to be discussed.” (That need, mind you, is more to provide quotes for said figures to use while testifying about the child’s best interests in court, quite ironically.) What’s not always clear to those kids is that none of it is their fault. Not a single bit of it.

Many of those kids are there because their parents were ill-prepared, young, poor, or impacted by trauma or drug-abuse. Some of them were likely told not to get an abortion, because that would be throwing away the “gift of life.” Not all of them wanted their children, but most of them probably wanted to do right by them. However, wanting to do the right thing and being able to successfully carry out the responsibilities of parenthood are entirely different.

Unsurprisingly, these kids are more likely to be diagnosed with a slew of mental health conditions, ranging from attachment disorder to ODD (oppositional defiance disorder) to ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). They are more likely to have trouble regulating their emotions. They are more likely to come from families with histories of trauma or self-medication with drug-use. They are more likely to have been witness to domestic violence. And they are all victims of a system that is primarily run by well-intentioned but vastly undertrained and overworked case managers, many of whom get burnt out quickly if they truly care about the children under their broadly defined supervision.

Lastly, the longer a child stays in foster care, the more they face several unfortunate facts: Adoption rates are lower, foster homes are increasingly scarce (and often resort to abusive or coercive methods to control trauma-based behaviors), and it’s not uncommon at all to age out of the system with no solid support. It’s also likely that those with severe trauma—and corresponding behavioral issues stemming from a lack of care—will end up incarcerated, filling jails and prisons. And let’s not even get into the number of failed adoptions, where families commit to adoption and change their minds (this happened to me and another family member), sometimes going so far as to relinquish parental rights after the whole matter has been legally confirmed.

This is the true nature of the so-called alternative that people don’t realize they are presenting, and it’s not the fairytale full of compassion and hope that comes to mind with the word “adoption.”

Furthermore, those stating that they would “love to be foster parents once the time is right for their family” should also take heed of the fact that doing so is a sacrifice to any children already in your home, whether biological, adopted or foster. It requires everyone in that household to possibly shift expectations, routines, etc.—and to frequently practice more emotional regulation if the child coming in has some emotional struggles themselves (and spoiler alert: many of them will).

Am I discouraging people from fostering and adopting? No, not at all. However, much like the decision to become a biological parent, it needs to be approached realistically—for everyone’s sake.

Forgive me if I put it all in a grim light; that’s not the intention. I’m an adoptee myself, and an adoptive parent. I also grew up in a conservative household, with a narrow, black-and-white view of matters such as abortion rights.

But now that I’m older, I look back with less tunnel vision. I’m not a one-issue voter anyways, but if I was, I would still hesitate to stake all my focus on the ill-placed show of concern people seem to have regarding the value of life before birth, as opposed to the many months and years that follow.

To be clear, I also am not convinced of something just because it’s a “women’s issue.” As a woman, I don’t see the need to coddle us, and I don’t see pregnancy as only an issue in which women should have a voice. It takes two to create life, and most cases of pregnancy are the result of consensual baby-making.

And yet facts are facts: The facts are that rape happens, unprepared parents exist, and even in the best case scenarios, pregnancy is completely a woman’s task, effecting us physically, emotionally, mentally and financially. All those prenatal visits are scheduled for a reason; There are many risks and expenses. Furthermore, giving birth, even in developed countries, can be dangerous or even life-threatening. And as women on birth control are keenly aware, even with today’s modern advances and a lot of talk about “consent,” attempts to prevent pregnancy via hormones, condoms or abstinence can all fail. (Just look at sexual assault and rape statistics.)

However, everything from birth rates to women’s healthcare access affects us all, because that adds up to how well we can provide for our citizens. And how we treat people after they’re born, breathing and making decisions should matter to the pro-life crowd, right?

Mainly, it comes down to this: Regarding adoption and foster care, I’ve seen the dark underbelly of the beast—and for every child out there who gets adopted, there are statistically at least 10 who are shifting between foster homes waiting for their chance to stay somewhere with people who understand their unique needs and can continuously care for them when their expressions of pain often push others away.

This is not the “solution” to a world with fewer abortions. It’s proof that the primary talking point of the “pro life” crowd these days clearly has nothing to do with protecting human beings, even though I believe (perhaps naively) that most pro-lifers probably insist that is exactly their logic. They believe they’re protecting babies, because the fetus grows into one. My argument is “When does life matter most to you?”

A young child in the system, already born and in the world, suffers so much more and deserves so much more protection than a 16 week fetus. But that is not where people see fit to focus their fervent “value for life.”

Coming from one of those kids who wasn’t aborted, I know it probably sounds richly elitist to that crowd. But having navigated that first five years of life without a forever kind of family, I can tell you that I wish people would do their pro-life picketing outside the DHS office with signs that beg for real life-changing improvements. Their signs could ask for more foster homes, better pay for social workers, more stringent screenings for private adoption agencies, more rights for extended biological family members of children in care, and more resources for those aging out of the system. That is the pro-life attitude this country needs right now.

I believe a true understanding of this very real perspective might also produce the realization that supporting the right to choose an abortion isn’t the same as saying you would personally find the procedure useful.

In summary, the point of being pro-life should not just be about protecting life but also seeing fit to protect the quality of life. And it should never be at the expense of a life fully formed and out in the world.

My life was not protected simply because I was born. It was not even protected after I was adopted…twice. Children who have been separated and traumatized are automatically at many disadvantages, and while name-calling and anger don’t suit either side of the political aisle, the right to abortion should be beyond politics at this point. I’m by no means a hostile person, but I’m sick of being nice in the face of willful ignorance of inconvenient facts, when some of us are in the very category that adamant pro-lifers are using to support their arguments.

While the political left could do better at not cherry-picking their cases (you really don’t need to prove your point with only rape and incest cases), the right has done nothing to alleviate their increasing reputation for being hypocritical on the topic of reproductive rights.

Being hyper supportive of the military, the NRA, and abstinence-only sexual education while being unsupportive of affordable healthcare, and holding the record for having more people on welfare (yep, look it up) makes one look not only callous, but ignorant.

Quite frankly, abortion access is not about your views, it’s not about religion, it’s not about proving when life begins, and it’s not about the unborn.

It’s about allowing for the prevention of predictable, probable, and elongated suffering of multiple human beings for the technicality and self-righteousness of protecting one not yet fully formed and out in the world. It’s about whether someone is ready to be a parent—a good parent. It’s about pregnant women (sometimes mere children or teens) choosing whether they allow their body to house, feed and produce yet another entity that will require a great deal of care and love. It’s about applying critical thought and a wide lens of compassion to situations where bringing a life into the world cannot be done safely. It’s about allowing people to make decisions that impact their bodies and livelihoods with the expertise of medical professionals.

Bottom line: It’s about how well we take care of the people already in our world, and the sad truth is that we’ve got a great deal of room for improvement.

 

OPINION: ‘Eff the Supreme Court

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OPINION: ‘Eff the Supreme Court

I have something to say about the SCROTUS and it is not nice.

OPINION: ‘Eff the Supreme Court

Editor: I think this quote is a perfect response to the Supreme Court justices that want to enforce constitutional originalism on 21st century Americans. 

“WHEN PEOPLE START ACTING AS THOUGH THE PAST IS THE SAME AS THE PRESENT AND CONTEXT DOESN’T MATTER, THINGS START TO GET DANGEROUS.” TREVOR K. MCNEIL 2020

By D. S. Mitchell

Written on a Sign

I don’t know about you, but my outrage grows. In a recent abortion protest, I saw a young girl carrying a sign inscribed, “I hate it here.”  If you are a follower of Calamity News and Politics, you may have noticed an increased tension, and quite honestly, unbridled rage coming from this corner of the progressive community. I too have had several recent moments of, “I hate it here.”

Targeted Killings

The radical right sees no contradiction in banning abortion, for love of life, yet fuel rhetoric that has likely led to the  murder of at least 10 pro-choice physicians. The radical right tell us the Second Amendment is sacred. Sometime between my birth and today, the sanctity of the Second Amendment has taken on ridiculous, and unintended proportions.

Group Killings

Originally the Second Amendment described, “a well regulated militia.” Mind you, this was before the U.S. had a military. Out of that simple concept, it is now every Americans right, maybe duty, to load your AR-15, strap it with a bandolier of 30 shot magazines and go walk around town, terrorizing and murdering people who are just shopping for groceries, celebrating at a concert, attending class, and now a 4th of July parade. Mass murderers love it when we gather in groups.

I Said

Fuck the NRA, fuck the U.S. Senate, fuck the Second Amendment, and most of all fuck this illegitimate court. This has become a human rights issue-a public safety issue, a fucking right-to-life issue. Every American should have the reasonable expectation to go out for a walk, go the local Starbucks safely; it should not be a flip of the coin, situation.

Worse Than Roberts

John Robert’s has been Chief Justice since 2005.  He was nominated by George Bush the Younger and in my mind, Robert’s has been the spearpoint of a ruthless and relentless right-wing attack on democracy. During his tenure, the court has turned back democracy by 75 years, and privacy rights by 50. Even with Robert’s terrible record on gun control, voting rights, gerrymandering, campaign finance, abortion, and every other personal freedom imaginable, there are more dangerous and radical justices than John Roberts, and that clique is now apparently running the court.  Where as Robert’s style is to just keep chipping away at a law until over several years it vanishes into history, barely noticed. This new blatantly political court is ready to upend the apple cart, the hell with the consequences, in essence giving majority America the big middle finger salute.

Let it Go Alito, This Ain’t 1776

So, this now 6-3 ‘originalist’ court thinks it can push back all Progressive reforms since 1930. These folks are willing to snatch away Medicare and Medicaid, and the ACA of course, will fall. Gut the EPA. Ban abortions, nationwide. When you see an institution disregard established law and take up the task of writing new laws, just because they can; says to me that we are in a dangerous place. It seems apparent that swift action is necessary.

What I Think

This Thomas-Alito court seems hell bent on destroying any shred of validity this court ever had. The most recent public confidence polls show the court to be deeply unpopular.  The approval level of the court among all voters is at a jaw dropping 25%. Talk about Biden’s underwater numbers. As laws become more oppressive, affecting larger swaths of the population; enforcement may fail, in fact, it most likely will. As larger numbers of citizens commit the unenforceable crimes, police and prosecutors begin to ignore them. The overturning of Roe is so unpopular 70% of the country is in full revolt.

Anywhere, Anytime

The lawmakers just passed the first gun safety act in thirty years. My cynical side says, “a little is better than nothing.” My realistic side says, “not nearly enough.” As I said previously, the Second Amendment guarantees do not supersede those of LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.  Yet, the radical ‘originalist’ court refuses to face the reality of a heavily weaponized country that needs some serious restrictions on gun access, not an open season on all of us, anywhere, at anytime.

Conclusion

When extreme decisions are pronounced without the support and acceptance of the population, those decisions become unenforceable. The court has no army, no police force to back up its decisions, the only thing the court has is its standing in the eyes of the country’s citizenry, and that includes law enforcement. It is time to enlarge the court, install term limits, and codify a standard of ethics these justices must adhere to. Right now, this radical right-wing abomination calling itself the “Supreme” court of the United States,  ain’t looking so “Supreme.”

 

Engineered Immune Cells Offer Promise

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Engineered Immune Cells Offer Promise

Engineered Immune Cells Offer Promise

 

By D. S. Mitchell

 

Sending Signals

Scientists have genetically engineered immune cells cable of delivering anticancer-signals to organs where cancer may spread. Immunotherapy is a pillar of cancer treatment; strengthening the patient’s immune system and then directing the bolstered immune system to attack tumors. In this effort, Adoptive Cell Transfer is proving successful. With this immunotherapy treatment a patient’s immune cells are collected, engineered for the patient’s specific cancer and then reintroduced into the patient to treat their cancer. There are numerous types of Adoptive Cell Transfer and the most prominent one is called CAR T Cell Therapy.

Cancer Fighting Immune Cells

In 2010 two blood cancer patients received an experimental immunotherapy, and their disease went into remission. The cancer fighting immune cells used in the treatment were still circulating in their bodies,  ten years after the experimental dosing. It indicates that the treatment can be long lasting. Doug Olsen, a native Californian, was one of the patients, “From a patient’s viewpoint, when you are told you are pretty much out of options, the important thing is always to maintain hope. And certainly, I hoped this was going to work”, said Doug Olsen at a news briefing. The CAR T Cell Therapy used the patients’ genetically engineered immune cells to track down and destroy cells that cause cancer.

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Russian Cyber Attacks Targets and Purpose

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Russian Cyber Attacks Targets and Purpose

Russian hackers are causing world wide problems.

Russian Cyber Attacks Targets and Purpose

By Joseph Wales and D. S. Mitchell

 

A Consistent Threat

Headlines linking Russia to a web of cyber attacks against a variety of sovereign nations has become daily bread for decision-makers and the public alike. Whether it’s the NotPetya attack, the recent shut down of the Colonial Pipeline, or meddling in foreign elections; Russia is a consistent and aggravating threat. Russia uses cyber operations alongside non-military and military methods to pursue its strategic goals. It views this as an ongoing information confrontation.

Back in Time

Russia began attacks on the United States in 1996 with the Moonlight Maze attack. The Moonlight Maze resulted in the theft of a massive amount of classified information from several U.S. government agencies. Those effected included NASA, the Department of Energy, the Defense Department, and numerous private sector entities and defense contractors. The attack caused a serious breach, compromising national security interests, strategies, and capabilities.

Ukraine Intimidation

Russian state-sponsored attacks are on the rise, most famously Russian cyber ninjas are behind the recent mischief in Ukraine. Several cyber events have  knocked out major government websites this month. This cyber-intrusion is aimed to intimidate society and destabilize the situation in the country, stopping the work in the public sector, and crushing citizens trust in the governing authorities.

What It Includes

Russia’s cyber warfare units employ hacker attacks, internet surveillance SORM technology, dissemination of  propaganda and misinformation, political trolling, and all means of social media manipulation. Most of these attacks, although not technically in house operations,  are still coordinated by the Russian FSB. The FSB replaced the notorious KGB, but a change in initials doesn’t change the mission.

How Many From Russia?

Over the past year, 58% of all cyber-attacks observed by Microsoft from nation-states came from Russia. Moreover, these attacks are increasingly effective, jumping from a 21% rate in 2020, to a 32% successful compromise rate in 2021. Russian nation-state attacks are increasingly targeting government agencies for intelligence gathering, which saw a hike from 3% to 53% in a year—these attacks target agencies involved in national security, defense, and foreign policy. The top three nations targeted by Russian cyber attacks were Ukraine, UK, and the United States.

Common Causes For Cyber Attacks

Most often, cyber-attacks occur because the attackers want something:

  • IT infrastructure
  • Clients’ lists
  • Customer database
  • Customers or staff’ email addresses and login details
  • Sensitive personal data
  • Customers’ financial details such as credit card data
  • Business’ financial details

Russian Motives

Putin’s motivation is different.  Putin life goal is to restore the territory lost with the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The Russian president views cyber-attacks as a natural extension for achieving his goals. For instance, how the Russian military hacked Olympic enemies for revenge, and how it hacked the Democratic National Committee to bolster Trump’s chances in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russians are mainly interested in influence operations without physical manipulation.

Classic Influence Operation

What we saw in the 2016 U. S. elections was a classic influence operation. This was also Putin’s aim when hacking Russia’s perceived Olympic enemies. Russia wanted information it could use against these enemies in social media campaigns. Manipulation of the news, creating new mind sets, instigating social rifts.

China, A Different Animal

On the other hand, China has also been actively involved in passive cyber-attacks. However, in the case of China, their main focus seems to center on economic, technology both military and civilian. They are going after intellectual property and stealing it to improve their advantage in world trade. For instance, they infiltrated and copied the plans of the fighter jets F-35 and F-22. The Chinese now have the largest navy in the world, thanks to learning many western secrets. The issues of Hong Kong and Taiwan are just below the surface.

Any Cut Back Coming?

Evelyn Farkas, a former defense official for Obama, argued that the Russian government would not be stopping state-sponsored cyber-attacks against America or any other nation, unless the consequences  were so painful that continuation of such behavior would be unthinkable. Despite President Biden’s meeting with Putin recently, the Russians seem immovable, denying responsibility for their ongoing computer attacks. During their meeting, Biden argued that some crucial infrastructures such as energy and water systems should be off-limits to any type of attack. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is enough mettle in the whole of the U.S. government to go after Putin and/or Xi Jinping with a cyber sledge hammer. Unless Putin and his cyber ninja forces are caused real pain, the attacks will continue.

 

Patient Gets Genetically Modified Pig Heart

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57 Year Old Gets Genetically Modified Pig Heart

57 year old American man gets genetically engineered pig heart in historic surgery.

57 Year Old Gets Genetically Modified Pig Heart

“It was either die or do this transplant. I want to live. I know it is a shot in the dark, but it is my last chance,” said the recipient of a genetically modified pig heart last week. 

By MAHINROOP PM and D. S. Mitchell

 

A Major Breakthrough 

American doctors have successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig heart into a desperately ill 57 year old patient. It is an unquestionable achievement, a breakthrough for medical science. The patient, David Bennet is doing well after the surgery. The organ transplant proved that a genetically modified animal heart can serve like a human heart without immediate rejection by the body. Bennet had been connected to Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, a heart lung bypass machine, in order to remain alive. The patient was informed of the procedure’s risks and that the procedure was experimental with unknown risks before consenting to receive the heart transplant.

Emergency 

Because Bennet faced certain death without the Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency authorization for the surgery last week. The doctors at University of Maryland Medicine performed the procedure called Xenotransplantation.  Bennet had been on cardiac support for almost two months and couldn’t receive a mechanical heart pump because of an irregular heart beat. Neither could he receive a human transplant, because he had a history of treatment noncompliance.

Organ Shortage Crisis

“This was a breakthrough surgery and brings us one step closer to solving the organ shortage crisis. There are simply not enough human hearts available to meet the long list of potential recipients. We are proceeding cautiously, but we are also optimistic that this first in the world surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future,” said Bartley P Griffith, Professor in transplant surgery at University of Maryland Medicine.

High Risk 

Although the process can potentially save thousands of lives, it comes with many risks including the chance of triggering a dangerous immune response. Such responses can trigger an immediate rejection of the organ, leading to the immediate death of the patient. A  new drug was combined with conventional anti-rejection drugs to suppress the immune system and hopefully will prevent Benet’s body from rejecting the foreign organ.

Ethical and Technical Hurdles

Doctors will monitor Bennet for the rest of his life to determine whether the transplant provides the hoped for lifesaving benefits vs complications. The ultimate focus of xenotransplantation research is on genetically modified pigs because of the physiologic similarities between pigs, human  and non-human primates. Revivicor, a biotechnology company located in Virginia provided the pig heart for the transplantation.

What The Future Offers

Transplant surgeons are hoping that recent advances will enable them to give more people animal organs. Physicians believe that the surgery will kickstart clinical xenotransplantation. As with everything, there are numerous ethical, as well as regulatory issues confronting the wholesale use of animal harvested hearts, and other organs, to sustain human life. Only time will tell.

BMW Previews Car That Changes Color

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BMW Previews Car That Changes Color 

BMW is leading the way in real and virtual driving experience

BMW Previews Car That Changes Color

Editor: The German car company BMW recently showcased a “color changing” car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The BMW iX Flow, employs “electronic ink technology” that makes it possible to change the car’s exterior color.  An app is used to trigger the color change. The company even claims energy efficiency. 

By Dani Davis

OMG

I saw this come up on Twitter and I said, “Hell, yeah!” Cool as shit. How many times have you loved a car, but the color just wasn’t you? A bright yellow Mercedes comes to mind. Well, BMW has come up with the solution to that problem. The company has developed a car with an ink coating that acquiesces to the driver’s mood with just the tap of an app on the owner’s phone. So, on to what I learned about BMW’s dive  into driver psychology.

The News

Quite literally, BMW has a car that can change its color on demand. The reason is that the exterior has an E Ink coating. The fascinating feature of E Ink is that it can cover the surface of an entire automobile. Believe it or not, this is similar to the technology used in Kindle e-book readers. The BMW’s color changing car was featured recently here in the United States at the CES 2022 Trade Show in Vegas, where it got cheers; and a few jeers from the Twitter-verse.

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The James Webb Telescope Deployed

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The James Webb Telescope Deployed

The deployment of the James Webb telescope is a big damn deal. Congratulations, NASA.

The James Webb Telescope Deployed

Editor: JWST is a large infrared telescope with a 6.5-meter primary mirror. It will serve thousands of astronomers worldwide. The project is an international collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. The telescope is named after James E. Webb, who was the administrator of NASA from 1961 to 1968 and played an integral role in the Apollo program. The James Webb Telescope will likely be pointing at stars and seeing its “first light” around mid-March. However, NASA says not to expect the first “showpiece” photos from Webb until May 24, 2022.

By D. S. Mitchell

Deployment

The James Webb Space Telescope was launched on December 25th from Kourou Launch Station in French Guiana with the help of Ariane-5 ECA rocket. The space telescope was folded and literally ferried  into space because it was too large to fit inside its launching rocket. A team of NASA techies spent several hours on Saturday, January 8, 2022 opening the final mirror, according to NASA. It is expected to take  another five months to complete setup; including aligning the telescope’s optics and calibrating its scientific instruments. The most powerful telescope of all time will begin transmitting later this spring.

Long Held Secrets

It is expected the JWST will answer many questions scientists have pondered for millennia. The James Webb Telescope will replace Hubble, NASA’s current eye in space. JWST is now orbiting  a somewhat mystical area of space where the gravity and centripetal forces of the Sun and the Earth are ‘just right’. This ‘just right’ region allows objects to remain in a relatively “stable” position. This invisible point in space is known as an Earth-Sun Lagrange point. With its final course adjustment complete, the JWST is now orbiting around the sun at a distance of nearly 1.5 million kilometers from Earth.

An Amazing Milestone

Space journalists agree that the deployment of JWST is an incredible achievement. The James Webb Space Telescope will scan the universe for light streaming from stars and galaxies formed billions of years ago. In fact, the telescope is a time machine, carrying the observer back to the beginning of the universe; to the Big Bang. JWST observations will be used to study the history of the Universe, including the evolution of our own solar system, and the formation of distant solar systems capable of supporting life on Earth-like exoplanets. Amazingly, the JWST will be able to provide information about the atmospheres of these exoplanets. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “While the journey is not complete, I join the Webb team in breathing a little easier and imagining the future breakthroughs bound to inspire the world’’.