3 Google to lauch an operating system - rival to Windows & Mac

(1) Google's pornography
(2) Peter Power and the London Bombings - Christopher Bollyn is dodgy
(3) Peter Power reply to query on simultaneous mock drills and real events
(4) Putin urged Obama to scrap missile defence shield in Europe
(5) Russia launches antitrust case against Microsoft over XP
(6) Google to lauch an operating system - rival to Windows & Mac
(7) Smart Phones access the internet
(8) CLIMATE and rainfall, not land-clearing, the main cause of salinity

(1) Google's pornography

From: Jocelyn Braddell <jocelynb@eircom.net> Date: 05.07.2009 06:56 AM

Good on you Peter, it is such a difficult problem and rules life to such an extent it has become pitifully stupid.The problem has perhaps always ruled life and humans have given up generation after generation on what to do about it. The fact that one of two men found they could make money out of it never seemed to penetrate human minds that they were being made fools out of this "trade".  But the fact that it then became a torture for small children then projected the entire scenario into criminal events. How "love" can ever be regenerated as a human norm as it was among working class people or among the middle class provoked by novels is now an overwhelming problem - that is now in serious denial by all those inoculated (shall we say) by the prevailing standards of action, garish "modesty" of female dress etc etc.  We see that mothers and fathers have yet the most tender love for the new born child, which progressively becomes mired in dumb boredom by women who hand their children into crèches without a thought for the fact that life is an entire model of millions of moments and that innocence that strengthens into maturity cannot occur when change and excitement,torment, is the name of the game. The western civilization lacks mature decision making and that is very evident, the farce of community and team is played out under the banner or fistful of money. I think that a lot of young people probably experience enough family love to endure as consolidated "characters" but thousands do not..? It would be a good idea maybe for you to start a discussion thread more rewarding than holocaust on the subject of human relationships.

(2) Peter Power and the London Bombings - Christopher Bollyn is dodgy

From: Tim OSullivan <timos2003z@hotmail.com> Date: 08.07.2009 10:05 PM

Christopher Bollyn is a very dodgy character. He mixes genuine research with planted disinfo.
See what Michael Collins Piper has to say about him.

Giving a platform to Bollyn undermines your credibility.

Reply (Peter M.):

I am wary about him - he's a bit New Age. Nevertheless, he's not the only one who reported the Peter Power story - Prison Planet featured it too.

Wikipedia has this on him (note that it makes no mention of the London Bombings): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Power_(crisis_management_specialist)

There are videos of the London Bombings interview with Power:

YouTube - Peter Power 7/7 Terror Rehearsal

1 min 26 sec - 11 Sep 2006 -

Live ITV News interview with Peter Power, the Managing Director of Crisis Management firm Visor ... BBC Radio - Drills Ran on day of london bombings ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKvkhe3rqtc

YouTube - Peter Power, London 7/7/05

1 min 47 sec - 2 Apr 2006 -

ATTENZIONE: nel video viene indicato che l'11 di settembre era in corso "un' esercitazione che prevedeva un attacco a Torri e Pentagono con aerei ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crfz_5E9oec

(3) Peter Power reply to query on simultaneous mock drills and real events

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/july2005/130705powerresponds.htm

London Underground Exercises: Peter Power Responds

Jon Rappoport | July 13 2005

A couple of days ago, I reprinted an excerpt from an article written by Alex Jones and Paul Watson, and posted at prisonplanet.com.

This article highlighted and analyzed an interview (July7) on BBC Radio 5, the Drive show. The man interviewed, Peter Power, is a consultant for a firm, Visor Consultants. Visor does much security work on contract. Power stated that his, yes, mock terror drills were taking place at several of the sames times and places as the actual bombings, and his people suddenly realized it as they were doing their mock work on the morning of the bombings.

The implications of Power's statements were dazzling, to say the least, and since then I have received queries about whether this radio interview really took place. I can understand people's shock and doubt, because the import of Power's remarks opens up a whole new direction in the research of the bombing attack.

As Jones and Watson pointed out in their article, the mock-drill- versus-real-event mirrored what happened in the US on 9/11, when mock air attacks were being conducted as the real thing took place.

First, I want to print an answer to my query I just received from BBC Radio Five:

"We do not provide transcripts but if you wish to listen back to the Drive programme on Thursday 7th July at 17.06 where Peter Power from Visor consultants talks to our presenter Peter Allen - please click on the link below. [Jones/Watson also offered audio links on prisonplanet.com]

"The entire Five Live schedule is available for a seven day period for you to listen again to as audio on demand (excluding live sports commentary).

"http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/programmes/drive.shtml"

So, in case there were any lingering doubts left in truly boggled minds, yes, the interview did of course take place. Jones/Watson picked up on it and reported it. Their piece has now been reprinted on a number of sites.

I decided to try to contact Peter Power. I sent an email to Visor consultants, and I received an answer. It comes from Mr. Power, although, as you'll see, it is a standard message that is being sent out by him to all the people who are flooding his email box with questions.

"Thank you for your message. Given the volume of emails about events on 7 July and a commonly expressed misguided belief that our exercise revealed prescient behaviour, or was somehow a conspiracy (noting that several websites interpreted our work that day in an inaccurate / naive / ignorant / hostile manner) it has been decided to issue a single email response as follows: It is confirmed that a short number of 'walk through' scenarios planed [sic] well in advance had commenced that morning for a private company in London (as part of a wider project that remains confidential) and that two scenarios related directly to terrorist bombs at the same time as the ones that actually detonated with such tragic results. One scenario in particular, was very similar to real time events.

"However, anyone with knowledge about such ongoing threats to our capital city will be aware that (a) the emergency services have already practiced several of their own exercises based on bombs in the underground system (also reported by the main news channels) and (b) a few months ago the BBC broadcast a similar documentary on the same theme, although with much worse consequences [??]. It is hardly surprising therefore, that we chose a feasible scenario - but the timing and script was nonetheless, a little disconcerting.

"In short, our exercise (which involved just a few people as crisis managers actually responding to a simulated series of activities involving, on paper, 1000 staff) quickly became the real thing and the players that morning responded very well indeed to the sudden reality of events.

"Beyond this no further comment will be made and based on the extraordinary number of messages from ill informed people, no replies will henceforth be given to anyone unable to demonstrate a bona fide reason for asking (e.g. accredited journalist / academic).

Peter Power"

If you go back and read what Power said to host Allen in his BBC interview, Power was a lot more shocked himself at the time.

Obviously, Power, in his email, is trying to downplay the significance of the mock-versus-real events.

It's clear that the simultaneous staging of mock drills and the emergence of real events in the same times and places could confuse law enforcement, delay response, and also, as Jones/Watson point out, create a possible cover story for persons in the midst of planting real bombs ("I'm part of an exercise.").

I have received and seen several reports from people who were in and about in London as the bombings were taking place. One person, unnamed, states that he saw underground stations along one line shut down by many police BEFORE the bombings occurred. Another observer notes that additional bombs were reported by the press, early on, as DIFFUSED before they went off. And as I've written, the story of how many bombs there were and when they went off was changed several times in press reports---7-8 explosions were reduced to 4.

Bombs diffused before the explosions began (unless these were mock bombs---see how a cover story could work?)) implies foreknowledge of some kind on the part of law enforcement, and of course we have several press stories that indicate the Israeli embassy in London (but no one else?) was actually warned before the first explosion.

Visor consultants has probably received emails accusing them of being in on a bomb plot. Whereas, it would be easy for the ops managers of the real thing to USE the Visor mock drills as a distraction/cover for a short time that morning.

In any case, it will take a great deal more digging to sort out who was using whom.

Note that most of what is in this article has received NO follow-up from the mainstream press. If you were a reporter in London, wouldn't you, for example, jump in with both feet and talk to Peter Power in depth and find out exactly how his drills interacted with the real thing?

From Power's statements so far, it is not entirely clear to me whether he is denying that any of Visor's people were actually at bomb scenes on 7/7. He claims that the mock drills were largely a paper exercise. But the specifics are blurry. And then there is the question of whether we should believe him if he does clarify his points.

(4) Putin urged Obama to scrap missile defence shield in Europe

From: World View <ummyakoub@yahoo.com>  Date: 08.07.2009 04:10 PM

Putin urges Obama to scrap shield
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8133343.stm

Putin rejected the idea his leadership was rooted in Cold War ideology

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has urged the US to move relations forward by shelving plans for a missile defence shield in Europe.

His comments come ahead of a summit between US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Dimitry Medvedev. ...

(5) Russia launches antitrust case against Microsoft over XP

(Network World Middle East Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)

Russian antitrust regulators are investigating Microsoft's retirement of Windows XP and could file formal charges as early as next month, according to a government statement.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant position in the operating system market by pulling Windows XP from retail in June 2008, thus forcing users to buy Vista -- even though demand for the former remained high.

"Analysis of various operating systems show that the transition to the new operating system Windows Vista comes with the continued demand for the previous operating system, Windows XP," said FAS in a Thursday statement (as translated by Google Translate). "Demand of Windows XP is also confirmed by retailers and the number of orders in the field of public procurement." FAS also charged Microsoft with violating Russian antitrust laws by setting different prices for the same product, a possible reference to the practice where Microsoft lets computer makers factory-downgrade PCs to XP Professional from either Vista Business or Vista Ultimate, the two highest-priced retail editions of that 2007 operating system.

"The case against Microsoft Corp. will be considered July 24, 2009," said FAS.

Microsoft did put an end to retail sales of Windows XP Home and Professional last June, although the former remains available to netbook makers and the latter can be installed as a downgrade from Vista. Microsoft has said it will stop shipping downgrade XP media to OEMs at the end of July, but there have been signs the aging operating system will live on; reports have claimed that a free or discounted upgrade to Windows 7 will be offered to customers who purchase a downgraded-to-XP PC between June 26, 2009, and Jan. 31, 2010.

Microsoft said it has not seen the formal complaint. "Microsoft has not yet received notice of any new investigation," said company spokesman Jack Evans in an e-mail Friday. "However, we will cooperate with any inquiry and remain committed to full compliance with Russian law." Parts of the FAS explanation for its investigation resemble a lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court by a California woman last February. At the time, Emma Alvarado accused Microsoft of breaking consumer protection laws by barring computer makers from continuing to offer XP on new PCs after Vista's early-2007 launch. Alvarado's case, which is seeking class-action status, is on hold while the courts consider Microsoft's request that it be rolled into other antitrust issues that go as far back as 1998.

Microsoft is also facing antirust action in the European Union, which filed charges against the company in January over its bundling of Internet Explorer (IE) with Windows. The EU's antitrust agency is expected to order Microsoft to change Windows so that it offers users a "ballot screen" where they can choose from a number of browsers, including IE and rivals such as Mozilla's Firefox and Opera Software's Opera.

Late last month, Microsoft canceled a hearing on the charges, saying that senior regulators wouldn't attend because of a scheduling conflict with a major antitrust and competition conference. The hearing was slated to take place this week, starting Wednesday and ending today.

(c) 2009 IDG Middle East. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company

(6) Google to lauch an operating system - rival to Windows & Mac

Google to launch operating system that takes on might of Microsoft Windows

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:07 AM on 08th July 2009

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1198262/Google-launch-Chrome-operating-Microsoft-Windows.html

Google has declared war on Microsoft today, by announcing it will create its own PC operating system that will directly challenge the software giant's Windows programme.

The search engine company already offers a variety of e-mail, web browser and other software products that compete with Microsoft.

Next year it will launch its Chrome operating system in netbooks but eventually it will be available on PCs.

Netbooks are low-cost notebook PCs optimised for surfing the internet surfing and other web-based applications.

Google and Microsoft have often locked horns over the years in a variety of markets, from internet search to mobile software.

It remains to be seen if Google can take market share away from Microsoft on its home turf, with Windows currently installed in more than 90 per cent of the world's PCs.

'It's been part of their culture to go after and remove Microsoft as a major holder of technology, and this is part of their strategy to do it,' said industry watcher Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group.

'This could be very disruptive. If they can execute, Microsoft is vulnerable to an attack like this, and they know it.'

A spokesman for Microsoft had no immediate comment on Google's plans.

Key to success will be whether Google can lock in partnerships with PC makers, such as Hewlett-Packard Co and Dell Inc, which currently offer Windows on most of their product lines.

At present, Google's Chrome internet browser, launched in late 2008, remains a distant fourth in the web browser market. In February it had 1.2 per cent share, according to market research firm Net Applications.

In contrast, Microsoft's Internet Explorer continues to dominate, with nearly 70 per cent.

A spokesman for Microsoft had no immediate comment.

'Shot across the bow of Microsoft'

The new Chrome OS is expected to work well with many of the company's popular software applications, such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Maps.

It will be fast and lightweight, enabling users to access the web in a few seconds, Google said.

'The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web,' said Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product placement at Google.

'The Chrome OS is our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.'

It should be easy for developers to create applications for the Chrome OS because it is based on industry standard open-source Linux code.

Google said Chrome OS was a new project, separate from its Android mobile operating software found in some smartphones.

Acer Inc, the world's No.3 PC brand, has already agreed to sell netbooks that run on Android to be released this quarter.

The new OS is designed to work with ARM and x86 chips, the main chip architectures in use today. Microsoft has previously said it would not support PCs running on ARM chips, allowing Google an opportunity to infiltrate that segment.

The Chrome operating system will be launched in netbooks next year but eventually it will be available on PCs

Charlene Li, partner at consulting company Altimeter Group, said Google's new OS will initially appeal to consumers looking for a netbook-like device for web surfing, rather than people who use desktop PCs for gaming or high-powered applications.

But eventually, the Google OS has the potential to scale up to larger, more powerful PCs - especially if it proves to run faster than Windows, she said.

The operating system has been called Google Chrome after its popular internet browser, which could indicate they plan to merge operating systems and applications into one.

Google did not say how much it would charge for the operating system but Enderle expects it to charge at most a nominal fee or make it free.

The company's business model has been to earn revenue off connecting applications or advertising.

Microsoft declines to say how much it charges PC brands for Windows, but most analysts estimate about £12 for the older XP system and at least £90 for the current Vista system.

Li added: 'A benefit to the consumer is that the cost saving is passed on, not having to pay for an OS.'

'It's clearly positioned as a shot across the bow of Microsoft,' she said.

(7) Smart Phones access the internet - but is there a radiation risk?

Smartphones are booming – even in the middle of a recession – but their design and functionality can differ remarkably

Victor Keegan

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 July 2009 19.00 BST

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/01/mobile-phones-nokia-victor-keegan

The launch of Nokia's long-awaited N97 smartphone at the same time as Apple's beatified iPhone 3GS marks a clash not just of two remarkable devices but of two cultures. Nokia didn't invent mobiles – Motorola did – but it has led the world in their exploitation, especially in adding new functions. Apple, with no legacy in mobiles to protect, came to the drawing board with a clean sheet of paper, and it still shows. The 3GS has virtually no moving parts and despite its sophistication it is amazingly easy to use and doesn't need a manual. Nokia couldn't, and maybe shouldn't, make that leap yet (its touchscreen N800 tablet a couple of years ago was not a success). The N97, in addition to a touchscreen, comes with a pull-out keypad – it's an impressive piece of engineering but it adds weight and cost.

On some scores, the N97 is streets ahead of the iPhone: screen resolution is better, the 5 megapixel camera superior and the video much better . It has an FM radio, FM transmission and more memory for the money. It has a big selection of music and, now, its own Ovi store for apps (games and services) which works fine, except the cupboard is embarrassingly bare. I hardly spent any of the voucher money supplied for the trial, as they didn't compare in quality, let alone quantity with Apple's cornucopia of more than 50,000 apps. But Nokia is trawling the world for new ones and has a greater geographical reach than the iPhone, so there is plenty of potential. What I was most looking forward to was mapping, where Nokia has invested heavily. I had been impressed by Nokia demos showing fast access to GPS signals and maps that (unlike web-based Google ones) are embedded in the phone for easy access. But it was not to be. I spent hours figuring out what was wrong, including emails to Nokia's press advisers (not open to ordinary buyers), a visit to the Nokia shop – which recommended a software update from my PC at home – but to no avail. It gave spasmodic GPS data but no maps. Whether it was my fault or a rogue phone, who knows. The lesson? Before you buy this potentially exciting device, get them to include the maps.

There are no winners and losers with these phones. There will be opportunities for all in a global market where half of humanity already has at least one phone and before long nearly everyone will. According to Informa, around 160 million people already have web-savvy smartphones. Nokia offered mobile web access and apps long before the iPhone was dreamed about but it took Apple's genius to make them user-friendly and, more important, to break the resistance of telcos to "unlimited data" packages. The iPhone/iPod Touch is still a comparatively small player but accounts for a large proportion of people using their phones to access the web, a market it has singlehandedly prised open. Nokia, with 37% of the global phone market (and 43% of smartphones) won't lose, at least in the short term, because it operates in markets where Apple is absent. In the US, where it barely makes the top five in terms of unit sales, it ought now to be attractive to all the other operators looking for an iPhone killer. It will have tough competition from Google's Android handsets and from the well-received Palm Pre, not to mention the BlackBerry, but if it irons out the teething problems on the N97 it has all to play for.

These devices seem expensive – the N97 costs £499 with 32GB of memory without a contract, while the iPhone 3GS starts at £440 for 16GB (or £538 for 32GB) – but as they relieve you of the need to buy an MP3 player, a camera, a video camera, a satnav system, a tape recorder, a watch, an alarm clock, a calculator, even a computer, and goodness knows what else, they are remarkably affordable. No wonder smartphones are booming even in the midst of an international recession.

(8) CLIMATE and rainfall, not land-clearing, the main cause of salinity
Higher rainfall holds key to salinity

Date: June 29 2009

Ben Cubby Environment Reporter

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/water-issues/higher-rainfall-holds-key-to-salinity-20090628-d1az.html

CLIMATE and rainfall, not land-clearing, have emerged as the main drivers of salinity in south-eastern Australia, in a study that could overturn decades of research.

By studying historical records for thousands of water bores across NSW, researchers from the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change and the University of NSW have shown that salinity is traceable to rising groundwater levels.

This means that the salinity crisis that threatened thousands of farms in the 1980s and '90s is now in retreat as the land dries out as a result of drought and climate change. Higher groundwater levels mean more water interacts with friable, sandy soil and forms the crust of salt that can accelerate erosion and destroy agricultural productivity.

"The mistake we made in the past was to assume that the kind of rainfall we were seeing from the middle of the 20th century was normal, whereas it was actually quite wet by historical standards," said Professor Ian Acworth, a University of NSW hydrologist who worked with the environment department researcher Aleksandra Rancic.

Long-term rainfall variability, separate from human-induced climate change, is expected to mean that slightly drier conditions will up to the middle of the century, followed by another period of higher average rainfall.

"Dry land salinity is not going to be a problem as much in the first half of this century than it was in the last half of the previous century," Professor Acworth said.

"Another way to look at it is to say we probably have about 40 years to repair marginal land."

The standard response to encroaching salinity has been to plant trees, because chopping trees down to extend grazing land has been seen as the prime cause of the salinity crisis. But the groundwater research strongly suggests that land-clearing has played a secondary role.

Another factor is that Australia's soils may be particularly prone to going saline, Professor Acworth said, given that many countries have cut down most of their native trees without experiencing salinity.

The records from water bores show that an extended dry period lasted from the beginning of the "Federation drought" in 1895 until just after World War II. There was then a shift to higher rainfall, and with it increasing reports of farms being overtaken by salinity. The crisis appears to have peaked in the '90s, with about 2.5 million hectares of land affected.



Peter Myers, 381 Goodwood Rd, Childers 4660, Australia ph +61 7 41262296
http://mailstar.net/index.html

I use the old Mac OS; being incompatible, it cannot run Windows viruses or transmit them to you.

Never respond to emails offering pornography or sex; never click on links they provide. Intelligence agencies may be using them to lure and trap dissidents (e.g. on charges of "sex with a minor" or "being in possession of child pornography"). Mordecai Vanunu was lured by a "honey trap", after which he was jailed solitary for 18 years; and he never even got the honey. Don't try to fight  the government with guns - that just gives them an excuse for getting rid of you. Your most potent weapon is information - that's what Big Brother is really scared of.

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