Universal Detection Technology may result in a smartphone radiation detector app for food

Smartphones just keep getting smarter as more and more apps are developed, and now, they may soon be able to detect radiation in food. Tech firm Universal Detection Technology (UDT), in collaboration with Honeywell International, one of the nation’s larger defense…

Congress OKs 30,000 flying drones spying on Americans across U.S. cities

(NaturalNews)It’s the most benign thing in the world. In fact, it’s a concept whose time has come and it will only help protect us and keep us safe. Naturally, there’s nothing to worry about because there won’t be any abuse of the technology. After all, spy drones are already being…

Cocoa from dark chocolate lowers risk from colon cancer

Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths annually, a statistic that remains constant despite increased awareness of the deadly disease. Researchers from the Science and Technology Institute of Food and Nutrition in Spain have published the result of a…

Android smartphone software tracks every user action and keystroke, analysis finds

(NaturalNews) Smartphone devices are convenient, handy tools for staying in touch with friends and family, getting directions on the go, and accessing a variety of helpful user applications from virtually anywhere. But a recent analysis of smartphones loaded with Google’s Android software platform reveals that the technology can also track every movement, action, and keystroke of users, which represents a serious breach of privacy. The UK’s Telegraph reports that preloaded Android software known as “Carrier IQ” secretly monitors and records the websites Android users access from their mobile phones, as well as the text messages they send and receive and even the individual keystrokes they make. The technology also logs a history of where users are located geographically while performing these tasks. Carrier IQ claims that its software only tracks this information for the benefit of its users and their smartphone experience, and does not sell the information to third parties. But Trevor Eckhart, a developer of Android “app” software and a security researcher, conducted a test on his own personal Android phone and found that the software keeps an active record of every keystroke made, every text message sent, and where users conduct such activity — and it sends all this information directly to Carrier IQ. Eckhart recently posted a video to YouTube that explains how the data collection process works, and how it is quietly transmitted back to Carrier IQ without user knowledge. You can view that video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/TrevorEckhart On the one hand, the collection of such information makes sense as it allows network providers and application developers to better understand how mobile phone users use their phones, which can then be used to improve the overall user experience. On the other hand, private information could end up in the hands of government officials and others who may want to spy on citizens and track their private activity. “I have no problem with improving service. I hate dropped calls too,” says Tim Armstrong, a researcher at Kaspersky Lab, an antivirus software developer, concerning the issue. “What I do have a problem with is service providers who are intentionally uninformative about what they are doing with your data on a device you’ve paid for, and then not allowing any type of removal or opt-out.” A recent Fox News report explains that several class-action lawsuits have been filed in California, Delaware, and elsewhere against Carrier IQ over its data collection practices. Sources for this article include: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8927164/Software-on-Android-phones-tracking-every-key-stroke.html http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/removing-carrieriq-really-bad-idea-most-mobile-phone-users-120711 http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/06/in-tracking-companies-reveal-their-low-iq/

Google spider technology now capable of cataloging, archiving comments made through Facebook

(NaturalNews) The days of internet anonymity are waning as the veil of privacy that used to accompany making comments on articles and blogs is a thing of the past. TIME – Techland reports that Google has updated its “Googlebots” technology to track and index AJAX / Javascript comments made through Facebook, as well as through several other major comment engines including Livefyre and Disqus. For many years, Googlebot “web spiders” have been tracking and archiving websites. This is how the Google search engine is able to pull up webpage results when users input various search queries. But the technology has been expanded to include the capture of content made through third-party comment systems as well, which today include comments made directly under a real name. The announcement comes just a few weeks after it was discovered that Facebook directly tracks user activity on the internet, even after a person is logged out of the social networking site: http://www.naturalnews.com/033713_Facebook_tracking.html While the comment indexing system has the potential to improve the quality and integrity of comments made on websites — after all, who wants his real name permanently attached to a potentially inflammatory or inappropriate comment that is searchable by anyone? — it may also discourage some individuals from making comments at all. A major concern centers around the fact that comments made through such portals will now be easily searchable simply by typing a person’s name into a search engine. Anything a person has said on the web using his or her real name will be instantly retrievable. And websites that use these comment systems, for example NaturalNews now uses Facebook comments will be identified in searches based on user comment as well. In other words, if you make comments with Facebook using your real name, anyone can Google search your name and title, and everything you have ever written in a comment section under that name and title will be instantly accessible. The new indexing system only applies to comment systems linked to third-party websites. Private Facebook comments made on someone’s “Wall,” for instance, are not traceable by Googlebots, at least not yet. Sources for this article include: http://techland.time.com/2011/11/02/google-can-now-index-your-comments-made-through-facebook/

US to break record number of solar panel installations in 2011

(NaturalNews) Solar technology has made tremendous advances in recent years, which has in turn prompted significant growth in commercial and residential photovoltaic (PV) panel installations. And for the first time in history, the US solar panel market will exceed one gigawatt (GW) in new PV energy production during a single year, according to recent report by Greentech Media . In 2010, the US reached 887 megawatts (MW) in new PV panel installations. But that rate is expected to more than double by the end of 2011. Forecasts project that a whopping 1.8 GW in new PV panel installations will have taken place by the start of 2012 — and by the end of 2012, that amount is expected to more than double again, topping four GW of new PV installations. “On the whole, the US is currently the PV industry’s most attractive and stable growth market,” said Shayle Kann, Managing Director of Solar at GTM Research, which publishes the quarterly Solar Market Insight Report that unveiled the new data. “This is reflected in our report’s quarterly market data and in the comments from global suppliers, distributors, and developers, all of who see the US positioned to nearly double its global market share in 2011 and support a greater diversity of installation types than has previously been seen in any leading demand center.” Germany and Italy are currently the world leaders in solar energy production, but the US is quickly shaping up to earn a spot in this top tier of alternative energy-producing countries as well. And with advances being made to reduce overall production and maintenance costs of PV cells, more homeowners than ever will be able to afford them. Back in 2010, for instance, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) developed a new type of PV solar panel that performs at roughly 90 percent quantum efficiency. And because the technology uses only two percent semiconductors (the most expensive aspect of solar panels) and 98 percent plastic, the new panels are set to cost far less than those currently on the market (http://www.naturalnews.com/028691_solar_cells_efficiency.html). Also in 2010, scientists from the University of Southern California developed flexible, “organic” solar cells that cost less to produce than traditional solar cells, and that can be used in a wider variety of applications thanks to their pliable design (http://www.naturalnews.com/029347_organic_solar_cells.html). Sources for this story include: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/America-Finally-Joins-the-1-Gigawatt-PV-Club/

An unlimited supply of hydrogen energy from wastewater? New research suggests it’s possible

(NaturalNews) Hydrogen-based energy technology currently lacks the ability to effectively and efficiently produce hydrogen on a large scale apart from the heavy input of fossil fuels which defeats the purpose entirely. But a professor out of Penn State University (PSU) has discovered a novel new way to produce hydrogen using simple wastewater or saltwater — and theoretically, the technology could one day produce an unlimited supply of renewable energy. Published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academies of Science , research by Bruce Logan, a professor of environmental engineering at PSU, and his colleague Younggy Kim reveals that adding a precise amount of a certain “activated” bacteria to either wastewater or saltwater effectively produces hydrogen energy as its byproduct. Upon experimenting with electrical currents, the duo discovered that the hydrogen-producing bacteria advantageously began to consume organic compounds in the water after being activated with a surge of electricity. And if connected to an energy-intensive wastewater treatment plant, which would also serve as the water source, a large-scale, hydrogen-producing bacterial facility could convert large amounts of water into hydrogen without even needing to be externally powered. “You can hitch a wastewater treatment (sic) to a hydrogen production plant without any external energy,” Logan is quoted as saying to Fast Company . “Right now the main barriers are, can we do this on a large scale, and can we do this economically?” Logan believes that his process has incredible potential, especially if considered as an incremental advancement in the larger picture of alternative energy development. While it may not be fully refined and optimized, it stands to open the door to further advancements in viably producing energy without the use of fossil fuels, not to mention turn a theory into a reality. “People are investing large amounts of money into technologies that have large scale impacts on energy production,” added Logan. “But there are ways to make the same kind of change from the summation of smaller advances.” Like many of the other energy developments that have been announced in recent years, only time will tell if Logan’s hydrogen advancement shapes up into an actual product, or if it will simply remain an unfulfilled pipe dream. Sources for this story include: http://www.fastcompany.com/1781495/making-hydrogen-from-salt-water-and-wastewater-forever

Climate ‘science’ gone wild: UK researchers to pump toxic sulfates into sky to promote global cooling

(NaturalNews) Deniers of geo-engineering, or man-made weather manipulation, truly are the real conspiracy theorists, as climate “scientists” have once again openly admitted that they have the technology to alter weather at will. And a recent piece in Scientific American highlights a new geo-engineering endeavor being undertaken by UK scientists, who plan to pump toxic sulfate particles into the sky to supposedly thwart natural sunlight back into space, and ultimately prevent the earth from “warming.” The report explains that the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Change Engineering (SPICE) program (yes, this is a real program that confirms the existence of “chemtrails”) has been given $30,000 to build a giant pipe that spews water and sulfates a mile up into the stratosphere. Supported at the end by a giant “stadium-size hydrogen balloon,” the pipe will allegedly mimic the effects of a volcanic eruption, which the team building it insists will help to “cool” the earth. The obvious idiocy of such a ridiculous project would be laughable if it were not for the fact that money, presumably derived from taxpayers, is going to be used to pump the sky with toxic particles. Any supposed “reflection” of sunlight back into space that might occur by such actions (a hypothesis that is highly disputed and is most likely a myth ) will hardly make up for the damage done to our skies in the name of climate science. Nevertheless, the team plans to move full-steam ahead with the project, regardless of its environmental impact. And if initial tests are successful, the team plans to develop a larger version of the device that reaches 20 kilometers, or about 12.5 miles, into the sky. Besides the strangeness of the project itself, the Scientific American report’s admission that airplanes have already been used as one of the delivery modes for sulfate particles in the past also confirms the existence of chemtrails, or the deliberate aerosol seeding of the sky by planes with unknown particles. The report clearly cites Russia as a purveyor of chemtrails back in 1999, and also talks about how the new pipe project will cost less than what it would cost to “launch thousands of high-altitude aircraft” into the sky for spraying purposes. In reality, though, “high-altitude aircraft” chemtrail operations have been taking place for years. But in order to gradually condition the public into accepting the concept itself as normal, government and media are pretending as though chemtrails are not yet widely used, while simultaneously admitting that the technology exists (after denying it for years). Their end goal, of course, is to systematically convince the public that poisoning the sky is necessary to prevent climate change. Sources for this story include: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=uk-researchers-to-test-artificial-volcano-for-geoengineering-the-climate

Police grant Apple security officials unlawful access to private home in search of missing iPhone 5 prototype

(NaturalNews) Just weeks before the speculated launch of Apple Inc.’s long-awaited iPhone 5, the technology giant has once again lost a critical prototype of the unreleased smartphone, according to SF Weekly . After supposedly tracing the device back to the home of a San Francisco man, undercover Apple security agents were reportedly accompanied by San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) officers to the man’s home, where they proceeded to search the home as if they were law enforcement. According to SFPD Lt. Troy Dangerfield, “three or four” SFPD officers accompanied two Apple security agents, one of whom was later identified as Anthony Colon, to the Bernal Heights home of Sergio Calderon, the man believed to have possession of the missing prototype. The SFPD officers remained outside, but allowed the Apple employees to search Calderon’s home, car, and computer for evidence of the phone. They never found anything. “When they came to my house, they said they were SFPD,” said Calderon to SF Weekly . “I thought they were SFPD. That’s why I let them in,” adding that if he had known the two agents were from Apple, he would have refused their entry. Neither one, according to Calderon, identified himself as being a private security officer. Calderon had allegedly been visited previously by officers, six of whom came to his house in July and offered him $300 if he returned the device. But Calderon claims he has never had the device in his possession. Dangerfield has admitted that SFPD officers accompanied the Apple agents to Calderon’s house, and agrees that they remained outside. However, if it is later confirmed that the group failed to properly identify the two men that searched Calderon’s home, the incident could be determined a misdemeanor crime for illegal impersonation of police officers. Sources for this story include: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2011/09/iphone_5_apple_police.php

National Public Radio underwritten by Monsanto?

(NaturalNews) There was a strong reaction recently observed over public radio stations touting Monsanto and running Monsanto’s promotional ads. Technically, it wasn’t NPR (National Public Radio) as most assumed, but a program called Marketplace that is underwritten by Monsanto. American Pubic Media (APM) produces Marketplace. But both NPR and Marketplace broadcast during the same time frame from stations that are public radio affiliates. They share the same network apparatus and appeal to the same audience. Monsanto’s use of the APM platform is a crafty PR maneuver to suck in gullible listeners by using the “feeding the world mantra” while ignoring Monsanto’s dark legacy of profiting from toxic destruction and harassing farmers who try to do the right thing. (Legacy in source below) Naive Public Perception of Public Radio American Public Media’s 32 million listeners, many of whom are liberal academics, accept public radio as unbiased, truthful news coverage. The same is true of NPR. They are all considered not-for-profit public radio, and they are carried by local not for profit radio stations. But why don’t APM’s or NPR’s reporters and the majority of its listeners know what’s really going on with Monsanto? There are some really well done, accurate documentaries that reveal the truth about Monsanto. “The World According to Monsanto,” “The Corporation” and “Food Inc” are examples. They have all been released during this past decade and are available on DVD. The best of those three, “The World According to Monsanto” was even available for viewing on the internet until it was taken down – by Monsanto maybe? Perhaps politically correct public radio listeners consider such information conspiracy theory rubbish. Being politically correct is more important than conspiracy reality for many. And perhaps decent paying jobs in public radio are more important to journalists than real investigative reporting. NPR escaped culpability of broadcasting Monsanto propaganda by pointing to APM’s Marketplace, which aired this type of underwriting (sponsor) announcement for two years. Marketplace is supported by Monsanto, committed to sustainable agriculture creating hybrid and biotech seeds designed to increase crop yields and conserve natural resources. Learn more at ProduceMoreConserveMore.com. A more recent short documentary, “Farmer to Farmer,” clearly showed GMO farming is unsustainable. This documentary included GMO and conventional farmers’ testimonies. So here is yet another documentary ignored by public radio. Besides being a blatant lie on all counts, this announcement pushed FFC guidelines to the limit for public broadcast. Announcing who is underwriting (sponsoring) is allowed, but promoting or allowing that sponsor to promote is not permitted. While many listeners may have winced and let those short announcements go, there was a recent Monsanto propaganda report on Marketplace that many could not ignore. The title alone is the tip of the iceberg. The Non-Organic Future The title is “The Non-Organic Future.” It was not a report registering concern over all that threatens organic agriculture, as one would expect from public radio. It condemned organic farming as a threat to topsoil while praising conventional and GMO farming as the true solutions to feeding the world. (Report broadcast transcript in sources below) There were no interviews of anyone who opposed pesticide monoculture farming or GMOs. A couple of shills for GMO and conventional farming with establishment “credentials” did all the talking. And the reporter, Adriene Hill, introduced the report with this comment regarding the concept of small organic farms around cities “This isn’t the future — not if we want to feed everyone.” Get over it? Evidently Ms. Hill and Marketplace conveniently overlooked the 2009 conclusions of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD), sponsored by the UN and World Bank. It took 4.5 years for the IAASTD’s 400 experts to arrive at the conclusion that small organic farming is the only way to maintain sustainable agriculture that could feed the world. Follow the Money According to Anna Lapp, author of Diet for a Hot Planet , the biotech friendly marketplace report was not sloppy reporting. Anna wrote, “Rather than being sloppy, it turns out that the reporting is actually a carefully constructed thank you gift for a prized advertiser.” NPR was not really the culprit this time . But let’s have a look at NPR’s association with Bill Gates and his Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. According to a Seattle Times February 19, 2011 article “Does Gates media funding taint objectivity?” a $3.6 million Gates grant went to PBS’ News Hour, another $3.3 million to Public Radio International, $1 million to PBS’ Frontline, and $5 million to NPR . The Gates Foundation distributes these funds for “influencing policy and advocacy.” The approach is sly. Influence the public to get behind tackling issues such as vaccinations and “sustainable” farming to cure the world’s ills. This is the same Bill Gates who now owns a huge chunk of stock in Monsanto valued at over $23 million in 2010. And it’s the same Gates who announced this century as the vaccine century, which he went on to say could help reduce the world population by 15%. Vaccines cause more harm than good and have been used as carriers of infertility agents in third world vaccination campaigns. Yes, appearing like a mild-mannered concerned geek gets a lot of support from the politically correct naive who don’t know the dark side of GMOs and vaccinations. Gates’ approach is sly and slick. He usually appeals to the need for actions rather than the what the actions really do. This makes it easier for public opinion to marginalize critics of GMOs and vaccinations, even when they are forced in Africa by gunpoint. (Natural News below) A financial alliance with Monsanto, directly or indirectly, is a pact with the devil. Despite public radio’s claiming their reporting is not affected by its “underwriters”, a public radio euphemism for sponsor, the Marketplace report and its Monsanto ads prove otherwise. One does not bite the hand that feeds it, especially if it’s the devil’s hand. Organic Consumer Organization’s (OCA) Millions Against Monsanto would like you to email a complaint in your name to Marketplace/APM using their form via this link. http://capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=13418576 Sources used in this article and for your perusal: Monsanto’s dark legacy http://www.badseed.info/resources/monsanto.pdf The transcript from the “Non Organic Future” Mareketplace report http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/05/04/pm-the-non-organic-future/ Gates policy influence media funding amounts http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014280379_gatesmedia.html Gates Foundation Monsanto investments http://www.infowars.com/gates-foundation-invests-in-monsanto/ Gates Foundation gunpoint forced vaccinations in Africa http://www.naturalnews.com/033119_vaccinations_gunpoint.html NPR Monsanto funding disclaimer http://www.npr.org/ombudsman/2009/06/npr_is_not_running_monsanto_sp_1.html American Public Media site http://americanpublicmedia.publicradio.org/ Monsanto targets public media to propagandize http://www.grist.org/article/national-public-propaganda

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