Dr. Lorraine Day is an internationally acclaimed orthopedic trauma surgeon and best selling author. She spent 15 years on the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine as Associate Professor and Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics. She was also Chief of Orthopedic Surgery at San Francisco General Hospital and is recognized world-wide as an AIDS expert.
In this interview: What is cancer? The true origin of AIDS and the secret to a healthy life.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Apple's iPhone 5S: Innovation on the Tip of Your Finger
Apple (AAPL) is going to launch the iPhone 5S (or whatever it decides to call the next iPhone) sooner rather than later. We all know that. What we don't know is what Apple will include to show consumers, Wall Street and the media that innovation at the tech giant is alive and well. That innovative feature could be the tip of your finger.
Apple acquired in the middle of 2012 AuthenTec, a company that deals with mobile and network security solutions. Before the merger, AuthenTec had been a major supplier to Apple rivals Samsung, Google (Google) and other handset makers for smartphone dominance.
AuthenTec's fingerprint technology could be used in the next iPhone to unlock the phone, or perhaps even for payments processing. When the deal was first announced in 2012, Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um speculated this could be the reason for the AuthenTec deal.
"We believe this deal signals the potential for fingerprint sensors in upcoming Apple devices, which not only increases device security, but could also be a mechanism to assure security needed to execute mobile payments on iPhones. We see this as likely one of the primary reasons for the acquisition," Um wrote in the note.
Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White agreed with the thought after attending a technology trade show in China.
"Additionally, we believe fingerprint identification technology will be part of the iPhone 5S and this is likely to be the major new feature used to market the iPhone 5S, similar to what Siri was to the iPhone 4S," White wrote in his note. He rates Apple "buy" with an $888 price target.
White also noted the screen size would be same as the iPhone 5, though the camera would be larger, and the left side buttons could be arranged differently.
Apple is hurting for good press these days (yours truly, notwithstanding), so any sign of innovation from the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant should be received well, at least initially.
In addition to the fingerprint technology that may come with the latest iPhone, there are rumors that iOS 7 is getting a major revamp, with Jony Ive, Apple's senior vice president of Industrial Design, now taking a more active role in software. Ive is responsible for the beautiful hardware designs Apple has released in the past, but with the management shakeup in 2012 that led to Scott Forstall's ouster, this has put Ive in a more active role as it pertains to software.
Wikileaks: The Government Is Spying On You Through Your iPhone
The FinFisher Trojan is government spyware that is installed via a phony iTunes update. Image by Gamma International UK Ltd.
Your iPhone could be spying on you, according to the latest trove of documents from Wikileaks, which looks like it could be the biggest scandal yet.
Called the Spyfiles, it’s a trove of documents about the “mass interception industry” — the massive post-9/11 surveillance community that electronically snoops on entire populations.
The industry is selling software to government agencies — some of it delivered by Trojans — that can take over your iPhone. It can track its every use, follow your movements (even in standby), recognize your voice, record conversations, and even capture video and audio from the room it is in.
It’s not just limited to iPhones, of course. There are various spyware packages that run on PCs, Android and Blackberry. The uses are mind-boggling. The CIA, for example, is using phone-tracking software to target drone strikes in the Middle East and Central Asia. It recognizes the subject by their voice print, but the actual targeting isn’t terribly accurate.
One of the most sophisticated spying packages — The FinFisher program, produced by the British company, Gamma International — is delivered via a phony iTunes update. The Wall Street Journal has more details on the FinFisher spyware, which is sold to police and government agencies. (Der Speigel has a fascinating article about how it is marketed).
Apple just patched the vulnerability in iTunes update 10.5.1. (The vulnerability appears to be Windows only, but it’s not clear. It’s claimed Apple knew about the problem for three years).
FinFisher says the spyware is legal and the company doesn’t know of abuses. But there’s evidence spyware was used to monitor political activists in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya during the Arab Spring, according to a big story about the latest Wikileaks leak in The Washington Post:
“We are seeing a growing number of repressive regimes get hold of the latest, greatest Western technologies and use them to spy on their own citizens for the purpose of quashing peaceful political dissent or even information that would allow citizens to know what is happening in their communities,” Michael Posner, assistant secretary of state for human rights, said in a speech last month in California. “We are monitoring this issue very closely.”
The Post mostly covers the sale of this technology by U.S. companies to repressive regimes, which are using it to spy on citizens and squish political dissent. But Wikileaks claims mass surveillance systems could be widely deployed in western countries:
Surveillance companies like SS8 in the U.S., Hacking Team in Italy and Vupen in France manufacture viruses (Trojans) that hijack individual computers and phones (including iPhones, Blackberries and Androids), take over the device, record its every use, movement, and even the sights and sounds of the room it is in. Other companies like Phoenexia in the Czech Republic collaborate with the military to create speech analysis tools. They identify individuals by gender, age and stress levels and track them based on ‘voiceprints’. Blue Coat in the U.S. and Ipoque in Germany sell tools to governments in countries like China and Iran to prevent dissidents from organizing online.
And you thought Carrier IQ was bad?
Wikileaks has promised to release hundreds of documents about 160 intelligence contractors in the mass surveillance industry through the rest of this month and next year. It released 278 documents on Thursday. Wikileaks is working with several privacy and media organizations.
Could Dairy Industry Sneak Aspartame Into Your Milk?
The FDA is considering a plan that would allow the dairy industry to add the sweetener aspartame to milk without having to label it. The plan is coming under fire from some farmers and some consumer groups.
Under current FDA regulations, any additions to milk have to be prominently displayed on the packaging.
One organic dairy farmer told Fox News Channel’s Douglas Kennedy, “Aspartame is a known carcinogen – leave the milk alone!”
Consumer groups have inundated the FDA with complaints about the proposal.
Report: Many urban tap water systems loaded with SSRI antidepressant drugs
As you may recall, the Associated Press (AP) released the results of a groundbreaking investigation it conducted back in 2008 concerning the presence of pharmaceutical drugs in the water supply. In this report, it was revealed that at least 41 million Americans are exposed daily to tap water containing trace amounts of antibiotics, sleeping pills, and even sex hormones. Now, a new report by TheFix.com brings to light the presence of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, in the water supply, and the genetic havoc they may potentially be wreaking on human health.
If you are an avid NaturalNews reader, you have probably already seen some of our many reports on the dangers of SSRIs. Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, under his pseudonym Amethios, actually released a music video back in 2012 entitled "S.S.R.Lies" that tackles the issue of SSRIs, and how these potent drugs can severely alter mood and even induce suicidal or homicidal tendencies in those that take them. You can view the music video in the link below this article.
But it now appears that many Americans do not even have a choice whether or not to willingly take SSRIs anymore, as the toxic chemicals are being quietly piped through water taps unseen. Though they are in far lower doses than what comes from the pharmacy, and in heavier dilution, these trace amounts of SSRIs can add up, especially when consumed perpetually over long periods of time. And since they are also accompanied by many other types of pharmaceutical drugs, their effects on the environment and humans are largely unknown.
"There's a good chance that if you live in an urban area, your tap water is laced with tiny amounts of antidepressants (mostly SSRIs like Prozac and Effexor), benzodiazepines (like Klonopin, used to reduce symptoms of substance withdrawal) and anti-convulsants (like Topomax, used to treat addiction to alcohol, nicotine, food and even cocaine and crystal meth)," writes Matt Harvey. "Whether or not this psychoactive waste has any effect on the human nervous system remains unclear, but when such pharmaceuticals are introduced into the ecosystem, the fallout for other species is demonstrable -- and potentially dire."
Beyond this, Harvey cites the fact that studies have linked SSRI exposure to genetic defects and other health problems. Minnows subjected to tap water spiked with a combination of SSRIs and anti-convulsants at the University of Idaho, for instance, exhibited 324 genetic alterations associated with neurological disorders like autism -- and these small fish were only exposed to the tainted water for a mere 18 days!
"Studies have shown that regular doses of SSRIs can sometimes damage human DNA, most notably in sperm," adds Harvey. "The minnows offer evidence that even trace amounts of SSRIs can infiltrate DNA."
So what can we all do to avoid this unwelcome pharmaceutical exposure? The first thing would be to install a whole-house water filtration system capable of capturing and removing drug particulates, especially if you live in an area served by a municipal water source. You can also contact your local water treatment facility and request information about its filtration methods, and whether or not they capture drug traces.
Source: Natural News
If you are an avid NaturalNews reader, you have probably already seen some of our many reports on the dangers of SSRIs. Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, under his pseudonym Amethios, actually released a music video back in 2012 entitled "S.S.R.Lies" that tackles the issue of SSRIs, and how these potent drugs can severely alter mood and even induce suicidal or homicidal tendencies in those that take them. You can view the music video in the link below this article.
But it now appears that many Americans do not even have a choice whether or not to willingly take SSRIs anymore, as the toxic chemicals are being quietly piped through water taps unseen. Though they are in far lower doses than what comes from the pharmacy, and in heavier dilution, these trace amounts of SSRIs can add up, especially when consumed perpetually over long periods of time. And since they are also accompanied by many other types of pharmaceutical drugs, their effects on the environment and humans are largely unknown.
"There's a good chance that if you live in an urban area, your tap water is laced with tiny amounts of antidepressants (mostly SSRIs like Prozac and Effexor), benzodiazepines (like Klonopin, used to reduce symptoms of substance withdrawal) and anti-convulsants (like Topomax, used to treat addiction to alcohol, nicotine, food and even cocaine and crystal meth)," writes Matt Harvey. "Whether or not this psychoactive waste has any effect on the human nervous system remains unclear, but when such pharmaceuticals are introduced into the ecosystem, the fallout for other species is demonstrable -- and potentially dire."
Exposure to SSRIs found to damage DNA, induce neurological damage
A 1999 paper published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives revealed that a steady stream of pharmaceuticals continuously makes its way back into water supplies due to inadequate filtration techniques. Pharmaceutical substances are often smaller than the filtration devices used at municipal water treatment plants to carry out solid waste, which means unknown levels of such substances make it right back into your water glass if you drink tap water.Beyond this, Harvey cites the fact that studies have linked SSRI exposure to genetic defects and other health problems. Minnows subjected to tap water spiked with a combination of SSRIs and anti-convulsants at the University of Idaho, for instance, exhibited 324 genetic alterations associated with neurological disorders like autism -- and these small fish were only exposed to the tainted water for a mere 18 days!
"Studies have shown that regular doses of SSRIs can sometimes damage human DNA, most notably in sperm," adds Harvey. "The minnows offer evidence that even trace amounts of SSRIs can infiltrate DNA."
So what can we all do to avoid this unwelcome pharmaceutical exposure? The first thing would be to install a whole-house water filtration system capable of capturing and removing drug particulates, especially if you live in an area served by a municipal water source. You can also contact your local water treatment facility and request information about its filtration methods, and whether or not they capture drug traces.
Source: Natural News
Hacker demonstrates how to hijack an airplane using an Android app
A security consultant by the name of Hugo Teso claims he has created an Android app called PlaneSploit that would allow him to remotely attack and hijack commercial aircraft. He recently presented his findings at the Hack in the Box security conference in Amsterdam where, among other things, he exposed the fact that a number of aviation and aircraft systems have no security in place.
Teso, a trained commercial pilot for 12 years, reiterated that the Automated Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is unencrypted and unauthenticated which can lead to passive attacks like eavesdropping or active attacks such as message jamming and injection. Furthermore, the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) – a service used to send text-based messages between aircraft and ground stations - also has no security.
With these vulnerabilities in mind, he used virtual planes in a lab to demonstrate his ability to hijack a plane rather than attempting to take over a real flight as that was “too dangerous and unethical.” He used ACARS to gain access to the plane’s onboard computer system and uploaded Flight Management System data.
Once in, he demonstrated how it was possible to manipulate the steering of a Boeing jet while it was in autopilot mode. The security consultant said he could cause a crash by setting the aircraft on a collision course with another jet or even give passengers a scare by dropping down the emergency oxygen masks without warning.
A pilot could thwart an attack by taking the plane out of autopilot although he pointed out that several newer systems no longer include manual controls. Some systems could be updated to patch the vulnerabilities but many legacy systems would be difficult, if not impossible, to update.
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