Entertainment

The Pan-Universal Parental Reconciliation / The Middleman

Live recording of the cast reunion/live table read of the script for The Middleman: Volume 5 – The Pan-Universal Parental Reconciliation.

Crowdfunded in 2013 by legions of loyal Middlefans, the cast and writers of the ABC Family cult hit come back together — joined by special guest star Amber Benson — for a very special, one-time-only reunion to read the script for the new Middleman graphic novel — via Youtube

Business, Wildlife

Lost & Found Service / KLM

KLM’s dedicated Lost & Found team at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is on a mission to reunite lost items as soon as possible with their legitimate owner. From a teddy bear found by the cabin crew to a laptop left in the lounge. Locating the owners can sometimes be a challenge, so special forces have been hired… — via Youtube

Design, Wildlife

Bear Hug / Permafrost

The Bear Hug set of rugs is a tessellation, meaning that the identical shapes fit together gaplessly. New bears can be added in every direction, covering an entire floor if needed — via Permafrost

Wildlife

Cheetah Cub Sisters / San Diego Zoo Safari Park

Two cheetah cubs being hand raised by animal care staff at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park are receiving around-the-clock care and bottle feedings at the Park’s Animal Care Centre. The female cubs were born to a cheetah at the Safari Park’s Cheetah Breeding Facility. As the mother, Allie, has been unsuccessful raising her previous litters, animal care staff made the decision to hand rear these littermates, born on 1 September.

The nearly three-week-old cubs are growing quickly and now weigh around 3 pounds each. They are becoming increasingly active now that their eyes are open and their vision is becoming clearer. Animal care staff says that these cubs are full of personality, noting that at only a few days old, the youngsters were already swatting and interacting with each other.

Every baby’s different, but these cheetahs really seem to be developing quickly in our eyes, said Eileen Neff, lead keeper, San Diego Zoo Safari Park. They are great eaters, they started playing when they were just three or four days old. They could barely walk at that time, so it was pretty interesting seeing them tumbling around with each other.

These cubs with be animal ambassadors and each will be paired with a domestic dog for companionship, as are all ambassador cheetahs at the Safari Park and San Diego Zoo. The dog’s body language communicates to the cheetah that there’s nothing to fear in new or public surroundings, which relaxes and calms the cheetah — via Youtube

Entertainment

The Shift / Francesco Calabrese

THE SHIFT from Francesco Calabrese on Vimeo

1964. An ordinary day turns out to be anything but, when Joe comes home to find out that his wife Betty hasn’t been cooking dinner. And there’s a very good reason for that.

Written, Directed & Edited by Francesco Calabrese with Molly C Quinn, Ryan Welsh and Whitney Hoy

Politics, Rights, Technology

Australian Government Scrambles to Authorise Mass Surveillance

This week, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott used recent terrorist threats as the backdrop of a dire warning to Australians that for some time to come, the delicate balance between freedom and security may have to shift. There may be more restrictions on some, so that there can be more protection for others.

This pronouncement came as two of a series of three bills effecting that erosion of freedoms made their way through Australia’s Federal Parliament. These were the second reading of a National Security Amendment Bill which grants new surveillance powers to Australia’s spy agency, ASIO, and the first reading of a Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill that outlaws speech seen as advocating terrorism. A third bill on mandatory data retention is expected to be be introduced by the end of the year.

Whilst all three bills in this suite raise separate concerns, the most immediate concern—because the bill in question could be passed this week — is the National Security Amendment Bill. Introduced into Parliament on 16 July, it endured robust criticism during public hearings last month that led into an advisory report released last week. Nevertheless the bill was introduced into the Senate this Tuesday with the provisions of most concern still intact.

In simple terms, the bill allows law enforcement agencies to obtain a warrant to access data from a computer—so far, so good. But it redefines a computer to mean not only one or more computers but also one or more computer networks. Since the Internet itself is nothing but a large network of computer networks, it seems difficult to avoid the conclusion that the bill may stealthily allow the spy agency to surveil the entire Internet with a single warrant.

Apart from allowing the surveillance of entire computer networks, the bill also allows the addition, deletion or alteration of data stored on a computer, provided only that this would not materially interfere with, interrupt or obstruct a communication in transit or the lawful use by other persons of a computer unless … necessary to do one or more of the things specified in the warrant. Given the broad definition of computer, this provision is broad enough to authorise website blocking or manipulation, and even the insertion of malware into networks targeted by the warrant — via redwolf.newsvine.com