Monthly Archives: March 2023

How artificial skin is made and its uses, from treating burns to skin cancer – South China Morning Post

Posted: March 31, 2023 at 1:39 am

How artificial skin is made and its uses, from treating burns to skin cancer  South China Morning Post

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Sudhir Mishra reveals Bollywood is a ‘soft target’ when it comes to censorship, shares the whole concept – Indiatimes.com

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Sudhir Mishra reveals Bollywood is a 'soft target' when it comes to censorship, shares the whole concept  Indiatimes.com

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What Is NATO and Which Countries Are Members?

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After the Soviet Unions collapse in the early 1990s, the alliance took on a wider role. NATO forces made up of troops volunteered by member states operated as peacekeepers in Bosnia in the 1990s, and bombed Serbia in 1999 to protect Kosovo, where the alliance still has troops.

In addition to the United States and Canada, 10 other countries became part of NATO in 1949: Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Britain.

Since then, 18 more European powers have joined: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Turkey, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.

Other European countries have, over the years, avoided joining, often because of traditions of neutrality, like Ireland. But Russias invasion of Ukraine prompted two traditionally nonaligned countries, Sweden and Finland, to reconsider. They announced plans to seek membership in May and received formal invitations in June. Its expected to take several more months, however, for each existing member country to ratify the decision.

Ukraine, in contrast, has little prospect of membership any time soon, not least because of the risk of widening the conflict with Russia.

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NATO – 10 things you need to know about NATO

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Collective defence: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was founded in 1949 and is a group of 30 countries from Europe and North America that exists to protect the people and territory of its members. The Alliance is founded on the principle of collective defence, meaning that if one NATO Ally is attacked, then all NATO Allies are attacked. For example, when terrorists attacked the United States on 9/11 2001, all NATO Allies stood with America as though they had also been attacked.

Since 2014, NATO has implemented the biggest increase in its collective defence since the Cold War. For instance, we have now deployed four multinational battlegroups to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Their purpose is not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent one.

Managing crises around the world: Promoting stability in our neighbourhood and protecting our people at home can sometimes mean taking action further afield. In the 1990s, NATO stopped further bloodshed from occurring in Bosnia and Kosovo. Since 2003, NATO has helped to ensure that Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for international terrorist groups. NATO has also helped to prevent piracy off the Horn of Africa and, since 2016, has helped address the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe.

Fighting Terrorism: NATO plays an important role in fighting terrorism, contributing more than 13,000 NATO troops to train local forces in Afghanistan. NATO is also a full member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and our AWACS surveillance aircraft continue to support the Coalition. NATO is also training Iraqi forces to better fight ISIS, and our new Intelligence Division helps us to anticipate and respond to threats. In Naples, NATO has set up a Hub for the South to help Allies tackle the threat of terrorism.

Working with our partners: Because threats like terrorism, piracy and cyber warfare know no borders, NATO is committed to cooperation with its global partners. That's why we work with over 40 partner countries around the world, as well as organisations such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the African Union, to spread stability and security.

Troops and Equipment: Whenever NATO carries out a mission, individual Allies commit troops and equipment to be placed under a unified NATO command. These become known as NATO forces. The only military equipment that NATO owns is a fleet of AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control) surveillance aircraft. NATO is also developing a capability for Global Hawk surveillance drones.

NATO's Command Structure: With so many countries working together, having a clear chain of command is vital. Military and civilian personnel from all member states work together every day within NATOs Command Structure. This includes two top-level Strategic Commands: Allied Command Operations, based in Mons, Belgium; and Allied Command Transformation, based in Norfolk in the United States. To remain fit for purpose, the NATO Command Structure is being modernised to enable us to move forces more quickly across Europe and to keep sea lines of communication across the Atlantic free and open.

NATO funding: Every NATO country contributes to the costs of running the Alliance. By far the Allies' biggest contribution comes in the form of taking part in NATO-led missions and operations. For example, one country might provide fighter jets, while another provides ships, equipment or troops. NATO Allies also provide direct funding to NATO to cover the costs of NATO staff and facilities, its Command Structure and its jointly-owned equipment, like its AWACS aircraft.

Defence Spending: At the Wales Summit in 2014, NATO Allies pledged to invest more and better in defence to stop the cuts, move towards spending 2% of GDP on defence by 2024, and to spend 20% of that on major equipment. We are making progress. Over the last three years, European Allies and Canada have spent almost 46 billion US dollars more on defence.

The "Open Door" Policy: The Open Door Policy is a founding principle of NATO and means that any country in the Euro-Atlantic area is free to join NATO if it is prepared to meet the standards and obligations of membership, contributes to the security of the Alliance, and shares NATO's values of democracy, reform, and the rule of law. Since 1949, NATO's membership has grown from 12 to 30 countries. In 2020 we welcomed North Macedonia as our 30th member of the NATO Alliance.

Cyber Defence: Cyber-attacks are becoming more common, sophisticated and damaging, making cyber defence a top priority for NATO. In fact, NATO now recognises cyberspace as an operational domain just as land, sea or air. NATO helps Allies to boost their cyber defences by sharing information about threats, investing in education and training, and through exercises. NATO also has cyber defence experts that can be sent to help Allies under attack.

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Sweden becomes ‘legitimate target’ by joining NATO, Russian envoy says – Fox News

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  1. Sweden becomes 'legitimate target' by joining NATO, Russian envoy says  Fox News
  2. Swedes will be 'sent to their deaths' if they join NATO, warns Moscow  Euronews
  3. Sweden summons Russian envoy over NATO membership threats  DW (English)

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Special Collection Service – Wikipedia

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Classified joint CIANSA program to insert eavesdropping equipment in difficult places

The Special Collection Service (SCS), codenamed F6,[1] is a highly classified joint U.S. Central Intelligence AgencyNational Security Agency program charged with inserting eavesdropping equipment in difficult-to-reach places, such as foreign embassies, communications centers, and foreign government installations. Established in the late 1970s and headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland,[2] the SCS has been involved in operations ranging from the Cold War to the Global War on Terrorism.

The SCS is a U.S. black budget program[3] that has been described as the United States' "Mission Impossible force," responsible for "close surveillance, burglary, wiretapping, breaking and entering."[4][5][6][7] It is headquartered in Beltsville, Maryland, in an obscured building that was at one time labeled simply "CSSG." Next door is the U.S. Department of State's Beltsville Messaging Center, to which the SCS is linked via fiber optic cable. The SCS is jointly staffed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA).[7][8][9] According to intelligence historian James Bamford, "The position of SCS chief alternates between NSA and CIA officials."[10] SCS operatives are based out of U.S. embassies and consulates overseas, and operatives often use Foreign Service or Diplomatic Telecommunications Service cover when deployed.[7][11][12] Their mission is to intercept sensitive information on espionage, nuclear arms, terrorist networks, drug trafficking and other national-security-related issues.[4]

The SCS was established to overcome a problem in that the NSA typically intercepts communications "passively" from its various intercept facilities throughout the world, yet the increasing sophistication of foreign communications equipment renders passive interception futile and instead requires direct access to the communications equipment. The CIA, meanwhile, has access to agents specializing in clandestine operations and thus is more able to gain access to foreign communication equipment, yet lacks the NSA's expertise in communications eavesdropping. Hence, the SCS was born, combining the communications intelligence capabilities of the NSA with the covert action capabilities of the CIA in order to facilitate access to sophisticated foreign communications systems.[4][13][14]

The SCS employs exotic covert listening device technologies to bug foreign embassies, communications centers, computer facilities, fiber-optic networks, and government installations.[4][5] The U.S. government has never officially acknowledged its existence, and little is known about the technologies and techniques it employs.[4] The sole inside account of SCS comes from a Canadian, Mike Frost, whose 1994 book Spyworld revealed that the program was known to insiders at the time as "College Park".[15] As of 2008, the SCS is reported to target for recruitment key foreign communications personnel such as database managers, systems administrators, and information technology specialists.[10]

During October 2013, reports by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden led to the unveiling of the SCS having systematically wiretapped Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel's private cell phone over a period of over 10 years, which among other activities to wiretap and systematically record large amounts of European and South American leaders' and citizens' communication by the NSA led to a distinct diplomatic backlash at the United States government.[16]

The SCS program was established in 1978 during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union.[1][4][15]

As encryption technology increased in sophistication, by the end of the 20th century many coded signals proved unbreakable. Due to this problem, bugging techniques and technologies saw a revival: unable to easily intercept and decrypt foreign communications through passive means, the U.S. government needed to instead intercept the communications at their source, and thus the SCS program was expanded in the 1990s to fulfill this need.[17][18][19]

According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, the SCS is part of a larger global surveillance program known as STATEROOM.[20]

SCS operatives reportedly hid eavesdropping devices in pigeons perched on the windowsills of the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C.[7]

The SCS program was compromised by infamous Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) mole Robert Hanssen in the 1990s, which provided Moscow with sensitive information about highly sophisticated U.S. overseas bugging operations.[5][21] However, the program was so secret that, after Hanssen's arrest, the FBI would only describe it in general terms, as a "program of enormous value, expense, and importance to the U.S. government".[4][6]

In 1999, as the Clinton Administration sought to kill Osama bin Laden following the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, SCS operatives covertly entered Afghanistan to place eavesdropping devices within range of Al-Qaeda's tactical radios.[22]

The SCS was rumored to have been involved in the 2001 operation that planted 27 satellite-controlled bugs in the Boeing 767-300ER that was to be used as Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's official jet. The bugs were discovered, however, before they could be switched on.[23]

Prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, SCS was described as the "prime mover" of electronic surveillance in the country.[24] SCS operatives built numerous antennae, spaced throughout the Iraqi countryside, capable of intercepting Iraqi microwave communications. These Iraqi communications would have been otherwise difficult to intercept, because they beamed hilltop to hilltop in a narrow band, with an angle too oblique and thus too dissipated to be intercepted by air or spacecraft.[25]

In 1998, the U.S. government recruited an Australian operative under SCS and deployed him to Iraq. The operative reported concerns about what was transpiring in Iraq, in that there was "a very high volume of data, and that he was getting no feedback about whether it was good, bad, or useful". He further reported that "this was a massive intelligence collection operation one that was not in accordance with what UNSCOM was supposed to be doing" at the time.[24]

After the invasion, SCS operatives were employed in the hunt for Saddam Hussein, planting sophisticated eavesdropping equipment in target areas to intercept communications that were then analyzed by voice analysis experts.[26]

The SCS was heavily involved in eavesdropping to advance the Global War on Terrorism, setting up eavesdropping posts around Middle Eastern capitals and figures close to Osama bin Laden's terrorism network.[7][27] In 1999, an SCS team monitored al-Qaeda training camps near Khost.[1]

When the United States located Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, SCS operatives established a base in an apartment that the CIA had rented a mile away from the compound. They focused lasers on the compound windows and, by analyzing the vibrations, were able to count the number of people inside and outside, and also ascertained that there was one person who never ventured outside the compound. Bin Laden was killed inside the compound during a raid by U.S. special operations forces on May 2, 2011.[28][29]

Coordinates: 390242N 765125W / 39.045N 76.857W / 39.045; -76.857

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Springsteen is almost here, Midwest Meltdown at the Foundry and Latin futurism at The Grog: The week in live – cleveland.com

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Springsteen is almost here, Midwest Meltdown at the Foundry and Latin futurism at The Grog: The week in live  cleveland.com

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Human remains revealed by shrinking Lake Mead identified half a century …

Posted: at 1:33 am

Coroners in Las Vegas have identified human remains found in Lake Mead as its waters recede as those of a 39-year-old man who drowned nearly half a century ago.

The Clark county coroner said the remains were those of Donald Smith, a 39-year-old Las Vegas resident who drowned in April 1974. Officials ruled the death accidental.

The identification was based on DNA analysis and reports from the original incident, the coroner said.

A human bone was discovered last October in Calville Bay, by a diver who directed officials to the area.

It was the sixth set of remains discovered since May 2022, when a severe drought started to lower water levels dramatically.

Families boating, paddling and picnicking have come across haunting remains as the water reaches historic lows.

Along with human remains, the receding waters have revealed a second world war-era boat and a B-29 plane.

Three sets of partial remains come from a body found in May, when a couple boating on the lake came across a barrel with a body in it.

Intact clothing helped officials determine those remains dated back to the late 1970s or early 1980s. Local historians have speculated that the remains may be evidence of a victim of the mafia, who were known to dispose of bodies by cramming them into barrels.

One other set of remains has been identified. Thomas Erndt, a 42-year-old father, drowned in 2002 while swimming late at night. His remains were found on the popular Boulder Beach last summer.

Melanie Rouse, the Clark county coroner, told the Guardian in December Erndts family expressed gratitude over the recovery and identification as it gave them a sense of closure.

Thats one of the reasons why we continue to do what we do being able to provide closure and being able to return these unidentified individuals back to their families and provide them with a name, Rouse said.

Regarding the identification of Donald Smith, Las Vegas police said they did not have family contacts, the Associated Press reported.

Last year was one of the driest years on record in Las Vegas, as the American west experienced an unprecedented drought. Lake Mead, the largest US reservoir and a key water source for 25 million people, was just 26% full.

A giant bathtub ring could be seen along the lakes perimeter, showing just how low the level had fallen.

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FBI documents reveal details about Las Vegas mass shooter including possible motive that led to 60 people dying – KLAS – 8 News Now

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FBI documents reveal details about Las Vegas mass shooter including possible motive that led to 60 people dying  KLAS - 8 News Now

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What is Cyberpunk Genre Definition, Origins & Examples – StudioBinder

Posted: at 1:32 am

Cyberpunk DefinitionAnswering What is Cyberpunk?

As a sub-genre of science-fiction, Cyberpunk has managed to branch out and be so much more than its origins. That said, there is still a basic concrete definition from which many authors and artists start with when making something in this field. This is, essentially, what Cyberpunk meant and still means from the outset.

Cyberpunk is a science-fiction sub-genre dealing with the integration of society and technology in dystopian settings. Often referred to as low-life and high tech, Cyberpunk stories deal with outsiders (punks) who fight against the oppressors in society (usually mega corporations that control everything) via technological means (cyber). If the punks arent actively fighting against a megacorp, theyre still dealing with living in a world completely dependent on high technology.

The name Cyberpunk was coined by author Bruce Bethke, who used it as the title for one of his short stories. The author has said he didnt intend the name to represent this new category, and that the name itself came about through synthesis as he tried to combine different words together. The idea of the name a punk or troublemaker with insane computer skills remains.

The history of Cyberpunk origins, and what it consists of, is surprisingly extensive. So for the sake of all you readers at home, well condense it a bit here. But for those who have the time, take a look at the first part of Indigo Gamings documentary on Cyberpunk below.

What is Cyberpunk A documentary

The exact date from which this sub-genre emerged is not set in stone. However, certain books can point to its creation. In particular, Philip K. Dicks Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is seen as one of the first examples of this type of fiction (proto-Cyberpunk). It was part of the New Wave science fiction literature scene, which included many well-known authors, such as Dick, John Brunner, J.G. Ballard, and Bruce Sterling.

In the 1960s and 70s, these authors and others created science fiction worlds that rejected optimistic utopias. Instead, they opted for dystopian near-futures, where technology had advanced too far and nations as we knew them ceased to exist. These were also topics of popular sci-fi cinema of the 70s, but as far as Cyberpunk goes, it was still in the zygote phase of its creation.

It would not be until the 1980s that the sub-genre would truly make itself known to the world with the iconic film Blade Runner (1982). Based on Dicks Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Blade Runner is not 100% Cyberpunk by definition, but its look, feel, and setting means it qualifies.

It introduced the world to a dystopian near future of constant rain, overpopulation, electric billboards, and humanoid androids. Whats more, it influenced William Gibson, a man frequently referred to as the godfather of Cyberpunk. Additionally, Katsuhiro Otomos manga series AKIRA began serialization in Japan the same year Blade Runner released.

Cyberpunk origins Blade Runner

But lets not digress from Gibson, for in 1984 he released Neuromancer, which is known as the Cyberpunk novel. Featuring a console cowboy, clear divisions between the rich and poor, a pre-internet internet (the matrix, aka cyberspace), and artificial intelligence, this novel more or less announced the arrival of Cyberpunk as we know it.

By the mid to late 80s, Cyberpunk already had its own anthology book and a tabletop game. Which later became the basis for CD Projekt Reds video game adaption Cyberpunk 2077.

Additionally, Neuromancer had two sequels (and a video game) and Otomos AKIRA was made into a groundbreaking animated film, further influencing how the genre would look in the world of anime.

Cyberpunk AKIRA

By the 1990s, Cyberpunk had seriously hit the mainstream, to extremely questionable success. Some of William Gibsons short stories were even made into movies, with Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and New Rose Hotel (1998) (they were box office failures). And in-between those movies, filmmakers took influence from the genre and made movies like RoboCop (1987), The Running Man (1987), The Lawnmower Man (1992), Judge Dredd (1995), Strange Days (1995), and Ghost in the Shell (1995).

The Matrix (1999) eventually wound up being the most mainstream Cyberpunk influenced movie of its era. And by the time the Wachowskis they themselves influenced by Japanese Cyberpunk anime like Ghost in the Shell made The Matrix, the sub-genre of Cyberpunk had evolved in dramatic ways.

Cyberpunk in film The Matrix

Not getting into the overwhelming number of derivatives that exist, Cyberpunk was no longer just punks against the system (though that was certainly still a part of it). More than anything, films, television, and other mediums had taken elements from it to create stories that evoked Cyberpunk imagery and themes. Even if they themselves were not overly Cyberpunk in nature.

At the same time, Cyberpunk was moving away from literature, soon finding a home with movies, television, and above all else, video games. Seminal games like Shadowrun, Snatcher, Perfect Dark, the Metal Gear series, and the Deus Ex series have been among the most prominent and acclaimed examples of Cyberpunk fiction anywhere.

Cyberpunk retrospective Deus Ex

Even with Cyberpunk making a name for itself in video games, movies have continued to tackle its themes in different ways. Philip K. Dick keeps getting adapted with Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003), andA Scanner Darkly (2006).

Meanwhile, other filmmakers either keep adapting Japanese Cyberpunk anime/manga Ghost in the Shell (2017), Alita: Battle Angel (2019) or make their own stories with Cyberpunk themes, like Ex Machina (2015), Upgrade (2018), and Possessor (2020).

And of course, there is Blade Runner 2049 (2017), the ultimate example of just how much the original film and the sub-genre it helped create has influenced science-fiction as a whole.

Cyberpunk movie Blade Runner 2049

As the future seen in older Cyberpunk works has become both paradoxically outdated and real, the genre has found new life in new forms of media. It has spawned too many other sub-sub-genres to count, with post-Cyberpunk, dieselpunk, and steampunk being among them.

Theres even an entire Japanese film genre called Cyberpunk that takes the body modification element to unnerving (and horrific) extremes.

Its a sub-genre that exists as an attitude, a fashion trend, a political call to arms, and as a form of entertainment. Cyberpunk is no longer just one type of thing, but rather a greater and ever changing life form, one which never stops being relevant or cool to old and new fans alike.

Now that your crash course on Cyberpunk is complete, its time to look at what some of the best movies in the sub-genre have to offer. Our list ranks 10 of the best movies for filmmakers, ranging from under-seen gems to bonafide classics, all of which interpret cyberpunk in their own unique ways.

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What is Cyberpunk Genre Definition, Origins & Examples - StudioBinder

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