Speed guns can help cops detect suicide bombers

Radar guns used by police to spot speeding motorists could help identify would-be suicide bomber in a crowd, say researchers.
A radar gun fires microwave pulses at a car and measures the Doppler shift of the reflected signal to calculate its velocity. However, the strength and polarisation of the reflected signal – the radar cross section – can provide additional information about the size and shape of the reflecting object and the material it is made from.
Researchers wondered whether the wiring in a suicide vest would alter the radar cross section of a bomber enough to allow a radar gun to pick him or her out in a crowd, reports New Scientist.
To find out, William Fox of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and John Vesecky of the University of California, Santa Cruz, used software to simulate how radar signals at 1 gigahertz and 10 gigahertz would be reflected by the most common arrangements of looped wiring typically used by suicide bombers.
They found that the clearest reflected signals were in the 10 gigahertz range.
Together with colleague Kenneth Laws, they then fired low-power 10 gigahertz radar pulses at groups of volunteers, some wearing vests wired up like suicide vests.
About 85% of the time, telltale factors in the polarisation of the reflected signals allowed them to correctly identify a “bomber” up to 10m away.
The team now hopes that the US army will fund further development of the system, allowing them to boost the detection rate and include refinements to avoid false alarms being triggered by metal parts in underwired bras, jewellery and earphone leads.
The researchers suggest military checkpoints would be major users of such a system – but it could also be installed alongside CCTV cameras in shopping malls, railway stations, airports and high streets.
source:times of india

Sugar cube-sized supercomps? Prototype Built; Massive Shrinking To Make Future Devices More Energy Efficient

IBM scientists have said that a pioneering research effort could shrink the world’s most powerful supercomputer processors to the size of a sugar cube.
The approach will see many computer processors stacked on top of one another, cooling them with water flowing between each one.
The aim is to reduce computers’ energy use, rather than just to shrink them. Some 2% of the world’s total energy is consumed by building and running computer equipment.
Bruno Michel said future computer costs would hinge on green credentials rather than speed.
Michel and his colleagues have already built a prototype to demonstrate the water-cooling principle. Called Aquasar, it occupies a rack larger than a refrigerator. IBM estimates that Aquasar is almost 50% more energy-efficient than the world’s leading supercomputers.
“In the past, computers were dominated by hardware costs – 50 years ago you could hold one transistor and it cost a dollar, or a franc,” the BBC quoted Michel as saying at IBM’s Zurich labs.
Now when the sums are done, he said, the cost of a transistor works out to 1/100th of the price of printing a single letter on a page.
The overwhelming cause of those energy costs is in cooling, because computing power generates heat as a side product.
“In the future, computers will be dominated by energy costs,” said Michel.
Until recently, the supercomputer at the top of that list could do about 770 million computational operations per second at a cost of one watt of power.
The Aquasar prototype clocked up nearly half again as much, at 1.1 billion operations. Now the task is to shrink it.

Source

This is 200th post- a milestone

This blog was opened in 2007 and has reached 200 posts.It has over 7000 visitors from 79 countries

King of Pop Michael Jackson is dead - official

Michael Jackson, the child star turned King of Pop who set the world dancing but whose musical genius was overshadowed by a bizarre lifestyle and sex scandals, died on Thursday. He was 50.

Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2:26 p.m. PDT (2126 GMT) after arriving at a Los Angeles hospital in full cardiac arrest, said Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's office. The cause of death was not known and an autopsy would likely take place on Friday, he said.

Jackson's sudden death had been reported earlier by U.S. media, which said he was taken ill at his home and rushed to the hospital by paramedics who found him not breathing when they arrived.

Known as the "King of Pop," for hits that included "Thriller" and "Billie Jean," Jackson's dramatic, one-gloved stage presence and innovative dance moves were imitated by legions of fans around the world.

He transformed music videos and his lifetime record sales tally is believed to be around 750 million, which, added to the 13 Grammy Awards he received, made him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

But Jackson's belief that "I am Peter Pan in my heart", his preference for the company of children, his friendship with a chimp, his high-pitched voice and numerous plastic surgeries also earned him critics and the nickname "Wacko Jacko."

Jackson, who had lived as a virtual recluse since his acquittal in 2005 on charges of child molestation, had been scheduled to launch a comeback tour from London next month.

Quincy Jones, who helped arrange the music on the album "Thriller" and produced the "Off the Wall" album, told MSNBC: "I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news."

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

SOLD-OUT SHOWS

Jackson had been due to start a series of concerts in London on July 13 running until March 2010. The singer had been rehearsing in the Los Angeles area for the past two months. The shows for the 50 London concerts sold out within minutes of going on sale in March.

"Rarely has the world received a gift with the magnitude of artistry, talent, and vision as Michael Jackson," said Neil Portnow, president and CEO of The Recording Academy in a statement.

"He was a true musical icon whose identifiable voice, innovative dance moves, stunning musical versatility, and sheer star power carried him from childhood to worldwide acclaim."

There were concerns about Jackson's health in recent years but the promoters of the London shows, AEG Live, said in March that Jackson had passed a 4-1/2 hour physical examination with independent doctors.

Outside the hospital in Los Angeles about 200 fans and reporters gathered on Thursday, waiting for confirmation of Jackson's death or condition.

Some fans were crying and hugging each other, and others were climbing atop fences to get a better look at a microphone stand where a news conference was supposed to take place.

"I hope he's gone to God, and I hope that he's free of all the troubles he's been plagued with," Tonya Blazer, 50, who said she had been a fan going back more than four decades to his days as a child star.

"I just feel like I'm paying tribute to him," said Dawn Burgess, 42, a fan who said she had posters of Michael pinned to her bedroom wall when she was a child.

CHILD STAR TO MEGASTAR

Jackson was born on Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children. Five Jackson boys -- Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael -- first performed together at a talent show when Michael was 6. They walked off with first prize and went on to become a best-selling band, The Jackson Five, and then The Jackson 5.

Jackson made his first solo album in 1972, and released "Thriller" in 1982, which became a smash hit that yielded seven top-10 singles. The album sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.

The next year, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance move while performing "Billie Jean" during an NBC special.

In 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's only child, Lisa Marie, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Jackson married Debbie Rowe the same year and had two children, before splitting in 1999. The couple never lived together.

Jackson has three children named Prince Michael I, Paris Michael and Prince Michael II, known for his brief public appearance when his father held him over the railing of a hotel balcony, causing widespread criticism.

New Yorkers and tourists in the city's Times Square were shocked at the news of Jackson's death.

"I don't know what to say. It's sad, it's really, really sad," said Nicole Smith, an 18-year-old student from Brooklyn, New York, in Times Square. "My mother was a fan. I listened to his music."

"I'm shocked. I thought someone was lying to me when I first heard it. I was a fan from when he was a little boy and then he got weird," said Sue Sheider, 51, a teacher from Long Island.
source

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India is safer than any other country: Chidambaram

Home Minister P. Chidambaram Thursday asserted that India was a 'completely safe country' after the US warned its citizens about high threats from terrorism throughout the country.

Chidamabaram reacted after the US embassy posted a message urging its citizens living in or travelling to India to practice good security, including maintaining a heightened situational awareness and a low profile. It said that terror attacks were a serious and growing threat.

Disagreeing, Chidambaram said: 'India is a completely safe country. India is a safe place, it is safer than any other country in the world. Thousands of tourists come to India and we look forward to welcoming them.'

Defence Minister A.K. Antony, whose home state Kerala is a hot favourite with tourists, added: 'India is the safest country.'

The advisory posted on the website Tuesday specifically asked Americans in India to be vigilant at all times and monitor local news reports and vary their routes and times while carrying out daily activities.

'Americans should consider the level of security present when visiting public places, including religious sites, or choosing hotels, restaurants, entertainment and recreation venues,' the advisory warned.

'As terror attacks are a serious and growing threat, US citizens are urged to always practice good security, including maintaining a heightened situational awareness and a low profile.

'The media attention of and public reaction to the Mumbai attack could prompt other terrorist incidents. Future attacks may also target public places frequented by Westerners, including in large cities and tourist areas such as Goa.

'The US mission is concerned that increased political tension between Pakistan and India may further complicate travel in areas near their already-sensitive border.

'In addition, the Department of Defense has increased its security requirements for all its employees visiting India.'

Chidambaram said that the ministry of external affairs would be asked to speak to the US.

A US embassy official told IANS that the advisory was routine. 'This is a routine advisory and it has just been updated,' he said.
source

Air France plane may have been bombed, says pilot

An Air France pilot has declared it "highly likely" that flight AF447 may have been blown up by a terrorist bomb.

The long-haul captain, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed the theory the doomed jet suffered catastrophic electrical failure. He also ruled out suggestions that the pilot of the Rio de Janeiro to Paris flight had tried to land on the sea.

The captain spoke as naval teams from Brazil and France scoured three miles of debris in the Atlantic, 750 miles north east of the Brazilian coast.

It also emerged Air France received a telephone threat against a flight from Argentina to Paris just four days before AF447 vanished without sending a May Day message.

Talking of Monday's tragedy, in which 228 died, the Air France pilot said: "If there was an explosion on board, the wreckage would have been spread over a very wide area, as it was.

"So in my opinion there is no other option than the highly likely theory that a bomb went off on the plane - perhaps even a large bomb that destroyed it in mid-air leaving no chance to send a message."
source

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