With water flowing out of the Murray Mouth for the last three years, new growth on floodplain trees and the reappearance of young native fish, the general perception is that the problems are solved. But, while the River Murray is better, it is still far from fixed. And the forests of new seedlings are facing challenges to their survival from grazing stock and very dry summer conditions.

At a site on the edge of the River at Chowilla, most mature trees were dead or extremely stressed, with only limited regrowth after the floods. And sadly, thousands of red gum seedlings which germinated in the floods had been severely grazed by sheep, leaving sticks 30-50 cm high with badly chewed leaves. The grazing sheep have powdered the soil surface, making it vulnerable to evaporation and erosion, and preventing the establishment of ground cover plants. The survival rate for seedlings at this site is likely to be very low.

It is important to protect and support the flood-generated seedlings for the highest possible rate of survival, to replace the dead and dying older trees.  That includes protecting seedlings from grazing, and using environmental water to help them survive through their first two summers. Nature has provided a major opportunity for recovery on the River Murray floodplain. This is an important chance to repair the drought damage and bring the River Murray back to health.

I think we can all agree this scene in Titanic was necessary to the plot.

One of the best things about doing theatre in Chicago is that what ever you want to put up, you can. You snag your friends, plan everything over a few laborious coffee meetings, launch a kickstarter, post your audition notices for free at Theatre In Chicago, roll up your sleeves, and get into the dirty work. It’s a beautiful thing.

But just how dirty is too dirty? I’m not a prude. Sex and violence have a well-deserved place in every art form because they are the two most primal human engagements. That is also why almost every script ever written includes or is directly about one or both of those things and that’s great. I have seen, though, in the three years I’ve lived in Chicago, so, so many storefront, grassroots, and student shows where it’s just mayhem. “Let’s kill the naked chick! Somebody gets a violent blowjob! Someone is being brutally murdered, maybe more than the script intended!” Sometimes it’s necessary to move the plot along. Usually it’s not. Usually it’s there for shock value, and for some reason lately I feel like everything I see operates under the impression that shock = ART.

Not every play needs to rival a Tarantino film  for gruesomeness (even though those are fun) and they certainly don’t need the dick-out pretension of Vincent Gallo in The Brown Bunny. I get that especially here a lot of theatre companies are run by actors and as an actor, you always want to play the most extreme human circumstances. You want the most visceral reaction you can squeeze from your audience, especially if you’re a tiny new company of starving artists doing the show in a blackbox, which is basically everyone here. But I’ve been wondering–isn’t shocking the audience, grossing them out, or constantly presenting an apocalypse kind of cheap? Isn’t that often (certainly not always) letting the script, regardless of its quality, do the work for you?

I want to be moved by theatre. I do. I want to go in and not know what to expect and I want to see really good actors working with really good material. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be violent. It just means–violent, I feel, should be something a play also is. As in, “That play was heartbreaking, and that lead actor was unbelievably good–and the show was violent and a little unexpected.”  Not “It is a play about violence where people get murdered and the blood effects looked pretty good.”

The same goes for nudity. I have seen too many shows (some of which the whole point was that Everyone In This Play Is Naked…why? no one actually knew, it was just a gimmick) where somebody takes their clothes off and as soon as that happens, the audience is yanked out of the story. Sometimes they can get right back in, but in my experience that doesn’t happen very often. Chris Jones wrote a column about it for the Chicago Tribune not too long ago after someone on Twitter said “Chris Jones Doesn’t Like Sex in Theatre” or something like that. Mr. Jones kind of agrees with that statement but he clarifies that the reason sex and nudity work so well in film and not onstage is that in a theatre, you are immediately privy to the reactions of every other audience member. Should that kid be seeing this? That old guy looks super uncomfortable. How far are those actors actually going? How are they faking the sex? Or worse–that sex is obviously very fake, and now nothing in the play seems real. In film you can frame things, add music, work outside of real time. Onstage, you can’t. You have to be brutally honest. You can’t just put nudity in your show and go “Look how brave and artistic I am!” That’s cheap.

Of course, actors who appear nude onstage are brave. But is it in service of the story? Maybe? No? THEN TAKE IT OUT FOR GOODNESS’ SAKE.

Probably there are a lot of people who enjoy both of these things for their own sake. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I, personally, am just so incredibly bored by shows using them as a crutch. Or scripts that resort to extremes just to have something big in them. A good play does not have to be big. It does not have to make the audience sick or uncomfortable. It can, and still be good. But I think the real test of a good show, or at least one that I want to see, is how ordinary circumstances can be presented in a powerful way.

I know this comes off as a little rant-y. It’s been on my mind this week. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Learning today consisted of preparing for an assignment due in on the 19^th March 2013, the assignment has caused some trepidation for many students who have become isolated from traditional university assessment formats. The assignment assesses the ability to analyze and critique an academic journal and present this in a presentation format e.g. PowerPoint or Word. Sounds pretty straightforward but for most of us approaching this type of assignment for the first time there is a sense of apprehension throughout the room. According to the tutor this falls in line with similar assignments at ‘brick’ universities. I am quite excited to be doing an assignment with a little more creativity than paragraphs and double line spacing by including a little bit of colour, text boxes, bullet points and a little illustration here or there if it contributes to the clarification of the critique.

So this means I am off to my desk to summarize key points from the tutorial and to begin the assignment procrastination that returns without fail at every assignment.

Something is out of place. Can you spot it? No it is not a scratch on your screen… It’s the remnants of the worst architectural era of our lives: the black box just left of middle, called Tour Montparnasse.  I am far from the first to criticize the tower, but I think that it’s always good to remind ourselves just what was so bad about post-WWII, modernist urbanism. The more we discuss the horrors of the architectural Reign of Terror, the closer we come to bringing it to an end.

Montparnasse is 1) in the wrong place, 2) the wrong proportion, and 3) the wrong color and style. It is reported that the best view of Paris is from its roof because that’s the only place you can’t see the black box. But why was it made? Sure, it was trendy for architects to build with shiny, black, rectangular legos in the 60′s, and of course Paris is nothing if not trendy. But nobody could possibly have allowed that building to be built without some awareness of its aesthetic impact. The architects intended to leave an aesthetic impact.

Paris’ trend-setting ways trace back to the revolutions of the late 18th century. The guillotine stood erect as a monument of change and the end of monarchical order that to the victors was unjust and tyrannical. Similarly, Montparnasse Tower points up as if modernism flashes its middle-finger at the stale, iron-fisted artistic and architectural conventions of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Montparnasse—and modernist architecture by extension—is the final revolution. The tower stands just off center, as if to say, “stop looking straight ahead: that path has led you nowhere but into two horrendous wars. Look at me—look at modernism—and we will lead you to truth.” Le Corbusier’s great “truth” is function over form. Buildings, to him, are machines for living and working, so cut the ornament. The great flaw with this theory is the miscalculation about how significant form participates with function. Humans will not perform optimally when they hate the building they work in. And we all seem to hate black glass boxes.

I have yet to meet a person who has walked the streets of Paris and not noticed the extravagance, care, and pleasantness of the streets, trees, monuments, doorways, railings, and matching roofs. Beauty is subconsciously, undeniably at work and even modernism’s lewdness cannot taint it.

Review of Otis Gibbs at the Black Box , Belfast, on 23/02/2013. Published on 27/02/2013.

Written for www.culturenorthernireland.org

CLICK HERE FOR REVIEW

Otis Gibbs website: otisgibbs.com

And he also unwittingly played an important role in the lives of two kids named Jobs and Wozniak … and therefore in the founding of one of the most powerful technology companies the world has ever seen, Apple.

“My dad worked for AT&T for 14 years,” Walter T. Shaw told me yesterday. He made a documentary film about his father’s life and inventions. “He made the blue box so you could make long-distance calls toll-free.”

The “blue box” was a revolution for multistate crime families and illegal betting operations. Not only did it connect to Ma Bell and deliver the sweet milk of free long distance calls, it also — and more importantly — blocked call tracking and monitoring, which is an important feature for those types who liked to chat about which horse was going to get overfed in the Kentucky Derby, or who need to get whacked, pronto.

But L. was also a genius of legal invention.

When he died, he held 39 patents, including many on core technologies that we use every day. The speakerphone, voice recognition systems, the “red phone” alert system used by presidents for decades, the touch-tone phone, call forwarding, conference calling, and the first burglar alarm that automatically calls the cops: These all stem from patents that Shaw senior held. And, bear in mind, this was in the day before you could patent a new way of rolling toilet paper and claim you were an inventor.

“In 1948 he demoed a prototype of a speakerphone he invented in his garage,” Shaw junior says. “AT&T loved it. They made up a contract which said he signed over his past, present, and future developments, and asked him to sign it. My dad said no.”

Patents, of course, have an expiration date. They are also only as good as the amount of money you have to defend them. The upshot was that they expired long before they were commercialized, and as Shaw junior tells it, AT&T started innovating on them as soon as the 14-year expiration had passed.

That started a downward spiral in L.’s life that led to him selling his invention to the mob, and to his son finding fame and fortune as a jewel thief. Shaw Jr. left when he was 16 years old and started robbing the wealthiest people in the nation. He was a modern-day Robin Hood with one significant difference: He pocketed the coin. And he wouldn’t speak to his father again for 25 years.

“I did 2,200 jobs before I was 25,” Shaw told me. “We worked three months a year after that, and I was active for 22 years.”

As surely as apples fall to the ground, the long arm of the law caught up to Shaw Jr., and from 1975 to 1986 he was a guest of Uncle Sam in the Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Fla.. Not too long after getting out, he also exited the crime family, meeting John Gotti face-to-face and resigning as a soldata in the mob.

“It’s called going on the shelf,” Shaw explains. “A lot of people think that you can’t get out of the mob alive, but that’s not true.”

In 1995 Shaw Jr. found his father living penniless in a bus station. He took him to Florida, bought him a Lincoln, set him up in an apartment, and very carefully took care of him: Shaw Sr. was a proud man, and not one to take charity easily. Shortly thereafter, junior decided to tell his father’s story in a documentary.

“It’s about closure for my father,” Shaw told me. “When you ask people who invented the conference call, what do they say? But if you ask who made Apple, they answer Steve Jobs.”

Walter Shaw, Jr.

And it was a tangential connection between Shaw Sr., Jobs, and Steve Wozniak that kickstarted Apple and even led to Job’s brush with the mob. Jobs’ and Wozniak’s first product was a blue box — they made about a hundred of them, selling them for $150 each, and using one to make prank calls like calling the Vatican, pretending to be Henry Kissinger, and demanding to speak to the Pope. That ended quickly when they were robbed at gunpoint for one unit. But it was a seminar moment.

“If it hadn’t been for the blue boxes, there wouldn’t have been an Apple,” Jobs later said, as Walter Isaacson recorded in his biography. “I’m 100 percent sure of that.”

Shaw Jr. spent the next decade getting into the movie business, partly with the help of Mickey Rourke. He got a script made, fundraised $1.8 million for the movie, and put a production crew together.

As a result, the movie is opening in New York at the Sunshine Film Festival on Saturday. And as it opens, a long, long journey is closing.

“My dad changed our lives,” Shaw Jr. says. “When he came into this world, we had rotary phones and human operators. Now we have conference calls and touch tone dialing.”

And, I might add, we have redemption for a wayward son, who is now honoring his fallen father.

So where should a girl keep them, away from prying eyes?

The bedside drawer? In our case: not suitable as we have see through drawer fronts.

Under the bed? Our bed is low to the floor. We’d need to lift the bed to get to anything. Hardly conducive to seamless shagging: “wait a minute, I’ve got to just reach under to get…”

So: we have a hard, lockable flight travel case that was gifted to July years ago by an ex boyfriend’s parents. Little did they know the use it would actually get…

… and that is how the name of this blog came to be.

Coincidentally, I recently met the Program Manager for Octo Telematics North America.  As stated in its press release, the company manufactures and distributes a comprehensive range of vehicle telematics solutions to the North American automotive insurance market, from usage-based insurance, driving behavior, and mileage reporting to safety and security services, crash kinematics, and dynamics reconstruction.  Octo Telematics is considering making these offerings available to vehicle dealers, which I imagine would be very helpful in combating consumer breach of warranty and prior damage claims.

At around the same time, I also read Monica Demeglio’s article, The Creepy Factor; Technological innovation creates new wave of privacy regulation, in the Winter 2013 issue of All Rise, a publication of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law (my alma mater, in case you didn’t know).  Monica’s article is based in large part on an extensive interview of OSU-Mortiz law professor Peter P. Swire, who notes that “One of the current challenges is how to respond to the fact that we carry tracking devices [GPS-enabled cell phones] for the first time in human history.”   Thus, Swire notes, we live in an era in which the very concept of privacy–our ambiguity about its value, and our expectation of its very existence–is historically unique, such that it is unclear whether legal frameworks established before this era remain relevant.  If policy-makers or the public decide that they are not, or that they are insufficient, policy innovations such as “do not track” registries may be instituted.  And,if they are, it’s unclear whether or how they would affect the sort of “black box” automotive technology, which is intended for other than marketing purposes.  Swire is no armchair futurist, musing academically about what may come.  He was the nation’s first Chief Counselor for Privacy and, while in that post, was responsible for privacy rights legislation in the medical and financial industries. Last November, he was tapped to co-chair a World Wide Web Consortium working group developing Do Not Track standards, which would give Internet users greater control over what is gathered about them.

Finally, it was reported back in December that, while data recorders exist in about 90% of new vehicles sold in the U.S. today, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is pushing for mandatory crash recorders for all cars. Car and Driver reported on the myths of this rulemaking, including the myth that the government will be able to track you in your car (as currently contemplated, it will not).  But some groups are bristling at this effort, namely the Electronic Frontier Foundation. They are worried that, whatever today’s intentions, recording technology will lead tomorrow to tracking and recording of data that encroach on the privacy of drivers.

All of this got me thinking about the privacy issues implicated by technology like that found in Musk’s (very cool) cars, Octo’s (and others’) tracking and telematics technology, and the use of information collected by this technology in litigation.

Litigators have long recognized the value of electronic evidence, particularly electronically stored communications. We scrutinize e-mail and posts for information to support litigation.  According to a recent survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 81 percent of responding attorneys found and used evidence from social media sites in litigation (hint: if you’re cheating on your spouse, don’t brag about it on Facebook).

And, because some opposing counsel tend to scrub e-mails and social networking sites clean before the information is requested (shame on them), we serve subpoenas on internet service providers (ISPs) and social media sites.  But the Stored Communications Act (SCA) prohibits service providers from disclosing e-communications, even in the face of a subpoena. There is an issue brewing as to whether the SCA applies to ISPs and social sites. In California, the courts have interpreted the SCA to apply to ISPs providing e-mail services and to social sites. For example, in O’Grady v. Superior Court of Santa Clara County, the court of appeal directed a trial court to grant a protective order to operators of online news magazines, in response to civil subpoenas served by Apple Computer.  In Crispin v. Audigier, the defendants in a business dispute served subpoenas on Facebook and MySpace. Social media sites opposed the subpoena and the court held that Facebook and MySpace’s private messaging or e-mail services are subject to the SCA’s prohibitions against disclosure, even if the social site is served with a civil subpoena. The court quashed the subpoenas.  What was interesting about this case is that as to the comments posted openly on Facebook and Myspace, the court remanded the matter to the magistrate judge to develop a fuller evidentiary record regarding the plaintiff’s privacy settings on those social media sites. The court relied on a provision of the Wiretap Act that provides, “It shall not be unlawful…for any person…to intercept or access an electronic communications made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public.”

So all of this raises the question: what role will monitoring, telematic and analytic technology in cars play and will it be subject to any privacy protections?

As for government intrusion, that question was partially answered last year by the United States Supreme Court in U.S. v. Jones, in which a unanimous court (yep..unanimous) ruled that police don’t have the authority to put GPS tracking devices on vehicles unless they get a warrant first.

The bigger issue is the reasoning behind that decision. This is where the court split.  Five justices said that the government violated the Fourth Amendment—which guarantees our right to be free from unlawful search and seizure—merely because police officers tracked a vehicle by making physical contact with it, without a warrant and without permission. The other four justices wrote that what the police did was illegal because, regardless of physical contact, they tracked a vehicle for a month without court-given permission in the form of a warrant.

This means that the Court’s opinion is limited to GPS tracking devices physically placed on your vehicle by the government, not privately-installed black boxes and the like.  This is just the beginning, as several lower courts have struggled with the proper bounds of U.S. v. Jones and the SCA and have suggested that legislation is required to remedy the “constant government intrusion” issue that this opinion raises.

As for privately-installed black boxes and other tracking and monitoring technology, the answer is even more complicated.  Who owns this data and does the SCA apply to information relayed to the vehicle manufacturer, the dealer or the device’s manufacturer or distributor? Seventeen states regulate who owns this data. In California, for example, the consumer owns it.

Specifically, in 2004, California became the first state to enact legislation (Calif. Vehicle Code § 9951) requiring manufacturers to disclose to customers whether event data recorders or “black boxes” are installed in vehicles.  Black boxes record data such as the speed of a vehicle, safety belt use, and other vehicle safety information.  The law also prohibits download of that data without the owner’s permission or a court order.  In a related area, California (Calif. Civil Code § 1936) and New York (New York Gen. Bus. Law § 396-z) have passed laws prohibiting rental car companies from using electronic surveillance or global positioning devices to impose fees, charges or penalties relating to the renter’s use of the vehicle.

The 2004 California legislation is limited to Event Data Recorders (EDRs) or black boxes, but newer technologies make it possible to record much more than that which is recorded by EDRs.  It appears that additional legislation will be needed to address the impacts of that technology.  For now, at least in California, litigators may be able to subpoena EDR data and communications to prove whether a vehicle was damaged pre- or post- sale (provided the device keeps or communicates earlier-stored data and does not simply re-write over it) or whether and when an alleged defect was discovered and whether it was caused by misuse or abuse of a consumer, instead of a manufacturing defect, in appropriate circumstances.

I recently listened to a debate on black boxes on KPCC’s Air Talk between Clarence M. Ditlow, Executive Director of the Center for Auto Safety, and Nate Cardozo, Staff Attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation.  But the debate focused mostly on government intrusion and privacy concerns, rather than the civil litigation ramifications of the data and communications resulting from this technology. Although, Cardozo did say that the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s position to NHTSA is that for a civil trial, only a subpoena should be required for disclosure of this information.

It appears that we have a long way to go before we can know the true extent of our ability to use data stored or communicated by new vehicle technology in litigation. This is a continually evolving area and more will certainly follow.

Here’s what they wrote on their website:
A mysterious and sleek package that uncovers a curated selection of sought-after products from independent labels. Expect at least five exciting gifts await your undivided attention, sealed and hand-delivered to you at your doorstep. Black Box brings you experiences from a lifestyle you desire. From dining haunts, outstanding skincare, gorgeous fashion to chic getaways.

Black Box delivers bi-monthly at NO COST! All you have to do is register at their website and you get your box every 2 months. This service is currently provided in Singapore only.

Now, let’s see what I have got…

Okay, I gotta admit… I do like the outlook of this box though it has no pinks or purples.

All sorts of voucher. Guess which one I will definitely be using?

Here’s a discount code for Zalora fans. http://www.zalora.sg

Oats and honey already sounds heavenly, doesn’t it? I went “OMG THERE’S FOOD! *Snatches it up and tears it open frantically*

And it tasted as good as it sounded. But did you know that Oatmeal & Honey are not only awesome in Granola bars but good for your skin as well? Recipe here

I am using Sensodyne for sensitive teeth but I guess some extra whitening doesn’t hurt. Handy to bring to the workplace for brushing after lunch.

I didn’t know Dettol made body washes! I tried this new Olive & Almond flavored body wash and the smell was heavenly. Not the usual antibacterial Dettol smell.

My skin did feel a little dry after using this. It may be due to the strong antibacterial properties that they have always been known for.

Est-lab sunscreen. This is the first time I have heard of this brand. Let’s give it a try on my hand.

Well, I can’t say that I liked it. It was in a light tinted beige color when I squeezed a little out onto my hand. When rubbing it in, it became pinkish and then later turned into a darker beige. It’s also thick and oily despite only using a very small amount. Will be sticking to my La Roche Posay.

I think this is some sort of a moisturiser from Dr Jart, a leading Korean brand.

I think this is rather new from L’oreal. I never really liked L’oreal’s products but hey, I shall give this a try.

Guess I won’t be needing this yet… Shall pass it on to someone with more mature skin.

I certainly enjoyed discovering new things from the Black Box and will be looking forward to the next one in April!

Hi, I am watching you. Good night!

UK spy agencies want to install ‘black box’ surveillance devices across the country’s communications networks to monitor internet use, it emerged today. A report by an influential committee of MPs tells how spooks are keen to implement a nationwide surveillance regime aimed at logging nearly everything Britons do and say online.

The spy network will rely on a technology known as Deep Packet Inspection to log data from communications ranging from online services like Facebook and Twitter, Skype calls with family members and visits to pornographic websites.

But civil liberties and privacy campaigners have reacted with outrage, saying that the technology will give the government a greater surveillance capability than has ever been seen.Full story Daily Mail

Citroen has now stepped forward sayng that it has “creatively turned to technology to reduce the cost of younger buyers owning and insuring a brand new car by fitting its C1 Connexion special edition with a telematics ‘black box’ as standard”.

The Smartnav system, provided by Trafficmaster, allows Citroen to offer free insurance for the first year of ownership to all eligible drivers from 19 – 75 years of age when the car is funded with Elect 3 or Elect 4 finance.

This means younger drivers can now drive off in a new Citroen C1 1.0i 68 manual 3-door Connexion for just GBP 109 per month plus deposit on Elect 3 finance – complete with free insurance.

The Citroen insurance included in this offer is free for qualifying young drivers subject to two years No Claims Discount (NCD). Thanks to the fitment of the telematics unit, Citroen is also able to offer heavily discounted cover to drivers with zero or just one year’s NCD. For example a 19 year old with no NCD can insure a new C1 Connexion with Citroen Insurance for just GBP 950.

Importantly, renewal premiums will be based on the driving behaviour over the first 12 months of ownership. This means that, regardless of the age of the named individuals on the policy, good driving habits will be rewarded with lower insurance premiums in subsequent years.

Citroen believe that their will be a demand for this and have therefore increased production of the C1 Connexion special editions. An additional 750 models will be produced and a new body colour – Carlinite Grey – is now available. The Trafficmaster Smartnav system comes as standard at no extra cost.

Citroen’s C1 Connexion is the UK’s first production vehicle to be created in collaboration with Facebook. More than 24,000 members of the public helped to configure the model. Based on the popular C1 1.0i manual in VTR trim, C1 Connexion retains its special edition ‘Scarlet Red’ detailing with characterful design cues including red door mirrors, door handles, speedometer trim, air vents and centre console.

There are two versions of the C1 Connexion special edition, both with standard specification Trafficmaster Smartnav;

Version – MRRP OTR

C1 1.0i 68 manual 3-door Connexion (Caldera Black or Carlinite Grey)
GBP 9,820.00

C1 1.0i 68 manual 5-door Connexion
(Caldera Black or Carlinite Grey)
GBP 10,170.00

In addition to the insurance offer, customers will also benefit from Trafficmaster’s other telematics services, which are available free of charge for an introductory period. These include;

Smartnav Routes (either 15 routes or 3 months usage, whichever comes first)
3 months Trackstar Stolen Vehicle Tracking
3 months Safespeed Camera Alerts
12 months Emergency & Breakdown Call

Liberia: U.S., Canada to Probe Guinean Plane Crash

13 February 2013

The Government of Liberia (GOL) has disclosed that the Governments of the United States of America and Canada have agreed to help with the investigation regarding the plan crash which claimed the lives of a Guinean military delegation in Liberia.

The disclosure was made Tuesday, 12 February 2013 by Liberia’s Ministers of Information and Foreign Affairs, Messrs. Lewis Browne and Augustine Ngafuan in separate interviews in Monrovia. A CASA Aircraft (CN35) 3X-GGG conveying senior Guinean government officials to Liberia’s 56th Armed Forces Day celebrations Monday, February 11, 2013 crashed in Charlesville, Margibi County, close to the country’s lone international airport, the Roberts International Airport (RIA), killing eleven people.

Wreckage of the airliner was beyond recognition as rescue workers, including Red Cross workers and other health workers, who later trooped to the crash scene, removed charred bodies of victims from the burnt aircraft which crash landed few kilometers from the RIA. Liberia’s Information Minister Lewis G. Brown, in a press conference later Monday afternoon confirmed the crash, indicating that: “The Roberts International Airport (RIA) confirms a crash incident involving a CASA Aircraft (CN35) with registration 3X-GGG approximately three miles south of the aerodrome.”

He revealed that the crashed plane flew from Conakry, the Republic of Guinea, adding that: “At 0709 GMT Air Traffic Control cleared the flight to land at RIA. That was the last known contact with the crew. A search and rescue team has been dispatched to the scene. The team comprises of RIA Rescue and Firefighting Department, UNMIL, authorities of the Liberia Civil Aviation Authority (LAA), the Firestone PPD Rescue and Firefighting Team, Firestone Medical Team and the Red Cross.”

A presidential statement issued in Guinea Monday through that country’s ministry of defense confirmed the deaths of Guinean army chief of staff, Gen. Souleymane Kelefa Diallo and five others, who were part of an official Guinean government delegation aboard the crashed aircraft bound for this year’s celebration of Liberia’s Armed Forces Day.

Reports gathered by this paper quotes Guinean military spokesman Alpha Barry as saying that: “I can confirm that there was a crash … There were between 12 and 18 officers on the plane.”

The reports divulged that two pilots were also killed in the crash, adding that the crashed CASA Aircraft (CN35) was an official Guinean military aircraft bought for Guinea’s air force for US$12 million. The reports revealed that a statement from the office of Guinean President Alpha Conde quotes the Guinean leader as immediately appointing Gen. Namory Traore as interim army chief of staff of Guinea.

Meanwhile, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, while speaking at the official ceremony marking Armed Forces Day Monday, confirmed the crash, and called for a moment of silence for the crash victims; declaring Tuesday, 12 February 2013 a day of mourning, that was observed as a national holiday throughout the country.

Howbeit, Information Minister Browne divulged Tuesday that the black box and the digital voice recorder from the crashed CASA (CN35) 3X-GGG aircraft were found, and that the government of Canada has agreed to take the recovered items for examination. For his part, Foreign Affairs Minister Ngafuan Tuesday informed the populous local radio talk show, the Truth Breakfast Show, that: “Our bilateral partners, the Americans are offering to assist with the investigation.”

He corroborated Information Minister Browne’s assertion regarding the recovery of the crashed aircraft’s black box, adding that: “The crash site was protected; so all the relevant information has been recovered from there to assist the investigation so that we can know precisely what caused the crash.”

EFF | February 11, 2013

San Francisco – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today to include strict privacy protections for data collected by vehicle “black boxes” to protect drivers from long-term tracking as well as the misuse of their information.

Black boxes, more formally called event data recorders (EDRs), can serve a valuable forensic function for accident investigations, because they can capture information like vehicle speed before the crash, whether the brake was activated, whether the seat belt was buckled, and whether the airbag deployed. NHTSA is proposing the mandatory inclusion of black boxes in all new cars and light trucks sold in America. But while the proposed rules would require the collection of data in at least the last few seconds before a crash, they don’t block the long-term monitoring of driver behavior or the ongoing capture of much more private information like audio, video, or vehicle location.

“The NHTSA’s proposed rules fail to address driver privacy in any meaningful way,” said EFF Staff Attorney Nate Cardozo. “These regulations must include more than minimum requirements of what should be collected and stored – they need a reasonable maximum requirement as well.”

The current NHTSA proposal mandates a boilerplate notice to consumers that “various systems” are being monitored. The plan also calls for a commercial tool to be made available to allow user access to black box data. In its comments submitted to the NHTSA today, EFF calls for complete and comprehensive disclosure of data collection as well as a free and open standard to access black box information.

“The information collected by EDRs is private and must remain private until the car owner consents to its use,” said Cardozo. “Consumers deserve full disclosure of what is being collected, when, and how, as well as an easy and free way of accessing this data on their own. Having to buy access to your own data is not reasonable. “

In addition to submitting its own comments to the NHTSA today, EFF also joined the Electronic Privacy Information Center and a broad coalition of privacy, consumer rights, and civil rights organizations in comments urging the NHTSA to adopt specific, privacy-protecting amendments to its proposed rules.

For EFF’s full comments submitted to the NHTSA:
https://www.eff.org/document/effs-comments-nhtsa-about-black-boxes-cars

Contact:

Nate Cardozo
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
nate@eff.org

Related articles

• EFF to Supreme Court: Blanket DNA Collection Violates Fourth Amendment (alethonews.wordpress.com)
• Black Boxes in Cars: Open Call for Comments (eff.org)
• EFF, others to Microsoft: Who’s requesting our Skype data? (zdnet.com)
• EFF – How to Protect Your Privacy from Facebook’s Graph Search (bespacific.com)

• Minimum

you can buy it or you can say the torrent download is available too.
to download click on below links:-

torrentz.eu/search?f=call+of+duty+black+ops+2

isohunt.com/torrents/Call+of+Duty+Black+Ops+2+SKIDROW