Nobel-winning Italian biologist dies at 103

Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, died at her home in Rome on Sunday. She was 103 and had worked well into her final years.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno, announcing her death in a statement, called it a great loss "for all of humanity." He praised her as someone who represented "civic conscience, culture and the spirit of research of our time."

Italy's so-called "Lady of the Cells," a Jew who lived through anti-Semitic discrimination and the Nazi invasion, became one of her country's leading scientists and shared the Nobel medicine prize in 1986 with American biochemist Stanley Cohen for their groundbreaking research carried out in the United States. Her research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia.

Neurologist and senator for life Rita Levi Montalcini was a Nobel Prize winner for Medicine in 1986. (Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press)

Italy honoured Levi-Montalcini in 2001 by making her a senator-for-life.

A petite woman with upswept white hair, she kept an intensive work schedule well into old age. "At 100, I have a mind that is superior — thanks to experience — than when I was 20," she said in 2009.

Levi-Montalcini was born April 22, 1909, to a Jewish family in the northern city of Turin. At age 20 she overcame her father's objections that women should not study and obtained a degree in medicine and surgery from Turin University in 1936.

She studied under top anatomist Giuseppe Levi, whom she often credited for her own success and for that of two fellow students and close friends, Salvador Luria and Renato Dulbecco, who also became separate Nobel Prize winners. Levi and Levi-Montalcini were not related.

After graduating, Levi-Montalcini began working as a research assistant in neurobiology but lost her job in 1938 when Italy's Fascist regime passed laws barring Jews from universities and major professions. As Second World War neared, Levi-Montalcini created a makeshift lab in her bedroom where she began studying the development of chicken embryos, which would later lead to her major discovery of mechanisms that regulate growth of cells and organs.

With eggs becoming a rarity due to the war, the young scientist biked around the countryside to buy them from farmers. She was soon joined in her secret research by Levi, her university mentor, who was also Jewish and who became her assistant.

"She worked in primitive conditions," Italian astrophysicist Margherita Hack told Sky TG24 TV in a tribute to her fellow scientist. "She is really someone to be admired."

Worked as a doctor for refugees

Another Italian scientist, who worked for some 40 years with Levi-Montalcini, including in the United States, said the work the Nobel laureate did on nerve growth factor was continuing. "Over the years, this field of investigation has become ever more important in the world of neuroscience," said Pietro Calissano, who began studying under Levi-Montalcini in 1965.

The 1943 German invasion of Italy forced the Levi-Montalcini family to flee to Florence and live underground. After the Allies liberated the city, she worked as a doctor at a centre for refugees.

'My life has been enriched by excellent human relations, work and interests. I have never felt lonely.'—Rita Levi-Montalcini on never having married or having children

In 1947 Levi-Montalcini was invited to the United States, where she remained for more than 20 years, which she called "the happiest and most productive" of her life. She held dual Italian-U.S. citizenship.

During her research at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, she discovered nerve growth factor, the first substance known to regulate the growth of cells.

The research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumors, developmental malformations, and senile dementia. It also led to the discovery by Stanley Cohen of another substance, epidermal growth factor, which stimulates the proliferation of epithelial cells.

The two shared the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1986. After retiring in the late 1970s, she continued to work as a guest professor and wrote several books to popularize science.

She created the Levi-Montalcini Foundation to grant scholarships and promote educational programs worldwide, particularly for women in Africa. She then became active in Parliament, especially between 2006 and 2008, when she and other life senators would cast their votes to back the thin majority of centre-left Premier Romano Prodi.

Levi-Montalcini had no children and never married, fearing such ties would undercut her independence.

"I never had any hesitation or regrets in this sense," she said in a 2006 interview. "My life has been enriched by excellent human relations, work and interests. I have never felt lonely."

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Kyoto climate change treaty sputters to a sorry end

The controversial and ineffective Kyoto Protocol's first stage comes to an end today, leaving the world with 58 per cent more greenhouse gases than in 1990, as opposed to the five per cent reduction its signatories sought.

From the beginning, the treaty that was adopted in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, was problematic. Opponents denied the science of climate change and claimed the treaty was a socialist plot. Environmentalists decried the lack of ambition in Kyoto and warned of dire consequences for future generations.

But the goal of the treaty was simple.

"We hoped that we would be able to reduce greenhouse gases substantially, but that it was a first step," explained Christine Stewart, the Liberal environment minister who negotiated in Kyoto on Canada's behalf.

The Kyoto Protocol was an initiative that came out of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. It recognized that climate change was a result of greenhouse gases created by human industrial activity. The idea was that rich nations, which had already benefited from industrialization, would reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in the first part of the treaty and developing nations would join in later.

Although the protocol was adopted in 1997, it didn't to come into force until 2005. In the intervening eight years, countries set reduction targets for themselves and ratified the agreement.

"At the time we didn't realize how complicated it would be to get the Kyoto Protocol ratified and for it to enter into force internationally," said Steven Guilbeault, co-founder of Equiterre, a Montreal-based environmental charity.

Problems from the beginning

Right off the bat, there were problems. The U.S., the world's biggest emitter at the time, signed up but never ratified.

And Canada ratified the treaty but with targets that were unachievable in the opinion of many.

'If we ratify this thing, we'll never hit our targets.'—Bob Mills, former Reform and Conservative MP

Bob Mills was a Reform Party MP from Alberta who went to Kyoto with the government. He was in Johannesburg five years later when the country agreed to reduce emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels.

"If we ratify this thing we'll never hit our targets," Mills warned Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien at the time, because he was worried Canada's international reputation would take a hit.

To his disappointment, Mills was right. As 2005 rolled around, Canada was nowhere near to having a plan and our emissions were rising. When he entered government a year later, the Conservatives started to lay the groundwork for much less ambitious greenhouse gas reductions.

"In 2006, it was a pretty tough situation because nothing really had been accomplished. We had these targets in front of us, they were impossible to hit," he said.

Taking a pass on Kyoto targets

And so, Canada's new government decided not to bother. They worried about the harm it would cause Canada's economy and the fact that only developed nations had to cut back while economic up-and-comers like China, India and Brazil could pollute as much as they wanted.

"We would have to pull every truck and car off the street, shut down every train and ground every plane to reach the Kyoto target the Liberals negotiated for Canada," argued Conservative Environment Minister Rona Ambrose in 2006.

Instead, the Conservative government opted to begin a long process of overhauling all of Canada's environmental legislation. That meant scaling back on Kyoto commitments that couldn't be met.

Canada announced to the world that we wouldn't be able to meet our Kyoto targets in 2007. Three years later we set new, easier-to-hit targets — 17 per cent below 2005 levels — that keep us in line with the Americans.

'Kyoto, for Canada, is in the past'

The final nail in the coffin for Canada's involvement in Kyoto went in on Dec. 13, 2011.

"Kyoto, for Canada, is in the past," announced Environment Minister Peter Kent at a news conference in Ottawa soon after he got off the plane from a climate change conference in Durban, South Africa. Kent gave one year's notice and, as of Dec. 15 this year, Canada was no longer a party to the Kyoto Protocol.

Environment Minister Peter Kent announces that Canada will withdraw from the Kyoto accord, outside the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Dec. 12, 2011. (Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

While there is plenty of blame to be shared between the Liberals and Conservatives for Canada's failure to meet its targets and remain in Kyoto, the problem of climate change remains a growing threat.

"There is building evidence that, in fact, climate change is accelerating. It's closer than we had thought earlier … are running out of time," worries John Stone, a Canadian climate scientist and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S. vice-president Al Gore.

If there is anything good that came out of the Kyoto experience, it is that the issue it tried and failed to tackle is now top of mind, says Guilbeault.

"That's probably one of the biggest accomplishments of the Kyoto Protocol, is making climate change something that's part of our everyday life."

Some countries have signed on to a second round of Kyoto commitments beginning Jan. 1, 2013, and stretching through to 2020, but they only represent 15 per cent of current world emissions.

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Bogus cellphone roaming charges irk border residents

A Rogers Wireless customer who lives near the B.C.-Washington border is upset about being overcharged more than $400 in U.S. "roaming" charges — for calls and texts her family made while at home in Canada.

"It has literally been a nightmare dealing with this," said Jane Goundrey, of White Rock, B.C. "We've roamed inside our house at least 75, 80 per cent of the time."

Goundrey said that on her street the Rogers signal can't compete with the powerful signal from AT&T in Washington. As a result, her family's phones automatically switch to the U.S. network.

"The only way a Rogers customer gets coverage here is to roam into the States. Why don't they just admit that up front?" Goundrey asked.

Rogers signal unreliable

She said the root of the problem is that her neighbourhood doesn't get adequate service from Rogers.

Goundrey and husband John Todd said they spent hours trying to sort out the roaming charges on their Rogers bills. (CBC)

"Their first advice is 'just turn your roaming off.' And I say when I turn my roaming off I do not have any cellphone coverage," said Goundrey. "Rogers does not have a cell tower here that does work."

Rogers spokeswoman Sara Holland acknowledged to Go Public that "accidental roaming" is a problem.

"Network signal overlaps can happen near the U.S. border. It's an industry-wide challenge and unfortunately it can affect our customers too," said Holland.

"In terms of White Rock, we do have a number of cell sites … and we are looking at other sites to improve our service in that area to cut down on accidental roaming."

Critics say many Canadians living along the border are frustrated by domestic wireless carriers who do not invest enough in cell towers.

"Unfortunately for consumers, there isn't a whole lot of economic incentive for the telecom companies to fix this once and for all," said industry analyst Carmi Levy.

Additional telecom revenue

"Every time a mistake is made [a bill for accidental roaming], if a consumer doesn't raise a flag or doesn't raise the antenna then that's additional revenue for these companies."

Goundrey said her main complaint is that she had to spend countless hours inspecting her bills and trying to get Rogers to reverse the bogus charges.

Goundrey and husband John Todd said they spent hours trying to sort out the roaming charges on their Rogers bills. (CBC)

"We've had at least 21 conversations with them in the three years since my daughter and I joined with my husband on this family plan," said Goundrey. "The way they do the billing is so complicated that you would need to put your life aside and just look at your bills to deal with it."

Rogers did eventually refund Goundrey $400 for charges incurred this fall. However, she said she had to start from scratch every time she called — with a new customer services representative — which was incredibly frustrating.

"I've been on hold for 10 to 15 minutes talking to a 'tier one' person with them fighting or even refusing to let me talk to a manager one level up," said Goundrey.

Widespread border problem

Some of her neighbours also reported they have to call Rogers repeatedly to get the incorrect charges cancelled.

"I have this problem with Rogers on my BlackBerry," White Rock resident Kirk Mitchell said in an email. "The contract termination costs with Rogers are very costly — so I just resign to do quarterly venting to customer service."

Telecom industry analyst Carmi Levy said charges for roaming in Canada are a chronic headache for residents all along the U.S. border. (CBC)

"Roaming" in Canada has also been reported as a chronic headache for customers with various providers in Windsor, Ont., across the river from Detroit.

"We live in a long thin band along the U.S. border," said Levy. "Really the only solution to this is to ensure that the Canadian network always prevails over the American one. To do that you would have to have more cell towers with more powerful equipment."

He points out that some of the obstacles to fixing the problem are beyond the telecom industry's control, such as government limits on signal strength and protests over new cell towers.

"The wheels of regulatory change continue to turn very slowly," said Levy.

"This is an area where both Canadian and American carriers have to get together and come up with a solution that works for everyone because the status quo is completely unacceptable."

Roaming overcharges common

In a recent survey by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre in Ottawa, 89 per cent of responders said they had been charged too much for roaming while away from home.

PIAC wants the CRTC to crack down on telecom companies, suggesting all roaming charges be capped, with limits chosen by users. The regulator is holding hearings early next year, where prices for cell usage will be on the agenda.

Goundrey's bills from Rogers list numerous charges for roaming in the U.S., when the calls were made from her home in B.C. (CBC)

Meantime, Rogers said it's working to cut down on customer frustration.

"If 'accidental roaming' does occur within Canada, we automatically re-rate voice calls so they don't show up on a customer's bill," said Rogers spokeswoman Holland.

"For texts and data, we adjust the invoice. We realize that's not an ideal experience for our customers and we're working on ways to also automatically re-rate accidental roaming charges for text and data."

Jane Goundrey's three-year contract with Rogers recently expired. She has just switched to Bell, which piggybacks on the Telus cell tower network in the White Rock area.

So far, she said, her family has seen a big improvement.

"I have coverage at home. I can make phone calls," she said. Until the problem in her neighborhood is fixed, she thinks Rogers should warn customers up front, before they sign up for three years.

"You are stuck with it — and they aren't honest when you sign up with what you are getting yourself into," she said.

Submit your story ideas to Kathy Tomlinson at Go Public

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Store video cameras failing to comply with privacy laws

Most retailers in Canada are failing to follow new federal rules when it comes to operating video surveillance cameras in their stores and businesses, according to a study by a professor of information studies at the University of Toronto.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with the signage requirements of the federal Personal Information, Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

'If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information.'—Andrew Clement, professor of information studies

Clement and his graduate students collected information on video cameras set up in two Toronto area malls, the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto and Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga. Of the hundreds of cameras on the properties, the students found only about 30 per cent had any kind of sign alerting people to their use and none met even the minimum standards required under the law.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with federal signage requirements.

"The findings of this study raise disturbing implications, as both video surveillance penetration and capabilities are expanding rapidly without appropriate understanding, transparency, oversight or accountability," the authors of the study wrote.

Under the law, stores are required to post signs outside their entrances that alert customers to the use of video surveillance, its purpose and a contact number so people can find out how they can obtain a copy of any footage that contains their image.

"I was surprised that in our study we didn't find a single one and it shocks me a bit," Clement told CBC News. "There is a resistance on the part of these private sector operators to entertain the idea that they have any obligations."

Clement and his students have now set up a website advising people of their rights when it comes to video surveillance at surveillancerights.ca. And they are doing further work with funding from the office of the federal privacy commissioner. The group has even developed a free app to download that allows people to document and record each time they encounter a surveillance camera.

Nathalie Desrosiers, general counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, called Clement's findings surprising. She said while many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life, people also expect to have their privacy rights respected.

Nathalie Desrosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life. (Maureen Brosnahan/CBC)

People have a right to choose if they want to enter a store and then have their image recorded, she said, but if they don't know they are being recorded, they can't make that choice.

"It's a question of not depriving people of the opportunity to make a decision themselves about what they want to share and what they do not want to share and that's a fundamental aspect of human dignity."

Desrosiers says this also raises concerns about how the recorded information is being used, and whether the technology is being mined for other reasons, such as targeted marketing or law enforcement.

Chantal Bernier, Canada's assistant privacy commissioner, told CBC News her office receives very few complaints about video cameras used by businesses.

"People don't know … that they are under video surveillance," she said. "If they knew how much surveillance went on, they would certainly object."

While video surveillance cameras have become almost commonplace, Bernier says their effectiveness in terms of reducing theft is questionable.

"Statistics on preventive video surveillance shows that it's practically non-existent. Even in relation to criminal investigations its effect is quite limited," she said. "So the case for video surveillance in relation to security still has to be made."

But Bernier admits her office has little clout when it comes to making companies comply with the law. "The only power we really have is the power to name," she said. "We use it only as prescribed by law and when it is in the public interest to name."

Last year, in her annual report, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart did single out Sobeys, a major Canadian grocery chain, for failing to follow the law. The case involved a customer who slipped and fell in the store. She was not aware that the whole incident had been taped and when she found out later, Sobeys initially refused to provide her with a copy of the recording.

"Our enforcement powers have been terribly limited," Bernier said, adding all her office can do for now is try to raise awareness among both the Canadian public and private sector businesses. "We need to add enforcement powers."

Clement agrees.

"We regulate elevators and all kinds of things. I think video surveillance should be brought under a similar regime," he said. "If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information."

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Texas building 28 hurricane domes along Gulf Coast

Most of the time, the windowless building with the dome-shaped roof will be a typical high school gymnasium filled with cheering fans watching basketball and volleyball games.

But come hurricane season, the structure that resembles a miniature version of the famed Houston Astrodome will double as a hurricane shelter, part of an ambitious storm defence system that is taking shape along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Its brawny design — including double-layer cinder-block walls reinforced by heavy duty steel bars and cement piers that plunge nine metres into the ground — should allow it to withstand winds up to 320 km/h.

"There is nothing standard" about the building, said Bob Wells, superintendent of the Edna school district, as he stood inside the $2.5 million US gym, which is set to be completed by March. "The only standard stuff is going to be the stuff we do inside."

The Edna dome is one of 28 such buildings planned to protect sick, elderly and special-needs residents who might be unable to evacuate ahead of a hurricane. First responders and local leaders will also be able to take refuge in the domes, allowing them to begin recovery efforts faster after a storm has passed.

Storm defence structures are getting increased attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which inflicted heavy damage on the East Coast in October. The city of New York, for instance, is considering a multi-billion-dollar system of sea barriers.

Multi-purpose use of domes

For Texas, a state always in danger during hurricane season, the domes offer the extra benefit of serving as recreation or community centres when not needed as shelters. They are being erected with help from the U.S. Emergency Management Agency.

"I think it's good for FEMA, and I think it's good for us. And I think it's good for the taxpayers," Wells said.

The gym in Edna, a town of 5,500 people southwest of Houston, is the second hurricane dome in Texas. The first was built in 2011 in Woodsboro, near Corpus Christi. Most of the domes will be around 1,850 square metres.

The plan calls for structures in 11 counties in the Rio Grande Valley, around Corpus Christi and along the coast from Victoria to Newton counties, said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The $2.5-million US Edna hurricane dome, which will also double as a high school gym, is one of 28 structures being built in Texas to shelter residents in the event of a major storm. (David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

So far, $34.5 million has been awarded. This month, FEMA approved funds for a hurricane dome that will serve as a community centre in Brownsville, one that will serve as a wellness centre and physical rehabilitation facility in Bay City and two that will serve as multi-purpose training centres in Kingsville.

Inside the gym in Edna, Wells' voice echoed as he pointed to the ceiling, which has layers of sprayed-on concrete, insulation and rebar, all of which are under a heavy duty fabric that gives the structure its distinctive wind-resistant shape.

The doorways are covered by awnings of heavy gauge metal and supported by concrete girders that go 4.5 metres into the ground.

FEMA helps fund structures

FEMA is paying for 75 per cent of the dome structures, with local communities picking up the remaining cost.

The funding is part of the agency's initiative to help homeowners and communities build hardened shelters that provide protection from extreme weather.

Nationwide, more than $683 million has been awarded in 18 states, including Texas, Alabama, Michigan and South Carolina.

Walking around the gym, Wells said it reminded him of when, as a teenager, he first walked into the Astrodome after it opened in 1965.

"It was like, 'Oh, wow, this is so cool,"' he said. "I'm still kind of in the 'oh, wow' stage with this."

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Neanderthal genome may hold clues to human survival

It's the time of year when people take stock of the past 12 months, and make resolutions for the New Year.

That's kind of what Svante Paabo is doing — but the Swedish archeological geneticist is looking over a time span of 30,000 years.

He's almost finished mapping the DNA of neanderthal man, a distant cousin of modern humans. Paabo has found that many people today carry within their DNA about 3 to 5 per cent in common with neanderthals.

Paabo says it's important to learn more about our caveman cousins' DNA to reveal the differences between us and them, differences that have seen modern humans survive and thrive over the millennia, while neanderthals have become extinct.

"I really hope that over the next 10 years we will understand much more of those things that set us apart. Which changes in our genome made human culture and technology possible? And allowed us to expand and become 7, 8, 9 billion people and spread all over the world?," he asked at a recent genetic conference in Ottawa.

The room was packed with people from across North America who wanted to hear Paabo speak. He's recognized as the inspiration for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park.

'He is a rock star'

Pierre Meulin, president of Genome Canada, describes Paabo this way. "He is a rock star," he says, with a laugh.

And he's not surprised Paabo's work captures the public's imagination.

"I think people want to understand where they come from. And now people are very interested in what their identity is, and the genetic makeup of an individual is the absolutely ultimate identity card for any individual. So people are very interested in that," Meulin added.

Those genetic differences, Meulin said, can help pinpoint various diseases, and perhaps lead to a cure. But Meulin believes that one day DNA mapping will have a much more common use.

"With the social networking we see these days, when we all have our gene profiles on our iphone we'll be self selecting who we would like to be with. 'Oh, are you like me? Because I have this or this gene profile, etc. etc.' It'll happen."

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Store video cameras failing to comply with privacy laws

Most retailers in Canada are failing to follow new federal rules when it comes to operating video surveillance cameras in their stores and businesses, according to a study by a professor of information studies at the University of Toronto.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with the signage requirements of the federal Personal Information, Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

'If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information.'—Andrew Clement, professor of information studies

Clement and his graduate students collected information on video cameras set up in two Toronto area malls, the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto and Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga. Of the hundreds of cameras on the properties, the students found only about 30 per cent had any kind of sign alerting people to their use and none met even the minimum standards required under the law.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with federal signage requirements.

"The findings of this study raise disturbing implications, as both video surveillance penetration and capabilities are expanding rapidly without appropriate understanding, transparency, oversight or accountability," the authors of the study wrote.

Under the law, stores are required to post signs outside their entrances that alert customers to the use of video surveillance, its purpose and a contact number so people can find out how they can obtain a copy of any footage that contains their image.

"I was surprised that in our study we didn't find a single one and it shocks me a bit," Clement told CBC News. "There is a resistance on the part of these private sector operators to entertain the idea that they have any obligations."

Clement and his students have now set up a website advising people of their rights when it comes to video surveillance at surveillancerights.ca. And they are doing further work with funding from the office of the federal privacy commissioner. The group has even developed a free app to download that allows people to document and record each time they encounter a surveillance camera.

Nathalie Desrosiers, general counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, called Clement's findings surprising. She said while many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life, people also expect to have their privacy rights respected.

Nathalie Desrosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life. (Maureen Brosnahan/CBC)

People have a right to choose if they want to enter a store and then have their image recorded, she said, but if they don't know they are being recorded, they can't make that choice.

"It's a question of not depriving people of the opportunity to make a decision themselves about what they want to share and what they do not want to share and that's a fundamental aspect of human dignity."

Desrosiers says this also raises concerns about how the recorded information is being used, and whether the technology is being mined for other reasons, such as targeted marketing or law enforcement.

Chantal Bernier, Canada's assistant privacy commissioner, told CBC News her office receives very few complaints about video cameras used by businesses.

"People don't know … that they are under video surveillance," she said. "If they knew how much surveillance went on, they would certainly object."

While video surveillance cameras have become almost commonplace, Bernier says their effectiveness in terms of reducing theft is questionable.

"Statistics on preventive video surveillance shows that it's practically non-existent. Even in relation to criminal investigations its effect is quite limited," she said. "So the case for video surveillance in relation to security still has to be made."

But Bernier admits her office has little clout when it comes to making companies comply with the law. "The only power we really have is the power to name," she said. "We use it only as prescribed by law and when it is in the public interest to name."

Last year, in her annual report, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart did single out Sobeys, a major Canadian grocery chain, for failing to follow the law. The case involved a customer who slipped and fell in the store. She was not aware that the whole incident had been taped and when she found out later, Sobeys initially refused to provide her with a copy of the recording.

"Our enforcement powers have been terribly limited," Bernier said, adding all her office can do for now is try to raise awareness among both the Canadian public and private sector businesses. "We need to add enforcement powers."

Clement agrees.

"We regulate elevators and all kinds of things. I think video surveillance should be brought under a similar regime," he said. "If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information."

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Texas building 28 hurricane domes along Gulf Coast

Most of the time, the windowless building with the dome-shaped roof will be a typical high school gymnasium filled with cheering fans watching basketball and volleyball games.

But come hurricane season, the structure that resembles a miniature version of the famed Houston Astrodome will double as a hurricane shelter, part of an ambitious storm defence system that is taking shape along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Its brawny design — including double-layer cinder-block walls reinforced by heavy duty steel bars and cement piers that plunge nine metres into the ground — should allow it to withstand winds up to 320 km/h.

"There is nothing standard" about the building, said Bob Wells, superintendent of the Edna school district, as he stood inside the $2.5 million US gym, which is set to be completed by March. "The only standard stuff is going to be the stuff we do inside."

The Edna dome is one of 28 such buildings planned to protect sick, elderly and special-needs residents who might be unable to evacuate ahead of a hurricane. First responders and local leaders will also be able to take refuge in the domes, allowing them to begin recovery efforts faster after a storm has passed.

Storm defence structures are getting increased attention in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which inflicted heavy damage on the East Coast in October. The city of New York, for instance, is considering a multi-billion-dollar system of sea barriers.

Multi-purpose use of domes

For Texas, a state always in danger during hurricane season, the domes offer the extra benefit of serving as recreation or community centres when not needed as shelters. They are being erected with help from the U.S. Emergency Management Agency.

"I think it's good for FEMA, and I think it's good for us. And I think it's good for the taxpayers," Wells said.

The gym in Edna, a town of 5,500 people southwest of Houston, is the second hurricane dome in Texas. The first was built in 2011 in Woodsboro, near Corpus Christi. Most of the domes will be around 1,850 square metres.

The plan calls for structures in 11 counties in the Rio Grande Valley, around Corpus Christi and along the coast from Victoria to Newton counties, said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

The $2.5-million US Edna hurricane dome, which will also double as a high school gym, is one of 28 structures being built in Texas to shelter residents in the event of a major storm. (David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

So far, $34.5 million has been awarded. This month, FEMA approved funds for a hurricane dome that will serve as a community centre in Brownsville, one that will serve as a wellness centre and physical rehabilitation facility in Bay City and two that will serve as multi-purpose training centres in Kingsville.

Inside the gym in Edna, Wells' voice echoed as he pointed to the ceiling, which has layers of sprayed-on concrete, insulation and rebar, all of which are under a heavy duty fabric that gives the structure its distinctive wind-resistant shape.

The doorways are covered by awnings of heavy gauge metal and supported by concrete girders that go 4.5 metres into the ground.

FEMA helps fund structures

FEMA is paying for 75 per cent of the dome structures, with local communities picking up the remaining cost.

The funding is part of the agency's initiative to help homeowners and communities build hardened shelters that provide protection from extreme weather.

Nationwide, more than $683 million has been awarded in 18 states, including Texas, Alabama, Michigan and South Carolina.

Walking around the gym, Wells said it reminded him of when, as a teenager, he first walked into the Astrodome after it opened in 1965.

"It was like, 'Oh, wow, this is so cool,"' he said. "I'm still kind of in the 'oh, wow' stage with this."

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Neanderthal genome may hold clues to human survival

It's the time of year when people take stock of the past 12 months, and make resolutions for the New Year.

That's kind of what Svante Paabo is doing — but the Swedish archeological geneticist is looking over a time span of 30,000 years.

He's almost finished mapping the DNA of neanderthal man, a distant cousin of modern humans. Paabo has found that many people today carry within their DNA about 3 to 5 per cent in common with neanderthals.

Paabo says it's important to learn more about our caveman cousins' DNA to reveal the differences between us and them, differences that have seen modern humans surive and thrive over the millennia, while neanderthals have become extinct.

"I really hope that over the next 10 years we will understand much more of those things that set us apart. Which changes in our genome made human culture and technology possible? And allowed us to expand and become 7, 8, 9 billion people and spread all over the world?," he asked at a recent genetic conference in Ottawa.

The room was packed with people from across North America who wanted to hear Paabo speak. He's recognized as the inspiration for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park.

'He is a rock star'

Pierre Meulin, president of Genome Canada, describes Paabo this way. "He is a rock star," he says, with a laugh.

And he's not surprised Paabo's work captures the public's imagination.

"I think people want to understand where they come from. And now people are very interested in what their identity is, and the genetic makeup of an individual is the absolutely ultimate identity card for any individual. So people are very interested in that," Meulin added.

Those genetic differences, Meulin said, can help pinpoint various diseases, and perhaps lead to a cure. But Meulin believes that one day DNA mapping will have a much more common use.

"With the social networking we see these days, when we all have our gene profiles on our iphone we'll be self selecting who we would like to be with. 'Oh, are you like me? Because I have this or this gene profile, etc. etc.' It'll happen."

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The Instagram dust-up: Is anything really free online?

User outrage could hardly be contained earlier this month when Facebook suggested it would change some of the terms of service for its photo-sharing site, Instagram.

The ire raised by the thought that shared personal photos might be used in ads was hardly surprising.

Facebook itself is no stranger to privacy crises and it only seems natural that users of social media would get their dander up when something that seemed to be free might suddenly come with unexpected and very unappealing strings attached.

'They're not providing their services for free and if you're not paying with money, you're paying with something else.'—David Fewer

The Instagram controversy, however, highlights a more universal truth: very little in life — online or otherwise — really is free.

No matter how seductive the internet can be, and how entitled users of various services may feel, there is ultimately a cost to every keystroke or click, even if no money changes hands.

"Those online service providers are asking for something in return," says David Fewer, director of the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa.

"They're not providing their services for free and if you're not paying with money, you're paying with something else.

"That's true all the time whether they're using your images or just using the information they glean from your website or whether they're following you around on the internet in some way."

No surprises

The University of Ottawa's public interest clinic has long been critical of online services not being very upfront about how they utilize user information.

And Facebook has subsequently said it will change some of the wording on its new Instagram policy, which had users interpreting it to mean that the social networking service could sell uploaded photos or related information.

But as Fewer notes, "there's an exchange happening here, and it should be like when you go to buy something at a store you know what it's costing.

The University of Ottawa's David Fewer. (CIPPIC / University of Ottawa)

"We get really outraged when the full costs aren't presented to us upfront," he says.

Though he also notes that most people "don't seem to have the same ethic around non-financial costs and we ought to.

"We don't do as much work to find out the nonpecuniary costs of these services, and services themselves don't nearly enough work to communicate the terms of the exchange."

Even though internet sites provide their terms of use, and people have to click acceptance, how many people really pay attention to what they've agreed to?

Sidneyeve Matrix, a media professor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., says "it's ridiculous" what's required to fully understand terms of service for mobile apps and social sites, and suggests you need a law degree, a background in computer science and a magnifying glass to figure these things out.

"Maybe in order to head off these kinds of massive push-backs and backlashes, start-ups will have to be more transparent and they'll have to provide terms of service that users understand."

Ultimately, though, money will enter into the equation.

"A lot of these start-ups get a critical mass of users by offering us a lot of bells and whistles for free whether it's photo filters or just really slickly designed apps," says Matrix.

"But as soon as they catch the attention of the big players like Facebook you know it becomes so important that they think about revenue generation and getting into the black. With Facebook, that always means selling our data and it bothers people so much."

Privacy settings

At the University of Ottawa privacy clinic, Fewer looks back in time to the old Internet Explorer web browser as a good example of a way an online service could ensure users are familiar with what will happen once they're on board.

"You couldn't install it before setting your privacy settings," he says.

"I always loved that you couldn't do it before talking about privacy and you couldn't install before actually communicating your privacy preferences."

So where does that leave the site user who doesn't have that legal degree or doesn't want to pay more — either through a fee or by having posted information somehow used by the service provider?

Fewer says the marketplace and the law can offer some relief.

"The best thing that can happen to a site that violates user expectations is that it loses customers," he says, noting, however, that it usually has to be something "big and bold" before a user revolt takes hold.

"Instagram was just very … rash in what they decided to do. They thought they could get away with anything, that they could rush to the Facebook model … and from what I understand they grabbed more than they needed in their terms of use and that was a big problem."

Hard to change

Had the proposed changes been done more incrementally, Fewer is concerned there might not have been a user revolt.

Other options for Canadians include launching privacy complaints or class-action lawsuits, but both those would require resources, expertise and experience often outside the realm of an individual.

"Class action is the ultimate discipline," says Fewer. "But it's a high hurdle" to initiate a class-action suit against large organizations.

Fewer says the discipline of the marketplace is "probably the best remedy we have," but it isn't absolute either.

The photo-sharing service Flickr stepped up promptly amid the Instagram controversy to tell potential users about the kind of service it offers in hopes of appearing more appealing than Instagram.

But then what happens if Flickr changes its terms of service down the road, too?

Even if the marketplace provides the best discipline, though, users upset with a site's policies may not feel they can ultimately leave.

"It's not like these services are necessarily freely transferable. It's a lot of work to change from Instagram … or to go from Facebook to Google Plus," says Fewer.

"The major issue is the network. People are on Facebook because their friends are on Facebook. That's where their network is.

"They're not necessarily on Facebook because of its wonderful services …or its unfailing responsiveness to consumer concerns. That's not why they're there and that's the biggest barrier to the marketplace functioning as it needs to function."

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Canadians lack trust in some scientists, poll suggests

A significant number of Canadians have trust issues with researchers in certain areas of science, including climate change, a new poll suggests.

An online survey of 1,000 people conducted by Nanos Research and released to CBC News asked respondents how much they trusted scientists quoted in the news on four scientific topics.

When it came to new energy technologies and medicines, a sizable majority of those surveyed said they trusted or somewhat trusted scientists. But respondents were less certain when it came to climate change and genetically modified crops.

The poll, conducted on Dec. 3 and 4, found that trust was highest on the issue of new energies (78 per cent trusted or somewhat trusted scientists) and that 71 per cent felt the same on the issue of medicines.

While nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) trusted or somewhat trusted scientists on the issue of climate change, a sizable number, nearly one-third (28 per cent), said they somewhat distrusted or distrusted researchers on that issue.

However, Canadians seemed to mistrust scientists the most on the issue of genetically modified crops, with nearly half (45 per cent) saying they trust researchers but 44 per cent saying they don't.

Government-sponsored scientists questioned

The survey also found that 42 per cent of Canadians believe that government-employed scientists should speak out on political issues that touch their area of expertise, while 32 per cent said they should stay out of politics. (Sixteen per cent were unsure.)

Gordon McBean, chair of the Canadian Climate Forum, and Andrew Weaver, a Canada research chair at the School of Earth and Ocean Science at the University of Victoria, said they're concerned about the role of government-sponsored scientists when it comes to climate change.

They said those scientists need the freedom to voice their findings, even if their research runs counter to current government policy. The Conservative government has been accused of muzzling scientists.

Weaver also expressed some frustration over the results of the survey in respect to those who still don't trust scientists when it comes to climate change research.

"The basic physics is as certain as you can get. The physics of global warming is basically the same as gravity, it's just basic physics," he said.

Some info confusing to consumers

McBean accused oil, coal and other special interest groups of having confused people with false information, while scientists have done a poor job fighting back.

"We need to have that kind of information better conveyed to Canadians so they make better informed decisions. I think Canadians are unfortunately not receiving the information they need on a whole range of issues."

Other findings of the poll included:

• One in two want spending on basic scientific research kept at the same levels.
• Research into medicines seen as the highest priority, research into genetically modified crops the lowest.
• Nearly half of Canadians believe research into climate change is a high priority.

The online survey was not assigned a margin of error because respondents were not randomly sampled.

The results were weighted using the latest Statistics Canada data to be representative of the opinions of Canadians, Nikita James Nanos, president and CEO of Nanos Research, said in an email.

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Store video cameras failing to comply with privacy laws

Most retailers in Canada are failing to follow new federal rules when it comes to operating video surveillance cameras in their stores and businesses, according to a study by a professor of information studies at the University of Toronto.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with the signage requirements of the federal Personal Information, Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

'If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information.'—Andrew Clement, professor of information studies

Clement and his graduate students collected information on video cameras set up in two Toronto area malls, the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto and Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga. Of the hundreds of cameras on the properties, the students found only about 30 per cent had any kind of sign alerting people to their use and none met even the minimum standards required under the law.

Andrew Clement, co-founder of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute, found that not a single video camera in one of Canada's largest malls complied with federal signage requirements.

"The findings of this study raise disturbing implications, as both video surveillance penetration and capabilities are expanding rapidly without appropriate understanding, transparency, oversight or accountability," the authors of the study wrote.

Under the law, stores are required to post signs outside their entrances that alert customers to the use of video surveillance, its purpose and a contact number so people can find out how they can obtain a copy of any footage that contains their image.

"I was surprised that in our study we didn't find a single one and it shocks me a bit," Clement told CBC News. "There is a resistance on the part of these private sector operators to entertain the idea that they have any obligations."

Clement and his students have now set up a website advising people of their rights when it comes to video surveillance at surveillancerights.ca. And they are doing further work with funding from the office of the federal privacy commissioner. The group has even developed a free app to download that allows people to document and record each time they encounter a surveillance camera.

Nathalie Desrosiers, general counsel for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, called Clement's findings surprising. She said while many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life, people also expect to have their privacy rights respected.

Nathalie Desrosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says many people have come to accept video surveillance as part of everyday life. (Maureen Brosnahan/CBC)

People have a right to choose if they want to enter a store and then have their image recorded, she said, but if they don't know they are being recorded, they can't make that choice.

"It's a question of not depriving people of the opportunity to make a decision themselves about what they want to share and what they do not want to share and that's a fundamental aspect of human dignity."

Desrosiers says this also raises concerns about how the recorded information is being used, and whether the technology is being mined for other reasons, such as targeted marketing or law enforcement.

Chantal Bernier, Canada's assistant privacy commissioner, told CBC News her office receives very few complaints about video cameras used by businesses.

"People don't know … that they are under video surveillance," she said. "If they knew how much surveillance went on, they would certainly object."

While video surveillance cameras have become almost commonplace, Bernier says their effectiveness in terms of reducing theft is questionable.

"Statistics on preventive video surveillance shows that it's practically non-existent. Even in relation to criminal investigations its effect is quite limited," she said. "So the case for video surveillance in relation to security still has to be made."

But Bernier admits her office has little clout when it comes to making companies comply with the law. "The only power we really have is the power to name," she said. "We use it only as prescribed by law and when it is in the public interest to name."

Last year, in her annual report, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart did single out Sobeys, a major Canadian grocery chain, for failing to follow the law. The case involved a customer who slipped and fell in the store. She was not aware that the whole incident had been taped and when she found out later, Sobeys initially refused to provide her with a copy of the recording.

"Our enforcement powers have been terribly limited," Bernier said, adding all her office can do for now is try to raise awareness among both the Canadian public and private sector businesses. "We need to add enforcement powers."

Clement agrees.

"We regulate elevators and all kinds of things. I think video surveillance should be brought under a similar regime," he said. "If we lose control over our personal images, then it's hard to maintain control over other kinds of information."

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Chris Hadfield and crew enter International Space Station

The Russian space capsule carrying Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and two colleagues docked with the International Space Station on Friday morning.

The spacecraft carrying Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko linked up with the space station's Rassvet module at 9:09 a.m. ET after spending two days in orbit

The new crew was welcomed aboard the space station and fielded calls from family and Mission Control officials. (NASA TV)

The docking took place around 410 kilometres above their point of origin, the Baikonur space port in southern Kazakhstan.

The trio will join NASA astronaut Cmdr. Kevin Ford and flight engineers and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, who have been residing at the orbital laboratory since Oct. 26.

A welcome ceremony began once the hatch opened at 11:37 a.m. ET Friday, 2½ hours after the shuttle docked with the space station.

Hadfield was the first to float through the hatch. The new trio exchanged hugs and greetings with the existing crew upon entering the station, then fielded congratulatory calls from family and Mission Control officials.

'It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about.'—Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut

"It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about," said Hadfield on the phone with his family. "It's just magic."

Each newcomer spoke to members of their families from Mission Control in Moscow. Marshburn's daughter asked him to do a flip in the zero-gravity space station, which he did, much to the amusement of the audience in Moscow and the new crew.

Hadfield's son commented that his father's face was puffy and wondered if it was from smiling too much.

"Yeah, we've been smiling a lot," Hadfield said. "It was just a heck of a ride for the three of us. It's like being on a crazy dragster."

Chris Hadfield was the first of the newcomers to enter through the hatch at the International Space Station. (NASA TV)

Hadfield also spoke with Paul Engel, director of communications for the Canadian Space Agency.

"All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch," said Engel. "Absolutely extraordinary. Good luck with the mission."

During his five-month visit, Hadfield will become the first Canadian to command the giant orbiting space laboratory in its 14-year history when he takes over in mid-March. Once Hadfield takes command, Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin will return home.

It's a task that former Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk says will be challenging.

'All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch.'—Paul Engel, director of communications, Canadian Space Agency

He says the 53-year-old Hadfield will have to maintain crew morale and make sure the crew paces itself, adding that the long duration stay is a marathon, not a sprint

Thirsk spent six months on the space station in 2009 — a record for a Canadian astronaut.

He also says that being away from family can be tough on astronauts who spend a long period of time on the space station.

This is Hadfield's third space journey.

His first space trip was in November 1995 when he visited the Russian Space Station Mir.

His second voyage was a visit to the International Space Station in April 2001, when he also performed two spacewalks.

Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko return home in May.

With files from The Canadian Press

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New online tool improves democracy, Hamilton inventor says

Politicians need to ask the right questions to make the right decisions, and a Hamilton inventor thinks he has the answer.

Ken Seville has launched Democravise, a web widget that goes deeper than a poll. People can give their opinions, but in doing so, rank the questions they asked themselves to arrive at the opinion and enter new ones the politician should consider.

It's a simple tool, but Seville thinks it will help improve the democratic process.

"The basic premise is that you make better decisions when you ask better questions," said Seville, who is working on the tool at the McMaster Innovation Park. "This helps decision makers crowd source."

Couns. Jason Farr and Brian McHattie and six neighbourhood associations are studying using Seville's tool to gauge opinion on whether to license rental units. The McMaster University Students Union is using it on the same issue.

McHattie said he is still looking into it, but he likes the philosophy.

"We need, as elected officials, to get more input on the decisions we're making and struggling with," he said.

The current methods of public meetings and email lists "don't necessarily capture that many people," he said. The concept of Democravise "is an attractive one."

A McMaster political science grad, Seville has a keen interest in current events. He sees numerous issues where this could be used, such as the Community Start Up and Maintenance Benefits (Are people thinking of health? Financial impacts? Whether it will increase their taxes?) or free transit for people who are blind or disabled.

The widget will be free at democravise.com, and is as simple as pasting a piece of code onto a website. Seville also hopes to make it open source, which means the source code and design will be freely available for anyone to use.

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China opens world's longest high-speed rail line

China opened the world's longest high-speed rail line on Wednesday, cutting in half the time it takes to travel from the country's capital in the north to Guangzhou, an economic hub in southern China.

The opening of the 2,298-kilometre line was commemorated by the departure of a train from Beijing for Guangzhou. Another train left Guangzhou for Beijing an hour later.

China has massive resources and considerable prestige invested in its high-speed railways program.

But it has in recent months faced high-profile problems: part of a line collapsed in central China after heavy rains in March, while a bullet train crash in the summer of 2011 killed 40 people. The former railway minister, who spearheaded the bullet train's construction, and the ministry's chief engineer, were detained in an unrelated corruption investigation months before the crash.

A man accepts a booklet while aboard China's new high-speed train. Passengers will be whisked from Beijing to the southern commercial hub of Guangzhou in just eight hours. (Associated Press/Getty Images)

Trains on the latest high-speed line will initially run at 300 km/h with a total travel time of about eight hours. Before, the fastest time between the two cities by train was more than 20 hours.

The line also makes stops in major cities along the way, including provincial capitals Shijiazhuang, Wuhan and Changsha.

More than 150 pairs of high-speed trains will run on the new line every day, the official Xinhua News Agency said, citing the Ministry of Railways.

Railway is an essential component of China's transportation system, and the government plans to build a grid of high-speed railways with four east-west lines and four north-south lines by 2020.

The opening of the new line brings the total distance covered by China's high-speed railway system to more than 9,300 kilometres — about half its 2015 target of 18,000 kilometres.

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Psy's Gangnam Style reaches 1 billion views on YouTube

Viral star Psy has reached a new milestone on YouTube.

The South Korean rapper's video for Gangnam Style has reached 1 billion views, according to YouTube's own counter. It's the first time any clip has surpassed that mark on the streaming service owned by Google Inc.

It shows the enduring popularity of the self-deprecating video that features Park Jae-sang's giddy up-style dance moves. The video has been available on YouTube since July 15, averaging more than 200 million views per month.

Justin Bieber's video for Baby held the previous YouTube record at more than 800 million views.

Psy wasn't just popular on YouTube, either. Earlier this month Google announced Gangnam Style was the second highest trending search of 2012 behind Whitney Houston, who passed away in February.

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Guns made on 3-D printers more of a reality

Downloading a gun's design plans to your computer, building it on a three-dimensional printer and firing it minutes later. No background checks, no questions asked.

Sound far-fetched? It's not. And that is disquieting for U.S. gun control advocates.

At least one group, called Defence Distributed, is claiming to have created downloadable weapon parts that can be built using the increasingly popular new generation of printer that uses plastics and other materials to create 3-D objects with moving parts.

University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, the 24-year-old "Wiki Weapons" project leader, says the group last month test fired a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle — one of the weapon types used in last week's Connecticut school massacre — which was built with some key parts created on a 3-D printer. The gun was fired six times before it broke.

3-D gun fired 6 times before breaking

Though no independent observer was there to verify the test, a short video clip showing the gun firing and breaking was posted to YouTube.

Federal firearms regulators said they are aware of the technology's gun-making potential but do not believe an entire weapon has yet been made.

U.S. Representative Steven Israel said the prospect of such guns becoming reality is reason enough for the renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act, which makes illegal the building of guns that can't be detected by X-ray or metallic scanners. That law expires at the end of 2013.

"What's chilling is that last month a group of kids used a 3-D printer to actually manufacture (key parts) of the AR-15 and fire six bullets," the Democrat said. "When the (act) was last renewed in 2003, a gun made by a 3-D printer was like a Star Trek episode, but now we know it's real."

'What's chilling is that last month a group of kids used a 3-D printer to actually manufacture (key parts) of the AR-15 and fire six bullets'—U.S. Rep. Steven Israel

Even with gun control pushed to the top of the national political conversation, Wilson is steadfast about reaching his goal of making a fully downloadable gun. This weekend, he and his partners plan to print four new lower receivers — the part of the gun that includes the trigger, magazine and grip. He keeps three of these AR-15 parts in his tidy student apartment in Austin, Texas.

While saddened by the Connecticut school killing, Wilson said Thursday that protecting the constitutional right to bear arms by giving everyone access to guns is more important in the long term than a single horrible crime.

"Clearly what happened in Connecticut was a tragedy," he told The Associated Press. "Still, by affording the Second Amendment protection, we understand events like these will happen."

He said he discussed with his partners whether they should suspend their effort, and they all decided it was too important to stop.

Wilson acknowledged there still are many technical hurdles to creating a complete gun from a 3-D printer and provided no estimate on when his goal might be reached.

Some homemade guns not illegal

Special Agent Helen Dunkel of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which helps enforce gun laws, said the agency is familiar with Wilson's project. She didn't offer an opinion but noted there is nothing illegal about making many types of guns at home. Exceptions would be high-powered weapons like machine-guns and those not detectable by airport scanners.

3-D printing technology was developed for the automobile, aerospace and other industries to create product prototypes from the same hard plastics used in toys like Legos. Hobbyists mainly use the printers to design Christmas ornaments, toys and gadget accessories.

Prices on the machines have fallen as the consumer market grows, leading to a surge in interest from people in the so-called "maker" scene. Low-end 3-D printers can now be purchased online from between $1,500 US and $4,000 US. The more high-end printers needed to make gun parts are still priced from $10,000 US and up.

Stratasys Ltd. of Minnesota makes 3-D printers. Shane Glenn, director of investor relations, said gun-making was never something envisioned for the machines.

"The gun issue is something that the 3-D printing industry will have to address going forward," Glenn said.

'The gun issue is something that the 3-D printing industry will have to address going forward'—Shane Glenn, director of investor relations at Stratasys Ltd.

Right now, most people interested in 3-D printing rent time on one. There are a number of businesses and co-ops in major cities that allow access to the machines for a nominal fee. At San Francisco's TechShop, which features a 3-D printer for its members, "assembling firearms is strictly prohibited and our staff is trained on that policy," company spokeswoman Carrie Motamedi said.

Wilson acknowledged his idea has met resistance from those active in 3-D printing.

"The early adopters of 3-D printing technology seem to be an educated, more liberal group who were against firearms to begin with," he said. Wilson said some are worried the gun project might spur regulations that will hurt or curtail their projects.

Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley technology forecaster who teaches at Stanford University's engineering school, said Defence Distributed's work carries on a long tradition of tech geeks using innovation to make a political point, in this case on gun control and constitutional freedoms.

"If you want to get people's attention in Washington, you say something. If you want to do it in Silicon Valley, you make something," Saffo said.

He said the technology exists now for a highly motivated group to make a plastic gun on a 3-D printer that could avoid airport scanners. But the equipment is still too expensive for most people.

"Nobody right now needs to worry about the bright teenager making a gun on a printer in their bedroom," he said.

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Chris Hadfield and crew enter International Space Station

The Russian space capsule carrying Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and two colleagues docked with the International Space Station on Friday morning.

The spacecraft carrying Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko linked up with the space station's Rassvet module at 9:09 a.m. ET after spending two days in orbit

The new crew was welcomed aboard the space station and fielded calls from family and Mission Control officials. (NASA TV)

The docking took place around 410 kilometres above their point of origin, the Baikonur space port in southern Kazakhstan.

The trio will join NASA astronaut Cmdr. Kevin Ford and flight engineers and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, who have been residing at the orbital laboratory since Oct. 26.

A welcome ceremony began once the hatch opened at 11:37 a.m. ET Friday, 2½ hours after the shuttle docked with the space station.

Hadfield was the first to float through the hatch. The new trio exchanged hugs and greetings with the existing crew upon entering the station, then fielded congratulatory calls from family and Mission Control officials.

'It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about.'—Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut

"It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about," said Hadfield on the phone with his family. "It's just magic."

Each newcomer spoke to members of their families from Mission Control in Moscow. Marshburn's daughter asked him to do a flip in the zero-gravity space station, which he did, much to the amusement of the audience in Moscow and the new crew.

Hadfield's son commented that his father's face was puffy and wondered if it was from smiling too much.

"Yeah, we've been smiling a lot," Hadfield said. "It was just a heck of a ride for the three of us. It's like being on a crazy dragster."

Chris Hadfield was the first of the newcomers to enter through the hatch at the International Space Station. (NASA TV)

Hadfield also spoke with Paul Engel, director of communications for the Canadian Space Agency.

"All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch," said Engel. "Absolutely extraordinary. Good luck with the mission."

During his five-month visit, Hadfield will become the first Canadian to command the giant orbiting space laboratory in its 14-year history when he takes over in mid-March. Once Hadfield takes command, Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin will return home.

It's a task that former Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk says will be challenging.

'All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch.'—Paul Engel, director of communications, Canadian Space Agency

He says the 53-year-old Hadfield will have to maintain crew morale and make sure the crew paces itself, adding that the long duration stay is a marathon, not a sprint

Thirsk spent six months on the space station in 2009 — a record for a Canadian astronaut.

He also says that being away from family can be tough on astronauts who spend a long period of time on the space station.

This is Hadfield's third space journey.

His first space trip was in November 1995 when he visited the Russian Space Station Mir.

His second voyage was a visit to the International Space Station in April 2001, when he also performed two spacewalks.

Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko return home in May.

With files from The Canadian Press

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Psy's Gangnam Style reaches 1 billion views on YouTube

Viral star Psy has reached a new milestone on YouTube.

The South Korean rapper's video for Gangnam Style has reached 1 billion views, according to YouTube's own counter. It's the first time any clip has surpassed that mark on the streaming service owned by Google Inc.

It shows the enduring popularity of the self-deprecating video that features Park Jae-sang's giddy up-style dance moves. The video has been available on YouTube since July 15, averaging more than 200 million views per month.

Justin Bieber's video for Baby held the previous YouTube record at more than 800 million views.

Psy wasn't just popular on YouTube, either. Earlier this month Google announced Gangnam Style was the second highest trending search of 2012 behind Whitney Houston, who passed away in February.

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Guns made on 3-D printers more of a reality

Downloading a gun's design plans to your computer, building it on a three-dimensional printer and firing it minutes later. No background checks, no questions asked.

Sound far-fetched? It's not. And that is disquieting for U.S. gun control advocates.

At least one group, called Defence Distributed, is claiming to have created downloadable weapon parts that can be built using the increasingly popular new generation of printer that uses plastics and other materials to create 3-D objects with moving parts.

University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, the 24-year-old "Wiki Weapons" project leader, says the group last month test fired a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle — one of the weapon types used in last week's Connecticut school massacre — which was built with some key parts created on a 3-D printer. The gun was fired six times before it broke.

3-D gun fired 6 times before breaking

Though no independent observer was there to verify the test, a short video clip showing the gun firing and breaking was posted to YouTube.

Federal firearms regulators said they are aware of the technology's gun-making potential but do not believe an entire weapon has yet been made.

U.S. Representative Steven Israel said the prospect of such guns becoming reality is reason enough for the renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act, which makes illegal the building of guns that can't be detected by X-ray or metallic scanners. That law expires at the end of 2013.

"What's chilling is that last month a group of kids used a 3-D printer to actually manufacture (key parts) of the AR-15 and fire six bullets," the Democrat said. "When the (act) was last renewed in 2003, a gun made by a 3-D printer was like a Star Trek episode, but now we know it's real."

'What's chilling is that last month a group of kids used a 3-D printer to actually manufacture (key parts) of the AR-15 and fire six bullets'—U.S. Rep. Steven Israel

Even with gun control pushed to the top of the national political conversation, Wilson is steadfast about reaching his goal of making a fully downloadable gun. This weekend, he and his partners plan to print four new lower receivers — the part of the gun that includes the trigger, magazine and grip. He keeps three of these AR-15 parts in his tidy student apartment in Austin, Texas.

While saddened by the Connecticut school killing, Wilson said Thursday that protecting the constitutional right to bear arms by giving everyone access to guns is more important in the long term than a single horrible crime.

"Clearly what happened in Connecticut was a tragedy," he told The Associated Press. "Still, by affording the Second Amendment protection, we understand events like these will happen."

He said he discussed with his partners whether they should suspend their effort, and they all decided it was too important to stop.

Wilson acknowledged there still are many technical hurdles to creating a complete gun from a 3-D printer and provided no estimate on when his goal might be reached.

Some homemade guns not illegal

Special Agent Helen Dunkel of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which helps enforce gun laws, said the agency is familiar with Wilson's project. She didn't offer an opinion but noted there is nothing illegal about making many types of guns at home. Exceptions would be high-powered weapons like machine-guns and those not detectable by airport scanners.

3-D printing technology was developed for the automobile, aerospace and other industries to create product prototypes from the same hard plastics used in toys like Legos. Hobbyists mainly use the printers to design Christmas ornaments, toys and gadget accessories.

Prices on the machines have fallen as the consumer market grows, leading to a surge in interest from people in the so-called "maker" scene. Low-end 3-D printers can now be purchased online from between $1,500 US and $4,000 US. The more high-end printers needed to make gun parts are still priced from $10,000 US and up.

Stratasys Ltd. of Minnesota makes 3-D printers. Shane Glenn, director of investor relations, said gun-making was never something envisioned for the machines.

"The gun issue is something that the 3-D printing industry will have to address going forward," Glenn said.

'The gun issue is something that the 3-D printing industry will have to address going forward'—Shane Glenn, director of investor relations at Stratasys Ltd.

Right now, most people interested in 3-D printing rent time on one. There are a number of businesses and co-ops in major cities that allow access to the machines for a nominal fee. At San Francisco's TechShop, which features a 3-D printer for its members, "assembling firearms is strictly prohibited and our staff is trained on that policy," company spokeswoman Carrie Motamedi said.

Wilson acknowledged his idea has met resistance from those active in 3-D printing.

"The early adopters of 3-D printing technology seem to be an educated, more liberal group who were against firearms to begin with," he said. Wilson said some are worried the gun project might spur regulations that will hurt or curtail their projects.

Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley technology forecaster who teaches at Stanford University's engineering school, said Defence Distributed's work carries on a long tradition of tech geeks using innovation to make a political point, in this case on gun control and constitutional freedoms.

"If you want to get people's attention in Washington, you say something. If you want to do it in Silicon Valley, you make something," Saffo said.

He said the technology exists now for a highly motivated group to make a plastic gun on a 3-D printer that could avoid airport scanners. But the equipment is still too expensive for most people.

"Nobody right now needs to worry about the bright teenager making a gun on a printer in their bedroom," he said.

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Chris Hadfield and crew enter International Space Station

The Russian space capsule carrying Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and two colleagues docked with the International Space Station on Friday morning.

The spacecraft carrying Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko linked up with the space station's Rassvet module at 9:09 a.m. ET after spending two days in orbit

The new crew was welcomed aboard the space station and fielded calls from family and Mission Control officials. (NASA TV)

The docking took place around 410 kilometres above their point of origin, the Baikonur space port in southern Kazakhstan.

The trio will join NASA astronaut Cmdr. Kevin Ford and flight engineers and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, who have been residing at the orbital laboratory since Oct. 26.

A welcome ceremony began once the hatch opened at 11:37 a.m. ET Friday, 2½ hours after the shuttle docked with the space station.

Hadfield was the first to float through the hatch. The new trio exchanged hugs and greetings with the existing crew upon entering the station, then fielded congratulatory calls from family and Mission Control officials.

'It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about.'—Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut

"It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about," said Hadfield on the phone with his family. "It's just magic."

Each newcomer spoke to members of their families from Mission Control in Moscow. Marshburn's daughter asked him to do a flip in the zero-gravity space station, which he did, much to the amusement of the audience in Moscow and the new crew.

Hadfield's son commented that his father's face was puffy and wondered if it was from smiling too much.

"Yeah, we've been smiling a lot," Hadfield said. "It was just a heck of a ride for the three of us. It's like being on a crazy dragster."

Chris Hadfield was the first of the newcomers to enter through the hatch at the International Space Station. (NASA TV)

Hadfield also spoke with Paul Engel, director of communications for the Canadian Space Agency.

"All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch," said Engel. "Absolutely extraordinary. Good luck with the mission."

During his five-month visit, Hadfield will become the first Canadian to command the giant orbiting space laboratory in its 14-year history when he takes over in mid-March. Once Hadfield takes command, Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin will return home.

It's a task that former Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk says will be challenging.

'All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch.'—Paul Engel, director of communications, Canadian Space Agency

He says the 53-year-old Hadfield will have to maintain crew morale and make sure the crew paces itself, adding that the long duration stay is a marathon, not a sprint

Thirsk spent six months on the space station in 2009 — a record for a Canadian astronaut.

He also says that being away from family can be tough on astronauts who spend a long period of time on the space station.

This is Hadfield's third space journey.

His first space trip was in November 1995 when he visited the Russian Space Station Mir.

His second voyage was a visit to the International Space Station in April 2001, when he also performed two spacewalks.

Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko return home in May.

With files from The Canadian Press

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Psy's Gangnam Style reaches 1 billion views on YouTube

Viral star Psy has reached a new milestone on YouTube.

The South Korean rapper's video for Gangnam Style has reached 1 billion views, according to YouTube's own counter. It's the first time any clip has surpassed that mark on the streaming service owned by Google Inc.

It shows the enduring popularity of the self-deprecating video that features Park Jae-sang's giddy up-style dance moves. The video has been available on YouTube since July 15, averaging more than 200 million views per month.

Justin Bieber's video for Baby held the previous YouTube record at more than 800 million views.

Psy wasn't just popular on YouTube, either. Earlier this month Google announced Gangnam Style was the second highest trending search of 2012 behind Whitney Houston, who passed away in February.

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Guns made on 3-D printers more of a reality

Downloading a gun's design plans to your computer, building it on a three-dimensional printer and firing it minutes later. No background checks, no questions asked.

Sound far-fetched? It's not. And that is disquieting for U.S. gun control advocates.

At least one group, called Defence Distributed, is claiming to have created downloadable weapon parts that can be built using the increasingly popular new generation of printer that uses plastics and other materials to create 3-D objects with moving parts.

University of Texas law student Cody Wilson, the 24-year-old "Wiki Weapons" project leader, says the group last month test fired a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle — one of the weapon types used in last week's Connecticut school massacre — which was built with some key parts created on a 3-D printer. The gun was fired six times before it broke.

3-D gun fired 6 times before breaking

Though no independent observer was there to verify the test, a short video clip showing the gun firing and breaking was posted to YouTube.

Federal firearms regulators said they are aware of the technology's gun-making potential but do not believe an entire weapon has yet been made.

U.S. Representative Steven Israel said the prospect of such guns becoming reality is reason enough for the renewal of the Undetectable Firearms Act, which makes illegal the building of guns that can't be detected by X-ray or metallic scanners. That law expires at the end of 2013.

"What's chilling is that last month a group of kids used a 3-D printer to actually manufacture (key parts) of the AR-15 and fire six bullets," the Democrat said. "When the (act) was last renewed in 2003, a gun made by a 3-D printer was like a Star Trek episode, but now we know it's real."

'What's chilling is that last month a group of kids used a 3-D printer to actually manufacture (key parts) of the AR-15 and fire six bullets'—U.S. Rep. Steven Israel

Even with gun control pushed to the top of the national political conversation, Wilson is steadfast about reaching his goal of making a fully downloadable gun. This weekend, he and his partners plan to print four new lower receivers — the part of the gun that includes the trigger, magazine and grip. He keeps three of these AR-15 parts in his tidy student apartment in Austin, Texas.

While saddened by the Connecticut school killing, Wilson said Thursday that protecting the constitutional right to bear arms by giving everyone access to guns is more important in the long term than a single horrible crime.

"Clearly what happened in Connecticut was a tragedy," he told The Associated Press. "Still, by affording the Second Amendment protection, we understand events like these will happen."

He said he discussed with his partners whether they should suspend their effort, and they all decided it was too important to stop.

Wilson acknowledged there still are many technical hurdles to creating a complete gun from a 3-D printer and provided no estimate on when his goal might be reached.

Some homemade guns not illegal

Special Agent Helen Dunkel of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which helps enforce gun laws, said the agency is familiar with Wilson's project. She didn't offer an opinion but noted there is nothing illegal about making many types of guns at home. Exceptions would be high-powered weapons like machine-guns and those not detectable by airport scanners.

3-D printing technology was developed for the automobile, aerospace and other industries to create product prototypes from the same hard plastics used in toys like Legos. Hobbyists mainly use the printers to design Christmas ornaments, toys and gadget accessories.

Prices on the machines have fallen as the consumer market grows, leading to a surge in interest from people in the so-called "maker" scene. Low-end 3-D printers can now be purchased online from between $1,500 US and $4,000 US. The more high-end printers needed to make gun parts are still priced from $10,000 US and up.

Stratasys Ltd. of Minnesota makes 3-D printers. Shane Glenn, director of investor relations, said gun-making was never something envisioned for the machines.

"The gun issue is something that the 3-D printing industry will have to address going forward," Glenn said.

'The gun issue is something that the 3-D printing industry will have to address going forward'—Shane Glenn, director of investor relations at Stratasys Ltd.

Right now, most people interested in 3-D printing rent time on one. There are a number of businesses and co-ops in major cities that allow access to the machines for a nominal fee. At San Francisco's TechShop, which features a 3-D printer for its members, "assembling firearms is strictly prohibited and our staff is trained on that policy," company spokeswoman Carrie Motamedi said.

Wilson acknowledged his idea has met resistance from those active in 3-D printing.

"The early adopters of 3-D printing technology seem to be an educated, more liberal group who were against firearms to begin with," he said. Wilson said some are worried the gun project might spur regulations that will hurt or curtail their projects.

Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley technology forecaster who teaches at Stanford University's engineering school, said Defence Distributed's work carries on a long tradition of tech geeks using innovation to make a political point, in this case on gun control and constitutional freedoms.

"If you want to get people's attention in Washington, you say something. If you want to do it in Silicon Valley, you make something," Saffo said.

He said the technology exists now for a highly motivated group to make a plastic gun on a 3-D printer that could avoid airport scanners. But the equipment is still too expensive for most people.

"Nobody right now needs to worry about the bright teenager making a gun on a printer in their bedroom," he said.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Chris Hadfield and crew enter International Space Station

The Russian space capsule carrying Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and two colleagues docked with the International Space Station on Friday morning.

The spacecraft carrying Hadfield, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and cosmonaut Roman Romanenko linked up with the space station's Rassvet module at 9:09 a.m. ET after spending two days in orbit

The new crew was welcomed aboard the space station and fielded calls from family and Mission Control officials. (NASA TV)

The docking took place around 410 kilometres above their point of origin, the Baikonur space port in southern Kazakhstan.

The trio will join NASA astronaut Cmdr. Kevin Ford and flight engineers and cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Evgeny Tarelkin, who have been residing at the orbital laboratory since Oct. 26.

A welcome ceremony began once the hatch opened at 11:37 a.m. ET Friday, 2½ hours after the shuttle docked with the space station.

Hadfield was the first to float through the hatch. The new trio exchanged hugs and greetings with the existing crew upon entering the station, then fielded congratulatory calls from family and Mission Control officials.

'It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about.'—Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut

"It's like going up to an attic and discovering a treasure you've forgotten about," said Hadfield on the phone with his family. "It's just magic."

Each newcomer spoke to members of their families from Mission Control in Moscow. Marshburn's daughter asked him to do a flip in the zero-gravity space station, which he did, much to the amusement of the audience in Moscow and the new crew.

Hadfield's son commented that his father's face was puffy and wondered if it was from smiling too much.

"Yeah, we've been smiling a lot," Hadfield said. "It was just a heck of a ride for the three of us. It's like being on a crazy dragster."

Chris Hadfield was the first of the newcomers to enter through the hatch at the International Space Station. (NASA TV)

Hadfield also spoke with Paul Engel, director of communications for the Canadian Space Agency.

"All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch," said Engel. "Absolutely extraordinary. Good luck with the mission."

During his five-month visit, Hadfield will become the first Canadian to command the giant orbiting space laboratory in its 14-year history when he takes over in mid-March. Once Hadfield takes command, Ford, Novitskiy and Tarelkin will return home.

It's a task that former Canadian astronaut Bob Thirsk says will be challenging.

'All of Canada tuned in to watch that absolutely picture-perfect launch.'—Paul Engel, director of communications, Canadian Space Agency

He says the 53-year-old Hadfield will have to maintain crew morale and make sure the crew paces itself, adding that the long duration stay is a marathon, not a sprint

Thirsk spent six months on the space station in 2009 — a record for a Canadian astronaut.

He also says that being away from family can be tough on astronauts who spend a long period of time on the space station.

This is Hadfield's third space journey.

His first space trip was in November 1995 when he visited the Russian Space Station Mir.

His second voyage was a visit to the International Space Station in April 2001, when he also performed two spacewalks.

Hadfield, Marshburn and Romanenko return home in May.

With files from The Canadian Press

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