Monthly Archives: August 2005

Alaskans Trying to Freeze Government Powers

The United States’ Transportation Security Administration has been violating the privacy rights of American citizens and as a result group of Alaskans have filed a lawsuit. Under Secure Flight, the program in question, personal information is collected then read by a private company to figure out if you are a threat to American airspace or not.logo

The group is comprised of people from various backgrounds that all feel that government is sacrificing freedom for little-to-no security benefit. On their website they state that the “TSA promised not to use commercial data, but they did. TSA isn’t allowed to keep secret databases on Americans, but they have. TSA promised to comply with the Privacy Act, but they haven’t.”

It is about time that American citizens challenge this since the program has identified babies as terrorists. The TSA has even been told by the American government that they are in violation of the 1974 Privacy Act.

Sustainable Cities in China

China has started a pilot project for sustainable cities in Liaoning Province named the Cradle to Cradle Village.roof top garden

“The design of the village aspires to draw power from the sun, to maintain materials in closed-loop systems of technical and biological nutrition, and to create an intergenerational community of people productively engaged in restorative commerce. Its goal is to provide a higher quality of life for the villagers and to exemplify a more hopeful future for the children.”

For more information the BBC has a good article looking into sustainability in cities.

Fake Blood no Longer for -?

I just posted on fake meat and now I bring to your attention to fake blood.

Students from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom have developed a synthetic blood that can be used for transfusions. The synthetic blood can be used with all blood types and be stored at room temperature for extended time periods. The key to the success of the synthetic blood is that it carries more oxygen than real blood.