Scout Report for Science & Engineering
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/report/sci-eng/2000/se-000816.html
Volume 3, Number 24 of the Scout Report for Science & Engineering is available. The In the News section annotates twelve resources on the wildfires that continue to rage in the western United States. [TK]
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Astronomers Report Discovery of New Extra-solar Planets: Four Reports
1. "Astronomers Discover Bundle of Extra-Solar Planets"
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/new_planets_000804.html
2. "Astronomers report discovery of three new extrasolar planets, plus hints of many multi-planet systems"
http://www.iau.org/ga24press/pr000807_3.html#1
3. "The Planet Shower Still Goes On! Six new planetary candidates announced"
http://www.iau.org/ga24press/pr000807_2.html#1
4. University of Arizona Astronomers Seek Most Efficient Way to Image and Analyze Extra-Solar Planets From Earth and Space
http://www.iau.org/ga24press/pr000810_1.html#1
If you are feeling alone in the universe, this breaking news of the search for new planets might inspire you. The first account is from the popular space science Website, Space.com. It chronicles the latest detection of at least nine possible planetary bodies orbiting stars outside of our solar system. The text includes a discussion of how detection of wobble behavior is used in the search for extra-solar planets and plans for future planet hunts. This site also features links to Websites of the observatories involved in extra-solar planet detection, related Space.com stories, a diagram of Doppler shift due to stellar wobble, and a table of the nine planet candidates's size and distance from Earth. The next three resources come hot off the presses from the meeting of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) in Manchester England. Researchers at the University of California; the University of Arizona; Geneva Observatory, Switzerland; and Grenouble Observatory, France are reporting on their finds as part of the daily updates from the IAU meeting. [HCS]
[Back to Contents]Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators of Well-Being
http://www.agingstats.gov/chartbook2000/default.htm
Press Release:
http://www.agingstats.gov/chartbook2000/pr081000.html
.pdf Version (127 pages)
http://www.agingstats.gov/chartbook2000/OlderAmericans2000.pdf
Last Thursday, the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, a consortium of US government agencies responsible for improving the quality and usefulness of data on older Americans, released their first major report, Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators of Well-Being. Presenting a comprehensive profile of this significant and burgeoning demographic, the report seeks "to present data in a nontechnical, user-friendly format." It features 31 indicators divided into five sections: Population, Economics, Health Status, Health Risks and Behaviors, and Health Care. True to its word, the report is readable, the graphics quickly comprehensible, and the lay-out in both HTML and .pdf formats well-organized. One interesting fact, among many, from the report is that there are now "an estimated 35 million people age 65 or older in the United States, accounting for almost 13 percent of the total population" -- an increase of more than ten-fold since the turn of the last century. [DC]
[Back to Contents]The Nanking Atrocities [.pdf, RealPlayer]
http://web.missouri.edu/~jschool/nanking/
An impressive collection of source materials, including numerous photographs and video clips, supports this well-researched site, which documents the Japanese occupation of the Chinese capital of Nanking in 1937-38. Nanking marked an early clash in the Second Sino-Japanese War, and although the exact death toll is impossible to determine, some scholars today claim that 300,000 people, many of them civilians, lost their lives during the Japanese occupation of the city. This site, based on an August 2000 Master's thesis by Masato Kajimoto at the University of Missouri-Columbia, provides a narrative of the events surrounding the occupation, from the conflicts that preceded it to the "Reign of Terror" itself, concluding with a historical perspective from the 1990s. As the title of the site suggests, considerable attention is given to the atrocities committed during the conflict, brought to life here through such means as interviews, soldiers's diaries, and graphic photos. A selected bibliography is available online, and the entire thesis (with footnotes and full citations) can be downloaded in .pdf format. The Nanking Atrocities offers a thorough treatment of the topic and provides a sobering reminder of the brutality of war. Note: the links to video clips in the Table of Contents seem to be inaccurate. To access video clips, use the sidebar on the lefthand side of the screen from within the other sections of the site. [SW]
[Back to Contents]Births: Preliminary Data for 1999 [.pdf, 24 pages]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvs48_14.pdf
Press release:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/releases/00news/00news/newbirth.htm
On Tuesday, the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released preliminary data on US births, including numbers that show the birth rate for teen mothers has declined to a 60-year low. "The preliminary report also found a drop in the number of births to unmarried teens, record high levels of women receiving early prenatal care, a rise in the cesarean delivery rate, and no improvement in the percent of infants born at low birthweight." In additional to aggregate national numbers for birth rates and newborn health conditions, the report breaks down the data by state, race, and age. A press release is offered at the NCHS Website with a link to the full report in .pdf. [DC]
[Back to Contents]An Assessment of State Brownfields Initiatives -- HUD [MS Word, 63 pages]
http://www.huduser.org/publications/econdev/assess.html
This report from HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research gives the results of a study designed to explore state regulatory and economic initiatives to redevelop previously used sites, particularly brownfields or contaminated sites. The study, which was just placed online last week, is focused on how such state initiatives encourage the economic revitalization of depressed neighborhoods. Among other findings, the Assessment reports that institutional controls and Voluntary Cleanup Programs (VCPs) stimulated redevelopment of underused sites, and that VCPs, while rooted in environmental concerns, "increasingly play the role of alternative local economic development programs." [TK]
[Back to Contents]UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects [.pdf]
http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/CAB/smallarms/
In December of last year, the UN determined to hold a conference in June/July 2001 to develop a plan of action to control illegal trade in small arms and light weapons. Though the conference is almost a year away, its Website already boasts plenty of material, including working papers, discussion papers, reports from the Secretary-General, press releases, resolutions from the General Assembly, and more. For the general user, one of the more interesting sections of the site may be the Views of States section which gives brief (1-2 page) opinions on the issues and the conference from various countries. [TK]
[Back to Contents]"From the Global Digital Divide to the Global Digital Opportunity: Proposals Submitted to the G-8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit 2000" [.pdf, 38 pages]
http://www.weforum.org/pdf/Projects/FromTheGDDivideToTheGDOpportunity.pdf
Global Digital Divide Initiative -- World Economic Forum
http://www.weforum.org/centres.nsf/Documents/Home+-+Centres+-+Global+Digital+Divide+Initiative
At their annual meeting this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) launched the Global Digital Divide Initiative and formed a task force to devise ways to engage interested international parties in a dialogue on closing the gaps between the digital haves and have-nots. This report, submitted by WEF's task force at last month's G-8 Summit, reframes that "divide" as a "global digital opportunity" and presents a variety of steps that the international community can take to improve the accessibility and use of telecommunications and the Internet in developing countries. The WEF's proposals are guided by nine principles, the first of which is that the G-8 should take a "leadership role" in the process. From these nine principles, the report delineates a ten-part action plan including steps to outline the G-8's role, improve education, give aid, and more. [TK]
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America at Work, America at Leisure: Motion Pictures from 1894-1915 -- LOC [QuickTime, MPEG, RealPlayer]
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awlhtml/awlhome.html
This latest release from the Library of Congress's American Memory collection will consist of 150 motion pictures, 62 of which are available in other American Memory offerings. Currently, 111 films are online, with the rest to follow this fall. From Coney Island to coal mines, these films offer a prosaic look at American life at the turn of the last century. Users can search by keyword or browse by subject or title. In addition, the films are accessible from a topical list that runs down the side of the screen in the Special Presentation section, which also offers a three part essay that contextualizes the films. Films are available in QuickTime, MPEG, and RealVideo formats, and those longer than four minutes have been segmented for easier downloading. [TK]
[Back to Contents]Australia's Biodiversity [RealPlayer]
http://www.austmus.gov.au/biodiversity/
From Australian Museum Online comes this informative presentation on biodiversity. This searchable site allows visitors to learn fun biodiversity facts (such as the evolutionary history of the platypus and the secret life of kelp forests), how to conserve biodiversity through sustainable living practices, and what's happening at the Australian Museum in Sydney. Many of the pages can also be downloaded in .pdf format. Features of the site include RealMedia films on such topics as the Lizard Island Research Station and Sydney's Coastal Reefs; a page about the interpretive strategies of the museum's exhibition, Biodiversity: life supporting life; and biodiversity and forestry case studies in Australia. Well organized and readable, this site will be enjoyable for both Aussies and non-Aussies interested in the science and wonder of life's diversity. [HCS]
[Back to Contents]Three on the Elections
Web White & Blue 2000
http://www.webwhiteblue.org/
Campaign 2000: The Candidates, Their Supporters & Experts Debate Foreign Policy
http://www.foreignpolicy2000.org/home/home.cfm
How to Register to Vote in the United States
http://www.registervote.com/states.html
Released earlier this year, Web White & Blue 2000 is intended to "help voters, journalists, and others use the Internet to learn more about the presidential candidates, their campaigns, their scheduled debates this fall as well as the way the online resources are impacting politics in this presidential election year." The Best of the Best section provides links to election coverage and campaign material from a wide range of sources on the Internet. Beginning on October 1, the Rolling Cyber Debate is intended to provide a forum for candidates and their campaigns to continue debates online between the televised ones. Web White and Blue 2000 is supported by the Markle Foundation. The second site listed above, the Campaign 2000 Website, is hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, a national think tank. This site is devoted to foreign policy and the upcoming US presidential election. Over 25 foreign policy issues help to organize the site, including arms control, global health, immigration, oil, and numerous country-specific entries. For each issue, there is a briefing paper (Foreign Policy Issues) with references, as well as a Candidate Positions section with links to position statements on the issue, when available. The Experts and Advisors section, again organized around the same list of issues, provides links to information from Candidates and Surrogates, Expert Opinions, and Views From Abroad. For those of you who are not yet registered to vote, the third site, How to Register to Vote, sponsored by the Bagwell Advertising Agency, gives state-by-state instructions on voter registration including links to forms or online registration where available. [AG]
[Back to Contents]Sonoran Desert: 5000 Square Miles of Silence
http://www.oneworldjourneys.com/sonoran/
Last mentioned in the May 5, 2000 Scout Report for their virtual trip to Georgia, OneWorld Journeys.com is on a trip to the Sonoran Desert in the American southwest. Photographer Jack Dykinga, writers Charles Bowden and Bill Broyles, digital photographer and producer Russell Sparkman, along with a team of Web designers and technicians present this online account of the expedition. The site features daily journal entries that can be viewed either as consecutive pages of images and text, or in separate windows as animated excerpts. There is also a time line of Sonoran history. Spectacular photography, coupled with poetic writing, evokes the beauty and harshness of the area and advocates strongly for the creation of the proposed Sonoran Desert National Park. [DS]
[Back to Contents]The 50 Most Influential Policy Books of All Time
http://policy.com/newsstand/books_classics1.html
The staff of Policy.com (last mentioned in the August 2, 2000 Scout Report for Social Sciences) has put together a list of the 49 books that have "most influenced public policy of the last century." The 50th entry will be drawn from site user suggestions (an email address is provided at the site for submissions). The list includes such classics as Democracy in America,Silent Spring,The Gulag Archipelago, and Uncle Tom's Cabin. There are currently links to full-text versions of 15 of the 49 books, drawing from a variety of sources of online text archives; a number of other entries in the list provide links to excerpts, including several misleadingly labeled as links to the "full text" versions. In addition to a descriptive annotation of the work, most of the titles are linked to the amazon.com entry for the title. [AG]
[Back to Contents]Two on the Olympics
Official Site of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games - 15 September-1 October http://www.olympics.com/eng/
NBCOlympics [Flash, QuickTime]
http://sydney2000.nbcolympics.com/
With this year's Olympics less than a month away, fans can whet their appetite at these two Websites. The first, the official site of the games, is available in English and French and bills itself as the "most comprehensive on-line spectator's guide for every event." Beyond the in-depth coverage of each sport, the site offers a wealth of information including background on the games, information on Sydney, a Kids section, and as one might expect, the opportunity to buy tickets and merchandise. The site has been optimized for versions 4 or later of Internet Explorer and Netscape, and the Help/FAQ section gives tips to those users who have difficulties with the display. The second site comes to us from NBC and focuses on their coverage of the games. Here, users can access video highlights (including the ongoing Olympic trials), top news stories, background on the athletes, and more. Forums are available for online discussion, and both sites offer email updates. [TK]
[Back to Contents]Quadrophenia.net
http://www.quadrophenia.net
In 1973, the Who released the album Quadrophenia, a rock opera chronicling the life and struggles of Jimmy Cooper, a young Mod living in West London, England. Twenty-seven years later, Webmaster Dave Van Staveren has created Quadrophenia.net, a visually-pleasing, and information-rich Website dedicated to chronicling the life and struggles of the Who, Quadrophenia, and the British Mod movement. A year in the making, this Website finely detailsthe rock opera's recording, story, and film version. Each section is carefully researched and offers a wealth of information, perspectives, and resources. The site also covers the Who's three_ Quadrophenia_ live performance tours -- the original tour in 1973 as well as tours in 1996 and 1997. For those looking for Mod travel and transportation, Quadrophenia.net offers a section on Mod's favorite transportation mode, the scooter, as well as an excellent travel section offering suggestions for weekend trips to some of the most Mod sites in England, including a blow-by-blow Who tour of London, complete with the address and historic significance of each Who-related landmark. Quadrophenia.net will serve both old fans of the Who as well as those just beginning to learn about the album, which Van Staveren calls "an underrated masterpiece of perfection." [EM]
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MyFonts
http://www.myfonts.com/
MyFonts is a great way for anyone involved with graphic design for the Web or otherwise to browse and play with a huge number of fonts and/or purchase them. Approach the site in a variety of ways: search by font name or browse by font category. Once you have selected a font, you can enter sample text and see what it looks like in the selected font, using the Test Drive feature of the site. With the WhatTheFont feature, you can upload an image of a font that you like but do not know the name of, and MyFonts will analyze it. In addition to information on the fonts themselves, MyFonts features information on 877 people associated with typography, discussion forums, and links to 126 font foundries. [DS]
[Back to Contents]FindSounds
http://www.findsounds.com/
FindSounds.com is new search engine devoted to finding sample sounds and sound effects on the Web. The easy-to-use search feature offers variables including the file formats AIFF, .wav, and .au; mono or stereo; resolution; sample rate; and maximum file size up to two megabytes; as well as simply the subject of the sound. For those who might feel overwhelmed, there is also a partial directory of sounds in order to help users get started. After users find the sound-types they are looking for, they may also choose the Find Sounds Like This One button, which will find up to 100 audio files on the Web that most closely match the given file. For users aiming to find their own matches on the Web, the free downloadable Comparisonics Audio Player shows a colored sound wave image of the sound file. All or part of this soundwave may be highlighted and searched on the Web for matches. [EM]
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The Latest News about the FBI's Carnivore
"FBI Prepares to Disclose Material on Wiretapping" -- Reuters (via Yahoo!news)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000817/wr/fbi_carnivore_dc_2.html
"Group Objects to FBI E-mail Release" -- AP (via Yahoo!news)
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20000817/tc/carnivore_6.html
"Carnivore Going to Review U." -- Washington Post
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7949-2000Aug10.html
Focus on Carnivore -- Computerworld
http://www.computerworld.com/resources/carnivore/
Privacy in the Digital Age -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/reference/index-privacy.html
FBI Programs and Initiatives: Carnivore Diagnostic Tool
http://www.fbi.gov/programs/carnivore/carnivore.htm
Electronic Privacy Information Center
http://www.epic.org/
Memorandum in Support of Plaintiff's Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order -- Tech Law Journal
http://www.techlawjournal.com/courts/epicvdoj/20000802mem.asp
"FBI's 'Carnivore' Follows Court Orders" -- LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/comment/20000812/t000075644.html
"Carnivore is why new laws are needed for new technology" -- Computerworld
http://www.computerworld.com/cwi/story/0,1199,NAV63-128-233-1141_STO48648,00.html
Digital Privacy Act of 2000 -- GPO [.pdf, 5 pages]
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=106_cong_bills&docid=f:h4987ih.txt.pdf
As US Congressman (R-Ga) and House Judiciary Committee member Bob Barr has pointed out, the latest US government surveillance project, the FBI's Carnivore, might have been largely overlooked by the public were it not for two factors: the choice on the part of the bureau to name the system "Carnivore" and EarthLink Inc.'s litigation over the placement of the packet-sniffer on its network. Be that as it may, this email surveillance system has been at the center of controversy of late. While the FBI has explained that the system uses court-authorized wire taps to surveil criminal suspects, civil liberties groups are concerned that Carnivore may violate the Fourth Amendment Protection against illegal search and seizure. On July 12, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and six days later it asked the Justice Department to expedite the request as Carnivore had become such a focus of media concern. When the request was not granted after the ten-day time limit FOIA required, EPIC filed a civil action, and on August 2, US District Judge James Robertson ordered the FBI to respond to EPIC's request within ten days with a schedule of record releases. This Wednesday, the FBI announced that it would release the first set of documents within 45 days. In the meantime, the development of Carnivore moves ahead, as the Justice Department plans to select a university within days to review the system's hardware and software.
Recent coverage is available from Reuters, the Associated Press (both via Yahoo!news), and the Washington Post, the first two of which report on the FBI's Wednesday announcement and EPIC's response to the timetable, while the Post covers the Justice Department's decision to have a major university review the system. For background information, readers can turn to Computerworld's special section on Carnivore or the New York Times's section on Internet privacy (free registration required), or they can go right to sites of the controversy's major players, the FBI and EPIC. The latter's August 2 petition to the US District Court has been posted online by Tech Law Journal. An August 12 letter to the editor of the LA TImes from John E. Collingwood, the FBI's Assistant Director of Public and Congressional Affairs defends Carnivore, while Bob Barr's editorial in Computerworld explains the need for the Digital Privacy Act of 2000, a bill he introduced in Congress July 27 in response to Carnivore and other surveillance strategies. [TK]
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