Science

It turns out Apple has snuck a “feature” into their latest version of iOS, which powers iPhones and iPads. It’s a little tracking software that logs everywhere you have been:

It turns out that your iPhone is keeping a record of everywhere you've been since June. This data is stored on your phone (or iPad) and computer, easily available to anyone who gets their hands on it. Why? Apple won't say. We're creeped out.

The enormous privacy startle, apparently enabled by this summer's iOS 4 release, was discoveredby two security researchers, one of whom claims he was an Apple employee for five years. They're equally puzzled and disturbed by the location collection: "By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple have made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements," they explain. All it would take to crack the information out of your iOS device is an easy jailbreak. On your computer, the information can be opened as easily as JPEG using the mapping software that the security experts have made for download--Try it yourself.

Apple didn’t tell anyone about this and there’s not even a way to disable it.

So why in the hell would Apple even do this? One thought was for advertising, but that goes against their policies. Another thought is that the government has asked them. If that’s the case, then why is this only in Apples and not in other mobile devices? I think these would be great questions that Congress should seek answers to.

With the world waiting to see if any of the four nuclear reactors go into meltdown phase, the right is using this as a reason to stress the importance and safety of nuclear energy. Over at Right Wing News, we see this:

Obviously, as one cruises around the Liberal-o-sphere, this means that all nuclear power is bad and that is should all be stopped, and, instead, we can go with wind and solar for all our power. If they left those methods get beyond the planning/implementation stages.

We hear constantly that nuclear energy is the “safest”. In most senses that is true, but one accident at a plant can have greater catastrophic repercussions than accidents at 1,000 coal or oil plants.

Another thing, which  I mentioned yesterday, is the very high safety standards Japan enforces. Those standards are probably a big reason why we didn’t see a meltdown occur when the quake hit yesterday. Here in the United States, where one of the biggest agendas of the Republican Party is doing away with government regulation, you got to wonder if we would have seen the same outcome? I can hear the arguments now; “let’s build a reactor in Ohio. They only get minor earthquakes, so we don’t have to be as safe”. Of course that is until a big one hits.

Then in the same post at Right Wing News, we get to this example of pure rubbish:

Of course, I wonder how those methods would have stood up with an earthquake and tsunami knocking them down, breaking the wind turbines and solar panels, covering them with water, and flooding the storage batteries.

The massive earthquake that rocked Japan this morning caused a huge whirlpool, which was caught on video. This is truly amazing and makes you think you are watching something from Hollywood.

For more videos, check out this page at CNN.

A magnetic polar shift is occurring on our planet, as well as the rest of the planets in our solar systems. This has happened before, but not in the last 750,000 years. Geologists say we are about 250,000 years overdue for it. So reading a report like this puts some serious light on the severe weather we have been seeing.

Now "it" is here: an unstoppable magnetic pole shift that has sped up and is causing life-threatening havoc with the world's weather.

Forget about global warming—man-made or natural—what drives planetary weather patterns is the climate and what drives the climate is the sun's magnetosphere and its electromagnetic interaction with a planet's own magnetic field.

When the field shifts, when it fluctuates, when it goes into flux and begins to become unstable anything can happen. And what normally happens is that all hell breaks loose.

Magnetic polar shifts have occurred many times in Earth's history. It's happening again now to every planet in the solar system including Earth.

The magnetic field drives weather to a significant degree and when that field starts migrating superstorms start erupting.

I posted a satellite picture of the United States last week, showing the massive snow storm that spanned over 2,000 miles and affected more than 150 million people in the United States. As someone who has always taken an interest in weather, I found the picture breath-taking. It seemed like something out of a disaster movie, but instead it was happening right now.

History really does repeat itself:

Months after they hammered Democrats for cutting Medicare, House Republicans are debating whether to relaunch their quest to privatize the health program for seniors. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is testing support for his idea to replace Medicare with a fixed payment to buy a private medical plan from a menu of coverage options.

Party leaders will determine if the so-called voucher plan will be part of the budget Republicans put forward in the spring.

I would really love to hear how a for-profit private company can cost less than the not-for-profit government, while maintaining the same level of care. It’s another pipe dream by Republicans and one that will not only cost this country more money, but also one that will sacrifice the health and well being of our seniors.

Tea Party Nation has just blasted out an email blaming Obama for the rising gas prices (login required):

As we close out 2010, gas prices in much of the country crept about the $3 a gallon mark.  In an interview a couple of days ago, the ex-president of Shell oil predicted $5 a gallon gas by 2012. 

He is probably right.

Does anyone remember what Obama said when gas prices shot well over $4 a gallon in 2008?  Then candidate Obama said he did not have a problem with gas being $4 a gallon or more.  His problem was the sudden, sharp rise of the price.  In other words, if the price gradually went up, he would not have a problem with it.

Gas prices were around $1.60 a gallon when George Bush left office.  Bush, by lifting the executive order on off shore drilling, had poked a hole in the speculative bubble that had pushed oil prices to $145 a barrel.   Bush did that in July and by December, oil prices had fallen to $30 a barrel.

Yes Bush did lift the ban, but once again fact it totally amiss with the rabid right. Do they really think that within a few months oil companies built and started operating a bunch of offshore platforms, which caused prices to go down? And if that is the case, why didn’t Bush lift the ban much earlier, when we were seeing gas prices over $4.00/gallon?

Can’t say I’m surprised by this:

A federal judge in Virginia ruled Monday that the individual mandate contained in the health care law passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama this year is unconstitutional.

The judge found in favor of Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who brought this suit separately from the other state Attorney Generals suing the federal government over the law.

I personally have been against these mandates since their inception. Requiring the people to purchase a product from a company really seems to go against everything this country stands for. I know some try to use the “auto insurance” example, but that doesn’t fair. You can choose not to drive, but choosing not to live – well that is also illegal.

One of the biggest problems that plagues our nations health and wasn’t really discussed during the healthcare reform debate is about to get bigger:

Up to a third of U.S. adults could have diabetes by 2050 if Americans continue to gain weight and avoid exercise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projected on Friday.

The numbers are certain to go up as the population gets older, but they will accelerate even more unless Americans change their behavior, the CDC said.

"We project that, over the next 40 years, the prevalence of total diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed) in the United States will increase from its current level of about one in 10 adults to between one in five and one in three adults in 2050," the CDC's James Boyle and colleagues wrote in their report.

I have suffered from Diabetes for the past five years. Trust me, it’s no picnic. Mine was a combination of genetics, poor diet and a lack of exercise. While I can’t change the first, I have worked hard correcting the remaining problems. Will other Americans do the same, or will they just accept it as part of life? Also, what will this do to our already soaring healthcare costs? Testing supplies alone can cost more than $100 per month. That’s a pretty big chunk of money going to something that can be prevented.