CONGRESS
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Releases McCarthy Era Records
EDTECH
Internet Science and Technology Fair Winners Announced
PRIVACY
Radio ID Chips to Come With Kill Switch
PERMANENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS RELEASES MCCARTHY ERA RECORDS
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations yesterday released =
all
of the previously closed transcripts of hearings held during the
chairmanship of Senator Joseph McCarthy (R - WI) from 1953-54. Under
McCarthy's leadership, the subcommittee's tactics needlessly destroyed
several careers, prompted rules changes for Senate investigations and =
earned
McCarthy a censure in 1954. "I am pleased that these historically =
important
documents are finally being released to the public," said Senator Susan
Collins (R-Maine), the former subcommittee chair who in 2001 authorized =
the
publication of the records. "The McCarthy transcripts will help ensure =
that
... we remain vigilant in upholding the constitutional rights and =
democratic
principles that are the strength of this nation." The Benton Foundation =
is
the legacy of William Benton (1900-1973) who, as a U.S. Senator, was =
the
first member of Congress to propose the motion for expulsion of Joseph
McCarthy from the U.S. Senate.
http://collins.senate.gov/low/record.cfm?id=3D203552
INTERNET SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FAIR WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The winners of the University of Central Florida's 7th annual Internet
Science and Technology Fair were announced last week, with student =
groups
from the farthest reaches of the country taking home awards. Out of an
initial field of 214 elementary, middle and high school student teams =
from
12 states and two countries, students from schools in New Jersey, =
California
and Florida captured the top awards.=A0Student teams are challenged to =
use
National Critical Technology applications as defined by the U.S. =
Government
to solve real world problems.=A0 Winning projects included research on =
the use
of photonic crystals to make more efficient optical circuits, an =
exploration
of the use of gene therapy to solve computer problems and the creation =
of a
patch that can administer insulin and other medications. "The students =
who
participated deserve our recognition because the Internet Science and
Technology Fair is, by any definition, a real-world challenge," said =
Martin
Wanielista, Dean of UCF's College of Engineering and Computer Science. =
To
see all of the winners and their projects, visit the link below.
[SOURCE: University of Central Florida]
http://istf.ucf.edu/Winners/
For information on the next ISTF, check out:
http://istf.ucf.edu/EnrollAdmin/
RADIO ID CHIPS TO COME WITH KILL SWITCH
Talk about the radio frequency identification (RFID) chip may not be =
dead,
but consumers may have the ability to kill them one by one. RFID
manufacturers and a key industry group plan to introduce a "kill =
switch"
feature before the chips are shipped, according to Auto ID Center, who =
is
charged with developing the RFID specifications. The tags are designed =
to
reduce costs of tracking inventory, but consumer groups and privacy =
experts
objected to possible uses of the chip once the customer leaves the =
store,
particularly when the chip is used in items such as clothing. "It might =
seem
that our actions are a knee-jerk reaction to recent privacy concerns, =
but we
have been discussing this for three years," said Sanjay Sarma, founder =
of
Auto ID Center. Customers would have the option at check-out to disable =
the
chip, but some may choose to keep it enabled since it has uses within =
the
home.
[SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Richard Shim]
http://news.com.com/2100-1039_3-999794.html?tag=3Dfd_lede2_hed
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