Green-minded architect William McDonough discusses the concept of “cradle to cradle” design, which considers the life of a product from beginning to end, using sustainable materials to minimize its environmental impact. A must watch for those interested in design and preserving our environment.
Sean Penn brings home a much deserved Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in Milk. In a night dominated by Slum Dog Millionaire, Dustin Lance Black also won Best Original Screenplay for Milk.
Some words from Penn’s acceptance speech…
…For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect, and anticipate theor great shame, and the shame in theirgrandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone.
The dramatic chart below compares job losses from the past two recessions in 1990 and 2001 to the current economic crisis.
Thirteen months into a downward trend from a peak job month, employment numbers in 1990 and 2001 began to stabilize, but in the current recession the steep drop continues, with a total of 3.6 million jobs lost, and much of that in the past 4 months.
Scary chart provided by The Gavel.
As of January 2006 all issued U.S. passports carry an RFID microchip embedded with personal information, including name, nationality, gender, date of birth, place of birth and a digitized photo.
Government officials have repeatedly assured privacy advocates and the public that the personal information on the chips is secure, and that the technology will make it more difficult to forge passports and enter the country illegally.
It seems however that they are not that secure. Recently a hacker with easily acquired equipment was able to copy a few RFIDs while tooling around San Francisco in his car.
See clip below…
The RFID technology is starting to appear in drivers’ licenses too.
If you are concerned about your privacy and want protect your passport there are number of options including Passport Stronghold, RFID-Shield and ID Stronghold.
More at engadget.