Plakholm, J A; Paulen, R C; Paré, D. Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8437, 2020, 17 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/321451
<a href="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/of8437.jpg"><img src="https://geoscan.nrcan.gc.ca/images/geoscan/of8437.jpg" title="Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8437, 2020, 17 pages, https://doi.org/10.4095/321451" height="150" border="1" /></a>

Is it possible to "convert" DRM protected WMA files? Technically, no. It is illegal to circumvent Microsoft's protection in order to convert WMA files protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM). However, there are many legitimate reasons for wanting to convert these protected files, and many feel they should be able to do so. Blaze Media Pro provides a solution. Follow this link to find out how.

Version 1.6. The new command line parameter -s (Silent - no errors or warnings) has been added.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Privacy: In the analog world of our parents, leaks to the press were heavily protected in both ends – both for the leaker and for the reporter receiving the leak. In the digital world of our children, this has been unceremoniously thrown out the window while discussing something unrelated entirely. Why aren’t our digital children afforded the same checks and balances?

Another area where privacy rights have not been carried over from the analog to the digital concerns journalism, an umbrella of different activities we consider to be an important set of checks-and-balances on power in society. When somebody handed over physical documents to a reporter, that was an analog action that was protected by federal and state laws, and sometimes even by constitutions. When somebody is handing over digital access to the same information to the same type of reporter, reflecting the way we work today and the way our children will work in the future, that is instead prosecutable at both ends.

Let us illustrate this with an example from the real world.

In the 2006 election in Sweden, there was an outcry of disastrous information hygiene on behalf of the ruling party at the time (yes, the same ruling party that later administered the worst governmental leak ever). A username and password circulated that gave full access to the innermost file servers of the Social Democratic party administration from anywhere. The username belonged to a Stig-Olof Friberg, who was using his nickname “sigge” as username, and the same “sigge” as password, and who accessed the innermost files over the Social Democratic office’s unencrypted, open, wireless network.

Calling this “bad opsec” doesn’t begin to describe it. Make a careful note to remember that these were, and still are, the institutions and people we rely on to make policy for good safeguarding of sensitive citizen data.

However, in the shadow of this, there was also the more important detail that some political reporters were well aware of the login credentials, such as one of Sweden’s most (in)famous political reporters Niklas Svensson, who had been using the credentials as a journalistic tool to gain insight into the ruling party’s workings.

This is where it gets interesting, because in the analog world, that reporter would have received leaks in the form of copied documents, physically handed over to him, and leaking to the press in this analog manner was (and still is) an extremely protected activity under law and indeed some constitutions — in Sweden, as this concerns, you can even go to prison for casually speculating over coffee at work who might have been behind a leak to the press. It is taken extremely seriously.

However, in this case, the reporter wasn’t leaked the documents, but was leaked a key for access to the digital documents — the ridiculously insecure credentials “sigge/sigge” — and was convicted in criminal court for electronic trespassing as a result, despite doing journalistic work with a clear analog protected equivalent.

It’s interesting to look at history to see how much critically important events would never have been uncovered, if this prosecution of digital journalism had been applied to analog journalism.

For one example, let’s take the COINTELPRO leak, when activists copied files from an FBI office to uncover a covert and highly illegal operation by law enforcement to discredit political organizations based solely on their political opinion. (This is not what law enforcement should be doing, speaking in general terms.) This leak happened when activists put up a note on the FBI office door on March 8, 1971 saying “Please do not lock this door tonight”, came back in the middle of the night when nobody was there, found the door unlocked as requested, and took (stole) about 1,000 classified files that revealed the illegal practices.

These were then mailed to various press outlets. The theft resulted in the exposure of some of the FBI’s most self-incriminating documents, including several documents detailing the FBI’s use of postal workers, switchboard operators, etc., in order to spy on black college students and various non-violent black activist groups, according to Wikipedia. And here’s the kicker in the context: while the people stealing the documents could and would have been indicted for doing so, it was unthinkable to charge the reporters receiving them with anything.

This is no longer the case.

Our digital children have lost the right to leak information to reporters in the way the world works today, an activity that was taken for granted — indeed, seen as crucially important to the balance of power — in the world of our digital parents. Our digital children who work as reporters can no longer safely receive leaks showing abuse of power. It is entirely reasonable that our digital children should have at least the same set of civil liberties in their digital world, as our parents had in their analog world.

Privacy remains your own responsibility.

The Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) network has the aim to measure and compare plants, terrestrial mammals, ground-dwelling birds and climate using a standard methodology in a range of tropical forests, from relatively pristine places to those most affected by people. TEAM currently operates in sixteen tropical forest sites across Africa, Asia and Latin America supporting a network of scientists committed to standardized methods of data collection to quantify how plants and animals respond to pressures such as climate change and human encroachment.

A recent TEAM network paper published in PLOS Biology deals with the standartization of methods in assessing biodiversity trends in tropical forest protected areas.

Abstract: 

Are protected areas working when it comes to promoting biodivesity? A new study, published in Nature Communications, shows that local biodiversity is actually higher within, rather than outside protected areas.

Abstract: 

Protected areas are widely considered essential for biodiversity conservation. However, few global studies have demonstrated that protection benefits a broad range of species. Here, using a new global biodiversity database with unprecedented geographic and taxonomic coverage, we compare four biodiversity measures at sites sampled in multiple land uses inside and outside protected areas. Globally, species richness is 10.6% higher and abundance 14.5% higher in samples taken inside protected areas compared with samples taken outside, but neither rarefaction-based richness nor endemicity differ significantly. Importantly, we show that the positive effects of protection are mostly attributable to differences in land use between protected and unprotected sites. Nonetheless, even within some human-dominated land uses, species richness and abundance are higher in protected sites. Our results reinforce the global importance of protected areas but suggest that protection does not consistently benefit species with small ranges or increase the variety of ecological niches.

Original Source:

The original article is openly accessible at:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12306

A new EU BON derived paper, publsihed recently in the journal Remote Sensing, introduces eHabitat+, a habitat modelling service supporting the European Commission’s Digital Observatory for Protected Areas.

Abstract:

Protected areas (PAs) need to be assessed systematically according to biodiversity values and threats in order to support decision-making processes. For this, PAs can be characterized according to their species, ecosystems and threats, but such information is often difficult to access and usually not comparable across regions. There are currently over 200,000 PAs in the world, and assessing these systematically according to their ecological values remains a huge challenge. However, linking remote sensing with ecological modelling can help to overcome some limitations of conservation studies, such as the sampling bias of biodiversity inventories. The aim of this paper is to introduce eHabitat+, a habitat modelling service supporting the European Commission’s Digital Observatory for Protected Areas, and specifically to discuss a component that systematically stratifies PAs into different habitat functional types based on remote sensing data. eHabitat+ uses an optimized procedure of automatic image segmentation based on several environmental variables to identify the main biophysical gradients in each PA. This allows a systematic production of key indicators on PAs that can be compared globally. Results from a few case studies are illustrated to show the benefits and limitations of this open-source tool.

Original Source: 

Martínez-López, J.; Bertzky, B.; Bonet-García, F.J.; Bastin, L.; Dubois, G. Biophysical Characterization of Protected Areas Globally through Optimized Image Segmentation and Classification. Remote Sens. 2016, 8, 780. DOI: 0.3390/rs8090780

Built to withstand winter extremes, these freeze-resistant showers keep an internal water temperature above 50° F.

Birmingham, AL — A recent study of health care workers in U.S. ERs shows masks, gloves, gowns and other personal protective equipment were highly effective at shielding them from infection during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two compounds, (S)-8-{[(tert-butyl­dimethyl­sil­yl)­oxy]meth­yl}-1-[(2,2,4,6,7-penta­methyl-2,3-di­hydro­benzo­furan-5-yl)sulfon­yl]-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-1-ium tri­fluoro­methane­sulfonate, C27H46N3O4SSi+·CF3O3S−, (1) and (S)-8-(iodo­meth­yl)-1-tosyl-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-1-ium iodide, C15H21IN3O2S+·I−, (2), have been synthesized and characterized. They are bicyclic guanidinium salts and were synthesized from N-(tert-but­oxy­carbon­yl)-l-me­thio­nine (Boc-l-Met-OH). The guanidine is protected by a 2,2,4,6,7-penta­methyl­dihydro­benzo­furan-5-sulfonyl (Pbf, 1) or a tosyl (2) group. In the crystals of both compounds, the guanidinium group is almost planar and the N–H forms an intra­molecular hydrogen bond in a six-membered ring to the oxygen atom of the sulfonamide protecting group.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with students on Wednesday, ruling that a former cheerleader's online F-bombs about her school is protected speech under the First Amendment.

By an 8-1 vote, the court declared that school administrators do have the power to punish student speech that occurs online or off campus if it genuinely disrupts classroom study. But the justices concluded that a few swear words posted online from off campus, as in this case, did not rise to the definition of disruptive.

"While public schools may have a special interest in regulating some off-campus student speech, the special interests offered by the school are not sufficient to overcome B. L.'s interest in free expression in this case," Justice Stephen Breyer wrote for the court's majority.

At issue in the case was a series of F-bombs issued in 2017 on Snapchat by Brandi Levy, then a 14-year-old high school cheerleader who failed to win a promotion from the junior varsity to the varsity cheerleading term at her Pennsylvania school.

"I was really upset and frustrated at everything," she said in an interview with NPR in April. So she posted a photo of herself and a friend flipping the bird to the camera, along with a message that said, "F*** the school ... F*** cheer, F*** everything."

Suspended from the team for what was considered disruptive behavior, Brandi and her parents went to court. They argued that the school had no right to punish her for off-campus speech, whether it was posted online while away from school, as in this case, or spoken out loud at a Starbucks across the street from school.

A federal appeals court agreed with her, declaring that school officials have no authority to punish students for speech that occurs in places unconnected to the campus.

The decision marked the first time that an appeals court issued such a broad interpretation of the Supreme Court's landmark student speech decision more then a half century ago. Back then, in a case involving students suspended for wearing black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War, the court ruled that students do have free speech rights under the Constitution, as long as the speech is not disruptive to the school.

Although Brandi Levy is now in college, the school board in Mahanoy, Pa., appealed to the Supreme Court, contending that disruption can come from outside the campus but still have serious effects on campus. It pointed to laws in 47 states that require schools to enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies.

The high court, however, focused on the facts in Levy's case, concluding that while her posts were less than admirable, they did not meet the test of being disruptive.

"We do not believe the special characteristics that give schools additional license to regulate student speech always disappear when a school regulates speech that takes place off campus," Breyer wrote. "The school's regulatory interests remain significant in some off-campus circumstances."

In a concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote: "If today's decision teaches any lesson, it must be that the regulation of many types of off-premises student speech raises serious First Amendment concerns, and school officials should proceed cautiously before venturing into this territory."

In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the school was right to suspend Levy because students like her "who are active in extracurricular programs have a greater potential, by virtue of their participation, to harm those programs."

"For example, a profanity-laced screed delivered on social media or at the mall has a much different effect on a football program when done by a regular student than when done by the captain of the football team," Thomas wrote. "So, too, here."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The dangers of working in the heat and its adverse impacts are “predictable and largely preventable,” according to the WHO.

The California Podiatric Medical Association (CPMA) Offers Tips to Protect Feet in the Summer Heat

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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The post Protected: Nature-based solutions and adaptation to flood & drought appeared first on Nicolas Rapp Infographic Design Studio - Freelance Designer.

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The post Protected: AARP GIFs appeared first on Nicolas Rapp Infographic Design Studio - Freelance Designer.

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TR.FSR - Factual subscriber-base reporting and protected content delivery in a conditional access system (CAS)

Spokane's skyline boasts three iconic buildings…

Kingsbridge Project board member Amanda Smith tells us about their activities.

The physical strain this type of motion work entails, and the hours put into it, are part of the reason why he believes all video-game performers should be protected equally from the use of unregulated artificial intelligence.

The Blue Prosperity Plan has unveiled revised draft maps for the proposed marine protected area [MPA] network which “highlight significant changes that accommodate feedback received from the commercial fishing industry.” A Government spokesperson said, “After extensive consultation, a series of new draft maps were revealed that form the proposed marine protected area [MPA] network as […]

The Ministry of Home Affairs is reminding commercial and recreational fishers that fishing in the Seasonally Protected Areas, also known as the “Hind Grounds” and “Grouper Grounds”, will be prohibited from 15 April through 14 August 2024 in order to protect spawning Red Hinds and Black Groupers. According to yesterday’s official notices, “The Ministry of […]

Following a video circulating showing a person hanging on to a turtle, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] reminded the public that marine turtles are afforded protection under the Protected Species Act 2003. A Government spokesperson said, “The Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] wishes to remind the public that marine turtles […]

1. New program will see pregnant mothers and babies protected from life-threatening virus  SBS
2. World-leading approach to protect babies from RSV  Department of Health
3. Government-funded RSV vaccines to protect infants from severe disease  Australian Pharmacist
4. 'Very scary': Wagga mum's plea for parents to protect babies through RSV jab  The Daily Advertiser
5. Guild backs free RSV vaccinations  Australian Journal of Pharmacy

Introduced in 1934, the federal duck stamp contest has raised more than $1.2 billion and protected at least 6.5 million acres across the nation. Now, an art exhibition at Connecticut’s Bruce Museum honors the competition’s history

With the latest release (Sigrity and Systems Analysis 2022.1 HF2) of Clarity  3D Solver, support for encrypted component models is now available. With this functionality, vendors that supply 3D components, such as connectors, can now merge their...(read more)

While India commemorates a decade of polio-free status, sustained vigilance and vaccination efforts are essential to safeguard the nation's children.

A database of 235 million social media profiles were found unsecured by researchers with Comparitech. While data scraping is technically legal, it goes against the terms of use for the brands affected.

The Facts:
Data scraping is the act of moving information from a website into an actionable form like an Excel spreadsheet or computer file. Such a technique can be benign under certain paradigms. For example, travel comparison sites like Trivago and Kayak deploy a program that scrapes hotel and airline sites for rates which it compiles on their website. Data scraping is commonly used by marketers to paint a clearer picture of their target base and advertise to them accordingly.

However, social media data scraping and aggregating is an effective way for hackers to quickly and easily scale phishing schemes and engage in fraudulent activities. Additionally, scraped data can be sold to companies who engage in spam practices as a means of advertising. Although spam remains legal in most jurisdictions, it is condemned as a legitimate marketing strategy. Finally, data scraping is commonly used on social media sites to steal content from influencers and repost it under a fraudulent account. It is for this reason that Facebook and Instagram banned the now defunct data scraping company,

Google Meet deploys a range of counter-abuse protection features, ensuring the safety of meetings.

This paper details a methodology for calculating the extent of terrestrial and marine protected areas recorded in the World Database on Protected Areas by country, type and IUCN management categories. The method allows the data on protected areas to be summarised in a harmonised and more detailed way than is currently available, without requiring any additional reporting by countries.

Should a 1979 law on migrant workers be retained or must it be subsumed under a proposed labour code?

The tiger reserves of Asia could support more than 10,000 wild tigers – three times the current number – if they are managed as large-scale […]

The post Tiger numbers could triple if large-scale landscapes are protected appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Very early on, cockroach moms found out maternal care gave their offspring a better chance at survival. The cockroach parenting method—which includes feeding, guarding and […]

The post Helicopter cockroach moms have protected their young for millions of years appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Although a total of 1.3 per cent of global marine areas is currently within Marine Protection Areas (MPAs), this is far from the Convention of Biodiversity's (CBD) 10 per cent target. Significant progress has been made over the last few years, but a new report suggests there is room for improvement as MPA coverage is very uneven and not all eco-regions and habitats are represented. The report makes several recommendations for maximising the effects of MPAs.