LRRP’S NEWS

Some of the news from around the world that you haven’t heard and probably won’t.

Afghanistan
Daylight Come, And We Wan’ Go Home.
The Taliban have ordered Afghanistan’s four cellular phone companies to shut down for 14 hours a day (at night) “or else.” No, nothing religious involved. We track them via cellphone signals, and do most of our Sigint at night, sooooo … I assume the threat was conveyed in the daytime!

Secaucus, NJ.
Don’t Believe Everything Your GPS Says.
Modern technology is leading some drivers in Secaucus, N.J. straight into a dead end. Truck drivers relying on GPS devices and online map to show them the route to an industrial area are instead running into a road block. Garmin International says the GPS maker has to receive a request or complaint and go through a thorough process before maps can be changed. — Associated Press

Iraq
And You Think AIDs Was Bad?
It’s a bacteria that feeds off of the resistances of other bacteria with which it comes in contact. It’s called acinetobacter baumannii and it started popping up almost immediately after we went into Iraq, and it might not have anything to do with where we’re fighting … but it is virulent. Full story at Military.Com. Meanwhile, scientists in Columbus, Ohio, may have found a way to treat bacteria that is antibiotic resistant. You can find that story HERE .

Princeton, NJ
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrreak This.
Want to break into an encrypted computer? Shoot the DRAM chip (dynamic random access memory) with some freezing air. Here’s the story.

Sweden and London
Shape Shifting.
The ability to change shapes — think Transformers — has always been the basic plot line of scifi and horror movies, right? Well, researchers from Nokia and Cambridge have come up with a way to allow Nokia handsets to change shapes — any shapes. Expect to see the new technology on Nokia high-end products in about seven years. Damn!