Eideard

It has been a long time coming, but now an average broadband subscriber in the U.S. can sign-up for a 100 Mbps broadband connection. Comcast, the largest cable (and broadband) company said Thursday it’s launching Extreme 105 across its entire footprint, which covers 40 million homes in cities such as San Francisco, Seattle; Chicago; Miami; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; and the majority of Boston.

To be sure, companies such as Cablevision provide 100 Mbps connections in its region (New York), but Comcast is making it available at a national level. Forecasts have indicated we could have 100 million homes with 100 Mbps by 2015, and with Thursday’s news, we’re pretty close to that target now. That should make the FCC pretty happy.

Now, it’s not cheap: about $105 a month for the broadband connection if you sign up for a triple-play plan, where other services cost extra. The standalone price is pretty darn steep — $199 a month — which I think is a shame. Comcast should have sold this at a more affordable price….A Comcast spokesperson says that their 250 GB cap applies to this super-fast broadband connection as well…

Netflix, Hulu, AppleTV, Spotify and Pandora make up most of my [Om's] digital content diet. When it comes to work, it’s now all in the “cloud” via Google Docs and Gmail. With higher bandwidth, the experience of all these services has improved for me. With Comcast making the higher speeds available nationwide, the upside is going to be for all these streaming services.I predict they will see a big bump in usage.

It’s a shame Comcast is initiating this service as if it was 2007 and the Great Recession hadn’t happened, yet. Anyone on a fixed income has been spending the last few years cutting back – not expanding their discretionary bump.

At the moment it feels like I have an increase in download/streaming speed with my much less expensive Comcast broadband. That may be a temporary side effect while they tune and tweak the changes they’ve made. I was getting upload speeds comparable to download for spell while they engaged their throttling system and that has settled down to a 5mbps maximum.

Alternative sources for electrical power in China continue dynamic growth

A collaborative, six-year study of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in Beijing and surrounding provinces suggests that combustion efficiency, a component of overall energy efficiency, is improving in the region.

The findings, published in the September 21 issue of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics [.pdf], are generally consistent with official Chinese government statistics and could bolster their credibility as international negotiations proceed on commitments of China and other nations to combat climate change.

Which wouldn’t even be a question here if Americans realized that many other nations differentiate between agitprop and statements about commerce and science.

A team of atmospheric scientists and environmental engineers from Harvard University and Tsinghua University in Beijing have continuously measured atmospheric CO2 and carbon monoxide (CO) levels in rural Miyun, about 100 km northeast of Beijing, since November 2004…

The measurements provide the most detailed look at carbon emissions for a specific urbanized and industrialized region of China to date. Moreover, the resulting analysis of CO2 and CO levels is generally consistent with China’s official statistics, showing an upward trend in overall energy efficiency…

Over the period of study—and while controlling for daily, seasonal, and weather-induced fluctuations—the data trends indicated increasing combustion efficiency in the Beijing region. Modernization of industrial boilers, replacing old vehicles with new ones meeting stricter standards, and closing of older industrial facilities can all contribute to this trend…

While our indigenous reactionaries, anti-intellectuals and science-haters in general piss and moan about the intimidating short-term economic costs of building a healthier life for our nation, other countries, other governments press ahead with the task. Media flunkies will ignore publication of a report like this as they are supposed to. It’s kind of a chuckle that the only folks who tend to track down information like this are on the political Left – or part of the stodgy investment community.

We witnessed a perfect example of the latter, this week – with Alcoa reporting “surprising” growth and profits for the last quarter. Surprising to the average ignorant consumer, surprising to the typical American voter. But, a logical result of China shutting down Aluminum producers who wouldn’t live up to increasing requirements for cleaner air and water. Alcoa stepped in with the product needed by Chinese manufacturers – now deriving more and more from the global marketplace than domestically until native producers live up to high environmental standards.

The Harvard China Project is a research program focused on China’s atmospheric environment, collaborating across schools of Harvard University and with Chinese universities. It conducts interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed studies related to air pollution and greenhouse gases in China, designed to build knowledge and research capacities to help align China’s domestic priorities on environment and development with equitable international strategies on climate change.

In what officials described as the largest investigation into police corruption in the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department on Wednesday announced the indictments of 89 police officers and 44 other people in Puerto Rico on drug trafficking charges.

More than 900 F.B.I. agents fanned out across the island on Wednesday to arrest 129 of the 133 accused. The remaining four were still at large on Wednesday afternoon.

Charges laid out in 26 indictments accuse the police officers and other law enforcement officials of providing security for drug deals in exchange for payments of $500 to $4,500 per transaction. The investigation included 125 deals carried out by undercover F.B.I. agents from July 2008 to last month, federal officials said…

The F.B.I. said it secretly flew more than 750 agents to Puerto Rico to assist the 160 agents who are based on the island in carrying out the arrests. In all, the bureau said, more than 1,000 agents participated in the investigation and the sweeps.

The United States attorney for Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, said that some of the defendants had recruited friends and colleagues into the crimes, but that investigators did not believe there was one big, organized conspiracy. Rather, several pockets of corrupt law enforcement officials were separately doing similar things, she said.

“Some of them knew each other, and they recruited others, but they don’t all know each other,” Ms. Rodríguez-Vélez said. “They’re from different parts of the island.”

Still, the incubator for the crime syndicates was the nationwide police system. Even if you don’t take part, the cop of the street knows what can be done, what graft is available.

Cops on the beat know they have choices. They can take or they can stay straight. There’s another choice, as well. Turn in the creeps who are on the take.

Gather up your expired meds. Saturday’s the day.

Less than a month into the Drug Enforcement Administration’s prescription drug “Take-Back” campaign, over 3,400 sites nationwide have joined the effort that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. Government, community, public health and law enforcement partners will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at these sites all across the nation o n Saturday, September 25 th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked…

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are increasing at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.

“The National Prescription Drug Take-Back campaign will provide a safe way for Americans to dispose of their unwanted prescription drugs,” said Michele M. Leonhart, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

It’s always pleasant to find a new avenue for disposal of all things which tend to accumulate and gain a life of their own.

You can find a location in your neck of the woods here: Collection Sites Search

Daylife/AP Photo used by permission

Mexico’s supreme court has ruled that same-sex marriages in Mexico City must be recognised throughout the country. The ruling does not mean other states have to allow gay weddings on their territory.

Two of the court’s 11 judges voted against the measure, arguing that it would damage the harmony of the federal system.

Last week the supreme court ruled that the law allowing gay marriages in the capital was constitutional.

The court will now consider the legality of allowing adoption by gay couples.

Mexico City’s local assembly passed the law in December, giving gay people full marital rights, including the right to adopt. Hundreds of gay and lesbian couples have since been married.

However, the law drew strong opposition from the Catholic Church and conservative groups, including the governing PAN party, and federal prosecutors challenged it on constitutional grounds.

I’m a bit surprised. I guess I’m too accustomed to politicians in the United States. Cowardice is always the better part of valor, here. Stone Age beliefs often overrule political progress – especially when it comes to equal opportunity.

So – good for you Mexico. Nice to see some good news come from your battered nation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, FDA, USDA…are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo.

Testing conducted by the Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa confirmed on Jan. 25, that this strain of salmonella is linked to the outbreak that has sickened 187 people in 39 states (one case in Iowa) since July 1, 2009. No deaths have been reported. Thirty-five people have been hospitalized.

On Jan. 23, Daniele International, of Pascoag, R.I., announced a recall of more than 1.2 million pounds of its ready-to-eat sausage products because of the possible salmonella contamination.

The Iowa Department of Public Health and public health officials in Plymouth County, Iowa, investigated the one case of Salmonella Montevideo in the state. They discovered leftover suspected sausage product frozen in the individual’s home and immediately sent the meat to the Hygienic Laboratory for testing. That patient has since recovered.

Using DNA fingerprinting, the laboratory confirmed that the meat product contained the same Salmonella Montevideo strain as the national outbreak, which also matched the salmonella isolate from the patient. The Hygienic Laboratory is the first lab in the nation to confirm this connection…

People with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days. Infants, elderly persons and those with weakened immunes systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness.

More information about the recalled products is available on the Food Safety and Inspection Service Web site. Go there and really scare yourself.

Daylife/AP Photo by Josh Reynolds

More than a week after voters in California, Arizona and Florida passed ballot initiatives outlawing same-sex marriage, thousands of people across the country protested the bans in simultaneous rallies.

JoinTheImpact.com, which organized the rallies,was established three days after Election Day, when the three states passed the ballot initiatives.

“Rain or shine, our community will take to the streets to get the word out that equality is a human right and one that we will not stop working toward until it’s afforded to all citizens,” said Willow Witte, a JoinTheImpact.com founder and organizer.

“It’s incredibly inspiring to see people from every walk of life, background, race, religion, creed, gathering here today to really send a powerful and purposeful and peaceful statement to the world,” Jonathan Weber, who helped organize the event, said in Los Angeles.

“We have a very powerful message that’s supported by a variety of people,” he said. “The truth is, we are making a big difference in this issue right now. We’re making tremendous progress in reaching out to hearts and minds of people across the country and gaining support from all walks of life.”

Too long, the Gay community has depended on the good will of a bigoted nation. Civil rights are rarely handed over graciously by an enlightened populace.

As it was in the United States in the earlier era of civil rights struggles for Black Americans, arms will need to be metaphorically twisted before common sense and decency hold sway over religious and reactionary bigots.