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Aug

9:41 am

Tech and tracking: Warrantless wiretapping, spying software, police and social, Apple’s new patent(1) By Levi Sumagaysay

Today we’re rounding up some spying-related news:

• Earlier this month, a federal appeals court ruled that the government may carry on warrantless wiretapping on Americans without fear of being sued, Wired reported. Now the American lawyers whose conversations with their clients in Saudi Arabia were wiretapped are asking the court to hear the case again, this time with 11 judges instead of three. In a filing this week, again according to Wired, the lawyers’ lawyer wrote: “Whether the federal government can violate FISA with impunity is a question of exceptional importance to the nation.” The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires court approval for wiretapping but was amended in 2008 to legalize a warrantless-wiretapping program started by the Bush administration after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Also Thursday, the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation sued the Department of Justice, asking it to release information regarding allegations reportedly made public by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that the National Security Agency’s spying is going beyond what the FISA Amendment Act permits.

“It’s time for the government to come clean and tell us about the NSA’s unconstitutional actions,” EFF Open Government Legal Fellow Mark Rumold said in a press release.

• Then there’s the use of software to track dissidents instead of fight crime. The New York Times reports about FinSpy, an elusive — hard to detect by antivirus software — surveillance tool that can log keystrokes, grab computer-screen images, record chats and more. It has reportedly been found in servers in countries such as Turkmenistan, Brunei and Bahrain, which have been accused of human-rights abuses. The software is supposedly sold only to track criminals, says the British company that sells it, but has been found to be tracking activists.

• CNN has a story on how the police use social media and other technology to track crime, how social networks cooperate or in some cases resist, and the constitutional questions that arise from these practices. While some criminals rat themselves out because they overshare on social networks, the story also talks about how some police set up fake profiles to nab criminals. Fake profiles are against Facebook rules, but in some cases the evidence gathered in this way can still “hold up” in court, according to the article.

• And finally, Apple this week reportedly was granted a patent on a feature that brings up interesting issues: the ability to disable phone and video functions on a mobile device depending on location. When the New York Times wrote about the patent in June, the article focused on how this feature could help the entertainment industry, which prohibits filming of concerts or movies. But the feature does limit key functionality on a device one buys and expects to use freely. And who would decide when cameras and videos would be disabled? Boing Boing’s Mark Frauenfelder writes: “The paranoid side of me imagines governments using it to prevent citizens from communicating with each other or taking video during protests.”

via blogs.siliconvalley.com

3D Models - Discus Fish Bundle Low Poly | 3DOcean

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Radio and TV Martí

The Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) oversees the operations of Radio and TV Martí from its headquarters in Miam i, Florida. Radio and TV Martí serve as consistently reliable and authoritative sources of accurate, objective, and comprehensive news for people in Cuba, where media are controlled and highly censored by the authorities.

Radio Martí provided groundbreaking reporting on local events across Cuba, through its expanded outreach to a growing community of Cuban bloggers and independent journalists and by capitalizing on cell phone access. Along with U.S. and world news, OCB’s hallmarks include human rights topics such as marches by the “Ladies in White” (relatives of political prisoners in Cuba) and the harassment and imprisonment of independent journalists by the Cuban government. Radio Martí broadcasts breaking news and analysis programs seven days a week, 24 hours a day by shortwave and medium wave.

TV Martí broadcasts 24 hours per day, seven days a week on the Hispasat satellite; two and a half hours per day, five days a week from a modified aircraft, AeroMartí, on VHF and UHF frequencies, and three hours per day, five days a week on DirecTV satellite. Approximately ten hours of original, contemporary, fast-paced TV programs are produced in-house weekly. In addition, Radio and TV Martí are streamed live at Martínoticias.com.

These broadcasts face Cuban government jamming as well as press censorship and intimidation. Audience surveys, which must be done by telephone rather than face-to-face interviews can provide only a limited perspective on audience levels, given that less than a fifth of Cuban adults have published phone numbers and that interviewees may be wary of admitting in a telephone call to listening to or watching the Martís. Interviews with Cubans who have recently arrived in the U.S. provide anecdotal information of higher audience rates than reflected in the telephone surveys.”

Fast Facts

Employees: 128

FY 2009 Budget: $28.4 million

Weekly Hours Broadcast: 330

Languages: Spanish

2011 Highlights

• Re-designing Martínoticias.com into a polished destination site, increasing daily traffic over 1,000 percent between February and December 2011.

• Establishing proxy sites and Psiphon nodes to facilitate Internet access from Cuba.

• Expanding phone call-ins with listeners in Cuba to participate live on Radio Martí programs including El Revoltillo (The Scramble), a one-of-a kind show mixing classified listings of products available in Cuba with lessons in entrepreneurship and market economy in a light-hearted format.

• Continuing coverage of human rights abuses, particularly the struggle led by Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White) a group of women highlighting the plight of political prisoners in Cuba.

• Increasing coverage of news events outside of Havana, aided by cell phone audio, video and pictures.

• Radio and TV broadcasts of Major League Baseball’s World Series and delivery of thousands of DVD game recordings to Cuba.

• Rebranding the Martís with a new logo and a new graphics packages and sets.

Earlier Highlights

For more information about Radio and TV Martí, click here. (In Spanish)

via bbg.gov

#Radio and TV Martî

Who Watts Why | ARTnews

via artnews.com

http://www.thecubanartproject.com

Art Lectures & Piñera Festival in Miami, “Melancolía” in Havana, Photo Paintings in NY

Art Lectures in Miami: Mariano Rodríguez and René Portocarrero. In conjunction with its current exhibition, One Hundred Years: Mariano and Portocarrero, A Two Artist Show, the Cernuda Arte gallery in Coral Gables is presenting two guest lectures at the end of the month. Both talks will be given by Alejandro Anreus, Ph.D., professor of art history and Latin American studies at William Paterson University in New Jersey.

On Wednesday, August 29, the topic is Mario Carreño Mariano Rodríguez, as Dr. Anreus presents “Mariano: Forms and Identity,” a look at the artist’s early influences, his development of specific forms, and how his evolving style reflected changes in the context of Cuban society. The following evening, Thursday, August 30, the focus shifts to “Portocarrero: A Joyous and Tropical Baroque,” an exploration of René Portocarrero’s art and its development throughout his career. Both talks will be given in English, and will take place at 7 p.m. at Cernuda Arte. To reserve a spot, call or email the gallery. [Our apologies to Cernuda Arte and to the great artist Mariano Rodríguez for this error. Ed.]

Melancolía in Havana. At Galería Génesis, Gabriel Sánchez: Melancolía presents recent work by an artist who, in the words of art historian Manuel Álvarez Lezama, “uses unpredictable elements in each of his works to remind us that always, what we see is unique/distinct for each of us.” On view in the Beijing Building of the Miramar Trade Center, the show opens Friday, August 31 at 5:30 p.m.

Piñera Festival in Miami. In Cuba, 2012 is El Año Virgiliano, a yearlong centenary celebration of poet, novelist, and playwright Virgilio Piñera (1912-1979). Now, Miami’s joining in with Absurd Celebration: The First International Festival of Virgilio Piñera’s Theatre, a month-long program of five plays presented by theater companies from Cuba, Spain, and the U.S. The festival kicks off this weekend with Piñera’s most autobiographical play, Aire Frío (Cold Air), presented by the Argos Company of Cuba. In Spanish with English subtitles, the three performances take place Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 5 at the University of Miami’s Ring Theater.

A Celebration of La Virgen, also in Miami. At Ta Project Gallery in the city's Bird Road Art District, a show of 12 Cuban artists on both sides of the straits celebrates Cuba’s patron saint, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre. Marking the 400th anniversary of La Virgen’s first appearance, La Patrona del Sol features work by established and emerging artists exploring themes that range from religion to immigration and motherhood. Among the artists on view: Agustín Bejerano, Aisar Jalil, Eduardo Lambert, Guillermo Portieles, Imael Gómez Peralta, Iran Plata, Jaqueline Zerquera, Julio Rodríguez, Lisa Neiley, Nestor Arenas, Yoel Santana y Yovani Bauta.. The show opens at the gallery this Saturday, August 18, with a reception from 7 to 10 p.m., and it runs through September 11.

Looking ahead: Maria Martínez-Cañas: Photo Paintings in New York. Cuing off the British artist Francis Bacon, who used film and photography as the jumping-off point for his paintings, Maria Martínez-Cañas reverses the process. Taking his paintings as her starting point, she creates a series of oversized, mixed-media works that utilize image transfer, painting, and collage onto wood veneer. At the same time, she pays homage to photographers and artists who’ve influenced her, including Louise Bourgeois, Eadweard Muybridge, and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. At Julie Saul Gallery in New York’s Chelsea district, Photo Paintings opens with a reception on Thursday, September 6, from 6 to 8 p.m. The show runs through October 20.

And a cinematic note from the Canary Islands. Earlier this month we heard from Cuban film director Rolando Díaz, now working in Spain, who wrote that principal shooting had wrapped on his current production, the docudrama Los caminos de Aissa (The Roads of Aissa). Shot on Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, the film is about African immigration to the islands, weaving together the stories of individuals from Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia, and elsewhere on the continent. The film now heads to the editing room.

via cubanartnews.org

#Upcoming Exhibitions

Havana through English Eyes

Anonymous. View of the capture of the fortresses and city of Havana by the English in 1762. Published by Mondhare. 305 x 435 mm. (MNBA Collection)

via cubanartnews.org

Anonymous. View of the capture of the fortresses and city of Havana by the English in 1762. Published by Mondhare. 305 x 435 mm. (MNBA Collection)

#Cuban Art History

C & C Cigars

via candccigars.com

#C&C Cigars

Bras from Middle Ages found in castle – Light Years - CNN.com Blogs

via lightyears.blogs.cnn.com

Gabby Douglas, Gold-Medal Olympic Gymnast, Rockets to Stardom

via nytimes.com

There, filling the computer screen, was her name again and again, and photos of her, again and again.

“Everything popped up,” the 16-year-old Douglas said with her trademark giggle. “Gabby Douglas wins the all-around. Gabby Douglas makes history. It definitely was an amazing thing!”

Douglas, a 4-foot-11, 94-pound puny package of rocket-fueled energy, on Thursday became the first black gymnast to win the individual all-around Olympic gold medal. She also became the first American to win both the all-around and team events at the same Olympics, and only the fourth American woman to win the all-around title.

But Douglas said the gravity of that has not hit her. She forgot to bring her gold medals to an appearance on NBC’s Today Show on Friday, leaving them “somewhere in her room.” Later, she was surprised when a fan driving by slammed on the brakes, stopping to beg Douglas for a photo.

“What are you doing?” Douglas said she was thinking when the fan had stopped. “Oh, yeah, I remember now. Sure.”

Mary Lou Retton, the 1984 Olympic all-around champion, has told Douglas to get used to the attention. While Douglas might not realize it now — “You live in the village and everybody’s got medals,” Retton said — winning the all-around is life-changing.

At the 1984 Los Angeles Games, Retton was just a young girl from West Virginia trying to make it big in a sport dominated by Eastern Europeans. She was the first American to win the all-around title, skyrocketing her into stardom, and her megawatt smile and girl-next-door demeanor made her even bigger. She said fans still stop to tell her they remember where they were when she won her Olympic title.

“Oh my gosh, yes, she’s clueless as to what she has done until she gets back to the States,” Retton said of Douglas. “Literally, a seven-year-old is watching the Olympics, and that seed is going to be placed and they’re going to say, ‘I’m going to be just like her.’ She’s going to break barriers on so many different levels.”

Douglas, who left her family in Virginia Beach when she was 14 to train in Iowa, said she wants to be a role model for minorities. One of her two sponsors, Kellogg’s, has spoken to her agent, Sheryl Shade, about outreach in minority communities. Plans are also in the works for Douglas to take part in Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to promote exercise.

But her success also is a boon for gymnastics in the United States, said Bela Karolyi, the legendary coach who counts Retton among his pupils.

“Thousands and thousands of African-American kids are going to go into gymnastics because of her because they will want to be the new Gabby Douglas,” he said. “With Mary Lou in 1984, her popularity doubled the number of gymnastics participants in this country. I expect a similar effect with Gabby. She came out of nowhere and was an explosion, boom! She’s going to be huge, huge.”

Just how huge she will be remains unclear, but Douglas has the potential to make millions not just because of her success — but also because she is so perky. The ever-effervescent Retton is still doing television commercials when the Olympics roll around.

Bob Williams, chief executive of Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, a company that matches advertisers with celebrities for endorsements, said the all-around gold medal is the route to a seven-figure endorsement, at least.

Advertisers have been colorblind for years, he said, so it doesn’t matter if she is black or white — what counts most is personality.

“It’s not like Nastia Liukin or the other recent all-around gymnasts didn’t have that, they just didn’t have it as much,” he said. “In Gabby, you see the smile, the personality, the warmth. There’s a number of similarities to her and Mary Lou. The one disadvantage is that she really did peak at the Olympics, so we’re just getting to know her.”

Douglas didn’t win her first major competition until last month, when she beat world champion Jordyn Wieber at Olympic trials. She signed her first deal, with Procter & Gamble, a few days later.

At first, her mother, Natalie Hawkins, was nervous that all the top sponsorships were taken. But she had already made the wise but difficult decision to let Douglas train 1,200 miles away, and felt in her gut that waiting until the Olympics to sign more sponsorships was the right thing to do.

Hawkins, a single mother and debt collector, now can see that her intuition was spot on. Less than 18 hours after winning the all-around, Douglas was already on the cover of a cereal box, Corn Flakes. Her rise into celebrity was steep.

Douglas received shout-outs from celebrities like Beyoncé, who dedicated a page of her blog to her. “WOW — what a thrill to watch you take this Gold!” she wrote. “Thank you for inspiring all of us!”

Lil Wayne also posted a tweet about her. “Glad I lived to see what Gabby Douglas did in the Olympics. Icon,” he wrote. (He is her favorite rapper, but said she listens to clean versions of his songs “because my mom said I can’t put into my head all that swearing.”)

Several proposals for dates have come in, but Douglas never has had a boyfriend and Hawkins wants to keep it that way for now.

“I don’t think you can prepare for that,” said Hawkins, as she stood with her three other children. “What I just try to do, I just try to lean on the morals and the values that my parents taught me and the morals and values that I’ve instilled in them. We’re a pretty grounded family.”

Douglas’s Olympic experience isn’t over yet, though. She still has the uneven bars final on Monday, and the balance beam final on Tuesday. And her coach, Liang Chow, isn’t sure how she will come back to earth by then because the distractions are coming rapid-fire.

“How can I stop it?” Chow said with a laugh. “There’s no way to stop it.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: August 4, 2012

An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Procter & Gamble as Proctor & Gamble.

via nytimes.com

Olympics: Gymnast Danell Leyva on being like Spider-Man, his favorite sports flicks, and more | PopWatch

Image Credit: Harry How/Getty Images

The U.S. men’s gymnastics team may have left the team all-around competition empty handed, but Wednesday night NBC will show the individual competition in prime time. Cuban-born, U.S. raised gymnast Danell Leyva may be best known for his coach (and stepfather) Yin Alvarez’s boisterous gestures during competition, but Leyva has a personality all his own. He shared his pop culture picks with us. Continue below to find out five things you didn’t know about Levya, like his obsession with Spider-Man and which movie he and fellow competitor Jonathan Horton both love.

1. He’s a huge Louie fan. “I’ve always liked his [Louis C.K.'s] humor and the way he talks about things. He’s really, really funny.”

2. He’s a gymnast by day, Spider-Man by night. Shhh! “I was super, super excited about the Spider-Man movie that came out, because they really followed the comic book, almost to the core. I also liked how they switched the web slinging, like it wasn’t just a natural thing that came with the powers. It was something he made. I say that I am Spider-Man, because, well, I mean. But whatever. A lot of people don’t believe me. It’s cool. It’s ok. It keeps my identity secret, in a way.” Wait, so, the gymnastics is just a cover? ”I’m just a gymnast, but I really go around saving people in New York and stuff. Spider-Man has always been a huge role model for me, so I’ve always kind of kept his story.”

3. Miracle is the ultimate sports movie. “Obviously Miracle, you know the hockey movie. That’s amazing. Yeah, that’s like a team movie that we like to watch.”

4. He jams to Drake, but not just his music. “Drake is actually [one of the people I admire], one of the reasons why I look up to him so much is because he started as an actor. He’s actually pretty good in the show Degrassi. And he’s obviously an amazing musician.”

5. When Drake’s not on his iPod, it’s Michael Bublé and Otis Redding. Surprised? “I like his [Bublé's] style. He brings old school back. He brings that Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin feel.” And Redding? “There’s one song in particular that I’m actually currently obsessed with, it’s called ‘Cigarettes and Coffee.’ Oh my god, that song is so good. It’s so chill and mellow.”

Related: NBC ratings huge for Women’s Team Gymnastics final Olympics: Best/Worst Athletic Wear Olympic Stud of the Day: Michael Phelps, the ‘most decorated’ Olympian in history

via popwatch.ew.com

#London Olympic

Classy Uchimura Wins All-Around Gymnastics Gold | Sports | RIA Novosti

Classy Uchimura Wins All-Around Gymnastics Gold

21:56 01/08/2012 Japan's Kohei Uchimura put in a classy all-around performance to take gold in the men's gymnastics on Wednesday.>>

Other news of the day

via en.ria.ru

#London Olympics

Bird Road Art Walk July 2012″Fragments” a group show with Julio Bordas, Vicente Dopico-Lerner, MANO & Emilio Hector Rodriguez. | Art, Social Media & The Evolution of The Human Network

Antonio Guerrero, Rafael Lopez Ramos, Nestor Arenas visiting Mano during The Bird Road Art Walk on July 2012

via asmehn.wordpress.com

#Miami Art Walks

2012 London Olympics opening ceremony packs spectacular punch

via latimes.com

London Olympics: U.S. women net a mixed-bag win in volleyball

Destinee Hooker had a team-high 19 spikes during a 3-1 victory over Korea for Team USA on Saturday. (Jeff Roberson / Associated Press / July 28, 2012)

via latimes.com

London Olympics: Ryan Lochte crushes Michael Phelps in first showdown

Ryan Lochte of the U.S. smiles after winning the 400 IM during the at the Aquatics Centre on Saturday. (Vernon Bryant / Dallas Morning News / MCT / July 28, 2012)

via latimes.com

Review: Lochte stars in the pool - London 2012 Olympics

via london2012.com

Google+ Events in Google Calendar | Official Gmail Blog

via gmailblog.blogspot.com

Today Google announced Google+ Events, a new way to create, capture and share public and private events. Google+ Events are seamlessly integrated with Google Calendar to simplify the planning process, so you’ll always know when you have something coming up.

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