Learning a general purpose non-web programming language has been on my “todo” list for a while, but it but it has fallen somewhere between “deep sea dive” and “get an eyeball tattoo” (Not for those with weak stomachs… or any kind of stomachs. And DO NOT google image it.). I’m comfortable with most of the web programming languages, though by no means as comfortable as I’d like to be. I’ve written a couple of small scripts for myself in PHP, but I’ve mostly spent time modifying larger scripts– not nearly as satisfying, or accomplished.

So this summer I’m going to be somewhat proactive and invest a little time in learning a non-web general purpose language. Given external time constraints, I don’t really want to touch either C or Java with a ten-foot pole, but after debating between Ruby and Python (and Perl I suppose), I’ve settled on Python. I thought it would be a good choice given my background in PHP, and it might help me brush up some of my skills. I’ve been using Mark Pilgrim’s Dive into Python (diving + programming? double strike. hurr durr derp.) So far I really like the syntax, which I find is much more straightforward and lack of curly braces for blocks. We’ll see how this venture turns out… watch out, Python’s Benevolent Dictator For Life.

http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2011/02/the-new-battleground/

The new battleground
How the internet shapes social movement in the face of regulation
By Marzieh Ghiasi
February 17, 2011

Image by Olivia Messer / The McGill Daily

It has become commonplace to describe the web as the Wild West – a place where there are no rules, no regulations, and not much protection. It is therefore no surprise that the web has become a battleground for governments, commercial entities, and users, each fighting to preserve their own interests for the future.

Derek Ruths, an assistant professor of Computer Science at McGill who teaches COMP 189, a course on Computers and Society, explains that forecasting the future of the internet is difficult because these changes will be accompanied by society’s changing ideas and expectations about privacy and regulation.

“Ten years ago people would have thought Facebook, the idea of putting all that information online, was ridiculous. But somehow society has changed,” he said in an interview with The Daily.

The rise of networking sites like Twitter and information warehouses such as Wikileaks has been attributed to civil uprisings that have occurred across the world. The 2009 protests in Moldova were dubbed by the media as that country’s “Twitter Revolution.”
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The animation above is based on illustrations from the Flight of the Hummingbird by Haida Canadian artist Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas. The story, which is from the parables of the Quechuan people of Ecuador, is about a small yet persistant hummingbird who is determined to save his forest from a fire drop by drop, while other bigger animals stand back, believeing that nothing they do will make a difference.

I’ve written before about Wikileaks and how it provides a venue for whistleblowers to leak documents without fear of being caught. Since I last wrote about Wikileaks, which was precisely 2 years ago, the site has leaked numerous other documents, and for obvious reasons, has faced some strong legal challenges. The site appears to continue operations none-withstanding and in fact today released a 2007 classified video from Iraq dubbed “Collateral Murder” (Huffington Post) showing air-strikes killing a Reuters’ news photographer among other individuals.

Of course, whistle-blowing organizations like Wikileaks have detractors, and some of the criticism is definitely valid. But Thomas Jefferson didn’t say “Information is the currency of democracy.” for no reason. Corruption exists, and therefore the placement of checks and balances, including systems to reveal information in the interest of the public, is a necessary part of preserving our democratic societies. Some of these truths may not be particularly pleasant to see. However, Asa says it best:

There is fire on the mountain and nobody seems to be on the run.
There is fire on the mountain top and no one is running.
One day the river will overflow
and there’ll be nowhere for us to go
And we will run, run… wishing we had put out the fire.

There is incredible injustice in our world today, and many individuals and groups who consider themselves to be above the law. But the whistle-blowers, journalists, and photographers who risk all to uncover truths are much like dukdukdiya, the little hummingbird, doing their part to put out the fires before they consume us all.

We ask them, “What are you doing?”
They say, “We are doing what we can.”

Things just got a little more interesting in the world of cyberpolitics.

Google revealed today that they’ve detected a sophisticated attack on their infrastructure originating from China back in December, an attack which they say impacted more than twenty other large companies in various sectors. Specifically, the attackers attempted to access Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Google does not lay blame on any specific party, however, it does indicate that it is reconsidering its approach to China.

These attacks and the surveillance they have uncovered–combined with the attempts over the past year to further limit free speech on the web–have led us to conclude that we should review the feasibility of our business operations in China. We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn

Externally Google has been pressured by various NGOs and governments with respect to its approach in China since it decided to censor its search results in the country. A move which some claimed was antithetical to the Company’s mantra “Don’t be evil.” In fact Google along with other search results faced a US congressional hearing back in 2006. Nonetheless, many queries in google.cn continue to deliver this note as part of the results: ” 据当地法律法规和政策，部分搜索结果未予显示。” or “According to local laws, regulations and policies, some search results are not shown.” Until today, it appeared that the revenue from China outweighed the costs.

With this move, the pendulum has clearly shifted. However, many questions remain regarding how decision was arrived at and how it will play out: Whether the costs of operating in country have become too much compared to the net revenue (to the tune of 22 billion dollars in the second quarter of 2009)? Or if Google is simply finding its infrastructure too vulnerable in the country? Has Google returned core values with respect to freedom of information, or caved in to external pressure regarding China’s censorship policies? Will China comply with Google, or will they reach a compromise? And if Google does indeed pull out of the Chinese market will its place be filled with other foreign search giants like Yahoo, or will it set precedent?

This is really the first major news this decade about cyber-attacks. Cyber-attacks have become commonplace in recent years, however in this case the economic and diplomatic stakes are incredibly high. Beyond the scope of the attack on Google, and the battle of the nerds… cyberwarfare between nations is not such a remote possibility as the internet and information technology take a more prominent role in national infrastructures. The following is an excerpt from a piece I wrote late last year on the transformation of war:

“… Constructivism takes an optimistic approach towards norms and progress. However, while norms can change to ameliorate conflict among nations, they can just as easily bring an ever-changing face to war. Indeed the 20th century was witness to a shift in the paradigm of warfare that took conflict from the trenches into cities. The democratization of war was a shift in norms which instead of creating taboos of war, propagandized war. This led to even more destructive weapons and created a situation where wars were supplied by, and waged on citizens. It is possible that even if the killing of human beings as a part of warfare becomes taboo (to the extent that state-sanctioned slavery is today), war itself might evolve. Going back to the definition of war, it is an act that is a means and not an end; and certainly any act that engages two parties in aggression, and achieves the desired outcome by force may constitute warfare. For example, in a world that is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, cyber attacks are becoming increasingly threatening^*. Equipment disruption, invasion of data banks and information highway can all be considered modes of cyber warfare. This type of warfare would not require massive troop mobilization; and it may not lead to civilian casualties, unless that is desired. But compromising critical systems in a nation could paralyze it and threaten its security. This type of warfare would have little resemblances to historic wars, however, it would achieve the same outcomes.”

*Hildreth, S. A. (2001). Cyberwarfare. Congressional Research Service policy paper.

I’ve been absolutely immersed in brain anatomy (which I now heart) for the past eight months. In the process I’ve amassed a rather large collection of links. I’ve listed some of the better resources below, hopefully others will find this helpful.

Image Source: the Morbid Anatomy Collection

1. The Brain from Top to Bottom (McGill University) offers a fantastic overview of the brain. It can serve as a good starting point for introducing the molecular to histological to social aspects of the brain. The nice design is a great bonus.

2. The Digital Anatomist (University of Washington) is a site I use frequently for my studies. The organization is a bit confusing but the site has amazing gross and histological sections, vascular and pathway diagrams, and MRI animations. There is a self-test for almost every slide, which is a great way to reinforce the structures and pathways.

3. Salamon’s Neuroanatomy and Neurovasculature Web-Atlas Resource (UCLA) is a pretty comprehensive tutorial resource covering both anatomy and vascularization of the brain. With clear explanations and diagrams, the site is good for self-study or as a complement to neuroanatomy classes. The interface could be better (the text is all in jpg form) but the thorough quiz section makes up for that.

4. Neuroanatomy Tutorial (University of Utah) is a fairly simple but highly effective site for learning gross structure of the brain. Its labeling system is particularly useful.
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As posted in Neglected Tropical Diseases Society

• Josh Ruxin, an assistant clinical professor of public health at Columbia, describes “The Best Buy in Public Health” or the strong potential to make real change with modest investments in the NTDs.
• Thomas Pogge, Professor of Philosophy & International Affairs at Yale University, and Philip Hedger, executive managing director of international affairs at Pfizer, debate approaches to creating incentives and stimulating innovation in the pharmaceutical industry to address health of impoverished populations.
• A recent publication in the PLoS suggests that rise in global temperatures may lead to the emergence of more tick-borne pathogens and tick-borne epidemics.
• Highlighting the critical role of the internet in dealing with international health issues, Scandinavian scientists have developed a web-base diagnostic tool which allows for observation of thousands of parasitic specimens using geospatial system imaging platforms. Web-based tools have great potential not just for global access to better diagnostic tools, but for more timely epidemiological information, as displayed by Google’s Flu Trends.

http://www.mcgilldaily.com/article/3171-wikileaks-web-site-gives-whistleblowers

Wikileaks web site gives whistleblowers a voice
By Marzieh Ghiasi
Monday, April 7th, 2008

Sasha Plotnikova / The McGill Daily

Unjust organizations around the world face a new threat: anonymity. A new web site called Wikileaks­ makes whistleblowers untraceable, so that they can leak documents without fear of being caught. The site follows the format of Wikipedia, allowing anyone to create a new document page, and providing space for public discussions and analyses of documents. The founders of the project are anonymous, and the locations of the web site’s servers are unknown, with speculations ranging from abandoned U.S. nuclear weapons bases to bunkers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Although peer-to-peer file sharing and anonymous personal web sites have given people a way to leak sensitive information in the past, whistleblowers have run high risks of being discovered, because information travel routes can often be easily traced. Wikileaks overcomes this problem by using advanced cryptographic techniques and an internet protocol called the Onion Router.

Frédéric Mégret, a Law professor at McGill and the Canada research chair in the Law of Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, explains that punishment has been a major concern of potential whistleblowers.

“Some people give information only to the extent that [their identity] remains confidential because they would otherwise put themselves at strong risk.”

For whistleblowers, the risk of being discovered can be extreme. Mordechai Vanunu, a nuclear technician, has spent 18 years prison in Israel, much of it in solitary confinement, due to what he revealed about the existence of an Israeli nuclear weapons program in 1986. Dr. Mégret says that the ease and anonymity of Wikileaks could greatly increase the number of people willing to leak information.
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http://www.mcgilldaily.com/view.php?aid=6929

Net neutrality threatened by market forces
By Marzieh Ghiasi
Monday, January 28th, 2008

Massive websites like Amazon may one day be able to pay for more information roadspace than smaller sites.

David Pullmer / The McGill Daily

As most people won’t wait more than four seconds for a page to load, the speed of delivery on the net has become more important than ever. In recent years, this need for speed has pitted companies that provide Internet services against web sites who want as much traffic as possible. What is at stake is net neutrality – the current state of affairs in which users can access Internet sites with equal speed, regardless of whether the site is eBay or mcgill.ca.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) act as the intermediary information carriers between users and web sites. In recent years, in what has become largely a battle of revenues, ISPs have sought to implant tiered network infrastructure and charge web sites – or content providers – for services.

Large content providers, such as Yahoo!, eBay, and Google, receive much of their revenues from new applications and advertising. Their wealth depends in large part on the masses of visitors to their site. Dr. Muthucumaru Maheswaran, a computer science professor at McGill, explains that the ISPs, who make it possible for sites like eBay to have so many visitors, want a piece of the revenue pie.

“The people who actually make the networks are anxious because they’re not sharing that wealth,” he said.
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I just wanted to say, for the love of all that is good and holy… people please update your browsers*. please.

This goes out to those people who are still using Internet Explorer 5.5/6.0. Theoretically every piece of code should be compatible with every browser. Fortunately, since Microsoft finally decided to comply with web standards, designers no longer have to tear their hair out while spending hours modifying something that already works in all major browsers… just because older IE browsers don’t render code properly. Unfortunately, the news hasn’t caught on and a sizable portion of people are still using these party killers.

It only takes a few minutes (or seconds in some cases) to update. But in turn you get better security, get to enjoy actual web-design… and possibly make a programmer’s life span a few days longer.

*or better yet convert to Firefox, but that would be indoctrination.

If you haven’t heard about this already you will definitely will within the next few days. The past few weeks Google has been unrolling new technology left and right. The most exciting debute, though, belongs to Street View, part of the Google maps suit, and something which will likely be integrated into Google Earth soon. The name of the feature is pretty self-explanatory. Essentially by selecting “street view” on the map, you are given the option to zoom in to one of several cities (currently the feature is available for five cities in the US) and take a ride in the streets, viewing a 360° view of your selected location.

This has been done in the past, both by private and governmental organizations and the pictures are readily available online if you look hard enough for them. Google itself, in fact, has contracted several companies specializing in street photography. (View some of their work) However, what I think is exciting about Google integerating this feature into their service is thier ability to take a currently existing technology, take it to the next level, and make it available to the mass population. Additionally, I think that being able to view the world on the street level in Google maps and Earth was an inevitable next step.
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I wanted to share the links to some online artists whose works I enjoy tremendously. Each of these individuals, with their unique styles and influences, seems to be breaking barriers in artistic creativity.

Popaganda, The Art and Crimes of Ron English
http://www.popaganda.com/
Ron English

From his site: “Born in Dallas, Texas 1966, Ron English ‘paints, infiltrates, reinvents and satirizes modern culture and its mainstream visual iconography on canvas, in song, and directly onto hundreds of pirated billboards. English exists spiritually somewhere between a cartoon Abbie Hoffman and a grown-up, real-life Bart Simpson, delivering a steady stream of customized imagery laden with strong sociopolitical undertones, adolescent boy humor, subversive media savvy, and Dali-meets-Disney technique. Dedicated to finding the sublime in the everyday and breaking the momentum of the didactic approach to art and life, English offers up an alternative universe where nothing is sacred, everything is subverted, and there is always room for a little good-natured fun.’ ”

*Take a look at Bombing Begins in 5 Minutes, a reinvention of Picasso’s Guernica.

The Monster Engine
http://www.themonsterengine.com/
David DeVries

In his own words: “I’ve loved art from the time I was a little kid– especially comic books. When I got older, I actually got a chance to draw my childhood heroes– and got paid to boot. It was a dream come true. I was asked to paint spiderman swinging over New York and Wolverine slashing robots with his unbreakable claws. My job was to make these heroes real for all the people who loved them. It wasn’t easy but I learned to make them colorful, detailed and full of action. Comics, however, weren’t the only thing I painted– I also painted monsters for Universal Studios, but those monsters weren’t as cool as the ones I saw lurking in my niece’s sketches. It was then, at age 33, that I decided to take all the lessons about color, action and detail and apply them to little kid’s drawings. It made me remember my childhood and also realize that no matter how old I became I could always see things like a child.”

The Optic Nerve
http://www.theopticnerve.com/
Katie Miranda

In her own words: “I’m American, I’m Jewish. I live and work in the West Bank, occupied Palestine where I teach art to kids, draw cartoons for the Palestine Times, paint murals, perform a circus routine for detained Palestinians at checkpoints, train volunteers in non-violent resistance and crisis intervention and generally try my best to stick it to tha man. No the Palestinians haven’t slit my throat, no they don’t hate Americans, no one has tried to push me into the sea yet. I’m also an artist and I draw and paint the life here… Five years ago I made my first trip to Israel. I worked on a kibbutz in the northern Galilee for three months where I learned and lived the Israeli side of the story. Now I am learning and living the Palestinian side. Anyone who comes to the conclusion that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is two equal sides squabbling over a piece of land is profoundly mistaken.”

* Take a look at her moving collection Postcards from Palestine.

Meet the World
http://www.brazilianartists.net/home/flags/index.htm
Icaro Doria

and finally, take a look at this.

The Puzzle

After seven years of reading absurd newsreports and bad reporting, three relatively short sentences in a caption of a set of images “Unseen Iran” ticked me off. Here’s the byproduct which I happily forwarded not two minutes ago to those responsible– hopefully I won’t groan about this five days from now. Meh.

Picture Stories ( ss_060302_iran ) a systematic problem?

Dear sir or madam,

I just wanted to inform you that as a regular subscriber to your news, recently I have noticed a marked degradation in the quality of the reporting on your site. This is specially pertaining to stories that I have read on Iran which seem infused with not only bias but factual inaccuracies, poor research, and poor narration, qualities which I would expect a reputed source such as yourself would not ascribe to.

A few minutes ago I stumbled upon the following infuriating caption in one of your pictures “Iranian girls celebrate after winning a softball game in Tehran in March 2005. Softball is relatively new sport in Iran and has become extremely popular with young women. Women rarely play sports because of difficulties presented by the hijab, or veil, they wear. Women are banned from attending many men’s sporting events.”

Reading this I could not help but contemplate whether the writer and/or editor who has chosen to plant this caption beside the image has the slightest idea about the condition of women in Iran, or whether they malevolently and willfully chose to spread ignorance and blatant misinformation.

For one, softball is NOT a relatively new sport in Iran, certainly it has not enjoyed as much popularity among Iranian young women such as games like volleyball, basketball and football (soccer) in the past two decades, however in terms of a sport, and it certainly has existed and has been well-played. Iranian sports and Iranian culture has not been as ‘isolated’ from a global influence as the wording in this caption and others on the site seems to suggest. Secondly, your claims that women are banned from attending “many men’s sporting events” are questionable at best. As I recall, and a short Google search reveals, other western news media sources have reported that there have been reports of women beings prohibited from attending certain games in Iran’s national/international football (soccer) arenas, however, reports also follow-up with recent reversals or speculated reversals on these discriminatory policies. Meanwhile, the fact stands that though not all, women freely attend many national sporting events. It seems however that your agency deems it necessary to propagate outdated, questionable and partial information as completely valid…

What I found most infuriating, perhaps, is the comment on the ‘fact’ that women in Iran “rarely play sports” due to difficulties presented by the hijab. Your statement is disputed by even the most basic statistics coming out of Iran. In Iran women are extremely active in the arenas of sports and academics, with national medals and top honors in rallying (equivalent in popularity to the NASCAR sports event in the United States) and many other sports being awarded to women. In academics, considering the fact that today in higher education women in Iran hold a portion larger than 50% of the populace of students in natural sciences and engineering, with a significant portion of women in professorship and tenure positions compared to the West, I would even say that in some respects Iranian women are faring better than their Western counterparts. Women do play sports in Iran, at prestigious and competitive levels as opposed to what your ‘enlightened’ writer has suggested. As with many other women in the Muslim world, some mandated by their personal choice and others by governmental policy, Iranian women wear the hijab, consisting of a head covering, as well as non-revealing clothing in tournaments and competitions. However, in contrast to what your writer has suggested to readers (who unfortunately may not know better) Iranian women take part in sports rather than “rarely play sports” and actively take part and hold prestigious positions in other activities within Iranian society ranging from academia to politics to the arts.

I hope that in the future your agency chooses a more responsible and factual approach to reporting because I sincerely doubt that I am the only individual left dissatisfied and disappointed. Until then, you have lost the trust of this single reader.