Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia speaks during the opening session at the London Cyberspace Conference in London. Wikipedia will black out the English language version of its website on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012.
Wikipedia shut down the English version of its online encyclopedia for 24 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate version, the Protect IP Act (PIPA).
Google meanwhile placed a black redaction block over the logo on its much-visited US home page to draw attention to the bills while social news site reddit and the popular Cheezburger humor network planned blackouts.
If a day without Wikipedia was a bother, think bigger. In this plugged-in world, we would barely be able to cope if the entire Internet went down in a city, state or country for a day or a week.
Sure, we’d survive. People have done it. Countries have, as Egypt did last year during the anti-government protests. And most of civilization went along until the 1990s without the Internet.
But now we’re so intertwined socially, financially and industrially that suddenly going back to the 1980s would hit the world as hard as a natural disaster, experts say.
No email, Twitter or Facebook. No buying online. No stock trades. No just-in-time industrial shipping. No real-time tracking of diseases.
If bill passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside the United States," the Wikimedia foundation said.
The draft legislation has won the backing of Hollywood, the music industry, the Business Software Alliance, the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce.
SOPA and PIPA are real threats to the free and open Internet. Although recent media reports have suggested that the bills are losing support, they are not dead. On January 17th, SOPA's sponsor said the bill will be discussed and pushed forward in early February. PIPA could be debated in the U.S. Senate as soon as next week. There is a need to send a strong message that bills like SOPA and PIPA must not move forward: they will cause too much damage.
Although the bills have been amended since their introduction, they are still deeply problematic. Among other serious problems in the current draft of the bills, the requirement exists for US-based sites to actively police links to purported infringing sites. These kinds of self-policing activities are non-sustainable for large, global sites - including ones like Wikipedia. The legislative language is ambiguous and overly broad, even though it touches on protected speech. Congress says it's trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the "cure" that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease.
The founders of Google, Twitter, Wikipedia, Yahoo! and other Internet giants said in an open letter last month the legislation would give the US government censorship powers “similar to those used by China, Malaysia and Iran.”
Ben Breedlove (
August 8, 1993 - December 25, 2011 )
Austin, Texas Teen Benjamin Daniel Breedlove (Ben Breedlove)'s Videos About Dying Life with a heart condition become an international viral sensation, More than 1,500 people attended a memorial service for Texas teenager Ben Breedlove.
While family, friends and fans gathered at Austin's Gateway Church, countless others watched a live-stream of the memorial online.
After cheating death three times, Westlake High School student Ben Breedlove, 18, lost his life on Christmas night after suffering from a heart attack.
But not before he recorded videos of his near-death experiences, capturing the hearts of viewers around the world as he described the peace he felt at leaving the world he knew.
In the videos, Breedlove can be seen silently sitting in a room and using handwritten note cards to tell his story. The teen suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which one part of the heart is thicker than the other parts, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood.
Breedlove posted the videos titled "This is my story" on Dec. 18 and died one week later on Christmas. Since then, the videos have been viewed more than 2.3 million times.
The memorial was held in a large auditorium where photos of a happy Breedlove with his family and friends were projected on a large screen.
His sister Ally Breedlove spoke during the service and recalled her brother's descriptions of powerful visions during previous episodes of cardiac arrest. He described a bright light and being overcome with a feeling of peace.
Ally Breedlove said her brother told her, "God let me feel that peace before I came back so that I would know that heaven is worth it."
Breedlove's father asked that his son's funeral be made available to fans after receiving "requests from people around the world who want to watch." The funeral will take place at 3 p.m. at Gateway Church.
Breedlove had fainted at school and went into cardiac arrest in hospital. When he passed out, he says, he saw himself in a white room with his favourite rapper, Kid Cudi. They were both in suits and Breedlove’s favourite song, Mr. Rager, was playing. Breedlove described how Kid Cudi sat him down at a glass desk, put his hand on his shoulder and said “Go now.” Breedlove says he then woke up to medics resuscitating him.
Ben Breedlove's parents
"This is my story"
On December 18, 2011, Breedlove released a 2-part video on YouTube, entitled "This is my story." Using note cards, he explained about his heart condition, as well as how it impacted his life. He also mentioned three near-death experiences.
"I was at school, walking in the hall. I could tell I was going to faint, so I sat on a bench. I passed out. The next thing I know, I woke up with EMS around me. I couldn't talk or move, I could only watch what they were doing. They put the shock pads on my chest. I heard one of them say 'They are ready'. And the other guy said 'Go!'. I passed out again. My heart stopped and I wasn't breathing for 3 minutes."
Breedlove on the third time he "cheated death".
In the video, Breedlove describes the first time he "cheated" death, which was at the age of 4 when he had a life-threatening seizure.[6] He goes on to describe an experience he had in a hospital while being wheeled on a stretcher, "There was this big bright light above me ... I couldn't make out what is was because it was so bright. I told my mom, 'Look at the bright light' and pointed up. She said she didn't see anything."
On May 3, 2009, Breedlove underwent surgery to insert a defibrillator. The defibrillator helped regulate his heart beat and gave him more energy. In the video he shows a red scar on his chest, where the pacemaker had been inserted.
In the summer of 2011, Breedlove fell into his second cardiac arrest, while in the hospital for a routine tonsillectomy. He stated that, "It was a miracle that they brought me back ... I was scared to die, but am so glad I didn't."
The third time Breedlove survived death was on December 6, 2011. While in the hall at Westlake High School, he felt that he was going to faint, so he sat down on a bench where he then passed out. The next thing he recollects is being surrounded by emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, and that he was unable to speak or move. He remembers passing out a second time after being resuscitated with a "shock pad". During this time his heart ceased pumping blood for three minutes. While unconscious, Breedlove had a feeling of comfort similar to that of his first near-death experience. He recalls being dressed up in a white suit while standing alongside his favorite rap artist, Kid Cudi, in a white room.
Do rest in heaven peace Benjamin Breedlove................
New Delhi: Disappointed, that you missed the booking of Aakash tab? This piece of news can cheer you up.
Makers of Aakash tablet, Datawind is ready with their new tablet Ubislate 7+ at an expected price of Rs 2999. Unlike Aakash (Ubislate7) which is a student version tab, Ubislate 7+ will be available everywhere and to everyone.
The upgraded version of Aakash, Ubislate 7+ tab will be available in the Indian market by last week of January, 2012.
Pre-order booking have already started from their website - ubislate.com/ Interested buyers can also call on a Toll Free No: 1800.180.2180 for more information. Check out its configuration below:
The UbiSlate7+ is an Android 2.3 touch screen tablet that has a HD video co-processor for a high-quality multimedia experience and core graphics accelerator for faster application support. The Aakash tablet is the only Android device in the market to offer DataWind’s UbiSurfer browser, based on 18 international patents. The UbiSurfer browser accelerates web pages by factors of 10x to 30x, allowing for a web experience who’s speed is unrivalled.
The device includes WiFi connectivity and support for optional 3G modems. Two full-sized USB ports are integrated into the unit allowing pen-drives, external keyboards, web-cams, dongles and other inexpensive peripherals to be attached. “Pen drives are a common medium for storing and sharing content in India. They are even used by people that are not computer savvy, for access to music and videos. A full sized USB ports allowing regular pen-drives to be plugged-in is also available as an added advantage over other Tablets. Specification
