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A Place in the Universe (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Large asteroid safely zips past Earth, dragging its moon along - CNN.com :  "The world is OK -- at least this time -- and scientists are psyched. An asteroid dubbed 1998 QE2 whizzed past Earth on Friday, with its own moon in tow. "#asteroidQE2 has sailed harmlessly past Earth," NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory tweeted around 5 p.m. ET." Related articles Large asteroid safely zips past Earth, dragging its moon along - CNN.com Large asteroid zipping past Earth, dragging its own moon along Large Asteroid Safely Zips Past Earth, Dragging its Own Moon Along Asteroid safely zips past Earth, dragging its moon along Asteroid approaching Earth tonight carries a baby moon: Scientists NASA Radar Shows Near-Earth Asteroid Bringing Its Own Moon Giant Asteroid Passing By Earth On Friday Has Its Own Moon Moon discovered around asteroid that's due to fly by Earth tomorrow Large asteroid zipping past

English: Comcast Building (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Facts :  " Comcast and the other incumbents keep pointing to mobile wireless and claiming that its use in America changes this picture. That’s just not true. Although there has been growth in mobile wireless over the last few years, it is a complementary service: 83% of Americans with smartphones also have a wire at home. So although mobile wireless subscriptions have increased (and represent about 43% of the connections over 3 Mbps in America), that doesn’t mean that more American individuals are getting connected to the Internet at high speeds. It means that more Americans, many of whom already have slow wires at home, are buying smartphones." Related articles Verizon and AT&T grow fatter in America as mobile prices plunge in Europe Google to Launch Low-Cost Android Smartphones [WSJ] bēm wireless mobile speaker gets a college edition

Security lapse exposes some Lifeline phone customers to ID theft risk » Times Record News :  "More than 170,000 records from two participating companies — O klahoma City-based TerraCom Inc. and its affiliate, YourTel America Inc. — were posted online, a Scripps News investigation has found. The records, from residents of at least 26 states, include Social Security numbers , dates of birth and information about participation in other government-assistance programs. Of those records, 343 were viewed by unknown individuals, an official for both companies acknowledged." ...ero. Related articles Security lapse exposes some Lifeline phone customers to ID theft risk Phone assistance program leaves many exposed to identity theft Some Lifeline phone customers face risk Lifeline: Direct line to ID theft? McFeatters: Lifeline could be direct line to identity theft Lifeline: Direct line to ID theft? Scripps uncovered security risks for some Lifeline phone customers How

net neutrality world logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) AT&T and Verizon End Run Net Neutrality Rules By Giving You (Some) Free Mobile Data - At A Cost - Forbes :  " AT&T T -0.4%‘s CEO, Randall Stephenson , last week told a group of investors that AT&T plans to charge content providers and app developers to keep their data use from counting against their mobile data caps." Related articles AT&T and Verizon End Run Net Neutrality Rules By Giving You (Some) Free Mobile Data - At A Cost - Forbes AT&T and Verizon End Run Net Neutrality Rules By Giving You (Some) Free Mobile Data - At A Cost MetroPCS ditches net neutrality lawsuit following T-Mobile acquisition, Verizon becomes sole belligerent MetroPCS Abandons FCC Net Neutrality Suit T-Mobile drops anti-net neutrality lawsuit filed by MetroPCS, leaving Verizon on its own AT&T Hangout Block Highlights a Timid, Incompetent FCC - What it Looks Like When Barney Fife Is Your Telecom Regulator M

Why babies in every country on Earth say 'mama' - The Week :  "But there is a word , and only one, spoken the same way in nearly every language known to humankind. That word, of course, is "mama." "Mama" is a universal word, describing the woman who gave us the most cherished love in our most vulnerable state. Almost every language boasts a recognizable form of it. While it's true that most languages vary when it comes to the formal word mother, the intimate mama stays the same in each language." ...ero. Related articles Why babies in every country on Earth say 'mama' - The Week Why all babies say "mama" Mama Earth

Public Knowledge | Fighting for your digital rights in Washington. :  "Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, joined by Rep. Thomas Massie, Rep. Anna Eshoo, and Rep. Jared Polis, introduced another cell phone unlocking bill. Unlike those that have come before, though, this one also takes aim squarely at the problems with the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) itself—the law that may make it illegal to break digital locks, even for noninfringing purposes."

English: Verizon Building in New York City (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Verizon Files Tariff Allowing Company to Abandon Wired Phone/Broadband Service in New York; Fire Island First to Go | Stop the Cap! : " Verizon Communications has filed a formal tariff obtained by Stop the Cap! with the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) that would establish conditions under which it can abandon its wired network in favor of wireless-only service. If approved, Verizon will be able to drop wired landline and broadband service in any area of the state if the company can: certify that a substantial portion of its facilities in an area are destroyed, rendered unusable, or beyond reasonable repair, or, demonstrates that the use of wireless to serve specified customers , or groups of customers, is otherwise reasonable in light of the geographic location, the availability of competitive facilities to serve those customers or groups of customers, or in light of other criteria ac

Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government? | Glenn Greenwald | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk :  "Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government? A former FBI counterterrorism agent claims on CNN that this is the case"

Plate 21 of Birds of America by John James Audubon depicting Mocking Bird. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Bird is the Word | Library of Congress Blog :  "Recently, a friend of mine started talking about “ The Big Year ” bird-watching competition and her desire to participate. And, I’ve been enlisted to help. The informal competition takes bird watching to a whole new level, with birders vying to spot or hear the largest number of bird species within a single calendar year and within a specific geographical area. Sandy Komito holds the current record with 748 species seen in North America in a calendar year. Neither of us are really bird watchers, so things will certainly be interesting on this adventure. Fortunately, we can look to some Library of Congress resources in preparation. Perhaps we could use as our starting point the works of John James Audubon (1785-1851), known for his famous drawings and paintings of North American birds . The first edition of his “ Bird