THOUGHTBOX

This is one of the very few pictures we have of Pyongyang, made by a western photographer.  It's a glimpse into the isolated and secluded land that is North Korea. The city bears a semblance to a prison. It's cold, uniform colors, straight lines mirror the heavy oppression of individuality and non-conformity that the totalitarian regime imposes on the North Korean people. There are no trees in this picture. Life is quenched by the compost, graveyard gray of the concrete and by the rigid architectural lines. No freedom of expression is allowed, no outside contact is permitted. The city is indeed a prison: it keeps its people inside, and life,nature, optimism and free ideas outside. What do you think?

Following up on the Egypt beating news, here is the video depicting the gruesome scenes I talked about. Be warned, it's a graphic and cruel recording of pure human hatred.

Recently emerged footage shows Egyptian soldiers ruthlessly beating defenseless women in Tahrir Square. Worst still, after the showdown, the military attempted to confiscate video cameras after raiding homes in the aftermath of the beating, in an attempt to censor the events. This is the 3rd violent day in Tahrir Square, and it started out when citizens protested against the military regime's refusal to relinquish power. All shit broke loose when Egyptian military started firing live ammunition into the crowd on Saturday, in an attempt to disperse the protesters, and so far 10 people have been killed. In at least one case, the Egyptian soldiers removed a woman's abaya (a symbol of modesty and piety) after beating her. In case you're not familiar with Arabic customs and taboos, let me tell you what the meaning of that gesture is. Violence against women is a strong "no-no" in the Arab world, and exposing your chest and mid-region is equally taboo and considered se...

Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s self entitled Supreme Leader, who ruled over the country with an iron fist and raised concerns for his pursuit of nuclear weapon programs, is dead. According to Korean news, he died of “ advanced acute myocardial infarction brought on by "  mental and physical strain” during a train ride on Saturday. He was previously said to have suffered two strokes, the latest allegedly in November, while other rumors claimed he had pancreatic cancer. This happened while he was on a propaganda tour across the country, attempting to prove his critics wrong about his alleged health problems. No definite word yet as to who will succeed him, though his son Jong Un is rumored to be next in line, conflicting with reports of Chang Sung-taek already being the de-facto leader. Oh, by the way, this man was bat-shit insane. His propaganda machine claimed the most ridiculous things about him: he didn’t poop or pee like real people, he  invented  the hamburger, he pla...

Google 2011 Retrospective Google offers us a video retrospective of 2011, by looking at what the world searched. After watching it, I can say it does have an optimistic, faith-in-humanity hum to it. Enjoy it  here. War In Iraq Officially Over Today marks a very important day for the US war effort in Iraq. Namely, that it’s over! In a symbolic ceremony held in Baghdad, US Secretary Leon Panetta declared the war officially over. This controversial conflict has had a significant number of casualties. The United States sent 1.5 million troops, suffering 4500 casualties of war, and 30 000 wounded. This is in stark contrast with the Iraqi Security forces, that suffered a staggering 16 000 casualties. The exact number of civilian deaths is still to be released, but it’s estimated to be very high. Now, I can’t help but think of the first war in Iraq where there was also a striking disparity in casualties, and what Bill Hicks used to say about “sending over 80 guys to win the w...

I have never seen a kid so excited about all the wrong things in life before. Skip ahead to 0:38 to witness something that I can only describe as anti-Darwinian. This level of excitement, at that age, should be reserved for things that are on the opposite spectrum of, well, Pokemon and the life-altering accomplishment that is...one..shiny..pixelated...gameboy pony? I am in no way a Pokemon hater, nor am I a Pokemon fan. I am simply aware of its existence, and yet I can say without a doubt this kid needs to do something else other than collecting pony sprites. Like watching porn. Or maybe an actual, in-the-flesh, real girlfriend. Some hiking would work too, as well as reading a book. And this is coming from a geek. What do you think? If you like my posts, like, share and subscribe! May the Force be with you .

The offical Google blog ( here ) has announced that you can experience the tsunami-affected areas through Google Street View, in what is an ongoing attempt to digitally archive the disaster. They're making good on their promise after driving for more than 44000 kilometers, and the 360 degree images they've captured are really otherworldly. The damage is overwhelming. Once pristine landscapes and cities are transformed into mountains of rubble, dirt and broken pieces of a better past. The devastating disaster is revealed in all its gritty, brutal reality. If there is one thing you need to draw from these pictures, it must be: do not f**k with mother Nature. Looking at these pictures just reminds me of how puny, weak and insignificant all our so-called civilization and progress are when faced with the primal forces of our pissed-off planet. We do not own this planet. We can't even control it. We manage to poison it, sure, but when that comes back to bite us in the a...

The hunt for the Higgs boson continues : even though scients are closer now to figuring out the exact mass of the elusive particle, its discovery is still far off. Go Science! http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2011/PR25.11E.html Explaining how Carrier IQ Plus works: an in-depth explanation of the scope and capabilities of the IQ Plus mobile system. Recently the FBI has admitted to using Carrier IQ files for "law enforcement purposes". In short, a little known company has a piece of software installed on many, many mobile phones and many mobile networks that can track user locations, keystrokes, encrypted internet traffic etc. This information can be sent back to the network operator or even Carrier IQ's own servers. What is disturbing about this system is the amount of data about the user that can be collected without his/her knowledge or consent. When purchasing a mobile phone, you are not told you may be tracked or your personal internet traffic may...

Mr Takei, I usually do not have many words to say about you. But you- you, are AWESOME. Thank you for reconciling these once-embittered fanboy factions and showing them the TRUE enemy.

Youtuber crysknife007 has spent a lot of time and effort recording, cleaning up and looping the USS Enterprise D warp engine idle sound. Why? Because for us geeks, it's one of the most soothings sounds in the world.

Today's Google logo doodle celebrates inventor and businessman Robert Noyce, nicknamed the "Mayor of Silicon Valley", co-founder of Intel and co-inventor of the integrated circuit, or microchip, the piece of hardware responsible for the PC revolution and the main reason you can surf the internet and read this right now.

As you all probably know by now, there be protests in Russia following severe irregularities with the recent Russian ballot. These protests started out as a response to flawed Russian legislative election process, and these aren't small scale events. Russia hasn't seen mobs this large since the fall of the Soviet Union 22 years ago. Here's what you need to know about the demands of the Russian people: freedom for political prisoners annulment of the election results the resignation of the electoral commission head, Vladimir Churov the opening of an investigation into vote fraud registration of opposition parties and overall new democratic legislature new open, democratic elections Russian protesters in Bolotnaya Square The Russian International News Agency cites more than 1000 reports of electoral irregularities (these include vote fraud, illegal campaigning, obstruction of observers, media bias, ballot stuffing, lack of impartiality in the election commis...

One of my favorite YouTube celebrities doing a short film for Black Box TV. It's hard to take Toby Turner seriously if you know him, though.

If you thought things couldn't get any dumber than planking, think again. You know, the internet never ceases to surprise me with people that come up with brand new ways to do something completely unconstructive, potentially painful, that somehow earns them bragging rights. People, this is stupid. Funny, but stupid. If you're wondering how to settle that paradox, think Jersey Shore. This all magically relates to a recent study suggesting watching stupid TV will actually make you dumber. We could apply the same logic here and get ready for a whole new section at the Special Olympics: Falling! The study is remarkably interesting, even though it just provides justification for something we've already known in our hearts as true. Isn't that right internets? Link below: http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/13/6851542-watching-jersey-shore-might-make-you-dumber-study-suggests What do you think about Falling?

I want to talk to you a little bit about Angela Zhang, possibly the world's coolest teenager at the moment. Angela is a 17 year old girl that won 100k $ for developing a revolutionary nanoparticle that fights cancer. Here are the details: She won the prize money after winning a Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology. Her project is entitled „Design of Image-guided, Photo-thermal Controlled Drug Releasing Multifunctional Nanosystem for the Treatment of Cancer Stem Cells”, a very long for something that has been described as a „swiss army knife” in medical treatment. The particle can be delivered via drugs and the particle kills cancer cells and deposits materials that assist with MRI imaging. And I have to say, that is AWESOME. In the struggle to find new and better ways to fight off this difficult kind of disease, any victory is worthy of applaud; especially one that's the brainchild of a teenager. She say's she started working on the cure in 2009, spending ...