Nexus - 0221 - New Times Magazine-pages

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... GLOBAL NEWS ... NEWS BRAINWAVE CONTROL OF COMPUTERS IS HERE! attention, conduct bank or credit card trans- BRAINWAVE CONTROL OF actions—you name it, you can't do it. It is COMPUTERS IS HERE! reported that the cards are being issued via A US company has announced a brain- Executive Order, which of course bypasses wave-to-computer interface system it Congressional approval. claims can be used for rudimentary com- This new super-smart-card is called a puter control. Tessera card; the prototype was developed The device is called Brainlink and is the by the Defense Department in conjunction brainchild of Colorado Springs-based with the Postal Service, the IRS, the Advanced Neurotechnologies, Inc. (ANI). Treasury Department, and others no doubt. Brainlink utilises a series of sensors The word tessera is Latin, meaning "a attached to a headband worn by the user, piece of mosaic". It is the name given by _ similar to an electroencephalogram (EEG). ancient Roman conquerors to identity chits The system hamesses the brain's ability to they issued to conquered peoples and produce waves ranging in frequency from slaves. 0.5 Hz to 40 Hz. These signals are ampli- This card is intended to be the magic key _ fied and converted to digital form. that opens your files in every government (Source: The Weekend Australian, February agency and database in the country. 26-27, 1994; MacNews, May 1994) (Source: The Spotlight, 13 June 1994) DIICCIA'C AAICCINIG AALINIITIONIC Russia has made a big sale at the top end of the world arms market by selling 18 high-performance MiG-29 fighters to Malaysia for US$450 million. Indonesia, which has already purchased most of East Germany's fleet of landing barges and 39 of its warships, is about to buy four diesel-electric submarines from the Netherlands. (Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 June 1994, Guardian Weekly, 19 June 1994) ee ere produce waves ranging in frequency from PHARMACEUTICAL DRUG: 0.5 Hz to 40 Hz. These signals are ampli- DEATHS fied and converted to digital form. For more than 20 years, the British phar- (Source: The Weekend Australian, February maceutical company Burroughs-Wellcome 26-27, 1994; MacNews, May 1994) (the Wellcome Foundation) and the Swiss giant, Hoffman La Roche, have marketed RUSSIA'S MISSING MUNITIONS what have come to be accepted as the most MYSTERY commercially successful drugs ever sold. Russian forces leaving eastern Germany The two drugs are know by the trade have “lost” 81,000 tonnes of ammunition, names Bactrim and Septrin. Annual world according to inventories compiled by the _ sales are estimated at US$5 billion. These German Amy. drugs contain a sulphur-based element that The discrepancy was noticed as the research has shown to be absolutely unnec- Russians were winding up their withdraw- essary for their effectiveness, while causing al, due to be completed in August. The many serious, often fatal side-effects. missing bullets, grenades and artillery The UK Committee on Safety of rounds would have filled 4,000 railway Medicines is convinced that the sulphur- wagons, and are still at large. based ingredient has caused over 1,000 (Source: The Sunday Times, 27 March '94) deaths in the UK alone, which represents only 10 per cent of global consumption of CODE-WORDS FORBIDDEN the drug. OVER PHONES IN HOLLAND "I think it is one of the biggest scandals In the Netherlands, the use of secret of all time,” said Professor Richard Lacey codes or words during a conversation is of Leeds University. "In all of the hospitals now illegal. where I've been a consultant, we have Phone subscribers who get caught using _ banned it." codes will lose their phone connection for a Meanwhile, the drugs have been passed minimum of three days, plus face a possi- _as ‘safe’ by the FDA. ble four-month prison sentence. (Source: Dr John Coleman's World In (Source: De Volkskrant, 26 March 1994) Review, vol. 2, no. 6, June 1994) THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER The richest 10 per cent of the population are almost twice as well off as they were in the late 1960s, while living standards of the poorest 20 per cent are worse than at the beginning of the 1980s, according to two reports released during June. Meanwhile, Australia's 200 richest citi- zens also increased their wealth by a third last year, with Kerry Packer quoted in The Australian newspaper as amassing “a per- sonal fortune of AUD$5.5 billion". The list, compiled by Business Review Weekly, revealed a $2.5 billion lift in Mr Packer's personal wealth, placing him beside the Murdoch family. (Source: Weekly Telegraph, 8-14 June; The Australian, 20 May 1994) CODE-WORDS FORBIDDEN OVER PHONES IN HOLLAND In the Netherlands, the use of secret codes or words during a conversation is now illegal. Phone subscribers who get caught using codes will lose their phone connection for a minimum of three days, plus face a possi- ble four-month prison sentence. (Source: De Volkskrant, 26 March 1994) DID YOU KNOW...? Australian and British politicians are not alone in feathering their own nests while the rest of us pay for their privileges. While the rest of America was going through a recession, Congress was giving itself even more luxurious offices by spending: * US$375,000 to renovate the House beauty parlour; + $25,000 to study the best location for the House gym; + $2 million to renovate one the House restaurants; + $2.5 million for new Senate office fur- niture; + $8 million for new Senate elevators; + $250,000 to study the best placement of TV lighting in the Senate Committee room; + $25,000 for marble elevator floors to go with their marble offices and fireplaces. (Source: Mouse Monitor, April 1994) NEXUS°7 S/E ASIAN MILITARY BUILD-UP AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1994