Image By: U.S. Army

Not everyone goes to a NASCAR race expecting to part of the action.

But that’s exactly what happened to fans on Saturday when a crash at the Daytona International Speedway caused debris to fly into the stands. According to CNN multiple specatators were injured, at least two of them critically.

And while everyone’s first reaction is to call for help, their second reaction is to take pictures—or in this case, video.

Footage of the crash quickly popped up on YouTube, but only minutes later it was taken down for copyright reasons.

In the hours after the crash the video has started to show up on other websites, and has even been uploaded to other YouTube accounts. Steve Phelps, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer has since released a statement in an attempt to explain why the original video was blocked:

“The fan video of the wreck on the final lap of today’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race was blocked on YouTube out of respect for those injured in today’s accident. Information on the status of those fans was unclear and the decision was made to err on the side of caution with this very serious incident.”

While some people have accepted NASAR’s reasoning, others are more skeptical. According to @Sportsfeeder1 on Twitter:

“Fan video of crash is removed from youtube because Nascar is claiming copyright violation. If they can’t make money of video, no one can!”

Others have expressed that in the very least, it’s not right for NASCAR to take down firsthand footage of crashes but then show footage from event cameras later.

What do you think? Should the video be taken down out of respect for those injured, or do we have a right to see what can happen at a NASCAR event? Share your thoughts below.

Image By: Charlie Kaijo

Some are calling this Obama’s Biggest Decision of his second term.

Are we talking about the Middle East? Afghanistan? The Economy?

No… it’s the Keystone XL pipeline.

The “What?” you may be asking.

Since it was proposed in 2010, the Keystone pipeline has been a scolding hot topic for environmentalists.  

The proposed pipeline would transport oil from the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada, across the border in Montana and then make it way to ports on the Gulf  Of  Mexico in Texas.  

The Tar Sands have nearly 2 trillion barrels of oil in place and 99% of these exports would be transported to the American Midwest.

Supporters suggest the pipeline will make America energy independent, creating jobs and higher tax revenues. 

This is all very encouraging… but, as always, there’s a down side…

Scientists have been highly concerned with the methods of extraction used to remove the oil from the tar sands as it requires immense amounts of water and energy for this process.

This method releases more greenhouse gases than is usual for fossil fuels and one of its byproducts, petroleum coke, emits more carbon dioxide than coal. 

James Hansen, who heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies as well as being a professor of Environmental Science at Columbia University has called the Keystone Pipeline, “Game over” for the climate.  

It was recently reported that extracting and burning the tar for the pipeline would cause an additional warming of half the warming humans have already caused. 

Though the Obama administration has already approved the southern part of the pipeline, the President must decide in the next month or two if he will approve the section of the pipeline which crosses from Canada into the United States. 

Bill McKibben, who heads environmental organization 350.org organized an enormous protest of the pipeline on the National Mall last weekend. 40,000 protesters came out to ensure President Obama keeps his word about helping to stop climate change.

McKibben has been instrumental in instigating civil disobedience to stop the pipeline. He has been arrested outside the white house numerous times alongside other climate activists. 

Will President Obama keep his promise to, “Respond to the threat of climate change knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.” or will he decide to provide America with a short-term economic gain at the expense of the environment? 

The week the PBS-distributed Nightly Business Report aired a story on international cyber espionage that featured UMBC's Richard Forno, Associate director of the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity. The piece, Washington Trade-Secret Theft Enforcement Weighs on Shareholders, discussed how cyber attacks are being used by foreign companies with the help of their governments to steal trade secrets from US businesses.

Dr. Forno was also interviewed on Tuesday on the PRI's The World radio news show about the Mandiant report that traces a wave of cyber attacks on American targets to a Chinese military unit in Shanghai. Forno's interview segment starts at minute 7:30, after the introduction.