Squares are hip

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Individual civilians and their freedom and liberties are no longer at the top of the pyramid, having been replaced by a self serving political class using government functions and institutions to enlarge, entrench, and enrich itself.

Earmark abuse, favorable campaign finance laws, excessive political function benefits, bonuses and perks (through corporate contributions), bailing out banks, confiscating large amounts of public wealth and income via taxes and inflation, and a general low priority for the needs and desires of a country’s civilians.

Greater numbers

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Corporations have constraints. Supposedly, those constraints would limit most abuses such as low wages, environmental disasters, monopolistic Muhhahahaaa!-I’m-conquering-the-world plots, and such expressions of self interest at the expense of others and contexts. There are exceptions, but overall it works.

The recent information released through Wikileaks and other such sites, seem to indicate these exceptions are the general case.

Cold fusion experiment reproduced? Now what?

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Hypothetically, near-room-temperature reactions in which two smaller nuclei join together to form a single larger nucleus while releasing large amounts of energy are possible. This hypothesis has been (maybe still is) highly controversial.

Reproducibility is one of the main principles of the scientific method, and it refers to the ability of a test or experiment to be accurately reproduced by someone else working independently. Attempts to replicate the Pons and Fleischmann experiment produced conflicting results. Until “now” that is. Italian scientists claim to have demonstrated cold fusion. And patented.

Technology enabling user generated webs

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Things like “Web 1.0“, “Web 2.0” are evolutionary memes. Memes are almost always a “marketing hype”, but they tend to catch on if they capture enough of the zeitgeist.

The Web 2.0 concept moves internet users from a position of passenger to a position of participant.

Notice and take down

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Suppose you lead a small and flat organisation that delivers internet services as middle man. Suppose you lead an ISP. People can take each others place in your organisation. People are quite capable and the organisation is flexible. But overall your company or aggregate uses a variable pattern and now and then you have to put out fires.

Western “knowledge is power” political mindsets desire a grip on the internet, and to regulate the flow of information and knowledge. New regulations appear from the political above as if “live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking dead horse behind” is motto. And each new regulation could potentially ignite some new fire.

Preludes to a relativistic theory of gravitation

In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act ~ George Orwell

The special theory of relativity had its origin in the development of electrodynamics. The mechanical theory of gravitation and the field theory of electrodynamics were based on the same concepts of space and time. The two theories were also fundamentally different and thus did not contradict each other.

Sadly, they were no longer compatible when Maxwell’s theory eliminated action at a distance from the realms of electrodynamics, and the Lorentz transformations ruled out action at a distance from the whole of physics, by depriving time and space of their absolute character.

Newton’s theory of gravitation is co-variant with respect to Galilean transformations, but not with respect to Lorentz transformations.

Energy folds

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Russia cuts off natural gas to Eastern Europe: Russia would enter a deep dispute with Eastern European nations, in particular Ukraine, and cuts off the flow of natural gas. Disputes center on return to the Russian fold from the independent factions encouraged by the Untied States motivated by the many Color Revolutions. Caught in the middle, at the end of the distribution lines, is Central Europe, whose ties forged by Germany to Russia remain healthy and strong. Russia later forges an alliance with Central Europe that results in some stability, as it becomes clear that Russia has come of age as a peacemaker with further ramifications in time. (chance: 50%) – 2010: Giant Gathering Storm Clouds

The US Oil Spill

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I wanted to write an article on the US oil spill, mostly on the dance of BP leaders to avoid account ability and taking response ability after the spill, but these two gentlemen, Clarke & Dawe, from Down Under so aptly convey the core of that, that I feel I have nothing to add.