AUG 06
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Hardwar and Softwar
The ANNALS of The American Academy of Political and Social Science has a ‘special’ Sept issue, entitled :
Confronting the Specter of Nuclear Terrorism.
"The authors devoutly hope for a future when world leaders recognize this grave danger, taking the actions necessary to defeat it," says the editor.
Some sample essays :
• A Mathematical Model of the Risk of Nuclear Terrorism
• Terrorist Nuclear Weapon Construction: How Difficult ?
• Curbing the Demand for Mass Destruction
Most of the journal has been made available free of charge on the www in .pdf form.
As yet Really Magazine hasn’t had time to scour all the essays, but at first glance we didn’t find any mention of the fact that the world’s ‘ non-rogue ‘ states are by far the largest the source for R&D into nuke weapons development.
Between them, they are currently stockpiling enough nuke weapons to obliterate every scrap of life on the face of the Earth several times over.
It's no coincidence that all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) have had nuclear weapons for decades now.
USA, UK, France, China, Russia
Not only that, but four out of the five top the list in terms of global expenditure on arms. ( source : Sipri.org )
Is it any surprise that the fruits of more than 50 years of nuke weapons research – hardware and software - are now beginning to leak out to ‘ undesirable ' regimes ?
And some of the ‘leakage’ has been deliberate.
As an example, see this current news story describing how the US supplied Iran with its first nuke reactor – and also gave the weapons-grade fuel to run it with.
The reactor, which is still running, is a small scale ‘experimental’ affair,
but nonetheless has been used by Iran to perfect the techniques of producing
plutonium.
To paraphrase Mark Thomas :
If you’re not angry, you haven’t been paying attention.
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Also see: this series
of reports by the World Policy Institute into
the global arms trade.
31 AUG 06
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Half-baked in Space.
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs ( UNOOSA) has Frequently Asked Questions (.faq) page for anyone interested in space law.
Since the late 1960s the UN has coordinated five international agreements covering the exploration of space in general, the rescue of astronauts, damage caused by space objects, the registration of space objects and activities on the moon.
The first agreement, which lays out the general terms for reasonably preserving space has now been ratified by 98 countries - including all the countries which presently have the capability to exploit space ( though, oddly perhaps, the European Space Agency (ESA) hasn’t signed ).
Amongst other things it prevents to installation of WMDs in space, and also any harmful contamination of space. Sadly, at least one of these provisions has already been substantially disregarded.
But perhaps more interesting than the lists of countries which have signed up, is the list of those which haven’t – especially when it comes to the ‘ moon agreement ‘ – which only 12 counties have so far ratified.
It’s worth noting that none of the countries which, given the budget, currently have the technical capability to exploit the moon for military or commercial projects have signed.
Uruguay and the Philippines managed to sign up to it, but the US, Russia, and China haven’t - though they’ve had 26 years to get around to it.
Really Magazine wonders if that tells us anything about superpower’s current plans for the moon ?
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Read the agreements in full here
:
Note :
Any signatory country can drop out of the agreements at any time by giving
one year's notice in writing.
Update: 31 Aug
It’s just been announced that :
“ A consortium led by Lockheed Martin will build the next spaceship to take humans to the Moon. “ . . .
Lockheed Martin is the world’s largest ‘ defence
contractor ’.
30 AUG 06
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Link of the day.
29 AUG 06
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Phages against L. monocytogenes
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved what is believed
to be the first commercial use of bacteriophage viruses to prevent bacterial
food contamination – in this case by Listeria monocytogenes.
The viruses ( phages are viruses which attack bacteria ) may soon be sprayed onto ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products.
Phages were discovered early last century, and the USSR pioneered their use as a naturally-occurring method of treating severe bacterial infections in hospitalised humans.
But this new application will be the first time (?) that phages will purposefully ingested by the public at large ( mainly males over 20 ).
If given final approval by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) the phages will be sprayed onto the meat prior to packaging.
According to New Scientist , the tech has already been licensed
to an “ undisclosed
multinational company “.
It will be interesting to see how they handle the package labeling issues . . .
؟ ؟ ؟
Further details, from the FDA, here :
28 AUG 06 ( late edition )
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New rubbish idea.
The BBC is today reporting the emergence of a new concept for the UK’s rubbish industry.
The idea, to be trialed soon in various boroughs, would allow rubbish collection agencies to charge householders and small businesses according to the amount ( i.e. weight ) of rubbish which they throw away.
The users’ bins will be identified by RFID chips.
Here’s a few reasons why the idea doesn’t make much sense.
• The users will be penalised according to the weight of the rubbish they throw away - thus, relatively harmless potato peelings will be charged at a far higher rate than environmentally toxic foamed polystyrene packaging.
• What’s to stop an irresponsible rubbish generator surreptitiously swapping their bin with the nextdoor neighbour – so that the neighbour gets the heavy bill ?
• ID tags can be disabled rather easily - with the aid of a kinetically enhanced large brick.
Etc etc etc.
But Really magazine would like to upturn the idea of RFID’d rubbish tracking, and ask instead what will happen to all the products which have been sold with RFID tags embedded in them ? At some stage, a large proportion of them will presumably make their way to land-fill sites, where they will become a valuable new resource – for a new generation of scientific researchers for which we would like to coin the phrase ‘ Binary Archaeologists ’.
Imagine the possibilities for researchers who will be able to trawl through rubbish-tips and perform data-mining on what they find ? They’ll be able to electronically identify products ( without having to even dig them up ) along with their manufactured dates, geographical origins, and even perhaps cost at point-of-purchase.
RFID chips might therefore be a truly valuable contribution to future sociological
studies of consumerism . . .
You read it here first. (?)
28 AUG 06
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Nuclear waste problem could be (dis)solved ( thanks to Madonna )
A little more on the recent Sunday Times story - “ Madonna’s magical nuclear waste cure “
Yes, that Madonna – together with husband Guy, who, according to the Sunday Times, have been in touch with British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. ( BNFL) regarding their ideas on how to rid the planet of the nuclear waste menace - by the use of Orodyne Solution ™.
Really Magazine has been diligently trying to find out more about Orodyne Solution ™ , but sadly, the manufacturer’s website ( the Oroz Research Centre ) is currently unavailable.
We did determine though that the domain is registered to the same Los Angeles address as the Kabbalah Centre International , but the site seems to have had a fairly short www half-life.
But, as luck would have it, archive.org has
stored some of the old pages . . .
so, we can see that Orodyne Solution ™ is , or at least was :
" a revolutionary radioactive decontamination agent that neutralizes and decontaminates both high and low levels of radioactive waste in natural water bodies, nuclear reactors and other applications. "
( and , again according to the Sunday Times “ can reportedly also treat gynaecological problems in cows and sheep. “ )
If any readers can access further data on Orodyne Solution ™, or the intriguing Lake Glyboke Decontamination Experiment , please can you get in touch, as we’d very much like to publish further details.
؟ ؟ ؟
Notes :
The Kabbalah Centre has other innovative technological innovations, such as ' The Red String '
“ The technology is the Red String: a strand of red wool worn around the left wrist. This technology is an indispensable tool for spiritual and physical protection. “
Perhaps the residents near Chernobyl, Sellafield, Three Mile Island, Vinca, Wood River Junction, Los Alamos, Chalk River, Saclay, Mol, Novosibirsk, Constituyentes, Sarov, Chelyabinsk, Kurtchatov, Parsippany, and Toki-mura ( etc etc etc ) should get hold of some ?
Reader Chet D comments :
" I find that a thick, red, elastic works much better than a sissy string. You see, at the instant I sense the onset of a nearby nuclear event, I simply strech the thick, red, "Wrist Witch" (reg.us.pat.off) to it's molecular limit and let 'er rip. You know, Now that I think about it, maybe string is better. "
26 AUG 06
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Secondary Emotions in the Canidae
Apologies to readers for missing Tuesday’s press release from the University of Portsmouth (UK).
' Jilted dogs feel intense jealousy '
The new research -
“ . . . challenges the long-held scientific belief that only humans and chimpanzees are able to experience secondary emotions such as jealousy, guilt, shame and pride. “
The study systematically investigated evidence from over 1000 domestic animal owners in the UK ( sorry, no details of which animals ) and found :
“ . . . dogs at least demonstrate behaviour that is very like human jealousy. “
Sadly. Really Magazine wasn’t able to find a web-based version of the study, but interested readers will be able to hear a presentation of the findings at the upcoming BA Festival of Science , Norwich, UK , September 7th, at 2pm .
( full
prog here ) ( caution: .pdf )
25 AUG 06
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Brains of ' terrorists '
Baroness Professor Susan Greenfield has been attempting to shed some light on the brains of ' terrorists ' ( from a neuroscience angle ).
In an interview ( .mp3 ) with the Australian Science Media Centre , she’s taken part in their
“ background briefing for journalists on the science behind the terrorist menace. “
The baroness’s briefing covers a wide range of topics - incorporating belief systems, identity, and risk. She refers in particular to what she calls the :
“ Someone, No-one, and Anyone scenarios “
( the Anyone scenario being typified by any fundamentalist movement ) – and gives a detailed explanation in the talk.
Also mentioned :
David and Goliath, Bluto ( from Popeye ) and of course the Oxford Centre for Science of the Mind (OXCSOM) – which she founded in January 2005 with a $2,000,000 grant from the US-based John Templeton Foundation.
OXCSOM have a website which explains their aims, project and approach into Mind, Brain, and Consciousness research :
Graphically summarised by this Diagram :
They are currently trying to pin down neurological processes which may underlie belief systems.
As an example, one approach is to investigate :
“ People in brain scanners being given a small painful stimulus on the back of the hand “.
The people in question being Catholics and atheists , who, during their slightly painful ordeal, are :
" shown pictures of the Virgin Mary versus a similar picture of The Lady in Ermine * "
The scientific question being : Can belief actually alleviate the perception
of pain ?
( results to be published soon )
From her interview, we can surmise that the baroness thinks – or should we say believes – that experiments such as these will eventually help to illuminate the extremely complex question of whether ' terrorists ' may have different brain ‘wiring ‘ and/or neurochemistry to ' non-terrorists ' - or not.
More studies will certainly be needed, and the baroness touches on this at the end of the interview, with a reference to funding requirements for future research.
* Note : Really Magazine has
not been able to determine whether this might refer to Leonardo
Da
Vinci's
- Lady
with an Ermine or El Greco's Lady
in
a Fur Wrap - or perhaps this ,
or
whether it would make a difference to the experimental results.
24 AUG 06
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No happy pills
A joint Canadian / French research project has succeeded in creating what they call ‘ permanently cheerful ‘ mice.
Details are press-released today, describing the experiment whereby mice were bred with a missing gene Kcnk2 ( a.k.a. TREK-1 ) , altering the way that the neurotransmitter Serotonin ( a.k.a. 5-HT ) is utilised in the brain.
“ The results really surprised us; our knock-out mice acted as if they had been treated with antidepressants for at least three weeks."
In other words, the new mice behave more or less as though they are permanently dosed with Fluoxetine ( a.k.a Prozac ™ ) .
Sadly though :
“ . . . molecular alterations that underlie the pathology or treatment of depression are still poorly understood “
or, as Wikipedia puts it :
“ the mechanism of action of fluoxetine is unknown “
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If you think that you might be depressed, Eli Lilly , makers of Prozac ™ provide
this on-line test -
Though Really Magazine fails to understand this
advice from their site – can
anyone explain it for us ?
“ Feeling Better is Not Enough “
23 AUG 06
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Link(s) of the day :
Ladies' nightcaps
A couple of vodka and tonics before going to bed may help you sleep better - but only if you are female and between 22 – 25 years of age.
The research, which upturns previous studies showing alcohol adversely affects sleep patterns, was carried out by the Bradley Hospital Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory.
The researchers are cautious however :
" Whether this sleep pattern is beneficial or harmful is unknown at this point. “
Press release here :
22 AUG 06
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Joining the dots
Turn on any US or UK TV news channel at the moment , and you will be unlikely to get through 10 minutes or so without being reminded that Iran is currently the Establishment’s bête noir.
You’ll hear the same phrases, watch the same interviewees, and see the same film-clips and VNRs again, again, and again.
Cynics have suggested that the public might may currently be undergoing PR preparation for a third round of ' regime change ' in the middle east.
A quick review of the last two countries to have their regimes changed doesn’t bode well for the Iranian people or their government - Afghanistan is in abject turmoil, and Iraq could well descend into civil war ( though it’s noted that the oil infrastructure is still functioning pretty well in both countries. )
Although Iran has one of the largest oil reserves on the planet, and a substantial pipeline network linking into the huge new Caspian oilfileds, it also has a very extensive well-trained loyal military, and certainly has the capability to inflict enormous damage on neighbouring countries.
Attacking Regime changing Iran would be a very different proposition to the previous two efforts.
The consequences of such a war – even if contained - would be catastrophic for the region.
For details, turn to the Oxford Research Group ( a.k.a. ORG ) a trans-national NGO which specialises in
“ non-violent approaches to conflict prevention and conflict resolution; preventing the further spread of nuclear weapons; control of the arms trade; constructive approaches to dealing with international terrorism; and critical analysis of the 'war on terror'. “
They put together a comprehensive breifing paper on the subject of Iran earlier this year.
Iran: Consequences of a war is available here :
Bearing in mind all the conceivable ramifications, and the pros /cons for
all the special-interest groups concerned, is such an attack, which was
more or less unthinkable just a decade ago, now becoming a real possibility
?
Opinions vary, and govt. funded PR agencies would certainly have their work
cut out to convince the public of the likely ‘coalition’ countries.
Especially seeing as gas-at-the-pump prices could easily double, and that
military conscription may have to be introduced.
On the other hand though, to get a feel for any long-term military preparations which would necessarily precede any action, check this map from the ORG : which shows the 22 ( public domain ) US military bases which have now been established in the region – and which are in easy in striking distance of Iran, and surround it on three sides.
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Possible further clues here from Chalmers Johnson professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego.
21 AUG 06
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update :
As yet, no one’s managed to de-crypt the Challenge of the Day ( from Wednesday ) .
Though reader Simeon , from Melbourne, Aus. has a geographical and oddly metaphorical near-miss with his claim that :
“ It looks a bit like Nakhichevan (which is a non-contiguous part of Azerbaijan). The blue marks indicate the nearest Starbucks outlets which were banned in Nakhichevan “
Clue : The real data is to be found via the very extensive Oxford Research Group website . . .
( direct link and background next week )
The map has been identified as Iran by reader Carmelita. And
the dots . . .?
18 AUG 06 (late)
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Stop or I’ll mediate
Some fortunate members of the Brazilian police force are undergoing an unusual new training regime -
zen
They are currently studying under the auspices of zen master Daiju Bitti at the Morro da Vargem Zen Buddhist Monastery in the sate of Espirito Santo, Brasil.
Their studies re-inforce police ethics – teaching respect for others, and the concept of what the monastery calls ‘ enhanced attention span rather than action ‘.
The two day courses, for 50 police personnel at a time, incorporate walks in the forest, relaxation techniques, and ' the ritual of the bath '.
“ Everything at Morro da Vargem is organized to maintain minds concentratedly distracted or distractedly concentrated “
The police force is certainly under intense pressure at the moment - with unprecedented organised crime attacks in Sao Paulo, the ongoing ‘war’ against drug-traffickers in Rio, and a huge workload of parallel investigations into official corruption.
The monastery is open for public visits most Sundays, and runs a variety of other retreats and courses.
Details here on
their very neatly designed, fast, clear, Flash™-free website – maybe
they should do zen HTML courses too ?
18 AUG 06
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Are you sitting comfortably ?
Following on from 'questionable substances' comes news of a new(ish) machine which may help to detect 'questionable behaviour'.
“ The Israeli-developed system combines questions and biometric measurements to determine if a passenger should undergo screening by security officials. “
The manufacturer’s goal is to :
“ catch at least 90% of potential saboteurs - a 10% false-negative rate - while inconveniencing just 4% of innocent travelers. “
within five minutes or so.
The subject sits inside a metallic oval kiosk, and the machine asks questions along the lines of : ' Are you planning to immigrate illegally ? ' or ' Are you smuggling drugs.' whilst simultaneously gauging various biometric responses, e.g. blood pressure, heart rate, and perspiration rate.
The machine(s) will be on test at Knoxville airport, Tennessee , this summer.
They cost in the region of $200,000 each.
see this report in the Wall Street Journal.
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Further reading :
on biometric detection of evildoers, here ( via the National Academy of Sciences )
17 AUG 06 (late)
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Fingered at the airport ?
Have you recently been handling any “ questionable substances “ ?
If so, you might want to bear in mind that "An individual never can be absolutely certain that he or she has completely eliminated all traces of such chemicals from their skin ".
The info comes in a press release from the University of Buffalo's multidisciplinary Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors, (CUBS) .
The CUBS group is proposing that an electronic sensor could be developed to electronically ‘ sniff ‘ the fingers of airline passengers.
To Really Magazine, the question is of course ‘ What substances ‘ ?
For the list of everyday chemicals which, if processed and /or combined with others could become potentially hazardous is simply enormous.
As presumably will be the length of the queues if the idea is ever implemented.
Are airline passengers going to be detained at search checkpoints because they’ve been using nail varnish ? Will guitarists be held because they’ve been handling plectrums ? How about visiting of table-tennis teams ? Or maybe you just filled up your bio-fuel car with ethanol ?
Etc etc etc.
CUBS is currently “ exploring funding opportunities “
17 AUG 06
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Challenge of the day
Can any readers tell us what this might imply ?
• Reader Marco reckons it might be a map of veterinary clinics near the big lake in the film Gates of Heaven (i978).
• Reader Carmelita thinks it could be a land mass with the locations of drilling rigs in the ocean around it.
16 AUG 06 ( late edition )
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Alleged UK airline plot factoid roundup
• Although on the day of the arrests the authorities said that “ an attack is expected imminently “ ( source : BBC ) – none of the suspects had bought air-tickets - and some didn’t even have passports ( source : NBC )
• As a response to the alleged plot, no liquids of any type are allowed through the airport security search point. Except essential medicines. Liquid baby foods are allowed too – but “ the contents of each bottle must be tasted by the accompanying passenger “ , presumably in front of security staff. ( source: The Times )
• Around 20,000 pieces of luggage are, at present, ‘missing’ - a situation presumably less than ideal in during a ‘severe’ security alert. ( source : Guardian )
• Under recently introduced legislation, the UK police can, with judicial
approval, hold the suspects for another 28 days before having to charge them
with any crime. ( source: BBC )
If any are eventually charged and found guilty of attempting to execute an attack on such an “ unprecedented scale ”, then many lives will have been saved. On the other hand, if no-one is proven guilty, then the UK security authorities will have semi-permanently undermined their own credibility on an “ unprecedented scale ” too . . .
In any event, it’s plain from the above that some factors in the story are, to say the least, anomalous, and our readers may find themselves falling into two groups - those who are inclined to believe in the theories of ‘Conspiracy’ . . . or ‘Cockup’.
Really Magazine would like to point out that there is, however,
a third possibility - ‘Conspiracy’ and ‘Cockup’
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Really Magazine – sensitive as always to the un-admirable faux pas of criticising without offering solutions – suggests the following :
• Naturist only flights. As goodwill gesture, perhaps each passenger could be provided with a pre-screened airline dressing gown ?
• All stuffed toys – e.g. children’s teddy bears – must
immediately be banned from flights. We don’t want to go into any practical
details, but interested readers could investigate Jules Verne’s From
the Earth to the Moon (1865) and draw their own conclusions.
16 AUG 06
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Attempting to Trendspot Global Power Policies
It’s probably just a coincidence but . . .
Here’s the results of a UN vote ( 2004 ) on a proposal to negotiate a non-discriminatory, multilateral, internationally verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: United States.
Abstain: Israel, United Kingdom.
also see :
this, now famous, front page.
15 AUG 06
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Tax dollars and the MICC
In the early 1960s, President Eisenhower ( or his speech writers ) came up with the phrase ‘ Military Industrial Complex ’ to warn about the rise of the most gargantuan money-generating machine ever devised by humanity.
The phrase had been changed at the last minute however - it was originally penned as the ‘ Military Industrial Congressional Complex ‘ ( source : interview with Eisenhower’s granddaughter in the film ‘ Why We Fight ’ (2005))
The word ‘ congressional ’ was dropped because it was considered too politically damaging to mention. For congress could, of course, take measures – as Eisenhower advised – to curb the growth of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex.
So more than 40 years later, how much are the members of congress doing ?
As an example, perhaps a clue can be found here in an interview with Frida Berrigan , a Senior Research Associate with the Arms Trade Resource Center at the World Policy Institute.
According to the report, US taxpayers currently deliver $3 billion each year in non-refundable ' ‘military aid ' to Israel.
But, in a normal year, 70% of this cash goes straight back to the US - used to buy arms from US firms.
In other words US taxpayers are ‘ donating ’ around $2.1 billion dollars worth of high-tech weaponry to Israel each year.
If you're happy with the current situation , viz. the size of the donations and the fact that the weapons are currently responsible for killing more children than they are ‘combatants’ - then do nothing.
If you’re not happy, then go here :
14 AUG 06
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Flip-charts at nine o'clock
The entire Really Magazine staff will be out of the office for a while, attending what we like to call a ‘ Strategy Workshop ’
We shall be examining the boundarylessness of our corporate vision within the framework of :
and
we shall then be applying some
( that's including both outside-in [ market-driven strategy ] , and inside-out [ resource driven strategy ] ).
and ending the workshop with a
• Kaminski’s
Venn-based Encapsulated Team Bonding Construct session.
Back next week.
Note : For readers who think they might benefit from some team cementing, you could try here :
( includes jumping from a cliff ledge into the sea,
and learning how to organise a project by assembling a design with pre-cut
planks. )
09 AUG 06
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Suffering from a warm glow in the wallet.
“ The most comprehensive research ever conducted into the link between Australian medical professionals and drug companies “ has just been published ( Sept issue of Internal Medicine Journal )
Researchers spanning four Australian Universities, led by the UNSW , undertook the study, which found that drugs companies are still in the habit of offering sweeteners to doctors who push utilise their products . . .
Up for grabs :
Wine, flowers, computers, microwaves, journals, textbooks, cameras, CDs, tickets to entertainment or sporting events, and even funds for a Christmas party.
Pricerange :
A$50 > A$100,000
These bribes business incentives are on offer despite the existence of government-issued industry ‘guidelines’ – which clearly aren’t providing quite enough ‘guidance’ at present.
The UNSW press-release mentions that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has just published a new code of conduct which -
“ will require pharmaceutical companies to detail the cost and type of expenses they provide to doctors. “
Though, when Really Magazine checked their website, we weren’t able to find it.
Many thanks to reader Mark P who has found some links which may provide clues about the new guidelines. . .
try Here : and
Here :
08 AUG 06
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F- ness unravelled
If you are in Belfast, Northern Ireland between 24- 27th August, you might
be able to catch the European Society for Philosophy and Psychology
Annual Meeting . Eurospp2006
One of the items on the agenda is a discussion on the subject of ‘vagueness’. ( traditionally represented by the letter F, and also known as F - ness )
Although Really Magazine readers may already be familiar with the concepts of ‘ higher-order vagueness ‘ , not everyone is convinced that it even exists.
As Matthew Carmody ( King's College London ) will explain
at the meeting :
“ Since people differ in how they apply F, there will be no sharp limit to the extension of F. Yet we can still see ourselves as fully knowledgeable of what does and does not fall under F, hence avoiding hidden boundaries. “
In short, he believes that there is no such thing as higher-order vagueness,
and that there are no fixed and hidden first-order boundaries either.
details here:
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Further reading :
For a mathematical background on the concepts of vagueness , indefiniteness , boundarylessness , and borderliness sprawling see :
Some
(Constructive) Reflections on (Higher-Order) Vagueness, Borderlineness, and
Definiteness
From the Department of Logic and Metaphysics, University of St Andrews ,
Scotland (2005)
and :
Higher-Order Vagueness and the Vagueness of ‘Vague’
from the Department of Philosophy, Columbia University, New York ( 2003)
07 AUG 06
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Link of the day
• Here: ( recently pinpointed by Rég at the new-look wmmna )
Curcuma longa research
A research group from the Department of Psychological Medicine, National
University of Singapore wondered if eating curry could help to prevent
Alzheimer’s.
To check, they screened just over 1000 ‘ nondemented elderly Asians ‘ using the ‘ Mini Mental State Examination ‘ (MMSE ) ( a commonly used psychological measure of cognitive function - details here )
The team’s hunch proved ( tentatively ) correct – they found :
“ Those who consumed curry ‘occasionally’ and ‘often or very often’ had significantly better MMSE scores than did subjects who ‘never or rarely’ consumed curry. “
The researchers further surmise that a key active ingredient in curry could
well be Turmeric, perhaps taking their cue from an earlier
study ( from the Department of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles )
which showed that Curcumin ( from Turmeric ) inhibits the buildup of amyloid
plaques ( symptomatic in Alzheimer’s ) when fed to
aged Tg2576
mice.
It’s not clear at this stage though ( to Really Magazine )
why the curry conjecture focuses entirely on turmeric – bearing in
mind the other many and various ingredients of a good Singaporean
curry.
More research definitely needed.
؟ ؟ ؟
An abstract of the recently published study is available
here.
04 AUG 06
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Google 'Trends' in China.
Google Labs has just released a version of their ' Trends ' analyser for Chinese speakers.
Really Magazine tested it , and, it seems to work . . . but then we're not inside the Great Firewall of China . . .
03 AUG 06 ( late edition )
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Empathetic painting.
The Uk’s University of Bath has today press-released details of their ongoing ‘ empathetic painting ’ project.
The idea being to construct an adaptive rendering algorithm which can apply ‘painterly’ filters to images - matched, in near real-time, to the viewers's mood.
Techniques for making photos look as though they have been hand crafted are, of course, very well advanced – a copy of Photoshop ships with 40 or more filters which can transform any photo into an ‘artwork’ ( with varying levels of success . . . )
But the new project adapts its filters at 4 frames per second – as a computer gauges the viewer’s expression via a camera and facial-feature tracker.
To
be specific, it classifies the viewer’s percieved emotional state
according to proximity with :
‘ Russell’s 2D pleasure-arousal space vectors ’
shown here : ( click for higher res. )
“ This results in a digital canvas that smoothly varies its colours and style, and provides a novel interactive artistic experience. “
The project’s website presents some examples, so that we can see the artwork entitled ‘ Dragon ’ in three contrasting forms - representing ‘anger’ , ‘despair’ and ‘cheerfulness’.
Thus, the artwork morphs into ‘ Dragon Angry ’ , ‘ Dragon Despair ’ and ' Dragon Jubilant ’ respectively.
Oddly though, the experiment also seems to be an exercise in emotional ‘ positive feedback ’ . . . For the viewer in despair sees a dreary blue-washed ‘canvas’ with heavy, oily, brushstrokes - and the angry person is presented with an ‘angry’ reddish artwork, rather than a calming one.
Shouldn’t things, ummmm . . . be the other way round ? ( except for the ' happy ' viewer of course )
Full research details
here :
( big caution : 20Mb .pdf )
03 AUG 06 ( midday edition )
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' The world has gone mad ' - discuss
It might seem that way* looking at the latest crop of TV / Film comedy emanating from the UK
• First up :
Armando Iannucci’s new BBC TV prog ' Time Trumpet ' ( series starts BBC2 today, 10pm )
• Second up :
Borat Sagdiyev’s new film, ' Cultural Learnings from America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan ' , preview screening at Traverse City Film Festival , Michigan, on Friday and Saturday – and on general release from November.
؟ ؟ ؟
* on the other hand, compared
to reality . . .
03 AUG 06
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Google as a zeitgeist sampler ?
Bearing in mind that it now samples around 24 Billion web pages, can Google be used to as a reliable indicator for public opinion ?
Do search results like these below mean anything ?
Compare and contrast :
02 AUG 06 ( late edition )
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Link of the day
via NewTV
Explaining Emplaning
Scientists from the Department of Computer Science, Ben-Gurion University , Beer-Sheva, Israel, have been applying spacetime physics to examine ways which might help cut down the time it takes to ‘ emplane ‘ ( get on board an aircraft ).
By applying relativistic theory to the problem, researchers were able to show :
“ The blocking partial order among passengers during the boarding process asymptotically coincides with the past-future causal relation induced by the metric on the passengers viewed as events in spacetime via their q, r coordinate representation ”
Now to some of the real-world practical recommendations which the investigations indicate . . .
" If you had several entrances and more aisles,
that would help."
It was also found that it could well be beneficial to :
“ take less carry-on luggage with you “
؟ ؟ ؟
The research is covered in this week’s New Scientist magazine ( subscribers only )
Here’s the full paper :
or, you can read a summary here on Xinhuanet
02 AUG 06
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£10Billion and a nebulous carrot.
Yesterday, in its final (?) report ‘ Managing our Radioactive Waste Safely ‘ the UK Govt. appointed independent committee CoRWM has published its findings.
The UK is currently home to 478,000 cubic metres of medium and high-level nuke waste – which, as Really Magazine likes to point out, includes enough plutonium to build 11,000 or so Nagasaki -sized bombs.
All the waste is currently in ‘temporary storage’ across the UK, and is growing by the year. And, if the UK Govt.’s current penchant to authorise the building of new nuke-power stations is implemented – it’s set to grow a lot more yet.
In previous interim reports, the committee had, wisely in our view, advised against the idea of shooting all the waste into deep-space, or burying it under the polar icecaps.
Their final recommendation is that it should be buried in a £10Billion* concrete bunker cut into solid rock at a depth of 200 – 1000 Metres.
The problem is of course – where . . .
“ There is a growing recognition that it is not ethically acceptable for a society to impose a radioactive waste facility on an unwilling community. “
So, the problem is of course – where . . . and how.
The committee suggests that, in areas which might opt for allowing the bunker to be built -
“ communities should benefit from the process gaining in well-being both now and in the future. “
The benefit coming in the form of what they term a ' Community Package '
Really Magazine has trawled the report to try to determine exactly what a Community Package might be – but has failed.
If anyone can find out what kind of package could reasonably compensate for hosting a bunker full of 478,000 cubic metres of nuke waste which will remain über-dangerous for tens of thousands of years - could you let us know please ?
The full CoRWM report is available here :
( caution : 195 page .pdf )
؟ ؟ ؟
In the meantime, juts a few hundred Kilometers away, Germany is
forging ahead with solar power tech.
In just 8 yeas, they will have built enough photovoltaic solar cells to equal the power generation from all the nuke stations they have. ( source ; BBC Material World 27 July 2006 )
• CO2 ? negligible.
• Pollution ? negligible.
• Running costs ? negligible.
• Maintenance ? low .
• Radioactive waste generation ? zero.
* Editor's Note :
£10Billion for a bunker which will take 35 years to build ? Purleese ! Multilpy that by 10 - 100 for a realistic figure.
01 AUG 06
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