Cyberjunk

Congratulations! Oh what fun you are going to have!! We expect to see you even more on the board here as your kept awake all night...

 

Now I am feeling old - the Cybergen has started.

Its the same the 'civilised' world over. I remember a news report where some politician had been caught with his trousers down, followed by the biggest pancake ever made and then a quick report on how 300 Indians had died in a train crash. The media is exceptionally manipulative. Be aware.

How stupid of me! I was out last Friday at the London Astoria watching my next door but one neighbour ()and good chum) and his band 'Kick' do the support role for Magnum a 'has been' (kidding!) prog rock group. I should have mentioned it so that any of you around could have met up with me and the cyberinput. We were on teh guest list too! (free beer!!!). Next time I will put a shout out BEFORE the event!

 

Just spent 2.5 hours getting home on the train on what is normally a 45 min journey so if any wants a fight don't pick one with me right now - you will lose. Badly.

Key concepts:  deep hot biosphere, microbes,

origin of life, extraplanetary life, haze of microbes

in solar system, carbon remediation, Big Mike

the Viridian Bug

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  continues the

long-standing Viridian obsession with single-celled

organisms.

 

Links:

 

The ol' "No Blood for Oil" riff.  She's got the good sense

to stand in front of an Exxon, though.

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18925

 

No blood in the Spanish beach sand, just oil.  Lots.

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18870

 

Baby ate the ubicomp.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/28/28406.html

 

Red-hot ancient yogurt.

http://www.viridiandesign.org/notes/226-250/00226_bug_news.html

 

Big Mike, our beloved Viridian Mascot.

http://www.viridianrepository.com/bigmike/bigmike.htm

 

 

Source: Royal Society

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/12/021204080856.htm

 

 

Date: 12/4/2002

 

"Revolutionary New Theory For Origins Of Life On Earth

 

"A totally new and highly controversial theory on the

origin of life on earth, is set to cause a storm in the

science world and has implications for the existence of

life on other planets. (((Great hook!)))

 

  "Research by Professor William Martin of the University

of Dusseldorf and Dr Michael Russell of the Scottish

Environmental Research Centre in Glasgow, claims that

living systems originated from inorganic incubators ==

small compartments in iron sulphide rocks. The new theory

radically departs from existing perceptions of how life

developed and it will be published in Philosophical

Transactions B, a learned journal produced by the Royal

Society.

 

  (((That paper would be "On the origins of cells: a

hypothesis for the evolutionary transitions from abiotic

geochemistry to chemoautotrophic prokaryotes, and from

prokaryotes to nucleated cells" by Professor William

Martin, Institut fuer Botanik III, University of

Dusseldorf and Dr Michael Russell, Scottish Environmental

Research Centre, Glasgow.  And if these guys live long

enough to see that hypothesis somehow proved, woah, the

Nobel is a shoe-in.)))

 

(((This new hypothesis chimes in remarkably with Thomas

Gold's radical writings on the"Deep Hot Biosphere."  

Gold's notion is that most earthly life is subterranean.

Oil is not a "fossil" fuel but microbe-altered

carbonaceous chondrite material.  And the bacterial

sulphide spew that comes out of hot ocean vents goes down

== it goes WAY down.  Earthquakes, continental drift -==

it's ALL caused by bacteria.)))

 

Links:

Thomas Gold rupturing geological paradigms.

http://www.viridiandesign.org/notes/76-100/00093.html

 

 

   "Since the 1930s the accepted theories for the origins

of cells and therefore the origin of life, claim that

chemical reactions in the earth's most ancient atmosphere

produced the building blocks of life.  In essence == life

first, cells second and the atmosphere playing a role.

 

   "Professor Martin and Dr Russell have long had

problems with the existing hypotheses of cell evolution

and their theory turns traditional views upside down. They

claim that cells came first. The first cells were not

living cells but inorganic ones made of iron sulphide and

were formed not at the earth's surface but in total

darkness at the bottom of the oceans. Life, they say, is a

chemical consequence of convection currents through the

earth's crust and in principle, this could happen on any

wet, rocky planet.

 

  (((Thomas Gold thinks that most rocky planets, Mars and

Venus for instance, have subterranean single-celled life.  

There may be a haze of microbes, entombed in rocks and

asteroids, knocked off the surface of one planet to fly to

others, seeding them.)))

 

   "Dr Russell says: 'As hydrothermal fluid == rich in

compounds such as hydrogen, cyanide, sulphides and carbon

monoxide == emerged from the earth's crust at the ocean

floor, it reacted inside the tiny metal sulphide cavities.

They provided the right microenvironment for chemical

reactions to take place. That kept the building blocks of

life concentrated at the site where they were formed

rather than diffusing away into the ocean. The iron

sulphide cells, we argue, is where life began.'

 

   "One of the implications of Martin and Russell's

theory is that life on our planet, even on other planets

or some large moons in our own solar system, might be much

more likely than previously assumed. (...)

 

(((On Venus, for instance.)))

 

Source: New Scientist press release

Claire Bowles

claire.bowles@rbi.co.uk

44-207-331-2751

 

"Public release date: 25-Sep-2002

 

"Venus may be hiding life

 

  "The acidic clouds of Venus could in fact be hiding

life. Unlikely as it sounds, the presence of microbes

could neatly explain several mysterious observations of

the planet's atmosphere. (((Another great hook.  It's

those British. They still employ real journalists.)))

 

   "Venus is usually written off as a potential haven for

life because of its hellishly hot and acidic surface. But

conditions in the atmosphere at an altitude of around 50

kilometres are relatively hospitable: the temperature is

about 70 C, with a pressure of about 1 atmosphere.

Although the clouds are very acidic, this region also has

the highest concentration of water droplets in the

Venusian atmosphere. (((Yes, fellow yeasts, it's a warm,

damp, balmy haze, here 50 kilometers above the crushing

acidic hell.)))

 

Link:

Earth's sky full of weird weather bugs! Oil

inexhaustible!

http://www.viridiandesign.org/notes/301-350/00314_bug_news.html

 

    "'From an astrobiology point of view, Venus is not

hopeless,' says Dirk Schulze-Makuch from the University of

Texas at El Paso.

 

   "To look for possible signs of life, Schulze-Makuch

and his colleague Louis Irwin looked at existing data on

Venus from the Russian Venera space missions and the US

Pioneer Venus and Magellan probes. They noticed some

peculiar things about the chemical composition of Venus's

atmosphere. Solar radiation and lightning should produce

large quantities of carbon monoxide in the planet's

atmosphere, but instead it is scarce, as if something is

removing it. They also found hydrogen sulphide and sulphur

dioxide. These two gases react with each other, and so are

never normally found together unless something is

producing them.

 

   "Even more mysterious is the presence of carbonyl

sulphide. This gas is so difficult to produce

inorganically that it is sometimes considered an

unambiguous indicator of biological activity.

 

   "'There may be non-biological ways to produce the

hydrogen sulphide or carbonyl sulphide that we don't know

about, but both reactions need catalysts to proceed

efficiently,' says Schulze-Makuch. 'On Earth, the most

efficient catalysts are microbes.' (((Note that

chemosynthetic angle: bugs eating sulfur, underground and

in the sky, on two different planets.)))

 

    "Schulze-Makuch thinks that bugs living in the

Venusian clouds could be combining sulphur dioxide with

carbon monoxide and possibly hydrogen to produce either

hydrogen sulphide or carbonyl sulphide in a metabolism

similar to that of some early Earth bugs. ((("Early Earth

bugs" would read as "universal rock bugs.)))  He suggests

the bugs could be using ultraviolet light from the Sun as

an energy source. If they are absorbing UV, that would

explain the presence of mysterious dark patches on

ultraviolet images of the planet. He presented his theory

at the Second European Workshop on Astrobiology in Graz,

Austria, last week.

 

   "Not everyone is convinced. (((Well, thank goodness.  

Because that has some seriously freaky implications.))) 'I

am reluctant to believe this result,' says Andre' Brack

from the Centre for Molecular Biophysics in Orleans,

France. 'For life, you need a volume of water, not just

tiny droplets.'  (((That's not what the Martin-Russell

hypothesis says.  Oceans, fiddlesticks.)))

 

    "But Schulze-Makuch points out that there is chemical

evidence that Venus was once cooler and had oceans. 'Life

could have started there and retreated to stable niches

once the runaway greenhouse effect began,' he says. (((Or

maybe it just blew in from out of town.  Or == and this is

the good part == maybe the giant nebula from which the Sun

formed 4.5 billion years ago was already saturated with

*galactic* microbes.  Brrrrr!))))

 

   "But we may have to wait several years for any firm

answers. The European Space Agency's Venus Express

mission, which will investigate the planet's atmosphere,

is due for launch in 2005. Meanwhile the Swedish Space

Agency is looking for international partners to develop

their idea for a mission to return a sample of the

atmosphere from Venus around the turn of the decade."

(((Or, y'know, we could just drill real deep.  And pay

more attention to the microbial life in our *own*

clouds.)))

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

A NEW ORIGIN OF LIFE

FOR THE NEW 1930S

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

Key concepts: intellectual property, planned obsolescence,

DVDs, Viridian Embrace Decay Principle

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  It's really a "Dead Media

Project" note disguised as a Viridian Note.

 

Links: Dead Media Project, now dead, but lying there

almost perfectly preserved as "new media" die off in

droves.  Go ahead, take all the dead media you like!  

Maybe you'd like to run the project!

http://www.deadmedia.org/notes/index-numeric.html

 

Communication Arts magazine 9th Interactive Design

Competition.

http://www.commarts.com/CA/magazine/comp/

 

Wacky retro-tech casemods. Rush against the tide

of obsolescence by making your computer resemble

your Mom's toaster.

http://www.retrosystem.com/

http://www.mini-itx.com/projects.asp

 

Weird old TV sets, all teched-up.

http://www.predicta.com/

 

Rebuild an Apple I.

http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,56426,00.html

 

Ludicrous tattooing robot.  Nice graphic, though.

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_718442.html

 

 

Source: Ron Harris, Associated Press

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news....002.htm

 

Now you see it, now you don't!

By Ron Harris / Associated Press

Sunday, December 1, 2002

 

 

  "SAN FRANCISCO == On a dismal, rainy day after watching

Mel Gibson battle the English in 'Braveheart,' wouldn't it

be nice to simply throw away the DVD instead of slogging

the rental back to Blockbuster?  (((I'd bet good money Ron

Harris didn't write this blockheaded lede paragraph.)))

 

   "Technology that makes DVDs self-destruct in a few

hours or days has already been developed, raising the

prospect of a world without late fees.

 

   "In one recent promotion, Atlantic Records made a

limited run of DVDs containing footage of the hip-hop

group Nappy Roots that was viewable only for a few hours

before the disc 'expired.'  (((Has the *group* expired

yet?  Must we wait long?)))

 

   "MGM Studios used self-destructing DVDs with music

videos and trailers to promote the new James Bond movie,

'Die Another Day.' Movie critics were told the DVD would

self-destruct in 36 hours == a nod to 007's gadget-

providing character Q.  (((I can imagine some serious

alternative uses for auto-decaying storage media. For

instance, pirates would find them very handy for

destroying legal evidence against themselves.)))

 

   "And self-expiring discs also showed up at MTV's

recent Latin American awards show in Miami.  ((("Los

desaparecidos.")))

 

   "But to reach consumers more broadly, any promising

technology needs to make sound business sense.  (((Dream

on, pal == I'm on the Internet!))) In an entertainment

industry where profits depend in part on multiple rentals

and late fees, disposable discs represent a disruptive

technology, and none of the big players have endorsed it

publicly.  (((The late-fee scam is a particularly

ingenious way to profit off human fallibility.)))

 

   "New York-based Flexplay, which ensured the timely

deaths of these promotional DVDs, has yet to produce any

full-length movies with the technology, in which chemical

changes eventually render discs unusable."

 

Link: The Flexplay FAQ

http://www.flexplay.com/faq.html

(((Good for them:  "Flexplay encourages all users to

recycle their Flexplay DVDs. Flexplay is working with

several organizations to establish post-consumer DVD

recycling practices.")))

 

    "Providence, R.I.-based SpectraDisc developed similar

technology and has courted most of the major studios, but

none has been willing to sign a production deal."

 

Link:

Spectra is also into some hairy ubicomp tagging stuff.

http://www.spectra-science.com/marking_tracking.html

http://www.spectra-science.com/document_processing.html

 

   "'The decision process has been in stall mode now for

at least a year and a half,' said SpectraDisc chief

executive Nabil Lawandy. 'It's all in the hands of the

content providers. They have the leverage along with

distribution.'  (((Boy, no wonder the tech is in "stall

mode." Why, during the Dark Ages, the whole of Western

Civilization was in "stall mode.")))

 

   "Flexplay's chief executive, Alan Blaustein, agrees

the science is ready to go, even if Hollywood is not."  

(((Well, that ought to solve Bill Joy's problems about

"relinquishing technology" == just make Hollywood our

technology czar across the board.)))

Link:

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html

 

   "Another reason major studios could be wary is that

Flexplay and SpectraDisc may not have resolved potential

intellectual-property issues surrounding their patented

technologies.  (((Has anybody anywhere ever really

"resolved" their "intellectual property issues"?  I mean,

without being totally dead and utterly forgotten?)))

 

   "Both Flexplay and SpectraDisc add a chemical time-

bomb to DVDs that begins ticking once the package is open

and the discs are exposed to air.  (((I have to like this,

somehow. Think of all the consumer items that would

improve with "chemical time bombs" that rendered them

inoperative.  Land mines, stale pharmaceuticals, political

campaign posters....)))

 

  "SpectraDisc applies an outer chemical layer to the

disc that begins evaporating and changing in color as the

expiration time nears. Flexplay integrates its chemicals

into the inner layers of the disc.  (((Aestheticize the

rotting process.)))

 

  "SpectraDisc DVDs turn blue. Flexplay discs also turn

darker, becoming so opaque that the laser inside a DVD

player no longer can read the disc.  (((Burn a cool skull

and crossbones into them as they rot.)))

 

  "The technology can also work on music CDs and software

CD-ROMs, according to SpectraDisc, but movies are the

target, since consumers generally buy music and software

to keep.  (((Sez who?  The music business thrives by

selling the same music over and over in more "advanced"

media, forcing people to junk vinyl records, tape

cassettes, wire recording, wax cylinders, etc etc.  Why

not rationalize this process and force people to pay for

all their music once a year?)))

 

   "At Netflix, the online movie-rental service, self-

destructing DVDs would be a natural fit == customers won't

have to mail back discs after watching them. Founder and

CEO Reed Hastings said Netflix will use whatever DVDs

Hollywood decides to produce == but he doesn't see these

among them.

 

Link:  Netflix.  Man, that's a lot of disks.

http://www.netflix.com/AllGenres

Woah, Bollywood movies!

http://www.netflix.com/SubGenre?sgid=342&pgid=326

 

  "'A cool technology doesn't amount to a hill of beans

unless the studios decide to support it,' Hastings said.

(((It may not amount to a hill of beans even then == see

the miserable failure of DivX.)))

Link:

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1106-961484.html

 

 

   "None of the major moviemakers contacted by The

Associated Press == Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Vivendi

Universal, MGM and The Walt Disney Co. == would comment on

plans to make self-destructing movies.  (((I promise you

one thing:  if Disney made them, they would never, ever

call them "self-destructing movies.")))

 

   "If such technology were to reach the market, it could

force movie-rental houses to rethink their pricing.

Blockbuster collects 15 percent to 20 percent of its

revenue through late fees, said Ryan Jones, an analyst for

The Yankee Group.  (((I wonder how much they make from

users who *die* with Blockbuster property in their

possession.)))

 

   "Nonetheless, Blockbuster says it'll bite if consumers

demand them == even if it means no more late fees.

 

   "'Our goal isn't to make money through extended

viewing fees,' said Karen Raskopf, a Blockbuster

spokeswoman. 'Our goal is to satisfy customers with the

movies they want in the format they want.'  (((Oh for

shame Karen.  Oh what a lie.)))

 

Link:

Karen calls off the Blockbuster deal with Enron.

Yes, Enron.

http://www.broadbandweek.com/news/010319/010319_news_block.htm

 

    "Raskopf said late fees were necessary when movies

came only on video tape because they were expensive to

buy. DVDs are cheaper for Blockbuster, so the company can

consider disposables, she said.  ((Besides, rental DVDS

scratch up and get grimy so fast that they really bite as

rental objects.)))

 

   "While self-destructing DVDs would give content

providers more control over distribution, it still

wouldn't prevent illegal copying.

 

   "'It only takes a half an hour to rip a DVD,' Jones

said.  (((The horror, the horror.  It took me longer than

that just to write this Viridian Note.  And most of it was

written by Ron Harris! Sorry Ron, but we call that "fair

use" in the print biz. Besides, Viridian Notes vaporize

right off people's screens in a matter of instants.)))

 

   "The entertainment industry already has found other

ways to limit distribution.  (((It's getting good here.

This is real tech decadence.  Imagine explaining this to

Vannevar Bush in 1945.)))

 

   "Recording labels commonly send music critics

promotional material laden with low-tech copy protection.

For example, tapes of new songs are sometimes sent in

portable players glued shut to prevent copying.'

 

Link: Yep, they glue 'em.  They glue the headphones

in, too.

http://www.zeropaid.com/news/articles/auto/09162002b.php

 

  "Self-destructing DVDs would create considerable waste.

A study conducted for Flexplay by environmental policy

expert Jonathan Koomey found that if disposable DVDs made

up 10 percent of all U.S. video rentals, an additional 350

million DVDs would be discarded, creating 5,600 metric

tons of solid waste annually. The environmental impact

would be mitigated somewhat by fewer cars making return

trips to rental stores, Koomey suggested.  (((Make 'em out

of something that vaporizes entirely.)))

 

  "SpectraDisc's self-destructing DVDs can be reused if a

new coat of the play-limiting chemicals is reapplied,

Lawandy said. Flexplay's discs can only be broken down and

recycled as plastic waste."

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

IT WAS A MOVIE

NOW IT'S

PLASTIC WASTE

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

If you can endure looking at my avatar for 20 seconds or so you will get a little suprise! BTW its a Gooed image of me.

Key concepts: renewable energy, energy gluts,

Greenhouse effect on hydroelectricity, British

overcapacity, power markets

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  Of particular

interest to green energy wonks.

 

Glamorous pics of tourist-friendly Spain submerged

in tanker oil.  You can click on these and get big

desktop versions.

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18763

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18738

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18765

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18715

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18716

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18717

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18691

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18642

 

"Oil Kills."  In too many ways to count, really.

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/18772/story.htm

http://www.planetark.org/dailyne....25-Nov-

2002/story.htm

 

(((Some rather counterintuitive news stories here.  The

more I learn about the energy business, the more eccentric

it becomes.  Also sordid, crooked, dirty and increasingly

violent!  The energy biz is as resistant to sensible

reform as prostitution, drugs and human trafficking.  In

fact it's harder and harder to tell them apart.)))

 

(((Britain has *too much* wind energy.  It's hurting the

energy business.)))

 

Source:  Reuters, Margaret Orgill

 

http://www.planetark.org/dailyne....ory.htm

 

"Wind farms may make UK overcapacity worse == Ofgem

 

UK: November 25, 2002

 

"LONDON == Britain's push to to build new wind farms could

exacerbate current problems of overcapacity in the

electricity industry, energy regulator Callum McCarthy

said.

 

   "The crisis in the sector, triggered by low power

prices, sent TXU Europe == once one of the UK's main

electricity suppliers == into administration on Tuesday

and has left nuclear generator British Energy on the verge

of bankruptcy.

 

  "'The outlook is for the capacity surplus to grow as

more wind and CHP (combined heat and power) plant is

connected in response to the government's incentives for

renewable energy sources,' McCarthy, chief executive of

Ofgem told a Standard and Poor's seminar on the power

industry this week.

 

  "Ofgem's calculations show that if the government's

targets to expand renewable energy are met and all

existing power stations run to the end of their projected

lives, then the surplus capacity would grow to around 60

percent in 2010.  (((They can use it to build dikes and

repair flood-shattered cities.)))

 

   "'That is a simplistic calculation, which I doubt many

would expect to happen in reality. But the probability of

continuing spare capacity is one that seems very high,'

said McCarthy.

 

   "A rush to build new power stations in the 1990s when

electricity prices were much higher, has left Britain's

generators struggling with a capacity surplus of 25

percent of peak demand compared with a more usual level of

15 percent.  (((Oh, I'm sure if Enron were still around,

they could engineer some blackouts for you.)))

 

   "Now companies are gearing up to build dozens of wind

farms, encouraged by the government which has a target of

boosting renewables to 10 percent of the UK's electricity

supplies by 2010 from three percent of presently.

 

   "The government is to publish its white paper on

energy policy early next year which is expected to

underline the need to encourage renewables as part of its

stategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

 

"PLANTS MOTHBALLED, LITTLE EFFECT ON PRICES

 

   "Cash-strapped generators have mothballed traditional

power stations with two gigawatts of capacity but this has

made little difference to prices levels.

 

   "UK electricity prices have fallen 40 percent over the

last four years in the build-up to and after the launch of

a more competitive trading market last year.

 

   "According to Standard & Poor's, it could take up to a

decade for prices to start rising as it will be years

before older power stations are closed down and demand is

growing slowly at between one and two percent a year.

(...)"

 

**********************************************

 

(((US renewable energy plunges as Greenhouse Effect alters

rain patterns, destroying hydroelectric power.)))

 

Source: Reuters, Tom Doggett

 

http://www.planetark.org/dailyne....ory.htm

 

"US renewable energy use falls to 12-year low

USA: November 25, 2002

 

"WASHINGTON == U.S. consumption of energy produced by

solar, wind and other renewable sources last year hit its

lowest level in 12 years, supporting the Bush

administration's claims that America can't rely on such

sources for a big chunk of its energy supplies for a long

time. (((Uh, sort of.)))

 

   "Renewable use fell 12 percent as its share of U.S.

energy consumption dropped to 6 percent, mainly because of

a 23 percent decline in hydropower, according to a new

report from the Energy Information Administration.

 

   "Hydropower was down due to a steep drop in snowpack

levels and rainfall in the West.

 

   "'Consumption of all principal renewable energy

resources decreased in 2001, except for wind,' said the

Energy Department's independent analytical arm.

 

   "Environmentalists have criticized the Bush

administration for not doing enough to promote renewable

energy sources in the White House's national energy plan.  

(((Grafitti is sprouting in my Austin neighborhood,

reading "WAR = OIL."  I didn't put it there.  Must be

pixies.)))

 

    "While the administration encouraged more renewable

energy production in its plan, it said the United States

realistically will have to depend on traditional sources

like oil and natural gas to fill most of its energy needs

for the foreseeable future. (...) (((And since fossil

fuels ruin hydropower, we need fossil fuels even more!  To

pump water into the drought-stricken Western US, for

instance!)))

 

  "Oil accounted for 39 percent of U.S. energy use last

year, while natural gas represented 24 percent, coal 23

percent and nuclear power 8 percent, EIA said.  (((Since

nuclear power has big water-cooling problems, it is also

remarkably vulnerable to Greenhouse flooding and

droughts.)))

 

  "For renewable energy use, biomass (ethanol, wood

waste, garbage and landfill gas) had the largest share at

50 percent, followed by hydropower at 42 percent and

geothermal at 6 percent. Wind and solar each accounted for

1 percent of total renewable energy consumption. (...)  

(((Yes, but wind and solar are the green-energy white

hopes.  Pretty much everything dammable is already dammed,

and there is intense NIMBY resistance to more of them.

Until really unstable climate hits, that is, in which case

dams and levees will be the order of the day in every

nation that can still pour concrete.)))

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

WELL, IT'S GETTING ABOUT TIME

TO STRING THE OL' CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

Key concepts: ubicomp, physical computing, NASA,

West Nile Virus, Pluto, Exxon tattoos, weblogging,

etc etc

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  Pope-Emperor

empties the vats.  These data morsels bear almost

no relation to one another. A great way to waste

time websurfing, though.  Heaven knows I did.

 

Links:

 

Pope-Emperor ranting about ubicomp at a Core77 event.

http://www.core77.com/offsite/brucesterling.html

 

Core77 is getting very into "physical computing" lately.

 

Smart Environments - By Lisa Sundbeck

http://www.core77.com/reactor/spaderdam.html

 

The Zoology of Physical Computing - by Joey Stein

http://www.core77.com/reactor/stein_physicalcomp.html

 

Designing Systems for Human Interaction,

Not Human-Computer Interaction == by Camille Utterback

http://www.core77.com/reactor/utterback.html

 

Swell Metropolis piece on office design.

http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_1102/wrk/

 

Exxon inscribed into one's flesh.  Nothing much compared

to what their evil exhalations do to your lungs, though.

http://www.aeroplastics.net/buetti/1_gf/buetti_gf_04.html

 

Forbes magazine goes nuts over ubicomp.  Then again,

Forbes is owned by Steve Forbes, who is bonkers.

http://www.forbes.com/global/2002/1028/076_print.html

 

All-Seeing Ubicomp Eye in the Sky Dept.:

 

NASA Researches Developing Tools To Help Track and Predict

West Nile Virus

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/20020828phap.html

 

"NASA researchers are conducting Earth Science research

that may one day allow public health officials to better

track and predict the spread of West Nile Virus. NASA's

goal is to provide people on the front lines of public

health with innovative technologies."  ((("So, the more

global warming, the more tropical diseases I have to

fight."  "No no, doctor, you don't get it == we're NASA,

we want to *launch you some satellites.*")))

 

Mosquito satellites!

"The four species represented here have tested positive

for West Nile Virus in each of the past four years. They

are: Culex salinarius, Culex pipiens, Culex restuans, and

Aedes vexans."

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/earth/pictures/20020828phap/vexans.jpg

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/earth/pictures/20020828phap/pippens.jpg

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/earth/pictures/20020828phap/restuans.jpg

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc....ius.jpg

 

 

NASA to Develop Biohazard 'Smoke' Detector

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/2002/release_2002_195.cfm

 

"Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,

Pasadena, Calif., have demonstrated a prototype device

that automatically and continuously monitors the air for

the presence of bacterial spores. The result is a novel

alarm capability reminiscent of smoke detectors."  

(((Imagine actually seeing the bacteria in your air.  Or

in your gut.  Or on your skin.)))

 

(((Here's the gizmo in question.  Needs massive

redesign:)))

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/technology/sporedetector_340_226.jpg

 

 

Pluto Is Undergoing Global Warming

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/2002/pluto.html

"Pluto is undergoing global warming, as evidenced by a

three-fold increase in the planet's atmospheric pressure

during the past 14 years. The warming trend may be a

completely normal 'seasonality' (Pluto's year is 250 Earth

years), but this is the first time we have had the

technology to observe it."

 

http://www.lbl.gov/Science....ll.html

While researching LEDs, lab guys in Berkeley accidentally

invent a better solar cell.

 

http://www.solarcat.com/sfsolar/main.htm

Foggy San Francisco is now the world capital of solar

power as an act of political resentment.

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

STILL HUNGRY?

TRY WWW.INFINITEMATRIX.NET

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

Key concepts: Doors of Perception conference,

ubiquitous computation, Punish.Net, Military Ubicomp,

Aleksander Solzhenitsyn, worst-case scenarios

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  Papal-Imperial speech

delivered in Amsterdam.

 

Links:

The gig.  It rocked.

http://flow.doorsofperception.com

Viridian Design, for you newbies.

http://www.viridiandesign.org

 

Doors of Perception

RAI Conference Center, Amsterdam

November 2002

 

"Two Days in the Life of Ivan Ubiquovich"

 

by Bruce Sterling

 

 

   Ladies and gentlemen, times like these call out for

heartfelt acts of gratitude and human solidarity.  I want

to offer a personal confession this morning.  I have never

been so happy to be here in Amsterdam.

 

    Maybe it's a little naive of me, maybe it sounds

strange, but Euro-cyberculture, the digital-avantgarde,

the Doors Crowd as it were...  Well, you people have

finally become a tribal global village for me.

 

    Oh yes, I know our scene here at Doors of Perception

is still a little frazzled.  Economically suspect.

Overwrought.  Always still in beta.  Way ahead of the

curve, part of the bleeding edge, with hot, sizzling,

uninsulated wires sticking out of it at dangerous angles,  

but I accept all that.  I'm a grownup, I can forgive you.  

I always liked this gig, but this year, I truly love it in

here.  You good, sweet, civilized people.  You delightful

souls, you.

 

   I certainly wish I could say the same for  the world

OUTSIDE the Doors of Perception.  No such luck though.  

Not this season.  Outside our delightful  "space of

flows," the world is in cultural deceleration mode, where

the videocams of secret agencies are always standing by,

where every civilian aircraft is a pogrom in the making.  

That quiet hum of Predator aircraft.  That crackle of

small arms fire.

 

   A few days ago I was in Florence, in Fiorenza, at the

European Social Forum, with about a million antiwar

campaigners in a march 7 kilometers long.  Banners up

everywhere, Communists, anarchists, greens, Catholic

peaceniks, street puppets, sound trucks....  And they

weren't walking under those big banners, either.  These

protesters were almost jogging, in some kind of mad dash,

as if they thought that History was standing by, dressed

in black robes, with a scythe and a stopwatch.

 

    That's why I have chosen to create a rather special

little morning presentation here at Doors Flows.  It's

about the theme of ubiquitous computation and the flows of

data.  In following the Viridian principle of "Look at the

Underside First," I have chosen to dramatize some of the

darker, spookier aspects of this ubicomp phenomenon.   My

model text is  a work with surprising resonance for the

year 2002: Alexander Solzhenitsyn's very personal novel of

Soviet prison life,  "One Day in the Life of Ivan

Denisovich."

 

    I didn't choose this text  of Solzhenitsyn's just

because I spent a day in the streets of Florence with

about a zillion Communists.  No, what really interests me

about Ivan's story is the design angle.  Ivan Denisovich

Shukhov is  a "zek," a convict, in a Stalinist prison

camp.  He's one of millions of such prisoners.  Ivan is an

ex-soldier, a World War II veteran, who is doing a ten-

year prison sentence for nothing in particular.

 

    Ivan Denisovich  is not an industrial designer, but

he has a remarkably intense relationship to material

objects.   Basically, that's because Ivan doesn't have

any.  Yet Ivan must get some flow of food and warmth and

energy through his body, in order to survive, and so he

does this.   Ivan is almost starving, so Ivan steals bowls

of soup.  Ivan is almost freezing, so Ivan steals rolls of

felt, for insulation.  Most of the rest of the time, Ivan

is either hauling concrete blocks in the snow, or being

counted.  The gulag authorities are always, always

computing the prisoners inside the camp.  Everything is

rationed in a gulag camp.  It's a very intensive

computational process.

 

    Our Ivan has the common, unromantic name Ivan,

because he's a Soviet Stalinist version of Joe Sixpack,

the classic American everyday consumer.  Ivan Denisovich

is a regular guy.   He's not a saint or a hero or a

martyr.  There's nothing unique about him. Ivan is just

methodically doing the everyday things that are necessary

to get by in his extraordinary, monstrous milieu.  

Solzhenitsyn's novel scarcely even has a plot.  It centers

on two things:  intense attention to physical detail, and

the  passage of time.

 

    Therefore I present to you: two days in the daily

life of Ivan Ubiquovich.

 

Scenario Number One:  Punish.Net

 

    Ivan Ubiquovich is a prisoner.  He's been doing time,

as prisoners must.   He tries to keep fed, to keep in

shape, and to keep his nose clean.  Ivan is a young man.  

He tries to avoid the attention of the authorities, who

are fascists, and the prison gangs, who are terrorists.  

Ivan's plan is to avoid despair and someday achieve a real

life again.

 

    After an endless grind of weary days in the

underbelly of society, Ivan meets his parole officer in a

small gray plastic room lined with radio tracking units.

 

    "So, Ivan Ubiquovich, congratulations on surviving

two years under the security regime here at Punish.Net.  

Have a federally subsidized tobacco cigarette."

 

    Ivan lights his cigarette with an ID-tagged,

globally-positioned, wi-fi desk lighter.

 

    "Ivan, I hope you've learned your lesson about

smoking that terrorist-subsidized Zapatista marijuana."

 

    "Mr. Parole Officer sir, as I told the martial law

court, I never actually inhaled that marijuana.  I was

just standing next to a Dutch guy.  That was my big

mistake."

 

    "Ivan,  the Comprehensive Homeland Security Act made

it a federal crime  to possess even airborne molecules of

marijuana.  Our air-sampling drug detection chips can

sniff out marijuana fumes, coast to coast.    So we're

finally rooting out narcoterrorism where it lives: where

the American people themselves really enjoy it.  Another

cigarette?"

 

    "No thanks, sir.  I've got that blood test to pass."

 

    "Ivan, a young man like you should be serving the

cause of freedom, not rotting here in the American digital

prison system along with nine million others.   I think I

could arrange a parole for you  == if you join today's

hard-hitting ubicomp Army.  Think about that, Ivan.   I'm

giving you a chance to remove those 24 hour ankle

bracelets.  To build a new life.  You could  learn a trade

in modern electronics."

 

    Ivan examines his own hands.  They are rough with

harsh outdoor labor, stacking sandbags and  digging levees

for the climate change from fossil fuel abuse.  Thanks to

ubicomp, no one needs mere chain gangs any more.  Because

the chains are all digital now, and they work even better

than cast iron.  "How about those motion detector rings,

sir? It would be a real privilege to wave my own hands in

time and space without every tiny motion being instantly

tagged, logged and registered."

 

    Ivan has got some so-called private areas that he is

really eager to scratch.  The parole officer presents a

brown paper package holding Ivan's clothes from before his

arrest: his old running shoes, his wallet,  his shirt, his

nylon cargo pants and his Palestinian solidarity

neckerchief.  "Ivan, let's be realistic here.  If the Army

gives you an honorable discharge, THEN maybe we remove the

monitors.    We haven't forgotten those unfortunate

discipline incidents when we detected your smuggled comic

book and that chewing gum."

 

   Ivan weighs his chances of survival.  "I'm ready to

join up, sir! I've really learned my lesson!"

 

 

Scenario  Two:  Military Ubicomp.  

 

     Ivan Ubiquovich is shivering in a electronic

foxhole.  He is eating a console programmer's Meal Ready

to Eat, which consists of freeze-dried golden-grain

spaghetti with genetically altered meatballs.   Ivan's

platoon is engaged in an  endless search-and-destroy

mission across the barren mountains of Central Asia.

 

     Every time Ivan's platoon stops to camp, they call

in a remotely targeted cruise missile.  Then they line the

resulting crater with Central Asian handmade wool rugs

they bought from local collaborators.  They then have a  

snug dugout, and they hide inside of it.  Then they set up

their ubiquitous computation monitors.  They use sideways-

looking radars, infrared telescopes, nano-seismographs and

a scattering of smart-dust human presence sensors.  They

can inspect the landscape for kilometers around. If they

detect anything suspicious, they call in air strikes.

 

    Ivan gets some urgent email from an ambitious general

in Florida.  This general is trying to determine the

broad-scale strategic flow of the enemy forces, which is

impossible, because the enemy doesn't have any strategic

plans.  The enemy are fanatical, chauvinistic Luddites who

are  a few tottering steps away from cannibalism.

 

    Ivan hooks up his targeting screens to the general's

strategic dashboard.  Luckily Ivan's platoon lieutenant is

a very sensible guy.  The lieutenant hacked the platoon's

screens so that they feed false data. Ivan's platoon shows

only reassuring lies to the superior officers in distant,

cozy Florida.  Because otherwise, the platoon would have

to climb out of the warm, safe foxhole, strap on their

fifty kilos each of satellite-linked weapons, rations and

equipment, and climb up steep rocky slopes, to suspicious,

cave-riddled areas, to seek out the local terrorists.  

Despite the colossal technical advantages of Ivan's army,

soldiers have been known to get killed that way.

 

    Inside their thoroughly digitized hole in the ground,

however, life is not so bad, considering.   "So,

Lieutenant, how about another game of Tetris?  The old

games are the good ones, sir!  I just installed Super

Mario here on my GI palmtop!"

 

    Ivan's lieutenant is looking very blue.  His wife

back in stateside has run off with a Nokia salesman and

sent him a Dear John text message.   "You know what, Ivan?  

There are some pretty damn serious personal drawbacks to

all this comprehensive battlespace awareness."

 

     Ivan is very patient with his superior's gripes.  

These include dust, stench, rats, frostbite, fleas, the

lack of hot food and the fact that they are hundreds of

kilometers from any women or beer.

 

     Ivan's lieutenant is a military lifer.  So he's a

nostalgist.  "Private Ivan, back in the bad old days

before this infinite war on terror, they used to have

actual wars with actual battlefields!"

 

    "That sounds fantastic, sir."

 

    "In real wars, they used to send a million guys to

kill a million guys, and a hundred thousand of them would

die.  Nowadays they send ten high-tech guys to kill a

thousand no-tech guys. Only one  high-tech guy gets

killed. It's hard to get an accurate count on the enemy

dead because they are basically pulverized."

 

   There is a warning beep.  Ivan Ubiquovich examines his

targeting screen.  It's an attractive amber color and

offers a nice light in their insulated foxhole. Ivan

switches to overhead satellite view.  He tries unmanned

aircraft video surveillance.  Then he examines the

scattering of tread detectors and the body scent

detectors.  But there is just no getting away from the

fact.  The target is a pretty girl.

 

   "Female suicide bomber at eleven o'clock, sir. She is

165 centimeters tall and to judge by our gait detection

algorithms,  she is carrying an extra ten kilos somewhere

in the midriff area.  And boy, this thermal emission is

showing quite a set of curves under that burqa."

 

    The lieutenant looks regretfully into his remote-

relay anti-personnel telescope.  "Okay, it's standard

procedure, then.  We crisp her with the hundred-megawatt

AirBorne Laser.  She's hit from the sky like the Finger of

God and turns into a column of fine white ash. Then

there's this violent secondary explosion because she's

already chock full of dynamite."

 

    Ivan offers a troubled response.  "You know, sir,

this isn't in our manual, but I happen to know personally

that sometimes mistakes are made with these ubicomp

systems.  That pretty young girl is probably alone, lost,

freezing and starving.  I'm going out there to throw a

package of food at her."

 

    "I don't think she'll be grateful for long, Ivan.  

After all, consider the geopolitical situation."

 

   "That remains to be seen, sir."  Ivan prepares to

leave the foxhole.  He is choosing to personally expose

myself to another human being.   "Who wants to live

forever?" are the last words he offers his lieutenant.  

"Sooner or later, somebody has got to try this.  And if

the likes of us aren't expendable, then who is?"

 

     Thank you.

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

IT GOT A LOT OF LAUGHS,

CONSIDERING ITS INSPIRATION

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

Key concepts: ubicomp, cellphone towers,

anthrax alerts, public health, Oak Ridge

National Laboratory, biological warfare,

microbes, terrorism, 911.net scenario

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  It's very

scary.

 

Links:

 

I'm departing to Europe soon and won't be back for

a while.  If you're around Milano or Amsterdam, send

email.

http://www.designbest.com/index_gallery_eng.php?Action=triennale

http://flow.doorsofperception.com/

 

Fantastic gallery of pre-modern attempts to

"make the invisible visible."

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/dreamanatomy/da_gallery.html

 

The very first Austinite just got diagnosed with West Nile

virus, that signature of the Greenhouse.  Now comes the

suggestion that the virus may be sexually transmissible.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2129716,00.html

 

Esso/Exxon-Mobil accurately denounced as "number one

climate criminals."

http://www.planetark.org/envpicstory.cfm/newsid/18351

 

Not to worry, the fully-briefed right-wing wonks at the

Competitive Enterprise Institute have the planet's

atmosphere under control.

http://www.cei.org/gencon/026%2C03198.cfm

 

"The Oil Reaper" at the big Washington anti-war demo.

http://www.iranian.com/Arts/2002/October/Streets/14.html

 

Source:

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns....00.html

 

"Cell-phone towers could be armed to detect chemical,

biological or nuclear hazards

 

By Frank Munger, News-Sentinel senior writer

October 25, 2002

 

  "The world's best architects probably couldn't make

cell-phone towers look pretty, but there is a plan to

elevate their importance. (((As Viridians, we have no

doubt whatsoever that the world's best architects could

make cellphone towers look pretty.)))

 

  "Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers are working

on a project that would adorn some of the nation's 30,000

cell towers with sensors to warn of chemical, biological

or nuclear hazards. It's called SensorNet.

 

   "'If we had a biological attack today, we wouldn't

know until people were showing up sick at the hospital.

That's too late,' said Mike Kuliasha, director of ORNL's

homeland-security program. (((And besides, those 30,000

surveillance towers are just sitting there.  On tall

hilltops.  Sniffing the wind.)))

 

   "The United States needs a detection-and-response

system right away to deal with terrorist threats, and cell

towers make good sense, Kuliasha said.

 

    "'They already have power. (((And we want that!)))

They already have security. They already have

telecommunications. And, generally speaking, they are

where the people are,' he said. (((Terrific soundbite! But

then again, Dr. Kuliasha has been on television.)))

http://www.tech-forum.org/upcoming/port-cargo-sec_09-19-02.htm

 

 

   "The Oak Ridge laboratory has signed a memorandum of

understanding with American Tower Corp., which owns 10,000

of the nation's towers, to work together on the project.

 

Link:

"We Build Broadcast Solutions! Anticipating Tomorrow!"

http://www.americantower.com/mainweb/

 

   "The cost of outfitting all of the nation's towers

might be prohibitive, at least in the near term, but ORNL

officials are discussing pilot projects with Atlanta and

New York City and hope to install experimental systems in

either or both in 2003.

 

    "'Both are very, very interested,' said Jim Kulesz,

the laboratory's point man on SensorNet.

 

((("Cost" is "prohibitive"?  Try the public wi-fi

approach! Saturate Manhattan with coverage before New

Yorkers even know it!)))

Link:

http://werbach.com/blog/images/PIPsurvey.gif

 

 

   "Earlier this year, the ORNL team successfully tested

the concept in three Tennessee cities == Knoxville,

Nashville and Chattanooga == using simulants for chemical

(sarin) and biological (anthrax) hazards. ((("Ahmed, go

test out this fake sarin and... Oh wait a sec.  Jim,

Charlie, you two guys better do it.")))

 

   "'It clearly demonstrated a lot of potential in the

exercise I observed,' said Rick Shipkowski of the

Tennessee Office of Homeland Security. The test sensors

were networked to a command center set up in the state's

homeland-security headquarters in Nashville.

 

(((Yes there is indeed a "Tennessee Office of Homeland

Security.")))

Link:

http://www.state.tn.us/homelandsecurity/

 

    "'There are plans to do additional testing in the

coming months at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak

Ridge and in Washington, D.C. The Washington test will

piggyback on meteorological studies by the National

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is one of

ORNL's strategic partners on the project.

 

   "Kulesz estimated it would cost $2 billion over four

years to implement the system in 120 major U.S. cities.

(((While you're at it, why don't you give us Americans a

*decent cell phone system*?)))

 

   "Oak Ridge spent about $45 million over the past five

years developing an instrument that's able to detect a

wide range of chemical and biological hazards.

 

   "The Block II Chem-Bio Mass Spectrometer was honored

in 2000 as one of the year's top 100 inventions, and

earlier this year a manufacturer began making a number of

pre-production units that the U.S. Army and Marine Corps

will test.

 

(((Here you go. Big ugly beige box.  Definitely needs

a design overhaul.)))

Link:

http://www.ornl.gov/ORNLReview/v33_3_00/mass.htm

 

   "The ORNL device identifies atoms of various agents by

their mass-to-charge ratios and other unique markers. The

Block II is reported to be the first full-scale instrument

that can detect both chemical and biological hazards. A

downside is that the instruments are expensive, costing

about $200,000 each, although that price tag is expected

to come down in mass production.  (((Moore's-Law it, MEMS

it, and then build it into the cellphone itself.)))

 

  "(...) Speed is everything when responding to

terrorism, and the goal of SensorNet is to have

information to first responders in five minutes.

 

   "A study found that if terrorists acquired 44 pounds

of anthrax and released it into the atmosphere at Dulles

Airport, outside Washington, it could expose more than

500,000 people to a potentially lethal dose within four

hours.

 

    "'Early warning might save hundreds of thousands of

lives in that scenario,' Kulesz said. 'If you know you've

been exposed to anthrax, you can do something about it.'

 

    "Quick treatment is effective, and an early warning

could help people take cover and perhaps avoid exposure

altogether, he said.

 

   "In addition to the hazard sensors, SensorNet includes

meteorological equipment to help predict the dispersion of

agents in atmospheric plumes.  (((New SUV bumpoer sticker:  

"I'm Buying Weaponized Anthrax For Saddam Hussein")))

Computer codes can calculate the potential impact on

populations. (((How handy.)))

 

   "The system would use encrypted data lines, and all

information should be in the hands of decision makers

within minutes of the detection, said Dick Reid, a

research group leader working on the project. (((How about

us "non-decision-makers"?  Can we blog it?)))

 

   "The Oak Ridge lab expects to get about $5 million in

federal funds in 2003 to expand the research. Project

officials are seeking other sources of money to conduct

urban tests.

 

   "Among the supporters is U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga.,

who was briefed on the project this summer. In an Aug. 9

letter to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Cleland said

he was impressed with the system's potential and urged the

Energy Department to give SensorNet 'the ultimate

available support.'

 

   "(...) ORNL was working on an unnamed system similar

to SensorNet before Sept. 11, 2001. That system was

designed for the military to enhance capabilities to

detect various agents in the battlefield and predict their

dispersion and impacts.

 

    "'Then when 9-11 came, the battlefield became our

homeland,' Kulesz said. 'SensorNet is really a strategy to

help protect the nation.'"  (((And imagine the fun of

inflicting these hard-won skills on somebody else's

nation.)))

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

LET'S FACE IT, OAK RIDGE HAS

BEEN ACTING JUST LIKE THIS

EVER SINCE 1945

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

Fab!

 

Can't wait to see the results!

Well you could give him a try but I know he is currently writing D20 modules for AD&D and has not been doing much Cyberpunk latley. Its been quite a while since he has popped in here as well.

 

I have installed the new Forum beta software which was released yesterday. First off I will be skinning it with cyberpunk.co.uk an Blackhammer look and feels and when a final stable release comes out - expected fairly shortly as they dont release Betas until they are almost perfect - Iwill convert all the posts and members over to the new system.

 

Its all very blue and white at the moment but that should change soon! Please go ahead and try posting etc but this is only for moderators to play with at the moment.

Key concepts: Enron, scandals, California energy

crisis of 2001

 

Attention Conservation Notice: Over 2,500 words of more

tiresome blither about corporate corruption in the energy

biz.

 

Link:

http://www.viridiandesign.org

Try searching for "California crisis"

 

(((We Viridians spent a lot of time closely studying the

California energy crisis. Now one of its architects has

decided to turn states-evidence in a federal court.  

Federal prosecutors will attempt to recast the fleecing of

California as one of the biggest corporate crimes in the

history of the known universe.  And they don't want just

Enron, one of the minor profiteers.  They're making noises

like they want to collar the lot of 'em.

 

(((Will justice be done?  Sure, you bet it will, Real Soon

Now. But before I delve at length into the latest dismal

developments, I wanted to say one thing that no other

pundit or commentator seems to be saying.  And that is:

Sorry.

 

  (((Sorry, good people of California.  I feel true pity

and regret that you and your Golden State were ruthlessly

subjected to so much entirely unnecessary turbulence,

pain, monetary loss and bold fraud.  It's revolting to

recall how many people blamed it all on you, you and your

California-ness.   It's amazing to think that this gross

assault on your peace and dignity was so broadly and

lavishly spread across all of you, from the stricken widow

with no air conditioning to the factory-owner plagued with

brownouts.  You gentle, mystical people, what on earth did

you do to deserve such rough treatment? Nothing, nothing

except to dare to be vulnerable and a little careless.  I

just thought someone, somewhere should express real regret

about all this.)))

 

(((Step A.  So who is this malefactor, "Timothy Belden"?  

A Wall Street swindler in a Monopoly top-hat?  No, he was

a mathematically-literate GenXer science wonk with a

personal fondness for renewable energy.)))

 

Source:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/la-fi-

belden18oct18,0,6331875.story?coll=sfla-business-headlines

 

"For Enron's Belden, 'Success Bred Power'

By Nancy Rivera Brooks and Nancy Vogel

Times Staff Writers

Posted October 18 2002

 

 "When Timothy N. Belden got out of college around 1990,

he found himself entering an arena that couldn't have been

sleepier.

 

   "He joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a

research operation backed by the Energy Department, where

he was a utility policy analyst who wrote detailed studies

on the most arcane subjects.  (((Tim was a science fed.)))

Among the many reports he co-authored was the abstruse

'Theory and Practice of Decoupling.'

 

   "A decade or so later, however, Belden found himself

in a very different world as head of Western electricity

trading for Enron Corp.

 

   "The Houston-based company was then the biggest and

most aggressive player in a field that had become

incredibly fast-paced and high-stakes in the wake of the

deregulation of energy markets in California and

elsewhere.

 

   "Along the way, Belden had evolved from an idealistic,

environmentally conscious policy wonk to the

quintessential Enron company man: smart, innovative and

aggressive.  (((They were both.  That was the secret

behind all that divinely-inspired Enron arrogance.)))

 

   "On Thursday, the 35-year-old Belden paid the price

for going too far with that aggressiveness. He pleaded

guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire

fraud in connection with illicit trading tactics during

California's 2000-01 energy crisis.  ((("Wire fraud," boy

what a weird charge.)))

 

   "'I did it because I was trying to maximize profit for

Enron,' Belden told a federal judge in San Francisco. He

agreed to cooperate in the continuing investigation and

pay back $2.1 million in ill-gotten gains.  (((And to rat

out his pals.)))

 

    "Those who've known Belden for a long time were left

trying to make sense of how a person they considered

supremely trustworthy had gotten caught up in a huge

corporate scandal.  (((It didn't look like one at the

time.  Booming stock, owning a President... wow.)))

 

   "'He's the most decent person I know in the whole

energy industry == bar none,' said Steve Stoft, an energy

consultant who hired Belden at the Lawrence Berkeley lab.

 

    "Stoft fondly remembered his friend's passion for the

environment, noting how Belden had once bought into a

windmill company 'because he wanted to invest in

alternative energy.'  ((("Alternative" is not a synonym

for "morally spotless.")))

 

   "But as the years passed, and Belden abandoned his

life as a researcher to go to Portland General Electric

Co. and then Enron, he seemed to become interested in a

different sort of power: his own.

 

   "One energy consultant who worked with Enron in its

glory days remembers Belden as 'sufficiently smart and

sufficiently intimidating to call his own shots. In that

culture, success bred power.'

 

(((Fans of words-on-paper may like to further consult the

aptly titled "PIPE DREAMS: Greed, Ego and the Death

of Enron" by Robert Bryce, a nice guy I run into every

once in a while.)))

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues....re.html

 

   "At Enron, Belden was at the nerve center of a vast

operation that bought and sold electricity around the

clock. About 100 traders worked in constant activity under

Belden on the high-tech trading floor that Enron occupied

in the World Trade Center in Portland, Ore.  (((Press the

F1 function key in Oregon and Californians swelter in the

heat!)))

 

   "Deal after deal was lined up for the next month,

week, day == or even minute == with the Golden State's

official markets, the California Power Exchange and

California Independent System Operator, or with traders

from the dozens of other energy companies operating in the

West.  (((Dozens of scared, shivering energy companies who

are staring longingly at the shredders.)))

 

   "Belden and his lieutenants == some of whom now are

scrambling to cut their own plea agreements with

prosecutors == were particularly talented at playing one

market off another or at wringing payments out of Cal-ISO

to relieve congestion on the transmission grid, internal

Enron memos show. Frequently, Enron's traders created the

electron traffic jams they were then paid to fix, the

documents indicate.  (((Now this vast human genius will be

devoted to surviving the American legal system.)))

 

    "This year, a state Senate committee investigating

alleged energy market manipulation by Enron and other

companies received five compact discs containing Belden's

e-mails. (...) (((Boy oh boy, not even Ollie North had

bulletproof email.)))

 

 

(((Step B.  The Feds Publicly Gloat Over Their Stricken

Informant)))

 

Source: Reuters

 

  "WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) == The following are

excerpts from a statement issued on Thursday by federal

prosecutors about a plea agreement with a former top Enron

Corp electricity trader:

 

   "The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern

District of California and the Enron Task Force announced

today that Timothy N. Belden, who was Enron's Chief Energy

Trader, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit

wire fraud in a scheme with others at Enron Corp. to

manipulate California's energy market, a scheme that was

designed in part to alter the price of electricity in the

state."

 

Link:

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/can/press/html/2002_10_17_belden.html

 

    "In the first criminal charges to be filed in an

investigation of the manipulation of the California energy

markets during the power crisis of 2000 to 2001, Enron's

chief energy trader was charged in San Francisco federal

court with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

 

    "The defendant has agreed to plead guilty and

cooperate with the United States in its investigation.

 

    "The charges are based on Enron's intentional

manipulation of the California energy markets, which was

done in part to affect the price of electricity in

California. In pleading guilty, the defendant will admit

that Enron's manipulation of the California energy markets

was illegal.  (((Like Tim's the supreme expert on the

subject. Like that was all his doing.)))

 

   "The investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney's

Office in San Francisco, the Enron Task Force, the

Antitrust and Fraud Divisions of the Department of

Justice, and the San Francisco division of the FBI.  

(((Incredible that the FBI has allowed themselves

to be listed *last,* for once.  Maybe they've learned

some humility lately.)))

 

"ENRON REVENUES SOARED

 

    "Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, the head of

the Justice Department's Corporate Fraud Task Force, said,

'During the period of the charged conspiracy, Enron's

revenues from Belden's trading unit rose from $50 million

in 1999 to $500 million in 2000 to $800 million in 2001.

While Enron benefitted from the overall rise in

electricity prices, the information charges that a portion

of these increased revenues was due to the execution of

these schemes. The conspiracy charged in this information

allowed Enron to exploit and intensify the California

energy crisis and prey on energy consumers at their most

vulnerable moment.'

 

    "U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan, a member of the

Corporate Fraud Task Force, said in announcing the guilty

plea, 'These charges answer the question that has long

troubled California consumers: whether the energy crisis

was spurred in part by criminal activity. The answer is a

resounding yes. The U.S. Attorney's Office in San

Francisco and the Justice Department will bring to justice

those who served their own selfish purposes by

intentionally and criminally manipulating energy consumers

in California and on the West Coast.' (...) (((Yeah, all

three of 'em, including this geeky Enron science wonk.  

Well, we'll see.  Enron was by no means one of the major

profiteers in California.  They just have the most cops on

their case and the least number of surviving defense

lawyers.)))

 

"POWER PRICE RISE LINKED TO TRADER

 

   "The Information alleges that in 1999, Enron's West

Power generated approximately $50 million in revenues. By

2001, West Power's revenues increased to approximately

$800 million as the price of electricity skyrocketed.

 

    "Prices during the height of the energy crisis rose

from $25 per megawatt hour to, in some cases, $1,500 per

megawatt hour. It is alleged that the price increase is

attributable in part to the schemes charged in the

Information.

 

   "In pleading guilty, Mr. Belden will admit that

beginning in approximately 1998, and continuing through

2001, he and other individuals at Enron conspired to

manipulate the energy markets in California by:

 

"* misrepresenting the nature and amount of electricity

Enron proposed to supply in the California market, as well

as the load it intended to serve;

 

"* creating false congestion and falsely relieving that

congestion on California transmission lines, and otherwise

manipulating fees it would receive for relieving

congestion;

 

"* misrepresenting that energy was from out-of-state to

avoid federally approved price caps, when in fact, the

energy it was selling was from the State of California and

had been exported and re-imported;

 

"* falsely represented that Enron intended to supply

energy and ancillary services it did not in fact have and

did not intend to supply.

 

   "As a result of these false schedules, Mr. Belden will

admit that he and his co-conspirators were able to

manipulate prices in certain markets, arbitrage price

differences between the markets, obtain 'congestion

management' payments in excess of what they would have

received with accurate schedules, and receive prices for

electricity above price caps set by the California

Independent System Operator ('ISO') and the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission.  (((This sure makes you wonder why

anybody anywhere thinks that things get more honest when

they're all automated and computerized.  "Looka this

'Congestion/Decongestion' switch!  Every time I pull it,

they pay me!")))

 

 

(((Step C.  The righteously ticked-off California

press.)))

 

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, SFGate.com

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-

bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/10/20/BU34368.DTL

 

"Energy industry's dirty little details about to see light

 

by David Lazarus

Sunday, October 20, 2002  

 

   "The betting in energy circles is that Enron's

erstwhile big cheeses are in deep trouble now that the

company's former top trader has pleaded guilty to

manipulating the California power market.

 

   "But that may not be the half of it.

 

    "Sources close to the matter say Timothy Belden, who

previously ran Enron's trading office in Portland, Ore.,

is prepared to implicate a number of other industry

players in what could shape up to be one of the biggest

conspiracies in U.S. corporate history.

 

   "Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson declined at a

news conference last week to identify other alleged

conspirators in the fleecing of California ratepayers.

(((Oh, hey, I can do that. 'Cause we Viridians were

watching. "The leading power generators for California

include Reliant Energy, El Paso Energy Corp., Dynegy and

Enron Corp., all of Houston; as well as Duke Energy Corp.

of Charlotte, N.C.; AES Corp. of Arlington, Va.; Southern

Co. of Atlanta; and Calpine Corp. of San Jose.")))

 

   "But he did say that 'Belden and others conspired to

defraud California electricity consumers and customers.'

 

   "This confirms a lot of hunches here in the Golden

State, where folks knew something was screwy with the

power grid long before federal authorities finally decided

to weigh in on the matter.

 

   "Now we know exactly how it was done, at least as far

as Enron was concerned.

 

    "Belden said he and his cronies would provide bogus

data on how much juice was available at any given time to

state utilities.

 

    "This would create the impression of congestion on

power lines when none in fact existed, driving up demand

and, better still, allowing Enron to charge an extra fee

to relieve the congestion that wasn't actually there in

the first place.

 

   "Enron also exported power generated in California to

other states and then turned around and sold it back to us

at a big markup as electricity generated elsewhere.

 

   "Chutzpah? These people were rewriting the definition.

(...)

 

   "The question now, aside from which former Enron

bigwig will be in court next, is whether the other major

players in the energy business were running similar scams.

 

   "Sources in a good position to know tell me that

Belden is cooperating fully with investigators and is

prepared to map out a far-reaching scheme involving all

the big boys.

 

   "'We intend to pursue this investigation wherever it

leads,' Kevin Ryan, U.S.  attorney for the Northern

District of California, told reporters Friday. 'Mr.

Belden's co-conspirators == and they know who they are ==

should be very concerned."

 

    "Maybe they are already.

 

   "I'm told that last week's resignation of Dynegy

President Steve Bergstrom was directly related to the

looming prospect of Belden naming names. Dynegy also said

it will exit the energy-trading business.

 

    "Dynegy is being investigated by the Justice

Department and already has agreed to pay $3 million to the

Securities and Exchange Commission to settle fraud

charges. (((Dynegy almost bought Enron when Enron was

crippled.  Now the black hole's got both of them.)))

 

   "A spokesman for the company, David Byford, denied

that Bergstrom's decision to step down was tied in any way

to Belden's case. On the other hand, Bergstrom came to

power as a result of his success building up Dynegy's

energy-trading operation.

 

   "For what it's worth, San Francisco's ChevronTexaco

owns about 26.5 percent of Dynegy and is the Houston

firm's largest shareholder. (((Man, if only an oil-major

like ChevronTexaco got indicted for this solemn fraud

and... oh well, keep dreaming.)))

 

   "Dynegy and other industry leaders have already said

they played no role in exacerbating California's power

woes. Enron said the same once upon a time.

 

   "Clearly we haven't heard the end of this."

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

WHAT'S MORE, WE'LL STILL BE COVERING THIS

WHEN EVERYBODY ELSE HAS FORGOTTEN ABOUT IT

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

Key concepts: Enron, scandals, China, Gao Yan, State Power

Corp, defection, corruption, energy systems

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  It's an alarming

expose of the universal corruption of the

energy business.

 

Links:

 

On October 29 I'll be speaking here in Austin at a Core77

design offsite.  Harmless good fun!

http://www.core77.com/offsite/brucesterling.html

 

Swedish solar robot lawnmower.

http://www.solarmower.com/

 

While you're at it, compost those lawn clippings

in your cheap-o microbial fuel cell.

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992899

 

Our Viridian Enron Logo Contest is still rackin' up

website hits.  A perennial favorite, of sorts.

http://www.viridiandesign.org/notes/251-

300/00284_enron_logo_contest.html

http://www.viridianrepository.com/Enron/Enron.htm

 

Enron whitewater-gangs litter the Internet, hoping

for that big, impeachable publicity-break.

http://www.thedailyenron.com/

http://www.enronownsthegop.com/

http://www.oliverwillis.com/enrongate/

http://www.pir.org/enron/

 

(((It's been a whole year since Enron fell from grace.  A

year is a long time in the business world, so I guess the

mess has all been tidied up by now.  Let's ask the BBC!  

They've likely got a nice objective take on matters.)))

 

Source:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2316557.stm

 

By Briony Hale

BBC News Online business reporter

 

   "Enron's collapse was sufficiently shocking to usher

in a revolution. One year after Enron's troubles were

first exposed, BBC News Online reviews the changes that

have swept through corporate America.

 

   "Exactly a year ago, investors, analysts and

journalists smelled the first whiff of trouble.

 

    "A mysterious $1bn hole had appeared in the accounts

of Enron, an apparently mighty firm, best known for

scooping up awards.

 

   "Just weeks later, one of America's biggest and most

revered firms had collapsed as quickly as a pack of cards,

its finances built on a pack of lies.

 

    "The smell quickly turned from bad to evil, with the

Bush administration, top banks, lawyers and accountants

all accused of colluding with the enemy.

 

   "As investigators dug deeper, shady dealings appeared

at a host of other firms.

 

    "Public outrage was pushed to new peaks by

revelations that executives made millions of dollars by

cashing in on their own shares while ordinary investors

lost everything.

 

    "Texans opt for change (((uh, but not so you'd

notice.)))

 

   "The combination of such public anger and blatant

corporate crime has beckoned in a revolutionary era of

change. (((Well, it's good to see that hype hasn't

died out in the business press.)))

 

The road to ruin

16 Oct 2001:

$1bn hole emerges

22 Oct 2001:

SEC inquiry

8 Nov 2001:

Profits restated

2 Dec 2001:

Bankruptcy filing

9 Jan 2002:

Criminal inquiry

21 Aug 2002:

Worker's first guilty plea

2 Oct 2002:

Finance chief charged

 

   "That wind of change has even managed to penetrate

Texan culture, where the Houston baseball stadium has

ditched the E-logo in favour of an orange juice sign.

(((Like that took a lot of work?  Come on.)))

 

   "The reforming zeal has not stopped short at the door

of politics, and the White House will no longer be funding

its political campaigns from the depths of company

coffers.  (Once the mid-term elections are over, that is.)

(((Wry British humour there.)))

 

   "Meanwhile, thousands of secret documents detailing

the contact between several senior White House officials

and Enron are still being examined, with casualties

expected == eventually.   (((Probably some time

after the irrelevant yet inevitable sex scandal.  Paging

John Major.)))

 

"Bearing up

 

   "But it is corporate America that has felt the full

force of the changes.

 

   "Prison sentences for wrongdoers have increased,

listed firms have been made to swear to the accuracy of

financial statements, and the once-mighty auditor Andersen

has disintegrated.   (((Scapegoat shot.  Now what?)))

 

    "A new independent body has emerged to keep tabs on

accountants, Wall Street firms are promising not to offer

biased advice, and bonus stock options have fallen out of

fashion.

 

    "Experts pore with glee over such tweaking of

corporate governance. (...) (((Unless they actually own  

some stock, that is.  Then they pore with horror over

their 401-k.)))

 

"Suffering in silence

 

    "'The frustration is that we are still not hearing

the voices of the people,' says Scott Harshbarger,

president of Common Cause, a left-wing think tank.  

(((Okay, let me redress Scott's grievance.  "Gee, Scott,

we're sorry we ever believed we were a happy and

prosperous people, inventing a better and more advanced

future,  and living in a nation at peace. Can you ever

forgive us?")))

 

   "And justice has not been done.

 

   "'The executives have yet to be disgorged of their

ill-gotten gains,' he says. (((It's not like they're

enjoying any of it, though:  they've got to save it all

for their lawyers and PACs.)))

 

   "'That broad sense that there will be some level of

holding them accountable no longer exists."  (((Yeah, where are

we when we need you, Hague Court of Justice?  Hey wait ==

the Administration put the kibosh on the Hague Court just

before inventing new doctrines of pre-emptive warfare!  

Gotta give 'em credit for foresight!)))

 

The road to change

27 Mar 2001:

Bush signs campaign finance bill

14 June:

New rules for financial analysts

18 June:

SEC announces new accounting body

26 July:

Congress passes anti-fraud bill

 

   "Unsurprisingly, America's investors are more than a

little reluctant to get their fingers burnt again.

 

    "'It's akin to terrorism,' says Alan Reynolds, an

expert on corporate governance at the Cato Institute.

(((Big greenhouse denial freaks over at Cato.  You gotta

love these guys.  "Let Ken Lay off the hook or the

terrorists have won.")))

   

   "One set of people deliberately plotted to break all

the rules and commit a terrible crime. (((Yeah == the guys

from Houston who sponsored and financed your President,

Alan.  *That* set of people.)))

 

    "Now everybody has to prove they're not a terrorist

before selling shares." (((I haven't seen that stopping

anybody from "capitulating."  Sell shares, but who's

buying?)))

 

   "Business is afraid to take risks, afraid to make

commitments, afraid to make the much-needed investment

decisions," says Mr Reynolds.  (((They're not afraid to

buy politicians, though.  Or journalists.  Check out this

Washington Post quote:  "Enron 'collected visible people'

by gathering up pundits, journalists and politicians and

placing them on lucrative retainers. For a couple days

spent chatting about current events with executives at

Enron's Houston headquarters, advisers could walk away

with five-figure payments." == Washington Post, 10

February 2002

 

Bill Kristol         $100,000

Paul Krugman      $50,000

Larry Kudlow      $50,000

Lawrence Lindsay     $50,000

Peggy Noonan         over $25,000 for minor speechwriting

Irwin Stelzer         $50,000

Robert Zoellick      $50,000)))

 

(((Man, those were the days.  No wonder those guys were so

free-market.  It's hell to get that kind of money for a

junket when there's no ads left in the magazines today.)))

 

   "The more aggressive regulatory environment, together

with the threat of litigation is making it difficult to

recruit high-level executives, he said, underlining the

fear lingering in boardrooms.

 

   "'This anti-corporate frenzy is very worrying, and

often illogical,' says Kevin Hassett, a senior economist

and scholar at the right-wing American Enterprise

Institute. (((More greenhouse-denial guys.  Real

"logical" bunch over at AEI.)))

 

    "The difficulties of using correct accounting methods

for joint ventures means they are drying up, venture

capitalism is falling, some firms will be afraid to go

public altogether, he explains.

 

   "Winning investors back

 

  "On top of all that, there is the increased cost of the

regulation, a cost that business is bearing. (("Boy, this

'honesty' stuff sure is expensive!")))

 

    "But, given the amount of public money lost and the

depths of corruption, sympathy is clearly not on the

cards.   (((Even if the economy were clean as a whistle,

where are investors supposed to put their money?  There are

no breakout growth industries these days.   And no, cruise

missiles don't count.  Missiles don't increase anybody's

productivity, you see.)))

 

    "And the reforms were obviously needed.

 

    "But firms will continue to suffer until they work

out how to regain the confidence of investors.   ((("Without

dreams, the people perish.")))

 

   "And no amount of reforms or regulatory change has

succeeded in wooing them back == so far.

 

    "One year on, the legacy of Enron continues to

terrorise corporate America."

 

(((Yeah, okay, that was sort of hopeless fluff from BBC,

with repugnant self-pity from right-wing talking heads.

But look: why would anybody sink big venture capital in an

economy when its lead high-tech industries, computers and

communications, have both cratered?  

 

(((You know, the problem may go even deeper than that.  Maybe

there's  something wrong with the energy system per se.

These gigantic centralized machines are so hard to reform

or rebuild that they become fixtures in the infrastructure.  

So they're politicized sinecures, run into the ground and

dumped Harken-style by semi-competent kids from the

political elite.  Even an attempt to bring market forces

to bear on these behemoths will backfire, because it's  so

easily defeated by California-style market-gaming, whenever

you choke off a pipeline or two, or a Strait of Hormuz.  

 

(((Evidence?  Check out this *Chinese* energy scandal.  

It's remarkably Enron-esque, with its political

favoritism, banking rip-offs and behind the scenes

cutthroat jockeying for power.)))

 

Source: CNN Asia

 

http://asia.cnn.com/2002/BUSINESS/asia/10/16/china.power/

 

"Top power official 'flees China'

 

By Alex Frew McMillan

Wednesday, October 16, 2002 Posted: 4:51 PM HKT (0851 GMT)

 

  "The turmoil in the electricity industry is likely a

symptom of a power struggle among China's top officials"

(((Hey, good call, Beijingologist == they should reassign

you to the Beltway.)))

 

  "HONG KONG, China == Gao Yan, the former head of

China's largest electricity company, has fled China to

escape arrest, according to a report published Wednesday.

 

   "According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning

Post, Gao, who served as president and CEO of the State

Power Corp., is hiding in an unidentified Western country.

(((Houston, maybe?)))

 

    "The same newspaper reported Tuesday that Lao Derong,

the head of the Shenzhen Energy Group, is currently being

investigated by Communist Party officials.

 

   "The power industry is expected to get an overhaul and

top-level changes at the 16th Communist Party Congress.

That begins on November 8 and is also expected to see a

transition in key Communist Party positions. (((Florida

election ballot.)))

 

   "Observers have interpreted the scandals in the

electricity industry as signs a power struggle is under

way. Gao is a protege of Li Peng, China's second in

command, who is expected to step down at the congress.

 

   "Li's son, Li Xiaopeng, was Gao's deputy at the State

Power Corp. (((Harken)))

 

   "Gao's troubles may be a response to the jailing of

China Everbright chief Zhu Xiaohua. Zhu, a protege of

Premier Zhu Rongji, though not a relation, was last week

sentenced to 15 years in jail. (((No big parallel here, as

American executives don't actually go to jail.)))

 

   "Several top businessmen are eyeing important

positions, as China's top level leaders try to put

successors in place and ensure their policies continue.

 

   "Government media confirmed this week that Gao had

disappeared. Gao has not been seen since August 29,

according to the 21st Century Business Herald, which said

he resigned August 2.

 

   "Gao would be the most-senior Chinese figure to flee

the country since Xu Jiatun, once Beijing's top envoy to

Hong Kong, escaped to the United States after the

Tiananmen Square killings in 1989.

 

   "Connection to Wang Xuebing

 

   "Gao, a former vice governor of Jilin Province, took

over State Power Corp. in 1998. He and Xu both held the

title of government minister.

 

    "But where Xu's flight was politically motivated, Gao

is escaping arrest on corruption charges, according to the

Post. (((Like there's a difference.)))

 

   "Reports suggest that stock buybacks and the

acquisition of assets from a State Power subsidiary may be

at issue, with the company reportedly only paying one-

third of what the assets were worth.  (((Okay, I take it

back == you CAN blame it on the stockholders.  And where

is the Andy Fastow figure?)))

 

   "Gao also negotiated a three-year credit deal with

China Construction Bank, then headed by Wang Xuebing.

(((Oh wait == there's our Andy.  Inside the bank.)))

 

    "Wang, another Zhu protege, has since been stripped

of his positions in banking and the Communist Party and

held responsible for fraud that happened while he was

running the Bank of China's New York operations. (((Great

New York banking angle there.  Learn from the best!)))

 

   "The State Power Corp., which controls 72 percent of

power-generating assets in China, was listed as the 60th-

largest company in the world by Fortune magazine.

(((FORTUNE gave Enron its "America's Most Innovative

Company" award for five years in a row. They were right,

too.)))

 

   "China does not typically acknowledge investigations

or arrests for white-collar crime.

 

    "China placed Yang Bin, the man chosen to head North

Korea's fledgling enterprise zone, under house arrest

earlier this month in connection with tax evasion."

(((I should have cut this irrelevant last paragraph,

but I just like that line "North Korea's fledgling

enterprise zone.")))

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

WHAT COMES AROUND,

GOES AROUND

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

My avatar is me - for those that havn't watched it for 20 seconds - watch it for 20 seconds.

 

For my sig I just looked out of the window.

Quote (markc @ Oct. 16 2002,19:22)

OTOH, countries like England and Australia, which have (within the last decade) enacted almost total civilian bans on private firearm ownership, have seen dramatic rises in their violent crime rates.

Actually the figures are not that simple. We have a drug fed crime wave going on and the gangsters are arming themselves against each other. Its a cultural problem and nothing to do with legal firearm ownership. There are lots of complex issues behind those figures. Without the ban things would be even worse.

 

Legal gun owners dying because of firearm accidents has dramatically dropped.

Key concepts: the Viridian Biofuture Robot Dog Contest

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  It's the announcement

of the winner of our latest Viridian Design Contest.

 

*********************************************

Entries in the Biofuture Robot Dog Contest:

 

From: Laura Sterling

http://www.viridiandesign.org/contests/laura.html

 

From: Mark Simpkins  <mark*nodalpoints.org>

http://www.nodalpoints.org/viridian/index.html

 

From: Paul Jimenez <pj*place.org>

http://www.place.org/~pj/ROVER.txt

 

From: Giles Turnbull <giles*gorjuss.com>

http://gilest.org/242

 

From: David Rice <david*futurefeedforward.com>

http://futurefeedforward.com/dingostroller.html

 

From: Duncan Stewart <stewarts*stewarts.org>

http://www.stewarts.org/viridian/gbn/watson.htm

 

From: David Bergman <bergman*cyberg.com>

http://cyberg.com/viridian/ddawg.htm

 

From: Eric Nehrlich <nehrlich*alum.mit.edu>

http://www.nehrlich.com/viridian_aromaker.html

 

From: Matt Jones <matt*blackbeltjones.com>

http://www.blackbeltjones.com/vonneumann

 

From: Dave Phelan <dphelan*pavilion.co.uk>

http://www.btinternet.com/~dphelan/viridian/futuredog.html

 

From: "Four Eyed Dog" <dog*ictadopac.com>

http://www.ictadopac.com

 

From: Clara Park <clara*futurefeedforward.com>

http://futurefeedforward.com/feedmefido.html

 

From: Reid Harward <mudlab*adelphia.net?>

http://www.well.com/user/reid

 

From: Tracey Callison <tracey*lensman.org>

http://www.funevilpeople.org/bob

 

From: Jonathan Blocksom <blocksom*gollygee.com>

http://www.gollygee.com/weblogs/jblocksom/viridian/robotdog/

 

From: Chris Snyder <chris*psydeshow.org>

http://psydeshow.org/berylium/projects/snunk/snunk.html

 

From: Simon Desrochers <simond1999*hotmail.com>

http://www3.sympatico.ca/monsieursimon/zdog01/

 

From: Adrian Cotter <acotter*nonsensical.com>

http://www.nonsensical.com/viridian/dog/

 

From: Christopher Schmidt et al <chris*id-eight.com>

http://www.ecopractical.com

 

From: Joe Gregorio <joe*bitworking.org>

http://bitworking.org/Nic-pup.html

 

From: Carl F. DiSalvo <cdisalvo*andrew.cmu.edu>

http://www.robotarium.org/viridiandog

 

From: Ed O'Connor <edoconnor*sympatico.ca>

http://www3.sympatico.ca/edoconnor/RO-VR.html

 

From: Dawn Danby <danby*fastmail.ca>

http://www.fauxvea.com/robodog/spod.html

 

From: Allen Wong <threadprinter*hotmail.com>

http://www.fieldsync.com/puffy/

 

From: David Nelsen Epstein <samsa*hivecolony.net>

http://www.hivecolony.net/fido/fido.html

 

From: mindlace <viridian*mindlace.net>

http://mindlace.net/AdventureDog

 

************************************************

 

(((The judges have reached a decision, and the dog is on

the way to the winner!)))

 

From: Christopher Coldeway and Tina Estes, GBN

 

  "Well, Viridians, after much consideration, debate, and

chocolate-covered espresso beans, we are ready to announce

the winner of the GBN Biofutures future-bio-dog contest.

 

  "But first we must say that it has been great fun

clicking through all the entries and showing them off to

our clients and friends at the Biofutures Learning Journey

meeting, which concluded last week. For the Learning

Journeys we took curious executives from various

industries, packed them into two shuttle-buses, and drove

them around the Bay Area visiting companies and

individuals who not only play integral roles in the

biotech sector, but are pushing the scope of the debate

about what biotech is, can be, and should be.

 

   "Interesting conversations were sparked and much

learning was had by all, not least because of the thought-

provoking contest entries framed on the walls of our

meeting room like windows into the future.

 

   "Now comes the part we're worst at == actually picking

one contest entry over others. At GBN, we help businesses,

NGOs, and governments think strategically about complex

situations by creating scenarios of alternative future

environments. In managing uncertainty and thinking through

change over time, we hold many cards in our hands at once.

Picking an official winner is counter to our business!

However, since there is only one Aibo, we'll do it.

 

    "Thanks to Laura Sterling for kicking the contest off

with some great drawings. Honorable mentions go to David

Rice's hilarious Dingo Stroller; Matt Jones' innovative

Von Neumann's Best Friend; Chris Snyder's very thorough

Snunk; the fantastic entries from the San Jose State

Industrial Design team: Symbu, Bink, and Xorph; and Ed

O'Connor and Rick Boersma's compelling near-winner RO-VR.

 

     And now... the final choice of the GBN judges.  The

winning entry, ladies and gentlemen, is Dawn Danby and

Paul Waggoner's SPOD!

Link:

http://www.fauxvea.com/robodog/spod.html

 

    As an objet de technologie, SPOD exists in the

currently blank area where infotech meets industrial

biotech processes (meets Lassie). The most lauded aspects

of SPOD over here were the public domain SPODscript

routines, the organic photovoltaic Solar Poncho, the

closed-loop manufacturing ideas, a grasp of the broad

range of bioindustrial products and processes, and the

fantastic Flash site design, including links to relevant

articles and great x-ray dog pics. Congratulations Dawn

and Paul! And thanks to all who entered == this was a

difficult contest to judge, and I wish we had a mechanized

horde of dancing robot dogs for all of you.

 

Signed,

Tina Estes and Chris Coldewey from Global Business Network

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

IF THINGS WORK OUT AS PLANNED,

YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE

THE SPONSOR OF OUR NEXT CONTEST.

I'M NOT SURE I BELIEVE IT MYSELF

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O  O=c=O

We still have dns changes to make over the next 7 days but the old name servers are pointing to the new site so we will have uninterupted service while the domain propogates.

 

If thats all greek to you don't worry things are going well!

 

Quote (Bookwyrm @ Oct. 05 2002,01:09)

What could be more cyberpunk than Joes Garage, Acts I,II&III, by Frank Zappa? Now where's my Nuclear Powered Pan-Sexual Roto-Plooker?

EeeH! Joes Garage! Have not heard that for years - I have it on vinal in the loft somewhere - must dig it out. Still not as good as Shut up and Play Your Guitar - also in the loft... Not exactly cyberpunk though...

Key concepts: German Green party, German politics,

German commentary, Alexander Schuth

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  It's even more

German than it was in Note 00342.

 

--------------------------------------------

Entries in the Biofuture Robot Dog Contest:

 

From: Laura Sterling

http://www.viridiandesign.org/contests/laura.html

 

From: Mark Simpkins  <mark*nodalpoints.org>

http://www.nodalpoints.org/viridian/index.html

 

From: Paul Jimenez <pj*place.org>

http://www.place.org/~pj/ROVER.txt

 

From: Giles Turnbull <giles*gorjuss.com>

http://gilest.org/242

 

From: David Rice <david*futurefeedforward.com>

http://futurefeedforward.com/dingostroller.html

 

From: Duncan Stewart <stewarts*stewarts.org>

http://www.stewarts.org/viridian/gbn/watson.htm

 

From: David Bergman <bergman*cyberg.com>

http://cyberg.com/viridian/ddawg.htm

 

From: Eric Nehrlich <nehrlich*alum.mit.edu>

http://www.nehrlich.com/viridian_aromaker.html

 

From: Matt Jones <matt*blackbeltjones.com>

http://www.blackbeltjones.com/vonneumann

 

From: Dave Phelan <dphelan*pavilion.co.uk>

http://www.btinternet.com/~dphelan/viridian/futuredog.html

 

From: "Four Eyed Dog" <dog*ictadopac.com>

http://www.ictadopac.com

 

From: Clara Park <clara*futurefeedforward.com>

http://futurefeedforward.com/feedmefido.html

 

From: Reid Harward <mudlab*adelphia.net?>

http://www.well.com/user/reid

 

From: Tracey Callison <tracey*lensman.org>

http://www.funevilpeople.org/bob

 

From: Jonathan Blocksom <blocksom*gollygee.com>

http://www.gollygee.com/weblogs/jblocksom/viridian/robotdog/

 

"Let's face it, in 2002 it's not enough to just come out

with a toy.  You need a whole *product line* if you want

any channel power.  Introducing dogg13z connected

companions, accessories sold separately.  As imagined it's

ready to roll in time for Christmas 2003, and I've also

made a few guesses about how the toy could evolve in the

future."

 

Jonathan Blocksom

http://www.gollygee.com/weblogs/jblocksom/

GollyGee Software, Inc. -- http://www.gollygee.com

 

From: Chris Snyder <chris*psydeshow.org>

http://psydeshow.org/berylium/projects/snunk/snunk.html

 

"Submitted for your consideration, the Snunk! While not

exactly a dog, it is the biofuture robot pet I've always

wanted."

 

From: Simon Desrochers <simond1999*hotmail.com>

http://www3.sympatico.ca/monsieursimon/zdog01/

 

"Here's the Desrochers Bros. entry for the Viridian Bio-

Future Dog Contest. We had quite a good time doing this.

Other images of the concept will be available on request.  

Simon Desrochers, with the help of my two brothers Louis-

David and Francois."

 

From: Adrian Cotter <acotter*nonsensical.com>

http://www.nonsensical.com/viridian/dog/

 

"I of course had planned to have this all done last

weekend, not to be at the last moment again. But alas.

In any case, here it is, in all its silliness."

Adrian Cotter

 

From: Christopher Schmidt et al <chris*id-eight.com>

http://www.ecopractical.com

 

"Here is our late-night contest entry. Thanks!"

Christopher Schmidt

Alison Anne Barnsley

Tom Keegan

San Jose State industrial design students

 

From: Joe Gregorio <joe*bitworking.org>

http://bitworking.org/Nic-pup.html

 

"Ok, so it's not really a toy for the 9-12 market, but I

had a lot of fun with the  idea."  joe

http://bitworking.org

 

From: Carl F. DiSalvo <cdisalvo*andrew.cmu.edu>

http://www.robotarium.org/viridiandog

 

"Here you will find our entry for Sniffles, the robotic

dog that sniffs out trouble."

 

From: Ed O'Connor <edoconnor@sympatico.ca>

http://www3.sympatico.ca/edoconnor/RO-VR.html

 

"Here's an entry for you.  Regards,

Ed O'Connor and Rick Boersma."

 

From: Dawn Danby <danby*fastmail.ca>

http://www.fauxvea.com/robodog/spod.html

 

"For your partner in crime. Thanks, as ever."

Dawn & Paul

 

Dawn Danby <danby*fastmail.ca>

Paul Waggoner <paul*fauxvea.com>

http://fastmail.ca/ - Fast Secure Web Email for Canadians

 

From: Allen Wong <threadprinter@hotmail.com>

http://www.fieldsync.com/puffy/

 

"A BioFuture Dog for a Messy World:

Puffy the Purifying Poodle"

 

From: David Nelsen Epstein <samsa*hivecolony.net>

http://www.hivecolony.net/fido/fido.html

 

"So I have had bronchitis for a month. .  I think it has

destroyed my aesthetic organs. . . Well here is a deathbed

attempt at the contest."

David Nelsen-Epstein

http://www.hivecolony.net

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the

unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself.

Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. -

George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950)"

 

From: mindlace <viridian*mindlace.net>

http://mindlace.net/AdventureDog

 

"Here is my text-only (scanner down) last-minute

contribution to the  robot dog contest. I have not talked

too much about materiels and  focused more on play style.

Thanks,  ethan"

 

(((As you can see, we have had a last-minute flood of

entries, including one mysterious 60-megabyte package that

torpedoed our WELL email.  Is your Biofuture Robot Dog

entry listed here?  If not, send it in immediately! We

expect a final decision from our GBN judges

after October 3.)))

--------------------------------------------------

 

 

Link:

******************************************************

Wow!  It's an actual Viridian EMPLOYMENT AD! Totally

unheard-of! And it's for a web designer!  In e-commerce!

Watch out, Core77!

 

"Bumperactive.com, the nascent site that lets people

design and create their own bumper stickers (and is

currently giving away free, FREE THE MOUSE bumper stickers

in honor of the Eldred v. Ashcroft Supreme Court case)

needs a programmer, dang it! We need a web/e-commerce

savvy individual to help with our catalog- and shopping

cart- functionality.... which isn't quite as boilerplate

as it sounds, in our case. Java experience is a big plus,

because then you can also help fine-tune our unique,

online sticker-making application. WE HAVE REAL MONEY TO

PAY YOU -- Not much, but it spends.

Email jobs@bumperactive.com" 

*******************************************************

 

(((And now: some cynical, highly informed commentary on

German Green politics by an actual German Viridian,

Alexander Schuth of the Viridian Curia.)))

 

From: Alexander Schuth <Alexander_Schuth*gmx.net>

Date: Mon Sep 30, 2002

To: Bruce Sterling <bruces*well.com>

Subject: Re: Viridian Note 00342: German Greens

 

My commentary below on Note 00342. Cheers, Alexander.

 

>"(...)  The Greens had 51,000 members in 1998. Now they

have only 46,000.

 

The Greens used to be anti-nuclear energy, anti-nuclear

arms, strictly pacifist and ecological. And they led

Germany into the first war since WWII (yes, we didn't have

any for over 50 years). This new belligerent tooth cost

them dearly.

 

>Greens' triumph was due to Fischer, the revolutionary-

>turned-realist whose personal charisma the party traded

>on ruthlessly.

 

Yes, "ruthlessly." When the Greens went into parliament,

they introduced a rotation principle.  After half of the

legislative period, the holder of the seat would step down

to let the next in line have it. That was in the 80s, and

when "Fundis" - fundamentalist greens - and "Realos" -

realpolitically oriented greens, spearheaded by Josef

Fischer - started to differ much about which political

course to support in the first governmental alliances, the

Realos abandoned this principle, so their power base did

not fall into the hands of eco-extremist Fundis.

 

Anyway, the Greens always played their personnel down, to

keep political and party posts separated (e.g. SPD's

Gerhard Schroeder is head of SPD *and* the head of

government. CDU's Helmut Kohl used to be boss of CDU, the

CDU's parliamentary fraktion in Bundestag, *and* be head

of government). The Greens by contrast put party and

programme out front.

 

This time, however, they abandoned this time-honored

tradition, putting up posters saying "Second vote =

Joschka-vote." (You get two votes in federal elections -

one for your area's direct candidate, one for the parties'

state-wide list of candidates.  So you can split your

vote, as many did in my state of Hessen: first vote for

SPD direct candidates, second vote for the Green party

list).  The Greens strongly marketed Fischer's persona. A

smart move, considering that he is the best foreign

minister since Genscher of the liberal FDP and the most

popular politician in Germany (pre-election surveys gave

him 70% of the population seeing him as most popular).  

But the Greens also severed many traditions from their old

streetmarching days.

 

Talking about streets: yes, Joschka Fischer used to be a

streetfighting Marxist thug, from the legendary Frankfurt

leftist circles (which had communist to terrorist flavors,

at least since the student rebellion of 1968, which took

mainly place in Paris, Berlin and Frankfurt, with many

ideas going back to Frankfurt's lecturers Marcuse, Adorno,

etc. - the whole social studies posse called "Frankfurter

Schule"). But that was the 70s.  Other alumni of these

streetfighting years became social workers, satirists, or

they run an internationally renowned old school-cabaret

now called "Tiger Palast".   Fischer was ruthless in his

later Green party career, fighting down opposition with

any means, trying to get things go his way. And usually,

he succeeded.

 

>"They also won their first outright constituency seat

>through anti-war campaigner Christian Stroebele, who

>drove a small electric car throughout

>his campaign.  (((Beep-beep!)))

 

Stroebele got his seat in Berlin through a genius

campaign: "Vote Stroebele = torture Joschka."

 

The Green party didn't even put Stroebele on the state

list for Berlin state, so if he would have failed, he

wouldn't have made it. The Greens HATE Stroebele. He's old

school Fundi, strictly pacifist, and opposes any

compromises that the Realos plot: "Go to war? Fine with

us, if we get to shut down the nuclear reactors..." etc.  

Stroebele doesn't deal like that. He doesn't play along,

doesn't like dancing to Fischer's tune. Great guy, good

entertainment. He's quite a loose cannon.

 

One or two days before the election, a neonazi moron

attacked Stroebele with a steel pipe while he was manning

his campaign booth in his constituency, beating him on the

head. Stroebele was hospitalised shortly with serious

concussions. Maybe getting a pipe over the head swung all

those nice votes for him. I wish more pols would try that

next time!

 

The SPD-Gruenen-coalition has only a very thin majority,

so Stroebele might become a serious risk to their

legislative votes in Bundestag.

 

>"The Greens took special issue with chancellor candidate

>Edmund Stoiber's failure to appoint a person responsible

>for environmental affairs in his much-publicised shadow

>cabinet.

 

And still Stoiber got an outrageously great result for a

guy from Bavaria! THAT really scared me. Who wants to be

governed by crooked politicians from a state with absolute

one-party rule since 1949? Especially if they are the

direct political heirs of former Nazi-ideology-teachers-

turned-prime-minister-of Bavaria, Franz-Josef Strauss?

That's like a prosperous North Korea with leather pants!

 

Allow me to offer to you these two tasty bits of popular

opinion on this topic:

 

Links:

Re: Bundestagswahl:

http://www.bleib-da-wo-der-radi-waechst.de

Anti-Stoiber-Song ("Berlin, Berlin - du gehst nicht nach

Berlin" - football-fan-like chant as killer refrain "You

won't make it to Berlin") which really made headlines.

 

The guys who did this went on MTV and the like. Serious

press. Plus they're good folks, I know some of them.

 

Tanz den Berlusconi:

http://www.beatline.de

Click on "gallomat" and download.

 

This is a contemporary cover version of D.A.F.'s (Deutsch-

Amerikanische Freundschaft = "German-American Friendship")

classic new wave song "Tanz den Mussolini" ("Dance the

Mussolini... And now dance the Adolf Hilter..."). See if

you can hear out some current pols from this new version.

It's basically the "Neue Mitte"-thing (the new middle =

not leftist, not rightwing).  Supposedly the mainstream...

Only the mainstream today is what rightwing was ten,

fifteen years ago.

 

 

>(((Yeah, but who cares? We're rich businessmen!)))

 

Exactly. And they all got their cozy hideaways in

Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, up on mountain sides, just like

(and where) Adolf used to: "Dat guy knew what was good!"

 

>Too bad it's political suicide everywhere but Germany and

>far from a majority taste even there.)))

 

The problem is - Eco tax ain't very eco. The revenue

doesn't go into anything green like it ought to, but

rather into pensions and social security. Big-car owners

curse it or - if they REALLY can afford to laff off the

couple of bucks - they joke about burning a couple extra

liters with their big cars "to help making old age safe

for the needy."

 

Next time you pass through Rhein-Main airport, gimme a

ring and I'll buy you a beer.

 

Cheers, Alexander

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

UH, WELL, OKAY MAN,

BUT DESPITE ALL THAT

REMARKABLE MATERIAL,

THEY STILL GOT THE VOTES

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

Well I was in there tonight although my laptops battery was running out so I didnt stay long. Thunerbird and Bullet were apparently online but I must have just missed them - thats why Forums are better!

Yep thats right. The one at http://vfte.cyberpunk.co.uk is version 1.0 but I have not developed that further yet as there are significant changes in 1.1 which would mean a huge upgrade which I am going to have to do from the current Ikonboard anyway - so I really only want to do that once!

 

I investigated Nuke and all its variants, as used by the excellent cyberpunk-usa.com , but at the end of the day I wasn't happy the way things worked - each to thier own I suppose! I also investigated chat progs as well but at the time there wasn't enough people to justify it and I am not going to do it now as I don't want to compete with Nightwolfs - that would not be good for the community. Seems a lot of people here use it - which is great!

 

One thing I do want to do with the new forum is introduce custom skins that match other cyberpunk sites so that they can share the Views from the Edge forum - even frame it into thier sites if required. That way we strenghten the community even further.

 

One thing I really do love is the amount of other webmasters that use the forum here - its a great sign of community spirit - no big egos unlike the D&D websites where there are lots of horrid factions!  

 

SoInvision board it will be.

Key concepts: German Green party, German politics,

German elections, green energy policy, giant

German floods

 

Attention Conservation Notice:  it's very German.

 

*******************************************

Entries in the Biofuture Robot Dog Contest:

 

From: Laura Sterling

http://www.viridiandesign.org/contests/laura.html

 

From: Mark Simpkins <mark*nodalpoints.org>

http://www.nodalpoints.org/viridian/index.html

 

From: Paul Jimenez <pj*place.org>

http://www.place.org/~pj/ROVER.txt

 

From: Giles Turnbull <giles*gorjuss.com>

http://gilest.org/242

 

From: david rice <david*futurefeedforward.com>

http://futurefeedforward.com/dingostroller.html

 

From: Duncan Stewart <stewarts*stewarts.org>

http://www.stewarts.org/viridian/gbn/watson.htm

 

From: David Bergman <bergman*cyberg.com>

http://cyberg.com/viridian/ddawg.htm

 

From: Eric Nehrlich <nehrlich*alum.mit.edu>

http://www.nehrlich.com/viridian_aromaker.html

 

From: Matt Jones <matt*blackbeltjones.com>

http://www.blackbeltjones.com/vonneumann

 

From: Dave Phelan <dphelan*pavilion.co.uk>

http://www.btinternet.com/~dphelan/viridian/futuredog.html

From: "Four Eyed Dog" <dog*ictadopac.com>

http://www.ictadopac.com

 

"The Lovata Bros. entry for the Viridian Bio-Future Dog Design

Competition is online. We're especially interested in any specific

comment/criticism about our 4idog creation."

 

Troy Lovata, Todd Lovata

 

"All of the colors seen on the squashes in our native gardens were to be

found on the dogs we had in the old times. They were yellow-chested,

spotted, brown and of other colors...Icta-Dopac or Eyes-Four. This we

may translate as Four-eyes. This dog was so called because he had small

dark spots over the eyes that made him look as if he had four eyes. He

was very gentle.   Hidatsa Wolf-Chief, 1913."

 

From: clara park <clara*futurefeedforward.com>

http://futurefeedforward.com/feedmefido.html

 

"Hi, here's an idea I had for a dog of the future == my artistic impulses didn't

get me very far, but I had fun.  By the way, I am not David; I just know him

very well.  Thanks, Clara"

 

From: Reid Harward  <mudlab*adelphia.net?>

http://www.well.com/user/reid

 

From: Tracey Callison <tracey*lensman.org>

http://www.funevilpeople.org/bob

 

"Here ya go.  Enjoy!  I had *so* much fun with this.  I want one."

Tracey Callison

 

This contest ends tomorrow: September 30, 2002.

****************************************************

 

Link:

Check out that tipi-friendly wireless broadband.

http://www.psand.net/green/

 

 

My goodness, these "transnationale.org" people

sure look busy.

http://www.transnationale.org/anglais/fiches/817512280.htm

 

 

 

Source: Space Daily

 

http://www.spacedaily.com/news/020916011827.tmglt7b1.html

 

"Germany's Greens: from flower power to corridors of power"

 

"(...)  The Greens had 51,000 members in 1998. Now they have only 46,000.

But they have won new supporters, 'those who reproached us for our

idealism before we proved ourselves in government' (...)"

 

(((It's incredible that there are a mere 46,000 German Greens

and yet they scare straight people so totally.  Plus, they even

managed to boost themselves two percentage points in the

latest German elections == given that weather violence submerged

about half of Germany.))))))

 

 

Source:  Planet Ark

http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/17894/story.htm

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE

 

"Victorious German Greens mix eco-aims with realism

 

"GERMANY: September 25, 2002

 

"BERLIN == Germany's Greens pledged this week to push ecological issues to

the fore after a late surge in support gave them their best ever general

election result and saved Germany's centre-left government.

 

   "However, Joschka Fischer, the foreign minister and architect of their

electoral triumph, promised the Greens would not 'flex their muscles',

implying he would continue to shepherd the party along a path of

compromise.

 

    "Greens leaders met this week after the party had increased its share of

the vote by almost two points to 8.6 percent from 6.7 four years ago, to

prepare for fresh coalition negotiations with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's

Social Democrats.   (...)

 

    "Analysts said this meant a sharper focus on environmentally friendly

transport, sustainable farming and renewable energy as well as a possible

rise of energy tax.   (...) But there was no escaping the fact that much of

Greens' triumph was due to Fischer, the revolutionary-turned-realist whose

personal charisma the party traded on ruthlessly.  ((("Ruthlessly"?  Joschka

is Germany's most popular politician.  He's ruthlessly beloved.)))

 

    (...)  "Four years on, the party's election manifesto was vaguer than in

1998, with no proposed new rate of energy tax or plans to cut motorway

speed limits.

 

     "But they still surpassed their eight percent pre-election target to

remain Germany's third political force, and in power.

 

    "They also won their first outright constituency seat through anti-war

campaigner Christian Stroebele, who drove a small electric car throughout

his campaign.  (((Beep-beep!)))

 

     "Companies with an environmental edge saw their stocks gain after the

Greens' success. The wind power specialist Plambeck shot up 15 percent in

Frankfurt, while the green energy firm Umweltkontor rose 3.3 percent.

 

    "In Oslo, the Norwegian bottle and can recycling group Tomra opened 12

percent higher on hopes of wider recycling in Germany after the election, but

later fell back."  Story by Philip Blenkinsop

 

(((Maybe one *should* change one's vote after watching one's

home wash away.)))

 

Source: Deutsche Welle

http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1432_A_609790,00.html

 

"Environment Becomes a Political Football in Germany

 

   "With half of Germany submerged under water and elections looming, the

environment has suddenly taken on a new urgency in the political campaign.

Has the Green Party found a new weapon against the conservative

opposition?

 

    "The storms that have wreaked havoc in southern and eastern Germany

this past week have presented an unintended political opportunity for

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s government coallition.

 

   "Lagging behind the Christian Democratic Union and Chrisitian Social Union

in the polls before the Sept. 22 elections, Schroeder's social democratic and

Green party coalition government has used the flooding to tout their

environmental record and attack the Union’s lack of an environmental vision.

 

    "The Greens took special issue with chancellor candidate Edmund

Stoiber’s failure to appoint a person responsible for environmental affairs in

his much-publicised shadow cabinet.

 

     "'In the face of the ongoing natural catastrophe, candidate Stoiber should

reflect on why nobody in his so-called competence team is responsible for

the environment,' Green Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told the Thuringer

Allgemeine newspaper on Tuesday. 'Precisely in Stoiber’s Bavaria, there was

unchecked construction in the flooded areas.'  (((Ouch!))) (...)

 

    "The environmental spokesperson of the Greens, Reinhard Loske accused

Stoiber of 'environmental ignorance'.  In a statement he said, 'those such as

the union who want to end the eco tax and reject the further expansion of

renewable energies, are dealing in an utter irresponsible manner'.  (((Yeah,

but who cares? We're rich businessmen!)))

 

   "The so-called 'eco tax' is considered by advocates to be one of the great

achievements of Schroeder's coalition government since it came to power in

1998. The tax, placed on everything from fuel to electricity, is meant to

spur conservation by gradually increasing the cost of energy and raw

materials, kick-start investment aimed at energy conservation and generate

revenues to bring down labour costs."  (((Sounds pretty "responsible" to me.

Too bad it's political suicide everywhere but Germany and far from a majority

taste even there.)))

(...)

 

     "Both proposals have come under heavy criticism by industry leaders and

opposition parties.  Business leaders felt the eco tax would scare away

consumers fearing higher electricity bills and rising gasoline costs. 

Opposition parties have maintained that nuclear energy is the most

inexpensive form of energy currently available. (((Except for that

ultra-expensive nuclear garbage.  As for fossil fuels, well, who pays for

those storms and floods? Voters.)))

 

   "Meanwhile, as floods wreak havoc and claim lives in large regions of

southern and eastern Germany == particularly in Saxony, Saxony Anhalt and

Bavaria == both Chancellor Schroeder and his conservative challenger,

Stoiber have rushed to the worst-affected cities of Dresden and Passau in

Bavaria respectively."

 

Source: Deutsche Welle

http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1446_A_610017,00.html

 

"Wanted: Loads of Clean Energy

 

  "As unprecedented rains lash Germany, the debate on climate change and

renewable sources of energy has become increasingly vocal. Here a look at

which regenerative energies play a role in Germany’s energy market.

 

    "While environmentalists and scientists world-wide debate the origins of

global warming and its effects on the world's climate, (((no they don't

"debate the origins" == they just point out stark facts to powers-that-be and

then contemplate suicide))) one fact remains undisputed == people all over

the globe are consuming more and more energy daily.  (((No they're not.)))

 

   "It's still unclear to what extent rising levels of energy consumption are

responsible for climatic change. But the latest weather catastrophes in

Europe have triggered a debate in Germany about moving away from fossil

fuels and towards the use of alternative sources of energy.

 

    "In 1999 Germany renounced the use of nuclear power == which accounts

for 30 percent of its energy consumption. The governing Social Democratic-

Green coalition considers nuclear power and the disposal of radioactive waste

too dangerous.

 

   "Germany moves towards regenerative energy

 

    "The country has made efforts to move away from polluting fossil fuels

and embrace alternative energies, in particular solar power. At present, 7

percent of Germany's electricity is generated using alternative energy

sources.

 

    "After the passing of the Renewable Energies Law in April 2000 that

sought to encourage a switch to renewable energies, Germany experienced a

sort of solar boom. The southwestern city of Freiburg boasts the first hotel

in Europe run entirely on alternative energy sources. But despite the solar

push, power from the sun today provides a mere 0.0006 percent of

Germany's electricity.

 

"Wind and water

 

   "Another popular source of alternative energy in Germany is hydroelectric

power, which makes up more than half of alternative energy segment in the

country. But experts believe that hydroelectric power (photo) is pushing its

limits and has already exhausted 80 percent of its potential.

 

    "It has also become increasingly difficult to find large rivers in which to

set up generators without the ecology of the region being adversely

affected."(...) (((Especially when rivers and lakes flood catastrophically from

climate change.)))

 

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

WELL, AT LEAST

THEY GOT VOTES!

O=c=O O=c=O O=c=O

I am shifting all my sites including this one onto a different server plan - with the same hosting company. This will mean a small amount of disruption shortly - don't know when yet but after its done I will be able to expand the site properly and finaly get around to porting everything over to the new forum system which is due for release very shortly. Big thanks to you guys for sticking with it!