How Segregated is Your City? (Wash DC, L.A., SF, Detroit, NYC, San Antonio)
Journal: US Secretary of Education Does Not Get It…
04 Education
Tech-loving U.S. education chief ‘not a fan' of Microsoft Xbox 360
TechFlash Seattle
Todd Bishop on Sunday, September 19, 2010, 9:10am PDT
His opinion might not carry the weight of Snoop Dogg and LL Cool J among the country's schoolchildren, but Arne Duncan, the U.S. education secretary, is adamant in this New York Times Q&A today when asked if he would ever buy an Xbox for his children.
“Not a fan. No, absolutely not.”
Phi Beta Iota: Grand Theft Auto, and X-Box, have made huge differences in children's lives. X-Box Live is social networking and social problem-solving of very high value. What we have here is US education being run by a guy who got the job because he was a local pal of the President. He is so out of touch with the reality of what digital natives want and need that he confirms our view that education, intelligence, and research need to be under one big brain that can redirect three fifths or more of the secret intelligence budget to a total make-over of education, intelligence, and high-tech research & development in the context of one integrated “smart nation.”
Journal: US Research & Development in the Toilet
03 Economy, 05 Energy, Commerce, Commercial Intelligence, Earth Intelligence, GovernmentU.S. innovation: On the skids
Technologists look to a new White House to reverse decade-long slide in R&D
By Gary Anthes, ComputerWorld, October 21, 2008
By most measures, the U.S. is in a decade-long decline in global technological competitiveness. The reasons are many and complex, but central among them is the country's retreat from long-term basic research in science and technology, coupled with a surge in R&D by countries such as China.
Tip of the Hat to Lynn Wheeler at LinkedIn.
Phi Beta Iota: This ties in perfectly with US secret intelligence fraud, waste, and abuse (hand-outs to corporations for vapor-ware, see our quick study 2010: OPINION–America’s Cyber Scam); and also with Chuck Spinney's long-standing concerns about the plans-reality mismatch and the criminal insanity of raising two generations of engineers who know nothing but “government specification cost plus” production.
Journal: Solar Panel Molecules
05 Energy
Self organizing solar panels
by jonl on September 18, 2010“Scientists at MIT have discovered molecules that spontaneously assemble themselves into a pattern that can turn light into electricity — essentially a self-creating solar panel. In a petri dish.” [Link]
I was wondering if this discovery has a practical application. A commenter has the same question, someone else answers:
The implication of the addition of an ‘additive’ to disassemble into a liquid ‘soup’ is that the stuff can be sprayed/painted onto a surface. It also means that it can be mixed with polymers and woven into materials etc.
Paint or spray your house/car/boat/aircraft with it, and decide you want a different colour? No problem, spray the additive/solvent and it comes off.
(Thanks to Audrey Thompson for the pointer.)
Phi Beta Iota: This takes biomimicry to a very high level. Consider that Nokia now has cell phones that do not need the electrical grid–they repower from ambient energy. Consider that foot (walking) power can now go easily into a battery on the belt from which various peripherals including a cell phone can be powered. What is finally happening, in the nick of time, is the discovered of whole systems engineering. There is no need to hack the planet, the planet was perfect before we got here–we are finally hacking humanity and evolving our consciousness in a better direction.
Journal: Supreme Court May Smack Executive Down
09 Justice, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Government, Officers Call
Smackdown of Obama by Supreme Court may be inevitable
According to sources who watch the inner workings of the federal government, a smackdown of Barack Obama by the U.S. Supreme Court may be inevitable.
Ever since Obama assumed the office of President, critics have hammered him on a number of Constitutional issues. Critics have complained that much if not all of Obama's major initiatives run headlong into Constitutional roadblocks on the power of the federal government.
Phi Beta Iota: Our Contributing Editor received the entire story via email but without a date from a Colonel serving in Afghanistan. This story is evidently circulating among military personnel and for that reason we take note. However, we note that it was originally posted9 July 2010, and have linked to that original post rather than post the entire email. We would observe that ever since Dick Cheney was Chief of Staff in the White House, Executive disrespect for the Constitution and Congress has been growing, and that Newt Gingrich was the one who led Congress to its practice of abdicating its Article 1 role in the Constitution, instead playing foot-soldier to a party president. We reiterate, there is nothing wrong with America that cannot be fixed by Electoral Reform.
Journal: U.S. Army Partially Criminal & Drugged Up
03 Economy, 11 Society, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Military, Officers CallI can't confirm all of what's in here because I don't currently work with those issues, but this reads like the Vietnam era…
McClatchy Newspapers (mcclatchydc.com)
September 17, 2010
As Iraq Winds Down, U.S. Army Confronts A Broken Force
By Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — When Lt. Col. Dave Wilson took command of a battalion of the 4th Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, the unit had just returned to Texas from 14 months traveling some of Iraq's most dangerous roads as part of a logistics mission.
What he found, he said, was a unit far more damaged than the single death it had suffered in its two deployments to Iraq.
Nearly 70 soldiers in his 1,163-member battalion had tested positive for drugs: methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana. Others were abusing prescription drugs. Troops were passing around a tape of a female lieutenant having sex with five soldiers from the unit. Seven soldiers in the brigade died from drug overdoses and traffic accidents when they returned to Fort Bliss, near El Paso, after their first deployment.
“The inmates were running the prison,” Wilson said.
Continue reading “Journal: U.S. Army Partially Criminal & Drugged Up”
NIGHTWATCH Extract: China-Sri Lanka
02 China, 03 Economy, 03 India, 10 Security
China-Sri Lanka: On 16 September, China and Sri Lanka agreed to enhance bilateral military cooperation. The announcement came during a meeting between General Chen Bingde, Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army of China, and Sri Lankan Defense Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
NIGHTWATCH Comment: The terms and value of the agreement are not yet known. Nevertheless, any new Chinese defense cooperation initiative with any South Asian country will draw the attention of the Indians. This reinforces China's defense connections with the country immediately south of India and in which India has strategic interests, albeit badly managed most of the time.
Following the near trebling of the armed forces to achieve victory over the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan Army requires a major overhaul, downsizing, retraining and re-equipment. It is significant about Sri Lankan leadership views of India that they turned to China. India, China and Pakistan all have helped Sri Lanka in fighting the Tigers.
For India, this will reinforce suspicions that China plans and intends to encircle India with client states.
See Also:
2010 Chinese firm partners with Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence on Colombo Port project
2010 China eyes rail link to Chittagong
2009 India Alarmed As Chinese Built Gwadar Port Of Pakistan Becomes Operational
NIGHTWATCH Extract: China-Iran Rail + China ReCap
