Today's guest on the show is Declan McKibben, who is the Head of Design and Innovation in the ADAPT Centre in Trinity College Dublin. The Design and Innovation team bridges the gap between research lab prototypes and the needs for industrial proof-of-concept systems. They develop Fit-for-purpose solutions to allow industrial evaluation and use-case validation of advanced technologies from core Platform Research.
The ADAPT Centre focuses on developing the next generation of digital technologies that transform how people communicate by helping to analyse, personalise and deliver digital data more effectively for businesses and individuals.
What did you make of Declan's podcast? Where do you see the future of Artificial Intelligence heading in the next few years? I would love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment below.


Made it here alive, no problems. Go me. Now off to get my registration and etc. I'm carrying my Journey mp3 player with me. If you're here, ask me to show it to you!
Q: What do zombies like to eat?
Q: What do vegetarian zombies like to eat?
Q: What do vegetarian zombies eat when they're on vacation in Jamaica?
Q: What is the favorite city of Illinois zombies?
Q: What are zombies' favorite scale model entertainment?
Okay, now you try one.


Entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon takes you backstage to the Oscar green room where all the stars hang out!
LOS ANGELES -- Just steps from the Oscars stage, the green room is a sanctuary.
This elegant green room is the waiting area where stars and the presenters come just before they go onstage.
The stage is just steps away from the green room, and while presenters wait there, they can snack on cheese, relax or look at the past Oscar triumphs -- before they face millions of people.
To make sure the room remains absolutely pristine, visitors like WABC-TV entertainment reporter Sandy Kenyon needed to wear protective booties over his shoes.
It's empty now, but come Sunday, this room will be filled with activity, anxiety and lots of food!
Don't miss the Oscars on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT on ABC.


text:
The Four City WardsWard 1:
Union Pacific RR tracks south to the northern property line of South Park, east along the northern property line of South Park to Greenview Pl., north side of Greenview Pl. to Sheridan Rd., south along the east side of Sheridan Rd. to Westleigh Rd., north side of Westleigh Rd. to the lake.
Ward 2:
north along the east side of Rt. 41 from the City Limits to Deerpath, east along the south side of Deerpath to the Skokie Ditch, south along the west side of the Skokie Ditch to a line extending Kennedy Rd. (Rt. 60) to the Union Pacific RR tracks, west along the south side of this line to the Union Pacific RR tracks, south along the Union Pacific RR tacks to the northerly property line of South Park, east to Greenview Pl., south side of Greenview Pl. to Sheridan Rd., south along west side of Sheridan Rd. to Westleigh Rd., south side of Westleigh Rd. to the lake.
south along the west side of the Union Pacific RR tracks to a line extending Kennedy Rd. (Rt. 60) to the Union Pacific RR tracks, west along the north side of this line to the Skokie Ditch, north along the east side of the Skokie Ditch, north side of Deerpath to Rt. 41, south along the west side of Rt. 41 to Kennedy Rd. (Rt. 60), west along the north side of Kennedy Rd. (Rt. 60) to Academy Woods Dr., south along the west side of a line extending Academy Woods Dr. to Stablewood Ln. and Stablewood Ln. to Everett Rd., west along the north side of Everett Rd. to the City Limit.
north along the west side of Rt. 41 from the City Limits to Kennedy Rd. (Rt. 60), west along the south side of Kennedy Rd. (Rt. 60) to Academy Woods Dr., south along the east side of a line extending Academy Woods Dr. to Stablewood Ln. and Stablewood Ln. to Everett Rd., west along the south side of Everett Rd. to the City Limit.
Your Link Name

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: font and font size of AlertDialog.Builder positive and negative buttons I am using the AlertDialog.Builder in a number of places in my app, but there are a few places where a more complex dialog is needed, and with more buttons. For the sake of consistency, I'd like the buttons in the complex dialogs to mirror the style of the standard positive/negative/neutral buttons. How can I discover which font is used by default in the standard dialog, as well as the associated font size?
Thanks for any assistance.

A: This information is available in the Material Design guidelines, though it is somewhat scattered.
Button text size info is listed on this page: https://material.io/guidelines/style/typography.html

Buttons
English: Medium 14sp, all caps

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Get confident about sales tax compliance.
If you're overwhelmed at the thought of making sure your business is in sales tax compliance, you're not alone. New state laws pop up almost daily, and filing due dates change frequently. What was required yesterday might not be mandatory tomorrow.
Here's a primer on how to get started, when to collect sales tax, and how to stay compliant.
There are two common instances where you must collect sales tax from customers in the United States. This is through physical and economic sales tax nexus. Quite simply, these are fancy ways of saying you have a "significant presence" in a U.S. state. Factors like a location, personnel or inventory stored for sale in a warehouse create sales tax nexus in a state. Each state is different however, so make sure to learn what creates sales tax nexus in every U.S. state here.
Now, in addition to sales tax nexus, you must also collect sales tax if you meet economic nexus. The June 2018 Supreme Court ruling of South Dakota v. Wayfair ruled that states can apply their own sales tax laws to out-of-state retailers based on economic activity. If you're selling a high volume of products into a state that has passed economic nexus laws, then you're subject to their thresholds. One thing to remember, each state has their own threshold, so take note that not all states are the same.
What happens after you have determined you have sales tax nexus in a state? You'll need to register for a sales tax permit in each state you have nexus. Although it might seem like an extra hassle, it's illegal to collect sales tax from your customers without a permit.
What happens once you have your sales tax permit? You'll need to enable your online shopping carts and marketplaces to collect sales tax from buyers in the states where you have nexus. Depending on which marketplace you are selling from, you'll want to keep current with the most recent marketplace facilitator laws. These laws can impact sellers in various states across major platforms like Amazon, Etsy, and Walmart, among others.
Double check your nexus.As your business grows, your sales tax nexus can change. You may find yourself needing to collect in additional states. What happens as new states pass economic nexus laws? You'll want to rely on a technology provider or a dedicated resource like this to keep up with where you must collect sales tax.
Don't forget the zero return. You may not have had any sales tax for a month or more. However, you are still on the hook to let the state know you're in business. You must file a zero return. Similar to economic nexus and marketplace facilitator laws, each state has their own requirements for zero returns differ, as do the consequences. So keep up with your state's laws in order to remain compliant.
Check for rate changes. States often change their sales tax rates at the beginning of the year or in July. However, states have been known to change rates at any time during the year! Do you have any custom rates set up? January is the perfect time to be sure those rates are still correct. eBay is a good example of a place where sellers set custom rates. If you sell there, check to make sure you're collecting the right amount of sales tax from your buyers.
Hopefully, after reading, you'll feel more confident about sales tax compliance.
TaxJar is a service that makes sales tax reporting and filing simple for more than 15,000 online sellers. Try a 30-day-free trial of TaxJar today and eliminate sales tax compliance headaches from your life!


Sunday is a special day at camp for many reasons. Campers have the chance to sleep in, eat ice cream sundaes for brunch and rest for two hours. But, this Sunday was particularly special at the farm because it was our Harvest Day.
Something we love about Farm Camp is having the opportunity to eat what we grow in our garden and the cattle we raise. Today, we chose to celebrate our farm to table attitude and our favorite core value, stewardship, by challenging each yurt to create a dish to bring to our Harvest Dinner Potluck. Campers made kale chips, sautéed green beans, gnocchi, meat sauce, pesto, salad, salad dressing, Cole slaw, bread and berries with cream desert. The best part, all the food was farm fresh. We enjoyed this food in the sun, outside and all together.
Today was a great day not only because we made great food or learned more about farm fresh cooking, but because we had the opportunity to truly come together as a community. I can't imagine a better way to transition into the last week of the session.


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hallyu wave | Latest updated news - Page 1
BTS' Billboard win to create economic effect worth USD 1.43 billion
An estimated 1.7 trillion won (USD 1.43 billion) worth of economic effect and nearly 8,000 new jobs are expected to be created by K-pop band BTS' conquest of the Billboard Hot 100 chart last week, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency cited government data on September 7.
Learn Korean with K-pop sensation BTS
Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop group BTS, announced that it has partnered with the Korea Foundation (KF) and the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in producing a remote Korean-language course for universities overseas, including in the United States, France, Egypt, and Vietnam.


Séamus Ó Ceallaigh was one of the great chroniclers of the history of Gaelic Games. He was Kilkenny-born but lived most of his life in Limerick. He was a prolific writer on all things G.A.A. and contributed reports and columns to newspapers such as The Limerick Leader and The Irish Independent over the course of more than 50 years, from the 1930s to the mid-1980's. He was also editor and author of several important books of G.A.A. history.
One of Séamus Ó Ceallaigh's great achievements as a sports journalist is the collection of more than 200 biographical profiles of noteworthy Limerick sportsmen which he contributed to The Limerick Leader from the early 1950s through to the early 60s. This collection constitutes an invaluable record of the great individuals in the history of Gaelic Games and Athletics in Limerick. Below is a full list of the the athletes in the series - articles can be read in full.
Further information and a huge amount of material from the Ó Ceallaigh Collection at The Granary Library can be seen here.


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The 1954 Colgate Red Raiders football team was an American football team that represented Colgate University as an independent during the 1954 college football season. In its third season under head coach Hal Lahar, the team compiled a 5–2–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 141 to 117. Richard Lalla was the team captain. The team played its home games at Colgate Athletic Field in Hamilton, New York.

Schedule

References

Colgate
Colgate Raiders football seasons
Colgate Red Raiders football

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Lefebvre est une municipalité dans la municipalité régionale de comté de Drummond au Québec (Canada), située dans la région administrative du Centre-du-Québec.

Géographie

Municipalités limitrophes

Histoire
On a retenu le patronyme du son premier curé de la paroisse locale, l'abbé J.-Alcide Lefebvre (1883-1932), ordonné prêtre en 1902, vicaire à Saint-Jean-d'Iberville (1902-1904) et à Saint-André-d'Argenteuil (1904-1905), pour la nouvelle entité municipale.

Démographie

Administration
Les élections municipales se font en bloc pour le maire et les six conseillers.

Notes et références

Annexes

Articles connexes
 Rivière Yamaska, un cours d'eau
 Rivière Saint-Germain, un cours d'eau
 Drummond, une MRC

Liens externes

Municipalité au Centre-du-Québec
Municipalité dans Drummond


text:
Off the Books
Writing and Blog of Brad Glenn
Lemons on Venus
Real World Monitor Ads!
The Real World Monitor
Posted on January 9, 2019 January 24, 2019 by brad
As we've been reading submissions for our podcast, I am noticing themes between beginning writers and ones who are more experienced. Naming characters becomes increasingly important.
When I think of characters that I remember most clearly, I think of Kilgore Trout, from Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I think of Holden Caulfield. Atticus Finch is another one, although I've never actually read To Kill a Mockingbird. They're names that are both distinctive and perfect for the character. If I write the name Hermoine, you might know the character I'm thinking of, or Katniss, Tintin, Sherlock, Fagin, or Ramona. They are distinctive. There is only one Sherlock, and if you had a child named Sherlock, everyone would know who you named him after.
I'm not saying that you can't have a distinctive character with a plain name. Jane Eyre is an extraordinarily plain name, but when paired with her last name it is distinctive enough. Maybe you want a character whose first name is Jack. Now, it seems like Jack is a go-to for strong male characters, and I've used it myself, but it doesn't conjure any specific character for me.
I suspect what authors are doing is to try and make the name bland so that readers can more easily empathize with them. Maybe I don't know an Aloysius, but I know a Bill. Heck, Bill Gates is one of the richest people on the planet, but that doesn't mean he would be a good character.
Here's the point. Think about it. Really decide upon a character's name. I know you want to name characters after people you know and respect, but you're writing fiction. I was reading a piece that had a detective character named Iris, and I thought it was so cool because the iris is part of your eye, so it fit the character perfectly, and even though I know an Iris and while it's slightly uncommon it's not unheard of, but I remembered it. It stuck in my head for its perfection. You don't have to name your characters wacky names in order to make them memorable, but you have to put serious thought into it.
In The Real World Monitor, the main character's name was Nate Crossfield. Nate was distinctive enough for a bit of an everyman, and his wife, Brooke, had a name change after the first draft because I thought Brooke embodied her much better. The other, and arguably the most memorable character in the novel, was Edgar Catafalque. I've held onto the name Edgar for decades, trying it here and there, as I love the name, but it fit the faceless man in my novel perfectly, the fit of an older name, very distinctive, and slightly strange.
You can go to the root or latin-based words, sometimes, but I think it's actually less important than how it sounds. Brad means a broad plain, and Glenn means a field between two mountains. Does it say anything about me? Not really. It's fun to find out the origins of your name, and a few, like Stella, might conjure an image, but for the most part I wouldn't worry too much about it. You don't have to look through a baby book name for a name that means Faithful or Sneaky to fit the character you have in mind.
How the name sounds is important, so ensure you say the names out loud. I just finished writing the first draft of a novel called The Psychedelic Postman, and in it I had one character named Constance Geld, and another named William Neld. I hadn't realized they were too similar until they were in the same scene, and then I knew I would have to go into each chapter and find/replace one of their names. I changed it to William Arlington, which I thought would stick in the mind better and having three syllables differentiated it from many of the other names in the book. Rhyming names are confusing, as are names that look or sound alike.
There's also a temptation to use alliteration in naming characters. It feels like a throwback to comics, with Peter Parker and Bruce Banner. I keep away from this as well, just because it feels campy to me. That said, I certainly remember alliterative names much more clearly than non-alliterative names in general. I might consider using this method for a lesser character, but again, it's just not my style for a main character.
Characters with the same last names should probably have different first letters of their first names to help identify them, even though in reality many families choose the same first letter for their children. My neighbours were Dennis, Daniel, Denise, and Jim. Pretty close!
It can be argued that we no longer live in a caste system, but there are still definite classes, and often names still can denote which class a person belongs to. For instance, Doyle is a working-class name, while Davenport is much more upper class. Doug is a lower class first name when compared to an upper class name like Rupert or Benedict. You could even use names to show class, as in calling a character Bill versus William. Inversing these, such as having a homeless man names Willoughby, sets up an interesting backstory that while you might not explore it fully in your story, adds a depth to the character that might not be there otherwise.
Full disclosure here, I do use baby name websites sometimes. I find myself scrolling through the names until one hits. Often I'll figure out the ethnicity of a character and choose something suitable, as I don't want to end up with a character from a country with a name from a completely different ethnicity without any reason. Other times I see a name that sticks in my head and I save it. I am planning my next piece, a short story, and already I have found a name for the mansion it is set in. I've used the phone book (back when phone books were a thing) but I mixed and matched names in my inexperience and ended up with names that culturally would likely never occur. I've never stolen a family name, but I have put my friend Gord into a story because it was basically about him anyway. (And his name sounded like God, and there was a link there I wanted to make.) I also go back and often find/replace names, so on occasion I write in people I know, often from my school years, so that their character is easily set in my head, and then replace their names after I'm done my first draft, and they are none the wiser!
So to wrap it up, don't name your characters just whatever. Really think it through, find the perfect name, and make it memorable.
Writing A Series
Trust Your Reader
Oh, The Horror!
Writing Update
Respecting Voices
Kali on Science Fiction
Ellen Weber on Till
The guy that wanted asterisms. on Asterisms
Sarah Glenn on Gender Neutral Pronouns
Robynn on Waiting For Inspiration


The Farmhouse was FULL this week!
Great Grandmother, Aunt Jennifer, Aunt Teri, and all the cousins have camped out here for the past few days.
The kids played outside all day and all of us older folks cooked and cleaned and cooked and cleaned, and sat on the porch and chatted for hours.
It was such a treat to catch up on each other's hearts!
Happy summer days here on the farm!


Dr. M. Azadeh Afzali, D.D.S.
This has to be one of the best dental offices I have ever been to. I'm always a bit skeptical about someone putting things in my mouth. However, I feel very confident that all their tools are clean and sterilized! Very friendly staff as well. Not just your typical in and out patient type of service. They really take their time with you and are very helpful and knowledgeable with any questions or concerns. I highly recommend this office!!
Went to get my teeth whitened, and was greeted by front desk girl who was extremely friendly and informative! Sam was was fantastic and calming (I am a dental chicken). In and out in less than 1 hour with a great new smile (: !!!
After a fond recommendation I came in for an examination because I had wanted to get implants. The staff here was courteous the doctor was very professional. After being quoted on the cost I was given payment options that worked out great. I came back a week later to get the implants and I'm more than happy with the work. Good job Dr!
I was very pleased with the professional manner in which I was treated. The equipment is very state of the art, the doctors are very competent. I appreciated the knowledge and understanding of both doctors. I am very comfortable that the program I received will resolve my problems once and for all.
The doctors and staff are always patient and kind. I appreciate the thorough explanations of procedures/treatments. I don't enjoy coming to the dentist but they always make it a positive and pleasant experience. Love them!


This is a 1974 ad for a Buck Knives! The size of the ad is approximately 5x5inches. The caption for this ad is 'Make this pocket knife of high-carbon Buck steel your lifetime companion' The ad is in great condition. This vintage ad would look great framed and displayed! Add it to your collection today!
1980 Buck Knives Colt #703 Knife Ad!


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March 11, 2021 September 8, 2021
Wolfenstein: Youngblood (Backlog Review)
In case you don't know, Wolfenstein: Youngblood continues the Wolfenstein storyline of the modern games but as a spinoff centered around BJ's daughters. It also continues along with the fast-paced, smooth-as-butter FPS action its modern revival and counterpart Doom have so competently brought back.
If there's one thing the game gets right, it's the gameplay.
Welp, there's no denying you'll be doing a lot of shooting, and very early on you'll find yourself downed really easily. During these firefights, some enemies have different armor, and therein lies an annoyance: having to switch weapons in order to chip away the armor better. It's annoying, that's all there is to it. Otherwise, the shooting gets wonderfully hectic, and things explode… a lot. And thanks to the wonders of mouse precision and turning speed, PC is really the best way to play it. The game does also decide you should do a little light platforming and tries to really change it up with dark areas requiring the use of a flashlight thereby restricting your gun choice. You can also try the stealth route, and while it CAN work with the use of throwable melee items, the truth is that most of the time it's only an opening gambit before the fireworks pop off. Lastly, the game does try to appeal to a little of that RPG element that has been creeping into just about every genre of game these days, and as you level up you can unlock more skills, perks, and even upgrade your weaponry. If there's one thing the game gets right, it's the gameplay. Unfortunately, it starts to wear thin just a meager three hours in, and by the time I beat the game, I realized the monotony had really tired me out. It's done right, but flat like a meadow.
Grinding to level up would only be because you enjoy shooting stuff…
The game already launched at half the price of full games, and I for one applaud the developers for being fair about their re-use of existing assets and that it's a spinoff title. Thus, while on the short side of things just clocking in at less than 10 hours to see the ending sequence, I can't complain about the price. The game does also contain a decent amount of side missions for leveling up further, but once you've seen the primary areas of the map, you've seen it all. Grinding to level up would only be because you enjoy shooting stuff, not because there's any real worth to it.
…the ray tracing is implemented in ways that might shock you.
This is going to get interesting, so saddle up. The first part is about the graphics, and naturally the id Tech 6 engine targets the PC platform. This is to good effect, as the game also supports full ray traced reflections. All combined, this game admittedly delivers on the graphics front with a rock-solid framerate to boot. The lighting engine always looks good, and the ray tracing is implemented in ways that might shock you. Even something as simple as a fire hydrant is accurately reflected in the curvature of a sniper scope. Yes, the ray tracing reflections are that accurate, and it pervades to things like metal walls and simple plates on crates. And all this runs without a hitch on my machine at a solid 60fps, mostly limited for capture purposes because the framerate easily tops 100 or more. But in a strange choice, the cinematics only play in 30fps, and cause a lot of screen tearing because of the unnatural cap. Now comes the part that hurt me more than I care to admit: the flavor of story delivery. You'd best be open to very juvenile humor and what I can quite readily surmise as an attempt to make the two protagonist girls to be single digit IQ hillbillies. Just listening to their quips during combat was… nauseating. And it's not that I don't understand this type of humor, it's that it's not put to good use in the right place. Two uber powerful girls putting on insane gunfights with their lives at stake? Yea, seems kind of weird to be talking like two pre-teens playing a violent videogame. And then there's the actual story itself, which has normal characters in their roles, that pretty much did absolutely nothing to progress the Wolfenstein story at all. Talk about spinoff: it didn't even give me anything to care about in the grand scheme of things.
…I'm worried that the upcoming Indiana Jones game will be monotonous…
There are certain things about this game that give me concern about MachineGames handling the upcoming Indiana Jones game. It's not about the graphics, because those are solid. It's not the FPS aspect either, because that's also solid. It's about the monotony in the gameplay, the monotony in the game world, and more shockingly their presentational writing decisions. While the core Wolfenstein games did not share the shocking conflict of character, it DOES share the majority of these other issues. Add in that they tossed in some annoying armor mechanic to no real affect, and I'm worried that the upcoming Indiana Jones game will be monotonous, have some annoying mechanic of some sort, and just wear thin before the adventure is over.
I give Wolfenstein: Youngblood…
Posted in PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, review, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series XTagged PC, review, Wolfenstein: YoungbloodLeave a comment
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In the post below this one, the picture of the scales doesn't show that I had already rough drilled some holes in the back of the scales that will line up with the pins in the handle.
The next job was to make the junction of the scales and the metal bolster a perfect fit.
I don't have a disc sander (yet) so for small projects, I have a small Proxxon table saw. It cuts really well but limited depth.
You can see that it's not deep enough to go through the full thickness of the hessian micarta.
That's not a problem though as it's deeper than the thickness of the bolster so I can just snap the excess off, leaving a nice 90 degree junction.
So ready to glue the first scale.
I'm sure I've mentioned before that I love my Kant Twist clamps.
Well, that's still true and if anyone ever decides to give me more then I won't complain!


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text:
The Fundraising Lore
How the Fundraising Lore Can Help
How to Use the Fundraising Lore
Deciding to Fundraise
Fundraising Strategy Overview
Phase I - Preparation
Phase II - Fundraising
Phase III - Closing
FAQ (TBD)
Managing Your Psychology (TBD)
Closing Thoughts (TBD)
The Fundraising Lore is a guide to help founder CEOs successfully raise early-stage VC financing from Silicon Valley investors.
Let me unpack each key phrase from the summary further:
Founder CEOs
While other founders and execs can assist in some aspects, fundraising is fundamentally a CEO responsibility (more on this topic in Time Commitment). Thus, I focus on and assume that relevant readers are founding CEOs.
I have taken extra care to provide additional context whenever possible, hoping to help first-time founders in particular. That's because fundraising, like most things, is hardest the first time you do it.
More experienced founders, including those that have raised before, can still benefit from the Fundraising Lore. A common piece of feedback I get is that this guide helps shine light on why things in the fundraising world work the way they do.
Early-stage
The Fundraising Lore focuses on early-stage fundraising, which currently means seed and series A rounds. These terms refer to the first financing rounds that include institutional capital. That means venture capital rather than checks written by individuals investing their own money (such as angels). More on the VC model in Company / VC Fit.
Note that there is a profound difference between early-stage (seed, series A) and late-stage (series B and beyond) venture capital. While later rounds are about scaling something that works already, early rounds are about investors and entrepreneurs taking a leap of faith together to discover what works. That's hard and rare, especially in light of the fact that most startups fail. That is why early-stage fundraising is so unique relative to later rounds.
Silicon Valley Investors
My fundraising experience is primarily in Silicon Valley and thus the Fundraising Lore will be most relevant for founders raising from investors based there. The Bay Area is a unique entrepreneurial ecosystem in many ways: the amount of startup capital available, the sheer number of experienced founders, investors, and executives, and, most importantly, in the way people think about startups.
The venture and startup ecosystems are becoming more global by the minute. So, with time, differences between Silicon Valley and the rest of the world might diminish. Still, if you are fundraising from investors based outside of Silicon Valley, you should exercise caution when applying advice from the Fundraising Lore. You will probably need to make significant adjustments in your fundraising strategy.
That being said, the Fundraising Lore does not assume that you are a Silicon Valley insider, unlike other similar guides that take it for granted that you have access to VCs. Indeed, this guide explicitly addresses how to build a network - from scratch! - to take advantage of everything the Valley has to offer. More on that in Network with VC-backed Entrepreneurs.
Founder CEOs
Early-stage
Silicon Valley Investors
All content on lore.vc is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. Built with Docusaurus.


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U.S. Seeks to Expand International Support for Peacebuilding in Israel, Palestinian Territories
An Overview of the Issues Driving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Beyond land and property, it's people that matter at the center of a complicated conflict.
Religious Peacebuilding
Religious leaders are just as vital as politicians in leading change in the Middle East.
Policy Steps
A New Strategy to Improve Lives, Advance Rights and Narrow the Conflict
Read Today's News Update
Sign up to the Daily News Update
Consolidate Progress
Consolidating Steps
Agreements with Third Parties
Render durable any progress toward a two-state reality and the creation of an environment conducive to the resumption of negotiations.
Depending on the scope of progress achieved in Tracks 1 and 2, the United States could deploy several mechanisms in order to consolidate progress.
The United States can orchestrate a combination of consolidating steps made up of national legislation and executive actions, religious rulings, policies, statements and decisions in multilateral arenas including, but not limited to:
National legislation, executive actions and/or policy statements by the U.S., Israel, Palestinian Authority and others, where appropriate, to formalize implementation of the steps taken to improve lives and narrow the conflict;
Jewish and Muslim religious rulings that support this strategy. Jewish rulings should be sought from religious leaders, like the followers of the late Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, who permit Palestinian statehood in the Land of Israel and Islamic rulings should be sought from religious leaders who permit Jewish statehood. Once Muslim religious rulings garner broad Arab and Islamic support, the U.S. can consider orchestrating their formal acceptance by the Arab League and/or the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC);
In coordination with Israel, and consistent with U.S. law, the U.S. can consider permitting Palestinian accession to multilateral institutions;
Formal Israeli and Palestinian declarations of mutual recognition in multilateral arenas (e.g. UNESCO, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Arab League, European Union or the OIC);
Normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states designed to complement and encourage steps to improve lives and narrow the conflict; and,
Institutionalize a joint Israeli-PA monthly audit of customs revenue and all deductions including health, fuel and other expenses.
The United States could consolidate progress by assisting Israel and the PA in concluding bilateral agreements that:
Formalize water and energy agreements;
Improve cooperation between the finance and infrastructure ministries;
Reintroduce the presence of the Palestinian customs authorities to King Hussein crossing/Allenby Bridge, based on the regulations stipulated in both the Interim Agreement and the Paris Protocol.
Redesignate territories currently slated as Area C as Area A or B, thereby enhancing Palestinian territorial contiguity and improving security performance. Redesignating limited tracts of territory would go a long way to creating uninterrupted transportation networks and fostering economic development. Based on strict Israeli security considerations, roughly 10% of West Bank lands may be eligible to be re-designated from Area C. Under this scenario, the number of Palestinian 'islands' surrounded by Area C could be reduced from 169 to 74.1 See Enhancing West Bank Stability and Security – Reducing Friction between Israelis and Palestinians Improving Palestinian Authority Governance, Commanders for Israel's Security, June 2017, http://en.cis.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Enhancing-West-Bank-Stability-and- Security.pdf. Such re-designation of territories might occur in phases, tied to the security performance of the PA.
Establish a Joint Commission on Acceptance and Tolerance to help create a culture of peace in both societies, address incitement and education materials and institute a series of professionally run dialogues.
Consolidate progress in Jerusalem and the West Bank through joint Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian agreements.
House demolitions are a major source of enmity toward Israel among Palestinian Jerusalemites. This problem could be addressed most durably by advancing master plans in Arab areas of East Jerusalem, which would allow legalization of houses built without Israeli approval. Israel could accord Jordan such an achievement which would bolster the Palace's standing in Jerusalem and among Jordanians and reduce tensions in East Jerusalem. In addition, Jerusalem's Christian institutions face challenges from Israeli taxation and temporary residence policies. Israel could ease these policies in order to strengthen these institutions and publicly declare it did so, among other reasons, at Jordan's request.
By doing so, this would upgrade Jordan's status as custodian of holy sites in Jerusalem and patron of Palestinian Jerusalemites.
There is also an opportunity to increase access for Jews, Christians and Muslims to the Temple Mount/Haram Al Sharif and reduce tensions at it by improving Israeli-Jordanian coordination.
This could be done through:
Resumption of Waqf sale of tickets to non-Muslim visitors to Islamic shrines and Islamic museums;
Approval of Hashemite restoration projects;
Reconstruction of the Mughrabi ascent by Israeli engineers under Jordanian patronage;
Annual visits of an international-Jordanian-Israeli team of archeologists to disprove claims about the harm one side or the other is causing to antiquities;
Foster contact, and possibly even coordination between Jordan's Waqf and Israel's Chief Rabbinate in order to better respect the sanctity of the site for Jews (e.g. no soccer games on upper plateau).
Israel and the PLO, or if impossible, Israel's Chief Rabbinate and the PA Grand Mufti, sign a new Declaration of Principles acknowledging historic truths and expressing recognition of the other's worldview (e.g. Jewish and Palestinian nationhood and their respective links to Jerusalem; Judaism's historical connections to the land of Israel, including the existence of the Temple, and the Palestinian right of self-determination).
The United States could spearhead the establishment of a joint tourism board to promote regional tourism, with a special emphasis on religious tourism. Original members should include Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt. The board could be expanded to include additional regional members that have diplomatic relations with Israel such as Turkey, the UAE and Morocco. Consideration should be given to inviting Russia and China to participate as associate members, as well as European states, Canada and Japan.
Explore more tracks
Reestablish U.S. Role as an Effective Process Orchestrator
Track 2A
Improve Lives and Advance Rights
Track 2B
Narrow the Conflict
Advance Negotiation on Two States
Study Group on Palestinian Economic Development & Renewed U.S. Economic Engagement
Join us in advancing the next chapter of peacebuilding
Explore Policy Steps
sign up for our Daily News Update
© 2023 S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace. All Rights Reserved. Site Credit Madeo Studio


text:
If no one else stops Trump, the Electoral College still can - it's in the Constitution
The framers contemplated this political moment. Maybe - just this once - state legislators should use their constitutional authority and change how we elect the president
If no one else stops Trump, the Electoral College still can - it's in the Constitution The framers contemplated this political moment. Maybe - just this once - state legislators should use their constitutional authority and change how we elect the president Check out this story on delawareonline.com: https://delonline.us/1pqxwAn
Derek T. Muller Published 12:43 p.m. ET March 17, 2016
Derek T. Muller is an associate professor at Pepperdine University School of Law.(Photo: law.pepperdine.edu)
Donald Trump will be the GOP's presidential nominee. Within the party, talk of a brokered Republican National Convention or even a supporting a third-party candidate has circulated among those hoping to stop him from becoming the next president, leaving Trump antagonists across the spectrum to ponder whether there's any fail-safe left, after November, to stop a Trump administration from becoming a reality.
There is. The Electoral College.
If they choose, state legislators can appoint presidential electors themselves this November, rather than leaving the matter of apportioning Electoral College votes by popular vote. Then, via their chosen electors, legislatures could elect any presidential candidate they prefer, no matter who wins the majority vote in their respective states.
Remember that Americans don't directly elect the president. The Electoral College does: Slates of electors pledged to support presidential and vice presidential candidates are voted upon in each state every four years. Each state, and the District of Columbia, is apportioned at least three of the 538 electors, allocated by the total number of U.S. Senators and Representatives each state has.
In December, these electors will gather in their respective states and cast votes for president and vice president. And in January, Congress counts these votes, determines if a candidate has achieved a majority - at least 270 votes - and then certifies a winner.
We take it for granted that the individual votes we cast will be the ones that select the slate of presidential electors in our state. But the Constitution makes no such guarantee. In fact, it says the states appoint electors "in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct."
Some founders worried that rash decision-making by the collective body politic would be "radically vicious" or "liable to deceptions" if they directly elected the president, for the people would lack the "capacity to judge" candidates. While members of the House of Representatives would be accountable directly to the people, presidential elections would occur indirectly. Electors, not the people, would elect the president. And state legislatures could decide how. (Most states now have laws binding electors to vote for the candidate who wins their state's popular vote - but many states don't.)
In the earliest presidential elections, many states did not have popular elections for electors. Their legislatures simply chose electors. Over time, states gradually moved toward the popular elections we now take for granted.
But state legislatures have occasionally retained the power for themselves. In 1876, for instance, the new state of Colorado opted not to hold a popular election for electors, with the legislature claiming publicly that it lacked sufficient time to organize an election. It's more likely that Republican legislators worried that the people would vote for three Democratic electors and move to end Reconstruction in a closely contested election. The state legislature chose to retain the power to choose electors for itself - just that one time.
And state legislatures have modified the rules for the selection of presidential electors when they worry that the people of the state will vote for a disfavored candidate. In 1892, for instance, Democrats gained control of the Michigan legislature. They decided that presidential electors should be appointed according to popular vote totals in each congressional district, as opposed to the statewide winner-take-all system that had previously existed. Michiganders had consistently voted for a slate of Republican electors in the recent past, and the move to elections by district guaranteed that Democrats would win at least a few of electoral votes.
State legislatures should consider whether to retake this authority in the 2016 election in an effort to stop Trump. Republicans control 31 state legislatures. Many could consider this proposal, but the Texas state legislature is a natural place to start. It could easily pass a law returning power to the legislature. After Election Day, the legislature could decide whether to vote for Trump or Mitt Romney, the prior Republican nominee; former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who dropped out of the 2016 race early on; a popular GOP figure like Condoleezza Rice, whose name has recently been floated as an alternative; or their own junior Sen. Ted Cruz, presently trailing Trump in the Republican Party delegate count.
Texas' 38 red-state electoral votes are almost assuredly required for any Republican to get the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Casting them for someone other than Trump doesn't help likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, because she also needs 270. So while one state's electoral votes may not seem like much, it might be enough to deprive either candidate a majority.
And in the event no candidate wins a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives selects the winner. Each state's delegation of representatives gets one vote and selects among the top three electoral vote-getters-which would include the candidate who receives Texas's 38 votes. Republicans control these House delegations, and they could select from Trump, Clinton and Texas's preferred non-Trump candidate.
The decision need not rest with a single state, of course. Many state legislatures may worry about voters choosing between Trump and Clinton. It'd be a long shot, to be sure, but if enough state legislatures voted for their own electors this year, they could collectively secure the 270 electoral votes for their preferred candidate, which may not be either of these two candidates.
To take this extraordinary step, state legislators would have to decide that this election calls for an extraordinary change. And, of course, acknowledge that it could be deployed against any candidate in any presidential election - this year, four years from now and onward. It has seldom been used. But perhaps - just this once - legislators will conclude that the times call for a change to how we vote for the president.
Clearly, Trump supporters and, potentially, anyone who sees this sort of procedural move as a dirty trick, would object to this as antidemocratic. But voters' preferences would still be reflected - albeit indirectly - in the decisions made by the state legislatures, whose members are elected by the people. And the existence of the Electoral College, no matter how electors are chosen, means that the people, technically, have already been indirectly selecting their presidents.
Trump hasn't won yet. But it is increasingly likely that we will reach precisely the kind of scenario that the founders worried about - divisive political discourse threatens to thrust a dangerous candidate into office who appears inclined to govern more like a monarch than a president. Opportunities remain for cooler heads to prevail in our presidential election. And state legislatures should consider doing so this year.
Derek T. Muller is an associate professor at Pepperdine University School of Law.
Read or Share this story: https://delonline.us/1pqxwAn
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This economical firewood processor is the perfect machine for getting your firewood business off the ground.
The one operator machine will quickly and efficiently cut and split logs up to 18" in diameter and 20' long at a rate of up to 2.5 full cords per hour.
This machine can easily be towed behind a pick-up truck and offers an integrated 15' firewood elevator for quick set-up and mobility. The 1616EZ is the perfect firewood processor for the highly mobile contract firewood producer, or growing firewood business owner. If you are in the business of renting equipment, this self contained firewood processor is for you. Outstanding features for the new and improved 2014 Model include the same mainframe as the larger model 1620 SS providing a more robust frame and log deck and an improved operator control station.
The 1616EZ firewood processor features standard hydraulic wobblestick joysticks for increased firewood production and ease of use for the operator. With an integral 15' conveyor with 10' discharge height, stockpiling firewood is fast and easy. The machine is also available with seperate 20', 30', and 35' conveyors.
The machine comes standard with a 3-strand hydrauilc powered live deck that accomodates logs as long as 20' in length. The live deck is also on a hydrauilc lift to put the machine in transport mode with minimal effort.
The splitting wedges are quickly interchangeable and hydraulically adjustable so you can center each log round into equal splits if desired. If small diameter log rounds are common, the operator can efficiently split multiple log rounds at the same time to increase production.
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If you would like to learn more about this product and receive a quote simply fill out our quote request form or call us toll free at 1-800-243-5438.
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An individual that is in need of Medicaid transportation for their loved ones has to start searching on time, and it is essential to see all the options available. People need to put the needs of their loved ones in mind, since it is always a determining factor when it comes to choosing the right Medicaid transportation, and ensure it has the necessary features. Not all the Medicaid transportation companies that a person comes across are created the same way, which is why a person has to use the following considerations as a way of gauging what seems to work for you.
Accreditation is always the key to finding an enterprise that will serve your needs; therefore, before making any plans with any enterprise, consider seeing their licenses and getting the numbers to verify the firms legitimacy. A person should always remember that accreditation means the team has passed all the required tests and are qualified to provide the best services.
A well-established enterprise that holds a good reputation is always the best one to work with, because they have no issues providing details regarding their privacy preferences, and any other policies that they use to run a successful business. Safety covers all angles, which is why during the search, a person has to get one that has trained drivers in first-aid, and have no criminal records or any other issue that could make clients doubt their services.
One must never pick an enterprise before going through the various reviews provided on the site, and it is essential to also talk to people who might have to use the services before, because it gives you an idea of how it is working with such a firm, and if they can be trusted.
A person should always look at the equipment a long distance medical transportation team has invested in because your goal is to find somebody that wants to keep their patients comfortable as the travel. Having the best medical staff is not the only thing that a person should look for instead, ensure that they have the best beds, mattresses and an on-board bathroom.
People always have a chance of getting bedside transportation as long as they working with a professional team; therefore, be sure to ask if that is possible, and if it can be included in your package.
Anything can happen along the way, and that is why the team has to be the best; therefore, do not hesitate to ask if there is a medical team set aside to assist.


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Issue Five Hundred Two
Oxford University Press: Now Accepting Proposals and Manuscript Submissions
Oxford University Presses, like most university presses, is open to direct submissions. It has much better distribution systems than most university presses. They publish nonfiction with an academic focus on a wide range of subjects. They are open to proposals and manuscripts. Their website is much more thorough in terms of helping outline how the…
Spank the Carp: Now Seeking Submissions
Spank the Carp is an established online publication of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They publish approachable writing that appeals to a broad audience, and they avoid writing that's pretentious or frustratingly perplexing. They aim to, "invite readers to wade into the literary stream, not make them afraid of water for fear it's too cold." Since…
How Writers Can Benefit From Attending Local Book Fairs and Comic Cons
By Ellen Levitt I live in a city that plays host to lots of fun events that can also be beneficial to my writing career. There are free events such as book festivals and pricier gatherings such as Comic Con. Both types of events provide me with opportunities for schmoozing with magazine, website and book…
New Year, New Opportunities for Writers in January 2023
It's a brand new year! As we go forward with our resolutions, we hope we will achieve our writing and publishing goals. On the January list, we've included open calls – reproduced from their respective websites – in journalism, book prizes, and other opportunities available to all disciplines which may include Creative Writing, Journalism or…
You are currently browsing the archives for the Issue Five Hundred Two category.


BASIC - If you've always dreamt of learning to snowboard, the BASIC course is perfect for you.
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it is not possible to book single course days!
If at least 3 people (and min. one parent) book a group course of at least 3 days, and they present a GuestCard, you will receive a reduction of 5% on the total price. Offer valid for adults and children up to 14 years. Discount only possible by booking in the office.


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We have rental listings ranging from Malden to Quincy with plenty of units in the city itself. Want to experience the lively nightlife in Allston and Brighton? Check out our 2 bed and 3 bed listings on Kelton St and Weitz St. Maybe you're a beach-goer and want to explore the South Shore as well as Cape Cod. With easy access to i93 South, the brand new renovation at 46 Filbert St on the Boston/Quincy line is perfect for you.
This city is very unique as you may already know. Filled with options and opportunities that fit exactly what you need and are looking for. Give my website a visit ( andrew.reguro.com ) and secure place to call home so you can get that burden off your shoulders and start planning all the endless fun and exciting things this city and Northeast region has to offer!


The Greater St. Cloud Public Safety Foundation is hosting its first annual conference for first responders in Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne Counties.
Career and Volunteer are welcome. Spouses/Partners included.


text:
Diversity and Inclusion: A Tech Story
Amir Mizroch Contributor
Start-Up Nation Central Contributor Group
Amir is the Director of Communications at Start-Up Nation Central.
Guest post written by
Yoram Yaacovi
Yoram Yaacovi is the former General Manager of the Microsoft Israel Research & Development center.
Israel is a technology super-power. In a small, 8-million-person country, we were able to create and grow an unprecedented ecosystem of hi-tech startups, multinational companies and universities at a level that exist only in a few, much larger countries in the world. Yet, substantial sectors in Israel – specifically Arabs and Orthodox Jews - do not take an equal part in this successful phenomenon, and some of our neighboring countries are still considered third world countries. For example, while Arabs represent 21% of the population in Israel, their numbers in hi-tech are sub 3%.
It is our duty and obligation to change that. We will be held accountable for whether the region becomes the world's Garden of Eden for technology, the hi-tech Mecca, the drawing well for innovation, or if it will forever be viewed as a place of hatred, wars and endless conflicts. A win for the underprivileged sectors means a win for Israel, a win for the Middle East and a win for the hi-tech industry which is striving for talent. Are we going to win or are we all going to lose?
Arabs represent 21% of the population in Israel, but their numbers in hi-tech are sub 3%.
In my tenure as the General Manager for Microsoft's Israel Research & Development center, this mission was perpetually part of our goals, and I believe it still is. We started an outsourced Microsoft team in Ramallah in 2009 and opened a Microsoft R&D center in Nazareth in 2014, as well as worked closely with Orthodox Jewish leaders to include them in hi-tech and at Microsoft.
The road to include minorities and unprivileged populations in hi-tech is littered with obstacles. This is our story.
When trying to increase the number of Arab software engineers at Microsoft in Israel, the first finding was that we were not getting any resumes of Arab candidates. A bit of research and few round tables with Arab professionals later, it was clear that Arab hi-tech professionals did not send their resumes to Microsoft, as they did not think they had any chance of getting hired -- so they didn't even try, and preferred to not face potential failure that many candidates experience, independent of race, religion or gender. It took a combination of opening an R&D center in Nazareth, bringing on board an Arab recruiter, publishing Arabic language job ads in Arab newspapers and online media, numerous talks in front of Arab audiences, and talking to Arab community leaders, to change that perception. Then we started to get resumes in higher numbers.
Next, we ran into the second obstacle. Our recruiters were looking for specific keywords in candidate resumes, keywords that do not usually appear in resumes of Arabs or Orthodox Jews who do not serve in the army, and thus miss the opportunity to be part of elite army intelligence and technology units. This was easy to fix through an education session with our recruiting team.
We then ran into the final obstacle, before we started to see the number of Arab employees ramping up in significant numbers: unconscious-bias. Our managers were open-minded to diversity but were failing Arab candidates in larger numbers than Jewish candidates. In interview situations they face someone who is different from them, speaks non-perfect Hebrew, and lacks confidence, as a result of being younger and without the confidence that army service instills. This unconsciously affects interviewers negatively. Luckily, Microsoft, being a global company who inscribed Diversity as one of its five core values, has a workshop for helping managers with unconscious-bias, so we ran our managers through this workshop. This finally opened the floodgates, and from the day we started, we have increased the number of Arab employees by 10x.
A change is coming, and as more minorities and countries in Israel and in the Middle East participate in hi-tech and take on profitable hi-tech jobs, it could transform the region, once known for its agricultural fertility, superior agricultural produce and commerce, to a land also known for its abundance of technology, the software and silicon basin of the world, with the participation of all its people.
Yoram Yaacovi is the former General Manager of the Microsoft Israel Research & Development center, and relevant to the article, sits on the board of Collective Impact, an umbrella organization and a collaboration for creating a breakthrough in the employment of the Arab population in Israel and the quality of that employment, Hasoub, a non-profit organization paving the way for the coming generation of Arab Entrepreneurs, and Kamatech, a non-profit organization for inclusion of Orthodox Jews in hi-tech. In addition, Yoram is involved with several projects that bring Arab Israelis to hi-tech. Yoram is also a member of the core group of Breaking The Impasse (BTI), an advocacy group of Israeli and Palestinian business leaders with the common goal of bringing Israelis and Palestinians together in life and business, with the common long-term goal of two states for two people.
Amir Mizroch


text:
Charles Ellingworth
Cold fusion and the reputation trap
ILow energy nuclear reaction (LENR) is the holy grail for our energy hungry civilisation. It promises unlimited pollution free power. However it has the reputation within the scientific community of being a field tainted by charlatans. This article by an eminent philosopher postulates that a breakthrough in this field may have happened which could have incalculable results. He also examines the perils of the 'reputation trap' which has made LENR a place that most serious scientists have chosen not to go - meaning that LENR (and many other frontier sciences) have been ridiculed and ignored unnecessarily, holding back scientific breakthroughs.
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The cold fusion horizon
Is cold fusion truly impossible, or is it just that no respectable scientist can risk their reputation working on it?
by Huw Price
Demonstration being carried out of the E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) cold fusion system, designed by Italian inventor Andrea Rossi. Photo by Massimo Brega/SPL
Huw Price
is Bertrand Russell Professor of Philosophy and a fellow of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He is also Academic Director of the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. His most recent book is Expressivism, Pragmatism and Representationalism (2013).
A few years ago, a physicist friend of mine made a joke on Facebook about the laws of physics being broken in Italy. He had two pieces of news in mind. One was a claim by a team at the Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus (OPERA) in Gran Sasso, who said they'd discovered superluminal neutrinos. The other concerned Andrea Rossi, an engineer from Bologna, who claimed to have a cold fusion reactor producing commercially useful amounts of heat.
Why were these claims so improbable? The neutrinos challenged a fundamental principle of Albert Einstein's theory of special relativity, which says that nothing can travel faster than light. Meanwhile cold fusion (or LENR, for 'low-energy nuclear reaction') is the controversial idea that nuclear reactions similar to those in the Sun could, under certain conditions, also occur close to room temperature.
The latter was popularised in 1989 by Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons, who claimed to have found evidence that such processes could take place in palladium loaded with deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen). A few other physicists, including the late Sergio Focardi at Bologna, claimed similar effects with nickel and ordinary hydrogen. But most were highly skeptical, and the field subsequently gained, as Wikipedia puts it, 'a reputation as pathological science'.
It turned out that my physicist friend and I disagreed about which of these unlikely claims was most credible. He thought it was the neutrinos, because the work had been done by respectable scientists rather than a lone engineer with a somewhat chequered past. I favoured Rossi, on grounds of the physics. Superluminal neutrinos would overturn a fundamental tenet of relativity, but all Rossi needed was a previously unnoticed channel to a reservoir of energy whose existence is not in doubt. We know that huge amounts of energy are locked up in metastable nuclear configurations, trapped like water behind a dam. There's no known way to get useful access to it at low temperatures. But – so far as I knew – there was no 'watertight' argument that such methods were impossible.
My friend agreed with me about the physics. (So has every other physicist I've asked about it since.) But he still put more weight on the sociological factors – reputation, as it were. So we agreed to bet a dinner on the issue. My friend would pay if Rossi turned out to have something genuine, and I would pay if the neutrinos came up trumps. We'd split the bill if, as then seemed highly likely, both claims turned out to be false.
It soon became clear that I wasn't going to lose. The neutrinos were scratched from the race, when it became apparent that someone on OPERA's team of respectable scientists had failed to tighten an optical lead correctly.
Rossi, however, has been going from strength to strength. While it is fair to say that the jury is still out, there has been a lot of good news for my hopes of a free dinner in the past couple of years. There were two reports (in 2013 and 2014) on tests of Rossi's device by teams of Swedish and Italian physicists whose scientific credentials are not in doubt, and who had access to one of his devices for extended periods (a month for the second test). Both reports claimed levels of excess heat far beyond anything explicable in chemical terms, in the testers' view. (The second report also claimed isotopic shifts in the composition of the fuel.) Since then, there have been several reports of duplications by experimenters in Russia and China, guided by details in the 2014 report.
More recently, Rossi was granted a US patentfor one of his devices, previously refused on the grounds that insufficient evidence had been provided that the technique worked as claimed. There are credible reports that a 1MW version of his device, producing many times the energy that it consumes, has been on trial in an industrial plant in North Carolina for months, with good results so far. And Rossi's US backer and licensee, Tom Darden – who has a long track record of investment in pollution-reducing industries – has been increasingly willing to speak out in support of the LENR technology field. (Another investor, the UK-based Woodford Funds, reports that it conducted 'a rigorous due-diligence process that has taken two and half years'.)
Finally, very recently, there's a paper by two senior Swedish physicists, Rickard Lundin and Hans Lidgren, proposing a mechanism for Rossi's results, inspired in part by the second of two test reports mentioned above. Lundin and Lidgren say that the 'experimental results by Rossi and co-workers and their E-Cat reactor provide the best experimental verification' of the process they propose.
As I say, I don't claim that this evidence is conclusive, even collectively. It's still conceivable that there is fraud involved, as many skeptics have claimed; or some large and persistent measurement error. Yet these alternatives are becoming increasingly unlikely. Rossi is not even the only person claiming commercially relevant results from LENR. Another prominent example is Robert Godes, of the California-based Brillouin Energy.
As several people have noticed, a new clean source of energy would be really, really useful right about now
You can see why I've been salivating at the thought of my dinner. And it is not only my stomach that has been increasingly preoccupied with this fascinating story. I'm a philosopher of science, and my brain has been finding it engrossing, too.
Imagine that someone had a working hot-fusion reactor in Florida – assembled, as Rossi's 1MW device is reported to be, in a couple of shipping containers, and producing several hundred kilowatts of excess power, month after month, in apparent safety. That would be huge news. As several people have noticed, a new clean source of energy would be really, really useful right about now.
But if the potential news is this big, why haven't most of you heard about Rossi, or Godes, or any of the other people who have been working in the area (for many years, in some cases)? This is where, from a philosopher of science's point of view, things get interesting.
As a question about sociology, the answer is obvious. Cold fusion is dismissed as pseudoscience, the kind of thing that respectable scientists and science journalists simply don't talk about (unless to remind us of its disgrace). As a recent Fortune piece puts it, the Fleischmann and Pons experiment 'was eventually debunked and since then the term cold fusion has become almost synonymous with scientific chicanery'. In this case, the author of the article is blithely reproducing the orthodox view, even in the lead-in to his interview with Darden – who tells him a completely different story, and has certainly put his money where his mouth is.
Ever since 1989, in fact, the whole subject has been largely off-limits in mainstream scientific circles. Authors who do put their head above the parapet are ignored or rebuked. Most recently, Lundin and Lidgren reported that they had submitted their paper to the journal Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, but that the editors declined to have it reviewed; and that even the non-reviewed preprint archive, arxiv.org, refused to accept it.
So, as a matter of sociology, it is easy to see why Rossi gets little serious attention; why an interview with Darden associates him with scientific chicanery; and why, I hope, some of you are having doubts about me for writing on the subject in a way that indicates that I am prepared to consider it seriously. (If so, hold that attitude. I want to explain why I take it to reflect a pathology in our present version of the scientific method. My task will be easier if you are still suffering from the symptoms.)
Sociology is one thing, but rational explanation another. It is very hard to extract from this history any satisfactory justificationfor ignoring recent work on LENR. After all, the standard line is that the rejection of cold fusion in 1989 turned on the failure to replicate the claims of Fleischmann and Pons. Yet if that were the real reason, then the rejection would have to be provisional. Failure to replicate couldn't possibly be more than provisional – empirical science is a fallible business, as any good scientist would acknowledge. In that case, well-performed experiments claiming to overturn the failure to replicate would certainly be of great interest.
What if the failure to replicate wasn't crucial after all? What if we already knew, on theoretical grounds alone, that cold fusion was impossible? But this would make a nonsense of the fuss over the failure to reproduce Fleischmann and Pons' findings. And in any case, it is simply not true. As I said at the beginning, what physicists actually say (in my experience) is that although LENR is highly unlikely, we cannot say that it is impossible. We know that the energy is in there, after all.
'If there is something scientists fear, it is to become like pariahs'
No doubt one could find some physicists who would claim it was impossible. But they might like to recall the case of the great nuclear physicist Lord Rutherford, who claimed in 1933 that 'anyone who expects a source of power from transformation of… atoms is talking moonshine' – only days before Leo Szilard, prompted by newspaper reports of Rutherford's remarks, figured outthe principles of the chain reaction that makes nuclear fission useable as an energy source, peaceful or otherwise.
This is not to deny that there is truth in the principle popularised by Carl Sagan, that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. We should certainly be very cautious about such surprising claims, unless and until we amass a great deal of evidence. But this is not a good reason for ignoring such evidence in the first place, or refusing to contemplate the possibility that it might exist. (As Godes said recently: 'It is sad that such people say that science should be driven by data and results, but at the same time refuse to look at the actual results.')
Again, there's a sociological explanation why few people are willing to look at the evidence. They put their reputations at risk by doing so. Cold fusion is tainted, and the taint is contagious – anyone seen to take it seriously risks contamination. So the subject is stuck in a place that is largely inaccessible to reason – a reputation trap, we might call it. People outside the trap won't go near it, for fear of falling in. 'If there is something scientists fear, it is to become like pariahs,' as Lundin puts it. People inside the trap are already regarded as disreputable, an attitude that trumps any efforts that they might make to argue their way out, by reason and evidence.
Outsiders might be surprised to learn how well-populated the trap actually is, in the case of cold fusion and LENR. The field never entirely went away, nor vanished from the laboratories of respected institutions. (Rossi's own background is not in these laboratories, but he acknowledges that his methods owe much to those who are, or were – especially to the late Sergio Focardi, one of the pioneers of the field.) To anyone willing to listen, the community will say that they have amassed a great deal of evidence of excess heat, not explicable in chemical terms, and of various markers of nuclear processes. Some, including a team at one of Italy's leading research centres, say that they have many replications of the Fleischmann and Pons results.
Again, the explanation for ignoring these claims cannot be that other attempts failed 25 years ago. That makes no sense at all. Rather, it's the reputation trap. The results are ignored because they concern cold fusion, which we 'know' to be pseudoscience – we know it because attempts to replicate these experiments failed 25 years ago! The reasoning is still entirely circular, but the reputation trap gives its conclusion a convincing mask of respectability. That's how the trap works.
In a case like this, there is very little cost to a false positive. But there may be a huge cost to a false negative
Fifty years ago, Thomas Kuhn taught us that this is the usual way for science to deal with paradigm-threatening anomalies. The borders of dominant paradigms are often protected by reputation traps, which deter all but the most reckless or brilliant critics. If LENR were an ordinary piece of science (or proposed science), the challenge posed by Rossi and others would promise fascinating spectator sport for philosophers and historians of science – a Kuhnian revolution waiting to happen, perhaps, with threats to the stability of the reputation trap now clearly in view. We could take our seats on the sidelines and wait to see whether walls fall – whether distinguished skeptics end up with egg on their faces. 'Pleasant is it to behold great encounters of warfare arrayed over the plains, with no part of yours in the peril,' as Lucretius put it.
This alone would be enough to explain why I've been finding Rossi's apparent progress so stimulating. But there's more, much more. None of us, not even philosophers, are mere spectators in this case. We all have skin in the game, and parts, indeed a planet, quite seriously in peril. We are like a thirsty town, desperate for a new water supply. What we drink now is slowly killing us. We know that there's an abundant supply of clean, cheap water, trapped behind the dam. The problem is to find a way to tap it. A couple of engineers thought that they had found a way 25 years ago, but they couldn't make it work reliably, and the profession turned against them. Since then, there's been a big reputation cost to any engineer who takes up the issue.
Put this way, it is easy to see an argument that we've been shooting ourselves in the foot. In a case like this, there is very little cost to a false positive – to investing some time and money in an avenue that in the end turns out to go nowhere. But there may be a huge cost to a false negative. If Rossi, Godes, Lundin, Lidgren and others do turn out to have something useful – something that can make some useful contribution to meeting our desperate need for clean, cheap energy – we will have wasted a generation of progress. What we should have done instead is to have engineered the exact opposite of a reputation trap – perhaps an X Prize-like reward for the first reliable replication of the Fleischmann and Pons results, above some commercial bar.
At last I can explain what I meant earlier, when I asked you to hold on to the thought that I must be a bit flaky myself, if that was your reaction to my willingness to take cold fusion seriously. If you do think that – at least, if you think it without having studied the evidence for yourself – then your reaction is a symptom of the reputation trap. But now I've suggested that the trap itself might be an irrational pathology, in a special case such as this, in which the cost of a false negative is very high. If I'm right, then in a more rational world, we would fix our scientific norms to escape it. In a more rational world, you wouldn't think I'm flaky.
I don't need to deny that your reaction is an appropriate one, by the standards of science as we currently practice it, or that those standards work pretty well in general. Reputation traps have a useful purpose in the Kuhnian picture. They help to maintain the stability important to what Kuhn called normal science – the ordinary, useful kind of science when paradigms are not under threat. But this is compatible with the claim that they can be harmful in special cases (of which cold fusion might be one) – and that we could do better if we were better at identifying those cases in advance.
I suspect it's too late to dismantle the trap for LENR – the horse might already be in the process of bolting. If Rossi and Godes et al are actually on to something, then the field is going to be mainstream soon anyway. But we could try to learn from our mistakes. There might be other potential cases with a similar payoff structure (a high cost for false negatives, with a low cost for false positives). I suspect there are some in the area of emerging extreme risks, another field in which I have some interest.
I've met scientists employed as technology forecasters for a very large enterprise, who were frustrated at their inability to persuade their organisation to list LENR as a technology of possible strategic interest, even with low probability. Once again, it was the reputation trap at work. This attitude could be disastrous in other cases, if the ideas stuck in the trap happened to be the key to addressing some potentially catastrophic risk. (Indeed, as my physicist friend rightly points out, it might be disastrous in the case of LENR itself, if it turns out to generate its own extreme risks.)
Darden's attitude displays the cautious open-mindedness that has been lacking in reactions to the field for most of its history
There are big issues here. Would it be possible to avoid these counterproductive cases of the reputation trap without erring too far in the other direction – without opening the floodgates, so to speak? I'm not sure, but I think it is important to put the question on the table. If LENR does develop in the direction I now think likely, we might be able to salvage something useful from mistakes in this case.
I'll close with some words from Darden, from a speech at ICCF-19, the international meeting of the LENR community held in Padua, Italy this April. (A full transcript is accessible here.) If the field is indeed in the process of digging itself out of the reputation trap, then Darden deserves much of the credit. Either way, his attitude displays the kind of cautious open-mindedness that has been so lacking in reactions to the field for most of its history.
Darden describes how he came to invest in LENR. Until quite recently, he says, he shared the conventional view that 'the subject was dead'. But several independent enquiries about LENR within a matter of weeks convinced him that there was something worth investigating:
We believed LENR technology was worth pursuing, even if we turn out to be unsuccessful ultimately. We were willing to invest time and resources to see if this might be an area of useful research in our quest to eliminate pollution. At the time, we were not especially optimistic, but the global benefits were compelling.
He reports that things have been going very well. 'We've had some success, and we're expanding our work… and believe that we may be, at last, on the verge of a new paradigm shift.' Finally, he expresses his appreciation to his audience, the LENR community themselves, and recalls another controversial piece of Italian science:
I would like to say how truly sorry I am that society has attacked you for the last three decades. The treatment of Fleischmann and Pons, and the treatment of many of you, by mainstream institutions and the media will go down in history as one more example of scientific infanticide, where entrenched interests kill off their divergent progeny. This seems to be a dark component of human nature, and I note the irony of it – we are in Padova, Galileo's home.
It would be easy to overstate the analogy between mainstream institutions and the Inquisition, but it isn't entirely empty. If we refuse to acknowledge the possibility that existing scientific institutions are not working as well as they might, we do something to reinforce it. If the reputation trap makes it impossible to question the role of the reputation trap, then the Cardinals are winning.
Posted by Charlie Ellingworth at 08:06
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