Thursday, May 26, 2011

NyTeknik Validates Rossi's Energy Catalyzer

NyTeknik Validates Rossi's Energy Catalyzer 

The Swedish website Ny Teknik has been providing detailed coverage of Andrea Rossi's Energy Catalyzer technology. Engineer Mats Lewan of Ny Teknik has released positive test results and video from two additional tests of the E-Cat. The validations keep on coming!



Checking for hidden connections. The inventor Andrea Rossi to the right. 
Photo: Mats Lewan, Ny Teknik


2.5 kW reaction chamber is tiny.
Naked E-cat – a heating resistor is positioned around the thick part of the copper tube where the reactor supposedly sits inside. The yellow valve is for hydrogen inlet. 
Photo: Mats Lewan, Ny Teknik


The E-cat in operation – this is a version with the "chimney" cut off, which was used on April 28. Photo: Mats Lewan, Ny Teknik

 


by Hank Mills with Sterling D. Allan

Italian engineer and inventor Andrea Rossi has developed a game changing "cold fusion" technology that has been validated via several tests performed by multiple third parties. One of the most recent tests of the E-Cat was attended by the former chair of the Swedish Skeptics Society, Professor Hanno Essén. With the assistance of Professor Sven Kullander, the testing successfully validated the Energy Catalyzer technology. An article about their validation was featured here at PESN. 

Now, Engineer Mats Lewan from the Swedish publication, Ny Teknik, which means "New Technology", published weekly for over 40 years, has released results from two separate tests of the E-Cat he performed in Bologna, Italy. These latest results confirm those from previous testing, that the system outputs at least 6 times more energy than it consumes. 

In addition to being a writer for Ny Teknik, Mats Lewan is also quite technically proficient. He holds a Master of Science degree in Engineering Physics from the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology. After reading through the many comments posted in response to Ny Teknik's coverage of the the E-Cat, Mats made sure that some of the most frequently voiced concerns would be addressed with his testing.

The first of these two tests was performed on April 19th, 2011 and the second was performed on April 28th. During both tests, multiple precautions were made to reduce any uncertainty in the measurements taken. First, the ammeter that was utilized to measure the electrical current input into the system (which powers the control circuitry and resistors that heat the reactor) was precisely calibrated. This is important to get an accurate measurement of total power consumption. Secondly, the water flow input was measured by weighing. This is more precise than simply measuring the flow rate from a spigot, which could potentially vary in volume over time. Third, the temperature probe was calibrated by submersing it in boiling water. The temperature of the boiling water was measured as being 99.6 degrees centigrade. This same probe later detected a temperature of 100.5 degrees centigrade when placed in the path of steam leaving the device. The significance is that due to the temperature of the steam being over 100 degrees centigrade, it is more certain the steam was dry (all the water being in the gas phase) and not wet (being mixed with a mist of liquid water). Any liquid water in the steam could throw off the calculations being used in the testing. Finally, any wireless transfer of energy was ruled out by checking the room for increased electromagnetic fields from 5 Hz to 3 GHz. 

In the first test on April 19th, an E-Cat unit with a reactor volume of approximately 50cc and an officially rated capacity of 2.5 kilowatts consumed an average of 354 watts (7x overunity). The same unit produced an average output of 2.6 kilowatts. In the second test on April 28th, (utilizing the same sized reactor as in the first test) the system consumed an average of 378 watts and produced an average of 2.3 kilowatts (6x OU). This represents a huge gain of energy that could not be due to measurement error. 

A full report with all the details can be found here for the first test and here for the second test. It should be noted that in both tests, the amount of hydrogen placed in the reactor was half a gram or less. It is impossible that the excess energy produced in these two tests could have been produced by any chemical reaction produced by the burning of hydrogen. As Mats concluded, the heat seems to be produced by some unknown nuclear reaction! 

A video taken during one of the experiments is embedded in the Ny Teknik article (Italian) about these two experiments. A walk through of the entire setup is performed. Mats takes the time to detail every component of the small E-Cat units. Again, the 2.5 kW reactor vessel is only 50 cubic centimeters or 3.2 cubic inches in volume. The stainless steel reactor vessel is truly miniscule, and appears only as a small bulge in the copper pipe that surrounds it. Most of the volume of the system is taken up by the copper pipe, insulation, and control electronics. Despite this extra volume, several units are shown sitting on the same small table top. The fact such a great walk through video of the test setup was made is very refreshing. It gives readers a good intuitive feel for how the test was carried out, which may have been lacking in previous reports. 
&^&
The pictures posted with the story are also helpful. One of the images shows the apparatus being lifted to check for hidden wires or power sources. Another image of a "naked" E-Cat shows a unit without the insulation to prevent heat loss and lead shielding. All of these visual aids (the video walk through and the pictures) really make this Ni Teknik story stand out.

Despite the repeated validations of Rossi's technology, there still are some skeptics remaining who are critical about the technology. Peter Ekström who is a lecturer at the Department of Nuclear Physics at Lund University in Sweden, states that he believes the whole thing is a scam. He thinks it will be exposed in less than one year's time. Physics professor Kjell Aleklett of Uppsala University in Sweden is slightly less skeptical. He still thinks it could be a scam, but thinks it could also turn out to be something no one could imagine.

Interestingly, Andrea Rossi has announced that an E-Cat unit will be sent to both the University of Uppsala and the University of Stockholm for extended testing. Perhaps after working with the device themselves, skeptics such as these two will eventually change their minds. 

As time goes by, more and more validations of the Energy Catalyzer are taking place. This technology seems to be the real deal and totally authentic, which makes the wait for the opening of the one megawatt plant in Xanthi, Greece even more tedious and exciting. Interestingly, Andrea Rossi has stated that there are currently 105 E-Cat modules in continuous operation. He claims these are modules that will be used in the one megawatt plant, and he is personally constructing additional units every day! 

The one megawatt plant will be operated by Defkalion Green Technologies Inc. that has received a license from Andrea Rossi to sell, license, and manufacture industrialized commercially applicable products using the Andrea Rossi Energy Catalyzer with global exclusivity rights; except the Americas. (Link) The one megawatt plant will power a factory with the capacity to produce 300,000 E-Cat units per year. 

As more information about this ongoing saga is obtained, it will be reported on here at PESN and PESWiki We have also registered the domain name http://RossiColdFusion.com to forward to our feature page at PESWiki, and we have a news page dedicated to the coverage of this topic. Remember that PESWiki is publicly editable, so if you know of significant coverage we've not included, you are free to add a link to it. Our Help page gives instructions for those not familiar with wiki syntax. 

# # #

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Directory:Andrea A. Rossi Cold Fusion Generator (E-Cat) - PESWiki

Directory:Andrea A. Rossi Cold Fusion Generator (E-Cat)

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Andrea Rossi demonstrated the 10 kW heat generating device at an Italian press conference January 14, 2011.Photo by Daniele Passerini, the who reported the day's proceedings in his blog.
Andrea Rossi demonstrated the 10 kW heat generating device at an Italian press conference January 14, 2011.
Photo by Daniele Passerini, the who reported the day's proceedings in his blog.
Shortcut URL: http://RossiColdFusion.com
See also News:Rossi Cold Fusion

Also called the Rossi Energy Amplifier or the Rossi Catalyzer.


Compiled by Sterling D. Allan, with Hank Mills
Pure Energy Systems News
Commenced January 17, 2011


Eng. Andrea A. Rossi and Professor Sergio Focardi of the University of Bologna (one of the oldest universities in the world [1]), have announced to the world that they have a cold fusion device capable of producing more than 10 kilowatts of heat power, while only consuming a fraction of that. On January 14, 2011, they gave the Worlds' first public demonstration of a nickel-hydrogen fusion reactor capable of producing a few kilowatts of thermal energy. At its peak, it is capable of generating 15,000 watts with just 400 watts input required. In a following test the same output was achieved but with only 80 watts of continual input.

They don't always use the term "cold fusion" do describe the process, but often refer to it as an amplifier or catalyzer process.

Focardi states:

"Experimentally, we obtained copper; and we believe that its appearance is due to the fusion of atomic nuclei of nickel and hydrogen, the ingredients that feed our reactor. Since hydrogen and nickel 'weigh' with less, copper must have released a lot of energy, since 'nothing is created or destroyed.' Indeed, the 'Missing Mass' has been transformed into energy, which we have measured: it is in the order of a few kilowatts, two hundred times the energy that was the beginning of the reaction." [2]

They also claim to be going into production, with the first units expected to ship by the second half of October of this year, with mass production commencing by the end of 2011. The first units will be used to build a one megawatt plant in Greece. This one megawatt plant will power a factory that will produce 300,000 ten-kilowatt units a year.

This would become the world's first commercially-ready "cold fusion" device. Licensees are mentioned, with contracts in the USA and in Europe. Mass production should escalate in 2-3 years. Presently, Rossi says they are manufacturing a 1 megawatt plant composed of 125 modules. These modules should begin shipping by the end of October. On January 31st, 2011, Rossi wrote: "The cost to produce the catalyzer is 1 cent per MWh generated; the life expectancy is 20 years; the cost impact is between 1 and 1.5 cents per MWh." [3]

In describing the operation of the device, he said: "To start up the reactor you have just to turn on a switch. The reactor works with enormous margins of safety, so there is no need of a particular skill. Just follow the instructions. The refueling is every 6 months and will be made by our dealers."

According to Rossi, the demonstrated device shown on January 14, 2011 is their industrial product that is claimed to be reliable and safe. In normal operation it would produce 8 units of output for every unit of input. Higher levels of output are possible, but can be dangerous. They will soon start serial production of their modules. Combining the modules in series and parallel arrays it is possible to reach every limit of power. The modules are designed to be connected in series and parallels.

Rossi also says that they have had one reactor that has run continually for two years, providing heat for a factory. It reduced the electric bill by 90%. Also, the reactors can self sustain by turning off the input, but they prefer to have an input. The device will be scheduled for maintenance every six months. You control it "just as you turn on and off your television set."

More than two thousand prototypes were built and destroyed in refining the design and learning how to control and scale up the reaction. [4]

Convinced they have already adequately proven this to the necessary parties, they are not in a hurry to give demonstrations to curious scientists. On January 21, 2011, Rossi wrote: "Yes there will be a Scientist talking about us, no demo anyway: no more demos before the start up of the 1 MW plant."

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Patent granted for the energy catalyzer - NyTeknik

Patent granted for
the energy catalyzer

The Italian energy catalyzer that seems to be based on an unknown nuclear reaction is now patented in Italy. The examination continues regarding protection in the rest of the world.

(Swedish version here).

The Italian Patent Office, Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi, granted a patent for the energy catalyzer on April 6, 2011, valid until April 9, 2028.

The inventor is Andrea Rossi, while his wife Maddalena Pascucci is the patent owner.

The final content of the patent is public but not directly available online (details on how to order the content can be found here).

According to Rossi ten of the original 15 claims remain (see below).

It is not clear if the patent means that the secret details of the energy catalyzer can be revealed.

“Now I have to think and, based on the effective patent protection, we can decide what to disclose,” Andrea Rossi said.

The patent office in Italy confirmed that the patent is a normal one which was granted after technical examination of the filed application.

According to other sources the examination of Italian patents, however, is more formal and less technical compared with the international patent review under the PCT procedure.

Update: Starting on 1 July 2008 and onwards (filing date), Italian patent applications are subject to an investigation of patentability (see decree here). The patent application for the energy catalyzer was filed in April 2008.

In October 2010, the international patent application under PCT received a negative initial assessment in a so-called International Search Report made by the International Searching Authority, and a negative International Preliminary Report on Patentability.

The criticisms include the problem that the patent application lacks detail in describing the technology.

The examination of the international patent application is now continuing in a regional and national phase, including assesment by the European Patent Office.

In addition, there is a parallel patent application for the US.

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011

In Memoriam: Mark Haines - CNBC

  • CNBC Anchor Mark Haines Dies Unexpectedly at Age 65

    Veteran journalist Mark Haines, a fixture on CNBC for 22 years, died unexpectedly Tuesday evening. He was 65 years old. CNBC President Mark Hoffman called Haines a "building block" of the financial networks' programming.

    • I will miss Mark. He was a fixture in my morning news.
      I woke up on 911 to hear him talk about the plane that hit the north tower.
      I was watching when the 2nd plane hit the north tower.
      Where was I on 911?
      I was watching Mark Haines.

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      Tuesday, May 24, 2011

      tampa bay craigslist | edit posting

      earn money & win jackpots (your town)


      Date: 2011-05-24, 10:45AM EDT
      Reply to: your anonymous craigslist address will appear here

      I want to tell you about this really incredible website .Don't worry! It isn't a scam and you don't have to pay anything EVER! It isn't a network marketing company either!
      It is a social networking site where you can earn money by watching ads, and the ads often have discounts and promotions on the things you buy anyway.
      The great thing is you can build a "village" of friends and warn a revenue share on every ad they watch.
      Advertisers pay for everything and they split the money with us! the website with us.

      Every ad you watch gives you a chance to win a huge weekly jackpot. Imagine getting a lottery ticket for watching a 30 second commercial.
      Many of them are movie trailers for upcoming movies.
      That's right getting a chance to win money for just watching movie trailers.
      And it does costs you a thing EVER. No Cost no obligation. No risk.

      Go here for the 2 minute tour

      http://www.varolo.com/village/DavidR70804

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      Friday, May 20, 2011

      Cooked tomatoes 'as good as statins' for battling cholesterol | Mail Online

      Cooked tomatoes 'as good as statins' for battling cholesterol

      By Daily Mail Reporter

      Last updated at 11:40 AM on 20th May 2011


      They are common ingredients found in millions of kitchen cupboards.

      But pasta sauces and pizza toppings could add much more than a tasty tomato flavour to a family’s favourite meals.

      Scientists said that cooked tomatoes can have the same benefits as statins for patients battling against high cholesterol levels or high blood pressure.

      Healthy: Chemicals found in cooked tomatoes could be effective as statins in fighting cholesterol

      Healthy: Chemicals found in cooked tomatoes could be effective as statins in fighting cholesterol

      They could be an ‘effective alternative’ to statins, the class of drugs commonly prescribed for these conditions which can lead to heart problems, according to a study.

      And just two ounces of tomato paste or a pint of juice a day could be enough to help many patients.

      The secret lies in high levels of the  compound lycopene which gives ripe tomatoes their bright red colour. This powerful anti-oxidant is essential for good health as it helps lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

      Cooked tomatoes are best as tests showed the body can absorb more lycopene from these than raw fruit.

      Experts in Australia analysed the results of 14 international studies into the benefits of lycopene over the past 55 years.

      They concluded that it could provide a natural defence to raised levels of  so-called ‘bad cholesterol’ – or low-density lipoprotein – in the blood.

      The effect was comparable to small doses of statins which are used to treat many of the 2.5million-plus Britons with high cholesterol or blood pressure

      Goat's milk, the superfood that could fight a host of diseases

      These conditions can be a factor in  cardiovascular disease, the country’s biggest killer.

      One of the study’s authors, Dr Karin Ried, of the University of Adelaide, said tomatoes have particularly high levels of lycopene.

      In the journal Maturitas, she added half a litre of tomato juice or 50 grams of tomato paste daily ‘would provide  protection against heart disease’.

      Eating just one tomato a day would not be enough. Dr Ried said: ‘I would really recommend looking at tomato paste. It is very rich in lycopene and it is not difficult to get 50 grams a day in pasta or on a pizza or as a drink. Our study suggests that if more than 25 milligrams of lycopene is taken daily, it can reduce “bad” cholesterol by up to 10 per cent.

      ‘That’s comparable to the effect of low doses of medication commonly prescribed but without side-effects, which can include muscle pain and weakness and nerve damage.’

      Lycopene is also found in watermelon, guava, papaya, pink grapefruit, apricots and rosehip but in lower concentrations.

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      Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice -- Health & Wellness -- Sott.net

      Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice

      Canadian researchers find a simple cure for cancer, but major pharmaceutical companies are not interested.

      Researchers at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada have cured cancer last week, yet there is a little ripple in the news or in TV. It is a simple technique using very basic drug. The method employs dichloroacetate, which is currently used to treat metabolic disorders. So, there is no concern of side effects or about their long term effects.

      This drug doesn't require a patent, so anyone can employ it widely and cheaply compared to the costly cancer drugs produced by major pharmaceutical companies.

      Canadian scientists tested this dichloroacetate (DCA) on human's cells; it killed lung, breast and brain cancer cells and left the healthy cells alone. It was tested on Rats inflicted with severe tumors; their cells shrank when they were fed with water supplemented with DCA. The drug is widely available and the technique is easy to use, why the major drug companies are not involved? Or the Media interested in this find?

      In human bodies there is a natural cancer fighting human cell, the mitochondria, but they need to be triggered to be effective. Scientists used to think that these mitochondria cells were damaged and thus ineffective against cancer. So they used to focus on glycolysis, which is less effective in curing cancer and more wasteful. The drug manufacturers focused on this glycolysis method to fight cancer. This DCA on the other hand doesn't rely on glycolysis instead on mitochondria; it triggers the mitochondria which in turn fights the cancer cells.

      The side effect of this is it also reactivates a process called apoptosis. You see, mitochondria contain an all-too-important self-destruct button that can't be pressed in cancer cells. Without it, tumors grow larger as cells refuse to be extinguished. Fully functioning mitochondria, thanks to DCA, can once again die.

      With glycolysis turned off, the body produces less lactic acid, so the bad tissue around cancer cells doesn't break down and seed new tumors.

      Pharmaceutical companies are not investing in this research because DCA method cannot be patented, without a patent they can't make money, like they are doing now with their AIDS Patent. Since the pharmaceutical companies won't develop this, the article says other independent laboratories should start producing this drug and do more research to confirm all the above findings and produce drugs. All the groundwork can be done in collaboration with the Universities, who will be glad to assist in such research and can develop an effective drug for curing cancer.

      You can access the original research for this cancer here.

      This article wants to raise awareness for this study, hope some independent companies and small startup will pick up this idea and produce these drugs, because the big companies won't touch it for a long time.

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      Thursday, May 19, 2011

      Microsoft's Bing uses Facebook data to personalise search - Telegraph

      Microsoft's Bing uses Facebook data to personalise search

      Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, has introduced a deeper integration with Facebook, in a bid to help users navigate the web through the ‘likes’ of their friends on the social network.

      Is Bing a better bet than Google for privacy?
      Bing has updated its privacy settings 

      People using Bing to search for information, will need to be logged into Facebook to take advantage of the new tool, which shows users what sites and services their friends have used and recommended within the body of the results.

      The move is a similar one to when Google launched social search, incorporating Twitter and Facebook feeds into its search results.

      However, this initiative goes a step further by actually displaying Facebook user’s commentary on sites and services just beneath the search results.

      Bing powers the search engine on Facebook, so it is thought it can delve deeper into the sites data for the purposes of optimising search.

      Microsoft said the decision to launch a more social search was down to research it commissioned which found that 90 per cent of people seek advice from family and friends as part of the decision-making process – the so-called ‘friend effect’.

      “Starting today, you can receive personalized search results based on the opinions of your friends by simply signing into Facebook. New features make it easier to see what your Facebook friends “like” across the web, incorporate the collective know-how of the web into your search results, and begin adding a more conversational aspect to your searches,” wrote Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice-president, Microsoft, on the company’s search blog.

      “Decisions can now be made with more than facts, now the opinions of your trusted friends and the collective wisdom of the web.

      “You can quickly see what your friends like and are sharing. Find and connect with the right friends faster. Pick the brains of friends of who live where you’re travelling and share shopping lists with your own team of retail gurus. And, return the favour to your friends by liking more things on the Web. With one click you can let your network know that you like a brand, an article, a celebrity or even a place.”

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      Gasoline at 20 Cents a Gallon « LewRockwell.com Blog

      May 15, 2011

      Gasoline at 20 Cents a Gallon

       

      Sign at Ashland, Oregon station. (Thanks to Katcha Sanderson for the photo.)

      Two Roosevelt dimes contain 0.14468 oz of silver. If gas costs $4 in FRNs, then the implicit price of silver that makes $4 equivalent to 0.14468 oz of silver is $27.65 per ounce. So, this price seems roughly in the ballpark. But, if we take $35, which is nearer today’s silver’s price, then the implied price of gasoline is $5.06, which is steep. At any price less than $5.06, I’d hold on to the dimes and use FRNs. One has to be careful about these things. One also needs a conversion table. This could be sold as an application on a handheld device. I’m giving away a profitable idea here. The device could read in the spot price of silver from a web site. The user punches in the FRN price. Then the equivalent amount of silver coin is the output.

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      What is this coin worth?. Finding the value of coin silver since 2011!

      Silver Calculator for your Cell Phone

      Do you have any U.S. coins from before 1977? Some of those coins are actually 90% silver in weight and now sell for up to 20 U.S. paper dollars.

      Do you know how much your coins are worth? This calculator will help you convert back and forth between silver coins and U.S. paper dollars.Find out the prices of “junk silver” coins from the U.S. Mint including: pre-1965 dimes, pre-1965 quarters, pre-1965 half dollars, pre-1965 dollars, half dollars from 1965 to 1970, and dollars from 1971 to 1976 from the San Francisco mint. Don’t see a coin or currency that you’re looking for? Let us know.

      Android App – http://bit.ly/droidsilver

       

      Android

      Palm OS App

      Palm OS

      Palm OS

       

      iPhone App

      The iPhone app has been submitted to Apple for approval.
      Whenever they get around to approving it, I’ll update this post.
      In the mean time, you can use the web based application found here.

       

      Black Barry App

      Still looking for a BB app developer to help with this project.
      If someone has a BlackBerry, could you please try this online version and see if it works?
      Possible Online BlackBerry Application

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      How To Identify Members Of The Collectivist Fringe

      How To Identify Members Of The Collectivist Fringe

      There is a mysterious, devious, and violent movement out there on the fringe of American society. Its tendencies are destructive, its theories and ideologies are absurd and unfounded, and its influence is growing to the point of cultural eruption. Its goal is to destabilize the legal constructs and philosophical principles which founded this country and replace them with a new social model so far outside rational guidelines it can only be described as “fantasy land on PCP.”

      Now, if you are one of the random indoctrinated idiots out there that has already assumed I am describing the Sovereign Citizens Movement, Constitutionalists, or so called “right wing extremists”, then you have answered incorrectly, you receive no consolation prize, and you go home empty handed on top of being completely inept. Hang your head in shame...

      I am certainly not describing Constitutionalists, who have never been a “fringe movement”, and never will be. I am not talking about Sovereign Citizens, who, thanks to a recent and very poorly executed 60 Minutes hit piece, are now superficially lumped in with every conceivable villain known to man, including Terry Nichols, Jerry and Joseph Kane, racism in general, and the ever nefarious Wesley Snipes (who did, I admit, play a villain in the movie ‘Demolition Man’).

      This rancid piece of festering half-assed journalism is a laughable example of a clueless and outdated mainstream media desperately trying to tap the propaganda vein of the average American dupe. Luckily, the only people left on the planet that actually watch ‘60 Minutes’ for news value are all senile geriatrics who are about 60 minutes from death anyway. However, the hit piece does represent very well the particular movement I am describing.

      Some call them “Statists”, others call them “Globalists”, or “Collectivists”. I usually call them all of the above. They represent a much smaller portion of the U.S. population than is often imagined, but like the venomous blowfish of the ocean deep, they have the ability to “puff up”, giving the illusion that they are ten times their actual size, as well as having a propensity for poison. Collectivist rhetoric is enjoying a considerable foothold in the U.S., building over several decades to culminate in what amounts to a slow motion Chinese-style “Cultural Revolution”. A complete disintegration of traditional social principles, the destruction of philosophical and political checks and balances, the total rewriting of historical fact to suit the supplanting agenda, as well as the rampant and fanatical demonization of anyone who supports and defends the “old way”.

      Such a movement has no boundaries. It only stops when it has assimilated EVERYTHING, and never before. It is used as a tool by oligarchy (fascist, communist, corporatist; their attributes are all essentially the same) to mold nations and manipulate civilizations to follow a single directive, a single path, a single historical narrative. The collectivist methodology is one of centralization, fealty, and feudalism. The most prominent monsters in the history of man have all been collectivists, or at least public proponents of collectivism.

      So, how do we go about identifying one of these creatures, or their drooling disciples, and root them out? Well, since establishment shills like those featured on 60 Minutes seem perfectly at ease with the idea of making generalizations to pigeonhole entire subsections of the citizenry, I feel quite comfortable targeting them with the same brand of fire. At least I will have the decency to be a little more specific in my descriptions, and far more accurate. Here are some sure signs of a collectivist extremist…

      1) Maligned and ridiculed during most of childhood and adolescence. Felt powerless for most of life and probably still feels powerless in adulthood. Discovered the effectiveness of single minded groups very early, and has been a “joiner” ever since. Feels a rush when immersed in a mob, and thirsts for the control, dominance, and acceptance that the mob commands. Certain types become absolutely addicted to law, legal structures, and the bureaucratic machine, to the point that they are unable to discern between a just law, and an unjust law. To them, ALL law instituted by a power structure such as government is “just”, regardless of moral conflict.  This leads to a worshipful attitude towards mainstream designated leadership figures.  

      Becoming an appendage of the state gives them the petty authority over others that they never had when they were young, and they love it. They despise anyone who questions the legitimacy of their authority, or authority in general. They have handed over everything to the collective, including their identity, and their soul. To come across someone who is not weak like them, who has the strength of character to make their own way, on their own terms, and who is fearless in the face of overwhelming opposition, forces them to acknowledge their own cowardice and deeply buried regrets. This, of course, infuriates them…

      2) See themselves as “intellectual”, or rather, far more ingenious than the majority of people. This would be fine if they actually were intelligent, but in fact, this is rarely the case. Average collectivists tend to be undereducated, slow witted, and easily manipulated, but because they have conformed to the establishment social model so thoroughly, they still find themselves climbing the ladder of “success” (success in today’s typical business environment usually includes backstabbing and/or shameless butt kissing). This gives them severe delusions of grandeur. It is common to hear them rant about overpopulation, and the need to “weed out the inferiors”, of which they obviously do not include themselves, but should.

      Their world view has been entirely scripted for them, and rarely is an original thought ever uttered from their lips. Anyone who presents a view outside of the mainstream script is automatically and viciously attacked. A very common collectivist reaction to any opposing view is to use Ad hominem tactics to disparage the person presenting the view, instead of confronting their view directly. The 60 Minute segment above is simply one long Ad hominem attack linking anyone who promotes Constitutionalist ideals or anti-establishment arguments with killers, racists, and terrorists (The father of one of the police officers slain by the Kane’s claims that if his son had know they were “Sovereign Citizens”, he would still be alive today; insinuating that ANYONE who makes sovereignty arguments should be considered armed and dangerous by police, and treated as guilty before proven innocent). Collectivists use these kinds of tactics for the most part because they do not have the mental capacity to defend their twisted ideals with any vigor, and would surely lose a fair debate on neutral ground.

      3) Constantly pushing a new angle; a “magic bullet” solution to all the problems of the world, which usually seems to include more centralization, more government micromanagement of our resources, our economy, our education, and our lives. Certain types believe that technology will somehow undo all the failings of humanity in one fell swoop. Tales of floating cities, infinite energy, unlimited abundance, and a labor-free society, are spun by collectivists with much excitement but with no practical concrete planning as to how to reach such a Utopia. “If only everyone realized how brilliant they are, how fantastic their ideas are. If only everyone thought exactly as they do, the Earth would truly be a better place…” they think to themselves. “If only everyone would shut up and do as they’re told…”

      4) Attacks tradition with a cultish fervor. Preaches ad nauseam about the need for social evolution, but fails to acknowledge that one of the primary fundamentals of evolution is to hold onto that which makes an organism stronger, and outgrow that which makes it weaker. Just because a concept is “new”, it does not necessarily make it superior to concepts that are supposedly old. Collectivists regularly undercut the values of the Constitution, or free markets, for example, as being outdated and obsolete, even though they have rarely if ever actually experienced a constitutionally regulated environment, or commerce that is truly free from subversion. Because collectivists are weak people, the idea of legitimate strength is foreign to them. Therefore, they fill the void with whatever “appears” strong, or trailblazing, and leave behind all ideas they do not understand, which is a considerable number.

      5) Believe the family is subject to the whims of the state, and that parents are not to be trusted with the development of their children. Now, certainly, there are plenty of terrible parents in the world, and some of them don’t deserve the families that they have, however, as far as the education of children is concerned, the state is hardly a better teacher. Attributes most often given to governments through the ages include: lying, cheating, stealing, murder, subjugation, and remorselessness. Is this really who we want raising our children? “Yes”, say collectivists.

      Ever wonder why the rather harmless institution of homeschooling is brought up so frequently in MSM hit pieces like the one above, or in DHS official releases like the MIAC report on domestic terrorism? Because it represents independence from the system. It is an avenue by which any family can decouple, at least partially, from the establishment and make their own decisions. This kind of activity is an affront to the collectivist ideology. Hell, if our government is willing to set its sights on a group as passive and non-threatening as the Amish, of course they are willing to go after homeshoolers!

      6) Has the ability to rationalize almost anything in the name of the system. Always proclaiming the necessity of peace, but insist peace only on their terms. Abhor violence in words, but in action, they bathe in it. Ultimately, they see the “group” as a single entity whose survival is paramount over all other concerns, including individual freedom. To protect this entity, they will forgo any obstacles of conscience, even, ironically, to the point that the group self destructs. Without a healthy appreciation of the vitality of the individual, all “groups” revert to chaos and self mutilation. Without the individual, the group cannot function. It cannot exist.

      New Cultural Revolution To Destroy America?

      The psychologist Carl Jung, overwhelmed by the ignorance of communist and collectivist movements given birth in his lifetime, often stated that if a man thinks he can abandon history, if he thinks he can exist without the teachings of the past, without connections to that which came before him, without individual relationships to cultural memory, then he is literally diseased. He is insane. Not surprisingly, most collectivists hate Jung. For, through his studies, he exposed the undeniable madness of centralization; a methodology that thrives on amnesia, reaps only catastrophe, and hurtles societies into the abyss.

      For a collectivist movement to take hold, it MUST erase root values, not to mention as much of the past as possible from the minds of the masses, and replace it with distraction. Sometimes its war, sometimes its poverty or famine, sometimes it’s another segment of the population that is villainized on the sacrificial alter of “progress”. In China, this kind of restructuring of the public mind has been going on for decades, but nothing quite compares to the Cultural Revolution triggered by Mao in 1966.

      Even before the communist revolution in 1949, China was a globalist experiment; a Petri dish where international players could create one social virus after another and let them loose to play. During the Cultural Revolution, China saw the radicalization first of the country’s youth in the name of the state, then most others followed. The promise of change gave the Chinese a false impression of rebellion. A fake rebellion driven by a fake agenda and a fake enemy. Mobilized by ignorance and the need for identity, the Chinese people were used by Mao as weapon to destroy his political rivals, as well as anyone who dared question the righteousness of the state. For ten years, anyone with enough common sense to see the hypocrisy and the lunacy of the Chinese communist system lived in fear for their lives. One misspoken word, one slip of the tongue, and millions of ears would be listening. Even those who had served the government without question would sometimes be singled out for persecution, for a statist religion needs a constant flow of enemies to destroy, to keep the people enraptured, and keep them in line. Watch the short documentary on the Cultural Revolution below very carefully, and ask yourself how far down this path has America gone?

      Some might say that this kind of swing of the pendulum is not possible in the U.S., but look at the lines we have crossed so far! Our educational system has been revamped to misinform the next generation and even remove entire chunks of important history from their curriculum. The Constitution was once considered one of the most important living documents in history by many peoples, not just Americans. Now, owning one is listed as a possible sign of “homegrown extremism” by the Department of Homeland Security and the same government that is tasked with defending the liberties described within it. At every turn we hear arguments that our principles must be abandoned to make way for better, more “globally conscious” alternatives. That we must “forget the past”. And, those of us who refuse to forget the past are hoisted up on the vile stage of the MSM, forced to wear signs (labels) and paraded as criminal malcontents out to maim and kill poor unsuspecting collectivists and undermine the “legitimacy” of the government. In my opinion, we are not far off at all from the depravity of Mao’s China.

      I leave you with a video of the post-Bin Laden Seal Team 6 action death (still without any concrete independently corroborated evidence that it ever actually occurred) celebration, and the unfortunate mindless drones who came out en masse without even knowing why. Compare with the documentary on China above, and then decide how far some Americans have gone down the endless well of the hive mind:

       

      You can contact Brandon Smith at brandon@altmarket.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

      Want to protect your savings from inflation?  Want to invest in precious metals but don't know where to begin?  Contact Kirk Elliott at:

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      Or, call him at 866-211-8986 to learn more about sound money, before the price of gold and silver spikes again.

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      Tech Beat: 10 ways 'the police state' tracks you - Times-Standard Online

      Tech Beat: 10 ways 'the police state' tracks you

      Terry Olgin/For the Times-Standard

      The war on terror is a worldwide endeavor that has spurred massive investment into the global surveillance industry, which now seems to be becoming a war on “liberty and privacy.” Given all of the new monitoring technology being implemented, the uproar over warrantless wiretaps now seems moot.

      High-tech, first-world countries are being tracked, traced, and databased, literally around every corner. Governments, aided by private companies, are gathering a mountain of information on average citizens who so far seem willing to trade liberty for supposed security. Here are just some of the ways the matrix of data is being collected:

      GPS -- Global positioning chips are now appearing in everything from U.S. passports and cell phones to cars. More common uses include tracking employees, and for all forms of private investigation. Apple recently announced they are collecting the precise location of iPhone users via GPS for public viewing in addition to spying on users in other ways.

      Internet -- Internet browsers are recording your every move forming detailed cookies on your activities. The National Security Administration has been exposed as having cookies on their site that don't expire until 2035. Major search engines know where you surfed last summer, and online purchases are databased, supposedly for advertising and customer service uses. IP addresses are collected and even made public. Controversial websites can be flagged internally by government


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      RFID -- Forget your credit cards which are meticulously tracked, or the membership cards for things so insignificant as movie rentals which require your Social Security number. Everyone has Costco, CVS, grocery-chain cards, and a wallet or purse full of many more. RFID “proximity cards” take tracking to a new level in uses ranging from loyalty cards, student ID, physical access, and computer network access. Latest developments include an RFID powder developed by Hitachi, for which the multitude of uses are endless -- perhaps including tracking hard currency so we can't even keep cash undetected. (Also see microchips below).

      Traffic cameras -- License plate recognition has been used to remotely automate duties of the traffic police in the United States, but have been proven to have dual use in England such as to mark activists under the Terrorism Act. Perhaps the most common use will be to raise money and shore up budget deficits via traffic violations, but uses may descend to such “Big Brother” tactics as monitors telling pedestrians not to litter as talking cameras already do in the UK.

      Computer cameras and microphones -- The fact that laptops -- contributed by taxpayers -- spied on public school children (at home) is outrageous. Years ago Google began officially to use computer “audio fingerprinting” for advertising uses. They have admitted to working with the NSA, the premier surveillance network in the world. Private communications companies already have been exposed routing communications to the NSA. Now, keyword tools -- typed and spoken -- link to the global security matrix.

      Public sound surveillance -- This technology has come a long way from only being able to detect gunshots in public areas, to now listening in to whispers for dangerous “keywords.” This technology has been launched in Europe to “monitor conversations” to detect “verbal aggression” in public places. Sound Intelligence is the manufacturer of technology to analyze speech, and their website touts how it can easily be integrated into other systems.

      Biometrics -- The most popular biometric authentication scheme employed for the last few years has been Iris Recognition. The main applications are entry control, ATMs and government programs. Recently, network companies and governments have utilized biometric authentication including fingerprint analysis, iris recognition, voice recognition, or combinations of these for use in national identification cards.

      DNA -- Blood from babies has been taken for all people under the age of 38. In England, DNA was sent to secret databases from routine heel prick tests. Several reports have revealed covert Pentagon databases of DNA for “terrorists” and now DNA from all American citizens is databased. Digital DNA is now being used as well to combat hackers.

      Microchips -- Microsoft's HealthVault and VeriMed partnership is to create RFID implantable microchips. Microchips for tracking our precious pets is becoming commonplace and serves to condition us to accept putting them in our children in the future. The FDA has already approved this technology for humans and is marketing it as a medical miracle, again for our safety.

      Facial recognition -- Anonymity in public is over. Admittedly used at President Obama's campaign events, sporting events, and most recently at the G8/G20 protests in Canada. This technology is also harvesting data from Facebook images and surely will be tied into the street “traffic” cameras.

      All of this is leading to Predictive Behavior Technology -- It is not enough to have logged and charted where we have been; the surveillance state wants to know where we are going through psychological profiling. It's been marketed for such uses as blocking hackers. Things seem to have advanced to a point where a truly scientific Orwellian world is at hand. It is estimated that computers know to a 93 percent accuracy where you will be, before you make your first move. Nanotech is slated to play a big role in going even further as scientists are using nanoparticles to directly influence behavior and decision making.

      Many of us are asking: What would someone do with all of this information to keep us tracked, traced, and databased? It seems the designers have no regard for the right to privacy and desire to become the Controllers of us all.

      Terry Olgin owns 3rd Eye Computer Service, a managed service provider business, and is a member of the Redwood Technology Consortium. Check out his blog at terryolgin.wordpress.com . He can be reached at 3rdeyecomputers@gmail.com.

      Posted via email from moneytalks's posterous

      WHAT A PUBLIC BANK COULD MEAN FOR CALIFORNIA

      WHAT A PUBLIC BANK COULD MEAN FOR CALIFORNIA

      California is the eighth largest economy in the world, and it has a debt burden to match. It has outstanding general obligation bonds and revenue bonds of $158 billion, largely incurred for infrastructure. Of this tab, $70 billion is just for interest. Over $7 billion of California’s annual budget goes to pay interest on the state’s debt.

      As large as California’s liabilities are, they are exceeded by its assets, which are sufficient to capitalize a bank rivaling any in the world. That’s the idea behind Assembly Bill 750, introduced by Assemblyman Ben Hueso of San Diego, which would establish a blue ribbon task force to consider the viability of creating the California Investment Trust, a state bank receiving deposits of state funds. Instead of relying on Wall Street banks for credit – or allowing a Wall Street bank to enjoy the benefits of lending its capital – California may decide to create its own, publicly-owned bank.

      On May 2, AB 750 moved out of the Banking and Finance Committee with only one nay vote and is now on its way to the Appropriations Committee. Three unions submitted their support for the bill – the California Nurses Association, the California Firefighters, and the California Labor Council. The state bank idea also got a nod from former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich in his speech at the California Democratic Convention in Sacramento the previous day.

      Why a State Bank?

      California joins eleven other states that have introduced bills to form state-owned banks or to study their feasibility. Eight of these bills were introduced just since January, including in Oregon, Washington State, Massachusetts, Arizona, Maryland, New Mexico, Maine and California. Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii and Louisiana introduced similar bills in 2010. For links, dates and text, see here.

      All of these bills were inspired by the Bank of North Dakota (BND), currently the nation’s only state-owned bank. While other states are teetering on bankruptcy, the state of North Dakota continues to report surpluses. On April 20, the BND reported profits for 2010 of $62 million, setting a record for the seventh straight year. The BND’s profits belong to the citizens and are produced without taxation.

      The BND partners with local banks in providing much-needed credit for local businesses and homeowners. It also helps with state and local government funding. When North Dakota went over-budget a few years ago, according to the bank’s president Eric Hardmeyer, the BND acted as a rainy day fund for the state. And when a North Dakota town suffered a massive flood, the BND provided emergency credit lines to the city. Having a cheap and readily available credit line with the state’s own bank reduces the need for massive rainy-day funds (which are largely invested in out-of-state banks at very modest interest).

      The Center for State Innovation, based in Madison, Wisconsin, was commissioned to do detailed analyses for the Washington and Oregon bills. Their conclusion was that a state-owned bank on the model of the Bank of North Dakota would have a substantial positive impact in those states, increasing employment, new lending, and government revenue.

      What California Could Do with Its Own Bank

      Banks create “bank credit” from capital and deposits, as explained here. Under existing capital requirements, $8 in capital can be leveraged into $100 in loans, drawing on the liquidity provided by the deposits to clear the outgoing checks. Assuming a 10% reserve requirement (the amount in deposits normally held in reserve), $8 in capital and $100 in deposits are sufficient to create $90 in loans ($100 less $10 held back for reserves).

      In North Dakota (population 647,000), the Bank of North Dakota has $2.7 billion in deposits, or $4000 per capita. The majority of these deposits are drawn from the state’s own revenues. The bank has nearly the same sum ($2.6 billion) in outstanding loans.

      California has 37 million people. If the California Investment Trust (CIT) performed like the BND, it might amass $148 billion in deposits. With $12 billion in capital, this $148 billion could generate $133 billion in credit for the state (subtracting 10%, or 14.8 billion, to satisfy reserve requirements).

      There are various ways the state could come up with the capital, but one possibility that would not require new taxes or debt would be to simply draw on the treasurer’s existing pooled money investment account, which currently contains $65 billion in accumulated revenues dispersed to a variety of funds. This money is already invested; a portion could just be shifted to the CIT. Since it would be an investment in equity rather than an expenditure, it would not cost the state money. Rather, it would make money for the state. In recent years, the Bank of North Dakota has had a return on equity of 25-26%. Compare the 25-30% lost in the two years following the 2008 banking crisis by CalPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which invested its money on Wall Street.

      There are many inviting possibilities for applying the CIT’s $133 billion in credit power, but here is one easy alternative that illustrates the cost-effectiveness of the approach. Assume the bank invested $133 billion in municipal bonds at 5% interest. This would give the state close to $7 billion annually in interest income – nearly enough to pay the interest tab on the state’s debt.

      Choosing Prosperity

      What California can do with its own bank, other states can do as well, on a scale proportionate to their populations and economies. North Dakota has a population that is less than 1/10th the size of Los Angeles; the BND produced $62 million in revenue last year and $2.2 billion in loans. Larger states could generate much more.

      We have been trapped in an austere neo-liberal economic model in which the only alternatives are to slash services, raise taxes, and sell off public assets, all in a futile attempt to “balance the budget” in a shrinking economy. We need to start thinking outside the box. We can choose prosperity, and public banks are a key tool for achieving that end.

      Posted via email from moneytalks's posterous