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The United Persons » admin http://theunitedpersons.org helping you to save the world... & some of your tax money;) Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:08:00 +0000 en hourly 1 Planets with Stabilizing Moons May Be Common The… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planets-with-stabilizing-moons-may-be-common http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planets-with-stabilizing-moons-may-be-common#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:11:10 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=8116

Planets with Stabilizing Moons May Be Common: “The Earth’s comparatively massive moon, formed via a giant impact on the proto-Earth, has played an important role in the development of life on our planet, both in the history and strength of the ocean tides and in stabilizing the chaotic spin of our planet. Here we show that massive moons orbiting terrestrial planets are not rare. A large set of simulations by Morishima et al. (Morishima, R., Stadel, J., Moore, B. [2010]. Icarus. 207, 517–535 [cf. http://arxiv.org/pdf/1007.0579 ]), where Earth-like planets in the habitable zone form, provides the raw simulation data for our study. We use limits on the collision parameters that may guarantee the formation of a circumplanetary disk after a protoplanet collision that could form a satellite and study the collision history and the long term evolution of the satellites qualitatively. In addition, we estimate and quantify the uncertainties in each step of our study. We find that giant impacts with the required energy and orbital parameters for producing a binary planetary system do occur with more than 1 in 12 terrestrial planets hosting a massive moon, with a low-end estimate of 1 in 45 and a high-end estimate of 1 in 4.” http://arxiv.org/pdf/1105.4616

Cf. http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planetary-anthropic-selection

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planets-with-stabilizing-moons-may-be-common/feed 1 Protests ahead of vote on new Hungary constitution… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/protests-ahead-of-vote-on-new-hungary-constitution http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/protests-ahead-of-vote-on-new-hungary-constitution#comments Sat, 16 Apr 2011 16:46:34 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=7499 Protests ahead of vote on new Hungary constitution

“Fri Apr 15, 2011 6:56am EDT

* Parliament to vote on new [1party] constitution on April 18.

* Civil society groups plan protest in Budapest

* Rights groups say new law will weaken checks and balances” http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/15/hungary-constitution-idUSLDE73D11420110415

Video [in Hungarian]:

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/protests-ahead-of-vote-on-new-hungary-constitution/feed 0 Planetary anthropic selection the idea that Earth… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planetary-anthropic-selection http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planetary-anthropic-selection#comments Sat, 02 Apr 2011 08:36:57 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=7273 “Planetary anthropic selection, the idea that Earth has unusual properties since, otherwise, we would not be here to observe it, is a controversial idea. This paper proposes a methodology by which to test anthropic proposals by comparison of Earth to synthetic populations of Earth-like planets. The paper illustrates this approach by investigating possible anthropic selection for high (or low) rates of Milankovitch-driven climate change. Three separate tests are investigated: (1) Earth-Moon properties and their effect on obliquity; (2) Individual planet locations and their effect on eccentricity variation; (3) The overall structure of the Solar System and its effect on eccentricity variation. In all three cases, the actual Earth/Solar System has unusually low Milankovitch frequencies compared to similar alternative systems. All three results are statistically significant at the 5% or better level, and the probability of all three occurring by chance is less than 10−5. It therefore appears that there has been anthropic selection for slow Milankovitch cycles [that is, the periodic variations in Earth’s climate that are induced by changes in Earth’s orbit and orientation in space. The key factors here are axial precession (time varying axis orientation), orbital precession (time varying orbital orientation), and time variation in orbital eccentricity (circularity of the orbit)]. This implies possible selection for a stable climate, which, if true, undermines the Gaia hypothesis [that
is, that life modiﬁes the environment in ways which are beneﬁcial to itself] and also suggests that planets with Earth-like levels of biodiversity are likely to be very rare. [...]

It is widely recognized that regions of Earth that have stable temperatures (e.g., tropical rainforests) have high levels of biodiversity (see review by Wilson, 2001). The hypothesis that this link is direct and causal is reinforced by the observation that the deep ocean seaﬂoor also has high biodiversity (Sanders, 1968), even though the conditions are, stability excepted, poor and biological productivity therefore low. Further evidence of a link between rapid climate change and loss of species richness has been gleaned from studies of Earth’s glacial-interglacial cycles. The most recent ice ages have resulted in reduced biodiversity within the temperate zones where the greatest changes in climate occurred (see review by Hewitt, 2004). There are, therefore, two independent lines of evidence that support the proposition that biodiversity is, in general, lower when climate change is signiﬁcant. [...]” http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/ast.2010.0475

Cf. http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/the-great-filter-are-we-almost-past-it

Update: http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planets-with-stabilizing-moons-may-be-common

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]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/planetary-anthropic-selection/feed 1 #Egypt: Yuppie Revolution Is Over, Islam… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/yuppie-revolution-in-egypt-is-over http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/yuppie-revolution-in-egypt-is-over#comments Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:39:09 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=3089 #Egypt: Yuppie Revolution Is Over, Islamist Revolution Has Begun:

Now that Mubarek is gone, the western media mostly has moved on to the next revolution, secure in the perception that Egypt is moving in the right direction. But that is a false comfort. [...] over a million Egyptians turned out in Tahrir Square last Friday to cheer the vile anti-Semitic Sunni cleric Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who had been exiled by Mubarek, and who espouses the fundamentalist Islamic view that Jews must live as Dhimmis under Islamic control. http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2011/02/yuppie-revolution-in-egypt-is-over.html

Google executive Wael Ghonim, who emerged as a leading voice in Egypt’s uprising, was barred from the stage in Tahrir Square on Friday by security guards, an AFP photographer said. Ghonim tried to take the stage in Tahrir, the epicentre of anti-regime protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak, but men who appeared to be guarding influential Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi barred him from doing so. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Egypt-protest-hero-Wael-Ghonim-barred-from-stage/Article1-663996.aspx

The end of the Camp David accords? Two million Egyptians aim to ‘liberate’ Jerusalem:

For those whose Arabic is a bit weak, the first commenter on YouTube translated what they were shouting into English.
“To Jerusalem We go, for us to be the Martyrs of the Millions.” http://israelmatzav.blogspot.com/2011/02/end-of-camp-david-accords-two-million.html

Transcript: Leading Sunni Scholar Sheik Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi Calls for the Egyptian Army to Replace the Government and Prays to Allah for the Conquest of the Al-Aqsa Mosque http://www.memri.org/clip_transcript/en/2815.htm

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/yuppie-revolution-in-egypt-is-over/feed 7 Chilling Effects aims to help you unders… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/chilling-effects http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/chilling-effects#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:38:17 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=3070

Chilling Effects aims to help you understand the protections that the First Amendment and intellectual property laws give to your online activities. https://www.chillingeffects.org

Cf. http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/what-can-the-jeff-koons-lawsuit-teach-us-about-copyright-law-a-guest-post/

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/chilling-effects/feed 0 “It is one of the strangest and most imp… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/bradley-birkenfeld http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/bradley-birkenfeld#comments Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:14:45 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=2925

“It is one of the strangest and most important financial whistleblower cases of all time.

Bradley Birkenfeld once lived the high life as secret Swiss banker at UBS in Geneva. Then he delivered some of the world’s best-kept secrets to the US government, expecting a great reward. And now he sits in federal prison in Pennsylvania [...]“: http://www.cnbc.com/id/41257962

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/bradley-birkenfeld/feed 0 My monograph Against Intellectual Proper… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/my-monograph-against-intellectual-proper http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/my-monograph-against-intellectual-proper#comments Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:56:15 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/my-monograph-against-intellectual-proper My monograph Against Intellectual Property (Mises Institute, 2008) is now available in free epub format.

Stephan Kinsella

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/my-monograph-against-intellectual-proper/feed 0 Posted Thu Nov 30 2000 13:39:15 your loc… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/posted-thu-nov-30-2000-133915-your-loc http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/posted-thu-nov-30-2000-133915-your-loc#comments Tue, 28 Dec 2010 17:37:48 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/posted-thu-nov-30-2000-133915-your-loc Posted Thu Nov 30 2000 13:39:15 your local time (10 years 1 month 4 hours ago) and read 243836 times: When the two towers that make up the World Trade Center were built, they were designed to withstand the impact of the largest airliner of the day, the Boeing 707 Intercontinental. The Empire State Building survived a B-25 medium bomber crashing into it on very foggy day. It was during the weekend when most people weren’t there, but still, 14 people died. Anyone wanna bet that the World Trade Center could survive an 767-300 impact?

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/336291/4/

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/posted-thu-nov-30-2000-133915-your-loc/feed 0 Freedom of the press is at the heart of … http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/freedom-of-the-press-is-at-the-heart-of http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/freedom-of-the-press-is-at-the-heart-of#comments Fri, 24 Dec 2010 04:49:52 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/freedom-of-the-press-is-at-the-heart-of Freedom of the press is at the heart of a free society. We hope that the Hungarian Government will soon resolve this issue satisfactorily and that it will not impact adversely on the successful delivery of the Hungarian EU Presidency.

Foreign Office (GB)

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/freedom-of-the-press-is-at-the-heart-of/feed 0 Far too many patents are granted, they’… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/far-too-many-patents-are-granted-they http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/far-too-many-patents-are-granted-they#comments Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:20:03 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/far-too-many-patents-are-granted-they Far too many patents are granted, they’re granted for inventions that are far too trivial and far too narrow, the patent office is far too poorly staffed to deal with them properly, and patent trolls like Myhrvold are allowed to sit back and do nothing for years and then suddenly start harassing corporations long after they’ve built up major businesses around supposedly infringing patents. It’s a disgrace, and it’s bad for innovation and bad for business.

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/far-too-many-patents-are-granted-they/feed 0 If it is full democracy, then why have t… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/if-it-is-full-democracy-then-why-have-t http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/if-it-is-full-democracy-then-why-have-t#comments Fri, 10 Dec 2010 23:16:36 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/if-it-is-full-democracy-then-why-have-t If it is full democracy, then why have they hidden Mr. Assange in prison? That’s what, democracy? So, you know, as they say in the countryside, some people’s cows can moo, but yours should keep quiet. So I would like to shoot the puck back at our American colleagues, the pot calling the kettle black.

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/if-it-is-full-democracy-then-why-have-t/feed 0 The Ethics of Wikileaking, Revisited “If… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/the-ethics-of-wikileaking-revisited http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/the-ethics-of-wikileaking-revisited#comments Tue, 07 Dec 2010 09:35:47 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=2089

The Ethics of Wikileaking, Revisited “If Wikileaks had merely leaked information relating to morally questionable acts or illegalities, then I would have regarded such leaks as morally acceptable and even laudable. However, the folks at Wikileaks have crossed a moral line by publishing a cable providing a list of resources and assets “whose loss could critically impact the public health, economic security, and/or national and homeland security of the United States.”” http://blog.talkingphilosophy.com/?p=2389

Cf.: Wikijerks http://www.whattofix.com/blog/archives/2010/12/wikijerks.php

Keeping WikiLeaks in Perspective http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/keeping-wikileaks-in-perspective/

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ‘will release poison pill of damaging secrets if killed or arrested’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335888/WikiLeaks-Julian-Assange-release-damaging-secrets-killed-arrested.html

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/the-ethics-of-wikileaking-revisited/feed 1 http://213.251.145.96/ http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/http213-251-145-96 http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/http213-251-145-96#comments Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:56:37 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/http213-251-145-96 http://213.251.145.96/

wikileaks

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/http213-251-145-96/feed 0 U.S. & Panama Tax agreement to be signed on the 30th of November in English http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/u-s-panama-tax-agreement-to-be-signed-on-the-30th-of-november-in-english http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/u-s-panama-tax-agreement-to-be-signed-on-the-30th-of-november-in-english#comments Sun, 28 Nov 2010 06:54:18 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=1941

I want to thank John H, one of my avid readers, for sharing this important information with us.

Below you will find a machine translation of the Tax agreement that is to be signed by Panama and the U.S. on the 30th of November. I have also included an article from La Prensa with comments by the Minister of Finance and other interested parties.

My understanding after reading these brief 12 articles is that it gives the U.S. complete access to any information it may request on any U.S. resident or citizen who it believes may hold assets in Panama. [...]

http://primapanama.blogs.com/_panama_residential_devel/2010/11/us-panama-tax-agreement-in-english.html

]]> http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/u-s-panama-tax-agreement-to-be-signed-on-the-30th-of-november-in-english/feed 0 Open Direct Democracy: Open Source proje… http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/open-direct-democracy http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/open-direct-democracy#comments Fri, 19 Nov 2010 08:48:55 +0000 admin http://theunitedpersons.org/?p=1866

Open Direct Democracy: Open Source project aiming at creating software in support of citizen driven direct democracy for organizations and governments at any level. https://github.com/rbjarnason/open-direct-democracy

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