The Purpose of Politics 192

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A stark example of the entire purpose of modern politics; careers for the political class. Lib Dems may agree to a referendum on EU membership because it “reflects the thinking of English Lib Dem MPs in seats where they face Eurosceptic pressure”. That is, nothing to do with their beliefs, just trying to save their jobs. Exactly like the Westminster Labour establishment in Scotland.

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192 thoughts on “The Purpose of Politics”

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  • Ba'al Zevul

    Tony Blair is currently bringing love and peace and gawping sightseers to Timor.

    Poor Timor.

    http://noticias.sapo.tl/portugues/info/artigo/1415188.html

    “This visit was to try to find ways of cooperation between the group that Tony Blair leads and the Oecussi Administrative Region,” said Mari Alkatiri of the Lusa agency after the meeting.

    The president of the administrative region of Oecussi and former prime minister met with Tony Blair, who made ​​no statements to the press, at a hotel in Dili.

    Asked by the Lusa agency about the group that Tony Blair represents, Mari Alkatiri said that it is an economic group that includes investors from various Arab, European and Asian countries.

    Tony Blair, according to Mari Alkatiri, was accompanied on his visit to Timor-Lesteby an Egyptian businessman who is interested in investing in the financial and tourism areas in Oecussi.

    (Google Translate, slightly amended for clarity by BZ)

    This group doesn’t look like part of the Empire of Tony Blair plc, but a consortium of contacts informally made through the OQR connection. Still, the further it keeps him from Israel, the better, probably.

  • Dave Lawton

    Ba`al Zevul@7:38
    Here we go again,all you statements are Static and gather dust. If you knew anything about measuring instruments you would know even Geiger counters can give erroneous readings and to say that the gamma radiation would sterilise everyone in the room is downright ridiculous.
    I don’t know were you get your information from but High Energy particle physics is not so clear cut as you seem to believe having worked in that field for quite a number of years.

  • Mochyn69

    @Mary
    10 Oct, 2014 – 3:53 am

    Just how fucking stupid do Scotland’s naysayers look now .. see what they’re going to get!?

    Devomax? my arse!

    England going to the dogs with the eughkippers mounting a big challenge to the eughnited kingdom establishment parties, who will respond by becoming more and more extreme, little englanders, driving a coach and horses through human rights, traditional ‘liberal’ and ‘radical’ values to assuage the kippers fanatical thirst for extremist english supremacist dogma and looming ever larger the specter of the brexit refferendum.

    Devomax? I reckon you can forget that. If the eughkippers ever get their way, it’ll be bye bye Holyrood, tata Cardiff Bay, welcome back the Scottish and Welsh Grand Committees. Just read the maniffesto.

    Craig was right, fuck you naysayers, fuck you Gordon Brown, especially you, Gordon Brown. I think the Irish had a name for the likes of you ..

  • Ba'al Zevul

    Rather than get involved in an argument with someone who claims to have worked in high energy physics but seems to have missed some basic principles*, here’s Peter Thieberger, a senior scientist at Brookhaven explaining why Rossi’s scam is a load of old cods:

    http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2011/12/05/the-nuclear-physics-of-why-we/

    Thieberger substantiates the pretty obvious conclusion that gamma radiation from the claimed fusion reaction would penetrate the device container in physically damaging quantities. You wouldn’t need a “Geiger counter”** at all – the witnesses would have experienced pronounced and probably visible symptoms if the thing had been working as claimed. And there’s more. In detail.

    Also see Wikipedia if you can be arsed:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Catalyzer

    In which we discover that there has still been no independent third party testing, the paper mentioned above was not peer reviewed, and not submitted to a learned journal but a public archive, Rossi’s own “paper” having found no home other than his own blog.
    Access to the materials was not permitted. At no stage during the tests was the power input switched off. Etc.

    Scam. Pffft. Bye.

    *Let me guess. You were operating a dental x-ray machine?

    ** As you say, a Geiger counter, which does not distinguish between gamma energies, is probably not the best instrument to use Although (yes, I’ve used one) it’s usually quite apparent whether it’s working or not. So if it was used, why? Any high-energy physicist (lol) would insist on a gamma spectrometer, using solid-state detectors, to see if 511KeV radiation, resulting from positron decay, was present. At least. Never mind the range of energies from the formation and decay of the Cu and Ni isotopes claimed to be present. Like to ask Rossi if an independent observer can use a (calibrated, sealed) gamma spectrometer the next time he plugs his kit into an undisclosed power source? Good luck with that, chum. Scam.

  • Dave Lawton

    @9:16 am
    I don’t know what planet you are on. LENR has moved on and different configurations have been
    tested. Try this one from the guys from MIT http://world.std.com/~mica/nanortechnology.htm
    Also I have never heard of Peter Thieberger.These physicists only become known by attacking other peoples work.Sad.
    Oh by the way it was not a dental xray machine it was Nimrod we ran our experiments on.
    I will give you a bonus the so called secret ingredients of the Ecat is known also catalyst as
    it is a dead ringer of my late friends Full US patent for a cold fusion reactor
    I wont continue with this conversation because it will just go round in circles.

  • ------------·´`·.¸¸.¸¸.··.¸¸Node

    Ba’al Zevul

    Scam? Mainstream science would suggest so.

    I personally can’t rule out the possibility that scientific research/publication has been skewed to avoid/discourage development of alternatives to fossil fuel. I therefore cannot be sure I’m in possession of enough information for a definite judgement. I’m keeping an open mind on e-cat.

    Certainly, if it is a scam, it’s a good one. The leader of the previous investigation, Hanno Essen, had a history of being sceptical of Rossi and was in fact Chairman of the Swedish Sceptics Society for 3 years! The title of their report, “Indication of anomalous heat energy production in a reactor device,” signals that they could detect no fraud. People have questioned the honesty and competence of his team, but the criticism has been exaggerated. Essen isn’t a fool, he’s well qualified to judge, and it’s hard to believe he would sell his scientific credibility for a bribe.

    Neither do I think it’s fair to dismiss the most recent investigation as incompetent or corrupt, unless you have specific complaints. He has given several teams of independent scientists full access to monitor the input and output of his device over long periods of time. With respect, I think it’s highly likely they are as familiar with radiation testing techniques as you. As far as I am aware, there have been no restrictions placed on their access to the outside of the device yet they have been unable to explain the vast discrepancy between the energy input and output. And that’s the point: highly qualified teams of scientists don’t know how he does it. For me, that leaves room for doubt.

    Rossi has a colourful background and an idiosyncratic style. It would be foolish not to scrutinize his claims. The biggest hindrance to accepting them is his insistence on hiding the crucial part of his device, but if it is what he claims, who can blame him.

    I’ll continue to give e-cat the benefit of the doubt. What’s to lose?

  • Ba'al Zevul

    Node, believe what you like. It’s not worth arguing about IMO. A chemical catalyst which promotes a nuclear reaction? A nuclear fusion whose energetics demand the emission of gamma radiation, which is, however, undetected? Let alone characterised for comparison with theory?

    And, I stress, no independent testing (ie at which Rossi is not even present, let alone permitted to handle the reactants)

    http://news.newenergytimes.net/2014/10/12/rossi-handles-samples-in-alleged-independent-test-of-his-device/

    So far from being impartial, Hanno Essen has his own interest in cold fusion, and also an unproven theory (which may or may not be sound – no comment) which could gain some support if Rossi’s gadget did what it said on the tin.

    This isn’t well written, but it gets to the point eventually.
    http://shutdownrossi.com/e-cat-science/hanno-essen-admits-recent-test-of-e-cat-not-science/

    And I don’t call Rossi’s background ‘colourful’ so much as criminal. He’s a serial conman.
    http://newenergytimes.com/v2/sr/RossiECat/RossiTimeline.shtml

    I can’t stop you buying gold bricks, anyway. Perhaps the only teacher is experience.

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