~e; EM observations #6

[brian carroll <human@electronetwork.org>]

[keywords] Iran, nuclear diplomacy, hackers, power grid,
chinese cellphonespace, magnometers, EM treasure hunting

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electromagnetic observations -- #6
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  1 watt of electrical current = 1/746th horsepower
  1 kilowatt of electrical energy = 1+1/3rd horsepower
  1 horsepower = 550 foot pounds of work per second

* have thought about pianos as interface with keyboards
and peddles. what if a computer had two foot peddles that
could be used for scrolling and tabbing menus, so that a
cursor moved by the mouse/hand could work in synchronicity
and thus scroll while also accessing other menu options.
it is incredible how so much praise is given to new types
of interfaces, such as a 'knob' or dial, what about using
navigation peddles to make complex interfacing effective.

* a barrage of new developments occured last week with regard
to Iran and .US nuclear diplomacy, and while the specifics of
the situation are not often outlined (relations between various
countries involved, and what the current situations actually are)
it seems somewhat approximate in range to what was sketched in the
last post on the list. what is exciting, as a possibility, is new
dialogues that may get beyond rhetoric and into the realities of
the severity of the issues - nuclear power, nuclear waste, nuclear
weapons, nuclear terrorism, nuclear security, nuclear treaties,
nuclear diplomacy, nuclear knowledge, and - a new nuclear peace.
comments below on the first two links add some thoughts to what
have been intriguing changes and potentially new developments...


===================================================
--urls--
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// there are two very intriguing aspects to the following exchange,
// and in the interest of identifying rhetorical blockage, an obvious
// impediment to the .US position which has been around for some time
// is an unclear statement about what is acceptable and what is not.
// it has shifted in the past between 'no nuclear reactors' from a
// viewpoint of Iran already possessing nuclear weapons (what is at
// times similar to the .il view, which obviously is very different
// if it is one's direct neighbor and a threat assessment is higher)
// and a more detached .US view which acknoweledges a right to nuclear
// power (within limits) if weapon programs do not exist and there are
// treaties and structural guarantees should they find any, about what
// the consequences would be. in the latter case, having a formal treaty
// or agreement which has been on the table all along, would be ideal
// as a pre-text for action should there be non-compliance, and Iran
// has appeared to go along with this line all along- except about
// issues related to current possession of weaponry, the mysterious
// unknowns about what may exist to date, or sercret programs which
// would make signing a treaty potentially a fait-accompli for Iran
// gaining weapons under the shield of international nuclear treaty.
// if a treaty were to address these concerns, and would be signed by
// Iran, and there are no known weapons, it would seem to be the best
// option diplomatically (rather than a war footing to accomplish a
// search-and-destroy for WMD in a country, as is a failed strategy).
// but the clincher appears to be, it is true that there is a double-
// standard in the .US position (VP Cheney, taken out of it in the
// extreme literal example, for he sells nuclear technology to Iran
// during the banning of such sales, by way of Halliburton, etc.)
// the double standard is that the .US position is unclear and is
// faulty because it is a "moral" judgement about the rights of a
// country to pursue its own best interests, and instead behaves
// as if Iran has no right to sell its domestic oil supplies for
// export markets, and instead is a ploy for creating nuclear bombs.
// Iran is in an infrastructure building boom it seems with a large
// amount going into development of dams, etc, power plants, and it
// would seem that if oil is the lifeblood, basically the national
// currency, that 'saving' it by investing it in other areas rather
// than spending it fast and fossil-fuel forgotten, may be a very
// legitimate approach to managing oil supplies (versus tapping out
// the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge for last drops of oil, even if oil
// companies do not want to invest in it in the .US, as it is a
// corporate-government public-private environmental boondoggle).
// it is a 'bad choice' is the .US position, it is 'wrong' for .IR
// to choose to make such a choice-- and by threat of war and of
// sanctions, this continually loops the .US position as antithesis
// to diplomatic reason or a middle-ground, in a citizen's opinion.
// that is, it is not a legitimate argument and does not allow any
// maneuvering as it is unrealistic to the dynamic - in terms of,
// not .US morals about the oil business - but middle-east peace,
// global oil supplies, pacifying impassioned cultural hatreds
// and misunderstandings, and trying to figure it out together.
// instead, the .US may be greatly aided by clarifying what are
// the real issues, not the private morality of oil executives--
// it is probably reasonable to say that, in the end it is really
// a matter of life and death among probably more than many people
// if this does not get realistic much more quickly about the stakes
// and severity of doing the right thing, the wrong way, once again.
// the right thing is nuclear diplomacy, the wrong way would be to
// continue to approach it as some vague specter that is beyond any
// checks and balances and acts as a reason to go to war yet again.
// if the .US focused on signing a treaty, every major problem is
// potentially to be addressed, except Iran's oil riches to do with
// as it pleases. the nuclear waste and bombs and even terrorism-
// related issues could be vastly transformed, as middle-east peace
// efforts. that is, if the profit motive doesn't get in the way...

Iran Says It Won't Give Up `Right' to Nuclear Power (Update2)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/ 
news?pid=10000087&sid=a2ZMVNh2Ou0g&refer=top_world_news

	'Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, speaking today at the conclusion  
of a three-day state visit to Venezuela, that the world's powers are  
viewing his country's nuclear program ``with double standards.''' ..  
'``Iran has the right to peaceful nuclear technology,'' Khatami said.  
``However, we are ready to cooperate with the world to give more  
assurances that we're not pursuing the construction of nuclear  
weapons.''' .. 'Iran, with Russia's assistance, is building a  
heavy-water nuclear reactor that it says is for peaceful, civilian  
power supply. The U.S. argues that Iran, with the second-largest oil  
reserves in the Middle East, has no need to develop alternative energy  
sources and the plant could be used to make highly enriched fissile  
material for nuclear weapons.' .. 'U.S. and European opposition to  
Iran's nuclear program is a ``huge example of double standards, double  
morality by the world's great powers,'' Khatami said. ``So many  
problems in the world are caused by double standards.'' Iran is abiding  
by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, he said.'

// this part, though, seems problematic as is having anyone build a  
nuclear
// bomb (say, a stanford graduate.) because certain security  
responsibility
// would seem necessary, and thus maybe 'nuclear knowledge' is a  
commonality.

	[and] 'Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reiterated support for Iran's  
nuclear power program, saying that ``Venezuela respects the right of  
any country to develop nuclear power.'''

[and] Iran demands more US concessions // *** confidence-building...
Iran has urged the US to offer it further incentives
to  resolve the dispute over its nuclear programme.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4344871.stm

	'Mr Mousavian said, however, that Iran would embrace with open arms  
confidence-building measures and objective guarantees to prove that it  
was not seeking weapons of mass destruction.' .. 'But he added that  
Iran remained determined to produce at least part of its nuclear fuel  
for power plants and he said if that was accepted, then the debate over  
economic and security concessions could become serious


// the little book about antennas i am reading has interesting facts
// about the way the ionosphere works, and how it changes during the
// day and night. it may be related to the field of 'space weather'
// of which many websites document by way of satellite imagery/data.

Lightning linked to gap in radiation belts // "safe zone" spark-gap
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7122

	'The inner ring extends between 1000 and 7000 km above the equator,  
while the outer ring starts at 13,000 km and extends to 25,000 km. The  
trapped radiation imperils both humans and spacecraft, so satellites  
and astronauts fly above or below the radiation belts - or in the gap  
between them.'

Hackers target U.S. power grid // ** via drudgereport.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7152899/

	'A government advisory panel has concluded that a foreign intelligence  
service or a well-supported terrorist group "could conduct a structured  
attack on the electric power grid electronically, with a high degree of  
anonymity, and without having to set foot in the target nation,"  
according to a report last year by the Government Accountability  
Office, the investigative arm of Congress.' .... 'The vulnerability of  
the nation's electrical grid to computer attack has grown as power  
companies have transferred control of their electrical generation and  
distribution equipment from private, internal networks to supervisory  
control and data acquisition, or SCADA, systems that can be accessed  
through the Internet or by phone lines, according to consultants and  
government reports. That technology has led to greater efficiency  
because it allows workers to operate equipment remotely.'

Nanotechnology and Jewelry // colorshifting gold vs. carbon nanotubes...
http://www.primidi.com/2005/03/04.html#a1128

N. Korea launches harsh crackdown // *** via drudgereport.com
http://interestalert.com/brand/siteia.shtml?Story=st/sn/ 
03110002aaa05d83.upi&Sys=rmmiller&Fid=WORLDNEW&Type=News&Filter=World%20 
News

	'The open execution comes at a time when outside influence is seeping  
in the watertight society...' .... 'North Korea introduced mobile  
service in November 2002, with cell phones from Motorola Corp. of the  
United States and Nokia Corp. of Finland, and Nokia is available in the  
market in Pyongyang...' .. 'But the use of mobile phones has helped  
pierce North Korea's Iron Curtain and break down the Pyongyang regime,  
which insulates itself through isolating citizens, curbing the spread  
of information.' .. 'North Koreans are using Chinese telecommunication  
networks to reach South Korean phones, intelligence sources here  
say...' ... 'Despite the strict measures, mobile phones have served as  
conveyer belts of information from the outside world to help combat  
decades of state-sponsored propaganda and misinformation, defectors  
say.'

New Radio-frequency Technique For Knee Injuries
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050224123448.htm

Moore says nanoelectronics face tough challenges
http://news.com.com/Moore+says+nanoelectronics+face+tough+challenges/ 
2100-1006_3-5607422.html?tag=nefd.lede

// note: artists could do a lot with such visualization tools. and it
// is curious if any of these companies like geomagnetics, would be
// open to collaboration and some training with rented gear to find out.
// an electronetwork 'network' of contacts could include such companies
// that could be written to in order to learn more about  
possibilities...

Treasure hunters feel pull of magnetic gear --  Magnets may be
a staple of New Age mysticism, but a magnetometer might just
lead a Silicon Valley entrepreneur to a centuries-old treasure.
http://news.com.com/Treasure+hunters+feel+pull+of+magnetic+gear/2100- 
1041_3-5610829.html?tag=nefd.top
	
	'A magnetometer essentially reads the magnetic properties of the  
ground--like a supersensitive compass. The measurements are then  
compiled into a magnetic map in conjunction with Global Positioning  
System data.' .... 'Magnetic detection is handy because nearly  
everything in the ground contains the mineral magnetite. Even bacteria  
from the detritus of human habitation produce it--always in varying  
degrees. Sudden contrasts point to sites of possible human habitation.'

[and] Photos: Hunting for buried treasure // see magnetite map!
http://news.com.com/2009-1041-5610772.html?tag=nl

The Elekrton SidStation // Commodore 64 sampler/synth chip
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000803035570/


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