erherberrechts oder

Just scant hours after reports of pan-European protests against ACTA, the German signatories to the treaty, a supranational and undemocratic imposition of the SOPA and PIPA bills that are for now consigned to Limbo, withdrew their unconditional support. More and more lawmakers are realizing that this bill is flawed, not striking a balance between ostensible protection of trademarks and patents and intellectual property and freedom of connexion, and has not been entertained in any public forum. The ascent of German and other European nations would not be formalized until the treaty is ratified by the EU Parliament, and Germany is not excluding switching back to its original position yet. This deferment and formality is parallel to the rank hypocrisy of the whole arrangement of press freedoms, privacy violations and domestic intrusions that characterize many governments of the world, who only look for a codification, a systemization for the questionable platforms they are already pushing, perhaps rallied and encouraged by certain lobbies. The marches are going to be carried out as planned, with tens of thousands committed to the protest and are expecting the same level of literacy and engagement out of their representatives on a broadening array of issues.

man-at-arms

Der Spiegel’s excellent daily chronical (nur auf Deutsch) takes note that this year marks thirty years since the launch of Mattel's He-Man franchise (Barbie’s Barbaric Brother). Though the Masters of the Universe (EN/DE) cast of characters and multiple spin-offs only reigned for a short five years (competing with parallel universes of action figures, like GI*Joe and Star Wars that did not play into the pantheon of over-sized muscle-men--I think I never had He-Men primarily so as not to mix statures), the line has been revived as cultural shorthand and reinvention, along with Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Pound Puppies and others from the Saturday morning and after-school cartoon cavalcades. I think it is great how new life is being given to these different classic lines of toys and comics, independent of all the marketing and repackaging, like in the movie adaptations, which are pretty flagrant about the distinction between nostalgia and unoriginality.

equipoise

After twenty years of effort and attempts, Russian researches have managed to bore through some four-hundred thousand years of ice to tap the surface of the immense subglacial lake Vostok (DE/EN). The body of water, rivaling the Great Lakes of North America or Lake Baikal in volume exists in liquid form, despite the below freezing conditions due to the enormous pressures exerted by a four thousand meter thick sheet of ice over it. One of some one hundred forty known reservoirs under the Antarctic ice, the lake originally existed only as a hypothesis, until its discovery as a ground scanning radar anomaly--much in the same way ancient geomancers postulated the existence of a southern continent to balance the globe. Such exploration is estimated by some to represent some of the last undiscovered geological finds on Earth, but considering how adventurers and prospectors have never penetrated beyond the surface, nor sounded much beyond the crests of waves, I think that this could usher in a whole new golden age of exploration.

Plus considering how poorly ecology is understood and given life's capacity to astound and adapt, it is never just mountain high or valley low. Environmentalists and rival drilling teams have expressed concern over Russia's methods and worry about contamination, suggesting that a more isolated and smaller lake ought to have been probed first, to see if it could be done safely, rather than going after the biggest. I think, though, that the Russian scientists are keenly aware of this and will take every precaution. Exploration does not equate to exploitation, and they know that to taint this discovery would be to lose a unique chance and there has been enough propaganda from science fiction to give anyone pause. The project has been carried out in careful phases, under the assumption that exotic microbes live in this environment. Confirmation would strengthen the case for Earth-like, familiar, organisms on the satellites Europa and Enceladus, icy moons harbouring subterranean seas. Despite whatever corollaries are drawn to imaged alien life, this process excites the imagination and respect for the unknown even more. What if the artefacts of some Lovecraftian race lost to the ages are found? These water flowed millions of years ago on a subtropical land joined with Australia. Science and science-fiction both are accomplished at postulating.

taxman or special drawing rights

There is a wealth of advice, some professional and modular, suitable for tailoring, and some common-sense that demands one dispatch with mistake-prone sentimentalities and panic, regarding managing one's personal finances and home-economics. There also seems to be, however, a terminal severing of connections pervading otherwise good tips. The utility of money (and that's all it is, a utility, like electricity and water and heat--essential and essentially takes care of itself) diminishes with an embarrassment of riches, as the cost (and perhaps the worth, as well) of things approaches zero.  On the other hand, juggling sacrifices makes one unable to plan and budget and look inward to the narrow horizon of those same sentimentalities and panic. There is a disconnect on both ends of the spectrum, which just exacerbates the situation all around and perpetuates gentrification.

Often, one is commended to pay oneself first, which is helpful and positive and makes one make the conscious decision to negotiate the obligations and think about savings--though savings at its poor rate of return is usually at odds with paying down debt, whose interest negates the benefit of savings. A third of one's income should probably be sequestered, however, and with a tangible goal in mind--paying forward, paying off one's loans, saving for a home, and not just some comfort-zone where the worth of things is reduced to specks. All of this takes some discipline to execute and pays off in the end. Some people, the day-trader and the generally nervous set, I think however need something more immediate, creeping but visible and effective. One should still set aside something for the future first and then corral what's needed for essentials and make do with the rest, and perhaps a way to do that--and not forget the value of a dollar, would be to tax oneself. After all, all levels of government, in war and peace, have been funding all of their activity, maybe up until very recently though creditors have always been around too, through tax revenues. One should follow one's bank statement with a critical eye and levy a financial transaction tax against each withdraw, say of 1%, and place a duty on other items according to utility, endurance and necessity. Tax at 10% gifts not budgeted for and 100% that extra coffee bought at the gas station out of laziness when a little planning would have saved some money. Depending on how easily one can transfer between accounts, calculate one's tax by the week or the day and sock it away in savings. With punishingly regressive rates and arbitrary vice-taxes, one can be as austere and byzantine as one wishes, since it's one's own money, just rescued from the general fund and a good reminder of how one is spending his or her income and financing purchases.