Blum, William, Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions since World War II , Zed Books 2014 ' In Killing Hope, William Blum, author of the bestselling Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower, provides a devastating and comprehensive account of America's covert and overt military actions in the world, all the way from China in the 1940s to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and - in this updated edition - beyond. Is the United States, as it likes to claim, a global force for democracy? Killing Hope shows the answer to this question to be a resounding 'no'.  
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Hopkins (2001), Keith, A World Full of Gods: The Strange Triumph of Christianity, Penguin Random House 2001 ' In this provocative, irresistibly entertaining book, Keith Hopkins takes readers back in time to explore the roots of Christianity in ancient Rome. Combining exacting scholarship with dazzling invention, Hopkins challenges our perceptions about religion, the historical Jesus, and the way history is written. He puts us in touch with what he calls “empathetic wonder”—imagining what Romans, pagans, Jews, and Christians thought, felt, experienced, and believed-by employing a series of engaging literary devices. These include a TV drama about the Dead Sea Scrolls; the first-person testimony of a pair of time-travelers to Pompeii; a meditation on Jesus’ apocryphal twin brother; and an unusual letter on God, demons, and angels.' 
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Kaku (1998), Michio, Introduction to Superstrings and M-Theory (Graduate Texts in Contemporary Physics), Springer 1998 ' Called by some "the theory of everything," superstrings may solve a problem which has eluded physicists for the past 50 years -- the final unification of the two great theories of the twentieth century, general relativity and quantum field theory. This is a course-tested comprehensive introductory graduate text on superstrings which stresses the most current areas of interest, not covered in other presentation, including: string field theory, multi loops, Teichmueller spaces, conformal field theory, and four-dimensional strings. The book begins with a simple discussion of point particle theory, and uses the Feynman path integral technique to unify the presentation of superstrings. Prerequisites are an acquaintance with quantum mechanics and relativity. This second edition has been revised and updated throughout.' 
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Nielsen (2016), Michael A., and Isaac L Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information, Cambridge University Press 2016 Review: A rigorous, comprehensive text on quantum information is timely. The study of quantum information and computation represents a particularly direct route to understanding quantum mechanics. Unlike the traditional route to quantum mechanics via Schroedinger's equation and the hydrogen atom, the study of quantum information requires no calculus, merely a knowledge of complex numbers and matrix multiplication. In addition, quantum information processing gives direct access to the traditionally advanced topics of measurement of quantum systems and decoherence.' Seth Lloyd, Department of Quantum Mechanical Engineering, MIT, Nature 6876: vol 416 page 19, 7 March 2002. 
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Veltman (1994), Martinus, Diagrammatica: The Path to the Feynman Rules, Cambridge University Press 1994 Jacket: 'This book provides an easily accessible introduction to quantum field theory via Feynman rules and calculations in particle physics. The aim is to make clear what the physical foundations of present-day field theory are, to clarify the physical content of Feynman rules, and to outline their domain of applicability. ... The book includes valuable appendices that review some essential mathematics, including complex spaces, matrices, the CBH equation, traces and dimensional regularization. . . .' 
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Albert Einstein (1933), On the Method of Theoretical Physics: Herbert Spencer Lecture 1933, ' It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience. back

Alfred North Whitehead & Bertrand Russell (1903), Principia mathematica, ' Title: Principia mathematica, by Alfred North Whitehead ... and Bertrand Russell. Author: Whitehead, Alfred North, 1861-1947. Collection: University of Michigan Historical Math Collection Rights/Permissions: The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are in the public domain in the United States. If you have questions about the collection, please contact Historical Mathematics Digital Collection Help at umhistmath-help@umich.edu. If you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact Library Information Technology at libraryit-info@umich.edu.' back

Baerbel Koribalski, Astronomers have discovered a rare ‘polar ring galaxy’ wrapped in a huge ribbon of hydrogen , ' Using CSIRO’s Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope, on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia, we recently discovered an enormous ribbon of hydrogen encircling a spiral galaxy called NGC 4632. The results are described in a new paper in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. . . . .. In the words of my colleague Nathan Deg at Queen’s University in Canada, who led the new study: Polar ring galaxies are some of the most spectacular looking galaxies that we can see. Beyond just being beautiful, they provide important clues about the formation and growth of galaxies over time. The location and movement of these polar rings can also tell us about the shape of the halo of invisible dark matter astronomers believe surrounds most galaxies.' back

Differentiable manifold - Wikipedia, Differentiable manifold - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' In mathematics, a differentiable manifold is a type of manifold that is locally similar enough to a linear space to allow one to do calculus. Any manifold can be described by a collection of charts, also known as an atlas. One may then apply ideas from calculus while working within the individual charts, since each chart lies within a linear space to which the usual rules of calculus apply. If the charts are suitably compatible (namely, the transition from one chart to another is differentiable), then computations done in one chart are valid in any other differentiable chart.' back

Donna Lu, Snakes have clitorises: scientists overcome ‘a massive taboo around female genitalia’ , ' Female snakes have clitorises, scientists have detailed for the first time in a study of the animal’s sex organs. The scientists say previous research had mistaken the organs as scent glands or underdeveloped versions of penises, in a study that criticised the comparatively limited research into female sex organs. In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers found that snakes have two individual clitorises – hemiclitores – separated by tissue and hidden by skin on the underside of the tail. “Female genitalia are conspicuously overlooked in comparison to their male counterparts, limiting our understanding of sexual reproduction across vertebrate lineages,” the study’s authors wrote. Male snakes and lizards are known to have hemipenes – a pair of penises which are everted outside the body during reproduction. In many species, hemipenes are covered in spines or hooks. The study’s lead author and a PhD student at the University of Adelaide, Megan Folwell, said “a massive taboo around female genitalia” was a potential factor in why snake clitorises had not been described earlier. “I think it’s a combination of not knowing what to look for and not wanting to,” she said.' back

Feynman, Leighton and Sands FLP II_02, Chapter 2: Differential Calculus of Vector Fields, ' What it means really to understand an equation—that is, in more than a strictly mathematical sense—was described by Dirac. He said: “I understand what an equation means if I have a way of figuring out the characteristics of its solution without actually solving it.” So if we have a way of knowing what should happen in given circumstances without actually solving the equations, then we “understand” the equations, as applied to these circumstances. A physical understanding is a completely unmathematical, imprecise, and inexact thing, but absolutely necessary for a physicist. ' back

Fiddler on the Roof - Wikipedia, Fiddler on the Roof - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters (or Tevye the Dairyman) and other tales by Sholem Aleichem. The story centers on Tevye, a milkman in the village of Anatevka, who attempts to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon his family's lives.' back

GeorgeW Bush, Opinion: George W. Bush: Michael Gerson’s words make the case for saving PEPFAR, ' When I took office in 2001, the situation with HIV/AIDS on the African continent and elsewhere was dire. A group of advisers including Condi Rice, Josh Bolten and Mike Gerson encouraged me to act before an entire generation was lost. I believe that every life has dignity and value. I also believe that of those to whom much is given, much is required. So we developed a plan with clear objectives and accountability, and we got to work. In 2003, Congress authorized the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, with huge bipartisan support. Twenty years later, the results are clear: PEPFAR has saved more than 25 million lives and prevented millions of HIV infections. Members of Congress and American citizens from both parties should be proud. Instead of celebrating this success and extending these gains, some in Washington have called the future of this program — which accounts for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of our federal budget — into question. We are on the verge of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. To abandon our commitment now would forfeit two decades of unimaginable progress and raise further questions about the worth of America’s word. The reauthorization is stalled because of questions about whether PEPFAR’s implementation under the current administration is sufficiently pro-life. But there is no program more pro-life than one which has saved more than 25 million lives. I urge Congress to reauthorize PEPFAR for another five years without delay.' back

Guardian Editorial (2023_09_12), The Guardian view on the other 9/11: Pinochet’s dictatorship casts a lengthening shadow, ' Three decades before the 2001 al-Qaida terror attacks on the US, September 11 was infamous for another bloody event which ended one era of history and brought forth another. The 1973 military coup in Chile installed General Augusto Pinochet as the dictator of a regime that tortured, killed and disappeared thousands in the name of fighting communism. Salvador Allende, the first socialist in the Americas to take office via the ballot box, killed himself as troops stormed the presidential palace. Under Pinochet, parliament was closed, political parties outlawed, and media outlets shut down. Chile became a test-bed for the “shock therapy” policies of the University of Chicago economist Milton Friedman. The death of democracy was undoubtedly hastened by the actions of leading powers, including the UK and Australia, but most notably the US. . . .. The US government continues to keep secret records about its role. Washington should come clean, as the Chilean coup is seen as part of a decades-long attempt to destabilise leftwing governments in the region. Clearly US national security doctrine was indifferent to dictatorship and legitimated dirty wars. This was wrong. Washington should say so. The US remains self-interested, inspiring fear in the continent. Whether it is sanctions on Cuba, claims that aid is being used against the Mexican government or an IMF-forced depreciation in Argentina, the shadows cast by September 11 1973 are lengthening.' back

Huda Syyed, Female genital cutting remains a taboo subject in Pakistan, preventing real progress from being made, ' Female genital cutting is a secretive and largely invisible practice in Pakistan. The experiences of survivors are the only sources of information we have to understand its prevalence. There are no national statistics or governmental efforts to counter the practice or this lack of awareness. Open conversations are difficult because women’s bodies are treated as a source of shame or taboo. My research has found we must understand female genital cutting from a Pakistani perspective and work towards bridging the knowledge gap through increased data collection and encouraging greater dialogue with survivors. Otherwise, Pakistan risks being left behind in achieving one of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, the elimination of female genital cutting by 2030. There are four types of female genital cutting, but generally speaking, it involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia. This can be through pricking, scraping, stitching and burning. At least 200 million girls and women globally have experienced different forms of female genital cutting, according to the United Nations. It is practised on every continent, except Antarctica.' back

Jack Shafer (2023_09_08), Donald Trump Destroyed Horse Race Journalism , ' But the “who’s-going-to-win” foundation of campaign reporting, which makes political reporting look like it was lifted from the Daily Racing Form, has been bulldozed by Trump. . . . .. Trump stymied the usual flow by running as an incumbent president, not an aspiring one, and GOP primary voters accommodating him. Ever since he lost in 2020, he’s maintained that he won by a landslide and paraded around as if he were still the chief executive. Such is his hold on his supporters that they endorse his fantasy, even if their belief is insincere. The Trump “hold” diminishes interest by his supporters in the “issues” that the anti-horseracists want covered. In fact, if Trump reversed his views on, say, China or NATO tomorrow, he would lose even fewer voters than if he stood in the middle of 5th Avenue and shot somebody.' back

Jim Laurie, Biden’s Vietnam embrace repeats past US mistakes, ' Why should the United States be the sole superpower? Who appointed America the task of thwarting Chinese ambitions. Are those ambitions real? How much of the world wants continued US dominance? Would not more nuanced, multilateralist positions on international issues, and building a multi-polar world order be a greater guarantee of peace and stability? For insight into the American mind of the 21st century, it’s worth recalling a giant of US politics of the previous century, a figure now largely forgotten: Senator J William Fulbright. Fulbright experienced a conversion in 1965, emerging as one of the most eloquent opponents of the Vietnam War and America’s self-selected role as the world’s most prolific interventionist. He questioned the assumption that Blackwell and most Americans today accept – the idea of global preeminence. He wrote famously of America’s “arrogance of power”. “Power tends to confuse itself with virtue,” wrote Fulbright. “A great nation is particularly susceptible to the idea that its power is a sign of God’s favour, conferring upon it a special responsibility for other nations … to remake them, that is, in its own shining image.” It was an attitude that permeated US actions in Vietnam; an attitude that Americans never unlearned despite repeated failures. The same ‘special responsibility’ came to be exercised again in Iraq in 2003 and throughout the 20 years that ended with another ignominious pullout – from Afghanistan in August 2021.' back

Kevin Trenberth, How rising water vapour in the atmosphere is amplifying warming and making extreme weather worse, ' The main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone – don’t condense and precipitate. Water vapour does, which means its lifetime in the atmosphere is much shorter, by orders of magnitude, compared to other greenhouse gases. On average, water vapour only lasts nine days, while carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for centuries or even millennia, methane lasts for a decade or two and nitrous oxide a century. These gases serve as the backbone of atmospheric heating, and the resulting rise in temperature is what enables the observed increase in water vapour levels. Read more: Extreme precipitation events have always occurred, but are they changing? The rise in carbon dioxide doesn’t depend on weather. It comes primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. Atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from pre-industrial levels of 280ppmv to 420ppmv (an increase of 50%) and about half of that increase has happened since 1985. This accounts for about 75% of the anthropogenic heating from long-lived greenhouse gases. The rest of human-induced atmospheric warming mainly comes from methane and nitrous oxide, with offsets from pollution aerosols. The extra heating from water vapour has been on a par with that from increased carbon dioxide since the 1970s.' back

Kon Tiki (2012 film) - Wikipedia, Kon Tiki (2012 film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopdia, ' Kon-Tiki is a 2012 historical drama film directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg about the 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition. The film was mainly shot on the island of Malta. The role of Thor Heyerdahl is played by Pål Sverre Hagen. The film is an international co-production between Norway, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.Joachim Rønning, & Espen Sandberg back

Liz Evans, Girlhood misery, bullying and beauty combine for Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s ‘unlikeable’ west-coast girls, ' With the post-menopausal generation reappraising what it means to be an older woman, the sheen of youth has become exposed. Women are told to fear the ageing process, but the truth is, I would not return to my teenage years, nor would any of the women I know. The worst part of growing older is watching the next generation go through it all again. Female bullying is central to Laura Elizabeth Woollett’s fourth book, West Girls, which aligns the misery of girlhood with the tyranny of conventional beauty. Weaving interconnected stories around a revolving cast of characters growing up in Western Australia, the novel cracks open the toxic power dynamics between a privileged huddle of “Blondes” and the culturally diverse girls they seek to marginalise. Divided by wealth and ethnic discrimination, the two socially disparate groups are united in one respect: their alignment of prettiness with success.' back

Paul, Romans 7:14-25, The war between the flesh and the spirit, ' We know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold into slavery to sin. What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I concur that the law is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. . . . For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, I myself, with my mind, serve the law of God but, with my flesh, the law of sin.' back

Robert G. Patman, New Zealand’s strategic priority in the Indo-Pacific is not AUKUS – it’s helping to defeat Russia in Ukraine, ' Given the circumstances, New Zealand should remain clear-eyed about the connections between its strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific and its support for defeating Russian expansionism. To date, New Zealand has contributed more than NZ$70 million in humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. But this looks pretty modest in light of the possible fallout for the Indo-Pacific region if Putin wins any sort of victory. Especially so, considering Ukraine is a liberal democracy that gave up its nuclear weapons in 1994 (in return for Russian recognition of its sovereignty and territorial integrity), and which shares New Zealand’s goal of reforming the UN Security Council. Indeed, the best way for New Zealand to contribute to countering Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific would be to significantly increase its military support for Ukraine. If Russia is defeated or forced to withdraw, it will be a serious blow to Xi Jinping’s leadership and complicate any plans he might have for annexing Taiwan. This would go some way towards bolstering the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific that is so clearly in New Zealand’s interests.' back

Roger Jones, Fire regimes around Australia shifted abruptly 20 years ago – and falling humidity is why, ' Fire-weather measures fire risk on a daily basis, while a fire-climate regime measures fire risk over seasonal and longer time scales. Our research shows almost everywhere in Australia is now in a different fire climate than it was just 20 years ago, with falling relative humidity a key factor. Previous research has also identified these sudden jumps in fire danger. . . .. We tracked changes in this fire danger index over that 64-year period across all states and the Northern Territory. We also looked at distinct sub regions such as southwest Australia. What we found was startling. Rather than a linear increase, fire regimes tracked along a similar line – and then suddenly jumped. For most states and territories, that happened around the year 2000. There is no evidence for a long-term trend. Instead, the data shows a shift from one stable fire climate regime to another. . . .. So what was it? We found the main driver was relative humidity in combination with higher daily temperatures during the fire season. Recently, we examined global humidity data and found large-scale downward shifts in humidity. In the Southern Hemisphere, that happened in 2002. In the Northern Hemisphere, it happened in 1999. Humidity reductions in each region of Australia were closely followed by shifts to higher fire season maximum temperatures, amplified by soils drying out.' back

Self-adjoint operator - Wikipedia, Self-adjoint operator - Wikipedia, the free enecylopedia, ' In mathematics, a self-adjoint operator on a complex vector space V with inner product ⟨ ⋅ , ⋅ ⟩ . . . is a linear map A (from V to itself) that is its own adjoint: ⟨ A v , w ⟩ = ⟨ v , A w ⟩ . . . If V is finite-dimensional with a given orthonormal basis, this is equivalent to the condition that the matrix of A is Hermitian, i.e., equal to its conjugate transpose A*. By the finite-dimensional spectral theorem, V has an orthonormal basis such that the matrix of A relative to this basis is a diagonal matrix with entries in the real numbers. In this article, we consider generalizations of this concept to operators on Hilbert spaces of arbitrary dimension.' back

Thurbon, Hynd & Tan, We urgently need $100bn for renewable energy. But call it statecraft, not ‘industry policy’, ' This week, a diverse group of organisations called on the Australian federal government to establish a A$100 billion, ten-year policy package to turbocharge Australia’s green energy transition. Proposed by groups including the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Australian Conservation Foundation, Climate Energy Finance, Rewiring Australia and the Smart Energy Council, the Australian Renewable Industry Package (ARIP) would dwarf the government’s existing commitments. Its proponents claim that by 2035, the package would generate at least $300 billion annual clean export revenue and 700,000 much needed jobs, mainly in rural and regional Australia. . . . .. In arguing for a new big renewables push, some proponents have couched it in the language of a “new industry policy”. But this language is problematic for two main reasons. First, this language in Australia is highly politicised and divisive. Since the 1980s, “industry policy” has arguably become one of the most misused and abused terms in our nation’s political discourse.' back

Vladimir Kara-Murza (2023_09_11), Opinion: Change will come to Russia — abruptly and unexpectedly, ' We have no right to repeat this mistake when the window of opportunity opens again. All archives must be opened and published. All the crimes of both the Soviet and Putin regimes must receive a proper evaluation at the state level. All structures involved in these crimes — above all the FSB — must be liquidated, and the people who committed these crimes must be held accountable before the law. Those who served as conductors of repressive policies should be deprived of the right to hold government posts — and this will not be a “witch hunt” (as some current officials will once again shout), but the necessary protection against a new authoritarian revenge. And I would like to emphasize (although it goes without saying): To investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Putin regime in the course of its aggression against Ukraine, we will have to create an international tribunal (modeled on similar ones for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda), to which all suspects, regardless of their rank and position, must be transferred. Only in this way — having fully confronted and condemned these crimes — will Russia be able to truly free itself from the burden of the past and move forward toward the creation of a free and modern state based on law and universal values. This will ensure that the country can finally avoid entering the same old vicious circle, so that the next generation of Russian politicians will no longer need to conduct the same old discussions between Vladimir labor camp and Moscow prison. I believe we can do it.' back

W and Z bosons - Wikipedia, W and Z bosons - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' In particle physics, the W and Z bosons are vector bosons that are together known as the weak bosons or more generally as the intermediate vector bosons. These elementary particles mediate the weak interaction; the respective symbols are W⁺, W^&minus and Z⁰. The bosons have either a positive or negative electric charge of 1 elementary charge and are each other's antiparticles. The Z⁰ boson is electrically neutral and is its own antiparticle. The three particles each have a spin of 1.' back

Yan Yan Hong, From Deewana to the success of Pathaan: the global impact of Bollywood’s enduring king, Shah Rukh Khan, ' In the ever-evolving landscape of Indian cinema, where movie stars rise and fall, one name has remained etched in the hearts of millions for more than three decades – Shah Rukh Khan, also known as “SRK”. Fondly known as the King of Bollywood, Khan’s cinematic influence on Indian cinema is a story that transcends borders and generations. As people celebrate his remarkable return to the silver screen in 2023 after a four-year hiatus, marked by the resounding global success of Pathaan, it’s the perfect time to embark on a journey through his illustrious career. Here, I explore the timeless Indian classics that catapulted him to stardom and look at the excitement surrounding his latest release, Jawan (in cinemas now), and the highly awaited Dunki.' back