Bell (1987), John S, Speakable and Unspeakable in Quantum Mechanics, Cambridge University Press 1987 Jacket: JB ... is particularly famous for his discovery of a crucial difference between the predictions of conventional quantum mechanics and the implications of local causality . . . . This work has played a major role in the development of our current understanding of the profound nature of quantum concepts and of the fundamental limitations they impose on the applicability of classical ideas of space, time and locality. 
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Contos (2023), Chanel, Consent Laid Bare, Macmillan Australia 2023 Jacket: In 2021 Chanel Contos posted on Instagram asking people to share their stories of sexual assault during their schooling years. This post unexpectedly went viral and almost 7000 people sent in testimonies describing behaviour that constitutes rape. Virtually none of these instances were reported and almost all of them were perpretrated by people they knew. How and why is this hapenning in an era of growing equality? Chanel Contos argues that when it comes to sex, we are still working with an outdated social contract that privileges men's pleasure at the expense of women's humanity. 
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Feynman (1965), Richard P, and Albert P Hibbs, Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals, McGraw Hill 1965 Preface: 'The fundamental physical and mathematical concepts which underlie the path integral approach were first developed by R P Feynman in the course of his graduate studies at Princeton, ... . These early inquiries were involved with the problem of the infinite self-energy of the electron. In working on that problem, a "least action" principle was discovered [which] could deal successfully with the infinity arising in the application of classical electrodynamics.' As described in this book. Feynman, inspired by Dirac, went on the develop this insight into a fruitful source of solutions to many quantum mechanical problems.  
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Feynman (1988), Richard, QED: The Strange Story of Light and Matter, Princeton UP 1988 Jacket: 'Quantum electrodynamics - or QED for short - is the 'strange theory' that explains how light and electrons interact. Thanks to Richard Feynmann and his colleagues, it is also one of the rare parts of physics that is known for sure, a theory that has stood the test of time. . . . In this beautifully lucid set of lectures he provides a definitive introduction to QED.' 
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Asmit Bhowmick et al (2023), Structural evidence for intermediates during O2 formation in photosystem II, ' In natural photosynthesis, the light-driven splitting of water into electrons, protons and molecular oxygen forms the first step of the solar-to-chemical energy conversion process. The reaction takes place in photosystem II, where the Mn4CaO5 cluster first stores four oxidizing equivalents, the S0 to S4 intermediate states in the Kok cycle, sequentially generated by photochemical charge separations in the reaction center and then catalyzes the O–O bond formation chemistry. Here, we report room temperature snapshots by serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography to provide structural insights into the final reaction step of Kok’s photosynthetic water oxidation cycle, the S3→[S4]→S0 transition where O2 is formed and Kok’s water oxidation clock is reset. Our data reveal a complex sequence of events, which occur over micro- to milliseconds, comprising changes at the Mn4CaO5 cluster, its ligands and water pathways as well as controlled proton release through the hydrogen-bonding network of the Cl1 channel. Importantly, the extra O atom Ox, which was introduced as a bridging ligand between Ca and Mn1 during the S2→S3 transition, disappears or relocates in parallel with Yz reduction starting at approximately 700 μs after the third flash. The onset of O2 evolution, as indicated by the shortening of the Mn1–Mn4 distance, occurs at around 1,200 μs, signifying the presence of a reduced intermediate, possibly a bound peroxide.' back

Balanchine, Mariinsky, Stravinsky, Jewels, Rubies, ' Igor Stravinsky - Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra The Mariinsky Ballet & Orchestra Soloists: Ulyana Lopatkina, Igor Zelensky, Irina Golub, Andrian Fadeyev, Zhanna Ayupova. Piano Solo Lyudmila Sveshnikova Choreography: George Balanchine Performed in the Mariinksy Theatre, St. Petersburg Artistic and General Director: Valery Gergiev Ballet Director: Makhar Vaziev Conducted by Tugan Sokhiev The Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world’s greatest ballet company with an astonishing heritage. Before emigrating to the West, George Balanchine studied in St Petersburg and was a member of the Mariinsky. However, Jewels dates from late in his career, and was premiered in New York. Although it did not receive its first performance at the Mariinsky until 1999, it has since become a core part of the company’s repertoire. This performance was filmed at the Mariinsky Theatre and features many of the most well-known dancers including Ulyana Lopatkina, Igor Zelensky and Andrian Fadeyev alongside conductor Tugan Sokhiev.; back

David Attenborough (2011), Flying Monsters 3D, ' 220 million years ago, as dinosaurs were beginning their domination of Earth, another group of reptiles was about to make an extraordinary leap. Pterosaurs were taking control of the skies. The story of how and why these mysterious creatures took to the air is more fantastical than any fiction. In Flying Monsters, Sir David Attenborough sets out to uncover the truth about the enigmatic pterosaurs whose wingspans of up to 40 feet were equal to that of a modern day jet plane. The central question and of the greatest mysteries in paleontology is how and why did pterosaurs fly. How did creatures the size of giraffes defy gravity and soar through prehistoric skies? Attenborough starts to unravel one of science’s more enduring mysteries, discovering that the marvel of pterosaur flight has evolutionary echoes that resonate even today.' back

E. K. Anderson et al (2023_09_27), Observation of the effect of gravity on the motion of antimatter, ' Abstract: Einstein’s general theory of relativity from 1915 remains the most successful description of gravitation. From the 1919 solar eclipse to the observation of gravitational waves, the theory has passed many crucial experimental tests. However, the evolving concepts of dark matter and dark energy illustrate that there is much to be learned about the gravitating content of the universe. Singularities in the general theory of relativity and the lack of a quantum theory of gravity suggest that our picture is incomplete. It is thus prudent to explore gravity in exotic physical systems. Antimatter was unknown to Einstein in 1915. Dirac’s theory appeared in 1928; the positron was observed in 1932. There has since been much speculation about gravity and antimatter. The theoretical consensus is that any laboratory mass must be attracted by the Earth, although some authors have considered the cosmological consequences if antimatter should be repelled by matter. In the general theory of relativity, the weak equivalence principle (WEP) requires that all masses react identically to gravity, independent of their internal structure. Here we show that antihydrogen atoms, released from magnetic confinement in the ALPHA-g apparatus, behave in a way consistent with gravitational attraction to the Earth. Repulsive ‘antigravity’ is ruled out in this case. This experiment paves the way for precision studies of the magnitude of the gravitational acceleration between anti-atoms and the Earth to test the WEP. back

Gospel of John (USCCB), Chapter 1:14, ' And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. back

Ishaan Tharoor, ‘This is not just Putin’s war’: How Finland’s top diplomat sees Ukraine, ' Finland has a long, difficult history of living next to Russia and finding accommodation with the Kremlin. Are there conversations about what living with Russia looks like in the aftermath of this war? It’s very good question. And I think what many haven’t perhaps realized is that this is not just Putin’s war. It seems that the Russian machinery, so to speak, has been preparing for this for a very long time. They have been actively waging war since [the 2008 invasion of] Georgia and 2014 against Ukraine, with the illegal annexation of Crimea. Of course, Putin has been in power during this time, but for more than two decades, he has built an infrastructure around this. And there could have been two decades for somebody [in Russia] to tell him that it’s not okay. So if Putin goes it’s very unlikely that somehow Russia will become a peaceful normal democracy. I would claim that us in the West, we would not wish for anything simply more perhaps than that the ordinary Russian would have a say in the direction that the country is taking, that Russia would open up for civil society and become a normal democracy. But while hoping for that, we have to prepare for the worst and the worst is that Russia remains like it is and perhaps even worse in the future.' back

Jeffrey Nicholls (1987), A theory of Peace, ' The argument: I began to think about peace in a very practical way during the Viet Nam war. I was the right age to be called up. I was exempted because I was a clergyman, but despite the terrors that war held for me, I think I might have gone. It was my first whiff of the force of patriotism. To my amazement, it was strong enough to make even me face death.
In the Church, I became embroiled in a deeper war. Not a war between goodies and baddies, but the war between good and evil that lies at the heart of all human consciousness. Existence is a struggle. We need all the help we can get. Religion is part of that help and theology is the scientific foundation of religion.' back

John Quiggin, Living in the 70s: why Australia’s dominant model of unemployment and inflation no longer works, ' Unfortunately for proponents of the idea, the “natural rate” turned out to vary over time, leading to the term being replaced with the clunkier but more descriptive “NAIRU”. Worse still for proponents of the idea, estimates of NAIRU tended to move in line with the actual rate of unemployment. When unemployment was high, estimates of NAIRU were high. As it fell, estimates of NAIRU fell, suggesting that how far unemployment could fall was determined by how far unemployment had fallen. The NAIRU model’s first real test since the 1970s came with the rapid upsurge and then decline in inflation in 2022 and 2023 that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the end of the COVID lockdowns. Inflation was initially driven by a combination of supply chain disruptions and demand from savings made during the lockdowns. Because the unemployment rate didn’t much move (presumably being near NAIRU, albeit an estimate that had progressively been lowered as unemployment fell) the upsurge in inflation could be seen as consistent with the existence of NAIRU, a vertical line on the Phillips graph. However, the absence of a significant increase in wages growth was inconsistent with NAIRU, which was built around the idea that inflation was driven by growth in wages, passed on as higher prices. More damaging to the idea of a NAIRU was what happened next. So far in 2023 inflation has dived (using the monthly measure, from 8.4% to 3.9%) but the unemployment rate has barely budged – at 3.7% in August, it’s where it was in January.' back

Margaaret Talbot, The Villa Where a Doctor Experimented on Children, ' When Evy scrolled through her search results for the Sonnenstrasse villa, which were in German, she noticed an unusual word: Kinderbeobachtungsstation, or “child-observation station.” She’d always assumed that the villa had been some sort of psychiatric facility. It had seemed like “a transfer hub,” as she recently put it—a place where children were monitored, classified, and then sent to other institutions. From the search results, Evy learned the name of the woman who’d headed the place: Dr. Maria Nowak-Vogl, a psychologist at the University of Innsbruck. Typing Nowak-Vogl’s name into Google, she learned that the villa had indeed been a psychiatric facility, of a very peculiar kind. In 2013, an expert commission under the aegis of the Medical University of Innsbruck had issued a damning report about the facility, saying that Nowak-Vogl had perpetrated systematic abuse under the guise of dealing with “difficult” children.' back

Mark Fiscetti & Francesco Franchi, Wine’s True Origins Are Finally Revealed, ' Genetic data indicate that 400,000 and 300,000 years ago grapes grew naturally across the western and central Eurasian continent. Roughly 200,000 years ago a cold, dry, ice-age climate slowly killed off vines in the central Mediterranean Sea region, cleaving vine habitat into two isolated areas: one to the west of the sea (today Portugal, Spain and France) and one to the east (roughly Israel, Syria, Turkey and Georgia). Around 56,000 years ago the eastern region separated again into smaller isolated areas: the Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) and western Asia (Israel, Jordon and Iraq).' back

Michael Leach, The Voice: how do other countries represent Indigenous voices in government?, ' One of the claims advanced by the “no” campaign in the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament is that “there is no comparable constitutional body like this anywhere in the world”. Yet across the globe there are many political institutions that seek to guarantee Indigenous peoples are heard. Broadly speaking, they fall into four different categories:
reserved parliamentary seats
devolved self-governance
traditional authority councils and
Indigenous advisory bodies (the proposed Voice fits in this category).
Surprisingly, the current debate on the Voice to Parliament seems to have missed the fact Torres Strait Islanders have effectively had an elected voice to both federal and state governments for almost 30 years. Besides being a form of devolved self-governance, the Torres Strait Regional Authority is empowered to “advise the federal minister for Indigenous affairs on matters relating to Torres Strait Islanders”. In fact, the proposed Voice to Parliament is one of the more modest proposals for Indigenous governance systems around the world. back

Nazi Germany - Wikipedia, Nazi Germany - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich until 1943, later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where many aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after only 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe. ' 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

Rolf Landauer (1999), Information is a Physical Entity, 'Abstract: This paper, associated with a broader conference talk on the fundamental physical limits of information handling, emphasizes the aspects still least appreciated. Information is not an abstract entity but exists only through a physical representation, thus tying it to all the restrictions and possibilities of our real physical universe. The mathematician's vision of an unlimited sequence of totally reliable operations is unlikely to be implementable in this real universe. Speculative remarks about the possible impact of that on the ultimate nature of the laws of physics are included.' back

Ross Gittins, What’s kept us from full employment is a bad idea that won’t die, ' Lurking behind the employment white paper that Treasurer Jim Chalmers will release today is the ugly and ominous figure of NAIRU – the non-accelerating-inflation rate of unemployment. If the Albanese government can’t free itself and its econocrats from the grip of NAIRU, all its fine words about the joys of full employment won’t count for much. The NAIRU is an idea whose time has passed. It made sense once, but not anymore. The story of how this conventional wisdom came to dominate the thinking of the rich world’s macroeconomists has been told by Queensland University’s Professor John Quiggin [QV]. . . .. Trouble is, the theory no longer fits the facts. Inflation has shot up, but because of supply disruptions, plus the pandemic-related budgetary stimulus, not excessive wage growth. And there’s been no sign of a worsening in inflation expectations. Wages have risen in response to the higher cost of living, but have failed to rise by anything like the rise in prices. Why? Because, seemingly unnoticed by the econocrats, workers’ bargaining power against employers has declined hugely since the 1970s. Meanwhile, the stimulus took us down to the lowest rate of unemployment in almost 50 years, where it’s stayed for more than a year. It’s well below estimates of the NAIRU, meaning wages should have taken off, but shortage-driven pay rises have been modest. All of which suggest that the NAIRU is an artifact of a bygone age. As Quiggin says, the absence of a significant increase in wage growth is inconsistent with the NAIRU, which was built around the idea that inflation was driven by growth in wages, passed on as higher prices.' back

Ruth Graham, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/29/us/baltimore-archdiocese-sex-abuse-bankruptcy.html, ' The archdiocese of Baltimore, the oldest in the United States, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday, two days before a new state law goes into effect that will allow child sexual abuse victims to sue organizations no matter how long ago the abuse took place. Archbishop William E. Lori attributed the filing directly to the law’s effect on the archdiocese, which is facing “a great number of lawsuits” that were previously prohibited by state law, he said in a letter to the archdiocese on Friday. Filing for bankruptcy, Archbishop Lori said in the letter, is “the best path forward to compensate equitably all victim-survivors, given the archdiocese’s limited financial resources, which would have otherwise been exhausted on litigation.” The bankruptcy filing stops all lawsuits against the archdiocese, which could have been filed starting at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday. Instead, a judge will oversee the reorganization of the archdiocese, ultimately setting a deadline for victims to file their claims in bankruptcy court. back

The Creation (Haydn) - Wikipedia, The Creation (Haydn) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, ' The Creation (German: Die Schöpfung) is an oratorio written in 1797 and 1798 by Joseph Haydn (Hob. XXI:2), and considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. The oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as described in the Book of Genesis. The libretto was written by Gottfried van Swieten. The work is structured in three parts and scored for soprano, tenor and bass soloists, chorus and a symphonic orchestra. In parts I and II, depicting the creation, the soloists represent the archangels Raphael (bass), Uriel (tenor) and Gabriel (soprano). In part III, the bass and soprano represent Adam and Eve. The first public performance was held in Vienna at the old Burgtheater on 19 March 1799. The oratorio was published with the text in German and English in 1800.' back

Vale of tears - Wikipedia, Vale of tears - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'The phrase vale of tears (Latin vallis lacrimarum) is a Christian phrase referring to the tribulations of life that Christian doctrine says are left behind only when one leaves the world and enters Heaven. The term "valley of tears" is also used sometimes.' back

William Bertsche, Antimatter: we cracked how gravity affects it – here’s what it means for our understanding of the universe, ' Our new study, published in Nature, reveals how antimatter actually behaves under the influence of gravity. . . .. To date, there have been no direct measurements on the gravitational motion of antimatter. It is quite challenging t study because gravity is the weakest force. That means it is difficult to distinguish the effects of gravity from other external influences. It has only been with the recent advances of techniques to produce stable (long-lived), neutral and cold antimatter that measurements have become feasible. . . . .. We counted how many anti-atoms escaped upwards and downwards by detecting the antimatter annihilations created as the anti-atoms collided with surrounding matter particles in the trap. By comparing these results against detailed computer models of this process in normal hydrogen atoms, we were able to infer the effect of gravity on the anti-hydrogen atoms. Our results are the first from the ALPHA-g experiment and the first direct measurement of antimatter’s motion in a gravitational field. They show that antihydrogen gravitation is the same as that of hydrogen, it falls downwards rather than rising, within the uncertainty limits of the experiment.' back