General Douglas MacArthur on the war economy

Quote by General Douglas MacArthur:

It is part of the general pattern of misguided policy that our country is now geared to an arms economy which was bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and nurtured upon an incessant propaganda of fear. While such an economy may produce a sense of seeming prosperity for the moment, it rests on an illusionary foundation of complete unreliability and renders among our political leaders almost a greater fear of peace than is their fear of war.
Speech to the Michigan legislature, in Lansing, Michigan (15 May 1952).

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Touch – New Drama

If you like numbers and supernatural drama, take a look at the new show on FOX, Touch. The stories center around a speechless autistic boy, the red thread and interconnectedness. And it's about choices and trust. It's extremely well-written and well acted, tapping into both that which is intellectual and deeply emotional. You can watch the pilot and the only two episodes here.

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A new generation of batteries as the missing link to robust renewable energy

Donald Sadoway, a professor at MIT, has helped develop a new type of battery, and he proposes that such a device is critically needed for America to make use of sustainable energy technologies such as wind and solar:

If we're going to get this country out of its current energy situation, we can't just conserve our way out. we can't just drill our way out. We can't bomb our way out. We're going to do it the old fashioned American way: we're going to invent our way out working together.
He starts the talk discussing the history of the battery. The problem is that there is no battery yet available to meet today's main needs: "uncommonly high power, long service lifetime and super low cost." (min 4). He indicates that it needs to be made out of abundant elements--"dirt cheap." His proposed liquid-metal battery consists of magnesium, antimony and salt (min 10). He adds that prototypes have worked well, and they have "no moving parts . . . minimum regulation . . . no thermal runaway . . . designed to work at elevated temperature that come from current surges . . . reduced cost by producing fewer larger units . . . "

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