Jason’s Random Thoughts

According to recently declassified records dating back to the Cold War, two American F 86-D Saber attack jets were scrambled to confront an unidentified flying object in UK airspace during the spring of 1957. One of the pilots, Milton Torres, was only seconds away from firing a salvo consisting of two dozen rockets at the strange object that registered as something larger than life on his radar screen. Adding to the unusual circumstances of the operation was the speed at which both pilots had been given the command to open fire which, in this case, came before the jets were even in the air.

“I had a lock-on that had the proportions of a flying aircraft carrier,” Torres explained.  “I was only a lieutenant and very much aware of the gravity of the situation. I felt very much like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.”

The declassified files show no official explanation for the event, which came about during a time of heightened tension between Western powers and the mighty Russian Republic. But UFO expert David Clarke believes the sighting might have been part of a secret U.S. project to create phantom aircraft on radar screens to test Soviet air defenses.

The object was reported to spend times hovering motionless in the sky before accelerating to speeds in excess of 10,000 kilometers per hour and flying erratically. Given that no human could survive the G-Forces of such acceleration, and such unnatural flight paths were traveled, there is no plausible way to conclude the object was piloted by anyone on Earth.

But was it from the great beyond

Since before the dawn of written language, humans have told stories of incredible people who come from beyond. In cave paintings we can see, what appears to be, disks in the sky. In Renaissance art we can see men in cone-shaped rockets. In the last century we have heard thousands of tales of people being abducted, or contacted, or witnessing vehicles of incredible technological prowess and design. But does this mean that we are being watched by beings of extra-terrestrial origin? To what purpose would these visits serve?

Even though this was a subject discussed several months back, it is certainly worth another look.

Looking For Signs

Where there are threats, real or imagined, there are opportunities for personal gain. This rule has been seen time and time again in human history, and it is seen yet again with some countries handling of the ongoing “War on Terror” If there were intelligent beings with technology superior to ours regularly coming down to Earth, we would have likely developed some kind of defense against them, if not made plans to go to war and conquer some planets for ourselves. Regardless of whether this would be some unified and altruistic “Us vs. Them” mentality, or one seized upon by capitalistic juggernauts and sold to us under the guise of self-preservation, we would be meeting these beings out there, rather than down here.

On top of this, when we examine the maneuvers performed by these supposedly inhuman vehicles, they defy the laws of motion and rationality that we have come to expect in objects throughout the universe. Why would a large vessel of scientific or military purpose accelerate to incredible speeds and decelerate on a dime only to hover a few hundred meters from where it was, only to do it again? Why would a craft that can travel untold light years need to jump a kilometer or two closer to an object at speeds in excess of Mach 12? It’s certainly not to get a better look at some human activity, as the sensory equipment on such a vessel would undoubtedly be so vastly superior to anything that we could imagine that the Hubble Space Telescope would look like a young child’s play-thing rather than a delicate instrument of science.

Then there’s the abduction issue. If humans are so interesting as to warrant a close up scientific examination, why would they be so kind as to return us to the very same place we were taken from after finishing whatever tests they might want to perform? Why bring us back at all? It would be far more interesting, from a scientific point of view, to keep us in captivity so that we could be studied in greater detail. At the very least, we could be brought back to some other world to be put on display in some exotic zoo or killed and put on display in some museum. If the tests are not meant to kill us, then clearly the beings realize that we have some type of capacity for sentience or intelligence, and the whole game of studying an indigenous species would forever be changed on this world.

Looking at how humans categorize, study and exploit living organisms for our own entertainment, it’s difficult to imagine a species with a greater level of intelligence or historical record to make such obvious errors in judgment.

Looking For Conspiracy

All this said there are some who feel that UFO’s are from other worlds, and that the human race has been grounded by a galactic commission that feels we’re not yet ready to explore the boundless reaches of outer space. The theory goes a little something like this:

In 1971, after NASA’s last manned moon mission, the UN was visited by diplomats from a grand coalition of planets who advised us to stop sending people to extra-terrestrial worlds. Instead, we are permitted to send robotic probes as far as the outer reaches of our solar system, but no farther. Faster-than-light vehicles are prohibited, and there is to be no study on anti-gravity or space-time distortion equipment. When the extra-terrestrial coalition believes we are ready to move on to the next stage of galactic exploration, they will let us know.

While the concept of being visited by a diplomatic group of extra-terrestrials is far-fetched and utterly fantastic, it’s most interesting to see that some people actually believe the UN is competent enough to enforce such a law. The UN has consistently failed to respond to anything in a timely fashion, and can no more manage other nations than it can manage its “Disaster relief” operations. Of course, there are several other wild theories about why man has not ventured beyond Low Earth Orbit since the Early-70s, but this was the one that seemed the most plausible … which doesn’t say much about the others.

Paying Attention

Considering the sheer vastness of space and the number of stars that we can see with our limited technology, there is very little doubt in the minds of millions that we’re not alone. To think that we are the only semi-intelligent creatures in the universe is beyond narrow-minded. It’s disappointing. Eventually we will make our way out among the stars and, when we do, it will be a great and wonderous thing to meet new people and new civilizations. To see how others have developed, biologically, technologically and sociologically, would be an amazing gift.

We had the opportunity to explore new cultures several hundred years ago during the era of colonization, and we blew it terribly. Let’s hope that the human race will once again have the opportunity to study and explore all that the universe’s inhabitants have to offer.

What do you think of the recent UFO file declassifications? Are these unidentified craft of extra-terrestrial origin, or are over-active imaginations making a mountain out of a mole hill? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

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The “Do No Evil” company, Google, is working with some organizations to bring high speed internet access to the three billion humans that live in Africa. The project will cost billions of dollars and they hope that it will be fully operational by 2010. Considering the number of mobile handset users that live on the continent, this could be a great business venture and would even help various communities by making learning materials easily available, as well as the information needed to create and maintain the various technologies that we rely on for clean water and electricity.

But it does make me wonder whether this is something that the continent actually needs help with.

Africa is supposed to be the land where we all originated from. As it stands today, we hear more about the troubles and heinous crimes against humanity in various African countries than we do about people’s need for something faster than a 1.5 MBit ADSL internet connection. There are millions of people displaced from their homes for fear of torture, rape, slaughter, famine, or some combination thereof. There are millions who don’t have clean drinking water. There are millions who can’t even afford a handful of food every week … their bodies have all but shut down in the hopes of surviving another day. Why is it that some companies like Google are spending money on something that is really not as important as the real necessities of life?

Charity, when done properly, can be a good thing. Several key leaders say that most of the problems in Africa can be resolved with a better education the resources to make use of that knowledge, and I agree. That said, the very same thing can be argued when it comes to America’s response to perceived threats, Russia’s territorial disputes, South Korea’s endless temper tantrums, and Canada’s laughable military build-up. Rather than providing faster internet access for people on the First Continent, it may make more sense to invest in clean water systems and technical schools.

If I were living in Africa, I’d be much more inclined to learn something useful that I could immediately apply in my community than to complain about surfing the web on a 28.8 kilo baud modem.

The XO Laptop Tie-In

Complaining aside, this could be a great selling feature for the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) Program currently in effect in several countries. The economical notebooks do come equipped with a 802.11-g antenna, and this would provide ample speeds for almost anyone that would need quick access to the rich content found all over the world in various languages.

Google’s plans involve using satellites to bathe the poorer African nations in high speed data access. Various relay towers would be set up in various nations to interface with cell phones and WiFi-enabled devices. From there, people could access the global community at speeds rivaling what we would find with optical connections in many people’s homes.

But is it really necessary?

First World Crawlers

As it stands, 40% of internet users in westernized nations like Canada, America and Britain are still using a dial-up internet connection. On top of this, approximately 30% of the households in these countries do not yet have internet access. If people in the First World can still go without the digital ecstasy that is the internet, is it really so important that we provide lightning-fast speeds to a continent that will not be able to make decent use of it?

The basic necessities of life are food, clothing and shelter. On top of this we need to ensure that people are not in fear of wrongful persecution, religious extremism, or personal injury. Once this is accomplished, education and medical care comes next. According to various charity websites talking about the basics of life, nowhere do they mention “the right to 100 MBit internet connections.”

It’s true that wealthier nations and organizations around the world should try to help those in need. However, it may make more sense to look after the key basics before providing something that will not easily provide a better life for people. Sure, with the internet people can learn how to make or maintain sewage systems, water treatment facilities and other important devices. But how can one just expect others to know how to search for this stuff online without having the proper tools, equipment and knowledge that they will not be driven from their homes in some half-baked militant coup?

Perhaps I’ve just grown pessimistic about the need to bring cutting edge technologies to those that don’t already have the same things I had growing up. But this plan doesn’t make sense to me.

What’s your take on this?

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It seems the next time I fly back to Canada, it will need to be a direct flight. I have no intentions of saving a few hundred dollars by flying into Portland or San Francisco, only to run into some complication concerning US Customs and my digital equipment. According to this article from PC World, the US Border Agency says it has the legal power to seize our digital equipment indefinitely in the name of security, thus granting the U.S. government the opportunity to collect massive amounts of information about it’s own people, and those who are just passing through.

Considering how I have NEVER gone into the U.S. once without some kind of bad luck (food poisoning, luggage falling apart, being refused boarding a plane, being refused entry back into Canada when walking over the Peace Bridge, getting sick after eating at various restaurants, having a drunk American jerk shove me into a wall at a hockey game because I wasn’t wearing a home-team jersey, etc.), I will not risk the possibility of being stripped of my digital electronics. Sure, I always have backups of the data, but that’s not the point. It’s the principle of the matter.

If I have to fly through the US in order to save a few hundred dollars on the already-expensive flights to Canada, only to have my notebook, PDA, cell phone or digital camera taken, then I’m out a lot more money than I “saved”. On top of this, if the US never has to give stuff back, this is a great excuse for anybody working at the US Border to take whatever the heck they want from me and keep it for themselves. While the US government has some pretty impressive databases, I somehow doubt that everything seized will be properly recorded or processed.

I seriously hope that the next leader of that country can put things back to the way they were before Bill Clinton left office. While the nation wasn’t perfect, it was a heck of a lot friendlier than it is now. Security is important, yes, but what price must people pay for that security? Most of the country’s people are already armed … do they really need to be protected by the ever-watchful eyes of big brother, too?

It’s a shame that the country that once stood for freedom has gotten lost in its search for peace of mind.

It’s a good thing I don’t write software for companies, anymore

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Over a year has passed since 新潟県 (Niigata Prefecture) suffered a massive offshore earthquake.  Measuring 7 on Japan’s scale of 7, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant quickly shut down the four reactors operating at the time.  Aside from an outdoor transformer catching fire and some radioactive material from a spent fuel storage pool leaking into the sea, there was no major damage to the plant.  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has inspected the plant twice and found no serious damage to the facilities.  So this begs the question: Why isn’t the plant brought back online?

Disaster prevention was key in the design of this nuclear power plant, and the safety mechanisms worked near-perfectly.  The reactors were quickly shut down through automated systems, the rods were secured, and not one life was lost.  The facility was hit with a quake measuring 7 out of 7, in a country where Richter’s Scale just won’t do, and it’s still standing.  Surely this is a redeeming qualification to resume power generation in a country where a summer-time electrical consumption rate of 98.2% capacity is considered “expected.”

Oddly enough … no.

The seven nuclear power reactors, which together are capable of generating 8.21 GigaWatts (more than any other plant on Earth), will remain offline for the summer and probably until sometime in mid-to-late-2009.

About As Green As An American SUV

Electricity is insanely important in Japan as anything that can be plugged into a wall socket is plugged into a wall socket.  Chairs, sofas, coffee tables, aquariums, book shelves, digital scales, toothbrushes, and throw rugs.  Anything and everything that can have a computer chip, light bulb or fan, usually gets one … whether it’s necessary or not.  With such a reliance on power, the Japanese public will not tolerate such Third-World situations as rolling blackouts or, heaven forbid, brown-outs.  To this end, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) resumed operations at two thermal power plants in 横須賀市 (Yokosuka).  While this will help compensate for the lost power generation from Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, it will also emit an extra 30,000,000 tonnes of CO² into the atmosphere.

Yay.

Despite the rage and insults lobbed at China for their excessive use of coal-powered plants, few people pay attention to where their electrical power comes from.  With so much of the country flirting dangerously with shortages this summer, it’s time for us to think about these issues.  TEPCO must show that it’s implemented a dynamic set of safety measures if it wants to resume operations at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, and government agencies need to make more of an effort to educate the public on the need for nuclear power plants.

Whether this will happen, though, remains to be clear.

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武島 (Takeshima) is a group of disputed islets situated between Japan and South Korea. The South Korean government claims this patch of land is sovereign territory and refers to it as Dokdo. Japan, on the other hand, steadfastly sticks to the position that the island group is an integral part of the country’s territory historically as well as according to international law. This has been the case for over half a century, and will likely continue to be the story for the same length of time.

We can see the same kind of story between Japan and Russia concerning the sovereignty of 色丹 (Shikotan), 国後 (Kunashiri), 択捉 (Etorofu), and the はぼまい (Habomai) group of islets just off the northern coast of 北海道 (Hokkaido). Unlike the situation with Russia, though, the South Koreans are much more ambitious with their dramatic territorial claims.

But who is the rightful nation to this semi-appealing group of rocks sitting exposed in the middle of the Sea of Japan?

Historical Perspective

Japan first took control of Takeshima in the early part of the Edo period (1603-1867). Before this time, there were no inhabitants on the islands, and the only significance this small region had was the fishing. The islets were put under the jurisdiction of Shimane Prefecture in 1905, and all was well and good with the situation.

This changed in the 1950’s, though, when South Korean President Syngman Rhee declared Takeshima as sovereign Korean territory and gave them the name of Dokdo (meaning “Independent”). This transpired shortly before the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into effect in 1952, where Japan’s internationally recognized sovereign territory was mapped out. Since this time, South Korean military personnel have illegally occupied the islets.

The Current Situation

South Korea and Japan are neighbours, both politically and geographically. The nations have worked together well in the past, and they’ll need to continue working together if they hope to create any lasting relations with North Korea and secure their position as an economic power-house on the Pacific coast. While there has been quite a lot of huffing and puffing on various subjects, the nations of South Korea and Japan are not all that different. Why the mention of a group of islets in a teachers’ manual warrants the recall of ambassadors and prompts official protests is beyond me.

The teacher’s book explicitly avoided talking about the Takeshima islets as though they were an integral part of Japan’s territory, and asked that lessons on this disputed collection of rocks be handled in the same fashion as how teachers currently discuss the disputed regions in the northern territories. This includes discussing the dispute between the nations, as well as the history behind the political impasses.

Looking at this from a third perspective, it’s clear that Japan’s Education, Science and Technology Ministry has clearly given a good amount of consideration towards South Korea and how they would view the instruction booklet. Despite this, the South Korean government is opposed to the move, and proved it by temporarily recalling their Ambassador to Japan, Kwon Chul Hyun.

That said, what Japanese school children are taught in school regarding these disputed lands could affect their sovereignty at some point in the future. If the residents of this nation are completely unaware of the history regarding Takeshima, they may let the region go at some point in the future to the Koreans, which could then affect Japan’s commercial concerns in the region.

Or so I’m told.

Diplomatic consideration belongs in government buildings and should have little to do with how Japan decides to discuss a portion of their history with the coming generations. Unlike the curriculum guidelines that are laid out by the ministry every ten years, the instruction manual is not legally binding. That said, it’s significance cannot go unnoticed as it often serves as a guideline when editing school textbooks and during classroom exercises. For this reason, publishers will have to commit themselves to providing incredibly clear explanations of the situation in their textbooks, while teachers must properly educate their students. This will be some slippery ground as nations tend to be quite sensitive about topics such as sovereign soil.

Finding a solution to the Takeshima islets issue will be incredibly difficult. Hopefully the governments of these two nations can sit down and rationally discuss the topic without upsetting too many of the ultra-nationalistic individuals on both sides of the sea. It’s incredibly important that Japanese people understand the issue and can state their case to the international community, but it’s also important to keep an open dialogue with their passionate neighbours.

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