Looks like those early-adopted Push2TV adapter won’t be so lonely after all. We received a handful of tips that certain Best Buys were selling their Intel Wireless Display-compatible “Blue Label 2.0″ laptops a bit early — nowhere near us, unfortunately — and now comes pictorial proof from the forums of Notebook Review. This 13.3-inch Sony Vaio S was allegedly caught wearing a $1,049.99 sticker and housing a 2.26MHz Core i5 with integrated graphics — no NVIDIA GPU here, and we gotta figure that’s hurting the displayed Windows Experience Rating. The official launch of the Best Buy-customized Vaio S is next week, along with a number of other WiDi-enabled laptops.
Last week, Rockstar was in the center of a controversial post in Gamasutra, where it was alleged that the company had been giving unfair working conditions to their laborers. Now, Rockstar has responded to the issue, albeit
The shockproof digital load cell is based on a capacitive measurement principle where a non-contacting ceramic sensor is mounted inside the load cell body. As the load cell contains no moving parts and the sensor is not in contact with the load cell body, the load cell tolerates shocks, torsion, and very high overloads and sideloads. Therefore, the mechanical installation of the load cell can be done without expensive and complicated mounting kits and overload protection devices.
The electrical installation of the digital load cell is pure plug-and-play as the signal from the non-contacting sensor is directly converted, compensated and calibrated by a microprocessor to a digital load cell output in grams, kilograms, or Newton. Measurements and status codes are transmitted as RS485 data on a single wire coaxial cable (RG-58) which may be up to 100 meters long. The load cell cable can be replaced on-site if necessary.
The technology and mechanical design of the Eilersen load cells is covered worldwide by a number of patents.
Applications
· Dynamic weighing
· Process weighing
· Filling, batching, sorting and dosing equipment
· Vibration sorters
· Packaging machines
· Hopper scales
· Belt scales
· Conveyer scales
· Platform scales
· Big-bag equipment
· On-board vehicle weighing
Options
· ATEX (Zone 1, 2, 21, 22) version type BBLA
The Matterhorn and the Gemmi cable cars are lubricated automatically. The automatic dispenser from simatec ag also now lubricates carrying cables and cable pulleys on cable cars and mountain railways. For this the operators of the Gemmi and Matterhorn cable cars trust in simalube. The dispenser, which has a capacity of 125 ml, is set to a time setting of 6 months, thus providing the optimal amount of lubricant at the required lubrication points in extreme temperatures both in winter and in summer. The railway management consider simalube indispensable: «Because it provides flawless and independent lubrication for the carrying cable and cable pulleys, it saves us a lot of time and money», says Arnold Zenhäusern, Managing Director of Gemmibahn AG. And Peter Julen, Managing Director of the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise cable car, adds: «Maintenance technicians
no longer have to climb up each pylon once a month at dizzying heights to carry out maintenance work.
This has increased the industrial safety of our operations considerably».
Areas of application for the dispenser Thanks to the flexibility of its installation, simalube can be used in a variety of locations. The following are typical applications for lubricants in cable cars and mountain railways:
– Cables
– Cable pulleys
– Car doors
– Cables and gears
– Drag bars (connection between the car and suspension gears)
– Ventilators and cooling systems
– Aggregates and motors
Advantages of the dispenser simalube offers the following advantages:
– The dispenser contains no toxic chemicals and thus complies with strict environmental regulations
– simalube operates reliably at temperatures ranging from –20ºC to +55ºC
– The different sizes of dispensers allow a wide range of applications (30, 60, 125 and 250 ml)
– simalube applies the right amount of lubricant at the right place, which makes sense from the ecological (environmentally friendly) and economical (cost savings) points of view
– simalube saves time and money
– It prevents sliding and rolling friction as well as rust, which leads to lower energy wear and thus reduces costs.
Complex maintenance of mountain railways
Cable cars and mountain railways play an important role in tourism in Alpine regions. Due to the technical development of cable cars and mountain railways and drag lifts, manufacturers and suppliers are facing increasingly high requirements.
A Superior All-In-One Solution. . .
• Needs no LN2 — ever: because of the “run forever” Stirling-cycle cooler.
• HPGe detector element encapsulated in a high reliability cryostat, with no need ever to thermal cycle
on partial warm up.
• High stability digital signal processor built right in — no need for external electronics.
• Powered from a small 10–17 V DC supply, with a low waste heat output <20 watts: ideal for use in
confined spaces and mobile labs.
• Built-in battery back up keeps LDM running for up to 3 hours in the event of power failure.
• Near silent in operation.
The LDM100-GEM is an all-in-one HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer for use in a variety of
applications ranging from counting labs to mobile laboratories.
It requires only two electrical connections to be ready for use: a source of DC power (usually from
the supplied AC/DC mains power adaptor, but equally well from a vehicle battery) and a USB
connection to the host computer. There are no interconnecting cables required between subsystems.
Liquid nitrogen refrigerant IS NOT REQUIRED to cool the HPGe detector. The high reliability
miniature Stirling-cycle cooler takes care of this. The cooler has the additional benefit of being “all
attitude,” that is to say unlike systems which employ liquid refrigerants, it can be moved at no risk,
even while operational, important for mobile laboratory applications.
All LDMs are based on the same technology employed in the ORTEC Detective line of HPGe
nuclide identifiers. The ultra-reliable hardened cryostat and robust Stirling-cycle coolers, field-proven
hundreds of times over, are now available for a laboratory instrument. The hardened cryostat design
allows removal or reapplication of power at any point of the cool down cycle. No longer does a
partially warmed detector need to be cycled back to room temperature before cooling restarts.
Installation is simplicity itself — just attach to the stand and slide the detector up into the lead shield.
Plug in the power cable and attach the USB cable to a PC or laptop. The initial cool down takes less
than 12 hours, and you are ready to calibrate and count samples.
• All-in-one Integrated Package — rugged and compact with no interconnections — quick and easy
to install.
• High Speed USB 2.0 connectivity: plug and play.
• Battery Backup — the internal battery provides up to 3 hours of operation in the event of a power
failure, battery charge is maintained by an internal battery charger circuit inside the instrument
housing.
• High Sensitivity — large (40% relative efficiency) HPGe detector.
• Hardened Cryostat — the HPGe crystal is housed in an all-metal-sealed, ruggedized cryostat, and cooled by a highly reliable
miniature Stirling-cycle cooler. NO molecular sieve is used.
• High Stability Digital Signal Processor — built in to the system — no need for external electronics, just DC power and a USB
connection.
Spellman’s Bertan brand of 605C modular high voltage power supplies offer well regulated, fixed polarity outputs up to 20kV, which operate off a +28Vdc input (+24Vdc optional).
These fully enclosed modules are designed for bench top or OEM applications like spectrometers, detectors, imaging and electron beam usage.
The output voltage can be controlled by either a local internal potentiometer or by a customer provided ground referenced signal for remote operation.
Additionally ground referenced output voltage and current monitor signals are provided. A high voltage enable signal input allows remote control of the supply.
Overview
SICOM3024PT is a precise clock synchronization solution of IEC61850 compliant managed industrial Ethernet switch specifically designed to operate stably in electrically harsh and climatically demanding utility substation and industrial environments. It offers up to 24 100Base-FX or 24 100Base-TX, 4 1000Base FX/TX.
The redundant function of optical fiber network, independent entire network management channel, redundant power input function, and entire network real-time management system provides multiplex guarantee for reliable operation of the system.
Features
1. IEEE1588V2, Boundary Clock, E2E Transparent Clock (TC-E2E), P2P Transparent Clock (TC-P2P)
2. Time source automatic selection
3. Support G.8261: Timing and Synchronization Aspects in Packet Networks
4. IEC61850-3 & IEEE1613 compliant for substations, EN50121-4 compliant for rail transportation.
5. Low time delay and zero packet loss features while working with full load in a long period of time, specially designed for digital substations.
6. Support DT-Ring protocol suite (recovery time<50ms), RSTP/STP(IEEE802.1w/d) redundant protocol.
7. Support up to 24 100Base-FX and 4 1000Base SFP ports.
8. Support ring, chain, star, and tangent ring protocol.
9. Advanced ring topology protocol avoiding broadcast storm.
10. Support IGMP Snooping, port mirroring, QoS, VLAN, ACL.
11. Support multiple management functions including CLI, TELNET, WEB, SNMP V1/V2 and OPC etc.
12. Support centralized management software, network topology generated automaticly.
13. Safe MAC and port binding function, support static FDB.
14. Bind width setting function enables port band width limitation.
15. Improve network monitoring ability through RMON(group
1,2,3,and 9)
16. Broadcast storm control and unicast attack detection.
17. Real time temperature detecting and alarming, alarm value can be setted.
18. IP and MAC address confliction detection.
19. System operation log and uploading.
20. EMC industrial level 4, specially designed for harsh electromagnetic interference environment.
21. Abundant power supply options, able to provide redundant DC power supply.
22. Support relay alarm output port alarming the lose of power
23. Unified management software for SICOM series: Kyvision3.0.
24. Working temperature: -40 to 85°C(-40 to 185°F)
25. Ribbed Aluminum housing for heat dissipation, fanless design
26. Rack-mounting (19' 1U) installation.
27. IP40 protection class.
WEST CHESTER, Pennsylvania, December 16, 2009 — Sonobond Ultrasonics announced today that it now has 10 machines, plus several modules for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), that provide fast, reliable, and cost-effective ultrasonic bonding of woven and nonwoven textile products. According to Sonobond’s Vice President, Melissa Alleman, “Manufacturers and assemblers can confidently use Sonobond units to bond textiles that are 100% synthetic, as well as blends that have up to 40% natural fibers. Felted filter media are among the nonwoven materials that our machines handle effectively.”
The following is an overview of the ultrasonic bonding equipment for woven textiles and nonwovens currently available from Sonobond Ultrasonics.
The SeamMaster™ — for General-Purpose Ultrasonic Bonding
The Sonobond SeamMaster™ seals, “sews,” and trims nonwoven and synthetic fabrics in one quick, reliable step. The unit is similar in appearance and operation to traditional sewing machines, but uses no thread, glue, or other consumables. The SeamMaster™ fuses and seals seams so effectively that it can be used in the assembly of medical disposables that must comply with OSHA regulations for barrier seams. This makes it ideal for use in the production of gowns, face masks, and mattress covers. The unit — which is up to four times faster than conventional sewing machines and up to 10 times faster than adhesive machines — is also frequently used in the assembly of filters and protective products.
The SeamMaster™ High Profile Bonder
The SeamMaster™ High Profile Bonder has a larger pattern wheel and a higher clearance above the bench than the general-purpose SeamMaster™. This makes it the ideal choice for applications involving bulky materials, hand-guided applications with tight tolerances, and for working around curves. Like the general-purpose SeamMaster™, the High Profile Bonder has fast production speeds and virtually eliminates fraying or unraveling of bonded edges and seams.
The SeamMaster™ High Profile Bonder is especially popular with body armor manufacturers. They use this unit to seal the outer nylon shell of ballistic vests with the ballistic-resistant materials inside. The reliability of the bond helps the body armor comply with the latest National Institute of Justice (NIJ) submersion test standards (NIJ 0101.06) that require protection from submersion for 30 minutes, rather than protection from a spray shower.
With the FLEXUS, Deckel is launching a revolution in versatility, productivity and quality in tool production. Wherever high versatility with a high degree of automation is desired, the FLEXUS will show you what it can do – and even reduce nonproductive times.
So, for example, deburring, polishing, drilling or milling will be possible in parallel with tool grinding – and any other operation can be added to this variety, exactly to the customer‘s needs, including assembling, measuring and cleaning functions.
The abilities of the FLEXUS are focussed on the machining of highly complex tools such as:
– reversible carbide tips,
– drill bits,
– tool cutting segments,
– spherical tools.
In addition, the FLEXUS is the ideal solution to a wide spectrum of fully automatic special grinding tasks.
Thus, it is particularly suitable for small to medium size batches with frequently changing machining processes. This grinding centre is available as a single or double machine. The single machine can be subsequently retrofitted into a double machine.
High power strobe light with 15 Joule flash energy for outdoor use
• Protection IP 66
• Flash energy 15 Joule
• Flash frequency 1 Hz
• Continuous operation
The housing of BLE 15 is made by impact restistant grey plastic and an also resistant cap in different lens colours.
The mounting bracket is made by stainless steel and is developed for an easy installation.
An inserted pressure balance valve prevents the occurrence of condensation
inside the housing, what represents frequently problems in the outside application.
The BLE 15 is available in common supply voltages like 24 VDC or 230 VAC
•Strong rubber mat for outdoor use.
•Allows for wheeled access.
•Friendly for ederly and disabled people.
•Small drainage holes diameter 14mm complient for EU norms for public entrances.
•Withstand weather extremes of all seasons.
•Suitable for heavy foot traffic.
Dimension : 70 cm x 90 cm, 90 x 150cm et 120 cm x 180 cm
Thickness : 12,5mm
in Czech Rep.
Introducing our new square, rectangular and round caps.
Example of price square caps :
30×30 = 0,030 EURO
50×50 = 0,068 EURO
80×80 = 0,230 EURO
Please write to us for the whole range and price list.
We are also capable to make any other part for much lower cost.
We are offering direct factory prices from our warehouse in Czech Republic.
We are looking for smart direct buyers and resellers worldwide.
Please, visit our web page www.elementrix.net to see the range of our products and feel free to ask for the quotation.
Auto weight sense and auto balance load manipulator for handling large size glass panels.
A Company needed to improve safety in the manual handling of large glass panels of different sizes (2m x 2m; 2m x 025m; 4m x 1m) and at the same time needed to ensure constant production output.
The ideal solution has been an INDEVA, Liftronic series.
HANDLING CYCLE:
– Gripping glass panels from trolley at 1500 mm height.- panel in vertical position inclined by 5°, leaned on the short side;
– Rotation by +90°/-90°;
– Release on assemly line at 600 mm height.- panel in vertical position leaned on the long side.
– Cycle time: average 1000 -1200 glass panels in 10 hours.
The system is equiped with self balancing gripping tool for handling glass panels of 50 Kg. The gripping is carried out by vacuum.
Technical feutures of the electronic load balancer (evolved industrial manipulator INDEVA):
– gross capacity: 140 Kg;
– net capacity: 75 Kg
– vertical excursion: 2800 mm
– lifting speed: 22.5 m/min
– power tension: 230 Volt – 50/60 Hz
– max absorbed power: 630 W;
– enclosure protection: IP 54.
– DOUBLE JOINT”ORBIT-ARM”:
– arm length: 3500 mm;
– max rotation on vertical axis 360°;
– COLUMN – 3000 mm high;
– Base platform suitable for being moved by means of a transpallet, complete with support for the end effector.
– Handles ergonomically designed; one finger tip handle;
Now the operator can handle glass panels for the whole working day with no effort. Handling large size glass panels has never been so easy: the INDEVA acts as an extension of the operator’s arm providing him power without typical constrictions of machines: no buttons to keep pressed and no load setting to select when changing the load weight. Safety against load fall and injuries to the operator are also ensured.
An INDEVA is the only solution to increase productivity, ergonomics and safety in the manual load handling.
WTW GmbH proudly announces their new ProfiLine 3000 series of single parameter handheld instruments.
All models have a rugged waterproof housing with IP 66/67 protection class. A separate battery compartment allows easy exchange of batteries or the use of rechargeable batteries. A technical highlight is the special silicone keypad with sealed surface and the feeling of “real” keys. It provides an excellent operation and is easy to clean. The instruments have continuous operation times of up to 2500 h with one battery pack (4 x 1.5 V AA).
Three model lines are offered:
• The 3110 Series for pH or conductivity measurement are functional and easy-to-use handhelds for standard measurements.
• The 3210 Series for pH, D.O. or conductivity measurement has a backlit graphical display, a plain text menu and a special CMC function to ensure that the measurement is taken within the calibration range. The series also has enhanced measurement capabilities.
• The 3310 Series for pH, D.O. or conductivity measurement is a true highlight: An automatic datalogger with memory for 5000 records and a 100% waterproof USB interface make them perfect for long-term recording in the field and for fast data transfer to a laptop or PC.
Leading European finishing equipment manufacturer Guyson International has recently installed new advanced robotic capabilities into its Skipton demonstration and engineering centre. With this fully integrated working robotic cell Guyson is able to demonstrate advanced blast nozzle manipulation techniques and the cost saving and efficiency benefits its automated blast customers will achieve.
With the introduction of new industry proven CAD/CAM software technology, Guyson’s engineers are now able to produce accurate 3D simulations of the blast treatment on the component, showing actual blast cone coverage of all critical areas. The new Guyson technique speedily removes any customer concerns regarding achievement of part coverage by verifying the process before the machine is even built.
Guyson are recommending full adoption of this type of precision robotic blasting for clients who manufacture precision components with demanding surface engineering topography requirements and/or any subsequent validation issues, typically medical implants and aerospace turbine blades.
Adoption of these sophisticated new precision robotic blasting techniques from Guyson will also deliver very real investment cost savings with the potential total purchase price of a fully automated robotic precision blast system coming under £75K. These cost savings, compared to many alternative systems, are coupled with real daily running cost savings in compressed air consumption. This is achieved by using far fewer blast guns but these being dedicated to deliver the precision blast coverage required, rather than adoption of a blanket coverage approach with more guns needed to ensure sufficient media will hit the target. The Guyson precision blast approach also delivers lower media costs through lower wastage and also less media breakdown and furthermore allows a smaller and cheaper dust collector to be specified, also with reduced waste disposal issues.
David Asman: They bow their heads, and after getting slapped, they looked up sheepishly and asked, “Please, sir, can I have another?” Now, others did stand their ground. But what was the purpose of this show trial? Was it really to get to the root of the financial crisis, or was it to deflect blame to the easy targets while setting the stage for yet another tax increase?
After all the bankers, we’re just taking advantage of some dumb fiscal regulatory and monetary policies that government officials have been putting in place for decades. The bankers were taking advantage of a bad situation. For that they’ve been pillaried and paraded through the press the way capitalist voters were force-marched with dunce caps by Mao’s red guards during the Cultural Revolution.
Of course, many bankers were shortsighted. Like the rest of us, they just kept overextending during the boom cycle. And in some cases there was actual double dealing. Some banks recommended bad financial instruments that were being shorted by another division of the same bank. That’s bad, it’s possibly illegal and it should be exposed.
But aren’t we blaming the wrong people for the cause of the crisis? The right people to blame are folks like Alan Greenspan who left interest rates too low for too long because he believed a nation homeowners would be good for the economy at any price. Folks like Chris Dodd who are taking favors from sub-prime lenders while rewarding those lenders with billions of your tax dollars in legislation. Folks like Barney Frank who spat at anybody who was worried about Fannie and Freddie getting billions of dollars over their heads with these lousy sub-prime loans, folks like Tim Geithner who got us in so far over our heads with AIG’s bailout, that he now may be losing his job over it.
In short, the real culprits in this mess are the politicians and the bureaucrats who let the good times roll without any consideration of the consequences of bloated government and easy money.
So, are we blaming the wrong people? Let’s ask Republican Congressman Ron Paul, who joins us now from his home I believe. Good to see you, Congressman, thanks for being here.
Ron Paul: Thank you, David.
David Asman: So are we blaming the wrong people when we focus on all the attention on the bankers?
Ron Paul: If you do only the bankers and include all the bankers, yes. Some bankers know exactly what they’re been doing and they’ve been benefiting from the easy money system, and they were wildly speculating and making a lot of money. But they were also encouraged by the moral hazard of FDIC and “too big to fail” and they knew what they were doing. So they were acting in a logical way. But the real culprit that I’ve been talking about for so long has been easy money too long, and that is low interest rates, the false signals of a lot of savings out there and you should be investing and that, of course, isn’t looked at.
David Asman: It started with the Fed and Alan Greenspan?
Ron Paul: Well, even before that. I base our modern calamity in our financial situation from 1971 when all the restraints were removed from creating currency out of thin air. And that is the reason you have your deficits – because of the lack of the tying of our dollar to anything other than paper.
David Asman: Let me just be specific for the folks out there that might not remember. 1971 is when Nixon separated the dollar from gold.
Ron Paul: Yes, and this introduced an era where Congress could run up deficits for any reason, whether it’s for policing the world or for the welfare state, and at the same time accommodating the financial situation too; the financial organizations knew about this, too. So the Fed had to monetize the deficit. If you don’t have a central bank that monetizes the debt, you put a lot of restraints on big government. Anybody that thinks government should be smaller and held in check, they have to believe in sound money, because it’s with the Federal Reserve System and the ability to create this money and the following corruption and the malinvestment and the financial bubbles and the bailouts. It’s all a consequence.
But if you do concentrate on a narrow group of bankers and say they created the whole problem without looking at legislation and without looking at the Federal Reserve and without looking at all the regulations that are a burden as well, then you’re really missing the boat.
David Asman: Alright, let’s talk about some individuals here: Barney Frank and other congressmen and senators who supported Fannie and Freddie getting way in over their head on the sub-prime loans. That had a lot to do with this as well, didn’t it?
Ron Paul: Oh yeah. I think this line of credit to the treasury was only 2 billion dollars, but I always said that when push comes to shove, the Fed will end up owning these derivatives and these securities. But I had legislation in 8, 10 years ago that said, “Remove the line of credit, remove this guarantee that the Fed would always step in”. Because if the Fed had not stepped in, you would have had the dollar crisis which has just been delayed, because too many around the world, for example the Chinese, are owning all these and if they literally collapse you would have had a bigger calamity. But all we have done is delayed the monetary crisis because we have allowed our Federal Reserve to buy up all these securities. But that was part of the system of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and propping them up and guaranteeing that everybody can get a loan, no down payments, 125% as equity, the whole mess. When this history is written, it will be unbelievable.
David Asman: Unbelievable. And frankly, congressman, what I would call out-and-out bribes. I mean, when you had Chris Dodd, who was the head of the banking committee writing legislation that benefited people that he was getting sweetheart deals from to the tune of 300 billion dollars in that housing bill. I would call that criminal behavior, wouldn’t you?
Ron Paul: Yeah, this is fraud in the individual sense and it should be punished and it should be looked into.
David Asman: Well, it was looked into and of course it was whitewashed, Congressman. That was the problem.
Ron Paul: Yeah, but also, the fraud is in the money. I mean, it’s fraudulent to steal from the people by diluting the value of the money. Debasing the currency is the big fraud which destroys the economy and takes away the jobs and puts the burden of inflation on the little people.
The one thing that they never talk about is our medical care system is in a crisis because it costs too much. Well, it costs too much because there is an inflationary factor. That isn’t even discussed. So everybody is cheated when you have fraud in the monetary system. But the individual fraud – how people take advantage of this and adds on to it and then there is corruption involved. Yes, but that to me is probably much smaller than the fraud of the monetary system and what we’ve been living with.
David Asman: But I have to ask you about Tim Geithner, because of course, he’s in the news. He’s going to have to answer questions before Congress. Do you think he deserves to go, based on what we’re now finding out about his role in AIG?
Ron Paul: Yeah. And he deserves to go but I warn people that’s not going to solve all our problems. They’ll replace somebody that believes in the same things that he believes in. The point that I made with the Geithner affair is that it makes my point: transparency of the Federal Reserve. We should know about all those deals, and if they knew we were going to know about all those deals, they wouldn’t be making so many and getting into so many problems.
David Asman: Well, you know we support you on the transparency issue. We actually support you in court on that. Ron Paul, great to see you, thanks for being here, appreciate it.
The single most important number in our lives is arguably the telephone number. It’s the number we give to potential dates and prospective business partners; it’s the number we can recite anytime,
anywhere. In some nations, telephone numbers are auctioned off because of their
symbolic value, with ”666 6666″ going for over $400,000 in Qatar and 8888 8888 bringing in $200,000 in Hong Kong.
In other places, whole towns identify themselves by their geographic phone code. In the Netherlands, soccer fans speak of “those people in 010 or 020,”
which are codes for arch rivals Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
I’m not exactly sure if this was offiically on the agenda of Electronic Arts, but the publisher did admit in a recent interview that they were sure “able to piss off a lot of people.” EA Montreal’s
Dina Gusovsky: When it comes to the earthquake in Haiti, the Christmas Day incident, and the scandal surrounding the New York Federal Reserve, one political reaction seems to stand out. And that’s Congressman Ron Paul’s; he joins me today. Dr. Paul, thank you so much for being here. So first, the top story is the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Do you think that the United States is doing enough in terms of monetary support, in terms of rescue efforts? Barack Obama said that he would do anything he could to help the situation. How would you handle it if you were in the White House?
Ron Paul: Well, under the circumstances, you know, if we’re nearby and able to and if there is an emergency, I would say that we could help them out a bit. But the real help will have to come, I think, from the generosity of the American people. And they have, in the past, been very, very generous on problems and emergencies like this. And generally they can raise not only millions but literally billions of dollars and donate to people like this; and we could and we should.
You know, the biggest thing, though, long term that we could do for Haiti would be to introduce them to sound economic policies so that they wouldn’t suffer. I mean if buildings were built poorly and the people are so poor, and just handing out money is not going to solve that problem. They need to be introduced to the philosophy of free markets and sound money, so they can be more prosperous, build better houses. But in the meantime, if we’re in the region and nearby and people are suffering, some of our ability, whether it’s military or not, could be useful in helping them out just in a humanitarian sense. That would be a lot better than using the military personnel over in the Middle East lobbing bombs on different countries. So, under the circumstances I would say that would be a better use of the military.
Dina Gusovsky: Let’s talk about another major issue. Ever since the Christmas Day incident it seems like a lot of attention has been turned to Yemen. And you have some politicians calling for this country to sort of be the new front on the “War on Terror”, even urging Barack Obama to concentrate efforts over there. Do you agree with this assessment?
Ron Paul: No. And what they’re doing is not assessment. I mean, we’re just looking for another war. We’ve been lobbing bombs over there and we have another front. I think it’s a disaster; the continuation of the foreign policy of George Bush believing in preventive war. And if we think there are some people there who don’t like us, we’ll start bombing them. Then we bomb people and kill innocent people and all we do is make more people angry at us. I think the further we stay away from Yemen, the better off they would be and the better off we would be.
Dina Gusovsky: Barack Obama did mention that he is not going to send more troops over there. But it seems that the people down there, even this perception or notion that the government of Yemen is somehow cooperating with the government of the United States, is really enraging them.
Ron Paul: Sure. And I don’t know whether people will absolutely believe what we tell them. We say we’re not going to do it, that doesn’t necessarily reassure them that we won’t. And, you know, dropping a bomb from out of the sky is every bit as bad as sending on troops. Matter of fact, it might even make them angrier, the fact that they do it without any chance to have any retaliation. And these bombs and missiles can come flying in, supposedly only to kill bad people. But they might be just upset with us because we’re already over there and interfering in their government. And the government of Yemen is propped up by us and we send them a lot of money so the people who resent that are angry at their own government, they’re angry at us. So I think the position of non-intervention, non-involvement in the internal affairs of other nations would serve us well and would serve them well, too.
Dina Gusovsky: You’ve also raised the question of how 75 billion dollars towards intelligence gathering couldn’t have stopped this man, especially when we consider that his own father went to authorities and warned them about him.
Ron Paul: Yeah, it proves bureaucracies don’t work. And I think the responsibility falling on a 75 billion dollar bureaucracy that has 16 agents that are trying to coordinate the information proves it doesn’t work. I think all the responsibility should be on the airlines. The airlines should be responsible for who gets on airplanes, and they should be obligated. Government should never profile, governments don’t have a right to keep a log of all our fingerprints and label us and profile us and say that we have to check every Muslim that gets on an airplane. That would be wrong. But if you own the airline and you’re getting on the plane voluntarily and they have certain rules, they could manage this much better.
For instance, there is technology available to us today to carry a certain type of electronic gadget that identifies the person. But it only works if I put my fingerprint on it. But the airline registers the gadget. And we could work that out, so all citizens could have one to get on the airlines and no records would be kept. They could just prove that you are a citizen or a frequent flier; you’re not a threat to your country. And those lines would move quickly. The airlines then might chose to say, “Well, if you’re a non-citizen, you just came in from such-and-such country”, if they want to look at you more carefully, they have every right to. It wouldn’t be mandated by government, it would be a voluntarily contract between the person flying on the airplane and the airline company.
Dina Gusovsky: Well, speaking of technology, one of the other consequences of this terror scare is that now the government is looking to buy all these new machines, all this new equipment. Something like a 150,000 dollars each for one of these body scanners. And then you have British officials saying they’re not even proven to work. So is this really what it takes? All of these new rules that say you can’t go to the bathroom an hour before the plane lands and things like that. What is that all for, then?
Ron Paul: Just to make us obedient servants of the state. To teach us that they are in charge of us and tell us what to do and we’re robots and we’re supposed to obey them. That full body scanner actually is probably dangerous to us medically. It does have some x-ray involved. What it isn’t dangerous to is the company that makes them, who happens to be Chertoff, who used to be the Homeland Department Secretary.
Dina Gusovsky: And he’s promoting this left and right all over the media.
Dina Gusovsky: So, I mean, how cynical can we get. So no, that isn’t going to help at all. You wouldn’t need that if you were going to look at what I’m suggesting. You wouldn’t be taking elderly women and little kids and people in wheelchairs who are American citizens, who can prove who they are with a mere fingerprint on a gadget that the airlines would accept. We would need none of that except in a rare circumstance where you would have to have closer surveillance of individuals that might have a suspicious record and the airlines decided they want to check you. But the whole thing is 80% or 90% of people traveling in this country wouldn’t have to throw away their toothpaste and they wouldn’t have to take their belts off and they wouldn’t have to take their shoes off. One month you put your computer in your briefcase, then you have to put it in a tray, then you put your shoes in the tray, now you put them on the belt. It’s all just conditioning us to be obedient to the almighty state and I think it’s a bad sign for us.
The greatest threat to a government are the people who think for themselves. And if you can condition people everyday, all day, to depend on the government to do their thinking for them, then they become more obedient. So if we depend on the government to protect us from our food and all our habits and tell us how much salt we can have and whether we’re allowed to gamble or not, the government owns us. Instead of you owning yourself, the government owns you. And that would be very, very dangerous. So all of this activity with the federal government regulating our every economic and personal habit, is very, very dangerous. It’s not that individuals can be perfect, it’s just that governments are always imperfect. They always make mistakes and when they do, they’re very, very painful and they hurt every one of us.
Dina Gusovsky: Let’s shift gears and talk about another controversy: AIG and the New York Federal Reserve. Law makers are now demanding the release of certain documents that could show whether or not the New York Fed pressured AIG into not revealing certain documents and certain payments to the banks. And, of course, the real scandal here is that Timothy Geithner, who is now secretary of the treasury, was head of the New York Fed at this time. What do you think about all of these allegations?
Ron Paul: Well, it proves my point: we should have complete auditing of the Fed constantly and they shouldn’t be able to work in secrecy. The whole thing is we have a right to know and we should know. And I believe it’s probably true that they were probably pressured to not reveal it because certain companies got bailed out, other ones didn’t. Some got bailed out dollar-for-dollar, and I think that’s what happened with AIG and Goldman Sachs.
Dina Gusovsky: Well, it goes into the bigger question of should the Federal Reserve micro-manage the economy. Should it be the one responsible for fixing the financial situation? Because they’ve reported a record net income, they reported giving the treasury 46.1 billion dollars this year, that’s a new record. What do you make of all this?
Ron Paul: Well, it should be micromanaged by the people, by the consumer. In a free market the consumer is the king and decides everything; which businesses succeed and which ones fail, how much they get paid and how much profit there are and how much labor is paid. That’s what the market does. So it’s micromanaged by the consumer. But in this country, as in most countries of the world today, it’s being micromanaged by the central government and central banks.
Ironically, we here in America used to believe in the individual and the consumer micromanaging and taking care of things. But now the shift is away, financial and everything else, towards the East. For instance, China happens to be rewarding people who work hard and save money. And they’re getting to be in the driver’s seat; they’re our banker and all. So it’s an amazing shift that’s happened in my lifetime (in the last several decades) away from our traditional values and shifting over where communist nations once wanted to run every single thing are moving in the direction of free markets. And they will become the wealthier countries of the world. Markets work, individual freedom works, that’s what I argue for and right now we’re sort of losing ours and others are picking up on it.
Notebook Review | Email this | Comments 
