the upside of the downturn

see "the degrowth movement"

 Sometimes some downtime is exactly what we need to re-evaluate our choices and our values, and to adjust our course.
 After all, a recession is simply a correction of an imbalance in the economy, and should best be seen as a period of renewal and rebirth--a time for changing direction!
According to the theory of evolution, failure to adapt/adjust can result in extinction!

Endless growth is not sustainable!
Demanding more and more growth is a suicidal path!

see: "Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered"--E F Schumacher

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Such ideas (zero growth) are not just "politically incorrect', they are economic heresy and subvert the very foundations of the status quo economy.
For politicians its all about "growing the economy"

Recesion is what happens to a consumption-driven economy when consumer demand for product and services declines due to a reluctance to spend using borrowed money (i.e,by entering deeper into debt.)  

 see "too much debt"

However,  "limitless growth" is not only unsustainable, it is irrational!

see "the pathology of unsustainable consumption"

Yet it drives current economic policy.

Therefore some core assumptions of our economic system must be re-examined.
The error in our current economic model lies in the assumption that a healthy economy depends upon ever-increasing consumption.
In a consumption-fueled economy, governments and business seek to stimulate and increase consumption by encouraging consumers to spend more by taking on more debt!
When the debt load becomes excessive, there is a retraction of spending wch results in a recession. And so the cycle repeats.

"How the economy grows and why it crashes"

-peter schiff

the stock market is a classic "pyramid scheme" that is doomed to inevitable collapse.

recessions happen on average every 5 to 6 years as the economy goes through it's "boom and bust" cycle.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Are there Limits to Growth? 
--, Paul Phillips

 

In 1972, the Club of Rome published its quite famous "Limits to

Growth," an analysis and statistical projection of our usage of the

world's resources and pollution of the environment. This

distinguished group of scientists came to the somewhat ominous

conclusion that we were, literally, reaching the physical limits on

our exploitation of the world's resources and on the ability of the

environment to absorb our wastes.

Economists pooh-poohed the report arguing that it came as a result

of OPEC's restriction of oil production, raising energy prices and

causing a mini-crisis in the western world. Skeptics of limits to

growth won the day in subsequent years as North Sea oil gushed (and

oil prices fell) and the green revolution raised agricultural

production around the third world, erasing the spectre of global

famine. We all heaved a sigh of relief and thought that things were

back to "normal", that we could count on more economic growth,

fueled by global free trade, to solve all our problems of poverty

both in Canada and the developing world.

I wish we could believe this. In 1992 the Club of Rome scientists

put out an updated report that took into account all the objections

raised by critics of the earlier report. There was only one

problem. Their new projections were even more dismal than those two

decades earlier. Yet, compared with the almost hysterical response

in 1972, the 1992 report went almost unnoticed and now, over a

decade later, we are still doing little to stop what a former

British Shell Oil scientist has called the "sinking of our planet's

ship." We are facing global warming. We did, over Alberta's

objections, sign the Kyoto protocol to reduce global warming

gasses. The only problem is we signed on to a commitment to lower

greenhouse gasses by 6 per cent and then proceeded to raise our

emissions by 20 per cent.

Now we are also facing peak oil, the time when the flow of oil to

the market will begin to decline and real energy prices will rise

inexorably. The inevitable result of this, and the rise in price of

natural gas as it also approaches its peak, will be a sharp rise in

the price of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, tractor and

combine fuels, and irrigation systems - all of the inputs into

'green revolution" agriculture - which, of course, means that world

food supplies will begin to diminish and we will have to produce a

lot more close to home, here in the Okanagan, and not rely on fruit

and vegetables imported from Chile, California or Florida, or on

Iamb from New Zealand and Australia.

Yet what are we doing? We are converting more and more land to

housing developments and calling for increased immigration to our

region. But here is the nub of the problem. The world can not

sustain the existing population that it already has, particularly

if we try to raise the majority of the world's population out of

poverty. That is true even if we in the developed world cease

growing completely. In 1800, world population was 1 billion; a century

later it had increased by 65 per cent to 1.65 billion. But in the

last century, fed by cheap oil, population increased by 300 per

cent to 6.5 billion and projections are that it will rise to 9

billion before leveling off. That is simply not sustainable.

If the standard of living of the South were to be raised to the

levels in the North even with the current population, the earth

would use up all its resources within a decade and the world's

economies and population would crash. A common estimate of how many

people would need to disappear before life would be

sustainable is 80 per cent. That is a pretty sobering figure and

may be higher than necessary, particularly if we start now reducing

our population, developing renewable sources of energy and other

resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and reducing, reusing

and recycling more of our waste by products. But even if it is only

a 50 per cent reduction required, the question is whether that

reduction will be achieved by policy, or by the four horsemen of

the apocalypse: famine, disease, war and pestilence.

Alarmist? Guelph University philosophy professor, John McMurtry,

wrote in Value Wars: Inside the Global Crisis (2005 University of

Toronto John and Lois Dove Memorial Lecture):

"A slow-motion collapse of life conditions under ... increasingly competitive

exploitation becomes undeniable, but is celebrated as 'freedom' and

'progress.' For the first time in history, virtually all the

conditions of planetary life are being destabilized and are on a

downward slide - from earth's atmosphere to the oceans, forests,

and topsoils to the funding of non-profit science." These are the

real limits to growth.

If you have thoughts or questions on this or any other economics

issue, write me, care of' Norlh of 50, Box 100, Armstrong, BC VOE

1BO; or emailme at phillipsp@shaw.ca. A native of BC, Paul Phillips

recently retired to Vernon after teaching economics at the

University of Manitoba for 34 years, specializing in Canadian

Economic policy and labour economics. He has recently been elected

Professor Emeritus in Economics at the University of Manitoba and

Professor of American Studies at the University of Ljubljana,

Slovenia.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

the fallacy of ever-increasing growth

Social injustice is not resolved by economic growth.

An economy based on ever-increasing growth is like a Ponzi scheme.Any interrruption in the rate of growth precipitates a collapse

Unlimited economic growth is not sustainable.
 Hence we must aspire to sustainable economic growth.
What limits must be placed on economic growth to achieve sustainability.
We cannot grow the economy at the expense of the environment,
 Economic activities must not be allowed to poison and degrade the environment
We must work with nature and not against it.
We must change our behavior and our relationship with the earth that nurtures and sustains us
This earth is our home. There is no wisdom in destroying one's home!

See "the pathology of unsustainable consumption"


see "The Limits to Growth"

see "The End of Growth " by  richard heinberg
http://youtu.be/XjFQLGVIJak
http://richardheinberg.com/222-the-end-of-growth

Having more "things" doesn't make life happier!

the government has no clothes!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

--from George Orwell's 1984

No transparency means no accountability!


Whenever power is exercised without accountability ,
it is suceptible to abuse!

When power is shrouded in secrecy ,people will seek to tear away the curtain that conceals the Truth!

-a refreshing contrast to the doctored pablum and outright lies that often comes out of the mouths of politicians.
-a  rare and honest glimpse into the "behind the scenes" operation of power.(so this is what they mean by "diplomacy"!!)

Wikileaks has given us a peek of the machinations(that take place in the backrooms of power) and raw ideation(unpackaged for public consumption) of those in positions of power

Governments and corporations wield their power behind a cloak of secrecy  and deceit.
They have been denuded, uncloaked, rendered transparent..
Their cloak of secrecy has been rent asunder ,and they stand exposed in all their nakedness--embarrassed,humiliated,shamed--for all to see.
These documents provide an inside/unfiltered look into the exercise and abuse of power.

Interesting how the political establishment/elite wch routinely tramples our right to privacy
becomes outraged when their own right to privacy/concealment is violated.
 Any disclosure/exposure that erodes or threatens the legitimacy of their authority and their privileged position of entitlement.
How they huff and puff (and incite to assassination!)about the leaked information ..always invoking the cliched  "threat to national security" argument,when it is really their own concealment that they are concerned about (and protecting their own positions of power)!
These Wikileaked documents appear to contain little that could endanger the security of any country.
 If our watered-down mainstream media refuses to shine a light on the dark side of the political process,
then we ought to applaud those who are willing to risk their lives and their liberty to do so!

To those who stand with the people (who are tired of being lied to by the political establishment)
Julian Assange is a folk hero  whose place in the mythology of the digital age is assured.

"In a time of deceit,telling the Truth is a revolutionary act" --George Orwell

 "In a free society, we are supposed to know the truth.
In a society where truth becomes treason, we are in big trouble. " -- Rep. Ron Paul

"The very word "secrecy" is repugnant to a free and open society" --JFK


Lies engender cynicism and distrust.
Transparency and disclosure increase public confidence in the integrity of gov't.
Conversely,  secrecy ,deception ,and corruption contribute to public distrust of gov't.,and a decline in respect for politicians.
We expect our leaders (those elected to public office for the purpose of serving the people) to exhibit honesty , authenticity, and high moral standards.
When leaders fail to respond to the people's demand for greater openness and integrity in government, those who have placed their trust in them, understandably feel betrayed and angry!
When the people lose their respect for the political process and the institution of government

they will   defy the authority of the government and will mobilize  and take their rage to the streets.

see: protecting info in a transparent world (does the digital age mean the end of privacy)

see "the ethics of information access and management"

see "the interception and aguisition of confidential information--a new kind of guerilla warfare"

Corporatism:

Corporatism: the worship of money/the religion of consumerism
To: larry.@

Thanks for the article from the National Post titled "Kiwifruit Moralism" .
It was a good satire on left-wing/environmentalist movement.
As one who strongly identifies with liberal values and ideas
I offer the following by way of rebuttal.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/20060317180751493=0D

When man's highest ideal and purpose in life is the acquisition of
money and men deny the existence of any power higher that the power
they feel they receive from being fabulously wealthy,they lose
their sense of right and wrong, and answer to no one for their
actions. They are worshipping false gods
They shut off their consciences, and run amuck over anyone in their
way to achieve goals that lead only to their own sense of importance
see "capitalism run amuck"
We have seen the ascendance of the corporate welfare state where
corporations who tout the free market economy are the new welfare
bums--the billion dollar babies-- blessed with massive government
subsidies/bailouts, the beneficiaries of preferential legislation, and
deregulation-- such that insider trading and corporate cronyism are
epidemic
The corporate welfare state has escaped the vicious
attacks handed the social welfare state as government has become
the hand maiden to the corporate welfare state.
 The media, for its part, has effectively been co-opted to this "out-of-control" corporatism
The corporate welfare state is brought to you by neo-conservatives.
They praise the mantras of privatization and deregulation-- the
vehicles of unmitigated greed. These practitioners have proven that
they cannot be trusted with the keys of the kingdom yet they escape
scrutiny because they control the agenda, the media, and most
importantly effective political opposition is lacking.
Neo-conservatives, and their corporate welfare state, also want to
eliminate, or at least minimize government as it quite simply gets
in the way of unmitigated greed-- so they can act without any
consideration for the public good or public consultation-and this
is just what is happening in the US now.
And this leads us to Benito Mussolini and that little word "fascism"
as corporatism too easily mutates/morphs into fascism.

"Fascism" should more properly be called corporatism,
since it is the merger of state and corporate power."
- Benito Mussolini

In, Lament for a Nation, Grant states
"Yet what is socialism if it is not the use of government to
restrain greed in the name of the social good"

The world has been taken over by the neoclassical market economy
theory and is going to hell in a handbasket, with environmental
destruction, human destitution and mass murder ... by hunger, sickness,and war
 growing by the day. This is officially called by our
economists and politicians as "the free movement of wealth creating
capital"
The neoclassical theory has become the biggest crime wave in human history

If the world hopes to save future generations, it will have to shed
all ideology based economic theories and start following the laws of
physical realities.


The neoclassical market economic system is built on the false
theory of so called "competition", including the twisted out words
of Adam Smith.
 He never said: "In competition self interest serves
the common good".
 A totally asinine and criminal statement, neither Smith, or any
sane person would ever say,.. yet it is being taught as economics.

My friends, you can complain and bitch against the actions of
corrupt politicians and their owners/handlers, the corrupt corporations,
but unless you start going after the universities, where this garbage
is being taught, you're wasting your time. Because they are basing
their actions on the theories coming out of universities, picked up
by corporations in courses on business management and administration.
The corporations own the government and so-called elected public officials serve the interests of their financial contributors and not their constituents.We the people need to reclaim our power and our lives! from corrupt politicians whose loyalty is not to those whom they have been elected to represent but to their financial backers.
If they cannot prove that they are worthy of representing us then they should be fired.

The highest priority for corporations is to maximize profits for their shareholders.
Politicians ,on the other hand, are supposed to represent and promote the public interest.
When elected officials devote more effort to creating opportunities for industries (private corporations)
than for the people who they have been elected to serve, they lose our trust and our respect--especially when industrial growth  comes at a cost to the public interest (such as environmental degradation/pollution)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Taming Predatory Capitalism

JAMES K. GALBRAITH
In 1899 Thorstein Veblen described predation as a phase in the
evolution of culture, "attained only when the predatory attitude
has become the habitual and accredited spiritual attitude...when
the fight has become the nt note in the current theory of
life." After an entire century's struggle to escape from this
phase, we've suffered a relapse. The predators are everywhere
unleashed; and the institutions built to contain them, from the
United Nations to the AFL-CIO to the SEC, are everywhere under
siege.
Predation has again become the defining feature of economic
life.
Our first problem is to grasp this reality in full.
Postwar prosperity was built on a vast cut in the cost of security
and the achievement of peace in Europe and much of Asia. The
American role in the cold war system was to provide security; for
this the dollar's role as anchor of the world trading system was
our reward. But now, with Iraq, we are seen worldwide as the
leading predator state, promoting war as a solution rather than as
the ultimate economic and human horror. For this, many would like
to see our privileges revoked.
Corporate and financial fraud and political corruption form the
second great domain of predatory capitalism.
 DeLay, Frist and Abramoff are the names in the news, but the tone is set by the
leadership--Cheney of Halliburton and Bush of Harken Energy--a
large predator and a small scavenger, specialists in cronyism and
expert in nothing else. When predation becomes the accepted
business and political norm, the foundation of capitalism crumbles.
Markets lose legitimacy, investors fly to safety in bonds, and
authentic innovation and shared growth both become unattainable.
The solution must be not just a change of parties but a new
political class, including a new media not under corrupt control.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060417/forum/4=0D

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Large contibutions from special interest groups have eroded trust in our elected officials and corrupted our government". A different kind of candidate running a different kind of campaign,depends on the support of ordinary citizens and runs to represent/serve them, not lobbyists and large corporations.
We must elect leaders who are willing to serve, protect, and advance the public interest,rather than betray it!
The failure of the political establishment to protect the public interest is a betrayal of their mandate.
It used to be called treason; now it's called politics!

We must establish and maintain a clear separation between government institutions and corporations(whose loyalty is only to themselves)!
 The independence of the judiciary is deemed to be an essential part of the fabric of a free and democratic society.
Legislators/(those who make the laws) and the government  must also fulfill their role  independent
of the external influences of corporations and their lobbyists.
A lobbyist is by definition someone seeking to influence the outcome of government policy in their own favor!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Murray Dobbin,a Vancouver-based journalist,author and social activist in his 1998 book titled "The Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen--Democracy under the Rule of Big Business" writes:


“Unspinning “ political issues: a citizen's guide to globalization

"As union, social and environmental activists, we know that the vast majority of Canadians share our progressive values of strong communities, sustainable development, and robust universal social programs;' 
"But somehow, when it comes to choosing governments, those people (including many union members) vote for parties that are slowly dismantling exactly the things people value.
"Part of the explanation is that the language used to talk about these issues in the media is determined not by us but by corporate and party media consultants, business think tanks and right-wing
spin doctors.
"What we are talking about here is how issues are framed."
"All of these effective conservative/right-wing "frames" make our job of promoting social justice much more difficult. -
"But all of them can be reframed from our values perspective. And that also allows us to speak about positive alternatives, rather than always reacting to what they do and say.
"That won't guarantee we will win but if we don't 'reframe' these issues we are likely to keep losing important battles:'

war is stupid (as well as immoral)

Picasso's "Guarnica"

War is state-sanctioned murder on a mass scale!

Every gun,bomb,tank,and battleship that is made takes away from a human being who needs food,education,medical care,etc. Every dollar spent on the weapons of war is stolen from other more worthy causes toward wch it should have been applied to alleviate social injustice and human suffering and improve the quality of human life.

Instead of training a soldier to "kill and be killed" he could be taught some constructive employment skills that could benefit humanity

In 2008 the nations of the world spent 1.5 trillion dollars on weapons! --all of wch is immensely wasteful of the earth's resources!( apart from the horrendous suffering that such weapons inflict)

(43% of global military expenditure is spent by the USA---this is 6X more than China wch is second)

A simple cost/benefit analysis readily demonstrates that the fiscal and human costs of war far outweigh any possible benefit to a society.

There are two parties(war profiteers) with a vested interest in initiating and prolonging a state of war:

(1) the military -industrial complex who make the armaments/weapons of war/military hardware,and who promote military action and the glorification of war (the warmongers) ,and the military career professionals) Arms dealers (the suppliers of weapons) fuel armed conflict!
see the movie:Lord of War (2005)An arms supplier  confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an Interpol agent. Directed by Andrew Niccol. Starring Nicolas Cage,
After 9/11 , funding for the intelligence bureaucracy was doubled!,there was a buildup of weaponry, and two wars drained the US treasury, and squandered the country's resources.

(2)the executive branch of the government and it's associated military "defence"departments(e.g.Pentagon, CIA, NSA,etc.) becuz the constitution gives them more power in the event of war!
If the constitution can be suspended in times of war,what laws (if any) are those in power bound by?!
What incentive is there for those in power to adhere to the constitutional constraints (those laws enshrined in the constitution) if they can acquire more power by declaring a de facto state of war/emergency/threat to national security.
An ongoing state of war allows for a de facto declaration of "martial law" or rule by the military (military rulership).
The president is just the president; but the president as "commander-in-chief  "  is imbued with extraordinary powers. War permits the concentration of power in the presidency.
Seizing "emergency" powers allows those who hold the reigns of power to disregard the principles of democracy as well as civil rights.
The government gives itself the power to listen to every telephone conversation and to read every email message.
 When you have an immense military apparatus (the war machine),you can't just have them sitting around with nothing to do. You have to justify their existence-- you have to find a reason for war!

What? No wars to fight? Surely we can do something about dat!!
see "falsely led to war"

see   William D. Hartung's 'Prophets of War' wch could have carried an alternate title that sounds the same but carries a different spelling: Profits of War.
When is the use of military force morally justifiable?  and when is the cost of peace too high?
Making the case for the use of military force.

We should not minimize the criminality of war, for in every instance it violates the sanctity of life!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34360743/ns/politics-white_house/

Obama gives lip service to the value of proactive nonviolent peace activities, citing Ghandi and King, but then concludes that not taking military action is tantamount to inaction::
“I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That's why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.”

It is my thought, however, that for a fraction of the cost (financial, political, environmental, social, moral) of our military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, we could have undertaken nonviolent proactive humanitarian peace-building activities that would have left us with real friends in a genuinely improved world.

This, in contrast to the destruction, misery, anguish, hostility, heightened volatility, heightened polarization and heightened animosity that have been the natural, logical, and predictable consequences of policies of fear,hatred and violence.

see "the normalization of violence"

 I agree with the president that peacemaking calls for sacrifice, but why should we think, and be willing to accept, that the only sacrifice we can make, or could have made, for peace, is military action?

Worth Green, Seabrook

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

U.S. Military recruitment poster:

Having trouble finding a job.

Uncle Sam is hiring!

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to serve your country.

You just have to be willing to die!

P.S. The following job benefits are included: free body bag and funeral ,and your name permanently chiseled on a cenotaph as an eternally honoured hero.
And if you don't like that option ,there's free prostheses and psyhiatric services for a lifetime!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>&gt

The first casualty of war is Truth!  --WikiLeaks

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101024/ts_afp/usiraqmilitaryinternetwikileaks_20101024102337

http://www.thirdage.com/news/wikileaks-released-iraq-documents-reveal-truth_10-24-2010

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

NThe White Poppy symbolises the belief that there are better ways to resolve conflicts than killing strangers. Our work, primarily ehttp://members.shaw.ca/peacepoppies/du chttp://www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html ational, draws attention to many of From economic reliance on arms sales (Britain is the world's second largest arms exporter) to maintaining manifestly useless nuclear weaweapo9 years after the end of the ‘war to end all wars’ we still have a long way to go to put   If we really want to abolish the military and all that goes with it, we must first abolish the last remaining  justification for it in the eyes of the general public - I

Wear a White Poppy...

• to commemorate all victims of war
• to mourn the environmental devastation
  it causes
• to reject war as a tool for social change
• to call for dialog and peaceful conflict resolution
• to show your commitment to building a
  better future

...Because Remembering is Important,
But it Isn't Enough

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

War requires a lot of preparation--the most important of wch is preparing the minds of the people!

The creation of an "enemy" is a commonly used political strategy for diverting attention from internal problems by focusing attention externally upon a designated "other"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing;

 that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.

Agatha Christie (1890-1976)

Prepare for a massive contraction of the world's economies

 Most Americans are completely obsessed with the silliest of things.
 They wonder how Lindsay Lohan is going to fare in jail and they agonize over who LeBron James is going to play basketball for.

 But when it comes to the things that really matter, most Americans are completely clueless.

For example, while most Americans would agree that we are experiencing difficult economic times right now, most of them would also argue that our economic system is in fundamentally good shape and that things will get back to “normal” at some point. Those of us who are trying to warn America of the impending economic nightmare are dismissed as “doom and gloomers” and “conspiracy theorists”. But of course, as with so many things, the passage of time will tell who was right and who was wrong. Below there is a chart that I want all of you to burn into your memory. It is a chart of total U.S. debt as a percentage of GDP from 1870 until 2009. This chart clearly and succinctly communicates the horror of the debt bubble that we are currently dealing with.

                                            (click on image to enlarge)

 When this debt bubble pops, it is going to make the Great Depression look like a Sunday picnic. As you can see from this chart , the total of all debt (government, business and consumer) is now somewhere in the neighborhood of 360 percent of GDP. Never before has the United States faced a debt bubble of this magnitude…. Most of us were not alive during the Great Depression, but those who were remember how incredibly painful it was for America to deleverage and bring the economic system back into some type of balance. So if our current debt bubble is far worse, what kind of economic horror is ahead for us? But the truth is that we are facing some circumstances that even the folks back during the Great Depression did not have to deal with…. 1 – Back in the 1930s, tens of millions of Americans lived on farms or knew how to grow their own food. Today the vast majority of Americans are totally dependent on the system for even their most basic needs. 2 – A vast horde of Baby Boomers is expecting to retire, and the “Social Security trust fund” has nothing but 2.5 trillion dollars of government IOUs in it. According to an official U.S. government report, rapidly growing interest costs on the U.S. national debt together with spending on major entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare will absorb approximately 92 cents of every dollar of federal revenue by the year 2019. This is a financial tsunami the likes of which Americans back in the 1930s could never have even dreamed of. 3 – American workers never had to compete for jobs with workers on the other side of the world back in the 1930s. But today, millions upon millions of our jobs have been “outsourced” to China, India and a vast array of third world nations where desperate workers are more than happy to slave away for big global corporations for less than a dollar an hour. How in the world are American workers supposed to compete with that? 4 – Back in the 1930s, there was nothing like the gigantic derivatives bubble that hangs over us today. The total value of all derivatives worldwide is estimated to be somewhere between 600 trillion and 1.5 quadrillion dollars. The danger that we face from derivatives is so great that Warren Buffet has called them “financial weapons of mass destruction”. When this bubble pops there won’t be enough money in the entire world to fix it. 5 – During the Great Depression, the United States economy was relatively self-contained. But today we truly do live in a global economy. Unfortunately that means that a severe economic crisis in one part of the world is going to affect us as well. Right now, the United States is far from alone in dealing with a massive debt crisis. Greece, Spain, Italy, Hungary, Portugal and a number of other European nations are in real danger of actually defaulting on their debts. Japan (the third biggest economy in the world) is on the verge of complete and total economic collapse. So what happens to the U.S. economy when the dominoes start to fall? The truth is that by almost any measure, we are in worse economic condition than we were right before the beginning of the Great Depression. We have been living way beyond our means and the debts we have been piling up are clearly not anywhere close to sustainable. Did you think that we could just continue to run deficits equal to 10 percent of GDP forever? Of course not. The U.S. economy is being driven off a cliff, but America’s ”ruling class” has insisted all along that they know better than we do. But the truth is that in the final analysis it is not us that they care about. What they do actually care about is getting more money and more power for themselves and for other members of the ruling class. Today, 10,000 people make 30% of the total income in the United States each year. That leaves 70% of the pie for the remaining 99.99% of us to divide up. The reality is that however you want to slice it, the U.S. economic system is broken. However, considering the fact that America’s ruling class has a stranglehold on both major political parties, we are not likely to see any fundamental changes any time soon.
That is very unfortunate, because time is running out on the U.S. economy.

The absence of effective regulation of the financial system essentially places it "above the law" (no accountability)

This is confirmed by the fact that those who devastated the global economy have faced no punishment!

...and no "regulation legislation" has been passed to prevent the same from happening again.

The fox is still in charge of the chickens!

see "the decline and fall of the American Empire"

Global Catastrophe

The Scream
--Artist Edvard Munch



Subject: the orange-brown tide arriveth
To: larry@sympatico.ca
Date: Saturday, June 5, 2010, 1:12 AM

Horrible,Horrific and Horrendous images:

Warning: these heartbreaking images are obscene, and painful to view!

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

The real cost of America's addiction to oil!

Fouled: A Brown Pelican on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast on Thursday, June 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)


...and this is just the beginning--the tip of the iceberg!!
The effect on lower levels of marine life (whose habitat has been poisoned, and upon wch all others are dependent) is still invisible!!
The secondary and tertiary effects of this environmental and economic disaster will last for decades!

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--- On Sat, 5/15/10, bill dality wrote:

From: bill dality
Subject: the black tide cometh
To: larry.@sympatico.ca
Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010, 12:36 AM



http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/14/must-see-ac360%C2%B0-video-oil-spill-worse-than-expected/

Independent scientists now estimate the leak is gushing oil into the ocean at the rate of 70,000 barrels per day!
BP appears to have intentionally lowballed their estimate (of 5000 barrels/day) in an attempt to minimize/downplay the public relations and financial consequences to them.
BP chief executive Tony Hayward told Britain's Guardian newspaper that the spill is "tiny" by comparison with the amount of water in the Gulf of Mexico:
"The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume," Hayward said.
"The techniques we're going to try over the next 24 hours, we need to remember, are about trying to contain this leak. They won't stop it."

A large component of the leak is natural gas wch is 90% methane.
Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Compared with carbon dioxide, it has a high global warming potential of 72 (calculated over a period of 20 years) or 25 (for a time period of 100 yearsMethane in the atmosphere is eventually oxidized, producing carbon dioxide and water
Watch the video of Dr. Gregory Ryskin, Professor of Chemical Engineering at Northwestern University.
In the video, Dr. Ryskin explains how a prehistoric methane gas explosion could explain the Permian-Triassic Extinction Event, a mysterious period in Earth history where 95% of all species went extinct.Given that the amount of methane gas that is leaking from the BP spill site is at least equal to the amount of oil, it would lead one to believe that there is a huge underground pocket of methane gas buried there.

They are spraying tons of chemical "dispersants" onto the oil slicks in order to sink the oil "out of sight and out of mind".
These chemicals are more toxic than the oil! The worst case scenario is that the oil and gas will continue to leak until the entire reservoir (there are no estimates as to the total size of the reservoir) is emptied.
Currents will carry the surface oil out of the gulf , up the eastern coastline ,and into the Atlantic ocean.


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More Foul Play:

Dramatic pictures and video of ducks struggling in a toxic waste pond were released Tuesday at Syncrude's trial on environmental charges in the deaths of 1,606 ducks in a tailings pond in northern Alberta

 http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2010/03/02/edmonton-syncrude-trial-pictures-video-ducks-tailings-pond.html#ixzz13bnwQrWG

Monitoring of Canada oil sands impact flawed:

Tue Dec 21, 10:35 am ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) –

Canada must do a much better job of monitoring whether oil sands projects are polluting waterways in the Western province of Alberta since the current system of oversight has major shortcomings, an independent scientific panel said on Tuesday.
The panel was set up by the federal government in late September after an academic report concluded oil sands plants were sending toxins, including mercury, arsenic and lead, into the watershed.
"There are significant shortcomings in the monitoring system as a whole," the report concluded, saying the current system is far too fragmented

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSFcZ4QgrCA


5 Oct 2010 ... toxic sludge disaster in Hungary --fertile land turned into poisoned wasteland:

A massive spill of toxic (heavy metal oxides) sludge from an Aluminum plant in Hungary
The toxic red tide wch engulfed everything in it's path has reached the Danube...and soon the Black Sea.



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Komi republic oil spill/

http://www1.american.edu/ted/KOMI.HTM

the concept of "mass" requires clarification?

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mass.html#wgt

The Relativity of Mass:
Is there an objective (frame -independent) measure of an object's mass?
Mass is measured in units of weight,but the weight of an object depends upon the gravitational field it is under the influence of.
Thus not only is mass dependent upon velocity (the greater an object's velocity,the greater it's mass),but it is also dependent upon the gravitational field it is under the influence of...according to Newton's equation; Fg = G (m1*m2)/(d^2)
where G= gravitational constant (6.67*10^-11 Nm^2/kg^2)
In this equation the mass of m1 = Fgd^2/Gm2

Does this mean there is no objective measure of mass?

Afloat in zero G, one is weightless. But is one also massless?
m = 0 kg.
How do you measure mass (the matter/energy content of an object)in zero gravity?

Intuitively one would think that the matter/energy content of an object should be the same wherever in the universe it is measured.

Perhaps "mass" is better defined in units of energy (Joules).

An object with a mass of 50 kilograms weighs 491 newtons on the surface of the Earth; on the surface of the Moon, the same object still has a mass of 50 kilograms but weighs only 81.5 newtons.
(A newton is the force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at a rate of one meter per second per second)... but how much is a kilogram?
How is the above statement justified?
How is an invariant mass of 50 kg obtained?

Also the mass of an object increases with (is dependent upon) the speed of the object

Also when energy is transformed into matter ,it acquires mass wch it did not have previously.

How does mass emerge?

Where does mass arise from?
How is it created?

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Mass and energy are interconvertible and equivalent forms of one substance.

"Mass" is a potential/stored form of energy whose relationship with it's kinetic form is described by the equation e= mc2 or m=e/c2 or m=e(1/c2) where 1/c2 is a constant equal to 1.11265006 × 10-17 s2 / m2(please to convert to s^2/km^2) Because of the interconvertible nature of mass and energy ,all the stored energy in an object possessing mass can be theoretically converted to kinetic energy according to Einstein's formula, e= mc2 Although we cannot physically measure the mass of a photon (how do you weigh something moving 186,000 miles/second?)  we can calculate it's "mass equivalent" by the formula m=e/c2

Can the Higg's Boson really explain why matter has mass?

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/03/14/wrd-science-higgs-boson-particle-discovery.html

How many "joule-drops" of pure and perfect energy are you made of?

units of energy = units of mass


The newton is the unit of force derived in the SI system; it is equal to the amount of force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at a rate of one meter per second per second. In dimensional analysis, F=ma, multiplying m (kg) by a (m/s2), the dimension for 1 newton unit is therefore: 1N =1 kg·m/s²

energy is defined via work, the SI unit for energy is the same as the unit of work – the joule (J), named in honour of James Prescott Joule and his experiments on the mechanical equivalent of heat. In slightly more fundamental terms, 1 joule is equal to 1 newton-metre(the energy exerted by the force of one newton acting to move an object through a distance of one metre) and, in terms of SI base units:

1J = kg (m/s)^2 = 1 kg m2 s^−2,= (1 newton meter)
1 Joule = 6.24150974×10^18 eV
One joule in everyday life is approximately:
-the energy required to lift a small apple one meter straight up.
-the energy released when that same apple falls one meter to the ground.

Physicists commonly express the mass of fundamental particles in terms of their energy, but the energy unit used to do this is typically the electron volt (eV). 1eV = 1.60217646 * 10^ -19 joules (1 joule = 6.24150974 * 10^18 eV).

An energy unit that is used in atomic physics, particle physics and high energy physics is the electronvolt (eV).
One eV is equivalent to 1.60217653×10^−19 J.
1eV = 1.60217653×10^−19 J (Visible light has between 2 and 3 eV of energy per photon, and X-rays about 60,000 eV)
1Mev =10^6eV
1Gev =10^9eV (10^9 eV is the energy contained in a single proton at rest)
The energy of the most energetic gamma rays range between 10 to 100 GeV (ten billion to one hundred billion electron-volts per photon).Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light.
1TeV =10^12eV , or 1.602×10−7 J,
(The most-energetic known cosmic rays have an energy of 10^8 TeV)

The LHC slams beams of particles together at a collision energy of 7 TeV, or 7 million electron volts.(14 TeV: The 'Designed' collision energy of protons at the Large Hadron Collider.)The largest machine in the world (the LHC)can "see" particles that are 10^3 X smaller than a proton.Since the diameter of a proton is 2 × 10^-14 meters ,the LHC is a "microscope" that can detect particles down to 2 x 10^-17 meters in diameter.


By mass-energy equivalence, the electron volt is also a unit of mass.
It is common in particle physics, where mass and energy are often interchanged, to use eV/c2, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum
(from E = mc2). Even more common is to use a system of natural units and simply use eV, with c set to 1 as a unit of mass.

For example, an electron and a positron, each with a mass of 0.511 MeV/c2, can annihilate to yield 1.022 MeV of energy.
The proton has a mass of 0.938 GeV/c2, making a gigaelectronvolt (1Gev =10^9eV) a very convenient unit of mass for particle physics.

1 GeV/c2 = 1.783 × 10−27 kg
The atomic mass unit, 1 gram divided by Avogadro's number, is almost the mass of a hydrogen atom, which is mostly the mass of the proton. To convert to megaelectronvolts, use the formula:

1 amu = 931.46 MeV/c2 = 0.93146 GeV/c2
1 MeV/c2 = 1.074 × 10–3 amu

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A coefficient is a constant or fixed number in front of a variable.

In the equation m = 1/c^2 x E (transposing E = mc^2)
1/c^2 is a coefficient equal to 1 / (the speed of light^2)
=  1/8.98755179 × 10^16 m^2 / s^2 
=  0.111265006 × 10^16 s^2 / m^2
 (error! see comment section)
=   1.11265006 × 10^15 s^2 / m^2 
 (error! see comment section)

If we write the equation E = mc^2 as E = c^2 m,
the coefficien c^2 =
(speed of light)^2 = 8.98755179 × 10^16 m^2 / s^2
Hence E= (8.98755179 × 10^16 m^2 / s^2 )x mass (in kg)

A proton at rest has a mass of 1.67 x 10^-27 kg.,
and this has the energy equivalence of 1 x 10^9 eV
Therefore 1 kg of protons has the energy equivalence of :
1 x 10^9 eV divided by 1.67 x 10^-27 kg
= 0.598802395 x 10^36 eV
=5.9 x 10^35 eV
(or converting eV to Joules):
Since 6.24150974×10^18 eV =1 joule,
5.9 x 10^35 eV = 5.9 x 10^35 eV /6.24150974×10^18 eV per joule
=0.94551 x 10^17 =9.45 x 10^16 joules

Therefore 1 kg of dirt (or anything) has the energy equivalence of 9.45 x 10^16 joules.
Since one megaton of TNT is defined as being equivalent to 4.184 × 10^15 J, , the energy equivalent of 1 kg of mass is approximately 21.5 megatons of TNT.(megaton of TNT = 4.184 × 10^15 J)
The "atomic bomb" detonated over Hiroshima in 1945 had an energy equivalent of between 13 and 18 kilotons of TNT (54 and 75 TJ)(kiloton of TNT = 4.184 × 10^12 J)
Hence the energy contained within 1 kg of any mass is 10,000 X greater than that released by the Hiroshima bomb!
But splitting a uranium atom (as in an atomic bomb)converts only 0.1 % of it's mass into energy,whereas mixing matter and antimatter is 100% efficient.
100 pounds of antimatter converted completely into energy would exceed the yield of all the world's nuclear weapons.

Another example: an electron has a rest mass of 9.10938188 * 10^-31 kilograms. It's rest mass expressed in electron volts is 9.1094*10^-31 kg * (2.998 *10^8 m/s)^2 * 6.242 *10^18 eV/J = 5.11*10^5 ev = 511 keV.

How many "joule-drops" of pure and perfect energy are you made of?
Hint: multiply your weight in kilograms by 9.45 x 10^16 joules

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Yes,..."from dust unto dust" ;
but,...more importantly, "from light unto light"!

unification of "gravity" and "strong interaction force"

Quantum Gravity:
Gravity is regarded as an important force on the cosmological/macroscopic scale,but not significant at the subatomic scale. Physicists have long sought to reconcile/unify quantum mechanics and general relativity. Demonstrating the equivalence of the strong interaction force and gravity would make that synthesis/unification a reality
Gravity is regarded as a weak force becuz it acts on objects separated by vast distances. The force is inversely proportional to the distance between the two masses.
Hence at immense distances even massive objects such as galaxy superclusters are not affected by gravity.(whereas galaxy and galaxy cluster slowly implode toward their center under the influence of gravity, the force of gravity is so small between galaxy superclusters that it is overcome by the outward expansion of the universe. We do not know what is powering the observed accelerating expansion of the universe.)
Conversely, at short subatomic and infinitesimal distances,gravity can be a strong force even between small masses such as hadrons(subatomic particles).*
 Fg = G (m1*m2)/(d^2) where G= gravitational constant (6.67*10^-11 Nm^2/kg^2)or 6.67300 × 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2 ,and m1 and m2 = the masses of object 1 and object 2 respectively. For example:proton mass = 1.67261 x 10^-27 kg d=the distance (in meters) between the two objects = the separating distance between the centers of mass of the particles = diameter of a proton is 2 × 10^-14 meters (The proton has a radius about 10^-15 m )
Thus as d^2 approaches zero,...(m1m2) approaches infinity Thus when two particles possessing mass are contiguous (such as neutrons in an atomic nucleus),or fuse together to become one (such as a proton and electron combining to form a neutron ,or quarks combining to form a proton*),the force of gravity maintaining the integrity of the unified structure may be immense! If hadrons are described not as discrete material particles,but waves, then they can perhaps interpenetrate each other (fuse together) to occupy the same space. Two objects occupy the same space when they become one. Thus the spatial distance("d" in the above equation) between the two separate particles collapses to zero. In fact at this quantum level (the subatomic scale), gravity may be identical with or a component of the "strong interaction force" wch bonds hadrons (and their constituent components)together within the atomic nucleus.It is a force of attraction between nucleons at short range. Essentially we can say that gravity and the "strong nuclear interaction force" are identical!
Distance (d)in the above equation must be measured not to the outer surface of the sphere/object/particle but to to their point centers. Thus two contiguous/touching spheres are separated by a distance equal to the sum of their two radiuses. To calculate the force of gravity between hadrons within the nucleus of an atom we need to know: What are the radiuses of some subatomic particles? What is the radius and mass of a neutron? proton mass = 1.67261 x 10 -27 kg, Thus gravity is what keeps a rapidly spinning mass together . Without this force of attraction,the center would not hold.Gravity draws matter toward a center point. Gravity is the weakest force in the universe,yet in sufficient amounts it can capture light.
 A critically large mass has the strength to prevent the escape of light or to "contain" light energy. In fact all matter is a storage battery/repository for light energy. Matter is light in a "potential" form.The annihilation of mass results in the creation of light energy.
Matter and energy are interchangeable forms of one substance/stuff.
 In molecules, energy is stored in chemical form (as bonds between atoms). All material particles are like "black holes" wch confine the light energy they contain through gravity,strong nuclear interaction force , or other unidentified forces. We do not understand the mechanisms by wch this potential energy is captured,confined, and released.Since matter is an unlimited reservoir of energy ..,understanding how energy is captured and released from this potential form ,would enable us to harness it in a controlled manner. We need to apply some fresh thinking to this problem so that we can use this limitless supply of energy, and wean ourselves from fossil fuels. Black Holes do not have a minimum size ,and could be the size of an atom or neutron. They are ultra dense points of hidden mass/energy. It has been calculated that the minimum amount of mass required to form a black hole (i.e. to confine light and prevent it's escape) would be 20 times the sun's mass. But perhaps it's not important what the starting mass is so much as the mass density finally attained within the black hole! If sufficient matter and energy(mass) is squeezed/compressed into a space of sufficiently small radius,then density approaches infinity. Gravity compresses aggregations of diffuse matter and energy into ever-smaller volumes ...thereby squeezing mass densities towards infinity.
It has been argued that only stars emit electromagnetic radiation and since stars formed only 600 million years after the Big Bang, prior to this the early universe was opaque; that is, it did not radiate electromagnetic radiation. However it seems unlikely that all the energy emmitted from and radiated by the Big Bang event was made only of microwaves (cosmic microwave background radiation). Other wavelenghts of electromagnetic radiation would have contributed to the background radiation emanating from the Big Bang event. It seems more likely that light of all wavelenghts was generated by and blasted out at the instant of the Big Bang ,just as it is created in a thermonuclear explosion.
That shock wave or wave front would have propogated outward at light speed ,and would not be expected to be diffused throughout space like the background microwave radiation .That wave front defines/delineates the outwardly moving boundary of space, and hence the outer limit/boundary of the universe. At the instant of the Big Bang , matter and antimatter existed in equal amounts because the laws of nature require that matter and antimatter be created in pairs. So where is the antimatter? Because matter and antimatter on contact annihilate each other in a burst of energy according to the equation, E=mc2.,we could use this phenomenon as a means of converting matter into useable energy.
 Fg = G (m1*m2)/(d^2) where G= gravitational constant (6.67*10^-11 Nm^2/kg^2) =6.67300 × 10^-11 m3 kg-1 s-2, and m1 and m2 = the masses of object 1 and object 2 respectively ,d=the distance (in meters) between the two objects
Sample calculation: What is the gravitational force exerted between two protons within the atomic nucleus: proton mass = 1.67261 x 10^-27 kg proton diameter = 2 × 10^-14 meters Fg = G (m1*m2)/(d^2)= (6.67300 × 10^-11 m3 kg-1 s-2)(1.67261 x 10 ^-27 kg)( 1.67261 x 10 ^-27 kg)/(2 × 10^-14 m) x (2 × 10^-14 m) = (6.67300 × 10^-11 m3 kg-1 s-2)(2.79762421 × 10^-54kg^2)/4 × 10^-28 m^2 = 6.67300 x 2.79762421 = 18.6685464 x 10^-65 m3kgs^-2/4 × 10^-28 m^2 = 4.6671366 x 10^-37 mkgs^-2
The newton is the unit of force derived in the SI system; it is equal to the amount of force required to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at a rate of one meter per second per second. In dimensional analysis, F=ma, multiplying m (kg) by a (m/s2), the dimension for 1 newton unit is therefore: 1N =1 kg·m/s² As mass density is increased by reducing the volume of the sphere within wch the mass is contained by one thousandfold(10^3 X),the diameter of the particle is also reduced by 10^3.Thus "d^2" in the above equation becomes 4 × 10^-34 m^2 Reduced by 10^9 fold ,"d" becomes 2 x 10^-23 ,and "d^2" becomes 4 × 10^-46 m^2. But reduced by 10^19 fold,"d" becomes 2 x 10^-33 ,and "d^2" becomes 4 x 10^-66 m^2,and "F" now becomes a larger number: 46.671366 mkgs^-2 . For every 10fold decrease in "d", there is a 10fold increase in "F". As "d" becomes smaller and smaller (that is, as "d" approaches zero),the numerator in the equation becomes larger and larger. In fact as "d" approaches zero,the numerator approaches infinity. Thus at very small distances (less than 10^-33 m)gravity again becomes a significant force. Gravity may have a significant role in holding dense particles less than 10^-33 m in diameter together. Such a scenario can occur when two protons fuse/coalesce to become one (that is, they come to occupy the same space,thereby the distance between them collapses to zero!
 Any single particle (Pm3) can be mathematically described as two separate "virtual" particles (Pm1 and Pm2) each carrying half the mass and separated by near-zero distance.
see "zero degrees of separation"
Any one object/particle can be split in two.
Two objects/particles can occupy (co-exist within) the same/common space.
Any single object can be described as "two objects orbiting a common center of mass". These are simply two equivalent descriptions of the same object! (see "Supertoroid" below)
"F" then is the force with wch the constituent virtual particles are held together.
* There are some 60 identified particles trapped inside neutrons The Standard Model describes forces between particles smaller than atoms. The Standard Model predicts that exchange particles called gauge bosons are the fundamental means by which forces are emitted and absorbed.

Sphere packing:
How many spheres can be fitted into a given space?

Supertoroid designed by Fergus Ray Murray. http://oolong.co.uk/tor1.htm

The mass of the proton (1.67262158 × 10^-27 kilograms) is about eighty times greater than the sum of the rest masses of the quarks that make it up, while the gluons have zero rest mass. The extra energy of the quarks and gluons in a region within a proton, as compared to the energy of the quarks and gluons in the QCD vacuum, accounts for over 98% of the mass. The diameter of atoms is hundreds of millions of times greater than the diameter of nucleons located at the center of atoms.
Bibliography Sears, W. Francis. University Physics. New York. Addison Wesley, 1992: 596-603. "Our physics books say that the diameter of a proton is 2 × 10-14 m Christensen, James J. The Structure of an Atom. London: Wiley, 1990: 60-65. "The structure is reflected in the size of nucleons which are about 10-15 m across" MIllikan, Robert Andrews. Electronics (+ and -) Protons, Photons, Neutrons, and Cosmic Rays. London: Cambridge University Press, 1990: 47.
"The radius of a proton is on the order of 10-13 cm" 10-15 m Brown, Jonathan. The Physical Science Encyclopedia. New York. Cornell University Press, 1980. "The proton has a radius about 10-15 m World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, 1998: 69. "A proton has a diameter of approximately one-millionth of a nanometer" 10-15 m
nuclear range is called a short-range, wherein the nucleons attract each other with a force, much larger than the electrostatic repulsion between the positively charged protons. This means, two neutrons attract each other though they are neutral; two protons attract each other though they are both positively charged; a proton and a neutron attract each other though they are not of opposite charges. In other words the nucleons bind themselves together when they happen to come closer than 10-12 cm. Within this range, the closer they are the stronger their bond is. charge on a proton is +1. Its location is the nucleus, and its mass is 1.67262 x 10-27 kg. Protons have an effective size of about 1.2 x 10-15 m, and the nucleus is roughly the cube root of the number of nucleons (protons and neutrons) times that typical proton size, usually still on the order of 10-15 to 10-14 m in size. The charge on an electron is -1. It is found in a region around the nucleus called the electron cloud. The mass of an electron is 9.10939 x 10-31 kg (1836 times lighter than the mass of a proton). The typical size of the electron cloud is usually 5 x 10-11 to 10-10 m in size, about 100,000 times larger than the nucleus. The charge of a neutron is 0, and it is located in the nucleus along with the proton(s). The mass of the neutron is 1.67493 x 10-27 kg. The elementary charge is equal to 1.60218 x 10-19 Coulombs. The proton and electron each carry this charge, but the sign of the charge will be positive for the proton, and negative for the electron. Note: The mass of the proton and the mass of the neutron apply to the individual particles. When protons and neutrons are combined (fused) in a nucleus to make an atom, they all give up a bit of their mass (mass deficit) to create binding energy (or nuclear glue). This is necessary to offset the repulsion of the protons (which are like charges, and like charges repel), and it is absolutely necessary for this to happen to make the nucleus stick together.
The width of a proton is a hundred thousandth of the width of an atom, the width of an atom is a millionth of the width of a hair, and the width of a hair is a tenth of one millimeter. At Long Last, Physicists Calculate the Proton's Mass By Adrian Cho ScienceNOW Daily News 21 November 2008 It's one thing to know a fact, but it's another to explain it, as a curious advance in particle physics shows. Ever since the proton was discovered 89 years ago, physicists have been able to measure the mass of the particle--which, along with another called the neutron, makes up the atomic nucleus. But even with the best computers, theorists had not been able to start with a description of the proton's constituent parts and calculate its mass from scratch. Now, a team of theorists has reached that goal, marking the arrival of precision calculations of the ultracomplex "strong force" that binds nuclear matter. "It's a really big deal," says John Negele, a theorist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. "It's the first time that we've really had this kind of confidence that everything is being done right." Like a troubled teenager, the proton is a mess inside and just about impossible to figure out. In the 1970s, experimenters discovered that the proton and the neutron, known collectively as nucleons, consist of more-fundamental particles called quarks and gluons, which are the basic elements of a theory called quantum chromodynamics (QCD). In the simplest terms, a proton contains two "up" type quarks and one "down" type quark, with gluons zipping among them to bind them with the strong nuclear force. (The neutron contains two downs and an up.) In reality, a nucleon is much more complicated. Thanks to the uncertainties of quantum mechanics, myriad gluons and quark-antiquark pairs flit in and out of existence within a nucleon. All of these "virtual" particles interact in a frenzy of pushing and pulling that's nearly impossible to analyze quantitatively. "Everything interacts with everything," says Laurent Lellouch, a theorist with the French National Center for Scientific Research at the Center for Theoretical Physics in Marseille and one of 12 physicists from France, Germany, and Hungary who performed the new calculations. Ninety-five percent of the mass of a nucleon originates from these virtual particles. To simplify matters, the team took a tack pioneered in the late 1970s called lattice QCD. Within their computer programs, the researchers modeled space not as continuous but as a three-dimensional array of points. They also modeled time as passing in discrete ticks, as opposed to flowing smoothly. This turns space and time into a lattice of points. The researchers then confined the quarks to the points in the lattice and the gluons to the links between the points. The lattice sets a shortest distance and time for the interactions, greatly simplifying the problem. Still, the computation involves millions of variables and requires supercomputers. Only since about 2000 have researchers attempted to include not just all of the gluons but the fleeting quark-antiquark pairs as well. The latest work, reported today in Science, incorporates a variety of conceptual improvements to obtain estimates of the mass of the nucleon and nine other particles made of up, down, and slightly heavier "strange" quarks accurate to within a couple of percent. This isn't the first computational tour de force for particle physicists. Five years ago, others made equally precise calculations of more esoteric quantities--somewhat easier to calculate--such as those that govern the decay of a particle called a D+ meson, which contains a down antiquark and a heavy "charm" quark, notes Christine Davies, a theorist at the University of Glasgow in the U.K. Still, she says, the calculation of the well-known masses highlights the ability of lattice QCD to make accurate predictions for the strong force. "This is all good news for lattice QCD," Davies says, "because there are lots of things that we want to calculate that experimenters haven't already measured." For example, Negele says, physicists still don't know distribution of the virtual particles inside the proton or the origin of its spin.

The size of the proton:
--published in Nature ,volume 466,p 213-216 (08,july 2010)

 The proton is the primary building block of the visible Universe, but many of its properties—such as its charge radius and its anomalous magnetic moment—are not well understood. The root-mean-square charge radius, r_p, has been determined with an accuracy of 2 per cent (at best) by electron–proton scattering experiments^{1, 2}. The present most accurate value of r_p (with an uncertainty of 1 per cent) is given by the CODATA compilation of physical constants³. This value is based mainly on precision spectroscopy of atomic hydrogen^{4, 5, 6, 7} and calculations of bound-state quantum electrodynamics (QED; refs 8, 9). The accuracy of r_p as deduced from electron–proton scattering limits the testing of bound-state QED in atomic hydrogen as well as the determination of the Rydberg constant (currently the most accurately measured fundamental physical constant³). An attractive means to improve the accuracy in the measurement of r_p is provided by muonic hydrogen (a proton orbited by a negative muon); its much smaller Bohr radius compared to ordinary atomic hydrogen causes enhancement of effects related to the finite size of the proton. In particular, the Lamb shift¹⁰ (the energy difference between the 2S_1/2 and 2P_1/2 states) is affected by as much as 2 per cent. Here we use pulsed laser spectroscopy to measure a muonic Lamb shift of 49,881.88(76) GHz. On the basis of present calculations^{11, 12, 13, 14, 15} of fine and hyperfine splittings and QED terms, we find r_p = 0.84184(67) fm, which differs by 5.0 standard deviations from the CODATA value³ of 0.8768(69) fm. Our result implies that either the Rydberg constant has to be shifted by −110 kHz/c (4.9 standard deviations), or the calculations of the QED effects in atomic hydrogen or muonic hydrogen atoms are insufficient.