News

			‘At Bronze Doors we create each student’s education around their passion and interests. They are much more likely to engage with high level academics, if the course material is introduced in a way that is vital to the student. I tell the students one of my core values is that happiness is worth working towards, validating the idea of creating ones life versus letting life happen to you. I find this takes an ever present dialogue to get to the core of who the student is, while supporting them in knowing the deepest parts of themselves. We celebrate vulnerability because it so nurtures this process, which makes the culture (and celebrating happiness) hugely important. As a former Divinity student, I love looking at words from other languages that represent spiritual concepts, the term Marga in Sanskrit, for example. Eudaimonia is especially interesting to me because it combines the idea of happiness with daimon, a spiritual concept. I spent a year of my seminary program studying sacred geometry and the specific mathematics/geometry/physics of a vortex. I believe the symbol of a torus tube represents this and is key in manifestation, creating a specific vibrational resonance. This seems to be what you are referring to when you say “but also on what you choose to allow to surround yourself.”’ —Ariel Dochstader Miller, Bronze Doors Academy •••, Austin, Texas ef glyph 517 : Bronze Doors, Ghiberti’s Work of Forty-Eight Years - A Model for Living? — by Michael Strong, co-founder of Bronze Doors Academy efVortex Eudaimonia — an Explorers Foundation vortex is a region of Explorers Foundation research and investment. This vortex concerns the pursuit of happiness, by single persons, and in organizations.

			Fergus Hodgson says, “Last night’s Stateless Man show on the Honduran special development regions—the frontier of competitive governance—was a great success.” Clipped down audio is now available. First hour ••• (35 minutes) with Carlos Pineda of CoAlianza (government of Honduras); Second hour ••• (45 minutes) with Michael Strong of the Free Cities Institute ••• and Conscious Capitalism ••• — Michael speaks of the opportunity to create a “Hong Kong” in Honduras. He cogently describes a real prospect for solving many of the world’s problems. -ls Universidad Francisco Marroquin •••, Guatemala — this university is a fountainhead of liberty. -ls

			The Lily, by Daniel Cloud ••• — a marvelous book about a topic of crucial importance: how can we solve problems more complex than we know how to solve, and in what ways do over-designed efforts to solve such problems prevent them from being solved at all?

			A vision of education, as manifested since 1931: The Harkness Table ••• , an article by Tyler C. Tingley, former Headmaster at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire. This article is offered with permission of Phillips Exeter Academy ••• and Scholar Search Associates •••

			New tools for using, creating, and distributing interactive text books ••• — this is a video of a January 19, 2012 Apple event dedicated to advances in tools for learning and teaching.

			Life Extension Foundation reports on a new form of magnesium to reverse neurodegeneration ••• Finland is the tango center of the world ••• (The Telegraph)— something in the “I always knew that” category, an article by Peter Culshaw, June 7, 2004, but suddenly relevant to Explorers Foundation.

			Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput’s view of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recent mandate and “accommodation” ••• (Philadelphia Inquirer, 12 Feb 12 — “… no similarly aggressive attack on religious freedom in our country has occurred in recent memory.”

			“Diebold Accidentally Leaks 2012 Election Results” ••• — a shocking story from the most acute and reliable news source known to me. -ls

			“Iron Giant” ••• — The story of Alcoa’s 50,000-ton press. —Atlantic mobile, March 1, 2012, by Tim Hefferman.

			The Collegiate Way seeks to improve campus life by creating small, faculty-led residential colleges within large universities. It’s the leading resource on the worldwide residential college movement. Here are four foundations for the renewal of university life ••• — This site, by Robert J. O’Hara, is inspiring. -ls [ef glyph 487] The Mission of Liberal Education - St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland & Santa Fe, New Mexico The Purpose of Education ••• — a weblog by Michael Strong.

			“Sometimes focusing on what’s heroic, beautiful and dignified, regardless of the context can help magnify these intangibles, in three ways: in the protagonists of the story, in the audience, and also in the story teller. And that’s the power of story telling: focus on what’s dignified, courageous and beautiful, and it grows.” —Ryan Lobo, photographer, storyteller ••• — These are the concluding words of a TED talk By Ryan Lobo, “through the lens of compassion” •••. His facebook page •••

			“More and more often, I’m finding ‘too good to be true’ technologies that are, in fact, very true. It is, I think, the hallmark of our era. Things we thought were impossible are coming to pass on a regular basis. To prosper, we’ll all have to re-examine practically everything we thought we could take for granted.” “The reason, as you know, is the growing impact of Moore’s law. It is the exponential increase in the power of microprocessors and its transformation of technologies ranging from biotech to entertainment.” “I realize that the economic situation created by our feckless ruling class tends to cast a cold pallor on the world. It is depressing, I admit, but it will pass. The real story going on behind the scenes is an unbelievable number of technological breakthroughs. These are not hypothetical breakthroughs. They have already occurred, but are not yet fully deployed. They will, in turn, drive astonishing progress and growth, as well as enormous wealth for those with the vision to help it along through investments.” “Seriously. If you doubt me, tell me after reading the next issue that optimism is not rational. I consider myself perhaps the most fortunate person on the planet, by the way. I think of economists, like my friend John Mauldin, who spends his time dwelling on the government-derailed economy. If I had to think for more than a half hour a day about international debt and entitlement statistics, I suspect I’d be far down the road to substance abuse. My friend Ray Blanco and I, however, get to spend time our learning from the people who will actually solve the problems that politicians have created. For that, I am profoundly grateful.” ••• (Agora Financial, Breakthrough Technology Alert) — Expensive newsletter. Some will find it worth the money. -ls

			Trends in Chinese business education ••• (Financial Times) — experienced entrepreneurs seeking MBA degrees. Prism Quartet ••• and Music From China •••, review ••• (New York Times)

			Transform Your Bookkeeping Mess Into A Tax Accounting Masterpiece, Tuesday, Feb 14, 12 pm Denver time ••• — a free webinar by Libby Smith, of Accounting for Success, and Pat Wagner, of Pattern Research, Inc. “This is mostly for people who feel like beginners, but some old timers might find good advice as well. Obviously, we won’t be giving specific financial or legal advice, but general questions during the program are welcome.” —pw

			Jim McNelly, Renewable Carbon Management, LLC, has won an award from the U. S. Composting Council for his contribution to the industry ••• (Renewable Carbon Management); USCC Awards •••

			An editorial in the January 25, 2012, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine strongly supports the FDA’s proposed New Dietary Ingredient guidelines that would ban most of the effective nutrients you use today. ••• (Life Extension Foundation’s Action Center) — a tool for self-defense. Life Extension Foundation

			Ice Age Death Trap: Scientists race to uncover a site in the Rockies packed with fossil mammoths and other extinct ice age beasts. Aired February 1, 2012 on PBS ••• [thanks, j erickson] “India really has outgrown the need for UK aid,” by Mihir Bose, London Evening Standard ••• [thanks, a3.0]

			Support some of the world’s most unreasonable entrepreneurs ••• through Boulder’s Unreasonable Institute •••

			The Coming Higher-Ed RevolutionEducation •••, Stuart M. Butler in National Affairs ••• (about)

			“For a growing number of Americans, a college degree is something obtained only through enormous sacrifice and indebtedness on their part or their parents’, or a dream that is entirely out of reach. Meanwhile, most college leaders live in a bubble in which the costs of ever more elaborate facilities, expanding administrative bureaucracies, and high-profile professors with light teaching loads can simply be passed on to customers in the form of higher tuition.” “But those days are about to end. Underneath the surface, upstart institutions are perfecting radically new education technologies and business plans at the same time that young people and their parents are becoming more frustrated with the traditional higher-ed model, and more open-minded about alternatives.”

			“Media magnate Ricardo Pinto is this week launching the Script Road, the former Portuguese colony’s first literary festival, with the help of writers, filmmakers, musicians and artists from China and the Portuguese-speaking world.” ••• (Scene Asia, Wall Street Journal)

			SpaceX’s Dragon will become the first privately developed spacecraft to visit the International Space Station •••

			“Hyperion Power Generation Inc., based in Denver, Colorado, is working in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop an advanced design nuclear reactor. The HPM produces 25 MW of electricity to power remote mining or oil and gas operations, large government complexes, or remote and island communities. The design intent for the HPM is that it will provide safe and reliable power that is available 24/7, emitting no greenhouse gasses, and operate for 10 years without refueling. It will be manufactured in a factory, transported to the installation site completely sealed, and after its useful life replaced with an entirely new power module.” ••• — a Denver VC ••• is one of the backers of Hyperion.

			“A husband-wife team of researchers at Washington State University can manufacture bones with 3D printing technology” •••

			John Robb’s new “Resiliant Communities” website ••• Senegal’s Magatte Wade, a self-described serial entrepreneur, is convinced that Africa’s future depends on its ability to develop a strong manufacturing sector •••

			Printing a house ••• — “contour crafting”

			America 3.0, a new blog devoted to the next phase of American history ••• — America 3.0 will be published by Encounter Books later this year or early next year.

			Alan Macfarlane’s website ••• — whose work has been an inspiration and guide to the writers of America 3.0

			A Life Extension Conference organized by Chris Peterson of the Foresight Institute, Personalized Life Extension Conference, San Francisco, March 31-April 1 ••• — speakers: Terry Grossman, Bill Andrews, Patrick Cox, Dave Asprey ...

			Jim McNelly reports, “Last Thursday, at the annual meeting of the US Composting Council, an organization I founded in 1989, I received the ”Special Service Award“ a high honor which has been given out only once before. I was truly touched to be recognized by my contemporaries and glad it was not their ”Lifetime Service Award“, as in many ways, I am just getting started.” — Jim’s work: Renewable Carbon Management •••

			The Law, by Frederick Bastiat ••• (The Online Library of Liberty, a project of the Liberty Fund, Inc.) — a great book on liberty, free audio download

			The Rise of the Praetorian Class •••, by Pete Kofod — what can happen when Bastiat’s The Law ••• is not understood.

			Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Association: Stand Up for the 10th Amendment & Attend the Constitutional Sheriffs Convention, Jan 29-31, 2012 •••

			Cole Patterson, Dallas, sent this link to a fascinating theory of human evolution being worked out by Christopher Stringer, one of the world’s foremost paleoanthropologists. ••• — “… we’re having to re-evaluate that now because genetic data suggest that the modern humans who came out of Africa about 60,000 years ago probably interbred with Neanderthals, first of all, and then some of them later on interbred with another group of people called the Denisovans, over in south eastern Asia”

			“The Rise of the Praetorian Class,”, by Pete Kofod — “The Praetorian Class is formed and grown to defend the Political Class and in time becomes the dragon that rules its master. It represents a highly disturbing trend because it foretells the decline, not the advance, of a society.” ••• (David Galland’s “The Room,” part of Casey Research’s “Casey Daily Dispatch,” 13 Jan 2012)

			“Inklings of Another World,” by Mary McDermott Shideler ••• — “… a new element is entering our careful calculations, and is threatening to change them. Into this highly secular, scientific and rational world have come the Nine Walkers who constitute the Fellowship of the Ring: Frodo the hobbit, carrying the great ring of Sauron, and his companions: an elf, a dwarf, a wizard, two men, and three other hobbits (or halflings, as they are sometimes called). And they are not being ignored or laughed at or relegated to the company of children.”

			Final paragraph: ‘It is good for us to confront steadily the ugliness in our world, to follow the histories of anti-heroes, to explore the caverns of meaninglessness, and to be confined within the secular city. But eyes that are fully dark-adapted will be blinded by sunlight, and the imagination and intellect that can discern every subtle variation among evils may not be able to discriminate at all between evil and good. As G. K. Chesterton once said: “we are face to face with the problem of a human consciousness filled with very definite images of evil, and with no definite images of good.” But neither physically nor mentally is man a nocturnal creature. He is not only able to see light; he hungers for it; and when he finds it, he runs forth to call his friends to see it and share his joy. So it is when the Inklings dazzle our eyes with their appeal to our imaginations and their definite images of good. “Come, look for yourselves. Take and read.”’

			NASA: presentation on current work in low energy nuclear reactions ••• — “cold fusion” [kim long]

			Due out in April is The Only One Living to Tell: The Autobiography of a Yavapai Indian by Mike Burns, edited by Gregory McNamee (University of Arizona Press) ••• (Indian Country Media Network)

			Many Foresight members have an interest in human longevity in general and in being healthier and living longer personally. If we want to continue developing and guiding nanotech and other advanced technologies in the decades to come, we need to apply our high-tech knowledge and judgment to keeping our own bodies and brains functioning optimally. Should we be eating and exercising differently, taking supplements, getting our DNA read and telomeres measured, using sleep-monitoring or stress-reduction devices? These are challenging questions with new information arriving continually — let’s pool our efforts to come up with good answers. It was great to see so many Foresight folks at the 2010 life extension meeting. This spring I am organizing a second conference on this topic, Mar 31-Apr 1, here in the Bay Area: http://lifeextensionconference.com —Chris Peterson, Foresight Institute •••

			Yasuhiko Kimura comments on “J.S. Bach. Toccata and Fugue in D minor. BWV 565. Brilliant recording (1956) of Helmut Walcha playing the Van Hagerbeer/Schnitger organ at the Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk in Alkmaar.” ••• (YouTube) — ‘After listening to many great performances of this supremely great piece of music by (or attributed to) Johan Sebastian Bach over the years, I still come back, as my favorite, to the performance by the brilliant organist and great master, Helmut Walcha (who was blind). His 12-set recording of Bach’s entire organ works is a must for Bach lovers. Claude-Achille Debussy said, “There are musicians and composers who believe in God and those who don’t believe in God, but all of them believe in Bach.”’

			Audio clips from Dennis Miller’s interview with Chris Mortensen, director of documentary “Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged,” ••• — see the Jan 10 item for more on this movie.

			“Ayn Rand and the Prophesy of Atlas Shrugged ••• (home page) — a documentary film

			A note from director Chris Mortensen •••

			Dennis Miller will interview Chris Mortensen, 11 January at 11 am ET ••• (audio clips from the interview)

			Showtimes, Jan 17 & 26 only, advance tickets recommended •••

			Facebook page •••

			“On the Economic Value of Ecosystem Services” ••• — Mark Sagoff raises questions about the application of fundamental economic concepts to the services provided by nature that are not explicitly priced. Arguments in this realm quickly cause extreme confusion about the use of the words we use to think about economics. This is potentially a very productive confusion.

			Chuck Vollmer’s presentation of the Charter City concept ••• — brief, part of Vollmer’s Jobenomics vision.

			http://www.worldchanging.com/ http://www.spacex.com/ http://www.journeytoforever.org/farm_library.html http://www.sandcounty.net/foundation/mission http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/01/06/nyregion/100000001266018/brooklyns-rube-goldberg.html

			Conquest of the Land through Seven Thousand Years, by W. C. Lowdermilk ••• — What has happened to the soils of our planet, how, who, and why. Thanks to Jim McNelly of Renewable Carbon Management ••• for this. Jim has figured out what it takes to rebuild soils on a massive scale by making use of the network of intermodal shipping terminals and their millions of containers.

			The Finns have something they call sisu. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win. The Finns translate sisu as “the Finnish spirit” but it is a much more gutful word than that. Last week the Finns gave the world a good example of sisu by carrying the war into Russian territory on one front while on another they withstood merciless attacks by a reinforced Russian Army. In the wilderness that forms most of the Russo-Finnish frontier between Lake Laatokka and the Arctic Ocean, the Finns definitely gained the upper hand. —Time magazine, January 8, 1940, quoted in Wikipedia, at •••

			Executive Leadership Group, Inc. (ELG, “Accelerating Strategy Execution”) creates Human Performance Systems to implement organizational strategy and programs. For over 20 years, ELG’s Assessment, Assistance and Training services have helped executives of small and large companies realize their goals. — Bill introduced me to the concept of “requisite hierarchy” as formulated by Elliott Jacques •••, adding something important to my own concept of freeorder, i.e. balance among designed and spontaneous orders that serves quest. -leif

			Quick reference to our 10 most useful -- based on feedback -- blog articles. If you didn’t see all of them, we hope this list will be useful. See the links below.

			When Failure Leads to Innovation, and When It Doesn’t How leaders can create organizations that fail productively, and then innovate! Part One (http://bit.ly/sw2wNF) & Part Two (http://bit.ly/sYijeT) Organizational Planning & Execution Strategic Assumptions – A Prerequisite to Great Strategies: 10 Tips Good strategic assumptions enable good strategic plans. Here are 10 tips for crafting good strategic assumptions. http://bit.ly/in4BPh The 3 C’s of Accountability The right definition of accountability can help diagnose accountability problems AND find the cure. Here is a 3-part definition that works. http://bit.ly/3CsAccountability Measuring Strategic Outcomes? Instead of Metrics, Try the Bar Bet! Don’t start with, “Do we have metrics?” Instead, lead with, “Are our goals clear enough that we could bet money on them?” http://bit.ly/BarBet Accomplishing More with Less, Instead of Doing More with Less Three questions that lead to less busy-ness and more accomplishment. http://bit.ly/AccomplishVsDo 8 Transformational Levers for BIG Organizational Change Big organizational changes require detailed plans. Here’s an 8-point checklist to help ensure that the “people side” of big changes is included in those plans. http://bit.ly/l8Q8iQ Linking Strategy Execution to Strategy Planning Three ingredients link strategy execution to strategy planning: (1) accountability, (2) project management, (3) innovation. Here’s how . . . http://bit.ly/jP5gMo Leadership Self-Development Slow Courage and Doing the Right Thing Why do some bureaucracies succeed while many others fail? There are endless explanations for this, and we will add one more: SLOW COURAGE. http://bit.ly/jK0wCR Leadership Transition: Leave Your Campsite Better Than You Found It Four ways transitioning leaders can leave their “campsite” for their replacements. http://bit.ly/tui7Sz The Formula for Good Judgment (and The Cure for Bad Judgment) Day-to-day decision-making is based on human judgment. There are two kinds of bad judgment, but combining them nets GOOD JUDGMENT. http://bit.ly/kZZSYF

			The following is from Mary McDermott Shideler’s Consciousness of Battle: An Interim Report on a Theological Journey, pages 196-97, part of the last chapter, “Doing It Yourself Theology”. ——————— Failures of courage lie at the roots of epidemic conformity and doctrinaire nonconformity alike: we permit our integration to be fashioned in terms of others’ integrities by submitting to or rebelling against theirs. Every person has his own style of integrity, his own manner of uniting his temperament, experiences, and reflections into a coordinated whole, and his own way of responding to the call of his Lord. At best it is not easy for most of us to discover our own styles, and when we do, we tend to universalize them. It is hard enough to be ourselves, God knows. It is harder still to free others, particularly those we love, to find their own integrities in their own times, their own ways, and to their own ends. It requires the great courage of great integrity to think clearly and to live in love, and so far as I know, there are no rules upon which we can surely depend, and only one guide — which is not very helpful in concrete situations. He who loves because he knows himself to be loved will be less apt to err than he who loves in order to obtain love. He who has received his integrity as a gift from God will not be prone to overbear the integrities that God has given to others. The courage to keep going, to refuse premature solutions, to wait in darkness, to reject what does not ring true: these only hint at the forms of courage which are needed for living, and therefore for theologizing. In addition, there is one other which may be the most important of all: the courage to make mistakes. Few errors are as disabling as the fear of being wrong; consequently, our sins from timidity frequently outweigh our sins from boldness. Because we are finite and sinful, we are wrong whatever we do. But, also, if we do nothing we are wrong, and what we do may very well be right. Therefore it behooves us to walk humbly on our journey, but also to walk bravely. Common sense. Social responsibility. Discipline. Courage. The exercise of these qualities — which are the cardinal virtues of both classical and Christian tradition: prudence, justice, temperance (as steel is tempered), and fortitude — will not guarantee that we shall know the truth and attain integrity within the truth. They are means for growing and defenses against the most vicious enemies of growth: unreality, isolation, fragmentation, and despair. And they are preparatory exercises for developing the virtues that traditional Christianity has said are the highest of all: faith, hope, and love. The cardinal virtues carry no inviolable promise. Nothing that we can do, however, does carry such a guarantee. We cannot bargain with life, much less with God — at least, not with the Christian God. We can plant the seed, but it is he who gives or does not give the increase, and often the one who reaps is not the one who had sown. The covenant that we make with him by responding to his covenant with us is not a treaty or a pledge, but a decision to respond to Love with love. It is the choice to live by incarnating love whatever the situation and consequences, and we are not told in advance what the consequences will be. ... Do not ask for anything less than fullness of life, or seek anything smaller than truth, or knock at any door that is too low or too narrow for you to enter when you stand at your full height. Fight the good fight; finish the course; keep the faith.

			‘Indeed, the moral universe to which fairy tales introduced him became an abiding metaphysical staple. “My first and last philosophy,” he wrote in Orthodoxy, “I learnt in the nursery. . . . The things I believed most then, the things I believe most now, are the things called fairy tales. . . . They seem to me to be the entirely reasonable things. They are not fantasies: compared with them other things are fantastic.”’ ••• (September 2011, G. K. Chesterton: master of rejuvenation, on the vitality of the Jolly Journalist’s work, by Roger Kimball

			“I think that there is only one way to science—or to philosophy, for that matter: to meet a problem, to see its beauty and fall in love with it; to get married to it and to live with it happily, till death do ye part—unless you should meet another and even more fascinating problem or unless, indeed, you should obtain a solution. But even if you do obtain a solution, you may then discover, to your delight, the existence of a whole family of enchanting, though perhaps difficult, problem children . . .”—Karl Popper, Realism and the Aim of Science (1983) ••• — posted by Yasuhiko Kimura ••• on Facebook

			“Hope is not merely an emotion that comes and goes. It is a virtue, resulting from a conscious, deliberate choice and long practice.” —Mary McDermott Shideler, author of Consciousness of Battle

			Paul Stamets, Mycologist how mushrooms can save the world Paul Stamets has been a dedicated mycologist for over thirty years. Over this time, he has discovered and coauthored four new species of mushrooms, and pioneered countless techniques in the field of edible and medicinal mushroom cultivation. He received the 1998 “Bioneers Award” from The Collective Heritage Institute, and the 1999 “Founder of a New Northwest Award” from the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils. —from bio on www.fungi.com Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world \| Video on TED.com ••• ef glyph 199: Paul Stamets, Mycologist •••

			Ludwig Van Beethoven, Missa solemnis in D Major, Op.123. Never forget the first time hearing this in the winter of 1978, conducted by Arturo Toscanini (recorded in 1953 in Carnegie Hall). This is by Leonard Bernstein, an equally great conductor. —Yasuhiko Genku Kimura, on facebook Beethoven - Missa Solemnis (D-Dur, opus 123) Kyrie ••• (YouTube video of a 2006 performance, Edda Moser - Sopran Hanna Schwarz - Mezzosopran Rene Kollo - Tenor Kurt Moll - Bass Concertgebouw Orchestra Conductor, Leonard Bernstein ‎“THE hope Beethoven inscribed on the manuscript of his ‘’Missa Solemnis’’ -- ‘’From the heart -- may it return to the heart!’’ -- is at once touchingly simple and vastly bold.” — a fine New York Times article by Paul Griffiths, “’MISSA SOLEMNIS’; The Heartfelt Mass of a Humanist,” published: March 07, 2004 •••

			“Mexico: A Very Interesting Talk by General (ret.) Barry McCaffrey” ••• —Michael Yon

			20 October 2011 Mexico: Drugs, Crime and the Rule of Law Barry R, McCaffrey, General, USA (Retired) Presentation to: The US Army War College Center for Strategic Leadership and George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute “The Hybrid Threat: Crime, Terrorism, and Insurgency in Mexico”

			The Ludwig von Mises Institute has made Murray N. Rothbard’s four volume history of colonial America, Conceived in Liberty, available as a Kindle book, for only $9.99 •••

			Farmer Fights Monsanto and Wins ••• — “Canadian canola farmer, Percy Schmeiser, was sued by Monsanto for patent infringement in 1998, after his fields were found to contain Monsanto’s patented GM canola. But rather than accepting Monsanto’s bullying ways, he decided to fight back—and won. In March 2008, Monsanto agreed to pay for cleanup costs.” — Posted By Dr. Mercola, December 25 2011

			Frank Chodorov’s was a unique mind, rationalist and perfectly individualist — worth knowing.

			“A Byzantine Empire of the West?” •••, by Frank Chodorov, 1947 “Who is Frank Chodorov?” •••, by Murray N. Rothbard

			“Christmas — Amidst Despair, Hope” ••• (Quin Hillyer, in “American Spectator”) ‘Nearly a century ago, miles and miles of entrenched soldiers gave us one answer. Many of us are familiar with the story of the “Christmas truce” during World War I. The story is true. Without direction from their superior officers, and indeed against the wishes of some of those officers, soldiers on both sides of the horrible trench lines near Flanders stopped firing their weapons, crossed the barren no-man’s land, sang carols, exchanged cakes, tobacco, even cognac, and in some places even played soccer. Imagine breaking bread and playing games with foreign warriors who, in just a few short days, might well become your executioners. The spirit of Christmas works wonders.’

			The full meaning of regulatory arbitrage is not just the selection of the most favorable regulatory environment for some purpose, but to take advantage of a multiple number of venues and use the lowering of transaction costs via the Internet, jet transport, and other means to create a networked system operating simultaneously in many venues, doing each part of a task in whichever venue is optimal for that particular subpart. Individuals do this on a small scale by, say, living in Washington state where there is no state income tax, but shopping for big-ticket items in Oregon where there is a high income tax but low sales tax. Networked organizations might use a wide variety of venues for complex tasks. —Jim Bennett, Dec 19, 2011

			Labor and Silk, by Grace Hutchins, 1929 ••• — “Hands of Japanese and Chinese girls and children have plunged silkworm cocoons in practically boiling water before unwinding the delicate threads. This process kills the moth which would otherwise escape by breaking through the cocoon fiber. The writer has seen an overseer standing over little children in a silk filature in China, to make them put their hands down into the steaming water with the valuable cocoons. Hands are cheap in the East.” —page 13

			Liberation Capital ••• — “Once you learn to see waste streams as sources of potential value, you immediately understand the vast market potential in converting Waste-to-Value” —Jeff Garwood •••, Managing Member Bio-Conversion •••, by Jim McNelly, Renewable Carbon Management •••

			Agua Via ••• — “Agua Via Ltd is in the process of developing desalination, purification and filtration products based on a unique, one atomic layer thick membrane - the ultimate low energy/high purity technology.” Unbounding the Future The Nanotechnology Revolution ••• (entire book, free, at the Foresight Institute •••), by K. Eric Drexler and Chris Peterson with Gayle Pergamit

			A “masterpiece of supine gloom” by Whittaker Chambers, according to William F. Buckley, Jr.

			It is idle to talk about preventing the wreck of Western civilization. It is already a wreck from within. That is why we can hope to do little more now than snatch a fingernail of a saint from the rack or a handful of ashes from the faggots, and bury them secretly in a flowerpot against the day, ages hence, when a few men begin again to dare to believe that there was once something else, that something else is thinkable, and need some evidence of what it was, and the fortifying knowledge that there were those who, at the great nightfall, took loving thought to preserve the tokens of hope and truth.

			William F. Buckley, Jr. invited Whittaker Chambers to become a founding writer for National Review. In a foreword to Chamber's Witness ••• (review on brothersjudd.com), Buckley recalls:

			‘I made the mistake in one of my letters of expressing exorbitant hopes for the role National Review might play in political affairs. He dashed them down in a paragraph unmatched in the literature of supine gloom, sentences that President Reagan, who was in awe of their eloquence, and defiant of their fatalism, publicly recalled more than once. “It is idle,” he rebuked me, “to talk about preventing the wreck of Western civilization. It is already a wreck from within. That is why we can hope to do little more now than snatch a fingernail of a saint from the rack or a handful of ashes from the faggots, and bury them secretly in a flowerpot against the day, ages hence, when a few men begin again to dare to believe that there was once something else, that something else is thinkable, and need some evidence of what it was, and the fortifying knowledge that there were those who, at the great nightfall, took loving thought to preserve the tokens of hope and truth.”’

			"In the fall of 1949, Herbert C. Cornuelle, president of the Volker Fund, asked Rothbard to write an economics textbook that would present the main ideas of Mises's Human Action to the intelligent reading public. We can follow the unfolding of the work in Rothbard's correspondence, memos, and reports dealing with the project." ••• (the rest of the story, from the Mises Institute site)

			‘“Democracy’ as Meritocracy, Tolerance, and Rule of Law rather than Majoritarian Electoral Systems”, by Michael Strong, February 19, 2010 ••• (Let a Thousand Nations Bloom)

			“A Byzantine Empire of the West?” by Frank Chodorov ••• — “Frank Chodorov published this article in analysis for April 1947. It was one of his most widely read, and Rep. Howard Buffet was so impressed that he put it in the Congressional Record for April 29, 1947”

			"December 8 2011, marked the one year anniversary of Dragon’s first Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration flight. The flight made history as SpaceX became the only commercial company to successfully return a spacecraft from orbit. This feat had previously been accomplished only by five nations and the European Space Agency. We are now preparing the Dragon spacecraft for yet another historic flight – becoming the first commercial vehicle in history to visit the International Space Station (ISS)! NASA recently announced February 7, 2012, as our new target launch date for the upcoming mission. In addition, NASA officially confirmed that SpaceX will be allowed to complete the objectives of COTS 2 and COTS 3 in a single mission." http://spacex.com

			"Two young filmmakers, Jason Sussberg and David Alvarado, are in the process of creating a 3D documentary titled The Methuselah Generation about the science, philosophy, and implications of the coming age of extremely long-lived humans. "It profiles the lives and work of scientists who are attempting to create new technologies that can bring about a new age in human longevity. The four scientists featured in this film include Dr. Robin Hanson, Dr. Aubrey deGrey, Dr. Greg Benford and yours truly, Dr. Terry Grossman and the film explores our ideas, motivations and personal beliefs. "This films asks (and provides answers to) profound questions about longevity as they pertain to human condition, the environment and economics. "The filmmakers need to raise a little more than $20,000 in the next few weeks to be able to take this film to the next level. They are utilizing a web-based donation program known as Kickstarter. "I invite you to go to ••• (Kickstarter) and view a trailer of this important film and then make a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation." —Terry Grossman, Grossman Wellness Center •••

			The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz — on knowing and not knowing ••• (Ruiz' books) — recommended by jl.

			Agreements: "Everything we do is based on agreements we have made - agreements with ourselves, with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are the ones we make with ourselves. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that come from fear, deplete our energy, and diminish our self-worth."

			Hans Rott •••, "founder of the new symphony", friend of Gustav Mahler, Vienna, late 1800s.

			Mahler, said of Rott (from the Wikipedia entry on Rott •••): a musician of genius ... who died unrecognized and in want on the very threshold of his career. ... What music has lost in him cannot be estimated. Such is the height to which his genius soars in ... [his] Symphony [in E major], which he wrote as 20-year-old youth and makes him ... the Founder of the New Symphony as I see it. To be sure, what he wanted is not quite what he achieved. … But I know where he aims. Indeed, he is so near to my inmost self that he and I seem to me like two fruits from the same tree which the same soil has produced and the same air nourished. He could have meant infinitely much to me and perhaps the two of us would have well-nigh exhausted the content of new time which was breaking out for music.[1] 1. Quoted in the liner notes for the Gerhard Samuel recording of Rott's Symphony, Hyperion Records ••• (1989)

			Michael Yon Online Magazine online is blunt and informative. Michael's travels and writing are entirely supported by his readers., and friends of Explorers Foundation are among his investors. ••• (Michael Yon Online Magazine) From the magazine today: "This weekend I spoke for several hours with a retired Special Forces Soldier. Much of the numerous conversations revolved around the terrible Army policy of sending unarmed Dustoff helicopters into combat. These helicopters are emblazoned with Red Crosses. The Red Crosses are intended to alert the enemy that the helicopters are unarmed. The Taliban and other enemies in Afghanistan do not abide by the Geneva Conventions and they shoot at the unarmed helicopters." … continued ...

			Peace Through Commerce ••• — “Peace Through Commerce (“PTC”) is a global, nonprofit, strategic organization committed to creating a world in which all people enjoy peace and prosperity. PTC seeks to end war and poverty by empowering people to lead lives that cultivate inner peace, create businesses to meet their own needs, and learn about the legal and economic conditions that foster peace and prosperity. PTC gives special attention to women and girls entering these three tracks of empowerment through its Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs (“AWE”) program. PTC and its affiliated partner organizations operate primarily in the U.S., Israel and the Occupied Territories with staff based in Austin, Texas and Israel. PTC offers its empowerment tracks to U.S. and Israel based organizations of women.”

			"I Love New York, and the First Law of Journalism," ••• by Claire Berlinski ••• — what's not broken in America and how important it is that journalists cover these things.

			Bill Casey & Wendi Peck, of the Executive Leadership Group •••, have published two excellent articles: "When Failure Leads to Innovation, and When It Doesn’t" — the quest for error and making the best use of it when found is a key principle advocated by Explorers Foundation. Ideas such as these are proving useful to one of Executive Leadership's principal clients, the U. S. Navy. Both articles are on the ELG blog •••

			Vortex Eudaimonia : productive joyful life ••• (includes management, organizational development)

			A vortex is a network of Explorers Foundation research and investment.

			Sarah, at Windward (near the Columbia river) reports on rabbit care and breeding for 2011 •••

			Socratic Conversations at the Gottesman Libraries at Columbia University ••• The spirit of Socrates is alive and well at the Gottesman Libraries at Teachers College, Columbia University. Socratic Conversations are held twice a month, conducted by Ronald Gross, author of Socrates Way, and co-chair of the University Seminar on Innovation in Education (www.columbiaseminar.org). The program is directed by Jennnifer Govan, assistant director of the Libraries.

			Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, March 6-12, 2011 •••

			Ezekiel 4:9 - Food for Life ••• "When sprouting occurs, the grain is partially predigested. This creates vitamin nutrients which help your body digest and absorb the healthy content of the grain. As well, the starches have already started being converted into maltose during the sprouting process, reducing the final maltose content and producing a lower glycemic response." — added this to vortex Methuselah : healthy long life

			Astonishing paper sculptures left by anonymous creators in Edinburgh Libraries •••

			Science House ••• "has a simple mission: bring people together to promote and advance science. We have three primary components: Creative, Capital, Foundation."

			Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science, by Michael Nielsen ••• — "What is the future of networked science and what does it mean? How will the next generation of scientists collaborate? How can scientists at universities and foundations who fund science better align themselves in a world of networked science? How can we encourage a culture of networked science among K-12 students?"

			Ten principles of the Code of the West •••

			Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West, by James R. Owen •••

			Interview with James R. Owen, author of Cowboy Ethics ••• (Wyoming Signatures, video)

			Center for Cowboy Ethics and Leadership •••

			David R. Stoecklein, photographer of the American West •••

			The Virginian, a Horseman of the Plains, by Owen Wister ••• (Gutenberg) — a fine book about ethics.

			The Tao of Roark, by Peter Saint-André ••• — The Virginian and Hank Rearden would like this book.

			EF vortex Mulligan ••• — This web page tracks a few key items in our ongoing discussion of good and bad money and our search for opportunities to do something that makes a positive difference in the supply of sound money. In forge-speak, ef's preferred language, a vortex is a region of research and investment that contributes to the emergence of freeorder (what's good for explorers within each of them and among them).

			A lucid introduction to the origins and workings of money: What Has Government Done to Our Money?, by Murray N. Rothbard, available here as a free pdf download from the Ludwig von Mises Institute •••

			"Bank of Texas continues to be a stable and reliable financial partner. We are part of $24 billion BOK Financial (NASDAQ:BOKF), the largest commercial bank in the country to decline participation in the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)." ••• — their motto, Long Live Texas, and the refusal of TARP money may be related. -ls

			America 3.0: ••• — financial support for the writing of this book is provided by Explorers Foundation.

			America 3.0: the next phase in American history James C. Bennett, author of The Anglosphere Challenge (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004), and Michael J. Lotus (who blogs at Chicagoboyz.net as “Lexington Green”), are proud to announce the signing of a contract with Encounter Books of New York to publish their forthcoming book America 3.0. America 3.0 gives readers the real historical foundations of our liberty, free enterprise, and family life. Based on a new understanding of our past, and on little known modern scholarship, America 3.0 offers long-term strategies to restore and strengthen American liberty, prosperity and security in the years ahead. America 3.0 shows that our country was founded as a decentralized federation of communities, dominated by landowner-farmers, and based on a unique type of Anglo-American nuclear family. This was America 1.0, as the Founders established it. The Industrial Revolution brought progress, opportunity and undreamed-of mobility. But, it also pushed the majority of American families into a new, urban, industrial life along with millions of unassimilated immigrants. After the Civil War, new problems of public health, crime, public order, and labor unrest, on top of the issues of Reconstruction, taxed the old Constitution. Americans looked for new solutions to new problems, giving rise to Progressivism, the ancestor of modern liberalism. America 3.0 shows that liberal-progressive solutions to the challenges of America 2.0 relieved some problems, and kicked others down the road. But they also led to an overly powerful state and to an overly intrusive bureaucracy. This was the beginning of America 2.0, the America we grew up with, which dominated the Twentieth Century. America 3.0 argues that the liberal-progressive or “Blue State” social model has reached its natural limits. Even as it continues to try to expand, it is now dying out before our eyes. We are now living in the closing years of the 20th Century “legacy state.” Even so, it has taken the shock of the current Great Recession to make people see the need for change. As a result, more and more Americans are calling for a return to our founding principles. Freedom and individualism are on the rise after a century-long detour. America 3.0 shows that our current problems can be and must be transcended with a transition to a new America 3.0, based on modern technology, decentralized communities, and self-reliant families, and a reassertion of fiscal responsibility, Constitutionally limited government and free market economics. Ironically the future America 3.0 will in many ways be closer to the original vision of the Founders than the fading America 2.0. America 3.0 gives readers an accurate, and hopeful, assessment of our current crisis. It also spotlights the powerful forces arrayed in opposition to the needed reform. These groups include ideological leftists in media and the academy, politically connected businesses, and the public employees unions. However, as powerful as these groups are, they have become vulnerable as the external conditions change. A correct understanding of our history and culture, which America 3.0 provides, shows their opposition will be futile. The new, pro-freedom, mass political movement, which is aligned with the true needs and desires of Americans, is going to succeed. America 3.0 provides readers a program of specific “maximalist” proposals to reform our government and liberate our economy. America 3.0 shows readers that these reforms are consistent with our fundamental culture, and with our Constitution, and will make Americans freer and more prosperous in the years ahead. America 3.0 provides a “software upgrade” for the Tea Party and for all activists on the Conservative and Libertarian Right. It provides readers with historical evidence and intellectual coherence, to channel the energy and enthusiasm of the rising mass political movement to renew America. America 3.0 shows that our capacity for regeneration is greater than most people realize. Predictions of our doom are deeply mistaken. We are now living just before the dawn of America’s greatest days. Within a generation, positive changes beyond what we can currently imagine will have taken place. That is the America 3.0 we are going to build together.

			Audubon's Watercolors: The Complete Avian Collection, New York Historical Society Edition, from Oppenheimer Editions, Chicago & Charleston ••• — a masterpiece of publishing. -ls

			The essential work of Explorers Foundation is this: Reveal a pattern, demonstrate it's existence, accelerate it's emergence, name it. The pattern that we work to reveal is the emergence of freeorder, of what's good for explorers, within each of us, and among us. Order is the result of freedom, not the cause. — a paraphrase of something said by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865), French philosopher and journalist.

			Creating Libertopia, by Michael Strong ••• (free cities and free zones)

			vortex Openworld : freezones, freeports, free cities •••

			The Stevia Shibboleth (addressed to the FDA regulators) ••• (full article; excerpts from the end of the article below)

			One has to wonder why aspartame, sucralose, and high fructose corn syrup -- all with proven major negative health effects -- are approved by regulatory agencies in the US, Canada, and Europe and are currently in widespread use; whereas stevia is not. Not to be cynical, but perhaps the companies behind aspartame, sucralose, and high fructose corn syrup (G.D. Searle, Royal DSM, Tate and Lyle, and ADM) have a political clout that small independent stevia producers cannot muster for a non-patentable natural sweetener. If that's true, we can be fairly sure that we will never see stevia approved for commercial use in Europe, Canada, and the US until one of those large corporate entities finds a way to patent it. But wait! Forgive my cynicism! Cargill and Coca Cola are doing just that even as we speak! I think we can look forward to an approval of stevia -- in a patented form -- in the not too distant future. Will this version be safer? No, of course not. It will merely have a different name, Rebiana. Oh yes, and Coke and Cargill will back it. In the world of nutrition regulation, it appears that money talks... and real nutrition walks. It's enough to give you high blood sugar, tiny thymuses, brain tumors, and shrunken sex glands! I titled this newsletter the Stevia Shibboleth. A shibboleth, as described in the Bible, was a secret word used by the ancient Gileadites to identify outsiders who were unable to pronounce the word correctly. In a sense, we can see that stevia is being used as a shibboleth by regulatory agencies to separate the insiders (the large commercial entities with major political influence) from the outsiders (the purveyors of all-natural healthy products). And just as the Gileadites put outsiders who failed the test to death, so it would seem our regulators would do the same to manufacturers such as Celestial Seasonings who fail the modern Shibboleth test and pronounce their sweetener: stevia. As I said, this newsletter has been written for those regulators. Guys, as long as you approve aspartame, sucralose, and high fructose corn syrup as healthy and refuse to allow stevia to be used, calling it unsafe, despite all reasonable evidence to the contrary, you will have no credibility among thinking people. It is tantamount to an open admission that approval has nothing to do with safety -- only what's bought and paid for.

			vortex Methusela : long & healthy life •••

			Tiosanno: The purpose of our profits ••• — investment in Senegal: the educational philanthropy of the Tiossano Learning Tribe LLC vortex Cheetah : entrepreneurial Africa •••

			Eco-Fuel Africa Limited •••

			vortex Cheetah : entrepreneurial Africa •••

			Nutrition: Jon Barron explains how minerals are absorbed through digestion and then actually used by cells -- or not. This article is the clearest and best I've read on the topic, and although it promotes one of the author's products I regard it as honest ••• -ls (added to vortex Methuselah : healthy and long life •••)

			"The law which defines jurisdiction of the Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC Court •••) was amended on 31 October 2011 according to the Court's press release. The change in the law allows parties in the region and internationally to incorporate freely the jurisdiction of DIFC Court into their contracts." ••• [thanks to Landon Synnestvedt & Michael Strong]

			The DIFC Courts are an independent common law judiciary based in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) with jurisdiction coverning civil and commercial disputes. The DIFC Courts operate in English and apply the highest international standards of legal procedure, ensuring the certainty and efficiency expected by global institutions. With over 400 cases decided since becoming fully operational in 2007, the DIFC Courts have a proven record of dispensing justice. The Small Claims Tribunal offers users increased speed of dispute resolution, with 90% of cases being resolved in under three weeks.

			"The things people know that ain’t so" •••, by Leon Louw (on AfricanLiberty.org ••• (the team))

			Spreading a message of liberty and free markets across Africa, where corruption and nepotism are depressingly common, is a daunting task - but not for Adedayo Thomas. Thomas, a Nigerian political activist and publisher of AfricaLiberty.org, has embarked on a cross-continent speaking tour to introduce to some of the most remotest areas of Africa to the ideas of libertarianism. ••• (video: Q&A with Adedayo Thomas)

			Free Market Foundation (South Africa) increasing use of Facebook ••• (FMF's Facebook page)

The Tao of Roark, by Peter Saint-André •••

"Millions of people have been inspired by The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand's story of architect Howard Roark and his epic struggle for creative freedom. Yet inspiration is not enough: you need a blueprint for turning that vision into a flourishing life of joy and reason and meaning. The Tao of Roark provides that blueprint. It builds the foundation for greater freedom, dignity, depth, and beauty in life. It reveals the hidden connections between serenity and enthusiasm, passion and wisdom, independence and security, idealism and maturity, practicality and commitment. It shows the true harmony of self and other, inner and outer, the personal and the social. It lights the path to clearer thinking, better choices, greater achievement, and deeper emotions. It honors the sacred fire of individuality. It helps you find and keep the name of your soul." —the website

vortex Eudaimonia ••• — on living well

			TerraPower began as a series of explorations related to many energy technologies. Out of these explorations came an advanced nuclear energy solution that presents a new path toward an affordable, safe form of carbon-free energy •••

			The Lion Rock Institute's mission is to promote free market thought in Hong Kong through: a direct and demonstrable impact on government policy; educate policy makers, active political participants and the general public on the benefit of adopting free market values in building a prosperous Hong Kong; and promote Hong Kong's best free market practices to the world.

			Lion Rock Institute, Hong Kong •••

			"How to Make Hong Kong Uncompetitive", Dan Ryan, April 2008 ••• (Lion Rock)

			Every monopolistic, i.e. governmental, regulatory agency will eventually become an enforcer of rules that favor the largest and best established firms. -ls

			The Champion of Hong Kong's Freedom: Sir John Cowperthwaite, 1941 to 1971, by Christian Wignall ••• Water added to land allows crops to grow. Freedom added to land allows everything to grow. -ls

			The Historical Origins of Post-Individuation Community: James C. Bennett, on Macfarlane ••• — The work of Alan Macfarlane is a treasure house mostly unknown. -ls

			Tarek Heggy's website ••• — "“Tarek Heggy is one of the most creative and prolific writers in the Arab world. His writings probe the political and social limits and present a refreshing message of self-reliance that challenges the prevailing sense that regional ills are largely made abroad.” —Professor Shibely Telhami, Maryland University, USA )

			John Hasnas' proposed thought experiment : 'contemplate what would happen if our contemporary judicial system were altered so that trial judges would no longer “instruct the jury or other decision-maker on the law, but would simply charge it to do justice to the parties,” and “[a]ppellate judges would review the procedural decisions of their trial court brethren to ensure that both sides had received a fair trial[, but] would not . . . review the substantive decisions of the jury or other decision-maker for consistency with the established rules of law .” I suggest that such a reform might, by removing the potential for judicial legislation, convert our current judicial system into a modern equivalent of a system of customary law, one that is likely to produce rules of just conduct.' — from "Confusion About Hayek's Confusion: A Response to Morison" •••, in NYU Journal of Law & Liberty.

			John Hasnas' website ••• — thanks to Peter Saint-André

			Interview with Michael Strong, "Free Cities: The Institutional Roots of Development" ••• (YouTube, 11 minutes)

			Michael Strong's "Free Cities Institute" website •••

			Vortex Openworld ••• (background on free cities: Frazier, Wignall, Haywood, MacCallum, Bennett, Strong)

			Dynamic Periodic Table of Elements ••• — superbly done, worth exploring the many options.

			"Economic Freedom Defined •••," an article by Leon Louw, a founder of Free Market Foundation •••

			"George Orwell could not have predicted when he wrote 1984 that his fictional concept of words being mangled by “newspeak” to mean their opposites would ever become a reality. Well, it has, right here in South Africa. Just as he imagined that “freedom” became to mean slavery in his fiction, so “economic freedom” has come to mean economic slavery in South Africa.(1) That the ANC Youth League has stolen our term is a sick compliment to our success at popularising economic freedom." —Leon Louw Free Market Foundation •••, South Africa, presents solutions to unemployment ••• — 8 November 2011

			Start something in New Jersey •••, a day with Rising Tide Capital •••, November 17, 2011

			An electric drill, a painting ••• ; Logan's blog •••

			Live Free or Die Antique Tool Auctions, Martin J. Donnelly Antique Tools •••

			The Independent Institute is hosting "A Gala for Liberty" ••• on Tuesday, 15 November 2011, honoring Lech Walęsa, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Robert Higgs. At the Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco.

			Lech Walęsa

Mario Vargas Llosa

Robert Higgs

			“A World Without the FDA” by Russell Roberts

			The Dutch Act of Abjuration, or Declaration of Independence, 1581, was an important part of the path to the American colonies Declaration of Independence, 1776. Compare with the Oath of the Aragonese Lords to their King, above.

			The States General of the United Provinces of the Low Countries, to all whom it may concern, do by these Presents send greeting:

			As it is apparent to all that a prince is constituted by God to be ruler of a people, to defend them from oppression and violence as the shepherd his sheep; and whereas God did not create the people slaves to their prince, to obey his commands, whether right or wrong, but rather the prince for the sake of the subjects (without which he could be no prince), to govern them according to equity, to love and support them as a father his children or a shepherd his flock, and even at the hazard of life to defend and preserve them. And when he does not behave thus, but, on the contrary, oppresses them, seeking opportunities to infringe their ancient customs and privileges, exacting from them slavish compliance, then he is no longer a prince, but a tyrant, and the subjects are to consider him in no other view. And particularly when this is done deliberately, unauthorized by the states, they may not only disallow his authority, but legally proceed to the choice of another prince for their defense. This is the only method left for subjects whose humble petitions and remonstrances could never soften their prince or dissuade him from his tyrannical proceedings; and this is what the law of nature dictates for the defense of liberty, which we ought to transmit to posterity, even at the hazard of our lives. And this we have seen done frequently in several countries upon the like occasion, whereof there are notorious instances, and more justifiable in our land, which has been always governed according to their ancient privileges, which are expressed in the oath taken by the prince at his admission to the government; for most of the Provinces receive their prince upon certain conditions, which he swears to maintain, which, if the prince violates, he is no longer sovereign. The above is the first paragraph of the document, available in full at ••• (Fordham University, from the Modern History Sourcebook); and in Dutch-English comparative translation ••• — thanks to Mike Lotus, co-author of a book to be published by Encounter Books next year, America 3.0.

			Explorations Curriculum, Birmingham-Southern College ••• — General Charles Krulak, commandant of U.S. Marine Corps, 1995-1999, is the president of the College.

			From the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean: The Global Trade Networks of Armenian Merchants from New Julfa, by Sebouh David Aslanian, 2011

			Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul Revere and the Growth of American Enterprise (Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology)