The World Is Getting Smaller

World on a string: Breakthrough fiberoptic cable 2,500X faster than fastest internet time

RT

Published October 28,

AFP Photo / Stan Honda

Imagine downloading your favorite flick in 31 thousandths of a second. Such insane internet speeds are now a reality, with researchers rolling out a 255 terabits per second fiberoptic network which could transport the entire Internet on a single cable.

The cable, the joint effort of Dutch and US scientists, is 2,550 times faster than the fastest single-fiber links in commercial operation today.

In real terms, it could transfer a 1 GB movie in 0.03 milliseconds or the entire contents of your 1 terabit hard drive in about 31 milliseconds.

At this speed, a single fiber optic cable could theoretically carry the all the data on the internet at peak times.

But how does it work?

Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of Central Florida employed a well-known but still cost-prohibitive technology; multi-mode fiber.

Normal fibre optic cables contain thousands of strands of glass or plastic fibre which are slightly thicker than the thread of a needle. These fibers can, in essence, only carry the light for a single laser.

The multi-mode fiber used by the researchers in contrast, has seven distinct cores in a hexagonal shape which are able to carry just as many distinct signals at one time. What’s more, they are squeezed down into the size of the same kind of fiber optic cables used to support the current transatlantic internet cables.

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In layman’s terms, it is something akin to a one way road being stretched out into a seven lane highway. This seven lane highway is then stretched into a multi-tier freeway, much like the so-called LA 'Stack'. Except in this case, it’s like a seven lane, multi-story drag race, with all the power from the individual vehicles being directed into a single source.

Researchers said that this new type of optical fibre is like "allowing 21 times more bandwidth than currently available in communication networks," which is 4-8 Terabits per second standard.

Moreover, the researchers have introduced "two additional orthogonal dimensions for data transportation - as if three cars can drive on top of each other in the same lane."

In their test, the researchers managed to reach speeds of 5.1 terabits for each of the seven carriers. Then, by using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), which allows a number of optical carrier signals onto a single optical wire, they managed to cram 50 carriers down the seven cores, reaching the massive 255 terabit per second speed.

Measuring less than 200 microns in diameter, the new fiber does not take noticeably more space than conventional fibres already deployed, Dr. Chigo Okonkwo who led the work explained.

“These remarkable results, supported by the European Union Framework 7, MODEGAP, definitely give the possibility to achieve petabits per second transmission, which is the focus of the European Commission in the coming seven-year Horizon 2020 research program,” Okonkwo said.

Research results were recently published in the journal Nature Photonics.

While the technology for multi-mode fiber is in place, the price tag on replacing the millions of miles of existing cables could put the upgrade off for decades.

But with the mind-blistering implications of a world wide web operating at thousands of times its current maximum speed, the cost of holding off on the upgrade for too long may be incalculable.

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Right To Water "Local Demonstrations Nationwide 01/11/14"

The Truth About The Money In Irish Water

Yesterday, by coincidence, one of the national newspapers reported that the “regulator” has confirmed that the water (tax) bills for families will reach €600 when the government end their subvention to Irish Water in the form of free water allowances.

I have been looking at the numbers over the past few days and the math is quite simple … and unfortunately the headline is perfectly accurate.

THE FIGURES

In Ireland, water authorities supply 1.6 million ltrs of water every day for users.  That equates to 584,000 million ltrs annnually.

(Engineers of Ireland Report 2011)

The average daily consumption per person is 150 ltrs.  That equates to total personal consumption of 251,207 million ltrs annually.

(Census 2011 and other sources)

Of the 584,000 million ltrs supplied, 41% is “lost” through deteriorating infrastructure.  That’s 239,440 million ltrs wasted.  Leaving 93,353 million ltrs for commercial consumption.

We have a population of 4,588,252 people. There are 1,658,243 households.  (Census 2011)

251,207 million ltrs divided by 1,658,243 households equates to a usage figure of 151,490 ltrs per year per household.

A family with two children under the age of 18 will get total allowances of 72,000 ltrs.  (30,000 household allwance and 21,000 for each of the children)

The amount of water billable by Irish Water will therefore be 79,490 ltrs.

At € 4.88 /000 ltrs the water bill will be € 388.  The total revenue to Irish water from customers will therefore be € 643 million pa.

Irish Water will also get € 351 from the government for the water that is supplied ‘free’.  This adds up to € 583 million pa and will be payed from the € 1.2 billion that you will STILL be paying to the government for water through general taxation including the 5% on motor tax and 2% on VAT which they have not given you back despite setting up a company to make you pay for water…

Irish Water total revenue then will be … € 1.2 billion … exactly the figure that the government says it costs to supply water (Dept of Finance Budget estimates. € 715m operating cost and € 500m Capital Expensditure)

That’s an important phrase to remember … Irish Water and the government clearly say that they are supplying your water AT COST!

In 2015 the public will therefore pay € 1.2 billion to the Irish government (no change to taxation which would have actually transferred the taxation revenue to Irish Water) … PLUS … € 643m paid directly to Irish Water, excluding revenue from Call Outs and other Service Charges.

So when the government said that people havee to pay for water, what they have actually done is increase the price of water by 50%.

PRIVATISATION

When Irish Water is privatised a number of things will happen.

Firstly, The government will no longer be able to provide a subsidy to a private company for the ‘free’ water you have been getting in allowances.

The new owner’s (VEOLIA) shareholders won;t be happy with their company supplying product free-of-charge to customers so the cost of the subsidy will IMMEDIATELY be passed to the consumer.

Your bill of € 388 will now be a bill of € 739.

but that’s only half the story…

The second thing that happens is that VEOLIA will have no interest in supplying a product AT COST!

Remember?  It costs € 1.2bn to supply the water, and the company wil be getting € 1.2bn in revenue.

That means only one thing … cost cutting and price increases.

Shareholders will be looking for decent return on their investment … anything from 5 to 10%.  I’ve no idea what that will mean in terms of retail price but it at 5%, your bill will then be close to € 800.

On the cost side, the € 500m that is spent annually on Capital Expenditure by the government (improving the system to make Irish Water a more saleable asset) will be cut by the new owners to generate significant increases in profit.  That means the user will have to pay for repairs, new installations (new housing estates, factories etc).

THE HIDDEN VALUE

Irish Water today is a legal entity charged with the collection of tax for the water supplied.  When VEOLIA buy the company they won’t simply be buying a company with annual revenue of between € 1.2bn and € 1.3bn (excluding other income from call-outs, service charges and other work), they will have sole and clear rights to the fresh water natural resource of our country.

Can we put a figure on that?

Yes.

We use 2% of our fresh water resources. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland)

That is verifiable with some rough math : (584,000 million ltrs supplied to users from a total annual rainfall of 84 trillion ltrs allowing for 50% evaporation etc.)

If we use 2% of our fresh water resource, worth € 1.2bn, it means that we are sitting on an unused asset with a value of € 64bn.    And remember … that is not a finite asset value like an oil field or a coal mine which can be exhausted.  That is an unlimited, inexhaustible ANNUAL REVENUE value of € 64 bn for as long as rain falls on earth.

Of course that’s a virtual figure.  We could never access 100% of our surface and ground water.  However, a company like VEOLIA, which has annual revenues of € 30bn worldwide (the Irish government has annual tax revenue of € 30 bn), has the resources to access potentially 5% of that asset.

VEOLIA won’t be buying a company with annual revenue of € 1.2bn from Irish customers, they’ll be buying a company with potential global sales of € 2bn to € 3bn.

Demand for water is predicted to increase by 40% up to 2050.  85 % of the world’s population live in the driest parts of the planet and the popluation of the planet is expected to increase by approx. 3 billion people by 2050.

Water will become an even more valuable resource than oil.  It is a raw material for a multi-billion euro industry that doesn’t have to be mined, drilled (in Ireland most of our water comes from surface water), manufactured, grown or synthesised.  It falls out of the sky.  For free.

If you owned a business that got it’s primary raw material for free you’d have a very profitable business.  Or a very wealthy country.

Which would you prefer?

When our fresh water rights have been ‘sold’ to VEOLIA, our rights to use our lakes and rivers will be revoked.  We will no longer be able to fish or enjoy other activities without permits because we will be trespassing on priivate property.  VEOLIA are a corporate entity with no regard for ‘rights’.  VEOLIA have significant business interests in Egypt and at this moment are suing the Egyption government in the courts because the Egyptian government raised the national minimum wage … cutting into VEOLIA’s profits.

Irish Water has been setup by the government to do one thing: take more tax from Irish people to pay Bond Holders.  Reported previously in the press but requiring confirmation since October: Irish Water will be allowed to retain profits for 6 years before they pass any benefit back to the consumer.  That means all revenue can be used to repay the interest on Bond Debt ( € 8 bn in 2015).

Once the government have deemed that purpose to have been fulfilled privatisation will be swift and final.  Then they will claim they have ‘no power’ to interfere in the operations of a private company…

By Paul Madden (Facebook)

Alt Ireland Radio

Local Demonstrations, Portlaoise and Portarlington @ 2pm 1/11/2014

Sinn Fein Mountmellick – Serving The Community

Irish Farmers "Be Informed & Be Cautious"

GMO backlash: Syngenta faces mounting lawsuits over genetically-modified seeds

RIA Novosti / Katerina Sovdagari

RT

Published time: October 21, 2014 15:43

Edited time: October 21, 2014 16:40

 Agribusiness giant Syngenta AG now faces lawsuits from farmers in 11 US states claiming the seed-and-chemical company’s sale of a genetically-engineered variant of corn yet to receive approval in China depressed market prices for the grain.

At issue is Syngenta’s 2009 release and distribution of its MIR162 genetically-modified corn known as Agrisure Viptera, which is engineered to fend off certain insects known to decimate corn crops. While approved for use in the United States, Chinese regulators have yet to sanction the export of Viptera.

Last November, China began rejecting US corn shipments based on the existence of Viptera leading to more than $1 billion in damages for US farmers, plaintiffs in 11 states have alleged in various lawsuits filed in federal courts in recent weeks. RT reported earlier this month on three of these lawsuits against Switzerland-based Syngenta.

Farmers in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi joined the fray last week, as plaintiffs aim to reach class-action status with their combined suits, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Different varieties of wild or experimental peppers are displayed on a tablein a greenhouse, part of a global center which selects vegetable and fruit seeds, owned by global Swiss agribusiness Syngenta AG, in Sarrians, southeastern France. (AFP Photo / Sandra Laffont)

A lawsuit filed in Iowa alleged that the release of Syngenta’s Viptera caused the US-to-China corn export market to fall by 85 percent. "Syngenta's decision to bring Viptera to the market crippled the 2013-14 corn export market to China," plaintiffs in Nebraska stated in their own suit.

Plaintiffs have accused the company of engaging in willful misrepresentation. Syngenta has claimed that "the vast majority of corn produced in the US is used domestically," plaintiffs have alleged, and that exports are not as important, though the US Department of Agriculture says 20 percent of corn produced in the US is exported.

Syngenta has maintained that it is not at fault for the plunge in corn prices, that it has always been open about Viptera’s approval status, and that the Chinese government should not be able to tell US farmers what corn they can grow.

“We continue to believe that [we have] complied with all the laws, rules and regulations of the countries in which we’re selling the product,” John Ramsay, Syngenta’s chief financial officer, said Thursday during a conference call, according to the Wall Street Journal.

John Ramsay, Chief Financial Officer, of Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta (AFP Photo / Shaun Curry

Viptera has been sold legally to farmers in the US, Argentina, and Brazil since 2011. The GMO 

strain of corn is said to heighten protection against the likes of black cutworms and corn earworms.

James Pizzirusso, a partner at Hausfeld LLP, a law firm involved in some of the suits against Syngenta, echoed accusations that the company has not been transparent with Viptera and its status in Beijing.

“Syngenta should not have marketed and aggressively promoted Viptera while misrepresenting that Chinese approval was imminent and also downplaying the importance of the Chinese export market,” Pizzirusso said, according to the Wall Street Journal.

In addition to the at least $1 billion in damages, the farmers seek an end of the cultivation and marketing of Viptera.

Though Viptera has been planted on only about three percent of US farm acreage, it is difficult to say for sure "that any shipments of US corn will not be contaminated with trace amounts of MIR162," the Nebraska plaintiffs said in their suit filed earlier this month.

The commingling of corn from various sources at corn distribution centers is “essentially impossible," according to the Iowa complaint, which cited other major grain companies Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill Inc., which do not accept Viptera.

Syngenta has been encouraged by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) to stop selling Viptera, according to the Iowa claim. The NGFA has estimated that actions taken in China against US corn have caused prices to drop by 11 cents per bushel.

In April, the NGFA, a trade organization for grain elevators, reported that China had barred nearly 1.45 million tons of corn shipments since 2013, resulting in about $427 million in lost sales.

The US Department of Agriculture building (AFP Photo / Saul Loeb)

The farmers’ lawsuits join cases filed by Cargill and Trans Coastal Supply Co., grain exporters that also blame Syngenta for the loss of tens of millions of dollars based on Chinese rejection of GMO corn.

In 2011, Syngenta requested in federal court that a grain elevator firm, Bunge North America, remove signs that said it would not accept Viptera-variety corn. The request was denied in 2012.

Yet on Monday, a federal appeals court revived a false advertising claim in Syngenta’s lawsuit against Bunge, sending the claim back to a lower court for review.

The US Department of Agriculture expects 10 states to set records for corn production this year, though high productivity will likely lead to lower prices.

Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community