New system to protect cities of Planet Earth

 Ever since early man grabbed a stone and hit a beast that was attacking him, the human species was given a gift that supplemented the process of natural selection by which nature made most organisms evolve into stronger and more lethal versions of themselves. They evolved into specimen that could defend themselves better, also pursue more formidable preys.

 

Whereas most animals failed to develop the ability to turn the metal and mineral resources made available by nature, into a tool or a weapon, human beings quickly became the toolmakers and weapons fabricators who did much to enhance life on Earth but also threatened it with extinction.

 

In fact, a study of the way that weapons of war developed over the ages, suggests that the makers of attack weapons almost always preceded the makers of defense weapons. To wit, because it is illogical to defend against something that isn’t there, few inventors spent time anticipating what might come along against which they’ll be called upon to defend.

 

But then, it happened that both the offensive and defensive weapons became so sophisticated and so much more destructive, they were used to fulfill both purposes. For example, a ballistic missile that is installed to retaliate against an attacker, also served to defend the homeland. It did so by intimidating all potential aggressors. Likewise, an anti-ballistic missile that’s installed to defend the homeland, tells the enemy it can attack it without fearing retaliation.

 

And so, the new system of defense I am proposing is meant to diminish the possibility of one side getting so far ahead technologically, it would cause the unthinkable to happen by design or by mistake. Thus to begin with, the system will have to be mass produced – done so by the collective effort of all humankind – and given to all the cities in all the nations, and used solely for the protection of the planet’s achievements.

 

How will the system work?

 

Because it has been impossible for a laser beam to deliver as much kinetic energy to an incoming missile and destroy it in flight (as would a hail of bullets) it was necessary to think in terms of combining the advantage of the laser to create a coherent light, with the advantage that solid bullets can provide, thus produce a non-lased yet coherent beam of metals.

 

The secret to making the system work, lies in the discovery that light exerts pressure on a solid by a process known as the Compton Effect. This is so real and useful, the spaceships of the future are envisioned to sail the solar winds. Exploiting the phenomenon in the construction of our system, we build a powerful laser to which we attach a supplier of metal bullets in powdered form—bullets that the laser will forcefully push out. How is this done?

 

There will be a vertical tube topped by a hopper containing a powdered metal such as lead. The metal will fall onto a lattice that’s connected to a positive current. This will strip the metal of its electrons. The metal will continue to fall onto another lattice that’s connected to a negative current. This will strip it of its positive protons. What’s left will be neutrons that will clump together, attracted by their nuclear force. They will, in effect, contribute to making themselves a coherent beam of metal.

 

The neutrons will enter a chamber where they’ll meet the beam of the laser. They will be pushed out as a hail of coherent metal bullets at a speed that will approach that of light. And this will bring down any and every warhead launched to destroy a city.

 

If every city in the world were protected by such a system, we would all feel better about the destiny of our species. So, let’s get on with it.

Missed opportunities in Brian Mulroney’s saga

 I begin by alerting the readers to the reality that given my age and physical condition, my memory to retain names is no longer what it was, and my ability to put events in their proper chronological order is also suffering. What remains vivid in my memory are the incidents that made a strong impression on me at the time that they occurred.

 

Here is the saga of my give-and-take with former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney who passed away yesterday leaving behind a legacy that historians will see as being honorable given what he accomplished for the country that elected him to serve. But when it came to handling my case and doing me justice, the saga shows a number of gaps.

 

It all began when the talk about the secession of Quebec from Canada was growing louder in the English speaking community embedded in the French Canadian Province of Quebec. Before you know it, a full blown movement by the French separatists of the Province had risen, and was successfully pushing forward their agenda.

 

Despite being let down by Mulroney on two previous occasions with regard to the subject of my persecution at the hands of the Canadian Jewish Congress and the RCMP, I wrote a letter to then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney supporting his position on the referendum for separation that was proposed for Quebec.

 

Letting me down happened once when my member of Parliament was Speaker of the House of Commons. He tried to help me but Mulroney forced him to resign. And it happened a second time when the President of the Unted States, Ronald Reagan pressured Mulroney to resolve my case, and Mulrooney verbally attacked on the floor of the House.

 

Still, to my surprise, Mulroney wrote me a personal letter asking that I get involved in the ensuing debate. I did just that in the hope that it will nudge him to work on my case; one that had seen me tortured for several decades already. Little did I know then that my action will trigger a series of happenings showing moments of great triumph but also moments of great disappointment.

 

The greatest moment of disappointment came to my attention when my writing supporting the Mulroney position, was not going to help solve my problem. This happened when everybody was hanging on to every word I wrote, yet a member of the British Columbia Legislature who wanted to see me take full part in the debate, complained that they were negotiating with a ghost. This meant that Mulroney was going to maintain the demonic wall of silence.

 

As to the greatest moment of triumph, it came when I solved a pernicious misunderstanding that was threatening to sink the Mulroney position. Here is the reality:

 

In French, there are the two words, “distinct and distingué.” In English there are the two words, “distinct and distinguished.” The first word, “distinct” has the same meaning in both languages. There can be no confusion there. As to the second word, it means something different in each language. And so, when the separatists were demanding that the English recognize Quebec as having a “distinct” culture that must be taken into account, the English cried bloody murder, believing that the French wanted to make themselves “distinguished” over the English.

 

When I explained all that, reassuring the English that the French were not vying for supremacy, the temperature was lowered dramatically, and the debate proceeded normally. It is that a great deal had been lost in the translation, and I was the one to repair the damage that ensued.

 

Even people as honorable as Brian Mulroney fear the power of the police state they are called upon to govern.