text:
Cooling of the universe: Hugh Ross's pseudo-thermodynamics revisited
On April 26, 2004 I received an email message which is reproduced here in its entirety:
Dr. Perakh, I recently picked up a copy of your Unintelligent Design and wanted to alert you to some errors. As a brief introduction, I am a graduate student in Astronomy and have followed the intelligent design movement for several years. I find debunking such creationist claims an entertaining mental exercise and overwhelmingly approve of the purpose of your book. On pages 173-178, you discuss Hugh Ross's treatment of thermodynamics in a cosmological setting. You correctly point out that Ross's treatment is not overwhelming rigorous–however, his claim that the universe cools because it is expanding is correct.
Ross makes the (regrettably) common slip of referring to an adiabatic expansion when he really means a reversible adiabatic expansion. Because it is assumed that the universe remained in thermal equilibrium throughout much of it's early history, the expansion does indeed cause it to cool. A couple statements of yours that really need to be changed: on p. 177: "According to the second law, the entropy of the universe increases along with the latter's expansion." This is a misstatement. The second law says entropy increase OR stays constant. The entropy of the early universe, (and I think the latter universe) is dominated by the background radiation which is expanding isentropically. When measured on cosmological scales, entropy is constant.
On p. 178: "The temperature drop occurs because the initial thermal energy of the universe gradually converts…into the kinetic energy of the motion of those clumps of emerging matter moving away from the initial seed of the universe." Again, the cooling is indeed caused by the expansion. The end of this statement hints at some muddled thinking about how the expansion proceeds–matter is not flying apart from some initial center in big bang cosmology. I have a hard time picturing how thermal energy could be converted into the proper motion of galaxies–it makes a lot more sense for that motion to come from gravitational collapses and cosmological torques. I believe Ross has very selectively gone through the scientific literature to pick out bits that support his theology, but his science is usually correct.
By saying his statements are "preposterous" and that he doesn't understand "elementary concepts" when his explanation is much closer to correct than yours greatly undermines your credibility. I would recommend looking into a cosmology text for how the thermodynamics are treated. Peacock's Cosmological Physics is popular, I tend to fall back on Matt Roos' Introduction to Cosmology.
Peter Yoachim"
While I disagree with Yoachim's remarks addressing my critique of Hugh Ross, (and I will show here, why), I appreciate his comments.
The purpose of writing up this brief article is not so much to respond to Yoachim as to clarify fro a wider audience some points raised in his message. If Yoachim seems confused by some points in my book, so may others be, and hence some crude errors in the very popular publications of Ross apparently require a little more detailed explanation. (Besides my book referred to by Yoachim, a similar critique of Ross's misinterpretation of thermodynamics also is found in my paper titled "Intelligent Design For Dummies," which was printed in The Skeptic magazine (Australia), vol. 23, No 4, pp 22-27, as well as at TalkReason; this article therefore should serve as a clarifying addition to all three listed sources).
Since, however, this discussion was set into motion by Yoachim's letter, I'll briefly address his critique per se.
First, note the ellipsis in his quotation from my book, when he writes "universe gradually converts… into the kinetic energy of the motion of those clumps of emerging matter moving away from the initial seed of the universe." Using ellipsis is often a device aimed at changing the contents of a quotation to fit the agenda of the critic. It also is referred to as quoting out of context (although, since Yoachim's was a personal message to me, he obviously did not intend to distort my position).
The full text of the pertinent paragraph in my book makes it clear that I suggested a hypothetical explanation of the universe's cooling - by stating that it occurred because the thermal energy of the universe's "seed," starting at Planck's time, converted into non-thermal forms of energy. As candidates for those non-thermal forms of energy I suggested several possible alternatives - the rest energy of the emerging masses, the kinetic energy of the moving masses, etc. I did not suggest any specific mechanism of the conversion of thermal energy into non-thermal forms, but based my explanation only on the law of energy conservation.
Unless we choose to discard the law of energy conservation (and I am not categorically rejecting the possibility of such an approach, especially if the discussion relates to cosmology and general relativity) we have to assume that thermal energy of the emerging universe converted into non-thermal forms thus resulting in the universe's cooling. This is a very general statement not precluding references to any specific phenomena which could be instrumental in the universe's cooling.
Yoachim writes that he has a hard time imagining the conversion of thermal energy into kinetic energy of masses moving away from each other. This is the argument from ignorance which has no sufficient cognitive weight. We may not know the precise mechanism of the conversion in question, but if we choose to adhere to the law of energy conservation, the mere fact of such conversion is hardly deniable.
Now turn to Yoachim's defense of Ross, who, in Yoachim's view, is correct when stating that universe cooled because of expansion. Let us recall exactly how Ross renders his explanation.
On page 135 of his book Creation and Time Ross writes:
As the universe expands from the creation event, it cools, like any other system obeying the laws of thermodynamics. When the heat energy of a system fills a greater volume, there is less energy per unit volume to go around.
As was mentioned in my book, that statement is preposterous. Note that Ross, in this quotation, refers to thermodynamics rather than to cosmology. Ross's statement does not mention such points as the red shift of photons, cosmic scale factor, or any other points that one may see discussed in the literature on cosmology. His argument is fully within the framework of classical thermodynamics. And as such, it is egregiously wrong.
Indeed, "heat energy" - the term used by Ross which evidently was meant to denote "thermal energy" – is not a substance that can be diluted in a certain volume so that "the greater the volume the less energy density." Such a view could have sounded plausible until the end of the 18th century, i.e. until Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) understood that "heat" is a form of motion. In the 19th century, physics clarified that thermal energy (this concept makes sense only for macroscopic systems) is in fact the kinetic energy of the particles of which the body consists. Cooling of the universe since the big bang has nothing to do with the non-existing effect imagined by Ross - the decrease of energy density when the same amount of "heat energy" spreads over an increasing volume.
Since my task was to show the errors of Ross's discourse rather than explain why the universe cooled, I could stop discussing this point right here without going into the explanations of the universe's behavior. Since, though, Yoachim introduced this question in his letter, I'll briefly relate to it here in a little more detail than I did in my book, my paper in the Skeptic, and in the post on Talk Reason.
First, though, I'll discuss Yoachim's remark about entropy. While in my book I wrote that the entropy of the universe increases along with its expansion, Yoachim thinks that entropy remains constant (the 2nd law allows for the entropy in a closed system either to increase or to remain constant).
Let us turn again to classical thermodynamics (because Yoachim cites here the 2nd law of thermodynamics rather than some cosmological argument). Entropy, according to the 2nd law, can indeed remain constant but only either in reversible adiabatic processes or in reversible cycles. Classical thermodynamics asserts, though, that all real processes in macroscopic systems are irreversible. Classical thermodynamics further asserts that in irreversible cycles the net entropy always increases rather than remaining constant. Therefore, whatever happens in the universe, its net entropy constantly increases (remember that this argument is made without entering cosmology). This led Boltzmann to his pessimistic prediction of the imminent thermal death of the universe. Boltzmann did not know about universe's expansion, which requires a reconsideration of his prediction.
Boltzmann was very instrumental in understanding that entropy is in fact a monotonous function of the number of accessible states. As the universe expands, more accessible states emerge. According to the modern view, at Planck's time the universe's entropy had the maximum possible value for the situation existing at that moment - the embryonic universe was completely disordered. As the universe expanded, two tendencies came into play: gravity worked towards creating islands of order thus causing local decreases of entropy, while expansion generated new accessible states thus enabling a continuing increase of the net entropy of the universe above the level it had at Planck's time.
In regard to the universe's expansion, is it legitimate to say that expansion caused cooling? It depends on the framework of our discussion. Remember that Ross stays within the framework of thermodynamics - so let us stay within thermodynamics as well when discussing Ross's statements. Let us recall that there are many known processes where a thermodynamic system expands but temperature does not drop.
Consider conventional systems such as discussed in classical thermodynamics, say, a cylinder with a piston, filled with a gas.
The concept of a system in thermodynamics incorporates as ineliminable parts concepts of a boundary and of the surrounding. The boundary separates the system from the surrounding. The boundary may be adiabatic - that is impervious for a heat transfer to or from the surrounding. It can be diathermal, which is opposite of adiabatic - it allows a free influx to or outflow from the system, of heat. It can be anything in-between.
Assume the gas in the cylinder expands. Does it mean the gas is necessarily cooling down in the process of expansion (as Ross's assertion implies)? Not at all. The temperature of gas in the course of expansion may increase, remain constant, or decrease. It depends on what happens at the system's boundaries. If there is heat influx into the system through its boundaries (in this example through the cylinder's walls) the gas's temperature may go up despite its expansion. The expanding gas performs work against an external force - in this case the force is the weight of a load placed on the piston - at the expense of the gas's internal energy. If the amount of work exceeds the heat influx to the gas from the surrounding, gas's temperature will decrease. This decrease is, though, caused not by expansion as such but by the negative balance of energies: if no work is done, temperature will not go down.
Indeed, imagine a box divided by a partition into two compartments. Fill one compartment with gas at temperature T and pressure P. Keep the other compartment vacuumed (P=0). Rapidly withdraw the partition. Gas will expand into the empty compartment and this will be a very fast process. It results in the system's entropy increasing. However, gas's temperature remains the same - expansion into vacuum is an isothermal process.
This completely negates Ross's ridiculous assertion that "when the heat energy of a system fills a greater volume, there is less energy per unit volume to go around." (Btw, because of the very high speed of the expansion into vacuum, this process also is adiabatic - which negates another incorrect statement by Ross, as discussed in my book).
In the example with a piston in a cylinder, gas would cool down only if it performed work against external forces - for example against the weight of a load placed on the piston - and if the expenditure of the gas's internal energy on doing that work is not compensated for by the heat influx from the surrounding. In the case of expansion into vacuum there are no external forces - the empty compartment does not exert any resistance to the expanding gas, so there is no decrease of the gas's internal energy of which temperature T is a measure - and T does not decrease.
Since expansion itself is not the cause of cooling - there are many processes where a system expands but no cooling occurs - Ross's assertion, which states that according to the laws of thermodynamics expansion causes cooling, is utterly misleading.
Go back to the universe. Extending classical thermodynamics to the universe requires caution. The concept of a thermodynamic system makes no sense without the concepts of a boundary and of the surrounding. When we talk about the universe these concepts lose their standard interpretation as used in classical thermodynamics. There supposed to be "nothing" beyond the universe - no "surrounding" and therefore no boundaries in a thermodynamic sense. That is why it is often claimed that the universe is a perfect closed system - it does not exchange either matter or energy with a surrounding because there is no surrounding. The universe expands not into vacuum, as gas into an empty compartment, but into nowhere.
If we don't want to easily discard the law of energy conservation - which would be a rather non-parsimonious approach - we have to attribute the universe's cooling to the conversion of thermal energy into non-thermal forms of energy. As to specific forms of non-thermal energies which are beneficiaries of the conversion, their relative contributions to cooling, and specific mechanisms of conversion - here is a space for various hypotheses and models.
In cosmology the cooling of the universe is often attributed to the cosmological red shift of photons. (There seem to be various cases of red shift. One is the red shift of light coming from remote galaxies which is usually attributed to Doppler's effect and obeys Hubble's law. Another is the gravitational red shift caused by the space-time's curvature which is due to the presence of large masses. One more is the cosmological red shift caused by the expansion of the space-time per se. General relativity, however, reveals that all three cases, if explained by the properties of the metric tensor, differ only in interpretations based on various approximations and can all in fact be attributed to space-time's expansion.)
As an illustration, this cooling effect can be juxtaposed with what is called Wien's displacement law. It relates to the spectra of black body radiation. The dependence is as follows:
T= K/λmax
where T is temperature and λmax is the wavelength corresponding to the maximum of the spectrum (i.e. the most common wavelength in the radiation). K=2.898×10^-3 Kelvin-meter is Wien's constant.
In the course of the universe's expansion, the wavelength of radiation increases together with the expansion of space-time (that is the red shift mentioned above). This, according to Wien's law, means a temperature drop. It is in this sense that cosmologists say that expansion causes cooling. However, Ross's discourse has nothing to do with the red shift mentioned. Ross attributes the universe's cooling to its expansion, in purely thermodynamic terms (suggesting a ridiculously wrong mechanism). Since expansion of thermodynamic systems, in general, is not necessarily accompanied by cooling, assertions regarding cooling of the universe because of its expansion, in the form Ross makes them, are egregiously wrong.
From another standpoint, pointing to the red shift and the concomitant spectrum's shift toward lower temperature does not contradict the more general statement which refers to the law of energy conservation and the transformation of thermal energy into non-thermal forms. Therefore, since Ross appealed only to thermodynamics but not to cosmology, and his thermodynamic explanation (of energy diluting in increasing volumes) is absurd, my critique of Ross (which was entirely about his use of thermodynamics) is valid.
Perhaps we might note that the law of energy conservation is not clearly understood within the framework of the general theory of relativity and cosmology. While cosmologists usually have no problem with applying laws of physics, as they are known under the earthly conditions, locally, they face uncertainty when these laws are applied to the universe as a whole (which is connected to the curvature of space-time). The law of conservation of energy is no exception. However, this peculiarity of the cosmological interpretation of the energy conservation law is not negating the explanation of the cooling effect which attributes it to the conversion of thermal energy into non-thermal form. Indeed, this explanation does not require extending the conservation law to the universe as a whole. Acts of conversion occur locally and that is where the law of conservation of energy works in cosmology as it does anywhere else.
Also, the uncertainty related to the extension of the law of energy conservation to the universe as a whole does not mean that the law in question is invalid for the universe as a whole - it only means that there is a possibility that the law in question may need modification if applied to the universe as a whole. Except for some special discussions limited to the narrow points of cosmology, the law of conservation of energy is invariably construed as one of the most fundamental postulates of physics (although the concept of energy itself is one of the least understood concepts in physics).
My main point is, however, that I did not delve into the cosmological problem of the universe's cooling which would require mobilizing concepts of modern cosmology and general relativity, but only addressed Ross's abjectly erroneous, purely thermodynamic explanation of the universe's cooling.
After I shared with Yoachim the above discourse, he sent me the following second message dated May 10, 2004 (reproduced here in full):
That makes your argument much cleaner–now your beef is clearly that Ross went and used classical thermodynamics on the universe without discussing redshift and scale factors and all that good stuff which really needs to be there for the discussion to be even close to correct. You're welcome to post it if you like, I don't mind. Keep up the good fight, cheers, Peter.
I have nothing to add to this message, and hopefully the above argument will further clarify my critique of Ross' errors for those readers who may still need such a clarification.


text:
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text: Back Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Does this test have other names? FSH What is this test? This test measures the level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), an important hormone made in your pituitary gland. Hormones are chemical messengers that travel through your blood. Your pituitary gland is located on the underside of your brain. FSH is made in the front part of your pituitary gland. If you are a man, FSH travels to your testicles, where it stimulates cells in your testicles to produce sperm. If you are a woman, FSH travels to your ovaries to stimulate the growth of eggs during your menstrual cycle. Why do I need this test? You may need this test to find out if your pituitary gland is making too much or too little FSH. This test can help your doctor tell whether problems you may be having are caused by your pituitary gland or by your ovaries or testicles. Some conditions that may be checked with this test include: Ovarian failure in women Testicular failure in men Early puberty in children Fertility problems in men and women What other tests might I have along with this test? Your doctor may also order a blood test that measures another pituitary hormone called luteinizing hormone (LH). LH is also important for normal function of your testicles or ovaries. What do my test results mean? Many things may affect your lab test results. These include the method each lab uses to do the test. Even if your test results are different from the normal value, you may not have a problem. To learn what the results mean for you, talk with your health care provider. FSH is measured in international units per milliliter (IU/mL). Normal results of this test for men are: 1.24 to 7.8 IU/mL If you are a woman, the normal results depend on where you are in your menstrual cycle. Your doctor will help you understand the results. Normal results are: 1.68 to 15 IU/mL (follicular phase) 21.9 to 56.6 IU/mL (ovulatory peak)0. 61 to 16.3 IU/mL (luteal phase) 14.2 to 52.3 IU/mL after menopause If this test is done for your child, a normal result will depend on how the test was done and what units of measurement were used. Many conditions can cause your FSH to be too high or too low. Your doctor will discuss the results of your blood test, what it means in your case, and whether you need more testing. How is this test done? The test requires a blood sample, which is drawn through a needle from a vein in your arm. Does this test pose any risks? Taking a blood sample with a needle carries risks that include bleeding, infection, bruising, or feeling dizzy. When the needle pricks your arm, you may feel a slight stinging sensation or pain. Afterward, the site may be slightly sore. What might affect my test results? Being pregnant or taking birth control pills may affect the results of this test. Several medications may also affect the results. How do I get ready for this test? You don't need to prepare for this test. But be sure your doctor knows about all medicines, herbs, vitamins, and supplements you are taking. This includes medicines that don't need a prescription and any illicit drugs you may use.


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|"be consistent"
comment on
|( #3333=superdoc: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
PMD is a fine place to discuss what to do about translat(ing|ed) tutorials.
Meditations is the traditional (and appropriate, IMO) place to post something that might become a tutorial but isn't currently quite composed as a tutorial (or perhaps that requires a round of feedback before the author feels comfortable submitting it as a tutorial).
If you have something that is written as a tutorial and is substantially finished/ready, then you should just post it to Tutorials1.
So I suggest that you cut'n'paste the tutorial part of your node as a new tutorial. Please add a link from this thread to that tutorial. I wouldn't mind if you actually replaced the tutorial embedded above with such a link, but being conservative when making edits is usually a good idea so you could leave in place or do something "in between" such as 'hide' it in "spoiler" tags to remove clutter for those looking for the PMD-appropriate part of the discussion.
FYI, I would not suggest pasting this tutorial as a Meditations even if you don't feel ready to post it as a real tutorial -- posting three root nodes seems a bit much for getting one Tutorial added. I could see you posting subsequent tutorial candidates as Meditations, but this example and the nature of translations leads me to believe that these proposed tutorials are/will be substatially "finished" and just going directly to Tutorials and making adjustments based on any comments you receive would be the best route.
Thanks for comtributing!
1 Note that this includes follow-ups to proposed tutorials that were submitted as meditations. Putting the original mediation into Tutorials (whether the node type gets converted/"moved" or not) has not worked that well in practice as well as presenting some technical disavantages.
- tye
In reply to Re: Spanish translation of pack/unpack tutorial (location)
by tye


text:
Fr. Scott Haynes
A Soldier Strikes Our Lady
Fr. Scott A. Haynes
The origin of this miraculous image in Czestochowa, Poland is unknown for absolute certainty, but according to tradition the painting was a portrait of Our Lady done by St. John sometime after the Crucifixion of Our Lord and remained in the Holy Land until discovered by St. Helena of the Cross in the fourth century.
The painting was taken to Constaninople, where St. Helena's son, the Emperor Constantine, erected a church for its enthronement. This image was revered by the people of the city.
During the siege by the Saracens, the invaders became frightened when the people carried the picture in a procession around the city; the infidels fled. Later, the image was threatened with burning by an evil emperor, who had a wife, Irene, who saved it and hid it from harm. The image was in that city for 500 years, until it became part of some dowries, eventually being taken to Russia to a region that later became Poland.
After the portrait became the possession of the Polish prince, St. Ladislaus in the 15th century, it was installed in his castle. Tartar invaders besieged the castle and an enemy arrow pierced Our Lady's image, inflicting a scar. Interestingly, repeated attempts to fix the image, artistically have all failed.
Tradition says that St. Ladislaus determined to save the image from repeated invasions, so he went to his birthplace, Opala, stopping for rest in Czestochowa; the image was brought nearby to Jasna Gora ["bright hill"] and placed in a small wooden church named for the Assumption. The following morning, after the picture was carefully placed in the wagon, the horses refused to move.
St. Ladislaus understood this to be a sign from Heaven that the image should stay in Czestochowa; thus he replaced the painting in the Church of the Assumption, August 26, 1382, a day still observed as the Feast Day of the painting. The Saint wished to have the holiest of men guard the painting, so he assigned the church and the monastery to the Pauline Fathers, who have devoutly protected the image for the last six hundred years.
Having survived two attacks upon it, Our Lady's image was next imperiled by the Hussites, followers of the heretic priest, John Hus from Prague. The Hussites did not accept papal authority as coming from Christ and taught that mortal sin deprived an office holder of his position, among other heresies.
Hus had been influenced by John Wyclif and became infected with his errors. Hus was tried and condemned at Constance in 1415. The Hussites successfully stormed the Pauline monastery in 1430, plundering the sanctuary. Among the items stolen was the image. After putting it in their wagon, the Hussites went a short distance, but then the horses refused to go any further. Recalling the former incident that was so similar, the heretics threw the portrait down to the ground, and one of the plunderers drew his sword and slashed the image twice, causing two deep gashes; while attempting a third gash, he was overcome with a writhing agony and died.
The two slashes on the cheek of the Blessed Virgin, together with the one on the throat, not readily visible in our copy, have always reappeared after artistic attempts to fix them. The portrait again faced danger in 1655 by a Swedish horde of 12,000, which confronted the 40 monks of the Pauline Fathers. The prior of the monastery refusing to give away such holy place to desecrators and heretics turned to Our Lady of Czestochowa with 40 holy monks for help. The monks unceasingly prayed and pleaded before Our Lady to have the strength and courage for battle. While they were battling a mysterious "Lady" dressed in blue began to appear on the ramparts of the monastery and she herself was seen loading the canons. The army of 12,000 ran! The following year, the Holy Virgin was acclaimed Queen of Poland.
In September 14, 1920, when the Russian army assembled at the River Vistula, in preparation for invading Warsaw, the Polish people prayed to Our Lady. the next day was the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. The Russians quickly withdrew after the image appeared in the clouds over Warsaw. In Polish history, this is known as the Miracle of Vistula. During the Nazi occupation of Poland in World War II, Hitler order all religious pilgrimages stopped. In a demonstration of love for Our Lady and their confidence in her protection, a half million Poles went to the sanctuary in defiance of Hitler's orders.
Following the liberation of Poland in 1945, a million and a half people expressed their gratitude to the Madonna by praying before this miraculous image. Twenty-eight years after the Russian's first attempt at capturing the city, they successfully took control of Warsaw and the entire nation in 1948. That year more than 800,000 brave Poles made a pilgrimage to the sanctuary at Czestochowa on the Feast of the Assumption, one of the three Feast days of the image; the pilgrims had to pass by the Communist soldiers who patrolled the streets.
Today, the Polish people continue to honor their beloved portrait of the Madonna and Child, especially on August 26, the day reserved by St. Ladislaus. Because of the dark pigment on Our Lady's face and hands, the image is affectionately called the "Black Madonna," most beautifully prefigured in the Bible, in the Canticle of Canticles, Nigra sum sed formosa ("I am black but comely.") The pigmentation is ascribed primarily to age and the need to keep it hidden for long periods of time in places where the only light was from candles, which colored the painting with smoke.
The miracles attributed to Our Lady of Czestochowa are many and most spectacular. The original accounts of them, some of them cures, are archived by the Pauline Fathers at Jasna Gora. Papal recognition of the miraculous image was made by Pope Clement XI in 1717. The crown given to the image was used in the first official coronation of the painting, which was stolen in 1909. Pope Pius X replaced it with a gold one encrusted with jewels to express his love for Our Blessed Lady.
Holy Mother of Czestochowa, Thou art full of grace,
goodness and mercy. I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts,
words and actions, my soul and body
I beseech Thy blessings and especially prayers for my salvation.
Today, I consecrate myself to Thee, Good Mother, totally,
with body and soul amid joy and sufferings to obtain
for myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and
eternal life in Heaven. Amen.
Imprimatur: Cardinal O' Boyle, Washington, DC
Download PDF • 746KB


text:
Spectrum monitoring
Our experience - your benefit
Radiocommunications have become an integral part of our civilization. In addition to the increasing number of human users, there is also major growth in devices and machines that exchange data via radio waves. The demand for additional frequency spectrum and efficient spectrum monitoring is expanding.


text:
This item includes 3 equirectangular high quality skydome/skybox images artificially created in a resolution of 12866×6433.
The spherical cubemap-compatible images are available as Photoshop-files (.psd), TIFF-files (.tif) and PNG-files (.png) and are essential for image-based lighting (IBL), professional rendering, architectural visualisation or for (mobile) games. The images can be used as Skydomes or Skyboxes in programs like Unity to create a sky background for 3D scenes.


text:
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Fri May 16, 2014 - National Edition
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Two opponents in the hotly-contested Arkansas U.S. Senate race joined with officials from a pipe manufacturer Monday to press for approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would move crude oil from Canada to U.S. refineries.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton, who is challenging Pryor, appeared together at Welspun Corp.'s 800-acre campus at the Port of Little Rock, where they called on President Barack Obama to approve the pipeline project.
Welspun Tubular LLC President and CEO David Delie showed reporters 358 miles of pipe made for TransCanada, the company building the pipeline, that's stacked up on 80 acres adjacent to an idle factory.
"If that pipeline was approved, we'd be running the mill right now," Delie said. "This is costing jobs here and changing the business model for everybody."
Critics of the pipeline want the project called off out of concern that it will put groundwater at risk and add to pollution.
The pipeline, 36 inches in diameter and 1,179 miles long, would run from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska. Trans Canada says the line will send Canadian crude oil to refineries in the United States and provide opportunities for growth in crude production in Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas.
A segment from Steele City to storage facilities in Cushing, Oklahoma, is already complete. The line would connect to Texas refineries along the Gulf Coast.
Pryor and Cotton, who are running expensive and bitter campaigns, each said the Keystone XL would provide jobs and a safer way than railcars or older pipelines to transport Canadian oil to refineries.
Cotton accused Obama of "ideological foot-dragging," saying the president is following the wishes of the left in the Democratic Party.
Pryor said giving the pipeline the green light makes sense on a number of levels, adding that he's been "in a different place" than the president on the issue.
"It's by far the safest and most economical thing to do," Pryor said.
An energy efficiency bill was expected to come to a vote Monday in the U.S. Senate, and Pryor boarded a plane headed back to Washington, D.C., after the event at Welspun.
The bi-partisan bill appeared headed for failure after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., blocked amendments on the bill, including a measure that would approve construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the United States.
Backers of the project say they need the bill to end delays by the Obama administration in deciding whether to approve it.
Phillip Wallace of Bald Knob, the business representative for the Pipeliners Union, Local 798, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said the Keystone XL would be state-of-the-art and safer than lines now in operation. He pointed to the Exxon-Mobile pipeline rupture in central Arkansas that forced 20 families in Mayflower from their homes and noted that line was built in the 1940s.
Wallace also said that Canadian oil will find its way to market via rail, which he said is dangerous, or by being sold to other countries. Wallace noted the eight significant accidents involving railcars hauling crude oil from Canada or North Dakota, the most recent in Lynchburg, Virginia. In Lac-Megantic, Quebec, Canada, 47 people were killed last year when an oil train exploded at night in the middle of town.
Delie said Trans Canada has paid for the pipe stacked up at the factory but is using other inventory for current construction. Approval of the pipeline would return to their jobs 220 workers, who are now laid off. He said the company's Little Rock has about 500 people working now, down from 800.
About 50 people will be needed when it's finally time to ship the stored pipe, a job that Delie said would take six to nine months. If Keystone XL is approved, there will be more jobs created to fill needs from janitorial service to equipment maintenance and repair, he said.
Welspun has hundreds of unused acres, which Delie said are available for expansion.
"We're hoping the efforts in the Senate this week will pay some dividends," Delie said.
VIDEO: Case Launches New Ways for Utility, Construction Crews to Work in Tight Job Sites, Combat Labor Shortages


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Studies show that the most common birthday—the one shared by the largest number of people nationwide—is September 16. This means most babies are conceived during the winter holiday season—hey, that's right around now. When else do couples get lucky? At midnight, during spring break, when it rains, and when they haven't just lost their jobs, recent research reveals.
1. Conception rates reach their annual peak in December, with 9 percent of all U.S. conceptions occurring during that month.
August is the annual "trough," with the year's fewest number of conceptions. The University of Texas–affiliated study that yielded this stat confirms similar findings in many other studies showing that most babies are born in late September, while the fewest are born in April. "Biologic hypotheses include deterioration of sperm quality during summer, seasonal differences in anterior pituitary-ovarian function caused by changes in the daylight length, and variation in quality of the ovum or endometrial receptivity," the study's authors write. "Increased sexual activity associated with end-of-year holiday festivities has also been postulated."
Alan Tita, et al. "Seasonality in Conception of Births and Influence on Late Initiation of Prenatal Care." Obstetrics & Gynecology, 97 (6): 976-981.
2. More than twice as many condoms are sold in the week before Christmas than in the week after Christmas.
This sales pattern is "strongly suggestive of an acute increase in sexual activity over the Christmas period," write the authors of the scholarly study that yielded this stat. "The sharp increase in sales in the week before Christmas and the sharp fall in sales in the week after Christmas indicate some stockpiling." The rise in sexual activity during late December "has been interpreted largely in the context of merrymaking. The period from Christmas to the New Year is associated with increased opportunities for socializing and a generally more hedonistic approach to life," the authors write.
K. Wellings, et al. "Seasonal Variations in Sexual Activity and Their Implications for Sexual Health Promotion." (PDF) Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 92 (2): 60-64.
3. People are 17 times more likely to have sex at midnight than at 10 a.m.
A study published in the Journal of Circadian Rhythms sought to determine the times of day at which its participants had sex over a three-week span. The vast majority had sex at bedtime, which ranged from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. "People have sex subject to availability, and when they are partnered, bedtime not only provides that availability, but it possesses a certain amount of cultural coding," says sexologist Carol Queen, author of Exhibitionism for the Shy: Show Off, Dress Up and Talk Hot. "That is, there's an expectation that this is an acceptable, desirable or 'normal' time to have sex. Besides, many people find sex has a relaxing and even sleep-inducing quality, which makes it a logical end-of-day activity."
Roberto Refinetti. "Time for Sex: Nycthemeral Distribution of Human Sexual Behavior." Journal of Circadian Rhythms, 3 (1): 4.
4. When the tax benefits of having a child are increased by $500, the probability of that child being conceived so as to be born during the last week of December rises by 27 percent.
Does the idea of a refund make you hot? "Because the annual tax savings associated with a birth are realized if the birth takes place any time before midnight January 1, parents... have an incentive to time the birth at the end of December rather than at the beginning of January," write the authors of the Syracuse University–affiliated study that yielded this stat.
Stacy Dickert-Conlin and Amitabh Chandra. "Taxes and the Timing of Births." (PDF) Journal of Political Economy, 107 (1): 161-177.
5. While most babies born in the U.S. are born in late September, with nearly 2 percent more being born then than in early April, the September-April gap widens to 3 percent in Alabama.
"The annual spring decline in births may be attributed to interrelated factors, but primarily to the discomforts of high summer temperatures and high humidity. This discomfort...probably reduces the frequency of coition and consequently of conceptions," wrote the authors of the Ohio State University–affiliated study that yielded this stat. The study was conducted in 1959, before air-conditioning became ubiquitous. The September-April gap slims to 1 percent in states with less sultry summers, such as Washington and Maine.
Benjamin Pasamanick, et al. "Geographic and Seasonal Variation in Births." (PDF) Public Health Reports, (74) 4: 285-288.
6. People are 13 times more likely to have sex at night than in the afternoon.
Participants in the study that yielded this stat reported that the timing of their sexual encounters was more about convenience than degree of sexual desire. "They cite family, work schedules, etc., which result in the postponement of sex," Queen notes. "And look how few were having sex in the afternoon! Tragic. This interests me as a sexologist because there's some indication that tiredness can lower the quality of sex, possibly upping the degree of dissatisfaction one or both partners might have about their sex life. Waiting until just before bed certainly has its logic and is the time when sex may be most easily negotiated, but I hope readers will ask themselves whether their sex lives are being experienced at the optimal times" to suit their own needs.
Roberto Refinetti. "Time for Sex: Nycthemeral Distribution of Human Sexual Behavior." Journal of Circadian Rhythms, 3 (1): 4.
7. Sunday is the least popular day for sex; Friday and Saturday are 18 percent more popular.
At least, that's how it was for the teenagers afflicted with sexually transmitted disease whose "coital events" were the subject of the University of Indiana–affiliated study that yielded this stat. "The proportion of coital events associated with drugs or alcohol increased from Sunday to Saturday," its authors write. In contrast with national norms, for this demographic "intercourse was most common in spring and summer, and least frequent in winter."
JD Fortenberry, et al. "Weekly and Seasonal Variation in Sexual Behaviors Among Adolescent Women With Sexually Transmitted Diseases." Journal of Adolescent Health, 20 (6): 420-425.
8. Men who have sex with men have 10 percent more sex on Sundays than on Tuesdays.
According to a 2010 Thai Ministry of Public Health/U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–affiliated study that surveyed men in Bangkok who had sex with other men, 27 percent of those who had had sex in the week before being surveyed had had it on Monday; 23 percent had had it on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday; 28 percent had had it on Friday, 32.6 percent on Saturday, and 33.1 percent on Sunday.
Frits van Griensven, et al. "Sex Frequency and Sex Planning Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Bangkok, Thailand: Implications for Pre- and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Against HIV Infection." Journal of the International AIDS Society, 13 (1): 13.
9. Fifteen to 17 percent of adolescent intercourse occurs between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.
But most of it happens at night, according to the University of Indiana–affiliated study that yielded this stat. Teen sex is "more than twice as likely to occur after 6 p.m. than in the afternoon," the authors write. Increasing the chances of afternoon sex are "an argument with a partner, partner emotional support, time spent with a partner"—and skipping school.
JD Fortenberry, et al. "Weekly and Seasonal Variation in Sexual Behaviors Among Adolescent Women With Sexually Transmitted Diseases. " Journal of Adolescent Health, 20 (6): 420-425.
10. Nearly twice as many people have turned down offers of sex because the temperature was too high than have turned down offers of sex because the temperature was too low.
In the Degrees of Pleasure study conducted for the Trojan condom company, 35 percent of participants said that they had refused to have sex at least once in their lives "because I was too hot," while only 19 percent of participants said that they had refused to have sex at least once in their lives "because I was too cold." It's amazing what a few blankets can do.
Trojan's Degrees of Pleasure Study (2010) (PDF)
11. Eleven percent of women and 55 percent of men expect to have sex during spring break.
And 25 percent of women and 28 percent of men actually do have spring-break sex, according to a Canadian study published in the Journal of Sex Research. The study also examined the sexual behavior of Australian students during what is known Down Under as "schoolies": the week in late November–early December after high-school seniors complete their final exams. "Two-thirds of males and one-third of females expected to have sexual intercourse during their schoolies," reads the report. "About 40 percent experienced sexual intercourse, with 61.4 of these reporting that they had sex with a casual partner."
Eleanor Maticka-Tyndale, et al. "Casual Sex Among Australian Schoolies." Journal of Sex Research, 40 (2): 158-169.
12. Men and women facing job insecurity are 53 and 47 percent more likely, respectively, to experience low sexual desire than men and women not facing job insecurity.
No paychecks? No sex. Unemployment or even the fear of unemployment significantly lowers libido, according to a study affiliated with Switzerland's University of Lugano, which examined the effects of job insecurity on men and women aged 20 to 49 and yielded this stat. "Although preliminary, this analysis also provides indications that stressful events such as restructuring, downsizing, privatization, mergers, and closures could also affect the family or intimate relationship life of workers," reads the report.
Gianfranco Domenighetti, et al. "Impact of Job Security on Sexual Desire: An Exploratory Analysis." (PDF) Swiss Medicine Weekly, 139 (33-34): 486-492.
13. Eighty-three percent of Americans rate rainy days and nights as the best time to have sex.
Well, yeah—because what else is there to do when you can't play golf or drive with the top down? In Trojan's Degrees of Pleasure study, which surveyed adults nationwide, participants pegged the perfect temperature for sex at between 68 and 70 degrees. "Mother Nature really can bring people together," Queen says.
Trojan's Degrees of Pleasure Study (2010) (PDF)
14. Ten percent more 2005 Mardi Gras attendees had oral sex with strangers they met during the festivities than had anal sex with strangers they met during the festivities.
The study that yielded this stat examined sexual activity during New Orleans's 2005 Mardi Gras festivities. Thirty-two percent of its subjects reported engaging in vaginal sex, 16 percent in oral sex and 6 percent in anal sex—in all cases, with people they met at Mardi Gras. The study also examined Mardi Gras attendees' expectations: Twelve percent of women and 45 percent of men "reported intending to have vaginal sex with someone they met at Mardi Gras," while 19 percent of men and 5 percent of women "reported expecting to engage in anal sex." "It's easier to have oral sex than either kind of intercourse, in terms of preparation, location, etc.—particularly fellatio," Queen says. "Many people think of oral sex as a kind of 'sex lite'; it's an easier decision to decide to do it, certainly compared to anal sex. Anal, in particular, generally requires more skill and negotiation—at least to do it right."
Robin Milhausen et al. "A Theory-Based Approach to Understanding Sexual Behavior at Mardi Gras." Journal of Sex Research, 43 (2): 97-106.
15. The likelihood of scoring a successful pickup is considered 56 times better on Friday than on Monday.
At least, that's true in Tokyo. And that's according to readers of Time Out Tokyo, whose 2011 Sex Survey probed for data on when and where Tokyoites do it, how often, and with whom. Asked which day of the week is the most likely on which to get lucky, 56 percent of readers picked Friday, 30 percent Saturday, 6 percent Thursday, 3 percent Wednesday; 3 percent Sunday; 1 percent Tuesday, and another 1 percent Monday.
Time Out Tokyo, The Sex Issue: Tokyo Sex Survey, 2011


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[Breaking the Set] GMO Virus: Silent Killer? | Interview with Alexis Baden-MayerPosted: January 30th, 2013 | Filed under: Genetic Crimes, Press, Research, Video | Tags: Abby Martin, Alexis Baden-Mayer, Breaking the Set, CaMV, Cauliflower Mosaic Virus, European Food Safety Authority, gene, Gene VI, gmo, GMO Labeling, Herbicide, Interview, Organic Consumers Association, Pesticide, Russia Today, Virus |
Abby Martin talks to Alexis Baden-Mayer, Political Director for the Organic Consumers Association, about a recent discovery by the European Food Safety Authority, which found a viral gene unsafe for human consumption in almost all GMOs.
Source: Breaking the Set Youtube Channel


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OLYMPIA — Leaders at Everett and Edmonds community colleges are about to receive a little extra state aid to improve academic programs and restore jobs eliminated during recession-driven budget cuts.
Edmonds Community College will get $712,430 over the next two years and EvCC will receive $697,065 during the same period.
This money is part of a $37 million increase for Washington's 34 community and technical colleges in the state budget. On Wednesday, the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges on Wednesday approved how those dollars will be distributed among the colleges.
"It's really beneficial to everyone," said Marty Brown, executive director of the state board. The extra dollars make up roughly 1.3 percent of the operating budgets at the campuses in Edmonds and Everett.
EvCC President David Beyer welcomed the increase after four years of cuts that totaled almost $9 million.
"The Legislature's decision to restore some of those cuts is greatly appreciated by students, faculty and staff, as we prepare to welcome thousands of students who will take classes fall quarter," he said.
EvCC has not decided how it will spend the money.
A top Edmonds Community College official said he was "very thankful" the state board agreed to allocate the money using the same formula used when they had to make cuts. It meant Edmonds received more because it had taken deeper cuts.
Kevin McKay, EdCC's vice president for finance and operations, said the money will be used to help balance this year's budget, restore "very critical" positions and deal with neglected infrastructure needs.
Specifically, he said the college is looking at adding staffing to serve veteran students, students with disabilities and students utilizing the tutoring center. They intend to hire another security officer and will look at upgrading resources in the library and computer labs.
"These dollars directly impact our students and their educational experience," he said.
Higher education emerged in the prolonged legislative session as an issue on which Democrats and Republicans could agree: They wanted to put in more money and bar tuition increases and they did both.
Lawmakers understood the damage to students of four years of budget cuts and double-digit tuition increases, said Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, said.
"Our overall goal was to get the colleges and universities back to normal baseline funding after several years of severe budget cuts without further raising tuition," he said.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; email@example.com.
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[227 U.S. 8, 9] Messrs. Harlan E. Leach, James F. Williamson, and James A. Tawney for plaintiffs in error.
[227 U.S. 8, 17] Messrs. Emanuel Cohen, Amasa C. Paul, W. A. Sperry, John B. Atwater, Frank W. Shaw, and George C. Fry for defendants in error.
Mr. Justice McKenna delivered the opinion of the court:
Action for the recovery of damages in the sum of $406,881.60, being the total of certain specific items mentioned in the complaint, and for all other damages sustained by plaintiffs (so designated throughout this opinion) by virtue of the facts stated, including all sums that they are entitled to under the provisions of the anti-trust act of 1890 [26 Stat. at L. 209, chap. 647, U. S. Comp. Stat. 1901, p. 3200], together with an attorneys' fee. The grounds of recovery are set forth in the complaint, which, inclusive of exhibits, occupies 150 pages of the record, and seems to make impossible any attempt at brevity or condensation. The case, however, is not in wide compass, and attention may be concentrated upon certain considerations. The contention of plaintiffs in its most general form is that the defendants entered into a conspiracy or combination in restraint of interstate trade, and in execution of it plaintiffs' interstate business was destroyed by defendants wrongfully prosecuting two suits against them for the infringement of patents under which the articles of their trade were manufactured, and by circulating slanders and libels to the effect that such articles were infringements of defendants' patents. A cause of action is hence asserted under 7 of the anti-trust act. The section is as follows: 'Any person who shall be injured in his business or property by any other person or corporation by reason of anything forbidden or declared to be unlawful by this act may sue therefor in any circuit court of the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or is found, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover threefold the damages by him sustained, and the costs of suit, including a reasonable attorneys' fee.'
To justify recovery, therefore, injury must result from something forbidden or made unlawful by the act, and [227 U.S. 8, 25] what is forbidden or made unlawful is expressed in 1 and 2. Section 1 is as follows: 'Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal . . . .'
The acts forbidden are made a misdemeanor. And by 2 it is also made a misdemeanor for any person to 'monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons to monopolize, any part of the trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign nations.'
The question occurs, Do the facts of the case show a breach of the law by defendants and injury resulting from it to plaintiffs? The following facts are alleged: On the 24th of February, 1898, or just prior thereto, certain corporations and one partnership were engaged in making or selling creamery supplies, including combined churns and butter workers, and transporting them in state and interstate commerce. All of the corporations and the partnership were in direct competition in their lines of business, and as the result of it all of the articles manufactured and sold by them were sold at no more than a fair price and legitimate profit. The corporations controlled over 90 per cent of the business of manufacturing and selling creamery and dairy supplies in the states of Michigan and Indiana and in all the states west and in some of the states east thereof, manufacturing the articles in one or more of the states, and shipping by the same common carriers from the states where manufactured to other states, and distributing and selling such articles there.
On the 24th of February, 1898, the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, one of the corporations, and its stockholders, then engaged in the manufacture and sale of dairy and creamery supplies, but not of [227 U.S. 8, 26] combined churns and butter workers, it being as to the latter only the agent for their sale, entered into a contract with the other corporations and the partnership, by which it was agreed to increase the capital stock of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company to enable it to purchase the property and business of the other corporations, parties to the contract, including in the property all patents and applications for patents.
The contract is very elaborate and verbose, but we need not give its particular covenants, as no point is made upon them; it being only alleged and contended that its purpose and effect were that the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company should acquire the property and business of the other corporations, and that while the latter should cease to exist, they should be represented as continuing as separate and independent concerns and competitors in the market with the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, and with one another, while in truth and fact there would be no competition between them.
It is alleged that, in execution of the purpose of the contract, traveling men from the different houses, under instructions from the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, met and secretly arranged the bid each should interpose, determining by by lot and other ways who should interpose the lowest bid and who the highest.
The Owatonna Company was not a party to that contract, but it is contended that it participated in or is brought into the scheme and purpose of the contract by certain agreements entered into by it with the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company. They are all attached to the complaint as exhibits, and may be described as transferring certain patents or the right to use certain patents to the Creamery Package Manufactur- [227 U.S. 8, 27] ing Company. A brief summary of them is given in the margin. 1
1 The first of the agreements between the companies was made April 19, 1897 (that was before the contract of February 24, 1898) and recited that the Owatonna Company was the owner of certain patents covering combined churns and butter workers, and was manufacturing the same, and that, as the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company was desirous of handing the same as sole agents, the agreement was made. It conveyed five patents issued between January, 1893, and August, 1896, and applications for another. There were provisions as to the size, material, and other details; also as to royalties to be paid to the Disbrow Manufacturing Company. And the Owatonna Company agreed to protect the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company from all suits for infringement of the patents, or claims for damages arising out of the sales of the churns, and promptly and vigorously to attack infringers, and to procure patents on all improvements made by it or by any person in its behalf.
There was an addition to the contract, made June 4, 1897, in regard to the repair parts of the 'Winner' churns and the repair and perfection of the same, and the rebate from the billing price.
On January 12, 1898, a supplemental contract was made by the same parties as to the disposition of the royalties received under a license contract made September 30, 1897, with the Cornish, Curtis, & Greene Manufacturing Company, of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.
On June 4, 1898, another agreement was made between the parties which referred to the agreement of April, 1897, and to the pendency of litigation based on the infringement or charges of infringement of the patents with which that contract was concerned. For the purpose of adjusting all claims growing out of such infringement, and settling the litigation between the Owatonna Company and F. B. Fargo & Company, whose rights the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company had acquired, it was agreed that one of the suits which was named, and in which proofs had been taken, should be brought to a speedy hearing and all other suits dismissed.
The Creamery Package Manufacturing Company agreed not to manufacture the machine known as the 'Winner' or the 'Disbrow,' both referred to in the contract of April, 1897, called the 'sales contract,' or any other of a described kind made by the Owatonna Company, but was at liberty to manufacture and sell churns and butter workers of any other construction. Satisfaction of all royalties, damages, and costs was agreed on. [227 U.S. 8, 28] It is alleged that on July 8, 1904, the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and the Owatonna Company brought suit separately in the circuit court of the United States for the first division of the state of Minnesota, at Winona, against the plaintiffs, charging infringement of patents for churns and butter workers. The bills in the suits are attached to the complaint in this action and are in the usual form. Process was issued and the plaintiffs here answered. Upon proofs taken a decree was entered in favor of plaintiffs and against the Owatonna Company in the suit brought by it. It is not alleged in the complaint, but it is in the answer of the Creamery [227 U.S. 8, 29] Package Manufacturing Company and not denied, that it obtained a decree adjudging plaintiffs here infringers of the patents which were the subject of the suit.
It is alleged that the defendants here conspired with one another to commence and prosecute the suits, and that they were commenced and prosecuted maliciously and without probable cause, whereby plaintiffs were caused certain items of damages.
The other allegations of the complaint need not be repeated in detail. They are to the effect that the contract of February 24, 1898, was made in violation of law, to restrain state and interstate trade and commerce, and that all that was done under it was in pursuance and execution of that purpose, including the suits brought against plaintiffs by the Owatonna Company and the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company for the infringement of patents. That prior to the bringing of those suits, plaintiffs had a good and established trade and market for their churns, and were manufacturing and shipping them in the states of Wisconsin, Iowa, and South Dakota; and knowing this, and fearing that such trade would be continued in those states, and be extended to other states, defendants commenced the suits for infringement, and prior thereto and since have written letters and talked to purchasers and prospective purchasers of plaintiffs' churns, threatening lawsuits and actions for damages for infringement of the patents described in the bills, and also threatened suits for injunction, and by this means destroyed plaintiffs' state and interstate trade.
That plaintiff D. E. Virtue and one Martin Deeg were the first joint inventors of a churn and butter worker, and that a patent was issued therefor, No. 634,074, under which they manufactured those articles and sold them in state and interstate commerce except as they had been prevented by the suits brought against them as hereinbefore stated. And by elaborate allegations the patents upon [227 U.S. 8, 30] which those suits were brought are attacked for want of invention and novelty.
That the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company has purchased the property and business of other competitive concerns, and that it has had during the last several years contracts with many and numerous dealers in the articles sold by which it required them to purchase such goods exclusively of it at certain fixed and maintained prices, and to sell only in certain designated territory, the object of which is to secure a monopoly to the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, and to restrain interstate commerce. That all of the acts detailed were done in pursuance of a common scheme and conspiracy on the part of all of the defendants during the years 1897 and 1898, and ever since maintained and carried out, limiting the production of creamery supplies, fixing and determining their prices, restraining trade in them, and monopolizing over 90 per cent of their production and sale, of which, prior to one year before the bringing of this action, plaintiff had no knowledge or notice except the two suits in equity and the contract by which Virtue and Deeg transferred to the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company the exclusive right to manufacture the churn and butter worker under patent No. 634,074 for the period of three years. That they did not know that that contract was procured as part of the schemes of defendants. That they were at no time parties to acts of defendants, and did not know of the wrongful contracts and combinations until after the time limited to take the testimony in the two equity suits.
The defendants answered the complaint, admitting some of its allegations and denying others. They alleged performance of the contract between the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and the plaintiff Virtue and said Deeg, and opposed to the charges of the complaint certain affirmative matters, including two actions brought in the state court. [227 U.S. 8, 31] A jury was impaneled to try the issues, which, under the instructions of the court, found a verdict for defendants upon which a judgment was duly entered. It was affirmed by the circuit court of appeals. 102 C. C. A. 413, 179 Fed. 115.
The circuit court and the circuit court of appeals both decided that the damages which plaintiffs alleged they sustained were not a consequence of a violation by defendants of the provisions of the Sherman anti-trust law. Both courts assumed, for the purpose of their decision, that the contract of February 24, 1898, between the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and the other manufacturers and sellers of churns and butter workers was a combination in restraint of trade; but both courts held that the Owatonna Company was not a party to it, nor became associated subsequently in its scheme.
Of the infringement suits the court of appeals said they exhibited 'a case where two suits were brought, one by a party to a lawful agreement, the other by a party to an unlawful agreement, for the infringement of patents owned by them respectively, and where both parties were doing no more then exercising their legal rights.' And the court declared in effect that it could see no sinister significance in the suits being simultaneous, and said, further, that after a thorough examination of the record, it agreed with the circuit court that there was no evidence offered at the trial "which would warrant the jury in finding that any agreement of that kind existed."
The plaintiffs attack this conclusion in twenty-one propositions, some of which are of very broad generality, and all, counsel contend, are supported by the decisions of this and other courts. It is quite impossible to consider them in detail without a review and repetition of the cases. The view we take of the case makes this unnecessary. The case is, as we have said, in narrow compass. The complaint charges a violation of the Sherman law, and, as a means of accomplishing its purpose, the destruction of [227 U.S. 8, 32] plaintiffs' interstate trade by a malicious litigation of their rights. A necessary element of the charge is the co-operation of at least the corporate defendants in the purpose, and this determines our inquiry. In answering it we shall assume, as the lower courts assumed, that by the contract of February, 1898, the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and the corporations competing with it entered into a combination offensive to the law. Did the Owatonna Company participate in it, or subsequently join it or co-operate to execute its purposes? The question must be answered in the negative, as we shall proceed to show.
The Owatonna Company was a manufacturer of churns and butter workers under various patents owned by it, which articles it sold throughout the United States, and by the contract of April 19, 1897, it constituted the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company its sales agent of them, the latter company not making churns and butter workers. The contract was a perfectly legal one, and preceded by some time the agreement of the 24th of February, 1898, entered into between the latter company and other corporations. There were contracts between the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and the Owatonna Company subsequent to the latter date, but all of them were supplemental to the first one and had no illegal taint, nor did they affect it with illegal taint. It is true they granted rights to the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, and exclusive rights, but this was no violation of law. The owner of a patent has exclusive rights,-rights of making, using, and selling. He may keep them or transfer them to another,- keep some of them and transfer others. This is elementary; and, keeping it in mind, there is no trouble in estimating the character of such rights or their transfer. Of course, patent and patent rights cannot be made a cover for a violation of law, as we said in Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co. v. United States, 226 U.S. 20 , 57 L. ed. --, 33 Sup. Ct. Rep. 9. But [227 U.S. 8, 33] patents are not so used when the rights conferred upon them by law are only exercised. The agreement of the 19th of April, 1897, constituted, as we said, the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company a sales agent of the churns and butter workers made by the Owatonna Company and fixed their list price. The patents under which the articles were manufactured were stated, and it was provided that the Owatonna Company should protect the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company from all suits for infringement, defend the validity of the patents, and promptly attack infringers. This provision is especially urged by plaintiffs as showing a common and illegal purpose between the companies. It has not that quality. It is but an assurance of title to the rights conveyed.
But it is said that the contract between the companies dated June 4, 1898, exhibits knowledge by the Owatonna Company of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company's purpose, and 'fitted into the scheme of the two defendant corporations to get a monopoly in the United States;' and this, it is said further, 'can only be when all of the doings . . . are looked at as a whole from beginning to end.' We cannot concur. We have seen that the contract of June 4, 1898 (inserted above in the margin), was but a settlement of claims growing out of reciprocal charges of infringement, and it has no other connection with the agreement of February, 1898, than that some of the claims were against corporations which were parties to that agreement. It would be far-fetched to say that the Owatonna Company could not assert rights or protect rights because they were asserted or sought to be protected against corporations which had become members of an illegal combination, without participating in the guilt of such combination and becoming a joint conspirator in its purposes. But it may be said that we are considering the transactions isolatedly and ignoring [227 U.S. 8, 34] their combined effect. That indeed would be a fault, but in order to compute their combined effect we must estimate what strength they have separately, and so far, on the face of the contracts, there is nothing to inculpate the Owatonna Company.
But a united purpose is sought to be established between it and the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company by the testimony of witnesses to the effect that the contract of April 19, 1897, between the Disbrow Manufacturing Company and the Owatonna Company, was urged by the president of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, who represented that the acceptance of royalties by the Disbrow Company was better than a continuance of competition. It is not practicable to give all the testimony of what preceded and induced that contract. The part most relevant to our inquiry is that which related to the competition which existed between the companies. A witness, who was president of the Owatonna Company at the time, testified that it was suggested to him and other officers of the company by Mr. Gates, president of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, that a settlement ought to be brought about by letter or otherwise with the Disbrow Manufacturing Company 'so as to get the two churns which were then being manufactured together,' and stated that he (Gates) had had some conferences with the Disbrow Company, and he thought that if the officers of the Owatonna Company would go to Mankato 'there might be an arrangement made whereby that business could be brought in connection with ours, and in that way eliminate the competition that at that time existed between the Owatonna Manufacturing Company and the Disbrow Manufacturing Company.' This object was expressed by the witnesses in different ways.
The president of the Disbrow Manufacturing Company testified that Gates urged that the Disbrow Company should 'stop manufacturing and make a contract with [227 U.S. 8, 35] the Owatonna Manufacturing Company, and let them have all our patents on combined churns and butter workers and other things, and combine the whole business under one head, and let them do all of the manufacturing.' The witness testified that he at first rejected the proposition and resented the manner in which the proposal was made, Gates going so far as to declare, with a profane accompaniment, 'You will do it or we will put you out of business.' But subsequently negotiations were resumed and the president of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company explained that he wanted matters settled, litigation stopped, 'and a new arrangement made so that the whole thing should be run under one head and one control,' and in that way 'control the whole churn business.' The witness formulated the terms, which resulted, after some days of negotiation, in the contract of April 19, 1897. But during the negotiations the witness did not see the Owatonna Company's representatives until they reached the point of signing the contract.
These declarations seem to be very arbitrary and unjustifiable when standing alone, and to have had no other purpose than the ruthless crushing of a competitor in the same line of business. They take on another character, or rather the object of the negotiations and the contracts which resulted from them take on another character, when all the testimony is considered. It will be observed from the date of those negotiations and of the contracts that they preceded by nearly a year the contract between the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and its competitors, and could have had no relation to it. And, besides, they had a natural and adequate inducement. They were an adjustment of disputes and litigation growing out of a contract between the Disbrow Company and the Owatonna Company concerning the very same patents. In one suit the Owatonna Company was plaintiff against the Disbrow Company; in another suit the latter [227 U.S. 8, 36] company was plaintiff against the Owatonna Company, and both suits were based on disputes as to rights or obligations arising from the contract of October 2, 1893. The testimony also shows some controversy between the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and the Disbrow Company in regard to other patents, but the effect of it is not easy to estimate. There was also a contract entered into between the Disbrow Company and the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company on the 19th of April, 1897, settling matters growing out of a contract between those companies, made on the 12th of October, 1896, by which the Disbrow Company made the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company its exclusive sales agent for churns and butter workers, and mortgaged to the latter company its plant. The other provisions of the contract concern the adjustment of the relations between all of the companies under the contemporaneous contracts, and need not be stated in detail. It is clear, then, as we have already said, that what transpired on the 19th of April, 1897,-negotiations and contracts,-had no relation to the contract of February, 1898, and had for their inducement and object the settlement of controversies and rights growing out of the contract of October 2, 1893, between the Disbrow Company and the Owatonna Company, and that of October 12, 1896, between the Disbrow Company and the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company, and the proposition of the latter company to become the sales agent of the churns made by the Owatonna Company. All of this is very complicated in the statement, but is simple enough in the results, and can be definitely estimated as to actual and legal effect. We may therefore sum up by saying that the Disbrow Company, by its contract with the Owantonna Company, did nothing more than confirm or enlarge the rights which the Owatonna Company had obtained, by the contract of 1893, and conveyed to it the exclusive right [227 U.S. 8, 37] in the patents for certain named royalties. This was no violation of law. The Owatonna Company did nothing more in its contract with the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company than to make that company its exclusive sales agent, and this was no violation of law. Both contracts had natural and adequate legal inducements and conveyed rights that could, under the law, be conveyed, and, as a necessary incident to the conveyance, one only of the parties could thereafter exercise them. It may be that the Disbrow Company was to an extent in competition with the Owatonna Company, but it was a competition in part, at least, which, it was contended, was illegally conducted against rights which had been transferred in 1893. But, be that as it may, we repeat, patent rights may be conveyed partially or entirely, and the monopoly of use, of manufacture, or of sale, is not one condemned by law.
It is, however, urged that the infringement suits brought by the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company and the Owatonna Company against plaintiffs were provided for by the contracts between the Owatonna Company and the Disbrow Company, and their coincidence in time is urged as proof of concerted action on the part of defendants and of a conspiracy to destroy plaintiffs' business. The contention is that the bringing of those suits was not a single and isolated act, but was a part of the more comprehensive plan and scheme to secure a monopoly in the United States of the business of making and selling creamery supplies, or, more accurately, counsel, say, to continue and maintain the monopoly already acquired. And it is contended that the attempt was successful in that it destroyed plaintiffs' business. That these contentions are untenable we have demonstrated. The contracts, we have shown, were legal conveyances of rights, and the provision for the prosecution of infringement suits was but an assurance of those rights. Patents would be of little [227 U.S. 8, 38] value if infringers of them could not be notified of the consequences of infringement, or proceeded against in the courts. Such action, considered by itself, cannot be said to be illegal. Patent rights, it is true, may be asserted in malicious prosecutions as other rights, or asserted rights, may be. But this is not an action for malicious prosecution. It is an action under the Sherman antitrust act for the violation of the provisions of that act, seeking treble damages. This, indeed, plaintiffs take special pains to allege, that there may be no confusion about the right or grounds or extent of recovery. The testimony shows that no wrong whatever was committed by the Owatonna Company, and the fact that it failed in its suit against plaintiffs does not convict it of any.
This is enough to dispose of the case, for the foundation of the complaint is that the defendants entered into a contract or combination in restraint of trade which caused damage to plaintiffs; and the guilt of the individual defendants and of the two corporations and of all of their officers, servants, and stockholders, is very carefully alleged. It was in this aspect that the case was tried.
But plaintiffs urge that the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company was of itself a combination offensive to the statute, and that they were entitled to go to the jury as to that company. But the contention was not made in the circuit court nor was it made in the circuit court of appeals. The case was tried and ruled upon, as we have seen, on the ground of the co-operation of the defendants in a scheme of monopoly and restraint of trade. There was no liability asserted in the circuit court or in the circuit court of appeals against one of the defendants separately from the others. Concert and co-operation was asserted against all, and a ruling was not invoked as to the separate liability of either. One Frank LaBare was a party defendant, and as to him plaintiffs made a motion that 'the case be dismissed and dropped.' The court denied the [227 U.S. 8, 39] motion for some reason, and then plaintiffs' counsel said: 'We desire to proceed with the case as against the defendants, the Owatonna Manufacturing Company and the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company.' The plaintiffs then offered to prove that they had not infringed the patents sued on by the defendants. It is manifest, therefore, that the separate liability of the Creamery Package Manufacturing Company is an afterthought and urged in this court for the first time.
There are twenty-seven errors assigned upon offers of testimony excluded or upon other rulings of the circuit court. These we have examined and find that, in the view taken by the courts below of the case and that which we take, there was no error of substance committed.
Judgment affirmed.
On January 1, 1903, another agreement was entered into between the parties which disposed of and adjusted rights and contentions as to patents for a machine called a pasteurizer and cream ripener. By an agreement made January 1, 1903, the prices provided for in the sales contract were changed in certain particulars.
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Citation: 227 U.S. 8
Docket No: No. 80
Decided: January 20, 1913
Court: United States Supreme Court
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Newcomers who want to be immersed in a world that they don't already know the rules of may find that the ability to find new corners of an ever-expanding universe is a major source of appeal for all readers, old and new. If anything, The Brave and The Bold hedges its bets too much by not further plunging its audience into the characters' recognizable quirks, as Justice League Unlimited did. That might be because The Brave and the Bold doesn't target an adult audience as much as Justice League Unlimited did. Then again, The Brave and the Bold has caught on largely because it's been able to capture the attention of both adults and children, as opposed to something like the abysmal The Batman. DC Animation knows that in order to succeed, its shows need to straddle a line between kid-friendly and more sophisticated narratives. The Brave and the Bold achieves that balance nicely.
Furthermore, The Brave and the Bold's underlying laissez faire attitude towards jokey allusions makes sense given that the context of the show is the Silver Age of comics. The period from the mid '60s to about 1970 is now largely remembered for its anything-goes flamboyance. Tonight's episode, "Battle of the Superheroes," is a perfect example of how the show often capably utilizes that ethos to enrich its stand-alone team-up story structure with a welcome abundance of humor.
The cold opening vignette that kicks off "Battle of the Superheroes" serves both as a perfect rallying point for old fans and a mission statement for new viewers that are unfamiliar with the show. In this scene, Batman and Robin duke it out with King Tut, a villain most famous for being one of the melange of baddies in the Adam West-era Batman series. This fight scene succeeds at satisfying both halves of its audience: Arrested adolescents will get a kick out of the Adam West reference, and everyone else should enjoy the light-hearted but action scene-intensive scene in and of itself. After all, Batman is fighting a bad guy that shoots "Pharaoh Ray" laser beams that zombify their victims, practically the textbook definition of endearingly daft overkill.
Furthermore, the dynamic duo foil Tut's attempt at robbing a bank by wearing buttermilk-soaked bandages, as buttermilk is apparently the only substance that's impervious to Pharaoh Rays. Here, the show emulates the matter-of-factness of the Silver Age comics it takes after: Exposition is liberally used to remind us of how over-the-top the already silly scenario is. After that, the episode's first scene ends with yet another reminder of the difference between Silver Age Batman and the Batman of contemporary comics: He and Robin allow themselves to be photographed by reporter Vicky Vale. This Caped Crusader doesn't hide in the shadows but, rather, poses for his public.
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