Category Archives: Current History

“Net Neutrality” and The New Enclosure (Part I)

Those of us who oppose allowing Internet service providers to impose tolls on users wanting to use higher broadband transmission speeds are rowing upstream.  This is not only because powerful interests—among them, AT&T, Verizon, and cable companies—want to exploit U.S. policy’s current treatment of Internet access as a commercial commodity, rather than a public utility. […]

July 14, 2014 – 4:43 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, History of Ideas, Intellectual Property, Open Systems, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

The New Enclosure (Part III)

  Discussions of patent policy in the United States and elsewhere often overlook the fact that the original intent of issuing patents (not to be confused with sovereign-granted commercial privileges) was to encourage the disclosure and spread of novel devices to stimulate manufacturing and trade.  The earliest patents (such as those awarded by the Republic […]

July 14, 2014 – 4:41 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Intellectual Property, Open Systems, Science and Engineering in the Law, Science and Policy, Technology in US Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Senator Rubio’s Mistake

An astronomer writing in Slate recently takes Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) to task for being unable (or unwilling?) to give the astronomers’ answer to a reporter’s question, posed during a press interview, about the age of the Earth.  After noting that the question has nothing to do with the proper subject of the interview, Rubio […]

December 4, 2012 – 5:31 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Art and Culture, Current History, History of Ideas, Politics, Science and Policy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Ten Tips for the 53%

In a recent letter to the editor of the local newspaper a reader supports Mr. Romney’s assertion that 47% of the American public depends on federal benefits, and therefore undeserving of the presidential candidate’s concern.  The letter writer then shares with us his pride at being part of the other 53%, Without mentioning national defense […]

October 27, 2012 – 5:23 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Politics, Science and Policy, Technology in US Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Maine: The Costs of “Political Speech”

In its article on forced ‘disappearance’ to eliminate political opposition, Wikipedia lists no less than 22 countries where ruling parties have resorted to this practice.  Among the better known are Argentina and Chile, under the regimes of Jorge Rafael Videla (1976-1981) and Augusto Pinochet (1976-1981), respectively. As a means of eliminating unwelcome political speech, ‘disappearing’ […]

October 17, 2012 – 10:33 am | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Open Systems, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Maine Votes – 2012 *

If we’re not too dismayed by the nature of our politics when November 6 rolls around, we may be able to summon enough hope to go to the polls to elect candidates equipped to tackle today’s complex policy issues.   What to do about the “creative destruction” of work for a huge sector of our job […]

July 21, 2012 – 4:36 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Why Dieting is Hard for Uncle Sam

Whether devout or passionate, “severe” conservatives (as republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney styled himself), assert a belief that the private sector should command all economic activity, while the public sector is reduced to as close to nothing as possible.  Here is Mr. Romney on his rival Rick Santorum: “Sen. Santorum is a nice guy, but […]

April 11, 2012 – 2:55 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Current History, History of Ideas, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

The Matthew Effect *

Whatever else the “Occupy” movement accomplishes, it has already popularized the fact–known for a decade to those who pay attention to such things–that the rich in the U.S. are getting richer, while the chasm between them and nearly everyone else is becoming wider, really wider. The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics notes that “the most careful […]

January 20, 2012 – 5:51 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Art and Culture, Current History, History of Ideas, Science and Engineering in the Law, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Berlin: Then and Now, Part I

On the wall in my writing area is a small black and white photo of two adults dressed in 1940’s era clothes.  The woman wears a dark dress with a large white scalloped collar.  Her head is crowned with a rakish hat.  He wears a double-breasted suit and a fedora.  She smiles proudly.  His serious […]

April 23, 2011 – 3:37 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Art and Culture, Current History, History of Ideas | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Berlin, Then and Now: Part II

The tourist buses that unload passengers at the Pergamon Museum and Check Point Charlie rarely stop at the Maerkisches Ufer (quay) of the Spree Canal.  Here reign peace and quiet accompanied by the gentle slip slap of water on the sides of old river barges.  Showing their age, a few barges have been turned by […]

April 21, 2011 – 12:21 pm | By Sylvia Kraemer | Posted in Art and Culture, Current History, History of Ideas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)