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Simply irresistable...as the song goes! LOL!
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She's so fine there's no tellin' where the money went.
A New Political Lexicon
By Bill Zide
t r u t h o u t / Perspective
Thursday 19 May 2005
It is necessary, as we begin a long debate and political engagement with the right, to completely define the terms and language of the discourse. If we control and dictate the actual terminology, then we will control the debate itself. This is what the right has worked hard to do for some thirty years, and they have been very successful. If you have any doubt, you need only consider the term "abortion clinic," a term now commonly used by the so-called liberal media/mainstream press (including NPR) who, you will find, do not exist - and never have. The term is of course loaded and false but, like "pro-life," effective at distracting from the real issues (which is the intent). If we debate using their terms and their language, we will lose. They have learned to understand language and its power to couch and control the argument.
This is only a rough, in-progress lexicon. It is not a final, official work or a rulebook, but merely hopes to create a starting point from which to launch an effective and dynamic political language of the left, a language in which to frame the debate as a whole. We must realize that the GOP didn't accomplish having their terminology used by the media and public without a concentrated and prolonged effort. They made sure their terminology was repeated ad nauseum until the media adopted it one way or another. We must do the same. We must refuse to use the GOP's terms and language. We should only respond to them using our own. We must correct the media, when it uses loaded right-wing terms, each time and in every case. We must be vigilant, definite, resolute and relentless.
Before proceeding to the list below, it is crucial to understand where we are starting from and how we need to see ourselves. Similarly, we must understand the concept that most defines the right. All that follows must be seen through these two distinct lenses.
All of what we are and what we aspire to on the left can be summarized in two simple words and concepts, RESPONSIBILITY and FREEDOM. They are the emotional heart of what we believe and what we seek to achieve. It is critical to connect with the public on this emotional and conceptual level. It is what the right has done so well recently. We must remember FDR's Four Freedoms (Freedom of Speech and Expression, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear) and JFK's call for responsibility ("Ask not what your country can do for you ..."). These are the foundations upon which everything else is built. Responsibility for our actions. Freedom to make our own choices. Responsibility for our children. Freedom to believe and to choose. Responsibility for our environment. Freedom to act as we believe we must. Responsibility for our communities. Freedom to speak against power or those we disagree with. Responsibility for our neighbors and for our world.
We must never lose sight of this or ever be ashamed of it. It is why we will win in end. This is the only way to have true democracy. It takes Responsibility to face the Truth and it takes Freedom to change. In addition, true opportunity requires taking Responsibility and the Freedom to do that. Responsibility is about being able to understand that you do not live in a vacuum, but with others. Responsibility is about strength. Freedom and Responsibility are the true antidote to fear. The terminology of the left must have these concepts embedded in it at every level. It must permeate our language and frame our discourse in every way. We have seen the right hijack these terms (and the emotions behind them). It is time to take them back to where they belong.
At heart, what defines the current GOP and the right wing is ENTITLEMENT and FEAR. Everything they have done reflects this. They act as if they are entitled to the presidency - hence, their ability to ignore the questions about a stolen election or disenfranchised voters. They act entitled because they fear the reality of their own weakness and actions. Their values are based on the concept that they should get what they want because they are entitled to it by the bible or money or privilege. The irony is that they live in a permanent state of fear. Fear of losing their positions and money. Fear of the rest of the world. Fear of reality. Fear of the future. Thus, their terminology often drips with fear and entitlement. Just the term "War on Terror" (not Terrorism, which is the actual problem) tells you who they are. They don't just sell fear. They revel in it. The problem is that fear is weakness, not strength, and those who live by fear tend to die by it. Therefore it is crucial that we frame them using their own language and terminology against them. An excellent example is "Fuzzy Math." This defines them in so many ways while seeming innocuous. Bush tried to use it against Gore, but it describes his economic policy brilliantly. Beat them with their own stick and make them pay for every slip they make. Use the words they have already associated themselves with against them.
The Economy
Corporate Welfare: Already in use and actually very powerful. Again, using their strict father idea against them. If welfare is bad, then welfare for corporations is very bad. Bush and the right's policies of tax giveaways are a form of corporate welfare.
Republican Tax(es): An increase in the tax burden upon middle and working class incomes that comes often in the form of regressive fees paid on local, municipal, state and federal levels for services, filings, forms and registrations. Increases in state, county and municipal taxes as a result of declining federal funding - usually seen as an increase in property and sales taxes.
GOP/Bush Birth Tax: Each child born in America today will owe approximately $36,000 as his/her share of the trillions of dollars in debt caused by the Republican deficit-financed tax cuts and spending programs.
Deficit-Financed Tax Cuts: The GOP tax cuts in a nutshell. Creating debt to give tax cuts to the richest 5% of Americans.
Debt and Deficit Economy: An economy based on ever-growing deficits and spiraling national and personal debt at the expense of the middle and working economic classes. That is, the economy propagated by W. Bush and the right.
Corporate Ownership Economy: The economic plan promoted by the right, which emphasizes the interests of large corporations over small businesses and individuals. A plan that promotes the privatization of Social Security, but neglects to explain what happens to the benefits of those who have already paid into it and the fact that individual saving in the US is notoriously low. The right keeps referring to it as an "ownership economy" but the owner they have in mind is Big Business and Corporations.
Corporate Give-Away: Policies that promote the use of tax dollars to support large corporations at the expense of individual Americans and the economy.
Bush/GOP Deficit: The current US Budget deficit, which is largest in history and still growing while being funded mostly by the Chinese and Japanese.
Enron Presidency: The Bush administration, whose economic plan seems about as reliable as the accounting of Enron (a company now in bankruptcy), which was based on corporate fraud.
Borrow and Spend Republican / Debt and Deficit Republican: A self-proclaimed "conservative" who spends freely while cutting taxes to the wealthiest Americans and creating the largest deficit and debt in history. A so-called "conservative" who promotes heavy borrowing from foreign nations to fund a debt and deficit created by their own spending and tax-cuts for the wealthy and corporations.
Bush Recession / Republican Recession: Economic decline due to mishandling of the economy by W. Bush and the GOP.
GOP/Republican Jobs: Low paying, no-benefit jobs that replaced higher paying full-benefit jobs from the Clinton Era. Any job where you are getting less and working more.
Iraq
Bush Quagmire / Iraq Quagmire / Bush Iraq Quagmire: The current Iraq War and occupation, which is based on false claims by the Administration and is beginning to resemble Vietnam more and more. Bush's self-made quagmire, which has cost more than 1,500 American lives (and counting) and thousands of Iraqi lives and counting.
Oil War / Petro-War: Another name for the Iraq conflict. Always important to associate the conflict with its actual purpose and the administration's main interest.
Halliburton Policy: Any policy regarding Iraq that benefits Halliburton (and thus Cheney and Bush as well as the Oil Industry).
Vietnamization: (already used by some) The Iraq War's tendency to descend into an unwinnable civil war that gets progressively more difficult to extract ourselves from. There is no clear, good exit strategy, despite recent elections.
Abu Ghraib: In and of itself a term that effectively evokes everything that is wrong with the administration's handling of the Iraq War. Should be mentioned as often as possible as an example of such.
Ethics and Values
(GOP) Ethics Deficit / (GOP) Ethics Gap: Do anything to get elected mentality. Deny everything. Lie to the public. Support Tom Delay even when he gets indicted. Hide the fact that Bill Frist is being investigated for Medicare fraud while having him push a Medicare bill that is under-funded and has giveaways to the pharmaceutical companies. Lie about going to war etc., etc.
Pay or Play Presidency / Pay to Play Presidency: An administration that requires gifts of money in order to be heard. A president who does whatever his highest campaign contributors request of him. A bought and paid for Oval Office.
Pay or Play Congress / Pay to Play Leadership: See above. Specifically to refer to Tom Delay and Bill Frist as well as their cronies and cohorts (Hastert and Lott for instance) in the GOP house and Senate Leadership. There are many examples.
The Great Divider: W. Bush. A man who has managed to create a country more profoundly divided than at any time since the Civil War, and to divide it from the world like never before. He did this based on a strategy to encourage division in order to get "elected." This shows what he actually values.
Chapter 11 Presidency: A morally bankrupt president in charge of a bankrupt agenda, economy and country.
"Dead-Beat Dad": The GOP tries to frame themselves as a strict father, but in fact they act as a Dead-beat Dad, failing to be responsible and instead being abusive. They leave women holding the bag and children's education and care unpaid for, bouncing checks and spending money on themselves instead of their families. They fail to pay their bills or live up to their obligations. This is the accurate image that must be attached to them at every opportunity. This is what their values add up to.
Agenda and Policy
Party of Fear: The current incarnation of the GOP.
Fear Agenda: The Bush and GOP strategy to promote fear to cover up their failures and obvious incompetence. A policy based on fueling fear to get elected, and/or to promote questionable policies. Bush's policies.
Fear Campaign: The Bush and GOP political strategy to get elected, based on scaring the population to vote for him based on "security."
Anti-Constitutional Policy / Anti-Democratic Agenda: A domestic policy that promotes legislation that threatens basic constitutional and civil rights, usually under the guise of improving "security."
The Great Leap Backward: W. Bush's first term and its likely sequel.
Fascism Lite: The Patriot Acts I and II.
Bush Republican / Bush Conservative: A right-wing extremist who is beholden to the Christian right and Neo-Cons. Someone who is neither really a conservative nor compassionate. Someone who supports a failed economic policy and an unnecessary war.
Independent Energy Sources: Energy sources and technologies like hybrid, hydrogen fuel cells, wind, solar, hydro-electrical, etc., that curb America's dependence on foreign sources of oil, which is subject to economics and controls dictated by Opec and disappearing oil reserves. An issue of economic, environmental and security importance. ("Alternative," sadly, can be framed as negative by certain elements.)
Corporate Trial Lawyers: Primarily right-wing lawyers who work to promote corporate interests (such as Enron, Saudi oil interests, and pharmaceutical companies for example) at the expense of the public's interests. James Baker and Theodore Olson (who has also been Solicitor General) are prime examples. The GOP likes to attack "Democratic Trial Lawyers," but most of them could be considered "Defenders of the Public Interest" (or Civil Defenders - see below) in contrast.
Public Interest Defenders / Civil Defenders: Lawyers (paid and pro bono) who serve the public interest by taking on large corporations and the government for safety, environmental, health and other violations. They could also include the ACLU and other organizations and firms specializing in the defense of civil liberties and civil rights. (Not to be confused with the Public Defender's Office which deals with alleged criminal offenders.)
Corporate Permission Slip: The tendency of the administration and the right wing to frame their policies according to the desires of their largest contributors and those who would benefit most - corporations. Again, we use their language (which they have already associated themselves with) decisively against them. They (Bush and the right) are pictured as the children of strict corporate parents (which is clearly what they are), to whom they are both beholden and obedient. Example: with Medicare and health coverage, Bush needs a corporate permission slip from the pharmaceutical and hospital industries to do anything.
Big Government Republicans: Speaks for itself and states the current situation. The GOP is now the party of big government. The government has expanded in size under Bush more than it has under any other president in the last 40 or so years.
Big Brother Government: The Orwellian notion that "Big Brother is watching you" is becoming a reality through things like the Patriot Act and the Office of Homeland Security. The GOP and the right have promoted an idea of intrusive and invasive government under the guise of "security." Interestingly enough, this contradicts traditional conservative and libertarian values they once claimed to espouse.
The Cult of Mediocrity: The cabinet and advisors that W. Bush surrounds himself with. "Yes Men" and syncophants, many of whom are grossly incompetent and/or morally dubious of character. All those who seem to put forth the idea that W. Bush can do no wrong, and make numerous excuses for his economic and military failures while lauding his lurch towards fascism.
Sovietization: The Bush Administration's disturbing tendency to laud "Freedom" and the power of the American people, while deliberately working towards policies that violate the rights and constitutional freedoms of Americans. The insidious (and also fascistic) tendency to declare the US as the chosen people while framing all those in and outside the country who oppose them as un-American and unpatriotic. Its desire to turn the government into a one-party state that silences all dissenters (claiming they are traitors) is a clear example of how it is beginning to resemble the late Soviet Union.
American Taliban: Another name for the Religious Right. They are essentially no different from their Afghan counterparts, since they impose their extreme religious interpretations to legislate laws that limit the civil rights of all Americans.
Reproductive Rights
Reproductive Freedom: As has been pointed out, "Choice," although accurate, is a weak word. The heart of a woman's right to choose is her freedom to make that choice. The word is hard for the right to argue with, especially when connected to "Responsibility" (see below). It has never been about abortion (numbers of which were lowest under Clinton and his support of Reproductive Freedom), but about a woman's inalienable freedoms in a real democracy.
Reproductive Responsibility: To carry or not to carry a pregnancy to term should be couched in the responsibility of raising a child. The right to an abortion is about responsibility, which defines the left. The so-called "pro-life" side should be defined as "Anti-Responsibility" and "Anti-Freedom." The left is about responsibility for the life of children (i.e., a nurturing parent is a strong and responsible parent).
Pro-Child: The right is "Pro-Fetus" but inherently "anti-child." The left must always define itself as what it has always been,"Pro-Child." It is not about the vague quantity of life, but the quality of life parents give their children. The right is only interested in protecting fetuses but not in raising, educating and caring for children. Thus, their polices are "Anti-Child" and irresponsible.
Right-Wing Media and Press
Propaganda Media: Right wing media. Fox News and right-wing talk radio and TV. Media designed solely to propagate a political view, not to convey news or information. A media that doesn't report much of anything but rather is built mostly on "pundits" and blowhards perpetuating the right-wing interpretation of events and facts, usually in contradiction to the truth.
Hack Media: See above.
Right-Wing Elite Media/Press: See above. (O'Reilly and his ilk have referred to the so-called "liberal" media as the "media elite" and "elite media"). Again, it is strategically advantageous to take the right wing's language and use it against them (particularly when it describes them so well). Since they have already associated themselves with it (framing themselves accordingly) it sticks and becomes a double-edged sword that cuts back at them.
GOP/Republican Lap Dogs: Right-Wing Talk Radio and FOX News.
Hate Media: Right-wing talk-radio and talk-TV shows (Limbaugh, Hannity, Scarborough, etc.). Media looking for someone to blame.
Faux News: FOX News and friends.
Bush, Cheney and the Election
The Unpresident: W. Bush, a man whose leadership consists of shooting from the hip and rarely working with anyone else other than Cheney and Rove. Unelected and undemocratic.
Fading Margin: Bush's slowly disappearing margin of "victory" in the last election.
Dodger Dick and AWOL George: Cheney and Bush - Chickenhawks. One got five deferments to avoid Vietnam, citing "other priorities." The other got his father to get him into the National Guard and disappeared for most of one year and got out early. Both claimed they supported the Vietnam war.
The Asterisk Presidency: Legitimately questionable because of Florida and the failure to properly recount the vote. Gore won the popular vote, and that tainted 2004, even without Bush's mysterious "win" that went against all the exit polls, suggesting a second stolen election for the "Mandate President." Shades of Rutherford B. Hayes.
The Wizard of Oz / The Man Behind the Curtain: Karl Rove. "Bush's Brain" and along with Cheney, the real "President."
GERN So, can the pansy liberals slam dunk the Pres and scare the neo-cons out of their shorts?
Thanks Dan, that's encouraging. Think I'll hold on to WTZ traders for now and see how they handle $9.
Dan, have you heard any news about WTZ that explains the surge this am? Thinking of selling some traders here unless compelled to do otherwise.
WTZ picked up some traders here just under 7.20
All hands on DECK and drop your shorts.
Gold down, miners up. Miners leading the way?
So is a yanker a switch hitter?
What is it they yank on?
Still a tad dicey to be on DECK. I 'spect we get pooped once more before the storm subsides. I spy clear skies on the horizon but dark clouds overhead.
Lots of volume on DECK today. I'll prolly pick some up before the day is over. 21.50 seems to be holding but I'd rather get in lower.
Chinese revaluation report rocks markets"
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AnderL, thanks for the post and the link to your board. Board is now on my favorites list.
Chinese revaluation report rocks markets
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I found it interesting that about the time this rumor (or pre- announcement) occurred, that gold miners began to slide. That's totally opposite of what I would have expected. It seems to me that floating the yuan would weaken the dollar, put inflationary pressure on our economy and increase the price of gold.
I also expected the steel companies to rally as the yuan is loosened. Not to be....yet.
I hope to stimulate this topic of discussion, the floating of the yuan and it's effect on our economy, as it seems to be imminent. Any thoughts on what aspects of our industry will be helped or harmed would be much appreciated. It seems obvious that Boeing, CAT , steels and such will benefit. WMAT and other importers will suffer but what other impacts will be felt?
nwsailor
Tennessee Ernie Ford?
Yo Matey, Go nuclear? As in blowup or take off like a rocket?.,..clarify please. LOL
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I think the threat, or reality of N. Korea testing a bomb will steer people into the gold market. I added NEM traders earlier.
Gold should go nuclear soon.
ALTI nice 15% move today. You still in?
Nice pop in DECK over 24. Put on your dancing slippers.
I wonder why DECK was flat most of the day until the Fed announcement and then took off?
DECK new HOD $23.50. Are the shorts losing their grip on this stock? A couple of more days like the last two and they will be on the run. It wouldn't take much of a news item to get them on a roll.
“Socrates”
Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you either hear or are about to repeat a rumor. In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?” “Wait a moment,” Socrates replied. “Before you tell me I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Test of Three.” “Three?” “That’s right,” Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my student let’s take a moment to test what you’re going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?” “No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it.” “All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?” “No, on the contrary.” “So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him even though you’re not certain it’s true?” The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued. “You may still pass though, because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?” “No, not really...” “Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?” The man was defeated and ashamed. This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem. It also explains why he never found out that Plato was banging his wife.
CPN dumping. Thanks to Zeev and others on this board who talked me out of the stock a couple of weeks ago.
.....and hoist more sails <g>
They will prolly walk more (buy DECK)
IBM hit my stop at 75.75
IBM Looks like it just ran the stops under 76
Did you see the NG report today. Pretty sad. Non-cash stock compensation really added to their losses. I don't think they should give bonuses when they are losing money.
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No sailor, I didn't..... do you, perchance, have a link?
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Financials Results
Results of Operations
The Company had a net loss of $5.1 million (or $0.08 per share) for the first quarter ended February 28, 2005, compared with a net loss of $0.3 million (or $0.01 per share) for the same quarter in 2004. After excluding the non-cash stock-based compensation charge for the quarter of $4.2 million, the net loss for the period is $0.9 million compared with $0.3 million in the previous year. The other major factors in the net increase in the quarter's loss were a decrease in net revenues by $0.2 million, an increase in expenses of $0.3 million and a non-reoccurring mineral property recovery and minority interest add back totalling $0.1 million in 2004.
NovaGold Announces Q1 Financial Results
Business Wire (Wed, Apr 13)
Did you see the NG report today. Pretty sad. Non-cash stock compensation really added to their losses. I don't think they should give bonuses when they are losing money.
I'll bet that Saudi Prince on CNBC this am is selling big time. I'm doing my share to hold up the market. Added to CRIS and entered IBM, SNDK and QLGC today. Ready for a bounce.
SNDK LOD
OT Ahoy there matey, (at the expense of the fishery) Columbia River runs are rebounding to the confounding of even the biologists. Spring Chinook , which only a few years ago were slated for extinction, have made a recovery to near record runs. Why? not sure anyone really knows but from trollers I know the salmon they have been catching the last few years are extremely prime and heavy which I interpret as there is lots of food for them fishies and just maybe a lot of the doom and gloom comes from people that prosper in that industry, just a guess.
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OT Somewhere between 95-98% of the total Chinook runs in the Columbia are manufactured (hatchery) fish. The hatcheries were built to mitigate the damage done to the wild runs. Many believe the genetic dilution (reduction in fitness) from hatchery practices has done more long term harm to the wild fish than the dams themselves.
In some years the returns of wild fish are up a bit, primarily due to better than average water conditions. That means a good spring flush in the rivers and nice ocean upwelling. Looks like we are headed into an El Nino cycle which will give us the opposite.
In short, if we want to protect the long term survivability of the wild salmon populations, we need to protect their habitat. That means considerations in timber harvest, grazing, development, irrigation, fish harvest, etc.etc.
Note:Many stocks of salmon from the Columbiua are extinct or at risk of extinction. Sockeye and Coho are gone except for some remnant fish. The Bush administration does not recognize the difference between hatchery and wild fish, contrary to the scientific findings of his biologists.
A good very read is "Salmon Without Rivers" by Jim Lichotowich.
nwsailor
OT Hydro
The Columbia River and its tribs crank out a lot of energy. The dams were made mostly to assist the aluminum industry (at the expense of the fishery). I don't think California has that type of hydro capacity. I could be wrong but I always thought most of their dams were irrigation and flood control. A lot of water was "lost" during the flooding in Southern Cal. earlier in the year.
Choad is right, the past two weeks has helped alleviate the drought in the NW. I'm currently on the road from Oregon to SF and had my wipers on full speed most of the day. Snow early on then heavy rain. Instead of a big time 50 year drought, we will prolly just have a medium one.
I'll open pandora's box. With global warming, the 10% energy we get from hydro may diminish. Fossil fuel is getting more expensive. Anybody want to build a nuke?
By the way, thanks to the boards discussion of CPN, I'll be selling at the first good opportunity.
More snowpack:
March 1, 2005
The combined Columbia Basin snowpack above The Dalles is currently at 59 percent
of average. This is down from 68 percent on February 1. This compares to 91 percent
at this time last year. The overall snowpack is at 50 percent of the average peak
accumulation, compared to 78 percent last year. The snowpack is normally at 85
percent of its peak on March 1. For many snow measurement sites, this is the lowest
year on record. Snow sites in the Columbia Basin where new record minimums were
recorded are:
Source: NRCS
With CPN you can buy $3 worth of highly efficient power plants and cash for just $1.
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Joe, I'm not sure how this effects CPN's business, but the Northwest snowpack is way below normal. I think the BPA hydro projects on the Columbia will be running at about 50% normal this summer. That means no hydro power to sell to California. CPN should benefit as most of their electrical generation is gas driven and they (or someone) will have to make up for the hydro loss.
What a nightmare.
lotta ALTI insider sales in March; think they had a clue?
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Wow! Now add to that all the dilution and it pretty much spells dead money for ALTI. They did raise some operating cash. An announcement about a battery deal would be nice or contracts with some of the other products.
ALTI being impacted by Toshiba's new battery
Topics > Components > Batteries >
Toshiba Develops Fast-Charging Batteries
Technology could be powering your cell phone or laptop in the next three years.
Paul Kallender, IDG News Service
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Toshiba has developed prototype batteries that can be recharged about 60 times faster than conventional lithium ion batteries, and the technology could be commercialized for portable electronics products in about three years, company executives said at a news conference this week.
Advertisement
Lithium ion batteries charge by absorbing ions in the negative electrode, and they discharge when ions flow from the negative electrode to the positive electrode. Conventional lithium ion batteries charge at a rate of 2 to 3 percent of their total capacity per minute and take an hour or more to fully charge, according to the company.
Toshiba's prototype batteries are lithium ion batteries that contain a material in the negative electrode that is able to absorb about 80 percent of the battery's total power capacity in about a minute, according to Masayuki Ishikawa, assistant director at the company's Corporate Research and Development Center, based in Kawasaki near Tokyo.
Toshiba has developed two prototype batteries. The smaller version is .2 inches by 2.4 inches by 1.4 inches, weighs .6 ounces, and has a capacity of 600 mAH (milliamp hours). The larger version is .3 inches by 4.3 inches by 2.8 inches, weighs 3.4 ounces, and has a capacity of 3200 mAH. The company did not disclose the voltages of the prototypes.
The smaller prototype retains 99 percent of its capacity after being charged 1000 times, and fast-charging batteries will have about the same life as their conventional cousins, says Junichi Nagaki, a spokesperson for Toshiba.
Coming Soon?
Toshiba intends to commercialize the battery technology for automotive and industrial applications in 2006, says Norio Takami, laboratory leader at the company's Corporate Research and Development Center. Next, the company is considering developing the technology for consumer electronics devices such as notebook PCs, mobile phones, and other devices, he says.
"Technically, there is no problem to use this technology for cell phone batteries," Takami says.
Because the batteries charge so quickly, the company will have to develop small transformers to handle the extra current, it says.
The company has registered five patents related to the fast-charge technology in both Japan and the U.S. and it is applying for several more, Takami says.
Toshiba is also developing direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) technology for both notebook PCs and smaller portable electronic devices. DMFCs work by mixing methanol with air and water to produce electrical power and are considered by many major Japanese consumer electronics companies as an alternative or replacement for lithium ion batteries for portable devices.
A version of the fuel cell for notebook PCs is expected to be commercially available in about three years, according to Toshiba.
Toshiba believes there will be demand for both fast-charging lithium ion batteries and fuel cells, Nagaki says.
4 god -- I am continually thankful that our founders foresaw that a "balance of power" was fundamental to the continuance of our democracy -- and insured that religion would not be a component in the maintenance of that balance.
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Spotted on bumper snicker: What we need is separation of Church and hate.
ALTI added some traders at $4.06 In edit: put a stop at $3.99