The stupid use of supermajorities

"WHEN THE Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth was dismembered by the Habsburg Empire, Prussia and Russia in 1795, it was in part because its parliament, the Sejm, had spent most of a century getting very little done. A 17th-century rule known as liberum veto allowed any individual delegate to end a parliamentary session and scuttle all the bills it had passed with a simple cry of "Nie pozwalam!" (I do not allow it). It was not a recipe for progress.

Politicians elsewhere took note of Poland's example. When John C. Calhoun, a senator from South Carolina, was pushing the case for his home state to have the freedom to nullify federal laws that might grant African-Americans rights, he held up Poland's liberum veto as an example to follow. Few others took the same lesson. When in 1787 Alexander Hamilton wrote that the need for supermajorities in America's Articles of Confederation put Congress in the position of a "Polish diet, where a single VOTE has been sufficient to put a stop to all their movements," he was not commending the situation. "Polish parliament" is still used in Dutch, German and Norwegian to refer to an anarchic or pointless gathering.

Though the Sejm was an extreme case, supermajority requirements do make legislative change harder. Their proponents claim this can protect vulnerable minorities against the tyranny of the majority, but history suggests it generally serves to empower well-represented minorities against the wishes of majorities that are in no way tyrannical. Most democracies see a need to tilt the scales against change only in special cases, prime among them constitutional amendments. In various bicameral legislatures, including those of America, Germany and India, such changes require a two-thirds majority in both houses. Some countries impose further barriers to constitutional change, requiring a majority in a popular referendum (Japan) or ratification by three-quarters of the states (America). In Italy an amendment which has failed to win by the required margin in parliament can be put to the people instead. This happened to reforms championed by then prime minister Matteo Renzi in 2016. He lost the referendum and resigned." [1]

Thus, due to the first important supermajority requirement in the history of Lithuania, we lost Lithuanian statehood for a long time. We did not learn. Now and again, in order to preserve the citizenship of Lithuania and at the same time our statehood, with the nation scattering around the world, in order to survive this difficult time, we must gather a supermajority of voters. Most of us have already voted for dual citizenship for Lithuanians in NATO countries. Demand for a supermajority leads to a disaster - the will of our majority is being ignored, a decision is not being made, the nation is being divided, the state is being weakened again. In the end, we will lose our statehood for the second time. This time may be the last, because there will be no one to regain statehood. Ukrainians and Russians, who will make up the majority in Lithuania at the time, will not really care about our statehood. Who needs it if we Lithuanians do not care about Lithuanian statehood. 

1. "Less than overwhelming; The use of supermajorities elsewhere." The Economist, 13 Mar. 2021, p. 22(US).   

ES sunkiai kovoja su Covid-19

 

 „Europos Sąjungos kova su„ Covid-19 “įstrigo viduržiemyje, net kai pavasaris ir skiepai skatina viltis pagerėti JAV ir JK. Nepaisant to, kad kiekvieną mėnesį buvo ribojami kasdienio gyvenimo aspektai, nuo vasario vidurio ES vėl padaugėjo naujų „Covid-19“ atvejų, nes daugiau virulentiškų virusų padermės lenkia skiepus. Priešingai, virusinės infekcijos ir mirtys nuo sausio mėnesio JAV ir JK sparčiai mažėja, nes skiepai prasideda tarp pagyvenusių žmonių ir kitų pažeidžiamų grupių. JAV infekcijos ir mirtys, kurios vienam gyventojui buvo didesnės beveik visus 2020 m., sumažėjo žemiau ES. 

Vyriausybės ir visuomenės sveikatos ekspertai teigia, kad tik paspartintų vakcinacijų ir laipsniško atlaisvinimo derinys gali nugalėti naujausią „Covid-19“ atšokimą. Tačiau ES pastangos ir toliau kenčia dėl lėto vakcinų įsigijimo ir patvirtinimo, vakcinų gamintojų vėlavimo ir biurokratinio sulaikymo, suleidžiant turimas dozes. „AstraZeneca PLC“ perspėjo Europos Sąjungos pareigūnus, kad nebesitiki aprūpinti bloko maždaug 100 milijonų „Covid-19“ injekcijų, kurias ji pažadėjo parengti iš užsienio per ateinančius mėnesius. 

Kol kas nėra nieko panašaus į ūmią ligoninių krizę, kuri prieš metus užvaldė kai kuriose Italijos ir Ispanijos sveikatos priežiūros sistemas. Vietoj to, bloko visuomenės sveikatos krizė tapo chroniška, o valdžia nuolat stengiasi suvaldyti liepsną. Didžiojoje žemyno dalyje agresyvesnio varianto, kuris pirmą kartą buvo nustatytas JK, paplitimas siejamas su pandemijos pablogėjimu, atmetant sunkias pastangas rezultatus nuo kritimo, naudojant daugybę apribojimų, kurie atnešė bloko ekonomiką į aklavietę. Manoma, kad šiais metais euro zonos ekonomika augs apie 4%, palyginti su 6,5% JAV, rodo Ekonominio bendradarbiavimo ir plėtros organizacijos duomenys. Šis skirtumas rodo didesnį JAV fiskalinį stimulą ir spartesnį vakcinos išleidimą, šią savaitę pranešė EBPO. Siekdamas sustiprinti euro zonos ekonomiką, Europos centrinis bankas teigė, kad sustiprins pastangas suvaldyti skolinimosi išlaidas, išaugusias tarp ryškesnių JAV ekonomikos perspektyvų ir atsipalaidavusios Federalinio rezervo pozicijos. “[1]

Na o mes, lietuviai, vaizduojame šikantį katiną. Ir kiekvienas iš mūsų, slėpdamas kontaktus ir vengdamas testavimo, ir bendrai visa valstybėlė. Mes tokie maži ir gudrūs, kad mūsų skaičiai yra melas. Norite sužinoti, kaip pandemija klostosi Lietuvoje, tai žiūrėkite , kas darosi Lenkijoje ir Vokietijoje, kur daugiau tvarkos. Ir pandemijos eiga pas mus katastrofiška. Todėl įdėmiai sekame kovą tarp Nausėdos ir landsberginių dėl malonaus pasivažinėjimo į Europos centrus. Reikia gi prasiblaškyti...

1. EU Falls Behind In Fight Against Covid-19 --- Slow pace of vaccine output, rapid spread of more-virulent strain drive rise in cases
Walker, Marcus. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]13 Mar 2021: A.1.

EU Falls Behind In Fight Against Covid-19

"The European Union's fight against Covid-19 is stuck in midwinter, even as spring and vaccinations spur hope of improvement in the U.S. and U.K.

Despite months of restrictions on daily life, new Covid-19 cases have been rising again in the EU since mid-February, as more-virulent virus strains outpace vaccinations.

By contrast, virus infections and deaths have been falling rapidly in the U.S. and U.K. since January as inoculations take off among the elderly and other vulnerable groups. U.S. infections and deaths, which were higher on a per capita basis for most of 2020, have fallen below the EU's.

Governments and public-health experts say only a combination of accelerated vaccinations and gradual reopening can defeat Covid-19's latest rebound. But the EU's efforts continue to suffer from its slowness in procuring and approving vaccines, production delays at vaccine makers, and bureaucratic holdups in injecting available doses. AstraZeneca PLC has warned European Union officials it no longer expects to supply the bloc with around 100 million Covid-19 shots it pledged to bring in from overseas in coming months.

So far, there is nothing like the acute hospital crisis that overwhelmed healthcare systems in parts of Italy and Spain a year ago. Instead, the bloc's public-health crisis has become chronic, with authorities struggling constantly to tamp down the flames.

In much of the continent, the spread of the more-aggressive variant first detected in the U.K. is behind the worsening of the pandemic, undoing strenuous efforts to rein in the virus since the fall with an array of restrictions that have brought the bloc's economic recovery to a standstill.

The eurozone economy is expected to grow by about 4% this year, compared with 6.5% in the U.S., according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That divergence reflects a larger U.S. fiscal stimulus and faster vaccine rollout, the OECD said this week. Aiming to shore up the flagging eurozone economy, the European Central Bank said it would step up efforts to contain borrowing costs that have surged amid brighter prospects for the U.S. economy and a relaxed stance from the Federal Reserve." [1]

Well, we Lithuanians portray a pooping cat. And each of us, hiding contacts and avoiding testing, and the whole state in general. We are so small and cunning that our numbers are a lie. You want to know how a pandemic unfolds in Lithuania, then see what is happening in Poland and Germany, where there is more order. And the course of the pandemic with us is catastrophic. Therefore, we are closely following the struggle between Nausėda and Landsbergiai for a pleasant ride to the centers of Europe. You need to get distracted ...

1. EU Falls Behind In Fight Against Covid-19 --- Slow pace of vaccine output, rapid spread of more-virulent strain drive rise in cases
Walker, Marcus. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]13 Mar 2021: A.1.

Kvantinis kompiuteris, sudarytas iš atskirų modulių

 "Nepaisant didelės pažangos, visuotinai pritaikomo ir gedimams atsparaus kvantinio kompiuterio kūrimas dar toli. Didžiausia kliūtis yra galimybės propcingai jį didinti trūkumas. Esami kvantiniai procesoriai, pagrįsti atskirais atomais arba superlaidžiais mikrobangų rezonatoriais, negali būti tiesiog išplėsti, paprasčiausiai padidinant elementarių aritmetinių vienetų skaičių, nes kuo didesnis šių kvantinių bitų skaičius, tuo sunkiau yra atskirti ir valdyti kiekvieną iš jų nuo trukdančių įtakų, o problemos tampa rimtesnės kiekvienam papildoma kubitui. 

Net menkiausi triukšmo, šiluminės spinduliuotės ar elektromagnetinių laukų sukelti trikdžiai gali sunaikinti kvantinių bitų būsenas, o tai lemia skaičiavimo klaidas. Norint apsaugoti juos nuo aplinkos, kvantiniai bitai paprastai būna uždaromi vakuume (atomai ir jonai) arba labai stipriai atšaldomi skystu heliu (superlaidūs kvantiniai bitai), o tai siejama su didelėmis techninėmis pastangomis. Tai yra priežastis, kodėl geriausi prototipai šiuo metu turi ne daugiau kaip 50 skaičiavimo vienetų („Google“ „Sycamore“ skaičiuoja su 52 superlaidžiais kubitais).

Norint pakankamai galingos sistemos, kuri gali atlikti įvairiausias užduotis greičiau nei klasikinis kompiuteris, reikėtų bent kelių šimtų kubitų. 

Mokslininkai iš Maxo Plancko kvantinės optikos instituto Garčinge, Vokietijoje, turi galimą šios dilemos sprendimą. Užuot supakavę vis daugiau kvantinių bitų į siaurą erdvę, jie sujungia per didelį nuotolį atskirus kubitus, kuriuos atskirai galima puikiai valdyti ir uždaryti. Tokiu būdu mokslininkams, dirbantiems su Severinu Daissu ir Stefanu Langenfeldu, pavyko panaudoti tik du kvantinius bitus, kad būtų sukurtas elementarus kvantinis procesorius, galintis atlikti paprastas logines operacijas. Ypatinga savybė: kubitai yra dviejose atskirose laboratorijose ir sujungiami per 60 metrų ilgio stiklo kabelį. " 

Modular quantum computer

 "Despite great progress, the development of a universally applicable and fault-tolerant quantum computer is still a long way off. A major hurdle is the lack of scalability that simply increases the number of elementary arithmetic units, because the greater the number of these quantum bits, the more difficult it is to isolate and control each and every one of them from interfering influences, and the problems become more serious for each additional qubit. 

Even the slightest interference, triggered by noise, thermal radiation or electromagnetic fields, can destroy the states of the quantum bits, which leads to calculation errors. To protect them from the environment, quantum bits are usually enclosed in a vacuum (atoms and ions) or extremely strongly cooled with liquid helium (superconducting quantum bits), which is associated with a great deal of technical effort. 

That is the reason why the best prototypes currently have no more than 50 computing units (“Sycamore” from Google calculates with 52 superconducting qubits). 

For a reasonably powerful system that can handle a wide variety of tasks faster than a classic computer, at least several hundred qubits would be required. 

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Garching have a possible solution to the scaling dilemma. Instead of packing more and more quantum bits into a narrow space, they interconnect separated qubits that can be perfectly controlled and sealed off. In this way, the researchers working with Severin Daiss and Stefan Langenfeld have succeeded in using just two quantum bits to create an elementary quantum processor that can carry out simple logical operations. A special feature: the qubits are located in two separate laboratories and are connected via a 60 meter long glass fiber. "

 

Who is in the Lithuanian middle income class and why are they not happy?

 "The OECD says we should include in the middle income class those households that receive from 75% of  median Lithuanian income up to 200 percent. The last number is twice the median.  

Linking the median to the average disposable income of a household, we would talk about amounts from 900 to 2300 euros per month per Lithuanian household. The annual income would be approximately from 11 thousand up to 28 thousand with some calculation error.  

Now, according to the OECD, every sixth middle-income household faces a threat to the workplace due to automation, digitization. As a result, the challenges of the middle class are becoming more relevant in the future."

Kas priklauso Lietuvos vidutinių pajamų klasei ir kodėl jie nėra laimingi?

 "EBPO teigia, kad vidutinei pajamų klasei turėtume priskirti tuos namų ūkius, kurie gauna nuo 75 proc. medianos iki 200 proc. Paskutinis skaičius yra dukart mediana. Tai Lietuvoje, žiūrint į tokį priskyrimą ir susiejant medianą su vidutinėmis pajamomis, kuriomis disponuoja namų ūkis, mes kalbėtume apie sumas nuo 900 iki 2300 eurų per mėnesį vienam namų ūkiui. Metinės pajamos maždaug būtų nuo 11 tūkst. iki 28 tūkst. eurų, su tam tikra skaičiavimo paklaida.

 Dabar, anot EBPO, kas šeštas viduriniųjų pajamų klasei priskiriamas namų ūkis susiduria su grėsme darbo vietai dėl automatizacijos, skaitmenizacijos. Todėl viduriniosios klasės iššūkiai tampa ir aktualesni toliau."