Abandon Ship! German Pirate Party Shipwreck In Elections?

In the last couple of weeks the German Pirate Party has failed to secure a seat in the state Parliament elections in Lower Saxony, with momentum fading since the rise of pirate parties across the world following attempted shutdowns and arrests over Bittorrent site The Pirate Bay.

This follows an apparent tirade of negative press and bad publicity over arguments within the party, as well as claims of being unable to shift the opinion that The Pirates are a single issue party concerned with copyright.

However, the profile of the German Party has in general risen since first coming onto the scene a year and a half ago. They are concerned a seperate political entity rather than a fringe party, and the recent result should increase state funding for the party.

Full Article at The Pirate Times: Lower Saxony Pirates Fail to Gain Seats in State Parliament

Real stealth suit coming soon?

Today the BBC reported that scientists have successfully created a cloaking device. There are a few caveats though- the technology only cloaks microwaves at the moment, and also the cloaking effect only works when looking from one direction. So the effect is closer to, as the doc explains, the cards in Alice in Wonderland which seem to disappear when they turn their sides to the camera. However, when you're in the right position, the illusion is described as "perfect".

So, how long until we see an invisibility cloak like Harry Potter's, or Solid Snake's stealth suit? It seems to be much more difficult to create a suit that camouflages actual visible light waves than invisible to the eye microwaves, so it could be a while yet. However some other fairly convincing alternatives already exist in the world for the wannabe stealth operative/wizard.

Real stealth suit coming soon?

Today the BBC reported that scientists have successfully created a cloaking device. There are a few caveats though- the technology only cloaks microwaves at the moment, and also the cloaking effect only works when looking from one direction. So the effect is closer to, as the doc explains, the cards in Alice in Wonderland which seem to disappear when they turn their sides to the camera. However, when you're in the right position, the illusion is described as "perfect".

So, how long until we see an invisibility cloak like Harry Potter's, or Solid Snake's stealth suit? It seems to be much more difficult to create a suit that camouflages actual visible light waves than invisible to the eye microwaves, so it could be a while yet. However some other fairly convincing alternatives already exist in the world for the wannabe stealth operative/wizard.