Commercial airlines avoiding eastern Ukraine airspace as Malaysian 17 probably shot down

July 17, 2014

It looks like MH17 with 295 passengers and crew has been shot down over eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.

By the Russians? Unlikely.

By Russian-leaning rebels? possibly with a Russian ground to air missile.

By the Ukrainians? by air-to-air or ground-to-air missiles? Not unthinkable.

In the meantime commercial airlines are now avoiding this airspace as – for example – Thai Airways TG921 and others are just doing. There seem to be many aircraft avoiding the area right now.

TG921 and commercial airlines avoiding eastern Ukraine

TG921 and commercial airlines avoiding eastern Ukraine

Considering the number of commercial aircraft in the area, it is particularly poignant that after MH370, it is another Malaysian airliner which has been shot down. And MH370 itself disappeared due to hostile action.

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A new protein (FGF1) which could eliminate diabetes

July 17, 2014

This is more than just interesting.

It may come too late for me but I suspect that by 2050, the great fear of diabetes Type 2 and the real damage it causes, will long have been forgotten. But there will still be a challenge in not allowing the solution to excuse and encourage a life-style which is essentially unhealthy. It should not become like a glutton inducing vomiting so that he can eat some more!!

A new paper in Nature

Jae Myoung Suh, Johan W. Jonker, Maryam Ahmadian, Regina Goetz, Denise Lackey, Olivia Osborn, Zhifeng Huang, Weilin Liu, Eiji Yoshihara, Theo H. van Dijk, Rick Havinga, Weiwei Fan, Yun-Qiang Yin, Ruth T. Yu, Christopher Liddle, Annette R. Atkins, Jerrold M. Olefsky, Moosa Mohammadi, Michael Downes, Ronald M. Evans. Endocrinization of FGF1 produces a neomorphic and potent insulin sensitizer. Nature, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/nature13540

From the Press Release:

One injection stops diabetes in its tracks

In mice with diet-induced diabetes—the equivalent of type 2 diabetes in humans—a single injection of the protein FGF1 is enough to restore blood sugar levels to a healthy range for more than two days. The discovery by Salk scientists, published today in the journal Nature, could lead to a new generation of safer, more effective diabetes drugs.

The team found that sustained treatment with the protein doesn’t merely keep blood sugar under control, but also reverses insulin insensitivity, the underlying physiological cause of diabetes. Equally exciting, the newly developed treatment doesn’t result in side effects common to most current diabetes treatments. ……. 

Diabetes drugs currently on the market aim to boost insulin levels and reverse insulin resistance by changing expression levels of genes to lower glucose levels in the blood. But drugs, such as Byetta, which increase the body’s production of insulin, can cause glucose levels to dip too low and lead to life-threatening hypoglycemia, as well as other side effects.

In 2012, Evans and his colleagues discovered that a long-ignored growth factor had a hidden function: it helps the body respond to insulin. Unexpectedly, mice lacking the growth factor, called FGF1, quickly develop diabetes when placed on a high-fat diet, a finding suggesting that FGF1 played a key role in managing blood glucose levels. This led the researchers to wonder whether providing extra FGF1 to diabetic mice could affect symptoms of the disease.

Evans’ team injected doses of FGF1 into obese mice with diabetes to assess the protein’s potential impact on metabolism. Researchers were stunned by what happened: they found that with a single dose, blood sugar levels quickly dropped to normal levels in all the diabetic mice.

“Many previous studies that injected FGF1 showed no effect on healthy mice,” says Michael Downes, a senior staff scientist and co-corresponding author of the new work. “However, when we injected it into a diabetic mouse, we saw a dramatic improvement in glucose.”

The researchers found that the FGF1 treatment had a number of advantages over the diabetes drug Actos, which is associated with side effects ranging from unwanted weight gain to dangerous heart and liver problems. Importantly, FGF1—even at high doses—did not trigger these side effects or cause glucose levels to drop to dangerously low levels, a risk factor associated with many glucose-lowering agents. Instead, the injections restored the body’s own ability to naturally regulate insulin and blood sugar levels, keeping glucose amounts within a safe range—effectively reversing the core symptoms of diabetes. ……… 

I suspect a golden age of medical science is underway and it will be unrecognisable – for us – by 2050.

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Tattooed ladies on Drottninggatan

July 16, 2014

So we were in Stockholm with some guests from the UK and engaging in typical tourist activities. The sun was shining with a light wind and the program was to walk down Drottninggatan to Gamla Stan and wander around the Old Town and the Royal Palace for a few hours. But my knees were playing up and it was decided that my services as a tour guide were not really either necessary or useful. I would be better employed – we concluded – in watching the tourists rather than being a tourist.

I took up station at an outdoor cafe sometime before noon. I chose my table carefully to maximise my time in the sun. I was well armed with a large coffee and a small Danish. And the world went by. (I have no doubt that every one who visits Stockholm does – at some time – walk down Drottninggatan and past my observation post).

image: http://www.hufvudstaden.se

The analogy was of watching water flowing in a river – but in both directions simultaneously. The passers-by moved in little waves, in ripples, in eddies swirling about and in large waves. Sometimes they trickled by, at times they surged past and sometimes they surged and receded and surged past again. Some determined individuals strode by with clear direction and objectives, others merely loafed by with a general sense of direction of flow but with no great urgency. Some weaved from one shop window on one side to the next on the other – but still generally forward. Some few clumps moved first in one direction, then reversed course and moved back as they caught sight of something they fancied. Kids milled around, lost sight of their parents and then found them again. Large waves of tour groups (one Chinese, one Japanese and one which sounded Russian) flooded past. But there were no collisions.

It was time for some anthropology.

Two individuals, one male and one female, went past – separately – fishing out aluminium cans from every rubbish bin. The female – by dress presumably Roma – was equipped with a trolley for her collection, wore plastic gloves  and left the rubbish bins pretty much as she found them. No fuss, no muss. The man used plastic carrier bags but left a trail of candy wrappings behind him. No fuss but much mess till the street sweeper also came by.

Inevitably one sat and watched the girls go by. Some were dressed for a Caribbean beach. Others for an Arctic winter. Nineteen out of 225 had visible tattoos (the count ended at 225 since I needed to refill my coffee). Maybe not universally representative but just under 10% of those surveyed had visible tattoos. Tattoos on arms and legs were the most common. Tattoos on ankles, a few on the face and on the back of the neck were also apparent and no special efforts were necessary to make them visible. Some were on shoulders and thighs and stomachs and chests. Here clothes – or more accurately a lack of clothing – had been chosen to make the tattoos clearly visible. Of course the number of tattooed ladies with hidden tattoos cannot be commented upon. Generally the tattoos were in shades of black but some use of reds and greens and yellows was also evident. It was a lovely day but fairly breezy and not quite warm enough for the level of undress on display. It seemed that every lady silly enough to walk bare-shouldered or bare-stomached or in a bikini top, had chosen to do so because she had a tattoo to display.

(I just note in passing that those men I observed who had  bare shoulders or chests also inevitably had some tattoo to display and triceps or abs struggling to be admired).

But the tattoos were all – every single one – ugly and disfiguring to my eyes. Not one added to the attractiveness of the subject. The already pretty girls sought to enhance their attractiveness – and failed. Attention was diverted from their inherent attractiveness to their ugly tattoos. The not so pretty ones seemed to be using exhibitionism to attract attention (as an alternative to being seen as attractive) – and also failed. The eye was drawn to the ugly tattoo and only reinforced the shortfall of “attractiveness”.

Why do people get tattoos? My less than scientific study leads me to the following “conclusions”. Like jewelry or piercings or articles of fashion or hair-styling,  it can only be to attract the attention of those around. Attracting attention itself can only be for the purpose of being “admired” or of being seen as “different” or “unique” or as a “badge”. It cannot – usually – be for the purpose of attracting contempt (though it could be for being seen as a “rebel” where some contempt is then accepted as collateral damage). Fundamentally it is for the narcissism in us, for satisfying the “Look at Me” syndrome or for the “I am Special” syndrome.

After 3 cups of coffee I needed some beer and so I had to move. But some things were clear. Tattoos are a disfigurement and are all ugly. And whatever the narcissistic aims of the tattooed ladies, they were counter-productive.

 

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Chris Turney – lead Fool of the Ship of Fools – is selling tickets for a lecture at the Royal Institution

July 15, 2014

I don’t know who gets the proceeds from this lecture at the Royal Institution (Tickets: Standard £12, Concession £8, Associate £6, Free to Members, Faraday Members and Fellows) but one hopes that Chris Turney – he of the Ship of Fools – does not.

There is no little irony in the announcement that

“Chris Turney will present the initial findings of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013-2014, and show how private funding brought the public and science together”.

Chris Turney made an utter fool of himself in the Antarctic, and yet the Royal Institution is  providing him with an opportunity to defend his idiocy on 17th July.

To make matters worse the Guardian, instead of bringing the chief fool on the Ship of Fools to book, writes in its own inimitable, fawning style

 Professor Chris Turney from the University of New South Wales decided to follow in the footsteps of visionary geologist Douglas Mawson, who led one of the first scientific expeditions to the region 100 years ago. Turney and his team of geologists, biologists and geographers retraced Mawson’s steps, repeating the original expedition’s measurements as well as conducting new studies and surveys. …… 

Chairing proceedings is the Guardian’s former science correspondent, Alok Jha, who was also part of the expedition. 

Alok Jha’s reporting for the Guardian was particularly inane.

Why the Royal Institution is promoting this charlatan and his commercial interests is beyond me.

He helped set up a carbon refining company called Carbonscape which has developed technology to fix carbon from the atmosphere and make a host of green bi-products, helping reduce greenhouse gas levels.

Related: Turney’s tourists: the heroes who weren’t

 

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ADHD or just bad parenting?

July 11, 2014

We are on a trip and staying at a hotel known for being very “child-friendly”.

I have forgotten how boisterous our kids were when they were 8-10 years old. But the disruption caused by a few kids at breakfast today got me wondering where the line between “letting children be children” and the responsibility of parents lies. It does seem to me that claiming that a child has ADHD is too often used as an excuse for bad parenting.

If ADHD is a “disease” – and I am not convinced that it is – then it is either due to genetics or it is inculcated after birth by the quality of nurture provided or by both. Whether nature or nurture it is caused by the parents. If ADHD is not a disease but merely “learned” behaviour – or more likely “untaught” behaviour- then it is the quality  of parenting which comes into question.  It is only if it is a purely genetic disease, where nurture plays no part, and parents can no longer have any influence that it makes sense to try and medicate the condition away.

Maybe I am just too suspicious about the pharmaceutical industry. But I remain convinced that many “diseases” are invented to find a use for compounds created by the industry. And these compounds are often the result of failed research which was seeking other solutions. Marketing strategy 101 is all about finding the question for which you have an available answer.

But for the two rowdy, noisy, clumsy, messy kids at breakfast today, It was just simple bad parenting which was letting their kids down!!

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Design the change — better still, invent it, but don’t forget to manage it

July 10, 2014

(Extracts from a recent lecture on change management).

Without change even time does not exist.

Without change life itself is impossible. Elementary particles could be here or may be there. Schrodinger’s cat may be alive or maybe not. Atoms vibrate. Chemistry happens. Molecules are built. Some reproduce. Life emerges. The earth rotates. The Sun radiates. Energy is transformed. Species appear. Species disappear.  Evolution results. Continents drift. Climate changes. Energy is transformed. Radiation dissipates. Entropy increases. The Universe expands.

Before the Big Bang and the existence of time, all was stasis and maybe there will be stasis again. One day the Sun will die.

But till then we live – and die – with change. “Change Management”  appeared as a new discipline in the 1980’s to try and manage our behaviour during such change. Mergers and acquisitions across borders and cultures has given impetus to the field.

Change makes us uncomfortable but some deny it, some run away from it and some embrace it, but we all have to cope with it. The key lies in how pro-active we can be. We can classify increasing levels of being pro-active:

  1. Deny the change
  2. Observe the change
  3. React to the change
  4. Manage the change
  5. Design the change
  6. Invent the change

In the commercial world I would claim that the greatest benefit lies in being as high up among these levels as possible. I suspect that this applies to all fields of human endeavour and not just to commercial enterprises.

Denying that change has happened generally leads to isolation and eventually to extinction. That applies as well to a species as to a commercial enterprise or to an individual. Change can be gradual along existing trends or it could be a change in the trend or it can be a discontinuity and the start of a new paradigm. Observing and forecasting the changes to come is where change management begins. But there has to be a caveat here. Denying or failing to observe a change is very dangerous but so is assuming that a change is happening when it isn’t. Merely reacting to change is the norm and this passive approach means that the level of control is generally low. What will be will be. If change has happened, passive reaction must be replaced by active decisions. Even a “do nothing” option should be an active choice.

Predicting market trends is the stuff of life for market analysts and commercial enterprises. It is an attempt to observe change before it happens and to try and manage it. Even a defensive strategy should be an active decision. Establishing new products or penetrating new markets are attempts to design and manage a change. While designing a change gives a very strong position, it is no guarantee of success. Subsequent management of the change created will not happen automatically. Inventing change is the most powerful way of handling change but carries inordinate risks. A new paradigm – if created – may be quite unpredictable.

Sony invented Betamax but didn’t properly foresee the changing market they helped create.  But when they created the Walkman they shifted a paradigm. Nokia helped design the mobile telephony market but missed the switch to smart phones. Facebook and Myspace invented something new and a new paradigm of social connections ensued. But Myspace has not managed the subsequent change very well. The US invented the new Iraq but forgot to foresee or manage the change that they set in motion. The Indian electorate has invented Modi and it remains to be seen if he can manage the change and reinvent the country.

My message for all commercial enterprises becomes:

  1. Observe the changes around you (and try to forecast what they will be)
  2. Never forget to react to change
  3. Actively manage the changes which have already happened
  4. Aim to design or invent future changes but don’t forget to manage the change you create.

 

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Blitzkrieg on the football field – Superblitzingsmarticrushingvirtuosity

July 9, 2014

Brazil 1 – Germany 7

The match: Rout, embarrassment, master-class, depressing, exhilarating, staggering, bewildering, astonishing, awesome, disaster, historic, crazy, unbelievable, blitzed, farce …….

Germany: Rampant, masterful, ruthless, spectacular, skillful, superb, organised, brilliant, fast, memorable, unprecedented, clinical, triumphant, virtuoso, smart ……

Brazil: Crushed, humiliated, crumbled, swamped, shell-shocked, disgraced, heart-broken, dismantled, thrashed, shameful, farcical…..

There is a shortage of words and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious will not do.

Superblitzingsmarticrushingvirtuosity perhaps.

(super-blitzing-smarti-crushing-virtuosity)

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Why so much fuss that Facebook “manipulated” emotions?

July 8, 2014

There has been a lot of fuss lately about an internal Facebook study which managed to be published in a scientific journal as I noted in passing about 3 weeks ago.

Emotional contagion by Facebook could be a new disease. A case of the medium creating the new disease! Heightened emotions can apparently be transmitted by Facebook. The researchers find that“emotional states can be transferred to others via emotional contagion, leading people to experience the same emotions without their awareness”. And emotional contagion is what turns a crowd into a mob. And as this work from MIT shows, “Good people can do bad things. Belonging to a group makes people more likely to harm others outside the group.”

The research consisted of manipulating Facebook feeds and seeing what happened. The paper, the journal, Facebook and Cornell University have been heavily criticised for their “lack of ethics” and many are back-tracking in CYA exercises. Retraction Watch writes:

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is subjecting a much-criticized study involving Facebook that it published just two weeks ago to an Expression of Concern. …. Critics — and there were many online — said the study violated ethical norms because it did not alert participants that they were taking part.

…… Here’s the Expression of Concern, signed by editor-in-chief Inder Verma:

……. When the authors prepared their paper for publication in PNAS, they stated that: “Because this experiment was conducted by Facebook, Inc. for internal purposes, the Cornell University IRB [Institutional Review Board] determined that the project did not fall under Cornell’s Human Research Protection Program.” This statement has since been confirmed by Cornell University. ……

But I find all the fuss a little hypocritical. Manipulation of the behaviour of others is the norm and the bed-rock for all human social intercourse.

Politicians manipulate – or try to – their voters. Demagogues manipulate individuals to create a mob. Artists and authors try to arouse emotions. Scientists try to influence their grant panels. We manipulate our friends and our family members. A leader manipulates his followers. Followers try to influence their leaders. All human cooperation is built on manipulation of behaviour. We try to manipulate our enemies. When we call it “manipulation” we disapprove but when we call it “motivation” it is to be admired. Obama tries to motivate Netanyahu but Bibi usually manages to manipulate Barack. Manipulation of behaviour by persuasion is fine but manipulation by coercion is frowned upon. Any advertisement – by definition – plays with the emotions of its target audience and tries to manipulate their behaviour.

So what is wrong then when a Facebook or a Google or a Twitter  – whose business model depends on placing advertisements accurately and effectively – tries to employ “emotional contagion” to maximise their revenues? I closed my Facebook and Twitter accounts some time ago partly because I did not like their intrusive nature. But that was because I felt that my personal space was being encroached on – and beyond the level I felt comfortable with. But I certainly did not feel they were doing anything unethical. In this case I find the criticism confused and a little inane. Was it unethical for Facebook to have conducted an “internal” study. I don’t think so. Was it unethical for PNAS to have published the paper? Not really.

If it is unethical for internet sites or social media to target advertisements then it is unethical for any advertisement to be targeted towards anyone.

The onus I think lies with the individual.

 

 

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The end of the road for the large Alstom gas turbines?

July 7, 2014

(corrected February 2015)

The large (>50MW) Alstom gas turbines (GT11N2, GT13E2, GT24 and GT26) represent a line of technology which derives mainly from the BBC range of products (developed further as ABB) and acquired by Alstom in 1999. At that time Alstom’s licence with GE came to an end. But as GEC-Alsthom, Alstom had also inherited the gas turbine technology which came out of GEC in the UK. In the current Alstom range not much remains of the GEC tradition. At the smaller end Alstom also once had the gas turbine technology of the Ruston engines from Lincoln and acquired the ABB range of small machines (which themselves carried forward the developments as ASEA and some of the Sulzer range). But the entire range of industrial (<50MW) gas turbines was divested to Siemens in 2003 (and they are doing very well there).

Now as GE takes over Alstom’s power business (which has still to get final regulatory approval but looks to be a done deal), the days of the Alstom range of large gas turbines are strictly numbered. GE (and Siemens) have their own machines competing directly with the GT24 (60Hz) and GT26 (50Hz) and I do not expect that any more of these machines will ever be sold again. The sequential combustion design concept that these machines employ is so far from the GE approach that it seems impossible for any versions of these machines to continue. Alstom (as ABB) had adopted sequential combustion in the late 1990’s firstly to differentiate themselves from GE and Siemens and to get over their lack of access to advanced, high-temperature materials coming out of military jet engine programmes. Sequential combustion was first used/tested by BBC in the 1960’s 1948* though at much lower temperatures and ABB was trying to create a virtue out of a disadvantage – which the GT24 and GT26 did eventually do, but not without great problems and great cost.

GE may well have some benefit from some of the component solutions that Alstom has been forced to develop – at great expense – to get over the challenges posed by sequential combustion. Similarly some of the low-NOx solutions developed by Alstom could possibly be of use for GE. There may be some tricks for GE to pick-up regarding compressors. Certainly GE will continue with the very lucrative service market in maintaining the Alstom fleet and this will continue for perhaps 10 or 12 years at most. So while GE will benefit from the service revenue and by the reach of Alstom’s global sales organisation, the GT24 and GT26 – as products – have very little benefit to offer. It will not be possible for GE to absorb all the manpower currently employed with Alstom’s gas turbines. Not all those currently involved with the design and manufacture of the GT24 and GT26 will be needed for – or be able to switch over to – the design and manufacture of the GE range. GE’s global procurement network and its qualification of sub-suppliers is probably much more advanced than Alstom’s. I don’t expect that GE’s global sourcing will be much enhanced by the acquisition of Alstom’s Power business. Some job losses at Alstom locations are inevitable and I suspect these will be mainly in Switzerland while jobs in France will be somewhat protected by GE’s promises to the French government. At Belfort, Alstom produced GE machines under licence till 1999 and no doubt this will become GE’s centre for large gas turbines in Europe.

The GT11N2 gas turbine will probably die a natural death. It has not been a really competitive machine for over a decade and even though it has gone through many upgrades and cost reduction exercises, It has some unique advantages with low-Btu fuels but I do not think it offers GE any great advantages and they already have competing machines. The GT11N2 may have survived a little longer within the more restricted Siemens stable but even here it would have eventually withered.

The GT13E2 is possibly the only machine that may survive for a while under GE. It has some unique advantages with low-Btu fuels and could have a geographical market niche in Russia and the former CIS countries. But if it does survive it will do so only as a niche product. Again it would probably have had a longer life under Siemens but my guess is that it will not be sold for more than another 2 or 3 years.

The next market boom for large gas turbines – by my analysis – will come in the second half of 2015. This will be due partly to the 7-8 year “normal” business cycle and partly due to, and reinforced by, the advent of shale gas. And when that boom comes, the Alstom machines will be absent and there will be one less gas turbine technology available in the world. GE, Siemens and MHI will be the only three technologies left and they will be the main beneficiaries. But just three technologies are not enough. A growing market together with a dearth of technology suppliers will probably ensure the entry of another player into the field of large gas turbines.

(Actually Siemens and MHI get the best return at the lowest cost. They gain increased market space as Alstom’s machines disappear at no cost to themselves. GE gains no new products, gets the same increased market space and gets increased service revenue for Alstom machines. But GE has a large cost of acquisition and a great deal of hassle – and cost – to come as they restructure and integrate the Alstom business).

I would guess that this fourth player could well be Shanghai Electric with their newly acquired 40% stake in Ansaldo Energia. This has been something of a coup for Shanghai Electric. Doosan were also eyeing Ansaldo as a way of entering the gas turbine playing field (the entry barriers are too high for a scratch player). Both Doosan and Siemens had made bids for Ansaldo Energia but Siemens’ bid was essentially a defensive and a spoiling bid and they eventually withdrew. Doosan were the sole remaining bidder but it seems that Shanghai have pipped them at the post for this strategic acquisition.

* Correction – Sequential combustion was first used by BBC at Beznau in 1948, operating on distillate and with a TIT of 575ºC.

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Spying in style

July 6, 2014

As a teenager it was James Bond for me. Later it was Quiller. They created more than their fair share of mayhem and destruction as they saved the world from a variety of evil megalomaniacs – but always in great style. But I came late to James Bond. Before that I had already devoured the adventures of Simon Templar and his Saintly and stylish capers. Sherlock Holmes had arrogance but did not have much style. Ethan Hunt didn’t have it either. Nor did Jason Bourne.

Much can be excused if done with class. While style alone is not class it is certainly a necessary ingredient.

Class is not appearance and it is not personality or charisma; it is a style and elegance of behaviour and a consistency of actions. – Essence of a Manager

In any event it is reassuring to note that the CIA gives proper importance to style – though this guide is only for the style of the written word.

CIA Style Manual

This is the eighth edition of the CIA’s “Style Manual and Writers Guide for Intelligence Publications”.

I find it very well done and something that could well be put to use by many journalists.

For example:

meaningful — is a vacuous word that is too often used by analysts to mean Significant.
The results of the meeting were meaningful is meaningless

Masterful, masterly — Careful writers distinguish between these adjectives. A masterful person is overpowering, overbearing, or imperious; he or she is capable of mastering others. A virtuoso performance is masterly, the work of a master artist.

Preface:

The eighth edition of the Style Manual and Writers Guide for Intelligence Publications provides guidance for English usage and writing style in the Central Intelligence Agency. It incorporates most of the improvements that appeared in previous editions but returns to the organization by chapters of the earliest versions. The chapters on capitalization, numbers, abbreviations, italics, punctuation, spelling, and compound words have numerous headings and subheadings to enable users to find specific subjects quickly within the chapters themselves or through the table of contents. Further subject indexing is provided in chapter 9-the Word Watchers List-which incorporates many of the style rules in abbreviated form; it is similar to the Word Watchers Index in the fourth edition and to the overall organization of more recent editions. The manual also includes a comprehensive Spelling and Compound Words List, as have all previous editions, and an index to the entire manual.
The counsel in this guide is derived from many sources, including the works of Barzun, Bernstein, Copperud, Follett, Fowler, the Morrises, Strunk and White, Gregg, and other recognized arbiters of English usage. It also draws on the stylebooks of press services, newspapers, publishing houses, and past and present CIA offices.
A basic reference for spelling, compounding, and other instructions for all eight editions is the US Government Printing Office’s Style Manual, the most recent edition of which was issued in 2008. The GPO’s authority for spelling imd compounding words is Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, published by G. & C. Merriam Company. That dictionary or the more up-to-date abridgments of it (the latest being Webster’s 11th New Collegiate Dictionary) are the authorities for the preferred spellings listed in this guide that were not found in the GPO manual.
This guide is for both the creators and the processors of intelligence analysis-for the writers and for the editors of their analyses. It also serves writers and processors of administrative papers. Moreover, it has been used and will continue to be used by teachers and students of writing and publications processing.

It is not so easy, I suppose, to have a Style Manual for water-boarding. If only the CIA also had a Manual for classy behaviour.

 

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