Quantum gravity and Extrajudicial punishment: Difference between pages

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'''Extrajudicial punishment''' is [[physical]] punishment without the permission of a court or legal authority, and as such, constitutes a violation of basic human rights (such as the right to [[due process]] and [[humane]] treatment). [[Agents]] of a [[state apparatus]] may sometimes carry out this type of punishment if they come to the conclusion that a person is an imminent threat to security. The existence of extrajudicial punishment is considered proof that some governments will break their own [[legal code]] if deemed necessary. [[Non-governmental]] or non-state actors, including private individuals, have also resorted to different forms of extrajudicial punishment, though such actions are more properly called [[assassination]], [[murder]] or [[vigilantism]] instead.

{{unreferenced|date=November 2006}}

'''Quantum gravity''' is the field of [[theoretical physics]] attempting to unify [[quantum mechanics]], which describes three of the [[Fundamental interaction|fundamental forces of nature]], with [[general relativity]], the theory of the curved spacetime that simulates the existence of the fourth fundamental force: [[Gravitation|gravity]]. In 1915 Einstein discovered that this "fourth fundamental force" does not exist and it was confirmed by various experiments (see [[Pound-Rebka experiment]]) but overlooked by some physicists whose ultimate goal is a unified framework for all fundamental forces, existing and non existing —a "[[theory of everything]]".

{{unsolved|physics|How can the theory of [[quantum mechanics]] be merged with the theory of [[general relativity]]/[[gravitation|gravitational force]] and remain correct at microscopic length scales? What verifiable predictions does any theory of quantum gravity make?}}

== Overview Existence==

Although the legal use of [[capital punishment]] is generally decreasing around the world, individuals or groups deemed immediately threatening — or even, in times of comparative stability, simply "undesirable" — to a government's ability to govern may nevertheless be targeted for killing [[extra-judicially]] by some regimes or their representatives. Such killing typically happens quickly, with skilled secret security forces on a covert basis, performed in such a way as to avoid massive public outcry and international criticism that would reflect badly on the state.

Another possibility is for [[overt]], [[uniformed security forces]] to kill the target, but often under circumstances that make it appear as [[self-defense]], such as by planting recently-fired weapons near his body, or [[fabricating evidence]] suggesting [[suicide by cop]]. In such cases, it can be surprisingly difficult to prove that the shooters acted wrongly. Because of the dangers inherent in any armed confrontation, even police or soldiers who would strongly, genuinely prefer to take their target alive may still kill him to protect themselves or civilians. Only in the most obvious cases, such as the [[Operation Flavius]] triple killing or the shooting of [[Jean Charles de Menezes]] will the authorities admit that [["kill or capture"]] was replaced with [["shoot on sight"]].

Much of the difficulty in merging these theories at all energy scales comes from the different assumptions that these theories make on how the universe works. [[Quantum field theory]] depends on particle fields embedded in the flat space-time of [[special relativity]]. [[General relativity]] models gravity as a curvature within [[spacetime|space-time]] that changes as mass moves. Historically, the most obvious way of combining the two (such as treating gravity as simply another particle field) ran quickly into what is known as the [[renormalization]] problem. In the old-fashioned understanding of renormalization, gravity particles would attract each other and adding together all of the interactions results in many infinite values which cannot easily be cancelled out mathematically to yield sensible, finite results. This is in contrast with [[quantum electrodynamics]] where, while the series still don't converge, the interactions sometimes evaluate to infinite results, but those are few enough in number to be removable via renormalization.

Extrajudicial punishment is a typical feature of [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] and other [[political repression|politically repressive]] regimes using [[death squad]]s for this purpose, but even self-proclaimed or internationally recognized [[democracies]] have been known to use extrajudicial punishment under certain circumstances. In some cases, extrajudicial punishment may be planned and carried out [[covertly]] by a particular branch of a state and its specific agents, without previously informing other sectors or even without having been secretly ordered to commit such acts. The other branches of the state can tacitly approve of it after the fact, but they can also directly disagree with it depending on the circumstances, especially when complex intragovernment or internal policy struggles exist within a state's policymaking apparatus.

In recent decades, however, this antiquated understanding of [[renormalization]] has given way to the modern idea of [[effective field theory]]. All quantum field theories come with some high-energy cutoff, beyond which we do not expect that the theory provides a good description of nature. The "infinities" then become large but finite quantities proportional to this finite cutoff scale, and correspond to processes that involve very high energies near the fundamental cutoff. These quantities can then be absorbed into an infinite collection of coupling constants, and at energies well below the fundamental cutoff of the theory, to any desired precision only a finite number of these coupling constants need to be measured in order to make legitimate quantum-mechanical predictions. This same logic works just as well for the highly successful theory of low-energy [[pion]]s as for quantum gravity. Indeed, the first quantum-mechanical corrections to graviton-graviton scattering and Newton's law of gravitation have been explicitly computed (although they are so astronomically small that we may never be able to measure them), and any more fundamental theory of nature would need to replicate these results in order to be taken seriously. In fact, gravity is in many ways a much better quantum field theory than the Standard Model, since it appears to be valid all the way up to its cutoff at the [[Planck scale]]. (By comparison, the Standard Model is expected to break down above its cutoff at the much smaller [[Electronvolt#Using_electronvolts_to_measure_time_and_distance|TeV scale]].)

In times of [[war]], [[natural disaster]], [[societal collapse]], or in the absence of an established system of [[criminal justice]], there may be an increased incidence of extrajudicial punishment. In such [[extreme circumstances]], police or military personnel may be authorised to [[summary execution|summarily execute]] individuals involved in [[rioting]], [[looting]] or [[violent acts]], especially if caught '' [[in flagrante delicto]]''.

While confirming that quantum mechanics and gravity are indeed consistent at reasonable energies (in fact, the complete structure of gravity can be shown to arise automatically from the quantum mechanics of spin-2 massless particles), this way of thinking makes clear that near or above the fundamental cutoff of our effective quantum theory of gravity (the cutoff is generally assumed to be of order the Planck scale), a new model of nature will be needed. That is, in the modern way of thinking, the problem of combining quantum mechanics and gravity becomes an issue only at very high energies, and may well require a totally new kind of model.

A [[forced disappearance|"disappearance"]] occurs where someone who is believed to have been targeted for [[extrajudicial execution]] does not reappear alive. Their ultimate fate is thereafter unknown or never fully confirmed.

The general approach taken in deriving a theory of quantum gravity that is valid at even the highest energy scales is to assume that the underlying theory will be simple and elegant and then to look at current theories for symmetries and hints for how to combine them elegantly into an overarching theory. One problem with this approach is that it is not known if quantum gravity will be a simple and elegant theory.

==Around the world==

Such a theory is required in order to understand those problems involving the combination of very large mass or energy and very small dimensions of space, such as the behavior of [[black hole]]s, and the [[Big Bang|origin of the universe]].

See [[NKVD troika]] and [[Special Council of the NKVD]] for examples from the history of the Soviet Union , where extrajudicial punishment "[[by administrative means]]" was part of the state policy. Most Latin American dictatorships have regularly instituted extrajudicial killings of their enemies; for one of the better-known examples, see ''[[Operation Condor]].''

<ref> http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3821/is_200610/ai_n17195860 </ref>

Some consider the killing of [[Black Panther Party|Black Panther]] [[Fred Hampton]] to have been an extrajudicial killing ordered by the [[United States]] government. Also, the U.S. has been accused of exercising a covert prison system set up by the [[CIA]] in several countries, especially [[Egypt]], to evade [[U.S. jurisdiction]]. <ref> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html </ref> The deaths of the leaders of the leftist urban guerilla group Red Army Faction [[Ulrike Meinhof]], [[Andreas Baader]], [[Gudrun Ensslin]], and [[Jan-Carl Raspe]] is by some regarded as extrajudicial killings, a theory partly based on the testimony of [[Irmgard Möller]] .

The government of Israel has also been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings, which they term "targeted assassinations," against leaders of organisations involved in carrying out attacks against Israel. The Israeli government and its defenders, however, consider these people to be [[enemy combatant]]s and not [[civilians]]; claiming they are legitimate military targets as per the [[Laws of war|rules of engagement]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}

== Historical perspective ==

During the [[apartheid]] years [[South Africa|South Africa's]] security forces were also accused of using extra-judicial means to deal with their political opponents. After his release, [[Nelson Mandela]] would refer to these acts as proof of a [[Third force (South Africa)|Third Force]] . This was denied vehemently by the administration of [[F.W. de Klerk]]. Later the [[South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission]], led by Archbishop [[Desmond Tutu]] would find that both military and police agencies such as the [[Civil Cooperation Bureau]] and [[C10]] based at [[Vlakplaas]] were guilty off gross [[human rights violations]]. This led the [[International Criminal Court]] to declare apartheid a [[crime against humanity]].

Historically, there have been many reactions to the apparent inconsistency of quantum theories with general relativity.

==Extra-judicial killings==

The first is that the [[geometric interpretation of general relativity]] is not fundamental. This possibility is mentioned, for example, in Steven Weinberg's classic ''Gravitation and Cosmology'' textbook, albeit in an unsubstantiated statement claiming that "no-one" takes a geometric viewpoint of gravity "seriously", a statement that has been proven inaccurate by research subsequent to the book's publication in the 1970s.

:''For extrajudicial executions see also [[Assassination]] ''

Another view is that [[background independence]] is fundamental, and quantum mechanics needs to be generalized to settings where there is not ''a priori'' specified time. The geometric point of view is expounded in the classic text ''Gravitation'', by [[Charles Misner|Misner]], [[John Archibald Wheeler|Wheeler]] and [[Kip Thorne|Thorne]]; this text, however, was written before even the discovery of the semi-classical [[Hawking radiation]] which provides perhaps the major, and certainly the first well-known, mixture of general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Extrajudicial killings are the illegal killing of leading political, trades union, dissident and/or social figures by either the state government, [[state authorities]] like the armed forces and police (as in [[Liberia]] under [[Charles G. Taylor]] ), or by [[criminal outfits]] like the [[Italian]] [[Mafia]].

Others believe that understanding a quantum theory of gravity will lead to a radically new view of space and time, and that geometry will only emerge in a semi-classical limit. Examples of such an approach include attempts to entirely quantise space and time utilising, for example, mathematical approaches to entirely discrete [[Riemann]]ian space-times. {{fact}}

Extrajudicial killings and [[death squads]] are most common in the Middle East (mostly in Palestine and [[Iraq]]) <ref> http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=FUL20051124&articleId=1315 </ref> <ref> http://www.electronicintifada.net/bytopic/extrajudicial-killings.shtml </ref> <ref> http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr510792005 </ref> <ref> http://www.brusselstribunal.org/FullerKillings.htm </ref> <ref> http://soccerdad.baltiblogs.com/archives/2007/06/24/extrajudicial_killings_hamas_style.html </ref>, Central America<ref>http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/US_ThirdWorld/deathsquads_ElSal.html</ref>

While various approaches are currently considered, the two major theories are [[String theory]] and [[loop quantum gravity]]. String theory is a background-dependent, perturbative theory of gravity, normally formulated on a flat ([[Minkowski space|Minkowski]]) spacetime. In the time since its conception, string theory has become a major hope towards a "theory of everything" since, within its many limits, it appears to include the symmetry groups of the [[Standard Model]] of particle physics.{{fact}} In stark contrast, loop quantum gravity is an attempt merely to directly quantise General Relativity and makes no claims towards being a "theory of everything". In loop quantum gravity, spacetime is redefined in new [[Ashtekar variables]] that facilitate the removal of the infinities that plague a more traditional approach to a quantum theory of general relativity. In essence, while string theory is an ambitious attempt to generate a theory of everything from (unsubstantiated) fundamental principles, loop quantum gravity merely seeks to pursue well-established quantisation procedures within the context of curved-spacetimes. Despite this intrinsic (and fundamental) disparity in philosophy, it has been suggested that string theory and loop quantum gravity, to some extents, embody effects of an underlying unity. For all this, proponents of loop quantum gravity will point out that while a free ([[Immirzi parameter|Immirzi]]) parameter in LQG can be fixed with reference to the [[entropy]] of [[black hole]]s, there are few -- if any -- possible observational constraints on string theory.

<ref>http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR290151996?open&of=ENG-SLV</ref>

<ref>http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nsa/publications/elsalvador2/index.html</ref> , [[Afghanistan]], [[Bangladesh]] <ref> http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/48723123_world_bangladesh_release_journalist_and_rights_activist </ref>

, [[India]] and Kashmir <ref> http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/44302 </ref>

<ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6367917.stm </ref>

<ref> http://www.gharib.demon.co.uk/reports/ustates.htm </ref>

<ref> http://sangam.org/taraki/articles/2006/09-19_Extrajudicial_Killings.php?uid=1954 </ref> <ref> http://www.tamilnation.org/intframe/us/060529ustamils.htm </ref>

<ref> http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF71.htm </ref> several nations or regions in [[Equatorial Africa]]<ref>http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/30001/story.htm</ref>

, many parts of [[South America]] <ref> http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR190082007 </ref>, [[Chechnya]] , <ref> http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article2293482.ece </ref>, [[Russia]]<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6163502.stm</ref>

, [[Uzbekistan]], [[North Ossetia]], parts of [[Thailand]] <ref> http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/407/ </ref>

<ref> http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=11686 </ref> and in the [[Philippines]] <ref> http://www.pinoyhr.net/ </ref> <ref> http://hrw.org/reports/2007/philippines0607/ </ref> <ref> http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2692483.ece} </ref> <ref> http://www.radiopinoyusa.com/radiopinoy_news.php?id=NEWS-00592} </ref>

<ref> http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2007/07271.htm </ref> <ref> http://newsinfo.inq7.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=11686 </ref>.

The 3 different modern examples are listed in the sub-headings below, along with the 'Cold War' to help to illustrate the point.

== The "incompatibility" of quantum mechanics and general relativity ==

===Cold war usage===

At present, one of the deepest problems in theoretical physics is harmonizing the theory of [[general relativity]], which describes gravitation and applies to large-scale structures (stars, planets, galaxies), with quantum mechanics, which describes the other three [[fundamental forces]] acting on the microscopic scale. This problem must be put in the proper context, however. In particular, contrary to the popular but erroneous claim that quantum mechanics and general relativity are fundamentally incompatible, one can in fact demonstrate that the structure of general relativity essentially follows inevitably from the quantum mechanics of interacting spin-2 massless particles (called [[gravitons]]). Furthermore, recent work[http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9512024] has shown that by treating general relativity as an [[effective field theory]], one can actually make legitimate predictions for quantum gravity, at least for low-energy phenomena. An example is the well-known calculation of the tiny first-order quantum-mechanical correction to the classical Newtonian gravitational potential between two masses. Such predictions would need to be replicated by any candidate theory of high-energy quantum gravity.

[[Image:Nguyen.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[General]] [[Nguyễn Ngọc Loan]] summarily executes [[Nguyễn Văn Lém]].]]

Historically, however, it was believed for a long time that general relativity was in fact fundamentally inconsistent with quantum mechanics. The argument went as follows. General relativity, like electromagnetism, is a [[classical field theory]]. Naively one expects that, as with electromagnetism, there should be a corresponding [[quantum field theory]]. However, one runs into a serious problem: gravity is [[nonrenormalizable]]. For a quantum field theory to be well-defined, according to this now-outdated understanding of the subject, it must be [[asymptotic freedom|asymptotically free]] or [[asymptotic safety|asymptotically safe]]. In less technical language, this has a simple meaning: the theory must be characterized by a choice of ''finitely many'' parameters, which could in principle be set by experiment. For example, in [[quantum electrodynamics]] these parameters are the charge and mass of the electron, as measured at a particular energy scale. On the other hand, when one quantizes gravity, one finds that there are ''infinitely many independent parameters'' needed to define the theory. For a given choice of those parameters, one could make sense of the theory, but since we can never do infinitely many experiments to fix the values of every parameter, we do not have a meaningful physical theory. At low energies, the logic of the [[renormalization group]] tells us that, despite the unknown choices of these infinitely many parameters, quantum gravity will reduce to the usual Einstein theory of [[general relativity]]. On the other hand, if we could probe very high energies where quantum effects take over, then ''every one'' of the infinitely many unknown parameters would begin to matter, and we could make no predictions at all.

The former [[Soviet Union]] and [[Communist Bloc]] country used to also killed dissidents this way to, during the [[Cold War]]. Those who were not killed were sent to '[[Gulag]]' prison camps.

However, from the perspective of [[effective field theory]], one sees that all but the first few such parameters are suppressed by huge energy scales and hence can be neglected when computing low-energy effects. Thus, at least in the low-energy regime, the model is indeed a predictive quantum field theory[http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9512024]. (A very similar situation occurs for the very similar effective field theory of low-energy pions.) Furthermore, most theorists agree that even the Standard Model should really be regarded as an effective field theory as well, with "nonrenormalizable" interactions suppressed by large energy scales and whose effects have consequently not been observed experimentally.

[[Nguyễn Văn Lém ]] (referred to as Captain Bay Lop) (died 1 [[February 1968]] in Saigon ) was a member of the [[Viet Cong]] who was summarily executed in [[Saigon]] during the [[Tet Offensive]]. The picture of his death would became one of may an anti- [[Vietnam War]] icons in the [[Western World]]. <ref> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_V%C4%83n_L%C3%A9m </ref>

However, any meaningful theory of quantum gravity that makes sense and is predictive at all energy scales must have some deep principle that reduces the infinitely many unknown parameters to a finite number that can then be measured. One possibility is that normal [[perturbation theory]] is not a reliable guide to the renormalizability of the theory, and that there really ''is'' a [[UV fixed point]] for gravity. Since this is a question of [[non-perturbative]] quantum field theory, it is difficult to find a reliable answer, but some people still pursue this option. Another possibility is that there are new symmetry principles that constrain the parameters and reduce them to a finite set. This is the route taken by [[string theory]], where all of the excitations of the string essentially manifest themselves as new symmetries.

During the 1960s throughout the 1970s death squads were used against the [[Viet Cong]] cadre as well as supporters in neighbouring countries notably [[Cambodia]]. See also [[Phoenix Program]] (also known as Phung Hoang). The [[Viet Cong]] also used death squads of their own against civilians for political reasons. {{Facts|date=February 2007}}

A fundamental lesson of general relativity is that there is no fixed spacetime background, as found in [[Newtonian mechanics]] and [[special relativity]]; the spacetime geometry is dynamic. While easy to grasp in principle, this is the hardest idea to understand about general relativity, and its consequences are profound and not fully explored, even at the classical level. To a certain extent, general relativity can be seen to be a [[relational theory]], in which the only physically relevant information is the relationship between different events in space-time.

The use of computers by the American forces to compile lists of 'suspects' as well as the indefinite detention of 'suspects' in 'black' locations as well as their detention, torture, and execution without judicial oversight or protection is typical of American [[black ops]] in the Post World War II era.

[[Argentina]] used extrajudicial killings as way of crushing the [[liberal]] and [[communist]] opposition to the military [[Junta]] during the '[[Dirty war]]' <ref> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_War </ref> of the late [[1960's]] and most of the [[1970's]]. The [[Chilean]] Junta of [[1972]] to [[1992]] also committed such killings to. See [[Operation Condor]] for examples.

On the other hand, quantum mechanics has depended since its inception on a fixed background (non-dynamical) structure. In the case of quantum mechanics, it is [[time]] that is given and not dynamic, just as in Newtonian classical mechanics. In relativistic quantum field theory, just as in classical field theory, [[Minkowski spacetime]] is the fixed background of the theory. Finally, [[string theory]] started out as a generalization of quantum field theory where instead of point particles, string-like objects propagate in a fixed spacetime background. Although string theory had its origins in the study of [[quark confinement]] and not of quantum gravity, it was soon discovered that the string spectrum contains the [[graviton]], and that "condensation" of certain vibration modes of strings is equivalent to a modification of the original background. In this sense, string perturbation theory exhibits exactly the features one would expect of a perturbation theory that may exhibit a strong dependence on asymptotics (as seen, for example, in the [[AdS/CFT]] correspondence) which is a weak form of background dependence.

Also during the [[Communist]] versus [[Capitalist]] [[Salvadoran civil war]], death squads achieved notoriety when [[far-right]] [[vigilantes]] [[assassinated]] [[Archbishop Óscar Romero]] for his social activism in [[March 1980]]. In [[December 1980]], three [[United States|American]] [[nuns]] and a lay worker were raped and murdered by a [[military unit]] later found to have been acting on specific orders. [[Death squads]] were instrumental in killing hundreds of peasants and activists. Because the death squads involved were found to have been soldiers of the [[Salvadoran military]], which was receiving U.S. funding and training from American advisers during the Carter administration. <ref> http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/US_ThirdWorld/deathsquads_ElSal.html</ref>During the [[El Salvador Civil War|Salvadoran civil war]], death squads achieved notoriety when far-right vigilantes assassinated Archbishop [[Óscar Romero]] for his social activism in March 1980 . In December 1980, three American nuns and a lay worker were raped and murdered by a military unit later found to have been acting on specific orders. Death squads were instrumental in killing hundreds of peasants and activists. Because the death squads involved were found to have been soldiers of the Salvadoran military, which was receiving U.S. funding and training from American advisors during the [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] administration, these events prompted outrage in the U.S. and led to a temporary cutoff in military aid from the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] administration.

Quantum field theory on curved (non-Minkowskian) backgrounds, while not a quantum theory of gravity, has shown that some of the assumptions of quantum field theory cannot be carried over to curved spacetime, let alone to full-blown quantum gravity. In particular, the vacuum, when it exists, is shown to depend on the path of the observer through space-time (see [[Unruh effect]]). Also, some argue that in curved spacetime, the field concept is seen to be fundamental over the particle concept (which arises as a convenient way to describe localized interactions). However, since it appears possible to regard curved spacetime as consisting of a condensate of gravitons, there is still some debate over which concept is truly the more fundamental.

One of the earliest cases of extradudical killings was in Wiemar [[Germany]] <ref> http://econ161.berkeley.edu/movable_type/2003_archives/001832.html </ref>.

Loop quantum gravity is the fruit of an effort to formulate a background-independent quantum theory. [[Topological quantum field theory]] provided an example of background-independent quantum theory, but with no local degrees of freedom, and only finitely many degrees of freedom globally. This is inadequate to describe gravity in 3+1 dimensions which has local degrees of freedom according to general relativity. In 2+1 dimensions, however, gravity is a topological field theory, and it has been successfully quantized in several different ways, including [[spin networks]].

===Middle east===

There are two other points of tension between quantum mechanics and general relativity. First, general relativity predicts its own breakdown at singularities, and quantum mechanics becomes inconsistent with general relativity in a neighborhood of singularities (however, no one is certain that classical general relativity should necessarily be trusted near singularities in the first place). Second, it is not clear how to determine the gravitational field of a particle, if under the [[Heisenberg uncertainty principle]] of quantum mechanics its ___location and velocity cannot be known with certainty. The resolution of these points may come from a better understanding of general relativity [http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0506506].

The [[Israeli intelligence]] and [[Hamas]] [[Militants]] have been in a steady war of attrition with each other, regularly killing local officials since the [[Fatah]] / Hamas [[civil war]] began in early [[2007]]. [[Iraq]] has also suffered badly since the post-invasion insurgency of [[2005]].

== Theories ==

There are a number of proposed quantum gravity theories:

*[[String theory]]/[[superstring theory]]/[[M-theory]]

*[[Supergravity]]

*[[AdS/CFT correspondence]]

*[[Wheeler-deWitt equation]]

*[[Loop quantum gravity]]

*[[Euclidean quantum gravity]]

*[[Noncommutative geometry]]

*[[Twistor|Twistor theory]]

*[[Discrete Lorentzian quantum gravity]]

*[[Sakharov induced gravity]]

*[[Regge calculus]]

*[[acoustic metric]] and other analog models of gravity

*[[Process physics]]

===Philippines===

== Weinberg-Witten theorem ==

There is a theorem in [[quantum field theory]] called the [[Weinberg-Witten theorem]] which places some constraints on theories of [[composite gravity]]/[[emergent gravity]].

Death squads were especially active in this country during the American invasion of the [[1950s]] and the regime in the 1980s; they continue to be active as of 2007.

== Quantum gravity theorists ==

''See [[list of quantum gravity researchers]]''

The [[New People's Army]] ('''NPA''') groups known as "[[Sparrow Units]]" were active in the mid-1980s, killing government officials, police personnel, military members, and anyone else they targeted for elimination. They were also supposedly part of an NPA operation called "[[Agaw Armas]]" ([[Filipino]] for "[[Stealing Weapons]]

"), where they raided government armories as well as stealing weapons from slain military and police personnel. A low level [[civil war]] with south [[Moslems]], [[Al-Qaeda]] sympathizers and [[communist]] insurgents has lead to a general break down of [[law and order]]. The [[Politics_of_the_Philippines#National_Government_of_the_Philippines|Philippines government]] has promised to curb the killings, but is itself implicated in many of the killings. <ref>http://www.pinoyhr.net/</ref>

====Extrajudicial Killings Summit====

The 22nd [[PUNO Supreme Court]] is set to hold a [[National Consultative Summit on extrajudicial killings]] on July 16 and 17, [[2007]] at the [[Manila Hotel]]. Invited representatives from the three branches of the government will participate (including the [[AFP]], the [[PNP]], [[CHR]], [[media]], [[academe]], [[civil society]] and [[other stakeholders]]).

[[Puno]] will give the [[keynote speech]] and [[closing remarks]]. [[Puno]] searches for major solutions to solve forced disappearances.

During the first day of the summit, the speakers will present their respective papers comprising significant inputs from their respective sectors, while on the second day, the participants will break out into 12 groups (chaired by a Justice) and take part in a workshop. Local and international observers (the diplomatic corps and representatives from various international organizations) will be accredited.

Puno announced that "the summit highlight will be a plenary session where each of the 12 groups shall report to the body their recommended resolutions. The reports and proposals will be synthesized and then transmitted to the concerned government agencies for appropriate action".

The earlier slated [[Malacañang]]-sponsored "Mindanao Peace and Security Summit (July 8-10, 2007 at Cagayan de Oro City), focussed on how to make the anti-terror law, or the Human Security Act (HSA) of 2007, more acceptable to the public. <ref>[http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=75094 Inquirer.net, SC slates summit on extrajudicial killings]</ref><ref>[http://www.gmanews.tv/story/49959/SC-slates-summit-on-extrajudicial-killings GMA NEWS.TV, Chief Justice unfazed by Palace meet]</ref>

On July 16, 2007, Justices, activists, militant leaders, police officials, politicians and prelates attended the Supreme Court's two-day summit at the Manila Hotel in [[Manila City]] to map out ways to put an end to the string of extrajudicial killings in the [[Philippines]]. Bayan was set to launch their "[[silent protest]]", but expressed support for the high court's initiative. Director Geary Barias, chief of the police's anti-killings Task Force Usig, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, [[Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim]], Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Yñiguez, re-elected party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo (Bayan Muna) and Crispin Beltran (Anakpawis) attended. Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno said that the "National Consultative Summit on Extrajudicial Killings and Forced Disappearances: Searching for Solutions," would help stop the murders. Delegates were given 12 to 15 minutes each to share their insights and knowledge about the matter. Yniguez accused the government of failing to actively pursue investigations on the hundreds of killings and the Catholic Church was alarmed that victims have been denied their "fundamental right" to live.

Based on Yniguez-church's count, the number of victims of extrajudicial killings has reached 778, while survivors of "political assassinations," was pegged at 370. He also noted 203 "massacre" victims, 186 people who involuntarily disappeared, 502 tortured, and others who were illegally arrested. Yniguez similarly criticized the government's alleged insistence on implementing its Oplan Bantay Laya I and II (the military's counter-insurgency operation plans which militants have said consider legal people's organizations as targets).

Meanwhile, Bayan urged the Supreme Court to "check serious threats to civil liberties and basic freedoms" including the anti-terror law or the Human Security Act of 2007, which took effect on July 15 despite protests from leftist groups.

Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. will join Bayan and other leftist groups as petitioners in their formal pleading before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the law. Human rights lawyer Atty. Edre Olalia of the International Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL) will serve as lead counsel. Bayan chair Carol Araullo said the respondents will include members of the Anti-Terrorism Council headed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Raul Gonzalez. Earlier, [CBCP president Angel Lagdameo] pointed out at least 5 provisions of the law that may threaten civil liberties: Sec. 19 allows detentions of mere suspects for more than three days in the event of an actual or terrorist attack, while Section 26 allows house arrest despite the posting of bail, and prohibits the right to travel and to communicate with others; Sec. 39 allows seizure of assets while Sec. 7 allows surveillance and wiretapping of suspects; Sec. 26 allows the investigation of bank deposits and other assets. <ref>[http://www.gmanews.tv/story/51197/Justices-activists-prelates-map-out-ways-to-end-killings GMA NEWS.TV, Justices, activists, prelates map out ways to end killings]</ref>

===United Kingdom (UK)===

In [[Northern Ireland]], various [[paramilitary]], [[terrorist]], [[quasi-political]], [[pseudo-religious]], and ''ad hoc'' state institutions killed without lawful excuse during [[The Troubles]].

<ref> http://www.btinternet.com/~chief.gnome/gordon16.htm </ref>

<ref> http://www.hrw.org/reports/1993/WR93/Hsw-09.htm </ref> <ref> http://www.sptimes.com/2007/06/24/Opinion/A_grim_lesson_from_Ul.shtml </ref> <ref> http://naclaoimhtesolais.com/Reject%20The%20PSNI.htm </ref>

In [[England]] ''ad hoc'' [[racist]] and [[criminal]] [[gangs]] are also believed to behind most of the recent [[racist]] and [[Black-on-Black urban killings]]. The British state has apparently paid little attention to either the problems of [[gangland]] or [[racist killing]]s in the UK. <ref> http://customxml.com/rssnews/index.php?blog=3&title=damilola_killer_loses_attempt_to_quash_c&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 </ref> <ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2773771.stm </ref>

<ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1792334.stm </ref>

<ref> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4791094.stm </ref>

<ref> http://kcl.ac.uk/phpnews/wmview.php?ArtID=982 </ref>

== Human rights groups==

Many [[human rights]] organisations like [[Amnesty International]] along with the [[UN]] are campaigning against extrajudicial punishment . <ref>

http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/ </ref>

<ref> http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22046&Cr=rights&Cr1=council </ref>

<ref>http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR290151996?open&of=ENG-SLV</ref>

<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6814001/site/newsweek/</ref>

<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/</ref>

==In popular culture==

The subject of extrajudicial punishment was examined in the stage play and subsequent film '' [[A Few Good Men]] ''. In this film, two marines are put on trial for the death of another marine due to their administering of a ''[[Code Red]]'' (a [[military colloquial speech]] term for [[extrajudicial punishment]]) on him. The [[film]] sees the [[U.S. Marines]] acquitted of the crime, as it is shown that they were [[acting under orders from their superiors]], and therefore [[could not be held responsible for the consequences]].

== See also ==

* [[Centauro eventAssassination]]

* [[HawkingDeath Radiationsquad]]

* [[Extraordinary rendition]]

*[[M-theory]]

* [[Lynching]]

*[[AdS/CFT correspondence]]

* [[Process PhysicsOutlaw]]

* [[Human rights]]

*[[Quantum field theory in curved spacetime]]

* [[SemiclassicalSummary gravityexecution]]

* [[String theoryPosse]]

* [[Abraham-LorentzPrison forcerape]]

* [[Selective assassination]]

* [[Summary execution]]

* [[Summary justice]]

* [[Terrorism]]

* [[Vigilante]]

== In popular culture ==

The famous spoof of [[postmodernism]] by [[Alan Sokal]] (see [[Sokal Affair]]) was entitled ''Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity''.

== External links ==

===Monitoring organizations===

* [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18725101.800 The shape of things to come] [[New Scientist]], July 30 2005

*[[Amnesty International]]

*[http://xstructure.inr.ac.ru/x-bin/theme2.py?arxiv=gr-qc&level=4&index1=0 Quantum gravity articles ]

*[http://www.ansarburney.org/ Ansar Burney Trust] (Pakistan and the Middle East)

*[http://www.qgravity.org/ Quantum Gravity pages by Lee Smolin] (no longer active, archived at http://web.archive.org/web/20060428001322/http://www.qgravity.org/)

*[[Human Rights Watch]]

==References==

[[Category:Quantum gravity|*]]

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