In 1987 Per Bak, Chao Tang and Kurt Wiesenfeld proposed a simple cellular automaton, sandpile model, which exhibits critical behavior [1, 2, 3]. In this critical behavior state small perturbations acting upon the system may cause huge consequences or go completely unnoticed. The impact of these consequences seems to follow power-law distribution.

In this text we will briefly discuss how the model works and present interactive applet. We would like to draw your attention to a previous article in which described earthquake model.

Campaigns for 2016 US presidential election have already started and some vloggers are looking into interesting ways candidates may gain upper hand.

Another TED talk relevant in the scope of Physics of Risk - this time about applications of the complexity theory to understand biological systems.

The evolution of financial markets will impact on everyone's life, as all areas of our activities are somehow related with finance and economy. The precise prediction of following events in the coming few months is hardly possible, so our attention has to be on the watch of news flow from the world's financial sectors and our actions has to be as possible timely. What is going on?

Though the attention of world's media during the summer period was primarily devoted to the Greece, potentially the most globally important financial and economic processes originate in China and outspread very far away. China already in 2008 reacting on the global financial crises was one of the first countries, which implemented very wide 586 billion US dollars programme of financial stimulation for the development of the country's infrastructure. Though from the outside view Chines have succeeded to overcome global crises and the growth of GDP was the most rapid in the world, the whole mechanism of financial stimulation experienced serious imperfections exaggerating investment projects with insufficient economic reasoning, overvalued development of housing and building new economic disproportions inside the country. The general estimation of the stimulation program indicates that this contributed to the growth of China after 2008 exceeds up to the 90 percent of whole GDP growth (see article by Bill Powel on Time). Nevertheless, several giant projects have really failed.

Though Paul Krugman is among the most prominent critics of the Euro idea [1], there are many other professional economists and journalists criticizing the macroeconomic policy of Euro zone. The problem of Greece has become one of the most disputable because there is permanent pressure of opinions ranging from a flat denial of Euro project to the uncompromising critics of all steps in the process of its implementation. "Realize," the main problem of the European development arises from the bad idea and implementation of common currency and the whole EU project gets stuck on this idea.