"Brian Granger" <ellisonbg.net@gmail.com> Brief responses to this and previous posts and threads: You withdraw 'crisis'. Fine. Let us move on. Hobbling Python on the billion (1000 million) or so current and future single-core CPUs is not acceptible. Let us move on. Multiple cores can be used with separate processes. I expect this is where Google is, but that is another discussion, except 'Do not hold your breath" waiting for Google to publicly support multicore threading. Improving multi-thread use of multiple cores -- without hobbling single core use -- would be good. Obviously. No need to argue the point. Let us move on. What is needed is persuasion of practicality by the means Guido has requested: concrete proposals and code. Terry Jan Reedy