UPDATES ARCHIVE FOR MARCH 2004
HOME PAGE	Kleiner's Korner for Week of March 29, 2004 Kleiner's Korner is on holiday this week. Kleiner's Korner Yelm/NASCAR Special Edition Update Regarding the Yelm NASCAR Track: The Olympian newspaper is sponsoring a Forum on their website titled: Do you want a NASCAR track in Yelm? Here is that link for you to comment: link here In the Nisqually Valley News Edition of March 19, 2004, the "City Talk" article by Yelm Mayor Adam Rivas this week is about the NASCAR track on page A-5. The Mayor also states in the Front Page article, "Many callers (voicing opinions about the proposed track) identify themselves as citizens of the City of Yelm, but actually live outside the city limits," implying this is only a City of Yelm voter issue. Yet he mentions in his "City Talk" editorial that "another thing we would need is the support of the surrounding communities such as Roy, Rainier and Tenino." Just a reminder to the local area readers that funding will come form State and County sources, as well as Yelm, to pull this off. So, all Thurston County taxpayers and voters have a stake in this issue. The Nisqually Valley News has not updated their website with the March 19th online edition yet, so check back for their story at this link: link here Here is the latest from The Olympian. Look for a public forum in Yelm sometimes the middle of April: link here Make your comments heard! Now is not too early..... . Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2004. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com Send comments to Steve@kleinerskorner.com Kleiner's Korner for Week of March 22, 2004 Peter Renton, a particle physicist at the University of Oxford, says what is called the "God particle", one of the most sought after particles in physics - the Higgs boson, may have been detected by researchers from a signal obtained at the large electron positron collider (LEP) in Geneva, Switzerland. link here 1. In a paper to be published in the April issue of Nature Biotechnology, scientists reported last week that they had successfully induced bald mice to grow new hair after being implanted with stem cells. From the report on MSNBC, ". . . the researchers teased out what scientists had suspected for years: hair contains supplies of immature ‘blank slate’ stem cells that help keep most humans under a full head of hair for life. Though called stem cells, they differ from embryonic stem cells, which are created in the first days after conception and give rise to the entire human body and its more than 200 different cells." link here . 2. After years of fighting by CSPI for better labeling on food products, the FDA finally said last week ". . . it would ask food manufacturers and some restaurants to label food more clearly so that ever-fatter Americans can easily figure out how many calories they are getting in a serving. The FDA also said it would consider stricter labeling requirements for packaged food and for some restaurant labels," in this story from MSNBC: link here According to CSPI, "Ruby Tuesday (restaurants) deserves enormous credit for announcing today that it will put nutrition information for all of its items right on its menus. By doing that, by saying it will add some more healthful foods, and by its earlier decision to fry in a trans-fat-free cooking oil, Ruby Tuesday stands head and shoulders above its competitors when it comes to nutrition.” link here Further, here is the CSPI response to the FDA Obesity Report: link here . 3. From NASA's Press Release this week, "NASA-funded researchers have discovered the most distant object orbiting Earth's sun. The object is a mysterious planet-like body three times farther from Earth than Pluto . . . . The object, called Sedna for the Inuit goddess of the ocean, is 13 billion kilometers (8 billion miles) away, in the farthest reaches of the solar system. This is likely the first detection of the long-hypothesized ‘Oort cloud,’ a faraway repository of small icy bodies that supplies the comets that streak by Earth. Other notable features of Sedna include its size and reddish color. After Mars, it is the second reddest object in the solar system. It is estimated Sedna is approximately three-fourths the size of Pluto. Sedna is likely the largest object found in the solar system since Pluto was discovered in 1930." Here is the full text: link here More on this story from Caltech: link here And NASA: link here Be aware that "on March 27, a naked-eye observer in mid-northern latitudes will be able to see five of our neighboring planets in the evening sky at once: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter. It will take a low horizon and, of course, good weather to witness this unusual sight," according to this New York Times story: link here . 4. Last week, NASA agreed to a request for a second opinion on the fate of the Hubble Telescope by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) who sits on the senate committee that controls NASA’s budget. The National Academy of Sciences will examine the question of the future of Hubble, which will no longer operate in about 3 1/2 years without maintenance provided by the Shuttle, now deemed too risky in the wake of the Columbia disaster. This story aired on the CBS News broadcast of 60 Minutes on March 14th: link here . 5. A Big "HUM!" Did a UFO bring down the Beagle 2 on Mars? This question is being investigated by the European Space Agency, as “the 143 pound probe gave no answering signal to scheduled attempts to contact it on Christmas Day (2003) and has remained stubbornly silent ever since," according to The Scotsman: link here . 6. Here is a fascinating story of four people in Russia who had lost their memory – their past, their names, their families – all were not remembered. Their lives were changed forever as they moved to a different part of the brain to live out their lives. link here . 7. The Russian online edition of Pravda is reporting the story of a gifted boy in northern Russia: “’Can you imagine, while everyone was sitting around the campfire at night, some little boy (about 7 years of age) suddenly asked everyone’s attention. Turned out, he wanted to tell them all about life on Mars, about its inhabitants and their flights to earth,’ shares one of the witnesses. Silence followed. It was incredible! The little boy with gigantic lively eyes was about to tell a magnificent story about the Martian civilization, about megalithic cities, their spaceships and flights to various planets, about a wonderful country Lemuria, life of which he knew in details since he happened to descend there from Mars, had friends there." link here . 8. Pravda is also reporting in a story titled, "Time Can be Turned Back" about an investigation of the unusual phenomenon about time reversal underway. Supposedly, a whirling crater above the South Pole is a tunnel allowing penetration into other times and this phenomenon is called "the time-gate". link here . 9. Forget Puget Sound being a terrorist target with their "dirty bombs"! Now, two Washington Congressmen have demanded a briefing with Rear Admiral Charles Young, the Director of the Navy's Strategic Systems Program, about an incident where the nose cone of a Trident I C-4 missile was gouged as it was hoisted into its protected sleeve last November, on which the Navy has been stonewalling. Why is this an issue, you might ask? No emergency services units of the town, county or state were notified when this occurred, which could have resulted in a radiation release into a densely populated area. At the very least, notification would have led to some disaster training drills, informed the public and had emergency services prepared. There was no damage to any of the warheads inside the missile and the Navy still insists ". . . ‘there has never been a Trident weapons-system accident’ at either SWFPAC or its sister facility on the East Coast.” One source, who had been briefed on the Navy's investigation into the incident, said a mishap would likely be labeled an "accident" only if there was a release of radiation. [Ed. Note: The military still does not get that it works for the American taxpayer; instead it operates as usual, on a “need to know” basis. Yikes!] link here . 10. If you have not checked it out lately, you might want to Bookmark the USGS Earthquake list site: link here Check out the intensity and frequency of American earthquakes, in particular in California and Alaska, on this USA map: link here . 11. The first ever DVD from Ramtha has just been released. How exciting is this? Have you ever opened your mind to contemplate what science knows today?? This quote from Ramtha on the DVD will make you think outside of your "box": "If you had audience with a quantum physicist who told you about the many-worlds concept, and that you are the Observer, and you are only limited by what you know and what you are inspired to focus upon to have those experiences of time-shifting and timelines, and that you are creating reality, imagine it gets even more glorious. You speak to a geneticist who will say your DNA is prepared to keep you at thirty years old or twenty years old, or whatever age you wish, for two hundred years and beyond. It is already. So you can't deny this. It is science, baby." You can check this out and order at: link here . 12. Check out this site from the BBC about detecting fake or genuine smiles. This is a fascinating link: link here Further, enjoy this site and The Observer of Nature and be sure to turn up your sound: link here . A Kleiner's Korner reader in Australia sent a letter reporting that Sydney and surrounding areas recorded the second highest temperature for March on the 9th, which was 39.79 Celsius or 101.8 Fahrenheit. Here is a report on the Heat Wave Down Under that began in February: link here . Quote of the Week: "To a friend one must close one eye. To keep him - two." Norman Douglas 1868-1952 Scottish-born novelist and essayist There will be no Kleiner's Korner next week, March 29, 2004. Look for the next KK the week of April 5, 2004. Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2004. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com Kleiner's Korner Special Edition Follow-up Dear Readers, Kleiner's Korner has not received so many emails and phone calls since before the start of the Iraq War as with the proposed NASCAR track in Yelm. Due to the volume of letters asking, "What can we do?" to voice our concern, I am writing this follow-up. On Wednesday night, March 10, 2004, Yelm Mayor Adam Rivas, a member of Yelm's racetrack task force, attended a meeting about a track with Chamber of Commerce members, Port of Olympia Commissioner Steve Pottle and Michael Cade, executive director of the Economic Development Council of Thurston County. A Daytona Beach, Fla., company that builds NASCAR tracks visited the proposed Yelm track site in December, 2003 and those same officials of the International Speedway Corp. appeared before the Legislature's economic development committees two weeks ago, seeking state support for a track up to a mile in length. Yelm officials were the first to call expressing interest in the track. Regarding the potential of NASCAR looking at Yelm for a Western Washington site, the following people can be contacted to voice your concern: Adam Rivas, Mayor of Yelm 1-360-458-8401 Shelly Badger, City Administrator of Yelm 1-360-458-8405 Steve Pottle, Port of Olympia Commissioner 1-360-528-8000 Michael Cade, Director of the Thurston County Economic Development Council 1-360-754-6320 This is the article describing Thurston County's interests: link here And The Nisqually News site: link here . Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2004. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com . Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com Kleiner's Korner Special Edition for Saturday, March 13, 2004 Of local note: For those of you living in the Yelm, WA area, the inhabitants of Thurston County were told this week that the City of Yelm has formed a task force and boosters have an eye on a 1,400 acre site to lure NASCAR here, which would include an 80,000-seat Northwest stock car racetrack, and subsequent widening of local state roads to support the ensuing traffic. The site is behind the Yelm High School and would be devastating to the beauty and serenity of this area. Let city and government officials know that you are opposed to this development. This from The Olympian.: link here Kleiner's Korner for Week of March 15, 2004 The Vernal Equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere will be at 10:49p.m. PST on Friday, March 19, 2004, the exact time the Sun will cross directly over Earth’s equator. link here Here is some interesting information on the Spring Equinox from Fact Monster: link here 1. This Kleiner's Korner piece contributed by my dad: Papa Kleiner: No recorded living human being has ever witnessed a transit or passage of a planet across the face of the Sun, as this is a relatively rare occurrence, last seen in 1882. As seen from Earth, only transits of Mercury and Venus are possible [Ed. Note: Since these are the only 2 planets between the Earth and the Sun.]. On average, there are 13 transits of Mercury each century. In contrast, transits of Venus occur in pairs with more than a century separating each pair. This situation is about to change since Venus will transit the Sun on Tuesday, 2004 June 08. This information is from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. link here The transit will not be visible in the U. S. Pacific Northwest. However, Kleiner's Korner readers in Africa, Europe, the Middle East & much of Asia will have a terrific view, if a cloudless day: link here And, a fascinating page on the Planetary Transits Across the Sun: link here . 2. Mentioned here several times recently are the global warming concerns of the world’s scientists. Now, NASA has added its weight to this issue this month by saying “Global warming could plunge North America and Western Europe into a deep freeze, possibly within only a few decades. That's the paradoxical scenario gaining credibility among many climate scientists. The thawing of sea ice covering the Arctic could disturb or even halt large currents in the Atlantic Ocean. Without the vast heat that these ocean currents deliver--comparable to the power generation of a million nuclear power plants--Europe's average temperature would likely drop 5 to 10°C (9 to 18°F), and parts of eastern North America would be chilled somewhat less. Such a dip in temperature would be similar to global average temperatures toward the end of the last ice age roughly 20,000 years ago.” link here Be sure to check out the Retreating Arctic ice graphic, taken from 1979-2003, based on data collected by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Special Sensor Microwave Imager. link here . 3. Further to this story is a report by Whitley Strieber on his Unknown Country website stating, “The greatest environmental catastrophe in recorded history is now unfolding. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute has announced that the North Atlantic Oscillation is failing, and, along with it, the Gulf Stream. The Institute has observed ‘the largest and most dramatic oceanic change ever measured in the era of modern instruments,’ in an analysis of Atlantic ocean currents from pole to pole. Woods Hole has found that salinity levels are changing in ways that they have changed in the past leading to periods of abrupt climate change. Polar waters are becoming far less saline, meaning that the "heat pump" effect that draws warm water north is failing.” link here . 4. Speaking of water, the World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting that over 1 billion people drink unsafe water and more than 3.4 million people die worldwide every year from water-related diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and guinea worm. Human-caused pollution taints other water sources. WHO is saying "infectious, water-related diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide." link here And, the WHO site on this issue: link here And: link here . 5. Cardiologist Mark Keating and his business partner Dean Li have co-founded a company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Hydra Biosciences, to investigate the potential of humans to regenerate cells in the body. Keating has been fascinated by the ability of newts, a bandy-legged amphibian with a flat tail, blunt head, and vivid crimson dots to produce a new eye or sprout a leg if one is amputated, even reconnect a severed spinal cord. Keating remains convinced that newts hold the key to human healing, even though most biologists do not think humans have the same capability. Not deterred, he points out our bodies can already regenerate to a degree, repairing broken bones and regularly trading dead cells for new ones. Skin cells, for instance, last about two weeks, and our stomach lining molts once a month. Keating himself believes that regeneration research is on the brink of a revolution - the very place genetics was 20 years ago. [Ed. Note: Yes! to Dr. Keating and his research in the face of biologists' doubts!] link here Hydra Biosciences website: link here Good stock tip? Hydra Biosciences has raised an impressive $19 million to continue their work: link here . 6. Further to lengthening the life of the human cell is this late Spring, 2000 ScienceWatch article which mentions "The key question was whether telomeres had anything to do with cell aging. The telomere is a repetitive stretch of DNA found at each end of a chromosome. In 1986, Howard Cooke, of the Medical Research Council's Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, Scotland, noticed that the telomeres capping sex chromosomes were much longer when those chromosomes came from a germline cell than when they came from a normal body cell. Because of the way DNA replicates, telomeres are shortened each time a cell divides. An enzyme, telomerase, which extends the telomere, had been discovered just before, and Cooke wondered whether it might be inactive in normal human cells. The progressive shortening of the telomere would then impose the Hayflick Limit on the cell's ability to divide." Bottom line: telomerase lengthens the life of the human cell. link here A more recent and fabulous story in Life Extension Magazine from Fall, 2002 further delves into the world of telemere control and cellular aging: link here . 7. This month's Scientific American has a fabulous article titled The Addicted Brain by Eric J. Nestler and Robert C. Malenka and states "Drug abuse produces long-term changes in the reward circuitry of the brain. Knowledge of the cellular and molecular details of these adaptations could lead to new treatments for the compulsive behaviors that underlie addiction." This is terrific knowledge. link here . 8. Kleiner's Korner readers have read here several times of the work that has made Montauk Point on Eastern Long Island famous and the alleged connection to what has been called the Philadelphia Experiment. Now comes the story of another Eastern Long Island project, Lab 257, though a book of the same name. Quoting publisher HarperCollins site, "Plum Island, a historic place that has been an Indian outpost, a farm, a coastal defense fort, an army training facility, a mutinous factory, and a biological warfare laboratory. Today it is the site of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Research Center. There animals are regularly infected with lethal viruses—African Swine Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Rift Valley Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease—then studied, killed, and dissected in the name of research. They are then incinerated and buried in massive pits. The experiments and research conducted on the island are designed to protect the nation’s $90 billion livestock industry from disease and destruction. But what really goes on behind the walls of this secret government installation has been anybody’s guess -- until now." You can see the site and order the book, Lab 257 here: link here . 9. From Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), "Physicists Ed Berger and Carlos Wagner lead a team exploring beyond the Standard Model of physics, the modern theory that describes all the elementary particles and the forces between them (For every particle, a larger sparticle may exist). Their efforts focus on 'supersymmetry,' one of the most exciting theories in high-energy physics." This is an awesome site for those of you interested in physics: link here ANL\'s mission: "Argonne was chartered more than five decades ago to advance a major scientific frontier of the time – the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Since then, the lab\’s mission has evolved, adding advanced energy technologies, environmental management, and basic science – including chemistry, biology, physics, materials sciences, and mathematics and computer science." link here . 10. Announced last week by Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is a government study saying obesity is on track to become the number one killer in the U. S., and is poised to overtake smoking as the number cause of death by 2005. This issue has been discussed here many times, from target marketing to children to CSPI's continued calls for changes in labeling. link here The website for the American Obesity Assn.: link here Overweight & Obesity site on the Centers for Disease Control link (CDC): link here The CSPI says "The Bush Administration’s response is more talk and no real help for the millions of Americans who would like to eat better and watch their weight." link here And the homepage for the Center for Science in the Public Interest: link here . 11. MoveOn.org put together a video featuring 56 of the very best ads submitted in its "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest. Hollywood cinematographer and Yelm's own Mark Vicente submitted his ads and was one of the finalists. For a $30 donation to the MoveOn.org Voter Fund, you can get a copy of the movie on DVD or VHS, where two of the three ads Mark submitted are presented. link here You can check out all three ads Mark submitted on his website. His ad "Imagine" placed in the top 14, and "God's Children' placed in the top 50. Click "View Spots" at this link: link here If you have not seen Mark's website in full, you must take the time to check out this man's talent: link here . 12. This is a fun site to check out how good you senses are. Don’t be so hard on yourself! From the BBC, this is called “the Senses Challenge” link here . Of local note: Yes! Those living in Western Washington did experience a record high temperature Monday, March 8 with 70 degrees at Olympia Airport, and 65 a record high at Sea-Tac Airport and Sandpoint link here Could this early heat portend another record-breaking summer here? Stay tuned! . Quote of the Week: "Only puny secrets need protection. Big discoveries are protected by public incredulity." Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980) Former Director of the Center for Culture and Technology University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2004. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com . Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com Kleiner's Korner for Week of March 8, 2004 In little reported, yet groundbreaking news the Baptist Press is saying "While excavating a burial tomb near Jerusalem in 1979, Gabriel Barkay uncovered the oldest known copy of Old Testament scripture. The priestly blessing, recorded in Numbers 6:24-26, was discovered on two small silver scrolls dated to the 7th century B.C. “This was a discovery of utmost importance,” said Barkay, professor of archaeology at Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv. “These verses pre-date the famous Dead Sea Scrolls by approximately four centuries. They are the only biblical verses we have from the time of the First Temple [period].” link here 1. Mentioned in Kleiner's Korner these last few months and now echoing across this land is the quality, or lack thereof, of the nation's food supply: A. "Mad cow disease. Fish tainted with mercury and PCBs. Contaminated green onions from Mexico. Bird flu in ducks and chickens. Is anything safe to eat these days? Across the nation, many consumers have made adjustments to their grocery lists, opting for organically grown meats and vegetables following recent food-borne illness scares." quoting The Seattle P-I and covered here several times in the last months. This article is a good summation of what this country is considering about the food supply: link here B. Oh, and do you trust this administration's statements, i.e. on Iraq WMD's?, the nation's fiscal health?, and now the US Department of Agriculture's statements on mad cow? If your answer is YES, you better read this from the mainstream press, The Seattle Times: "The amount of beef potentially contaminated by the nation's first mad-cow case was nearly four times higher than the federal government initially reported, The U.S. Department of Agriculture has said. When the USDA launched the recall of affected meat Dec. 23, officials put the total at 10,400 pounds, or 5.2 tons, a figure they repeated for nearly two months. But the actual amount was 38,000 pounds, or 19 tons, the agency now acknowledges. The total swelled because meat from the infected cow was mingled with meat from many other animals when it was ground into hamburger." [Ed. Note: Kleiner's Korner readers read about mad cow tainted meat distributed in the Puget Sound food supply months ago, all while the USDA said the food supply was safe. See C below for the latest developments!] link here C. Kleiner's Korner readers were the few to read this buried story months ago: Mad cow tainted meat was distributed by the QFC Food Market division of Kroger, Inc. in Puget Sound area stores in December, 2003. Now, The Seattle P-I is reporting the "family who says they ate beef linked to the nation's only known case of mad cow disease yesterday (March 4th, 2004) filed a class-action lawsuit against QFC, claiming the grocery store chain negligently exposed them and others to 'highly hazardous' meat and did not properly notify them that they had bought it." link here D. Now comes word from the U. S. Agriculture Department's inspector general Phyllis Fong last week, that the government has begun a criminal investigation into whether records may have been falsified in the nation's first and only case of mad cow disease. The investigation is moving alongside a non-criminal review of the department's response to the mad cow case. link here E. So what's the alternative? Sustainable Farming from our nation's organic farmers. Two purveyors of direct-to-customer farm products in Washington State are: 1) Thundering Hooves Family Farm in Walla Walla, WA: link here And this fine story about Thundering Hooves and farmer Joel Huesby carried by MSNBC: link here 2) Susie Kyle of Winlock Meadows Farm in Winlock, WA has just inaugurated her farm's program called "You Click-We Pick . . . online ordering of local farm-fresh produce and related products." Check out this fabulous "Virtual Farmer's Market": link here . 2. While on the subject of food, announced last week thanks to pressure from the consuming public due to their changing desires, McDonald's is slimming down its menu. The hamburger giant has started phasing out its trademark Supersize fries and drinks in its U.S. restaurants as part of an effort to simplify its menu and give customers choices that support ’a balanced lifestyle’, the company press release said. link here Of course, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) should get some credit for its constant publications with information about the calories, sodium, carbs and fat associated with "super-sized" products, as well as target marketing and associated obesity in children: link here McDonald's Press Release about the change: link here . 3. The spectacular news that Mars was once covered with water took science headlines all last week link here And: link here Further news from space last week, "The stage is set for a very unusual celestial event. From late April through May 2004, two recently discovered comets will simultaneously make their closest approach to Earth," according to A.J. McGettigan's story and site: link here . 4. Mentioned here many times is the absolute disregard for this nation's jewels of Mother Nature by the Bush Administration for corporate greed and profit. Further to this, announced last week in Greenwatch Today, "Under the guise of forest fire prevention, the Bush Administration's Forest Service has proposed logging in California's Sequoia National Monument, home to some of the world's tallest and oldest trees, reaching ages of 3,200 years or more . . . . Established by President Clinton in 2000, the Monument designation was the culmination of years of work by environmentalists. But in its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for management of the Monument, the Forest Service chose the most environmentally destructive of six alternative management plans, the one calling for the most intensive logging. [Ed. note: If you have ever been to Sequoia National Monument, you would KNOW what a travesty this is!] link here . 5. Thanks to the Bush Administration limiting federal funding for stem cell research, California is leading the way in attempting to get around this roadblock to vital research as ". . . a coalition of scientists and wealthy benefactors has launched an initiative seeking voter approval for $3 billion in public financing that they hope will hasten the discovery of cures for a myriad of human diseases," according to this Boston Globe story. [Ed. Note: YEAH!]. link here And, the floodgates are opening – this New York Times article states, "Harvard plans to open a multimillion-dollar center to grow and study human embryonic stem cells, officials announced [last month]. The center could be the largest privately financed stem cell research project in the country. It must use private money to create new lines of stem cells because President Bush, citing ethical considerations, limited federal financing for such research to existing lines of cells." link here If you are not able to open The New York Times link, check out this one from the Baltimore Sun: link here . 6. Those of you having seen "What the Bleep Do We Know" are familiar with names from the world of science such as Dr.Candace Pert & Dr. Amit Goswami, who have been to Yelm for lectures, in addition to Dr. Bruce Lipton. These scientists are among an impressive list of presenters speaking at the International Conference of Science and Consciousness this year during April 23-28 in Albuquerque, NM. Here is the conference website: link here And the "What the Bleep" website: link here . 7. NASA has released documents to the public relating to a UFO incident in Kecksburg, PA. on December 9, 1965, after persistent requests from the Sci-Fi TV Channel. Eyewitnesses saw some kind of fireball that was landing and was under some type of conscious control. The military encircled the area and has had all information of what has been called, "the Second Roswell" under strict control. Here is the story: link here And the NASA documents: link here Here is the Sci-Fi Channel announcement of the document release: link here . 8. Reported here on several occasions has been Dr. Robert Foot's research in "mirror matter" theory. Dr. Foot states in a 2002 story by the BBC that “Mirror matter is not anti-matter, it is altogether weirder. It is somehow a ’reflection’ of normal matter, a sort of parallel series of particles required to restore the balance of the Universe." And, "Mirror matter is a hypothetical form of matter that restores nature's flawed left-right symmetry." link here Dr. Foot has since been advancing his work and updates his site regularly. link here . 9. Two teams of researchers, both funded by the National Science Foundation, have discovered the remains of two new dinosaur species in Antarctica – one a quick-moving meat-eater and the other a giant plant-eater. These dinosaurs lived when the continent was far different than it is today – when it was warm and wet. link here Here is the story from the official site of the National Science Foundation (NSF): link here . 10. Most people would not recognize her name; however, Capt. Kimberly Hampton was the first female jet-fighter pilot to die in the Iraq War on January 2nd, 2004. She is being hailed as a dedicated soldier, and as her mother said, "She liked to kind of blaze a trail to be the first or the best. (Kimberly) was very much a perfectionist." After serving in the 82nd Airborne Division in Korea and Afghanistan, she was shot down from ground fire while piloting a helicopter near Fallujah. Here are some of Capt. Hampton's stories: link here And: her pilot's picture: link here And the message board for Capt. Hampton: link here Capt. Hampton's mother was quoted from this site: link here . 11. Here is a useful internet tool to find topics not found in conventional dictionaries: link here For example, the Medical Dictionary on this site has a definition of "dark-field microscopy" which is a method used by Dr. Emoto in his research of the shape water molecules form based on the attitude projected to them. Dr. Emoto’s work has been referenced here recently, and in the film, "What the Bleep". link here The Film "What the Bleep" has a fabulous site: link here . 12. Did you know the local Nisqually River basin, with headwaters on Mt. Rainier, is being protected by a Land Trust? From their site, "Established in 1989, the Nisqually River Basin Land Trust is a nonprofit group of farmers, business and professional people, homemakers and others. Together, we are working to protect the Nisqually River basin through private, non-governmental means. Our goal is to provide for the conservation of: * waters and wetlands * aquatic and wildlife habitats * scenic areas and open spaces * historic, cultural and archeological sites * recreational and agricultural * timberlands” link here . Of local note: Washington State Lawmakers have approved a supplemental transportation budget that includes $1.2 million in design money for the so-called Yelm Bypass project. The project would provide a bypass connecting State Routes 507 and 510, which converge in downtown Yelm and snarl traffic daily. House Bill 2474 will now go to the Senate for consideration. link here then click on “More of Today’s Local Business New” at page bottom, then go to "Business Examiner Archives” at page bottom and click on “March 1” under the Monday column heading for the complete story. Or, see the March 5, 2004 Nisqually News for this story: link here . Quote of the Week: "I heartily accept the motto, 'That government is best which governs least'... Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which I also believe, - 'That government is best which governs not at all.' " Henry David Thoreau, American Writer 1817-1862 from Civil Disobedience (1849) in Writings (1906 ed.) vol. 4, p. 356. Cf. O'Sullivan 502:4 Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2004. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com . Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com Kleiner's Korner for Week of March 1, 2004 Kleiner's Korner proofer Jo Stockstill is in the hospital in advance of heart valve surgery. Therefore this KK and others in the coming weeks will be totally done by Kleiner himself. If there seems to be less polish in the reading, please accept my apologies. Jo is receptive to anyone sending prayers and energy to assist her in mending... Steve 1. "Hot" Cell phone news: A. What is being called a major victory against cell phone towers has rung through Oregon as a federal judge there has struck a blow to wireless phone companies and strengthened the rule of local governments that want to limit the locations of towers because of how they look. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman is the first time the wireless industry has been tested under the Federal Telecommunications Act in Oregon. This landmark decision could be tested in other locales. link here B. Attention cell-phone users, in particular women: Are you aware that rapists sometimes lure their victims by posing as police officers and initiating traffic stops? Should you get pulled over by an unmarked car, immediately put on your hazard warning lights and do not pull over in deserted areas when signaled to do so by an unmarked police vehicle, is well worth heeding. Keep driving until you get to a well-lit area where there are others about. Call 911 and tell them what's happening. Although in at least in some U.S. states, calling #77 on a cell phone will immediately connect you to that state's highway patrol to ask if they have an officer in your vicinity. Here is the link for state police / highway patrol telephone numbers by state. Law enforcement agencies urge motorists to use these numbers only to report accidents, emergencies, impaired drivers, reckless drivers, vehicle problems, hazardous material spills and criminal behavior. link here And the Urban Legends complete story on this: link here . 2. Garycraigart.com features the artistry of Gary Craig. Gary is a reknown fine artist recognized around the world for his fine portraiture. Most recently, Gary has written and illustrated a series of children's books. As amusing as they are educational, his stories are sure to delight and inspire readers of all ages. See this spectacular web site for details. link here . 3. In a follow-up to a February 9th Kleiner’s Korner story (see number 5), the British newspaper Observer has also picked up on “A secret report prepared by the Pentagon warns that climate change may lead to global catastrophe costing millions of lives and is a far greater risk than terrorism.” quoting them. link here And we must go overseas to get an in-depth report on this story from UK's The Guardian. link here Speaking of the planet warming, the heat wave that killed more than 10,000 people across Europe last summer is only a taste of things to come as the planet becomes steadily warmer, a Swiss expert predicted last month: link here Further, Reuters is reporting: "natural disasters caused by extreme weather claimed seven times as many victims in 2003 as in the previous year and the trend is set to continue, says the world's biggest reinsurance company." link here . 4. A little-known manmade chemical is found in the tissue of living things around the globe. It is in the flesh of dolphins and cormorants off the Italian coast. It is in 5 percent of the bread, green beans and ground beef sampled in supermarkets in southern states. It is in the blood of up to 96 percent of people in the United States, a study suggests. It is in mothers' breast milk The chemical is known as C-8. What is this chemical you ask? C-8 is used to make the DuPont Company's Teflon that coats cookware and much remains to be discovered about how C-8 gets into humans and whether it is harmful. HUM! Mentioned previously in Kleiner's Korner is that pet birds coming into contact with fumes from teflon coated pans in the kitchen can die from such. link here . 5. News from Space in recent days: A. Astronomers said last month they have found a frozen object 4.4 billion miles from Earth that appears to be more than half the size of Pluto and larger than the planet's moon. If confirmed, the so-called planetoid would become the largest object found in our solar system since the ninth planet was first spied in 1930. link here B. The Cassini spacecraft launched in 1997 has returned a new detailed composite picture of Saturn as the craft makes its final approach toward the ringed planet. The image is the first of many that should now begin to flow from the mission as it rendezvous with Saturn in July. The new image was taken Feb. 9 and released February 27 as Cassini was 43.1 million miles (69.4 million kilometers) from Saturn. link here C. The most distant object in the Universe from Earth was seen last month from the Keck Observatory. "From a remote outpost on the summit of Hawaii's dormant Mauna Kea volcano, astronomers at the W. M. Keck Observatory probe the deepest regions of the Universe with unprecedented power and precision." quoting the Keck website. Here is the story. link here And the W. M. Keck Observatory site [Ed. Note: this is the correct link, even though this link may not be working, at times] link here For an alternative link. link here D. Further, the so-called Helix Nebula was photographed by the Hubble Telescope and Kitt Peak National Observatory outside Tucson on May 10th , 2003 and is often referred to as “The Eye of God.” A fantastic composite photo on this link. link here And: link here . 6. "Domesticated dogs are strikingly similar to young children in their ability to perceive and interpret human gestures, and they show this propensity from a few weeks of age." says Brian Hare, Harvard anthropologist. Domesticated dogs more adept at reading human signals than our close relative, the chimpanzee: link here . 7. From the world of articficial eye and scanning technology reported recently: A. Kleiner’s Korner recently reported about a camera so small it can be mounted on eyeglasses and detect if a person is lying. Now comes word from the Harvard University Gazette that an electric eye under development with an artificial retina is nearly in sight. Pun intended! Five people with retinitis pigmentosa, the leading cause of inherited blindness, reported seeing spots and lines of light with the help of the device. A sixth person, about to lose her sight to cancer, also saw the light patterns. The retina is a screen of cells at the back of the eye that records light coming through the pupil and converts it to nerve pulses that register as vision at the back of the brain. The artificial retina directly excites these nerve cells with electric probes.. link here B. Additionally, A test of an iris-scanning system was set to begin last month at the Frankfurt, Germany international airport, as part of a project involving 18 European countries. Airline passengers will be required to stand in front of an identification device whose cameras will automatically capture images of their iris patterns. The iris systems--seven of which have been installed at the airport--will then identify the passenger's iris and match that information with the passport data captured by a scanner. If successful, the iris system could replace conventional systems for checking identity at airport immigration counters. link here C. Further, Kleiner’s Korner reported last year about RFID technology, embedded computer chips that would transmit identifying information for purchase. Now comes word that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants drugmakers, distributors and pharmacists to adopt new technologies such as RFID to track and trace drugs sold by 2007: link here . 8. ‘The idea that aging is something that’s not a given is a new paradigm’ might be a radical quantum leap to some, yet not to Biologist Cynthia Kenton. "She is a structural biologist who trained at MIT and at Cambridge University under the legendary Sydney Brenner, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine. In 1993 she stunned the world by announcing that her lab had suppressed a single gene in Caenorhabditis elegans worms—nematodes only a millimeter long favored by geneticists as model organisms—and doubled their normal life span," according to this fascinating DISCOVER story. link here . 9. Erin Brockovich, yes, the lady with the same name as the movie, has dedicated her life’s work to protecting children from needless exposure to chemical toxins. She is now a board member of a powerful organization, Children’s Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC), which for 10 years has led the way in empowering parents to take actions on this issue in their homes and communities. CHEC’s site: link here Ms. Brockovich says choosing organic products is an easy way to protect children’s health. She acknowledges America’s organic farmers with a message on side panels of organic milk cartons and the Organic Family of Farms site: link here Oh, and while on this subject, you should “check-out” what Monsanto does not want you to know about toxicity for which their company is responsible: link here Further to toxins in the food supply, "The executive order says USDA also must create a National Plant Disease Recovery System that could respond within a single growing season to "a high-consequence plant disease" with pest control measures or disease-resistant seed. The paper gave as examples soybean rust and wheat smut. Both are fast-spreading fungal diseases that can devastate crops, and neither is a major threat in the United States. " link here . 10. A University of Washington researcher has found a certain type of energy emitted from electrical appliances you use everyday may carry a serious health risk and these devices may be damaging to DNA in your cells. Yikes! Some appliances may give off energy even though they are off as they still draw current to remain in an "instant-on" condition. All electrical appliances are on switches to disconnect them from electrical power when not in use in our home. link here . 11. The National Academy of Sciences, halfway through a year-long study, identified failings that require immediate attention in preventive health care, nutrition, pest control and record-keeping at the National Zoo in Washington, D. C., the 114-year-old federal animal park overseen by the Smithsonian Institution. The academy, reviewing zoo operations at the request of Congress, concluded in its interim report that the zoo's lapses are widespread and threaten the well-being of its 2,600 animals. link here . 12. The Outback Boutique, a division of JZK, Inc., is excited to announce that has expanded its online selection. Check out link here and find gifts, body care products, fine furnishings for your home, and much more. Be sure to check back often as the products being offered are continually being expanded. The Outback's website is very much like a journey through the beautiful little corners, nooks, alcoves and crannies in The Outback itself. Enjoy! . Of local note: A. Brian Greene, Columbia University scientist and narrator of The Elegant Universe series on PBS will be at the University Bookstore in Seattle on March 9th at 7:30p.m.. His new book "The Fabric of the Cosmos" is #5 on the NY Times non-fiction bestseller list. link here B. The landmark film “What the Bleep Do We Know” has opened in Portland, OR at The Bagdad Theatre. For those of you in SW Washington and No. Oregon, this is a must-see. This is the Baghdad site: link here And the site for the film “What the Bleep” link here "How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go? " . Quote of the Week: “I just thought this was a good name for my small part-time business.” Mike Rowe of Vancouver, B. C. Corresponding with Microsoft’s lawyers after registering the domain name MikeRoweSoft.com (ZDNet UK, 19 January, 2004) Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2004. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com. Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com.