UPDATES ARCHIVE FOR MAY 2007
HOME PAGE	KLEINER'S KORNER FOR WEEK OF MAY 28, 2007 Dear Readers; This day of Memorial Day is when America pauses to honor those that have given their lives in service to their country. Kleiner’s Korner appreciates and honors all of those people who have served to defend, protect, and preserve our country from outside invaders. Memorial Day was first called Decoration Day “to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it expanded to include those who died in any war or military action,” quoting Wikipedia. link here While we pause to honor those that gave their lives against outside invaders, nary a word has been spoken in recent days about President Bush’s unilateral action giving him sole power to lead the federal government during a “catastrophic emergency." [Ed. Note: Yikes! Invaders from within usurping the US Constitution? Will we have another “Wag the Dog” scenario on US soil prior to President Bush leaving the White House, so he can take ultimate control of the government? HMMM! Stay tuned.] “With scarcely a mention in the mainstream media, President Bush has ordered up a plan for responding to a catastrophic attack. Under that plan, he entrusts himself with leading the entire federal government, not just the Executive Branch. And he gives himself the responsibility "for ensuring constitutional government." He laid this all out in a document entitled "National Security Presidential Directive NSPD 51" and "Homeland Security Presidential Directive/HSPD-20." The White House released it on May 9… The subject of the document is entitled "National Continuity Policy." It defines a "catastrophic emergency" as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government function." This could mean another 9/11, or another Katrina, or a major earthquake in California, I imagine, since it says it would include "localized acts of nature, accidents, and technological or attack-related emergencies." The document emphasizes the need to ensure "the continued function of our form of government under the Constitution, including the functioning of the three separate branches of government," it states. But it says flat out: "The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government,”" quoting The Progressive. link here Don't believe any of this? Here is the official White House document: link here 1. “WE'RE A NATION OF INVENTORS” “We're a nation of inventors in garages and corporate labs, creating new gadgets and services that delight us and occasionally drive us crazy. USA TODAY chose inventions that changed our lives since 1982,” quoting USA Today. link here . 2. LEDs COULD BE THE NEXT BRIGHT IDEA IN LIGHTING” "The incandescent light bulb, the symbol of bright ideas, doesn't look like such a great idea anymore, as lawmakers are talking about banning the century-old technology because of its contribution to global warming.... Compact fluorescent bulbs are the only real alternative right now, but "bulbs" that use light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are quickly emerging as a challenger. LEDs, which are small chips usually encased in a glass dome the size of a matchstick head, have been in use in electronics for decades to indicate, for example, whether a VCR is on or off. Those LEDs were usually red or green, but a scientific breakthrough in the 1990s paved the way for LEDs that produce white light. Because they use less power than standard incandescent bulbs, white LEDs are now common in flashlights. Established players in the lighting industry and a host of startups are grooming LEDs to take on the reigning champion of residential lighting, the pear-shaped incandescent light bulb. The light bulb has been running out of friends. California and Canada have decided to ban the sale of incandescent bulbs by 2012," quoting the AP in the Louisville Courier-Journal. link here . 3. “NO MORE PRIVATE JETS FOR ME, DICAPRIO TELLS CANNES” “As his new environmental disaster documentary screened at Cannes, Leonardo DiCaprio defended his international lifestyle and lashed out at critics of Al Gore, who last year premiered his own film on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, at the festival… Speaking about his own lifestyle, DiCaprio said that he drives a hybrid car and that his home is fitted with solar panels. Asked how he traveled to Cannes, he said: "I flew commercially. I try as often as possible to fly commercially" - a reminder that, while a small but increasing number of Britons are giving up flying altogether, for the Hollywood A-lister there is a preliminary step: eschewing private jets. The 11th Hour, which DiCaprio co-wrote and narrates, is directed by Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Petersen. It is bleaker in tone than Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, positing that since the invention of the steam engine man has ceased to live in harmony with the environment and has used Earth as a resource to be ruthlessly exploited,” quoting UK’s Guardian. link here The 11th Hour site: link here The 11th Hour has interviews with over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the state of the world and the state of humanity. The film will be released in 2007: link here . 4. POOREST AFRICA BENEFITS FROM NEW INVENTIONS & PERSISTANCE A. SOLAR FLASHLIGHT FOR AFRICA’S POOREST “Since August 2005, when visits to an Eritrean village prompted him to research global access to artificial light, Mr. Bent, 49, a former foreign service officer and Houston oilman, has spent $250,000 to develop and manufacture a solar-powered flashlight. His invention gives up to seven hours of light on a daily solar recharge and can last nearly three years between replacements of three AA batteries costing 80 cents. Over the last year, he said, he and corporate benefactors like Exxon Mobil have donated 10,500 flashlights to United Nations refugee camps and African aid charities. Another 10,000 have been provided through a sales program, and 10,000 more have just arrived in Houston awaiting distribution by his company, SunNight Solar,” quoting the New York Times. link here B. LAPTOPS FOR AFRICA’S POOREST CHILDREN “Nicholas Negroponte, a professor at MIT, had a dream. In it every child on the planet had his own computer. In that way, he figured, children from the most impoverished places – from deserts and jungles and slums could become educated and part of the modern world. Poor kids would have new possibilities. As correspondent Lesley Stahl reports, it was a big dream… So, two years ago he founded a non-profit organization called “One Laptop Per Child.” He recruited a cadre of geeks and viola! The hundred dollar laptop, designed specifically for poor children, was born. ’The first English word of every child in that village was 'Google',’ he says. ‘The village has no electricity, no telephone, no television. And the children take laptops home that are connected broadband to the Internet,’” link here . 5. “ECUADOR SEEKS AID NOT TO EXPLOIT AMAZON OIL” “A novel proposal by Ecuador is testing world leaders' commitment to fight global warming and preserve the biodiversity of the Earth. Ecuadorian officials told an international meeting this week that their government would ban exploitation of huge oil reserves if it was compensated for its effort to save the natural habitat of the Amazon region. The untapped oil reserves are located in the heart of the Amazon, considered by scientists to be one of the most bio-diverse rainforests in the world. If explored and developed, the fields are expected to deliver more than 900 million barrels of oil. "If the world truly is interested in saving the planet," said Ecuador's representative Lourdes Tiban, "the government has decided to sell the oil, but keep it in the ground." Tiban added in her statement that Ecuador would need financial assistance from the international community in exchange for the decision not to exploit the oil. The country will wait up to a year to determine if there has been an adequate response,” quoting International Press Service. link here . 6. “PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF ORGANIC SEED PRODUCTION” “As part of our WSARE-funded, farmer-led education project, "Producing Organic Vegetable Seed", Organic Seed Alliance has produced three crop-specific seed production manuals to assist current and would-be seed growers in producing quality organic bean, radish, and spinach seed. Over the course of March 2005 to February 2007, we hosted twelve field days and three workshops in three states at five locations, focused on techniques and principles of organic seed production,” quoting Organic Seed Alliance. link here . 7. “MANY SCIENTISTS ARE CONVINCED MAN CAN SEE THE FUTURE” “But this scanner is engaged in one of the most profound paranormal experiments of all time, one that may well prove whether or not it is possible to predict the future. For the results - released exclusively to the Daily Mail - suggest that ordinary people really do have a sixth sense that can help them 'see' the future. Such amazing studies - if verified - might help explain the predictive powers of mediums and a range of other psychic phenomena such Extra Sensory Perception, dEj vu and clairvoyance. On a more mundane level, it may account for 'gut feelings' and instinct. The man behind the experiments is certainly convinced. 'We're satisfied that people can sense the future before it happens,' says Professor Bierman, a psychologist at the University of Amsterdam. 'We'd now like to move on and see what kind of person is particularly good at it.' And Bierman is not alone: his findings mirror the data gathered by other scientists and paranormal researchers both here and abroad. Professor Brian Josephson, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist from Cambridge University, says: 'So far, the evidence seems compelling. What seems to be happening is that information is coming from the future,” quoting UK’s Daily Mail in Red Orbit. link here Professor Bierman is in this DVD Consciousness along with many of the scientists in “What the Bleep.” link here . 8. “FIRST MOTORIZED CROSSING OF THE ATLANTIC WITH SOLAR POWER” "sun21" makes historic arrival in New York City! Using solar power only, the catamaran "sun21" undertook the first motorized crossing of the Atlantic with solar power to promote the great potential of this technology for ocean navigation. The "sun21" arrived in New York City on 8 May 2007, 3 pm, having covered about 7000 sea miles,” quoting Trans Atlantic 21. link here . 9. SCORCHING SUMMER FORECAST IN USA "As Memorial Day weekend beckons, federal climate scientists predict drought will intensify in much of the West this summer and persist in the fire-scorched Southeast despite recent rain," quoting USA Today. link here . 10. "DUTCH KEEP NERVOUS EYE ON CLIMATE" "The Netherlands is marking the 75th anniversary of one of the world's civil engineering wonders, the Zuiderzee closure dam, while nervously watching to see how climate change threatens its famed sea defenses. It was on 28 May 1932 that the last load of boulder clay was dumped onto the 30-kilometre dam, which was built to keep out the North Sea and create an inland lake and polders, land reclaimed from the sea. Crown Prince Willem-Alexander will lead anniversary commemorations for the dam, formally known as the Afsluitdijk, on Thursday [May 24]," quoting the Agence France-Presse. link here . 11. "GLOBAL CARBON EMISSIONS IN OVERDIRVE" "Global emissions of carbon dioxide are growing at a faster clip than the highest rates used in recent key UN reports. CO2 emissions from cars, factories, and power plants grew at an annual rate of 1.1 percent during the 1990s, according to the Global Carbon Project, which is a data clearinghouse set up in 2001 as a cooperative effort among UN-related groups and other scientific organizations. But from 2000 to 2004, CO2 emissions rates almost tripled to 3 percent a year - higher than any rate used in emissions scenarios for the reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).... And to avoid the most serious effects of global warming, significant cuts in CO2 emissions must begin sooner than the IPCC reports suggest. At the moment, no region of the world is "decarbonizing its energy supply," the analysis says. The Global Carbon Project's calculations should be viewed with caution, says Michael Oppenheimer, a climate-policy specialist at Princeton University in New Jersey," quoting the Christian Science monitor. link here The Global Carbon Project website: link here . 12. THREE EXPERTS ABOUT IRAQ & OIL A. “WHO IS FOLLOWING WHO?” Lindsey Williams who had executive status with the 9 major oil companies on the Trans-Alaska oil pipeline has written an essay on the run-up of gasoline prices of late saying, “I have just returned from a speaking tour all across the country and want to share some things with all of you. There are some interesting patterns occurring (sic) with gas prices, that if you have not noticed yourself, you need to know..,” quoting the Survival Center site. link here B. CONGRESSIONAL IRAQ FUNDING BILL ABOUT STEALING OIL "Retired Army Colonel Ann Wright says the supplemental bill Congress passed to continue funding the Iraq war is really about 'stealing Iraq's oil - the second largest reserves in the world. The "benchmark," or goal, the Bush administration has been working on furiously since the US invaded Iraq is privatization of Iraq's oil. Now they have Congress blackmailing the Iraqi Parliament and the Iraqi people: no privatization of Iraqi oil, no reconstruction funds,'", quoting Truthout. link here C. AL GORE: "A DRIVE FOR GLOBAL DOMINATION HAS PUT US IN GREATER DANGER" " The Bush administration's objective of attempting to establish US domination over any potential adversary was what led to the hubristic, tragic miscalculation of the Iraq war - a painful misadventure marked by one disaster after another, based on one mistaken assumption after another. But the people who paid the price have been the American men and women in uniform trapped over there, and the Iraqis themselves," quoting the former US vice-presidentin an edited extract from his new book, The Assault on Reason, published this week by Bloomsbury © Al Gore in UK's Guardian. link here . RAMTHA STUDENT NEWS A. The RSE Newsletter for May, 2007 is just out and packed with fabulous knowledge! link here B. Australia’s Barry Eaton [Host of Radio Out There & Nexus.com] interviewed JZ Knight before the upcoming Oz Beginning & Advanced Retreats plus Ramtha Q + A One on One in audience this July. link here C. “Listen to JZ Knight's interview for The Power of Life Show with Maureen Moss. The interview originally aired on May 17th, 2007 on the World Puja Network,” quoting Ramtha.TV. link here D. Introducing Linda McCallum's & Fred Lomax's new business, “Classy Custom, incorporated in 2004, is introducing a new category in Pet Doors, The Classy Custom Pet Portal™, where exceptional improvements in utility, are combined with decorative styles for the home.” CONGRATULATIONS & BEST WISHES IN YOUR NEW ADVENTURE! link here E. Guustaaf Damave introduces his new website: “The ZebraMapTM time zone map is a free, customizable map that you can use on its own or as part of a blog or web site. You can pick from twenty color schemes, add locations and position the labels.” BEST WISHES FOR IMPACTING THE WORLD, GUUS! link here F. The Children’s School of Excellence graduation will be June 7th for their 2007 Graduates! link here . LOCAL NEWS These local stories were covered on the Yelm Community Blog last week: A. Survival Center’s preparedness clinic B. Yelm History Project introduced C. Midnightblue Auld, Miss Thurston County’s Outstanding Teen 2007 is a candidate for Miss Washington’s Outstanding Teen 2007, D. WSP targets Yelm for seat belt violations E. Yoshimi’s beautiful art displayed in Yelm Art Walk F. Bettye Johnson sponsors “A Literary Afternoon” G. Jim Zukowski shares his thoughts from afar on Yelm Wal-Mart due to open in July. H. Bettye Johnson’s report from her trip to Congress I. New international business established in Nisqually Valley. link here . QUOTE OF THE WEEK "I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom." Abraham Lincoln (1908-1865) 16th President of the USA President Lincoln's letter to Mrs. Bixby in Boston, MA. upon hearing of her loss of five sons in the Civil War November 21, 1864 . Kleiner’s Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2007. For archived issues of Kleiner’s Korner, click on "Current Kleiner’s Korner and Archives" at link here Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com . KLEINER'S KORNER FOR WEEK OF MAY 21, 2007 These two recent items in the news about the JFK assassination are shining more light on what most know is true or have thought, at one time or another: Lee Harvey Oswald was not the lone person involved. A. "DEATHBED CONFESSION" OF E. HOWARD HUNT "The "deathbed confession" audio tape in which former CIA agent and Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt admits he was approached to be part of a CIA assassination team to kill JFK was aired this weekend - an astounding development that has gone completely ignored by the establishment media. Saint John Hunt, son of E. Howard Hunt, appeared on the nationally syndicated Coast to Coast Live radio show on Saturday night to discuss the revelations contained in the tape. Hunt said that his father had mailed cassette the tape to him alone in January 2004 and asked that it be released after his death. The tape was originally 20 minutes long but was edited down to four and a half minutes for the Coast to Coast broadcast. Hunt promises that the whole tape will be uploaded soon at his website," quoting Prison Planet. link here Click here to listen to a clip of the tape. link here B. "SCIENTISTS CAST DOUBT ON KENNEDY BULLET ANALYSIS" "In a collision of 21st-century science and decades-old conspiracy theories, a research team that includes a former top FBI scientist is challenging the bullet analysis used by the government to conclude that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The "evidence used to rule out a second assassin is fundamentally flawed," concludes a new article in the Annals of Applied Statistics written by former FBI lab metallurgist William A. Tobin and Texas A&M University researchers Cliff Spiegelman and William D. James," quoting the Washington Post. link here 1. WHAT DO OPOSSUMS KNOW THAT YOU DON’T KNOW?” “..baby opossums have shown the ability to regenerate a damaged spinal cord and researchers want to search the animal's DNA to see if similar processes exist in humans... The research shows that this so-called junk DNA is anything but, and that it instead can help drive evolution by moving between chromosomes, turning genes on and off in new ways,” quoting Science Daily. link here . 2. FOLLOW-UP: NEW PREPAREDNESS BOOK NOW OUT Do-It-Yourself Emergency Preparedness (Paperback) by Arlene, R. Hoag "Our previous book, No Such Thing as Doomsday, is the definitive text for the seriously survival-minded who plan to build an underground or basement shelter. Do-It Yourself Emergency Preparedness grew out of a desire to create a book as informative and useful as our previous book yet smaller, more economical and with an appeal to a much wider audience. This book doesn't spend much time describing potential threats -- what you get are the solutions." "Those who have a copy of No Such Thing as Doomsday will find some of the same information in our new book. This information has been reorganized, edited and updated. Lots of new information has been added including a chapter titled "Steps to take when an emergency happens" and a chapter on evacuation "What to do if you need to leave your home." Order yours today: link here . 3. “GLASS BABY BOTTLES MAKING A COMEBACK” “Glass baby bottles, replaced decades ago by unbreakable plastic, are making such a comeback that parents can't get their hands on them. Online and brick-and-mortar retailers report a run on glass baby bottles in recent weeks that they say was spurred by reports that the most common type of plastic in baby bottles may leach a toxic chemical… Independent tests done for The Chronicle and reported in November found bisphenol A, a chemical that mimics estrogen, in a baby bottle and several toys. Bisphenol A is also found in the lining of food cans, some anti-cavity sealants for teeth, and electronics. Then, in late February, Environment California, an advocacy group, released a report titled "Toxic Baby Bottles" that drew intense national media coverage. When heated, five of the most popular brands of polycarbonate -- the clear, shatterproof plastic used in baby bottles -- leached bisphenol A at levels that have been found to cause harm in laboratory animals, Environment California found. Even at low levels, bisphenol A has been linked to abnormalities in the mammary and prostate glands and the eggs of laboratory animals, scientists say. Animal tests also show bisphenol A can speed up puberty and add to weight gain, and may cause changes that can lead to breast and prostate cancer,” quoting the San Francisco Chronicle. link here . 4. “EVISION THIS: MATHEMATICIANS DESIGN INVISIBLE TUNNEL“ “Call it Harry Potter's invisible sleeve. New calculations show how to make an electromagnetic "wormhole"—a tube that is invisible from the sides, allowing light to shine down the center unseen. The concept is a twist on a spherical cloak of invisibility proposed last year. Such a device would be made of metamaterial, a thicket of metal rings or other shapes that bends light in funny ways. A hollow shell of metamaterial could in principle channel a single frequency of light around its inner space without slowing the light down, rendering that hidey-hole invisible to the outside world at that frequency,” quoting Scientific American. link here . 5. SOLAR ENERGY MAKING NEWS A. “WIND POWER IS BOOMING” “Since 2000, the amount of electricity the country gets from wind has more than quadrupled, according to Energy Information Agency statistics. Yet, wind projects still generate less than 1 percent of the nation's electricity. Texas has the most wind energy of any state, followed by California, Iowa, Minnesota and Washington. The country's largest wind farm is in Horse Hollow, Texas. So far, the country has no offshore wind farms. But offshore projects are in various stages of planning and development off Texas, Massachusetts and New York,” quoting National Public Radio (NPR). link here The Wind Project Data Base: link here B. “GERMANS EMBRACE SOLAR POWER” "When it opened here in 2004 on a reclaimed mining dump, the Geosol solar plant was the biggest of its kind in the world. It is so clean and green that it produces zero emissions and so easy to operate that it has only three regular workers: plant manager Hans-Joerg Koch and his two security guards, sheepdogs Pushkin and Adi. The plant is part of a building boom that has made gloomy-skied Germany the unlikely global leader in solar-generated electricity. Last year, about half of the world’s solar electricity was produced in the country. Of the 20 biggest photovoltaic plants, 15 are in Germany, even though it has only half as many sunny days as countries such as Portugal. The reason is not a breakthrough in the economics or technology of solar power but a law adopted in 2000. It requires the country’s huge old-line utility companies to subsidize the solar upstarts by buying their electricity at marked-up rates that make it easy for the newcomers to turn a profit. Their cleanly created power enters the utilities’ grids for sale to consumers,” quoting the Washington Post. link here . 6. FOLLOW-UP: LATEST ON BEES A. “DESTRUCTIVE MITE THREATENS HAWAII BEES” “A tiny mite that has devastated mainland honeybee populations showed up in Honolulu hives for the first time this month and has now been confirmed in bee colonies across Oahu. The infestation by varroa mites has led the state to ask beekeepers to restrict transport of bees around the islands. There are concerns it could threaten the Big Island's thriving queen bee export industry, which has so far tested free of the mites. "This is going to be for us a nightmare," said Michael Kliks, head of the Hawaii Beekeepers' Association and owner of Manoa Honey Co. "When I saw that mite I knew exactly what it was. I knew exactly what it meant and I fell to my knees and almost began to weep because it's inexpressible what that sea change is for us in Hawaii."quoting the AP. link here B. “NO ORGANIC BEE LOSEES” “I'm on an organic beekeeping list of about 1,000 people, mostly Americans, and no one in the organic beekeeping world, including commercial beekeepers, is reporting colony collapse on this list. The problem with the big commercial guys is that they put pesticides in their hives to fumigate for varroa mites, and they feed antibiotics to the bees. They also haul the hives by truck all over the place to make more money with pollination services, which stresses the colonies,” quoting information liberation. link here Her email recommends a visit to the Bush Bees Web site. Michael Bush felt compelled to put a message to the beekeeping world right on the top page: link here . 7. POTENTIAL CANCER CURE MAY BE ON HORIZON “DCA is an odourless, colourless, inexpensive, relatively non-toxic, small molecule. And researchers at the University of Alberta believe it may soon be used as an effective treatment for many forms of cancer. Dr. Evangelos Michelakis, a professor at the U of A Department of Medicine, has shown that dichloroacetate (DCA) causes regression in several cancers, including lung, breast, and brain tumors. Michelakis and his colleagues, including post-doctoral fellow Dr. Sebastian Bonnet, have published the results of their research in the journal Cancer Cell. Scientists and doctors have used DCA for decades to treat children with inborn errors of metabolism due to mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondria, the energy producing units in cells, have been connected with cancer since the 1930s, when researchers first noticed that these organelles dysfunction when cancer is present. Until recently, researchers believed that cancer-affected mitochondria are permanently damaged and that this damage is the result, not the cause, of the cancer. But Michelakis, a cardiologist, questioned this belief and began testing DCA, which activates a critical mitochondrial enzyme, as a way to "revive" cancer-affected mitochondria. The results astounded him,” quoting the University of Alberta website. link here . 8. NEWS OF PUGET SOUND A. “UNIV. OF WASH. GETS $2.2 MILLION TO STUDY OCEAN”. “The University of Washington has received $2.2 million to plan an ambitious underwater research facility to study the ocean floor off the coast of Washington and Oregon. Scientists say it will be the world's first ocean observatory to span a tectonic plate, a huge section of the earth's crust. The National Science Foundation on Wednesday directed the money to the university, which is in line to receive another $130 million if all needed permits and approvals are obtained. The research facility would initially include four sites, or nodes, connected by more than 850 miles of cable to transmit data, video and images. The idea is to collect vast amounts of information that could improve scientists' understanding of weather forecasting, the management of fish stocks, the ocean's ability to absorb greenhouse gases, and how stresses on the sea floor cause earthquakes and tsunamis,” quoting the AP. link here B. PUGET SOUND ORCAS THREATENED BY NAVY SONAR “When the killer whales of Washington State's Puget Sound began vanishing, a biologist had to get an earful from the U.S. Navy to pick up clues to the mystery. Using supersensitive microphones, Ken Balcomb has been eavesdropping on the region's resident killer whales, also known as orcas… But Balcomb's years of research unveiled a disturbing trend: Mature orcas were disappearing in the prime of their lives, and no one knew why. Then, when his equipment was blasted by a cacophony from a passing Navy vessel, Balcomb suspected he'd found at least one piece of the puzzle. Watch the Puget Sound orcas in action, and hear what the biologist and an expert at the Office of Naval Research have to say about sonar's impacts on marine mammals. [This] Video by "Wild Chronicles," airing on PBS, made possible by National Geographic Mission Programs and WWF and presented by WLIW New York quoting National Geographic. link here NRDC on this issue: link here . 9. “PRINCETON PHYSICS CONNECT STRING THEORY WITH ESTABLISHED PHYSICS” ”String theory, simultaneously one of the most promising and controversial ideas in modern physics, may be more capable of helping probe the inner workings of subatomic particles than was previously thought, according to a team of Princeton University scientists. The theory has been highly praised by some physicists for its potential to forge the long-sought link between gravity and the forces that dominate within the atomic nucleus,” quoting Princeton University. link here . 10. “'DOOMSDAY' VAULT DESIGN UNVEILED" “The final design for a "doomsday" vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government. The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole. The vault aims to safeguard the world's agriculture from future catastrophes, such as nuclear war, asteroid strikes and climate change. Construction begins in March, and the seed bank is scheduled to open in 2008. The Norwegian government is paying the $5m (£2.5m) construction costs of the vault, which will have enough space to house three million seed samples,” quoting the BBC. link here . 11. NEW MAP SHOWS WARMING TRENDS MOVING NORTH IN USA The National Arbor Day Foundation has published a new hardiness zone map, based on climate data from the past 15 years, that clearly shows the warming trend across the country. This is a graphic illustration of the temperature changes in the USA in a short period of time. Be sure to see the receding cold climate in the upper Midwest and the advancing heat in the South. link here . 12. THIS WRITER MAY SOON GROW BACK HAIR A genetically-based remedy for hair loss may be the answer to a receding hairline, a US study suggests. In experiments on mice, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania show that the skin of wounded animals can naturally regenerate hair follicles. They also identified a gene that is essential for normal hair development, and were able to stimulate or stop hair growth by boosting or inhibiting the protein's activity at a molecular level, opening the way to noninvasive therapies. The results have stunned many scientists, who have long assumed that mammalian hair follicles were a nonrenewable resource. The human head comes equipped with approximately 100,000 of these tiny, hair-generating organs, and once they stop working, it was thought the scalp was doomed to gradual exposure. The study, published in the journal Nature, is all the more surprising because it reproduces results observed 50 years ago in rabbits, mice and humans that were widely dismissed at the time and have been ignored since," quoting the AFP. link here . RAMTHA STUDENT NEWS A. The March, 2007 ad that ran in the Nisqually Valley News & The Olympian about the impact of RSE on the Yelm economy in March, 2007 can be accessed here: link here B. The Miami One on One Q + A in audience with Ramtha has been moved to Sunday, June 17, 2006. link here C. Dr. Miceal Ledwith’s monthly column in the Bleeping Herald is titled “What did the Resurrection of Jesus Really Mean?” link here An expanded version of this article can be read at link here under “Articles” D. Danielle Graham says in Masters’ Connection, “Whether you are building your very first basic food storage program or updating your current inventory, this simple beginner's guide to food storage can help make your planning and labor easier. Remember, people have been storing food since the beginnings of civilizations. However, since our current societies no longer maintain public granaries, it is up to each of us to wisely store foods for such times that either interruptions in distribution or crop failures leave us without the abundance of foodstuffs we have grown accustomed.” link here E. HAPPY HOVEL STORABLE SEEDS & FOODS in Masters’ Connection, “Serving Yelm and the USA for 20+ years in their ability to prepare for a secure future. We have a large variety of storable foods, non hybrid garden seeds and know how to have SAFE, CLEAN DRINKING WATER FOR LONG TERM STORAGE. We offer many options to begin your food storage with services, such as checking your older food storage for your continued safety. We offer small group Q & A consulting to inform you of what is required to keep you and your family safe. Learn little known facts of adding to your already stored foods.” link here F. Quoted from the Masters’ Connection Preparedness Newsletter: Happily Providing Quality Long –Term Food Storage since 1988. Grains, beans, rice, cereal, pasta, vegetables, fruits, sprouting seeds, herbs, freeze-dried products, garden seeds etc. Bulk, nitrogen-packed #10 double-enameled cans (no rust!) or 6 gallon pails. Prepackaged 1, 2, 4 yr supplies/free bonuses. Garden Seed Pack for long term, 40 varieties/open pollinated/chemical free/non-hybrid /non-GMO. Guaranteed best prices: freeze-dried meats/fruits. Special: 6 gallon pails organically grown Montana Wheat: hard red/white spring: $24 Will be $39 COME AND TASTE OUR SAMPLES - May 25th - 7:00pm Prairie Hotel, Yelm Get Your questions answered! Catalog available. Anne Cassidy 360-446-4145 link here . LOCAL NOTE Yelm area news covered last week on the Yelm Community Blog: A. A scientist’s view of a proposed Clearwood cell tower. B. Yelm Arts Walk this week. C. Rep, Tom Campbell coming to Yelm for Town Hall Meeting D. Tie for record high temperature on May 15 E. Return of the popular Apple Streudel Class F. Yelm Timberland Regional Library concerts G. Yelm Timberland Library Quilts display H. Survival Center seminar link here . QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Mistakes are the portals of discovery. James Joyce (1882 - 1941) Irish Author . Kleiner’s Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2007. For archived issues of Kleiner’s Korner, click on "Current Kleiner’s Korner and Archives" at link here Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com . KLEINER'S KORNER FOR WEEK OF May 14, 2007 With the questionability of the health effects of cell towers and cell phones, now comes this site from venerable Forbes: "CELL-PHONE FREE VACATION SPOTS" link here 1. “CREATIVITY & FAMOUS DISCOVERIES COME FROM DREAMS” “Throughout history, artists, inventors, writers, and scientists have solved problems in their dreams. Here's a list of twelve famous discoveries and creativity in literature, science, music, and even sports, attributed to dreams,” quoting Brilliant Dreams.com. link here . 2. “QUANTUM SECRETS OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS REVEALED” Through photosynthesis, green plants and cyanobacteria are able to transfer sunlight energy to molecular reaction centers for conversion into chemical energy with nearly 100-percent efficiency. Speed is the key – the transfer of the solar energy takes place almost instantaneously so little energy is wasted as heat. How photosynthesis achieves this near instantaneous energy transfer is a long-standing mystery that may have finally been solved. A study led by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) at Berkeley reports that the answer lies in quantum mechanical effects. Results of the study are presented in the April 12, 2007 issue of the journal Nature," quoting Science Daily. link here . 3. “MUSICIANS UNLOCK MYSTERY MELODY IN CHAPEL [ROSLYN]” “Scottish church which featured in the best-selling novel "The Da Vinci Code" has revealed another mystery hidden in secret code for almost 600 years. A father and son who became fascinated by symbols carved into the chapel's arches say they have deciphered a musical score encrypted in them. Thomas Mitchell, a 75-year-old musician and ex-Royal Air Force code-breaker, and his composer and pianist son Stuart, described the piece as "frozen music." ‘The music has been frozen in time by symbolism,’ Mitchell said on his Web site (www.tjmitchell.com/stuart/rosslyn.html), which details the 27-year project to crack the chapel's code. ‘It was only a matter of time before the symbolism began to thaw out and begin to make sense to scientific and musical perception. The 15th Century Roslyn Chapel, about seven miles south of the Scottish capital Edinburgh, featured in the last part of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" -- one of the most successful novels of all time which has been turned into a Hollywood film. Stuart Mitchell said he and his father were intrigued by 13 intricately carved angel musicians on the arches of the chapel and by 213 carved cubes depicting geometric-type patterns. ‘They are of such exquisite detail and so beautiful that we thought there must be a message here,’ he told Reuters," quoting Reuters.. link here . 4. “STATE-OF-THE-ART CENTRE WILL STUDY ICE FOR CLUES TO CLIMATE CHANGE” "It is only water, but New Zealand climate scientists expect to learn a lot about past weather patterns from ice samples they will study at a new state-of-the-art research centre opening in Wellington today [Apr. 12]. The National Ice Core Facility is a $1.4 million project developed by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences and Victoria University, with involvement from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research and Antarctica New Zealand…. Through data gleaned from the ice samples, scientists can trace sea level changes dating back around 30,000 years and look for what triggered them. Climate patterns can also be tracked and scenarios drawn up to predict the likely impact of a warmer globe on New Zealand's rainfall patterns," quoting the New Zealand Herald. link here . 5. OBSERVATIONS FROM SPACE A. “CHANDRA SEES REMARKABLE ECLIPSE OF BLACK HOLE” “Chandra observations of the galaxy NGC 1365 have captured a remarkable eclipse of the supermassive black hole at its center. A dense cloud of gas passed in front of the black hole, which blocked high-energy X-rays from material close to the black hole. This serendipitous alignment allowed astronomers to measure the size of the disk of material around the black hole, a relatively tiny structure on galactic scales. The Chandra image contains a bright X-ray source in the middle, which reveals the position of the supermassive black hole. An optical view of the galaxy from the European Space Observatory's Very Large Telescope shows the context of the Chandra data," quoting Science Daily. link here B. “SCIENTISTS IDENTIFY BRIGHTEST SUPERNOVA” “Scientists say they have detected the brightest stellar explosion ever recorded, a new breed of supernova that may well be repeated sooner than they previously thought. The violent explosion was observed by ground-based telescopes as well as NASA's orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory in a galaxy far from our own Milky Way. But the observations hint that an erupting star in our own galaxy, called Eta Carinae, could be close to the same kind of blast, astronomers say in a paper to be published in The Astrophysical Journal,” quoting MSNBC. link here The Astrophysical Journal” link here . 6. “BAN ON MONSANTO GENETICALLY MODIFIED ALFALFA UPHELD” "Citing the potential for genetic contamination, a U.S. judge on Thursday [May 3] let stand a precedent-setting ban on the planting of a genetically modified alfalfa crop variety developed by Monsanto Co. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in a published order said his initial injunction against planting more of Monsanto's herbicide-resistant Roundup Ready alfalfa should stay in place until government studies on its environmental effects are concluded. The ban is nationwide. An estimated 220,000 acres of Roundup Ready alfalfa have been planted. ‘It's a turning point hopefully in the way biotech crops are regulated,’ said Will Rostov, a lawyer with The Center for Food Safety, a consumer advocacy group that sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its oversight of the genetically engineered alfalfa. ‘It should be a wake-up call for USDA that they need to do more environmental studies with respect to future biotech crops,’ Rostov told Reuters in a telephone interview," quoting Reuters. link here . 7. “WHY ARE WE HAPPY? WHY AREN’T WE HAPPY?” “Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says our beliefs about what will make us happy are often wrong… [he] challenges the idea that we'll be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel real, enduring happiness, he says, even when things don’t go as planned. He calls this kind of happiness "synthetic happiness," and he says it's "every bit as real and enduring as the kind of happiness you stumble upon when you get exactly what you were aiming for,” quoting ted.com. link here Be sure to see the sponsor’s ad the end for the new BMW Hydrogen 7 which runs on gasoline and liquid hydrogen. link here . 8. NEW GAME SHOWS YOU WHEN YOU’RE IN FOCUS? “A convincing twin of Darth Vader stalks the beige cubicles of a Silicon Valley office, complete with ominous black mask, cape, and light saber. But this is no chintzy Halloween costume. It’s a prototype, years in the making, of a toy that incorporates brain-wave-reading technology. Behind the mask is a sensor that touches the user’s forehead and reads the brain’s electrical signals, then sends them to a wireless receiver inside the saber, which lights up when the user is concentrating. The player maintains focus by channeling thoughts on any fixed mental image, or thinking specifically about keeping the light sword on. When the mind wanders, the wand goes dark. Engineers at NeuroSky Inc. have big plans for brain wave-reading toys and video games, "quoting the AP. link here . 9. "TAKE THE E-TRAIN” Urbanites often need HopStop.com to figure out how to get around. If only electrons navigating proteins had such guides. Researchers created a unified description of how electrons move through certain proteins, noting when they travel classically and when they take shortcuts around bottlenecks via quantum tunneling. The group found that the electrons' routes can change as the atoms in proteins shift and used this insight in conjunction with computer networks to calculate optimal travel paths," quoting April, 2007 SEED Magazine. (Story not archived, yet here is SEED Magazine’s homepage: link here ) Further, more on this story comes from Science Daily: "For Duke University theoretical chemist David Beratan, the results of his 15 years of studying how electrons make their way through some important protein molecules can be summed up with an analogy: How do big city dwellers get from here to there? It's often swiftest to take the subway, Beratan notes, but riders may sometimes elect to alter their route by exiting the train for a short cab ride or a walk down the street. And they also may have to work around a route that is temporarily out of service. In the Friday, Feb. 2, issue of the journal Science, Beratan [Duke University chemist] and two co-authors use similar logic to describe their unified description of electron movements through certain "electron-transfer" proteins that lie at the heart of many processes essential for life. Such processes include harvesting light in photosynthesis in plant cells and generating energy in animal cells. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. ‘I think we have discovered the physical framework for thinking about all such protein electron-transfer chemistry,’ Beratan said." link here . 10. FOLLOW-UP: UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR OF NATURE’S CREATURES A. LATEST ON HONEY-BEES “Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet. Honeybees don't just make honey; they pollinate more than 90 of the tastiest flowering crops we have. Among them: apples, nuts, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash and cucumbers. And lots of the really sweet and tart stuff, too, including citrus fruit, peaches, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, cantaloupe and other melons. In fact, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Even cattle, which feed on alfalfa, depend on bees. So if the collapse worsens, we could end up being "stuck with grains and water," said Kevin Hackett, the national program leader for USDA's bee and pollination program. ‘This is the biggest general threat to our food supply,” Hackett said,” quoting the AP. link here And: “Deserted beehives, starving young stun scientists” Quoting USA Today: link here B. “ARCTIC SEAL IS FOUND IN FLORIDA” "An Arctic seal found in Florida far from its natural habitat near the North Pole has been taken to SeaWorld for treatment. The bearded seal is thin and dehydrated, responding when touched by staff members but otherwise resting quietly, Dr. Christopher Dold, a staff veterinarian at SeaWorld, said late Monday [May 7]. Scientists do not know what has caused the seal to travel so far south. Blair Mase-Guthrie, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's stranding coordinator, said the seal might have been caught up in an unusual current or following elusive prey," quoting the AP. link here . 11. ARE YOU PREPARED FOR 200 MPH WINDS “Searchers went back to work after daylight Sunday, looking for anyone who might have been trapped since a tornado wiped most of this south-central Kansas town off the map. It was part of a weekend of violent weather, with other tornadoes dashing across the Plains states late Saturday. The National Weather Service said it had received 91 reports of twisters touching down in six southwest Kansas counties. The NWS has rated the Greensburg tornado as an EF 5 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning the twister's winds topped 200 mph,” quoting Weather.com. link here And the local ABC News affiliate's update on this monster: link here . 12. “FINALLY! A 100-KG [220 LBS.] CANADIAN GOLD COIN” "The Royal Canadian Mint has produced the world's first 100-kilogram [200 lbs.] gold coin with a face value of $1 million. And they're for sale. Why did it do this? "Because we can," the mint said on its website. The coin is the size of a "very thick pizza" — 50 centimetres wide and three centimetres thick — and is .99999 pure. It was originally meant to be a one-off novelty item to help promote the other gold coin the mint unveiled Thursday — a new line of one-ounce Maple Leaf bullion coins that will have a face value of $200. But after several interested buyers came forward, the mint decided to produce "a very limited quantity" of the $1-million coins on a made-to-order basis for public sale. Even though the big coin has a face value of $1 million, it won't sell for that. At current prices, the coin's 3,215 troy ounces of gold are worth well over $2 million,” quoting the CBC. link here . RAMTHA STUDENT NEWS A. Ramtha's School of Enlightenment's student contributions to the community highlighted in this front page story Saturday, May 12. link here B. JZ Knight’s second interview with Maureen Moss of the World Puja Network will be aired on Thursday, May 17 at 6pm PDT. link here C. Salma Hayek on The May 2007 Cover Of Marie Claire link here The magazine's story: link here Behind The Scenes with Salma Hayek link here "Salma Hayek spoke out in Marie Claire’s May issue about expecting her first child at age 40 – and she believes that women should not feel rushed to have children until they feel ready," quoting Hollywood.com. link here D. Greg Simmons book “These Things You Shall Do...AND GREATER: The Physics of Change.” has now been published in German: “Diese Werke werdet Ihr vollbringen... UND NOCH GRÖSSERE: Die Physik der Veränderung” link here E. Loralin of the Tenino www.friendsofrockyprairie.com link here . LOCAL NOTE Covered on Yelm’s first Community Blog last week: A. Roy-based Wilcox Farms introduces organic line. B. Local band records & has meet n' greet. C. Yelm News. D. Annuawl Pacific Northwest Severe Weather Awareness E. Tenino citizens activate to preserve their community F. 1st NALC Food-drive this Saturday. G. National Arbor Day + Yelm's Arbor Day this Saturday. link here Note: Rep. Tom Campbell will be holding a Town Hall Meeting in Yelm Saturday, May 19 10:00am until 11:30am Yelm City Hall link here . QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can.” Danny Kaye (1913 – 1987) US actor & singer . KLEINER'S KORNER FOR WEEK OF MAY 7, 2007 1. “DANGER ON THE AIRWAVES: IS THE WI-FI REVOLUTION A HEALTH TIME-BOMB?” “It's on every high street and in every coffee shop and school. But experts have serious concerns about the effects of electronic smog from wireless networks linking our laptops and mobiles, reports Geoffrey Lean. Being "wired-up" used to be shorthand for being at the cutting edge, connected to all that is cool. No longer. Wireless is now the only thing to be. Go into a Starbucks, a hotel bar or an airport departure lounge and you are bound to see people tapping away at their laptops, invisibly connected to the internet. Visit friends, and you are likely to be shown their newly installed system. Lecture at a university and you'll find the students in your audience tapping away, checking your assertions on the worldwide web almost as soon as you make them. And now the technology is spreading like a Wi-Fi wildfire throughout Britain's primary and secondary schools. The technological explosion is even bigger than the mobile phone [cell phones] explosion that preceded it. And, as with mobiles, it is being followed by fears about its effect on health - particularly the health of children. Recent research, which suggests that the worst fears about mobiles are proving to be justified, only heightens concern about the electronic soup in which we are increasingly spending our lives. Now, as we report today [April 22,], Sir William Stewart, the man who has issued the most authoritative British warnings about the hazards of mobiles, is becoming worried about the spread of Wi-Fi. The chairman of the Health Protection Agency - and a former chief scientific adviser to the Government - is privately pressing for an official investigation of the risks it may pose. Health concerns show no sign of slowing the wireless expansion. One in five of all adult Britons now own a wireless-enabled laptop. There are 35,000 public hotspots where they can use them, usually at a price,” quoting UK’s Independent. link here . 2. "PAPER OR PLASTIC? BRING YOUR OWN BAG” “Larry Altose had the answer down cold and he hammered the environmental talking points with the conviction of a true believer. ‘When it comes to paper and plastic, the answer is neither,’ said Altose, a state Department of Ecology spokesman, because ‘it's kind of a draw’ as to which is worse for the environment. The best choice, he stressed, and stressed again, is a canvas tote or other reusable bag – ‘a solution that is in the hands of every consumer.’ OK, Larry, so what kind of bag do you use to take your groceries home? We're guessing canvas, right?...Greenies long have advocated reusable shopping totes, but the issue is gathering the kind of momentum that signals the start of mainstream cultural change. Last year, 1 Bag at a Time, an online eco-tote company in California, sold 100,000 reusable bags. Sales leaped to 250,000 totes in the first three months of this year -- a change its owner attributes in part to Al Gore's global-warming film, "An Inconvenient Truth," quoting the Seattle P-I. link here And: Reusable grocery store tote bags: link here . 3. “STUDY GIVES HOPE TO RESTORING LOST SIGHT” "Electrodes inserted in the brain may point the way to restoring sight lost to eye disease or trauma. The research in monkeys is in very early stages, but has shown some promise, Harvard Medical School researchers report in today's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences," quoting the AP. link here . 4. JANE GOODALL WEIGHS IN ON CLIMATE CHANGE “Life Is Hanging by a Thread” “Recently the International Panel on Climate Change issued a report predicting an alarming array of impacts of climate change around the globe, including drought, floods, lower crop yields, threatened food security, wildfire and ocean acidification. It seems that no living thing in this web of life we are a part of will be unaffected by climate change. Only a few centuries ago, each of the developed nations on the continents of Europe, Asia and North America destroyed their own forests and many of the species inhabiting them in an unsustainable scramble toward wealth. Now only remnant forests remain on those continents. The developed nations have an opportunity to enable developing nations to avoid making the same mistakes. By investing more in environmentally sustainable development, we can save valuable species, help prevent the escalation of global warming, and increase global security. Helping to preserve the forests of developing nations is in our interests, as well as theirs,” quoting Jane Goodall in the April 23rd Miami Herald. link here Jane Goodall is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a UN "Messenger of Peace." link here . 5. “THE UNIVERSE IS A STRING-NET LIQUID” "They formulated a model in which such strings are free to move ‘like noodles in a soup’ and weave together into huge ‘string-nets. The pair ran simulations to see if their string-nets could give rise to conventional particles and fractionally charged quasi-particles. They did. They also found something even more surprising. As the net of strings vibrated, it produced a wave that behaved according to a very familiar set of laws - Maxwell's equations, which describe the behaviour of light. "A hundred and fifty years after Maxwell wrote them down, here they emerged by accident," says Wen. That wasn't all. They found that their model naturally gave rise to other elementary particles, such as quarks, which make up protons and neutrons, and the particles responsible for some of the fundamental forces, such as gluons and the W and Z bosons. From this, the researchers made another leap. Could the entire universe be modelled in a similar way? ‘Suddenly we realised, maybe the vacuum of our whole universe is a string-net liquid,’ says Wen. ‘It would provide a unified explanation of how both light and matter arise." So in their theory elementary particles are not the fundamental building blocks of matter. Instead, they emerge from the deeper structure of the non-empty vacuum of space-time,’” quoting New Scientist. link here . 6. “SCOTTY BEAMED UP IN FINAL SPACE VOYAGE” “Actor James Doohan, who played the starship Enterprise's chief engineer Scotty on Star Trek, finally made it to space today [April 29] as a rocket with some of his ashes was launched in New Mexico. Remains of the Canadian-born actor, who died two years ago at the age of 85, hurtled to the edge of space aboard a telephone pole-size rocket that blasted off from a desert launching grounds near Truth or Consequences. Doohan inspired the legendary catch phrase "Beam me up, Scotty" -- even though it was never actually uttered on the popular television show,” quoting Reuters. link here . 7. “...THE SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY EDITORIAL CARTOON CONTEST” “In March, we learned that federal climate scientists were told that they can’t talk about global warming and polar bears. A few weeks later, we received confirmation that a Department of Interior official rewrote the work of scientists who were attempting to save endangered species. And just this month, a federal judge found that scientists’ views were suppressed to allow more logging in the Pacific Northwest. But as troubling as these examples of political interference in science are, they fly under the radar screen of many Americans. To prevent these abuses of power, we need to help all Americans understand that the misuse of science negatively impacts their health, safety, and environment. That’s where you come in. Three of America’s leading cartoonists—Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau, Washington Post cartoonist Tom Toles, and Speed Bump artist Dave Coverly—have teamed up with UCS in Science Idol: the Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest. Together, we’re seeking creative, original, and compelling editorial cartoons that lampoon the misuse of science while communicating the dangerous effects of this political interference. These celebrity artists know that cartoons can make complex issues accessible to mass audiences,” quoting the Union of Concerned Scientists. link here . 8. NEW LAND MASS ARISE ON EARTH “When people talk about change happening on a geologic time scale, most of the time, they mean that the change happens over the course of millions of years…Most of the time, change is slow, but sometimes, geologic change happens all at once. This was the case on Ranongga Island in the Solomon Islands. In the early morning hours of April 2, 2007, a magnitude 8.1 earthquake shook the Solomon Islands, its epicenter southwest of Ranongga Island. The huge quake pushed much of the island up, raising the coral reefs that ringed the island above the water. In the course of a few minutes, Ranongga Island acquired several meters of new beach,” quoting NASA’s Earth Observatory. link here The AFP report on this story: link here . 9. “RESEARCHER CREATES ROBOT DOUBLE” “Ever wished you could be in two places at one time? A Japanese researcher has managed it, through a robot that looks and moves exactly like him. The "Geminoid" was fashioned by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University using a model of his body and hair from his head. When you poke its face, the robot grimaces like a real human, thanks to the more than 50 sensors and motors that are implanted beneath its lifelike skin. It appears to breathe when compressed air is pumped through its body. ‘At first, you may feel strange about the android,’ Ishiguro told Reuters. ‘However, once you are drawn into a conversation, you will forget every difference and feel totally comfortable to speak with it and look it in the eyes.’ Japan is hooked on androids, with several companies selling robots that mimic human action such as playing drums or dancing to music. With Japan's population expected to slide by around a quarter by 2050, and immigration a sensitive issue, some laboratories have developed humanoid robots that can work as maids. link here . 10. NEW CARS BREAK THE MOLD A. “REINVENTING THE WHEEL” “What goes from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, has one moving part in its motor, a top speed of 130 mph, and is a joy to drive? The new zero-emissions Tesla Roadster. Oh yeah – and it’s all electric, has a driving range of 200+ miles, and can be fully recharged in 3.5 hours plugged into an AC outlet in your garage. While Detroit motor companies whine about California emissions standards and jump on the bandwagon to create wimpy hybrids yet continue to build SUVs that get 13 miles to the gallon, a couple of guys from California with a penchant for sexy wheels, a passion for the environment, and an entrepreneurial streak as wide as the Bonneville Salt Flats have stepped up to the mark with a goal to revamp the auto industry in style,” quoting the Global Intelligencer. link here B. SOLAR ELECTRIC CAR Want a solar Car? Mechanical designer Art Haines, of Maine, built one from scratch with the help of high school students. If they can do it, why can't Detroit? link here . 11. WISE LESSONS FOR FOOD STORAGE “If you are going to store food, make sure that the food you store is adequate for the need you and your family anticipate. This may not be as easy as to achieve as many people think, because the facts are that most people make serious errors when storing food—errors that will come back to haunt them when the food they’ve stored is the only thing that stands between them and their empty, dissatisfied bellies. There are seven common mistakes people make when storing food,” quoting Backwoods Home Magazine. link here . 12. FUTURE SHORELINES OF EARTH IF TRENDS CONTINUE These are excellent maps of potential future shorelines if the ice melt continues: A. NASA’s map of Greenland’s ice melt link here B. The Matrix Institute’s future map: link here C. The Nexial Institute map: link here . RAMTHA STUDENT NEWS A. CSE’s new website has been unveiled. Beautiful work by Laura Shuman Craig: link here B. The Survival Center's General Manager, Richard Mankamyer, has just completed the CERT "Community Emergency Response Training" class conducted by Homeland Security Region 3. The CERT web site: link here The Survival Center website: link here C. Ramtha brings his fabulous Questions & Answers 1 0n 1 in audience to Miami June 16. Open to the public. link here . LOCAL NOTE Covered on Yelm’s first Community Blog last week: A. Progress report on region’s lawmakers in Olympia B. Climate change impacts on Washington State C. Guest Entry: Delores Crowell “Football as a Metaphor for Our life” D. Free comic book day in Yelm May 11 E. Yelm & Thurston County Events F. Yelm Co-op opens doors to the public G. Yelm Arbor Day 2007 is May 11 link here . QUOTE OF THE WEEK If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it! Jonathan Winters (1925 - ) American film and television actor and comedian.. Kleiner’s Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2007. For archived issues of Kleiner’s Korner, click on "Current Kleiner’s Korner and Archives" at link here Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com .