| Kleiner's Korner For Week of March 6, 2006
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1. GETTING READY --- PANDEMIC COMING IN GOVERNMENT'S MIND
"Businesses need to plan on having 40 percent of their workforces out if a flu pandemic strikes and need to start rewarding employees for staying home when they are sick, government advisers told a conference Tuesday [Feb. 28]. The H5N1 avian influenza virus will almost certainly spread to birds in the United States eventually, and if it mutates into a form that easily infects people it will spread globally within weeks, they noted. If that happens, up to a third of people will be sickened by the virus in the space of a few weeks, another third will have to stay home to care for ill relatives or children kept out of school, and others will be afraid to come to work or may have trouble getting in if mass transit systems break down," quoting Reuters.
link here .
2. BIRD FLU NOW HAS JUMPED TO A MAMMAL IN EU--- A CAT
"The deadly strain of bird flu was confirmed Tuesday [Feb. 28] in a cat in northern Germany, the first time the virus has been identified in a mammal in the 25 nations of the European Union. The cat was on the northern island of Ruegen, where most of the more than 100 wild birds infected by the H5N1 strain were found, the Friedrich Loeffler institute said. The cat was found dead over the weekend and then tested positive for H5N1, laboratory leader Thomas Mettenleiter said. In Geneva, World Health Organization spokeswoman Maria Cheng said this was the first time she knows of an animal other than a bird being infected in Europe. Tigers and leopards were infected by H5N1 in Thailand, where they were fed chicken carcasses in a zoo," quoting the AP.
link here .
3. HEALTH SECRETARY SAYS BIRD FLU TO HIT USA SOON
"The lethal avian flu that is spreading rapidly around the world could soon infect wild birds and domesticated flocks in the United States, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said on Wednesday [Mar. 1]. In testimony to a congressional panel on his agency’s budget for combating a possible avian flu outbreak among humans, Leavitt told senators that no one knows when or if the virus will pose a threat to people. But, he said, “it’s just a matter of time -- it may be very soon” when wild birds and possibly poultry flocks contract the disease. Leavitt said that infection of birds alone in the United States with the H5N1 virus would not create a public health emergency. Such an emergency would occur if the disease mutated so that it became easily transferred from human to human," quoting Reuters.
link here .
4. CLINTON: FOR BETTER HEALTH, EXERCISE & REDUCE CALORIC INTAKE
"Former President Clinton, a reformed overeater, urged the nation’s governors on Tuesday [Feb .28] to embrace a long-term effort to change the nation’s culture of too much food and too little exercise. Clinton changed his eating habits after undergoing heart bypass surgery in September 2004. He warned the governors that failure to change the nation’s eating habits will weaken the economy and threaten the lives of its children. 'We have a huge cultural problem and unless we change it our children may grow up to be the first generation with shorter life spans than we had,' the former Arkansas governor told the National Governors Association at the last day of its annual winter meeting," quoting the AP.
link here .
5. DUTCH STUDY: CHOCOLATE CONSUMPTION MAY REDUCE BLOOD PRESSURE IN OLDER MEN
“Leave it to the Dutch to help demonstrate the health benefits of chocolate. A study of older men in The Netherlands, known for its luscious chocolate, indicated those who ate the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death. The researchers say, however, it’s too early to conclude it was chocolate that led to better health. The men who ate more cocoa products could have shared other qualities that made them healthier. Experts also point out that eating too much chocolate can make you fat – a risk for both heart disease and high blood pressure,” quoting the AP.
link here
And, Forbes report on this story:
link here .
6. “MIND CONTROL: THE ULTIMATE BRAVE NEW WORLD”
“The questions which this section raises are profound. Is it possible to transmit a signal to the brain of a person, from a distance, which deposits specific sounds, voice or other information, which can be understood? Is it possible to transfer sound in a way where only the targeted person can hear the “voice in the head” and no one else hears a thing? Is it possible to shift a person’s emotions using remote electromagnetic tools? The answer to each of these questions is a resounding “Yes!” The state of the science has passed even the most optimistic predictions, and the capabilities are here now,” quoting Nexus Magazine.
link here .
7. “VOYAGE TO OUR HOLLOW EARTH” THIS SUMMER
“Would you be interested in a once-in-a-lifetime chance to discover Our Hollow Earth first hand? If so, we invite you to join us for an expedition to the North Pole with Steve Currey, one of the leading river explorers in the world! Indigenous Eskimos believe that there is a hole in the Arctic Ocean and observations by several Arctic explorers like Olaf Jansen and Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, U.S.N., who claim to have seen mirages of exposed land near the North Pole, indicate that the most plausible location for an opening is located at 84.4 N Latitude, 141 E Longitude. Steve Currey's Expedition Company has chartered the Russian Nuclear IceBreaker YAMAL, to take 100 adventurers to the North Pole for an expedition to conduct scientific observations that could resolve once and for all whether the Hollow Earth Theory has any validity! Departure date is scheduled for June 26, 2006.” quoting Steve Currey’s Expedition Company.
link here .
8. GIANT YELLOWSTONE CALDERA INCREASING IN SIZE
“Forces brewing deep beneath Yellowstone National Park could be making one of the largest volcanoes on Earth even bigger, a new study reveals. In the past decade, part of the volcano has risen nearly five inches, most likely due to a backup of flowing molten rock miles below the planet's crust. Yellowstone last erupted about 640,000 years ago, spewing 240 cubic miles of material. Despite the newly discovered activity, researchers don't expect it to erupt any time soon. Eventually, however, it could explode again as a super-volcano that would destroy life for hundreds of miles around and coat the entire country in ash. Radar observations from the European Space Agency's ERS-2 satellite reveal that the jellybean-shaped Yellowstone caldera — a giant depression caused by past volcanic explosions — began to rise in 1995,” quoting Live Science.
link here
And:
link here
Further, the other huge caldera is California’s Long Valley Caldera:
link here
“Super Volcanoes will chill the world someday”
link here .
9. “DEPRESSION, HEART DISEASE OFTEN CONNECTED”
“Depression is one of the most common health disorders in the U.S., and heart disease is a leading cause of death. ‘Although they can and do occur separately, research shows that the two conditions are often connected,’ health experts write in the February issue of the Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource. Previous studies have shown that depression is more common among people with heart disease than among those without. Researchers found that one in three heart attack survivors experience depression, compared to about one in 20 adults in the general population. Depression has also been shown to be a precursor to heart disease. In one study of postmenopausal women, investigators found that those with symptoms of depression were 50 percent more likely to develop or die from heart disease than those without such symptoms, even though they had no prior history of heart disease,” quoting Reuters.
link here .
10. SURVEY SHOWS WHY U.S. CONSTITUTION BEING TRASHED: LACK OF KNOWLEDGE.
“Americans apparently know more about “The Simpsons” than they do about the First Amendment. Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. But more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family, according to a survey. The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms. Joe Madeira, director of exhibitions at the museum, said he was surprised by the results,” quoting the AP.
link here
The Patriot Act looks like a Slam Dunk, so by-by to your Constitutional Rights as the US Senate votes overwhelmingly to renewing Patriot Act. Now goes to House & then President Bush.
[Ed. Note: Slam Dunk that more of our Constitutionally guaranteed rights are history. Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) echoes this writers views below.]
link here
"There are few roles in our constitutional government that are more frustrating than being a member of the minority party during a period of one party control of the government. However, at a time when the majority party in general - and the president in particular - appears to be acting in open violation of the laws and the constitution, there are few jobs which are more important to the future of our democratic form of government. People think of Watergate, or Iran Contra as constituting crises. They were in the sense that an executive branch was acting in violation of the law, and in tension with the majority party in the congress. But in the end, the system worked, the abuses were investigated, and actions were taken - even if presidential pardons ultimately prevented a full measure of justice. Today, the crisis is substantively and systemically far worse. The alleged acts of wrongdoing - lying about the decision to go to war; manipulation of intelligence; facilitating and countenancing torture; using confidential information to out a CIA agent; open and flagrant violations of federal wiretap laws - are far more egregious than any I have witnessed in my 41 years in Congress. The majority party has shown no ability to engage in simple oversight, let alone challenge the Administration directly. The courts, while operating as an occasional and partial check, are institutionally incapable of delving into most of the controversies we are presented with as a result of limitations on standing, ripeness, and other doctrines. The media, which is increasingly concentrated, was shell-shocked and in some respects cowered by 9/11, and for the most part unwilling to alienate the party in charge," quoting Michigan Congressman John Conyers.
link here
"I Will Vote No on Patriot Act"
By Senator Patrick Leahy
[Ed. Note: Senator Leahy is a family friend of an RSE student who was raised in Vermont.]
link here .
11. NONVIOLENT COMMUNICATION MOVEMENT FOR WORLD PEACE
Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D., author of Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, has taken up where Gandhi, King, and other past visionary leaders for peace left off. An internationally renowned visionary himself, Rosenberg 's credentials rank him as one of the foremost new leaders for world peace. His equally visionary communication process, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), is the cornerstone of what global leaders, educators, and beyond are identifying as the missing link to the solution we all seek. Viewed through NVC eyes, all anger and violence--both in the world at large and in our own personal lives--is a counter-productive attempt by people to meet their needs.
link here .
12. SEE WITH WHOM YOU SHARE YOUR BIRTHDAY
“You Share a Birthday with Famous People:
Paul Revere--you know, "The Redcoats are coming"--was born on January 1. Find out what famous people were born on YOUR birthday,” quoting World Almanac for Kids.
link here .
RAMTHA SCHOOL NEWS
“Virato speaks with J. Z. (sic) Knight, notorious channel for a 35,000 year old disincarnate being, Ramtha, and who appeared in the film What The Bleep Do We Know?! She introduced Ramtha to the media in 1978 in her first public appearance channeling Ramtha. In fact she is credited with the first use of the term "channeling." Saturday, March 11, 11:06 AM-Noon EST,” quoting Virato Live.
link here
As Primary Group students gather in Yelm from around the world, this is a good reminder to
patronize our local students' businesses who work hard providing varied quality products and services for this little town. Before and after your event, won't you consider spending your dollars locally by visiting places like:
- Annie's Bistro: a fabulous little restaurant with a diverse menu offering great food, quality and value. Annie's is in her 4th year, quite a feat in the difficult restaurant business.
- Blue Bottle Espresso: A mother/daughter team serving up love in every organic coffee cup, sandwich, dessert. Celebrating their 1st anniversary in business March 16th.
link here
If we do not support our local businesses, they fold, as witnessed with the closing of students' wine shops.
Other Yelm area RSE student businesses can be accessed here:
link here
Further, Bertha Rainen and Myra Hansen will be booksigning their stories at Lemuria in Yelm on Friday, March 10 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. You Primary Group visitors and all others please stop, buy their books and give them a hug for their courage in writing their stories; these are both silver-haired beauties with wisdom gained from a long life who have written simply of their experiences meeting their Master Teacher and how their lives have been changed forever.
Bertha Rainen's book is No Excuses: My Plea For World Peace:
link here
Myran Hansen's book is titled: Grandmother's God.
Also, buy Amber Wiltsie's book from the RSE Student Authors' Table directly in front of you when you enter the Quantum Cafe or at Yelm's Outback Boutique:
Ramtha & Me: One Woman's Journey in a School of Anicent Wisdom
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OF LOCAL NOTE
“Established in 1989, the Nisqually 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, nongovernmental 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
Their Fourteenth Annual Auction is Saturday, March 18th, 2006.
link here .
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector?
The taxidermist takes only your skin.”
Mark Twain (Samuel Longhorne Clemens) 1835-1910
American Writer
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Kleiner’s Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2006.
For archived issues of Kleiner’s Korner, click on "Current Kleiner’s Korner and Archives" at
link here
Send comments to steve@kleinerskorner.com .
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