UPDATES ARCHIVE FOR DECEMBER 2003
HOME PAGE	Kleiner's Korner for Week of December 29, 2003 Dear Readers, Although the Mad Cow story is thoroughly covered in this "Korner", there are several important stories from Christmas Week that were shoved to the "back burner" by the mainstream press. These are listed after the extensive Number One and deserve your attention as well. Autumn's night skies have been providing some spectacular views. And as we move into winter here in the Northern Hemisphere, the sightings continue. On December 31 Saturn reaches opposition (where the Sun and Saturn appear in opposite directions from Earth's perspective), its rings open wide. This is the best view of the planet in three decades. link here NASA has an excellent site for sky sightings. link here 1. When the U.S. Government (U.S. Sec of Agriculture Veneman) calls a hastily arranged after-hours press conference on the eve of Christmas Eve to report that a Washington state Holstein slaughtered on December 9th might be potentially infected with mad cow disease, something is definitely amiss. Since I last mentioned this subject, there have been enumerable reports on the subject. I am going to list information and links which have not been too widely disseminated in the mainstream media. A. The great thing about all of this is the light being shined into the dark corners of the food industry, bringing a huge awareness about the safety of our food supply . . . which may not be as safe as the government would have us believe. link here B. And if you're wondering why you haven't seen a list of markets where suspicious meat may have gone: "USDA spokesman Dan Puzo would not release the names of the markets in California,Nevada,Oregon and Washington that might have received the recalled meat, saying that information is considered proprietary business information. Investigators plan to visit the stores over the weekend. Consumers who are concerned they may have purchased meat covered by the recall should contact their grocery store and ask them, Puzo said." [Ed. Note: Now isn't that just swell: government protecting corporations from the public. In another time, that might be called fascism!] link here Yet the meat recall is expanding as this Kleiner's Korner is being prepared for its readers. link here And the investigation is expanding to include the animal feed industry is the U.S. link here C. This situation in Washington State is not something that all of the sudden caused concern. No. KIRO-TV Channel 7, Seattle's CBS affiliate, has aired many special investigative reports on downer cows in the food supply. Downer cows are those which cannot stand up under their own power, whether from illness or injury. The following link describes what happened when these reports aired. link here D. The Province of Ontario, Canada has published a terrific fact sheet titled "Prevention of Downer Dairy Cows." link here E. The Organic Consumers Assn. (OCA) raised the red flag when it posted a UPI article run earlier this summer which urged the USDA to employ the mad cow rapid tests here in the U.S. instead of the 8-day long tests it was using. link here In another UPI article posted by the OCA, a retired USDA veterinarian stated "the USDA's mad cow surveillance system is inadequate and 'so full of holes, it would only be a fluke if we caught [the existence of the disease] here [in the U.S.].'" link here F. On Christmas Eve UPI ran an article updating its endeavors under the Freedom of Information Act to get mad cow tests results from the USDA for animals tested in 2002 and 2003. The article also includes a dynamite bit involving a suspicious cow at the X-cel plant in Colorado. The sick animal was hidden from USDA inspectors. link here G. And get this, "autopsies reveal 3 % to 13 % of U.S. patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's or dementia actually suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), which can be caused by eating beef contaminated with mad cow disease. Those numbers might sound low, but there are 4 million Alzheimer's cases and hundreds of thousands of dementia cases in the United States." Another factor limiting knowledge on possible CJD cases is the fact that autopsies are now performed only 15% of the time. And "the National Center for Health Statistics -- a branch of the CDC -- stopped collecting autopsy data in 1995." link here H. Oh, and a good stock tip is for the company that makes the USDA approved test for mad cow [Bio-rad Laboratories, whose stock went up $10/share on 12/24, the day after Sec Veneman's announcement]. link here I. Most Americans do not know that the European Union already bans the importation of American beef because of America's use of hormones. So the mad cow story does not effect European Union consumers. link here J. Check out Cyber-Help for Organic Farmers to see who owns what in the organic food business. link here K. A must read is the comments from doctors in the International Society for Infectious Diseases. Dr. Raymond Weinstein states: "It makes me more than a little nervous to find out that obviously sick animals are still sent for slaughter to enter the human food chain. I believed (apparently in error) that sick animals were withheld from human consumption, for protection from more than just BSE exposure. I am also not completely satisfied that BSE cannot be passed in cuts of beef, since muscle tissue may contain small amounts of nerve and lymphatic tissue." HUM! link here L. Something in all this concerns me since my dog developed cancer at age 10 and had to be put down. The question becomes, "What is in canned pet food?" When our dog developed cancer local Yelm Veterinarian Dr. Kegley told me that he had never seen so many cases of cancer as he was seeing at that tie (1999). Our cat eats canned meat from the grocery store, the same meat that's canned for humans. Yes, it's more expensive than cat food, but our animal is healthy and we avoid costly surgeries and medical bills. We want happy and healthy pets. link here M. Folks, know your hoofed animal meat sources! To that end, read the following information on Local Harvest: Local Harvest is a Santa Cruz, CA based organization that "maintains a definitive and reliable 'living' public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources. Their search engine . . . helps people find local sources of sustainably grown food, and encourages them to establish direct contact with family farms in their local area." Check 'em out! link here Their meat offerings: link here Listings for the South Puget Sound area: link here N. A Local Harvest area farmer is Winlock Meadows Farm owned by Susie Kyle, who has her small family farm near Winlock,WA (45 minutes south of Olympia). Susie is dedicated to the preservation of small family farms, offers Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) memberships, sells at farmer's markets in Olympia and Longview and is taking the winter to develop a Food Bank Project and Community-Farm Support Team. Here's what Local Harvest says of Winlock Meadows: link here You can visit their newly developing Local Harvest online store at: link here Check out Susie's sites. link here And (check for updates after January 5th): link here Another LocalHarvest.com participant is the Yelm Earthworm & Castings Farm, which sells among other things certified organic feed. link here O. TheWashington Tilth Producers Directory is also a good resource for finding farms in Washington. Here you can find the "2003-2004 Tilth Producers Directory: A Washington Guide to Organic and Sustainable Growers, Food and Farm Suppliers and Resources." link here P. There is a wonderful family farm in Rochester, WA that sells certified organic beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and animal feed: Whispering Springs Farm; Jim and Jean Huston and Family; 326A Independence Rd.; Rochester,WA (360) 273-6693. They sell from their farm and at the Olympia Farmer's Market. . 2. All foreigners entering U.S. airports and seaports for a visit — except those from Western Europe and a handful of other countries — will have their fingerprints scanned and their photographs snapped as part of a new program designed to enhance border security. Called U.S. Visit for U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology, all 115 airports that handle international flights and 14 major seaports, will let Customs officials instantly check an immigrant or visitor’s criminal background, beginning January 5th, 2004. [Ed. Note: This is a prelude to the orifice check, then the DNA swab, due out soon. Relax! It's a joke, yet I would not leave that out of the realm of possibilities. Of course, suspected drug "mules" have had the orifice check for years.] link here If you are a national from any of the following 28 countries, you are exempt in this program through the U.S. Dept. of State Visa Waiver Program: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. link here As if to highlight the way our U.S. agents treat foreigners now, this article outlines the absolute ridiculousness of "1984" style tactics experienced by one Australian magazine reporter upon arrival in LAX. [Ed. Note: At least this person WAS a reporter and the story got publicized!] link here . 3. Follow-up: Kleiner's Korner has mentioned multitudinous times the fact that the U.S. military has been giving mandatory anthrax vaccinations and other injections to our soldiers for years. This has been against the desires of many military personnel, yet they faced court-marshals or dishonorable discharges for refusing. Just before the Christmas holiday a federal judge ordered the vaccinations stopped, saying service personnel shouldn't be "guinea pigs." The Pentagon has stopped the program for now; however, some say the judge's decision can be overridden by a presidential executive order. [Ed. Note: This is an enlightened judicial decision, and I say it's "about time" someone had the courage to put a stop to this practice.] link here . 4. Follow-up: Candidate George W. Bush vowed NOT to dump nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. President George W. Bush has now overturned that commitment and wants to dump this nation's nuclear waste there, just north of Las Vegas, a city of over 1.5 million people. The State of Nevada is now on the attack in this nuclear war with the feds: "'Six times a day it comes through town for the next 20 years,' Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman says. 'There's got to be an accident. You don't need a ... missile (to make waste deadly). Wherever it takes place, the area will become a ghost town overnight.'" Mayor Goodman is referring to the proposed nuclear waste carrying trains passing within a mile of the famed "Strip" en route to Yucca. [Ed. Note: Although this is a political issue, it is pointed out here for the implications of nuclear fission waste. It will be through science that society advances beyond the inane concept of splitting the atom for power, yielding such poisonous waste for thousands of years.] link here Further, in what I consider a very sad move, two days before Christmas "the Bush administration opened 300,000 more acres of Alaska'sTongass National Forest . . . to possible logging or other development. The decision allows 3 percent of the forest's 9.3 million acres, which were put off-limits to road-building by the Clinton administration, to have roads built on them and perhaps to be opened to use by the timber industry." [Ed. Note: During each of the last two summers my wife and I spent a week traveling the Tongass extensively. The pristine beauty of Alaska's forests should not be up for sale to the highest bidder!] link here Here is the Tongass National Forest website. link here Here is NRDC's excellent site with terrific information on the Tongass. NRDC is the ONLY organization challenging the administration using the law through the courts to stop environmental destruction by U.S. administrations that are in cahoots with corporations. link here . 5. While on the subject of corporations, one prime example of predatory pricing policies, Wal-Mart, is garnering much attention lately. Here is a just released article that brings to light what most shoppers do not know about Wal-Mart: the giant retailer's low prices often come with a high cost to businesses and cities and towns all across the U.S. Wal-Mart's relentless pressure can crush the companies it does business with and force jobs overseas. Asked in the article: "Are we shopping our way straight to the unemployment line?" [Ed. Note: For this reason, this writer will not set foot into a Wal-Mart and has not done so in years. Wal-Mart's predatory prices have even effected Target and Puget Sound's own Costco, which I do strongly support!] link here . 6. Black soot collecting on glaciers and snow may have contributed to 25% of global warming over the past century NASA scientists now think. Black absorbs heat so instead of snow & ice reflecting sunlight, it absorbs it. link here Last week NASA announced the formal name of its newest space telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope. The first images released from it suggest it "will provide top-notch science and entertainment on a par with the Hubble Space Telescope." link here . 7. "When Franklin County, Kentucky high school student Lincoln Rogers was stricken with kidney cancer, he didn't ask the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a trip to Walt Disney World or a chance to meet his favorite TV star." No, not this entity: he asked for an education. The foundation made it happen. Rogers is a 19-year-old sophomore at David Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. This story is an opportunity for everyone to know about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which since 1980 has granted 100,000 wishes for youngsters with life-threatening illnesses. But Rogers is the only one to receive a "college wish," said foundation spokesperson Jim Maggio. Lipscomb is helping to cover Rogers' expenses. Rogers' story was featured on NBC's TODAY Show on December 23rd and the print edition is here from CNN. link here Here is the Make-A-Wish Foundation site. [Ed. Note: This writer answered a 53 year-old ill mother's wish in WA and was filled with joy at being able to help.] link here . 8. "Symbolic thought - the ability to let one thing represent another - was a giant leap in human evolution. It was a mental ability that allowed sophisticated language and [math]." And archaeologists in Israel speculate that symbolic thought emerged much earlier than they had believed. link here . 9. Called Hilbert's problem 16, it has confounded workers for over a century, and a 22-year-old student at Stockholm University, Elin Oxenhielm, may have solved part of one of mathematics' greatest unsolved problems. link here . 10. From the world of Physics: A. Scientists at the Australian National University (ANU) have carried out an experiment involving lasers and microscopic beads that disobey entropy, the so-called Second Law of Thermodynamics. This many scientists had considered impossible. link here B. According to CNN, "Physicists say they have brought light to a complete halt for a fraction of a second and then sent it on its way, an achievement that could someday help scientists develop powerful new computers. Harnessing light particles to store and process data could aid the still distant goal of so-called quantum computers, as well as methods for communicating information over long distances without risk of eavesdropping." link here . 11. Japan's robot business is the world's largest and Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony has unveiled the world's first "running" robot. Sony's humanoid robot QRIO can jog at a speed of 14 meters (46 feet) a minute, weighs 15 pounds, is 23 inches tall, and has beaming blue lights for eyes. link here View an impressive demonstration of several robots in a Japanese Tea Dance and other movements at: link here Here is the new Sony Qrio promo site. link here . 12. Now this will make you smile and have you singing the names of elements on The Periodic Table you never knew previously: link here Create for yourself a New Year that is wondrous, enchanting, uplifting, delightful and humorous! Here is a sweet story that will warm the cockles of your heart for the holidays. link here And the Ancestry.com website if you would like to check your genealogy: link here . Quote of the Week: "He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either a beast or a god." Aristotle in "Politics" bk. 1, 1253a 27-9 Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2003. 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 Developments in Western Washington's Mad Cow Story This information is provided for the interest of Kleiner's Korner readers with the latest developments in Western Washington's Mad Cow announcement. [Ed. Note: Contrary to USDA and Washington Dept. of Agriculture officials, one would be wise to curtail all beef consumption in this area, unless you know its source, as as been mentioned here several times in the past.] For those of you living in the Yelm, WA and immediate surroundings, this is to advise that the Holstein Cow testing positive on December 9th and announced today with Mad Cow disease, was processed at Midway Meats in Centralia, just 25 miles from Yelm. Inspectors are tracking the meat, but insist the slaughtered cow was screened earlier this month and any diseased parts were removed before they could enter the food supply and infect humans. The US Department of Agriculture has quarantined a farm near Mabton, Washington, about 40 miles southeast of Yakima, where this cow tested positive for Mad Cow disease. Samples from the cow have been airlifted out of Seattle tonight via a military jet to Great Britain for confirmation of the preliminary mad cow finding, using advanced British laboratories. The results will be known in three to five days. Seattle's KIRO-710 radio is covering this story continually and anyone can listen to their latest information from anywhere in the world at: Click Here This will be the last time this is covered until the next regular Kleiner's Korner of December 29, 2003. Additional local media outlets covering this story are: Click Here And: Click Here And: Click Here. Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2003. 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 EXTRA for December 23, 2003 US Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman has just completed a hastily called Press Conference in Washington, D. C. confirming the first incidence of "Mad Cow" disease in the United States, found in a single cow 40 miles southeast of Yakima, WA. Veneman said she was confident that the food supply was still safe and will be serving roast beef for her family's Christmas Dinner. link here As an aside, a report earlier this year showed that testing for Mad Cow has been stalled in Washington State: Click Here. Mad Cow questions and answers: Click Here. The US Dept of Agriculture website with continuous updates: Click Here. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association, representing U.S cattlemen and beef interests was expected to hold a press briefing shortly. Their website is found at: Click Here. And, the US National News "spin" on this story: Click Here And: Click Here. Bottom line: Know the source of your meats you consume would be wise counsel! Happy Holidays! Be aware.... Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2003. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com Send comments to steve@kleinerkorner.com Kleiner's Korner for Week of December 22, 2003 The winter solstice, the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official start to winter here, begins on Monday, December 22nd at 2:04a.m. EST or Sunday, December 21st at 11:04p.m. PST. Happy Winter to those in the Northern Hemisphere and Happy Summer to those in the Southern Hemisphere! link here And: link here 1. While on the subject of the Earth, scientists meeting at the American Geophysical Union last week noted that "the strength of the Earth's magnetic field has decreased 10 percent over the past 150 years, raising the remote possibility that it may collapse and later reverse, flipping the planet's poles for the first time in nearly a million years." [Ed. Note: A true observer would note that the magnetic field is way off, as my daffodils are peeking above the ground here, and it's mid-December!] Click Here. 2. A further planetary travail: The United Nations has reported that global warming may have disastrous effects on ski resorts worldwide by driving the snow levels higher up the mountains. Click Here Another finding that came out of the American Geophysical Union's meeting described the effects of urbanization on weather. Since cities trap heat and pollution, city climates effect the weather of surrounding areas, often changing the amount of rainfall. Click Here. 3. As if the Bush Administration is going to assist with the "Greenhouse effect" ... it is now funding a project in West Virginia to test burying carbon dioxide from a nearby power plant 9000 feet deep in the Earth's crust. Norway is already trying this in the North Sea where carbon dioxide from natural gas in pumped into a reservoir beneath the ocean floor. [Ed Note: Duh! What about dealing with the cause of the production of carbon dioxide in the first place; dependence on oil, rather than the results, and putting those resources into hydrogen power?] Click Here. 4. The journal Nature gave red wine another accolade recently. French scientists have found red wine aged in oak contains acutissimin A, which "has previously shown promise as an anti-cancer drug." [Ed. Note: More evidence to support 1-3 glasses a day!] Click Here And, most everyone knows wine loves a "cave." Here is a lengthy and fascinating article on the resurgence of vintners building caves to age wine in nature's natural environment rather than climate controlled buildings above ground. Click Here. 5. The New Jersey Assembly passed a bill last week making it the second state in the nation, behind California, to permit embryonic stem cell research that uses human cells and embryos to search for new treatments for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other illnesses (a subject mentioned here "multitudinous" times). Click Here Further in this arena, Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Massachusetts has replicated its own successful cloning of a human embryo, growing the new clone to the 16-cell stage. Click Here. 6. The British government has reported that a patient has died from the human form of mad cow disease, seven years after a blood transfusion from a donor who came down with the disease three years after donating the blood. This is the first time such a connection has been reported. [Ed. Note: Did you know that the only blood used in the UK during surgery comes from the U.S. because no cases of mad cow have been reported here?] Click Here. 7. Children who seem to come into the world with profound artistic gifts yet are autistic, have been the objects of fascination for centuries. But recent discoveries suggest we may all carry a savant inside us waiting to be born. Click Here. 8. Italian researchers have delved into what happens when the eyes are blindfolded. Working with the sense of touch, they discovered that subjects who were blindfolded for 90 minutes were able to feel grooves so fine that the surface appeared smooth, a feat they could not do without blindfolds earlier. An hour and a half after the blindfolds were removed, however, the sense of touch had returned to normal. [Ed. Note: I have news for these scientists: Fieldwork™ at Ramtha's School of Enlightenment would give them much "grist for their mill."] Click Here As the world catches on to the value of blindfolds thanks to science, now labyrinths are in vogue, as well. University of Miami (FL) President Donna Shalala, former Secretary of Health & Human Services in the Clinton Administration, was so captivated with a labyrinth she saw in Europe, through which one can walk, she had one installed on the main campus. Labyrinths are documented to date back 4,000 years and are a single, circuitous path that winds from an outside entrance to the center. Walkers in these modern day labyrinths meander through different sections, or circuits, making turns that some people believe shift focus between the right and left brain, thereby enhancing consciousness and spiritual balance. [Ed. Note: Again, students of RSE know the value of the training of a combination of being blindfolded and navigating a labyrinth.] Scroll down to "Spiritual Stroll." Click Here This is the site of the world's leading builder of labyrinths. Click Here. 9. Noted Hollywood cinematographer and Yelm resident Mark Vicente has produced three 30 second spots that he entered in the "Bush in 30 seconds" contest from MoveOn.org. Over 1000 entries were received and the winning ad will be aired during the week of the State of the Union address in January 2004. The winner will be selected by those visiting MoveOn.org's website and voting for their favorite. Mark says, "The only way these spots (the ones he produced) will become finalists is by having people vote for them. Voting takes place from the 17th the 31st of December." You can view Mark's ads at his website at. Click Here Place your vote for Mark Vicente's ads at the "Bush in 30 Seconds" website. Click Here. 10. Of Note: Finally! After years of delays, the British Royal Family's Coroner announced last week that the inquests into Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed's deaths will be held on January 6, 2004. These will be the first British public hearings on the Paris crash. Click Here Princess Diana's butler Paul Burrell has kept the issue of bringing forth the truth in the headlines. Whatever your opinion of his motives, he outlines his experiences serving The British Monarchy and The Princess in his book, "A Royal Duty." Click Here. 11. Southwest Airlines has put its system wide internet specials back in place at $39-$99 plus taxes each-way flying on Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday, $49-$139 plus taxes each-way all other days. Most airlines have matched for travel January 5th through May 8th, 2004. Tickets must be purchased by January 19th, 2004. That means a coast to coast flight for under $250 roundtrip for those of you coming to your Spring Events in Yelm. Click Here. 12. Here are my Christmas links just for you, Kleiner's Korner readers. Regardless of your religious practices or if you have none, you have to admit that the spirit of giving, thinking of others, others thinking of you and the joy of this season are all experiences that transcend all religious persuasions and are the true message of this season, love--love for everyone. May all of humanity be uplifted, even for a moment, during these coming days, as we all pause and count our blessings. Merry Christmas to all, and to all, may your faces shine bright. Click Here And: Click Here. Quote of the week: "The greatest gift that was ever given is love, but love not of the kind that is used on Saint Valentine's Day but a love of giving, a time that we think of others, a time that whatsoever we do for others, that they fill our thoughts. When we give, we are restored to homeostatis. We are restored in our soul, in our mind, in our Spirit, and in our body. It is the greatest thing we can do for ourselves. And you are going to say to yourself, 'My God, this is one of the best Christmases I ever had and all I had to do was give'." Ramtha, The Enlightened One on the just released video, "The Art of Giving" Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2003. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com. Send comments to steve@kleinerkorner.com Kleiner's Korner for Week of December 15, 2003 This coming week marks the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first successful flight. Here are some terrific aviation links honoring the Wright Brothers' Centennial on December 17th. A. US Centennial of Flight: link here B. Great Aviation Quotes: link here C. Discovery Channel's First in Flight: link here D. The Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum opens its new Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Washington Dulles International Airport on December 15, 2003: link here E. The Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum: link here F. Aerofiles: "the Internet's most comprehensive, non-commercial, free-access web site dedicated to the aviation history of North America and the airplanes that have graced our skies for 100 years": link here G. MSNBC ran an article this fall entitled "An Airplane Hall of Fame," describing their choice of 10 aircraft that have evolved aviation. link here 1. Kleiner's Korner has been dedicated to providing access to links on the internet which are available to world public view. As always, the reader's discernment is paramount and you should trust your own knowingness about anything you read. To that end, here is a story from The Washington Post of another Steve and his website: "Around lunchtime on Sept. 26, a security officer at the Space Vehicles Directorate on Kirkland Air Force Base shot an e-mail to Steven Aftergood who was sitting in his frayed tweed chair at his computer, in his office on K Street. Questions/concerns have been voiced by our scientists and engineers regarding material on your web," the officer informed him. "Please advise on your collection methods and who provides authorization to you allowing publication of what is presently on your web site." Aftergood chuckled, then responded: "Authorization for publication of material on our web site is contained in U.S. Constitution, Amendment 1." And he included the following link before saying, "If you have other specific concerns, let me know." Click Here Aftergood is director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy. He's a one-man army out to combat government secrecy by using the Freedom of Information Act to declassify documents and post them to his website. The whole story is a must read. Click Here Information on Aftergood's work can be found at his website. Click Here. 2. Those who create codes to encrypt messages may be about to stymie those who like to crack them, by employing quantum physics. Named Navaho, a new coding system's first commercial application is being marketed by the company MagiQ (pronounced "magic"). It's secret? Navaho employs photons in transmission because they "are so sensitive that if anyone tries to spy on their travel from one point to another, their behavior will change, tipping off the sender and recipient and invalidating the stolen code." Click Here. 3. Adult stem cells from the bone marrow of rats have successfully been induced to turn into cells capable of becoming bone and cartilage. When the cells were placed in a mold shaped like part of the human jaw, they grew and retained the jaw joint shape. It is hoped further work will lead eventually to new treatments for joint replacements. The University of Chicago research is published in the December issue of the Journal of Dental Research. Click Here On another medical front, transplant patients must undergo large doses of drugs that suppress their immune systems so the transplanted organs are not attacked as foreign bodies. English doctors are experimenting with giving the transplant recipient cells from the donor prior to the transplant. It appears the recipient's immune system then becomes re-programmed and does not so readily view the new organ as a foreign object to be attacked. Click Here. 4. One of the world's most lethal diseases is the Ebola virus, which has killed thousands in Africa. Now scientists have created what may be a vaccine against Ebola by engineering an empty shell from two Ebola proteins. The shell looks like the virus, but it has no genetic material to reproduce itself. The immune system's response to the empty shell sets up protection against the real virus. Click Here. 5. Have you ever heard of the Coral Castle in Homestead, FL? The 9-ton coral front door can be opened with the lightest of a push from one finger. And that's just the beginning of many intriguing mysteries about this mansion that was hand-built over 26 years by Edward Leedskalnin, a small man only 5 feet tall with a 4th grade education and a streak of genius yet to be understood. Using only handtools made from scavenged junkyard parts, "the entire castle complex, which looks like a combination fortress and ancient temple, was constructed of huge coral blocks, many of which exceed five tons." [Ed. Note: I lived up the road from this marvel in the 1970's while a student at the University of Miami, and my wife and I visited it in the 1990's. We found it fascinating.] Click Here And the Coral Castle website: Click Here. 6. These next three stories show where television can shine. CBS News "60 Minutes" aired a segment on the determination of one woman to change life for her neighborhood after the Commonwealth of Virginia wanted to place a maximum security prison in it. She went to the public hearings and drew a line in the sand saying "NO!" From that victory, Alice Coles realized that in every revolution, there is one person with a vision and she was inspired to use the power she realized she had in that achievement to change and uplift her community from the depths of squalor. Here is this humble lady's remarkable and inspiring story. [Ed. Note: Way to go, Alice! And, way to go CBS for airing stories like these!] Click Here. 7. Ashleigh Banfield reported for NBC Nightly News on Nov. 30th that dried up west Texas oil fields are now producing energy and dollars anyway, with wind farms. The landscape is loaded with 200 foot tall wind towers generating electricity for power hungry cities to the east. She highlighted in her report, Cielo Wind Power, based in Austin, TX as currently the largest wind developer in the Southwest, with projects equaling approximately 600 megawatts of wind-generated electricity: Click Here. 8. Katie Couric of NBC News took the embarrassment of talking about colonoscopy "out of the closet" with her on-air procedure and report filed on NBC's Today Show in honor of her husband, who died of colon cancer at age 39. This week, virtual colonoscopy has been hailed as an equally effective procedure for detecting colon issues, with very little time and invasiveness involved. Click Here USA Today also ran an article on the procedure. Click Here To find a location open to the public for this procedure check out this website. [Ed. Note: While not endorsing any particular office, I have been to this San Francisco location twice and find their results via EBT (Electron Beam Tomography) valuable.] Click Here. 9. Two weeks before a court-ordered deadline for writing rules controlling mercury pollution from power plants, the Bush administration is considering abandoning the rules in favor of a new plan that would allow electric companies to swap pollution credits. The EPA had been working for three years to meet a Dec. 15 deadline for setting standards that would require industry to install the best available technology for scrubbing the toxic metal from power plant smoke. [Ed. Note: Big Corporations win again and the environment and public are the losers.] Click Here And all of that mercury pollution spewed into the air makes its way into our steams and oceans. Earlier this year Kleiner's Korner ran several articles pertaining to the mercury content found in some ocean fish. Now the FDA has decided to recommend that many women and children limit the amount of tuna they eat, in a story released last week. [Ed. Note: That means everyone should also take heed!] Click Here. 10. The MSNBC article opens with "The science in science fiction doesn’t have to be possible — only plausible. That’s what makes time travel such a well-worn plot device in movies ranging from “The Time Machine” to “Back to the Future” to “Timeline,” the latest entrant in a seemingly ludicrous genre. The funny thing is, scientists say the idea of going back in time is looking less ludicrous and more plausible as time goes on." Yes, according to quantum physics, whatever anyone can think, can be reality. [Ed. Note: As more and more people accept time travel as a reality, it will be introduced into the mainstream.]: Click Here Click Here Click Here. 11. Follow-up: Keiko the killer whale of the movie "Free Willy" fame, who was reintroduced into the wild through a very extensive program, has died of pneumonia in Norway. Keiko did more than any other whale to draw attention to the plight of all Orcas in captivity and to bring our attention to our whale neighbors in the wild. He will be truly missed. Click Here The Orca Network Forum on Keiko contains much information about his life. Click Here Here in the Pacific Northwest we have two Orcas of note, Springer and Luna. Here is the latest on Springer. Click Here And here is the latest on Luna. Click Here The situation in the Miami Seaquarium where Orca Lolita has been housed is deteriorating and is a disgrace. [Ed. Note: You can join to assist in freeing her, as well. This writer did.] Click Here. 12. Ever wonder if your computer can actually see what you're doing? Well, here's a fun site that'll make you chuckle. Click Here. Quote of the Week: "It's not the men in my life that counts - it's the life in my men." Mae West 1933 film "I'm No Angel" Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2003. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com. Send comments to srklein@ywave.com Kleiner's Korner for Week of December 8, 2003 Several weeks ago, I mentioned that I would be shifting away from political stories to those that uplift humanity through science. However, there were two absolutely critical stories released just before Thanksgiving with nary a mention in the popular news recently amid all of the other headlines grabbing attention. They should make everyone want to pause and contemplate where our world is going. Numbers One, Two and Five below portend ominous times ahead for the planet unless attitudes change. If you read nothing else here, please take a moment to read and contemplate these three topics and what meaning they will have for humanity in the days to come. Thank you for your consideration... 1. In the run-up to World AIDS Day on December 1st, a flurry of articles appeared shedding light on the plague's status worldwide. A United Nations report issued on November 25th said that the world's 2003 HIV/AIDS cases have reached unprecedented new highs. Its spread across China, India and Eastern Europe is considered epidemic, while in sub-Sahara Africa AIDS now claims 40+ million infected people and is the number one cause of death. "'The aids epidemic continues to expand -- we haven’t reached the limit yet,'" said Dr. Peter Piot, head of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). 'In two short decades HIV/AIDS has tragically become the premier disease of mass destruction,' Dr. Jack Chow, of the World Health Organization, told a news conference, and added, 'The death odometer from HIV/AIDS is now at 8,000 a day and accelerating.'” UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the AIDS pandemic has become one of the world's biggest security threats. [Ed. Note: What a disgrace. We live in a world that calls itself technologically advanced. Yet disease and famine are reaching proportions not seen since the Dark Ages. Maybe we should be redefining our definition of "weapons of mass destruction." One has to look no further than Africa]. Click Here The USA is not excluded either. AIDS cases have risen by 5 percent since 1999, with gay men, blacks and Latinos most at risk. Click Here Safe sex practices are waning in the U.S. as sexually active groups think drugs will stave off this disease. And syphilis rates are skyrocketing in large U.S. cities, as well. Click Here Here is the UNAIDS site on the subject. Click Here Acknowledging that the world is losing the battle, U.S. Health Secretary Tommy Thompson said on December 1st: "This war has more casualties than any other war as we are losing three million people every year." His statement came at the World AIDS day in Zambia, one of the worst-affected nations in Africa. And "as world leaders called for urgent action to fight the scourge that has devastated many of the globe’s poorest countries, the Vatican defended its controversial position against advocating condoms as protection against HIV." ♫♪♪♫♫ Click Here. 2. What is alarming to Americans about the AIDS report is the huge increase in cases in the post-menopausal age group. YES, this nation's grandparents! 12% of all new AIDS cases in this country are amongst our more seasoned Americans. Doctors blame fewer sexual taboos and Viagra. This age group is not concerned with child bearing, and reports show that a huge number of unprotected sexual partners among many of the more mature persons. Consequently they are shocked when they learn they have HIV. Click "Play Video" to see the whole article. Click Here. 3. TriStem in London claims it has "developed a technique that can turn ordinary blood into cells capable of regenerating damaged or diseased tissues." If true "there would be no need to bother with conventional stem cells." Mainstream researchers are skeptical. Click Here. 4. Nothing has grabbed the attention of the medical research community like resveratrol, found in the greatest quantities on this planet in red wine. Danish researchers recently discovered that "wine drinkers slash their overall risk of dying from any cause by about 40%." The list of benefits from resveratrol is ever-expanding. It's benefits for the heart are well publicized, yet it also has beneficial properties for multiple other potential problems: Alzheimer’s, spinal cord injury, stroke, and cancer prevention and treatment. And it "activates a 'longevity gene' in yeast that extends life span by 70%." This article from Life Extension contains fascinating research. [Ed. Note: Now with all of the voluminous research supporting one drinking one to three glasses of red wine daily, how can we all NOT enjoy this delightful of all drinks regularly? The French & Italians do!]. Click Here. 5. Follow-up: Last month Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. released its Veripay product, a "subdermal RFID (radio frequency identification) payment technology for cash and credit transactions." What that really describes is a microchip implanted inside your body that securely stores your identity and other important information. Applied Digital Solutions advertises the VeriChip as "technology that cares." Some press reports say it could thwart identity theft and make the world a little safer. [Yikes! The Mark of the Beast & 1984 are here today, on the eve of 2004.] Click Here This site has a clear picture of said implanted device. Click Here Here's Applied Digital Solutions' website. Click Here A program in Canada allows passengers to pass through immigration quicker by utilizing iris-recognition technology. Click Here. 6. Thanks largely to the huge success of Dan Brown's DaVinci Code creating the "straw that broke the camel's back," now there's a wellspring of material coming forth on the role of women in traditional stories where heretofore only men were heralded. Nowhere was this more evident than on newsstands worldwide this week with Newsweek Magazine's cover article: "The Bible's Lost Stories: A new generation of scholars is altering our beliefs on the role of women in the Scriptures." This is a fabulous time where, after millions of years, women are finally being acclaimed as equals to men. [Ed. Note: Maybe, just maybe, a new epoch is dawning for consciousness here, and we're just entering the birthing pains of bringing forth a new life!]. Click Here. 7. Follow-up: Motor Trend Magazine's pick for the 2004 Car of the Year is the Toyota Prius, the first hybrid vehicle to receive the Golden Calipers Award, "the most coveted and most recognized award in the automotive industry. ... We realize the selection of a hybrid vehicle is going to stir controversy, but we believe the performance, engineering advancements, and overall significance of the Toyota Prius merits the distinction of Motor Trend's Car of the Year," said Kevin Smith, editor-in-chief of Motor Trend. [Ed. Note: This bodes well for a collective consciousness shift to more environmentally friendly vehicles.] Click Here. 8. In other automotive news, a Washington Post story recently highlighted a mounting problem for emergency workers nationwide. Today automakers pack cars and trucks with new safety devices such as air bags "that can fire off twice or are located in doors or roofs." Some of these devices' locations aren't labeled, so rescue workers don't know their work could set one off. Click Here. 9. Lobsters rely on their sense of smell so much that 70% of their brain is devoted to the sense. Researchers at Brooklyn College in New York have developed two robots patterned after lobsters. Wilbur and Orville are equipped with highly refined sensors, and one day they may help people detect sources of pollution and unexploded mines in the ocean. Click Here. 10. When the topic "genetically modified" comes up, it's usually about food or seeds, and maybe cloning. Now we have the first genetically engineered pet, an aquarium fish called the GloFish. And that's exactly what it does, thanks to a gene from a sea coral: it glows in the dark. Click Here Here's a photo of a glow-in-the-dark fish developed by a Taiwanese company. Click Here On Dec. 3rd California regulators stopped the sale of GloFish in that state. The concern is that escaped fish would mingle with native populations possibly threatening the native gene pool. Interestingly, federal agencies have declined to get involved with regulation because they consider the fish pets, not food. [Ed. Note: So these fish are free to contaminate the gene pool because they're pets, not food? What's wrong with this picture!] Click Here. 11. Dr. Matthias Rath is an outspoken advocate for patient rights and for free access to natural health worldwide. His advocacy continues to be instrumental in preventing a global ban on natural health therapies by the pharmaceutical industry. To protect their market for patented drugs, this industry is seeking a global ban on preventive and therapeutic health information regarding natural, non-patentable therapies by abusing the United Nations “Codex Alimentarius” (Food Standard) Commission. Dr. Rath's credentials are vast. He "was born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1955. After graduating from medical school he worked as a physician and researcher at the University Clinic of Hamburg, Germany and the German Heart Center in Berlin. His research focused on the causes of arteriosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. In 1987, Dr. Rath discovered the connection between vitamin C deficiency and a new risk factor for heart disease- lipoprotein(a). After publication of these research findings in the American Heart Association journal 'Arteriosclerosis,' Dr. Rath accepted an invitation to join two-time Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling. In 1990 he went to the United States to become the first Director of Cardiovascular Research at the Linus Pauling Institute in Palo Alto, California. Dr. Rath worked together with the late Nobel Laureate in various areas of nutritional research. The two scientists became close personal friends who shared common humanistic values, including their determination for peace and justice. In 1994, shortly before his death, Linus Pauling stated: 'There is no doubt in my mind that I was thinking about Dr. Rath as my successor.'" The Dr. Rath Health Foundation site is loaded with lots of information. Click Here And his open letter campaign in The New York Times. Click Here Dr. Linus Pauling is the only person ever to have received two full, unshared Nobel Prizes. According to the website for Yelm, WA's own Dr. Elmer Cranton, "[Pauling] was one of the world's greatest biochemists and scientists. Before his death he wrote and researched extensively in the field of alternative and nutritional medicine" and Dr. Pauling is the very same entity that wrote the FORWARD to the book edited by Dr. Cranton book, "A Textbook on EDTA Chelation Therapy." Click Here Dr. Pauling's FORWARD in Dr. Cranton's book can be read here. Click Here. 12. Now available on Ramtha TV is a trailer, taken from a soon to be released Christmas video entitled "The Art of Giving." The one hour video features teachings from the past four years on giving and the spirit of Christmas. This is a fabulous link that will touch the hearts and souls of everyone. [Ed. Note: The first child shown that Ramtha is holding is our God-son, Trajan Kismet Dering, at his first Christmas Celebration in 2001.] Click Here Also, the latest Ramtha book title is now out, the first one in many years on the subject of love. “That Elixir Called Love: The Truth about Sexual Attraction, Secret Fantasies, and the Magic of True Love" is a fabulous compendium about the kind of love Masters share with each other. There is also an abundance of practical wisdom on everything related to relationships and love. Click Here. Of note: T'is a sad item to report during the holidays that this nations premier toy store F. A. O. Schwartz is filing for bankruptcy again, due to the takeover of the U.S. toy industry by Wal-Mart. According to news reports, Wal-Mart uses predatory pricing in its toy departments, selling toys as a lost leader, often at or near wholesale prices. Click Here. Quote of the Week: "There was never a good war, or a bad peace." Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Josiah Quincy, 11 September 1783, in "Works" (1882) vol. 10, p11. [Note: This was written on September 11th, 1783, 218 years before that date became famous for another war, the "war on Terrorism."] Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2003. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" at www.kleinerskorner.com. Send comments to srklein@ywave.com Kleiner's Korner for Week of December 1, 2003 Dear Readers: As you know, I recently changed the direction of this weekly cyber-letter away from political discourse into one where the hallmarks of science are covered. However, in the news this week is something so critical for every American citizen to know, I want to share it with you since this is something you will not read in the mainstream press. Gen. Tommy Franks, who successfully led the U.S. military operation to liberate Iraq, expressed his concerns about the terrorism situation in an extensive interview he gave for the December issue of the men’s lifestyle magazine Cigar Aficionado. "Gen. Franks says that if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the (U.S.) Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government.... He is the first high-ranking official to openly speculate that the Constitution could be scrapped in favor of a military form of government." Now, pause and contemplate what that would mean to you and your family. [Ed. Note: I have observed that the spin meisters in Washington, D.C. use retired government officials to "float" upcoming issues to get the public sensitized to controversial ideas that are planned. Many think the Patriot Act is "way out there." If conditions arose that the Constitution were suspended, the Patriot Act would be "child's play" in comparison!] link here Here is the cover of Cigar Aficionado, however, you must buy the magazine to see the entire interview. link here 1. Ever work with the Periodic Table in high school or college chemistry and wonder if it couldn't be better organized? Well, now an earth scientist at the University of Georgia-Athens has not only said the same thing, he's organized the table into a more functional aid for his field and published his work in the September issue of Geology. Although scientists from other fields have often modified the table to suit their needs, it's now thought modified versions for specific applications may be the future. Click Here. 2. This site shows the foot prints left by a hominid estimated to be 3.5 million years old ... a modern man. Below the picture is a link that runs a "RealPlayer video" showing the footprints, the origin of them and a forensic specialist's opinion of the prints. Click Here. 3. CBS News 60 MINUTES II tackled a very controversial trend this past week: children who are short for their age (or who simply want to grow taller than they were going to) and are otherwise healthy are taking artificial growth hormones. Long range side effects aren't known and this "raises some troubling questions: Should doctors be medicating already healthy children? And is this decision the first in a trend toward the creation of 'designer children.'?" Click Here. 4. Leave it to the outstanding CBS News team again to reveal last week the dangers of a vaccine given the military in before they were deployed to Iraq. "A half million U.S. soldiers were inoculated for the war with Iraq. Some of them got sick after their vaccinations. Whether the vaccines were to blame remains an open question because ... the military may not be reporting all the cases properly. ... In the medical world, illnesses and deaths after inoculations - even if they're not obviously related to the vaccines - are supposed to be reported so experts can look for new side effects nobody knew about. But there are questions as to whether the military is coming clean about all the adverse events." Click Here This issue was raised because the Pentagon stated last week that "vaccinations may have caused the death of an Army medic who succumbed a month after receiving a combination of five shots...." Click Here. 5. Sometimes we must go outside the USA to find information that would never dare be discussed here. The Russian online publication Pravda has an article titled "There is another Sun and human civilization Inside the Earth." The opening paragraph states: "For several years the scientists preserved the secret of the shocking data of interpretation of photographs of our planet from space. In the ice of the North Pole area a huge hole could be clearly seen. Soon a similar hole was discovered in Venus. Astronomers were shocked and questioned if these planets are hollow inside and what they have in their cores." [Ed. Note: At last, some media outlet is willing to share this truth, supporting Admiral Byrd's reports!] Click Here. 6. Scientists in Japan and the U.S. have observed a sub-atomic particle that cannot be explained by current theories. A meson particle is "comprised of a quark and an antiquark held together by ... the 'strong' force ... the most powerful known in nature." Dubbed the "mystery meson," the new meson is comprised of 2 quarks and 2 antiquarks. Click Here . 7. According to the journal Nature, researchers have successfully created the long-sought molecular form of a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC), which is "a group of identical particles that behaves as if it were one particle." BEC's usually are made from atoms. They are superconducting and superfluid, transmitting electricity without resistance and flow without friction only at extremely low temperatures. Created out of a gas cloud of lithium, whose atoms are fermions, the new molecular BEC opens several doors to understanding basic physics. Click Here. 8. Follow-up: The "greenest" building in America opened in mid-November. The Robert Redford Building, renovated from a structure originally built in 1917, is an example of sustainable urban architecture, "where toilets flush themselves with rainwater -- except for the urinals, which use no water at all -- and the floors are made of bamboo and the carpets from hemp." The many energy saving innovations used in this renovation are fascinating. Click Here. 9. Follow-up: Previously I noted an article about the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) listing aerial views of all of the addresses in the U.S. on its website. This has met with some concern from privacy advocates. However, that said, your home's aerial view is available free at. Click Here. 10. Recent medical research shows sex can be good for your health. Barbara Bartlik, MD, Psychiatrist says: "It gets your blood pressure up and your pulse up for a short period of time, and that's very good for your body in general." [Ed. Note: Leave it to a Salt Lake City television station to report this, home of the Church of Latter Day Saints -- the Mormons! This will help free them of the religious shackles of sex as taboo.] Click Here. 11. Follow-up: Here's a must site to add to the list of websites that deal with the corporate takeover of the American Family Farm and how that has effected the quality of meat. This is one of the best sites I've seen that highlights this issue. Although it is a cartoon and a tongue-in-cheek comparison to The Matrix, The Meatrix is one you just gotta see. Click Here Trader Joe's has announced it will not carry genetically engineered or genetically modified foods. Click Here. 12. Happy snowflake! Click Here. Of local note: The Olympia Brewing Company plant in Tumwater closed earlier this year when owner Miller Brewing Company shut it down. It may be opening again as a bottling plant by All American Bottling Co., primarily distributing bottled water. Click Here Follow-up: the Spanaway Loop Rd. section between 112th & 116th in Tacoma has reopened providing easy access to SR 512 and I-5.. Quote of the Week: "A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery." James Joyce in Ulysses (1922) p. 182 Kleiner's Korner is copyrighted by Stephen R. Klein, 2003. For archived issues of Kleiner's Korner, click on "Current Kleiner's Korner and Archives" on the website at www.kleinerskorner.com. Send comments to srklein@ywave.com