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PRINCE CHARLES WARNS
GM CROPS RISK CAUSING THE BIGGEST-EVER ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER
The Telegraph
August 12, 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/08/12/eacharles1
12.xml
The mass development of genetically modified crops risks causing the world's
worst environmental disaster, The Prince of Wales has warned.
In his most outspoken intervention on the issue of GM food, the Prince said
that multi-national companies were conducting an experiment with nature
which had gone "seriously wrong".
The Prince, in an exclusive interview with the Daily Telegraph, also
expressed the fear that food would run out because of the damage being
wreaked on the earth's soil by scientists' research.
He accused firms of conducting a "gigantic experiment I think with nature
and the whole of humanity which has gone seriously wrong".
"Why else are we facing all these challenges, climate change and
everything?".
Relying on "gigantic corporations" for food, he said, would result in
"absolute disaster".
"That would be the absolute destruction of everything... and the classic way
of ensuring there is no food in the future," he said.
"What we should be talking about is food security not food production --
that is what matters and that is what people will not understand.
"And if they think its somehow going to work because they are going to have
one form of clever genetic engineering after another then again count me
out, because that will be guaranteed to cause the biggest disaster
environmentally of all time."
Small farmers, in particular, would be the victims of "gigantic
corporations" taking over the mass production of food.
"I think it's heading for real disaster," he said.
"If they think this is the way to go....we [will] end up with millions of
small farmers all over the world being driven off their land into
unsustainable, unmanageable, degraded and dysfunctional conurbations of
unmentionable awfulness."
The Prince of Wales's forthright comments will reopen the whole debate about
GM food.
They will put him on a collision course with the international scientific
community and Downing Street -- which has allowed 54 GM crop trials in
Britain since 2000.
His intervention comes at a critical time. There is intense pressure for
more GM products, not fewer, because of soaring food costs and widespread
shortages.
Many scientists believe GM research is the only way to guarantee food for
the world's growing population as the planet is affected by climate change.
They will be dismayed by such a high profile and controversial contribution
from the Prince of Wales at such a sensitive time.
The Prince will be braced for the biggest outpouring of criticism from
scientists since he accused genetic engineers of taking us into "realms that
belong to God and God alone" in an article in the Daily Telegraph in 1998.
In the interview the Prince, who has an organic farm on his Highgrove
estate, held out the hope of the British agricultural system encouraging
more and more family run co-operative farms.
When challenged over whether he was trying to turn back the clock, he said:
"I think not. I'm terribly sorry. It's not going backwards. It is actually
recognising that we are with nature, not against it. We have gone working
against nature for too long."
The Prince of Wales cited the widespread environmental damage in India
caused by the rush to mass produce GM food.
"Look at India's Green Revolution. It worked for a short time but now the
price is being paid.
"I have been to the Punjab where you have seen the disasters that have taken
place as result of the over demand on irrigation because of the hybrid seeds
and grains that have been produced which demand huge amounts of water.
"[The] water table has disappeared. They have huge problems with water
level, with pesticide problems, and complications which are now coming home
to roost.
"Look at western Australia. Huge salinisation problems. I have been there.
Seen it. Some of the excessive approaches to modern forms of agriculture."
He said that the scientists were putting too much pressure on nature.
"If you are not working with natural assistance you cause untold problems.
which become very expensive and very difficult to undo.
It places impossible burdens on nature and leads to accumulating problems
which become more difficult to sort out."
In a keynote speech last year the Prince of Wales warned that the world
faces a series of natural disasters within 18 months unless a £15 billion
action plan is agreed to save the world's rain forests.
He has set up his own rain forest project with 15 of the world's largest
companies, environmental and economic experts, to try to find ways to stop
their destruction.
Only two weeks ago British GM researchers lobbied ministers for their crops
to be kept in high-security facilities or in fields at secret locations
across the country to prevent them from being attacked and destroyed.
They spoke out after protesters ripped up crops in one of only two GM trials
to be approved in Britain this year.
Scientists claim the repeated attacks on their trials are stifling vital
research to evaluate whether GM crops can reduce the cost and environmental
impact of farming and whether they will grow better in harsh environments
where droughts have devastated harvests.
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A REFRIGERATOR THAT RUNS WITHOUT ELECTRICITY
permaculture.org.au
By Craig Mackintosh
http://permaculture.org.au/2008/08/11/a-refrigerator-that-runs-without-elect
ricity/#more-540
Sometimes there are simple solutions to universal needs that don¹t require
coal fired electricity, fossil fuels, or even solar panels or wind turbines.
Around a third of the world¹s population have no access to electricity. If
you¹re like me, you¹ve spent your entire life being able to plug in. Do we
ever give a thought to what life would be like if the various appliances
we¹ve come to rely on were to suddenly stop working? One of the most energy
guzzling appliances in our carbon footprint portfolio is the refrigerator.
But, unplug it, and the quality of your life will suddenly deteriorate. Take
that thought, and imagine living in a hot dry country in Africa, without
electricity, where food quickly wilts and rots in the sun, aided by
onslaughts of flies.
One modern day genius, mindful of this basic need to preserve food, has
solved the problem for many. Mohammed Bah Abba, a Nigerian teacher, invented
the Œdevice¹ -- a refrigerator that doesn¹t require electricity!
From a family of pot-makers, Mohammed has made ingeniously simple use of the
laws of thermodynamics to create the pot-in-pot refrigerator, called a Zeer
in Arabic.
Here¹s how it works.
You take two earthen pots, both being the same shape but different sizes,
and put one within the other. Then, fill the space between the two pots with
sand before pouring water into the same cavity to make the sand wet. Then,
place food items into the inner pot, and cover with a lid or damp cloth. You
only need to ensure the pot-in-pot refrigerator is kept in a dry,
well-ventilated space; the laws of thermodynamics does the rest. As the
moisture in the sand evaporates, it draws heat away from the inner pot,
cooling its contents. The only maintenance required is the addition of more
water, around twice a day.
To give an idea of its performance, spinach that would normally wilt within
hours in the African heat will last around twelve days in the pot, and items
like tomatoes and peppers that normally struggle to survive a few days, now
last three weeks. Aubergines (eggplants) get a life extension from just a
few days to almost a month.
Inventing the refrigerator in 1995, Mohammed distributed thousands around
Nigerian communities during the late 1990s (initially for free to get the
word out, then later at just production-cost price), and subsequently won
the Rolex Award for Enterprise in the year 2000
<http://www.rolexawards.com/special-feature/inventions/abba.html>. It has
improved the lives and health of thousands. Less work can translate into
more education for children, and small farmers who were before losing large
proportions of their harvest are now able to earn a better income. Another
knock-on benefit is improved health due to better preservation of vitamins,
as well as a reduction in health problems like dysentery due to the
separation of food and flies.
It seems that not all the answers to life¹s needs have to come with a plug
and instruction book.
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PAUL STAMETS: MYCOLOGIST
Paul Stamets <http://www.fungi.com/> believes that mushrooms can save our
lives, restore our ecosystems and transform other worlds.
Entrepreneurial mycologist Paul Stamets seeks to rescue the study of
mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords. The focus of
Stamets' research is the Northwest's native fungal genome, mycelium, but
along the way he has filed 22 patents for mushroom-related technologies,
including pesticidal fungi that trick insects into eating them, and
mushrooms that can break down the neurotoxins used in nerve gas.
There are cosmic implications as well. Stamets believes we could terraform
other worlds in our galaxy by sowing a mix of fungal spores and other seeds
to create an ecological footprint on a new planet.
Watch On NHNE's Community Website:
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------------
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BOOK REVIEW: 'HOW MUSHROOMS CAN HELP SAVE THE WORLD' (1/28/2008):
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MUSHROOMS BREAK DOWN PESTICIDE & OIL CONTAMINATION! (11/27/2001):
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NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
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SEX, MORE LIES & VIDEOTAPE
National Inquirer
August 12, 2008
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/john_edwards_sex_more_lies_videotape_/celebr
ity/65288
The ENQUIRER has uncovered bombshell new details about the John Edwards sex
scandal after the former presidential candidate finally admitted he'd
cheated on his cancer-stricken wife Elizabeth!
Edwards' headline-making admission confirmed The ENQUIRER's blockbuster
world exclusive reports detailing his affair, in articles Edwards brazenly
called "completely untrue" and "tabloid trash" while running for president
and afterward.
And now The ENQUIRER has uncovered that Edwards' political operatives are
still paying his mistress Rielle Hunter - and she was whisked away on a
private jet two days before he confessed their extramarital affair on
national TV!
The ENQUIRER has also confirmed that Edwards secretly visited Rielle and
their love child three separate times at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Los
Angeles this year - a fact that proves he is still lying to America and his
wife.
ENQUIRER reporters caught Edwards, 55, making a late-night visit to
44-year-old Rielle and their daughter at the hotel on July 21 - which
prompted us to release the first-ever photograph of him with his love child
last week.
NOW, The ENQUIRER has uncovered more blockbuster information, including:
After Edwards confessed the affair to his wife, he restarted it, and was
sexually involved with Rielle when she became pregnant.
Despite his denials, Edwards WAS aware that his former finance committee
chairman, Fred Baron, was funneling money to Rielle.
Experts are now calling for a federal investigation into Edwards' use of
campaign funds.
In an interview with ABC's Nightline correspondent Bob Woodruff on Aug. 8,
the former North Carolina senator admitted for the first time that he
engaged in what he called a "short" extramarital affair with campaign worker
Rielle Hunter.
Edwards told ABC the affair was limited to 2006, before he confessed "the
mistake" to wife Elizabeth, 59, who is battling a recurrence of breast
cancer.
But Edwards denied he's the father of Rielle's daughter, who was born on
Feb. 27, 2008. The ENQUIRER reported last December that Hunter had told
close confidantes that he was the father.
In denying he fathered Rielle's baby, Edwards told ABC that he would "be
happy" to take a paternity test to prove he's telling the truth. (He has
refused numerous previous requests by The ENQUIRER to take a paternity
test.)
Edwards claimed he ended the affair in 2006, but sources say he restarted
the illicit romance after confessing to his wife.
Rielle soon became pregnant after the affair was rekindled, say sources.
The ongoing ENQUIRER investigation has also confirmed that he has been with
Rielle and the baby three times this year in California.
"John Edwards is still lying!" a close source told The ENQUIRER.
"He lied to his wife Elizabeth, he's lying to Rielle and he lied all the way
through his TV interview!"
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A 'FRANKENROBOT' WITH A BIOLOGICAL BRAIN
AFP
August 13, 2008
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080813192458.ud84hj9h&show_article=1
Meet Gordon, probably the world's first robot controlled exclusively by
living brain tissue.
Stitched together from cultured rat neurons, Gordon's primitive grey matter
was designed at the University of Reading by scientists who unveiled the
neuron-powered machine on Wednesday.
Their groundbreaking experiments explore the vanishing boundary between
natural and artificial intelligence, and could shed light on the fundamental
building blocks of memory and learning, one of the lead researchers told
AFP.
"The purpose is to figure out how memories are actually stored in a
biological brain," said Kevin Warwick, a professor at the University of
Reading and one of the robot's principle architects.
Observing how the nerve cells cohere into a network as they fire off
electrical impulses, he said, may also help scientists combat
neurodegenerative diseases that attack the brain such as Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's.
"If we can understand some of the basics of what is going on in our little
model brain, it could have enormous medical spinoffs," he said.
Looking a bit like the garbage-compacting hero of the blockbuster animation
"Wall-E", Gordon has a brain composed of 50,000 to 100,000 active neurons.
Once removed from rat foetuses and disentangled from each other with an
enzyme bath, the specialised nerve cells are laid out in a nutrient-rich
medium across an eight-by-eight centimetre (five-by-five inch) array of 60
electrodes.
This "multi-electrode array" (MEA) serves as the interface between living
tissue and machine, with the brain sending electrical impulses to drive the
wheels of the robots, and receiving impulses delivered by sensors reacting
to the environment.
Because the brain is living tissue, it must be housed in a special
temperature-controlled unit -- it communicates with its "body" via a
Bluetooth radio link.
The robot has no additional control from a human or computer.
From the very start, the neurons get busy. "Within about 24 hours, they
start sending out feelers to each other and making connections," said
Warwick.
"Within a week we get some spontaneous firings and brain-like activity"
similar to what happens in a normal rat -- or human -- brain, he added.
But without external stimulation, the brain will wither and die within a
couple of months.
"Now we are looking at how best to teach it to behave in certain ways,"
explained Warwick.
To some extent, Gordon learns by itself. When it hits a wall, for example,
it gets an electrical stimulation from the robot's sensors. As it confronts
similar situations, it learns by habit.
To help this process along, the researchers also use different chemicals to
reinforce or inhibit the neural pathways that light up during particular
actions.
Gordon, in fact, has multiple personalities -- several MEA "brains" that the
scientists can dock into the robot.
"It's quite funny -- you get differences between the brains," said Warwick.
"This one is a bit boisterous and active, while we know another is not going
to do what we want it to."
Mainly for ethical reasons, it is unlikely that researchers at Reading or
the handful of laboratories around the world exploring the same terrain will
be using human neurons any time soon in the same kind of experiments.
But rats brain cells are not a bad stand-in: much of the difference between
rodent and human intelligence, speculates Warwick, could be attributed to
quantity not quality.
Rats brains are composed of about one million neurons, the specialised cells
that relay information across the brain via chemicals called
neurotransmitters.
Humans have 100 billion.
"This is a simplified version of what goes on in the human brain where we
can look -- and control -- the basic features in the way that we want. In a
human brain, you can't really do that," he said.
For colleague Ben Whalley, one of the fundamental questions facing
scientists today is how to link the activity of individual neurons with the
overwhelmingly complex behaviour of whole organisms.
"The project gives us a unique opportunity to look at something which may
exhibit complex behaviours, but still remain closely tied to the activity of
individual neurons," he said.
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NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
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HUMAN SPEECH TRACED TO TALKING FISH
LiveScience
July 18, 2008
http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/080718-talking-fish.html
From Don Knotts' portrayle of "Mr. Limpet" to the children's favorite "Nemo"
and the tuna-pitching character in the "Sorry, Charlie" commercials, we all
have seen fish that can talk. But that's just fiction, right?
Well ...
Researchers say real fish can communicate with sound, too. And they say (the
researchers, that is) that your speech skills and, in fact, all sound
production in vertebrates can be traced back to this ability in fish. (You
got your ears from fish, too.)
The new study was led by Andrew Bass (we did not make this up) of Cornell
University.
The scientists mapped developing brain cells in newly hatched midshipman
fish larvae and compared them to those of other species. They found that the
chirp of a bird, the bark of a dog and all the other sounds that come out of
animals' mouths are the products of the neural circuitry likely laid down
hundreds of millions of years ago with the hums and grunts of fish.
"Fish have all the same parts of the brain that you do," Bass explained.
His team traced the development of the connection from the midshipman fish's
vocal muscles to a cluster of neurons located in a compartment between the
back of its brain and the front of its spinal cord. The same part of the
brain in more complex vertebrates, such as humans, has a similar function,
indicating that it was highly selected for during the course of evolution.
The finding is published in the July 18 issue of the journal Science.
The fish that Bass studied are interesting in their own right.
After building a nest for his potential partner, the male midshipman fish
calls to nearby females by contracting his swim bladder, the air-filled sac
fish use to maintain buoyancy. The sound is a hum, something like a
long-winded foghorn. Female midshipman dig it, and they only approach a
male's nest if he makes this call.
During midsipman mating season, houseboat owners in San Francisco Bay have
complained that their homes vibrate from the humming, which sound like a
high-speed motor running underwater.
By better understanding how these fish hear, the study offers new avenues to
explore the causes of human deafness, the researchers say.
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THE PILL MAY PUT YOU OFF SMELL OF YOUR MAN AND RUIN YOUR RELATIONSHIP
By Mark Henderson
The Times
August 13, 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article4516566.ece
To millions of women it has been the great liberator over the past four
decades, allowing them the freedom to control their fertility and their
relationships. But the contraceptive Pill could also be responsible for
skewing their hormones and attracting them to the ³wrong² partner.
A study by British scientists suggests that taking the Pill can change a
woman¹s taste in men -- to those who are genetically less compatible.
The research found that the Pill can alter the type of male scent that women
find most attractive, which may in turn affect the kind of men they choose
as partners. It suggests that the popular form of contraception -- used by a
quarter of British women aged between 16 and 50 -- could have implications
for fertility and relationship breakdowns.
The findings, from a team at the University of Liverpool, add to growing
evidence that the hormones in the Pill influence the way that women assess
male sexual attractiveness.
The Pill is thought to disrupt an instinctive mechanism that brings together
people with complementary genes and immune systems. Such a couple, by
passing on a wide-ranging set of immune system genes, increase their chances
of having a healthy child that is not vulnerable to infection.
Couples with different genes are also less likely to experience fertility
problems or miscarriages. Experts believe that women are naturally attracted
to men with immune system genes different to their own because of their
smell.
Commenting on the latest study, the researchers said that it could indicate
that the Pill disrupts women¹s ability to judge the genetic compatibility of
men by means of their smell.
They said that this might not only impact on fertility and miscarriage risk,
but could even contribute to the end of relationships as women who stop or
start taking the Pill no longer find their boyfriend or husband so
attractive.
Several previous studies have suggested that women tend to prefer the smell
of men who are different from them in a cluster of genes called the major
histocompatibility complex (MHC), which governs the immune system. Some of
these studies have also found that this effect is not seen among Pill users.
The latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society,
has now assessed the impact of Pill use in the same women, both before and
after they began using oral contraception. A group of 97 women was tested,
some of whom started taking the Pill during the course of the research. All
had their MHC genes tested and were asked to sniff T-shirts worn in bed by
men with different patterns of MHC genes.
Unlike some previous studies, the research did not find any preference for
dissimilar MHC genes. However, when the women started taking the Pill their
preferences shifted towards the scent of men with more similar genes to
their own.
This suggests that Pill use has an effect on perceptions of scent
attractiveness, even if there is no underlying female preference for similar
or dissimilar MHC genes.
Craig Roberts, who led the study, said: ³The results showed that the
preferences of women who began using the Pill shifted towards men with
genetically similar odours. Not only could MHC-similarity in couples lead to
fertility problems, but it could ultimately lead to the breakdown of
relationships when women stop using the Pill, as odour perception plays a
significant role in maintaining attraction to partners.²
The research also found differences between women in relationships, who
tended to prefer odours of men with different MHC genes, and single women,
who tended to prefer the smell of MHC-similar men.
This could potentially indicate that if women are tempted to have an affair,
they are more likely to choose a man with very different genes, to maximise
the diversity of any offspring that they might have.
The scientists said that more work was needed to explain the way various
studies have obtained different results on whether women naturally prefer
men with different or similar MHC genes. They also cautioned that the
importance of scent in human mating preferences remains uncertain.
The research backs up an earlier study of how women¹s perceptions of
partners can alter when taking the Pill. Psychologists from St Andrews and
Stirling universities found that women on the Pill tend to prefer macho
types with strong jaw lines and prominent cheekbones.
However, women who are not taking that form of contraception seem to be more
likely to go for more sensitive types of men without traditionally masculine
features.
............
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SCIENTISTS "LISTEN" TO PLANTS TO FIND WATER POLLUTION
By Ari Rabinovitch
Editing by Alistair Lyon and Angus MacSwan
Reuters
August 14, 2008
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080814/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_water_pollution_plants
TEL AVIV - Scientists in Israel have discovered a new way to test for water
pollution by "listening" to what the plants growing in water have to say.
By shining a laser beam on the tiny pieces of algae floating in the water,
the researchers said they hear sound waves that tell them the type and
amount of contamination in the water.
"It is a red light, telling us that something is beginning to go wrong with
the quality of water," said Zvy Dubinsky, an aquatic biologist at Israel's
Bar Ilan University. "Algae is the first thing to be affected by a change in
water quality."
Although most of the earth is covered in water, 44 percent of the world's
population live in areas with high water stress, and the number is likely to
increase because of factors such as global warming and rising population.
As water sources deteriorate worldwide, the testing of algae could be used
to monitor water quality faster, more cheaply and more accurately than
techniques now in use, Dubinsky said.
The secret, he said, is to measure the rate of photosynthesis in the algae,
meaning the plant's ability to transform light into energy. During
photosynthesis, plants also release oxygen into the air.
Dubinsky's technique is easy to perform because of the over-abundance of
algae in the planet's water. Most of the oxygen in the atmosphere comes from
algae.
A prototytpe tester, that occupies about one square metre of a laboratory
desktop, shoots a laser beam at water samples to stimulate photosyntesis in
the algae. But not all of the laser's heat is used.
Depending on the condition of the algae and the rate of photosynthesis, some
of the heat is shot back into the water, creating sound waves, Dubinsky
said.
With a special underwater microphone, researchers are able to analyse the
strength of the sound waves and determine the health of the algae and the
condition of the surrounding water.
"Algae suffering from lead poisoning, like waste discharged from battery and
paint manufacturing plants, will produce a different sound than those
suffering from lack of iron or exposure to other toxins," said researcher
Yulia Pinchasov.
She said that testing algae photosynthesis can determine water quality more
accurately and easily than labour-intensive methods now used like chemical
and radioactive carbon testing.
With proper funding, Dubinsky said a commercial product could be ready in
about two years.
The team has published its research in numerous scientific journals, most
recently in the journal Hydrobiologia.
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SUN EXPOSURE SAVES TEN TIMES AS MANY LIVES VIA VITAMIN D THAN DIE FROM SKIN
CANCER
By David Gutierrez
NaturalNews
Friday, August 08, 2008
http://www.NaturalNews.com/023807.html
The number of lives saved by people doubling their sun exposure might be 10
times higher than the number of fatal skin cancers that would result,
according to a study conducted by researchers at the Institute for Cancer
Research in Oslo, Norway, and published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences.
Exposure to the ultraviolet radiation from sunlight increases the risk of
developing skin cancer, but also increases the body's production of vitamin
D. The connection between vitamin D and bone health is well-known, and
recent research suggests that a higher vitamin D intake might also provide
protection against certain cancers, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Vitamin
D is also believed to help with the proper functioning of the immune system.
"The skin cancer risk is there, but the health benefits from some sun
exposure are far larger than the risk," said lead researcher Johan Moan.
"What we find is modest sun exposure gives enormous vitamin D benefits."
Vitamin D deficiency is a particular problem at northern latitudes, where
the sun is weaker, particularly during the winter. Researchers calculated
that in response to the same amount of time spent outdoors, Australians
living just south of the equator produce 3.4 times more vitamin D than
people living in Britain and 4.8 times more than people living in
Scandinavia.
According to Moan, if the general population of Norway doubled the amount of
time spent in the sun, approximately 300 more people would die each year
from skin cancer, representing twice the current death rate. At the same
time, there would be 3,000 fewer deaths from other types of cancer.
"The current data provide a further indication of the beneficial role of
sun-induced vitamin D for cancer prognosis," said researcher Richard Setlow,
from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory.
Moan recommends that people spend half as much time in the sun each day as
it would take them to develop a sunburn.
Recommended resource: The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D, featuring
an exclusive interview with Dr. Michael Holick.
------------
RELATED NHNE NEWS LIST ARTICLES:
SUNLIGHT CUTS RISK OF MANY CANCERS (10/21/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13658
DAIRY CONSUMPTION LINKED TO BREAST, PROSTATE CANCER (10/20/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13653
VITAMIN D MAY CONTRIBUTE TO LONGER LIVES (9/19/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13495
VITAMIN D CUTS CANCER RISK (6/9/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13087
TWO NEW STUDIES BACK VITAMIN D FOR CANCER PREVENTION (2/6/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12557
SUNSHINE MAY BEAT WINTER ILLNESSES (11/6/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12084
SURVIVING EPIDEMICS WITH NATURAL TREATMENTS (5/30/2006):
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THE PILL THAT PREVENTS CANCER (12/28/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10578
SUNSHINE MAY PREVENT CANCER (5//22/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/9208
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THE BEIJING OLYMPICS IS BRINGING THE IOC INTO DISREPUTE
By Peter Foster
The Telegraph
Thursday, August 14, 2008
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/peter_foster/blog/2008/08/14/the_beijing_olympi
cs_is_bringing_the_ioc_into_disrepute
We are now approaching the end of the first week of the Beijing Olympics and
the time seems right for a preliminary assessment of how the Games are
shaping up.
On the sporting front it's been scintillating stuff with super-swimmer
Michael Phelps starring in the pool and our own Nicole Cooke and Becky
Adlington put in heart-stopping performances to win gold.
I imagine that for those watching in Britain through the misty-eyed lens of
the BBC, the Beijing Games are living up to expectations. The view from the
pressroom, however, is altogether gloomier.
In fact, it's fair to say that the mood among a section of the international
press corps here in Beijing is turning ugly.
What started as mild frustration or even amusement at the paranoid behaviour
of the Chinese organisers towards news management, has morphed into outright
anger.
Every morning the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hosts a general
press conference at which all journalists are invited to ask questions of
them and the Beijing Organising Committee.
This morning, after days of rising tension, the questioning became openly
hostile with Channel 4's Alex Thomson attempting a Paxmanesque inquisition
of the organisers, demanding over and over if the IOC were "in any way
embarrassed" by the behaviour of the Chinese.
The anger in the press corps can be traced back to an early story of the
Games when it emerged that, contrary to initial promises, the Chinese had
not unblocked several banned websites. That was a bad start.
Then there were the Œprotest pens' which were supposed to allow organised
demonstrations at the Games.
For five consecutive days reporters have asked for basic information on
these pens -- who has applied to protest, how many applications have been
received, how many approved/denied -- and for five consecutive days they've
been given a non-answer.
On Wednesday there were more heated exchanges between organisers and
reporters as several American journalists demanded better answers to such
basic questions.
The anger stems from the seeming inability of the Beijing organisers to be
open with the media, to the point where they appear at times to have
deliberately misled journalists.
As an example I cite my own story of the dancer Liu Yan who was injured in a
rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony.
We were told by our source that the dancer had been paralysed but after
three phone calls to the organisers press office were told categorically
that she had only Œbroken her leg' and was recovering well from the
fracture. We ran the story, but the denial seriously reduced it's impact.
A few days later a local Chinese reporter produced pictures of the injured
dancer and interviews with key figures which made it clear that she was far
more seriously injured than Bocog had admitted.
This was plain from the medical details as well as the comment from opening
ceremony director Zhang Yimou who said to see the dancer stand on her feet
again "would make me much more excited and happier than any praise I've
received" -- hardly the sort of thing you say to someone who has just broken
their leg.
At Wednesday's IOC press conference I asked Wang Wei, the Bocog vice
president, why I'd apparently been supplied such obviously erroneous
information. I got one of those non-answers which Chinese officials
specialize in.
"I understand she was seriously injured but I'm not sure whether she was
paralysed or not," said Mr Wang, "I think that the person you spoke to may
not have known what happened to her."
I didn't expect to get the truth, but I did object when two minutes after
I'd asked the question I looked up to see a man wearing Beijing Olympic
uniform pointing a camera directly at me and taking a picture. He made no
attempt to hide his actions.
In 13 years as a journalist I've never been deliberately photographed at a
press conference before. Who knows which file that picture goes into, but if
it was meant to be intimidating it had the effect only of adding to the
sense of anger being felt here.
The point is that the Chinese organizers are rapidly losing the good will of
the press corps which was so evident during the effusive praise of the
opening ceremony.
I suspect the authorities don't much care about any this -- they feel the
media is nit-picking (about the empty seats, the faked fireworks and the
Politburo's decision that the girl who sung at the opening ceremony wasn't
pretty enough for international television) -- which is their prerogative.
But if the Chinese don't care, the IOC should. As China daily traduces the
Olympic spirit and ideals, the IOC is unable or unwilling to condemn what is
happening.
So when a group of Chinese journalists have their notebooks confiscated for
asking the US men's volleyball ask about the stabbing of their coach's
father-in-law, nothing is said by the IOC to condemn it.
That's why Channel 4 and others are putting these awkward questions. This
kind of behaviour is expected from the Chinese authorities, but it is
reflecting directly on the IOC, bringing that already-tainted organization
into disrepute.
Perhaps, like the Chinese, the IOC doesn't care. But for the good of the
Olympics, they should.
------------
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BODY PROVES BIGFOOT NO MYTH, HUNTERS SAY
CNN
August 15, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/14/bigfoot.body/index.html
A policeman and a former corrections officer say that on Friday they will
unveil evidence of what they claim is their biggest find ever: the body of
Bigfoot.
Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, a pair of Bigfoot-hunting hobbyists from
north Georgia, say they found the creature's body in a wooded area and
spotted several similar creatures that were still alive.
The carcass of the furry half-man, half-ape is 7 feet, 7 inches tall and
weighs more than 500 pounds, they say. However, the two are not disclosing
the exact location of their discovery to protect the remaining creatures.
Tom Nelson, chairman of the biology department at North Georgia College and
State University in Dahlonega, said he's "pretty skeptical" the world will
feast its eyes on a new species Friday.
"That would certainly rock mammalogy," joked Nelson, who specializes in the
study of mammals. "I see a research grant in my future."
Whitton and Dyer plan to unveil what they say is DNA and photo evidence of
the discovery in Palo Alto, California, in conjunction with a group called
Searching for Bigfoot Inc.
A photograph on that group's Web site shows what appears to be the body of a
large, hairy creature with an ape-like face, stuffed into a large freezer:
http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com/
According to a written release, the two announced the discovery on an
Internet radio show, "Squatch Detective," several weeks ago. iReport.com: Do
you believe in Bigfoot?
"The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body was 'the
Real Bigfoot Hunter,' Tom Biscardi," Dyer said, referring to Searching for
Bigfoot's CEO, who has been looking for the elusive, legendary creature in
the United States and Canada since 1971.
Whitton is a Georgia police officer who is on administrative leave after
being shot in the wrist during a pursuit. Dyer is a former prison guard.
DNA tests on the body have begun, said the statement, and "extensive
scientific studies" will be done on the body by scientists, including a
molecular biologist, an anthropologist and a paleontologist.
Nelson, the university professor, acknowledged that new species of animals
have been discovered in recent decades and that, in science, "we always
acknowledge the possibility of something new."
But he said that even in north Georgia, home to the Blue Ridge Mountains and
the foot of the Appalachian Trail, it stretches the imagination to think a
family of 7-foot-tall creatures could have eluded hunters, hikers and
creeping development until now.
"To the average person, these places just seem like extreme wilderness where
you'll find lions and tigers and bears," he said. "The reality is that
you're never more than a mile from a road."
The group says the animal is male, has reddish hair and "blackish-gray" eyes
and human-like feet, hands and teeth.
------------
BIGFOOT BODY FOUND - EVIDENCE AND DNA DETAILS TO BE PRESENTED AT A PRESS
CONFERENCE ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 15th FROM 12 N00N TO 1:00PM AT THE CABANA
HOTEL-PALO ALTO IN PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA
http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com/
A body that may very well be the body of the creature commonly known as
"Bigfoot" has been found in the woods in northern Georgia.
DNA evidence and photo evidence of the creature will be presented in a press
conference on Friday, August 15th from 12 Noon to 1:00pm at the Cabana
Hotel-Palo Alto at 4290 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, California, 94306. The
press conference will not be open to the public. It will only be open to
credentialed members of the press.
Here are some of the vital statistics on the "Bigfoot" body:
*The creature is seven feet seven inches tall.
*It weighs over five hundred pounds.
*The creature looks like it is part human and part ape-like.
*It is male.
*It has reddish hair and blackish-grey eyes.
*It has two arms and two legs, and five fingers on each hand and five toes
on each foot.
*The feet are flat and similar to human feet.
*Its footprint is sixteen and three-quarters inches long and five and
three-quarters inches wide at the heel.
*From the palm of the hand to the tip of the middle finger, its hands are
eleven and three-quarters inches long and six and one-quarter inches wide.
*The creatures walk upright. (Several of them were sighted on the same day
that the body was found.)
*The teeth are more human-like than ape-like.
*DNA tests are currently being done and the current DNA and photo evidence
will be presented at the press conference on Friday, August 15th.
The creature was found by Matthew Whitton (AKA Gary Parker) and Rick Dyer
(residents of Georgia) in the woods in northern Georgia. (The exact location
is being kept secret to protect the creatures.)
Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer will be flying in from Georgia to be at the
press conference. Also present at the press conference will be Tom Biscardi,
CEO of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc.
Whitton is a local, Georgia, police officer, who is currently on
administrative leave after being wounded in the course of duty pursuing an
alleged felon. Dyer is a former correctional officer. Whitton and Dyer are
co-owners of bigfoottracker.com and Bigfoot Global LLC., a company that
offers Bigfoot expeditions. Whitton and Dyer are working with Bigfoot
hunter, Tom Biscardi, and Biscardi's Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., to present
and conduct the scientific study of the evidence and information on this
body.
A few weeks ago, Whitton and Dyer announced the finding of the body on the
"Squatch Detective" radio show, an internet based radio show hosted by Steve
Kulls. While on that show, the commentator asked Rick Dyer "Would you allow
one of our people to come down and verify the body?" Dyer replied, "The only
person we would allow to come down and verify the body was 'the real Bigfoot
Hunter,' Tom Biscardi." The next day, the producer of the Squatch Detective
show contacted Biscardi with pertinent information on how to contact Dyer
and Whitton.
Extensive scientific studies will be done on the body by a team of
scientists including a molecular biologist, an anthropologist, a
paleontologist and other scientists over the next few months at an
undisclosed location. The studies will be carefully documented and the
findings will be released to the world, according to Biscardi.
Biscardi is known as "the real Bigfoot Hunter" because of his extensive
investigations out in the field. He has been searching for Bigfoot since
1971 and over the past several years, he has been criss-crossing the United
States and Canada tracking down the hottest leads on Bigfoot sightings.
Videography on the studies will be done under the supervision of Scott
Davis, an independent producer and owner of TV Biz Productions in Phoenix,
Arizona.
Currently, Tom Biscardi and his Searching for Bigfoot Team, in conjunction
with Bigfoot Global LLC., are preparing to capture another of these
creatures alive. That expedition will start very soon. The dates and the
locations are being kept confidential.
The body that is currently being studied is being referred to as the
"RICKMAT" creature, a name derived from the names of Rick Dyer and Matthew
Whitton.
Last year, a film that Biscardi produced about his investigations, called
"Bigfoot Lives," won first place in the Documentary category at the Pocono
Mountains Film Festival. Biscardi also hosts a Bigfoot oriented internet
radio show that can be heard on Wednesday nights from 7:00pm to 8:00pm PDT
at www.bigfootliveradioshow.com. The show is heard in over thirty countries.
Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. has exclusive rights to all publishing rights,
photo rights, television and film rights, production and distribution rights
and other commercial opportunities related to the discovery and findings
regarding this body and these creatures. Interested parties may contact
Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., in writing, at their mailing address:
Searching for Bigfoot Inc.
1134 Crane St., Suite 216
Menlo Park, California 94025.
Additional information about Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. is available at
http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com. For additional information, and to
arrange an interview with Tom Biscardi, Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton,
contact the Searching for Bigfoot headquarters at; 650-566-4001.
------------
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NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
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BIGFOOT PRESS CONFERENCE YIELDS LITTLE EVIDENCE, LOTS OF SCORN
By Erik Vance
Scientific American
August 15, 2008
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bigfoot-press-conference-biscardi
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA - It was perhaps the most highly touted press
conference of the week, but it didn't reveal much in the way of evidence:
Three bigfoot enthusiasts announced today that a series of genetic tests
performed on samples taken from a carcass they claim is a Sasquatch came
back as a mixture of human and opossum.
In addition to the mixed DNA results, Tom Biscardi, Matthew Whitton and Rick
Dyer showed the audience two blurry photos, one of a solitary figure in
mixed hardwood forest and another of the mouth of what appeared to be the
tongue and teeth of a primate.
Nevertheless, fielding questions from a packed room in Palo Alto, the trio
called their discovery groundbreaking and held to their claim that the
animal they are currently holding in "an undisclosed location" is indeed the
legendary bigfoot.
"We're not bigfoot hunters originally," Whitton said. "We stumbled upon this
creature. It was a stroke of luck, I can tell you that."
Whitton and Dyer said they discovered the carcass when they were hiking in a
forest near their home sometime in June and that it has been stored in a
large freezer since then. They refused to say exactly where and when,
stating only that it was in northern Georgia and that they captured video of
several live animals.
They said when they found the carcass they hauled it into a truck and
brought it to a freezer. They then set up a Web site to offer tours into the
area and made an announcement on a bigfoot enthusiast radio program.
That's when Biscardi got involved, moved the animal to another location, and
began contacting the media. In the week before the press conference, Whitton
and Dyer spent several days sparring with skeptics and created a YouTube
video <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMEsD3_J2DQ> where they held a stuffed
bear up to the camera and repeated their claims of having found a Sasquatch.
Meanwhile, Biscardi sent three samples of the carcass to biologist Curtis
Nelson at the University of Minnesota for analysis. In an e-mail, Nelson
told Biscardi that most of DNA segments taken from two of the samples
matched human DNA. One came back as a likely match for an American opossum.
Biscardi said this is likely from a stomach sample and that the creature
might have eaten an opossum. He did not say why he had sampled from the
stomach.
Despite Biscardi's assurances that soon he would bring in scientists from
Stanford University and journalists from Fox News to inspect the body,
scientists are skeptical that the find is legitimate. "It's about what I
expected," said Jeffrey Meldrum, a professor of anatomy and anthropology
from Idaho State University in Pocatello who has studied the bigfoot
phenomenon. "Today they should have produced a physical piece of the corpse,
if not the corpse itself. Until they produce the body, it doesn't matter."
"What they should have done is contact a reputable scientist and have it
examined at a known university," said Benjamin Radford, who writes for the
Skeptical Inquirer magazine and has followed bigfoot hunters for more than a
decade. "Instead, this whole thing is very cloak and dagger. It all about,
'We have unnamed scientists working at an undisclosed location under armed
guard.'"
Meldrum said it's still remotely possible the claims are genuine, but that
the group's behavior resembles that of previous hoaxes. He said that even if
the genetic testing had turned up some evidence that it was bigfoot, no one
can verify where the animal was found.
Today's pronouncement was not Biscardi's first. In 2005 he claimed that he
had captured a Sasquatch. The beast never materialized, and Biscardi said he
had been swindled by a deranged attention-seeker.
Radford says hoaxers make money off tours through bigfoot country and with
documentary films -- a motivation Biscardi doesn't discount. When asked at
the press conference how much money he expects to make from his alleged
discovery, Biscardi said, "As much as I possibly can."
He said, however, that he will satisfy all skeptics when he releases the
actual body. Earlier this week he invited Megyn Kelly of Fox News to Georgia
to view the carcass.
------------
INTERNET CAPTIVATED BY BIGFOOT HUNTERS' PRESS CONFERENCE
By Caroline McCarthy
CNet
August 15, 2008
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10018290-36.html
It's the ultimate summer Friday news story: CNN Webcasting a press
conference hosted by the men who claim they nabbed a dead body of the
legendary creature known as Bigfoot.
Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi held the press conference in Palo Alto, Calif.,
in conjunction with Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the two men from Georgia
who claim that they found the corpse while hiking. Biscardi wouldn't
actually show the body, saying that he had invited Fox News reporter Megan
Kelly to show it on-air and that a number of scientists would be performing
an autopsy on Monday.
"Starting Monday I should have assembled some fine scientists that will do
the autopsy to find the origin and death of this creature, and at that point
in time we will make it known and hopefully we'll get somebody to come in
and film it," Biscardi said to listeners, "to show it to the world as it's
being done. I want to get to the bottom of it."
That didn't do too much to appease the skeptical audience of the press
conference, who were on the verge of heckling.
On the Web it was equally chaotic. Twitter users went nuts, with Twitter
Search (formerly Summize) bringing up dozens of posts per minute from users
who were watching the press conference online or expressing their opinions
within the site's 140-character limit. Third-party analytics site Twitscoop
showed a barrage of Twitters that included the word "Bigfoot," and
determined the word to be the hottest term on the microblogging site at the
time.
People have been Googling it, too. The search query "Bigfoot press
conference" hit the top three on Google Trends.
"R.I.P. Harry. The Hendersons will miss you," one Twitter user said jokingly
in reference to the '80s comedy Harry and the Hendersons, about a family
that adopts a Bigfoot. Others were more skeptical, given the dubious nature
of the photos. "That Bigfoot in the box looks so totally fakey, like a bad
Halloween costume," another Twitter user said.
But most of the Twitter observers tuned into the press conference seemed to
take the whole thing as entertainment. "I'm actually fearful to enter these
Bigfoot infested woods in Georgia!" one exclaimed. "He's a Bigfoot dressed
up as a Bigfoot, playing another Bigfoot," one wrote in a nod to a line
spoken by Robert Downey Jr. in the just-released satire flick Tropic
Thunder.
Most Twitterers didn't seem to believe the contents of the conference,
probably because there were enough gray areas in the press conference to
paint the walls of my office a nice foggy hue. Biscardi denied that he'd
participated in a money-scheming Bigfoot hoax in 2005, saying that he'd been
duped by a deranged woman who claimed she had two "Bigfeet" in captivity; he
claimed he refunded those who'd charged to see a Webcast of the creatures
when he realized it was fake. And Whitton shrugged off a series of goofy
YouTube videos, most of them now pulled from the video-sharing site, in
which he and Dyer reportedly claimed the Bigfoot was a fake and featured
Whitton's brother dressed up as a scientist analyzing it.
"We just decided to have a little fun with it," Whitton said. When asked why
he didn't call authorities when they claimed to have found the body in early
June, he answered, "I didn't see any need to at the time. It seemed like it
would create a frenzy."
"I want to protect the species," Whitton continued. "Everyone would be up
there hunting for Bigfoot and disturbing the habitat."
Plus, the Associated Press reported that Whitton and Dyer's story had
changed, and in the press conference Whitton claimed that he and Dyer hadn't
actually been veteran Bigfoot hunters as reported earlier. When they found
the creature, they considered the idea of doing guided tours of Bigfoot
country, but that was as far as they said they went.
"I didn't believe in Bigfoot at the time," Whitton said.
And if Twitter is to be believed, the Internet still doesn't.
------------
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NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
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------------
HONEYBEE DEATHS REACHING CRISIS POINT
By Alison Benjamin
The Guardian
August 12, 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/aug/12/conservation.wildlife1
Britain's honeybees have suffered catastrophic losses this year, according
to a survey of the nation's beekeepers, contributing to a shortage of honey
and putting at risk the pollination of fruits and vegetables.
The survey by the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) revealed that
nearly one in three of the UK's 240,000 honeybee hives did not survive this
winter and spring.
The losses are higher than the one in five colonies reported dead earlier
this year by the government after 10% of hives had been inspected.
The BBKA president, Tim Lovett, said he was very concerned about the
findings: "Average winter bee losses due to poor weather and disease vary
from between 5% and 10%, so a 30% loss is deeply worrying. This spells
serious trouble for pollination services and honey producers."
The National Bee Unit has attributed high bee mortality to the wet summer in
2007 and in the early part of this spring that confined bees to their hives.
This meant they were unable to forage for nectar and pollen and this stress
provided the opportunity for pathogens to build up and spread.
But the BBKA says the causes are unclear. Its initial survey of 600 members
revealed a marked north-south divide, with 37% bee losses in the north,
compared to 26% in the south. "We don't know why there is a difference and
what is behind the high mortality," said Lovett.
The government recognises that the UK's honeybee hives -- run by 44,000
mostly amateur beekeepers -- contribute around £165m a year to the economy
by pollinating many fruits and vegetables. "30% fewer honeybee colonies
could therefore cost the economy some £50m and put at risk the government's
crusade for the public to eat five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables a
day," Lovett warned.
The Honey Association warned last month that English honey will run out by
Christmas and no more will be available until summer 2009. It blames the
shortage on fewer honeybees and farmers devoting more fields to wheat, which
has soared in price but does not produce nectar.
The UK's leading honey company is so concerned by the crisis that it has
pledged to donate money to honeybee research. From next month, for each jar
of Rowse English honey sold in supermarkets 10p will be donated to a fund
dedicated to improving the health of the nation's honeybees.
Stuart Bailey, chairman of Rowse Honey said: "We are working with the UK Bee
Farmers' Association and are sponsoring research to the minimum value of
£25,000 over the next 12 months to selectively breed a hardier bee that can
better withstand parasites and diseases."
Rowse's clear English honey comes mainly from the borage plant, also known
as starflower, which has been grown increasingly as a source of a fatty acid
rich in omega-6 for pharmaceutical products. But farmers have planted much
less borage this year as ready-processed borage oil is being imported and
wheat is more profitable to grow due to the increase in demand for biofuels.
Bailey added that the shortage had been exacerbated by an 11% rise in demand
for English honey over the last year.
Although British honey only accounts for 10% of the 30,000 tonnes of honey
consumed in the UK, other major honey producing countries have also been
severely hit by poor weather and bee diseases. Argentina is the world's
honey pot, producing up to 75,000 tonnes a year -- three times that of its
nearest rival Mexico. But Argentina has suffered a 27% drop in yield due to
droughts and the planting of huge swathes of land with soya beans for
biofuel. As a result, there has been a 60% rise in the price of raw honey.
In the US, honey yields have been decimated by honeybee loses of 36%, many
due to colony collapse disorder (CCD), a mysterious disappearance linked to
the blood-sucking varroa mite, lethal viruses, malnutrition, pesticides, and
a lack of genetic diversity. CCD has spread to Canada, France, Germany and
Italy but has not yet been confirmed by government in the Britain.
The BBKA is calling on the the UK government to put £8m over five years into
researching honeybee losses and improving bee health.
Farming minister, Lord Rooker, has predicted the demise of the honeybee
within a decade. Last November, he told parliament: "We do not deny that
honeybee health is at risk. Frankly, if nothing is done about it, the
honeybee population could be wiped out in 10 years."
Yet the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spends
just £1.3m on bee health each year -- less than one per cent of the bees'
value to the economy -- with an additional £200,000 for research.
The National Farmer's Union said it was essential for government to increase
its funding of honeybee research. "Research is vital into varroa, bee
breeding and the Nosema parasite," said Chris Hartfield, NFU horticultural
adviser. "We are talking about food security and world food supplies being
put at risk."
Defra said a further £90,000 had been allocated to the NBU this year to
expand investigations into colony losses. It is currently consulting on a
honeybee health strategy, with responses required by the end of this month.
A Defra spokesman said: "Significant public funds are already provided to
support this area of work but to ensure this intervention is effective, it
it vital that work is driven by a well thought out strategy agreed by all
relevant parties."
--------------
IMPORTANT RESOURCES:
BURT'S BEES RESOURCE PAGE:
http://tinyurl.com/32y7m6
NORTH AMERICAN POLLINATOR PROTECTION CAMPAIGN:
http://www.nappc.org/
THE WAY BACK TO BIOLOGICAL BEEKEEPING (DEE LUSBY):
http://www.beesource.com/pov/lusby/index.htm
BUSH BEES WEBSITE (ORGANIC BEE WEBSITE):
http://bushfarms.com/bees.htm
YAHOO ORGANIC BEEKEEPERS DISCUSSION LIST:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Organicbeekeepers/
WIKIPEDIA ON COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder
VERY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (5/4/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12932
MAAREC COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER WEBSITE:
http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorderInfo.html
MAP OF U.S. STATES REPORTING COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (pdf):
http://beealert.blackfoot.net/~beealert/USshaded.pdf
GENERAL BEE ARTICLES & REPORTS:
http://www.beesource.com/news/index.htm
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY ON POLLINATORS:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id11761
------------
PREVIOUS NHNE NEWS LIST ARTICLES:
LAST FLIGHT OF THE HONEYBEE? (6/7/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14570
VANISHING OF THE BEES (5/9/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14475
SURVEY: U.S. HONEY BEE DEATHS INCREASED OVER LAST YEAR (5/6/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14468
WHY FLOWERS HAVE LOST THEIR SCENT (4/20/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14416
CONSORTIUM TO STUDY HONEY BEE 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (4/16/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14404
DISAPPEARING BEES THREATEN ICE CREAM SELLERS (2/19/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14209
BURT'S BEES DEFENDS THE HIVE (11/6/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13732
VIRUS IMPLICATED IN COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER IN BEES (9/7/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13427
POSSIBLE COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER BREAKTHROUGH (9/2/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13407
SENATOR BOXER ON COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (7/18/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13236
USDA ANNOUNCES COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER ACTION PLAN (7/13/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13215
HONEYBEE DIE-OFF NOW REPORTED IN 35 STATES (6/12/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13100
WHO KILLED THE HONEYBEES? (5/30/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13034
VERY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (5/4/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12932
HONEYBEE DIE-OFF THREATENS FOOD SUPPLY (5/3/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12930
HONEYBEE COLLAPSE MYTHS (5/2/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12924
BEES VANISH, & SCIENTISTS RACE FOR REASONS (4/25/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12895
ORGANIC & KILLER BEES SEEM RESISTANT TO 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER'
(4/24/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12889
HONEY BEE DIE-OFF ALARMS BEEKEEPERS, CROP GROWERS & RESEARCHERS (4/24/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12888
HONEY BEE EXPERTS GATHER TO POOL KNOWLEDGE (4/22/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12880
HONEY BEE DIE-OFF RESOURCES (4/17/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12857
ARE MOBILE PHONES WIPING OUT OUR BEES? (4/15/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12851
BEE COLONIES ACROSS U.S. CONTINUE TO DIE (4/7/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12825
ARE GM CROPS KILLING BEES? (3/23/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12754
HONEYBEES VANISH, LEAVING KEEPERS IN PERIL (2/27/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12647
U.S. BEE COLONIES DECIMATED BY MYSTERIOUS AILMENT (2/14/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12588
PARASITE DEVASTATES U.S. BEES (5/2/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/9104
MAD BEE DISEASE (2/20/2001):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1181
...........
NHNE Factory Farming Resource Page:
http://www.nhne.org/tabid/451/Default.aspx
NHNE Factory Farming (& Cruelty To Animals) News Stories:
http://tinyurl.com/hmy5k
NHNE Climate Change Resource Page:
http://www.nhne.org/tabid/490/Default.aspx
------------
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Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 257-3200
Fax: (815) 642-0117
P.O. Box 2242
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------------
MARRIED FOLKS STILL THE HEALTHIEST
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay
August 13, 2008
http://www.livescience.com/health/618269.html
People who've exchanged wedding vows tend to be healthier than their single,
divorced or widowed peers, but new research shows that health gap may be
narrowing.
Interviews with today's never-married men suggest they are healthier than
never-married guys were three decades ago, researchers say. And that's
helping single males gain some ground, in terms of their health, compared to
married people.
"One of the most-often documented facts is that married people are healthier
than non-married people, but the difference between married and unmarried
people has changed over the past few decades," said the study's lead author,
Hui Liu, an assistant professor and sociologist at Michigan State University
in East Lansing.
The findings are in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social
Behavior.
Liu said there are two theories as to why married people report better
health. One is that being married gives you more access to social support
and economic resources. The other is that being divorced or widowed hurts
health.
"In general, marriage tends to make people healthier, happier and richer,
and that's especially true for men," said Scott Wetzler, vice chairman of
psychiatry and behavioral science, and head of the "Supporting Healthy
Marriage" program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
But because trends in marriage have changed so dramatically over the past
few decades, with more people opting not to marry or marrying at later ages,
Liu wanted to assess what, if any, effects these changes might have on
physical health.
To analyze these trends, Liu and her colleague, Debra Umberson, reviewed 32
years of data on more than one million Americans from the National Health
Interview Survey. Study participants were between the ages of 25 and 80.
Health status was self-reported in the survey.
The researchers found that the self-reported health status of never-married
adults increased significantly over time. At the same time, the
self-reported health status of married women also increased, so the gap
between married and never-married women's health stayed about the same.
However, never-married men narrowed the health gap between themselves and
married men.
"An important potential reason is that never-married men have greater access
to social support now than they did in the past. It used to be that having a
spouse was important for social support and a social network," explained
Liu.
The researchers also found that self-reported health improved for nearly all
American blacks, except for those who had been widowed.
People who had been married in the past, including those widowed or
divorced, reported declines in their overall health status, according to the
study.
"If you get married and then divorced, that will hurt your health," said
Liu.
"This study provides confirmation that marriage does tend to make people
healthier. They didn't look at the quality of an individual marriage, but
that being married is more likely overall to make you happier than not being
married," said Wetzler.
To read more about the health effects of marriage, visit the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/07/marriageonhealth/rb.htm
............
NHNE Male/Female/Relationship Research:
http://www.nhne.org/tabid/491/Default.aspx
------------
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http://integralnhne.ning.com/
Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 257-3200
Fax: (815) 642-0117
P.O. Box 2242
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FUTURE WARS 'TO BE FOUGHT WITH MIND DRUGS'
By Jon Swaine
The Telegraph
August 14, 2008
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/2557025/Future-war
s-to-be-fought-with-mind-drugs.html
Landmines releasing brain-altering chemicals, scanners reading soldiers'
minds and devices boosting eyesight and hearing could all one figure in
arsenals, suggests the study.
Sophisticated drugs, designed for dementia patients but also allowing troops
to stay awake and alert for several days are expected to be developed,
according to the report. It is thought that some US soldiers are already
taking drugs prescribed for narcolepsy in an attempt to combat fatigue.
As well as those physically and mentally boosting one's own troops,
substances could also be developed to deplete an opponents' forces, it says.
"How can we disrupt the enemy's motivation to fight?" It asks. "Is there a
way to make the enemy obey our commands?" Research shows that "drugs can be
utilized to achieve abnormal, diseased, or disordered psychology" among
one's enemy, it concludes.
Research is particularly encouraging in the area of functional neuroimaging,
or understanding the relationships between brain activity and actions, the
report says, raising hopes that scanners able to read the intentions or
memories of soldiers could soon be developed.
Some military chiefs and law enforcement officials hope that a new
generation of polygraphs, or lie detectors, which spot lie-telling by
observing changes in brain activity, can be built.
"Pharmacological landmines," which release drugs to incapacitate soldiers
upon their contact with them, could also be developed, according to the
report's authors.
The report, which was commissioned by the Defense Intelligence Agency,
contained the work of scientists asked to examine how better understanding
of how the human mind works was likely to affect the development of
technology.
It finds that "great progress has been made" in neuroscience over the last
decade, and that continuing advances offered the prospect of a dramatic
impact on military equipment and the way in which wars are fought.
It also explains that the concept of torture could be transformed in the
future. "It is possible that some day there could be a technique developed
to extract information from a prisoner that does not have any lasting side
effects," it states. One technique being developed involves the delivery of
electrical pulses into a suspect's brain and delay their ability to lie by
interfering with its neurons.
Research into "distributed human-machine systems", including robots and
military hardware controlled by an operator's mind, is another particular
area for optimism among researchers, according to the report. It says
significant progress has already been made and that prospects for use of the
field are "limited only by the creative imagination."
Jonathan Moreno, a bioethicist and the author of 'Mind Wars: Brain Research
and National Defense', said "It's too early to know which, if any, of these
technologies is going to be practical. But it's important for us to get
ahead of the curve. Soldiers are always on the cutting edge of new
technologies."
------------
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Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 257-3200
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P.O. Box 2242
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------------
HOW CASINOS MAKE MONEY FROM YOU
pitboss.pokerstrategy.com
August 15, 2008
http://pitboss.pokerstrategy.com/how-casinos-make-money-from-you/
Casinos profit by tipping the odds in their favor. Most people know this,
but they don¹t understand the underlying statistical forces behind it.
Beneath all the glamorous lights and sizzle is some serious math ensuring
the casino always ultimately comes out ahead. If you¹ve ever wondered
exactly how they can accurately know this, prepare to find out!
The first thing to realize is that casinos do not pay out a ³fair² amount of
money. In this case, ³fair² is not meant in an ethical or moral sense but a
very specific mathematical one. A ³fair² payout is one in which both you
(the player) and the casino will break even in the long run. For example, a
casino that used roulette wheels with only 36 numbers -- half red, half
black -- would be offering a ³fair² chance of winning. The casino would
double the money of roulette players who bet on red if a red number was hit.
In the long run, the casino and the gamblers would win each win half of the
time.
This is not what actually happens. To guarentee themselves a slight edge,
casinos use roulette wheels with 38 numbers. Furthermore, two of them are
neither red nor black, making any ball that hits in those numbers an
automatic loss for the player. This tiny modification gives the casino a
2/38 edge over a ³fair² game or payout. Similar tactics are employed
throughout the casino to give them a slight yet significant edge in light of
how much money is being gambled each day.
However, the odds being in the casino¹s favor is just one half of the
equation. If you¹ve been following along so far, you might be starting to
sense what the casino¹s other major advantage is. Remember: a mathemetically
³fair² payout is one where you and the casino break even in the long run.
But for you, the individual gambler, there is no ³long run.² We can
continue our roulette example to illustrate this. An infinite roulette
player would find himself up for a while, down for a while, and at any
random time, on average, down 5.26% from whatever amount he started gambling
with.
This does not actually happen either. You will not be sitting at one crap¹s
table or roulette wheel forever. Like most gamblers, you will probably stop
playing when you run out of chips or money. This means the ³official² 5.26%
house edge is usually much higher than that in practice. The book
³Statistics Hacks² runs a simulation of 1,000 gamblers acting as gamblers
normally do - deciding to walk away, keep betting, increase or decrease
their bets, and the like. The end result showed that the casino would
actually rake in a stunning 43.16% of the money being gambled.
What¹s the big success secret behind these huge, calculated winnings? Very
simply, the secret is time. The casino -- unlike you -- can keep at it
forever. When you go home, new gamblers take your place at the slot machine,
roulette wheel, or blackjack table. Being open 24/7 lets casinos ride out
any momentary success a gambler has, knowing that the laws of probability
will ³have their back² in the long run.
What this all means for you is that you should leave the casino after a
certain time -- say, a few hours -- whether you are ahead or not. No matter
how long you stay to ³ride out² a bad streak or keep a good one going, you
will never have more time than the casino does. As the book ³Statistics
Hacks² cautions, ³if you are lucky enough to get ahead before your time runs
out, consider running out of the casino.²
The only way to win is to treat all losses as entertainment expenditures,
and make sure you quit while you¹re ahead.
------------
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Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 257-3200
Fax: (815) 642-0117
P.O. Box 2242
Sedona, AZ 86339
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Current Members: 407
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Subscribe / unsubscribe / important links at the bottom of this message.
------------
Thanks to Michael Dowd.
------------
A SPRING WITHOUT BEES:
HOW COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER HAS ENDANGERED OUR FOOD SUPPLY
By Michael Schacker
Publisher: The Lyons Press (June 3, 2008)
4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.com
Sales Rank: #53,952 in Books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1599214326/newheavenneweart
From the Back Cover:
On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rachel Carson, the world faces a
new environmental disaster, from a chemical similar to DDT. This time the
culprit appears to be IMD, or imidacloprid, a relatively new but widely used
insecticide in the United States. Many beekeepers and some researchers think
IMD is the new prime suspect for the devastating syndrome known as Colony
Collapse Disorder, or CCD, which has raised the annual die-off rate of honey
bees to 30% of all the beehives in the United States. They say even trace
amounts of IMD make bees lose their desire to feed, which would quickly lead
to the collapse of their colony. After several days, there are few or no
bees left in the hive. Since honey bees are essential to the production of
fruit, nut, and vegetable crops around the world, their demise could spell
catastrophe for our food supply and global economy.
In a riveting detective story that melds science and politics, Michael
Schacker investigates the case of the missing bees, examining the many
theories on the cause, including cell phones, mites, new pathogens, and bee
management. He then examines the evidence against IMD. The book does much
more than illuminate the scientific research, however. Using CCD as a
metaphor for our own human hive, Schacker asks: Are the bees trying to tell
us something? Could this be the warning sign of a much larger crisis looming
directly ahead? Might humankind suffer someday from ³Civilization Collapse
Disorder²? And how must we change our human hive in order to ensure its
survival?
Like An Inconvenient Truth and Silent Spring before it, A Spring without
Bees is a compelling cautionary tale and a clarion call for action.
............
Editorial Reviews:
³At last an authoritative account of the vanishing bees: one of the most
puzzling environmental problems of recent times. . . . at once a great
detective story and an object lesson of how to live in harmony with the
living planet, our home.² -- Thomas E. Lovejoy, President, the Heinz Center
for Science, Economics and Environment
"Who could imagine a spring without bees? One might say this is impossible,
especially the kids. Michael Schacker's eye-opening story A Spring without
Bees is a must-read for all of us who want to live in a sustainable and
regenerating world for many generations to come." -- Anthony Rodale,
Chairman Emeritus, The Rodale Institute
"The loss of the bees is a four-fold tragedy: for the beekeepers, the
growers, the consumers and of course for the bees themselves. Michael
Schacker's fascinating and enlightening book is an important new look at the
great mystery of Colony Collapse Disorder." -- Dr. James Amrine, President
of the Acarology Society of America, Medical Entomologist, West Virginia
University
"In a debate clearly underpinned with political and commercial positioning
and controversy over scientific fact and assumption, Michael Schacker¹s
multi-faceted review of the dispute to date, and its possible consequences,
helps us clearly understand what is needed to reverse the bee decline
threatening world food supply." -- Dr. Kurt Johnson, ecologist and ethicist;
co-author of Nabokov¹s Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius
"A Spring Without Bees is an object lesson in just how delicate the web of
life is. It sounds an urgent call to action on behalf of one of our
economy's tiniest laborers but also asks that we re-think the environmental
consequences of the entire way we do business." -- Jeff Ruch, Executive
Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
³Michael Schacker offers another important rationale for organic farming
methods as a way to protect the fruit and vegetable supply.²-- Dr. Timothy
J. LaSalle, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, The Rodale Institute
............
NOT PERFECT, BUT A GREAT RESOURCE
By Kael Loftus
July 11, 2008
Schacker's book is an excellent resource for the well-educated person who
wants a broad and detailed review of Colony Collapse Disorder. It is not,
however, the final word on the cause: Schacker takes one theory -- that CCD
is caused by the pesticide imidacloprid (IMD) -- and, while making a
convincing case, fails to account for some reported CCD die-offs that are
*not* consistent with the pesticide theory. The work also wanders into
topics that are arguably not related to CCD, as mentioned in other reviews.
That said, the book is timely and well-researched, and presents an array of
suggested responses to CCD that regular people can implement, from planting
bee-friendly gardens, to keeping bees, to challenging government
inaction/incompetence.
I bought this book as a new hardback because I feel the need to be as well
educated as possible about CCD. I am one of the organizers of the 2008 San
Francisco Bee-In on September 21st at the Randall Museum, which will serve
both as a fundraiser for the documentary-in-progress The Vanishing of the
Bees <http://www.vanishingbees.com/> as well as a public education event.
Schacker reviews some of the CCD theories that have made cameos in the news
media over the last two years, including a thorough and amusing dismissal of
the "cell phones are killing the bees!" story. After rejecting many
theories, he presents the story of CCD in France (a story we've heard
relatively little about in the U.S.) and explains why French beekeepers came
to suspect the pesticide IMD. It's a compelling narrative, and there is data
in the U.S. that supports it. However, one of our country's top bee
researchers, Dr. Eric Mussen of UC Davis, recently recounted in his
newsletter (repeated by apiarist Kim Flottum in his "Catch the Buzz"
newsletter... that the pattern of CCD's spread looks more like a disease
than pesticide misuse.
My point is, it's too early in the crisis to settle on one hypothesis. In
the meantime, yes: let's invoke the "Precautionary Principle" and suspend
IMD use. And yes, let's include the French research; to not do so would be
anti-scientific and arguably criminal. But let's continue to do the science.
More research is required, and the public can help by supporting funding for
a broad research effort on CCD, both through private donation and pressure
on government funding sources. (Funding earmarked for CCD by the USDA in
early 2007 is only becoming available this August, almost a year and a half
later; the severity of the crisis demands more timely and responsive
leadership -- anything less is incompetence.)
I don't agree with everything Schacker argues in this book, but I do relate
to the sentiments he expresses in Chapter Nine, "Civilization Collapse
Disorder" (which includes the sub-chapter heading "The Public Has To Wake
Up"). I am glad to see this book on the shelves: it's a thought-provoking
and helpful -- if not quite perfect -- resource.
--------------
IMPORTANT RESOURCES:
BURT'S BEES RESOURCE PAGE:
http://tinyurl.com/32y7m6
NORTH AMERICAN POLLINATOR PROTECTION CAMPAIGN:
http://www.nappc.org/
THE WAY BACK TO BIOLOGICAL BEEKEEPING (DEE LUSBY):
http://www.beesource.com/pov/lusby/index.htm
BUSH BEES WEBSITE (ORGANIC BEE WEBSITE):
http://bushfarms.com/bees.htm
YAHOO ORGANIC BEEKEEPERS DISCUSSION LIST:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Organicbeekeepers/
WIKIPEDIA ON COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_collapse_disorder
VERY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (5/4/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12932
MAAREC COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER WEBSITE:
http://maarec.cas.psu.edu/ColonyCollapseDisorderInfo.html
MAP OF U.S. STATES REPORTING COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (pdf):
http://beealert.blackfoot.net/~beealert/USshaded.pdf
GENERAL BEE ARTICLES & REPORTS:
http://www.beesource.com/news/index.htm
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY ON POLLINATORS:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id11761
------------
PREVIOUS NHNE NEWS LIST ARTICLES:
UK HONEYBEE DEATHS REACHING CRISIS POINT (8/17/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14773
LAST FLIGHT OF THE HONEYBEE? (6/7/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14570
VANISHING OF THE BEES (5/9/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14475
SURVEY: U.S. HONEY BEE DEATHS INCREASED OVER LAST YEAR (5/6/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14468
WHY FLOWERS HAVE LOST THEIR SCENT (4/20/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14416
CONSORTIUM TO STUDY HONEY BEE 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (4/16/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14404
DISAPPEARING BEES THREATEN ICE CREAM SELLERS (2/19/2008):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14209
BURT'S BEES DEFENDS THE HIVE (11/6/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13732
VIRUS IMPLICATED IN COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER IN BEES (9/7/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13427
POSSIBLE COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER BREAKTHROUGH (9/2/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13407
SENATOR BOXER ON COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER (7/18/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13236
USDA ANNOUNCES COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER ACTION PLAN (7/13/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13215
HONEYBEE DIE-OFF NOW REPORTED IN 35 STATES (6/12/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13100
WHO KILLED THE HONEYBEES? (5/30/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13034
VERY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER' (5/4/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12932
HONEYBEE DIE-OFF THREATENS FOOD SUPPLY (5/3/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12930
HONEYBEE COLLAPSE MYTHS (5/2/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12924
BEES VANISH, & SCIENTISTS RACE FOR REASONS (4/25/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12895
ORGANIC & KILLER BEES SEEM RESISTANT TO 'COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER'
(4/24/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12889
HONEY BEE DIE-OFF ALARMS BEEKEEPERS, CROP GROWERS & RESEARCHERS (4/24/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12888
HONEY BEE EXPERTS GATHER TO POOL KNOWLEDGE (4/22/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12880
HONEY BEE DIE-OFF RESOURCES (4/17/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12857
ARE MOBILE PHONES WIPING OUT OUR BEES? (4/15/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12851
BEE COLONIES ACROSS U.S. CONTINUE TO DIE (4/7/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12825
ARE GM CROPS KILLING BEES? (3/23/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12754
HONEYBEES VANISH, LEAVING KEEPERS IN PERIL (2/27/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12647
U.S. BEE COLONIES DECIMATED BY MYSTERIOUS AILMENT (2/14/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/12588
PARASITE DEVASTATES U.S. BEES (5/2/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/9104
MAD BEE DISEASE (2/20/2001):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1181
...........
NHNE Factory Farming Resource Page:
http://www.nhne.org/tabid/451/Default.aspx
NHNE Factory Farming (& Cruelty To Animals) News Stories:
http://tinyurl.com/hmy5k
NHNE Climate Change Resource Page:
http://www.nhne.org/tabid/490/Default.aspx
------------
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http://integralnhne.ning.com/
Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 257-3200
Fax: (815) 642-0117
P.O. Box 2242
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SLOSHING INSIDE EARTH CHANGES PROTECTIVE MAGNETIC FIELD
By Jeremy Hsu
Live Science
August 18, 2008
http://www.livescience.com/space/080818-mm-earth-core.html
Something beneath the surface is changing Earth's protective magnetic field,
which may leave satellites and other space assets vulnerable to high-energy
radiation.
The gradual weakening of the overall magnetic field can take hundreds and
even thousands of years. But smaller, more rapid fluctuations within months
may leave satellites unprotected and catch scientists off guard, new
research finds.
A new model uses satellite data from the past nine years to show how sudden
fluid motions within the Earth's core can alter the magnetic envelope around
our planet. This represents the first time that researchers have been able
to detect such rapid magnetic field changes taking place over just a few
months.
"There are these changes in the South Atlantic, an area where the magnetic
field has the smallest envelope at one third [of what is] normal," said
Mioara Mandea, a geophysicist at the GFZ German Research Center for
Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany.
Even before the newly detected changes, the South Atlantic Anomaly
represented a weak spot in the magnetic field -- a dent in Earth's
protective bubble.
Bubble bobble
The Earth's magnetic field extends about 36,000 miles (58,000 km) into
space, generated from the spinning effect of the electrically-conductive
core that acts something like a giant electromagnet. The field creates a
tear-drop shaped bubble that has constantly shielded life on Earth against
much of the high-energy radiation flowing from the sun.
The last major change in the field took place some 780,000 years ago during
a magnetic reversal, although such reversals seem to occur more often on
average. A flip in the north and south poles typically involves a weakening
in the magnetic field, followed by a period of rapid recovery and
reorganization of opposite polarity.
Some studies in recent years have suggested the next reversal might be
imminent, but the jury is out on that question.
Measuring interactions between the magnetic field and the molten iron core
1,864 miles (3,000 km) down has proven difficult in the past, but the
constant observations of satellites such as CHAMP and Orsted have begun to
bring the picture into focus.
Electric storm
Mandea worked with Nils Olsen, a geophysicist at the University of
Copenhagen in Denmark, to create a model of the fluid core that fits with
the magnetic field changes detected by the satellites.
However, the rapid weakening of the magnetic field in the South Atlantic
Anomaly region could signal future troubles for such satellites. Radiation
storms from the sun could fry electronic equipment on satellites that
suddenly lacked the protective cover of a rapidly changing magnetic field.
"For satellites, this could be a problem," Mandea told SPACE.com. "If there
are magnetic storms and high-energy particles coming from the sun, the
satellites could be affected and their connections could be lost."
The constant radiation bombardment from the sun blows with the solar wind to
Earth, where it flows against and around the magnetic field. The effect
creates the tear-drop shaped magnetosphere bubble, but even the powerful
field cannot keep out all the high-energy particles.
Topsy-turvy history
A large sunspot set off a major radiation storm in 2006 that temporarily
blinded some sun-watching satellites. Astronauts on the International Space
Station retreated to a protected area as a precaution to avoid unnecessary
radiation exposure.
The Earth's overall magnetic field has weakened at least 10 percent over the
past 150 years, which could also point to an upcoming field reversal.
Mandea and Olsen hope to continue refining their model with updated
observations, and perhaps to eventually help predict future changes in the
Earth's magnetic field.
The study was detailed in the May online edition of the journal Nature
Geoscience.
------------
PREVIOUS NHNE NEWS LIST ARTICLES:
EARTH'S CORE, MAGNETIC FIELD CHANGING FAST (7/6/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/14643
THE DAY THE EARTH FELL OVER (9/15/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/11857
SCI FI CHANNEL: COUNTDOWN TO DOOMSDAY (6/11/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/11369
EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD FLIPS QUICKLY (4/9/2004):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/7055
NOVA'S 'MAGNETIC STORM' (11/28/2003):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/6322
The Earth's Collapsing Magnetic Field (8/9/2003):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/5772
MORE ON THE EARTH'S FLIPPING MAGNETIC POLES (11/14/2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/3950
SUN'S RAYS TO ROAST EARTH AS POLES FLIP (11/13/2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/3948
EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD ABOUT TO FLIP? (7/8/2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/3376
GIANT NUKE MAY RUN EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD (6/22/2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/3294
EARTH'S MAGNETIC POLES MAY BE STARTING TO FLIP (4/12/2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/2990
------------
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Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 257-3200
Fax: (815) 642-0117
P.O. Box 2242
Sedona, AZ 86339
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------------
COASTAL DEAD ZONES ARE GROWING
By Unmesh Kher
Time
August 14, 2008
http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,1832905,00.html
Over the past two or three decades, scientists have noticed with growing
alarm that vast stretches of coastal waters are turning into dead zones --
patches of seabed so depleted of oxygen that few creatures, if any, can
survive there. In 2004, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) took
stock of the phenomenon -- which is caused in large part by agricultural
runoff -- and pronounced it one of the biggest environmental problems of the
21st century. Two years later it noted that the number of identified dead
zones, some of which cover thousands of square miles, had climbed from 150
to 200.
Predictably, things have gotten worse since then. Robert Diaz, an ecologist
at the College of William and Mary in Virginia who helped UNEP with its
numbers, reports in the current issue of the journal Science that today
there are more than 400 known dead zones along coastlines around the world,
covering roughly 95,000 sq. mi. of seabed. Some of the dead zones that Diaz
and his Swedish co-author identify in their review have been around for some
time, but have only recently been studied. Many others appear to be new.
About 8% of them, mainly those in the Baltic and North seas, persist
throughout the year, says Diaz; half, including one the size of New Jersey
in the Gulf of Mexico, form mainly seasonally, typically beginning in summer
after the spring thaw and receding in the fall. Overall, the researchers
found that the number of new dead zones has grown exponentially over the
past four decades.
That's bad news for fish -- and for the people who eat them. Much of the
world's fish supply is already troubled due to overfishing, dying reefs and
the disappearance of marshland, mangrove forests and other coastal
environments that serve as breeding grounds and nurseries for many valuable
species. Biologists haven't been able to figure out how much oxygen
depletion alone contributes to the decline of teetering fisheries -- the
question is hotly debated in marine-science circles these days -- but few
experts would disagree that an increase in dead zones can only be a
detriment.
Indeed, severe hypoxia, as scientists refer to the phenomenon, has been
linked to the collapse of fisheries in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea (which
has since recovered) and a lobster fishery in the Kattegat, a patch of the
North Sea between Denmark and Sweden. Other headline examples exist as well,
but, more often, hypoxic waters have a relatively subtle impact on fish.
"Most of the effects of low oxygen on fish stocks are what we call
'sub-lethal,' " says Diaz. "It doesn't kill the fish but stresses them. It
affects their growth, it reduces their reproductive output, and makes them
more susceptible to disease."
Dead zones are created when excess nitrogen and other pollutants in ocean
water promote large blooms of algae and phytoplankton on the surface. The
nitrogen gets there in a couple of ways: through river water filled with
fertilizer from farm runoff and from air polluted with tailpipe and
smokestack emissions. When the algae die and sink to the ocean floor,
bacteria there break them down, while consuming pretty much all of the
available oxygen in the water. The bacteria also proliferate wildly, taking
over the ecosystem and exacerbating the oxygen depletion. If conditions like
strong currents, which are common in summer, prevent oxygen-rich water from
the surface from mixing with lower layers, bottom-dwelling animals like
lobsters, crabs and flounder in that area either flee or die. Relatively
immobile animals such as oysters, clams and worms are particularly
susceptible to annihilation. Such deaths take the bottom out of the marine
food chain, helping to create sustained dead zones.
The best way to prevent this from happening would be to reduce the amount of
nitrogen introduced into the ocean. The technology already exists to do
that. If, for example, farmers in the upper part of the U.S. were given a
financial incentive to plant crops like winter wheat, rather than leaving
their fields fallow after the fall harvest, says marine ecologist Robert
Howarth of Cornell University, much of the nitrogenous fertilizer that would
normally get washed into waterways by spring thaws could instead be absorbed
into winter grain crops. Measures of this sort, if uniformly implemented,
could all but eliminate the Gulf of Mexico's famously ballooning dead zone.
Such changes to farm management aren't likely to be cheap or easy to
implement. But, as Diaz's study suggests, the consequences of inaction might
prove infinitely more expensive. "The oceans are vast and they cover most of
the Earth's surface," notes Howarth. "But what people mostly care about in
the oceans is largely in these coastal areas. That's where the most
productive fisheries are, and where people recreate. And that's where people
are overfishing, and where dead zones are developing."
------------
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Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 257-3200
Fax: (815) 642-0117
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RESEARCHER SAYS BIGFOOT JUST A RUBBER GORILLA SUIT
By Juanita Cousins
Associated Press
August 19, 2008
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080819/D92LKD300.html
ATLANTA - Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber suit. Two researchers on a
quest to prove the existence of Bigfoot say that the carcass encased in a
block of ice -- handed over to them for an undisclosed sum by two men who
claimed to have found it -- was slowly thawed out, and discovered to be a
rubber gorilla outfit.
The revelation comes just days after a much ballyhooed news conference was
held in California to proclaim that the remains of the creature were found
in the North Georgia mountains was the legendary man-ape.
Steve Kulls, executive director of squatchdetective.com and host of
Squatchdetective Radio, says in a posting on a Web site run by Bigfoot
researcher Tom Biscardi that as the "evidence" was thawed, the claim began
to unravel as a giant hoax.
First, the hair sample was burned and "melted into a ball uncharacteristic
of hair," Kulls said in the posting.
The thawing process was sped up and the exposed head was found to be
"unusually hollow in one small section." An hour of thawing later and the
feet were exposed -- and they were found to be made of rubber.
Matt Whitton, an officer who has been on medical leave from the Clayton
County Police Department, and Rick Dyer, a former Georgia corrections
officer, announced the find in early July on YouTube videos and a Web site.
"Everyone who has talked down to us is going to eat their words," Whitton
said at the time.
Phone calls to Whitton and Dyer went unreturned on Tuesday. But the
voicemail recording for their Bigfoot Tip Line -- which proclaims they
search for leprechauns and the Loch Ness monster -- has been updated and
announcing they're also in search of "big cats and dinosaurs. If you see any
of those, give us a call."
On Tuesday, Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said he has not spoken
to Whitton but processed paperwork to fire him.
"Once he perpetrated a fraud, that goes into his credibility and integrity,"
Turner said. "He has violated the duty of a police officer."
----------------
Watch Fox News Report on NHNE's Community Website:
http://nhnecommunity.ning.com/video/video/show?id=650220%3AVideo%3A22384
----------------
SEARCHING FOR BIGFOOT UNCOVERS THE TRUTH
THE FOLLOWING IS PART OF THE NEWS RELEASE GIVEN TO FOX NEWS
By Steve Kulls
searchingforbigfoot.com
http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com/
Good afternoon. I am Steve Kulls Executive Director of Squatchdetective.com
and Host of Squatchdetective Radio. I am here with Bob Schmalzbach, Vice
President of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. I had been invited to be a witness
of the thawing of the alleged Bigfoot Body by the Searching for Bigfoot
team. As an independent researcher, it has been Squatchdetective.com's goal
to obtain proof positive in all cases when either trying to substantiate a
claim or debunk it, so as there is no question to the matter's certainty.
Having worked in the past, with Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., I understand
that it has always been their corporate goal, ³to tell it like they see it,
as it happens, and when it happens². In my organization's limited
involvement with Searching For Bigfoot, Inc. it is and has been the goal of
both organizations to obtain the truth in this and all matters.
On July 9th, 2008, Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer placed a video on Youtube
making the claim they had recovered the body of a Bigfoot body. Their
website, Bigfoottracker.com also echoed the sentiment. At that time I had
doubts and followed the story for two weeks when on July 25th, 2008 I placed
a video response to challenge them to come on to Squatchdetective Radio on
July 28th , 2008.
On July 14th, 2008 an article was published where Whitton released a
statement to his local newspaper, the Clayton Times Daily stating that they
had recovered the body of a Bigfoot.
The afternoon of July 28th, 2008, Ricky Dyer asked if I would call him and
after interviewing him using various forensic interviewing techniques, which
I have been trained on, I could not get an accurate read on him as I was
seeing deception on numerous things, but insisted he had a body in his
possession. At one point he asked me who Tom Biscardi was. I immediately
surmised however their motive was financial.
After concluding my one plus hour long phone call with Dyer I called the CEO
of Searching for Bigfoot, Tom Biscardi, and we discussed the matter. We, at
that time decided it best to turn the investigation over to Mr. Biscardi and
his team. My involvement in the remainder of the process was as an
independent observer.
The following are my observations and the facts as I understand and know
them:
On August 1st, 2008 Tom Biscardi traveled to Georgia and on August 2nd was
given a sample, allegedly, from the corpse, for DNA testing. The DNA was
hand delivered to Dr. Curt Nelson of Michigan and a chain of custody of the
said sample was maintained from the time it was received from Ricky Dyer and
Matthew Whitton.
On August 4th, 2008 both Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer entered a legally
binding contract with Searching For Bigfoot, Inc .recognizing the fact that
Searching for Bigfoot, had absolutely nothing to do in the demise or storage
of the corpse until such time as it was transferred to Searching For Bigfoot
for the benefit of scientific study, marketing and promotion.
On August 10th, 2008 Tom Biscardi received an email from Dr. Nelson that
after the amplifications of two of the three samples, that the size of the
DNA was consistent with human/ape DNA.
On or about August 12th, 2008, Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer requested an
undisclosed sum of money as an advance, expected from the marketing and
promotion, and as a good faith gesture of the contract.
On August 14th, 2008, after signing a transfer receipt for the amount money
requested and counting said money, Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer led the
Searching for Bigfoot Team to a location and turned over a freezer with
something appearing large, hairy, and frozen in ice.
On August 15th, 2008, Tom Biscardi, Ricky Dyer and Matthew Whitton held a
press conference at the Cabana Hotel in Paolo Alto, California, announcing
that the corpse of a creature fitting the description known as ³Bigfoot² had
been discovered. A police officer of seven years, on medical leave, labeled
as a hero for being wounded in the line of duty, got up in front of the
world and told the world of how he and Ricky Dyer uncovered this creature.
This has since been proven a lie. It is notable that Rick Dyer insisted on
this press conference and told Tom Biscardi he would not release the ³body²
unless the conference was held on this specific date.
On August 16th, 2008 the freezer containing the alleged corpse arrived with
the Searching For Bigfoot Team. I arrived on location at 6PM to provide
initial verification examination, biohazard control and consult for security
measures at the location. At that time the ice was being thawed slowly
without aid, to prevent any decomposition of the alleged corpse. We
estimated that the freezer and its contents weighed over 1500 pounds and it
would take several days or longer to thaw completely.
On August 17th, 2008 Searching for Bigfoot Team Director of Field
Operations, TJ Biscardi and myself, were up early to discover that some hair
was now exposed. I extracted some from the alleged corpse and examined it
and had some concerns. Bob Schmalzbach arrived and concurred. We burned said
sample and said hair sample melted into a ball uncharacteristic of hair.
At that time we contacted Mr. Biscardi who gave us permission to begin an
expedited melting process. We set up a salamander heater to heat the
freezer. Within one hour we were able to see the partially exposed head, as
I was now able to touch it, I was able to feel that it seemed mostly firm,
but unusually hollow in one small section. This was yet another ominous
sign. Within the next hour of thaw, a break appeared up near the feet area.
As the team and I began examining this area near the feet, I observed the
foot which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot.
At that point we immediately contacted, Tom Biscardi and advised him of the
situation and he began to take action on his end. Later that day, Tom
Biscardi informed us that both Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer admitted it
was a costume. They reportedly agreed to sign a promissory note and
admission of what they had done, and set a meeting in their hotel room in
California for 8AM on August 17th, 2008.
At that time I drew up the documents for Mr. Biscardi. On August 17th, 2008
Tom Biscardi went to the hotel where Dyer and Whitton were staying and found
that they had left. At this time action is being instigated against the
perpetrators of this fraud. Tom Biscardi asked us to contact you, the press,
and share all that we have discovered.
The motives behind this fraud are still unknown at this time. It is still
unclear why Whitton who, being a police officer for the Clayton County
Police Department in Georgia got up before the world and lied and was
complicit in a scheme to defraud in a felonious manner.
At this time the victim of this series of deceptions, Searching for Bigfoot,
Inc., is seeking justice for themselves and for all the people who were
deceived by this deception. Due to this event peoples lives have been
disrupted and many people, so wanting vindication about there prior
experiences were hurt. Let us all try to be mindful of such.
On behalf of myself I can say with certainty Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer
not the best Bigfoot trackers in the world!
Thank you.
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CREDIT CRUNCH MAY TAKE OUT LARGE US BANK WARNS FORMER IMF CHIEF
By Gary Duncan, Economics Editor and Leo Lewis, Asia Business Correspondent
Times Online
August 19, 2008
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_
finance/article4563171.ece
The deepening toll from the global financial crisis could trigger the
failure of a large US bank within months, a respected former chief economist
of the International Monetary Fund claimed today, fuelling another battering
for banking shares.
Professor Kenneth Rogoff, a leading academic economist, said there was yet
worse news to come from the worldwide credit crunch and financial turmoil,
particularly in the United States, and that a high-profile casualty among
American banks was highly likely.
³The US is not out of the woods. I think the financial crisis is at the
halfway point, perhaps. I would even go further to say the worst is to
come,² Prof Rogoff said at a conference in Singapore.
In an ominous warning, he added: ³We¹re not just going to see mid-sized
banks go under in the next few months, we¹re going to see a whopper, we¹re
going to see a big one -- one of the big investment banks or big banks,² he
said.
Rising anxieties over ³worse to come² in the credit crisis sent shares
tumbling in Europe and Asia.
In London, the FTSE 100 index extended opening losses as widespread fears
over the financial sector's woes led to another battering for stocks. The
FTSE closed 129.8 points, or 2.38 per cent, lower at 5,320.4, pushing it
into bear market territory -- a level 20 per cent below the October 12, 2007
peak of 6730.71 -- for the sixth time in two months. Germany's Dax shed
2.4%, while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 2.5%.
Professor Rogoff, who was chief economist at the IMF from 2001 to 2004,
predicted that the crisis would foster a new wave of consolidation in the US
financial sector before it was over, with mergers between large
institutions.
He also suggested that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the struggling US
secondary mortgage lending giants, were likely to cease to exist in their
present form within a few years.
His prediction over the fate of Fannie and Freddie came after investors
dumped the two groups¹ shares on Monday after reports suggested that the US
Treasury may have no choice but to effectively nationalise them.
The professor also sounded a warning over rising US inflation, which rose
last month to its highest since 1991, and criticised the Federal Reserve for
having cut American interest rates too drastically. ³Cutting interest rates
is going to lead to a lot of inflation in the next few years in the United
States,² he said.
As investors' edginess over the threat of further financial turbulence sent
equity markets into a further spin, bank shares were hit hardest. Among the
biggest fallers in London trade were HBOS, down 6 per cent, Royal Bank of
Scotland, whose shares plunged by 5 per cent, while HSBC fell 3.6 per cent.
In continental Europe, Spain's Banco Santander was off 2.35 per cent, and
BNP Paribas lost 3.8 per cent.
Persistent worries over the rapidly deteriorating economic outlook in the UK
also saw sterling succumb to fresh losses. The pound lost almost a cent
against the dollar, dropping to $1.881, above the near-two year lows plumbed
on Friday.
Earlier, there were fresh jitters in Asia, with the region's leading bourses
in sharp retreat after a dire overnight performance by Wall Street left the
Dow Jones Industrial Average down by more than 180 points. Both Asian
markets and Wall Street were unnerved by suggestions over the prospects for
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
While Japanese banks have remained relatively under-exposed to sub-prime
mortgage products, many fear that they would be heavily exposed to a
nationalisation of Fannie and Freddie. The large Japanese financial houses
hold around Y9.6 trillion (£47 billion) in bonds and mortgage-backed paper
issued by housing finance groups in the US.
³If the recapitalisation talk is realised, there are no assurances that the
securities that have been issued [by U.S. mortgage firms] will be 100 per
cent guaranteed,² said Yutaka Shiraki, a senior equity strategist at
Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
Financial sector shares were particularly badly hit in Tokyo, where they led
the Nikkei 225 Index into a 300-point decline. The selling continued
throughout the day, and peaked after a declaration by the Bank of Japan that
the world¹s second largest economy was now looking ³sluggish².
Although the central bank¹s downbeat economic report included vague
predictions of a return to growth over time, traders said that the comments
had shattered any last hope that Asia¹s export-led economy might somehow
³decouple² from the woes in the US.
The picture was somewhat more stable in Shanghai, which spent a day in
relative limbo following Monday¹s 5.3 per cent nosedive. With Chinese stocks
beating a daily retreat, investors are focused on the 2001 index high of
2,245-points. Some believe that level will hold up as a technical floor on
the selling, others believe that it may shortly fail and unleash a much
deeper collapse in stock values.
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CONDOM RINGTONE LAUNCHED IN INDIA
AFP
August 19, 2008
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080819073544.pivcy1sg&show_article=1
A cellphone ringtone that chants "condom, condom!" has been launched in
India to promote safe sex and tackle the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The "condom a cappella" has been designed to break down Indians' reluctance
to discuss condom use and to make wearing a condom more acceptable.
Organisers of the campaign, funded by the foundation set up by Microsoft
mogul Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, hope the ringtone will become a craze
among young Indians.
About 2.5 million people live with HIV in India, said the BBC World Service
Trust, the charity behind the ringtone, which was released this month. It
can be downloaded at:
http://condomcondom.org/
"Ringtones have become such personal statements that a specially created
condom ringtone seemed just the right way of combining a practical message
with a fun approach," said Radharani Mitra, creative director of the BBC
World Service Trust.
"The idea is to tackle the inhibitions and taboos that can be associated
with condoms."
India is the world's fastest-growing mobile telephone market with 270
million users according to the latest official figures, up 57 percent in
just one year.
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MEET THE BOY TOO BIG FOR HIS MOM'S SUV
THIS 12-YEAR-OLD BOY IS TRULY UNIQUE AND TRULY TALL
By Mary Hanan
ABC News
August 19, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MedicalMysteries/story?id=5466774&page=1
[Watch a video of this story at the link above. --DS]
Ellensburg, Wash., is home to a truly unique young man: 12-year-old Brenden
Adams, who is more than seven feet tall and, incredibly, still growing.
He towers over his classmates and even his teacher, Gretchen Holmstrom, who
jokingly quipped, "I'm 5'9," so I never look up to sixth graders -- until
this year -- never say never!"
And though friends say Brenden is just a regular kid, he's obviously not
like anybody else. He has to duck through most doorways and sit sideways at
his school desk because his knees don't fit under it.
In his mom's sport utility vehicle, he has to fold down the second row of
seats, sit in the third row and stretch his legs out over the middle row in
order to sit comfortably. His shoe size? 18 and still growing.
Not Just a Tall Kid
Brenden is one-of-a-kind, and it's not just his height. Everything about him
is different. His mom, Debbie Ezell, said he requires a team of doctors and
multiple medical visits simply to stay on top of his ever-changing and
expanding frame. He has enormous joints, fatty tumors, even extra teeth, 12
of which were recently removed.
Amazingly, his dad, Willie Adams, said there was no hint of any of this when
Brenden was born at 7 pounds, 3 ounces and 19 1/2 inches in length. His mom
says they first started to notice something was different at his 2 month
check-up. "They said, these measurements just aren't right. He's too long,"
Ezell said. "And at four months, he had all of his teeth."
Then mom and dad got the news that any parent would dread. Doctors and
medical experts told them they had no idea what was causing the problem with
their child. "I still haven't seen anyone like Brenden," says Dr. Melissa
Parisi, his geneticist at Children's Hospital in Seattle. Parisi has been
treating Brenden since he was four years old, when, she said, "he was the
size of a typical 8-year-old boy."
What's Up?
"I was terrified," his father said, "and no one could ever give us an answer
what the outcome would be or what the expectancy would be."
Brenden's mom agreed, "That's the worst part -- not knowing."
For years, doctors continued to search for the source and an answer to
Brenden's unstoppable growth. He went through multiple tests and X-rays as
medical experts tried to determine what was going on inside Brenden's body.
Then, finally, a breakthrough -- when Brenden was eight years old and
already the size of an adult.
"I have to say that the hematologists and oncologists here actually helped
us figure it out," admits Parisi. "He has a very unusual rearrangement of
his genetic material. It's what's called an inversion of chromosome-12 and
it affects every single cell in his body."
Chromosomes, you may remember, come in pairs. But in Brenden's case, his
12th chromosomes don't match. Somehow -- experts still don't know why -- the
middle of one of them broke off, flipped around and re-attached, disrupting
a critical gene that controls growth. And that's what experts believe is
causing Brenden's excessive growth and other symptoms and what makes his
case the only one of its kind.
"This gene is functioning despite the regulation that it shouldn't be," said
Dr. Gad Kletter, Brenden's endocrinologist at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.
"It's over-functioning. He was predicted to be over eight foot tall."
Ending the Neverending Growth Spurt
Now that doctors finally figured out what was causing Brenden's skyrocketing
height, they still had another mystery to solve: how to stop it? And since
Brenden is believed to be the only person in the world with the condition,
there was no clear-cut answer.
Then, Kletter had an idea that seemed a little crazy -- shots of
testosterone to jump start puberty and speed up Brenden's growth. It's
puberty, he explained, that signals the body to stop growing.
"We induced puberty," explained Kletter, "to fuse the bones and stop the
growth."
And so far, the shots seem to be successful. Brenden's growth has slowed
down.
Living With a Giant
To make life a little easier at home, Brenden's mom had a home built
specifically to fit someone of Brenden's enormous proportions.
"It's a lot easier going through the doors and stuff than the last house we
had," Brenden said. "The doors are a lot taller and so are the ceilings."
Coincidentally, on the day ABC News visited Brenden's school, his class was
working on a soul-searching exercise. Perhaps not surprisingly, Brenden
wrote that he wishes people would see "how he's just like everyone else."
Happily, some already do.
"He's really nice and caring," a friend, Tucker, said.
His stepsister, Sierra, added: "He's an extremely good person."
What does the future hold for him?
"It's unknown," said Kletter. "No other case is reported, nothing to look at
-- it's an uncharted sea."
............
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THE RICH MAN'S MICHAEL MOORE
WHY AN HEIR CONTINUES TO DOCUMENT -- AND ANGER -- THE WEALTHY
By Robert Frank
The Wall Street Journal
February 23, 2008
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120371859381786725.html
Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, used to be an accepted
member of the New York elite, with a trust fund, a top education and loads
of old-money friends. Now, thanks to his film career, he's not as welcome.
"I'll walk into a social event where there are a number of people who I grew
up with and they'll treat me apprehensively," says Mr. Johnson, 28.
His relationship with his family, especially his father, has also cooled.
"There was a sense that 'If you go too far with these [films], you won't be
welcome in your own home,'" he says.
Mr. Johnson is getting used to being an outcast among the upper class. After
the 2003 release of his first film, "Born Rich"
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_Rich>, which looked at the lives of the
silver-spoon set, and now his second, "The One Percent"
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_One_Percent>, which focuses on the
American wealth gap, Mr. Johnson has become the rich man's Michael Moore --
a trust-fund populist who's not afraid to attack the wealthy and powerful.
While his wealth has helped him gain access to the people he's filming, it's
also carried personal costs. He has learned the hard way that the biggest
betrayal for the rich is to talk publicly about their riches.
"I think most wealthy people want to live with this myth of equal
opportunity and equality in this country," he says. "I don't think they want
to question their right to this wealth."
The films have generated their share of controversy. "Born Rich," which
featured several of Mr. Johnson's childhood friends talking about everything
from drugs to prenuptial agreements, sparked a lawsuit and accusations from
a few of his friends that Mr. Johnson portrayed them unfairly.
"The One Percent," which is running on Cinemax until April 1, has spawned
its own mini scandal. After Warren Buffett's adopted granddaughter, Nicole
Buffett, spoke to Mr. Johnson on camera about her views on money, Mr.
Buffett sent her a letter stating that she was not legally his
granddaughter.
The most personal casualty of Mr. Johnson's cinematic class crusade is his
relationship with his father, James Loring Johnson. Jamie Johnson is the
great-grandson of J&J's founder. After three generations of family scandal
and feuds, Jamie's father turned to a quiet life of reading and painting
landscapes. Throughout "Born Rich," Jamie pursued his dad,
Roger-and-me-style, asking him about the family's wealth. His father,
adhering to old-money codes of conduct, demurred.
Yet while making "The One Percent," Jamie made a surprising discovery.
Decades earlier, his father had helped fund a documentary about apartheid
and economic unfairness in South Africa. His father refused to talk about
the film, although Jamie learned about it from his mother and got a copy.
His mother told him that his father was reprimanded for the film by Johnson
& Johnson and by members of his family. His father never made another film.
"The fact that a reprimand was all it took to completely push him off that
path says something about how fearful he must have been," Jamie says.
"It is true that I did have strong feelings about the injustices of
apartheid," says the elder Johnson. "But it was complicated with the company
and it was a different time and, you know, this is uncomfortable."
The conflicts play out in "The One Percent," as Jamie follows his father
from the croquet court to family meetings asking about the film and his
family's wealth. His father tries to answer his questions on several
occasions, but eventually gives up, walking out of one interview with his
head in his hands saying, "I can't take any more. It's too much for me."
Brian McNally, the Johnson family's financial adviser, chastises Jamie on
camera for his behavior.
"You're behaving like a little arrogant trustafarian," he tells him.
Milton Friedman, the famed economist, was equally impatient with Mr.
Johnson's questioning. During his on-air interview -- among Mr. Friedman's
last before he died -- he accuses Mr. Johnson of advocating socialism and
abruptly ends their talk.
Mr. Johnson insists he's not opposed to wealth -- including his own. Wealth,
he says, has given him a great education, freedom, chances to travel and,
best of all, the resources to do films about wealth. He says that while his
documentaries are profitable, they wouldn't pay for his lifestyle.
Yet with "The One Percent," Mr. Johnson wanted to show how the rich have
gone too far. Through interviews with economists, policy experts and
environmentalists, Mr. Johnson argues that today's wealthy have become an
increasingly isolated elite. He says rather than using their wealth for
good, they have used it to restructure the economy, lower their taxes, cut
social programs for the middle and lower classes, and amass ever more
wealth.
Mr. Johnson says finding willing subjects for "The One Percent" was
difficult, and not just because of his reputation. He sent out more than 100
letters to wealthy people asking for interviews and most said no or failed
to reply. Even George Soros, the billionaire financier who often argues
against inequality, refused.
"We have an aristocracy in this country that has convinced everybody else
that they don't exist," Mr. Johnson says.
Rejections by his fellow elites won't be a problem for his next film,
however. Says Mr. Johnson: "My next projects are fictional."
In Jamie Johnson's film "The One Percent," Nicole Buffett talks about how
lucky she is to be a Buffett. "I feel very fulfilled and happy in my life,"
says Nicole, the adopted daughter of Peter Buffett, Warren Buffett's son.
Warren Buffett, however, wasn't pleased. Shortly after Nicole appeared on
"The Oprah Winfrey Show" to talk about the film, Mr. Buffett sent her a
letter saying that, while he was proud of Nicole and her achievements, "...I
have not legally or emotionally adopted you as a grandchild, nor have the
rest of my family adopted you as a niece or a cousin."
Nicole is the biological daughter of Mary Buffett (with another man), who
married Peter when Nicole was 4 years old. Peter and Mary divorced but Peter
adopted Nicole when she was 18. Warren Buffett declined to comment.
Nicole says she spent almost every Christmas with Warren Buffett between the
ages of 4 and 11 and often went to his home in Omaha for spring break. Susan
Buffett, Warren's first wife, who died in 2004, named Nicole in her will as
one of her "adored grandchildren" and left her $100,000. She added that
Nicole "shall have the same status and benefits ... as if they were children
of my son, Peter A. Buffett."
A source close to the family says Nicole spent "very little time" with
Warren Buffett over the years but that he paid for Nicole's school and
living expenses until she was 28. Nicole says that Mr. Buffett's reaction
may have reflected his philosophy about wealth. "Sharing my experience as a
Buffett was stepping outside the box," she says.
-----------
Q&A: JAMIE JOHNSON ON ''THE ONE PERCENT''
By Lacey Rose
Forbes Magazine
February 20, 2008
http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/20/wealth-jamie-johnson-biz-cx_lr_0219johnson1
_print.html
For most of the moneyed class, an inquiry into their wealth elicits silence
and cringes. Not so with 28-year-old Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson &
Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. For the Emmy-nominated documentary
filmmaker, wealth is the focus of his life's work.
In Johnson's first documentary, Born Rich, he exposed how 10 children from
families like the Trumps and the Newhouses spent their time -- and their
fortunes.
Now he turns the camera on his own family in The One Percent. Johnson's
documentary, which premieres on Cinemax Feb. 21, offers a rarefied view of
the scandalously secretive world of "the one percent," a small segment of
the U.S. population that owns roughly 40% of the country's wealth. Through a
series of interviews with high-profile figures like Bill Gates Sr., U.S.
Secretary of Labor Robert Reich and economist Milton Friedman, Johnson
explores the disparity of wealth in America.
Johnson spoke to Forbes.com about the making of his film, growing up among
the super wealthy and why money is a topic he won't keep quiet about.
............
Forbes.com: What inspired you to make this film?
Jamie Johnson: I was reading a lot about inequality in America and the
growing wealth gap. And looking around, I was seeing my own family's wealth
increase and the vastly wealthy families around me had a lot more wealth, a
lot more capital and you could see them spending more money. I just thought,
"What an interesting topic to explore on film."
Forbes.com: You got your own father, as well as other phenomenally wealthy
people, to talk to you. How did you get these folks to open up about such an
intensely private topic?
Jamie Johnson: It wasn't easy. A lot of patience -- there was a lot of
waiting around. I think there's something in people where they often want to
describe their personal experiences, but when it's regarding wealth, they're
obviously very guarded. They're very worried about how people are going to
react to what they say. So it took time to write letters and reach out to
people but eventually I collected an interesting list of names.
One of the more interesting moments when I was pursuing subjects for this
film came when I was reaching out to Adnan Khashoggi, who is a Saudi arms
dealer and had been the richest man in the world. I went back and forth with
his former assistant for a year before I ever got to interview him, and
finally his assistant said to me, "The chief" -- that's what he calls Adnan
-- "is in Paris, and he'll see you tomorrow afternoon."
Forbes.com: So you hopped on a plane?
Jamie Johnson: Yup, I had to jump on a plane and get over there.
Forbes.com: I imagine you'll have critics who will call this "rich boy's
guilt." What do you say to them?
Jamie Johnson: That both liberal and conservative economists agree that
there is a growing wealth gap, and that it's a problem. Of course, they have
different solutions to solving that problem. I believe that it's important
to get this topic of conversation out there; it's important to get wealthy
people to think about this and think about solving this problem. They are
the most influential people in our society and therefore, they should be
working on treating this and coming up with a solution. So no, I don't see
it as rich boy's guilt, I see it as we have a legitimate problem out there
and most people in my position aren't willing to recognize it as clearly as
I think they should and therefore, I'm trying to force the subject on them.
Forbes.com: So what's your solution? What do you propose we do about this
growing disparity?
Jamie Johnson: That's a great question. One of the interesting things that
happened along this journey for me was that I thought that Ph.D.s and the
specialists I interviewed on the subject would have specific answers and
they'd say this is what we need to do to solve the problem. But they didn't.
It's an incredibly messy subject.
The most interesting answers? Some people would say, "Listen, we need to tax
the rich more than we are. They're getting richer and richer and they're
pulling away from the rest of society, isolating themselves and creating
this tension between classes." They'd also say, "We need to provide better
social services. We need things like higher standards for education and
higher standards for health care. Those are things that help a society grow
and help a middle class grow, which is what we need more of in this
country."
Forbes.com: You'll have people like Milton Friedman, who you've included in
the film, who will argue there's nothing wrong with this accumulation of
wealth; that it's a product of capitalism. What do you say to that?
Jamie Johnson: Interestingly, Milton Friedman did say that the growing
wealth gap was bad for society.
Forbes.com: Sure, the gap itself, but perhaps not that accumulation of
wealth.
Jamie Johnson: He has a different solution for the problem. He believes what
you have to do is cut taxes, take regulation out of the economy and allow
families like mine to accumulate as much wealth as they possibly can so that
it can trickle down into the hands of people in the middle and lower
classes.
Forbes.com: Who is the intended audience for your film? And what do you hope
they take away from it?
Jamie Johnson: I think this movie really is for everyone. I think people are
deeply fascinated by wealth and this film opens up a window into a world
that you normally don't get to see. I also hope that wealthy people see this
film and think, "Maybe I need to make some sacrifices here; maybe I need to
take greater responsibility; maybe I need to think about the inequality in
America instead of just thinking about increasing the size of my fortune."
Forbes.com: And what did you learn from making this? Your takeaway?
Jamie Johnson: I learned that not talking about and not dealing with the
subject doesn't solve the problem. And if you see what's happened in this
country over the last 25 to 30 years, we've had these conservative economic
policies and relatively low taxes on the rich, and look what's happened: the
wealth gap is growing. What we're doing now isn't working, so I think we
need to think about reevaluating the problem and coming up with some real
solutions that are actually going to make a difference.
Forbes.com: In your first documentary, Born Rich, you talk about a moment in
the fourth grade when you discovered you weren't like everybody else: You
were rich. Do you recall that realization?
Jamie Johnson: I remember I was in grade school, the fourth grade, in a free
reading period in the library. Someone in my class found a copy of the
Forbes 400, a list of the richest people in America, and my dad's name was
on it. The kids freaked out and said, "Come look at this." Everyone in the
class came running over, including the teacher. That was my first experience
with it -- it was kind of a surprising and overwhelming way to learn about
your family's wealth.
Forbes.com: At 28 years old, you've launched a career by getting people to
talk about a topic that, in many circles, is considered taboo. How do you do
it?
Jamie Johnson: Well, you have to be patient. I've always found that I
personally love to observe things and I'm good at observing things. So
that's one way to approach it. If you sit around with someone and let them
explore and sort of patiently wait around for them to open up, in a way they
like to share -- in a way, I think it feels good. They've been told for so
many years [that they can't talk about money] and there's such this culture
of fear about talking about money among the wealthy that once they finally
start, they begin to almost enjoy it. Afterward, they may regret it, but
while it's happening, I think there is some sort of pleasure about releasing
that information for the first time.
Forbes.com: Why is it so important for you to get this topic out there and
discussed?
Jamie Johnson: Well, in my own family, my father would always say, "Don't
talk about money." He was raised with these old-money, waspy traditions that
say you should be secretive about your wealth. In my own upbringing, I
always thought, "Why? Does that make any sense? We have this money and we
have this affluent lifestyle, why try and live this lie publicly?" It makes
absolutely no sense and I don't think anyone is better off as a result of
it. So that was one of my ambitions in this: Just to kind of get wealthy
people to start living more honestly with their wealth.
And the other thing is that there's a lot of inequality in this country, and
when people see my first documentary, Born Rich, they have these reactions
to the characters. They see this elitism, this excessive privilege and this
snobbery -- and I don't think we want more of that. And in the second film,
The One Percent, they see that we have this growing wealth gap. Nobody wants
more inequality in this country and nobody wants more division between
classes. So talking about it, getting the subject out there, trying to think
about solutions, is all going in the right direction as far as I'm
concerned.
Forbes.com: In both of your films, you've made a point of showing just how
uncomfortable your subjects are with the topic and the films you were
making. How have these folks reacted to the final products?
Jamie Johnson: You've seen my father's reaction in the films: He freaks out,
he really hates it. Many times he just throws me out of the room or kicks me
out of the house. And then there are the characters or subjects in my films.
I was sued at one point and there are a number of other people in those
films that feel that I was a traitor to the affluent class in some way --
that I betrayed them.
Forbes.com: So you're not part of that same social circle anymore?
Jamie Johnson: Well, not entirely. I have a number of friends that are from
that circle, but I find there is a suspicion of me among certain wealthy
people now. Every now and then when I ask a question, something completely
innocent just because I'm curious, people say, "What do you want to know
for? What is this about?" And my response is usually the same, which is that
I ask everyone to sign a release before I put them in my films.
Forbes.com: So what's next for you? Is there another film in the works?
Jamie Johnson: Fiction. I'm interested in these themes of power, wealth and
inequality and I hope to work them into fictional films. I think you can do
a lot with fiction, and in some cases you can say even more in fiction than
you can in straight-up documentary journalism. So we'll see exactly what the
future holds, but I'm looking forward to continuing to make films.
............
"The One Percent" On HOBO:
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/theonepercent/interview.html
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SCIENTISTS SAY WE CAN SEE SOUND
By Robin Nixon
LiveScience
August 18, 2008
http://www.livescience.com/health/080818-seeing-sound.html
Turning conventional neuroscience on its head, new research suggests the
human visual system processes sound and helps us see.
Here's the basics of what was Neuroscience 101: The auditory system records
sound, while the visual system focuses, well, on the visuals, and never do
they meet. Instead, a "higher cognitive" producer, like the brain's superior
colliculus, uses these separate inputs to create our cinematic experiences.
The textbook rewrite: The brain can, if it must, directly use sound to see
and light to hear.
The study was published last week in the journal BMC Neuroscience.
Monkey hear, monkey see
Researchers trained monkeys to locate a light flashed on a screen. When the
light was very bright, they easily found it; when it was dim, it took a long
time. But if a dim light made a brief sound, the monkeys found it in no time
-- too quickly, in fact, than can be explained by the old theories.
Recordings from 49 neurons responsible for the earliest stages of visual
processing, researchers found activation that mirrored the behavior. That
is, when the sound was played, the neurons reacted as if there had been a
stronger light, at a speed that can only be explained by a direct connection
between the ear and eye brain regions, said researcher Ye Wang of the
University of Texas in Houston.
The study presents the first evidence that a sensory cell can process an
alternative sensation, said head researcher Pascal Barone of the Université
Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France, who discovered a contender for the
anatomical connection in 2002.
Emergency broadcast
The discovery likely explains the tremendously quick reactions of most
animals, including humans, to stimuli that cue multiple senses, such as a
rustling tiger or a honking bus.
Especially in the corners of the visual field, where eyesight is poor, the
ears take up the slack and stimulate the visual system, Barone said.
An extra benefit, Wang explained, is the early visual system¹s spatial
precision, something higher brain regions fudge in favor of prioritizing our
central gaze. By sending sound inputs directly to our image processor, the
auditory system can avoid playing telephone with time-sensitive information.
Extra-sensory power
The discovery is likely unrelated to the rare experience of synesthesia, a
bizarre condition experienced by a few people who can feel, hear and taste
colors. In synesthesia, for example, more complicated sensations combine at
later stages of brain processing, so that just the mention of a color, a
letter or a shape can automatically trigger the perception of a certain
note.
What most excites Barone about the new findings is the potential for
"cortical plasticity" in sensory areas.
For example, the blind, by definition, do not use the visual system to see.
But they can, this research suggests, use it to hear. This may explain how
blind people develop such advanced hearing skills and, similarly, why the
deaf often possess superior sight, said Barone.
The primary visual system is also directly activated by touch -- perhaps
helping us slap that mosquito before it stings.
............
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SEX AND THE OLYMPIC CITY
By Matthew Syed
Times Online
August 22, 2008
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4582421.ece
I am often asked if the Olympic village -- the vast restaurant and housing
conglomeration that hosts the world's top athletes for the duration of the
Games -- is the sex-fest it is cracked up to be. My answer is always the
same: too right it is. I played my first Games in Barcelona in 1992 and got
laid more often in those two and a half weeks than in the rest of my life up
to that point. That is to say twice, which may not sound a lot, but for a
21-year-old undergraduate with crooked teeth, it was a minor miracle.
Barcelona was, for many of us Olympic virgins, as much about sex as it was
about sport. There were the gorgeous hostesses -- there to assist the
athletes -- in their bright yellow shirts and black skirts; there were the
indigenous lovelies who came to watch the competitions. And then there were
the female athletes -- literally thousands of them -- strutting, shimmying,
sashaying and jogging around the village, clad in Lycra and exposing yard
upon yard of shiny, toned, rippling and unimaginably exotic flesh. Women
from all the countries of the world: muscular, virile, athletic and oozing
oestrogen. I spent so much time in a state of lust that I could have passed
out. Indeed, for all I knew I did pass out -- in a place like that how was
one to tell the difference between dreamland and reality?
It was not just the guys. The women, too, seemed in thrall to their
hormones, throwing around daring glances and dynamite smiles like confetti.
No meal or coffee break was complete without a breathless conversation with
a lithe long jumper from Cuba or an Amazonian badminton player from Sweden,
the mutual longing so evident it was almost comical. It was an effort of
will to keep everything in check until competition had finished. But, once
we were eliminated from our respective competitions, we lunged at each other
like suicidal fencers. There may have been a fair amount of gay sex going
on, too -- but given the notorious homophobia in sport it was rather more
covert.
This sex fest was not limited to Barcelona: the same thing happened in
Sydney in 2000, my second Olympics as an athlete, and is happening right
here in Beijing, where this time I'm a commentator. I spoke to an Aussie
table tennis player this week to check out the village vibe and he launched
into the breathless patter common to any Olympic debutant: ³It is
unbelievable in there; everyone is totally crazy once they are out of their
competitions. God knows what it is going to be like this weekend. It is like
a world within a world.² A British runner (anonymous again: athletes are not
supposed to talk to journalists unaccompanied by a PR type, least of all
about sex) said: ³The swimmers finished earlier in the week and it was like
there was an eruption.²
Ah yes, the swimmers. For some reason the International Olympic Committee
insists on bunching the swimming events towards the beginning of the Games
with the inevitable consequence that the aquatics folk get going earlier --
sexually I mean -- than everyone else. So much so that, at the outset of the
Sydney Olympics, Jonathan Edwards, a Christian and triple jumper
extraordinaire, caused a ripple by telling them publicly to keep a lid on
it. Edwards was simply concerned about getting woken up by creaking
floorboards, but given his biblical credentials, it became a story about
morality. Not that his intervention made a blind bit of difference. There is
a famous story from Seoul in 1988 that there were so many used condoms on
the roof terrace of the British team's residential block the night after the
swimming concluded that the British Olympic Association sent out an edict
banning outdoor sex. Here in Beijing, organisers have realised that such
prohibitions are about as useful as banning breathing and have, instead,
handed out thousands of free condoms to the athletes. If you can't stop 'em,
at least make it safe.
Which all begs a question, or possibly many questions. First, and most
importantly, how can one get access to the village? The bad news is that you
can't, unless, of course, you happen to be an athlete with the relevant
accreditation. But secondly, where does this furnace of sexual energy come
from? Or, to put it another way, why do sportsmen and women have such
explosive libidos? I am not implying, for one moment, that every athlete in
Beijing is at it. Just that 99 per cent of them are.
Before we get to that, however, it is worth noting an intriguing dichotomy
between the sexes in respect of all this coupling. The chaps who win gold
medals -- even those as geeky as Michael Phelps -- are the principal objects
of desire for many female athletes. There is something about sporting
success that makes a certain type of woman go crazy - smiling, flirting and
sometimes even grabbing at the chaps who have done the business in the pool
or on the track. An Olympic gold medal is not merely a route to fame and
fortune; it is also a surefire ticket to writhe.
But -- and this is the thing -- success does not work both ways. Gold-medal
winning female athletes are not looked upon by male athletes with any more
desire than those who flunked out in the first round. It is sometimes even
considered a defect, as if there is something downright unfeminine about all
that striving, fist pumping and incontinent sweating. Sport, in this
respect, is a reflection of wider society, where male success is a universal
desirable whereas female success is sexually ambiguous. I do not condone
this phenomenon, merely note it. Not all athletes are finely tuned specimens
of perfect physical health, of course. A fair number are smokers, not
prepared to give up despite the nagging of coaches and physiologists. At
Barcelona, there was an area where the puffers would congregate near the
transport mall. At the table tennis events in Beijing, a male player from
Serbia and another from Greece have often been out catching a drag during
breaks in play.
But let us get back to all the sex going down in the village. One possible
explanation centres on the fact that Olympic athletes have to display an
unnatural (and, it has to be said, wholly unhealthy) level of
self-discipline in the build-up to big competitions. How else is this going
to manifest itself than with a volcanic release of pent-up hedonism? It is a
common sight to see recently knocked-out athletes gorging on Magnums and
McDonald's, swilling alcohol and, of course, shagging like crazy. Sometimes
all three at the same time. Yet this can be only a part of the explanation
because most of the athletes I know are as up for it before and during
competition as they are in the immediate aftermath. It is as if sportsmen
and women have a higher base level of sexual energy. But why? Can it be that
one of the underlying drivers of sporting greatness is also the very thing
that produces an overactive sex drive?
If so, you can bet your Olympic accreditation that testosterone is
implicated. Testosterone is the hormone responsible for many of the
differences between the sexes and is also a key physiological driver of
aggression, competitiveness and virility. This is particularly so with
regard to women. The duel effect of testosterone on female sporting
performance and sexuality was demonstrated -- somewhat sinisterly -- during
the state-sponsored doping programme in East Germany. An average teenage
girl produces around half a milligram of testosterone per day. In the
mid-1980s German female athletes were doped with around 30 milligrams of
androgenic steroids per day. The effect on sporting performance was
breathtaking -- East German women dominated the world in swimming and
athletics -- but it also produced libidos (according to the testimony of the
athletes themselves) that spiraled out of control.
This is not to say that the athletes in the village are all on steroids, or
that elevated levels of testosterone inevitably lead to lots of sex. It is
merely to say that, at a population level, higher naturally occurring levels
of testosterone in both genders would provide a powerful explanation for the
combination of sporting prowess and sexual potency.
I also think it is significant that, for most athletes, the village is
thousands of miles from home. The old ³what goes on tour stays on tour²
mantra is still alive and kicking, not just in sport but beyond. There is
something deepseated in humanity that leads us to play by different rules
whenever we leave town, a phenomenon that has caused instances of terrible
inhumanity. When it comes to sex, it simply means that those in
relationships no longer recognise, or at least ignore, the boundaries of
fidelity and honesty that underpin human monogamy. Philosophers call it
moral relativism; the rest of us call it hypocrisy.
There is also a Darwinian component to this. Scientists have measured, for
example, how male fertility varies with distance from one's habitual
partner. And guess what? According to a report in the journal Personality
and Individual Differences, a man's sperm count doubles when he spends a lot
of time on the road -- up from 389 million sperm per ejaculate to 712
million. Which, I am sure you will agree, is a lot of extra sperm.
I suggest that it is the coming together (if you will forgive the
expression) of these factors that creates such an explosive sexual cocktail
within the security-controlled perimeter of the Olympic village. Not that
this is a bad thing. I have always regarded sexual promiscuity - for a
single person at least -- as a basic human right, even if it is no panacea
for happiness or, indeed, anything else. Of course, many athletes will
abstain, others may even disapprove. Only one thing is certain: they will
never again enter a place quite like the Olympic village. Not, at least,
until London 2012.
............
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JUDGE: COPYRIGHT OWNERS MUST CONSIDER 'FAIR USE' BEFORE SENDING TAKEDOWN
NOTICE
By David Kravets
Wired
August 20, 2008
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/08/judge-copyright.html
In the nation's first such ruling, a federal judge on Wednesday said
copyright owners must consider "fair use" of their works before sending
takedown notices to online video-sharing sites.
The 10-page decision came a month after Universal Music told a San Jose,
California federal judge that copyright owners need not consider the "fair
use" doctrine before issuing takedown notices requiring online video-sharing
sites to remove content.
The doctrine, recognized by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, permits
limited use of copyright materials without the owner's permission.
"Even if Universal is correct that fair use only excuses infringement, the
fact remains that fair use is a lawful use of a copyright," U.S. District
Judge Jeremy Fogel ruled. "Accordingly, in order for a copyright owner to
proceed under the DMCA with 'a good faith belief that use of the material in
the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its
agent, or the law,' the owner must evaluate whether the material makes fair
use of the copyright."
Fogel added that an "allegation that a copyright owner acted in bad faith
by issuing a takedown notice without proper consideration of the fair use
doctrine thus is sufficient to state a misrepresentation claim."
The legal dispute decided Wednesday centers on a rarely used clause in the
DMCA -- originally approved by Congress in 1998 -- allowing victims of
meritless takedown notices to seek damages, in a bid to deter false notices
and breaches of First Amendment speech. It is usually used when somebody
issues a takedown notice and misrepresents ownership of the copyright.
The case considered a lawsuit brought by a Pennsylvania woman whose
29-second garbled video of her toddler dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy"
was removed last year after Universal sent YouTube a takedown notice under
the DMCA.
The DMCA requires removal of material a rights holder claims is infringing
its copyrights. If it isn't removed, legal liability can be placed on
YouTube or other video-sharing sites. But the act also allows the uploader
-- in this case, the Pennsylvania mother of the dancing toddler -- to demand
the video be reposted online.
Universal did not challenge Stephanie Lenz's assertion that the video was a
"fair use" of Prince's song. After being taken down for six weeks, the video
went back online last year, having now generated about half a million hits.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is representing Lenz, has asked
the judge to award attorneys' fees and other unspecified monetary damages.
While there is no bright-line rule, the factors to consider whether a video
uploaded to a file-sharing site is a fair use are: how much of the original
work was used, whether the new use is commercial in nature, whether the
market for the original work was harmed, and whether the new work is a
parody.
Universal argued that copyright owners may lose the ability to respond
rapidly to potential infringements if they are required to evaluate fair use
prior to issuing takedown notices. Universal also raised the question of
whether a particular use of copyrighted material constitutes fair use is a
"fact-intensive inquiry," arguing that it is difficult for copyright owners
to predict whether a court eventually may rule in their favor.
Fogel ruled that, "while these concerns are understandable, their actual
impact likely is overstated. Although there may be cases in which such
considerations will arise, there are likely to be few in which a copyright
owner's determination that a particular use is not fair use will meet the
requisite standard of subjective bad faith required to prevail in an action
for misrepresentation."
Judge Fogel denied Universal's motion to dismiss Lenz's case -- freeing her
to continue with her lawsuit seeking damages.
Still, Judge Fogel said he had "considerable doubt that Lenz will be able to
prove that Universal acted with subjective bad faith" when it sent YouTube
the takedown notice.
Universal spokesman Peter Lofrumento seized on that language.
"While the court merely declined to throw the case out at this early
pleadings stage," Lofrumento said, "we remain confident that we will prevail
in this matter."
Corynne McSherry, an EFF attorney, said the digital rights group intends on
convincing the judge that Universal acted in bad faith when it sent the
takedown notice last year.
"We will overcome his doubts," she said.
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------------
MUMMIFIED ICEMAN'S ANCIENT JOB DETERMINED
By Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience
August 20, 2008
http://www.livescience.com/history/080820-iceman-clothes.html
Before his body froze and mummified, a now-famous Neolithic guy dubbed the
Iceman took his last steps while donned in a coat and leggings made of
sheep's fur and moccasins made of cattle leather. That was more than 5,000
years ago.
The 45-year-old man apparently trekked up the Schnalstal glacier in the
Italian Alps before dying, and a new study reveals more about how he lived.
The body of the Iceman (also called Ötzi, Frozen Fritz and Similaun Man) was
discovered in 1991 by accident by German tourists and made headlines around
the world. At first he was thought to have died recently.
Since then, the ancient mummy has undergone a slew of examinations from
which scientists have gleaned bits of information about the man¹s last steps
on Earth, ranging from his last meal (unleavened bread and meat) to the
cause of death. The most recent verdict is the Iceman died of head trauma.
Still, questions have abounded regarding Ötzi's occupation, and the new
findings provide clues.
"There is a long lasting debate about the socio-cultural state of Iceman's
society," lead researcher Klaus Hollemeyer of Saarland University in Germany
told LiveScience. "One fraction says he belongs to the gatherer-hunter
society, which is more primitive than the more progressive
pastoral-agricultural society which followed after."
While clothing made from domesticated animals would support him being a
herdsman (pastoral-agricultural society), attire made from wild animals
could suggest a hunter-gatherer, the researchers say. Although his clothes
were known already to be made of animal skins, their exact origin was
uncertain, with previous studies revealing conflicting results.
The new clothing discovery, detailed today in the journal Rapid
Communications in Mass Spectrometry, supports the idea that the Iceman
herded sheep, cattle and perhaps goat.
The researchers used a mass spectrometer, which measures the heft and
concentrations of atoms and molecules, to look for various proteins in hair
samples taken from the Iceman's clothing, comparing the results with
proteins from the hairs of modern-day animals, including goat, sheep, elk,
wild boar and caribou.
"We found that the hairs came from sheep and cattle, just the types of
animals that herdsmen care for during their seasonal migrations," Hollemeyer
said.
Next, Hollemeyer hopes to use the same technique to analyze the fur from the
Iceman's cap and soles of his shoes.
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PREVIOUS NHNE NEWS LIST ARTICLES:
OETZI, THE ICEMAN, DIED FROM ARROW WOUND (6/7/2007):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/13080
OETZI, THE ICEMAN, MAY HAVE BEEN STERILE (2/6/2006):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/10780
BACTERIA TROUBLE FOR OETZI, THE ICEMAN (6/1/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/9264
ALPINE ICEMAN REVEALS STONE AGE SECRETS (2/27/2005):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/8909
SUDDEN CLIMATE CHANGE 5,200 YEARS AGO (12/26/2004):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/8597
ICEMAN TO BE MOVED TO SPECIAL IGLOO IN ITALY (12/3/2003):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/6350
BLOOD CLUES TO ICEMAN'S DEATH (8/15/2003):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/5803
THE ICEMAN'S LAST TWO MEALS (9/19/2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/3695
ICEMAN MAN HAVE DIED OF HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT (3/20/2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/2887
ICEMAN DEATH MYSTERY SOLVED (7/26/2001):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/1716
ICEMAN KEEPS SCIENTISTS GUESSING (12/19/2000):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/924
ITALY'S ICEMAN TO BE DEFROSTED (9/25/2000):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/message/688
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