All Posts (290)
Sort by
Several people have commented about the color of this ning. I'm on this ning upwards of 10 hours a day and the light/bright colors hurt my eyes. But for the next little while I'm going to be trying out some other colors, so don't freak out.
This is your home too, so I'll do my best to accommodate the majority's wishes. I'll post those that work for me and everyone gets to vote on earthchanges ning new colors!
If you missed the trials, go to your MyPage and change the colors of your profile page to the ones I list below and that way you can see, then vote. In the inbox section, click on Settings, then click on MyPage, then click on Appearance.
By ANDREW E. KRAMER Published: August 5, 2010
MOSCOW — Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin banned all exports of grain on Thursday after millions of acres of Russian wheat withered in a severe drought, driving up prices around the world and pushing them to their highest level in two years in the United States.
The move was the latest of several abrupt interventions in the Russian economy by Mr. Putin, who called the ban necessary to curb rising food prices in the country, which is suffering from the worst heat wave since record-keeping began here more than 130 years ago.
“We need to prevent a rise in domestic food prices, we need to preserve the number of cattle and build up reserves for next year,” Mr. Putin said in a meeting broadcast on television. “As the saying goes: reserves don’t make your pocket heavy.”
During his years as president and prime minister, Mr. Putin has never hesitated to marshal the power of the state to protect Russian economic interests, and this decision showed that this has remained his prerogative even after he stepped down as president.
Mr. Putin has also proven adept at deflecting criticism of the government with grand gestures, and the export ban was widely seen as one of a series of populist moves by Mr. Putin to address rising resentments over the calamitous heat wave and the fires it has spawned.
Pressure was also brought to bear by multinational grain trading companies, which have been lobbying for the ban as a way to escape futures contracts drawn up before the drought, when prices were far lower. A Russian subsidiary of Glencore, the Swiss-based commodities trading company that has close ties to the Russian government, pressed hard as the scope of the drought’s devastation became clear.
Wheat prices have soared by about 90 percent since June because of the drought in Russia and parts of the European Union, and floods in Canada, and the ban pushed prices even higher.
Russia, the largest grain-exporting nation before World War I, has largely recovered from failed Soviet agricultural policies, lifted by rising global food prices and economic reforms that encouraged private farmers and companies to once again till the country’s expansive and fertile croplands. Before this year’s drought, yields had risen steadily, and Russian grain exports totaled 21.4 million tons last year, about 17 percent of the global grain trade.
But on Thursday, rail cars heaped with fresh grain came to a halt around Russia, stopped in mid-harvest and mid-journey from the country’s fields to the main exporting ports on the Black Sea. The order covered a variety of grains, including barley and corn, but will have its greatest impact on wheat exports.
Mr. Putin said that the government might extend the ban if the harvest yields even less than the current grim forecasts. The projected yield is about 70 million tons of grain, according to the Russian Grain Union, a lobbying group for farmers, about equal to domestic needs and down sharply from last year’s total of 97 million tons.
The group was sharply critical of Mr. Putin’s decision. “First of all, you can congratulate American farmers who are going to take the niche that Russian farmers are leaving,” in global markets because of the ban, said Anton V. Shaparin, a spokesman. He added that Russia’s reserves could cover the shortages from this year.
Owing to last year’s bumper crop, Russia currently holds about 24 million tons in grain elevators, the group said.
In Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer and a major customer of Russia, officials said only that they hoped current contracts would be honored.
The abrupt ban — just this week, a deputy agricultural minister had said no such measure would be taken — recalled other decisive actions by Mr. Putin. Last summer, he canceled Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, saying the country would apply only as customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan. Mr. Putin twice ordered natural gas shutoffs to Europe amid disputes with Ukraine ostensibly over pricing.
The Russian agro-business sector, which has just been emerging here from the ashes of the failed Soviet collective farm system, was also left pondering its future.
Russia, blessed with the greatest reserve of fertile but fallow land in the world, is thought by many experts to have the greatest potential of any country to meet mounting demand for food from a growing global population.
Michel Orloff, the founder of Black Earth Farming, one of the new corporate farming operations that have raised yields by consolidating and reforming collective farms, said Mr. Putin’s ban made sense from the perspective of curbing domestic food prices but would cost companies like his.
“We are on the verge of national need,” Mr. Orloff said. “Of course, the freer the market the better. But his job is not only to take care of the farmers of this country, but the citizens of this country.”
Kingsmill Bond, chief analyst at Troika investment bank in Moscow, which has studied the revolution in Russian farming, said the ban would damage shares in corporate farming operations like Black Earth, Razgulai and Cherkizov.
Still, he said, “grain is an emotive issue, you want to make sure you have sufficient supplies.”
sorry i am late with my postings just got back from the hospital emergancy room.
BP Oil Spill Stalls
Gulf Loop Current — Update #1
New Analysis Shows Stall on June 12, 2010
Original Article: BP Oil Spill Stalls
Gulf Loop Current, 01-August-2010
In this first update in this series, Dr. Gianluigi Zangari, an Italiantheoretical physicist and major complex and chaotic systems analyst
at the Frascati National Laboratories in Italy, believes that a
cover-up is in progress.
In what he refers to as "taroccare" (to falsify), Zangari maintains that that tampering of Colorado Center for
Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) oceanographic imagery for June 12, 2010
represents an attempt to cover up the Loop Current stall event on
that day. Thanks to the US Navy, he has smoking gun proof.
Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) oceanographic imagery for June 12, 2010
represents an attempt to cover up the Loop Current stall event on
that day. Thanks to the US Navy, he has smoking gun proof.
What brought Dr. Zangari to these conclusions is the result of the naturalscientific process of mining his existing database for new
information. His data spans over a decade and he's searching for a
sign, that natural processes are
re-establishing the stalled Loop Current. If not, we could begin to
see global crop failures as early as 2011.
Alarmed by the CCAR tampering, Zangari transmitted his findings in a series of
three e-mails to Marshall Masters of yowusa.com on August 4, 2010.
To help readers follow this new development, a series of composite
images prepared from Zangari's e-mails will be presented in
chronological order. Following which, a possible theory as to who
may have corrupted the CCAR database and how, will be presented.
three e-mails to Marshall Masters of yowusa.com on August 4, 2010.
To help readers follow this new development, a series of composite
images prepared from Zangari's e-mails will be presented in
chronological order. Following which, a possible theory as to who
may have corrupted the CCAR database and how, will be presented.
Zangari's Original Paper — 21-June-2010
Dr. Zangari's original paper published on 21-June-2010 was first brought
to our attention by yowusa.com subscriber Amy Evans on July 22,
2010. While the original paper is not dated, the document time
stamp shows that it was created on 21-June-2010.
to our attention by yowusa.com subscriber Amy Evans on July 22,
2010. While the original paper is not dated, the document time
stamp shows that it was created on 21-June-2010.
Please note: The modified date was updated when the file was save to a
different location on my own hard drive.
different location on my own hard drive.
What drew my attention to the paper was the amount of disinformation attacks
waged against it, so when Dr. Bill Deagle asked me to appear on his radio show with Dr. Zangari, I accepted. I
was sufficiently impressed by Dr. Zangari's integrity and
professionalism to proceed with this series of articles. In this
update, I am presenting the comments and images he sent us via e-mail
on August 4, 2010.
waged against it, so when Dr. Bill Deagle asked me to appear on his radio show with Dr. Zangari, I accepted. I
was sufficiently impressed by Dr. Zangari's integrity and
professionalism to proceed with this series of articles. In this
update, I am presenting the comments and images he sent us via e-mail
on August 4, 2010.
CCAR Sea Surface Height Database Tampering for June 12, 2010
In this first of his three e-mails, Zangari has just discovered tampering in
the CCAR database with regards to the sea surface height imagery for
June 12, 2010. Using his own extensive library of captures, which he
refers to as the “OLD”, he compares it with the “NEW”
(tampered) imagery, which is substantially different.
the CCAR database with regards to the sea surface height imagery for
June 12, 2010. Using his own extensive library of captures, which he
refers to as the “OLD”, he compares it with the “NEW”
(tampered) imagery, which is substantially different.
Gianluigi Zangari
To Marshall Masters
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 06:02
Dear Marshall, it has happened a very strange thing. Check these two maps
by CCAR of the same day. The first one (old) is the map I used for my
paper. Now the same map (new) of the same day published by CCAR is
completely different!!!
Why?? What does it mean? It's very strange. May be it would be better to not
use anymore those data....
GLZ
CCAR Sea Surface Velocity Database
Tampering for
June 12, 2010
As with the “OLD”, the “NEW” comparison of the sea
surface height noted above, the sea surface velocity imagery for the
same dates is substantially different as well.
surface height noted above, the sea surface velocity imagery for the
same dates is substantially different as well.
Gianluigi Zangari
To Marshall Masters
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 06:30
Also the velocity maps of the same day (June 12) are now different (see
attached). Check the first (old) is that I used for my paper, while
the second (new) is that which is on-line now.
In Italy we use to say "taroccare" (to falsify).
Regards, GLZ
NRLSSC Wave Height Comparison for
June 12, 2009
and June 12, 2010
With a decade of experience in this line of research, Dr. Zangari knew where
to look reliable data and found it on the Naval Research Laboratory
Real-Time Global Ocean Analysis and Modeling web site.
to look reliable data and found it on the Naval Research Laboratory
Real-Time Global Ocean Analysis and Modeling web site.
Gianluigi Zangari
To Marshall Masters
Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 08:12
The correct maps (which show the same results I have published on last 12
june) are collected by the Naval Research Laboratory Real-Time Global
Ocean Analysis and Modeling. As you can see, they show clearly the breaking
of the loop on june 12.
US Navy v. CCAR - for June 12, 2010
When the US Navy imagery is compared with CCAR for the same date, the
differences defy dismissive claims of mere coincidence. What more can
we say but “Go Navy!”
differences defy dismissive claims of mere coincidence. What more can
we say but “Go Navy!”
On the other hand, who could have tampered with the CCAR imagery and why?
Or as Dr. Zangari aptly put it, "taroccare" (to falsify).
Or as Dr. Zangari aptly put it, "taroccare" (to falsify).
CCAR Tampering Scenario
No doubt this evidence of tampering with the CCAR data will raise a host of
theories and denials. However, the one possible theory this article
will address shall be that of corporate espionage, given that the US
Navy, maintained the integrity of their data for the date in question.
In this regard, I will briefly explain my technical background as it
applies to this scenario.
theories and denials. However, the one possible theory this article
will address shall be that of corporate espionage, given that the US
Navy, maintained the integrity of their data for the date in question.
In this regard, I will briefly explain my technical background as it
applies to this scenario.
Prior to starting Your Own World Books in 2002, I worked in the computer
industry for over two decades and in a various roles. In the last
five, I specialized in Internet and Storage Area Network (SAN)
technologies and my client list included AT&T, Hewlett Packard,
Oracle, SUN Microsystems and Lockheed Martin.
industry for over two decades and in a various roles. In the last
five, I specialized in Internet and Storage Area Network (SAN)
technologies and my client list included AT&T, Hewlett Packard,
Oracle, SUN Microsystems and Lockheed Martin.
During that time, my most interesting assignment was on documenting thecommand and control communication system for the civilian imaging
satellite that took those stunning look down photos of ground zero,
shortly after 9-11.
Since then, I have developed and maintained all of my our web sites,
message boards, etc. and have had ongoing battle with web site
attacks. Where cranks, kids and nutters like to mess up a site with
defacements and so forth, professionals make very precise, surgical
hits. Hits so clean that it can days or weeks to find them.
message boards, etc. and have had ongoing battle with web site
attacks. Where cranks, kids and nutters like to mess up a site with
defacements and so forth, professionals make very precise, surgical
hits. Hits so clean that it can days or weeks to find them.
For general disruptions, the pros target like to vulnerable areas such as
database linkages and they are very good at what they do. Over the
years, I've studied their tactics and this corruption, or tampering
if you will, is a pro hit. No two ways about it. Clean. Precise.
Surgical.
database linkages and they are very good at what they do. Over the
years, I've studied their tactics and this corruption, or tampering
if you will, is a pro hit. No two ways about it. Clean. Precise.
Surgical.
Will CCAR ever admit to it? Heaven's no! That would make as much sense to them
(or anyone else running a data center) as strolling into a single bar
with the words “I have an STD” tattooed on your forehead.
It's just not going to happen.
(or anyone else running a data center) as strolling into a single bar
with the words “I have an STD” tattooed on your forehead.
It's just not going to happen.
So how do the pros do it? For that, a very simplistic view of what happens in
a data center is helpful.
a data center is helpful.
In the illustration above, the security we typically encounter as users is
through the Internet, which can only be regarded as an “untrusted”
network.
through the Internet, which can only be regarded as an “untrusted”
network.
The firewall is the part of the system that prevents hackers from
breaking in through the “front door.” This is an
ever-evolving game of cat and mouse between security administrators,
and in a world full of nasty nutters, the pros prefer a different way
into the data center.
breaking in through the “front door.” This is an
ever-evolving game of cat and mouse between security administrators,
and in a world full of nasty nutters, the pros prefer a different way
into the data center.
Inside the data center, security is another matter, because servers and
databases are “behind the firewall” and therefore
“trusted.” In other words, the barn doors are always open
if you can find your way onto the master communication backbone that
connects servers, databases, etc. within the confines of the data
center.
databases are “behind the firewall” and therefore
“trusted.” In other words, the barn doors are always open
if you can find your way onto the master communication backbone that
connects servers, databases, etc. within the confines of the data
center.
Obviously, a phone call that scares someone into a job security panic is the
most effective and expedient way to go, but there are less obtrusive
ways. Or more importantly, ways with perfect deniability.
most effective and expedient way to go, but there are less obtrusive
ways. Or more importantly, ways with perfect deniability.
Namely, the security sniffers used by Intelligence agencies to monitor
traffic for terrorists, etc. Years ago they were known as the FBI
Carnivore system and as the NSA Echelon system and then everyone
learned the hard way to write about it. ('nuff said.)
traffic for terrorists, etc. Years ago they were known as the FBI
Carnivore system and as the NSA Echelon system and then everyone
learned the hard way to write about it. ('nuff said.)
Although government operate these sniffers, they rely on defense contractors
to build, program and support them. That's a lot of people with
access. Ergo, abuse of these sniffers is genuine concern.
to build, program and support them. That's a lot of people with
access. Ergo, abuse of these sniffers is genuine concern.
The reason why this is is relevant to this news story is that this surgical hit
on the CCAR data center was carefully aimed at the database, within
the data center's storage area network (SAN). In other words, this
was not a case of breaking down the front door with sledgehammer, but
a clean surgical hit deep inside the CCAR data center itself.
Whoever did this can afford it. You the reader can fill in the blanks
as you wish, as this is all past tense.
on the CCAR data center was carefully aimed at the database, within
the data center's storage area network (SAN). In other words, this
was not a case of breaking down the front door with sledgehammer, but
a clean surgical hit deep inside the CCAR data center itself.
Whoever did this can afford it. You the reader can fill in the blanks
as you wish, as this is all past tense.
The Real Issue at Hand
Doing a “who shot John” on the CCAR tampering is pointless. Or
as Dr. Zangari so aptly states it, 'Why?? What does it mean? It's
very strange. May be it would be better to not use anymore those
data....”
as Dr. Zangari so aptly states it, 'Why?? What does it mean? It's
very strange. May be it would be better to not use anymore those
data....”
Beyond politics, intrigues and speculation, the larger question still looms
over us all. Can the Loop Current re-organize itself? Let us pray
that it does.
over us all. Can the Loop Current re-organize itself? Let us pray
that it does.
Yowusa.com will report new developments in Dr. Zangari's research as they
become available.
Disclaimer Requested by Dr. Zangari
After Original Posting of Article
Recieved Aug 5, 2010 at 03:37
Dear Marshall Masters, please publish immediately the following disclaimer on the same page http://yowusa.com/earth/2010/earth-0810-05a/1.shtml and/or where everyone
can read it
DISCLAIMER
The letters, images, analysis and statements attributed to me and
published today without my permission and appointment by Marshall Masters
at the web pagehttp://yowusa.com/earth/2010/earth-0810-05a/1.shtml
were totally distorted and misunderstood. I never talked of falsification,
or accused or intended to accuse anyone of any falsification and/or
tampering and/or other, not even the Colorado Center CCAR or others, which
I believe and trust to be Research Centers and Universities of the utmost
honesty, seriousness and professionalism. And to which I am very grateful
for the cooperation. Note that in Italian, "taroccare" means "play the
tarot" or "be angry or grumbling. " I just merely observed that the maps
that have been published about the SSH and velocity data of the same day
(June 12 2010)
were different and that I'm now using data of the Naval Research Center
and NOAA. And that's all. I context therefore fully the statements and
declarations that I have been involuntarily assigned and from which I
totally disagree.
Gianluigi Zangari
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yahooeditorspicks/galleries/72157624653325820/
Magnitude 4.8 - WYOMING
2010 August 05 00:04:17 UTC
Earthquake Details
- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
| Magnitude | 4.8 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 43.585°N, 110.440°W |
| Depth | 5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program |
| Region | WYOMING |
| Distances | 30 km (20 miles) ENE of Jackson, Wyoming 65 km (40 miles) W of Dubois, Wyoming 95 km (60 miles) NNW of Pinedale, Wyoming 535 km (335 miles) WNW of CHEYENNE, Wyoming |
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 6.4 km (4.0 miles); depth fixed by location program |
| Parameters | NST= 41, Nph= 41, Dmin=13.6 km, Rmss=1.29 sec, Gp= 50°, M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=7 |
| Source |
|
| Event ID | us2010zpac |
So now these things are out in the open. Tying the WW2 leader to such events is a major shift in approach over
here. It was all over the BBC radio bulletins this morning. And I find
Churchill's reasoning to be very, very interesting:
<Nick Pope, who used to investigate UFO sightingsfor the MoD, said: "The interesting thing is that most of the UFO files
from that period have been destroyed. "But what happened is that a
scientist whose grandfather was one of his [Churchill's] bodyguards,
said look, Churchill and Eisenhower got together
to cover up this phenomenal UFO sighting, that was witnessed by an RAF
crew on their way back from a bombing raid. "The reason apparently was
because Churchill believed it would cause mass panic and it would
shatter people's religious views.">
Perhaps its time for the many faithful to acknowledge a change/evolution in mindset is due. Long overdue.
HD.
Nuclear Physicist Describes Vast UFO Cover-Up
Updated: 58 days 8 hours ago
(June 7) -- "Some UFOs are intelligently controlled extraterrestrial
spacecraft, and this is the biggest story of the millennium."
These words are not the rantings of a deranged individual looking for attention or a comfortable straitjacket. Stanton Friedman is a maverick of sorts.
Employed for 14 years as a nuclear physicist for companies like General
Electric, General Motors, Westinghouse and Aerojet General Nucleonics,
he worked on highly classified programs involving nuclear aircraft,
fission and fusion rockets.
In 1958, UFOs caught his attention, and Friedman has since lectured about this
subject at more than 700 colleges and professional groups in all 50
states and around the world.
Courtesy of Stanton Friedman
Nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman has devoted more than 50 years to pursuing
the scientific truth of UFOs, and was the original civilian
investigator of the legendary 1947 Roswell, N.M., incident.
the scientific truth of UFOs, and was the original civilian
investigator of the legendary 1947 Roswell, N.M., incident.
"After 53 years of investigation, I'm convinced we're dealing here with a
cosmic Watergate," he told AOL News. "That means a few people within
major governments have known since at least 1947 that some UFOs are
alien spacecraft."
In Friedman's new book, "Science Was Wrong," co-authored with Kathleen Marden, he wrote, "There's been no shortage
of strong, negative proclamations from debunking groups and individuals
who refuse to examine the evidence ... to support the notion that some
UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin."
Friedman cites many cases of UFO encounters experienced by competent, reliable eyewitnesses,
including one involving Japan Airlines.
Courtesy of Stanton Friedman
One of the most credible sightings of a UFO in history is from a series of
images taken aboard the Brazilian ship Almirante Saldanha on Jan. 16,
1958. The Saturn-shaped object was witnessed by the ship's crew and
several scientists. The UFO approached the island, making a steep turn
before flying away quickly. Juscelino Kubitschek, then president of
Brazil, confirmed the authenticity of the photos.
images taken aboard the Brazilian ship Almirante Saldanha on Jan. 16,
1958. The Saturn-shaped object was witnessed by the ship's crew and
several scientists. The UFO approached the island, making a steep turn
before flying away quickly. Juscelino Kubitschek, then president of
Brazil, confirmed the authenticity of the photos.
"A 747 over Alaska encountered something that was twice the size of an
aircraft carrier, that flew circles around the jet. They reported it to
the ground, where both the UFO and the 747 were picked up on radar.
"The explanation from debunkers was that it was Jupiter! Boy, airplane radar
can pick up Jupiter? It was totally ludicrous. You're fighting the
forces of 'evil,' one might say -- arrogance and ignorance."
While some scientists through the years have quietly suggested Earth has been
visited by ETs, Friedman is the most outspoken. He's especially irked
by the attitude of scientists who use radio and optical telescopes in
the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, such as the SETI Institute in California.
"Their livelihood depends on the assumption that there's nobody coming here,
and if we just wait long enough, we're going to pick up the signal and
it'll be the greatest discovery in man's history, and it will help
solve all our problems.
"What really bothers me is that the SETI people will tell you there is no evidence for UFOs. Well, they
certainly don't reference any, so there must not be, right? Wrong!"
If so, why would reputable scientists refuse to consider that Earth may be a vacation spot for otherworldly travelers?
"Because they'd have to admit that they'd ignored such a big story for so long
and that they were wrong," Friedman said. "Being wrong is something
that scientists don't like to admit at all."
Over the past 50 years, numerous surveys and public opinion polls have indicated that
people are very interested in and, even, concerned about UFOs.
Courtesy of Stanton Friedman
One of the best UFO pictures ever taken, this object was photographed by
Paul Trent over his McMinnville, Ore., farm in May 1950. A subsequent
Air Force investigation determined that "an extraordinary flying
object, silvery, metallic, disk-shaped, tens of meters in diameter and
evidently artificial, flew within sight of two eyewitnesses."
Paul Trent over his McMinnville, Ore., farm in May 1950. A subsequent
Air Force investigation determined that "an extraordinary flying
object, silvery, metallic, disk-shaped, tens of meters in diameter and
evidently artificial, flew within sight of two eyewitnesses."
A 2002 Roper poll, commissioned by the Sci-Fi Channel, noted that 72
percent of Americans believed the U.S. government isn't telling all it
knows about UFOs, and 68 percent thought the government knows more
about extraterrestrial life than it cares to disclose.
But why would the government -- any government -- cover up UFO information? To Friedman, the answer is more down to earth.
"I don't know of any government on this planet that wants its citizens to
owe their primary allegiance to the planet. Nationalism is the only
game in town."
Also, Friedman says, there's the military point of view. "From a national security angle, everybody would like to grab
a flying saucer and figure out how it works and use it to deliver
weapons on the other guy, and there's always another guy."
How exactly would one go about obtaining a flying saucer? One way is to
just wait until an otherworldly vehicle develops some mechanical
problem and simply crashes to the ground.
Roswell, N.M., comes to mind.
In July 1947, something crashed outside the small town that, according to
the initial official report, was a flying saucer. Authorities quickly
changed that story, claiming it was merely a weather balloon that had
fallen from the sky.
Thirty years after the Roswell event, Friedman met military personnel who were involved with the events of
1947 and he says they eventually stepped forward to advance the account
of a crashed spacecraft and dead alien bodies.
Because of Friedman's dogged determination, the Roswell UFO legend was born.
"I followed up enough to find a number of key people, and with no Internet available, it took a lot of work," he said.
But Friedman is keenly aware of the abundant skepticism that swirls around the Roswell UFO controversy.
"Naturally, the resistance to acceptance of this case is going to be stronger than
any other case," he said. "Because if it's true, it's everything --
bodies, wreckage, cover-up, threats -- what more do you need?"
Friedman says he's only had 11 hecklers in more than 700 lectures on UFOs.
"I'm still optimistic that, within my lifespan -- and I'm 75 -- we'll get at
least a part of the story, that we're not alone in the universe."
With the discovery in recent years of hundreds of planets circling other
suns, scientists continue to speculate that life is plentiful in the
cosmos.
Plus, in 2008, the pope's chief astronomer, the Rev. Gabriel Funes, proclaimed that intelligent beings created by God might
actually exist in outer space, and that it wouldn't contradict a belief
in God.
All of that gives Friedman hope.
"Now is probably the time to say, yes, we're part of a galactic neighborhood;
unfortunately, we're not the big shots in the neighborhood."
Filed under: Weird News
On Wednesday August 4, 2010, 3:18 pm EDT
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dozens of U.S. billionaires pledged on Wednesday to give at least 50 percent of their fortunes to charity as part of a philanthropic campaign by two of the world's richest men -- Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
Based on Forbes magazine's estimates of the billionaires' wealth, at least $150 billion could be given away.
Among the rich joining The Giving Pledge campaign are New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, media moguls Barry Diller and Ted Turner, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, "Star Wars" movie maker George Lucas and energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens.
A total of 40 of the richest people in the United States, including Microsoft founder Gates and investor Buffett, now have taken the pledge.
Since launching the campaign in June, Buffett, Gates and his wife Melinda have spoken to about 20 percent of the wealthiest people in the United States -- 70 to 80 billionaires -- in a bid to persuade them to give away their fortunes.
"In most cases we had reason to believe that the people already had an interest in philanthropy," Buffett said. "It was a very soft sell but 40 have signed up."
"We're looking forward to enlisting many of these 40 to go out and make some calls also so we can report an even greater milestone but we're off to a terrific start," he said.
The campaign asks U.S. billionaires to give away at least half their wealth during their lifetime or after their death, and to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision.
Gates has an estimated $53 billion fortune, which places him second on the Forbes magazine list of the world's richest people, and Buffett, who made his fortune with insurance and investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc, ranks third on the list with $47 billion.
The Giving Pledge does not accept money but asks billionaires to make a moral commitment to give their fortunes to charity.
TAX BREAK NOT A MOTIVATION
"I've long stated that I enjoy making money, and I enjoy giving it away," energy tycoon Pickens, who is worth about $1 billion, said in his Giving Pledge letter. "I'm not a big fan of inherited wealth. It generally does more harm than good."
Buffett and Gates will hold several dinners later this year to recruit more billionaires, and members of The Giving Pledge also will meet annually to discuss their philanthropy.
Buffett and Gates also are due to meet with some of the wealthiest people in China in September and India in March.
"We ... hope that this catches fire in some other countries," Buffett said. "If they want to take what we think is a good idea and run with it, we will be cheering."
Forbes said the United States is home to 403 billionaires, the most of any country. Individual Americans gave more than $227 billion in 2009, according to a the Giving USA report by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, down just 0.4 percent from the previous year despite the U.S. recession.
"I have always thought that the best thing to do is to make the world better for your kids and your grandkids rather than just give them some money," Bloomberg, who is worth $18 billion, told reporters. "Your kids get more benefit out of your philanthropy than your will."
Buffett said none of the members of The Giving Pledge were driven by tax breaks. "Not one has talked to me about taxes," he said. "Anybody who is entitled to take a tax deduction takes it but I think the motivation goes far, far beyond taxes."
Real estate and construction billionaire Eli Broad, venture capitalist John Doerr, media entrepreneur Gerry Lenfest and former Cisco Systems Chairman John Morgridge joined Gates and Buffett when The Giving Pledge was launched in June. Another 34 members were announced on Wednesday.
Buffett pledged in 2006 to give away 99 percent of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and family charities. Bill and Melinda Gates have so far donated more than $28 billion of their fortune to their foundation.
The full list of billionaires and their letters can be seen at www.thegivingpledge.org.
Earth's solid inner core may be continually inching eastward relative to its liquid outer core, renewing itself by shedding its front while solidifying its back, a team of French scientists suggests.
"Within less than 100 million years, everything that has been crystallized on the west will have melted on the east," said lead researcher Thierry Alboussiere of Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble.
The idea counters traditional theory that the big ball at the center of the Earth stands still, growing uniformly in all directions as the planet cools. It could shed light on the nature of the core — such as its age, apparent seismic mismatches, and a mysterious coating of dense fluid on its surface.
Seismic clues
About a billion years ago, the middle of the Earth began slowly solidifying from the inside out. The planet is hottest at its center, possibly even hotter than the surface of the sun, yet the core's iron is thought to be solid because of the extreme pressure that has raised its melting temperature. As it freezes, according to theory, the inner core takes in more iron, sending lighter elements up through the liquid outer core. This movement is thought to drive Earth's magnetic field.
Since scientists can't journey the 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to the center of the Earth to see what's going on, insight of the 1,600-mile (2,570-km) wide innermost layer more or less stops there. But bits and pieces of indirect information come in all the time, through earthquakes. [Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated the Earth's radius.]
"Whenever there is a big earthquake, seismic waves get sent out in all directions and seismographs around the globe record the wiggles," said Michael Bergman of Bard College at Simon's Rock, Mass., who was not involved with the study but wrote an accompanying commentary on it for the journal Nature.
Earthquakes help scientists learn about the inner depths of the planet because seismic waves change speed as they move through different mediums. Researchers can piece together this information to figure out what kinds of rocks and minerals are located in different parts of the Earth's interior.
"But earthquakes don't occur everywhere on the surface of Earth, so we don't have enough data to completely constrain the inner core," Bergman told OurAmazingPlanet. "We have to take what nature can give us."
Over the last couple of decades, nature has offered more questions than answers. Seismologists noticed that waves appear to travel faster through the inner core from north to south than from west to east. Seismic properties also seemed to vary between the Eastern and Western hemispheres of the globe.
These findings did not fit with the traditional picture of the inner core, and neither did the 124-mile (200-km) thick layer of dense material detected on its surface.
"How do you build this dense layer next to the inner core when you're only releasing light material?" Alboussiere said in an interview.
He and his colleagues had an idea that could explain some of the discrepancies. What if rather than just crystallizing over its entire surface, the inner core was simultaneously melting and solidifying on opposite sides? Then perhaps the melting side could inject dense material into the outer core.
Eastward shift
Through mathematical models and lab experiments, the team determined that this may, in fact, describe the dynamics of the inner core in a way that is compatible with seismology's recent discoveries.
They speculate that the inner core is shifted slightly off-center, just to the east. This would put more pressure on the western side, where it would be closer to the center of the planet, and less pressure on the eastern side. The result could be a perpetually denser Western hemisphere and a continual flow of dense fluid from the east that eventually spreads out atop the entire inner core. It might also inspire a re-evaluation of how the Earth's magnetic field is generated and a recalculation of the age of the inner core and its oldest piece.
"The inner core is basically regenerating itself. And superimposed on that is this overall cooling that makes the inner core bigger and bigger over time," Bergman said. "That's just cool to think about."
The study is detailed in the Aug. 4 edition of the journal Nature.
