Real Mars Mysteries for NASA's Curiosity

Real Mars Mysteries for NASA's Curiosity
Sept 8, 2012 | ThunderboltsProject

With the successful landing of the Mars rover Curiosity, NASA scientists will have new opportunities for discovery on the Martian surface. But will investigators be willing to question longstanding assumptions?

Spacing Out: Joe Kiernan talks about strange lights in the South Carolina skies -

Joe Kiernan talks about strange lights in the South Carolina skies -
Sept 7, 2012 | openmindstv



Joe Kiernan is a resident of North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, and he regularly sees mysterious lights in the sky. We talk with Joe about the strange activity in his area. We also talk about a fireball UFO in North Carolina, an upcoming event where military men will talk about UFOs, plus other space and UFO news on this episode of Spacing Out!

Related article:  Mysterious UFOs continue to confuse South Carolina residents

Scientists cast doubt on renowned uncertainty principle

This is a general method for measuring the
precision and disturbance of any system.
The system is weakly measured before the
measurement apparatus and then strongly
measured afterwords. Credit: Lee
Rozema, University of Toronto

Scientists cast doubt on renowned uncertainty principle
Sept 7, 2012 | Phys.org

The principle has bedeviled quantum physicists for nearly a century, until recently, when researchers at the University of Toronto demonstrated the ability to directly measure the disturbance and confirm that Heisenberg was too pessimistic.

"We designed an apparatus to measure a property – the polarization – of a single photon. We then needed to measure how much that apparatus disturbed that photon," says Lee Rozema, a Ph.D. candidate in Professor Aephraim Steinberg's quantum optics research group at U of T, and lead author of a study published this week in Physical Review Letters.

"To do this, we would need to measure the photon before the apparatus but that measurement would also disturb the photon," Rozema says.

In order to overcome this hurdle, Rozema and his colleagues employed a technique known as weak measurement wherein the action of a measuring device is weak enough to have an imperceptible impact on what is being measured. Before each photon was sent to the measurement apparatus, the researchers measured it weakly and then measured it again afterwards, comparing the results. They found that the disturbance induced by the measurement is less than Heisenberg's precision-disturbance relation would require.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-scientists-renowned-uncertainty-principle.html#jCp

 

BP Spill Resurfaces on Louisiana Beaches as Gulf Depopulation Agenda Looms in the Distance

BP Spill Resurfaces on Louisiana Beaches as Gulf Depopulation Agenda Looms in the Distance
Sept 6, 2012 | Susanne Posel

In Louisiana, remnants of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is washing up on shore in the form of tarballs that are heavily laced with Corexit.

A representative from the Louisiana state Wildlife and Fisheries Department remarked that a “large mat of tar on one beach and concentrations of tar balls on adjacent beaches.”

Researchers from the UN-sponsored Greenpeace have taken samples along the affected beaches in the Bin Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama. It is estimated that 1 million barrels of oil remain at the seabed in the Gulf of Mexico, left behind by the BPDH oil spill.

This re-emergence of the prior disaster has prompted officials in Washington, DC to request federal agencies reassess the Gulf region’s safety as residents are continuously being exposed to Corexit and remnants of the oil spill.

Garret Graves, Gov. Bobby Jindal’s top adviser on coastal issues, asserts that “there’s a smoking gun” and demands that tests be conducted on the origin of the oil.

State officials have restricted fishing, keeping commercial and recreational fishing out of the areas affected. Tar mats have been identified on multiple beaches and surveys are finding more. Graves is concerned that the preliminary studies are not through.

BP said in a public statement regarding the allegations that the 2010 oil spill is the cause of this new phenomenon: “With many of the southern parishes of Louisiana still inundated with flood waters and not accessible at this time, it is premature to make any claims about possible oiling there — whether it is from the Deepwater Horizon accident or any other source.”

BP is choosing to wait for the “Coast Guard’s federal on-scene coordinator” before admitting that the residual oil is from the Deepwater Horizon spill.

Coast Guard Capt. Peter Gautier confirmed that there are concurrent investigations of pollution caused by negligence due to leaks and oil sheens from tank batteries and wellheads as well as storage tanks that were situated at a closed railroad terminal. These tank cars contained hazardous chemicals that were compromised and contaminated neighboring areas.

Before Tropical Storm Isaac hit the shores of Louisiana, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu stated publicly: “Isaac has finally formed into a hurricane, so we are officially in the fight and the city of New Orleans is on the front lines.”

A state of emergency had been declared in three Gulf Coast states with mandatory evacuations of residents living on the coastline. Jean Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner said that tidal surge is the concern.

Four thousand of the Louisiana National Guard were preemptively deployed to New Orleans, have “taken up strategic positions around” the city. Their purpose is to assist with disaster relief, emergency preparations, and crowd control.

Landrieu has kept the city under a dusk-to-dawn curfew to be enforced by the Army National Guard who has been deployed in the city to control the citizens. Invoking Katrina, Landrieu is using the example from 2005 to justify the military on the streets in New Orleans.

The Army Corps of Engineers closed the newly built floodgate along the storm-surge barrier of New Orleans at Lake Borgne. This system includes a flood defense system of walls, floodgates, levees and pumps costing $14.5 billion to stave off potential tidal surges based on the destruction during Katrina.

Anticipating problems in production, oil speculation based on future production in the Gulf of Mexico, because of Isaac’s threat has fallen 24%, says the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Eighty percent of oil production has come to a halt off shore in the Gulf of Mexico as refineries brace for impact and will remain closed throughout the incident which will force a great reduction of fuel supplies. The White House has released a statement confirming that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) will be tapped into in the coming weeks.

The US Energy Department announced that the Obama administration is “loaning 1 million barrels of oil to Marathon Petroleum” due to Isaac. Steven Chu, former BP executive and current Energy Secretary, said : “Today’s announcement is part of the broader federal effort to respond to those impacted by Hurricane Isaac. This emergency loan from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will help ensure Marathon’s refining operations have the crude oil they need to continue operating.”

This “loan” will be extracted from the SPR.

Due to anticipation of this action, oil speculation fell just ahead of Isaac in consuming nations with the fear of having to release emergency reserves to stimulate the global economy.

In 2010, Deepwater Horizon, which drilled into the Macondo Prospect operated by British Petroleum (BP) was responsible for the release of more than 4.9 million barrels of crude oil that dispersed into the Gulf of Mexico.

To aid in the cleaning of the spill, BP authorized the use of Corexit . The chemical is touted as being a dispersant that breaks up the oil into bio-degradable droplets that will “immediately sink below the surface” reducing the oil’s exposure to surrounding wildlife and exposure to humans.

Corexit was found to be deadly and its use in the Gulf was directly causational to the plankton, fish, birds and wildlife. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) stated Corexit’s use in oil spill clean-up is a “trade-off to lessen the overall environmental impact.”

This trade-off infiltrated beaches and coastlines from Louisiana to Florida and made the regions completely toxic. After some time, and contamination of Corexit in the natural environment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered BP to use an alternative asserting that corexit was too poisonous.

According to the Army Corps of Engineers, in 2007 the US government allocated 40 billion for a project to depopulate the Gulf Coast region. The purpose of depopulating residents from this area was touted as the creation of a natural barrier to save the coastline from future hurricanes.

Comment: Instead of rebuilding these communities which depend on the Gulf as their means of survival, billions are wasted trying to cover up additional criminal activity.

Susan Rees, project director, said: “The whole concept of trying to remove people and properties from the coast is very, very challenging. The desire to live by the water is strong.”

With the new threat of Corexit laced tarballs strewn across beaches in Louisiana, there may be a resurrection of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the depopulation agenda to reserve the area for multi-national corporations to create an area designated for oil drilling that would be void of environmental concerns with the removal of the residential population.

Most recently, in Louisiana, a giant sinkhole in Grand Bayou is expelling gas that has been shown to contain cancer-causing chemicals, according to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Louisiana Environmental Action Network.

The area is estimated to be 3 football fields long and radioactive.

Combining the Corexit laced tarballs and the radioactive material emanating from the sinkholes, residents are being requested to evacuate in record numbers. Isaac is expected to bring down oil production by 40% while the Red Cross is preparing shelters for displaced residents.

Considering the activity in the Gulf region, the many depopulation efforts and the strange radioactive gas emanating from a sinkhole in Louisiana, the strange path Isaac is taking which mirrors Katrina’s could be more than just a coincidence. HAARP has been used in the past to cause massive damage by seemingly natural means. This may just be another instance of the global Elite using weather control and modification to achieve their agenda.

FDA Turns South Floridians into Human Guinea Pigs

© Alliance for Natural Health

FDA Turns South Floridians into Human Guinea Pigs
Sept 4, 2012 | Alliance for Natural Health

Untested, bio-engineered mosquitoes will likely be released in the Florida Keys.

The British firm Oxitec is in the process of seeking approval in the US for a mosquito that has been genetically engineered to combat dengue fever (an infectious, mosquito-borne tropical disease that causes fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a skin rash similar to measles). The company wants to release the mosquitoes for testing in the Florida Keys, and has opened an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA.

The Florida Keys Mosquito District had earlier said that a release of mosquitoes “will only take place once all necessary regulatory and ethical approvals have been obtained from regulatory agencies at both federal and state level, based on the results of independent, rigorous, scientific review”—and that the proposal is now “on indefinite hold.” To the contrary, permits for testing in Florida Keys, and eventual approval of GE mosquitoes, could be in our immediate future—now that Oxitec has an IND with the industry-friendly FDA.

According to our sources, the USDA issued a permit on June 4 for “GE yellow fever mosquitoes” for import to Florida. We have received word that the USDA is planning to study Oxitec’s mosquitoes (in containers) to see how well they mate with native Key West mosquitoes.

Note that GE mosquitoes haven’t been proven safe, either for the environment or for the human population. It hasn’t even been proven that they can effectively reduce spread of dengue fever! The people of Florida Keys will be guinea pigs in this experiment, but who knows how far these mosquitoes might spread—or with what consequences?

Compiled Proof that Natural Healing is Embedded in Nature, Natural Foods

© naturalsociety.com

Compiled Proof that Natural Healing is Embedded in Nature, Natural Foods
Sept 5, 2012 | Mike Barrett

Disease rates are skyrocketing, particularly chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. With an estimated half of all US adults to face diabetes by 2020, it would seem that there is little hope for slowing down the rampant onslaught of lifestyle-connected conditions. It may be that our continued distancing from nature is the root cause of the escalation of disease, but the good news is that natural healing and prevention can be achieved with the mere decision to embrace mother nature and the natural healing foods provided by her.

Mainstream physicians have been prescribing, cutting, and radiating for decades, yet disease rates are not dwindling. These conditions are not being cured, but fueled. What has been increasing alongside the explosion of sickness rates? Humanity’s reluctancy to embrace and utilize the core principals of natural living.

‘What doesn’t give you cancer these days?’ This statement is a result of major corporations and government organizations turning a blind eye to toxic substances within the food supply and the environment. It may be true that most mainstream products and ‘solutions’ are feeding illness and disease, but another statement could be made that is quite the opposite. ‘What real living food doesn’t prevent cancer?’

There is a serious epidemic of vitamin D deficiency throughout the United States and other developed nations. Many individuals are not going outside anymore, and toxic sunscreen is used even when they do. In either case, vitamin D is not attained, and vitamin D is absolutely essential in the prevention of disease and proper hormonal regulation. Today, however, even cases of the rickets are returning!

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Spices like turmeric and ginger, fresh fruits like lemons and oranges, and vegetables like carrots and kale – what real foods don’t prevent cancer? The answer, as scientists are slowly finding out on a daily basis, is nearly all foods are healing foods. These food products are full of enzymes, nutrients, and beneficial compounds that have been found to combat cancer and even shrink tumors.

Here are just a handful of examples proving that nature and natural foods are truly the key to preventing and healing disease. Going one step further, they are pivotal in paving the way for you to not only survive, but thrive.

Natural Healing with Natural Foods

Spices – Spices like turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, oregano, curry, and more have all been shown in research to have a profound positive effect on the body. Turmeric spice and ginger have been shown to destroy cancer cells time and time again; cinnamon is great for diabetics and protecting against diabetes; oregano is full of antioxidants, making it great for anti-aging and defeating cancer.

Fruit – Although fruit contain fructose, that doesn’t take away from the many health benefits they provide. Apples and pears help to preserve brain health; papaya contains an enzyme known as papain, which helps with the digestive system; berries are among the top antioxidant rich foods, known to help slow the aging process, fight cancer, lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease, and much more.

Vegetables – Vegetables are possibly the most important foods that the vast majority of people are omitting. Celery naturally contains an ingredient that can halt breast cancer; leafy greens like broccoli are essential for the prevention of prostate cancer and to keep the heart healthy; carrots, collard greens, and zuccini help to promote vision; beets are wonderful for detoxing the body.

Nuts – All nuts contain a variety of health-boosting compounds, including omega 3 fatty acids which have been shown to promote mental health, halt weight gain, and help lead to a longer life. The compounds found in pistachios make the nut great for eye health, heart health, and cancer prevention; walnuts are rich in vitamin E, which protects cells and DNA from damage, supports circulation, and is great for the brain; almonds help with weight management, improves heart health, and regulate blood sugar.

Of course this is only a handful of foods that lead to only a handful of health benefits. Remember that natural, organic foods can induce natural healing, and that a simple walk in the park can make more of an impact than you would ever believe.

Additional Sources:

The Telegraph
The Huffington Post
Life’d
Health Diaries

Could You Raise Your Kids on Less Than $15,000 a Year? Millions of Parents Are Forced to Learn How

© alternet.org

Could You Raise Your Kids on Less Than $15,000 a Year? Millions of Parents Are Forced to Learn How
Sept 3, 2012 | Jim Hightower

Increasing the minimum wage to just $10.00 from $7.25 would be a shot in the arm to poverty-stricken Americans.

Sometimes, it's useful to state the obvious. Here's a fact, for example, that we all know to be true: America's economy is enormous. It's worth saying that out loud and repeating it to ourselves and others, because today's Powers That Be (economic, political, and media) are wrongly forcing a regime of austerity on our nation. They're insisting that we hoi polloi must downsize our middle-class dreams, claiming that America no longer has the wherewithal to do big things.

Their narrow and pessimistic prescription for our future is not only at odds with the American spirit, but also at odds with the facts. The wealth of this nation is naturally huge and expansive--thanks to such fundamentals as the sheer size and diversity of our land, the breadth and depth of our natural resources, and especially the can-do attitude of our enterprising and hardworking people. Far from shrinking down, we have the economic strength today to be spreading the middle class and advancing the historic, egalitarian ideals that were planted at America's founding.

In natural terms, our economy is a giant sequoia. Unfortunately, our present corporate and governmental leadership can't seem to grasp one of the basic laws of nature: You can't keep a mighty tree alive (much less have it thrive) by only spritzing the fine leaves at the tippy-top. The fate of the whole tree depends on nurturing the grassroots.

Sadly, in this time of such potential for greatness, we're led by a myopic crew of leaf spritzers. In Washington, on Wall Street, and in the corporate suites, the elites have taken exquisite care of themselves, with the top one percent tripling their share of the nation's wealth since 1980. How did they obtain this phenomenal boost? By siphoning up shares of America's wealth that had been going to the rest of us. Blithely oblivious to the dangerous shriveling of the grassroots, they've increased their take by offshoring our middle-class jobs, slashing American wages and benefits in practically every sector, busting the ability of unions to fight back, deregulating their nefarious corporate and financial operations, dodging their tax obligations, privatizing and gutting public services (from schools to food stamps), and turning our elections into auctions run by and for billionaires.

Read more..

Principal Reductions? Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?

image source

Principal Reductions? Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?
Sept 4, 2012 | Mark Stopa

Do you remember the National Mortgage Settlement?  You know, that settlement between the nation’s biggest banks, the federal government, and 49 State Attorneys General that made so many headlines from months ago?  Did anything ever come of that?  Did it provide any help to American homeowners?

As with every other government program that’s existed over the past few years, I haven’t been holding my breath.  Whether it’s HAMP, HARP, the Hardest Hit Fund, or any other random acronym, I’ve seen too little help being extended to my clients or homeowners in general.  These programs have been all hype and no impact.  So when the National Mortgage Settlement was announced, it didn’t change my approach to foreclosure defense or the advice I give clients in the slightest bit.

Occasionally, I encounter homeowners who question my skepticism.  They cite the requirement in the National Mortgage Settlement that the big banks write down the balances owed on mortgages.  My response?  “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Now that some time has passed since the National Mortgage Settlement, we’ve had a chance to evaluate what the banks have been doing.  (Bear in mind, as you read this, the National Mortgage Settlement is what our nations leaders agreed to accept in lieu of pursuing the big banks for criminal charges and untold civil penalties.)  Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it’s not good.  Instead of reducing principal on owner-occupied properties to keep homeowners in their homes, most of the “reductions” that the big banks have been offering have been in the short sale context.  “Sell your house, and we’ll forgive the deficiency.”  In other words, “sell your house, give us money, and we won’t make you give us more money.”

As if that’s not bad enough, many of these “reductions” have been given in non-recourse states, i.e. states where the banks cannot collect the deficiency as a matter of law.  Real nice, eh?  You see, unlike Florida, where banks can pursue deficiencies against homeowners, in states like California, the banks aren’t allowed to collect a deficiency – their sole remedy upon a default in mortgage payments is to foreclose and get the house.  If the house is worth $300,000 and the amount owed is $500,000, it doesn’t matter – the bank is limited to the $300,000 house.  (In Florida, by contrast, the additional $200,000 would still be owed.)

So what have the banks been doing to “comply” with the National Mortgage Settlement?  In non-recourse states like California, banks have been entering short sale agreements and “reducing” the balance owed to $300,000, “eliminating” the deficiency and applying those “reductions” towards their debt reduction obligations in the National Mortgage Settlement.

Keeping homeowners in their homes?  Pfft.  Offering real relief?  No way.  Why would the banks do that when they can ”comply” with their debt reduction obligations by eliminating debt that they’re not allowed to collect anyway?

Apparently, people have started to catch on to this utterly perverse system (implemented by 49 of our AGs and the federal government, mind you), voicing appropriate complaints.  Perhaps realizing they’ve been caught, and trying to create at least the impression of compliance, the banks have reacted.  In fact, every so often, I’m starting to see some of the bigger banks – Citi, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, GMAC, and Wells Fargo – reduce or even eliminate mortgages for some homeowners.  Yes, you read that right … every so often, these big banks are reducing the amounts owed on mortgages.

Before you get excited, I must immediately caution you.  Curb your enthusiasm.  These principal reductions have been very rare and, frankly, completely random.

Understanding how this process works requires that you begin with one basic premise - these banks have no desire to actually help homeowners.  Hence, there is no methodology to the implementation of these principal reductions.  Is it limited to homestead or owner-occupied properties?  No.  Is it being offered to homeowners with the greatest need, e.g. the elderly or those stricken with cancer?  No.  You see, those are some criteria that might be implemented if the banking industry gave a damn and was actually trying to help people.  But they don’t, so no such criteria exist.

The principal reductions I’ve seen from the big banks - as infrequent as they’ve been – are totally random.  In fact, as best I can tell, they’re being offered solely so the banks can say they’ve reduced debt, without actually reducing debt they intend to collect.

For instance, in Florida, it’s relatively common to settle foreclosure lawsuits by the bank agreeing to waive deficiency in exchange for the homeowner consenting to foreclosure.  This doesn’t happen all the time, of course, and I believe it’s much more likely if you defend your foreclosure case so as to gain some leverage to induce the bank to compromise, but it does happen.  Hence, if the banks eliminate deficiencies, that may sound good, but if it’s something they were going to do anyway, should that really count towards their debt reduction obligations in the National Mortgage Settlement?  That’s not the banks doing something good – that’s them doing something they were going to do anyway, for their own business purposes, and labeling it as something good to “comply” with the National Mortgage Settlement.

Another thing that irritates me about the banks reducing debt in the short sale context is that, quite often, this debt can be eliminated through bankruptcy anyway.  Banks know this, and that’s why, in the rare instances I’ve seen principal reductions, they’ve occurred on debts that could have been eliminated through bankruptcy anyway.

For instance, I had one client whose second mortgage was completely eliminated.  Poof.  That sounds great, but that client is still underwater on his first mortgage and is still looking at a bankruptcy.  Hence, what did eliminating that second mortgage really accomplish?  Banks often don’t pursue second mortgages anyway, and even when they do, those mortgages will be foreclosed when the first mortgage forecloses and the personal liability can be eliminated through bankruptcy.  In other words, that principal “reduction” may sound nice, but was it designed to keep that homeowner in his home?  Heck no.  In fact, that principal reduction was completely unsolicited – the homeowner didn’t even ask for it.  Does that sound like a bank that’s trying to help, or a bank that figured out, internally, which debts were the best to eliminate for its own, internal purposes?

A recent article in the St. Pete Times listed out the names of these big banks and some phone numbers to call.

Ally Financial/GMAC:  Toll-free 1-800-766-4622
Bank of America: 1-877-488-7814
Citigroup: 1-866-272-4749
J.P. Morgan Chase:  1-866-372-6901
Wells Fargo: 1-800-288-3212

Despite my pessimism, I’m never going to discourage any of my clients or any homeowner from calling to try to get this relief.  Call.  There’s no harm in calling, I suppose (except to the extent your case has been in hibernation mode and your call wakes up the sleeping giant).  That said, when I assess the chances of these calls doing any good, I can’t help but think of the famous line from Dirty Harry … Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?

Why that line (aside from it coming from Clint Eastwood, who was just in the news)?  The way I see it, for your pleas to the bank to work, you’ve got to be lucky.  Really lucky.  And I like the term “punk” in this context because we’re all punks.  We’ve all been punked by the big banks.  They screwed over America, avoided liability for their misdeeds under the National Mortgage Settlement, and when it came time to pay, they punked us all.

So go ahead and call.  Just remember Clint Eastwood’s famous line, and when your pleas go unanswered, remember why I’ve put so little stock in every government program that’s come into place in the past several years.

Outside of Convention Walls, Poverty in Tampa Runs Rampant

Outside of Convention Walls, Poverty in Tampa Runs Rampant
Aug 31, 2012 | RTAmerica

The city of Thonotosassa, Fl has seen one of the higest jumps in people living below the poverty level in the country.

Epic Fukushima interview w/ Caldicott & Gundersen

Epic Fukushima interview w/ Caldicott & Gundersen p4/4
Sept 2, 2012 | MsMilkytheclown

This interview was really worth a full listen to (in my opinion)... I hope you share and bring people up to speed on the developments at Fukushima Daiichi Japan & TEPCO.

Arnold Gundersen with another update on the unfolding effects of the Fukushima disaster
http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?p=6397

This week, Dr. Caldicott brings on nuclear engineer Arnold Gundersen to update readers on the unfolding effects of the Fukushima meltdowns and what is happening with nuclear power in other parts of the world. Longer show description to follow. As background, listen to earlier conversations with Gundersen (starting with April 1, 2011), which can be found on the Archives page.

Read the August 2012 news articles Study: Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Caused Mutant Butterflies and Grassroots Power Pushing Japan Towards Nuclear-Free Future . And visit Fairewinds.org, the website of Gundersen's organization, for more information.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2012