Gaia Community: Hawkeye's Blog

Surge In Homelessness

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 09:49:38 -0000

Economic chaos creates surge in homelessness

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- The number of homeless families in Massachusetts has surged -- a spike that has overwhelmed the state's shelter capacity and forced it to again place homeless families in motels.

Driving the increase is the sour economy, rising energy costs, escalating unemployment and shortage of affordable housing. For the first time, the state is tracking how many families are winding up homeless due to foreclosures.

"You're seeing a perfect storm," said Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.

The upswing is also putting pressure on a landmark initiative by Gov. Deval Patrick to virtually end homelessness in Massachusetts in the next five years.

In just the past 12 months, the number of homeless families living in Massachusetts motels has skyrocketed from 17 in September 2007 to 550 in September 2008. That's on top of another 1,800 or so families in shelters.

The Department of Transitional Assistance first began placing families in motels in 1999 when its shelters reached capacity. Over the next five years, the state used 97 motels around the state to house families.

By August 2004, the state was able to eliminate the need for motels after launching an initiative that included the creation of self-sufficiency plans for each family, hiring case managers and increasing shelter capacity.

Gov. Patrick is hoping to end homelessness in Massachusetts by coming up with better ways to detect when individuals and families are on the verge of falling into homelessness -- and move in swiftly with aid and support. The plan hinges on the increased use of vouchers.

The economic downturn is making those goals harder to meet. "This is going to make it more difficult," said state Rep. Byron Rushing, a supporter of the plan.

Massachusetts isn't alone. Advocates for the homeless say that while statistics are still sketchy, many areas are reporting increases in the number of homeless families.

"Right now we're at the point where communities are holding the line or seeing increases," said Mary Cunningham, a senior research associate at The Urban Institute. "Family budgets are really tight and when you add on other costs, that can push them into homelessness."

A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance said the state started using motels again in September 2007 when the agency reached its capacity in family shelter units.

Under Massachusetts law, the state is required to find shelter for every eligible family seeking it. With the current demand exceeding shelter capacity, the state turned to motel rooms, with the ultimate goal of moving families into permanent housing.

As of midweek there were 588 families in 29 hotels across the state.

To help move families out of motels, the state has begun identifying vacant public housing units. It's also working with families to help increase their income and offer employment and training support, according to DTA spokeswoman Jennifer Kritz.

The state is also starting to track foreclosures as a cause for homelessness. That typically occurs when a multifamily home or apartment building is foreclosed on and the tenants are evicted, sometimes losing their security deposit in the process, making it harder to come up with the rent for a new apartment.

Frost said the state should focus on creating more housing vouchers to get homeless families into permanent homes quickly.

"If people are permanently housed, kids get education and parents can keep their jobs," she said. "Without vouchers you're going to continue to see this storm."

I Don't Have To Tell You Things Are Bad...

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:57:22 -0000

I don't have to tell you things are bad... It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth. Banks are going bust...

A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...To A Blind Horse

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:43:00 -0000

Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin winks as she speaks during her vice presidential debate against Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008.

Of what are you a connoisseur?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:14:14 -0000

Anything Integral.

How do you react to violence?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:06:52 -0000

10 questions for the Dalai Lama is a great film
http://www.thedalailamamovie.com/
He was asked about his view on non-violence following in the footsteps of Gandhi coping with the horrible violence over the years China has imposed on Tibet. He had a great insight in that historically when Gandhi was imprisoned over the course of his non-violent campaigns with the British to free India, he still was dealing with a democratic nation (an imperialist one) that allowed him to follow legal courses of action while imprisoned. Gandhi was able to "work the system" to an extent.

That it is not so with China. They come to you with guns, throw you in jail, torture you and you haven't got a chance or a prayer. They do what they want, you have no recourse. He also stated that violence may be necessary when you are defending yourself.

To celebrate non-violence it always begins within ones own consciousness. Taking full responsibility for your own state of mind.

Namaste

Dan

Amazon Deforested More Than Three Times Faster Than Last Year

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:24:54 -0000

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- The Amazon is being deforested more than three times as fast as last year, Brazilian officials said Monday, acknowledging a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate.

Nearly 300 square miles of Brazilian rainforest was destroyed in August, officials say.

Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc said upcoming nationwide elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region turning a blind eye to illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally.

Non-government environmentalists blame the global spike in food prices for encouraging soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing.

Elections no doubt play a part, but "the tendency of deforestation rising is deeply related to the fact that food prices are going up," said Paulo Adario, who coordinates Greenpeace's Amazon campaign.

"When you have elections, the appetite of authorities to enforce laws is reduced," Adario said. "But the federal government has to step in and do its job."

Amazon destruction jumped 228 percent in August when compared to the same month a year ago, according to a report from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research. Some 756 square kilometers (292 square miles) of Amazon was destroyed last month, compared to 230 square kilometers (89 square miles) in August 2007.

The institute uses satellite imagery to track illegal logging It said the destruction was likely even worse than its figures show, since no information was available for about 26 percent of the Amazon covered by clouds.

Paul Newman 1925 -2008

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:37:23 -0000

Paul Newman, Hollywood's anti-hero, dies

Paul Newman never much cared for what he once called the "rubbish" of Hollywood, choosing to live in a quiet community on the opposite corner of the U.S. map, staying with his wife of many years and - long after he became bored with acting - pursuing his dual passions of philanthropy and race cars.

And yet despite enormous success in both endeavors and a vile distaste for celebrity, the Oscar-winning actor never lost the aura of a towering Hollywood movie star, turning in roles later in life that carried all the blue-eyed, heartthrob cool of his anti-hero performances in "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid."

The 10-time Academy Award nominee died Friday at age 83, surrounded by family and close friends at his Westport farmhouse following a long battle with cancer, publicist Jeff Sanderson said Saturday.

In May, Newman dropped plans to direct a fall production of "Of Mice and Men" at Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse, citing unspecified health issues. The following month, a friend disclosed that he was being treated for cancer and Martha Stewart, also a friend, posted photos on her Web site of Newman looking gaunt at a charity luncheon.

But true to his fiercely private nature, Newman remained cagey about his condition, reacting to reports that he had lung cancer with a statement saying only that he was "doing nicely."

As an actor, Newman got his start in theater and on television during the 1950s, and went on to become a legend held in awe by his peers. He won one Oscar and took home two honorary ones, and had major roles in more than 50 motion pictures, including "Exodus," "Butch Cassidy," "The Verdict," "The Sting" and "Absence of Malice."

Newman worked with some of the greatest directors of the past half century, from Alfred Hitchcock and John Huston to Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese and the Coen brothers. His co-stars included Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks and, most famously, Robert Redford, his sidekick in "Butch Cassidy" and "The Sting."

"There is a point where feelings go beyond words," Redford said Saturday. "I have lost a real friend. My life - and this country - is better for his being in it."

Newman sometimes teamed with his wife and fellow Oscar winner, Joanne Woodward, with whom he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages. "I have steak at home, why go out for hamburger?" Newman told Playboy magazine when asked if he was tempted to stray. They wed in 1958, around the same time they both appeared in "The Long Hot Summer." Newman also directed her in several films, including "Rachel, Rachel" and "The Glass Menagerie."

"Our father was a rare symbol of selfless humility, the last to acknowledge what he was doing was special," his daughters said in a written statement. "Intensely private, he quietly succeeded beyond measure in impacting the lives of so many with his generosity."

With his strong, classically handsome face and piercing blue eyes, Newman was just as likely to play against his looks, becoming a favorite with critics for his convincing portrayals of rebels, tough guys and losers. New York Times critic Caryn James wrote after his turn as the town curmudgeon in 1995's "Nobody's Fool" that "you never stop to wonder how a guy as good-looking as Paul Newman ended up this way."

But neither his heartthrob looks nor his talent could convince Newman to embrace the Hollywood lifestyle. He was reluctant to give interviews and usually refused to sign autographs because he found the majesty of the act offensive.

"Sometimes God makes perfect people," fellow "Absence of Malice" star Sally Field said, "and Paul Newman was one of them."

Newman had a soft spot for underdogs in real life, giving tens of millions to charities through his food company and setting up camps for severely ill children. Passionately opposed to the Vietnam War, and in favor of civil rights, he was so famously liberal that he ended up on President Nixon's "enemies list," one of the actor's proudest achievements, he liked to say.

A screen legend by his mid-40s, he waited a long time for his first competitive Oscar, winning in 1987 for "The Color of Money," a reprise of the role of pool shark "Fast Eddie" Felson, whom Newman portrayed in the 1961 film "The Hustler."

In that film, Newman delivered a magnetic performance as the smooth-talking, whiskey-chugging pool shark who takes on Minnesota Fats - played by Jackie Gleason - and becomes entangled with a gambler played by George C. Scott. In the sequel - directed by Scorsese - "Fast Eddie" is no longer the high-stakes hustler he once was, but an aging liquor salesman who takes a young pool player (Cruise) under his wing before making a comeback.

He won an honorary Oscar in 1986 "in recognition of his many and memorable compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft." In 1994, he won a third Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, for his charitable work.

His most recent academy nod was a supporting actor nomination for the 2002 film "Road to Perdition." One of Newman's nominations was as a producer; the other nine were in acting categories. (Jack Nicholson holds the record among actors for Oscar nominations, with 12; actress Meryl Streep has had 14.)

As he passed his 80th birthday, he remained in demand, winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the 2005 HBO drama "Empire Falls" and providing the voice of a crusty 1951 Hudson Hornet in the 2006 Disney-Pixar hit, "Cars."

But in May 2007, he told ABC's "Good Morning America" he had given up acting, though he intended to remain active in charity projects. "I'm not able to work anymore as an actor at the level I would want to," he said. "You start to lose your memory, your confidence, your invention. So that's pretty much a closed book for me."

Newman also turned to producing and directing. In 1968, he directed "Rachel, Rachel," a film about a lonely spinster's rebirth. The movie received four Oscar nominations, including Newman, for producer of a best motion picture, and Woodward, for best actress. The film earned Newman the best director award from the New York Film Critics Circle.

In the 1970s, Newman, admittedly bored with acting, became fascinated with auto racing, a sport he studied when he starred in the 1969 film, "Winning." After turning professional in 1977, Newman and his driving team made strong showings in several major races, including fifth place in Daytona in 1977 and second place in the Le Mans in 1979.

"Racing is the best way I know to get away from all the rubbish of Hollywood," he told People magazine in 1979.

Newman later became a car owner and formed a partnership with Carl Haas, starting Newman/Haas Racing in 1983 and joining the CART series. Hiring Mario Andretti as its first driver, the team was an instant success, and throughout the last 26 years, the team - now known as Newman/Haas/Lanigan and part of the IndyCar Series - has won 107 races and eight series championships.

"Paul and I have been partners for 26 years and I have come to know his passion, humor and, above all, his generosity," Haas said. "Not just economic generosity, but generosity of spirit. His support of the team's drivers, crew and the racing industry is legendary. His pure joy at winning a pole position or winning a race exemplified the spirit he brought to his life and to all those that knew him."

Despite his love of race cars, Newman continued to make movies and continued to pile up Oscar nominations, his looks remarkably intact, his acting becoming more subtle, nothing like the mannered method performances of his early years, when he was sometimes dismissed as a Brando imitator.

Off the screen, Newman was beloved in Westport, the upscale community about an hour north of New York. One of his favorite haunts was Mario's Place, an eatery that Newman frequented with pals actor James Naughton or writer A.E. Hotchner. He preferred medium-rare hamburgers, with an occasional Heineken.

"He's such a great human being," owner Frank DeMace said. "I can't say enough about him."

Former patrolman John Anastasia says Newman regularly played the annual softball game between local celebrities and the town police department. Newman played on the police department's team.

"He was very much into it, very athletic," Anastasia said. "He didn't play the part of a celebrity, he played the part of a ballplayer. He was not just there for his good looks."

In 1982, Newman and Hotchner started a company to market Newman's original oil-and-vinegar dressing. Newman's Own, which began as a joke, grew into a multimillion-dollar business selling popcorn, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce and other foods. All of the company's profits are donated to charities. The company had donated more than $250 million, according to its Web site.

"We will miss our friend Paul Newman, but are lucky ourselves to have known such a remarkable person," Robert Forrester, vice chairman of Newman's Own Foundation, said in a statement.

Hotchner said Newman should have "everybody's admiration."

"For me it's the loss of an adventurous friendship over the past 50 years and it's the loss of a great American citizen," Hotchner said.

In 1988, Newman founded a camp in northeastern Connecticut for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. He went on to establish similar camps in several other states and in Europe.

He and Woodward bought an 18th century farmhouse in Westport, where they raised their three daughters, Elinor "Nell," Melissa and Clea.

Newman had two daughters, Susan and Stephanie, and a son, Scott, from a previous marriage to Jacqueline Witte. Scott died in 1978 of an accidental overdose of alcohol and Valium. After his only son's death, Newman established the Scott Newman Foundation to finance the production of anti-drug films for children.

Newman was born in Cleveland, the second of two boys of Arthur S. Newman, a partner in a sporting goods store, and Theresa Fetzer Newman. Following World War II service in the Navy, he enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he got a degree in English and was active in student productions.

He later studied at Yale University's School of Drama, then headed to work in theater and television in New York, where his classmates at the famed Actor's Studio included Brando, James Dean and Karl Malden.

Newman's breakthrough was enabled by tragedy: Dean, scheduled to star as the disfigured boxer in a television adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's "The Battler," died in a car crash in 1955. His role was taken by Newman, then a little-known performer.

Newman started in movies the year before, in "The Silver Chalice," a costume film he so despised that he took out an ad in Variety to apologize. By 1958, he had won the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for the shiftless Ben Quick in "The Long Hot Summer."

In December 1994, about a month before his 70th birthday, he told Newsweek magazine he had changed little with age.

"I'm not mellower, I'm not less angry, I'm not less self-critical, I'm not less tenacious," he said. "Maybe the best part is that your liver can't handle those beers at noon anymore," he said.

Newman is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother Arthur.

"To say he was an extraordinary man would be an understatement,"

"He saw himself as a working actor, not a movie star, and insisted that everyone else did the same. There was no ego, no entourage, no hangers on. Only Paul, his script and his incredible spirit."

- British director Sam Mendes on Paul Newman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Newman

http://63.131.143.186/

PHOTO: Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (Robert Redford on the left)

Tubular Bells Live

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:08:58 -0000

Scientists Warn US Congress of Cancer Risk for Cell Phone Use

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:52:32 -0000

The potential link between mobile telephones and brain cancer could be similar to the link between lung cancer and smoking -- something tobacco companies took 50 years to recognize, according to US scientists' warning.

Scientists are currently split on the level of danger the biological effects of the magnetic field emitted by cellular telephones poses to humans.

However, society "must not repeat the situation we had with the relationship between smoking and lung cancer where we ... waited until every 'i' was dotted and 't' was crossed before warnings were issued," said David Carpenter, director of the Institute of Health and Environment at the University of Albany, in testimony before a subcommittee of the US House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform.

"Precaution is warranted even in the absence of absolutely final evidence concerning the magnitude of the risk" -- especially for children, said Carpenter.

Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute -- one of the top US cancer research centers -- said that most studies "claiming that there is no link between cell phones and brain tumors are outdated, had methodological concerns and did not include sufficient numbers of long-term cell phone users."

Many studies denying a link defined regular cell phone use as "once a week," he said.

"Recalling the 70 years that it took to remove lead from paint and gasoline and the 50 years that it took to convincingly establish the link between smoking and lung cancer, I argue that we must learn from our past to do a better job of interpreting evidence of potential risk," said Herberman.

A brain tumor can take dozens of years to develop, the scientists said.

Carpenter and Herberman both told the committee the brain cancer risk from cell phone use is far greater for children than for adults.

Herberman held up a model for lawmakers showing how radiation from a cell phone penetrates far deeper into the brain of a five-year-old than that of an adult.

The committee were shown several European studies, particularly surveys from Scandinavia -- where the cell phone was first developed -- which show that the radiation emitted by cell phones have definite biological consequences.

For example, a 2008 study by Swedish cancer specialist Lennart Hardell found that frequent cell phone users are twice as likely to develop a benign tumor on the auditory nerves of the ear most used with the handset, compared to the other ear.

A separate study in Israel determined that heavy cell phone users had a 50 percent increased likelihood in developing a salivary gland tumor.

In addition, a paper published this month by the Royal Society in London found that adolescents who start using cell phones before the age of 20 were five times more likely to develop brain cancer at the age of 29 than those who didn't use a cell phone.

"It's only on the side of the head where you use the cell phone," Carpenter said.

"Every child is using cell phones all of the time, and there are three billion cell phone users in the world," said Herberman.

He added that, like the messages that warn of health risks on cigarette packs, cell phones "need a precautionary message."

Carpenter described the situation as "a critical public health issue," and called on the US government to support further research and for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in charge of monitoring the use of the radio spectrum, "to review their standards."

Also testifying was Julius Knapp, who heads the FCC office of engineering and technology -- responsible for setting limits for human exposure to radio frequency (RF) energy from electronic devices like telephones that they approve, to prevent it from heating up live tissue.

"It is important to understand that we rely on guidance from US health, safety and environmental agencies in setting those limits," Knapp said.

He added: "The FCC staff is not sufficiently qualified to speak with authority to the science of health effects of RF absorption in the body."

5 Myths About Wind Energy

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:07:59 -0000

Environment

5 Myths About Wind Energy

Analysts estimate it would take at least 260,000 turbines, each 300 feet tall, to meet the United States' electricity needs. These turbines are in King City, Mo.

Wind energy might be the simplest renewable energy to understand. Yet there are misconceptions about what makes the wind industry turn.

The United States now has nearly 17,000 megawatts of wind power installed, which can supply about 1.2 percent of the nation's demand for electricity, according to a recent report from the Department of Energy (DOE).

With these numbers projected to grow in the coming years, it might be good to be aware of a few myths that are blowing in the wind.

1. Wind is cheap

No one owns the wind, so it might seem like wind energy should cost less than other technologies that require costly fuel, such as coal or natural gas, to operate.

However, the initial investment for wind energy is high. Large scale wind turbines cost a few million dollars per megawatt to put up, which at face value appears competitive with new coal-fired power plants, but the wind doesn't always blow. In effect, wind turbines typically only produce electricity about 30 percent of the time, so it takes longer to pay back the building costs.

Taken together with government incentives and maintenance costs over a turbine's 20-year lifetime, wind energy ends up costing about 4 cents per kilowatt-hour, according to DOE estimates. That's slightly more than coal, but the two are getting closer all the time.

2. America is way behind the rest of the world

Denmark gets 20 percent of its energy from wind. Germany has the most wind turbines of any country. China is set to nearly double its wind energy capacity in just one year.

You might think the United States is dragging its heels, but in terms of the raw total, America produces more wind energy than any other country (thanks to it being windier here than in Germany).

And more investment is on the way.

One recent headline grabber is the world's large wind farm project in Pampa, Texas, proposed by oil magnate T. Boone Pickens. This is part of the so-called Pickens Plan to invest $1 trillion on wind turbines throughout the wind corridor from the Dakotas down to the Texas panhandle.

3. Wind turbines are loud

Wind turbines used to be loud, but newer designs are less so.

Some of the bad rap about noise can be attributed to a single wind turbine constructed in 1978 outside of Boone, N.C., which generated low-frequency sound waves that rattled windows and made some people sick in nearby homes.

Since then, most new rotors turn slower and are mounted in front of (not behind) their towers. These and other changes have dramatically lowered the noise, said Pat Moriarty of the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo.

Still, some neighbors complain, and the wind industry continues to search for even quieter designs.

4. Wind turbines kill birds

This one is actually true, but the problem is not as bad as some people claim.

The impression that all turbines are dangerous to birds comes from Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area in California. This was one of the first big wind farms, and unfortunately it was placed in a migratory bird pathway, Moriarty said.

In addition, Altamont's 4,800 small wind turbines - many installed in the early 80s - have rotors low to the ground and packed close together, which may be why more than 1,000 birds (half of which are raptors) die there each year.

Newer wind farms report fewer bird deaths probably because the turbines are taller and spread further apart. And for comparison's sake, studies show that many more birds die colliding with cars and buildings than die in turbine blades.

5. Any house can own a windmill

Unless you have a good chunk of land around your house, it's probably not a good idea to get a wind turbine. If it's too close to buildings or trees, the wind will be turbulent and won't produce the power that it's supposed to.

But what do we know. The small wind turbine market grew by 14 percent in 2007. Some of these are for boats, but others supply homeowners who live off the grid.

New Cosmic Puzzle Beyond The Known Universe

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:43:28 -0000

Mysterious New 'Dark Flow' Discovered in Space

As if the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy weren't vexing enough, another baffling cosmic puzzle has been discovered.

Patches of matter in the universe seem to be moving at very high speeds and in a uniform direction that can't be explained by any of the known gravitational forces in the observable universe. Astronomers are calling the phenomenon "dark flow."

The stuff that's pulling this matter must be outside the observable universe, researchers conclude.

When scientists talk about the observable universe, they don't just mean as far out as the eye, or even the most powerful telescope, can see. In fact there's a fundamental limit to how much of the universe we could ever observe, no matter how advanced our visual instruments. The universe is thought to have formed about 13.7 billion years ago. So even if light started travelling toward us immediately after the Big Bang, the farthest it could ever get is 13.7 billion light-years in distance. There may be parts of the universe that are farther away (we can't know how big the whole universe is), but we can't see farther than light could travel over the entire age of the universe.

Mysterious motions

Scientists discovered the flow by studying some of the largest structures in the cosmos: giant clusters of galaxies. These clusters are conglomerations of about a thousand galaxies, as well as very hot gas which emits X-rays. By observing the interaction of the X-rays with the cosmic microwave background (CMB), which is leftover radiation from the Big Bang, scientists can study the movement of clusters.

The X-rays scatter photons in the CMB, shifting its temperature in an effect known as the kinematic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect. This effect had not been observed as a result of galaxy clusters before, but a team of researchers led by Alexander Kashlinsky, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., found it when they studied a huge catalogue of 700 clusters, reaching out up to 6 billion light-years, or half the universe away. They compared this catalogue to the map of the CMB taken by NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite.

They discovered that the clusters were moving nearly 2 million mph (3.2 million kph) toward a region in the sky between the constellations of Centaurus and Vela. This motion is different from the outward expansion of the universe (which is accelerated by the force called dark energy).

"We found a very significant velocity, and furthermore, this velocity does not decrease with distance, as far as we can measure," Kashlinsky told SPACE.com. "The matter in the observable universe just cannot produce the flow we measure."

Inflationary bubble

The scientists deduced that whatever is driving the movements of the clusters must lie beyond the known universe.

A theory called inflation posits that the universe we see is just a small bubble of space-time that got rapidly expanded after the Big Bang. There could be other parts of the cosmos beyond this bubble that we cannot see.

In these regions, space-time might be very different, and likely doesn't contain stars and galaxies (which only formed because of the particular density pattern of mass in our bubble). It could include giant, massive structures much larger than anything in our own observable universe. These structures are what researchers suspect are tugging on the galaxy clusters, causing the dark flow.

"The structures responsible for this motion have been pushed so far away by inflation, I would guesstimate they may be hundreds of billions of light years away, that we cannot see even with the deepest telescopes because the light emitted there could not have reached us in the age of the universe," Kashlinsky said in a telephone interview. "Most likely to create such a coherent flow they would have to be some very strange structures, maybe some warped space time. But this is just pure speculation."

Surprising find

Though inflation theory forecasts many odd facets of the distant universe, not many scientists predicted the dark flow.

"It was greatly surprising to us and I suspect to everyone else," Kashlinsky said. "For some particular models of inflation you would expect these kinds of structures, and there were some suggestions in the literature that were not taken seriously I think until now."

The discovery could help scientists probe what happened to the universe before inflation, and what's going on in those inaccessible realms we cannot see.

The researchers detail their findings in the Oct. 20 issue of the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The End? Or The Beginning?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:24:38 -0000

http://drs1958.gaia.com/blog/2008/4/our_confusing_economy_explained_
the_dark_shadow_economy

Lehman Brothers should have been bailed out to stabilize things. It doesn't put aside the fact that coprorations such as this have way too much power and its the reason why we are in this mess in the first place...with the blessings of the US Government.. There is no accountability...literally on either parties part!

http://drs1958.gaia.com/blog/2007/11/the_corporation

The Boston Tea Party is known around the world and has been inspirational to other noted activists and reform leaders. For example, Erik H. Erikson records in his book "Gandhi's Truths" that when Mahatma Gandhi met with the British viceroy in 1930 after the Indian salt protest campaign, Gandhi took some duty-free salt from his shawl and said, with a smile, that the salt was "to remind us of the famous Boston Tea Party."

American political activists have invoked the Tea Party as a symbol of rebellion against the establishment.

http://drs1958.gaia.com/blog/2007/11/save_the_middle_class

Millions spend half of income on housing

Al Ray is so strapped for cash, the only time he eats out is on Wednesday or Sunday, when the local McDonald's sells hamburgers for 49 cents.

Ray lost his engineering job last November, and has been working as high school tutor, scratching out about $1,000 a month - if he's lucky. He struggled to make his $1,400 monthly mortgage payment and $330 monthly homeowners' association fee until May, when he stopped paying.

Ray, 44, is looking for work and renting out a room in his two-bedroom condo in Davie, Fla., for $500, but his monthly income doesn't match his expenses and he's facing foreclosure.

"I barely have money to survive," he said.

Ray is one of more than 7.5 million people - almost 15 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage - who are spending half of their income or more on housing costs, according to 2007 data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up from nearly 7.1 million the year before.

Traditionally, the government and most lenders consider a homeowner spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing costs to be financially burdened. But that definition now covers almost 38 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage - 19 million of them.

Though home prices have fallen this year, in the most expensive markets where home prices tripled during the boom, many working families still cannot afford to buy a home.

"We had a bubble," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. "This is a case where we absolutely want the market to adjust."

The data underscore the serious affordability problems in this country and highlight how the slightest financial problem - from a lost job to higher gas prices or insurance premiums - can put a family behind on their mortgages and into the realm of foreclosure.

When home prices fell in the early 1990s, borrowers had more equity in their homes, and were able to escape foreclosure. But now, an estimated 10 million homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, according to Moody's economy.com.

More than 4 million homeowners were at least one month behind on their loans at the end of June, and almost 500,000 had started the foreclosure process, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Cascading foreclosures over the past two years created a domino effect in the lending industry, undermining investor confidence and forcing the Bush administration last weekend to announce the greatest rescue package and market intervention since the Great Depression.

And yet, the deal will not help Dolly Hanna, 51, and her husband, who bought five homes in the San Francisco area over the past 20 years, and were enjoying life during the housing boom by renting them out.

But her husband's overtime at his mechanic's job was cut, and the Hannas now find themselves overextended at a loss of $15,000 per month and trying two sell two of the homes.

With four children, Hanna had been a stay-at-home mom, but Monday she started a job in real estate. They are seeking a renter for two upstairs bedrooms in their primary residence for $1,200.

Getting a loan during the boom was easy, Hanna knows. Too easy.

"All you had to was massage the information enough to fit it into their round hole, and they gave us a mortgage," Hanna said.

In San Francisco, more than one out of five homeowners with a mortgage spends half or more of their income on housing.

That's also true in 13 more of the largest 100 metro areas analyzed by the Associated Press. Other places include California metro areas of Stockton, Los Angeles, Riverside, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks, San Francisco, and San Diego. Also in the top 10 are the Fort Myers, Sarasota and Orlando metro areas in Florida, and New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island.

But the most cost-burdened homeowners in the country live the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach metro area: 58 percent of homeowners spending 30 percent of their income on housing costs, and 29 percent spending half of their income or more on housing.

Though prices here are dropping, the high cost of land, construction, insurance and property taxes makes living in South Florida too expensive for some.

"Certainly, we hear about people leaving South Florida and going into Atlanta where they can get into a house for less money," Suzanne Weiss, associate director for real estate with Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida.

To help with the affordable housing stock, Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida joined forces with a construction company to build homes for low- to moderate-income residents that include energy-efficient appliances and hurricane-resistant windows.

Other cities and states are also taking action.

In Illinois, a network of 15 nonprofit housing groups gives free advice to struggling homeowners seeking to avoid foreclosure amid rising mortgage payments.

In New England, an affordable housing program funded by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston awards grants and low-interest loans to communities to encourage affordable-housing initiatives for very low- to moderate-income households.

And in Las Vegas, the Nevada Fair Housing Center is helping Rita Harvey renegotiate her mortgage from $2,700 to around $1,800 per month.

Harvey, 64, lives on about $3,300 a month in social security and disability payments for herself and her four disabled grandchildren. She nearly lost her home this summer after her adjustable rate mortgage payment jumped.

"I did not understand that in two years, this would adjust out of control," she said. "Nobody deserves what I've had to go through."

___

What's the best way to celebrate peace?

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:40:37 -0000

The two things that can destroy peace are fear and pain. Contemplate the depth of fear and pain and indeed one may open a Pandora's box. I would celebrate peace by creating peace in the only place possible to create it, within.

All we are saying...is give peace a chance

The Next Generation Telescope

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:40:16 -0000

Next Generation Telescope (Released 2002)

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:17:37 -0000

Dark matter doesn't make up 90% of the mass of the universe... it only makes up 22%. Our visible matter makes up around 4%. DARK ENERGY (!) is what makes up the most mass (around 74%).

The video is from 2002 when the term dark matter pretty much covered the unseen matter/energy that made up most of our universe and dark energy was speculated. Its only with the observation of type 1a supernovae at very high red shifts within the last few years that the existence of a dark energy was confirmed and the term became an accepted phrase in present day cosmology.

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:10:58 -0000

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Mirror Glass Melt

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:08:38 -0000

Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Mirror Lid Lift

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:05:09 -0000

New Mozart Music Discovered

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:10:22 -0000

New Mozart piece of music found in French library

A French museum has found a previously unknown piece of music handwritten by Mozart, a researcher said Thursday. The 18th century melody sketch is missing the harmony and instrumentation but was described as important find.

Ulrich Leisinger, head of research at the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, Austria, said there is no doubt that the single sheet was written by the composer.

"This is absolutely new," Leisinger said in a telephone interview. "We have new music here."

"His handwriting is absolutely clearly identifiable," he added. "There's no doubt that this is an original piece handwritten by Mozart."

The work, described as the preliminary draft of a musical composition, was found by a library in Nantes in western France as staff were going through its archives. Leisinger says the library contacted his foundation for help authenticating the work.

"It's a melody sketch so what's missing is the harmony and the instrumentation but you can make sense out of it," he said. "The tune is complete. It's only one part and not the whole score with eight or twelve parts."

"One can really get a feeling of what Mozart meant although we do not know how he would have orchestrated it."

The city is planning to hold a news conference on the find later on Thursday.

There have been about 10 Mozart finds of such importance over the past 50 years, he said. If sold, the single sheet would likely be worth around $100,000.

"The fact that an entirely new sheet shows up is extremely rare," he said.

The sheet was bequeathed to the library by an autograph collector in the 19th century and was catalogued back then as part of the library's collection, he said.

But it was later "entirely forgotten," essentially becoming lost to scholars for more than century, and was only rediscovered by the library as it re-catalogued its archives in recent years. It was unclear what happened to the library's 19th century catalogue.

Circumstantial evidence, including the type of paper, suggests Mozart did not write it before 1787, Leisinger said. Mozart died in 1791.

Mozart was interested in church music and at that time was planning to become the choir and music director of Vienna's main cathedral, although he died before he could take up the post.

In all, about 100 such examples of musical drafts by Mozart are known about. Many are notes for works that he went on to complete.

But the rediscovered sheet is the "draft for a piece that Mozart did not work out for what ever reason," said Leisinger.

The sheet appears also to have been examined in the 19th Century by Aloys Fuchs, a well-respected autograph hunter who collected works from more than 1,500 different musicians. Fuchs wrote "authenticity of this present handwriting of W.A. Mozart is confirmed," in an annotation dated Aug. 18, 1839, in Vienna.

Unknown score written by Mozart found in France

A French municipal library has discovered a musical score handwritten by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in its archives, the Nantes town hall said on Thursday.

The one-page work, donated to the town by a private collector at the end of the 19th century, was until recently thought to be a copy rather than an original.

The unpublished score, measuring 16 cm by 29 cm (6.5 by 11.5 inches), is thought to have been written around 1787, according to an expert musicologist from the Mozarteum university in the composer's native city of Salzburg in Austria.

The score is undergoing a second round of expert investigations, Nantes authorities said.

"A Mozart autograph is hugely valuable. There are lots of them in the vaults of Swiss banks," said Michel Noiray, head of the French centre for research on musical heritage.

Mozart was one of the most prolific classical composers. He died in 1791 at the age of 35, leaving over 600 known pieces of music.

Tesla Motors 100% Electric Sedan Being Built In California

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:38:24 -0000

Tesla Motors to build electric sedan in California

When Tesla Motors Inc. began taking orders last year for its all-electric sports car, celebrities lined up to purchase the sleek zero-emission vehicle with the six-digit sticker price.

But with plans in the works for a new headquarters and factory, the Silicon Valley startup hopes it's taking the first step toward making electric cars a presence in the driveways of average Americans.

Tesla expected final approval Tuesday of a deal with the city of San Jose to lease nearly 90 acres of city-owned land for a plant to build the Model S, an all-electric sedan.

According to Tesla's chief executive, the planned $250 million facility shows Tesla aims to do more than simply produce eco-friendly status symbols for wealthy drivers.

"It is our intention to service the entire market," CEO Ze'ev Drori said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We are not a niche player."

While its $60,000 price tag still clearly marks the Model S as a luxury vehicle, the five-seater will cost at least 45 percent less than the Tesla Roadster, which starts at $109,000.

The San Jose factory will also produce many more cars than the Roadster's planned run of 1,500 for the 2009 model year. The company wants to roll the first Model S off the San Jose assembly line during the fourth quarter of 2010 and expects to build 15,000 during its first year of production, Drori said.

In the future, Tesla aspires to make electric vehicles that a much broader base of consumers can afford.

"We are going to work down the road on cars which will be substantially less expensive again," Drori said.

Tesla's cars run on a huge lithium-ion battery pack that can be recharged by plugging an adapter cord into a wall socket. The company estimates the Roadster can travel 225 miles on a single 3.5-hour charge and expects similar results from the Model S.

Tesla had planned to build the Model S factory in New Mexico but announced in June that the plant would stay in California after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Treasurer Bill Lockyer worked out a tax break for the company. Schwarzenegger is one of several celebrities, along with actors George Clooney and Kelsey Grammer, who the company says have all ordered Roadsters.

According to the company, the new factory and corporate headquarters will create about 1,000 jobs.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said Tesla's move will bolster the city's goal of creating 25,000 jobs in the growing "clean technology" sector over the next 15 years. As part of the agreement to bring Tesla to San Jose, the company won't have to pay to lease the land for the first 10 years, he said.

"We want to be a world-class center of clean-tech innovation, and this fits into our strategy to do that," Reed said. "We hope to be the home of the electric car like Detroit was for the internal-combustion car."