www.maybememe.com

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/02/05/israel-iran-war-would-quickly-spread/

One-third of one year of the US military budget would pay for every Iranian to have an American energy footprint via solar.

2012-02-06T12:42:00.001-08:00

Could be worth viewing

2011-11-18T20:18:00.001-08:00

On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 10:58 PM, pensivepencil> wrote:

maybememe,
thinking of going Sunday...sounds like a hoot. Interested?
http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/superheroes
Just read a terrific book that connects to this, though from an entirely different angle:
http://www.amazon.com/Supergods-Vigilantes-Miraculous-Mutants-Smallville/dp/1400069122/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321599457&sr=8-1

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: maybememe
Date: Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 8:16 PM
Subject: Re: Could be worth viewing
To: pensivepencil

Sure, I'll go check that out, maybe you can layer some supergods in there for me.

"Superman's Song"

Tarzan wasn't a ladies' man
He'd just come along and scoop 'em up under his arm
Like that, quick as a cat in the jungle
But Clark Kent, now there was a real gent
He would not be caught sittin' around in no
Junglescape, dumb as an ape doing nothing

[Chorus:]
Superman never made any money
For saving the world from Solomon Grundy
And sometimes I despair the world will never see
Another man like him

Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job
Even though he could have smashed through any bank
In the United States, he had the strength, but he would not
Folks said his family were all dead
Their planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself
To carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going

Tarzan was king of the jungle and Lord over all the apes
But he could hardly string together four words: "I Tarzan, You Jane."

Sometimes when Supe was stopping crimes
I'll bet that he was tempted to just quit and turn his back
On man, join Tarzan in the forest
But he stayed in the city, and kept on changing clothes
In dirty old phonebooths till his work was through
And nothing to do but go on home

Pink Floyd - The Wall

2011-11-15T16:00:00.001-08:00

via video.google.com

House Is Gone but the Debt Lives On

2011-10-02T18:54:00.001-07:00

via online.wsj.com

6 Reasons Why Interval Cardio is Better For You Than Jogging

2011-08-24T13:04:00.001-07:00

Will jogging long distance or doing several short sprints get you to your fitness and fat loss goals faster and more safely?

First, let’s define cardio.

Anaerobic cardio is also called:

Sprinting

High Intensity / Short durational

Interval Cardio

Fartlek training

During anaerobic type of cardio your heart rate peaks at 85-90 percent of maximum heart rate at the end of each 1-2 minute challenge. In between each challenge is a recovery phase of 1-2 minutes of low intensity activity to let your heart rate come down to about 50 percent of maximum.

Aerobic cardio is also called:

Jogging

Low Intensity / Long Duration

Steady State Cardio

"Fat Burning Zone"

During aerobic type cardio your heart rate stays in the 55 – 65 percent of maximum heart rate (you can talk during exercise) for an extended amount of time (45-90 minutes).

Both types of cardio have a time and a place, but if you want to be efficient with your time and get to your health and fitness goals faster, you should consider sprinting types of cardio a majority of the time.

The advantages of Aerobic cardio are:

Easy to do, and a nice way for sedentary people to get started on an exercise program. Any activity is better than no activity

Good for injury rehab (as long as an elliptical or another non impact technique is used)

Good for a change of pace occasionally

Below are six advantages of Anaerobic type cardio:

#1 You burn more body fat

IT IS A MYTH THAT “Aerobic Cardio” is better for burning body fat.

THIS IS HUGE: When you are done with a low intensity (jogging) session; you are done burning calories.

You see, when you are done with high intensity (sprints) your body burns extra calories for the next 8 hours, depending on the intensity of the Interval Cardio Session.

So, in the Total Calories Consumed versus Calories Burned game you are way ahead by doing high intensity (sprints), mainly due to the extra calories your body burns after the cardio session.

To lose fat, you must burn more calories than you eat.

You knew it had to be too good to be true that a lower intensity cardio session would be better for you. Common sense should tell you that a really hard, sweaty session of sprints would help you get to your fat loss goal faster than sitting on a recumbent bike, pedaling slow while you read the news paper.

#2 When you perform “anaerobic” cardio you build a bigger heart and lungs

Heart and lungs are muscles, albeit slightly different than skeletal muscles. They have more red fibers, because they have to obviously work (at low intensity) 24/7.

Because your heart and lungs are muscles similar to your skeletal muscles, they respond in a similar way to exercise.

To make your skeletal muscle bigger, do you lift a light weight for lots of reps? Or do you lift a heavier weight for fewer reps?

The answer is, lift a heavier weight for fewer reps.

In fact, if you lift a light weight for lots of reps, your muscle will actually get smaller. Your body is very smart and it does not want to waste energy.

When you continuously lift lighter weights for high reps, the muscle will atrophy (get smaller) because the big muscle is not needed to lift the lighter weight, so your body can send less energy to the smaller muscle to do the work, thus saving energy.

So if you want a smaller heart and a smaller pair of lungs, keep jogging long distances.

If you want a bigger heart (with more stroke volume) and more of an ability to recover from an intense challenge (whether it be a physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual challenge) then start doing High Intensity Interval Cardio.

Same thing with lungs. Do interval cardio to build the size and capacity of your lungs. Doing low intensity, jogging type cardio will decrease your lungs’ size and capacity.

As far as living long and strong, the size of your lungs are extremely important.

As you age, it is very important that you maintain as much lung capacity as you can. High Intensity Interval Cardio is the key for this.

Study the info from the Framingham Heart Study and you will be convinced of the importance of a bigger and stronger heart & lunges when it comes to aging gracefully.

#3 Anaerobic cardio builds more functional muscle

As discussed earlier, short bursts of intense challenges builds muscle size.

Do you want the physique of a sprinter or the physique of a marathon runner?

Marathon runners tend to look thin and frail while sprinters have considerable more muscle with lower body fat.

Typically, boxers and sprinters have the best abs of any athletes on the planet. When you sprint, you are mimicking a boxer’s technique. Both sprinters and boxers almost always train with intervals.

If you want the physique of a marathon runner, train like a marathon runner. If you want the physique of a sprinter, train like a sprinter.

#4 Anaerobic cardio increases your testosterone and growth hormones

Testosterone and growth hormone are very important hormones for building muscle, losing fat, and having optimal energy levels.

When you perform Interval Cardio you boost your anabolic hormones that allow you to build muscle and become lean. Growth hormone and testosterone are increased with Interval Style cardio. Conversely, low intensity jogging type cardio suppresses them and produces cortisol, the stress hormone.

Not only does jogging type cardio suppress your anabolic hormones, it also wastes your time. You would need to do 6-8 hours of low intensity cardio per week to get the same fat burning effect as two or three 30 minute Interval Cardio sessions.

#5 Interval cardio trains your body to become an energy storage machine

Fact #1

When you eat carbs your body breaks them down into glucose (blood sugar) and glycogen. Glucose and glycogen is the gasoline that fuels your muscles for activity.

The glucose is stored in your blood and liver, while the glycogen is stored in your muscles. Your body can only store so much glucose and glycogen. Any extra carbs get stored in your fat cells.

Below is one of the major reasons why the myth that Low Intensity Cardio is best for burning body fat still persists:

It is true that when you do Low Intensity Cardio your body gets approximately 85 percent of its energy from fat cells. Thus, on the surface, it looks like you would want to exercise this way to burn more body fat.

But, the three strikes against exercising with Low Intensity Cardio are:

Fat as a source of fuel is a slow burn fuel.

It takes 20 minutes of activity to get up to the point that your body is using the fat for fuel, because fat is a slow burning fuel. Fat will not give you energy for short bursts of intense activity.

When you train your body to use fat as a source of fuel, you never feel fast, usable energy. You tend to feel constant low energy. When you train with Interval Cardio, you will feel energized all day long because you are training your body to use quick burning fuel known as glucose and glycogen.

You train your body to store more of your carbs as fat.

When you do low intensity cardio, you’re telling your body to store more fat in order to maintain a constant supply of energy Thus you stimulate your body to become more of a fat storage machine.

When doing Low Intensity Cardio, when you are done with the activity you are done burning calories.

But with Interval Cardio you can burn extra calories and ride the fat burning wave for up to 8 hours after you’ve finished your workout, thus finding yourself ahead of the calories in / calories burned game.

Fact #2

When you do Interval Cardio your body gets 85 percent of the energy needed for the exercise from glucose and glycogen, which is a fast burning fuel. It is ready within seconds.

When you sprint (high intensity Interval Cardio) your body says: "Wow, it’s a good thing I had that glucose and glycogen in the liver and in the muscles for those sprints, I am going to store more of the future carbs there for future sprint sessions."

What you are doing is enlarging your gas tanks to hold more glucose and glycogen, which is like lean tissue / muscle. It burns energy just sitting there. Fat does not.

Plus glycogen and glucose is a quick burn fuel, ready to help you have quick energy for sudden needs such as sprinting, running, jumping, working, etc.

To get leaner, faster, and have more quick energy to burn, stick with high intensity, sprinting type cardio.

#6. Interval cardio saves time

Twenty minutes of Interval Cardio done in the morning will burn more body fat than 60 minutes of Low Intensity cardio done later in the day. Plus, when you schedule it to be done in the morning, it’s more likely to get done.

Another plus of doing Interval Cardio in the morning is you will feel more energized, positive, and proud of yourself for getting it in early. When you exercise, it is only natural to eat better and make healthier choices throughout the day. It is like you subconsciously do not want to waste it.

Who doesn’t want to get more accomplished in a shorter amount of time? Hopefully with this information, you will feel like you have enough time to incorporate a sensible cardiovascular program into your lifestyle. It only takes two or three 20-30 minutes sessions per week. With high intensity cardio you can gain back an hour or two a day of extra energy and productivity. Now that is a good trade off!

via fitness.mercola.com

Earthquake

2011-08-24T09:03:00.001-07:00

Hilarious

Sent from my Google Nexus One™ Smart Phone.

On Aug 24, 2011 9:01 AM, "Bryan Berndt" <bryan.berndt@gmail.com> wrote:
> Sent from my Google Nexus One™ Smart Phone.
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Geoff"
> Date: Aug 24, 2011 5:45 AM
> Subject: Earthquake
>
> see attached.

Earthquake

2011-08-24T09:02:00.001-07:00

Sent from my Google Nexus One™ Smart Phone.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Geoff"
Date: Aug 24, 2011 5:45 AM
Subject: Earthquake

see attached.

Cephalopod time

2011-07-29T22:41:00.001-07:00

I personally will state for the record, that I DO NOT enjoy eating cuddlefish. Southpark also made it out to be almost as revolting as cannabalism.

On Fri, Jul 29, 2011 at 10:19 PM, via email

Nova: Kings of Camouflage:
http://video.pbs.org/video/1150618835/
My take:
http://www.vancourier.com/columnists/Intelligent+invertebrates+provide+food+thought/5168912/story.html
Fuck Yeah Cuttlefish:
http://fuckyeahcuttlefish.tumblr.com/

Solar toilet turns sewage into power

2011-07-28T22:36:00.001-07:00

via newscientist.com

Steve Perlman’s white paper explains “impossible” wireless tech - Unlimited wireless bandwidth with 250 mile rural radius? | VentureBeat

2011-07-28T21:59:00.001-07:00

via venturebeat.com

Birthing the Species Being...and obliterating the telecom industries worldwide reliant upon monopoly control over previously limited bandwidth. - JB

Generations

2011-07-08T15:56:00.001-07:00

via cheriebeck.files.wordpress.com

Price of solar panels to drop to $1 by 2013, report forecasts

2011-06-30T21:43:00.001-07:00

via guardian.co.uk

The Warning

2011-06-27T08:07:00.001-07:00

This Friday, quietly, the door shuts on cash-heavy, house-horny Mainland Chinese. Citizenship and Immigration Canada is abruptly capping the Federal Immigrant Investor Program, setting a minuscule target of just 700 for the next year – a quota expected to be filled in just days.

via greaterfool.ca

GE Sees Solar Cheaper Than Fossil Power in Five Years - Bloomberg

2011-06-23T20:38:00.001-07:00

Solar power may be cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels and nuclear reactors within three to five years because of innovations, said Mark M. Little, the global research director for General Electric Co. (GE)

“If we can get solar at 15 cents a kilowatt-hour or lower, which I’m hopeful that we will do, you’re going to have a lot of people that are going to want to have solar at home,” Little said yesterday in an interview in Bloomberg’s Washington office. The 2009 average U.S. retail rate per kilowatt-hour for electricity ranges from 6.1 cents in Wyoming to 18.1 cents in Connecticut, according to Energy Information Administration data released in April.

GE, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, announced in April that it had boosted the efficiency of thin-film solar panels to a record 12.8 percent. Improving efficiency, or the amount of sunlight converted to electricity, would help reduce the costs without relying on subsidies.

The thin-film panels will be manufactured at a plant that GE intends to open in 2013. The company said in April that the factory will have about 400 employees and make enough panels each year to power about 80,000 homes.

Solar-panel makers from Arizona to Shanghai are expanding factories to add more cost savings that analysts say will sustain the industry’s expansion. Installations may increase by as much as 50 percent in 2011, worth about $140 billion, as cheaper panels and thin film make developers less dependent on government subsidies, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecast.

Solar Costs Dive

The cost of solar cells, the main component in standard panels, has fallen 21 percent so far this year, and the cost of solar power is now about the same as the rate utilities charge for conventional power in the sunniest parts of California, Italy and Turkey, the London-based research company said.

Most solar panels use silicon-based photovoltaic cells to transform sunlight into electricity. The thin-film versions, made of glass or other material coated with cadmium telluride or copper indium gallium selenide alloys, account for about 15 percent of the $28 billion in worldwide solar-panel sales.

First Solar Inc. (FSLR), based in Tempe, Arizona, is the world’s largest producer of thin-film panels, with $2.6 billion in yearly revenue.

Smart Grid

Little also said the U.S. transition to a full smart grid will take “many, many years” to develop.

A complete smart grid would consist of millions of next- generation meters installed in businesses and homes, appliances that adjust their energy use when prices change, and advanced software to help utilities control electricity flows, he said.

“I think it’s going to be a long time before we can realize the full potential of the smart grid,” he said. “But it is coming.”

GE this year plans to introduce the “Nucleus,” a device that will let consumers track their household electricity use with personal computers and smart phones. The company also is investing in its appliance and lighting unit, including $432 million for U.S. refrigeration and design centers announced in October.

Utilities need to have incentives to put in place devices that save energy, and Congress needs to provide greater certainty on tax policy surrounding renewable energy, Little said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Wingfield in Washington at bwingfield3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net

GE Sees Solar Cheaper Than Fossil Power in Five Years - Bloomberg

2011-06-23T20:34:00.001-07:00

Solar Costs Dive

First Solar Inc. (FSLR), based in Tempe, Arizona, is the world’s largest producer of thin-film panels, with $2.6 billion in yearly revenue.

Smart Grid

Little also said the U.S. transition to a full smart grid will take “many, many years” to develop.

“I think it’s going to be a long time before we can realize the full potential of the smart grid,” he said. “But it is coming.”

Utilities need to have incentives to put in place devices that save energy, and Congress needs to provide greater certainty on tax policy surrounding renewable energy, Little said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Wingfield in Washington at bwingfield3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Larry Liebert at lliebert@bloomberg.net

U.S. Solar-Power Companies Approach Competitiveness, FT Reports - Bloomberg

2011-06-23T20:33:00.001-07:00

U.S. solar-power companies say they’ll be in a position to compete on price with conventional generation within three years, without subsidy, as costs come down, the Financial Times reported.

In California, the cost of solar power is close to that of gas-fired plants at times of peak demand, the newspaper said.

Rob Gillette, the chief executive officer of Arizona-based First Solar Inc. (FSLR), said the company plans to cut the cost of its thin-film solar modules by 20 percent by 2014, after which it will be able to sign contracts with California utilities to sell power for 10 to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, the FT reported.

Thomas Dinwoodie, who founded SunPower Corp., told the newspaper that solar is cheaper than new nuclear power and is competitive with gas and coal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Purkiss in London on apurkiss@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Colin Keatinge at ckeatinge@bloomberg.net.

Don't worry, everything is going to be alright...

2011-06-21T21:29:00.001-07:00

...once our three-hemisphered, eight-nippled, fourteen-anused progeny figure out the solution. By then the blandishments of 'journalist' George Monbiot, who got cancer of the integrity back in the early part of the twenty-first century, will be footnote in medical journals.

GM Electric Bus Ventures: 600-percent improvement over a typical diesel bus.

2011-06-17T07:07:00.001-07:00

via media.gm.com

Proterra’s EcoRide™ BE-35 battery electric bus is averaging up to 24 mpg (diesel equivalent) in service, a more than 600-percent improvement over a typical diesel bus.

And for those of you who thought the Southern Hemisphere might be safer...

2011-06-10T15:58:00.001-07:00

...from radioactive plumes, political and economic breakdown, GMO food, Justin Bieber, etc., here's a lovely little pic of lightning dancing around the volcano now erupting in Chile.

Ever get the feeling that real life is starting to look more and more like a Bruce Willis CGI disaster movie?

2012, here we come!

http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/YStBSOiKdqg/1gbps-fiber-for-70in-america-yup.ars

1Gbps fiber for $70—in America? Yup.

2011-06-10T14:11:00.001-07:00

Prisoners Of Gravity

2011-06-06T21:17:00.001-07:00

From: Future_Sound _Of_Canada
Date: Thu, May 26, 2011 at 8:57 PM
Subject: Postscript
To: paul, cheryl
Cc: mystblades, bryan.berndt, solonoise, zombie.lord

PS: Did you ever see a television show from TV Ontario called Prisoners of Gravity from the early 90's? It was easily one of the best shows on television, and it featured interviews with a number of science fiction and fantasy authors, and other professionals in related fields, concernng specific topics in each episode. It was hosted by one of the members of the Canadian comedy troupe The Frantics, who went on to host another well-made show called History Bites. TV Ontario's online archive is currently hosting a handful of episodes from Prisoners of Gravity, and while it's certainly dated at times (see the epsidoes on "Cyberbooks" for example), much of the content still has relevance today. Some episodes focus on themes in literature and even specific authors, while others focus on real-world technologies and concerns. Interviewees include Clive Barker, Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, Spider Robinson, Douglas Adams, Harlan Ellison, Alan Grant, Frederik Pohl, and many others. When you've got the time watch a few episodes, and you won't be disappointed.

The first page in the list of episodes is available here:
http://archive.tvo.org/program/119701

Sleep

2011-06-06T20:45:00.001-07:00

Sleep Duration: Too Much and Too Little

Sleep and Body Temperature

Sleep and Light and Darkness

Circadian Rhythms, Internal Clock and Natural Cycles

Jet Lag

Sleep Drugs

Sleep, Melatonin and Cancer

Sleep, Metabolism, and Weight Gain

Sleep, Mental Acuity, Memory, Creativity and Performance

Sleep Quality and Longevity

Importance of Dreaming

Sleep Environment, and EMFs

Snoring, Sleep Apnea, and Other Sleep Disorders

Sleep and Fertility

Sleep, Babies and SIDS

Sleep and Children

High-Efficiency CIGS Thin Film Solar Cell - Solar Novus Today

2011-06-06T13:52:00.001-07:00

via solarnovus.com

In the world of solar, there is intense competition on efficiency and cost.

Michio Kaku on Japan

2011-06-06T12:30:00.001-07:00

Michio Kaku on Japan

Contrast this with the words of George Monbiot. His claim that only 43 people died from the Chernobly disaster. Or this whopper from his March article in the Guardian;

"You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how they have changed it. As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology.

A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors began to explode and melt down. The disaster exposed a familiar legacy of poor design and corner-cutting. Yet, as far as we know, no one has yet received a lethal dose of radiation."

“Atomic energy has just been subjected to one of the harshest of possible tests, and the impact on people and the planet has been small."

By their words shall ye know them.

New battery design could give electric vehicles a jolt

2011-06-06T09:55:00.001-07:00

via web.mit.edu

DON'T MISS OUT!

2011-06-05T19:30:00.001-07:00

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
From: pensivepencil
Date: Sun, Jun 5, 2011 at 6:05 PM
Subject: In this week's Georgia Straight....
To: maybememe

...in the What's On section. I suspect the juxtaposition wasn't accidental.

Attention Marxists: Labor's Share Of National Income Drops To Lowest In History | zero hedge

2011-06-05T13:50:00.001-07:00

US house price fall 'beats Great Depression slide' - Business News, Business - The Independent

2011-06-01T22:25:00.001-07:00

The ailing US housing market passed a grim milestone in the first quarter of this year, posting a further deterioration that means the fall in house prices is now greater than that suffered during the Great Depression.

The brief recovery in prices in 2009, spurred by government aid to first-time buyers, has now been entirely snuffed out, and the average American home now costs 33 per cent less than it did at the peak of the housing bubble in 2007. The peak-to-trough fall in house prices in the 1930s Depression was 31 per cent – and prices took 19 years to recover after that downturn.

The latest Case-Shiller house price index was just one of a slew of disappointing economic data from the US yesterday, which suggested ebbing confidence in the recovery of the world's largest economy. The Chicago PMI manufacturing index showed a sharp slowdown in the pace of expansion in May, missing Wall Street forecasts and sending the index to its lowest since November 2009.

And in the latest Conference Board consumer confidence survey more people expressed uncertainty over their future economic prospects. The confidence index fell unexpectedly to 60.8 from a revised 66.0, when economists had expected it to rise to 67.0. Falling house prices and negative equity combined with high petrol and food prices and a still-weak jobs market to raise consumers' fears for the future.

Thomas Di Galoma, the managing director of government securities at Oppenheimer & Co, said: "Based on the weakness in housing prices, Chicago PMI and consumer confidence, it appears as though the economy could be headed for a double dip, especially as federal and state spending slows rapidly over the next six months."

Economists warned not to expect any immediate relief to the gloom from the housing market. Banks continue to demand high deposits from potential buyers and are pressing on with foreclosures against those who have fallen behind on mortgages, adding to the glut of unsold homes on the market.

Prices are back to their 2002 levels, according to the Case-Shiller National House Price Index out yesterday. "The national index fell 4.2 per cent over the first quarter alone, and is down 5.1 per cent compared to its year-ago level," David Blitzer, the chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, said. "Home prices continue on their downward spiral with no relief in sight."

Global warming may increase the capacity of trees to store carbon

2011-06-01T21:59:00.001-07:00

Feed the Trees Please to soak up CO2. Temperate forests need Nitrogenous fertilizer. Ammonia fertilizer can be made with H2, N2 and an iron catalyst. Hydrogen can now be made from water, solar power and cheap catalysts instead of from natural gas. Tropical forests have the nitrogen but are short of organic matter, so feed them with composted poop and phosphate rich urine from the cities and ranches.

CHART OF THE DAY: Remember, Here's What's REALLY Killing The Recovery Dead In Its Tracks

2011-06-01T21:26:00.001-07:00

via businessinsider.com

You can come up with all kinds of explanations for the fact that the recovery is fading: Japan, the Arab unrest, house prices, concerns over Europe, etc.
In reality there's only one good answer: This isn't a business cycle, it's a balance sheet recession. And though there's been some deleveraging (thank you Federal spending), the consumer is still way too leveraged to have any new breathing room.
In fact, to deleverage, the consumer has a lot more debt killing left to do.
This chart of household debt as a percentage of personal income is crystal clear (via Krugman).

Conservative Statement: Vitamin D deficiency associated w/ a 700% increase in the risk of death by pneumonia.

2011-05-30T09:59:00.001-07:00

A new analysis of vitamin D levels among winter pneumonia patients has produced some very interesting observations:

1. Those admitted to the Waikato, New Zealand hospital with severe vitamin D deficiency were more likely to die within a month compared to those who had normal or only slightly low levels.

2. The overall death rate was 29% for those with severe D deficiency, and only 4% for those with higher levels. This could indicate that vitamin D deficiency causes a 700% increase in the risk of death by pneumonia. Follow this link to read more about the research: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2011-05/13/c_13873372.htm

The authors noted that sunlight is the best source of vitamin D, and that winters in Hamilton, New Zealand area, like most temperate areas of the world, do not allow sufficient sunlight to stimulate vitamin D production. They also state that pneumonia is the single largest cause of death in children worldwide, killing about 1.6 million children under the age of five each year.

What a horror that so many countries, by means of their health departments and dermatological societies, are frightening children and their parents away from the sunlight during the seasons of the year when it is available. This ensures that vitamin D deficiency will ensue in winter. Also, at the very least, supplementation of vitamin D3 should be recommended during winter—supplementation of about 1,000 IU for every 25 pounds of bodyweight.

This is not the first time the relationship between pneumonia and sunlight has been observed. In 2003, Dr. Dowell and his colleagues showed that the disease is seasonal, with the lowest rates in summer, an increase in fall and a peak in winter.[1] This relationship exactly mimics the quantity of sunlight exposure available in different seasons. Other research has pointed out the same relationship,[2] [3]and still other studies have shown the importance of vitamin D in prevention of pneumonia and related infections to it,[4]

A popular fitness guru used to scream the slogan, “Stop the insanity!” I agree with her advice as it relates to sunlight exposure and would like to scream that it is insane for medical and governmental organizations to frighten their citizens out of the sunlight. Sunshine has become one of our most critical health needs, and those who would have us avoid it at all costs have blood on their hands.

[1] Dowell, S. et al. Seasonal patterns of invasive pneumococcal disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2003;9:573-9.

[2] Leow L, Simpson T, Cursons R, Karalus N, Hancox RJ. Vitamin D, innate immunity and outcomes in community acquired pneumonia. Respirology. 2011;16(4):611-6

[3] White AN, Ng V, Spain CV, Johnson CC, Kinlin LM, Fisman DN. Let the sun shine in: effects of ultraviolet radiation on invasive pneumococcal disease risk in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. BMC Infect Dis. 2009 Dec 4;9:196.

[4] Oduwole AO, Renner JK, Disu E, Ibitoye E, Emokpae E. Relationship between Vitamin D Levels and Outcome of Pneumonia in Children. West Afr J Med 2010;29(6):373-8.

via drsorenson.blogspot.com

Congress Proposes Bill to Allow Worldwide War ... Including INSIDE the U.S. | zero hedge

2011-05-29T21:51:00.001-07:00

Americans who have been paying attention are outraged that Bush lied us into Iraq by making up false claims about weapons of mass destruction and pretending that Saddam Hussein had a hand in 9/11.
Many are disgusted that Obama got us into a war in Libya without Congressional authorization.
But as the ACLU noted yesterday, Congress is going even further ... proposing handing permanent, world-wide war-making powers to the president - including the ability to make war within the United States:

A hugely important provision for Congress to authorize a new worldwide war has been tucked away inside the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill was marked up by members of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) last Wednesday that poured into Thursday morning (2:45 a.m. to be exact).

A couple of minutes past midnight, Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) offered an amendment to strike Sec. 1034 — the new authorization for worldwide war provision — from the NDAA. Visibly angry that such a large sweeping provision had not yet had any public hearing whatsoever, he vigorously characterized it as a very broad declaration of war.

Rep. Garamendi was very concerned by the limitless geographic boundaries of the provision. Essentially, it would enable the U.S. to use military force anywhere in the world (including within the U.S.) in search of terrorists.

***

While a new authorization for worldwide war has had its first public debate, it unfortunately only lasted a hair over 10 minutes and occurred after midnight.

Though it is a very troubling expansion of war authority, it has been lingering for more than three years as a “sleeper provision,” and it is finally getting the attention of some members of Congress. We hope that further debate in Congress in the weeks ahead will allow for a more in-depth examination of unchecked authority to wage worldwide war, and what the outcomes of such a provision will yield.
As I noted in 2008:
An article in the Army Times reveals that the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team will be redeployed from Iraq to domestic operations within the United States.

The unit will soon be under the day-to-day control of US Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command. The Army Times reports this new mission marks the first time an active unit has been given a dedicated assignment to Northern Command. The paper says the Army unit may be called upon to help with "civil unrest" and "crowd control".

The soldiers are learning to use so-called "nonlethal weapons" designed to subdue unruly or dangerous individuals and crowds.

This violates posse comitatus and the Constitution. But, hey, we're in a "national emergency", so who cares, right?
(We're still in a declared state of national emergency).
I noted a couple of months later:
Everyone knows that deploying 20,000 troops on U.S. soil violates Posse Comitatus and the Constitution.

And everyone understands that staging troops within the U.S. to "help out with civil unrest and crowd control" increases the danger of overt martial law.

But no one is asking an obvious question: Does the government's own excuse for deploying the troops make any sense?
Other Encroachments On Civil Rights Under Obama
As bad as Bush was, the truth is that, in many ways, freedom and constitutional rights are under attack even more than during the Bush years.
For example:
Obama has presided over the most draconian crackdown on leaks in our history -- even more so than Nixon.
As Marjorie Cohen - professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and past president of the National Lawyers Guild - writes at the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy:
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is facing court-martial for leaking military reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, is being held in solitary confinement in Quantico brig in Virginia. Each night, he is forced to strip naked and sleep in a gown made of coarse material. He has been made to stand naked in the morning as other inmates walked by and looked. As journalist Lance Tapley documents in his chapter on torture in the supermax prisons in The United States and Torture, solitary confinement can lead to hallucinations and suicide; it is considered to be torture. Manning's forced nudity amounts to humiliating and degrading treatment, in violation of U.S. and international law.

Nevertheless, President Barack Obama defended Manning's treatment, saying, "I've actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures . . . are appropriate. They assured me they are." Obama's deference is reminiscent of President George W. Bush, who asked "the most senior legal officers in the U.S. government" to review the interrogation techniques. "They assured me they did not constitute torture," Bush said.

***

After State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley criticized Manning's conditions of confinement, the White House forced him to resign. Crowley had said the restrictions were "ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid." It appears that Washington is more intent on sending a message to would-be whistleblowers than on upholding the laws that prohibit torture and abuse.

***

Torture is commonplace in countries strongly allied with the United States. Vice President Omar Suleiman, Egypt's intelligence chief, was the lynchpin for Egyptian torture when the CIA sent prisoners to Egypt in its extraordinary rendition program. A former CIA agent observed, "If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear - never to see them again - you send them to Egypt." In her chapter in The United States and Torture, New Yorker journalist Jane Mayer cites Egypt as the most common destination for suspects rendered by the United States.
As I pointed out in March:
Former constitutional law teacher Glenn Greenwald says that - in his defense of state secrecy, illegal spying, preventative detention, harassment of whistleblowers and other issues of civil liberties - Obama is even worse than Bush.

Indeed, Obama has authorized "targeted assassinations" against U.S. citizens. Even Bush didn't openly do something so abhorrent to the rule of law.

Obama is trying to expand spying well beyond the Bush administration's programs. Indeed, the Obama administration is arguing that citizens should never be able to sue the government for illegal spying.

Obama's indefinite detention policy is an Orwellian nightmare, which will create more terrorists.
Furthermore - as hard as it is for Democrats to believe - the disinformation and propaganda campaigns launched by Bush have only increased under Obama. See this and this.
And as I pointed out last year:
According to Department of Defense training manuals, protest is considered "low-level terrorism". And see this, this and this.
An FBI memo also labels peace protesters as "terrorists".

***

A 2003 FBI memo describes protesters' use of videotaping as an "intimidation" technique, even though - as the ACLU points out - "Most mainstream demonstrators often use videotape during protests to document law enforcement activity and, more importantly, deter police from acting outside the law." The FBI appears to be objecting to the use of cameras to document unlawful behavior by law enforcement itself.

The Internet has been labeled as a breeding ground for terrorists, with anyone who questions the government's versions of history being especially equated with terrorists.

Government agencies such as FEMA are allegedly teaching that the Founding Fathers should be considered terrorists.

The government is also using anti-terrorism laws to keep people from learning what pollutants are in their own community. See this, this, this and this.

Claims of "national security" are also used to keep basic financial information - such as who got bailout money - secret. That might not bode for particularly warm and friendly treatment for someone persistently demanding the release of such information.

The state of Missouri tried to label as terrorists current Congressman Ron Paul and his supporters, former Congressman Bob Barr, libertarians in general, anyone who holds gold, and a host of other people.

And according to a law school professor and former president of the National Lawyers Guild, pursuant to the Military Commissions Act:
Anyone who ... speaks out against the government's policies could be declared an "unlawful enemy combatant" and imprisoned indefinitely. That includes American citizens.
Obama has refused to reverse these practices.

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Warren Farrell & Ken Wilber: your download link

2011-05-28T20:49:00.001-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Integral Life" <vrnoreply@integralinstitute.org>
Date: 28 May 2011 20:47
Subject: Warren Farrell & Ken Wilber: your download link
To: <bryan.berndt@gmail.com>

Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men? Part 1 & 2.

Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men? Part 1. Redefining the Relationships Between Men and Women.

Warren Farrell & Ken Wilber

Dr. Warren Farrell and Ken Wilber discuss some of the ingredients of an Integral account of human sexuality, while exploring the nuances of relationships between men and women, the many attempts of feminism to redefine sex and gender, and the historic causes behind the division of labor and the rigid patriarchies that followed….

It is amazing to consider how much has changed in the past five decades in regard to sexual liberation and empowerment. The woman’s role in today’s society is almost unrecognizable compared to the early 20th century, and would be wholly unimaginable in the centuries prior. In America, attitudes toward sexuality and gender began to dramatically shift with the Boomer generation (and the newly emerging pluralistic value s they brought with them), as birth control, free love, and several new schools of “second wave” feminism began to challenge the traditional attitudes that defined preceding generations. Since the early sixties, there has been a tremendous amount of movement toward redefining ourselves as men and women—some forward, some backward, and plenty of jogging-in-place. In the ensuing decades, we have witnessed the masculinization of women, the feminization of men, the neutralization of both genders, the roles of helpless victim set upon women, the witch hunts of fallacious prosecution set against men, the movement to procure equal rights for homosexuals, the advent of sex-change surgery, the rise of pornography as a multi-billion dollar industry, and the capitalization of just about every kink, fetish, and fixation imaginable. And through it all, not surprisingly, men and women in the 21st century still seem to look at each other with the same bewilderment they did 20,000 years ago.

In order to come to any coherent definition of ourselves as sexual beings, we must take as comprehensive a view of sexuality as possible. Ken Wilber has developed a theoretical model known as the “Four Quadrants,” which, when applied to nearly any field of human knowledge, offers a very simple way to ensure that all bases are being covered and that nothing is being left out. The Four Quadrant model accounts for the interior and exterior dimensions of both the individual and the collective, yielding four major realms of consciousness: intentional, cultural, behavioral, and social (or “I”, “we”, “it”, and “its”, respectively, for those interested in tracking pronouns). All four of these dimensions are closely related, with each quadrant having strong correlates in the others—though none of these quadrants can be reduced to each other (despite the entire history of human thought being essentially an attempt to do exactly this.)

When applied to human sexuality, the Four Quadrants al! low us t o clearly see the respective roles of biological sex (male vs. female), interior sexuality (masculine vs. feminine), and sexual gender (man vs. woman, as defined by cultural beliefs and expectations), while also accounting for the various technological and economic systems all of these are situated in. By differentiating each of these important dimensions of sexuality, we are able to see how each is able to develop along its own trajectory, with its own history, without needing to confuse one’s sexual orientation with one’s sense of “manliness,” one’s secret desires with one’s cultural taboos, or even one’s gender with one’s genitals.

As previously mentioned, each of these major dimensions of human sexuality (sex, sexuality, gender, and sociological factors) grows through several distinct stages of unfolding. Just as the human body grows through stages of physical maturity—from fetal to infancy, to toddler-hood, to adolescence, to reproductive maturity—so do we grow psychologically, culturally, and socially. In fact, it is only toward the higher reaches of psychological growth that these sorts of important differentiations between biology, psychology, culture, and society can be made—and only from within a relatively advanced culture can significant strides be made on behalf of sexual identity, expression, and liberation. Both men and women evolve through ego-centric, ethno-centric, and world-centric stages of development, creating cultures that reflect these ever-deepening and increasingly inclusive values as they go.

A special note should be made in regards to our techno-economic development, which arguably has the most influence upon development in the other quadrants, for a variety of reasons. By looking to the history of economic production, we can find the history of gender roles themselves—in the earliest stages of civ! ilizatio n, men and women were able to produce food fairly equally, as men would hunt and women would gather, and even later when we moved into the horticultural stage and both men and women could use a digging stick to grow crops. Things changed, however, when we moved into agricultural mode of production, requiring the training of large animals to pull heavy plows through the fields. As men possess more upper-body strength than women, and women were much more susceptible to birth complications under this sort of physical labor, men and women both made the mutual decision to each tend to different spheres of life. This is we begin to see our first true divisions of labor, with men becoming responsible for the public sphere, and women for the private sphere. (And as an interesting footnote, most of the cultures from the early foraging and horticultural eras worshiped gods that were predominantly matriarchal or evenly split between male and female deities, as opposed to agrarian societies who typically only worshiped male deities.) In societies still struggling with survivalist needs, women became valued as humanity’s most precious resource, and men became valued for their disposability, and are expected to compete for the opportunity to protect these resources.

For the next several thousand years, men did what they do best: kill, compete, and construct rigid and elaborate patriarchies, in all flavors of tribalism, nationalism, religion, aristocracies, meritocracies, and steel cage matches. And, in these testosterone-driven social hierarchies, a woman’s proper place in the public sphere was all too clear: she had none whatsoever. And though modern and post-modern feminists can (and do) scoff at the unabashed sexual inequities within these patriarchies, the fact that this was an intentional, necessary, and mutually beneficial decision made by both sexes early in history is regrettably forgotten. Most men aren’t the oppressive beasts they are often made out to be, and most women aren’t the! helples s victims of men’s oppression that they are often made out to be.

Of course, we are now in a completely different era of history, with modes of technology that have rendered many, if not all, of these prior decisions about labor division obsolete. Much of the physical labor men traditionally had to do has been replaced first by the steam engine, then by combustion, and now by the microchip. This is probably the single most important factor in terms of the rise of women’s liberation, and has brought into relief one of the most frustrating aspects of collective transformation: although the technology can change overnight, the culture is much more slow to adapt, often requiring entire generations to die off before real change can be enacted throughout society. Or, as Ken has bleakly joked elsewhere: “the knowledge quest can only proceed funeral by funeral….”

All in all, it is an amazing time to be alive—to be a man or a woman, male or a female, masculine or feminine, gay or straight. We are bearing witness to an entire new wave of individual and collective values, an Integral wave of development which, when it reaches the tipping point of its emergence, will make just as extraordinary a splash upon history as the European renaissance or the postmodern revolution of the sixties. And while each previous revolution has occurred only to steer the world away from the pathologies and excesses of what came before, the Integral revolution will be markedly different—while creating a space of personal and collective transformation that is radically and unmistakably new, Integral consciousness will also help to bring a tremendous amount of healing, stability, and sanity to the rest of the world, with the crucial understanding that everyone must start at square one before evolving to Integral consciousness. With as comprehensive a view of human sexuality as Integral consciousness provides, it becomes apparent that all of our old and apparently obsolete methods of relatin! g to eac h other will always exist, and we must therefore allow them to exist on their own terms, while simultaneously liberating ourselves from definitions of sexual maturity that no longer seem to apply to us or our relationships, and finding new ways to relate to each other with more authenticity, more wholeness, and more erotic passion than ever before possible....

Does Feminism Discriminate Against Men? Part 2. Beyond Feminism and Masculism.

In the second installation of Warren and Ken’s dialogue we explore the stages of psychological and sexual development in both men and women, the difficulties both genders typically encounter while developing through these stages, and the almost complete lack of genuine "masculist" schools of thought to match the extraordinary accomplishments feminism has brought women in recent decades....

In a 1997 interview with an online men’s magazine, Warren had the following to say:

"Men don’t oppress women any more than women oppress men. The whole concept of men and women oppressing each other is ridiculous. That’s a fabrication of the feminist movement. What is true is that both sexes have roles that can legitimately be considered oppressive, but those roles are not roles designed by men or women, they were designed by biological necessity and the necessity of survival. Survival was the oppressor….

The biology of women in a survival-focused world was the childraising and that left the social role of men to raising the money to support the biological role of women. And it’s not been until industrialized societies had enough income to help society progress from what I call a Stage 1, which is survival-focused to Stage 2, which is focused on the balance between survival and self-fulfillment, that we could produce people who were able to focus on what rights and opportunities they had."

As it is, women have already beg! un to mo ve from stage 1 to stage 2 en masse, beginning with the women’s liberation movements of the 50’s and 60’s, while men have largely remained "stuck" in much the same condition women were in before the rise of feminism. And this cultural "stuckness" not only reinforces many of the same unhealthy dynamics feminism was originally conceived to address, but also makes it much more difficult for women to fully grow from stage 1 to stage 2 in a complete and authentic way.

At first, the rigid gender roles of men and women were born from necessity, and reflected a conscious choice on behalf of both genders to separate the world into public and private spheres, with men tending to the public, and women tending to the private. These roles became increasingly reinforced throughout history, as biological necessity determined that women would be valued for their fertility, and men for their disposability.

However, the moral, ethical, and technological advancements commonly associated with modernity have begun to change the rules entirely, accelerated by both men’s and women’s destinies being liberated from their biology—especially as muscle-power began to be increasingly replaced by mechanical and microchip-driven power, and as birth control offered women much more control over pregnancy. These evolutionary developments have enabled a considerable amount of women to migrate from the private sphere into the public, for the first time in history. How can men make a similar transition from the "brute power" of the public sphere to the "invisible powers" of compassion, connection, introspection, and sexuality traditionally associated with the private sphere? Do we need an authentic "masculist revolution" in order to regain our collective balance?

Metaphorically, we could say that society is something like a boat, with gender roles rigidly assigned so that men row predominantly on one side of the boat, and women row on the other, more or less assuring that the boat keeps mo! ving for ward. However, since the rise of the enormously beneficial women’s liberation movement, women have begun to learn how to row on both sides of the boat—exploring many of the roles traditionally associated with men—who, unfortunately, have not experienced a similar sort of "men’s liberation" movement, and are thus still rowing on the same side they always have. What happens, of course, is that rather than continuing to move the boat forward, the boat begins to move in a circle, seriously compromising any sort of meaningful progress for humanity as a whole. We are very much in this boat together, and must therefore learn how to consciously transform both genders, culturally and individually, so that we might once again be able to point our little collective dinghy in the right direction.

So what can we do to help men learn how to row on the other side of the boat? Unfortunately, there exist virtually no role models for men to guide this sort of transition, no rites of passage or cultural road signs to help remind men that there are indeed higher and deeper levels of masculine maturity yet to be explored and developed. As Ken mentions in the discussion, there are nearly 30,000 examples of Women’s Studies classes, lectures, and departments throughout American colleges, but not a single case of Men’s Studies to be found, on its own accord and outside the auspices of feminist ideology.

Interestingly, while we can look to the absence of emphasis upon "men’s liberation" as a major factor in the ongoing gender inequities of today’s world, Warren himself does not believe we need such a "masculist movement" or any other male-focused analog to the feminist movement of the 50’s and 60’s. Instead, what is most needed is a genuinely Integral "transitional gender studies," rooted in a mutual respect of the roles, rights, responsibilities, and resentments that are carried by both men and women, along with a sincere acknowledgement of all the! ways bo th men and women are simultaneously victims and perpetuators of traditional gender roles.

We hope you enjoy these dialogues,
Integral Life

What kind of man are you – chimpanzee or bonobo? - Telegraph

2011-05-26T08:26:00.001-07:00

via telegraph.co.uk

Arianna Huffington: Women: (and men) SLEEP your way to the top!

2011-05-25T08:17:00.001-07:00

via ted.com

As many of you know, I have been using of late, black out blinds and short wave length light to simulate an equatorial twilight pattern, year round, inside my home.

My sleep hasn't been better, and I've increased my productivity from the trough of my sleep disorder by 10x!

Harold Camping: May 21 was 'invisible Judgment Day,' the REAL Rapture comes on October 21

2011-05-24T10:37:00.001-07:00

via nydailynews.com

See the full gallery on Posterous

Cheaper Desalination; ~1/4 - 1/5 the energy of reverse osmosis

2011-05-24T09:19:00.001-07:00

A fresh way to take the salt out of seawater
http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14743791

........
Even the best reverse-osmosis plants require 3.7 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy to produce 1,000 litres of drinking water.
Mr Sparrow and Mr Zoshi, by contrast, reckon they can produce that much fresh water with less than 1 kWh of electricity, and no other paid-for source of power is needed. Their process is fuelled by concentration gradients of salinity between different vessels of brine. These different salinities are brought about by evaporation.
.....

[
This uses similar amount of energy as pumping up well water.
1 square meter of solar panel @ ~20% efficiency (~$500 today) is enough to power the making of 1,000 liters of fresh water each day.
]

These Vancouverites showed it off in Dubai a few weeks ago.
http://www.saltworkstech.com/press_20091123.php

Small-Scale, Portable, Low-Power Desalination and Water Purification & New LED Device Sheds Light on Aeroponics Industry

2011-05-24T09:08:00.001-07:00

A system that’s worth its salt
New approach to water desalination could lead to small, portable units that could be sent to disaster sites or remote locations.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/desalination-0323.html

A single unit of the new desalination device, fabricated on a layer of silicone. In the Y-shaped channel (in red), seawater enters from the right, and fresh water leaves through the lower channel at left, while concentrated brine leaves through the upper channel.

[No one will ever die of thirst again at (or near the) sea if they have something like this and a solar panel.]

.........
One of the leading desalination methods, called reverse osmosis, uses membranes that filter out the salt, but these require strong pumps to maintain the high pressure needed to push the water through the membrane, and are subject to fouling and blockage of the pores in the membrane by salt and contaminants. The new system separates salts and microbes from the water by electrostatically repelling them away from the ion-selective membrane in the system — so the flowing water never needs to pass through a membrane. That should eliminate the need for high pressure and the problems of fouling, the researchers say.
The system works at a microscopic scale, using fabrication methods developed for microfluidics devices — similar to the manufacture of microchips, but using materials such as silicone (synthetic rubber). Each individual device would only process minute amounts of water, but a large number of them — the researchers envision an array with 1,600 units fabricated on an 8-inch-diameter wafer — could produce about 15 liters of water per hour, enough to provide drinking water for several people. The whole unit could be self-contained and driven by gravity — salt water would be poured in at the top, and fresh water and concentrated brine collected from two outlets at the bottom.
That small size could actually be an advantage for some applications, Kim explains. For example, in an emergency situation like Haiti’s earthquake aftermath, the delivery infrastructure to get fresh water to the people who need it was largely lacking, so small, portable units that individuals could carry would have been especially useful.
So far, the researchers have successfully tested a single unit, using seawater they collected from a Massachusetts beach. The water was then deliberately contaminated with small plastic particles, protein and human blood. The unit removed more than 99 percent of the salt and other contaminants. “We clearly demonstrated that we can do it at the unit chip level,” says Kim. The work was primarily funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, as well as a SMART Innovation Centre grant

While the amount of electricity required by this method is actually slightly more than for present large-scale methods such as reverse osmosis, there is no other method that can produce small-scale desalination with anywhere near this level of efficiency, the researchers say. If properly engineered, the proposed system would only use about as much power as a conventional lightbulb [60W].
........

New LED Device Sheds Light on Aeroponics Industry
http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=28518&codi=158711
http://www.aerofarms.com/why/technology/

[Nor will those same people at, or near the, sea or any water source ever go hungry again if they have a desalinator/water purifier, solar panels and LED-lit ‘ponics systems.
And if they are nowhere near any water, but have have humidity > 55% and temp of >70F then all they need is an atmospheric water generator, solar panels and LED-lit ‘ponics systems to still eat well.
]

Compiled by SpiralMan

Some brains see Apple, religion as the same - Business - Consumer news - Retail

2011-05-23T09:24:00.001-07:00

via msnbc.msn.com

‎"Drinking the Kool Aid" has been a tech industry expression for decades in reference to enthusiasts being akin to the mass suiciders at Jim Jones' cult in Jonestown, Guyana. MRIs prove that it's real.

The Socially Awkward Network w/ Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera

2011-05-22T17:29:00.001-07:00

Australia Real Estate Bulls Trot Out Every Cliché Known To Man

2011-05-21T19:04:00.001-07:00

Australia Real Estate Bulls Trot Out Every Cliché Known To Man

The title of this post comes from Australia's "Brisbane Bear" regarding a link to Soft is Pundits' New Hard-Sell
PROPERTY pundits are labelling it a buyer's market. Clearance rates are low, the glut of properties for sale shows little sign of abating and prices are now negotiable.
Even the market's most bullish supporters are bending before signs of softer conditions.
SQM Research group says the number of homes on the market in April doubled compared with the same period a year ago.
And SQM director Louis Christopher says: "Melbourne is now experiencing a massive oversupply of real estate."
"If this continues into the next quarter, then we are likely to see considerable price falls over and above our existing forecast."
Select Clichés from the Article
"It's definitely a buyer's market" - Richard Wakelin, director of Wakelin Property Advisory
"This is a really good time for people to be trading up" - Richard Wakelin, director of Wakelin Property Advisory
"Buyers should be sitting back and watching for opportunities, looking for properties that have been passed in on the weekend" - Mark Armstrong, from Armstrong Property Planning
Century 21 director Charles Tarbey suggests buyers focus on the $400,000 to $600,000 range in coastal and tourist properties.

Alternative Mish Suggestions
Trading up now will greatly increase losses
Tourist properties will be especially hard hit
Now is a poor time to buy in general
Wait 5 years, then see what prices are
In the meantime, rent

Comment to Brisbane Bear: You have only just begun to see Clichés. For reasons why, please see Economic Bust in Australia:Near-Record Corporate Bankruptcies, Employment Drops Unexpectedly; Rise in Bad Home Loans;Record Low Property Transactions
Australia's bust has just started. Expect a 5-year decline minimum. As a point of reference, the US housing bust will be 6 years old this summer.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

Australia Real Estate Bulls Trot Out Every Cliché Known To Man
Posted by Michael Shedlock at 2:26 PM .... Print .... Email

Buy Gold and Silver Online at GoldMoney
GoldMoney: The Best Way to Buy Gold and Silver

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via globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Light and Dark photo contest winners

2011-05-20T11:20:00.001-07:00

via msnbc.msn.com

Man Chooses to Cut Off His Hand – And Get a Bionic One (video) | Singularity Hub

2011-05-20T09:02:00.001-07:00

via singularityhub.com

Japan’s Deepening Economic Slide May Heighten Pressure for Faster Stimulus - Bloomberg

2011-05-20T08:57:00.001-07:00

GDP shrank 3.7%, but actually by even more, 5.3%, in nominal terms because of deflation. Japan's last 20 years are a great lesson about the impact of debt deflation demand destruction. Ie why the hyperinflationists are off the mark.

Even These Didn't Seem To Relax Eger From His Tired & Agro Penalty Spree in Last Nights Nucks vs Sharks Game

2011-05-19T16:05:00.001-07:00

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: China’s Real-Estate Developers Struggle with Debt; Servicing China's Total Debt Load is Problematic; Dramatic Slowdown in China Coming

2011-05-19T15:47:00.001-07:00

Inquiring minds are digging deeper into China's bank credit bubbles, fixed asset investment bubble, and property bubbles. Please consider Closer Look: 100 Trillion Yuan in Banking Assets on Caixin Online.
As of 2010, the total assets of China's banking industry have grown to 2.39 times the amount of national GDP, breaking records once again at nearly 100 trillion yuan. In comparison, according to OECD data, Japan's banking assets in 2008 stood at US$ 9.81 trillion, 2.27 times the amount of its GDP, which was US$ 4.32 trillion. Germany, another country representative of economies that rely on banks for financing, had 6.6 trillion euros for banking assets and 2.48 trillion euros for GDP in 2008. Its 2008 banking-assets versus GDP ratio was 2.66, almost the same as it had been in previous years.
The surge in China's banking assets, which took off in 2009, was attributed to political directives rather than monetary policies. In 2009, huge amounts of loans were made at the order of government. The central bank did not cut interest rates; in fact, it conducted a net absorption of liquidity from the market through its open market operations. Meanwhile, the market capitalization of domestic stock exchanges more than doubled from a year earlier, an indication of too much capital flowing around.
China’s Real-Estate Developers Struggle with Debt
MarketWatch reports China’s Real-Estate Developers Struggle with Debt
The debt carried by China’s real-estate developers jumped 41% in the March-ended year from the same period 12 months earlier, according to a report by Chinese state media.
The value of unsold houses was up 40.2% to CNY903.5 billion, the Xinhua report said. Average profit was down 4.9% to CNY54.65 billion yuan.
Chinese government measures designed to cool the housing market have made it harder for real-estate companies to replenish their working capital by quickly selling apartments.
China's Unsustainable Growth
The above links are thanks to Michael Pettis at China Financial Markets.
Pettis commented on those articles, the unsustainable nature of China's loan growth, and the painful rebalancing that must happen in his latest weekly Email. Pettis writes ...
The fundamental imbalances are all in place and are not beginning to reverse. They will not reverse until there is a radical change in the growth model, and investment comes down sharply. Unfortunately that will also mean a sharp decline in growth.
My friend Wei Liao from Paridon, in Singapore, sent me a reference to an interview in 21st Century Business Herald (a well-regarded local newspaper) with Zhu Bailiang. Zhu is the chief economist at the State Information Center of China, a policy think tank affiliated with the NDRC, and in the interview he argued that the government shouldn’t introduce tighter monetary policies because existing limits on car and home purchases will hurt the economy.
Zhu is not a policymaker but he is a senior advisor to the very powerful NDRC, an entity usually considered less focused on correcting domestic imbalances and more focused on maintaining high growth and redistributing income to the poorer sectors of the economy. As Wei Liao points out, it is pretty rare that someone from China’s economic policymaking circle makes such a comment in the midst of what is supposed to be a tightening cycle.
I am also hearing, by the way, that there is a lot of opposition from local and municipal borrowers towards raising interest rates even further – even though in real terms interest rates have decline quite substantially. This shouldn’t be a surprise since they have a lot of outstanding debt and are expected to borrow even more this year and next. Servicing the debt is unlikely to be easy and they want more, not less, relief.
I would argue that Zhu Bailiang’s comments and the rumors of opposition to further interest rate hikes probably indicate that the very intense debate within policy-making circles continues unabated. In fact, on that note, for me the most interesting thing that happened during the SED meetings in Washington this week involved Monday’s much-commented interview on the Charlie Rose show with Wang Qishan – who is expected to be named Vice Premier next year.
The gossip that I have heard in Beijing is that both Wang and Li Keqiang – expected to be named Premier next year – understand China’s debt position, worry that the current growth model is unsustainable, and want to move quickly towards an economic growth model that de-emphasizes investment and exports. They also recognize that this will result in a sharp slowdown in growth – although not nearly as sharp as I expect.
But they will not be able to do so without a pretty complete consensus within policy-making circles. A lot of very powerful constituencies – the export sector, local and municipal borrowers, SOEs – have benefited from distortions, like the currency and the interest rate regimes that have created the imbalances. They are likely, not surprisingly, to be loathe to give these up, and so it will not be easy to arrive at a consensus.
I have many times argued that historically one of the key indicators that the high-growth investment-driven model has reached its limits as a wealth creator (i.e. is no longer allocating capital efficiently) is when we see an unsustainable increase in debt. Of course whether or not we have reached this point is still much debated, but I would argue that we started to see this at least five years ago. The surge in banking assets doesn’t give much comfort.
Dramatic Slowdown in China Coming
China is going to slow, much more than anyone thinks. The commodity producers and commodity producing countries like Australia and Canada will take a hit. In contrast, the US, Japan, and Europe will benefit from falling oil prices. However global trade in general will slow, as will employment, and corporate profits.
We are starting to see a global growth slowdown already. When China joins the siesta, the slowdown will accelerate.
For more on the global slowdown, please see Huge Cracks in Global Recovery Thesis; Industrial Production Unexpectedly Drops in Germany, France; UK Weaker than Expected
The pertinent question now is whether or not the market forces China's hand before the Chinese leadership change next year. I think it is possible, however a sustained drop in oil and commodity prices might be enough to forestall such an event.
Regardless, the markets will likely react in advance of that slowdown, whether forced by the markets or by plan of China's new leaders.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List

via globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Building Greenhouse Farms on Urban Roofs

2011-05-19T15:33:00.003-07:00

via nytimes.com

Today flowers, salad veggies, herbs, and animal fodder are economical via hydropponcs. By end of decade starchy foods will begin to be profitable too. Clean fresh water scarcity and/or tropical monsoon, nutrient leached soil in much of the world will accelerate the technology absorption and development, especially in the face of the drive towards world war.

Step Aside US: Pakistan's New "Best Friend" China, To Provide Karachi With 50 New JF-17 Fighter Jets On Expedited Basis | zero hedge

2011-05-19T15:33:00.001-07:00

There was a time when a young Mujahideen commander named Osama bin Laden was a core ally of the US in the fight against Soviet communism and central planning. Well, that particular affair did not end too well for either Osama, nor for the USSR (although one may argue that "communism and central planning" are experiencing a second renaissance courtesy of capitalist central banking). Along the same lines, Pakistan which as recently as 3 weeks ago was considered a core US ally, has very promptly fallen out of favor following the death of that other abovementioned former ally. Yet Pakistan is not wasting time. Two days after Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani took a direct stab at deteriorating US-Paki relations by saying that China is now his country's "best friend", China has retorted in kind by announcing it will provide another 50 JF-17 fighter jets to Pakistan on an "expedited" basis. The WSJ reports that "the agreement to accelerate supply of the jointly developed jets, the first 50 of which are being assembled in Pakistan, came as Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani held talks in Beijing during a visit that he has used to portray China as an alternative source of military and civilian aid. "We're getting the 50 jets, on top of the ones we already have. Something has been agreed in Beijing, so they'll be expedited" he said." In other words: step aside US, here comes China. As for those billions in USD aid which somehow never ended up being used to buy US Treasurys (Pakistan is nowhere in the listing of US Treasury holders) , it is now clear into whose pocket they are going (at $15 million a pop, those are big pockets). Lastly, this is more than just posturing by China: the country is clearly indicating its latest and greatest sphere of influence. As a reminder, "It was reported in 2008 that Azerbaijan and Zimbabwe had placed orders for the aircraft and nine other countries, including Bangladesh, Myanmar, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Algeria were showing interest."
More from the WSJ:
China is Pakistan's biggest arms supplier and its third-biggest trading partner.
The JF-17 is a potent symbol of the two countries' friendship, and a key part of Pakistan's plans to upgrade its aging fleet of American-supplied F-16s and French-made Mirages and to try to match the air power of neighboring India—its arch rival.
The U.S. has repeatedly delayed delivery of F-16s to Pakistan, and has insisted that they not be used against India, with which Washington is now cultivating a strategic partnership to counterbalance Beijing's clout in Asia.
China and Pakistan began developing the relatively cheap multipurpose fighter in 1999 and Pakistan, which has said it wants 250 of them altogether, inducted its first squadron of JF-17s last year, and a second earlier this year.
The air-force spokesman said he did not know whether the second batch of 50 jets would be assembled in Pakistan or delivered whole from China.
He also declined to discuss whether they would be the basic so-calledBlock I models, like the first batch, or an upgraded Block II version, which military aviation experts say could include radar-evading stealth technology—potentially giving Pakistan that capability for the first time.
Questions also remain over the new jets' engines. The first batch were all fitted with Russian ones, but Russian officials have expressed reservations about supplying more of those engines as Pakistan and China have been marketing the JF-17 in many of Russia's traditional markets.
Meanwhile back in the US, the politicos are stunned that after being shunned by the US, Pakistan dares to allign itself with America's natural opposite.
Pakistan's efforts to showcase its close ties with China are causing consternation in the U.S.
During a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, Republican Senator Jim Risch of Idaho expressed frustration at Mr. Gilani's statement that China was Pakistan's "best friend" despite billions of dollars of U.S. aid over the last decade.
"It just—it just doesn't make sense...Because, frankly, I'm—I'm getting tired of it, and I think Americans are getting tired of it as far as shoveling money in there [to] people who just flat don't like us," he said, according to a transcript.
At a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week, Congressman Michael McCaul (R) of Texas raised particular concern about whether U.S. military aid had been diverted into the JF-17 program.
Yes. It has.

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In China, some new cities are ghost towns

2011-05-19T15:25:00.001-07:00

In China's Inner Mongolia, Kangbashi district offers residents "new modern" living, with tree-lined streets, shiny apartment buildings, vast parklands, restaurants and even a motor racing track.
But seven years after construction workers broke ground on the arid plateau, most of the apartments appear empty and the wide streets are almost deserted -- earning Kangbashi the tag of "ghost city".
The new section of Ordos city on the edge of the Gobi desert was designed to accommodate about 300,000 people but residents say fewer than one-tenth of that number live in Kangbashi. Estate agents insist the number is much higher.
New districts like Kangbashi are springing up across China as the world's second-largest economy undergoes an unprecedented urbanisation process with hundreds of millions of people heading to fast-growing metropolitan areas.
Ordos is part of a nationwide building boom that has been fuelled by a massive credit binge, raising fears of a real estate bubble and a potential explosion in bad debts, especially among local government investment vehicles.
In the northern port city of Tianjin, the government is building an "eco city" covering 30 square kilometres (11.6 square miles) of non-arable salt pans and former fishing villages that can accommodate 350,000 people.
Near the southwestern city of Kunming, authorities started developing a new district for nearly one million people in 2003 but the area is reportedly still largely empty.
"These sorts of towns raise the question -- does the government have some amazing vision for filling these cities... or are they just great white elephants that are wasting public funds?" Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and compiler of the Hurun rich list, told AFP.
Public servant Qiao Xiufeng, who moved to Kangbashi three years ago after the Ordos government relocated its departments to the new district, says she likes the open space and relaxed lifestyle of the sparsely populated town.
"Everything is really good," Qiao told AFP as she strolled along a street lined with near-empty restaurants and shops selling cakes and bridal outfits.
"Life is easy and comfortable."
Kangbashi -- located 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Ordos' main district of Dongsheng -- boasts a potato-shaped history museum, a tilted library, expansive parks decorated with modern sculptures, cinemas, schools and a university.
"This is a gold mine -- it is a place to make money," said Zhou Yuanhua, who moved from the eastern province of Jiangxi a few years ago to open one of the few supermarkets in the new district.
"A small population means it is very easy to make money," Zhou told AFP outside his store, pointing out the lack of competition along the street where a handful of local residents had gathered to chat after work.
Scores of cranes and half-finished high-rise concrete buildings are visible across the district and, despite the vast number of apparently vacant flats, more land is being cleared for construction.
In nearby Yijinghuoluoqi, another district getting a facelift, taxi driver Liu Zhiqing said the Ordos government paid him 300,000 yuan ($46,170) in compensation when his 200-square-metre (2,153-square-feet) house was knocked down to make way for a forest of high-rise apartment buildings.
Liu said he and his family will also receive two apartments when the construction is finished.
Resource-rich Ordos, whose population of 1.5 million has the highest GDP per capita in China at more than $20,500, built Kangbashi to cope with the city's growing population.
Another reason, according to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch economist Lu Ting, is to encourage wealthy mining bosses to invest their fortunes made from coal, gas and rare earths in the local area rather than Beijing or Shanghai.
"Its strategy is to invest massively in local infrastructure and urban expansion to attract coal bosses to buy local properties," Lu said in a report after visiting Kangbashi last year.
"In this regard, Ordos has been successful -- the old town has expanded three-fold over the past decade and homes in the new town are all sold out."
Real estate agents told AFP that 200,000 people currently live in Kangbashi and they forecast the population would more than double to 500,000 next year. But residents scoffed at the idea that more than 30,000 people lived there.
Despite the plethora of empty apartments in Kangbashi, Lu said there was "little risk of financial crisis" due to low debt levels and high returns from coal mining, the key driver of the local economy.
"Ordos is extremely unique in that it boasts rich resources and has the highest GDP per capita in China," said Lu, noting the region's huge natural resources and thriving cashmere industry helped the local economy expand by 19.2 percent last year -- nearly twice the national growth rate.
For school teacher-turned-restaurant owner He Mei, the move to Kangbashi two years ago from another town in Inner Mongolia has been a profitable one.
"The environment is nice and at the moment business is good. More and more people are coming," said He, standing outside her empty restaurant.
The restaurant is busier during the day, she said, when government employees who commute from Dongsheng to Kangbashi every day stop for lunch.
"Before (in our hometown) we used to make 3,000 yuan a month but now we make more than 10,000 yuan -- I'm very satisfied."

Copyright AFP 2008, AFP stories and photos shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium

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via breitbart.com

America built up its West through the Gold and Silver Rushes leaving railroads and ghost towns behind. China is building up its West through Coal and Rare Earth Rushes, and similarly will be leaving railroads and gigantic ghost cities behind.

Splitting water for renewable energy simpler than first thought? Manganese-based catalyst shows promise

2011-05-19T15:24:00.001-07:00

Hydrogen is the Bomb! The catalytic materials are cheap and everywhere. Birnessite (Na0.3Ca0.1K0.1)(Mn4+,Mn3+)2O4 · 1.5 H2O is an oxide mineral of manganese along with calcium, potassium and sodium.

When Will Scientists Grow Meat in a Petri Dish?: Scientific American

2011-05-19T15:03:00.001-07:00

via scientificamerican.com

Ed Boyden: A light switch for neurons

2011-05-17T10:47:00.001-07:00

Is College Worth It? Answers From Presidents and the Public

2011-05-15T18:57:00.001-07:00

via thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com

An Eye for An Eye

2011-05-15T02:40:00.001-07:00

via kavehadel.com

Super energy storage: Activated graphene makes superior supercapacitors for energy storage

2011-05-14T11:27:00.001-07:00

Carbon Graphene Supercapacitor energy density now ~ equivalent to Lead acid Batteries, but with much more powerful and fast charge and release and no toxic waste issues. Before 2020 it will be a 4-way race for market niche victories over fossil fuels between algae biofuel, solar-powered batteries, hydrogen fuel cells and supercapacitors.

Can clouds help mitigate global warming? Missing links found in biology of cloud formation over oceans

2011-05-14T11:18:00.001-07:00

The Sulfur Cycle is "found." The IPCC global warming models have long acknowledged to omitting clouds and oceanic biota. I have found it ironic that folks like Lovelock put stock in models that couldn't even include the microbial sulfur cloud formation, Gaia science that he uncovered.

Cosmic Log - Robot walks 40.5 miles non-stop

2011-05-14T11:14:00.001-07:00

via cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com

By 2030, their brains will be as powerful as ours, but the size of sugar cubes, and powered by 1 square foot of solar panels.

http://enenews.com/enhanced-sunrise-photo-shows-smokesteam-billowing-reactor-buildings-2-3-4-photos

Fukushima: getting worse and worse

2011-05-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Geoff
Date: Wed, May 11, 2011 at 8:57 PM
Subject: Fukushima: getting worse and worse
To: the world

Fuel rods ejected 2 miles from the 2nd explosion at reactor #3:

Reactor No. 4 is leaning, in danger of collapse:

Very serious shit here. And what appears close to a global press blackout. As of May 11, smoke reportedly billowing from three reactors:

Deadly silence on Fukushima:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24702

LEDs Magazine - Cree reports R&D result of 231 lm/W efficacy for white LED

2011-05-11T17:41:00.000-07:00

LED manufacturer Cree, Inc. has claimed a new R&D record for power-LED efficacy of 231 lm/W. The value was measured for a single-die component at a correlated color temperature of 4500 K.
Standard room-temperature testing at 350 mA – i.e. pulsed testing rather than steady-state or “hot” testing – was used to achieve the results.
Cree described the result as “a significant advance beyond [our] previous industry record” of 208 lm/W efficacy for an R&D LED, which was reported in February 2010. The company also said the result “further demonstrates how Cree’s relentless innovation continues to push the boundaries of what is possible with LED lighting.”
“It wasn’t long ago when 200 lumens per watt was considered the theoretical maximum efficiency for a lighting-class LED. We broke that barrier in 2010, and have now achieved 231 lumens per watt,” said John Edmond, Cree co-founder and director of advanced optoelectronics.
“The innovation from our labs is the foundation for our industry-leading XLamp LED family and an invention that continues our leadership of the LED lighting revolution.”
Cree says that the results came from an R&D component that features advanced aspects of the same technology used in the company’s XLamp white LEDs. The same level of performance is not yet available in Cree’s production LEDs.
Cree says it believes higher-performance LEDs can enable new LED-based applications and drive down the solution cost of current LED-based designs.

via ledsmagazine.com

Edison bulbs ~15 lm/W
CFL bulbs ~ 75 lm/W

LEDs Magazine - Cree reports R&D result of 231 lm/W efficacy for white LED

2011-05-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

LED manufacturer Cree, Inc. has claimed a new R&D record for power-LED efficacy of 231 lm/W. The value was measured for a single-die component at a correlated color temperature of 4500 K.
Standard room-temperature testing at 350 mA – i.e. pulsed testing rather than steady-state or “hot” testing – was used to achieve the results.
Cree described the result as “a significant advance beyond [our] previous industry record” of 208 lm/W efficacy for an R&D LED, which was reported in February 2010. The company also said the result “further demonstrates how Cree’s relentless innovation continues to push the boundaries of what is possible with LED lighting.”
“It wasn’t long ago when 200 lumens per watt was considered the theoretical maximum efficiency for a lighting-class LED. We broke that barrier in 2010, and have now achieved 231 lumens per watt,” said John Edmond, Cree co-founder and director of advanced optoelectronics.
“The innovation from our labs is the foundation for our industry-leading XLamp LED family and an invention that continues our leadership of the LED lighting revolution.”
Cree says that the results came from an R&D component that features advanced aspects of the same technology used in the company’s XLamp white LEDs. The same level of performance is not yet available in Cree’s production LEDs.
Cree says it believes higher-performance LEDs can enable new LED-based applications and drive down the solution cost of current LED-based designs.

via ledsmagazine.com

Edison bulbs ~15 lm/W
CFL bulbs ~ 75 lm/W

Vitamin D3 and Solar Power for Optimal Health: Tanning beds, sunlight, vitamin D and superb bone strength. Can tanning beds produce the World’s strongest bones?

2011-05-11T13:18:00.001-07:00

-

Can tanning beds or sunlight produce sufficient vitamin D to produce superbly strong bones? The answer appears to be “yes.”

I am part of an email list of persons who are intensely interested in vitamin D research and who share articles on vitamin D and sunlight as preventive therapies for various diseases. I recently received a most interesting email from Rufus Greenbaum, who lives in the UK and who organizes vitamin D symposiums there. He had met a man who had been using a tanning bed twice weekly since 1970 and who had just completed a bone densitometer test, known as a DEXA scan. On viewing the results of the scan, his doctor told him “You have the strongest bones that I have ever seen.”

That news certainly came as no shock. Conventional tanning beds produce vast quantities of vitamin D in short periods of time,[1] and vitamin D is absolutely essential for optimal absorption of calcium in the gut.[2] [3] Without calcium absorption, vast quantities of ingested calcium will make little difference to bone strength; much of the calcium will be passed through the intestine and flushed down the toilet. It is already known that people who use tanning beds have dramatically stronger bones and higher blood-vitamin D levels than those who don’t use them.[4]

Both tanning beds and sunlight enhance the levels of vitamin D in the skin by producing UVB light, which converts cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D. In fact, ninety percent of the vitamin D produced in the US population is due to sunlight exposure.[5]

Research has shown that daily sunlight exposure in elderly women, during a period of one year, increased serum vitamin D levels by 400% and decreased the risk of hip fractures dramatically.[6] A control group, who did not receive sunlight exposure, had six fractures for each fracture experienced by the sunlight-exposed group. The message is that sunlight exposure may decrease the risk of osteoporotic fractures by 84%! Finally, and even more impressively, research from Spain showed that among women who actively sought the sunlight, the risk of fractures was only one-eleventh that of women who spent most of their lives indoors.[7] This begs the questions: Should we really avoid sunlight and tanning beds like the plague? Is such avoidance worth the risk of dying from osteoporotic fractures?

The key to safe exposure to sunlight or sunlamps is to be sure not to burn. And for those who are frightened about melanoma, please read my previous blogs on the subjects: http://drsorenson.blogspot.com/2010/07/exposing-melanoma-fraud-part-1.html

http://drsorenson.blogspot.com/2010/07/exposing-sunlightmelanoma-fraud-part-2.html

http://drsorenson.blogspot.com/2011/03/sunshine-weekends-and-vitamin-d-may.html

http://drsorenson.blogspot.com/2009/12/melanoma-midsummer-nights-dream-or.html

[1] Grant, W. Personal communication with the author, June, 2006

[2] Heaney, R. et al. Calcium Absorption Varies within the Reference Range for Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 2003; 22: 142–146.

[3] Heaney, R. Vitamin D and calcium interactions: functional outcomes. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;88(suppl):541S–4S

[4 Tangpricha V. et al. Tanning is associated with optimal vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration) and higher bone mineral density. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:1645-49.

[5] Reichrath J. The challenge resulting from positive and negative effects of sunlight: how much solar UV exposure is appropriate to balance between risks of vitamin D deficiency and skin cancer? Prog Biophys Mol Biol 2006;92(1):9-16

[6 Sato Y, Metoki N, Iwamoto J, Satoh K. Amelioration of osteoporosis and hypovitaminosis D by sunlight exposure in stroke patients. Neurology 2003;61(3):338-42.

[7] Larrosa, M. Vitamin D deficiency and related factors in patients with osteoporotic hip fracture. Med Clin (BARC) 2008;130:6-9.

via drsorenson.blogspot.com

INFLATION FEARS: REAL OR HYSTERIA?

2011-05-11T07:43:00.001-07:00

via webofdebt.com

Invincible — Greater Fool – The Troubled Future of Real Estate

2011-05-10T21:56:00.001-07:00

Meanwhile, remember all that hype about the hot Asian money streaming into the atmospheric mud flats (called Richmond) near the Vancouver airport? Well, kiss that goodbye. The place, a local realtor tells me, “is now a disaster.” Only one in four houses is selling (it used to be eight in ten), and inventory is exploding – close to 1,000 listings in this one community. “The Richmond market,” says my source, “is definitely showing the most extreme effects of what happens when demand goes away.”
And what about all those horny Mainland Chinese with their bulging moneybelts and Kim Jong haircuts? You know the ones – the scary guys who were supposed to make real estate values go up forever. What happened to them?
Well, blame the Japanese earthquake, says local real estate huckster Cam Good – the guy who created a media sensation by hiring a helicopter to bomb suburban White Rock with pointy incoming Beijing investors. The Chinese are now afraid Richmond might liquefy in a quake and are moving to higher ground.
That, of course, is as lame as realtors in Winnipeg blaming spring flooding (the city is dry) for a 13% plunge in sales and an 18% decline in listings. Maybe house prices in the Peg have simply topped out and met the point of resistance. And perhaps those people in Richmond who spent $1 million on a lot in March (which could turn into goo) now realize they were zoomed.
Maybe real estate in Canada is actually like real estate in most countries similar to ours: toast.
Like Britain, where a real estate boom (like ours) yielded unsustainable prices (like ours), leading to market stagnation (soon like ours). The central bank there slashed interest rates (like here) which helped cushion housing prices from a US-style crash (like here). But now with the economy crawling along, wages aren’t rising enough to meet real estate values (also like here). So (like here) sales are crumbling.
In fact, Brits have their bloomers in a knot because it now takes 4.4 times the average income to buy the average home. That’s close to the 4.6 mark at which American real estate keeled. Meanwhile Toronto’s at 8 and Vancouver 12.

via greaterfool.ca

Superman Renounces U.S. Citizenship in 'Action Comics' #900 - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

2011-05-10T12:16:00.001-07:00

via comicsalliance.com

Total Canadian Consumer Debt - GDP & Inflation

2011-05-09T09:13:00.001-07:00

via theeconomicanalyst.com

Pink Floyd: The Wall - Mother

2011-05-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

Mother do you think they'll drop the bomb
Mother do you think they'll like the song
Mother do you think they'll try to break my balls
Ooooh aah, Mother should I build a wall
Mother should I run for president
Mother should I trust the government
Mother will they put me in the firing line
Ooooh aah, is it just a waste of time
Hush now baby, baby don't you cry
Mama's gonna make all of your
Nightmares come true
Mama's gonna put all of her fears into you
Mama's gonna keep you right here
Under her wing
she won't let you fly but she might let you sing
Mama will keep baby cosy and warm
Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe
Of course Mama's gonna help build the wall

Mother do think she's good enough for me
Mother do think she's dangerous to me
Mother will she tear your little boy apart
Oooh aah, mother will she break my heart
Hush now baby, baby don't you cry
Mama's gonna check out all your girl friends for you
Mama won't let anyone dirty get through
Mama's gonna wait up till you get in
Mama will always find out where
You've been
Mamma's gonna keep baby healthy and clean
Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe
You'll always be a baby to me
Mother, did it need to be so high.

China doubles solar power target by 2020: report

2011-05-07T19:04:00.001-07:00

via physorg.com

If China grows their solar power usage at the same rate as announced here - 100-fold per decade - during the 2020's they will replace all their existing energy sources, including oil for vehicles, by 2030.

DDDD - Debt Deflation Demand Destruction - The Inevitability of a Greek Default

2011-05-05T18:37:00.001-07:00

“It would have a tremendous cost, with no benefit,” the minister, George Papaconstantinou, said in an interview on Greek television. “Greece would be out of markets for 10, 15 years.”
To financial markets, and to many other observers, it is more than thinkable. It is very close to a sure thing. When, how, and how messy it will be are open to question.
It was just a year ago this weekend that Europe bailed out Greece, amid much self-congratulatory talk. Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for monetary policy, said the move was “particularly crucial for countries under speculative attacks in recent weeks,” a reference to Spain and Portugal.
Markets — described by Anders Borg, Sweden’s finance minister, as “wolf packs” — returned to their lairs on the Monday after the bailout. The yield on three-year Greek government bonds plunged to 7.7 percent from 17.5 percent, as the price of such bonds soared 28 percent in a single day.
And how have things gone since then? Just fine in Germany, where growth is accelerating and unemployment is lower than at any time since German unification. The European Central Bank is even raising interest rates to curb inflation there. It’s going more or less acceptably in France and Italy, each of which recorded G.D.P. growth of 1.5 percent in 2010, well below Germany’s 4.0 percent. But it’s not going well at all in the country that supposedly was rescued. Greece’s economy shrank 6.6 percent, far more than the 1.9 percent decline in 2009.
The market wolves are howling again. The yield on Greek three-year bonds is more than 23 percent, not that anyone thinks that yield will really be received. The yields on similar Portuguese and Irish bonds have also soared into double digits. Investors are a little more skittish about Spanish and Italian bonds than they had been, but there is no sense of impending disaster.
Longer-term rates on Portuguese debt did slide a little this week after a tentative agreement on a bailout, but they remain at levels that show widespread doubts about the country’s ability to pay.
The trading patterns of Greek bonds indicate that traders expect a restructuring, and they think it will be messy.
That yields are as low as they are — if you can call 23 percent low — is a reflection of the fact that the bailout has been going on below the surface. The European Central Bank has been lending money to Greek banks, accepting Greek bonds as collateral on loans to other banks, and even buying bonds.
Keeping up the fiction that all will somehow be well if we just wait has its own disadvantages.
“Delays in restructurings are costly,” Alessandro Leipold, the chief economist of the Lisbon Council, a Brussels-based research group, and a former official of the International Monetary Fund, wrote in a paper this week. He warned that the longer the inevitable was delayed, the more potential economic production would be lost and the greater the amount of good money that would be thrown after bad in the form of ever larger bailouts. Ultimately, he said, the result would be larger losses for bondholders.
“The real problem is capital shortfalls in European banks,” said Whitney Debevoise, a partner in Arnold & Porter and a former executive director of the World Bank, who has been involved as a lawyer for countries and creditors in several restructurings. Until the banks have more capital, forcing them to admit to losses would be problematic, to put it mildly.
Stalling has worked before. In the early 1980s, major American banks could not afford to admit that they had lost huge sums in the Latin American debt crisis. “There was,” Mr. Debevoise said in an interview, “a five-year period of temporizing while Citibank and other banks rebuilt capital.” Finally, there was a debt restructuring and the banks admitted to their losses.
Currently, some European banks would probably be hard pressed to take losses, a group that may include some of the German landesbanks, which are generally owned by state governments and are badly in need of new capital.
The European Central Bank itself would hate to report losses, which is one reason that the first Greek restructuring, when it comes, may avoid forcing bondholders to accept “haircuts,” or reductions in principal. Instead, cutting interest rates and postponing maturities could allow the central bank to pretend it had not lost money. Eventually, however, haircuts seem inevitable.
Although there have been plenty of defaults and restructurings by national governments in recent decades — a partial list includes Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan and Ecuador — there is no agreement on the way to arrange a restructuring. Nearly a decade ago, the I.M.F. tried to put together what it called a “sovereign debt restructuring mechanism,” a sort of international bankruptcy law. The effort collapsed.
As a result, restructurings can be messy. Some bondholders can try to hold out on approving a plan, hoping they will be paid more than those who agree. Lawsuits will be filed.
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via nytimes.com

DDDD - Debt Deflation Demand Destruction

Oil slides 8.6% on demand fears, metals selloff Futures Movers - MarketWatch

2011-05-05T18:35:00.001-07:00

via marketwatch.com

The Wiley E. Coyote leg spinning moment may be coming to an end. Oil down almost 9% in one day, -12% in 4 days. This might be when Wiley looked down.

Schumpeter: A $300 idea that is priceless | The Economist

2011-05-03T14:17:00.001-07:00

via economist.com

‎$300 solar house. The Economist referencing Marx and Engels is always priceless.

Guest Post: China’s Economy: #1 or #126? | zero hedge

2011-05-02T15:24:00.001-07:00

Submitted by Kurt Brouwer of Fundmastery
China’s economy: #1 or #126?
There have been plenty of reports that China’s economy is overtaking the U.S. economy and that it may soon outstrip the U.S.. As an example, in a recent piece, my MarketWatch.com colleague Brett Arends, reported on a study by the International Monetary Fund on the size of China’s economy. The IMF study suggested that by one economic measure China’s economy would look almost as big as the U.S. economy in a few years. Of course, that set off my innate skepticism so I did a little digging. In this post, my goal is to cover two questions:

How big is China’s economy compared to ours?
And, is it really going to surpass our economy in size any time soon

To get started, check out the opening from the Marketwatch report:

The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed.

For the first time, the international organization has set a date for the moment when the “Age of America” will end and the U.S. economy will be overtaken by that of China.

And it’s a lot closer than you may think.

According to the latest IMF official forecasts, China’s economy will surpass that of America in real terms in 2016 — just five years from now.

Yikes. Sounds pretty scary doesn’t it? Some folks might find a report like this disconcerting because they want the U.S. to be the #1 economic power. I don’t really care one way or the other about our economy being #1 or #2 in the world. Size has both advantages and disadvantages.

But, if that concerns you, don’t worry. Despite the gloomy reports, the U.S. is likely to remain the world’s largest national economic power for many years to come. And, if we would stop wearing wearing cement shoes while running against competitors in lightweight Nikes, it wouldn’t even be close, but that’s a story for a different day.

A trillion here; a trillion there

To do my own research, I went to one of my favorite sources, the CIA World Factbook. I’ve used it many times before and I have more confidence in the FActbook’s data than most sources. According to the Factbook, in terms of comparing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) straight up, we’re #2 at $14.62 trillion and China is a distant #3 at $5.75 trillion. Japan is close to China at $5.39 trillion. We would be #1, but when the European Union is viewed as a single entity, it is at $15.95 trillion. Viewing the European Union as a single, unified entity is a bit of a stretch, but let’s not quibble.

We’re #2 and China is a distant #3

So, if we are north of $14 trillion and China is a bit over $5 trillion, how the heck can the IMF legitimately claim that China is catching up and may even be on its way to #1 in a few years? Well, without massaging the numbers a lot, they cannot.

A straight up comparison shows China is far behind us. However, the IMF report used an alternative way to measure economic output called purchasing power parity (PPP).

Purchasing power parity: what the heck is that?

Purchasing power parity (PPP) attempts to compare economies that have very different price levels for basic goods and services. The most famous example of using PPP is the Big Mac Index which is described by the Economist this way:

…[the Big Mac Index] is based on one of the oldest concepts in international economics, purchasing power parity (PPP), the notion that a dollar, say, should buy the same amount in all countries. In the long run, argue ppp fans, currencies should move towards the exchange rate, which equalises the prices of an identical basket of goods and services in each country. In this case, the basket is a McDonalds’ Big Mac, which is produced in more than 100 countries. The Big Mac PPP is the exchange rate that would leave hamburgers costing the same in the United States as elsewhere…

This chart from the CIA World Factbook shows the world’s economic powerhouses in terms of GDP, as adjusted for purchasing power parity. According to this, the EU is #1, the U.S. is a close #2 and China is still #3. This data is from 2010.

Source: CIA World Factbook

PPP tries to look at economic output across countries by leveling the playing field. In China personal incomes are lower, but the cost of rent or food is also lower, so by using PPP, you can perform a useful comparison of economic output between the two countries. Another aspect of PPP is that it helps compare economies adjusting for currency disparities. Even the CIA World Factbook suggests that currency differences need to be accounted for to compare our two economies. I agree.

In GDP per person, China ranks…

A further way to look at economic output is to divide GDP by the number of people in a country. This is GDP per capita. It takes the same data used in the chart above, which is GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity, but divides that number by population. So, for China we have to divide by more than 1.3 billion people. For the U.S., we have to divide by a bit over 300 million.

Here are the top 10 countries for GDP per person:

Source: CIA World Factbook

As you can see, the top 10 countries for GDP per capita are very small nations that are either oil producers or financial centers. The only large country is the U.S., with a GDP per person of $47,400. What about China? Well, it’s nowhere to be seen on this top 10 list. Would you like to guess at where China stacks up by this comparison, I gave you a hint in the title of this post.

China is #126 is in GDP per capita:

For GDP per capita, China ranks between two economic powerhouses — Turkmenistan and Albania. And, remember, for this ranking, we are using the PPP adjusted GDP so this is favorable to China compared to the U.S. In other words, China has a big economy overall, but it has a very low ranking when you adjust for population:

Source: CIA World Factbook

Does this mean China’s economy is bad? No, of course not. China has come a long way since its leaders adopted limited free market reforms back in the late 1970s. Nonetheless, it is also clear that much of China’s large economic impact in the world is a function of the size of its population.

China is not #1 on any economic ranking

Even with a generous methodology such as PPP, the highest China gets is #3. And, adjusted for economic output per person, it is #126 and that’s not exactly something you crow about. At a per capita GDP of $7,400 China is a long, long way from the $47,400 we have in the U.S. In fact, I’ll make a prediction. China will not come close to our per capita GDP. Not next year or even 10 years from now.

In terms of overall economic output, China would have to grow at a very high rate for many years to catch up to the EU or to the U.S. I hope it does keep growing because that is good. And, China has vastly improved its economy over the past few decades, particularly in terms of export industries. I’m not trying to knock those accomplishments at all. However, the idea that it is an economic power comparable to the U.S. is clearly not accurate.

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Monday, 15 October 2001: Bush rejects Taliban offer to surrender bin Laden

2011-05-02T15:09:00.001-07:00

After a week of debilitating strikes at targets across Afghanistan, the Taliban repeated an offer to hand over Osama bin Laden, only to be rejected by President Bush.

After a week of debilitating strikes at targets across Afghanistan, the Taliban repeated an offer to hand over Osama bin Laden, only to be rejected by President Bush.
The offer yesterday from Haji Abdul Kabir, the Taliban's deputy prime minister, to surrender Mr bin Laden if America would halt its bombing and provide evidence against the Saudi-born dissident was not new but it suggested the Taliban are increasingly weary of the air strikes, which have crippled much of their military and communications assets.
The move came as the Taliban granted foreign journalists unprecedented access to the interior for the first time. Reporters were escorted to the village of Karam in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban said up to 200 civilians were killed in an American bombardment last Wednesday.
The reporters saw clear evidence that many civilians had been killed in the attack, though they could not confirm the number of deaths. "I ask America not to kill us," pleaded Hussain Khan, who said he had lost four children in the raid. In the rubble of one house, the remains of an arm stuck out from beneath a pile of bricks. A leg had been uncovered near by.
Another old man said: "We are poor people, don't hit us. We have nothing to do with Osama bin Laden. We are innocent people." Washington has not commented on the bombardment.
Mr Kabir said: "If America were to step back from the current policy, then we could negotiate." Mr bin Laden could be handed over to a third country for trial, he said. "We could discuss which third country."
But as American warplanes entered the second week of the bombing campaign, Washington rejected the Taliban offer out of hand. "When I said no negotiations I meant no negotiations," Mr Bush said. "We know he's guilty. Turn him over. There's no need to discuss innocence or guilt."
Earlier, in comments within a videotaped speech played at a meeting of the American Society of Anaesthesiologists, Mr Bush said his country was experiencing "one of the darkest moments in our history. Let me be clear about this. We will win the war on terrorism, and we will also continue to fight important battles at home."
One home-front battle is the growing unease in America about the outbreak of anthrax infections and the threat from bioterrorism. Another five employees of the Florida tabloid publishers – where one man died of the disease – were confirmed yesterday to have tested positive for exposure to the spores. Two states, New York and Florida, have now reported confirmed incidents of the disease and a third, Nevada, has reported discovery of anthrax spores in the post.
Several of Mr Bush's cabinet members tried to calm fears over anthrax when they appeared on television talk shows, but John Ashcroft, the Attorney General, said there was a chance the outbreaks were linked to Mr bin Laden. "We should consider this potential that it is linked [to Mr bin Laden]," he said. "It is premature at this time to decide whether there is a direct link."
Mr Ashcroft said some of those linked to the attacks on the US may still be at large within America. "I believe that it is very unlikely that all of those individuals associated with or involved with the terrorism events of 11 September and other terrorism events that may have been prepositioned and pre-planned have been apprehended," he said.
There were heightened fears of a biological attack in Britain yesterday when it was reported an unidentified man sprinkled white power in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral.
In Afghanistan, US planes again struck targets close to the Taliban's front line north of Kabul where they are fighting the Northern Alliance. In a turnaround that could suggest they are under pressure, the Taliban urged their enemies to join the war against America.
Abdullah Abdullah, the Alliance's foreign minister, said his forces were delaying an advance against Kabul until a political arrangement over how to rule Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban was in place.
Anti-US protests claimed one life in Pakistan when police opened fire on demonstrators trying to storm the air base at Jacobabad, in southern Pakistan, one of two the government has lent to US forces.
In Nigeria, riots triggered by Muslim protests against the air strikes were reported to have claimed at least 200 lives in the town of Kano.

Plenty more fish in the sea? New method for measuring biomass reveals fish stocks are more stable than widely believed

2011-05-02T14:11:00.001-07:00

Fishing ships in harbor. Fish and marine species are among the most threatened wildlife on earth, due partly to over exploitation by fishing fleets. Yet there are differences in assessing trends in worldwide fishing stocks which, researchers writing in Conservation Biology argue, stem from inappropriate use of time trends in catches

Is the Sun Emitting a Mystery Particle? : Discovery News

2011-05-01T11:25:00.001-07:00

via news.discovery.com

Cyclical sunlight phenomena

My Tory nightmare: Tossing and turning with Harper at the helm

2011-05-01T10:44:00.001-07:00

via commonground.ca

Article and art by Geoff Olson

Americas Nuclear Nightmare | Rolling Stone Politics

2011-04-29T18:19:00.003-07:00

via rollingstone.com

Saudi Arabia to Target Solar Power in $100 Billion Energy Plan - Bloomberg

2011-04-29T18:19:00.001-07:00

The Debt Collector - Primer III

2011-04-28T08:33:00.001-07:00

How CMHC Boosted The Canadian Housing Bubble

2011-04-28T08:20:00.001-07:00

Canada's equivilamnt of the US Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac

Mental muscle: six ways to boost your brain (via New Scientist)

2011-04-26T09:06:00.001-07:00

In these studies, volunteers with normal vision were given a variety of tests while exposed to bright light during the day. Their performance in visual searches, mathematics, logical reasoning and reaction time all improved with exposure to bright light (Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol 13, p 429).

This appears to be because light boosts alertness. In another study, volunteers had their brains scanned as they performed a short-term memory task while exposed to either violet, blue or green light. The scans revealed that after just a few seconds of light exposure an area of the brain stem known to play a role in alertness became more active (PLoS One, vol 2, p 1247). Blue light was the most potent. Similarly, in simple reaction tasks, exposure to blue light is more effective in sustaining cognitive performance than green light (Sleep, vol 29, p 161).

These effects are probably mediated by a recently discovered pigment in the retina called melanopsin, which is not involved in vision. Melanopsin absorbs pale blue light better than other wavelengths, which is not surprising as natural light contains a lot of blue. But exactly how it boosts cognition remains unclear.

"No doubt further research will expand our understanding of the characteristics of the light environment that are required to optimise brain function," says Gilles Vandewalle, a neuroscientist at the University of Montreal, Canada

via andyauyong.posterous.com

Cheaper hydrogen fuel cells: Utility of non-precious-metal catalysts documented

2011-04-26T07:42:00.001-07:00

All the pieces of the puzzle are coming together for hydrogen. Hydrogen (and oxygen) generation from water overcame the need for platinum-family metals previously. Hydrogen storage recently was accomplished at low pressure. And with announcement below, platinum is eliminated from the fuel cell itself.

Cheap catalyst made easy

2011-04-26T07:36:00.001-07:00

Catalysts made of carbon nanotubes dipped in a polymer solution equal the energy output and otherwise outperform platinum catalysts in fuel cells, a team of Case Western Reserve University engineers has found.

The researchers are certain that they'll be able to boost the power output and maintain the other advantages by matching the best nanotube layout and type of polymer.

But already they've proved the simple technique can knock down one of the major roadblocks to fuel cell use: cost.

Platinum, which represents at least a quarter of the cost of fuel cells, currently sells for about $65,000 per kilogram. These researchers say their activated carbon nanotubes cost about $100 per kilogram.

Their work is published in the online edition of Journal of the American Chemical Society at http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/ja1112904.

"This is a breakthrough," said Liming Dai, a professor of chemical engineering and the research team leader.

Dai and research associates Shuangyin Wang and Dingshan Yu found that by simply soaking carbon nanotubes in a water solution of the polymer polydiallyldimethylammoniumn chloride for a couple of hours, the polymer coats the nanotube surface and pulls an electron partially from the carbon, creating a net positive charge.

They placed the nanotubes on the cathode of an alkaline fuel cell. There, the charged material acts as a catalyst for the oxygen-reduction reaction that produces electricity while electrochemically combining hydrogen and oxygen.

In testing, the fuel cell produced as much power as an identical cell using a platinum catalyst.

But the activated nanotubes last longer and are more stable, the researchers said. Unlike platinum, the carbon-based catalyst: doesn't lose catalytic activity and, therefore, efficiency, over time; isn't fouled by carbon monooxide poising; and is free from the crossover effect with methanol. Methanol, a liquid fuel that's easier to store and transport than hydrogen, reduces activity of a platinum catalyst when the fuel crosses over from the anode to the cathode in a fuel cell.

The new process builds on the Dai lab's earlier work using nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes as a catalyst. In that process, nitrogen, which was chemically bonded to the carbon, pulled electron partially from the carbon to create a charge. Testing showed the doped tubes tripled the energy output of platinum.

Dai said the new process is far simpler and cheaper than using nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes and he's confident his lab will increase the energy output as well. "We have not optimized the system yet."

Provided by Case Western Reserve University (news : web)
-->

via physorg.com

From same folks in 2009, but at an earlier stage of development, when it was just a proof of concept but using nitrogen instead of carbon nanotubes
http://www.physorg.com/news153413712.html

Circadian Clock May Be Critical For Remembering What You Learn, Researchers Say

2011-04-25T13:15:00.001-07:00

The researchers knocked the hamsters' circadian systems out of commission using a new noninvasive technique they developed involving manipulating the hamsters' exposure to light. The hamsters were first exposed to two hours of bright light late at night. Then the next day the researchers delayed the usual light/dark cycle by three hours. "It is like sending them west three time zones," Ruby said.

After the treatment, the normal light/dark cycle is resumed, but that one-time treatment is enough to wipe out their circadian system.

To assess the effect of the treatment, Ruby's team conducted a standard test called a novel object recognition task that takes advantage of animals' innate tendency to explore their environment. Using a box roughly 2 feet square, the researchers put two identical objects in adjacent corners, such as two saltshakers or two shot glasses. The hamster is then placed in the box, on the opposite side from the objects. As it explores the box and the objects, the hamster spends approximately equal amounts of time on each of the two identical objects.

After 5 minutes, the hamster is removed from the box, and one of the objects is replaced with a new, different object. After a span of time-in Ruby's study, the time was varied between 20 minutes and an hour-the hamster is put back in the box.

"A normal animal will spend time with both objects, but it will spend easily twice as much time with the new one," Ruby said. "It understands that it has seen the other one before."

But when a hamster that lacks circadian rhythms is put back in the box, it's as if it is a whole new world for the hamster. Whether the hamster is out of the box for an hour or as short a time as 20 minutes, it spends the same amount of time with each object, Ruby said.

"What that means is they don't remember the object that was in there before," he said.

The finding is even more striking when you consider that when a hamster loses its circadian system, it gets even more sleep than usual.

"What our data are showing is that these animals still performed terribly on a simple learning task, even though they're getting loads of sleep," Ruby said. "What this says is that the circadian system really is necessary for something that is deeply important: learning."

Immortal Technique -- Leaving the Past!

2011-04-24T16:37:00.001-07:00

Has the mystery of Easter Island finally been solved? - Science, News - The Independent

2011-04-24T15:52:00.001-07:00

The poster child of ecopessimism is torn down in new book that shows imperialist genocide not self-ecocide decimated Easter Island's people.

Pink Floyd - Goodbye Blue Sky

2011-04-20T12:23:00.001-07:00

Better version!

Goodbye Blue Sky

2011-04-20T12:21:00.001-07:00

Top Comment from Youtube:
hardcore symbolism going on here.
elizahime 9 months ago, 48 likes

Alexi Murdoch - Blue Mind

2011-04-20T12:03:00.001-07:00

Bluelight (470nm's) increases neurotransmitter activity and interconnection across the brain, increases deep sleep, and leaves one feeling like they have the energy of a child. These lyrics are no coincidence.

Via: https://www.facebook.com/sheril.kirshenbaum
http://www.mindandocean.com

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq - UK Politics, UK - The Independent

2011-04-19T21:06:00.001-07:00

How Little Sleep Can You Get Away With? - NYTimes.com

2011-04-19T17:31:00.001-07:00

he estimates it at around 5 percent or even less — who, for what researchers think may be genetic reasons, can maintain their performance with five or fewer hours of sleep. (There is also a small percentage who require 9 or 10 hours.)
Still, while it’s tempting to believe we can train ourselves to be among the five-hour group — we can’t, Dinges says — or that we are naturally those five-hour sleepers, consider a key finding from Van Dongen and Dinges’s study: after just a few days, the four- and six-hour group reported that, yes, they were slightly sleepy. But they insisted they had adjusted to their new state. Even 14 days into the study, they said sleepiness was not affecting them. In fact, their performance had tanked. In other words, the sleep-deprived among us are lousy judges of our own sleep needs. We are not nearly as sharp as we think we are.

via nytimes.com

Stephen Harper steals speech from Emperor Palpatine

2011-04-19T15:50:00.001-07:00

10 Charts About Sex « OkTrends

2011-04-19T12:01:00.001-07:00

via blog.okcupid.com

BBC News - Virus and low sunlight 'raises multiple sclerosis risk'

2011-04-19T11:22:00.001-07:00

via bbc.co.uk

Land sales fall to 10-year low - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

2011-04-18T11:36:00.001-07:00

via abc.net.au

Land Destroyer: It's Official: "Arab Spring" Subversion is US Funded

2011-04-18T11:33:00.001-07:00

Doubts laid to rest; counter revolutions to come.
by Tony Cartalucci
Bangkok, Thailand April 15, 2011 - As American bombs rain down upon Libya on the premise that Qaddafi was brutalizing indigenous pro-democratic demonstrators, the accusing fingers of Libya, Iran, China, Syria, Belarus, and a growing number of other nations are pointing at Washington for funding and plotting regime change against their respective governments. Either in an act of absolute hubris or to spin emerging evidence that the US indeed has been funding and preparing the ground for the "Arab Spring" for years, New York Times has recently published "U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings."
Essentially throwing these activists under the bus, New York Times exposes that the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and Entsar Qadhi of Yemen amongst others, received training and financing from the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and the Neo-Conservative lined Freedom House.
The New York Times goes on to explain that these organizations are in turn funded by the National Endowment for Democracy which receives 100 million USD from Congress while Freedom House receives most of its money from the US State Department. While the New York Times asserts "no one doubts that the Arab uprisings are home grown," leaders of groups now admittedly funded and trained by the US are anything but "home grown." The most prominent example is the April 6 Movement of Egypt led by Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Crisis Group. ElBaradei sitting along side George Soros, Kenneth Adelman, Wesley Clark, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, within a US foreign policy think-tank engenders a considerable amount of "doubt."
Also conceding involvement is the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), chaired by various Council on Foreign Relations and Brookings Institute alumni. POMED claims that they helped protesters develop skills and to network. Such training has taken place annually under Movements.org starting in 2008 where Egypt's April 6 movement among many others, learned techniques to subvert their government. Movements.org of course is sponsored by a conglomerate of corporations and government agencies including the US State Department, Google, MTV, the Edelman public relations firm, Facebook, CBS News, MSNBC, Pepsi, and others. Despite the claim that such meddling is "promoting democracy," looking at the sponsors and war mongering interests involved in this operation, it appears to be more about promoting global military and economic hegemony.
The role of NGOs and the so called "civil society" used to support the unrest is also included in the New York Times piece, as well as the displeasure expressed by Arab leaders berating the US for meddling in their internal affairs. Such accusations have now reach a crescendo with China, Iran, Syria, and Belarus making similar claims.
The New York Times piece ends by describing cables indicating that many activists who became aware of US involvement in funding and directing the movements became disenfranchised. Such activists were "ousted." Training was conducted outside of target countries, including in Jordan, Morocco, Serbia, and the United States. What the New York Times omits are the similar connections and involvements corporate special interests hand in steering human rights organizations in support of these operations as well. Such organizations had amply laid the rhetorical groundwork needed to justify the ever expanding war in Libya.
Of course, one needs only remember the feigned ignorance exhibited by the US State Department, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama, along with the litany of lies purveyed by the mainstream media to see a disingenuous plot in motion. This is because everyone from the US State Department and the corporate owned media had been involved, for years, preparing to bring the "Arab Spring" to fruition. With open admissions now being made by a global corporate-financier mouthpiece like the New York Times, one must consider the serious implications of what may come next.
Behold the circus that is the mainstream media. MSNBC feigns ignorance and
confusion over unrest they had been involved in engineering since at least 2008.

Surely this information is going to incite a counterrevolution. In Egypt, suspicion over Mohamed ElBaradei has already seen the interloping globocrat pelted with rocks and his agenda derailed. Many activists truly believed in their cause and risked their lives for the idea that they were fighting not only their own corrupt dictatorships, but the West as well who had been propping them up for years. Such a perception was exasperated during the early stages of the of the uprisings with the West lavishing support on embattled regimes in order to maximize the disenfranchisement of the people. With ongoing operations to seize Libya by force, and to see through similar US backed uprisings in Syria, Yemen, Iran, and even as far as Thailand and China, it will be interesting indeed to see how nation-states tailor their response to what is now clearly foreign funded subversion.
In what manner this realization will manifest itself is not certain. However, it would be wise for activists, pundits, politicians, and concerned citizens genuinely interested in truth, to think very carefully before making their next move. As George Bush had once attempted to say, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. "
Ultimately, and upon examining the architects behind this global gambit of deceptive destabilization, we must look past the puppet politicians and the disingenuous liars that presume to give us "the news." We must see the global corporate-financier empire as the source of the problem and its removal and replacement as the solution.

via landdestroyer.blogspot.com

Dr. Michio Kaku - Fukishima Daiichi Nuclear Facility - The Truth!

2011-04-17T23:07:00.001-07:00

01-b.jpg (674×256)

2011-04-17T02:40:00.001-07:00

via s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Canadian Real Estate – The Ignored Election Issue | FP Posted | Financial Post

2011-04-17T02:10:00.001-07:00

PACIFICA PARTNERS

As Canadians go through yet another election, politicians of all stripes are busy dusting off campaign slogans, attack ads and policy books. Each party puts forth its best ideas to fix what ails the country and what will propel it forward on a wave of prosperity.

The amazing part of this election campaign is that nobody seems to be addressing the 800 pound gorilla in the room. That gorilla is named “Canadian Real Estate”. The overvaluation of real estate(“bubble” is so overused it has lost its shock value)in many parts of Canada has been propelled by a Canadian addiction to debt and federal government policies that helped to create a runaway freight train in the form of real estate prices. Outside of the Canadian political campaigning trail the Conservatives have paid lip service to the issue through their recent series of mortgage lending restrictions, however, this tightening is only undoing the Conservative party’s mortgage lending loosening from a few years earlier. Again, both key facts are rarely mentioned by any of the political parties currently campaigning.

Some economists and even the Canadian Finance Minister have argued or proclaimed that a Canadian estate bubble does not exist. They point to the fact that Canadian mortgage lending standards are more rigorous than those that contributed to the US real estate meltdown. In part, this is true. However, the role of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in helping to push real estate prices to their current levels seldom receives the attention it deserves.

The CMHC has been especially generous in ensuring that banks and other financial institutions were not hindered in making mortgage credit available to Canadian borrowers. Given its central role in the real estate markets and the potential impact on the Canadian economy, it should be an election issue that is front and center. If Canadian defaults on mortgages were to increase, the Federal government (i.e. Canadian taxpayers) would be on the hook for the bill. As Ross Perot once said about the US deficit, “it’s like the crazy aunt in the basement nobody wants to talk about”.

Given that Canadian consumer debt is at record levels and challenging the peak figures of US consumer debt before the recent recession, it does not take a generous amount of imagination to envision a scenario in which Canada may have a “Made in Canada Housing Crisis”. Canadian income growth has been dismal but record low interest rates have given many Canadians a “What Me Worry?” attitude.

Those who confront the issue are often faced with a response of, “can you prove that there is a bubble in Canada”? As with any bubble or even other unpleasant economic events such as recessions, only time will truly tell. However, in at least one Canadian market, Vancouver, the fundamentals and rate of price increases have gone far beyond what could be prudently considered sustainable.

As the chart demonstrates, Vancouver home prices have surged far beyond total British Columbia GDP growth and personal income growth. In fact, for housing prices to revert back to the GDP growth rates by the end of 2011 (assuming the BC economy grows at 4% in 2011), we would require at least a 12% and up to a 31% correction in home prices. This of course assumes that BC’s GDP isn’t linked to a housing bubble bursting. In truth, the dependence on real estate to spur economic growth has been very apparent, especially in Vancouver, and therefore a deeper correction would actually be required to find a sustainable equilibrium.

Canadians should be demanding some answers from their politicians about what they propose as a solution to this issue and to recognize that an issue does exist. If it unfolds even somewhat close to the worst case scenario, many Canadians may be left wondering “How could this happen?” The problem is that there is no easy fix to getting Canadians to ease off the debt spigot. However, we need simply look across the border to see what occurs when the problem is ignored.

AJ Sull, CFA, MBA, CMT is president, chief investment officer of Pacifica Partners Inc. in Surrey, BC.

via business.financialpost.com

Pulling an all-nighter can bring on euphoria and risky behavior « Biosingularity

2011-04-17T02:05:00.001-07:00

A sleepless night can make us cranky and moody. But a lesser known side effect of sleep deprivation is short-term euphoria, which can potentially lead to poor judgment and addictive behavior, according to new research from the University of California, Berkeley.

Researchers at UC Berkeley and Harvard Medical School studied the brains of healthy young adults and found that their pleasure circuitry got a big boost after a missed night’s sleep. But that same neural pathway that stimulates feelings of euphoria, reward and motivation after a sleepless night may also lead to risky behavior, their study suggests.

“When functioning correctly, the brain finds the sweet spot on the mood spectrum. But the sleep-deprived brain will swing to both extremes, neither of which is optimal for making wise decisions,” said Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley and lead author of the study.

The findings, published today, March 22, in the Journal of Neuroscience, underscore the need for people in high-stakes professions and circumstances not to shortchange themselves on sleep, Walker said.

“We need to ensure that people making high-stakes decisions, from medical professionals to airline pilots to new parents, get enough sleep,” Walker said. “Based on this evidence, I’d be concerned by an emergency room doctor who’s been up for 20 hours straight making rational decisions about my health.”

The body alternates between two main phases of sleep during the night: Rapid Eye Movement (REM), when body and brain activity promote dreams, and Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM), when the muscles and brain rest. Previous brain studies indicate that these sleep patterns are disrupted in people with mood disorders.

Puzzled as to why so many people with clinical depression feel more positive after a sleepless night – at least temporarily – the researchers used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to study the brains of 27 young adults, half of whom got a good night’s rest and the other half of whom pulled an all-nighter.

Participants viewed numerous images, including pleasant scenes (for example, bunnies or ice cream sundaes), and were asked to rate the pictures as either neutral or positive. Across the board, those who had skipped a night’s sleep gave more positive ratings for all the images while the well-rested participants gave more moderate scores.

Moreover, brain scans of the participants who pulled all-nighters showed heightened activity in the mesolimbic pathway, a brain circuit driven by dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates positive feelings, motivation, sex drive, addiction, cravings and decision making.

While a bias toward the positive, potentially linked to a short-term boost in dopamine levels, may seem advantageous, it can be detrimental if people are making impulsive decisions because they’re feeling overly optimistic, Walker said.

The findings build upon previous research by Walker and his team that shows sleep deprivation shuts down the brain’s key planning and decision-making regions – namely the prefrontal cortex – while activating more primal neural functions such as the fight-or-flight reflex in the amygdala region of the brain.

The latest study shows a similar disconnect between the prefrontal cortex and the misolimbic pathway after a night of no sleep: “After a good night’s sleep, the frontal lobe regions are strongly connected to the dopamine reward regions, but that’s not the case after a night of no sleep,” Walker said.

As for a therapy for people who are clinically depressed, sleep deprivation is not a viable solution, according to Walker: “The elastic band of sleep deprivation can only be stretched so far before it breaks,” he said.

via biosingularity.wordpress.com