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Earth's Magnetic Field Reversal is Approaching

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:03:32 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Here is another reason why humanity seems to lose direction....

"Right now, historic records show that the strength of the magnetic field is declining very rapidly. From a quick back-of-the-envelope prediction, in 1,500 years the field will be as weak as it's ever been and we could go into a state of polarity reversal," says Singer. "One broad goal of our research is to provide some predictive capability for what could happen and what could be the signs of the next reversal."

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Earth's north magnetic pole is shifting and weakening. Ancient lava flows are guiding a better understanding of what generates and controls the Earth's magnetic field – and what may drive it to occasionally reverse direction.

The main magnetic field, generated by turbulent currents within the deep mass of molten iron of the Earth's outer core, periodically flips its direction, such that a compass needle would point south rather than north.

Such polarity reversals have occurred hundreds of times at irregular intervals throughout the planet's history – most recently about 780,000 years ago – but scientists are still trying to understand how and why.

Current evidence suggests we are now approaching one of these transitional states because the main magnetic field is relatively weak and rapidly decreasing, he says. While the last polarity reversal occurred several hundred thousand years ago, the next might come within only a few thousand years.

Tags: geophysics, earth magnetic field

The Naked Eye

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:32:39 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: An interesting photo (?)

Clip Source: www.kuteev.ru

Tags: pictures

Amazing Science Images

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:37:06 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Wellcome Image Awards 2008

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

From a fly on sugar to the internal structure of an HIV cell and the trachea from a silkworm, the Wellcome Image Awards 2008 spotlights some of the boldest pictures taken during groundbreaking scientific research

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A fly on sugar crystals

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Meningitis bacteria

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A molecular model showing all the different molecules, both RNA (turquoise, green and yellow) and protein (purple and orange), that make up the ribosome, the RNA and protein found in all cells

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A carpet of red blood cells

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Colour-enhanced image of a single breast cancer cell

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A clump of breast cancer cells

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

A clump of prostate cancer cells. The blue-green cells are growing, whereas the pink ones are dying by programmed cell death

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Trachea from a silkworm

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Internal structure of an HIV particle

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Colon cancer cells growing in a dish

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Liquid crystal seen under polarised light

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Villi from the human small intestine

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Colour-enhanced image of red blood cells leaking from a ruptured blood vessel

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Crystals of oxidised Vitamin C

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

mouse embryo

One Third of Us are Starving

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:29:37 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.helium.com

It would cost only $13 billion to satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements, which is the amount that is spent on perfume every year by the people of the United States and Europe.

Clip Source: www.helium.com

In Africa today, one child dies every 3 seconds because of the basic lack of safe water, healthcare, shelter or food. Every year 15 million children die of hunger and 183 million children are underweight for their age.

According to the World Health Authority, one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed and one-third is starving.

Tags: poverty, starvation, economics, perfume

Brain Regions Responsible for Warding off Negative Emotion Identified

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:18:34 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Researchers found that subjects most successful in warding off negative emotions activated the nucleus accumbens and amygdala regions of the brain more than unsuccessful subjects. They hypothesize that the nucleus accumbens is used to suppress the negative emotional response generated by the amygdala.

Clip Source: media-newswire.com

A team of cognitive neuroscientists from Columbia University has identified the brain pathways responsible for the body's emotional defense against gruesome and other aversive forms of imagery. The study, published today in the journal Neuron, could lead to better understanding of psychological diseases, improve behavioral therapies and spawn new federal policies for hospitals and treatment centers.

"We've known for a long time that certain cognitive strategies are effective in regulating emotions; now we know which regions in the brain work to make those strategies successful,

The study showed that negative emotions are regulated through two distinct neurological pathways. The first pathway connects the prefrontal cortex, the brain's emotional command center, to the nucleus accumbens, a region linked primarily to positive emotion; the second connects it to the amygdala, which is linked primarily to negative emotion.

Tags: brain, behavior, emotion, neuroscience

Three Jokes, Three Theories of Humour

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:10:06 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: www.prospect-magazine.co.uk

the "incongruity" theory—that's Kant (also Pascal, Schopenhauer)—says humour is a matter of the logical abruptly dissolving into the absurd. "Do you believe in clubs for children?" WC Fields was asked. "Only when kindness fails," he said.

told to me by one of my students at a Catholic girls' school. "Mr Holt, what's better than roses on a piano? Tulips on an organ."

"relief" theory of humour—that's Freud (also Spencer)—says that humour allows us to get around our inhibitions. The set-up fools our inner censor, and the punchline liberates repressed impulses.

"superiority" theory—that's Hobbes (also Plato, Bergson)—locates the essence of humour in the "sudden glory" we feel at the humiliation of others. It suits jokes about cuckolds, racist jokes and put-downs, like:

Angry guy walks into a bar, says to the bartender, "All agents are assholes."

The guy sitting at the end of the bar says, "Just a minute, I resent that."

"Why? You an agent?"

"No. I'm an asshole."

Tags: humour, jokes

UK's Secret Underground City

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:14:03 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.full-room.com

Built in the late 50s this massive city complex was designed to safely house up to 4,000 central Government personnel in the event of a nuclear strike.

In a former Bath stone quarry the city, code named Burlington, was to be the site of the main Emergency Government War Headquarters

60 miles of roads

so top secret that many of the civil servants, who had been allocated a desk at Burlington, had no knowledge of it

From underground hospitals, canteens, kitchens and laundries to storerooms of supplies, accommodation areas and offices

An underground lake and treatment plant could provide all the drinking water needed whilst 12 huge tanks could store the fuel required to keep the four massive generators, in the underground power station, running for up to three months

second largest telephone exchange in Britain, a BBC studio from which the PM could address the nation

last December, with the underground reservoir drained, emptied of fuel and supplies

the site was finally decommissioned

Are My Testicles Black?

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 13:43:41 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: LMAO!!!

Clip Source: www.jokesgallery.com

Are My Testicles Black?

A man is lying in bed in a Catholic hospital with an oxygen mask over his mouth.

A young auxiliary nurse appears to sponge his face and hands.

"Nurse," he mumbles from behind the mask, "Are my testicles black?"

Embarrassed the young nurse replies, "I don't know, I'm only here to wash your

face and hands."

He struggles again to ask, "Nurse, Are my testicles black?"

Again the nurse replies, "I can't tell. I'm only here to wash your face and hands."

The ward sister was passing and saw the man getting a little distraught so she marched

over to inquire what was wrong.

"Sister," he mumbled, "Are my testicles black?"

Being a nurse of longstanding, the sister was undaunted. She whipped back the
bedclothes, pulled down his pajama trousers, moved his penis out of the way, had a
good look, pulled up the pajamas, replaced the bedclothes and announced, "Nothing

is wrong with them!!!"

At this the man pulled off his oxygen mask and asked again, "Are my test results back???

Google Searches for Ideas that can 'Change the World'

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:46:18 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Any clipper who has an idea is invited !

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Google Inc., which is celebrating its 10th birthday this month, unveiled a $10 million effort to implement ideas that can "change the world by helping as many people as possible."

Google plans to ask its users to submit ideas until Oct. 20. Google will choose what it feels are the 100 best ideas for categories that include, but are not limited to, community, energy, environment, health, education, shelter and opportunities for people to better provide for themselves and their families.

The users will narrow the results to 20 finalists, and a panel of judges will choose up to five ideas that will receive funding, Google said.

Google noted that the ideas can be big or small, technology-driven or not, as long as they have to have a potential positive impact on the world.

Tags: ideas, changing the world

Art and the Landscape in Finland

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:30:43 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.environmentalart.net

Art and the Landscape in Finland

An exhibition collection of photographs of Finnish Environmental Art show artistic treatments of
two aspects of Finland, the natural landscape (forests, grasslands, snow and ice, etc) and the presence of myth and legend.

Clip Source: www.zuzafun.com

Clip Source: www.environmentalart.net

Artist: Jonna Pohjalainen, Helsinki

photos: Jonna Pohjalainen

Works: Color Pencils, 2006

Artist: Timo Jokela, Rovaniemi

photo: Timo Jokela
Summer at Halti Fell, Finland and
Norwegian Border 2005 Snow-installation

photo: Timo Jokela
Pallas, Finland 2005 Snow-installation

Clip Source: www.environmentalart.net

Artist: Erja Laakkonen, Helsinki

photo: Erja Laakkonen
"Summer Evening Waltz" / "Kesäillan valssi", 2003

Artist: Riitta Schildht, Helsinki

Clip Source: www.environmentalart.net

photo: Riitta Shcildt
Reflexion

Artist: Marja Hakala, Helsinki

photo: Marja Hakala
Rename it / Nimeä uudelleen

Artist: Kaarina Kaikkonen,

photo: Lauri Lipasti
"The Journey Home", 1995

photos: Lea Turto
" Towards Flowing Waters", 2006" ,Jyväskylä

Artist: Pekka Kainulainen, Sammatti

Clip Source: www.environmentalart.net

Pakistan Invades America - "Without Permission"

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 09:24:14 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: >>Except for note 2, all the above-quoted statements are real; only the roles have been switched.<<

Clip Source: www.informationclearinghouse.info

The U.S. State Department lodged a sharp protest over ongoing Pakistani missile strikes and ground raids today, saying the Islamic Republic was violating American sovereignty.

The controversy stems from the Pakistan Army's recent decision, leaked in a prominent Pakistani newspaper, to mount intensifying air attacks and new ground assaults against extremists hiding in American safe havens

American papers reported that under the new policy, the Pakistani military will no longer seek America's permission in killing Americans, but will inform American diplomats about these killings as a friendly gesture between close allies.²

The general's stance signified strong Pakistani dissatisfaction with America's reluctance to crack down on religious fundamentalists and neoconservatives, who, experts note, have deep ties to American intelligence services and military leaders.

"We have to strike them over there so that they cannot order strikes against us here at home," General Kayani said

Finally, the Story of the Whistleblower Who Tried to Prevent the Iraq War

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:32:26 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.truthout.org

Katharine Gun worked at the British intelligence agency when she discovered an NSA memo that she used in an attempt to stop the invasion of Iraq. (Photo: The New Statesman)

Katharine Gun was free to have a conscience, as long as it didn't interfere with her work at a British intelligence agency. To the authorities,

a conscience was apt to be less tangible than a pixel

But suddenly - one routine morning, while she was scrolling through email at her desk - conscience struck. It changed Katharine Gun's life, and it changed history.

Despite the nationality of this young Englishwoman, her story is profoundly American - all the more so because it has remained largely hidden from the public in the United States. When Katharine Gun chose, at great personal risk, to reveal an illicit spying operation at the United Nations in which the US government was the senior partner, she brought out of the transatlantic shadows a special relationship that could not stand the light of day.

Tags: spy v spy

Learning From Mistakes Only Works After Age 12, Study Suggests

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:41:56 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Is that difference between eight- and twelve-year-olds the result of experience, or does it have to do with the way the brain develops? As yet, nobody has the answer. 'This kind of brain research has only been possible for the last ten years or so,' says Crone, 'and there are a lot more questions which have to be answered. But it is probably a combination of the brain maturing and experience.'

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Eight-year-old children have a radically different learning strategy from twelve-year-olds and adults. Eight-year-olds learn primarily from positive feedback ('Well done!'), whereas negative feedback ('Got it wrong this time') scarcely causes any alarm bells to ring. Twelve-year-olds are better able to process negative feedback, and use it to learn from their mistakes. Adults do the same, but more efficiently.

The switch in learning strategy has been demonstrated in behavioural research, which shows that eight-year-olds respond disproportionately inaccurately to negative feedback. But the switch can also be seen in the brain, as developmental psychologist Dr Eveline Crone and her colleagues from the Leiden Brain and Cognition Lab discovered using fMRI research.

Children learn the whole time, so this new knowledge can have major consequences for people wanting to teach children: how can you best relay instructions to eight- and twelve-year-olds?' ’

Tags: brain, developement, learning

The moon is near.

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:39:56 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: A very big step forward space.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Private Company Launches Its Rocket Into Orbit

A privately financed company launched a rocket of its own design successfully into orbit on Sunday night, ushering in what the company’s founders hope will be a new era of spaceflight.

“There were a lot of people who thought we couldn’t do it — a lot, actually,” he said after thanking his employees. “But, you know, the saying goes, fourth time’s the charm.”

Mr. Musk, 37, founded SpaceX in 2002 after selling the online payment company he helped found, PayPal, to eBay for $1.5 billion.

SpaceX, which has more than 500 employees, captured one of the most coveted prizes of the new space industry: a commercial orbital transportation services contract worth as much as $100 million. Known by its acronym, Cots, the program encourages private-sector alternatives to the space shuttle.

The first three efforts by SpaceX had ended in failure

payload mass simulator — a 364-pound weight

Tags: space rockets, spaceflights

We were warned

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:45:56 GMT

clipped by: willhelm
clipper's remarks: Despite these warnings, Woodrow Wilson signed the 1913 Federal Reserve Act. A few years later he wrote: I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men. -Woodrow Wilson

Clip Source: www.davidforalaska.com

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks...will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.

... The modern theory of the perpetuation of debt has drenched the earth with blood, and crushed its inhabitants under burdens ever accumulating. -Thomas Jefferson

History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and its issuance. -James Madison

If congress has the right under the Constitution to issue paper money, it was given them to use themselves, not to be delegated to individuals or corporations. -Andrew Jackson