Green Revolution – Page 12 – Stephen Saunders

comet-lulin

Two highly auspicious astronomical events are occurring right now that everyone should be made aware of. We have a highly unusual green comet from deep space in our midst and a second moon for earth.

Historically comets are thought to portent severe change and are often thought of as the grim reaper. The facts that this comet is green, from unknown origin, orbits the sun counter to all the other planets and has a large atmosphere three times the size of Jupiter are significant. Per astronomers, it may also develop twin tails.

A 10km, (6.2 mile) diameter asteroid suddenly captured by earth as a second moon is quite unusual and auspicious. Expected to be with us for over a year is it really an asteroid or something else? With our current knowledge of torsion field energy we may be seeing influences on our emotions and behavior.

Fortunately Comet Lulin will be making its closest approach to earth during the new moon. (On its return to deep space) An observers group will be driving out to the western bluff of the Belen Mesa on Monday evening, (Feb. 23rd) to experience this once in a lifetime event. We will be using telescopes, binoculars, digital cameras and green lasers. In addition to viewing the comet we will be photographing orbs and viewing the very prevalent UFOs and alien spacecraft activity. I hope that you can join us. Below is a copy of the science press release. Enjoy! Gary 🙂

What might be the best naked-eye comet of the year is approaching the Earth and growing brighter every day. It’s Comet Lulin, named for the Chinese observatory where it was discovered in 2007.

The new comet’s formal name is Comet C/2007 N3. The new comet will be the brightest towards the end of the month. The comet will be a magnitude 5 or 6 in brightness. It is rather large in size with an “atmosphere” of emitted particles (called a coma) three times the diameter of Jupiter. The atmosphere consists of cyanogen (CN) and diatomic carbon (C2), gases that glow green when exposed to the light of the sun.

Comet Lulin currently is in the constellation of Libra, rising about 4 a.m., but as we progress through January and February, the comet will move through the constellations of Virgo and Leo and will rise at the much more reasonable hour of 7 p.m.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Comet Lulin is its unusual orbit around the sun. Although it orbits in nearly the same plane that the Earth does, it does so backwards. Earth and all of the major planets orbit the sun counterclockwise as viewed from above Earth’s North Pole, but Comet Lulin is going against the flow, moving around the sun in a clockwise direction. Because it is moving in the opposite direction that Earth moves, the two will pass each other at the breakneck speed of nearly 40 miles per second, or 140,000 miles per hour.

On the night of closest approach to Earth, Feb. 24, Comet Lulin will be moving at an astounding 5 degrees per day across our line of sight. Its motion against the background stars will be evident through a small telescope or even binoculars.

Another fascinating aspect of Comet Lulin’s orbit is that it is parabolic rather than elliptical. That means that Comet Lulin doesn’t make regular, periodic visits to the inner solar system, but it is in an orbit so large that this might be the very first time it has passed through the inner solar system and felt the warmth of the sun on its solidly frozen ices. Consequently, predicting the behavior of this newcomer is speculative at best. So far, it has been at or slightly ahead of its theoretical brightness curve. If this trend continues, Comet Lulin is expected to reach fourth magnitude at its peak. That’s bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye from dark, rural locations.

A pair of ordinary binoculars always enhances your view of a comet, and on the night of closest approach, Feb. 24, Comet Lulin and the bright planet Saturn will be in the same binocular field of view, providing an unforgettable sight.

For regular updates on Comet Lulin, check out the NASA Web site www.SpaceWeather.com

But comet Lulin isn’t the only visitor from space.

Barely two weeks ago a 10km wide asteroid came within twice the distance to the moon. This asteroid called 20091313, will follow the Earth for at least a year and will then again disappear into space.

So for a short while the Earth has actually two moons, although one is very small. Had this asteroid hit the Earth it would have impacted with the same force as the atomic bomb that exploded over Hiroshima. To make sure this does not happen astronomers constantly survey the sky for Near Earth Objects (NEOs).

California May Be Forced to Release Up to a Third of All Prisoners

February 10th, 2009
How will the private prison companies manage?

Via: Reuters:

Federal judges on Monday tentatively ordered California to release tens of thousands of inmates, up to a third of all prisoners, in the next three years to stop dangerous overcrowding.

As many as 57,000 could be let go if the current population were cut by the maximum percentage considered by a three-judge panel. Judges said the move could be done without threatening public safety — and might improve a public safety hazard.

The state immediately said it would appeal the final ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trend-setting California, the Golden State, has an immense prison system responsible for nearly 170,000 inmates, and their care has become a major political and budget issue as officials weigh multibillion costs of improved facilities against death and illness behind bars.

Boycott Kellogg’s!

Someone needs to spank Kellogg’s on its sugar-frosted hiney. And If I bought Kellogg’s products I would join the call to boycott them. How does a company devoted to setting little kids on the path to Type 2 diabetes get all sanctimonious about Michael Phelps and a bong hit? His behavior is inconsistent with its image, the company says. Huh? How can that be? Tony the Tiger is generally the first pusher of addictive substances in a child’s life. That’s the American way.

Take Frosted Flakes. The company recommends a 3/4-cup serving, but come on that’s like eating a handful of sugary air. A real bowl is about two to three times that amount. That means kids can start the day with up to 36 grams of sugar, or about 9 teaspoons per bowl. Multiply that morning after morning.

Then there are Crack-its, or rather, Cheez-its. I don’t care what the serving portion is, can anyone stop at anything under half a box? Anyway, the larger point is this: He’s a 23-year-old young man who got caught doing what 23-year-old young men do. Phelps has apologized. He can still be president. And most of his other sponsors, like Speedo, seem to be sticking with him.

Why is Kellogg’s hyperventilating over this? Frankly, I think the company is shooting itself in its frosted foot. It will never find a better pitch man. The message was streamlined and simple: eat this food and you too will have to swim 17 hours a day.

Anyway, over on Huffingont Post, Lee Stranahan takes a different tack. He argues that Kellogg’s is alienating its most devoted adult client base, the stoner crowd. Here are snippets from his petition calling for boycott:

1) Kellogg’s is a major manufacturer of cereal and junk food products including but not limited to Frosted Flakes, Pop Tarts, Cheez-Its, Froot Loops, Keebler’s Cookies, Rice Krispies, Eggo Frozen Waffles, Famous Amos Cookies and many other products known to be a part of the diet of many marijuana using Americans

2) Kellogg’s has profited for decades on the food tastes of marijuana using Americans with the munchies. In fact, we believe that most people over the age of twelve would not eat Kellogg’s products were they not wicked high.

3)That Kellogg’s has decided to end their relationship with Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps after pictures of him surfaced doing exactly what most Kellogg’s customers do right before enjoying a bowl of Rice Krispies mixed with Keebler Cookies with an Eggo on top.

The rest is pretty funny and worth a read.

Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

DEA continues pot raids Obama opposes. President vowed to end policy.

Stephen Dinan and Ben Conery THE WASHINGTON TIMES Thursday, February 5, 2009

Drug Enforcement Administration agents this week raided four medical
marijuana shops in California, contrary to President Obama’s campaign
promises to stop the raids.

DEA Acting Administrator Michele Leonhart

The White House said it expects those kinds of raids to end once Mr.
Obama nominates someone to take charge of DEA, which is still run by Bush
administration holdovers.

“The president believes that federal resources should not be used to
circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to
fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review
their policies with that in mind,” White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.

Medical use of marijuana is legal under the law in California and a dozen
other states, but the federal government under President Bush, bolstered by
a 2005 Supreme Court ruling, argued that federal interests trumped state
law.

Dogged by marijuana advocates throughout the campaign, Mr. Obama repeatedly
said he was opposed to using the federal government to raid medical
marijuana shops, particularly because it was an infringement on states’
decisions.

“I’m not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent
state laws on this issue,” Mr. Obama told the Mail Tribune newspaper in
Oregon in March, during the Democratic primary campaign.

He told the newspaper the “basic concept of using medical marijuana for the
same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by
doctors, I think that’s entirely appropriate.”

Mr. Obama is still filling key law enforcement posts. For now, DEA is run by
acting Administrator Michele Leonhart, a Bush appointee.

Special Agent Sarah Pullen of the DEA’s Los Angeles office said agents
raided four marijuana dispensaries about noon Tuesday. Two were in Venice
and one each was in Marina Del Rey and Playa Del Ray — all in the Los
Angeles area.

A man who answered the phone at Marina Caregivers in Marina Del Rey said his
shop was the target of a raid but declined to elaborate, saying the shop was
just trying to get back to operating.

Agent Pullen said the four raids seized $10,000 in cash and 224 kilograms of
marijuana and marijuana-laced food, such as cookies. No one was arrested,
she said, but the raid is part of an ongoing investigation seeking to trace
the marijuana back to its suppliers or source.

She said agents have conducted 30 or 40 similar raids in the past several
years, many of which resulted in prosecutions.

“It’s clear that the DEA is showing no respect for President Obama’s
campaign promises,” said Dan Bernath, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy
Project in Washington, which advocates for medical marijuana and for
decriminalizing the drug.

California allows patients whose doctors prescribe marijuana to use the
drug. The state has set up a registry to allow patients to obtain cards
allowing them to possess, grow, transport and use marijuana.

Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana advocacy group
in California, called the raids an attempt to undermine state law and said
they were apparently conducted without the knowledge of Los Angeles city or
police officials.

He said the DEA has raided five medical marijuana dispensaries in the state
since Mr. Obama was inaugurated and that the first took place on Jan. 22 in
South Lake Tahoe.

“President Obama needs to keep a promise he made, not just in one campaign
stop, but in multiple speeches that he would not be spending Justice
Department funds on these kinds of raids,” Mr. Hermes said. “We do want to
give him a little bit of leeway, but at the same time we’re expecting him to
stop this egregious enforcement policy that is continuing into his
presidency.”

He said he is aware that Mr. Obama has not installed his own DEA chief but
that new Attorney General “Eric Holder can still suspend these types of
operations.”

The Justice Department referred questions to the White House.

ETHANOL MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY COSTLY THAN GAS & DIESEL

ENN – Some biofuels cause more health problems than petrol and diesel, according to scientists who have calculated the health costs associated with different types of fuel. The study shows that corn-based bioethanol, which is produced extensively in the US, has a higher combined environmental and health burden than conventional fuels. However, there are high hopes for the next generation of biofuels, which can be made from organic waste or plants grown on marginal land that is not used to grow foods. They have less than half the combined health and environmental costs of standard gasoline and a third of current biofuels.

The work adds to an increasing body of research raising concerns about the impact of modern corn-based biofuels.

Several studies last year showed that growing corn to make ethanol biofuels was pushing up the price of food. Environmentalists have highlighted other problems such deforestation to clear land for growing crops to make the fuels. The UK government’s renewable fuels advisors recommended slowing down the adoption of biofuels until better controls were in place to prevent inadvertent climate impacts.

Using computer models developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the researchers found the total environmental and health costs of gasoline are about 71 cents (50p) per gallon, while an equivalent amount of corn-ethanol fuel has associated costs of 72 cents to $1.45, depending on how it is produced.

Voter Power makes the News! Initiative 28 MMJ

Voter Power’s recent events have garnered good media attention for both Initiative 28, the Regulated Medical Marijuana Supply System Initiative and medical marijuana in general. Voter Power’s efforts to help all patients have access to medicine and generate additional revenue for the state were featured in both the Oregonian and local Fox affiliates.

To see the Fox coverage of the symposium at Southern Oregon University regarding the conflict between state medical marijuana laws and the federal government, go to: http://kdrv.com/page/86075

The Oregonian covered the Ed Rosenthal Seminar in Portland and the entire story is reproduced below. For more info, please visit www.votepower.org

‘YOU’RE ALIVE; YOU’RE NOT LIVING’

UN CRIME WATCHDOG SAYS DRUG MONEY HELPED IN FISCAL CRISIS

I’d say that is a huge argument for the decriminalization of Cannabis. It’s the only illegal drug that will not cause huge social problems if allowed to help restart the economy. A great deal of cannabis is grown domestically by smaller producers, so the money doesn’t go to offshore banks, or propping up careless major banks and their toxic assets, but into local stores, and other local tax paying businesses. Decriminalizing cannabis would support rebuilding the economy from the ground up.

The hard drugs that need to be shipped from South America or SE Asia are the ones that these banks call the “liquid investment capital” they have been depending on. The drugs that cause real harm, and these banks or better yet the executives that made the decisions should be held culpable for the problems of their “liquid capital” source.

New Heralders of Change

FDA Approves drug for the annoyingly cheerful