The latest from NASA’s Earth Observatory (18 July 2006)
In the News:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/
* Latest Images:
Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17340
Tsunami Strikes Java
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17339
Tenerife Island, Spain
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17338
Fires in California
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17337
Land Between The Lakes
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17336
Impact of Polluted Skies on Clouds and Climate
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17335
Sulfur Dioxide from Soufriere Hills Volcano
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17334
Suncook River Shifts Course
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17333
* NASA News
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NasaNews/
- NASA Explains Puzzling Impact Of Polluted Skies On Climate
* Media Alerts
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/MediaAlerts/
- Centuries of Land-Use Practices Profoundly Impact Earth System
- Climate Change Not the Only Factor Controlling Distribution of Plant Species
- Hurricane Prediction Model to be Built by Florida State
- Alpine Glaciers Could All But Disappear Within this Century
* Headlines from the press, radio, and television:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/Headlines/
- More Lava Flows from Philippine Volcano
- Droughts Could Boost Global Warming
- Tropical Storm Billis Kills 115 in China
- European Satellite to Boost Weather Forecasting, Climate Research
- NASA Explains Puzzling Impact of Polluted Skies on Climate
- One the Rise: The Thames in 2100
- Colombia Volcano Provokes Alert
- Massive Chunk Falls from Eiger Mountain
- North Atlantic Warmer Than Normal
- ‘Brown Tide’ Blooms in Washington’s Waters
- Study: Europe’s Glaciers Could Disappear this Century
- Climate Change Threatens Wineries
* New Research Highlights
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/Research/
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BRAIN-MIMICKING COMPUTER
Scientists at the University of Manchester (Manchester, UK) have begun to construct a “brain box” computer, a computer designed to mimic the neural interactions of the brain. The ultimate goal is to determine, among other brain functions, how the brain records visual scenes and how mental processes are performed when not all of the component neurons work properly, a condition called “fault tolerance.” The researchers involved hope the new type of computer will help in the design of fault tolerant electronics in the future and make them more reliable.
For more information, visit: http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20060718A8
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Environmentalist Challenges Move To Grain-Based Ethanol
CattleNetwork.com – Stanley,KS,USA
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)–An agricultural economist and founder of a Washington-based
environmental think tank said Thursday that the focus on ethanol to reduce
…
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=52749
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Time: “[Y]ou could argue” Bush “has made a career of … holding fast” to unpopular positions
In an article on President Bush’s threat to veto legislation expanding federal funding for stem cell research, Time magazine reported that “you could argue” that Bush “has made a career of … holding fast to positions that many voters reject, as a sign of strength in these dangerous times.” In fact, as Media Matters for America and many others have pointed out, Bush has a long history of reversing course on issues, particularly when it is politically expedient or necessary to do so.
Read more
http://mediamatters.org/items/dailyemail/200607180003?src=other
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Delay’s Replacement Raising More From Lobbyists And Corporate PACs Than DeLay
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/15/boehner-corporate-donations/
From: Poacnewsletter
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THE GROWING THREAT OF RIGHT-WING CHRISTIANS
Onnesha Roychoudhuri, AlterNet
Michelle Goldberg says progressives need to wake up and pay attention to the enormous — and growing — influence of the radical Christian right.
http://www.alternet.org/story/38830/
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Religion is not a primary need
John F. McBride, guest columnist: One need look no further than the Middle East and Israel’s battle with Islam and Islam’s battle with Judaism to be totally baffled by human nature and to cause one to doubt the outcome of humanity’s struggle to survive.
…
Complete article at:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/277844_religion18.html
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USGAO Global War on Terrorism
Global War on Terrorism: Observations on Funding, Costs, and Future Commitments, by David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, before the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, House Committee on Government Reform. GAO-06-885T, July 18.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-885T
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d06885thigh.pdf
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Borowitz Report – north korean talent shocker
SURPRISE SUMMER TV HIT: ‘NORTH KOREA’S GOT TALENT’
Kim Jong-Il’s First-Ever Reality Show Heats Up the Nielsens
Just weeks after taunting his neighbors and the West with a provocative missile test, North Korean president Kim Jong-Il has launched his first-ever reality show, a surprise summer hit called “North Korea’s Got Talent.”
Hosted by the diminutive dictator himself, the televised talent showcase has been heating up the Nielsens ever since it debuted, with approximately 100% of all North Korean TV viewers watching it.
“It helps that the marketing campaign has been so strong,” says Davis Logsdon, who studies North Korean television trends at the University of Minnesota. “Also that Kim Jong-Il has forced all North Koreans to watch it under penalty of death.”
The North Korean talent show ignores such talents as singing, dancing and juggling in favor of talents that the North Korean dictator favors, such as reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods.
Other talents showcased include goose-stepping, saber-rattling, and kidnapping innocent Japanese citizens.
North Korean viewers are encouraged to vote for their favorite contestants, a system that has had more than its share of glitches, according to Mr. Logsdon: “The biggest problem has been trying to teach the audience what ‘voting’ means.”
While the West was apparently blindsided by Kim Jong-Il’s entry into the reality TV field, Mr. Logsdon says the move should not have been a surprise.
“It’s natural that Kim Jong-Il would do a show called ‘North Korea’s Got Talent,’” he said. “What would have been truly surprising is a show called ‘North Korea’s Got Food.’”
Elsewhere, in a budget-cutting move, The New York Times announced that it would trim its page size, changing its motto to “All the News That Fits.”
http://www.borowitzreport.com/
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three to see
This Modern World: Helpful advice for Connecticut Dems
http://www.workingforchange.com/webgraphics/WFC/TMW07-19-06.jpg
Mike Keefe: Stem Cell Research
http://www.intoon.com/toons/2006/KeefeM20060719.jpg
Monte Wolverton: Playing the Last Card