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Tuesday, 16 July 2013

9/11 could be insurance fraud as “trial” of conspiring duo begins in NY today





Is this the world’s worst case of insurance fraud…ever?


That’s what many are saying, as the world’s biggest real-estate swindler and the world’s most corrupt judge meet in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. At issue: billions of dollars in loot from the demolition of the World Trade Center complex on September 11th, 2001.

World Trade Center owner Larry Silverstein – who confessed on national television to “pulling” World Trade Center Building 7 – will appear in the courtroom of Judge Alvin Hellerstein at 500 Pearl St. in New York City. The non-jury trial, which is expected to last three days, will decide whether Silverstein is entitled to recover $3.5 billion from airlines and airport-related companies, in addition to the $4.9 billion he has already received for his “losses” on September 11th.

The question on everyone’s mind is: Why is Silverstein claiming that airliners destroyed his buildings, when he has already confessed to demolishing at least one of them himself? In the 2002 PBS documentary “America Rebuilds,” Silverstein admitted to complicity in the controlled demolition of WTC-7, a 47-story skyscraper that dropped into its own footprint in 6.5 seconds.
The mysterious destruction of Building 7 has become the Rosetta Stone of 9/11. 

Virtually all independent experts who have studied the case, including thousands of architects and engineers, agree that the government’s explanation – that a few small office fires somehow destroyed WTC-7 – is a non-starter. Building 7, these experts say, was obviously taken down in a controlled demolition, as Silverstein himself admitted. (A nationwide ad campaign called “Re-Think 9/11” will remind millions of Americans about Building 7 this September.)

Despite his confession to demolishing his own building, Silverstein has already received $861 million from insurers for Building 7 alone, as well as over $4 billion for the rest of the Trade Center complex. That $861 million for WTC-7 was paid on the basis of Silverstein’s claim that airplanes were somehow responsible for making Building 7, which was not hit by any plane, disappear at free-fall acceleration.

The insurance companies are not openly accusing Silverstein of insurance fraud, presumably because doing so would threaten to demolish the 9/11 cover-up and bring down the US and Israeli governments at free-fall speed. But they have gone so far as to call Silverstein’s demand for more money “absurd,” a considerable understatement.
The insurance companies claim that Silverstein’s demands amount to “double recovery.” They say that Silverstein was already paid $4.9 billion – vastly more than the paltry $115 million or so that he and his backers paid for the complex just weeks before it was demolished – so why is he asking for another $3.5 billion? Silverstein’s answer: He needs the money.

And does he ever. He was originally demanding an extra $11 billion, before Hellerstein capped it at $3.5 billion.
The insurers have not mentioned the fact that the World Trade Center Towers were condemned for asbestos in early 2001, just months before Silverstein bought them in July, six weeks prior to their demolition. They have not mentioned that Silverstein doubled the insurance coverage when he purchased the Trade Center. They have not mentioned that Silverstein hardballed his insurers to change the coverage to “cash payout.” They have not mentioned that Silverstein engineered his purchase of the Trade Center through fellow Zionist billionaire Lewis Eisenberg, Chair of the Republican National Committee and head of the New York Port Authority.

As Christopher Bollyn wrote in 2002:
“Silverstein and Eisenberg have both held leadership positions with the United Jewish Appeal (UJA), a billion dollar Zionist ‘charity’ organization. Silverstein is a former chairman of the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, Inc. This is an umbrella organization which raises hundreds of millions of dollars every year for its network of hundreds of member Zionist agencies in the United States and Israel.”

According to Ha’aretz, Silverstein is a close friend of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. They speak on the phone every weekend.
The insurance companies have likewise neglected to mention that after doubling his insurance coverage immediately before 9/11, Silverstein re-doubled his winnings after 9/11 by claiming double indemnity. According to Silverstein’s spokesman, “the two hijacked airliners that struck the 110-story twin towers Sept. 11 were separate ‘occurrences’ for insurance purposes, entitling him to collect twice on $3.6 billion of policies.” The bizarre double-indemnity claim was approved in 2004.

Additionally, the insurers have failed to mention that on the morning of 9/11, Silverstein and his daughter both failed to show up for their daily breakfast at Windows on the World restaurant atop the North Tower. Both offered flimsy pretexts – Silverstein claiming that he had suddenly remembered a dermatologist’s appointment.
How has Silverstein managed to get away with murder, in the most obvious case of insurance fraud ever?

Thanks to his partner in crime, Judge Alvin Hellerstein.
Hellerstein’s courtroom is Ground Zero in the cover-up of the crimes of 9/11. Virtually all 9/11 litigation has been funneled through his courtroom, including Ellen Mariani’s recent lawsuit against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and others.
Like Silverstein and Eisenberg, Hellerstein is a rabid Zionist with close ties to Israel. The judge’s son and sister both emigrated from the US to orthodox Zionist settlements in the Occupied Territories.

Investigative journalist Christopher Bollyn writes: “Hellerstein’s son is an Israeli lawyer who emigrated to Israel in 2001 and whose law firm works for and with the Rothschild-funded Mossad company responsible for the 9-11 terror attacks.”
Bollyn notes that Hellerstein’s son, an Israeli lawyer, represents “the Mossad-controlled airport security firm named International Consultants on Targeted Security (ICTS) N.V., which is the owner of Huntleigh U.S.A., the passenger screening company that checked the passengers that boarded the aircraft at the key airports on 9-11.”

Additionally, Bollyn writes, “Both Alvin Hellerstein and his son Joseph worked for the well-known Jewish law firm of Stroock, Stroock & Lavan before moving to the positions they now hold…Stroock, Stroock & Lavan played a key role in the setting up of 9-11…Stroock has a long history of representing the Rothschilds and other high-level Zionists.”

Will New York City 9/11 skeptics protest the Silverstein-Hellerstein trial this Monday through Wednesday?
Will truth and justice ever triumph?


In order to triumph, truth and justice will have to defeat the world’s wealthiest and most powerful criminal network. 


_____________________________________ 



Every year activists converge on Ground Zero of the biggest crime in modern human history to demand a genuine investigation and accountability for government failures.

This year, 9/11 activists are more organized than ever for this anniversary of 9/11. One group, GroundZero911.com, is planning guest speakers, concerts, street actions, silent vigils, and other activities.

These “truthers” have been ridiculed in the past by the establishment as if truth is somehow a bad thing in a world full of deceit. But now, to a growing majority of the world’s population, the U.S. government’s official version of the September 11th attacks does not hold water scientifically, rhetorically, or sensibly.

There are many theories as to what actually took place on 9/11, the government’s version just being one of them.  And as more people find themselves distrustful of the government due to revelations of other lies, more people begin to question the government’s account of the attacks that launched the U.S. into wars of aggression and dramatic losses of liberty at home.

Just acknowledging that we were lied to about 9/11 is paradigm changing. The fact is that if you do your own independent research, you’ll find that evidence is not on the government’s side. Once the lie is realized and the post-9/11 actions scrutinized, a much more cynical view of U.S. government and its corporate war machine comes rushing into your consciousness — never to be expelled.

This is why so many who inherently know something is wrong with the story are afraid to look any closer.  Once you know the truth, or at least acknowledge the lies, there’s no going back to blissful ignorance.

Translation: each new “truther” is dangerous to the status quo because they oppose foreign wars, the war on terror, and they defend civil liberties. They stand for peace, liberty, justice, transparency and human rights, yet the establishment portrays them as the bad guys. As such, 9/11 truth outreach is the spearhead for the peaceful revolution of ideas.


The stated mission of GroundZero911:

GroundZero911.com aims to provide activists with 9/11 Anniversary event information as well as the tools necessary for public outreach.

Our goal is to encourage anyone that believes we need a new investigation into the events surrounding September 11th, 2001 to come to New York City for the Anniversary.

This movement was started by the victims’ family members who had questions. Their loved ones were murdered and they’ve never been given answers. It’s time to demand those answers, to unite together to demand justice. Let’s make history this September 11th by coming together in New York City in hopes of the justice we’ve all been fighting for.

Even if a new investigation or justice is unlikely, these events serve a vital function in educating others who may finally be ready to start asking questions.

This video contains a speech by Adam Kokesh:







  

Hubble Finds New Neptune Moon

This composite Hubble Space Telescope picture shows the location of a newly discovered moon, designated S/2004 N 1, orbiting Neptune. The black and white image was taken in 2009 with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 in visible light. Hubble took the color inset of Neptune on August 2009.
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Showalter/SETI Institute






NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has discovered a new moon orbiting the distant blue-green planet Neptune, the 14th known to be circling the giant planet.


The moon, designated S/2004 N 1, is estimated to be no more than 12 miles across, making it the smallest known moon in the Neptunian system. It is so small and dim that it is roughly 100 million times fainter than the faintest star that can be seen with the naked eye. It even escaped detection by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew past Neptune in 1989 and surveyed the planet's system of moons and rings.

Mark Showalter of the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., found the moon July 1, while studying the faint arcs, or segments of rings, around Neptune. "The moons and arcs orbit very quickly, so we had to devise a way to follow their motion in order to bring out the details of the system," he said. "It's the same reason a sports photographer tracks a running athlete -- the athlete stays in focus, but the background blurs."

The method involved tracking the movement of a white dot that appears over and over again in more than 150 archival Neptune photographs taken by Hubble from 2004 to 2009.
On a whim, Showalter looked far beyond the ring segments and noticed the white dot about 65,400 miles from Neptune, located between the orbits of the Neptunian moons Larissa and Proteus. The dot is S/2004 N 1. Showalter plotted a circular orbit for the moon, which completes one revolution around Neptune every 23 hours.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a cooperative project between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Md., conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Inc., in Washington.

For images, video, and more information Neptune's new moon, visit: http://hubblesite.org/news/2013/30
For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble


Monday, 15 July 2013

Corridors of powder: Drug scandal at the Houses of Parliament after traces of cocaine are found on toilets across Palace of Westminster





Evidence of cocaine use has been found inside toilets at the Houses of Parliament, including some just yards from MPs' offices.


Traces of the class A drug were found in nine toilets throughout the Palace Of Westminster, the meeting place of the UK's political elite.
The powder was detected in toilets used by guests at Parliament's bars, as well as cubicles a few yards away from MPs' offices - areas where members of the public are restricted from going.

The drug use was uncovered using cocaine indicator swabs, which come up with blue blotches when rubbed on surfaces where the drug has been laid out in lines, such as toilet seats and hairdryers. The swabs are used by the police and customs officers.
As Parliament’s toilets are cleaned regularly, the white powder must have been snorted in the past few hours, according to reporters from The Sun, who did the testing.

Users would have to smuggle the drug past extensive security checks and 500 police officers and guards.
The reporters, acting on a tip-off from a House of Commons insider, claim to have found evidence of the drug in the cubicles of the toilets outside Strangers’ Bar and in private areas close to MPs' offices.

Tory MP Douglas Carswell was scathing about the find.
He said: 'With decadence comes something rotten. It suggests there is something rotten about the institution itself.'
On two occasions cannabis has been confiscated at Westminster's entry checkpoints since the start of 2008, according to a Freedom of Information request.

A Parliamentary spokesman said: 'Parliament is a public place and we welcome over a million visitors a year who have either direct access to these facilities or access when accompanied.
'Clearly, it is inappropriate to monitor what happens in toilet facilities. In addition, we have issued over 14,000 passes, held by contractors and other third parties, as well as staff of both Houses, Members and their staff.

'Consequently, it is impossible to know who may be involved. Our security searches are focussed on preventing harm to others and the building, not the detection of small amounts of drugs.
'Parliament takes the issue of substance misuse very seriously and offers a range of welfare and health support services for those who need them.'

A few days ago a Parliamentary watchdog said MPs should have an 11 per cent pay rise to £74,000 a year.
In 2005 a German television station found traces of cocaine in 41 of 46 lavatories tested at the European Parliament in Brussels.


Sam Webb
Dailymail


Protesters Gather at Bohemian Grove





Activists are beginning to gather outside Bohemian Grove in Monte Rio to protest the annual meeting of the global crime syndicate, existing of politicians, bankers, media moguls and CEO’s, which takes place from July 13 to July 28.


The secretive, all-male club, founded over a hundred years ago in 1872, has historically claimed some of the worlds most powerful men as members including Henry Kissinger, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon,  Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove and Dick Cheney.


Harvey_Hancock_at_Bohemian_Grove_1967
Besides an ‘off the record’ meeting between some of the world’s most powerful men, one of the most controversial aspects of the two-week gathering revolves around the ‘Cremation of Care’ ceremony that depicts a mock child sacrifice performed in front of a forty-foot stone owl called Moloch, which many believe is Satanic.






Following on from last months’ Bilderberg meeting which received widespread media attention – a victory for protesters and alternative media activist, you would be forgiven for believing that these kind of unethical and secretive meetings are becoming mainstream news.
However Bohemian Grove still remains ignored, which serves as a reminder of how controlled the media actually is and just how much work we have left to do in exposing secret meetings that allow for the lobbying and formation of global policy.
Take a look at last years protests:


RINF



Threat: Anonymous #opRevolutie2013 Netherlands start





This operation will focus on the Dutch Government. In the video there is also told that they are planning to activists from around the world to Netherlands.


The date will be Friday 20 September 17: 00 place: the Hague, Location still unknown.
SYSTEM FAILS!!!

Sign up, join the fight against the Government, this is NOT a demonstration, this goes on, we'll take an example in the occupation of Istanbul's Taksim Square.

We occupy a square in the Hague go, and there continue to be a party, camping, a party where the Government wake up by lies down.

Meanwhile, someone is offered to the music to take care of, there comes a kind of drive-in. All top!!
The purpose of this event is that there is going to be listened to us, we are engaged in to a list of points where the Government will have to do. Our spokesperson will the conversation to have to go with the Government.
I am convinced that if this is going to be on a massive scale that the Government should come up with something, as this can if not longer.

Ask anyone you know with it, we need everyone.

A number of important points of view of what we want is going to be adjusted:

1. tax reduction instead of increase, so the burden relieve for the citizens who suffer the crisis caused by bad policy of banks and politicians.

2. withdrawal from the European Parliament. The EU is a money devouring machine, in which the money disappears into the pockets of MEPs and bankers who have caused the crisis. The money is intended to help southern European countries from the crisis does not come in to the citizens of those countries, but finds herself at the corrupt bankers and politicians.
See here where your tax money goes: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v = iK8ue7-Shpc

3. all the cuts that are going to be announced yet for 2014 that the already heavily loaded to be cancelled again take citizens serve.

4. multinational companies in Netherlands tax dodging. Multinationals pay likewise hardly taxes in our country. By mailbox companies in Netherlands to settle pay them 1.9% tax on their profits made outside America, while they are in their native country have to pay 35% of tax.
See here the source from which this is taken off: episodes http://tegenlicht.vpro.nl//2012-2013/tax-free-tour. html

5. Minimum wage increase instead of decrease, decrease instead of increase top salaries.

6. bonuses for ' top ' directors should be abandoned. In recent years millions of bankers got home, while the staff was fired.
See here the video of always what bookmark: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v = zG_zXwoZNuQ

7. reduce the salary of the Prime Minister as he himself has said that he doesn't have to cut down, while he does have broken the country cuts down.
See here the video in which Rutte himself says that he doesn't have to cut back:http://www.youtube.com/watch? v = kCe7k17u4Ds

These are not the only 7 points where we are fighting for, know you have any good points of view? Please let us know.

Just for clarity. We have enough people in the Organization to make this a great success, and we appreciate all the help we get offered but at this point we can only use for further help the promotion of this event. And what we still can use is a central/mobile kitchen, coffee facilities, Dixy's and Wi-Fi, large sleeping tents, voedselsponsers, water supply, that sort of thing. and maybe there are people who have a coach to people from certain points in Netherlands to pick up.

So if anyone can help with that we hear the likes.

CONTACT: Iptrap@hotmail.nl

We hebben inmiddels ook 4 soorten Flyers/Posters, via onderstaande links te downloaden.

http://postimg.org/image/mclvldlhx/
http://postimg.org/image/3mpukxh1p/
http://postimg.org/image/rb33l6s0r/
http://postimg.org/image/a2p7tsv8b/ voorkant
http://postimg.org/image/bfmo541sv/ achterkant

http://www.oprevolutie2013.tk/

http://www.thetruth4you.com/revolutie-2013/


https://www.facebook.com/events/622092337819330/
http://imagine2b.com/nieuws/waar-is-dat-feestje/

http://denhaagfm.nl/2013/06/29/actievoerders-willen-haags-plein-bezetten/

http://anonymousnetherlands.nl/revolutie-2013-20-september-2013-den-haag/

http://anon-info.nl/videos/oprevolutie/


Website: http://www.oprevolutie2013.tk/

Related:
Amnesty International calls for Urgent Action against abuses of peacefull protestors in Turkey [updated]
Why are Americans (and some others) so Passive?
People power: Сhina shelves plans for $6bn nuclear plant after wave of protest
Uprisings worldwide
Greece: Thousands gather in an anti-government protest following suspension of State TV and Radio, “ERT”
57 people arrested in London as police clash with G8 protesters
Dozens arrested in Turkey over protest tweets, accused of 'inciting hatred'


Nanosized aluminum being sprayed in the atmosphere, causing degenerative disease, says neurosurgeon




Back in the 1960's, quiet scientific dialogue began about global climate change and how it can be manipulated. 


What might have turned into a productive discussion of responsible protection of Earth's climate and ecosystem had eventually evolved into a mad, controlling science experiment. By the 21st century, jumbo jets were being deployed to drop billions of dollars of nanosized aluminum and other particles into the skies. In attempts to reflect sunlight away from the Earth and cool climate temperatures, this science experiment has exploited populations of people to mass amounts of airborne metals that are literally raining down and poisoning everyone, slowly, subtly.

According to neuro-surgeon Russell L. Blaylock, the nanosized aluminum particles found in chem-trails are contributing heavily to degenerative disease today.
Like in bio-engineering, where scientists rewire the DNA of crops, creating genetically modified foods, geo-engineering is the global attempt to manipulate the sun and Earth's climate. In both mass engineering operations, "professionals" try to play "God," but it's a given - nature and natural processes cannot and were never meant to be controlled. 

Hence, we see the unintended consequences of degenerative disease occurring today due to GMOs and geo-engineering. All the disease statistics are neglected, however, as controllers justify their means.
Essentially, there needs to be a massive public outcry against geo-engineering similar to the outcry against genetically modified crops.

As the reality of geo-engineering takes hold and as the consequences mount, it's never too late to stop the madness and work together for real grassroots environmental conservation. As these geo engineering experiments utilize military jumbo jets to unleash massive amounts of nanosized aluminum, strontium, and barium particles into the atmosphere, many may wonder if the global warming debate is just political distraction to gain public acceptance for the geo-engineering tactics. Many people are beginning to feel that these chem-trails are secretly employed to control and depopulate. 

After all, millions of unknowing people have become victims to these mass sprays, as they've become like fish in a bowl. Check your skies for chem-trails.
The effects of greenhouse gases are real, but when did any group, government, or billionaire gain the authority to use jets to pour massive amounts of elements on unsuspecting populations of people? As much as their research sounds accredited, they have no moral authority and they have no idea what they are destroying as soil and plants soak up the mass sprays falling on them.


The desire to experiment with the skies

When quiet discussions about climate change erupted in the 1960's, scientists began tossing around ideas to combat global warming. By introducing sunlight-reflecting particles into the atmosphere, they could increase reflectivity slightly, counteracting heat-trapping gases, and thereby cooling the planet.
Colombian Dr. Broecker's idea was to introduce sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere in the 80s. By 2006, Dr. Crutzen, a Nobel laureate from the Max Planck Institute began publishing reports on how that might work to cool the planet.
One of the main inventors of the hydrogen bomb, Edward Teller, thought that, "Injecting sunlight-scattering particles into the stratosphere appears to be a promising approach and wrote to The Wall Street Journal, "Why not do that?"


The consequences of mass spraying, according to neurosurgeon Russell L. Blaylock

According to neurosurgeon Russell L. Blaylock, degenerative disease, especially neurological disorders like Alzheimer's are growing at an alarming rate, due in major part to the mass spraying of nanosized aluminum into the atmosphere.
According to medical literature, nanosized particles are "infinitely more reactive and induce intense inflammation in a number of tissues."
Dr. Blaylock states, "Of special concern is the effect these nanoparticles have on the brain and spinal cord, as a growing list of neuro-degenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's dementia, Parkinson's disease, and Lou Gehrig's disease."
Blaylock explains further that aluminum nano particles can easily penetrate the brain through the blood and olfactory nerves in the nose. Passing through the olfactory neural tracts, aluminum particles easily penetrate the area of the brain most affected by Alzheimer's disease.
Furthermore, in Alzheimer's cases, this part of the brain has shown to contain the highest level of aluminum!

The aluminum particles also enter the body through the respiratory system, where they have been shown to cause tremendous inflammation in the lungs, further aggravating conditions like asthma and pulmonary diseases. Due to their small size, the aluminum particles can even enter the gastrointestinal tract and can disperse into many other organs and tissues in the body, including the spinal cord.
As a neurosurgeon who interacts daily with neurological disease, Dr. Blaylock addresses states his objections to the global spraying of aluminum into the skies, "Steps need to be taken now to prevent an impending health disaster of enormous proportions if this project is not stopped immediately. Otherwise we will see an explosive increase in neurodegenerative diseases occurring in adults and the elderly in unprecedented rates as well as neurodevelopment disorders in our children. We are already seeing a dramatic increase in these neurological disorders and it is occurring in younger people more than ever before."


Sources for this article include:


 Lance Devon



Related:
The 'elite' of this planet knows something we don't?
Our children don’t want to live under the New World Order


 



Sunday, 14 July 2013

Nuclear Plant in Switzerland leaking




Scientists have discovered a radioactive substance in sediment under a Swiss lake used for drinking water and situated near a nuclear plant, the Le Matin Dimanche weekly reported Sunday 14th july 2013. 


While scientists cited in the report stressed there was no danger to human health, the discovery raises concerns about safety practices and a lack of transparency at the Muehleberg nuclear plant in northwestern Switzerland. The plant is believed to have caused a spike in cesium 137 found in the sediment of Lake Biel and dating back to 2000 through the discharge of contaminated waste water into the Aar river that feeds into the lake, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) downstream, the weekly reported.

Geologists from Geneva University happened upon the spike while working on an unrelated research project in 2010, and chemists in the northern canton of Basel recently verified the findings, it said. The Muehleberg plant is permitted to discharge water with very low levels of radioactivity subject to strict controls several times a year, according to Le Matin Dimanche.


Politicians and environmentalists however expressed outrage Sunday that the plant and nuclear inspectors had provided no information about the higher levels of cesium 137 released more than a decade ago into a lake that provides 68 percent of the drinking water to the nearby town of Biel. "No one ever told me that there were abnormally high concentrations in the lake," Hans Stoekli, who served as Biel mayor from 1990 to 2010, told the paper, insisting that in light of the use of the lake for drinking water "the plant should have alerted us even in the case of minimal risk."

Environmental group Greenpeace voiced dismay at the news, urging the public prosecutor in the canton of Bern, where Biel and the Muehleberg plant are located, to investigate. The group, which has long called for the plant's closure, also questioned in a statement how the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate could have either missed the higher radioactive levels or decided not to inform decision makers or the public about them. The Muehleberg plant, which came online in 1972, is 17 kilometres (11 miles) west of the Swiss capital Bern.




 Le Matin


NASA Mars Rover to search for Ancient Alien Life in 2020




NASA has announced that a new rover will be sent to Mars in 2020 and that it will hunt for signs of past alien life. (Photo : NASA/JPL-Caltech)


The rover NASA will send to Mars in 2020 should look for signs of past life, collect samples for possible future return to Earth, and demonstrate technology for future human exploration of the Red Planet, according to a report provided to the agency.

The 154-page document was prepared by the Mars 2020 Science Definition Team, which NASA appointed in January to outline scientific objectives for the mission. The team, composed of 19 scientists and engineers from universities and research organizations, proposed a mission concept that could accomplish several high-priority planetary science goals and be a major step in meeting President Obama's challenge to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

"Crafting the science and exploration goals is a crucial milestone in preparing for our next major Mars mission," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington. "The objectives determined by NASA with the input from this team will become the basis later this year for soliciting proposals to provide instruments to be part of the science payload on this exciting step in Mars exploration."

NASA will conduct an open competition for the payload and science instruments. They will be placed on a rover similar to Curiosity, which landed on Mars almost a year ago. Using Curiosity's design will help minimize mission costs and risks and deliver a rover that can accomplish the mission objectives.

The 2020 mission proposed by the Science Definition Team would build upon the
accomplishments of Curiosity and other Mars missions.  The Spirit and Opportunity rovers, along with several orbiters, found evidence Mars has a watery history. Curiosity recently confirmed that past environmental conditions on Mars could have supported living microbes. According to the Science Definition Team, looking for signs of past life is the next logical step.
The team's report details how the rover would use its instruments for visual, mineralogical and chemical analysis down to microscopic scale to understand the environment around its landing site and identify biosignatures, or features in the rocks and soil that could have been formed biologically.

"The Mars 2020 mission concept does not presume that life ever existed on Mars," said Jack Mustard, chairman of the Science Definition Team and a professor at the Geological Sciences at Brown University in Providence, R.I. "However, given the recent Curiosity findings, past Martian life seems possible, and we should begin the difficult endeavor of seeking the signs of life. No matter what we learn, we would make significant progress in understanding the circumstances of early life existing on Earth and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life."

The measurements needed to explore a site on Mars to interpret ancient habitability and the potential for preserved biosignatures are identical to those needed to select and cache samples for future return to Earth. The Science Definition Team is proposing the rover collect and package as many as 31 samples of rock cores and soil for a later mission to bring back for more definitive analysis in laboratories on Earth. The science conducted by the rover's instruments would expand our knowledge of Mars and provide the context needed to make wise decisions about whether to return the samples to Earth.

"The Mars 2020 mission will provide a unique capability to address the major questions of habitability and life in the solar system," said Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington. "This mission represents a major step towards creating high-value sampling and interrogation methods, as part of a broader strategy for sample returns by planetary missions."

Explore Mars 
Samples collected and analyzed by the rover will help inform future human exploration missions to Mars. The rover could make measurements and technology demonstrations to help designers of a human expedition understand any hazards posed by Martian dust and demonstrate how to collect carbon dioxide, which could be a resource for making oxygen and rocket fuel. Improved precision landing technology that enhances the scientific value of robotic missions also will be critical for eventual human exploration on the surface.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages NASA's Mars Exploration Program for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington.
The complete Science Definition Team report is available online .
More information about NASA's Mars programs.


Dwayne Brown


NASA
BBC


Saturday, 13 July 2013

Why are Americans (and some others) so Passive?

Brazilian workers march in Rio de Janeiro, on July 11, 2013



The rest of the world is rioting in the face of massive inequality and injustice. Have we absorbed the oppressor's consciousness?


From the first breaths of life to the last, our lives are being stolen out from under us. From infant care and early education to Social Security and Medicare, the dominant economic ideology is demanding more lifelong sacrifices from the vulnerable to appease the gods of wealth.

Middle-class wages are stagnant. Unemployment is stalled at record levels. College education is leading to debt servitude and job insecurity. Millions of unemployed Americans have essentially been abandoned by their government.  Poverty is soaring. Bankers break the law with impunity, are bailed out, and go on breaking the law, richer than they were before.

And yet, bizarrely, the only Americans who seem to be seething with anger are the beneficiaries of this economic injustice – the wealthiest and most privileged among us.  But those who are suffering seem strangely passive.

As long as they stay that way, there will be no movement to repair these injustices. And the more these injustices are allowed to persist, the harder it will be to end them.

Where the hell is the outrage? And how can we  start some?


John and Paul

Paul Krugman ruminated about inflation-free unemployment the other day, and he was feeling pretty grim. Krugman is frustrated that clear prescriptions for this kind of economy – prescriptions born in John Maynard Keynes’ day – aren’t being followed. What John proposed then, Paul’s proposing now.

But he’s not optimistic.  “We can probably have high unemployment and stable prices in Europe and America for a very long time,” writes Krugman, “and all the wise heads will insist that it’s all structural, and nothing can be done until the public accepts drastic cuts in the safety net.”

One source for Krugman’s pessimism is the extensive political science research showing that “the level of unemployment matters hardly at all for elections; all that matters is the rate of change in the months leading up to the election.”

Krugman concludes that “high unemployment could become accepted as the new normal,” and worries that we’ll come to accept “a more or less permanent depression” as the norm – adding that “we could suffer endless, gratuitous suffering, yet the political and policy elite would feel no need to change its ways.”


Quiet in the streets

He’s right. A number of studies have linked political participation with economic conditions, typically with results like those Krugman describes.  But that doesn’t explain why Brazilians took to the streets in such large numbers recently.

A majority of Brazilians believe that their economy’s improving, according to a recent  Pew survey. 59 percent of Brazilians rate their economy positively and 74 percent say their personal financial situation is good.  By contrast, the same organization’s most recent  US polling showed that only 46 percent of Americans said they believe the economy’s getting better, while 50 percent think it’s getting worse.

The polling says that Brazilian political unrest is driven by a divergence in goals and priorities between political leaders and the population, triggered by poor public services, bus fare increases, and the cost of hosting the World Cup.

A similar divergence of priorities exists in this country.  Washington’s been focused on deficit reduction, while the public wants more job creation and economic growth.  But Americans are quiescent.

US voter turnout is extremely low when compared to other developed nations, even though we rank among the highest in terms of income inequality. And other forms of political expression are also under-used. The Occupy movement was originally very popular, for example, but most people were easily persuaded to abandon it and return to a state of quiet desperation.


RJ Eskow


Related:
Amnesty International calls for Urgent Action against abuses of peacefull protestors in Turkey [updated]
Washington Is Driving The World To The Final War
Dozens arrested in Turkey over protest tweets, accused of 'inciting hatred'




Ice mass size of Chicago breaks off Pine Island Glacier Antactica





An iceberg in Antarctica recently broke off a glacier and is now floating freely in the ocean. 


What makes this so incredible is that the size of this icy mass is reportedly bigger than the city of Chicago.

According to German scientists, this gigantic iceberg broke off Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier Monday, with the body of ice floating throughout parts of the Amundsen Sea.

The scientists said the iceberg was spotted floating in the area by an earth-observing satellite operated by the German Space Agency. The satellite, referred to as TerraSAR-X, further identified a crack forming in the iceberg, which was originally spotted back in October by NASA. When the space agency did a fly over the Pine Island Glacier to investigate a survey of the crack, they studied the fracture that was 15 miles in length and 164 miles wide.


A second fissure formed soon after near the top side of the first crack, which was discovered back in May via satellite images.

Yet researchers note that icebergs breaking off of the Pine Island Glacier is nothing new or rare. In fact, back in 2007 and 2008, the glacier saw two large icebergs severe and float away, making this Icelandic mace the fastest-changing on the West Antarctic Sheet.

However, researchers caution that rapid ecological changes can come from the Glacier's rapid flow, as it "acts as a plug, holding back part of the immense West Antarctic Ice Sheet whose melting ice contributes to rising sea levels."


Science World Report



People power: Сhina shelves plans for $6bn nuclear plant after wave of protest

Qinshan nuclear power plant in Haiyan, in eastern China's Zhejiang province (China out / AFP Photo)



The Chinese government says it will ‘respect public opinion’ and scrap a planned $6 billion nuclear processing plant in the southern province of Guandong after hundreds of protesters took to the streets to voice opposition to the project.


A statement released by the Chinese authorities reads, “The people’s government of the City of Heshan has decided to respect public opinion and will not consider the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC’s) Longwan industrial park project.”

The proposed nuclear complex was meant to have been a uranium processing facility, but the plans caused considerable unease in the neighboring financial district of Hong Kong and in nearby Macau, as well as among local residents. The project was designed to produce 1,000 tonnes of nuclear fuel by 2020.

The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English language newspaper, reported that the authorities in Macau had formally raised the issue with officials in Guandong.

Saturday’s announcement came after hundreds of protesters paraded through the streets of Jiangmen on Friday holding banners and wearing phrases opposing the project and chanting slogans like “give us back our rural homes. We are against nuclear radiation.”

The protest sprang up after a risk evaluation report, which was released on July 4 with a 10-day public comments period. Observers say those reports are only usually released as a formality once permission to begin construction has already been granted.

More protests in Guandong had been expected on Sunday, while the original 10-day public consultation period was only extended on Saturday after demonstrators had marched to the city offices. Soon after its extension, officials said the project was scrapped.

A Beijing nuclear expert, who did not wish to give his name as he is not authorized to speak to the press, told the Independent that he was surprised the project had been canceled.

“Compared to a nuclear power plant, a uranium processing facility is way safer, as there is no fusion or reaction taking place in the production process.”

The sudden dropping of the project reflects a change in Chinese government policy on environmental issues. The authorities have recently canceled, postponed or relocated several metal and petrochemical plants following strong public opposition.

There have been a number of reports in the Chinese and international media about the extent of pollution from Chinese rapid economic growth, including ‘cancer towns’, which are blighted by heavy metals polluting the ground water, rivers and top soil.

China is expanding its nuclear capacity from 12.6 GW at present to 60-70 GW by the end of the decade.

Guandong is already one of the country’s largest centers of nuclear power generation. It operates five nuclear reactors and plans to build another dozen. The CNNC plans are part of a concerted national effort to reduce China’s dependence on coal and boost the use of other forms of cleaner energy production.


RT


Related:
Holy Fukushima – Radiation From Japan Is Already Killing North Americans
Cracks in Iran’s nuclear reactor facility following quakes – diplomats


 

Is Baking Soda a Good Alternative Toothpaste?





Oral hygiene is an important factor to our health that we should be aware and work to maintain. 


For many people who are learning about more natural ways of eating, living and treating our body’s, using the typical toothpaste brands that contains fluoride quickly becomes a non option. For me, I transitioned from toothpaste with fluoride to fluoride free toothpaste. From there I made my way to brushing with baking soda.


What’s wrong with regular toothpaste?

When it comes to regular toothpaste, there are better and safer alternatives. If you read the tube or box your toothpaste comes in, you will notice a warning stating that if you swallow the toothpaste, you should call poison control. The reason being is, toothpaste contains several potentially dangerous chemicals, one of these is called fluoride. Although fluoride has been shown to potentially achieve results in re-strengthening enamel, it is also a toxic substance linked to many health problems. The reason why fluoride is not recommended is because the majority of the time it is used in toothpaste and at the dentist, too much is being applied and therefore it is doing more harm than good. With there being more effective and safer alternatives, using fluoride is not a healthy choice. Using too much fluoride can make the teeth too brittle and therefore more susceptible to cavities and dental fluorosis. Considering that 1 in 3 children in the US now have dental fluorosis, we are clearly using too much fluoride. Another reason is that toothpastes contain ingredients like polyethylene glycols, triclosan, strontium, benzene, and tin, which are all potentially harmful to human health. Toothpaste also contains high levels of glycerin. When there is high levels of glycerin left on our teeth, it takes quite a long time before it wears off and our enamel can properly strengthen again. This leaves teeth susceptible to cavities. Finally, toothpaste does not contain many natural ingredients. This of course is your choice as to whether or not you want to stick to products that are as natural as possible. You can read more about fluoride here.


Is baking soda a good option?

I first came across the idea of using baking soda when doing fluoride research for a short documentary I made called Fluoride: The Hard to Swallow Truth. I made the change over from fluoride free toothpaste to baking soda and was very happy with the results. Then I began hearing about the potential of baking soda being too abrasive for teeth and gums and that it could actually wear away at the enamel. So I began to research this to find out whether this was a good option for me, especially since I was recommending it to other people as well. I found that YES, baking soda is a good option; here’s why.


Understanding abrasivity

When a toothpaste is produced it must get FDA approval before it can be sold to the public. One of the tests that is conducted before its approval is to determine its RDA value (radioactive dentin abrasion or relative dentin abrasivity). To determine the RDA value of toothpaste, the lab tester begins with an extracted human or cow tooth. The tooth is irradiated in a neutron flux, mounted in methylmethacrylate (bone glue), stripped of its enamel, inserted into a brushing-machine, and brushed by ADA standards (reference toothbrush, 150g pressure, 1500 strokes, 4-to-1 water-toothpaste slurry). The radioactivity of the rinsewater is then measured and recorded. For experimental control, the test is repeated with an ADA reference toothpaste made of calcium pryophosphate, with this measurement given a value of 100 to calibrate the relative scale. (2)

The following are the RDA levels for popular toothpastes including baking soda which was also tested.

RDA           Dentifrice brand and variety                                               Source
07 straight baking soda                                                            Church & Dwight
08 Arm & Hammer Tooth Powder                                              Church & Dwight
30 Elmex Sensitive Plus                                                           Elmex
35 Arm & Hammer Dental Care                                                 Church & Dwight
42 Arm & Hammer Advance White Baking Soda Peroxide Church & Dwight
44 Squigle Enamel Saver                                                          Squigle
48 Arm & Hammer Dental Care Sensitive                                   Church & Dwight
49 Arm & Hammer Peroxicare Tartar Control                              Church & Dwight
49 Tom’s of Maine Sensitive (given as 40′s)                                Tom’s
52 Arm & Hammer Peroxicare Regular                                       Church & Dwight
53 Rembrandt Original (RDA)                                                     Rembrandt
54 Arm & Hammer Dental Care PM Bold Mint                             Church & Dwight
57 Tom’s of Maine Children’s, Wintermint (given as mid-50′s) Tom’s
62 Supersmile                                                                          Supersmile
63 Rembrandt Mint (‘Heffernan RDA’)                                          Rembrandt
68 Colgate Regular                                                                   Colgate-Palmolive
70 Colgate Total                                                                       Colgate-Palmolive
70 Arm & Hammer Advance White Sensitive                               Church & Dwight
70 Colgate 2-in-1 Fresh Mint (given as 50-70)                              Colgate-Palmolive
79 Sensodyne                                                                          Colgate-Palmolive
80 AIM                                                                                    Unilever
80 Close-Up                                                                             Unilever
83 Colgate Sensitive Maximum Strength                                     Colgate-Palmolive
91 Aquafresh Sensitive                                                              Colgate-Palmolive
93 Tom’s of Maine Regular (given as high 80′s low 90′s) Squigle    (Tom’s)
94 Rembrandt Plus                                                                    Rembrandt
94 Plus White                                                                           Indiana study
95 Crest Regular (possibly 99)                                                    P&G (P&G)
101 Natural White                                                                   Indiana study
103  Mentadent                                                                         Squigle
103  Arm & Hammer Sensation                                                   Church & Dwight
104 Sensodyne Extra Whitening                                                 Colgate-Palmolive
106 Colgate Platinum                                                                 Indiana study
106 Arm & Hammer Advance White Paste                                   Church & Dwight
107 Crest Sensitivity Protection                                                   Colgate-Palmolive
110 Colgate Herbal                                                                     Colgate-Palmolive
110 Amway Glister (given as upper bound)                                   Patent US06174515
113 Aquafresh Whitening                                                            Indiana study
117 Arm & Hammer Advance White Gel                                      Church & Dwight
117 Arm & Hammer Sensation Tartar Control                               Church & Dwight
120 Close-Up with Baking Soda (canadian)                                  Unilever
124 Colgate Whitening                                                               Indiana study
130 Crest Extra Whitening                                                          Indiana study
133 Ultra brite (or 120-140)                                                          Indiana study (or Colgate-Palmolive)
144 Crest MultiCare Whitening                                                    P&G
145 Ultra brite Advanced Whitening Formula                                 P&G
145 Colgate Baking Sode & Peroxide Whitening (given as 135-145) Colgate-Palmolive
150 Pepsodent (given as upper bound)                                         Unilever
165 Colgate Tartar Control (given as 155-165)                               Colgate-Palmolive
168 Arm & Hammer Dental Care PM Fresh Mint                           Church & Dwight
200 Colgate 2-in-1 Tartar Control/Whitening or Icy Blast/Whitening (given as 190-200) Colgate-Palmolive
200 recommended limit      FDA
250 recommended limit      ADA

As we observe in the chart, baking soda, when used correctly, is actually less abrasive than all toothpastes. Given the unnatural nature of toothpaste and the efficacy of baking soda when it comes to keeping teeth clean and the mouth at a good Ph level, using baking soda to brush your teeth is actually more favorable than natural toothpastes.


How to brush with baking soda

Brushing with baking soda is quite simple. First start with a fresh toothbrush that does not contain any of the left over residues from your toothpaste.
1. Take a pinch of baking soda and put it into a small glass or small bowl.
2. Add a small amount of pure water (ideally not tap water) to the bowl and mix it into the baking soda. The solution should be slightly runny as you don’t want too many of the granules present. Dip your toothbrush in to get some of the solution on the brush.
3. Brush starting with your molars and then moving to the facings and backs of your teeth.
4. (optional) Once done, you can add some more water to the glass or bowl and swish it around your mouth. This will help keep your mouth alkaline.
5. Rinse out your mouth with pure water as you normally would after brushing.

Try this out for yourself and share your thoughts on how this works for you. Remember, if you have learned that baking soda is too abrasive, it may misguided information or people may have been incorrectly using baking soda to brush. As always, feel it out for yourself and make adjustments accordingly.

Sources
(2) http://satyen.com/toothpastes.shtml
http://www.healingteethnaturally.com/dental-systemic-health-hazards-toothpaste.html
http://www.bewellbuzz.com/general/flouride-dangers-toothpaste/


Joe Martino



US State Dept. caught in massive human trafficking operation





If you didn't know any better, you might think that our nation is in its death throes, based on the number of scandals that have broken in the past four or five years and the fact that the behavior of too many of our elected - and appointed - officials ranges from the disgusting to the criminal.


Among other violations of the Constitution and the public trust, the Obama administration has refused to enforce certain laws with which the president simply disagreed; ran a botched gun-walking operation into Mexico called "Fast and Furious," in which a U.S. border agent was killed with one of the guns; has expanded an NSA domestic spying operation begun under the Bush administration (under provisions of the USA Patriot Act); has used the IRS to target political opponents; and allowed a U.S. ambassador to be killed in Libya for purely political reasons.

Now comes word that a State Department official may be guilty of "selling visas for sex and money in what may have been a massive human trafficking operation," The Daily Caller reports.


Want a visa? Pay me and sex me up

Per the website:

The State Department acknowledged last week that one of its officials is the target of a probe over "allegations of improprieties relating to a Consular Officer formerly assigned to Georgetown, Guyana" without providing further details. Local media are also claiming the official, who was recently withdrawn from normal duties pending completion of an official investigation, associated with drug lords as part of his visa scam.

The report said the scandal evolved as executives and tourists alike complained their visa applications were being delayed, and local media outlets began reporting that one visa official had been demanding bribes and sexual favors in exchange for approving the visas.

"The Daily Caller has identified the suspect as Edy Zohar Rodrigues Duran, formerly of Mission, Texas, and currently living in Falls Church, Va.," the website reported.

Apparently Duran was eventually removed from his position in Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, in June - months shy of his scheduled departure date of September 2013, said Mark A. Benschop and Julia Johnson, a pair of Guyanese journalists who agreed to speak with the DC from Guyana.

The DC said it wasn't clear whether the State Department employee was fired or whether he was simply placed on administrative leave. That said, the website reported that Duran has created a dating profile in which he says he is looking for employment in the Falls Church area (a quick check of the URL identified in The DC story by Natural News discovered that the account has since been closed).

Officials began investigating allegations surrounding Duran in February; he left Georgetown in late June.


A bid to keep things quiet...

A subsequent report in the Guyana Observer News said Duran has been "accused of selling visas to many corrupt businessmen [and] drug dealers ... for as low as US$15,000." It added: "The Feds have not stumbled on concrete evidence on the issue of money for visas, but sufficient evidence on the sex for visas." That report is here.

In addition, Agence France Presse reported in early July that the U.S. embassy there was "investigating allegations that a consular officer who worked at the post was selling visas for thousands of dollars."

Quoting a Guyanese official the AFP reported that Duran "had negotiated to sell visas for as much as $40,000, using a popular restaurant and bar in Georgetown, the capital of this former British colony, to seal the deals." The report also said that Duran would sometimes travel to neighboring Suriname, which is a frequent stopover destination for Chinese migrants heading to the U.S.

"The embassy wanted a hush-hush on this whole affair," Benschop, a radio host and publisher of the Observer, told The DC. Duran was "demoted from the marriage and visa section and placed in a warehouse far away from the embassy. His tour of duty would have come to an end in September. All of these things caused eyebrows to be raised."

Sources:
dailycaller
guyanaobservernews
azonlinenews


J. D. Heyes