RESHARE:
facebook.com/ILIWIWUITMABOIP - German Solar Power Plants Produced a World Record 22 GW of electricity
By I love it when I wake up in the morning and Barack Obama is President. November 11, 2012
facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=477159532318469 

Quiz: Can you spot the basic MISTAKE in the text of this meme?

<<German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour, equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity.
Solar power in the United States has been demonized as a "Left Wing conspiracy".>> [ sic ]

Shame on you, N. Allnoch, E. Kirschbaum and/or Reuters!

uk.reuters.com - Germany sets new solar power record, institute says
By Erik Kirschbaum BERLIN | Sat May 26, 2012
uk.reuters.com/article/2012/05/26/us-climate-germany-solar-idUKBRE84P0FI20120526 

(Reuters) - German solar power plants produced a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity per hour - equal to 20 nuclear power stations at full capacity - through the midday hours on Friday and Saturday, the head of a renewable energy think tank said.
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Excerpt from G+ post comments:

Skane Canyon Nov 11, 2012 6:47 AM+5
Germany is blowing everyone else away at solar power production. And they are even farther north than we are. We could be doing a lot better here in the U.S. if it weren't for all the years of suppression, but that said, we are not at the bottom of the list either. I feel as though we are reaching a turning point. I'm seeing more and more solar panels on houses where I live. Maybe a sort of grass roots movement is taking place that will tell politicians and big energy that we demand it.
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 7:17 AM
An yet three major solar companies were approved for loans by Obama. Two have gone out of business because of the bureaucracy from the loans. In other words they couldn't use the money loaned to them to build a panel better an cheaper than the Chinese.
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 7:22 AM +3
I'm curious why the thermal concentration style isn't more common for large scale installation instead of PV. It's quite a bit more efficient, and if I remember right there was one in Spain that had enough stored energy to keep juice flowing in the event that the sun failed to rise for a week. 
Since it shares a lot of components it could be backed up by a more conventional natural gas generator or something (in case it's night time for more than a week...) 
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 7:30 AM +1
Because they raise the overall temperature in the area. Change weather patterns a promote desertification! I believe there are only three in the US, two in California an one in the Mid West. None produce enough electricity to power much.
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Duncan Margetts Nov 11, 2012 7:34 AM +3
+Curtis Edenfield Cant work out if you're serious or being satirical? How can a solar thermal concentration plant raise temperatures in the area they are located in? That would require a net ingress of energy to the area.. in fact, its clear that energy is being taken OUT of the area in which its being generated... please elaborate.
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Thoughts on Religion Nov 11, 2012 8:21 AM +1
+Curtis Edenfield 
Same thoughts as Duncan. I cannot figure out of your joking around or a total nut!
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 8:24 AM +2
It could be due to storage of molten salt? 
I'm curious about the desertification. In North America that might be due to covering entire industrial properties in a thick layer of gravel. 
I'm baffled by the local zoning for a couple PV parks here. They took farm land, covered it in gravel and solar panels. Which isn't great, but there is hundreds of acres of abandoned industrial land here that hasn't been touched in 40 years. 
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Timothy Chase Nov 11, 2012 8:43 AM +3
+Curtis Edenfield wrote, "An yet three major solar companies were approved for loans by Obama. Two have gone out of business because of the bureaucracy from the loans."

Do you have a source for that?

I understand that the default rate is actually quite low:

"The default rate on the U.S. clean- energy loan program that funded Solyndra LLC is a fraction of what the government budgeted for losses.

"The BGOV Barometer shows the default rate on the $16.1 billion Energy Department loan portfolio is less than 3.6 percent. The White House planned for defaults of as much as 12.85 percent for loans to solar, wind and bio-energy projects, according to the Office of Management and Budget."

Solyndra Losses a Fraction of Default Budget: BGOV Barometer
By Jim Efstathiou Jr. - Nov 9, 2011 9:00 PM PT
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-10/solyndra-losses-a-fraction-of-default-budget-bgov-barometer.html
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Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 11, 2012 8:53 AM (edited)
In my opinion it can only be due to one of the two following processes (or a combination of the two):
1. they cause a reduction in annual or seasonal precipitation;
2. they indirectly increase plant evapotranspiration by rising local temperatures during the central hours of the day (solar plants contribute to decrease the albedo by absorbing radiant energy or converting it into heat). Also, higher temperatures would increase the direct evaporation from the terrain before it's absorbed from the soil by the vegetation.
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 8:48 AM
The oldest site of concentration reactor is in the California desert. The area around the reactor has had a heat index rise of a half a degree. Plants as well as animals no longer habitat the area surrounding the site. This reactor was built in the 70's an has been in operation since. It has killed the living Sonoran desert around it.

About four years ago, several engineers got together to speculate on how to use solar energy to supply the entire planet. They designed a solar collection array over a 100 miles square in the Sahara. In fifty years time after completion of such a project. The Sahara would grow over 100 times faster. In other words it would cover greater that 7/10's of Africa at that point. This is because it raises the overall temperature of the area! In in simple terms it raise the ambient temperature of the area around it!
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 8:49 AM +3
Solyndra was doing something fairly different. Their failure doesn't have much to do with the technology they were working on or solar power in general 
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Ivan Raszl Nov 11, 2012 8:53 AM +2
A typical nuclear plant produces 4GW, which means 22GW is only 5.5 plants. ;)

Also, this was only a peak production record not a sustained or reliable amount of energy produced. Within hours the production went down to zero. :D

Germany shuts down its own nuclear plants and buying electricity from the Czech Republic which is incidentally produced by nuclear. It's all politics and BS.
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 8:58 AM
It was my understanding because of the loan, there were not to compete directly with the Chinese on similar designs. I can't back the up, because it was considered hearsay rom disgruntled employees.
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Thoughts on Religion Nov 11, 2012 9:00 AM +1
+Curtis Edenfield 
You are a nut!!

+Ivan Raszl 
It is politics and panic. Even when you take out climate change, nuclear is still better overall than other energy sources. How many die every year from pollution and other problems from coal etc. power plants? 

People expect nuclear to have a perfect safety record but let other types of plants generate all kinds of pollution etc. that affect our health.

Still, for a long term solution, alternative energy sources are the way to go. They need time and investment to make them really work. A combination of sources is needed with both nuke and solar playing a part. 
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Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 11, 2012 9:07 AM (edited) +1
+Ivan Raszl, that's the key point. Their peak production was achieved during the central hours of a quite unusual day that was sunny in all Germany, just some weeks before the summer solstitium. Their sustained production (the annual production) is way lower. Germany is an awful place to instal solar plants. I guess their intention is using their plants to convince other countries to instal solar plants and sell them the panels (or mirrors) that they produce, some sort of demonstration plants.
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 9:07 AM +1
+Curtis Edenfield solar one is in the Mojave, it was sited in an area where it would have minimal impact on wildlife. As far as I can determine there isn't anything suggesting mass destruction of flora and fauna. Including pretty pictures of wildlife amongst the array from the National Park Service. 
I couldn't find any concentrator in the sonoran desert, I assume you mixed them up. 
If a change of 0.5 degrees is enough to cause massive desertification global warming should be much more alarming. 
I did see some reports of isreal considering solar concentration towers to combat desertification. I'm not sure where your information is coming from but it's not on the first few pages of google 
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:08 AM
+Thoughts on Religion Yes a very well informed an educated nut! Yet I see no rebuttal disputing what I've said from you. 
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Thoughts on Religion Nov 11, 2012 9:13 AM
+Curtis Edenfield You just seem to out there for me to bother with and I am not even sure of your point. Besides, solar panels are most certainly taking energy out of a system to use elsewhere. Looks like Eric Muller did a nice job of it though.
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:19 AM
I have a National Geo article about Solar One, I'll see if it's on line! It talked about heat in the atmosphere around the plant increasing enough to cause environmental impact.
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Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 11, 2012 9:21 AM (edited)
+Thoughts on Religion: "solar panels are most certainly taking energy out of a system to use elsewhere"
- What system? Have you ever heard of the albedo? You need first to define your system properly.
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 9:21 AM
+Thoughts on Religion it could create a localized hot spot, probably less than most industrial processes, but it's not out of the question. 
Though it is capturing the heat and putting it elsewhere. 
Usually they are located in arid areas with high insolation. Vegetation moderates the temperature quite a bit. On the other hand the array would create cool spots of shade over quite a wide area. 
What he's saying isn't crazy enough that I didn't have to look it up. I can follow it. Based on a quick look though, it seems incorrect. 
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:26 AM
From Wikipedia

Photovoltaics are best known as a method for generating electric power by using solar cells to convert energy from the sun into a flow of electrons. The photovoltaic effect refers to photons of light exciting electrons into a higher state of energy, allowing them to act as charge carriers for an electric current. The photovoltaic effect was first observed by Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel in 1839.[6][7] The term photovoltaic denotes the unbiased operating mode of a photodiode in which current through the device is entirely due to the transduced light energy. Virtually all photovoltaic devices are some type of photodiode.

Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:26 AM
From Wikipedia

Professor Giovanni Francia (1911–1980) designed and built the first concentrated-solar plant. which entered into operation in Sant'Ilario, near Genoa, Italy in 1968. This plant had the architecture of today's concentrated-solar plants with a solar receiver in the center of a field of solar collectors. The plant was able to produce 1 MW with superheated steam at 100 bar and 500 degrees Celsius.[8] The 10 MW Solar One power tower was developed in Southern California in 1981, but the parabolic-trough technology of the nearby Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS), begun in 1984, was more workable. The 354 MW SEGS is still the largest solar power plant in the world.
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Thoughts on Religion Nov 11, 2012 9:29 AM
+Zephyr López Cervilla No, I have not heard of it!
What I want to say is this. If you are collecting energy with solar panels, then it is being used elsewhere. What is being absorbed by the solar panels is not available to heat the ground etc. So, I cannot see how it could be causing an area to heat up, unlike burning something which clearly is. 

Anyway, my point is this. Something needs to be done about climate change etc. I favor a approach that uses solar, nuke etc. ANything to move away from fossil fuel!
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:30 AM (edited)
Now can any of you truly say not all that reflective energy is not going just to were it's focused to? Part of that energy is reflected back into the atmosphere surrounding the site. What is part of that energy heat.
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Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 11, 2012 9:35 AM (edited)
+Eric Muller, you do consider the fact that a significant part of the sunlight that hits the Earth surface is reflected back to upper layers of the atmosphere and the outer space, right? That is, unless you deflect that light with a mirror to heat something or you use that energy to generate electricity or to ionize molecules.
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:33 AM
The ones in Spain are the only sites that have plants around it. Most are being built in the Middle East desert or Western US desert.
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 9:37 AM
+Curtis Edenfield I'm not sure what you were trying to show with the wiki paste.
The goal would be to have all the panels directing energy back to the collection point. Any leakage lowers the efficiency so it will be avoided. Even if there is some it would be significantly less than what was being captured and turned into steam, molten salt, or whatever. 

Eric Muller* Nov 11, 2012 9:39 AM
If you had all the mirrors just point off into the atmosphere and not at anything, it shouldn't heat the area any more than usual. 

Eric Muller* Nov 11, 2012 9:44 AM
+Zephyr López Cervilla I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, was this the albedo thing?
+Curtis Edenfield yeah there is a few others, but as it turns out deserts have high insolation. They also have large open spaces.
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:47 AM
Yes I know this, they aim these mirror with a precision of + or - .00000003 of an inch. The majority of the energy is going to the collector, but there is always a factor of heat loss to the atmosphere, what the consider acceptable amounts. This energy increases the temp in the area creating something similar to heat island effect like in urban settings

Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:50 AM
Here's something simple look at the grass in the pic of the Spain site. Is the temp there the same as say a couple hundred yards of site? 

Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 9:55 AM
+Eric Muller Have you ever been near a glass high rise i a city? Even in the winter time it creates a huge amount of reflective energy, changing temps through out the area of reflection.
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Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 11, 2012 10:01 AM (edited)
+Eric Muller: "I'm not sure what point you're trying to make, was this the albedo thing?"

- That solar plants contribue to decrease the albedo in a greater extent than the efficiency of the plant using sunlight to produce electricity. In the case of photovoltaic panels no more than 21%: 

<<Currently the best achieved sunlight conversion rate (solar panel efficiency) is around 21% in commercial products>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_panel#Efficiencies 

As for the solar thermal collectors, I haven't yet found their net efficiency converting all the light that they collect into useful energy (at least not here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_thermal_collector), but I doubt it will be much greater but rather probably lower, the main advantage of these plants is their cost efficiency, not their energetic efficiency.
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 10:01 AM+1
http://www.greenworldinvestor.com/2011/07/07/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-solar-thermal-energy-power-towersparabolic-troughs/
I found this, there might be something to the desertification if it uses water, particularly from a local source from an already arid area. It also hints at wildlife problems but isn't too specific. 
Since it's an industrial process I imagine it heats the local area some. I don't think it's related to albedo (more reflectivity should lower the temperature). I also don't think it's much like the heat island effect. 
Other industrial power generation would show a much more dramatic local temperature increase, plus contribute to greenhouse gas emissions (with the exception of nuclear) 
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 10:25 AM
+Zephyr López Cervilla photovoltaic panels are around 35 percent efficient for the expensive high performance stuff. Solar thermal is quite a bit more efficient. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentrated_solar_power#section_4
Most large scale power generation uses super heated steam. It gets more efficient as temperatures rise, so using molten salt is expensive but the best way to go for efficiency. The salt is at around 700C so you then use that to generate steam with a heat exchanger. 

That's why I was saying earlier, I wonder why you don't see more. They outperform PV easily. 
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Curtis Edenfield Nov 11, 2012 10:47 AM (edited)
Ok here's something else pretty simple to chew on. All that sunlight hits the surface of the water on the planet, as well as the snow caps. Lets increase that by 1/10 now 8/10 or 4/5 of the earth is covered by a reflective surface. What do you think would happen to atmospheric conditions then? That energy won't go back into space. Look at what happened in history when the sun was block from reflecting. 
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Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 11, 2012 11:14 AM (edited)
+Eric Muller: "I don't think it's related to albedo (more reflectivity should lower the temperature). I also don't think it's much like the heat island effect."

- But they don't probably have a total greater reflectivity but a lower one even though the light is deflected by mirrors, since it isn't reflected back to the space but to a thermal collector. So the efficiency must be measured there rather than on the mirrors. How much of the light that hits the thermal collector is converted into electricity and what percentage it is dissipated as heat? Is this amount of electric energy greater than the light that would have been reflected back to space (or just high above the surface, away from the ground and the vegetation) in case the mirrors weren't there?

Additionally, the mirrors absorb some light energy that will be later dissipated as heat.

+Eric Muller: "photovoltaic panels are around 35 percent efficient for the expensive high performance stuff. Solar thermal is quite a bit more efficient."

- In any case, probably never more than 50% since the most efficient thermal power station can't attain efficiencies greater than 48%: 

<<The energy efficiency of a conventional thermal power station, considered as salable energy as a percent of the heating value of the fuel consumed, is typically 33% to 48%. This efficiency is limited as all heat engines are governed by the laws of thermodynamics. The rest of the energy must leave the plant in the form of heat. This waste heat can go through a condenser and be disposed of with cooling water or in cooling towers.>>

<<The Carnot efficiency dictates that higher efficiencies can be attained by increasing the temperature of the steam. Sub-critical fossil fuel power plants can achieve 36–40% efficiency. Super critical designs have efficiencies in the low to mid 40% range, with new "ultra critical" designs using pressures of 4400 psi (30.3 MPa) and multiple stage reheat reaching about 48% efficiency. Above the critical point for water of 705 °F (374 °C) and 3212 psi (22.06 MPa), there is no phase transition from water to steam, but only a gradual decrease in density.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_power#Efficiency 
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Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 10:55 AM
It cools. Snow and clouds reflect a lot of solar energy back into space. That's another reason why the large scale polar ice melt is a concern.
The use of black asphalt and black roofing contributes to the heat island effect (not the sole cause) it absorbs the Suns energy instead of reflecting it. 

Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 10:57 AM
On the other hand if you aimed those reflective surfaces at something that would absorb the heat, then it wouldn't go into space. You would be able to do something with it. 

Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 11:04 AM
http://www.zenithsolar.com/product.aspx?id=287 It's probably marketing, and it's combined concentrated PV and thermal but that's saying it gets 72 percent or better 

Eric Muller Nov 11, 2012 11:16 AM
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility#section_5
That talks a bit more specifically about the impact on wildlife. It also talks about what's being done to reduce water consumption. _________________ 

Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 12, 2012 9:32 AM (edited)
In the page about albedo there some examples of different surfaces (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albedo). The albedo of crops is between 25% and 15%, the albedo of meadows between 10 and 20% and forests roughly between 6% and 14%. Assuming a 15%, part of the remaining 85% is used in the photosynthesis: 

<<Plants usually convert light into chemical energy with a photosynthetic efficiency of 3–6%.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis#Efficiency 

Say a 5% during the central hours. 
However, there's still another energy output from the system. Part of the energy captured by the vegetation is used to pump water, driven by the change of phase that takes place in the stomata, when the water passes to water vapor by absorbing heat.

So we need to know how much energy is required to transpire all the water that the vegetation is draining from the soil and the water that is directly evaporated from the ground (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evapotranspiration), since all that energy absorbed won't contribute to heat the surroundings.

<<Given the Earth's surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres (39 in).>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain#Global_climatology

Assuming most of the rain water is evapotranspirated, say 500 L/m^2 per year,  which are 33,333 mol H2O/m^2. The standard enthalpy of vaporization at 298.15 K (25ºC) is 44 kJ/mol H2O. Thus the total energy required to vaporize 27,778 mol of H2O at 25ºC and 1 bar is 1,222 MJ per m^2 and year, that is 38.73 W/m^2
(1 year = 31557600 seconds) 

Annual Global Mean Energy Budget of Solar Radiation
<<The energy budget of solar radiation can be derived by combining observations and modeling studies, which show the combined effects of atmospheric gases, aerosols, clouds, and surfaces. Under the annual global mean condition, the incident solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere is 342 W/m^2. Of this incident solar radiation, 67 W/m^2 is absorbed during passage through the atmosphere. A total of 107 W/m^2 is reflected back to space: 30W/m^2 from the surface and 77 W m^2 from clouds and aerosols and atmosphere. The remaining 168W/m^2 is absorbed at the Earth’s surface. It is noted that while the incoming and reflected solar irradiances at the top of the atmosphere are constrained by satellite observations, uncertainties may exist for the partitioning of the absorbed solar radiation between the atmosphere and the surface on the global scale.>>
curry.eas.gatech.edu/Courses/6140/ency/Chapter3/Ency_Atmos/Radiation_Solar.pdf 

Incident solar radiation at Earth surface: 
30 W/m^2 + 168 W/m^2 = 198 W/m^2 
15% of 198 W/m^2 is 30 W/m^2 (flux radiation reflected from surface back to space)
5% of 168 W/m^2 is 8.4 W/m^2 spent in photosynthesis.

Flux of energy dissipated as heat by terrain and vegetation: 
168 W/m^2 - 38.73 W/m^2 - 8.4 W/m^2 = 121 W/m^2

Thermal collector plant:

<<Telescopes and other precision instruments use front silvered or first surface mirrors, where the reflecting surface is placed on the front (or first) surface of the glass (this eliminates reflection from glass surface ordinary back mirrors have). Some of them use silver, but most are aluminium, which is more reflective at short wavelengths than silver. All of these coatings are easily damaged and require special handling. They reflect 90% to 95% of the incident light when new.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror#Instruments 

Absorbed by the mirrors: 10% of 198 W/m^2 ≈ 19.5 W/m^2 (dissipated as heat from mirrors)

Flux light incident on thermal collector: 90% of 198 W/m^2 ≈ 178.2 W/m^2 

<<Of all of these technologies the solar dish/Stirling engine has the highest energy efficiency. A single solar dish-Stirling engine installed at Sandia National Laboratories National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF) produces as much as 25 kW of electricity, with a conversion efficiency of 31.25%. >>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_thermal_energy#Conversion_rates_from_solar_energy_to_electrical_energy 

On the other hand, 

<<The PS10 is located 20 km west of Seville (which receives at least nine hours of sunshine 320 days per year, with 15 hours per day in mid summer). The solar receiver at the top of the tower produces saturated steam at 275 °C. The energy conversion efficiency is approximately 17%.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS10_Solar_Power_Plant 

Flux of electric energy (a great overestimation):
31.25% of 198 W/m^2 is 61.875 W/m^2

Flux energy dissipated from thermal collector and mirrors as heat: 136.125 W/m^2

Flux of energy dissipated from thermal collector: 
136.125 W/m^2 (thermal collector) - 19.5 W/m^2 (mirrors) = 116.625 W/m^2

Efficiency thermal collector: 
(178.2 W/m^2 - 116.625 W/m^2) / 178.2 W/m^2 = 34.55% 

Conclusion:
under conditions of significant evapotranspiration mainly driven by local vegetation (e.g., 500 L/m^2 per year), the average flux of heat dissipated by the vegetation and the terrain (121 W/m^2) is significantly lower than the average flux of heat dissipated by the thermal collector station (136 W/m^2).

Note: the direct evaporation from the terrain under the thermal collector station hasn't been considered. THis value may vary greatly depending on the porosity and permeability of the terrain, but in any case, it'll be usually much less significant than in a terrain covered with vegetation, since plants are very efficient transpiration systems capable to pump large amounts of water from the soil, water that otherwise would percolate to the phreatic zone. 
Also, I haven't taken into account the light reflected by the thermal collector or absorbed by the air (by gas molecules and aerosols) before it reaches the collector.
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Further reading:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS10_Solar_Power_Plant 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS20 
nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=38 
nrel.gov/csp/solarpaces/project_detail.cfm/projectID=39 

scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=10-largest-renewable-energy-projects 

URL source G+ post: 
plus.google.com/111635150542674847021/posts/97mdARxzGRc 
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Reshared text:

guardian.co.uk - Fusion power: is it getting any closer?
By Leo Hickman. August 23, 2011

For decades, scientists have been predicting that, one day, the same process that powers the sun will give us virtually unlimited cheap, clean electricity. Are they wrong?

Related links:

www.efda.org
www.ccfe.ac.uk/CCFE.aspx
fusionforenergy.europa.eu
www-jt60.naka.jaea.go.jp/english/index-e.html

ITER iter.org 
JET www.efda.org/jet 
www.ccfe.ac.uk/JET.aspx 
JT-60SA jt60sa.org 
MAST www.ccfe.ac.uk/MAST.aspx

Further reading:

A more recent article:

Fusion: The quest to recreate the Sun’s power on Earth
By Gaia Vince. August 13, 2012
bbc.com/future/story/20120810-the-quest-to-recreate-the-sun
Gaia Vince watches the construction of the world’s biggest fusion energy reactor and wonders whether this ambitious and expensive project will actually work.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iter

Magnetic confinement
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_confinement_fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamak
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spherical_tokamak
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellarator
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spheromak
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reversed_field_pinch
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-reversed_configuration
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levitated_dipole
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-pinch
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dense_plasma_focus

Inertial confinement
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_confinement_fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teller%E2%80%93Ulam_design
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pure_fusion_weapon
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_electrostatic_confinement
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnsworth%E2%80%93Hirsch_fusor
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywell

Magnetized Inertial Fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetized_Inertial_Fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetized_Liner_Inertial_Fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetized_target_fusion

Other
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muon-catalyzed_fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroelectric_fusion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migma 
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wired.com - Elon Musk’s Mission to Mars
By Chris Anderson. October 21, 2012 
wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/ff-elon-musk-qa/all 

Comment:
Some of the things that explains Elon Musk are rather funny. I can't but agree with him in some of his comments. Here there is the most interesting part of the interview.

Excerpt:

Chris Anderson: You’re not a rocket scientist by training. You’re not a space engineer.

Elon Musk: That’s true. My background educationally is physics and economics, and I grew up in sort of an engineering environment—my father is an electromechanical engineer. And so there were lots of engineery things around me. When I asked for an explanation, I got the true explanation of how things work. I also did things like make model rockets, and in South Africa there were no premade rockets: I had to go to the chemist and get the ingredients for rocket fuel, mix it, put it in a pipe.

Anderson: But then you became an Internet entrepreneur.

Musk: I never had a job where I made anything physical. I cofounded two Internet software companies, Zip2 and PayPal. So it took me a few years to kind of learn rocket science, if you will.

Anderson: How were you drawn to space as your next venture?

Musk: In 2002, once it became clear that PayPal was going to get sold, I was having a conversation with a friend of mine, the entrepreneur Adeo Ressi, who was actually my college housemate. I’d been staying at his home for the weekend, and we were coming back on a rainy day, stuck in traffic on the Long Island Expressway. He was asking me what I would do after PayPal. And I said, well, I’d always been really interested in space, but I didn’t think there was anything I could do as an individual. But, I went on, it seemed clear that we would send people to Mars. Suddenly I began to wonder why it hadn’t happened already. Later I went to the NASA website so I could see the schedule of when we’re supposed to go. [Laughs.]

Anderson: And of course there was nothing.

Musk: At first I thought, jeez, maybe I’m just looking in the wrong place! Why was there no plan, no schedule? There was nothing. It seemed crazy.

Anderson: NASA doesn’t have the budget for that anymore.

Musk: Since 1989, when a study estimated that a manned mission would cost $500 billion, the subject has been toxic. Politicians didn’t want a high-priced federal program like that to be used as a political weapon against them.

Anderson: Their opponents would call it a boondoggle.

Musk: But the United States is a nation of explorers. America is the spirit of human exploration distilled.

Anderson: We all leaped into the unknown to get here.

Musk: So I started with a crazy idea to spur the national will. I called it the Mars Oasis missions. The idea was to send a small greenhouse to the surface of Mars, packed with dehydrated nutrient gel that could be hydrated on landing. You’d wind up with this great photograph of green plants and red background—the first life on Mars, as far as we know, and the farthest that life’s ever traveled. It would be a great money shot, plus you’d get a lot of engineering data about what it takes to maintain a little greenhouse and keep plants alive on Mars. If I could afford it, I figured it would be a worthy expenditure of money, with no expectation of financial return.

Anderson: You were going to buy a ride to Mars, in a sense.

Musk: Right. So I started to price it out. The spacecraft, the communications, the greenhouse experiment: I figured out how to do all that for relatively little. But then came the rocket—the actual propulsion from Earth to Mars. The cheapest US rocket that could do it would have cost $65 million, and I figured I would need at least two.

Anderson: So, $130 million.

Musk: Yeah, plus the cost of everything else, which would have meant I’d spend everything I made from PayPal—and if there were any cost growth I wouldn’t be able to cover it. So next I went to Russia three times, in late 2001 and 2002, to see if I could negotiate the purchase of two ICBMs. Without the nukes, obviously.

Anderson: Obviously.

Musk: They would have cost me $15 million to $20 million each. That was certainly a big improvement. But as I thought about it, I realized that the only reason the ICBMs were that cheap was because they’d already been made. They were just sitting around unused. You couldn’t make new ones for sale at that price. I suddenly understood that my whole premise behind the Mars Oasis idea was flawed. The real reason we weren’t going to Mars wasn’t a lack of national will; it was that we didn’t have cheap enough rocket technology to get there on a reasonable budget. It was the perception among the American people—correct, given current technology—that it didn’t make financial sense to go.

Anderson: Instead of buying rockets for a philanthropic mission, you realized that you needed to start a business to make them more efficiently.

Musk: We needed to set rocket technology on a path of rapid improvement. In the course of trying to put together Mars Oasis, I had talked to a number of people in the space industry and got a sense of who was technically astute and who wasn’t. So I put together a team, and over a series of Saturdays I had them do a feasibility study about building rockets more efficiently. It became clear that there wasn’t anything to prevent us from doing it. Rocket technology had not materially improved since the ’60s—arguably it had gone backward! We decided to reverse that trend.

Anderson: And you have reversed it.

Musk: Six years after we started the company, we launched our first rocket, Falcon 1, into orbit in 2008. And the price—not the cost, mind you, but the total price to customers per launch—was roughly $7 million.

Anderson: How did you get the price so low?

Musk: I tend to approach things from a physics framework. And physics teaches you to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. So I said, OK, let’s look at the first principles. What is a rocket made of? Aerospace-grade aluminum alloys, plus some titanium, copper, and carbon fiber. And then I asked, what is the value of those materials on the commodity market? It turned out that the materials cost of a rocket was around 2 percent of the typical price—which is a crazy ratio for a large mechanical product.

Anderson: How does that compare to, say, cars?

Musk: It depends on the car. For Tesla it’s probably 20 to 25 percent.

Anderson: An order-of-magnitude difference.

Musk: Right. So, I thought, we should be able to make a much cheaper rocket given those materials costs. There must be some pretty silly things going on in the market. And there are!

Anderson: Like what?

Musk: One is the incredible aversion to risk within big aerospace firms. Even if better technology is available, they’re still using legacy components, often ones that were developed in the 1960s.

Anderson: I’ve heard that the attitude is essentially that you can’t fly a component that hasn’t already flown.

Musk: Right, which is obviously a catch-22, right? There should be a Groucho Marx joke about that. So, yeah, there’s a tremendous bias against taking risks. Everyone is trying to optimize their ass-covering.

Anderson: That’s a nice phrase.

Musk: The results are pretty crazy. One of our competitors, Orbital Sciences, has a contract to resupply the International Space Station, and their rocket honestly sounds like the punch line to a joke. It uses Russian rocket engines that were made in the ’60s. I don’t mean their design is from the ’60s—I mean they start with engines that were literally made in the ’60s and, like, packed away in Siberia somewhere.

Anderson: Where else are there inefficiencies?

Musk: Second, there’s this tendency of big aerospace companies to outsource everything. That’s been trendy in lots of industries, but aerospace has done it to a ridiculous degree. They outsource to subcontractors, and then the subcontractors outsource to sub-subcontractors, and so on. You have to go four or five layers down to find somebody actually doing something useful—actually cutting metal, shaping atoms. Every level above that tacks on profit—it’s overhead to the fifth power.

Anderson: Is that just a function of bureaucracy?

Musk: In many cases the biggest customer has been the government, and the government contracts have been what they call cost-plus: The company gets a built-in profit level no matter how wasteful its execution. There’s actually an incentive for it to make everything as expensive as it can possibly justify.

Anderson: That sort of bureaucracy must also play into the bidding process.

Musk: It’s infuriating. The Pentagon’s preferred approach is to do long-term, “sole-source” contracts—which means to lock up the entire business for one company! We’ve been trying to bid on the primary Air Force launch contract, but it’s nearly impossible, because United Launch Alliance, co-owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, currently has an exclusive contract with the Air Force for satellite launch. It’s totally inappropriate.

Anderson: Wow, really?

Musk: Even though we would save the taxpayers at least a billion dollars a year—and that’s a conservative estimate.

Anderson: It sounds like your value proposition is not to outperform your competition—instead, you compete on price.

Musk: Look, speed for a rocket is always going to be roughly the same. The convenience and comfort is going to be about the same. Reliability has to be at least as good as what’s been done before—otherwise people won’t use your rockets to launch multihundred-million-dollar satellites—but there’s not going to be much improvement there. So you’re really left with one key parameter against which technology improvements must be judged, and that’s cost.

Anderson: So—how do you do it? What’s your process?

Musk: Now I have to tell you something, and I mean this in the best and most inoffensive way possible: I don’t believe in process. In fact, when I interview a potential employee and he or she says that “it’s all about the process,” I see that as a bad sign.

Anderson: Oh no. I’m fired.

Musk: The problem is that at a lot of big companies, process becomes a substitute for thinking. You’re encouraged to behave like a little gear in a complex machine. Frankly, it allows you to keep people who aren’t that smart, who aren’t that creative.

Anderson: So what have all your creative people come up with, then? What’s different in your basic technology versus 50 years ago?

Musk: I can’t tell you much. We have essentially no patents in SpaceX. Our primary long-term competition is in China—if we published patents, it would be farcical, because the Chinese would just use them as a recipe book. But I can give you one example.

Anderson: What is it?

Musk: It involves the design of the airframe. If you think about it, a rocket is really just a container for the liquid oxygen and fuel—it’s a combination propellant tank and primary airframe. Traditionally, a rocket airframe is made by taking an aluminum plate perhaps a couple of inches thick and machining deep pockets into it. Then you’ll roll or form what’s left into the shape you want—usually sections of a cylinder, since rockets tend to be primarily cylindrical in shape. That’s how Boeing and Lockheed’s rockets are made, and most other rockets too. But it’s a pretty expensive way to do it, because you’re left with a tiny fraction of the plate’s original mass. You’re starting with a huge slab of material and then milling off what isn’t needed, so you get a huge loss of material. Plus, machining away all that metal takes a lot of time, and it’s very expensive.

Anderson: What’s the alternative?

Musk: It’s similar to the way that most airplanes are made: The stiffness is provided by ribs and hoops that are added on.

Anderson: It’s basically aluminum origami—you’re cutting very precise grooves into it so it folds together into a stiff shape.

Musk: But there’s a catch, because you can’t rivet a rocket like you can an airplane. The pressure differential of an airplane—the difference between the internal and external pressure during flight—is perhaps 7 to 10 psi. But in the case of a rocket, it’s likely to be 80 psi. It’s a lot harder for rivets to withstand that pressure with no leaks.

Anderson: Right.

Musk: So the approach used for aircraft is not exactly feasible for rockets. But there’s another way to do it, which is to use an advanced welding technology called stir welding. Instead of riveting the ribs and hoops, you use a special machine that softens the metal on both sides of the joint without penetrating it or melting it. Unlike traditional welding, which melts and potentially compromises some metals, this process works well with high-strength aluminum alloys. You wind up with a stiffer, lighter structure than was possible before. And your material loss is maybe 10 percent, just for trimming the edges. Instead of a ratio of purchased to flown material—what they call the “buy to fly” ratio—of maybe 10 to 20, you have a ratio of 1.1, 1.2 tops.

Anderson: Wow. Why can you tell us about that?

Musk: The reason I can talk about it is that nobody else knows how to build a rocket this way. [Laughs.]

Anderson: Let’s talk about where all this is headed. You’ve brought the cost of rocket launches down by a factor of 10. Suppose you can bring it down even more. How does that change the game? It seems like when you radically reduce the price, you can discover a whole new market. It’s a form of exploration in itself.

Musk: Right.

Anderson: What glimpses of that new market have you seen?

Musk: A huge one is satellites. There are a lot of applications for satellites that suddenly begin to make sense if the transportation costs are low: more telecommunications, more broadcast, better weather mapping, more science experiments.

Anderson: So traditional satellite markets—but more of them, and cheaper.

Musk: There’s also likely to be a lot more private spaceflight.

Anderson: By that you mean tourism.

Musk: Yeah, but I think tourism is too pejorative a word. You could argue that much of our government spaceflight has been tourism. But the main thing—the goal I still believe in for the long term—is to make life multi-planetary.

Anderson: And Dragon, the spacecraft you berthed with the ISS in May, has features that might eventually prepare it for a manned Mars mission.

Musk: Eventually, yes. The thrusters on Dragon are sized so they’ll be able to do launch escape—which means being able to move away from the rocket at a force of approximately 6 g’s. That same thrust level happens to be kind of a good number for supersonic retro-propulsion for landing on Mars.

Anderson: Could you have sent Dragon to Mars instead of the ISS?

Musk: Well, it would have gone very slowly—and when it arrived, it couldn’t have landed. It would have made a crater.

Anderson: The issue is stopping once you get there.

Musk: Version two of Dragon, which should be ready in three years, should be able to do it. But really, if humanity is to become multi-planetary, the fundamental breakthrough that needs to occur in rocketry is a rapidly and completely reusable rocket. In the absence of that, space transportation will remain two orders of magnitude more expensive than it should be.

Anderson: Really?

Musk: Imagine if you had to have a new plane for every flight. Very few people would fly.

Anderson: Isn’t the fuel a huge portion of the expense?

Musk: The cost of the propellant on Falcon 9 is only about 0.3 percent of the total price. So if the vehicle costs $60 million, the propellant is maybe a couple hundred thousand dollars. That’s with rocket propellant-grade jet fuel, which is three times the cost of normal jet fuel. That’s using helium as a pressurant, which is a very expensive pressurant. A next-generation rocket could use cheaper fuel and also be fully reusable.

Anderson: Are you making an announcement right now?

Musk: I hope we might unveil an architecture for that next year. I’d like to emphasize this is an aspiration for SpaceX—I’m not saying that we will do it. But I believe it can be done. And I believe that achieving it would be on a par with what the Wright brothers did. It’s the fundamental thing that’s necessary for humanity to become a space-faring civilization. America would never have been colonized if ships weren’t reusable.

Anderson: Wasn’t the space shuttle reusable?

Musk: A lot of people think it was reusable—but the main tank was thrown away every time. Even the parts that did come back were so difficult to refurbish that the shuttle cost four times more than an expendable rocket of equivalent payload capability.

Anderson: It’s like sending Columbus’ ships out and bringing the lifeboat back.

Musk: We’ve begun testing reusability with something called the Grasshopper Project, which is a Falcon 9 first stage with landing gear that can take off and land vertically.

Anderson: A huge rocket, landing on its feet? Holy shit.

Musk: Yeah, holy shit. The stages go to orbit, then the first stage turns around, restarts the engines, boosts back to the launch site, reorients, deploys landing gear, and lands vertically.

Anderson: It’s like something out of a movie or my old Tintin books. It’s the way space was supposed to be.

Musk: Exactly.

Chris Anderson (@chr1sa) is editor in chief of Wired and the author of Makers: The New Industrial Revolution. He wrote about 3-D printing in issue 20.10.
_____________________ 

Comment:
What I find unethical is his willingness to spur the "national will". Nations don't have will, perhaps he meant the populace of the nation, or the willingness of the government thanks to popular acceptance. If he needs funds for his project of creating Martian colonies, the right thing to do would be to create a foundation funded with voluntary fees and donations, or look for equity partners interested in investing in the development of commercial interplanetary travels and settlements in Mars.

For some reason I have the impression that Chris Anderson has the tendency to consider as a loony anyone who dares to dissent from the offcial stance of public agencies like NASA, the professional consensus, or even the companies that have been in business for decades (Boeing, Lockheed Martin). It isn't just the skeptic tone frequently used by him during the interview (which is always preferable over flattery), it's that he even says so in the introduction:

"When a man tells you about the time he planned to put a vegetable garden on Mars, you worry about his mental state."

"All entrepreneurs have an aptitude for risk, but more important than that is their capacity for self-delusion. Indeed, psychological investigations have found that entrepreneurs aren’t more risk-tolerant than non-entrepreneurs. They just have an extraordinary ability to believe in their own visions, so much so that they think what they’re embarking on isn’t really that risky. They’re wrong, of course"
— Chris Anderson
_____________________ 

via +Rodolphe D'Inca 
URL source G+ post:
plus.google.com/110978315648533764743/posts/Ckw1SUshV8g 
URL related G+ posts:
plus.google.com/114605547533973731226/posts/Km6N2i9jV84 
plus.google.com/108268038346773463902/posts/X1DvfjR1jWe 
_____________________ 

Chrome Extension - G+ Whitespace Fix (to extend your stream)

Comment: this is what I was looking for.
Edit: Another extension named "GExtend" also works in a similar way:
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/dgkjhlnnlabicokdgaecdeihkdlkdhjm
And if you don't need the post stretched but still want the stream in the center of the screen there's another extension maned "Whitespace Remover for Google Plus":
chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hjhgeibimkoddhdkkgimnipkdodobgpm
It's the most similar thing to the previous layout. The only esthetic downside is that the grey band of the left gets widened so the background will be half grey and half white.

via +Alex Fung
URL source post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/112366735963271550830/posts/87JKQYPs2FP

bbc.co.uk - Masters of Money. Episode 2 of 3: Hayek (58 min 23 sec)
By Stephanie Flanders (BBC economics editor) & The Open University.
Aired on October 16, 2012 (BBC One) youtu.be/tdDGUl7SncQ 

EXCERPT (from 56:29 to 57:24):
Stephanie Flanders: "But no government has ever dared to implement Hayek's vision of a market free from the State's intervention, and when capitalism faced its biggest test since the 1930s politicians rushed to save the market from itself. But the biggest debate in Britain today is not about whether the Government is doing too much to prop up the economy but whether it's doing enough.

Today Hayek's advice seems hardest to take than ever. You've got the global economy still struggling to put the financial crisis behind it, if it is behind it, and Hayek would say 'Government should just step back, take a cool look of the historical record, dismantle most of the machinery they've constructed for guiding the economy, take a deep breath, and let it go.'

I don't see any government today ready to do that, and I don't think I ever will."
_________ 

bbc.co.uk - Masters of Money
bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mzqw9 

Stephanie's blog on Hayek:
bbc.co.uk - Masters of Money: Friedrich Hayek
By Stephanie Flanders (BBC economics editor). September 24, 2012
bbc.co.uk/news/business-19706272 

open.edu - OU on the BBC: Masters of Money
August 2, 2012
open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/tv/ou-on-the-bbc-masters-money 
_________ 

Blurb of the episode:

Hayek Episode 2 of 3
According to conventional wisdom, today's global financial crisis happened because markets were not regulated enough. But what if the opposite is true? That it was excessive government meddling in the markets that caused the crash?

In Masters of Money produced in partnership with The Open University, BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders examines the extraordinary influence of three intellectual titans - Keynes, Hayek and Marx and shows how they shaped the 20th century and continue to have a huge impact on our world today.

Stephanie turns her attention to the radical free-market economist Friedrich Hayek. Travelling from London to Vienna and America, she unravels the extraordinary life and influence of the only free-market thinker whose reputation has grown post-crisis.

With contributions from Central bankers, politicians and a Nobel laureate, she explores why despite his enormous influence, no government has ever dared to fully implement Hayek's solution to the problems of capitalism - set it virtually totally free from state control.
bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n2rpx 
_________ 

YouTube videos of the 3 episodes:
Ep.1 Masters Of Money - Part 1 - John Keynes (59 min 06 sec)
Ep.2 Masters Of Money - Part 2 - Friedrich Hayek (58 min 23 sec)
Ep.3 Masters Of Money - Part 3 - Karl Marx (58 min 49 sec)
_________ 

#hayek   #austrianeconomics   #freemarket   #ronpaul   #paulkrugman   #keynes   #keynesianeconomics   #keynesianism   #keynesian   #centralbank   #centralbanking  
____________________ 

itunes.apple.com - Bio 4125: Biology of Aging with Doc C
By Dr. Gerald Cizadlo (College of St. Scholastica). January 15, 2009 to May 3, 2012
itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id302734065

Comment:
I've been listening to the first 6 lectures of this course (out of the 13 scheduled in 2009) and I'm confident to say that it is interesting enough to be worthy a listening. 

There're some inaccuracies, such as the intrinsic factor to be required to absorbed vitamin K in the intestine rather than vitamin B12, although it was used as an example un a side comment during one of the lectures so Gerald Cizadlo probably chose it at that moment.

Dr. Cizadlo also describes (in 2009) a possible mechanism to explain the lifespan extension under caloric restriction that has been observed in lab animals related to rate of the maturation of the immune system that doesn't match with the most widely theory nowadays accepted, if only because of the existence of organisms that don't have an adaptive immune system to mature and yet, they experience a very significant lifespan extension under caloric restriction.

I can't agree with his view on the possible cause of an alleged programed aging in most organisms, according to Dr. Cizadlo, as a mechanism of adaptation of the population to an always changing environment.

This may be true in some instances, but in others not so much. Some environments hardly have changed in millions of years. We would expect an extension of lifespan of at least some organisms in the most stable environments (e.g. rain forests) since in such conditions a quick population turnover wouldn't be so advantageous, but that's not the case. 

Besides, supposed beneficial effect of aging as a means to facilitate the turnover of the population is watered down if we take into account that the individuals living in their natural habitat who reach advanced age are only a small fraction of the total population. Most of them will die of other causes like starvation, predation, parasitation, attacks from other individuals or accidents, so the few ancient individuals that remained alive wouldn't cause much of an effect.

Finally, there are few organisms who doesn't show any sign of aging (e.g., some hydrozoans like Hydra or Turritopsis nutricula, some sponges, sea ​​anemones), some organisms with estimated genomic lifespans of thousands of years (e.g., Pando, 80,000—1,000,000 years of age, Posidonia oceanica, up to 100,000 years, Lomatia tasmanica, up to 43,500 years, Jurupa Oak, 13,000 years, Old Tjikko, 9,550 years, Old Rasmus, 9,500 years, Lagarostrobos franklinii, up to 10,500 years) that have adapted pretty well to the changes of the environment, whereas the existence of individuals with such old genomes hasn't apparently halted the rise of others with recombined genomes anew.

References:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(genus)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_nutricula 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree) 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populus_tremuloides 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posidonia_oceanica 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lomatia_tasmanica 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurupa_Oak 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_palmeri 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Tjikko 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picea_abies 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagarostrobos 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_long-living_organisms 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_trees 

Further reading: (in the pipeline)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_immortality 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_life_span 

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19439974 
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15247078 
____________ 

On Dr. Gerald Cizadlo:
Biology Professor at The College of St. Scholastica
faculty.css.edu/dwalton/bio/faculty_gcizadlo.htm 
www2.css.edu/app/events/centennial/blog/index.cfm?cat=3&art=61 
faculty.css.edu/gcizadlo 
____________ 

itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bio-4125-biology-aging-doc/id302734065 
___________________ 

examiner.com - New polls show unusual staying power for Gary Johnson
By Matthew Reece. September 15, 2012

Van Rooyen Sep 17, 2012
"We are not withholding our votes from the GOP. Our votes do not belong to the Republican Party. They are ours to do with as we please. But, you do bring up some interesting questions about our votes.

Why do people vote?
Do they think one single vote counts?
Do they really believe they personally are going to sway the election?

No, of course not.

Voting is an act of expression, a way to tell the world the type of person you are and what ideals you hold dear. Probably we will not win in 2012 but we can show the two party establishment how many are disenchanted by this duopoly. We can show them that no matter how they oppress us, either the RNC or the DNC, we will not be swayed to participate in their two party systems.

If we cannot go through them we WILL go around.
It has and will take time, but we will arrive in the place we have envisioned non-the-less."

Matthew Reece ·  Top Commenter · UNC Wilmington Sep 18, 2012
"Gary Johnson could do better than Ross Perot. About 18% of the electorate are supporting Mitt Romney only because they want to vote for the person who can beat Obama. If it becomes clear that Romney has no chance of winning, then those people are up for grabs. This could be the difference between Johnson getting 6% and Johnson getting 24%."
_________________________________ 

examiner.com - Interview with Barbara Howe, Part 2
By Matthew Reece. August 24, 2012

Matthew Reece: Last question. What do you say to voters who are leaning toward Pat McCrory or Walter Dalton, but have not made up their minds?

Barbara Howe: One of the arguments we get as Libertarians is “Well, if I vote for you, I'm going to waste my vote because one of those other guys is going to win. So I've got to keep Walter Dalton from winning so I've got to vote for Pat McCrory, or I've got to keep Pat McCrory from winning so I've got to vote for Walter Dalton.” You've only got one vote. One vote. And no gubernatorial election has ever been decided by one vote. You have to cast your vote for the person you really want to win. If you're voting for Dalton or McCrory because you don't want the other guy to win, they're not going to know that's why you cast [your] vote. They're going to think its an endorsement of what they believe. So cast your vote for the person you really want to win. I hope its me. If its not me, I'll accept that. But don't cast your vote because you're afraid of a wasted vote.
examiner.com/article/interview-with-barbara-howe-part-2 

Related articles:

examiner.com - Interview with Gov. Gary Johnson, Part 1
By Matthew Reece. July 22, 2012
examiner.com/article/interview-with-gov-gary-johnson-part-1 

examiner.com - Interview with Gov. Gary Johnson, Part 2
By Matthew Reece. July 25, 2012
examiner.com/article/interview-with-gov-gary-johnson-part-2 

examiner.com - Interview with Barbara Howe, Part 1
By Matthew Reece. August 23, 2012
examiner.com/article/interview-with-barbara-howe-part-1 

examiner.com - Interview with Barbara Howe, Part 2
By Matthew Reece. August 24, 2012
examiner.com/article/interview-with-barbara-howe-part-2 
_________________________________ 

via +Sam Vekemans 
URL via G+ post: 
plus.google.com/117921658240148036148/posts/9SaLDT189jq 
URL source G+ post: 
plus.google.com/113147028533760993635/posts/aaRR9ecQq9W _________________________________ 

RESHARE:
geekologie.com - Pretty Kitty!: Chimera Cat Is Its Own Fraternal Twin
August 22, 2012
geekologie.com/2012/08/pretty-kitty-chimera-cat-is-its-own-frat.php

Excerpt from G+ via post comments:

Zephyr López Cervilla August 27, 2012 2:19 PM (edited)
Among marmosets and tamarins (several genera of New World monkeys) chimerism is very frequent. There has been reported even some case in which an individual had two genetic fathers instead of a mother and a father:
 . . . 
"One breeding female, whose uterine twin was a male, produced offspring that inherited her sibling’s alleles. This documents the possibility that an XY primordial germ cell is capable of maturing and producing viable eggs in a female, a phenomenon that has not been documented for primates. Al- though we are not currently able to document the fate of the Y chromosome during development of the female’s oocytes, our data suggest the intriguing possibility that a female may pass on a Y chromosome to her offspring."

- Ross CN et al. Germ-line chimerism and paternal care in marmosets ( Callithrix kuhlii ). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2007) vol. 104 (15) pp. 6278-82
pnas.org/content/104/15/6278.full 
_______________________  

Zephyr López Cervilla August 27, 2012 10:04 PM
+John Baez: "Far out, +Zephyr López Cervilla!  That's amazing. Two questions: 1) Why do you know about this?  2) Why might chimerism be more common among these species?""
 . . . 
2) According to this same paper, chimerism between DZ twins may be favored to promote paternal care. These species present several traits that make paternal care particularly important, they have small body size, two offspring per pregnancy, the adult/offspring ratio is higher than in other primates, their population live in groups of small size and alloparental care. All these traits make the involvement of the father in the rearing of the offspring particularly advantageous. 

What does have to do chimerism with all this? According to their suggested theory (supported by statistical correlation), genetic fathers will perceive chimeric offspring as closer relatives. 

Supposing that they rely on molecular clues to estimate kinship, the individual of the offspring whose cells come from two cells lines derived from two spermatozoids (and two ovules) will express a greater variety of molecules specific of the father (although in lesser amount). 

It hasn't to be limited to molecular clues, though. Other traits (behavior, physiognomy) could be differently affected as well. 

For instance, genetic traits of dominant expression are more likely to be shared between the parent and the chimeric offspring if the father is heterozygotic, whereas in the case of homozygotic fathers, chimerism won't cause on average any difference in the expression of that trait in the offspring. 

Codominant and quantitative traits will also be on average more similar between fathers and chimeric offspring than between fathers and nonchimeric offspring.

Reference:

- Ross CN et al. Germ-line chimerism and paternal care in marmosets ( Callithrix kuhlii ). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2007) vol. 104 (15) pp. 6278-82
pnas.org/content/104/15/6278.full 
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Some related papers:

- Watkins DI et al. A primate species with limited major histocompatibility complex class I polymorphism. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1988) vol. 85 (20) pp. 7714-8
[ Saguinis oedipus (cotton-top tamarin)]
pnas.org/content/85/20/7714.full.pdf 

- Antunes SG et al. The common marmoset: a new world primate species with limited Mhc class II variability. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1998) vol. 95 (20) pp. 11745-50
[ Callithrix jacchus ]
pnas.org/content/95/20/11745.full 

- Cadavid LF et al. Evolutionary instability of the major histocompatibility complex class I loci in New World primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1997) vol. 94 (26) pp. 14536-41
pnas.org/content/94/26/14536.full 
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- Starzl TE. Chimerism and tolerance in transplantation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2004) vol. 101 Suppl 2 pp. 14607-14
pnas.org/content/101/suppl.2/14607.full 

- Billingham RE et al. Transplantation Immunity, Immunological Tolerance, and Chicken x Turkey Interspecific Hybrids. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1961) vol. 47 (7) pp. 1039-43
pnas.org/content/47/7/1039.full.pdf 

Shizuru JA et al. Purified hematopoietic stem cell grafts induce tolerance to alloantigens and can mediate positive and negative T cell selection. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2000) vol. 97 (17) pp. 9555-60
pnas.org/content/97/17/9555.full.pdf 
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URL source G+ comments G+ post: plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/ZjDkQC9ULvN 
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Venus, the Heterochromatic Chimera Cat

Venus the Chimera split face, two face, odd eye, 2 diff color eyes... cat gone viral

Meet Venus, the three year old heterochromatic (http://goo.gl/pYddP) chimera cat :3 Literally, she's her own fraternal twin!

Chimera cat is one individual organism, but genetically its own fraternal twin. A chimera is typically formed from four parent cells (either two fertilized eggs, or two early embryos that have fused together). When the organism forms, the cells that had already begun to develop in the separate embryos keep their original phenotypes and appearances. This means that the resulting animal is a mixture of tissues and can look like this gorgeous (but bizarre) kitty.

(Source: http://goo.gl/LsuUO) #caturday #scienceeveryday

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spiegel.de - No Copyright Law. The Real Reason for Germany's Industrial Expansion?
By Frank Thadeusz. August 18, 2010

Did Germany experience rapid industrial expansion in the 19th century due to an absence of copyright law? A German historian argues that the massive proliferation of books, and thus knowledge, laid the foundation for the country's industrial might.

Excerpt:
<<German authors during this period wrote ceaselessly. Around 14,000 new publications appeared in a single year in 1843. Measured against population numbers at the time, this reaches nearly today's level. And although novels were published as well, the majority of the works were academic papers.

The situation in England was very different. "For the period of the Enlightenment and bourgeois emancipation, we see deplorable progress in Great Britain," Höffner states.

Equally Developed Industrial Nation
Indeed, only 1,000 new works appeared annually in England at that time -- 10 times fewer than in Germany -- and this was not without consequences. Höffner believes it was the chronically weak book market that caused England, the colonial power, to fritter away its head start within the span of a century, while the underdeveloped agrarian state of Germany caught up rapidly, becoming an equally developed industrial nation by 1900.

Even more startling is the factor Höffner believes caused this development -- in his view, it was none other than copyright law, which was established early in Great Britain, in 1710, that crippled the world of knowledge in the United Kingdom.

Germany, on the other hand, didn't bother with the concept of copyright for a long time. Prussia, then by far Germany's biggest state, introduced a copyright law in 1837, but Germany's continued division into small states meant that it was hardly possible to enforce the law throughout the empire.>>

<<Yet a historical comparison, at least, reaches a different conclusion. Publishers in England exploited their monopoly shamelessly. New discoveries were generally published in limited editions of at most 750 copies and sold at a price that often exceeded the weekly salary of an educated worker.

London's most prominent publishers made very good money with this system, some driving around the city in gilt carriages. Their customers were the wealthy and the nobility, and their books regarded as pure luxury goods. In the few libraries that did exist, the valuable volumes were chained to the shelves to protect them from potential thieves.

In Germany during the same period, publishers had plagiarizers -- who could reprint each new publication and sell it cheaply without fear of punishment -- breathing down their necks. Successful publishers were the ones who took a sophisticated approach in reaction to these copycats and devised a form of publication still common today, issuing fancy editions for their wealthy customers and low-priced paperbacks for the masses.

A Multitude of Treatises
This created a book market very different from the one found in England. Bestsellers and academic works were introduced to the German public in large numbers and at extremely low prices. "So many thousands of people in the most hidden corners of Germany, who could not have thought of buying books due to the expensive prices, have put together, little by little, a small library of reprints," the historian Heinrich Bensen wrote enthusiastically at the time.

The prospect of a wide readership motivated scientists in particular to publish the results of their research. In Höffner's analysis, "a completely new form of imparting knowledge established itself."

Essentially the only method for disseminating new knowledge that people of that period had known was verbal instruction from a master or scholar at a university. Now, suddenly, a multitude of high-level treatises circulated throughout the country.

The "Literature Newspaper" reported in 1826 that "the majority of works concern natural objects of all types and especially the practical application of nature studies in medicine, industry, agriculture, etc." Scholars in Germany churned out tracts and handbooks on topics such as chemistry, mechanics, engineering, optics and the production of steel.>>

URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/110513304172301520239/posts/3sdMY8WGJLb 
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cancerresearchuk.org - The causes of cancer you can control
By Jess Harris. December 7, 2011

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2011/12/07/the-causes-of-cancer-you-can-control 
Download a hi-res PDF of this graphic: http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Attributable-risk-circles-poster.pdf 

Excerpt from comments:

Samuel Mackrill Dec 7, 2011
Where is wheat and sugar on there (cancer feeds on glucose)?
Where is lack of vitamin D (this hormone is essential for your body to fight cancer)?
If sunlight causes skin cancer why are most found on non-exposed areas (like the soles of your feet)? 
The links to salt,red meat and low fruit/veg seem highly dubious to me.

This is a great book if you want to know more:
Cancer: Nutrition and Survival (Steve Hickey, Ph.D. and Hilary Roberts, Ph.D.)
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Kathy Castorina Dec 7, 2011+1
+Samuel Mackrill I think wheat & sugar would fall under the overweight category, but I do get your point.
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Alex Luton Dec 7, 2011
Maybe because sugar and wheat don't cause cancer?
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Zephyr López Cervilla Aug 5, 2012 4:31 AM (edited)
+Daniel Cutler: "how can the point be made that increased glucose is a risk factor?"

- In fact, higher glucose levels could be a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. I've heard that type 2 diabetes can lead to pancreatic cancer. As an anecdotal evidence, my uncle suffered type 2 diabetes to the point he needed insulin shots, and he eventually died of pancreatic cancer. 
Also, insulin is a pro-proliferative hormone. Higher insulin levels caused by higher glucose levels can promote cell proliferation of precancerous cells. Thus, high glucose levels could be also indirectly a promoter of other kinds of cancer. 
Besides, the insulin signaling pathway activates mTOR, what inhibits autophagy in cells. This is known to be a mechanism that protects cells from becoming cancerous: 

There is evidence that proteins that are linked to tumorigenesis can regulate the rate of autophagy, with oncogenes in general blocking and tumour suppressors stimulating the process. The removal of damaged cellular components, especially damaged mitochondria, might decrease the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn might reduce genomic instability or forestall cellular senescence. Such mechanisms might allow moderate increases in autophagy to reduce the incidence of cancer and prolong lifespan.

- Finkel T et al. The common biology of cancer and ageing. Nature (2007) vol. 448 (7155) pp. 767-74
nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7155/full/nature05985.html 

Also, 

Stimulation of the class I PtdIns 3-kinase at the plasma membrane through the insulin receptor results in the generation of PtdIns(3,4)P2 and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 (dark pink circles). These phosphoinositides allow binding and activation of Akt/PKB and its activator PDK-1. Along with amino acids, Akt/PKB activates mTor (additional components in this pathway are not depicted). Subsequent phosphorylation of a downstream effector, possibly analogous to Atg1 or other ATG gene products as demonstrated in yeast, inhibits autophagy.

- Shintani T and Klionsky DJ. Autophagy in health and disease: a double-edged sword. Science (2004) vol. 306 (5698) pp. 990-5
sciencemag.org/content/306/5698/990.full 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

+Samuel Mackrill: "If sunlight causes skin cancer why are most found on non-exposed areas (like the soles of your feet)?"
- Obviously, because there are other agents that can cause skin cancer apart from sunlight. What is unlikely is that those skin cancers that appear in your foot soles can be melanomas.
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URL source comments G+ post: plus.google.com/103561559026876981170/posts/2vasADVecpk 
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As you may have seen, our landmark report on lifestyle and cancer is in the news this morning, showing just how many cancers could be prevented if the UK got healthier. A third of all cancers could be prevented by stopping smoking, eating a balanced diet, cutting down on alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight. Of course, cancer risk is also affected by our family history, our genes, and by getting older – but the good news is that we can take positive steps to stack the odds of avoiding cancer in our favour. Read our blog for more info about the work: http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2011/12/07/the-causes-of-cancer-you-can-control/

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plus.goggle.com - Trojans and Hildas
By John Baez. March 9, 2013
plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/XecfeBK9QER 

Source of animated GIF: 

astronomy.cz - Asteroid (and Comet) Groups
By Petr Scheirich. 2005
http://sajri.astronomy.cz/asteroidgroups/groups.htm 

Related G+ post: 

plus.goggle.com - Kirkwood gaps
By John Baez. March 9, 2013 
plus.google.com/117663015413546257905/posts/fmYcP2D2Mnh 
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Trojans and Hildas.  Here are some asteroids viewed in a rotating frame of reference where Jupiter almost stands still.    The Trojans, in green, are asteroids that stay near the Lagrange points 60° ahead or behind Jupiter.  They go around the Sun once each time Jupiter orbits the Sun.  But the Hildas, in purple, go around the Sun 3 times while Jupiter goes around twice.  We say they're in a 3:2 resonance with Jupiter. 

The Hildas seem to be moving in a triangular pattern.  But actually each one takes an elliptical orbit around the Sun.  There are three kinds of ellipses. Two go farthest from the Sun near the Lagrange points, while one goes farthest from the Sun opposite Jupiter.   Although the whole triangle of Hildas is nearly equilateral, it's not quite.  The side between the two Lagrange points is a bit different from the two other sides.   You can also see the whole triangle pulsing as Jupiter moves in and out!

This animated gif is one of many made by Petr Scheirich, and you can have hours of fun looking at his website:

• Petr Scheirich, Asteroid (and comet) groups, http://sajri.astronomy.cz/asteroidgroups/groups.htm.

There's a lot to say about Trojans and Lagrange points, but let me talk about Hildas.  Over 1,100 Hildas have been found, the being Hilda, named after the discoverer's daughter.  It's big - 175 kilometers in diameter - but not very bright, because it's made of ancient stuff containing lots of carbon, similar to the nucleus of a comet.

The Hildas don't form a 'true' asteroid family, because they aren't fragments of a single parent object.  Instead, they're a 'dynamical' family: they're defined by having similar orbits.    Any Hilda's orbit has an eccentricity less than 0.3, an inclination less than 20°, and a semi-major axis between 3.7 AU and 4.2 AU.  Remember, the semi-major axis of an ellipse is half the distance between the farthest points.

So, the Hildas are outside the main asteroid belt, which lies between the 4:1 resonance with Jupiter at 2.1 AU and the 2:1 resonance at 3.0 AU.

The density of Hildas near the triangle's corners is more than twice the density on the sides. The reason is that the Hildas move more slowly when they're farther from the Sun!   So, they stay near the corners for an average of 5.0-5.5 years, but move along the sides of the triangle more quickly, for 2.5 to 3.0 years. The overall period of the Hildas is about 7.9 years, which is 2/3 the period of Jupiter.

For more, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilda_family

#astronomy  

ucr.edu - Why is the sky blue?
By Philip Gibbs. May, 1997
math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/General/BlueSky/blue_sky.html 

Sections:
1. Tyndall Effect (Rayleigh scattering)
2. Dust or Molecules?
3. Why not violet?
4. Sunsets
5. Blue Haze and Blue Moon
6. Opalescence
7. Why is the Mars sky red?

Excerpt:

Dust or Molecules?
"Tyndall and Rayleigh thought that the blue colour of the sky must be due to small particles of dust and droplets of water vapour in the atmosphere.  Even today, people sometimes incorrectly say that this is the case.  Later scientists realised that if this were true, there would be more variation of sky colour with humidity or haze conditions than was actually observed, so they supposed correctly that the molecules of oxygen and nitrogen in the air are sufficient to account for the scattering.  The case was finally settled by Einstein in 1911, who calculated the detailed formula for the scattering of light from molecules; and this was found to be in agreement with experiment.  He was even able to use the calculation as a further verification of Avogadro's number when compared with observation.  The molecules are able to scatter light because the electromagnetic field of the light waves induces electric dipole moments in the molecules.

Why not violet?
If shorter wavelengths are scattered most strongly, then there is a puzzle as to why the sky does not appear violet, the colour with the shortest visible wavelength.  The spectrum of light emission from the sun is not constant at all wavelengths, and additionally is absorbed by the high atmosphere, so there is less violet in the light.  Our eyes are also less sensitive to violet.  That's part of the answer; yet a rainbow shows that there remains a significant amount of visible light coloured indigo and violet beyond the blue.  The rest of the answer to this puzzle lies in the way our vision works.  We have three types of colour receptors, or cones, in our retina.  They are called red, blue and green because they respond most strongly to light at those wavelengths.  As they are stimulated in different proportions, our visual system constructs the colours we see.

When we look up at the sky, the red cones respond to the small amount of scattered red light, but also less strongly to orange and yellow wavelengths.  The green cones respond to yellow and the more strongly scattered green and green-blue wavelengths.  The blue cones are stimulated by colours near blue wavelengths, which are very strongly scattered.  If there were no indigo and violet in the spectrum, the sky would appear blue with a slight green tinge.  However, the most strongly scattered indigo and violet wavelengths stimulate the red cones slightly as well as the blue, which is why these colours appear blue with an added red tinge.  The net effect is that the red and green cones are stimulated about equally by the light from the sky, while the blue is stimulated more strongly.  This combination accounts for the pale sky blue colour.  It may not be a coincidence that our vision is adjusted to see the sky as a pure hue.  We have evolved to fit in with our environment; and the ability to separate natural colours most clearly is probably a survival advantage."

Related webpages: 
sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mie_scattering 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_sky_radiation 
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Milton Friedman - Director's Law "The Robin Hood Myth" (9 min 56 sec)
Uploaded by LibertyPen. 1977-78 
Excerpt from Milton Friedman Speaks
freetochoose.net/store/product_info.php?products_id=152 

Milton Friedman: "Director's law is that almost invariably Government's programs benefit the middle income class at the expense of the very poor and the very rich."

<<Director's law states that the bulk of public programs are designed primarily to benefit the middle classes but are financed by taxes paid primarily by the upper and lower classes. The empirically derived law was first proposed by economist Aaron Director (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Director).
The philosophy of Director's law is that, based on the size of its population and its aggregate wealth, the middle class will always be the dominant interest group in a modern democracy. As such, it will use its influence to maximize the state benefits it receives and minimize the portion of costs it bears.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Director%27s_Law 

Comment:
The middle class controls the government to spend taxpayer money for its own profit and greed, but this is sold to the working class (and to themselves) with the equal opportunities mantra.
I remember having been well aware of this phenomenon back in the days when I couldn't afford to pay for any of the low-price subsidized travel plans or price cuts in other products offered to young people until I was already too old to qualify for them. In general, the positive discrimination toward the young is actually a hidden subsidy to the young middle class guys, whereas the young poor ones don't see a dime.

URL source G+ post: 
plus.google.com/115234319467908018169/posts/6aYwgWa9SxP 
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plus.google.com - Scarecrows and Wreaths: Genetic Secrets of Efficient Food Crops
By Rajini Rao. January 26, 2013

Excerpt from comments:
Richard Smith Jan 26, 2012 5:22 PM 
<<For those discussing the greater water use efficiency of C4 plants; the most productive C4 plants are on average about 50% more water efficient than the most efficient C3 and this derives from the fact that, because CO2 is concentrated around RuBisCO, less CO2 uptake is required so the stomata can remain closed more of the time. Thus there is less transpiration.

Because C4 plants need much less RuBisCO than C3 plants, and RuBisCO is the most abundant protein in most plants, C4 plants are also ~50% more efficient in their use of nitrogen, so they need less fertiliser.>>

Richard Smith Jan 26, 2012 5:47 PM
<<C4 plants account for ~40% of terrestrial biomass>>

Question:
I come up with a few questions that someone may know and be in the mood to answer:

1. Is there any tree species among the C4 plants?

2. Since C4 plants seem to have appeared independently several times over evolution, which C4 group appeared most recently and in which period? Is it the most widespread of them?

3. Were there some particular environmental conditions during that period that could have favored their emergence, evolution and dissemination (warmer global or regional temperatures, lower CO2 atmospheric concentration, less abundant rainfall, more common drought, etc.)? 

4. Is there any candidate in the fossil record of an ancient group of C4 plants that went extinct?

5. As for the gas exchange through stomata, could carbonated water (with disolved CO2 / H2CO3) in the soil reduce the volume of water required for the Calvin Cycle/Dark Phase of the photosynthesis? If there's usually some contribution to the CO fixation from the CO2 disolved in the soil, what is the approximate percentage of that contribution?

URL source G+ post: 
plus.google.com/114601143134471609087/posts/aPKK1DLrcbj 
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Scarecrows and Wreaths: Genetic Secrets of Efficient Food Crops
 
• Ancient plants, like rice, wheat and barley, originating in the Mesozoic and Paleozoic eras, still form 95% of the Earth’s plant biomass. They use an enzyme known as RuBisCo (the most abundant protein on the planet!) to fix atmospheric carbon dioxide on to a 5-carbon sugar (ribulose bis-phosphate) to make 2 molecules of a 3-carbon sugar that eventually becomes sucrose. This is the C3 pathway, but it's not too efficient: the enzyme RuBisCo also catalyzes a competing reaction called "photorespiration" that adds oxygen to the 5-carbon sugar making a byproduct that takes many tedious and expensive steps to convert back to the useful sugar. These plants can also lose 97% of the water absorbed by the roots through stomata or pores on the underside of the leaves. If they close their stomata, they limit the diffusion of CO2 into leaves, so they have limited growth in hot, dry areas.

• Fortunately, in the last 6-7 million years, another group of plants (sugarcane, maize, grasses) began to flourish that bypassed this problem. They evolved from the C3 plants independently, more than 60 times- a spectacular example of convergent evolution.  In these plants, a different enzyme is used to fix CO2 to make a 4-carbon sugar in the leaf cells, that is then shuttled into special wreath-like layer around the veins, known as Kranz sheath (German for wreath).  Kranz cells release CO2 from this intermediate, insulating and concentrating it around the Rubisco enzyme so that the wasteful side reaction does not occur. This highly effective C4 pathway boosts productivity by 50%. Even though C4 plants make up only 3% of plant species, they account for 30% of all carbon fixation on land.

• How does one coax C3 plants to follow C4 pathways and boost food production in hot, dry areas, while removing more CO2 from the atmosphere? C3 plants have all the enzymes needed, but lack the specialized anatomy of the wreaths and the tight spacing between veins. It was assumed that engineering Kranz anatomy would be exceptionally difficult. In a breakthrough study, scientists noted common features of the Kranz sheath with root and stem bundles, suggesting a common developmental pathway. Working on a hunch, they showed that a gene called Scarecrow, regulates the special anatomy in both roots and leaves.  “Recapitulating the evolution of C4 structure in C3 plants is likely to be a much more manageable goal if the underlying regulatory components are already in place in roots and stems”.

Image: Kranz anatomy in French Millet, a C4 plant. Note the bundle sheath, packed with green chloroplasts, around the central vein, and the tight spacing of less than 4 cells between the bundles. http://goo.gl/J004P  
Read More: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Jan13/Scarecrow.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C4_carbon_fixation

Paper: Scarecrow plays a role in establishing Kranz anatomy in maize leaves. Slewinsky, T.L., et al. Plant Cell Physiol. 2012 Dec;53:2030-7. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcs147.

#ScienceEveryday when it's not #ScienceSunday .

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MinutemanMedia.org (otherwords.org) - Safety Net
By Khalil Bendib. 2008
zcommunications.org/saftey-net-by-khalil-bendib

Safety Net
Fanny Mae (Gov't. Bail Outs) / Too Big To Fail
Freddie Mac
Bear Sterns
Banks
Tax Payers

A spin-off: otherwords.org/files/1692/Safety-Net.jpg?width=800 
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sciencedaily.com - Increase in Allergies Is Not from Being Too Clean, Just Losing Touch With 'Old Friends' October 2, 2012

EXCERPT:
Professor Sally Bloomfield: "The underlying idea that microbial exposure is crucial to regulating the immune system is right. But the idea that children who have fewer infections, because of more hygienic homes, are then more likely to develop asthma and other allergies does not hold up."

Dr Rosalind Stanwell-Smith: "Allergies and chronic inflammatory diseases are serious health issues and it's time we recognised that simplistically talking about home and personal cleanliness as the cause of the problem is ill-advised, because it's diverting attention from finding workable solutions and the true, probably much more complex, causes."

Professor Graham Rook: "The rise in allergies and inflammatory diseases seems at least partly due to gradually losing contact with the range of microbes our immune systems evolved with, way back in the Stone Age. Only now are we seeing the consequences of this, doubtless also driven by genetic predisposition and a range of factors in our modern lifestyle -- from different diets and pollution to stress and inactivity. It seems that some people now have inadequately regulated immune systems that are less able to cope with these other factors."

Dr Stanwell Smith: "Since the 1800s, when allergies began to be more noticed, the mix of microbes we've lived with, and eaten, drunk and breathed in has been steadily changing. Some of this has come through measures to combat infectious diseases that used to take such a heavy toll in those days -- in London, 1 in 3 deaths was a child under 5. These changes include clean drinking water, safe food, sanitation and sewers, and maybe overuse of antibiotics. Whilst vital for protecting us from infectious diseases, these will also have inadvertently altered exposure to the 'microbial friends' which inhabit the same environments."

<<But we've also lost touch with our "old friends" in other ways: our modern homes have a different and less diverse mix of microbes than rural homes of the past. This is nothing to do with cleaning habits: even the cleanest-looking homes still abound with bacteria, viruses, fungi, moulds and dust mites. It's mainly because microbes come in from outside and the microbes in towns and cities are very different from those on farms and in the countryside.>>

Professor Sally Bloomfield: "The good news is that we aren't faced with a stark choice between running the risk of infectious disease, or suffering allergies and inflammatory diseases. The threat of infectious disease is now rising because of antibiotic resistance, global mobility and an ageing population, so good hygiene is even more vital to all of us."

Professor Graham Rook: "How we can begin to reverse the trend in allergies and CID isn't yet clear. There are lots of ideas being explored but relaxing hygiene won't reunite us with our Old Friends -- just expose us to new enemies like E. coli O104."

Professor Sally Bloomfield: "One important thing we can do is to stop talking about 'being too clean' and get people thinking about how we can safely reconnect with the right kind of dirt."
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Review article of reference (open access):

- Smith RS et al. The Hygiene Hypothesis and its implications for home hygiene, lifestyle and public health. International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (2012) pp. 1-113
www.ifh-homehygiene.org/IntegratedCRD.nsf/a639aacb2d462a2180257506004d35db/00bf50c9379c013c80257a7f0043aaa2?OpenDocument 
PDF: www.ifh-homehygiene.org/IntegratedCRD.nsf/a639aacb2d462a2180257506004d35db/00BF50C9379C013C80257A7F0043AAA2/$File/Hygiene%20hypothesis%20review_19092012.pdf 

Articles and references somehow related:

- Gitig, Diana. Has our war on microbes left our immune systems prone to dysfunction? Ars Technica (Condé Nast). October 14, 2012
arstechnica.com/science/2012/10/book-review-an-epidemic-of-absence-takes-on-the-worms-youre-missing 

- Velasquez-Manoff, Moises. An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases (book)

- Velasquez-Manoff, Moises. An Immune Disorder at the Root of Autism. The New York Times August 25, 2012
nytimes.com/2012/08/26/opinion/sunday/immune-disorders-and-autism.html?pagewanted=all 

- Keim, Brandon. Q&A: Parasites, Modern Life and Immune Systems Gone Haywire Wired. September 4, 2012
wired.com/wiredscience/2012/09/epidemic-of-absence 
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Criticism of the article (and book) written by Moises Velasquez-Manoff:

Comment: The hypothesis that he supports in his article, the existence of a link between a dysregulation of the immune system and many of the recently diagnosed cases of autism, has been negatively criticized by some scientists: 

- Willingham, Emily. Autism, immunity, inflammation, and the New York Times. Words, Words, Words. August 27, 2012
emilywillinghamphd.com/2012/08/autism-immunity-inflammation-and-new.html 

- Willingham, Emily. An analysis of the sources supplied for the NYT autism and inflammation op-ed. Words, Words, Words. September 2, 2012
emilywillinghamphd.com/2012/09/an-analysis-of-sources-supplied-for-nyt.html 

- Eisen, Jonathan. Velasquez-Manoff opinion piece in the NY Times on autism, parasites & inflammation; nice ideas; not enough caveats. The Tree of Life. August 26, 2012
phylogenomics.blogspot.com.es/2012/08/velasquez-manoff-opinion-piece-in-ny.html 

- Koerth-Baker, Maggie. Autism is more than a parasite deficiency. BoingBoing.net. August 27, 2012
boingboing.net/2012/08/27/autism-is-more-than-a-parasite.html 
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Comment:
I often disagree with the predominant stance of the science blogs on different topics. However, my first impression on this issue was coincident with the main content on the above mentioned blogs even before I could read any them. 
Particularly, their stance on the supposed link between an immune dysregulation caused hypothetically by the absence of certain exogenous stimuli and the autism epidemic that allegedly has spread in the last decades throughout the developed countries (even though the increase in autism incidence is more than dubious). 
This excerpt summarizes the leitmotif of their content: 

<<Willingham's basic point: There is an atmosphere of desperation and panic surrounding autism, which has lead some parents to try a range of risky interventions in the hopes of "curing" it. Given that, maybe it's irresponsible to claim that a hypothetical factor in autism is the absolute cause. Especially when the proposed treatment—intentional infection with parasitic whipworms—comes with its own downsides, including growth retardation in children, anemia, and even rectal prolapse.>>
— Maggie Koerth-Baker
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sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121003082734.htm 

URL related G+ post:  plus.google.com/100647702320088380533/posts/WKpwDezKCT9 
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plus.google.com - This Is Our Plan to Overcome the Debt Crisis
By Singer. Uploaded September 28, 2012

Governments: "We'll sell bonds to you so we can bail you out with loans"
Banks: "We'll borrow money from you so we can buy your bonds"

URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/115288001414266277268/posts/3QcCQRLVCgj 
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youtube.com - The Lesser of Two Evils: Obama vs. Romney !
Uploaded by FBWillie. July 14, 2012

Homer: America, take a good look at your beloved candidates! They're nothing but hideous space reptiles!   [unmasks them]
[audience gasps in terror]
Kodos: It's true, we are aliens. But what are you going to do about it? It's a two-party system; you have to vote for one of us!
[murmurs]
Anonymous woman: He's right, this is a two-party system.
Anonymous man: Well, I believe I'll vote for a third-party candidate.
Kang: Go ahead, throw your vote away.
[Kang and Kodos laugh out loud]
 . . . 
[alien whips Marge]
Marge: Ouch! I don't understand why we have to build a ray gun to aim at a planet I've never even heard of.
Homer: Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos [alien whips Homer] d'oh!
______________________

Zephyr López Cervilla Sep 19, 2012 5:31 AM (edited)
+Ralph Sevy: "i dont vote period. so i take NO responsibilty for the votes of others."
- George Carlin Doesn't vote either.

+Ralph Sevy: "george carlin is dead."
- Exactly!
plus.google.com/116135963476096063106/posts/UwmRVpJ4AhE 

References:
- Keeler, Ken; Greaney, Dan and Cohen, David S. (writers); Anderson, Mike B (director). The Simpsons, Episode no. 154 (4F02): "Treehouse of Horror VII". October 27, 1996 (first aired)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_VII 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_and_Kodos 
en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Simpsons/Season_8#Treehouse_of_Horror_VII 
snpp.com/episodes/4F02.html 

- Adams, Douglas. Mostly Harmless. Volume 5, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Series. 1992  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostly_Harmless 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasted_vote !
Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos D'oh!

mathbabe.org - The Meritocracy Myth
By Cathy O’Neil (mathbabe). May 5, 2012

<<
There is no such thing as a meritocracy
Having been in academic mathematics and a quant in a hedge fund, I’d guess I’ve experienced what comes closest in many people’s minds as the closest to a meritocratic system. But my experience is that it’s anything but, even in these highly quantitative settings.

Instead, as it probably is everywhere, the job environment is a huge social game where it matters, a lot, what kind of priorities you demonstrate and what kind of other signals you give off or respond to. We don’t expect people to play golf and smoke cigars in academia but caring about teaching, or worse, getting a teaching award, can be the kiss of death.

I’m not saying that your personal efforts don’t matter at all, because they do, and you do need to produce stuff, and at a certain rate, but even “personal efforts” are first of all received in the context of a social order (i.e. the perceived importance of your efforts at the very least is a social invention), and second of all they’re are not really personal – one frames the questions one answers with the help of the community, so it’s important you have a good connection and social acceptance in that community (i.e. access to the experts).>>
 . . . 
<<In other words, I’m not holding my breath for a truly meritocratic system. It’s just not what humans evolved for. Let’s acknowledge that and work on how to make the system responsive to good ideas anyway (whatever the system is).

Successful people want to believe that there is such a thing as meritocracy
This begs the question, why do people like Jack Welch and Larry Summers hold on so tight to the myth of meritocracy? My theory is that it serves a two-fold goal: as advertisement for new people and as a validation of the winners in the system.

At the same time, the `winners’ of the social game want desperately to think they did amazing stuff in order to be so successful. They hold on to the myth of meritocracy as a religious belief, and it is pure dogma by the time they reach upper management.>>
 . . . 
<<They are true believers, because their entire egos are built on this belief, and it doesn’t matter how much counter-evidence is presented to them, even in the form of humans in the room with them.>>
___________________________ 

via +Julien Martin 
URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/108207796400897790234/posts/YGCK3bNpmxc 
___________________________ 

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rt.com - Man sentenced to jail for collecting rainwater in Oregon
July 31, 2012

Excerpt:
<<Harrington, of Eagle Point, Oregon, has been fighting for his right to do what he wishes with water since 2002. Now more than a decade after he first defended himself over allegations that the man-made ponds on his 170 acres of land violated local law, Harrington has been sentenced to 30 days behind bars and fined over $1,500.

Authorities say that Harrington broke the law by collecting natural rain water and snow runoff that landed on his property. Officials with the Medford Water Commission contested that the water on Harrington’s property, whether or not it came from the sky, was considered a tributary of nearby Crowfoot Creek and thus subject to a 1925 law that gives the MWC full ownership and rights.>>

<<"Thirty days in jail for catching rainwater?" Harrington tells the Mail Tribune. "We live in an extreme wildfire area and here the government is going to open the valves and really waste all the water right now, at the start of peak fire season.”>>

<<Taking his outrage to CNS News, Harrington says that others should be fearful of how they could come after attack next. In his own case, he was issued permits in 2003 by the state that allowed him to do what he wished with the water on his own property. And although the state Water Resources Department saw no fault at first, they shortly after revoked that license and left Harrington to fight for another nine years.

“The government is bullying. They’ve just gotten to be big bullies and if you just lay over and die and give up, that just makes them bigger bullies. So, we as Americans, we need to stand on our constitutional rights, on our rights as citizens and hang tough,” he tells CNS.>>

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medford,_Oregon 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_County,_Oregon 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Butte_Creek 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_River_(Oregon) 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_Valley 
satelliteviews.net/cgi-bin/g.cgi?fid=1119586&state=OR&ftype=stream 
________________________ 

Excerpt from an unrelated article:

datacenterknowledge.com - Facebook Has Spent $210 Million on Oregon Data Center
By Rich Miller. January 30, 20112
datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/01/30/facebook-has-spent-210-million-on-oregon-data-center 

<<There are reports that Apple and at least one other large data center user have scouted locations in Prineville, as Facebook’s facility has attracted interest from other companies seeking to leverage the town’s ideal environment for using fresh air to cool servers.>>

<<One area where local officials praised Facebook was its approach to water use. Carr said Facebook has used only 28 gallons of water per minute thus far, while other existing industrial users in Crook County use between 60 and 173 gallons per minute.>> 

<<For Prineville, Facebook is a big business operation – a fact reflected in the power required to operate the first phase of the data center. The 28 megawatts of utility power for the 300,000 square foot first phase isn’t extraordinary for a data center of that size. But it stands out in Crook County, where all the homes and business other than Facebook use 30 megawatts of power. 

Three Data Centers Possible
Facebook began building its Prineville facility in early 2010, and began operations in April 2011. The company recently began building a second data center identical to the first, and its long-term plans for the campus include an option for a third 300,000 square foot facility. Based on the power requirements of the first building, that could translate into about 78 megawatts of electricity to support the campus. 

Crook County Economic Development Manager Jason Carr, who discussed Facebook’s operations at a community forum last week, said the region will have no problem supporting that much demand from a single customer. Carr said the region has 720 megawatts of power available, with another 76 megawatts set to come online next year, and another 281 MW in mid-2014.>>

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prineville,_Oregon 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crooked_River_(Oregon) 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prineville_Reservoir 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crook_County,_Oregon 

URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/108207796400897790234/posts/2ZBK6Mn76V8 
___________________________ 

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Gary is lucky: the Medford Air Commission did not discover (yet) that he's collecting air within his house!

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plus.google.com - Biological Perpetual Motion Machine
Uploaded by Sean Bonner. February 9, 2012

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_motion 

1. Cat always lands on its feet.
2. Bread with butter always falls buttered side down.
3. Fasten the bread with butter to cat's back.
4. Cat will keep rotating and never fall on te ground.
5. Attach the cat-bread to the generator.
6. ∞ Infinite energy!
______________________ 

Comment:
I would have said that it was an cheap and energetically efficient levitation system (you'd only have to feed the cat).
Actually, it should be the other way around. The belly of the cat should be facing the buttered side of a very large bread slice.

via +Nicu Zaporojan 
URL via G+ post: plus.google.com/109435527326101648962/posts/JYBzNtJK37z 
URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/101629211371073711149/posts/BKpiyYPDPYL 
________________________ 

Reshared text:
Science!

rt.com - The Alyona Show: Interview to Gov. Gary Johnson (Part 3)
Uploaded by TheAlyonaShow.  June 23, 2011

Full Interview:
Gov. Gary Johnson Pt. 1 (11:26)
Gov. Gary Johnson on WikiLeaks Pt. 2 (11:05)
Gov. Gary Johnson Pt. 3 (13:38)

Funniest moments:
Pt. 2 youtu.be/lTWUctBpUxs#t=560s (9:20 - 10:20)
Pt. 3 youtu.be/484E0v9x7tI#t=285s (4:45 - 6:20)
Pt. 2 youtu.be/lTWUctBpUxs#t=143s (2:23 - 4:40)
Pt. 1 youtu.be/IgIzz3Ifsb4#t=605s (10:05 - 11:05)

Comment:
For some reason Gary Johnson reminds me of Paul Eddington performing as Jim Hacker in Yes Minister/Yes, Prime Minister
e.g.,
Get some patients - Yes, Minister - BBC 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hacker 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes_Minister 

Video blurb:
Former New Mexico Governor and current GOP presidential candidate Gary Johnson sits down with Alyona for an extended interview. In the first half he says why he wants to be president, talks about what he would do for our economy, and his views on Afghanistan war.
_______________________ 

plus.google.com - The fatal misstep of intellectuals
By Thomas Sowell. 2009

Comment:
I'm not fond of posting quotes, that's why I'm posting this quote. It's almost the antithesis of the eye-opening statement attributed to some eminent celeb that periodically appear in my stream. 
_______________________ 

“The fatal misstep of intellectuals is assuming that superior ability within a particular realm can be generalized to superior wisdom or morality overall. Chess grand masters, musical prodigies and others who are as remarkable within their respected specialties as intellectuals within theirs, seldom make that mistake.”

— Thomas Sowell in "Intellectuals and Society".

Reference:
- Sowell, Thomas (2009). Intellectuals and Society. Basic Books, New York, NY.  ISBN-13: 978-0465019489

- Video interview to Thomas Sowell on "Intellectuals and Society":
Thomas Sowell on Intellectuals and Society (quote: 2:14 - 2:37)
- Transcript of the interview: media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/Thomas-Sowell-12-11-09.pdf 

About the book:
1. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectuals_and_Society
2. nationalreview.com/articles/228901/intellectuals-and-society/thomas-sowell
3. amazon.com/Intellectuals-Society-Thomas-Sowell/dp/046501948X 
_______________________ 

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plus.google.com - Can Your Mac Do This?
Uploaded by Joshua Roy. On June 30, 2012

Excerpt from comments:
Chad Olson June 30, 2012 6:24 PM +3
Did you win at solitaire

Can your Mac do this?
I don't think so...
________________

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xkcd.com - Gravity Wells

URL large image: xkcd.com/681_large .
____________________ 

Comment:
I can't yet understand why the Earth's gravity well is 5,478 km deep in the main chart, whereas it's 6,379 km in its auxiliary chart (when compared with Moon's well), and on the other hand, Mars' gravity well is exactly 1,286 km deep in both the main chart as its auxiliary one. Since hte Moon orbits around the Earth, shouldn't the depth be higher from the top of the barrier that separates the Earth's gravity well from Venus' than from the barrier that separates the Earth's well from the Moon's? Otherwise, the Moon would escape from the Earth's gravity field to take its own independent orbit around the sun. 
Also, what surface has been considered for the gaseous planets? The boundary in which the planet becomes opaque to the visible light from the exterior?
____________________ 

Gravity wells scaled to Earth surface gravity

This chart hows the "depth" of various solar system gravity wells.
Each well is scaled such that rising out of a physical well of that depth —in constant  Earth surface gravity— would take the same energy as escaping from that planet's gravity in reality.
Each planet is shown cut in half at the bottom of its well, with the depth of the well measured down to the planet's flat surface.
The planet sizes are to the same scale as the wells.
Interplanetary distances are not to scale.

Depth = G · Planet_Mass / (g · Planet_Radius)

G = Newton's Constant
g = 9.81 m/s^2

Neptune
An even more glorious dawn awaits!

Uranus

Rings
Saturn

Titan
Weeoooeeoooeeeooo
Europa

Jupiter
Jupiter is not much larger than Saturn, but much more massive.
At this size, adding more mass just makes it denser due to the extra squeezing of gravity.
If you dropped a few dozen more Jupiters into it, the pressure would ignite fusion and make it a star.

Io
Ganymede

Mars 1,286 km

Deimos
Phobos
Mars 1,286 km

Deimos to scale
You could escape Deimos with a bike and a ramp.

Phobos to scale
A thrown baseball could escape Phobos.

Moon 288 km
Earth 5,478 km

Moon 288 km
Geosynchronous orbit
GPS satellites
ISS
Shuttle
Low Earth orbit
Earth 6,379 km
This is why it took a huge rocket to get to the Moon but only a small one to get back.

It takes the same amount of energy to launch something on an escape trajectory away from the Earth as it would to launch it 6,000 km upward under constant 9.81 m/s^2 Earth gravity.
Hence, Earth's well is 6,000 km deep.

Venus
Mercury
To Sun, very very far down

Local football team
Very deep
Your Mom
____________________ 

informationisbeautiful.net - Snake Oil? Scientific evidence for popular health supplements showing tangible health benefits when taken orally by an adult with healthy diet
By Davd McCandless and Andy Perkins (code). Research: Miriam Quick. May 2011 

Others: Pearl Doughty-White, Alexia Wdowski

Source: PubMed, cochrane.org 
Large human blind placebo-controlled trials only.
Click bubble to see key study
Popularity (Google hits) [bubble size]
One To Watch (OTW) (few studies but promising results) [orange bubbles]

"All content Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial David McCandless 2009 (unless otherwise stated)"
informationisbeautiful.net/play/snake-oil-supplements 
-------------------------------------- 

Comment:

All these are (or aren't), but here you aren't all those that they are.
Also notice: 
- "Large human blind placebo-controlled trials only" and also
- "when taken orally by an adult with healthy diet"

I've detected several flaws. They have assigned that there's null evidence 
of reveratrol's anti-carcinogenic capacity, whereas both linked papers consider resveratrol can prevent cancer and be used in anti-cancer treatment: 

<<numerous preclinical findings suggest resveratrol as a promising nature's arsenal for cancer prevention and treatment.>>  
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18550275 
<<Our analysis of published data strengthen support that resveratrol displays novel roles in various cellular processes, and help to establish an expanded molecular framework for cancer prevention by resveratrol in vivo.>>  
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20623546 

Also, the evidence scale in the diagram doesn't totally match the data sheet. In the sheet, 4 is considered as "good" evidence, whereas in the diagram, the products with 4 has been considered only as "promising."
For some reason, even though the scale goes from 0 to 6, no product has been given 6 (strong evidence), whereas for instance, in the linked papers the evidence that folic acid can prevent certain birth defects i considered as strong:  

<<Only one study assessed the incidence of NTDs and the effect was not statistically significant (RR 0.08, 95% CI 0.00 to 1.33) although no events were found in the group that received folic acid. Folic acid had a significant protective effect for reoccurrence (RR 0.32, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.60).>>  
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20927767 
<<Any level of use in the first 3 months after conception resulted in a lowered risk as well (OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.46-0.79).>>  
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7619926

I personally find more reliable the compendium of the results of the more relevant studies on different herbs and supplements provided by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NIH) in their MedlinePlus health information service (although the number of products reviewed is more limited). Besides, the scale of possible effectiveness makes more sense: 

nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/herb_All.html
-------------------------------------- 

List of products included in the SnakeOil's data sheet arranged according to their evidence on health effectiveness:

(6) Strong Evidence (none?!)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(5)

062. garlic - blood pressure ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18554422  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20594781
059. folic acid - certain birth defects ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20927767  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7619926
092. melatonin - insomnia in the elderly ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18036082  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21845053
053. fish oil / omega 3 - heart disease ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19609891  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19106137
156. vitamin D - general health, all-cause mortality ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18375700  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21415774
165. zinc - colds ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21328251
100. niacin (vitamin B3) - heart disease ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20208032  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9915658
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(4) Good evidence

071. green tea - cholesterol ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11897173  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12824094
041. dark chocolate - blood pressure ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20584271  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19910929
023. calcium + vitamin D - breast cancer in premenopausal women, cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17533208  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556697
052. fish oil /omega 3 - cancer symptoms ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17408522  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12506181
007. antioxidants - infertility in men ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20378409
158. vitamin D - bone health ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18689393  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18088161
051. fish oil / omega 3 - colorectal cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17493949  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17823383
106. omega 6 - heart health ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19171857
102. olive leaf extract - blood pressure, cholesterol ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21036583  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18729245
034. coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) - blood pressure ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17287847
161. vitamin K2 - heart disease OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20850029  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15514282
140. tyrosine - alertness, wakefulness, memory ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7794222
072. hawthorn [ Crataegus curvisepala, C. oxycantha, C. monogyna ] - blood pressure ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16149711
098. N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) - mental health OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18534556  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18436195
039. creatine - cognition ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14561278  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19773644
125. Rhodiola rosea - fatigue ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19016404  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11081987
112. peppermint oil - Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19008265
042. devil's claw [ Harpagophytum procumbens ] - arthritis ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14669250  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17212570
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WORTH IT LINE
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
(3.5)

055. fish oil / omega 3 - depression, mental illness ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15535884  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20925595
022. calcium - osteoporosis in postmenopausal women ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21289325  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18412990
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(3)

073. honey - cough in children ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20091616  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20618098
121. probiotics - diarrhea, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20107143  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16148529
045. Echinacea - colds ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16437427  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17597571
123. red yeast rice [ Monascus purpureus ] - cholesterol, heart disease OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18549841  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20975018
151. vitamin B8 (inositol) - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), panic disorder, depression OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8780431
063. ginger - nausea and vomiting ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10793599  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17957907
162. vitamin K2 - osteoporosis ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10227010  springerlink.com/content/v4288732927n2072
021. calcium - colorectal cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9887161  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11073017
004. Aloe vera - diabetes ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10885091 Antidiabetic activity of Aloe vera L juice. II. clinical trial in diabetes mellitus patients in combination with glibenclamide
143. valerian [ Valeriana officinalis ] - insomnia ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17145239  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17517355
099. nettle [ Urtica dioica ] - prostate-related urinary problems OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16635963  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18038253
120. probiotics - Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) [ Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 and B. coagulans GBI-30, 6086] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19277023
079. krill oil - Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12777162  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19332970
090. magnesium - blood pressure ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18390781
133. St. John's wort [ Hypericum perforatum ] - depression, Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) nccam.nih.gov/health/stjohnswort/sjw-and-depression.htm  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18843608
030. cinnamon - type 2 diabetes ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17381386  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14633804
091. magnesium + vitamin B6 - child Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16846100  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16579066
70. green tea - cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19588362  
031. coconut oil - obesity, cholesterol ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19437058  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14608053
085. licorice root [ Glycyrrhiza glabra ] - dyspepsia ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11505331
134. sunlight - kidney cancer in men OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20213683
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(2)

077. iron - chid development (when not anaemic) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20410098
095. milk thistle [ Silybum ] - hepatitis ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18458640
152. vitamin C - colds ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17636648
103. omega 3 - child Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17435458  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18448859
050. feverfew ( Tanacetum parthenium ) - migraine ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14973986  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16232154
038. cranberry juice [ Vaccinium subgen. Oxycoccus ] - urinary tract infections, kidney stones ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18253990  efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/943.htm
132. spirulina [ Spirulina maxima ] - blood pressure, cholesterol ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18039384
096. methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) - arthritis ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16309928
074. horse chestnut seed extract [ Aesculus hippocastanum ] - chronic venous insufficiency OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16437450  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19247403
082. L-lysine - herpes simplex [HSV] OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6435961  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3115841
037. coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) - migrane ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15728298
005. Andrographis paniculata - respiratory tract infections OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14748896
054. fish oil / omega 3 - child intelligence ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20171055  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12509593
083. lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia ) - depression ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12551734
020. bromelain (an extract pineapple plant) - arthritis ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15841258
060. GABA - stress, anxiety ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16971751
065. ginseng ( Panax ginseng ) - cognitive performance ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15982990
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(1.5)

017. black tea - heart disease, stress nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/997.html
135. taurine - weight loss, cholesterol ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15221507
081. L-carnitine - diabetes, impotence ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10067662  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12568837
129. selenium - cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20568891  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12433704
018. borage seed oil - rheumatism ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8214997
080. L-arginine - exercise performance_ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20724562  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21399536
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(1) Low Evidence

046. elderberry [ Sambucus ] - cholesterol OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14749743
153. vitamin D - cancer OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20164683  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556697
137. tryptophan and 5-HTP - depression in women ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16767422  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11869656
118. probiotics - athletic performance ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17618005
061. garlic - cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16484572
056. fish oil / omega 3 - Alzheimer's disease, dementia ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17030655  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18573585
067. goji berry (wolfberry) [ Lycium ] (lutein and zeaxanthin) - eye health ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15604618  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15705234
088. lutein - eye health ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11431456
035. coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) - heart disease ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16190504
009. astaxanthin - oxidative stress OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19656058
164. xylitol - teeth ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15153702
149. vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - migraine ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15257686
141. ubiquinol - heart disease OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19096107
114. polyphenols - heart disease ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15640497
015. black cohosh [ Cimicifuga racemosa ] - menopause ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15969244
138. turmeric [ Curcuma longa ] (curcumin) - cancer OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20214562
160. vitamin K2 - prostate cancer OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18400723  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20335553
058. flaxseed oil - breast cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15897583
064. Gingko biloba - dementia ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20040554
087. lingzhi [ Ganoderma lucidum ] + San Miao San (Sān miào wán): 50% Cangzhu (cāng zhú) [ Rhizoma atractylodis, the root of Atractylodes lancea or Atractylodes chinensis ] + 33% Huangbai (huáng bǎi) [ Cotex phellodendri, the bark of Phellodendron chinense or Phellodendron amurense ] + 17% Niuxi (huái niú xī) [ Radix achyranthes Bidentatae, the root of Achyranthes Bidentata ] - arthritis ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17907228  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16873089
028. chromium - diabetes ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12081828  (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17519436 ?)
047. elderberry [ Sambucus ] - flu OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19548290  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15080016
075. hyaluronic acid - arthritis (only when injected) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14679274
139. turmeric [ Curcuma longa ] (curcumin) - peptic ulcer OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20438867  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11485087
157. vitamin D - depression, mood disorders ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16554952  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19187703
122. quercetin - athletic performance ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19927026
104. omega 3: ALA - heart disease ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15890766  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19664246
044. dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) - memory in young men OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16231168
016. black tea - cancer nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/997.html  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21538852
094. milk thistle [ Silybum ] - diabetes ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9126802
019. boron - menopause ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3678698
144. valerian [ Valeriana officinalis ] - anxiety OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17054208
066. glucosamine - arthritis, joint pain ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20847017  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19903416
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(0.5)

011. B vitamins - Alzheimer's disease ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18854539  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21216507
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

(0) No Evidence

159. vitamin E - mortality ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17327526
154. vitamin D - heart disease ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20816120  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21147944
105. omega 6 - cancer (no studies in humans) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16264182  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16705127
155. vitamin D - diabetes  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20194237  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20150805
089. lycopene - prostate cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16434593
068. grape seed extract - wound healing, swelling ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16546280
147. vitamin A: retinol - birth defects ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9431575  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16243460
048. evening primrose oil [ Oenothera ] - Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8721802  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2201888
130. silicic acid - Alzheimer's disease OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16988476
006. antioxidants - mortality ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17327526  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15153272
146. vitamin A: beta-carotene - cancer ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18689373  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18429004
012. beta-glucans - cancer OTW ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19515245
128. saw palmetto [ Serenoa repens or Sabal serrulatum ] - prostate-related urinary problems ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19370565  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16467543
057. fish oil / omega 3 - Crohn's disease, asthma, diabetes ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19160277  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20564531  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17443620 
043. dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) - aging ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17050889
001. açaí palm [ Euterpe oleracea ] - weight loss, diabetes quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/PhonyAds/acai.html  abcnews.go.com/Health/Diet/story?id=6434350
008. aspartic acid
010. astragalus [ Astragalus onobrychis ] OTW
013. bitter melon [ Momordica charantia ] - diabetes
014. bitter orange [ Citrus × aurantium ]
024. capsaicin - cancer (no human trials)
025. cat's claw [ Uncaria rhynchophylla ] - cancer, viruses, immune system (no human supplementation trials)
026. chamomile [ Chamaemelum nobile and Matricaria chamomilla ] - bowel disorders (no evidence) nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/752.html  nccam.nih.gov/health/chamomile/ataglance.htm  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/19593179  nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/040310.htm
027. chasteberry [ Vitex agnus-castus ] - (no evidence)
029. chondroitin - arthritis (no evidence)
032. collagen
033. copper
040. dandelion [ Taraxacum officinale ]
049. fenugreek [ Trigonella foenum-graecum ] - cancer prevention, diabetes
069. grapefruit seed extract - antibiotic, antifungal (no human trials)
078. isoflavones
084. lavender ( Lavandula angustifolia ) - sleep, relaxation (no studies)
086. lignans
093. methionine
101. noni [ Morinda citrifolia ]
107. omega 9
108. palm oil [ Elaeis guineensis ]
109. pancreatin
110. papain
111. pau d'arco [ Tabebuia ]
113. phenylalanine
115 potassium - blood pressure
116. prebiotics - no studies yet
117. prickly pear [ Opuntia ficus-indica ] - diabetes
119. probiotics - cholesterol, blood pressure
126. rose hip [ Rosa ]
127. royal jelly
131. slippery elm [ Ulmus rubra ] - sore throat
136. trypsin
142. uva ursi (Kinnikinnick or Pinemat manzanita) [ Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ]
145. vanadium
148. vitamin B1
150. vitamin B5 - cholesterol, arthritis (no human studies)
163. wheatgrass [ Triticum aestivum ]

124. resveratrol - cancer, diabetes, heart health OTW ????? ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18550275  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20623546

See Data:
docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Altk3Tn01ZsWdDRVN19EeENwd1pQY1ZyV1AwTnJCMnc&hl=en#gid=0 
-------------------------------------- 

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plus.google.com - How to Kill a Mockingbird
Uploaded by Lee Grupsmith. February 27, 2012

Cat: "There's nothing in here on how to kill a mockingbird!"

#delusionalliterature #demotivationalliterature
URL via post (extended circles): plus.google.com/104870906504344019966/posts/3hvMH6VP5YA

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Tonight's literary funny.

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minimumble.com - The Real Me The Real Cone of My Life
by Chris Hallbeck. 2012

The Real Me
"Video chat is a chance for my Internet friends to get to know the real me."

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The Real Me

This is how I hang out on Google+ :) How about you?

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Hurry Up Bro! The Google Car Is Coming

Comment:
The worst thing about this is that the pic is genuine.

URL source post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/116143340835822342380/posts/K3nK3ow5Rah

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bizarrocomic.blogspot.com - Introducing iPhone 5!
By Dan Piraro w/ Levitin. September 5, 2010

Introducing iPhone 5!*
Plays 3D movies
Washes your cat
3D video camera
Does your taxes & your hair
Cleans teeth
Cosmetic surgery
Repairs appliances
Cures flu
Gives flu to your ex
Masseuse
Makes broccoli taste like chocolate
Controls weather & stock market
Predicts future, changes past
Gets out of jail free
Pie on demand
Makes you invisible
Enables time travel
Spins straw into gold
Exfoliation
Attracts UFOs

*Does not contain a phone.

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But still doesn't play Flash. :)

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Huffington Post (Books) - 'Til the End of Eternity?
By Jennifer Jenkins. February 12, 2012

(Jennifer Jenkins. Director, Center for the Study of Public Domain at Duke Law School)

Excerpt:
<<It matters for price. As studies have shown, not only are public domain books cheaper, they are available in more editions and in more formats. (Importantly, there is another benefit: when books are in the public domain, anyone can make Braille or audio versions for visually impaired readers. No permission required. And if you think no one would object to such uses, sadly you would be wrong.)

It matters for creativity and free speech. The public domain feeds creativity. Authors build on the cultural artifacts around them. The Waste Land is anything but: it's a fertile bed of references to dozens of earlier works (from Homer, Virgil, Shakespeare, Kyd, Chaucer, and Milton, to name a few). Michael Chabon -- one of my favorite authors -- describes how his novel Summerland builds on public domain sources such as American folktales, and stories from Greek, Norse, and American Indian mythology. Some claim that Lolita was borrowed from an earlier story of the same name; pointing in the other direction, Nabokov's heirs sued the publishers of Lo's Diary (a retelling of Lolita from the girl's perspective) for copyright infringement. Examples could (and do) fill volumes. In a brilliant article on the subject, author Jonathan Lethem calls it "the ecstasy of influence."

What happens if these underlying sources are copyrighted? As Judge Richard Posner pointed out, "Romeo and Juliet itself would have infringed Arthur Brooke's The Tragicall Historye of Romeo and Juliet... which in turn would have infringed several earlier Romeo and Juliets, all of which probably would have infringed Ovid's story of Pyramus and Thisbe." You get the point -- without a rich public domain, much of literature would be illegal.

Alice Randall discovered this when she wrote The Wind Done Gone. Randall is an African-American writer who wanted to retell Gone With the Wind from the slaves' point of view, in order to criticize its romanticized depiction of slaveholding society. Gone With the Wind -- published in 1936 -- would have been in the public domain by now had copyright terms not been extended. Anyone could have done what Randall did without fear of interference. Now it is copyrighted until 2031. (Yes, that's right. Gone With the Wind is still under copyright.) Margaret Mitchell's estate sued Randall's publisher for copyright infringement. And at first they succeeded - the book was banned by a Georgia court. Only on appeal did a higher court overturn that decision and vindicate Randall's First Amendment right to parody Gone With the Wind. But to get that right, Randall had to go to court -- no small barrier for a would-be parodist. (I know how hard that struggle was because I was part of the legal team defending her book.)>>

Comment:

Ether Wojcicki - "Copyright law keep being extended. Is that in the public interest?"


Zephyr López Cervilla - Nope. There's no reasonable period of time.
There're other alternatives to fund intellectual work that are commonly used in other fields: laboral and service contracts. Philosophers, Economists, Anthropologists, Psychologists, Sociologists, Historians, Archaeologists, Mathematicians, Astronomers, Theoretical Physicists and other Scientists devoted to basic research aren't granted the privilege of the monopoly for their discoveries and findings and they still manage for a living.
This discrimination of certain kind of intellectual work over the rest only encourages a drainage of talent and resources from the more fruitful task of research and discovery toward the more frivolous world of the media, show business, art and entertainment, or trying to shield with patents the marketing of a new gadget at the best scenario.
We need a level playground to ensure free competition.


brettrobbins - Why should creative works lapse into public domain status EVER? They are intellectual property. Should other kinds of property do so? The author cites the fact that "public domain books [are] cheaper" as a benefit of the practice. Yes, if a house someone from the Kringle family purchased 150 years ago were suddenly to be taken away from Charles Kringle III due to an analogous practice established for real estate, it would not only be cheaper for those who wish to squat on what used to be his legal property but actually FREE! Just think of it.

The author also states that Public Domain "feeds creativity." This would also be true if squatters were to claim Mr. Kringle's inherited land and occupy it and bring their art supplies and paint pictures in it and sell them and use the proceeds to put food on the table and subsidize a new "creative" subculture. There's only one problem though: IT'S NOT THEIR PROPERTY.

Either we believe in property rights--real property, intellectual property, any kind of property--or we don't. To choose an arbitrary number (oh, I don't know, 70 years after an artist's death) after which his or her rights (via his or her descendents) to said property are suddenly and completely relinquished is nothing but legally sanctioned thievery.


Zephyr López Cervilla - Intellectual property is not a genuine property but the grant of a monopoly "artificially" by the coercion of a strong government eroding the genuine property rights of all the rest.
Nobody has any right to impose what others can think, write or say. The only legitimate property is the property on scarce resources, and ideas aren't scarce.
The first person who painted a bison on a cave didn't have any right to prevent others from doing the same. The first who managed to produce fire at will didn't deserve any special privilege for being the first.

The only reason for assigning ownership to the first to homestead a scarce resource is because of its scarcity. In contrast, the air of the atmosphere or the water of the sea don't have any legitimate owner because so far it is not scarce resource. Following the same principle, ideas, inventions, the different combinations of words shouldn't have any owner because they aren't scarce. Any person with a lucid mind could be capable to reproduce them again. There's no impediment for humans can't invent the wheel over and over again. The materialization of a certain idea doesn't exhaust its source, the human creativity.
Mankind developed property rights for a purpose, the concept of intellectual property distorts such a purpose and abuses the legitimate rights of the rest, the use of your property as fits you best.


Christina Benson - >>>Our constitution and laws have to seek a balance on fiercely competing ideals. One bedrock ideal is the freedom of speech and free expression of ideas; another is to incentivize and reward innovation and the "useful arts".
>>>Every great artist, musician, poet, writer, inventor, stands on the shoulders of giants. Can anyone point me to any ideas and expression left in the world that can be proven to be 100% original? By extending copyright too far, we actually inhibit the creative process and collective construction of ideas by preventing folks from building within their discipline upon the foundation of ideas that came before them. This not only limits free speech expression, but ultimately inhibits innovation and ingenuity over the long run.

>>>If we are to extend copyrights for such long periods, then we need to have some mechanism for expanding limited public licenses to access these works. While there is the concept of "Fair Use" (eg, limited use of a work for purposes such as commentary, parody, teaching), the courts and regulators have been shrinking their interpretations of what uses fall within "fair use".

>>>Indefinite copyright terms may actually help us lose our last remaining competitive advantage on the world stage: our "creative/knowledge economy." We may not manufacture much here anymore, but we sure do create, design, write, sing, film, and perform. Through long copyrights, we deny ourselves inspiration from millions of muses that have come before who could spur our creativity and innovation to new heights....


Zephyr López Cervilla - "Science and useful Arts"
This "Science" includes art and literary work, whereas "useful arts" mean inventions.
There aren't any competing ideals. If you want to incentivize and reward innovation and art then you can give those innovators and artists a prize at your own risk or hire them instead of damaging the rights and freedom of the rest.


BlackJAC - _I've noticed that the only people who complain about copyright duration are usually incapable of creating anything of their own that people would gladly pay cash money for a licensed copy. KW Jeter posited in his novel Noir that it's not about having a licensed copy of a given work but rather to punish the work's creator for undeserved
ly getting the talent and skill and consequently the signed deal and praise._


Zephyr López Cervilla - You've noticed wrong. For instance, Friedrich Hayek and Benjamin Tucker were clearly against the existence of intellectual property and this didn't prevent their books from being sold well. In fact, of some of Hayek's works have been sold even millions of copies:
1. Hayek on Patents and Copyrights http://blog.mises.org/9247/hayek-on-patents-and-copyrights/
2. Hayek Contra Copyright Laws http://blog.mises.org/17228/hayek-contra-copyright-laws/
3. Copyright and Patent in Benjamin Tucker's Periodical http://mises.org/daily/4575


Zephyr López Cervilla - BTW, your remark is as idiotic as the statement that there were no aristocrats or from good breed against the privileges of the aristocracy during the French Revolution but only commoners, what actually wouldn't be a correct statement.


JHBH - Be creative. Write your own stuff. Don't plagiarize from others, whether alive or dead, in the public domain or not. Let those who have been creative reap the rewards for their work.
The point of copyright law is to encourage artists to create by letting them profit from their labor. Ultimately we all benefit from that creative incentive.


Zephyr López Cervilla - Nope. You've been brainwashed by the media, the intellectual gang (curiously, the only ones who get some benefit), and the educational intitutions to believe so, but you're wrong. Plato wouldn't have been able to write about Socrates' philosophy, and Aristotle about Plato's work.
We'd be better off without any kind of restriction.


Val Wilson - ? not - the ability to profit from these IP works extends far beyond the lifetime of the creator. Why should a stranger be more entitled to benefit from someone else's work than an estate left for their own family? or a charity? IP is now being used in new ways, not considered before and so why the rush to declare it without value. Vintage movies are finding new life on streaming sites, digital media means that even a simple sketch can be used to create coloring pages or virtual stamp art or other creative media in the blink of an eye. If you don't create IP, why should you profit from another's work and creativity, let alone get it for free.


Zephyr López Cervilla - Interestingly, abstract intellectual work (theories of Physics, Mathematical theorems, Economic models) isn't protected by IP rights and still you are benefiting from it. Should we charge all those so creative authors every time they mention any thing related to the Theory of Relativity, Quantum Physics or the Genetic Code in any of their magnificent movies?


Zephyr López Cervilla - Miguel de Cervantes made a living writing novels and fictional short stories in the 17th century, and at that time there weren't copyright laws. In fact, another writer under the pseudonym Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda wrote a sequel of the first part of "El Quixote". Even Cervantes mentioned that sequel in his second part.
BTW, Kafka couldn't make a living writing books, and despite so he wrote them anyway even though he had also to pay the bills. A similar case to van Gogh. In any of both cases the lack of protection by copyright is to blame.
There are many other people who do intellectual work and don't have the exclusiveness of their work. Einstein devoted a lot of time to develop his Theory of Relativity, to discover the law of the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion etc., and yet he wasn't rewarded with any monopoly to explode that intellectual work. Could he made a living while he was at it? Nope, he had to work in a patent office. And later? Only indirectly, he was hired as a professor to give lectures and could work in theoretic physics, yet, without any exclusive right on his ideas.
Frankly, I'm more concerned about all people losing their right to communicate and share information and knowledge, the kind of things that people have done since they people are people (and use their property as they see fit), than a bunch of people can make a living writing, taking pictures or filming. A natural universal right is always more important than the privilege of a minority.

URL source post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/102774783758711593873/posts/4DRY51aJTiV

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dailydot.com - How to spot a fake on Google+
January 25, 2012

Excerpt from Comments:
Zephyr López Cervilla - Interestingly, Nigar Memmedova (aka Victoria Nigar) has been in Google+ since the early days, at least since July 3, at a time when it was rather hard to get an invitation.
As for plagiarism, I don't consider open new posts to share the same links to be a form of plagiarism. The user who first posts a link, a video or a pic isn't usually (or at least often) the author of the content, and most people won't take for granted that they are, either. On the other hand, this user has ackowledged the source of some of her posts:
July 15: "AUTOR IS +Игорь Пыльнов" plus.google.com/u/0/110749379267845817082/posts/YWj7MgkqB3f
If someone has bothered to make a quick search will have find what probably is the real identity of this user:
Nigar Memmedova
Intern at SRX
Azerbaijan Medical Practice
linkedin.com/pub/nigar-memmedova/1b/13a/771
On the other hand, changing her first username (Nigar Memmedova) by Victoria Nigar could be considered as using a pseudonym rather than a false identity or an impersonation of another's identity, which have been authorized since the early days to recognized personalities such as +Snoop Dogg.
BTW, the double standard that Google applies to its users thus creating first-class and second-class users is outrageous.
As for not working for Google, As for not working for Google, personally I couldn't care less.
———————————————————
Erica Joy - +Zephyr López Cervilla Everything you wrote is in the article. :)
———————————————————
Mark Knipp - +Erica Joy You rock. Thanks for the internet justice. If she needs an apologist (Zephyr?), a fake picture (stolen from susan Coffey, duplicates instead of shares everyone else's posts, and a fake location , then she invites contempt.
Follow +Jay Rimmer link to see the lifted picture in another profile. ———————————————————
Zephyr López Cervilla - In fact not exactly the same. In the article there isn't any mention of her early invitation to join Google+ (how many Google+ users were at that time, a few ten of thousand?), nor of her previous identity on LinkedIn. Besides, some statements of the article are nonsense:
"The problem is that she doesn’t seem to actually be a Google employee, and may not even be a real person."
If she isn't a real person then what is it? a bot?

"That the profile’s non-legitimacy has only really come to light now is interesting since, until recently, Google has been at war with those who’ve not used their real name on Google by banning their accounts. The real-name rules were relaxed ever so slightly yesterday; you can have a pseudonym on Google+, as long as it’s an established identity, and Google can verify who you really are."
Another inaccurate statement, some privileged users have been using pseudonyms for a long time. For instance, +Snoop Dogg was already using his as early as July 13, 2011 (https://plus.google.com/114474252347218597235/posts/c8gxviaiu1u)

+Mark Knipp, many users prefer to pick pics of celebs as their avatar (not only in Google+ but also in many internet forums). As for her alleged "fake location", neither we nor the author of the article can possibly know whether that user has been living there or not, so the attribution of being fake is but another drop of sensationalism to the recipe.
———————————————————
Jordan Gill - Interesting that the G+ world found out. But who is the batman behind this investigation?
———————————————————
Erica Joy - +Zephyr López Cervilla Back before this article was published (long before in fact) there were numerous posts on Google+ about the authenticity of the account. Several people took it upon themselves to do significant research on the account and dug up the same details you can find in the article.

If this person has a fake name, fake picture, fake account details, what distinguishes him/her/it from all the other accounts out there that have similar qualities and do the same steal then reshare actions that people report as spam, aside from being able to hoodwink 40,000+ people?

Feel free to continue being the contrarian/apologist but the fact of the matter is, this account fails every single one of my personal tests for "real". If you disagree, feel free to mute this post and move along.
———————————————————
Zephyr López Cervilla - +Erica Joy said: "Back before this article was published (long before in fact) there were numerous posts on Google+ about the authenticity of the account."
Did I mention otherwise?

"Several people took it upon themselves to do significant research on the account and dug up the same details you can find in the article."
What details? All that info can be obtained in 5 minutes. If they had really made significant research on her account they may have been able to find out who had given her the invitation to join Google+.

"If you disagree, feel free to mute this post and move along."
So if I disagree I'm invited to move along, right? In other words, only comments that agree with your view are welcome.
———————————————————
Erica Joy - +Zephyr López Cervilla No, I just don't feel arguing on the internet is a fruitful endeavor, especially when we're discussing a 100% fake account. You think this account is ok and you're entitled to your opinion. I do not. I mean, feel free to talk to yourself if you like but I won't be responding to you further.

FWIW, who invited whom to Google+ isn't information that can be dug up, I'm afraid.
———————————————————
Gabriel Vasile - +Erica Joy I KNOW!!! And I posted about this profile being fake as well! And a Google offficial CONFIRMED me she's NOT a googler! And they didn't do anything about it! And she's STEALING posts from What's Hot all the time! And I reported and blocked her! Or him! Or it! I have no idea who she/him/it is! See here: https://plus.google.com/106393478695568433143/posts/Gte8UTwuxn1
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Zephyr López Cervilla - I agree with you about some arguments being fruitless, and this is probably one of them. Paraphrasing Thomas Paine words,
"To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead."

Despite so I accept your offer to talk to myself just in case somebody else is reading:

+Erica Joy said: "we're discussing a 100% fake account."

"Photo? Fake."
Not exactly but rather the pic of a celeb, as avatar. I can find you in Google+ hundreds if not thousands of others in no time. Is Google willing to block every account with a profile photo different from a real image of its user?

"Name? Fake."
A change of name doen't necessarily mean a fake name, especially when it preserves part of the original name. a person named Nigar Memmedova in her everyday life decided to change her user name by Victoria Nigar. It could be her "artistic" name, it's been common for actors and artists to change the order of their names (e.g., Pablo Picasso) or pick some them from a relative or replace them to Americanize their names (e.g., Kirk Douglas).
In fact, we don't even know if Victoria is actually her other baptismal (official) name.
BTW, are you officially named Erika Joy? Don't you have a middle name? If Google+ requires our real names in our accounts why aren't you using yours?

"Places lived? Fake."
You can't possibly know, even if you had verified her real identity you'd have hard time trying to find out where she has lived.

"Employer? Fake. Has never worked at Google. Ever."
So all the faked of her account is finally reduced to a line about her employment, probably for you what makes the 100% of any account. However, many people don't put much attention to it. Many people judge others' accounts for their content, and in this case, for the quality of her "spam" as someone said.

"If this person has a fake name, fake picture, fake account details, what distinguishes him/her/it from all the other accounts out there that have similar qualities and do the same steal then reshare actions that people report as spam, aside from being able to hoodwink 40,000+ people?"
She know how to choose content that many others will find valuable. Not usually my cup of tea, but many others have perfect right to disagree with me.

"who invited whom to Google+ isn't information that can be dug up, I'm afraid."
Not even by an insider, right?

+Gabriel Vasile said: "And she's STEALING posts"
Did you help write SOPA/PIPA? The correct term to use is "COPYING". She couldn't possibly steal something that is still available for everyone to see.
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Erica Joy - +Zephyr López Cervilla 1 point of contention...

The name is actually Ulvi Rehimoff, the first name this account ever used. Check the Buzz postings for the profile (https://profiles.google.com/110749379267845817082/buzz) then press More until you get to the end. Watch the names change until you get to the first (Ulvi Rehimoff).

Search for "Ulvi Rehimoff" on Google. Note the first result is _http://lifestream.aol.com/stream/rehimoff@gmail.com._

+ rehimoff@gmail.com on G+ to confirm that this will get you the "Victoria Nigar" account.

Also yes, I'm officially Erica Joy. Erica is my first name, Joy is my middle name. My last name is fluid since technically its supposed to be Lawson but my grandmother gave my dad her last name. It would be Baker but then I got married once and it became Benjamin but then I got divorced and it went back to Baker again. Now I'm married again and it could be Zebrowski but I decided to just give up and not pay much attention to my last name. There are the full details of my name. That check mark on my profile pretty much verifies the above but you can choose not to believe it (in true trolololo fashion). :)
———————————————————
URL source post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/113097276181543898574/posts/ZhzMcJtMeDq
URL related posts:
1. https://plus.google.com/105407459099546571124/posts/Nvihy75K5ic
2. https://plus.google.com/106393478695568433143/posts/Gte8UTwuxn1

Reshared text:
This article is required reading.

Photo? Fake.
Name? Fake.
Employer? Fake. Has never worked at Google. Ever.
Places lived? Fake.

Completely fake account of some random person in Russia.

#tmyk #rainbowstar

theatlantic.com - Study: People Who Are Famous and Successful Have Shorter Lives
By Lindsay Abrams. April 18, 2013
theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/study-people-who-are-famous-and-successful-have-shorter-lives/275078 
Earning an obituary in the New York Times is generally a good marker for above-average longevity, as long as that success in life isn't accompanied by fame.

Comment: There are many possible confounding factors in that study that haven't been corrected.

Excerpt:
<<People who were both successful and famous died earliest. The average age at death of performers and athletes, 77.2 years, wasn't exactly young, but it was younger than those who had achieved success in other fields. Businesspeople and their ilk lived longest. In fact, their average age at death, 83 years, was higher than the national average for 2010 of 78.7 years. 

Philanthropists, academics, and doctors were more likely than others to die of "old age," a diagnosis that occurred least often for performers, athletes, and creatives.>>

<<The authors cite studies showing how drug use and other risky behavior is associated with fame (including later in life, once fame had faded), and question whether that, along with performance-enhancing behavior, might have played a role in the reduced life spans seen here.

They also note that lung cancer deaths were most common in performers, which they suggest correlates with stars being more likely to be chronic smokers. However, those rates were similar to the national average.>>
_________ 

Source paper:
— Epstein CR and Epstein RJ. Death in The New York Times: the price of fame is a faster flame. QJM (2013) doi: 10.1093/qjmed/hct077  http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/04/12/qjmed.hct077.short 

<<actors, singers, musicians and dancers were all co-classified as ‘performers’, non-performing creative workers (e.g. writers, composers, artists and photographers) as ‘creatives’, whereas historians, linguists, philosophers and economists were co-classified as ‘academics’. These occupational subgroups were further consolidated to create four key categories: (i) performance/sports, (ii) creative/writing, (iii) business/military/political and (iv) professional/academic/religious, with remaining subgroups (e.g. philanthropy) grouped as (v) ‘other’.>>

<<Causes of death in individuals living longer than 85 years, if attributed to phrases deemed imprecise in that context (including ‘cardiac arrest’, ‘heart failure’ or ‘pneumonia’) were redefined for the purposes of this study as ‘old age’, as were unattributed deaths in this age group. In contrast, unattributed deaths at ages younger than 85, including wordings such as ‘after a short illness’, were recorded as ‘non-specified’. For analytic purposes, death due to ‘lung cancer’ was interpreted as a marker of probable long-term cigarette smoking.9>>

<<With respect to occupations, the youngest ages of death were seen in performers/sports (77.2 ± 1.7) and creatives (78.47 ± 0.75), and the oldest in pro- fessionals/academics (81.7 ± 1.4) and business/politics/military (83 ± 1.2; Table 2). The main disease subtypes associated with earlier (premature) deaths were accident and misadventure (66.2 ± 2.7), infection other than pneumonia (68.6 ± 3.6) and organ- specified cancer (73 ± 0.9; Table 3).

Overall, deaths from cancer trended towards being more frequent in creatives (29%) and performers (27%), and less in professionals/academics (24%), military–political (20.4%) and sports (18%). More specifically, lung cancer deaths—representing 15.5% of all cancer deaths (correcting to 22.1% when non-specified cancers are excluded, which is lower than the US national figure of 28%11)— were commonest in performers, and significantly less common in professionals/academics (7.4 vs. 1.4%>>

<<The average life expectancy of a US citizen born today is 75.6 years for males and 80.8 years for females. Unexpectedly, the average age of death for NYT males in our study was older (80.35), and for females younger (78.8), than these averages. This discrepancy is best explained by the finding that, relative to males, females were significantly over- represented in the NYT performance/sports category, which proved in turn to be associated with shorter lifespan, while under-represented in longer-lived fields of NYT interest such as professionals/ academics. In contrast, no sex difference in the pattern of fatal disease categories was evident.>>

<<Difficulties in accurately attributing causes of deaths are illustrated by our study, and are partly quantifiable by the ‘not specified’ and ‘old age’ categorizations. The study design reflects our impression that the attributed cause of death in obituaries has greater precision at younger ages, while losing meaning as competing causes of expected death (arbitrarily defined here as older than 85 years) accumulate. Indeed, if our analysis is restricted to specified causes of death as defined, up to 43% of NYT deaths were attributable to cancer and 31% to cardiovascular disease, which compares with 29 and 30% for the US national averages, respectively, when the same correction is made across all ages.12 Our data also indicate that lung cancer deaths in NYT performers/sports categories approximated the national average, whereas the rest of the cohort exhibited lower mortality to this diagnosis.

The use of ‘recreational’ drugs, such as alcohol13 and cannabis,14 has long been associated with cre- ativity, while addictive psychoactive drugs, such as anxiolytics and opiates, have been implicated in performance-enhancing behaviours and coping strategies.15 Risk behaviours such as smoking,16 binge drinking and other drug abuse may likewise occur more often in adolescents who academically underperform yet remain heavily involved in sports.17–19 Other observational studies have sug- gested shorter lifespans for high achievers in various fields20 and for other non-conformists or outsiders.21,22 Yet, this study also indicates that certain occupational NYT subgroups such as philanthropy, business and medicine are associated with older ages of death, implying that the risks of achievement in some career types may be discounted or even reversed by wealth, recognition or related advantages.

There are important limitations to our analysis. First, our study sheds no light on whether other complex variables (e.g. relating to family background,23 deprivation or abuse, drug exposure or childhood personality24) predispose to the risk taking and ambition,25 which may plausibly increase the probability of NYT fame. Second, we acknowledge that the style of obituary itself changes over time,26 driven in part by changing attitudes towards diseases such as HIV infection.27 Third, being a retrospective uncontrolled study, we cannot exclude that the play of chance has inadvertently confused data-derived subsets with statistical significance. Our conclusions are therefore offered as hypothesis-generating only, and should be tested in the prospective context of larger correlative or controlled studies.

In summary, the possibility that performance-based success and fame usually translates into health advantages28 is not supported by our NYT obituary analysis, in common with analyses of non-performing hyperachievers.29 Indeed, our data raise the intriguing speculation that young people contemplating certain careers (e.g. performing arts and professional sports) may be faced, consciously or otherwise, with a faustian choice: namely, 1. to maximize their career potential and competitiveness even though the required psychological and physical costs may be expected to shorten their longevity, or 2. to fall short of their career potential so as to balance their lives and permit a normal lifespan.>> 

_______________ 

via +alias inkhorn 
URL source G+ post: 
plus.google.com/103028459671171670815/posts/Q4fyx1KEh43 
_______________ 

plus.google.com - Have Human Society and Religion Coevolved Together like a Host-Parasite Relationship?

<< Host–parasite coevolution is a special case of coevolution, which is defined as the reciprocal adaptive genetic change of two antagonists (e.g. different species or genes) through reciprocal selective pressures. In the particular case of host–parasite coevolution the antagonists are different species of host and parasite.[1]>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host-parasite_coevolution 

<<In his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins coined the term memes to describe informational units that can be transmitted culturally, analogous to genes.[33] He later used this concept in the essay "Viruses of the Mind" to explain the persistence of religious ideas in human culture.[34]>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_religion#Viruses_of_the_mind 

_<< "Viruses of the Mind" (1993) is an article by Richard Dawkins using memetics and analogies with biological and computer viruses, and with disease and epidemiology, to analyse the propagation of ideas and behaviours. Its particular focus is on religious beliefs and activities. The article is included in the books Dennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind (ISBN 0-631-19678-1) and A Devil's Chaplain. In this article, Dawkins coined the term faith-sufferer.
The second episode of Dawkins' two-part television programme The Root of All Evil? explored similar ideas and took a similar name, "The Virus of Faith".>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viruses_of_the_Mind 

- Dawkins, Richard. The Root Of All Evil? - Part 2 - The Virus Of Faith. Channel 4, 2006 youtu.be/d81gjbJF1_Q (48 min)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Root_of_All_Evil%3F 

- Dawkins, Richard. Viruses of the Mind. Text taken from
Dennett and His Critics: Demystifying Mind. Ed. Bo  Dalhbom, Blackwell, Cambridge, MA, 1993 
http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/~crshalizi/Dawkins/viruses-of-the-mind.html 

Excerpt from comments:

Joe Theuerkauf Apr 20, 2013 +10
what if i told you religion is religion & none of it contributes anything constructive to the advancement of our species? 

Zephyr López Cervilla Apr 20, 2013 (edited)
+Joe Theuerkauf: "religion is religion & none of it contributes anything constructive to the advancement of our species?"
- They may have co-evolved together with human populations and societies as in the case of parasites or governments.

Sheldon Cooper Apr 20, 2013 +4
+Zephyr López Cervilla Parasites and governments are one and the same :)

Zephyr López Cervilla April 21, 2013 1:35 AM (edited)
+Sheldon Cooper, I just wanted to be more specific. My point was that if humans have co-evolved with religions as in the case of host-parasite relationship, their abrupt and complete extirpation might cause certain immunologic and metabolic imbalances.

Joe Theuerkauf April 21, 2013 3:42 AM +1
+Zephyr López Cervilla i'm comfortable with some imbalances if it ultimately eradicates the parasitic elements that hold back progress.

URL source G+ post: 
plus.google.com/103964342609870838067/posts/jNGKonD2MuS 
________________ 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_atheism 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheism 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Knutzen 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimierz_%C5%81yszczy%C5%84ski 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Meslier 
argumentsforatheism.com/history.html 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_atheism 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_religion
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host-parasite_coevolution 

The God Delusion Debate - John Lennox vs Richard Dawkins (1h 40 min 44 sec)
Debate - Christopher Hitchens vs Alister McGrath - Is Religion a Poison or a Cure? (1h 40 min 20 sec)
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING ? [OFFICIAL] Richard Dawkins & Lawrence Krauss [HD] 02-04-12 (2 h 23 sec)
________________ 

phys.org - Why not marry your cousin? Millions do
By National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent). April 25, 2012
phys.org/news/2012-04-cousin-millions.html 
The health risks of marrying a cousin have been grossly overstated, says a new book.

Excerpt:
<<In 'Consanguinity in Context,' author and medical geneticist Alan H. Bittles of Murdoch University in Australia examines common misconceptions about cousin marriage from legal, cultural, religious and medical perspectives.

Marriage between cousins is taboo in much of the Western world. In the United States, 31 of 50 states outlaw marriage between first cousins, or allow it only under certain circumstances.

Although cousin marriage is banned in much of the US, the practice is tolerated and even encouraged in other parts of the world. In South Asia and the Middle East, for example, 20-50% of marriages are between first cousins or even closer relatives. They're in good company. More than 10% of people worldwide are married to a second cousin or closer, or have parents who are cousins.>>
 . . . 
<<Opponents argue that first cousin marriage increases the risk of passing on genetic abnormalities. But for Bittles, 35 years of research on the health effects of cousin marriage have led him to believe that the risks of marrying a cousin have been greatly exaggerated.

There's no doubt that children whose parents are close biological relatives are at a greater average risk of inheriting genetic disorders, Bittles writes. Studies of cousin marriages worldwide suggest that the risks of illness and early death are three to four percent higher than in the rest of the population.

But the risks apply primarily to couples who are carriers of disorders that are normally very, very rare, Bittles explained. "For over 90% of cousin marriages, their risk [of having a child with a genetic abnormality] is the same as it is for the general population," he said.

What's more, many studies of the effects of cousin marriage fail to account for the influence of non-genetic factors on infant health, such as socioeconomic status, maternal diet during pregnancy, and infections. "Many of the data are exceedingly poor," Bittles said.>>
 . . . 
<<One surprising and oft-neglected advantage of marriage between close biological relatives is a phenomenon called purging, in which disease genes are exposed and removed from the gene pool.

Thanks to purging, marriage between close relatives in early human populations would have kept the prevalence of genetic disorders low, Bittles explained.

Today, cousin marriage is on the rise in regions with a large influx of immigrants from areas where the practice is more common, such as North Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Southern Asia.

But in the long-term, shrinking family sizes and increased mobility in many parts of the world means that cousin marriage is likely to decline. In the absence of purging, harmful genetic variants could accumulate over time.

"We may be creating a problem for ourselves in future generations," Bittles said.>>

— National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent). Why not marry your cousin? Millions do. Phys.org April 25, 2012 http://phys.org/news/2012-04-cousin-millions.html 
____________ 

Comment:
It summarizes perfectly my previous information on this topic. I only miss some reference to the effect of inbreeding on the immunity of a population and its vulnerability in front epidemics, which is probably what explains why there have been evolved some mechanisms to limit the rate of inbreeding in many animal species.

<<The MHC genes are highly polymorphic; this means that there are many different alleles in the different individuals inside a population. The polymorphism is so high that in a mixed population (non-endogamic) there are not two individuals with exactly the same set of MHC genes and molecules, with the exception of identical twins.>>

<<On the other hand, inside a population, the presence of many different alleles ensures there will always be an individual with a specific MHC molecule able to load the correct peptide to recognize a specific microbe. The evolution of the MHC polymorphism ensures that a population will not succumb to a new pathogen or a mutated one, because at least some individuals will be able to develop an adequate immune response to win over the pathogen.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_histocompatibility_complex#HLA_biology 
____ 

<<It has been proposed that MHC is related to mate choice in some human populations, a theory that has found support by studies by Ober and colleagues in 1997,[12] as well as by Chaix and colleagues in 2008.[13] However, the latter findings have been controversial.[14] If it exists, the phenomena might be mediated by olfaction, as MHC phenotype appears strongly involved in the strength and pleasantness of perceived odour of compounds from sweat. Fatty acid esters—such as methyl undecanoate, methyl decanoate, methyl nonanoate, methyl octanoate and methyl hexanoate—show strong connection to MHC.[15]>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_histocompatibility_complex#MHC_in_sexual_mate_selection 
____ 

<<Pathogenic co-evolution, a counter-hypothesis, posits that common alleles are under greatest pathogenic pressure, driving positive selection of uncommon alleles—moving targets, so to say, for pathogens. As pathogenic pressure on the previously common alleles decreases, their frequency in the population stabilizes, and remain circulating in a large population.>>

<<Relatively low MHC diversity has been observed in the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus),[20] Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber),[21] and giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca).[22] In 2007 low MHC diversity was attributed a role in disease susceptibility in the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), native to the isolated island of Tasmania, such that an antigen of a transmissible tumor, involved in devil facial tumour disease, appears to be recognized as a self antigen.[23] To offset inbreeding, efforts to sustain genetic diversity in populations of endangered species and of captive animals have been suggested.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_histocompatibility_complex#MHC_evolutionary_diversity 
___________ 

Further reading:

economist.com - Kissing cousins, missing children
Feb 7, 2008
economist.com/node/10640683?story_id=10640683 
A wider choice of mates reduces people's reproductive output. That may explain why families in rich countries are smaller than those in poor ones

nature.com - Inbred royals show traces of natural selection
By Ewen Callaway.  April 19, 2013
nature.com/news/inbred-royals-show-traces-of-natural-selection-1.12837 
Study suggests the Spanish Habsburgs evolved to mute the effects of inbreeding, but other geneticists are unconvinced.

Comment: I think that it's a bit exaggerated to call "evolution" to the simple purge of deleterious mutations in homozygosis. At least it may be misleading. It's a process easily reversible (unlike many other evolutionary processes) and doesn't provide any gain of function.

URL source G+ post: 
plus.google.com/105510708763837902389/posts/fRL8d1utj4S 
_______________ 

guardian.co.uk - UK refuses to admit US embassy cables obtained by WikiLeaks are genuine
By Richard Norton-Taylor. April 15, 2013
guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/15/uk-us-embassy-cables-wikileaks 
High court hears government will not confirm or deny that documents are authentic in Chagos Islands case

Excerpt:
<<It was made clear that the refusal was intended to protect the government from the charge that it imposed a Marine Protected Area around the Chagos Islands in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) to prevent the islanders from ever returning to their homeland.>>

<<A US embassy cable published in the Guardian in December 2010 quoted a senior Foreign Office official, Colin Roberts, telling the Americans that as a result of imposing the marine reserve, there would be no "human footprints" or "Man Fridays" on the islands.

He said the plan would "in effect, put paid to resettlement claims of the archipelago's former residents", according to the cable.>>

<<Questioned by Pleming, Roberts denied he had said the marine reserve idea was a plan with an "ulterior motive" – namely, to prevent the islanders from returning.

Pleming is representing Louis Bancoult, chairman of the Chagos Refugees Group, who has seized on the leaked cable to argue in the British courts that the decision to impose a marine reserve announced by the then foreign secretary, David Miliband, in 2010, should be declared unlawful.

The inhabitants of the archipelago were removed in the 1960s and 1970s when the UK agreed that the US could build a large military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia.

That decision, and the subsequent decision to impose a marine reserve area, will have to be justified before an international tribunal.

In an unexpected ruling earlier this year the permanent court of arbitration in The Hague ruled that Britain would have to justify its decision before a full hearing of the tribunal. An attempt by the UK to challenge the court's jurisdiction was defeated.>>

<<The BIOT was established in 1965 when Britain expelled the Chagos islanders and allowed the US to set up a large base in a deal that included cutting the cost of Polaris missiles for the UK's nuclear submarines.

The agreement signed by the US and UK in 1966 expires in 2016. Both parties must agree to extend, modify or end it by December 2014. Ramgoolam told the Guardian last year that the objective of Mauritius was to "reassert sovereignty" over the Chagos islands.>>

youtube.com - North Texas Explorer - The Chicxulub Crater
By Geologist Devin Dennie (host). Uploaded March 13, 2007
The Chicxulub Crater (4 min 57 sec)

Related paper: 
- Robertson DS et al. Survival in the first hours of the Cenozoic. Geological Society of America Bulletin (2004) vol. 116 (5-6) pp. 760-768 ugcs.caltech.edu/~presto/cenozoic.pdf 

Related G+ posts:
plus.google.com/114605547533973731226/posts/bpdDM7hSsbW 
plus.google.com/114605547533973731226/posts/hbEzaLrMKxf 
______________ 

guardian.co.uk - Three Democratic myths used to demean the Paul filibuster
By Glenn Greenwald (The Guardian's columnist). March 10, 2013
guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/10/paul-filibuster-drones-progressives 

The progressive 'empathy gap', a strain of liberal authoritarianism, and a distortion of Holder's letter are invoked to defend Obama

Excerpt:
<<Yesterday, the Nigerian-American writer Teju Cole, in an interview with Mother Jones, said the key fact about US drone killings is that what "we're facing here is an empathy gap". He added:

"Killing a bunch of people in Sudan and Yemen and Pakistan, it's like, 'Who cares - we don't know them.' But the current discussion is framed as 'When can the President kill an American citizen?' Now in my mind, killing a non-American citizen without due process is just as criminal as killing an American citizen without due process - but whatever gets us to the table to discuss this thing, we're going to take it."

Writing in Salon, the South-Asian-American philosophy professor Falguni Sheth blasted Democrats and progressives for leaving it to Rand Paul to protest "the White House's radical expansion of executive power". She noted: "rather than challenge a Democratic administration in defense of constitutional principles that all citizens should insist be guaranteed, Democrats embraced party tribalism." >>
 . . . 
<<Some progressives are unintentionally candid about their self-interest leading them to dismiss these issues on the ground that it doesn't affect people like themselves. "I can think of lots of things that might frighten me, but having a drone attack me in my bed tonight is not one of them", declared one white progressive at a large liberal blog in the course of attacking Paul's filibuster. Of course that's not a concern of hers: she's not in the groups who are so targeted, so therefore the issues are irrelevant to her. Other writers at large progressive blogs have similarly admitted that they care little about "civil liberties and a less bellicose foreign policy" because they instead are "primarily interested in the well-being of the American middle-class": ie, themselves. And, of course, the same is true of all the MSNBC hosts mocking Paul as paranoid: they are not the kind of people affected by the kinds of concerns they aggressively deride in order to defend their leader.>>
 . . . 
<<For a political faction that loves to depict itself as the champions of "empathy", and which reflexively accuses others of having their political beliefs shaped by self-interest, this is an ironic fact indeed. It's also the central dynamic driving the politics of these issues: the US government and media collaborate to keep the victims of these abuses largely invisible, so we rarely have to confront them, and on those rare occasions when we do, we can easily tell ourselves (false though the assurance is) that these abuses do not affect us and our families and it's therefore only "paranoia" that can explain why someone might care so much about them.>>
 . . . 
<<Once you accept this framework - that this is a War; the Globe is the Battlefield; and the Commander-in-Chief is the Decider - then the President can treat even US citizens on US soil (part of the battlefield) as "enemy combatants", and do anything he wants to them as such: imprison them without charges or order them killed.

Far from being "paranoid", this theory has already been asserted on US soil during the Bush presidency. It has been applied to US citizens by the Obama administration. It does not require "paranoia" to raise concerns about the inevitable logical outcome of these theories. Instead, it takes blind authoritarian faith in political leaders to believe that such a suggestion is so offensive and outlandish that merely to raise it is crazy.>>

<<Second, presidents change, and so do circumstances. The belief that Barack Obama - despite his record - is too kind, too good, too magnanimous, too responsible to target US citizens for assassination on US soil is entirely irrelevant. At some point, there will be another president, even a Republican one, who will inherit the theories he embraces. Moreover, circumstances can change rapidly, so that - just as happened with 9/11 - what seems unthinkable quickly becomes not only possible but normalized.>>
 . . . 
<<Human nature means that once you vest a power in political leaders, once you acquiesce to radical theories, that power will inevitably be abused. The time to object - the only effective time - is when that power theory first takes root, not later when it is finally widespread.>>
________________ 

Excerpt from comments:

Mark Stoal: "...Progressives and modern-liberals believe in a strong central government to deliver the stuff that they want. To control the society in the manner they want. To take from one part of society to give to another. To entitle some and oppress others.
Just as progressive once embraced eugenics they are a menace when they have power. They don't believe in individual self-ownership. They don't believe in the non-aggression principle. They don't believe in the individual."

URL source G+ post (extended circles): 
plus.google.com/110641663712891766515/posts/YVVVwPJet41 
________________ 

RESHARE:
behance.net - The Legion of Real Life Supervillains by Butcher Billy
behance.net/gallery/The-Legion-of-Real-Life-Supervillains-by-Butcher-Billy/7095371 

"There's no need to discuss innocence or guilt. We know he's guilty."
— George W. Bush, 43rd President of the US (October 2001)

- Staff and agencies. Bush rejects Taliban offer to hand Bin Laden over. The Guardian. Sunday October 14, 2001
guardian.co.uk/world/2001/oct/14/afghanistan.terrorism5 

“The FBI gathers evidence. Once evidence is gathered, it is turned over to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice then decides whether it has enough evidence to present to a federal grand jury. In the case of the 1998 United States Embassies being bombed, bin Laden has been formally indicted and charged by a grand jury. He has not been formally indicted and charged in connection with 9/11 because the FBI has no hard evidence connecting bin Laden to 9/11.”
— Rex Tom, FBI Director of Investigative Publicity (2006)

- Staff reporter. Osama Bin Laden never charged for 911 - Inside Job likely. International Business Times. May 2, 2011
ibtimes.com/osama-bin-laden-never-charged-911-inside-job-likely-210784 

<<The presumption of innocence, sometimes referred to by the Latin expression Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat (the burden of proof lies with who declares, not who denies), is the principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Application of this principle is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial, recognised in many nations. The burden of proof is thus on the prosecution, which has to collect and present enough compelling evidence to convince the trier of fact, who is restrained and ordered by law to consider only actual evidence and testimony that is legally admissible, and in most cases lawfully obtained, that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If reasonable doubt remains, the accused is to be acquitted.>>
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumption_of_innocence 

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#Superschurken  

http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-Legion-of-Real-Life-Supervillains-by-Butcher-Billy/7095371

The End of Extinction. Cloning the Tasmanian Tiger (50 min 30 sec)
By Patrick O'Neill (Becker Entertainment) for Discovery Networks International (Discovery Channel) & TLC. 2002 
With Dr. Michael Archer (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Archer_(paleontologist))
youtu.be/S3gNW7LbO0M

Excerpt from comments of related G+ post:

Zephyr López Cervilla Feb 10, 2013 3:15 PM (edited)
+Paul Gailey Alburquerque: "you are not wrong about cows. Furthermore they fart a tonne of methane."

- Actually cows don't fart methane, they burp it:

<<It shows that ruminants, particularly cattle, are belching greenhouse gas factories. They stew up and ferment fodder in their four stomachs as they chew their cud, absorb the nutrition, and expel methane (mostly out the front end, not the back).>>
theaustralian.com.au/news/features/animals-under-fire-in-methane-blame-game/story-e6frg6z6-1225818573869 

+Fulvio Gerardi: "Its always seemed odd to me that as a major exporter of horse meat, we don't really have much of a domestic market in Australia. But then again, the same went for Kangaroo. Both were mostly destined for pet food. However, supermarkets have now started to stock 'roo, so perhaps we'll see horse on the shelves one day. Though as a rarity, you can bet the price will be exorbitant."

- I have some pairs of shoes made of kangaroo leather, it's an exceptional material. It seems that unlike cow leather, when you shave kangaroo leather to get a thinner layer more flexible and lightweight, the result remain similarly resistant to tension forces and abrasion: 

<<Most animals have two distinct layers in the cross-section of the skin – the grain and the corium. The majority of the strength comes from the corium, where the fibre bundles are much more dense. However, on certain animals, and in particular bovine substrates, a large amount of the corium is shaved off to gain a lightweight thickness, resulting in dramatically reduced strength characteristics. However, kangaroo skin has a very thin grain layer and it’s thickness can easily be reduced without detriment to the strength of the final leather, owing to the fact that the natural thickness of a kangaroo skin is mainly found to be in the range of 1.0 to 1.2 mm.>>
packerleather.com/kangaroo-leather.html 

- Looney M et al. Enhancing the unique properties of kangaroo leather. RIRDC Publication (2002) RIRDC Project No CWT-1A (RIRDC Publication No 02/105) pp. 1-53
rirdc.infoservices.com.au/downloads/02-105.pdf 

I remember a 3D representation depicting the internal structure of the skin of kangaroo versus cattle but I can't find the picture now with a search engine, it must have been buried under tons of PeTA crap (kangaroo-industry.asn.au/morinfo/viva.html).

Also, you can wash these shoes in the washer and the leather won't get hardened after it dries, although the process used to tan the skin may have also something to do with this too:

<The K-100 Motorcycle gloving leather has been engineered with a permanent water repellence technology based upon hi-tech polymers. The treatment will resist the action of wetting both in dynamic and static conditions keeping the hands drier and warmer for extended periods of time. Furthermore, this technology allows the leather to dry faster if ultimately it is wetted and dry soft and retain its original shape.
Another point worth noting is that the abrasion resistance of wet leather is commonly reduced when it becomes wet. Thus this technology offers an added benefit for abrasion resistance as well.>>
packerleather.com/k100.html 

I have been wearing regularly a pair since early 2010, I have run and walked in them probably more than thousand miles, and while other parts have started to fall apart the pieces of leather have remained strong other than some scratches after rubbing the leather against rocks and steps of staircases.
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Zephyr López Cervilla Feb 10, 2013 5:50 PM (edited)
+Fulvio Gerardi: "Its funny.. here is an animal perfectly suited to the environment, which does minimal harm to the land, breeds in vast numbers, and produces excellent meat and leather. Yet instead of farming them, we destroy the land with imported farm animals which have been destroying the continent. And why? Because people think you can only eat cattle, pigs and sheep."

- I agree with that. In fact, some scientists like Michael Archer (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Archer_(paleontologist)) have suggested a progressive replacement of the Australian herds of cattle and sheep with kangaroos since unlike ruminants, kangaroos produce virtually no methane, a gas with a strong greenhouse effect, and kangaroos are expected to cause less detrimental environmental effects on the local ecosystems since they are well adapted to graze the Australian autoctonous flora:

Kangaroos and Greenhouse gases
<<On 5 August 2008, the Society for Conservation Biology in USA published a report by AWS that describes how kangaroos on the extensive rangelands could be utilised to help reduce Australia’s methane emissions. It proposes that using kangaroos in lieu of cattle and sheep to produce meat on the rangelands will help slow climate change. The article was referred to in the Review to the Australian Government by Prof Ross Garnaut published on 30 Sep 08.
The paper was the most accessed by the journal in 2008. It was referred to by the Times of London, the New York Times, BBC TV, and News Scientist amongst others. A popular version ‘Roo diet placed on the Greenhouse menu’ has been published by Australasian Science and can also be downloaded.>>
awt.com.au/publications/#r1 

- Wilson GR and Edwards MJ. Native wildlife on rangelands to minimize methane and produce lower‐emission meat: kangaroos versus livestock. Conservation Letters (2008) vol. 1 (3) pp. 119-128
awt.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/GHG_Roo_paper.pdf 

- Wilson GR and Edwards MJ. Roo diet placed on greenhouse menu. Australasian Science (2008) pp. 36-37
control.com.au/bi2008/299roo.pdf 

- Higgins, Ean. Animals under fire in methane blame game The Australian January 13, 2010
theaustralian.com.au/news/features/animals-under-fire-in-methane-blame-game/story-e6frg6z6-1225818573869 

awt.com.au - Methane emissions from animals
By grw. January 14, 2010 
awt.com.au/2010/01/14/methane-emissions-from-animal 

abc.net.au - Animal farming and greenhouse gas emissions
Robyn Williams (The Science Show, ABC Radio) interview to Ellice Mol. August 9, 2008
abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/animal-farming-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions/3198918#transcript 

abc.net.au - Kangaroos greenhouse emissions better than cattle
Robyn Williams (The Science Show, ABC Radio) interview to George Wilson. August 9, 2008
abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/kangaroos-greenhouse-emissions-better-than-cattle/3198928#transcript 

<<If you look at agriculture in Australia today, it looks pretty much like agriculture anywhere else. Cattle and sheep are kept in herds. Wheat is planted in the fields. But Dr. Michael Archer, the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales, wants to change all that. He's arguing that the best way to sustain agriculture in Australia is to turn to native plants and animals as food sources; for example, ranching kangaroos, or growing gum trees. He's even suggesting that Australians trade their cats and dogs for native animals as pets.>>

cbc.ca - Farming Kangaroos
Robyn Williams (Quirks and Quarks, CBC Radio One) interview to Dr. Michael Archer (Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales). April 21, 2007
cbc.ca/quirks/episode/2007/04/21/the-great-canuckaussie-adventure-farming-kangaroos-tasmanian-devils-face-cancer-marsupial-lions-the 
--------------  - Some years ago some researchers tried to characterized the kangaroo's gut flora with the intention to alter the ruminal flora of some other hervivors like cattleand sheep with little success. 
It seems that the anatomical differences between kangaroos and ruminants have a greater effect on the profile of their internal microflora than the origin of the founder inocula.
The links from the Quennsland Government are broken, and the interviews removed from the archives. I could just find this and a couple of papers.

<<rumen microbiology and function, including investigations into the impact of bacterial viruses in rumen, the production of an inoculum to prevent leucaena toxicosis in cattle, the reduction of methane emissions from rumen fermentation, and documentation of novel bacteria present in the foregut of kangaroos>>
— Australian genome Research Facility Ltd
http://203.210.126.185/dsdweb/v4/apps/web/secure/docs/3756.pdf 

- Ouwerkerk D et al. Characterization of culturable anaerobic bacteria from the forestomach of an eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus. Lett Appl Microbiol (2005) vol. 41 (4) pp. 327-33
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16162139 
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/j.1472-765X.2005.01774.x/asset/j.1472-765X.2005.01774.x.pdf?v=1&t=hd0c32iv&s=4bd37e4f7fc97cb88573b8ed45b3b0f5f6c061ed 

- Gilbert RA et al. In vitro detection and primary cultivation of bacteria producing materials inhibitory to ruminal methanogens. Journal of Microbiological Methods (2009) pp. 217-8
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20005266 
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167701209003856 

<<Kangaroos and cows have a lot more in common than you might think. Namely, they're both grazers and both depend on microbes in their digestive tract to help them breakdown their high-fibre diet. The difference is that cows produce high amounts of the greenhouse gas, methane, in the process. Kangaroos, on the other hand, produce almost none. Dr. Athol Klieve, a researcher with the Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries in Queensland, Australia, is studying the gut bacteria of certain species of kangaroo, in the hope that they can be transfered into the digestive system of cattle; and, in doing so, significantly cut back the amount of greenhouse gas they produce.>>

cbc.ca - Kangaroo Burps
Bob McDonald (Quirks and Quarks, CBC Radio One) interview to Dr. Athol Klieve (researcher with the Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries in Queensland). February 2, 2008 
cbc.ca/quirks/episode/2008/02/02/shields-up-kangaroo-burps-bee-dancing-geothermal---the-energy-underground 
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Zephyr López Cervilla Feb 10, 2013 7:01 PM (edited)
+Giselle Minoli: "I'm not quite sure but Bison used to be a big meat for indigenous Indian populations. But it was also revered and respected as part of the culture. Only now in the last 20 years is it showing up on supermarket shelves. The meat is relatively fat free and far, far healthier than cow meat. But it has taken Americans a long time to warm to it. We are very conflicted about things meat here."

- You would need large extensions of grassland to reintroduce a large population of bison (unless you grow them in barns with animal feed). 
On the other hand, since bisons are ruminants, they probably produce a fair amount of methane, like cows, sheep and goat (pigs also produce methane despite of not having a rumen, and also horses, that ferment their food majorly in their cecum).

Another interesting species to reintroduce would be the passenger pigeon. It may be currently extinct but there are enough samples (even a whole frozen individual) to try to determine genome differences with other pigeons, and later develop a new strain using other pigeons by means of genetic recombination techniques.

It'd be probably expensive, though. In addition, you would probably need to generate thousands of individuals before releasing them in the wild, since it seems that their gregarious behavior makes it difficult to breed when they live in small groups (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_Pigeon#Attempts_at_preservation). On the other hand, from all the known extinct species, the passenger pigeon is one of the most suitable candidates to be recovered since 

1. there are plentiful of recent and relatively well-preserved samples, 
2. there are closely related species from which cells lines can be genetically modified to obtain viable passenger pigeon cell lines, and the adults of those species can also be used to grow and mature the newly formed eggs,
3. their original habitat hasn't been altered too much so they could probably still survive in the wild, 
4. they could be comercially exploited since they were very prolific, and could be easily accepted by the consumer. In fact, their extinction was caused by the overhunting (and overharvesting using nets) to be used as cheap source of meat.
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Related reading:

worldpress.org - With a Tiger in the Tank
By Leigh Dayton (The Australian). May 29, 2002 
From the August 2002 issue of World Press Review (VOL. 49, No. 8)
worldpress.org/Asia/633.cfm 

smithsonianmag.com - True or False? Extinction Is Forever
By Luba Vangelova (Smithsonian magazine). June, 2003
smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/True_or_False_Extinction_Is_Forever.html 

Alternative YouTube copies:
Cloning The Tasmanian Tiger Part 1 
Cloning The Tasmanian Tiger Part 2 
Cloning The Tasmanian Tiger Part 3 Final 
------------ 
Cloning The Tasmanian Tiger (Part 1) 
Cloning The Tasmanian Tiger (Part 2) 
Part 3 missing
______________ 

news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow - Ancestor of All Placental Mammals Revealed
By Sid Perkins. February 7, 2013
news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/02/ancestor-of-all-placental-mammal.html 

Excerpt:

Maureen O'Leary (paleontologist at Stony Brook University in New York): "The fossil record has long suggested that even though mammals existed long before dinosaurs died off, most likely at the hands of an asteroid impact, the furry critters didn't really diversify or reach a large size until their reptilian competitors were out of the picture and ecosystems had recovered"

<<And even though the earliest placental mammals don't appear in the fossil record until after the dino die-offs, previous genetic analyses of living species have hinted that placental mammals may have evolved as much as 100 million years ago, tens of millions of years before that mass extinction.

To help settle the debate, O'Leary and her colleagues reconstructed the family tree of placental mammals using evidence from a large number of living and extinct species. The team's database included more than 4500 characteristics for each of 86 species. They chose creatures that represent all major groups of placental mammals, which vary in traits such as size, fur color, and various other aspects of anatomy and physiology, including the number and arrangement of bones and teeth. They also compared 27 different genes common to all placental mammals. (For the 40 extinct species included in the analysis, the team could include only information related to dental and skeletal traits.)>>

Anne Yoder (evolutionary biologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina) [not involved in the work]: "This is an extraordinary set of data. Such databases, although large, are becoming more and more useful, heralding a new era when paleontological reconstructions of family trees can easily tap into the wealth of data available about a creature's anatomy and physiology."

<<Results suggest that the ancestor of all placental mammals evolved less than 400,000 years after the mass extinctions that wiped out the dinosaurs, the researchers report online today in Science. The hypothetical creature, not found in the fossil record but inferred from it, probably was a tree-climbing, insect-eating mammal that weighed between 6 and 245 grams—somewhere between a small shrew and a mid-sized rat. It was furry, had a long tail, gave birth to a single young, and had a complex brain with a large lobe for interpreting smells and a corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain.>>

Maureen O'Leary: "The period following the dinosaur die-offs could be considered a "big bang" of mammalian diversification, with species representing as many as 10 major groups of placentals appearing within a 200,000-year interval."
________________ 

Reference paper (subscription/purchase required):

- O'Leary MA et al. The Placental Mammal Ancestor and the Post-K-Pg Radiation of Placentals. Science (2013) vol. 339 (6120) pp. 662-667
sciencemag.org/content/339/6120/662 

Related report article (subscription/purchase required):

- Yoder AD. Fossils Versus Clocks. Science (2013) vol. 339 (6120) pp. 656-658
sciencemag.org/content/339/6120/656 
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theatlantic.com - The Never-Before-Told Story of the World's First Computer Art (It's a Sexy Dame)
By Benj Edwards. January 24, 2013
theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/01/the-never-before-told-story-of-the-worlds-first-computer-art-its-a-sexy-dame/267439 

Comment:
For some reason when I read this article it reminded me of Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Strangelove)

Pic (IBM 7090 console): 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dr._Strangelove_-_Group_Captain_Lionel_Mandrake.png 

IBM - SAGE Computer Ad (1960)
IBM Sage Computer Ad, 1960 

Further reading:

UNCLE, SAGE, SABRE, Strangelove & Tulsa: Connections
tulsatvmemories.com/sabre.html 

SAGE A/N FSQ-7   NORAD Computer
smecc.org/sage_a_n_fsq-7.htm 
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Computer Art History

Let's see - what would one of the first uses of a computer display be back in the 1950s when a computer cost nearly a quarter of a billion dollars?

But even if the images weren't totally above board, they encountered little to no resistance among the ranks. "It was an all male enterprise at that time," recalls Tipton, speaking of the late 1950s. "There were a few women in the Air Force upstairs in the control center, but at that time of life, you know, there wasn't as much controversy."

dilbert.com - Accurate Numbers
by Scott Adams. May 8, 2008
dilbert.com/strips/comic/2008-05-08 

Dilbert: "I didn't have any accurate numbers so I just made up this one."
$4,629,873
Dilbert: "Studies have shown that accurate numbers aren't any more useful than the ones you make up."
Attendant: "How many studies showed that?"
Dilbert: "Eighty-seven."

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plus.google.com/110969448173982102496/posts/6QD25hBzZLW 
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RESHARE:
Comment on a figure from "A signature of cosmic-ray increase in ad 774–775 from tree rings in Japan"
By Brian Koberlein. January 22, 2013

Paper:
- Miyake F et al. A signature of cosmic-ray increase in AD 774-775 from tree rings in Japan. Nature (2012) vol. 486 (7402) pp. 240-2
nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7402/full/nature11123.html 
Supplementary information: nature.com/nature/journal/v486/n7402/extref/nature11123-s1.pdf 

Re-share comment:

John Baez Jan 23, 2013 6:58 AM (edited)  -  Public
Here is a very nice discussion of that burst of gamma rays that may have reached us in 774 or 775 AD.  You can see how the amount of carbon-14 in trees shot up at this time!    

Question: through what reaction do gamma rays produce carbon-14?  Is it just

N14 + gamma → C14  +  e+  +  nu

or something more complicated?

I also really like +Alun Salt's comment on this post, which I will copy here:

On the unreliability of historical records

This is the best explanation I've seen of the recent tree-ring carbon spike. The only bit I can quibble with is the idea that a solar flare or supernova would be in the historical record as a matter of course.

For AD 774 the European astronomical records are notoriously bad till the Renaissance. I'm currently reading John Ramsey's catalogue of Greco-Roman comets (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/156806844) and if it weren't for the east Asian records there'd be very little you could say with much certainty about astronomical events being viewed in Europe.

The problem is that people get the impression historians turn to the east Asian records because they're so accurate. In fact it's because they're there which is much more than can be said about records from elsewhere in the world. In fact for the first millennium AD the east Asian records aren't that good either. Korea doesn't really get going with independent observations till around AD 1000. Japan takes off in the ninth century AD (inspired by a major event?) which just leaves China. (http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/2003JHA....34..111S/0000111.000.html)

Because latitude affects what you can see any event below a declination of -60º isn't likely to appear in any of the contemporary records. If I were sure there was an astronomical source of rays to be found, that's where I'd start looking. But that's not a sure thing.

It's not enough for someone to make a record, it has to survive too. Not much survives from this era in Europe. I don't know what events in China and the rest of east Asia caused records to be lost, but I would be surprised if we had 100% of what was written. Given that China is the only source for a lot of events, if we have lost anything from there how would we know?

To see how good Chinese sources were around AD 774/5 I've had a look at comet records for the era. Gary Kronk records a comet for AD 773 in Chiu T'ang shu, T'ang hui yao and Hsin T'ang shu These were all written two or three hundred years after the event. In AD 776 there is a comet according to Ku chin t'u shu chi ch'eng_ which Kronk says dates from 1726. No other record mentions it, so it looks like the records are incomplete it it's possible that a supernova could be missing in this period. All in all there are about 21 comets recorded in the eighth century AD up to 776 and then nothing till AD 812. With the 776 record being from such a late source it's possible we're missing records, so a supernova observation might not have survived to the present day. (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/614874005)

What about an aurora from a Coronal Mass Ejection? When it came up someone on Twitter mentioned that a fiery cross in the sky is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles for this period. This could be an aurora. I mentioned this on someone's Facebook stream and someone else, who knows much more about Anglo-Saxon England than me said there's no such thing as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. There are a few different versions at the same time and they don't all say the same thing. It's also very hard to put an accurate date to some of the events. In the end the astronomical record for AD 774/5 is so poor and fragmentary that fitting any historical record to it is a bit like finding shapes in clouds.

If the source is conclusively found then I think there's a good chance of finding something in the historical record that can be matched to it, but I can't see much hope of information going the other way so that the historical record can say much about the astronomical source.

The thing that puzzles me is that the reference is always to a set of Japanese trees with the carbon-spike. I can see how that's where it was spotted, but wouldn't an astronomical event have a worldwide effect? If I were near a well-stocked library I'd be flipping though a journal like Radiocarbon and looking for calibration curves from other sources to see if there were similar spikes in tree elsewhere.

#twt #HistoryOfAstronomy #Radiocarbon
__________________ 

Excerpt from comments:

Zephyr López Cervilla Jan 23, 2013 8:04 AM
But if the C-14 spike hasn't been found in other tree rings that have been dated around that time, the cause of the spike can't be a global astronomic event. What other processes can generate a C-14 spike at a local level?
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Jerzy Michał Pawlak Jan 23, 2013 8:34 AM +1
+Zephyr López Cervilla I don't really think you may have anything like a "local C14 spike". The C14 found in trees has been absorbed from the atmosphere, as CO2. A dose of radiation that would produce such spike already inside the tree, would probably have killed it in the first place You see from the plot, that increased C14 intake continued for several years after the event - the atmosphere mixing is strong enough to distribute the C14 globally on such time scale.
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Zephyr López Cervilla Jan 23, 2013 8:40 AM
It doesn't necessarily have to come directly from the atmosphere, the C-14-enriched CO2 could have arrived at the trees disolved in the water taken up by the roots.
Otherwise, how can you explain the absence of that C-14 spike in the tree rings from orher parts of the world (e.g., California)?
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John Baez Jan 23, 2013 8:59 AM +3
Perhaps they haven't found a carbon-14 spike in other tree rings because they haven't looked very hard!  I've just been studying a bit about the history of American Southwest around this time period.  They have very good collections of tree rings, since pueblos were build using thousands of ponderosa pines.  This allows them to date things very accurately - often to the exact year - using dendrochronology.  Maybe they didn't look hard for a blip in carbon-14 around 775 AD.   But I'm not an expert - I don't know what all they've done.

Anyway, I think it would be good to look for this carbon-14 spike in some other tree rings.  If people haven't done it yet, they probably will now.
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Jerzy Michał Pawlak Jan 23, 2013 9:11 AM (edited)
+Zephyr López Cervilla Still it is difficult to imagine a source of C14 on the earth surface, that would not kill the life locally. Normally C14 is created by cosmic radiation high in the atmosphere. Any strong source of radiation producing significant amounts of C14 close to the earth surface, or even under it, is bound to leave some other traces as well.
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This figure from a recent article in Nature (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11123) is a rather puzzling observation.  It shows a dramatic rise in the level of carbon 14 around 774 AD.  The data was gathered from a couple of Japanese cedar trees.  Because we can date the rings in these trees we know their age, and by taking measurements of carbon 14 within each tree ring we have a measure of how the levels varied year by year.  This spike in carbon 14 around 774 – 775 AD is huge (about a 20% increase) which makes its origin a bit of a mystery.

You are probably familiar with carbon 14 as a way to determine the age of objects.  This works because carbon 14 decays at a known rate into carbon 12, so by  measuring the level of carbon 14 in some dead material we can determine how long it has been dead.  This method works because living things constantly take in carbon through food and air while they are alive, and the level of carbon 14 in the atmosphere is constantly replenished by high energy astronomical events such as solar flares and cosmic rays. The level of carbon 14 in the atmosphere rises and falls over time, but it is generally pretty constant.  A spike such as this one is unusual, and means that some very energetic astronomical event must have occurred around 774.

So what could have caused such a large spike?  The common cause of a carbon 14 spike is a solar flare.  These occur on a fairly regular basis, which can cause a stream of high-energy particles to strike our atmosphere, creating things like the northern lights.  They can also bombard nitrogen in our upper atmosphere with high-energy neutrons which creates carbon 14.  The problem is that solar flares typically only produce a carbon increase of a few percent.  This event is much, much larger than that, so it couldn’t have been caused by a solar flare.

Suppose then that it was some huge solar flare, specifically what is known as a solar proton event.  This is when a large solar flare or coronal mass ejection sends streams of high-energy protons our way.  A spike of protons could produce a spike of carbon 14 when it interacts with our atmosphere.  The problem with this idea is that unlike high-energy neutrons, high-energy protons are deflected by our magnetic field.  Some protons can get through, but not most of them.  So to create such a large rise in carbon 14 the solar proton event would have had to be huge.  Really, really, huge.  It would have been the largest solar event ever.  We’ve seen such “super flares” on sunlike stars, but never on the sun.  And we’d know if one occurred because it would create tremendous northern lights, and even likely destroy much of the ozone layer resulting in mass extinctions.  The year 774 is well within recorded history, and if such a super flare occurred, someone would have written about it.  Nobody did.

Another possibility is that it was caused by a supernova.  A supernova produces gamma rays when can also generate carbon 14 when it strikes the atmosphere.  The figure above actually compares the carbon 14 spike with an expected various lengths of gamma ray bombardments due to a supernova.  The models seem to fit pretty well, so it would seem we have found our culprit.  There’s just one problem.  To create such a large spike the supernova must have been closer than 6,500 light years, which is fairly close on astronomical scales.  This means it would have easily been observed by historical astronomers. In 1006 a supernova occurred about 7,200 light years away, and it was observed in detail by Chinese and Arab astronomers.  There’s no mention of a similar supernova just 230 years earlier.  Such a supernova would also have a remnant that we could observe today, but nothing known seems to match.

So the cause of this spike is unknown at the moment.  We might be able to solve the mystery however by looking for similar spikes in other elements such as beryllium 10.  We could also look further into historical data.  For now, what we do know is that an astronomical event hit us pretty hard in the 8th century.

ns.umich.edu - Pregnant primates miscarry when new male enters group
By Ann Arbor. Feb 22, 2012

The "Bruce effect" – in which pregnant females spontaneously miscarry after being exposed to an unfamiliar male – has been found repeatedly in laboratory rodents. However, no conclusive evidence for this effect had ever been demonstrated in a wild population prior to this study. Geladas are Old World monkeys that are close relatives of baboons.
ns.umich.edu/new/releases/20239-pregnant-primates-miscarry-when-new-male-enters-group 

Comment: 
Worthy a look even only because of the pics.

Further reading:

Paper:
- Roberts EK et al. A Bruce effect in wild geladas. Science (2012) vol. 335 (6073) pp. 1222-5
sciencemag.org/content/335/6073/1222.abstract 

University of Michigan - Gelada Research Project
umich.edu/~gelada/UMGRP/Home.html 
Research 
umich.edu/~gelada/UMGRP/Research.html 
Publications 
umich.edu/~gelada/UMGRP/Publications.html 

Radiophonic interview about this study:
- Beehner, Jacinta (guest) and McDonald, Bob (host). Gelada Monkey Miscarriage. Quriks and Quarks (CBC Radio One). Feb 25, 2012
cbc.ca/quirks/episode/2012/02/25/february-25-2012 
cbc.ca/player/Radio/Quirks+and+Quarks/Excerpts/ID/2201698837

Gelada baboon ( Theropithecus gelada )
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelada

Other reports of naturally occurring non-accidental miscarriages:

2. Elk/Wapiti ( Cervus canadensis )
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk

2a. Adaptive Fetal Sex Allocation in Elk: Evidence and Implications http://www.jstor.org/pss/3802829 

2b. Fetus Resorption in Elk
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1378136 

2c. A comment on Annual Count Shows Huge Decline In Yellowstone National Park Elk Herd, But How Accurate Is It?
A study recently has shown that fewer elk cows are even pregnant in wolf populated areas. They are run and spooked to the point that they don't have the nutrition necessary to carry a pregnancy. In nature, the female is most important, keeping her alive comes first, so nutritional intake, whatever it may be, will go to maintain the life of the cow.
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2011/01/annual-count-shows-huge-decline-yellowstone-national-park-elk-herd-how-accurate-it7458

3. Grizzly bear ( Ursus arctos horribilis )
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_bear 

3a. Bear Reproduction
After mating, the female may be pregnant, but that does not mean she will give birth to cubs. There is an old joke that you can't be half pregnant, but bears have proven this statement to be false. Bears, weasels and some seals have developed a process called delayed implantation. The fertilized egg develops into a small embryo called a blastocyst. This is where the interesting stuff begins. After this brief period of development, of the fertilized egg suddenly stops growing and simply floats freely in the uterus for several months.
If a sow is in peak condition when she heads into her winter den, the embryo implants in the uterus and begin to develop. She'll wake up during January or February to give birth . Black bears give birth to between one and four cubs, with two being the most common. Grizzlies also average two cubs, with rarely more being produced.
If the sow is not in peak condition at the onset of hibernation, her body will reabsorb the embryo and not give birth that year. This gives bears more control over their reproductive rate than just about any other animal...
http://www.mountainnature.com/Wildlife/Bears/BearReproduction.htm 

#miscarriage   #abortion   #delayedimplantation   #implantation   #gelada   #bleedingheartbaboon   #elk   #elks   #wapiti   #wapitis   #grizzlybear   #grizzlybears   #grizzly   #grizzlies  

URL related G+ posts:
plus.google.com/108257153502707936410/posts/9ZHCiM2Rk2Y 
plus.google.com/108257153502707936410/posts/RPn41FnQaaj 
____________ 

RESHARE:
plus.google.com - Guns for Protection from Whom?
Uploaded by Chris Dyer. January 20, 2013

You need guns for protection from whom?
It's not like the Government would ever ram a tank into the side of your house

Reshared text:
Via #FreeCitizensCoalition

#Obama #Guns #2ndAmendment #RubyRidge #Waco #Statists #Tyrant #tyranny #WhiteHouse #Government  

guardian.co.uk - The great gun control fallacy
By Thomas Sowell. December 18, 2012

After Newtown's tragedy, the advocates are at it again. But there just is no correlation between gun ownership and murder rates
guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/18/great-gun-control-fallacy-thomas-sowell 

Excerpt:
<<The key fallacy of so-called gun control laws is that such laws do not in fact control guns. They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available.>>
. . . 

<<Places and times with the strongest gun control laws have often been places and times with high murder rates. Washington, DC, is a classic example, but just one among many.

When it comes to the rate of gun ownership, that is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, but the murder rate is higher in urban areas. The rate of gun ownership is higher among whites than among blacks, but the murder rate is higher among blacks. For the country as a whole, handgun ownership doubled in the late 20th century, while the murder rate went down.

The few counter-examples offered by gun control zealots do not stand up under scrutiny. Perhaps their strongest talking point is that Britain has stronger gun control laws than the United States and lower murder rates.

But, if you look back through history...>>
 . . . 

<<Gun control zealots' choice of Britain for comparison with the United States has been wholly tendentious, not only because it ignored the history of the two countries, but also because it ignored other countries with stronger gun control laws than the United States, such as Russia, Brazil and Mexico. All of these countries have higher murder rates than the United States.

You could compare other sets of countries and get similar results. Gun ownership has been three times as high in Switzerland as in Germany, but the Swiss have had lower murder rates. Other countries with high rates of gun ownership and low murder rates include Israel, New Zealand, and Finland.

Guns are not the problem. People are the problem – including people who are determined to push gun control laws, either in ignorance of the facts or in defiance of the facts.

There is innocent ignorance and there is invincible, dogmatic and self-righteous ignorance. Every tragic mass shooting seems to bring out examples of both among gun control advocates.>>

— Thomas Sowell, Rose and Milton Friedman senior fellow  on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
____________ 

Further reading:

Examples of countries with strong limits to gun possession: 
UK en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_Kingdom 
Germany en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Germany 
Brazil en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Brazil 
Mexico en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Mexico 
Jamaica en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Jamaica 
South Africa en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_South_Africa 

Examples of countries with "relatively modest limits" to gun possession: 
USA en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_the_United_States 
Switzerland en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Switzerland 
New Zealand en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_New_Zealand 
Finland en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Finland 
Norway en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Norway 
Canada en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Canada 

Firearms offences in England and Wales 1969-2011
bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19641398 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_control 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country 

rinr.fsu.edu - In Defense of Self-Defense
By Jeff Worley (Research in Review, Florida State Univ.) Winter, 2009
rinr.fsu.edu/issues/2009winter/cover01_a.asp 
PDF: rinr.fsu.edu/issues/2009winter/_doc/2009winterpdf.pdf (pp. 22-35)

Previous posts: 
plus.google.com/114605547533973731226/posts/7aT14FiVYhn 
plus.google.com/114605547533973731226/posts/a4djZYfWop8 
__________________ 

Excerpt from comments:

Celt23 20 December 2012 3:36 PM
@Bobbydazzler123- Why does he have a 'right' to be armed?
Report
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Bobbydazzler123 20 December 2012 3:38 PM
@Celt23- It's a natural right.
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DaanSaaf 20 December 2012 4:04 PM
@Bobbydazzler123: "It's a natural right."
No, it's not! There is nothing 'natural' about owning a modern firearm at all.
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DaanSaaf 20 December 2012 4:05 PM
@DaanSaaf- to add, and nothing deep in nature about the right to own such a thing, it's an entirely artificial social construct
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Bobbydazzler123 20 December 2012 4:14 PM
@DaanSaaf- It might be, but then so is every other right such as free speech and free association. It's undeniably a negative right though, one can be armed until the law takes guns off oneself.
Should we make all rights discretionary? Maybe see slavery as our de fault condition, and thank the state for granting us a paltry amount of 'constructed' rights? That's the implication.
A negative right might be constructed in the sense we turn it into discourse but it can substantially exist in a de facto sense prior to the state coming along.
My issue is the moral authority that is being invested in the state by anti-gun people. Governments killed 100 million last century.
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Bobbydazzler123 20 December 2012 4:16 PM
@DaanSaaf- It's natural in the sense that one can own a gun prior to the state coming along.
Something like 'right' to unemployment benefit isn't natural as it requires the state to grant it.
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 . . . 

MonotonousLanguor 20 December 2012 12:11 PM
I think in a way we need to separate out the different types of Homicides.
First, we have these spree killers, like in Connecticut. They are on suicide missions.
Second, we have Organized Crime, here I am thinking about the Mafia. Their violence with some possible exceptions is among themselves. Violence against "Non-Members" here I am thinking about James Hoffa is directed and precise.
Third, we have Street Gangs, with their constant turf wars. The level of violence is far greater than the Mafia.
Fourth, we have the domestic disputes or personality disputes, or when the Murderer and victim know each other. The second and third categories above may involve people who know each other but the reasons to commit homicide are different.
It never seems like the Police, Political Leaders or Media try to provide us with information and analysis. Sociologists might be used to look at the American Society as a whole.
Why are we in the US a far more Violent Society than Western Europe?? We have Cities in US with more homicides then entire countries in Western Europe.
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 . . . 

AllyF 18 December 2012 4:08 PM
It could be that the US's high homicide rate has nothing to do with availability of guns and is everything to do with culture and tradition.
But frankly if the people of a country are that hell bent on murdering each other by hook or by crook, I'd suggest that keeping them well away from guns is a pretty bloody good idea anyway.
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PolishMark 18 December 2012 4:14 PM
Exactly! Mr Sowell goes all around the houses before finally concluding that "Guns are not the problem. People are the problem". Clearly, at this point in time, for whatever historical or sociological reason, Americans can't be trusted with guns. So take them away.
And as for the nonsense that gun control would "simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available" - a) the police would still have guns and b) without a gun store on every street corner guns would be considerably less available to the average criminal.
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PolishMark 18 December 2012 4:14 PM
Exactly! Mr Sowell goes all around the houses before finally concluding that "Guns are not the problem. People are the problem". Clearly, at this point in time, for whatever historical or sociological reason, Americans can't be trusted with guns. So take them away.
And as for the nonsense that gun control would "simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available" - a) the police would still have guns and b) without a gun store on every street corner guns would be considerably less available to the average criminal.
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 . . . 

dogsbodyNYC 18 December 2012 5:47 PM
I'm not sure of the stats, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of murders in the US are not committed with legally owned firearms. So I wonder if a ban would even put much of a dent in the stats?
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PolishMark 18 December 2012 8:34 PM
@dogsbodyNYC- the vast majority of mass killings in schools, offices and shopping malls are committed with legally owned firearms. It would certainly put a dent in these statistics if nothing else.
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dogsbodyNYC 19 December 2012 3:40 PM
@PolishMark- I know, but my point was not limited to the high-profle mass-killings in schools, offices and shopping malls. I believe these are massively outnumbered (in terms of # of victims, but not media coverage - and certainly not transatlantic media coverage) by the number of murders involving illegal firearms. I might be totally wrong on this, but I'm sure I read it somewhere, I just can't find a decent source now.
And pro-gun types would argue that a gun-ban might prevent the mass-killings, but encourage the relatively low-profile murders (liquor store robberies, etc etc).
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 . . .

mintaka 18 December 2012 4:03 PM
This article is an appalling misuse of statistics, comparing very different places and times, cherry-picking snippets of data that favour the author's argument while ignoring vast amounts that don't. It's an extraordinary example of the most bare-faced disingenuity I have ever come across.
The author is correct on one thing - the advocates of gun control don't have any overwhelming statistical evidence in their favour either because the determinants of crime are many and complex. And in the short run, gun control laws may indeed have unintended consequences because it is primarily the law-abiding who will give up their guns. But if the long-run goal is to make guns a lot rarer in society, there is no way to get there without going through that intermediate period.

_Yet many of the most zealous advocates of gun control laws, on both sides of the Atlantic, have also been advocates of leniency toward criminals.
In Britain, such people have been so successful that legal gun ownership has been reduced almost to the vanishing point, while even most convicted felons in Britain are not put behind bars._

And crime has fallen even as sanctions against criminals have apparently been made less stringent. The US jails criminal for far longer, and has far more crime. Has the author considered the possibility that prison doesn't work?

it ignored other countries with stronger gun control laws than the United States, such as Russia, Brazil and Mexico. All of these countries have higher murder rates than the United States.

You can't compare third world countries with poor law enforcement, poorly paid and trained police, huge inequality, and a powerful capitalist class that consider themselves above the law, with developed countries where only the last is true :)

You could compare other sets of countries and get similar results. Gun ownership has been three times as high in Switzerland as in Germany, but the Swiss have had lower murder rates.

This is a fair comparison. Similar cultures and economies.

There is innocent ignorance and there is invincible, dogmatic and self-righteous ignorance.

Said with not a trace of irony, I bet.
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Comment: I wonder what a Russian, Brazilian or Mexican will think when they read others say that they live in "third world countries."
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freia 18 December 2012 4:47 PM
Yes! This!
The comparative data that I'd really like to see is the number of crimes prevented because people were carrying guns. The need to protect your home, family and property seems to be the big clinching argument for those who oppose gun control (as we see in this article), and yet I've never seen any data to support it. Does the number of crimes prevented by those carrying legal guns outweigh the number of deaths, by accident or intent, caused by legal guns?
I imagine this data isn't routinely collected, not least because it's very hard to identify crimes that didn't happen. But if gun advocactes were serious about a strong evidence-based argument, I'd expect them to be working on producing it. They don't seem to be.
In closing, I'd like to note that the people who disarmed Gabby Giffords' shooter were armed with a folding chair.(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tucson_shooting)
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Comment: this must be one of those innocent ignorants.
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 . . . 

Pacman10 18 December 2012 4:02 PM
Your models of Mexico and Russia as having more stringent gun control policies yet higher murder rates are also completely useless. 

Mexico and Russia have completely corrupt police forces, floating on rivers of bribes who are plainly uninterested in enforcing gun control and are ineffectual in stopping black market weapons sales. 

Russia also has some of the world's largest and most geo-politically powerful 'mafia' syndicates, which also float black market weapons and contribute to high murder rates. 

Mexico's murder rates are primarily the product of an immense drug war. And where do you think the black market weapons used in Mexican murders come from Thomas? Santa Claus? 
P 

Pfft. Gimme a break.
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Comment: another wise guy. So we shouldn't compare the US with Mexico, Russia or Brazil, but the comparison between the US and UK is OK, right? Why? because in both the US and UK the majority of people speak English?
____ 
 . . . 

Definatelynotashark 18 December 2012 3:49 PM +106
Hmm, if people dont own assault rifles, then less people get shot with assault rifles. 

That seems like logic to me.
 ____ 

Pagey 18 December 2012 3:52 PM +93
What does a civilian NEED an assault rifle for?
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Unencom 18 December 2012 4:00 PM +16
But examples like Switzerland- with widespread gun ownership but few murders- would suggest that this is not what actually occurs in practice.
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Milney 18 December 2012 4:13 PM +83
@Unencom: "But examples like Switzerland- with widespread gun ownership but few murders- would suggest that this is not what actually occurs in practice"

The difference is WHY people own guns in the respective countries. The Swiss have to own a weapon, and undergo mandatory training as they have no standing army, and so would rely on local armed resistance if attacked. 

The American's have neither the discipline, the training nor the historic values of the Swiss, and so those with the weapons are the unhinged crazies who think Obama is a Muslim out to round them all up through FEMA.
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Comment: you will can self-righteous individuals with a severe complex of superiority everywhere. 
____ 
 . . . 

Pagey 18 December 2012 3:47 PM +113
Sowell lost the argument the second he wrote "gun control zealots". The zealots are the paranoid "survivalists".
 ____ 
 
Carlthellama 18 December 2012 3:57 +21
Check the article below this one on the Gun Show (guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/18/what-max-blumenthal-learned-from-gun-show-tour). You’ll find far more derogatory language used to describe gun owners than Zealots. Using that word may well have been ill advised, but Sowell’s piece is still far more polite than most of the comments that have followed it.
 ____ 

Milney 18 December 2012 4:10 PM +41
@Carlthellama- I think you have a very poor grasp of what is "polite". 

The article you link made no assumptions or assertations regarding the nature of the people at the show, and simply recalled what they said and what the literature he was sent stated. His descriptions of the people he met were very short and basic "gentleman" "older man". 

Compared to this gun-nut:

There is innocent ignorance and there is invincible, dogmatic and self-righteous ignorance

Not to mention the constant, repetitive use of "zealot". 

I'm not sure you know what "polite" is - and here's a little hint; a common "tell" for identifying cults is when they repeatedly use terminology not widely used to describe something. "Orthodoxy" is a commonly identified word, and clearly "gun control zealot" is part of the cult of the NRA.
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Milney 18 December 2012 3:47 PM +103
They simply disarm law-abiding citizens, while people bent on violence find firearms readily available

For someone asking for facts, you sure are spouting a lot of lies and misdirection.

Gun Control may disarm "law-abiding citizens", but it also limits the supply of weapons so they are not " readily available" to criminals as such weaponry becomes illegal. 

It enables law enforcement to clamp down on all weaponry, before they fall through the gaps and enter the illegal market place. 

Some get through, yes, but the number is vastly reduceda dn by extension the violence is reduced. 

But there just is no correlation between gun ownership and murder rates 

Yes, there is. Clearly you are as innumerate as your a ill-spoken (drinking game folks - take a shot for evey iteration of the word "Zealot" in the article). Reams of data show countries with greater access to guns have massive rates of murder and violence compared to those without. Stating otherwise shows you to be an idiot of the highest order.
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Unencom 18 December 2012 3:59 PM +19
Reams of data show countries with greater access to guns have massive rates of murder and violence compared to those without.
Will you share these reams of data, or should we just take your assertion as gospel?
____ 
 
Milney 18 December 2012 4:15 PM +27
@Unencom- There was a very handy interative map outlining Gun Control Laws compared to Gun Violence on this very site. 

Go look and interrogate the data behind it and you'll be illuminated
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MaximusG 18 December 2012 7:47 PM
@Milney- I think it's you that needs to interrogate the data. Some of the worst gun crime in the world happens in states with low per-capita ownership and strict laws. Sowell is right, there is no causation between liberal gun laws and gun crime. The real causa
e is poverty and lack of education... surprise, surprise!
 ____ 

CraigKing 19 December 2012 10:59 AM
But not, for example, Norway.
Funny how people who don't like guns and would never have one seem to think that their way is the hope and the truth and the light and so should be empowered to stop everyone from owning a gun.
Seems to me that the Americans overwhelmingly like having guns and they similarly overwhelmingly don't shoot them at anyone. They use them for hunting and sport and like to have them around because they feel safer having them. What's wrong with that?
This baying mob here seems to be of the opinion that having a gun makes one a murderer, nay a mass murderer of little children. What a strange notion. I grew up with guns from the age of 10 and they are great for hunting, target shooting and for carrying while investigating strange noises in my home late at night. I even used one during one of our conflicts but at no time have I thought "boy I've got a gun so killing someone must be easy using this, let's give it a go".
Today I am denied, by law, ownership of a gun yet there are lots of bad men around with them so I have strengthened my perimeter in the hopes that they go next door which seems a bit selfish, but it is logical. I'd rather have a gun though.
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 . . . 

bailliegillies 18 December 2012 3:46 PM +144
Guns are not the problem. People are the problem – including people who are determined to push gun control laws, either in ignorance of the facts or in defiance of the facts.

Guns are the problem and it's guns that kill people, because people use them to kill people. If people did not have such easy access to weapons then they would not find it so easy to go out and kill indiscriminately. The mental state of the person is important but it's their easy access to weapons, especially semi automatic weapons that allows them to go out and kill.
 ____ 

HarryTheHorse 18 December 2012 5:48 PM
Guns are the problem

In which case, how do you account for the fact that there are over 1 million licensed guns in the UK yet the country is not awash with killings perpetrated by those guns?
 ____ 

AhBrightWings 18 December 2012 6:40 PM +33
@HarryTheHorse- seriously setting yourself up for this one, are you? Because they have control.
I notice you didn't answer the question on the other thread. So when was the last time you rode your gun to work? (Your favorite red herring being that cars kill, too.)
 ____ 
 
HarryTheHorse 18 December 2012 6:51 PM
@AhBrightWings- seriously setting yourself up for this one, are you? Because they have control.
Spare me. I live in the UK, and I very well acquainted with the laws here. The point I was making was in response to the imbecile claim that "Guns are the problem" when quite clearly they are not. The issue is with who possesses them.
And for avoidance of doubt, since you are incapable of reading other's posts accurately, you will find not one post of mine attacking the principle of gun control, that is to say, proportionate and reasonable controls that prevent manifestly unsuitable people from acquiring firearms. I do oppose the ignorance and stupidity of people whose thinking on "gun control" gets no further than ban this or ban that.
So when was the last time you rode your gun to work?
Since I am not employed on a highland estate as a keeper, I never take my gun to work.
 ____ 
 . . . 

greengriff 20 December 2012 1:21 PM
A wider perspective is needed - hard when 26 deaths are fresh in peoples' minds, but important nevertheless. I admit to only skim reading the comments, but nowhere did I see anyone asking about how many lives widespread gun possession could have saved over the years? For example over 100 million people were murdered by their own governments in the 20th century. I wonder if those victims had been armed, would the death toll have been anything like as much?
If every Jew rounded up by the Nazis, every Russian visited by the Cheka or every Chinese apprehended by the red guards had been armed and had resisted with lethal force instead of going like lambs to the slaughter do you think maybe those states would have run out of operatives with the will to look death in the face every time they knocked a door to arrest a 'class enemy' and the whole mass murder program would have ground to a halt?
Also why should the police and military have guns if citizens cannot? The chances of the UK being invaded are no doubt less than those of me being violently attacked, so why do the army need guns? Also I would imagine (purely a guess) that a policeman is hardly any more likely to be a victim of life threatening violence than a young lad out on a saturday night, so why do they need guns if no one else can have them? After all the soldiers and police are just people like me and you, and often not as nice lol
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DaanSaaf 20 December 2012 3:46 PM
@ Greengriff: "If every Jew rounded up by the Nazis, every Russian visited by the Cheka or every Chinese apprehended by the red guards had been armed and had resisted with lethal force instead of going like lambs to the slaughter"

Many were armed - the warsaw ghetto uprising, for instance, and a fat lot of good it did them. And a far easier way to stoip the Nazis would have been to stop mainstream rightwingers cuddling up to them at every available opportunity, from their earliest days
____ 

Comment:

- Halbrook SP. Nazi Firearms Law and the Disarming of the German Jews. Ariz. J. Int'l & Comp. L. (2000) vol. 17 pp. 483-537
stephenhalbrook.com/article-nazilaw.pdf 
__________________ 

discovermagazine.com - How common are godless liberals?
By Razib Khan. February 24, 2012
blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/02/how-common-are-godless-liberals 

Comment: I wonder whether (American*) liberal atheists are really atheists. For instance, Marxism has been often characterized as a Christian heresy.
(*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_liberalism_in_the_United_States)

Excerpt from comments:

Paul Vasquez Feb 24, 2012
It's funny. I consider myself more of a humanist than an atheist because if I had the choice of sitting down for coffee with a liberal Christian or a conservative atheist, I think I would choose the liberal Christian. Conservative atheism always strikes me as people who just want to use atheism as an excuse for selfish and bad behavior.

Betsy McCall Feb 24, 2012
+Paul Vasquez Yeah, I think the author of the article is on to something when he says that the "conservatives" in the survey are probably libertarians. Of course, they are just as capable of being irrational as believers.

Paul Vasquez Feb 24, 2012
Yes, I think most conservative atheists are libertarians.
_______ 

Michael Bernstein Feb 24, 2012
"When I see these results I’m always surprised by the proportions of atheists & agnostics who define themselves as conservative. It seems way too high. I think this is due to libertarians who check the conservative option."

I think that sentiment probably reflects a bit of a biased view as to what conservatism is. There are definitely fiscal (and even social) conservatives that aren't religious.

For example, a chunk of this group could be uncharitably labelled 'Rich folks who think religion is for the little people'. Among other aspects of this group, they are the ones who frequently use libertarians as catspaws, without actually being libertarian themselves.

Another chunk could be labelled 'Goldwater and/or Buckley Conservatives'. The remaining ones may be getting chased out of the GOP these days, but they definitely exist, and don't really fit under the label 'libertarian'. 

Note: I am NOT describing myself.
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Jeff Weiss Feb 24, 2012 (edited) +2
There's no such thing as a socially conservative atheist. Or if there is, maybe they could explain why they oppose homosexuality or birth control, without mentioning religion.

Betsy McCall Feb 24, 2012
+Jeff Weiss I won't go so far as to say they don't exist, but I think it is a sign of not fully escaping the hold of "tradition", which almost by definition includes religion.

Jeff Weiss Feb 24, 2012
+Betsy McCall ok, so they can claim to be socially conservative, but then if asked to explain it, they would inevitably not be able to, right?
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Michael Bernstein Feb 25, 2012 (edited) +1
Here is the thing: Ignoring for the moment party affiliation, socially conservative positions can range from "I want to turn the wheel back to an idyllic imagined past" to "hold on, let's slow down and not throw the baby out with the bathwater", just as social progressive positions can range from "lets move forward with all due haste and caution" to "damn the torpedos, full steam ahead to an imagined idyllic future".

Importantly, people may peg the conservative/progressive meter differently depending on the issue (as the broad fiscal/social split shows in general principle), and the amalgam of positions an individual takes doesn't have to make sense or even be consistent.
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Zephyr López Cervilla Feb 25, 2012 (edited)
I wonder whether the liberal atheists are really atheists. Socialism has been often characterized as a heresy of Christianity.
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Betsy McCall Feb 26, 2012
+Zephyr López Cervilla I don't even know what that means. I'm liberal. I don't believe in god. I'm certainly not a Christian heretic.
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- Here you are, not very different from what I remembered. Instead of Socialism, they refer to Communism and Marxism, 

<<The late Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, referred to Communism as a Christian heresy. He meant that Communism had laid hold on certain truths which are essential parts of the Christian view of things, although bound to them are theories and practices which no Christian could ever accept.

II. 

The theory, though surely not the practice, of Communism challenges us to be more concerned about social justice. With all of its false assumptions and evil methods, Communism arose as a protest against the injustices and indignities inflicted upon the underprivileged. The Communist Manifesto was written by men aflame with a passion for social justice. Karl Marx, born of Jewish parents who both came from rabbinic stock, and trained, as he must have been, in the Hebrew Scriptures, could never forget the words of Amos: "Let judgment roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." Marx's parents adopted Christianity when he was a child of six, thus adding to the Old Testament heritage that of the New. In spite of his later atheism and antiecclesiasticism, Marx could not quite forget Jesus' concern for "the least of these." In his writings, he champions the cause of the poor, the exploited, and the disinherited. 

Communism in theory emphasizes a classless society. Although the world knows from sad experience that Communism has created new classes and a new lexicon of injustice, in its theoretical formulation it envisages a world society transcending the superficialities of race and color, class and caste. Membership in the Communist party theoretically is not determined by the color of a man's skin or the quality of blood in his veins. 

Christians are bound to recognize any passionate concern for social justice. Such concern is basic in the Christian doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. The Gospels abound with expressions of concern for the welfare of the poor. Listen to the words of the Magnificat: "He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away." No doctrinaire Communist ever expressed a passion for the poor and oppressed such as we find in the Manifesto of Jesus which affirms: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." 

Christians are also bound to recognize the ideal of a world unity in which all barriers of caste and color are abolished. Christianity repudiates racism. The broad universalism standing at the center of the gospel makes both the theory and practice of racial injustice morally unjustifiable. Racial prejudice is a blatant denial of the unity which we have in Christ, for in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, bond nor free, Negro nor white.

In spite of the noble affirmations of Christianity, the church has often lagged in its concern for social justice and too often has been content to mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities. It has often been so absorbed in a future good "over yonder" that it forgets the present evils "down here." Yet the church is challenged to make the gospel of Jesus Christ relevant within the social situation. We must come to see that the Christian gospel is a two-way road. On the one side, it seeks to change the souls of men and thereby unite them with God; on the other, it seeks to change the environmental conditions of men so that the soul will have a chance after it is changed. Any religion that professes to be concerned with the souls of men and yet is not concerned with the economic and social conditions that strangle them and the social conditions that cripple them is the kind the Marxist describes as "an opiate of the people.">>

— King, ML, Jr. Strength to Love. HarperCollins Publishers, 1963. "How should a christian view Communism?" (pp. 100-102)
redmoonrising.com/AmericanBabylon/christandcomm.htm 
amazon.com/dp/0060647108 (look up 'heresy')  
____________ 

Also, 

<< Arnold Toynbee characterized Communist ideology as a "Christian heresy" in the sense that it focused on a few elements of the faith to the exclusion of the others.[52] Donald Treadgold interprets Toynbee's characterization as applying to Christian attitudes as opposed to Christian doctrines.[53] In his book, "Moral Philosophy", Jacques Maritain echoed Toynbee's perspective, characterizing the teachings of Karl Marx as a "Christian heresy". [54] After reading Maritain, Martin Luther King, Jr. commented that Marxism had arisen in response to "a Christian world unfaithful to its own principles." Although King criticized the Soviet Marxist-Leninist Communist regime sharply, he nonetheless commented that Marx's devotion to a classless society made him almost Christian. Tragically, said King, Communist regimes created "new classes and a new lexicon of injustice."[55]>>

— Wikipedia editors. Christian views on poverty and wealth.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_poverty_and_wealth#Marxism 

References

52. Toynbee A. A Study of History. 1961 (p. 545)
"The Communist ideology was a Christian heresy in the sense that it had singled out several elements in Christianity and had concentrated on these to the exclusion of the rest. It had taken from Christianity its social ideals, its intolerance and its fervour."

53. Treadgold DW. The West in Russia and China: Russia, 1472-1917. Cambridge University Press, 1973 (p. 256)
books.google.com/books?id=Fg04AAAAIAAJ&q=Communist+ideology+Christian+heresy#v=snippet&q=Communist%20ideology%20Christian%20heresy&f=false 

54. Maritain J. Moral Philosophy.
"This is to say that Marx is a heretic of the Judeo-Christian tradition, and that Marxism is a 'Christian heresy', the latest Christian heresy"

55. Jackson TF and King ML Jr. From civil rights to human rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the struggle for economic justice. University of Pennsylvania Press. 2007 (p. 42)
books.google.com//books?id=B8k6btUYR68C&q=lexicon#v=snippet&q=lexicon 
____________ 

Further references:

<<For that matter, scholarship over the last 20 years, when more mainstream academics have begun to think more clearly about the subject of Marxism, has noted the strange respects in which Marxism itself reads like a Christian heresy, in which a new age is to be ushered in by a transformation of human nature in a grand historical dialectic. In traditional Christianity, the ennobling of human nature takes place because of Christ's Incarnation; in Marxism, the State takes His place. Marxism offers a theory of sin (private property) and salvation (collective ownership), a church that dispenses grace (the State, as administered by the vanguard of the proletariat), and a litany of saints and sinners. (Of course, it was far more violent than even the worst of the excesses of the Inquisition.) 

So, in fact, it is not too much of a stretch for Christian heresy to embrace Marxism as a creed, since, as G.K. Chesterton said, heresy is often truth gone mad. Liberation theology is the admixutre of one small truth (God cares about the poor) with so much error that it resulted in a madness that saw Christians champion what amounted to terrorism against propertied elites. Of course, it didn't work out the way the theologians imagined it would. 

The breeding ground for libertarian theology was, of course, Roman Catholicism, the world's largest branch of Christianity and the religion of Latin America. So long as socialism and communism were seen as essentially godless, they would have a limited appeal among a traditionally religious population group. But newly baptized, socialist theory had a great chance for political and popular success, despite a hundred years of failure in both theory and practice.>>

— Sirico, Fr. Robert (Catholic priest and president of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty in Grand Rapids, Michigan.) Catholics for Marx. FrontPageMagazine.com. June 3, 2004
webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XuKPQDx2Zm4J:archive.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp%3FID%3D13586+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk 
____________ 


<<Communism, Toynbee argued, is a species of Christian heresy. Is that true, do you think?  In what sense would you argue that it's true, if you agree?>>

— Berlinski, Claire (Editor.) Communism as Christian Heresy Ricochet.com December 25, 2010
ricochet.com/main-feed/Communism-as-Christian-Heresy 
____________ 

+Betsy McCall: "I think the author of the article is on to something when he says that the "conservatives" in the survey are probably libertarians. Of course, they are just as capable of being irrational as believers."

- Or just as capable of being irrational as liberal atheists. 

URL source G+ post:
plus.google.com/110240143550654748022/posts/5v5VXzyHWq6 
___________________ 

RESHARE:
plus.google.com - (Shiite) Ashura. New Dheli, 2012
Uploaded by John Smith. December 6, 2012
Pictures taken on November 24 and 25, 2012

Comment: there are were pictures on both sides. (it seems that now Google reorders the albums)

John Smith Dec 7, 2012 3:52 PM
Ashura is an Islamic Holiday held on the 10th day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic year. This is how it is commonly "celebrated".

URL source G+ post:
plus.google.com/100123747247502197311/posts/QZcC2w5dSVe
________________

Reshared text:

nature.com - Suspend disbelief (6 comments)
By Nature Editorial. December 5, 2012
nature.com/news/suspend-disbelief-1.11954
Wrangling over scientific misconduct could influence Romania’s general election.

Excerpt:
<<The present government of Social Democrat Victor Ponta has been in office for less than a year but it has reversed many of the positive steps taken. Should his Social Liberal Union (USL) coalition gain the absolute majority predicted by some in the general election to be held on 9 December, it is likely to dismantle even more of the institutions set up to ensure meritocracy in academic appointment and funding, and will probably strip away the remaining checks against academic corruption.

Those checks are essential, not least to scrub clean Ponta’s government. In the past week, the watchdog website Integru.org has highlighted two cases of alleged plagiarism and one case of alleged data manipulation involving the research minister Ecaterina Andronescu, then a chemist at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest. She denies them. In accordance with Integru’s methods, each of the allegations was confirmed by several independent scientific experts from other countries in Europe and North America.

Unlikely as it sounds given the briefness of Ponta’s tenure, Andronescu was his third appointment as research minister, and the third to be accused of misconduct. Ponta’s first choice, Corina Dumitrescu, was withdrawn before she was confirmed by parliament. She stood accused of plagiarism and falsely claiming that she attended Stanford University. Ioan Mang was appointed in her place on 7 May but was forced to resign just a week later after Nature exposed extensive plagiarism in his academic papers in computer science (see Nature 485, 289, 2012). Absurdity peaked in June, when Nature revealed that Ponta himself had plagiarized in his 2003 PhD thesis (see Nature 486, 305; 2012).

The accused all dismiss the charges as politically motivated. Ponta promptly ditched the committees responsible for considering the allegations, replaced them with sympathizers, and insisted that the wrong committee had judged him guilty. In a televised electoral debate on 2 December, which heavily featured Integru’s evidence against her, Andronescu responded by emotionally repeating her unlikely election slogan: ‘justice all the way’. A press release from her ministry attempted to dismiss the authority of Integru.org.

On 30 November, Andronescu announced her decision not to withdraw Ponta’s PhD, even though a report from the awarding University of Bucharest confirmed plagiarism. Only the research minister can order such revocation. Yet she claimed, absurdly, that it was not in her legislative power to do so. She similarly failed to take responsibility for plagiarism and other scientific misconduct allegedly perpetrated by leading figures in other universities. She has also announced her intention to eliminate rules that require grant applications to be sent to reviewers outside Romania, claiming that the process costs too much.

Those who are struggling to absorb the scale on which Romania’s scientific system is failing must do as they would in the theatre — suspend their disbelief. But they might also reflect on the challenge of building a strong democratic state on the ashes of a corrupted dictatorship. Ponta’s attempt in July to impeach President Traian Băsescu, a Democratic Liberal, drew a formal rebuke from the EU as undemocratic.

The second largest contender in the elections is a coalition led by the Democratic Liberals. The Democratic Liberals were responsible for bringing in the exemplary laws and structures for science that Ponta is now dismantling. But their governing coalition was also responsible for carrying out an austerity programme that, among other things, cut public-sector wages by 25% in 2010.>>
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Further reading:

(2 comments)
nature.com - Plagiarism exposed in Romanian grant applications
By Alison Abbott. November 7, 2012
nature.com/news/plagiarism-exposed-in-romanian-grant-applications-1.11758
More than a dozen applications suspected of plagiarism.

nature.com - Repeat after me
By Nature Editorial. August 15, 2012
nature.com/nature/journal/v488/n7411/full/488253a.html 
With plagiarism seemingly endemic in Romania, as well as rife among Europe's political class, a bid by academics to root out misconduct deserves widespread support.

(3 comments)
nature.com - Romanian scientists fight plagiarism
By Alison Abbott. August 15, 2012
nature.com/news/romanian-scientists-fight-plagiarism-1.11170 
Researchers set up independent review panel after misconduct scandals hit government.

(259 comments)
nature.com - Romanian prime minister accused of plagiarism
By Quirin Schiermeier. June 18, 2012
nature.com/news/romanian-prime-minister-accused-of-plagiarism-1.10845 
Allegations prompt questions about government’s ability to tackle misconduct in academia.

(4 comments)
nature.com - Plagiarism charge for Romanian minister
By Alison Abbott. May 15, 2012
nature.com/news/plagiarism-charge-for-romanian-minister-1.10646 
Scandal adds to fears that country’s research reform is in peril.
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democracynow.org - Julian Assange on WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning, Cypherpunks, Surveillance State
By Democracy Now. November 29, 2012 (38 min 48 sec)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypherpunk 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cypherpunks_(book) 

Video blurb
In his most extended interview in months, Julian Assange speaks to Democracy Now! from inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he has been holed up for nearly six months. Assange vowed WikiLeaks would persevere despite attacks against it. On Tuesday, the European Commission announced that the credit card company Visa did not break the European Union’s antitrust rules by blocking donations to WikiLeaks. "Since the blockade was erected in December 2010, WikiLeaks has lost 95 percent of the donations that were attempted to be transferred to us over that period. ... Our rightful and natural growth, our ability to publish as much as we would like, our ability to defend ourselves and our sources, has been diminished by that blockade." Assange also speaks about his new book, "Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet." "The mass surveillance and mass interception that is occurring to all of us now who use the internet is also a mass transfer of power from individuals into extremely sophisticated state and private intelligence organizations and their cronies," he says. Assange also discusses the United States’ targeting of WikiLeaks. "The Pentagon is maintaining a line that WikiLeaks inherently, as an institution that tells military and government whistleblowers to step forward with information, is a crime. They allege we are criminal, moving forward," Assange says. "Now, the new interpretation of the Espionage Act that the Pentagon is trying to hammer in to the legal system, and which the Department of Justice is complicit in, would mean the end of national security journalism in the United States." [includes rush transcript]

FILED UNDER  Wikileaks, Bradley Manning, Internet, Domestic Spying, Julian Assange
GUEST:
Julian Assange, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of WikiLeaks, now under political asylum in Ecuador’s London embassy. Assange is the co-author of the new book, "Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet.”>>
democracynow.org/2012/11/29/exclusive_julian_assange_on_wikileaks_bradley 
______________ 

Transcript
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, may testify today at a pretrial proceeding for the first time since he was arrested in May 2010. Manning could face life in prison if convicted of the most serious of 22 counts against him. His trial is expected to begin in February.

Meanwhile, the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, remains holed up in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, where he sought refuge nearly six months ago to avoid being extradited to Sweden to be questioned over sexual assault claims. Earlier this week, Assange vowed WikiLeaks would persevere despite attacks against it. On Tuesday, the European Commission announced that the credit card company Visa did not break the European Union’s antitrust rules by blocking donations to WikiLeaks. Shortly after the ruling, Assange addressed reporters in Brussels via video stream from inside the Ecuadorean embassy.

JULIAN ASSANGE: The strength of popular and private support means that we continue. There is no danger that WikiLeaks will cease to exist as an organization. Rather, its natural and rightful growth has been compromised, and that is wrong and must change. It would set a very bad precedent—it was not only wrong for WikiLeaks; it sets an extremely bad precedent for all other European organizations and all media organizations worldwide that monopolies can simply exercise financial death penalties over organizations and companies as a result of political controversy.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Julian Assange speaking on Tuesday. He now joins us in a rare interview from inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London. He has been granted political asylum in Ecuador but can’t leave the embassy because the British government promises to arrest him if he steps foot on British soil. He has just co-authored a new book called Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet. The book examines how the internet can be used as both an instrument of freedom and oppression.

We want to welcome you, Julian Assange, back to Democracy Now! and first get your reaction to the European Commission’s decision around the issue of Visa, saying it wasn’t breaking antitrust laws when it blocked donations to you. The significance of the credit card company’s blockade of donations to WikiLeaks, what it’s meant for your website?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, it’s good to be with you, Amy and Juan. The decision is disgraceful, but it is only a preliminary decision. We have another submission that the commission has asked for, so hopefully they will turn around before the end of the year or the beginning of next year. Commission had been investigating our complaint for 16 months. The normal turnaround time is four months. The European Parliament last week voted, through an Article 32 section, on how banks should be reformed and credit card companies should be reformed in order to stop arbitrary, extrajudicial financial blockades such as the one that is being applied to WikiLeaks. This year, we—the Council of Europe, all 47 foreign ministers last year passed a resolution saying that these sorts of arbitrary financial blockades on WikiLeaks should not continue, so that it’s interesting to see the playoff in the political wills in Europe between, on the one hand, the Council of Europe and the Parliament and, on the other hand, the commission. But it’s been known for a long time that the commission is closer to big business, and it is often successfully lobbied. Hopefully the commission will do the right thing and turn around in this case.

AMY GOODMAN: And how devastating has it been for WikiLeaks?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Since the blockade was erected in December 2010, WikiLeaks has lost 95 percent of the donations that were attempted to be transferred to us over that period. So, that is over $50 million. Now, fortunately, our 5 percent of $50 million is still not nothing, and so the organization can continue. But as I said in that press conference, our rightful and natural growth, our ability to publish as much as we would like, our ability to defend ourselves and our sources, has been diminished by that blockade.

Now, the United States government has looked into the blockade in January of 2011 and formally found that there is no lawful reason to erect a U.S. financial embargo against WikiLeaks. So what has happened here is that—and this came out in the commission documents that we published yesterday—is that Senator Lieberman and Congressman Peter T. King pressured at the very least MasterCard and Amazon, but perhaps others, including Visa, as well, pressured those organizations to erect an extrajudicial blockade that they were not able to successfully erect through the legislature or through a formal administrative process.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Julian, turning to your new book, Cypherpunks, those in the—around the world who have been amazed at your ability to advocate transparency in government and in the corporate world through the internet might be surprised that in your book you now say the internet is a danger to human civilization. Could you explain why?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Human civilization has merged with the internet. Every society has gone onto the internet, with communications between all of us as individuals but also communications between businesses, economic transfers, and even the internal communications and external communications of states. So there is no barrier anymore between the internet and global civilization. That means that when the internet develops a sickness, global civilization also runs the risk of suffering the same sickness.

And the sickness that the internet has developed over the past 10 years is that nation states and their corporate powers have ganged up together to engage in strategic interception of all communications flowing over the internet across national borders and in many countries even within, within its national confines, such as the United States. We know that that has occurred in different places as a result of whistleblowing cases, such as Mark Klein’s case or William Binney’s, a former chief of research at the National Security Agency. So, we have gone from a position that dissidents face and activists face and individuals face 10, 20 years ago, where if we’re engaged in political activity, we could be individually targeted and our friends could be targeted, to a situation where everything, almost, that everyone does over the internet is recorded and intercepted all the time. And that shift is a shift, as it’s called in the internal documents of the hundreds of companies now who supply this national security sector, a shift between tactical interception on a few people and strategic interception, intercepting the entire nation.

We exposed documents earlier this year, the Spy Files—you can look them up—where, for example, the French company AMISYS, which is closely connected to French intelligence, supplied a nationwide—that’s its own words—interception system to Gaddafi’s Libya back in 2009. And in fact, lawyers connected to WikiLeaks and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism were in the manual that AMISYS shipped to Gaddafi as an example of how the interception system worked.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And in terms of corporate surveillance, as well, you often find now in the media a huge push to get people to use social networks. The degree to which private surveillance or corporate surveillance is going on, as well as government surveillance?

JULIAN ASSANGE: There’s not a barrier anymore between corporate surveillance, on the one hand, and government surveillance, on the other. You know, Facebook is based—has its servers based in the United States. Gmail, as General Petraeus found out, has its servers based in the United States. And the interplay between U.S. intelligence agencies and other Western intelligence agencies and any intelligence agencies that can hack this is fluid. So, we’re in a—if we look back to what’s a earlier example of the worst penetration by an intelligence apparatus of a society, which is perhaps East Germany, where up to 10 percent of people over their lifetime had been an informer at one stage or another, in Iceland we have 88 percent penetration of Iceland by Facebook. Eighty-eight percent of people are there on Facebook informing on their friends and their movements and the nature of their relationships—and for free. They’re not even being paid money. They’re not even being directly coerced to do it. They’re doing it for social credits to avoid the feeling of exclusion. But people should understand what is really going on. I don’t believe people are doing this or would do it if they truly understood what was going on, that they are doing hundreds of billions of hours of free work for the Central Intelligence Agency, for the FBI, and for all allied agencies and all countries that can ask for favors to get hold of that information.

William Binney, the former chief of research, the National Security Agency’s signals intelligence division, describes this situation that we are in now as "turnkey totalitarianism," that the whole system of totalitarianism has been built—the car, the engine has been built—and it’s just a matter of turning the key. And actually, when we look to see some of the crackdowns on WikiLeaks and the grand jury process and targeted assassinations and so on, actually it’s arguable that key has already been partly turned. The assassinations that occur extrajudicially, the renditions that occur, they don’t occur in isolation. They occur as a result of the information that has been sucked in through this giant signals interception machinery.

AMY GOODMAN: Julian Assange, we can’t ignore the fact that we’re speaking to you inside the Ecuadorean embassy, where you’ve taken refuge, where you’re really there as a kind of refugee. You’ve gotten political asylum from Ecuador but can’t leave the embassy. What are your plans right now? Are you negotiating with the Swedish government, if you were to be extradited there, that they would not extradite you to the United States?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, Amy, Ecuador has really stepped up to the plate and must be congratulated. I have been found to be, through a formal process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a political refugee and have been granted political asylum, in relation to what has been happening in the United States and allied countries and their behavior—Sweden and the United Kingdom. The situation for me now is that I have been here for five months in this embassy; prior to that, 18 months under house arrest; prior to that, being chased around the world for about six months by U.S. intelligence and its allies.

Now, I must correct an earlier statement that you made—this has become common in the press—saying that I was here in relation to Sweden. The reason I am here is essentially in relation to the United States. But the Swedish government said publicly that it would imprison me without charge. And in such a situation, I’d not be able to apply for asylum. Now, the Ecuadorean government has asked the Swedish government to give a guarantee that I would not be extradited to the United States. We have asked for a long time for such a guarantee. That has been refused. All the regular processes have been refused in this case. You know, it’s an extremely odd and bizarre case, and I encourage everyone to go and look at that aspect of the case at justice4assange.com. And you can see report after report. You can see all the material that the police claim to be true and all the things that have occurred, the Cambridge International & Comparative Law Journal condemning the decisions that were made here in the British courts.

AMY GOODMAN: Are you saying, Julian, that you would go to Sweden, if they assured you that you wouldn’t be extradited to the United States, to answer questions about these two women who have made charges on sex abuse on your count?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Yes, that has been our public position for quite a long time.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Julian, I’d like to get back to your book for a second and talk about, at this crossroads, as you see it, in terms of the future of the internet, the importance that you see of cryptography as a weapon of the people on the internet.

JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, the development of cryptography is absolutely fascinating. So, we’re not just talking anymore about people being able to write in a secret code that other people can’t read except their intended recipient. Crytography, as a science, in the last 30 years, has developed a basic—basic techniques that we would normally associate with democratic civilization and moved it into the digital realm. So that includes things like anonymous electronic cash and digital voting and signatures and proofs of agreements between people.

So, when we look at what happens when civilization moves onto the internet, how is it controlled? At the moment, a lot of the problems we face on the internet and the independence of the internet is guys with guns can simply turn up to any internet server and tell the people there to behave in a certain way, just like they do with oil wells or they do with customs. So, as an international new civilization, a forum where people are intellectually expressing themselves, where we deposit our history and our political ideals and ambitions, the internet is suffering, on one hand, from mass interception and, on the other hand, that it is still in many ways subservient to the physical force in the various states that its infrastructure is located in. Cryptography provides a way to abstract away from the physical world to create a sort of mathematical barrier between the physical world and the intellectual world, and in that way slowly declare independence from nation states. So our intellectual world cannot simply be censored or deleted or taxed in the manner which we have suffered from for so long in nation states.

Now, the internet—on the internet, there’s no direct physical force that needs to be policed in that manner, so we don’t need armies on the internet. We don’t need policemen on the internet, in a way that we may need them in our regular nation states. So, we do have this opportunity, with careful use of cryptography and a movement behind it, to achieve some forms of independence for the intellectual record and for our communications with one another. And those aspects of cryptography, we have used, with varying degrees of success, in WikiLeaks to publish material that no other publisher in the world was able to publish because they were constrained by physical threats within particular nation states.

AMY GOODMAN: Julian Assange, we are talking to you on the day that Bradley Manning is expected to testify, be heard publicly for the first time in over two years at Fort Meade. His lawyer has said he would plead guilty to certain charges, and that is releasing documents that he got in Iraq on the computer to your organization WikiLeaks, but refused to plead to others, like aiding the enemy. Talk about Bradley Manning, and then talk also—if you could weave that into why you’re so concerned about being extradited to the United States.

JULIAN ASSANGE: Amy, what is happening this week is not the trial of Bradley Manning; what is happening this week is the trial of the U.S. military. This is Bradley Manning’s abuse case. Bradley Manning was arrested in Baghdad, shipped over and held for two months in extremely adverse conditions in Kuwait, shipped over to Quantico, Virginia, which is near the center of the U.S. intelligence complex, and held there for nine months, longer than any other prisoner in Quantico’s modern history. And there, he was subject to conditions that the U.N. special rapporteur, Juan Méndez, special rapporteur for torture, formally found amounted to torture.

There’s a question about who authorized that treatment. Why was that treatment placed on him for so long, when so many people—independent psychiatrists, military psychiatrists—complained about what was going on in extremely strong terms? His lawyer and support team say that he was being treated in that manner, in part, in order to coerce some kind of statement or false confession from him that would implicate WikiLeaks as an organization and me personally. And so, this is a matter that I am—personally have been embroiled in, that this young man’s treatment, regardless of whether he was our source or not, is directly as a result of an attempt to attack this organization by the United States military, to coerce this young man into providing evidence that could be used to more effectively attack us, and also serve as some kind of terrible disincentive for other potential whistleblowers from stepping forward.

AMY GOODMAN: Julian, the Ecuadorean ambassador to the U.K., to Britain, Ana Alban, was quoted in The Independent saying that you’re suffering from a chronic lung infection from being in captivity for so long in London in the embassy. Can you talk about your health?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Amy, being in prison, house arrest, and now held captive in an embassy, with a bunch of cops outside, of course is a difficult circumstance, but it is not more difficult than the circumstance that is faced by Bradley Manning in Fort Leavenworth or by Jeremy Hammond, an alleged source related to the Stratfor files in New York, or by many other prisoners around the world. So, yes, circumstances is hard, but it could be much worse than it is, and people should direct their attention on these other cases.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk more about Jeremy Hammond, who is in prison here in New York City? Explain what Stratfor is; if you can, how you got the documents; or just explain what has taken place.

JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, Stratfor is a organization based in Texas. It has tried to model itself after some weird combination between doing private intelligence work, on the one hand, and covering that with an illusion of journalism by creating this thing called the Stratfor report, which has become very influential within—within the military and within government. It has a particular worldview, which is—which the head of Stratfor, Friedman, admits to being a Kissingeresque realpolitik. And through stealing, bribing, gathering information in various ways, they’re able to influence U.S. policy and, more broadly, Western policy. Now, it’s also—you know, it’s done all the usual nasty stuff, like working for Coca-Cola, making reports on PETA, making reports on Bhopal activists and so on. But its greatest importance is its private influence into the decision making of different people throughout government.

But we have found through the Stratfor files, which this young activist Jeremy Hammond is accused of hacking out of Stratfor and giving to us—we have found that actually the information or the sourcing for these reports is rather thin in many places or politically biased or is used to feed something that Stratfor set up called StratCap, which is a private capital investment company which takes the information that they’ve gained from bribery and uses it to make investments in, say, gold futures and so on. So, you know, you can see from the Stratfor material that this is a company that—where the boss, Friedman, has gone, "How can I be as evil as possible? How can I be some kind of stereotype cross between Kissinger and James Bond and tell everyone else to do it?" And, you know—and that’s what is done in that company. So, whoever the source is of the Stratfor material deserves enormous credit. Story after story has come out from all around the world of—about material that Stratfor collected and didn’t publish or gave to their private clients.

AMY GOODMAN: And Julian, one of the emails that WikiLeaks released of Stratfor of the vice president said that there was a secret indictment against you by the secret grand jury that we believe is convened in Alexandria, Virginia, that is going after you and other WikiLeaks volunteers. Do you know any more about this information or any confirmation that there is this sealed indictment against you?

JULIAN ASSANGE: There are some 3,000 emails in the Stratfor collection about me personally and many more thousands about WikiLeaks. The latest on the grand jury front is that the U.S. Department of Justice admits, as of about two weeks ago, that the investigation is ongoing. On September 28th this year, the Pentagon renewed its formal threats against us in relation to ongoing publishing but also, extremely seriously, in relation to ongoing, what they call, solicitation. So, that is asking sources publicly, you know, "Send us important material, and we will publish it." They say that that itself is a crime. So this is not simply a case about—that we received some information back in 2010 and have been publishing it and they say that that was the crime; the Pentagon is maintaining a line that WikiLeaks inherently, as an institution that tells military and government whistleblowers to step forward with information, is a crime, that we are—they allege we are criminal, moving forward.

Now, the new interpretation of the Espionage Act that the Pentagon is trying to hammer in to the legal system, and which the Department of Justice is complicit in, would mean the end of national security journalism in the United States, and not only the United States, because the Pentagon is trying to apply this extraterritorially. Why would it be the end of national security journalism? Because the interpretation is that if any document that the U.S. government claims to be classified is given to a journalist, who then makes any part of it public, that journalist has committed espionage, and the person who gave them the material has committed the crime, communicating with the enemy. And we released other material about a young Air Force woman who was suspected of communicating with us, and they went to internally prosecute her under 104-D, which is communications with the enemy. So, who’s the enemy? Well, the enemy is either WikiLeaks, formally an enemy of the United States, or the interpretation is that any time that there is a communication to the public—and we saw this in the Bradley Manning case—there is a chance for al-Qaeda or the Russians or Iran to read it; therefore, any communication to a journalist is communication to the public, is communication to al-Qaeda, which means that any communication to a journalist is communicating to the enemy. Now, it’s absurd overreach, but it is an overreach now which has been put into practice, not at the conviction level yet, but certainly at the investigative and prosecution level. Barack Obama brags publicly on his campaign website of having prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act than all previous presidents combined, in fact, more than twice that of all previous presidents combined.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Julian, on that particular note, I’d like to ask you to, if you can, talk about what you consider to be the long-term impact of WikiLeaks, that as governments continually centralize through the digital revolution their information, it makes it more possible for dissidents or whistleblowers within the structures of these governments to make that information available to broader sectors of the public. And if WikiLeaks—if the governments are able to squash WikiLeaks, how do you see that movement developing in terms of other organizations that are arising that continue the kind of work that you’ve been doing?

JULIAN ASSANGE: The attempts to squash WikiLeaks are there to set a general deterrent. I mean, there’s no doubt about this. Since 2008, that’s been the case. We released a classified U.S. intelligence report, in fact, showing in 2008 the concern that the U.S. military had about WikiLeaks and the ways in which it could be crushed. Other material came out showing that Bank of America had hired lawyers who had looked into hiring people to make all sorts of attacks and smears on us, massively funded millions of dollars per month. And you can look that up. It’s the HBGary report.

I think this tension between power and knowledge is extremely important. So, we’ve all heard the saying that knowledge is power. Well, it’s true. And the mass surveillance and mass interception that is occurring to all of us now who use the internet is also a mass transfer of power from individuals into extremely sophisticated state and private intelligence organizations and their cronies. Now, if that is to be resisted, we must have a transfer of information that is going the other way.

Fortunately, the system is in part eating itself. When it sets up these huge databases designed to be extremely efficient, brings in five million people, a state within a state in the United States, who have security clearances to work out how to best use it in order to maximize the power of that sector, it also leaves itself open to people extracting some of that information and reversing the flow and giving it back to the public, putting it into our common intellectual record. But it’s not, by any means, an easy battle. I would say that the transfer of power that has occurred as a result of the NSA’s admitted 1.6 billion interceptions per day is much greater than the transfer that has happened the other way. The successes of WikiLeaks, yes, to some degree, reflect our vigor and the vigor of activists on the internet, but I think they more fairly represent the vast treasure of global information that is being accumulated by these otherwise unaccountable intelligence organizations.

AMY GOODMAN: Your reaction—you mentioned Petraeus, General Petraeus, before and how he’s been taken down as his email was gone through. What do you think about that? The—here he was—

JULIAN ASSANGE: I think it’s fascinating, Amy. Now, we can look into—you know, if you’ve been involved in this business for a while, you can start to smell when there must be something more to the situation. So I assume, in those emails that the FBI got hold of, there’s additional information that would be embarrassing to Petraeus above and beyond an extramarital affair, which is why he’s resigned. But that someone in the position of being the ultimate—an ultimate insider, the head of the CIA, has fallen victim to the surveillance state really shows you how massively out of control the thing has become, where it is like a vicious dog that has suddenly spotted its own tail and has gone after it, is lashing out irrationally, and now it’s affected an insider. And people have started to take note, but of course it’s been doing that to activists and, in fact, most of—most of us, it has been doing that, although we can’t see the result, for years.

AMY GOODMAN: Julian Assange, as we wrap up, your final thoughts as you speak to us from political exile inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London? This is extremely rare. How long do you plan to be holed up there? Could you see yourself being there for years?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Possibly, Amy. I mean, it is possible. I mean, the Ecuadorean government said, "If it takes 200 years for Mr. Assange to be safe, then 200 years it is," to their credit. There’s an Ecuadorean national election in February next year. And it seems to be that there’s a bit of a diplomatic waiting game on, as far as the U.S. and the U.K. are concerned, to look to see how that election goes. President Correa is the most popular political leader in Latin America, so by rights it should be fine. But there have been reports that the United States has increased its sort of anti-Correa funding by three times, so that’s a potential problem. But the people of Ecuador have been very supportive, so I suspect, even if there is a switch to another leader, it’s now a matter of sort of national pride for Ecuador, so they’ll stick the course.

AMY GOODMAN: And as to, you feel, the—how people should use the internet today and protect themselves, as we wrap up with your book, Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, first, first, they have to—it is not always possible to protect oneself. You know, if you walk over the edge of a cliff, it’s not really that possible to protect yourself. But it’s important to know the cliff is there, so you can simply avoid doing certain things that would put you at risk. Now, the first thing they should do is go out and buy the book. It’s not easy to protect yourself. That is part of the problem. It really is not easy. It is, in fact, with some exceptions, something that is presently only open to extremely knowledgeable people. So, we must push forward to empower the greater development of this technology, the—preventing moves to outlaw it, which have been done—we fought a big war in the 1990s to prevent the outlawing of cryptography—and additionally, preventing the back-dooring of cryptographic technology. There are moves afoot to try and do that.

I’m sorry—sorry, Amy, I’m getting the cut-off signal for some reason.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you very much for being with us, Julian. Julian Assange spread that 10 minutes to about 40, and we thank you so much for being there. Julian Assange is the founder and editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, now under political asylum in Ecuador’s London embassy, happens to have co-authored this new book, Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet, which can make it outside of the embassy, which he can’t do right now. Thanks so much for being with us. And folks, if you want a copy of today’s show, you can go to our website at democracynow.org. But we’ll be back in a minute.

democracynow.org/2012/11/29/exclusive_julian_assange_on_wikileaks_bradley 
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via +Tony Schwartz 
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TEDxTalks - Can Thorium End Our Energy Crisis? (10 min 3 sec)
By Kirk Sorensen (energyfromthorium.com). April 22, 2011
youtu.be/N2vzotsvvkw 

Video blurb:
<<Kirk Sorensen is founder of Flibe Energy and is an advocate for nuclear energy based on thorium and liquid-fluoride fuels. For five years he has authored the blog "Energy from Thorium" and helped grow an online community of thousands who support a renewed effort to develop thorium as an energy source. He is a 1999 graduate of Georgia Tech in aerospace engineering and is also a graduate student in nuclear engineering at the University of Tennessee. He has spoken publicly on thorium at the Manchester International Forum in 2009, at NASA's Green Energy Forum in 2008, and in several TechTalks at Google. He has been featured in Wired magazine, Machine Design magazine, the Economist, the UK Guardian and Telegraph newspapers, and on Russia Today.

He also taught nuclear engineering at Tennessee Technological University as a guest lecturer. He is active in nonprofit advocacy organizations such as the Thorium Energy Alliance and the International Thorium Energy Organization. He is married and has four small children.>>
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Other public lectures:

- Bonometti, Joe. The Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor: What Fusion Wanted To Be. Google TechTalks. November 18, 2008 (55 min 17 sec)  youtu.be/AHs2Ugxo7-8   

- Hargraves, Robert. Aim High: Using Thorium Energy to Address Environmental Problem. Google TechTalks. May 26, 2009 (59 min 50 sec)  youtu.be/VgKfS74hVvQ 

- LeBlanc, David. Liquid Fluoride Reactors: A New Beginning for an Old Idea. Google TechTalks. February 19, 2009 (1 h 7 min 16 sec)  youtu.be/8F0tUDJ35So 

- Sorensen, Kirk. Energy From Thorium: A Nuclear Waste Burning Liquid Salt Thorium Reactor. Google TechTalks. July 20, 2009 (1 h 22 min 9 sec)  youtu.be/AZR0UKxNPh8 

- Sorensen, Kirk. Is Nuclear Waste Really Waste? Google TechTalks. December 6, 2010 (40 min 40 sec) youtu.be/rv-mFSoZOkE 

Source: 
Thorium Remix 2009 - LFTR in 16 Minutes (16 min 32 sec)  youtu.be/WWUeBSoEnRk 

Other Kirk Sorensen's Lectures:

- Sorensen, Kirk. Can Thorium End Our Energy Crisis? TEDxTalks. April 22, 2011 (10 min 3 sec) youtu.be/N2vzotsvvkw 

Kirk Sorensen @ MRU on LFTR - Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors (1 h 37 min 13 sec) youtu.be/D3rL08J7fDA 

Kirk Sorensen @ PROTOSPACE on Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors (2 h 36 min 45 sec) youtu.be/YVSmf_qmkbg 

Interview to Kirk Sorensen:
Dr. Kiki's Science Hour 84 (Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors) Abridged
1/3 youtu.be/d0HkG674w-s (11 min 57 sec)
2/3 youtu.be/icCM77d529g (11 min 57 sec)
3/3 youtu.be/qiMTPMzFk1g (10 min 14 sec)

LFTR in 5 Minutes - THORIUM REMIX 2011 - An energy solution. (1 h 59 min 59 sec) youtu.be/P9M__yYbsZ4 
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- Svoboda, Elizabeth The Truth About Thorium and Nuclear Power. Popular Mechanics. October 20, 2010
popularmechanics.com/science/energy/next-generation/the-truth-about-thorium-and-nuclear-power 

- Rahman, Maseeh. India plans 'safer' nuclear plant powered by thorium. The Guardian. November 1, 2011
guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/nov/01/india-thorium-nuclear-plant 

world-nuclear.org/info/inf62.html 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium#Thorium_as_a_nuclear_fuel 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium_fuel_cycle 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium#Thorium_energy_fuel_cycle 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-salt_reactor 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-Salt_Reactor_Experiment 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium-based_nuclear_power 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Rubbia 
skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/2385/what-is-the-safest-nuclear-fission-plant-alternative 
ucsusa.org/publications/earthwise/dialogue-earthwise-summer-2012.html 
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Excerpt from comments G+ post:

Paolo Kuslan Nov 20, 2012 5:25 PM
We can not watch natural landscapes filled with wind mills or fields of solar panels.

Gaythia Weis Nov 20, 2012 5:27 PM
+Paolo Kuslan   As opposed to what alternative?

Paolo Kuslan Nov 20, 2012 5:29 PM +2
Solar panel on EVERY building and micro wind mills in the house gardens.

Gaythia Weis Nov 20, 2012 5:37 PM (edited) +1
+Paolo Kuslan   I'd agree with that also.  At least for solar.  Microwindmills are a good idea but one that would need regulations as to maintenance and location to negate impacts on neighbors.   But I believe that to be effective enough to displace fossil fuels, it will be necessary to locate large scale facilities in logical locations.

Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 20, 2012 9:12 PM (edited) +1
As opposed to thorium-fueled nuclear fission reactors?
popularmechanics.com/science/energy/next-generation/the-truth-about-thorium-and-nuclear-power 
2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium_fuel_cycle 
3. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor 
4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium-based_nuclear_power 
thomhartmann.com/forum/2011/03/thorium-fueled-nuclear-power-safe-and-secure 

Gaythia Weis Nov 20, 2012 9:15 PM +1
Union of Concerned scientist on Thorium reactors: http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/earthwise/dialogue-earthwise-summer-2012.html

Zephyr López Cervilla Nov 20, 2012 10:46 PM +1
+Gaythia Weis: <<Union of Concerned scientist on Thorium reactors: http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/earthwise/dialogue-earthwise-summer-2012.html >>

- This website is of an environmentalist organization, a naturally biased source of information: 

"The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world."
ucsusa.org/about 

- That page doesn't even provide specific references to its statements. E.g., 

1. "LFTRs also present proliferation and terrorism risks because they involve the continuous “reprocessing” of the spent fuel to separate out uranium-233, which could be used in a nuclear weapon."

2. "the Department of Energy has found that reactors fueled with thorium and uranium do not provide any clear advantages over uranium-only reactors in terms of waste management, proliferation risk, safety, economics, or sustainability."

3. "disposal of the used fuel could pose a major challenge; an experimental LFTR that operated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the 1960s still has highly radioactive spent fuel on site that is proving very costly and difficult to clean up."
ucsusa.org/publications/earthwise/dialogue-earthwise-summer-2012.html 
____________ 

- Likewise, I can find quotes claiming otherwise: 

1. "But when thorium is used instead of uranium-238 as a fertile material to kickstart nuclear fission, the thorium eventually "becomes uranium-233, which fissions almost instantaneously in the reactor, generating other isotopes that make power," Grae says. That means usable weapons-grade nuclear material is not produced, which would theoretically eliminate some security issues now associated with nuclear plants."
popularmechanics.com/science/energy/next-generation/the-truth-about-thorium-and-nuclear-power 

2. "Grae also claims thorium-powered light water reactors produce a much smaller volume of waste products that decay to relatively safe levels in just six to seven hundred years."
popularmechanics.com/science/energy/next-generation/the-truth-about-thorium-and-nuclear-power 

3a. "The MSRE was a 7.4 MWth test reactor simulating the neutronic "kernel" of a type of inherently safe epithermal thorium breeder reactor called the Liquid fluoride thorium reactor. It primarily used two fuels: first uranium-235 and later uranium-233. The last, 233UF4 was the result of breeding from thorium in other reactors. Since this was an engineering test, the large, expensive breeding blanket of thorium salt was omitted in favor of neutron measurements."
 . . . 
"For simplicity, it was to be a fairly small, one-fluid (i.e. non-breeding) reactor operating at 10 MWth or less, with heat rejection to the air via a secondary (fuel-free) salt."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-Salt_Reactor_Experiment 

3b. "A separate blanket of thorium salt absorbs the neutrons and convert from thorium to protactinium-233. Protactinium-233 can be left in the blanket region where neutron flux is lower, so that it slowly decays to U-233 fissile fuel, rather than capture neutrons. This bred fissile U-233 can be recovered by simple fluorination, and placed in the core to fission. The core's salt is also purified, first by fluorination to remove uranium, then vacuum distillation to remove and reuse light atomic weight carrier salts."
 . . . 
"Graphite was the chosen material by ORNL because of its low neutron absorption, compatibility with the molten salts, high temperature resistance, and sufficient strength and integrity to separate the fuel and blanket salts. The effect of neutron radiation on graphite is to slowly shrink and then swell the graphite to cause an increase in porosity and a deterioration in physical properties. Graphite pipes would change length, and may crack and leak. ORNL chose not to pursue the two-fluid design, and no examples of the two-fluid reactor were ever constructed."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_fluoride_thorium_reactor#Two_Fluid_Reactor 

3c. "molten salt reactors could potentially burn through hazardous waste stockpiles produced by previous generations of nuclear reactors."
popularmechanics.com/science/energy/next-generation/the-truth-about-thorium-and-nuclear-power 
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IT IS very rare for new evidence to question or even negate the utility of a well-established class of drugs. But after four decades as a standard therapy for heart disease and high blood pressure, it looks like this fate will befall beta blockers. Two major studies published within about a week of each other suggest that the drugs do not work for these conditions. This is a big surprise, with big implications.

The first beta blocker, Inderal, was launched in 1964 by Imperial Chemical Industries for treatment of angina. This drug has been hailed as one of great medical advances of the 20th century. Its inventor, James Black, was awarded the Nobel prize in medicine in 1988.

The 20 or so beta blockers now on the market are very widely used - almost 200 million prescriptions were written for them in the US in 2010. They are standard issue for most people with heart disease or high blood pressure. This may now change.

A large study published last month in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that beta blockers did not prolong the lives of patients - a revelation that must have left many cardiologists shaking their heads (JAMA, vol 308, p 1340).

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jalopnik.com - How To Watch An F1 Race If You’re A Clueless American
By Travis Okulsk. November 13, 2012 

"Just because there are no passes on the track"

- This is unfair. Nowadays there are a fair number of overtakes during each F1 race, nothing to do with the situation one or two decades ago.
BTW, most races start at 2:00 p.m. local time, around the moment in which the track temperature is usually highest.

"Don't expect NASCAR"

- Rather you should expect something closer to the IndyCar Series (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IndyCar_Series) but with no oval circuits. The races are of about 180 miles and last for about one and a half hours up to two hours as the maximum allowed time (unless it's been halted). There are also some crashes, most often during the first lap, but the death toll have decreased dramatically in the last decades (the last person who died during an F1 race was Ayrton Senna in 1994).

"F1 cars don't refuel, so pit stops are ludicrously fast. Like four tires changed in 2.3 seconds fast."

- This custom was banned when people got tired to act as human torches.

"Watching F1 is different than watching any other form of motorsport. It's faster. It's technical-er. And to the outsider, it's boring-er."

- What is nonsense is watching a race without knowing anything about how the season has gone as in most other seasonal sport competitions like football leagues. Besides, the main goal of drivers and teams is not winning as many races as they can (although it may help) but rather finishing the season as high as possible in the standings (what not always is equivalent to scoring as many points as possible, as it was shown during the Abu Dhabi GP 2010). That said, each win or podium is great for the team's sponsors and helps a lot to improve the driver's and constructor's standings.

So to get a grasp of the real competition at least you should have a look at the drivers' standings

Vettel (RB) 255, Alonso (Fe) 245, Räikkönen (Lo) 198, Webber (RB) 167, Hamilton (Mc), 165, Button 153 (Mc), Massa (Fe) 95, Rosberg (Me) 93, Grosjean (Lo) 90, Pérez (Sa) 66, Kobayashi (Sa) 58, Hülkenberg (FI) 49, Di Resta (FI) 46, Maldonado (Wi) 43, Schumacher (Me) 43, Senna (Wi) 30, Vergne (TR) 12, Ricciardo (TR) 10, others 0.

the constructors' standings 

Red Bull (RB) 422, Ferrari (Fe) 340, McLaren (Mc) 318, Lotus (Lo) 288, Mercedes (Me) 136, Sauber (Sa) 124, Force India (FI)  95, Williams (Wi) 73, Toro Rosso (TR) 22, others 0.

and how the points are assigned, 
from 1st to 10th: 25, 17, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1

To have an idea of the relative impotance of each position. Notice that nowadays winning the race is disproportionately rewarded. 

"I typically try and follow three drivers in a race: Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, and Kamui Kobayashi."

- I couldn't agree more. Although actually I don't follow Kobayashi much because he's usually positioned too behind (and the TV retransmission doesn't show him). Instead I usually follow Roman Grosjean, who is often present in zones of instability (together with Maldonado, but Grosjean has a better car and is usually faster). 

6: Turn on the TV
"You knew that, right? Put on SPEED if you're in the US, since that's the only place to watch the races until next year.[1]"
1. jalopnik.com/5951245/speed-will-lose-f1-after-this-season-and-thats-probably-a-good-thing 
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plus.google.com - Is This Current System of Voting Fair? Do You Have Any Better Solution?
By Conrad Carriker. November 7, 2012

Comment:
Land can't vote, only people can. My solution is a single electoral constituency in all the territory inhabited by the voter population for this election. That way, all the votes would have the same weight for the election of one of the candidates.

Additionally, I would use a several-round system (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-round_system) to minimize the useful vote effect and the spoiler effect (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoiler_effect).

For the parliament I can imagine a more radical departure. As in the presidential election there would be several rounds, but the number of candidates to be elected in the last round would be already the same as the number of seats in the camera.

This way, in the last round each voter would choose, say, 5 of the candidates of the list (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Approval_voting#Multiple_winners). 

Here it'd be the most significant difference: once in the parliament, each representative would vote with the votes received in the last round of the election (rather than one representative, one vote). 

This way, any voter could feel somehow directly represented by the group of candidates that he or she had chosen in the last round, and in the case that some of his or her representatives decided differently to the voter's desires, the voter could still comfort with the decisions of his/her other representatives. This would have more a psychologic effect than anything. 

Here there are other voting system alternatives: 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_system 

There's also the possibility to transfer the votes that haven't been used after a round (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Transferable_Vote). 

This could be applied after the first turns to recover the votes that have been cast to candidates who have been eliminated for the next round. However, this would probably make the election process much slower, more complex and expensive.

The addition of an intermediate round is a simpler alternative and would have a similar effect as long as the candidates who had otherwise received the unused votes managed to pass the cutline to enter the intermediate round.

via +Conrad Carriker 
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2012 popular vote by county

onepercentmag.com - One Percent Magazine - Flying High Again
Posted by Ed. March 6, 2011

Comment:
The magazine of the 1%, we must occupy it.
BTW, do you know who is actually the candidate of the 1%?

Barack Obama | 50.3% 59,725,608 | 303
Mitt Romney | 48.1% 57,098,650 | 206
Gary Johnson | 1.0% 1,139,562 | 0
google.com/elections/ed/us/results 

How are those cars called? and the motorcycles?
onepercentmag.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html 
onepercentmag.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html 
retro mod, custom tuned cars?
Nope, they are called hot rods 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_rod 
or more generally, custom cars 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custom_car 
Can it be applied to old European cars as well?
I'd love to see a Citroën Traction Avant tuned the same way
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Traction_Avant 
a Citroën 2CV en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_2CV 
or a Citroën Méhari en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_Méhari 
In fact, there're some constructions that have used the 2CV platform chassis 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroën_2CV#Kit_cars_and_specials 
Although I don't think they can qualify as hot rods, but who cares?
Here there is a Fiat Topolino 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fiat_Topolino_hotrod_front.jpg 
and volksrods: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volksrod 
________________ 

About the magazine:
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Auckland, New Zealand
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RESHARE:
plus.google.com - Cat Hair Spread-O-Tron
Uploaded by Bilal Ibrar. November 3, 2012

Homesteader: "I fucking knew it!"
Cat Hair Spread-O-Tron

URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/109320436322820889899/posts/5tNVRCE7Q6b 
________________ 

Reshared text:
Cat Hair Spread-O-Tron

That explains it!

RESHARE:
sciencedaily.com - Exhaustive Family Tree for Birds Shows Recent, Rapid Diversification
October 31, 2012

Comment: Where did they get that this was study was made by a Yale-led scientific team?
It's amazing that they collected DNA samples from individuals of so many species. I guess they didn't bother to collect more than one sample from groups of very closely related species

Reference:
- Jetz W et al. The global diversity of birds in space and time. Nature doi:10.1038/nature11631, October 31, 2012
nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11631.html 

Supplementary Information (2.3M) [ open access ] (40 pages)
This file comprises 1) Supplementary Methods, which include Figures 1-5 and Tables 1-3; 2) a Supplementary Discussion, which includes Figures 1-7 and Table 1; 3) an Inventory of the zipped Supplementary Data Files (see separate file); and 4) Supplementary References.
nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nature11631-s1.pdf 

Supplementary Data (1.9M)  [ open access ]
This zipped file contains the Supplementary Data files - see Supplementary Information file (pg 32) for details.
nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nature11631-s2.zip 

ABSTRACT
[ . . . ]
<<Here we present, analyse and map the first complete dated phylogeny of all 9,993 extant species of birds, a widely studied group showing many unique adaptations. We find that birds have undergone a strong increase in diversification rate from about 50 million years ago to the near present. This acceleration is due to a number of significant rate increases, both within songbirds and within other young and mostly temperate radiations including the waterfowl, gulls and woodpeckers. Importantly, species characterized with very high past diversification rates are interspersed throughout the avian tree and across geographic space. Geographically, the major differences in diversification rates are hemispheric rather than latitudinal, with bird assemblages in Asia, North America and southern South America containing a disproportionate number of species from recent rapid radiations. The contribution of rapidly radiating lineages to both temporal diversification dynamics and spatial distributions of species diversity illustrates the benefits of an inclusive geographical and taxonomical perspective.>>
[ . . . ]

These authors contributed equally to this work.
W. Jetz, G. H. Thomas & J. B. Joy

Affiliations
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8106, USA
W. Jetz
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
G. H. Thomas
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
J. B. Joy & A. O. Mooers
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 49, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, Australia
K. Hartmann

Contributions
W.J., A.O.M., and G.H.T. conceived of the study; K.H., W.J., J.B.J., A.O.M. and G.H.T. developed the methods; W.J., J.B.J. and G.H.T. collected the data; W.J., J.B.J. and G.H.T. conducted the analyses; W.J., J.B.J., A.O.M. and G.H.T. wrote the paper. W.J., J.B.J, G.H.T. and A.O.M. contributed equally to the study.
_______________ 

Related webpages:

pan-aves.blogspot.com - Pan-Aves
http://pan-aves.blogspot.com 

news.sciencemag.org - ScienceShot: A Tree for All Birds
By Elizabeth Pennisi. October 31, 2012
news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/10/scienceshot-a-tree-for-all-birds.html 

From here:

<<A Yale-led scientific team has produced the most comprehensive family tree for birds to date, connecting all living bird species — nearly 10,000 in total — and revealing surprising new details about their evolutionary history and its geographic context.>>

news.yale.edu - Exhaustive family tree for birds shows recent, rapid diversification
By Eric Gershon. 31 October 2012
news.yale.edu/2012/10/31/exhaustive-family-tree-birds-shows-recent-rapid-diversification 

Obviously it's inaccurate.

yale.edu/jetz - Jetz Lab
_Global Biodiversity, Ecology & Conservation
of Terrestrial Vertebrates_

via +mary Zeman 
URL via G+ post: plus.google.com/116127033078839124702/posts/DRQksCi3nCp 
_____________ 

Reshared text:
Exhaustive Family Tree for Birds Shows Recent, Rapid Diversification
A Yale-led scientific team has produced the most comprehensive family tree for birds to date, connecting all living bird species -- nearly 10,000 in total -- and revealing surprising new details about their evolutionary history and its geographic context.
Analysis of the family tree shows when and where birds diversified -- and that birds' diversification rate has increased over the last 50 million years, challenging the conventional wisdom of biodiversity experts.
"It's the first time that we have -- for such a large group of species and with such a high degree of confidence -- the full global picture of diversification in time and space," said biologist Walter Jetz of Yale, lead author of the team's research paper, published Oct. 31 online in the journal Nature.
He continued: "The research highlights how heterogeneously fast diversifying species groups are distributed throughout the family tree and over geographic space. Many parts of the globe have seen a variety of species groups diversify rapidly and recently. All this leads to a diversification rate in birds that has been increasing over the past 50 million years."
The researchers relied heavily on fossil and DNA data, combining them with geographical information to produce the exhaustive family tree, which includes 9,993 species known to be alive now.
"The current zeitgeist in biodiversity science is that the world can fill up quickly," says biologist and co-author Arne Mooers of Simon Fraser University in Canada. "A new distinctive group, like bumblebees or tunafish, first evolves, and, if conditions are right, it quickly radiates to produce a large number of species. These species fill up all the available niches, and then there is nowhere to go. Extinction catches up, and things begin to slow down or stall. For birds the pattern is the opposite: Speciation is actually speeding up, not slowing down."
The researchers attribute the growing rate of avian diversity to an abundance of group-specific adaptations. They hypothesize that the evolution of physical or behavioral innovations in certain groups, combined with the opening of new habitats, has enabled repeated bursts of diversification. Another likely factor has been birds' exceptional mobility, researchers said, which time and again has allowed them to colonize new regions and exploit novel ecological opportunities.
In their analysis, the researchers also expose significant geographic differences in diversification rates. They are higher in the Western Hemisphere than in the Eastern, and higher on islands than mainlands. But surprisingly, they said, there is little difference in rates between the tropics and high latitudes. Regions of especially intense recent diversification include northern North American and Eurasia and southern South America.
"This was one of the big surprises," Jetz said. "For a long time biologists have thought that the vast diversity of tropical species must at least partly be due to greater rates of net species production there. For birds we find no support for this, and groups with fast and slow diversification appear to occur there as much as in the high latitudes. Instead, the answer may lie in the tropics' older age, leading to a greater accumulation of species over time. Global phylogenies like ours will allow further tests of this and other basic hypotheses about life on Earth."
Other authors are G.H. Thomas of the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom; J.B. Joy of Simon Fraser University in Canada; and K. Hartmann of the University of Tasmania in Australia.
The work was supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, the Natural Environment Research Council (U.K), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Simon Fraser University, and the Yale Institute of Biospheric Studies.

RESHARE:
Online 3rd-party US presidential debate.
Guests: Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party) and Jill Stein (Green Party) 
Additionally, a televised 4-candidate 3rd-party US presidential debate on October 23 at 20:00 CDT: freeandequal.org/live

Reshared text:
Are you watching the Presidential debate between Gov. Gary Johnson and Dr. +Jill Stein? Watch here:

aether.lbl.gov - Alpha Centauri. A Candidate for Terrestrial Planets And Intelligent Life
By Smoot Group (George Smoot). Last update: October 15, 1997
aether.lbl.gov/www/classes/p139/speed/Alpha-Centauri.html 

Excerpt:
<<For the third test, a system must demonstrate stable conditions. The star's brightness must not vary so much that the star would alternately freeze and fry any life that does manage to develop around it. But because Alpha Centauri A and B form a binary pair there's a further issue. How much does the light received by the planets of one star vary as the other star revolves around it ? During their 80-year orbit, the separation between A and B changes from 11 AU to 35 AU. As viewed from the planets of one star, the brightness of the other increases as the stars approach and decreases as the stars recede. Fortunately, the variation is too small to matter, and Alpha Centauri A and B pass this test. However, Proxima fails this test, too. Like many red dwarfs it is a flare star, prone to outbursts that cause its light to double or triple in just a few minutes.>>
 . . . 
<<Now to the final question. Do we find at Alpha Centauri warm, rocky planets like Earth, full of liquid water ? Unfortunately, we don't know yet whether Alpha Centauri even has planets or not. What we know is that in a binary system the planets must not be too far away from a particular star, or else their orbits become unstable. If the distance exceeds about one fifth of the closest approach of the two stars then the second member of the binary star fatally disturbes the orbit of the planet. For the binary Alpha Centauri A and B, their closest approach is 11 AU, so the limit for planetary orbits is at about 2 astronomical units. Comparing with our system, we see that both Alpha Centauri A and B might hold four inner planets like we have Mercury (0.4 AU), Venus (0.7 AU), Earth (1 AU) and Mars (1.5 AU). Therefore, both Alpha Centauri A and B might have one or two planets in the life zone where liquid water is possible.

Terrestrial Life Conditions: | Sun | α Centauri A | α Centauri B | Proxima
On the main sequence? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes
Of the right spectral type? | Yes | Yes | Maybe | No
Constant in brightness? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No
Old enough? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No?
Rich in metals? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ?
Has stable planetary orbits? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes
Could planets form? | Yes | ? | -?- ((Yes)) | Yes
Do planets actually exist? | Yes | ? | -?- ((Yes)) | ?
Small rocky planets possible? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes?
Planets in the life zone? | Yes | Maybe | Maybe | No
>>

Article of reference:
- Croswell K and Carroll M. Does Alpha Centauri have intelligent life? Astronomy 19 (1991), No. 4, pgs. 28 - 37
http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/9105130690/does-alpha-centauri-have-intelligent-life 
_____________ 

- James, Andrew. Part 6. Voyage to Alpha Centauri The Imperial Star Alpha Centauri. Last Update: June 1, 2010
southastrodel.com/PageAlphaCen006.htm 
_____________ 

Related discovery 1:

- Hand, Eric. The exoplanet next door Nature News. October 16, 2012
nature.com/news/the-exoplanet-next-door-1.11605 
Earth-sized world discovered in nearby α Centauri star system.

- ESO. Planet Found in Nearest Star System to Earth eso1241 — Science Release. October 16, 2012
eso.org/public/news/eso1241 
ESO’s HARPS instrument finds Earth-mass exoplanet orbiting Alpha Centauri B

- Plait, Phil. Alpha Centauri Has a Planet! Discover Magazine. Bad Astronomy (Blog). October 16, 2012
blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/10/16/alpha-centauri-has-a-planet 

- Mann, Adam. Earth-Sized Planet Discovered Orbiting Around Nearest Star. Wired. October 16, 2012
wired.com/wiredscience/2012/10/earth-exoplanet-alpha-centauri 

- Boyle, Alan. How to take a trip to Alpha Centauri NBCNews.com. Cosmic Log. October 17, 2012
cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/17/14516293-how-to-take-a-trip-to-alpha-centauri 
____________ 

Stephane Udry (astronomer, Geneva University in Switzerland): "Most of the low-mass planets are in systems of two, three, up to six or seven planets, so finding in our closest neighbour one Earth-mass planet ... opens a really good prospect for detecting planets in the habitable zone in the system that is very close to us."

<<The measurement is difficult because of variations in the star's light caused by other phenomenon, such as flares and magnetic storms, similar to sunspots on the sun.>>

Artie Hatzes (astronomer, Thuringian State Observatory in Tautenburg, Germany): "Trying to extract a signal that you are interested in when it is in the presence of "noise" - in this case the variability of the star -- is difficult. One has to apply special analysis methods and tricks. The real challenge, in this particular case, was in how to analyze the data."
"I still have my doubts. Even though there is clearly a signal in the data at 3.26 days, the nature of this is still open to debate."

- Klotz, Irene (Discovery News). Earth-sized world found next door ABC Science. News in Science. October 17, 2012.
abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/10/17/3612356.htm 
____________ 

Star Positioning:
ESO. A journey to Alpha Centauri. HD

Article of reference:
- Dumusque X et al. An Earth mass planet orbiting Alpha Centauri B. Nature (2012) to be published (eso1241)
eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1241/eso1241a.pdf 
At Nature website:
nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature11572.html 
Supplementary information:
nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nature11572-s1.pdf 
nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nature11572-s2.txt 
_____________________ 

Related discovery 2:

Armchair astronomers find planet in quadruple star system. Phys.org. October 15, 2012
phys.org/news/2012-10-armchair-astronomers-planet-quadruple-star.html 

- Johnson, Michele *Citizen Scientists Discover Four-Star Planet with NASA Kepler.* NASA Mission News. October 15, 2012
nasa.gov/mission_pages/kepler/news/kepler-ph1.html 

Article of reference: 
- Schwamb ME et al. Planet Hunters: A Transiting Circumbinary Planet in a Quadruple Star System. Astrophysical Journal (2012) draft version
arxiv.org/abs/1210.3612 PDF: arxiv.org/pdf/1210.3612v1 
_____________________ 

- Dole, Stephen H. Habitable Planets for Man. The RAND Corporation (1964) pp. 1-114
1. rand.org/pubs/commercial_books/CB179-1.html 
1. PDF: rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/commercial_books/2007/RAND_CB179-1.pdf 
2. http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA473471 
2. PDF: dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA473471 

Podcast Episode:
- Woo, Joanna and Brar, Rupinder. Episode 7: Extrasolar Planets with Ryan North The Titanium Physicists Podcast. January 22, 2012
titaniumphysicists.brachiolopemedia.com/2012/01/22/episode-7-extrasolar-planets-with-ryan-north 
MP3 file: traffic.libsyn.com/titaniumphysics/Ep_7_Ti_Phy_Extra_Solar_Planets.mp3 (34:32)
_____________________ 

Other: 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Centauri 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Centauri_Bb 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima_Centauri 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Centauri_in_fiction 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_locking 

Related G+ posts:
via +Jenny Winder 
plus.google.com/116017061364727182937/posts/2rcQa8PJoAK 
plus.google.com/116017061364727182937/posts/J3kLPidTBbg 

plus.google.com/110978315648533764743/posts/6AFNk5RYahc 
plus.google.com/106505577291311813232/posts/4tzy9YsP2q4 
_____________________ 

youtube.com - Memorable Monologues: George Carlin - Saving the Planet

"Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails." (1:22) 
 — George Carlin - Saving the Planet 

Script excerpt: 
goodreads.com/quotes/251836-we-re-so-self-important-everybody-s-going-to-save-something-now-save 
____________

mikkelsommer.blogspot.com - crayon drug raid
By +mikkel sommer. April 1, 2009

- URL Whole Picture (full size): http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SdNyNG3BZVI/AAAAAAAAAM4/OTiTtMmPJRA/s1600/crayon+drugraid_color_DONE.jpg 
- URL Closeup: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SdNyNKD0D0I/AAAAAAAAAMw/2Kldq2jcKWQ/s1600-h/crayon+drugraid_color_DONE_closeup.jpg 

Caption: "I wanted it to seem like the druggies inside the house were really fucked up. And what better way to show that than drawing everything around them like a kid's drawing. I had a fun time doing the research and practicing drawing like a kid. My mom found these really old and dried up crayons I had as a kid, so they were probably somewhere around 18 years old."
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/04/crayon-drug-raid.html 
________________ 

Sources:
Mikkel Sommer's webpage: mikkelsommer.com
Mikkel Sommer's blog: mikkelsommer.blogspot.com

date-hub.com - Intervista Esclusiva Mikkel Sommer (italian)
By Redazione DATE*HUB. April 16, 2012
date-hub.com/2012/04/mikkel-sommer

booooooom.com - Comic book artist Mikkel Sommer
By Jeff. March 1, 2011
booooooom.com/2011/01/03/comic-book-artist-mikkel-sommer 
________________ 

Other interesting work by Mikkel Sommer:

Bumps August 10, 2012
- Test 2 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MhCQntbWqpI/UCVmE5CangI/AAAAAAAABQw/D-JI2yi7PbE/s1600/test_2.jpg 
Caption: Here's an illustration I did recently for The New York Times for a series of articles they are doing on anxiety.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2012/08/bumps.html 
________________ 

L'Hommage March 30, 2012
- Moebius http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OjU-Qj6UVOc/T3WzHrO5H7I/AAAAAAAABFg/hqPa5GgAGEI/s1600/moebius_done3.jpg 
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2012/03/lhommage.html 
________________ 

With Cognitive Affection August 8, 2011
- Market http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YuL4EvVIBNM/TkAw9L4PnxI/AAAAAAAAAz0/oj3fr9r0q7w/s1600/market_done.jpg 
- Carriage http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9SIggCnxZ8Y/TkAw87pSCPI/AAAAAAAAAzs/nl9KpPCqFQo/s1600/carriage_done.jpg
Caption: A couple of development sketches I did a while back for an animated film about the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard. 
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2011/08/with-cognitive-affection.html 
________________ 

Obsolete March 17, 2011
Obsolete is finally in print. You can pre-order it at Nobrow, or buy it from me fairly soon with a sketch in it.

- Page 1 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eI1wD2aAOPQ/TYHjEEnvQbI/AAAAAAAAAsY/3p_Xub--I-4/s1600/obsolete_pg01.jpg 
- Page 4 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A2uJErgPzQo/TYHjEvtF6uI/AAAAAAAAAsw/piChYn898FQ/s1600/obsolete_pg04.jpg 

Synopsis: Neglected by the government and with no heroic memories or loving family members to return to, the two weary soldiers seek solace in alcohol, drug and nihilistic hedonism. Constantly haunted by nightmares of their recent tumultuous pasts, they desperately struggle to stay on the surface of reality.
In front of a bank in Utah, armed and emotionally numbed, they step out of a Ford Maverick. For what would feel like a split second, in the middle of their final self-annihilating act, one of them sees something he had never envisioned; an awakening?
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2011/03/obsolete.html 

Obsolete & the Art of Narrowing Down One's Options December 16, 2010
- Test All http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/TQqLw4cyJxI/AAAAAAAAAnY/CFHRGwlwKdo/s1600/obsoletetest_all.jpg
Caption: At the moment, I'm working on a 24 page comic called Obsolete published by Nobrow Press. Here's some tests I did to find the style of line and coloring as well as some sort of a solid palette.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2010/12/obsolete-art-of-narrowing-down-ones.html 
________________ 

Old Fog December 23, 2010
- Old Fog http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/TRM-6mbFKbI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/DoK1y0Xx9c8/s1600/oldfog_done.JPG 
Caption: A one pager for the dinosaurs.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2010/12/old-fog.html 
________________ 

Burning Wet Comeback November 11, 2010
- Leotard Survival Guide http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/TOpOWvR3igI/AAAAAAAAAmo/MeRBY20qizg/s1600/leotardsurvivalguide_color2.jpg 
Caption: The previously ongoing jam-blog is now yet again, ongoing.
The break was mainly due to whining and creative blockage on my behalf, sorry 'bout that chaps.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2010/11/burning-wet-comeback.html 
________________ 

Fishermen October 8, 2010
- Oldman 1 http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/TK7-RaE2KCI/AAAAAAAAAiI/RHZeKBMAbu4/s1600/olman_1.jpg 
Caption: Approximately a year ago, I did this drawing while eating soup after spending two whole days in an art museum in Petersburg. Those Russian painters are such amazing craftsmen!
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2010/10/fishermen.html 
________________ 

Portraits September 6, 2010
- Bus Driver http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/TITVdTOwfuI/AAAAAAAAAdg/J1czmdMOaEI/s1600/busdriver_done2.JPG 
Caption: Since I've never really done any portraits before, I did a massive list of people I wanted to draw. Started yesterday, four down, sixteen to go.
Can you recognize any of them?
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2010/09/portraits.html 
________________ 

A Perverted Intermission May 14, 2010
- Omslag http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/S-27jPPnb2I/AAAAAAAAAbA/1WAxYhYfFeI/s1600/SPRIT_omslag_small.JPG 
Caption: Cover plus a few of the pages I did for an anthology featuring young danish comic book artists coming out fairly soon published by Aben Maler.
My buddy Thomas did a piece for it as well. 
And my other buddy Glenn did a crazy little animated short with some mates.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2010/05/perverted-intermission.html 
________________ 

Pimpin' December 11, 2009
- Dinowhores (pre) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SyMAcGC5UOI/AAAAAAAAAVw/uny1JPmiG7Y/s1600-h/dinowhores_pre.jpg 
- Dinowhores (ink) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SyMAb4dMDDI/AAAAAAAAAVo/jN8k03IIVaA/s1600-h/dinowhores_ink.jpg 
- Dinowhores (done) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SyMIGC8zr7I/AAAAAAAAAWA/IQOG-Dpg-iw/s1600-h/dinowhores_done_small2.jpg 
Caption: Done for the ''weekly'' blog theme. I'm behind in my schedule. It hurts.
Here's the sketches. The bottom left one was the first sketch. The big one is just to figure out the composition. And the two small ones were done to try out the values and the shading.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/12/pimpin.html 
________________ 

Decadence Decadence November 4, 2009
- Tengu http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SvG8DSo3T9I/AAAAAAAAAU4/GZ-jQpi71nI/s1600-h/tengu_DONE_2.jpg 

mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/11/decadence-decadence.html 
________________ 

Old Russian Fairytale October 25, 2009
- Thrice Something (done) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SuTa8KqReyI/AAAAAAAAAUg/vucDvWyWdfc/s1600-h/thricesomething_DONE_SMALL.jpg 
Caption: A one page comic (hardly even a real comic when you think about it) for the buddy blog.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/10/old-russian-fairytale.html 
Dialogue balloon: "Ты гуляешь неправильный путь Дурачок"
Google translation: "You walk the wrong path, fool!"

Ruslan and Ludmila (poem by Alexander Pushkin written as an epic fairy tale) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruslan_and_Ludmila#Song_3 
________________ 

Birdmen & Smackheads October 13, 2009
Hey again. Trying to figure out what I'm doing at the moment when it comes to drawing. The style, the lines, the colors... so many choices and I'm one of those people who can't really decide anything.
- Birdmen http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/StT3TxlNaDI/AAAAAAAAASk/9UjU2b5tLqg/s1600-h/birdmen_DONE.jpg 
Caption: Finally I have a light table again. Feels like ages since I've drawn with ink. Feels really nice. This is for the ongoing buddy blog, burning wet dinosaurs. (Thanks for a great weekend guys;)
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/10/birdmen-smackheads.html 
________________ 

Big Time Party Poopers September 29, 2009
- Party (done) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SsJzRlV9heI/AAAAAAAAASM/Ru4-w4h0S04/s1600-h/party_DONE3_small.jpg 
Caption: I did this illustration yesterday. It's for a book coming out soon about my generation and how they see themselves and each other. So many characters, I thought I was gonna die. But I didn't) It was a blast to do.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/09/big-time-party-poopers.html 
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Summer's Over, Time for ''Work'' September 29, 2009
- Artems Front Cover (done) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SsJvEzYTdeI/AAAAAAAAAR0/M1Rzp-llNxg/s1600-h/artems_front_DONE_SMALL.jpg 
Caption: Cd cover for the Artems.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/09/summers-over-time-for-work.html 
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Pancakes Are Nice June 19, 2009
- Shaman Sailers  http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SjXPS2htEII/AAAAAAAAAQM/MZQcRC4wYYs/s1600-h/shamansailers_DONE2.jpg 
- Shaman Boat Ride http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SjXPSmh9jaI/AAAAAAAAAQE/yUDJj2W710A/s1600-h/shamanboatride_DONE.jpg 

mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/06/pancakes-are-nice.html 
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Food April 15, 2009
- Opdragelse http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SeaqLu5GDlI/AAAAAAAAANo/i1RzCusffic/s1600-h/opdragelse_color_DONE4.jpg 
- Baeburger  4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SeasShEYoXI/AAAAAAAAAOA/xW30vveshtc/s1600-h/baeburger_colorDONE7.jpg 
- Samvittigheds Arven http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SeaqLLb3chI/AAAAAAAAANQ/2M_sqEzdHCQ/s1600-h/samvittighedsarven_DONE1.jpg 
- Pølse Indhold http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SeaqLJSXqtI/AAAAAAAAANI/L5BOO5Tj1o0/s1600-h/pølseindhold_DONE1.jpg 

mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2009/04/food.html 
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Fungus Party October 25, 2008
- Fungus Party (done) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SQO4vTXNjgI/AAAAAAAAADI/RCpPCCgYiuo/s1600-h/funguspartyDONE.jpg 
Caption: This is another drawing for my class theme jam. This was the week before last weeks theme, fungus party. I got stuck in the middle, but finally finished today.
(here's the lines in pencil.)
(here's the first try...which is where I got stuck. I've never done a piece with so many characters in it at once and I ended up given every single thing an individual color which is just a pain! I ended up with these colors and thought they where way to awkward and a little all over the place.)
and the final version. I decided to start all over with the colors earlier today and it probably took my around 6 hours to finish.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2008/10/fungus-party.html 
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The Bam-Tank October 9, 2008
- Bam Tank (color) http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SO3pXJlGuGI/AAAAAAAAACg/RTFXgLFDOBU/s1600-h/bumtank_colorfinal2.jpg 
Caption: We recently started a weekly drawing jam in my class and I'm a little behind:I ..this was last weeks theme: scrap vehicles.
(I did a rougher sketch before this one with blue pencils, but since it's almost the same I didn't bother posting it.)
And here's the final colored version...
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2008/10/bum-tank.html 
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1st post September 24, 2008
- Ninja 1 http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SNrLVTqMYwI/AAAAAAAAAAU/WjIxvqqvZfY/s1600-h/10-portfolie_ninja-1.jpg 
- Ninja 2 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SNrLVpqYkVI/AAAAAAAAAAc/k7ConS3-uZI/s1600-h/11-portfolie_ninja-2.png 
- Tattoed 'N' Bearded http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_UxJTu8NcA80/SNrMIn8h8VI/AAAAAAAAAA0/KYlVBsIoBh0/s1600-h/12-portfolie_tattoednbearded.jpg 
Caption: As a first post, I thought it would be fitting to just show a couple of things from the portfolio I put together for the animation school I'm currently attending as well as some other random work.
mikkelsommer.blogspot.com/2008/09/as-first-post-i-thought-it-would-be.html 
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date-hub.com - Mikkel Sommer's Villains
- 1 date-hub.com/wp-content/gallery/mikkel1/mikkelsommervillain1.jpg 
- 2 date-hub.com/wp-content/gallery/mikkel1/mikkelsommervillain2.jpg 
- 3 date-hub.com/wp-content/gallery/mikkel1/mikkelsommervillain3.jpg 
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Comment:
I'd like cleaner strokes, especially to outline smooth surfaces and defined edges.
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nature.com - DNA has a 521-year half-life
By Matt Kaplan. 10 October 2012

<<The bones, which were between 600 and 8,000 years old, had been recovered from three sites within 5 kilometres of each other, with nearly identical preservation conditions including a temperature of 13.1 ºC.>> [...] <<By comparing the specimens' ages and degrees of DNA degradation, the researchers calculated that DNA has a half-life of 521 years>>

Comment:
So it has a 521-year half life under those particular conditions. Unlike radioactive isotopes, DNA decay heavily depend on environmental conditions.

Also, they assume that the DNA can't be preserved much longer in other organisms such as in bacterial spores or or virus protein inclusions (e.g., polyhedrin crystals/polyhedra) under favorable conditions (dehydration, lower exposure to radiation, stable surrounding environment).

I remember a recent announcement of a lyophilized "live" virus vaccine that unlike other live vaccine it doesn't need refrigeration to remain effective, what indicates that the absence of water can significantly extend the period of time during which the DNA remains functional in absence of DNA repair enzymes.

There have been some claims to have revived some bacterial spores after million of years in suspended animation (extremescience.com/oldest-living-thing.htm), their ancient age is disputed, though (see references below). But even if none of those cases are actually ancient microorganisms it doesn't necessary mean they can't exist.
________________ 

Excerpt from related paper:

<<There are many arguments against the possibility of very long-term survival. Hydrolysis and oxidation of DNA occur in cells and if energy is not available for repair, then DNA will degrade over several thousand years, largely through depurination (Lindahl 1993). However, high salt concentration markedly reduces the rate of depurination (Lindahl 1993) and significantly protects RNA from heat inactivation (Tehei et al. 2002). Haloarchaea have an intracellular KCl concentration of 4–5 M and would be particularly at risk from ionizing radiation from 40K, although calculations based on Sneath (1962) suggest that a lethal dose would not be generated even over at least 10^9 years (Grant et al. 1998b). Haloarchaea do not form resting stages like endospores, which are known to survive for some thousands of years in a profoundly dehydrated state, largely excluding oxygen (Nicholson et al. 2000). Haloarchaea may nevertheless be good candidates for long-term suspended animation, in that high levels of ions in the environment may generate conditions for macro- molecules akin to dehydration, plus producing low oxygen concentration.>> (Grant 2004)
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Reference paper:

- Allentoft ME et al. The half-life of DNA in bone: measuring decay kinetics in 158 dated fossils. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2012), published online.
rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/10/05/rspb.2012.1745 
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Related papers: (all open access)

- Graur D and Pupko T. The Permian bacterium that isn't. Mol Biol Evol (2001) vol. 18 (6) pp. 1143-6
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11371604 
mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/6/1143.long 

- Maughan H et al. The paradox of the "ancient" bacterium which contains "modern" protein-coding genes. Mol Biol Evol (2002) vol. 19 (9) pp. 1637-9
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12200492 
mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/9/1637.full 

- Grant WD. Life at low water activity. Philos Trans R Soc Lond, B, Biol Sci (2004) vol. 359 (1448) pp. 1249-66; discussion 1266-7
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15306380 
rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/359/1448/1249 
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693405 

- Willerslev E and Hebsgaard MB. New evidence for 250 Ma age of halotolerant bacterium from a Permian salt crystal: Comment and reply. Geology (2005) vol. 33 (1) pp. e93-e93
geology.gsapubs.org/content/33/1/e93.1.full 

- Willerslev E and Cooper A. Ancient DNA. Proc Biol Sci (2005) vol. 272 (1558) pp. 3-16
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15875564 
rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/272/1558/3.long 
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1634942 
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Related website pages:

- Keller, Elizabeth. Oldest Living Organism: Ancient Bacteria Bacillus permians. Extreme Science
extremescience.com/oldest-living-thing.htm 

- List of long-living organisms; 2. Revived into activity after stasis. Wikipedia in English
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_long-living_organisms#Revived_into_activity_after_stasis 

- Longevity; 7. Non-human biological longevity. Wikipedia in English
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longevity#Non-human_biological_longevity 

- Ancient DNA. Wikipedia in English
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_DNA 
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via +Rebecca Spizzirri 
URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/114114214363012524277/posts/5KqhGsr21xW 
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RESHARE:
news.discovery.com - Ancient Fortress Found in Spain
By Rossella Lorenzi. October 2, 2012

Dating: ≈ 2,200 B.C.
Archeological site: La Bastida de Totana (Totana, Murcia)
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Bastida_de_Totana 

Excerpt:
<<structure with 4,200-year-old outer walls and six pyramid-shaped towers>>
<<built with large stones and lime mortar and consisted of 10-foot-thick walls that were once 22 feet high and imposing pyramid-based towers.>>

<<unearthed ‬six towers along a length of‭ ‬230 feet,‭ although‬ the full perimeter of the fortification measured about 1,000 feet.>>
<<The entrance to the enclosure consisted of a passageway built with strong walls and large doors at the end,‭ ‬held shut with thick wooden beams.‭>>

<<One of the most relevant elements of the discovery was the secondary door, located near the main entrance.‭ ‬
The door's arch is in very good conditions and is the first one to be found in prehistoric Europe.>>

<<Protecting a city located on top of a hill and extending over ‭‬10 acres, the fortress was designed‭ ‬by people experienced in fighting methods>>
<<The model is typical of ancient Mediterranean civilizations, including the second city of Troy in Turkey, and the urban world of the Middle East‭ (‬Palestine,‭ ‬Israel and Jordan‭)‬.>>

<<the fortress contained unique military features. For example, the lime mortar offered exceptional solidity to the construction,‭ ‬strongly holding the stones and making the wall impermeable,‭ ‬as well as eliminating any elements attackers could hold on to.‭
The postern gate,‭ ‬as a hidden and covered entrance,‭ ‬demanded great planning of the defensive structure as a whole and of the correct engineering technique to fit it perfectly into the wall.‭>>‭

<<Previous excavations had already revealed the existence of a pool capable of storing over 100,000 gallons, and large houses and public buildings which were alternated with smaller constructions,‭ ‬all separated by entries,‭ ‬passageways and squares.‭>>
<<La Bastida will be fully excavated with the aim of transforming it into an open archaeological park that will include a monographic museum and a research and documentation center.>>

Photos: -- Frontal view of the fortification, with several of the walls and the towers visible. Credit: ASOME-UAB.
-- Detail of the eastern part of the wall with square towers (right), monumental entrance (centre) and postern (bottom left, signalled with an arrow).Credit: ASOME-UAB.
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URL source G+ post: plus.google.com/106599561297571136878/posts/XiDwgyqpUQH 
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Reshared text:
4,200 year old fortress being unearthed in Spain- La BasTida de Totana

Like most fortresses in Europe, this one reflects the level of concern the builders must have had towards invaders... it is clear to me that they did not want to take any chances.

"-consisted of 10-foot-thick walls that were once 22 feet high"
"- six towers along a length of‭ ‬230 feet,"
"-full perimeter of the fortification measured about 1,000 feet."

"It was not until some‭ ‬400‭ ‬to‭ ‬800‭ ‬years later that civilizations like the Hittites and Mycenaeans,‭ ‬or city-states such as Ugarit,‭ ‬incorporated the innovative methods seen at La Basida"

RESHARE:
plus.google.com - Omega-3 fatty acids, oxidative stress, and leukocyte telomere length: A randomized controlled trial
By Raymund Kho K.D. October 6, 2012

Excerpt from commments:

Zephyr López Cervilla Oct 6, 2012 4:50 AM +1
I have the suspicion that the reason why the telomeres of the peripheral T-cells are more prone to lengthened with omega-3 supplementation is because with the modulation of the pro-inflammatory signal induced by omega-3, the T-cell precursors proliferate less, and as it's mentioned in the same paper that presents the results of this study,

"Inflammation triggers T-cell proliferation, one known cause of telomere shortening."

Related questions:
1. Why did they didn't exclude those volunteers who were taking an aspirin a day? (I only can think of a plausible explanation).
2. Did they compare change in telomerase activity vs. change in telomere length? If so, why didn't they show those results?
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Raymund Kho K.D. Oct 6, 2012 6:09 AM (edited)
thank you +Zephyr López Cervilla for your refreshing opinion. however i might add the missing direct evidence between telomere length and pufa/omega-3 included in your suspicion. could you elaborate on this? furthermore perhaps you are in the position to point out the relation between aspirin intake and the inclusion in this study :)
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Zephyr López Cervilla Oct 6, 2012 12:44 PM (edited) +2
It can prevent heart attacks and strokes.
I guess that they didn't exclude those people who were taking aspirin because many of their volunteers in the age range that they wanted to study (with a sedentary lifestyle and overweight or obese) were taking an aspirin a day as a preventive treatment. It's the only reason I can think about why they excluded other people who were in a treatment with other NSAID anti-inflammatories but not with aspirin.
Perhaps they would have ended with too small sample had they excluded those taking aspirin regularly, or alternatively, they considered it as a common trait in the population under study and didn't want to skew the results.  
Collapse this comment
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Raymund Kho K.D. Oct 6, 2012 12:57 PM (edited) +1
+Zephyr López Cervilla actually the combined use of omega-3 and aspirin reinforces against heart diseases. so it would not have been a valid design for the current study. furthermore could you elaborate on your suspicion of the modulation as the reason the telomeres lengthen as described earlier :)
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Zephyr López Cervilla Oct 6, 2012 1:17 PM +1
It's explicitly mentioned in their paper, "inflammation triggers T-cell proliferation, one known case of telomere shortening". On the other hand, the omega-3 fatty acids (basically EPA) are known to have anti-inflammatory effects.

It has to be taken into account that what they've been studying how omega-3 intake affects telomere length exclusively on peripheral T-cells. Most of those cells are the result of previous clonal expansions caused by an immune response. A stronger pro-inflammatory signal potentiate immune response, that's why  immunologic adjuvants are commonly included in vaccines (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immunologic_adjuvant), to elicit a stronger immune response (and greater proliferation of immune cells). On the other hand, omega-3 modulate pro-inflammatory signals, making them less intense (the omega-3 derivatives are known to interfere with the signaling pathway of prostaglandins).

With these data they can't know whether the telomere has been actually extended. The only thing that they can state is that the telomere length measured in peripheral T-cells in some cases has become longer after the 4-month period of treatment, but it could well be that the stem cells from which these cells derive hadn't lengthened their telomeres at all. To check this, they should should have induced the mobilization of hematopoietic stem cells into the blood stream (that otherwise are located in the bone marrow) or get them directly from the bone marrow to measure the length of their telomeres before and after the omega-3 treatment. 
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Raymund Kho K.D. Oct 6, 2012 2:04 PM (edited) +1
interesting view +Zephyr López Cervilla , however i disagree  telomeres are subject to lengthening by omega-3, probably moreover by folate and nicotamine. inflammation may lead to both to oxidative stress and dna damage shortening of telomeres :)
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Zephyr López Cervilla Oct 6, 2012 2:45 PM (edited) +1
I didn't say that the telomeres had been lengthened thanks to omega-3 supplementation, it's the authors of the paper who are suggesting such thing (or at least that omega-3 helps preserve the length of the telomeres): 

<<The study showed that most overweight but healthy middle-aged and older adults who took omega-3 supplements for four months altered a ratio of their fatty acid consumption in a way that helped preserve tiny segments of DNA in their white blood cells.

These segments, called telomeres, are known to shorten over time in many types of cells as a consequence of aging. In the study, lengthening of telomeres in immune system cells was more prevalent in people who substantially improved the ratio of omega-3s to other fatty acids in their diet.

“The telomere finding is provocative in that it suggests the possibility that a nutritional supplement might actually make a difference in aging,” said Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychiatry and psychology at Ohio State and lead author of the study.>>
researchnews.osu.edu/archive/omega3aging.htm 
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References:

Ohio State University press release:
- Caldwell, Emily. Omega-3 Supplements May Slow A Biological Effect of Aging. The Ohio State University - Research and Innovation Communications. October 1, 2012
researchnews.osu.edu/archive/omega3aging.htm 

Reference papers:
- Kiecolt-Glaser et al. Omega-3 fatty acids, oxidative stress, and leukocyte telomere length: A randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav Immun (2012) [uncorrected proof, article in press] 
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23010452 
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0889-1591(12)00431-X 
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088915911200431X 

- Kiecolt-Glaser JK et al. Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation in healthy middle-aged and older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav Immun (2012) vol. 26 (6) pp. 988-95
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22640930 
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0889-1591(12)00118-3 
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159112001183 

Related paper:
- Kiecolt-Glaser JK et al. Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: a randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav Immun (2011) vol. 25 (8) pp. 1725-34
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21784145 
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0889-1591(11)00468-5 
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159111004685 

Related information available at MedLine Plus:
nlm.nih.gov - Fish Oil
Retrieved on October 3, 2012
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html 

Links to other science news outlets:
sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121001140957.htm 
medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-omega-supplements-biological-effect-aging.html 
esciencenews.com/articles/2012/10/01/omega.3.supplements.may.slow.a.biological.effect.aging 
scienceblog.com/56909/omega-3-supplements-may-slow-a-biological-effect-of-aging 
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plus.google.com/114605547533973731226/posts/RYMB3JE97ob 

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plus.google.com/105903603302602842440/posts/fuEu9ixJx7S 
plus.google.com/117029437254252483108/posts/7BvUQpWDxx9 
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Reshared text:
#neuroscience #n_3_PUFAs #diet #aging #cytokines  

Omega-3 fatty acids, oxidative stress, and leukocyte telomere length: A randomized controlled trial

'..The triad of inflammation, oxidative stress, and immune cell aging represents important pre-disease mechanisms that may be ameliorated through nutritional interventions..'

Shorter telomeres have been associated with poor health behaviors, age-related diseases, and early mortality. Telomere length is regulated by the enzyme telomerase, and is linked to exposure to proinflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress.

In our recent randomized controlled trial, omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation lowered the concentration of serum proinflammatory cytokines.

This study assessed whether n-3 PUFA supplementation also affected leukocyte telomere length, telomerase, and oxidative stress. In addition to testing for group differences, changes in the continuousn-6:n-3 PUFA ratio were assessed to account for individual differences in adherence, absorption, and metabolism.

The double-blind four-month trial included 106 healthy sedentary overweight middle-aged and older adults who received (1) 2.5 g/day n-3 PUFAs, (2) l.25 g/day n-3 PUFAs, or (3) placebo capsules that mirrored the proportions of fatty acids in the typical American diet. Supplementation significantly lowered oxidative stress as measured by F2-isoprostanes (p = 0.02).

The estimated geometric mean log-F2-isoprostanes values were 15% lower in the two supplemented groups compared to placebo. Although group differences for telomerase and telomere length were nonsignificant, changes in the n-6:n-3 PUFA plasma ratios helped clarify the intervention’s impact: telomere length increased with decreasing n-6:n-3 ratios,p = 0.02.

The data suggest that lower n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios can impact cell aging.

This translational research broadens our understanding of the potential impact of the n-6:n-3 PUFA balance.
*- Janice K. Kiecolt-Glaser, Elissa S. Epel, Martha A. Belury, Rebecca Andridge, Jue Lin, Ronald Glaser, William B. Malarkey, Beom Seuk Hwang, 
Elizabeth Blackburn*

researchnews.osu.edu - Omega-3 Supplements May Slow a Biological Effect of Aging
By Emily Caldwell. October 1, 2012

Questions:
1. Why do you think that they didn't exclude those volunteers who were taking an aspirin a day? I only can think of a possible explanation.
2. Did they compare change in telomerase activity vs. change in telomere length? If so, why didn't they show those results?
Comment:
I have the suspicion that the reason why the telomeres of the peripheral T-cells are more prone to lengthened with omega-3 supplementation is because with the modulation of the pro-inflammatory signal induced by omega-3, the T-cell precursors proliferate less, and as it's mentioned in the same paper that presents the results of this study,
"Inflammation triggers T-cell proliferation, one known cause of telomere shortening."
_________________ 

Excerpt from Ohio State University press release:
<<The study showed that most overweight but healthy middle-aged and older adults who took omega-3 supplements for four months altered a ratio of their fatty acid consumption in a way that helped preserve tiny segments of DNA in their white blood cells.>>

<<Omega-3 supplementation also reduced oxidative stress, caused by excessive free radicals in the blood, by about 15 percent compared to effects seen in the placebo group.>>

<<In another recent publication from this study, Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues reported that omega-3 fatty acid supplements lowered inflammation in this same group of adults.>>

<<Study participants took either 2.5 grams or 1.25 grams of active omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids>>

<<Participants on the placebo took pills containing a mix of oils representing a typical American’s daily intake.>>

<<Participants received either the placebo or one of the two different doses of omega-3 fatty acids. The supplements were calibrated to contain a ratio of the two cold-water fish oil fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), of seven to one. Previous research has suggested that EPA has more anti-inflammatory properties than DHA.>>

<<Both groups of participants who took omega-3 supplements showed, on average, lengthening of telomeres compared to overall telomere effects in the placebo group, but the relationship could have been attributed to chance. However, when the researchers analyzed the participants’ omega-6 to omega-3 ratio in relationship to telomere lengthening, a lower ratio was clearly associated with lengthened telomeres.>>

<<The researchers also measured levels of compounds called F2-isoprostanes to determine levels of oxidative stress, which is linked to a number of conditions that include heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders. Both omega-3 groups together showed an average overall 15 percent reduction in oxidative stress compared to effects seen in the placebo group.

When the scientists revisited their earlier inflammation findings, they also found that decreases in an inflammatory marker in the blood called interleukin-6 (IL-6) were associated with telomere lengthening. In their earlier paper on omega-3s and inflammation, they reported that omega-3 supplements lowered IL-6 by 10 to 12 percent, depending on the dose. By comparison, those taking a placebo saw an overall 36 percent increase in IL-6 by the end of the study.

“This finding strongly suggests that inflammation is what’s driving the changes in the telomeres,” Kiecolt-Glaser said.>>

<<study co-author Ron Glaser, professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics and director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research (IBMR) at Ohio State.>>

<<this population was disease-free and reported very little stress. The study included 106 adults, average age 51 years, who were either overweight or obese and lived sedentary lives. The researchers excluded people taking medications to control mood, cholesterol and blood pressure as well as vegetarians, patients with diabetes, smokers, those routinely taking fish oil, people who got more than two hours of vigorous exercise each week and those whose body mass index was either below 22.5 or above 40.>>

<<Co-authors of the study include Elissa Epel, Jue Lin and Elizabeth Blackburn of the University of California, San Francisco; Rebecca Andridge and Beom Seuk Hwang of Ohio State’s College of Public Health; and William Malarkey of the IBMR.

This work was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

OmegaBrite, a company based in Waltham, Mass., supplied the supplements as an unrestricted gift but did not participate in the study design, results or publication. Study co-authors Blackburn, Epel and Lin are co-founders of Telome Health Inc., a telomere measurement company>>

Source:
- Caldwell, Emily. Omega-3 Supplements May Slow A Biological Effect of Aging. The Ohio State University - Research and Innovation Communications. October 1, 2012
researchnews.osu.edu/archive/omega3aging.htm 
_______________________ 

Reference paper:

- Kiecolt-Glaser et al. Omega-3 fatty acids, oxidative stress, and leukocyte telomere length: A randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav Immun (2012) [uncorrected proof, article in press] 
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23010452 
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0889-1591(12)00431-X 
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S088915911200431X 

Excerpts of interest: 

1.1. Telomeres, telomerase, inflammation, and oxidative stress

Telomeres, the caps found at the ends of chromosomes, are essential for chromosomal stability and replication; the enzyme telomerase is important for telomere formation, maintenance, and restoration (Blackburn, 2005; Epel et al., 2004). A growing literature has linked shorter telomeres with health behaviors, age-related diseases, and earlier mortality (Brouilette et al., 2003; Epel et al., 2009; Kimura et al., 2008; Valdes et al., 2005).

Telomeres can be maintained or lengthened by telomerase, an intra-cellular enzyme that adds telomeric DNA to shortened telomeres (Chan and Blackburn, 2003). Telomere length is also linked to, and likely regulated by, exposure to proinflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress (Aviv, 2006; Carrero et al., 2008; Damjanovic et al., 2007). Inflammation triggers T-cell proliferation, one known cause of telomere shortening (Aviv, 2004; Carrero et al., 2008; Gardner et al., 2005). Oxidative stress promotes telomere erosion during cellular replication in vitro and also stimulates the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines (Aviv, 2006; Lipcsey et al., 2008).

1.2. Telomeres, telomerase, and omega-3 PUFAs

Although telomeres typically shorten with aging, shortening is not inevitable, and telomeres can also lengthen (Aviv et al., 2009; Ehrlenbach et al., 2009; Epel et al., 2009; Farzaneh-Far et al., 2010a; Nordfjall et al., 2009). It is important to identify malleable factors that might promote telomere stability over time. Based on theoretical and empirical reasons, it is possible that blood levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may be one of the factors that can prevent telomere shortening over time. The omega-3 (n-3) PUFAs can reduce inflammation and decrease oxidative stress (Calder, 2005; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2011; Mori et al., 1999; Nalsen et al., 2006), described below, and thus could buffer telomeres from their damaging effects.
In the Heart and Soul Study, which followed 608 people with stable coronary heart disease over 5 years, average telomere length increased in 23% of the individuals, shortened in 45%, and remained unchanged in 32% (Farzaneh-Far et al., 2010a). Slower telomere attrition was predicted by higher baseline levels of the two key n-3 PUFAs, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), which were the only significant predictors out of 16 clinical and behavioral factors examined (Farzaneh-Far et al., 2010b). Each standard deviation increase in the DHA + EPA total was associated with a 32% reduction in the odds of telomere attrition. In a different pilot study, an intensive three-month lifestyle change program that included n-3 PUFA supplementation significantly increased telomerase activity (Ornish et al., 2008).

1.3. The present study

In our recent four-month randomized controlled trial (RCT), serum interleukin 6 (IL-6) decreased by 10% and 12% in our low (1.25 g/day) and high (2.5 g/day) dose n-3 PUFA groups, respectively, compared to a 36% increase in the placebo group (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2012). Similarly, low and high dose n-3 PUFA groups showed modest 0.2% and -2.3% changes in serum TNF-α, in contrast to the 12% increase in the control group. Depressive symptoms, the other primary trial outcome, were low at baseline and did not change. This study assessed the impact of n-3 PUFA supplementation, and consequent changes in the n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio, on secondary outcomes in our RCT: leukocyte telomere length, telomerase, and oxidative stress.

2.2. Design and study components 164

Data collection for this double-blind placebo-controlled four 165 month RCT began in September, 2006 and ended in February, 2011. At baseline and at 4 months we assessed telomere length, telomerase, and oxidative stress. Blood samples were collected between 7:00 and 9:00 AM to control for diurnal variation.

2.2.1. Supplement and Placebo

[ . . . ]
Both the placebo and the* n-3 PUFA pills included 1 IU of vitamin E. In order to ensure integrity of the oil supplements, dietary oils were analyzed every 6–8 months* by gas chromatography of methylated fatty acids prepared in the Belury lab.

2.6. Telomere length

Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were purified from whole blood by density-gradient centrifugation in Lymphocyte Separation Medium (Mediatech, Inc.).
[ . . . ]
The telomere length measurement assay is adapted from the published original method by Cawthon (Cawthon, 2002; Lin et al., 2010a). The telomere thermal cycling profile consists of: Cycling for T(telomic) PCR: denature at 96 °C for 1 s, anneal/extend at 54 °C for 60 s, with fluorescence data collection, 30 cycles. Cycling for S (single copy gene) PCR: denature at 95 °C for 15 s, anneal at 58 °C for 1 s, extend at 72 °C for 20 s, 8 cycles; followed by denature at 96°C for 1s, anneal at 58°C for 1s, extend at 72 °C for 20 s, hold at 83 °C for 5 s with data collection, 35 cycles. The primers for the telomere PCR are tel1b [5'-CGGTTT(GTTTGG)5GTT-3'], used at a final concentration of 100 nM, and _tel2b_ [5'-GGCTTG(CCTTAC)5CCT-3'], used at a final concentration 282 of 900 nM. The primers for the single-copy gene (human beta-globin) PCR are hbg1 [5'- GCTTCTGACACAACTGTGTTCACTAGC-3'], used at a final concentration of 300 nM, and hbg2 [5'-CACCAACTTCATCCACGTTCACC-3'], used at a final concentration of 700 nM. The final reaction mix contains 20 mM Tris–HCl, pH 8.4; 50 mM KCl; 200 lM each dNTP; 1% DMSO; 0.4x Syber Green I; 22 ng Escherichia coli DNA per reaction; 0.4 U of Platinum Taq DNA polymer- ase (Invitrogen Inc.) per 11 ll reaction; 0.5–10 ng of genomic DNA. Tubes containing 26, 8.75, 2.9, 0.97, 0.324 and 0.108 ng of a reference DNA (from Hela cancer cells) are included in each PCR run so that the quantity of targeted templates in each sample can be determined relative to the reference DNA sample by the standard curve method. Each concentration of the reference DNA is run as quadruplets and samples are run as triplicates. To control for inter-assay variability, 8 control DNA samples from cancer cell lines (including 293T, H1299, UMUC3, and UMUC3 cells infected with a lentiviral construct containing the telomerase RNA gene to extent telomeres, harvested at various population doublings after infection) are included in each run. In each batch, the T/S ratio of each control DNA is divided by the average T/S for the same DNA from 10 runs to get a normalizing factor. This is done for all eight samples and the average normalizing factor for all eight samples is used to correct the participant DNA samples to get the final T/S ratio. The T/S ratio for each sample is measured twice, each time in triplicate wells. When the duplicate T/S value and the initial value vary by more than 7%, the sample is run the third time and the two closest values will be reported. The formula to convert the T/S ratio to base pairs is base pairs = 3274 + 2413 * (T/S). The inter-assay coefficient of variation for telomere length measurement was 4.3% for this study.

2.7. Telomerase activity

PBLs were purified from whole blood as above. Cells were lysed with 1x CHAPS buffer (10 mM Tris–HCl, pH 7.5, 1 mM MgCl2, 315 1 mM EGTA, 0.1 mM benzamidine, 5 mM  β-mercaptoethanol, 0.5% CHAPS, 10% glycerol) on ice for 30 min and spun at 4 °C at 14 k rpm for 20 min to generate an extract corresponding to 10,000 cells/ll. Extracts were stored at -80° for batch analysis of telomerase activity. Telomerase activity was measured by the TRAPeze Telomerase detection kit (Millipore, Cat# S7700) using a modified protocol developed by the Blackburn lab (Lin et al., 2010a). Three concentrations (2000, 5000 and 10,000 cells) were used for TRAP reactions to ensure that the assay was in the linear range. Details of the method are published elsewhere (Lin et al., 2010a). The inter-assay coefficient of variation (CV) was 6.8%.


2.8. Oxidative stress

F2-isoprostanes provide the most reliable index of in vivo oxidative stress when compared to other well-known biomarkers (Milne et al., 2007). Plasma samples were analyzed by Vanderbilt’s Eicosanoid Core Laboratory, following their published protocol (Milne 331 et al., 2007).

2.9. Statistical methods

[ . . . ]
Analysis of covariance was used to separately model change in telomerase (N = 94), telomere length (N = 106), and F2-isoprostanes (N = 97) from baseline to 4 months, adjusting for baseline levels, using all subjects with available four-month follow-up data. In order to control Type I error, the Tukey–Kramer method was used for between-group comparisons. Although supplementation group was the main predictor of interest, secondary analyses used change in continuous n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio in place of group because individuals differ in absorption and metabolism of n-3 PUFA supplements, as well as in adherence. Despite the relative balance between the groups due to the randomization, analyses were repeated controlling for age, gender, and sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD). Alpha was set to 0.05, and two-sided tests were conducted. All analyses were carried out in SAS version 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).

3.1. Study population, baseline data

Table 1 shows baseline characteristics of the analysis sample (N = 106), with 31 subjects in the placebo arm, 40 in the low dose fish oil arm, and 35 in the high dose fish oil arm. Randomization produced groups that did not differ on age, baseline FFQ dietary variables, sleep quality, depressive symptoms, and history of major depressive disorder, p > 0.19 for all tests. There were no baseline group differences on SAD or BMI (p > 0.60 for both). Using BMI cut points of 25 and 30 kg/m2, 100 participants (94%) were overweight, and 54 (51%) were obese. Groups were similar on telomere length, telomerase, and F2-isoprostanes at baseline (p > 0.26 for all tests).

3.3. Changes in F2-isoprostanes

Table 4 shows the significant group differences in changes in log-F2-isoprostanes after supplementation. The estimated mean *change in log-F2-isoprostanes was 0.073 for the placebo group, corresponding to an 8% increase in geometric mean.* In contrast, the estimated mean change in log-F2-isoprostanes was -0.094 for the low dose group and -0.086 for the high dose group, corresponding to decreases in the geometric mean of 9% and 8%, respectively. For both doses these changes were significantly different than the placebo group (Tukey–Kramer adjusted p = 0.02; p = 0.04, respectively), resulting in the intervention groups having a 15% lower geometric mean F2-isoprostanes at 4 months compared to control. There was not a significant difference between the two supplemented groups (p = 0.99). These results remained the same in analyses additionally controlling for age, gender and SAD.

3.4. Changes in telomere length and telomerase

The adjusted mean change in telomere length, expressed in base pairs (bp), was an increase of 21 bp for the low dose group 406 and an increase of 50 bp in the high dose group compared to a decrease of 43 bp for placebo (Table 4); however; differences between the groups were not significant. Telomere lengthening (defined as a positive change) was observed in 54% (n = 19) of the 2.5 g/d n-3 PUFA group and 53% (n = 21) of the 1.25 g/d n-3 PUFA group, but only 39% (n = 12) of the placebo group, though these differences were not significant (p = 0.39). There were no differences among the groups in change in telomerase activity at four months (Table 4). Models additionally controlling for age, gender, and SAD produced similar results.

3.5. Changes in telomere length based on n-6:n-3 PUFA plasma ratios

Secondary analyses explored the effect of changes in plasma n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios on changes in telomere length, since individuals differ in absorption and metabolism of n-3 PUFA supplements. Table 5 shows the resulting linear regression analysis, controlling for baseline telomere length and baseline n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio. A one unit decrease in n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio was associated with an estimated 20 bp increase in telomere length (p = 0.02).
The analysis was repeated using the change in AA:(EPA + DHA) ratio in place of n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio; the AA:(EPA + DHA) ratio is favored by some researchers because of a more direct tie to eicosanoid metabolism. Since the change in AA:(EPA + DHA) ratio was highly correlated with the change in n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio (r = 0.90, p < 0.001), results were similar, with a one unit decrease in AA:(EPA + DHA) ratio associated with a 35 bp increase in telomere length (p = 0.08). Similarly, when the change in the sum of EPA, DHA, and DPA was used in place of either ratio, results were again comparable, with a one unit increase in EPA + DHA + DPA associated with a 22 bp increase in telomere length (p = 0.07). All results were similar after adjusting for age, gender, and SAD.

3.6. Changes in telomere length related to IL-6

Since supplementation reduced serum IL-6 in both low and high dose groups in the parent study (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2012), as a secondary analysis we investigated the association between *change in telomere length and change in IL-6* for the 101 subjects in the present study who had IL-6 data available at baseline and four months. There was a significant negative correlation between change in telomere length and change in IL-6 (Spearman r = -0.20, p = 0.05). Of the 51 subjects who experienced telomere lengthening, 61% (n = 31) had lowered IL-6, compared to 34% (n = 17) of the 50 who did not experience telomere lengthening (p = 0.007).

4.1. Intervention-related changes

[ . . . ]
Telomerase activity level did not change in our sample, in contrast to the changes observed following an intensive three-month lifestyle change program in a different study group – men with early prostate cancer – that included 3 g/day of fish oil (Ornish et al., 2008). That intervention also included dietary change (low-fat and high plant-based), aerobic exercise, and stress management. Further, as that previous study had no non-intervention control group, those data must be interpreted cautiously as regards involvement of n-3 PUFAs.
Depressive symptoms were quite low at baseline in this sample, and did not change (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2012). However, prior studies that have linked lower n-3 PUFA plasma levels and depression suggest a potential benefit for more distressed groups (Appleton et al., 2010; Hibbeln, 1998). Depression and chronic stress have been associated with shorter telomeres (Damjanovic et al., 2007; Epel et al., 2004; Wolkowitz et al., 2010). Depression and chronic stress boost inflammation (Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2003) as well as oxidative stress (Epel et al., 2004; Wolkowitz et al., 2010), and could speed telomere erosion through these pathways. Accordingly, n-3 PUFA supplementation might also slow telomere attrition by enhancing mood in more depressed samples.
Although age-related reductions in telomeres are the average situation, recent studies showed that telomeres can both shorten and elongate in vivo, and leukocyte telomere length can change 491 within a period of months (Shlush et al., 2011; Svenson et al., 2011). Alterations in oxidative stress were highlighted as a potential mechanism in two recent reports (Shlush et al., 2011; Svenson 494 et al., 2011). Our data suggest that a dietary intervention that reduces the joint burden of oxidative stress and inflammation may in turn have positive consequences for telomere length. During aging there is a shift from naïve to memory T-cells, and the latter have shorter telomeres (Svenson et al., 2011). We do not know if the reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress in our n-3 PUFA supplemented participants reflected shifts in leukocyte subpopulations that contributed to the telomere changes observed, one limitation of the present study.
[ . . . ]
It would have been desirable to examine n-6 and n-3 PUFAs in red blood cells (RBCs) in addition to plasma levels. Circulating PUFA levels reflect the interplay among dietary intake, absorption, and metabolism and are not always strongly correlated with dietary intake of fatty acids (Fusconi et al., 2003; Seierstad et al., 2005). RBC PUFA levels reflect longer-term PUFA consumption as the turn-over is slow and more reliable (Harris, 2008, 2009). For example, DHA levels in RBCs are thought to indicate dietary fat intake for the past four months, while levels in plasma may only mirror intake from the last few days (Arab, 2003; Sun et al., 2007). However, our intervention spanned four months and serum and plasma proinflammatory cytokines can change in hours (Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005); for example, infusion of a fish oil-based lipid emulsion substantially reduced monocyte production of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-1, and IL-8 in response to endotoxin (Mayer et al., 2003). For these reasons, plasma PUFA data were essential to assess recent dietary influences on inflammatory markers in this study. As described earlier, the n-6 and n-3 PUFAs compete for key enzymatic pathways, and thus the relative balance is of interest (Simopoulos, 2008). ATTICA, a large health and nutrition survey of healthy Greek adults, showed that higher n-6:n-3 PUFA plasma ratios were associated with higher TNF-α and IL-6 (Kalogeropoulos et al., 2010).

4.2. Health implications

We found that telomere length increased with decreasing n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios. These data suggest that rather than just considering the absolute amount of n-3 PUFA, the background levels of both the n-6 and the n-6:n-3 PUFAs should also be taken into account for clinical studies or for evaluation of nutritional interventions. For example, the n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio can be altered by increasing n-3 PUFA supplementation, but also by decreasing n-6 intake.
Several large studies have linked higher n-3 PUFA levels with lower all-cause mortality (Lee et al., 2009; Pottala et al., 2010) including a large 3.5 year trial (Marchioli et al., 2002). The n-3 PUFA’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties provide one obvious pathway for these reductions in mortality, consistent with the finding that decreases in IL-6 were associated with telomere lengthening in this study. Our data suggest that the n-3 PUFAs can impact cell aging in addition to inflammation and oxidative stress. This translational research broadens our understanding of the n-3 PUFA’s potential therapeutic effects.
Short telomeres predict early disease, and slowing immune cell aging could have broad effects by slowing the onset of age-related diseases. Recent work has demonstrated the causal effect of telomerase deficiency and telomere shortening on cellular health and premature aging and mortality in rodents (Bernardes de Jesus et al., 2012; Jaskelioff et al., 2011; Sahin et al., 2011). In summary, the current study provides compelling initial evidence that lower n-6:n-3 PUFA ratios may be beneficial for slowing biological aging.

Conflict of interest statement

Drs. Blackburn, Epel, and Lin are co-founders in Telome Health, Inc., a telomere measurement company.
_______________________ 

Previous paper with other results from the same study:

- Kiecolt-Glaser JK et al. Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation in healthy middle-aged and older adults: a randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav Immun (2012) vol. 26 (6) pp. 988-95
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22640930 
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0889-1591(12)00118-3 
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159112001183 

Excerpts of interest:

A number of epidemiological and observational studies have demonstrated that lower n-3 PUFA levels are associated with higher serum IL-6, TNF-a, and CRP (Farzaneh-Far et al., 2009; Ferrucci et al., 2006; Kalogeropoulos et al., 2010; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2007). In contrast, comparisons of supplemented and placebo groups in n-3 PUFA randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the gold standard for demonstrating causality, have not produced reliable serum cytokine differences (Calder et al., 2009; Fritsche, 2006; Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2011; Sijben and Calder, 2007). Problematic methodological issues that muddy interpretation have included severely underpowered small treatment groups (e.g., 8–10 per group), low n–3 PUFA supplementation doses, insensitive cytokine assays, use of young and healthy subjects and/or highly-trained athletes, and very low levels of baseline inflammation. For example, serum cytokines did not differ significantly among 58 monks who received 0, 1.06, 2.13 or 3.19 g/d of n-3 PUFAs for a year (Blok et al., 1997); however, basal cytokine data did not differ between vegetarians and non-vegetarians even before supplementation, suggesting that the monks’ extremely healthy lifestyle limited the ability to see meaningful downward change.
The strongest RCT support for the n-3 PUFA’s anti-inflammatory properties has come from studies with older, hypertriglyceridemic or diabetic individuals with elevated inflammatory markers (Fritsche, 2006; Sijben and Calder, 2007; Wu, 2004; Yusof et al., 2008). Consequently, it has been suggested that cytokine produc- tion in healthy people is relatively insensitive to long-chain n-3 PUFAs (Sijben and Calder, 2007; Wu, 2004).

2.1. Participants

The 138 participants, 45 men and 93 women, ranged in age from 40 to 85 (Table 1). Campus and community print and web-based announcements were used for recruitment. The institutional review board approved this study, and each participant provided informed consent.
The online screening form assessed health history, medications, and health behaviors. Exclusions included psychoactive drugs or mood altering medications, lipid-altering drugs, beta blockers, steroids, regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs other than an aspirin a day, ACE-inhibitors, prostaglandin inhibitors, heparin, warfarin, and alcohol/drug abuse (Buckley et al., 2004; Ferrucci et al., 2006). We also excluded pregnant or nursing women, vegetarians, diabetics, people who routinely took fish oil or flaxseed supplements or ate more than two portions of oily fish per week, smokers, and individuals with recurrent digestive problems, convulsive disorders, and autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases. Individuals who typically engaged in 2 or more hours of vigorous physical activity per week, as well as individuals with a body mass index (BMI) less than 22.5 or greater than 40 were excluded (Fernandez-Real et al., 2003).
In addition, we used participants’ ability to follow the regimen as a criterion for study entry. Participants received a 7-day supply of placebo capsules (single blind) at the subsequent in-person screening session, and those who had taken less than 80% of the capsules a week later were dropped before randomization. We also verified height and weight at the screening visit.

2.2.1. Supplement and placebo

This three-arm parallel group RCT compared responses to (A) 2.496 g/d n-3, (B) 1.25 g/d n-3, and placebo, or (C) placebo. All participants took 6 pills (3 g oil) per day. For the two omega-3 groups, each 500 mg gel capsule contained 347.5 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 58 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Thus, for the high dose group the full daily supplement would equal 2085 mg/d of EPA and 348 mg/d of DHA. We chose the 7:1 EPA/DHA balance because of evidence that EPA has relatively stronger anti-inflammatory and antidepressant effects than DHA (Lin et al., 2010; Sijben and Calder, 2007). The placebo was a mixture of palm, olive, soy, canola, and coco butter oils that approximated the saturated:monounsaturated:polyunsaturated (SMP) ratio consumed by US adults, 37:42: 21 (USDA Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals, 1994–1996). OmegaBrite (Waltham, MA) supplied both the n-3 and the matching placebo; all pills were coated with a fuchsia coloring. OmegaBrite added a mild fish flavor to the placebo to help disguise any differences between the n-3 PUFA pills and the placebo, and we told participants about the fish flavoring to promote blindness (Stoll et al., 2001).

2.3. Health-related behaviors

Participants’ height and weight were assessed at the screening visit, and participants were weighed during each subsequent visit. At each study visit, participants were evaluated for changes in fatty acid composition of plasma and PBMCs, mood, and proinflammatory cytokines.
Adipose tissue in the abdomen may secrete up to three times as much IL-6 as other subcutaneous fat tissues (Browning, 2003). Sagittal abdominal diameter measurements provided data on abdominal fat.

2.7. Sample size

Sample size was based on detection of conservative effect sizes for the lower dose versus placebo comparisons for the primary outcome of cytokine levels. The literature suggested that the higher dose would have a greater effect, thus we expected the higher dose versus placebo contrast to have more power than low versus pla- cebo. All power analyses were based on contrasts within mixed effect linear models with two-sided alpha = 0.05 and assumed a 10% attrition rate. Our conservative estimated effect size was a decrease in IL-6 of 0.45 pg/mL in the low dose group, extrapolated from results from Ferrucci et al. (2006). Pilot data from our lab provided an estimate of standard deviation of 0.88 pg/mL, thus to achieve 85% power a sample size of 46 in each group was required.

3.1. Study population, diet, and health behaviors

Randomized groups were equivalent on key dimensions (Table 1). Randomization produced groups that did not differ on age, baseline FFQ dietary variables, depression, and sleep quality, p > 0.2 for all tests. Using BMI cut points of 25 and 30 kg/m2, 125 (91%) were overweight, and 65 (47%) were obese, respectively. There were small differences between groups on weight at baseline (p=0.002), with the placebo group having the lowest average weight, however there were not significant differences in either sagittal abdominal diameter or BMI (p > 0.05 for both).
Analyses of FFQ data at the last visit revealed no differences among the groups in reported changes in intake of calories, fiber, total fat, protein, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, or linoleic acid during the study period, P > .11 for all tests. Similarly, sleep and exercise did not show differential group changes, P > .26 for both. Both the lower and higher n-3 groups had modest but statistically significant increases in weight across the trial (average pounds gained: 2.1 lbs and 2.5 lbs in the two groups, respectively), compared to no change in the placebo group (average pounds gained: 0.39 lbs). However, the increased weight would have theoretically fueled inflammation in this overweight sample which was not observed.
Few participants reported taking any medication during the study, and the numbers did not differ among groups. The most common medications were multivitamins (n = 42), NSAIDs (n = 29; 15 aspirin, 8 ibuprofen, 5 naproxen, 1 meloxicam), antihistamines (n = 13), estrogen with or without progesterone (n = 10), and levothyroxine (n = 10).

3.4. Changes in fatty acids

Baseline levels of plasma fatty acids as well as changes over time for the three groups are summarized in Table 3. As expected, randomization produced groups that did not differ on EPA (p = 0.73), DHA (p = 0.38), or total n-3 (p = 0.41) at baseline. By the end of the study period plasma levels of EPA were approximately 3.5-fold higher in the 1.25 g/d n-3 group and 6-fold higher in the 2.5 g/d n-3 group (P < 0.0001 for both), and plasma DHA levels were approximately 1.4-fold higher in the 1.25 g/d n-3 group and 1.5-fold higher in the 2.5 g/d n-3 group (P < 0.0001 for both). The n-6:n-3 ratio was significantly decreased after supplementa- tion for both low and high dose groups (P < 0.0001 for both).

3.5. Primary Outcomes

Results for inflammatory outcomes and depression symptoms are summarized in Table 5. After adjusting for gender and sagittal abdominal diameter, there were significant supplementation effects on cytokines as evidenced by significant group by visit inter- actions for both TNF-α (p = 0.0002) and IL-6 (p = 0.0003). The estimated mean change in log-TNF-α from visit 1 to visit 5 was 0.11 units for the placebo group, corresponding to a 12% increase in the geometric mean of TNF-α. In comparison, the estimated mean change in log-TNF-α was *0.0002 units for the 1.25 g/d and -0.024 for the 2.5 g/d group, corresponding to changes of 0.2% and -2.3%, respectively. After Bonferroni-adjustment, these group differences were significant for the comparison of placebo to 1.25 g/d (p = 0.03) and placebo to 2.5 g/d (p = 0.004); no significant difference was noted between the two supplementation doses (p = 1.0).
A similar pattern was observed for IL-6. The estimated mean change in log-IL-6 from visit 1 to visit 5 was 0.31 units for the placebo group (36% increase), -0.106 for the 1.25 g/d group (10% decrease), and -0.123 for the 2.5g/d group (12% decrease). Significant differences were observed between placebo and 1.25 g/d (p = 0.0003) and placebo and 2.5 g/d (p = 0.0002), but not between the two doses of fish oil (p = 1.0). To ensure that results were not driven by a small number of highly influential data points, residual plots were examined and one subject in the placebo group who appeared to be an outlier was removed and analyses were rerun. Resulting conclusions were the same and are not shown.
There did not appear to be group effects on depression (p = 0.86), adjusting for gender. There was a trend toward larger decreases in depression from visit 1 to visit 5 for the two fish oil groups than the placebo, but no differences were statistically significant.

4.1. Intervention-related reductions in inflammation

Omega-3 supplementation significantly altered production of serum cytokines. IL-6 decreased by 10% and 12% in our low and high dose n-3 groups, respectively, compared to a 36% increase in the placebo group. Similarly, low and high dose n-3 groups showed modest 0.2% and -2.3% changes in TNF-α, compared to a 12% increase in the control group. This is the first well-powered trial to show significant changes in serum cytokines in healthy middle-aged and older adults.

4.2. Randomized PUFA trials

The largely negative serum cytokine data from prior n-3 PUFA trials have led to the suggestion that cytokine production is relatively insensitive to the n-3 PUFAs among healthy individuals, i.e., people who do not have chronic inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or diabetes (Sijben and Calder, 2007; Wu, 2004). However, there are several notable differences between our study and prior RCTs. We carefully assessed variables known to influence inflammation including smoking, medication use, physical activity, and abdominal adiposity. We had minimal attrition; only 5 of our 138 subjects failed to complete the full trial. Our rigorous exclusion criteria produced a group of overweight sedentary adults who were more likely to have an inflammatory profile and who were otherwise healthy aside from their weight.
[ . . . ]
In prior work from our laboratory, 68 medical students received either 2.5 g/d n-3 or a placebo for 12 weeks (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2011). Compared to controls, those students who received n-3 showed a 14% decrease in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated IL- 6 production. Planned secondary analyses that used the plasma n-6:n-3 ratio in place of treatment group showed that decreasing n-6:n-3 ratios led to reductions in stimulated IL-6 and TNF-α production, as well as marginal differences in serum TNF-α. The absence of significant serum inflammatory changes was likely related to the very low baseline levels of serum cytokines in the healthy, young, and relatively thin population.

4.3. Dosage and risks

Neither our IL-6 nor our TNF-α data showed significant differences between our 1.25 and 2.5 g/d n-3 dose, although both clearly differed from the placebo. One review concluded that while the effects were inconsistent, it appeared that significant changes in cytokine production by lymphocytes only occurred with P2.0 g/d of EPA + DHA (Sijben and Calder, 2007). In addition, variables such as typical dietary intake influence responses (Yee et al., 2010), and our sample had a higher than expected average n-6:n-3 ratio at baseline, as described earlier. The FDA has concluded that intakes of up to 3 g/d of marine n-3 PUFAs are ‘‘Generally Recognized As Safe’’ (Kris-Etherton et al., 2002); our higher dose, 2.5 g/d, fell within that range and would appear to be a good choice for future studies.
Side effects were infrequent and did not differ between groups. These data are in accord with the low incidence reported in large n-3 PUFA studies (Leaf et al., 1994; Valagussa et al., 1999).

4.4. Health implications

Several large studies have linked higher n-3 PUFA levels with lower all-cause mortality (Lee et al., 2009; Pottala et al., 2010), including a large 3.5 year trial (Marchioli et al., 2002). The n-3 PUFA’s anti-inflammatory properties provide one obvious pathway for these reductions in mortality. Inflammation is a robust and reli- able predictor of all-cause mortality in older adults (Pedersen and Febbraio, 2008). Chronic inflammation has been linked to a spec- trum of health problems including depression, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and arthritis (Pedersen and Febbraio, 2008). In fact, more globally, chronic inflammation has been suggested as one key biological mechanism that may fuel declines in physical function leading to frailty, disability, and, ultimately, death.
_______________________ 

Related paper of a previous study by the same group:

- Kiecolt-Glaser JK et al. Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: a randomized controlled trial. Brain Behav Immun (2011) vol. 25 (8) pp. 1725-34
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21784145 
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0889-1591(11)00468-5 
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159111004685 
_______________________ 

Related information available at MedLine Plus:

nlm.nih.gov - Fish Oil
Retrieved on October 3, 2012
nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html 

Excerpt of interest:

How effective is it?
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database rates effectiveness based on scientific evidence according to the following scale: Effective, Likely Effective, Possibly Effective, Possibly Ineffective, Likely Ineffective, Ineffective, and Insufficient Evidence to Rate.

The effectiveness ratings for FISH OIL are as follows:

Effective for...

- High triglycerides. High triglycerides are associated with heart disease and untreated diabetes. To reduce the risk of heart disease, doctors believe it is important to keep triglycerides below a certain level. Doctors usually recommend increasing physical activity and restricting dietary fat to lower triglycerides. Sometimes they also prescribe drugs such as gemfibrozil (Lopid) for use in addition to these lifestyle changes. Now researchers believe that fish oil, though not as effective as gemfibrozil, can reduce triglyceride levels by 20% to 50%. One particular fish oil supplement called Lovaza has been approved by the FDA to lower triglycerides. Lovaza contains 465 milligrams of EP and 375 milligrams of DHA in 1-gram capsules.

Likely effective for...

- Heart disease. Research suggests that consuming fish oil by eating fish can be effective for keeping people with healthy hearts free of heart disease. People who already have heart disease might also be able to lower their risk of dying from heart disease by eating fish or taking a fish oil supplement. However, for people who already take heart medications such as a “statin,” adding on fish oil might not offer any additional benefit.

Possibly effective for...

- High blood pressure. Fish oil seems to produce modest reductions in blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil seem to be able to expand blood vessels, and this brings blood pressure down.
- Rheumatoid arthritis. Fish oil alone, or in combination with the drug naproxen (Naprosyn), seems to help people with rheumatoid arthritis get over morning stiffness faster. People who take fish oil can sometimes reduce their use of pain medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- Menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea). Taking fish oil alone or in combination with vitamin B12 seems to improve painful periods and reduce the need for pain medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. Taking fish oil seems to improve thinking skills and behavior in 8 to 12 year-old children with ADHD.
- Raynaud’s syndrome. There’s some evidence that taking fish oil can improve cold tolerance in some people with the usual form of Raynaud’s syndrome. But people with Raynaud’s syndrome caused by a condition called progressive systemic sclerosis don’t seem to benefit from fish oil supplements.
- Stroke. Moderate fish consumption (once or twice a week) seems to lower the risk of having a stroke by as much as 27%. However, eating fish doesn’t lower stroke risk in people who are already taking aspirin for prevention. On the other hand, very high fish consumption (more than 46 grams of fish per day) seems to increase stroke risk, perhaps even double it.
- Weak bones (osteoporosis). Taking fish oil alone or in combination with calcium and evening primrose oil seems to slow bone loss rate and increase bone density at the thigh bone (femur) and spine in elderly people with osteoporosis.
- Hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Fish oil seems to slow or slightly reverse the progress of atherosclerosis in the arteries serving the heart (coronary arteries), but not in the arteries that bring blood up the neck to the head (carotid arteries).
- Kidney problems. Long-term use (two years) of fish oil 4-8 grams daily can slow the loss of kidney function in high-risk patients with a kidney disease called IgA nephropathy. Fish oil also seems to reduce the amount of protein in the urine of people who have kidney disease as a result of diabetes.
- Bipolar disorder. Taking fish oil with the usual treatments for bipolar disorder seems to improve symptoms of depression and increase the length of time between episodes of depression. But fish oil doesn’t seem to improve manic symptoms in people with bipolar disorder.
- Psychosis. Taking a fish oil supplement might help prevent full psychotic illness from developing in people with mild symptoms. This has only been tested in teenagers and adults up to age 25.
- Weight loss. Some evidence shows that eating fish improves weight loss and decreases blood sugar in overweight people and people with high blood pressure. Preliminary research also shows that taking a specific fish oil supplement 6 grams daily (Hi-DHA, NuMega), providing 260 mg DHA/gram and 60 mg EPA/gram, significantly decreases body fat when combined with exercise.
- Endometrial cancer. There is some evidence that women who regularly eat about two servings of fatty fish per week have a reduced risk of developing endometrial cancer.
- Age-related eye disease (age-related macular degeneration, AMD). There is some evidence that people who eat fish more than once per week have a lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration.
- Reducing the risk of blood vessel re-blockage after heart bypass surgery or “balloon” catheterization (balloon angioplasty). Fish oil appears to decrease the rate of re-blockage up to 26% when given for one month before the procedure and continued for one month thereafter. Apparently, taking fish oil before surgery is important. When taken for less than one month before angioplasty, fish oil doesn’t help protect the blood vessel against closing down.
- Recurrent miscarriage in pregnant women with antiphospholipid syndrome. Taking fish oil seems to prevent miscarriage and increase live birth rate in pregnant women with a condition called antiphospholipid syndrome.
- High blood pressure and kidney problems after heart transplant. Taking fish oil seems to preserve kidney function and reduce the long-term continuous rise in blood pressure after heart transplantation.
- Damage to the kidneys and high blood pressure caused by taking a drug called cyclosporine. Cyclosporine is a medication that reduces the chance of organ rejection after an organ transplant. Fish oil might help reduce some of the unwanted side effects of treatment with this drug.
- Movement disorder in children (dyspraxia). Taking fish oil orally, in combination with evening primrose oil, thyme oil, and vitamin E (Efalex, Efamol Ltd), seems to improve movement disorders in children with dyspraxia.
- Developmental coordination disorder. A combination of fish oil (80%) and evening primrose oil (20%) seems to improve reading, spelling, and behavior when given to children age 5-12 years with developmental coordination disorder. However, it doesn’t seem to improve motor skills.
- Preventing blockage of grafts used in kidney dialysis. Taking fish oil orally seems to help prevent clot formation in hemodialysis grafts.
- Psoriasis. There is some evidence that administering fish oil intravenously (by IV) can decrease severe psoriasis symptoms. But taking fish oil by mouth doesn’t seem to have any effect on psoriasis.
- High cholesterol. There is interest in using fish oil in combination with “statin” drugs for some people with high cholesterol. Doctors were worried at first that taking fish oil might interfere with statin treatment, but early studies show this is not a problem, at least with the statin called simvastatin. Scientists think fish oil may lower cholesterol by keeping it from being absorbed in the intestine. There is some evidence that using vitamin B12 along with fish oil might boost their ability to lower cholesterol.
- Coronary artery bypass surgery. Taking fish oil seems to prevent coronary artery bypass grafts from re-closing following coronary artery bypass surgery.
- Cancer-related weight loss. Taking a high dose (7.5 grams per day) of fish oil seems to slow weight loss in some cancer patients. Some researchers believe these patients eat more because the fish oil is fighting depression and improving their mood.
- Asthma. Some research suggests fish oil may lower the occurrence of asthma in infants and children when taken by women late in pregnancy. Furthermore, fish oil seems to improve airflow, reduce cough, and lower the need for medications in some children with asthma. However, fish oil treatment doesn’t seem to provide the same benefit for adults.

Possibly ineffective for...

- Chest pain (angina).
- Gum infection (gingivitis).
- Liver disease.
- Leg pain due to blood flow problems (claudication).
- Preventing migraine headaches.
- Preventing muscle soreness caused by physical exercise.
- Breast pain.
- Skin rashes caused by allergic reactions.
- Stomach ulcers.

Likely ineffective for...

- Type 2 diabetes. Taking fish oil doesn’t seem to lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. However, fish oil can provide some other benefits for people with diabetes, such as lowering blood fats called triglycerides.
[ . . . ]

nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html#Effectiveness 
_______________________ 

Links to other science news outlets:
sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121001140957.htm 
medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-omega-supplements-biological-effect-aging.html 
esciencenews.com/articles/2012/10/01/omega.3.supplements.may.slow.a.biological.effect.aging 
scienceblog.com/56909/omega-3-supplements-may-slow-a-biological-effect-of-aging 
_______________________ 

URL related G+ posts: plus.google.com/102370347732140106252/posts/C9p4AJG2xtY 
plus.google.com/105903603302602842440/posts/fuEu9ixJx7S 
plus.google.com/117029437254252483108/posts/7BvUQpWDxx9 
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youtube.com - 雨月物語 / Ugetsu Monogatari (1:36:59)
a.k.a. Tales of the Pale and Silvery Moon After the Rain 
By Kenji Mizoguchi. 1953 (YouTube captions in English)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugetsu 

Some other classical Japanese movies: 

Uploaded by NoCoverNoMinimum (YouTube captions)
溝口健二 - 雨月物語/Kenji Mizoguchi - Ugetsu(1953) 
溝口健二 - 元禄忠臣蔵/Kenji Mizoguchi - The 47 Ronin(1941-1942) 
溝口健二 - 愛怨峡/Kenji Mizoguchi - The Straits of Love and Hate(1937) 
溝口健二 - 女優須磨子の恋/Kenji Mizoguchi - The Love of the Actress Sumako(1947) 
溝口健二 - ふるさとの歌/Kenji Mizoguchi - The Song of Home(1925) 
溝口健二 - お遊さま/Kenji Mizoguchi - Miss Oyu(1951) 
溝口健二 - 祇園の姉妹/Kenji Mizoguchi - Sisters of the Gion(1936) 
溝口健二 - 浪華悲歌/Kenji Mizoguchi - Osaka Elegy(1936) 
溝口健二 - 虞美人草/Kenji Mizoguchi - Poppy(1935) 
溝口健二 - マリアのお雪/Kenji Mizoguchi - Oyuki the Virgin, Maria no Oyuki(1935) 
溝口健二 - 西鶴一代女/Kenji Mizoguchi - The Life of Oharu(1952) 
溝口健二 - 夜の女たち/Kenji Mizoguchi - Women of the Night 
溝口健二 - 武蔵野夫人/Kenji Mizoguchi - The Lady of Musashino(1951) 
溝口健二 - 歌麿をめぐる五人の女/Kenji Mizoguchi - Utamaro And His Five Women(1946) 
溝口健二 - 祇園囃子/Kenji Mizoguchi - A Geisha(1953) 
溝口健二 - 雪夫人絵図/Kenji Mizoguchi - Portrait of Madame Yuki(1950) 
溝口健二 - 残菊物語/Kenji Mizoguchi - Story of the Late Chrysanthemums(1939) 
-------------------- 
小津安二郎 - 青春の夢いまいづこ/Yasujiro Ozu - Where Now Are the Dreams of Youth(1932) 
小津安二郎 - 東京の女/Yasujiro Ozu - Woman of Tokyo(1933) 
小津安二郎 - 突貫小僧/Yasujiro Ozu - A Straightforward Boy(1929) 
-------------------- 
成瀬巳喜男 - はたらく一家/Mikio Naruse - The Whole Family Works(1939) 
成瀬巳喜男 - なつかしの顔/Mikio Naruse - A Face from the Past(1941) 
-------------------- 
清水宏 - 七つの海　後篇　貞操篇/Hiroshi Shimizu - Seven Seas Part II Frigidity(1932) 
清水宏 - 七つの海　前篇　処女篇/Hiroshi Shimizu - Seven Seas Part I Virginity(1931) 
-------------------- 
山中貞雄 - 人情紙風船/Sadao Yamanaka - Humanity & Paper Balloons(1937) 
山中貞雄 - 河内山宗俊/Sadao Yamanaka - Priest of Darkness(1936) 
-------------------- 
山中貞雄 - 丹下左膳餘話 百萬兩の壺/ Sazen Tange and the Pot Worth a Million Ryo(1935) 
牧野省三 - 豪傑児雷也/Shozo Makino - Jiraiya the Hero(1921) 
硫黄島の岸へ/To the Shores of Iwo Jima(1945) 
____________________ 

Uploaded by modernrocksong (YouTube captions)
What Did the Lady Forget? / 淑女は何を忘れたか (1937) (EN/ES/TR) 
Tokyo March / 東京行進曲 (1929) (FR/EN/BR/ES) 
The Only Son / 一人息子 (1936) (EN/ES/BR/TR) Yasujiro Ozu 
Runpenbushi / ルンペン節 (1931) 
The Dancing Girl of Izu / The Izu Dancer / 伊豆の踊子 (1933) (EN) 
An Inn In Tokyo / 東京の宿 (1935) (EN/ES/BR/FR/TR/RU) 
Dragnet Girl / 非常線の女 (1933) (EN/ES) 
Where Now are the Dreams of Youth? / 靑春の夢いまいづこ (1932) (EN/ES) 
Tokyo Chorus / 東京の合唱 (1931) (EN/BR/ES/FR/HU) 
Sisters of the Gion / 祇園の姉妹 (1936) (EN/ES/BR) 
Woman of Tokyo / 東京の女 (1933) (EN/BR/RU/PL/ES) 
Osaka Elegy / 浪華悲歌 (1936) (EN/BR/ES) 
Flunky, Work Hard! / 腰弁頑張れ (1931) (EN/IT) 
The Actress and the Poet / 女優と詩人 (1935) (EN) 
Nightly Dreams / 夜ごとの夢 (1933) (EN/BR/IT/ES) 
I Was Born But... / 大人の見る絵本 生れてはみたけれど (1932) (EN/ES/BR/IT/PL) 
A Story of Floating Weeds / 浮草物語 (1934) (EN/ES/FR/RU/PL/TR) 
The Water Magician / 滝の白糸 (1933) (EN/ES) 
The Girl in the Rumor / 噂の娘 (1935) (EN/ES) 
The Road I Travel with You / 君と行く路 (1936) (EN) 
There was a Father / 父ありき (1942) (EN/ES/FR/TK) 
A Hen in the Wind / 風の中の牝鶏 (1948) (EN/ES) 
The Brothers and Sisters of the Toda Family / 戸田家の兄妹 (1941) (EN/ES/FR/TK) 
The Munekata Sisters / 宗方姉妹 (1950) (EN/ES) 
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice / お茶漬けの味 (1952) (EN/ES/PT-BR/BG/RU) 
Tokyo Twilight / 東京暮色 (1957) (EN/ES) 
Avalanche / 雪崩 (1937) (EN/RU) 
A Woman's Sorrows / 女人哀愁 (1937) (EN) 
Learn from Experience, Part II / 禍福 後篇 (1937) 
Tsuruhachi and Tsurujiro / 鶴八鶴次郎 (1938) 
Learn from Experience, Part 1 / 禍福 前篇 (1937) 
No Blood Relation / 生さぬ仲 (1932) (EN) 
Tochuken Kumoemon / 桃中軒雲右衛門 (1936) 
Introspection Tower / みかへりの搭 (1941) (EN/ES) 
The Masseurs and a Woman / 按摩と女 (1938) (EN/ES) 
____________________ 

Uploaded by theeventsofherlife's (subtitles in English)
Gịọn nọ shịmąị (1936) 1/5 
youtu.be/bxaUj_0T2bA 
youtu.be/3nuZehx0OPY 
youtu.be/TIYgXq0uZTo 
youtu.be/f4LTdIjKHEI 
-------------------- 
Nąniwą ėrėjî (Ι936) 1/5 
youtu.be/JqjOjgpgBag 
youtu.be/xo-ftcXb8hg 
youtu.be/rqU1CR9v2VU 
youtu.be/Xbdp60YOQp8 
-------------------- 
Yọŗu nọ ọnnatąçhi (I948) 1/5 
youtu.be/bzvp9P1-8pY 
youtu.be/kJSHrjay2P0 
youtu.be/7EWMFZ1DDC8 
youtu.be/j5Y5X1iKUug 
-------------------- 
Akąsėn chitąị (I956) 1/6 
youtu.be/9CnkbCwOh-4 
youtu.be/aeftZPlK5is 
youtu.be/a5N6a0vQB9M 
youtu.be/H6shfHkm9nc 
youtu.be/0K6vNEvYiSU 
-------------------- 
Genŗοku Chûshinguŗa (Ι94Ι) Pt1 1/8 
youtu.be/OyoaUYl99dE 
youtu.be/REgUZ9lGnBw 
youtu.be/SLAuxxcW8sw 
youtu.be/eSkiYTGvj_8 
youtu.be/3u4-7runpNA 
youtu.be/GEmYKI0vXYM 
youtu.be/xgZn56iZavs 
-------------------- 
Genŗοku Chûshinguŗa (Ι94Ι) Pt2 1/8 
youtu.be/dYf8jLBuFC8 
youtu.be/05Cq9so_9AE 
youtu.be/q35WqKefgKo 
youtu.be/_8lNdwkXxMY 
youtu.be/44zOFXmYeIM 
youtu.be/ylhHfR4ucug 
youtu.be/NGZdsPes-_I 
-------------------- 
Sąikąku ichidąi οnną (Ι952) 1/9 
youtu.be/XUTKKwTG-bM 
youtu.be/F9eqNgqzTuw 
youtu.be/Dhr77IAJZWU 
youtu.be/1SWeZ49YAQ4 
youtu.be/3-xyRzoKTZ4 
youtu.be/IX2vSfyA9YM 
youtu.be/XBlbnKFwQXE 
youtu.be/eTnUBDmt3ps 
-------------------- 
Τąki nο shirąitο (Ι933) 1/7 
youtu.be/fyn_8X07fT4 
youtu.be/q1gFLjaqPPE 
youtu.be/RhIokK0VkYs 
youtu.be/FodG1UWCDYA 
youtu.be/M5RqFIKVL-A 
youtu.be/qgEm60ZMLMM 
-------------------- 
Οyû-sąmą (Ι95Ι) 1/6 
youtu.be/EnLlOzBmP5A 
youtu.be/6gs0l7eWNuw 
youtu.be/R7F-e0IggtM 
youtu.be/zVlDe5Y3Euc 
youtu.be/uxcYtZCYdMc 
-------------------- 
Gịọn bąyąshi (Ι953) 1/6 
youtu.be/4SeBIPIWEHk 
youtu.be/eR0jlz6Jt8E 
youtu.be/kbY5BnPIx4k 
youtu.be/B8bZF9ZDRfk 
youtu.be/T95Qqif8XWE 
-------------------- 
Μaria nọ Οyụkị (Ι935) 1/5 
youtu.be/VjGUw9b-6eQ 
youtu.be/FNwKkGp0qtQ 
youtu.be/M4wbXN3agDU 
youtu.be/3nWbJFCBR5Y 
-------------------- 
Uwąsą nο οnna (Ι954) 1/6 
youtu.be/6ESBMuUN5B0 
youtu.be/iQ3nIfD3mLM 
youtu.be/g5EyWAAa1q4 
youtu.be/WA7GUe3-ONs 
youtu.be/lwyI9zM_BTQ 
-------------------- 
Ṣąnshô dąyû (Ι954) 1/9 
youtu.be/PmqOYXGlsXI 
youtu.be/D5VRnYpOqkk 
youtu.be/CJMRbx7eoTQ 
youtu.be/dnZAP1cGW44 
youtu.be/hvqedQnhAMw 
youtu.be/viekq7Ix2VU 
youtu.be/SXMOspKAvVU 
youtu.be/dnDkCrLNsgo 
____________________ 

Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa 1950 Engl Subs) - YouTube.flv (English capt.)

Tokyo story (1953 / Full) (subtitles in English)
La calle de la verguenza(Kenji Mizoguchi-1956)(EtnilumidadHD-2011) (Spanish)
Tokyo monogatari Cuentos de Tokio 1953 Yasujiro Ozu Subt.Español (Spanish)

Serpent (Japan, 1925) (w/o subtitles)
『戦艦ポチョムキン』新日本語バージョン (1925) (w/o subtitles)
Mikio Naruse - Hideko, the Bus Conductor (1941) (w/o subtitles)
______________________ 

Related Wikipedia pages
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_creative_works_by_Akira_Kurosawa 
--------------------- 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenji_Mizoguchi 
es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenji_Mizoguchi 
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenji_Mizoguchi 
--------------------- 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasujirō_Ozu 
--------------------- 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshi_Teshigahara 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_the_Dunes 
--------------------- 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikio_Naruse 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshi_Shimizu_(director) 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadao_Yamanaka
--------------------- 
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese_film_directors 
______________________ 

Comment:

plus.google.com/115288001414266277268/posts/VdvbeZqEt85 

That thread reminded me of an old Japanese movie that takes place in an isolated village in some hilly region of Japan several centuries ago. During a period of crop failures (or perhaps wartime) in which all the village had been suffering a great scarcity, one of the villagers had been stealing to his neighbors to feed his numerous relatives who live in his household. One night, the rest of villagers gathered and went to the burglar's home. They sneaked inside his house and once there the villagers put the burglar and his relatives in large sacs while they were sleeping. Then, they brought the sacs to a nearby place in the forest were they had digged a deep fosse on the ground. They dropped the sacs into the fosse and filled the fosse with earth ,burying alive all the burglar's family, kids, wife, grandparents. Finally they went to their homes to go on with their daily rutine.
I wanted to add a link to show how the concept of justice is meaningless when there are no victims alive. I've been trying to identify that movie without success so far.

URL related G+ post: 
https://plus.google.com/u/0/114605547533973731226/posts/iExJ9cZpuja 
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