Author Archives: marcia

Incoming — ROSAT

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Another Dead Satellite to Fall to Earth This Weekend

ROSAT poses greater risk of someone being hit by space debris, officials say.

Satellite picture: The ROSAT satellite.

An artist’s impression of ROSAT in orbit.

Illustration courtesy DLR

Traci Watson

for National Geographic News

Published October 19, 2011

If you see a large glowing object plummeting from the sky late Saturday or early Sunday, duck.

A defunct European satellite called ROSAT is headed straight for Earth this weekend—and chances are even higher that a piece of space debris could hit someone than the odds placed on a NASA satellite that fell from orbit last month.

The German Aerospace Center, which led the development and construction of ROSAT, estimates that the chance of anyone being harmed by debris from the satellite is 1 in 2,000. For NASA’s UARS, the injury risk was roughly a third lower, at 1 in 3,200.

ROSAT is currently estimated to make an uncontrolled reentry during the early morning hours on Sunday, Greenwich Mean Time, said Heiner Klinkrad, head of the European Space Agency’s space debris office.

But Klinkrad cautions that the satellite could enter Earth’s atmosphere up to 24 hours earlier or later than the estimated time.

That’s because shifts in radiation from the sun aren’t 100-percent predictable. If solar radiation increases, there’s more heating and expansion of the atmosphere, which would increase drag on the spacecraft and cause it to hurtle downward sooner than expected.

Don’t Touch the Space Junk

Unfortunately, neither Klinkrad nor anyone else can say exactly where on Earth ROSAT is headed.

Debris could come down anywhere between 53 degrees north latitude and 53 degrees south latitude, an area that includes most of Earth’s land mass, the German Aerospace Center’s Roland Gräve said via email.

That could be a worry, because the satellite’s 1.5-ton mirror is likely to survive the superheated trip through the atmosphere all the way to the ground, where it could make a major dent in whatever it strikes.

By contrast, the biggest piece of NASA’s UARS spacecraft thought to hit the planet was a 300-pound (150-kilogram) chunk of the craft’s frame.

In the end, the remnants of UARS splashed down into an isolated stretch of the Pacific Ocean, disturbing no one except perhaps a few fish. (See “NASA Satellite Debris Likely Fell in Ocean, May Never Be Found.”)

Despite the higher odds, ROSAT is also unlikely to hurt anyone, scientists say, given the planet’s large stretches of ocean and thinly populated areas.

“We accept risks in everyday life that are many orders of magnitude higher than the risks we incur from reentering space objects,” ESA’s Klinkrad said.

If bits of the satellite do land in a populated area, “they will be extremely hot,” added the German Aerospace Center’s Gräve. “This is why we recommend not touching any satellite parts” that do make it to the ground.

And any ROSAT debris, no matter where it’s found, belongs to the German government, he said.

ROSAT Worthy of a Wake

ROSAT—short for Roentgen Satellite—launched in 1990 on a Delta II rocket to measure the x-rays emitted by objects such as neutron stars, dense stellar cores left behind by some supernovae.

The mission was supposed to last only 18 months, but the satellite kept chugging for eight years. Scientists finally shut it down in 1999 after its last functional scientific instrument accidentally pointed too close to the sun, blinding the sensors.

When ROSAT was on the drawing board in the 1980s, spacecraft designers didn’t plan for the end of their vehicles’ lives. So ROSAT was built without a propulsion system that would’ve allowed for a carefully choreographed demise.

“The attitude 20 years ago was still very much, Eh, space is big, and things that reenter probably won’t hit anyone, so we won’t worry about it,” said Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics scientist who relied on data from ROSAT.

As far as McDowell can remember, nothing as big as the ROSAT mirror has smashed into the Earth’s surface since the reentry of the Soviet space station Salyut-7 in 1991.

 

to read more, go to:    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/10/111019-satellite-fall-earth-rosat-space-debris-nasa-science/?source=hp_dl1_news_satellite201120

fr/Judith Orloff: Laws of Energetic Attraction

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The 4 Laws of Energetic Attraction

Dr. Judith Orloff
a message from Dr. Judith Orloff
Monday, 10 October, 2011  (posted 19 October, 2011)

Are you longing for relationships that do your heart good and generate stronger connections? In my book, Positive Energy I discuss how to radically improve your health and relationships by bringing positive people and situations into your life. Knowing about energy can transform your ability to build positive relationships, prevent loneliness and ward off fatigue. By making the energetic shifts described here, you can draw good things to you.

Law No. 1: We attract who we are

The more positive energy we give off, the more we’ll receive. Ditto for negativity. It works like this: Love attracts love. Grumpiness attracts grumpiness. Passion attracts passion. Rage attracts rage.

First, define what being positive does and doesn’t mean for you in terms of attitude and behavior. Don’t worry if you’re far from a positive place. It’s an evolution. Give thought to what you value most in yourself or other. You can then strengthen these traits in yourself, and attract the same.

The idea is to find reciprocally nourishing interactions, not to win a popularity contest. (Of course, it feels good to be liked. But I’ve seen this need turn into addiction.) The following exercise will help you boost your positive signals.

*Identify your best qualities and project them to the world. Before meeting new people or going to important events, prime yourself. Think, “I’m not going to focus on my insecurity but on a strength like my sensitivity, compassion or humor; I’m going to feel and trust the positive energy inside me. I’m going to claim my full power.” Such selective attention puts your best parts front and center.

Law No. 2: Intuition clarifies smart choices

Relationships are tricky; they can be a big blur even when your eyes are open. We’ve learned to draw conclusions from surface data: how nice someone seems, looks or is educated, or how a situation adds up on paper. But attraction goes deeper; to make it work for you, other ingredients must be considered. Respect your intuitions about relationships and identify those that highlight compatible matches.

What may obscure the picture is anxiety or intense sexual attraction. If so, go slow until you get a keener intuitive read. In my book, Positive Energy I give exercises to help train you to act from instinct, not impulse.

*Tune in. Choose a relationship or situation that needs clarification – perhaps you’re confused about a friendship or vacation. Run it by your intuition criteria: Do you feel troubled and nervous or energized and safe?

*Act on vibes. Insecurity, ego, lust or stubbornness can obscure your better judgment. If a person feels positive, explore the possibilities. If the vibes are mixed, take a pass or at least wait. If all you sense is negative, have the courage to walk away, no matter how tempting the option seems. Then observe how listening to energy in this way leads you to the juiciest opportunities.

Law No. 3: Seeing the best in people magnetizes them

Instead of reflexively accentuating the worst in a person or situation, choose to energize positive qualities. The object isn’t to flatter, make nice, be politically correct or ignore intuitive red flags – nor to deny someone’s dark side or placate abusers. Your goal is to mine the gold in positive relationships and elevate the communication in more difficult ones.

We want to have the goodness in us acknowledges. If you want to connect with someone, notice his or her assets. Let’s say a co-worker is snitty. Realize that happy people don’t act this way. So instead of being snitty back or constantly miffed, redirect the energy. Comment on the long hours she puts in, or her dynamite shoes. Use this approach for a week – as well as the ones below – and watch the vibes change.

*Tell at least two people you love what you’re grateful for about them.

*Tell at least two people you don’t love what you’re grateful for about them.

*Adjust your perception. Spend an afternoon noticing the positive qualities of everyone you meet.

*Praise other people’s abilities.

Law No. 4: Soulful giving generates abundance

Giving is supposed to feel good; if not, something’s wrong. Soulful giving enlarges your capacity to be more caring – you give for the joy of it, expecting nothing in return. In contrast, codependent giving bleeds life force; it’s driven by obligation, guilt or a martyr-complex, and it leaves the giver feeling sucked dry, unappreciated and put upon.

You want to give for reasons that energize you, not because you’re taking inappropriate responsibility for others. The following strategies will generate bountiful vibes for you and the receiver. If you give from your heart, your vitality will soar.

*Give spontaneously. Any time is right to offer simple tokens of appreciation to friends or colleagues; a candle, rose, small plant, fragrant soap or funny card.

*Give anonymously. Walk an old lady across the street; hold open an elevator; let a car go before you in traffic; or do something nice behind the scenes for someone, but don’t get found out. Such good deeds add light to your energy field and ultimately draw the same goodness back to you. As a 14-year-old friend told me, “The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer up someone else.”

Use these “laws” to mobilize excellence and kindness in your relationships. Emphatically say “no” to anything that doesn’t further the heart. Cheer each success. Don’t cheat your joy by jumping too quickly to the next ambition. Instead, pledge to value even the tiniest of triumphs. That’s what the art of positive living is about.

Judith Orloff MD is bestselling author of the new book Emotional Freedom: Liberate Yourself From Negative Emotions and Transform Your Life (Three Rivers Press, 2011) upon which these tips and article are based. Her insights in Emotional Freedom create a new convergence of healing paths for our stressed out world. An assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA, Dr. Orloff’s work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, and in Oprah Magazine and USA Today.

Latest from Steve Rother & The Group

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Play A New Game – Re-directing the Light

Steve Rother
a message from The Group channeled by Steve Rother
Saturday, 15 October, 2011  (posted 18 October, 2011)

From Steve: The group has tried on several occasions to pretend to be human.  The most difficult part for them is telling a joke.  They understand the laughter, as it is the language of angels. But let’s just say that their delivery really needs a little work. Pretending to be human is harder than it looks sometimes.

The group gave me no warning about what was coming in this channel.  I even made a comment just before starting that I had no idea where it was going.  Then I said it was OK, because at the very least I knew the first three words were “Greetings from Home.”  Everyone in the room laughed.

Have a great month and brace yourself… here we go!
Big hugs,

Steve

Greetings . . .

Yes, he was waiting for the other words and we changed them. There is an internal dialogue going on between the Keeper and us right now. Welcome. Greetings from Home.

The Spirit of Technology

This energy has changed so much and so quickly. It has become very exciting for each and every one of you. We wish to share with you today what is directly ahead and some larger items that are coming up for all humans, especially in the area of technology for there is so much that has started to move now.

Humans have always considered technology and spirituality to exist in two different worlds.  The polarity thinking of Earth has always kept them separate and in to some extent they are, yet everyone can now see how the two worlds are supporting each other in new ways. As humanity evolves, a higher perspective is reached that allows you to see and embrace other truths. Metaphysics is simply other than physical or what we call “spirit.” Our definition of spirit is that which exists when the physical world is removed. We do not see you as humans walking around, bumping into each other. We see you as spirits wearing a bubble of biology pretending to be a human and experiencing many challenges with it. We wish to share some exciting pieces today and to show you glimpse of where that is going. Each and every one of you can reach a little further out into your reality and create your heart’s desire, for that is truly what you came to do. You did not come to work hard; you did not come to accomplish goals. You came to be light.  That is difficult when you measure yourselves against others, and you are constantly moving in a direction that you think everyone wants you to move in. But now the underlying energy of all of humanity is changing. You have now risen to a level at which you can contain more of your own light, more of your own empowerment as creator beings than ever before. You do not have to wait for all these pieces.

Scar Re-surfacing

All of humanity is moving and that is also causing many challenges. Many have scar tissue that may surface as new energetic levels are reached. Many have been killed or tortured for simply trying to speak the truth or share light on planet Earth.  Now that is happening as everyone is starting to move, so those of you who have that scar tissue may find it re-surfacing. You may experience more of a blockage in yourself simply fearing to take that next step.

Understand that this is a normal human process, because humans advance with three steps forward and one step back. Please do not judge yourself with that step backward. Allow yourself a wide berth to grow and do not perceive that you are doing something wrong, for when a creator being thinks they are doing something wrong, guess what happens? It creates the illusion of something wrong and then you create an entire world around that to support your belief system. Be careful where you point that thing, because it is going to have an effect now. What you are finding is that you are creating every part of your world the moment you step into it.

Play a New Game

There are some events taking place that will allow all humans – every one of you – to take this step to wherever you want it to go. The first thing that has been re-moved is that underlying energy which many of you have felt is a safety net, as a base from which you have built your energy. Now that the base is gone, many are feeling unstable and a little lost. It becomes difficult to ground and find your place. What is happening is that humanity is starting a new game. It is very simple. You are creating energetics within your physical being that will allow you to carry more light from Home.  This will allow you to carry more of your own soul and spirit; it will take considerable adjustments for you to learn to let that come out. Every time you smile, talk, or glance at somebody the light spreads. This is a new base that is creating for all of humanity.

Let us share with you a simple story about Jane, for she is one of our favorite characters today. Jane grew up in a household and had a very loving mother who was always trying to entertain her. Jane was always looking for something to do, as she was very creative. But she would master things very quickly, become bored and move on to something else. So her mother bought her a wonderful board game. Jane found many friends to play with, and they would have big parties and play this game. One day, Jane came to her mother and said, “Mom, I am getting good at the game and I always win. I always beat everybody and I am getting bored.” Her mom looked at her and said, “Honey, play another game.” Jane looked around and said, “Oh. I can do that?” She went back to her toy box and found other games she did not even know she had. Then she found one that supported her in a higher vibration.

Dear ones, what we are telling you is that it is time to play a new game. It is time to take a step up into your consciousness, by being your light. This is not something that is simply going to envelop you; it is something that you must consciously step into. Now the beautiful part about it is that you are creating this path with each step you take. You are creating something that was never before imagined throughout all of humanity, throughout All That Is. You are creating the path beneath your feet just before your foot hits the ground, and it is the most magical piece to watch as the creator beings are starting to take their place on planet Earth.

Technology Drop is Grounding

Now we wish to switch gears for a moment and talk about a slightly different subject: what’s ahead in technology. Many times technologies have been dropped onto your planet from other beings, from outer space creatures as you call them. And yet those technologies did not work. They worked fine for the others, but when they were brought here to planet Earth, they did not work because the human spiritual connection was not high enough at that time to hold the vibrations of this technology. It is a balance. The technologies that are here on Earth are here to reflect your magnificence. They are here to carry light, much the way the Keeper is using this technology right now to send this light all over the world. There will come a time when your technologies will integrate with you. Then you will not need the cameras and all the fun technologies that you have, for you will be able to carry all of them inside.

This is what we call the singularity, the point at which your technologies advance to where they can equal the human brain; at that point, they will become integrated. The technologies will not take over, as many of your science fiction books and movies describe computers becoming smarter than humans. Understand that there is a balance between both.

There are technologies that have been on the cutting edge. However, if the spiritual vibration is not high enough to support the technology, the technology will run into what is called a brick wall. Quite simply, there will be one thing that does not work and it will stop that entire technology from moving forward until the vibration is high enough. You, meaning all humans, have now reached a level of vibrational integrity that is starting to trigger the release of all these blockages. You are beginning to find simple answers to these complex questions that have been blocking much of the advancement of humanity. It is now going to happen at a very rapid pace.

Vortex to Portal to Torus

We have shared with you before about vortexes. A vortex is simply energy moving in a circle. One of the reasons we are speaking to you from the Keeper’s voice here in Las Vegas, is because Las Vegas is a huge vortex. There are mountains on every side and when the energy – or wind, if you wish – comes in then it whips around, circulates and causes a vortex. The Las Vegas vortex has been used as a creation vortex, which is why all of these hotels are in the middle of the desert. Now you are able to use these vortexes for something else, but the vortex itself is really only on two planes; it is only in two dimensions of width and depth. What we tell you is, when you take a vortex into three full dimensions and later into five dimensions, you create a machine. It is a machine that each and every one of you carries around your physical body; it turns into what is called a “tube torus.” The tube torus is an individual energy cycle that is around every physical being,  rock, mountain, and every blade of grass. It is the point at which you connect to the universal energy, and it is in the area of technology that you will see the most rapid movement in. Watch for the tube torus to show up in technologies that will advance humanity greatly over the next six years. You will see major changes in your technological advances, many of which will solve some of the challenges you are having with your environment, such as pollution, and with your energies that you do not know what to do with. These are all elements that are starting to reach a tipping point. If you did not have the problem, it would not show up to be solved at this point. This is why many of these things are showing up right now on your planet.

Settling Into a New Pattern

Yes, there is much more that will occur with the re-distribution of water, for there has to be a new balance found. The planet now is wobbling differently because of the two earthquakes in Chile and Japan. Much of that re-distribution is working very well. You are settling into a new vibrational pattern, which is basically creating a new dimension to Earth. It is a place where even planet Earth can now support an empowered being on its surface. That is what the Earth is doing; she is not dying, but she is pregnant and about to give birth. What is she giving birth to?  It is to a new form of human that can carry a majority of your own true light; that is you. This is why each one of you has very carefully chosen to be here at this moment, for it was very critical for many of you. We have told you that there is no one on this planet that is taking up space. That is not happening now, because there is a critical mass that was reached. Those of you that have a seat for this journey, who have a ticket for the ride of your life, you have made it. Yet do not ever think that you are a passenger.  You are here on purpose. You carry a part of Home that you are bringing to create this new empowered Earth, and right now is the time to find it. We know that you are not confident in your own abilities. We know that many of you ask, “What can I say that has not already been said?” We know that many of you doubt your own abilities to channel your spirit You will not know until you try. Step out and allow it to happen, for once the energy starts coming in you will adapt. We harmonize with you and you harmonize with us. We can drop information in, not necessarily to take you to higher levels but to give you confidence. For that is all humanity is missing, having the confidence to step forward and to try something new.

Dear ones, play a new game. It is very simple. Create it. Find your joy and create something around it, for it is not the perception that you have seen before. Your worries about this world were about how you would support yourself, whether you were doing the right thing, making a difference, and fulfilling your contracts. Soon, it will be, “How much fun can I have?” Your focus will change quite drastically. Many of you will worry about it. You will think, “Oh, I cannot do that unless I work hard.” But you can. You are going to find major changes going on in your lives, in the opportunities in front of you. All we ask of you is that when you have that opportunity, play a new game.

It is with the greatest of honor we ask you to treat each other with respect. Nurture one another every chance you get. Know that it is a beautiful game you are playing and play well together.

Espavo.

The group

Copyright 2000 – 2011 Lightworker. www.Lightworker.com This information is meant to circulate and may be freely disseminated, in whole or in part with the following conditions: Use of this material signifies that the user agress to the following conditions: 1. The words “Copyright 2000 – 2011 Lightworker. www.Lightworker.com” will be included with all published material. 2. User agrees that all rights, including copyrights of translated material, remain the property of Lightworker. If you translate this material we reserve the right to share that translation with credit to you as translator, on the Lightworker site to make it available to all. Further information from the Group may be found at: http://www.Lightworker.com. Thanks for helping to spread the Light!

from:    http://spiritlibrary.com/lightworker/play-a-new-game-re-directing-the-light

Outdoor Lives of Cats

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 The Secret Lives of Outdoor Cats Revealed

By Natalie Wolchover, Life’s Little Mysteries Staff Writer
26 May 2011 4:24 PM ET
Forty-two cats, including this stray one, were fitted with radio collars and tracked over two years. Some of the collars also had devices that continuously monitored the cats’ every move. CREDIT: Illinois Natural History Survey

 

Where does your kitty go when you let her out? What do stray cats do all day? Do alley cats hang out with each other?

These are just some of the questions answered by a newly completed research project in which 42 free-roaming cats — some with no owner, some outdoor pets — were radio-collared and tracked for two years by researchers at the University of Illinois.

Together, the cats roamed 6,286 acres in and around the cities of Urbana and Champaign. The strays turned out to have surprisingly huge territories. One feral cat, a mixed breed male, had a home range of 1,351 acres, covering both urban and rural, residential and agricultural, forest and prairie areas.

“That particular male cat was not getting food from humans, to my knowledge, but somehow it survived out there amidst coyotes and foxes,” Jeff Horn, a former graduate student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences who led the study, said in a press release. “It crossed every street in the area where it was trapped. (It navigated) stoplights, parking lots. We found it denning under a softball field during a game.”

Even though the free-roaming pet cats tended to stay within the two acres surrounding their homes, “some of the cat owners were very surprised to learn that their cats were going that far,” Horn said. “That’s a lot of backyards.” [MAP: See Where the Cats Wandered]

Another difference was that the pets engaged in vigorous activity, such as running or stalking, only 3 percent of the time, while the strays were active 14 percent of the time — they had to work harder to stalk and kill their own food.

Most of the cats tended to stay within 300 meters (984 feet) of human structures, said co-author Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, a wildlife veterinary epidemiologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey at Illinois. “Even feral cats were always within range of a building,” she said. “That shows that even though they’re feral, they still have a level of dependency on us.”

As for whether alley cats hang out together: nope. The researchers observed one feral cat chasing another out of a dairy barn. Another stray waited for a pet cat to emerge each morning and tried to chase it out of its own backyard. In an earlier study, co-author Richard Warner, an emeritus professor of natural resources and environmental sciences, followed about two dozen free-roaming cats over several years, and found that the two leading causes of cat deaths were other cats and disease.

The study was published in the Journal of Wildlife Management

from:    http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/secret-lives-outdoor-cats-revealed-1726/

Zombie Safe House Design Contest

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Architecture Contest Calls for Zombie-Proof Home Designs

Joseph Castro, Life’s Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Date: 18 October 2011 Time: 02:30 PM ET
zombie architecture contest

 
The Lifebuoy: a safe haven against zombies, built atop an abandoned oil rig in the Antarctic.
CREDIT: Survival Systems International, 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition

Between diseases, global warming and falling satellites, we have a lot to worry about these days – but let’s not forget about the looming threat of a zombie apocalypse.

To help us prepare for this potential undead disaster, the folks at Architects Southwest, an architecture firm based in Louisiana, have launched the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition. The organization has tasked artists, architects and other zombie enthusiasts with one goal: Design a haven that can withstand a full-onzombie assault on civilization as we know it.

Design entries so far are varied and imaginative, to say the least. A top contender right now is the Zombie Ranch, a zombie-powered vertical farm. As per the design, humans live in a spiral housing system above ground, safely out of harm’s reach; down below, zombies run around in circles trying to catch hanging bait traps, all the while turning a turbine that provides energy for the humans in the ranch.

Other entries include portable houses that travel through the air by balloon, structures floating atop abandoned oil rigs in the Antarctic and zombie fortresses built into mountain cliffs.

Voting for the contest is now open and ends on Oct. 20

 

from:   http://www.livescience.com/16598-zombie-apocalypse-architecture-contest.html

Once Again, The World Ends Tomorrow

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Why the World Will End (Again) on Friday

Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Date: 19 October 2011 Time: 01:14 PM ET
A post-apocalyptic scene
The end of the world has been predicted by dozens, if not hundreds, of “prophets” over the centuries. The most recent is Harold Camping, who believes that the end will come on October 21.
CREDIT: Jens Beste, Shutterstock

The world is about to end. Again.

Oct. 21 is the next in a long line of supposed apocalypses, stretching back thousands of years. This time, the prophet of doom is Harold Camping, a radio preacher who received international media attention in May when he predicted that Judgment Day would fall on May 21, followed by months of torment on Earth and an end to everything in autumn.

Judgment Day didn’t bring the promised earthquakes and Rapture, but Camping now says May 21 marked a spiritual Judgment Day and that the world will still end “quietly” on Friday. It may seem odd that Camping’s faith remains strong, but apocalypse experts say that doomsday prophets have often built their entire lives around their end-of-the-world views, and that worldview is hard to shake. For an elderly preacher like Camping, who suffered a stroke in June, apocalypse beliefs may also reflect his struggle with his own mortality.

I would not be surprised to discover that Mr. Camping sees this prediction as his life’s work, the culmination of decades of intensive Bible study, filtered through the sieve of faith,” said Lorenzo DiTommaso, a professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal. “If this is correct, then perhaps he sees in the world a reflection of his self.”

The appeal of the end

Doomsday predictions, whether secular or religious, often attract those who feel theworld is unsalvageable. Sometimes the world-ending catastrophe is nuclear winter; sometimes it’s the Mayan apocalypse. But religious doomsday groups often draw on mainstream faith, said Stephen Kent, a sociologist at the University of Alberta.

“Almost all apocalyptic beliefs show Christian influence,” Kent told LiveScience.

That’s because a central tenant of the faith is that Jesus will return — although many mainstream Christians point to the Bible verse Matthew 24:36 to condemn doomsday prophets such as Camping. That verse says that no one knows the day or hour of the end, “not even the angels in heaven.”

Those who try to predict when doomsday will occur often focus on the world’s sin. Camping, for example, has said that God left all churches in 1988, leaving Satan to rule those institutions. Famous 1800s doomsday prophet William Miller, who predicted that the end would come on Oct. 22, 1844, was “disillusioned with humanity,” Kent said. [Read: Oops! 11 Failed Doomsday Predictions]

“He read a considerable amount of history and came to see humans as brutes,” Kent said.

With this worldview, the end of the world is a welcome way to wipe Earth clean.

“Despite fire, death and destruction, the god of apocalypticism is a god of order, not chaos,” DiTommaso told LiveScience in May. “That’s the reassurance.”

The personal is the prophetic

An individual’s psychology and environment may contribute to the apocalyptic worldview. Followers often live and socialize in small groups where outside opinions aren’t heard, DiTommaso said. This “social encapsulation” keeps faith-shaking questions at bay.

Camping and his followers are also operating from a worldview that holds that the Bible and its prophecies cannot be wrong, DiTommaso told LiveScience.

to read more, go to:    http://www.livescience.com/16612-world-oct-21.html

Continued Seismic Activity at El Hierro

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El Hierro Volcano (Canary Islands) : Red alert – seismic activity not over yet

Last update: October 20, 2011 at 3:55 pm by By 

Read also:   Part 4 (from October 14 until October 17 )

Update 20/10 – 15:53 UTC:  
– 10 earthquakes have been recorded by IGN (max. magnitude : 2.0) since midnight UTC.
– The diving companies, one of the important sub-economies on the island,  are living through a very bad period. Cancellations have been coming in until december 2012. Alpidio Armas hopes that the present crisis situation will end soon and that business will gradually be back to normal.

El Mundo Radiography animation of the El Hierro volcano eruption

Update 20/10 – 7:46 UTC:  Spanish newspaper El Mundo did something what you can expect from a quality newspaper, they invested money in afantastic animated overview of what happened .  The animation is divided into the following parts :
– Geography of El Hierro
– Divergent fault line
– location and size of the craters/cinder cones
– Ocean sea floor surrounding El Hierro
– Eruption specifics.
We advise our readers to take a look at this great animation. Click here to watch the El Mundo animation

Update 20/10 – 7:37 UTC:  slight changing harmonic tremors during the last 8 hours. Since midnight IGN reported 2 earthquakes (this number can change when IGN updates her records).
The number of earthquakes yesterday was the highest in number since October 10 when the active period started

Port of La Restinga on October 19 – many fish died by the acidic water – image courtesy and copyright Desiree Martin

Update 19/10 – 23:58 UTC:  Killing nature. Due to the  lower Ph, the water is very acid and a lot of fish did not survive it. The picture at right has been shot in the port of La Restinga.

Update 19/10 – 23:55 UTC:  A total of 16 volcanic earthquakes have been recorded on Wednesday. Max. magnitude: 2.6

Update 19/10 – 17:44 UTC:   La Restinga fishermen demand that the Ramon Margalef will not only have geologists on board, but also the “best possible biologists”. They want to know from the biologists when their fishing grounds will get back to normal.

to read more, and for updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/

Mauna Kea, Hawaii Earthquake Swarm

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Last update: October 20, 2011 at 1:56 pm by By 

October 20, 2011 By 
The dry summit environment of the summit of Mauna Kea – The white points on the summit are the astronomical telescopes – Image courtesy Tony Romaine

Description: At 00:10 AM UTC October 20, a moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 4.5 and a depth of 18.8 km attracted our attention. To our surprise the epicenter was located below the slopes of Mauna Kea, an active shield volcano who’s last eruption occurred at approx. 2,400 BC.

Update 13:37 UTC :  The presentearthquake swarm is  not necessarily to be linked to volcanic activity since occasional swarms have been registered since 25 years. The swarms are linked to structural adjustments within the Earth’s crust due to the heavy load of Mauna Kea.
A similar earthquake swarm occurred in March 2010. The aftershocks (just like they are occurring now) continued for many days in a row.

Update 12:28 UTC :  Mauna Kea shield volcano is presently called “dormant”.

Update 11:13 UTC : USGS maintains her NORMAL green color alert (no problem)

Update 10:23 UTC : Since the mainshock at 00:10 earlier today, we noticed 38 other earthquakes. The shallowest of the +1 magnitude earthquakes was at a depth of 14.3 km.

The shallower earthquakes at Fern forest and Volcano have to be linked to the Kilauea complex.
21 km (13 miles) SE (137°) from Waimea, HI and 23 km (14 miles) SSW (199°) from Honokaa, HI

Earthquake swarm below Mauna Kea on October 20 2011

for more, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/10/20/mauna-kea-hawaii-intriguing-earthquake-swarm-below-the-astronomical-observatories-volcano/

 

Quiet Sun

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QUIET SUN: How quiet can a star with eight sunspot groups be? Pretty quiet, it turns out. The sun has that many sunspots and more facing Earth, yet none of them is producing flares. Regard this plot of the sun’s X-ray output for the past two days; it has almost flat-lined:

Perhaps this is the calm before the storm. Sunspot AR1319 has a ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic field that harbors energy for strong M-class flares. NOAA forecasters estimate a 30% chance of such an eruption in the next 24 hours

fr/spaceweather.com

Food, Drought, Famine, & Climate Change

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Kelly Rigg

Executive Director, GCCA

Climate Change and Food Security: Out of the Mouths of Babes

Posted: 10/16/11 05:36 PM ET

Climate change skeptics would have you believe that global warming is an abstract theory, a dispute between scientists with differing interpretations of computer models, temperature data and ice measurements. So when the conversation turns to real people facing real hardship on the frontlines of climate change, it’s no surprise that they redirect the conversation back to the abstract.

Take a look at the 171 arguments of climate skeptics compiled by Skeptical Science. You can count on the number of fingers it takes to make a peace sign the arguments about the immediate directly observable impacts of climate change (and one of these is about polar bears).

Today is World Food Day, a perfect moment to reflect on what the very real impacts of climate change mean for those who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. It comes at a time when millions of people are struggling to survive in East Africa where the worst drought in 60 years is devastating millions of lives and livelihoods.

Those on the frontlines are convinced that climate change is responsible.

As UN Humanitarian Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, says, “We have to take the impact of climate change more seriously… Everything I’ve heard has said that we used to have drought every 10 years, then it became every five years and now it’s every two years.”

A 2009 report by the World Food Programme, which describes itself as the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger, explains:

By 2050, the number of people at risk of hunger as a result of climate change is expected to increase by 10 to 20 percent more than would be expected without climate change; and the number of malnourished children is expected to increase by 24 million – 21 percent more than without climate change. Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to be the worst affected region.

Think about it. 24 million additional kids — that’s roughly equivalent to a third of US children.

But it’s not just a question of changing climate and weather patterns; it’s also about the resilience of communities to withstand such changes. As Rajiv Shah, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) explained to the Huffington Post in July, “There’s no question that hotter and drier growing conditions in sub-Saharan Africa have reduced the resiliency of these communities. Absolutely the change in climate has contributed to this problem, without question.”

On that front, it’s not all bad news. Investments in community resilience projects show a promising way forward. See for example the success of the Morulem irrigation project in Kenya originally funded by World Vision more than 10 years ago.

If you’ve ever looked at the labels identifying the origin of the food on the shelves of your local supermarket (grapes from Chile, apple juice from China, rice from Thailand) you’ll know that the global food supply system is complex. In a warming world there will be winners and losers across a range of factors. Higher temperatures and more CO2 in the atmosphere may lead to higher crop yields in some parts of the world, and lower in others. But in an increasingly interconnected world other factors will be equally important and the net result doesn’t bode well.

2011-10-16-FamineSomaliaCreativeCommonsIFRCTckTckTck.jpg
Creative Commons: International Foundation of Red Cross

Consider these three for example:

to read more and see the video, go to:    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kelly-rigg/climate-change-and-food-s_b_1014091.html?ir=Impact