Gold Advances 1.3% in 10th Quarterly Gain, Silver Surges 22.5% in Quarter

by CoinNews.net on March 31, 2011
U.S. gold futures advanced for a second day on Thursday, capping a 10th straight quarterly gain and the best streak since 1975. Silver soared more than 22 percent during the quarter, easily outpacing percentage gains of other precious metals. Fine Gold BarsGold futures prices for June delivery rose $15.00, or 1.1 percent, to $1,439.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold ranged from a low of $1,421.70 to a high of $1,441.00. Gold rose 1.3 percent in the quarter. Story here

Martin Luther King speaks from the grave

Vesta--Is it Really an Asteroid?

March 29, 2011:
On March 29, 1807, German astronomer Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers spotted Vesta as a pinprick of light in the sky. Two hundred and four years later, as NASA's Dawn spacecraft prepares to begin orbiting this intriguing world, scientists now know how special this world is, even if there has been some debate on how to classify it.
Many astronomers call Vesta an asteroid because it lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. But Vesta is not a typical member of that orbiting rubble patch. The vast majority of objects in the main belt are lightweights, 100 kilometers wide or smaller, compared with Vesta, which is a 530 kilometer-wide behemoth.
"I don't think Vesta should be called an asteroid," said Tom McCord, a Dawn co-investigator based at the Bear Fight Institute, Winthrop, Wash. "Not only is Vesta so much larger, but it's an evolved object, unlike most things we call asteroids." Story here

Libya - Kosovo, Are there parallels?

Toronto - Scott Taylor speaks about Kosovo - March 1, 2008
Editor: What is the agenda behind NATO actions? There are those of us that don't believe that the current upheavals in the Middle East are simply a result of "spontaneous combustion" based on frustration. We believe that those that have taken up arms against sitting regimes have been organized and promised support by outside forces. It is an orchestrated revolution based on the agenda of vested interests in the Middle East, and NATO members, including Canada, are violating fundamental principles of justice in aiding and abetting this agenda. Just like they did in the Balkans in the nineties. More information on what happened in the Balkans here

Thorium: Rare Earth Liability or Asset?

By Michael Montgomery

The production of rare earth oxides comes attached with a major problem: radioactive waste. The mining of the rare earths and the processing of the various elements produces large amounts of thorium as a byproduct. This material is radioactive and dangerous to human health. In China, lax environmental laws have allowed the country to build a monopoly in the market. However, now the country is looking to mitigate environmental damage from the production of rare earths, shutting down small mining operations, and raising environmental standards. This has had a dramatic effect on the price of these elements, which is why western companies are looking to produce on their deposits. One such company, Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC) is building a processing plant in Malaysia that is coming under fire as concerns about the disposal of thorium and the effects on the local population mount. There is a possibility that this liability could become a resource of rare earth mining companies, as thorium can be used as fuel for nuclear power.
“The 800-pound gorilla in every rare-earth venture’s room, was the radioactive thorium- and/or uranium-bearing waste that will be generated by the extraction, separation, and refining operations,” stated rare earth expert, Jack Lifton. Article published here

GLOBALIST TARGET: Central Bank of Libya is 100% State Owned

By Eric V. Encina
March 28, 2011

One seldom mentioned fact by western politicians and media pundits: the Central Bank of Libya is 100% State Owned. The world’s globalist financiers and market manipulators do not like it and would continue to their on-going effort to dethrone Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi, bringing an end to Libya as independent nation.
Currently, the Libyan government creates its own money, the Libyan Dinar, through the facilities of its own central bank. Few can argue that Libya is a sovereign nation with its own great resources, able to sustain its own economic destiny. One major problem for globalist banking cartels is that in order to do business with Libya, they must go through the Libyan Central Bank and its national currency, a place where they have absolutely zero dominion or power-broking ability. Hence, taking down the Central Bank of Libya (CBL) may not appear in the speeches of Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy but this is certainly at the top of the globalist agenda for absorbing Libya into its hive of compliant nations. Story here

NATO'S FALL GUY: Lt. Canadian General Charles Bouchard will be running the Libyan shop floor for the US, UK and France.

The Aurora - spectacular video

The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

by Terje Sorgjerd
"I spent a week capturing one of the biggest aurora borealis shows in recent years. Shot in and around Kirkenes in Northern Norway and Pas National Park bordering Russia, at 70 degree north and 30 degrees east. Temperatures around -25 Celsius. Good fun. Visit my Facebook page tesophotography.com for more information."

Partnership of Equals

by Fidel Castro Ruz

Saturday evening, the 19th, after a sumptuous banquet, NATO leaders ordered the attack on Libya. Of course, nothing could occur without the United States claiming its irrefutable role as supreme leader. From its command post of that institution in Europe, a senior official declared that “Odyssey Dawn” was about to begin. World public opinion was deeply touched by the tragedy in Japan . The number of victims of the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear accident has kept on growing. By now there are thousands of dead, missing and radiation contaminated. Resistance to the use of nuclear energy will also grow considerably. The world is suffering, at the same time, the consequences of climatic changes; shortages and prices of foods, military spending and the squandering of natural and human resources are increasing. War was the timeliest event that could happen at this time.
Obama’s trip through Latin America moved into the background, people were hardly paying any attention to it. In Brazil , the contradictory interests between the United States and this sister nation have become evident. We cannot forget that Rio de Janeiro competed with Chicago to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Obama wanted to win over the South American giant. He spoke of the “extraordinary rise of Brazil ” that has impressed the international scene and he praised its economy as one of the economies with the fastest growth rate in the world, but he showed not even the least commitment in supporting Brazil as a permanent member of the privileged Security Council.
The Brazilian president did not hesitate in expressing her disagreement with the protectionist measures the US is applying on Brazil with the tariffs and subsidies that have constituted a mighty obstacle for the economy of that country. Argentine writer Atilio Boron states that “ […] what interests [Obama] most as administrator of the empire is advancing control of Amazonia . The main requisite of this plan is to slow down, since it is something he cannot stop, the growing political and economic coordination and integration that is happening in the region: this had been very important in sinking ALCA in 2005 and frustrating the secessionist conspiracy and coups in Bolivia in 2008 and Ecuador in 2010. He also has to try to sow the seeds of discord between the most radical governments in the region ( Cuba , Venezuela , Bolivia and Ecuador ) and the “progressive” governments, mainly Brazil , Argentina and Uruguay …” Article posted here

For sale at auction - dinosaur dung

At 65 million years old, Lot 178 the first piece of dinosaur dung is a cut and polished slice from Utah. The second piece, Lot 179 found in Washington State, is an estimated 20 million years old and measures about five inches long; experts agree it was likely left by a very young dinosaur. The two pieces are estimated to sell at auction for $400-$600 each. Auction details here

One more war, and guess who's paying for it?

Libya: Largest Military Undertaking since the Invasion of Iraq. Towards a Protracted Military Operation

by Michel Chossudovsky

Outright lies by the international media: Bombs and missiles are presented as an instrument of peace and democratization...
This is not a humanitarian operation. The war on Libya opens up a new regional war theater. There are three distinct war theaters in the Middle East Central Asian region. Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq. What is unfolding is a fourth US-NATO War Theater in North Africa, with the risk of escalation. These four war theaters are functionally related, they are part of an integrated US-NATO military agenda. The bombing of Libya has been on the drawing board of the Pentagon for several years as confirmed by former NATO commander General Wesley Clark.

Operation Odyssey Dawn is acknowledged as the "biggest Western military intervention in the Arab world since the invasion of Iraq began exactly eight years ago." (Russia: Stop 'indiscriminate' bombing of Libya - Taiwan News Online, March 19, 2011).
This war is part of the battle for oil. Libya is among the World's largest oil economies with approximately 3.5% of global oil reserves, more than twice those of the US. The underlying objective is to gain control over Libya's oil and gas reserves under the disguise of a humanitarian intervention. The geopolitical and economic implications of a US-NATO led military intervention directed against Libya are far-reaching.
"Operation Odyssey Dawn " is part of a broader military agenda in the Middle East and Central Asia which consists in gaining control and corporate ownership over more than sixty percent of the world's reserves of oil and natural gas, including oil and gas pipeline routes. With 46.5 billion barrels of proven reserves, (10 times those of Egypt), Libya is the largest oil economy in the African continent followed by Nigeria and Algeria (Oil and Gas Journal). In contrast, US proven oil reserves are of the order of 20.6 billion barrels (December 2008) according to the Energy Information Administration. U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves). Article posted here

Let the circus begin!

Canadian government loses no-confidence vote
Election expected in early May after prime minister loses vote citing government as being in contempt of parliament.
Outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to visit the residence of the governor general on Saturday to dissolve the parliament [EPA].

Canada's minority Conservative government has been defeated in a non-confidence vote, setting the scene for a federal election in early May. The vote, brought about by the opposition Liberal Party and backed by two other opposition parties, cited the government of Stephen Harper, the prime minister, as being in contempt of parliament. Legislators in the House of Commons in Ottawa voted by 156-145 to back the motion on Friday. The result sends Canadians to the polls for the fourth time in seven years. Harper is expected to visit the residence of David Johnston, the governor general, on Saturday to dissolve the parliament. The Liberal non-confidence motion was supported by both the Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party. The Conservative Party is predicted to win the May election, with some polls showing it may even gain seats. Article source: AlJazeera

Silver and gold gain on global upheaval

Updated Friday, March 25, 2011 10:04 pm TWN, AP
NEW YORK -- Silver and gold prices are climbing as developing crises from Portugal's financial problems to uprisings in the Middle East are prompting investors to buy more stable assets. Silver for May delivery rose 92.9 cents, or 2.6 percent, to settle at US$37.198 an ounce. Gold for May delivery gained US$10.40 to settle at US$1,438 an ounce. Portugal's minority government neared collapse as lawmakers were poised to vote against its proposal for more austerity measures designed to avoid a bailout. The political upheaval could lead to more turbulence for the 17 nations that use the euro. Meanwhile, speculation lingered about supply disruptions in the oil-rich region of the Middle East and North Africa as uprisings continued in a number of countries, including Libya. Investors are nervous as they wonder how those events will play out. That has supported precious metals, which have the reputation of being safer assets to hold during uncertain economic times. “There has been a large demand for safe-haven commodities of late,” said Dave Meger, vice president of metals trading at Vision Financial Markets.
In other trading, metals used in manufacturing rose on expectations of continued robust demand from emerging markets, particularly China and the rebuilding of Japan after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. May copper added 11.55 cents to settle at US$4.4285 a pound, April platinum rose US$20.60 to settle at US$1,760 an ounce and June palladium gained US$11.45 to settle at US$749.30 an ounce.
Grains and beans lost ground. In May contracts, wheat fell 8 cents to settle at US$7.1425 a bushel, corn lost 5.75 cents to US$6.81 a bushel and soybeans gave up 14.25 cents to US$13.5125 a bushel. Article courtesy of China Post

The ethics of air war

Comments are unnecessary

What does this mean?

Posted by Gavyn Davies on the Financial Times Blog March 23

The red lines show the growth rate of the emerging economies, on an annual basis and on trend. The forecasts are from the IMF. The strengthening in emerging market growth since the late 1990s is very pronounced, and is exactly what everyone would expect. The blue lines show the GDP performance of the developed economies. Not only have the growth rates of the developed world fallen relative to the emerging countries since the late 1990s, they have actually fallen in absolute terms as well.
Of course, a large part of the decline in western growth has been due to the collapse of the financial sector in 2008. But I am beginning to wonder whether the rise in the red lines, and the fall in the blue lines, are somehow connected. If so, it is going to cause a lot of trouble. Article here

Lifeform of the Week: Fennec foxes are all ears

Behold, the terrifying power of cuteness. Image Credit: Wildfeuer

Vulpes zerda is a little fox with big ears. While fennec foxes may look like anime characters, they actually hail from the Sahara Desert, where many of their more fetching features also function in keeping them alive in the harsh climate. How can you get yourself one? We’ll talk about that in a minute.
Appearances
Gaze carefully at the fennec fox, as it is so preciously cute it’s liable to make your heart explode. As the world’s smallest canid*, they don’t even reach the size of an ordinary house cat. Around 12 inches in length is average, and over half of that is taken up by the tail. And then there are the enormous ears, which typically measure about 6 inches. Not surprisingly, fennecs have impressive hearing, which helps them detect prey living underground. Article here

AMAZING SPEECH BY WAR VETERAN

Today, Canadian fighter/bombers blew up a target in Libya. Another war in the making. Serving whose interests...?

"There is no limited intervention" No health care, but you can get war

Obama’s Bay of Pigs in Libya: Imperialist Aggression Shreds UN Charter

Tarpley at anti-war rally at the White House, Washington DC, March 19, 2011

by Dr. Webster G. Tarpley

On March 19, US and British cruise missiles joined with French and other NATO combat aircraft in Operation Odyssey Dawn/Operation Ellamy, a neo-imperialist bombing attack under fake humanitarian cover against the sovereign state of Libya. Acting under UN Security Council resolution 1973, US naval forces in the Mediterranean on Saturday night local time fired 112 cruise missiles at targets which the Pentagon claimed were related to Libya’s air defense system. But Mohammed al-Zawi, the Secretary General of the Libyan Parliament, told a Tripoli press conference that the “barbaric armed attack” and “savage aggression” had hit residential areas and office buildings as well as military targets, filling the hospitals of Tripoli and Misurata with civilian victims. Zawi accused the foreign powers of acting to protect a rebel leadership which contains notorious terrorist elements. The Libyan government repeated its request for the UN to send international observers to report objectively on events in Libya. Article here

Hard hitting letter

From: IanVMacdonald@aol.com
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2011 23:19:12 -0400
Subject: Canadian attack on Libya
To: L.cannon@international.gc.ca



IMPORTANT AND URGENT
March 21, 2011

To the personal attention of:
The Hon. Lawrence Cannon
Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Ottawa

Dear Sir:

Re: Decision to take part in attack on Libya

I am a former senior Canadian Government Trade Commissioner with extensive experience in the Middle Ëast and in Libya where I was the first Canadian official to establish substantial business relations with the Revolutionary Government in the early 1970's.

As with most Arab regimes of the Middle East, the new government in Libya saw Canada as her trading partner of choice, partly because we could provide modern technology but primarily because we were free of any imperialist image. In Libya, as in the Middle East, I was able to negotiate in principle substantial concessions and industrial projects including a 50% interest in a very large producing oilfield (Kufra) and a joint exploration partnership with the Libyan National Oil Company, among other joint ventures. Although these agreements would have earned potentially many billions of dollars for the Canadian participants, I was denounced in Ottawa on political grounds for my achievments and threatened with dismissal. My recommendations were rejected by the the Lobby-driven Liberal government of the time (paradoxically my paymaster) who blocked consummation of the agreements. The Libyans then turned reluctantly to our competitors, including, ironically, the former Imperial powers they had so keenly sought to displace.

Libya still holds good prospects for Canadian earnings but will no longer look on Canada with favour if we are seen to have joined the brutal, illegal and unjustifiable interference in her internal affairs. Such shocking treachery by Canada is not only a violation of the sovereignty of a small friendly, peaceful, defenceless nation but is also an inexcusable violation of traditional Canadian diplomacy which earned us our valuable - now-sullied - reputation as an "honest broker".among the nations.

Furthermore, it is mendaciously disingenuous to rationalize the attack on Libya by speciously claiming that the leader is a self-serving "tyrant" growing rich at the expense of his subjects. In fact, Col. Ghadafi has been a "Man of the People" to a greater extent than any other Arab leader and has consistently used the country's oil revenue to their advantage, to which thousands of Libyan students receiving higher education in Western universities can attest. In a popular vote, the Libyan leader surely would fare far better than his hypocritical counterparts in the Western democracies, including our current Prime Minister.

The hard truth, Mr Cannon, from which it appears you have been hermetically sealed, is that participation in the military bullying of Libya is an unprecedented betrayal of Canada's best interests. It will diminish our earnings, self-respect and security. It will create distrust and enmity among those who would be our friends. This is not sound foreign policy.

I strongly recommend that you examine both the credentials and bona fides of those who have persuaded you and your colleagues to betray our country's best interests, and that you investigate both their unCanadian motives and (most-likely-alien) affiliations.

Yours faithfully,

Ian V. Macdonald
455 Wilbrod Street
Ottawa ON K1N 6M7
613 241 5389

Ex-RCAF,
Member Royal Canadisn Legion, Dominion Command
B.A. Queen's, M.A. Toronto

IAEA Board Discusses Fukushima Nuclear Accident

Source: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Date: 21 Mar 2011

Watch the video

A special meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors convened on 21 March 2011 to discuss the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano's report on his visit to Japan from 17 to 19 March 2011, related to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
At a midday press conference during the Board's meeting, Director General Amano stressed that the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remained very serious. He went on to say that the IAEA's radiation monitoring team, which has been measuring radiation levels in Japan since Saturday, 19 March 2011, took readings as close as 16 km away from the nuclear facility and found high levels of radioactivity.
Official Japanese measurements showed radioactivity in drinking water, food and milk at a number of locations in excess of accepted regulatory limits.
When the Board opened at 10:00 UTC, the Director General delivered the following statement: "This special meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors is taking place because of the serious accident which occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan on Friday, 11 March 2011, after a huge earthquake and tsunami. Full story here

A new nuclear option- exciting information

Editor: Using a proton beam to generate neutrons which excite Thorium to produce energy represents a quantum leap forwards in nuclear power generation: No more runaway nuclear reactions, minimal waste and the ability to burn up dirty nuclear fuel from other reactors. This video is an eyeopener to a new energy future.

This lecture in the 2010/11 Vice-Chancellor’s Lecture Series is given by Professor Robert Cywinski, Dean of Applied Sciences at the University of Huddersfield. Professor Cywinsky speaks on "Towards an Alternative Nuclear Future".

About Professor Cywinski:

Bob Cywinski graduated with a PhD from the University of Salford in 1976, and embarked upon a research career in neutron scattering and µSR studies of magnetic and superconducting alloys and compounds. In 1980, following research fellowships at Imperial College, London, and Monash University, Melbourne, he joined the small team that built ISIS, which for 20 years was the world’s most powerful neutron spallation source, at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. In 1985 Bob was appointed as Lecturer in Physics at the University of Reading, and in 1994 became Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. From 2000 to 2008 Bob was Professor of Physics and Dean of Research for the Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences at the University of Leeds, before moving to the University of Huddersfield where he is Dean of Applied Sciences.

About the lecture:

Whilst it is clear that nuclear power has a crucial role to play in the global drive for cleaner energy, it is equally clear that there remain concerns about safety, sustainability, waste management and proliferation. In an attempt to address these issues we have explored the feasibility of power generation based upon an innovative subcritical nuclear reactor in which fission is controlled by a particle accelerator. This concept, sometimes known as the Energy Amplifier, has been around for a number of years, but recent developments in accelerator and spallation technology may now allow this alternative technology to be exploited. Perhaps more significantly, the Energy Amplifier provides the opportunity of using the fertile element thorium as a sustainable and proliferation resistant nuclear fuel. The tremendous environmental and socioeconomic opportunities presented by the Energy Amplifier and thorium fuel will be investigated in this lecture. Source of video and article here
Detailed information on the process described in the video is available here

Price of Cotton is indicator of massive price inflation in commodities

Cotton is one of many commodities that are showing major price inflation tendencies.That means that a dollar buys less of just about everything. So it makes sense to buy something that will hold its value in relation to basic commodities over time, rather than stashing away increasingly useless dollars or other fiat (make believe) currencies.
The "poor man's gold", silver, is a good candidate. Just make sure you buy physical silver, rather than someone's promise to give you some on demand: There are very few promise keepers in the financial world! More commodity charts here

10 year Silver price chart

Editor: The price of silver today is $36/oz. See article below.

Silver: A Currency for Crisis

Bookmark and Share Source: Marc Davis, BNW News 03/21/2011

Silver is increasingly becoming a global monetary metal, mostly due to inflationary concerns and the debasement of the world's major currencies. And that's the main driver for silver's surging bull market, according to some key players in the precious metals investment sector. Rising inflation in China and India, as well as Europe's ongoing sovereignty debt crisis, are major contributors to gold and silver reverting back to their traditional "safe haven" status, according to New York-based James Steel, a precious metals analyst for HSBC Securities.
Referring to his big league investment house as "the world's largest bullion bank," Steel says silver's role as a monetary metal is gathering the most momentum in emerging economies. Ones that are growing at three times the rate of the established industrialized world, he says."The macroeconomic trends from emerging markets are, therefore, positive for both gold and silver," Steel adds. Story here

Helen Thomas on CNN Joy Behar "Jews are NOT semites, most of them came from Europe"

Helen Thomas makes her points

The destructive power of space junk - video

In space, a piece of orbiting junk the size of a cherry collides with the force of an exploding grenade. Holger Krag at Esa's Space Debris Office – which monitors more than 16,000 bits of junk in Earth orbit – explains how manned spacecraft are shielded.
Animation: European Space Agency

German Shepherd pups available

Check out my January 1 litter here.
These pups are shaping up very nicely with two males and one female left to sell at this time.

Airwar against Gadafi begins

International forces fired more than 110 missiles on 20 radar and anti-aircraft sites along the coast [AFP/US Navy]


Newsvideo can be seen here

United States and European military forces have bombarded Libya with cruise missiles and airstrikes as part of a broad international effort to enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone. French planes fired the first shots on Saturday in the biggest international military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, destroying tanks and armoured vehicles in eastern Libya. Hours later, US and British warships and submarines launched more than 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles at more than 20 coastal targets to clear the way for air patrols to ground Libya''s air force. An unnamed US national security official said the air defences in the oil-producing North African country have been "severely crippled" by the barrage of missile strikes.
"Gaddafi''s air defence systems have been severely disabled. It''s too soon to predict what he and his ground forces may do in response to today''s strikes," the military source said on condition of anonymity. Read article here

Rising Food Prices Hit Home In Tajikistan

Slow evolvers win in the end

Published online 17 March 2011 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2011.166

By Joseph Milton

In Aesop's fable about the tortoise's victory over the hare, a slow, steady approach trumps a fast and impulsive one. And when it comes to evolution — for bacteria, at any rate — a leisurely pace may also be the best strategy for long-term survival.
Research carried out in Richard Lenski's lab at Michigan State University in East Lansing, and published today in Science 1, shows that rapidly evolving 'hare' bacteria were eventually wiped out by their more sluggish rivals. The reason was that the 'tortoise' bacteria had a higher 'evolvability', or a greater potential to take advantage of future beneficial mutations, than their speedier competitors, despite a tendency to accumulate such mutations at a slower rate. Story here

Fear outweighs the fallout in America

Gus van Vliet of the Air Quality Division of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation works on a radiation detection monitor that is on the roof of the Floyd Dryden Middle School in Juneau, Alaska.

By Alan Boyle

Americans are being exposed to almost twice as much radiation as they used to get — but not because of fallout from nuclear accidents in Japan or elsewhere. Medical tests, not nuclear accidents, account for the dramatic rise in our radiation exposure. Based on today's readings, the radiation coming from the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex rates barely a blip.
The Environmental Protection Agency said the readings from its nationwide network of atmospheric air-sniffing sensors showed "typical fluctuations in background radiation levels" that were "far below levels of concern." (You can check the updates on this Web page.) The initial U.N. radiation counts from California were "about a billion times beneath levels that would be health-threatening," one diplomat told The Associated Press.
In a later statement, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy said none of their detectors picked up "any radiation levels of concern." Full story here

Historic First: A Spacecraft Orbits Mercury

March 18, 2011: NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft successfully achieved orbit around Mercury at approximately 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday, March 17. This marks the first time a spacecraft has accomplished this engineering and scientific milestone at our solar system's innermost planet.

"This mission will continue to revolutionize our understanding of Mercury during the coming year," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, who was at MESSENGER mission control at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., as engineers received telemetry data confirming orbit insertion. "NASA science is rewriting text books. MESSENGER is a great example of how our scientists are innovating to push the envelope of human knowledge." Full story here

China Raises Bank Reserve Requirements to Cool Inflation

By Bloomberg News - Mar 18, 2011 10:00 AM MT

The proportion of lenders’ deposits that must be parked with the central bank will increase half a percentage point from March 25, the People’s Bank of China said on its website. Photographer: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg.

China ordered banks to set aside more cash for the third time this year, judging that inflation remains a bigger threat to the world’s second-largest economy than Japan’s earthquake and nuclear crisis.
Reserve requirements will increase half a percentage point from March 25, the People’s Bank of China said on its website yesterday. The ratio will rise to 20 percent for the nation’s biggest banks, excluding any extra limits for individual lenders.
Premier Wen Jiabao has set taming inflation as the nation’s top economic priority this year, citing “exorbitant” house- price increases and risks to social stability. China followed India, which raised interest rates the previous day, in tightening monetary policy even after Japan’s crisis roiled global stock markets and threatened to disrupt supply chains across Asia. Story here

Arial view of operations at the Fukushima nuclear plant

Super moon coming up

Fiery address by Dennis Kucinich in Wisconsin

Opinion on how to finance rebuilding in Japan

Finally! NASA Prepares to Orbit Mercury

March 15, 2011: On March 17th, NASA's MESSENGER probe will become the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury. It's a seminal moment in planetary exploration. Researchers can finally take a good long look at a rocky world that is both akin to Earth and shockingly alien. There's just one question: What's taken so long? Mercury is one of the closest planets to Earth and, at first glance, would seem to be readily accessible. Jim McAdams, mission design lead engineer, explains the problem:
"Mercury is going so much faster than Earth that a spacecraft must gain about 65,000 mph to catch it. And once you get there, you're face to face with the searing heat of the sun." Full story here

Oh - Ohh, It's not over yet!

Those great tectonic plates are still moving and grinding under the area we call "Japan". You will note that three of these plates meet in the areas of the earthquakes....

Nice guys

Blair in secret talks with Gaddafi: Lockerbie families' fury as ex-Premier is treated like a 'brother' by dictator just days after denying links with Libya

By James Chapman and Nabila Ramdani
Last updated at 10:25 PM on 16th July 2010

Tony Blair was flown to Libya for secret talks with Colonel Gaddafi just days after denying he was an adviser to the dictator. Mr Blair was 'entertained as a brother', a senior Libyan government source has revealed. He told the Daily Mail that the former prime minister had offered Gaddafi, with whom he is on first-name terms, 'a great deal of invaluable advice'. Read more here

449 Earthquakes so far since Friday night

Get more data here

Dramatic tsunami footage

Celebrating 80 years

Joan Nelson was presented with a birthday cake at a volunteer recognition function hosted by the Caroline Historical Society at the museum on Sunday, March 6.

Recognized for long and dedicated service

Verna and Chris Doll were presented with a plaque by Norman Rose (left) after having made a significant contribution to the Caroline Wheels of Time Museum over a period of many years. The presentation was made at a volunteer recognition function at the museum on March 6.

"Enchanted"

Lyndsay Stange made it look so easy at the Caroline Skating Club's "A Night at the Movies" ice carnival on Sunday, March 6, in the Kurt Browning arena.

Having fun on the ice

Abigail Orphus really enjoyed herself during the number "Dumb and Dumber" skated with Makenzie Peppard.

Blades of Glory

Devlyn Beeman and Megan Little rounded off the show, followed by awards and a Grand Finale.

Beavers in action

These members of Caroline 1st. Scouting enjoyed themselves during a skit put on for family and supporters at a function celebrating scouting hosted at the Legion Hall on March 6.

Rewarded for being helpful

Caroline 1st. Scouting Leader Linda Benz gave Scott Baker a pat on the back and a reward at a function in Caroline celebrating 107 years of scouting. The Caroline club has 24 members this year.

You've earned your bone - you hound dog you!

This video was removed from YouTube by its Google owners. Having watched it, I invite you to check out my dogblog

To Friends of the American Monetary Institute

Dear Friends of the American Monetary Institute,

Some sad news: Our dear friend and fellow monetary reformer, Richard Distelhorst, of Burlington Iowa, passed away on Saturday, February 19th in his 90th year of life. Dick was always a great and passionate help to all of us in getting the facts on the Federal reserve, and formulating our policies and strategies for achieving reform. Many times when I put out a question to our key people in an evening email, dick's analysis would be ready and emailed back by the time I turned on the computer in the morning. Dick's latest video from our 2010 Conference, which brought people to their feet, can be viewed at our youtube site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6hVk_5E1b8&feature=related. Dick was an inspiration to all of us, and his mind was razor sharp to the end! We will miss him,
and establish and define a Distelhorst Prize for Monetary Excellence by our September Conference.

Quakes continue - 9:08 pm Mountain Time

Earthquakes continue - latest map, 8 am Mountain Time

It's not over yet. Something big is going on in the Earth's crust.

Eartquake map @ 12.38am Mountain Time

This map shows the location of a series of large earthquakes along the tectonic plate fault line off the Japanese coast. Map source here

Monster 8.8 magnitude Earthquake off the coast of Japan

A series of earthquakes have occurred off the coast of Japan and one inland near Tokyo.
The biggest one is calculated at magnitude 8.8 and can generate a tsunami of considerable magnitude. Watch for updates and use link below.

Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake off the coast of Japan

This earthquake has just happened less than an hour ago.
No reports to hand yet. Information source here
Another 7.9 quake hit just 24 seconds later. Holy smokes!!

The tide turns in Libya

Pen Meets Paper March7'11

Most mainstream economists and media people seem to have managed to convince themselves that the good times are back: “We are in full recovery mode, just look at all the figures. The curves on all the charts are going up!” Indeed they are, just like they did prior to the 2008 crash in the markets. So, let’s follow the advice of economists and examine some charts and interpret the readings.
With the exception of natural gas, commodity prices have been soaring over the last six months or so. Corn and wheat, for example, have virtually doubled in price (http://www.timingcharts.com/) and the pattern is similar for a lot of other essential commodities, including metals and oils. What this means is that it takes more money to buy whatever is needed for whatever purpose. In other words, each monetary unit has lost value in relation to what it can buy. And that goes for all of the world’s currencies, not just dollars, pounds or whichever. Governments try to hide this fact by selecting figures for inflation calculations based on items whose prices have changed relatively little. This basket of numbers is then used to create their published inflation figures. They are not telling outright lies, they are just spinning the picture for public consumption, making themselves look more competent than they are in controlling inflation in the price of essential commodities.
So, why are prices going up? The reason is quite simple: The availability of cheap money to buy commodities fuels speculation. You can (with the right connections) borrow lots of money at a very low rate of interest, gamble on whether the price will go up (buy long), or down (buy short), and so play in the great world casino. The problem for those of us that buy the commodities off the shelf and actually use them is wild price fluctuations generated by all this gambling. The other downside is that money that should be available to entrepreneurs who provide real goods and services is diverted into the world gambling casino, leaving those that want to do something useful without the means to do so.
That brings us to the present trend of universal price inflation of commodities. More and more credit money is being created right across the world, by central banks and the private banking system. The people that are getting their hot hands on this money are now beginning to loose faith in its enduring value, precisely because they know that the money presses are running hot, creating more of the stuff every day. So, wisely, they figure that commodities, whose volume is limited by physical factors (production capacity, weather, political turmoil (a-la the Middle East at present), etc.) is a better bet than instant fiat money created by the financial system. So they exchange one for the other as fast as they can. Net result: Commodities increase in price, or money is loosing value, depending on your perspective. The big losers are those of us that depend on fixed incomes from wages, salaries, pensions, investments and similar fixed income sources. And that is most of us. For the benefit of a few gamblers that couldn’t care less.

The Egyptian Tinderbox: How Banks and Investors Are Starving the Third World

by: Ellen Hodgson Brown J.D., t r u t h o u t | News Analysis

"What for a poor man is a crust, for a rich man is a securitized asset class." -Futures trader Ann Berg, quoted in The Guardian UK.

Underlying the sudden, volatile uprising in Egypt and Tunisia is a growing global crisis sparked by soaring food prices and unemployment. The Associated Press reports that roughly 40 percent of Egyptians struggle along at the World Bank-set poverty level of under $2 per day. Analysts estimate that food price inflation in Egypt is currently at an unsustainable 17 percent yearly. In poorer countries, as much as 60 to 80 percent of people's incomes go for food, compared to just 10 to 20 percent in industrial countries. An increase of a dollar or so in the cost of a gallon of milk or a loaf of bread for Americans can mean starvation for people in Egypt and other poor countries. Article here

Shed fire in Caroline

On February 22 fire broke out in a machinery shed across from the Legion Hall in Caroline. Several vehicles inside the shed were destroyed. The fire was contained by the the Caroline Volunteer Fire Department who stayed on the job for several hours into the evening. Supper for the fire crew was provided in the Legion Hall by local volunteers.

Getting into action

Caroline fire fighters responded to a machinery shed fire in Caroline with support from other area fire departments

Attack by Caroline Fire Fighters

Billowing smoke and steam attests to the fact that water is hitting the right places

The day after the fire

Family Day hockey game

The Caroline Champs vs. The Dignitaries. The Champs won, hands down.

Hayride on Family Day

John and Roy Follis once again made their sled available on Family Day, February 21, for family hay rides behind the Caroline Complex. The two draft horses also enjoyed a pleasant winter day out in the sun and snow.

Learning to curl

On Family Day in the curling arena

Learning the curl - the fun way

Mixed Bonspiel in Caroline

Gerald Willsie launches a rock

Curling is a popular past time activity in Caroline in the winter with a world class ice surface allowing three pairs of teams to compete simultaneously. Younger people in the community are also being introduced to this sport. Hockey and figure skating takes place under the same roof on a different ice surface and together they all make the long winter appear to be shorter that it would otherwise be.

Mixed Bonspiel results

"A" Event winners, standing: Sharyl Lyle, Todd Lyle, Shawna Bouchard, Brad Bouchard (Skip). Runners up: Donna Gustaw, Ken Bysterveld, Teresa Webb (missing), Mathew Rauch.

"B" Event result

Winners, standing: Dail Smith, Sharmane Hindbo, Shannon Befus, John Vandermeer (Skip). Runners up: Jackie Cullen, Brande Harder, Gerald Willsie, Ross Harder.

"C" Event result

Winners, standing: Chad O'Neill, Candy Klatt, Don McIntosh, Darrell Klatt (Skip) Runners up: Rori Sims, Jase Cermak, Robert Hewitt, Bryan Cermak