Immigration Policy????

BBC NEWS Americas 'Melting pot' America: "'Melting pot' America
American society has often been described as a melting pot but in recent years, it has also attracted other definitions such as 'tomato soup' and 'tossed salad'.
For centuries, the US has attracted people in search of a share of 'the American dream' from all corners of the world.
In fact, US history is one of immigration. "

Now that the Congress has again proven that it is incapable of legislating, maybe we the people should make the current recess permanent.

Single Issue Voting

For years I have railed against voting based on a single issue such as abortion, etc. I think I am now a single issue voter - that anyone at any level to receive my vote must convince me that their position on global warming is positive.

Preservation Online: Today's News Archives: N.D. Approves $5 Million for 1932 International Peace Garden

Preservation Online: Today's News Archives: N.D. Approves $5 Million for 1932 International Peace Garden: "N.D. Approves $5 Million for 1932 International Peace Garden


Story by Krista Walton / June 5, 2007

Harmony soon will be restored to the 75-year-old International Peace Garden, a park that serves as a reminder of the long-standing accord between the U.S. and Canada.
After decades in the grips of overgrown weeds, the park and its 180 structures will soon get some much-needed care, thanks to $5 million allocated to the garden's restoration by North Dakota lawmakers last month. "

Read on. Great idea and timely.

North Dakota Revisited

I hope someone will write and tell me their reaction to these.


Fields of Dreams: "Fields of Dreams
To help revive his North Dakota hometown, a former high-school principal created giant sculptures to grace a stretch of prairie highway

By Reed Karaim

Gary Greff was driving across western North Dakota when he came upon a
human figure fashioned out of metal and a round hay bale. As he watched a family
stop to take a picture of the figure, he saw his future. Having recently left
his job as a high-school principal, Greff had returned to his hometown of
Regent, a struggling community of some 200 souls tucked into the southwestern
corner of North Dakota, to figure out what to do next. Now, he knew. "

Norwegians' day to celebrate

Norwegians' day to celebrate: "Norwegians' day to celebrate

The 17th of May is Norway's Constitution Day, celebrating the signing of the country's most important document back in 1814. It took another 91 years before Norway won full independence in 1905, and Norwegians have been celebrating ever since. The biggest national event is the school children's parade up to the Royal Palace in Oslo.
PHOTO: KYRRE LIEN / SCANPIX"

And to think that there were no celebrations in Crockett! On the other hand, a couple of whales went all the way to Sacramento. See below.

He's Back

It has been several years since Humphrey invaded the Straits.

: "Whale rescue mission set for today: Plan is to nudge pair with sound
By Rowena Coetsee
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Contra Costa Times"

Changes in France

Pro-american president may permit our people to talk to the French.

Sarkozy Wins the Chance to Prove His Critics Wrong - New York Times: "But what is certain is that Nicolas Sarkozy, who won Sunday’s runoff election, is one of the most polarizing figures to move into Élysée Palace in the postwar era. He is a whirling dervish of ideas who inspires hope and fear. Even many members of his own party, the Union for a Popular Movement, are holding their breath in anticipation of what his presidency may bring. “Other politicians don’t want to take risks, but he will take any risk,” said Brice Hortefeux, one of Mr. Sarkozy’s closest friends and political allies"

Doomed to Drive

No matter what, we will not spend money for rail. Yesterday the water company predicts a dry year next year and the year following.


The Schwarzenegger Administration has floated a budget proposal that slashes
transit funds by $1.1 billion, just months after the Governor personally committed
himself to fighting global climate change. The proposal caused fury among rail and
transit advocates testifying at State Senate and Assembly budget subcommittees in the Capitol in late March.

Its Time for Trains

This morning we learned that a piece of freeway had been destroyed by a truck accident and that it will take months to repair the damage. In the meantime, traffic to and from San Francisco will be impossible. At the same time, the Governor is cutting funds for "high speed rail." It seems to me we should put bunches of resources into trains cutting the carbon footprint.

Mexico City Earthquake

Last night right around midnight, a 6.0 quake stuck from Acupulco to Mexico City. There was a small item buried in the middle of today's New York Times and nothing in our local papers. How come? A 6 quake in California would shove Imus off the front page.

Our Dog Bear

The recent problems with dog food has caused me to view Bear differently. He is an essential member of our family and the thought of losing him because of tainted food has changed his diet. Now we feed him only what we would eat ourselves. Except for the dry food!

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834

Check out this site. It represents a breathtaking advance into the study of history. Imagine having the proceedings at Old Baily at your fingertips anywhere, anytime.

Edmund Bury Godfrey , and Edward Gould , of London, were indicted for
feloniously stealing 134 pair of Worsted stockings, value 20 l. the Property of
John Squire and Samuel Wheeler , out of the Dwelling-house of Edward Bury , the
26th of March last. The Prosecutor deposed, That his Stockings were lost while
he was abroad, and that Edward Gould was his Servant, and that he inspecting him
pressed him very hard to declare the Truth, which after some urgency he did, and
also declar'd the same before Sir Thomas Abney . That he and Godfrey having
contrived to rob his Master, the latter came the Friday before and enquired when
he might come that there would be Goods ready to carry off. That he told him the
Tuesday following about 8 a clock, and the Signal was to whistle at the Window;
that accordingly he came and whistled and he let him in, where he lay hid till
Gould getting his Fellow-Servant to the Alehouse, the Prisoner Godfrey had the
opportunity to carry away the Goods. This Examination to this effect was Read in
Court: but notwithstanding this he now used the common Newgate Argument, an
universal Negative. However, the Jury took him at his first word, and found him
guilty of the Indictment; and there being not sufficient Proof against Godfrey,
him they acquitted

Australia Leads the Way

The group of "ludites" posing as Republicans need to take a look at Australian experiences before they make fun of Gore. Wether human caused or not, the effects of global warming are evident.

thewest.com.au : Climate doomsday approaching: report: "“If the water gets fresh enough . . .then it won’t matter how much ice we form, we won’t be able to make this water cold and salty enough to sink,” said Steve Rintoul, a senior CSIRO scientist who recently led a multinational team on an expedition to sample deepbasin water south of WA to the Antarctic. The Antarctic Peninsula is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth, and glaciers are in massive retreat. "

Al Gore Wins

After watching Al Gore testify the other day before Boxer's Senate committee, I am greatly impressed with his recommendations and will step up my own actions yo reduce my own carbon footprint.

More Global Warming???

It gets "worser and worser". Hooray for Al Gore.



Los Angeles Times: L.A. facing its driest year ever: "Put away that umbrella and hold on to that moisturizer.

The National Weather Service on Monday declared that Los Angeles is experiencing its driest year on record.

Only about 2.40 inches of rain has fallen on downtown Los Angeles since July 1, and there's no sign of rain through at least the middle of this month.

Forecasters expected February — historically Los Angeles' wettest month — to provide some relief, but it didn't. Now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather models suggest that a La Niña climate pattern is emerging in the Pacific, continuing the drought-like conditions.

The prolonged dry spell contributed to an unusually long fire season, rife with Santa Ana winds that have extended into March.

The last time it was remotely this dry was 1924, when 2.50 inches of rain had fallen.

'We've never had a drier year on record so far,' said Eric Boldt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. 'If nothing significant happens in March, then we've pretty much run out of time.' "

Research and Reading Enjoyment

Google and the San Francisco-based Internet Archive are among the greatest additions to internet power since the beginning. Sitting in my cluttered office, I can read and search thousands of volumes that were unavailable unless I traveled to libraies in Sacramento, Berkeley or San Francisco.

Light Earthquake

It certainly fills me with awe - after the fear leaves.


Info for event nc40194055:
"A light earthquake occurred at 8:40:00 PM (PST) on Thursday, March 1, 2007.
The magnitude 4.2 event occurred 2 km (1 miles) NE of Lafayette, CA.
The hypocentral depth is 17 km (10 miles). "


Magnitude
4.2 - regional moment magnitude (Mw)
Time
Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 8:40:00 PM (PST)Friday, March 2, 2007 at 4:40:00 (UTC)
Distance from
Lafayette, CA - 2 km (1 miles) NE (47 degrees)Walnut Creek, CA - 5 km (3 miles) WSW (257 degrees)Pleasant Hill, CA - 6 km (4 miles) SSW (202 degrees)Concord, CA - 10 km (6 miles) SW (225 degrees)San Francisco City Hall, CA - 31 km (20 miles) ENE (63 degrees)
Coordinates
37 deg. 54.1 min. N (37.901N), 122 deg. 5.9 min. W (122.098W)
Depth
16.6 km (10.3 miles)
Location Quality
Excellent

ContraCostaTimes.com | 02/14/2007 | Vallejo Kaiser center now smoke free

Bravo Kaiser. I quit smoking 25 years ago and have developed a severe dislike of smoke odors in the meantime. Since I visit Kaiser Vallejo a couple times a week, this action is most welcome.




ContraCostaTimes.com 02/14/2007 Vallejo Kaiser center now smoke free: "Vallejo Kaiser center now smoke free
By Andrea Wolf
MEDIANEWS CORRESPONDENT
Butts are no longer welcome anywhere at Vallejo's Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.
Smokers will have to light up somewhere else as the entire Kaiser campus is now smoke free.
The two smoking areas, or 'butt huts,' were removed Tuesday to the delight of on-looking doctors and health officials.
To help members and employees who want to quit, Kaiser is offering a battalion of resources to make the difficult process a little easier."

BBC NEWS | Technology | Teraflop chip hints at the future

Imagine what the world will be like when our desktops can have such a chip? Not in my lifetime I suspect.


BBC NEWS Technology Teraflop chip hints at the future: "Teraflop chip hints at the future
A chip with 80 processing cores and capable of more than a trillion calculations per second (teraflop) has been unveiled by Intel.
The Teraflop chip is not a commercial release but could point the way to more powerful processors, said the firm.
The chip achieves performance on a piece of silicon no bigger than a fingernail that 11 years ago required a machine with 10,000 chips inside it.
The challenge is to find a way to program the many cores simultaneously. "

AP Wire | 02/09/2007 | Report says Pentagon manipulated intel

Read it and weep!