Rapariga Americana: Ah, eu acho que os Estados Unidos têm 8.

Tiago: Não, os Estados Unidos têm 300 mil.

Rapariga Americana: Ah, mas a China é um continente muito grande e tem lá muitas pessoas.

Coordenador, a propósito das pistas do In-Service: Onde fica Genéve?

Rapariga Lifeguard Americana: África.

Coordenador: Não, eu quero o nome do país.

Rapariga Lifeguard: África.

Frase #2

Tiago Mogadouro: How do I say, in English, the name of the continent where Australia is?

Outra Rapariga Lifeguard Americana: Australia.

Tiago: No, i want the name of the continent.

Rapariga Lifeguard: Australia.

I was all set to entertain my editors by savagely insulting this band because I hate them, but The Acacia Strain's newest disc was a pleasant surprise. Just to be clear, it's still nothing fantastic. While it's lyrically entertaining, opening track "Skynet" still rankles. Fortunately, there are some saving graces. Both "Cthulhu" and "The Combine" bring the ruckus and aren't nearly as bland as the rest of the tracks. Continent outdoes past releases, but fails to impress. Speaking of failing, who the hell writes the lyrics for this band? They're awful. Logan Broger

From cross-references done, check out how the lay-lines and fault lines run.  Pick an area too, just a city - way too much information to try and run an independent global map of such.  That would take years!  It is neat to see how the overlap is done/created by the Earth.  (Everything is connected.) 

Seattle has the best maps for lay-lines and such done around the state.  They are also very active with small to unnoticeable earthquakes.  (Sometimes "big boomers".) Now, since it is taboo to think outside the box, don't expect to find too much more on the North American continent either in regards to lay-lines.

If one wants to look at information and then overlap it - or even get into a hobbie in this field - might I recommend checking out the USGS site for earthquakes.  The map on that site, just for the earthquakes alone, is awe!  It will even give you the readings for any nation you want to check out. Everything has a pattern too - Here is something neat -

Everyone knows about the Ring of Fire.  It sits on the Pacific shelf and touches North & South America, South Pole, Indonesia, China/Japan, and Russia.  It is a very highly active area.  We all know about the earthquake that caused the redrawing of the maps and then tsunami warnings.  What no one was noticing, except for maybe a few scientist, was the change of earthquakes that made a "V" like shape/pattern afterwards.  (Stay with me on "everything is connected".) Too many active volcanoes distract people, from the dormant ones.  Now, another not so well looked at area is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.  This is a huge line of underwater mountains and dare I say volcanoes.  It would and does over take the largest range here on land.  That area had way too many earthquakes in the following days and weeks; so did the nation of China and the Himalaya mountains.  What happened in the following weeks?  Yes, it takes time for the currents to filter out harmful, toxic solutions, that's why I say weeks.  Dead birds, dead fish, dead a lot of stuff started washing up. And no one really knew why.  It is not outside the realm of possibility that a volcano was woken up and became highly noticeable.  Of course we will not be made aware of this - It is not noticed because it is not on land.

See, things are dormant till a "big bang" happens.  Following events on the earthquake and lay-lines has been neat to watch over the last ten years. It really lets you know just how small everything is but how everything is connect and running together.  Of course, as we see it - good or bad.

The Alien (1951)

In July 2007 newspapers around the world reported that a Russian oceanographic vessel had led an expedition to the North Pole. On 2 August a largely symbolic claim to a vast area of the Arctic basin was implemented. Television footage, broadcast by the Russian channel NTV, was released depicting a mini-submarine planting a titanium (corrosion-resistant) flag to the bottom of the Arctic Basin (1). A Russian submariner was quoted as saying that the expedition would “remind the whole world that Russia is a great polar and scientific power” (The Times 2007). The stated purpose of the expedition was to investigate further the underwater geology of the high Arctic and in particular to ascertain whether the Lomonosov Ridge (2) was actually an extension of the Siberian continental shelf (3). If so then Russian scientists and political figures alike expressed hopes that Russian sovereignty could be extended over the North Pole itself. Near neighbors such as Canada, Denmark (4) and the United States condemned the move and in the case of the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, warned darkly of defending “our sovereignty over the Arctic”. As if that was not sufficient, the Canadian Foreign Minister, Peter MacKay, memorably retorted “You can't go around the world these days dropping flags somewhere. This isn't the 14th or 15th century. They're fooling themselves” (Toronto Star 2007). And then in a nice touch of presumably unintended irony noted that the “waters belonged to Canada”. Given recent Russian activity and associated reactions from Arctic neighbors, it appears that some of the intrigue and tension that characterized the Cold War has returned. Following the Russian expedition to the North Pole, Denmark and Canada are planning further research into the geological connections between their continental shelves and the Lomonosov Ridge. With the entry into force of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) in 1994, signatories such as Russia and Canada (but not the United States) have had a ten-year period to submit materials to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) delimiting the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the relevant baseline (5). In December 2001 the Russian government submitted materials to the CLCS and cited Article 76 (8)(6) of UNCLOS, which authorizes parties to make such submissions. Geological data are critical in such submissions because they help determine whether there is a case for delimiting an extended continental shelf (7). The territory claimed by the Russians included a large portion of the Arctic Basin and stated that the underwater Lomonosov Ridge alongside the Mendeleev Ridge were natural extensions of the Eurasian Continent (8). In 2002 the CLCS asked for more scientific data (but did not offer a judgment at this state about the Russian submission) and hence the dispatch, amongst other activities, of the 2007 Russian oceanographic expedition to the high Arctic. The Russians are intending to submit new documentation to the CLCS in 2009 (9). If the Russian claim is accepted, amongst others, then coastal states are able to claim not only a 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but also up to 150 nautical miles of rights on the seabed beyond the EEZ. This matters greatly to coastal states particularly in areas such as the high Arctic where it has been estimated by the US Geological Survey that up to 10 billion tones of oil and natural gas remain untapped much of which lies outside internationally recognized waters (10).

Predictably, the Canadian and Danish governments have also been determined to further map the underwater geology of the high Arctic and establish connections to the Lomonosov Ridge. Denmark's Science and Technology Minister Helge Sander commented, “You can plant as many flags or send as many ministers as you want, in the end the important thing is to have the best data. We've put 230 million Danish Kroner [US$42 million] into this North Pole project, for 2004 to 2010” (11). At the same time, the Canadian government confirmed that it would be investing in two new military facilities in the Arctic in a bid to strengthen its claim to the contested region. In August 2007, at a press conference in Yellowknife, in the North West Territories (NWT) (12), the Prime Minister Stephen Harper said, “I think the recent activities of the Russians are another indication that there's going to be growing international interest in this region.” (13). At the time of the news breaking about the Russian expedition to the North Pole, three aspects seemed to receive limited attention from journalists and other commentators and are deserving of further reflection. First, for countries such as Canada and Russia the “far north” had always been invested with considerable political, economic, cultural, and symbolic importance (Abel and Coates, 2001; McCannon, 1998). Although Canadian government ministers in particular were dismissive of Russia's flag planting, there is a long history of countries dispatching expeditions to the high Arctic (and the Antarctic), which involved a substantial amount of flag waving as part of the formal process of cementing claims to sovereignty. Indeed, as Patricia Seed (1993) has noted, the planting of flags has been an important element in various “Ceremonies of possession” dating from the Columbian encounter. The television coverage of the Russian expedition within Russia itself was thoroughly redolent of earlier eras of Soviet polar endeavor; including the use of visual media to promote polar awareness amongst the wider public. In the 1930s, for instance, the Soviet Union not only invested time and resources in dispatching expeditions to the high Arctic, but also encouraged newspaper reporting and what might be called `Arctic cinema'. As John Mc Cannon had noted in his book Red Arctic,”the Arctic has occupied a place of prominence in its national development. For the Soviet state, the Arctic was a matter of paramount importance. Possessing great strategic significance, compromising over one-fourth of the entire Russian land-mass, home to two dozen nationalities, and containing the lion's share of the country's most valuable natural resources, the Soviet Arctic commanded the attention of the USSR's foremost statesmen and generals, engaged the minds of the finest scientists and economic planners, and attracted vast quantities of money, equipment and sheer human energy”.

While much has changed since the 1930s, the Soviet and now Russian goal of not only taming the icy waters of the Arctic but also gaining access to rich mineral deposits in the region has not changed (14). Likewise, Canada has had a long national debate about “Northern Visions” and the cultural and political significance of the North. The social scientist, Harold Innis was an important source of intellectual and political debate about a northern vision for Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. He contended that the North was not only an important industrial frontier for the country but also an imaginative resource that could help to promote greater national unity. In the post-1945 era, the Diefenbaker administration, in particular was associated with a `northern vision' for Canada that improved the country's integration and resource potential.

At the same time, in the midst of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957/58, Canada initiated a Polar Continental Shelf Project for the purpose of collecting geophysical data for US satellite launch tests in the high Arctic as well consolidating territorial sovereignty in the insular territories of NWT (now Nunavut). It was no accident that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a speech to Parliament in October 2007 acknowledged the Diefenbaker legacy,

“Half a century ago Prime Minister John Diefenbaker extolled his Northern Vision. He foresaw that Canada's future development and prosperity would depend on efficient transportation networks linking Northern resources to Southern markets. That is why our government established a strategy for the North and why we have already taken a number of steps to affirm our presence and sovereignty in the Canadian Arctic.”(15).

Second, the intersection between geographic knowledge (including underwater geology) and geopolitics and military strategy needs, if you will forgive the pun, flagging. As geographers and historians of the earth sciences have noted, scientists including geologists, geographers, and cartographers were “swiftly incorporated into highest level discussions about the relationship of science and foreign policy”. Geographers such as Matt Farish and Richard Powell have done sterling work here with regard to exploring how American and Canadian scientists, respectively, were embedded in the military and strategic calculations of Cold War Arctic policies. Historically, this kind of embedding has not been restricted to the northern high latitudes. The career of the polar geographer and long-term advisor to the British Foreign Office, Brian Roberts, highlights how academics played a vital role in producing wartime naval intelligence for both the Arctic and Antarctic (Dodds, 2002) (16). The IGY of 1957/58 further contributed to even more detailed mapping of the underwater geology of the world's oceans (Doel et al, 2006) (17). The IGY coincided with the signing of the first Law of the Sea Convention 1958 and subsequent manifestations in particular the 1982 Convention, have placed a premium on geological and oceanographic knowledge of the continental shelf and the surrounding seas. In the Cold War setting, places such as the Arctic accumulated strategic significance as the United States, Canada, and the Soviet Union became every more eager to collect geographical and geophysical data necessary for the accurate targeting of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and general surveillance purposes. Research establishments played their part in contributing vital information to what John Cloud had termed, the military- industrial-academic complex especially in North America. In a more contemporary setting, establishments such as Institute of Oceanology at the Russian Academy of Sciences have been at the forefront of providing the technical expertise so necessary for formal governmental submissions to the CLCS. The Russian government has also increased its military presence in the Arctic and recently conducted military exercises much to the alarm of the Canadians (18).

Finally, this tale about Russians planting a flag in the icy depths of the Artic Ocean highlights how expressions of ownership and associated military and strategic intrigue are bound up with the relentless search for oil and gas in the northern latitudes. As Peter Matthiessen has recently noted, “the imminent development of the Arctic sea floor as a lucrative new field for the industrial extraction of the fossil fuels whose carbon emissions were the principal component of the greenhouse gases that are the primary cause of Arctic warming in the first place''.

In the past, regions such as the Arctic and Antarctic were somewhat protected from more rapacious human behavior either by harsh climates and or by dense ice formations, which blocked the fabled North West and North East Passages. In the Antarctic, for instance, “sovereignty games” were conditioned by the seasons, especially in the period leading up to the IGY (19). During the southern austral winter season (approximately March-October), long polar nights combined with frigid temperatures placed a restraint of sorts on human endeavors to colonize, exploit, and administer polar territory. Likewise, the Arctic sea ice acted as a natural barrier to all but the strongest nuclear powered icebreakers in the Cold War period. In August 2007, global warming has made the North West Passage navigable for the first time and it is likely to become a major shipping route in the coming decades not least because it allows ships to save thousands of nautical miles by avoiding the Panama Canal. The shrinkage of ice cover has been recorded by the European Space Agency and its Arctic Climate Impact Assessment makes for sobering reading and more importantly will have dire consequences for indigenous communities such as the Inuit and Inupiat (20). The net result of ice cover shrinkage in the Arctic has been to further facilitate strategic and military planners vis-à-vis accessing the high latitudes and exploiting untapped resources. Paradoxically, therefore, the thinning of ice has encouraged further speculative behavior and military posturing. While climate scientists debate the instability of the Greenland ice sheet, others plot and plan further territorial consolidation at the same as indigenous peoples campaign for greater recognition of the threat posed to their human security (not to mention other indigenous residents such as the polar bear). The Inupiat in northern Alaska are a case in point. As traditional seal hunters, their livelihoods depend on hunting the Beluga whale and there is mounting evidence that not only is oil prospecting (including seismic surveying) disrupting whale migration but also thinning sea ice is unsettling the delicate polar ecosystem. Moreover, coastal communities are also further threatened, “because of Arctic warming, the sea ice is forming too late in the year to suppress the waves that batter the shores in the fierce autumn storms ... their inhabitants [in the Point Hope region of Alaska] are likely to become the first “climate refugees” from global warming in the United States” (Matthiessen, 2007, page 61).

Unsurprisingly, the 2007/08 International Polar Year (IPY) has laid a great deal of emphasis on human security in the high Arctic especially in the light of ongoing interest in consolidating territorial sovereignty and possible resource exploitation in the Arctic Basin close to the geographic North Pole (21). There are good reasons to be concerned about this unhappy coincidence of icy geopolitics, fossil fuels, and actual sea ice loss. Elsewhere in the Arctic, oil companies want to increase their prospecting activities off the Alaskan continental shelf and in Siberia. As Mark Serreze, a senior research scientist at the US National Snow and Ice Data Center at Boulder in Colorado has noted, “The sea ice cover this year [2007] has reached a new record low. It's not just that we beat the old record, we annihilated it. It's going to be a different world [as] the observed rates of change have far outstripped what we projected.” (22). A sobering thought indeed.

Klaus Dodds, Royal Holloway, University of London.

Acknowledgement: My sincere thanks to Stuart Elden for suggesting I write this editorial in the first place.

References:

Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2008, volume 26, pages 1 ^ 6 doi:10.1068/d2601ed

(1) NTV is owned by Gazprom Media, which is a subsidiary of Gazpromöthe biggest extractor of natural gas in the world and, according to some estimates, the third largest corporation in the world. It should also be noted that the planting of metal plates and flags bearing the national coat of arms is a well-established Russian/Soviet practice. Such objects were buried by Russian explorers in the Aleutian Islands and a metal pennant bearing the coat of arms of the Soviet Union was included in the payload of the Soviet satellite Lunik II, which crashed into the moon on 14 September 1959. Apparently, the pennant was designed to survive the impact of the crash.

(2) The Lomonosov Ridge was named after a Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov following the 1948 Soviet High Latitude Expeditions.

(3) As international lawyers have noted, the definition of regions such as the Lomonosov Ridge is problematic under the terms of UNCLOS. Oceanic ridges cannot be considered part of the continental shelf so there is some doubt as to what the Russian submission in 2009 will actually contain in terms of cementing their claim to a larger part of the Arctic Basin. It is likely that they will claim that the ridges are `submarine elevations that are natural components of the continental margin' (see Benitah, 2007).

(4) Denmark is involved because it is responsible for exercising the defense and foreign policies of Greenland.

(5) The United States has not ratified the UNCLOS because it objects to Part XI of the convention, which deals with the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and economic rights of the deep seabed. In essence, the ISA is invested with the authority to oversee the exploitation of the deep seabed on behalf of all members of the international community. These areas are treated as beyond internationally recognized waters and hence as a global common. For years successive US governments have resented such a role for the ISA and argued that it is prejudicial against US sovereign interests. In May 2007 President George W Bush urged the Senate to reconsider ratifying the UNCLOS and in October 2007 the Senate Foreign Relations Committee recommended that the full Senate consider formal ratification. The Treaty may be ratified in 2008 and the US in the meantime accepts most of the provisions of the UNCLOS such as the 200 nautical mile delimitation of exclusive economic zones (EEZ). The United States has the largest EEZ in the world.

(6) The relevant section of Article 76 states: ``Information on the limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured shall be submitted by the coastal State to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf set up under Annex II on the basis of equitable geographical representation. The Commission shall make recommendations to coastal States on matters related to the establishment of the outer limits of their continental shelf. The limits of the shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of these recommendations shall be final and binding.''

(7) For a geographical investigation into conventions such as the Law of the Sea see Steinberg (2001).

8 If you want to look at one of the maps submitted by the Russian authorities, which details the delimitation of the continental shelf with reference to the high Arctic see: http://www.un.org/Depts/ los/clcs new/submissions files/rus01/RUS CLCS_01 2001 LOS 2.jpg.

(9) For further information on the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf see: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/clcs new/clcs home.htm

(10) The US Geological Survey is involved in a program of Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal and a great deal of attention has been given to the untapped potential of specific regions such as the East Greenland Rifts Basin Province. For further information see: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2007/3077/.

(11) For further details see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6941134.stm.

(12) NWT was formally split in April 1999 when the territory of Nunavut was created. The Premier of Nunavut is advised by a council of tribal elders to help ensure Inuit culture and traditional knowledge incorporated into the decision-making process. Nunavut is dependent on federal Canadian funding and as with NWT is a major source of mineral exploitation.

(13) For further details see: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070810/harper arctic military 070810?s name=&no ads

(14) Significantly the breakup of the Soviet Union made no difference to its northern boundary as the other fourteen socialist republics were located overwhelmingly to the south of Moscow let alone the Arctic Circle.

(15) The speech is reproduced at: http://news.gc.ca/web/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=355519.

(16) It is also worth noting that Australia has submitted materials to the CLCS regarding the delimitation of continental shelf off the Antarctic continent and this involved much cartographic and geological research (see Jabour, 2006). Britain is planning to do so, but there is an additional tension involving overlapping claims to the Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic and Arctic are not only very different geographical environments but they also have distinct legal regimes.

(17) During the IGY itself, the US nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus had demonstrated that it was now possible for submerged vessels to sail under the North Pole. This feat was achieved in August 1958 and later films such as Ice Station Zebra 1968 brought to the wide screen stories of high Arctic geopolitical intrigue.

18See, for example, http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2007/10/24/goose-russians.html.

(19) It was only during the IGY that permanently manned stations on the polar continent itself were established in significant numbers.

(20) For further details see: http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMA0R4Y3EE planet 0.html.

(21) The official website for the IPY can be found at: http://classic.ipy.org/. Abel K, Coates K (Eds), 2001Northern Visions (Broadview Press, Peterborough, ON), Benitah M, 2007, ``Russia's claim in the Arctic and the vexing issue of ridges in UNCLOS'' ASIL Insight 8 November, http://www.asil.org/insights/2007/11/insights071108.html. Carleton C, 2006, ``Article 76 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: implementation problems from the technical perspective'' International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law 21 287 ^ 303.

Cloud J, 2001, “Imaging the world in a barrel: CORONA and the clandestine convergence of the earth sciences'' Social Studies of Science 31 231^ 251

Dodds K, 2002 Pink Ice: Britain and the South Atlantic Empire (I B Tauris, London)

Doel R, 2003, ``Constituting the post-war earth sciences: the military's influence on the environmental sciences in the USA after 1945'' Social Studies of Science 33 635 ^ 666

Doel R, Levin T, Marker M, 2006, ``Extending modern cartography to the ocean depths: military patronage, cold war priorities and the Heezen ^ Tharp mapping project 1952 ^ 1959'' Journal of Historical Geography 32 605 ^ 626

Farish M, 2006, ``Frontier engineering: from the globe to the body in the Cold War Arctic'' The Canadian Geographer 50 177 ^ 196.

Innis H, 1923, A History of the Canadian Pacific Railway (McClelland and Stewart, Toronto)

Jabour J, 2006, “High latitude diplomacy: Australia's Antarctic extended continental shelf '' Marine Policy, 30-197- 198

McCannon J, 1998 Red Arctic (Oxford University Press, Oxford)

Matthiessen P, 2007, “Alaska: big oil and the whales'' New York Review 22 November, pp 57 ^ 64

Powell R, 2007, “The rigors of an Arctic experiment: the precarious authority of field practices in the Canadian High Arctic, 1959 ^ 1975” Environment and Planning A 39 1794 ^ 1811

Seed P, 1993 Ceremonies of Possession (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)

Steinberg P, 2001 The Social Construction of the Ocean (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge)

The Times 2007, Russia stakes its North Pole claim with an underwater search for oil'', 28 July Toronto Star 2007, “The Artic Cold War”, 12 August, http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/Ideas/ article/245440

(22) Quoted in Scientific American (21 September 2007) and available at: http://www.sciam.com/ article.cfm?articleID=28591A94-E7F2-99DF-31EE65D88983AE31.

Acum sporturile nautice se fac din placere, inainte, cind America a inceput sa fie populata, emigrantii (mai ales evrei) veneau pe vapoare arhipline, ingramaditi, multi dar visand la Lumea Noua.

Marea desparte continente si atunci distanta dintre ele era strabatuta cu vaporul. Citi dintre noi mai plecam acum spre America, de exemplu, strabatand oceanele? O calatorie de felul asta e de o mie de ori mai frumoasa decit zborul cu avionul. Dar acum, importanta e destinatia si nu calatoria in sine. Si asta  e foarte putin.

You will agree that Pastor Chris is simply amazing……honestly, above everything else that he is, he is a Christian. No wonder he is not bothered about all the “horrible things” published about him, honestly when I read some of these articles on the internet, I was flabbergasted to say the least. How can educated people or should I say, people who ‘claim to be educated’ write such things? And even more troubling is the fact that some of the writers are brethren.

One solitary man claims that he was offered money to sit in a wheelchair and then act healed by standing up to walk as soon as Pastor Chris was done praying for him; as a result, the group that posted this article on the net, choose to discredit the testimonies of multiplied thousands, myself inclusive, who have been healed through Pastor Chris’ ministry over the years - several of these testimonies take place in homes and offices as regular everyday people watch or listen to Pastor Chris and even as they read his books and magazines. I must not fail to mention the many who received their healings through other Pastors and members of Christ Embassy, yes, members….it is common place for members of Christ Embassy like us to lay hands on the sick and have them recover. Please post details of such exploits.

It’s basic logic: Pastor Chris has been in public ministry for over twenty[20] years with signs and wonders attending his ministry.

Besides this evidence, it was also established and plainly endorsed by God, who showed His approval of it by signs and wonders and various miraculous manifestations of His power and by imparting the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the believers according to His own will.

Heb2:4 [Amp]

Pastor Chris must be a very rich man because after paying so much, he is still loaded…and he must have also paid all their relatives and loved ones who are ever ready to testify to these miracles; not to talk of the medical reports from hospitals and diagnostic centers on every continent of the globe. Okay, this man was paid to get up from a wheelchair, what about those who are visibly emaciated, incapacitated and in so much pain, were they paid to fall sick, go blind, become paralyzed, grow goiters, cancers and tumors? These images are on TV all over the world, full names are boldly published, why didn’t these guys act like true journalists and investigate the claims?

Anyway, I would like to meet the production crew of these “staged miracles” because they deserve an award, they have consistently over the years directed and produced these “block buster” events with such accuracy – that in itself is a miracle. [laughs] Boy! I just love Pastor Chris! I mean, after listening to him…. we need not worry about these folks; God loves Pastor Chris, God loves us and we’ll just keep shining in our coat of many colors.

Tammy

Les observateurs sont encore une fois (ça devient une habitude) déçus par le sommet du G8. On était censé y parler réchauffement climatique et Afrique. Bien sûr, le sujet de l'Afrique a dû être "on the side", juste comme ça, pour bien paraître aux yeux du monde. Je ne parlerai pas de l'aspect réchauffement planétaire, je crois que ces deux observateurs (premier lien, lien du deuxième observateur) en parlent beaucoup mieux que je ne le pourrais faire. Non, je veux parler brièvement de l'Afrique et pourquoi, alors que ce continent vit des crises alimentaires, politiques et sociales graves, les membres du G8 se goinfraient comme des porcs sans aucune pensée pour le continent. La réponse est simple: on s'en fout ! L'Afrique, pour les pays du G8, c'est le continent qui n'existe pas - ou qui ne devrait pas exister, c'est une plaie, c'est un trou sans fond. Bien sûr, les pays injectent de l'argent, mais croyez-moi, ils préféreraient mettre cet argent ailleurs. Parce que l'Afrique n'a - selon la pensée actuelle - rien à leur offrir. Économiquement, c'est mort, le pétrole se trouve surtout au Moyen Orient. Il y aurait toujours les pierres précieuses, mais encore là... Ce qui est une pensée un peu, il faut le dire, dégueulasse dans la mesure où c'est le continent qui a vu notre espèce venir au monde et qui ne savait pas que des millénaires plus tard, on viendrait piller ses ressources, asservir sa population et les délaisser une fois que le continent sembla inintéressant.

Ah bien sûr, vous allez me dire que des représentants de pays africains étaient là. Mais comment dire ? Quel est leur poids face aux États-Unis, à la Grande-Bretagne, à l'Allemagne ou face à nous ? Il ne vaut pas grand chose sinon de belles poignées de main devant les photographes officiels. Comme le souligne le site Afrik.com dans son article sur la rencontre au sommet:

L’ONU a évalué, dans un rapport récent, que les objectifs prévus par les pays donateurs pour sortir l’Afrique de la pauvreté ne seraient atteints qu’en 2147…

2147... D'ici ce temps, j'imagine que le continent invisible aura le temps de disparaître entièrement...

Floating landmasses. Be them mountains, islands, continents or even entire planets, I absolutely love floating landmasses. I don't know why, but I instantly fall in love with any game that has floating landmasses. I love them so much, i asked LUELinks to help me list all video games with floating landmasses. Here is the compiled list for your own pleasure, dear readers:

-Aqua Aqua (PS2)
-Arcana Heart (PS2/Arcade)
-Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia (PS2)
-Ar tonelico II: Sekai ni Hibiku Shoujotachi no Metafalica (PS2)
-Bahamut Lagoon (SNES)
-Banjo-Kazooie (N64)
-Banjo-Tooie (N64)
-Baten kaitos (GCN)
-Baten Kaitos Origins (GCN)
-Bomberman 64 (N64)
-Brave Fencer Musashi (PSX)
-Breath of Fire 2 (SNES)
-Breath of Fire 3 (PSX)
-Breath of Fire 4 (PSX)
-Cave Story (PC)
-Chaos Wars (PS2)
-Chrono Cross (PSX)
-Chrono Trigger (SNES)
-City of Heroes (PC)
-Crystalis (NES)
-Dark Cloud (PS2)
-Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)
-Deep Labyrinth (DS)
-Donkey Kong 64 (N64)
-Dragon Warrior 7 (PSX)
-Drakan: The Ancients' Gates (PS2)
-EverQuest (PC)
-Final Fantasy (NES)
-Final Fantasy 3 (NES/DS)
-Final Fantasy 5 (SNES/PSX)
-Final Fantasy 6 (SNES/PSX/GBA)
-Final Fantasy 8 (PSX)
-Final Fantasy 9 (PSX)
-Final Fantasy 11 (PC/PS2)
-Final Fantasy 12 (PS2)
-Final Fantasy Legend 3 (GB)
-Flyff (PC)
-Granstream Saga (PSX)
-Guild wars (PC)
-Half-Life (PC)
-Heroes of Might and Magic 5 (PC)
-Illusion of Gaia (SNES)
-Jade Empire (Xbox/PC)
-Jak 3 (PS2)
-Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
-Kirby's Dreamland (GB)
-Kirby Super Star (SNES)
-Knytt (PC)
-Knytt Stories (PC)
-Legend of Dragoon (PSX)
-Legend of Legaia (PSX)
-Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
-Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GCN/Wii)
-Lords of the Realm 2 (PC)
-Lufia and the fortress of Doom (SNES)
-Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES)
-Lufia 3 (GBC)
-Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PSX)
-Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PSX)
-Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (PS2)
-Morrowind (PC)
-Mother 3 (GBA)
-Netstorm (PC)
-Ninja Gaiden (XBox)
-Ogre Battle (SNES)
-Okami (PS2/Wii)
-Paper Mario (N64)
-Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GCN)
-Phantasy Star IV (Genesis?)
-Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Darkness (DS?)
-Project Nomads (PC)
-Ragnarok Online (PC)
-Riviera: The promised Land (PSP/GBA)
-Rygar (NES)
-Sacrifice (PC)
-Secret of Evermore (SNES)
-Secret of Mana (SNES)
-Septerra Core (PC)
-Skies of Arcadia (Legends) (DC/GCN)
-Skygunner (PS2)
-Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Sonic and knuckles (Genesis)
-Sonic Adventure (DX) (DC/GCN)
-Star Ocean 2 (SNES)
-Stratosphere: Conquest of the Sky (PC)
-Super Bomberman (SNES)
-Super Mario 64 (N64)
-Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
-Super Mario RPG (SNES)
-Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)
-Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
-Super Smash Bros. (N64)
-Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
-Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN)
-Tail Concerto (PSX)
-Tales of Destiny (PSX)
-Tales of Legendia (PS2)
-Tales of Symphonia (GCN)
-Tales of the Abyss (PS2)
-Vexx (PS2, Xbox, GCN)
-Wetrix (PC, N64)
-Warcraft 3 (PC)
-World of Warcraft (PC)
-Xenogears (PSX)
-Yoshi's Island DS (DS)
-Ys II Complete (PC)

And there you have it, a large, conclusive list. Perhaps i'm missing titles, I would very much appreciate it if you posted any title i missed in the comments. Now, perhaps i should get into WHY I love floating islands. I am not sure myself, but there's just this incredible feeling is awe i get from seeing an island majestically floating high above the clouds. It all started with Chronio Trigger and the magic Kingdom of Zeal, really. I don't think the majesty of the Kingdom of Zeal was topped before they released Baten Kaitos on the GCN. So, yes, i like floating islands without question. Any game with floating islands is a game that has a place in my heart. If any aspiring game developer is reading, please keep this in mind. Nothing is as awe-inspiring as an island with gaps showing an unmeasurable expanse of clouds floating lazily over an unseen earth, perhaps with infinitely tall waterfalls falling down to the surface... Aaah, how i love these islands...

~21st Century, lover of flight, signing out.

two sets of veins

braided

threaded thru flesh

traveling vines;

one brown, one white

intertwined

two tongues weaving

one into the other

songs

written on the heart

strings;

one soup whose waters mix

two continents together

© 2008 tahminah zaman

All three Caspak novels in one eBook! Complete and unabridged--The Land that Time Forgot, The People that Time Forgot, and Out of Time's Abyss--in one eBook for one low price. A German submarine lost on a secret mission, a daring aviator crashed on an uncharted island, his friend, desperate to find and rescue him--they all come together on Caspak, the continent where time stands still and dinosaurs and cave men continue to rule supreme. Battling saber-toothed tigers, giant reptiles, pterodactyls and human treachery, the castaways find love, death, loyalty, betrayal, and a new understanding of themselves.

ALL THREE CASPAK NOVELS IN ONE EBOOK! Complete and unabridged - The Land that Time Forgot, The People that Time Forgot, and Out of Time's Abyss - in one ebook for one low price. A German submarine lost on a secret mission, a daring aviator crashed on an uncharted island, his friend, desperate to find and rescue him - they all come together on Caspak, the continent where time stands still and dinosaurs and cave men continue to rule supreme. Battling saber-toothed tigers, giant reptiles, pterodactyls and human treachery, the castaways find love, death, loyalty, betrayal, and a new understanding of themselves. "One of Burroughs' most exciting adventure novels. In Caspak, the strange land where Time stood still, Burroughs made one of his most imaginative creations . thrilling." ~Lin Carter. All three books complete and unabridged - over 600 pages in hardcover.

Order The Caspak Omnibus: The Land that Time Forgot, The People that Time Forgot, Out of Time's Abyss from Amazon for $3.99

The entire Asian continent is jinxed. First the Myanmar cyclone, now this earthquake. Feels like nature is hitting back with a vengeance. I wonder when people will realise that our time on this planet is limited and we live as custodians to the property we inherit as long as we live here. The earth doesn’t belong to us to abuse it as we want.

To top it all, most of these countries are refusing aid for the fear of foreigners entering their country. I fail to understand how you can refuse help when you need it the most. Why is it that rulers think only about themselves rather than the victims of tragedy? I remember something Bush said after the World Trade Centre collapse. When asked how many people had perished in the attack, he replied, “I don’t know the numbers but I do know know that they will be much more than we can bear.”

As much as I dislike American government policies, I have to admit they have their priorities in place when it comes to human life. One may argue about the lack of urgency after Katrina or 9/11, my reply better late than never as will be the case with the cyclone victims. Those who have survived the cyclone will perish due to lack of food, medicines, fresh water and treatment. Why? Just because their government doesn’t trust aid workers and aid workers don’t trust their government with the supplies.

The end result is that we will never know the full extent of the damage or the actual number of victims. Life will go on for us. For the survivors stuck in a time warp, the future is long story of struggle for survival. May God give them hope and courage on this arduous journey.

Day 4 of his adventure took Matt to Istanbul, the capital city of Turkey which straddles both the continents of Europe and Asia. Exploring the markets, the culture, foods and even the Whirling Dervishes, the Today Show's cameras even allowed viewers a glimpse of the blue ceramic tiles that decorate the interior with unprecedented access to the Blue Mosque. Explore more of Istanbul and Turkey at the Today Show's website, or contact us to discover even more.

The Discovery Channel aired a program called "Bridging the Bering Strait". Technology really blows my mind. People are actually fathoming building a bridge in one of the most harsh arctic climates on Earth. This global highway would join US and Europe allowing people to drive from Alaska to Siberia in under an hour. The Bridge would essentially connect The Western Hemisphere with the Eastern Hemisphere, making it possible to drive from North America to Europe, Asia and Africa.

With today's outlandish gas prices why the eff would such an idea even be proposed?. One of the obvious motives for this bridge is the fact that Siberia holds tons of oil and natural gas resources underneath it's desolate grounds. By tapping into the well, the United States oil dependency would continue, except we wouldn't have to deal with the Middle East's drama and would have an enormous supply closer to home.

The 105 Billion dollar design would feature 3 levels, one for cars and trucks, a middle section for high speed trains and a third level for oil pipelines. Similar to the Great Wall of China, this bridge would be seen from outer space. Since both sides of the bridge would basically end on nothing (uh, rural Alaska and barren Siberia) 4,000 miles of new highway would be built into central Europe and through Alaska leading to the bridge.

I'm still not too keen on the idea...The weather conditions are extremely harsh, sometimes reaching 135 degrees below 0F. Think of the people who would have to build this thing, if they didn't have the proper clothing they could die in such temperatures in under a minute. I can also see horrible nightmares forming as people drive across the bridge with violent waters full of ice caps in an environment "utterly hostile to human life"...
Save it for the movies, perhaps?

So a few weeks back we saw a slice from the culinary world, specifically Pizza. Revisited this week it's a pleasure to introduce one of the many world class beverages, shared in social settings by many cultures throughout history.

Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Chianti, Syrah…you get the picture. And for you in its service, stewards and aficionados you all know well, the list is expansive. These days wine seems to be more and more popular in all kinds of social circles with its knowledge growing on an international scale. With all due respect for some well known growing regions in Australia, California, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Washington many new entrepreneurs are introducing their passion for this craft. They are growing grapes, some stomping, many blending, and offering their creative labels at locations in and from many continents all around the world.

Zoom into Central Washington. Many know, in this area of the world, those who enjoy wine expand even their most complex palettes. Using your technique, you take in the aromas and tastes of the grapes exclusive to the region, while enjoying Washington State’s finest wines. If you've planned the trip or just happen to be in the area, take the time to enjoy the hospitality of this region's local wineries. What do you think, isn't life good when sharing in good beverage paired with good food and good people?

For more info on the region; Rattlesnake Hills, Wine Yakima Valley, Wines Northwest

For all you who enjoy the Vintner's culture this one is for you. What are some of your favorite wine events, labels, varieties and vintages?