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Post by nodstar on Dec 16, 2009 7:43:04 GMT 4
Previously undiscovered ancient city found on Caribbean sea floor[/SIZE] SEE SLIDE SHOW OF IMAGES HERE[/SIZE] www.heralddeparis.com/previously-undiscovered-ancient-city-found-on-caribbean-sea-floor/65855By Jes Alexander on December 9, 2009  WASHINGTON, DC (Herald de Paris) - EXCLUSIVE - Researchers have revealed the first images from the Caribbean sea floor of what they believe are the archaeological remains of an ancient civilization. Guarding the location’s coordinates carefully, the project’s leader, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, says the city could be thousands of years old; possibly even pre-dating the ancient Egyptian pyramids, at Giza. The site was found using advanced satellite imagery, and is not in any way associated with the alleged site found by Russian explorers near Cuba in 2001, at a depth of 2300 feet. “To be seen on satellite, our site is much shallower.” The team is currently seeking funding to mount an expedition to confirm and explore what appears to be a vast underwater city. “You have to be careful working with satellite images in such a location,” the project’s principle researcher said, “The digital matrix sometimes misinterprets its data, and shows ruins as solid masses. The thing is, we’ve found structure - what appears to be a tall, narrow pyramid; large platform structures with small buildings on them; we’ve even found standing parallel post and beam construction in the rubble of what appears to be a fallen building. You can’t have post and beam without human involvement.” Asked if this city is the legendary city of Atlantis, the researchers immediately said no. “The romanticized ideal of Atlantis probably never existed, nor will anyone ever strap on a SCUBA tank, jump in the water, and find a city gateway that says, ‘Welcome to Atlantis.’ However, we do believe that this city may have been one of many cities of an advanced, seafaring, trade-based civilization, which may have been visited by their Eurocentric counterparts.” It is unknown at this time how the city came to be on the sea floor, and not on dry land. “We have several theories.” The team hopes to conduct a massive mapping and research expedition, to learn as much as possible about who these people were, before turning the site over to the Caribbean island’s home government. “Whatever we’ve found does not belong to us,” the project’s leader said, “It belongs to the people of this island, and to the world at-large. If any pieces are brought to the surface, they belong in the hands of a museum.” The project team asks that for more information, or to find out how to help fund their research, please contact the Herald de Paris’ publisher, Jes Alexander, at a specially set-up telephone number: 415-738-7811.
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Post by iris on Dec 16, 2009 15:38:29 GMT 4
Dear Noddy,
Thank you for posting this amazing info.
lots of love,
Iris
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Post by emeraldsun on Dec 17, 2009 1:14:12 GMT 4
Erin Brokovich weighs in on MorgellonsA Figment or Not a Figment: Morgellons Reality Bites There are Unidentified Flying Objects. There are Unidentified Submarine Objects. Now there are Unidentified Cutaneous Objects. (For those of us without an MD, and even for those WITH an MD, cutaneous means relating to or existing on or affecting the skin.) These "UCO" are classified officially as Delusional Parasitosis since the Center for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't know what they are, or even IF they are. And of course, what they don't know about must be delusional. I suppose whenever humankind faces something new, it is a throwback to the day when we believed we lived in a geocentric universe in which the sun and everything else revolved around us, and everyone who was anyone said the world was flat. Just like those long ago days, now they're all having a whopping case of denial. And I'm not talking about that river in Egypt. I'm talking about Morgellons syndrome. It IS denial when a scientist won't even look at the problem. Not investigating. . . that is not scientific method. Maybe it is a scary thing when we have to admit there's something new out there in the big bad world. After all, we humans are creatures of habit. Most of us would like to be able to take a snapshot of things and be able to relax and say "This is how it is." But the world keeps turning. We keep discovering new things about our old world. Our body of knowledge keeps on growing, in spite of denial. Things grow. Things change, even if we say they don't. You'd think a researcher would be thrilled to find something new. But they (the official powers that be) spent years denying the existence of Morgellons syndrome. It is a debilitating condition which wears down those afflicted by it, a condition which is characterized by itching skin, the sensation of crawling or biting on or below the skin, skin lesions, and weird fibers that grow below the skin. In fact, experts don't agree on anything about this condition. Is it a single parasite? Are there misdiagnoses in addition to legitimate cases? Is Morgellons a collection of other conditions mislabeled and lumped into a single category? Is the syndrome imaginary? Is it a mental illness? For now, it is classified as an Unexplained Dermopathy; at least it's been acknowledged to the point of being investigated in epidemiological studies by the CDC. For the past few years, sufferers have had www.morgellons.org/ which is working toward getting more money for more research centers. Because of Morgellons Org., there are some legitimate researchers getting involved: Oklahoma State University, California State University – Hayward, State University of NY – Stonybrook, a microbiologist at Clongen Laboratories, and possibly others. So, how is the research going? Some scientists think that the fibers are consistent with substances created by the body. They've discovered half of the people they've investigated who have symptoms of Morgellons also have Lyme disease. At least they're looking at the problem. There may not yet be a light at the end of the tunnel, but at least they're admitting there is a tunnel, and not declaring it hysterical spelunker syndrome. Posted by Erin Brockovich | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (55)
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Post by nodstar on Dec 17, 2009 5:30:52 GMT 4
Dear Noddy, Thank you for posting this amazing info. lots of love, Iris Hey Iris .. Lovely to hear from you ..and yer WELCOME  !!! Peace Out Nod |
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Post by nodstar on Dec 17, 2009 5:43:38 GMT 4
Under the icy north lurks a ‘carbon bomb’[/size] By Beth Daley Globe Staff / December 13, 2009 www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2009/12/13/under_the_icy_north_lurks_a_carbon_bomb/ Tropical deforestation is a climate change crisis, but scientists fear for boreal wilderness, too A lake in the boreal forest north of Ottawa. [/b][/size] OTTAWA - North of Canada’s capital, underneath an endless expanse of spruce, pine, and birch, ticks what some scientists are calling a carbon bomb: Peat.
peat suspended in waterlogged bogs or permafrost. When it is disturbed or drained - as is happening in some areas - the peat can start to decompose and dry out, unleashing greenhouse gases. In North America alone, the peat and the trees growing in it hold as much carbon as would be emitted worldwide by 26 years of burning fossil fuels at current rates.
“It’s like a great big stew of carbon percolating away for centuries,’’ said Janet Sumner, executive director of the Wildlands League in Ontario, a conservation group pushing to preserve the northern, or boreal, forests from development. “If we don’t protect the boreal, it will mean more emissions and climate change.’’
While a critical deal is being brokered at the Copenhagen climate talks this week to protect threatened tropical forests, a growing number of scientists and environmentalists say the world’s boreal forests need to be conserved too. A group of international scientists are planning to deliver a letter to Northern heads of state tomorrow urging them to formally recognize the importance of the boreal forest and find ways to finance its protection. And they say Canada, with 1.4 billion acres of intact forest and a majority of the world’s peat lands, is the place to start.
The pace of boreal deforestation from mining, dams, oil and gas drilling, and road building is glacial compared with the destruction of tropical forests. Still, scientists say development is beginning to accelerate and it needs protection before warming temperatures lure even more industries north.
Mining and similar operations can cause the release of carbon from peat because the land is often drained, exposing the material to oxygen, which is essential for decomposition. Poor logging practices, road building, and other development can alter water flows and expose peat as well, drying it out and making it vulnerable to fire. Dried peat burns so well it is used as a cheap fuel in parts of the world.
Many point to Indonesia - one of the few tropical forests with underlying peat - as a cautionary tale: Deforestation and draining is causing the peat to burn and pump enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.
To fly over the northern forest is to experience ancient, nearly-unbroken vastness. Swamp-like - it has been described as a kind of giant Everglades of the North - tiny aboriginal communities, logging roads, and clear-cuts stand out in its southern expanse. In the more frozen north, only icy lakes and rivers interrupt the thousands of miles of tree cover. Caribou and wolves roam underneath the evergreens, and every summer, millions of birds arrive to breed, including the white-throated sparrow and many species of ducks that winter in New England.
The boreal forest - with its hues of muted green, gray, and brown - once blanketed New England as well, but warming temperatures since the last Ice Age have transformed the forest, although some peat lands and boreal tree and wildlife species remain in northern Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Unlike most of the tropics, where decaying plant matter decomposes quickly, the boreal forest accumulates dead sedges, mosses, grasses, shrubs, and trees in bogs or in permafrost, permanently frozen soil that can store it for thousands of years. About 30 percent of the carbon is stored in the trees - the rest is in the peat.
“For a long time, we failed to see the soil for the trees,’’ said Larry Innes, director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative and adviser to the Pew Environment Group, a funding and advocacy group. Innes talked as he piloted his small plane over hundreds of tiny peat islands capped with spruce trees in lightly iced lakes about 150 miles north of Ottawa. Fluctuating water levels in a reservoir for a hydroelectric dam had eroded peat from the shorelines, allowing some of its carbon to be released and leaving sand behind. Enormous clear-cuts - miles across - opened the landscape nearby.
While the northern forest’s beauty is undeniable, it is tropical forests, with their towering tree canopies and enormous number of colorful and charismatic species that have riveted the world. And, scientists say, there is good reason for that: Agriculture and development are causing massive deforestation, totaling more than 20 million acres a year by some estimates, and the forests are being further degraded by illegal and shoddy logging practices and fire.
Because it is more valuable to cut trees than to preserve them in these areas, Copenhagen negotiators are trying to make it financially attractive to conserve trees in developing countries. The Kyoto Protocol, the climate treaty that expires in 2012, largely ignored forests as critical tools in fighting global warming, though deforestation - and the resulting loss of carbon-absorbing capacity - accounts for about 15 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
But the boreal forest - holding twice as much carbon per acre as tropical forests - also needs a place at the table, scientists say. In Canada, deforestation - defined as permanently cleared land - is estimated at about 126,000 acres a year, although scientists say development and industrial uses alter far more of the forest. That figure also excludes logging. In Alberta, with its enormous mining effort to squeeze oil from tarry sands, only about 40 percent of its once vast forest is still considered intact, according to Global Forest Watch Canada, a research group.
In 2007, an international group of 1,500 scientists, some on the leading scientific advisory group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recommended that at least half of Canada’s forest be protected from further disturbances, both for its carbon storage and wildlife habitats.
While the Canadian government is facing deep criticism for backtracking on pledges to reduce greenhouse gases, the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Manitoba have promised to protect enormous swaths of forest from future mining and development - roughly half of Quebec’s and Ontario’s forest, which is largely publicly owned but can be leased to industry.
But paying for it will be challenging and there is no clear mechanism to do so. In Copenhagen, negotiators from developing countries and the United Nations are trying to win financial commitments from rich countries to protect tropical forests, or create a system where polluting industries pay to protect a swath of trees that would absorb the equivalent amount of heat-trapping gases they emit.
“It is only fair that developed countries pay’’ to protect both tropical and boreal forests “because they have created the climate change problem,’’ said Chris Henschel, senior conservation manager of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, but he said they should protect the boreal forests “without any payment from a Copenhagen mechanism.’’
Yet the advocates for the boreal forest say it is vulnerable because northern regions are heating up faster than more temperate areas, which could cause the peat to thaw and release its carbon. No one knows how quickly emissions will occur if that happens.
“It is under threat. . . . It is the last great intact place on earth for natural resources,’’ said Jeff Wells, director of science and policy for the Boreal Songbird Initiative, a conservation organization. “We need to ensure it can withstand the impact as best it can.’’
Beth Daley can be reached at bdaley@globe.com.
Correction: Because of a reporting error, a previous version of this story incorrectly described a group that recommended the protection of Canada's boreal forest. It was a group of 1,500 international scientists, some on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, who signed a 2007 statement to urge protection, not the IPCC itself.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
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Post by nodstar on Dec 17, 2009 5:45:46 GMT 4
Pollutants Cluster Under Power Lines[/size] news.discovery.com/earth/power-lines-contaminants-pcb.html2009-12-13 High voltage power lines in Sweden trap cancer-causing pollutants in their electric fields, according to a new study, potentially raising health risks for people who live beneath them. It's a decades-old question: does living near power lines make people sick? For the most part, studies have shown little beyond a weak up-tick in leukemia among children who live near electrical lines. Laboratory animals exposed to electrical and magnetic fields have shown no effect whatsoever. Case closed, it would seem. But what if electrical fields corral air pollution, concentrating it in a small area? Scientists have wondered whether toxins like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other compounds might gather under power lines in this way. Researchers at the University of Kalmar in Sweden have now shown for the first time that this phenomenon is real. They took samples from pine needles at several sites directly beneath a 400 kilovolt power line in southern Sweden, and at distances up to several miles away. Trees growing directly beneath the lines had about double the amount of PCBs on their needles as those plants that were some distance away, the researchers found. The elevated levels were still below anything that would be considered hazardous, but it raises the possibility that other air pollutants may get trapped in the electric field as well. "We didn't measure anything except PCBs," study leader Tomas Oberg said. "But we could have looked at dioxins or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); there's no reason they wouldn't behave the same way." The increased pollutant concentrations are likely the result of the electric field causing microscopic dust particles laced with pollutants to become charged. That charge makes them more likely to stick to nearby surfaces. The study was published in the journal Atmospheric Environment. It's an intriguing finding, but Oberg cautioned that it is far too soon to draw conclusions about any potential health risks. "You cannot extrapolate this to human health risks," he said. "But there is definitely a significant increase in deposition of semi-volatile organic compounds here." John Moulder of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee isn't impressed. "While I can't dismiss it, I can't get very excited about it either," Moulder said of possible health risks. "First, I'd want to go and check to see if there is any evidence that children with leukemia have higher body burdens of PCBs. If it turns out that they do, I might get a lot more excited about it."
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Post by fr33ksh0w2012 on Dec 17, 2009 18:16:30 GMT 4
Impaled woman waits 47 minutes for ambulance
Thursday, December 17, 2009 » 06:52am
A woman impaled on a fence post waited in agony 47 minutes before paramedics arrived at a northern Victorian property to treat her.
Ambulance Victoria is investigating why it took 47 minutes for an ambulance to reach 34-year-old Kim Broadbent at Yarrawonga on Tuesday night, the Herald Sun newspaper said.
An ambulance was called at 9.42pm (AEDT) after Ms Broadbent fell and was injured.
Paramedics did not arrive until 10.29pm.
There was no paramedic on duty in Yarrawonga that night, the newspaper said.
A graduate ambulance officer was refused permission to attend and a crew at Wangaratta, 55km away, eventually arrived but was not cleared to exceed the speed limit or use lights and sirens, the newspaper said.
Volunteers supported the woman's body during the agonising wait during which she had no pain relief and lapsed in and out of consciousness.
Ms Broadbent was flown to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne and is in a stable condition. |
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Post by fr33ksh0w2012 on Dec 17, 2009 18:56:00 GMT 4
Internet filter won't work, say critics
Thursday, December 17, 2009 » 10:40am
The government's internet filter will not shield Australia from inappropriate material, say some experts.
The federal government's internet filtering plan will not shield Australia from inappropriate material on the worldwide web, the main editorial in The Age newspaper said on Thursday.
It is unclear what the federal government hopes to achieve with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's mandatory internet filtering scheme, the editorial said.
'The minister said it was important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected from (inappropriate) material, yet the government's own filtering trial concedes that it will be possible to circumvent the filters,' it said.
'Whether those seeking the banned material are pedophiles using virtual private networks and peer-to-peer file sharing, or tech-savvy, inquisitive adolescents unwisely seeking sexual content online, filtering will not constitute the barrier Senator Conroy seems to think it will.
'Nor will it necessarily be the case that filtering a defined list of websites can be done with 100 per cent accuracy and negligible impact on network performance, as Senator Conroy claimed.
'The proposed internet filters would deliver to government extensive powers of censorship that are not compatible with freedom of speech and expression, and which are in any case likely to be technically ineffective.' |
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Post by nodstar on Dec 18, 2009 3:01:35 GMT 4
Internet filter won't work, say critics
Thursday, December 17, 2009 » 10:40am
The government's internet filter will not shield Australia from inappropriate material, say some experts.
The federal government's internet filtering plan will not shield Australia from inappropriate material on the worldwide web, the main editorial in The Age newspaper said on Thursday.
It is unclear what the federal government hopes to achieve with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's mandatory internet filtering scheme, the editorial said.
'The minister said it was important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected from (inappropriate) material, yet the government's own filtering trial concedes that it will be possible to circumvent the filters,' it said.
'Whether those seeking the banned material are pedophiles using virtual private networks and peer-to-peer file sharing, or tech-savvy, inquisitive adolescents unwisely seeking sexual content online, filtering will not constitute the barrier Senator Conroy seems to think it will.
'Nor will it necessarily be the case that filtering a defined list of websites can be done with 100 per cent accuracy and negligible impact on network performance, as Senator Conroy claimed.
'The proposed internet filters would deliver to government extensive powers of censorship that are not compatible with freedom of speech and expression, and which are in any case likely to be technically ineffective.' Hi F/show Could you please insert the URL of the articles you post ? It's considered polite to cite the author and source of articles that you put up, and is a handy reference for anyone interested enough to follow up the article. Thanks Nod |
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Post by ninathedog on Dec 18, 2009 16:53:34 GMT 4
Vatican nativity does away with the manger By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Telegraph.co.uk
Published: 12:43PM GMT 14 Dec 2007Vatican nativity does away with the manger(click for photo of: The Pope at the Vatican scene last year)For 25 years, the Christmas Nativity scene in front of St Peter's Basilica has shown the infant Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. This year, however, the Vatican has decided to radically change the scene, shifting it to Nazareth, and placing Jesus in his father's carpentry shop. When Pope Benedict XVI inaugurates the life-size Nativity scene on Christmas eve, the sheep and hay will be gone. In their place will be a model of three rooms. Jesus will lie in Joseph's shop, complete with "the typical work tools of a carpenter". On one side, the shop will be flanked with a "covered patio", while on the other there will be the "inside of a pub, with its hearth". The news came in an official statement from the State Department of the Vatican, which organises and builds the giant presepe, or Nativity scene. The new setting was inspired by two verses in St Matthew's gospel, Chapter 1:24 and 1:25, the Vatican said, which state: "When Joseph woke up, he did as the Angel of God ordered and took Mary into his house. Without them knowing each other, a child was born and he called his name Jesus". The gospel goes on to mention Jesus' birthplace as Bethlehem, but a spokesman for the Vatican said a decision had been made to place the scene in Nazareth regardless. "It was time for a change," said the spokesman "and a return to St Matthew's gospel". The traditional depiction of Jesus in a manger comes from St Luke's gospel, which said there was "no room at the inn". But it is Matthew's gospel which forms the basis for the Angelus prayer, and the view of Jesus in a carpenter's workshop matches the Franciscan tradition. None of the three Vatican departments which organises the Nativity scene could comment on who had taken the decision to shift the location, or for what reason. However, sources close to the Vatican said there was a desire to crack down on the various "fanciful Nativity scenes" that have sprung up in recent years. In Naples, a number of Nativity scenes include notorious figures from today, such as Elvis Presley or Silvio Berlusconi, standing amongst the crowd adoring the infant Jesus. The Nativity scene at St Peter's was started by Pope John Paul II in 1982. In addition, a giant, fully-adorned Christmas tree has been erected in St Peter's Square. Meanwhile, the Catholic Church has said that it was its "right and duty" to spread the word of Christ to non-believers. A new document from the Vatican's doctrinal department rejected accusations that the Church aggressively converts its members. The Russian Orthodox Church has accused Rome of trying to poach souls in the former Soviet Union. However, the Vatican said evangelisation was its "inalienable right and duty". "The incorporation of new members into the Church is not the expansion of a power group, but rather entrance into the network of friendship with Christ which connects heaven and earth, different continents and age. "It is entrance into the gift of communion with Christ," the document said. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1572569/Vatican-nativity-does-away-with-the-manger.html
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Post by fr33ksh0w2012 on Dec 19, 2009 2:21:37 GMT 4
Internet filter won't work, say critics
Thursday, December 17, 2009 » 10:40am
The government's internet filter will not shield Australia from inappropriate material, say some experts.
The federal government's internet filtering plan will not shield Australia from inappropriate material on the worldwide web, the main editorial in The Age newspaper said on Thursday.
It is unclear what the federal government hopes to achieve with Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's mandatory internet filtering scheme, the editorial said.
'The minister said it was important that all Australians, particularly young children, are protected from (inappropriate) material, yet the government's own filtering trial concedes that it will be possible to circumvent the filters,' it said.
'Whether those seeking the banned material are pedophiles using virtual private networks and peer-to-peer file sharing, or tech-savvy, inquisitive adolescents unwisely seeking sexual content online, filtering will not constitute the barrier Senator Conroy seems to think it will.
'Nor will it necessarily be the case that filtering a defined list of websites can be done with 100 per cent accuracy and negligible impact on network performance, as Senator Conroy claimed.
'The proposed internet filters would deliver to government extensive powers of censorship that are not compatible with freedom of speech and expression, and which are in any case likely to be technically ineffective.' Hi F/show Could you please insert the URL of the articles you post ? It's considered polite to cite the author and source of articles that you put up, and is a handy reference for anyone interested enough to follow up the article. Thanks Nod Oops! Sorry! |
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Post by nodstar on Dec 19, 2009 3:08:57 GMT 4
Hey F/show .. NO wurries ..  Nod |
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Post by fr33ksh0w2012 on Dec 19, 2009 5:00:18 GMT 4
Australians believe in God, and UFOsSaturday, December 19, 2009 » 10:31am bigpondnews.com/articles/OddSpot/2009/12/19/Australians_believe_in_God_and_UFOs_408196.htmlA poll has revealed that most Australians believe in miracles, life after death, angels, as well as UFOs. A poll has revealed that most Australians believe in God or a similar universal spirit, but a majority also believe in miracles, life after death and angels, and many believe in astrology and UFOs. The surprising findings from a Nielsen poll for Fairfax newspapers show Australia is a credulous nation, willing to mix and match religious faith with belief in other phenomena. Although Australians are widely considered to be a secular people, nearly half of the population believe in psychic powers such as extrasensory perception, while 41 per cent believe in astrology. The research shows that Australians are more religious than we might have thought - 68 per cent of us believe in God or a universal spirit. But atheists and agnostics also had a strong showing in the national survey of 1,000 respondents, taken early this week. Almost one in four Australians (24 per cent) do not believe in either God or a universal spirit, and seven per cent are not sure or say they don't know. But God is not the only thing Australians believe in. They place their faith in a range of other phenomena. For example, 63 per cent believe in miracles, and 53 per cent believe in life after death. Angels are also popular, with 51 per cent of respondents saying they believe in them, slightly more than the 49 per cent who hold faith in psychic powers such as ESP. Forty-one per cent of people believe in astrology. Thirty-four per cent of Australians believe in UFOs and 22 per cent think witches exist. |
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Post by fr33ksh0w2012 on Dec 20, 2009 3:47:31 GMT 4
20% of NSW food outlets 'unhygienic'Sunday, December 20, 2009 » 07:09am bigpondnews.com/articles/TopStories/2009/12/20/20_of_NSW_food_outlets_unhygienic_408524.htmlThe NSW Food Authority has found nearly 20 per cent of food outlets have breached hygiene standards. Nearly 20 per cent of food outlets in NSW have breached hygiene standards, with the worst fined for filthy or rat-infested kitchens. In a massive review of 36,000 food outlets across the state, more than 8,000 businesses were given formal warnings by the NSW Food Authority for breaching safety guidelines or having poor handling practices, The Sunday Telegraph says. The NSW Food Authority's first 'report card', to be released on Sunday, reveals that 1,700 restaurants were fined for repeatedly failing to comply with food standards, the paper says. Across the state, there were 576 consumer complaints of 'foreign matter' in food, including sticking plasters and thingyroaches served in meals. In total, 11,255 food outlets were found to have had unsatisfactory practices at their first inspection, requiring a second inspection. Primary Industries Minister Steve Whan said almost 100 restaurants in inner Sydney had been fined. 'This is the most comprehensive report card of food inspection activity ever compiled in Australia,' he said. 'The majority of complaints related to hygiene and handling issues... there are a number of food businesses in NSW that need to lift their game. 'Next year, a mandatory food-handler training program will come into effect, to ensure that every food business has a designated food safety supervisor.'
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Post by nodstar on Dec 22, 2009 2:15:49 GMT 4
Monday, Dec. 21, The shortest day: The science of the solstice[/size] www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34482544/ns/technology_and_science-science/2009-12-21 You may think Mr. Frost's blustery entrance already occurred, but not officially. The winter solstice, and thus the official start of the chilly season on the astronomical calendar, begins Monday. More exactly, the winter solstice begins at 12:47 p.m. EST on Dec. 21. Here's what's behind the timing: Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here The Earth is tilted on its axis 23.5 degrees, so it leans one way as it spins around its axis while orbiting the sun. On Dec. 21, the top half of our planet (everything north of the equator) will face directly away from the sun, leaving the North Pole in complete darkness. For elves and reindeer, the real feel of winter began long ago, of course. In fact the sun set at the North Pole in late September, and there has been no sunlight nor even twilight since early October. Dawn won't break until early March. For those of us not near Santa's hut, we'll still notice the effect of all this tilted science, though not so dramatically. The winter solstice is the day when the sun crosses the sky at its lowest trajectory as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, and so its apparent trek from rising to setting is super quick. Result: the shortest day of the year. On the bright side, starting Tuesday the days will begin getting longer. Where we live in the mid-latitudes, daylight ranges from about 15 hours around the summer solstice (when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun) to around 9 hours close to the winter solstice. With less sunlight energy hitting us, temperatures drop. Surprisingly, the Earth is actually closer to the sun during winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It's the tilt that gets us. And in fact the coldest days of the year are yet to come. Though the days will get longer during January, Northern Hemisphere oceans continue to cool in the relative lack of sunlight, and ocean temperatures drive much of the weather on the continents. If you're looking to travel to warmer climes, here's how to choose a venue: On Monday, the sun will be positioned directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, which is a circle of latitude that marks maps of Earth and passes through South America, the southern tip of Africa and Australia. These spots might be your best bet to catch some rays. Our dance around the sun has been the basis of calendars as long ago as the fourth century B.C. Such peoples in the Americas even built solar observatories of stone to mark the solstices and other times important for planting or harvesting crops. Shrines and even tombs were also designed with the sun in mind.
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