MER Update 093010 - Spirit Snoozes, Opportunity Bolts Past Halfway Mark to Endeavour Crater

Mars Exploration Rovers
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Maas Digital
As Opportunity picked up the pace to Endeavour Crater this month and crossed the halfway point on the long journey from Victoria Crater and Spirit continued sleeping in hibernation mode, the Mars Exploration Rovers chalked up their 81st month of what was supposed to have been just a three-month tour of the Red Planet.“There’s been no word from Spirit,” ....

NASA - NASA's Hubble Captures First Images of Aftermath of Possible Asteroid Collision

These four Hubble Space Telescope images, taken over a five-month period, from January to May 2010 with Wide Field Camera 3, show the odd-shaped debris that likely came from a collision between two asteroids. Illustration Credit: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI) Science Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (UCLA) WASHINGTON -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured the first snapshots of a suspected asteroid collision. The images show a bizarre X-shaped object at the head of a comet-like trail of material.

Exploding Clays Drive Geminids Sky Show? - Breaking Orbit

The Geminid meteor shower, which peaks each year in December, is one such rule-breaker. Unlike every other known meteor shower, the Geminids are *not* caused by debris left behind from an active comet.
A Geminid meteor cuts across star trails over Georgia in 1985.
—Image courtesy Jimmy Westlake via NASA
(See "Intense Geminid Meteor Shower Peaks Tonight" [2009].)
Instead, scientists have traced the Geminids to an object called 3200 Phaethon. This bizarre body has all the mineral makings of an asteroid, but, like a comet, it left behind a stream of dust that follows along in its orbit.
Thanks to gravitational interactions, this dusty trail regularly crosses Earth's orbit. The particles then burn up in our atmosphere, creating the Geminids meteor shower.
Until recently, the favored view of Phaethon was that it's a dead comet—the rocky core of  ..

Bombing Earth-bound Asteroids a Viable Option, Experts Say

The asteroid Itokawa, as seen by the Hayabusa spacecraft in 2005.
Sensor data courtesy JAXA, processed by National Geographic News

Saturn's Largest Moon Has Ingredients for Life?

Sunlight glints off Kraken Mare, a lake on northern Titan's northern hemisphere, in a July 2009 picture.

Picture courtesy NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/DLR

Victoria Jaggard in Pasadena, California

National Geographic News

Published October 8, 2010

The chemical "letters" used to write the basic code for life on Earth might exist on Saturn's largest moon, according to new research presented Thursday.

Last Chilean rescuer back to surface

SAN JOSE MINE, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The last Chilean rescuer was brought back to surface early Thursday, completing the rescue operation for the 33 trapped miners who had been staying underground for more than 2 months.

Dozens of Los Angeles residents charged in crackdown on medical fraud

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Los Angeles residents were charged on Wednesday for their roles in a Medical fraud that fleeced Medicare out of millions of dollars, authorities said.

9 killed in U.S. drone attack in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The death toll has risen to nine following a U.S. drone strike launched late Wednesday night in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan, reported local media.

Obama stresses benefits of college tax credit to U.S. families

President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010, after meeting with college students and their families, to discuss the impact of the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday highlighted the benefits of an initiative to make college education more affordable, according to a statement from the White House.

Iranian president slams reports over Hezbollah's involvement in Hariri's murder

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech at the Al-Raya Stadium in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Oct. 13, 2010. Ahmadinejad on Wednesday slammed the "fabricated" claims that Hezbollah was involved in the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. (Xinhua/Koka)
BEIRUT, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday slammed the "fabricated" claims that Hezbollah was involved in the assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.

Is Netanyahu trying to shift the focus with new offer?

JERUSALEM Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The aftermath to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech on Monday, offering a possible extension on settlement construction freeze if the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state, has questions arisen regarding the timing and reason for the offer.

Acropolis hill blocked by Greek protestors over austerity measures

ATHENS, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Acropolis hill, the most famous archaeological site of Greece, was blocked on Tuesday by Greek employees of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in protest of austerity measures.

Landmarks of Berlin to be illuminated during Festival of Lights

The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated during the Festival of Lights in Berlin October 13, 2010. Several landmarks of the German capital, including boulevards, squares, towers, historical and modern buildings, will be illuminated during the festival. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Last trapped Chilean miner rescued, historic rescue completed

This video grab shows the last miner Luis Urzua is rescued back to the ground at the collapsed San Jose mine, 800 km north of the Chilean capital Santiago, on Oct. 13, 2010. The operation to lift out the 33 miners trapped for over two months in northern Chile has been successfully completed by Wednesday. (Xinhua)

Chile Miners Rescue

In Washington, President Barack Obama hailed the miners' rescue.

Chile Miners Rescue: Celebs React on Twitter! (Plus Live Stream) | LimeLife

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Chile mine rescue underway; two-thirds hoisted to safety

SAN JOSE MINE, CHILE - One by one, the miners who have been trapped under 2,000 feet of rock in northern Chile for more than two months were being pulled to the surface Wednesday in a special capsule, then embraced by emotional family members as the end of their saga was beamed live around the world.

Michelle Obama's plea to America

Plea for more time ... Michelle Obama. Photo: Reuters

US First Lady Michelle Obama on Wednesday poignantly said she felt the economic anxiety of hurting Americans, but pleaded with them to give her husband more time to forge the change he promised.

Last of 33 miners likely to be saved Wednesday

The last of 33 miners trapped in a Chile mine could be saved by the end of the day, officials said Wednesday, as a complex, fast-moving rescue operation went without hitch, triggering global rejoicing.

Belching, Bloating, and Flatus: Helping the Patient Who Has Intestinal Gas

Question of the Week: Investors Seek Metals To Soften Blow of Global Currency War

By Kerri Shannon, Associate Editor, Money Morning

The housing market remains in the dumper. U.S. stocks - despite a rally - are still 22% below their record highs of two years ago. And the "official" unemployment rate remains at a heart-stopping 9.6%.

Flu Shots May Reduce Heart Attack Risk

Sept. 21, 2010 -- Yearly flu shots may do more than stave off the seasonal flu -- they may also prevent heart attacks, according to a new study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. And the earlier you get the flu shot, the greater this protection, the study shows.

You Heard it Here First: China's Plan to Dethrone the Dollar Continues to Unfold

By Don Miller, Associate Editor, Money Morning

The U.S. dollar is on the way out as the world's top reserve currency. And as Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald predicted more than a year and a half ago, the yuan could be set to replace it.

Learn Languages Abroad, Language Schools Franchise Worldwide

Chile miners: Rescue workers expect to begin lifting trapped miners Tuesday | La Plaza | Los Angeles Times

Officials said that Tuesday, the 69th day underground for 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet down in a northern Chile mine, will see at least the first rescue via metal capsule, with the rest to be lifted to freedom over the next two days.

Indian athlete Rani Yadav fails dope test at Commonwealth Games

 

NEW DELHI: Indian race walker Rani Yadav has tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone, becoming the third person at the Commonwealth Games to be caught doping.
The Commonwealth Games Federation says Yadav, who was sixth in the women's 20-kilometer walk on Saturday, has been provisionally suspended from the event.

Chile 33 Miners Video Live, L.A. Times

The Peoples Voice News

World Financial System Not Sustainable

The financial system the world has evolved on the Bank of England model is not sustainable. It creates nearly all money as debt. Such money only exists as long as someone is willing and able to pay interest on it. It disappears, wholly or partially, in recurring financial crises. Such a system requires that new debt must be created faster than principal and interest payments fall due on old debt.

Beck Aides Try To Debunk Diet Coke Dangers

It's hard to believe after three decades of controversy on aspartame, NutraSweet, Equal, AminoSweet, E951, Benevia, Canderel, Spoonful, etc. that anyone would even question the fact that aspartame is a chemical poison. In reality, it is an addictive, excitoneurotoxic, carcinogenic, genetically-engineered drug and adjuvant that damages the mitochondria and interacts with drugs and vaccines.

The Foreclosure Game Tricks and Traps in the Fine Print By RALPH NADER

This time the big banks and mortgage servicing companies, with their long, one-sided fine print contracts, may have outsmarted themselves. The newspaper headlines and the network television news are blazing news of the erupting fraudulent foreclosure process. This long-overdue coverage is generating public visibility and suddenly hundreds of thousands of foreclosures may be questioned due to what one commentator delicately called “flawed paperwork.”

Spying and lying about the left

A company hired by the state of Pennsylvania has spied on left-wing, antiwar and student groups. The US peace group "Peace of the Action" has discovered documents showing that it and many other organisations have been under surveillance for many months by a private agency called the Institute of Terrorism Research and Response (ITRR).

California to decide on cannabis

Those backing legalised marijuana sale enjoy narrow lead ahead of November vote. This November, California voters will decide whether they would legalise the sale of marijuana. A measure on the statewide ballot called Proposition 19 would fully legalise, regulate and tax marijuana sales, which would be restricted to adults over age 21. Most of California's elected officials and candidates for governor oppose legalisation, but the latest polls show voters who are in favour of Proposition 19 have a narrow lead.

US lifts deep oil drilling freeze

Six-month moratorium on deep water drilling lifted after implementation of new stringent safety measures. The administration of Barack Obama, the US president, has lifted the moratorium on deep water drilling that it imposed in the wake of the disastrous BP oil spill, that dumped millions of litres of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

MEET THE SUPREMACIST JEWISH REBBE MEACHEM MENDEL SCHNEERSON

By Nahida Izzat (Uprooted Palestinians) – Some still insist that Chabad is a “fringe group”, that “has no influence” and that exposing their supremacist ideology, their level of influence and the harm they do is a “distraction” ! Watch Benjamin Netanyahu Ordered by Chabad Rebbe to Hasten Jewish Messiah’s Coming YouTube – Veterans Today Netanyahu [...]

Taliban capture US base in Afghanistan

Taliban militants have claimed that they have driven US troops out of a military outpost in Afghanistan's northeastern Kunar Province. They also said that the Americans fled the military outpost in Kunar's Marawara district in helicopters on Monday.

Fourth of 33 men rescued from Chilean mine - Yahoo! News

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera embraces Florencio Antonio Avalos Silva, the first miner to be rescued. More photos »By MICHAEL WARREN, Associated Press Writer Michael Warren, Associated Press Writer – 33 mins ago.
SAN JOSE MINE, Chile – To hugs, cheers and tears, rescuers using a missile-like escape capsule began pulling 33 men one by one to fresh air and freedom at last early Wednesday, 69 days ..

Chile miners: Rescue workers expect to begin lifting trapped miners Tuesday

Officials said that Tuesday, the 69th day underground for 33 miners trapped 2,300 feet down in a northern Chile mine, will see at least the first rescue via metal capsule, with the rest to be lifted to freedom over the next two days.