Mars Rover Spirit

This image was taken by the Mars Rover Spirit last November. The fact that it appears to be a figure of some sort is being dismissed by planetologists as an example of pareidolia, the human tendency to unconsciously construct apparent human images out of random forms that suggest them. It's quite small, just a few feet from Spirit, but it is a powerful reminder of how little we actually know about Mars, and the dismissive reaction in the scientific blogospher e is a warning that, if we don't keep an open mind about the red planet's anomalies, we are never going to understand. The problem with the discovery of an object like this is that, if it is a statue or even a living creature, it calls many cherished theories into question, and that is going to result in resistance. So what is certainly one of the strangest photos ever taken by one of the rovers is going to be tossed onto the scientific dustbin without serious study, or dismissed as a trick of light and forgotten.
Given the fact that the one consistent cycle in UFO sightings is that they increase when Mars is close to Earth, as has been happening recently, it is interesting that this and other extremely unusual images have been returned by the rovers are being ignored. However, the same scientific community that dismisses these images out of hand also claims, incorrectly, that there is no physical evidence of UFOs. There is extensive evidence, ranging from millions of sighting and close encounter reports, to unexplained materials and implants that have been extracted from witnesses and in some cases carefully researched, and photographs and videos that cannot be dismissed.

Another one of the many anomalous images collected by the rovers and dismissed without comment is this apparent "log" on the surface. It's another odd rock, supposedly. It is only one of many ignored and unexplained features, the totality of which suggest that there is something important about the red planet that we are missing, or refusing to acknowledge.

an invasion of freedom

Microsoft Files for a Remote Mind-Reading Patent
Microsoft has filed for a patent for a device that would measure workers' mental and physical well-being wirelessly and be capable of reporting on their condition in the workspace.
The device uses a camera system to monitor numerous physiological signals, and could also be used in cars to monitor drivers awareness, or anywhere that monitoring might be needed. Conceivably, it could be used to monitor public areas and evaluate the mental state of travelers, in order to target individuals who seem nervous or stressed for more careful scrutiny.
It is another in a long list of devices that are challenging individual privacy as never before.

Solar cycle 24 in more detail

Scientists have gone on record to predict "the next solar cycle will be up to 50 percent stronger than the previous." (NASA)It is known as Cycle 24 and is expected to be as much as 50 percent stronger than its predecessor C-23. There has been ongoing debate whether Cycle 24 began on July 1st 2006, or began January 4th 2008. What determines a new solar cycle is when the first sunspot distributes a 'reverse' magnetic field. Over the last several months, the sunspot and solar activity have been extremely mild. This is known as 'solar minimum'. From this point on, solar activity will begin to ramp up with more significant activity becoming noticeable by the end of this year.Cycle 23 introduced us to the largest solar flare "ever recorded". On November 4th 2003 a solar flare coming from just around the western limb of the Sun exploded. It was measured as an X-40. Until this moment, nothing had measured past an X-9. (at least since instruments were developed to measure). The strength of this event measured an X-40, of which such strength had never been witnessed or anticipated. Even to this day we can only speculate the damage it would have caused to our power grids, satellites, GPS, and any number of devices which depend on communication or directional satellites. Also note Cycle 24's 'apex' (maximum) occurs between 2011 and 2012. I suggest our Mayan elders knew of this all along and is in association with Mayan prophecy and calendar.
Solar Storm Warning: You Have One Year or Less to Prepare. The american federal government now predicts a new cycle of solar storms will begin to intensify by spring (in the northern hemisphere, autumn in the southern hemisphere) 2008. By this time we will start to see larger and possibility of dangerous consequences. The new set of storms are expected to peak around the end of 2011 and beginning of 2012. That's the conclusion of some scientists at NASA and NOAA.Solar storms lead to violent eruptions on the Sun's surface. There'll be solar flares and explosions sending highly charged matter toward Earth's atmosphere. This jolts Earth's geomagnetic field and ionosphere. That can lead to disruption of electric grids and communications systems.

World mourns Sir Edmund Hillary

The world's most famous New Zealander, Mt Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary, has been remembered as a "colossus" following his death in hospital, aged 88. Sir Edmund, who died of a heart attack after a long illness, was known in the Nepalese mountains, which propelled him to global fame, as "burra sahib" or "big man" for his 188cm frame.He enjoyed a reputation to match it, too, and it grew to Everest proportions in the half century since he became the first person to stand on top of the world's highest mountain on May 29, 1953. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Sir Edmund described himself as an average New Zealander with modest abilities, but in reality he was a colossus. "He was an heroic figure who not only 'knocked off' Everest but lived a life of determination, humility, and generosity," she said, in a reference to the climber's most famous quote. Sir Edmund, while descending the 8,848-metre peak, had announced his greatest achievement to a fellow climber with the words: "We knocked the bastard off"."He was a quintessential Kiwi," Clark said. "He was ours - from his craggy appearance and laconic style to his directness and honesty." Acting Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Sir Edmund's name was "synonymous with adventure, with achievement, with dreaming and then making those dreams come true". Australia's climbing community added to the accolades, saying the first man to reach the "top of the world" was also one of the most down-to-earth.Tim Macartney-Snape, who has twice followed Sir Edmund's lead in scaling Everest, said the New Zealander was a great humanitarian. "His fame didn't change him at all, he just used that for his work for the people of Nepal," he said. Brigitte Muir, who in 1997 became the first Australian woman to climb Everest, said Sir Edmund spent a lot of time trying to better the lives of people in Nepal, especially women and children.
"I think he was a very caring person who lived his life to the fullest," she said.
Millionaire adventurer and philanthropist Dick Smith, who flew solo around the world by helicopter, said: "To me he was the greatest adventurer of the 20th Century." New Zealand Governor-General Anand Satyanand said Hillary's loss was "a loss for all those who sought to improve our world"."Sir Edmund was an important role model, a leader who showed how to set goals and achieve them," he said.Hillary's conquest was barely a week old when he was honoured with a knighthood at the age of 33, one of the new Queen Elizabeth's first acts, but he reacted with typical modesty."I could see myself walking down Broadway, Papakura, in my tattered overalls and the seat out of my pants," the former beekeeper recalled, "and I thought 'That's gone forever. I'll have to buy a new pair of overalls now'."He consistently refused to confirm he was first to reach Everest's summit, waiting until the death of his sherpa climbing partner Tenzing Norgay in 1986 to do so.He made his last visit to the Himalayas in April 2007, visiting with Sherpas in the Nepalese capital of Katmandu.A year earlier, he flew to Antarctica to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's Scott Base, which he helped build in 1957.Without fanfare and without compensation, Hillary spent decades pouring energy and resources from his own fundraising efforts into Nepal through the Himalayan Trust he founded in 1962, building hospitals, health clinics, airfields and schools. It was on a visit to Nepal that his first wife, Louise, 43, and 16-year-old daughter Belinda died in a light plane crash on March 31, 1975.Hillary remarried in 1990, to June Mulgrew, former wife of adventurer colleague and close friend Peter Mulgrew, who died in a passenger plane crash in the Antarctic. He is survived by his wife, children Peter and Sarah and several grandchildren.
Hillary's family has accepted the government's offer of a state funeral on a date to be announced, and Sherpas plan to hold a service in the Himalayas for the man they called a "second father".Flags flew at half mast on NZ government buildings on Friday, as well as at New Zealand's Scott Base in Antarctica.

Tornado strikes near Melbourne

Friday January 11, 05:25 PM
A small tornado has hit Nagambie, north of Melbourne, causing widespread damage.
There are no reports of injuries. Fallen trees and power lines have blocked the Goulburn Valley Highway at Nagambie, and the Northern Highway near Rochester. Flooding and fallen branches have blocked the Maroondah Highway in both directions at Black Spur, near Healesville. The state's north-east has been the region hit hardest by wild weather since a cool change earlier today. The State Emergency Service (SES) says it has received more than 150 calls. Jilly Charlwood from the SES says the busiest areas have been Euroa, Sorrento and Frankston. "The main issues that Victorian SES crews are dealing with this afternoon are fallen trees over properties and roads and we've also seen quite a bit of roof damage due to the strong winds," she said. Nagambie resident Max Fothergill says the wild weather came on suddenly but was over in a flash. "The rain was solid and the wind was uppity," he said. "I heard plenty of noise, a lot of noise - it was very surprising as it was calm one minute and the next thing we had a storm on us. If I walked out now, it is almost sunshine."

Whole lota quakin' goin' on

3.1 Mag. EARTHQUAKE ~ Lake Erie, Ohio
6.3 Mag. Strong EARTHQUAKE ~ Western Xizang, Tibet
several 6.2 Mag - 6.4 mag. Strong EARTHQUAKEs in ~ Canada
6 quakes between 2.5 Mag. and 3.7 mag EARTHQUAKE ~ Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming/Montana
Jan 21 & 22 6.1 Mollucca Sea, 6,6.1 Tonga, 6.1 Indonesia

Solar cycle 24

Solar physicists have been waiting for the appearance of a reversed-polarity sunspot to signal the start of the next solar cycle. The wait is over. A magnetically reversed, high-latitude sunspot emerged today. This marks the beginning of Solar Cycle 24 and the first step toward a new solar maximum. Intense solar activity won't begin right away. Solar cycles usually take a few years to build from solar minimum (where we are now) to Solar Max (expected in 2011 or 2012). It's a slow journey, but we're on our way!

Visit http://spaceweather.com for pictures of the new sunspot and updates

May be of interest to set your 'solar clock" countdown ( watch the weather, the stock exchange and rise and fall of nations) we are approaching the 5125 year marker and countdown to unprecedented changes.

Male monkeys caught 'paying' for sex

Selling sex is said to be humankind's oldest profession, but it may also have deep evolutionary roots. A new study into our primate cousins has found that male macaque monkeys pay for intercourse by using grooming as a currency. Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore made the discovery in a 20-month investigation into 50 long-tailed macaques in Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia, New Scientist reported. On average, females had sex 1.5 times per hour, but this rate jumped to 3.5 times per hour immediately after the female had been groomed by a male - and her partner of choice was likely to be the hunky monkey that did the grooming.
Market forces also acted on the value of the transaction. If there were several females in the area, the cost of buying sex would drop dramatically - a male could "buy" a female for just eight minutes of nit-picking. But if there were no females around, he would have to groom for up to 16 minutes before sex was offered. The work supports the theory that biological market forces can explain social behaviour, the British weekly says. "There is a very well-known mix of economic and mating markets in the human species itself," said Ronald Noe of France's University of Strasbourg."There are many examples of rich old men getting young attractive ladies."
That tends to be whats happening, just another example of humans not able to raise themselves above animal behaviour (LT)

Man who fell 47 floors amazes US doctors

US doctors say they have never seen anything like it: A window washer who fell 47 stories from the roof of a Manhattan skyscraper is now awake, talking to his family and expected to walk again.
Alcides Moreno, 37, plummeted almost 152 metres in a December 7 scaffolding collapse that killed his brother.
Somehow, Moreno lived, and doctors at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Centre announced that his recovery has been astonishing.
He has movement in all his limbs. He is breathing on his own. And on Christmas Day, he opened his mouth and spoke for the first time since the accident.
His wife, Rosario Moreno, cried as she thanked the doctors and nurses who kept him alive.
Thank God for the miracle that we had," she said. "He keeps telling me that it just wasn't his time." Dr Herbert Pardes, the hospital's president, described Moreno's condition when he arrived for treatment as "a complete disaster".
Both legs and his right arm and wrist were broken in several places. He had severe injuries to his chest, his abdomen and his spinal column. His brain was bleeding. Everything was bleeding, it seemed.
In those first critical hours, doctors pumped 24 units of donated blood into his body - about twice his entire blood volume.
They gave him plasma and platelets and a drug to stimulate clotting and stop the haemorrhaging. They inserted a catheter into his brain to reduce swelling and cut open his abdomen to relieve pressure on his organs.
Moreno was at the edge of consciousness when he was brought in. Doctors sedated him, performed a tracheotomy and put him on a ventilator.
His condition was so unstable, doctors worried that even a mild jostle might kill him, so they performed his first surgery without moving him to an operating room.
Nine orthopaedic operations followed to piece together his broken body.
Yet, even when things were at their worst, the hospital's staff marvelled at his luck.
Incredibly, Moreno's head injuries were relatively minor, for a fall victim. Neurosurgeon John Boockvar said the window washer also managed to avoid a paralysing spinal cord injury, even though he suffered a shattered vertebra.
"If you are a believer in miracles, this would be one," said the hospital's chief of surgery, Dr Philip Barie.

Message for 2008

Transcribed from “Spirit Mythos” Thoths message:
Beginning with December 28th, 2007 and continuing through to January 29th of 2009 another “window” has opened in the greater Holographic design of Awareness expansion on / in / of planet earth. It will be an intense time - more so than since World War II - yet much different than that “explosive” period in that the awareness of the masses has changed dramatically.
It may not seem so, given the escalation of violence in the world at this time, but there is a Child of Light being born through wombs once barren and it is a hard birthing, for the “body” must re-learn this process. (this is the Light being born in those who have chosen the Light while still incarnate in these 3dimensional earthly bodies, do not read “religion” into this statement LT) In the past, the acting out of violence was a serpent biting it’s own tail. Now it is a womb attempting to give birth after a long time of emptiness and neglect.
Many souls will begin to give themselves to the powerful streaming of events that, through the transitions made via violent process, their incarnations will act as “bodhisattvas” of New Earth formations in the collective of current world myopia and ignorance. More simply put, their deaths (many, but not all - through acts of violence perpetrated upon them) will release powerful spiritual energies which they have carried for the collective whole. Like salmon leaping upstream to spawn and die, these souls will seed an New Heaven and Earth with the beginning of New World Consciousness. Such is the case with the recent assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
There will also be “treasure vessels” of LIGHT upon the storm-tossed sea. Look for them as signals of New World Voyagers set upon the course of plotting maps of greater definition and purpose for the New Worlds of the Shining Earth Star.

WISDOM

to every end there is a beginning, to every sunset there is a sunrise. life is but an evolving spiral LT
The universe is only as big as the mind that can perceive it and the
mind in which you seek is the mind in which you connect.
Do not spend your time and energy looking for ways to transmute what is lead into gold. Just Create GOLD To Begin With and skip the need for lead.
See every situation, no matter how it looks to your human eye as an opportunity to shine your light or cast a shadow.
You are a body of earth. You are a body of light. You are a body of heaven. Treat yourself magically. Yours is a Cosmic Magic, a Magic that is Light years ahead of you this Magic comes from the stars.
Don't waste your energy on: energy sucking individuals or groups; help where there's response and connection to you; think globally, act locally where you get response; let your love shine without concern for results; don't throw pearls before swine, if they don't want to hear or only want to argue, disconnect and move on; when you see an eyesore send it a blessing and move on, don't waste your energy, use it wisely and the effects will be greatly magnified.

HAPPY NEW YEAR