Green Airliners!

NASA pushes for a green jetliner

November 26, 2010 | 10:09 am

They might be best known for space travel, but the folks at NASA are determined to shape the future of commercial aviation.

The agency says airliners need to be quieter, greener and more fuel-efficient.

To attain those goals, NASA handed out nearly $6 million in contracts this week to two defense industry giants: Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp.

NASA’s goal is to develop technology that would enable future aircraft to burn 50% less fuel than current models, cut harmful emissions in half and shrink the geographic areas affected by obnoxious airport noise by 83%.

The agency hopes to develop concepts for airliners that could go into service by 2025.

Engineers from Lockheed’s famed-Skunkworks defense enclave in Palmdale won about $3 million to develop the concept. Northrop engineers, working out of the company’s space park in El Segundo, were given $2.65 million.

The engineers will have 12 months to develop a concept for an aircraft that can fly near the speed of sound at a range of 7,000 miles, carrying up to 100,000 pounds of either passengers or cargo.

But don’t expect the traditional “tube-and-wing” design for the aircraft’s wings and fuselage. This project is all about thinking outside the box.

When Massachusetts Institute of Technology's department of aeronautics and astronautics presented its vision of greener commercial planes to NASA earlier this year -- part of a $2.1-million research contract -– there were some bizarre designs.

The university said commercial aircraft design needed to change, much like the changes in automobile design over the last 50 years to become faster and more efficient.

NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation Project is sponsoring the study. The project is part of the Integrated Systems Research Program managed by the agency's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate in Washington.

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-- W.J. Hennigan

Photo: The MIT team presented NASA with its design for the H “hybrid wing body” series to replace the 777 class aircraft now used for international flights. The plane is designed to carry 350 passengers. Credit: MIT / Aurora Flight Sciences

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Western Wall Not Jewish!

Western Wall Not Jewish Says Palestinian Official

DIAA HADID | 11/24/10 02:40 PM |

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Read More: Israel, Israel Palestine, Israel Western Wall, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Jerusalem,Palestine, Palestine Western Wall, Western Wall, Western Wall Jewish, World News

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JERUSALEM — An official Palestinian report claiming that a key Jewish holy site – Jerusalem's Western Wall – has no religious significance to Jews evoked an angry response from Israelis Wednesday, threatening to further inflame tensions over the disputed city.

Decades of archaeology have shown that the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, was a retaining wall of the compound where the two biblical Jewish Temples stood 20 centuries ago. The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site, is built atop the ruins.

The latest claim about the Temples, echoing positions taken in the past by Palestinian leaders including the late Yasser Arafat, underlined the deeply held, conflicting beliefs that must be untangled if a peace accord is to be reached between Israel and the Palestinians.

Al-Mutawakil Taha, deputy minister of information in the Western-backed Palestinian Authority that rules the West Bank, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his five-page study published on a Palestinian government website reflected the official Palestinian position.

Part of the report disputes that the Western Wall was a retaining wall of the Temple compound, discarding centuries of documentation and archaeology.

"This wall has never been a part of what is called the Jewish Temple," the report claimed. "However, it was Islamic tolerance which allowed the Jews to stand before it and cry over its loss."

The report concludes that since Jews have no claim to the area, it is holy Muslim territory and must be part of Palestinian Jerusalem.

Both sides say the clashing narratives are political. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it. Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, including the Old City, as the capital of their future state.

"Of course it's a political position," Taha said.

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Taha said he wrote the report after Israeli officials on Sunday approved a five-year renovation plan for the Western Wall area.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev described the report as "incitement" by denying the historic Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

Einat Wilf, a legislator from the moderate Israeli Labor Party, a part of the governing coalition, said Palestinians "are stupidly trying again and again to somehow create an alternative reality in which the Jewish people are a strangers in this land."

After Israel seized control of east Jerusalem, it cleared away shacks built next to the Western Wall and built a wide, open plaza there.

In contrast, Israel turned over administration of the hilltop itself, with the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock shrine, to the Muslim Supreme Council, or Waqf, while Israel maintained overall security control.

Plans that won preliminary approval in earlier, failed peace negotiations envisioned dividing Jerusalem along ethnic lines – leaving Israel in control of Jewish neighborhoods while Arab sections would be part of the Palestinian state – but no formula emerged for the disputed hilltop.

Why Republicans Aren't Serious About The Deficit

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Issues/Health-Care/2010/11/19/Why-Republicans-Arent-Serious-About-the-Deficit.aspx

Cops Against Prohibition Of Cannabis

http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2010/11/cops-urge-senate-to-reject-obamas-dea.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+LawEnforcementAgainstProhibition+(Law+Enforcement+Against+Prohibition)

Aung San Suu Kyi

"The release of political prisoners is the most important thing for all those who truly wish to bring about change in Burma." — Aung San Suu Kyi

Dear Dr Lange, Aung San Suu Kyi was freed today! Suu Kyi, a human rights and pro-democracy leader who has been held in detention or house arrest in Myanmar for 15 of the last 21 years, spoke with a crowd of supporters outside her home shortly after her release. Amnesty International has been advocating for this Nobel Laureate over the course of two decades. Although she was recently barred from participating in the first elections her country has held in 20 years, we welcome the news of her freedom today. Thank you for your work on Suu Kyi's case — your letters, public demonstrations, phone calls and discussions with friends, family, and colleagues. Suu Kyi's release is welcome news for a country that routinely imprisons people who engage in peaceful political dissent, but others are still at risk. Donate to support Amnesty International's continued work on behalf of prisoners of conscience. Buddhist monk U Gambira is currently serving a 63 year sentence at a prison in Myanmar for his part in monk-led demonstrations in 2007. While in jail, he has been tortured and denied access to medical treatment. U Gambira is in poor health and should be released immediately. He is one of more than 2,000 political prisoners being held in Myanmar. Freedom, Finally ©2002 Getty Images Myanmar should never have arrested Aung San Suu Kyi or other prisoners of conscience in the first place, locking them out of the political process. Help Amnesty fight to free prisoners of conscience worldwide. Your gift ensures we can continue to advocate for the release of prisoners of conscience in Myanmar. Sincerely, Larry Cox Executive Director Amnesty International USA

Prop 19 FAILS?!

The following is a letter (e-mail) exchange between Richard Lee of Yes On 19 and myself today---feel free to widely forward.

Andre S. Lange MD

From: Richard Lee

To: Andre Lange

Sent: Wed, November 3, 2010 4:45:12 PM

Subject: The fight continues

Andre,

While we didn't bring in enough votes last night to pass Prop 19, we are proud of the tremendous wave of support we received. There are millions of people in California and across the country who are prepared to help finish the job they started here last night when we come back to the polls stronger than ever in 2012.

The fact that 3,412,387 Californians voted to legalize marijuana is a tremendous victory. We have broken the glass ceiling. Prop 19 has changed the terms of the debate.

The fight continues. In the coming months, we'll email you periodic updates on marijuana policy, introduce some of our most vital partner organizations, and provide opportunities for online and offline advocacy so you can stay active and engaged in this movement. So please stay tuned.

Thank you so much for being part of something so special. We didn't get the result we wanted last night, but it's clearer than ever to me that it's no longer a matter of if we'll end cannabis prohibition -- it's simply a matter of when.

Sincerely,

Richard Lee

Proponent, Yes on 19

Yes on 19. Tax Cannabis 2010. Sponsored by S.K. Seymour LLC, a Medical Cannabis Provider, dba Oaksterdam University, a Cannabis Educator. FPPC 1318272

And below, my reply:

Attn: Richard Lee,

Yes On 19/Oaksterdam University

It is extremely hard to believe/accept these election results!

First I speak of the Prop 19 Initiative----the entrenched establishment that "had stakes" in keeping pot illegal: the liquor and tobacco industries; Big Pharma; many of the cops (not all!); many of the judges and D.A.'s (NOT ALL THANK GOD!); but, the bigger fish--those who control vast fields of illegal (super-expensive) pot and the criminal cartels who want to keep their tax-free big incomes flowing in; lastly, sadly and pitifully--many in the medical marijuana movement--especially the owners/staffs of cannabis "cooperatives!" (I interviewed several re: same)

Frankly, given all the support I witnessed and helped foment before the election, the results smell of corruption. I doubt it was direct ballot tampering or electronic voting machine manipulation, a la Bush, though that needs to be ruled out. No, I think it needs to be seriously investigated if many votes were LITERALLY BOUGHT--people being paid to vote against it (Prop 19.)

By whom(?), the question begs itself---We must first investigate the bigwigs in the alcohol and tobacco industries and those, known by some of us in the movement, as large illegal growers. Just a thought for our new "oakland" governor, Jerry B, who used to be Attorney General of California--

I urge many to write to him/call with:

"Jerry, there are reports of improprieties in the election regarding votes being bought/sold in counties that voted heavily AGAINST PROP 19, please see that the new AG starts a vigorous investigation!" Really!

Searching For Truth And Justice,

Andre S. Lange, MD

Medical Marijuana Advocate Group

cannabisrxnow.org

Your thoughts are what frighten you. Choose to change them, and the fear is gone.