Together Once Again...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King (1965 Civil Rights March in Mongomery, Ala for black voting rights)

When the world lost Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1968, many African Americans wondered if there would be anyone to take up their plight. That person was Coretta Scott King. She continued her husband's legacy while raising four children. They are the reflection of their parents; advocates of peace and social justice. They did not answer with violence when others thought they should have.
Coretta Scott King is a credit to both Kings. Coretta was the force that believed her husband's message even when he was jailed, falsely accused, and ultimately, killed for it.......Click title for article.......

CYOUINCOURT007: Keep the dream alive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Want To TimeTravel? Visit Our Archive's and Check this....

"Researchers Elaine Solowey (left) and Sarah Sallon show off seedling, whose DNA is being studied. Photo by David Blumenfeld, special to the Chronicle"

Well I've mentioned the tale a time or two and here it is for those In The Loop....

Update On....June 12,2005 story
Seed of extinct date palm sprouts after 2,000 years

As of Jan. 2006:2,000-Year-Old Judean Date Seed Growing Successfully
A 2,000-year-old date seed planted last Tu B'Shvat has sprouted and is over a foot tall. Being grown at Kibbutz Ketura in the Arava, it is the oldest seed to ever produce a viable young sapling. The Judean date seed was found, together with a large number of other seeds, during archaeological excavations carried out close to Massada near the southern end of the Dead Sea. Massada was the last Jewish stronghold following the Roman destruction of the Holy Temple over 1,930 years ago. The age of the seeds was determined using carbon dating, but has a margin of error of 50 years placing them either right before or right after the Massada revolt. The seeds sat in storage for thirty years until Elain Solowey of the....Click title for link to update.......

CYOUINCOURT007:3 seed's from an extinct palm tree,found during archaeological excavations of King Herod's palace on Mount Masada....1 went towards scientific analysis while the other 2 were sent to a palm tree growing expert.......
Elain Solowey was able to get one seed to sprout and has made history.......the lil buddy is growing strong......."Solowey, has grown over 100 rare and almost extinct species of plants.......It is too early to tell, but if the tree is female, it is supposed to bear fruit by 2010, after which it can be propagated to revive the Judean date palm species altogether."It is a long road to our being able to eat the Judean date once again,"Solowey said,"but there is the possibility of restoring the date to the modern world.'

Astronomy Picture of the Day

NGC 1999: South of Orion Credit & Copyright: Robert Gendler

Explanation: South of the large star-forming region known as the Orion Nebula, lies bright blue reflection nebula NGC 1999. The nebula is marked with a dark inverted T-shape at the lower left in a broad cosmic vista that spans over 10 light-years. The dark shape is a dense gas and dust cloud, or Bok globule, seen in silhouette against the bright nebula, and likely a site of future star formation. At the edge of the Orion molecular cloud complex some 1,500 light-years distant, NGC 1999's illumination is provided by the embedded variable star V380 Orionis. The region abounds with energetic young stars producing jets and outflows that create luminous shock waves, including HH (Herbig-Haro) 1 and 2 just below and left of NGC 1999, and the apparent cascade of reddish arcs and bow shocks beginning at the upper right. The stellar jets and outflows push through the surrounding material at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second.

Apollo 12: Self-Portrait

Credit: Charles Conrad, Apollo 12, NASA

Explanation: In November of 1969, Apollo 12 astronaut-photographer Charles "Pete" Conrad recorded this masterpiece while documenting colleague Alan Bean's lunar soil collection activities on the Oceanus Procellarum. The image is dramatic and stark. The harsh environment of the Moon's Ocean of Storms is echoed in Bean's helmet, a perfectly composed reflection of Conrad and the lunar horizon. Is it art? Works of photojournalists originally intent on recording the human condition on planet Earth, such as Lewis W. Hine's images from New York City in the early 20th century, or Margaret Bourke-White's magazine photography are widely regarded as art. Similarly many documentary astronomy and space images can be appreciated for their artistic and esthetic appeal.

Bolivia's Leader Solidifies Region's Leftward Tilt

TIWANAKU, Bolivia: When Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian and former head of the Bolivian coca growers union, is sworn in as president on Sunday, it may be the hardest turn yet in South America's persistent left-leaning tilt, with the potential for big reverberations far beyond the borders of this landlocked Andean nation.
While mostly vague on details, and recently moderating his tone, Mr. Morales promises to transform Bolivia. He has said he would "depenalize" cultivation of coca, the prime ingredient for cocaine, which Washington has spent hundreds of millions of dollars and more than two decades trying to eradicate.......Click title for link to article.......

CYOUINCOURT007: The above picture(found in Spanish Newspaper :ElMundo)...depicts men of Aymaran ethnic group gathered at the Tiahuanaco ruins for a spiritual ceremony for Bolivia's new leader.........

Note the Cuban flags........communism continues to spread in our hemisphere and the alliance of Fidel Castro, and Hugo Chavez is giving birth to offspring.

L.A. to Pay Family of Notorious B.I.G. $1.1 Million

A federal judge has ordered the city to pay $1.1 million in legal costs to the family of slain rapper Notorious B.I.G. as sanctions for intentionally withholding evidence during the family's civil lawsuit trial.
U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper's ruling Friday didn't give the family the $2 million originally sought, but she left open the possibility of an additional $300,000.
"It's pretty clear from the ruling that the judge understands this is a significant and difficult case," said Perry Sanders, an attorney for the rapper's family.
Christopher Wallace, or Notorious B.I.G., was shot and killed March 9, 1997, after a party at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The killing has not been solved......

Hamas Poised for Big Showing in Vote

Militant Islamic Group Hamas Is Poised for Big Showing in Palestinian Parliament Vote

The militant Islamic group Hamas is poised to do well in Wednesday's Palestinian parliamentary elections maybe even too well for its own liking.
Palestinian officials and Hamas candidates say that even if the Islamic group wins, it would rather stay out of the driver's seat if that means having to talk to Israel and the West.But the boost that the vote is sure to give militants committed to Israel's destruction is raising the prospect of profound but unpredictable change in Palestinian politics and Mideast peacemaking...........

No response from two trapped miners in W.Virginia

CHARLESTON, W.Va: Rescue teams battling a stubborn coal-mine fire in West Virginia have failed to get a response from two miners trapped for two days, but said they believed they had contained the blaze on Saturday.
"We have 40 or more people at a time inside that mine working an orchestrated rescue, and I repeat, a rescue operation," West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said in a televised news conference. "We are still very much in a rescue mode."
Rescuers had been searching for almost two days at the Aracoma Mine in Melville, West Virginia, drilling a 6-inch (15-cm) hole into the mine. They extended the drill bit through the opening in hopes one of the men would signal them by tapping on it but were disappointed, officials said."We did not get any signals back," said Jesse Cole of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, or MSHA.Rescuers then inserted a camera and microphone into the hole. "We did not get any response with that either," Cole told an earlier news conference.

Nepal clashes

Demonstrators have taken to the streets of Kathmandu in protest at Nepali King Gyanendra's absolute power.....Click title for link to pictures......

River Thames Whale Dies During Rescue

London's River Thames Whale Dies During Rescue Attempt, Suffering Effects of Being Out of Water

The whale that was trapped in the River Thames died Saturday as rescue workers attempted to take it out to sea for release, Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said.
The animal had suffered the effects of being out of the water as it was ferried on a salvage barge to the Thames estuary and suffered a series of convulsions at 7 p.m., officials said.....Click title for link.

A Long Overdue Link

I draw your attention to Petty Officer Cruel Kev and Quality Bloggers ......

Mad Props for the Link ......Libations and Long Ashes To All

Pristine Beauty ............

LL Ori and the Orion Nebula
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team

Tragedy Strikes Again

I received a phone call from a close friend in Colorado yesterday....he advised that one of our old school buddies, from back in the days, had possibly died in a car accident, over the weekend and asked me to look into it.....Unfortunately , he was right and our buddy is no longer with us. Kevin Rafky is dead at the youthfull age of 27 on Jan 14, 2006.

Just like that....poof......he's gone......Flashbacks of old days hangin or recent times just running into each other at the mobil or while cruising through Kendalltown.........and now he is no longer with us......

Kevin was truly a gentlemen and a great person to be around.....I regret not spending more time hanging out with him as do the rest of us...If it's one thing I'm sure of...it's that only the good die young......."Kevin headed a team of childcare workers responsible for disabled children at the Possible Dream Foundation"

Prayers and Condolences to his family.Long ashes to ya Kevin....Cya in Heaven Chief

SERVICES will be held on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Temple Israel at 137 NE 19th Street (two blocks west of Biscayne Blvd). In lieu of flowers, please donate to the American Cancer Society.

Iceland the First Country to Try Abandoning Gasoline

Hot Water Heats Homes, Businesses; Hydrogen Fuel Oil Powers Cars, Buses
REYKJAVIK, Iceland: Iceland has energy to spare, and the small country has found a cutting edge way to reduce its oil dependency. Volcanoes formed the island nation out of ash and lava, and molten rock heats huge underground lakes to the boiling point.
The hot water energy sizzling beneath the surface is piped into cities and stored in giant tanks, providing heat for homes, businesses and even swimming pools. The volcanoes melted ice, which formed rivers. The water runs through turbines, providing virtually all the country's electricity.
Iceland wants to make a full conversion and plans to modify its cars, buses and trucks to run on renewable energy with no dependence on oil.
Water Turned Into Fuel
Iceland has already started by turning water into fuel hydrogen fuel.....

Muslim Americans Seek Reporter's Release

American Islamic Group Heads to Middle East to Plead for Journalist's Release

An American Muslim advocacy group is traveling to the Middle East to plead for the safe return of a journalist facing death at the hands of her kidnappers.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is planning to hold one news conference Thursday in Amman, Jordan, and another Friday in Baghdad. The group hopes to reach Arab television audiences and convince the captors of Jill Carroll, a freelancer for the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor, to release her.
"We're taking a serious step on behalf of our community, and we are hopeful that our words will be heard and our appeal will be listened to," said Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR. "We have been reading about her work … and though we don't know her, we know it is wrong to kidnap people and hurt innocent people."

Rowers Rescued; Boat Flipped in Atlantic

Two Rowers Rescued From Capsized Boat in Atlantic During International Race

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -Two rowers competing in an international race were rescued after spending 16 hours clinging to the hull of their capsized boat in the Atlantic Ocean, the Coast Guard said.
Sarah Kessans, 22, and Emily Kohl, 23, both former collegiate rowers at Purdue University, were competing in the Atlantic Rowing Race 2005 on Sunday when a wave flipped their 24-foot wooden rowboat in choppy seas, the Coast Guard said.
They sent off an emergency beacon that alerted the Coast Guard via satellite. The women were located and a tall ship picked them up Monday morning, about 1,300 miles east of Puerto Rico.

Ex-FEMA director now takes blame for Katrina failures

Former FEMA Director Michael Brown said Wednesday that he deserved much of the blame for the government's failures after Hurricane Katrina, saying he fell short in conveying the magnitude of the disaster and calling for help."I should have asked for the military sooner. I should have demanded the military sooner," Brown, a Guymon, Okla., native, told a gathering of meteorologists at a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada.
"It was beyond the capacity of the state and local governments, and it was beyond the capacity of FEMA," said Brown, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Japanese exec found dead

An executive of a securities firm allegedly involved in corporate takeover deals by Livedoor Co. was found dead in an apparent suicide, police said Thursday.
A body believed to be Hideaki Noguchi, vice president of H.S. Securities Co., was found in a hotel in the southern state of Okinawa Wednesday evening, according to local police spokesman Tatsuki Yara. (Story: Tokyo stocks open higher after two rough days)
Police suspect that Noguchi, 38, committed suicide, Yara said.
H.S. Securities is among the companies raided by prosecutors in connection with fraudulent practices by Livedoor, according to Kyodo News agency.
Officials at the securities firm refused to confirm the report.

HubbleSite

The Sombrero Galaxy (M104)

A brilliant white core is encircled by thick dust lanes in this spiral galaxy, seen edge-on. The galaxy is 50,000 light-years across and 28 million light years from Earth.
Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Cartwheel of Fortune

Credit: Chandra, GALEX, Hubble, Spitzer - Composite: NASA/JPL/Caltech/P.Appleton et al.
Explanation: By chance, a collision of two galaxies has created a surprisingly recognizable shape on a cosmic scale - The Cartwheel Galaxy. The Cartwheel is part of a group of galaxies about 400 million light years away in the constellation Sculptor (two smaller galaxies in the group are visible below and left). Its rim is an immense ring-like structure over 100,000 light years in diameter, composed of star forming regions filled with extremely bright, massive stars. When galaxies collide they pass through each other, their individual stars do not come into contact. However, this ring-like shape is the result of gravitational disruption caused by a smaller galaxy passing through a large one, compressing the interstellar gas and dust and causing a a star formation wave to move out like a ripple across the surface of a pond. This false-color composite image of the Cartwheel Galaxy is from space-based observatories. The Chandra X-ray Observatory data is in purple, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer ultraviolet view is in blue, the Hubble Space Telescope visible light picture is in green and the Spitzer Space Telescope infrared image is in red.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Dark Terrain on Saturn's Iapetus

Explanation: Why are vast sections of Iapetus as dark as coal? No one knows for sure. Iapetus, the third largest moon of Saturn, was inspected again as the Saturn-orbiting robot Cassini spacecraft swooped past the enigmatic world again late last year. The dark material covers most of the surface visible in the above image, while the small portion near the top that appears almost white is of a color and reflectance more typical of Saturn's other moons. The unknown material covers about half of the 1,500 kilometer wide moon. The material is so dark that it reflects less than five percent of incident sunlight, yet overlays craters indicating that it was spread after the craters were formed. Iapetus has other unexplained features. The bright part of Iapetus is covered with unexplained long thin streaks. The orbit of Iapetus is also unusual, being tilted to the plane of Saturn's orbit by an unusually high fifteen degrees. A strange ridge about 13 kilometers high crosses much of Iapetus near the equator and is visible near the bottom. Oddly, this ridge is almost exactly parallel with Iapetus' equator. The exact shape of Iapetus remains undetermined, but images indicate that it is quite strange -- something like a walnut. Research into the formation and history of mysterious Iapetus is active and ongoing.

Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, SSI, JPL, ESA, NASA