Luke_Wilbur

Wow. That is really interesting. There is a hexagon on Saturn's North Pole. This nighttime view of Saturn's north pole by the visual and infrared mapping spectrometer onboard NASA's Cassini orbiter clearly shows a bizarre six-sided hexagon feature encircling the entire north pole. This is one of the first clear images taken of the north polar region ever acquired from a unique polar perspective. In this image, the red color indicates the amount of 5-micron wavelength radiation, or heat, generated in the warm interior of Saturn that escapes the planet. Clouds near 3-bar (about 100 kilometers or 62 miles deeper than seen in visible wavelengths) block the light, revealing them in silhouette against the background thermal glow of Saturn. The bluish color shows sunlight striking the far limb (edge) of the planet, showing that the entire north pole is under the nighttime conditions characteristic of polar winter, as on Earth. This image is the first to capture the entire feature and north polar region in one shot, and is also the first polar view using Saturn's thermal glow at 5 microns (seven times the wavelength visible to the human eye) as the light source. This allows the pole to be revealed during the persistent nighttime conditions under way during winter. The hexagon feature was originally discovered by NASA's Voyager spacecraft in 1980, but those historic images and subsequent ground-based telescope images suffered from poor viewing perspectives, which placed the feature and the north pole at the extreme northern limb (edge) in those images. In the new infrared images, the strong brightness of the hexagon feature indicates that it is primarily a clearing in the clouds, which extends deep into the atmosphere, at least some 75 kilometers (47 miles) underneath the typical upper hazes and clouds seen in the daytime imagery by Voyager. Thick clouds border both sides of the narrow feature, as indicated by the adjacent dark lanes paralleling the bright hexagon. This and other images acquired over a 12-day period between Oct. 30 and Nov. 11, 2006, show that the feature is nearly stationary, and likely is an unusually strong pole-encircling planetary wave that extends deep into the atmosphere. This image was acquired with the Cassini visual and infrared mapping spectrometer on Oct. 30, 2006, from an average distance of 1.3 million kilometers (807,782 miles). The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer team is based at the University of Arizona, where this image was produced. For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov . The visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team homepage is at http://wwwvims.lpl.arizona.edu . Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

I am going to contact some of these banks and see if the lending environment is different from the banks that are not part of the program.

That has been my point from the get go. We need to have more of our oil drilled and used for USA consumption only. The bidding process should be for American companies until our country gets back on its feet again. Then we can open the market more. The Chinese restrict their rare earth metals, why should we not do the same with our oil and natural gas? I am now at fault for deviating from the topic here So here is a good link for your collection Human. The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to seek public comment on a wide range of issues raised by the use of derivatives by mutual funds and other investment companies regulated under the Investment Company Act. http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-175.htm I hope people speak out on this issue. There should be real penalties for the individuals that are playing with our economy for profit. They will continue this until the governors of the country say no.

A stimulas like the last one that uses "Made in China" goods is going to be another huge waste of money. Obama already lost his FDR moment with poor planning on infrastructure projects. What this administration does not understand is materials and the labor to assemble goods must be made here in the USA to help put Americans back to work and stimulate economic growth. When I see actual bridges built in China that are coming to New York and San Francisco, it shows government knows how to save money. But, it also shows government does not really understand the meaning of a stimulas.

This is the person that has the inside scoop on the Beaufort Sea drilling John Pavitt P: (907) 271-3688 F: (907) 271-3424 Pavitt.John@epa.gov Here is a good article by the New York Times. From reading these articles I do not understand what this has to do with oil speculation. But, I have read that both airlines and oil companies do not like speculators. Sometimes people get confused and blame the oil producers for the high prices when it really is the excessive market speculation that is to blame.

Here is the current Wall Street investment bank projections.

The New York Times Op Ed wrote that a $20 Billion Deal is a very bad joke to the homeowners involved. Attorney General Schneiderman protested and got canned by POTUS.

Great post. I wonder why develop something that is already made and currently idle in Florida?

Spaceport America has been providing commercial launch services since 2006. Phase One of the construction for the spaceport is expected to be complete in late 2011. Phase Two of the construction and pre-operations activities will follow, including the development of a world-class Visitors Experience for students, tourists and space launch customers. The State of New Mexico entered into a 20-year lease agreement with Virgin Galactic, Spaceport America's anchor tenant. Virgin Galactic is currently developing the world's first commercial passenger-carrying space vehicle fleet, including the WhiteKnightTwo mother ship and SpaceShipTwo launch vehicle. Officials at Spaceport America have been working closely with entrepreneurial space leaders like Virgin Galactic, UP Aerospace, and Armadillo Aerospace, as well as established aerospace firms like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Moog-FTS to develop commercial spaceflight at the new facility. The economic impact of launches, tourism and new construction at Spaceport America are already delivering on the promise of economic development to the people of New Mexico. For more information, please visit: www.spaceportamerica.com

I think we are missing mark here in this topic. First, read this article by Forbes. Then we need Congress and POTUS to start coming up with a solution to this National Security problem. We need to start thinking about manufacturing like Kennedy thought about the Space Race to the Moon.

I will try to find out. In the meantime here is an interesting factoid I dug up.

The name Columbia appears to have been coined by Samuel Johnson in his story, "Debates in the Senate of Magna Lilliputia" in Gentleman's Magazine Vol. 8 June 1738. Columbia was fictitious name given for the land known as America, substituting the base of the surname of the discoverer Christopher Columbus for the base of the given name of the somewhat less well-known Americus Vespucius.

People are tired of the tax debate and want Congress and the President to focus on more jobs. I am hoping that Gov. Perry starts talking solutions to our problems. 1. According to Gallop, Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the United States has fallen back to 11%, the lowest level since December 2008 and just four percentage points above the all-time low recorded in October 2008. http://www.gallup.co...tions-Dips.aspx 2. According to Fox News poll 64% of Americans are not hopeful of the direction we are going in the country. http://www.foxnews.c...ection-country/ 3. According to CNN only 45% approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president? http://i2.cdn.turner...8/02/rel12a.pdf 4. According to New York Times/CBS News Poll a record 82 percent of Americans now disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job. http://www.nytimes.c...tml?_r=1&src=tp 5. According to The Mellman Group and Ayres, McHenry & Associates research poll 56% of Americans think jobs are the most important issue for Congress and the President to work on this year. 44% think reducing the federal deficit is more important. http://americanmanuf...tion%202011.pdf

Human is right. The last stimulus program gave a good chunk of money to our foreign competitors. Cash for clunkers was the best example. People could by a Toyota and get money back. Many infrastructure construction projects used foreign workers and foreign materials. How did that help unemployed Americans???

Free trade is a myth with exchange rates fixed in favor of our foreign competitors. That coupled with cheap labor and China's version of capitalism works against us. US manufacturing companies cannot compete against China's state sponsored factories. This reflects Fascism's theory of economic corporatism where the government invested corporations control sectors of the economy. Our leaders need to understand that the transfer of wealth and technology in the name of profit will destroy our country without a fight.

What we all should worry about from downgrade is the steady shrinkage of the purchasing power of our dollars. People with fixed income will be hurting the most.

I guarantee you that all sides are to blame for what has happened. People do not trust any of our leaders. The key is to move forward and start fixing the problems and better regulate the markets and banks. We can no longer allow interests groups to interfere in the legislative process. The revolving door policy has to stop. Congress and the President should skip their vacations and come back to Washington. Our nation needs its leaders to govern and calm the fears of Americans and foreign investors that everything will be ok.

Great article. I have another good read that was just sent to me. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/04/police-raid-milan-moodys-standard-poors Carlo Maria Capistro – chief prosecutor of Trani, a small Adriatic port – told Reuters that his office was checking to see whether the rating agencies "respect regulations as they carry out their work". The raids took place on Wednesday as Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, addressed parliament on the mounting crisis. He and other leading Italian politicians often cite speculation as a cause of market storms that involve a run on the country's shares or bonds. And the media habitually depicts sell-offs as attacks on Italy. S&P, which along with other rating agencies has been strongly criticised in Europe for downgrading countries such as Greece, said in a statement it believed the Trani inquiry "has no foundation". It added: "We shall strenuously defend our work, our reputation and that of our analysts." Moody's said it took "its responsibilities surrounding the dissemination of market-sensitive information very seriously", and was co-operating with the authorities. The Trani prosecutors began investigating Moody's in May last year after a complaint by two consumer associations about a report from the ratings agency which said the Italian banking system was at risk from the crisis in Greece. It sparked a round of selling on the Milan bourse.

This is such great news. This was the station I listened to most of my life. I believe WHFS started in Bethesda.

Thanks for the compliment. We do our best and charge a honest price that people can actually afford.

A friend of mine sent me this... The cut in U.S. Debt Rating was justified when "The Too Bigs To Fail", "The Corrupt FED", U.S. Congress, "The Military Complex---Pentagon", & "Inside-The-Beltway Pathology" Rotted into One--- & and Plastic replaced money.

I found the Oracle of Omaha statement pretty revealing. I want to know who benefits from a major selloff. Did all the big players know it was coming?

Have any dirt on S&P?

The House voted 269 - 161 to raise the debt limit. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords made a surprise visit to chamber to vote. The Tea Party has made history. They did what they promised voters. If they the debt rating does not go down from AAA to AA they will look like heroes. If the debt rating does go down and inflation begin, they will have alot of explaining to do. Congrats to the Speaker for rounding up support on a compromised bill.

It does appear that a compromise is coming closer together. Democrats get what they want by raising the borrowing authority through the next presidential election. Republicans get what they want with immediate $1 trillion in spending cuts and a automatic trigger to trim cuts in medicare. Democrats get a concession that Medicare cuts would only effect providers, not recipients. The rest of the trimming would be government departments and agencies. This includes defense spending. Removing corporate tax loop holes is the issue that remains. I hope the two sides meet half way. Corporations should not be taxed if they bringing jobs and investment to the USA. Corporations should be taxed if they are foreign investments.