Former astronaut to lead starship effort

BBC News, By Sharon Weinberger, Science reporter, 5 January 2012

The foundation aims to foster the research necessary to build a starship

Related Stories 

• What prospect for interstellar travel?

The Pentagon's premiere research agency has chosen a former astronaut to lead a foundation that is designed to take humanity to the stars.

Former astronaut Mae Jemison

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) and Nasa are sponsoring the project, known as the 100-Year Starship.

Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to go into space, was notified last week that she had won, according to a copy of a Darpa letter obtained by the BBC.

Since leaving Nasa, Jemison has been involved in science education programmes, and is known as a space travel enthusiast and long-time Star Trek fan.

Her organisation, the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence, is partnered on the Darpa project with Icarus Interstellar, a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to interstellar travel, and the Foundation for Enterprise Development.

Since it was first announced last year, the 100-Year Starship project has been met with trepidation by some, and excitement by many.

With Nasa scaling back its manned space programmes, the idea of a manned trip to the stars, which is well beyond any current technology, may sound audacious.

But the goal is not to have the government fund the actual building of spacecraft destined for the stars, but rather to create a foundation that can last 100 years in order to help foster the research needed for interstellar travel.

The money for the winning team, $500,000, is small, but is designed to help jumpstart the effort. According to a copy of the notification letter, Jemison's proposal was titled: "An Inclusive Audacious Journey Transforms Life Here on Earth & Beyond".

A spokesman for Darpa declined to comment on the award, which has not been publicly announced.

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Millions use payday loans to cover mortgage and rental costs

Housing charity Shelter says research showing millions of families using unsecured borrowing to pay housing costs is evidence of a debt spiral

guardian.co.uk, Hilary Osborne, Wednesday 4 January 2012

Shelter says 6 million people have used credit cards, personal loans and
unauthorised overdrafts to help pay their housing costs.
Photograph: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Almost a million people have turned to a high cost payday loan to cover their mortgage or rent in the past year, the homelessness charity Shelter has claimed.

A further 6 million have used other types of credit, including unauthorised overdrafts, other loans or credit cards, to help pay their housing costs, it said.

Shelter said the research, based on a survey of more than 4,000 people, revealed a "spiral of debt that people are falling into in order to keep a roof over their head", and urged struggling borrowers to take advice urgently.

Payday loans are small, unsecured loans marketed as a way for people to tide themselves over until their next pay packet. The loans attract high interest rates and campaigners argue their high cost means poor borrowers can be sucked into a cycle of debt, taking out additional loans as they struggle to repay their existing borrowing.

Shelter said it had carried out the research after seeing an increase in the number of people telling its debt advisers they had used the loans. Chief executive Campbell Robb said: "These shocking findings show the extent to which millions of households across the country are desperately struggling to keep their home.

"Turning to short-term payday loans to help pay for the cost of housing is totally unsustainable. It can quickly lead to debts snowballing out of control and can lead to eviction or repossession and ultimately homelessness.

"Every two minutes someone in Britain faces the nightmare of losing their home. We urge every single one of these people now relying on credit to help pay their rent or mortgage to urgently seek advice."

Housing minister Grant Shapps said: "The sheer scale of the global slowdown has left many hard working families struggling to make ends meet. So I would urge anyone who is getting into difficulty to seek help in getting their finances back on track.

"Assistance can be sought by searching online for the government's mortgage help website or by visiting organisations who can provide free, independent guidance such as Citizens Advice. The quicker households act to get help, the more options they will have available to them."

In December 2011 the government warned that companies providing expensive short-term credit could face tougher rules. David Cameron's spokesman also said a cap on the often extortionate interest rates had not been ruled out, but indicated that a voluntary code of practice was preferred.

Martin Lewis, founder of the MoneySavingExpert website, said the UK was "the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow for the world's payday lenders" who faced tougher regulation elsewhere.

"It is incredibly worrying there is now evidence of people using payday loans to meet housing costs. Many struggling with core rent or mortgage commitments will struggle to repay payday loans on time too.

"While it is an obvious temptation to grasp these loans as a lifeline, in the long run it may hurt more than help."

US Catholic bishop with secret family, Gabino Zavala, quits

BBC News, 4 January 2012

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The Pope has made clear that he has no \
plan to change the rule of priestly celibacy

A Catholic bishop who fathered two children has stepped down.

Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxilliary bishop of Los Angeles, the Vatican said.

The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, wrote in a letter to worshippers that Bishop Zavala told him in December that he was the father of two minor teenage children.

The children live with their mother in another state.

Archbishop Gomez said that the archdiocese was offering the family "spiritual care," as well as funding to help the children with college costs.

In his letter he described the news as "sad and difficult" and said Bishop Zavala had been living privately and not participating in ministry since resigning.

Bishop Zavala is 60 and was born in Mexico. He has campaigned against the death penalty and for immigrants' rights.

The Vatican did not spell out the reason for Bishop Zavala's resignation in its statement, but made reference to canon law which allows bishops to step down before normal retirement age if they are ill or unfit for office for some other reason.

The Pope has shown no sign of relaxing the Roman Catholic Church's rule on priestly celibacy, which has been in place since the 11th Century.

In March 2010 he described celibacy as "the sign of full devotion, the entire commitment to the Lord and to the 'Lord's business', an expression of giving oneself to God and to others".

Priests are not allowed to marry but married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism are exempted from the celibacy rule.

Two days ago Pope Benedict appointed an American married priest to head the first US structure for Anglicans converting to Roman Catholicism.

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"Perceptions of God" – June 6, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Quantum Teaching, The Fear of God, Near-death Experience, God Becomes Mythology, Worship, Mastery, Intelligent Design, Benevolent Creator,Global Unity.... etc.) (Text version)

“.. For centuries you haven't been able to think past that box of what God must be like. So you create a Human-like God with wars in heaven, angel strife, things that would explain the devil, fallen angels, pearly gates, lists of dos and don'ts, and many rules still based on cultures that are centuries old. You create golden streets and even sexual pleasures as rewards for men (of course) - all Human perspective, pasted upon God. I want to tell you that it's a lot different than that. I want to remind you that there are those who have seen it! Why don't you ask somebody who has had what you would call a near-death experience? …. “

"The Humanization of God" – Jul 16, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Benevolent Design, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Guides and Angels, Communication with God, Wars in Heaven ?, The Love of God, (Old) Souls, Global Unity,....  etc.)

“… Do angels exist? Absolutely, but not as you think or have been taught. Are there helpers? Absolutely, but again, not like you think. When angels visited Humans in ancient days and the events were written about by those who were there to witness the experience, I can guarantee it was a lot different than they could express on paper. When an angel appears before a Human, it looks like a swirling ball of energy, sometimes even fire that is not hot and does not consume anything. Angels are not in Human form and never have been. They are multidimensional beings, not in 3D. Yet you want to put skin and wings on them and give them a name! Why? It makes you feel better about them. We understand that…”

“The 2012 Ostiary - Angels Among You” – Dec 30, 2012 (a message from Metatron channelled by Tyberonn)

U.S. charges three Swiss bankers in tax evasion case

Reuters, Tue Jan 3, 2012

(Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors accused three Swiss bankers on Tuesday of conspiring with wealthy U.S. taxpayers to hide more than $1.2 billion in assets from tax authorities, and sources briefed on the matter said the three worked for Wegelin & Co, one of Switzerland's oldest private banks.

The office of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney said in a statement that the indictment charges the bankers with trying to "capture business lost by UBS AG and another large international Swiss bank in the wake of widespread news reports that the Internal Revenue Service was investigating UBS" in 2008 and 2009.

While Wegelin was not identified in the indictment filed against Michael Berlinka, Urs Frei and Roger Keller, the three men, who reside in Switzerland, worked for Wegelin and sold tax evasion services from the bank's Zurich office, the sources said.

The charges, which come amid a broad criminal investigation by U.S. authorities into Swiss and Swiss-style banks that sold tax evasion services to rich Americans, signal that U.S. authorities are moving closer to criminal charges against some of those banks, the sources said.

Wegelin does not have a United States presence, and the bank carried out its work for U.S. clients through a Stamford, Conn., branch of UBS AG, the giant Swiss bank, according to the indictment. Wegelin "directly accessed the U.S. banking system through a correspondent bank account held at UBS AG," which the indictment said was in Stamford, Conn.

Wegelin could not immediately be reached for comment.

U.S. authorities, who suspect that tens of thousands of Americans have been using Swiss banks to avoid paying billions of dollars in taxes, are investigating scores of Swiss banks and international banks with Swiss operations.

The investigations, an outgrowth of scrutiny of UBS, are focused on Credit Suisse AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and Basler Kantonalbank, among others. In 2009, UBS paid $780 million to settle Justice Department criminal charges that the bank helped thousands of U.S. clients hide $20 billion in their accounts.

Swiss authorities want a global civil settlement with U.S. authorities in which the entire Swiss banking industry would pay a fine and shutter their undisclosed private banking services for Americans.

If convicted, the bankers face a maximum prison term of five years under the conspiracy charge.

(Reporting by Lynnley Browning in New Haven, Connecticut, and Grant McCool in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr and Howard Goller)

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Tesco denies rethink on backing for gay pride festival

Supermarket chain says it is fully committed to sponsoring event despite claim from conservative Christian group

guardian.co.uk, Matthew Taylor, Monday 2 January 2012

Tesco said it was committed to sponsoring this year's London gay
 pride parade but would be considering alternative projects.
Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty

Tesco has distanced itself from claims that it has withdrawn support for future London gay pride parades after pressure from conservative Christian groups.

The retailer said it was "fully committed" to sponsoring this year's festival but added it would be considering alternative projects in future years.

The Christian Institute organisation, one of the groups that has been critical of Tesco's decision to sponsor a family area at this year's parade, said on its website that the retailer had been forced into a rethink after a "storm of complaints".

However, Tesco said the campaign by some conservative Christian organisations had had no impact, adding that, as with all its charitable giving, its preference was to "support projects with practical benefits rather than events".

"Tesco supports a wide range of good causes and charities and is committed to tolerance and diversity," said a spokesman. "We strongly support our colleagues in Out at Tesco and will go on doing so beyond Pride 2012."

This year's pride event in London Pride is expected to be the biggest outdoor event in the UK, attracting more than 1 million people.

One of the organisers, Sharan Chaggar, said they were grateful to the supermarket for its ongoing support.

"We're excited to be offering the Tesco family area for the second time at WorldPride 2012. We haven't yet begun to look at funding beyond 2012."

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About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”

"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)

A New Global Economic Restructuring (Video)

YouTube, Jan 1, 2012

James Martinez reads a statement from representatives of a new global currency that is being announced and slowly integrated into our consciousness as a way to end the tyranny of the current banking systems.

A New Global Economic Restructuring:

Conscious Media Network has been approached by a representative of global leaders and financiers from 130 nations to broadcast a statement about a new global economic restructuring arising in 2012.

The statement will be delivered via a video-taped interview with a layperson on behalf of the consortium that has been working behind the scenes, on the problem of the unsustainable global economy for the past 8 years. The party who drafted this statement has stated, in response to conspiracy concerns, that "The usual suspects are not the suspects" and that the Global Elite also understand that the unsecured, digital money system has failed us all, including themselves.

This announcement is to serve as the introduction of a New Global Economic Structure that will begin surfacing in 2012. Those involved in this plan are calling it the "greatest humanitarian effort" in modern history. It will be for each of us to determine over time if this is a truthful statement.

CMN is serving as a neutral party for this broadcast and its claims as the economic consortium does not wish to break this news through mainstream media at this time. Please give this your serious attention, as it may be heralding a new way of conducting commerce on the planet that will effect us all well into our future.

A portion of this plan does include a dissolution of debt in a carefully considered and planned way. The plan itself is paradigm shattering, and only hinted at in the video-taped statement.

Please distribute this far and wide.

http://www.cmn.tv/news/new-world-currency/

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"What's Going to Happen?" - Oct 19 2011 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) 
(Subjects: The Humanization of God,  Re-calibration, Shift of Human Consciousness, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), (Old) Souls, 21-12-2012, Gaia, Hawaii (Lemuria), All Dictators to fall, Old Politics, Old and New energy, Higher self, 1 - No fear, 2 - Compassion, 3 - Change Attitude (Expect positive outcome), 4 - Believe the Truth of DNA/Akashic records, 11:11, Master Christ, Reincarnation, Global Unity,..... etc.) - New !

"The New Paradigm of Reality" Part I/II – Feb 12, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Who/What is Kryon ?, Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" Managed Business, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)

Star of David patches at ultra-Orthodox Jew demonstration causes outrage

Israeli Holocaust survivors and political leaders condemn protesters who also donned concentration camp uniforms

guardian.co.uk, Associated Press in Jerusalem,  Sunday 1 January 2012 

Children from ultra-Orthodox Jewish families wearing the Star of David
patch at a demonstration in Jerusalem. Photograph: Bernat Armangue/AP

Israeli Holocaust survivors and political leaders have expressed outrage over a Jerusalem demonstration at which ultra-Orthodox Jews donned Star of David patches and uniforms similar to those the Nazis forced Jews to wear during World War II.

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered on Saturday night to protest against what they say is a nationwide campaign directed against their lifestyle. for strict separation of the sexes, rejected by mainstream Israelis as religious coercion. Actions such as jeering at girls for dressing immodestly have unleashed a backlash against ultra-Orthodox Jews in general.

Ultra-Orthodox extremists have been under fire for their attempts to ban mixing of the sexes on buses, and other public spaces. In one city, extremists have jeered and spit at girls walking to school, saying they are dressed immodestly. These practices, albeit by a fringe sect, have unleashed a backlash against the ultra-Orthodox in general.

At Saturday's protest, children with traditional sidelocks wore the striped black-and-white uniforms associated with Nazi concentration camps. One child's hands were raised in surrender – mimicking an iconic photo of a terrified Jewish boy in the Warsaw ghetto.

Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial called the use of Nazi imagery "disgraceful," and several other survivors' groups and politicians condemned the acts.

Six million Jews were killed by German Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. About 200,000 aging survivors of the Holocaust live in Israel.

The American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, an umbrella organisation of survivors, expressed its "utter contempt at this disgraceful exploitation" of the Nazi symbols.

"We who survived and witnessed these Nazi crimes are particularly offended that demonstrators so blithely used children in this public outrage. They have insulted the memory of all the Jewish victims, including those who were ultra-Orthodox," the organisation's vice president, Elan Steinberg, said in a statement.

Opposition leader Tzipi Livni called on the ultra-Orthodox leadership to condemn the display.

"This is a terrible offence against the memory of the Holocaust victims who were forced, secular and ultra-Orthodox alike, to wear the yellow star in the ghetto on their way to extermination, and there is no demonstration in the world that can justify this."

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The ultra-Orthodox make up 10 percent of Israel’s population of 7.5 million,but are increasing rapidly amid a growing backlash to the privileges and subsidies long granted to the ultra-religious.
(Rina Castelnuovo for The New York Times)

Chinese president's New Year speech applauded internationally

English.news.cn   2012-01-01   

A photo released on Dec. 31, 2011 shows Chinese President
 Hu Jintao delivering a New Year address, titled "Jointly Improve
 World Peace and Development", to domestic and overseas audiences
via state TV and radio broadcasters. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

  
    

BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao's speech on New Year's Eve calling for joint efforts for world peace and development has drawn positive comments from the international community.

Hu said China would continue to develop friendly exchanges with other countries and positively participate in international cooperation on global issues.

He also called for the acceleration of China's economic restructuring and for more efforts in ensuring people's livelihoods.

China, he said, would continue to balance maintaining steady and relatively fast economic growth with adjusting its economic structures and managing inflation expectations.

Rangarirai Shoko, editor-in-chief of New Ziana, Zimbabwe's official news agency, said Hu's speech, with its proposal for peaceful development, was in line with both of the world's development trend and the benefits of the African people.

Mohamad el-Saket, former Arab League ambassador to China, spoke highly of the Chinese economy in 2011, saying China had achieved stable and healthy economic growth amid the deteriorating global economic slowdown, especially in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

He also expressed hope for further development and greater achievements in China in the new year.

Nour Suleiman, chief economic editor of Manifesto, a newspaper of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said more people in the Arab country were in favor of expanding economic and trade cooperation with China, the second largest world economy.

Bloomberg, a major U.S. multinational corporation for business news and financial information, highlighted Hu's comments on balancing growth and inflation.

"We will continue to manage well the relationship between stable and relatively quick economic growth, structural adjustment and inflation. Global interdependence is deepening while instability and uncertainty in the world's economy's revival is increasing," it quoted Hu as saying in the speech.

Wu Huiqiu, president of the Washington-based National Association for China's Peaceful Unification, said in an interview with Xinhua that the principles of "peaceful reunification" and "one country, two systems" that Hu stressed in his speech, highlighted China would continue to consolidate and develop cross-Strait relations and peaceful development.

Wu Jiansheng, secretary general of a writers association in the Philippines, said: "President Hu's speech shows China's confidence in further consolidating the good momentum of development of the 12th Five-Year Plan, promoting social and economic development and increasing the wellbeing of all the Chinese people."

"What the government does will make greater contributions to peace and development of the humanbeings," he said.

Sami Al Qamzi, a senior economic official in Dubai, a UAE city and emirate, expressed his confidence in China's ability to maintain its economic growth in 2012.

He said Dubai hoped to share experience with China to achieve common development.

He also called for mutually beneficial cooperation and joint efforts between both sides in a bid to overcome the current global economic woes.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“…..   Here is the prediction: China will turn North Korea loose soon. The alliance will dissolve, or become stale. There will be political upheaval in China. Not a coup and not a revolution. Within the inner circles of that which you call Chinese politics, there will be a re-evaluation of goals and monetary policy. Eventually, you will see a break with North Korea, allowing still another dictator to fall and unification to occur with the south. ….”