December began with an enormous magnetic filament wrapped around the sun's south pole. On Friday, Dec. 4th, it erupted.

Click on the image to set the scene in motion:

Astronomers have been monitoring eruptive prominences like this one for decades, but only now are they getting the 3D view provided by STEREO. "[In the past], we really had no idea in what plane the center of mass of the eruptive material was moving," says Joe Gurman of the Solar Physics Lab at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. But look again at the STEREO movie, particularly at the right-hand image. "The material is heading from the pole toward the solar equator," he notes. The dynamics of these massive events are becoming clear at last.

Posted: 7:54:28 AM  

Miranda by W. H. Auden

My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely,
As the poor and sad are real to the good king,
And the high green hill sits always by the sea.

Up jumped the Black Man behind the elder tree,
Turned a somersault and ran away waving;
My Dear One is mine as mirrors are lonely.

The Witch gave a squawk; her venomous body
Melted into light as water leaves a spring,
And the high green hill sits always by the sea.

At his crossroads, too, the Ancient prayed for me,
Down his wasted cheeks tears of joy were running:
My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely.

He kissed me awake, and no one was sorry;
The sun shone on sails, eyes, pebbles, anything,
And the high green hill sits always by the sea.

So to remember our changing garden, we
Are linked as children in a circle dancing:
My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely,
And the high, green hill sits always by the sea.

Posted: 7:49:14 AM  

Famous Miranda rights warning could get rewrite

For example, Justice Samuel Alito pointed out that most police start off Miranda rights by saying "You have the right to remain silent." But, Alito said, what happens if someone begins talking to the police and then decides that they want to be silent?

"Once you break your silence, there is nothing in there that says you have the right to resume your silence," Alito said.

Scroll down to last weeks posting about Miranda rights.

Posted: 7:44:25 AM  

Historic EPA finding: Greenhouse gases harm humans

The Obama administration took a major step Monday toward imposing the first federal limits on climate-changing pollution from cars, power plants and factories, declaring there was compelling scientific evidence that global warming from manmade greenhouse gases endangers Americans' health.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., a lead author of a climate bill before the Senate, said of the finding: "This is a clear message to Copenhagen of the Obama administration's commitments to address global climate change.

The message to Congress is crystal clear: Get moving."

George:

Thanks, we will ...
Okay, done.

:-)

Posted: 7:36:46 AM  

Link to this movie

WIKI on Fudge factor

Posted: 7:32:30 AM  

Mullen expects casualties to rise in Afghanistan

"I expect a tough fight in 2010," Mullen said.
"In the long run, it is not going to be about killing Taliban," Mullen told the Marines at Camp Lejeune.

George:

And we call it: "war-casualties."
Not people, brother, son. Casualties. In a war it's a allowed.

Oh it was YOUR brother? Well, we don't bother.
In a war that's a allowed.

Posted: 7:15:11 AM