HEALTH, WAR AND POT

1. Final Passage of the Health Plan: The health reform reconciliation package (this is that second piece of legislation carrying all the House adjustments--the landmark health bill was passed this past Sunday and was signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday) was approved by the Senate today (Senator Harry Reid to the left, delivered) but not without at least one more Republican delay tactic. Remember two things I mentioned on Sunday? One that this measure could go bouncing back and forth, plus that there was an add-on college financing reform program? Well, the Republicans pointed out a tiny technicality of one insignificant element of this amendment, and, they were ruled to be correct. So this language had to be adjusted, and this change meant a return of the legislation to the House. So the House promptly voted on finally passing the second part of the package. Whew, victory and change, at last, for the only real newsworthy obstruction now will be the legal problems being initiated by largely Republican state attorney generals. There is one Democrat, from Louisiana, but having lived there for almost four years, take it from me that this a weird political state. Of course, the Supreme Court remains Republican dominated, so who really knows what will happen in the long term. This will certainly linger for years.

2. The Latest Middle East War is Now More Than 8 Years Old: The Afghanistan War began on 7October2001, and 90,000 allied forces (50,000 American) still remain there. Allied

deaths are at 1700, with about a thousand American. Army General Stanley McChrystal is in charge here. We attacked Iraq on 20March2003, and approximate coalition deaths number around 6,000, mostly Americans, although U.S. seriously wounded approach 32,000. However, one report indicates that this war resulted in almost 1.4 million civilian casualties. There were about 88,000 American troops still in Iraq last month. There could still be 50,000 by the end of summer, with a timetable of full pullout at the end of 2011. The commanding General is

Raymond Odierno (replacing David Petreaus). While World War II began several years before American involvement, we entered late in 1941 with the end in 1945, so our participation was less than four years. Up to 61 million might have died from this tragedy. American deaths were close to 420,000 (0.32% of the population). This percentage for the total Middle East War since 2001 is at 0.0017%. For less than half the time period, the death intensity of WWII was 200 times that of the Middle East War. Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz has predicted the cost of this recent war to be up to $3 trillion, which has not be refuted by the White House. While a rough U.S. cost of WWII was in the range of $288 billion, the worth today (go to box on right--Calculate the Current Value of Money) would be closer to $4 trillion. Thus, this dinky war on terror is costing the Nation a lot of money. Just think what could be done if that $3 trillion were applied to green energy, global warming, education, etc.

3. Pot, better known as Marijuana: The State of California will in November vote on legalizing marijuana. My blog of 25February2010 reported on Amsterdam, with their coffee shops (a euphemism for store where you can purchase and smoke this weed) and smart shop (same for magic mushrooms and the like...to, of course, make you smarter). Even with their red light district, Amsterdam seemed safe and sane. At no time did I notice anyone walking on the streets in any way looking crazy or uncontrolled. In fact, I felt safer walking the streets at night than any American city, including Honolulu. While some might argue that this would be one step towards hard drugs, the evidence does not show this connection, and, I think, marijuana tends to control any euphoria better than alcohol. To quote:

Allows people 21 years old or older to possess, cultivate, or transport marijuana for personal use. Permits local governments to regulate and tax commercial production and sale of marijuana to people 21 years old or older. Prohibits people from possessing marijuana on school grounds, using it in public, smoking it while minors are present, or providing it to anyone under 21 years old. Maintains current prohibitions against driving while impaired. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Savings of up to several tens of millions of dollars annually to state and local governments on the costs of incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Unknown but potentially major tax, fee, and benefit assessment revenues to state and local government related to the production and sale of marijuana products.

What will happen if this passes is that certain local governments will enact laws legalizing marijuana, and hundreds of localities will become mini-Amsterdams. Well, still to come could be smart shops and red-light districts...maybe.

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The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed up to +119 at one point today, and crashed down to +5, ending at 10,841, with world markets mixed. Gold went up $5/toz at $1092 and crude oil rests at $80/barrel.

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THE GOLDEN EVOLUTION (Part 16): HINDUISM AND INDIA

The following continues the serialization of Chapter 5 on religion from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

Hinduism and India

Hindu means Indian, or inhabitant of the Indian subcontinent. This earliest of religions began in India 1500 years before Jesus Christ. The first Hindu bible is the Rig Veda, a collection of 1028 hymns. There are many gods in Hinduism, beginning with Shiva, the destroyer, symbolically depicted in phallus form. Animals are worshipped, with cattle and peacocks being sacred. Thus, vegetarianism is widespread among followers. Yoga is the path to enlightenment, and there is an afterlife, because there is reincarnation. The caste system is part of the religion.

When I worked at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the mid-70's, I was attached to the Shiva laser program, which was, then, the most powerful laser in the world. Shiva because the ultimate system would have had 20 "arms."

With a population just over one billion, about 82% of Indians are Hindu, with Islam accounting for 12% (120 million). Eighty percent of Nepalese are Hindus. While India occupies 2.4% of the world land area, 15% of the world population lives here.

In Pakistan, Hindus only account for 1% of the population, as 97% are Muslims, of which 77% are Shiites. Two percent of Indonesians are Hindus.

Oh, and why is Hindu the fastest growing religion in the United States? First, Christianity declined from 86% to 77% from 1990 to 2001. Second, non-believers, in this period increased from 8% to 14%, with the state of Washington at 25%. Third, Hinduism is not the fastest growing religion, it is Wicca (pentagonal symbol on right), a Neopagan religion known as Witchcraft, from 8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001, or an increase of nearly 1600%! But, fourth, of the major religions, Hindu increased from 227,000 to 766,000, or 237% (Buddhism 170%, Islam 109%, Christianity 5%). The relatively low number was suddenly increased by Indian immigrants, almost all who were Hindus. There were about 400,000 during that decade, and with the added children plus the high rate remaining in the country, this would explain most of the increase.

Leighton Chong and I had lunch at Plumeria and had their Wednesday special, Okura Hotel curry with a glass of Chardonnay. He has been developing the Fall Sustainability Tour, hopefully to be linked to Enterprise Honolulu's:

The World Congress on Zero Emissions Initiatives

When the grand odyssey for Planet Earth and Humanity is finalized, you will be the first to learn the details. The above gathering will be held in mid September. The follow-up adventure will link with potential blue-green world partners and sister city sites, somewhat in the mode of the Green Enertopia concept. The fact that the theme of the conference is, launching "The Blue Economy," ideally combines renewable energy with The Blue Revolution.

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The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 53 to 10,836, while world markets were mostly up, except for the Americas. Gold sunk $17/toz to $1086. while crude oil seems headed for $80/barrel.

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In the Indian Ocean, Tropical Cyclone Imani is up to 65 MPH, but should weaken and not pose a threat to any populated area. Tropical Storm Omais at 45 MPH is moving north, weaken and not affect the Philippines nor Taiwan.

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THE FUTURE OF THE STOCK MARKET?

I don't know. One of my luckiest moves (and my life has fortunately been filled with them) was to post a blog stock challenge on 3November08 when the market was down. I then bought Ford in March a little more than a year ago, so my blog stocks are: Microsoft, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Ultra Basic Materials and Ford. With Obama coming in as President in January of 2009, the thought of purchasing military industrial complex stocks was insane. Even I knew that. In fact, I urged the future President to reduce defense expenditures by 10%, every year, in my initial Huffington Post article. However, each of the companies above were pioneering sustainable energy areas, so I did this mostly to highlight the future of renewable energy.

But why did I buy Ford? Well, Ford does have those hybrid cars. But the purchase of this stock was more in honor of Roberta Nichols, who I served with on the U.S. Secretary of Energy's Hydrogen Technical Advisory Panel. She was a true pioneer, and was an advocate for the methanol car and passed away five years ago. Since was then into the internal combustion engine, but my vision sees the direct methanol fuel cell as this future. The problem is that no one agrees with me. Well, maybe Irvin Barash does.

Oh, I should report that these stocks are today worth 269% more than at original purchase. Interestingly enough, of the 30 Dow Jones Industrials, Boeing has increased in value the most this year at 35% and General Electric #2 at 21%.

Maybe you missed it, but in addition to the Health Bill being signed today by Barack Obama, catching a ride on to this measure was a good overhaul of the college aid program. The U.S. Senate, buoyed by the House success, yesterday passed on the Wall Street reform bill to the floor. About the health package, it is officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and was introduced by Congressman Charles Rangel, who, as you know, was forced to step down as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

Thus, my advice is, as the market is at year and a half highs, just about when I initiated my challenge, and could still break 11,000, where 14,198 (7October07) was the all-time Dow Jones Industrials high, with housing looking dismal and jobs still scarce, I wouldn't quite today sink a bunch of bucks into stocks. But will the market go up or down from today? As I said, I don't know. No one does.

So as I wrote above, the DJI average leaped 103 to 10,889, with world markets mostly up, save for the Orient. Gold remained unchanged at $1105/toz and oil sits around $82/barrel.

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THE GOLDEN EVOLUTION (Part 15): ISLAM

The following, with a few updates, continues the serialization of Chapter 5 on religion from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

Islam and the World

In August of 2005, U.S. News and World Report had a special issue on Islam and the World, indicating that Islam is more a way of life than anything else, and is derived from the Syriac word for “making peace.” Islam started in 622 AD, more than half a century after Jesus Christ, and, for all practical purposed, worships a different God from Christianity. First step, then, in Golden Evolution, is to agree on one God.

Muslims controlled much of the civilized globe from North Africa to Indonesia and into Europe from the 7^th through 11th Century, but then began to wane, and, like the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, you wonder what happened. There is today no progressive spirit, for terrorism is more an action of jealousy and anger.

Islam has again become a daily headline item. “Beheadings and bombings leave more than 860 people dead.” Baghdad? Afghanistan? Nope, Thailand! About 4000 deaths since 2004. More Muslims live in the Orient than the Middle East. Indonesia’s Muslim population is twice that of Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan combined. China has more Muslims than Iraq and Afghanistan, combined. With 210 million adherents, Indonesia is the largest Islamic country. Saudi Arabia has about one-tenth that number of Muslims.

7 million Muslims live in the U.S., half being born here, although various estimates range from 1 million to more than 12 million. As much as 9/11, the assignment of women as second class citizens, allowance of polygamy and range of other cultural variations will make life difficult for Muslims in American, strict adherence to the Koran will especially make integration into the general community difficult. Unlike the Bible, the Koran was never created, but has existed with God for all eternity, therefore, making any adjustment to modern life challenging. For the Golden Evolution to proceed, some combination of educational opportunities, financial advantages and other sociological strategies will need to be administered and maintained for any kind of integration to occur. Europe is a good place to start to see what did not work.

The Islamic God or Allah cannot be visualized, but is present everywhere and will sit in personal judgment of every person, including you, and if you're not Muslim, forget about going to Heaven, which is not much different from other religions regarding who goes. Of course, if there is no God or heaven...

Many Muslims pray 5 times each day, facing Mecca, and end each with salaam, or peace. If you follow His commands, you go to Paradise. If not, you face eternal damnation.

The Koran, or Quran, is the first book in the Arabic and includes Mary’s Immaculate Conception and Noah’s Ark. It was a series of revelations from Allah through the angel Gabriel to Muhammad from which came the Koran. Do you get the feeling that maybe The Bible was the inspiration for Muhammad? He was born in the year 570 AD or CE, and was an illiterate goat herder, who married an older widow, went on to become a successful trader, married his second wife (after the first passed away) when she was 10 years old, and finally rose to conqueror and prophet. At the end, he had 10 wives.

Interesting that Abram (later Abraham), a paltry sheepherder, circa 1792 BC, or roughly 2000 BC, more than 2500 years earlier, in what today is Iraq, was contacted by a similar, but Christian, deity, through which today all monotheism flows. Islam and Christianity might well be the same religion from the same source, for they are nearly identical. You think that is merely coincidental? Well, I already reported on Horus in 3000 BC Egypt from which, perhaps, the writers of the Bible maybe borrowed. Anyway, this similarity might provide a clue to how these religions might unite.

Muslims have an obligation. Once in their lifetime, they must make that pilgrimage to Mecca, but only if it can be afforded. The ritual can be traced back to that same Abraham (who the Bible said lived to the ripe old age of 175) around 2000 BC, even though the religion was founded in 622 AD. In 2007, the Hajj began on December 18. But the previous year, 349 people were crushed to death, the worst tragedy since the 2500 trampled in 1990. Normally a crowd of from 2 million to 3 million descends on Mecca. Males wear two white sheets and women wear their hijab, a normal modest dress, and all walk counterclockwise seven times around the Islam, the Sacred Mosque. No perfume, no sexual intercourse, no killing allowed.

Best as I can tell, only five died during the 2009 Hajj, all from the swine flu! The Hajj this year is from November 14 to 18.

There is then the matter of the two sects: Shiites versus the Sunnis. While Shiites are the majority (60%) in Iraq, worldwide, they represent fewer than 15% of all Muslims, for in Indonesia, almost all of more than 200 million Muslims are Sunni. Shiites were responsible for the Iranian revolution in 1979 and formed the Hezbollah terrorist group. However, suicide bombers today are mostly Sunni. It is even more confusing when you learn that the only real religious difference between the two is that Shiites believe that temporal successors to Muhammad should come from his family line, while Sunnis believe that this caliph need only be a believer, although the former then feels that the Koran should be interpreted for modern times when the latter doesn’t. Shiites do have a fundamental interest in democracy. You need to live in the Middle East to experience the difference.

Why did the war on terrorism and our attack of Afghanistan and Iraq even begin? Say you are truly religious. Add the insult of heathens jerking your country and culture around, and then observing them, through the omnipresence of television, wantonly enjoying life. The thought of sacrificing yourself to live forever among 72 virgins and a river of honey, or insuring for the future fate of your entire family line, can be highly motivational. Our War on Terrorism might not have happened if the hijackers did not believe in the afterlife. If education taught them them that it was not virgins, but white raisins, that, too, could have made a difference.

Finally, there is the matter of denial. Islam is a religion of peace. So is Christianity. But the Crusades? It is all in the personal interpretation, and Mohammed Atta, the ringleader of 9/ll, in the note he left behind, specifically quoted the Koran. Religion, while providing purpose, can also be a convenient excuse.

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The Dow Jones Industrials rose 44 to 10,786, with world markets mixed. Gold slipped $2/toz to $1105 and crude oil is at $81/barrel.

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There is tropical storm east of the Philippines and another in the middle of the Indian Ocean not expected at this time to cause any problems.

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Welcome, my 144st country:

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS POPULATION: 51,484

« Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Top Countries

Background

Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975, and came into force on 24 March 1976. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978.

Geography People Government Economy Communications Transportation Military

Map data ©2010 Europa Technologies - Terms of Use

There are 15 islands. The most significant geologic formation close by is the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest portion of the ocean at about 6.9 miles. Also, Guam (population of 179,000), located just south, could well also be called the Southern Mariana Islands...but is not.

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HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM BILL PASSED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES*

As predicted last week, the House of Representatives tonight approved, 219-212, House Bill 3590 with Senate amendments (which passed the Senate on Christmas Eve). President Obama will quickly sign this bill, so, regardless of what happens in the Senate for that coming stage two, the universal health plan will then be law. But, while this is certainly confusing, there remains a follow-up requirement providing adjustment details. Bear with me.

First, there was a further gumming up technique used by Republicans to re-commit the bill, and, of all the ironies (and, maybe in smart anticipation), beaten back with a far more convincing vote by Congressman Stupack's impassioned rebuttle. Finally, we had that second electronic roll call vote on House Resolution 4872, the reconciliation package (the one with the latest House adjustments, all of 183 pages, so not exactly only technical). This is the legislation that moves to the Senate, and there will be considerable histrionics still to be orchestrated by Senate Republicans.

But the mechanics of reconciliation will sufficiently limit the debate so that passage can be expected before the Spring break, say on Saturday, for President Barack Obama's concluding signature. Good thing he did not go to Indonesia and Australia. Mind you, there could be an incessant passing back and forth between the Senate and House of this reconciliation measure, but, ultimately, barring the specter of unconstitutionality, we will have a health plan for most Americans.

Regarding that last minute agreement, what's the value of a White House Executive Order on abortion to satisfy Representative Bart Stupack's coalition? Well, if the Catholic nuns can interpret the language of abortion satisfactorily, unlike the Pope and male sector of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, then Presidential intent on how he will administer the program was accepted by these few anti-abortionists in the House.

Secondly, what is the constitutionality of deeming and reconciliation? The former is not a factor anymore because electronic voting was utilized and the latter has been applied 22 times already, mostly by Republicans. Of course, Congress sometimes uses nonsensical language for public consumption, because there is no bipartisan agreement, in fact, the term reconciliation means that the party in the majority just does what it wants to do. Any opposing legal opinions have only come from conservative observers, as would be expected. And about those states that opined that they would not obey the law...they are all Republican dominated.

In any case, a thousand cheers for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama. Yes, they did it.

While on this subject, here are some latest summaries of matters related to life and death:

1. It has been a whole year this past week when the swine flu was first reported. Of course, there is no pandemic, but this specific bug will linger like other flu types for a long time. Approximately 12,000 have died from H1N1 since April of last year when I first reported on this possible epidemic. As approximately a million each year are killed by some form of flu and after effects, this death rate from swine flu is about 1% of all flu fatalities since this began in Mexico on March 18, 2010. This means that of all the circulating flu strains, H1N1 is way down the list of those others that can kill you. There was never a threat of a serious pandemic, so I remain almost amused and certainly confused as to why the World Health Organization of the United Nations issued its highest ever pandemic alert, for the UN is known to mostly dither. I've given this some serious thought, and have come to the conclusion that people react and administrators actually make decisions, when personal life is at stake. Airport security is another of those areas where we expensively overreact.

2. Hospitals have been implicated in infecting patients with MRSA, C-Diff and VRE, and most recently, the middle one, Chlostridium difficile, has become an issue, for this intestinal bacterium seems to thrive when antibiotics are used to control another "germ."

3. Yes, propofol killed Michael Jackson.

4. The death toll from the Haiti earthquake is estimated to be more than 200,000, four times higher per capita than any recent natural disaster. The property damage should exceed $10 billion. Deaths from the more recent Chile earthquake was probably around 350, with people still missing. 500,000 homes were damaged. The resultant tsunami was less than 10 feet in the near field and around 3 feet in the Pacific Basin, although two sites in Japan curiously indicated amplitudes exceeding 4 feet.

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Tropical Cyclone Ului made landfall today in Central Queensland as a Category 3 storm, causing property and crop damage, with a lot of rain. There is a minor depression not appearing to be a serious threat east of the Philippines.

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THE GOLDEN EVOLUTION (Part 14): CHRISTIANITY

The following, with a few updates, continues the serialization of Chapter 5 on religion from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:

Christianity

Christianity started 2000 years ago, was derived from Judaism, and was named after Jesus Christ. Christ, in Greek, means the anointed one. Christians believe there is one God and that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the savior of Mankind. There is supposed to be a Second Coming of Jesus…any day now. There is a Heaven and a Hell in this religion, and The Bible is the accepted authority, although interpretations vary. The bottom line is that your soul will maintain consciousness until Judgment Day when only the righteous will be resurrected.

Constantine the Great, the first Roman emperor to embrace Christianity, although he did it more for politics than religion, moved the capital city from Rome to Byzantium, and renamed it Constantinople, which is now known as Istanbul. He has been said to have re-constructed The Bible, including the deification of Jesus, through a council he convened in 325 AD. Just because The Da Vinci Code said some of this does not mean it has to be fiction.

The Protestant Reformation in the beginning of the 16^th century, for which Martin Luther (1519), a monk from Germany, no doubt played an important role, was reinforced by King Henry VIII, who named himself as the head of England’s church. Without going into the more interesting excesses of Roman Catholic money-grubbing, concubinage, military alliances and the fact that the Pope would not approve of Henry’s marriage dissolution from Catherine of Aragon, prosaically, in 1604, King James I convened the Hampton Court Conference to begin re-translating The Bible. The completed work was issued in 1611, is today the bible of choice, and for the longest time, has been the #1 best seller, with more than 6 billion copies sold. No other publication has sold even a billion, although Quotations from Chairman Mao is getting close to ten digits at #2. The two most recent books in the top ten appeared in 1966: Chairman Mao's and Jacquelin Susann's Valley of the Dolls at #10. Yes, Jacquelin Susann.

So, beginning with Hebrew and Greek history came a Roman emperor, then a British King, who are credited with being the prime movers of the most popular religion today. John Remsburg (sometimes spelled Remsberg), who passed away in 1919, has catalogued what The Bible authorizes and defends, and this list is merely a portion: lying, cheating, theft, murder, wars of conquest, human sacrifices, cannibalism, slavery, polygamy, prostitution, ignorance, cruelty to animals and injustice to women.

Christianity is so split that there are 38,000 factions/sect/denominations/etc. There must be something to strength through diversity.

Half the world's Christian are Roman Catholic, but while the Pope, their leader, operates out of the Vatican, the country with the largest number of Catholics is Brazil. Italy has, purportedly, 90% Catholics, but, the reality is that one third, maybe, practice.

Now there is a growing ecumenical movement to promote unity within the Church. That is a good first step towards a simple solution.

The evangelicals have more recently made religious life more meaningful. Leaders (pastors) have used high technology and mass marketing, and have become quintessentially American. Evangelicals are more intense in their beliefs and tend to be a little more Southern, rural and older. They are self-appointed ambassadors for Jesus. Sexual morality, anti-evolution and being tough on immigration are watchwords. White evangelicals are more conservative, vote Republican and oppose gay marriage (84%). Black evangelicals support Democrats. The movement picked up in the later 70’s when Jimmy Carter (D-Georgia), a born again Christian (admitted to in a Playboy interview), was elected president. President George W. Bush (R-Texas) has been quoted to say: “I also have this belief, strong belief, that freedom is not this country’s gift to the world; freedom is the Almighty’s gift to every man and woman in this world. And as the greatest power on the face of the Earth, we have an obligation to help the spread of freedom.” He stands as the poster boy for the mission, but there are rock bands (MercyMe, Switchfoot), recording artists (Amy Grant), actors (Stephen Baldwin), next door neighbors and family members as devout evangelicals.

Eighty three percent of the U.S. population are Christian, with 13% having no religion, a figure which has doubled over the past decade. The U.S. is slightly more than half Protestant and quarter Roman Catholic. Incidentally, the U.S. has the largest number of Christians. Atheists represent from 3-9% of the population. More about this non-belief factor and politics later, but if you wish to learn more now, click on Set Free, which reports that 29.5 million Americans have no religion, with Oregon at 28% and Alabama 7%.

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I had my typical Friday beach lunch today. Picked up a bento plate from Don Quixote featuring lau lau, pork cabbage and teriyaki fish with two scoops of rice, plus a small bottle of sake. Smoked a Drew Estate Natural Churchill, preserved according to NASA vacuum standards in a titanium cylinder while listening to my iPod from United Airlines for traveling 2 million flight miles. Here was my view. This looks similar to previous photos I have taken, but note now that the building right of the Hilton Rainbow Tower, the Trump Tower, is now finished. That second harmonic rainbow, though, has the colors in reverse. You can't see all of them, but 50 or so surfers were to the right.

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The Dow Jones Industrials slipped 37 to 10,742, and world markets were mostly also down, except for the Orient, which was kind of a relief, for this was quadruple witching day, which occurs on the third Friday at the end of each quarter, and traders can go bonkers. The previous one was on December 19, which was a dud, for nothing happened. Gold sunk $18/toz to $1107 and crude oil went down to $80.65/barrel.

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Tropical Cyclone Ului is set to make landfall Sunday morning along the Queensland coast, but the storm, now at 65 MPH is continuing to weaken, and residents seem almost unconcerned.

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