Meetings & Global Events

• 15–16 January 2009: IYA2009 Opening Event. UNESCO, Paris, France.
• 19–23 January 2009: IAU Symposium 260: "The Rôle of Astronomy in Society and Culture". UNESCO, Paris, France.
  
• 03 - 14 August 2009: IAU`s XXVII General Assembly, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  
• 25 - 31 October 2009: The European Society for Astronomy in Culture 17th Annual Meeting, Alexandria, Egypt

National Opening Ceremonies

• Belgium: 16 January 2009
  
• Taiwan: 18 January
  
• Philippines: 19 January 2009
• Germany: 20 January 2009
  
• Brazil: 20-28 January 2009 (The opening events of IYA2009 in Brazil will take place in 50 different cities)
• Spain: 
  • 27 January 2009: Official Openning of IYA2009 (Madrid)
  • 19 February 2009: Openning for the general public (Cuenca)
    
• Portugal: 31 January 2009
• Switzerland: 5 February
  
• Hong Kong: 7 February 2009

11-May-08
12-May-08
22-Aug-08
04-Oct-08
17-Oct-08
11-Dec-08
12-Dec-08
13-Dec-08
14-Dec-08
15-Jan-09
19-Jan-09
19-Feb-08
28-Feb-09
01-Mar-09
20-Mar-09
03-May-09
05-May-09
20-Jun-09
02-Jul-09
08-Aug-09
02-Oct-09
03-Oct-09
01-Nov-09
02-Nov-09

River Forest, IL, USA
Chicago, IL, USA
Chicago, IL, USA
Wheaton, IL, USA
Piestany, Slovakia
Orange County, CA, USA
Orange County, CA, USA
Orange County, CA, USA
Orange County, CA, USA
Paris, France
Paris, France
Madrid, Spain
Delaware, OH, USA
Delaware, OH, USA
Taipei, Taiwan, Prov. of China
Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Walnut Creek, CA, USA
Madrid, Spain
Valencia, Spain
Prague, Czech Rep.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Victoria, Canada
Victoria, Canada

From Earth to the Universe Preview. IYA2009

On my profile page I have a link to the Astronomy Pictures of the Day.  It has been a daily ritual to see what wonderful photo they have posted everyday. 

I subscribe to AstronomyCast podcast for my Zune player and listen to it while I work.  Check them out at http://www.astronomycast.com/

 

1. Scale out arms dealing and make it illegal by the year 2020.

2. Write into every defense contract a requirement for a peacetime project.

3. Subsidize conversion of military companies to peaceful uses with tax incentives and direct funding.

4. Convert military bases to housing for the poor.

5. Phase out all foreign military bases.

6. Require military personnel to devote part of their time to rebuilding infrastructure.

7. Call a moratorium on future weapons technologies.

8. Reduce armaments like destroyers and submarines that have no use against terrorism and were intended to defend against a superpower enemy that no longer exists.

9. Fully fund social services and take the balance out of the defense and homeland security budgets.

The Magic of Helping

Children be Creative

By Glenn R. Horton 

Founder of Artists Helping Artists (AHA!)

and Publisher of The Creative Line Magazine

1) Actively recognize and respect that the child possesses an imagination and remarkable creative potential. 

2) With the child, seek to understand and discover the beauty and  fascination of places, creatures and things in the child’s vicinity.

3) Help the child develop and freely express his sense of creative magic and wonder.

4) Discourage those who would tell the child the things he/she imagines are not real, or his dreams (whatever they are) are not valuable or attainable.  

5) Encourage and help the child to understand the important role of creative thought and dreams in building new & exciting futures.       

6) Never degrade or ridicule, overtly or covertly, the creative thoughts, dreams or illusions of the child. 

7) Assist the child to experience formal art forms including music, visual art, poetry, singing, acting, etc., as well as other creative activities such as games, crafts, hobbies, sports and scouts.  

8) Protect and defend the child’s artistic spirit, imagination and sense of wonder from anyone who would seek to stop, harm or destroy these.   

9) In your daily activities, including hobbies, play and work, foster a spirit of excitement and wonder, and show the child that creativity plays a vital and healing role in life. 

10) Encourage and assist the child to pursue his creative passions, execute his creative ideas and make his dreams a reality.

Oliver Twist (1948) PART 1

The Prince and the Pauper 1937 pt1

Alice in Wonderland (1966)

and then there's...,

E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial

 

 

 

Let the magic, imagination, wonder continue...,

 

Pirate Scene from Finding Neverland

Read with your child 15 minutes a day.

 

One day I am going to be a blogger at Gaia.com

 

Galatians 3:6-9 TNIV

⁶ So also Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ^[a]

    ⁷ Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸
Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and
announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be
blessed through you." ^{[b] 9} So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

faith  (fth)

n.

1. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.

2. Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. See Synonyms at belief, trust.

3. Loyalty to a person or thing; allegiance: keeping faith with one's supporters.

4. often Faith Christianity The theological virtue defined as secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God's will.

5. The body of dogma of a religion: the Muslim faith.

6. A set of principles or beliefs.


So if that is the definition of faith then we all have faith.  The bible verse is speaking about Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Protestants, Baptists, Buddhists, etc. for each sect has a "faith" in God or a higher power.  Thus they are all, we are all children of Abraham according to that book.  Even the aetheists have "faith".  They have a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of (not a person) an idea, they have faith that there is no God and that faith according to definition number 2 is a "belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence".  In short all people of all religions, spiritualities, sects, philosophies and even aetheists, all have faith.  So in effect for those who follow this book, they should recognize ALL as sons and daughters of Abraham.

Father Abraham

And do not let anybody suffer, do not let the children suffer.  We are all the children.

MATTHEW 19:14

International Standard Version (©2008)
Jesus,
however, said, "Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping
them away, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these."

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
But
Jesus said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming
to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Jesus said, "Don't stop children from coming to me! Children like these are part of the kingdom of God."

King James Bible
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

American King James Version
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

American Standard Version
But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for to such belongeth the kingdom of heaven.

Bible in Basic English
But Jesus said, Let the little ones come to me, and do not keep them away: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But Jesus said to them: Suffer the little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for the kingdom of heaven is for such.

Darby Bible Translation
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and do not hinder them from coming to me; for the kingdom of the heavens is of such:

English Revised Version
But Jesus said, Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Webster's Bible Translation
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Weymouth New Testament
Jesus
however said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder
them; for it is to those who are childlike that the Kingdom of the
Heavens belongs."

World English Bible
But
Jesus said, "Allow the little children, and don't forbid them to come
to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these."

Young's Literal Translation
But Jesus said, 'Suffer the children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the reign of the heavens;'

 

Any books especially holy books with a faulty translation in the wrong hands can be literally dangerous, lethally dangerous.

Do not suffer the children.  Do not let the children suffer.

Rug weavers from Islamic lands intentionally weave a patch of
dissimilar pattern to break the symmetry of their rugs honoring their
belief that only Allah creates perfection. Instead of seeing Israel as
a blemish in the Islamic rug spreading across North Africa and the
Middle East, Israel needs a to be seen as counter-pattern affirming
Allah’s will.

Peace requires a fresh aesthetic metaphor that
symbolizes the fulfillment of Mohammed’s prophecy in the Koran (Sura
17:104): “And we said to the Children of Israel, ‘scatter and live all
over the world’…and when the end of the world is near we will gather
you again into the Promised Land.”

And we all have scattered all over the world and we are all one.  So those who follow this other book should recognize everyone as brothers and sisters for according to that book we will all be gathered again into the Promised Land.

A Palestinian man recovers a prayer rug from the rubble.

Pray for the dead and no more fighting.

Lives are more important.

Islamic Arts and Crafts Museum - Welcome!

Switch your viewpoint to recognize the sovereign right of the Jews in
the Land of Israel as the will of Allah as expressed in Sura 5:20-21:
“Remember when Moses said to his people: ‘O my people, call in
remembrance the favor of God unto you, when he produced prophets among
you, made you kings, and gave to you what He had not given to any other
among the people. O my people, enter the Holy Land which God has
assigned unto you.’”

Salam
Shalom
Om Shanti
Paz
Peace

Albania

One peace is better than millions victories

HAPPY UNIFICATION DAY, NEPAL!  JANUARY 11

Unification of Nepal and the establishment of a united Kingdom of Nepal

After his conquest of the Kathmandu Valley, Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered other smaller countries south of the valley to keep other smaller fiefdoms near his Gurkha state out of the influence and control of the British rule. After his kingdom spread out from north to south, he made Kantipur the capital of expanded country, and renamed it Nepal from its original name of Gorkha. After this he turned his attention towards the east. The Sena kingdom of Choudandi was conquered by 1773 A.D. and Vijaypur, another Sena kingdom, was annexed shortly thereafter. Prithvi Narayan Shah formally established Nepal as a country and the Kingdom of Nepal was officially born in 1769 AD.

Implications of unification

Had Prithvi Narayan Shah not established the Kingdom of Nepal, it is likely that the smaller and weaker nation states would have come under the control of the British Empire, whose influence was increasing in India at the time. If the British Indian army had not been stopped and defeated at Makawanpurgadhi-Sindhuligadhi, Nepal would not have been born as a country, and the Nepalese would not be known as an independent political entity, a people separate from India. The majority of credit for preventing these outcomes goes to Prithvi Narayan Shah. Some historians of questionable intent calls Prithivi Narayan Shah as the Great in Nepal. However, this history written by the conquered leaves out the critical detail; that the conquered people thought and still think that this event was nothing but a glorified version of internal colonization practiced by Shah dynasty over almost all of the Nepalese people.

Dear Israel, Dear Palestine:

First, please know that I am not siding on anyone between Israel and Palestine.  I am not discounting the deaths and the terror suffered by the one who seems to be on the losing side.  I am not condoning the actions of the one on the offensive side nor do I want to mention who is on the offensive as that can turn any minute and the point of view of the world will change. I am on the side of peace.

I say Dear Israel because I want to apologize for the holocaust.  It was a terrible time in history and I still apologize for the history of your people prior to that and at the present.   But are we living for the past?  Are we fighting for the future?  We can only live for the present and we can all choose to live in harmony with everyone and then we will know inner peace.

I say Dear Palestine because I want to apologize for the offenses made to your religion and to your people.  I am neither Israeli nor Palestinian but I see you both as my brothers and sisters.  You may not care about me for you may think I do not feel the sufferings that your people and your ancestors suffered.  But I am suffering too as well as the rest of the world.

I forgive you all and please forgive us too.  You may think we do not care about you.  We are human and we are not perfect.  We care about you and what happen to your people.  We just don't know what to do anymore.  We are afraid as all of you are afraid.  But we can turn fear into love and understanding and eventually peace for all.

This does not take a long time.  Peace can happen instantaneously.  It can happen here and now wherever you are.  And if peace happens with each individual then the world will know world peace.  It is as simple as that no matter what your language, religion, national affiliation, political views or educational background. 

Let us make our ancestors proud by laying down our arms and our hatred and our indifferences towards one another.  Our ancestors are not happy with the notion that we are fighting for them nor are our own people who are living are not happy that we are killing our brothers and sisters so that our own "kind" may live.  There is only humankind and that is all of us. 

Dear Israel.  Dear Palestine.  We would like to reach our hands to you in friendship.  We care about your own people for we are all one.  Give us a chance to understand and love you and cease the fighting before we annihilate all of humankind. 

I do not need to know your language.  I do not need to study your history extensively.  I do not need to convert to your religion.  Nor do I expect of those of you to mine.  There is only one thing that I understand and one that we can all agree on.  And that is if we love one another and live in peace.  Plain and simple.  I do not need to elaborate on that.  We can all understand and know the feeling if we are giving and living and getting love and peace.  Let's all choose peace now.

Salam Israel.

Shalom Palestine.

Peace to all.    

You are invited to join Support the DREAM Act!!! Please VOTE!.

The cultivator of this group has written this introduction:

Pass the DREAM Act - Support Higher Education for All Students

The problem: Many American students graduate from college and high school each year, and face a roadblock to their dreams: they can't drive, can't work legally, can't further their education, and can't pay taxes to contribute to the economy just because they were brought to this country illegally by their parents or lost legal status along the way. It is a classic case of lost potential and broken dreams, and the permanent underclass of youth it creates is detrimental to our economy. Former Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch has said: “In short, although these children have built their lives here, they have no possibility of achieving and living the American dream. What a tremendous loss for them, and what a tremendous loss to our society.”

The solution: The federal DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), is a bipartisan legislation that would permit these students conditional legal status and eventual citizenship granted that they meet ALL the following requirements:

–if they were brought to the United States before they turned 16, are below the age of 30,
–have lived here continuously for five years,
–graduated from a U.S.
high school or obtained a GED
–have good moral character with no criminal record and
–attend college or enlist in the military.


Why should you care? There is no other pathway to citizenship for these students.  Besides the injustice of punishing children for the alleged transgressions of their parents, throwing away the talent we have invested in from K-12 and accruing losses in human and financial capital by deporting talented students is bad public policy. The Social Security Administration has recently stated that we need a net increase of 100,000 immigrants each year to ensure Social Security solvency.

Passing the DREAM Act would actually help solve the Social Security crisis by creating a larger taxable base of educated Americans that are already in the United States. It would also free some of the backlog that currently plagues the legal immigration system. Also, the DREAM Act in its latest form, does not grant in-state tuition to any student.


Endorsements: Since 2001, almost a 1000 organizations have officially endorsed the bill.  Barack Obama has stated that DREAM Act beneficiaries are “American children for all intents and purposes” and has called this a top priority.


Tell President-Elect Obama to pass the DREAM Act in 2009.
See DreamActivist. org to get more involved.

                                            VOTE NOW!!!

If you'd like to preview this community before you join, visit it now.