U.S. Open 2009 - Preview

Tonight is the U.S. Open tribute ceremony to Andre Agassi honoring his career and all that he has given back to the community through his charitable foundation.

"Agassi, the eight-time Grand Slam singles champion and a role model both on and off the court, owns the Open Era record of 21 consecutive US Open appearances, having last competed in the 2006 US Open. In 1994, the same year in which Agassi won his first US Open title at the age of 24, he founded The Andre Agassi Foundation. Dedicated to transforming U.S. public education through practice, policy and partnerships, the Foundation has raised nearly $75 million to provide opportunities to underserved youth. The centerpiece of the Andre Agassi Foundation is the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy (a K-12 public charter school) located in Las Vegas, Nev. On June 12, 2009, the first-ever senior class graduated from the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy with 100% of the students receiving a diploma and going on to higher education. "

The 14th Annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day kicked off the ceremonies this afternoon. Will Ferrell was there to have a great time with all the kids and played a doubles match with the Andy's in the creatively titled Andy vs. Will Match. Andy Roddick and Will Arnett vs. Andy Murray and Will Ferrell. It was Umped by Keenan Thompson of SNL who was calling strikes and 10 yard penalties off the line. Murray/Ferrell won on an error by Arnett.

Serena Williams, James Blake and Roger Federer were among the other celebs who donated their time for the kids.

Open Matches begin tomorrow EST 11 am.

OPEN PREVIEW

Mens Singles:

Roddick: Can he top Wimbledon? No. Is he on pace to win big? Yes.

Federer: It's a lock. Rafa's probably not back yet.

Murray: He is on also on track to win big. He's in the final vs. Federer.

Rafael Nadal: Is he back? We're not sure. If he wins it will cement his Grand Slam Title Career.

Djokovic, Del Potro, Blake, Davydenko, Tsonga, Soderling, Haas, Hewitt...Look for some awesome matches and a hell of an Open this year as the competition is the best it's ever been, right now.

Sad Goodbye - BIG MARAT SAFIN IS RETIRING - Look for his final match(es) this week.


Womens Singles:

The Williams Sisters: Give it to Defending Champ Serena.

Venus: She cannot beat Serena here.

Safina: Overdue... but will never win due to the "Safin Temperament Syndrome."

Sharapova: Bitch.

Jankovich, Dementieva, Kuznetsova, Bartoli...Again look for some awesome matches this year!

Clijsters is back! You go girl! Will we see Mauresmo? This could be the year of the Ghost of Women's Tennis Past... Henin...Hingis...where are you?


Keep up:
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/index.html

Causes

The Omni Report is proud to post links to the charities and causes that we feel are well worth the time.

Hurricane Katrina hit this day in 2005 and the people, animals and environment of the Gulf Coast are still reeling. In honor of the victims of Katrina and the catastrophic levee breaks that claimed so many lives and ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of others, we are spotlighting causes that can help the people, children, animals and environment of the Gulf Coast.

Help People:
The Bush Clinton Katrina Fund

http://www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org/

Help Children:
Childrens Health Fund
http://childrenshealthfund.org/

Help Animals:

The Mutt Shack

http://www.muttshack.org/

Help the Planet:

The Nature Conservancy - Mississippi Delta

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/mississippi/

"The good we do for ourselves, dies with us.

The good we do for others, is and will always be immortal."

"LET FREEDOM RING"

"I HAVE A DREAM"

Martin Luther King, Jr gave the most memorable and inspired speech in modern history this day in 1963 to a packed "house" in Washington, DC. Indeed people of all races were there to witness the oratory genius of Martin Luther King that day and it is estimated that over 250,000 people lined the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial and experienced what was the seminal moment in Civil Rights History.

Read the entire transcript and see the entire 17 minute video:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Together Again....

The three undeniably most famous political figures in American history have reunited on the other side as today marks the end of an era in American politics with the death of Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Today 40 years and 3 months almost to the day of her death, Mary Jo Kepechne finally gets her "day in court" with good 'ole Teddy.

Jean Kennedy Smith, former Ambassador to Ireland, is now the only surviving child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. You may know her better as the mother of William Kennedy Smith, one of the nephews that Uncle Teddy took to Obar Nightclub in Florida and was later accused and acquitted of rape in 1991.

As easy as it is to make fun of the entire clan, we remember that as self-indulgent as this family is, they have counter-balanced themsleves with a sense of community and giving back. They always, always, have fought for "the little guy" and all 2,000 members of the Kennedy family (it seems) have gone into public service and lobbied for people, animals and the Earth. We thank them for that.

With the complete dying off of the main family what we'll miss most is The Kennedy Curse and the "what will happen to them next" soap opera...

R.I.P. Ted Kennedy

Happy Anniversary NPS

Isle Royal National Park, Michigan

Today marks the anniversary of the National Park Service, signed into law this day, by President Woodrow Wilson, in 1916. He mandated at the time "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

270 million Americans visit National Parks every year. The most visited parks include: Cape Code National Seashore, The Great Smokey Mountains, Lake Mead and The Delaware Water Gap. Yellowstone, the Everglades and Yosemite do not make the top ten NPS most visited sites, because they are UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well as National Parks and are of a class of themselves.

The National Park Service manages more than just parks and recreation areas. They are responsible for: The National Trails System comprising Historic and Scenic trails. Also, more than 2 dozen National Heritage Areas are under their protection, including such diverse regions as The Hudson River Valley in New York and Shenandoah Battlefield in Virginia. In addition, the NPS manages 16 of the 19 World Heritage Sites in this country, including The Carlsbad Caverns, The Grand Canyon, Independence Hall and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Horseshoe Bend, Grand Canyon

Mammoth Caves, Kentucky

Learn More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_Service

Our Phavorite Phillies Players

Part 3 of a series....

Chase Utley
Philadelphia Phillies
#26 Second Base


Chase Utley makes our list because he is great guy on and off the field. A 3-time Silver Slugger award winner, he will always be known to Phillies Fans for his expletive laden announcement that so eloquently stated loud and clear at the Championship Parade October 2008 that we were the "World Fucking Champions."

Off the field, Chase donates his time and money to Philadelphia's humane shelters and does all he can to use his celebrity to promote animal welfare and charities. His wife is currently serving as a Board member for The Humane Society.

Rafa's Back! Sort of...

Rafael Nadal is back and he is kicking some ass already. He won last night over Paul-Henri Mathieu at the The Cincinnati Master Tournament and his next match is with Tomas Berdych today or tomorrow.

Our problem is that we hardly recognized Rafa last night. What happened to him while he was rehabbing his knee? He used to be the Leader of Tough School and now it looks like he took a trip to Nerdville during rehab.

Rafa as we knew him...One tough kid!

Rafa now...Gone is the Ninja Turtle Tough Guy, he looks....different

Maybe he just needs time to warm up before the US Open begins on August 31st.
Come on Rafa!

Author of the Month - August 2009

WALT WHITMAN 1819-1892

Known as the Father of Free Verse, Walt Whitman is certainly one of America's most celebrated poets. Among his noted works is his penultimate collection, Leaves of Grass.

Some of the great poems included in Leaves of Grass are:

* O Captain! My Captain!

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

* Salute au Monde!

What do you see Walt Whitman?
Who are they you salute, and that one after another salute you?
I see a great round wonder rolling through space,
I see diminute farms, hamlets, ruins, graveyards, jails, factories,
palaces, hovels, huts of barbarians, tents of nomads upon the surface,
I see the shaded part on one side where the sleepers are sleeping,
and the sunlit part on the other side,
I see the curious rapid change of the light and shade,
I see distant lands, as real and near to the inhabitants of them as
my land is to me.

*Song of the Open Road

Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?

*Give Me the Silent Splendid Sun

Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling,
Give me autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard,
Give me a field where the unmow'd grass grows,
Give me an arbor, give me the trellis'd grape,
Give me fresh corn and wheat, give me serene-moving animals teaching content,
Give me nights perfectly quiet as on high plateaus west of the Mississippi, and I looking up at the stars,
Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturb'd,
Give me for marriage a sweet-breath'd woman of whom I should never tire,
Give me a perfect child, give me away aside from the noise of the world a rural domestic life,
Give me to warble spontaneous songs recluse by myself, for my own ears only,
Give me solitude, give me Nature, give me again O Nature your primal sanities!

Also, such poems, that we have not quoted here:

*Who Learns my Lessons Complete
*The Voice of the Rain
*A Clear Midnight

Whitman also writes extensively about what he witnessed first hand during the Civil War. His book, Memoranda During the War, contains detailed poetry of his accounts and feelings about the war. These poems stand the test of time and are emotionally moving when read to this day. Some of his war poems are also contained in Leaves of Grass including the cheerful sounding:

*Strange Vigil I Kept on the Field One Night
*Over the Carnage Rose a Prophetic Voice

Walt Whitman is buried in a beautiful cave like setting in a cemetary in Camden, NJ.

Yes. We said Beautiful and Camden in the same sentence.

Read more:
http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126

http://www.blackcatpoems.com/w/walt_whitman.html

Groucho

Groucho Marx died this day in 1977. He was, as far as we are concerned, the greatest comedian of all time - Hands Down. He was consistently hilarious with the off-the-wall-stream-of-consciousness-in-your-face barrage of craziness that made him Groucho.

He was completely unique as a comedian and made a tremendous mark in the world. We love the movies he made with his brothers the most especially Monkey Business and Night at the Opera.

He died 3 days after Elvis Presley, so sadly his death was just a passing note in the news one day. Completely unbefitting, the American Icon that is Groucho Marx.

There are almost too many quotes to attribute to Groucho...some of his best one liners will hold up until the end of time and never go out of style...

*"Die, my dear? Why that's the last thing I shall do!"

* "Closer...Closer.." "If I get any closer, I'll be in back of you."

* "I never forget a face. In your case though, I'll make an exception."

* "I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book."

* "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."

Do yourselves a favor and go rent a Marx Brothers movie tonight and laugh at the genius that was Groucho.

Read more:
http://www.groucho-marx.com/

News You Should Know - 8/17/2009

Afghan Woes...

Wow. Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the women of Afghanistan, this happens. Shia husbands, by law, have the legal right to starve their wives to death for not having sex with them. Where does it go from here?

Read more:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/17/afghan-husbands-win-right-to-starve-wives/

http://www.afghanistanwomencouncil.org/

Another R.I.P...

Like something out of a bad horror movie, famed Geologist Campbell Bridges was attacked by a mob of angry villagers and killed the other day, with machetes.

"He was credited with discovering tsavorite – a brilliant dark green gemstone – in the 1960s on the nearby border with Tanzania. His Tanzanian mines were nationalised in the 1970s, and he moved his operations to Kenya – where he studied geological records and located tsavorite again. Initially he lived in a tree house, and claimed to have set a python to watch over the first gems he found. He kept a pair of leopards instead of guard dogs. He was also a special consultant to the famous New York jewellers Tiffany & Co."

Read more here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/13/geologist-campbell-bridges-stabbed-kenya

Sign of the Times...

Is this the end of Readers Digest? Thought it was already gone? Well, it may be soon.

Read more:
http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/17/readers-digest-bankruptcy-business-media-readers-digest.html

Conspiracy Theory of the Month - August 2009

CHEMTRAILS

This was a new one for The Omni Report - and a good one!

This conspiracy theory states that all those plane trails that you see streaking across the sky are chemical or biological agents being deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for unknown reasons, and are known as Chemical Trails or Chemtrails. The general public assumes that when you see a trail from a plane across a clear blue sky, that the white streak is coming from the engine or exhaust and these are known as Condensation Trails or Contrails.

Proponents of the Chemtrail Conspiracy accuse the government of dispensing various chemical agents in the air for any number of reasons: chemical, biological or military weapons testing; population control, global warming research and or control, and more nefarious and sinister yet, behavioral modification of civialian populations - a.k.a mind control and that these chemicals are causing health problems and respiratory illnesses.

It is said that a contrail dissipates within a few minutes, certainly no longer than two hours and that a chemtrail lingers much much longer. Sometimes up to a day and some leave behind a haze that blankets the sky.

A conspiracy theory isn't fun unless it's denied by at least three governments as are chemtrails. The official US statement is that chemtrails are a refuted hoax, the British see it as a unscientifically recognized phenomena and the Canadians say there is no scientific evidence for them.

Omni Staffers are continually pointing out the prolific amount of trails in the sky all the time and the debate continues over whether or not we remember this amount of trails in our youths or even before 9/11. The consensus seems to be "we don't think so."

So does a secret program exist? Would it be run by the Department of Energy? Are you aware of the DOE Aerosol Campaign? We weren't until now. Is this the "cover" for the black op known as Chemtrail?


Learn more about the DOE Aerosol Campaign:
http://www.energy.gov/news/6694.htm
http://acrf-campaign.arm.gov/isdac/


Learn more about Chemtrails:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtrail

An innocent sky or something more...sinister?

The Lady with the Lamp

Florence Nightingale died this day in 1910. A pioneer, visionary and iconoclast, Florence set the gold medal standard in humanitarianism and philanthropy.

She was known as The Lady with the Lamp, for the times during the Crimean war when she would make rounds late at night checking in on every poor injured soldier in the hospital, with the flickering light of a lamp held in her hands.

She wholly reinvented the concept of patient care establishing the foundations of modern nursing. In the first six months of her first tenure at the war hospital in Istanbul, the mortality rate fell from 42% to 2%. WOW! She saved hundreds if not thousands of lives with her new standard of hygiene.

None of this even scratches the surface of her fascinating and remarkable life achievements. Next year, the centennial of her death has been deemed by the U.N General Assembly the International Year of the Nurse. The Omni Report will write extensively about her at that time.

For now, we honor ALL THE NURSES THAT MAKE SUCH A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN OUR LIVES AND IN THE WORLD. THANK YOU!

R.I.P Les Paul 1915-2009

“RIP Les Paul-thank you for the instruments that changed the course of music. If u have ever “rocked” or “been rocked” u can thank Les Paul.” — Tom Morello

Co-Inventor of the electric guitar, we owe Les Paul our undying gratitude for all the ROCK! Thanks to Tom Morello, one of the greatest guitarist EVER, who summed it up succinctly.

Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, B.B. King, Slash, The Late Great Randy Rhodes, Tommy Morello, Joan Jett, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), Richie Sambora, Steven Van Zandt, Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Billie Jo Armstrong, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Dave Davies, The Edge, Robin Finck (NIN), Ace Frehley, David Gilmour, Dave Grohl, Kirk Hammet and James Hetfield, Jimi Hendrix, Toni Iommi, Woody Guthrie, Mick Jones (The Clash), Brian Robertson (Motorhead), Bob Marley (Buried with his Les Paul Guitar), Paul McCartney, Joe Perry and last but not least Keith Richardson are among the artists that use and are inspired by and grateful for the LES PAUL Electric Guitar...

And for that list above....We THANK YOU, LES!

Jimmy Page and Les Paul in 1987

Awesome Women

Today two very awesome women are in the news for all the wrong reasons.

We mourn the death of Eunice Shriver who founded the Special Olympics and showed the world the value of investing in the disabled and mentally challenged.

In a statement issued today President McAleese said, "Eunice Kennedy Shriver was a visionary who founded the Special Olympics and devoted her life to creating a better and more inclusive world for people with disability. In founding and developing the Special Olympics, which thrived in virtually every country on the planet, she created an organisation and a community in which people with disability could demonstrate their talents and where all of us could participate and learn."

"Today we celebrate the life of a woman who had the vision to create our movement. It is an enormous loss, but I know we can rest assured that her legacy will live on through the millions of people around the world who she touched and transformed. In her memory, we will continue to work to bring her powerful vision to life to change the lives of those with intellectual disabilities, their families and communities, using sports as the catalyst for respect, acceptance and inclusion."

In her own words, Eunice said this: "It is my deepest hope that the world can begin to look at our friends with special needs and, for once, tell them, 'Yes, you do belong; yes, you are wonderful; yes, you can be a shining light of hope for the world!"— Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Please make the effort to donate to the Special Olympics. If everyone gave $10, imagine the possibilities. http://www.specialolympics.org/

We join in the worldwide protest over the mistreatment of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, 64, who has been under house arrest for most of the past 20 years. She was sentenced by Myanmar's military regime to 18 more months of house arrest. Her original "crime" was that she led a political movement to replace the generals with a democratic government. This peaceful woman is a direct threat to the government through peace and democracy. The farce that is the the government of Burma/Myanmar has got to be stopped. What is it with these MFers that crave absolute power to the point they will kill and oppress anyone who gets in their way? They don't even care that they rule over desperate, starving people and have no other accomplishment other than bullying through the abuse of its own militia. Honestly, isn't the number one perk of being a world leader, ALL THE PERKS? Why screw it up by being an asshole?

FREE AUNG SAN KYI!!

Archeology Site of the Month - August 2009

The Taj Mahal

The Emperor Shah Jahan built the iconic mausoleum, Taj Mahal, for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was constructed between 1632-1653 in Agra, India.

The Emperor described his creation this way:

"The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made
To display thereby the Creator's Glory."

And those words sum up the reason why we've chosen the Taj as this months UNESCO* World Heritage Site. Although you've seen it a hundred times before once you re-visit the images it immediately sweeps you away again. It is one of the most iconic and beautiful buildings in the world.

There are actually several structures that make up the complex known as Taj Mahal. The grounds hold gardens and a beautiful reflecting pool. The architecture of the iconic mausoleum incorporates bits of various cultures such as Persian and Indian. The walls are decorated with calligraphic versus from the Qu'ran. Marble, jewels, gold, bronze, herringbone, jade and more, were imported from across the globe and all used in the construction of the building, cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired pieces of the world's heritage." The sheer numbers of artisans, craftsman, laborers, elephants, construction materials used in the construction are astounding. For a detailed description of the architecture, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_mahal

Interesting visitor's note: The Taj Mahal is only open during daylight hours, except during the full moon on which it is open to visitors for night viewing.

The grounds interestingly enough also hold the mausoleums for the Emperors other wives and a large one for his favorite servant.

Inlaid marble detail

Inside the Taj

The Taj at sunset

UNESCO* = United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

R.I.P. - Daniel Jarque Gonzalez 1983-2009

An unexpected tragedy unfolded yesterday in Italy when RCD Espanyol Team Captain Daniel Jarque died of an apparent heart attack at the young age of 26 years.

Jarque was at his team's hotel, talking on the phone to his fiancee who is eight months pregnant, when he suddenly stopped speaking. She alerted a couple of his team-mates and they found him collapsed in his room.

"The doctor carried out CPR on the player and used a defibrillator, which showed that the arrest was non-responsive. The medical services continued carrying out CPR, administering adrenaline and atropine for an hour, but the player's heart did not react, so finally that determined his death."

We're so sad and join the world in sending condolences to his family.

Daniel Jarque González
January 1, 1983 – August 8, 2009

Today in History - August 9th

"Fat Man" at the moment it killed 80,000 people

A lot of horrible and tragic things have happened on this day in the past, however there is one thing we are going to celebrate. First, the horror.

Today was the day, America dropped the "Fatman" bomb on Nagasaki, killing 80,000 civilians. This is of course, following the "Little Man" bomb that killed over 140,000 innocent people, all in one shot, on August 6th in Hiroshima. Not one person in the entire Japanese army was wounded by either bomb. Not one! Although the two bombs did finally convince the Japanese that they should surrender, Japanese people are suffering TO THIS DAY with leukemia and other birth defects caused by the massive radiation.

For pictures and info visit here: http://www.hiroshima-remembered.com/

Also, on this day, the brainwashed Manson kids began their Helter Skelter killing spree by slaughtering poor Sharon Tate and her friends in a bloodbath that is pretty much still unrivaled today. There is much talk in the news this week about letting some of the "Manson Girls" out on bail. For instance, Lynette Fromme, who was uninvolved in the murders, but convicted of the attempted assassination of Gerald Ford, is getting out of prison this week. Susan Atkins, who should rot forever for stabbing a pregnant woman in the stomach over 15 times, wants to get out because she has a brain tumor and is dying. Oh well. Too bad for her. We have a lot of sympathy for these kids, that were only 19 years old, fed acid and brainwashed by the conman devil that is Charles Manson, but we have zero sympathy and tolerance for Susan Atkins. Hopefully, her tumor won't kill her and she'll spend another 30 years in jail. Leslie Van Houten, on the other hand, should be released immediately. Although the blood on her hands isn't any less severe, in the context of the Manson murders it really is. Her story harrows the soul of any parent, whose teenage daughter runs off to join a cult and it is a shame her entire life was wasted on the whims of a pyscho.

Now, the good news:

Today in History, Jessie Owens became the first man to win four Olympic gold medals in track and field. That alone is a wonderful achievement. However, in this case, the setting was dripping with irony and was absolutely perfect. Jessie Owens was a black man. He won all four gold medals in the the 1936 BERLIN Olympics....Pretty much right in Hitler's face. Sometimes, there is justice in this world. Like when the most evil racist dictator in the world, is forced to host the Olympics and award a black man gold medals. And make no mistake, Hitler was pissed! Even though Germany won many gold medals that year, it was ruined by the "coloured runner from America". Over one hundred thousand white Germans cheered Owens that day and he was allowed to travel and stay with white people in all the hotels in Germany. When he returned home TO HIS OWN TICKER TAPE PARADE, they made him take the freight elevator at the Waldorf Astoria. Fucking unbelievable.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Owens, you are and will always be our hero!

Jesse "I told Hitler to suck on it" Owens

News You Should Know - 8/5/2009

The Forests Win!! Temporarily...

Wow, what a day! Environmentalists are jumping for joy over two victories today that could conserve forests around the globe... Kimberly-Clark, finally caving to years of pressure from Greenpeace, announced stronger fiber standards today meaning that forests won't continue to be their first means of pulp and they will strive for sustainably produced products.

And secondly, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule overturned by the Bush Administration was REINSTATED TODAY protecting over 58 million acres of National Forest lands. However this was not an Obama Administration victory, in fact his current Secretary of Agriculture has approved a plan to clearcut temperate rainforests in the Misty Fjords National Monument. Seriously. You know what to do.

Learn more:

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE5745AM20090805

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-court-roads6-2009aug06,0,1222397.story

http://www.usda.gov

The First Greenpeace?

The ancient Mayans were practicing forest conservation more than 3,000 years ago and from the above mentioned articles we think we should be doing it again too.

Learn more:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090722150825.htm

The Country's Largest Solar Rooftop Array is Where...?

If you said New Jersey, you're right! Federal Express will soon install a 3.3 acre rooftop solar paneling system that will be the largest yet completed in the United States at it's facility in Woodbridge, New Jersey.

Learn more:
http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmBuildings/idUS238045220020090731

Finally we have two animal stories and we'll start with the sad one...

Chinese Earthquake Takes it's Toll on the Pandas..

The earthquake last May in the Sichuan region of China was horrendous and seriously ruined everything in that area. The poor pandas are now suffering from a loss of habitat with over 60% percent of the pandas there affected by the quake.

Learn more:

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/07/27/panda.sichuan.eco/

Beluga Whale Rescues Woman!

A beluga whale literally grabbed a freezing cold diver from drowning by biting her ankle and forcing her upwards to the surface. The entire thing was caught on tape. The people that witnessed the event were amazed they didn't realize she was in trouble but the whale did. Click on the link for the picture you won't believe.

Learn more:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5931345/Beluga-whale-saves-diver.html

Paranormal Article - August 2009

LAKE MONSTERS

Lake monsters have been reported on every continent except for Antarctica and South America. They are a popular phenomenon and are part of most peoples mythologies and cultures. Some lake monsters are famous although there are reportedly dozens more of them throughout the world.

The Loch Ness monster is probably the most well known of them all although it is not the most reported, witnesses, photographed or caught on video. That would be Ogo Pogo, of lake Okanagan, British Columbia, Canada.

What makes Lake monsters interesting is that they could be real. The lakes they are reported to live in all have similar characteristics, including cast depths formed by glaciers at the end of the last ice age. Almost all are located in northern latitudes.

Most legends go back hundreds of years. Native American Indians have names for all the North American lake monsters that were also spotted by colonial settlers continuing up to this day by modern locals. Loch Ness sightings became popular in the early 1930’s and not much is reported before then. However, the Loch is in such remote location that earlier sightings might not have been reported outside of the local villages.

Witnesses across the globe, regardless of which lake, describe the same basic animal. Something akin to a long-necked-dinosaur-type-aquatic-creature. Humps, long face and rolling wave producing disturbances are often reported.

As far as Nessie, the iconic "surgeons photo" has been discredited however several sonar anomalies exist. Photos and video of Ogo Pogo are common. Champ of Lake Champlain Vermont has had a remarkable photo taken by a passing family that stands as authentic to this day, on top of the dozens of witness accounts back to the 1800’s.

A curious thing is happening right now in the African countries of Congo, Cameroon, and Gabon. Villagers report a dinosaur looking creature called Mokele-Mbembe feeding in the shallow waters of rivers and lakes and it is described as a modern living sauropod. A long necked elephant sized creature that terrorizes the hippos in the areas it is seen.

Witnesses in China have reported about the Lake Tianchi monster, first sighted in the early 1900’s. This was described as a buffalo like animal with wings.

Skeptics laugh all of this off as misidentification. The creatures could actually be one of a hundred plausible things. However, new species of fauna are discovered every day, including large mammals. For example, a species of deer was discovered in Vietnam in the 1990’s, an entire plateau ecosystem in South America, in Borneo 2007 a treasure trove of uncatalogued animals was discovered and a new species of monkey was found this year in the Amazon. It is not completely implausible that there is something BIG and UNCATALOGUED in the lakes...

Sonar picture of Nessie, 1975

Above Top: The Mansi photo of Champ - Lake Champlain, Vermont, July 1977

Person of the Month - August 2009

ANNE FRANK

Anne Frank’s last diary entry was this day in 1944, 2 years into the life of hiding her and her Jewish family were forced into by Nazi Germany during WWII.

Millions of people who were Jewish, homosexual, ethnic, mentally retarded, developmentally challenged and physically handicapped were murdered by the Nazi’s. What makes Anne’s life stand out is her diary published by her only surviving family member after the war and her untimely death.

Anne Frank recorded the details of her life in a diary she was given by her father on her 13th birthday, just one month before they were forced to flee their apartment for a safe house, until this day in 1944. She was arrested 3 days later on August 4th, 1944.

She writes daily of mundane things, of historical events and of the interpersonal dynamics and living conditions they had to endure between themselves and with other fellow Jews, who had up until that point been total strangers and were all forced to live in a confined space together.

It’s an eloquent work for such a young girl living through the most insane, horrific conditions of fear and confinement and deprivation.

Although her and her family were well cared for by sympathizers, they were eventually betrayed. The family was torn apart - her and her sister were sent to the Bergin-Belsen concentration camp and her parents to Auschwitz where her mother, Edith, was murdered by the Nazi's through death by starvation. As were hundreds of thousands of others.

Anne died in March of 1945 of typhus from the decrepit and inhumane conditions of the prison camp that killed over 17,000 people at the same time. The Bergin-Belsen camp was liberated less than a month later sometime in April/May 1945. Too late for little Anne and her sister, Margot. As for the 100,000 Jews deported from the Netherlands that were murdered in concentration camps, less than 5,000 survived, including Anne’s father.

Her father, Otto, made his way back to the safe house reuniting with the people that had tried desperately to save them and was given back all the family’s possessions. The conspirators had kept everything in the faint hope that any of the family would make it back to reclaim their lives. At the bottom of the trunk of his family's personal possessions, lay Anne’s diary, discovered in a nook and saved. Anne’s father had no idea that she had not only saved her diary but had actually utilized it every night during the 2-plus years they were forced to hide. He was stunned to read her words regarding the family and the life they had been forced to abandon and the life they were forced to lead in stark terror.

Otto Frank published his beloved daughters diary posthumously in 1947 and it remains a best seller to this day. The book is critically acclaimed and gives one of the most genuine heartwrenching first person accounts of the days leading up to and through the Nazi atrocities. Yesterday, July 31, 2009 it was announced that the book has been placed on the UNESCO* documentary heritage list and is now officially considered a world treasure.

Anne Frank’s voice continues to ring loudest of all Nazi camp victims and resonates through the years to all of today and tomorrow. We must never forget. The senseless abuse and murder of her, her family and those of the millions of others lost in the Holocaust should always be remembered as a lesson to future generations.

And her last entry? She wrote: "I am very bored. The entire day I am walking around the room. I have nothing to do."

Learn more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_frank

http://www.annefrank.org/

http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?PID=916&LID=2