On this day I honor my passed friend, Ed Lutz, I say a final prayer for America's Daughter, Amanda Knox.
Her fate will become known shortly and we pray for a final resolution.
Godspeed Chuck Knox, Wife, and siblings of Amanda, we are all praying for you.
Gary Ozenne
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Can You Imagine ?
Mr. and Mrs America:
Your daughter has been falsely accused of a horrible crime of murder. The prosecutor, plays out fantasy, fantastic, and false scenarios which captivated Italian justice with its lurid stories of sex and ritual. The flimsy evidence, under more careful review, reveals several serious flaws of acceptance of evidence.
I, for one, pledge my support to Chuck Knox, his wife, and daughters. Godspeed, all.
Gary O
Your daughter has been falsely accused of a horrible crime of murder. The prosecutor, plays out fantasy, fantastic, and false scenarios which captivated Italian justice with its lurid stories of sex and ritual. The flimsy evidence, under more careful review, reveals several serious flaws of acceptance of evidence.
I, for one, pledge my support to Chuck Knox, his wife, and daughters. Godspeed, all.
Gary O
Monday, September 19, 2011
Pot and Banks
Banks in Medical-Marijuana States Going to Pot?
Published September 19, 2011
| FOXBusiness
Smoking medical marijuana may be legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia, but selling it still violates federal law, and “ganja-preneurs,” the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries, say this conflict between the state and federal government is a buzz-kill.
Banks in states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes won't do business with dispensary owners for fear that regulators will target them in federal investigations. Federal regulators maintain banks which do business with dispensaries are supporting activities that, even if legal in the state, are illegal at the federal level.
In a memo the Department of Justice issued to U.S. Attorneys last June, the federal government made its stance on federal marijuana law clear: “The Department is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States,” the memo stated. “Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large scale criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels.”
This wording was intended to clarify an earlier memo from October of 2009, which had given the appearance of leniency in enforcement of federal laws prohibiting marijuana. That memo instructed U.S. attorneys that regulators “…should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”
This recent intensification from the Justice Department in its intent to prosecute violations of the Controlled Substances Act is scaring banks away from opening and maintaining accounts for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Banks in states where marijuana is legal for medical purposes won't do business with dispensary owners for fear that regulators will target them in federal investigations. Federal regulators maintain banks which do business with dispensaries are supporting activities that, even if legal in the state, are illegal at the federal level.
In a memo the Department of Justice issued to U.S. Attorneys last June, the federal government made its stance on federal marijuana law clear: “The Department is committed to the enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in all States,” the memo stated. “Congress has determined that marijuana is a dangerous drug and that the illegal distribution and sale of marijuana is a serious crime that provides a significant source of revenue to large scale criminal enterprises, gangs, and cartels.”
This wording was intended to clarify an earlier memo from October of 2009, which had given the appearance of leniency in enforcement of federal laws prohibiting marijuana. That memo instructed U.S. attorneys that regulators “…should not focus federal resources in your States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”
This recent intensification from the Justice Department in its intent to prosecute violations of the Controlled Substances Act is scaring banks away from opening and maintaining accounts for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Jill Lamoureux, who owns and operates four medical marijuana dispensaries in Colorado, said she’s now been through two credit unions and two banks, the most recent of which, Colorado Springs State Bank, will close her account on Sept. 30.
“There is an unclear regulatory situation…it became unmanageable in a lot of respects and that was unfortunate,” said John Whitten, Senior Vice President of Colorado Springs State Bank.
Whitten said the bank does not want to have to close their medical marijuana accounts, but one thing both banks and regulators agree upon is that until the differences between the federal and state policies on cannabis are reconciled, these businesses will continue to encounter difficulties finding a banker.
“How should the banks approach it? It’s illegal at the federal level and then legal at the state level, and yet the banks have an obligation to take care of their communities,” Whitten said. “These businesses are part of those communities, so how do we reconcile that?”
Lamoureux said she has found a bank to accept her deposits, but wouldn’t mention it by name for fear that any media attention would prompt the bank to close her account. She thinks the banks have shied away from servicing account-holders like her because medical marijuana is still a nascent business in Colorado that’s not yet profitable enough to compel the banks to risk additional regulatory attention.
“In California the banking problem doesn’t seem to be as bad; their dispensaries may not be regulated as much and they are more profitable,” Lamoureux said.
Congressman Jared Polis (D-Co.) has introduced legislation into the U.S. House of Representatives that would shift regulatory responsibility for medical marijuana businesses away from the federal government to the state governments, and would eliminate the need for financial institutions to report medical marijuana businesses’ activities to the federal government.
Calling it a “fast-growing” industry, and citing the $7.34 million the state of Colorado has already received in licensing fees from medical marijuana dispensary applications, Polis argues that roadblocks to the success of the industry need be removed so these businesses can get back to “providing jobs and tax revenues right when our economy needs it.”
Allen St. Pierre, the Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a D.C.-based advocacy group, said despite these hurdles, dispensaries have made marked progress on the “road to legalization.”
“If the federal government would simply end prohibition, than we wouldn’t be engaged in any of this nitwittery whatsoever,” St. Pierre said. “The federal government created this mess, and they’re about the only entity that can fix it.”
“There is an unclear regulatory situation…it became unmanageable in a lot of respects and that was unfortunate,” said John Whitten, Senior Vice President of Colorado Springs State Bank.
Whitten said the bank does not want to have to close their medical marijuana accounts, but one thing both banks and regulators agree upon is that until the differences between the federal and state policies on cannabis are reconciled, these businesses will continue to encounter difficulties finding a banker.
“How should the banks approach it? It’s illegal at the federal level and then legal at the state level, and yet the banks have an obligation to take care of their communities,” Whitten said. “These businesses are part of those communities, so how do we reconcile that?”
Lamoureux said she has found a bank to accept her deposits, but wouldn’t mention it by name for fear that any media attention would prompt the bank to close her account. She thinks the banks have shied away from servicing account-holders like her because medical marijuana is still a nascent business in Colorado that’s not yet profitable enough to compel the banks to risk additional regulatory attention.
“In California the banking problem doesn’t seem to be as bad; their dispensaries may not be regulated as much and they are more profitable,” Lamoureux said.
Congressman Jared Polis (D-Co.) has introduced legislation into the U.S. House of Representatives that would shift regulatory responsibility for medical marijuana businesses away from the federal government to the state governments, and would eliminate the need for financial institutions to report medical marijuana businesses’ activities to the federal government.
Calling it a “fast-growing” industry, and citing the $7.34 million the state of Colorado has already received in licensing fees from medical marijuana dispensary applications, Polis argues that roadblocks to the success of the industry need be removed so these businesses can get back to “providing jobs and tax revenues right when our economy needs it.”
Allen St. Pierre, the Executive Director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), a D.C.-based advocacy group, said despite these hurdles, dispensaries have made marked progress on the “road to legalization.”
“If the federal government would simply end prohibition, than we wouldn’t be engaged in any of this nitwittery whatsoever,” St. Pierre said. “The federal government created this mess, and they’re about the only entity that can fix it.”
Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/09/19/banks-in-medical-marijuana-states-going-to-pot/#ixzz1YQNIoGdW
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Symbols and Justice
I am finishing my Appellants Opening Brief, which is a description of the facts of the case, and again I am hopeful. Hoping that these words will trigger certain synaptic connections that will lead these justices to grant me a hearing to produce my proof, and make my claim of unlawful behavior by these banks.
I have been hopeful before, nine times since 2003.
In each of those nine different appeals, I have failed, with the use of symbols (words) to convince even one justice, that I am guaranteed by the constitution to my day in court. Specifically the fifth and fourteenth amendments to that constitution which guarantees due process. Instead my case has become somewhat of a hot potato to the judiciary, each body, dispatching it, without addressing the undeniable violation of law, which caused this mess, by greedy Wall Street bankers, and their service companies.
But as my hero, Winston Churchill, once said, "We will never surrender"
I have been hopeful before, nine times since 2003.
In each of those nine different appeals, I have failed, with the use of symbols (words) to convince even one justice, that I am guaranteed by the constitution to my day in court. Specifically the fifth and fourteenth amendments to that constitution which guarantees due process. Instead my case has become somewhat of a hot potato to the judiciary, each body, dispatching it, without addressing the undeniable violation of law, which caused this mess, by greedy Wall Street bankers, and their service companies.
But as my hero, Winston Churchill, once said, "We will never surrender"
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Past v Future
In spite of the facts, many citizens still oppose the use of medical marijuana.
It is not clear why some would oppose this god given weed of cannabis sativa.
It is not clear why some would oppose this god given weed of cannabis sativa.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Elizabeth Warren
Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren has announced that she will run as a democrat to fight for the seat held by Scott Brown, the seat held by Edward Kennedy.
Good Luck Elizabeth, I have been a big fan since 2004.
Good Luck Elizabeth, I have been a big fan since 2004.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Have Faith in the DNA - God's Blueprinting Intelligence
A LONG DECADE AGO
In the trillions of multiplying unique human forms over time, it’s not surprising that the DNA would eventually produce one with a mindset that would use the tools of a modern world, such as jumbo jets, and couple it with a fanatical religious perspective to produce mayhem upon society.
The real threat now, reminds us to think several steps ahead into areas never thought of before. After all, the success of the September 2001 attacks, were in their surprise. Who would have ever thought of using an airplane as a weapon of war. And it was not a nation, or a religion that pulled it off. It was a number of lunatic individuals, and the main lunatic himself; Bin Laden. The crucial meeting of Bin Laden with Atta, was as much determined by fate as anything else in this tragic chain of events and oversights.
At least lower Manhattan
Thursday, September 8, 2011
From "The Playboy Interview: Marshall McLuhan", Playboy Magazine, March 1969.
The Playboy Interview:
Marshall McLuhan
A candid conversation with the high priest of popcult and metaphysician of
media
In 1961, the name of Marshall McLuhan was unknown to everyone but his English
students at the University of Toronto -- and a coterie of academic admirers who
followed his abstruse articles in small-circulation quarterlies. But then came two
remarkable books -- The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962) and Understanding Media
(1964) -- and the graying professor from Canada's western hinterlands soon found
himself characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "the hottest academic
property around." He has since won a world-wide following for his brilliant -- and
frequently baffling -- theories about the impact of the media on man; and his name
has entered the French language as mucluhanisme, a synonym for the world of
pop culture.
Though his books are written in a difficult style -- at once enigmatic, epigrammatic
and overgrown with arcane literary and historic allusions -- the revolutionary ideas
lurking in them have made McLuhan a best-selling author. Despite protests from a
legion of outraged scholastics and old-guard humanists who claim that McLuhan's
ideas range from demented to dangerous, his free-for-all theorizing has attracted
the attention of top executives at General Motors (who paid him a handsome fee to
inform them that automobiles were a thing of the past), Bell Telephone (to whom
he explained that they didn't really understand the function of the telephone) and a
leading package-design house (which was told that packages will soon be
obsolete). Anteing up $5000, another huge corporation asked him to predict -- via
closed-circuit television -- what their own products will be used for in the future; and
Canada's turned-on Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau engages him in monthly bull
sessions designed to improve his television image.
Marshall McLuhan
A candid conversation with the high priest of popcult and metaphysician of
media
In 1961, the name of Marshall McLuhan was unknown to everyone but his English
students at the University of Toronto -- and a coterie of academic admirers who
followed his abstruse articles in small-circulation quarterlies. But then came two
remarkable books -- The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962) and Understanding Media
(1964) -- and the graying professor from Canada's western hinterlands soon found
himself characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "the hottest academic
property around." He has since won a world-wide following for his brilliant -- and
frequently baffling -- theories about the impact of the media on man; and his name
has entered the French language as mucluhanisme, a synonym for the world of
pop culture.
Though his books are written in a difficult style -- at once enigmatic, epigrammatic
and overgrown with arcane literary and historic allusions -- the revolutionary ideas
lurking in them have made McLuhan a best-selling author. Despite protests from a
legion of outraged scholastics and old-guard humanists who claim that McLuhan's
ideas range from demented to dangerous, his free-for-all theorizing has attracted
the attention of top executives at General Motors (who paid him a handsome fee to
inform them that automobiles were a thing of the past), Bell Telephone (to whom
he explained that they didn't really understand the function of the telephone) and a
leading package-design house (which was told that packages will soon be
obsolete). Anteing up $5000, another huge corporation asked him to predict -- via
closed-circuit television -- what their own products will be used for in the future; and
Canada's turned-on Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau engages him in monthly bull
sessions designed to improve his television image.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Us and Them
World Economy and Pink Floyd
The United States was struggling through the great depression when Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941.
Suddenly, on a dime, the will of the nation changed. Political differences vanished and Americans had a common enemy. The government started building tanks, ships, and airplanes. Unemployment vanished and people had money to spend to fuel the economy. Prosperity continued for decades after the axis surrender in 1945.
Today, perhaps, we need a common enemy to focus on, to do what needs to be done.
It will likely need to be from outer space, since the whole world is in this financial mess.
In America, the problem is made worse by the two political parties, who both truly beleive they are right, and doing the right thing, to cure our financial ills.
Peace
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
From Fox News
NEW NUCLEOTIDES IDENTIFIED IN HUMAN DNA
Human DNA includes eight nucleotides instead of the four originally identified.
- Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:04 PM ET
Content provided by Fox News
(8) Comments | Leave a Comment
THE GIST
- Researchers added and removed methyl groups to identify these new nucleotides.
- The list of DNA nucleotides had been previously increased from four to six.
- The discovery could someday advance the field of stem cell research.
When scientists talk of DNA sequencing, it's written as strings of these letters: A, T, C, G.Click to enlarge this image.
Lawrence Lawry/Getty Images
Lawrence Lawry/Getty Images
The human recipe just got complicated: It turns out there are more ingredients in us than we thought.
In high school science, we were taught of the four basic units that make up DNA -- adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine. When scientists talk of DNA sequencing, it's written as strings of these units: ATCGGTGA, and so on.
NEWS: Personal DNA Tests Arriving in Stores Near You
In recent years, scientists expanded that list of nucleotides from four to six. And in a study published online in the most recent issue of Science magazine, researchers from the University of North Carolina School's medical school have discovered the seventh and eight bases of DNA.
But the meaning of this extra ingredient in the alphabet soup that makes us who we are isn't as simple as A, B, C.
"Before we can grasp the magnitude of this discovery, we have to figure out the function of these new bases," said Yi Zhang, biochemistry and biophysics professor at UNC's Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Zhang arrived at his discovery by playing around with the chemical makeup of the base cytosine; by adding a new chemical tag -- called a methyl group -- to the base it became those fifth and sixth units. This process, called methylation,causes the DNA's double helix to fold even tighter upon itself.
WIDE ANGLE: All About DNA
Demethylation describes the removal of a chemical group from a molecule, a process that led to the new 7th and 8th units -- they've been given the ugly names 5-formylcytosine and 5 carboxylcytosine. (The fifth base -- 5 methylC -- and the sixth base -- 5 hydroxymethylC -- have equally ungainly names, to be fair.)
"These bases represent an intermediate state in the demethylation process," he explained.
Once better understood, Zhang hopes his discovery could someday advance the field of stem cell research. By demethylating DNA, it may be possible to reprogram adult cells to make them act like stem cells.
It could also inform cancer research, as it could give scientists the opportunity to reactivate tumor suppressor genes that had been silenced.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Einstein on War
May the conscience and the common sense of the peoples be awakened, so that we may reach a new stage in the life of nations, where people will look back on war as an incomprehensible aberration of their forefathers!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Communicating with symbols (words)
I have always been able to get my point across to whom ever I was trying to communicate with, until a decade ago, when I asked the court to examine how this Wall Street Bank, Chase Manhattan, and their service agent, Ocwen Federal Bank FSB, violated federal bankruptcy law, which caused the loss of my home of 26 years, and the fledgling business, Residential Fire Sprinklers, operated from that home.
The facts are indisputable and the law is well settled, the trick is to get a court hearing, which has been my dilemma since my unlawful eviction in 2003 . I needed a courtroom forum (trial) to prove the facts and have the court apply the law.
In eight separate appeals to United States Bankruptcy, District, Appeals, and Supreme court to gain a hearing, the courts have always sided with the banks. Current appeal 11-60039 US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
The facts are indisputable and the law is well settled, the trick is to get a court hearing, which has been my dilemma since my unlawful eviction in 2003 . I needed a courtroom forum (trial) to prove the facts and have the court apply the law.
In eight separate appeals to United States Bankruptcy, District, Appeals, and Supreme court to gain a hearing, the courts have always sided with the banks. Current appeal 11-60039 US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
Sunday Morning
In 2006 when I lost my medical insurance at Kaiser Permenente, the doctors would not keep me on the strong drugs they were prescribing to treat my severe case of psoriasis, which covered most of my body. The doctors needed to closely monitor my blood, to insure other internal body organs were not being affected.
A doctor in Palm Springs recommended I try medical marijuana, and cautioned me about the effects of the drugs I had been using to treat the severe skin condition.
The medical marijuana provided great relief from the constant itching associated with psoriasis. It also had other benefits which can be the subject of future posts.
In addition, today I must state: I smoke medical marijuana (sativa), because
I FEEL CLOSER TO GOD !
Peace, on this Labor Day 2011
A doctor in Palm Springs recommended I try medical marijuana, and cautioned me about the effects of the drugs I had been using to treat the severe skin condition.
The medical marijuana provided great relief from the constant itching associated with psoriasis. It also had other benefits which can be the subject of future posts.
In addition, today I must state: I smoke medical marijuana (sativa), because
I FEEL CLOSER TO GOD !
Peace, on this Labor Day 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Nearby Pieces on the Board
Our environment and society strives to keep the individual focused on nearby pieces on the board - the debt crisis, the presidents speech, the start of football season, political debates, joblessness, the global financial crisis, wars in Afghanistan, the arab spring, a new government for Libya.
This is done, of course, to keep the individual's perspective focused on the nearby pieces on life's chess board. Just as the horse's on Main Street in Disneyland have blinders to prevent them
from becoming distracted from their intended purpose of pulling a horse powered carriage.
The horse is spared the oversight, that as he pulls the carriage, he is one trip closer to his or her final destination at the glue factory. Our consciousness is often focused on immediate pressures of survival in our society, which is essentially pleasing the boss, so that our supply of money is not cut off.
Like Disney's horses, we concentrate on the immediate influences; job, home, family, friends, pleasure, and putting off the larger questions of why we are here, how did it all start? how will it end ?
This is done, of course, to keep the individual's perspective focused on the nearby pieces on life's chess board. Just as the horse's on Main Street in Disneyland have blinders to prevent them
from becoming distracted from their intended purpose of pulling a horse powered carriage.
The horse is spared the oversight, that as he pulls the carriage, he is one trip closer to his or her final destination at the glue factory. Our consciousness is often focused on immediate pressures of survival in our society, which is essentially pleasing the boss, so that our supply of money is not cut off.
Like Disney's horses, we concentrate on the immediate influences; job, home, family, friends, pleasure, and putting off the larger questions of why we are here, how did it all start? how will it end ?
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