Friday, 29 March 2024

Opinion

Some historians say, America began a silly search for extraterrestrials in 1959. Two rather obtuse men, Professors Morrison and Cocconi from Cornell University, carelessly assumed Earth evilution to be true. They also speculated, in a seminal letter, life must be evolving in outer space. Not the sharpest knives in the drawer, they recommended using radio telescopes to listen in on space-alien conversations. The hunt for ET was on.


Acronymed research groups multiplied. Project Sentinel inspired Project Phoenix which inspired META. SETI was organized. Famous universities joined the mother-of-all wild goose chases: Harvard, MIT, JPL and Caltech led the charge. The sky wasn’t falling it was talking, they imagined in a foggy delirium. ET wasn’t phoning home, he was phoning Earth. The US government jumped on the band wagon and provided money. Grants followed grants. NASA joined JPL and formed the NASA Ames Research Center. A 330-meter dish at Arecibo in Puerto Rico with high sensitivity and billions of frequency channels was constructed. Even Hollywood producer Stephen Spielberg donated $100,000 to buy electronic chips for META, hoping to find the real ET.


Sorry to say, foolishness is a disease not limited to North America. Like mindless lemmings, Argentina’s astronomers and engineers duplicated META’s hardware for their own southern hemisphere hunt for the same wild goose. North Americans can only listen to part of space, they said, we‘ll listen from the South. Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia joined the Argentinians. Huge radio telescopes from both hemispheres now scan the entire sky. Alas, the search for ET draws a galactic blank.


Radio telescope scientists are not necessarily foolish to look for ET. They’re foolish to assume they can use science they understand to find him. They’re foolish to assume he’s less intelligent. There’s plenty of evidence to show that ET does exist and the same evidence shows he’s far more advanced than earthlings. Why spend so much money on old radio telescope equipment? Thinking scientists know better. They understand they’ll have to make a lot more technological breakthroughs before they’ll be able to listen in on conversations from outer space. The evidence suggests space-aliens live in a higher fifth dimension and can avoid fourth-dimension human searches whenever they want. ET is laughing at all those huge radio telescopes.


Old school physicists only see and measure three spatial dimensions and one time-dimension called the fourth-dimension. They know very little about the fifth-dimension and aren’t putting much effort trying to learn. Sometimes it’s hard for fools with Ph.D.s to admit they don’t know everything. If they accept the evidence of extraterrestrials, living and communicating in a fifth-dimension, they'll have to admit someone is smarter and far more advanced than they. They’re satisfied to spend billions of dollars on radio telescopes in the fourth-dimension they understand.


Physicists have been aware of signs of the fifth-dimension for more than 40 years. Anyone can catch a glimpse of the fifth-dimension when moving while watching a hologram (holograms are three dimensional pictures placed on a two dimensional surface which gives the image a curvature when the observer moves). Mathematicians also know five-dimensional space occurs frequently in their field. They know how to project images of polytopes in fifth-dimension geometry (hexatetrons, decaterons, and triacontakaditerons). Other physicists see signs that gravity is unified with the electromagnetic force which opens avenues of research into the higher dimension.


Unfortunately, the Carl Sagan scientists largely ignore good evidence and say the fifth-dimension is “hypothetical,” or joke about music performed by the Byrds. All the while, ET lives in his more advanced world that nobody understands and no one can hear what he says.


Outside fields of holograms, mathematics and gravity, there is a profusion of evidence supporting research into the fifth-dimension and extraterrestrials. Some scientist won’t call it evidence because it’s eyewitness and personal experience. Air plane pilots (both Air Force and civilian) have made written reports about “UFOs” flying alongside. Sometimes they appear and disappear or change direction suddenly and perhaps even accelerate to the speed of light. These reports gather dust in filing cabinets because physicists can’t reconcile eyewitness evidence with test tube evidence. More and more, “UFOs” are captured on movie cameras of ordinary citizens. SETI yawns. They don’t consider this contact with ET and build bigger and better radio telescopes.


Not long ago, Hollywood made a movie, “The Exorcist,” based on a true story about a girl possessed by an evil spirit. In the story, something strong and invisible threw a Catholic priest out the window of a two-story building. The priest died and an accompanying priest wrote the report. Neither astrophysicists nor particle physicists investigated because they don't accept personal experiences or eyewitness data to be related to physics. Also, these kinds of personal experience stories upsets some people because they suggest extraterrestrials may not all be benevolent.


There are thousands of reports about people making contact with something “spiritual” using Ouija boards. Physicists say these messages are really from within the person using the board but personal testimonies by the thousands say the contacts are from without and by someone or something intelligent that sometimes causes great harm. To those who know about Ouija boards, the physicists are the ones who are unscientific.


Paranormal stories can also be scientific evidence that ET does exist. People really have seen and reported ghosts and haunted houses with corroborating witnesses. They’ve been cross-examined by skeptics and could not be shaken. Neither can scientists put these stories in test tubes so they don’t use them in their research.


Classical physicists won’t accept parallel stories about extraterrestrials told in the Bible. There are many fantastic eyewitness and personal experience chronicles about space-aliens who have not only phoned earth but visited. Their stories have been cross-examined and found to be reliable.


One ET healed the sick, and raised a man from the dead. He had a special ability to appear and disappear. More than 500 witnesses saw Him defy gravity and levitate from the ground up into the clouds.


Another man on the road to Damascus was knocked off his donkey by an ET. He only saw a bright light and heard a voice telling him what to do. Also, Jacob wrestled all night with an ET. Elijah was swept up in a whirl wind. These and many other stories tell about mankind’s close encounters of a third kind with more advanced life forms. They don’t make sense to scientists stuck in the fourth-dimension.


The search for extraterrestrials is really the search for physicists’ fifth-dimension. It’s not hypothetical and it’s not music by the Byrds. It may be the place Mister Mxyzptlk comes from. Fifth-dimension physics opens up mind-boggling possibilities that scientists may fear because something or someone is more intelligent and further advanced than they. Signs point to travel at the speed of light and the wonderful ability to appear and disappear. Laws of gravity may be suspended. Mind-blowing medical breakthroughs to heal the sick and live forever young are phenomenal possibilities.


Radio telescopes just won’t get it done. They’re a nonsensical waste of money. Researchers must share and accept each other’s evidence and not be like blindfolded men feeling an elephant. One blind man feels the trunk and says it’s a snake. Another feels a leg and thinks it’s a tree. Yet another feels a tusk and says it’s a spear. They don’t know they’ve all discovered the same elephant.


The physicist must accept the evidence of the airplane pilot who must accept the images of the amateur photographer who must accept the evidence of the exorcist who must accept the evidence of a person who was miraculously healed. Evidence can be cross-examined, of course. That which cannot be shaken must be accepted and shared if mankind is to ever escape the fourth-dimension and listen in on ET‘s conversations.


Darrell Watkins lives in Kelseyville.


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Our recent household water usage was higher than usual, so my husband queried experts at the water district. “Are you eating your water bill?” they asked. Now that’s something we hadn’t heard before. It means water usage usually increases when summer gardens are growing. We felt reassured.


Later, relaxing in the shade of a fruitless mulberry tree, we surveyed our Hidden Valley Lake backyard. The fruit trees generously feed us cherries, apples, and figs. We eat grapes from grapevines growing along the back fence. Our persimmons will ripen soon.


From two raised-bed gardens, we eat zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, kale, artichokes, eggplant, strawberries, basil, parsley, garlic chives, oregano and lemon thyme. And, we’re harvesting giant sunflower and pumpkin seeds to roast.


Around a tiny lawn in our unfenced front yard, sage, rosemary and lavender plants flourish underneath three flowering fruit trees.


This is the first summer we’ve swapped vegetables over the fence with our neighbor, another gardener. Also new this year is the enjoyment my husband gets from lovingly preparing cardboard “gift baskets” for friends filled with vegetables and fruit from our yard.


Especially satisfying is consuming our own delicious food. We augment our fresh food supply by shopping at Kelseyville’s farmers’ market, an occasional trip to Hardester’s grocery store, and with home-grown beef from my dad in Natomas, near Sacramento.


Author Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, was my birthday gift from my son and daughter-in-law. Living in San Francisco, they live vicariously hearing our “crop reports” during weekly phone conversations.


Kingsolver’s book makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet. My husband and I bless our rural life in which we can raise our own food and consume what is raised by us or people we know.


We realize the growing season is finite. Our water use will soon lessen. Meanwhile, we give thanks for the water and the harvest it provides.


Susanne La Faver lives in Hidden Valley Lake with husband, Lyle.


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On Sept. 10 I could think of no other woman whose global influence has impacted so many lives as Anita Roddick.

Dame Anita Roddick lived in Britain, but dedicated her soul to the world. I never had the pleasure of meeting Dame Anita. But, I know that her bravery, business acumen and concern for all people touched my life.

She leaves us, her husband, and two daughters with a legacy to be admired, respected, and looked to for inspiration and guidance.

Dame Anita’s illustrious and socially conscious life included an education in teaching (Bath College of Higher Education), work for the United Nations, ownership of The Body Shop until 2006, and an exemplary record of achievement in humanitarianism.

Her life achievements include numerous awards in the areas of business ethics, business leadership, environment, Officer of the British Empire and an award for “Chief Wiper-Away of Ogoni Tears,” from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, Nigeria in 1999.

The connection that I share with Anita is multifold. In the 1990s my father, Dr. Carl Jensen, announced that Anita wanted to fund Sonoma State University’s Project Censored. At the time, Project Censored had published yearly books announcing the 10 most censored stories on a shoestring budget.

Anita’s gracious offer of funding helped Project Censored continue to bring significant stories to the public forum in a substantial way. Upon learning about the Body Shop through Dr. Jensen, I sought out her wares at The Body Shop. I was, as an environmentally conscious person, pleasantly surprised by the company’s product line.

True to her personal philosophy of healthy living, Anita’s company provided products that passed all environmental and animal protection activist concerns. Not only that, but Dame Anita sought the release of Nigeria’s social and environmental activist, Ken Saro Wiwa.

As an Environmental Studies and Planning Major at Sonoma State University I was touched by Anita’s call to save Nigeria’s forests, protect the Ogoni people, and release Ken Saro Wiwa from Nigeria’s prison.

The message I learned from her brave activism, care for people and the environment represents, absolutely, the ethos of love. Anita’s documented care for all transcended every act of humanitarianism I have witnessed in my life to date. This is a woman we all should have known, for she was humorous, loving, and gave to so many with all of her heart.

May we all be blessed with having known of Anita’s great work in our world.

Pia Jensen grew up in Santa Rosa and is former vice-mayor of Cotati. She visits Lake County on occasion to see family. She lives in Florida.

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A good friend of mine died Friday. He was only 50 years old, in good shape from years of construction work, didn't smoke or drink much – but Joe died today of a massive heart attack and I miss him already. The world is a little bit less with the lack of Joe.


Another friend of mine tells me that, on Friday morning, Joe wasn't feeling well, so his partner (common-law wife by now) took him to the doctor. You know how men are – they never want to go to the doctor unless they feel like they're about to die because there may be needles involved – so when he got in the car with her, she knew that something was terribly wrong.


Joe is ("was" is still too hard to say) a fly in the ointment – not always the life of the party – but almost. He's the instigator, he laughs the loudest from his belly, he's the first to get on his motorcycle – without a map – and say, "Let's go!" (Until that time he jumped back on his bike that had been sitting in the desert sun of Tonopah, Nev., for a few hours wearing the tattered jeans with the hole in crotch – and not wearing even boxer shorts underneath his jeans! – and had to miss the whole rest of the trip due to burns on very sensitive areas). But he was the guy who was always the last to go to sleep on a camping trip - and cleaned up the campsite and got it ready for coffee in the morning while everyone else was already asleep and dreaming of pancakes.


After his partner brought Joe, who didn't have health insurance or the $150 the doctor required for an office visit, back home, he died from a massive heart attack several hours later.


If California already had in place SB 840, Sen. Sheila Kuehl's universal health care bill, Joe would be alive right now. It probably never occurred to him to go to the emergency room at the hospital because he had always gone to his doctor's office in the past. But he no longer had health insurance or the $150 to get checked out.


Please urge our politicians to support SB 840.


www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/HCA_CA/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=7081


E-mail Terre Logsdon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..


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How important is it to remember 9/11/01? Is it just history or does it affect us even to this day? I believe, these are questions we all must ask ourselves. For those who have difficulty finding the answers to these questions, consider how much has happened since that day and in the name of that day. You may find, that horrific day didn’t just end at the death of 2,973 U.S. citizens, as tragic as that may be.


Since then, the toxic dust which New Yorkers were told was “safe and acceptable” by Former Mayor Giulani, has resulted in several deaths and serious lung problems including cancer. In fact, a federal judge ruled that former EPA director Christine Todd Whitman had misled residents and rescuers when she pronounced that the air quality in lower Manhattan met safety standards and necessitated neither a surgical mask nor a respirator. She claims under oath that she did this under the urgency of our federal government to get Wall Street and the economy up and running again and because Giuliani did not want New York to be seen as unsafe by a bunch of people wearing masks or hazmat suits.


In other words, our government was more concerned about money than about additional lives. Because of this, people like Felix Hernandez, Tim Keller, Deborah Reeve, James Zadroga, James Godbee, Felicia Dunn-Jones and their families have become additional victims of 9/11.


Since then, we have gone to war in Iraq, very simply based on the “threat” of another 9/11 terror attack. In fact, we have now lost more of our citizens to the war in Iraq than in the original 9/11 attack. Kind of defeats the purpose given, if you think about it.


So, let’s think about it. Let’s think about how 9/11 has changed the lives of U.S. citizens, the law and our government. Let’s think about how living in terror actually defeats the purpose of freedom and gives our enemies the upper hand. Let’s consider how we now have the Patriot Act in place has changed and will continue to change how we live. The Patriot Act now forces us (lawful U.S. citizens) to allow:


  • Physical searches and spying on U.S. citizens without a warrant and the right to do so without notifying the suspected party.

  • Monitoring of both the telephone and internet communications without giving notice or seeking a warrant.

  • Arrests solely on the basis of “suspicion” alone, without warrant and without a formal charge.

  • Detaining suspicious persons indefinitely and without notice neither publicly nor privately.

  • Deportation of legal immigrants for minor violations.

  • Carrying out selective prosecutions and racial profiling unchecked.

  • Detaining, deporting, and denying fundamental due process rights to lawful immigrants, including the right to legal counsel and public hearings.

  • Wire-tapping client confidential communications.


I think the answer is obvious. 9/11/01 is not history, as it is still shaping our lives. I believe it is worth not just remembering but worth thinking about.


This article is dedicated to ALL of the people who lost their lives, livelihoods and loves on 9/11/01.


Please visit :


www.fealgoodfoundation.com/WhoWeAre.html


www.911ea.org/Donation.htm


Lakeport resident Andrea Anderson's mother worked at the World Trade Center, and left the building 20 minutes before the first plane hit, losing many coworkers and friends.


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Ever since I first came to Lake County, almost 37 years ago, I have heard discussions on how to bring businesses to Lake County that will provide decent jobs for the next generations so they don’t have to relocate to more urbanized areas. Many of the better professional jobs in government and service are being snapped up, in a highly competitive job market, by people moving away from those same urban areas looking to escape and raise their children in a safer environment.


The age-old model revolved primarily around manufacturing and service oriented opportunities. Manufacturing of products has always been a tough sell here due to the isolated nature of the County and transportation costs and issues. The perception of isolation may be a greater hindrance than the reality but certainly gas prices haven’t helped. The size and weight of product also bears on this issue. There have been examples of successful manufacturing in Lake County, but not many.


One of the other issues we face is demographic in nature. We have a large percentage of elderly in our workforce not capable of enduring the rigors of manufacturing or service-related jobs. Also, as a former employer, I can testify to the difficulty of getting employees that are dependable and motivated.


While it is true that our wages fall to the low side, and some of our employers would be better suited to the 18th century sweat shop age, we still have a sizable number of work age people with dependency problems and a general inability to show up on time or at all and give a good day’s work.


The whys on that I’ll leave to the sociologists. The point is, we suffer from having a reputation as a county that does not have a highly dependable, well-trained work force. That hurts when it comes to attracting manufacturing or large service employers. And the reasons many of them may consider us our low wage scale is not something we’d like to emphasize as we try to raise wages and benefits for Lake County employees.


We know that small businesses form the nucleus of Lake County prosperity, along with tourism of course, but where the potential for economic growth really lies is at the heart of the discussion. I thought some County labor statistics might spark the conversation.


Manufacturing in Lake County accounts for only 2 percent of our workforce. Government provides the most substantial opportunities, accounting for 30 percent, however the turnover is less as these represent a significant number of the cush jobs here, offering retirement, benefits, holidays, relatively high salaries, etc.


The tourist industry is definitely large, representing 11 percent, but wreaks havoc on families due to pressures to work weekends, holidays and non-traditional shifts. With these kinds of schedules it’s difficult for families to schedule events where they can be together.


Education and health jobs represent a large percentage of our workforce at 14 percent. These jobs also represent some of the better long-term opportunities and we are certain to see an increase in these areas locally as our population ages and grows.


Trade, transportation and utilities account for 19% of our business this includes agriculture and retail of course.


Construction and Information both account for less than one percent of our workforce. The latter is an area where significant growth could occur if we commit to creating a reliable and advanced infrastructure.


Lake County comes in at providing almost $8,000 less per year per capita income for its citizens than the California average. This is one of the statistics that has to change if we want our kids to remain here. More than 1,000 of our workers commute to Mendocino County to work and a total of 22 percent of our available workforce commutes to other counties for employment. Even more interesting, six percent of our workforce comes into Lake County from other counties to work!


One of the more alarming statistics is the projections for growth that may lie ahead. When my family first came to Lake County there were less than 40,000 residents. By 2020, that is expected to double to 80,000. Expectations run at about 1,000 new residents per year to increase the load on our schools and services, transportation and roads, health and government services, and of course our workforce.


Unless Lake County sets benchmarks for controlling this influx, these immigrating citizens many with high levels of education and transferable skills seeking to escape metropolis will suck up the better jobs or, at the very least, increase the highly competitive circumstances we already have. Do we want to have 110,000 residents by 2050?


Just as a side anecdote for one receptionist position at a local doctor’s office, more than 150 applications were accepted. One of the local casinos had more than 300 applicants nationwide for a general manager position. One of the Geysers postings looking for eight to 16 positions had well over 300 applicants. County positions routinely have 60 or more initial applicants. So our workforce is struggling to find jobs with benefits and commensurate salaries.


A living wage enough to support a worker with rent, fuel, food and basics, is now defined at $15 per hour. Lake County citizens know from experience that the number of local jobs that pay that wage are few and far between. That’s why there are so many families working two or three jobs to make ends meet, and so many falling behind or living under poverty standards without benefits or retirement. To compound that problem, more employers are hiring workers at less than full-time so they can avoid costs of benefits.


Ultimately we still suffer from that traditional early industrial viewpoint of “us versus them” when it comes to employee-employer relationships. We need a thorough education program for our businesses and our workforce to encourage a different perspective. We need more, not less, commitment from both groups to understanding each others needs and problems.


For employers, it shouldn’t be how much can we get for the least cost from our employees it should be what can we do to enhance our employees lives and families, reward them for enthusiastic participation, increase their motivation and help them realize that their quality of work affects us all.


Similarly, employees need to realize that employers need dependable, sober and motivated workers not looking for an easy buck. In a small community, which we still are, we are all interdependent, and the more we look after each other even in business the more attractive staying here will be for our youth.


So what kind of future do we want to encourage here? Information and green technology holds significant promise, with above-average earnings and tremendous growth potential if we have the technological communications infrastructure to support it.


Agriculture still has significant promise if we capture the higher net profit organics market and encourage our local citizens to support that economy by buying locally grown produce and products if only because they’re better for our children’s health. But where will these farm workers come from? There aren’t a lot of Lake County citizens prepared to do this kind of work who aren’t doing it already. Farming isn’t easy but if the wage were high enough it certainly would be an area for expansion for business and workforce especially small farm co-ops. Lake County citizens would have to buy into supporting them but if the products were good, I think that would happen.


Manufacturing growth shouldn’t be excluded from our plan just be well-planned and prepared for. The manufacturing of green products and materials could hold significant promise because green business owners often are as influenced by environment and atmosphere as much as bottom line.


Just as Silicon Valley became a center for computer technologies, Lake and Mendocino counties could host an international green business revolution. Someone needs to be doing the work of developing the contact lists and liaison activities that are required for this type of marketing and outreach to encourage new green businesses to consider Lake County as their primary location. Once again, for this to happen our communications infrastructure must be as technologically advanced as possible.


Bottom line is that Lake County has tremendous potential. We have some problems both with the habits, training and motivation of our workforce and with the attitudes and practices of some of our employers. If we don’t want new citizens coming in to take the cream of the jobs away from our kids workforce development and business relations needs to rise to the top of our priorities.


There’s a lot that needs to be done and the agencies given this responsibility from state and federal programs are so hamstrung by paperwork and lack of funding that many of them are competing to offer identical redundant services. A comprehensive and easily accessed pool of Lake County residents looking for work is non-existent. Employers need to take the initiative to educate themselves as to the most effective ways to motivate and re-energize their workers.


A little profit sacrificed today to improve relations, hold better employees and improve benefits and conditions could make the difference in their bottom line tomorrow.


I look forward to the conversation.


James BlueWolf in an artist and author. He lives in Nice.


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