Solar Eclipse Special Edition

Note: I don’t provide commentary for every article linked here but ask that for the sake of context, please read the linked articles first.


Okinawa in the News:

Okinawa trying to get goat back on the menu
By KEISUKE KOROGI
Kyodo News
NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) Okinawa has begun promoting goat meat, once a traditional food here but on the decline due to the increasing diversification of culinary culture.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090619f3.html

Comment: If you’ve been following my Goya Republic blog and you noticed after reading the story we linked here from the Japan Times that the lady seated on the left looked familiar. She is. We visited her and several others at the Makishi market a few months ago. You can read our original coverage in this blog post linked here.
http://goyarepublic.blogspot.com/2008/12/good-eating-meets-great-deals.html
Speaking of goat meat, not particularly my cup of tea but if you’re going to live in Rome, you have to do as the Roman’s do! But even if you’re not going to be the brave one and try some of the Tsubame Shokudo’s goat laced goodies, stop by and check out the fresh fish available from the market on the lower floor. Then see the good folks at Tsubame and have them dish it up the way you like it!

Commentary: Normally I place my commentary after the individual stories but this one time, I’d like to change that just a little. Please read the following related stories from different sources and tell me which one is telling the truth?

Far western isle a defense outpost?
YONAGUNI, Okinawa Prefecture--This remote island within spitting distance of Taiwan looks set to one day become Japan's westernmost border defense outpost.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200907100075.html

Defense Ministry considering placing GSDF members on Okinawa's Yonaguni Island
The Ministry of Defense is considering placing Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) members on Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture, the westernmost point of Japan, it has been learned.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20090709p2a00m0na015000c.html

Commentary Continued: When it comes to which one is telling the truth, essentially they both are but they certainly give readers polar opposite views of the same story don’t they! For example, in one story, they mention that “some residents are opposed” and in the other it mentions that the “local residents passed a referendum supporting” the move. You see, both statements are correct but by mentioning some facts and omitting others, it certainly changes the way a story reads doesn’t it. The question to be asked is, is this just shoddy journalism was it done deliberately or is it a little bit of both?

Now ask yourself, is the media biased? If you’re being honest with yourself, the answer you should give is affirmative, of course they are! So we need to stop pretending that every journalist is unbiased. More importantly, journalists need to stop pretending that they’re unbiased. We as news consumers need to hear the whole story. We also need journalists and more importantly the editors to stop shaping the news to form public opinion in the way they want it to be. They are supposed to give us the facts. Clearly from the examples given here, that is the last thing one or both of these publications had in mind.


Japan in the News:

A Disaster in the Making?
While everyone around Japan is all hyped up about next week’s total eclipse of the sun, some people are concerned that it could trigger an earthquake, volcanic eruption or worse!? Some people think that this is a very real possibility! After all, the gravitational effects of the moon have been linked to volcanic eruptions in the past and on Wednesday, the 22nd of July the moon will have a little extra help from the sun as a total eclipse of the sun passes directly over a very active fault zone and several active volcanoes in the northern Ryukyu Islands.

The entire Ryukyu archipelago is seismically active. The northern zone called the Amami Island group which is now a part of Kagoshima Prefecture is one place in Japan where the eclipse of the sun will be total. This is also the most seismically active area in the chain of islands that spreads from southern Kyushu to Taiwan. The Ryukyu Island archipelago marks the boundary where the Philippine plate subducts under the Asian plate and the whole region is prone to earthquakes and tremors. Add a few volcanoes into the mix and if the theory is right, we have the possibility for one or more potential disasters on this remote region.

We all know how the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon affect the high and low tides. What many people seem to forget is that even though we have our feet firmly planted upon dry ground; that dry ground is floating on top of a core of molten rock. To add insult to injury, that ground has a lot of cracks in it known as fault zones and sometimes they can cause a lot of really big problems for anyone living nearby. So it just goes to reason that just as the sun and the moon affect the ocean tides, so too it can affect the surface of the planet as it floats on its liquid center.

Another point to ponder is that while the eclipse takes place on the 22nd of July, the moon is in perigee on the 21st. What is perigee you ask? That is when the moon in its orbit, which is elliptical, is closest to the earth. It’s also the closest perigee this calendar year. Hence because the moon is so close, its gravitational effects on the earth will be greatest. There are some links below about perigee if you care to read about it some more.

Now add that the moon and sun will be in perfect alignment and the moon’s shadow will pass over a hot seismic area (one of those major cracks in the earth’s crust I mentioned before) and we may have the making of a potential disaster. To be honest, I don’t know if something bad is going to happen or not! I’ve heard this theory before and the feasibility of it intrigues me. I also sort of remember something about eclipses of this nature being “Bad Omens” or something to that effect. I just wanted to get on the record as having said it before the fact.

But there is a major problem with the theory as applied to an eclipse of the sun. The eclipse of the sun will appear in the morning at around 9:30 local time. That means that the sun and the moon are far off to the east. So even though they are in alignment, from our vantage point, and will provide some additional gravitational pull, they are actually over another part of the planet, probably near the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Secondly, the Amami Island group is situated well above the tropics. That means that at high noon when the eclipse is for the most part over and sun appears to be directly over head, the moon be further off to our east and the sun which never traverses to the north of the tropic of cancer will instead be much farther to our south in the tropics, probably closer to the Philippine Islands.

Lastly, the day begins with the sun chasing the moon across the sky from east to west. The moon, which orbits the earth at a speed slightly slower than the sun appears to travel across the sky will still be further off to our east and projecting its awe inspiring shadow further off out into the Pacific Ocean. That is why the eclipse begins in the west and moves to the east as the day progresses.

Now I’m no mathematician and I know even less about such things as trigonometry but it would seem to me that the gravitational pull of both of these heavenly bodies would be at its strongest where they meet at high noon as they traverse the sky. That’s not local time here in Okinawa but further out to sea somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

If the theory of gravitational pull affecting earthquakes and volcanoes is true, then it is more likely to take place somewhere to our east out in the vast Pacific Ocean. Or perhaps even the day before when the moon is in perigee. That doesn’t mean that earthquakes and volcanic eruptions as a result of the eclipse are not possible here, it just seems to me that it is a lot less likely than many people who are proponents of this phenomena would have you believe.

The article linked here is a news story regarding the alleged link between a full moon and a volcanic eruption in the Philippines: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5258806.stm
If you’re just interested in reading more about Wednesday’s big event, here are some more interesting “English” Language links on the subject for you to peruse.
General Eclipse Information:
http://totaleclipse.jp/
http://www.knt.co.jp/eclipse/index_e.html
http://www.city.amami.lg.jp/eclipse/english/ec03.asp
Animated map of eclipse area:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEanimate/SEanimate2001/SE2009Jul22T.GIF
Google Map of total eclipse area:
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2009Jul22Tgoogle.html
Lunar Correlations or Pop culture:
http://www.skepdic.com/fullmoon.html
Perigee Chart:
http://ftp.fourmilab.ch/earthview/pacalc.html
National Geographic Study:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0215_020215_volcanohunter.html


China/Taiwan in the News:

China's growth won't be high enough to sustain jobs: scholar
By TAKASHI KITAZUME
Staff writer
China's economy will grow at modest rates, but not strong enough to tame unemployment for an extended time without a radical change in macroeconomic policy, a Chinese scholar told a recent seminar in Tokyo.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20090713d1.html

Comment: Let me see, according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the current contraction of the U.S. economy is really a good thing but according to this Chinese scholar, a 10% growth rate in their economy isn’t. Something doesn’t add up here if you ask me.


Sawed Off Dog Eating Despots in the News:

Kim Jong Il has life-threatening pancreatic cancer, intelligence sources say
North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Il, is suffering from life-threatening cancer of the pancreas, South Korean television reported today. It is the latest indication of a leadership crisis in the isolated and nuclear armed dictatorship.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6696778.ece

Commentary: I’d love nothing more than to say good riddance to that old sawed off pot bellied dog eating despot drooling on himself and freezing his nads off somewhere in a hidden bunker north of the DMZ. The only problem is what will happen afterward? It is hoped that someone with a little more sanity will take charge. Kim’s third son, a 25 year old still wet behind the ears spoiled brat has been designated the heir apparent. He was educated at private schools in the west but he is after all very young, probably too young and not politically savvy enough to lead a country, even one as screwed up as North Korea. Will the generals sit still and allow that to happen once their puppet master is gone? Only time will tell.


Global Warming Hysteria in the News:

It's Getting Cold Out There
No wonder skeptics consider the left's belief in man-made global warming as akin to a fad religion -- last week in Italy, G8 leaders pledged to not allow the Earth's temperature to rise more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. For its next act, the G8 can part the Red Sea.
http://townhall.com/columnists/DebraJSaunders/2009/07/12/its_getting_cold_out_there?page=full&comments=true

Study shakes foundation of climate theory! Reveals UN models 'fundamentally wrong' - Blames 'Unknown Processes' -- not CO2 for ancient global warming 'Global warming: Our best guess is likely wrong'
A new peer-reviewed study may shake the foundation upon which man-made global warming fears are based. The new study discovered "something fundamentally wrong with the way temperature and carbon are linked in climate models."
http://www.climatedepot.com/a/1955/Study-shakes-foundation-of-climate-theory-Reveals-UN-models-fundamentally-wrong--Blames-Unknown-Processes--not-CO2-for-ancient-global-warming

Comment: If you’re a “Global Warming Denier” like me, then don’t just believe this writer or any other writer just because you already agree with their premise. Then you’re just being as narrow minded as the opposition. However, that being said, when they have all of the links in their articles to back up their claims like this guy does, maybe you better just stop and check them out. If they support the writers premise, then maybe we ought to listen to what they have to say. There is some really great ammunition here to lay on your “scientific consensus” friends and neighbors. They may be winning the war in the “State Run Media” but we’re winning here in the blogosphere!

EPA cover-up
By Walter Williams
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams071509.php3

Comment: One more for the road! Dr. Williams is an eminent economist and scholar who in effect says, if you want to know the answers to the question of “Global Warming”, just follow the money!


The Global Economy in the News:

The Road to Economic Demoralization
There’s no question that current government policies for taxes, spending, and regulation are causing the U.S. to lose competitiveness in the global race for capital, prosperity, and growth.
http://townhall.com/columnists/LarryKudlow/2009/07/10/the_road_to_economic_demoralization?page=full&comments=true

The Economy Is Even Worse Than You Think
The recent unemployment numbers have undermined confidence that we might be nearing the bottom of the recession. What we can see on the surface is disconcerting enough, but the inside numbers are just as bad.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124753066246235811.html

Commentary: Most telling to me is the last few lines of this article. The stimulus was a joke! All it was was a payoff to political cronies and special interests that got the Demagogue Rats elected. Now Zuckerman is calling for a second stimulus (it’s actually the third if you count the Bush Stimulus package from 2008) to be placed directly into those so called “shovel ready” projects.

But here’s my problem with the whole big government thing. If we can’t count on these bozo’s to get a stimulus bill right, what makes people think they’re going to get healthcare and “God help us” a climate bill of all things right? What’s the solution? To throw all of these bums out of office and go back to the basics. The purpose of the U.S. federal government is to provide for the common defense the nation and promote the general welfare, not coddle their enemies and provide everyone within its borders a monthly welfare check!

I'm Mad as Hell!
Frankly, I’m beginning to feel a lot like Howard Beale, the character portrayed by Peter Finch in the 1976 release, “Network.” He insisted that people get up right now and go to the window, open it, stick their heads out and yell, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
http://townhall.com/columnists/BurtPrelutsky/2009/07/10/im_mad_as_hell!

A Personal Inequity
Sometimes, when I hear about "disparities" and "inequities," I think of a disparity that applied directly to me — the disparity in basketball ability between myself and Michael Jordan.
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell071409.php3

Commentary: I almost always love reading Pretlutsky and Sowell. The only times I don’t is when they cover a subject that I have little or no interest in. What they have is something I wish I did; the ability to cut through the crap and explain complex issues in language that even a moron like me can understand.