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JMHO, but I don't think we'll see strong movement from this pr. Many, many publications picked up Equator Exploration's pr so this same news has been circulating with ERHC included. Additionally, anyone interested in the JDZ has seen this same info from Addax for a couple of days.
Again, just my opinion and hope I'm wrong.
About Dr. Lanza:
Will Biology Solve the Universe?
By Aaron Rowe| Also by this reporter
10:00 AM Mar, 08, 2007
For years, scientists have tried to develop a universal theory of everything. Steven Hawking predicts that such a theory will be discovered in the next 20 years. A new theory asserts that biology, not physics, will be the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of the universe, such as quantum mechanics.
"The answer to the universe is biology -- it's as simple as that," says Dr. Robert Lanza, vice president of research and scientific development at Advanced Cell Technology. He details his theory in The American Scholar's spring issue, published on Thursday. Lanza says scientists will establish a unified theory only if they radically rethink their understanding of space and time using a "biocentric" approach. His article is essentially a biological and philosophical response to Hawking's A Brief History of Time, in which he questions how we interpret the big bang, the existence of space and time, as well as many other theories -- assertions that might ruffle the feathers of some physical scientists.
But Lanza is used to controversy. The 2005 Wired Rave Award winner has seen plenty in response to his stem cell and cloning work at Advanced Cell. And he's ready for the scientific row his latest work is likely to engender.
"The urgent and primary questions of the universe have been undertaken by those physicists who are trying to explain the origins of everything with grand unified theories," says Lanza in his article. "But as exciting and glamorous as these theories are, they are an evasion, if not a reversal, of the central mystery of knowledge: that the laws of the world were somehow created to produce the observer."
At several points in his article, he argues that cosmologists are doing work that has been hijacked by creationists.
"In cosmology, scientists have discovered that the universe has a long list of traits that make it appear as if everything it contains -- from atoms to stars -- was tailor-made for us," he writes. "Indeed, the lack of a scientific explanation has allowed these facts to be hijacked as a defense of intelligent design."
Lanza argues that time is not the linear phenomena that we are comfortable with. Rather, our perception of time is a tool we use to understand the world around us. While it works well for the average person, it hampers our understanding of advanced physics. In this Wired News Q&A, Lanza explains more about the theory he calls his life's work .
Wired News: You call your theory of the universe a biocentric theory. What, exactly, does that mean?
Lanza: This new theory presents a shift in world view with the perspective that life creates the universe instead of the other way around.
WN: I imagine that a lot of physicists will be rather upset by your article. How do you expect them to react?
Lanza: People are not going to be very happy with what this all means. This theory is going to invalidate their (some scientists) entire life's work. I will definitely get crucified.
We've got the scientific structure and framework incorrect. We need a theory that is internally consistent. We can't do this without creating a biological understanding of space and time. This will require restructuring science so that biology is above physics.
WN: Does that mean you think that big physics and astronomy projects should not be funded?
Lanza: Of course they should be funded. I don't think that everything should be changed. What I am saying is that there is a missing piece to the puzzle of how the universe works. The answer is biology. It is as simple as that. The biological picture of space and time must be integrated into our understanding of physics.
WN: Why do you think that there is such a deep misunderstanding of what time and space really are?
Lanza: Our minds are structured to think that way. Even Einstein avoided the question of what space and time are. He simply defined them as what we measure with clocks and measuring-rods. However, the emphasis should be on the "we," not the measuring.
WN: Do you expect that some people will read your article and think you mean that they can sit on a mountaintop and meditate to change the world around them with mind powers?
Lanza: We can't decide that we want to jump off the roof and not get hurt. However much we want, we can't violate the rules of spatiotemporal logic.
WN: In your article, you make the assertion that time and space do not exist. What do you mean by that?
Lanza: There is something very unusual about them. We can't put them in a marmalade jar and take them back to the lab for analysis. Space and time are forms of animal sense perception. Space and time are not objects or things -- they are forms of animal sense perception.
Thousands of articles and books have danced around the desire to toss off the current mechanical world view that has dominated Western culture for hundreds of years. While some imply that time and space may not in fact exist, this article diagrams, for the first time, such a universe -- a universe in which time and space do not exist as physical realities independent of humans and animals.
WN: You seem to disagree with how the world was created.
Lanza: There are serious problems with the current world view. We pride ourselves in our current beliefs and then we (scientists) say, and by the way, we have no idea why the big bang happened.
WN: Can you explain why we should doubt the things that are accepted as the truth in science classes everywhere?
Lanza: For the first time outside of complex mathematics, this theory explains the provocative new experiment that was just published in Science last month. This landmark experiment showed that a choice you make now can actually influence an event that has already occurred in the past.
Scientists continue to dismiss the observer as an inconvenience to their theories. Real experiments show that the properties of matter itself are observer-determined. A particle can go through one hole if you look at it, but if you don't look at it, it can actually go through more than one hole at the same time. Science has no explanation for how the world can be like that.
GLBL: Look at what happened after last (record) earnings release on 11/1.
11/8/06 14.11 14.73 14.00 14.63 1,857,258 0.41 0.03%
11/7/06 13.99 14.45 13.95 14.22 2,205,205 0.23 0.02%
11/6/06 14.33 14.40 13.77 13.99 3,233,408 0.33 -0.02%
11/3/06 14.86 14.86 14.10 14.32 5,156,986 0.60 -0.04%
11/2/06 16.41 16.45 14.83 14.92 3,719,211 1.54 -0.09%
11/1/06 16.66 16.93 16.35 16.46 874,073 0.14 -0.01%
10/31/06 16.50 16.80 16.20 16.60 764,936 0.11 0.01%
10/30/06 16.80 16.80 16.44 16.49 630,739 0.36 -0.02%
And, btw, you consistently have great calls. Thank you!
I'm on 1 and experiencing the same thing.
Are you watching GLBL? $16.42 right now.
POSCO bought a 6.79% stake in FCEL on 2/21 and Buffet increased his holdings to 4% in POSCO sometime in 2006. (It was just released in the Annual Report, because of an internal policy, their aggregate holdings totalled more than $700m.) But, "but the securities industry believes that it bought most of the shares in 2002 and 2003 when the average purchase price was about 150,000 won."
So, I'm no Fat Cat, but I'm not sure this would indicate that FCEL was a takeover target for Buffet. It just seems too "roundabout" for me. But, maybe this is how things are done? Am I being naive?
And, I did appreciate your take on Buffet's style.
Although, I found this an interesting post re: FCEL:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=17576073
For me, too.
But...but...I didn't get mine in my inbox! :)
Meridian has actually been saying that for awhile.
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?Message_id=15806430&txt2find=meridian
My daughter had it last week and was home from school for 7 days. The doctor said this strain of flu is lasting from 7 - 14 days so, yes, you probably have a few days left at home. :(
Hope your little one is feeling better soon!
Just checked and it seems to be working just fine now. Thank you!
Now that I have your attention, any chance you can help me with this? :)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=17637678
And, I'm a computer idiot so please speak slowly if you are able to offer any advice.
Well, maybe not, because I had just deleted my cookies and restarted my computer and all of a sudden I had two windows open. When I checked the other window I finally saw the Forex ad that Churak's been complaining about. But, since I had to login to Ihub, I can't be certain if it was before or after I logged onto the site.
I got it just a little while ago.
When I type in Investorshub.com into my toolbar (Internet explorer), it takes me to Google Search results. I've even tried http://www.investorshub, which I've never had to do in the past. When I click on any of the links on the Google Results page, I get "page cannot be displayed". After numerous times of deleting cookies and rebooting my computer, I'll eventually be able to get on.
Also, last time I was on here, I was replying to a pm (on SiliconInvestor.com (1) when I tried to send message I was kicked off and unable to get back on until I re-booted several times which means then logging back onto several things.
Any suggestions?
Edit: And, I get kicked off from auto refresh, too. I've now turned that off.
GLBL - Through all last week stayed strong, high today $15.40. Another great call, Bridget.
This is a great post from another board:
Posted by: deathtotaxes
In reply to: None Date:3/5/2007 8:38:08 PM
Post #of 66683
Great article, I remember these guys very well:
What 2 crooks told me over lunch
Monday March 5, 12:01 am ET
By Herb Greenberg
Commentary: "You cannot accept information at face value"
This column first appeared in The Wall Street Journal over the weekend.
SAN DIEGO (MarketWatch) -- My lunch with two crooks: "Hi Sammy, it's great to see you." Barry Minkow gave Sam E. Antar a hug as we walked to our table at a fish restaurant overlooking San Diego Bay. It was a Friday, and Antar made the trek to San Diego from Los Angeles, where he was visiting his son; a few days earlier, this convicted felon had lectured students and faculty at the Stanford Law School on how not to get taken by a crook like him.
Antar was chief financial officer of Crazy Eddie, a New York electronics retailer that in the 1970s and 1980s claimed "our prices are inSANE" as it bilked investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars. He stayed out of jail by turning on several others, including his cousin, Eddie Antar, who was Crazy Eddie's co-founder. Minkow, on the other hand, spent seven years behind bars after stealing more than $20 million from investors in the 1980s as founder and chief executive of ZZZZ Best, a once-hot rug-cleaning company whose books could've used a good scrubbing.
"He's an orthodox Jew and I'm a Jew who is a pastor," cracks Minkow, who like Antar now spends time lecturing and working with cops to bust white-collar financial frauds. Minkow has reverence for Antar, who looks like Carla's husband from the sitcom "Cheers" and who claims to suffer from a bipolar disorder and serious insomnia. (I can vouch for the latter because his e-mails and postings on blogs come at all hours, mostly in the middle of the night.) "Criminals don't sleep," he explains.
A former CPA, Antar makes no excuses for his criminal past, referring to himself in e-mails, casual discussion and his Web site -- whitecollarfraud.com1 -- as a "low life" and "convicted felon." Even the normally loquacious Minkow appears to enjoy leaving the talking to Antar, who takes no money for his speeches. "I don't want to be held up on the pedestal of redemption," he says. "I would rather people learn from my vile, ugly and vicious crimes. It is most important that they understand the ugly nature of criminality. My life is a mistake of history."
A mistake, maybe, but one other people can learn from. "Do not trust verify," was his mantra as the meal began.
Verify what? "Everything."
Even whether Antar and Minkow aren't still scamming?
"Everything."
And so it went, with Antar continuing with e-mails over several weeks.
"Watch how management handles bad quarters, earnings disappointments, criticism, skepticism and cynicism," he says. "Do they start by saying, 'We take full responsibility and make no excuses' only to follow by carefully worded innuendos, excuses and deflection? Do they question the integrity of those who ask questions?"
He continues: "Just because a CEO takes a $1 salary doesn't make that person immune to criminality. Just because I travel the country and teach the government, colleges and universities, and professional groups about white-collar crime and never collect a fee and pay out of my own pocket all travel costs, doesn't mean I am not a criminal today. Remember that many crimes are committed without economic gain for reasons of ego, status and sheer arrogance."
Antar says investors should do a better job "studying" financial reports, especially the footnotes and "risk factor" sections. "Notice that I used the word 'study' and not 'read' since all information is not meant to be read like a novel, but meant to be analyzed like a project."
He adds: "Criminals are scared of skeptics and cynics," he says. "We are petrified when you verify our representations."
Did he ever have remorse? "Never ... We simply did not care about any one of our victims. We simply committed crime because we could.
"As criminals we built false walls of integrity around us," he adds. "We walked old ladies across the street. We built wings to hospitals. We gave huge amounts of money to charity. We wanted you to trust us.
"Simply said ... if you want to be an investor, you cannot accept information at face value. 'Unexamined acceptance' is the greatest cause of investor losses."
As for Minkow? He defers to Antar.
"He's the best," he says.
Lunch wasn't bad, either.
Advanced Cell Technology's Ability to Rescue Vision in Blind Rats Noted in Scientific American
Mar 5 2007, 4:14 PM EST
Business Wire
Advanced Cell Technology, Inc.'s (OTCBB: ACTC) ability to rescue vision in blind rats was noted in Scientific American's March 2007 issue as the lead story of its News Scan section. The full text of the article, which notes Advanced Cell's ability to "coax embryonic stem cells to turn into transplantable retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) tissue," is timely as it comes shortly after the company announced its collaboration with the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU).
The article is available at the following link: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=C74A4206-E7F2- 99DF-3D2B8FC2C6B5D74C&colID=5 (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists).
Mr. William M. Caldwell, IV, Chairman and CEO of Advanced Cell Technology commented, "We are pleased that Scientific American has taken note of Advanced Cell's progress. We are also excited about the many advantages offered by targeting the eye with RPE cells."
One of these advantages is the fact that the eye is immune-privileged, minimizing the use of immune suppressant drugs associated with other areas of the body that by definition reject foreign cells. The eye also requires only a small dosage of cells, reducing the amount necessary to be manufactured, which the company expects to be cost-effective in terms of trials. Another advantage is that the eye is a self-contained site, so the cells gravitate to the RPE layer. Since the site is contained, the cells are less likely to migrate beyond their target application, which could be the case if the site of application were in the blood stream. Additionally, the cells are easier to identify, because of their pigmentation, which is important for purity. Because the cells are easy to identify the risk of injecting foreign, or non-RPE cells into the eye is greatly reduced. Further, age-related diseases of the eye can potentially affect every human being, and ACTC is hopeful that its efforts will help serve a large and growing market.
Mr. Caldwell continued, "Our collaborations at OHSU will be important as we initiate toxicology and pharmacology studies to be managed by our newly appointed Chief Development Officer, Dr. Pedro Huertas. These studies will be important milestones toward our anticipated filing of the company's first Investigational New Drug application (IND) with the FDA."
OT: Try deleting your cookies, closing the browser and then re-open. Much discussion about this on the Q&A board.
Edit: Forgot link...
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=504
Just checked Pacer and nothing new has been filed.
To expand on this, there could be a text box for comments.
For example, when it's a personal attack the inappropriate language could be copied and pasted into the box. On some of the more subtle attacks I truly think people think their post was deleted because of their opinion not because they had a tou violation.
Also, when someone is posting about whether someone else is a basher, has multiple alias', etc., I think it would be confusing for some of them to get a notice that their post was off-topic. So a simple comment explaining "post about the company not about other posters" would be helpful in their understanding why their post was deleted.
"Not saying you are wrong but my problem with that is it seems to be a common excuse in the OTC world."
Agree 100% with you on this one. However, I used to work in sales and marketing for a very large company and there were very stringent guidelines of what could and could not be pr'd. And, there's no way a vendor would've been given approval for this kind of pr and our company would've seen no reason to release this kind of pr.
So, while I agree with your statement, I think IMMG has, over the last few months, shown a propensity for pr'ing everything they can. So, I do believe there's an underlying reason for this to come out in an 8k and not as a pr.
We couldn't find the weather radio last night and weather.com has a service that they'll call you with any severe warnings. It's (going from memory here) $6.99/month but they have a one week free trial so I signed up for that just in case anything was coming our way last night.
We eventually found the radio and I immediately cancelled the service. (Otherwise, I'm sure I would've been paying for at least one month as my memory about stuff like that isn't always so good).
But, I was glad to know about the service in case there's a need for it in the future.
Or maybe CC has a policy prohibiting this type of pr? IMMG said "well, it's a material event so we have to file an 8k" knowing, as you said, investors are going to become aware of it?
"I read it as good news for ERHC as Offor and his contacts will be doubly motivated to do their homework on Nigerian oil and gas asssets."
Ok, but then how is it decided where the assets go? To ERHC? To Starcrest? To Guinea? Where does the responsibility lie? To ERHC shareholders? To investors/partners in Starcrest? To shareholders in Guinea?
I don't know, Walldog. Maybe he's being advised by Nigerian lawyers for his dealings in Nigeria and they don't have a good understanding of the rules that govern a publicly traded company here in the US? Maybe Akin Gump only advises him on ERHC issues? Maybe they don't even know about these other businesses? I have no idea.
I have a question re: the article posted by NDT earlier today.
Do Insurance companies typically invest in fields outside of their industry? And, if so, does this not represent a conflict of interest with COB responsibilities to ERHC?
I'm just still not clear how a COB hears about an O&G opportunity and then decides which of the companies he is Chairman of (or heavily invested in) gets the opportunity? So, yes, ERHC may be under investigation by the DOJ which would disuade Offor from taking advantage of these opportunities through ERHC. BUT, if he didn't have any other outlets to take advantage of these opportunities, then would he be doing things differently for ERHC?
It's all very confusing to me and I haven't heard an argument yet that has made me understand how or why this is acceptable.
"The Chairman said part of the proceeds of the offer would be used to acquire a new corporate head office and also invested strategically in the oil and gas sector.
The weather is supposed to be very nasty later - stay safe.
Wow, I didn't know the bolded part below:
Rat scandal brings more Taco Bell closures
More inspections ordered in the wake of New York city rodent infestation
The Associated Press
Updated: 3:59 p.m. ET March 1, 2007
NEW YORK - The parent company of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut said it had temporarily closed several New York City restaurants owned by the franchisee that operated a Manhattan eatery overrun last week by rats.
In a statement issued late Wednesday, Yum Brands Inc. said the restaurants would remain closed until they underwent new inspections by the city’s health department.
“We will not compromise on our food and restaurant quality,” said Emil Brolick, a Yum Brands executive.
The company’s actions were aimed at the ADF Companies, a Fairfield, N.J.-based group that owns more than 350 fast food restaurants in several states. It is among the nation’s largest operators of Pizza Huts.
An ADF-owned KFC/Taco Bell was closed by New York health inspectors last week after TV news crews peering through the windows recorded about a dozen rats skittering across the floors and climbing on tables and countertops. The restaurant wasn’t open at the time, and officials later said construction in the basement might have stirred up the rodents.
The video, still circulating on the Internet, also brought shame on the city for giving a passing grade to the restaurant during a health inspection one day earlier.
ADF President Don Harty issued a statement Thursday apologizing to customers.
“We are embarrassed by the situation and stress that certain restaurants did not meet the very high standards that we set for ourselves,” he said.
ADF spokeswoman Marissa Smith said she didn’t know exactly how many of the company’s 20 restaurants in New York City had closed but described it as “a handful.” The closures did not extend to other states, she said.
It was unclear how quickly the restaurants might reopen. Smith said each was getting a rigorous new inspection.
Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said the city’s failure to immediately shut the Greenwich Village KFC/Taco Bell after learning of the rat problem was unacceptable. The inspector who conducted the initial review has been temporarily removed from field duty.
Frieden also said that other restaurant inspectors could expect a thorough analysis of their work in the coming weeks.
Hey, thanks - how'd you do that?
FACTBOX-U.S. traders, lawyers accused in trading scheme
Thu Mar 1, 2007 3:40PM EST
March 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed insider trading charges against several Wall Street traders, two lawyers and three hedge funds on Thursday. Authorities accused them of using secret codes, clandestine meetings and cash kickbacks to profit by trading ahead of UBS research analyst upgrades and
downgrades and corporate acquisition announcements by Morgan Stanley clients. Criminal and civil charges were filed in federal court in Manhattan and included the following:
(Source: SEC statement, federal indictments)
Edit: Can't fix the names, companies and charges filed. You can see them here.
http://www.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idUSN0128960220070301
I love your signature - made me smile!
OT: I really hope so, I loaded up way too early.
Report: China Has No Plans to Tax Gains
By ELAINE KURTENBACH 02.27.07, 8:28 PM ET
Chinese regulators shifted into damage control Wednesday, with a government-run newspaper denying rumors of plans for a 20 percent capital gains tax on stock investments - thought to be a key factor in the markets' plunge the day before.
The government has no plans to levy a tax on capital gains from stocks, the Shanghai Securities News said in a front-page report, citing unnamed spokesmen for the Ministry of Finance and State Administration of Taxation.
The newspaper, run by the official Xinhua News Agency, is often used to convey official announcements.
The report came a day after Chinese shares took their biggest tumble in a decade, with benchmarks for both the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges falling by nearly 9 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 8.8 percent to close at 2.771.79, its largest decline since it fell 8.9 percent on Feb. 18, 1997, at the time of the death of Communist Party elder Deng Xiaoping.
The plunge triggered losses worldwide, with Wall Street seeing its most dismal trading day since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 416.02, or 3.3 percent, to 12,216.24. Key European exchanges also fell about 3 percent.
The bloodletting continued into Wednesday. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX200 index slumped 3.45 percent in the first 30 minutes of trading.
The exact cause of Tuesday's sell-off in China was unclear. Some analysts blamed profit taking following recent gains: the market had hit a fresh record high on Monday, with the Shanghai Composite Index closing above 3,000 for the first time.
Others pointed to comments by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who warned in comments to a conference in Hong Kong that a recession in the U.S. was "possible" later this year.
Coupled with those factors was a persisting expectation that China might impose further austerity measures, such as an interest rate hike, to cool torrid growth. China's economy grew 10.7 percent last year - the fastest rise since 1995 - and a recent central bank report forecast it would expand 9.8 this year.
China has refrained from imposing a tax on capital gains from stock investments, largely because until last year the markets were languishing near five-year lows. The Shanghai Securities News report cited officials saying that the government had little need to impose such a measure now, given that tax revenues soared by 22 percent last year.
But a successful round of shareholding reforms helped alleviate worries over a possible flood of state-held shares into the market, and buying has taken off.
Share prices more than doubled last year, as millions of retail investors began shifting their bank savings into the markets in search of higher returns. Strong buying by state-controlled institutional investors and overseas funds also helped.
China still limits foreigners' purchases of the yuan-denominated stocks that make up the biggest share of the markets, though that is gradually changing as regulators allow increasing participation by so-called qualified foreign institutional investors.
The recent bull market has renewed confidence in the viability of China's markets to play a larger role in corporate financing. But regulators and analysts have questioned the sustainability of the gains.
Stocks have shown unusual volatility this year, with the Shanghai index notching one-day drops of 4.9 percent and 3.7 percent already this year - before recovering to hit new records.
But there are limits to how far shares are allowed to drop in a single trading day: total single-day gains and losses are capped at 10 percent.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/02/27/ap3469407.html
Wellllll, I think this is tongue 'n cheek but just in case it's not, if you have a broker recommending that you buy an otcbb stock (ANY otcbb stock) on margin, then I agree with you, your broker sucks and you should run the other way.
Another great suggestion, Rawnoc.
And, yes, I'm biased, too. :)
WHAT?!?!? You think SHE'S the pretty one! Hmmmph!
Ha! Like I've never heard THAT one before...we'll see what she has to say!
Oh, I'm not good in front of crowds either!
I've always wondered what your alias could mean.
Ok, NOW I'm calling your wife!