Israel and the United Nations should consider building 'secure access to aid' behind the Israeli 'military lines'

U.S. Government Contributes $85 million to UNRWA (click here)
The U.S. Department of State announced today a contribution of $85 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Of this, $25 million will support the emergency needs of Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank via UNRWA's 2009 Emergency Appeal. Another $60 million will support UNRWA's General Fund....

Mars rovers roll on to five years - An ? economic ? space program? Hm.

Durable, reusable equipment. Too good to be true.

A 'design idea' that has more merit than just Rovers.

Materials and Engineering that actually lasts longer than their perscribed use. Nice.

Of course the 'weather' on Mars is kinder to anything built on Earth. So long as they don't need 'shade' that is.

..."These rovers are incredibly resilient considering the extreme environment the hardware experiences every day," said John Callas, project manager for Spirit and Opportunity at Nasa's Jet Propulsion laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"We realise that a major rover component on either vehicle could fail at any time and end a mission with no advance notice, but on the other hand, we could accomplish the equivalent duration of four more prime missions on each rover in the year ahead."...

16 Days until Inauguration

In this Nov. 16, 2008 file photo, Rev. Dean Snyder speaks to his congregation at the Foundry United Methodist Church during a service, in Washington. The church will contribute to a collection of sermons and orations relating to the 2009 presidential inauguration, being gathered by the Library of Congress. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez, File)

"...The folks at the library's American Folklife Center (click title to entry - thank you) are soliciting churches, synagogues, mosques and others for copies of sermons or passionate speeches that focus on the significance of the Jan. 20 inauguration of Obama as the country's first black president...."