Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Fascinating Reading
In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking: Is God Dead? Many have accepted the cultural narrative that he’s obsolete—that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the relatively recent case for his existence comes from a surprising place—science itself.
Here’s the story: The same year Time featured the now-famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 21 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.
With such spectacular odds, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a large, expensive collection of private and publicly funded projects launched in the 1960s, was sure to turn up something soon. Scientists listened with a vast radio telescopic network for signals that resembled coded intelligence and were not merely random. But as years passed, the silence from the rest of the universe was deafening. Congress defunded SETI in 1993, but the search continues with private funds. As of 2014, researches have discovered precisely bubkis—0 followed by nothing.
What happened? As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10 and then 20 and then 50, and so the number of potentially life-supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting.
Even SETI proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for Skeptical Inquirer magazine: “In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest . . . . We should quietly admit that the early estimates . . . may no longer be tenable.”
As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here.
Today there are more than 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life—every single one of which must be perfectly met, or the whole thing falls apart. Without a massive planet like Jupiter nearby, whose gravity will draw away asteroids, a thousand times as many would hit Earth’s surface. The odds against life in the universe are simply astonishing.
Yet here we are, not only existing, but talking about existing. What can account for it? Can every one of those many parameters have been perfect by accident? At what point is it fair to admit that science suggests that we cannot be the result of random forces? Doesn’t assuming that an intelligence created these perfect conditions require far less faith than believing that a life-sustaining Earth just happened to beat the inconceivable odds to come into being?
There’s more. The fine-tuning necessary for life to exist on a planet is nothing compared with the fine-tuning required for the universe to exist at all. For example, astrophysicists now know that the values of the four fundamental forces—gravity, the electromagnetic force, and the “strong” and “weak” nuclear forces—were determined less than one millionth of a second after the big bang. Alter any one value and the universe could not exist. For instance, if the ratio between the nuclear strong force and the electromagnetic force had been off by the tiniest fraction of the tiniest fraction—by even one part in 100,000,000,000,000,000—then no stars could have ever formed at all. Feel free to gulp.
Multiply that single parameter by all the other necessary conditions, and the odds against the universe existing are so heart-stoppingly astronomical that the notion that it all “just happened” defies common sense. It would be like tossing a coin and having it come up heads 10 quintillion times in a row. Really?
Fred Hoyle, the astronomer who coined the term “big bang,” said that his atheism was “greatly shaken” at these developments. He later wrote that “a common-sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a super-intellect has monkeyed with the physics, as well as with chemistry and biology . . . . The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”
Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that “the appearance of design is overwhelming” and Oxford professor Dr. John Lennox has said “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator . . . gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”
The greatest miracle of all time, without any close seconds, is the universe. It is the miracle of all miracles, one that ineluctably points with the combined brightness of every star to something—or Someone—beyond itself.
Mr. Metaxas is the author, most recently, of “Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life” ( Dutton Adult, 2014).
For Karl-Cabo
Bigger is not better
Bigger is CLEARLY better
Serene is one of the world's largest private superyachts. She was built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri and delivered to her owner in August 2011.[1] At delivery, she was one of the 10 largest yachts in the world with an overall length of 439.3 feet and a beam of 60.7 feet.[2] She was built for Russian vodka tycoon Yuri Scheffler for $330m.[3]
SEASONAL CHARTER RATES
Winter
FROM
€1,600,000p/week + expenses
Approx $1,958,384
The 439.30ft /133.9m Custom motor yacht'SERENE' was built in 2011 by Fincantieri. This luxury vessel's sophisticated exterior design and engineering are the work of Espen Oeino. The yacht's interior has been designed by Reymond Langton Design and her exterior styling is by Espen Oeino.ture throughout her living areas to create an elegant and comfortable atmosphere.
She is built with steel hull and aluminium superstructure This custom displacement yacht is equipped with an ultra-modern stabilization system which reduces roll motion effect and results in a smoother more enjoyable cruising experience. She features ‘at anchor stabilisers’ which work at zero speed to increase onboard comfort at anchor and on rough waters. With a cruising speed of 15 knots, a maximum speed of 20 knots and a range of 6000nm from her 800000litre fuel tanks, she is the perfect combination of performance and luxury.
Amenities
At anchor Stabilizers , Gym, Jacuzzi (on deck), Lift (Elevator), Helicopter Landing Pad, Tender Garage, Swimming Platform, Swimming Pool, Beach Club, Air Conditioning, Helicopter Hangar, Library, Underwater Lights, Air Conditioning, WiFi connection on board, Deck Jacuzzi, Gym/exercise equipment, Air Conditioning, Stabilisers underway, Stabilisers underway, Jacuzzi (on deck), Gym, Lift (Elevator), Wheelchair Friendly
Special Features
In addition to the exhaustive list of toys SERENE also boats Helicopter hangar and two helipads, Internal seawater swimming pool, hot and cold jacuzzi plus jet stream swimming pool on the sundeck and pool/helipad on the upper deck , Submarine Hanger plus a cinema.
- GUESTS24
- CABINS15
- CREW52
CABIN CONFIGURATION
- 1 Master
- 1 VIP
- 7 Double
- 3 Twin
SPECIFICATION
| Length | 439.30ft /133.9m |
| Beam | 61.02ft /18.6m |
| Draft | 18.37ft /5.6m |
| Gross Tonnage | 8231 Tonnes |
| Cruising Speed | 15 Knots |
| Builder | Fincantieri |
| Model | Custom |
| Built | 2011 |
| Exterior Designer | Espen Oeino |
| Interior Design | Reymond Langton Design |
Saturday, December 6, 2014
$3,750,000
Spectacular view from highest point on the mountain. Ample deck space for entertainment or possible additional explansion. Panoramic view of Camelback, downtown Phoenix and Four Peaks. Beautifully renovated with extensive use of stone and rich woods. Resort style pool and spa area. Incredible sound system with state of the art touch controls, wine room. Master suite with separate study. Fabulous master bath area with sauna and generous dressing rooms. Guest quarters with elaborate work out area and separate entrance. The views and privacy are unparalleled.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Mitchell Jay Stein Update
17 Years
He got 17yrs and will spend them in Florida.
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 5, 2014
Attorney Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Multi-Million Dollar Stock Fraud
A California attorney was sentenced to serve 17 years in prison today in the Southern District of Florida for operating a five-year, multi-million dollar market manipulation and fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida.
Mitchell J. Stein, 53, of Hidden Hills, California, was convicted by a jury on May 20, 2013, of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, three counts of securities fraud, three counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra of the Southern District of Florida ordered Stein to forfeit $5.3 million. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
“Lawyers for companies are supposed to guide their clients through the important reporting and regulatory requirements that ensure the integrity of our financial markets,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Stein abdicated his responsibility, and instead abused his position of trust to defraud a public company, its shareholders, and the investing public of millions of dollars.”
“The ‘pump and dump’ scheme orchestrated by Stein and his co-conspirators was extremely elaborate,” said U.S. Attorney Ferrer. “In an effort to conceal his fraudulent financial scheme, Stein falsely testified before the SEC and used his position of trust to arrange for others to do the same. The sentencing announced today underscores the department's commitment to hold liable those individuals who profit from manipulating the financial markets and violating securities and other laws that are intended to protect investors and markets.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Stein’s wife held a controlling majority interest in Signalife Inc., a publicly-traded company currently known as Heart Tronics that purportedly sold electronic heart monitoring devices. While acting as Signalife’s outside legal counsel, Stein engaged in a scheme to artificially inflate the price of Signalife stock by creating the false impression of sales activity at the company. Specifically, the evidence at trial showed that Stein and his co-conspirators created fake purchase orders and related documents from fictitious customers, then caused Signalife to issue press releases and file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) trumpeting these fictitious sales. Evidence at trial also proved that in a further effort to create the false appearance of sales activity, Stein arranged to have Signalife products shipped to and temporarily stored with an individual who had not purchased any products.
Evidence at trial further proved that Stein disguised his selling of Signalife stock at artificially inflated prices by placing shares in purportedly blind trusts, and having a co-conspirator sell the shares after Stein caused the false sales information to be disseminated to the public. Stein also caused Signalife to issue shares to third parties so that those third parties could sell the shares and remit the proceeds to Stein. From one co-conspirator alone, Stein received illicit gains of over $1.8 million from those sales.
In addition, evidence at trial proved that Stein conspired to obstruct the SEC investigation into Heart Tronics by testifying falsely and arranging for others to testify falsely in an effort to conceal the fraud scheme.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The SEC referred this matter to the Justice Department, conducted a parallel investigation resulting in a civil enforcement action against Stein and others, and provided substantial assistance in this investigation. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Criminal Prosecution Assistance Group likewise provided substantial assistance in this matter.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant Chief Albert B. Stieglitz Jr., Assistant Chief Kevin B. Muhlendorf, and Trial Attorney Andrew H. Warren of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant Chief Darrin McCullough of the Criminal Division’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
At the corner of Jesus Christ and Can You Believe How Much Money I Have?
Whitemarsh Hall
gone forever
Whitemarsh Hall was a large estate located on 300 acres (1.2 km2) of land in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, USA, and owned by banking executive Edward T. Stotesbury and his wife, Eva.[1] Designed by Horace Trumbauer, it was built in 1921 and demolished in 1980. Today, it is regarded as one of the greatest losses in American architectural history.
Despite the name, Whitemarsh Hall was located in Springfield Township, not in Whitemarsh Township which borders Springfield to the west.
Contents
[hide]History[edit]
Construction and appointments[edit]
Built by Beaux-Arts architect Horace Trumbauer between 1916 and 1921, Whitemarsh Hall consisted of 6 stories (3 of which were partly or fully underground), 147 rooms, 45 bathrooms, 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2), and specialty rooms including a ballroom, gymnasium, movie theatre, and even a refrigerating plant. Theneo-Georgian mansion had been a wedding present from Stotesbury to his second wife, Eva (the former Lucretia Cromwell, née Roberts). Completion was delayed by World War I; while the exterior was mostly completed by the end of the war, the interior decorations and furnishings, many of which had to come from war-ravaged Europe, took much longer to arrive.
The mansion was lavishly decorated with statues, paintings, and tapestry that Stotesbury had collected over the years, a collection later bequeathed to thePhiladelphia Museum of Art. The French 18th-century furniture was purchased through Lord Duveen, who had guided Stotesbury in assembling the second of America's great collections of English portraits,[2] and the floor was lined with exquisite Oriental rugs, also purchased under the guidance of Duveen. Duveen also advised Stotesbury in purchases of French sculpture to decorate the huge mansion.
The gardens and landscaping were designed by the great urbanist and architect Jacques Gréber, whose designs in the grand manner of André Le Nôtre for the Philadelphian P.A.B. Widener at Lynnewood Hall had recommended him to Trumbauer and to Eva Stotesbury, who moved into a house next to the estate to follow the progress of construction at close hand.[3]
Life at Whitemarsh Hall[edit]
The estate also included several lesser houses and utility buildings spread over the 300 acres (1.2 km2), as well as four large greenhouses for growing trees and ferns. Smaller greenhouses were used for growing the many flowers needed to decorate the house for the lavish parties the Stotesburys liked to host. More than 70 gardeners worked at maintaining the grounds. The inside staff usually numbered forty, but many of them would follow the Stotesburys as they made their yearly pilgrimages to their Florida mansion, El Mirasol, for the winter and to Wingwood House, their mansion in Bar Harbor, Maine for the summer.
In addition to E. T., Eva and their servants, Whitemarsh Hall was also designed with Eva's two children in mind (adults by the time it opened), who were given their own rooms in the house. Her son Jimmy frequently resided within, as did (to a lesser extent) her daughter Louise.
For about nine years the mansion was the site of lavish balls and receptions. The intensity of the party life dropped a bit after the Great Depression in 1929, and fell even more after 1933 when the Stotesburys were openly criticized for enjoying a life of splendor while most of the country suffered the hardships of the depression. The death of one of E. T. Stotesbury's own daughters in 1935 continued to dampen the Stotesburys' enthusiasm for festivities.
Whitemarsh Hall had often been called the "American Versailles", because of the level of attention to detail in the gardens and in the main building. The nickname was not meant to elevate Whitemarsh Hall to the level of Versailles, however, especially since its prominence (such as it was) did not outlive E. T. Stotesbury.
After Stotesbury[edit]
Eva Stotesbury discovered, after the death of her husband in 1938, that she was relatively broke. Stotesbury had once declared that it cost him over a million dollars a year to maintain the house and the extensive property surrounding it. As a result of the Great Depression, the value of Whitemarsh Hall and its opulent furnishings was significantly lowered. Eva closed the mansion and moved to one of her other mansions, El Mirasol in Palm Beach, Florida. She donated the two mile (3 km) long, 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) steel fence to the War Department to be turned into metal for 18,000 guns.
During much of World War II the property was used for warehousing the bulk of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art art treasures as it was feared that theGermans would bombard Manhattan from U-boats or warships. Eva Stotesbury had already put the property on the market after her husband's death, but there were no buyers. The property did not sell until 1943.
Transformation, then abandonment[edit]
Whitemarsh Hall was finally sold for $167,000 to the Pennsalt Chemical Corporation (today part of Total Petrochemicals USA) who transformed the building into a research laboratory. Much of the grounds surrounding the mansion were sold for real estate development, which was quickly realized after the war ended. Pennsalt kept the mansion and its remaining grounds maintained and modernized, and constructed some new facilities on the property as well.
In 1963, the company, by then known as Pennwalt, built a new research center in the King of Prussia area, and moved out of Whitemarsh Hall, which was sold to a property investment group. Efforts to preserve or sell the mansion intact by this and successive owners were unsuccessful, and as the property became neglected and vandalized over the following years, demolition was decided upon. Disputes over the form of residential redevelopment to be undertaken (especially plans which envisioned luxury apartment towers) delayed demolition for a number of years.
The site today[edit]
The mansion, which was larger than the White House in Washington, D.C.[4] was demolished in 1980, and a development of modern townhouses called Stotesbury Estates was built on the property. The massive limestone pillars which were part of the mansion's front portico were left in situ as a tribute, along with the largebelvedere at the back of the home. No homes occupy the footprint of the mansion itself, whose basements and foundations were simply backfilled. Small remnants of the huge gardens still exist today, including a fountain, several statues, stairs, and pieces of low stone fence and walls. The twin pillars of the estate's main gate, which was one mile (1.6 km) from the back of Whitemarsh Hall, are still standing on Douglas Road off Willow Grove Avenue, minus the steel gates. The gatehouse on Douglas Road, behind the main entrance pillars, also remains, converted to a private residence.
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