<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND

The Saga Of Pinehill Book II
Money, Marriage And The Way
is now published and available.
Buy direct from:

http://www.publishamerica.com
(enter the name Saga of Pinehill in
the search box)

If you enjoyed the first book, you
won't be able to put
this one down until you've finished
it. Enjoy.

DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

TODAY'S TRIVIA - - -
-----------------------

What is a grand jury?

What is a sonic boom?

--------------

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA - - - -

--------------

Is it true that any piece of paper can serve as a bank
check?

Actually, yes. A check is basically a written order
instructing a bank to take a certain amount of money from
the account of the check writer and pay it to the holder of
the check. In most states in the US, it does NOT have to be
a formal, preprinted "check" issued by the bank. It can be
written on anything that can be reasonably handled, even a
rock or piece of cardboard. The rules are simple: the amount
to be paid must be written in both numbers and words. The
name of the payee and also of the bank must be on it. The
trick is getting the payee to trust you enough to accept a
rock for payment! 

Do all jury verdicts have to be unanimous?

Not in all cases. Certain civil cases in many states allow
verdicts to be decided by a majority vote. And juries aren't
even necessary in some criminal cases. A defendant can
sometimes waive his right to a jury trial and allow the
judge to decide the verdict. 

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

I'LL SEE IT WHEN I BELIEVE IT!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

There are a lot of ways to become a failure,
but never taking a chance is the most successful.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

thePEBBLE CONTENTS:

1. STRANGE BITS AND PIECES!

------------------
2. COVER STORY
------------------------------------

Around The Net

-------------------
3. MEDICAL COLUMN with Karin Henderson

Anatomy And Physiology (A&P)
The Make Up Of Your Body And
How It Functions
PART 2 of 9

-------------------
4. PERCEPTIONS by Ken Darby

The Dollar And Power - Objects Sought By The Greedy

-------------------
5. WHY DO WE SAY IT?

-------------------
6. THINK ABOUT THIS TODAY!
7. HA! HA!HA!
8. CONTACT INFO
9. THE LAST LINE - - - - -


DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND

The Saga Of Pinehill Book II
Money, Marriage And The Way
is now published and available. Buy direct from:

http://www.publishamerica.com
(enter the name Saga of Pinehill in the search box)

If you enjoyed the first book, you won't be able to put
this one down until you're finished it. Enjoy.

DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

STRANGE BITS AND PIECES!

One ton of grapes can produce 720 bottles of wine.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

COVER STORY
------------------------------------

Around The Net

Flexing Muscle, China Destroys Satellite in Test
By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
Published: January 19, 2007

China successfully carried out its first test of an
antisatellite weapon last week, signaling its resolve to
play a major role in military space activities and bringing
expressions of concern from Washington and other capitals,
the Bush administration said yesterday.

Only two nations — the Soviet Union and the United States —
have previously destroyed spacecraft in antisatellite tests,
most recently the United States in the mid-1980s.

Arms control experts called the test, in which the weapon
destroyed an aging Chinese weather satellite, a troubling
development that could foreshadow an antisatellite arms
race. Alternatively, however, some experts speculated that
it could precede a diplomatic effort by China to prod the
Bush administration into negotiations on a weapons ban.

“This is the first real escalation in the weaponization of
space that we’ve seen in 20 years,” said Jonathan McDowell,
a Harvard astronomer who tracks rocket launchings and space
activity. “It ends a long period of restraint.”

White House officials said the United States and other
nations, which they did not identify, had “expressed our
concern regarding this action to the Chinese.” Despite its
protest, the Bush administration has long resisted a global
treaty banning such tests because it says it needs freedom
of action in space.

Jianhua Li, a spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in
Washington, said that he had heard about the antisatellite
story but that he had no statement or information.

At a time when China is modernizing its nuclear weapons,
expanding the reach of its navy and sending astronauts into
orbit for the first time, the test appears to mark a new
sphere of technical and military competition. American
officials complained yesterday that China had made no public
or private announcements about its test, despite repeated
requests by American officials for more openness about its
actions.

The weather satellite hit by the weapon had circled the
globe at an altitude of roughly 500 miles. In theory, the
test means that China can now hit American spy satellites,
which orbit closer to Earth. The satellites presumably in
range of the Chinese missile include most of the imagery
satellites used for basic military reconnaissance, which are
essentially the eyes of the American intelligence community
for military movements, potential nuclear tests and even
some counterterrorism, and commercial satellites.

Experts said the weather satellite’s speeding remnants could
pose a threat to other satellites for years or even decades.

In late August, President Bush authorized a new national
space policy that ignored calls for a global prohibition on
such tests. The policy said the United States would
“preserve its rights, capabilities, and freedom of action in
space” and “dissuade or deter others from either impeding
those rights or developing capabilities intended to do so.”
It declared the United States would “deny, if necessary,
adversaries the use of space capabilities hostile to U.S.
national interests.”

The Chinese test “could be a shot across the bow,” said
Theresa Hitchens, director of the Center for Defense
Information, a private group in Washington that tracks
military programs. “For several years, the Russians and
Chinese have been trying to push a treaty to ban space
weapons. The concept of exhibiting a hard-power capability
to bring somebody to the negotiating table is a classic cold
war technique.”

Gary Samore, the director of studies at the Council on
Foreign Relations, said in an interview: “I think it makes
perfect sense for the Chinese to do this both for deterrence
and to hedge their bets. It puts pressure on the U.S. to
negotiate agreements not to weaponize space.”

Ms. Hitchens and other critics have accused the
administration of conducting secret research on advanced
antisatellite weapons using lasers, which are considered a
far speedier and more powerful way of destroying satellites
than the weapons of two decades ago.

The White House statement, issued by the National Security
Council, said China’s “development and testing of such
weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that
both countries aspire to in the civil space area.”

An administration official who had reviewed the intelligence
about China’s test said the launching was detected by the
United States in the early evening of Jan. 11, which would
have been early morning on Jan. 12 in China. American
satellites tracked the launching of the medium-range
ballistic missile, and later space radars saw the debris.

The antisatellite test was first reported late Wednesday on
the Web site of Aviation Week and Space Technology, an
industry magazine. It said intelligence agencies had yet to
“complete confirmation of the test.”

The test, the magazine said, appeared to employ a
ground-based interceptor that used the sheer force of impact
rather than an exploding warhead to shatter the satellite.

Dr. McDowell of Harvard said the satellite was known as Feng
Yun, or “wind and cloud.” Launched in 1999, it was the third
in a series. He said that it was a cube measuring 4.6 feet
on each side, and that its solar panels extended about 28
feet. He added that it was due for retirement but that it
still appeared to be electronically alive, making it an
ideal target.

“If it stops working,” he said, “you know you have a
successful hit.”

David C. Wright, a senior scientist at the Union of
Concerned Scientists, a private group in Cambridge, Mass.,
said he calculated that the Chinese satellite had shattered
into 800 fragments four inches wide or larger, and millions
of smaller pieces.

The Soviet Union conducted roughly a dozen antisatellite
tests from 1968 to 1982, Dr. McDowell said, adding that the
Reagan administration carried out its experiments in 1985
and 1986.

The Bush administration has conducted research that critics
say could produce a powerful ground-based laser weapon that
would be used against enemy satellites.

The largely secret project, parts of which were made public
through Air Force budget documents submitted to Congress
last year, appears to be part of a wide-ranging
administration effort to develop space weapons, both
defensive and offensive.

The administration’s laser research is far more ambitious
than a previous effort by the Clinton administration to
develop an antisatellite laser, though the administration
denies that it is an attempt to build a laser weapon.

The current research takes advantage of an optical technique
that uses sensors, computers and flexible mirrors to
counteract the atmospheric turbulence that seems to make
stars twinkle. The weapon would essentially reverse that
process, shooting focused beams of light upward with great
clarity and force.

Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Henry L. Stimson Center, a
group that studies national security, called the Chinese
test very un-Chinese.

“There’s nothing subtle about this,” he said. “They’ve
created a huge debris cloud that will last a quarter century
or more. It’s at a higher elevation than the test we did in
1985, and for that one the last trackable debris took 17
years to clear out.”

Mr. Krepon added that the administration had long argued
that the world needed no space-weapons treaty because no
such arms existed and because the last tests were two
decades ago. “It seems,” he said, “that argument is no
longer operative.”

.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Happiness is a matter of choice, having nothing
to do with circumstances.
---- Ken Darby

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

MEDICAL COLUMN - - - - with Karin Henderson


Anatomy And Physiology (A&P)
The Make Up Of Your Body And
How It Functions
PART 2 of 9

ANATOMY is the study, classification, and description of
structures and organs of the body.
PHYSIOLOGY is the study and process of the function of the
human. It is the study of the physical and chemical processes
involved in the functioning of the living organisms and their
component parts. When we talk about anatomy, we often also
discuss the function of it, so take care in understanding the
two parts. As you already know, disease doesn't have to be a
part of your life. If you want to either avoid it or eliminate
it, you need to know the true body first and its functions. Only
then can you make a change. Everything else is guessing and a
waste of your time and effort. Just like counterfeit money,
knowing the truth helps you recognize the "untruth" or false or
mistaken actions and beliefs.

As usual, I encourage you to do some more research. And please
don't take this article and wave it at your doctor and ask for
explanations. Use the best organ you have, your brain, and start
thinking for yourself. Ask yourself: What if? How can I? Why
does it? What do I need to find out? This is your starting
point. Move ahead, with knowledge and confidence. Until you get
a feeling for the make up of your body, you won't be able to
figure out its function.

Most books on the body have an atlas or a diagram. (Roadmap).
These usually present two genders: male and female. Why? Because
the bodies are similar in actions but not totally similar in
structure. All is identical except for the reproductive system:
each gender has its own. Being small or large boned or being
overweight or very tiny, doesn't really present a major
challenge. The underlying organs are essentially the same.
Generally the female body has smaller features.

-------------------------------------------
Karin Henderson is a registered nurse and is thePEBBLE's
columnist for our MEDICAL COLUMN.
We appreciate her input very much. Thanks Karin.
You can send Karin questions at
mailto:kflh@shaw.ca

Health Information Newsletter.
http://www.prescotts-inc.com

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

PERCEPTIONS . . . by Ken Darby

-----------------------DISCLAIMER

Some around me think I am an opinionated old goat.
Whether that be true or not I will sometimes, in this column,
talk about things people don't like to talk about - or don't want
out in the open. Take it all with a grain of salt.

Do your own thinking, and don't accept the things I say as
gospel. They are only mental meanderings from a simple soul.

-----------------------END DISCLAIMER

The Dollar And Power - Objects Sought By The Greedy

Today’s perception will be a short one. I worked so hard
today I must have lost ten pounds. Oh well.

I see the U.S. doesn’t like other countries being equal or
better than they are in weaponry. China has been able to
successfully shoot down a satellite and the U.S. has
condemned it. I guess they figure only they have a right to
hold all the weapons.

Cancer deaths are down in the U.S. I presume that is good
news. What with all the things medicine is doing to keep
people alive I am not so sure we are doing the right thing.

And you can imagine my sheer joy at hearing that big tobacco
is going to increase nicotine content in cigarettes. I think
it’s about time. It is clear they aren’t making enough money
and they want to entrap as many people as they can. Good
going tobacco. I think that makes you very good corporate
citizens. Get out there and kill the young, the aged, the
defenseless. That’s real sportsmanship.

Have a good one!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

WHY DO WE SAY IT?


Jack Robinson: What is the origin of the expression "before
you can say Jack Robinson"?

There are several explanations of this phrase; but the best
story is of a very volatile gentleman-about-town named Jack
Robinson. Robinson used to go calling on his friends and
would then change his mind and leave before his name could
be announced.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND

The Saga Of Pinehill Book II
Money, Marriage And The Way
is now published and available. Buy direct from:

http://www.publishamerica.com
(enter the name Saga of Pinehill in the search box)

If you enjoyed the first book, you won't be able to put
this one down until you've finished it. Enjoy.

DO IT NOW WHEN IT'S FRESH IN YOUR MIND

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

THINK ABOUT THIS TODAY!


"If you wish to appear agreeable in society, you must
consent to be taught many things which you already
know." -- Johann Caspar Lavater

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

HA! HA! HA!

A brunette is walking through the country, when she finds a
bottle. She rubs it and, you guessed it, a genie appears.

The genie says, "You are allowed three wishes. But, I must
warn you, anything you get, all the blondes in the world get
twice as much."

The woman says, "Okay. Give me a nice house."

The genie replies, "You now have one nice house and all the
blondes in the world have two."

The the lady says, "Give me a gorgeous man."

The genie replies, "You now have one gorgeous man, while all
the blondes have two."

The lady says, "For my last wish, Genie, see that stick over
there? Beat me half to death with it."

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Complete Contact info on web site
http://www.the-pebble.com

To submit articles to thePEBBLE send a blank email to -
mailto:article.submission@emailsystemscentral.com

To subscribe to thePEBBLE just send any email to
mailto:pebble@rr-email.com

PEBBLE RELATED SITES OF INTEREST AND VALUE:

http://www.the-pebble.com
http://www.spiritual-underground.com
http://www.thenewsshop.com
http://www.thenewsshop.com/oursalespeople.html

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

THE LAST LINE - - - - -

"Most of us tend to suffer from 'agenda anxiety', the
feeling that what we want to say to others is more
important than what we think they might want to say to
us." -– Nido Qubein

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

REMEMBER! - IF YOU SEE IT IN thePEBBLE - IT IS SO!

No quality succeeds like persistence when the
road disappears from under your feet.
---- Ken Darby