Mr. Kurtz's Neighborhood

It's A...? II

This peaceful and lovely plant grows in my garden, but I am unable to identify it. All the more frustrating since I'm certain it is not obscure. Even the American Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers and the Audubon Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (Western Edition) are no help, although I don't think it is native.

So if Someone who knows plants, or anyone has an idea, I will be grateful.*

*Gratitude, among nations, has a half-life of about 10 milliseconds." - John Rhys-Davies

Jungle Life

Among forest predators, camouflage is a vital attribute. Sheba says; Just how subtle do I have to be to sneak up on a bowl?

In Memorium

Edloe

The Passion

Passiflora caerulea - Passion Flower

Passion Flower refers to vines in the genus Passiflora —flowering plants known for their showy flowers. The Blue Passion Flower, also known as the Common Passion Flower, is a vine native to southern Brazil and Argentina.

Passion flower has a long history of use among Native Americans , in both North and Central America. It is used to treat insomnia, hysteria , and epilepsy, and is also valued for its painkilling properties. It has been found to contain beta-carbolines in the harmala family, an MAOI which has sedative properties and hallucinogenic properties at higher doses, typically used in conjunction with DMT to facilitate oral consumption. it is the larval food of a number of butterfly species.

The unusual shape of the flowers has led to the plant being associated in Christian symbolism with the passion of Jesus; the three stigmas representing the three nails used to nail Jesus to the cross, the five anthers represent the five wounds, the corona represents the crown of thorns, and the ten 'petals' (actually five petals and five sepals) the ten apostles; the leaves also represent the hands of those who persecuted him, and the tendrils the whips of those who beat him.

Now that's cheery. Here, it tries to shroud my porch and snake its little tendrils around every other plant and object within reach. The fruit is edible and fairly tasty, but mostly they are processed for juice, due to many, very tiny seeds. While the plant is a nuisance in its growth habits, the flowers are always a surprising display of exotica. Locally, the plant is probably fertilized by Carpenter Bees, Wasps and Hummingbirds. The complicated flower structure generally prevents smaller bees from effectively doing the job. There are about 500 species including:

The Foetid Passion Flower or Stinking Passion Flower (Passiflora foetida), also known as the Wild Maracuja, is a creeping vine which has an edible fruit and leaves that have a mildly rank aroma. It is native to northern South America and the West Indies .

The bracts of this plant are known to serve as insect traps and also possess the mechanism to digest the trapped insects. However, it is still uncertain as to whether the trap is solely for defence or if the Foetid Passion Flower is a true carnivorous plant, meaning whether or not it digests and receives any nutritional supplement from the insects it traps.

Note: No mention or reference on this page or site is intended to encourage drug use of any kind.

Return To Flight IV June 21

Space Shuttle Discovery Successfully Rolls Back to Launch Pad

Space Shuttle Discovery makes its way along the crawlerway from high bay 3 to Launch Pad 39B as the sun rises. Image credit: NASA/KSC

With new safety modifications, the Space Shuttle Discovery is back at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Carried by a giant Crawler Transporter, Discovery arrived at the pad at 12:17 p.m. EDT today in preparation for its historic Return to Flight mission (STS-114) planned for July.

"We've addressed some additional concerns about ice formation on the external fuel tank," said NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for International Space Station and Space Shuttle Programs Michael Kostelnik. "This is an even safer vehicle for Commander Eileen Collins and her crew, and the new modifications will ensure this important mission to the International Space Station is successful."

The four mile trip took about ten hours instead of the usual four plus, as the Crawler Transporter was frequently inspected for hot bearings. Normally, the crawler has a top speed of one mile per hour.

With Discovery at the pad, workers will begin final preparations for launch. They will close out, test, and install the payload, NASA's Italian-built Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, Raffaello.

They will also load the hypergolic propellants for flight. The process includes adding the propellants, monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, into the Orbiter Maneuvering System and the Forward Reaction Control System.

The "Takings" Gap

Once again, in our complacency, the United States is surpassed by a vigorous, forward-looking society. While the Supreme Court hides behind arcane legalisms in order to soil a Noble Document, a dynamic young Nation eschews such delicacy in "Moving On" to the ultimate goal of its fearless leader.

Operation Murambatsvina (Shona for Operation Drive Out The Trash), also referred to as Operation Restore Order, is a crackdown against illegal trading and illegal housing in Harare, Bulawayo and other urban areas, conducted by the government of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Opposition political parties claim that it is an attack against the urban-based opposition. Estimates so far suggest that as many as 200,000 Zimbabweans may have been left homeless by the crackdown.

The clearances were initiated by Robert Mugabe and the ruling ZANU-PF weeks after the disputed elections held there. Mugabe claims that the clearances are needed in order to carry out "a vigorous clean-up campaign to restore sanity". While police have carried out most of the demolition, some inhabitants were forced to destroy their own homes.

In addition to the political implications behind the clearances, as most of the urban populations consistently vote for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change , "The Zimbabwean", a London and Johannesburg based Zimbabwean advocacy newspaper has reported allegations that the destruction of the shanty towns are also to drive out the black market to destroy any local competition with the new Chinese merchants in Harare and Bulwayo as part of Mugabe's "Look East" policy. It has also been opined — by The Economist and other sources — that a motive for the clearances may be to acquire a low-tech agricultural workforce, given Mugabe's farm confiscation policies and their resulting collapse of Zimbabwean stocks of food staples.

People whose homes are being demolished are being told to return to previous homes in the countryside or face further action from the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization. While some have been able to do this, many others have been forced to stay on the streets during some of the coldest nights of the Zimbabwean year. Others have moved in with relatives in other, so far unaffected areas.

As well as homes, demolished buildings include a Roman Catholic orphanage which had been run by a group of nuns . Children, some of whom are infected with HIV and have lost parents to the AIDS virus, were given 12 to 24 hours to leave. Outside of the urban areas of Harare and Bulawayo, most of the destruction has been limited to illegal market stalls rather than homes.

Shame. Shame, I say. How can we hold up our heads in this progressive age if we allow a PolPot tinpot dictator to outstrip us in "Moving On" to plough under the propertarian relics of the past in the quest to establish the Ginzburg Doctrine.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.

To Wiki

Back to Basics

I'm not a lawyer and certainly not a constitutional scholar, but I can read plain English prose. If that's not sufficient to understand our law then I suggest the "fault lies not in ourselves...", but in the law.

From The Constitution of the United States of America:

Fourth Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.

Fifth Amendment

...nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

This, also.

"the idea that 'the public interest' supersedes private interests and rights can have but one meaning: that the interests and rights of some individuals take precedence over the interests and rights of others."

- Ayn Rand

To Cox and Forkum and Larry Salzman and Alex Epstein

You Can Have This...

When you pry it from my cold, dead hands.
M***********s

GTFCB 45.7

The Pride freezes at the slightest sound. A herd of Lesser Kibblettes, or the stealthy and elusive Veldt Tuna?

It's A...

Sempervivum - (Crassulaceae - sedum family) Stonecrop
Also known as Hens and Chicks, or in Britain, Houseleek.

Sempervivums or Houseleeks, are succulent, rosette forming alpines. They originate in the mountain areas of Europe, central Asia and North Africa, often growing in crevices in the rocks.

This one may be Sempervivum tectorum, but not certain. For one, the rosettes in my garden do not die after flowering. There are many varieties and spread quite steadily to make a lovely ground cover or accent border. This species flowers (not fully open yet) remind me of Candy Corn®.