Beauty in the Night
Billows of smoke and steam rise above Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida alongside space shuttle Discovery as it races toward space on the STS-128 mission. The STS-128 mission is the 30th International Space Station assembly flight and the 128th space shuttle flight. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill.
Image Credit: NASA/Sandra Joseph and Kevin O'Connell

From Manahatta to ManhattanSaturday, September 12 & Sunday, September 13 Tours at 11 am, 1 pm & 3 pmThe museum is participating in New York Heritage Weekend, a celebration of 2009 Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial activities.Join us for a discussion about the Lenape people of Manahatta (Manhattan before the Dutch). Visitors will tour the museum and learn about the cultures of the original inhabitants of the New York region. Demonstrations will include how wampum was produced, from shell to bead, as well as other cultural objects. The tour will also discuss the ‘sale’ of Manhattan. For a fee, visitors may continue on a tour outside the museum with independent NYC tour guide Maria Dering, who will guide an exploration of the perimeter of Fort Amsterdam, trace the shoreline of 1625 New Amsterdam and visit sites and remains of the Dutch Colony.Reservations are required; email http://uk.mc245.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=nmai-tours@si.eduThe museum program is free of chargeExtended tours outside the museum cost $10 per person (no further discounts). Reservations are required; email http://uk.mc245.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=mariadering@earthlink.net

Mr Zein Shafi and co from mersyeside

Friend --

Opponents of health insurance reform have power. Some reap huge profits from the status quo. Others take large campaign contributions from those who profit.So they'll do anything to keep the current system in place. When fact-based arguments don't work, they attack President Obama with outlandish lies about a government takeover and euthanizing the elderly. And once that doesn't work, they'll go even further.We don't know what they'll do next. What we do know is that we'll have to be prepared for anything -- ready to set the record straight, ready to make sure the media and Congress see the overwhelming support for reform, and ready to pass real reform this year.But we'll need the resources to do it -- to pay for rapid-response ads in key districts and states, organizers to put together large rallies and grassroots events throughout the country, and the best technology available to empower volunteers -- all at a moment's notice. Please chip in $5 or more to help us pass real reform, this year.
This was never going to be easy. As candidate Obama said just three days before the election: "Don't think for a moment that power will concede without a fight." Now, we're seeing how true that really is.These same well-financed forces have killed reform in the past, and they're aiming to do it again.But here's why this time can be different: There are folks like you, all around the country, who are ready to go toe-to-toe with the special interests, even when they're not fighting fair.And we'll keep at it, because we know that the work we're doing together right now can make the lives of hundreds of millions better for decades to come.But we need your help to keep it up. Please donate $5 or more to help beat the special interests:http://my.barackobama.com/page/m2/55c13d52/6c7ff0e4/dae163fa/11885a3a/2658622436/VEsF/There's too much at stake for any of us to sit this one out. Please chip in.Thanks,MitchMitch StewartDirectorOrganizing for America