Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.

---------------------------------------------------
NATURE'S DESIGN?
By Mike Lei

Where did we come from? Did we evolve from apes? Scientists hope fossils would provide the answers to how modern humans came into being. A recent USA Today (online) article on July 11th reported the discovery of the fossil of another human ancestor that is the oldest so far at 6 million to 7 million years. According to Paleontologist Bernard Wood, who viewed the new skull, know as Toumai, this skull is the oldest ever found, but it has features of a modern face not seen again on fossils until about 1.5 million years ago. The article states that “Over the past few decades, the evolutionary family tree have morphed from an oak with a nice straight trunk and neat branches into something more like an unmanicured hedge.” In other words, over the years, newer fossil findings have changed the way evolutionary models are drawn. The article explained that in the past, humans were thought to have evolved from Neanderthals, but today the evidence shows Neanderthals are from a different lineage. We used to see in textbooks the drawing with an ape at one end and the human at the other. It would show Neantherhals came before humans. But now, the USA Today article states that, “A more accurate representation should have Neanderthal, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens walking side by side."*1

Ian Tattersal, curator of anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, concludes from looking at hominid fossil throughout the world that many of these fossils are not directed related to each other, but are from different groups. ‘“And there is a lot more species out there than we have had the courage to recognize,”’ Tattersal says.”

An interesting comment came at the end of the article. “Wood says one important conclusion that may arise from the new discovery is that human evolution is no different from that observed in other animals, such as birds and cats: Nature allows many different designs of the same basic model to develop.”

In my profession as an electrical engineer, we have different kinds of jobs. There are design engineering jobs and non-design engineering jobs. The design engineer is the one who implements an idea to make a circuit perform a certain function. The other engineers support the design by testing the circuit or doing other functions to make sure the circuit will work in the real world. If the design engineer does not know how to create the right circuit, the other engineering support engineers would not be able to do anything without a workable design.

The reason why I went off this tangent to talk about the importance of design engineers in the process of engineering is because if Nature can allow many different designs of some basic model, then it shows Nature has intelligence. Who is Nature? Isn’t it just the physical world around us? Is it Nature who allows designs to happen or could it be a creator God? In nature, we see the laws of nature, such as gravity, atrophy and chemical reactions. But who came up with these laws? According to evolutionary theory, life arose from random processes of chemical reactions. There are no intelligence or design behind this random process. However, we see there are intelligence built in all things. Just look at our DNA code. It has taken years to map out the human genetic code. A code is not a code without an initial creative intelligence behind it. Who wrote the DNA code? In the movie “Contact”, the scientists searched for intelligent life by trying to detect patterns of radio waves that are not random, but have intelligent patterns. It is hard to look at the complexity of the natural world, such as the structure of a single cell, without seeing intelligent design in it. Today, robotic scientists spend years and millions of dollars to mimic simple functions of the human body, such as walking. From this, we can see that to orchestrate the simple functions of a living organism require intelligence that can be beyond our understanding.

As this news article shows, new fossils have confounded the models used in the theory of evolution. What was once thought to be a simple process of a less developed creature evolving into a more developed creature has proved to be inaccurate. If what used to be thought of as ancestors of humans lived side by side with humans, then are they ancestors at all or are they just a different species. We know many different species have become extinct, so maybe these fossils are not human ancestors, but are different species that had become extinct. That’s why we do not see them today.

Here are some questions to ask about the theory of evolution. What came first? The chicken or the egg? In order for DNA to be replicated, transcribed, and translated into protein, a host of specific proteins must already be present. What came first? Proteins or DNA? Can chaos create order? Can a tornado going through a junk yard produce a 747?

Why is the living world full of amazing adaptive strategies that defy evolutionary explanations? Did the peppered moth of England prove the evolutionary theory of natural selection? Why did nearly all species and adaptive structures appear suddenly in the fossil records with few if any predicted evolutionary transitions? Swimming (whale, seals, turtles, etc.) and flying (insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats) adaptations appear suddenly in the fossil record with no transitions. Have you ever seen a mutation that benefited the person or animal and was passed on to the next generation? How many “favorable” mutations are required to give a bird wings, feathers, lungs, bone structure, brain morphology to fly? Why is beauty so pervasive in the natural world, from subatomic particles to crystals to biochemical pathways to butterflies to tropical jungles to the planets to the universe? How often can randomness, chance, accident create something beautiful? If beauty were the result of necessity, why would we be soothed by bird songs used to attract males, establish territories, and threaten enemies? Can we appreciate beauty in nature because our mind is patterned after the intelligence that is responsible for the beauty?

Will the current evolutionary theory change again with new fossil findings? The evidence from fossils will continue to stump the theories of scientists who try to fit evolutionary theory in all this, because the whole theory is not based on intelligent design. Nature can’t have a design without a Designer. Maybe this realization will help us understand where we come from.*2

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References

*1. Lei, Mike. (2002) 'NATURE'S DESIGN?,' "Special Column of 'Nevada Examiner'," Las Vegas, Nevada: Nevada Examiner.
*2. Ibid.

***About the writer:

At the time when he wrote this article, Mike Lei worked at Fujitsu Microelectronics America in Dallas, TX as a product development engineer. He was also active in his church.

Mike Lei serves as a youth deacon at Carrollton Chinese Church. He like to play tennis and jogging. He has been an engineer for 6 years. He currently works at Fujitsu Microelectronics America. He has submitted 6 patents dealing with forward error correction circuits while at Alcatel Telecom. You can reach him at mlei@fma.fujitsu.com.

Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.

---------------------------------------------------
EMERGENCY INFORMATION IMPROVEMENTS in Nevada, U. S. A.
By Kenny Guinn*1

Earlier this week, Nevada transitioned to the next generation of emergency information as radio and television stations began using a new series of activation codes for the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The new codes, effective on June 30, include the Child Abduction Emergency code for AMBER Alerts as well as codes for telephone system outages, releases of radiological material, and dust storm warnings. The Nevada Broadcasters Association is to be commended for its help to make this system a reality.

The operators of Nevada's radio and television stations have upgraded their EAS equipment, at a cost of up to $150 per unit, to carry these new codes, which are designed to meet specific emergencies. The new system will make it easier for television stations to provide this visual display of information of critical importance to the public.

Nevada's original system was put in place in January 1997. It is a voluntary program that is fully funded by the state’s radio and television stations. Law enforcement and public safety officials have been encouraged to use EAS to quickly provide lifesaving information to the public at no expense to taxpayers. It has provided radio and television audiences with information about weather emergencies such as floods and flash floods, outages of local 911 phone systems, and AMBER Alerts. Assembly Bill 322 created the Committee for the Statewide Alert System, which is a voluntary partnership among state and local law enforcement agencies and broadcasters to assist in the search and safe return of abducted children.

The Nevada Broadcasters Association, through the leadership of president and CEO Robert Fisher, has played an important role in helping to ensure the speedy dissemination of emergency information to the public. Since the system was first implemented, ten statewide AMBER Alerts have aided law enforcement agencies in their search for abducted or missing children. The AMBER Alerts have also helped raise citizens’ awareness of the effectiveness of this special type of communications tool. Examples include the recoveries of Kyle and Jenna Corcoran in Searchlight in August 2003; Sandra and Sarah Dilley in Lovelock in January 2004; Crystal Cuanas in Fallon in March 2004; and Donovan Bingham in Las Vegas in April 2004. In July, Nevada will become the third state, following the examples Arizona and Washington, to join the AMBER Alert Web Portal Consortium in an effort to further strengthen regional communication and cooperation.

The citizens of Nevada will benefit greatly from having access to immediate, life-saving information. I would like to congratulate those who have worked to develop and expand these vital systems, and I encourage all local agencies to continue to utilize and support this wise investment in our safety.

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References

*1. Dr. Kenny C. Guinn is the Governor of Nevada, U. S. A..
*2. Ofiice of the Governor. 'EMERGENCY INFORMATION IMPROVEMENTS ---A Message from Governor Kenny C. Guinn - July 1, 2004,' " An e-mail from the Office of Governor Kenny Guinn to Dr. Tony Lei," (July 1, 2004), Carson City, Nevada: Office of Governor Kenny C. Guinn.
*3. Ibid.

***About the Author:

Kenny Guinn, 67, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Physical Education from Fresno State University and later obtained a doctorate in Education from Utah State University in Logan. He was named Superintendent of Schools in Clark County and served with distinction in that position until 1978.

In his work for the Clark County School District, Guinn was recognized as an effective administrator committed to educational excellence at a time when the county was experiencing exponential student growth. His service to Clark County students was honored when Kenny C. Guinn Junior High School was named for him.

In 1978, Guinn began applying his management skills in business as Administrative Vice President for Nevada Savings and Loan in Las Vegas, which later became PriMerit Bank. At PriMerit, he was appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Las Vegas-based bank. Soon thereafter, Guinn was recruited to the energy business as the President of Southwest Gas Corporation and eventually became Chairman of the Board of Directors of that utility in 1993.

In 1994, Guinn was recruited by the University of Nevada Board of Regents to serve as interim president of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

In addition to his one-year term at UNLV, Guinn served the state in leadership roles on a variety of committees and commissions, including the Clark County Community College Advisory Committee, the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees, the White House Conference on Children and Youth, among others.

Guinn has also worked in his community in a variety of volunteer roles, ranging from involvement in the Boy Scouts and Pop Warner Football to the United Way of Southern Nevada and the Southern Nevada Independent Youth Athletic Association.

Kenny spent his boyhood in the small, Central Valley town of Exeter, California where he met Dema, his wife of 47 years. Kenny Guinn believes in families.

Dr. Kenny Guinn is now the Governor of Nevada, U. S. A. at his second term.

Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.

-----------------------------------------------------
It sounds that many presidents of the nations in this world always like to keep the modern stratagem (including "Sun Tze Bin Far", "I Ching", etc.) and "Bible" on the desks in their offices
By SEAN WHALEY and PAI of WBTI*1

Dear Ms. Kathy, it sounds that many presidents of the nations in this world always like to keep the modern stratagem (including "Sun Tzi Bin Fa", "I Ching", etc.) and "Bible" on the desks in their offices. The following is our post today through the courtesy of Las Vegas Review-Journal ---the largest newspaper in Nevada:

Thursday, July 01, 2004
Copyright @ Las Vegas Review-Journal

STATE CONTROLLER: Augustine subject of inquiry
Investigation could involve 2002 re-election campaign
By SEAN WHALEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU

Kathy Augustine
State's chief fiscal officer was queried in 2001 about trips

CARSON CITY -- State Controller Kathy Augustine confirmed Wednesday she is being investigated by the attorney general's office.

Augustine, re-elected to a second four-year term as controller two years ago, said in an interview outside the Capitol she has been told to keep quiet about the nature of the attorney general's investigation.

But a source told the Review-Journal the inquiry involves an employee in the controller's office who worked on Augustine's re-election campaign while on the state payroll.

When asked whether she would have to step down from office as a result of the investigation, Augustine said: "Is that what they're saying now? Nothing has been settled."*2

Augustine did not talk about the scope of the investigation. She said it does not involve her job as controller, nor is it a criminal matter. Augustine said it has nothing to do with campaign finances or travel.

Her attorney, John Arrascada of Reno, said only that the investigation is ongoing. "Out of Ms. Augustine's respect for the process and out of my respect for the process, we have no further comments."

Asked whether there was a timeline for resolving the probe, Arrascada said: "There is no specific timeline. We are working diligently to resolve the matter."

The attorney general's office would neither confirm nor deny an investigation is under way.

Augustine said she sat down with the attorney general's staff once, in January, and has not spoken with the office since.

"I just want to get this over with," she said. "I want to get this behind me."

The controller, Nevada's chief fiscal officer, is paid $80,000 per year. The office has the mission of administering the state accounting system to permit fair, accurate, consistent financial reporting that provides current and historical information. The controller also serves on the state Board of Transportation and on the state Board of Finance.

John Lee, a former Democratic state Assemblyman who lost his 2002 bid for controller, was surprised to learn of the investigation.

"I wonder who turned her in," he said.

Lee had questioned Augustine's travel expenses from her days as a state senator and her first term as controller. However, his criticism of Augustine was lost in a huge Republican election sweep that year that saw all six state constitutional offices go to the GOP.

He said the only thing he could think of that Sandoval might be looking at is Augustine's use of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report to promote herself.

"She had her picture in there and a little bio," Lee said. "It was a political bible for her, taking it with her wherever she went and showing it off to everyone."

Lee said he thought Augustine's picture and biography in the CAFR "was a cheap shot."

Lee is now running for the state Senate against Ray Shaffer, R-North Las Vegas.

Augustine was questioned by lawmakers in 2001 about her travel as controller and whether it was related to state business.

A legislative audit raised questions about eight round trips from Reno to Las Vegas by Augustine after she was elected controller in 1998.

The Legislature, in approving Augustine's budget for 2001-03 period, included a letter requiring better documentation for any travel.

"There was a concern that some travel may have been incurred in the past based on invitations to attend a function that may not be related to, or that specifically benefits, the operation of the state controller's office," the letter said. "Travel expenditures should include documentation of the controller-related business that was conducted."

Augustine said her office provided supporting details for the eight trips.

The trips involved her first six months in office in 1999, and two were trips involving her service on the Board of Transportation.

Augustine was elected to her first term as controller in 1998 after serving one term in the state Senate and one term in the state Assembly.*3

Review-Journal writer Erin Neff contributed to this report.

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References

*1. Las Vegas Review-Journal is the largest newspaper in Nevada. It has its website at the address of: reviewjournal.com. This website is famous with its communitylink. WBTI's website is brought to you through the communitylink of Las Vegas Review-Journal at http://communitylink.reviewjournal.com/lvrj/wbti. PAI of WBTI is the initial of Public Administration Institution of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI). PAI did only a little of the editing on this article.
*2.Las Vegas Review-Journal.
"reviewjournal.com on Thursday, 07-01-2004," (July 1, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: LVRJ.
*3. Ibid.