Can there be any other reason than B & C for Qatar to get the World Cup???
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Proof positive of FIFA bribery & corruption: Qatar to host World Cup
December 4, 2010Does microfinance lead to a debt trap?
December 4, 2010Some more of my illusions get shattered.
Light blogging for the next two weeks: off to warmer climes
December 2, 2010I shall be travelling for the next two weeks in temperatures significantly higher than the minus 23 degrees Celsius we had last night in middle Sweden.
Blogging will be necessarily light.
Time to postpone Haitian elections?: UN cholera “unusual, swift and severe”
November 21, 2010ff
Protests in Port-au-Prince on Friday 19th November: image Svenska Dagbladet
The cholera in Haiti has spread to the prison in Port-au-Prince. Of the 2000 prisoners over 30 have shown signs of infection and 13 have died. The official death toll in Haiti is now over 1200 and the official number of those infected is over 20,000. The actual number infected is probably approaching 100,000.
AFP reports that:
Haiti is facing an “unusual” cholera epidemic that could be more severe than figures suggest, according to a French cholera expert who is advising Haitian health authorities. And determining who is to blame for bringing the disease here won’t help solve the crisis, he added.
The outbreak, which threatens to overwhelm Haiti as it struggles to recover from January’s cataclysmic earthquake, has left nearly 1,200 dead and prompted riots in several cities including the capital as citizens accuse the United Nations of importing the cholera.
But Doctor Gerard Chevallier, who is advising Haiti’s Health Ministry, warned that the country needs to focus on trying to halt the spread of the disease detected in Haiti one month ago.
“The mechanics of the epidemic are unusual, swift and severe,” Chevallier told AFP in an interview. “The whole country is not affected, but the epidemic will spread.” Chevallier noted that in such epidemics, especially in impoverished nations like Haiti, the toll is “under-assessed” and almost always higher than the official figure. “Reports are imperfect. There are areas where people die and nobody knows,” Chevallier said. “Two thirds of the territory is accessible only on foot.”
Chevallier is working with a French team seeking to provide Haitian authorities with tools that allow for a more complete and reliable picture of the epidemic.
To merely ignore or deny the cause of the outbreak because containing it is now the highest priority does not address the emotions in the local population which are running very high. In the local population fear is exacerbated by anger that the UN which is virtually running the country is not owning upto its responsibilities. After a hundred years without cholera Haiti is now condemned to many decades of having the disease and the UN cannot continue in denial.
It is not the fault of the Nepalese troops who were the carriers of the disease but it is a terrible indictment of sloppy UN processes which allowed them into the country without testing and without adequate precautions.
It is time for the elections due to be held on 28th November to be postponed. Trying to pack people into polling booths while the epidemic is raging seems to be the height of stupidity. AFP also reports that four Haitian presidential candidates have called for postponing elections set for Nov 28 as the country struggles with a cholera epidemic that has claimed nearly 1,200 lives amid protests targeting UN peacekeepers.
Physics Nobel for graphene
October 5, 2010What I thought might be the subject area of the Chemistry Nobel was in fact rewarded with the Physics Nobel prize today.
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2010 was awarded jointly to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov “for groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene”
BBC: Andrei Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, both at Manchester University, UK, took the prize for research on graphene. Geim, 51, is a Dutch national while Novoselov, 36, holds British and Russian citizenship. Both are natives of Russia and started their careers in physics there.
Andre Geim: Wikipedia
Graphene is a flat sheet of carbon just one atom thick; it is almost completely transparent, but also extremely strong and a good conductor of electricity. It consists of a hexagonal array of sp2-bonded carbon atoms, just like those found in bulk graphite. 2D materials display very interesting properties, and are fundamentally different from the 3D materials we encounter everyday. The discovery of 2D materials means that scientists now have access to materials of all dimensionalities, including 0D (quantum dots, atoms) and 1D (nanowires, carbon nanotubes).
Geim and Novoselov first isolated the fine sheets of graphene from graphite. A layer of graphite one millimetre thick actually consists of three million layers of graphene stacked on top of one another. The layers are weakly held together and are therefore fairly simple to tear off and separate. The researchers used ordinary sticky tape to rip off thin flakes from a piece of graphite. Then they attached the flakes to a silicon plate and used a microscope to identify the thin layers of graphene among larger fragments of graphite and carbon scraps.
Graphene can be used for many different purposes including transistors, gas sensors, support membranes for TEM and inert transparent coatings.
Konstantin Novoselov : Photo: University of Manchester, UK
It provides the possibility for further research in quantum physics, relativity and has allowed the Klein paradox to be observed for the first time.
Some scientists have precicted that graphene could one day replace silicon – which is the current material of choice for transistors. It could also yield incredibly strong, flexible and stable materials and find uses in transparent touch screens or solar cells.
Ten years ago, Professor Geim and Professor Sir Michael Berry from the University of Bristol were jointly awarded an Ig Nobel prize for their experiments using magnetic fields to levitate live frogs.
Gold fever
September 15, 2010
Image via Wikipedia
The price of gold hit a record high on Tuesday, with analysts giving a number of reasons for its rise.
Gold generates no income. It costs to store and secure and insure. Yet the flight to gold continues. Gold only beats inflation. It fares poorly when compared to real estate or shares when compared on the basis of real inflation adjusted returns. Gold scores the highest in terms of liquidity, compared to all other investments. Gold can be converted to cash at any time. All gold investments have the same tax concern. Gold, being a commodity, is taxed as ordinary income even if profit comes from buying a gold ETF. Between the costs of storage, premiums paid and taxes, returns from an investment in physical gold can be eroded quickly unless compensated by the gold price.
Gold price can be very volatile. Over the past three years, gold has seen an increase of 84% in value but has seen gains and losses of over 12% within the same quarter.
Indian households are estimated to hold over 16,000 tons of gold primarily as jewellery.
The BBC reports:
The price of gold hit a record high on Tuesday, with analysts giving a number of reasons for its rise. Both the price of the actual metal and the price for buying it at a future date rose more than 2% to $1,274.75 an ounce. It was the biggest one-day gain for the commodity in four months.
One of the factors spurring investors is gold’s traditional role as a so-called “safe-haven” investment at times of economic uncertainty. On the physical market, demand for both bullion and jewellery has risen ahead of the seasonal Indian wedding period and the Hindu religious festivals that begin in September.
Another driver is more technical – gold is priced in dollars, and any fall in the dollar makes it cheaper to buyers using other currencies. The dollar has fallen across a range of currencies, driven down by a range of factors. Its most remarked upon slide has been against the Japanese yen. It is trading at a 15-year low against that currency. The price of gold has risen 16% so far this year. The World Gold Council’s last report on the gold market predicted that continuing strong demand from jewellery buyers in the two fast-developing markets of India and China, would help keep the price high.
http://goldprice.org/charts/history/gold_all_data_o_usd.png
IPCC: Self adulation or just simple plagiarism
September 7, 2010It would appear that large sections of the IPCC 1995 Working Group 2 report has just lifted sections from a book published by its lead author.
It could be just simple plagiarism or is perhaps the self-adulation to be expected from lead authors – or the IPCC report being used for marketing the book??
http://www.rescuepost.com/.a/6a00d8357f3f2969e2013485bc0fc9970c-250wi
The Book the IPCC Plagiarized
Ahmadinejad does not like Paul !
July 29, 2010I had expected that Paul, after his World Cup exploits would enjoy a peaceful retirement. Poor chap.
Unfortunately he has been taken to represent all that is reprehensible in modern culture by no less an authority than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Poor chap!
The Daily Telegraph reports that Ahmadinejad claims that the octopus is a symbol of decadence and decay among “his enemies”
Considering that octopuses only have a 4 year life span let us hope he does not have to face any fatwas or assassination attempts. He deserves a peaceful retirement with a surfeit of mussels – preferably 5 times a day.
A Russian bookmaker is offering the Sea Life Center in Oberhausen, Germany 100,000 euros ($129,800) for the octopus. Given that the Sea Life Center recently turned down offers from Spain to buy Paul, it’s unlikely he’ll be moving anytime soon.
Snow among the cherry blossoms
April 18, 2010A lovely picture of cherry blossoms in full bloom, people in kimonos, umbrellas unfurled and snow on the ground in Tokyo — from The Japan Times.
Hello world!
April 16, 2010Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!
The k2p blog 