February 1, 2011
Only 3 more flights – money permitting – for an iconic series of space craft before they are retired.
BBC:
The US shuttle Discovery has rolled out for what should be its final mission. The orbiter completed its slow journey to the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A overnight, Monday into Tuesday.
Discovery’s flight to the space station is scheduled to begin on 24 February. With its crew of six astronauts, the ship will deliver a storeroom to be attached to the 350km-high platform, along with further supplies and spares.
NASA last tried to launch the vehicle in November but technical hitches, including cracks on its giant external fuel tank, kept the ship on the ground. The agency said engineers had now fixed those defects and carried out further work to strengthen the tank.
President Barack Obama and the US Congress have determined that the shuttle fleet should be retired this year. Discovery is the oldest of the three surviving orbiters. First launched in 1984, it has since completed 38 missions, travelling some 230 million km in the process. Endeavour is expected to fly to the station in April. Atlantis will go no earlier than June, if Nasa has sufficient money left in its shuttle programme budget.
Following the fleet’s retirement, the plan is for US astronauts to fly to the space station on Russian Soyuz rockets until perhaps the middle of the decade.
Space shuttle Discovery : image NASA
Tags: Discovery final mission, International Space Station, NASA, Space shuttle Atlantis, Space Shuttle Discovery, Space shuttle Endeavour
Posted in Science, Space, US | 1 Comment »
February 1, 2011
Tony Blair: Image via Wikipedia
Apparently Tony Blair and his government were more than mere US poodles. That Blair was an accomplished liar regarding his “sexed up” Iraq dossiers has become apparent. But that he had (has) little sense of ethics and could treat with the Devil for the sake of trade deals has always been suspected but is coming out clearly now.
British ministers secretly advised Libya on securing the successful early release of the Lockerbie bomber and demonstrate that Tony Blair’s Government was “playing false” over the issue.
If corruption is taken to be “having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money” it is not difficult to attach a label to Tony Blair and his government.
The Telegraph:
A Foreign Office minister sent Libyan officials detailed legal advice on how to use Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s cancer diagnosis to ensure he was released from a Scottish prison on compassionate grounds, documents obtained by the Daily Telegraph show.
The Duke of York is also said to have played a behind-the-scenes role in encouraging the terrorist’s release.
The Scottish First Minister said the revelations confirm that while his administration acted according to its public pronouncements on the affair, Tony Blair’s Government was behaving duplicitously.
“The cables … show that the former UK Government were playing false on the issue, with a different public position from their private one,” said a statement released by Mr Salmond’s office.
Downing Street maintained at the time that is was not complicit in the release of al-Megrahi, and that the decision to free the convicted terrorist was taken by the Scottish Executive alone.
The Libyans closely followed the advice which led to the controversial release of Megrahi – who was convicted of the murder of 270 passengers on Pan Am Flight 103 – within months of the Foreign Office’s secret intervention.
According to American officials, Mr Blair was suspected of securing trade deals after agreeing to include Megrahi in the agreement.
After Megrahi was released in August 2009, another American document records Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s comments – which suggest that Prince Andrew, the UK’s trade envoy, may have played a role. The document records: “He [Gaddafi] went on to thank his ‘friend Brown’, the British Prime Minister, his government, Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Andrew, who ‘against all odds encouraged this brave decision’. [Gaddafi] noted that the UK efforts would positively affect ‘exchange’ between the two countries.
Tags: Blair's governmnt engineered Megrahi release, corruption, First Minister of Scotland, Lockerbie bomber release, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Prince Andrew, Tony Blair
Posted in Behaviour, Business, Corruption, Ethics, International Trade, UK | 2 Comments »
February 1, 2011
Husky dog sled: Image by Feuillu via Flickr
Outdoor Adventures Whistler (ph.604 932 0647) ordered the massacre of up to 100 huskies when their business dipped after the Winter Olymics.
Barbarism takes many forms and is not confined to the Balkans or the Middle East or Afghanistan or Africa. It is also found in British Columbia.
UPI reports:
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 31 (UPI) — A dogsled tour company in British Columbia is accused of killing 100 dogs when its business faded after the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Vancouver radio station CKNW said documents from WorkSafeBC, the provincial occupational health agency, show an employee of Outdoor Adventures Whistler got compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder after allegedly being made to kill the dogs.
The radio station reported the dogs were shot or had their throats cut, and were buried in a mass grave.
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/01/31/Sled-operator-accused-of-killing-100-dogs/UPI-47971296497350/#ixzz1Ch1K4uQo
Tags: British Columbia, Dog massacre, Husky massacre, Outdoor Adventures Whistler
Posted in Behaviour, Canada | 4 Comments »
February 1, 2011
This is actually two years old from 27th July 2008 but is doing the rounds again on Twitter.
But as a commentary on the competence of some of the more superficial main stream media it remains valid.
Tags: geography, incompetence, media
Posted in Media | Comments Off on Egypt, Iraq, Who Cares!
February 1, 2011
Northern Queensland is bracing itself for Cyclone Yasi which is now expected to cross the coast at about 1am on Thursday morning (3rd February).
The Australian BOM has this warning:
YASI IS A LARGE AND POWERFUL TROPICAL CYCLONE AND POSES A SERIOUS THREAT TO NORTH QUEENSLAND COMMUNITIES
Cyclone Yasi track: image bom.gov.au
- The cyclone is expected to slowly intensify overnight as it moves westwards over the Coral Sea.
- SEVERE TROPICAL CYCLONE YASI, CATEGORY 3 is expected to turn on a more west-southwesterly direction in the next 12 hours.
- DAMAGING winds with gusts to 90 km/hr are expected to develop on the islands during Wednesday morning, then extend onto the coast during the day, and further inland across southern Cape York Peninsula and north of Charters Towers overnight.
- Between Cooktown and Townsville these winds will become DESTRUCTIVE with gusts in excess of 125km/hr late Wednesday afternoon.
- As the centre approaches the coast sea levels will rise above the normal tide with damaging waves and flooding of low lying areas near the shoreline.
- Flooding rains will develop from Cooktown to Sarina during Wednesday afternoon and then extend inland overnight.
- People between Cooktown and Sarina should immediately commence or continue preparations, especially securing boats and property [using available daylight hours/before nightfall].
SMH reports that forced evacuations are are now taking place:
Authorities doorknocking homes in north Queensland are now ordering people to leave their properties, as severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi bears down.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said this afternoon councils between Cook and Hinchinbrook shires had given the go-ahead for forced evacuations to be carried out, amid fears a storm surge would cause water levels to rise by two metres.
She said officials who were door-knocking homes in high-risk areas now had the power to issue directives for people to leave.
Cyclone Yasi approaches the Australian coast from the Coral Sea. Photo: Reuters/Japan Meteorological Agency
Tags: Cairns, Cyclone Yasi, North Queensland, Tropical cyclone
Posted in Australia, Natural Disasters, Weather | Comments Off on Cyclone Yasi is intensifying and closing
January 31, 2011
Mineral molybdenite: Image via Wikipedia
A new paper from researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne about a new material which could challenge graphene for transistors.
Single-layer MoS2 transistors, by B. Radisavljevic, A. Radenovic, J. Brivio, V. Giacometti & A. Kis, Nature Nanotechnology (2011) doi:10.1038/nnano.2010.279
Physorg reports:
Smaller and more energy-efficient electronic chips could be made using molybdenite. In an article appearing online January 30 in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, EPFL’s Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) publishes a study showing that this material has distinct advantages over traditional silicon or graphene for use in electronics applications.
A model showing how molybdenite can be integrated into a transistor. Credit: EPFL
Research carried out in the Laboratory of Nanoscale Electronics and Structures (LANES) has revealed that molybdenite, or MoS2, is a very effective semiconductor. This mineral, which is abundant in nature, is often used as an element in steel alloys or as an additive in lubricants. But it had not yet been extensively studied for use in electronics.
“It’s a two-dimensional material, very thin and easy to use in nanotechnology. It has real potential in the fabrication of very small transistors, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and solar cells,” says EPFL Professor Andras Kis, whose LANES colleagues M. Radisavljevic, Prof. Radenovic et M. Brivio worked with him on the study. He compares its advantages with two other materials:silicon, currently the primary component used in electronic and computer chips, and graphene, whose discovery in 2004 earned University of Manchester physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics.
One of molybdenite’s advantages is that it is less voluminous than silicon, which is a three-dimensional material. “In a 0.65-nanometer-thick sheet of MoS2, the electrons can move around as easily as in a 2-nanometer-thick sheet of silicon,” explains Kis. “But it’s not currently possible to fabricate a sheet of silicon as thin as a monolayer sheet of MoS2.” Another advantage of molybdenite is that it can be used to make transistors that consume 100,000 times less energy in standby state than traditional silicon transistors. A semi-conductor with a “gap” must be used to turn a transistor on and off, and molybdenite’s 1.8 electron-volt gap is ideal for this purpose.
The existence of this gap in molybdenite also gives it an advantage over graphene.
Read Article
Tags: Molybdenite, Molybdenite for electronics, MoS2, semi-conductors
Posted in Electronics, Materials, Physics, Science | Comments Off on Molybdenite to challenge graphene?
January 31, 2011
The threat from Cyclone Anthony has passed but Cyclone Yasi is approaching and due to hit the coast on Thursday. One blessing is that it is moving so fast that it may not have time to dump much water over the water-logged regions of Queensland.
BOM advice:
Damaging winds are expected to develop about coastal and island communities between Cooktown and Yeppoon Wednesday morning. People between Cooktown and Yeppoon should consider what action they will need to take if the cyclone threat increases.
The forecast path shown above is the Bureau's best estimate of the cyclone's future movement and intensity: image BOM
Tags: Cyclone Anthony, Cyclone Yasi, Queensland
Posted in Australia, Weather | Comments Off on Cyclone Yasi approaches Queensland coast
January 31, 2011
Xinhua reports that Carrefour and Walmart have damaged their own reputations by trying to cheat Chinese consumers by overpricing. With the New Year to be celebrated on 3rd February, they are being seen as trying to exploit the traditional Chinese generosity during the festival holiday:
Carrefour and Walmart swindle Chinese consumers
Over the crowds of holiday shoppers in China’s big stores this Spring Festival lingers an atmosphere of suspicion. With charges of price deception hanging over the big chains of Carrefour and Wal-Mart and local authorities moving to levy fines, many Chinese — normally averse to be pinching pennies during the Lunar New Year — are checking their receipts at the tills.
The New Year, which falls on Feb. 3 this year, is normally a time of largesse and excess — all the more reason why many shoppers feel so betrayed. Customers can be seen recording label prices in notebooks or calculating their final bill on their mobile phones as they walk the aisles. At outlets of Carrefour and Wal-Mart in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, the check out queues have grown as customers doublecheck prices at the tills.
“I would never have imagined global firms would do this intentionally and I have to be cautious,” said a woman surnamed Wang, after shopping at a foreign-owned supermarket in Chengdu, southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
From KamCity:
Carrefour and Walmart have issued public statements of apology to their customers in China, after local regulators found that several of their outlets were overcharging customers. The National Development and Reform Commission had found several instances of overpricing at 11 Carrefour and three Walmart outlets, on products including tea, underwear, and household products.
Carrefour said it “sincerely apologises” for the errors, and offered to refund customers five times the difference between the price charged and that on the label. Meanwhile, Walmart also expressed its “sincere apology” to those affected, adding that it has “launched self-examinations” and “will strengthen its price monitoring.”
The NDRC ordered local authorities to fine the individual outlets and confiscate their “illegal income”, with fines amounting to five times the amount confiscated, or up to 500,000 yuan if the amount cannot be calculated.
In the Chinese government’s battle against inflation, the Western retailers are building up a reputation for being a significant part of the problem.
Tags: Carrefour, China, Chinese New Year, Overpricing swindle, Retail cheating, Wal-Mart
Posted in Behaviour, Business, China, Ethics | Comments Off on Carrefour and Walmart branded as cheats in China
January 30, 2011
Davos 2011 wraps up somewhat overshadowed by the ongoing revolution in Egypt.
Davos, home of the annual World Economic Forum meeting : image The Telegraph
But the WEF is turning out to be more than just a talking shop. This year there is no single dominating theme but a number of strong themes were apparent. The Euro is turning the corner, buyers from the emerging markets are on an acquisitions spree and bankers are being rehabilitated after they brought the world to its knees with their greed and profligacy.
There is a clear optimism but also a strong fear of being optimistic. Too many fingers have been burnt.
- Emerging market companies buy up the world
- Bankers regain power as Davos summit ends with a big fudge
- Davos summit leaves David Cameron and George Osborne feeling bruised
- Euro zone crisis seen turning corner
- At Davos, men outnumber women by over 5 to 1
- Sarkozy publicly slams JPMorgan chief at Davos forum
Tags: Davos, emerging markets as emerging buyers, Eurozone recovery, World Economic Forum
Posted in Business, Economy, International Trade | Comments Off on Davos 2011 wraps up: Emerging markets generating the emerging buyers
January 30, 2011
Ria Novosti today:
MOSCOW, January 30 (RIA Novosti) 18:45 30/01/2011
The Russian icebreakers Krasin and Admiral Makarov have rescued the ice-trapped mother fishery ship Sodruzhestvo ending the month-long operation in the Sea of Okhotsk.
“The operation to rescue the Sodruzhestvo mother ship out of ice trap has been completed,” Russia’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Sunday.
The icebreakers resumed towing the vessel, stuck in the Sea of Okhotsk, toward clear waters on Wednesday. The rescue operation was earlier suspended due to poor weather conditions.
The Sodruzhestvo, Bereg Nadezhdy ship and the Professor Kizevetter research vessel, carrying altogether over 400 people, got stuck in two-meter-thick ice in the Sea of Okhotsk on December 31. Two other ships, the Mys Yelizavety and the Anton Gurin, became trapped a few days later.
The Admiral Makarov released the Professor Kizevetter and the Mys Yelizavety vessels from the ice trap, while the Anton Gurin managed to cope on its own. The Bereg Nadezhdy was successfully towed to clear water on January 24.
Tags: Icebreaker Admiral Makarov, Icebreaker Krasin, Russia, Sea of Okhotsk
Posted in Engineering, Environment, Russia, Technology, Weather | Comments Off on Okhotsk rescue over and icebreakers end operations
