Friday, November 13, 2009
Wikinews interviewed author Marc Headley about his new book Blown for Good, and asked him about life inside the international headquarters of Scientology known as “Gold Base“, located in Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, California. Headley joined the organization at age seven when his mother became a member, and worked at Scientology’s international management headquarters for several years before leaving in 2005.
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Some stock markets fell sharply Thursday upon news that London was hit by a series of coordinated explosions.
The FTSE 100 Share Index fell over 150 points, over 2.8%. Among the hardest hit stocks were airlines, hospitality and insurance companies, according to reports.
At 11:41UTC, the FTSE 100 [1], the yardstick used to measure the largest British companies on the stockmarket had fallen 3.85%, dropping by 201.2 points to 5028.40. British Airways and the Hilton group lead the losers with drops of over 7% each as investors speculated about a terrorist involvement in the attacks which could adversely affect tourism and travel. In Paris the Cac 40 Index [2] of France’s forty largest companies took an even worse beating, dropping almost 4% by 11:47UTC by 170.37 points to 4109.58. Among the top losers was Axa Insurance which dropped by 5.4%.
Across the border in Germany the Dax [3] had shed 3.15%, or 145.47 points, by 11:50UTC to 4470.02 points. Again among the top losers was a major insurer – Allianz which fell over 5%.
It seems that airlines and insurers have been hit the worst so far. Ryanair has dropped 7.73% or over €400m in value and easyjet has shed 7.28%.
Shortly after news of the explosions spread to trading floors, shares of British Airways fell more than 6 percent. Other stocks affected included Carnival Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton Group, and Prudential.
The FTSE had recovered 116 points at 13:43 after it’s initial fall of 206. Increased volume of FTSE futures on LIFFE has meant that many people have been able to profit from the fall.
The price of gold has jumped by 1% as investors seek a secure place for their money.
United States markets have fallen significantly as well, with the Dow having fallen by 65 points, the S&P 500 7.57, and the NASDAQ 7.51 as of 13:43UTC.
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Quick Reviews on Science and Engineering
by
Wandile Maseko
With the goal of understanding every subject from a Christian perspective, the students of a Biblical Engineering program would not only be interested in the technical training but the gaining and creating of Biblical perspectives on subjects. During such a program, students could customize their learning based on the written body of knowledge needed to accomplish their learning goals and measurable objectives, which could be maintained using project management skills. Also of note, is that during the 2004-2005 school year, there were 565,039 foreign students enrolled in institutions of higher learning in the U.
A comparative study is made between cryogenically treated specimen and non-cryogenically treated specimen to know about the significant change of the mechanical properties of cryogenically treated materials like wear resistance, hardness and impact strength. Izod impact testing machine was used to know about the impact strength of a cryogenically treated HSS (M2 grade) tool in comparison with non-cryogenically treated HSS tool of same grade.
The maintenance free vinyl gazebo is made of good and strong materials available on the market, it is sometimes designed to look like a wrought iron gazebo. Iron is known for its strength and ability to withstand the elements better than fencing made with other materials.
You must go immediately to the doctor that is capable of treating someone with chemical pneumonia if you see and feel any of these symptoms: blue mouth and skin, nausea, vomiting, breathing problems, fatigue, chest pains, cough with bloody sputum, sudden chance of voice, unconsciousness. In order for you to have a chance of getting better with a certain physician, in my opinion he/she needs to make a declaration to you that they recognizes the intensity and the reality of your symptoms and that they are indeed related to a chemical toxicity.
Some fields of Engineering allow the move into management or sales, in which cases, the Engineering background enables detailed discussion of technical aspects and aids in product planning, installation, and use of technology. Online engineering technology studies take into consideration the specifications, functions, and design of products, as well as the testing and evaluation of all components of product effectiveness. Computer network engineering college and university graduate degree programs are designed for engineers with bachelor degrees in electrical engineering, computer science, computer engineering, or a related discipline, and for engineers in the fields of design and development of network systems, components, products, and services.
With the emergence of CAD (Computer-Aided Design), architectural renderings went through a radical change imparting an exact replica of the project. Also, the architectural expertise and the design expertise of 3d modeling companies can be combined to create life-like models which would be utilized on the project website, brochures and other sale materials. In addition to enabling architectural firms see the project before its completion, developers could also use computer-assisted architectural renderings to inform their clients about what the finished structure will look like, which can be very useful, especially in selling condominium units.
Now the average home is equipped with a 200 amp electrical service with a distribution panel handling up to 40, 15amp circuit breakers serving the electrical needs of the home. Most standard sized homes built prior to the 1960’s were equipped with a 60 amp electrical service. While many companies are recognise there AS/NZS3760 obligations which requires them to periodically test and tag their single phase and poly phase electrical equipment in the workplace, this new standard indicates the requirements for the post-sale safety inspection and testing of electrical equipment, which has been repaired, or undergone service maintenance which could have affected its electrical safety.
And in currency technical analysis, the most important theory ever, for understanding market movement, is Dow Theory – but its influence is vastly under estimated by the bulk of traders.
More information and reviews can be accessed through the following link:
Science and engineering technology
. And get tips on
science fair project ideas
.
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Monday, June 16, 2008
The gas crisis in Western Australia continues to deepen with more businesses standing people down without pay. Businesses have been instructed to turn off non-essential items including limiting the number of lifts and reduced lighting; domestic customers are also urged to reduce energy use.
In the Federal parliament today Resources Minister Martin Ferguson raised the prospect of activating the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act. “During such a situation, I can control the production, transfer and stock levels of crude and liquid fuel…While I sincerely hope that this will not be required, the Liquid Fuel Emergency Act provides authority for the Australian Government to prepare for and manage a national liquid fuel supply emergency,” he said.
Western Australian Premier Alan Carpenter called on all Western Australians to reduce energy usage, saying that the situation could be managed with on going co-operation, while reassuring everyone that the crisis will be short, with the Apache Corporation expected to begin partial operations in two months. Supplies were interrupted after a fire at Apache’s Vanarus Island refinery, which supplied 30% of the state’s natural gas requirements.
An Alinta spokesman has said that with the expected cold weather during the next week demand will put further pressure on supplies, advising that it is critical that all consumers limit energy usage.
Alinta requests that residential customers;
While suggesting small businesses;
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Following the return of the Stardust space capsule from its encounter with the Comet Wild 2, NASA scientists have come up with a novel approach to dealing with the samples of “interstellar dust” that have been collected; they want help from the public.
The Stardust spacecraft carried an aerogel-based dust collector, which was exposed to space in varying orientations during different phases of the mission.
Only one side of the collector was exposed towards the stream of particles coming off the Comet Wild 2 during the encounter in 2004, while the other side was used to collect interstellar dust at an earlier point in the spacecraft’s journey.
Although scientists have seen the particles captured from comet Wild 2 when they examined the aerogel, they have not examined any of the particles expected on the other side of the collector due to their smallness. They will be examined after they are found with the help of Stardust@home. It is believed that on the order of 50 interstellar dust particles impacted the aerogel, each now resting inside a tiny crater.
Stardust traveled nearly three billion miles and its mission lasted seven years. At times it was traveling at 8 miles a second. Thats fast enough to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles in one minute.
Stardust set a new all-time record for being the fastest spacecraft to return to Earth, breaking the previous record set in May of 1969 during the return of the Apollo X(10) command module. Don Brownlee of the University of Washington, Seattle said “our spacecraft has traveled further than anything from Earth ever has – and came back. We went half-way to Jupiter to meet the comet and collect samples from it. But the comet actually came in from the outer edge of the solar system, out beyond the orbit of Neptune, out by Pluto.”
In a move similar to some distributed computing projects, the analysis work for the project will be spread among volunteers on the Internet, who are being asked to participate in this scientific undertaking.
Wikinews reporter Jason Safoutin investigated the Stardust@home project, and discussed its goals with one of its founders. Via email, he interviewed David P. Anderson, a founder of the SETI@home project, and one of the creators of the Virtual Microscope which will be used to search for captured particles from interstellar space.
I was wondering If I could get some questions answered or if you could give me some “insider” info for the project. I am aware that you are taking place in the development of the VM (Virtual Microscope)…Could I know more about that? The ‘virtual microscope’ lets you scan through a set of images as if you were turning the focus knob on a microscope. The images are fairly large (about 100 KB each) so it’s important to pre-load the images. While you’re looking through one set of images, the VM is busy downloading the JPEG files for the next set.
At first we thought we’d have to do this with a Java applet or Flash program – something tricky and complicated. My contribution was to point out that it could be done fairly easily using Javascript, and I wrote a prototype of this.
Will this project use the BOINC Platform/Program?
No. We thought about using some parts of BOINC (like the database and web pages for creating “accounts”) but it was easier just to do this from scratch.
How long will the project take?
It depends how many volunteers participate, and how fast they look at the ‘focus movies’. It will probably be just a month or two.
Anyone can join but they have to take a test before they can participate. What will the test include?
Looking at some focus movies and deciding whether they contain a dust particle. Participants see a lot of training examples before they take the test. It’s easy, not like a test in school.
How many will be allowed to participate?
No limit as of now.
When will the project start?
I think in about 2 months. It will take that long to transport the aerogel to the laboratory, and photograph it with the microscope. The software is ready to go.
Will the VM project analyze any of the particles or just look for them?
Stardust@home will only locate the particles. When they are located, they will be cut out of the aerogel and physically analyzed.
Thank you for your time David. And great work on the upcoming project and SETI@home.
Monday, September 27, 2010
New research published in the journal Nature Medicine has shown a link between a faulty gene and migraines. Scientists hope that this discovery will lead to improved pain management treatments for sufferers, with possible benefits for pain treatment generally.
The breakthrough involves a gene known as TRESK, thought to control the brain’s reaction to pain: if it is defective, then many normal activities and actions will be painful. Migraine sufferers (thought in the United Kingdom to number about eight per cent of men and eighteen per cent of women) often complain that light, noise and touch cause pain. TRESK can potentially be affected by drugs that would change the point at which it reports pain, which would alleviate the suffering of those with migraines. Now researchers will need to find such a drug.
The study involved scientists from the Medical Research Council Functional Genomics Unit at the University of Oxford and from Canada. They looked at the DNA of 110 people with migraine and members of their family, and found that TRESK was a major component in migraines. One of the Oxford researchers, consultant neurologist Zameel Cader, described it as a “once in a generation find” and said that it could “potentially lead to a treatment for pain in general.” Before this study, no genes had been directly linked to migraines, although parts of the DNA that raised the general risk had been found.
Migraines are described by the World Health Organisation as a major worldwide cause of disability. In Britain, it is estimated that migraines affect 20 per cent of the population, with about 190,000 migraines occurring daily and over 25 million lost days from work every year. Lee Tomkin, director of a sufferers’ charity, Migraine Action, described the news as “fantastic” and “genuinely a really great step forward.” Professor Peter Goadsby from the Migraine Trust termed it “a novel direction to consider new therapies in this very disabling condition.”
Embellishing Your Home with Metal, Wood and Leather Crafts
by
Jessica Thoms
Decorating ones house to convert it to a home is a pleasure beyond explanation. So much thought goes into it that for some decorating their house to perfection almost becomes a sort of obsession. Many people hire interior decorators to get the right balance of elements during decoration.
Home d cor uses all sorts of materials and textures to create a magnificent effect. It all boils down to the looks. You can use wood, metal, abstract art, painting, or even simple wall hangings, but the end result is what matters. To accomplish this feat most of the above mentioned d cors are used in certain combination to give the house or the room its character.
Wood
wood crafts
come in various forms, colours and textures. Wooden furniture, pelmets for hanging curtains, coffee table, all of these make certain impression on the room. Wood imparts its character to the room and gives the sense of durability. Typically, wooden craftsmen charge a fortune for bespoke creations and they should, because most of the work is hand done and takes lot of effort. One single peck table can take a week to create.
Wood from oak, teak, elm, cherry, rosewood, birch and fir are used a lot as they are durable and can be carved easily. Wood also gives an antique look. If you wish to create an old English feel, try installing wooden d cor.
Wood also includes bamboo and rattan furniture. These can be used to lighten up the heavy mood set by the wood.
Metal
Metal have a totally contrasting effect to wood. It is more contemporary and goes extremely well with whites, greys and pale palette. Typically metal furniture are used to accent delicate features such as swirls. But neo modern metal furniture uses solid structures to keep a futuristic feel to the room. It would be a bold choice to mix wood and metal crafts. But not balancing might result in an awful result. Accenting, however, with metal crafts is the best way to get along with wood and vice versa.
Leather
Leather is suitable as a home d cor material only for furniture. Leather wall hangings too are acceptable, but anything more than that would just be like stuffing too much of leather. The room might end up looking like a tannery for all you know.
Moreover, leather need slot of care. Can you imagine spending week after week taking care of leather furniture in addition to sofas? Accents of leather here and there along with wood and metal make a perfect combo.
home decorations
need lot of care. They also guzzle quite a bit of your money. Hence, pay attention to what kind of look you want to create and stick to that while buying the d cors.
For more insights and further information about
home decorations
visit our site http://www.craftsinindia.com/
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ArticleRich.com
Monday, May 18, 2009
Most of the Eurovision entrants have returned home from their sojourn in Moscow, Russia, and the newspapers across Europe have varied opinions. Most national newspapers congratulated their entrants on a job well done, while others trash-talked other entrants, and still others called for their countries to pull out of the Contest.
Here are some interviews, articles and opinions that made it to the front pages of newspapers and to their sanctioned blogs.
Norway’s mass media was filled with stories revolving around the winner, Alexander Rybak, but a secondary story that received press coverage was outcry against NRK‘s Eurovision commentator, Synnøve Svabø, who was criticized for talking incessantly during the event, making leering comments regarding the contents inside the male entrants’ tight pants, and making a joke about stuffing sweatsocks in her own bra. When asked for a statement by Aftenposten, Svabø said, “I guess people think I should have put the socks in my throat.” NRK did not comment on Svabø’s commentating or whether she will be returning next year.
Sweden’s newspaper Aftonbladet wrote that the “Swede of the evening” was not Sweden’s entrant Malena Ernman, but Malmö-raised Arash Labaf, one of the two singers placing third for Azerbaijan. Markus Larsson wrote, “21st place? Well, this is our second-worst result ever…Malena Ernman fell so far and deep that she almost ended up in Finland. That is to say, almost last.” When asked if she was disappointed, Ernman responded, “No, but I am sorry if the Swedes are disappointed.” She went on to quip, “Europe is simply not ready for my high notes.”
Finland, despite placing last, wrote upbeat stories; Helsingin Sanomat published an interview with Waldo and Karoliina from the Finnish act, Waldo’s People, who announced how happy they were to have participated and will be going right back to work with performances and recordings as soon as they return to Finland.
Most British newspapers in past years published lengthy screeds regarding their bad luck in the Contest and whether they should send an entrant at all. This year all that talk subsided, and newspapers published articles congratulating Jade Ewen on her fifth place ranking. Sir Terry Wogan, former Eurovision commentator for the BBC, said to the Daily Express about this year’s voting overhaul, “I think my protest about the voting was totally vindicated by the changes that were made to the scoring this year. It made a real difference. It was the change that Eurovision needed.” One of the headlines in Monday’s Daily Mail reads: “She did us proud.” Andrew Lloyd Webber, who worked with Ewen, said, “Jade performed brilliantly. After years of disappointing results, the UK can finally hold its head high.”
Spain’s newspaper El Mundo published an article entitled “Soraya’s fiasco,” outlining Soraya Arnelas‘s failure to receive points from 37 of the 41 other voting nations, with the writer remarking, “After a whole year trying to forget [Rodolfo Chikilicuatre, Spain’s “joke entrant” from 2008], Soraya jumped on-stage with strength…Spain’s experiment ended with longing [for] Rodolfo Chikilicuatre.” When asked about her performance and the result, Arnelas said, “I’ll hang on to the experiences I had, the great friends that I made and I’m happy because now I’m known in Europe.”
French newspapers and blogs were muted compared to other countries, but the overall feeling was still very supportive of Patricia Kaas, who placed eighth. In an interview with Le Figaro, Kaas said, “Eighth place, that’s not so bad. It was a great moment for France, we held our head high.” France Soir noted, “[Kaas’s] emotion does not seem to have found a place with competitors that have relied on heavy artillery choreography worthy of those like Shakira, and glamorous outfits, to ensure a place on the podium.”
German newspapers published lengthy stories analyzing why Germany was in the bottom quartile for the third straight year. Die Welt wrote, “The Germans have become accustomed to it: winning the Eurovision Song Contest just does not work [for us]. [Compared] to the total failure of last place with No Angels last year, [this] result is almost a sensational success.” Bild commented, “For years we have had little success. Germany’s placement, despite all efforts, will not be better. Why are we still participating in the Eurovision Song Contest?”
Ireland, who failed to make it to the final, led the cry to pull out of Eurovision. In the Irish Independent, Ian O’Doherty wrote, “Ireland managed something quite rare and rather gratifying last week — we actually managed to produce a Eurovision song that didn’t make you want to rip off your own eyelids so you could stuff them in your ears to stop the horrible sounds…[Sinéad] Mulvey’s elimination is proof of one thing: we need to pull out of this pile of rubbish as soon as possible.”
The Netherlands, another nation that did not make it past the semi-final round, has been very apathetic toward the Contest in recent years, and this year was no different. De Telegraaf conducted an opinion poll of Dutch television viewers, and 90% of them believed the Netherlands should not enter the Contest anymore. Despite the stated apathy, 2.5 million Dutch viewers watched De Toppers compete in the second semi-final, an improvement of 800,000 from last year’s semi-final, where Dutch entrant Hind also failed to advance. De Toppers singer Gordon, in an interview with De Telegraaf, said that the Netherlands should continue to compete: “One time, we will succeed.”
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Dr. Stephen Schoenthaler, a Professor of Criminal Justice at the California State University in Stanislaus, has long argued that there is a link between a healthy diet and decreased aggressive behaviour, as well as with increased IQ and school performance.
Dr. Schoenthaler is well-known for a youth detention center study where violations of house rules fell by 37% when vending machines were removed and the cafeteria replaced canned food by fresh alternatives. He summarizes his findings by saying that “Having a bad diet right now is a better predictor of future violence than past violent behaviour.” In a very large test, Schoenthaler directed a study in meals at 803 New York City schools, in low-income neighbourhoods, finding that the number of students passing final exams increased by 16%.
Critics have questioned some of Dr. Schoenthaler findings, due to the lack of placebo control groups. However, more recent work by Dr. Bernard Gesch, a physiologist at the University of Oxford, has placed some of the work on a more scientific footing. Dr. Gesch found that nutrition supplements produced a 26% drop in violations of prison rules over a placebo, and a 37% decrease in violent offences. The Netherlands has embarked on a wider scale dietary research program in 14 prisons.
The short term behaviour consequences of ingesting sugar are well understood: an initial burst on energy, followed a sugar low in which your body produces adrenalin, which makes you irritable and explosive. However, Schoenthaler and Gesch suggest that there are long term impacts over and above the short term consequences of blood sugar variations.
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
A survey released today by the RACV and Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce found that 20 percent of cars in Victoria have at least one worn or unroadworthy tyre.
The study looked at 1,000 cars last month and found of those 200 had at least one tyre that had worn.
Chief engineer for the RACV, Michael Case said that driving on worn tyres could increase the distance it takes a car to brake and road safety. “Increasing the braking distance can increase the chance of running into the car in front of you and having an unnecessary collision and if that collision is serious enough certainly it can cause injuries” said Mr Case.
It is widely accepted that tyres are one of the most important parts of a vehicle. As tyres are the only part of a vehicle in contact with the road, they affect acceleration, braking and cornering.
As well as the safety issues associated with driving a vehicle with a worn tyre, drivers can be fined for “driving an unsafe vehicle” and fined AUD$171, in addition police may “defect” the vehicle, restricting its use until repaired. Victorian law requires that tyres have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm.
Wikinews investigated the average price of each tyre on a typical large and small Australian sedan, and SUV and found the cost to be AUD$129, AUD$105, and AUD$191 respectively.