Home Blog Page 95

Bolivia Sees Sharp Drop In Coca Production After Evicting The DEA, Legalizing Drug Farms

superadmin
-
0
Bolivia Sees Sharp Drop In Coca Production After Evicting The DEA, Legalizing Drug Farms

Coca plantations in Bolivia are in steep decline after years of battling the drug menace. Since the country kicked out the DEA and the UN approved the first ever coca producing regions, Bolivia’s coca farmers are dropping out by the dozens, raising fresh questions about previous drug policies.

Coca is the parent plant of the drug cocaine. Figures released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) indicate that the production of coca declined by a stunning 11 per cent in 2014. The figures showed a total fall in cultivation areas from 23000 hectares in 2013 to 20400 hectares in 2014.

The production of coca is at its lowest point in over a decade since the UN began monitoring the crop in 2003.

A national law is set to be enacted that limits the total acreage of coca plantations in the country to only 12000 hectares. The new program has been hailed by analysts as providing a means to eradicate the cultivation of the dangerous drug without having to incite farmers into violence.

UONDC analyst in the country Antonio De Leo said, “Bolivia has adopted a policy based on dialogue, where coca cultivation is allowed in traditional areas alongside alternative development [in others],”

De Leo further added that the eradication of the plant involved much more than just the mere stopping of its growing. He said that it involved providing essential services to the people and alternative crops to grow.

He elaborated, “It’s not only about making money off a crop. In the old fashioned alternative development approach, we substitute one illicit crop for a licit crop. It’s about a more comprehensive approach that includes access to essential services like schools, hospitals, and roads in areas that traditionally have been hard to reach.”

More significant is the fact that the decrease in cultivation occurred in two of the largest producing areas of the crop: Los Yungas De La Paz and Tropico de Cochabamba. For the former, plantation areas fell from 15700 to 14200 while for the latter, plantation areas fell from 7100 to 6100 hectares.

While Bolivia has shown great promise in the fight against the growing of the coca plant, other countries have not shown the same tenacity. In Columbia, Growth increased from 85000 hectares in 2013 to 112000 hectares in 2014. In Peru, acreage numbers remain high despite the government’s controversially violent methods of ridding the country of the crop.

Most of the cocaine produced in Bolivia finds its way into Brazil and Argentina, endangering the lives and health of thousands. The gradual decline in growth of the coca plant will see many South Americans benefit from cleaner streets and healthier people.

Chinese Internet Giant Tencent Invades North America With $50 Million Kik Investment

superadmin
-
0
Chinese Internet Giant Tencent Invades North America With $50 Million Kik Investment

Chinese company Tencent has plunged deeper into the U.S. market with a multi-million dollar investment in Canadian online messenger Kik.

Already one of the largest internet companies in the world, Tencent is aggressively looking to grow its foot print across North America, and outside its stronghold of China.

Shenzhen, China, based Tencent invested $50 million in Kik and now gains access as not only a partner but also a part owner of the North American company. Tencent will have a strong operational role in the company going forward.

Kik is a messenger service that boasts over 240 million users. It is especially popular among teenagers in both the U.S and Canada. According to the company, two out of every five teenagers now use the app. The investment by Tencent values the company at $1 billion.

Tencent is the biggest messaging company in China thanks to its two popular apps WeChat and QQ.

But the company has clear aspiration of global messaging domination after it invested millions of dollars recently in Snapcat. Snapchat enjoys over 100 million daily active users, most of whom are from North America.

Tencent has also diversified beyond messaging. It has announced plans to develop an online stock trading platform, has committed to enhancing its online to offline strategic partnerships and will be escalating its shareholding of eLong, one of China’s growing online travel services providers.

Executives from Tencent have said the Kik investment will help the company develop an ecosystem of multiple services that would help it fight rival messaging services Whatsapp, Facebook and SnapChat.

Whatsapp boasts an impressive 800 million registered users while Snapchat has over 700 million.

Kik recently integrated games and other apps such as Soundcloud for music streaming into its services to help it carve out a unique niche from its rivals. This same approach is used by WeChat and other Asian messaging apps which eschew the simple focus on North American rivals.

Kik doesn’t require its users to have a mobile number, a feature that makes it very attractive to teens. Tencent is looking to capitalize on this young user base to create a generation of users that grow up on its messaging platforms.

Violent Protests Erupt In St Louis After Another Fatal Police Shooting

superadmin
-
0
Violent Protests Erupt In St Louis After Another Fatal Police Shooting

Police officers in St. Louis used tear gas to scatter protesters and arrested nine people on Wednesday night as demonstrations continued over a fatal police shooting earlier in the day.

According to Police Chief Sam Dotson, protesters hurled bottles and bricks at officers, and when they ignored repeated calls to disperse, police officers first used inactive gas, and then real tear gas.

Police will keep up an increased presence near the intersection of Walton and Page, the location of the demonstrations.

During the day on Wednesday, protesters engaged the police in a cat-and-mouse game. They gathered at the intersection, dispersed, and then got together again.

They were holding protests over the shooting of an 18-year-old man by police officers.

According to Dotson, two young men ran out of the back of a building when police arrived to perform a search.

Addressing reporters, the chief said, “Officers in the rear alley ordered them to stop and to drop the gun. As they ran, one of the individuals turned and pointed the gun at the officers. There were two officers in the alley. Both officers fired.”

The unidentified suspect who supposedly pointed a gun at police officers was shot, and pronounced dead at the scene.

Afterward, protesters gathered at the junction of Walton and Page, making it impassable. The authorities made some arrests, “people moved to the sidewalk and peace was restored,” the police chief said.

However, when the police left, the demonstrators returned, walked on to Interstate 70, blocked it and gathered again at the intersection, Dotson said.

The officers were hit with bottles and bricks, he added.

“At at that point, after the crowd ignored repeated requests and directions, inert smoke was used,” the chief said. “After that didn’t have an effect, tear gas was used.”

According to the chief, “There’s a line that gets crossed from peacefully protesting, which we will support, to when laws are broken.” He added, “Police officers have to do their job.”

Alderman Antonio French, who gained fame during demonstrations last year in Ferguson, uploaded videos and photos of fire personnel extinguishing house fires.

Relations have been on edge between some residents in St. Louis and police for quite some time.

The tension rose after Michael Brown, a black teenager, was shot dead by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, slightly more than one year ago.

The two police officers involved in Wednesday’s incident have been placed on compulsory leave, per police guidelines.

According to Dotson the suspect’s firearm was reported stolen. The second criminal suspect who escaped from the house is still at large.

Other people who had been in the building were apprehended without incident, Dotson said.

Officers recovered four firearms, including one inside the house, two that were thrown over a fence as the suspected individuals were running and the gun in the suspect’s possession, said Dotson, adding that three of the four were stolen.

User Data Lost After Google Datacenter Gets Struck By Lightning Four Times

superadmin
-
0

Google, the world’s most popular search engine, is unable to recover a huge amount of data after lightning struck one of its key data centers in Belgium, four times.

The unlikely strike means that some users have permanently lost a significant amount of data.

In a formal statement, the company said that just 0.000001% of its desk space was permanently damaged at the site, though this will still have a notable impact on a substantial amount of information.

It is not known with certainty what kind of information was lost in the unforeseen lightning strikes, or which users were affected, but it is clear that the affected servers were owned by the Google Compute Engine (GCE) Service, where they store client data and operate virtual machines in the cloud.

In an official online statement, Google Engineer James Wilman said, “Although automatic auxiliary systems restored power quickly, and the storage systems are designed with battery backup, some recently written data was located on storage systems which were more susceptible to power failure from extended or repeated battery drain.”

He went on to say, “Everything in the data center is connected one way or another,”  “If you get four large strikes it wouldn’t surprise me that it has affected the facility.”

While the possibility of permanently losing data due to such occurrences as lightning strikes is extremely low in such facilities as Google’s, it appears that the company’s existing precautions were not sufficient to prevent loss of data in this rare occurrence.

Google said that it will be upgrading its hardware in order to reduce the possibility of such huge data losses in the future.

4300 Year Old Tool Proves Chimpanzees Are In The Stone Age

superadmin
-
0
4300 Year Old Tool Proves Chimpanzees Are In The Stone Age

Archaeologists in Africa and South America have uncovered some amazing ancient stone tools they say were not made by humans. The archaeologists believe the tools are as old as the Egyptian pyramids and that whoever made them bore similar characteristics to humans, including their hand prints.

The antique tools bore hand prints that very much resembled those of humans, leading scientists to believe they were developed by chimpanzees, man’s closest relative.

The tools created were crude. The use of rocks and heavy pieces of stone by primates hardly results in eye popping pieces of art. However, their archaeological relevance is astounding.

Through the use of these rocks as a way to make life easier for the primates, scientists believe the primates are now in their stone age.

A group of primate archaeologists led by Christophe Boesch, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany set out to the dense rainforests of the Ivory Coast to seek answers on the primates’ archaeology.

While digging in the forest floor down to depths of about three feet, the scientists discovered the tools they said dated back to about 4300 years. Some of the tools, they reported, were worked on to a level of precision once only thought possible by humans.

The results led the researchers to conclude that chimpanzees have been in the stone age for over 4300 years.

Primates have been known to use tools for various purposes over the years. Oxford University primate archaeologist Michael Haslam said, “Orang-utans, bonobos and gorillas have been seen using plant tools but never stone tools.”

According to Haslam, stone tools were rarely used because of their unavailability. He explained, “Plants are ubiquitous in primate habitats but stones are not.”

Through being readily available, skills performed with the help of plants were easily passed down from generation to generation of primates. The same could not be done for stone tools.

It is unclear whether chimps will have an opportunity to advance their stone age technology. Haslam said, “We are shrinking their populations dramatically through habitat destruction and hunting. Smaller populations cannot spread and sustain complex technologies as well as larger groups.”

What the research draws to our attention is that these chimps may be able to make more advanced stone tools, but they may never get to the technology age due to our encroachment into their forests.

British Health Authorities Just Concluded That E-Cigarettes Are 95 Percent Safer Than Smoking

superadmin
-
0
British Health Authorities Just Concluded That E-Cigarettes Are 95 Percent Safer Than Smoking

The popularity of e-cigarettes continues to rise after England’s government made an official acknowledgement of the devices’ health advantages over smoking.

Consumption of e-cigarettes, or “vaping,” was stated to be about 95% less damaging than conventional cigarettes in an expert independent review published by Public Health England (PHE), an agency of the UK Department of Health.

In the results of the review, e-cigs came in below pipes, small cigars, and regular cigars with regard to mortality and morbidity costs. PHE was careful to stress that e-cigs are not free from risk, but believes that traditional cigarettes will slowly be replaced by them as scientific evidence continues to accumulate showing their benefits.

England’s chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies sees the e-cigarette as a treatment device to be used towards the end goal of smoking cessation and also noted, “there continues to be a lack of evidence on the long-term use of e-cigarettes.”

Davies advocated for the marketing of the devices as licensed medicines in order that they undergo more rigorous testing regarding their safety. Currently no e-cigarette has been licensed as a medical treatment like other smoking-cessation products including nicotine patches and gums.

Manufacturers of e-cigarettes object to the process of becoming a licensed medical treatment mainly due to the cost.

The news from the PHE was a shift of position by England’s National Health Service (NHS) on the relatively new smoking devices, of which they had previously been more critical with regard to their safety.

Some of the NHS’s former negative press regarding e-cigarettes may have contributed to the public’s perception that the devices are equally or more harmful than conventional cigarettes, with 22% now holding that view compared to 8% two years ago.

Director of health and wellbeing at PHE, Kevin Fenton stated the dilemma, “The problem is people increasingly think they are at least as harmful and this may be keeping millions of smokers from quitting. Local stop-smoking services should look to support e-cigarette users in their journey to quitting completely.”

The director of the NHS, Simon Clark, advocates that the government stay out of the e-cigarette business and allow consumers to consume the product without unnecessary restrictions on their marketing or sales. Barring any new revelations on their safety, the trend of vaping may indeed result in the improving health of smokers.

Documents Reveal New York City Treated Black Lives Matter Rights Group Like Terrorists

superadmin
-
0
Documents Reveal New York City Treated Black Lives Matter Rights Group Like Terrorists

Undercover New York police officers infiltrated organized Black Lives Matter protests and the city police department tailed and kept secret files on the organization’s activists, according to newly released documents.

Nearly 300 documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the media, from the Metro-North Railroad and Metropolitan Transit Authority, show there was much more on-the-ground surveillance of Black Lives Matter members by undercover NYPD officers, NYPD intelligence officers and MTA counter terrorism agents, than had previously admitted to.

The level of surveillance on the group, which is dedicated to the human rights of African Americans, is on par with terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS.

 

The documents are the first real proof of a regular presence of undercover police at Black Lives Matter protests in New York City. The protests began last year after a grand jury did not indict Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo over the death of Eric Garner.

The surveillance of protesters and use of undercover officers raises questions about whether New York-area law enforcement agencies have the potential to criminalize free speech and treat activists like terrorist threats.

Civil rights activists say the police files appear to document a response not in proportion to the level of crime and law breaking associated with protests, which was virtually nothing.

Media were unable to get particulars of undercover officers who attended protests or monitored Black Lives Matter activists.

In response to requests for names, MTA spokesperson Adam Lisberg said  “The Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department must ensure the safety and security of millions of people who pass through our railroad systems every day, at a time when transportation networks have been persistently targeted by terrorists. We accommodate peaceful protest in our transportation system, while also ensuring that protest activities do not prevent customers from using the system for transportation. We take all appropriate police measures to ensure the safety and security of our customers, but we do not discuss the particulars of those operations.”

Although the NYPD did not comply with request for documents, those obtained from the MTA and Metro-North show NYPD personnel had been involved in the surveillance of Black Lives Matter protests .

Many of the released documents included live updates on protests from undercover police officers, reporting on numbers, and the tracking of protesters’ movements around the New York city, particularly those of New York’s ‘People’s Monday’ protests, an organization that focuses attention on, and demonstrate on the behalf of, victims of alleged police brutality, and which repeatedly convenes at Grand Central Station. Some of the reports go beyond tracking group movements, containing information on specific activists, including photos.

Some documents showed surveillance operations may have targeted organizations and individuals all across the city including including schools and students, with files on individuals including photographs and movement and contact reports.  

Black Lives Matter activists have said that while the intense surveillance of their lives was worrying it would not stop them protesting.

DeRay Mckesson, whose social media activities reportedly were monitored by the Department of Homeland Security said . “Some of this surveillance is meant to scare us and potentially to figure out what people’s next steps are. But what we’re doing is right.”

U.S. Gives South Sudan Ultimatum: Peace Or Heavy Sanctions

superadmin
-
0

The United States says it is working with other nations to impose United Nations backed sanctions if the country does not sign and adhere to a peace treaty.

On Wednesday, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice said in a statement that the U.S. was suggesting such sanctions “if an agreement is not signed by the government within 15 days and a ceasefire is not implemented promptly by all parties”.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir refused to endorse a peace agreement suggested by regional leaders on Monday, saying he needed more time.

The war-torn country, which gained self-government from Sudan in 2011, degenerated into turmoil in December 2013 when a political dispute between Kiir and his second-in-command, Riek Machar, spiraled into violence that reopened tribal fault lines.

Seyoum Mesfin, the arbitrator for IGAD, the East African alliance leading the peace discussions, said Kiir’s faction required a couple of weeks before endorsing the peace agreement that had been previously accepted by the South Sudanese insurgents.

According to Seyoum, “In the next 15 days, the government will come back to Addis Ababa to finalise the peace agreement.” There was no immediate remark from the administration.

On Monday, the U.S State Department announced that it profoundly regretted the government resolution and advised it to sign within 15 days.

Many rounds of conciliation have failed to finish the armed conflict that has seen over 10,000 people lose their lives and displaced at least 2 million, with both parties engaging in a battle of attrition despite endorsing ceasefire agreements.

If South Sudan’s administration will not endorse the peace agreement, “then we must all be firm on our next steps,” Britain’s UN assistant ambassador Peter Wilson said to the 15-member UN Security Council. “We cannot sit by while leaders fight and their people’s suffering grow,” he added.

Last month, IGAD settled on August 17th as the cut-off date to end the prolonged talks, outlining suggestions for ending the violence.

According to IGAD, the proposal entails a 30-month changeover period with Kiir as leader, with a first deputy president post given to the rebels.

In July, after at least one year of admonitions, the Security Council enforced its first sanctions on six army generals for accelerating the fighting.

Sprint Joins Verizon In Cancelling Smartphone Subsidies, Rolling Out Phone Leasing Plans

superadmin
-
0

On Monday, Sprint Corp. announced that it too is doing away with two-year contracts and entirely moving to a model where consumers choose – and pay for – their smartphones.

Earlier in the month, Verizon Communications Inc. announced that it would no longer use contracts, while T-Mobile Inc. eliminated contracts over two years ago.

AT&T Inc. is now the only U.S. wireless company that offers contracts and subsidized smartphones.

Contracts have been the custom since the beginning of the wireless industry. Consumers signed and got a cut-rate price on a brand new smartphone.

As smartphones prices rise and margins decline carriers are switching to low-cost monthly plans without contracts, but in which consumers to pay the price in full for their phones, usually in monthly payments spread out two to three years.

Sprint started offering a contract-less alternative last year, and in a Monday interview, Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said the carrier will shift completely to that plan by year-end.

Leasing or paying in full will be the only ways to obtain a new device from the carrier.

According to Sprint, 51% of consumers who bought a new phone last quarter went for the lease option.

As part of the complete shift, on Monday Sprint launched a new leasing arrangement referred to as iPhone Forever that begins at $22 per month for an iPhone, besides the monthly service charge.

The plan allows consumers to upgrade to the most recent iPhone every year as soon as it is launched. That is a development over its present renting option, which only allows consumers to upgrade to a new iPhone after every two years.

Paying $22 every month and acquiring a new phone annually implies that a buyer will pay approximately $264 for one year’s use of an iPhone 6, which has a $649 vendor price.

To be eligible for the plan, consumers must trade in their present phone and it must be in working condition.

Buyers can still purchase the iPhone entirely if they would like, at the full retail cost.

Mr. Claure said Sprint’s affiliation with its main company, SoftBank Group Corp., will assist it in monetizing the traded-in devices, thus making up for the phone’s discounted price.

New Poll Shows Trump Poised To Overtake Clinton In 2016 Presidential Race

superadmin
-
0

A new CNN/ORC poll released today shows controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is now a real force to be contended with, the second most popular candidate in the crowded 2016 field.

The Donald still trails Democratic favorite Hillary Clinton due to not being favored by the influential female vote.

Trump trails Clinton by only 6 points, whereas in polls taken in July, he was a clear 16 points behind.

Trumps quick catch-up has been spurred on by support from mainly white, male Republicans and Republican-leaning independents – from 67 percent in July to 79 percent now.

Although this is good news for Trump and possibly the Republican Party, Clinton still appears to hold the trump card in the overall race for the Presidency, despite increasing public perception that the controversy surrounding her use of a private email account for State business, would harm her run for the White House – from 51 percent in March to 56 percent now.

Among Democrats polled, the number saying she did anything wrong had dropped from 71 percent to 63 percent.

Clinton’s front runner status also holds despite 53 percent of all those polled holding a negative view of her and only 44 percent having a favourable impression. Among all women polled, 52 percent have a favorable impression of her, indicating her base for success is women voters.

As well as having a six point lead over Trump, among all those polled regardless of party affiliation, Clinton leads Republican Jeb Bush 52 percent to 43 percent, and Trump 51 percent to 45 percent.

All Clinton’s leads are driven by the female support. Against Jeb Bush, she leads 59 percent to 37 percent among all women polled and against Trump, women favor her by 23 points, 60 percent to 37 percent.

Political experts say that according to the poll results, Clinton’s White House run would be helped by current Vice President Joe Biden deciding to not compete against Clinton for the Presidency. They say although Biden only holds 6 percent of the vote for prefered President, if he announced he would not run, his supporters, vote wise and financial support wise, would “flock to Clinton.”

Super Smart Mice May Hold The Key To Powerful New Drugs Against Alzheimer’s And Schizophrenia

superadmin
-
0
Super Smart Mice May Hold The Key To Powerful New Drugs Against Alzheimer’s And Schizophrenia

Researchers have developed a form of super-intelligent mice by altering a single gene. An added bonus was the modification also produced a drop in the mice’s ability to feel anxiety and recall fear. The hope is that such research will lead to new treatments for cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.

The particular gene altered in the experiment is responsible for producing the enzyme phosphodiesterase-4B (PDE4B), and is present in the brains of many vertebrates. Altered mice produced less PDE4B and were demonstrated to have faster learning ability, better memory, and improved performance in problem solving.

The decreased ability to recall fearful events in PDE4B mice shows promise in the treatment of individuals who may suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The mice’s drop in fear-related memory was also associated with a lack of fear for cat urine, which would clearly pose an increased risk to survival.

This could be dangerous if the same effect were to display in humans, as fear for imminent threats is a healthy adaptation.

The so-called “brainy mice,” were shown to grow more neurons than the control group, and also an increase in the number of connections between memory-associated neurons. This may account for the rise in memory ability and hold promise in the research of Alzheimer’s treatments.

Dr. Laura Phipps of Alzheimer’s Research UK stated, “This study highlights a potentially important role for the PDE4B gene in learning and memory in mice, but further studies will be needed to know whether the findings could have implications for Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.”

More work is being done with specific drugs that would act to inhibit the PDE4B gene. If a drug can be developed to inhibit PDE4B, animal subjects will be tested first, followed by human trials if results are promising.

The study was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology and was funded by the UK Medical Research Council.

The FCC Just Affirmed The Right To ‘Bring Your Own’ Internet By Fining Wi-Fi Blocker $750,000

superadmin
-
0
The FCC Just Affirmed The Right To ‘Bring Your Own’ Internet By Fining Wi-Fi Blocker $750,000

A company which had been blocking Wi-Fi access at convention centers in various parts of the United States, has agreed to pay the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Enforcement Bureau $750,000 in an out-of-court settlement.

Smart City Holdings, LLC which supplies Internet and telecommunications services for hotels, convention and meeting centers, had been blocking access to personal mobile “hotspots” which were being used by convention exhibitors and visitors who preferred to use their own personal data plans rather than pay Smart City huge fees to use it’s Wifi service.

Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau Travis LeBlanc said “It is unacceptable for any company to charge consumers exorbitant fees to access the Internet while at the same time blocking them from using their own personal Wi-Fi hotspots to access the Internet.

LeBlanc issued a warning to any other companies that were using Wi-Fi blocking technology or were considering it.

“All companies who seek to use technologies that block FCC-approved Wi-Fi connections are on notice that such practices are patently unlawful.” he said

Smart City, as part of providing services at convention centers, had charged visitors and exhibitors an $80 per-day fee to access it’s Wi-Fi services.

The FCC’s investigation showed that if convention visitors or exhibitors did not pay the fee, Smart City would simply block their access to any other Internet service either through their own cellular data plans through their smart -phones or other mobile devices, or provider “hotspots” .

The FCC investigation was launched in June, 2014, after it received informal complaints from consumers that they could not connect to the Internet at venues where Smart City was providing Wi-Fi and other communication services.

The investigation showed Smart City had automatically blocked consumers access from their own Wi-Fi networks at convention centers in Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Orlando, Florida; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Phoenix, Arizona.

LeBlanc pointed out there was no evidence the blocking of Wi-Fi “hotspots” took place in response to any security threat to Smart City’s own network or the users of that network.

The Smart City enforcement action is the second major enforcement action over Wi-Fi blocking the FCC has undertaken. Last October it fined Marriott Hotel Services, Inc. and Marriott International, Inc. $600,000 for blocking Wi-Fi at Nashville’s Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center.

Experts say many providers receive complaints from consumers who can not access Wifi hotspots in airports, hotels etc where they should be able to, and put this down to intentional blocking from companies that provide paid for services.

Over 30,000 Firefighters Are Battling The Worst Forest Fires In U.S. History

superadmin
-
0
Over 30,000 Firefighters Are Battling The Worst Forest Fires In U.S. History

More than 30,000 firefighters, the largest number ever mobilized, are battling wildfires across the western United States, but according to the U.S. Forest Service it is still not enough as continuing outbreaks overstretch available resources.

A Service spokesman said 200 members of the military are being added to the fight, as are Canadian firefighting forces, and there is a possibility that experienced firefighters from Australia and New Zealand will be flown in.

The fires are raging in five states-  Idaho, California, Oregon, Montana and Washington, and so far 7.1 million acres of land has been burned out with another 1 million currently ablaze.

The spokesman said “This is the earliest the number of national acres burned has been more than 7 million in the past 20 years” and in intensity these are the worst wildfires seen in the past decade.

The United States is at Level 5 wildfire preparedness — the highest.

The spokesman said particularly worrying is developments in Idaho and Montana where 35 large fires are raging. Experts say the fires in these two States, and also in the Pacific Northwest, have been started by lightning strikes from rain -free thunderstorms.

Rob Allen, deputy incident commander  said “Competition for resources right now is extremely tight. As of yesterday there was outstanding orders for crews of 160 crews. They’re still looking for, there are no more shower units, there are no more catering units. A lot of the stuff we rely on to come in and give us a hand is being used….The truth of the matter right now is that between Oregon, Washington, Northern California, Idaho got very busy, Nevada’s busy, Colorado’s busy, there’s just a real strain in all the resources we have right now”.

Two weeks ago the U.S Forest service warned that predicted fires would up 50 percent of its budget, but as predictions have  proven to be understated, it is likely two thirds of  the budget will disappear.

The Forest Service spokesman said  $100 million per week was spent when the wildfire preparedness level  was at 5.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said “Fire seasons are growing longer, hotter, more unpredictable and more expensive every year, and there is no end in sight. Within just 10 years, two out of every three dollars the Forest Service gets from Congress will be spent on fire programs, which leaves much fewer resources for the very restoration projects that have been proven to reduce the risk of wildfire and improve forest health.”

He warned that “We are at a tipping point. Congress must change the way it pays for wildfires by providing a fiscally responsible way to treat catastrophic wildfires more like the natural disasters that they are, end fire transfers, partially replenish our capacity to restore resilient forests, and protect lives and property against future fires.”

South Carolina Civil War Reenactment Cancelled In Honor Of Charleston Shooting Victims

superadmin
-
0
South Carolina Civil War Reenactment Cancelled In Honor Of Charleston Shooting Victims

A South Carolina plantation has cancelled a civil war reenactment in the wake of the gruesome slaying of black parishioners in a Charleston church. The reenactment cancellation was announced by various news media in South Carolina and would mark a rare gap in the annual event.

Boone Hall Plantation from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, has announced it would not go on with their reenactment of the Battle of Secessionville. The reenactment was slated for November.

Marketing Director for the plantation said the reenactment came too close to the Emmanuel AME Church slayings. He said the move would accord the grieving families and the community enough time to heal.

In a statement on Tuesday, Benthall said, “It was a difficult decision as Boone Hall’s association with this event has been long standing, but one we made and think is best on behalf of Boone Hall and the Charleston community at this time.”

The June 17th slayings involved the shooting of nine black parishioners by 21-year-old Dylaan Roof. During a service dedicated to prayer at the Emmanuel AME Church, Roof killed nine parishioners, including state senator Clementa Pinckney and injured one person. Roof was arrested and confessed to shooting the deceased persons so as to ignite a race war.

Roof had posed for pictures with the confederate flag prior to the attack. In fact, in one picture, he was in a slave cabin located in Boone Hall.

President of the NAACP Charleston Branch Dot Scott welcomed the news of the cancellation saying it was appropriate in regard to the recent shootings.

Scott said, “We are grateful. We think that it’s appropriate in terms of not following through with the re-enactment, particularly in light of what we’ve been dealing with for the last couple of months.”

The battle of Secessionville was a historic battle fought in 1862 at James Island. It involved the Confederate forces fighting back a Union attempt to take control of Charleston.

The event’s chairman Randy Burbage said the November event would have marked the 25th anniversary of the battle. The three day event draws hundreds of persons from across the country. It is sponsored by the Confederate Heritage Trust Inc.

The Charleston shootings were one of the worst racial violence incidents in over a decade. The cancellation of the event marks an appropriate move to let the Charleston community grieve in peace and heal from the brutal slayings.

Global Study Finds Netflix, Spotify Are Dominating The Media Streaming Industry

superadmin
-
0
Global Study Finds Netflix, Spotify Are Dominating The Media Streaming Industry

According to a study about media habits in France, French customers prefer to stand by good old fashioned live television rather than innovative digital streaming services such as Netflix.

According to the study – performed by Futuresource Consulting – 75 per cent of French participants said live TV is still their main viewing choice. In comparison the United Kingdom has seen that figure go down to 59 per cent.

In the UK that slack has been picked up by over the top (OTT) services, such as Netflix. At least 20 per cent of UK participants said they use Netflix, while 10 per cent stick to Amazon Prime Instant Video.

The research, which has been running for seven years now, examined the watching behaviors of people in Germany, Australia, Canada, France, the U.S and the UK.

While cost is still the primary reason for people abandoning pay-TV services in all nations, at least a third of pay-TV viewers shell out for an additional premium movie package, while at least 40 per cent opt for a sports service. In the United States, 57 per cent of viewers add on the live sports services.

Connected TV is ever more trendy, with the report indicating that at least 30 per cent opted for such a service, while 69 per cent received video or music entertainment services more than once a week, up from the previous report’s 63 per cent.

According to the findings of Futuresource, paid-for streaming videos and music is also becoming popular with the number of consumers having roughly doubled in all nations in the last year. In streaming music, Spotify remains the clear worldwide winner.

According to the report, “The evidence presented suggests that paid-for users are driving the overall streaming base higher. Germany is the one country which has ‘broken out’; as those listening to any streaming service hit 31 per cent, up from 21 per cent.”

It went on to say, “Finally all types of music consumption above have shown growth, apart from music downloading, which was stagnant in all countries apart from the U.S.”

Tianjin Is Now A Wasteland Covered In Acid Rain And Toxic Slime

superadmin
-
0

Journalists and residents around the Tianjin blast site in China were affected by skin burns after heavy rains hit the Binhai New Area on Tuesday.

Officials asked residents to keep away from the area, amid fears that the water could trigger chemical reactions with toxic substances at the site, particularly the several tons of poisonous sodium cyanide that cover the grounds.

As the rains hit the area, strange white foam appeared on highways near the site of the explosion. A Caixin journalist reported experiencing burns on the arms and lips after exposing himself to the rain.

A volunteer aid worker posted on Weibo that exposing herself to the rain caused a stinging feeling on her skin, which also turned her arms red.

According to Tencent’s news website, similar symptoms were reported by other volunteers and journalists. Rinsing with water relieved the pain and stinging.

Despite the reports of acid rain environmental authorities of Tianjin said that air and water were still at safe levels.

More than 3,000 tons of chemicals, including 700 tons of the highly toxic sodium cyanide were in the warehouse where the two explosions took place last Wednesday.

The director of Tianjin’s environmental monitoring centre, Deng Xiaowen, said there had been no flux in the quality of air at 17 observation spots after the rain.

According to Deng, the ‘strange’ foam was “a normal phenomenon when rain falls, and similar things have occurred before.”

Fears persisted over the 700 tons of the toxic sodium cyanide that were at the center of the explosion site. The chemical reacts violently with water producing a highly toxic gas known as hydrogen cyanide gas.

According to Bao Jingling, chief engineer of Tianjin Environmental Protection Bureau, sewage treatment had been enhanced in the region, and only properly treated water would be distributed.

There would be special treatment for any cyanide contamination, he said, and the quality of air would be strictly scrutinized with the public informed immediately if the pollution went above the acceptable levels.

He was quoted by Caijing magazine saying that “the best way is to stay far away from the site, there is no other way.”

Residents are now becoming more vocal about the disaster and living in a toxic wasteland yet remain strangely positive.

A property holder whose house was destroyed in the explosion took part in an outdoor demonstration in the rain, demanding reimbursement. “Our homes have been destroyed, what more should we fear?” asked property owner.

tianjin toxic foam

Iran Is Getting Advanced Russian Anti-Aircraft Missile Systems After Years Of Legal Wrangling

superadmin
-
0
Iran Is Getting Advanced Russian Anti-Aircraft Missile Systems After Years Of Legal Wrangling

Tehran and Moscow have finalized a deal to deliver the powerful S-300 long distance surface-to-air missile system. according to Russian assistant foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov. Only small procedural issues are left to be formalized.

Speaking on Wednesday, Bogdanov, who is also a special presidential representative for the Middle East and Africa, said “As things stand now, this topic is closed. We have reached full understanding on the matter together with our Iranian partners. The question has been fundamentally solved. The rest is just technical details.”

Russia will provide Iran with the S-300 system later in the year. A prominent source in Russia’s Foreign Ministry told RIA Novosti that the precise number of air defense systems has been put in writing in an already sealed contract.

“There will be as many as mentioned in the contract,” he added, replying to the question whether the country will really provide Iran with four S-300 allotments instead of three, as the Sputnik agency formerly reported, citing a prominent source in Iran’s Ministry of Defense.

In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin revoked the prohibition, introduced in 2010 by former President Dmitry Medvedev, banning the supply of S-300 missile defense equipments to Iran.

Commenting on the resolution, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, said that Moscow’s deliberate restriction on S-300 deliveries was not necessary due to the developments in nuclear discussions happening in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The contract for delivering S-300 missile systems to Iran was proposed in 2007. Three years later the agreement was postponed due to the UN’s decision to impose sanctions on Iran.

Iran retaliated, filing an approximately $4 billion court case against Russia’s Rosoboronexport arms dealer with a Geneva adjudication panel. The parties are presently in talks on abandonment of the proceedings.

S-300 systems have been operational in several nations, including Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Algeria, Belarus, Vietnam and Kazakhstan. The last time Russia sent S-300 systems overseas was in 2010, when China received 15 squadrons. Since then manufacture of S-300 systems has been temporarily stopped, because the chief producer of the Russian missile air defenses, Almaz-Antey, has established the manufacture of the new model systems, S-400.

The delivery means that Iran will now has a sophisticated anti-aircraft missile system capable of downing some of the top fighter jets in the world including U.S. F-15, F-16, F-18 and B-52 bombers.

Every Cheater Who Used Ashley Madison Just Had Their Name Published On The Web

superadmin
-
0

Hackers who attacked the website AshleyMadison.com last month finally followed through on their threat to release a huge amount of customer data. Yesterday, hackers published 9.7 gigabytes of data on the “dark web” that is only accessible using a special browser.

Already, however, the data has made its way onto the regular Internet.

The data dump came after the owner of Ashley Madison, Avid Life Media, failed to adhere to the hackers’ demands to remove AshleyMadison.com and EstablishedMen.com from the web.

The information published by the hackers, who refer to themselves as the Impact Team, include various account details for approximately 32 million users of the dating site whose slogan is “Life is Short. Have an Affair.”

Seven years of credit card and payment transactions are included in the data dump including names, addresses, email addresses and amounts paid by the user. While it does not include credit card numbers, it does include four digits for each purchase which may or may not be the last four digits of a user’s credit card.

It is unclear if users provided legitimate details when they signed up for the website, but it is likely that the names and addresses are real when related to the credit card transactions.

AshleyMadison.com touts on its website that, “Ashley Madison is the most famous name in infidelity and married dating. Have an Affair today on Ashley Madison. Thousands of cheating wives and cheating husbands sign up everyday looking for an affair . . . With Our affair guarantee package we guarantee you will find the perfect affair partner.”

The Impact Team warned last month, after it hacked into the system and stole the data, that it would do this exact type of data dump if Avid Life Media did not take down two of its websites. Avid Life Media refused, and the data release occurred. Following the initial breach, the hackers stated clearly that, “Avid Life Media has been instructed to take Ashley Madison and Established Men offline permanently in all forms, or we will release all customer records, including profiles with all the customers’ secret sexual fantasies and matching credit card transactions, real names and addresses, and employee documents and emails.” To prove they were serious, they released snippets of information in July.

The hackers appeared to target the company on moral grounds and the belief that the company was engaged in unfair business practices.They pointed out, “Too bad for those men, they’re cheating dirtbags and deserve no such discretion . . . Too bad for [Avid Life Media], you promised secrecy but didn’t deliver.”

Following the initial breach, Avid Life Media assured customers that they had things under control and that they instituted new security measures. They also refused to take down the websites. Unfortunately, that was too little too late for those whose data had already been stolen. Avid Life Media apparently took a gamble and lost. Badly.

Navy Announces It Will Allow Women Into Its Elite SEAL Units

superadmin
-
0

The Navy’s chief operations officer has revealed that the United States Navy is planning to admit women into its elite SEAL teams.

“Why shouldn’t anybody who can meet these (standards) be accepted? And the answer is, there is no reason,” Adm. Jon Greenert said. “So we’re on a track to say, ‘Hey look, anybody who can meet the gender non-specific standards, then you can become a SEAL,’” he added.

According to Greenert, if female applicants can pass the SEAL’s tough training requirements, they will be allowed to join the elite unit. The military chiefs did not specify when they intend to allow women to participate in the competition for the highly coveted spots.  

Speaking to CNN, Commander William Marks with Navy Public affairs confirmed Greenert’s statement, which was made earlier to Defense News.

The statement by the Navy comes ahead of Friday’s Ranger graduation, which will see two women pass the Army’s Ranger School and becoming the first females to hold the highly coveted positions.

The Pentagon describes the Army’s Ranger School as “the Army’s premier combat leadership course, teaching Ranger students how to overcome fatigue, hunger, and stress to lead Soldiers during small unit combat operations.”

The present class began in April with 19 women and 381 men. The trainees were forced to learn under tough conditions with little sleep and minimal food and had to gain knowledge of how to maneuver in swamplands, woods and mountains.

The trainees also had to undertake a physical fitness test that included 59 sit-ups, a 5-mile run completed in 40 minutes, 49 pushups, six chin-ups, a 12-mile foot march completed in three hours, a land navigation test, many obstacle courses, three parachute jumps, four days of military mountaineering, four air assaults on military helicopters, a swim test, and mock combat patrols completed in 27 days.

After the training, which lasted 62 days, only two women and 94 men met the military’s requirements.

Clinton Investigators Have Found Over 300 Emails So Far That Could Contain Classified Information

superadmin
-
0

According to a statement filed with a federal judge, intelligence officials assigned to review emails from Hillary Clinton’s private email account for classified information have as far as this point suggested that 305 files be referred to special investigators for advanced evaluation.

In court documents filed with U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras, the State Department revised its document total. It reported that as of last Friday, the Intelligence Community assessors had completed a groundwork screening and established that “out of a sample of approximately 20% of the Clinton emails,” the assessors have “recommended 305 documents — approximately 5.1% — for referral to their agencies for consultation.”

In the filed papers, the administration emphasized that the entire process uses assessors performing “a preliminary screenings step” and establishing whether an email should be taken back to a special agency for further evaluation.

Government legal advisors had said that after officers from the large U.S. intelligence community were included in the assessment procedure in July, the investigation expected to fall somewhat behind its initial timetable, but that it thought the slowdown was short-term.

After inspectors general for the intelligence community and the State Department expressed concern about the message of the email correspondences, the State Department allowed the intelligence personnel to lend a hand in the process.

The volume of email and the detailed nature of its content has made understanding its classification level difficult, requiring multiple agents in multiple agencies to perform the tedious task.

Jason Leopold, a member of the press who has brought a Freedom of Information lawsuit against the State Department, has shown concern that the administration has fallen back in its production agenda — ordered in May by U.S. District Court Judge Contreras – and provided no comprehensive arrangement on how it plans to catch up.

Leopold requested the Court to demand more detailed information mainly since it has expanded the assessment to include the additional intelligence personnel.

Publishing Giant Uncovers Fake Peer Review Scandal Affecting Hundreds Of Journal Articles

superadmin
-
0

In the effort to sell an idea or product, companies have gone so far as to submit fake research to peer reviewed journals, according to new findings.

Heavyweight international science publisher Springer has recently retracted 64 articles from its journals following the discovery of fake emails that were connected to article reviews.

The number of papers retracted for using fake reviews over the past three years totals 230 according to the blog Reaction Watch, which tracks plagiarism and other bad behavior in academic publishing.

Although the offending papers make up only a small fraction of the hundreds of thousands published each year, Reaction Watch co-founder Ivan Oransky says the practice is new to the firm, stating, “What’s not clear is, are we better at finding it? Or is it actually a new phenomenon?”

Some cases involve researchers writing their own peer reviews using fake emails, or pay-to-play schemes where fees are paid in exchange for positive reviews.

BioMed Central began an investigation into the problem in November of 2014 in collaboration with publisher Hindawi, and found that there was no independent verification of peer reviewers selected by article editors.

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) explained the strategy of the fraudulent reviewers, “Some of these peer reviewer accounts have the names of seemingly real researchers but with email addresses that differ from those from their institutions or associated with their previous publications, others appear to be completely fictitious.”

Some publishers are beginning to implement policies that prevent access to their systems by suspect reviewers. Others have disallowed authors to suggest reviewers for their articles, which is a common practice.

However, what also became clear was that many of the retracted papers likely would have been approved by a legitimate reviewer, just not as quickly as they were with the fraudulent reviewers.

In scientific fields there is a strong motivation to get published in order to advance one’s career, and COPE suggests that changes must be made to the oversight of the rewards systems in place that are associated with article publication.

Oransky stated about the practice that “this almost seems like more of an insurance policy than making the difference between rejection and getting accepted…Publishing papers is the coin of the realm when it comes to academic advancement.”

Indonesia Sinks Foreign Fishing Vessels Caught Poaching In Its Waters

superadmin
-
0

In a show of its seriousness to protect its territorial water, Indonesia sunk 38 foreign fishing vessels on Tuesday which it seized within its territorial waters.

Commentators say it was no coincidence that the sinkings, which were carried out in various parts of the country, took place on the 70th anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence Day.

The fishing vessels were from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand  and Indonesia.

Susi Pudjiastuti, Indonesia’s Minister for Maritime and Fisheries, said maritime sovereignty was a  key factor in ensuring Indonesia’s unity.

She said as Indonesia was an archipelago, with two-thirds of its territory comprising of water, it was necessary to have sovereignty over its territorial waters.

“We have to be able to show that we can be triumphant on the sea because the sea is the future of our nation,” she said.

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo who is leading the campaign against illegal fishing said it costs his country billions of dollars in lost revenue every year.

The foreign fishing boats, which had been seized after being caught fishing without permission in Indonesian water and had undergone due judicial process, were blown up or scuttled.

So as to not completely destroy the boats and cause pollution and floating waste, low explosives were used to sink five of the vessels, while the others were scuttled at several locations across the Indonesia archipelago, which is made up of more than 17,000 islands.

The decision to scuttle most of the vessels was made after concerns were voiced by green groups about the environmental impact of blowing up vessels, which had been the government’s preferred method in the past for seized fishing boats.

Asep Burhanudin, a senior official at the maritime affairs ministry said the hulls of the vessels would become a habitat for fish and would contribute to “enriching Indonesia’s seas.”

Israel Resumes Building Controversial Wall That Annexes Palestinian Land

superadmin
-
0
Israel Resumes Building Controversial Wall That Annexes Palestinian Land

Israel has recommenced building its contentious wall in the Cremisan Valley, despite a court’s attempts to rule against the development in April.  

The wall is meant to separate the village of Walaja and the settlement of Har Gilo from the West Bank City of Beit Jala. Opponents say the true function of the wall is not to enhance security but for settlement expansion.

In a bid to break ground on the wall, earth movers have began the process of uprooting olive trees in the area. The intended path runs through the Cremisan valley, an area owned by 58 Christian families from Palestine, near a monastery and its related convent and school.

Both the Vatican and the local Christian clergy have opposed the construction of the wall. In April, it seemed the development of the barrier had been stopped when the high court of Israel directed the ministry of defense to reconsider the intended route. However, a subsequent ruling in July gave it a go-ahead.

Property owners from Palestine argue that the construction will stand as a barrier between themselves and their land. The original plan would have created a barrier between the Salesian monastery and its related convent and school.

The revamped construction is just the most recent part of the wall, whose construction Israel began in 2002. It claims its role is to curb terrorism. Critics from Palestine argue that the wall allows for the effectual seizure of Palestinian land.

For some time, it has been clear that the defense ministry of Israel had planned to pursue their original plans. After the April ruling, the ministry sent a letter to an attorney representing the property owners indicating that it had the intentions to continue with the construction, while maintaining a gap around the monasteries.

Speaking to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Giat Nasser, an attorney representing the Beit Jala municipality and the property owners, said, “They apparently haven’t reconciled themselves to the ruling. What they’re doing is ‘feeding’ the court, stage by stage. After they build the fence they’ll say it’s already up, and then they’ll ask to build the loops around the monasteries, because there won’t be any choice.”

Starbucks Will Start Selling Wine & Beer In Billion Dollar Move To Own The Evening

superadmin
-
0
Starbucks Will Start Selling Wine & Beer In Billion Dollar Move To Own The Evening

Starbucks, long known for its pricey coffee, is now officially selling beer, wine and other stiffer beverages. After years of testing the viability of selling alcohol in its locations, the coffee maker has officially decided to pursue the new line aggressively.

On Wednesday, Starbucks will officially start selling beer, special wines, small plates of truffle mac ‘n cheese and bacon wrapped dates. The new program will be launched at two dozen locations across the U.S.

The initial locations are just the first wave in the initiative as the coffee giant has submitted hundreds of liquor licence applications for locations across the U.S. The coffee maker intends to have those locations actively selling beer and wine in the evenings by the end of the year.

Rachel Antalek, Starbucks’ Vice President of concept innovations, said “We learned resoundingly that our customers want to come to Starbucks and have a glass of wine or a craft beer. There aren’t that many places to go in the evening where you can go very relaxed, very casual. It’s not loud. You can actually have a small group and hear yourself talk.”

By end of this week, Starbucks will have more than 70 of its locations selling beer and wine. Starbucks boasts of over 12000 stores in the U.S. By the end of the year, it intends to have the “evenings’ concept live in over 2000 of its locations. Company executives predict that the concept will rake in $1 billion in annual sales by 2019.

The program will begin launching in Denver, Orlando, Miami and North California.

The company first began testing the new concept in 2010. It began with selling wine, craft beer and the unique small plates at a select few local stores where business slowed down after 4 p.m.

These stores were in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Oregon and Washington States.

After five years of testing, Starbucks has revealed that it would proceed full throttle with the concept, convinced it is on to something.

Starbucks is not the first service restaurant to move towards alcohol. Burger King laid down the path with the BK Whopper Bar five years ago. Burger chain Sonic has tested selling beer to patrons and Taco Bell announced it would be testing beer, spiked freezes and wine at locations in San Francisco and Chicago.

Taco bell chief executive Brian Niccol said, “There’s consumer demand, but we’ll see how it goes for us. I am very interested to see how it goes for Starbucks. For us, it’s got to be something that goes great with our food.”

Though critics have showed concern over the sale of beer by the coffee retailer, executives are convinced the concept will be profitable. Diversification into the beverage industry may mark a turning point for the country’s most popular coffee maker. The question remains, will consumers prefer to grab their morning cup of cappuccino the same place they taste their evening wine?

In Just 15 Years The World’s Population Will Grow By Over One Billion People

superadmin
-
0

Another billion people will be added to the world’s population within the next 15 years according to new estimates released by the United Nations (UN).

That means the total population will be 8.5 billion in 2030, compared to today’s 7.3 billion. This will grow to  9.7 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion by 2100.

The UN figures show that at present Asia holds the most people with 60 percent of the world’s population while on the other end of the scale only five percent reside in North America and Oceania. In between is Africa with 16 percent, Europe with 10 percent, and 9 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean. India and China are the most populated countries, with almost 40 percent of the world population.

But according to World Bank data compiled from the UN figures by scientist Tarig Khokhar, those above numbers won’t stay that way for long. He said the world as we know it is set to change in “surprising ways”.

The figures show that although the world’s population is growing substantially, it is growing at a slower and slower pace. Presently it grows at about 83 million people per year (the population of Germany) but growth overall has slowed to 1.18 percent per year  compared to 1.24 percent a decade ago, with the UN expecting growth to gradually level off. Although global population is expected to rise in the short term, the UN said there was a 1 in 4 chance that before 2100, the world’s population will stabilize or fall.

Asked how accurate the UN predictions are, Khokar said the organization had a good track record with population forecasting. He cited its 1948 projection of the world population being around 6 billion in 2000, which was less than five percent off from what it was.

The UN’s predictions for Africa are dramatic with population expected to double by 2100. At present Africa contains 16 percent of the world’s population, with the UN expecting that to rise to 25 percent in 2050 and 49 percent before 2100. Reason given are that the continent is so young, and because fertility rates are high with 50 percent of the continent’s population under the age of 24 in 2015 with many of these having children in the next few decades. Nigeria is expected to have a bigger population than America by about 2050 at which stage it would become the third largest country in the world, population wise.

In contrast, the data shows Asia’s population to peak and then begin to fall, since it has an aging populations. Figures for Europe, Latin America, Northern America and Oceania are predicted to stay fairly constant.

The UN figures predict that half of the world’s population growth will occur before 2050 and will be concentrated in nine countries: Nigeria India, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Uganda, Pakistan, Indonesia and USA..

India is on track to edge out China and become the world’s most populated country. China currently has 1.38 billion people, and India 1.31 billion in India. By 2022, both nations will see their populations increase to 1.4 billion, after which time China’s aging population will level off, but India’s population will continue growing to 1.5 billion in 2030 and in 2050 to 1.7 billion.

With a quarter of Europe’s population being 60 or over there will be little growth with the proportion of the 60 plus group rising  to a third in 2050 and 2100.

Outside of Africa, the world’s population is  set to age and by 2050,  a quarter or more of the population will be 60 and older. Populations in countries including Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Japan, Romania Republic of Moldova, Serbia, and will fall by over 15 percent by 2050.

The UN figures show that the median age of the world’s population is now 29.6 years, and will rise to 36 in 2050 and in 2100 it will be 42.

Anonymous Essay Details Shocking Abuses By Doctors In The Operating Room

superadmin
-
0
Anonymous Essay Details Shocking Abuses By Doctors In The Operating Room

An anonymous essay published in a medical journal has revealed just how unprofessional and intrusive some doctors act while patients are under anesthesia.

The anonymous essay detailed horrific incidences that happened in the operating room on separate occasions, stirring a hot debate on what amounts to inappropriate behavior and whether such behavior needs to be reported to safeguard the medical profession.

The anonymous essay is entitled “Our Family Secret.” It details two separate incidences where doctors operated on patients under despicable undertones of sexual assault, misogyny and racism. The authors published the article as anonymous to safeguard the identities of parties, specifically the victims.

The events occurred when the doctor author was teaching a medical course to senior med students. He asked the class “Do any of you have someone to forgive from your clinical experiences? Did anything ever happen that you need to forgive or perhaps still can’t forgive?”

That was when one of the students responded by recounting an incident he witnessed while a patient was being treated under general anesthesia for a condition referred to as vaginal hysterectomy.

The student said that while the surgeon operating was prepping the patient’s vaginal area, he turned to the student and quipped, ‘I bet she’s enjoying this,’ while laughing and winking.

The med student called the doctor a “dirtball” and was still clearly affected by the incident he said he should have stood up against but only laughed because he did not know what to do.

The other documented incident was told by the lecturing doctor to the class about an indecent event he witnessed when he was a medical student.

During the delivery of a baby, the doctor narrated, something went wrong and the operating surgeon had to put the patient under anesthesia. To stop the patient from excessive bleeding, the resident doctor performed an internal bimanual uterine massage that involved pressing his fist on the patient’s uterus.

The bleeding did stop. But as it subsided, the doctor said something to the tune of, “Atta girl. That’s what I like. A nice, tight uterus.”

The essay then narrates how the doctor pulled out his hands, waved them in the air and started singing, “La Cucaracha.”

In the accompanying editorial, editor in chief Dr. Christie Laine said she decided to publish it to raise debate about the habits of doctors acting unprofessionally in the work place.

Laine said, “It’s important to acknowledge that these kinds of things happen, even if they happen rarely, because that’s too often. And we should always be prepared so that the next time we find ourselves in these situations, we can hopefully be more like the anesthesiologist in the story and cut the behavior immediately.”

While the practice of medicine is known to herald the highest standards of discretion and professionalism, some doctors have been known to act in the exact opposite manner.

Through daring to speak publicly and openly about the topic, Dr. Laine intends on ensuring incidents such as these become extinct.

National Hurricane Center Warns Of First Possible Storm Of The Season

superadmin
-
0

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is closely monitoring an area of low pressure in the Atlantic Ocean that could turn into a tropical cyclone within the next five days.

NHC forecasters said the “disturbance which is located several hundred miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands is likely to form into with “tropical depression” by mid week.

They have issued an alert which said the shower activity with the low pressure area “continues to show signs of organization. Environmental conditions appear conducive for development during the next few days”.

The system was moving “west or west-northwestward” at a speed of 15 mph, with a 50 percent chance of developing into a tropical depression within 48 hours and a chance of 70 percent of developing within five days.

However according to Weather Underground blog writer Bob Henson, the system will face some obstacles before it can become a cyclone. “El Nino and a huge area of dry air and Saharan dust will weaken the storm as it approaches the Leeward and Windward Islands by the weekend” he wrote.

If it does becomes a tropical storm, the fourth tropical depression for the current Atlantic Hurricane Season which has formed more than 1,000 miles east of the Windward Islands, it will be named Danny.

In early May a tropical storm made landfall in South Carolina, after bringing extra wet weather conditions into Central Florida; Tropical Storm Bill formed in June hitting Texas, and Tropical Storm Claudette formed in July, before bringing heavy rain to Newfoundland and its environs before breaking down.

The series of storms comes not long after the Hurricane Center updated its 2015 season outlook, which increased the likelihood of a below-average year to 90 percent from 70 percent. This was the strongest prediction of a below-average season in the center’s prediction history.

The average season has 12 named storms, with six being hurricanes and experts for this season are now predicting six and 10 named storms, with four possibly being hurricanes.

Video Shows Google Is Working On Game Changing Human Inspired Robots

superadmin
-
0
Video Shows Google Is Working On Game Changing Human Inspired Robots

Atlas, “an agile, anthropomorphic robot” designed by Boston Dynamics was recently taken out of the lab and tested in the real world. The video is nothing short of amazing.

One part fascinating, one part scary, the video of the human-like robot stumbling through the woods is a fascinating glimpse into the not so distant future.

The Atlas is the company’s successor to two previous models which mimicked a dog and cheetah respectively.

Boston Dynamics founder Marc Raibert said that the test run in the woods was an opportunity to evaluate the humanoid’s balance and ability to respond to a unique environment. “Out in the world is just a totally different challenge than in the lab,” Raibert said at the Fab 11 conference earlier this month in Cambridge, Mass.

The video of Atlas gained popularity after being revealed for the first time by Boston Dynamics at the conference. The company had shared videos of their quadruped robots before, but never of their humanoids.

Making the video scary, aside from the human look, is that the majority of the funding received for these projects comes from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the research arm of the U.S. military.

This agency’s goal is to develop robots that can replace humans for dangerous projects in disaster or war-like situations.

Although the robot isn’t fit for fieldwork yet, the results and progress are promising. In the video, Atlas is still seen connected to a power source by a large cord. During the conference, Raibert admitted there is still much to be accomplished, but reassured people that “you can imagine if we keep pushing, we’ll get there.”

The whole purpose of creating humanoid robots is to use them in place of humans for tasks that are either too monotonous or too dangerous. Atlas may not seem like much, but each humanoid is one critical step closer to reaching this future.

Skip to about the 40 second mark for the in-forest action!

Scientists Discover That The World’s First Flower Appeared About 130 Million Years Ago

superadmin
-
0
Scientists Discover That The World’s First Flower Appeared About 130 Million Years Ago

Scientists in the U.S. have discovered what could be the world’s first flower. The fossilized underwater plant has stunned botanists worldwide as it includes no noticeable flower parts and grew deep in the lakes of modern day Europe.

Botanists have studied more than 1000 fossils of the species Montsechia Vidalii, a well known species among scientists. The studies revealed that the flowering plants grew deep in the lakes of modern day Spain approximately 125-130 million years ago.

The team of scientists from Indiana University led by David Dilcher, a paleobotanist, noted that, “were first discovered more than 100 years ago in the limestone deposits of the Iberian Range in central Spain and in the Montsec Range of the Pyrenees, near the country’s border with France.”
However, they reported that the species were “poorly understood and even misinterpreted.”

This was because the plants possessed no plainly noticeable or obvious flower parts. Dilcher reported that the Montsechia Vidalii, “possesses no obvious ‘flower parts’, such as petals or nectar-producing structures for attract.”

To clear the air on the species, the scientists resorted to coaxing stems and leaves from the ancient rock using hydrochloric acid while bleaching the pant’s cuticles using a mixture of nitric acid and potassium chlorate.

Microscopic details revealed that the species was indeed an angiosperm, more ancient than the previously discovered Archaefructus sinensis in China.

The report from Indiana University elaborates further on the plant by stating that the plant contained a single seed, in true semblance to an angiosperm.

“A ‘first flower’ is technically a myth, like the ‘first human’,” Dilcher said in the report published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The scientists now plan to study the Montsechia deeper to understand when precisely other species of angiosperms branched off from their ancient forefathers.

Dilcher said there was so much that was still unknown about the underwater flower, including whether the enormous seed bearing plants gave rise to the plants that now populate the earth.

The discovery of the Montsechia is the first step in figuring out the history of plant life on the planet. While man’s roots have been traced to evolution, plants’ beginnings are yet to be pinned down. The discovery could be the first step in doing just that.

Chinese Police Arrest Over 15,000 People In Massive Internet Censorship Operation

superadmin
-
0

Chinese police have apprehended over 15,000 suspects for offenses that “jeopardized Internet security,” as part of the government’s efforts to tighten internet security.

Since he became the president of the People’s Republic of China in 2013, Xi Jinping has maintained a ruthless crackdown on the country’s Internet, which the Communist Party considers of great significance as it seeks to contain researchers and dissidents.

In a formal statement on its official website, the country’s Ministry Of Public Security said the police have carefully looked into 7400 cases of ‘internet crime.’ The statement was not clear on the period over which the arrests were executed, but made reference to a cybercrime case dating back to December of 2014.

Last month, the government of China established a six-month program with the code name “Cleaning the Internet.”

In an official statement, the ministry said, “For the next step, the public security organs will continue to increase their investigation and crackdown on cyber crimes.”

The ministry added that the ‘internet cleansing’ campaign would also focus on cracking noteworthy cases and completely destroying internet-based criminal gangs.  

The primary targets of the sweep were those websites publishing “illegal and harmful information” and advertising such social ills as gambling, firearms, pornography and explosives.

According to reliable reports, the police had investigated about 66,000 websites.

China’s online censorship systems, commonly referred to as the Great Firewall, are among the most sophisticated restriction mechanisms in the world. Censors are extremely keen on what cannot be published, specifically any material that could possibly destabilize the power of the ruling Communist Party.

In February, China’s online supervisory body announced that it would disallow all online accounts that masquerade as organizations or people with effect from March 1st, and put into effect the requirement for people to use their actual names when signing up for any online accounts.

1...949596...152Page 95 of 152
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv