Saturday, January 31, 2015
Friday, January 30, 2015
two possibilities
"Two possibilities exist.
Either we are alone in the universe,
or we are not.
Both are equally terrifying."
Arthur C. Clarke
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
29 years ago today: "go with throttle up"
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on Tuesday, January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida, United States, at 11:38 a.m. EST (16:38 UTC).
Disintegration of the entire vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. The O-ring failure caused a breach in the SRB joint it sealed, allowing pressurized hot gas from within the solid rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon the adjacent SRB attachment hardware and external fuel tank. This led to the separation of the right-hand SRB's aft attachment and the structural failure of the external tank. Aerodynamic forces promptly broke up the orbiter.
The crew compartment and many other vehicle fragments were eventually recovered from the ocean floor after a lengthy search and recovery operation. Although the exact timing of the death of the crew is unknown, several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft. However, the shuttle had no escape system and the astronauts did not survive the impact of the crew compartment with the ocean surface.
The disaster resulted in a 32-month hiatus in the shuttle program and the formation of the Rogers Commission, a special commission appointed by United States President Ronald Reagan to investigate the accident. The Rogers Commission found that NASA's organizational culture and decision-making processes had been a key contributing factor to the accident. NASA managers had known that contractor Morton Thiokol's design of the SRBs contained a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings since 1977, but they failed to address it properly. They also disregarded warnings from engineers about the dangers of launching posed by the low temperatures of that morning and had failed to adequately report these technical concerns to their superiors. The Rogers Commission offered NASA nine recommendations that were to be implemented before shuttle flights resumed. (read more)
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Stop the Big Polluter Agenda - Take Action!: NRDC's Save BioGems
Will you help stop the #BigPolluterAgenda? Please send your message to the President: http://on.nrdc.org/1BuDD85 @NRDC (twitter)
Stop the Big Polluter Agenda - Take Action!: NRDC's Save BioGems
Monday, January 26, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Mordechai Vanunu
Mordechai Vanunu (born 13 October 1954), also known as John Crossman, is a former Israeli nuclear technician who, citing his opposition to weapons of mass destruction, revealed details of Israel's nuclear weapons program to the British press in 1986. He was subsequently lured to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was drugged and abducted by Israeli intelligence agents. He was transported to Israel and ultimately convicted in a trial that was held behind closed doors.
Vanunu spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 in solitary confinement. Released from prison in 2004, he became subject to a broad array of restrictions on his speech and movement. Since then he has been arrested several times for violations of those restrictions, including giving various interviews to foreign journalists and attempting to leave Israel. He says he suffered "cruel and barbaric treatment" at the hands of Israeli authorities while imprisoned, and suggests that his treatment would have been different if he had not converted to Christianity from Judaism.
In 2007, Vanunu was sentenced to six months in prison for violating terms of his parole. The sentence was considered unusual even by the prosecution who expected a suspended sentence. In response, Amnesty International issued a press release on 2 July 2007, stating that "The organisation considers Mordechai Vanunu to be a prisoner of conscience and calls for his immediate and unconditional release." In May 2010, Vanunu was arrested and sentenced to three months in jail on a charge that he met foreigners in violation of conditions of his 2004 release from jail.
Vanunu has been characterized internationally as a whistleblower and by Israel as a traitor. Daniel Ellsberg has referred to him as "the preeminent hero of the nuclear era" (read more) (samson option)
Monday, January 19, 2015
Exhale
• Exhale •
Going through it
The long duration of dark
The cold winter night
The silent day
When will I know my reason
When can I enter into peaceful solitude
Life is but a blink of the eye
A bat of the lash
If you want to know
I'm chasing the wind
And will soon be mown down
By the sharp blade
Come on spring
Make me new again
I set and wait for both
Anonymous
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Saturday, January 17, 2015
borobudur
You yourself must strive.
The Buddhas only point the way.
Those meditative ones who tread the path
are released from the bonds of Mara.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Bruno Ghibaudi
Around mid-day on April 27, 1961, Bruno Ghibaudi, a scientific journalist, was driving the highway paralleling the beach at Montesilvano (Pescara), felt a flat tire and pulled his car over and stopped. As he began changing the bad tire, and as he was working at that task, he noticed an unusual metallic looking flying object coming in at a low level over the ocean. It passed overhead, slowed, made a sharp turn towards the north and flew away. (Case 16, Project Blue Book)
Above is the only known photo of the strange, almost organic multi-winged craft Bruno photographed, as depicted in the artwork below from La Domenica del Corriere, April 15 1962. (artist unknown)
Monday, January 12, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Don't Nuke the Climate | Background Information on Climate Change and Nuclear Power - NIRS
We're getting a little tired hearing nuclear industry lobbyists and pro-nuclear politicians allege that environmentalists are now supporting nuclear power as a means of addressing the climate crisis. We know that's not true, and we're sure you do too. In fact, using nuclear power would be counterproductive at reducing carbon emissions. As Amory Lovins of Rocky Mountain Institute points out, "every dollar invested in nuclear expansion will worsen climate change by buying less solution per dollar..."
The simple statement below will be sent to the media and politicians whenever they misstate the facts. We hope you and your organization will join us and sign on in support here.
"We do not support construction of new nuclear reactors as a means of addressing the climate crisis. Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power."
SIGN AT A Simple Statement On Nuclear Power and Climate Change - NIRS
Nuclear Power: No Solution to Climate Change - NIRS
Background Information on Climate Change and Nuclear Power - NIRS
Saturday, January 10, 2015
"The Female Eunuch"
"The Female Eunuch"
Germaine Greer argues that scaring women is
"big business and hugely profitable."
It is fear, she wrote, that "makes women comply
with schemes and policies that work against their interest".
Sexism is indeed creating a second class citizen,
and fear works equally well on men,
don't be a slave to either.
(art by John Holmes)
Germaine Greer argues that scaring women is
"big business and hugely profitable."
It is fear, she wrote, that "makes women comply
with schemes and policies that work against their interest".
Sexism is indeed creating a second class citizen,
and fear works equally well on men,
don't be a slave to either.
(art by John Holmes)
Friday, January 9, 2015
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
Arctic News: State Of Extreme Emergency
Arctic News: State Of Extreme Emergency: PRESIDENT OBAMA MUST DECLARE A STATE OF EXTREME NATIONAL EMERGENCY AND CEASE ORCHESTRATING A WAR WITH RUSSIA. HE MUST RECALL HIS ENTIRE ARMY AND NAVY PERSONNEL TO THE UNITED STATES TO BEGIN A MASSIVE CONVERSION OF THE US ENERGY SYSTEM TO SOLAR AND WIND POWER. THIS CONVERSION MUST RESULT IN ALL 600 COAL POWER STATIONS AND NUCLEAR STATIONS BEING COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN IN THE NEXT 5 TO 10 YEARS. ALL SURFACE TRANSPORT BOTH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC MUST BE ENTIRELY ELECTRIFIED AND AIR TRANSPORT CONVERTED TO METHANE OR HYDROGEN FUEL. IF THIS IS NOT DONE, HUMANITY WILL BE FACING TOTAL EXTINCTION IN AN ARCTIC METHANE FIRESTORM BETWEEN 2040 AND 2050.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Friday, January 2, 2015
Thursday, January 1, 2015
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