The 2010 Chess Olympiad ..[ 1831 ]

Magnus Carlsen arrives in Khanty-Mansivsk

Cuba Journal., Thursday, September 23, 2010

This photo, courtesy of Chess Base, shows chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen of Norway on his arrival at Khanty-Mansysk for the 2010 World Chess Olympiad. 

Magnus is ecstatic over his new acquisition, a children's chess book taught with cartoon animals. 

The young Chess Grandmaster is currently ranked number one in the world with an ELO rating of 2826. The live top list of provisional world chess rankings is provided by Hans Arild Runde at Chess.LiveRating.Org.

In the first round, Cuba easily defeated New Zeland, 4-0. The Cuban team is composed of Chess Grand Masters Lazaro Bruzon(2679), Yuniesky Quesada(2614), Fidel Corrales(2599) and Holden Hernandez(2563). They won easily over their opponents, who had ELO ratings of 2282 to 2200.

After the first round, Cuba is in the sixth place. See team rankings link.

2010 Chess Olympiad Pictorial: Arrivals, opening and day one / Cuba Team Results

NASA Image of the Day Sep 23.. [ 1830 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Global Hawk

 

The Global Hawk is a robotic plane that can fly autonomously to altitudes above 60,000 feet -- twice as high as a commercial airliner -- and as far as 11,000 nautical miles -- half the circumference of Earth. 

 

Operators pre-program a flight path, and then the plane flies itself for as long as 30 hours, staying in contact through satellite and line-of-sight communications to the ground control station at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California's Mojave Desert. 

 

Image Credit: NASA/Tony Landis

Πέμπτη, 23 Σεπτέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

NASA image of Sep 20thm ..[ 1829 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Cosmic Ice Sculptures

In the cold vacuum of space, radiation from massive stars carves away at cold molecular clouds, creating bizarre, fantasy-like structures. 

These pillars of cold hydrogen and dust, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope, are located in the Carina Nebula. Violent stellar winds and powerful radiation from massive stars sculpt the surrounding nebula. 

This image of dust pillars in the Carina Nebula is a composite of 2005 observations taken of the region in hydrogen light (light emitted by hydrogen atoms) along with 2010 observations taken in oxygen light (light emitted by oxygen atoms), both times with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. 

The immense Carina Nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. 

Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Project (STScI/AURA)

Δευτέρα, 20 Σεπτέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Russian plane crashes, Pilots safe,,..[ 1828 ]

		Su-27 plane crashes in Russian Primorye, pilots catapult ITAR-TASS News Agency20.09.2010, 12.01 MOSCOW, September 20 (Itar-Tass) - A Su-27 aircraft of the Russian Air Force crashed on Monday in Primorye. Its two pilots catapulted and were not injured, Russian Air Force spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Drik told Itar-Tass. The plane took off from the Vozdvizhenka airfield north of Ussuriisk after planned maintenance work and crashed several minutes after the takeoff. The tragedy took place at 13:30 local time (06:30 Moscow time).  Technical malfunctioning is seen as one of the possible reasons behind the crash. A special commission has been set up to look into the tragedy. Specialists from the Defence Ministry have left Moscow for the site. This was the second crash of a Su-27 aircraft this year. On January 14 another military aircraft disappeared from radar screens about 30 kilometres away from Komsomolsk-on-Amur. It was on a routine flight from the airfield Dzemgi in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. An experienced pilot was steering the plane.  In July 2008, a Su-27 plane crashed during a flight after maintenance work near the Vozdvizhenka airfield. One pilot died and the second one catapulted and survived, receiving injuries. The Su-27 is a two-engine fighter jet of the fourth generation. The plane is 21.935 meters long and has the wing spread of 14.7 meters. The ceiling is 18,500 meters, and the range of flight is 3,900 kilometres. It is equipped with the ejection seat K-36DM, ensuring the ejection escape at any altitude and speed of the flight. Su-27 planes have been on a batch production in Komsomolsk-on-Amur since 1982.

UK: 9,000 public sector workers earn more than the PM..[ 1827 ]

9,000 public sector workers earn more than David Cameron

Standard co. uk.,, 20.09.10

More than 9,000 employees working in the public sector are paid more than the Prime Minister, it was disclosed today.

According to figures 17 teachers in England are paid more than David Cameron

An investigation by BBC1's Panorama and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism suggested the numbers earning more than David Cameron's £142,500-a-year are significantly higher than previously thought.

The findings by the programme - to be screened tonight - will heighten the controversy already raging over comparative pay levels in the public and private sectors.

Based on the responses to more than 2,400 Freedom of Information requests to public bodies, they show that 38,000 were paid over £100,000 while 1,000 received over £200,000.

They include GPs, teachers, police chiefs, council officers and senior civil servants, as well as senior managers in the BBC itself.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude insisted that it should not be necessary to offer "stupendous amounts" of money in the public sector.

"You can square the circle of having really good people not on telephone number salaries and massive built-in bonuses," he told the programme.

"That public service ethos is very important. People will come and work in a public sector for salaries that aren't competitive in a private sector sense."

The NHS was the sector found to have the the highest number of staff earning over £100,000 - 26,000 - with almost 6,500 paid more than the Prime Minister.

Those with salaries topping the PM's included 1,465 GPs - 10 of whom received more than £300,000. The highest earner was an unnamed GP working for the Hillingdon Primary Care Trust with pay of £475,500.

In the education sector, 385 teachers in England earn more than £100,000 and 17 get more than the Prime Minister.

The best paid was an unnamed teacher from Essex on £232,500, followed by Mark Elms, the head teacher of Tidemill Primary School in Lewisham, south east London, on £231,400.

A total of 196 police officers across the UK receive more than £100,000, with 45 earning more than the Prime Minister, headed by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson on £280,489.

The programme also highlights salaries in the BBC where 97 managers earn more than £160,000, 160 get more than £130,000 and 331 are on over £100,000.

Director general Mark Thompson is the best paid with total remuneration of £838,000, including basic pay of £668,000, £7,000 in benefits and an additional pension payment of £163,000.

In local government, 362 council employees across the UK get more than the Prime Minister, with Gerald Jones, the chief executive of Conservative-run Wandsworth Council in south London, getting £299,925.

The Civil Service has 241 senior officials receiving as much or more than Mr Cameron, with 26 in the Ministry of Defence, 22 each in the Department for Business and the Cabinet Office, 18 in the Department of Health, and 13 in the Foreign Office.

The Department of Communities and Local Government, where Secretary of State Eric Pickles has denounced the "gravy train" of top pay, has nine civil officials on more than the PM.

There are 832 members of the armed forces getting more than £100,000 and 2,013 people working in the judiciary - 211 of whom earn more than the Prime Minister.

The highest earners in central Government were the outgoing Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, on £288,700, NHS chief executive David Nicholson on £278,800 and the Office of Fair Trading chief executive John Fingleton on £277,500.

The overall figures compiled by the programme did not include publicly-owned corporations which operate on a commercial basis - some of which have very highly paid bosses.

These include the Royal Mail where, according to the programme, former chief executive Adam Crozier received a total remuneration package worth £2.4 million in 2009-10.

Ian Coucher, the chief executive of Network Rail, was said to have received a package worth £1.4 million, including supplementary pension contributions, while Financial Services Authority boss Hector Sants got a total of £795,192

British in Afghanistan have handed responsibility to US forces..[ 1826 ]

         UK troops leave Helmand's Sangin          

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BBC News Uj,m Sept 20 2010

UK forces have been in Sangin since 2006, and 106 UK personnel have been killed.

British forces in Afghanistan have handed responsibility for security in Sangin to US forces, marking the end of their four-year mission in the area.

Control was handed over from UK forces to the US Marine Corps at 0630 BST.

The UK has suffered its heaviest losses in the area. Of the 337 UK deaths in Afghanistan since 2001, a third have happened there.

Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox said UK troops should be "proud of their achievements".

He said Sangin, in Helmand province, was "one of the most challenging areas of Afghanistan".

"The level of sacrifice has been high and we should never forget the many brave troops who have lost their lives in the pursuit of success in an international mission rooted firmly in our own national security in the UK," he said.

British troops will redeploy to central Helmand, where they will continue to lead the fight against the insurgency and assist in building a stable and secure Afghanistan, he added.

"We are seeing real and positive progress in areas that only a year or so ago were in a very different state," he added.

The commanding officer of 40 Commando group, Lieutenant Colonel Paul James, said the handover was a "poignant moment" tinged with sadness, but the overwhelming emotion was one of pride.

"I think we've achieved significant success here: making Sangin a much more stable and peaceful place.

"And probably just as importantly, the Afghan national security forces that we've partnered here are now starting to be able to stand on their own two feet and take on the responsibility for delivering Sangin for themselves.

"It's not going to be British forces who deliver success in Sangin and it's not going to be American forces.

"It's not going to be anyone else other than the Afghans themselves.

Analysis

Ian Pannell, BBC News, Kabul

---

After five bloody summers in Sangin, British troops have handed over control to the men of the US Marine Corps and begun pulling out.

A third of all deaths in Afghanistan have taken place here in a district that is as important as it is dangerous.

The Americans have already changed the strategy on the ground, pulling out of some patrol bases that the British fought hard to establish and protect.

The terrain, its location at the cross-section of key routes and a thriving opium trade have made it a key battleground for both the insurgents and British troops.

Military commanders insist this is not a case of America coming to the rescue of beleaguered UK forces but the handover will be a bittersweet moment for the thousands of troops who have fought so hard in Sangin over the last four years.

UK forces have been in Sangin since 2006, and 106 UK personnel have been killed. The MoD announced in July that British troops were to be replaced by US forces.

The BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul said there would be a physical handover, with the union jack lowered and the US flag raised, but little would change on a pratical level.

He said some members of the 1,000-strong 40 Commando Battle Group had already left, and the handover would be staggered over the coming weeks.

Describing it as a "totemic" moment for the UK, he said Sangin is the most dangerous district in Helmand - if not the whole of Afghanistan.

On a recent visit to the area, he witnessed a long battle in which a number of US soldiers, Afghan soldiers and civilians sustained injuries.

"Although progress has been made, the area remains very difficult. It is a key battleground for insurgents and coalition forces.

"The truth is, the Americans will now have to try and finish the job that Britain started," he added.

Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General Gordon Messenger, a former commander of the UK Helmand task force, insisted the handover was not an admission of defeat.

"It certainly won't look like that on the ground," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"The British soldiers that are there are handing over to the American Marines. In terms of the physical security presence, and every other aspect of the campaign in Sangin, it's going to be more of a continuum than a watershed."

Sweden : A far-right party won 20 seats in parliament ..[ 1825 ]

Swedish far right wins first seats in parliament

 

Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said his party had been treated unfairly in the election

 

BBC.,20 September 2010 Last updated at 06:57 GMT

A far-right party in Sweden has won seats in parliament for the first time, denying the governing centre-right coalition an overall majority.

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats have won 20 of the 349 seats in the country's single assembly, following Sunday's general election.
The alliance led by centre-right Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt fell short of a clear victory with 172 seats.
Mr Reinfeldt says he will seek the support of the opposition Green Party.
The Greens are currently allied with the centre-left Social Democrats.

Green Party co-chair Maria Wetterstrand said the opposition bloc - which won 157 seats - remained united.

Mr Reinfeldt also did not rule out working with the Social-Democrats.
"On many questions there is a possibility for broader co-operation," he told reporters. "Not seldom have agreements been made between Social Democrats and alliance parties, but I can't really say more about that, if there is any room for that now."

However the prime minister reiterated that his four-party Alliance for Sweden would not form a coalition with the far-right.
"I have been clear on how we will handle this uncertain situation," he said. "We will not co-operate, or become dependent on, the Sweden Democrats".

'Media boycott'  
Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said his party would use the opportunity to make itself heard, as it had not been invited to official debates during the campaign.
"We have in many ways been treated as anything but a political party in this election," he said.
"Even so, today we stand here with a fantastic result. The situation is a bit uncertain just now, but we have four years ahead of us to speak out on the issues that matter to us and influence Swedish politics."

 

PM Fredrik Reinfeldt says he will not make a deal with the far-right

BBC regional reporter Damien McGuinness said the success of the far right has shocked many voters in Sweden.
Winning 20 seats in parliament, the Sweden Democrats have obviously touched a nerve, he adds.

The party appears to have tapped into voter dissatisfaction over immigration, says our correspondent, with the result undermining the image of Sweden as a tolerant and open-minded country.

Mr Reinfeldt can remain in office, but only as a minority government, which although not that unusual in Sweden, does mean he will have to win over other parties to push through bills.
Immigrants make up 14% of the country's population of 9.4 million.

The Social Democrats have ruled Sweden for 65 of the past 78 years, and are credited with setting up the country's generous welfare state.
Conceding defeat on Sunday, party leader Mona Sahlin said they had not been able to win back voters' confidence.

"The Alliance is the largest majority. It is now up to Fredrick Reinfeldt how he plans to rule Sweden without letting the Sweden Democrats get political influence."

Terrorist suspect arrested at Schiphol airport..[ 1824 ]

British terrorism suspect arrested at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport

Dutch police have arrested a terrorism suspect at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, the local prosecutor's office said.

 

The British citizen, who is of Somali decent, was en-route from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda Photo: EPA

The man was from Liverpool, travellling via Schiphol, en route to Entebbe in Uganda. The Somali Briton was already on the plane when he was arrested by military police.

"He was arrested on the tip-off from British authorities," a Dutch spokesman said.

Telegraph co.uk., by Our Foreign Staff
Published: 4:49PM BST 19 Sep 2010

National police spokesman Rene Claessen said the man was arrested before a flight took off from the airport Sunday.

Amsterdam has a history of being used as a transport hub by suspected Islamic radicals

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a suspected al Qaeda member, is facing charges of trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam as it prepared to land in Detroit with 278 people on board last December.

He is accused of trying to use a bomb hidden in his underwear to bring down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. The explosives failed, though they burned Abdulmutallab, who was arrested.

The Somali-born British man was held on suspicion of terrorism as he transited through Amsterdam's Schiphol airport en route from England to Uganda, prosecutors said.

"At this moment, an inquiry is trying to determine whether or not the man belongs to a foreign terrorist organisation," said a source in the prosecutor's office.

Amsterdam's airport has significantly beefed up its security meassures since Christmas Day, after it was a departure point for a Nigerian student, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who allegedly tried to blow up a plane above the United States by setting off explosives hidden in his underwear.

He was tackled by passangers and crew, and is now charged in U.S. federal court in Detroit with attempting to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 with 278 passengers and 11 crew members aboard. Abdulmutallab insists on representing himself.

Last month, two Yemeni men were arrested at the Amsterdam airport after flying in from Chicago, on suspicion they may have been conducting a dry run for an airline terror attack. The two were held for several days then released without charge after an investigation turned up no evidence to link them to a terror plot.

Orthodox priests in the Russian army and navy..[ 1823 ]

Russia's Orthodox Church priests to appear in Russian army and navy

Russia's Orthodox Church priests to work in Russian army and navy

13:49 19/09/2010

© RIA Novosti. Vladimir Vyatkin

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKI, September 19 (RIA Novosti)

Russia's Orthodox Church priests will soon appear in the Russian army and navy to serve as military chaplains as Russian servicemen especially need spiritual support, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said on Sunday.

"By decision of the Russian president, the institution of military clergy is beginning to develop in Russia. So far we are making the first steps... But since a legal foundation has been laid, I hope that priests will soon appear in the army and the navy," Patriarch Kirill said.

The patriarch met on Sunday with the personnel of the 16th squadron of Pacific Fleet submarines in Kamchatka in the Russian Far East.

According to the patriarch, servicemen need spiritual support.

"This is because risks linked with military service are so great that they cannot be compensated by any material benefits," he said.

According to the Russian defense ministry, two thirds of the country's servicemen consider themselves religious. Some 83% of them are Orthodox Christians, about 8% are Muslims, and 9% represent other confessions.

Japan,Hydrothermal vents found off Okinawa,.[ 1822 ]

Hydrothermal vents that appear to be producing rare metals found off Okinawa

Mineral clusters projecting from the seabed. (Photo courtesy of the University of Tokyo)

(Mainichi Japan) September 19, 2010

A few active hydrothermal areas found at the bottom of the sea off the coast of Okinawa Prefecture appear to be producing rare earth metals, which will likely draw interest to the area as a potential underwater mine.

The discovery was made by a team of researchers from the University of Tokyo and other institutes. On Sept. 17, they announced that they had discovered three areas with hydrothermal eruptions at the bottom of the ocean about 100 kilometers northwest of the main island of Okinawa. The team had used an unmanned probe equipped with sensors they developed that can detect manganese and hydrogen sulfide contained in hot water released from vents, and over an eight-day period beginning on Sept. 4 used the probe to search an underwater area full of volcanic craters.

In their exploration, the team found three areas at depths of around 500 to 600 meters where water from 43 to 247 degrees centigrade was erupting. In one of the areas, there were chimney-shaped clusters -- about 50 centimeters in diameter and one to two meters in height -- on the seabed, which were emitting 121-degree water from their tips. The clusters are believed to consist of rare earth elements, such as manganese and antimony.

Such active hydrothermal metal deposits have recently been drawing researchers' attention as potential mines, spurring them to conduct explorations for them in the seas around Japan. The team has already collected the mineral clusters and plans to analyze the types and content of the metals contained in them.

(Mainichi Japan) September 19, 2010

Are wild monkeys aggressive toward humans?..[ 1821 ]

News Navigator: Are wild monkeys aggressive toward humans?

 (Mainichi Japan) September 18, 2010

The Mainichi answers common questions readers may have about recent monkey attacks on residents in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Question: There have been many people attacked by monkeys in Shizuoka Prefecture, and some have been injured. Are monkeys aggressive by nature?

Answer: Monkeys are not thought to be aggressive by nature. Monkeys may attack to protect themselves or their children if humans draw too close, but they do not show a habit of initiating violence against humans. There have been cases in the past of Japanese Macaques biting humans, but those cases have always been explainable as the monkey was defending its young or otherwise acting in defense.

Q: But it sounds like this time around, the monkeys are the ones approaching, and they're biting and scratching humans. What's different about these monkeys from those in past cases?

A: Some experts have suggested that the monkeys in Shizuoka may have been kept by humans. While kept at a facility or by an individual or individuals, they may have learned aggressive behavior. The fact that many of the victims have been female may indicate the monkeys are looking for weak targets to attack, or it simply is because from morning to evening, the time period when the monkeys have been sighted, there are generally more women outside than men.

Q: What type of monkeys attacked people in Shizuoka Prefecture?

A: Based on photographs and video taken of the monkeys, experts have said they appear to be macaques. Specifically, their builds and tail lengths resemble those of Japanese macaques.

Q: It seems like it must be difficult to capture monkeys. Is it?

A: Capturing monkeys with nets is indeed difficult, so tranquilizer guns or traps are usually employed. The city of Mishima, where victims of monkey attacks continue to appear, has set up traps and is prepared to use tranquilizer guns in an attempt to capture the monkeys. Experts, meanwhile, have called on the city to enlist the aid of researchers well-versed in primate behavior and to act in concert with local residents to limit any further attacks.

Q: Is there no way to make the monkeys stop attacking?

A: The only way would be to retrain the monkeys, teaching them that they mustn't attack humans. This would, however, require a large amount of time and effort. The monkeys may have to be kept in captivity rather than returned to the wild if they cannot be retrained.

Q: What should I do if a monkey bites me?

A: According to Tadashi Sankai, chief researcher at the Tsukuba Primate Research Center, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, since monkeys and humans are both primates, viruses spread more easily from monkeys to humans than from other animals. Some viruses macaques can hold are potentially fatal. There is, however, no known example of one of these viruses spreading from a Japanese macaque to a human. Furthermore, if a wound is quickly disinfected and treated, the probability of infection is greatly reduced. If you are attacked by a monkey, even if you only receive a minor injury, it is important to be seen by a doctor.

(Answers by Etsuko Nagayama, Science and Environment News Department)

Click here for the original Japanese story

NASA Image of the Day, Sep 18th..[ 1820 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Cresent Moon

A last quarter crescent moon above Earth's horizon is featured in this image photographed by the Expedition 24 crew on the International Space Station. 

Image Credit: NASA

Παρασκευή, 17 Σεπτέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Russian Aircraft Fighters and USA Frigates..[ 1819 ]

Pentagon: 2 Russian aircraft buzzed U.S. warship

By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent

CNN.,September 17, 2010 -- Updated 2317 GMT (0717 HKT)

The incidents involving Russian aircraft and the guided missile frigate USS Taylor occurred September 10-11 in the Barents Sea

Washington (CNN) -- A pair of Russian aircraft buzzed a U.S. warship off the Arctic coast of Russia on consecutive days last week, leading the U.S. Navy chief of naval operations to raise the issue with his Russian counterpart, a Pentagon spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said.

The first incident occurred September 10 in international waters of the Barents Sea. A U.S. military official, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the incidents, said a Russian Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft flew about 50 yards off the side of the guided missile frigate USS Taylor at just about 100 feet above sea level.

The official said the aircraft made several passes near the ship.

The next day a Russian Helix helicopter circled the Taylor, also at low altitude.

The official described the activity as "abnormal" operating procedure, because of the risk of an accident at such close range.

Adm. Gary Roughead, the U.S. chief of naval operations, discussed the matter with his Russian counterpart, Adm. Vladimir Vysotskiy, according to Lapan.

Lapan said the ship's crew did not interpret the Russian overflights to be hostile, but said the two sides are still talking to determine whether standard maritime procedures were followed.

The two admirals met earlier this week during a visit of Russian military officials to the Pentagon. The incidents were disclosed by U.S. military officials only after that visit was over.

Russia and NATO..[ 1818 ]

NATO chief stresses need for good ties with Russia

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Friday stressed the need for closer cooperation with Russia, focusing on "inclusive" missile defence system, conventional armaments controls and a reduction in short-range nuclear weapons, dpa reported.

TREND////18.09.2010 01:05

Rasmussen delivered what NATO described as a "major policy speech" at a gathering of the Aspen Institute in Rome.

"This bridge across Europe, between NATO and Russia, makes Europe more stable and more secure.

"Yes, we disagree every once in a while, and fundamentally on some issues ... But we have learned not to let that overshadow the importance and the potential of this relationship," Rasmussen said.

In particular, NATO viewed the recent Russian decision to move missiles into Georgia, as a "dangerous move that is clearly in violation" of the French-brokered ceasefire, Rasmussen said.

On the positive side, cooperation had been achieved with Russia in combating terrorism, Rasmussen said. He also referred to Moscow's "support" for NATO's mission in Afghanistan.

Rasmussen pinpointed "three tracks" which he said would improve security in Europe: missile defence, conventional arms control and reducing the number of short-range nuclear weapons in the region.

He stressed the creation of an inclusive missile defence system.

"If Russia and other countries feel like they are inside the tent with the rest of us, rather than outside the tent looking in, it will build trust" Rasmussen said.

He warned of the threat posed by Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty - which sets limits on how many armaments such as tanks, armoured vehicles, and fighter airplanes each country can hold.

Rasmussen said it would be "politically difficult" for NATO countries to continue to comply with the treaty if Russia fails to do so.

He, however, did not provide details of any time frame before NATO members stopped to comply with the treaty.

As for the short-range nuclear weapons, Rasmussen said "literally thousands" of these were left over from the Cold War, mostly in Russia.

"This is the one category of weapons not covered by any arms control regime, and therefore with no transparency," making NATO members "cautious," Rasmussen said.

"They would like to see arms control talks, at a certain stage, which include those weapons as well," he added.

In Rome, the NATO secretary general also held talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whom he thanked for Italy's contribution to the Afghanistan mission.

China : Anti-Japan protests..[ 1817 ]

Anti-Japan protests mark China anniversary

 

Protesters called for Japan to 'get out' of disputed islands in the East China Sea

Small groups of protesters have demonstrated against Japan in several Chinese cities.

They mark the anniversary of the 1931 "Mukden Incident" that led to Japan's occupation of north-east China.

In Beijing, dozens gathered outside the Japanese Embassy, while smaller demonstrations were held in Shanghai, Shenyang and Chongqing.

 BBC 18 September 2010 Last updated at 07:54 GMT

Anti-Japanese sentiment has been stoked by Japan's arrest of a Chinese fishing boat captain near disputed islands.

The sailor was detained last week after his fishing vessel collided with two Japanese coast guard boats near the islands, called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.

Japan has returned the ship and its crew but still holds the captain in detention. China has demanded his release.

Both countries claim ownership of the islands and have argued over the exploration rights for a nearby gas field.

Protesters in Beijing shouted and held signs saying: "Get out of the Diaoyu Islands".

In Shanghai, two men hung a banner saying: "The Diaoyu islands belong to China... return our captain".

More on This Story

Drill reaches in Chile mine...[ 1816 ]

Drill reaches trapped men in Chile mine

 

The rescue operation is still expected to take several weeks

 

BBC., 17 September 2010 Last updated at 16:37 GMT 

A drill boring a rescue hole has now reached the 33 Chilean miners trapped since 5 August, officials have said.

However, it will take weeks for the 630m (2,060ft) deep hole to be redrilled to allow the miners to be pulled out. The width is now 30cm (12in) and will need to be about 70cm.

It is hoped the men can be freed by early November.

They were trapped when the main access tunnel to the San Jose copper and gold mine near Copiapo collapsed.

The 32 Chileans and one Bolivian have survived longer than any other group trapped underground.

Three bore holes have already reached the men to supply them with food, water and medicine.

Camp Hope

Atacama region Governor Ximena Matas confirmed that the Schramm T-130 probe had reached the cavern holding the trapped miners.

The T-130 is Plan B of three drilling operations and is expected to be the fastest.

The T-130 has had its problems, breaking a drill bit last week. The operation resumed on Tuesday.

Plan A is the Strata 950 and is expected to reach the men by Christmas.

Assembly of Plan C, the giant RIG-422 drill, was completed on Thursday but it has not yet started drilling. It has a two-month rescue timetable.

Chile celebrates its bicentennial independence celebrations on Saturday and the miners and their families are expected to raise the Chilean flag and sing the national anthem.

The men were found to be alive 12 days after the collapse and relatives have since set up Camp Hope at the pithead.

Viva México! Viva la Independencia!..[ 1815 ]

 Mexico Celebrates 200 Years of Independence from Spain 

September 16th, 2010

Question: On what day is Mexican independence celebrated?

If you said Cinco de Mayo, a national holiday in Mexico in honor of a military victory in 1862 in Battle of Puebla over the French forces of Napoleon III, you’d be in good company, but you’d also be wrong.

On this day in 1810 Miguel Hidalgo issued El Grito de Dolores, the battle cry of Mexican independenceThe day celebrated as Mexican Independence Day is September 16 and predates Cinco de Mayo by 52 years. It was 200 years ago today, on September 16, 1810, that Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, called the Father of Mexican Independence, issued his famous Grito de Dolores (the “Cry of Dolores”), which became the battle cry of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain. In commemoration of his cry, on the eve of Mexican Independence Day the president of Mexico shouts a version of “el Grito” from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City: “Viva México! Viva la Independencia! Vivan los héroes!”

So, what is the context of el Grito and what did Hidalgo accomplish? As Britannica’s article on Mexico discusses,

Warning that the Spaniards would deliver Mexico to the “godless” French, Hidalgo exhorted his followers to fight and die for the Mexican Virgin, Our Lady of Guadalupe. When Hidalgo left his tiny village, he marched with his followers into Guanajuato, a major colonial mining centre peopled by Spaniards and Creoles. There the leading citizens barricaded themselves in a public granary. Hidalgo captured the granary on September 28, but he quickly lost control of his rebel army, which massacred most of the Creole elite and pillaged the town.
Reports of the chaos in Guanajuato fed the support for the viceroy’s efforts to crush the rebellion, lest a full-scale caste war ensue. Royalist forces defeated Hidalgo at the Bridge of Calderón on Jan. 18, 1811, and captured him along with other major insurgent leaders on March 19. On July 31 Hidalgo was executed, ending the first of the political civil wars that were to wrack Mexico for three-fourths of a century.
The Hidalgo cause was taken up by his associate José María Morelos y Pavón, another parish priest. With a small but disciplined rebel army he won control of substantial sections of southern Mexico. The constituent congresses, which Morelos called at Chilpancingo in 1813, issued at Apatzingán in 1814 formal declarations of independence and drafted republican constitutions for the areas under his military control.
At about the same time, Napoleonic troops were withdrawing from Spain, and in 1814 Ferdinand VII returned from involuntary exile. One of his first acts was to nullify Spain’s liberal 1812 constitution. Spanish troops, which were no longer needed to fight the French, were ordered to crush the Morelos revolution. Captured and defrocked, Morelos was shot as a heretic and a revolutionary on Dec. 22, 1815. Scattered but dwindling guerrilla bands kept alive the populist, republican, nationalist tradition of Hidalgo and Morelos.
Mexican independence came about almost by accident when constitutionalists in Spain led a rebellion that, in 1820, forced Ferdinand VII to reinstate the liberal constitution of 1812. Conservatives in Mexico, alarmed that anticlerical liberals would threaten their religious, economic, and social privileges, saw independence from Spain as a method of sparing New Spain from such changes. They found a spokesman and able leader in Agustín de Iturbide, a first-generation Creole. Iturbide, who had served as a loyal royalist officer against Hidalgo and others, had been given command of royal troops with which he was to snuff out remnants of the republican movement, then headed by the future president Vicente Guerrero.
While ostensibly fighting Guerrero, however, Iturbide was in fact negotiating with him to join a new independence movement. In 1821 they issued the so-called Iguala Plan (Plan de Iguala), a conservative document declaring that Mexico was to be independent, that its religion was to be Roman Catholicism, and that its inhabitants were to be united, without distinction between Mexican and European. It stipulated further that Mexico would become a constitutional monarchy under Ferdinand VII, that he or some Spanish prince would occupy the throne in Mexico City, and that an interim junta would draw up regulations for the election of deputies to a congress that would write a constitution for the monarchy.
United as the Army of the Three Guarantees (independence, union, preservation of Roman Catholicism), the combined troops of Iturbide and Guerrero gained control of most of Mexico by the time Juan O’Donojú, appointed Spanish captain general, arrived in the viceregal capital. Without money, provisions, or troops, O’Donojú felt himself compelled to sign the Treaty of Córdoba on Aug. 24, 1821. The treaty officially ended New Spain’s dependence on Old Spain, renamed the nation the Mexican Empire, and declared that the congress was to elect an emperor if no suitable European prince could be found. In one of the ironies of history, a conservative Mexico had gained independence from a temporarily liberal Spain.

El Grito kicked off more than a decade of struggle in which much of Latin America received its independence from Spain, and mid-September to mid-October is a month set aside to honor the achievements of Latinos. In honor of that month, Britannica presents Hispanic Heritage in the Americas, a special feature, which explores the people, places, events, and traditions that have shaped—and continue to shape—the vibrant Hispanic culture that thrives today in South, Central, and North America.

Photo credits (from top to bottom): Encyclopaedia Britannica; Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images; The Granger Collection.

NASA Image of the Day, Sep 16th,,[ 1814 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

Celestial Wonderland

This high forward oblique view of Rima Ariadaeus on the moon was photographed by the Apollo 10 crew in May 1969. Center point coordinates are located at 17 degrees, 5 minutes east longitude and 5 degrees, 0 minutes north latitude. 

The Apollo 10 crew aimed a hand-held 70mm camera at the surface from lunar orbit for a series of images of this area. 

Image Credit: NASA

Πέμπτη, 16 Σεπτέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Japan, Selected Columns..[ 1813 ]

Japan, give us a break!

Commuters crowd Nishitetsu Fukuoka Station in Fukuoka on Aug. 17, after the end of the obon holiday. (Mainichi)

(Mainichi Japan) September 16, 2010

Last week my partner came home and said that she may no longer be able to take a lunch break at work.

Apparently, there is resentment among her co-workers that she leaves the office, while they have to stay and eat "bento."

Why can't they leave too? -- Because someone has to answer the phones during the break.

So why not set up a daily rotation system, allowing most to go out while one person stays behind?

Well, that won't work either because everyone is trying to prove how hard they work.

There isn't the space in these columns to discuss issues in depth, so I'm afraid this will sound like a rant. But please Japan -- give me a break.

Time after time I've been in offices here where people feel under pressure not to take time off, for lunches or anything else.

According to a report by Harris Interactive this year, Japanese workers took off an average of 9.3 of their 16.6 legally mandated vacation days.

As anyone who works here knows, even that remarkable statistic hides a lot of pain. Most office workers contribute dozens of hours per month in unpaid overtime. Many don't get proper dinner breaks and toil away into the evening. More than once I've seen friends arrive at 9 p.m. and congratulate themselves on getting home early.

Is it because everyone is so busy they can't afford time off? Of course not -- productivity in Japanese offices is low. Most people could easily do the work they're assigned in half the time.

The really distressing thing is that bosses don't even have to demand this masochistic behavior from employees here -- workers police themselves.

In my partner's offices, as in many, there's a sort of discreet bullying that keeps everyone in line. A "nani-sama" -- who-does-she-think-she-is -- approach that pulls everyone down to the same miserable level.

It made me sad to walk through Tamachi Station in August after the obon holidays and see the grim faces of people who had managed to extract only three days of holiday from their firms before returning to work.

As the economy declines here, this phenomenon is worsening. And that's very unfortunate because decent breaks and holidays could help Japan.

Reformers in Britain and elsewhere discovered over a century ago that happy employees are motivated, productive employees.

Economists say one of Japan's biggest structural problems is chronic underconsumption, in part because millions of workers have so little opportunity to spend their hard-earned cash.

And one more thing: Giving reasonable working hours to men and women would give them more time to meet, fall in love and rescue Japan from its marriage and fertility crisis.

So what's the downside? If there is one, I can't see it. 

(By David McNeill)

(Profile)

David McNeill writes for The Independent and Irish Times newspapers and the weekly Chronicle of Higher Education. He has been in Japan since 2000 and previously spent two years here, from 1993-95 working on a doctoral thesis. He was raised in Ireland.

BP May Plug Its Gulf of Mexico Well..[ 1812 ]

BP May Plug Its Gulf of Mexico Well in Four Days

By Jim Polson - Sep 15, 2010 8:04 PM GMT+0300 Wed Sep 15 17:04:56 GMT 2010

BP Plc may permanently plug in four days the Gulf of Mexico well that caused the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, National Incident Commander Thad Allen said.

A relief well is less than 25 feet (8 meters) from intercepting the damaged Macondo well and is expected to reach the outer cement shell within 24 hours, perhaps earlier, Allen said at a press conference today in Kenner, Louisiana. The relief well will be used to inject mud and cement into any remaining gaps, permanently killing Macondo. Injecting and testing the cement plug may take as long as four days, he said.

“They are almost touching the well,” Allen said. Operators aboard Transocean Ltd.’s Development Driller III rig are testing a new tool intended to measure the distance to the well while drilling. BP said yesterday the drilling bit had been temporarily withdrawn to check the distance using sensors.

The well began leaking oil after an April 20 explosion and fire that killed 11 workers aboard Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The well gushed an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil before BP capped it on July 15.

BP, based in London, plugged the well’s steel casing with cement in August, and Allen said he wants to assure the space between that casing and the wall that surrounds the hole also is blocked with cement.

Allen also said he’s ordered a “task force” of government, private and academic research vessels to survey a layer of oil more than 3 centimeters (1 inch) thick found Sept. 5 about 16 nautical miles (30 kilometers) from the well by researchers including Samantha Joye, a University of Georgia professor.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Polson in New York at jpolson@bloomberg.net

Self-taught rocketeer's....[ 1811 ]

VBS.TV

Self-taught rocketeer's backyard is Jetson-like reality

By Motherboard.tv staff

September 15, 2010 -- Updated 1536 GMT (2336 HKT)

Man's backyard is Jetson-like reality

• Lozano's other creations include rocket bicycle, rocket motorcycle, personal helicopter

Editor's note: The staff at CNN.com has recently been intrigued by the journalism of VICE, an independent media company and website based in Brooklyn, New York. VBS.TV is Vice's broadband television network. The reports, which are produced solely by VICE, reflect a transparent approach to journalism, where viewers are taken along on every step of the reporting process. We believe this unique reporting approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers.

Brooklyn, New York (VBS.TV) -- Before you complain again about living in 2010 and not yet having a jetpack to fly you to work, consider taking a trip to Mexico. There's only one person in the world who produces a complete flying rocket belt from start to finish -- from the parts to the fuel that powers it. His name is Juan Manuel Lozano and he lives in Cuernavaca, a city two hours south of Mexico City.

So VBS sister technology channel Motherboard.tv traveled to visit him at his company, TAM (Tecnología Aeroespacial Mexicana). A self-taught scientist and inventor whose technologies have traveled the world from Turkey to Switzerland, from Boeing to the U.S. Navy, Lozano considers his biggest achievement not his jetpack, but a machine that produces pure hydrogen peroxide that he uses as fuel for most of his inventions. Apart from his rocket belt, he's assembled a rocket bicycle, rocket motorcycle, rocket dragster and a personal helicopter.

Then there's the hydrogen-peroxide-powered rocket belt. While at least one company has recently promised to bring personal flying machines to market, these conveyances only rely on propellers, not jets. But the real thing ain't cheap. If you can't afford the system, priced at around U.S. $125,000, you can pay him to drop by your party for only $20,000.

See the rest of Backyard Rocketeer at VBS.TV

Among many other projects, Lozano's working with a group of scientists on a car that will run on seawater, converted into hydrogen peroxide by electrolytic cells powered by solar energy. It's a project, he says, that will completely transform transportation and energy in the near future.

Lozano and his daughter -- the only woman to fly a jetpack -- take his creations for test-drives in their backyard. While he couldn't fly for us (he recently broke his ribs and shoulder while taking his rocket bike for a spin at 80 mph), he gave us a tour of his workshop to share with us his favorite machines and a philosophy of invention built on hard work, self-teaching, and lots of jet fuel.

NASA Inage of the Day, Sep 15th..[ 1810 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

The Rosette Nebula

Located about 5,000 light years from Earth, this composite image shows the Rosette star formation region. Data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory are colored red and outlined by a white line. 

The X-rays reveal hundreds of young stars in the central cluster and fainter clusters on either side. Optical data from the Digitized Sky Survey and the Kitt Peak National Observatory (purple, orange, green and blue) show large areas of gas and dust, including giant pillars that remain behind after intense radiation from massive stars has eroded the more diffuse gas. 

A recent Chandra study of the cluster on the right side of the image, named NGC 2237, provides the first probe of the low-mass stars in this satellite cluster. Previously only 36 young stars had been discovered in NGC 2237, but the Chandra work has increased this sample to about 160 stars. 

The presence of several X-ray emitting stars around the pillars and the detection of an outflow -- commonly associated with very young stars -- originating from a dark area of the optical image indicates that star formation is continuing in NGC 2237. 

By combining these results with earlier studies, scientists conclude that the central cluster formed first, followed by expansion of the nebula, which triggered the formation of the two neighboring clusters, including NGC 2237. 

Image Credit: X-ray (NASA/CXC/SAO/J. Wang et al), Optical (DSS & NOAO/AURA/NSF/KPNO 0.9-m/T. Rector et al)

Τετάρτη, 15 Σεπτέμβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ

Storm "Karl" hits Mexico..[ 1809 ]

Tropical Storm Karl hits Mexico, some evacuated

Tropical Storm Karl is seen in a handout image from the NOAA taken September 15, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/NOAA/Handout

By Isela Serrano

 

CANCUN, Mexico | Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:58am EDT

CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Karl hit Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday and was expected to head into the Gulf of Mexico, threatening oil installations and possibly gaining hurricane strength.

Mexico's state-run oil giant Pemex has not yet curtailed any operations but said it would continue to monitor Karl's progress as it approached its vast oil production operations in the Bay of Campeche, in the southern Gulf of Mexico.

Hundreds of people, mostly from Mayan towns and villages, were being evacuated as Karl dumped rain and brought strong winds to the Yucatan, civil protection authorities said.

Majahual, home to a large cruise ship port, and the ecological reserve of Sian Ka'an, near the Mayan ruins of Tulum, were also being affected by the storm.

Karl, the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, had winds of 65 mph with higher gusts. It was expected to cross the Yucatan peninsula on Wednesday and enter the Gulf of Mexico after nightfall.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Karl "is likely to become a hurricane" as it gathers strength in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico on Thursday.

After it moves through the southern Gulf, it is expected to make landfall again at hurricane strength near the Mexican ports of Tampico and Tuxpan by the weekend. Tuxpan is a major oil products import hub.

But Cancun, a top beach destination for U.S. and European tourists, was untouched by the storm, and it was also likely to pass far south of U.S. oil and natural gas platforms in the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for the east coast of the Yucatan peninsula from Chetumal at the Mexico-Belize border northward to Cabo Catoche. This area is known for its white sand beaches and coral reefs.

Karl may bring some coastal flooding as well as large, damaging waves, forecasters said.

Two hurricanes, Igor and Julia, also raced across the Atlantic Ocean but posed no immediate threat to land or energy interests along their projected tracks.

Igor was 1,090 miles southeast of Bermuda and showed signs of weakening overnight but was still a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale with 145 mph winds.

Strengthening overnight, Julia -- 525 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands and moving northwest -- was also a Category 4 hurricane with 132 mph winds. It was farther from land than Igor, a day after developing into the season's fifth hurricane.

(Additional reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz, Robert Campbell in Mexico City. Editing by Kieran Murray)