Hi-tech experts ..[ 1905 ]

Russian hi-tech experts to visit U.S.

A delegation of experts from Russia's Rosnano hi-tech government corporation will visit the United States on October 20-22, Rosnano said on its website.

 TREND //// ., 20 Oct 2010

The visit will take place within a meeting of the U.S.-Russia Business Council (USRBC) scheduled to take place on October 20-21 in San Francisco, RIA Novosti reported.

Innovations, their role in the modernization of Russia's economy and Russian-U.S. cooperation in the high-tech sphere will be a focus of talks between Rosnano officials and their U.S. colleagues.

During the meeting, Rosnano chief Anatoly Chubais will deliver a report on cooperation between Rosnano, venture funds based in the Silicon Valley and U.S. high-tech companies.

Russian President Medvedev, who seeks to diversify the Russian economy by reducing its dependence on oil and gas exports, has made developing hi-tech sectors and encouraging research the focal point of his economic agenda.

The Russian government approved in March 2006 a program to create technoparks to incorporate high-tech enterprises in the sectors of nano- and bio-information, and other types of technology, as well as scientific research organizations, educational institutions and other related ventures.

Skolkovo, dubbed Russia's Silicon Valley, is being built from scratch just 20 kilometers west of Moscow. The hub will focus on five research areas: energy, information technologies, communication, biomedical research and nuclear technologies.

Glaciers flow downhill,..[ 1904 ]

Susitna Glacier, Alaska

Google Earth file (25 KB, KML) acquired August 27, 2009

 

 

Posted October 20, 2010

  

Like rivers of liquid water, glaciers flow downhill, tributaries joining to form larger rivers. But where water would rush, ice crawls. As a result, glaciers gather dust and dirt, and bear long-lasting evidence of past movements. That was the case on Alaska’s Susitna Glacier on August 27, 2009, when the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite passed overhead.

This false-color image looks similar to an areal photograph, except that vegetation is red. Susitna Glacier’s surface is marbled, combining dirt-free pale blue and dirt-coated dark brown ice. Infusions of relatively clean ice push into the glacier from tributaries flowing from the north. The glacier surface appears especially complex near the center of the image, where ice from a tributary has pushed ice in the main glacier slightly southward.

A photograph taken by the U.S. Geological Survey and archived by the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows an equally complicated surface of Susitna Glacier in 1970, with dirt-free and dirt-encrusted surfaces forming stripes, curves, and U-turns.

Susitna Glacier flows over a seismically active area. In fact, a 7.9-magnitude quake struck the region in November 2002, along the previously unknown Susitna Glacier fault. Although geologists surmised that this and other earthquakes left steep cliffs and slopes on the glacier surface, the complex glacial surface apparent in this image results from surges of tributary glaciers.

Glacier surges—typically short-lived events where a glacier moves many times its normal rate—can occur when meltwater accumulates at the base of the glacier. The water provides lubrication that quickens flow. This water may be supplied by meltwater lakes that accumulate on top of the glacier, and melt ponds appear on the Susitna Glacier, in the lower left corner of this image. The nature of the underlying bedrock might also contribute to glacier surges, with soft, easily deformed rock leading to more frequent surges.

1. References

2. Crone, A.J., et al. (2004). The Susitna Glacier thrust fault: Characteristics of surface ruptures on the fault that initiated the 2002 Denali Fault earthquake. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 94(6B), S5–S22.
3. Eberhart-Phillips, D., et al. (2003). The 2002 Denali Fault earthquake, Alaska: A large magnitude, slip-partitioned event. Science, 300(5622), 1113–1118.
4. Photojournal. (2010, September 7). Susitna Glacier, Alaska. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Accessed October 19, 2010.
5. U.S. Geological Survey. (1990). Largest rivers in the United States. (PDF file). Accessed October 19, 2010.

NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using data provided courtesy of NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: Terra - ASTER

B, Obama 'will not visit Golden Temple..[ 1903 ]

Barack Obama 'will not visit Golden Temple over Muslim photo fears'

Barack Obama has reportedly abandoned plans to visit Amritsar's Golden Temple during his visit next month to India over fears photographs of him with his head covered would revive false claims that he is a Muslim.

 

By Dean Nelson in New Delhi
Telegraph co. uk.,: 11:00PM BST 19 Oct 2010

According to Indian officials, Barack Obama's plans to visit Amritsar have been abandoned because of 'logistical' problems Photo: ALAMY

Members of Mr Obama's White House team reportedly visited India last month and told Indian officials they were concerned that if the president wore the traditional headscarf during a visit to the Golden Temple, the photographs might be used to portray him as a Muslim, according to the New Delhi-based Indian Express.

Mr Obama, whose father was a non-observant Muslim, has been dogged by rumours regarding his faith since his battle for the Democratic presidential nomination against Hillary Clinton in 2008. He has highlighted the fact that his middle name is Hussein at times to boost his credibility abroad since becoming president.

 

In August, a poll conducted by Time magazine found that almost one in four Americans thought he was a follower of Islam. The results came days after he waded into the dispute over controversial plans to build a mosque near the site of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

Temple sources said on Tuesday three teams of officials from the US embassy in New Delhi had visited them in the last six weeks but they were unaware there was any concern over wearing a headscarf.

According to the Express, one American official had told his Indian counterparts that Mr Obama had to remind the United States "each day that he should not be mistaken for Muslim just because his middle name is Hussein."

A compromise was reportedly explored in which the president might wear a "modified baseball cap" but it is unclear whether this would have been acceptable to Sikh traditionalists.

The temple's head priest Giani Gurbachan Singh was quoted saying a baseball cap would not be allowed, but Dalmir Singh, secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee, the Sikh governing body, said the president could wear anything to cover his head.

"Whatever he wishes to wear, he can. Our concern is to make sure he does. We don't have problem even if he wears a baseball cap or Muslim skull cap. We are all set to welcome him. It will a great honour. If the visit is cancelled just because of American politics, its will be disheartening," he said.

But according to Indian officials, plans to visit Amritsar have been abandoned because of "logistical" problems.

A spokesman for the American Embassy in New Delhi said no plans to visit Amritsar had ever been announced and there would be no comment on whether wearing a headscarf had been a consideration. "We are not in a position to say whether there was a discussion about it," she said.

Mr Obama last month spoke at length about his faith during a visit to New Mexico when he was asked why he was a Christian. The president said he had chosen Christianity as an adult because "the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead – being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me," Mr Obama said, adding that his public service is "part of that effort to express my Christian faith.

London :Tube in second day of travel misery ..[ 1902 ]

on confirms deep defence cuts.....   Saudi prince convicted of murder.....   £250 fine for cat wheelie bin woman.....   Six dead as parliament stormed.....   July 7 victim hailed over 2012 hope.....   Unions warn Government over cuts.....   New row in BA cabin crew dispute.....   Missing malaria trial nurse found.....   Wrong organs removed due to errors.....   WI in hunt for Jerusalem chorus.....   

800 walk along track as Tube is evacuated in second day of travel misery

Benedict Moore-Bridger and Dick Murray
Standard co. uk.,19.10.10

 

Black hell: passengers on Victoria line

KONDON : Hundreds of Tube passengers were forced to walk along the track to safety today after a train broke down in a second day of chaos.

Up to 800 commuters were evacuated from the Victoria line after the “defective” engine left them stranded underground for two hours.

Three other trains were also stranded by the breakdown between Seven Sisters and Finsbury Park. The drivers of the three trains were able to reverse to Seven Sisters station to allow the passengers to get off.

The incident comes the day after thousands of passengers were forced to escape through tunnels on the Jubilee line.

Today passengers forced to walk through the track in near darkness expressed their anger.

Writing on Twitter, Jon Salt said: “People stuck for 2 hours underground on Victoria Line as another new train breaks down. Have to walk the tracks. This is becoming a scandal.”

Another passenger, Tatjana Bond, said: “Was just evacuated from victoria line train which was stuck between seven sisters and finsbury park stations. Has missed lecture and seminar.”

Jo de Bank, from passenger watchdog London TravelWatch, said Transport For London needed to do better.

She said: “Clearly it has been a terrible two days for passengers and walking along the Tube tracks is particularly upsetting. We expect TfL to look into this closely. It highlights how vital investment is. The Tube system is creaking at the seams and passengers can't afford for it to continue.”

There was also misery on other lines today when the entire Circle line was suspended, the Northern line partly suspended and the District, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines disrupted.

A Transport for London spokesman apologised, saying said: “We apologise for the disrupted journeys that some passengers will have faced this morning, caused by a signal failure on the Circle line, a track problem on the Northern line and a defective train on the Victoria line.

“The problems demonstrate the need for ongoing investment in our Tube services and infrastructure.”

Sue Singleton, from commercial law firm Singletons, said passengers should try to claim compensation for “all reasonable losses”. She said: “You may have missed billing clients for a few hours which could cost hundreds of pounds, or if you had to get a taxi or pay a babysitter an extra hour — people should try to claim for all that.”

Typhoon Megi to exit Philippines ..[ 1901 ]

Megi to exit Philippines Wednesday, leaving behind a trail of destruction Xinhua/AFP., English.news.cn   2010-10-19 19:35 Houses are seen submerged by flooding due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Megi in Baguio City, Benguet province, north of Manila on October 19. Thousands of people sheltered in evacuation centres as Typhoon Megi dumped heavy rains across the Philippines' main island, a day after the ferocious storm took 10 lives. (Xinhua/AFP) By Prime Sarmiento BAGUIO CITY, Philippines, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Supertyphoon Megi, which ripped through northern Philippines Monday, is heading to South China Sea, leaving 10 people dead and thousands of homes, crops and properties damaged. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Tuesday that Megi may exit the country Wednesday. But the strongest typhoon to hit the country in the last four years has left behind a trail of destruction. Strong winds toppled electric posts spurring widespread power outages in most provinces in northern Philippines. The uprooted trees flattened houses and killed several people. According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the typhoon killed 10 people and injured 12 others. The downpour inundated key farm areas in the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and Central Luzon regions. Salvador Salacup, assistant secretary in the agriculture department, said initial estimates showed that Megi damaged 70,500 tons of rice and 33,000 tons of corn, prompting agriculture officials to review production targets for the year. But the National Food Authority (NFA) assured that there's enough rice stocks and there is no need to import rice to meet the rest of the year's requirement. According to NFA Administrator Lito Banayo, NFA's rice inventory at present stands at 37.5 million bags, sufficient for the country's food security need for 52 days or until the middle of December. The heavy rains also triggered landslides in the mountainous areas of the Cordillera region, forcing thousands of its residents to leave their homes. According to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), about 658 families or 2,903 individuals are now residing in various evacuation centers in Benguet, Kalinga and Mountain Province. Main roads in the provinces of Benguet, Kalinga, Apayao and Mountain Province remain impassable owing to the landslide, but the OCD said that the clearing of debris is ongoing as the weather improves. The OCD also reported that one gate of Ambuklao and Binga hydroelectric plants in Benguet province have to be opened to release some water and prevent them from overflowing. In the province of Isabela, at least four towns have been isolated due to Megi's onslaught. Isabela Governor Faustino Dy said the towns of Maconacon, Palanan, Dinapigue and Palanan can not be accessed by sea or by air due to the prevailing inclement weather. Editor: Wang Guanqun