The Hellenic Navy (HN) (Greek: Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Greek Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy has its roots in the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independence. During the periods of monarchy (1833–1924 and 1936–1973) it was known as the Royal Navy (Βασιλικόν Ναυτικόν, Vasilikón Naftikón, abbreviated ΒΝ).The total displacement of all the navy's vessels is approximately 150,000 tons.The motto of the Hellenic Navy is "Μέγα το της Θαλάσσης Κράτος" from Thucydides' account of Pericles' oration on the eve of the Peloponnesian War. This has been roughly translated as "Great is the country that controls the sea". The Hellenic Navy's emblem consists of an anchor in front of a crossed Christian cross and trident, with the cross symbolizing Greek Orthodoxy, and the trident symbolizing Poseidon, the god of the sea in Greek mythology. Pericles' words are written across the top of the emblem. "The navy, as it represents a necessary weapon for Greece, should only be created for war and aim to victory."...............The Hellenic Merchant Marine refers to the Merchant Marine of Greece, engaged in commerce and transportation of goods and services universally. It consists of the merchant vessels owned by Greek civilians, flying either the Greek flag or a flag of convenience. Greece is a maritime nation by tradition, as shipping is arguably the oldest form of occupation of the Greeks and a key element of Greek economic activity since the ancient times. Nowadays, Greece has the largest merchant fleet in the world, which is the second largest contributor to the national economy after tourism and forms the backbone of world shipping. The Greek fleet flies a variety of flags, however some Greek shipowners gradually return to Greece following the changes to the legislative framework governing their operations and the improvement of infrastructure.Blogger Tips and Tricks
This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς....This is a bilingual blog in English and / or Greek and you can translate any post to any language by pressing on the appropriate flag....Note that there is provided below a scrolling text with the 30 recent posts...Αυτό είναι ένα δίγλωσσο blog στα Αγγλικά η/και στα Ελληνικά και μπορείτε να μεταφράσετε οποιοδήποτε ποστ σε οποιαδήποτε γλώσσα κάνοντας κλικ στη σχετική σημαία. Σημειωτέον ότι παρακάτω παρέχεται και ένα κινούμενο κείμενο με τα 30 πρόσφατα ποστς.........

Thursday, January 27, 2011

What Russian papers say today..[ 2052 ]

Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, January 27, 2011

Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, January 27, 2011
Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, January 27, 2011
© RIA Novosti. Rybchinskiy
08:54,,  27/01/2011
POLITICS
According to a poll by the Levada Center, over 39 percent of Russians believe the current leadership is taking the country in the wrong direction. Medvedev's and Putin's ratings dropped sharply in January
(Vedomosti, Kommersant)
Russian human rights group Memorial lost a legal battle on Wednesday to declassify documents from a probe into the 1940 Soviet massacre of Polish officers at Katyn
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
The Russian Orthodox Church has published a list of "eternal Russian values," - a conceptual outlook on the moral foundations of the country. The draft was developed in cooperation with political parties
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
Russia's Ministry of Justice has denied registration for the Other Russia, an opposition party created by outspoken Kremlin foe Eduard Limonov. Limonov on Wednesday called the decision "repressive"
(Moscow Times)

DEFENSE
Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, ratified the new START nuclear arms pact with the United States on Wednesday, paving the way for the Russian president to sign it into a law
(Moscow Times, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Ukraine has not yet responded to an invitation from the Russian State Duma to take part in a project to build a missile defense network. Observers say Ukrainian politicians are afraid of harming their prospects for European integration.
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev painted a promising picture of Russia's future but seemed to fail to make a stronger case for investing in Russia during his speech at the opening session of the World Economic Forum
(Kommersant)
Russia's Aeroflot airline blames a Swiss company for failing to fulfill an order for chemicals used to de-ice airplanes and causing four days of disrupted flights amid freezing rain at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in December
(Moscow Times)
Only 4 percent of goods are sold through the Internet in Russia. The market is growing steadily, although its success is blemished by poor services and sales of contraband merchandize.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The row over the Bank of Moscow, which could be "swallowed up" by VTB, continues to escalate. Shareholders may soon discuss the possible resignation of the bank's president, Andrei Borodin
(Kommersant)

SOCIETY
President Dmitry Medvedev fired four police officials over Monday's suicide bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport that killed 35
(Moscow Times, Kommersant)
The Russian president has received a new luxury yacht for official use. The Kremlin says the yacht was bought second-hand to replace the Kavkaz vessel that had served Russian presidents for 27 years
(Vedomosti)
Russia's Federal Migration Service has announced plans to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country by banning entry to foreigners who have violated Russian laws more than twice in the past
(Kommersant)

CRIME
The body of U.S. lawyer John Sheedy, 53, was found in his rented apartment on Moscow's downtown Tsvetnoi Bulvar with a plastic bag over his head. An investigation is underway
(Moscow Times)
Russian police are searching for a resident of the Stavropol Territory, who could have masterminded Monday's terrorist attack at Moscow's Domodedovo airport. He is believed to be a former member of a terrorist group which was eliminated in October last year
(Kommersant)

For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.rian.ru.
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Japanese volcano erupting..[2051 ]

Japanese volcano erupting; no evacuations issued

From Junko Ogura, CNN
January 27, 2011 12:12 p.m. EST
The Mt. Shinmoe volcano's most recent eruption, which began Wednesday, is its largest in over 50 years.
The Mt. Shinmoe volcano's most recent eruption, which began Wednesday, is its largest in over 50 years.

Tokyo (CNN) -- A Japanese volcano was erupting for a second day on Thursday, spewing smoke and ash up to 9,800 feet (3,000 meters) into the air, officials said.
The smoke from the Mt. Shinmoe volcano, on the boundary between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, is rising and falling from the volcano crater, said the Kagoshima Meteorological Observatory.
.
Some people in Miyazaki voluntarily evacuated Thursday morning, but all have returned home, and the government has issued no evacuation advice, according to the Miyazaki disaster prevention office. However, the alert level was raised Wednesday to 3. That prevents people from entering the mountain area.
.
The eruption began Wednesday. Smoke was drifting southeast, the observatory said. Ash was seen in Miyakonojo city in Kagoshima prefecture.
.
The last Mt. Shinmoe eruption was in July. A large-scale eruption such as this one, however, was last observed about 52 years ago, the meteorological observatory said.
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Snowstorm again in Norttheast,,..[ 2050 ]

   Snow piles up on snow-weary Northeast  

Published January 27, 2011
| Associated Press
Jan. 26: A snowball fight breaks out at Dupont Circle in Washington in the still-falling snow.
AP: 
A snowball fight breaks out at Dupont Circle in Washington in the still-falling snow.

BOSTON –  Commuters up and down the East Coast began the all-too-familiar task of digging out cars, shoveling sidewalks and slogging and slipping through a treacherous morning commute on Thursday after fast-moving storm moved full-force into the region overnight. Snow was still blowing in parts of New England Thursday morning.
.
The storm brought an icy mix of snow and rain to the region, stranding hundreds of airplane passengers and leaving more than 400,000 customers in and around the nation's capital without power.
Public schools remained closed for a second day Thursday and motorists were warned of dangerous road conditions. In New York City, even the Statue of Liberty was closed for snow removal.
In a region already contending with above-average snowfall this season, the storm that began Wednesday added several more inches. In New York's Central Park, 15.3 inches had fallen as of 1 a.m. Thursday, and 19 inches had fallen in parts of New Jersey, the National Weather Service reported. 
..
Snow was still blowing in New England early Thursday morning. Forecasts called for up to 12 inches in the Boston area, up to eight inches in the Hartford, Conn., area and perhaps 14 inches in areas of Rhode Island before the storm moved on later in the morning. In the Philadelphia area, 12 to 17 inches of snow fell by the time the storm moved out Thursday morning.
In Portsmouth, N.H., workers were nearly out of room to stash their plowed snow.
"We probably have a five-story snow dump right now," said Portsmouth public works director David Allen. "It's time to get a lift up on it and we could probably do a ski run."
In Massachusetts, travel was made trickier with high winds. Gusts of 46 mph were reported in Hyannis, 45 mph in Rockport and 49 mph on Nantucket early Thursday.
.
As the storm approached Wednesday, schools were closed, governments sent workers home early, and commutes were snarled. Cars and buses slipped and slid on highways. Pedestrians struggled across icy patches that were on their way to becoming deep drifts.
The New York area's three major airports, among the nation's busiest, saw more than 1,000 flights canceled. About 1,500 people were stuck overnight at Philadelphia International Airport, where more than 400 flights were canceled Wednesday night.
.
Rain drenched the nation's capital for most of the day and changed to sleet before it started snowing in earnest at mid-afternoon. The snow and icy roads created hazardous conditions for President Barack Obama as he returned to the White House after a post-State of the Union trip to Manitowoc, Wis.
.
Officials urged residents in Washington and Maryland to stay off the roads as snow, thunder and lightning pounded the Mid-Atlantic region. In D.C., Metro transit officials pulled buses off the roads as conditions deteriorated. Firefighters warned the heavy snow was bringing down power lines and causing outages.
In Pennsylvania, residents hunkered down as a one-two punch of the winter storm brought snow, sleet, and then more snow. More than a foot fell in Philadelphia overnight.
.
Since Dec. 14, snow has fallen eight times on the New York region — or an average of about once every five days. That includes the blizzard that dropped 20 inches on New York City and paralyzed travel after Christmas. When the snows arrived Wednesday, the city had already seen 36 inches of snow this season in comparison with the full-winter average of 21 inches.
.
The city declared a weather emergency for the second time since the Dec. 26 storm, which trapped hundreds of buses and ambulances and caused a political crisis for the mayor. An emergency declaration means any car blocking roads or impeding snowplows can be towed at the owner's expense.
In suburban Silver Spring, Md., nurse Tiffany Horairy said as she waited for a bus that she was getting tired of the constant pecking of minor or moderate storms.
.
"I'd rather get something like last year, with all the snow at once," she said.
Through Tuesday, Boston had received 50.4 inches of snow, a nearly 270 percent increase over normal snowfalls of 18.8 inches at the same time in the season. The central Massachusetts city of Worcester had gotten 49.3 inches while the norm is 28.7 inches. Providence, R.I., had recorded 31.7 inches for the season, twice the norm of 15.7 inches. Bradley International Airport in Connecticut had gotten 59.1 inches of snow, more than double the normal 22.8 inches, the National Weather Service has said.
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Frank Eltman in Garden City, N.Y.; Ula Ilnytzky in New York; Lynne Tuohy in Concord, N.H.; Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn.; Angie Yack, Erin Vanderberg and Patrick Walters in Philadelphia; and Sarah Brumfeld in Silver Spring, Md.
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

NASA Image of thr Day, Jan 26th., ..[ 2049 ]

The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.

An image taken from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's PanCam at the spacecraft's landing site shows the nearby hills named after the crew of Apollo 1--Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee. 
 ,
The crew perished in flash fire during a launch pad test of the spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 27, 1967. "Grissom Hill" is located 4.7 miles to the southwest of the rover Spirit's landing site.
,
"White Hill" is 7 miles to the northwest and "Chaffee Hill" is 8.9 miles to the south-southwest. 
 
 
Image Credit: NASA
Τετάρτη, 26 Ιανουάριος 2011 7:00:00 πμ
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Runaway star...[ 2048 ]

Nasa captures runaway star

A NASA space telescope has captured the shockwave caused by a runaway star.

The blue star near the center of this image provided by NASA Monday Jan. 24, 2011 is Zeta Ophiuchi.
The blue star near the centre of this image is Zeta Ophiuchi Photo: AP
Telegraph., 10:22AM GMT 26 Jan 2011

The massive star is racing at 54,000 mph through a cloud of dust and gas.
NASA used an orbiting observatory called WISE that sees the sky in infrared light.
It recorded the yellow arc as its powerful stellar winds push the gas and dust out of the way.
Astronomers believe the star, labelled Zeta in the constellation of Ophiuchus the snake charmer, once revolved around another star.
But its companion exploded as a violent supernova, flinging Zeta out into deep space.
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Zeta Ophiuchi, as it is known, is a very massive hot blue star that is 65,000 times brighter than our own Sun and 20 times its size.
It lies 458 light years away and would appear brighter in the night sky if it were not shrouded by the gas and dust.
But its expected eight million year lifespan is far shorter than that of our sun, which is expected to burn for 10 billion years.
Like its long-lost companion, it will then blow itself to pieces in a supernova blast too.
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