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Thursday, October 21, 2010
US Arms Salew ti Saudi Arabia..[ 1907 ]
US Confirms $60 Billion Arms Sales Package for Saudi Arabia
Photo: US Air Force / An F-15 fighter jet (file photo)
David Gollust | State Department 20 October 2010
The Obama administration announced plans Wednesday to sell up to $60 billion worth of advanced fighter aircraft, helicopters and related weapons systems to Saudi Arabia. The package is aimed at helping Saudi Arabia deal with potential threats from Iran and regional terrorism.
Saudi Arabia will purchase a huge fleet of nearly 200 Apache, Blackhawk and other U.S. military helicopters, along with a vast array of radar systems, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, and guided bombs.
Officials put the total value of the sales package at as much as $60 billion but said it could be less if Saudi Arabia elects not to exercise purchase options over the 15 to 20 year span of the deal.
At a press event announcing the sale, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said it reinforces the existing long-term U.S. military relationship with Saudi Arabia.
Shapiro said a potentially-nuclear armed Iran is one threat the package is designed to deter, but that there are others, including terrorist threats to Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, and border problems such as recent incursions of tribal militants from Yemen.
"It's not solely about Iran. It's about helping the Saudis with their legitimate security needs, and they have a number of legitimate security needs. They live in a dangerous neighborhood and we are helping them preserve and protect their security in a dangerous neighborhood against legitimate security threats," said Shapiro.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Alexander Vershbow said the buildup of Saudi capabilities could eventually reduce the need for U.S. military deployments in the Gulf region.
"When one looks at future challenges, having allies throughout the Gulf region who are inter-operable with U.S. forces, who are capable, who have trained together with our forces, it means we have partners and allies we can look to in future contingencies," said Vershbow. "So it means we may have to station fewer forces on a continuing basis in the region."
Vershbow said the United States has had high-level consultations with Israeli officials on the pending sale, and that Israel does not object to it.
Israel has long had U.S. F-15 fighters in its arsenal and recently has committed to purchase new F-35 strike fighter jets, which U.S. officials say will preserve Israel's qualitative military advantage in the Middle East.
The U.S. Congress could block the Saudi arms deal. Assistant Secretary Shapiro said, however, that contacts with key House and Senate leaders make administration officials confident that Congress will not be a barrier to the completion of the sale.
NASA Image of the Day, Oct 20th..[ 1906 ]
The latest NASA "Image of the Day" image.
On Oct. 7, 2010, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, observed its first lunar transit when the new moon passed directly between the spacecraft (in its geosynchronous orbit) and the sun.
With SDO watching the sun in a wavelength of extreme ultraviolet light, the dark moon created a partial eclipse of the sun.
Image Credit: NASA
Τετάρτη, 20 Οκτώβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ
Τετάρτη, 20 Οκτώβριος 2010 7:00:00 πμ
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
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
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.
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
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.
References
- 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.
- Eberhart-Phillips, D., et al. (2003). The 2002 Denali Fault earthquake, Alaska: A large magnitude, slip-partitioned event. Science, 300(5622), 1113–1118.
- Photojournal. (2010, September 7). Susitna Glacier, Alaska. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Accessed October 19, 2010.
- 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
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