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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Professor PZ Myers, a biologist at the University of Minnesota Morris in the United States, has been receiving email threats for a post made on his Pharyngula blog in support of a University of Central Florida student who took a consecrated host from a Catholic Mass in protest of the church activities. The student began receiving death threats and response, Myers said it was just a “cracker” and if any of his readers could acquire some consecrated Eucharistic hosts he would treat the wafers “with profound disrespect and heinous cracker abuse, all photographed and presented here on the web.” The criticism was fed in part by a press release by the Catholic League and its President Bill Donohue.

“It is hard to think of anything more vile than to intentionally desecrate the Body of Christ. We look to those who have oversight responsibility to act quickly and decisively,” Donuhue said in the press release. After consecration, the wafers become the Body of Christ, in the view of Catholics, through a process known as transubstantiation.

After the press release, Myers started receiving death threats. In response to the large number of threats, Myers began posting the entire emails, including IP information. One email in particular was sent from the work account of Melanie Kroll at 1-800-Flowers in Brookhaven, New York that told Myers: “[Y]ou can quit your job for the good of the children. Or you can get your brains beat in.”

Posters on his blog contacted the company alerting them to the threat. Subsequently, after an investigation the company fired Kroll. It was later revealed that it was not her, but Charles (Chuck) Kroll, her husband, who sent the email from the default address on her computer.

Greg Laden of ScienceBlogs says that he received an email, which he believes is from Chuck Kroll. In it, Chuck confirms that Melanie was fired. He regrets sending a “moronic” email and explains how he accidentally sent it from the work account of his wife instead of his own home account, both of which are on the same computer. Chuck also accused Myers of unfairly targeting Christianity without the same critique of Islam and blames Myers for his wife’s firing.

According to IDG News Service, Myers said: “This was not my intent to get somebody fired.” He continued, “She apparently did something stupid, which I don’t have sympathy for. I would just rather not see people getting fired over an e-mail message.”

Monday, May 31, 2010

Between nine and nineteen Free Gaza Movement activists died today in international waters when Israeli Defense Force commandos boarded vessels attempting to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

Benjamin Netanyahu gave the death toll to be at least 10. Israeli television says that 19 people were killed and 36 were wounded in the confrontation.

The six vessels, called the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, were carrying 10,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid destined for the Gaza Strip, including water purifiers, prefabricated homes and medical equipment. Passengers include several European members of parliament and MPs from Germany, Belgium, Algeria and Israel.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said that “the organizers are well-known for their ties with global jihad, al-Qaida and Hamas. They have a history of arms smuggling and deadly terror.” The Israeli military had declared it would not allow the ships to reach Gaza and said the activists were a “provocation intended to delegitimise Israel”. The Israeli Navy had been transmitting messages throughout the night ordering them to turn back, stating: “If you ignore this order and enter the blockaded area, the Israeli navy will be forced to take all the necessary measures in order to enforce this blockade,” and that the Gaza region was a protected military zone.

Huwaida Arraf, one of the organizers, had said that the flotilla was “fully prepared for the different scenarios” that might arise, and organizers were hopeful that Israeli authorities would “do what’s right” and not stop the convoy. She said, “we fully intend to go to Gaza regardless of any intimidation of threats of violence against us,” and that “they are going to have to forcefully stop us.”

The pre-dawn boarding took place in international waters around 150 kilometres (90 miles) off the coast of Gaza. Footage from on the flotilla’s lead vessel, the MV Mavi Marmara, and video released by the IDF, showed armed Israeli commandos boarding the ship from helicopters and fighting with activists. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the activists attacked the commandos with batons, knives and axes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said;

A spokesman for the flotilla, Greta Berlin accused Israeli troops of indiscriminately shooting at “unarmed civilians”. Israel said troops found weapons aboard the Gaza flotilla which were used against the IDF. The allegations were rejected by both the Free Gaza Movement, IHH and Egypt’s foreign minister, who said the boats had been searched before they left port.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon said he was “shocked by reports of killings and injuries of people on boats carrying supplies for Gaza” and called for “a full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place” and urged Israel to “urgently provide a full explanation”. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for three days of mourning to commemorate what he called the “massacre” of protesters. Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader in Gaza, has dubbed the Israeli action as “a crime”.

Turkey’s prime minister describes Israeli raid as ‘state terrorism’ and said Israel violated international laws. Some of the ships were sailing under Turkish flags and media reports indicate that Turkish nationals are among the dead. Turkey demanded an “urgent explanation” from Israel and warned of “irreparable consequences” after the incident. Netanyahu said the raid was self defense. Turkey is withdrawing its ambassador to Israel and is calling on the U.N. Security Council to convene in an emergency session about Israel.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, has called on Israeli authorities to launch a “full inquiry” into the killing. She “reiterates the European Union’s position regarding Gaza – the continued policy of closure is unacceptable and politically counterproductive.” Germany’s Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said he was “deeply concerned” and France said “nothing can justify” the incident. Sweden, Austria, Greece and Spain have said it was important to “quickly establish” what happened, and have summoned the Israeli ambassadors.

The British Foreign Secretary William Hague has called on the Government of Israel to open all crossings for aid to enter Gaza and said Israel should “address the serious concerns about the deterioration in the humanitarian and economic situation and about the effect on a generation of young Palestinians?.” Russia calls attention to the fact that the Israeli interception of a Gaza-bound international aid flotilla took place in international waters, which it said represents a gross violation of international law.

European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek has urged the international Middle East mediators Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union to persuade Israel to end its blockade of Gaza. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Europe. In Greece and France there was clashes with police. There were protests in cities around the Ireland, UK and Italy. In the Middle East there were protests in Turkey, Lebanon and Iran.

The White House said that the United States “deeply regrets” the loss of life and injuries and was working to understand the circumstances surrounding this “tragedy”. The Organization of the Islamic Conference, comprising of 57 countries, described the flotilla incident as “a serious escalation and a flagrant violation of the international law and human values.”

The media has not been given access to the politicians, activists and journalists who were in the convoy or information about deaths and injuries. Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld police say it will deport the roughly 50 of the 671 activists in the flotilla except those who refuse to cooperate. The other activists have been sent to jail in the southern desert town of Beersheba after refusing to identify themselves and will remain in detention.

Irishman Dennis Halliday, a former assistant secretary general of the United Nations and the Northern Irish Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, are aboard the only boat left in the convoy, the Irish MV Rachel Corrie vessel, named after Rachel Corrie. The vessel is now on the way to the Gaza Strip. The Irish Prime Minister Mr Cowen said he believed Israel’s blockade of humanitarian assistance to Gaza was illegal under international law.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

According to scientists, the land territory of Russia has expanded by about 4.5 square kilometres within the last few years in the Far East due to seismic and volcanic activity.

The gained land was recorded in the Sakhalin Peninsula. Boris Levin, head of the Institute for Sea Geology and Geophysics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that the increase happened primarily due to two seismic events.

The first, in August of 2007, was when a heavy 6.8 earthquake near the city of Nevelsk in the Far East raised about three square kilometres of seabed above the level of the water. The second was in June of this year, when the Sarychev Peak volcano on the Matua Island erupted. GPS trackers on the Matua island were used to monitor the eruption, and the volcano changed its shape, adding 1.5 square kilometres of land, scientists said.

Geologists also reported that the Kuril Islands nearby were slowly moving towards mainland Russia at an estimated rate of eighteen milimetres per year.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Red Bull Racing driver, Sebastian Vettel won the FIA Formula One 2009 Santander British Grand Prix from pole at the Silverstone Circuit, Northamptonshire, England. His teammate, Mark Webber, came second.

As the current leader of this season Jenson Button started sixth on the grid of his home Grand Prix, his Brawn–Mercedes teammate Rubens Barrichello took third joining Red Bull’s drivers on the podium.

Felipe Massa came fourth for Ferrari) despite starting eleventh. Jenson Button came very close to Massa and and Nico Rosberg from Williams but was unable to pass them and came only sixth gaining three points for the Brawn team.

Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) closed the top eight.

Trulli’s teammate, Timo Glock came ninth with Giancarlo Fisichella on his back – a good result for the Force India team.

Jenson Button still leads the drivers’ standings with 64 points so far, 23 points ahead of his teammate and 25 ahead of Vettel. The constructor’s championship is topped by Brawn GP with more than a hundred points, Red Bull follows 30.5 points behind.

This year the British Grand Prix was expected to be the last held at Silverstone as Donington Park continues reconstruction to meet Formula One next year.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Indonesian state-owned flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has been expanding, with the airline set to add nine new jets to its fleet and double its flights between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. Garuda is also considering a bid for defunct rival Linus Airways.

Garuda is expecting the imminent arrival of four new Airbus jets and five new Boeings. The Airbuses, A330-200s, are earmarked to fly international routes to Seoul and Shanghai starting in July. All four have Internet and telephone access for passengers. The Boeings, B737-800 Next Generation aircraft, are due to be in service by the 2010.

Also planned before the year’s end is the increase in flights on the Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur route from one to two per week. “We saw our current load factor[s] have reached 75 percent and even more during school breaks like June and July,” Said the company’s Vice President for Network Oversight, Risnandi. “This is very promising.”

Garuda is now reported to be considering a bid for Linus, who stopped operating on April 27 and have recently been stripped of the rights to fly their former routes as legally required for airlines that do not operate for more than thrity days. Linus still holds some documents of worth to Garuda for transfer to their subisidiary Citilink.

“I heard that Garuda intends to buy Linus who already hold an aviation business license (SIUP) and an air operators certificate (AOC) for the scheduled air services,” said Indonesian Director General of Civil aviation Herry Bakti S. Gumay to reporters for Bisnis Indonesia. He said that his office was in favour of a takeover by Garuda because foreign bids are limited to holding a maximum total of 49% of the shares in Linus.

Linus Airways’ President Directer Indra said that “we are flexible to acquisition, depending on the investor. If someone wants to buy 100% of the shares we can release our shares, but if someone wants take only a majority shareholding with us as a partner – we are also open.” Indra commented that he has had an informal meeting with Garuda CEO Emirsyah Satar but says that they never discussed acquisition by Garuda and that Linus is already in talks with another ‘strategic investor’ with a view to resuming operations.

Two airlines, Riau Airlines and Kartika Airlines, have both launched bids for the ten routes formally operated by Linus, which include four from Jakarta and three from Batam.

Garuda Indonesia’s Financial Direcotr Eddy Purwanto has anounced that US$650 million worth of loans from Bank Mandiri have been restructured. Garuda, who has apointed Rothschild’s as their international financial advisors, will now pay US$450 million by 2015.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Giving a cow a name and treating her as an individual with “more personal touch” can increase milk production, so says a scientific research published in the online “Anthrozoos,” which is described as a “multidisciplinary journal of the interactions of people and animals”.

The Newcastle University‘s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development’s (of the Newcastle University Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering) researchers have found that farmers who named their dairy cattle Ermintrude, Daisy, La vache qui rit, Buttercup, Betsy, or Gertrude, improved their overall milk yield by almost 500 pints (284 liters) annually. It means therefore, an average-sized dairy farm’s production increases by an extra 6,800 gallons a year.

“Just as people respond better to the personal touch, cows also feel happier and more relaxed if they are given a bit more one-to-one attention,” said Dr Catherine Douglas, lead researcher of the university’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. “By placing more importance on the individual, such as calling a cow by her name or interacting with the animal more as it grows up, we can not only improve the animal’s welfare and her perception of humans, but also increase milk production,” she added.

Drs Douglas and Peter Rowlinson have submitted the paper’s conclusion: “What our study shows is what many good, caring farmers have long since believed. Our data suggests that, on the whole, UK dairy farmers regard their cows as intelligent beings capable of experiencing a range of emotions.” The scientific paper also finds that “if cows are slightly fearful of humans, they could produce [the hormone] cortisol, which suppresses milk production,” Douglas noted. “Farmers who have named their cows, probably have a better relationship with them. They’re less fearful, more relaxed and less stressed, so that could have an effect on milk yield,” she added.

South Norfolk goldtop-milk producer Su Mahon, one of the country’s top breeder of Jersey dairy herds, agreed with Newcastle’s findings. “We treat all our cows like one of the family and maybe that’s why we produce more milk,” said Mrs Mahon. “The Jersey has got a mind of its own and is very intelligent. We had a cow called Florence who opened all the gates and we had to get the welder to put catches on to stop her. One of our customers asked me the other day: ‘Do your cows really know their names?’ I said: I really haven’t a clue. We always call them by their names – Florence or whatever. But whether they really do, goodness knows,” she added.

The researchers’ comparative study of production from the country’s National Milk Records reveals that “dairy farmers who reported calling their cows by name got 2,105 gallons (7,938 liters) out of their cows, compared with 2,029 gallons (7,680 liters) per 10-month lactation cycle, and regardless of the farm size or how much the cows were fed. (Some 46 percent of the farmers named their cows.)”

The Newcastle University team which has interviewed 516 UK dairy farmers, has discovered that almost half – 48% – called the cows by name, thereby cutting stress levels and reported a higher milk yield, than the 54% that did not give their cattle names and treated as just one of a herd. The study also reveals cows were made more docile while being milked.

“We love our cows here at Eachwick, and every one of them has a name,” said Dennis Gibb, with his brother Richard who co-owns Eachwick Red House Farm outside of Newcastle. “Collectively, we refer to them as ‘our ladies,’ but we know every one of them and each one has her own personality. They aren’t just our livelihood, they’re part of the family,” Gibb explained.

“My brother-in-law Bobby milks the cows and nearly all of them have their own name, which is quite something when there are about 200 of them. He would be quite happy to talk about every one of them. I think this research is great but I am not at all surprised by it. When you are working with cows on a daily basis you do get to know them individually and give then names.” Jackie Maxwell noted. Jackie and her husband Neill jointly operate the award-winning Doddington Dairy at Wooler, Doddington, Northumberland, which makes organic ice cream and cheeses with milk from its own Friesian cows.

But Marcia Endres, a University of Minnesota associate professor of dairy science, has criticized the Newcastle finding. “Individual care is important and could make a difference in health and productivity. But I would not necessarily say that just giving cows a name would be a foolproof indicator of better care,” she noted. According to a 2007 The Scientist article, named or otherwise, dairy cattle make six times more milk today than they did in the 1990s. “One reason is growth hormone that many U.S. farmers now inject their cows with to increase their milk output; another is milking practices that extend farther into cows’ pregnancies, according to the article; selective breeding also makes for lots of lactation,” it states.

Critics claimed the research was flawed and confused a correlation with causation. “Basically they asked farmers how to get more milk and whatever half the farmers said was the conclusion,” said Hank Campbell, author of Scientific Blogging. In 1996, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs provided for a complex new cattle passport system where farmers were issued with passport identities. The first calf born under the new regime were given names like “UK121216100001.”

Dr Douglas, however, counters that England doesn’t permit dairy cattle to be injected hormones. The European Union and Canada have banned recombinant bovine growth hormone (rGBH), which increases mastitis infection, requiring antibiotics treatment of infected animals. According to the Center for Food Safety, rGBH-treated cows also have higher levels of the hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), which may be associated with cancer.

In August 2008, Live Science published a study which revealed that cows have strange sixth sense of magnetic direction and are not as prone to cow-tipping. It cited a study of Google Earth satellite images which shows that “herds of cattle tend to face in the north-south direction of Earth’s magnetic lines while grazing or resting.”

Newcastle University is a research intensive university in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England. It was established as a School of Medicine and Surgery in 1834 and became the “University of Newcastle upon Tyne” by an Act of Parliament in August 1963.

The School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development is a school of the Newcastle University Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, a faculty of Newcastle University. It was established in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne as the College of Physical Science in 1871 for the teaching of physical sciences, and was part of Durham University. It existed until 1937 when it joined the College of Medicine to form King’s College, Durham.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A man living in South Wales, United Kingdom was ordered to destroy his entire music collection after creating a ruckus by listening to the music at an extremely high volume. Police seized his stereo equipment in a raid.Karl Wiosna, a 44-year-old resident of Graig in Pontypridd, was playing Cher‘s album Believe at extremely high volume. His neighbours complained under the Environmental Protection Act and he was warned not to play the album at such high volume. However, he thought the warning was only for the Cher album, and he then started to listen to a U2 album a week later. His neighbors said they could hear the lyrics in their living room.

Before the Rhondda Magistrates’ Court Wiosna admitted breaching the noise abatement notice, with which he was served. He was ordered to pay a £200 fine. He was also ordered to pay £50 in costs, £15 in victim surcharge, and to destroy his music collection.

“They took £500 to £600 worth of stuff,” complained Wiosna. “I don’t think they should be able to do it, it isn’t right.”

“A legal notice under the Environmental Protection Act was served on Wiosna demanding he reduce the volume or stop playing music,” read a statement by the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. “Just a week after the legal notice was received, officers were called to the address during an out-of-hours emergency by a neighbour.”

“In this case, the swift and effective actions of environmental health officers enabled the issue to be dealt with and I hope it serves as a reminder to others, that we can take them to court and seize their belongings if they do not cease causing a nuisance to others,” said Councillor Mike Forey, the cabinet member for environmental health.