bananas
bananas's JournalLeonard Nimoy sent a telegram to JFK urging him to rethink nuclear space tests
Source: Mashable
Before Leonard Nimoy played the iconic role of Spock on Star Trek, he was already an advocate for the preservation of outer space, as well as life on Earth.
In July 1962, the United States was preparing to test a hydrogen bomb by detonating it in outer space, 250 miles above the Pacific Ocean, as part of the Starfish Prime nuclear test. Nimoy, it seems, believed this was a bad idea, and that then-President John F. Kennedy should think twice about it.
Among the artifacts at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston is a small pink telegram with a simple message of peace from Nimoy and his wife Sandra to Kennedy, urging the president to cancel the bomb's detonation.
In it, Nimoy calls on Kennedy "in the name of decency" to avoid polluting the environment with a bomb, and to preserve children's right to "breathe clean air."
In a telegram, #LeonardNimoy pleads with JFK for a safer planet. pic.twitter.com/u609le4xPK
— JFK Library (@JFKLibrary) February 27, 2015
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Read more: http://mashable.com/2015/02/27/leonard-nimoy-jfk-telegram-nuclear-space-tests/
Russia Moves to Support ISS through 2024, Create New Space Station
Source: Planetary Society
The future of the International Space Station is a little clearer this week, following a statement from Russia supporting an extension of the orbiting complex through 2024. The move aligns the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, with NASA—which already said it would continue station operations through the same period.
Following a meeting of the Roscosmos Scientific and Technical Council, or NTS, a statement was released describing a plan to add new modules to the ISS but then remove them around 2024 to create a new Russian space station.
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Until now, NASA was the only agency that had signaled it would keep the station operating beyond 2020. A decision on continued involvement from Europe, Japan and Canada may not come until next year.
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The Roscosmos statement also said the Russians would aim for crewed moon landings around 2030, but no further details were given.
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Read more: http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/2015/20250226-russia-iss-2024.html
Economic burden of major depressive disorder increased 21% from 2005 to 2010
Source: Healio
The economic burden of patients with major depressive disorder in the United States increased 21% from $173.2 billion in 2005 to $210.5 billion in 2010, according to data published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
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Results indicate that the prevalence of MDD increased from 13.8 million to 15.4 million adults between 2005 and 2010. In addition, there were 1.5 million more people treated for MDD in 2010 compared with 2005.
The researchers found that the incremental economic burden of patients with MDD increased by 21.5% from 2005 to 2010. Direct costs increased 27.5% from $77.5 billion in 2005 to $98.9 billion in 2010, according to data.
The suicide rate was 14.2 per 100,000 in 2005, and increased to 15.9 per 100,000 in 2010; and 50% of suicides were linked to MDD, according to researchers. The economic burden of suicides among those with MDD increased from $9.4 billion in 2005 to $9.7 billion in 2010.
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Read more: http://www.healio.com/psychiatry/depression/news/online/%7B1d528f0f-e2d4-4d7c-9a82-4c78971b6aa2%7D/economic-burden-of-major-depressive-disorder-increased-21-from-2005-to-2010
New York City Surrounded by Ice Floes
Associated Press
Published on Feb 25, 2015
The freezing temperatures that have plagued much of the eastern U.S. haven't spared New York City. The waterways around the island of Manhattan are filled with ice. (Feb. 25)
Guatemalan rappers promote Mayan language, stories to youth
Guatemalan rappers promote Mayan language, stories to youth
By SONIA PEREZ D.
Posted: 02/23/15, 1:42 PM EST
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A group of Guatemalan musicians is on a mission to breathe life into a pre-Columbian language and heritage through a thoroughly modern genre: hip-hop.
Calling themselves Balam Ajpu, which means Jaguar Warrior or Warrior of Light, they rap in the ancient Mayan Tz'utujil language with the goal of making it cool for kids and teaching them their ancestors' stories and ways.
Their debut album, "Tribute to the 20 Nawuales," or spirits, is set to be released to coincide with the March 20 spring equinox. The musicians rap in both Tz'utujil and Spanish, blending a hip-hop beat with marimba and natural sounds like bird songs and running water.
"Since the time of the (Spanish) invasion, the (Mayan) worldview was persecuted, even almost snuffed out, but now it's returning to life, relying on music and sustaining itself in art," said group member Rene Dionisio, who uses the stage name Tz'utu Baktun Kan. "Our commitment as artists is to rescue the ancient art."
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Iran makes a huge show of blowing up 'US aircraft carrier' in explosive TV spectacle
Source: Daily Mail
Iranian officials had more than a dozen speedboats attack a replica of a US aircraft carrier today and featured the large-scale naval drill on a state TV broadcast.
The nationally-televised show of force by the country's elite Revolutionary Guard occurred near the strategically vital entrance of the Persian Gulf.
The 'Great Prophet 9' drill was held near the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes.
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But by simulating for the first time an attack on the ultimate symbol of American naval power, hard-liners hoped to send a message that Iran has no intention of backing down to the US - whichever way talks over its contested nuclear program go.
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2968108/Irans-Guard-begins-military-exercises-near-key-strait.html
New terror alert for France after 'at least' five drones are spotted flying above Paris landmarks including Eiffel Tower and the US embassy
Source: Daily Mail
Paris is on alert for a new terror attack after
'at least' five drones were spotted illegally
flying around city landmarks, including the
Eiffel Tower, Bastille Square and the U.S.
embassy building.
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France has experienced a series of mysterious
drone appearances in the last few months. On
January 20, a pilotless aircraft briefly went
over the presidential palace in Paris, while
around 20 drones were earlier seen flying
above nuclear power plants.
However until Tuesday 'there have never been
so many drones appearing in one night,' the
security source said.
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The emergence of drones comes amid
warnings by terrorist groups that they will
attack the city, following January shootings
which left a total of 20 dead, including three
terrorists.
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2966482/New-terror-alert-France-five-drones-spotted-flying-Paris-landmarks-including-Eiffel-Tower-embassy.html
Burlington, Vermont Becomes First U.S. City to Run On 100% Renewable Electricity
"first U.S. city of any decent size to run entirely on renewable electricity."
Apparently there are smaller cities which have done so.
Soon, there will be larger cities, and eventually, the world!
Burlington, Vermont Becomes First U.S. City to Run On 100% Renewable Electricity
Anastasia Pantsios | February 10, 2015
Burlington, Vermont is that state’s largest city, with a population of 42,000 people. It describes itself as “forward-thinking” which is what you’d expect from a city that once elected Senator Bernie Sanders as its mayor. So it’s no surprise that it recently became the first U.S. city of any decent size to run entirely on renewable electricity.
“Climate change is the biggest problem we face, maybe the biggest problem we’ve ever faced,” University of Vermont environmental science professor Taylor Ricketts told NPR. “But there’s no silver bullet to fix it. It’s gonna be a million individual solutions from all over the place. And this is one of Burlington’s, right?”
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And contrary to those who insist that renewably generated electricity is an expensive luxury that only a bunch of Phish-loving Vermont hippies will pay for, Ken Nolan of BED told NPR that the switch to renewables was initially driven by economic concerns and will likely save the city $20 million over the next decade.
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Areva, French Nuclear Giant, Warns of $5.6 Billion Loss
Source: New York Times
Areva, the French nuclear technology giant, warned on Monday that it was facing a loss of a magnitude that raises doubts about its ability to continue operations without an injection of state funds to restore its capital.
The state-controlled company expects a 2014 net loss of about 4.9 billion euros, or $5.6 billion, from a loss of €500 million a year earlier, it said in a preliminary statement. The loss is substantially larger than Areva’s market capitalization of about €3.7 billion, suggesting it may need new funds to continue operating.
France gets a larger share of its electricity from atomic power than any other country, and it has long identified the nuclear industry as a national champion worthy of state support. French officials have been discussing a restructuring of the sector, including the possibility that Areva, which is 87 percent state-owned, could tie up in some form with the EDF Group, the utility also known as Électricité de France.
Ségolène Royal, the French energy minister, said after the Areva announcement that the government’s priority was to “create a strong nuclear industry by creating synergies,” Reuters reported.
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/24/business/international/areva-nuclear-results.html?_r=0
What a boondoggle.
And it's just going to get worse.
Tobacco Giants Battle New Ads Painting Them As Liars
Source: Associated Press
In 2006, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ordered the nation's largest cigarette makers to publicly admit that they had lied for decades about the dangers of smoking.
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Bloodied but unbeaten, the tobacco companies have plunged into another courtroom battle in an effort to stave off the humiliation of having to underwrite an ad campaign in which they brand themselves as liars. Oral arguments are scheduled for Monday before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The ads would appear in newspapers, on TV, websites and cigarette pack inserts. The ads, called "corrective statements," stem from a civil case the government brought in 1999 under RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
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The companies say they stand ready and willing to disseminate factual public health information about cigarettes. But they argue that these ads are designed to ensure that the public "does not believe anything the companies say on any topic."
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Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/22/tobacco-corrective-ads_n_6730504.html
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