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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 8:37:53 GMT -8
Why is it unwise to share your secrets with a clock? Well, time will tell.
The Radiation, My Friend, Will Be Blowing in the Wind.
More shelling of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been reported, with Ukraine and Russia again blaming each other for the attack.
Each side said there were 10 hits on the plant's administrative office and fire station on Thursday.
UN Secretary General António Guterres warned the fighting could "lead to disaster" at Europe's largest nuclear plant, seized by Russia in early March.
Ukraine warned that Russia may provoke the world's worst nuclear accident.
“Reactors [need] to be constantly cooled by water passing through [them,]” MV Ramana, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera.
“If that water stream is cut out, cut down, cut off in some fashion, then the reactor could lose cooling, the fuel will start melting. It will sort of create high pressure, and the thing can explode,” he added.
In the immediate aftermath of an explosion, experts say that we could likely see widespread evacuations caused by an invisible radioactive cloud. However, the impact of a leak in radiation would probably be felt for years to come
“You’re probably going to see hundreds of thousands of people trying to flee from that area,” Ramana told Al Jazeera.
“There will be a cloud, but you’re not going to be able to see it … We’re able to track the cloud because [we] have sensitive instruments that are measuring radiation levels,” he added.
Some of the illnesses we could see from an explosion similar to this could be acute radiation poisoning or cancers that could be seen later.
“So, for instance, at Chernobyl, the people who were going into the reactor to actually stand on top of the burning building and put the fire out were exposed to huge amounts of radiation and suffered the impacts of that within hours,” Ross said.
“People who are exposed to not quite so great amounts may still suffer from acute radiation poisoning and recover. This happens over days to weeks, maybe months. For people exposed to lower levels of radiation, there may be greater numbers of cancer cases coming later over the following years to decades,” he added.
Rather than a reactor core explosion, experts are more concerned about damage to systems that cool the spent fuel pool and the reactors. If the cooling fails, this could lead to an uncontrolled heat buildup, a meltdown and a fire that could release and spread radiation from the containment structures.
“We’re mostly scared of radiation release, not necessarily of an explosion,” Amelie Stoetzel, a PhD Student in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.
“Even though that looks scary, radiation release, in any case, would be catastrophic,” she added.
“It’s unpredictable; we don’t really know where the plume [containing radioactive material] would go; it can go anywhere really, depending on the weather conditions.”
Due to the plant’s geographical location, a radiation release could hit any part of the European continent.
“Zaporizhzhia is in the middle of the continent. So no matter which way the wind is blowing, somebody’s going to get contaminated,” Ramana said.
How Many Times Must the Cannon Ball Fly?
Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine→Moscow, Russia - 645 Miles
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 9:36:46 GMT -8
Is it True Bombs Have More Fun?Satellite images appear to show major damage and a number of destroyed Russian warplanes at a Crimea airbase following explosions there this week. The Saky base in the west of Russian-ruled Crimea was rocked by a string of blasts on Tuesday, killing one person. The base's runways appear intact, but at least eight aircraft seem damaged or destroyed with several craters visible. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility - but this new evidence suggests the possibility of a targeted attack. It also dispels Russia's denial that any of its aircraft were damaged. 
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 9:38:48 GMT -8
If You Drop an ISIS Member and a Taliban Off a 20-Story Building, Who Hits the Ground First?
A prominent Afghan cleric who supported the Taliban and was in favour of female education has been killed.
Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani reportedly died in a suicide bomb blast in Kabul.
Speaking to Reuters, Taliban sources say the religious leader was targeted by a man who detonated explosives hidden in an artificial plastic limb.
The Islamic State (IS) group, which has previously targeted the cleric, claimed responsibility for the bombing saying it happened inside his office.
Who Cares?
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Post by gainsborough on Aug 11, 2022 9:45:53 GMT -8
Ukraine should send a message to Putin asap.
I suggest they blow up a few bridges inside Russia, perhaps close to or within Moscow. Putin needs to know that Ukraine can strike a terrible blow inside Russia, perhaps even at a Russian nuclear reactor. Putin must understand that Russia will pay a terrible price if the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is shelled, or if he deploys a tactical nuclear weapon against Ukraine.
History indicates that Russia is more likely to use chemical weapons if the war continues to go badly. I suggest Ukraine respond similarly to a chemical weapon attack - let Putin know that the war can come home to Russian itself.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 9:48:58 GMT -8
The Lawsuit Isn't Over Till the Fat Lady Settles
An Iraqi actress says she is suing the Economist newspaper for using a picture of her to illustrate an article about Arab women being "fatter" than men. Enas Taleb said that the image was used out of context without her permission, and violated her privacy. She also claimed it had been photoshopped. The well-known actress and talk show host said in an interview that she has begun legal action in the UK. The Economist did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The article, entitled Why Women Are Fatter Than Men in the Arab World, was published in late July, using a picture of Ms Taleb taken nine months ago at the Babylon International Festival in Iraq. It argues that poverty and societal restrictions keeping women in the home are among the reasons why more Arab women than men are overweight. Another reason, the article states, may be that "curves" are viewed by some men as more attractive. "Iraqis often cite Enas Taleb, an actress with ample curves (pictured), as the ideal of beauty," it says. Ms Taleb labelled the article an "insult to the Arab woman in general and Iraqi women in particular", asking why the Economist "takes interest in fat women in the Arab world and not in Europe or the USA". 
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 9:51:33 GMT -8
He Got His 21 Cents Worth
An Indian man has won a case related to an overpriced railway ticket after almost 22 years.
Tungnath Chaturvedi, a lawyer, was charged 20 rupees ($0.25; £0.21) extra for two tickets he had bought in 1999.
The incident occurred at Mathura cantonment railway station in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
A consumer court last week ruled in Mr Chaturvedi's favour and asked the railways to refund the amount with interest.
"I have attended more than 100 hearings in connection with this case," Mr Chaturvedi, 66, told the BBC. "But you can't put a price on the energy and time I've lost fighting this case."
Consumer courts in India specifically deal with grievances related with services. But they are known to be overburdened by cases and sometimes it can take years for even simple cases to be solved.
Mr Chaturvedi, who lives in Uttar Pradesh, was travelling from Mathura to Moradabad when a ticket-booking clerk overcharged him for the two tickets he had bought.
The tickets cost 35 rupees each, but when he gave 100 rupees, the clerk returned 10 rupees, charging 90 rupees for the tickets instead of 70.
He told the clerk he had overcharged him, but Mr Chaturvedi didn't get any refund at the time.
So, he decided to file a case against North East Railway (Gorakhpur) - a section of the Indian Railways - and the booking clerk in a consumer court in Mathura.
He said it took him years because of the slow pace at which judiciary works in India.
They really held over 100 hearings on this case?
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 9:54:37 GMT -8
Less Ice, Ice, Baby
As sea ice vanishes, Greenland melts and wildfires scorch the planet’s northernmost forests, new research confirms what scientists are sounding alarms about: the Arctic has warmed much faster than the rest of the world in the past several decades.
The phenomenon, called Arctic amplification, is caused by the heat-trapping emissions from burning fossil fuels. The pace of the temperature increase around the North Pole in recent decades was four times higher than the rest of the planet, researchers at the Finnish Meteorological Institute found in a study published Thursday.
Another problem: Climate models, which scientists used to predict long-term change, are not capturing this high rate of warming, lead author and researcher Mika Rantanen told CNN, which was part of this study’s motivation. That’s concerning because if the models can’t recreate what’s happening right now, scientists can’t be confident in their long-term predictions.
“Because of this discrepancy, we decided that this needs to be corrected,” Rantenen said. “This needs to be updated.”
The study, published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment, analyzed temperature trends in the Arctic Circle between 1979 and 2021 — the modern era of satellite data. They found the rate of warming is particularly high in the Eurasian region of the Arctic, especially the Barents Sea, which has warmed seven times faster than the global average.
Recent data revealed that the annual average temperature in the Barents region climbed by as much as 2.7 degrees Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit) each decade in the past 20 to 40 years, making the Barents Sea and its islands the fastest warming location on the planet.
Climate change has triggered a rapid loss in sea ice in the Arctic region, which in turn has amplified global warming. Bright white sea ice reflects solar energy back to space, but when it melts, the dark ocean absorbs that heat.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 9:57:29 GMT -8
Dancing Galaxies. The Real Dancing With the Stars
A new telescope image showcases two entangled galaxies that will eventually merge into one millions of years from now – and previews the eventual, similar fate of our own Milky Way galaxy.
The Gemini North telescope, located on the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii, spotted the interacting spiral galaxies about 60 million light-years away in the Virgo constellation.
The galactic pair NGC 4567 and NGC 4568, also known as the Butterfly galaxies, have just begun to collide as gravity pulls them together.
In 500 million years, the two cosmic systems will complete their merger to form a single elliptical galaxy.
At this early stage, the two galactic centers are currently 20,000 light-years apart and each galaxy has maintained its pinwheel shape. As the galaxies become more entangled, gravitational forces will lead to multiple events of intense star formation. The original structures of the galaxies will change and distort.
A large pink; speckled galaxy resembling a wheel with with a small; inner oval; with dusty blue in between on the right; with two smaller spiral galaxies about the same size to the left against a black background.
Over time, they will dance around each other in circles that become smaller and smaller. This tightly looped dance will pull and stretch out long streams of gas and stars, mixing the two galaxies together into something that resembles a sphere.
Right now, a massive halo that surrounds the Andromeda galaxy is actually bumping up against the Milky Way galaxy’s halo, according to research based on Hubble Space Telescope data that published in 2020.
Andromeda’s halo, a large envelope of gas, extends out 1.3 million light-years from the galaxy, almost halfway to the Milky Way, and as much as 2 million light-years in other directions.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 10:01:03 GMT -8
Price News
The average price of gas in the United States fell below $4 per gallon Thursday for the first time in months, according to the AAA, offering some respite to drivers.
At $3.99, the price is the lowest it’s been since early March.
Gasoline prices surged to a record high in June at $5.02 per gallon amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to AAA data.
The AAA, formerly the American Automobile Association, had anticipated that the national average could drop to below $4 this month as fears of major restrictions on supply have eased since the invasion began in February.
It also noted that fewer drivers have been fueling up lately, as people change "their driving habits to cope with higher pump prices."
DeJoy Say Less Joy for X-Mas
If you plan on sending packages through the U.S. Postal Service this holiday season, prepare to pay a bit more in postage. The agency announced plans for a temporary price increase during the peak holiday season on Thursday.
"This temporary rate adjustment is similar to ones in past years that help cover extra handling costs to ensure a successful peak season," the statement said.
If get the expected approval of the Postal Regulatory Commission, the temporary rates will go into effect on Oct. 2 and run until Jan. 22, 2023.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 10:04:23 GMT -8
If You Drop a Crypto Person and a Social Influencer Off a 20 Story Building, Who Hits the Ground First?
Ben Armstrong says his crisis of conscience came in January of this year, when he realized he had to stop a business practice he — and a lot of other people in his line of work — had been engaged in for years.
Armstrong is one of the most-watched crypto influencers on YouTube. His channel, BitBoy Crypto, has amassed more than 1.5 million subscribers. For years, Armstrong said he accepted payments from crypto companies to tout their new products for his vast audience of subscribers. That’s a practice he says he now regrets because it led to some painful losses for his own viewers.
In the fall of 2020, Armstrong announced his partnership with a cryptocurrency called DistX, calling it his most trusted coin. He said the whole idea of DistX was to stop scams in crypto — but Armstrong said in the end, the project itself ended up being a scam. The project team rug pulled, meaning they worked to increase the market cap then disappeared — leaving investors holding the bag. The coin is now down 99%, valued at less than a penny.
While he was accepting paid promotions, Armstrong said he previously made more than $30,000 for a single endorsement, which included his promotional video for DistX, and could easily make more than $100,000 per month in promotions alone.
They Hit at the Same Time, Because It's the Same Person. But ... Who Cares?
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 10:07:58 GMT -8
Wanna' Hear A Joke About Dead Kids? Neither Did Beto.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 10:14:39 GMT -8
Can You Catch a Virus From a Monkey Drinking a Corona Beer?
A World Health Organization official spoke up for monkeys following a string of attacks against primates in Brazil, saying they’re not responsible for the growing monkeypox outbreak. The U.N. health agency said it's discussing renaming the virus.
Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson, told a United Nations news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that the monkeypox virus has been found in many animals and is more common in rodents than monkeys. Harris explained the only reason the virus was named monkeypox was it was first identified in a group of monkeys in Denmark.
“What people need to know very clearly is the transmission we are seeing is happening between humans to humans. It’s close contact transmission,” Harris said.
She continued: “The concern should be about where it’s transmitting in the human population and what humans can do to protect themselves from getting it and transmitting it. They should certainly not be attacking any animals.”
Ten monkeys have been reportedly poisoned in less than a week in Sao Paulo in Brazil, according to local outlet G1, and more cities have reported similar attacks.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 10:18:01 GMT -8
Jordan Klepper Gets Goosebumps
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 10:20:24 GMT -8
I Want to Know, Have You Ever Seen the Rain?
Chances for La Niña are expected to gradually decrease from 86% in the coming season to 60% during December-February 2022-23, a U.S. government weather forecaster said on Thursday.
The La Niña weather pattern is characterized by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
"While a majority of NMME models suggest that La Niña will transition to ENSO-neutral in January-March 2023, forecasters are split on this outcome resulting in equal forecast probabilities for that season," the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center said.
El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-neutral conditions refer to periods in which neither El Nino nor La Nina is present, often coinciding with the transition between the two weather patterns, according to the center.
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Post by mhbruin on Aug 11, 2022 10:23:16 GMT -8
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