 Daily Mail | Parental Combat Deployment Tied to Mental Problems in Kids Medscape Recent previous research presented at the American Psychiatric Association 2011 meeting and reported by Medscape Medical News shows that children whose parents were deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom had a 10% greater ... Parental Deployment to War Takes Mental Toll on ChildrenDoctors Lounge Soldiers' Children Often Face Long Term Psychological Issues, Study ShowsParentDish Parental Military Deployment Linked to Child's Mental Health DiagnosisMedIndia Fox News all 65 news articles » |
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Malaysian Government’s Brutal Crackdown Violates Fundamental Rights
Freedom House strongly condemns the brutal crackdown today by the Malaysian government against tens of thousands of demonstrators calling for clean and fair elections in Kuala Lumpur and calls on Malaysian authorities to respect the right of its citizens to free assembly and to immediately release all those detained.
Abuses Continue as Southern Sudan Independence Approaches
On the eve of Southern Sudan's independence, Freedom House expresses deep concern about serious and ongoing human rights abuses in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions and calls on President al-Bashir to cease attacks on innocent civilians and return to peaceful negotiation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
Freedom House Calls for Economic Sanctions and UN Action in Burma
Freedom House today joins other human rights organizations in urging President Barack Obama to take more decisive action against human rights abuses in Burma.
Birthday of Digital Activist Highlights Continued Repression in Iran
Freedom House marks the birthday today of Iranian blogger and human rights activist Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki, who is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence. His continued incarceration serves as a reminder of the plight of Iranian political prisoners, and the regime's unrelenting crackdown on its citizens for peaceful activism.
Repression and Surveillance of Uighurs Still a Concern on Second Anniversary of Urumqi Crackdown
On the second anniversary of the brutal crackdown on peaceful Uighur demonstrators by Chinese security forces, Freedom House remains deeply concerned about the ongoing repression and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region in China.
International Consortium Launches NGO Assistance Fund
Freedom House today announces the launch of an international consortium to support non-governmental organizations under threat around the world. The Embattled NGO Assistance Fund will help civil society activists withstand crackdowns and pressure, enabling them to continue their work to defend citizens' rights and freedoms.
Freedom House Condemns Violence and Arrests of Peaceful Demonstrators in Belarus
Freedom House condemns the violence and arrests on June 29 of more than 150 demonstrators, including 10 journalists, at the 'Rallies by Social Networks' protests in Belarus and calls on Belarusian authorities to release all demonstrators immediately.
Arrests in Advance of Rally for Electoral Reforms in Malaysia Raise Deep Concerns
The wave of arrests and ongoing intimidation of activists by the Malaysian government in advance of a July 9 rally for clean and fair elections is a blatant attempt by authorities to prevent citizens from exercising their right to peaceful public assembly and free expression and is a clear illustration of the immediate need for democratic reform in Malaysia.
Ongoing Abuses in Bahrain Delegitimize Upcoming National Dialogue
With Bahrain's national dialogue fast approaching, Freedom House expresses its deep concern about the ongoing arrests, intimidation, and in some cases torture of political activists speaking out in favor of democracy. These incidents constitute a pattern of repression that belies any promises of reform and honest political discourse by the government or the ruling family.
Democracy Deficit Grows in Former Soviet Union
The authoritarian countries of the former Soviet Union have built governance systems that are resistant to reform and therefore increasingly vulnerable to unpredictable crises of the sort recently seen in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a new study released by Freedom House.
Video: Andrew Horning Delivers a July 4th Message to Lawmakers
Andrew Horning delivers a July 4th, 2011 message to Indiana lawmakers and the Governor on the steps of the Indiana state capitol.
The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the [...]
4th of July BBQ
I had a BBQ for the 4th of July. Look at how well it came out!
World’s Greatest Mayor
Watch this mayor punch the everloving shit out of a sheriff who wants to demolish a neighborhood.
All the mayors of the world should follow this heroic woman's example.
This is it – the Final Launch Day
But will it launch?
Current Status: GO
Launch Date: Friday July 8, 2011, 11:26 am ET
Odds of Launch: 30 percent
Shuttle: Atlantis
Mission: STS-135
Launch Pad: 39A
Mission Length: 12 days
EVA’s: 1
Primary Objectives: multi-purpose logistics module.
Commander: Chris Ferguson
Pilot: Doug Hurley
Mission Specialists: Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus
NOAA’s Forecast:
Today: Showers likely before 8am, then scattered showers and thunderstorms between 8am and noon, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 86. South southwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
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To keep current with the news about the launch, I recommend you go to NASA’s Launch Blog which should be live around 6:30 am ET. You will need to refresh your browser to get the latest from that site, but it’s THE place to get the up to the minute stuff especially if you can’t watch NASA TV.
I will be watching the launch itself on NASA-TV
Image Credits: NASA / NOAA
Stormy Saturn
Monster storm on Saturn. Click for larger. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI
Now this is a storm! The storm is overtaking itself. The image was taken on February 25, 2011 after the storm was 12 weeks old and apparently the storm is still active. The interesting thing is the article (included below) the clouds moved and I had myself convinced the storm itself was instead moving north.
Student Space Balloon
Click here to view the embedded video.
I love these balloon projects.
I will let one of the participants introduce the video, Tobias Lohf:
The challenge was to survive ambient air pressures as low as 1/100th of an atmosphere, temperatures as low as -60°C and finally to locate and recover the Cam.
The solution: We took a weather balloon and filled it with helium. Then we added a polystyrene box at it. A HD-Cam, GPS Tracker and a heating pad was on board. All the construction had a total weight of about 1kg.
It traveled approximately 80 miles before the balloon burst and the payload fell to Earth by parachute.
Very nicely done!
Sunrise on the Moon
Sunrise over Tycho's crater. Click for larger. Image: NASA/Goddard and Arizona state University
It’s been a while since I posted an image from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter so I thought today would be good and I really liked this one of the sunrise on the crater Tycho’s central peak.
BTW: Congrats to Roger for his riddle win, he gets a tee shirt of his choice from HeadlineShirts.com.
I’d also like to mention after quite a few hours work it appears we’ve solved the server problems we were having and the missing elements on the site should be coming back on shortly.
Anyways here’s the NASA/Goddard and Arizona state University caption for the photo.
On June 10, 2011, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter angled its orbit 65* to the west, allowing the spacecraft’s cameras to capture a dramatic sunrise view of the moon’s Tycho crater. A very popular target with amateur astronomers, Tycho is located at 43.37*S, 348.68*E, and is about 51 miles (82 km) in diameter. The summit of the central peak is 1.24 miles (2 km) above the crater floor. The distance from Tycho’s floor to its rim is about 2.92 miles (4.7 km). Tycho crater’s central peak complex, shown here, is about 9.3 miles (15 km) wide, left to right (southeast to northwest in this view). Image Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University.
You can get larger images here.
Bonus Riddle
WE HAVE A WINNER!
Welcome! Here we are at another bonus riddle, and before we begin the riddle, let’s go over the rules:
- Guesses on the bonus riddle will be by email to Tom or Marian.
- You will have 24 hours to submit your guesses; from noon CDT Monday July 4th, until noon CDT Tuesday July 5th.
- You get three guesses.
- Comments will be closed on the bonus riddle until after the submission deadline.
- The winner will be the first person to submit the correct answer. If nobody solves the riddle by noon CDT July 5th, it will be opened for everybody to give it a shot.
- Tom will have the final say in any controversy.
As always, Tom and I will only acknowledge receipt of your guesses. We will not give any feedback other than that. The people eligible to submit guesses are: Bill, John, Roger, Jeff, Rob, Patrick, Editus, Thom Cope, and Alex. If there is a winner, we will announce it at noon tomorrow. If there is no winner by that time, comments will open for everyone, just like the weekly riddle.
Gentlemen, start your engines!
The answer you seek is in the real world.
The eyes have it.
This sits very near one of the most recognizable asterisms in the cosmos.
Look for this after midnight.
This received its name because at first, its nature was wholly misunderstood.
Take a look at this image:
It’s your final clue.
And there you have it. Send your guesses in to Tom or Marian by email, and be sure to put “bonus riddle” in the subject line so your email doesn’t get lost. Good luck!