Monthly Archives: July 2012

Vietnamese Protest Over Islands Dispute With China

Posted on by

A group of Vietnamese marched through the capital's streets shouting "Down with China!" in a rare protest Sunday following growing tensions over disputed territory in the South China Sea.

About 200 people chanted in the rain, some waving flags and holding signs, as they walked through central Hanoi toward the Chinese Embassy. Police stopped traffic and did not attempt to quash the event, but the area near the embassy was cordoned off.

The protest follows China's recent announcement that it will open nine oil and gas lots for development to international bidders, even though the area overlaps with Vietnam's current exploration contracts.

AP

"We are very angry with China's recent offer to look for oil inside Vietnam's territory," said Phuong Bich, 53, who was arrested three times last year during similar demonstrations that were broken up. "We urge the government to take action."

Hanoi says the area where the China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC, has identified lies within Vietnam's 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. State-owned PetroVietnam has encouraged foreign companies to ignore China's offer and says it will continue working on contracts signed with ExxonMobil, Russia's Gazprom, India's ONGC and PetroVietnam affiliate PVEP.

Rhetoric between the two communist neighbors has become increasingly hostile in recent weeks. Beijing's Defense Ministry said it has "battle-ready" patrols protecting its interests in the South China Sea and warned Vietnam to back off its reported aerial patrols of the disputed Spratly Islands.

Contested areas of the South China Sea are a long-standing source of animosity among claimants from Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. Disputed territory straddles important international shipping lanes and is believed to be teeming with fish and rich in oil and gas reserves. Some fear the brewing tensions could result in violence.

Read more from the original source:

Vietnamese Protest Over Islands Dispute With China

Asylum smugglers move boats to Cocos Islands

Posted on by

Asylum seekers arrive on Christmas Island yesterday. Photo: Sharon Tisdale

AUTHORITIES are rushing to upgrade quarantine facilities at the remote Cocos Islands, confirming fears that people smugglers from Sri Lanka and southern India have chosen the location as a new frontier in the asylum seeker trade.

A jet-load of stretchers, washing machines, dryers, antiseptic and other supplies was flown out of Christmas Island early yesterday morning, bound for the Cocos Islands, almost 1000 kilometres across the Indian Ocean to the west.

A boat carrying 67 Sri Lankan Tamils arrived at the Cocos cluster of islands, also known as the Keelings, on Saturday. They were housed overnight in the only available accommodation, the Cocos and Keeling Social Club, before being flown by chartered jet back to Christmas Island this morning, where they were transported to the island's packed detention centre.

Advertisement: Story continues below

It was the fourth people smuggling boat transporting Tamils in less than a month to reach Cocos, which previously had been immune from the sea-borne traffic of asylum seekers.

However, the Cocos group is much closer to Sri Lanka and southern India, where hundreds of thousands of Tamils are in refugee camps, than Christmas Island. Christmas Island itself is more than 1500 kilometres west of the nearest point on the Australian mainland.

The latest arrival at the Cocos cluster has alarmed Border Protection authorities, because the route to the Cocos group adds many thousands of square kilometres to the already vast spread of ocean it must place under surveillance.

The tiny population of the Cocos Islands - 600, spread over two outcrops, one inhabited mainly by Caucasians, the other by ethnic Malays - is angry at losing access to its only social club every time a load of asylum seekers arrives.

The club, on the main Caucasian-inhabited island, known as West Island, is closed to its members while asylum seekers are housed there, and also for several days after they leave, because it must be quarantined and disinfected.

Go here to see the original:

Asylum smugglers move boats to Cocos Islands

Genetics 'could improve' Aboriginal health

Posted on by

Researchers are hoping to solve more indigenous health problems by overcoming barriers to genetic research in Aboriginal communities.

IT comes as the first research in almost a decade investigating genetic causes of disease in Aboriginal people is set to be released, after widespread opposition to the practice stymied research projects for years.

Melbourne University anthropologist Emma Kowal said research into genetic associations between diabetes and middle-ear infections would shortly be published, while studies into heart disease, kidney disease and vulval cancer started in the past two years.

Dr Kowal, writing in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday, said ethical concerns around indigenous genetic research internationally - such as its potential to inadvertently reinforce racial stereotypes - had contributed to Australian projects losing or being rejected funding.

"What we've seen in the past couple of years is that tide of opinion start to reverse," Dr Kowal told AAP.

Dr Kowal, from the university's School of Social and Political Sciences, said Australian guidelines needed to be developed for ethical genetic research in indigenous communities.

Similar guidelines had been developed in Canada, including specific guidance on how biospecimens should be collected, stored and used, Dr Kowal said.

Guidelines should also include how to effectively communicate genetic concepts to Aboriginal communities.

Australia's national research body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, the Lowitja Institute, hosted discussions between the research and indigenous communities in the past two years.

As a result, a team of indigenous and non-indigenous researchers and geneticists formed a group to develop the Australian guidelines.

View original post here:

Genetics 'could improve' Aboriginal health

We The People: 'Be your own advocate' in health care

Posted on by

REEDSBURG Emily Rogers has progressed so much during her three-year battle with a rare autoimmune disease that she can write her name again and hold a sandwich without squeezing it so tightly that it squishes between her fingers.

Those are major milestones for Emily, 45, a former teacher and mother of three who has been limited to a wheelchair since Devic's disease took over her body by producing antibodies that attack her spine.

Much of the credit for her progress goes to an expensive drug and the surgical insertion of a pump that sends a muscle relaxer directly into her spinal fluid. But equally important, say Emily and her husband, Phil, was learning to navigate the health care maze before, during and after those treatments.

While the debate over national health care policy rages on following last week's Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act, the efforts the Rogerses have made at being personally involved in their care has been both harder and more effective than any government policy.

"Your health care is a 'we' thing," Phil said, adding that Americans must learn about their illnesses and how to work with their providers and insurers to get the care they need.

"You have to be engaged in your health care just like you should be engaged in your education."

The couple believe health care, whether administered privately or publicly, is a life game that is won or lost by attitudes, work ethic, knowledge and persistence.

They know Emily's quality of life and recovery depends on how they play it.

"This is the lot that we have," said Phil, a principal and teacher at the St. Peter's Lutheran Church school in Reedsburg. "We pray about it. Our church continues to support us and pray for her and for us through it."

But they know they can't sit still and wait for miracles to occur.

Originally posted here:

We The People: 'Be your own advocate' in health care

Health-care bill one of many historic social laws

Posted on by

by J. Craig Anderson and Ryan Randazzo - Jun. 30, 2012 11:12 PM The Republic | azcentral.com

With the U.S. Supreme Court's approval last week, the Affordable Care Act entered an elite canon of laws that have rewritten the social contract between American citizens and their government.

They include the Social Security Act of 1935, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the amendment to the Social Security Act that created Medicare and Medicaid, also in 1965.

Each added or altered social protections for large groups of Americans, but not without passionate debate and fierce constitutional challenges.

While the Affordable Care Act's ultimate place in history has yet to be determined, historians and legal scholars said if the past is a guide, the legislation will eventually become an accepted part of American society.

The health-care law "will have implications for tens of millions, including 30 million who will get access to health insurance and many more millions that will be affected by insurance-regulation reforms," said Lawrence Jacobs, a political-science professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Upheld Thursday by the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision, it requires almost everyone to obtain health coverage and guarantees it will be available to those previously uninsured or uninsurable.

Jacobs said the scope of the program places it in the same league as the programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society.

"The Supreme Court has signed off on a piece of legislation that is as sweeping and perhaps more sweeping than any social-welfare legislation in half a century and perhaps since the New Deal," said Jacobs, co-author of the 2010 book "Health Care Reform and American Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know."

"The number of people impacted by this health policy is enormous," he said. "It really opens a new day for financing and delivery of health care."

The rest is here:

Health-care bill one of many historic social laws

Boehner defends Romney over health care ruling

Posted on by

(CBS News) In an interview on "Face the Nation," House Speaker John Boehner said he was surprised that the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionally of the health care mandate, but he defended Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's opposition to it, even though the former Massachusetts governor also passed a mandate in his state.

"This is an issue that was in Massachusetts - one state," Boehner said. "That's why we have 50 different states. They're laboratories of democracy. Gov. Romney understands that 'Obamacare' will bankrupt our country and ruin the best health care delivery system in the world."

Boehner said the president's health care plan "is far more than anything, any state had ever comprehended or even tried to do."

The Speaker said the Supreme Court ruling, which defined the mandate as a tax, strengthened his "resolve" to get rid of the law.

"All it really does is strengthen my resolve and resolve of Republicans here in Washington to repeal this awful law," Boehner said.

Boehner told host Norah O'Donnell that the House is going to vote - which it already has more than two dozen times - to repeal the law. "We'll do it one more time!" he told O'Donnell, "to show people we are resolved to get rid of this."

"This is the wrong direction. And while the court upheld it as constitutional, they certainly didn't say it was a good law," Boehner said. "Republicans believe in a common sense, step-by-step approach that will lower health care costs and allow the American people to choose the health insurance they want, not the health insurance the government wants them to have."

In response to questions by O' Donnell on whether Boehner likes any part of the law, he said, "There's always going to be parts of it that are good." The only provision he admitted to liking is the provision that people under 26 can stay on their parents' insurance plan. He pointed to the fact that some health insurance companies independently implemented that provision recently.

However, Speaker Boehner said the entire health care bill needs "to be ripped out by its roots," and that he would repeal the entire bill, even the parts he likes.

"We can replace, when we replace this we can have a common sense debate about which of these provisions ought to stay and which ought to go," he said.

Here is the original post:

Boehner defends Romney over health care ruling

Health care overhaul gets mixed reactions locally

Posted on by

Its not perfect, but we need to change health care and this is a start in the right direction, said Dr. Robert Morgan. Staying the same is not the answer.

Morgan who is a board certified family practitioner and senior managing partner of Oswego Family Physicians said that although the parts of the law that were upheld will do a lot of good, there is still years of work ahead to right the nations health care system.

It was very interesting because the sentiment I got on both sides was that the law was going to be found unconstitutional, Uva said.

Even though Congress called it a penalty, not a tax, Roberts said, The payment is collected solely by the IRS through the normal means of taxation.

Stocks of hospital companies rose after the decision was announced, while shares of insurers fell sharply. Shares of drug makers and device makers fell slightly.

The justices rejected two of the administrations three arguments in support of the insurance requirement. But the court said the mandate can be construed as a tax. Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness, Roberts said.

The court found problems with the laws expansion of Medicaid, but even there said the expansion could proceed as long as the federal government does not threaten to withhold states entire Medicaid allotment if they dont take part in the laws extension.

Although they said certain elements of the law such as not having pre-existing conditions and allowing students to remain on their parents insurance until age 26 were steps forward, Uva and Morgan also found problems with many of its components.

Independent advisory boards with no accountability and cuts to Medicare in particular were a sticking point for Uva.

Its going to be very hard to practice now in private practice, he said.

Read more from the original source:

Health care overhaul gets mixed reactions locally

Control of costs a test for overhaul

Posted on by

Just as the health care overhaul in Massachusetts is widely accepted as the model for the national bill upheld as constitutional Thursday by the US Supreme Court, it is also seen by many as a model and a caution for the necessary sequel to much broader insurance coverage: cost control.

Bringing almost everyone under the umbrella of health insurance is considered by advocates of the 2006 Massachusetts law, and of President Obamas 2010 plan, as the essential precondition for reining in medical expenses. All consumers, employers, hospitals, and insurers now abruptly, with the laws implementation, have a major stake in that goal.

But nothing about the journey is easy as six years experience in Massachusetts shows.

Consumers should not expect to see Obamas plan lead to lower medical bills, at least not anytime soon. What they can expect is a vigorous clash of interests, leading eventually, the hope is, toward accommodation and compromise.

That has been the Massachusetts story so far. With Governor Deval Patrick threatening the states robust health care industry with aggressive intervention, a patchwork coalition of hospitals, insurers, businesses, doctors, and lawmakers has been working to come up with ways to make care more affordable.

Some large teaching hospitals have signed contracts with insurers that call for lower fee increases than in the past. More than 1.2 million people about 1 in 5 residents are already covered by plans that put providers on a budget in an effort to restrain health spending. And insurers are offering more tiered plans that limit consumers choice of hospitals.

House and Senate leaders are privately negotiating over their two competing plans to control medical spending by tying it to the growth of the state economy. They hope to reach an agreement by the end of July, an agreement that Patrick must also sign on to.

Massachusetts, more than any other state, is having an aggressive dialogue about how to reduce the rate of growth in health care spending, said John McDonough, director of Harvards Center for Public Health Leadership, who helped craft the federal legislation. The health reform law created such a spotlight on the states health care system and right away, everybody business and insurers recognized the most destabilizing thing that could happen to undermine reform was if health care costs continued to spiral out of control.

To its advantage, Massachusetts already had the preexisting network of often competing interests that worked together in 2006 to bring about health reform, a coalition that does not exist on the national stage or in many other states.

The state also faced acute pressure to tackle the cost containment problem, which predated the 2006 reform law championed by then-governor Mitt Romney (although he has since renounced it as a flawed template for national legislation, and says he will repeal it, if elected). Massachusetts individual insurance premiums are the highest in the country, more than double the national average in 2010, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, which tracks the data.

Continued here:

Control of costs a test for overhaul

Kurtz calls health care decision setback

Posted on by

State Rep. Ken Kurtz, R-Coldwater, weighed in on the Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act, calling it a difficult day for Michigan residents and a setback for our countrys system of free-market principles. He said in a press release The ruling is very disappointing, and I believe we must now respond swiftly to make sure that we, the people of Michigan not the federal government are in charge of our own system. The historic health care overhaul narrowly survived an election-year battle at the Supreme Court Thursday with the improbable help of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts. Said the Associated Press, But the ruling, by a 5-4 vote, also gave Republicans unexpected ammunition to energize supporters for the fall campaign against President Barack Obama. We are ecstatic. This is great news for all Michiganders who are one accident, one tumor or one layoff away from health and financial disaster. The Affordable Care Act was a century in the making to provide all Americans with access to affordable, quality healthcare, said Karen Holcomb-Merrill of the Michigan League for Human Services. Everyone wants the security of knowing they can see a doctor when they are ill or have the medications or treatments that they need. U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton released a statement saying Today the Supreme Court ruled that President Obama broke his pledge of the law not increasing taxes and that there does not seem to be a limit to what the federal government can force us to do. He said the ruling in no way prevents Congress from repealing and replacing the law in the future. I remain committed to defunding, dismantling and repealing the law. Health care decisions should be made by patients, families and their doctors, not by bureaucrats in Washington who are burdening seniors and future generations with less choice, fewer services and more debt, Walberg said. Let it also be noted that the burden includes increased taxes on all and especially those with the least ability to pay. State Sen. Bruce Caswell said he had not had time yet Friday to study the decision, but that he believes the federal government should not be in the health care business. Like Kurtz, he noted Medicaid is going to be up to the state. That should be interesting, he said. As for the overall ruling, he said it is what it is, and noted there are elections in November. Kurtz said The Legislature will consider every option that makes the lives of Michigan residents better and prevents the federal government from micromanaging our health-care decisions. He noted the court found problems with the laws expansion of Medicaid, but he was pleased the feds do not threaten to withhold states entire Medicaid allotment if they dont take part. Reaction to the High Court decision was in abundance both pro and con. A statement from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said the ruling is a deep disappointment to small businesses everywhere. While we are certainly disappointed, NFIB respects the decision to uphold the individual mandate by the Supreme Court. Clearly this mandate has now become a tax on all Americans and a broken campaign promise from President Obama not to raise taxes, said Dan Danner, NFIB president. National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said Farmers, ranchers and rural residents face significant barriers to obtaining accessible, affordable health care. He continued, The ACA contains significant, necessary reforms that help all Americans, including those who are self-employed and purchasing expensive care from the individual market, afford insurance and the preventive care they need; provides resources to rural health care providers and incentives to physicians serving in rural areas; bars health care companies from denying coverage to individuals with pre-existing conditions; and closes the Medicare prescription drug coverage donut hole. More information about this issue can be found at http://www.hillsdale.net.

Original post:

Kurtz calls health care decision setback

Gene therapy for smoking kills pleasure of nicotine

Posted on by

By Jon Bardin, Los Angeles Times / For the Booster Shots blog 7:01 p.m. EST, June 29, 2012

A new vaccine may help prevent the brain stimulation that keeps smokers from being able to quit. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times / Jun 29, 2012)

Cant kick cigarettes? A vaccine may one day help by preventing nicotine from reaching its target in the brain, according to research published this week.

Most smoking therapies do a poor job of stopping the habit 70% to 80% of smokers who use an approved drug therapy to quit relapse. Scientists say this is because the targets of existing therapies are imperfect, only slightly weakening nicotines ability to find its target in the brain.

So some scientists have been trying a different approach creation of a vaccine. It would work like this: People would inject the vaccine like a shot, and the vaccine would create nicotine antibodies, molecules that can snatch up nicotine from the bloodstream before it reaches the brain. The vaccine could be used by smokers who want to quit or people who are worried about getting addicted to cigarettes in the future.

Researchers have tried to create vaccines in the past, but the ones theyve come up with have not been particularly effective. The authors of the new study say this may be because previous vaccines just didnt create enough antibodies to get rid of all the nicotine.

The new report, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, attempts to solve this problem via gene therapy, in which a new gene is inserted into the body to do a particular job.

First the scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City put a gene that produces a nicotine antibody into mice. The gene was taken into the mices livers, and the liver started producing the antibody. Once produced, the antibody connected with nicotine, trapping it and preventing it from making its way to the brain, where it would otherwise have caused the pleasurable, addictive effects it is so known for.

Because of this trick, the researchers say that the new vaccine should only have to be injected once, and it will work for life, continuing to produce new antibodies in the liver.

The vaccine was effective: When mice were given nicotine intravenously, ones with the vaccine had a 47-fold drop in levels of nicotine in the blood compared with ones that hadnt received the vaccine. The antibody had successfully captured the nicotine in the bloodstream before it could reach the brain.

Originally posted here:

Gene therapy for smoking kills pleasure of nicotine

Hot Science: The Best New Science Culture | DISCOVER

Posted on by

MOVIE PREVIEW

Columbia TriStar Marketing Group Inc

Total Re-Recall

Topping off a summer of reboots, remakes, and reunions is Total Recall, a reimagining of the 1990 sci-fi thrilleritself loosely based on a short story by science fiction legend Philip K. Dick. The earlier film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid, an unsatisfied, late 21st-century construction worker in search of adventure. He gets a memory implant of a vacation to Marsonly to accidentally uncover his true past as a rebel-hunter on the Red Planet. The powers that be, whom he double-crossed, pursue him throughout this fast-moving, casually violent film (punctuated by Ahnolds trademark Austrian-accented one-liners). In the new film, Quaid (played by Colin Farrell) goes into the memory clinic for a dose of excitement and comes out realizing hes really a superspy. This time, Quaid is caught not between two planets but between Earths future superpowers, Euromerica and New Shanghai, and their agents: his once-devoted wife (Kate Beckinsale) and a rebel fighter (Jessica Biel). Rather than emulate the originals campy tone, Total Recall redux aims for sleek action sequences and stunning dystopian scenery. In theaters August 3. Valerie Ross

advertisement | article continues below

Sci-fis #1 Muse Philip K. Dicks reality-warped stories have inspired a dozen films. As with Dicks writing, though, the quality varies widely.

HIGHS

Minority ReportGuided by psychics, a police unit stops murders before they happenbut then the forces captain (Tom Cruise) is fingered as a future killer. This dark film splices big-budget action with meditations on free will.

Blade Runner Harrison Ford stars as a bounty hunter charged with disposing of fugitive androids. The film is often credited as the first sci-fi neo-noir, where latter-day Sam Spades pilot flying cars.

Read this article:

Hot Science: The Best New Science Culture | DISCOVER

Freedom Fest: Event a 'hot' ticket

Posted on by

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News Fireworks burst over Sheppard Air Force Base during Freedom Fest's approximately 30-minute show Saturday night.

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News A group looks at a 1964 Chevy Nova on the lot of the car show at Freedom Fest at Sheppard Air Force Base Saturday afternoon. The car show featured various models from classics to current cars and trucks.

Patrick Johnston/Times Record News Airman 1st Class William Little (left) helps Brooke Wilson, 3, down a tall waterslide at Freedom Fest at Sheppard Air Force Base Saturday afternoon.

Crowds of people gathered at Freedom Fest hosted by Sheppard Air Force Base on Saturday despite the extreme heat.

The sun beat down without a cloud in the sky in the afternoon hours as Loius Lewis, the second of five bands to play at the festival, played their set.

"It's all about celebrating the Fourth of July and freedom, but it's also about the community relations and giving back to the community at large and also the base just a big celebration to bring us all together," said Lt. Col. Bart Kenerson, director of the event.

Water slides and bounce houses armed with water sprayers for children appropriately littered the festival grounds. Several families tried to stay cool by sitting under a pavilion in the shade.

SAFB has hosted the event for more than eight years, and Kenerson said it wouldn't be able to do so without community support.

"The great part about Freedom Fest is this event is really hosted by the base, but it's made (possible) by downtown. It makes me extremely proud to be a part of the community. It would take probably about 15 to 20 minutes to recognize every single person that aided or assisted (the event)," Kenerson said.

He thanked the community for all the support they provide, saying downtown organizations supplied more than $140,000 in sponsorship funds.

The rest is here:

Freedom Fest: Event a 'hot' ticket

Freedom Festival honors 4 with Freedom Awards

Posted on by

PROVO -- America's Freedom Festival held its annual Freedom Awards Gala Saturday night, recognizing four Americans for their patriotic contributions to society.

"The Freedom Festival Awards Gala is an event meant to honor those that have strived to pursue traditional American values," said Emory Cook, communications manager for the festival.

"Everyone honored here encapsulates those values," Cook said.

The Freedom Awards recognize individuals who have demonstrated unusual or extraordinary devotion to the cause of freedom and America's traditional values; risked personal safety or well-being to help ensure freedom for others; advanced the cause of family, freedom, God and country in their areas of influence or fulfilled in an exemplary way those responsibilities that allow the values of family, freedom, God and country to thrive and grow, according to the festival's website.

Vicki Garbutt, the awards gala chairwoman, said the awards show how an individual can take traditional American values and make a difference.

"It just helps people appreciate the freedoms they enjoy and the sacrifice that others made to secure those freedoms," she said. "This event is just another reminder of why America is great and why it's special."

Award recipients (information from freedomfestival.org):

Lauren S. Green -- During the past five years, FOX News Channel religion correspondent Lauren Green has reported on many interesting and sometimes controversial subjects. She has interviewed religious leaders from various faiths and sects. Green considers herself passionate about the role that strong families and family values play in the fabric of our nation and our society. She is a classically trained pianist. Green is a member of the Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City and continues to pursue her passion for music as a way to edify others and bring them closer to God.

Retired Lt. Col. James H. Harvey III -- Retired Lt. Col James H. Harvey III is considered by many to be among the most skilled aviators of World War II. After basic training he was transferred to the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama where he completed his pilot and advanced training in what was called an "experimental program" to form a squadron made up entirely of black soldiers. He and his fellow crew members demonstrated their superior skills and abilities in May 1949 when they won the first U.S. Air Force Top Gun Weapons Meet. "The true story of the Tuskegee Airmen is far broader than one of just aviation and the first American black military pilots and crewmen to serve during World War II," Harvey said. "It is actually an inspiring story of unwavering human spirit, courage and enduring determination."

Zane S. Taylor -- Thousands of stories could be told of the suffering and sacrifices exacted from American troops during World War II. For Zane Taylor, more than 60 years came and went before he recorded his personal story describing "the everyday life of a soldier in Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army." In his book "Lesser Heroes," Taylor wrote about the bonds that were forged with fellow soldiers and describes the feelings and emotions of a young soldier thrust into war. "My apprehensions, fear and desire to live in the face of hell, fire and brimstone, helped me to survive through the times that I thought meant certain death."

See more here:

Freedom Festival honors 4 with Freedom Awards

Piano sonata in the key of Kepler-11 | Bad Astronomy

Posted on by

Via reddit (if youre a redditor, go there and upboat!) I found a very interesting use of astronomical data in music. The composer took the orbital information from the six-planet system called Kepler 11 and codified it into musical notes! From the YouTube notes:

Here, Ive taken each transit seen by the observatory and assigned a pitch and volume to it. The pitch (note) is determined by the planets distance from its star (closer=higher), and they are drawn from a minor 11 chord. The volume is determined by the size of the planet (larger=louder).

The result is actually quite listenable!

Thats lovely, and oddly compelling. Its like the notes are trying to reach some sort of coherence, straining to achieve a melody, but dont quite make it. I find this interesting: after listening, and without having to check, I knew the planets werent in orbital resonance.

A resonance is when one planets orbit is a simple fraction of anothers; for example, one planet might circle the star every 2 days, and the next one out in 4 days. Resonances take many ratios, like 3:2, or 5:3. The planets in Kepler-11 dont do this (though two of them are near a 5:4 resonance). If they did, then eventually the sonatas melody, such as it is, would repeat. But I didnt get a sense of that listening to it.

Isnt that amazing? You can take data using light, convert it to sound, and actually be able to get insight into it. In this case, of course, you could just make a spreadsheet with the planetary periods in it and start dividing away, but thats no fun!

Perhaps this is just an oddity with no real impact. But I wonder. We convert data into charts and graphs so that we can look for trends, correlations, compare one datum to another visually. In a sense haha, "sense"! this is just another case of that, appealing to hearing instead of sight. Im not a musician per se* so I dont know if this method has real use or not.

But its still cool. And rather pleasant, dont you think?

* 20+ years of playing bass trombone may be used to argue my musicianship either way, I suspect.

Related Posts:

Excerpt from:

Piano sonata in the key of Kepler-11 | Bad Astronomy

A step towards the future

Posted on by

Sri Lanka as a leading nanotechnology destination:

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lanka had been talking of introducing nanotechnology for almost 15 years; ministers had promised to build nano parks and provide other benefits to get such projects off the ground. However, very little attention had been paid to the matter.

A model of the Nanotechnology Centre in Homagama

Last Thursday, the much talked about and long overdue foundation stone for the 54-acre nanotechnology Centre of Excellence (NCE) was finally laid on Government land at Homagama.

Chairman Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Mahesh Amalean said the investment for the initial stage of the project is Rs 830 million. The nanotechnology park, funded by the Government and a few private sector entities, would enable companies to invest and develop their research centres incubation facilities and pilot plants in the environment of an advanced technology park.

This would help Sri Lanka to be positioned as a leading destination for nanotechnology, taking the country closer towards becoming the Wonder of Asia.

The second phase of the park will focus on the expansion of research and business development for the public and private sector in Sri Lanka and potential foreign direct investment from multinational corporations as well as SMEs through attractive incentives, terms and conditions.

One of Asias leading nano-scientists Dr Lalin Samaranayake told the Sunday Observer that Sri Lanka is sitting on a nanotechnology goldmine. It has not used its potential in the world market, he said

He said while Sri Lanka has the technology to reap economic benefits from nanotechnology in the island itself, the country only exports raw materials, giving all the benefits to the world. Sri Lanka sells nano raw materials such as graphite, silica, titanium dioxide and clay for various industries in the world and imports the finished products spending a lot of foreign currency.

Continued here:
A step towards the future