Inside Media: World Press Freedom Day

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Freedom House, an independent organization that promotes freedom around the world, will announce changes in the state of world press freedom as the Newseum unveils the newly updated world press freedom map located in the Newseum's World News Gallery.

Immediately after the unveiling, the Newseum will host a special "Inside Media" program in the Knight TV Studio assessing the state of press freedom throughout the world.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Jim Sciutto, CNN's chief national security correspondent. Guests are Scott Shane, national security correspondent for The New York Times; Sue Turton, correspondent for Al Jazeera; and Karin Karlekar, project director of Freedom House's Freedom of the Press annual index, who coordinates the research and ratings for the index.

The program is free with regular paid admission. Seating is on a space-available basis.

Assistance (e.g. ASL interpretation, assistive listening, description) for programs/tours can be arranged with at least seven business days notice. Please contact AccessUs at AccessUs@newseum.org or by calling 202/292-6453.

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Inside Media: World Press Freedom Day

Where to go beach bumming this summer

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If youre tired of the usual summer hotspots, there are many more beaches in the Philippines worth exploring. Some of them are still unspoiled by commercial development and less crowded. They boast of long coastlines, gentle waves, clear waters and some even have pink sand beaches perfect for a relaxing summer.

1. Pangasinan's 'Mini Boracay'

In the town of Dasol in Pangasinan, tourists flock to see the gentle waves kiss the white sand along Osmea beach. Just a five-hour trip from Metro Manila, beach lovers will surely enjoy the "mini Boracay" experience that also includes beautiful rock formations along the beach.

2. Beach bumming at Laiya

San Juan, Batangas is proud of its 32-kilometer coastline boasting of clear waters and fine, white sand. Just three hours from Manila, Laiya Beach is a good spot for sunbathing, snorkeling and bonfires.

3. Puerto Princesa's Isla Puting Buhangin

Enjoy peace and quiet in a hidden paradise in Puerto Princesa, Palawan for free. Isla Puting Buhangin, an island of white sand beaches and crystal clear waters will surely take your stress away. Just a reminder, because the island has yet to be touched by commercial development, don't forget to bring your own food.

4. Northern Samar's pink beach

Tired of white sand beaches? Heres something new: Sila Island in San Vicente Northern Samar boasts of pink sand beaches. It got is hue because of corals. Spared by super typhoon Yolanda, the pink beaches of Northern Samar also hosts activities such as diving, snorkeling and island hopping.

5. Compostela Valley escapade

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Where to go beach bumming this summer

Wesleyan Astronomy’s Seth Redfield on Exoplanets and the Local Interstellar Medium – Video

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Wesleyan Astronomy #39;s Seth Redfield on Exoplanets and the Local Interstellar Medium
With his Wesleyan undergraduate and graduate students, Assistant Professor of Astronomy Seth Redfield studies exoplanets, the local interstellar medium, and ...

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Wesleyan Astronomy's Seth Redfield on Exoplanets and the Local Interstellar Medium - Video

Astronomy: Uranus: on the boundary line – DAWN.COM

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A genius does not belong to the house where it takes its birth; it belongs to the world which is its true home. That is where it belongs.

Uranus spins very fast on its axis, completing one spin in 17 hours. It is fast but nowhere as fast as big daddy Jupiter, which revolves on its axis once in only 10 hours. And considering the sprawling diameter of Jupiter, this is several times faster than Uranus.

The one stunning aspect is the fact that it has an ocean of water 8,000km deep. (In comparison the deepest portion of an ocean on the Earth is a measly 35,000 feet, or 10 km deep! Marianas Trench is the place, in the north-west Pacific Ocean which came about as a result of movements in Plate Tectonics, over-lapping one another).

That it seems incredible is remarkable enough. One more surprising reality is that the core here is as large as the whole of Earth, releases no heat at all. Enigmatic, indeed! Perhaps this is the reason why it is the coldest of all planets (-220C or 360F).

Also, it appears that the planet accreted (gathered nebular dust and gasses) somewhat later than the already-born Solar System a few hundred million years or a billion years or so later. A confirmation is awaited yet! Over 85 per cent of the atmosphere is molecular hydrogen and 12pc is helium, and methane in traces. So it appears blue-green because methane absorbs red colour (virtually eats it up).

The presence of 27 moons makes it heavy on traffic. Most moons are average-size asteroids: flat, irregular and pock-marked that is nothing except broken hills. They have survived because they orbit the mother planet rapidly and craftily save themselves from plunging into it. You never know, some are only captured asteroids that happened to loiter nearby and got trapped. The largest moon is Titania, with a diameter of just 1,600km, others are much smaller. Like any moon they, including Oberon, the second largest, are full of craters.

As far as any geological activity such as earthquakes are concerned, these moons are largely dormant, and as such, sleepy places if anything. They appear to have frozen in time. Much, in fact all we know about Uranus is courtesy the visit of Voyager 2 in 1985-86. A few of its moons have been spotted by many Earth-based astronomers, which is incredible, but nothing more. The remaining moons became visible when Voyager-2 closed in on Uranus.

Surprisingly, Uranus, like Venus, rotates in retrograde direction which is contrary to all other planets. This is another guess (hazardous, as it is) that this planet flew in from elsewhere in the course of the early universe; as you are aware, and joined the fray. More than four times larger than the Earth in diameter, its mass is 14.54 times more, thereby the escape velocity of 22km/second, very high compared with Earths 11.2. But on account of its great distance from the Sun (19.18 AUs to Earths 1) the orbital velocity of Uranus is 6.81 km/sec to 29.79 of the Earth. You are surely aware the nearer a planet is to the Sun the faster it has orbital velocity.

With Uranus lying at a great distance from the Sun, it does not have to rush because of decreased gravity of the Sun. Also it has a great deal to cover, requiring over 84 years to go around once. For Uranus to move (equal to) one full width of the full moon in the sky it takes 44.4 days, or say degree of sedate movement. Lazy, isnt it. It is another matter that the gravitational tug of Neptune and the tiny moons affects the giant who himself is not a bully, but is obliged to wobble a bit. But I suppose that it is accustomed to this, as you would be in four billion years time!

The Lone Ranger of the Solar System, playing safe lounging near the edge of the Solar System has strayed far out towards the end of the playing field, seems to be partying alone, way away from the madding crowd. Quite a recluse yet happy to be there, groggy, yet there!

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Astronomy: Uranus: on the boundary line - DAWN.COM

Seven A.I. Movies That Are Better Than Transcendence

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Entertainment movies Joaquin Phoenix talking to his iOS girlfriend Samantha in Her. Warner Bros. Picture

Johnny Depp dies and is reborn as a computer brain in Transcendence, the latest science-fiction thriller about artificial intelligence. Smart machines that may serve or dominate mankind are as old as Samuel Butlers 1872 novel Erewhon, or Karel Capeks 1920 play R.U.R. and as recent as this weeks episode of The Simpsons, in which Dr. Frink revives the dead Homer as a chatty screensaver. They have also inhabited some of the finest SF movies, including Dark Star, Star Wars, Star Trek the Motion Picture, Alien, Blade Runner, The Terminator and RoboCop. The list is inspiring and nearly endless.

(READ: Corlisss review of Transcendence)

Here are seven of our favorites, spanning seven decades and the spectrum of mans feelings fearful, wondrous about the smartest machines man has created.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, 1951. Directed by Robert Wise. Screenplay by Edmund H. North, from the story Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates.

The first known alien visitor to Earth, in the first A-budget science-fiction film from a major Hollywood studio, is a Christ figure Michael Rennies Klaatu whose spaceship lands in Washington, D.C.s Presidents Park. Accompanied by his giant robot Gort, Klaatu has come in peace, but the Cold War U.S. will have none of that: a soldier shoots him. Escaping from the military hospital where he is confined, he assumes the earthly name Mr. Carpenter, befriends a nice widow (Patricia Neal) and, during a global shutdown of electrical power the half hour the Earth stands still tells her that, if hes apprehended, she must sneak onto the spaceship and give Gort this message: Klaatu barada nikto.

Cannily fusing flying-saucer paranoia with the Christian parable of the Second Coming, The Day the Earth Stood Still establishes Gort and his kind as servants instead of uncontrollable rebels. The movie also sends a plethora of mixed messages, such as: Dont trust your government; trust an alien with elegant bone structure and a posh English accent. At the end, Klaatu leaves Earth with one last message: All nations must live in peace. But if the military belligerence of Earths nations extends into outer space, then robots like Gort will destroy our planet. The decision rests with you. In other words, try to be as peaceful as we, your superiors, are or well kill you.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, 1968. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Written by Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick.

Whats happening at the beginning? What goes on at the end? Not many science fiction films encourage the audience to ask those questions, as 2001 did. An essay on mans destiny, the film was for some of its late-60s viewers a light show, a head trip, needing no earthbound explanations. But still, wouldnt it be nice to know the explicit meaning of the Monolith, that gigantic slab that revved evolution into fast-forward? In a making-of doc on the 2007 reissue of the film, Clarke explained: The Monolith was essentially a teaching machine. In fact, our original idea was to have something with a transparent screen on which images would appear, which would teach the apes how to fight each other, how to maybe even make fire. So the apes would get a celestial visit from the first computer on Earth. But that was much too naive an idea, Clarke added. So eventually we just bypassed it with a device which we didnt explain they just touched it, and things happened to their brains, and they were transformed.

2001 remains a wonder today, in part because its technological wizards achieved their effects not through CGI magic but in the camera. (For the floating-pen effect, they stuck the pen to a plate of glass and moved the plate slowly in front of the camera; the actress playing the flight attendant then pulled the pen off the glass.) So this was a handmade movie about computers especially the soothing, neurotic HAL 9000, voiced by Douglas Rain. HAL masks insolence with apologies: When astronaut Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) orders the computer to Open the pod bay doors, HAL replies, Im sorry, Dave. I cant do that. HAL can do that, and he/it isnt sorry; the lives of Bowman and his partner Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) are only incidental to the mission, which will abort if HAL is disconnected. The machine ends on a terser note: Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye. Its the Shut Down command we have all seen on our computers and which, spookily, I am seeing right now. No kidding. Is HAL, or his kin 13 years after 2001, monitoring my writing?

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Seven A.I. Movies That Are Better Than Transcendence

American Military Might: AeroSpace Power – 1981 Educational Film – S88TV1 – Video

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American Military Might: AeroSpace Power - 1981 Educational Film - S88TV1
Educational Film - S88TV1 AFSC Staff Film Report 297 - an omnibus of 1980 #39;s air force weapons systems along with research and development efforts. Archive fo...

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American Military Might: AeroSpace Power - 1981 Educational Film - S88TV1 - Video

Gameday: Comets vs Toronto

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April 18, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL) Utica Comets TORONTO MARLIES (44-24-2-4) @ UTICA COMETS (33-31-5-4)

Utica Memorial Auditorium, 7pm

Radio: 94.9 K-Rock

Tonight's Game: The Utica Comets have reached their second to last game of the season as they host the Toronto Marlies at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. After their strong second half, Utica was finally eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday in their defeat against Rochester.

When They Last Met: The Comets dropped a 3-2 decision to Toronto on Apr. 6 at Ricoh Coliseum. Center's Pascal Pelletier and Cal O'Reilly each scored for the Comets, while winger Alexandre Grenier collected two assists. Sam Carrick led the way for Toronto with two goals, while defenseman Eric Knodel had two assists. Joe Cannata took the loss despite a 33 save effort, while Garret Sparks was victorious with 23 saves on 25 shots.

Comets Outlook: The Utica Comets were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Wednesday evening, as they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Rochester Americans at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. David Marshall scored the lone goal for Utica, with Ray Kaunisto collecting his first assist as a Comet on the play. Joacim Eriksson took the defeat for the home side, with 18 saves on 22 shots, while Andrei Makarov was the victor for Rochester with 31 stops.

Marlies Outlook: Toronto won a wild 5-4 decision against the Binghamton Senators in overtime on Wednesday at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. TJ Brennan led the Marlies with three points (1-2-3) and Stuart Percy scored twice for the visitors and Jerry D'Amigo had two assists. Buddy Robinson led the Senators with two goals. Drew McIntyre collected the victory with 23 saves for Toronto.

Catcher In The O'Reilly: Despite appearing in just 50 games this season, Utica center Cal O'Reilly has cracked the AHL's top ten in power-play assists, with 22. O'Reilly's .44 PPA per game is third in the AHL amongst players with 50 or more games played, behind just Travis Morin (.47) and Mike Hoffman (.451). The Toronto, ON native is second overall on the Comets with 43 points (6-37-43).

The Pellowship Of The Ring: Utica's leading scorer, center Pascal Pelletier, has hovered on the first page of the league leaders for the entirety of the season and currently sits alone in 12th with 60 points (20-40-60). The playmaker's 40 assists are tied for 10th in the AHL, with his 25 even strength helpers tied for fifth in the league.

Forgetting David Marshall: Comets winger David Marshall was the Utica goal scorer in Wednesday's defeat against Rochester, with his second tally of the season. Marshall, who had scored last on Feb. 28 against Adirondack, now has multiple goals in the AHL for the sixth straight season.

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Gameday: Comets vs Toronto

Very Important Info for Your Empowerment! Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Nineteen) – Video

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Very Important Info for Your Empowerment! Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Nineteen)
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

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Very Important Info for Your Empowerment! Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Nineteen) - Video