Freedom camping trial 'working' despite excesses

Posted on by

Christine Garey

The complaint came after 13 vehicles took up Macandrew Bay's five designated freedom camping parks, and other nearby spaces, next to Ralph Ham Park on Thursday night.

Senior Constable Lox Kellas, of Portobello, confirmed the complaint had been received on Friday morning, by which time nine vehicles remained. The complaint was referred to the council.

Council staff spoken to yesterday confirmed the council's security firm, First Security, was alerted, but did not attend immediately.

The complaint came just days after councillors voted to continue a two-year trial of freedom camping at Macandrew Bay, at least until June, while assessing the impact of extra signs and security patrols.

The changes were introduced in response to community concern at the number of freedom campers staying overnight, which sometimes topped 20 vehicles.

Councillors at last week's planning and regulatory committee meeting voted to continue the trial after being reassured the recent changes were helping ease problems and no more than five vehicles were now parking in the area.

However, council parks operations officer Richard Dahlenburg on Friday said numbers had been ''up and down'' since the changes were introduced.

The week before last was a good one, but there were reports of 10 campers parked in the area early last week and 13 on Thursday morning.

Some residents were still getting ''a bit hot under the collar'' when extra vehicles were spotted, but the situation was still improving, he believed.

Go here to see the original:

Freedom camping trial 'working' despite excesses

OPINION: US, Obama must act now to save lives, protect religious freedom

Posted on by

Worshippers carry a cross in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Good Friday during Holy Week, in Jerusalem's Old City.Reuters

As priests are abducted in Crimea, churches burn in Sudan, and American pastors waste away in North Korean prisons, how long will it take this administration to name a new ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom?

With the president visiting Saudi Arabia and the first lady visiting China earlier this month, April would have been a prime opportunity to send a message that America values religious freedom, even in the presence of necessary allies with dismal reputations in this regard. This isnt a Democratic, Republican, liberal, or conservative issue; its a matter of common decency and of human rights.

The ambassadorship has been vacant for six months and it has been nearly two months since President Obama stated at the National Prayer Breakfast that he looks forward to nominating our next ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.

I have personally witnessed the shocking truth of the presidents related statement that "around the world, freedom of religion is under threat."

- Recently, I was in the West Bank where earlier this year in the village of Deir Istiya, attackers set fire to the local mosque and spray painted hate messages on its walls.

- The same day I was leaving the region, radical Islamists fired at least 40 rockets into the towns of their Jewish neighbors.

- A few weeks ago, as worshippers were gathering in St. Pauls Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria, Boko Haram a militant group trying to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state, attacked the church and killed over 45 parishioners. One of the survivors lost her husband and child in the attack and when interviewed all she could say was, we saw hell.

- In the mainly Buddhist nation of Burma, the number of displaced Rohingya Muslims has climbed to more than 150,000; others have been killed at the hands of Buddhist mobs, and all of this has happened since Burma began making its move toward political reform.

-- In the Central African Republic, Christian militias are now responding with unspeakable violence against the mainly Muslim Seleka rebels who notoriously terrorized Christians in the country last year, and on a recent Sunday morning in Mombasa, Kenya, extremists killed 2 Christian church leaders as they sat in the pews of Joy Jesus Church.

Read the original here:

OPINION: US, Obama must act now to save lives, protect religious freedom

Steelhawks Win Exciting Home Opener over Freedom

Posted on by

April 6, 2014 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Bethlehem, PA: After a hard fought see-saw match up between the Trenton Freedom, the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks came out on top in an exhilarating home opener. The win puts the Steelhawks at 1-0 and atop the National Conference standings as the only undefeated team in their division early on in the 2014 season.

An exciting first quarter from Stabler Arena with two touchdowns within 2 minutes of the start of the game. The Trenton Freedom jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after scoring on the very first play of the game with a 35-yard touchdown pass from QB Warren Smith to Antoine Rivera. The Steelhawks answered back quickly with an 8-yard touchdown run by Brandon Renford (6 rec, 83 yards, 3 td) on their second play. After a successful PAT and uno by Steelhawks kicker Michael Barnard, Lehigh Valley took an 8-6 lead. The Freedom's offense drove down the field, leading to a touchdown pass from Jaquan Bryant to Roger Jackson. Following a successful two-point conversion, Trenton held a 14-8 lead half way through the opening quarter. The Steelhawks were quick to answer once again with a strong drive ending in a touchdown pass from QB Adam Bednarik (16-27, 182 yds) to Brandon Renford. An even match after one quarter with the game being tied 14-14.

The Freedom started the second quarter deep inside Steelhawk territory, scoring immediately with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Bryant to take a 20-14 lead. After an out of bounds scrimmage kick from Trenton, the Steelhawks were awarded the ball in good position on the Freedom 20-yard line. Bednarik quickly found WR Scott Pillar in the end zone for a touchdown, and after a successful PAT, Lehigh Valley led 21-20. On the Freedom's next possession, Steelhawks DB Dwayne Hollis (10 tackles, 2 int) intercepted Warren Smith's pass giving the Steelhawks their first interception of the season and solid field position. This led to Bednarik throwing his third touchdown pass of the game, connecting once again with Renford, giving him his third touchdown as well (one rushing, two receiving). The Steelhawks held a 28-20 lead until Freedom QB Warren Smith scurried into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown run, shortening the deficit to only two points. The Freedom quickly regained possession after a missed field goal attempt by the Steelhawks, but were stopped deep in Steelhawk territory to end the half. Steelhawks lead 28-26 at the midway point of the game.

Lehigh Valley started the second half off with a long possession, resulting in a second consecutive missed field goal by kicker Michael Barnard. On the ensuing possession, the Freedom pushed the ball down field resulting in a powerful touchdown run by FB Melik Brown. Following the PAT, the Freedom held a 33-28 lead. Lehigh Valley quickly answered back as Bednarik found Pillar for the second time in the back corner of the end zone to regain the lead late into the third quarter. After three quarters of play, the Steelhawks held a 35-33 lead.

Trenton once again started the quarter in great field position, resulting in a touchdown pass from Smith to Jackson on the first play to take a 40-35 lead. The Freedom defense held the Steelhawks to minimum yardage on their next possession, resulting in a third missed field goal by Barnard. With momentum on their side, the Freedom worked their way down field for another touchdown pass from Smith to Rivera. This touchdown and PAT gave them the largest lead of the game at 47-35, halfway through the final quarter. On the following drive the Steelhawks moved the ball down field as Bednarik connected with OL Darryl Kurtz for his fifth touchdown pass cutting the Freedom lead to six with 2:43 remaining in the game. A Steelhawks defensive stand gave the offense one last chance at the time of the one-minute warning. One chance was all they needed as Bednarik found Renford once again for his fourth touchdown of the game, followed by a made PAT giving the Steelhawks a 48-47 lead with 33 seconds remaining. After a strong defensive effort and a game ending end zone interception the Steelhawks found themselves victorious after the intense season opening match up.

Tonight's Offensive player of the game is awarded to Brandon Renford having a total of three touchdowns, including the go ahead score with 33 seconds left, and 113 total all-purpose yards. The Special Teams and Defensive award goes to Dwayne Hollis for his consistent efforts on the return team as well as a dominant defensive effort recording 10 tackles and two interceptions.

Steelhawks next contest is on the road, taking on the Harrisburg Stampede (April 11th, 7:30pm). The team returns to Stabler Arena for their next home game on April 26th, 7:00pm kickoff; that game is deemed "Friends and Family Night" presented by ESSA Bank & Trust. A special drawstring backpack will be given away to the first 1,000 fans through the door.

Keep checking for the latest news and events from the Steelhawks! For further information please call Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Clark at (610) 282-3100, or visit our website at http://www.LVSteelhawks.com for the latest Steelhawks news!

Flex season ticket packages will be on sale after the home opener. It's not too late to get discounted tickets to every 2014 Lehigh Valley Steelhawks game. You can reserve your seats by calling the Steelhawks front office at 610-282-3100. Individual game tickets for each home game are now available as well!

Discuss this story on the Professional Indoor Football League message board... Digg this story Add to Del.icio.us

Read this article:

Steelhawks Win Exciting Home Opener over Freedom

Cris "Cyborg" Justino Talks About Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm on Inside MMA – Video

Posted on by


Cris "Cyborg" Justino Talks About Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm on Inside MMA
In an in-depth interview on AXS TV #39;s Inside MMA, women #39;s MMA fighter Cris "Cyborg" Justino addresses the latest statements from Ronda Rousey and the pay-per-...

By: AXS TV Fights

View original post here:

Cris "Cyborg" Justino Talks About Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm on Inside MMA - Video

Lifeguards returning to Bournemouth and Poole beaches over Easter holidays

Posted on by

Lifeguards returning to Bournemouth and Poole beaches over Easter holidays

9:00am Saturday 5th April 2014 in News

LIFEGUARDS will be returning to four beaches in Bournemouth and Poole this weekend in time for the Easter break.

After undergoing weeks of intensive training, the RNLIs lifeguards will be keeping visitors safe on Bournemouth East, Bournemouth West, Boscombe East and Sandbanks beaches, from 10am to 6pm each day, until April 21.

In 2013, RNLI lifeguards attended five incidents in Bournemouth during the Easter holidays, which were mainly minor first aid and missing children reports, while they attended four incidents in Sandbanks.

Barry Heathfield, lifeguard manager, pictured, said that the charity is delighted to be providing cover on beaches in Bournemouth and Poole over the Easter period.

He added: We hope people will head down to the coast and enjoy our wonderful beaches now that the weather is warming up a bit.

Although it is getting milder, the sea is still very cold this time of year, so if youre going to take the plunge, make sure youre wearing a good wetsuit or drysuit, go with other people and keep an eye on each other.

Read this article:

Lifeguards returning to Bournemouth and Poole beaches over Easter holidays

State, federal officials discuss future of the Great Lakes

Posted on by

Making the Saginaw Bay region beaches available for community members is a high priority for local Great Lakes restoration organizations.

State and federal legislative representatives came together Friday to discuss the future of the Great Lakes during Central Michigan Universitys symposium.

Weekly, we would receive phone calls about beach access and water levels, said Kyle Bostwick, the Shiawasee Sub-Watershed director for the Partnership for the Saginaw Bay Watershed and chief of staff for State Rep. Charles Brunner, D-Bay City. Weve come a long way. There were 37 beaches closed on a regular basis, and now were down to five.

Bostwick said there are multiple groups in the area that are working to keep the area safe for recreation, but organizing the groups had been difficult in the past.

There are 18 organizations alone to better the Cass River, he said. We are very lucky to have Central Michigan University, Grand Valley State University and many others working with these organizations to better these rivers.

Preservation of the Great Lakes and the rivers in the area has been a main focus for many organizations like the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality. Bostwick said he believes providing access to the beaches and rivers is just as important.

We spend all this time and resources on preserving it that we forget about access to these beaches, he said. You have to drive all the way to Tawas to see a beach without muck. We have to provide access. That should be our primary goal.

Bostwick said the Partnership for the Saginaw Bay Watershed was just granted permission to clean 1,000 feet of beaches and build a boardwalk. He said this was a small step in the process of cleaning hundreds of miles of shoreline for the public to access.

Others at the symposium were worried about the Enbridge Energy Partners LP sunken pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. Ryan Tarrant, district director for U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, said the representative has asked the company to evaluate the structure and integrity of the pipeline.

The pipeline, which carries more than 23 million gallons of crude oil through the area daily, can be shut off in case of a leak by a valve, according to the company.

Go here to see the original:

State, federal officials discuss future of the Great Lakes

Nudist beach would weed out perverts, says advocate

Posted on by

Topics: alexandria bay, editors picks, noosa, nudist beach, sunshine coast

AN OUTSPOKEN nudist suggests the "sleazy elements" that visit nude beaches would be eradicated if clothes-optional beaches became legal in Queensland.

Rocky Ind, a full-time nudist who organised the recent Alexandria Bay Beach Carnival, said legalising nude beaches - like Noosa's Alexandria Bay - would give genuine nudists the authority to evict the creeps.

"Everywhere they've put legalised nude beaches, it becomes self-policing, it gets rid of the sleazy element," Mr Ind said.

"Anywhere that becomes nude, well then they've got something to say to those who are not doing the right thing."

Mr Ind's expert input follows two recent incidents on Sunshine Coast beaches.

In the first, a lone female jogger was approached on Noosa's A-Bay beach by a male nudist who shoved a camera into her hands and asked her to take his photo. In the second incident, a nude man approached three teen beachgoers last week at Coolum's Second Bay.

"My opinion of these people, and the opinion of the vast majority of the nudists in Australia, is that these people are not genuine nudists," Mr Ind said.

"People in the nude should be avoiding those people, not out there on display, in your face, as it were.

"The incidents of this sort of behaviour is just about zero in legalised nude beaches; you don't get that sort of interaction."

Read more:

Nudist beach would weed out perverts, says advocate

The So-Called "Primitive" Astronomy of the Ancients: Nabta Playa, the Egyptian Stonehenge – Video

Posted on by


The So-Called "Primitive" Astronomy of the Ancients: Nabta Playa, the Egyptian Stonehenge
The Nabta Playa Complex was discovered in 1974 and predates the early Egyptian dynasties. It contains a megalithic stone structure, which served as a star ob...

By: The Mystic Trance

Go here to read the rest:

The So-Called "Primitive" Astronomy of the Ancients: Nabta Playa, the Egyptian Stonehenge - Video

April a month packed with notable astronomy events

Posted on by

On April 12, 1961 Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to make the daring journey into outer space. On this day he bravely completed an orbit of the earth in the Vostok 3KA spacecraft achieving the celebrated status as the first human to enter outer space and the first orbital flight of a manned vehicle. Stardome is celebrating this important day in space flight (NASA launched Space Shuttle Columbia on the same date in 1981), named International Day of Human Space Flight and Yuris Night by screening a special planetarium show about the Google Lunar XPRIZE, Back To The Moon For Good and a presentation on Gagarin. Learn more about the man and the adventure!

David Britten, Astronomy Educator at Stardome says "It is interesting that the first man in outer space was selected based on his ancestry, and stature - there was no room in the space craft for someone of large build. Gagarin orbited earth once, which took just 108 minutes but his legacy of adventure and bravery is still celebrated today."

Mars Up Close

Just a couple of days later on April 14, Mars - our nearest, potentially habitable planet - will be at closest approach, giving Earth dwellers an opportunity to view the red planet in extra detail.

In 2014 Mars reaches opposition on 8 April as Earth overtakes it in its orbit, although it is actually closest to Earth six days later on 14 April, putting Mars just 93 million kilometres away. While it will be even closer in 2018, this is the closest to Earth it has been since 2003. The term at opposition means that the object (in this case, Mars) Earth and the Sun are 180 degrees apart on the sky, so the object rises as the Sun sets.

The best time for viewing Mars through a telescope is in April, after which it will get significantly smaller as Earth leaves it behind. To the naked eye, Mars will be very bright and noticeably reddish in colour. Through a good telescope, you may see distinctive dark markings. While these markings have been noted for centuries, it is only in the last 40 years, since the Mariner 4 expedition, that the markings have been understood as sporadic global dust storms and seasonal changes in polar ice coverage.

David Britten, Astronomy Educator at Stardome, says "Although tiny Mars is at its closest, a clear view even with a good sized telescope can be rather difficult. A steady tripod is essential, and you need to be patient and wait for the local cloud and atmospheric conditions to settle. The surface is clear at present, but there could be a massive Martian dust storm that clouds the atmosphere and blocks the view of the entire surface for months. Keep your fingers crossed for favourable Mars and Earth weather conditions!"

Lunar Eclipse

April 15 brings the first of two lunar eclipses for 2014. This eclipse will be special because it starts soon after the sun sets and from a high vantage point looking east you will be able to see the Moon rise from 6.00pm and move within the Earths shadow to be completely eclipsed by 7.08pm. This marks the start of totality and at this time the Moon will be 15 degrees above a flat horizon - less if there are hills. Maximum eclipse is at 7.46pm and totality ends at 8.23pm at which point the Moon will be 30 degrees above the eastern horizon. The Moon will be completely out of the umbra by 9.32pm. It will look a bit dim because it will still be within the penumbral shadow until 10.36pm, when the eclipse finally ends.

Go here to read the rest:

April a month packed with notable astronomy events

Artificial intelligence robots systematically destroy wall in the name of art

Posted on by

Generally speaking, we use robots to help us build or create things. An artwork on display at the UK's Foundation for Art and Creative Technology (FACT), however, does quite the opposite. Accomplice comprises a number of robots that are systematically destroying a gallery wall over the course of an exhibition.

The artwork is designed by Petra Gemeinboeck and Rob Saunders and was first developed in 2012 during a residency at the Ars Electronica Futurelab in Linz, Austria. It explores the concept of machine autonomy and aims to remind the audience that society not only depends on technology, but is shaped by it too.

Building on an earlier work by Gemeinboeck and Saunders called Zwischenrume (In-between Spaces), Accomplice uses a system that allows the robots to share the wall space whilst using the same mechanism for moving around. They are able to communicate with each other through rhythmic knocking signals.

Gemeinboeck explains to Gizmag that the robots use a computational model of curiosity, based on a combination of reinforcement and unsupervised learning. The robots are rewarded for discovering novelty, such as surprising or unexpected consequences of their actions. They then use use these experiences to create a model of how the world reacts to them. As such, they are constantly experimenting and learning.

"One of the consequences of the robots actions is to open up holes in the wall, through which they can observe the outside world," says Gemeinboeck. "This is when a more passive form of machine learning, unsupervised learning, takes over. In this case the robots are motivated to learn about new experiences but have little control over the creation of those experiences through action. The robots are sensitive to color and motion, and so people wearing colors they haven't seen recently or who are moving in different ways to recent visitors may reward the robot by providing it with something new to learn. From the robots perspective, the audience performs for them."

Gemeinboeck explains that the basic idea was to couple the wall with a dynamic machine mechanism. "We use an advanced linear motion systems from Igus for the vertical motion and a belt drive for the horizontal motion," she says. "For the control system, we use off-the-shelf low-power computing systems a Beagleboard XM handles the central control, a Raspberry Pi mainly takes care of the machine vision and an Arduino with a RAMPS board shield takes care of the motor control. Weve developed our own custom control software that builds on Robs research in Computational Creativity. The electromechanical punch is custom-built as well, driven by a solenoid."

The artists worked with a kinetic sculpture to create the electromechanical punch and, although many of the components used were off-the-shelf, others had to be created, a process that Gemeinboeck says required a great deal of prototyping over several months. The work as a whole was programmed mostly in Python, with some C and Java.

Accomplice has garnered a variety of reactions from audience members in the places that it has been exhibited. According to Gemeinboeck, some people have been "disconcerted" by the apparently destructive machinery that appears to have no human control, whilst others are more intrigued or amused.

"We have often observed that audiences respond more like visitors in a zoo; they spend a surprising amount of time to observe whats going on and begin to speculate about the machines' intent," she says. "In some instances we have also seen the audiences perspective to shift in interesting ways they have felt uneasy at first and saw what was going on as a violent act, but after a while began to look at the wall from 'the other side', from the machines' perspective, which opened up more playful possibilities."

Accomplice is on display at FACT until 22nd June as part of the Science Fiction: New Death exhibition.

Follow this link:

Artificial intelligence robots systematically destroy wall in the name of art