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ThanetGazette commented Thanet beaches closed after sewage leak
TORONTO, June 5, 2012 /CNW/ - This summer, 17 beaches and four marinas will fly the Blue Flag in Canada. Blue Flag is an international eco-label awarded to beaches and marinas that meet high environmental standards.
And as the program marks its 25th year, Canada sees the first certified beaches and marinas outside Ontario. Manitoba, Quebec and Nova Scotia are receiving Blue Flags for the first time. B.C. is next in line, with Harrison Hot Springs Beach in the pilot phase of the program.
To be awarded a Blue Flag, beaches and marinas must meet four sets of criteria: water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety and services. If a beach has a Blue Flag, people can be assured that it is clean, sustainably managed and great for swimming.
Worldwide there are 3,098 Blue Flag beaches and 646 marinas in 46 countries. Blue Flags have been awarded in Canada since 2005. Internationally, the program is managed by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), based in Denmark. Environmental Defence is the national operator of Blue Flag in Canada.
"More and more communities want Blue Flag recognition," said Brett Tryon, Blue Flag Coordinator for Environmental Defence. "They know it encourages environmental stewardship and engages people with the waterfront. Beach operators and volunteers have worked hard to earn this award and we are proud to see the Blue Flag community continue to grow."
Beaches and marinas flying Blue Flags for the first time this summer are:
They join 14 beaches and 3 marinas in Ontario that have been re-awarded Blue Flags:
"Grand Bend has always been known for its world renowned sunsets," said Mayor Bill Weber of the Municipality of Lambton Shores, Ontario, "but now, the Blue Flag designation lets the world know that our beach and marinas meet the highest standard for water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety. Meeting these high standards is the result of community and staff support, and we feel it is a very important factor in attracting tourists to our area."
Several beaches are participating as candidates, including Canatara Park Beach in Sarnia, Ontario, Birch Cove Beach in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Harrison Hot Springs Beach in BC. These beaches could get a Blue Flag as early as 2013.
More details about the Blue Flag program and the certified marinas and beaches can be found on the web site at http://www.BlueFlag.ca.
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THANET'S beaches have been closed to swimmers after sewage was leaked into the sea following a following a failure at the Southern Water pumping station.
Experts are warning people not to bathe or walk below the tide line as a precautionary measure following the spill from the Foreness Point station.
Thanet's beaches have been closed after sewage leaked into the sea
Beaches were closed on Monday while the water company works around the clock to fix pumps which became blocked following heavy rain.
A Southern Water spokesman admitted that some sewage was continuing to leak from the station and that the situation could get worse if rain returns.
Beach cleaners and litter pickers are working along theThanet coastline to clear beaches of any raw sewage. It is likely that the beaches will be closed to bathers for a minimum of two days.
Thanet council has placed red flags on beaches and RNLI Lifeguards are warning the public.
Jon Griffin, Senior Environment Officer with the Environment Agency said: "The Environment Agency are carrying out a full investigation and are working with Southern Water Services and Thanet District Council to reduce the impact of the spillages as much as possible. We will continue to monitor the bathing water quality over the coming days and will advise Thanet District Council accordingly."
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5 June 2012 Last updated at 06:41 ET
More than 20 Kent bathing beaches have been closed after sewage was discharged into the sea.
The closure of all beaches in Thanet was caused by a failure at the Southern Water Foreness Point Sewage Pumping Station after heavy rain.
Spokesman John Crooke said the pumping station discharged water which could otherwise have flooded homes.
Red flags are being flown at the beaches, many of which had recently won Blue Flag awards for cleanliness.
The beaches have been closed since Monday. Visitors have been told not to cross the high tide line.
Thanet District Council said they would stay shut for at least two days as a precautionary measure.
Last month, it was revealed that Thanet had more Blue Flag beaches than any other area in England.
The awards recognise high water quality and facilities.
Beach cleaners and litter pickers are on site whilst officers from the council and representatives from the Environment Agency and Southern Water Services fully assess the situation.
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2004 transit of Venus
This June 8, 2004, file photo shows the transit of Venus, which occurs when the planet Venus passes between the Earth and the Sun. Venus will cross the face of the sun on Tuesday, a sight that will be visible from parts of Earth. This is the last transit for more than 100 years. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu,File)
MOORHEAD Astronomy enthusiasts around the area are gearing up for an event today that wont happen again for another 105 years.
Starting a little bit after 5 p.m., the orbit of planet Venus will take it directly in front of the sun, blocking out a small portion of its light as it crosses between the Earth and the sun a transit of Venus, as astronomers call it.
To the naked eye, though, it wont be that noticeable without special solar eclipse glasses needed to look into the sun.
Unlike last months solar eclipse, which blocked out more than 50 percent of the sun, Venus will only block out roughly 1 percent, said Juan Cabanela, associate professor of physics and astronomy at Minnesota State University Moorhead.
To assist the public with safely viewing the rare solar event, MSUM and the F-M Astronomy Club have scheduled a public viewing with telescopes and other special equipment, which Cabanela said will make the transit absolutely crystal clear.
The event wont happen again until December 2117, but Cabanela said this is actually the second time its occurred in our lifetime, most recently taking place just eight years ago.
The transits occur in cycles, he said, happening twice in eight years, followed by a 105- or 107-year period, depending on the year. The reason for the odd cycles and the rarity of the event, Cabanela said, is because Venus travels around the sun differently than does Earth.
Venus orbit isnt perfectly lined up with ours, he said. When Venus is between the Earth and the sun, its usually a little bit below or above the sun.
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For no other reason than it is beautiful, here is a picture astronaut Andr Kuipers took of Buenos Aires as the International Space Station sailed into the night over the Atlantic Ocean.
[Click to enmsgrandenate.]
Kuipers took that picture on May 11, 2012. Looking to the west you can see the city lights, as well as the thin green line of the atmospheric aerosol layer. I suspect thats Venus right over the horizon, too. The silhouette is of the Russian Progress 47 capsule which docked with the ISS in April, and will remain there for several more months.
Image credit: NASA/ESA
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- Psychedelic space station stars and cities - Space Station star trails - Southern lights greet ISS and Atlantis - ATV docks with the ISS (this is a must-see picture!)
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Today's historic Venus transit is a marathon event lasting nearly seven hours, but skywatchers who don't have that kind of time can break it down into a handful of key milestones.
Venus treks across the sun's face from Earth's perspective today (June 5; June 6 in much of the Eastern Hemisphere), marking the last such Venus transit until 2117. Few people alive today will be around to see the next transit, which makes the rare celestial sight a premier event in the astronomical and skywatching communities.
The Venus-sun show will begin around 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) and end at roughly 12:50 a.m. EDT (0450 GMT) Wednesday, with the exact timing varying by a few minutes from point to point around the globe.
First contact
Before you even attempt to observe the transit of Venus, a warning: NEVER stare at the sun through binoculars or small telescopes or with the unaided eye without the proper safety equipment. Doing so can result in serious and permanent eye damage, including blindness.
Astronomers use special solar filters on telescopes to view the sun safely, while No. 14 welder's glass and eclipse glasses can be used to observe the sun directly. [How to Safely Photograph the Venus Transit]
With that warning stated, here's a look at the first major stage of the transit of Venus.
The transit officially commences when the leading edge of Venus first touches the solar disk, an event astronomers call "Contact I" or "ingress exterior." This milestone occurs at 6:03 p.m. EDT (2203 GMT) for observers in eastern North America, while skywatchers on the other side of the continent will see it a few minutes later, at 3:06 p.m. PDT.
Second contact and beyond
Next up is "Contact II," or "ingress interior" the moment when Venus moves fully onto the sun's face. This will happen 18 minutes after Contact I. [Venus Transit of 2004: 51 Amazing Photos]
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Transit of Venus Explained: The Stages of Today's Rare Sun Crossing
HELSINKI, Finland, June 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
The board of ZenRobotics Ltd., the Finnish high-tech company specializing in recycling robotics and artificial intelligence, has appointed Mr Juho Malmberg as the company's new CEO. Juho Malmberg will join ZenRobotics on 1 July 2012.
Mr Malmberg's previous positions include e.g. Managing director of Accenture Finland and Executive VP of Customer Experience and Member of the Executive Board, KONE Corporation.
Jorma Eloranta, ZenRobotics's Chairman of the Board: "Juho Malmberg has a strong record in international business at KONE Corporation. Mr Malmberg is known for his analytical but in the same time pragmatic leadership style. In my view, he's a splendid addition to the ZenRobotics dream team."
Juho Malmberg comments: "I take up this position with great enthusiasm. Most successful businesses are driven by a global megatrend. For ZenRobotics, there are actually two: the huge growth of waste around the world and the starting revolution of intelligent robotics. The company's main product, ZenRobotics Recycler, is a revolutionary solution which intensifies recycling globally. The system utilizes robots to reclaim valuable raw materials from a waste stream, for sale. Each kilo of raw materials picked out of the stream also reduces the landfilling costs of the customer", describes Malmberg, with obvious excitement.
The interim CEO of ZenRobotics, Rainer Rehn, resumes his duties as the officer in charge of commercialization.
"I enjoyed my time as the CEO, but I've always felt my true strengths are in the organization of international sales operations. Now I'm back at doing the job that is my true passion", grins a happy Rainer Rehn.
ZenRobotics Ltd. is a Finnish high-end cleantech company, based in Helsinki. In the 24-strong company one in three employee holds a PhD. The company's main product is ZenRobotics Recycler, an AI-controlled robotic recycling system, which reclaims valuable raw materials from waste streams. The system is marketed globally, through a reseller network in place in 49 countries.
Read more: http://www.zenrobotics.com
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World-class Leader Joins a Start-up: Juho Malmberg Appointed CEO of ZenRobotics Ltd.
Bangalore, June 4:
Karnataka has already attracted Rs 10,000 crore worth investments for its proposed Bangalore Aerospace Park.
According to Mr M.N. Vidya Shankar, Secretary for Commence and Industry, the aerospace park will come up near the Bangalore international airport near Devanahalli on 968 acres.
For developing Bangalore Aero Park, the State government's High Level Clearance Committee, headed by the Chief Minister, Mr D.V. Sadananda Gowda, recently cleared the proposal of Sun Forest City Ventures Ltd.
Sun Forest City is planning to build Bangalore Aerospace Park (named Project Vayu) with a complete ecosystem for aerospace industries. The total project cost is Rs 9,394 crore.
The project is expected to be taken up in three phases, spread over 12 years and is likely to offer employment to 2.42 lakh people.
Mr Vidya Shankar said The project developer has already lined up major aerospace investments to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore for its phase I and has already given us time lines for executing phase II and III.
The Government of Karnataka will be unveiling at the Global Investors Meet (GIM) to be held in Bangalore from June 6 to 8.
The portal will display all the developments of project proposals made at the GIM.
Mr Vidya Shankar said The portal will be monitoring mechanism and display all projects details for which MoUs were signed during GIM 2010 and the ones to which we will be signing in GIM 2012.
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Our research suggests that the overwhelming majority of police forces are unable to separate the records of people never charged from those found guilty in court."
Since 2004, police forces have been allowed to take the DNA or fingerprints of anyone aged over 10 who was arrested for a recordable offence, which means most crimes.
The national DNA database grew to include details of several million people over the next few years, and was credited with leading to convictions as samples taken from crime scenes were linked to people arrested for unrelated offences.
In 2008 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that keeping the records indefinitely was unlawful, prompting the Labour government to review the policy.
After the election, the Coalition promised to improve the system by making it more like that of Scotland, where only the DNA of those convicted of serious offences, such as violence or sex crimes, is held and for a maximum of five years.
But it then emerged that ministers only planned to anonymise the records rather than deleting them completely, and did not introduce a safeguard that would mean a judges approval was needed to keep the files.
The Protection of Freedoms Act passed last month also allows biometric material from innocent people to be kept for up if it is deemed to be in the interests of national security.
Big Brother Watch claims it is not clear how citizens can have their profiles removed from the database, and that in the absence of detailed plans or a timetable from the Home Office, police forces are continuing to add to it.
Figures show there are now some 6.4m profiles on the database.
Records obtained through Freedom of Information requests by Big Brother Watch suggest that 986,767 samples of DNA were gathered between January 2009 and December 2011.
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DNA of thousands of innocent people still being collected by police
Scientists havesuccessfullycreated a pair of DNA nucleobases, which, likeadenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine in natural DNA, can copy themselves nearly as well as the real thing.
The language of life is about to expand its vocabulary. An international team of researchers discovered that the body's copying machine for DNA works in the same way for manmade, artificial building blocks of DNA as it does for the natural kind.
If scientists find artificial DNA building blocks work well and are safe to use, the extra building materials could create DNA that codes for new molecules that the body can't make now. The artificial DNA could also form the basis of a partlysynthetic organism.
The DNA code in living things is made of four different molecules, called bases, that are nicknamed A, T, C and G. In a double row of DNA, the bases always link up to each other in a specific way, with A's matching with T's and C's matching with G's. In 2008, a team of researchers created a third, artificial pair of DNA molecules made to match with each other, named NaM and 5SICS. In this new study, some of the same researchers used a technique calledX-ray crystallographyto take pictures of A, T, C, G, NaM and 5SICS while they were getting copied in a test tube.
DNA is an important bodily process that happens often, so that cells can pass their genetic information on to new cells that are created all the time, such as skin or blood cells that develop to replace old, worn-out cells.
After NaM and 5SICS were made, several other groups of researchers found that a natural strand of DNA with NaM and 5SICS added to it will still copy itself nearly as well as all-natural DNA. Scientists didn't know why it worked so well. They worried they had somehow "tricked" the body's DNA copying machine, called DNA polymerase, said Floyd Romesberg, a chemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif. Romesberg was one of the principal inventors of NaM and 5SICS and was involved inthis new study, published online yesterday (June 3) in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
The natural base pairs A, C, G and T have specific shapes and line up neatly with each other along their edges when they're inside a DNA helix. Scientists believe their shape and neat fit are important for DNA polymerase to work properly. On the other hand, NaM and 5SICS aren't shaped anything like the natural bases. They don't use the same chemical bonds as natural bases do and they don't line up edge-to-edge. [Move Over, DNA, and Meet the More Durable XNA]
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Scientists create artificial DNA molecule
(Phys.org) -- An international collaboration between scientists in University College Dublin and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) has revealed for the first time that 15% of the proteins encoded by the human genome contribute to the process of secretion in cells. This finding has been made possible through the assessment of more than 8 million individual cells.
This study is the first genome-wide assessment of the secretory process in a human cell system, explains Professor Jeremy Simpson, UCD School of Biology & Environmental Science and UCD Conway Institute, co-author of the research paper published online today in Nature Cell Biology.
Science has long recognised that secretion is a fundamental process, essential to almost all cell types in the body. The process is used to deliver hormones into the blood stream, digestive enzymes into the gut, and signalling molecules between cells.
However, until now, technology did not permit scientists to catalogue the complex pathway that a protein or lipid takes from manufacture to packaging and transporting through the cell to being secreted from the cell.
Previous studies on the secretory process have either been carried out with a more narrow focus on specific subsets of genes or in more simplistic organisms such as the fruit fly (Drosophila) where many of the proteins identified have no human equivalent. Now, using high content screening, we have been able to systematically target each of the 22,000 human genes and track the journey of a specific, fluorescently-tagged protein as it travels through, and out of, over 8 million individual cells.
In order for us to understand the impact on the body when this fundamental process of secretion is disrupted, we must first decipher the functional network of membrane trafficking pathways within the cell.
The researchers analysed more than 700,000 microscopy images and found 554 proteins that influence secretion, with 143 of these either influencing the early stage of the secretory pathway or morphology of the Golgi, a cellular structure responsible for packaging and labelling proteins.
Membrane traffic pathways connect membrane bound organelles in a carefully ordered sequence that ensures the correct complement of proteins and lipids within the cell exist in order to maintain cellular balance or homeostasis.
Image caption: In cells where different genes are silenced (middle, bottom), the site where the secretory processes begins (green) changes compared to normal cells (top). Courtesy of Jeremy Simpson, UCD
Newly synthesized proteins and lipids in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) are modified as they pass along the secretory pathway through the Golgi apparatus to the cell surface.
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First genome-wide assessment of secretion in human cells
It's a good thing that Jason Tarver mastered (as in degree) biochemistry and molecular biology. Because he is taking on much uglier, more complicated material now.
How are the Raiders going to stop the run?
And when he's done with that decade-old problem, Oakland's bright-eyed new defensive coordinator can tackle this brainteaser:
How are the Raiders going to stop the pass?
Oakland, which won eight games last season on the strength of its offense, became one of four teams to allow at least 30 TD passes and 5.0 yards per carry in a season. (Not to mention the entire squad's NFL-record 163 penalties for 1,358 yards.) The Raiders had a lot of high-priced players, but few, if any, playmakers on defense.
And then, in the offseason, Oakland cut leading pass-rusher Kamerion Wimbley for salary-cap reasons and also let go of its two starting cornerbacks, Stanford Routt and Chris Johnson.
The Raiders replaced them with several veterans signed to one-year contracts and rookies drafted after the second round, as they didn't have any early picks.
All of which explains why Tarver can't go into a lot of detail when asked what the Raiders' defense is going to look like. He doesn't know yet.
The team was back on the field for organized workouts Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Tarver and new head coach Dennis Allen are still in discovery mode.
"Put all these guys out here and see who can play and who can learn and who can communicate and who can fit with your group," Tarver said.
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Raiders' professor of defense
Public release date: 4-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Rhiannon Bugno Biol.Psych@utsouthwestern.edu 214-648-0880 Elsevier
Philadelphia, PA, June 4, 2012 Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is among the most common, distressing, and disabling medical consequences of combat or other extremely stressful life events. The first-line treatment for PTSD is exposure therapy, a type of behavioral therapy where patients confront their fears in a safe environment. Although it is an effective treatment, many patients still experience symptoms after treatment and there is a relatively high drop-out rate.
In an effort to improve existing treatments, a new study appearing in Biological Psychiatry this week has tested a novel hypothesis about the treatment of PTSD derived from prior work in animal models and other anxiety disorders. They examined whether the impact of psychotherapy could be enhanced by administering D-cycloserine (DCS), a drug that does not directly treat the symptoms of PTSD, but rather promotes neuroplasticity, i.e., makes brain circuits better able to remodel themselves in the context of experience.
To test this, researchers recruited individuals with PTSD, all of whom received up to 10 weekly sessions of exposure therapy. They were randomized to receive doses of either DCS or placebo before each session, but did not know which they were receiving. The severity of their symptoms was assessed before and after treatment.
All patients experienced a reduction in symptoms due to the exposure therapy, regardless of whether they had received DCS augmentation or placebo. However, DCS did enhance the effects of exposure therapy in a specific subgroup of patients. Those who had more severe PTSD prior to treatment and needed longer treatment had a greater reduction in symptoms when they received DCS, compared to those who received placebo.
"Our study showed that some PTSD patients respond well and fast to exposure and for them, there seems no need to augment the therapy. In contrast, those patients with severe PTSD symptoms and who fail to respond to exposure sessions may benefit from augmentation with DCS," explained first author Dr. Rianne de Kleine. "It seems that DCS is beneficial for exactly those patients we aimed for: the more severe patients who do not respond to first-line treatment."
"This approach may have important implications for the treatment of PTSD. Two decades of brain research suggests that severe psychological stress causes atrophy of some of the fine connections in the brain and reductions in the volume of brain regions involved in emotion and memory. Thus, individuals with PTSD may have deficits in neuroplasticity that get in the way of effective treatment," commented Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. "D-cycloserine may reduce this deficit in neuroplasticity and increase the response to psychotherapy, in this case a psychotherapy approach that involves exposing people to reminders and memories of the trauma."
The authors conclude that additional work is warranted to explore whether this combination can become an effective intervention to treat the symptoms of PTSD.
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PTSD psychotherapy is enhanced with D-cycloserine
03-06-2012 01:17 Laura and I took a year out to travel the world over 14 different countries. Follow us through our highs and lows over the stunning locations we saw. In part two we journey over Laos and Vietnam. Over the next parts we visit Cambodia,Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. Our entire online travel blog can be found here -
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NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -06/04/12)- Alexandre Chemla announces Paul Salvatore as Vice President of Sales, for their Meetings Management Division, effective June 4, 2012. Salvatore's 37 years as a veteran of the travel industry, will bring a heightened level of knowledge to our current team.
Salvatore served as CEO of Robustelli World Travel and Corporate Services until being acquired by HRG in Feb. of 2006. Most recently, Salvatore headed HRG's Events and Meetings Management Division as Global Coordinator for the past six years.
Salvatore comments: "I evaluated various opportunities over the past few months, with my choice to join ALTOUR; I feel my clients, both current and future, will receive the highest level of hands-on, high-touch service, bringing flexibility with enhancements to technology solutions in addition to new products."
Salvatore will focus on maintaining and further developing Strategic Meetings Management Programs for ALTOUR's current and expanding customer base. Salvatore comments, "With the broad range of services and resources ALTOUR has to offer, I will have the ability to introduce clients to end-to-end solutions providing them with the complete control of meeting, event and travel spend."
Alexandre Chemla states, "We are excited to welcome Paul to our team, to engage in his knowledge and experience to continue the relentless growth of our Meetings Division." Mary Sue Leathers, President of ALTOUR Meetings, comments: "As we welcome Paul to our team, we look forward to his depth of knowledge to continue the drive of our leading edge in the meeting industry."
ALTOUR Meetings Division has been recognized as one of the top CMI 25, an honor bestowed upon the largest and most influential full-service meeting and incentive travel management companies.
With a $1.3 billion turnover in 2011 and with a workforce of over 1,100 professionals in 57 offices on three continents, ALTOUR is recognized as an international industry leader providing essential travel and service solutions the world over. The company's core remains its renowned business travel management capabilities, though ALTOUR has divisions dedicated to such diverse fields as leisure travel, performance improvement, sports travel, entertainment travel, as well as meetings and event services. ALTOUR's principal divisions are complemented by flexible sister companies providing private air charter services and limousine services. For more information please visit http://www.ALTOUR.com.
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NEW YORK, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Gaiam, Inc., a leading producer of lifestyle media, announced the release of The Layover Season 1 on DVD under its exclusive home video license agreement with Travel Channel.
The first season of this tourist's delight follows Anthony Bourdain through Europe, Asia, and the United States as he gives travelers some real food for thought: why waste your layover sitting in the airport when you've been given the opportunity to double your vacation fun? From Wheeler's historic seafood restaurant in London to the famous Tiong Bahru Market in Singapore, Bourdain utilizes every moment of his gritty, highly caffeinated journey. He soaks up as much culture as he can within 24 to 48 hours of layover time to provide viewers with the most unpredictable, unique stories of places, people, and their food. Bourdain also shares some top-of-the-line insider tips only the most experienced of travelers would know.
This DVD is comprised of ten episodes on two discs. It has a run time of 430 minutes and a suggested retail price of $19.98 Street date: June 5th, 2012
The Layover Season 1 will be available in stores and online wherever DVDs are sold.
TRAVEL CHANNEL (http://www.travelchannel.com) is a multiplatform travel lifestyle brand with the core mission of providing inspiring and compelling programming that takes viewers beyond their everyday destinations, making the unfamiliar familiar, whether it's around the world or around the block. A dual feed network that is also available in HD, Travel Channel is the world's leading travel media brand, and is available in over 94 million U.S. cable homes. Owned and operated by Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI), Travel Channel has offices in Chevy Chase, MD, and New York, NY. Scripps Networks Interactive (SNI) also owns and operates HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country.
About GAIAM Gaiam, Inc. (GAIA) is a leading producer and marketer of lifestyle media and fitness accessories. With a wide distribution network that consists of 62,000 retail doors, 14,400 store within stores, 5,600 media category management locations, a digital distribution platform and more than 10 million direct customers, Gaiam is dedicated to providing solutions for healthy and eco-conscious living. The company dominates the health and wellness category and releases non-theatrical programming focused on family entertainment and conscious media. In addition, Gaiam has an exclusive licensing agreement with Discovery Communications and other licensing partners. For more information about Gaiam, please visit http://www.gaiam.com or call 1.800.869.3603.
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Travel Channel and Gaiam Release The Layover Season 1 on DVD
JENKINTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Friendly Planet Travel, a leading group-tour operator offering tours to exotic destinations worldwide, announced Phase II of its ultimate Win the World Facebook sweepstakes. This month, Friendly Planet will be giving away a free, all-inclusive, 7-day A Taste of Ireland tour to one lucky winner.
The 7-day A Taste of Ireland tour takes one lucky winner and their guest to the emerald isle to visit Irelands most famous destinations: Dublin, Kerry, Cliffs of Moher, Kilkenny Castle, and Limerick. The tour includes round-trip airfare, including fuel surcharges, airfare taxes, and fees; all-ground transportation and transfers; deluxe and superior hotel accommodations; daily Irish breakfast and two dinners; comprehensive touring programs with entrance fees included; English-speaking tour guides; and more. The winner of the giveaway will be announced at the beginning of July on Facebook.
The tour visits Irelands capital city, Dublin, with a trip to County Kerry for a chance to kiss the Blarney Stone. Travelers also visit the Ring of Kerrys spectacular scenery; Dingle Bay; and the Muckross House in the heart of Killarney National Park. A stop at the majestic Cliffs of Moher and the medieval city of Kilkenny rounds out the tour of Ireland.
Ireland is a beautiful destination, with its stunning emerald green countryside, its friendly people, and lively pubs, says Peggy Goldman, President of Friendly Planet Travel. Including this giveaway, we have two more tours to give away over the next two months. Our fans still have a great chance to win.
By becoming a fan and entering the contact on Friendly Planet Travels Facebook page, travelers are entered to win one of the exotic getaways being given away in the Win the World Facebook Sweepstakes. To receive extra entries, fans can share the sweepstakes with their Facebook friends. For every friend a traveler refers to enter the giveaway, that travelers name will be added to the pool again, increasing their chances of winning.
Steven Phillips of New York is the luck winner of Mays giveaway, a getaway on Friendly Planet Travels 8-day Best of Turkey tour valued at more than $4,000!
After A Taste of Ireland, one giveaway remains: Taj Mahal Express: a nine-day tour, valued at more than $4,000, takes travelers to fascinating and exotic Delhi; Agra; the Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the worlds most famous monuments; and the Pink City of Jaipur.
For more information about Friendly Planet Travel, please visit the companys website at http://www.FriendlyPlanet.com; the blog at blog.FriendlyPlanet.com; or contact Jackie Zima-Evans at 610-228-2138 (office), 215-534-2973 (mobile), or write to Jackie@GregoryFCA.com. To enter to win and for continual updates about the giveaways, check out Friendly Planet Travels Facebook page.
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Get ‘A Taste of Ireland’ With Friendly Planet Travel’s Facebook Sweepstakes Giveaway
Do the rest of the world think Australians are dumb, drunk and racist? Source: The Courier-Mail
THE good news is that, courtesy of the still sprightly though now falling Australian dollar, more of us than any time in our history have the ability to travel overseas, and in considerably more style than ever before.
The bad news is that with more and more Australians unleashed on the world the chances of the drongos, drunks and racists among us disgracing ourselves abroad must have, statistically, increased.
Paul Theroux infamously wrote in The Great Railway Bazaar, the classic travel book from the 1970s on his train journey from London to Hong Kong and back again, that whenever he was at his lowest ebb on his travels he always seemed to meet an Australian (and, no, he didn't mean he was glad to see us).
Recently Tim Hunter, boss of Canterbury & Christchurch Tourism, effectively accused normally bravura-driven Aussies of being wimps in shying away from a visit to New Zealand's quake-struck second biggest city.
Now there's a forthcoming ABC television series, provocatively-entitled Dumb, Drunk & Racist.
It tests the theory that Indians, based on call-centre training sessions, consider Australians to be "fat, lazy, drunk, low-class, dumb and racist".
This habit of Australians worrying what other nationalities think of us if they have a view of us at all - used to be known as "the cultural cringe".
In an increasing competitive world reputations do count, and it's fair to say that each and every one of us are ambassadors whenever and wherever we set foot abroad.
Here are some thoughts on how were perceived overseas.
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1,000 Node High-Performance, Scalable, Compute and Storage Clusters Support Open Test Platform for Apache Hadoop Development Community
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology and green computing, announces its 1,000 node Apache Hadoop cluster is now live with the launch of EMC's Greenplum Analytics Workbench this week at EMC World in Las Vegas, Nevada. Supermicro joins EMC and their industry leading partners in a collaborative effort to create the world's largest open lab environment for Apache Hadoop testing and development. This open platform offers Hadoop developers access to a large scale infrastructure for testing, refining and enhancing their Big Data analytics applications.
"Supermicro appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with our technology and solution partners on this landmark Hadoop project," said Wally Liaw, Vice President Sales, International at Supermicro. "The launch of Greenplum Analytics Workbench is the result of EMC's creative vision and a tribute to the value of working together to inspire and accelerate innovation in a rapidly developing technology. Supermicro's contribution supports the Hadoop development community with our most application optimized server and storage solutions for EMC's Greenplum Analytics Workbench and we look forward to the resulting insights and knowledge sharing so we can further improve our products to deliver the best solutions for this emerging analytics platform."
Supermicro's enterprise-class compute and storage systems offer the ideal platform for organizations looking to quickly implement or transition to Hadoop analytics and a flexible, cost-effective path to scalability as business needs evolve. Supermicro offers world-class integration (build & test) and support capabilities. Supermicro's contribution to the Greenplum Analytics Workbench consists of 1,000 dual-processor nodes with 12,000/24,000 Cores/Threads, 48 Terabytes of memory and 24 Petabytes of storage. System configurations optimized for this installation's requirements are based on Supermicro 2U SuperServer Solutions supporting:
- Dual Intel Xeon processors - Up to 192GB RAM with 12 DDR3 RDIMMs - 5 PCI-E 2.0 expansion slots - Onboard LSI 2008 6.0Gbps disk controller - Dual LAN with Intel 82576 Gigabit Ethernet Controller - Dedicated IPMI remote management port - 12 hot-swap 3.5" HDDs - Redundant 500 Watt Platinum Level high-efficiency (94%+) power supplies
"EMC Greenplum is pleased to have Supermicro contributing their systems and integration expertise along with our other technology partners Intel, Mellanox Technologies, Micron, Seagate, Switch and VMware to this development project," said Jim Totte, Director of Business Development at EMC Greenplum. "We worked closely with Supermicro's design teams to fine-tune system specifications for the optimum balance between performance and efficiency during peak power-draw on typical Greenplum Analytics Workbench workloads. We are excited to go live with this test platform to help the global Hadoop developer community and foster innovation in the Big Data analytics field."
For complete information on Supermicro's high performance, high-efficiency server and storage solutions optimized for Apache Hadoop, visit http://www.supermicro.com/Hadoop. For more information on Greenplum Analytics Workbench, visit http://www.greenplum.com/solutions/analytics-workbench.
About Super Micro Computer, Inc. Supermicro (NASDAQ: SMCI), the leading innovator in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology is a premier provider of advanced server Building Block Solutions for Data Center, Cloud Computing, Enterprise IT, HPC and Embedded Systems worldwide. Supermicro is committed to protecting the environment through its "We Keep IT Green" initiative and provides customers with the most energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly solutions available on the market.
Supermicro, SuperServer, Building Block Solutions and We Keep IT Green are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Super Micro Computer, Inc.
EMC and Greenplum are registered trademarks of EMC Corporation. All other brands, names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Supermicro® Hadoop Solutions Accelerate Innovation with Launch of EMC® ...