Lack of freedom in the ATO zone. Ukraine Crisis Media Center, 24th of March 2015 – Video

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Lack of freedom in the ATO zone. Ukraine Crisis Media Center, 24th of March 2015
Topic: Lack of freedom in the ATO zone report of the National preventive mechanism (NPM) monitors Tetiana Pechonchyk, Chairwoman of the Board at Human Rights Information Center, NPM...

By: Ukraine Crisis Media Center

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Lack of freedom in the ATO zone. Ukraine Crisis Media Center, 24th of March 2015 - Video

Indiana religious freedom act: Does it protect faithful or legalize prejudice? (+video)

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New York Should religious owners of flower shops or wedding photographers or cakemakers have the right to refuse their services to gay couples? Can a religious anesthesiologist refuse to participate if a woman is about to undergo an abortion?

For many religious conservatives, the answer to these questions should be yes. And many are hoping new religious freedom restoration acts, loosely modeled on a federal law passed in 1993, can help carve out space in which they do not have to participate in matters against their religious consciences.

On Monday, Indiana became the latest state to pass such legislation. Indianas Republican-dominated House overwhelmingly passed the bill 63 to 31, mostly along party lines, following the states Senate approval of a slightly different version last month. Republican Gov. Mike Pence has promised to sign the bill into law.

Such legislation has engendered much controversy. Indeed, its one of the latest skirmishes in an expanding cultural and legal battle that often pits religious conservatives against the advocates of gay and lesbian rights and same-sex marriage, now the law in at least 36 states and the District of Columbia.

Over a decade ago, many liberal states, including Connecticut, Illinois, and Rhode Island, passed their own versions of the 22-year-old federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Overall, at least 19 states have passed similar bills, since the federal law does not apply to the states, the US Supreme Court ruled in 1997.

But since last year, the Supreme Courts Hobby Lobby decision has changed the bipartisan tenor of the law. The nations highest court used the federal religious freedom statute to rule that closely held corporations with religious objections to contraceptives were exempt from the Obamacare provision requiring their coverage. Since then, conservatives have seen state religious freedom laws as a means to combat the expanding definition of marriage, as well as other hot-button social issues.

If we truly are doing things unto the Lord, our business can be ... a church or sanctuary, argued Indiana Republican Rep. Bruce Borders on the House floor Monday, bringing up the question of the anesthesiologist. People deserve protection in their businesses as well, not just on Sunday morning.

The Indiana bill, like existing state and federal laws, allows individual religious freedom to trump other laws if they impose a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion. Unless the government can demonstrate a compelling state interest and prove that a laws religious burdens were the least restrictive means of furthering that interest, religious freedom would prevail.

So far, state courts, including one in New Mexico, have rejected the religious conscience arguments for businesses refusing to serve gays and lesbians for religious reasons, ruling that nondiscrimination should hold sway in the public sphere. In 2013, the New Mexico Supreme Court said a photographer that refused to provide service for a gay couple violated the states human rights law, which included sexual orientation.

New Mexico, however, also has a Religious Freedom Restoration law on its books. But the states highest court ruled this statute did not apply in the case, since the government was not involved in the civil dispute.

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Indiana religious freedom act: Does it protect faithful or legalize prejudice? (+video)

Blue Freedom: A mini hydropower plant for charging mobile devices

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The all-new Blue Freedom kit offers yet another alternative to solar panels, fuel cells, muscle-powered dynamos, wind turbines, AC-charged back-up batteries and other portable power solutions. "The world's smallest hydropower plant" transforms the power of running water into phone chatting, internet browsing, music listening, GPS navigating and other mobile device activities, and it does so from a package built to fit in a backpack.

We've covered other portable hydroelectric generator systems in the past, and some like the HydroBee were rather compact. Blue Freedom claims its kit is the smallest. It's close to 2 oz (57 g) lighter than the HydroBee and looks considerably more compact. The relatively lightweight, slim Blue Freedom package can be carried in a backpack.

Developed in Germany, the Blue Freedom charging kit consists of a 4.7-in (12-cm-) -diameter micro turbine, a 5W generator and a 5,000 mAh lithium-polymer internal battery. The turbine takes a plunge into a running water body and the unit's base stays ashore, letting you charge devices directly by way of the USB 2A and 1A ports. You can also store energy in the integrated battery for later use. A built-in LED light helps you see at night.

Blue Freedom tells us that the micro turbine doesn't need to be situated in a specific way in relation to the direction of current, and is instead designed to flow with the water and deliver efficient charging. The kit is designed to operate in temperatures between 41 and 104 F (5 and 40 C) and altitudes up to 16,400 feet (5,000 m).

The idea of a small, packable hydropower system is certainly interesting, and the Blue Freedom appears to be a slickly designed package, but it left us asking: Why? It seems like solar panels are more versatile and easier to set up, allowing you to charge your device on the move as well as in place. Sunlight also tends to be a more readily-available commodity than running water when traveling off the grid.

According to the governments of US and Canada, two world leaders in hydropower production, hydropower is the most efficient means of generating electricity, transforming up to 90 percent of available water energy into usable electricity. Compare that to around 15 percent for solar panels, and you can start to see why a portable hydropower charger could prove quite superior.

Now we have no expectations that a micro turbine bobbing around in a ripple is going to be anywhere near as efficient as a full-sized hydropower plant, but Blue Freedom's estimates do look promising. The company tells us that the hydropower kit should charge its internal 5,000 mAh battery in three to four hours, assuming a water flow rate of 1.2 m/sec (2.7 mph). An iPhone 6 would take about one to two hours at that same water rate.

The Blue Freedom's times are much better than portable solar kits we've covered. For example, the Powertraveller Solarmonkey Adventurer takes 8 to 10 hours to charge its 2,500-mAh lithium-polymer battery. The Solar Joos Orange has received high marks for device-charging speeds from publications like Wired, but its internal 5,400 mAh battery takes 12 hours to charge via solar. So the simple answer to our question of "why" is "because you can power up the internal battery in a few hours, rather than over the course of half a day."

Blue Freedom's charging times are only a manufacturer estimates based on a prototype, so they're not worth getting too excited over yet. Still, assuming the Blue Freedom is well designed, it should be able to offer quicker, more efficient off-grid charging than other portable options.

Depending upon the nature of the trip, the Blue Freedom may or may not be more convenient than other types of chargers. It'd be a good solution for camping (near a suitable stretch of creek or river), in which you're staying in one place for an extended period and would be able to charge at night, when there's no sunshine to harvest. On the other hand, it wouldn't be very useful for trips through the city, desert or any stretch of land not adjacent to a flowing water body, which breaks down to a lot of stretches of land. The base station does include a microUSB port for charging the internal battery, so you could use other forms of energy, including solar panels, in the event that you can't find running water. That will of course add to its 0.9-lb (400-g) pack weight and 7.9 x 2.2-in (20 x 5.5-cm) size.

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Blue Freedom: A mini hydropower plant for charging mobile devices

Freedom Industries and DEP Talk About Future of Spill Site

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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Freedom Industries and the DEP are trying to identify risks the site of the chemical spill in 2014 could have in the future.

Officials held a public meeting at the Civic Center Tuesday night.

Freedom is negotiating with the DEP to get into a Voluntary Remediation Program, trying to make sure the site is safe for whatever company uses that land next, and for the residents.

Mark Welch was appointed by the court to facilitate the process as Freedom goes through bankruptcy. He says they've spent more than $11 million on environmental matters

"Everything is going according to plan," Welch said. "It's just taking a lot longer than we anticipated."

Welch says they've collected receivables and sold facilities, and 100 percent of those proceeds have gone back into cleaning up the site.

Welch says they've already removed 600 tons of soil and 2 million gallons of water from the site.

Patty Hickman, the DEP's interim director of the Division of Land Restoration, also addressed the small crowd.

"The basic process will be, we'll assess the site, understand what's still there in the way of chemicals, and decide whether additional soil needs to be removed, or whether some other remedies would be as beneficial," Hickman said.

Phillip Price lives in Charleston and says he had a 40-year career as an analytical scientist working for chemical companies. He attended the meeting but said he felt afterward there's a lack of transparency.

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Freedom Industries and DEP Talk About Future of Spill Site

Shepperton eco-park: New tree cover screening hailed as 'huge victory for residents'

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Eco-park campaigners say new tree cover screening at the site of the large incinerator will make it "slightly more bearable" - following a turbulent public meeting.

Details of the planting were debated at a special planning meeting on Friday March 13, along with three other items, including dust and odour control and water drainage.

Campaigners from Spelthorne Against the Eco Park (SATEP) spoke at the heated meeting and at one point, members of the public were told by chairman Keith Taylor the meeting would go into a closed session if people kept shouting and disrupting proceedings.

This is turning into a rabble, he said.

Although the condition was passed, residents were pleased when members agreed the screening trees to be planted around the incinerator should be mature, as had been previously stated in county council documents.

In more recent paperwork, officers stated 25, 14cm-16cm girth trees and 22 feathered trees would be planted as singles and in small groups along the railway line, to provide landscape mitigation measures.

The girth of a mature tree starts at 20cm.

Artist's impression of the planned eco-park in Shepperton

Planning officer Alan Stones said: The condition uses the word 'mature'. What I am saying is that [it is] a fair, reasonable and proportionate interpretation of that in terms of what the industry is able to provide.

But Councillor Ian Beardsmore argued: Theres been a very great material change to not having mature trees.

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Shepperton eco-park: New tree cover screening hailed as 'huge victory for residents'

Rousey's coach: Ronda would fight 'Cyborg' tomorrow

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Updated MAR 24, 2015 12:16p ET

Many fight fans may want to see UFC bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey take on InvictaFC featherweight title-holder Cris "Cyborg" Justino in the Octagon, but the "Rowdy" one's head coachEdmond Tarverdyan couldn't care one way or the other. "I'm sick and tired of hearing that girl's name," he recently toldSubmission Radio.

"It really doesn't matter what she says. She knows where Ronda is, UFC is ready. Dana and everybody is ready to sign her, and even though Ronda's the best in the world, we don't even need her in the way, you know? She just talks for no reason, you know? Don't talk, make the [135-pound] division, come to the UFC, and we're ready to fight. Ronda is ready to fight. Doesn't matter who it is Ronda loves challenges ... so it's not like Ronda is scared. That's just unnecessary talk."

According to Tarvedyan, Rousey herself does want to fight "Cyborg." Of course, Rousey next defends her championship against Bethe Correia at UFC 190, in August.

"Ronda would want to fight her [Justino] tomorrow," Tarvedyan said. "If you're telling Ronda, 'you're fighting tomorrow,' she's making the weight. Ronda will make the weight, definitely, within the day. One hundred percent, Ronda would make the weight in one day. She's done it before in 'The Ultimate Fighter.' How does Ronda make weight in one day? She lost all of that weight, 20 pounds more, I would say in one day. So Ronda will fight her tomorrow. That's 100 percent a fact."

At this point in Rousey's MMA career, the former Judo Olympic medalist may very well be considered the favorite were she to fight Justino, because of her incredible grappling skills. Tarvedyan, a striker himself, insists that Rousey would also have an advantage on the feet, with striking against the Muay Thai-based "Cyborg."

"Ronda beats 'Cyborg' any given day in striking," he maintained.

"Any given day. 'Cyborg' fought a Muay Thai girl, and we have coaches that have trained with her, too. We know her she got dropped with a push kick on her face. No way. You know, Ronda has sparred with the best female Muay Thai champion in the United States. They know Ronda is the best of all of them ... Ronda's too good for her."

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Rousey's coach: Ronda would fight 'Cyborg' tomorrow