Minister touts press freedom

Posted on by

Journalist Lay Samean of Voice of Democracy after being beaten by municipal security personnel in May. Yesterday Khieu Kanharith said press freedom in Cambodia is better than other ASEAN countries. PHOTO SUPPLIED

Following a meeting with an ASEAN official on Tuesday, Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith said that the Cambodian press has greater freedom than most of its Southeast Asian counterparts.

But according to a media watchdog, Kanhariths statement while technically accurate ignores alarming increases in impunity for those who threaten journalists in the Kingdom over the last year.

After his meeting in Phnom Penh with Prasit Sangrungrueng, secretary-general of the Union of Media of the ASEAN (UMA), Kanharith wrote on his official Facebook page that Cambodian journalists shout that press freedom in Cambodia is going down, but during ASEAN meetings, [visiting representatives] are pleasantly surprised because Cambodia has more press freedom than other countries and this is the truth.

The Kingdoms press-freedom ranking dropped one spot from last year to 144th out of 179 countries, according to the 2014 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders earlier this year.

The country, however, fared better than most ASEAN countries, namely Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Laos and Vietnam.

But its press freedom state is worse than last year and the main factor that is threatening [it] is the state of impunity, said Cambodian Center of Independent Media spokesperson Sor Sorthy, adding that foreign and local media face the same threats.

Thirteen reporters have been killed since 1993 but no one has been convicted for the killings, according to Sorthy.

So far, three Cambodia-based reporters Taing Try, Dave Walker and Suon Chan have died in 2014.

Last year, before Julys national elections, the Ministry of Information implemented a five-day ban on election-related radio coverage. Several journalists were also injured during protests at Wat Phnom in September and Freedom Park in December.

See more here:

Minister touts press freedom

Album of the Week: Dirty Beaches Stateless

Posted on by

INDIE

Stateless

Dirty Beaches

(Zoo Music)

Four stars out of five

As Dirty Beaches, Alex Zhang Hungtai travelled the world, his raw, unhinged rock albums painting vivid pictures of dusty Americana (the motorcycle desert gang-worthy Badlands, from 2011, and last years double opus Drifters/Love Is The Devil), life in the far reaches of Asia (the Taiwan-themed Neon Gods of Lost Youth), and music dedicated to North American cultural curiosities (the soundtrack to Water Park, an ambient film shot at West Edmonton Malls indoor recreational facility).

While there have been collaborators, Dirty Beaches is essentially Hungtais sole vision, one constructed on a life that has spanned the globe: Born in Taiwan, Hungtai has also lived in Vancouver, Montreal, San Francisco, Berlin and Lisbon, among many other locales.

Stateless is a fitting conceptual farewell for Dirty Beaches, as Hungtai announced late last month that he was retiring the project and moving on to new horizons. Assisted by Italian composer Vittorio Demarin, this guitar-less, wordless body of work is an exercise in multi-layered ambient textures a far cry from his notoriously lo-fi guitar output. Brian Enos airport music, David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick film scores (especially the Gyorgy Ligeti material in 2001: A Space Odyssey), and Philip Glass (see: Koyaanisqatsi) immediately come to mind. (Perhaps fittingly, Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley handled the mix on Stateless.)

Recorded in Lisbon over the past year, Stateless conjures visions of highways seen from the vantage point of a landing plane, flickering neon signs lighting up the Shanghai skyline, waves crashing upon jagged rocks on the coast of California, and European nightclubs, stripped of their beats, filled with bodies flailing in silence.

Stateless exists, like Hungtai, in constant limbo, and as such it is the proper sendoff for an artist without borders or boundaries, standing on the edge.

See the original post here:

Album of the Week: Dirty Beaches Stateless

Mischievous dog causes flood at Northern Beaches vet

Posted on by

HEARD about the dog that wet the rug?

This one flooded the joint.

After receiving a panicked call from another business in his Northern Beaches complex, veterinarian Paul McGeown rushed to work just before 7am yesterday to find water flowing from the Northern Beaches Veterinary Hospital.

"I was in shock and awe," he said.

"Initially we thought a water main had burst. We feared the worst."

Instead, during the night an adventurous pooch had managed to get loose in the veterinary premises and knocked a laundry tap that opened the floodgates.

Mr McGeown asked for the escapee's name to be withheld because it was a first offence and due to the unusual circumstances.

"He's such a sweet dog. We can't believe he got out," he said.

Despite being surrounded by unpredictable pooches on a daily basis, Mr McGeown said this was "one of the strangest" incidents he had seen in his working life.

"We've had plumbers and electricians here all morning," he said.

Read more:

Mischievous dog causes flood at Northern Beaches vet

Litter by the tonne spoils beaches and kills wildlife

Posted on by

RESIDENTS are being urged to have some pride.

The region is messy, we have lazy residents who dump their rubbish on our beaches, in our gutters and on our streets.

The ramifications are often worse than the ignorant litter bug may realise.

Founding chairwoman of Eco Barge Libby Edge said her organisation had picked up more than 130 tonnes of litter from around the region.

"I think the public needs to be aware that their rubbish drains into the marine ecosystems, causing extensive damage," she said.

The upcoming wet season would only compound the problem of street rubbish washing into waterways.

"Mackay has a dumping issue. People have good access to beaches but they think it's okay to leave their rubbish," Ms Edge said.

"It's about respecting the beautiful place we live. It's a sad issue."

Peter Goussard, who contributed the picture below left, said he noticed the mess on Sunday morning at East Point Beach.

"It's such a nice beach and it looked like a rubbish tip," Mr Goussard said.

Go here to see the original:

Litter by the tonne spoils beaches and kills wildlife

Sea turtle nesting on Boca's beaches: 'It's been much better'

Posted on by

The total number of turtles that came ashore to nest on Boca Raton's beaches fell off this year after two record-breaking years in a row.

From last year's high of 1,178 turtles along Boca's 5 miles of beach, this year saw 949 turtles come ashore to lay eggs, according to Gumbo Limbo Nature Center's turtle conservation program.

But it was a particularly good season for leatherback turtles, which are among the most critically endangered of Florida's sea turtles. During the past 28 years, only three other years have brought more leatherbacks to nest on Boca's beaches than this year, Gumbo Limbo counts show.

Those are the final sea turtle numbers that Gumbo Limbo Nature Center submitted this week to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which is collecting numbers statewide. The commission has been tallying sea turtle nesting numbers along Florida's 800 miles of beaches since 1979.

Turtles come ashore in Boca in numbers that make it one of the most densely nested of any urban area along the Florida coastline, said Kirt Rusenko, a marine conservationist who heads Gumbo Limbo's turtle program. Only North Palm Beach attracts more, he said.

"They (number of nests) go up and down turtles nest every two to three years, so there's some variation year over year," Rusenko said. "We're just happy over the last few years since 2010, it's been much better, generally going up."

Overall, nesting appears to be on the upswing for the ancient reptiles that have roamed the Earth more than a 100 million years.

Sea turtles must survive a hazardous trek before they breed. It takes some species about 30 years from hatching before they make a rare appearance onshore to lay eggs

Pollution, boat strikes and fishing nets all contribute to some long odds. A turtle egg has a one in 1,000 to 5,000 chance of surviving to breed, according to officials at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center.

Anne Meylan, a senior turtle research scientist and coordinator for the statewide beach survey, said that it's hard to say what factors are contributing to the general, upward trend in Florida's turtle nests.

Link:

Sea turtle nesting on Boca's beaches: 'It's been much better'

University of Hawai'i Assumes Ownership of UK Infrared Telescope

Posted on by

The University of Hawai'i (UH) will today assume ownership of the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) on Mauna Kea. UKIRT is one of the world's leading astronomical observatories.

Professor Gary Davis, Director of the Joint Astronomy Center which has been operating UKIRT for the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), said, "UKIRT has been a fabulous success story for British astronomy over its 35-year lifetime. I have never known a machine that inspires such affection amongst its users. Over the past decade, the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) has opened up new frontiers in infrared astronomy, and as a consequence UKIRT has been the most productive telescope on the planet for the past two years. It has been my honor to be the director of this remarkable observatory."

Professor Pat Roche, final chair of the UKIRT board, added "Astronomers using UKIRT have made many world-leading discoveries, including the detection and characterization of the weak emission from brown dwarfs to the identification of the most distant quasar known. UKIRT's innovative instruments have played a key role in the development of the field of infrared astronomy, with a rich stream of astronomical results supporting research programs and student training at universities throughout the UK and beyond. The telescope remains a very powerful instrument at the peak of its performance, and I am confident that it will continue to produce exciting results under the new operational arrangements."

Professor Grahame Blair, Director of Science Programs at STFC, said, "We are delighted to be transferring UKIRT to the University of Hawai'i who will be continuing with an active research program. UKIRT has been a valuable observatory for astronomers in the UK for many years and I would like to thank all the staff and scientists who made it so productive."

STFC announced in 2012, following a review of observational capabilities, that it would no longer continue to support the telescope in a tightly constrained financial environment. STFC extended operations of UKIRT while arrangements for its future were made, including completing the highly productive UKIDSS sky survey. To support the UK astronomical community, STFC is funding a range of telescopes, including access to the European Southern Observatory's facilities such as VISTA and the VLT, ALMA and work on future facilities such as the Square Kilometre Array and the European Extremely Large Telescope, to maintain the UK's world leading position in astronomy.

Upon the cessation of UK-funded operations, the existing sublease for the UKIRT will be terminated. The facility and responsibility for the site, including the telescope, all instruments, associated equipment and software will transfer to the University of Hawai'i.

The University of Hawai'i has negotiated a Scientific Cooperation Agreement with the University of Arizona and Lockheed Martin Space Technology Advanced Research and Development Laboratories to provide for the UKIRT's continued scientific operation, initially using only the Wide-Field Camera, built at the UK ATC and used for the survey observations. The new operators have also started to refurbish and re-commission several of UKIRT's other instruments.

Dr. Guenther Hasinger, director of the UH Institute for Astronomy, said, "We are delighted that UKIRT will continue to produce top quality astronomical research. With a capable new operator and state-of-the-art instrumentation, UKIRT can continue to be a world leader in infrared astronomy for at least 10 more years."

X

Read this article:

University of Hawai'i Assumes Ownership of UK Infrared Telescope

Interstellar one of the most ambitious films of its genre

Posted on by

By Danny Minton / movie review In the not too distant future, our time on Earth is coming to an end and NASA is looking for a way to to keep the human race alive as it looks for potential worlds for us to inhabit. An ex-astronaut-turned-farmer (McConaughey) is recruited to fly a mission to check for the potential of survivability on another planet.

The one thing filmmaker Christopher Nolan has always excelled in is rich, thought-provoking and ambitious storytelling. And Interstellar is one of the most ambitious films in this genre that Ive ever experienced. At its very heart it is a warning that we are destroying our planet by providing a glimpse of a dire future. But it also serves as an adventure with many underlying themes. Its very grandiosity is the most compelling reason to see the film.

While at first the film appears to be greatly influenced by such projects as 2001, Contact and even Tree of Life, the project quickly propels itself into new territory asking huge questions about our Earth, our Universe, Love, Aliens, God and other difficult to explain conundrums. When I say ambitious, I really mean it. For a film like this to exist in a three hour form seems to be an amazing feat in itself. Im sure the movie could have been two hours longer and most would have barely minded. It goes places and attempts to give answers to many of the things we, as humans, really want to know.

That being said, we must also recognize that while there is a lot of science here, this is a work of fiction spouting some whacky philosophies which I cant get into without creating spoilers. Im sure that many a fan boy will look to this film as more than theory and fantasy, but rather as fact. This could be a dangerous place to go and Im sure debates will abound when it comes to accuracies and potential pitfalls. Since I dont have a degree in astro physics, Im going to assume that Nolan and his crew thoroughly researched their science and had numerous high level consultants giving them knowledge and advice, but Ill also freely admit that that does require a huge leap of faith in a Hollywood project.

For those who dont want to go too deep with the underlying questions, the film also works as great adventure. The performances from the talented cast are as terrific as we would expect, although many of their decisions and actions are a little too coincidental and inauthentic, Im assuming mostly to help the pacing of the film. For example, McConaughey just happens to live close to the secret NASA base and just happens to be the ONLY person who can fly the ship. Some problems you just need to overlook. Also, what about the rest of the world? Where is the news? We dont even get to see other cities other than the corn fields of Mid America. Many little details are left out, but I have to admit that the film doesnt really suffer from a lack of expositional weight.

Danny Minton may be reached at danny@dannyminton.com.

See the original post here:

Interstellar one of the most ambitious films of its genre

Groovy Gaming vs Artificial Intelligence UGC NA Steel Game 1 – Casted by Mikelorus – Video

Posted on by


Groovy Gaming vs Artificial Intelligence UGC NA Steel Game 1 - Casted by Mikelorus
Casted by Mikelorus -- UGC Dota 2 Season 2 Regular Season, Week 6, Game 1 UGC Website: https://www.ugcleague.com UGC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UnitedGamingClans UGC Twitter: ...

By: UGCLeague .com

View post:

Groovy Gaming vs Artificial Intelligence UGC NA Steel Game 1 - Casted by Mikelorus - Video