gameoversite.com

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 crashed 1,750km (1,100 miles) north-west of Rio de Janeiro killing all people onboard, on Friday September 29. National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) has confirmed that the crashed Brazilian airplane did crash into a smaller aircraft. Rescue workers and air force personnel are searching the wreckage for bodies

Thursday, June 23, 2011

NASA’s Cassini–Huygens spacecraft has discovered evidence for a large-scale saltwater reservoir beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The data came from the spacecraft’s direct analysis of salt-rich ice grains close to the jets ejected from the moon. The study has been published in this week’s edition of the journal Nature.

Data from Cassini’s cosmic dust analyzer show the grains expelled from fissures, known as tiger stripes, are relatively small and usually low in salt far away from the moon. Closer to the moon’s surface, Cassini found that relatively large grains rich with sodium and potassium dominate the plumes. The salt-rich particles have an “ocean-like” composition and indicate that most, if not all, of the expelled ice and water vapor comes from the evaporation of liquid salt-water. When water freezes, the salt is squeezed out, leaving pure water ice behind.

Cassini’s ultraviolet imaging spectrograph also recently obtained complementary results that support the presence of a subsurface ocean. A team of Cassini researchers led by Candice Hansen of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, measured gas shooting out of distinct jets originating in the moon’s south polar region at five to eight times the speed of sound, several times faster than previously measured. These observations of distinct jets, from a 2010 flyby, are consistent with results showing a difference in composition of ice grains close to the moon’s surface and those that made it out to the E ring, the outermost ring that gets its material primarily from Enceladean jets. If the plumes emanated from ice, they should have very little salt in them.

“There currently is no plausible way to produce a steady outflow of salt-rich grains from solid ice across all the tiger stripes other than salt water under Enceladus’s icy surface,” said Frank Postberg, a Cassini team scientist at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

The data suggests a layer of water between the moon’s rocky core and its icy mantle, possibly as deep as about 50 miles (80 kilometers) beneath the surface. As this water washes against the rocks, it dissolves salt compounds and rises through fractures in the overlying ice to form reserves nearer the surface. If the outermost layer cracks open, the decrease in pressure from these reserves to space causes a plume to shoot out. Roughly 400 pounds (200 kilograms) of water vapor is lost every second in the plumes, with smaller amounts being lost as ice grains. The team calculates the water reserves must have large evaporating surfaces, or they would freeze easily and stop the plumes.

“We imagine that between the ice and the ice core there is an ocean of depth and this is somehow connected to the surface reservoir,” added Postberg.

The Cassini mission discovered Enceladus’ water-vapor and ice jets in 2005. In 2009, scientists working with the cosmic dust analyzer examined some sodium salts found in ice grains of Saturn’s E ring but the link to subsurface salt water was not definitive. The new paper analyzes three Enceladus flybys in 2008 and 2009 with the same instrument, focusing on the composition of freshly ejected plume grains. In 2008, Cassini discovered a high “density of volatile gases, water vapor, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, as well as organic materials, some 20 times denser than expected” in geysers erupting from the moon. The icy particles hit the detector target at speeds between 15,000 and 39,000 MPH (23,000 and 63,000 KPH), vaporizing instantly. Electrical fields inside the cosmic dust analyzer separated the various constituents of the impact cloud.

“Enceladus has got warmth, water and organic chemicals, some of the essential building blocks needed for life,” said Dennis Matson in 2008, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“This finding is a crucial new piece of evidence showing that environmental conditions favorable to the emergence of life can be sustained on icy bodies orbiting gas giant planets,” said Nicolas Altobelli, the European Space Agency’s project scientist for Cassini.

“If there is water in such an unexpected place, it leaves possibility for the rest of the universe,” said Postberg.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

The Indianapolis Formula One Grand Prix descended into farce when just six cars started the race on Sunday. The problem arose when Michelin discovered that its tires were incapable of more than ten laps at race pace.

The first indication of trouble was when the rear left tire of Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota racecar exploded during practice on Friday. Schumacher’s car collided with the track wall while travelling at 300 km/h (approx. 186 miles/h), leaving him shaken but generally unharmed. However, further investigations by Michelin revealed that another ten tires had suffered problems, with one also failing on track.

All the problems occurred on the rear left tire during the two long 90 degree corners leading onto the main straight. The nine degree banking and grooves cut into the surface of the track compounded problems.

It is believed that Michelin may not have properly accounted for the grooves cut into the Indianapolis track to improve grip for Indy cars after the track was resurfaced. Indy cars have smaller down-force generating wings so need more grip from their tires than Formula One cars.

Bridgestone, the other tire manufacturer currently in Formula One, did not have similar problems. It is possible that their US subsidiary, Firestone, who supplied tires for an Indy car race after the resurfacing, may have sent information back to their Formula One tires department in Japan. The three teams running Bridgestone tires – Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi – were therefore able to compete without any safety concerns.

Under FIA racing regulations, the only course of action was for the Michelin runners to withdraw from the race on safety grounds. Rules prevented alternative tires from being flown from France overnight, although Michelin were unsure whether these tires were also affected by the problem.

Drivers and teams had also suggested building a chicane to slow cars down between the corners, but Ferrari opposed the idea, and ultimately the FIA rejected the idea under regulations.

Actually the FIA rules states that the tyres manufacters should provide two sets of tyres for the race. One normal, optimized for performance, and one optimized for safety, to be used when the normal one set could not be used. In this case the safe set was not present.

The 123,000 fans watching from the stands were unaware of the farce unfolding below them until the parade lap before the race.

The fourteen Michelin runners peeled off into the pit lane rather than take up their starting positions on the grid. However, at least one driver, David Coulthard told his team that he was willing to race on the tires in question, had the decision been left up to him.

Fans jeered and booed as they realised what was happening, and a small number began throwing bottles and cans onto the track.

Rubens Barrichello, in a Ferrari, ran over one bottle of water at high speed which exploded in a spray of droplets.

Fans started stamping in the stands on the finish line straight, causing them to shake.

A British ITV filmcrew spoke to some fans. “I paid $85 for three-day ticket. I travelled nine hours from Baltimore to be here. Indy cars wouldn’t do this. NASCAR wouldn’t do this. I’ll never attend a race again – only watch on TV.”

Other fans had travelled from Mexico and Panama to watch the race, and said they wanted refunds.

A Police Captain also talked to ITV, saying he’d never seen fans as angry as this before. If trouble flared, they could call on 400-500 officers from local and state police, Indianapolis Police Department and the FBI under contingency plans.

The race was eventually won by Michael Schumacher from his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello. Jordan’s Tiago Monteiro finished third. Despite what was clearly a one-manufacturer race for the win, both Ferrari drivers did indeed race one another hard, with them almost colliding following Schumacher’s exit from the pit lane after his second pitstop, with Barrichello having to take to the infield to avoid spinning off. Following the race, the two drivers did not speak.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

The U.S. Senate passed a revised bailout bill designed to help the struggling U.S. financial economy, which has measures nearly identical to the bill rejected by the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.

“Senate Democrats and Republicans believe it is essential that we work quickly on this important legislation to restore confidence to our financial system and strengthen the economy,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The new revisions include raising the FDIC insurance cap to $250,000, a move designed to please progressives. However, the $110 billion in tax breaks, earmarks and what has been called pork barrel spending is not offset by any increases in revenues and has added opposition to the bill from some Representatives in the House.

Earmarks added into the bailout bill included $192 million in tax rebates for the Virgin Islands rum industry, $148 million in tax cuts for the wool industry, $100 million tax cuts to the auto racing industry, and $48 million in Hollywood tax incentives.

Vice President of Taxpayers for Common Sense, Steve Ellis, offered his explanation for the pork and earmarks added in. “People who support some of these provisions will forget about the $700 billion and concerns they may have on that, and say, ‘If you give me a few million in tax breaks for my constituents, I’ll go along'”.

The tactic seems to have worked, however, managing to flip enough votes to pass the bill.

“The inclusion of parity, tax extenders and the FDIC increases has caused me to reconsider my position,” said Representative Jim Ramstad (R Minnesota), who voted against the previous bill on Monday. “All three additions have greatly improved the bill.”

But Representative Marcy Kaptur (D Ohio) was not changing her no vote. “I will not support this legislation because it’s the wrong medicine,” she said.

The Senate took H.R.1424, a bill originating in the House concerning “equity in the provision of mental health and substance-related disorder benefits under group health plans, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment,” and extended it with the bailout provisions.

H.R.1424 was introduced on March 9, 2007, by Rep. Patrick Kennedy (RI-1) and had the support of First Lady Rosalind Carter. It is noted on the Congressional Website that “On 10/1/2008, the Senate passed H.R.1424 as the vehicle for the economic rescue legislation. In the EAS version of the bill (Engrossed Amendment as Agreed to by the Senate), Division A (pp.1-110) is referred to as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008; Division B (pp. 110-255) is referred to as the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008; and Division C (pp. 255-441) is referred to as the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008.” It was not treated as an appropriations bill in the House.

There were two votes in the Senate. The first was to amend H.R.1424, which required 3/5 to be accepted, which it was. The second was a vote on the bill. Passage of the Bill required only a 1/2 majority. It was passed with 74 yeas and 25 nays. Senator Kennedy did not vote.

Friday, February 3, 2012

The following is the third in a monthly series chronicling the U.S. 2012 presidential election. It features original material compiled throughout the previous month after a brief mention of some of the month’s biggest stories.

In this month’s edition on the campaign trail, the challengers to President Barack Obama react to the results of the New Hampshire Democratic Party primary, two new political parties choose their first presidential nominees, and an economist who announced his intentions to seek the nomination of Americans Elect answers a few questions for Wikinews.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Following the expiry of broadcast corporation ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise, the Philippine government issued a cease and desist order dated yesterday, forcing the shut-down of broadcasting operations by the company. Later in the evening, the network signed off and went off-air. The last time the Philippine government ordered the network to shut down was during the martial law imposed by former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos back in 1972.

Republic Act No. 3846, also known as the “Radio Control Law”, states “no person, firm, company, association, or corporation shall construct, install, establish, or operate a radio transmitting station, or radio receiving station used for commercial purposes, or a radio broadcasting station, without having first obtained a franchise therefor from the Congress of the Philippines.” Since ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise, Republic Act No. 7966, expired on Monday, the network no longer had a valid franchise to continue airing their programs. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order to the network yesterday, and in compliance, the network signed off that night.

The network tried to renew their franchise as early as July 2019, but all eleven of the legislative bills filed have been stuck in Congress. The franchise of ABS-CBN expired on Monday, the same day Congress reconvened after their Lenten Break, which began on March 13. Though the NTC is allowed to provide the network a provisional license while its application to the Congress is still being decided upon, the commission refused to provide the network with said license. A number of Senators condemned the act of the NTC, citing the move as a “grave abuse of governmental power” and “contrary to law”.

ABS-CBN Corporation is the largest television and radio broadcasting company in the Philippines with over 42 television stations, 10 digital channels, and 18 FM and five AM radio stations, and has been broadcasting for over 65 years. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened the network’s franchise renewal before, after the network didn’t carry some of his campaign commercials, which they’ve said was due to a lack of airtime, and he accused the network of “swindling”. Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a quo warranto petition on February 10, accusing the network of violating its franchise. After a Senate hearing was conducted on February 24, the Senate did not find the network had breached laws, nor its franchise terms. ABS-CBN CEO Carlo Katigbak said refunds for Duterte’s unaired political ads were offered, of which some were not accepted by his campaign. Katigbak apologized to Duterte during the hearing, which the President accepted according to a statement by the Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

The network’s news channel, ABS-CBN News Channel, is still on air, as the network claims the cease and desist order did not cover their news channel’s franchise.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Some cancer specialists have stepped up calls for smokers and ex-smokers to undergo advanced screening for lung cancer . They reacted to the recent deaths of Peter Jennings and Barbara Bel Geddes and the disclosure that Dana Reeve has lung cancer by urging people to have their lungs screened with special helical CT chest scans.

Because health insurance plans do not cover such screening, anxious patients who can afford it are paying about $300 for the test out of pocket. The American Cancer Society discourages using the advanced CT scan technique for screening because doctors do not yet know how to interpret findings of small lesions. A helical scan can show lumps as small as 2 millimetres in diameter, but doctors do not know what to make of such lesions. The tumors may not actually be cancerous, and even small cancers may spontaneously remit or may grow so slowly that surgery, radiation or chemotherapy would do far more harm than good. Preliminary results of a large ongoing study, expected within a year, may provide tentative guidelines on when to perform a biopsy and when CT screening would be worthwhile.

Smoking one pack of cigarettes daily for 20 years or more brings a 50 percent chance of dying from lung cancer. For any smoker, 10 years of abstinence cuts the risk in half. Women are more vulnerable than men even if they don’t smoke. Environmental pollutants work with smoking to increase risk. People with affected parents or siblings are 2–3 times more likely to fall ill with lung cancer. A malignant tumor can grow silently for years. In the United States by the time it is recognized a lung cancer has spread in 3 out of 4 patients. Routine chest X-ray screening does not improve survival rate. Although patients treated after their lung cancer has shown up in a highly sensitive helical (also called “spiral”) CT scan are much more likely to survive, this may only be because small cancers grow very slowly or would cause no trouble even without treatment.

On the other hand, some cancer experts already strongly support performing the screening. They point out that prompt treatment of lung cancer clearly improves prognosis and that an equivocal scan can be repeated after some months to see if a lesion has enlarged. Furthermore, a decision not to wait for conclusive science but to undergo a helical scan would be supported by consideration of a patient’s age, family history, history of smoking and other risk factors. Annual scanning has been recommended for people over age 50 who have smoked 1 pack daily for 30 years or 2 packs for 15 and who also have a known lung condition.