If you’ve had enough with online dating, try airline dating. Australian airline Jetstar has teamed with a feng shui master to match compatible single passengers. Interested participants simply need to enter their relationship status and birthday online to generate a feng shui report that lists their ideal travel destinations and in-flight seats, as well as their best zodiac matches. Single passengers can also enter a contest to win a trip overseas with a blind date selected based on potential compatibility. The program, called “Love Is in the Zodiac Pair,” drew 5,000 applications within hours of launching. More…Discuss
Established possibly as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans,[2] it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan’s most-visited tourist attraction.[3] It lies on the slope of Jebel al-Madhbah (identified by some as the biblical Mount Hor[4]) in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra has been a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site since 1985.
Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans and the center of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.
Map of Petra
The narrow passage (Siq) that leads to Petra
Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods and archaeological evidence demonstrates the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought, and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.[7][8]
In ancient times, Petra might have been approached from the south on a track leading across the plain of Petra, around Jabal Haroun (“Aaron’s Mountain”), where the Tomb of Aaron, said to be the burial-place of Aaron, brother of Moses, is located. Another approach was possibly from the high plateau to the north. Today, most modern visitors approach the site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge (in places only 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) wide) called the Siq (“the shaft”), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra’s most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (popularly known as and meaning “the Treasury”), hewn into the sandstone cliff. While remaining in remarkably preserved condition, the face of the structure is marked by hundreds of bullet holes made by the local Bedouin tribes that hoped to dislodge riches that were once rumored to be hidden within it.[9]
A little farther from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr, is a massive theatre, positioned so as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view. At the point where the valley opens out into the plain, the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. The amphitheatre has been cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction. Rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-colored mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures and lined with knobs cut from the rock in the form of towers.
History
One of the many dwellings in Petra
General view of Petra
Some of the earliest recorded farmers settled in Beidha, a pre-pottery settlement just north of Petra, by 7000 BC.[10] Petra is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela or Seir. Though the city was founded relatively late, a sanctuary has existed there since very ancient times. Stations 19 through 26 of the stations list of Exodus are places associated with Petra.[11] This part of the country was biblically assigned to the Horites, the predecessors of the Edomites.[12] The habits of the original natives may have influenced the Nabataean custom of burying the dead and offering worship in half-excavated caves. Although Petra is usually identified with Sela, which means a rock, the Biblical references[13] refer to it as “the cleft in the rock”, referring to its entrance. In the parallel passage, however, Sela is understood to mean simply “the rock” (2 Chronicles xxv. 12, see LXX).
Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews iv. 7, 1~ 4, 7), Eusebius and Jerome (Onom. sacr. 286, 71. 145, 9; 228, 55. 287, 94) assert that Rekem was the native name, and this name appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls[14] as a prominent Edomite site most closely describing Petra, and associated with Mount Seir. But in the Aramaic versions, Rekem is the name of Kadesh, implying that Josephus may have confused the two places. The Semitic name of the city, if not Sela, remains unknown. The passage in Diodorus Siculus (xix. 94–97) which describes the expeditions which Antigonus sent against the Nabataeans in 312 BC is understood to throw some light upon the history of Petra, but the “petra” referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name and the description implies that the town was not yet in existence.
The Rekem Inscription before it was buried by the bridge abutments.
The name “Rekem” was inscribed in the rock wall of the Wadi Musa opposite the entrance to the Siq,[15] but about twenty years ago[timeframe?] the Jordanians built a bridge over the wadi and this inscription was buried beneath tons of concrete.[citation needed]
More satisfactory evidence of the date of the earliest Nabataean settlement may be obtained from an examination of the tombs. Two types of tombs have been distinguished: the Nabataean and the Greco-Roman. The Nabataean type starts from the simple pylon-tomb with a door set in a tower crowned by a parapet ornament, in imitation of the front of a dwelling-house. Then, after passing through various stages, the full Nabataean type is reached, retaining all the native features and at the same time exhibiting characteristics which are partly Egyptian and partly Greek. Of this type close parallels exist in the tomb-towers at Mada’in Saleh in north Arabia, which bear long Nabataean inscriptions and supply a date for the corresponding monuments at Petra. Then comes a series of tombfronts which terminate in a semicircular arch, a feature derived from north Syria. Finally come the elaborate façades copied from the front of a Roman temple; however, all traces of native style have vanished. The exact dates of the stages in this development cannot be fixed. Few inscriptions of any length have been found at Petra, perhaps because they have perished with the stucco or cement which was used upon many of the buildings. The simple pylon-tombs which belong to the pre-Hellenic age serve as evidence for the earliest period. It is not known how far back in this stage the Nabataean settlement goes, but it does not go back farther than the 6th century BC. A period follows in which the dominant civilization combines Greek, Egyptian and Syrian elements, clearly pointing to the age of the Ptolemies. Towards the close of the 2nd century BC, when the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms were equally depressed, the Nabataean kingdom came to the front. Under Aretas III Philhellene, (c.85–60 BC), the royal coins begin. The theatre was probably excavated at that time, and Petra must have assumed the aspect of a Hellenistic city. In the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris, (9 BC–40 AD), the tombs of the el-I~ejr[clarification needed] type may be dated, and perhaps also the High-place.
Roman rule
In 106 AD, when Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria, the part of Arabia under the rule of Petra was absorbed into the Roman Empire as part of Arabia Petraea and became its capital. The native dynasty came to an end but the city continued to flourish under Roman rule. It was around this time that the Petra Roman Road was built. A century later, in the time of Alexander Severus, when the city was at the height of its splendor, the issue of coinage comes to an end. There is no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid Empire. Meanwhile, as Palmyra (fl. 130–270) grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra, the latter declined. It appears, however, to have lingered on as a religious centre. Another Roman road was constructed at the site. Epiphanius of Salamis (c.315–403) writes that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honor of the virgin Khaabou (Chaabou) and her offspring Dushara (Haer. 51).[citation needed]
Byzantine era – decline
Petra declined rapidly under Roman rule, in large part from the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363 an earthquake destroyed many buildings, and crippled the vital water management system.[16] The last inhabitants abandoned the city (further weakened by another major earthquake in 551) when the Arabs conquered the region in 663. The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity in the Middle Ages and were visited by SultanBaibars of Egypt towards the end of the 13th century. The first European to describe them was Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
Because the structures weakened with age, many of the tombs became vulnerable to thieves, and many treasures were stolen. In 1929, a four-person team, consisting of British archaeologists Agnes Conway and George Horsfield, Palestinian physician and folklore expert Dr Tawfiq Canaan and Dr Ditlef Nielsen, a Danish scholar, excavated and surveyed Petra.[17]
T. E. Lawrence
Petra siq in 1947 (left) compared with the same location in 2013
In October 1917, as part of a general effort to divert Ottoman military resources away from the British advance before the Third Battle of Gaza, a revolt of Syrians and Arabians in Petra was led by British Army officer T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) against the Ottoman regime. The Bedouin women living in the vicinity of Petra and under the leadership of Sheik Khallil’s wife were gathered to fight in the revolt of the city. The rebellions, with the support of English military, were able to devastate the Ottoman forces.[18]
The Nabataeans worshipped the Arab gods and goddesses of the pre-Islamic times as well as a few of their deified kings. One, Obodas I, was deified after his death. Dushara was the primary male god accompanied by his female trinity: Al-‘Uzzá, Allat and Manāt. Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses.
A stele is dedicated to Qos-Allah ‘Qos is Allah’ or ‘Qos the god’, by Qosmilk (melech – king) is found at Petra (Glueck 516). Qos is identifiable with Kaush (Qaush) the God of the older Edomites. The stele is horned and the seal from the Edomite Tawilan near Petra identified with Kaush displays a star and crescent (Browning 28), both consistent with a moon deity. It is conceivable the latter could have resulted from trade with Harran (Bartlett 194). There is continuing debate about the nature of Qos (qaus – bow) who has been identified both with a hunting bow (hunting god) and a rainbow (weather god) although the crescent above is also a bow.
Nabatean inscriptions in Sinai and other places display widespread references to names including Allah, El and Allat (god and goddess), with regional references to al-Uzza, Baal and Manutu (Manat) (Negev 11). Allat is also found in Sinai in South Arabian language. Allah occurs particularly as Garm-‘allahi – god dedided (Greek Garamelos) and Aush-allahi – ‘gods covenant’ (Greek Ausallos). We find both Shalm-lahi ‘Allah is peace’ and Shalm-allat, ‘the peace of the goddess’. We also find Amat-allahi ‘she-servant of god’ and Halaf-llahi ‘the successor of Allah’.[19]
The Monastery, Petra’s largest monument, dates from the 1st century BC. It was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the god. This information is inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery (the name is the translation of the Arabic “Ad Deir“).
Christianity found its way to Petra in the 4th century AD, nearly 500 years after the establishment of Petra as a trade center. Athanasius mentions a bishop of Petra (Anhioch. 10) named Asterius. At least one of the tombs (the “tomb with the urn”?) was used as a church. An inscription in red paint records its consecration “in the time of the most holy bishop Jason” (447). After the Islamic conquest of 629–632 Christianity in Petra, as of most of Arabia, gave way to Islam. During the First Crusade Petra was occupied by Baldwin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and formed the second fief of the barony of Al Karak (in the lordship of Oultrejordain) with the title Château de la Valée de Moyse or Sela. It remained in the hands of the Franks until 1189. It is still a titular see of the Catholic Church.[20]
Two Crusader-period castles are known in and around Petra. The first is al-Wu’ayra and is situated just north of Wadi Musa. It can be viewed from the road to “Little Petra”. It is the castle of Valle Moise which was seized by a band of Turks with the help of local Muslims and only recovered by the Crusaders after they began to destroy the olive trees of Wadi Musa. The potential loss of livelihood led the locals to negotiate surrender. The second is on the summit of el-Habis in the heart of Petra and can be accessed from the West side of the Qasr al-Bint.
According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses (Musa) struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses’ brother, Aaron (Harun), is buried, at Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. The Wadi Musa or “Wadi of Moses” is the Arab name for the narrow valley at the head of which Petra is sited. A mountaintop shrine of Moses’ sister Miriam was still shown to pilgrims at the time of Jerome in the 4th century, but its location has not been identified since.[21]
Threats to Petra
The site suffers from a host of threats, including collapse of ancient structures, erosion due to flooding and improper rainwater drainage, weathering from salt upwelling,[22] improper restoration of ancient structures, and unsustainable tourism.[23] The last has increased substantially, especially since the site received widespread media coverage in 2007 during the controversial New Seven Wonders of the World Internet and cell phone campaign.[24]
In an attempt to reduce the impact of these threats, Petra National Trust (PNT) was established in 1989. Over this time, it has worked together with numerous local and international organizations on projects that promote the protection, conservation and preservation of the Petra site.[25] Moreover, UNESCO and ICOMOS recently collaborated to publish their first book on human and natural threats to these sensitive World Heritage sites. They chose Petra as its first, and the most important example of threatened landscapes. A book released in 2012, Tourism and Archaeological Heritage Management at Petra: Driver to Development or Destruction?, was the first in a series of important books to address the very nature of these deteriorating buildings, cities, sites, and regions. The next books in the series of deteriorating UNESCO World Heritage Sites will include Macchu Picchu, Angkor Wat, and Pompeii. (25).
Camel sitting in front of Al Khazneh
Petra today
On December 6, 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site. Some of the sights of Petra are available on Google Street View.
In popular culture
Petra is the main topic in John William Burgon‘s sonnet (rhyme scheme aabbccddeeffgg) “Petra” which won the Newdigate Prize in 1845. The poem refers to Petra as the inaccessible city which he had heard described but had never seen:
It seems no work of Man’s creative hand,
by labour wrought as wavering fancy planned;
But from the rock as if by magic grown,
eternal, silent, beautiful, alone!
Not virgin-white like that old Doric shrine,
where erst Athena held her rites divine;
Not saintly-grey, like many a minster fane,
that crowns the hill and consecrates the plain;
But rose-red as if the blush of dawn,
that first beheld them were not yet withdrawn;
The hues of youth upon a brow of woe,
which Man deemed old two thousand years ago,
match me such marvel save in Eastern clime,
a rose-red city half as old as time.
In 1977, the Lebanese Rahbani brothers wrote the musical “Petra” as a response to the Lebanese Civil War.[26]
The Sisters of Mercy filmed their music video for “Dominion/Mother Russia” in and around Al Khazneh (“The Treasury”) in February 1988.
In 1994 Petra featured in the video to the Urban Species video Spiritual Love.
Petra was featured in episode 3 of the 2010 series An Idiot Abroad.
In 1979 Marguerite van Geldermalsen from New Zealand married Mohammed Abdullah, a Bedouin in Petra.[28] They lived in a cave in Petra until the death of her husband. She authored the book Married to a Bedouin. Geldermalsen is the only western woman who has ever lived in Petra.
The “red-rose” city of Petra stands as one of the most glorious and mysterious archaeological sites on earth. Created over 2,500 years ago, the ornate Petra cityscape was literally carved into the rose-colored walls of Jordan’s Shara Mountains. The builders of Petra, the Nabataeans, were thought to be some of the wealthiest people ever to inhabit the Middle East, but they, along with their riches, simply vanished. What was Petra and could the Arabian site be still hiding precious treasure?
Petra (Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ, Ancient Greek Πέτρα) is a historical and archaeological city in the southern Jordanian governorate of Ma’an, that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of which it is carved.
Established possibly as early as 312 BCE as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as its most-visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Jebel al-Madhbah (identified by some as the biblical Mount Hor) in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was described as “a rose-red city half as old as time” in a Newdigate Prize-winning poem by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage”. See: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Petra was chosen by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of the “28 Places to See Before You Die.”
Evidence suggests that settlements had begun in and around Petra in the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt (1550–1292 BCE)[citation needed]. It is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela or Seir. Though the city was founded relatively late, a sanctuary existed there since very ancient times. Stations 19 through 26 of the stations list of Exodus are places associated with Petra. This part of the country was biblically assigned to the Horites, the predecessors of the Edomites. The habits of the original natives may have influenced the Nabataean custom of burying the dead and offering worship in half-excavated caves. Although Petra is usually identified with Sela which means a rock, the Biblical references refer to it as “the cleft in the rock”, referring to its entrance. The second book of Kings xiv. 7 seems to be more specific. In the parallel passage, however, Sela is understood to mean simply “the rock” (2 Chronicles xxv. 12, see LXX).
On the authority of Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews iv. 7, 1~ 4, 7) Eusebius and Jerome (Onom. sacr. 286, 71. 145, 9; 228, 55. 287, 94) assert that Rekem was the native name and this name appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls as a prominent Edom site most closely describing Petra and associated with Mount Seir. But in the Aramaic versions Rekem is the name of Kadesh, implying that Josephus may have confused the two places. Sometimes the Aramaic versions give the form Rekem-Geya which recalls the name of the village El-ji, southeast of Petra.[citation needed] The Semitic name of the city, if not Sela, remains unknown. The passage in Diodorus Siculus (xix. 94–97) which describes the expeditions which Antigonus sent against the Nabataeans in 312 BCE is understood to throw some light upon the history of Petra, but the “petra” referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name and the description implies that the town was not yet in existence. The Rekem Inscription before it was buried by the bridge abutments.
The name “Rekem” was inscribed in the rock wall of the Wadi Musa opposite the entrance to the Siq, but about twenty years ago[timeframe?] the Jordanians built a bridge over the wadi and this inscription was buried beneath tons of concrete.
A resourceful emergency dispatcher used social media to help save a hiker who plunged 150 feet (45 m) off a cliff into a tree near Sacramento, California, this week. After a 911 call by the hiker’s son was disconnected, dispatchers tried in vain to determine the location using the cell phone’s coordinates—until a dispatch trainee Googled the injured man’s name. She soon found his Facebook page, saw an earlier status update about his hike, and sent rescue crews to his location. The man was treated for broken bones and a head injury. More…Discuss
On December 28, 1956, 15-year-old Barbara Grimes and her 13-year-old sister Patricia went to a nearby Chicago movie theater to see the Elvis Presley movie “Love Me Tender.”
Several reliable sightings at the theater determined the fact that the two did arrive safely at the movie. A friend sat behind them during the film and this same friend saw them later in the line to purchase snacks.
The two sisters apparently stayed for the second show of a double-feature.
Then they vanished.
When the Grimes sisters did not arrive home by midnight, their worried mother sent out two of her other children to the bus stop closest to their house to wait for the two girls. Several buses passed by, but the sisters were not on any of them. At a little after 2am on the morning of the 29th, their mother called the police. It was quickly determined that it was unlikely that the two girls had run away on their own.
In the subsequent days, police fanned out across the Chicago areas and found people who eagerly reported having seen the two girls. It became a headache for the police to keep up with all of the alleged sightings:
Several people claimed that they witnessed two young girls matching a description of the Grimes sisters get on a bus heading east into the heart of Chicago. Nobody saw these two girls get off the bus at any stop on the route, however. Similarly, a train conductor would claim to have seen them on a train near the Chicago suburb of Glenview.
A night security guard claimed that he was asked for directions by two young girls the night of their disappearance.
On the following evening, the evening of the 29th, a fellow student of Patricia’s reportedly saw her walking past a restaurant in the company of two other girls — neither of which was Barbara.
A restaurant worker reported a sighting early in the morning of the 30th. He said they were in the company of a man at this point, and that one of the girls acted sickly or drunk and had to be assisted when walking.
A hotel clerk stated the girls briefly stayed at his hotel. A clerk at another hotel claimed that he had refused them a room due to their young age.
Several days later, employees of a department store reported seeing the Grimes sisters in their store, listening to Elvis Presley records.
Most mysteriously, roughly two weeks after the girls’ disappearance, a classmate of Patricia’s got two puzzling phone calls near midnight. During the first call, there was nothing but silence on the line. During the next call, a voice the mother was sure was Patricia’s said: “Is that you, Sandra? Is Sandra there?” The caller then hung up.
The fate of the Grimes sisters would become known before the month was up. On January 22, 1957, a day laborer found their bodies near a road. They appeared to have been dumped or thrown there by someone in a passing car.
The search for the killers became complicated when the autopsy pathologists and the chief investigator of the county coroner’s office could not agree on a time of death. Similarly, the wounds on the bodies were puzzling enough that no clear cause of death could be agreed upon.
The police conducted a massive search for possible culprits and finally focused on three likely suspects:
A homeless man from Tennessee. He originally admitted to killing the Grimes sisters, but later recanted, saying that the police had forced him to issue a false confession.
A young man in his teens who offered to take a lie detector test, which he failed. The police began to focus on him as a prime suspect until they were told that it was illegal to polygraph someone underage. The police released him, many of the authorities thinking he was their man. He was later imprisoned for the unrelated murder of a young woman.
A man in his early 50s called the police before the bodies were found to say that he dreamed a location of the bodies which proved, in the end, to be remarkably accurate. Police grilled the man but were unable to come up with enough evidence to proceed.
Despite a long investigation, the crime has never been solved.
Sources: “Murder of the Grimes sisters,” Wikipedia, pulled 10-29-14. “10 Strange Mysteries Involving Anonymous Letters,” Listverse website, pulled 10-29-14.
In 2014 we searched trillions of times. What do these searches say about us? Explore the Year in Search http://www.google.com/2014 and follow the conversation on #YearInSearch
Want to know why? Well, because like BBC, they are not so concerned with me subscribing to their news agency, as they are to providing the news for my knowledge! unlike the LA times, the New York Times, the NBC, ABC, etc, which have taken over the public airwaves and deny access t the news, unless one subscribes (or they allow 5-10 stories /month!) I got an app, weather and newsstand from Google: the shame of any app: it takes for ever to download, but only because of being bloated with commercials, cookies etc.! Same stories, can be accessed and shared directly and very fast, from their news app!
The best score written by John Williams, this also contains the best theme written by him. Such is the power of the theme that it is actually played in full only twice during the entire film, yet is instantly unforgettable and reserves a place in our hearts for all time.
A very deserved Oscar win for a great score for a very great film
Hate bumping elbows with your neighbor on an airplane? It’s among the most common traveler complaints, and one that could be remedied in 2015 by Soarigami, a plastic armrest divider. Soarigami slides onto the armrest and splits it equally between neighboring seats. Its inventors believe it will foster a pleasant travel experience for both passengers. This is a departure from other carry-on items, like the “Knee Defender,” which allows a passenger to block another from reclining his or her seat—a move that caused an in-flight fracas last August. More…Discuss
You can access more classical music (a lot more) here at euizcasa, by using the site’s search engine, by composer, composition and instrumentist… Good luck and have fun!
Paragliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport that has its roots in parachuting. Unlike parasailing, in which a water-skier wearing a parachute becomes airborne while being towed by a speedboat, paragliding uses a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. Paragliding took off in the 1970s, and today, the world’s best paragliding pilots compete in the Paragliding World Cup and other competitions. What do pilots do to reduce their chances of injury in this extreme sport? More…Discuss
ST. LOUIS — A grand jury has declined to indict Darren Wilson, the white Ferguson, Mo. police officer whose fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager sparked days of turbulent protests and a national conversation about race and police interactions with African Americans, prosecutors said Monday.
The decision means that Wilson, 28, will face no state charges in the August shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Although a parallel federal civil rights investigation of the shooting is continuing, federal investigators have all but concluded they do not have a case against Wilson, either, law enforcement officials have said.
A separate federal probe of the Ferguson Police Department is underway. But the prospect that Wilson will face no direct legal consequences for Brown’s death was expected to trigger protests in the St. Louis area, and in the hours before the announcement, scores of demonstrators gathered near the area where Brown was killed.
Defense SecretaryChuck Hagel will officially resign amid growing pressure from the Obama administration over his handling of several international crises, Fox News has confirmed.
Hagel, 68, is expected to meet with President Obama at the White House at 11 a.m. Hagel, a Republican, is the first member of Obama’s team to step down following the midterm elections.
Fireworks, which are generally believed to have been invented by the Chinese, have been used throughout history to celebrate happy occasions. In 1789, George Washington’s inauguration was accompanied by a display, and today, fireworks help mark Independence Day in the US, Diwali in India, Bastille Day in France, and New Year’s Eve around the world. In 1999, Disney World began launching fireworks with compressed air rather than gunpowder. What are the advantages of this type of launch? More…Discuss
English: Barack Obama delivers a speech at the University of Southern California (Video of the speech) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
That depends precisely on what actions Obama announces, but the Migration Policy Institutecame out with new estimates Wednesday that suggests that about 4 million undocumented immigrants would be directly affected by the action. According to the group, there are 3.71 million undocumented immigrants who have children who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
Then, 290,000 new people would join the 1.2 million young immigrants eligible for deferred deportation under the administration’s 2012 program. (Some reports suggest there could be an additional million people beyond that, but this is unclear.)
English: Official portrait of United States Attorney General Eric Holder Español: Retrato oficial de Fiscal General de los Estados Unidos Eric Holder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(CNN) — President Barack Obama’s administration is pushing other countries to overhaul their laws to make it easier to prosecute fighters who return after being involved in terrorism. Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday that the Justice Department has dispatched lawyers to 14 countries — four in the Balkan region and 10 in North Africa and the Middle East — to work with policymakers there. “These personnel will provide critical assistance to our allies in order to help prosecute those who return from the Syrian region bent on committing acts of terrorism,” Holder said at press conference Thursday.
According to Watchdog.org, Gruber is currently being paid to advise the state of Vermont on a new health care plan. Watchdog.org also spoke with the man who wrote the comment that drew Gruber’s snarky rebuke, former state senator and Reagan adviser John McClaughry.
“No one should trust this man,” McClaughry told Watchdog.org. “Based on the rest of the stuff that’s come out on the videos, nobody can trust this guy.”
Even though Pelosi claimed she wasn’t familiar with Gruber, other Democrats have made clear they know him — and are not happy with him.
The Noblis Technology Tuesday speaker series covers a broad spectrum of political, technical and innovative ideas. Noblis is a nonprofit science, technology, and strategy organization that brings the best of scientific thought, management, and engineering expertise with a reputation for independence and objectivity. The opinions expressed in this video are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Noblis.
Jonathan Gruber spoke to a Noblis audience on January 18, 2012 Few experts know more about America‘s dire need of health care reform than Gruber. And of that short list, he is the only one prepared to enter the pages of a comic book to make the case. To be clear: Gruber is not an expert; he is “the” expert. An award-winning MIT economist and the director of the Health Care Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, he was a key architect of the ambitious health care reform effort in Massachusetts and is a member of the Health Connector Board now implementing it; in 2006 he was named by “Modern Healthcare” as the nineteenth most powerful person in health care in the United States. In 2008 he was a consultant to the Clinton, Edwards, and Obama presidential campaigns. The national legislation passed by Congress in 2009 derives directly from Gruber’s insights learned during the Massachusetts health care debate.
American troops who helped fight Ebola in West Africa are under “controlled monitoring” in Italy The Italian government expressed concern about the troops when they returned to Italy from Liberia CNN spoke with Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams via a military video conferencing system
Washington (CNN) — They’re just back from the Ebola hot zone, they can’t have any physical contact with family or loved ones and their plastic forks are being burned after each use.
But American troops quarantined in Italy have good morale and are proud of their work against the “silent enemy” of Ebola, according to Major General Darryl Williams, who is being isolated alongside his men at the Army base in Vicenza.
“I know he can GET the job, Harry, but can he DO the job?” clip from the beginning of this great movie. Every time I see this, I laugh so hard that I cry! Enjoy!!
Excepts: ” Carney said on CNN. “I think that would demonstrate a level of seriousness in response to this that is merited at this point.”
Administration officials insist that a travel ban could actually hurt efforts to fight the virus. The move would “slow down the ability of the United States and other international partners to actually get expertise and capabilities and equipment into the affected areas,” White House Homeland Security Adviser Lisa Monaco said earlier this month.
The idea of a travel ban is certain to come up at a congressional hearing on the U.S. response to Ebola Thursday afternoon. Seven of the panel’s 14 Republicans say it’s time for the administration to at least consider restricting the flow of people from West Africa to the U.S., and House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday afternoon that a temporary travel ban, “is something that the president should absolutely consider” in response to the crisis. (16/10/2014 19:20 by: CBSNews)
Yet the real number of severe respiratory illnesses caused by this virus is probably even higher, the CDC says.
Enteroviruses are very common, especially in the early fall. The CDC estimates that 10 million to 15 million infections occur in the United States each year. These viruses usually present like the common cold; symptoms include sneezing, a runny nose and a cough.
Most people recover without any treatment. But Enterovirus D68 appears to be exacerbating breathing problems in children who have asthma.
The virus is hard to track, as many enteroviruses cause similar symptoms and hospitals generally do not test for specific types. But the CDC has asked hospitals across the country to send in samples if workers suspect that Enterovirus D68 has caused a patient’s severe respiratory illness.
Alabama, Indiana and Oklahoma are the latest to join the growing list of states with confirmed cases, health officials say.
Seven of 24 specimens sent to the CDC from Oklahoma hospitals and laboratories have tested positive for Enterovirus D68, the Oklahoma State Department of Health announced Tuesday. The state has seen an increase in pediatric admissions at hospitals in its central region.
So why all the concern now?
What’s unusual at the moment is the high number of hospitalizations.
The virus has sent more than 30 children a day to a Kansas City, Missouri, hospital, where about 15% of the youngsters were placed in intensive care, officials said.
“It’s worse in terms of scope of critically ill children who require intensive care. I would call it unprecedented,” said Dr. Mary Anne Jackson, a director for infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy Hospital, where about 475 children were recently treated.
“I’ve practiced for 30 years in pediatrics, and I’ve never seen anything quite like this,” she said.
What’s special about this particular type of enterovirus?
An analysis by the CDC showed at least 30 of the Kansas City children tested positive for EV-D68, Missouri health officials said.
It’s a type of enterovirus that’s uncommon, but not new.
It was first identified in the 1960s and there have been fewer than 100 reported cases since that time. But it’s possible, Pallansch said, that the relatively low number of reports might be because EV-D68 is hard to identify.
EV-D68 was seen last year in the United States and this year in various parts of the world. Over the years, clusters have been reported in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Arizona and various countries including the Philippines, Japan and the Netherlands.
Experts say they don’t know why it’s flared up this time around.
“Why one virus or another crops up in one part of the country or another part of the country from one year to the next is inexplicable,” said William Schaffner, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University. “It’s a mystery to me.”
What are the symptoms?
“Access the article published at CIDRAP, (you can access CIDRAP, as you recall with the side bar widget at euzicasa) Another post (this pressed will follow shortly): get informed, be your family and yourselves best friends, no matter what the downplayer may want you to believe; then you can be level headed instead of fearing, and in denial! ”
CNN, a division of the Turner Broadcasting System owned by Time Warner, is widely credited with introducing the concept of 24-hour news coverage. Today, the network reaches more than 1 billion people in more than 200 countries. Its coverage of the Gulf War and other conflicts and crises of the early 1990s, including, perhaps most famously, the “Black Hawk Down” incident in Mogadishu, Somalia, led to the coining of the term “the CNN effect.” What phenomenon does the phrase describe? More…Discuss
An avalanche along the most popular route up Mount Everest killed at least 12 Nepali mountain guides on Friday. Several other climbers were still missing in the hours following the event. Prior to this avalanche, the deadliest day on Everest was May 11, 1996, when eight people lost their lives in a storm. In all, 15 people died attempting to summit the mountain that year, making it the deadliest year in Everest’s history. It is still early in Everest’s peak climbing season, meaning this year could well surpass that unfortunate record. More…Discuss FATALITIES LISTED HERE
Fukushima News 10/23/13: Fukushima Workers “We Hide Accidents”; Typhoon Threat Panics Tepco Fukushima Workers Speak Out: We hide accidents at plant — CNN: Health is suffering — CBS: Radioactive materials “just pour right in” after cleanup (VIDEOS) http://enenews.com/fukushima-workers-…
Fukushima plant struggles with typhoon threat The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is racing to secure storage space for tainted rainwater as another powerful typhoon approaches. Tokyo Electric Power Company has begun moving the rainwater into underground pools once deemed too leaky. The water is the result of typhoons and downpours that have filled barriers around radioactive waste water tanks. TEPCO has been storing the most contaminated rainwater in tanks and in the basement of a turbine building. But with Typhoon Francisco set to hit Japan’s mainland over the weekend, the tanks are full. Japan’s nuclear regulator has approved moving the tainted water to 3 underground pools. The pools have a total capacity of about 9,000 tons. TEPCO stopped using the pools after similar models leaked in April. The utility now says it no other option but to use them. The utility also says it found 140,000 becquerels per liter of Beta-ray emitting radioactivity in an onsite ditch on Wednesday. The radioactivity has doubled since the previous day. TEPCO says it is transferring the contaminated water to a tank.
NRA chief to meet TEPCO head on nuclear safety Officials from Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority have criticized a report submitted by Tokyo Electric Power Company on safety measures at its nuclear plants. The NRA met on Wednesday after TEPCO submitted the report to the authority on Tuesday of last week. The report outlines the measures TEPCO is taking to prevent radioactive water leaks and other problems at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant. In the report, TEPCO also says it is capable of safely managing 2 reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. The utility has plans to restart the reactors.
Japan pursuing new nuclear disposal technology The Japanese government plans to develop new technology that would cut the environmental impact of highly radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. The waste is believed to have an impact on the environment that lasts tens of thousands of years. The government’s current plan involves burying it deep underground. But officials have yet to choose a site due to safety concerns.
Scientific Reports: It’s “remarkable” where plutonium from Fukushima reactor is suspected to have been found — “Even more unexpected” that it’s located outside main strip of contamination — Need to assess consequences for public of a release of plutonium-rich hot particles (PHOTO) http://enenews.com/scientific-reports…
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Antibiotic overuse is a major cause of antibiotic resistance, but that is not deterring US doctors from prescribing enough antibiotics to dose four out of five Americans each year. In 2010, 258 million courses of antibiotics were prescribed by US doctors. Geography may play influence the frequency with which doctors prescribe these drugs. The states of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, for example, averaged 1,200prescriptions for every 1,000 people, whereas Alaska, Oregon, and California had 600 or fewer. More…Discuss
Chinese army seen linked to hacks against US An interview with a French or international personality from the world of economics, politics, culture or diplomacy. An interview with a French or international personality from the world of economics, politics, culture or diplomacy.
Two Canadian inmates, whose daring daytime prison escape on Sunday—believed to be Quebec‘s first helicopter-facilitated jailbreak—triggered a massive manhunt, a shootout with police, and a standoff, are back in custody and facing a slew of charges. So are their two accomplices, who hijacked a helicopter, forced its pilot to fly to the prison, tossed down ropes for the waiting inmates, and then whisked the men away. More…Discu
It took 1,000 computers 39 days to come up with the longest prime number yet known. It has 17,425,170 digits and is calculated by multiplying 2 by itself 57,885,161 times and then subtracting 1.Curtis Cooper, a computer science professor at the University of Central Missouri who collaborated on the discovery of two earlierrecord prime numbers, is credited with the latest find. He is so passionate about prime numbers that he already has the university’s computers crunching numbers in search of an even higher one, a task that could take between five and seven years. More…Discuss
Why didn’t CNN’s international arm air its own documentary on Bahrain’s Arab Spring repression? (from UK Guardian) (click to read more)
In late March 2011, as the Arab Spring was spreading, CNN sent a four-person crew to Bahrain to produce a one-hour documentary on the use of internet technologies and social media by democracy activists in the region. Featuring on-air investigative…. More
In 1920, meteorologists did not have modern forecasting equipment, and there was no storm warning system in place in the US. Thus, when an outbreak of storms began near dawn on March 28, 1920, few were prepared for the devastation that followed. Some 400 people were killed and more than 1,200 injured that day by at least 38 recorded tornadoes in the deep South and the Midwest. Why is it likely that both the total number of tornadoes as well as the actual death toll were underreported? More…Discuss
Michael Moore: “We live in a liberal country … You know who believes it — and they’re proving that they believe it — are the Republicans. Because why would you try to suppress the vote if you believed you lived in a Conservative country? If you believed you lived in a Republican country, the last thing you would do would be to make it hard for people to vote. You’d be setting up voting booths in every Wal-Mart across the country.” — Michael Moore, Monday, October 24th, White Plains, New York
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Deadliest Day on Everest
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