Three Swedish dailies have re-printed a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed with the body of a dog after seven people were arrested in Ireland accused of plotting to kill the artist Lars Villks. "Even the right to mock must be defended in a democratic society," Expressen editor Thomas Mattsson said.
Microsoft's search engine "Bing" filters out sexually explicit keywords in Arab countries, the Open Net Initiative (ONI) has claimed in a report. The American research organisation said in a report published at the beginning of March that out of a hundred words with sexual connotations, 20 were blocked.
At 27, Mahinur Ozdemir is by far the youngest deputy to serve in the Belgian parliament in Brussels. As the debate about the Muslim headscarf rages on in several European nations, she has also become a lightening rod for controversy. "I am an example of social integration, and yet I wear the headscarf," says the Belgian national of Turkish origin. When she was sworn in on June 23, 2009, pledging to uphold Belgian laws while clad in her hijab, murmurings of discontent could be heard among her detractors. The news of her confirmation attracted much media attention, particularly in Turkey. "At home, she would be dismissed from parliament," noted one incredulous journalist, who had travelled from Istanbul to cover the event.
At 27, Mahinur Ozdemir is by far the youngest deputy to serve in the Belgian parliament in Brussels. As the debate about the Muslim headscarf rages on in several European nations, she has also become a lightening rod for controversy.
"I am an example of social integration, and yet I wear the headscarf," says the Belgian national of Turkish origin.
When she was sworn in on June 23, 2009, pledging to uphold Belgian laws while clad in her hijab, murmurings of discontent could be heard among her detractors. The news of her confirmation attracted much media attention, particularly in Turkey. "At home, she would be dismissed from parliament," noted one incredulous journalist, who had travelled from Istanbul to cover the event.
She believes the scarf is a part of her identity and says she has worn the head covering since 14 "without obligation". Neither her sister nor her aunts wear the scarf.
She's obviously internalized the androcentric norms of her culture and so is unfit to dress herself, much less serve as a member of Parliament! The march of civilizations is a series of defenses that man has put up against the dread of pure existence.
A Stockholm court conditionally approved the extradition of 34-year-old Swede Anders Hoegstrom to Poland on Thursday, in connection with the theft of the notorious Auschwitz sign. It was ruled that he could face trial in Poland on the provision that, if found guilty, he would be able to serve any prison sentence in Sweden. Investigators suspect Hoegstrom of having incited the theft of a cultural treasure after the metal "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign was stolen from a gateway leading into the former Nazi death camp.
A Stockholm court conditionally approved the extradition of 34-year-old Swede Anders Hoegstrom to Poland on Thursday, in connection with the theft of the notorious Auschwitz sign.
It was ruled that he could face trial in Poland on the provision that, if found guilty, he would be able to serve any prison sentence in Sweden.
Investigators suspect Hoegstrom of having incited the theft of a cultural treasure after the metal "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign was stolen from a gateway leading into the former Nazi death camp.
Africa is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination. Figures by the UN World Tourism Organization show the continent will show an average growth rate in tourism of over five percent per year by 2020. But Burghard Rauschelbach, head of the tourism and development program at the German Association for Technical Cooperation GTZ, said that such figures do not accurately reflect the realities of tourism in every African country.
Africa is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination. Figures by the UN World Tourism Organization show the continent will show an average growth rate in tourism of over five percent per year by 2020.
But Burghard Rauschelbach, head of the tourism and development program at the German Association for Technical Cooperation GTZ, said that such figures do not accurately reflect the realities of tourism in every African country.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China and Iran have stepped up their abuses of human rights, targeting both anti-government activists and the free flow of information over the Internet, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday. In its annual survey of human rights in 194 countries, the State Department also criticized Cuba, Myanmar, North Korea and Russia, which it faulted for killings of activists and journalists. While it noted the end of Sri Lanka's 33-year civil war in May, the report found that both the government and the defeated rebel Tamil Tigers had used excessive force and committed abuses against civilians last year.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China and Iran have stepped up their abuses of human rights, targeting both anti-government activists and the free flow of information over the Internet, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.
In its annual survey of human rights in 194 countries, the State Department also criticized Cuba, Myanmar, North Korea and Russia, which it faulted for killings of activists and journalists.
While it noted the end of Sri Lanka's 33-year civil war in May, the report found that both the government and the defeated rebel Tamil Tigers had used excessive force and committed abuses against civilians last year.
A senior UN official has called for Burma's military rulers to be investigated over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated against Burmese civilians, in a move that will sharply increase pressure on the isolated regime ahead of controversial national elections due later this year.In a draft report to the UN Human Rights Council [pdf] in Geneva, Tomás Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, described "a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights" which he said has been in place for many years and still continued."There is an indication that those human rights violations are the result of a state policy that involves authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels," he said.
A senior UN official has called for Burma's military rulers to be investigated over allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated against Burmese civilians, in a move that will sharply increase pressure on the isolated regime ahead of controversial national elections due later this year.
In a draft report to the UN Human Rights Council [pdf] in Geneva, Tomás Ojea Quintana, special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, described "a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights" which he said has been in place for many years and still continued.
"There is an indication that those human rights violations are the result of a state policy that involves authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels," he said.
A man with learning difficulties who died at his home last night was "tormented to death" by local youths, neighbours claimed today.Police had been warned that 64-year-old David Askew was being targeted before he was found dead in Hattersley, Greater Manchester, nearby residents said.They criticised police and officials, claiming they had not supported Askew, his brother, Brian, and his mother, Rose, who uses a wheelchair.Officers were called to the family home last night after being told youngsters were causing "annoyance".When police arrived, the youths had vanished, but officers discovered Askew, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man with learning difficulties who died at his home last night was "tormented to death" by local youths, neighbours claimed today.
Police had been warned that 64-year-old David Askew was being targeted before he was found dead in Hattersley, Greater Manchester, nearby residents said.
They criticised police and officials, claiming they had not supported Askew, his brother, Brian, and his mother, Rose, who uses a wheelchair.
Officers were called to the family home last night after being told youngsters were causing "annoyance".
When police arrived, the youths had vanished, but officers discovered Askew, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
How many more times? Ad astra per aspera
The world's single most complicated and expensive scientific experiment, designed to discover the "God particle" and recreate the conditions that existed at the dawn of creation, will be switched off for a year to correct a design problem that could break it apart if it ran on full power. Scientists in charge of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva announced yesterday that the machine will only be able to run on half energy before it is temporarily shut down in two years' time. Its full operating capacity designed to probe the frontiers of science will not be achieved until at least 2013 - several years later than planned.
The world's single most complicated and expensive scientific experiment, designed to discover the "God particle" and recreate the conditions that existed at the dawn of creation, will be switched off for a year to correct a design problem that could break it apart if it ran on full power.
Scientists in charge of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Geneva announced yesterday that the machine will only be able to run on half energy before it is temporarily shut down in two years' time. Its full operating capacity designed to probe the frontiers of science will not be achieved until at least 2013 - several years later than planned.
Voices from alternate universes are howling in disagreement.
I leave it to Star Maker to tell us what's up. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
A Mississippi school board apologizes for any inconveniences it may have caused when it cancelled next month's prom, but if gay and lesbian students are allowed to attend and have fun with their same-sex dates, the board would really rather just not have the dance at all. Like many high school seniors in the U.S., 18-year-old Constance McMillen had been looking forward to her spring prom. If teen movies have taught us anything, it's that the senior prom is a one of the most crucial moments in a young person's life - when popular kids learn it's not all about popularity, when nerds learn that they're hot, or if you're Zach and Kelly, you don't need an expensive dress to have a magical time. Ms. McMillen had picked out her tux and invited her girlfriend, and therein lies the school board's problem. Ms. McMillen went to the American Civil Liberties Union of Mississippi since it's wrong to discriminate against people based on sexual orientation, and gave the Itawamba Agricultural High School and the school board until yesterday to drop their objections. They responded by cancelling the whole thing.
Architectural design is currently enjoying a watershed moment of increased media attention, but among all the discussion of new museums, opera houses, and theatres, there is little attention paid to one of the world's oldest and most significant cultural institutions: the prison. According to a recent Washington Post article, more than 1 in 100 American adults were incarcerated at the start of 2008, making jails among the most popularly-visited sites in the nation. Historically, these buildings have been important tools in the disciplining of societies (including those who lived and worked in them, or those seeking to avoid them), and they've often provided major critical metaphors for the transmission of ideology and power structures-- most famously in the case of Foucault's interest in Bentham's panopticon. But for all the discussion generated about the design of this structure, it was ultimately dismissed as a bad idea, and few new ideas have been proposed.
How much power can you expect to get out of a one-mile stretch of road? One mile = 5280 feet. Our Solar Road Panels are 12' by 12'. Therefore, it will take 5280/12 = 440 panels to create one mile (one lane, 12 feet wide). Each panel is expected to produce 7600Wh of electricity daily based on 15% efficiency and four hours of sunlight per day (for more details, see the Numbers page). 440 times 7600Wh = 3.344MWhr per lane per mile. So a typical four lane highway will produce 13.376MWhr per mile, based on four hours of sunlight per day. According to a 2007 study by the Energy Information Administration, the average American home used 936kWh per month. Dividing this number by 30 will give us an average need of 31.2kWh per day. Dividing this number into the 13.376MWhr per mile, gives us approximately 428. That's how many American homes can go "off-grid" for every mile of 4-lane Solar Roadway. We can wean ourselves off coal. Again, that's based on four hours of sunlight per day. Some of the roads in our neighborhood never see sunlight. Does that mean that we'll never see the Solar Roadways in our neighborhood? No. Every Solar Road Panel will have the ability to collect and store energy from the sun. Even the panels that never see sunshine can store the energy collected by nearby panels that are in the sun. We would install Solar Road Panels in tunnels and under bridges, knowing that they will never see sunlight themselves. Remember, we can produce three times more electricity than we have ever used. Theoretically, that means that only one-third of the Solar Road Panels ever have to see the light of day. The rest of the "shaded" panels will act as energy storage devices. They will still light up (nice for those tunnels!), melt snow and ice, report problems, etc., using the power that was collected by the panels in the region that did have access to sunlight.
One mile = 5280 feet. Our Solar Road Panels are 12' by 12'. Therefore, it will take 5280/12 = 440 panels to create one mile (one lane, 12 feet wide). Each panel is expected to produce 7600Wh of electricity daily based on 15% efficiency and four hours of sunlight per day (for more details, see the Numbers page).
440 times 7600Wh = 3.344MWhr per lane per mile. So a typical four lane highway will produce 13.376MWhr per mile, based on four hours of sunlight per day.
According to a 2007 study by the Energy Information Administration, the average American home used 936kWh per month. Dividing this number by 30 will give us an average need of 31.2kWh per day. Dividing this number into the 13.376MWhr per mile, gives us approximately 428. That's how many American homes can go "off-grid" for every mile of 4-lane Solar Roadway. We can wean ourselves off coal. Again, that's based on four hours of sunlight per day. Some of the roads in our neighborhood never see sunlight. Does that mean that we'll never see the Solar Roadways in our neighborhood?
No. Every Solar Road Panel will have the ability to collect and store energy from the sun. Even the panels that never see sunshine can store the energy collected by nearby panels that are in the sun. We would install Solar Road Panels in tunnels and under bridges, knowing that they will never see sunlight themselves. Remember, we can produce three times more electricity than we have ever used. Theoretically, that means that only one-third of the Solar Road Panels ever have to see the light of day. The rest of the "shaded" panels will act as energy storage devices. They will still light up (nice for those tunnels!), melt snow and ice, report problems, etc., using the power that was collected by the panels in the region that did have access to sunlight.
panels as batteries? ~"When an inner situation is not made conscious, it appears outside as fate." Karl Jung~
