Some
Headlines & Anniversaries...Some
Headlines & Anniversaries...
Price of crude OIL hits $100 a barrel, 2nd January 2008. A warning sign that cheap oil will soon be a thing of the past. Could this be the year oil production finally peaks, ushering in the eventual end of the oil empire?
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EVER REST IN PEACE Sir Edmund Hillary, first man to climb Mount Everest, died aged 88, 11th January 2008. He, with a lot of help from Sherpa Tensing Norgay, climbed the world's highest peak on 29th May 1953. |
Across the Universe...February 4th 2007, NASA beams the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" on a 431 Light Year musical odyssey towards Polaris, the North Star. It marks the 40th anniversary of the song's recording & NASA's 50th. |
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| "Israel has drawn international criticism for its latest series of
onslaughts against the 'prison' of Gaza, the crowded home to 1.4 million Palestinians.
Since last Wednesday (February 27), 112 Palestinians have died under Israeli air attacks
and 'incursions' by Israeli troops. The dead include many women and children, such as four
boys who had been out playing football and even babies killed in their homes. Last
Saturday alone saw the deaths of 60 Palestinians under Israeli attacks. Three Israelis
have died - one a civilian killed during a rocket attack by Hamas last Wednesday and,
since then, two Israeli soldiers." (Source: Media Lens, 3rd March 2008) |
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 Israelis kill 22 people in Gaza. The dead include
5 Palestinian children & a Reuters cameraman. (16 April 2008) |
| Edward Lorenz, mathematician, meteorologist, & early pioneer of Chaos Theory, dies, 16th April 2008, aged 91. Famous for the phrase "Butterfly Effect" - 'does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado?' - more technically the "sensitive dependence on initial conditions" & the idea of the "Strange Attractor". |
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"Between a quarter and a third of the world's wildlife has been lost since 1970, according to data compiled by the Zoological Society of London. Populations of land-based species fell by 25%, marine by 28% and freshwater by 29%, it says. Humans are wiping out about 1% of all other species every year, and one of the "great extinction episodes" in the Earth's history is under way, it says. " "Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply"- James Leape Director general, WWF UK (Source: BBC, 16th May 2008) Animals Eco |
 BRITAIN'S BEACHES GETTING DIRTIER"Bathing water at beaches across the UK is more polluted as a result of last year's stormy summer, the Marine Conservation Society has warned. Its annual Good Beach Guide shows the number of beaches with excellent water quality has fallen by 10% since last year, the biggest drop in 21 years. The society blamed last summer's heavy rain for sweeping raw sewage and animal waste into rivers and the sea. " (Source: BBC, 23 May 2008) [Looe in Cornwall is near a place called Flushing!] |
NASA spacecraft lands on Mars"The Mars Phoenix lander touched down in the far north of the Red Planet, after a 680 million-km (423 million-mile) journey from Earth. The probe is equipped with a robotic arm to dig for water-ice thought to be buried beneath the surface. It will begin examining the site for evidence of the building blocks of life in the next few days." (Source: BBC, 26 May 2008) |
Nepal votes to abolish
monarchy  "The Himalayan nation of Nepal has become the world's newest republic, ending 240 years of monarchy. A constituent assembly meeting in the capital, Kathmandu, overwhelmingly voted to abolish royal rule. The Maoists, the largest party after laying down arms and standing in last month's elections, were committed to ousting King Gyanendra. People celebrated wildly in the streets of the capital after news of the assembly vote. " (Source: BBC, 28 May 2008) Isn't it about time we sacked the anachronistic British Royal Family? (And the world's other remaining monarchs) |
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Future unwritten...
davyking.com |
French Fashion Designer Yves Saint
Laurent dies