Airbnb is Setting Up 100,000 Refugees From Ukraine With Free Housing

 Some good things are taking place in the middle of this terrible drama and people all over the world are trying to help in any way to the Ukranians who have lost everything, including their country.

This is just one example of this solidarity: Airbnb_Ukranian refugees

EU citizens arriving in UK being locked up and expelled

 

Europeans with job interviews tell of detentions and expulsions despite rules allowing non-visa holders to attend interviews.

After a long way to make the EU possible, we begin to suffer the decision of the UK government to exit the European playgroung. Our European citizens are being mistreated and detentions and expulsions are taking place despite the agreements reached between the two parts.

Read this article published in The Guardian to see what is really happening:

Detentions UK

Town in northern Russia battling invasion of polar bears

And we were afraid of wild pigs!!

Russia is battling an unprecedented invasion of polar bears on a remote Arctic archipelago that is home to the country’s most northerly military base. Known locally as “Lords of the Arctic”, the wild animals have been terrorising the population on Novaya Zemlya, a group of mountainous islands off Russia’s northern coast once used as a testing ground for atomic bombs.

“People are scared, afraid to leave their homes, daily routines are being broken, and parents are unwilling to let their children go to school and kindergartens,” according to Alexander Minaev, the deputy head of the local government in Novaya Zemlya. Global warming is melting Arctic ice, forcing polar bears to abandon their traditional habitat and move closer to human settlements in search of food. But hunting the unwelcome visitors is prohibited in Russia where polar bears are officially protected as an endangered species.

The government in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region declared a state of emergency on Novaya Zemlya on Saturday citing an unprecedented build-up in the number of polar bears in the remote region since December last year.

Some 52 bears have been sighted around Belushya Guba, the biggest settlement on the islands – or about one bear for every 10 members of the local population.

Aggressive behaviour

Most of the animals appear to have holed up in a disused military garrison, but some have ventured out to enter residential and public buildings and displayed “aggressive behaviour”. Army personnel have been trying to drive out the bears using non-lethal measures. But the polar bears are so “convinced of their own safety” they ignore barking dogs, bright lights and loud noises intended to scare them away, local officials said.

Rosprirodnadzor, the Russian environmental watchdog, has so far refused permission to shoot the bears, but is sending a special commission to Novaya Zemlya to assess the problem. Local authorities are calling for drastic action and say a cull may be inevitable.

Unprecedented

Zhigansha Musin, the head of the Novaya Zemlya administration, said the number of polar bears sighted was unprecedented. “I have been on Novaya Zemlya since 1983 and there has never been such a mass invasion,” he said. “They have literally been chasing people.”

Polar bears migrate from the south to the north of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in response to seasonal changes in ice conditions, Ilya Mordvintsev, an ecological and evolution specialist at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told the Tass news agency. They were stopping off at Beyusha Guba to search for food in local dustbins.

“If there was no alternative source of food there, they would probably pass straight by” without stopping, he added. Polar bears are facing an increasing struggle to survive as global climate change warms the Arctic Oceans shrinking their natural habitat. The World Wildlife Fund estimates there are 22,000 polar bears left in the world and that their numbers could shrink by 30 per cent by 2050.

Industrial developments in the Arctic where oil companies are exploring for new resources are also a threat to the species.

The Irish Times, 11 Feb 2109

Singles 'more at risk of heart disease than married couples', study finds

What do you think about this?

People who are single, divorced or widowed have a far higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, a study has found.

Married people are less likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke than those who are single, according to new research.

Drawing on 34 studies across 52 years, involving more than two million people aged between 42 and 77, the research by a group of universities in the UK, US and Australia found that people who were divorced, widowed or had never married had a 42% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

They were also at a 16% higher risk of coronary artery heart disease and a 42% higher risk of dying from it, and 55% more likely to have a stroke.

It is the same bleak outlook for both men and women, with divorce and being widowed both hugely increasing the likelihood of heart disease and strokes.

Lead researcher Chun Wai Wong, of Keele University, said: "Our analysis showed that, compared to married individuals, being unmarried was associated with increased coronary heart disease and both cardiovascular heart disease and stroke mortality in the general population.

"Our findings suggest that marriage has a protective effect on cardiovascular diseases, however, this could be attributed to the additional social and emotional support provided by having a spouse."

Among the possible explanations for the findings are that people who are married have their health problems recognised sooner by virtue of having a partner.

Those who are married are also more likely to have better financial security and friendship networks, experts from the universities suggested.

Supporting Keele in the study were the Universities of Aberdeen, Arizona and Macquarie, as well as University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust and the King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital.

Professor Phyo Kyaw Myint, of Aberdeen, said: "There are several possible mechanisms that may explain why people who are married had reduced risk of heart disease.

"They may adopt balanced diet and lifestyle for example, through encouraging their partner to lose weight, do more physical activities or simply encouragement to go and see a doctor for seemingly minor ailments such as heartburn which can be due to heart disease.

Sky News

Does this really matter so much?

Latest news: Instagram users have been left distraught after the photo-sharing app crashed.

Many were faced with an error message when they tried to access the platform from their mobile phones on Monday evening.
Selfie-lovers took to Twitter to vent their frustration, with many turning to humour to dull their pain.
Ella King posted: "Instagram is down??? Now how will I seek validation from strangers on the Internet??"
Ako Akinrele wrote: "Instagram isn't down, my last selfie was just that good."
Sonya Ali tweeted: "Instagram is down. Everyone freak out."
Instagram responded: "We know some Instagrammers are experiencing issues with the app. We're working on a fix."
The desktop site did not appear to be affected by the glitch.

                                                                                                                                    News.com.au

This piece of wearable tech will help basketballers shoot more hoops

Vibrado is a wearable sleeve that can tell players where they’re going wrong with their hoop shoots.

9th October 2013 in Lifestyle & Leisure.

Getting into the NBA requires more than just skill – it takes a lot of dedication, passion and creativity. However, having a little help in the skill department can’t be a bad thing. Vibrado is a wearable sleeve that can tell players where they’re going wrong with their hoop shoots.
Looking much like the sleeves already worn by professionals such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the Vibrado differs in that it is fitted with accelerometers that can detect the exact angle, arc and momentum of the arm as the wearer goes for a shot. The sleeve also features lights and beepers that instantly make players aware when they’ve made a mistake. If they have, they can then check their smartphone to get more detailed stats on how their technique compares to the ideal movements required for each shot. The video below from New Scientist explains more about the innovation:
Although it can’t guarantee to turn any player into a professional baller, the Vibrado could help both amateurs and NBA stars to refine their game by receiving quick and accurate feedback on their play. With wearable tech becoming an industry in itself, could we see this kind of thing pop up in sports across the board?
Website: www.vibradotech.com

Thieves dig into stadium to steal Bieber concert cash

Thieves have made off with tens of thousands of dollars in cash from a Justin Bieber concert in Johannesburg, South African police said.

Burglars dug into a safe room in the city's Soccer City stadium - the venue of the 2010 football World Cup Final - just hours after the Canadian pop star wowed a sell-out crowd.

"The suspect had gained entry through the roof," said police spokeswoman Katlego Mogale.

"They broke the tile... of the bathroom between last night (Sunday) after the concert, and this morning."

The unknown number of thieves escaped with over 1 million rand ($110,000), Ms Mogale said.

A concert employee had put the money in a safe at the stadium before locking up for the evening, she added.

The 19-year-old singer had performed on the second leg of his troubled Believe world tour.

So far the tour has seen his pet capuchin monkey quarantined, a stun gun and drugs were found on his tour bus in Sweden, and Bieber came under fire for a note he wrote at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

ABC News

You see what kind of things are going on in South Africa nowadays!

Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister, has passed away

Margaret Thatcher: we disliked her and we loved it

What bound all opposition to Margaret Thatcher's programme was a suspicion that the grocer's daughter was intent on monetising human value.

• Ian McEwan
• The Guardian, Tuesday 9 April 2013

 Photograph: Gerard Fouet/AFP/Getty Images

 

"Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! Out! Out! Out!" That chanted demand of the left has been fully and finally met. At countless demonstrations throughout the 80s, it expressed a curious ambivalence – a first name intimacy as well as a furious rejection of all she stood for. "Maggie Thatcher" – two fierce trochees set against the gentler iambic pulse of Britain's postwar welfare state. For those of us who were dismayed by her brisk distaste for that cosy state-dominated world, it was never enough to dislike her. We liked disliking her. She forced us to decide what was truly important.

Read the whole article:

Thatcher_Guardian

Nelson Mandela out of hospital after health scare

Relief as 94-year-old former South African president recovers from latest bout of pneumonia

David Smith

• The Observer, Saturday 6 April 2013 20.48 BST

Mandela’s health has suffered as a result of the time he spent in prison on Robben Island; he contracted TB in the 1980s. Photograph: PA

Millions of South Africans breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday as Nelson Mandela was discharged from hospital after being treated for pneumonia for more than a week.
The 94-year-old's recovery from the latest in a series of health scares, ending in a tense period during which his TV obituary was broadcast by mistake. Some commentators argued that it was time to "let go", and one caller to a radio phone-in predicted that his death would trigger an "Arab spring" in which "all hell will break loose".
As Mandela was taken in a military ambulance to his home Houghton, an upmarket suburb of Johannesburg, his relatives and friends paid tribute to a "tough guy" whose will to live was undimmed.
Mandla Mandela, his eldest grandson and political heir, said his family were "overwhelmed" to have him back home and grateful for the support offered by global well-wishers. He said: "We are not worried about his health. We are enjoying the time we have with him. Every day with him we cherish. Twenty-three years after his release from prison, we never thought we would spend time like this. Every moment is precious."
Mandela's health has suffered as a result of the time he spent in prison – he contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while detained on the windswept Robben Island, where he served 18 years of a 27-year sentence for sabotage, and his lungs are said to have been damaged when he worked in a prison quarry.
Despite his long imprisonment, Mandela forgave his former enemies and as president urged South Africans of all races to work together, winning the Nobel peace prize in 1993. He is still revered at home and abroad for leading the long campaign against apartheid and then championing racial reconciliation while in office between 1994 and 1999.

At UK hospital, ugly pipework is transformed into fantastical instruments that lull patients to sleep

The Lullaby Factory is a system of musical tubes installed on the exterior of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children that plays lullabies to help patients sleep.

19th March 2013 in Entertainment, Health & Wellbeing.

No stranger to providing innovative therapy to its patients, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children has already been covered on these pages for its interactive LED-illuminated wall that helps calm young visitors on their way to surgery. Now the hospital has collaborated with Studio Weave to reappropriate ugly pipework on the exterior of the building as the Lullaby Factory, a system of musical tubes that lull patients to sleep with relaxing sounds.
Due to a redevelopment of the infirmary, the building currently has a temporary space that looks awkward and unsightly but can only be seen from inside the hospital. In order to make this area useful, East-London based Studio Weave decided to build on the existing aesthetic of the space, transforming the utilitarian pipework into an imaginative system of horns and woodwind instruments that play lullabies. Children are encouraged to see the building opposite as the Lullaby Factory, which manufactures soothing sounds to help patients recover from their illnesses. The pieces are in reality created by composer and sound artist Jessica Curry, and can be heard through special listening pipes, or by tuning into the Lullaby Factory radio station.
The concept helps revitalize an otherwise unused and unpleasant space and improves young patients’ experience of hospital stays, contributing to their wellbeing. How else can good design be used to transform ordinary facades into something more creative and uplifting?

My comment:
It's encouraging to see how ugly but necessary things can be used to do good. If only men insisted more on creating things meant to be useful and kind for the others ... Is it really so difficult? I think the world could be better if we just were more interested in getting it.
 

From Hungary, foldable electric scooter can be collapsed and carried like a rolling suitcase

Green auto maker Antro has created the Moveo, a lightweight electric scooter that can be collapsed and carried like a rolling suitcase.

6th March 2013 in Automotive.

Consumers have been familiar with foldable bicycles for a while now thanks to brands such as Brompton. Now, eco-friendly Hungarian automotive firm Antro, has taken the logical next step and has created the Moveo, a lightweight electric scooter that can be collapsed and carried like a rolling suitcase.
The company has spent the last five years refining the prototype, getting the weight down to 25 kilograms and the top speed up to 45 kilometers per hour, with its battery charge able to take it 35 kilometers. The current model has stylish gold carbon-composite bodywork and sleek design, while a full scooter seat has not been sacrificed. When drivers reach their destination, the vehicle can be easily folded and carried around using the extendable handle and caster wheels. When folded, bodywork protects users from the machinery inside and the design means that owners don’t have to look for a parking space or lock up their vehicle. Rather they can carry it with them on alternative modes of transport.
Much like the Hiriko Fold, the Moveo reduces the amount of space vehicles take up on crowded city streets and gives drivers more options when the scooter isn’t in use. Antro hopes to get the Moveo into production early next year and is currently looking for investors. Once it hits the market, consumers are set to pay between USD 3,100 and USD 4,600, according to reports. Could your financial backing help bring this innovation to life?

Website: www.solo-duo.hu

In UK, street objects will talk back to passersby through phones

The Hello Lamp Post! project in the UK is using existing codes on street furniture as a way for residents to start up a text message conversation with the object.

21st February 2013 in Tourism & Travel.

With the rise of the Internet of Things, we’ve already seen the EVRYTHNG platform provide a way to link stuff with digital information through unique identification codes. Now the Hello Lamp Post! project in Bristol, UK is using existing codes on public objects to make them more interactive and drive tourism.

The brainchild of creative agency PAN, the scheme has been picked as the winner of Watershed’s Bristol City Council-funded Playable City competition, which aims to showcase creative use of technology in the region. The project utilizes the fact that objects such as lamp posts, bollards, post boxes and bus stops are already marked with unique codes. Players will be able to text the code to a special phone number in order to start a conversation with it. Messages use artificial intelligence technology to simulate human speech, while also revealing stories about the city.

The project is a fun way to make public space more interactive and friendly, while also attracting visitors by helping them learn about its history. Could this scheme work in your part of the world?

Website: www.watershed.co.uk/playablecity

BELGISTAN

And today something completely different and scary from my point of view.
Will it never be possible to have a world in peace, free of totalitarian ideologies, a world where we all respect the others?

Belgistan  

Listen and judge by yourself.


 

In the Netherlands, bike paths heated during winter months

I suppose a lot of cyclist in Spain would love to have something like this on our roads. Don't worry, spring is closer!

A test project in the Netherlands seeks to use the energy generated by the sun to heat bicycle paths during the winter.

12th November 2012 in Eco & Sustainability.

If commuters’ surplus body heat can be used to keep an office building warm, then why not store the heat that beats down on bike paths during the summer and use it to keep them ice-free in the winter months? That, indeed, is precisely the premise behind a test project currently being conducted in the Netherlands with help from Dutch engineering firm Tauw.

Currently under consideration in the Dutch province of Utrecht as well as the city of Zutphen, the proposed plan would call for underground pipes to be placed some 50 meters below the bike paths in question, according to a TreeHugger report. There they would collect the heat generated during summer months and store it for use later to de-ice and warm the paths in the winter, thus making travel by bicycle both safer and more appealing.

The cost of the heating system would reportedly be between EUR 30,000 and EUR 40,000 per kilometer, but that may well be made up for in the savings reaped via the salt and straw that would otherwise be used in winter as well as through reduced accident costs. Transportation entrepreneurs in other wintry parts of the world: one for inspiration?

 

Website: www.tauw.nl

 

Gas Complex Worker Tells of Terror and a Desperate Escape

Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press

Liviu Floria, now safely back home in Romania, was among those who fled the In Amenas plant.
BERGEN, Norway — After militants stormed his remote desert workplace last week, Liviu Floria, a Romanian gas worker, locked the door and sought refuge under a desk. For five hours, as he stayed hidden, he communicated by text message with a Romanian co-worker in another part of the sprawling In Amenas gas facility.
Then an ominous final message flashed on his cellphone from the colleague. “I am a hostage,” it said.
That colleague would later be found dead, Mr. Floria said, along with at least 36 other foreigners whom the Algerian government has identified as victims of the attack. But Mr. Floria’s story is one of both terror and salvation as he and seven others managed to scale the fence surrounding the compound, trek through the desert and escape death.
Mr. Floria saw the attack as it began last Wednesday. He and a colleague, George Iachim, were making their morning coffee when an alarm sounded. They rushed to the window and saw what looked like an action movie unfolding before them. Four men with assault rifles had gotten out of a car and were shooting at the guards stationed at the entrance.
“Out of a peaceful place, a normal place to work, in a few seconds it was transformed into a cemetery,” Mr. Iachim later told Romanian television.
After nearly two days of hiding from the hostage-takers, Mr. Floria and seven others decided their only chance at survival would come from climbing the fence and running away. They left around 2 a.m. for what became a harrowing desert trek, guided only by the flickering flame atop a gas well in the distance and a compass application on Mr. Floria’s iPhone.
Algerian officials said Tuesday that they were searching the Sahara for five missing foreigners, in the hopes that others might have escaped into the desert as Mr. Floria and the others did. “It’s ongoing,” said a senior Algerian official. “They’ve disappeared. We’re not going to just abandon them like that.”

OBAMA'S SPEECH 21 Jan 2013

Last Monday 21 we could listen to Obama's inauguration speech in front of the capitol, in Washington.

I copy here the link to the discourse, which lasted 18 minues, and the link to the video, so that you can listen to and read it at the same time.

As you know, his English is very 'clear' and I think it's a very good ocassion for you to listen to someone with such an enormous power talking to his nation and also to the whole world.

Obama's inauguration speech 2013

LANCE ARMSTRONG'S CONFESSION

The world of cycling reacted with anger — and scepticism — today to Lance Armstrong’s primetime confession to doping and said that the former champion was still a long way from redemption.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey the Texan admitted that a cocktail of EPO, steroids and growth hormone propelled him to seven straight Tour de France titles between 1999 and 2005.

Watch the complete interview or part of it here. It has subtitles in Spanish.

What a shame!