US VX nerve gas disposal test a success

Monday, May 9, 2005

Workers at Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana have completed a successful test-run of a chemical reactor designed to dispose of Cold War stockpiles of VX nerve agent.

After encountering initial difficulties when the temperature in the reactor grew too high, workers were able to adjust the speed of the device. 180 gallons of VX and water were turned into a caustic but far less lethal compound, that can be further reprocessed into an inert substance.

A residue of 14 parts VX per billion remained; the Army’s eventual goal is less than 20 parts. One drop of VX can kill a grown man.

The conversion of the VX stockpiled at the facility is projected to take two years. Then the drain cleaner-like waste product with its small residue of VX will need to be sent to another facility for reprocessing into a safer, biodegradable compound.

A controversial plan has Dupont doing the reprocessing at their facility in New Jersey, and dumping the compound into the nearby Delaware River.

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US adds 173,000 jobs in August; unemployment rate drops to seven year low

Monday, September 7, 2015

The US economy added 173,000 jobs in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday. The unemployment rate fell from 5.3 to 5.1 percent, the lowest since April 2008.

Although August job gains were lower than most economists forecast, job growth numbers for June and July were revised upwards by a combined 44,000. Average job gains over the past three months stand at 221,000, compared to March-May’s 189,000 monthly average. Over the past twelve months, job growth has averaged 247,000 per month.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.3 percent, or 8 cents, marking the largest increase in earnings in seven months. Hourly earnings had risen by 6 cents in July. Wages have risen by 2.2 percent over the past year.

Job growth in August was primarily concentrated in the health care and social assistance, financial activities, and professional and business services sectors. Those three areas of the economy added a combined 108,000 jobs. Food service and drinking places employment increased by 26,000 over the month, and other economic sectors saw employment hold steady. Manufacturing, on the other hand, saw employment decline by 17,000 in August. A stronger dollar and worldwide economic weakness make US exports less desirable, leading to a flattening in manufacturing employment so far this year after steadily rising in the early years of the US economic recovery.

The solid overall job gains led analysts to slightly raise expectations for a decision by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this month. Investors raised the likelihood of a September rate increase from 26 percent before the jobs report to 30 percent, and stocks dropped by over one percent on Friday. “The payrolls data is certainly good enough to allow for a Fed rate hike in September,” said Deutsche Bank’s head of currency strategy, Alan Ruskin. “The big question is still whether financial market volatility will scupper the plans.”

“This is the first time the market has looked at a Fed meeting and really has no idea what the Fed is going to do,” said Mark Kepner, a New Jersey equity trader with Themis Trading. “Right now you’re looking at the overall uncertainty and that’s what’s hanging on the market. I don’t think this number in and of itself changes how somebody’s going to vote.”

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Free Online Mmorpg Games That Fail

Free Online MMORPG Games That Fail

by

kellkuwvas

Feeling like the game you are playing lacks character. Feeling like the community is going to hell. When is the last time you really felt like you were one or really enjoyed the game like you did in the beginning. Chances are, you probably haven’t felt that feeling in a long time. Personally I haven’t been really immersed into any game since Final Fantasy 7 or Star Ocean and those are pretty far back games.. Many of the new MMOs coming out simply like real innovation or what used to make games great to play. User Interfaces

And then there’s hot keys and hot-bars. Sure, they might be the most efficient solution to control schemes in MMOs nowadays, but come on, we’re in the year 2010 and we’ve been using the same setup for years now. If it were up to me, I’d say that MMOs should have the smallest, most compact UI possible so player won’t be overly distracted with them.

Lack of penalties for dying

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNTyNf8AxIo[/youtube]

Now I know that this kind of thing would be almost impossible to include in most MMOs, but the lack of penalties for dying removes any real tension from battling out in the game world. One MMORPG, however, went into an interesting direction about death in an MMO game. Shaiya Online was an MMORPG that contained a special game feature for anyone that wished to take the challenge through Ultimate mode. The reward for playing in Ultimate mode was huge, but the downside was sometimes far to powerful and mean that dying in the game meant losing your character completely. Not only that but all your hard work.

Excessive grinding and lack of quest variety

Grinding everywhere. A lot of MMORPGs out there seem to fall back on this. Hopefully a new dawn of MMO games will change this situation. And also absence of any quest diversity can also be comparable to excessive grinding. Most MMORPGs have been designed around the grind system for so long that the companies see this and the profit they generate, and refuse to evolve. I guess as the old saying goes: “If it’s not broke (for them) why fix it?”

Imitation of other MMOs

A lot of companies these days like to take the most popular MMO and create copycat MMOs to bank on its success. Imitation as they say is the ultimate form of flattery, but I see this as incredibly unimaginative game design. I cannot see how any player would feel any sense of attachment to the game world of these copycat MMOs especially if they previously played the MMO it’s imitating. Perfect example of this experience would be from my time playing El sword and then switching over to playing Fists of Fu also known as “East Fantasy Online”. As much as Fists of Fu tired to throw in some originality, I had a major sensation of “been here, done that”.

Communities

Here is the extensive and most considerable part of immersion in an MMORPG: The blanket community. Just brainstorm this: You’re playing your favorite MMO, roaming around town and generally enjoying yourself. This is just a humble scenario that adds to the many other situations you might have playing with others in an MMO.

Unfortunately playing with a group can be more tedious than helpful in some cases. For instance in WOW there was the problem with ninja looting. Playing with people you actually know in real life, however, can be far more enjoyable.It’s not likely that all people that play MMORPG games will take their character roles seriously and play them out. One populous thing I’d like to add: Bots and gold farmers. Seeing characters drift the game world with no one playing them and gold farmers that spam messages all over about how you should purchase their bot gathered gold breaks immersion on so many levels.

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U.S. President Trump defends decision to share classified information with Russians

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Yesterday morning, United States President Donald Trump defended his disclosure of classified information regarding the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) to Russian foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov and ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak, a decision that has drawn a storm of both explanation and criticism from the media and both major U.S. political parties over the past week.

As president, I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled [White House] meeting) which I have the absolute right to do

Trump spoke directly to the public, as is his custom, via Twitter: “As president, I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled [?White House?] meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against Isis and terrorism.”

On May 10, President Trump met with Lavrov and Kislyak in the Oval Office and, according to reports first from the Washington Post, told them about an Islamic State plot to sneak explosives onto airplanes by hiding them in laptop computers, which may have placed the anonymous partner who provided it in danger of identification. According to U.S. officials, the information in question was so sensitive that it is not only usually not shared with allies but also extremely restricted even within the U.S. government.

“The Russians have the widest intelligence collection mechanism in the world outside of our own,” said John Sipher, the former head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s Russia division. “They can put together a good picture with just a few details[…] They can marry President Trump’s comments with their own intelligence, and intelligence from their allies. They can also deploy additional resources to find out details.”

While it is not illegal for the sitting U.S. president to share classified information with foreign officials, it may violate the agreement with the person or organization who provided the information in the first place. There are concerns the Russians may reverse-engineer the process by which the information was gathered and identify the source. Because many of the countries in the Middle East have tribal-level connections to areas controlled by the Islamic State, allowing a source to be identified could place them in political as well as personal danger. An official from one country in Europe told the Associated Press his government might cease to share intelligence with the United States. According to U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the information came from Israel. None of their Israeli counterparts have seen fit to either confirm or deny this, and Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer wrote to The New York Times expressing “full confidence” in the U.S. intelligence process.

Trump’s advisors who were present at the meeting were quick to say on Monday, once the disclosure was reported publicly, that Trump did not tell the Russians exactly how the U.S. had come by any information. “At no time — at no time — were intelligence sources or methods discussed, and the president did not disclose any military operations that were not already publicly known,” said Trump’s National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, who also told reporters, “I was in the room. It didn’t happen.” No U.S. newspapers were invited to the meeting.

Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, said the report of Trump disclosing classified material was “another fake.”

Republican Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, noting he was not present at the meeting and did not personally know if President Trump actually compromised the source, said, “To compromise a source is something that you just don’t do, and that’s why we keep the information that we get from intelligence sources so close as to prevent that from happening.”

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, who serves on the U.S. Armed Services Committee, and fellow Democrat Adam Schiff of the House Intelligence Committee both raised concerns about Trump’s mindfulness. Reed called it “reckless” and said: “The president of the United States has the power to share classified information with whomever they wish, but the American people expect the president to use that power wisely. I don’t believe the president intentionally meant to reveal highly secretive information to the Russians.”

Republican John McCain of Arizona called this “A troubling signal to America’s allies and partners around the world and may impair their willingness to share intelligence with us in the future.”

Trump’s meeting with the Russian ministers took place one day after he fired Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, who had been running an investigation into alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which raised concerns about obstruction of justice.

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Annie Awards for animation Sunday; Wikinews will be there

Thursday, February 8, 2007

This Sunday, the International Animated Film Association (Association International du Film d’Animation) or ASIFA will hand out the Annie Awards in Glendale, California. As animation’s highest honor, the crowd is always a who’s who of direction, art design, character design, layout, visual effects, and voice artists.

There are 23 award categories in the Annies, sorted into Individual Achievement and Production categories.

Perhaps the most competitive category is “Best Animated Feature”, which will be a fight between Cars (Pixar Animation Studios), Happy Feet (Warner Bros. Pictures/Village Roadshow Pictures/Kennedy Miller Production/Animal Logic Film), Monster House (Columbia Pictures/ImageMovers/Amblin), Open Season (Sony Pictures Animation/Columbia Pictures) and Over The Hedge (DreamWorks Animation).

Cars, Happy Feet, and Monster House are all nominated in the Academy Awards for the same category, perhaps signifying an edge up in the competition.

Direct-to-DVD releases are eligible for the “Best Home Entertainment Production”. Included are Bambi II (DisneyToon Studios), The Adventures of Brer Rabbit (Universal Animation Studios), and Winnie the Pooh: Shapes & Sizes (DisneyToon Studios).

Charlie and Lola, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, King of the Hill, The Fairly OddParents, and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! are all up for “Best Animated Television Production”.

“Best Animated Video Game” will be awarded to either Flushed Away The Game (D3 Publisher of America, Inc.), Monster House (THQ, Inc.), and SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature From the Krusty Krab (THQ, Inc.); the category was just created last year.

Adventure Time (Nickelodeon), Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot (Thunderbean Animation), No Time For Nuts (Blue Sky Studios), and Weird Al Yankovic Don’t Download This Song (Acme Filmworks) are all up for “Best Animated Short Subject”. Only No Time for Nuts is up for an Oscar, which has significantly different rules. “Best Animated Television Commercial” will go to either an advertisement for Candy Factory, ESPN, Hilton, St. Louis Zoo, or United Airlines.

Notably, no non-US films or productions have been nominated for any of the awards.

ASIFA is a non-profit worldwide organization dedicated to preserving and promoting animation, which maintains national branches in 55 countries, as far away as UlanBaatar, Mongolia and Tehran. The Annies are awarded by its California chapter ASIFA-Hollywood.

The awards were started in 1972, after voice actress June Foray noticed the industry lacked a formal way to acknowledge its achievements. Performing in over 202 productions, Foray’s most known characters are Rocket J. Squirrel (Rocky and Bullwinkle) and Granny (Looney Tunes).

ASIFA also hands out “Juried Awards” to various notable figures in animation. Bill Plympton, Genndy Tartakovsky, and Andreas Deja will each win the Winsor McCay Award, in recognition of lifetime or career contributions to the art of animation. Bill Matthews, Michael Fallik, Marc Deckter, and Eric Graf will each win a Certificate of Merit. The June Foray Award will go to Stephen Worth, for his “significant and benevolent or charitable impact on the art and industry of animation.” The Ub Iwerks Award and Special Achievement award will not be handed out.

Professional photographer John Mueller will attend the ceremony on behalf of Wikinews, taking photos of nominees and the rest of America’s animation elite. Mueller was selected from a wide pool of professionals offering their services. The photos from the event will be released under the Creative Commons By Attribution license, which allows them to be used by anyone for any purpose.

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Dow Jones Closes Above 13500

Submitted by: Trader J Howell

Dow Jones Closes Above 13500:

The Dow Jones closed above this resistance level of 13500 for the first time since the 2008 crash. This is psychologically, very important level for the investors as the Dow Jones was trading below this level for so many days. The Dow Jones found this mark, a hurdle to cross and investors and other analysts were waiting for a trigger.

This trigger is coming in the form of earnings and this is helping the Dow Jones as well as the other United States indices to touch new highs and break important resistances. The markets will most probably touch their highs which they made in 2007.

After the 2008 crash, many companies did fall and their stock prices collapsed to ground levels. In the recent past, reforms along with some good positive macro economic data are helping the United States markets as well as the world markets to touch new highs. The sentiment is increasing among most of the investors and that is driving the stock markets higher.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cxPFzSg7JA[/youtube]

Some of the analysts feel that this move will not go on forever and there should be a pause coming in. Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG LLC, said, We ve been up eight days in a row. There are a number of indicators that lead us to believe a market pause is more likely than not, but making the case for a sustained downside is difficult to do.

Technical Analysis:

Technically, some of the analysts feel that the market is ready to move higher and cross the 14000 mark. But, some of other ones feel that the market is over bought and it needs some time to settle down and consolidate. On the up side, there are no major resistances for the index.

But, on the down side, there are some important supports at the 13500 mark. This level will start acting as a good support because it acted as a strong resistance in the past. Below that, investors should watch out for the 13000 level.

Stocks to watch out for:

Research in Motion is in the news after the company said that it will be launching its new smart phone today. Most of the analysts say that the company s future is purely going be decided on the basis of this smart phone. The company s stock price has been raising form the past few months on the back of anticipation of some good sales from this smart phone.

Eric Jackson, founder of Iron fire Capital, said, If this thing gets ignored or is seen as a nothing phone, what do you have… a few Playbooks? This thing has to work. This analyst feels that the company has more up side from the current levels and investors could buy it at the current market price.

He also added, There is a big difference between RIM and (Palm and Nokia), which is that RIM’s got this huge installed base of about 80 million globe subscribers. And it is because of this loyalty that Jackson thinks these diehards will continue to support the company they know and love.

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Man jailed for manslaughter of wife in Hampshire, England

Saturday, October 31, 2009

A man has been given a prison sentence of nine years for the manslaughter of his wife in Hampshire, England. 40-year-old Sally Sinclair was head of business analysis for mobile phone provider Vodafone and had been killed in August 2008 in her home in the village of Amport, after admitting to her husband that she had had an affair. When her body was found in the kitchen of the house, it was discovered that she had suffered a partially severed head and at least 40 stab wounds. Winchester Crown Court had heard during the trial that the attack was partly witnessed by children.

You exploded in a frenzy of brutality in reaction to certain information you forced out of her

Alisdair Sinclair, who is 48 years old and caused the attack, was cleared of charges of murder, but was sentenced to nine years in prison for charges of manslaughter. Judge Guy Boney QC has been quoted as saying: “Your wife did everything she could to support and help you and indulge your eccentricities, including spending £100,000 (US$164,470) on three cars of the same model you hardly ever used.

“She wanted to make the marriage work and save it from collapse. These efforts cost her her life. Sally Sinclair appears to have coped with, and tolerated, your behaviour over a long period. When she could not take any more of your behaviour you exploded in a frenzy of brutality in reaction to certain information you forced out of her.”

Speaking about the case, Detective Sergeant Sarah Simpson from Hampshire Constabulary said outside of the courtroom: “A successful career woman had her life tragically and prematurely cut short and her family now have to lead their lives without her. Nothing can ever compensate for that.”

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Dog laws strengthened in Virginia county

Thursday, May 12, 2005

Amid publicity that arose from deaths and injuries due to dog attacks in the region, the Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to impose tougher penalties on dog owners who let their dogs run free. After a public hearing Tuesday evening, the board voted for a new animal control ordinance. Now dog owners who are repeat offenders face a misdemeanor crime of $2,500 or up to a year in jail.

Dogs that repeatedly chase cars and run free, or otherwise trespass on property, could be euthanized if so ordered by a judge. A dog that is “roaming, running or self-hunting off the property or premises of its owner or custodian and not under the immediate control of the owner or custodian or his agent,” meets the county’s legal definition of a dog running at large.

The mauling death of an elderly woman by 3 Pit Bulls in her front yard sparked a public debate on animal control. At the hearing, State Senator Edward Houke said he would raise dog law issues in the January meeting of the Virginia General Assembly. According to The Free Lance Star, Houke said, “It’s pretty obvious to me that the state law needs to be changed, but saying that and it happening, is two completely different phenomena. If there’s one thing you learn quickly it’s that you don’t bring dog bills to the Virginia General Assembly.”

The Sullivan daughters, who lost their mother in the mauling attack, circulated petitions in the county and also attended the hearing. Board chairman Robert Hagan noted the Sullivan family presence and thanked them for their efforts to prevent more tragedies.

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News briefs:July 27, 2010

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What You Need To Know About Parcel Shipping From Usa To Australia

What You Need To Know About Parcel Shipping From USA to Australia by SHIP2AU

Modern parcel shipping companies have made parcel shipping from USA to Australia a walk in the park. You can buy anything you want from the United States while in Australia; from Apple products (iPhones, Macbooks, iPads and others) to watches to TVs to clothingto jewelry from any American store or retailer online.What’s The Advantage of Buying from the US and Shipping to Australia?The US is home to some of the best products and brands in the market. Thousands of US stores offer the latest gadgets and tech products with new products and great deals being availed on a regular basis. Unfortunately, people in other countries have to wait for a long period of time before some of these great products are released to their markets,and sometimes they even have to miss out on the products.These restrictions are disappointing for people in Australiaeager to purchase specific products. Today it is possible to purchase anything from the US market when in Australia or other parts of the world. Even better, you get to buy the products at a cheaper rate than you would if you wait to buy them in physical stores that have shipped them into the country. Even businesses that sell imported products have easier time shipping from USA to Australia.Which Products Can I Buy?You can shop for almost anything from the US online stores. Since parcel shipping from USA to Australia is done through your personal mailbox, you can shop from any store that is willing and able to ferry the goods to the parcel shipping company’s warehouse. The most popular products shipped from the USA to Australia are cameras, computers, wearable gadgets, clothes, watches, fitness trackers, audio gear and the latest smartphones.What Is The Cost Of Shipping?Once the online stores forward your goods to the warehouse of the parcel shipping company, the weight and dimensions of the parcel is calculated. These are primarily what determine the shipping cost. Heavy items, like laptops cost more to ship from the US to Australia in comparison to products with smaller dimensions, like smartphones.What’s the time period for goods bought in the US to arrive in Australia?The best part of shipping from USA to Australia through parcel shipping service providers that offer mailbox services is that your goods can stay in the warehouse for as little or as long as you wish. Generally, the product will arrive in your US mailbox from the store in 2-7 business days and can be shipped to you in 2-4 days.What Custom Duty And Taxes Are Levied On The Parcel?There are regulations that govern parcel shipping from US to Australia. Basically, there are goods that are tax-free and those that will be taxed. You can get a quote for shipping the product you intend to purchase to know what amount of tax will be charged on it. You can also use the Australian duty calculator to calculate whether you will be required to pay customs duties and taxes on your parcel or not.Finally, having a personal mailbox makes shopping from the US and shipping to Australia a hassle-free and quick experience. Use a fast, reliable and friendly parcel shipping service provider for an easy and convenient buying experience.

Ship2au is a publisher who reviews best resources on Shipping From USA to Australia.

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