America’s bid to blow up the moon with nuclear bomb

No-clear ... plan to blow-up moon was scrapped

AMERICA planned to blow up the moon with a nuclear bomb in the 1950s, reports have claimed.

US Military chiefs were reportedly keen on the sensational plot as a show of strength to intimidate arch-rivals Russia at the height of the Cold War.

The secret project was codenamed A Study of Lunar Research Flights and given the nickname Project A119.

The classified plan was to attach a nuclear device to a missile and launch it 238,000 miles to the moon.

The bomb would then explode on impact and the flash could have been seen from earth.

Physicist Leonard Reiffel told Associated Press that the plan was to "intimidate" the Russians and boost morale in America.

A nuclear bomb was chosen because a hydrogen bomb, the most powerful in the US arsenal, would have been too heavy to fly to space.

However the plan was ditched because of a number of fears over safety, including what effect the blast would have on the Earth.

Scientist Carl Sagan was involved in the project and was responsible for calculating what would happen to the moon dust and debris if there was such an explosion.

Battle of the Sexes: How Women and Men See Things Differently

A new study finds gender-based differences in how people look at images.

A new study finds men and women literally focus on different things.
Photograph from Moviestore/Alamy

Men and women have always seen things differently. Now we're closer to understanding why.
A new study published today in PLoS One finds that males and females actually view images in different ways.
When University of Bristol researchers asked 52 men and women to study various images, gender differences emerged in terms of where the subjects focused their attention and in how much of a picture they explored.
The 26 female and 26 male study participants—ranging in age from 19 to 47—tended to focus on anywhere from one to five "hot spots" in still images made from films and taken of artwork. The images included scenes from movies such as The Sound of Music, Inside Man, and The Blue Planet, and artwork including "People in the Sun" by Edward Hopper and "Three Graces" by David Bowers.
Most of the hot spots involved the faces of people in the pictures, especially eyes, as well as other body parts, such as hands.


This diagram shows the most eye-catching areas of the photo above for women (red) and men (blue).
Illustration courtesy Felix Mercer Moss

Women, however, explored more of an image than men did, often focusing on nonfacial areas and places slightly below where men fixed their gaze.
Lead author Felix Mercer Moss, a vision researcher and doctoral student at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, speculates that risk aversion may explain some of the differences. In Western culture, a direct gaze can be construed as threatening.
"Women may be attaching more risk to looking people in the eye," Mercer Moss noted, which is why they may focus their gaze on a lower part of the face than men do.
Research on gender differences in eye movements isn't new. But previous studies used specific imagery, such as faces registering emotions or sexually suggestive pictures, said Mercer Moss. In this study, he wanted to know whether gender differences existed when people viewed more general visual stimuli. It turns out they do.
The next step is to figure out why, says Andrew Bayliss of the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. Bayliss, a social cognition researcher who was not involved in this study, thinks Mercer Moss and his colleagues are off to an exciting start.
Mercer Moss himself hopes the study results will promote better eye-movement research. "University departments that do this kind of eye-tracking work tend to have skewed gender ratios," he noted. These include computer-science departments, which tend to be male-dominated, and psychology departments, which tend to be female-dominated.
That means results from such studies may not be broadly applicable, Mercer Moss explained.
But one thing now seems clear: As the age-old battle of the sexes continues, beauty isn't the only thing in the eye of the beholder.

President of Baloch Republican Party Brahumdagh Bugti words for Shaheed Haq Nawaz

Eyes on the ice: Stunning images from documentary show how the Arctic landscape is changing over time

A photographer has used his passion for the Arctic to chronicle the region's changing landscape in a new documentary as well as a series of stunning photographs.

Chronicler of nature James Balog has been capturing the grandeur of glaciers and ice floes since 2007.

He started the Extreme Ice Survey the same year, which is considered the most wide-ranging photographic study of glaciers.

Scroll down to watch a video preview

Spectacular: These stunning images show the dramatic landscape of the Arctic's glaciers

Mission: The pictures were taken by photographer James Balog and his colleagues at the Extreme Ice Survey

Change: Balog says he has seen the ice retreat from many areas of the Arctic once covered in glaciers

Now he has released a film, Chasing Ice, which captures the disappearance of the world's glaciers which many scientists blame on global warming.

 

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What started as a video record of Balog and his team's Arctic excursions instead turned into the documentary, a chronicling of the effort to capture and consolidate time-lapse photos over months and years of polar landscapes.

The film was released in large U.S. cities this weekend with a national roll-out later in November.

New venture: Balog, pictured, has channelled his experiences into a documentary, Chasing Ice

Filming: The creators went to extraordinary length to put the movie together

Beauty: Balog fell in love with the unique aesthetics of the Arctic while working for nature magazines

Landscape: To those experienced in the region, the Arctic is as lively as any other area of the Earth

Balog came to the idea of illustrating the changing ice floes with time-lapse montages while shooting single images of glaciers for magazines like National Geographic.

'It was pretty evident to me that single frame could only take you a very little distance into telling the story of that ice. I started to get the idea that I would be coming back and repeating some of these camera positions in years to come,' Balog said.

'And yet after I got done editing the film for the story... I realised maybe time-lapse would be better than just revisiting these sites over and over again.'

The composite images, which are made up of still photographs taken every hour or so over the course of months, show how much glaciers have shrunk.

Stunning: Balog's artistic and scientific skills have propelled his film to massive critical acclaim so far

Looking out on the infinite: Balog's team brave the stark atmosphere and extreme cold for their work

Then: The Solheim glacier in Iceland pictured at its full extent in a 2006 photograph

Now: By 2009, much of the glacier had disappeared thanks to the effects of climate change

Balog and his crew were equally floored by the images they had captured.

'We were really stunned especially right in the beginning, but now, six years into this, we're still stunned when we see these pictures and see how the landscape has changed. It's bringing to life something that is otherwise invisible, otherwise really unimaginable,' he said.

Chasing Ice won the audience award for best documentary at the 2012 SXSW festival, and the documentary cinematography award at the Sundance festival in January.

Although climate change was rarely mentioned in the recent U.S. presidential election campaign, the devastation wrought by Superstorm Sandy in the U.S. Northeast has placed the environment back in the headlines.

Team: Balog with documentary director Jeff Orlowski filming in Greenland in 2009

Equipment: Filming in the rough terrain required specialist tools such as helicopters

Pulling it together: The final cut of the documentary was hailed at Sundance and SXSW

Filmmakers: Balog and Orlowski at the film's première in New York in October

Balog and Chasing Ice director Jeff Orlowski both made it clear that their film was not intended as a political statement.

'That wasn't the goal. But based on the response to the film, based on how much people are resonating with it, we're really curious to see how far it can go to influence this issue,' Orlowski said.

Balog argued that the climate change debate needs to rise above partisan lines.

'This is a universal issue that has profound implications for the health and wellbeing and safety of everyone on the planet. We can't avoid it, we have to deal with it.'

Freedom of Baloch nation is inevitable: Hyrbyair Marri

London: The Baloch patriot, Hyrbyair Marri, has warned that if the international community does not cooperate with the Baloch people to check Pakistan’s support for extremist Islamic groups, the menace would one day pose serious threats to the stability and security of other nations of the world. “We are destined to win freedom. Pakistani intelligence agencies are unlikely to stop us from achieving our goal,” he vowed. He said this in a condolence statement issued in reaction to the killing of Malik Noor Ahmed Qambarani Baloch, an old confidant of his father and veteran Baloch national leader, Nawab Khair Baksh Marri, whose killing Hyrbyair said was orchestrated by the death squads of the Pakistan intelligence agencies. “I knew Mr. Qambarani personally,” he recalled, “he was a brave, committed and selfless Baloch.” He further said that although the enemy has physically separated him from us but his ideology lives on and will be guiding light for the Baloch youth. “The sacrifices of Baloch martyrs including Noor Ahmad Qambarani will be written in golden words on Baloch history pages”, added Mr Marri. “Baloch nation knows the target killers of their beloved ones and they will be held accountable and each one of them will be brought to justice”, he assured. Praising the sacrifices made by Baloch nation Hyrbyair said that Baloch National Liberation movement gained enormous popularity during a short span of time in comparison to national movements of other nations. Mr. Marri said that the Pakistani intelligence agencies were frustrated with the growing popularity of the Baloch nationalist movement. In order to counter the political movement, they were creating underground death squads to target kill the most educated and enlightened members of the Baloch society. These death squads of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies, he added, keep changing their color all the time and operate under different names. He said that these groups are involved in abducting and kill & dump of youth but they must realise that Baloch struggle for freedom will continue until the last occupying Pakistani soldier withdraws from Baloch land. “We have credible information that differences are occurring among these death squads because some Baloch have joined them for sake of money but now they realised that they are being exploited and used against other innocent Baloch. Several of them have abandoned these proxy groups but later, under the instructions of Pakistan intelligence agencies, they were killed and dumped”, said Mr Marri, adding that rest of the separated people in fear of being killed and dumped have kept silence. The Baloch leader warned the civilized world to realize how dangerous Pakistani state’s collaboration with radical Islamist groups was as it would lead to destructive consequences for the world peace. While these groups were currently being mushroomed to undermine the Baloch nationalist resistance movement, one day they will turn against the whole world community. He appealed to the international powers to help the Baloch against Pakistan’s policies supportive of Islamic extremist groups. Courtesy: the Baloch Hal Addition by: Baloch Warna

A snapshot of Balochistan by Sanaullah Baloch

Balochistan faces a multitude of problems, including worsening human rights violations, economic stagnation, Talibanisation, sectarian targeted killings, political assassinations, abductions for ransom, mass migration, deteriorating health and education infrastructures, mismanagement of natural resources, skyrocketing corruption, bad governance and institutional breakdown. These issues combined have brought the province to the verge of total collapse.

Balochistan is the victim of a deliberate disorder – a crisis that is no longer under the control of the authorities. The intention was to poison the social, political, cultural and ethnic fabric of the province.

In the past the province witnessed frequent conflicts with the central government on issues pertaining to the Baloch identity, political rights, economic exploitation, and over-involvement of government agencies in its affairs. Politically focused Baloch groups never used criminal tactics to harm civilians. An unwritten Baloch code, known as rawaj, has been the guiding principle for tribes and individuals. A Baloch violating the code during times of peace and conflict is no more regarded as a trusted and loyal individual in Baloch society.

It is evident that the root causes of the current wave of criminality and sectarian killings, and the rise of cases of kidnapping for ransom are not due to the political conflict between the Baloch and Islamabad. The source of social chaos is the government and its appendages.

During the resurgence of the conflict, Islamabad’s powerful elite hampered and discouraged any conflict resolution efforts, opting for a conflict escalation mechanism. This misguided policy was used to intimidate people and silence dissenting opinions. Failing to achieve its objective through brute force, Islamabad invented a new policy to create massive social disorder to bamboozle Pakistanis and the international community concerning the Baloch people’s genuine political grievances.

Events that occurred after 2005, and particularly during the PPP’s tenure, are a grim reminder of a state-sponsored policy of organised chaos.

Let us start with journalists. During the past four years as many as 24 journalists have been killed in Balochistan, and none of the perpetrators been apprehended. Almost all the journalists killed were local ethnic Baloch reporters and cameramen covering the missing persons’ issue, and highlighting corruption and other illegal activities of state agencies. The Vienna-based press watchdog IPI said that “impunity is fuelling the murders and, tragically, the likelihood that the perpetrators will be brought to justice is close to zero.”

Balochistan is well-known for its worsening health infrastructures and indicators. The recent surge in killing and in kidnapping of doctors in the province will worsen the health crisis in the impoverished province. A senior official of the provincial doctors’ association recently revealed that “twenty seven doctors have been killed and 12 more kidnapped for ransom in the past five years in the province. Dozens of senior and junior doctors have left for Europe and the Middle East.”

Kidnapping for ransom has become a profitable business for government-backed criminals and political aspirants, including religious extremists. Not a single perpetrator of these gruesome crimes has ever been arrested and tried. The provincial home minister once claimed that cabinet members were involved in criminal activities, but no action has ever been taken. Since government agencies abduct or kidnap political dissidents with the assistance of criminal gangs, the criminals then feel secure while abducting Hindu traders, doctors and businessmen. Unchecked kidnappings compelled hundreds of Hindus and members of other minority communities to migrate from Balochistan to neighbouring provinces.

Target killings and victimisation on the basis of religion have skyrocketed. The Hazara community has been persecuted ruthlessly. Had the perpetrators been apprehended, the killings would not have escalated.

In the total absence of moderate political elements, Talibanisation is in progress and could destroy Balochistan’s centuries-old moderate political culture. According to the May 2012 fact-finding mission of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on Balochistan, Talibanisation is increasing in several areas of the province and in some cases security forces are perceived to be patronising extremism, turning Quetta into a haven for militants. Afghan militants have encroached on government land to the east and west of Quetta. The huge compounds, provided with basic amenities, are seen as a clear indication of the government’s support to these elements.

The Islamabad-based Conflict Monitoring Centre’s report released recently revealed shocking facts about the Taliban’s presence, activities and threats in the province. The report said that “Talibanisation has touched a dangerous level in Balochistan.”

Human rights violations have assumed epidemic proportions. A report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) in 2011 exposes the brutal and inhumane tactics used by Pakistan’s security agencies to suppress Baloch nationalists. It documented widespread use of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and reveals how the security forces use kidnappings, torture, and extrajudicial killings to terrorise the long-suffering Baloch people into submission.

HRCP’s fact-finding report, titled ‘Balochistan: Blinkered Slide into Chaos,’ depicts a horrifying human rights scenario in the province. According to the report, the state is victimising political activists, doctors, intellectuals, poets, teachers, students and other members of Baloch society.

Balochistan has suffered immensely in the past six decades. It is time to redress its grievances and end systematic oppression and exploitation of the Baloch people through a genuine and credible process. Genuine peace – one not enforced through the security apparatus – will produce an assortment of positive outcomes.

The writer is a former senator from Balochistan. Email: balochbnp@gmail.com

Syrian monitor says death toll over 40,000

More than 40,000 people have been killed in 20 months of conflict between Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's forces and those fighting for his overthrow, a violence monitoring group said on Friday.

Rami Abdelrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said about half the fatalities were civilians and the other half split about evenly between rebels and government soldiers.

"The figure is likely much higher as the rebels and the government lie about how many of their forces have died to make it look like they are winning," he said.

The British-based Observatory, which supports the opposition, has been collating the names of the dead since government security forces started shooting pro-democracy protesters in March 2011.

Army defectors and ordinary Syrians took up arms against Mr Assad and a civil war has since taken hold.

Mr Abdelrahman said he only counts deceased people whose deaths are confirmed by friends or relatives.

"There are 10,000 to 15,000 people who were arrested months ago so we can't use that number as we don't know if they are dead or alive," he said.

The figures cannot be independently confirmed due to severe reporting restrictions imposed by the Syrian authorities.

Over 20,000 police personnel to perform security duty in Karachi

KARACHI: More than 20,000 police personnel would perform security duty in Karachi on 9th of Muharram.

This was stated in a report submitted to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sindh, Fayyaz Ahmed leghari, regarding security steps for the 9th of Muharram.

A police statement here on Friday said that on 9th of Muharram 282 processions including the main procession would be taken out whereas some 700 `Majalis' would also be held.

Over 9,500 police personnel and 620 mobiles would be deployed for the security of the processions and Majalis.

It was informed that extra-ordinary security measures have been taken for the security of over 305 Imambargahs in the metropolis.

Parking space has been allocated for the participants of the processions and Majalis.

For the main procession, there will be walk through gates and metal detectors at the entry points at Nishter Park and the physical search of the participants would be ensured by the police along with the volunteers of the management.

Such measures have also been adopted for the Husanian Iranian Imambargah.

The monitoring of the processions and majalis would also be carried out from the Command and Control Centre at the Police Headoffice.

The IGP directed the police personnel to perform the security duty with diligence.

He also called for ensuring motor-cycle patrolling as well as snap checking and the security of processions and Majalis be ensured.

Facebook privacy policy changes rejected by users

The issue of ‘Facebook privacy’ is at the heart of a quarrel again as enraged Facebook users have initiated a campaign to prevent alterations to Facebook’s current privacy policy.

The Facebook managers have recommended that the policy of allowing the users to vote on privacy changes be annulled. As per the managers of the powerful social networking website, this kind of Facebook privacy policy provides incentives to the quantity of comments over their quality.

The new Facebook privacy policy, recommended by the website’s managers, has been worded by them as a more ‘meaningful system’ of monitored comments and assessments.

Websites such as Our-Policy.org are requesting netizens to post their observations on the page where the new Facebook privacy plans were revealed.

Facebook, which, recently, received its one billionth user, has been flooded with comments from 10535 people so far, ever since the new Facebook privacy plan was announced on Wednesday. The comments have expressed single-minded opposition to the announcement of the new Facebook privacy plans. The users have requested that Facebook not snatch their right to vote from them.

As per Facebook’s incumbent privacy policy, the privacy policy changes are presented for a vote if at least 7000 people comment on the same issue.

Facebook VP Elliot Schrage, in an email to the website’s users, has remarked that he profoundly values the inputs of the users. Historically, substantive feedbacks from Facebook users have produced changes in the recommendations made by the Facebook management.

Elliot Schrage has guaranteed that fundamental changes to Facebook’s Data Use Policy would continue to be posted, succeeded by a 7-day period for reviews and observations from users. But Schrage assured that the users’ views will be respected before making modifications to any existing policy.

Meanwhile, Facebook is also recommending alterations to its Data Use Policy, such as making it crystal-clear that, when users hide a post or picture from their profile page or ‘timeline’, those posts are not genuinely concealed and can be seen elsewhere, including on another person’s page.

Israel bombing (Live from Gaza)

Shaheed Haq Nawaz hunted a rabbit

Free Gaza

1852 & 1897 Maps of Balochistan

Jean Loup Welcomme, Laurent Marivaux and Gregory Métais at Singseela, Dera Bugti

We are Baloch from Balochistan

We Love you Saheed Haq Nawaz Bugti Baloch

13 Nov: Baloch National Day of Rememberance - BHRC (Canada)

Nawab Akbar Bugti Baloch (1974)

Pakistan don't need any Baloch (proof)

Shaheed Nawab Akbar Bugti with KTN Sindh Journalist

Nawab Akbar Bugti with KTN Journalists (2006)

Baloch nation braces for National Remembrance Day for Baloch Martyrs

Quetta : 

Baloch pro-independence parties in Balochistan and exile appealed the nation on Saturday to observe 13 November as the Baloch Martyrs Day.

In their separate statements of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, Bugti Patriots of Motherland, The Baloch National Voice and Baloch Four Party Alliance announced to support the call to observe 13 of November as National Remembrance Day for Baloch Martyrs.

Earlier Baloch Student Organisation – Azad, IVBMP London, Sweden and Canada; and Baluch Verein Deutschland [Baloch Community Germany] had also announced to observe and support the National Remembrance Day.

Meanwhile Vice Chairman of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, Abdul Qadeer Baloch, urged the relatives of abducted Baloch activists, students and political activists to go to the protest camp of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons, outside Quetta Press Club, on 13 November and show their solidarity with the families of enforced-disappeared and Martyred Baloch activists.

The Voice for Baloch Missing Persons’ protest for the release of enforced disappeared Baloch, and demand for the arrest of the perpetrators involved in kill and dump in Balochistan, entered 960th day on Saturday, at Quetta Press Club.

The Baloch National Voice in their statement said, “Martyrs of liberation sacrificed their lives for our better future and freedom of Balochistan. It is the struggle and sacrifices of Baloch freedom fighters, political prisoners and martyrs that introduced Baloch national identity to the world. Today the world powers are acknowledging the Baloch freedom movement because of endless sacrifices made by the patriot sons of Balochistan.”

The Baloch pro-freedom organisations said no nation has got their freedom as a gift neither have the international powers supported any liberation struggle against their vested interests. They further said, “Oppressed nations struggled and paid for freedom with their lives. The oppressed and occupied nations always relied on their own strength; similarly the Baloch nation should bring momentum and strength in their ranks and force their enemies to withdraw from Balochistan. Baloch should show to the world that they are able to gain and sustain their freedom, only then the international and regional powers will support the Baloch for their own safety and interests.”

The BNV said it was the responsibility of Baloch youth to preach the message of freedom to every household in Balochistan and make the nation aware about the curse of slavery. Baloch freedom loving forces should bring unity in their ranks and counter the conspiracies of enemy against Baloch struggle. The Baloch National Voice urged the Baloch nation to overcome all personal likes and dislikes and spend their energy to fulfil the dream of Baloch martyrs.

In a separate press release Wadera Rahmo Bugti the central leader of Bugti Muhabiyan e Watan (Bugti Patriots of Motherland) has announced to support the Baloch Martyrs Day on 13 November. “Today the Baloch have gained national and international recognition because of the sacrifices of Baloch martyrs and freedom fighters”, Mr Bugti said.

He said the unanimous announcement of Baloch resistance and pro-freedom political parties to observe 13 November as the Baloch Martyrs Day was a positive step and a good news for Baloch nation. “Those who believe in single programme of Balochistan’s freedom should intensify their effort to advance the Baloch national struggle instead of promoting personalities or organisations”, said Mr Bugti.

Rahmo Bugti said ‘Bugti Patriots of Motherland’ respects the sacrifices of Nawab Akbar Bugti, Mir Balach Marri and thousands of other Baloch martyrs. Those who believe in slogans of enemy and use self-made confusing terminologies to deter the liberation struggle will be considered as the enemy of Baloch and Balochistan, he added.

Dera Bugti cricket players on the field

Baloch National Hero & Baloch Republican Party President Nawab Brahumdagh Bugti

Shaheed Nawab Akbar Bugti Baloch

Dada! I always love you & follow your path - Nawab Brahumdagh

Great Nawab Akbar Bugti Baloch

Photo of the week - General Sherof Marri

NawabZada Jamil Akbar Bugti

A beautiful View of Bern, Switzerland

Hidden Forest House, Burlington

Tree Portal, Ireland

Red Beach Panjin, China

Atlantis Hotel, Dubai