NEWS,07.01.2012.

The best photographs of landscapes 2011

You are looking at some of the best photographs of the landscape in 2011. year.
Robert Fulton was the overall winner. His photo trees covered with frost under the heading "Winter Field" was awarded with 10,000 pounds.

NEWS, 06.01.2012

China’s scary looking dragon stamp 

 

On 5 January every year in China, a commemorative stamp of the corresponding year’s Chinese Zodiac character is released to celebrate the coming lunar New Year.  It is an event not unlike the unveiling of new pair of Air Jordans.“People started lining up outside the post office around 4 a.m.,”  Ms. Feng, a post office worker in Beijing. “We kind of felt sorry for them, having to stand out in such bitter cold.”It was a scene duplicated all over China and this year’s stamp — honoring the dragon — sold out soon after the post office doors opened.Shortly after that, the controversy began.

 

 “When I saw this year’s dragon stamp, I was scared to death!” wrote author Zhang Yihe on her Sina Weibo, China’s Twitter-like service.The dragon is depicted with its fangs bearing and claws out, seemingly ready to pounce. Its eyes are a dark abyss with only the littlest beads of white staring out at the viewer.Chinese have a natural affinity towards dragons. The Chinese, the legend goes, are thought to be the descendants of the dragon. While the Chinese view the dragon as an auspicious and graceful creature, the West has historically depicted dragons as threatening beasts.  The stamp’s designer Chen Shaohua said the fierce dragon he drew is supposed to represent a confident China.Some critics fear the depiction may be sending the wrong message: aggression instead of  confidence.Over the past year China’s neighbors like Vietnam and the Philippines along with the United States have bristled at China’s more aggressive/confident strut on the geopolitical stage , especially in its pursuit of increasing its naval power and the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea.Speaking to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, Chen conceded that he had not “thought about foreigners’ perceptions of a ferocious dragon and whether it represents a rising China,” but offered that his fierce looking dragon would help block the “evil spirits of 2012.”This is only the third time a dragon stamp has been released to commemorate the Lunar New Year since 1949.  Both in 1988 and 2000, the dragons were depicted in more graceful and gentler poses.Chen, on his Weibo account, wrote that China Post officials had asked him to adjust his design to make the dragon “gentler and more modern.”  Chen, who based his design on the dragon that used to adorn the front of the Chinese emperor’s robes, stood his ground. The post office officials ultimately relented and accepted his justifications.The growing controversy appears to be a boon for stamp collectors, especially those who got to the post office early to buy a set.  The Associated Press reportsthat one stamp reseller was reportedly selling a set of 20 for 178 yuan ($28) — much higher than the original face value of 24 yuan ($4).Dragon stamps have proved to be especially valuable on the collector’s market.  The 1988 version of the dragon stamp now fetches, for a single stamp, upwards of 10,000 yuan (a little more than $1,500).When asked if this year’s dragon stamp looked scary,  Ms. Feng from the Beijing post office said, “It looks fierce, but since it’s the design of the one on the emperor’s robe, it actually looks more majestic.”

The Year of the Dragon begins on 23 January

NEWS,05.01.2012.

President Barack Obama has unveiled a strategy for a leaner US military focused on countering China's rising power while signalling a shift away from large ground wars against insurgents

The plan calls for preparing for possible challenges from Iran and China with air and naval power while downplaying any future massive counter-insurgency campaigns like those in Iraq and Afghanistan.The "defence strategic review" sets out an approach for the US military in an era of austerity, as Obama's administration prepares for $US487 billion in defence cuts over the next 10 years.But Obama, anticipating attacks from his Republican rivals in an election year, said defence reductions would be limited and not come at the expense of America's military might."So yes, our military will be leaner, but the world must know - the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats,"  Obama told reporters at an unusual appearance at the Pentagon.White House officials stressed Obama was deeply involved in the strategy review and sought to portray the president as taking a responsible approach to defence spending informed by the advice of commanders.Saying the country was "turning a page" on a decade of war, Obama said military strategy would increasingly focus on Asia, where commanders worry about China's growing military punch."We'll be strengthening our presence in the Asia Pacific, and budget reductions will not come at the expense of this critical region," he said.According to the eight-page strategy document, the American military would work with allies in the Middle East to ensure security in the Gulf and counter Iran's "destabilising policies".However, counter-insurgency operations, like those in Iraq and Afghanistan, receive a lower priority under the new plan, enabling the administration to scale back the size of the US Army and the Marine Corps."US forces will no longer be sized to conduct large-scale, prolonged stability operations," according to the strategy document.The review reinforces what defence officials have already signalled - that funds will flow to aircraft and ships while the US Army and Marine Corps will be downsized after having expanded during a decade of protracted ground wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.Washington's focus on Asia is fuelled by concerns over China's growing navy and arsenal of anti-ship missiles that could jeopardise America's military power in the Pacific and access to the mineral-rich South China Sea.The strategy review suggests reducing the nuclear arsenal without saying how, but some politicians have proposed reducing the number of nuclear-armed submarines.The review also hints at reducing the military's footprint in Europe, without offering any details. "In keeping with this evolving strategic landscape, our posture in Europe must also evolve," it said.The strategy discards the doctrine that the American military must be prepared to fight two wars at the same time, an idea long debated inside the Pentagon.Instead, the United States would be ready to fight one war while waging a holding operation elsewhere to stave off a second threat.Before 2001, the Pentagon had prepared to fight two wars simultaneously but commanders faced a shortage of manpower in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.The strategic review comes ahead of the proposed defence budget for 2013 due to be released in coming weeks, which is expected to call for delays in some weapons programs, including slowing the pace of production for the troubled F-35 fighter jet.

NEWS,04.01.2012.

Revealed: Italian MPs are best paid in Europe... despite disastrous state of country's economy 

 

Politicians in debt-ridden Italy are the best paid in Europe - at a time their people are told to tighten their belts, it emerged today.

A Europe-wide survey has found average monthly gross pay for Italy's MPs, including expenses, is more than €16,000.

French MPs, with a gross wage of around €14,000 are the second best paid in the eurozone.

Italian deputies exchanged blows in parliament last October as tensions over a tough economic reform programme came to a head

German MPs are third, receiving about €12,600, while Spanish MPs fare worst, at €4,650 a month, excluding secretarial costs.

The parliamentary report was compiled for MPs and members of Italy's upper house, the Senate, who earn about €12,000 a month.

It will reinforce calls for the salaries of Italian MPs to be slashed to the European average as the government introduces new austerity measures to tackle the country's debt mountain.

Premier Mario Monti signalled in his first speech to the Italian parliament in November that unwarranted perks and pay for Italy's privileged classes, particularly parliamentarians, would be cut to save money and set an example.

But MPs rebelled as soon as plans were touted to cut their pay and pensions.

The government promptly agreed it was up to parliamentarians to reduce their own salaries.

Members of the Italian Senate, in Rome, earn around ¿12,000 a month, according to the report

Anger: Demonstrators scuffle with Italian police in front of the Senate during a protest against the government's austerity measures in September

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (right) has had to face up to Italy's mounting debt crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and French President Nicolas Sarkozy (centre)

A spokesman for the prime minister denied the government had done a U-turn.

He told The Independent that deciding the pay of MPs and senators came under the remit of parliamentary business.

So far, concrete proposals on cutting parliamentary costs have yet to emerge.

THE EU LEAGUE TABLE

MPs' average gross monthly salaries across Europe: 

Italy: €16,000

France: €14,000

Germany: €12,650

Greece: €8,594

UK: €6,562

   Spain: €4,650 

 Giorgio Saccoia, a spokesman for the big public sector union CGIL, told The Independent: 'We know that we needed an emergency budget, and that we would have to make sacrifices.

'But we hoped the people in power would lead by example. There's been little sign of it.'

The document suggests that, given the complexities in parliamentary pay structures and the differences between systems in different EU countries, the data is 'of insufficient quality' to use as base to reduce members' salaries.

It follows a series of revelations in recent months about privileges Italian parliamentarians enjoy.

Italian MPs also get free rail and air tickets as well as an entitlement to claim €1,300 a month for travel expenses.

Last year, details of subsidised parliamentary hairdressers and bargain-priced dining also emerged.

Italian MPs also enjoy generous pensions after only one term in parliament and are allowed to keep their day jobs, complete with additional salaries and private pensions.

 

NEWS,03.01.2012.

Mystery of the DEAD herring: What made 20 TONNES of fish wash up on Norwegian beach?

Thousands of dead herring have been discovered washed up on a north Norwegian beach - prompting Doomsday predictors to hail it as another sign the world is set to end.

More than 20 tonnes of the fish is currently carpeting the beach of Kvaenes, in Nordreisa, with experts views differing on how they have come to be there. One thing is for sure, it will provide welcome ammunition to those believing the Mayan prophecy that 2012 will bring the end of Earth.

Jan-Petter Jorgensen, 44, was walking with his dog Molly when he found the stinky haul.

Washed up: Molly the dog seen walking around the tonnes of dead herring that have mysteriously appeared on a beach at Kvaenes in Nordreisa, northern Norway

He said: 'People say that something similar happened in the 80s. Maybe the fish have been caught in a deprived oxygen environment, and then died of fresh water?'

Experts have said the school could have been trapped by tidal waters after predatory fish - such as coalfish - chased them towards the shoreline. 

Another theory is that the fish were washed ashore during a recent storm, or trapped in shallow waters and affected by freshwater from a river that flows into the bay.

Jens Christian Holst, of the Institute of Marine Research, said several factors could have come together at once. And he said he hoped they would be able to conduct tests on the dead fish to see if they had died of a disease.

The incident in Norway is not the only mass death mystery over the New Year.

On Sunday, 200 blackbirds mysteriously fell from the sky in a small Arkansas town - although officials now believe the birds were targeted by someone with fireworks, experts say.

Mystery death: One of the hundreds of blackbirds that fell out of the sky on New Year's Eve in Arkansas

Last month 25 dead horses were discovered at the bottom of a cliff near Glenn Innes, New England.

And similarly bizarre and unexplained massacres took place on the opening days of last year, with millions of spot fish washing up in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, more blackbirds dying in Arkansas, and masses of marine life dying in a Louisiana bayou. 

'We are not in the habit of warning more than once': Iran tells U.S. not to send aircraft carrier back to gulf after missile test

Iran has threatened to take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier returns to the Persian Gulf.

The USS John C. Stennis, along with another vessel, left the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz last week after Iran launched a series of military exercises.

Tehran has also threatened shutting the strait - through which 40 per cent of the world's traded oil is shipped - if foreign powers impose sanctions on its crude exports.

Bravado: A medium-range missile is fired from a ship during Velayat-90 war game in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday

Warning: This anti-ship missile can be seen streaking through the sky. Iran today warned the U.S. not to return an aircraft carrier to the Gulf

Speaking at the end of 10 days of naval exercises today, General Ataollah Salehi said: 'Iran will not repeat its warning... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill.

I advise, recommend and warn them [the Americans] over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once.'

Gen Salehi did not name the vessel, or give details of the action Iran would take if it does return.

Force: The Nimitz-class USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormutz last week after visiting Jebel Ali port in Dubai.The USS John C. Stennis is one of the U.S. Navy's largest vessels.It had been on a 'routine' passage through the Gulf after visiting Dubai's Jebel Ali port last Tuesday.

Iran has staged a series of naval exercises at the mouth of the Gulf, including the test-firing of three missiles designed to sink warships and 'mock' drills on shutting the strategic waterway.

Security: A long-range Qader shore-to-sea missile is launched during military exercises. Tehran has promised to respond if the USS John C. Stennis returns

Concerns: The missile disappears in a plume of fire on the Sea of Oman shore. The West has become increasingly worried about Iran's nuclear programme

The U.S. keeps at least one aircraft carrier in or near the Gulf at all times, on rotations of weeks or months.

Its Fifth Fleet is based in the state of Bahrain, and has insisted it will not allow shipping to be disrupted in the strait.

It comes after mounting criticism over Iran's nuclear programme.

Tehran denies western accusations that it is secretly trying to build atomic bombs, claiming it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.

Earlier today, French foreign minister Alain Juppe said Iran was continuing to develop nuclear weapons and called for stronger sanctions.

'Iran is pursuing the development of nuclear arms, I have no doubt about it,' he told French television I-Tele.

'The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency is quite explicit on this point.'

The U.S. and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the nuclear row.

The EU is considering following the U.S. in banning imports of Iranian crude oil.

President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against the Middle East country on Saturday, stepping up the pressure by adding sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank

NEWS,02.01.2012.

entered into orbit

NASA: The second twin probe arrived to the Moon

Scientists hope the probe will help them to discover the secrets of the moon and to better understand how are developed Moon, Earth and other rock planets.

 

Probes need to measure the gravity of the Moon

Two robotic probes U.S. space agency (NASA) began together to orbits around the Moon, the news agencies reported.

 

Probes twins, launched last September in blaming Mission Grail (Grail Recovery And Interior Laboratory), completed their long journey 4.185 million kilometers and entered Sunday in lunar orbit, the first Grail-A, a few hours later and Grail-B.

The task of the probes, which will examine the moon next 82 days, is to reconstruct a folder inside the moon. The information that they are collected will be used scientists to make history of Earth only natural satellite.

Grail Grail-A and-B must accurately measure the gravity of the moon and establish its internal structure. Scientists hope the probe will help them to discover the secrets of the moon

"We’re opening champagne and toasted to the Moon", written by NASA on  Twiter site, after the first probe entered lunar orbit in the New Year's Eve. The other probe had done the same 25 hours later.

So far is performed 109 missions to the moon, from which six with crew during the program "Apollo"  by NASA between 1969-1972.

 

Sleep peaceful

NASA: There will not be the end of the world

When talking about the end of the world, many refer to the ancient Mayan calendar which is 21.12. 2012 pointed out as a day of apocalypse. However, NASA researchers are telling  there is no reason to worry.

According to the Mayan calendar, the beginning of winter 2012 is ending cycle of 144.000 days and then should be the end of the world. This cycle was repeated already 12 times and 13 time should be the last. After that, provides a calendar, there will be no more life on our planet.

 

Many self-proclaimed experts say that the planet Nibiru who rushes toward the earth will be the cause of End of the World. Astronomers say there is no reason to worry.
As another cause of loss of life on our planet is gravitational effect because of  alignment of the planets in solar system. However, even for this claim there is no evidence because the sun and moon are the only ones who have the influence of gravity on Earth. We feel this like high tide and ebb tide.

.
As the third cause the disappearance of life on earth is referred to solar storms that occur in cycles of 11 years. But even for this claim, there is no relevant evidence.
As another cause of the apocalypse are strike of the  comets and asterioida into the Earth. The last such case, took place 65 million years ago, when the dinosaurs were disappeared.

However, astronomers rejected such allegations as baseless.
Although no evidence, theorists who represent this year's End of the World are increasingly appearing in the media. This will remain so, according to Space.com portal, while the scientists are no longer involved in this issue.

 

10 years since the introduction of common currency

Euro happy birthday

Euro ended the year at the new minimum against the yen and the lowest level in 16 months against US dollar

Passes through a deep crisis

Unlike fireworks, lighting effects on bridges and cheering people in rows in front of ATMs, which marked the introduction of the euro at midnight the first January 2002. tenth anniversary of the common European currency passes without major ceremony, which indicates a deep crisis through which it passes.
Ten years later the word "euro" in the title usually goes with the word "crisis", so writes in a commentary in tajms list of New York (New York Times).
Political leaders are indicated in the New Year Message to the challenges faced in order to exit the economic crisis. In Brussels, there was no ceremony or press conference to mark the date. The approach followed by other countries to do the minimum - tomorrow will be the 17 countries that now use the euro out of the two-euro coin to mark the tenth anniversary.

In Frankfurt, European Central Bank on its website posted a short video to remind you of the benefits of the euro.
"During the past decade, the single currency has become a symbol of integration and cooperation in Europe," says the video is the President of the European Central Bank

Mr Mario Dragi.

"Despite the current challenges faced by Europe and world citizens in the euro zone can be assured that the ECB will remain faithful to its mandate to maintain price stability", has vowed to continue on.

Political leaders are indicated in the New Year Message to the challenges faced in order to exit the economic crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to assess the 2012 may be more difficult than the last difficult year that has passed the eurozone.

Starting from Greece two years ago, debt crisis has engulfed Portugal and Ireland, and now threatens all the countries in the eurozone although  plans for aid and European summits that have a one after one going on during the 2011

The first time is the question of survival of the common currency, according to AFP.

While it is expected that the government earlier this year en masse to seek additional funds in financial markets, Greece in January waiting for the difficult negotiations with the banks in order to reduce debts to them at half of which depends on the financial survivel of country.

Nearly two-thirds of French oppose the return of the franc, and the possible return of the coin would mean "hell" for Greece. Because of unwillingness from Germany "reached into her pocket," the eurozone has not been able to provide a sufficiently large pool of assistance witch could also help to more countries the size of Spain or Italy. The support of the IMF remains uncertain.

Europe is attempting to overcome the lapse that has existed in establishment monetary Union, which has been shown clearly in crisis, and that is lack of coordination of economic policy.

.

Most European countries should in principle to sign an agreement in early March in the respect of certain fiscal rules.

Euro ended the year at the new minimum against the yen and the lowest level in 16 months against the dollar, although it is well above the value it had in relation to U.S. currency when it was introduced.

And despite all that almost two thirds of French oppose the return of the franc, and the possible return of the coin would mean "hell" for Greece, warned the governor of the Greece central bank Jorgos Provopulos.

13 billion marks another is still not change in Euro

On the tenth anniversary of the introduction of the euro, according to the German central bank, is still not changed another 13 billion marks.

Around 330 million people in 17 countries in the eurozone for the Jubilee will get a sort of gift - anniversary dime of two euro First of January 2002. In Germany and another 10 countries of the European Union has entered into use the common European currency - the euro. Ten years later, the euro zone has 17 states and seven countries of the EU plans to replace the national currency, the euro.

The circulation of 880 million euros, approximately 857 billion are paper money, 23 billion coins. Nearly 30 percent of the total amount of coins is in the German national coins, by about 16 percent of Spanish and French and 13 percent Italian.At least in circulation Slovenian, Estonian and Maltese euro coins, as well as those issued in San Marino (0.01 percent), Monaco (0.006) and the Vatican (0.004).

Around 330 million people in 17 countries in the eurozone for the Jubilee will get a sort of gift - anniversary dime of two euros with the same motives for all countries - differ only country name on the back.