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January 9
In an interview to the Izvestiya daily published on January 9, the head of the Russian space agency, Vladimir Popovkin finally admitted a number of critical flaws in the organization and design of the Phobos-Grunt mission, about which observers had warned all along and which the agency had vehemently denied in the past and attempted to punish the few journalists who had exposed these problems. At the same time, Popovkin defended the fateful decision to launch the spacecraft, portraying the current leadership of the agency as a hostage of bad decisions in the past.
"Phobos-Grunt was developed and built under conditions of limited funding, which predetermined risky technical decisions and made the whole mission problematic," Popovkin said, "We became hostages of these decisions, since we had been bound by agreements with the European Space Agency (ESA), whose instruments were onboard, and with Chinese colleagues, whose satellite we had committed to carry to Mars. In addition, the spacecraft was under construction for a very long time and warranties and operational lifetimes of many components were approaching their limits. If we missed the 2011 launch window for the flight to Mars, we simply had to throw away the spacecraft and write off five billion rubles of investments (into the project)."
It should be noted that numerous officials involved in the Phobos-Grunt project contradict Popovkin's statements about lack of funding for the project, at least in the past several years. Also, the most problematic part of the project and a likely culprit in its ultimate demise -- the flight control system, BKU -- was a result of engineering and management incompetence rather than funding. Finally, it is unlikely that agreements with ESA would prevent the delay of the mission from 2011, if the real status of the project was honestly communicated to international partners. Numerous international participants in the project repeatedly said that Russian space officials had assured them in the readiness of the spacecraft for launch in 2011. It is also obvious that replacing some out-of-warranty components would have been a much better decision than launching a doomed mission.
Yet, Popovkin went even further and repeated a really bizarre accusation which had been previously made by at least one high-ranking Russian military officer about the possible sabotage of the Phobos-Grunt mission by foreign powers, hence by the United States. "Today there is no clarity, why the propulsion unit onboard Phobos-Grunt failed to start, Popovkin told Izvestiya, "It is also unclear, why our satellites often have failures at the time when they fly out of range (of Russian ground control) where we don't see the vehicle and do not receive telemetry from it. There is no wish to accuse anybody, but today there are very powerful means of influence on spacecraft and the possibility of their use can not be excluded."
Microsoft has been granted a patent for its “avoid ghetto” feature for GPS devices.
A GPS device is used to find shortcuts and avoid traffic, but Microsoft’s patent states that a route can be plotted for pedestrians to avoid an “unsafe neighborhood or being in an open area that is subject to harsh temperatures.”
Created for mobile phones, the technology uses the latest crime statistics and weather data and includes them when calculating a route.
The reality is that the majority of foreigners coming to China fail – they do not get lucky and they leave with very little to show for their time. At the end of the day, foreigners in China are constantly swimming upstream, working much harder than s/he would in the west and accomplishing less. Communication will be harder, even assuming that one is fluent in Chinese. Unlike the US, where immigrants can succeed mightily, opening their own business in many cases, China is not an immigration driven society. It is not very open to foreigners and even hostile to their success. This goes for all non-Chinese people: China is equally as uninterested in a white girl or African American guy who just graduated from Harvard Business School, Yale Law, or the like. Even people with the best degrees who come here to make their fortune will often end up simply studying Chinese language at some university in Beijing.
The Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE is a $10 million global competition to stimulate innovation and integration of precision diagnostic technologies, making reliable health diagnoses available directly to "health consumers" in their homes.
The dire need for improvements in health and healthcare in the U.S. has captured the attention of government, industry, and private citizens for years. But a viable solution has yet evaded one of the most technologically advanced, educated and prosperous nations on the globe. Integrated diagnostic technology, once available on a consumer mobile device that is easy to use, will allow individuals to incorporate health knowledge and decision-making into their daily lives.
Advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, wireless sensing, imaging diagnostics, lab-on-a-chip, and molecular biology will enable better choices in when, where, and how individuals receive care, thus making healthcare more convenient, affordable, and accessible. The winner will be the team whose technology most accurately diagnoses a set of diseases independent of a healthcare professional or facility, and that provides the best consumer user experience with their device.
More than 150 flights to and from Beijing were cancelled or delayed on Tuesday as a thick cloud of acrid smog shrouded the city, with US figures saying the pollution was so bad it was off the scale.
The national meteorological centre said the Chinese capital had been hit by thick fog that reduced visibility to as little as 200 metres (650 feet) in some parts of the city, while official data judged air quality to be "good".
But the US embassy, which has its own pollution measuring system, said on its Twitter feed that the concentration of the smallest, most dangerous particles in the air was "beyond index" for most of the morning.
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Authorities in Beijing said last month they had met their target of "blue sky" days for 2011, with 274 days of "grade one or two" air quality compared with 252 days in 2010.
But the state-run China Daily has said that if PM2.5 were used as China's main standard, only 20 percent of Chinese cities would be rated as having satisfactory air quality, against the current 80 percent.
The passing of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has been marked by plunging temperatures, mourning bears and now, according to North Korean state media, by flocks of magpies.
Kim, who died in December aged 69 years after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state, was reputed to be able to control the weather, as well as to have scored a miraculous 38 under par round of golf.
"At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim Il Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news," state news agency KCNA reported on Monday.
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KCNA reported last week that a family of bears who usually hibernate through the fierce Korean winter had been seen lamenting Kim Jong-il's death.
"The bears, believed to be a mother and cubs, were staying on the road, crying woefully," it said.
Mythmaking for Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, has already started. He is portrayed as the spitting image of his grandfather and has been dubbed the "genius of geniuses" in military affairs despite having no known military experience.
Connie:
Listen, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. It's kind of embarrassing....
Um, every Monday I get this e-mail--actually, everyone in our group gets it--from Matthew. It's his way of reminding us all to check out his blog. He calls it something like "Naked Man in a Big Town."
First time, I did check it out. But what he's writing there is actually pretty disturbing. The whole thing's basically a laundry list of all the women he's, um, "been with," and well... let's just say there's waaay too much information. Major over-sharing violation. He's even posted some photos!
Some of his posts are actually about women who work here. Not sure what they think, but if I were them, I'd be mortified.
Of course, I never went back to his site, but every Monday there's that stupid e-mail reminder about his blog. It's really kinda gross.
In my opinion, someone needs to deal with this.
President Hu Jintao has said that China must strengthen its cultural production to defend against the West’s assault on the country’s culture and ideology, according to an essay in a Communist Party policy magazine published this week. The publication of Mr. Hu’s words signaled that a new major policy initiative announced last October would continue well into 2012.
The essay, which was signed by Mr. Hu and based on a speech he gave in October, drew a sharp line between the cultures of the West and China and effectively said the two sides were engaged in an escalating war. It was published in Seeking Truth, a magazine that evolved from a publication founded by Mao as a platform for establishing Communist Party principles.
“We must clearly see that international hostile forces are intensifying the strategic plot of westernizing and dividing China, and ideological and cultural fields are the focal areas of their long-term infiltration,” Mr. Hu said, according to a translation by Reuters.
“We should deeply understand the seriousness and complexity of the ideological struggle, always sound the alarms and remain vigilant, and take forceful measures to be on guard and respond,” he added.
“The overall strength of Chinese culture and its international influence is not commensurate with China’s international status,” Mr. Hu said in his essay, according to another translation.
“The international culture of the West is strong while we are weak,” he added.
The University of California system, rocked by budget cuts, is enrolling record numbers of out-of-state and international students, who pay almost twice that of in-state residents. Among those being squeezed out: high-achieving Asian-Americans, many of them children of immigrants, who for decades flocked to the state’s elite public colleges to move up the economic ladder.
In 2009, University of California administrators told the San Diego campus to reduce its number of in-state freshmen by 500 to about 3,400 and fill the spots with out-of-state and international students, said Mae Brown, the school’s admissions director. California residents pay $13,234 in annual tuition while nonresidents pay $22,878.
As a result, almost 200 freshmen from China enrolled in 2011, up from 16 in 2009, a 12-fold increase. At the same time, the number of Asian-American Californians enrolled fell 29 percent to 1,230, from 1,723 in 2009. The 2009 figure is from the UC system’s office because San Diego didn’t have it available.
Publish your phone number and address and we can talk about this in person. Or are you just a bitter, attention-hungry, effective weapon of Satan, coward?
The portrait of Kim Jong Eun that emerges in his U.S. profile is that of a young man who, despite years of education in the West, is steeped in his father's cult of personality and may be even more mercurial and merciless, officials said.
A senior U.S. official said intelligence analysts believe, for instance, that Kim Jung Eun "tortured small animals" when he was a youth. "He has a violent streak and that's worrisome," a senior U.S. official said, summing up the U.S. assessments.
Performing in China: Confessions of a White Monkey
In China, the image of white skin still pays dividends. Especially dancing white people.
Promoters for real estate opening parties spend tens of thousands of RMB to set the stage for potential homeowners. Magicians and mini-skirt wearing violin players are commonplace, but none earn even close as much as the coveted Anglo-Saxon musician/clown. The “White Monkey,” as some call the foreign performer, is the ultimate showpiece for any Grand Opening, be it for a multi-billion RMB high-tech zone or an apartment villa in the cabbage-picking boondocks.
Don’t understand the Occupy Wall Street movement? Now, you can learn all about it.
New York University says it plans to offer two classes next semester on Occupy Wall Street through the school’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.
It will be called: “Why Occupy Wall Street? The History and Politics of Debt and Finance.”
Another professor will be teaching a graduate-level seminar on the demonstration.
Brown says both tax hikes, scheduled to end within five years, would generate an extra $7 billion for the state to prevent deeper cuts to schools, universities and public safety.
That would free up some state money California could use to shore up social services and support for public universities.
OUR MISSION
At CES, we work hand in hand with local, certified, and licensed contractors to analyze the energy efficiency of your home, which then allows them to custom design a whole home energy efficiency package to reduce consumption---thus saving you money. These licensed and certified contractors will help you every step of the way in accessing government funds and rebate programs to allow you to enjoy these products and technologies and save money every month on your utility bills.
发扬越来越聪明可爱了，他模仿能力很强，教他说什么，他就会跟着学，比如叫阿姨、妈妈、爸爸他就会跟着学，我亲亲他的小脸蛋，他也会亲亲我的脸，我教他欢迎和再见，他会用他的左手拍打他的右臂表示欢迎。唱儿歌的时候，发扬能够跟着我一起合唱，还会跟着节奏打拍子呢。他喜欢鲜艳的玩具和带有响声的玩，听见玩具发出响声，他会专备的去听，然后跟着节奏打拍子。发扬现在能独立行走了，虽然走的不是很稳，容易摔跤，但是摔倒后他会立即站起来继续走。
他喜欢到活动室玩，看见木马他会立即走过去，用左手握着手把，用右臂支撑着做好， 然后把左脚抬起来， 右脚点起来， 坐在上面前腰后仰的， 边摇边发出笑声来， 发扬嘴喜欢到户外活动， 看见五颜六色的花草， 他会用手轻轻地抚摸它们一下，然后拉着我的手对我说：“妈妈，花。”发扬喜欢到儿儿乐园玩滑梯，看见楼梯就向上爬，我牵着他的手，叫他把一只脚一只脚的抬起来上楼梯，就这样一梯一梯的伤，发扬走的满头大汗，但是他还是没有放弃，我一边牵着他一边给他加油：“发扬，加油，加油。”听了我的鼓励，发扬走的更起劲的，终于走上了楼梯，发扬站在楼梯上开怀大笑。
Fayang is smarter and smarter. He has a great capacity to imitate our behaviors. He follows us and learned to call aunt, mum and dad. When I kiss his cheek, he will kiss back. I taught him to say hello and goodbye, he will clap his right hand with his left hand to welcome others to the room. When we sing the children's song, Fayang can join in the chorus and clap to the music. Fayang can walk by himself though not steadily and falls sometimes. He stands up immediately after he falls and keeps walking again.
He likes playing in the activity room. He will walk to the rocking horse at the sight of it. He sits on it by holding the handlebar with his left hand and supporting himself with his right hand. Then he raises his left foot and stomps his right foot, and laughs as he shakes his body with the movements of the rocking horse. Outdoor activities are his favorite. Once seeing the colorful flowers, Fayang will touch them and pull me to see it, saying "Mum, flower". He likes the slide in the children's playground. He will go upstairs at the sight of the slide. Taking hold of his hand, I teach him to go up the flights of the stairs step by step. He does not give up. I take him by his hand and encourage him with the words, "Fayang, come on! Come on!" Hearing the encouragement, Fayang tries his best to climb the stairs and finally he finishes the climbing, he bursts out in laughter at the top.
