Für die Raumfähre Atlantis und ihre siebenköpfige Besatzung endete mit der Landung auf der Rollbahn 33 des Kennedy Space Center in Florida um 15.44 Uhr MEZ eine elftäge Reise ins All. Die Fähre beendete den Flug der Mission STS-129 nach 171 Erdumkreisungen und 7.226.177 zurückgelegten Kilometern seit ihrem Start am 16. November.

Während der Mission unternahmen die Astronauten drei Außenbordeinätze. Sie installierten dabei zwei Plattformen an der exteren Gitterkonstruktion der Internationalen Raumstation. Für die Zeit nach der für 2010 geplanten Außerdienststellung der Shuttleflotte, dienen sie dazu, bereits jetzt größere Ersatzteile und Geräte aufzunehmen und zwischenzulagern, die zum weiteren Betreiben und zur Unterhaltung der Station erforderlich sind.

Die Besatzung lieferte insgesamt fast 14 Tonnen an Austauschteilen für die Station, darunter sowohl Gerätschaften für das Energie- und Kühlsystem der ISS, als auch Gyroskope, die die Lage und Orientierung der Station im Raum gewährleisten. Beim Abkoppeln der Atlantis hatte der Ausbauzustand der ISS – bei einer Masse von fast 345 Tonnen –  nahezu 86 Prozent der geplanten Gesamtgröße erreicht.

Die Astronautin Nicole Stott kehrte nach 91 Tagen Aufenthalt im All zur Erde zurück. Als Mitglied der Expeditionen 20 und 21 war sie 80 Tage im Einsatz an Bord der Raumstation, auf der sie Insgesamt 87 Tage verbrachte. Sie ist das letzte Besatzungsmitglied der Internationalen Raumstation, das mit einer amerikanischen Raumfähre von oder zum orbitalen Außenposten transportiert wurde.

Das Hauptfahrwerk der Atlantis hatte exakt um 15.44.23 Uhr MEZ auf der Betonpiste in Florida aufgesetzt. Das Bugfahrwerk folgte 42 Sekunden später.

* * *

Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts ended an 11-day journey with a 9:44 a.m. EST landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis flew 171 orbits around Earth and traveled 4,490,138 miles since its Nov. 16 launch.
The STS-129 mission included three spacewalks and the installation of two platforms to the International Space Station’s truss, or backbone. The platforms hold large spare parts to sustain station operations after the shuttles are retired.
The shuttle crew delivered about 30,000 pounds of replacement parts for systems that provide power to the station, keep it from overheating, and maintain a proper orientation in space. The shuttle left the space station 86 percent complete, weighing 759,222 pounds.
Astronaut Nicole Stott returned to Earth after 91 days in space. She had spent 87 days aboard the space station and 80 days as an Expedition 20/21 flight engineer. She is the last astronaut who will be transported to or from the space station by the space shuttle.
Atlantis’ main gear touched down at 9:44:23 a.m., followed by the nose gear at 9:44:36 and wheel stop at 9:45:05 a.m.

Für weitere Informationen : for further informations

www.raumfahrtzeitung.de

source : NASA

photo credit : NASA TV

Zapewne niewiele osób pamięta, lub chce pamiętać, że tak kiedyś było: kolejki do sklepów (rzecz jasna nie tylko) były stałą częścią dziennego programu. Stało się, i przepychało aby dotrzeć do stoiska, o którym wiadomo było poczta pantoflową, że “rzucony” nań będzie towar. Nie jest to zjawisko li tylko komunistyczne. W USA mamy dzisiaj “czarny piątek”. Kolejki całonocne, przepych, łokcie, tratowanie, nawet zatratowanie na śmierć, w pogoni za towarem w jakimś odległym punkcie szopingmolu, czy supermarketu. Jak za komuny, z tą doprawdy niewielką różnicą, że wówczas stało się za towarem, którego na codzień brakowało, a teraz po stoi się z przesytu, nudy, i nieraz zwykłej pazerności.

USA:

I think ‘extraordinary’ is probably the only safe way to describe these turkey-shaped soup bowls (which – as Tony rightly pointed out – must be a bugger to store …).

The soup therein was fabulous though, as was the rest of the Thanksgiving spread laid on by friends of Jan & Drake’s last night.  Their cat having a “me too” moment (below).  No solid food for me today …

Eine neue Studie bestätigt, was man als halbwegs informierter Mensch ohnehin wusste: Der Kosovo ist der Problembär unter den neueren Staatsgründungen. Fast schon höflich wird in der Studie der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung von einem “unfinished state” gesprochen. Die Probleme sind in der Tat gewaltig: Die Jugendarbeitslosigkeit liegt bei 70 Prozent, die allgemeine Arbeitslosigkeit immer noch bei katastrophalen 45 Prozent. Und das in einem “Staat”, der Europas jüngste Bevölkerungsstruktur aufweist. Und wie halten sich die Kosovaren über Wasser? Die paar wenigen, die echte Jobs haben, haben diese bei UN-Organisationen oder NGOs. Die anderen, nun, die weichen auf Drogen-, Zigaretten- und Benzinschmuggel aus und/oder versorgen die Bordelle der Welt mit Zwangsprostituierten. Andere leben von Zuwendungen, die sie von Verwandten bekommen, die im Westen arbeiten. 37 Prozent der Bevölkerung leben unter der international festgelegten Armutsgrenze (weniger als 1,37 Euro Einkommen pro Tag), 17 Prozent leiden sogar unter extremer Armut (weniger als ein Euro täglich). Das sind Werte, wie man sie aus der Dritten Welt kennt. Die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung ist nach einem kurzen Boom durch den Wiederaufbau der durch den Bombenkrieg der NATO zerstörten Gebäude wieder völlig zum Erliegen gekommen. Das Land ist bäuerlich geprägt und exportiert außer ein paar wenigen Rohstoffen nichts Legales. Die Gesundheitsversorgung ist die schlechteste Europas, ein Sozialstaat existiert nicht. Alte und Kranke, die nicht auf großfamiliäre oder clanartige Strukturen zurückgreifen können, vegetieren jämmerlich vor sich hin. Dazu kommen andauernde Spannungen zwischen kosovo-albanischen und serbischen Nationalisten und ein Skandal, der in Europa keinen zu interessieren scheint: Die groß angelegte “Ethnische Säuberung” im Kosovo geht bis heute weiter. Die Serben wurden fast vollständig aus dem kosovarischen Kerngebiet vertrieben, doch die “Freiheitskämpfer” der kosovo-albanischen UCK beließen es nicht dabei. Zeitgleich mit den Serben wurde auch die jüdische Gemeinde verfolgt, bedrängt und schließlich zum Auswandern gezwungen. Nicht besser erging und ergeht es Zigeunern, Türken, Bosniern, Aschkali und den Balkan-Ägyptern. Wer von diesen das Land noch nicht verlassen hat, lebt heute in erbärmlichen Flüchtlingssiedlungen, zu denen nur Bruchteile der Finanzhilfe der EU und der USA durchdringen. Die “Regierung” des Kosovo macht keinerlei Anstalten, die Flüchtlinge und die Binnenflüchtlinge zu entschädigen oder an die Orte, von denen sie vertrieben wurden, zurückkehren zu lassen. Die “Republik Kosovo” hat außerdem ein Legitimationsproblem: Von den 192 UNO-Mitgliedsstaaten haben erst 62 das geographische Spaltprodukt anerkannt. Nicht einmal die gesamte EU unterstützt die Eigenstaatlichkeit des Kosovo. Spanien, Griechenland, Zypern, Rumänien und die Slowakei erkennen den Kosovo nicht als Staat an. Als Faustregel gilt: Staaten, die mit Separatisten zu ringen haben, sehen im Kosovo ein gefährliches Vorbild für die Sezessionsbestrebungen eigener Minderheiten und halten sich daher mit der Anerkennung zurück. Und man kann es sogar nachvollziehen, dass sich, zum Beispiel, so mancher Baske fragt, warum die UCK, die mit denselben Methoden agierte wie die ETA, nur noch brutaler, von den USA und Deutschland unterstützt wurde während die baskischen Unabhängigkeitsbestrebungen nicht einmal ignoriert und als innenpolitisches Problem Spaniens betrachtet werden. Militante Separatisten überall haben beobachtet, was im Kosovo passierte, und sie könnten die fatale Lehre daraus ziehen, dass sie ihren bewaffneten Arm und damit den Terrorismus verstärken müssen, um eines Tages ihre Ziele zu erreichen.

Die deutsch-amerikanisch-österreichische Achse hat am Balkan beachtliche geopolitische Erfolge erzielt. Jugoslawien wurde zerschlagen, was nicht nur die österreichischen und deutschen Revanchisten jubeln ließ, sondern natürlich vor allem dazu diente, den Balkan in eine Region bestehend aus schwachen Kleinstaaten zu verwandeln, in eine Art Hinterhof, der politisch und ökonomisch weitaus besser zu kontrollieren ist als ein großes Jugoslawien. So ist es auch kein Wunder, dass vor allem österreichische und deutsche Unternehmen und Banken im Raum des ehemaligen Jugoslawien höchst aktiv sind. Natürlich brachte das Ende des sozialistisch organisierten Vielvölkerstaates einen wirtschaftlichen Aufschwung mit sich, von dem vor allem Slowenien, das bereits in die EU aufgenommen wurde, profitiert. Auch Kroatien geht es insgesamt durch den Tourismus besser und es hat eine reale Option, zur EU zu kommen. Die Frage ist aber: Hat es dazu wirklich einen Krieg mit mehr als 100.000 Toten (manche Quellen sprechen von über 200.000 Opfern) gebraucht? Wäre die Rolle des Westens und vor allem des angeblich neutralen Österreich nicht gewesen, vermittelnd einzugreifen anstatt voreilig und einseitig die Unabhängigkeitserklärungen Sloweniens und Kroatiens anzuerkennen und die Armeen dieser Länder geheimdienstlich zu unterstützen? Was dann ja den Sezessionskrieg ausgelöst hat? An den Grünen Tischen der westlichen Staatskanzleien mag das alles ganz wunderbar ausgesehen haben, die humitäre Katastrophe lässt sich aber nicht einfach so vom Tisch wischen, wie es die damaligen Zündler und Planer gerne hätten. Bis heute wirkt der Hass, den die Balkankriege mit sich brachten, nach, und sogar ehemalige Verbündete wie Slowenien und Kroatien verausgaben sich in lächerlichen Grenzstreitigkeiten, von den Problemen und der Kriegsgefahr in Bosnien ganz zu schweigen. Und mit dem Kosovo, dem vor zehn Jahren mittels NATO-Bomben zur Semi-Unabhängigkeit verholfen wurde, ist ein kleines Monster herangewachsen, ein mega-korruptes Gebilde, in dem die Mafia regiert. Der Teil des Westens, der den Kosovoalbanern wo etwas ähnliches wie einen Staat herbeigebombt hat, darf sich nicht aus der Verantwortung stehlen. Mit jährlichen Geldüberweisungen, die zum Großteil in den Taschen der korrupten Elite versickern, kann es nicht getan sein, der Kosovo muss ultimativ dazu gezwungen werden, einen funktionierenden Rechtsstaat aufzubauen und seine legale Wirtschaft in Schwung zu bringen. Es kann doch nicht sein, dass die EU und die USA tatenlos zusehen, wie sich ein Land mitten in Europa zur Zentrale des Internationalen Verbrechens fehlentwickelt! Oder war das am Ende gar die Absicht, nämlich eine Art rechtsfreien Raum zu schaffen, in dem westliche Dienste nach Herzenslust ihren auch nicht immer sauberen Geschäften nachgehen können?

Jedenfalls dient der Kosovo als warnendes Beispiel für einen möglichen Staat “Palästina”, bei dem ebenfalls zu befürchten wäre, dass er völlig am Geldtropf des Westens hängen würde und sich durch kriegerische Fantasien und Aktionen sowie durch die Förderung des Terrorismus die Zukunft verbaut anstatt die großartigen Möglichkeiten zu nützen, die ein Ende der Feindschaft gegenüber Israel mit sich brächte. “Palästina” könnte, wie schon jetzt Israel, zu einem kleinen, aber feinen Hightech-Staat werden, wenn es mit den ehemaligen Feinden zusammenarbeitet, und vor allem auch vom Tourismus profitieren. Beispielsweise Christen aus aller Welt würden in Scharen kommen um die heiligen Stätten ihres Glaubens, die dann teils in Israel, teils in “Palästina” lägen, zu besuchen. Gemeinsam könnten die beiden Staaten dann auch die drängenden Umweltprobleme in Angriff nehmen, also zB an neuen Technologien zur Wasserversorgung arbeiten oder auch das Tote Meer und dessen Umgebung retten. Wäre das nicht ein Traum, für dessen Umsetzung es sich – mit friedlichen Mitteln – zu kämpfen lohnte? Leider ist es äußerst zweifelhaft, ob die palästinensischen Araber jemals umdenken werden und endlich begreifen, dass Krieg und Terror und Judenhass sie keinen Zentimeter weiterbringen, sondern immer weiter von einer Lösung, mit der alle leben können, entfernen. Wenn die arabische Politik des Neinsagens und des “Alles oder Nichts” so weitergeführt wird, sehe ich für die Palästinenser etwas heraufdämmern, das sie dann mit gutem Recht als Nakba, als “Katastrophe” bezeichnen werden können, und das kann man doch nicht wollen?

This project started as the brainchild of the Pioneers, a group of “innovative thinkers at the frontier of active citizenship.” Brought together by the great people at Humanity in Action and Felix Meritas, and supported by the Dutch government as part of the NY400, 20 Amsterdam and 20 New York City “P!oneers” set out to tackle the issues facing our societies. The initial ideas broke into 4:

1. Alternative Histories – working with educators to amplify marginalized voices to tell their own history
2. P!oneer Network – finding other P!oneers & expanding the ability to think openly
3. Ministry of the Impossible – re-imagining what is possible in society, politics, & culture by locating “impossible” but note-worthy tasks
4. Open My City – Imagine what you’d like to know about your city and then describe what you would do with that information.

The goal of the project was to get community organizations to answer: “If I knew this… I could do that”. How do people see their community and how would they rather see it? Is there a way for government transparency to usher in a new era of civic participation? Founded by Andrew Rasiej, Baratunde Thurston, Andrew Hoppin, Corline Van Es, Dr. Andrew Rasmussen, and myself, it was an exciting start to the project.

I spent time presenting this project at conferences on both US coasts and around the world – from Participation Camp to Barcamp Yerevan. 20 summer Humanity in Action volunteers interviewed dozens of community organizations in New York City, including Posse Foundation and Global Action Project.  New York City District 6 Councilwoman Gale Brewar has been at the forefront of “better use of technology to save money, improve City services, and bring residents, businesses and non-profits closer to government and their communitie” and her support has been an important addition to this and other Open Government discussions in NYC.

As the project developed and as the conversations grew, here are some of the answers that followed:

*    If I knew government spending on social services    <->    I could create a map to inform newly resettled refugees of the best access to services for their community.
*    If I knew the leaders of community centers and churches in my neighborhood    <->    I could invite them to my coop board meeting to talk about building mutually beneficial community relationships
*    If I knew who owns the 1.2 million sqaure meters of empty office space in Amsterdam    <->    I could my best to convince them to open their doors to those in need of space
*    If I knew The history of past rents for my apartment and those like it    <->    I could find out if i’m being overcharged and possibly save a tone of money
*    If I knew which buildings with a good floor were empty    <->    I would organize silent discos and hit-and-run milongas
*    If I knew how to find living space in Amsterdam via the official ways    <->    I could live legally in my own home-town
*    If I knew of Free municipal Portuguese language classes in my neighborhood (lower Manhattan    <->    I could volunteer on Saturdays as a mentor to the newly resettled immigrant Brazilian students we recently interviewed in Astoria, Queens, for TRACE magazine
*    If I knew what services were available to New York City public school students in the private sector    <->    I could facilitate the creation of a database that would be available to students, families, educators, city officials, and everyone else.
*    if i knew who all is in need of creative input/ideas    <->    i would happily put my mind to work
*    If I knew which elderly people were lonely    <->    I could help them connect to young people with time and an ear for their life stories
*    If I knew what citizens wanted and needed in their daily lives    <->    I would be a better representative and politician by focusing on people
*    If I knew where all the camera’s in public spaces in Amsterdam are    <->    I could orgaise a public spectacle using each and every one of them
*    If I knew (more about) the government’s/ municipality’s vision on arts and innovation and how they support these fields    <->    I could come up with ways to influence this vision and benefit from this knowledge
*    If I knew who in my neighbourhood doesn’t know how to use their computer to type documents or use the internet    <->    i would help them with a few friends to explain it
*    If I knew what created sustainable collaboration across political party boundaries     <->    I would get elected officials in my city to reduce homelessness
*    If I knew how to arrange the necessary city permits,    <->    I could (help) to realize more community and public art projects
*    If I knew where to put my trash (including and especially cardboard boxes)    <->    I would be able to prevent being fined or arrested
*    If I knew how to get $ for municipal projects    <->    I could pay for food, tools & supplies to do neighborhood clean up.
*    If I knew wich idiot decided to take away the soccer field for the kids..    <->    I would tell Johan Cruijff so he would open a Cruijff court for my neighbourkids

Word cloud from text provided from “If I knew this… I could do that” public entries. Clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently.

Data is still something that people find it difficult to wrap their heads around. One of our biggest challenges was the cognitive leap it takes for people to be able to answer “If I knew this… I could do that.” Matt Cooperrider, the organizer of many of New York’s Open Government projects, and I spent some time trying to hash out a “man on the street” strategy to bring in more people than exist in our existing civic and non-profit networks. Getting people to know what they don’t know, understand what they could know, then postulate what they’d do if they knew that, proved to be more difficult than initially anticipated.

Matching available government data with social groups is a bit easier, but requires a level of transparency that most institutions still find uncomfortable. In NYC, initiatives culminated with  our initial goal – the release of a Data Mine NYC, supplying many (though not all or even most) sets of public data produced by City agencies. Despite the newly launched Data Mine, having only 120 available data sets was an underwhelming amount to some, certainly limiting the ability to have a breadth of new project ideas. There is even a competition, NYC BigApps, to turn that data into useful applications for the people of the City. Graffitti awareness, restaurant inspections, taxi ratings and other ideas that come from a very specific demographic of programmers. To really target marginalized communities and make information technologies work for the city as a whole, they need to be brought into the conversation.

At the second installment of P!oneers, the ideas behind Open My City evolved into Open My Story. Combining with many of the ideas from Alternative Histories as well, the project turned interactive civics program. Here’s the pitch: This photography based program gives marginalized youth a transatlantic lens into the past, interaction in the present, and plan for the future. What are youth perspectives on their communities? What do they want to see it become? It provides a lens into a potential future based on the needs that they see. Ideas are then exhibited in the city to broaden the discussion. Utilizing new media tools youth can now become engaged players in the civic process & create the community they want to see. The cross-Atlantic platform is Project Roebling, which is currently being developed by Digital Democracy, in partnership with MIT & Eyebeam. There is a striking lack of FOSS (free and open source software) in the educational sphere and it’s exciting to be a pioneer in the field.

Stay tuned as the project continues to develop!

Die spinnen die Texaner! Da hat tatsächlich so ‘n Freak das Haus der Simpsons 1 zu 1 in der Real World nachgebaut! Krank! Will nicht wissen was das gekostet hat. Und wohnen will ich da auch nicht – viel zu bunt! Ist aber bestimmt ne 1a-Touristenattraktion. Seht selbst!

via Design Fetish

Kanye West- I’m so appalled

Affrettatevi, oggi è il black friday.

Le grandi cascate del Potomac

Curiosando qua e là ho trovato questo interessante trafiletto su Google Books, tratto da Friends intelligencer: a religious and family journal, Volume 24, Philadelphia 1868, pagina 416. Riporta la notizia di un ritrovamento archeologico nei pressi delle grandi cascate del Potomac di una sepoltura all’interno della quale sono stati ritrovati diversi oggetti tra cui un’iscrizione runica che ci testimonia come il corpo fosse di una donna islandese (sarebbe meglio dire vichinga) chiamata “Suasa” (come la nostra antica città romana) morta nel 1057 dell’era cristiana. Sulla attendibilità della scoperta non mi pronuncio, la presenza dei vichinghi in Nordamerica è risaputa, ma nel caso specifico non saprei, dubita persino il giornalista che ha riportato la notizia,  ma riporto la trascrizione in inglese e la sua traduzione.

The Washington Union reports the discovery, below the Great Falls of the Potomac, within fifteen miles of Washington, by Prof. T. C. Raffinson, of Copenhagen, of a Runic inscription, which records the death of an Iceland woman named Suasa, who died in the year 1057, of the Christian era. Fragments of teeth, bronze trinkets, coins, and other curious things, have been exhumed from the grave. The discovery appears to prove conclusively that the Northmen were long in advance of Columbus in their explorations upon this continent. A scientifc report, in reference to this discovery, will be looked for with great interest.

Il Washington Union riporta la scoperta, sotto le grandi cascate del Potomac, a quindici miglia da Washington, da parte del Prof. T. C. Raffinson, di Copenhagen, di una iscrizione runica, che registra la morte di una donna islandese chiamata Suasa, che morì nell’anno 1057 dell’era cristiana. Frammenti di denti, ciondoli di bronzo, monete e altri reperti curiosi, sono stati esumati dalla sepoltura. La scoperta sembra provare definitivamente che i nordici erano in grande anticipo rispetto a Colombo nelle loro esplorazioni in questo continente. Una pubblicazione scientifica, relativamente a questa scoperta, è attesa con grande interesse.

La mappa di Vinland

La stessa notizia, data originariamente dal Washington Evening Union, viene riportata, con grafia del nome della donna e data di morte diverse, anche in The Historical Magazine, and note and queries, concerning the antiquities, histories and biography of America. Volume II. Second series. Dawson, 1867. Pagina 38. (Qua scaricabile in PDF)

Extraordinary Discovery below the Great Falls of the Potomac. — The Washington Evening Union of the eighth of July has a lengthy communication from Thomas C. Raffinson, Fellow of the Royal Society of North Antiq., Copenhagen, giving a description of a discovery made by him recently of a Runic inscription on a rock near Georgetown, which, translated, reads as follows :

” Here rests Syasy, or Suasu, the fair haired, a person from the east of Iceland, the widow of Kjoldr, and sister of Thorgr, children of the same father, twenty-five years of age. May God make glad her soul. 1051.”

Upon digging in the earth at the foot of the rock a few human teeth and a bone, which crumbled upon being exposed to the air, two Roman coins, and three bronze trinkets, were found.

Above the Runic inscription the name of ” W. Langley, 1758,” is carved. Mr. Raffinson considers the discovery of these things as unquestionable proof of the visits of the Icelandic voyagers to this continent, but it is still more remarkable, as confirming a statement made in an ancient manuscript which was dug out of the ruins of theancient college at Skalholt, in Iceland, in which it is affirmed that, under the command of Herbardur, his countrymen sailed in a Southernly direction from Yineland, (or Martha’s Vineyard,) where they wintered, and thence up a sea and various rivers, the ascent in one of which was stopped by a succession of falls, to which, from their shape and foamy appearance, they gave the name of Hvidsderk, or white shirt; and the MS. furtherstates that in this neighborhood the illegitimate daughter of Snorri was killed by a small spear (or arrow) and buried near the spot where she fell.

It was the reading of this narrative which led Mr. Raffinson to explore the country around these falls, and his labors have been abundantly rewarded — if he has not been hoaxed. — Richmond Examiner.

Straordinaria scoperta sotto le Grandi Cascate del Potomac – Il Washington Evening Union dell’otto di luglio ha una lunga comunicazione da Thomas C. Raffinson, socio della Royal Society di North Antiq., di Copenhagen che da la descrizione della scoperta da lui effettuate recentemente di un’iscrizione runica sopra una roccia vicino Georgetown, la quale, tradotta, si legge come segue:

“Qui riposa Syasy, o Suasu, la bionda, una persona dall’est dell’Islanda, vedova di Kjoldr, e sorella di Thorgr, figli dello stesso padre, dell’età di venticinque anni. Possa Dio essere lieto della sua anima. 1051“

Dopo aver scavato la terra ai piedi della roccia, sono stati trovati alcuni denti umani e un osso, che si è sbriciolato dopo essere stato esposto all’aria, due monete romane, e tre ciondoli di bronzo.

Sull’iscrizione runica è inciso il nome di “W. Langley. 1758″. Il signor Raffinson considera la scoperta di questi oggetti con la prova incontestabile della visita dei viaggiatori islandesi in questo continente, ma è ancora più considerevole, in quanto conferma la testimonianza fatta in un antico manoscritto che è stato scovato nelle rovine dell’antica dell’università di Skaltholt, in Islanda, nel quale è affermato che, sotto il comando di Herbardur, alcuni suoi conterranei salparono in direzione meridionale, verso Vineland, (oppure il vigneto di Martha,) dove trascorsero l’inverno, e quindi navigarono in mare e su vari fiumi, la risalita di uno di questi fu fermata da una sequenza di cascate, alle quali, per la loro forma e dell’apparenza schiumosa, venne dato loro il nome di Hvidskerk, o camicia bianca; inoltre il manoscritto afferma che nelle vicinanze la sorella illegittima di Snorri fu uccisa da una piccola lancia (o freccia) e sepolta vicino al luogo in cui cadde.

E’ stata la lettura di questo racconto che ha portato il signor Raffinson ad esplorare il territorio attorno a queste cascate, e il suo lavoro è stato abbondantemente ripagato, a meno che non sia stato imbrogliato.  Richmond Examiner.

La mappa di Skálholt

In seguito la scoperta viene citata, ipotizzando anche se non sia stato solo un pesce d’aprile ben organizzato, anche in History of America before Columbus, according to documents and approved authors (1900) pagina 38:

CHAPTER XV.

OTHER SCANDINAVIAN AND WELSH COLONIES.

We have noticed that in the year 1003 Thorvald Ericsson sent forth towards more southern coasts an exploring party, which, we may presume from a subsequent fact, sailed up the Potomac River. In the year 1863 a Latin manuscript was discovered near the church of Skalholt in Iceland by Ph. Marsh, and was called the Skalholt Saga. In it is related the story of a Vinland colonist who, likely in consequence of the favorable report of Thorvald’s expedition or of other voyages not mentioned, undertook in 1051 to plant another colony on the beautiful banks of the Potomac. His name was Hervador. With his men and some women on board he sailed into Chesapeake Bay and up the river ; but about two miles below the falls he was assaulted by a band of natives ; and one of the women, Syasi, fell struck by an arrow. She was buried on the bank near by, under a protecting cliff.

Thomas Murray, who translated into English the ancient document, clearly indicated Hervador’s route and the place of the combat. The learned Raffinson, the geologist Lequeureux, Professor Brand, of Washington, and Dr. Boyce, of Boston, set out in search of some relic that might testify to the truth of the narrative; and succeeded on June 28, 1867, in finding, on the northeast side of the rock called “Arrow-head,” an inscription which, translated from the old Scandinavian said as follows: ” Here rests Syasi the Blond from eastern Iceland, Koldr’s widow, Thorger’s sister on brother’s side . . . .  Aged twenty-five year. May God be merciful to her. 1051.” The inscription was half covered with moss and protected by the overhanging part of the rock and an old pine-tree. In the ground close by were found three teeth, a fragment of a large bone that crumbled into dust, three small perforated ornaments of bronze, two pieces of encrinites, and two Byzantine coins of the tenth century. These last were likely obtained from Scandinavians who had been body-guards of the Eastern Emperor. All these interesting articles are now preserved in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington. These particaculars regarding Hervador’s unfortunate visit to the Potomac are quite circumstantial and likely; yet Winsor calls the story an April hoax promptly exposed.

So far no satisfactory proof has been given of any Scandinavian settlements in North America beyond the limits of ancient Vinland; but if the Northmen contented themselves with that province of the continent, they steered their good ships over every portion of the broad Atlantic between the Old and the New World, almost down to the time that Columbus was preparing for his famous voyage

CAPITOLO XV.

ALTRE COLONIE SCANDINAVE E SCOZZESI.

Abbiamo visto come nell’anno 1003 Thorvald Ericsson mandò in avanscoperta verso le coste più a sud una pattuglia di esplorazione, la quale, possiamo presumere dai fatti seguenti, abbia risalito il fiume Potomac.

Nell’anno 1863 un manoscritto latino fù scoperto nei pressi della chiesa di Skalholt in Islanda da Ph. Marsh e fù denominato la Saga di Skalholt. In questa è riportata la storia di un colono di Vinland, il quale, probabilmente a seguito del racconto incoraggiante della spedizione di Thorvald o di altri viaggi non menzionati, intraprese nel 1051 di fondare un’altra colonia sulle bellissime sponde del Potomac. Il suo nome era Hervardor. Assieme ai suoi uomini e a qualche donna a bordo navigò nella Baia di Chesapeake e su nel fiume; ma circa due miglia sotto le cascate fù assaltato da una banda di nativi americani, e una delle donne, Syasi, cadde colpita da una freccia. Fù sepolta su una sponda del fiume sotto la protezione di una rupe.

Thomas Murray, che tradusse in inglese l’antico documento, indicò chiaramente il percorso di Hervardor e il luogo del combattimento. L’erudito Raffinson, il geologo Lequeureux, il professore Brand, di Washington, e il dottor Boyce, di Boston, si misero in cerca di qualche reperto che potesse confermare la verità del racconto, e accadde il 28 giugno 1867 di trovare, nel lato nordest della roccia chiamata “testa di freccia” un’iscrizione la quale, tradotta dal norreno antico dice come segue: “Qui riposa Syasi, la bionda islandese dell’est, vedova di Koldr, sorella di Thorger da lato del padre, di venticinque anni. Dio sia misericordioso con lei. 1051.”  L’iscrizione era coperta per metà di muschio e protetta dalla parte sporgente della roccia e da un vecchio pino. Nel terreno adiacente sono stati trovati tre denti, un frammento di un osso piatto che si è sbriciolato, tre piccoli monili di bronzo, due pezzi di encrinite, e due monete bizantine del decimo secolo. Queste ultime probabilmente erano state ottenute dagli Scandinavi che avevano fatto da guardie del corpo all’imperatore bizantino. Tutti questi reperti interessanti sono ora conservati allo Smithsonian Museum di Washington. Questi particolari riguardanti la sfortunata visita di Hervardor al Potomac sono circostanziati e verosimili, eppure Winsor considera la storia un pesce d’aprile ben confezionato.

Finora nessun prova convincente è stata trovata circa gli insediamenti scandinavi in Nord America oltre i limiti dell’antica Vinland; ma se i Nordici erano soddisfatti di quella provincia del continente, loro hanno portato le loro buone imbarcazioni sopra qualsiasi porzione dell’Atlantico tra il vecchio e il nuovo mondo, almeno sino al tempo in cui Colombo stava preparando il suo famoso viaggio.

Chissà se allo Smithsonian in qualche teca o in qualche scantinato hanno ancora l’iscrizione runica e gli altri reperti? Sarebbe interessante verificare l’autenticità dei reperti e di tutta la storia, alla luce delle conoscenze odierne.

Chi volesse approfondire le esplorazioni vichinghe precolombiane nel Nord America puoi leggere, oltre che i numerosi libri scritti sul tema, anche le relative voci su Wikipedia:

• Saga di Erik il Rosso
• Grœnlendinga saga
• Anse aux Meadows
• Mappa di Vinland
• Norse colonization of the Americas (inglese)
• Skálholtsbók (inglese)

“Nonostante le reticenze passate”.

China’s Golden Shield Project has several US corporations such as IBM, General Electric, and Honeywell working closely with the Chinese government to install millions of surveillance cameras throughout the country, along with advanced video analysis and facial recognition software, which will identify and track individuals everywhere they go. They will be connected to a centralised database and monitoring station, which will, upon completion of the project, contain a picture of the face of every person in China – over 1.3 billion people.

Law enforcement and intelligence services in the UK and the US possess technology to remotely activate the microphones in cellphones, by accessing the phone’s diagnostic/maintenance features, in order to listen to conversations that take place nearby the person who holds the phone. Mobile phones are also commonly used to collect location data.

In the US, for instance, under the Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act, all phone calls, VoIP and broadband internet traffic (emails, web traffic, instant messaging, etc) are required to be available for unimpeded real-time monitoring by federal law enforcement agencies. Computers are also a surveillance target because of the personal data stored on them. If someone is able to install software (either physically or remotely), such as the FBI’s “Magic Lantern” and Computer and IP verification (CIPAV), on a computer system, they can easily gain unauthorised access to this data. Another form of computer surveillance, known as TEMPEST, involves reading electromagnetic emanations from computing devices in order to extract data from them at distances of hundreds of meters.

Surveillance cameras are often connected to a recording device, IP network, and/or watched by a security guard/law enforcement officer. In the UK, for instance, there are about 4.2 million surveillance cameras — one camera for every 14 people. (via How other countries fare).

The Red Rage

There is a increasing chorus in India that such a ’surveillance’ regime is needed in India also. A undermanned police managed a low crime society in India till now. The excuse of terrorism is being used to advance the case for a police state in India also – like the UK, USA, China etc.

Lalgarh has proved one thing – purusharth in India is still alive and well. Moksh मोक्ष is the ultimate aim of all humans – and the meaning of moksh is freedom, emancipation, deliverance. Moksh is one of the four objectives (धर्म अर्थ, काम, मोक्ष)in the Indian ethical code of पुरुषार्थ.

Santhals and the British

In Lalarh, middle aged Santhal women, armed with spears, axes and knives came out to battle a repressive state which sold out to Big Business. For nearly a 100 years, a 100 years ago, the same Santhals had fought the British Raj earlier. When so many women come out in the open, with bows and arrows, one thing is clear.

There are more where they come from.

The excuse for extending power

So, whether it is Red Rage or Green Jihad, the State just needs an excuse to extend its power – and this surveillance is one part of it.

It was so cold taking the series of pictures that this came from. But totally worth it.

Really?

Das rätselhafte Verstümmeln von Weidetieren wird in den USA seit den frühen 60ern beobachtet und geläufigerweise mit sogenannten UFOs in Verbindung gebracht. Die Tiere werden typischerweise an abgelegenen, schwer einsehbaren Plätzen aufgefunden, einzelne Organe und Körperteile sind mit höchster Präzision entfernt worden, weder Bisspuren von Raubtieren noch Reifen- oder Fussabdrücke sind zu sehen, auf dem Boden fehlt die eigentlich unvermeidliche Blutlache.

Nun wurden im südlichen US-Bundesstaat Colorado, nahe der Grenze zu New Mexico, vier Jungrinder in einem solchen Zustand aufgefunden. Die Behörden sind ratlos; zuletzt waren solche Fälle in dieser Gegend im März dieses Jahres berichtet worden. Nachdem all diese Fälle bisher nicht erklärt werden können, sollten wir einfach eben diesen Umstand anerkennen: Wir kennen keine Erklärung.

( via pueblo chieftain) (pic nuc)

Qualcosa emerge dalle nebbie cinesi...

Va dato atto alla Repubblica (in particolare a Valerio Gualerzi, che segue le questioni ambientali) che argomentando bene le proprie critiche si può ottenere la modifica di una pagina web, come è successo ieri, quando nell’articolo “Clima, la promessa della Cina” il sottotitolo originale “Taglio del 40% entro il 2020″ su nostra sollecitazione è stato cambiato nel ben più realistico “2020, più efficienti del 40%”. Cosa significhino questi numeri cinesi in effetti non è facile da raccontare, dato che si intrecciano con gli altri numeri che arrivano quasi in contemporanea dagli Usa. Mentre questi ultimi sono una promessa di taglio assoluto alle emissioni (del 17 per cento entro il 2020, del 30 per cento entro il 2025 e del 42 per cento entro il 2030, rispetto ai livelli, peraltro enormi, del 2005) quelle cinesi sono promesse che riguardano l’intensità di emissione serra per unità di prodotto lordo, il che non implica affatto un taglio delle emissioni assolute, che ormai superano quelle Usa, dato che l’economia cinese è in piena espansione e continua a crescere persino adesso che tutto il resto del mondo è in preda alla recessione. Se la Cina continuasse a crescere così per altri dieci anni e si avverassero le promesse di Hu Jintao, invece di raddoppiare come il Pil, le emissioni cinesi potrebbero aumentare “solo” del 50-60%. Metaforicamente è come se ci dicessero che invece di correre verso un muro a 120 all’ora rallenteremo fino ai 60: ma qui il punto è che bisogna invertire la rotta, altrimenti contro il muro ci andiamo a sbattere lo stesso… In ogni caso i giochi di Copenaghen adesso sembrano riaperti e ci sarà da divertirsi.

Picture: BlatantNews.com

Former UK embassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, has said that the invasion of Iraq was not supported by most of the members of the UN.

Asked whether the war was legal he said that there were different opinions and a “final and conclusive” verdict will probably never be made.

However, he did say that the war could not be proved illegal as it had never been challenged in court.

He also added that the UK’s policy for invasion was because of the belief that Iraq had WMDs and that any comment from America on regime change was “unhelpful”.