Monday, September 30, 2013
Olympic flame for Sochi Games lit, ready for relay
An ancient ceremony was re-enacted in Greece Sunday as the sun's rays lit the Olympic flame that will be carried to the Winter Games in Russia.
ANCIENT OLYMPIA, Greece — Using the sun's rays, the Olympic flame lighting for the Winter Games in Sochi went off without a hitch in southern Greece Sunday, ahead of its journey across Russia's nine time zones and even a trip to space before the Feb. 7-23 games.
The ceremony was held with actresses dressed as ancient priestesses at the birthplace of the Greek games held in antiquity, with the flame lighting using a parabolic mirror.
Actress Ino Menegaki, in the role of high priestess, called out to the ancient god of the sun, Apollo, before the flame was lit and passed to 18-year-old Greek alpine skier Ioannis Antoniou. NHL star Alex Ovechkin was the first Russian involved in the torch relay.
Moments before the being handed the torch, the Washington Capitals winger said: "To be honest with you, it's going to be (an) experience for all my life, and you know, I am proud to be Russian and proud to be here."
Newly elected International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach was present at the ceremony. He said he had discussed an ongoing controversy with games organizers about Russia's record on the treatment of gays and had received assurances of non-discrimination at the games.
"We have the assurances of the highest authorities in Russia, and yesterday I spoke with the Russian delegation here in Olympia again and they reassured us that the Olympic Charter will fully apply for all the participants of the games," he said.
Sunday's 20-minute ancient re-enactment, involving 21 priestesses dressed in cream-colored pleated dresses, marked the start of the build-up to the games — centered on the torch relay.
The Russian leg of the relay is set to cover more than 40,000 miles before the Winter Games, carrying the torch by hot-air balloon, dog sled and a nuclear-powered ice breaker before its scheduled trip to space on Nov. 7.
"The Olympic Games ... should inspire the people of the world and especially the political authorities by showing them that quarrels and conflicts can be addressed with peaceful means," Bach said before the ceremony. "I think it will have a very positive effect on Russia. It will show a new Russia to the world and also open up civil society."
Sochi organizers promised the torch route would be within an hour's travel of an estimated 90 percent of Russia's population
"There is no greater privilege than to stand here in the spiritual home of the Olympic Movement," Dmitry Chernyshenko, chief organizer of Sochi 2014, said at Ancient Olympia. "This is the beginning of an epic journey for the Olympic Torch, a journey that will change Russia forever."
The weekend ceremony was overshadowed by the arrest in Athens of the leadership of the country's far-right Golden Dawn party on charges of forming a criminal organization.
The Greek leg of the relay will cover around 1,250 miles until an Oct. 7 handover ceremony in the Panathenian Stadium in Athens, venue of the first modern Olympics in 1896.
Some 2,800 athletes from more than 80 countries are due to compete at Sochi.
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By Derek Gatopoulos of Associated Press
NASA preparing to launch 3-D printer into space
3-D printing could be a game-changer for space travel, allowing astronauts to create supplies and replacement parts on the fly.
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — NASA is preparing to launch a 3-D printer into space next year, a toaster-sized game changer that greatly reduces the need for astronauts to load up with every tool, spare part or supply they might ever possibly need.
The printers would serve as a flying factory of infinite designs, creating objects by extruding layer upon layer of plastic from long strands coiled around large spools. Doctors use them to make replacement joints and artists use them to build exquisite jewelry.
In NASA labs, engineers are 3-D printing small satellites that could shoot out of the Space Station and transmit data to earth, as well as replacement parts and rocket pieces that can survive extreme temperatures.
"Any time we realize we can 3-D print something in space, it's like Christmas," said inventor Andrew Filo, who is consulting with NASA on the project. "You can get rid of concepts like rationing, scarce or irreplaceable."
The spools of plastic could eventually replace racks of extra instruments and hardware, although the upcoming mission is just a demonstration printing job.
"If you want to be adaptable, you have to be able to design and manufacture on the fly, and that's where 3-D printing in space comes in," said Dave Korsmeyer, director of engineering at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, about 35 miles south of San Francisco.
For the first 3-D printer in space test slated for fall 2014, NASA had more than a dozen machines to choose from, ranging from $300 desktop models to $500,000 warehouse builders.
All of them, however, were built for use on Earth, and space travel presented challenges, from the loads and vibrations of launch to the stresses of working in orbit, including microgravity, differing air pressures, limited power and variable temperatures.
As a result, NASA hired Silicon Valley startup Made In Space to build something entirely new.
"Imagine an astronaut needing to make a life-or-death repair on the International Space Station," said Aaron Kemmer, CEO of Made in Space. "Rather than hoping that the necessary parts and tools are on the station already, what if the parts could be 3-D printed when they needed them?"
When staffing his start up in 2010, Kemmer and his partners warned engineers there would be ups and downs — nauseating ones. In more than a dozen flights in NASA's "vomit comet" reduced-gravity aircraft, Made In Space scientists tested printer after printer.
Last week at their headquarters on NASA's campus, Made In Space engineers in lab coats and hair nets tinkered with a sealed 3-D printer in a dust free cleanroom, preparing the models for further pre-launch tests.
As proof of its utility, the team revisited the notorious 1970 moon-bound Apollo 13 breakdown, when astronauts were forced to jerry-rig a lifesaving carbon dioxide filter holder with a plastic bag, a manual cover and duct tape. A 3-D printer could have solved the problem in minutes.
"Safety has been one of our biggest concerns," said strategic officer Michael Chen. Sparks, breakages and electric surges can have grave consequences in the space station. "But when we get it right, we believe these are the only way to manifest living in space," he said.
Space-bound printers will also, eventually, need to capture gasses emitted from the extruded plastics, be able to print their own parts for self-repairs and have some abilities to recycle printed products into new ones.
Scott Crump, who helped develop 3-D printing technology in 1988 by making a toy frog for his daughter with a glue gun in his kitchen, said he never conceived how pivotal it could be for space travel. But he said that until metal becomes commonly used in 3-D printers, the applications will be limited.
"The good news is that you don't have to have this huge amount of inventory in space, but the bad news is now you need materials, in this case filament, and a lot of power," he said.
NASA and other international space agencies are pressing forward with 3-D printing. Mastering space manufacturing, along with finding and producing water and food on the moon or other planets, could lead to living on space.
Last month, the space agency awarded Bothell, Wash.-based Tethers Unlimited $500,000 toward a project to use 3-D printing and robots to build massive antennas and solar power generators in space by 2020. It replaces the expensive and cumbersome process of building foldable parts on Earth and assembling them in orbit.
For Made In Space's debut, when it's shuttled up to the space station aboard a spaceflight cargo resupply mission, the initial prints will be tests — different small shapes to be studied for strength and accuracy. They're also discussing with NASA about what the first real piece that they should print will be.
Whatever it is, it will be a historic and symbolic item sure to end up in a museum someday.
"It's not something we're discussing publicly right now," said CEO Kemmer. Then, Jason Dunn, the chief technology officer, beckoned, dropping his voice as he grinned.
"We're going to build a Death Star," he joked softly, referring to the giant space station in the "Star Wars" movies that could blow up planets. "Then it's all going to be over."
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By Martha Mendoza of Associated Press
The Republicans don't let a little thing like voting to shutdown the government interfere with their need to P-A-R-T-A-Y!
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| Photo courtesy of No Tea Party Today |
Maybe it was the alcohol, or the late hour, or maybe the House Republicans have just completely lost their minds. On Saturday night, while they were trying to come up with some kind of magic bullet to kill Obamacare, they decided that not only were they going to shut down the government, but now they have added a “conscience clause” to the spending bill which takes away preventative care from women, which includes birth control.
Under Obamacare rules, birth control is free with most providers, but apparently the House Repubs have decided that the reproductive rights of American women are better off in their control. Yeah, so basically the GOP is saying that it doesn’t want the government involved in your health care…unless it’s a birth control issue, of course.
And before you go thinking that this attack on women was the only outrageous thing they did Saturday night, hold on, I’m afraid I have more to report. Friday afternoon, Republican John Culberson from TX got huge applause from his colleagues when he compared the GOP’s effort to destroy Obamacare to the heroes of 9/11. Culberson compared the House Repubs to the passengers on United Flight 93 who overtook the terrorists and got control of the plane on 9/11. Yes, Seriously.
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So called "good guy with a gun" meets other good guys with guns, and badges. Does not end well for 2nd Amendment.
Dallas police have confirmed that three officers shot and killed the homeowner who had fatally shot a burglar.
Officers responded to a call in the 10300 block of Plummer Drive in Far East Dallas. Witnesses said they saw a homeowner shoot and kill Jerry Hale in the alley. The suspect was evidently trying to break into the homeowner’s residence. Police arrived to find the armed man standing over the burglar’s body in an alley, police said.
They stopped an ambulance from entering the alley because the homeowner was still armed. Officers gave “loud verbal commands” to drop the gun.
After he refused, they shot him multiple times, police said. He died from his injuries. The homeowner has not been identified.
Ten to one that the dead burglar was unarmed.
Look I completely support a homeowner defending their home, but I cannot help but wonder what makes it okay to kill a man who was in an alley behind that home?
And as for that whole "stand your ground" thing, well apparently standing that ground when the police are telling you not to is NOT going to work out in your favor. But you know, sometimes when you are holding a gun, you feel invincible.
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Ted Cruz on Meet the Press builds a case against the Affordable Care Act with lies, lies, and more lies.
I watched this interview with growing agitation as Cruz made one false charge after another against Obamacare, and cited facts that were apparently freshly pulled out of his ass.
And perhaps even MORE upsetting was how many of them David Gregory let slide.
Here is but a sample:
Cruz: "The House last night, at 12:30 in the morning, voted to keep the government open, to fully fund the government. But at the same time, the House responded to the millions of Americans who are hurting under Obama Care. And I think the Senate needs to do the same thing."
Now in this case I will give Gregory a little credit for challenging Cruz on his facts.
Gregory: " You keep saying that the Senate and the House should listen to the American people. I looked at polling this week that shows, in a lot of quarters, the bill is unpopular, the law is unpopular. 56% want to uphold this law. So when you say, "Listen to the American people," they're not necessarily with you."
That was something, but considering how over the top Cruz's statements were I wanted more than that.
Later Cruz makes this statement: "I've spent hundreds of hours cris-crossing the state of Texas, traveling nationally. And people all over the country, they're losing their jobs, they're being forced into part-time work, they're facing skyrocketing health insurance premiums, and they're losing their health insurance."
NOBODY has been directly affected by the law as of yet because it has not been fully implemented, and the parts that have seem to have been consistently beneficial. The only reason that companies might be laying off worker or moving them to part time is to create the impression they are suffering a hardship, and provide talking points to the conservative side of the argument, or are attempting to avoid having to provide health care for their employees. In other words this is a problem created artificially by certain businesses and NOT the direct result of Obamacare.
Then there was this exchange where Cruz tried to blame Harry Reid for the looming government shutdown: "Well, let's be clear what the Senate has done. So far, Majority Leader Harry Reed has essentially told the House of Representatives and the American people, 'Go jump in a lake.' He said, 'I'm not willing to compromise, I'm not willing to even talk.' (It must be noted that in Cruz's eyes a "compromise" would be to repeal the new law, defund the law, or delay the law for a year so that the Republicans can use it against the Democrats in 2014. Because once people know what it's about they will no longer have that in their toolkit. Can't imagine why Harry Reid won't go along with that!) His position is 100% of Obamacare must be funded in all instances, and, other than that, he's going to shut the government down. Now David, I hope he doesn't do that. If Harry Reed forces a government shutdown, that will be a mistake. I hope he backs away from that ledge that he's pushing us towards. But that is his position."
Once again Gregory does challenge him on it not very aggressively.
Gregory: "But Senator, even Republicans that I've spoken to, your colleagues, say, 'Senator Cruz can't blame Harry Reed for shutting down the government. Senator Reed acted. He passed a bill to keep the government open.'"
I do like however that Gregory mentioned that Cruz does not represent the majority of the Republican party.
Later Cruz tries to pretend that his position has the support of the unions:
Okay, look. The facts are becoming more and more clear that Obamacare isn't working. Every day, that's becoming more clear. There's a reason the unions are jumping ship. One union after another is saying, "Let me out." There's a reason why James Hoffa, the president of The Teamsters, said that he was writing on behalf of millions of working men and women, and he used "millions," not hundreds, not thousands. And he said Obamacare was destroying their health care. "Destroying" is his word. Now why is it that Harry Reed and the Senate Democrats are not willing to listen to the millions of working men and women whose health care is being destroyed?
This of course a gross misrepresentation of what Hoffa said, and just three days ago he expressed his anger at being used by the conservatives to further their agenda:
"I call on Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. David Vitter and others to cease and desist from misusing our constructive comments in their destructive campaign to hobble the president and the nation," Hoffa said."Though we may have concerns with specific provisions of the ACA, we share the president’s goal of ensuring that every American has affordable access to top-quality health care," Hoffa said in the statement. "It is on this main point that we disagree wholeheartedly with the efforts of extreme right-wing Republicans to gut the ACA. Any suggestion otherwise is simply political posturing."
There are many more examples just like this, and they are equally enraging to listen to.
However what I took overall from this is that it is proof positive in my eyes that, much like the Tea Party movement, this whole sham is funded by the Koch brothers and their ilk and that it more or less explains why not every conservative is on the same page when it comes to dealing with this new law.
Essentially if you are on the take, like Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, and Mike Lee you fight this thing with everything you've got. But if you are not receiving the payola then you try to do your job while also watching to see how this whole thing plays out so you are not on the wrong side of history.
Personally I think I can already determine how this is going to go down, and it does NOT benefit Cruz and his Teabaggers politically. However I have little doubt that Cruz has a cushy job waiting for him somewhere if this thing blows up in his face and costs him his reelection bid.
After all look how well being a paid shill worked out for Sarah Palin.
(Full transcript here.)
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