Archive for February 10th, 2009
A wall of fire 30 feet high
(The Guardian): The prestigious wineries and quaint townships of Yarra Valley have long made it a popular tourist destination. Yesterday, with the air thick with smoke, the forests charred black and hundreds of houses in ruins, the only people pouring in were the firefighters, paramedics and rescue teams. The power of the conflagration is unmistakeable. Evidence of it is everywhere, in the stench of burning wood, the smouldering remains of scorched scrubland, the blackened stumps of withered trees. Go to article
How many dimensions in the holographic universe?
(ScienceDaily): Viennese scientists are trying to understand the mysteries of the holographic principle: How many dimensions are there in our universe? Some of the world’s brightest minds are carrying out research in this area — and still have not succeeded so far in creating a unified theory of quantum gravitation is often considered to be the “Holy Grail” of modern science. Daniel Grumiller from the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Vienna University of Technology, can now at least unravel some of the mysteries of quantum gravitation. Go to article
UK government suppressed evidence of torture
(The Telegraph): The Government suppressed evidence on the torture of terror suspect Binyam Mohamed because the documents reveal that MI6 helped his interrogators. Material in a CIA dossier on Mr Mohamed that was blacked out by High Court judges contained details of how British intelligence officers supplied information to his captors and contributed questions while he was brutally tortured, The Sunday Telegraph has learned. Go to article
Saudi princess ready to drive
(The Daily Mail): The wife of one of Saudi Arabia’s richest men says she is ready to get behind the wheel as soon as the ban on women drivers is lifted. Princess Amira al-Taweel, who is married to global tycoon Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, told the Saudi daily Al-Watan that she already drives when she travels abroad. ‘Certainly I’m ready to drive a car,’ said Amira, whose husband is a nephew of Saudi King Abdallah and is ranked as the world’s 13th-richest person by Forbes magazine. Go to article
Flying coach part of growing bigwig trend
(Huffington Post): It all started with the Big Three Detroit automakers, when they took corporate jets to Washington to plead for a taxpayer bailout. But now, as profits plummet and cutting costs becomes paramount, shunning conspicuous consumption has become de rigeur. And coach class is the perfect way to show this one’s lack of hubris: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who flew coach this week, has company in new Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, who recently flew economy to Washington D.C. Go to article