Mission to Measure the Saltiness of the Sea From Space

             A joint three-year project between NASA and CONAE, Argentina’s space agency, is working on measuring the saltiness of the sea from outer space. Brazil, Canada, France, and Italy are also participating in the project. A spacecraft built by Argentina and carrying instruments from the United States and other countries is set to be launched on Thursday from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

             NASA’s Aquarius, a sensitive instrument that detects even the slightest changes in salt concentration of the sea, is to map changes weekly from 408 miles above the Earth’s surface. Other than salt concentration, satellites orbiting the Earth are providing updates on sea surface temperatures, sea level changes, and ocean winds. Previous to this project, ships and buoys have been making inaccurate measureemnts of salt concentration in limited sea area.

             Although the overall saltiness of the world’s oceans is constant, the salt concentration in the top layer of the sea varies throughout the Earth. Understanding the saltiness of the sea surface will help scientists predict future climate change and short-term climate phenomena.

             This project is not the first mission set out to measure the sea’s saltiness. A European satellite has been collecting data on ocean salt and soil moisture since 2009. The new project uses different technology to measure salt concentration. Aquarius is a $287 million dollar instrument that can measure microwave energy emitted by the ocean to help scientists determine the saltiness. The two missions will be collaborating when the Argentina-built spacecraft enters orbit. Results from the two missions will be compared to obtain the most accurate data.

             SOURCES

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/06/06/nasa-to-measure-saltiness-sea-from-space/

Protestors Shot at a Palestinian Camp in Syria

             WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, reported on Tuesday that 14 people were shot during a protest at Yarmouk refugee camp, a Palestinian refugee camp near the city of Damascus in Syria, on Monday. Fighters from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command had a dispute with mourners at Sunday’s funerals for Palestinian protestors who were killed at the border between Syria and the Golan Heights. Golan Heights spans over the border of Syria and Israel and is currently being controlled by the United Nations peace keeping forces.

             The Monday shootings occurred after the mourners accused the organization of sacrificing the lives of Palestinians by encouraging people to protest at the Golan Heights. The protest was between those who support the government of Syria and those who oppose it and instead seek to expand democratic rights. The mourners had begun their march after the burial of the seven people killed during the border protest. 25 year old Mohamed Rashdan, a shoekeeper at a store near the site of protest, said the protestors began to throw stones at the organization headquarters. The security men of the building responded violently by shooting at the crowd of young protestors.

“They were all Palestinians – no Syrian security men shot at us,” Mr. Rashdan said. “That made us so angry.” Yarmouk refugee camp residents accused the organization of organizing the border protest “to help Syria run away from its local crisis.” According to Mr. Rashdan, that was why Syrians were so angry at the killing of their “brothers and sons.”

Israel and the United States presumed that the Syrian government organized, or at least refused to try to prevent, the border protest in order to turn away attention from its violent response to the antigovernment uprising in Syria. However, according to Washington State Department spokesman Mark Toner, “It’s clear that such behavior will not distract international attention from the Syrian governments’ condemnable behavior on its own citizens.” Syrian antigovernment protests were influenced by similar protests in countries around Syria, including Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

             SOURCES

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/world/middleeast/08damascus.html?scp=3&sq=middle%20east%20protest&st=cse

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Golan+Heights+Law.htm

A Republican’s Solution to Global Warming

             Representative Dana Rohrabacher, Republican of California, declared on May 25^th during a Congressional that cutting down on the world’s rain forests would eliminate green house gases responsible for Global Warming. Mr. Rohrabacher questioned Todd Stern, the Obama administration’s climate change representative, whether the America should focus on reducing the carbon dioxide emitted by decaying plant matter, which accounts for 80% of carbon dioxide emissions.

             The globe is going through rapid climate change as carbon dioxide emission increases. Carbon dioxide encircles the ozone layer, preventing sunlight that had entered the earth’s atmosphere and reflected off the earth’s surface from leaving the atmosphere. The decay of plant matter in the natural world accounts for a major part of carbon dioxide emissions. However, plants absorb a third of the carbon dioxide released by the human respiratory system and human activity.

             Mr. Rohrabacher asked Mr. Stern, “Is there some thought being given to subsidizing the clearing of rain forests in order for some countries to eliminate that production of greenhouse gases? Or would people be supportive of cutting down older trees in order to plant younger trees as a means to prevent this disaster from happening?”

His questions stunned forestry experts. Oliver Phillips, a professor of geography at the University of Leeds in Britain and an expert on terrestrial carbon storage, said, “He’s seriously confused. He’s just got half of the equation. Natural things decay, of course, but they also grow.” Plants absorb more carbon dioxide than they emit. Dr. Phillips added that Mr. Rohrabacher’s idea that cutting down trees in the rain forest would solve the problem of climate change is “crazy.”

Mr. Rohrabacher was also mistaken in the sense that he thinks carbon dioxide is emitted from decayed biomass from above the ground. Soil is the actual source of 75% of the carbon dioxide emitted from the natural world.

             SOURCE

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/republicans-climate-solution-clearcut-the-rain-forest/?scp=5&sq=global%20warming&st=cse

Chanos Predicts a Crash in China’s Economy

             Jim Chanos, an American hedge fund manager, is predicting the crash of China’s currently prosperous economy. He said that a recent visit to China by his investment team found signs of weakening, principally in real estate.

While China is being looked on as a “key driver” of global economic growth, Chanos states that the country may even surge into a depression. “The cracks are spreading in the facade,” he said.

For the last few months, China’s real estate market has been booming because investment options are limited in China, and many people buy property to preserve the value of money. Wealthy Chinese people are buying more than one property. Others are selling old property to buy new ones. The boom in the Chinese housing market has been boosting China’s economy. In 2010, residential property investments accounted for 6.1% of China’s GDP. Here, Chanos was able to predict the crash of China’s economy. Housing accounted for a large percentage of the United States’ GDP before the bubble burst in 2008. The recent visit to China by Chanos’ investment team already found signs of decrease in house sales.
The global economy crash of 2008 was triggered in the United States. It began with a boom in the housing market, and as real estate prices shot up, less and less people were able to afford houses. This resulted with the burst of the housing bubble and a deflation in stocks. The simultaneous withdrawal of investments from stock markets lead to the disastrous stock market crash. 

             Inflation has also been a big problem in China. People have been questioning the speed at which the Chinese government is slowing down inflation. Chanos said, “A lot of people are willing to say China will slow down. The really scary thing is if you do the numbers and they cut back on construction, it’s not a slowdown, and they go negative real fast.” Chanos expressed his belief that an excessively rapid slow down may cause a reverse in the economy. "The fact of the matter is if they hit the brakes really hard, the economy goes into reverse. It doesn't slow. Nobody will say that publicly because it's unbelievable. But it happens to be the way the numbers work." 


             SOURCES

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43074584/China_Economic_Facade_Starts_to_Show_Cracks_Chanos

http://www.gurufocus.com/news/129410/jim-chanos-was-right-the-housing-market-in-china-is-crashing

Remains of the 9/11 Victims

             A group of families of victims of the September 11, 2001 attack is demanding that the Bloomberg administration help them poll other family members or other related people of the victims about where unidentified remains of the dead should be kept. Currently, the human remains are being kept with the medical examiner of the remains.

             The plan of the city and the administration of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum is to put the remains in a room below the museum. Museum visitors would know the location of the remains which would be marked by a sign but not be able to see them. The families strongly disapproved of this plan saying that placing them below ground level would not be honorable and respectful. David Hurst Thomas, a curator at the American Museum of Natural History, and Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh, an expert on the repatriation of American Indian remains at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, support the families’ effort to keep the remains separate from the museum.

On the night of June 1, 2011, ten families sent letters to City Hall asking for a list of names and addresses of the other families of more than 2,700 people who were killed in the World Trade Center attack, caused by Al Qaeda. The information would be used to send letters of inquiry on what they wanted done with the unidentified remains. This request was turned down by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for the confidentiality of their personal information. He said, “Many family members would rightly be outraged if the city made their personal information, including home addresses, public, and of course that is not something we will do.”

             Michael Frazier, a spokesman for the museum, publicized a five-page summary of communications between memorial planners and the families of the 9/11 victims, which started in July, 2002 and ended in June, 2006.

             SOURCES

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/02/poll-of-911-families-is-sought-over-unidentified-remains/?scp=3&sq=september%2011&st=cse

Charges Against 9/11 Defendants

             The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that military prosecutors have charged four defendants of the September 11 attacks along with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who described himself as the mastermind of 9/11. The five men will be going through a trial process at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The charge claims that the men were responsible in helping plan the 9/11 attacks.

             In September 11, 2001, four United States airplanes were hijacked and crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and into a field in Pennsylvania, killing nearly 3,000 people. The Al Qaeda, a major terrorist group of Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the terror. Their three claimed motives were the US troops protesting in Arabia, US’s support for Israel, and US’s sanctions against Iraq, which restricted trade and interactions. Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, has already been executed by a United States Special Forces military unit. Prosecutors recommended that the trial be a capital case, which may bring death penalties upon the five men.

             The four co-conspirators of 9/11 are Walid Muhammed Salih bin Attash, Ramzi bin al- Shibh, Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi. Walid Muhammed Salih bin Attash was accused of studying planes and training hijackers; Ramzi bin al- Shibh was accused of helping find flight schools for the hijackers; Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali was accused of helping nine hijackers get to the United States and paying for their flight expenses and training; Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi was accused of providing hijackers with money, Western clothing, traveler’s checks, and credit cards. All five men were charge with conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian property, causing serious physical injuries intentionally, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking aircraft, and terrorism.

             The five defendants of 9/11 have previously been charged for their connections to the horrific event, but these charges were dropped in 2009 because the Obama administration decided to pass on the trial to a military commission. Captain John Murphy, prosecutor in the office of military commissions, recommended holding a joint trial for all five men at Guantanamo.

             SOURCES

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/us/01gitmo.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=september%2011&st=cse

NASA Gives Up on Spirit

             One of NASA’s two robotic Mars rovers, Spirit, is dead. On May 17^th of this year, NASA announced that it would give up on trying to get back in touch with Spirit. It has been stuck in a sand trap for two years and fell silent last winter. The managers of Spirit decided that it was not worth the time and money to continue the mission with it. The last set of commands was sent to Spirit on May 25^th.

             Space expeditions in the United States began during a cold war against Russia. Ever since, the U.S. has been launching many satellites, humans, and robots into space primarily as part of an arms race. Technology has improved so much as to send robotic rovers out to space to explore the outside world.

             The Spirit was one of two rovers of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Mission, which is still ongoing as a single-rover operation focused on Spirit’s twin, Opportunity. Spirit’s mission began successfully on January 4, 2004 and lasted twenty times longer than its originally planned 90-sol mission. A sol is the term used to refer to the duration of a solar day on Mars, which is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds long. As winter came, Spirit’s solar panels began to lose the ability to generate enough electricity. Engineers hoped to hear from Spirit when spring returned, but March 22, 2010 was when they had their last communication with the rover.

             Just three weeks after landing, Spirit had a computer memory glitch. In 2006, its right front wheel failed. A second wheel failed only three years after the front wheel. As of the failures of the two wheels, Spirit moved backwards, dragging its broken wheels through the soil of Mars. This malfunction actually revealed information from below the soil surface that would not have been revealed if the wheels did not uncover them. One of the discoveries was a material called amorphous silica, which is believed to have formed in an ancient hydrothermal system.

             Spirit and Opportunity made important discoveries on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Both helped scientists learn that Mars, which is now a cold and dry planet, once carried abundant amounts of water at its surface.

             Last year, NASA announced that Spirit would continue to help scientists by observing the atmosphere and rotation of Mars as a stationary science station. Opportunity is continuing operations by driving to a crater called Endeavour, where minerals left behind from clay could provide hints about the history of Mars to scientists.

             SOURCES

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/science/space/25rover.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=nasa&st=cse

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20110525a.html

North Korean Leader Marvels at China’s Prosperity

             Kim Jong Il, the ailing leader of North Korea, started his six-day tour of China on May 20^th, it being his third visit to China since May 2010. North Korea is currently facing a severe food shortage and Kim Jong Il is looking for help. He is also requesting the support of Beijing for his youngest son and heir, Kim Jong Un.

The Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China informed President Lee Myung Bak of South Korea that Mr. Kim was visiting China to study its model of economic development during a summit meeting in Japan. China's economy has been prospering ever since Deng Xiaoping's 2 stages of reform. The first step lasted from 1978 to 1984, where Deng decollectivized agriculture, opened China to foreign investors, and mandated the start of private businesses. In the second stage of reform, which lasted from 1984 to 1993, Deng privatized state-owned industries and lifted price controls.
             After discussing the economy of North Korea with Chinese officials, Kim Jong Il plans to transform North Korea’s command economy more toward market reforms, although it is unclear as to how sincere he is about launching the changes. Mr. Kim has not been putting changes in place even after his past frequent trips to China. Some analysts believe that Kim Jong Il’s trips to China were primarily an attempt to obtain cheap, reliable supplies of food and energy and diplomatic protection from the United States, Japan, and South Korea. These three countries have been trying to prevent North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Xinhua, the state news agency of China, reported Mr. Kim’s reaction when he saw the economic prosperity of China, saying, “He said the Chinese people are now engaged in economic and social development and he marveled at the amazing changes he saw during the visit.” According to the same news agency, President Hu Jintao of China praised Kim Jong Il for giving “top priority to improving people’s lives.”

Kim Jong Il’s visit to China demonstrated the strong alliance between China and North Korea. Mr. Kim declared that North Korea will become a “strong and prosperous” country by 2012. Although this goal will be hard to reach under current conditions, it shows that North Korea is willing to make changes in the nation.

SOURCES

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/world/asia/27korea.html?scp=7&sq=china%20economy&st=cse

Global Warming Reduces Expected Yields of Crops

             Recent studies have found that global warming is cutting into yields in harvest in some countries. This may be a factor in the recent worldwide food inflation.

             Over the years from 1980 to 2008, the period covered by the study, temperatures increased rapidly in many of the world’s agricultural regions. The United States, however, was an exception for reasons unknown by scientists. Plants are sensitive to high temperatures, especially when temperatures are high during flowering season, which is the case now. On the other hand, the extra carbon dioxide emitted into the air by humans is acting as a fertilizer for plants. Unfortunately, this offset for the negative consequence of climate change is not great enough to completely counterbalance the losses, but is great enough to reduce the impact of global warming on agriculture. The extra carbon dioxide in the air is what creates climate change through what is called the Greenhouse Effect. Carbon dioxide molecules surround the ozone layer and prevents heat from escaping the atmosphere. 

             Recently, wheat yields in Russia decreased by more than ten percent and by a few percent in India, France, and China compared to what would have been if temperatures did not rise. Most calories consumed by humans are on an account of wheat, rice, corn, and soybeans, either directly or indirectly through animals that are raised on grains. Because of the high demand for these grains, the losses from climate change caused a price increase of about six percent in the four goods.
             David Lobell and Justin Costa-Roberts of Stanford University, and Wolfram Schlenker of Columbia University, the authors of the study, mentioned that temperatures will be rising even more rapidly in the coming years, leading to a sharper inflation in food prices. It has been calculated that the climate change will cost consumers, food companies, and livestock producers about $6 billion per year if current grain prices are kept constant. "We aren't talking about the sky falling," Dr. Lobell said. "But we are talking about billions of dollars of losses. Every little bit of production is valuable when we're trying to feed the world." 

             SOURCES

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/science/earth/06warming.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=global%20warming&st=cse

The Absence of the Muslim Brotherhood at a Protest in Cairo

On Friday the 27^th of May, 2011, tens of thousands of mostly liberal protestors carried out another revolution in Tahrir Square in Cairo. Egyptians from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds have been protesting for the overthrow of the regime of President Hosni Mubarak beginning on January 25, 2011. Protests were focused on legal, political, and economic issues including police brutality, state of emergency laws, lack of free elections and freedom of speech, uncontrollable corruption, high unemployment, food price inflation, and low minimum wages. President Hosni Mubarak resigned on February 11, 2011 and the military’s supreme council was decided to run the country.
             The liberals, those who believe in the importance of liberty and equal rights, pressed for a set of demands in a demonstration billed as “The Revolution Part II” on the military council. This time, the protestors demanded for an end to the practice of sending civilians to military trials, the expediting of legal action against Mubarak and his associates, and for the start of governing with some civilian presidential council.

Some liberal groups are also calling for already planned parliamentary elections to be delayed so that they will have more time to prepare. The new parliament that is set to be elected on September will be selecting a committee to write a new constitution for the country. However, the liberals are demanding for the formation of a new constitution before the election. “We can’t go to elections without having a constitution first,” a 29-year-old accountant named Ezz Eldin Hamid said. “You put the plan first then go to the game, not the other way around.” The Brotherhood, on the other hand, which is confident that they will win a big part of the parliament, wants elections to take place at set time.

Friday’s assembly of protestors was significant for it displayed the liberal group’s strength to launch their own movement against Egyptian politics. It was the first time since Egypt’s first protest in January 25, 2011 that the Muslim Brotherhood did not support a major street protest. The Muslim Brotherhood is Egypt’s largest political opposition group. The Brotherhood opposed Friday’s protest because they believed it to be “an attempt to drive a wedge between the military and the people.” The results of the protest are yet to be announced.

SOURCES

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Mubarak.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/world/middleeast/28egypt.html?scp=2&sq=egypt%20protest&st=cse

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/egypt-protests-tahrir-square_n_868002.html