A handout photo taken by Japanese researchers of Aquamarine Fukushima aquarium in October shows a juvenile coelacanth. Japanese marine researchers have said they found and successfully filmed a young coelacanth -- a rare type of fish known as "a living fossil" -- in deep water off Indonesia.
http://m.www.yahoo.com
Μια μεγάλη στιγμή στη μακρά ιστορία της έζησε και πάλι σήμερα η ομογένεια της Κωνσταντινούπολης που συγκεντρώθηκε στον ιστορικό ναό της Παναγίας του Πέρα για να γιορτάσει την αποκατάσταση του ναού από το πλήγματα που του επεφύλασσε η ιστορία.
Η Παναγία του Πέρα, ο πρώτος μεγαλοπρεπής ορθόδοξος χριστιανικός ναός που χτίζει η ελληνική κοινότητα μόλις αρχίζει ο εκσυγχρονισμός της Οθωμανικής αυτοκρατορίας, στα τέλη του 18ου αιώνα, έπεσε θύμα το 2003 της βομβιστικής επίθεσης εναντίον του βρετανικού Γενικού Προξενείου στην Κωνσταντινούπολη, που βρίσκεται δίπλα ακριβώς από το ναό, στην καρδιά του ιστορικού Πέρα.
Ο Οικουμενικός Πατριάρχης κ. Βαρθολομαίος που προΐστατο στη λειτουργία και στις τελετές, είδε με την αποκατάσταση και της Παναγίας του Πέρα να συμπληρώνεται ένα έργο που ο ίδιος ενέπνευσε : Την ανακαίνιση όλων των ναών της Πόλης.
Η ιστορία, αλλά και ο καλλιτεχνικός πλούτος που συγκεντρώνεται στην Παναγία του Πέρα, τον ενοριακό ναό της κοινωνικής ηγεσίας του νεότερου -μετά τον 18ο αιώνα ελληνισμού της Πόλης- δίνουν ιδιαίτερη σημασία και στο έργο της ανακαίνισης αλλά και στον σημερινό εορτασμό.
Η υποδειγματική ανακαίνιση έγινε υπό την επίβλεψη καθηγητών από το Εθνικό Μετσοβιο Πολυτεχνείο και το Πολυτεχνείο της Κωνσταντινούπολης, με τη βοήθεια Ελλήνων, Ιταλών αλλά και Τούρκων εμπειρογνωμόνων και με τη βοήθεια τεχνιτών που κρατούν ακόμα και σήμερα ζωντανές τις τεχνικές περασμένων αιώνων από χώρες της βαλκανικής και της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου και του Εύξεινου Πόντου.
Τεχνίτες του ξύλου τεχνίτες του χρυσού, ζωγράφοι και αγιογράφοι, τεχνίτες του γυαλιού, του φίλντισι, συνεργάστηκαν υποδειγματικά για να ξαναδώσουν στον ιστορικό ναό της Παναγίας τη λάμψη που είχε όταν χτίστηκε.
ΠΟΥ ΔΕΙΧΝΟΥΝ ΟΤΙ ΙΣΩΣ ΝΑ ΤΑ ΠΑΡΑΛΕΝΕ
Χάκερς χτύπησαν ένα απο τα πιο γνωστά κέντρα ερευνών για τη κλιματική αλλαγή και έφεραν στο φως mails που αντάλλασσαν Βρετανοί και Αμερικανοί επιστήμονες τα τελευταία 10 χρόνια. πολλοί λένε οτι μέσα απο τα mail αυτά φαίνεται οτι οι επιστήμονες τόσα χρόνια προσπαθούσαν να αλλάξουν τα δεδομένα και έβγαζαν προς τα έξω πως επίτηδες δινόταν η εντύπωση οτι ο άνθρωπος φταίει για την κλιματική αλλαγή. Το κέντρο απαντά οτι έχουν κλαπεί χιλιάδες emails και όσα βγαίνουν στη φόρα ειναι ένα μέρος μόνο αυτών με σκοπό να δημιουργηθούν εντυπώσεις
http://troktiko.blogspot.com
Μια σοβαρή καταγγελία που αφορά μια πολύ ευαίσθητη για τα εθνικά συμφέροντα περιοχή, φέρνει σήμερα στη δημοσιότητα η Ηλεκτρονική Αυτοδιοίκηση.
Σύμφωνα με επίσημη καταγγελια του πρώην δημάρχου Καλύμνου κ. Δημήτρη Διακομιχάλη, το νησί της Ψερίμου πολιορκείται από καταπατητές οι οποίοι ήδη έχουν συντάξει ψεύτικα συμβόλαια, ενώ οι αγοραπωλησίες γίνονται ακόμα και μέσω ίντερνέτ...
Συγκεκριμένα σε επιστολή του προς τον δήμαρχο Καλύμνου κ. Γεώργιο Ρούσσο, ο κ. Διακομιχάλης τονίζει: « Επειδή κυκλοφορούν για την Ψέρημο διάφορες φήμες και μάλιστα γίνονται πωλήσεις ολόκληρων περιοχών μέσω διαδικτύου και ταυτόχρονα συνεχίζονται οι καταπατήσεις για τις οποίες έγιναν και συμβόλαια, παρακαλώ να φέρετε το θέμα προς συζήτηση στο Δημοτικό Συμβούλιο, γιατί όπως καταλαβαίνετε τα πράγματα εάν δεν τα προλάβουμε θα βρεθούμε μπροστά σε μεγάλες εκπλήξεις».
Πρέπει να τονιστεί ότι ο δήμαρχος Καλύμνου κ. Ρούσσος αναγνωρίζει το πρόβλημα και συγκαλεί έκτακτο δημοτικό συμβούλιο τη προσεχή Τρίτη προκειμένου να βρεθεί λύση.
http://www.e-aftodioikisi.gr/
By Rob Stein Saturday, November 21, 2009
http://www.washingtonpost.com
The level of swine flu activity in the United States appears to be declining, although officials are worried about another increase of cases during the Thanksgiving holiday when many people travel and families gather.
The number of states reporting widespread activity of the H1N1 virus dropped to 43 from 46 in the past week, and activity fell in all 10 regions of the country, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But flu cases are still rising in some states, including Maine and Hawaii, and it is too soon to know whether activity will surge again, said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC's Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
"Influenza is unpredictable, and it is so early in the year to have this much disease. We don't know if these declines will persist, what the slope will be, whether we'll have a long decline or it will start to go up again," she said Friday.
The news came as scientists in Norway announced that they had detected a mutated form of the swine flu virus in two patients who died of the flu and in a third who was severely ill. It is the most recent report of mutations in the virus that is being watched closely for any change that could make it more dangerous.
In a statement, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said the mutation "could possibly make the virus more prone to infect deeper in the airways and thus cause more severe disease," such as pneumonia.
The institute said that there was no indication that the mutation would hinder the ability of the vaccine to protect people from becoming infected or impair the effectiveness of antiviral drugs in treating people who became infected.
Scientists have been analyzing the H1N1 virus from "a number of patients as part of the surveillance of the pandemic flu virus" and have detected several mutations, the statement said. While the existence of mutations is normal, and most "will probably have little or no importance . . . one mutation has caught special interest."
The two patients who had the mutation and died were the first swine flu fatalities in Norway. The third patient found to have the mutated form of the virus also became severely ill.
"Based on what we know so far, it seems that the mutated virus does not circulate in the population, but might be a result of spontaneous changes which have occurred in these three patients," the statement said.
Schuchat said the mutation is no reason for alarm.
"I don't think it has the public health implications that we would wonder about," she said, noting that some patients have gotten severely ill, including developing pneumonia, after being infected with strains of the virus without the mutation.
The World Health Organization said viruses with a similar mutation had been detected in several other countries, including Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Ukraine and the United States. "No links between the small number of patients infected with the mutated virus have been found and the mutation does not appear to spread," the WHO said in a statement.
"Influenza is a mutable virus, and changes are to be expected," said Arnold S. Monto of the University of Michigan in an e-mail. "This is typical early in the spread of a pandemic virus."
Scientists around the world have been tracking the virus carefully for any signs that it had mutated into a more dangerous form. While a variety of mutations have been detected, most have not appeared to have affected the virus in any significant way. There have been some mutations that make the virus more resistant to antiviral drugs, experts said. But like the mutation that may cause more severe illness, those too seem self-contained.
The CDC is investigating a cluster of four cases of patients at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., who were found to be infected with H1N1 virus that was resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
William Schaffner, a medical professor at Vanderbilt University, said mutations that make episodes of swine flu more severe are most dangerous only if they are "easily transmissible."
"That would make it a more severe disease. Apparently this has that capacity. But in order for it to become really quote dangerous to the population it also has to be easily transmissible," he said. "That's a different characteristic. And apparently that does not appear to have happened to this virus. It does not seem to be spreading in the general population."
Detection of the mutation should be reassuring, Schaffner said, because it shows the intensity of the global effort to monitor the virus. "The virologists are keeping an eye on H1N1 and this is evidence of that," he said.This summer's "Land of the Lost" was one of those epic Hollywood disasters that makes outsiders question why anyone is in the movie business. The concept seemed like a good idea: pair funnyman Will Ferrell with a cult kids show from the '70s and hilarity is bound to ensue.
Or not. The film ended up costing an estimated $100 million and earned only $65 million at the worldwide box office. Universal studio heads Marc Shmuger and David Linde were subsequently fired. (For more on the movie's origins, see: "A Sleestak Comeback.")
"Land of the Lost"'s dismal box office helped land star Will Ferrell at the top of our annual list of Hollywood's Most Overpaid Stars. Ferrell is no longer the sure bet he seemed after hits like "Elf" ($220 million worldwide box office) and "Talladega Nights" ($162 million box office). Ferrell's 2008 film "Semi-Pro" earned only $43 million. "Step Brothers" did better with $128 million, but it wasn't enough to help Ferrell -- mainly because the star commands a high salary in comedies where he plays his trademark man-child role.
For every dollar Ferrell was paid, his films earned an average $3.29. Compare that to Shia LaBeouf, who topped our list of Best Actors for the Buck in August. For every dollar LaBeouf was paid, his films earned an average $160.
Second-worst? Ewan McGregor. The Scottish actor, best known for his work in films like "Trainspotting" and "Star Wars" (where he played a young Obi-Wan Kenobi), doesn't earn as much as some of the higher-profile actors on our list. But his recent movies have performed poorly, making him a terrible investment for producers. For every dollar McGregor was paid, his films earned an average $3.75.
To create our list, we looked at the 100 biggest stars in Hollywood. To qualify, each actor had to have starred over the last five years in at least three movies that opened in more than 500 theaters. (In McGregor's case, we didn't include the 2008 Woody Allen movie "Cassandra's Dream," because it played in only 107 theaters.)
We didn't include animated films, because the actors aren't really the draw -- and they tend to take pay cuts for voice work.
We calculated each star's estimated earnings on each film, including up-front pay and any earnings from the film's box office receipts, DVD and TV sales. We then looked at each movie's estimated budget (not including marketing costs, which are susceptible to accounting chicanery) and box office, DVD and television earnings to figure out an operating income for each film.
We added up each star's compensation on his or her last three films and the operating income on those films and divided total operating income by the star's total compensation to come up with each return-on-investment number.
Besides Will Ferrell, other big names on our list include Eddie Murphy and Tom Cruise. Murphy (who ranks fourth) has commanded one of the highest quotes in Hollywood for his work in family comedies, thanks to the performance of movies like "The Nutty Professor," which grossed $274 million at the worldwide box office.
But lately his return on investment has fallen off a cliff. Last year's "Meet Dave" was a box office disaster, earning only $50 million worldwide. This year's "Imagine That" did even worse, bringing in $18 million. Murphy escaped being named the most overpaid star thanks to 2007's "Norbit," which earned $160 million. For every dollar Murphy was paid, his films earned an average $4.43.
Cruise ranks sixth with a return on investment of $7.18. The star has worked out unusual deals on past films where he takes nothing up front in return for a large chunk of first-dollar gross -- that means on stinkers like "Lions For Lambs," Cruise earned even if the studio (in this case, his studio, United Artists) didn't recoup its money. These are just the kinds of deals studios are trying to avoid.
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/forbes-most-overpaid-stars.html
http://www.tovima.gr/
