Archive for January 28th, 2009
EU commissioner hits out at Hamas on Gaza tour
Straight from Google News: “JABALIA, Gaza Strip (AFP) — A senior EU official touring Gaza on Monday blasted the “abominable” destruction in the enclave and said its “terrorist” Hamas rulers bear overwhelming responsibility for the war.
“It is abominable, indescribable,” Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, told reporters in Gaza after touring some of the areas worst hit in Israel’s deadly 22-day assault on the territory.
“At this time we have to also recall the overwhelming responsibility of Hamas,” he said. “I intentionally say this here — Hamas is a terrorist movement and it has to be denounced as such.
“In order for the EU to relaunch a political dialogue with a minimal chance of succeeding and a chance of moving forward towards peace, Hamas must accept the two little conditions that were put to it — one, the right of Israel to exist and two that it abandon the armed struggle, the terrorist dimension of its approach.”
Michel, also known for his harsh criticism of Israel, ruled out any dialogue with Hamas, sworn to the destruction of the Jewish state and which the European Union considers a terrorist organisation.
“One cannot hold discussions with a terrorist movement which uses terrorism as a means,” he said.
“We cannot accept that the manner in which Hamas behaves be confused with resistance. When one kills innocent civilians, it is not resistance, it is terrorism,” he told journalists in Gaza City.
Blasting the scale of destruction in Gaza, Michel said the European Union, the main donor to the Palestinians, was sick of paying for the same infrastructure that is destroyed over and over again.”
Weird Science: Ice Forming From a 5,000-Degree Fahrenheit Rocket Flame
Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine
Straight from Gizmodo: “This is one of the coolest demonstrations ever: NASA’s new Common Extensible Cryogenic Engine for the lunar lander gets icicles on its rim while burning at 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. How is this feat possible?
The CECE—developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and NASA—is fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. All the engine components are super-cooled, so when vapor comes out of the burning of the oxygen and the hydrogen and touches the rim of the cryogenic engine, it transforms into ice instantly.
The engine architecture allows it to smoothly throttle from top power levels—it was tested up to 108 percent—down to very-low power: 8 percent, which apparently is a new record in these kind of engines. Its performance allows it to smoothly land on the Moon while carrying a bigger load.”
Dell Mini 9 Has a More Pro Screen Than MacBook Pro
Display Comparison
Straight from Gizmodo: “Rob Galbraith checks out the screens on the three hottest notebooks in their respective classes from a pro photographer’s standpoint—new MacBook Pro, Dell Mini 9 and Lenovo W700—and how they stack up will surprise you
His reference monitor is a Eizo ColorEdge CE240W and he throws a Lenovo ThinkPad T60 into the mix for good measure, since its in-plane switching LCD panel produces good color reproduction and even screen brightness.
That Lenovo’s ThinkPad W700—which is geared toward pro photographers and has a built-in Pantone calibrator—tops the list for color accuracy and “could just about replace a desktop display” for pro work is probably not so shocking. What is crazy, however, is that the Dell Inspiron Mini 9—a $300 netbook—has display with better “overall hue accuracy” than the $1999 MacBook Pro, which is “one or two steps below a good desktop display.” BTW, Rob loves the Mini 9 so much he calls it “a workflow-altering experience.”"
