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Started by scarface, February 01, 2015, 05:10 PM

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Shadow.97

Im currently in Czech Repulic(Prague) Any pictures anyone wants?
WiFi in hotel is at 20mbit downspeed, 10mbit up, 18 MS responcetime.
My overall experience so far is that this is basically a town without enforced laws.
Grafitti, alcohol sales etc on the street. People are active in the evening compared to at home though!
Its way too hot for me to enjoy during the days though..

Vasudev

Quote from: Shadow.97 on August 03, 2015, 11:17 PM
Im currently in Czech Repulic(Prague) Any pictures anyone wants?
WiFi in hotel is at 20mbit downspeed, 10mbit up, 18 MS responcetime.
My overall experience so far is that this is basically a town without enforced laws.
Grafitti, alcohol sales etc on the street. People are active in the evening compared to at home though!
Its way too hot for me to enjoy during the days though..
Are you taking a break???

scarface

#72
To shadow97: I've been to Prague too in 2002, where I've seen the St Vitus Cathedral and Charles bridge. If you have photos, put them on the forum.


Today, we have seen that Obama unveiled the final version of his Clean Power Plan, a set of Environmental Protection Agency regulations that, if implemented, would represent the strongest action ever taken by the United States to combat climate change.

The plan is divided into three components. One is an E.P.A. regulation that would require a 32 percent overall reduction in greenhouse gas emitted by existing power plants from 2005 levels by 2030. The rule will probably lead to the closing of hundreds of coal-fired power plants.

The second regulation would require power plants built in the future to produce about half the rate of the pollution now produced by current power plants. That rule would effectively ensure that no new coal plants are built in the United States. The plan then assigns every state a target for reducing its emissions and requires them to come up with a draft plan for how to do it by 2016 and a final plan by 2018.

But the plan is contentious, because in this case, the agency has given states the flexibility to do whatever they want to reduce pollution, and the result could radically transform the way the United States gets its energy.
There are opponents too, since attorneys general from states that oppose the plan are coming together in a lawsuit to argue that it represents too broad an interpretation of the Clean Air Act. Their legal challenge is expected to reach the Supreme Court around 2017, which will then have to decide whether to uphold the plan or strike it down.



In the meantime, there are deadly floods in Burma which could be linked with global warming, and the toll is likely to increase, as monsoon rains lash region.

At least 27 people have been killed and more than 150,000 affected by flooding in Burma in recent days with the government declaring the four worst-hit areas in the centre and west of the country as “national disaster-affected regions”.

Scores have also perished in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam following floods and landslides triggered by heavy seasonal rains.

Flooding in Kalay in Burma, which has been declared a disaster zone

humbert

I think that when it comes to animals killing humans, the only ones that come close and might at times surpass the mosquito is other humans.

@Scarface: I know you visited Florida, so let me ask - did you visit Everglades National Park? In the Everglades it's normal to see a cloud of mosquitos headed toward you. Obviously there are many more during the rainy season. Forget about mosquito repellent, they laugh at it. Fortunately these mosquitoes don't carry deadly diseases. If they did then living in Miami would be almost impossible unless the Everglades were drained out.

scarface

#74
No, I didn't visit the Everglades.
A few photos taken 10 years ago in Naples, during winter.









scarface

#75
Tonight, there is a conference about the Easter Island. It's an opportunity for those who don't know it to see some beautiful photos of this island.


Erected near the tiny fishing shelter Hanga Roa with colorful boats, the Moais turn their backs to the sea. Easter Island's stone watchers seem to look inquisitively at visitors who come to admire them at sunset. But further, from the top of the quarry where they were carved, the venerable and solemn statues seem to scrutinize the horizon and ponder the future of the Pacific and the world's oceans.





Perhaps the petrified spirit of the ancestors is actually watching over this tender green triangle of 163 square kilometers, which is fragile and in isolation from the world. Nearly 3 800 km separate it from the coast of Chile to the east; 4200 km from Tahiti to the west. A daily flight serves Santiago, a weekly flight links Papeete. That's all. As suspended in the marine immensity, Easter Island does not oppose any resistance to wind: neither high cliffs nor walls of trees, nor port, nor scattered constructions. Just the moor which stretches out in the distance up to the blunt summits of volcanoes.

The houses are almost all grouped in Hanga Roa: until 1966, the island, attached to the State of Chile since 1888, was used solely for sheep herding; the people were living in the town. Almost all the 7000 inhabitants still live there. A sign tells them the direction to follow in case of tsunami. The last earthquake to date, that of 16 September, has just caused a few jitters on the Island, while it killed 13 in Chile. But other giant waves in 1960 had knocked over fifteen aligned Tongariki Moais. These colossi of 40-90 tonnes were re-erected in 1992 thanks to generous patrons.

At dawn, on the boats, the fishermen drop their lines into the water weighted with a stone, which can dive up to 80 meters deep. This morning Simon Pakarati holds it with the fingertip like his ancestors and catches two flying fishes. The catch is disappointing. Until recently, one could catch five or six yellow-fin tuna in a long day of work. It is not the case anymore. Swordfish, barracuda, hammerhead sharks and Galapagos sharks, but also turtles and humpback whales ... large carnivores and migratory fishes which were in the area are becoming increasingly rare.

Chinese Trumpet-fish, a species living in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.



Around Easter Island, the seabed, particularly corals, are healthy.



According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 90 million tonnes of fish and invertebrate in the world are extracted from the water each year by industrial fleets, also killing seals, turtles, birds...
The waters of this remote and isolated land are plundered by Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Russian industrial vessels. To preserve their culture and artisanal fishing, the Easter Islanders demand the creation of a huge marine reserve where we can get no fish, shellfish, or any other resource.

humbert

One of the most interesting things about Easter Island is its history - or should I say, lack of clear knowledge thereof. It is believed Easter was initially colonized by Polynesian mariners (the same people who colonized Hawaii). It's also believed the island was once heavily forested. The most interesting mystery is who constructed the Moai and for what reason. An even more interesting puzzle is how these statues were moved and set in place by a culture who didn't even have the wheel.

This mystery reminds me of my visit to Chichen Itzá, the Mayan capital in the Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. The guide took me to the astonomical observatory and showed me its most important windows. He explained the windows pointed to magnetic north and even asked if I had a compass so I could see for myself.  I reminded him the Chinese had been using compasses since time immemorial. He then explained that China was full of magnetite. There is NO magnetite in Yucatan. Not only that, but so far no archeological dig had yet discovered anything even remotely resembling a compass! How, then, did they know about the earth's magnetic field? Nobody knows.

scarface

Tonight, you are going to see some unusual photos taken in the area of Fukushima, where a nuclear catastrophe took place a few years ago. Fukushima is a town situated in Japan, in the North of the Island of Honshu.


Some abandoned cars, gradually overgrown with vegetation. Those vehicles can't be moved as long as the authorities have not obtained the permission of the owners.


The aisle of a supermarket.


The gymnasium of a school.


A bookshop.


A casino.


A storage site for nuclear waste stretching as far as one can see.

Vasudev

You’re right about pollution here. Even today old trucks are still in use that contribute to pollution and I can't blame them because buying a new truck is expensive and bread-earners driving these trucks don't care about pollution but cares about stomach to fill.

Daniil

Hello, comrades.
It's me again. I was in depression because of internal conflict in my head between my current job and my aspirations. I'll tell about this later... Maybe.
But, now, because this topic turn into discussion about global problems of our world, I want to tell you some news "from other side of iron curtain".

As you know, for previous 2 years Russia was in war at East Ukraine, and now my country join counter-terrorist operation against IS (our fighter/bomber was hit by Turkish missile at November 24).
All of this (annexion of Crimea, war on western border, counter-terrorist operation) may look impressive from outside through TV screen, but from inside all looks much less impressive (just pathetic). Because of depreciation of the ruble prices to most of electronics, cars, any high-tech goods grow more than twice. This concerns not only imported goods, but also goods manufactured in Russia under license from western companies. Even fuel prices grown 25% (can't understand this, my country exports oil and gasoline, this 25% can by explaned only by greed of fuel companies). Because of EU sanctions a lot of food (typically wine and other expensive alcohol, elite cheeses) disappeared from market.
Also, at our television and at russian internet sites kremlin propaganda looking very inconsistently.
First, when Crimea was annexed, they told us about historical rights of Russia to Crimean peninsula, about saving crimean peoples from blood-thirsty nazists (fashists) of Ukraine. (OK, OK, "saving" rich Crimea from poor Ukraine?.. Saving russian submarine base guarded by 2000 soldiers and located at south-east part of Ukraine, from 3.5 nazis from city of Lvov, at far west of Ukraine? Yeah, thruth...)
Then, when war at Ukraine begun, they told us about american and european nazis, who eat children and drink blood, and guide Ukraine army against poor Eastern Ukraine womens and kids. (At this time it was already clear that this is war of corporations, raised artifically for turn sight of people from real problems to problems artifically created).
Now, when Putin said about joining the counter-terrorist operation in Syria, at TV all, as if on cue, forgot about Ukraine (where war, in fact, continues), and turned to Syria. At weather prognosis every day they said about best weather for bombing.
Now all gone crasy with this hitted airplane and Turkey.
All this crazy yapping from TV looks like raw manipulation of public interest. Putinists turn sight of public from real problems in country, which are: colossal corruption, destruction of small and medium business, replacing russian officials with islamic people from Chechen republic and Dagestan to government offices, destructive reformations in army, extincting villages and cities in Siberia and Central Russia, new taxes violating constitution, underground union of police and crime in Moscow. Long haul truckers in St.Petersburg strikes against new road tax (all truckers must now pay tax if they moving through federal roads), in Moscow streetracers fights against police because road patrol now united with organized crime.

All is looks like Putin and his gang can't offer anything good to people, but he don't want leave the power. So, they create or join "small victorious wars". The situation is complicated by the fact that a lot of people supports Putin's politics. Generation which grown after USSR (my generation) much less educated then previous, and easily follows rethoric about "strong and great Russia" from TV. Other people, so called "soviet intellectual" can't say anything than old and stupid anti-russian slogans.

So, I sit in center of this circus with a glass of vodka, and can't understand, where all the situation is going now. I.e., I can say... But this would be too impolite. :P