Threats keep dolphin protest out of Japan village

TOKYO The star of “The Cove,” an Oscar winning documentary about a Japanese dolphin hunt, is back in Japan to protest the slaughter but had to cancel his trip to the village at the center of the controversy because of threats from an ultranationalist group.Instead, Ric O’Barry, the former dolphin-trainer for the 1960s “Flipper” TV show, is playing host to a reception Wednesday for some 100 animal-lovers at a Tokyo hotel.On Thursday, he will take a petition signed by 1.7 million people from 155 nations demanding the end of the dolphin hunt to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, escorted by police security.

The 70-year-old had initially planned to take the petition to the Japanese Fisheries Ministry. That was also canceled on advice from Japanese police.”I wish all these people could be in Taiji,” the small coastal village highlighted in the documentary, O’Barry told The Associated Press. “It was too dangerous. The big losers are the people of Taiji.”Taiji, which has a population of 3,500 people, defends the dolphin-killing as tradition and a livelihood. In the past, some of the captured dolphins have been sold to aquariums. Others are eaten as meat.

“The Cove,” which won this year’s Academy Award for best documentary, depicts a handful of fishermen from Taiji who herd a flock of dolphins into a cove and stab them to death, turning the waters red with blood.The Taiji dolphin hunt begins every year on Sept. 1, and a fishing group has confirmed that the hunt is on this year, although boats returned empty Wednesday.O’Barry and other conservationists have made trips before to the village around the beginning of the hunt to express their opposition to what they say is a cruel slaying of animals that are as intelligent as human beings.

His trip last year – covered by the AP – is being shown on the “Animal Planet” TV series in the U.S. starting this month. There are no plans to show the series in Japan.The message of “The Cove” has drawn support from nature-lovers around the world, including celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox and Robin Williams.

The Japanese government allows a hunt of about 20,000 dolphins a year, and it argues that killing them – and also whales – is no different from raising cows or pigs for slaughter.But conservationists disagree. Groups such as the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd have dogged the Japanese whale hunt – which the government allows for academic research but from which the meat is also sold – chasing whaling vessels in an effort to impede their operations.

O’Barry had initially planned outdoor rock-festival-like festivities in Taiji this year, bringing along movie stars who support him. But he can barely step out of his hotel room because of the threats, he said.”The Cove” opened in some Japanese theaters in June. Earlier, some screenings were canceled after getting a flood of angry phone calls and threats by far-right nationalists, who oppose the film as a denigration of Japanese culture.

Protesters have shown up at the distributor’s office in downtown Tokyo, shouting slogans. But many Japanese have never eaten dolphin or whale meat, and are horrified by the butchering of dolphins in “The Cove.””The documentary was shocking for Japanese,” said Akihiro Orihara, 40, who runs vegetarian restaurants in Tokyo and attended O’Barry’s reception. “We need information to be able to make our decision.”O’Barry said he has not given up and plans to be back every year.”Cruelty shouldn’t be the tradition or culture of any nation,” he said. (AP)

Sun Tsunami Heading into Earth Day

Earth is threatened due to being hit by a wave of bad weather in space this Tuesday, after a huge explosion of the Sun. Thus the warning issued by scientists.Sun explosion that happened last week was recorded by several satellites, including the latest satellite of the U.S. space agency, NASA, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), who observed shock waves on the surface of the Sun.

Explosion leads to Earth and potentially send ‘tsunami Sun’ which crossed the sky over 93 million miles.Site of New Scientist reports, satellite images generated SDO showed flare shock waves from the Sun into space.Experts say, the wave will reach Earth superkilat gas this Tuesday – which will hit the shield that protects the Earth’s magnetic field.This event is expected to trigger the appearance of spectacular aurora, or northern and southern lights on Earth.Scientists have warned previously, that the sun blasts a huge big potential to damage satellites and power, and means of communication on Earth.NASA recently warned that the UK could suffer due to power outages and damage communications system for a long time, after the storm hit the Earth the Sun.

http://www.youtube.com/v/mvdRMgmUR7c&rel=0&fs=1

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph page spread predictions of a senior space expert who believes the Earth will be hit by a storm of energy that startling sun, after sun up from the ‘long sleep’ some time in the year 2013.Dr Lucie Green of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Surrey, continue to observe increased activity of the Sun through a telescope Japan, Hinode.”Fireworks are produced by the Sun was incredible,” he said, such as pages loaded Telegraph, Monday, August 2, 2010.”This is a rare phenomenon, the explosion was not only one, two nearly simultaneous explosions occurred in different locations, and will be launched toward the Earth.

He explained, this eruption occurred when a large magnetic structures in the Sun’s atmosphere and the loss of stability can no longer pressed by the gravity of the Sun.”The first eruption seen so large that changing the magnetic field at half the Sun’s atmosphere and conditioning for the second explosion.”The explosion led to the Earth’s potential, but may run at different speeds.””This means we have an excellent opportunity to observe the effects, both main effects and prolonged impact.” However, there has been no explanation from a spokesman for NASA.
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As NewScientist page is loaded, the Sun’s magnetic explosions will form a cloud complex which sends electrical particles to Earth.When it hit the early Earth, can occur anytime, even now, it would trigger auroras at the poles.At worst, this could be a threat to satellites – though probably not the worst.Earth is threatened due to being hit by a wave of bad weather in space this Tuesday, after a huge explosion of the Sun. Thus the warning issued by scientists.

Sun explosion that happened last week was recorded by several satellites, including the latest satellite of the U.S. space agency, NASA, the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), who observed shock waves on the surface of the Sun.Explosion leads to Earth and potentially send ‘tsunami Sun’ which crossed the sky over 93 million miles.Site of New Scientist reports, satellite images generated SDO showed flare shock waves from the Sun into space.

Experts say, the wave will reach Earth superkilat gas this Tuesday – which will hit the shield that protects the Earth’s magnetic field.This event is expected to trigger the appearance of spectacular aurora, or northern and southern lights on Earth.Scientists have warned previously, that the sun blasts a huge big potential to damage satellites and power, and means of communication on Earth.NASA recently warned that the UK could suffer due to power outages and damage communications system for a long time, after the storm hit the Earth the Sun.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph page spread predictions of a senior space expert who believes the Earth will be hit by a storm of energy that startling sun, after sun up from the ‘long sleep’ some time in the year 2013.Dr Lucie Green of the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Surrey, continue to observe increased activity of the Sun through a telescope Japan, Hinode.

“Fireworks are produced by the Sun was incredible,” he said, such as pages loaded Telegraph, Monday, August 2, 2010.”This is a rare phenomenon, the explosion was not only one, two nearly simultaneous explosions occurred in different locations, and will be launched toward the Earth.He explained, this eruption occurred when a large magnetic structures in the Sun’s atmosphere and the loss of stability can no longer pressed by the gravity of the Sun.”The first eruption seen so large that changing the magnetic field at half the Sun’s atmosphere and conditioning for the second explosion.”The explosion led to the Earth’s potential, but may run at different speeds.””This means we have an excellent opportunity to observe the

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As NewScientist page is loaded, the Sun’s magnetic explosions will form a cloud complex which sends electrical particles to Earth.When it hit the early Earth, can occur anytime, even now, it would trigger auroras at the poles.At worst, this could be a threat to satellites – though probably not the worst.

Tokyo court convicts New Zealand anti-whaling activist

TOKYO A Tokyo court on Wednesday convicted a New Zealand activist of assault and obstructing Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic Ocean, and sentenced him to a suspended prison term.Peter Bethune was also found guilty on three other charges: trespassing, vandalism and possession of a knife. He had pleaded guilty to all but the assault charge when his trial started in late May.The court sentenced Bethune to two years in prison, with the sentence suspended for five years – meaning he will not be jailed.The assault conviction was for throwing bottles of rancid butter at the whalers aboard their ship, including one that broke and gave several Japanese crew members chemical burns.

Bethune, 45, climbed onto the Shonan Maru 2 in February from a Jet Ski to confront its captain over the sinking of a protest vessel the previous month. He slashed a protective net with a knife, which the court said he possessed illegally, to enter the ship.The former activist for Sea Shepherd, a U.S.-based conservation group, was held on board the ship and arrested when it returned to Japan in March.

The group has been protesting Japan’s whaling for years, often engaging in scuffles with Japanese whalers. Sea Shepherd claims the research whaling mission, an allowed exception to an international whaling ban, is a cover for commercial hunting.Judge Takashi Tawada said Sea Shepherd has been engaged in “acts of sabotage” against the whalers, and that the use of such violence should not be tolerated.

Bethune “assaulted the crew members and interfered with their mission and the impact was extremely serious,” Tawada said. “His actions are based on his selfish beliefs.”However, Tawada said there was room for leniency given that Bethune had acknowledged what had happened, indicated that he wouldn’t return to similar protest activities and had no criminal record in Japan.Bethune did not make a statement in court Wednesday, but flashed a message written on a notebook to his lawyers saying he wanted to go home as soon as possible, one of his attorneys said.The lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of attacks by ultra-rightwing activists, said Bethune would not appeal the ruling. Bethune is expected to be deported within days.

In Wellington, New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully welcomed Bethune’s suspended sentence. Arrangements have been made through consular officials for his return home, McCully’s spokesman, James Funnell, told The Associated Press.”What a relief all right,” Bethune’s wife Sharon said of the ruling. She credited her husband with raising awareness of Japanese whaling, but added, “We don’t want him to be doing it again, though.”In his tearful closing statement June 10, Bethune apologized for the trouble and said he never intended to hurt anyone.During earlier trial sessions, Bethune said he just wanted to confront the ship’s captain and hand him a $3 million bill for the destruction of the Ady Gil, a Sea Shepherd vessel that sank during a collision in January.Outside the court Wednesday, about 30 right-wing protesters chanted and held up placards, including one that said, “Give Sea Shepherd terrorist capital punishment.”Shuhei Nishimura, one of the protesters, called the sentence “too lenient.”Sea Shepherd recently said it expelled Bethune because he violated its policy against carrying weapons. The group said he had a bow and arrows with him while he was aboard the Ady Gil, although he never used them.

Still, on Wednesday, the group called Bethune “a hero” and said his mission helped save hundreds of whales which were to be killed by Japan.Sea Shepherd also said it is free to return to the Antarctic, vowing to be “more effective next season.”Japan, Norway and Iceland hunt whales under exceptions to a 1986 moratorium by the International Whaling Commission. Japan’s whaling program involves large-scale expeditions to the Antarctic Ocean, while other whaling countries mostly stay along their own coasts.

Separately, Japan has said the leader of Sea Shepherd, Canadian citizen Paul Watson, 59, is now on an Interpol wanted list for allegedly ordering Bethune’s actions as part of the group’s disruption of Japanese whaling in the Antarctic. Watson was placed on the Interpol list in late June at the request of Japan, which accuses his group of risking whalers’ lives during their expedition.(AP)

U.S. ambassador to Chile says he knows of no American deaths from the earthquake in Chile

WASHINGTON The U.S. ambassador to Chile says he knows of no American deaths from the earthquake in Chile, but stresses that officials are having a difficult time getting information from the most devastated region of Conception.In an interview by telephone with CBS’s “The Early Show” on Monday, ambassador Paul Simons said, “We do not have any confirmed reports of Americans who have died.” He added that while officials have been able to contact “a few” of the estimated 1,000 Americans in Chile, “information is still very, very scarce.”Simons said that while life is returning to normal in the capital of Santiago, the Conception area near the epicenter of the magnitude 8.8 quake on Saturday suffers from “major devastation,” where power is out and water is in short supply.(AP)

400 Australians are believed to be holidaying in earthquake-devastated Chile

MORE than 400 Australians are believed to be holidaying in earthquake-devastated Chile. A spokesman with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told NewsCore that more than 400 Australians had registered with the Australian Government’s Smartraveller website indicating they would be in Chile at this time.But he said at this stage there had been no reports of Australian deaths or injuries.People who have concerns for the welfare of family and friends in the disaster zone are urged to first try to contact them directly.Those who are unable to make direct contact should call the DFAT 24-hour consular emergency centre on 02 6261 3305.The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that slammed central Chile on Saturday at 3.34am local time (5.34pm AEDT) is among the top 10 strongest on record.More than 300 people have been killed in Chile, and two million people impacted by the quake.

The U.S. has contacted government officials in Chile and offered help after a powerful earthquake struck the country

WASHINGTON  The U.S. has contacted government officials in Chile and offered help after a powerful earthquake struck the country.State Department spokeswoman Megan Mattson says the U.S. sends its “heartfelt condolences and prayers for the residents of Chile.”Mattson says she has no immediate information about the welfare of Americans visiting or living in the country. She did say that all the 118 employees of the U.S. Embassy are accounted for.The State Department advises Americans seeking information on family and friends in Chile to contact the Bureau of Consular Affairs at 1-888-407-4747.(AP)

Astronomers announcedthis week they found super-Earth/ GJ 1214b

super-Earth/ GJ 1214b

Astronomers announced this week they found a water-rich and relatively nearby planet that’s similar in size to Earth. While the planet probably has too thick of an atmosphere and is too hot to support life similar to that found on Earth, the discovery is being heralded as a major breakthrough in humanity’s search for life on other planets.”The big excitement is that we have found a watery world orbiting a very nearby and very small star,” said David Charbonneau, a Harvard professor of astronomy and lead author of an article on the discovery, which appeared this week in the journal Nature.
The planet, named GJ 1214b, is 2.7 times as large as Earth and orbits a star much smaller and less luminous than our sun. That’s significant, Charbonneau said, because for many years, astronomers assumed that planets only would be found orbiting stars that are similar in size to the sun.

Because of that assumption, researchers didn’t spend much time looking for planets circling small stars, he said. The discovery of this “watery world” helps debunk the notion that Earth-like planets could form only in conditions similar to those in our solar system.
“Nature is just far more inventive in making planets than we were imagining,” he said.In a way, the newly discovered planet was sitting right in front of astronomers’ faces, just waiting for them to look. Instead of using high-powered telescopes attached to satellites, they spotted the planet using an amateur-sized, 16-inch telescope on the ground. There were no technological reasons the discovery couldn’t have happened long ago, Charbonneau said.The planet is also rather near to our solar system — only about 40 light-years away.Planet GJ 1214b is classified as a “super-Earth” because it is between one and 10 times as large as Earth. Scientists have known about the existence of super-Earths for only a couple of years. Most planets discovered by astronomers have been gassy giants that are much more similar to Jupiter than to Earth.Charbonneau said it’s unlikely that any life on the newly discovered planet would be similar to life on Earth, but he didn’t discount the idea entirely.

Water world planet discovered just 40 light years away

Water world

A steamy ‘waterworld‘ six times bigger than Earth has been discovered orbiting a faint star 40 light years away.The planet is believed to be too hot to sustain Earth-type life, but could consist of 75 per cent water. Evidence suggests it has an atmosphere, and astronomers believe it to be more Earth-like than any ‘exoplanet’ previously found outside the Solar System.The planet is classified as a ‘super-Earth‘, half-way in size between small rocky planets such the Earth and ice giants similar to Uranus and Neptune. Although its parent star is a dim ‘red dwarf’ 3,000 times less bright than our sun, it hugs the star so closely that its surface temperature is 200C.At a distance of just 1.3million miles, the planet makes one year-long orbit of the star every 38 hours.The planet was discovered circling the star GJ1214 with an array of small ground-based telescopes no larger than those used by many amateurs.

The MEarth Project employs eight identical 16-inch diameter telescopes monitoring a 2,000 red dwarf stars. Red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the Milky Way galaxy.The telescopes are looking for changes in brightness that might betray the presence of a planet crossing in front of a star. Red dwarfs lend themselves to this approach to planet finding because they are so faint.

By measuring the dip in brightness caused by the crossing, scientists can calculate a planet’s density and make an educated guess about its composition.The new planet, GJ1214b, is thought to be three-quarters water and ice and about one-quarter rock.

‘Despite its hot temperature, this appears to be a water world,’ Harvard-Smithsonian Center graduate student astronomer Zachory Berta, who discovered the planet, said.’It is much smaller, cooler and more Earth-like than any other known exoplanet.’

Water world close up

The scientists believe something besides the planet’s surface must be blocking light from the parent star – probably a surrounding atmosphere that may contain hydrogen and helium.Turning the Hubble Space Telescope towards the planet may allow astronomers to discover its composition.MEarth Project head Dr David Charbonneau said: ‘Since this planet is so close to Earth, Hubble should be able to detect the atmosphere and determine what it’s made of.That will make it the first super-Earth with a confirmed atmosphere – even though that atmosphere probably won’t be hospitable to life as we know it.‘The discovery was reported today in the journal Nature. In an accompanying article, renowned planet-hunter Professor Geoffrey Marcy, from the University of California, speculated about what the waterworld might be like.

He wrote: ‘It probably has an extraordinarily deep ocean, which would be liquid given its equilibrium surface temperature of some 190C due to heating from the host star. A sauna-like steam atmosphere is possible.’

Jennifer Hudson singing for US President Barack Obama.

The singer-and-actress is to perform for the president, his wife Michelle and 320 guests at a state dinner at the White House tonight (24.11.09). It is not known what she will sing.It will not be the first time Jennifer has performed for the Obamas.In 2008, she sang the American national anthem at the Democratic National Convention where the then-Senator Obama accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination to run for president.She is not the first soul act to play at the White House, in Washington.At the Governor’s Dinner in February, funk band Earth, Wind and Fire – whose most famous hits include ‘Boogie Wonderland’ and ‘Let’s Groove’ – performed for guests.

Jennifer suffered personal tragedy last year when her mother Darnell Donnerson was murdered along with her brother and nephew.The 28-year-old star recently claimed she believes she is protected by her mother’s spirit and feels inspired by her when parenting her three-month-old son David.

Asked if she feels her mom is with her all the time, Jennifer – who is in a long-term relationship with David Otunga – said: “Oh my God, yeah. Definitely. Every day I’m like, ‘Wow! I didn’t realise I was so like my mother until now, you know?
“My mother was the strongest person I’ve ever seen.”

http://www.youtube.com/v/aw50xPhFtd4&rel=0&fs=1