• For more than three years, the International Space Station that is half-built has floated above the Earth. But now construction, which has hung in limbo since NASA’s space shuttle fleet was grounded after the 2003 Columbia disaster, is scheduled to resume.
• Work on the station stopped because of the Columbia accident, which forced NASA to redesign many shuttle systems and its own safety procedures. The Columbia disintegrated while returning from a mission on Feb. 1, 2003, killing its crew of seven. The shuttle had been critically damaged during liftoff when a piece of insulating foam broke off its fuel tank and ruptured part of its heat shield.
• The project began in late 1998 with the joining of two American and Russian modules, the United States and 15 other nations have slowly put together a structure that weighs more than 400,000 pounds, with a habitable volume of almost 15,000 cubic feet. When completed, it is to weigh almost a million pounds and have a cabin volume of more than 33,000 cubic feet, larger than a typical five-bedroom house.
• NASA has allotted about 15 flights to complete the project before the shuttles are retired in 2010. The next four missions will carry other massive truss segments to extend the station’s central girder to more than 350 feet. The girder will eventually support four huge sets of solar-power arrays, batteries and heat-dispensing radiators.
• The additional truss segments, which will increase the mass of the station by 40 tons, will also include 10-foot-wide rotary joints shaped like wagon wheels that will allow the solar arrays to track the sun for optimum power as the station moves in orbit. The Atlantis is delivering the second array, joining one put on the station in 2000.
• NASA managers say shuttle flights should still be considered experimental and somewhat dangerous, but they call the risks “acceptable” for the missions left to finish the station.
• The director of the shuttle program N. Wayne Hale Jr. said, “We expect to have some foam loss from the tank on the next flight,” But a better understanding of these issues, and progress in developing ways to repair damage in flight, allow NASA to resume a regular launching schedule.
For more details on Space Station visit us at http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk .
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Nuclear deal between India & U.S
India will not agree to any changes to a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation deal reached with the U.S. last year, Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh said Thursday. Singh made a detailed presentation to parliament on the deal after opposition parties accused the government of succumbing to U.S. pressures to limit India's nuclear program. India would have to strengthen nuclear safeguards, allow international inspections of its civilian facilities, and separate its civilian and military nuclear programs.
"We have made it clear that India's strategic program is outside the purview of the agreement," he said. "We will stick to the parameters of the agreement signed in Washington last year and this alone will be the acceptable basis of nuclear cooperation between India and the United States."
The United States and India made international headlines this year when they announced a proposed nuclear deal that would give India assistance with its civilian nuclear energy program if New Delhi agrees to international inspections and safeguards. Opponents of the proposed legislation say it could fatally damage the international nonproliferation regime. The deal's advocates say it encourages New Delhi to prevent nuclear proliferation and marks a new closeness in the Indo-US relationship.
Nuclear Testing Limitations
A political pledge that it has made before in other contexts. All of the other original nuclear-weapon states are not only observing unilateral moratoria, but they have also signed the CTBT, which according to customary reading of Article XVIII of the Vienna Convention on Treaties, establishes a legally-binding commitment not to take any action “contrary to the purpose or intent” of the treaty prior to ratification, the President to certify that:
India is making satisfactory progress toward a legally-binding commitment not to conduct nuclear weapon test explosions or nuclear explosions of any kind, and has not conducted a nuclear test explosion after May 1998.
India-specific or Country-neutral criteria
According to the July 18 Joint Statement and the civil-military separation plan announced by Prime Minister Singh, India has agreed to allow permanent IAEA safeguards on nuclear reactors and facilities that it designates as “civilian.” By the time the separation plan is to be implemented in 2014, as many as eight additional nuclear reactors would be safeguarded. Currently four reactors are already under facility-specific safeguards and India already agreed that two Russian-supplied light-water energy production reactors now under construction will also be safeguarded
For more information on Nuclear deal between India & U.S visit at http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk websites.
"We have made it clear that India's strategic program is outside the purview of the agreement," he said. "We will stick to the parameters of the agreement signed in Washington last year and this alone will be the acceptable basis of nuclear cooperation between India and the United States."
The United States and India made international headlines this year when they announced a proposed nuclear deal that would give India assistance with its civilian nuclear energy program if New Delhi agrees to international inspections and safeguards. Opponents of the proposed legislation say it could fatally damage the international nonproliferation regime. The deal's advocates say it encourages New Delhi to prevent nuclear proliferation and marks a new closeness in the Indo-US relationship.
Nuclear Testing Limitations
A political pledge that it has made before in other contexts. All of the other original nuclear-weapon states are not only observing unilateral moratoria, but they have also signed the CTBT, which according to customary reading of Article XVIII of the Vienna Convention on Treaties, establishes a legally-binding commitment not to take any action “contrary to the purpose or intent” of the treaty prior to ratification, the President to certify that:
India is making satisfactory progress toward a legally-binding commitment not to conduct nuclear weapon test explosions or nuclear explosions of any kind, and has not conducted a nuclear test explosion after May 1998.
India-specific or Country-neutral criteria
According to the July 18 Joint Statement and the civil-military separation plan announced by Prime Minister Singh, India has agreed to allow permanent IAEA safeguards on nuclear reactors and facilities that it designates as “civilian.” By the time the separation plan is to be implemented in 2014, as many as eight additional nuclear reactors would be safeguarded. Currently four reactors are already under facility-specific safeguards and India already agreed that two Russian-supplied light-water energy production reactors now under construction will also be safeguarded
For more information on Nuclear deal between India & U.S visit at http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk websites.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
How to write Press Releases for Google and Yahoo news?
PRESS RELEASES have been one of the most powerful forms of advertising and marketing on the planet. Press release distribution service will get you the press and media coverage you need. No amount of paid advertising can often do as much as a two minute news segment which favors your great new product or service.
Learning how to write a press release for Yahoo News and Google News is no longer an interesting sideline for a few SEO copywriters. It is now a significant career opportunity for the vast majority of public relations copywriters.
According to Hitwise, Yahoo News and Google News are both in the top 10 news and media websites. And Yahoo News ranks ahead of MSNBC.com and CNN.com, while Google News ranks ahead of USAToday.com and NYTimes.com.
How to write Press releases for Google news
Press release for Google News is a five-step process that can be taught in a half-day public relations workshop. So, why haven't more public relations firms and departments seized this opportunity?
• The first step in learning how to write a press release for Google News is identifying a target audience and developing a segmentation strategy. This requires a re-definition of public relations that is significantly broader than media relations.
• The second step is conducting keyword research and finding your search term sweet spot. This requires learning to use a keyword suggestion tool.
• The third step is focusing on Google News, even though it is relatively new.
• The fourth step is optimizing press releases to get high rankings on Google News for as long as possible.
• The fifth and final step is tracking optimization's effects and measuring promotion's results. This requires learning to use Web analytics and other measuring tools.
How to write Press releases for Yahoo news
These are the guidelines to write your press release:
• Make it "newsworthy"
Perhaps your company has a new product, a new management team, or new web site. But, as excited as you may be, those topics are not "newsworthy" unless you can come up with a unique angle or approach. Your opening sentence should be so compelling that it will capture the attention of the media you send it to. They are anxious to find fresh stories they can run, but they will not do your creative work for you.
• Avoid cliches, hype and fluff
Do not use exclamation marks, or say things like "save money" or "superior customer service."
• Use real life examples
Tell a true example of how someone used your service and changed their life, became more healthy, started a new career, and so on.
• Tie your story to current events or social issues
Editors like to find stories that tie in to current events in the news.
• Use a standard press release format
Editors do not want to hunt for the information they need.
• Submit it to the right person
You can waste a great deal of time and effort if you do not send your completed release to the person who decides whether to pursue it or not.
For more details on Press Release visit us at http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvlue.co.uk .
Learning how to write a press release for Yahoo News and Google News is no longer an interesting sideline for a few SEO copywriters. It is now a significant career opportunity for the vast majority of public relations copywriters.
According to Hitwise, Yahoo News and Google News are both in the top 10 news and media websites. And Yahoo News ranks ahead of MSNBC.com and CNN.com, while Google News ranks ahead of USAToday.com and NYTimes.com.
How to write Press releases for Google news
Press release for Google News is a five-step process that can be taught in a half-day public relations workshop. So, why haven't more public relations firms and departments seized this opportunity?
• The first step in learning how to write a press release for Google News is identifying a target audience and developing a segmentation strategy. This requires a re-definition of public relations that is significantly broader than media relations.
• The second step is conducting keyword research and finding your search term sweet spot. This requires learning to use a keyword suggestion tool.
• The third step is focusing on Google News, even though it is relatively new.
• The fourth step is optimizing press releases to get high rankings on Google News for as long as possible.
• The fifth and final step is tracking optimization's effects and measuring promotion's results. This requires learning to use Web analytics and other measuring tools.
How to write Press releases for Yahoo news
These are the guidelines to write your press release:
• Make it "newsworthy"
Perhaps your company has a new product, a new management team, or new web site. But, as excited as you may be, those topics are not "newsworthy" unless you can come up with a unique angle or approach. Your opening sentence should be so compelling that it will capture the attention of the media you send it to. They are anxious to find fresh stories they can run, but they will not do your creative work for you.
• Avoid cliches, hype and fluff
Do not use exclamation marks, or say things like "save money" or "superior customer service."
• Use real life examples
Tell a true example of how someone used your service and changed their life, became more healthy, started a new career, and so on.
• Tie your story to current events or social issues
Editors like to find stories that tie in to current events in the news.
• Use a standard press release format
Editors do not want to hunt for the information they need.
• Submit it to the right person
You can waste a great deal of time and effort if you do not send your completed release to the person who decides whether to pursue it or not.
For more details on Press Release visit us at http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvlue.co.uk .
Zinedine Zidane Headbutt world cup final 2006
A flashy midfielder, Zinedine Zidane won the Golden Ball as the most valuable player in the World Cups of 1998 and 2006. Zidane's nickname is "Zizou". He played his first professional First Division game for Cannes in 1991 and quickly rose through the professional ranks.
On 9 July 2006, Zidane played his second World Cup final his final game and scored in the 7th minute from the penalty spot with a chip shot that hit the crossbar before narrowly bouncing behind the goal line. He became one of only four footballers to achieve the feat of scoring in two different World Cup finals, sharing the honour with Pele, Paul Breitner, and Vava.
If you were among the billion or so viewers watching the soccer World Cup final on Sunday (9 July 2006) chances are you were struck more by the ignominious end to Frenchman Zinedine Zidane's career rather than the game itself.
In his final game, the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, Zidane was red-carded out of the game for a bizarre headbutt to the chest of Italy's Marco Materazzi. Italy won the game and the World Cup on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw. However, Zidane was still named the tournament's most outstanding player.
In the 110th minute of the World Cup final a, Zidane was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest in an off-the-ball incident after the two players had exchanged words. Since video footage suggested that Materazzi had provoked Zidane, newspapers had lip readers try to determine what Materazzi had said, coming up with a variety of obscene and racist insults. Zidane has explained the incident by saying Materazzi insulted his mother and sister.
Materazzi admitted insulting Zidane, but said that Zidane's behaviour had been very arrogant. He stressed that the insults had been trivial.
Zidane's dismissal in extra-time for a head butt into the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi ensured he missed a tense penalty shootout which Italy won 5-3 and killed hopes of a fairytale ending to a glittering career.
French superstar Zinedine Zidane was handed a three-match ban and fined 7,500 Swiss francs (4,700 euros) on Thursday for his infamous headbutt on Italy's Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final, FIFA said Materazzi was also handed a two-match suspension and fined 5,000 Swiss francs (3,100 euros).
France's President Jacques Chirac was characteristically philosophical on the off-the-ball clash: "I don't know what happened, why Zidane was punished. But I would like to express all the respect that I have for a man who represents at the same time all the most beautiful values of sport, the greatest human qualities one can imagine, and who has honored French sport and, simply, France".
For more details on Football visit us at http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk .
On 9 July 2006, Zidane played his second World Cup final his final game and scored in the 7th minute from the penalty spot with a chip shot that hit the crossbar before narrowly bouncing behind the goal line. He became one of only four footballers to achieve the feat of scoring in two different World Cup finals, sharing the honour with Pele, Paul Breitner, and Vava.
If you were among the billion or so viewers watching the soccer World Cup final on Sunday (9 July 2006) chances are you were struck more by the ignominious end to Frenchman Zinedine Zidane's career rather than the game itself.
In his final game, the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, Zidane was red-carded out of the game for a bizarre headbutt to the chest of Italy's Marco Materazzi. Italy won the game and the World Cup on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw. However, Zidane was still named the tournament's most outstanding player.
In the 110th minute of the World Cup final a, Zidane was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest in an off-the-ball incident after the two players had exchanged words. Since video footage suggested that Materazzi had provoked Zidane, newspapers had lip readers try to determine what Materazzi had said, coming up with a variety of obscene and racist insults. Zidane has explained the incident by saying Materazzi insulted his mother and sister.
Materazzi admitted insulting Zidane, but said that Zidane's behaviour had been very arrogant. He stressed that the insults had been trivial.
Zidane's dismissal in extra-time for a head butt into the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi ensured he missed a tense penalty shootout which Italy won 5-3 and killed hopes of a fairytale ending to a glittering career.
French superstar Zinedine Zidane was handed a three-match ban and fined 7,500 Swiss francs (4,700 euros) on Thursday for his infamous headbutt on Italy's Marco Materazzi in the World Cup final, FIFA said Materazzi was also handed a two-match suspension and fined 5,000 Swiss francs (3,100 euros).
France's President Jacques Chirac was characteristically philosophical on the off-the-ball clash: "I don't know what happened, why Zidane was punished. But I would like to express all the respect that I have for a man who represents at the same time all the most beautiful values of sport, the greatest human qualities one can imagine, and who has honored French sport and, simply, France".
For more details on Football visit us at http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk .
Google buy video site “YouTube”
Google Inc. appears to be on the verge of buying YouTube Inc. for at least $1.6 billion in a deal that would catapult the Internet search leader to a leading role in the online video revolution. This is a very good move for Google strategically as it opens to them the possibility to grow in one Internet area where they were not very big -- that is, video,"
WEB SEARCH leader Google Inc. said on Monday it agreed to acquire top video entertainment site YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in stock, the highest price yet paid for a consumer-generated media site. The first deal to value one of the new generation of user-participation Web sites at more than $1 billion combines two of the most popular Internet brands: Google, synonymous with Web search and rapid innovation, and You Tube, a Silicon Valley upstart that has spearheaded the video-sharing craze.
The acquisition combines one of the largest and fastest growing online video entertainment communities with Google's expertise in organizing information and creating new models for advertising on the Internet. The combined companies will focus on providing a better, more comprehensive experience for users interested in uploading, watching and sharing videos, and will offer new opportunities for professional content owners to distribute their work to reach a vast new audience.
"The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," said Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google. "Our companies share similar values; we both always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. Together, we are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers."
You Tube, which grew in 19 months from a start-up in a garage to now serve up 100 million videos daily, has drawn scrutiny from major media companies for copyrighted television and music videos that users post without owner consent. While YouTube said on Monday it had signed a spate of distribution agreements with major record labels, some analysts caution Google could still be inviting lawsuits with this acquisition.
Nonetheless, in anticipation of the deal, investors pushed shares of Google up $8.50, or 2 per cent, on Nasdaq on Monday to a closing price of $429.00 — a level not seen since late April. In extended hour’s trade, Google climbed to $431.55.
“YouTube is phenomenally valuable in terms of traffic and in the Internet sector this is important just like location is important in real estate,” Oppenheimer analyst Sasa Zorovic said of combining YouTube with Google's advertising machinery. Analysts said the deal would thrust Google quickly into the emerging market for video advertising, where it has only a tiny foothold compared with Yahoo Inc. And start-ups. The all-stock deal, expected to close this quarter, was structured to make it tax-free for YouTube shareholders and cheaper for Google than paying cash, company officials said.
About YouTube
February 2005, YouTube is a consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips and across the Internet through websites, blogs, and e-mail. YouTube currently delivers more than 100 million video views every day with 65,000 new videos uploaded daily and it has quickly become the leading destination on the Internet for video entertainment.
For more information on Google buy video site visit our http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk websites.
WEB SEARCH leader Google Inc. said on Monday it agreed to acquire top video entertainment site YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in stock, the highest price yet paid for a consumer-generated media site. The first deal to value one of the new generation of user-participation Web sites at more than $1 billion combines two of the most popular Internet brands: Google, synonymous with Web search and rapid innovation, and You Tube, a Silicon Valley upstart that has spearheaded the video-sharing craze.
The acquisition combines one of the largest and fastest growing online video entertainment communities with Google's expertise in organizing information and creating new models for advertising on the Internet. The combined companies will focus on providing a better, more comprehensive experience for users interested in uploading, watching and sharing videos, and will offer new opportunities for professional content owners to distribute their work to reach a vast new audience.
"The YouTube team has built an exciting and powerful media platform that complements Google's mission to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful," said Eric Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google. "Our companies share similar values; we both always put our users first and are committed to innovating to improve their experience. Together, we are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers."
You Tube, which grew in 19 months from a start-up in a garage to now serve up 100 million videos daily, has drawn scrutiny from major media companies for copyrighted television and music videos that users post without owner consent. While YouTube said on Monday it had signed a spate of distribution agreements with major record labels, some analysts caution Google could still be inviting lawsuits with this acquisition.
Nonetheless, in anticipation of the deal, investors pushed shares of Google up $8.50, or 2 per cent, on Nasdaq on Monday to a closing price of $429.00 — a level not seen since late April. In extended hour’s trade, Google climbed to $431.55.
“YouTube is phenomenally valuable in terms of traffic and in the Internet sector this is important just like location is important in real estate,” Oppenheimer analyst Sasa Zorovic said of combining YouTube with Google's advertising machinery. Analysts said the deal would thrust Google quickly into the emerging market for video advertising, where it has only a tiny foothold compared with Yahoo Inc. And start-ups. The all-stock deal, expected to close this quarter, was structured to make it tax-free for YouTube shareholders and cheaper for Google than paying cash, company officials said.
About YouTube
February 2005, YouTube is a consumer media company for people to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips and across the Internet through websites, blogs, and e-mail. YouTube currently delivers more than 100 million video views every day with 65,000 new videos uploaded daily and it has quickly become the leading destination on the Internet for video entertainment.
For more information on Google buy video site visit our http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk websites.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Origin of Earth
• In 1650 Archbishop Ussher used the Bible to calculate that the Earth was created in 4004BC. Later on in the mid-nineteenth century Charles Darwin believed that the Earth must be extremely old because he recognized that natural selection and evolution required vast amounts of time.
• It wasn't until the discovery of radioactivity that scientists began to put a timescale on the history of the Earth. Rocks often contain heavy radioactive elements which decay over long periods of time, the decay is unaffected by the physical and chemical conditions and different elements decay at different rates (These rates are slow and half-lifes of several hundred million years are not uncommon).
• Throughout this century the race has been on to discover the oldest rocks in the world. The oldest volcanic rock found so far has been dated at 3.75 billion years old, but this is not the whole story. Meteorites created at the same time as the Earth hit us all the time, radioactive dating shows that they are about 4.55 billion years old.
Birth of Moon
The moon came from a collision between the earth and another planet about 4.5 billion years ago, about 50 million years after earth first formed. When the earth was in the process of forming, you still had a great amount of debris still in the same orbit as the earth. The planet that ran into the earth was the largest piece of this debris, about the size of Mars.
Hot
• Primordial heat, collisions and compression during accretion, decay of short-lived radioactive elements.
• Consequences - Constant volcanism, surface temperature too high for liquid water or life as we know it, molten surface or thin, unstable basaltic crust.
• Atmosphere - early atmosphere probably completely different in composition (H2, He)
• Consequences - Constant volcanism, surface temperature too high for liquid water or life as we know it, molten surface or thin, unstable basaltic crust.
• Atmosphere - early atmosphere probably completely different in composition (H2, He)
Cooling
• Primordial heat dissipated to space
• Condensation of water (rain), accumulation of surface water.
• Accumulation of new atmosphere due to volcanic out gassing
• Conditions appropriate for evolution of life
Atmosphere at the Time of Origin
The atmosphere of the Earth (and also of Venus and Mars) is generally believed to have its origin in relatively volatile compounds that were incorporated into the solids from which these planets accreted. Such compounds could include nitrides (a source of N2), water (which can be taken up by silica, for example), carbides, and hydrogen compounds of nitrogen and carbon.
Many of these compounds (and also some noble gases) can form clathrate complexes with water and some minerals which are fairly stable at low temperatures. The high temperatures developed during the later stages of accretion as well as subsequent heating produced by decay of radioactive elements presumably released these gases the surface. Even at the present time, large amounts of CO2 , water vapor, N2, HCl, SO2 and H2S are emitted from volcanos.
Origin of atmospheric oxygen
Free oxygen is never more than a trace component of most planetary atmospheres. Thermodynamically, oxygen is much happier when combined with other elements as oxides; the pressure of O2 in equilibrium with basaltic magmas is only about 10–7 atm. Photochemical decomposition of gaseous oxides in the upper atmosphere is the major source of O2 on most planets.The partial pressure of O2 in the prebiotic atmosphere is estimated to be no more than 103atm, and may have been several orders of magnitude less. The major source of atmospheric oxygen on the earth is photosynthesis carried out by green plants and certain bacteria:
H2O + CO2 ={CH2O} + O2
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide has probably always been present in the atmosphere in the relatively small absolute amounts now observed (around 54 1015 mol = 54 Pmol). The reaction of CO2 with silicate-containing rocks to form precambrian limestones suggest a possible moderating influence on its atmospheric concentration throughout geological time. CaSiO3 + CO2 =CaCO3 + SiO2
The ozone layer was formed which started to filter out harmful ultraviolet rays. This allowed the evolution of new living organisms in the shallow seas.
For more details on Earth Visit our http://www.halfvalue.com and http://www.halfvalue.co.uk web sites.
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