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Russia, Iraq agree to $4.3-billion military hardware deal
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Russia and Iraq have signed a set of contracts that will see Russian fighter jets, helicopters and other military hardware exported to the transitioning country as part of a tighter military cooperation plan. Read Full Article at RT.com More... |
Brown rat - The Smartest Garbage Disposal on Earth
http://thewebsiteofeverything.com/we.../brown_rat.jpgThe Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is an interesting creature for a number of reasons. Averaging at 18 cm in length, or 7 inches, and with an average weight of 300 grams, or 10.5 ounces, the brown rat has nevertheless managed to spread itself to most parts of the world. With the exclusion of the polar regions, the Canadian province of Alberta, and special areas of New Zealand, the Brown rat has essentially tied its migratory patterns to large concentrations of humans. Why so interested in humans? The answer is simple: one man's trash is another rat's treasure.
The origin of the brown rat is debatable, but as their scientific name implies, the original theory was that they spread from Norway into the rest of Europe, and from there the rest of the known world. Even today the exact origins of the brown rat are not known, although it is generally accepted to have originated somewhere in Asia, and then spread via English trading ships. The reason for the ease with which it spread lies in its diet; the brown rat will eat practically anything. The brown rats love of starch and protein rich foods has left it with a love of cereal specifically, but it is not above adapting to the environment it inhabits. The brown rats are foragers, which means they will scour any remains for food, including any trash left in the open by humans. This is what keeps these two species inextricably linked. While its status as a forager might give the impression of an unintelligent animal, the truth is actually quite the opposite. Recent research has found evidence to suggest that brown rats are one of the few creatures on Earth, besides humans and certain primates, to possess the ability to essentially think about thinking. Coupling this with the social hierarchy they form within their own clans, with each rat assigned a specific role, and it's easy to see the links between these "simple" foragers and their "civilized" human counterparts. While the brown rat does have predators in such creatures as cats, foxes, dogs, and owls, their high reproductive rate and general survival skills keep them on the opposite end of the endangered species spectrum. Pest control actually dedicates much of its time and resources to wiping out large concentrations of brown rats in human settlements, but their adaptive strategies and low standards for food quality make them a difficult creature to deal with efficiently. Truly, the brown rat is the smartest garbage disposal on Earth. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/anim...7I:gIN9vFwOqvQ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/animals/~4/DyvEVOyj10I More... |
Downtown Deadwood
Today's picture shows Downtown Deadwood in 1888. There is some sort of parade going on, and you can get a real sense of the hustle and bustle of this mining boom town. Some people commented yesterday that Deadwood today has become a casino town. That is really sad to me. I had visited a mining boom town outside Reno, Nevada. I think the town was Virginia City, and it was the same things. All the historic old hotels and everything had been turned into casinos. https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...s.blogspot.com http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/...BbhHBxzoM/0/di http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/...BbhHBxzoM/1/di http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogs...~4/T5CeNcfX5Z8 More... |
Brother Nathanael - Who Owns The Media 2012?
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Layered Martian Terrain
This image shows the details of layers that were identified in previous lower resolution images. The terrain is along the boundary between the ancient highlands and the younger lowlands of Mars.
There are many erosional channels in this area, some of which expose layers. These geologic layers should be like pages in a book, telling us the story of how this part of Mars formed. However, at HiRISE resolution it is clear that the surface has been reworked by small impact craters, dust, and ice processes. The result is that the pages are covered up by these later events. This is a common story across much of Mars. The more recent geologic activity has covered the ancient story of a possible warmer wetter past and one must dig into the subsurface to get to the distant past. Written by: Lazslo Kestay Credits: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona More... |
Saturn Moon Dione
The Cassini spacecraft looks at an example of a ray crater on the leading hemisphere of Saturn\'s moon Dione.
The ray crater is in the upper-left of the image and ejecta rays show up as brighter material emanating from the crater. To see an example of a ray crater on Rhea, see Icy Impact . This view looks toward the leading hemisphere of Dione (698 miles, or 1,123 kilometers across). North on Dione is up and rotated 12 degrees to the left. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on July 23, 2012. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 260,000 miles (418,000 kilometers) from Dione and at a Sun-Dione-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 5 degrees. Image scale is 2 miles (3 kilometers) per pixel. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA\'s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging team is based at the Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colo. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute More... |
Machine dumped out in Dublin
James Wade and Raymond van Barneveld were the major casualties at the World Grand Prix in Dublin on Tuesday night.
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Full Tilt Poker Granted License From Isle of Man Commission, Relaunch Set
Full Tilt Poker will have cards back in the air on November 6th. It was announced Tuesday that the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission had granted a licence that will allow Full Tilt Poker to relaunch for non-US customers on November 6th. The Rational Group, which also operates PokerStars and the EPT, acquired the [...]
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Syrian rebels claim control of strategic town
Opposition fighters have reportedly seized Maarat al-Numan, a key town on the highway to Aleppo.
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