I hadn’t heard of the Rosetta mission until this past week. Launched in 2005, it’s only just arrived at its destination, comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, aka Chury. And has been sending back some astounding images.
It’s about 4 km long, and is another dumbbell-shaped object, spinning end over end every 12.7 hours. And apparently it’s actually black, and the photo above required a long exposure to generate. The Rosetta spacecraft is now ‘in orbit’ around the comet, but because the gravitational field of the comet is so small, it’s actually moving in a triangular orbit using its thrusters.
The mission also entails detaching a small lander from Rosetta, and landing it on the comet. I don’t know how the hell they’re going to do that. Where do you land on a big spinning rock like that? I get the impression that when they set off they didn’t know it was dumbbell-shaped, and only found out when they got near it. So now they’ve got a couple of months or so to pick a landing site, and go land on it. I’ve a good mind to find a betting shop and place a bet that they never manage to land on the comet.
There are a number of puzzles about this comet. I’d heard that comets were “dirty snowballs”, and the tails of comets were made up of water that had boiled off when they got near the sun. But while they’ve detected small amounts of water being given off, they seem to be regarding the comet as more a lump of rock rather than ice.
There’s also a puzzle about how these dumbbell-shaped bodies are formed. The most common explanation is that they’re “contact binaries” – two bodies that were drawn into contact with each other, but which didn’t merge to form a single body, but instead developed a bridge or neck between them.
I got interested in these dumbbell-shaped rocks when I found that spherical bodies would get stretched longitudinally and squeezed laterally during close approaches to the Earth, and would start spinning end over end, sometimes producing dumbbell shapes. So my guess is that the comet made a close approach to some planet – probably Jupiter – and became dumbbell-shaped as a result. And in fact it seems that this comet came near Jupiter in February 1959. So today I got hold of the comet’s state vectors from NASA, and ran a spherical body past Jupiter along that track – but I found that it passed quite a long way from Jupiter, and the sphere didn’t get stretched or start spinning. So maybe there were earlier closer approaches to Jupiter. But comet Chury seems to be spinning end over end in the right sort of way, and the smooth neck between the two ends seems to be slightly striated in ways not inconsistent with stretching.
But heck, what do I know?
Frank Davis 
While here on earth it’s the annual Perseid meteor shower, the maximum being on the 11th to the 13th. I will be watching for shooting stars with the kids from next door on the 12th having negotiated a late night, hope for a clear sky before 11.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/perseid-meteor-shower-2014-how-where-watch-shooting-stars-uk-cities-1460379
Oh shit. Does that mean we are going to be covered in triffids again?
We are currently dealing with something far worse, keep up!
Comets pose a problem for non-Creationists as they should burn up after not too many orbits (I think they turn black after their first perihelion?). Are you a fan of the Oort cloud or Kuiper belt or indeed both as sources of a constant supply?
In other news, don’t know if anyone else has picked up on this, but David Tredinnick, a Tory MP who is a member of both the health committee and the science and technology committee, “has spoken of his belief in astrology and his desire to incorporate it into medicine.”
Just when you thought science couldn’t become any more corrupted or politicians any crazier.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-28464009
David Tredinnick said he had spent 20 years studying astrology and healthcare and was convinced it could work
Well I have not studied astrology for 20 years and therefore can’t be sure that it won’t work.
However if you are given a favourable chart for your next medical treatment that surely must give you more confidence in a better outcome whether you believe in it or not.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;”
For a believer, Stewart, it seems that you are not very open minded on certain subjects.
: )
@Rose – I think people would be more confident if the NHS wasn’t so incompetent.
This person – where I got the link to the BBC – has studied astrology and says it’s bunkum: http://pseudoastro.wordpress.com/2014/07/28/astrology-whats-the-harm/
I’m not open-minded on fraud. I think there may be genuine ‘fortune tellers’ and the like, but probably 99.9% of them are fake.
As a believer, I put my faith in higher things. :)
The NHS I do believe went to seed long ago…………………..In America we already know Obamacare will be the same thing. But theres enough hatred of it in America to see it repealed and abolished in the next Political move coming. Its pretty well guaranteed as that law like the smoking bans was forced thru and down everyones throats with no common support from anyone but the NAZIS in charge that passed it and so much other trash.
And yet a lot of people do believe in fortune tellers, who go so far as to quote the extrapolations of epidemiology as fact and to print images of their predictions on cigarette packets.
Medico-Porn I think Leggy calls it!
Comets pose much more of a problem for Creationists. “As far as the longest period comets go, the current leaders are Comet Hyakutake with an orbital period of 70,000 years, Comet C/2006 P1 with an orbital period of about 92,000 years and Comet West with an orbital period of about 250,000 years.” http://www.spaceanswers.com/solar-system/which-comet-takes-the-longest-to-orbit-the-sun/ . So, these objects were created in mid-trajectory, like the light from galaxies and distant stars?
Short-period comets (orbits <200 years) pose a greater problem for long-agers. There are models/theories to explain how distant starlight could have reached us very rapidly.
Just saw on Bloomberg news feed Labor party in New Zealand says elections will be tight race as campaign begins……………They already know what the outcome will be the same as in Australia….
The Nanny state is dying a tragic death worldwide……………
FLEECING THE PUBLIC IN THE NAME OF PROHIBITIONISM
Costly puffs
TOTAL of 738 offenders have been taken to task for smoking in non- smoking zones around the country since the enactment of the Tobacco Control Decree 2010.
Tobacco Control Enforcement Unit manager Aminiasi Tavui said these people had been fined and some of them had even ended up in court for not paying their fines.
“The penalty ranges from $200-$1000 for most of them. There are also a few cases which are $5000 for not being registered to sell tobacco products,” Mr Tavui said.
“We will continue to seek approval of the government through our Health Minister in extending non-smoking zones as we are mostly concerned with the lives of 83 per cent Fijians who are non-smokers.
“Our message to the general public has always been the same in that we help our people make the right and healthy choice in life and the decision is entirely up to them.”
Mr Tavui said while they respected the 17 per cent of the population that smoked, they should also be aware that they should not smoke in prohibited public places or no smoking zones as there were hefty fines in place.
“Think of those around you if you smoke as they have the right to breathe fresh air!”
http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=276785
Nigeria Loses Billions through Illegal Smuggling of Tobacco Products
THISDAY Live
A 2005 study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that more than 30 per cent of cigarettes smoked in Nigeria are smuggled. A more …
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-loses-billions-through-illegal-smuggling-of-tobacco-products/185927/
Despite official attempts to regulate the tobacco industry in Nigeria, illegal smuggling of products still persist, with the country losing billions of naira in the process, THISDAY investigation has uncovered.
According to findings, some Korean cigarettes are being imported into the country through containers brought through the Seme border into some warehouses located in Apapa area of Lagos State.
The smuggled cigarette products, manufactured by the Korean Tobacco Group (KT &G) include different brands of Pine, Compact Black and Esse; and are brought into Nigeria by some Nigerian Lebanese, who are believed to have their companies’ head offices in Kano, although their warehouses are located in Lagos.
THISDAY gathered that the products are brought into Cotonou ports in Benin Republic and transported into Lagos through Seme in connivance with some officials at the border without paying the required duties.
It was also learnt that the alleged Kano-based companies, namely Street Distribution Nigeria and Black Horse Tobacco Ltd, have reported imported 23 containers of the cigarette products between December 2013 and now. Each container carries between 600 and 1,400 cartons of the various cigarette products.
The street value of the smuggled products, THISDAY learnt, run into billions of naira and duty payment on the items running into billions is also evaded by the parties involved.
When THISDAY visited the purported addresses of the companies in Kano, specifically at 52, Fagge Takudu Katin Kwori, and 28, Sharada Industrial Estate Phase 1, there was no sign of such offices or companies and no signboards, while the numbers could not be traced despite painstaking enquiries and visits.
Also, upon a visit by THISDAY to the Burma Road, Apapa location of the warehouses, the premises were deemed off-limits to passersby, with stern-looking security-men guarding the locked gates and THISDAY was denied entry into the premises.
A text message sent to the Customs PRO at Seme Border post on the alleged smuggling activities through the busy international route went unanswered up till the time the report was filed.
The findings further highlight the corruption and rot in the system, where Nigeria loses billions of naira in revenue through underhand deals by unscrupulous elements, even as the country feebly tries to regulate the booming tobacco industry.
A 2005 study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that more than 30 per cent of cigarettes smoked in Nigeria are smuggled. A more recent (2012) publication by the World Custom Journal claimed the volume have dropped to less than 10 per cent.
The porosity of the Nigerian entry port to excessive duty free cigarettes contravenes Article 6.2 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which encourages parties to prohibit or restrict, as appropriate, sales to and/or importation by international travellers of tax- and duty-free tobacco products. Nigeria is a party to the FCTC.
Presently, the House of Representatives of the National Assembly is deliberating on the Tobacco Smoking Control Bill. The bill is for an act to enact the tobacco smoking control bill to among other things provide for the regulation of the production, importation, advertising, promoting, sponsorship, distribution, sale and designation of areas where tobacco products may and may not be smoked and for matters connected therewith 2013 (HB 455).
Some stakeholders are worried that the bill was aimed at banning the sale of tobacco outright in Nigeria, which would force legal manufacturers /suppliers out of business and existence and on the other hand open more doors to smuggling and illegal trades.
However, Chairman of the House of Committee on Health, Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, argued that the tobacco smoking control bill was neither aimed at banning tobacco smoking nor at placing a total ban to tobacco manufacturers or retailers.
He said the bill was seeking the regulation of the production, importation, distribution, promotion, advertising, sale and sponsorship and designation of areas where tobacco may and may not be smoked in the society; thereby ensuring that the rights of non-smokers are also protected
Lay off smokers: it’s their choice
MOTHERS and asthmatics will want to kill me for saying this, but sometimes I miss the days when you could smoke in pubs, clubs, restaurants and pretty much anywhere else in reach of an ashtray or street gutter.
As far as I can tell, this opinion has nothing to do with me being a smoker (I’ll have an occasional puff but I have barely bought a packet of fags in my life), and more to do with a kind of golden age syndrome.
Some might find this disgusting, but I always felt at home in a public bar that was thick with the fog of a hundred smokers’ conversations.
When I was a kid and Sizzler used to still offer you a seat in the smoker’s or non-smoker’s section, mum often sat us with the smokers so as not to make too much of a fuss.
There was something about the vibe of a smoky room – perhaps people were more relaxed when they weren’t denied their nicotine and something to keep their hands occupied.
Sometimes, conversations flow more fluently when you’ve got a fag in one hand and a schooner in the other.
These days, the pubs with a decent-sized smokers’ area seem to get divided into two halves, and even though I rarely smoke, I often find myself hanging outside in the cold with the darbers’ team.
ALSO MAKING HEADLINES TODAY …
Man loses control of car while trying to drive and eat chips
Goodna bottle shop worker takes $2300 from register
Success is sweet for Sarah-Jane
Pizza Capers is a Facebook favourite
Doctors prescribe no more sitting on the job
Paintball business proves popular
Hell, they might not live as long but at least they are enjoying what time they have – before cancer sets in.
Perhaps I had a susceptibility to smoking addiction that was never realised?
My grandfather lived on a constant diet of cigarettes. I used to sit there and watch him roll one after the other and wonder when he would finally decide he’d smoked enough.
From an early age I got used to enjoying the company of smokers, but also got a good impression of how addictive the smokes can be – not just the cigarettes but the act of smoking itself.
For this reason, I am not willing to pass judgement on anyone who lights up.
This is not to say that I support the big tobacco companies and their highly addictive little cancer sticks – especially when those things can harm unborn babies.
But there are certain things that I think should be left to personal choice.
Since smoking is still technically legal, I think we should still respect the choice of those who wish to smoke.
http://www.gattonstar.com.au/news/lay-off-smokers-its-their-choice/2345945/#comments
Darbers’? Pray tell, what’s a darber? I looked it up on StartPage and found no reference nor connection to “smoking/smokers” whatsoever. Then again the article is from Australia where, despite their speaking English, I seem to comprehend about every other word they use.
While on the subject of word usage, I’d like to clear up something about my comments yesterday regarding the term ‘corporatespeak’, which I used. I hope nobody misconstrued that as my agreeing with professor Hastings in his corporation bashing. No way, Jose. I’m Adam Smith’s biggest fan. Milton Friedman is one of my heroes.
I’d have been better off using the word gobbledygook or pontifical hooey. Or maybe even ‘marketingspeak’, which in my opinion is what Hastings and his ilk knowingly or unknowingly use in their great public health and anti-capitalist crusades on a regular basis.
“Marketing speak is a related label for wording styles used to promote a product or service [or public health cause] to a wide audience by seeking to create the impression that the vendors of the service possess a high level of sophistication, skill, and technical [and faux medical] knowledge. Such language is often used in marketing press releases [and public health propaganda], advertising copy, and prepared statements read by executives and politicians [and by their charidee consultants]. Marketing speak is characterized by its heavy use of buzzwords, neologisms, and terms [and junk science] appropriated from specialized technical fields which are eventually rendered almost meaningless through heavy repeated use in inappropriate contexts.”
Everything in brackets was put there by yours truly.
EU Chief: Our Work Should Not be Transparent
In what might be considered a major gaffe, the European Union’s (EU) chief scientific adviser Anne Glover has just insisted her work should be “not transparent” and should be kept out of the public eye.
Her advice to the Commission chief is often on controversial topics such as global warming, genetically modified crops and nuclear power. You might assume these are important issues that deserve scrutiny, but the EU and Dr. Glover clearly disagree.
Technocracy is government by unelected so-called “experts”. As practised by the EU, technocracy is even less appealing than the absurd, undemocratic concept of a parliament with no power being dictated to by an elite, unbelted EU Commission.
In 2011, when the European Union suggested a rescue package for Greece’s debt-ridden economy, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou announced a surprise referendum over the terms. The so-called “Troika” (The EU, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) was so alarmed that they deposed Papandreou and replaced him with the unelected Lucas Papademas. Instead of the Greek people being given a vote, they were now ruled by an entire cabinet of unelected technocrats.
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/08/09/Invasion-of-EU-Technocrats
You can tell it’s raining and I can’t play out in the garden.
Wine and beer should have cigarette-style health warnings and calorie content on labels: MPs
10 Aug 2014
“Drinkers should be clearly informed about the risks of alcohol in the same way smokers are told cigarettes cause cancer, according to an ‘alcohol manifesto’.
The All Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse also called for the drink drive limit to be lowered in line with the rest of Europe, tighter restrictions on advertising to children and a phased ban on the sponsorship of sport by alcohol firms.”
“Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse, said: “After smoking, alcohol is the second biggest preventable killer.”
“A voluntary agreement between the drinks industry and the Department of Health already exists to put the number of units contained in the bottle and warnings to pregnant women that drinking can harm their baby on 80 per cent of labels by December last year.
However many feel this does not go far enough.
Tracey Crouch, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse, said the labels were ‘tiny’ and needed to be more prominent.
She said: “At the moment any kind of information is very, very small on a label and we just think it need to be more prominent.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11024240/Wine-and-beer-should-have-cigarette-style-health-warnings-and-calorie-content-on-labels-MPs.html
12 Jul 2011
“The WHO International Agency of Research on Cancer has stated, based on evidence, that alcohol is carcinogenic in both animals and humans.”
“Based on the evidence, “there is no level of alcohol consumption for which cancer risk is null.”
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/230871.php
For anyone who feels the need here is Leggy’s Joker laugh
http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTghUoScGO8
Don’t fret over list of cancer ‘risks’
http://www.dispatch.com/…/…r-list...
“We are being bombarded” with messages about the dangers posed by common things in our lives, yet most exposures “are not at a level that are going to cause cancer,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society’s deputy chief medical officer.
Linda Birnbaum agrees. She is a toxicologist who heads the government agency that just declared styrene, an ingredient in fiberglass boats and Styrofoam, a likely cancer risk.
“Let me put your mind at ease right away about Styrofoam,” she said. Levels of styrene that leach from food containers “are hundreds if not thousands of times lower than have occurred in the occupational setting,” where the chemical in vapor form poses a possible risk to workers.
Carcinogens are things that can cause cancer, but that label doesn’t mean that they will or that they pose a risk to anyone exposed to them in any amount at any time.
Now,Im glad to see the ACS admitting to the dose response relationship finally!
So now we understand why the following is factual:
are hundreds if not thousands of times lower than have occurred in the occupational setting,” where the chemical in vapor form poses a possible risk to workers.
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, Vol. 14, No. 1. (August 1991), pp. 88-105.
ETS between 10,000- and 100,000-fold less than estimated average MSS-RSP doses for active smokers
http://www.citeulike.org/user/vmarthi...
OSHA the components in tobacco smoke are diluted below existing Permissible Exposure Levels (PELS.) as referenced in the Air Contaminant Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000)…It would be very rare to find a workplace with so much smoking that any individual PEL would be exceeded
JUST AMAZING ISNT IT
Harley, this link: http://www.citeulike.org/user/vmarthi… doesn’t work. Can you type the whole thing out? I’d like to see the full context on those numbers as I generally cite them as 100 to 10,000 times less (100 in extreme smoky bars, 10,000 in health-conscious, highly ventilated, restaurants) with the most usual exposures being about 1,000 times less.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2011/06/16/dontfret-over-list-ofcancer-risks.html
“Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Misuse, said: “After smoking, alcohol is the second biggest preventable killer.”
Blimey.
So what’s the third biggest ‘preventable ‘ killer? We should crack down on that, too. And what about the fourth? Definitely a candidate for a serious crack-down. In fact, while we’re at it, we should look at the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth…..
“The WHO International Agency of Research on Cancer has stated, based on evidence, that alcohol is carcinogenic in both animals and humans.”
“Based on the evidence, “there is no level of alcohol consumption for which cancer risk is null.”
Oh gawd, I’m dooooomed…..
‘Sin taxes’ are regressive and impose middle class values on the working class: Economist
08-Aug-2014
Last updated the 08-Aug-2014 at 16:41 GMT – By Annie-Rose Harrison-Dunn+
‘Sin taxes’ are a real blind spot for the left, and ultimately reflect middle class values of health over wealth, says free-market economist.
‘Sin taxes’ as a strategy to curb consumption of foods high in salt, fats and sugar are regressive and disproportionately costly for businesses and consumers, according to an economist from the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Discussing a recent report from the European Commission on the impacts of so called ‘sin taxes’, Christopher Snowdon, lifestyle economics director for the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), told FoodNavigator: “There’s a big administrative burden from these kinds of taxes and they are regressive and they do encourage a certain amount of cross-border shopping.”
The author of the separate IEA report Aggressively Regressive: The ‘sin taxes’ that make the poor poorer, which focused on the Danish fat tax example, said he agreed with many of the Commission’s conclusions about possible unintended consequences.
He added such taxes put too much focus on middle class values of health wealth, and not enough on helping working class people save actual monetary wealth. In his own report last year, Snowdon said for every eight pounds spent by the poorest fifth of households in Britain, one pound was taken in ‘sin taxes’ including duty on tobacco, alcohol and motor fuels, betting taxes, vehicle excise duty, air passenger duty and ‘green taxes’.
Instead, for the food and beverage industry voluntary reformulation made better business sense and responded to consumer demand, which he said ultimately should not be ignored.
What are the consequences?
He admitted that these kinds of taxes would change consumption, however the administrative costs for the state and businesses as well as the budgetary strain it placed upon consumers could not be justified by the “trivial” changes seen in places like Denmark, where a fat tax was in place for 15-months from 2011 before being scraped for fear of inflated food prices and employment insecurity.
As with the EU report, he warned that upping taxes could see people switching to poorer quality, cheaper products, or even hopping the border to avoid the levies.
Middle class values?
Snowdon called ‘sin taxes’ a “real blind spot for the left”, saying those normally in favour of abolishing policies disproportionate to income were often conversely in favour of this tax.
He said the poorest 20% of households in Britain spent an average of £1,286 a year on ‘sin taxes’, on top of the £1,165 already spent on VAT.
He put this stance down to middle class snobbery, and criticised the left’s attitude towards working class worries over household budgets.
Asked if he saw the argument that health was a form of wealth in that those who were healthy may be more likely to be in and stay in employment, he said it was down to the individual to balance those aspects.
Public vs. private, taxes vs. reformulation
Snowdon said reformulation was a far better option than tax changes, if done voluntarily and in cooperation with government and businesses and with consumer demand in mind.
He said if such healthier alternatives were available it would be a matter of private health and personal choice, adding the attitude of public health lobbyists that the industry was purposefully poisoning its consumers was unhelpful.
Asked if it was not arguable that consumption habits were indeed a public health concern considering the long-term implications of unhealthy eating and drinking, the free-market fan said if this stance was to be taken no line could be truly drawn between the state-controlled public and private, personal choices.
Pricing elasticity
Comparing consumption taxes on food and drink with those on tobacco, he said the latter was much more straight forward. The purpose of tobacco taxes was to stop people smoking altogether, whereas with food and drink it was to change consumption habits.
He said the price elasticity – how much people were willing to pay for something – of tobacco was wildly different to food, since food was an essential item people would do almost anything for.
http://mobile.foodnavigator.com/Legislation/Sin-taxes-regressive-and-impose-middle-class-values#.U-eqIzYo59A
Armed Robbery at Martinsburg Local Bar
MARTINSBURG, W.Va – A family-owned bar and restaurant in Martinsburg was robbed at gunpoint early Saturday morning. The owner said he thinks it’s because of the new smoking ban put into place in Berkeley County.
“Since they put this smoking ban into affect, we cannot control what happens on the inside or outside,” owner of Sky Room Lounge, Bret Ruppenthal said. “Because we don’t have enough people, we cannot hire enough people because we lost over 60 percent of our business thanks to this smoking ban,” Ruppenthal added.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department said the armed robbery took place around 2 a.m. Deputies were able to catch the two suspects within 30 minutes of the incident.
Clayton Pruitt, 26, and Thomas Brashear, 31 were arrested by Berkeley County deputies after being pulled over. Deputies discovered a handgun, two walkie talkies, a handwritten military style assault plan and a large amount of money in the suspects vehicle.
Berkeley County put into place a non smoking ban inside bars that went into effect July 1st of this year.
Ruppenthal said he’s never been robbed before, and like many other bars in town, he’s nervous it will happen again.
“Last night was one of the best nights I’ve had since they put this smoking thing in affect,” he said.
Sandy Hoffman, a frequent customer at Sky Room Lounge said it feels as if there are robberies happening every time you turn around in the area.
“It scared me,” Hoffman said. “When I heard the news this morning it was like ‘oh my gosh, we could’ve actually been here’. I never want to see a gun in my face.”
The contractor for the lounge, Rick Light, said he’s been coming to this bar for years and agrees with Ruppenthal that the incident happened because of the ban.
“It’s jeopardizing the people that’s inside, its jeopardizing the customers, its jeopardizing the bar owners, the bartenders of course and its putting everyone in jeopardy,” Light said. “You don’t know who’s going to come through the door and what they’re carrying.”
http://www.your4state.com/story/d/story/armed-robbery-at-martinsburg-local-bar/68991/EBlVqUqM5E2uMQyFtVYqWg