Magic Statistics

Your iPod may never need charging again.

Nanotechnology researchers are developing the perfect complement to the power tie: a "power shirt" able to generate electricity to power small electronic devices for soldiers in the field, hikers and others whose physical motion could be harnessed and converted to electrical energy.

Dare we call it the iShirt?

Previous related posts:

• Physicists win iPrize
• Latest iPod accessory: iSuit
• Latest iPod accessory: iRobot

A new development in nanotechnology points the way to self-cleaning wool and silk.

Wool skirts and silk ties may avoid those pricey trips to the dry-cleaner in the future and clean themselves, researchers in Australia and China suggest. They report development of a nanoparticle coating that could lead to "self-cleaning" wool and silk fabrics.

The nanoparticle coating consists of a non-toxic substance that destroys stains when exposed to sunlight.

Vladimir Putin today held his final press conference as President of Russia, and it was a doozy.  He held forth for more than four hours in front of over 1300 Russian and foreign journalists and a live television audience.   Charm and wit filled the air.

Putin shows gift for banter, sarcastic brush-offs

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin's four-hour performance at the Kremlin on Thursday mixed flirtatious banter with metaphors about snot and showed a gift for sarcastic brush-offs worthy of a stand-up comedian.

Putin twice referred to a runny nose during the annual presidential news conference — to dismiss rumors about his personal wealth and to discuss the pressures of public office.

Newspaper reports about his alleged fortune were just rubbish, said Putin, "excavated from someone's nose and then spread on those bits of paper".

That Vladimir: What a card!

If the targets of his “sarcastic brush-offs” don’t get the hint, there’s always torture.

"The protest began after OMON [riot police] had been brought to correctional colony No. 5 (Amur Oblast, Skovorodino Rayon, village Takhtamygda) and started massive beatings of the prisoners. People in camouflage and masks were beating with batons inmates taken outside undressed in the freezing cold. . . . As a protest, 39 prisoners immediately cut their veins open.

"Next day, on 17 January, the 'special operation' was repeated in an even more humiliating and massive form. At that time, about 700 inmates cut their veins open. . . ."

The description here comes from a report received by the Moscow-based Foundation for Defense of Rights of Prisoners. The time reference is to 2008 — that is, last month. This is not Alexander Solzhenitsyn's Russia. It's Vladimir Putin's. And correctional colony No. 5, located not far from the Manchurian border, does not even make the list of the worst penal colonies in the country.

During today’s press conference, Putin also heaped praise on Dmitry Medvedev, his favoured candidate to succeed him as president.  Medvedev, whose victory in the 2 March presidential election is all but certain, has stated that he will appoint Putin prime minister.

Medvedev may be just as anti-democratic as his mentor, but he’s a big fan of decadent Western headbasher rock band Deep Purple (or, as they’re known in Russian, “Dip Pepl” or “Dip Pyorpl”).  The sixties dinosaurs played a private concert this week at the Kremlin, paid for by the state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom, in honour of its departing Chairman of the Board Dmitry Medvedev.

A headbasher is about to take over Russia.  That seems appropriate.

Previous related posts:

• Soviet Union redux?
• New arms race? Experts say no, Russia says yes
• Putin: Russia not a “monster”

In the recent cold snap, when temperatures in Yukon plunged to below -40 Celsius for several days, Air Canada suspended flights between Vancouver and Whitehorse.  Air Canada’s major local competitor, Air North, however, maintained its service despite the cold weather.  Understandably, some Air Canada customers were not pleased.

A passenger who began preparing a lawsuit against Air Canada was threatened by the airline.  News of the threat has now become public, and airline officials are stonewalling.

Threatening to label a Yukon passenger a flight risk for collecting names of dissatisfied Air Canada/Air Canada Jazz customers is not something the airlines can comment on.

Air Canada Jazz officials say the incident is the responsibility of Air Canada.

Air Canada says it’s Jazz’s baby.

Neither company’s officials would comment on the issue or explain their corporate policies.

The passenger, Peter Coates, doesn’t understand why an Air Canada employee threatened to label him a troublemaker and list him as a flight risk two weeks ago for attempting to collect the names and numbers of people willing to join a class-action lawsuit against Air Canada Jazz.

Coates was threatening the lawsuit because he and other passengers were grounded for three days in Vancouver when temperatures in Whitehorse were below minus 40 Celsius.

The frustrated passengers were forced to pay for hotel accommodations while Air Canada’s competitor, Air North, continued to fly.

This is another PR disaster for Air Canada, which has had an abysmal reputation in Whitehorse since shortly after it took over the route from now-defunct Canadian Airlines.

Air Canada (or is that Air Canada Jazz?) flies Bombardier CRJ aircraft on its Yukon route, even though the CRJ cannot fly when the mercury dips to -40.  This guarantees service interruptions every winter.  (And why does Bombardier, a Canadian company, make airplanes that can’t fly in typical winter conditions?)

Air North, by contrast, flies Boeing 737 aircraft that are not hindered by Yukon winter weather.

Read the whole story for the pathetic and ludricous efforts of Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz to pass the buck.  Air Canada Jazz states that its policies are set by Air Canada, while Air Canada insists that Air Canada Jazz is a separate corporate entity.  The Air Canada Jazz spokeswoman even refused to answer a reporter’s questions on the grounds that the reporter had tried to ask the same questions of an Air Canada employee!

The two spokeswomen also refused to discuss their respective company policies regarding circumstances under which individuals may be banned as flight risks.

As the government of Algeria fights al-Qaeda insurgents, a spiritual battle is also being fought.

Muslims are coming to Christ there as never before, mostly in mountain villages among Berber ethnic groups.

"The church is still growing fast; I have no doubt about it. The TV has a tremendous impact on the lives of the people there–especially Arabic language stations where for the first time many Algerians of course watch and see and hear Muslim converts who are preaching, who are teaching and telling them stories and also getting some facts about Islam and their faith in the Koran," Algerian pastor Youssef Ourahmane said.

Christianity existed in Algeria long before Islam, but disappeared in the 12th century. Today, Islam is the dominant faith, but Christianity is making a comeback.

Evangelisation of Muslims is illegal but Christians are having so much success that Muslim imams are agitating for a more stringent law.

Their pressure has already led to a new, tougher law: a hefty fine and imprisonment for those found guilty of shaking the faith of a Muslim. The law has yet to be implemented.

Christian leaders say no human law can stop the power of God.

h/t: Assist News Service