174794956
submission
AleRunner writes:
A rocket company has vowed to return to regular operations “as soon as possible” after an explosion during a test at the UK’s new spaceport in Shetland after "an “anomaly” had led to “the loss of the stage” but there were no injuries according to a Guardian report. The test was carried out by German company Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) which hopes to make the first UK vertical rocket launch into orbit. RFA said an “anomaly” had led to “the loss of the stage” but there were no injuries. The company’s spokesperson said: “We develop iteratively with an emphasis on real testing.
“This is part of our philosophy and we were aware of the higher risks attached to this approach. Our goal is to return to regular operations as soon as possible.”
171744137
submission
AleRunner writes:
France and Germany lead the camps in disagreeing on the future of nuclear in Europe. Camille Lafrance and Benjamin Wehrmann at CLEW take a deep dive into the reasons why, quoting experts and politicians. Energypost.eu report about their differences of opinion and the worry that investment in nuclear may slow access to the cheapest energy sources available.
171714558
submission
AleRunner writes:
In Vanity Fair Susan Casey writes about the engineering behind the Titan disaster:
"In a culture that has adopted the ridiculous mantra “move fast and break things,” that type of arrogance can get a person far. But in the deep ocean, the price of admission is humility—and it’s nonnegotiable. The abyss doesn’t care if you went to Princeton, or that your ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence. If you want to go down into her world, she sets the rules."
170909751
submission
AleRunner writes:
The Guardian is reporting on Methane releases in fossil fuel fields discovered using Satellite imaging:Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas from the oil- and gas-rich country are “mind-boggling”, and an “infuriating” problem that should be easy to fix, experts have told the Guardian.
The data produced by Kayrros for the Guardian found that the western fossil fuel field in Turkmenistan, on the Caspian coast, leaked 2.6m tonnes of methane in 2022. The eastern field emitted 1.8m tonnes. Together, the two fields released emissions equivalent to 366m tonnes of CO2, more than the UK’s annual emissions, which are the 17th-biggest in the world.
Link to Original Source
167670873
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AleRunner writes:
There are just two actions needed to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown: leave fossil fuels in the ground and stop farming animals. But, thanks to the power of the two industries, both aims are officially unmentionable. Neither of them has featured in any of the declarations from the 26 climate summits concluded so far. Writes George Monbiot in the Guardian Livestock farming, a recent paper in the journal Sustainability estimates, accounts for between 16.5% and 28% of all greenhouse gas pollution. Monbiot continues saying that, even if the minimum number (16.5%) applies, this is greater than all the world’s transport emissions. And it is growing fast.
162512844
submission
AleRunner writes:
The register has put together an up to date summary of the top ten options for Linux:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that all operating systems suck. Some just suck less than others.
It is also a comment under pretty much every Reg article on Linux that there are too many to choose from and that it's impossible to know which one to try. So we thought we'd simplify things for you by listing how and in which ways the different options suck.. They give a good summary of the state of each of their top 9 favourites.
154891841
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AleRunner writes:
People who choose not to get COVID vaccinations will start having to pay for their own care in Singapore hospitals from the start of next year. Although "covid-related medical bills will still be paid for people who aren’t eligible for a vaccine", ' the government said it will “begin charging Covid-19 patients who are unvaccinated by choice”'. The government says this is because "unvaccinated persons make up a sizeable majority of those who require intensive inpatient care, and disproportionately contribute to the strain on our healthcare resources". There's currently no suggestion that the unvaccinated should pay for the care of others they infect let alone compensation for the damage they do to others, however this still represents an escalation from basic vaccine mandates.
154236091
submission
AleRunner writes:
The United Kingdom's COVID-19 death rate has reached it's highest rate since just after the peak of the last lockdown in March. This has been happening as the new AY.4.2 variant of the Delta strain of the SARS-COV-2 virus has begun to dominate in the UK. Coming into winter the increase in coronavirus infection in the UK is already causing a collapse in health care with patients dying just after long waits for care or even whilst waiting. Although there's some similarity to 2020, and a worry that AY.4.2 might avoid immunity, the UK chancellor has decided to commit to a vaccines mainly strategy whilst other countries seem to be unconcerned with the CDC already declaring that no measures are planned to limit AY.4.2 spread
152522673
submission
AleRunner writes:
improved: added archive link for BBC news homepage
Petrol ("gas") stations in the UK are currently building to massive queues of with motorists desperately searching for fuel as the UK government tells Brits there is no reason to panic but requests they ensure they have 1/4 of a tank spare in case the first station they visit lacks fuel. The shortages are currently being hidden from international view (archive copy) by the UK's formerly independent state controlled media, the BBC, which recently began censoring all mention of Brexit related problems.
146944898
submission
AleRunner writes:
Ubuntu has announced that, with immediate effect Ubuntu's IRC channels are moving to libera.chat. The move follows a hijacking of Ubuntu's namespace by Freenode's new management and appears to be happening to many other distributions including Gentoo and CentOS as well as other projects that have used Freenode. For Ubuntu, and many other FOSS projects, Freenode has long been one of the major official forms of communication. Hijacking these long held channels is liable to dispel any remaining doubts about the reason that Freenode's staff recently quit en-masse (discussed recently here on Slashdot). With IRC channels often used for important system advice, and project communication, takeover by a hostile entity becomes not just an inconvenience but even a security problem. For this reason Ubuntu's replacement network, libera.chat has a more clearly open organisational structure than Freenode had before being taken over.
138417788
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AleRunner writes:
"Nearly one in five people who have had Covid-19 are diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as anxiety, depression or insomnia within three months of testing positive for the virus"
Natalie Grover writes in the Guardian. Although "people with a pre-existing mental health diagnosis" are 65% more likely to get COVID so is may be that this is partly explained by doctors diagnosing illness that would otherwise be missed, the article states that "the rate is double the rate for influenza" and unexpectedly high so other explanations are needed and the cause is now under investigation. The scientists state that it's "not at all implausible that Covid-19 might have some direct effect on your brain and your mental health" especially after studies showing neurological and neuropsychiatric complications of Covid-19. “It’s difficult to judge the importance of these findings" says the article however they will add very much to existing worries about long COVID and potential long term economic and social damage from COVID-19.
135120425
submission
AleRunner writes:
In the first half of 2020 Sweden has recorded it's highest death total in 150 years. the Guardian writes "In total, 51,405 Swedes died in the six-month period, a higher number than in any year since 1869, when 55,431 people died," in what may be a reaction to this failure, which makes Sweden the worst coronavirus country in Scandinavia, Sweden has announced a change to their new contact tracing policy — thelocal.se explains: "If you test positive for the coronavirus you may now be given instructions to call people with whom you have been in contact and may have infected, instead of healthcare staff doing the job for you, or it not being done at all.". In early June Sweden switched from it's failed "herd immunity" strategy to a contact tracing strategy and has since seen a strong fall in new infections though with a recent slight increase. Whether the new contact tracing strategy will be critical for the return of the Swedish economy with Sweden currently facing travel restrictions from Scandinavian neighbours such as Finland whilst other Scandinavian and Baltic countries are already open for trade and tourism. Swedes will be hoping that the adjustment of their new Coronavirus strategy will be a signpost for other countries rather than the warning of their old strategy.
Not so long ago, in June, we discussed how Sweden's old strategy had made Sweden a Piriah state and in May we had discussed how Sweden's old strategy caused many deaths whilst failing to deliver immunity
133692743
submission
AleRunner writes:
The United States on Tuesday recorded more than 1,000 daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time since May according to Politico. This trend continued and actually increased on Wednesday with over 1200 deaths. Whilst there have been suggestions that the increase in cases in the US was an artefact of greater testing, the new data on deaths makes it starkly clear that these suggestions were wrong and that cases are increasing at a greater rate than testing meaning that the official death rate is going to continue increasing for some time. Even these shocking numbers are likely an underestimate with reputable researchers having shown that many COVID-19 deaths have been registered under other causes. Worldwide more than half a million people are dead and 15 million are infected, however the US remains world leader in Coronavirus with Brazil still far behind in second place.
131410836
submission
AleRunner writes:
Immunity levels in Sweden, which were expected to reach 33% by the start of May have been measured at only 7.3% suggesting that the mass deaths in Sweden's care homes may have been for nothing and that Sweden's lighter lockdown may continue indefinitely whilst other countries begin to revive their economies. Writing about new Swedish antibody results in the Guardian Jon Henley goes on to report that other European countries like Finland are already considering blocking travel from Sweden which may increase Sweden's long term isolation.
We have discussed before whether Sweden, which locked down earlier than most but with fewer restrictions could be a model for other countries. As it is, now, the country is looking more like a warning to the rest of the world.
131132180
submission
AleRunner writes:
"Considering Vietnam's proximity to China, where coronavirus was first reported, it might be expected that the Southeast Asian country would be affected by Covid-19 in a similar manner.
China has more than 84,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 4,600 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Painting a strikingly different picture, Vietnam, which sits below its southern border, has just over 300 cases among its 97 million citizens and not a single death, according to reports." the article points to a key willingness to "sacrifice short-term economic benefits for the health of the people" which is now paying back in that they plan to "partially resume international flights from 1 June".
The article then goes on to boost the value of Vietnam's "authoritarian leadership" and "socialist ethos", not mentioning the success of democratic and politically diverse countries like New Zealand, Slovenia, Taiwan and the Czech Republic. Still an interesting thought provoking read.
