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a BBC news item includes:
Quote:By Jonathan Amos
Science reporter, BBC News, San Francisco
The Arctic may be close to a tipping point that sees all-year-round ice disappear very rapidly in the next few decades, US scientists have warned.The latest data presented at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting suggests the ice is no longer showing a robust recovery from the summer melt.
…
Dr Serreze’s concern was underlined by new computer modelling which concludes that the Arctic may be free of all summer ice by as early as 2040.The new study, by a team of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of Washington, and McGill University, found that the ice system could be being weakened to such a degree by global warming that it soon accelerates its own decline.
“As the ice retreats, the ocean transports more heat to the Arctic and the open water absorbs more sunlight, further accelerating the rate of warming and leading to the loss of more ice,” explained Dr Marika Holland.
“This is a positive feedback loop with dramatic implications for the entire Arctic region.”…
Almost the third test, and I’ve posted to another place (Simon Hughes’ blog on torygraph website):
It’ll of course take more than a little fly swatting (and bluebottle’s a kind of fly, in blightly at least), but better than letting em swarm all over the place.
England need to win 2 of 3 – meaning that gotta take the game to the Aussies, as happened in long ago 2005 summer. Better to try this and lose, perhaps, than just faff about with dead bats n pads or whatever.
I barely know Shah, but seems worth considering for attitude.
Likewise a few other positive selections needed. Read surely deserves a go, say. And, of course, Panesar.
Harmison doesn’t seem up for the fight.
If only one change before next test, I’ll watch, but perhaps with same horrified fascination as last time, esp that last day.Another skeptic who seems to be flailing is Fred Singer; extracts from an answer he gave to question on global warming:
Quote:In other words, we cannot deny the greenhouse effect, that’s real, but it’s small. … you implicitly assume … that warming is bad. I would question that. … how can you argue logically that a warmer climate is worse? Or would you say that the present climate just happens to be the optimum climate? …Tilting at Warming
Oh dear, seems the poor fellow’s gotten stuck in a quagmire; almost seems he’s thinking of how ridiculous his comments are even as he makes them. Global warming fears aren’t about any wishy-washy notion of “optimum climate” – but about major changes to the climate we’ve long had. As a commenter notes on blog with the quote, we have cities on seacoasts, crops suited to existing climates etc.More on the mindgame, from Derek Pringle in the Telegraph:
Quote:In 2005, England attacked Australia with the most talented players available at the time. That has not been the case here with Monty Panesar and Sajid Mahmood left out for the more conservative picks of Giles and James Anderson. They may have lost this Test playing badly for a day, but Matthew Hoggard betrayed their defensive mindset when he said beforehand that England had come here not to lose.The Telegraph article I added comment to starts:
Quote:England’s Ashes hopes imploded this morning in a blaze of run-outs, daft shots and cruel umpiring decisions. From what had looked a safe position overnight – and all through the match, for that matter – they managed to conjure one of the most dispiriting defeats in their long and often inglorious history.Aussies snatch victory as England collapse
The Times has a good piece, starting:Quote:We came to see England defend the Ashes in Australia, and boy have they defended. So much of what they have done, from strategy to shot selection has been cautious, fearful of error, blind to the benefits of aggression. It has been an abbrogation of the way they played their cricket under Michael Vaughan in England in 2005.
Shane Warne said before the series that it would be different this time because England were not used to being in front, and he was absolutely right. They don’t know how to make the running against Australia. It is anathema to them.
The character of English cricket is defined by the back-to-the-wall situation, Trevor Bailey and Willy Watson defying Australia at Lord’s in 1953 being the prime example. Geoff Boycott played his whole career in over-my-dead-body mode. He was very good against Australia.England freeze in the heat of Adelaide
Over at cricinfo Australia, an article starts:Quote:What a waste. A decent Test series was developing over the first four days but it was ruined by two sessions of England negativity. In the winning corner was Australia, whose only weakness is not knowing when to stop attacking. Then there was England. Sad, sorry, insipid England. They were as lame as Andrew Flintoff will probably be tomorrow.Feeble England ruin series
England will need a massive turnaround for the rest of the series – and it does indeed seem this must be with the mindset, for there are players with great abilities (albeit best spinner was a drinks carrier).
Otherwise, instead of parading in an opentop bus after series, looks best if they return home via Channel Tunnel, and somehow remain underground until get to back doors of their homes.Post edited by: Martin, at: 2006/12/05 12:05
Just come across a bizarre letter to the editor of the Freelance Star, by a doyenne of the global warming skeptics, Patrick Michaels.
Asks,
Quote:Can the news [about global warming] really be this bad?– and then answers with a truly lunatic piece of logic:
Quote:Every time some “new” information is added to a weather forecast, it should have an equal chance of making it warmer or colder. In global warming, which is really just a super-long-range forecast, every new finding should also have an equal chance of making it warmer or cooler, or “worse than we thought” or “not as bad as we thought.”Michaels writes a lengthy missive based on this – which he does not substantiate, and seems as crazy as saying (for instance) that in considering whether the earth is round or flat, or smoking does or does not cause cancer, the chances of the answer being one of these choices is 50%.
Thus, in noting that:
Quote:I counted 115 articles in the last 13 months–52 in Science and 63 in Nature. Twenty-three were in the “neutral/can’t classify” bin. In the remaining two categories, nine were in the “better” class, meaning things wouldn’t be as bad as previously thought, and 83 were in the “worse” box.– Michaels is able to say this must be a result of bias. It couldn’t be that global warming is indeed serious (for by his reasoning, if it was, half the papers would say it wasn’t).
But, perhaps his audience is simply idiots, keen for even the flakiest of pseudo-science to buttress their notions. And, of course, could please his backers in the energy industry.
You can see this at:
No, Virginia, the sky is not falling Warming to debate Are we responsible for the planet’s changing climate?Post edited by: Martin, at: 2006/12/03 15:04
Quote:China imported 26.78 million cubic meters of timber in the first 10 months, up 9.9 percent on the same period last year, according to statistics released Thursday by Chinese Customs.The statistics show that the average import price was 118.9 U.S. dollars per cubic meter, an 8.5 percent rise on the same period last year. The total value of imports reached 3.18 billion U.S. dollars, up 19.3 percent year on year.
Russia was the main source of China’s timber import with 18.42 million cubic meters, up 10.8 percent and accounting for 68.8 percent of the total timber imports; Papua New Guinea ranked second with 1.65 million cubic meters, up 10.9 percent; while imports from Malaysia saw a sharp drop of 30.3 percent to 1.1 million cubic meters.
…
To ease the timber shortage problem, analysts suggested the government expand tree planting areas and encourage enterprises touse timber substitutes to reduce wood consumption.Quote:…
B. N. Goswami of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and his colleagues studied rain gauge data from 1,803 stations scattered throughout central India from 1951 to 2000.
…
“Heavy and very heavy rain events over central India have increased significantly since the 1950s,” Goswami notes. “Also, the magnitude of the very heavy events in a given year has shown a clear increasing trend.”
…
“As the weak and moderate events decrease, their contribution to the mean decreased while the increasing number of heavy and very heavy events make an increasing contribution to the mean,” Goswami explains. “These two opposing contributions roughly balance each other and keep the mean unchanged.”
But even though the average has not changed, the potential for extreme downpours–and hence flooding and other ills–has, jumping 10 percent and still rising. This is an important and increasing risk going forward, according to the researchers. The number of strong tropical cyclones continues to increase as well, linked perhaps to the gradual increase in Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures. “The results are consistent with what may be expected under global warming,” Goswami adds.
…Quote:By SETH BORENSTEIN AP SCIENCE WRITER WASHINGTON — Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends. These fast-moving adaptations come as a surprise even to biologists and ecologists because they are occurring so rapidly. At least 70 species of frogs, mostly mountain-dwellers that had nowhere to go to escape the creeping heat, have gone extinct because of climate change, the analysis says. It also reports that between 100 and 200 other cold-dependent animal species, such as penguins and polar bears are in deep trouble. "We are finally seeing species going extinct," said University of Texas biologist Camille Parmesan, author of the study. "Now we’ve got the evidence. It’s here. It’s real. This is not just biologists’ intuition. It’s what’s happening." … Just five years ago biologists, though not complacent, figured the harmful biological effects of global warming were much farther down the road, said Douglas Futuyma, professor of ecology and evolution at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. "I feel as though we are staring crisis in the face," Futuyma said. "It’s not just down the road somewhere. It is just hurtling toward us. Anyone who is 10 years old right now is going to be facing a very different and frightening world by the time that they are 50 or 60."Study: Warming speeds species die off There’s a page of info on the Univ of Texas website, and link to pdf file of the report: Global Warming Increases Species Extinctions Worldwide, University of Texas at Austin Researcher Finds
Had reply to the above from masterchief, inc:
Quote:We have refactored the menu manager a lot to use fully qualified url’s. I’m not saying it’s perfect, because Itemid is still our nemesis, but it is a lot better than 1.0.
…
thanks for looking at these things and challenging us on it. Iron sharpens iron as they say This is turning into a good discussion– crikey, that’s not been kind of response typical of developers, who’ve downplayed the issue, or even (hackwar) said SEO doesn’t matter at all.
I’ve just posted, inc:
I’m glad Itemids are seen as an issue by big chief of core team, and there has been progress; has seemed some others in team don’t care, and/or don’t understand this is an issue. I’ve posted till I’m blue in the face about this; others have noted the problem too. Indeed, I think kenmcd has made one or two posts on this issue.
…
Short urls, with words, should be the target. And should be “Cool” – similar to permalink idea I believe.
I’m hoping absalom’s code does neat job here, inc with some options for how you create URLs, as with OpenSEF
..
How many who had sites with earlier Mambo have seen URLs unchanged? How many have created lots of 301 redirects in robots.txt? I still have a collection, inc from a Mambo upgrade.)As I use Google, tend to find main results have short urls, with keywords.
…Post edited by: Martin, at: 2006/11/20 03:58
After Joomla! “masterchief” Andrew Eddie posted in J thread asking when SEF will be integrated in the core, I made yet another post:
I’d referred to guidelines in a post above; it was these points in particular:
Quote:Don’t create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content.– Joomla has Search Engine Unfriendly URLs thanks to Itemids – can get new URL for same content as you create a fresh link to that content. Leads to same problem as guidelines mentions for session IDs:
Quote:bots may not be able to eliminate URLs that look different but actually point to the same page.A problem for some time – I’m among people who posted re this in Mambo forums (I’d also mentioned in 404SEF forum, after experiencing flurry of URLs created for just one page of content: a problem that clearly drove 404SEF guy nuts; happily, Xaneon and now OpenSEF to rescue), and since in Joomla forum; solved by OpenSEF, say, but without this Joomla doesn’t really create “Search Engine Friendly URLs”.
Quote:It helps to keep the parameters short and the number of them few.– some URLs can be long. Tho, I have good results for some joomlaboard threads, which have clunky URLs.
Shorter URLs are more human friendly; work better when sending emails. Good if it can be simpler for component developers to help ensure simple URLs – something I’d like for Gallery 2, say. Hopefully the sef file you mention is sign of good things to come here.Title tags get a mention.
I’d figured could have option of using h1 for item titles – but, would add to those requests for optional features…Hope the templates inc SEO are indeed forthcoming.
(Some time ago, I emailed [then] peekmambo guy, suggesting template to enhance SEO might be good idea, but didn’t get response.)Fully agree that:
Quote:can only go so far by painting-by-numbers and join-the-dotsanother of the guidelines – among the most crucial – says:
Quote:Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.Indeed, can’t hold people’s hands here. For myself, hope I never see the day when a cms alone can meet this guideline.
Yes, it does seem reasonably easy for coders to modify stuff.
Much of discussion in this thread, I think, is on what should be present before modifications needed. Varying views, but maybe a cms that has SEO basics, inc one URL per item – and a URL you can retain as upgrade software etc (“Cool URIs”) – would be an ideal basic foundation.
I know of considerable improvements re SEO since I started using Mambo – page titles built in, say.
Not far to go, really, if sieve down major feature requests/ideas in this thread. Including, Death to ItemidsPost edited by: Martin, at: 2006/11/20 03:44
Some days later:
I had a torrid time after making the above post!
Spent hours as found and “wrestled with” major problems.
After things seemed ok, and installed Joomlaboard, and OpenSEF (to replace Xaneon Extensions), the site just stopped working.
Visiting site, pages just blank, or showing brief text like “Welcome to DocMartin” and nothing else.I couldn’t figure why – was it problem with URLs: tried purging all “friendly” URLs, but still no good. Couldn’t see if an issue with Joomlaboard.
Thought perhaps a Joomla file or several hadn’t uploaded properly – and started using FTP to re-transfer several of these, after checking dates listed for files on server (some seemed to have not been changed).
Still no use until, at last, tried one main index.php – and suddenly, all was well: Phew!All well, that is, with main Joomla!
Joomlaboard here for some reason has problems when to list forums and categories: error messages on top; and last post dates (in forums) all from 1969. Looked at Joomlaboard forums; seems such errors fairly common, but no solutions posted. I’ve posted about this, too; had brief reply, but as yet no solution.Also followed by installing Gallery 2.1 and G2 Bridge: took some time, but went well, and seems a good improvement – inc for gallery appearance. (Importantly, too, works with Gd editor: my host has disabled things needed for other editors as security measure, so been a while since I’ve added photos.)
Quote:UN chief Kofi Annan has criticised a “frightening lack of leadership” in tackling global warming, at a major UN climate summit in Nairobi.
Mr Annan told delegates the phenomenon was as grave a threat as conflict, poverty and the spread of weapons.He said sceptics were “out of step, out of arguments and out of time”.
…
“It is increasingly clear that it will cost far less to cut emissions now than to deal with the consequences later,” he told the 189-nation meeting in Kenya’s capital.The UN chief said climate change was also a threat to peace and security.
“Changing patterns of rainfall, for example, can heighten competition for resources, setting in motion potentially destabilising tensions and migrations…
“There is evidence that some of this is already occurring; more could well be in the offing.”
…UN chief issues climate warning
Post edited by: Martin, at: 2006/11/16 12:00
Quote:IMPROPER poultry raising and sales techniques – rather than the
flights of migratory birds – play the most important role in the
spread of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, United Nations officials
said yesterday at a conference in eastern China.Dr Vincent Martin, an official with the UN’s Food and Agriculture
Organization, said the spread of bird flu is mainly the result of the
world’s rapid and unregulated development of animal production to
meet the increased demand for protein.His comments came during an international conference in Nanchang,
Jiangxi Province.Highly concentrated domestic poultry production systems, especially
in Asia, are still using centuries-old practices that place humans
and poultry in proximity, he said.Meanwhile, the constantly evolving nature of the virus has provided
the ideal conditions for the emergence of new strains of avian
influenza.Evidence indicates wild migratory birds play a minor role in the
long-distance spread of the virus, Martin said, adding that the main
causes of the deadly disease are the trade in poultry and poultry
products.Marco Barbieri, executive secretary of the Convention on Migratory
Species of the UN Environmental Program, said that despite media
attention the spread of bird flu is not widely understood.Misinformation has led to wild birds bearing major blame for
transmission of the disease, the official said.“This creates political pressure for ill-advised and disproportionate
policies such as the culling or harassment of wild birds and the
destruction of wetland habitats,” Barbieri said.Other modes of transmission, such as the trade in poultry and poultry
products, the trade in caged birds and human movements may well play
a far more significant role in the spread of bird flu, he said. And
in some cases, these pathways have been underestimated and do not
receive proportionate media exposure.“We need to present an accurate and balanced view which acknowledges
that there are a number of factors whose relative importance can
change, depending on the area or outbreak concerned,” Barbieri said.It is clear that trade in domestic poultry has been a crucial factor,
even in transmitting avian influenza across continents, he said.
…It’s been quite some years since The Bad Earth by Vaclav Smil was published – in 1980s. Painted a grim picture of China’s environment. At the time, Chinese officials said Smil was wrong; but since then, has been official recognition of worsening environment. Now, as this thread shows, things are increasingly serious: even as China’s economy booms, its environment goes downhill. (Tho yes, there are a few bright spots.)
From article just in China Daily:
The environment situation in the country is reaching a “critical point,” the head of the environmental watchdog said over the weekend.
“More and more environmental problems are beginning to pop up,” Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), told the annual meeting of the China Council for International Co-operation on Environment and Development (CCICED).
“In some places, environmental problems have affected people’s health and social stability; and damaged our international image.”
More than half of the country’s rivers are severely polluted, and about a third of the territory affected by acid rain, Zhou noted.
ENVIRONMENT SITUATION AT ‘CRITICAL POINT’Also, signs that China has been stung by recent criticism of its impacts on environment within and outside the country:
The Western media have neglected the positive impact China has on the environment outside the country, according to a report released by a high-profile think tank.The report “Review and Perspective of the Environment and Development of China” was presented by a special task force of the China Council for International Co-operation on Environment and Development (CCICED) at its annual meeting over the weekend. The task force consists of leading experts from home and abroad on global environmental and affiliated sectors.
“Too much stress on the negative environmental externality will limit China’s rights to development,” the report said.
Green impact ‘ignored by media’Grim report just out from WWF; info on wwf site begins:
Quote:A new report released today by WWF finds a clear and escalating pattern of climate change impacts on bird species around the world, suggesting a trend towards a major bird extinction from global warming.The report, Bird Species and Climate Change: The Global Status Report, reviews more than 200 scientific articles on birds in every continent to build up a global picture of climate change impacts.
“Robust scientific evidence shows that climate change is now affecting birds’ behaviour,” said Dr Karl Mallon, Scientific Director at Climate Risk Pty. Ltd and one of the authors of the report. “We are seeing migratory birds failing to migrate, and climate change pushing increasing numbers of birds out of synchrony with key elements of their ecosystems.”
Climate change has birds out on a limb
(includes links to report and report summary)I learned of it thro Reuters report, headed “”
Global warming could wipe out most birds: WWFEven back in the late 1980s, I thought there were signs that global warming was impacting bird migration on east coast of China (at and near Beidaihe); notably, some late autumn birds such as cranes were appearing later than had been noted in 1940s and earlier.
Learned from Jesper Hornskov that changes there have continued; for instance, ice forming later as winter arrives, birds such as little egrets lingering.
Chinese Bulbul – formerly unknown in that area – has spread there, and become a common breeding bird. Some residents apparently commoner, perhaps as result of milder winters.
I figured that ne China maybe more prone to warming as it has rather little influence from ocean temperatures. Indeed, seems to be warming relatively fast; just found a report saying:Quote:China has been experiencing evident temperature rise in the past 50 years under global warming, with east and northeast China suffering the largest rise of 0.4 to 0.8 of a degree Celsius every ten years, said the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED).China’s temperature to raise 1.7 degrees Celsius by 2030
Here in Hong Kong, a remarkably warm late autumn this year – I’m considering turning on air con just now. Surges of northerly airstreams, which help drive autumn migration, have been only feeble so far. (Perhaps not so surprising after we read of much Arctic ice melting. The masses of cold air that drive the airstreams not being chilled so much.)
In Borneo in August, I was told of rainy season being late, but imminent; yet reports of ongoing fires show it has remained relatively dry. Yes, not unprecedented, but perhaps another worrisome sign of change. More fires, more habitats for resident birds and migrants from the north going up in smoke. (And the dry weather must make it tough for birds in the remaining forests; esp if normal behaviour might be to move, find places that may be better.)
By contrast, another report just out telling of forest cover increasing in various places, inc China. But, this surely means plantations and secondary growth; and China reportedly sparing its own forests while involved in heavily logging others, from Siberia to PNG.
Post edited by: Martin, at: 2006/11/14 06:02
Post edited by: Martin, at: 2006/11/14 06:23
Quote:A report released paints a damning picture of China’s “deteriorating environmental conditions” and suggests 51 initiatives that could be implemented to improve the situation.The report, published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with the approval of the Chinese government, says China has not done enough to prevent pollution of its land, water and air.
China’s environment ‘deteriorating’
Report summary (pdf) available at:
OECD > Information by Country > China > Country Surveys/Reviews/GuidesThe “migration routes” expand.
Quote:Four countries grouped in the East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) forum — Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and the Philippines — planned to establish a halal poultry joint company for exports to the Middle East, an Indonesia official has said.“Currently, only Brunei in the Asean region holds a license to export halal chicken to the Middle East. An agenda on the establishment of the joint company is scheduled to be discussed at the BIMP-EAGA forum,” Deputy for Studies on Resources of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, I Wayan Suwarja, said here Sunday.
Halal means allowed in Islam.
Press release from Worldwatch:
Low-Impact Fish Farming and Eating Lower on the Food Chain Can Provide More Jobs and Increase Seafood Quality and Safety
Washington, D.C. — The world’s beleaguered fish populations have found an unlikely ally: seafood eaters, according to a new Worldwatch study by Brian Halweil, a senior researcher and globally recognized food expert. From Chinese universities that refuse to serve shark fin soup, to U.S. supermarkets that feature sustainably harvested shrimp, to Japanese consumers who are restoring wild oyster beds, a well-informed population of seafood eaters, distributors, restaurants, and supermarkets is playing a growing role in fostering a more sustainable, lower-impact fishing industry.
“Today, most of the world’s seafood, from tuna to salmon to bay scallops, is threatened with extinction,” writes Halweil in Catch of the Day: Choosing Seafood for Healthier Oceans. Studies show that fishers have eliminated at least 90 percent of tuna, marlin, swordfish, and other large predatory fish in just the past 50 years, and United Nations surveys show that roughly two-thirds of the world’s major fish stocks, from cod to salmon to mackerel, have been pushed to the verge of collapse. “A public that better understands the state of the world’s oceans can be a driving force in helping governments pass legislation to ban destructive fishing, mandate fishing labels that indicate how fish were caught, and create marine preserves off-limits to fishing where fish can spawn.”
But this growing movement is still fragile, Halweil notes. The commitments of many participants, from retail giant Wal-Mart to the Red Lobster restaurant chain, remain incomplete. For instance, Wal-Mart’s recent pledge to sell only certified sustainable fish in the next 3– 5 years involves no commitments with respect to farmed salmon and Asian-farmed shrimp, which constitute the bulk of its seafood sales. And endangered swordfish, Atlantic cod, and Chilean sea bass are making a comeback on some restaurant menus as chefs forget earlier campaigns to protect them.
The rapid decline of marine life is largely a result of increased seafood consumption and the use of high-impact fishing technology, which not only raises yields, but also requires about 12.5 times as much energy to catch fish as the fish provide to those who eat them, explains Halweil. He notes that the United States, Europe, and Japan—the world’s largest seafood consumers—receive most of their seafood through large distributors, restaurants, and supermarkets, so changes in buying habits in these channels could have a profound impact on the health of today’s fish stocks.
“In the same way the organic food movement is evolving beyond the culinary fringe, sustainable seafood can make its biggest impact when it starts appearing at popular supermarkets and restaurants,” says Halweil. “Fish is an incredibly healthful food, but we’ll need to eat less of certain kinds and more of others if we want fish in the future.” Salmon farms, for instance, consume more fish in the form of feed than they yield in seafood, and large ocean species like tuna and swordfish are most likely to be contaminated with mercury and other toxins. Eating clams, oysters, and smaller species, in contrast, puts less strain on oceans and protects consumers from contaminants.
Recalling the success of the “dolphin-safe” tuna campaign of the 1980s, Catch of the Day draws attention to a wellspring of private initiatives that are helping to save marine life—from color-coded seafood selection guides to targeted purchasing by large seafood buyers like pioneering restaurant company Bon Appétit. These efforts are boosting the sales and reputations of participating companies, protecting jobs in developing countries where seafood is the dominant industry, and increasing the overall quality and safety of fish products worldwide.
“Some scientists predict that if current trends continue, the oceans will be reduced to a trawler-scraped wasteland inhabited primarily by sea slime and jellyfish,” Halweil notes. “The fishing industry and fisheries regulators have spent decades trying to prevent this grim outcome, but they have largely failed. Whether it is helping a marine conservation group push through laws prohibiting deep-sea trawling or supporting more restrictive trade in endangered species, seafood shoppers can help reverse the damages humans have created and preserve the fresh catch of tomorrow.”
Conscientious Seafood Buyers May Be Greatest Hope to Reverse Widespread Destruction of FisheriesQuote:A regular monitoring on prevention of bird flue in the territory of
Azerbaijan has been completed. The monitoring was held on the
territories of the Absheron Peninsula, Davachi, Salyan, Aghdjabado,
and Lankaran, as well as in the national parks, reserves, and coastal
zone, Trend reports referring to a message spread by the State
Veterinary Service of the Azerbaijan Agriculture Minister.Pathologic material was taken from 41 wild birds; blood was taken
from 10 wild birds and 2,250 poultry. No signs of bird flue were
detected as a result of laboratory examinations.During the monitoring, as before held by a commission of specialists
of the State Service, Health Ministry, Ecology and Natural Resources
Ministry, no facts on bird deaths was observed.The preceding monitoring had been held at the end of September, and
its results did not show any appearances of the disease on the
territory of the country.Another "result" for those fearmongering about wild birds and h5n1:
Quote:Chiang Rai _ The annual migration of swallows to the small town of Mae Sai has got locals here fearing a possible outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. Tens of thousands of the birds arrived in Mae Sai municipality two weeks ago. And since then, fears have been growing among residents scared that droppings from the migratory birds could spread the deadly virus. ,,, The authorities have been spraying the roads with disinfectant every evening to try and prevent any possible spread of the virus and are discussing other ways to deal with the birds. They have even lit fire-crackers and sprayed chemicals used to wipe out mosquitoes and their breeding-grounds, but all these measures seem to scare the birds away only temporarily. … Early lab tests of bird carcasses, however, have shown no trace of bird fluAnd, another comment, critical of the Anatidae carrying H5N1 paper:
Quote:The authors cite the date of the first confirmed outbreak in Ukraine
as DECEMBER 2005. There was an OIE report filed by Ukraine on 5 Dec
2005, but this report says first outbreak began on 25 Nov.Also, officials later admitted that they were aware of outbreaks in
October and farmers quoted by news media said the first outbreaks
actually began in September.see
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/02c85854-bdf3-4889-a065-
eba2b9099ff7.htmlAny way you look at it, the date used for Ukraine is wrong. What
about the others ??Also remember that death rate in poultry flocks only reaches real
catastrophic levels only 3 weeks or more after the index
case/introduction occurs — so that the “observed date” of first
reported major outbreak occurs at least one month after the actual
initial introduction.When these aspects are factored into the equation also,
the “evident” temporal correlations cited in this study may become
pretty tenuous indeed …Post edited by: martin, at: 2006/11/05 10:41
Another person’s comment on the Anatidae and H5N1 paper:
Quote:We still try to understand this article.
But also have feelings – a lot of interesting assumptions, little
factual evidences.According authors H5N1 outbreak in Romania and Turkey poultry started
early October 2005. I’m not specialist, but I have serious doubts,
if serious amount of ducks already in this time arrive so far south
and west for wintering.After 2-4 month silence – new powerful outbreaks in Ukraine,
Dagestan (it is northern part of the Caspian sea), Azerbaijan.
Again poultry sector affected + more or less visible amount of swans in Azerbaijan.
As I understand, limited amount of samples from wild birds was positive.
Millions domestic birds are dead. Millions wild birds quite
successful survive in very cold winter.After, already in late winter-spring 2006 some amount H5N1 in wild
birds (mostly swans) in Europe. It create most media panic.
Actually no serious veterinary problems in poultry sector (with some rare exceptions).
As I understand – very limited amount of H5N1 positive wild birds
was registered. Or EU AI wild birds monitoring system simple not work?Spring 2006 – full scale avian flu panic in Russia. Danger!
H5N1 with wild birds from Europe come back and will infect
whole European part of the Russia!Until this moment – zero cases H5N1 positive wild and
domestic birds in Central and North European part of the Russia.Yes, wide scale vaccination was implemented. But efficiency of vaccine
is doubtful and vaccination include only part of the domestic birds.
As concern biosecurity, especially in small farm and among local peoples
– forget it. Wild and domestic birds meet together everywhere.Some monitoring of the H5N1 in wild birds – nothing was discovered.
Good luck.Yes, quite serious avian flu outbreak in wild birds in 2006 summer in Tuva
(close to Mongolia and China). Some H5N1 antibodies positive wild birds (including this year ducklings) was discovered in Omsk,Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk region (it is southern part of Central Siberia)This moment it is all.
And where is this horrible long distance flying death?
Only sparrows from China instead.New research suggests insects could increase with warmer weather, leading to increases in threats such as disease transmission, and crop pests.
Global Warming Could Trigger Insect Population BoomFrom an item on Xinhua headlined “UN: Migratory birds not major cause of flu transmission”
Includes:
Quote:Dr. Vincent Martin, an official with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UNFAO), said the spread of bird flu is mainly the result of the world’s fast and unregulated development of animal production to meet the increased demand for animal protein.Marco Barbieri, executive secretary of Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), said the spread of bird flu receives a lot of attention in the media yet there remains widespread misunderstanding of the issue.
Misinformation has led to wild birds being automatically blamed, the official said. “This creates political pressure for ill-advised and disproportionate policies such as the culling or harassment of wild birds and the destruction of wetland habitats.”
– misinformation such as the silly Domenech et al paper [just on CDC site; I’ve posted to thread here that’s kind of themed FAO vs wild birds] I suppose.
Quote:On the role of wild birds in transmission of the bird flu, Barbieri said it is clear that trade in domestic poultry has been a crucial factor, even in transmitting avian influenza over long distances and across continents.Oh dear, just had a read of Anatidae migration and h5n1 paper; authors inc Joseph Domenech and Juan Lubroth of FAO. Looks to be based on various barely founded assumptions.
Why haven’t they also strongly considered the flyways in east Asia, say?
– where patterns don’t follow migration routes. [Here I am in Hong Kong; evidence here powerfully against ducks being major carriers H5N1)A few quotes:
Quote:Invariably, wild birds found to be infected with the virus were either dead or moribund and may not have been able to spread the virus over long distances. Furthermore, in several cases, no straightforward match was found between the appearance of the virus and the presence of the wild birds suspected of spreading it. For example, HPAI H5N1 virus outbreaks that took place in Russia and Kazakhstan during summer 2005 were distributed along important trade routes
…
The search for wild bird species carrying HPAI H5N1 virus is in progress and awaits further classification.
…
The broad approach adopted in this study has clear limitationsSad people amongst authors, with a strong and clear bias towards poultry industry (Joseph Domenech is there, I see: long a cheerleader for blaming wild birds for spread, avoiding notions it’s really the poultry trade to blame).
There’s little about how it’s not efficient for ducks to spread via oral tracts – no notion that wild avian flus spread thro faeces as they have evolved to transmit thro most efficient mechanisms.
Only scant coverage of trade routes, as much discussed here on aiwatch. The situation in east Asia just skated over.
Appalling. (Tho for those involved in the poultry industry gravy train, must be considered a boost after an autumn of – so far – zero transmission by wild birds. New Sci and its poultry magazines publishing publisher will surely like it!)
Now, on Science website, an idea for reducing sun reaching the earth by having screen of tiny spacecraft – each a transparent disc.
Quote:… one astronomer has come up with a radical plan to cool Earth: launch trillions of feather-light discs into space, where they would form a vast cloud that would block the sun’s rays.
…
Instead, University of Arizona Steward Observatory optics expert Roger Angel proposes using screens just 0.6 meters across, weighing about a gram each. These discs would be manufactured on Earth using very thin, transparent material that doesn’t reflect the sun, but instead refracts it, so as to avoid having the sun’s radiation push them out of orbit. The discs would also have three 0.1-meter-long protruding electronic “ears” with a solar power source so they could adjust their position, making them essentially tiny spacecraft.so far, so good, perhaps, but then:
Quote:About 16 trillion flyers would have to be deployed, which could be done with 20 launchers that would each send up a stack every 5 minutes for 10 years.yeah, right – like governments are about to get their acts together enough to do this. (And what if get too much cooling, or other problems, anyway?)
A Sunshade for Planet Earthanother post to Joomla! forum re this issue, August 2006:
Hi Amy:
Thanks for the reply.
Hmm, discussion not being about multiple URLs for the same content seems to be from coders’ viewpoint.
If you’re concerned about actually building websites, this issue/discussion surely is about multiple URLs, and basic Joomla creating these, and so generating Search Engine Unfriendly URLs. (And, as I mentioned, this being a relatively recent problem; seems silly innovation to me.)
I’d rather have that extra query or two, in order to not have to be concerned about duplicate content penalties.
Pretty URLs not a major issue, though I think can help when emailing links to people.
Cool URLs as per: http://www.w3.org/Provider/Style/URI – page dated 1998, yet URL should still be the same. [How many times might a Mambo/Joomla user’s URLs have changed over the years, if kept to basic URL creation, and used all possible updates?]Cool, SEF URLs should be among foundations of strong websites.
So, remains odd that they’re left for some later time.
Users not even given a choice – would they prefer better URLs, or fewer queries?; and there isn’t a note that the basic “SEF” URLs can actually be SEU – unless just have one menu link to each page, and otherwise use links to actual URLs, which is clumsy (I’ve had to do so before).Glad you like DocMartin site. My site running Joomla! – with OpenSEF – is Hong Kong Outdoors.
Here’s a post from Joomla forum, 15 September 2005 (in thread asking when SEO will be built into Mambo, and – later – Joomla core):
Glad to see some discussion here; I made a few posts in a mamboserver forum about duplicate URLs for same content.
I’d like to see Mambo generate Cool, SEF links.
Cool links as per W3C – ie once you have a link to a page of content, you can keep it, even if and when upgrade software etc.
SEF – easy to read by search engines. I don’t think this is real crucial – I have forum threads that do ok in google with “raw” cms type URLs; but can only help, esp if include a keyword or two.
Plus, also importantly I think, good SEF URLs are more human friendly – maybe better for people to click on, and for cutting and pasting (working better in emails, where long URLs that split onto two lines don’t always link well).
And, can end in .html – which I read somewhere might put people looking to do bad things to php sites off the scent.Tried 404SEF, but had problem others had (and author noticed) – kept slapping id numbers on end, so could wind up with a bunch of URLs pointing to a page. This is a Mambo issue, I think introduced after 4.5.0 – and making Mambo URLs less “friendly” than before.
I use beta 2 of Xaneon, and impressed by it; was real disappointed development stalled, think it’s great that development is back on track – glad to see Ken’s energy in helping get things moving; fingers crossed.
I don’t have too many glitches w Xaneon – maybe as not enough hits to wallop the database; would like to see its abilities extend to URLs for components (such as forum, menalto Gallery [there’s fix for Gallery 1.5 and Xaneon, but a bit complex to me]).
Like the name OpenSEF.
After some more development, maybe it can be included in Joomla! core – as an option. (“SEF” is option now; could have additional OpenSEF option, with proviso it might not work perfectly. [won’t be quite the only such thing in Joomla! core after all; but then, this is open source and occasional hiccoughs to be expected.])
Pro users who require support could then opt for SEF Advance. Dunno if this may work.Then, on to a few other things.
One being page titles (in head code) – way more important for search engine rankings I believe. Good progress so far; but also making things easier for extra components would be good. (Latest simpleboard generates titles for threads; but for Gallery I’ve so far only managed album titles – photo titles would be great [my php hacking efforts not up to this so far, plus have hopes re G2])
– a couple of days later, I was back with:I’ve complained about built-in SEF, since upgrading from 4.5.0.
– as get the item IDs slapped on end, so can have multiple URLs for one item (mamboserver had whole thread based on this, tho took time to get going).
This is surely SEU – search engine unfriendly. Google dislikes duplicate URLs (should rank one page, and penalise others with different URLs); then, which URL should others link to?; get dilution of Pagerank (or however you might call this, for all search engines – the potential benefits of inbound links).
Key reason I abandoned SEF404 (for one page, saw five or more URLs spawned in about ten minutes), and chose Xaneon.(Maybe itemid problem is a little different – but surely means the “friendly” in built-in SEF is misleading.)
Also, with the item ids especially, URLs surely aren’t Cool – set to remain for long time.
Over time, this too is unfriendly (to search engines, also to humans – who might find themselves clicking on links that no longer work. Plus to site managers, who may find themselves putting in loads of redirects if, say, get whole new set of URLs after Joolma! upgrade [latter has happened w Mambo; hopefully now w J!])
– soon afterwards:Further to complaints re built-in SEF, here’s extract of a post on webmasterworld:
The biggest problem I encountered with mambo was with the original SEF & non-SEF dynamic urls. You could end up with a content page having 4 or 5 different urls, depending on how you get to that page. As you can imagine, the result is one huge “duplicate content” mess.
Mentions Xaneon can fix this, so too SEF Advance.
But, should people have to pay or use a free third party component to fix a problem that Mambo (and now Joomla, till revised) creates?
from post I made to Joomla! forum:
Quote from: Hackwar on Today at 07:13:30 AM
Quote:My personal opinion on SEO and SEF:
I think this is not worth the hazzle.…
may give some people a cheap laugh!
Oh to see Hackwar stand up before a bunch of major league web gurus and say this. Now that could be priceless.
Hackwar quickly replied he’d happily stand up at just such a meeting and say this. Yikes!
