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SpaceX scrubs Falcon I rocket launch

Monday, November 28, 2005

SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered.

This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The maiden voyage was originally intended to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a Naval Research Laboratory satellite and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload.

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BC design club president comments on Olympic mascots; sales brisk

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Wikinews recently spoke with Mark Busse, president of the BC Chapter of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, to find out what his organization’s views are of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic mascots, Miga, Quatchi, and Sumi.

Many people love them. Obviously some don’t. Kids seem to adore them. But as a professional designer, I am trying to keep an open mind and try to consider the big picture and audience before judging them too quickly.

The mascot design was a very difficult problem for the VANOC 2010 planning committee — and a very important project with lots at stake. Unlike during the original logo competition, VANOC chose to not engage in an open, speculative contest, but rather came to the Society of Graphic Designers for assistance and guidance, followed our recommendations and engaged in a thorough, thoughtful, fair and comprehensive design competition and process. They had our full cooperation and support and we encouraged all GDC members to participate.

I would have likely designed something different, although I had suggested using BC mythology, such as a Sasquatch, to capture the imagination of a predominantly young international audience. But I think the result of VANOC’s careful design process is a solution that captured BC’s spirit, culture, attitude, geography, wildlife, athleticism — even mythology — in a clever and friendly way. Quatchi, Miga and Sumi are respectful of BC aboriginal heritage without alienating all Canadians.

While the products at HBC stores of the mascots have been flying off the shelves, many have bashed the designs for having “too much” of a Japanese influence. As of 2001, 1.5% of Vancouverites were Japanese heritage, and 29.9% were of Chinese descent. Vancouver’s Chinatown is one of the largest historic Chinatowns in North America, and Japan has had diplomatic relations with the city since 1930.

This is the first time the Olympic and Paralympic mascots have been unveiled at the same time.

Busse is also a partner and the design director at Industrial Brand Creative, a design firm in the province. He is co-chair of Graphex ’08, a design exhibition at the Emily Carr Institute, which “showcases the best cultural, social and business communications in Canada.”

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Similarities Between Options And Futures Trading

By Jason Ng

After spending much time explaining the differences between options trading and futures trading to beginners to derivatives trading, I think its time to touch on the similarities between options trading and futures trading. Is options trading and futures trading really that different? What are some of the similarities? Well, there are actually four main areas in which options and futures are similar.

First of all, options and futures are both derivative instruments. This means that they are both merely contracts that allows you to trade their underlying asset at certain specific prices, hence deriving their value from price movements of their underlying asset. Both options and futures are merely contracts that bind the exchange of the underlying asset at a specific price. Without an underlying asset, options and futures would not have any value for their existence at all, which is why they are known as ‘Derivative Instruments’. Options and futures both exist for the purpose of facilitating the trading of their underlying asset.

Secondly, both options and futures are leverage instruments. This means that both options trading and futures trading give you the ability to control the price movement on more of their underlying assets than your cash would usually allow. For instance, a futures contract with an initial margin requirement of 10% would allow you to control ten times the amount of its underlying asset than your cash would normally allow you to. A call option asking for $1.00 on a stock that is trading at $20 has a twenty times leverage as it allows you to control a stock worth $20 with only $1. Leverage also means that you could make more profit with options and futures on the same move on their underlying asset than you would if you bought the underlying asset with the same amount of cash. Of course, leverage cuts both ways. You could also potentially lose more than you would in options and futures trading than you would if you had simply bought the underlying asset.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnOXh7tlUZQ[/youtube]

Thirdly, both options and futures can be used for hedging. Hedging is one of the most important usages of derivatives. Both futures and options can be used to partially or totally hedge the directional price risk of an asset even though options are more versatile and precise as it allows for what is known as delta neutral hedging which allows a completely hedged position to still profit should the underlying asset stage a strong breakout in either direction. The hedging power of options and futures is also extremely important in reducing the downwards pressure faced by the overall market during market crisis because big funds and institutions can hedge the downside risk of their holdings using options and/or futures instead of selling their shares in order to maintain their account value. By reducing the amount of selling these big funds does, downside pressure in the overall market is partially relieved. Of course, this alone does not stop bear markets from forming when the general retail crowd (aka the ‘Herd’) starts to rush out of the market.

Fourthly, both options and futures can be used to profit in ways other than the price movement of the underlying stock itself. Futures spreads can be used to speculate in seasonal price differences between the price of futures contracts of different expiration months and options spreads can be structured to profit from time decay no matter which way the underlying asset goes. Yes, it is these options strategies and futures strategies that make derivatives trading so interesting and so rewarding for people with the knack for mathematical calculations and strategies.

So, even though options and futures are very different derivative instruments and have very different rules and trading characteristics, they are still very much the same in the above areas and you can be a more comprehensive and savvy trader or investor by understanding how to use both options and futures to your advantage.

About the Author: Jason Ng is the Founder and Chief Option Strategist of Masters ‘O’ Equity Asset Management and author of Optiontradingpedia.com and Futurestradingpedia.com. Learn more about

Options Trading

and

Futures Trading

.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=543896&ca=Finances

Ontario Votes 2007: Interview with Green candidate Russ Aegard, Thunder Bay-Atikokan

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Ontario Votes 2007: Interview with Green candidate Russ Aegard, Thunder Bay-Atikokan
Author: Admin Posted under: Uncategorized

Monday, September 24, 2007

Russ Aegard is running for the Green Party of Ontario in the Ontario provincial election, in the Thunder Bay-Atikokan riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

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Interpol arrest Karachi fire suspect in Bangkok

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Interpol arrest Karachi fire suspect in Bangkok
Author: Admin Posted under: Uncategorized

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Interpol on Friday evening arrested Abdul ‘Bhola’ Rehman in Bangkok, Thailand. Rehman, 46, is accused of starting a 2012 garment factory fire in Karachi, Pakistan that killed over 250.

Initially thought to be accidental, the fire is now believed to have been set deliberately by an extortion group targeting the factory’s owners. Rehman is accused of receiving an order to start the fire. He is expected to be extradited to Pakistan where he is facing charges under terrorism legislation.

The Pakistani Interior Ministry was ordered by a court to arrest Rehman and another suspect, Hammad Siddiqui, with assistance from Interpol. A third accused, Zubair alias Lala, is detained in Pakistan. Around a dozen further suspects are under investigation.

The Ali Enterprises factory fire in Karachi’s Baldia Town area was among the worst industrial disasters in Pakistan. A judicial enquiry found insufficient emergency exits, insufficient safety training, overcrowding due to bulky equipment, and insufficient regulatory oversight all contributed. German firm KIK, the facility’s main customer, paid compensation to victims.

Once facing now-abandoned murder charges, the factory’s owners are now being treated as witnesses. Papers lodged before Sindh High Court in February last year suggested an extortion plot. A reinvestigation commenced the following month, and earlier this year police confirmed they too believed an extortion gang to be responsible.

Rehman was arrested at the Royal Garden Home Hotel, where he was staying alone. He is alleged by some reporters to have connections with the Pakistani Pak Sarzameen Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, something both organisations deny. He is also alleged to have worked for Karachi’s local government.

Rehman’s wife said he was innocent.

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Are Stomach Balloons The Future Of Weight Loss Surgery?

Author: Admin Posted under: Weight Loss Surgery

Are Stomach Balloons The Future Of Weight Loss Surgery?

by

Nigel Smucker

The last three decades have offered the weight loss market a variety ofdifferent surgical methods for fighting obesity gastric bypasses included. Yet despite the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services directive in 2006 which demanded all Cosmetic Centers to have qualified staff and tools, these types of cosmetic surgeries are still life threatening.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0_5g2e1ook[/youtube]

Even following recent modifcations wherecomplication rates have dropped by 2.2% from 12.2% of patients to 10%, and the 30 day mortality rate has shrunk from 0.28% to 0.20% (a 0.08% drop) – these enhancements are not enough when you add to the equation the hundreds of thousands of obese individuals who undertake these surgeries … However, this could soon all be changing if the ReShape Medical of San Clementes double balloon is approved by the FDA. Structured to help obese patients who are just below or above the required guidelines for gastric bypass and laparoscopic gastric band placements procedures, or who are considered to be too young (under18); the double-balloon mechanism could easily support this excluded niche. How does it work? As it stands, the dual action balloon mechanism is inserted down a slimmer\’s throat using an attached tube before being inflated with saline. As these 2 oval sections are pumped, slimmer\’s will soon will feel full and will begin to lose weight. More excitingly, once dietersreach their target weight loss, this device can easily by deflated and removed from the stomach without risk. At the moment, this dual action balloon is scheduled to undergo its first clinical trial at the start of May where 30 volunteers across 3 centers will be equipped with the balloon. Should it work, this research will be expanded to 350 consumers across 10 cosmetic surgeris and eventually will be shown to the FDA for permission to be used. Does it work? It is undeniable that this device could essentially help hundreds of thousands of obese patients who are either too young for gastric bypasses or suffer from diabetes, heart disease and severe joint problems to lose those excess lbs, but this dual action balloon has got a long way to go before it is approved. Back in 1984 a similar single balloon mechanism was produced by Garren-Edwards and was implanted into patients. However, with no backup membrane to protect it, this mechanism was prone to bursting and slipping into the small intestine where it caused serious blockages. As a result this product was quickly withdrawn the market.

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Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

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Polaroid goes bankrupt

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Polaroid goes bankrupt
Author: Admin Posted under: Uncategorized

Friday, December 19, 2008

Camera company Polaroid has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. The firm, famed for the introduction of instant photography, says alleged fraud by the founder of their parent group is to blame.

Owned since 2005 by Petters Group Worldwide, Polaroid says that the group’s founder Tom Petters is “under investigation for alleged acts of fraud that have compromised the financial condition of Polaroid.” Authorities believe Petter, currently in police custody, was running fraud worth £3 billion, something he denies.

Petters Group, itself, filed for bankruptcy in October. Both firms now face restructuring, which Polaroid is confident won’t affect daily operations — in fact, the company is “planning for new product launches in 2009,” and claims to have “entered bankruptcy with ample cash reserves sufficient to finance the company’s reorganization under Chapter 11.”

Polaroid has further said that employees will be paid without interruption, and that while members of Petters Group are under investigation for fraud, Polaroid’s management is not. The company, based in Minnesota, also has subsidiaries which will enter bankruptcy with it.

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Acne Scars The After Effect Of Severe Acne

Author: Admin Posted under: Cosmetic And Reconstructive Surgery

Even after you have cured acne, it can leave behind permanent scarring. It is hard to avoid scarring but if you understand the causes of acne, and how your skin works you can minimize the damage acne does to your skin. Acne scarring is damage that is done to your skin by acne and mismanagement of treatment. If you pick at the acne on your face, scarring is more likely. When your skin is damaged your body attempts to heal itself by sending in more white blood cells and other internal guardians to fight the infection and heal the tissue. Once the body clears itself of the invader any tissue that is not repaired is left as is by the body. These damaged areas are difficult to be brought back to their original state.Researchers have tried to determine if anybody is more or less susceptible to acne scarring but as of now there is no hard evidence if certain people or skin types are more likely to scar than any other is. Although there is no hard evidence dermatologists still believe that certain people and skin types are more prone to scarring. It is known that the worse forms of acne such as cystic acne are more likely to leave damage behind. Another fact that is known is that some people heal better than others do. Acne scars will slowly heal and improve over time on some people while other people witness little or no improvement of their scarring over time. Is there any way to avoid scarring? Since so little is known about why one person will scar worse than another will the best treatment is to avoid acne. If you cannot avoid acne take steps to treat it as soon as an outbreak starts so that the damage can be lessened. The more inflammation you can prevent and the sooner you can put an end to the outbreak the less damage your skin will have to absorb. One thing to remember is to treat your acne with medications. No matter how bad the urge do not pick, poke, or squeeze acne because this will just cause more damage to your skin and increase the likelihood of scarring. Another thing to realize about acne is that it is caused by internal hormone imbalances and not external dirt, oil, and bacteria. In order to treat acne properly you have to look to your overall health. Get plenty of sleep, watch your diet, stay away from stress as much as possible and drink plenty of water.

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Sports Betting Picks: Winning Strategies You Can Take To The Bank

Author: Admin Posted under: Betting

In the world sports betting picks, there are obviously no guarantees. However, there are certainly strategies that can help you move the odds in your favor. In addition to subscribing to sports betting picks from winning professionals, these are a few of the strategies that pros use to guarantee they always come out ahead. Look into the possibilities and see if you can apply at least one to your betting strategies for the 2013-2014 NFL season or your NCAA picks for the current season.Arbitrage BettingArbitrage betting is seen by some gamblers as a no-lose strategy for sports betting picks. Professional betters – including those who make their living betting on the rise and fall of stocks on the New York Stock Exchange – use arbitrage extensively. They call it “offsetting risk.” You probably know it as “hedging your bets.” Essentially, arbitrage betting means placing opposing bets so that no matter which way a game goes, you’ll win one of your bets.There’s one caveat, though. The trick in arbitrage betting is to make sure that your winnings on either bet will be greater than your loss on the other. In order to do that, research the best odds at the various sportsbooks. The truth is, bookmakers are constantly adjusting their betting lines as new information comes in. Part of the information used by each bookmaker is how many bets are being placed for or against a particular position, and that information can be substantially different from one bookmaker to the next. Shop around to find exploitable arbitrage positions for every game in the 2013-2014 NFL season. And of course, you can save yourself a lot of time and research energy by subscribing to a service that shares pro football picks for each game – including which books are offering the best odds on each position.Value BettingIf you pay attention to the game and the odds, value betting can bring you a consistent return on your money for sports betting picks. This strategy only works if you know enough to spot when a sportsbook has set the odds too high for a particular game or outcome. For example, the books may have an NCAA game at 5 to 1 odds for the favorite, but you believe that the underdogs actually have a one in three chance of winning the game, or at the very least, of beating the spread. A bet on the underdog in that situation will offer a substantially better return and is worth the chance. Of course, the opposite also holds true: you should also recognize poor value bets and avoid them like poison.Flat Betting SystemFlat betting is simple. It’s exactly what it sounds like. You figure out how much your bank is for the 2013-2014 NFL season or the NCAA college football season and divide it by the number of games on which you plan to bet to get the amount you’ll wager on each game. You’ll wager the same set amount for each game whether you win or lose. If you win more than you lose, you’ll come out ahead.There’s no real secret to winning with a flat betting system, but it’s easier said than done. You need to make great choices on your sports betting picks. There are a couple of different ways to do that, either on their own or in combination. You can either choose the bets that will pay off with the highest profits, in which case, you could conceivably come out ahead even if you lose more bets than you win. The other is to choose more winners than losers. In fact, according to most betting experts, you only have to bet right 52.3 percent of the time to come out ahead with a flat betting system.Your best ally for the 2013-2014 NFL and NCAA football season is a reliable source of winning sports betting picks. Do your research to find a pro who consistently gives great tips and combine the advice you get with your own knowledge and your system to pocket some extra change this year.

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Several police officers killed in suicide bombing in Afghanistan

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Several police officers killed in suicide bombing in Afghanistan
Author: Admin Posted under: Uncategorized

Thursday, July 5, 2007

At least five to ten police officers in Afghanistan have been killed and at least 11 others were wounded after a suicide bombing in the southern part of the country in the town of Spin Boldak at a checkpoint.

Police officers were having lunch inside a room at the checkpoint when the bomber, who was also dressed in a police officer’s uniform, walked in and detonated his explosives. At least two rooms were destroyed, according to police.

“We were eating lunch around 1330, when a suicide attacker wearing police uniform entered the post and blew himself up,” said Bismillah Khan, commander of the local police in Spin Boldak who could only confirm that “five border police are killed and 11 are injured.”

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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