Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exhorted the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to draw "a clear red line" to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. In a theatrical gesture, Netanyahu held up a cartoon-like drawing of a spherical bomb and drew a red line below the fuse, "before Iran completes the second stage of nuclear enrichment to make a bomb," he said. "It's not a question of whether Iran will get the bomb. The question is at what stage can we stop Iran from getting the bomb," said Netanyahu, who also accused Iran of aggression. "I ask, given this record of Iranian aggression without nuclear weapons, just imagine Iranian aggression with nuclear weapons," the Israeli prime minister said. "Who among you would feel safe in the Middle East? Who would be safe in Europe? Who would be safe in America? Who would be safe anywhere?" But Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told CNN that his country won't be influenced by a threat

from Israel and a demand from U.S. President Barack Obama to abandon plans to acquire nuclear weapons. "When we say we do not take it seriously, we mean that it impacts -- it does not impact our policies in the slightest," Ahmadinejad told CNN's Fareed Zakaria in an interview to be aired Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Eastern. "Iran is a vast country. It's a great country. Let's assume a few terrorists come and assassinate some of our officials. Will the country be damaged? No. A couple of bombs will be set to explode. Will the country be destroyed? No. "We see the Zionist regime at the same level of the bombers and criminals and the terrorists. And even if they do something -- even if they do something, hypothetically, it will not affect us fundamentally," Ahmadinejad said. The White House highlighted how Obama sided with Israel in his speech before the general assembly this week.

"As the prime minister said, the United States and Israel share the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," said spokesman Tommy Vietor of the National Security Council.

"We will continue our close consultation and cooperation toward achieving that goal." Speeches by Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas drew the most attention at the United Nations on Thursday. Viewer's guide to U.N. General Assembly

Abbas said Palestinians will continue to seek full membership status in the United Nations, but they have begun "intensive consultations" with member states about having the Palestinian Authority become a non-member state, one step up from its current status as a permanent observer. "We are confident that the vast majority of the countries of the world support our endeavor aimed at salvaging the chances for a just peace," Abbas said. "In our endeavor, we do not seek to delegitimize an existing state -- that is Israel -- but rather to assert the state that must be realized -- that is Palestine." Then, departing from his prepared speech, Abbas added, to applause: "We are not attempting to delegitimize them, they are trying to delegitimize us."

Speaking later, Netanyahu criticized Abbas' remarks. "We won't solve our conflict with libelous speeches at the U.N. That's not the way to solve them. We won't solve our differences with a unilateral declaration of statehood," Israel's leader said. "We have to sit together and negotiate together in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the one and only Jewish state." Last year, the Palestinian Authority failed in its bid to win U.N. recognition as an independent state. In their latest initiative to seek non-member observer status, the Palestinians are likely to submit a new resolution after the November 6 U.S. presidential election in an effort to prevent the issue from becoming political fodder. Palestinian officials have expressed concern about pessimistic comments by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney about the chances for peace in the region. In his speech Thursday, Abbas criticized Israel and said Palestinians were facing "a campaign of ethnic cleansing" in which they are being denied full access to houses of worship, schools, hospitals and housing. Five things we learned on Day Two "The occupying power is also continuing its construction and expansion of settlements in different areas throughout the West Bank," he told the assembly. Israel rejects a Palestinian state and refuses to end its occupation, Abbas said. "I speak on behalf of an angry people," he said. "Israel continues to enjoy impunity."

Ahmadinejad tells U.N. that Iran is threatened For Israel, the issue of how to respond to Iran's nuclear program has put a strain on relations between Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but Western leaders say they believe it is aimed at building a weapon. Netanyahu has been pushing the United States to establish a clear "red line" that Iran cannot cross if it wants to avoid war. Israel seeks international urgency, as negotiations aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions have failed to produce an agreement and the effectiveness of sanctions on Tehran remains unclear.

Nigeria imesitisha safari zake za ndege za Mahujaji

Mzozo kuhusu Hajj watokota Nigeria imesitisha safari zake za ndege za Mahujaji

ji Saudi Arabia baada ya nchi hiyo kuwarejesha zaidi ya wanawake mia moja na sabini waliowasili huko bila kufuatana na wanaume. Spika wa Bunge nchini humo ataongoza Ujumbe kwenda Saudi Arabia kulalamika rasmi kwa jinsi Mahujaji wake walivyotendewa. Taarifa zinazohusianakesi Mwanamke mmoja kati ya hao waliorejeshwa ameiambia BBC kuwa wakati wakiwa kizuizini hawakupewa chakula. Hapo awali, bunge la Nigeria lilitoa wito kwa rais wa nchi hiyo Goodluck Jonathan kuwasiliana na mfalme wa Saudia, Abdullah kujaribu kumaliza mzozo uliozuka kati ya nchi hizo mbili kufuatia sakata ya Hajj. Serikali ya Saudia iliwarejesha nyumbani zaidi ya wanawake miamoja na sabini ambao waliwasili nchini humo waliokwenda Hajj bila (Mahram) au mwanaume ambaye ni jamaa yake au mume wake Wanawake wengine elfu moja wamezuiliwa hadi watakaporejeshwa nyumbani kwao. Saudi Arabia imekuwa ikielezea wasiwasi kuhusu waafrika wanaokwenda nchini humo na kusalia huko baada ya kuhiji na hivyo kujiweka katika hali ya kuombaomba au hata kujiingiza katika biashara ya ukahaba.

China says first aircraft carrier entering service

BEIJING — China formally entered its first aircraft carrier into service on Tuesday, underscoring its ambitions to be a leading Asian naval power, although the ship is not expected to carry a full complement of planes or be ready for combat for some time. The Defense Ministry's announcement had been long expected and was not directly linked to current tensions with Japan over a disputed group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. In a brief notice on its website, the ministry said the carrier's commissioning significantly boosted the navy's combat capabilities and its ability to cooperate in responding to natural disasters and other non-traditional threats. "It has important significance in effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security, and development benefits, and advancing world peace and common development," the statement said. China had partly justified the launching of a carrier by pointing out that it alone among the five permanent United Nations Security Council members had no such craft. That had been particularly glaring given the constant presence in Asia of carriers operated by the U.S. Navy, which maintains 11 worldwide.

President Hu Jintao, also chairman of the commission that controls the military, presided over a ceremony Tuesday morning at the ship's home port of Dalian, along with Premier Wen Jiabao and top generals. Hu "fully affirmed" the efforts of those working on the ship and called on them to complete all remaining tasks according to the highest standard, the Defense Ministry said. The carrier is the former Soviet navy's unfinished Varyag, which was towed from Ukraine in 1998 minus its engines, weaponry and navigation systems. Christened the Liaoning after the northeastern province surrounding Dalian, the ship began sea trials in August 2011 following years of refurbishment. So far the trial runs of the aircraft carrier have been to test the ship's propulsion, communications and navigation systems. But launching and recovering fixed-wing aircraft at sea is a much trickier proposition. It will take years to build the proper aircraft, to train pilots to land in adverse weather on a moving deck, and to develop a proper carrier battle group. China is developing a carrier-based fighter-bomber, the J-15, derived from Russia's Sukhoi Su-33, along with a prototype stealth carrier fighter, the J-31. Beijing hasn't said what role it intends the carrier to fill other than helping safeguard China's coastline and sea links. The Liaoning has also been portrayed as a kind of test platform for the future development of up to five domestically built Chinese carriers. Writing in Tuesday's China Daily newspaper, retired Rear Adm. Yang Yi said the carrier will be used to master the technology for more advanced carriers. He said it also will be used to train in how to operate such a craft in a battle group and with vessels from other nation's navies. Without specifically mentioning China's territorial disputes, Yang acknowledged other countries' concerns about its growing military might, but said Beijing wouldn't shy from flexing its muscles. "When China has a more balanced and powerful navy, the regional situation will be more stable as various forces that threaten regional peace will no longer dare to act rashly," Yang wrote. Whatever its practical effects on China's global status, the carrier embodies huge symbolism for China's political and military leaders as a totem of their country's rise from weakness to strength, according to Andrew S. Erickson, a China naval specialist at the U.S. Naval War College. "While (Chinese navy) acceptance of this 'starter carrier' is the first step in a long journey, it is a journey that will take place in full view of the world, and one that will ultimately take Beijing to a new place as a great sea power," Erickson wrote on his blog. The carrier's political importance was highlighted in Wen's remarks to the ceremony, in which he said it would "arouse national pride and patriotic passion." "This has mighty and deep significance for the opening of a new facet in our enterprise of socialism with Chinese characteristics," he said.

Dirty Secret: Data Centers Consume More Power Than Most Towns

When you conduct a search on Google, buy a product on Amazon or update your status on Facebook, you probably don’t think about what’s behind your query. Server farms, which are warehouses and facilities packed with servers, make it possible for every online activity to happen seamlessly and quickly. Those servers require a certain amount of power to keep going. And that certain amount of power is the topic of discussion in an article in The New York Times, which maintains data centers have the potential to use more power than a medium-size town. Racking systems stacked with servers, situated one next to another, pull a certain amount of power just doing their job, but also produce a certain amount of heat that requires cooling – which also consumes a quantity of energy. Worldwide, the article says that digital warehouses use roughly 30 billion watts of electricity. The article states power consumption is equal to the output of 20 nuclear power plants. “It’s staggering for most people, even people in the industry, to understand the numbers, the sheer size of these systems,” The Times quotes Peter Gross, who helped design hundreds of data centers. “A single data center can take more power than a medium-size town.” Consumption of power from the grid is one component in the data industry’s dirty little book of secrets. The industry commonly sets up back-up and auxiliary power systems to compensate for its appetite. Diesel engines power generators to compensate for demand. In case of a momentary power surge – which most of us might not even notice – server farms are often plugged into spinning flywheels or thousands of lead-acid batteries similar to the ones you have under the hood of your car. These systems kick in to supplement any waver in electricity to prevent server crashes. The New York Times worked with consulting firm McKinsey & Company to analyze the ‘data on data’. Problems identified in the report are underlined by data’s overwhelming appetite. Google’s data centers consume close to 300 million watts, and Facebook’s data centers gobble about 60 million watts. The larger problem is that a relatively small amount of electricity – between 6% and 12% – are used to power servers responding to user queries and to perform computations. The rest of the power consumption is said to go toward reserves which keeps servers powered up to handle any surge in activity. Up to – and over – 80% of power usage in these data centers is devoted to searches and online activities that could happen. You might say this is an excess and that data companies don’t need to go to these lengths. But what happens when your query returns with an error? It’s the making of a headline on The New York Times and other publications. Google is among the largest of companies targeted, but by no means alone in its participation. Newer servers are built to consume less power, produce less heat and manage traffic in a more efficient manner. Companies are slow to move to these new servers, and rely on their abilities, because of costs associated with the upgrades, and risks of trying a new system. redOrbit (http://s.tt/1ofmy)

Iran moved forward with their previously discussed plans for a domestic version of the Internet

redOrbit (http://s.tt/1obQy)

Iran moved forward with their previously discussed plans for a domestic version of the Internet over the weekend, as government officials announced that Google would be one of the first websites to be filtered through their state-controlled information network. According to Reuters, officials are claiming that the country’s self-contained version of the World Wide Web, which was first announced last week, is part of an initiative to improve cyber security. However, it will reportedly also give the country the ability to better control the type of information that users can access online. The first move in that direction came Sunday night, as a government deputy minister identified only as Khoramabadi announced that the Google search engine, as well as their Gmail online email service, would be blocked “within a few hours” and would remain filtered “throughout the country until further notice.”. Reuters said that there were unconfirmed reports by the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) that the ban was connected to an anti-Islamic video posted on Google’s YouTube video sharing website. That video has led to widespread protests and violence throughout the Middle East, including attacks resulting in the deaths of a US ambassador and three other Americans in Libya earlier this month. CNET‘s Michelle Meyers also reported Sunday that Iranian officials had confirmed that government agencies had already been connected to the “national information network,” and that a deputy minister said that the next step would likely be to connect the population en masse to the filtered Internet. That revelation is “in line with a report from April that the country was planning a national intranet within five months in an effort to create ‘a clean Internet,” Meyers said. “That report was later denied, but reports of an Iranian Internet system isolated from the Web have continued to surface. Iranian media say the domestic system would be fully implemented by March 2013,” she continued, adding that it was “still unclear whether access to the World Wide Web would be cut once the Iranian system is rolled out.” As of Sunday night, Google had yet to respond to Meyers’ request for comment. “The idea of a self-contained Internet isn’t a new one in the Middle-Eastern country, as Iran has been contemplating such a network for nearly 10 years now,” redOrbit.com’s own Michael Harper said on Friday. “Though such a move could prevent further attacks on the country, the cost to build out this network could be a hefty one. In addition to building out the infrastructure and laying the groundwork for this massive project, the country would also have to devise and then pay for a security system to ensure these attackers aren’t allowed access.” redOrbit (http://s.tt/1obQy)

Human’s superior brain size in comparison to chimpanzees

A new study from Kyoto University shows that human’s superior brain size in comparison to chimpanzees can be traced back to the womb. Appearing in the September 25 issue of Current Biology, the study is the first to track and compare brain growth in chimp and human fetuses. “Nobody knew how early these differences between human and chimp brains emerged,” said Satoshi Hirata of Kyoto University. Hirata’s research team, which included Tomoko Sakai and Hideko Takeshita, finds that human and chimp brains begin to show remarkable differences at very early stages. Both species of primates show increasingly rapid brain development in the womb compared to other mammals. After 22 weeks of gestation, however, chimpanzee brain growth begins to level off, while human growth continues to accelerate for another two months or more. Gestational periods are only slightly different between the species – 38 weeks for humans and 33 to 34 weeks for chimpanzees. The team used 3D ultrasound imaging at approximately 14 to 34 weeks of gestation to compare chimpanzee and human fetal images. While early brain development differences have been suspected, no one had previously measured the volume of chimpanzee brains as they developed in the womb until now. The research team made these findings as part of a larger effort to explore the differences in primate brains. Last year they compared brain development differences via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of three growing chimpanzees from the age of six months to six years. “Elucidating these differences in the developmental patterns of brain structure between humans and great apes will provide important clues to understand the remarkable enlargement of the modern human brain and humans’ sophisticated behavior,” Sakai said. The next step, the team says, is to chart the fetal development of particular parts of the brain, including the forebrain, which is critical for decision making, self-awareness, and creativity. redOrbit (http://s.tt/1ok5m)

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope presents a festive holiday

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope presents a festive holiday greeting that’s out of this world. The bipolar star-forming region, called Sharpless 2-106, looks like a soaring, celestial snow angel. The outstretched “wings” of the nebula record the contrasting imprint of heat and motion against the backdrop of a colder medium. Sharpless 2-106, Sh2-106 or S106 for short, lies nearly 2,000 light-years from us. The nebula measures several light-years in length. It appears in a relatively isolated region of the Milky Way galaxy. A massive, young star, IRS 4 (Infrared Source 4), is responsible for the furious activity we see in the nebula. Twin lobes of super-hot gas, glowing blue in this image, stretch outward from the central star. This hot gas creates the “wings” of our angel. A ring of dust and gas orbiting the star acts like a belt, cinching the expanding nebula into an “hourglass” shape. Hubble’s sharp resolution reveals ripples and ridges in the gas as it interacts with the cooler interstellar medium. Dusky red veins surround the blue emission from the nebula. The faint light emanating from the central star reflects off of tiny dust particles. This illuminates the environment around the star, showing darker filaments of dust winding beneath the blue lobes. Detailed studies of the nebula have also uncovered several hundred brown dwarfs. At purely infrared wavelengths, more than 600 of these sub-stellar objects appear. These "failed" stars weigh less than a tenth of our Sun. Because of their low mass, they cannot produce energy through nuclear fusion like our Sun does. They encompass the nebula in a small cluster. The Hubble images were taken in February 2011 with the Wide Field Camera 3. Visible narrow-band filters that isolate the hydrogen gas were combined with near-infrared filters that show structure in the cooler gas and dust. redOrbit (http://s.tt/15X0j)

The world’s first humanoid robot

Orbiters meet Baxter…..Baxter, orbiters. The world’s first humanoid robot, Baxter could soon be making an appearance in a workplace near you! This robot is meant to work alongside other human workers and can even apply common sense! Baxter has an LCD face and a 360 degree set of cameras as a head- which he uses to detect when a human is close, to guide himself, and to work on his own. However, Baxter does need his human co-worker to train him how to work with the implements coming down the assembly line. Manufacturers of the bot say they hope Baxter will be an innovative way to compete in our global economy. With a $25,000 price tag, Baxter costs less than paying an employee’s salary. Okay Red Orbit, don’t get any ideas! Here is a story that’s close and dear to my own heart….Russia revealed a field with trillions of carats of diamonds! Resting beneath an asteroid crater, Russia discovered the diamonds in the 1970s but decided to keep hush, hush. Called “impact diamonds,” these sparkly gems are harder than other diamonds and are useful in industry. Unfortunately, they’re of no use to jewelers. Ah man! This discovery will sustain the market for the next… oh 3,000 years and makes Russia a diamond super-power. I’ll forgive you Russia for keeping your diamonds a secret since I can’t wear one on my finger. A new study, appropriately named F is for Fat, reports that Americans will only get fatter by 2030. Currently 35.7% adults and 16.9% of children are obese in the US. The report projects that obesity rates will be at least 44% in every state and over 60% in 13 states by 2030. As a result, Americans will be facing more health complications like Type 2 Diabetes, chronic heart disease, and stroke. Mississippi weighed in as the worst with a projected obesity rate of 66.7% by 2030. However, researchers urge that this could be a turning point. They recommend adding health policies that would prevent this projected rise. So drop that double bacon cheddar burger and super-sized fries America before it’s too late! (Sound of toilet flushing). Dangit! There goes my cell phone again! According to third-party warranty company Square Trade, many an iPhone falls casualty to the loo. The company released statistics on cell phone repairs and replacements. They reported that Americans spend more on iPhone repair than any political candidate will spend on their campaign and $2.6 billion more than we spend on toilet paper. And not only is Mississippi the winner for the highest obesity rate, but it also racked up the most damage to iPhones. Well, I guess congrats are in order for Mississippi! A new study suggests that the federal model for estimating the costs of carbon pollution is faulty. Researchers say that they have found a more accurate accounting of costs which suggests that cleaner sources of energy may also be more economic. They go on to say that estimates by the government are incomplete because they ignore the climate damage costs that future generations will incur. These new findings suggests that benefits of carbon reduction range anywhere from 2.6 to 12 times higher than current government estimates redOrbit (http://s.tt/1nQ2m)

US police quiz anti-Islam video suspect

The man suspected of directing a provacative anti-Islam movie has been questioned by US probation officers, as violent protests - which the trailer of the film had triggered across the Muslim world - eased considerably. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was convicted of bank fraud in 2010 but was later released on condition that he did not access the internet or use aliases. US police quiz anti-Islam video suspect Suspected filmmaker is questioned by authorities after widespread protests over video rocked Muslim world. Police are investigating whether Nakoula violated terms of his probation by accessing the internet. The objectionable video caused mayhem only after being posted online. Nakoula on Wednesday told the AP news agency that he was logistics manager for the film. The trailer triggered protests across the Muslim world with Western embassies being targeted in North Africa and the Middle East. The US ambassador to Libya and three other staff were killed in an attack on the US consulate in the city of Benghazi on Tuesday, and then the violence peaked after Friday prayers. The US has sent troops to protect its diplomatic presence in Libya and Yemen, while drawing up plans for Sudan. However Sudan has rejected the US request to send marines to improve security at the Khartoum embassy, while on Saturday the Yemeni parliament said it had also rejected the presence of US Marines in Sanaa. Objections by the Sudanese government has held up the security mission of an elite Marine team that the US planned to send to Khartoum, a US official said on Saturday. According to the officialAs a result, the deployment has been delayed and possibly curtailed. In relation to Yemen, Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters on Friday the United States has deployed a Marine anti-terrorism unit to Sanaa to help protect the American embassy in the face of angry demonstrations. At least 10 people died in the violent protests on Friday. Tunisia's interior ministry have said they will punish all those involved in Friday's US embassy attack, as police hunted the leader of a hardline jihadist group. "Anyone closely or marginally involved in the events outside the American embassy in Tunis will be punished," national security spokesman Mohammed Ali Aroui said in an interview. An attack on a NATO base in Afghanistan on Saturday that killed two US marines was also carried out in response to the video, the Taliban have said. About 500 protesters gathered outside the US consulate in the Australian city of Sydney on Saturday, hurling bottles and shoes. Police pushed back the crowd, provoking anger among some of the protesters, many of whom had brought their children with them. Meanwhile, the bodies of the four US officials killed in Benghazi were repatriated on Friday in a ceremony at Andrews Air Force Base attended by US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In Libya, authorities said they had made four arrests in the investigation into the attack, and the Libyan president told Al Jazeera the assault was pre-planned. 'Given a ride' Nakoula was "given a ride" by sheriff's deputies from his Cerritos, California, home shortly after midnight to the interview, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Don Walker told the AFP news agency. A local NBC News affiliate reported that the man later emerged from the station wearing a coat, hat, scarf and glasses. Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman, reporting from Washington, said, "Authorities questioned him under federal courts. They wanted him to clarify whether he put the film online, which goes against his probation rules of using the internet." There was no word what conclusion, if any, the probation office had reached during the interview. In February 2009, a federal indictment accused Nakoula and others of fraudulently obtaining the identities and Social Security numbers of customers at several Wells Fargo branches in California and withdrawing $860 from them. Given the relatively small amount of money involved, he was put on probation as a result. Nakoula had agreed to the interview prior to the deputies arriving at his home, and the move was "entirely voluntary", NBC News reported. 'Sam Bacile' It is unclear whether Nakoula actually directed the 14-minute online trailer "Innocence of Muslims", which has been widely circulated on the internet in English and dubbed in Arabic. The original posting for the trailer on YouTube came from an account linked to the name 'sambacile'. No film-maker by the name of Sam Bacile has been traced, and the US authorities suspect Nakoula of using the pseudonym. Nakoula, however, has reportedly denied having used the alias. Any portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad is considered blasphemous by Muslims, and the film depicts him as a foolish, power-hungry man. On Thursday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the anti-Islamic film, stressing that the US government had nothing to do with it. "To us, to me, personally, this video is disgusting and reprehensible. It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose, to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage," Clinton said, calling on all government and religious leaders to draw the line at violence. Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Sheik Abdel-Aziz al-Sheik on Saturday said Muslims should "denounce it without anger". "Muslims should not be dragged by wrath and anger to shift from legitimate to forbidden action and by this, they will, unknowingly, fulfil some aims of the film," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.