"To anyone who thinks attacking unchecked capitalism is not a winning message (when done correctly), I'd urge you to read the advice of Frank Luntz, the GOP's top messaging guru, on the subject: "don't say capitalism" because Americans "think capitalism is immoral."
Scratches to Sketches
Friday, 19 September 2014
Good news! There’s bad news for coal | Grist
"This is testament to the extraordinary ongoing success of the grassroots anti-coal movement in the U.S. Every coal plant involved in that total represents a long and tenacious ground battle fought by local coalitions, and not in coastal liberal enclaves, either, but in Indianapolis, Missouri, and Tennessee. The movement can now boast the announced shutdown of over 500 coal units and more than 175 full coal plants. Measured by carbon avoided or social capital created, that's pretty badass."
Prince Charles will tell leaders climate action is ‘only rational choice’ | Environment | theguardian.com
Prince Charles leads the charge?
"More than 120 leaders, including UK prime minister David Cameron, are expected to attend the climate summit next week in New York, which has been convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to drive action on global warming ahead of the Paris talks in 2015.
Philippe Joubert, chairman of The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group, said: "There is a powerful and growing consensus among leading businesses on the need for action."
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/18/prince-charles-leaders-un-climate-summit-businessCan Ukraine's aviation giant airlift the nation's economy out of crisis? - CSMonitor.com
Antonov is the closest thing Ukraine has to an industrial "national champion" with international appeal that could help pull the entire country into the global economy. It not only has a venerable history, it also possesses a few cutting-edge, but largely untested designs that Kiva insists could find a solid niche in a crowded aviation market.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2014/0918/Can-Ukraine-s-aviation-giant-airlift-the-nation-s-economy-out-of-crisisRIGZONE - Russia Says Exxon Still Drilling In Its Arctic
The joint drilling project in the Kara Sea between Exxon and the Kremlin's state oil firm Rosneft has become one of the most watched projects by the oil industry after the West ratcheted up sanctions on Moscow for its incursion in Ukraine. Two previous waves of sanctions have failed to stop Exxon from sending an oil drilling rig from Norway to the Russian waters in August in the hope to confirm billions of barrels of new oil reserves. - See more at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/135104/Russia_Says_Exxon_Still_Drilling_In_Its_Arctic
RIGZONE - The Next Logical Step For Natural Gas Supplies?
"A California-based company claims that it has found a commercially viable technique to directly convert natural gas into liquid fuels or petrochemical building blocks. "Natural gas is the next logical step for the energy and chemistry industry," said Rahul Iyer, vice president of corporate development with Siluria Technologies, which is partnering with world-class refining and petrochemical companies to roll out its catalytic processes for producing ethylene and liquid hydrocarbon fuels or fuel blend stocks. -
See more at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/135065/The_Next_Logical_Step_For_Natural_Gas_Supplies
Getty Images: A Tour Of The Stasi Archive
"BERLIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 17: A view of hundreds of files lining the shelves in the archives of the former East German secret police, known as the Stasi on September 17, 2014 in Berlin, Germany. The Stasi, whose official function was to protect the East German communist party, pursued an extremely aggressive campaign of spying on East German citizens in order to confine and root out dissent. The archive contains information gathered by the Stasi on millions of people. This November Germany will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall which led to the demise of communist East Germany. (Photo by Carsten Koall/Getty Images)"
With SpinSat Mission, NRL Will Spin Small Satellite in Space with New Thruster Technology - U.S. Naval Research Laboratory
"On September 12, NRL will launch SpinSat to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 resupply mission. A few weeks later, says Nicholas, "The astronauts are going to unpack it out of this big block of foam that we ship it in." They'll install the arm plugs and then put it on a plate attached to a spring, called CYCLOPS. SpinSat/CYCLOPS will go into a sealed-off airlock, then the astronauts use a robotic arm to pull them outside the station and orient SpinSat for deployment. They "point it to where [they] want, and then hit the button—and off goes the satellite. A tiny little push." -
CERN Accelerator Back in Business
"The long upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider is over. The scientific instrument responsible for the discovery of the Higgs boson -- the so-called "God particle" -- is being brought up to speed in time for this month's 60th anniversary of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French acronym CERN."
Bucking Trend Of Industry Decline, American Woolen Company Relaunches In Connecticut | New Hampshire Public Radio
"There were just two available mills in the country that manufacture woolen and worsted fabrics. Long said only one was capable of producing at the caliber they're aiming for. "Anybody can buy machinery," he said, "but not anybody can utilize that machinery in the correct way, and that's one thing that we really knew. So I'd say if we wanted to do that kind of product, the only destination was going to be Stafford Springs."
http://nhpr.org/post/bucking-trend-industry-decline-american-woolen-company-relaunches-connecticut
http://nhpr.org/post/bucking-trend-industry-decline-american-woolen-company-relaunches-connecticut
MN woman celebrates 60 years at mill job
After six decades, Boudreau still walks the old wooden floors in the Mill in her capacity of Head of Weaving Shop Training. However, Boudreau is a "hands-on" leader. On Wednesday, she was at her usual post in the morning, manning a battery of powered looms, turning out yards of high quality wool fabric.
Andy Murray Excited To Play At The China Open As Wild Card - International Business Times
""I'm excited to announce that I will play in the China Open," said Murray. "I have some great memories of playing tennis in China over the years, I love the country and there are plenty of passionate fans here who enjoy their tennis, so I'm looking forward to competing"
Tiger Woods Laughs Off Rory McIlroy's Age Comments - International Business Times
"They're just getting older. Phil's 43 or whatever, and Tiger's nearly 40. So they're getting into the sort of last few holes of their careers, and that's what happens," McIlroy said via ESPN."
New Eavesdropping Equipment Sucks All Data Off Your Phone
"In a Capitol Hill hearing room two summers ago, privacy activist Christopher Soghoian organized a stunning demonstration of some new police surveillance technology. A small group of congressional staffers were handed "clean" cellphones and invited to start calling each other while, off to the side, a Berkeley communications researcher named Kurtis Heimerl turned on his gear. After a few minutes, Soghoian told the staffers to hang up—and then Heimerl played back their conversations. Not only that, the two men told the staffers, the digital eavesdropping equipment was capable of sucking all the data from their phones—emails, contact files, music, videos—whatever was on them."
Spy stations using rogue cell towers may have been discovered in Washington, D.C. | CSO Online
"Towards the end of July, ESD America, the makers of the ultra-secure CryptoPhone, said that their engineers and customers had discovered more than a dozen rogue cell towers (also known as interceptors or IMSI catchers) around the U.S."
Forecast of Canadian average pay to increase 2.79% in 2015, almost unchanged from 2014: survey - Yahoo Finance Canada
"TORONTO - A new study says that Canadians, on average, can expect about the same size salary increase next year as in 2014.
https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/average-pay-increase-2-79-2015-almost-unchanged-181847530.html
Human resources consultants Pal Benefits says a survey of 401 organizations, mainly in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, projected salary increase for 2015 at an average of 2.79 per cent."
BBC News: Scotland votes 'No' to independence
Thank you, Scotland!
As Scotland votes to stay in the UK Alex Salmond calls for the pledge of more devolved powers to be carried out, and David Cameron says the commitments will be honoured in full.
Read more:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29270441.
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Sketches from scratches is a provocative blogspot that has grown out of the Wuh Lax experience. It is eclectic, which means that it might consider just about anything from the simple to the extremely difficult. A scratch can be something that is troubling me or a short line on paper. From a scratch comes a verbal sketch or image sketch of the issue or subject. Other sites have other stuff that should really be of interest to the broad reader. I try to develop themes, but variety often comes before depth.
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