Widow left devastated after Virgin Galactic crash

Widow left devastated after Virgin Galactic crash

World sabahdaily   6:26 AM

Michelle Saling, Alsbury's widow, told MailOnline, 'I have lost the love of my life. I am living in hell right now.'

The identity of the other pilot, who was critically injured when he ejected from the plane at 45,000 feet, is still unknown.

Alsbury, 39, had piloted SpaceShipTwo as recently as August 28.

Addressing the media at the crash site on Saturday morning, Virgin CEO Richard Branson said, 'This is a very tough time for all of us at Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company and Scaled Composites, and our thoughts remain with the families of the brave Scaled pilots, and all those affected by this tragedy.'

He added, 'In testing the boundaries of human capabilities and technologies, we are standing on the shoulders of giants. Yesterday, we fell short. We will now comprehensively assess the results of the crash and are determined to learn from this and move forward together as a company.'


Branson then closed out his statement by saying, 'I truly believe that humanity's greatest achievements come out of our greatest pain. This team is a group of the bravest, brightest, most determined and most resilient people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. We are determined to honour the bravery of the pilots and teams here by learning from this tragedy. Only then can we move forward, united behind a collective desire to push the boundaries of human endeavor.'

Branson also said he had never met Alsbury before, though photo and video evidence of the two celebrating a successful run in April 2013 seems to suggest otherwise.

The two are seen clearly talking and posing for photos in video released by Virgin Galactic, making the blunder that much more embarrassing for Branson and his team.

Branson flew to the site of the crash immediately after the tragedy occurred on Friday, and has been working closely with authorities to try and determine what went wrong during Friday's flight.

In a blog-post en route, Branson wrote: 'I am writing this as we refuel on one of the most difficult trips I have ever had to make. I will be in Mojave soon to join the Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composite teams involved in the SpaceShipTwo flight test program.

'Mojave is also where I want to be - with the dedicated and hard-working people who are now in shock at this devastating loss... We've always known that the road to space is extremely difficult - and that every new transportation system has to deal with bad days early in their history.'

He concluded: 'Space is hard - but worth it. We will persevere and move forward together.'

In a press conference Friday afternoon, George Whitesides, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said; 'Our primary thoughts at the moment are with the crew and families and we are doing everything we can for them now.'

'Space is hard, and today was a tough day. The future rest on hard days like this.'

Stuart Witt, who is in charge of the Mojave Air and Space Port, where SpaceShipTwo was launched Friday, also remained optimistic about the future of space travel.

He said: 'Stay the course. This is not easy. If it was easy it would not be interesting to me and my colleagues standing next to me.'

'We are doing this for you and your generation. It is a cause far greater than any one of us singularly. I compare it to the Magellan expedition [the first circumnavigation of the Earth].'

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has also launched an investigation into the crash.

In May, Virgin Galactic announced it was switching the fuel used in the vehicle's hybrid rocket motor, hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, a form of rubber, to a polyamide-based plastic.

During a media tour of Virgin Galactic's Mojave facilities on October 4 that marked the tenth anniversary of the final flight of SpaceShipOne, the suborbital vehicle that won the $10-million Ansari X Prize, company officials said they expected to resume powered test flights 'imminently' once qualification tests of the new motor were done.

At the International Symposium for Personal and Commercial Spaceflight in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on October 15, Virgin Galactic chief executive George Whitesides said the company had completed those qualification tests.

'We expect to get back into powered test flight quite soon,' he said.

Branson's big project has also attracted a slew of big name passengers happy to pay for this once in a lifetime experience, including newlyweds Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; Justin Bieber and his manager Scooter Braun; Lady Gaga, who plans to try and sing in space; former pop star Lance Bass, who has long been vocal about his desire to head to space; Ashton Kutcher, who was the 500th customer to purchase a ticket; Tom Hanks; Bryan Singer; and Princess Beatrice, who would be the first royal in space and who dates Dave Clark, an executive at Virgin Galactic.

Russell Brand also got a ticket for his birthday from ex-wife Katy Perry when the two were married. Perry bought a ticket as well so Brand would not have to go alone.

Stephen Hawking and Kate Winslet are also set to fly, but got their seats for free. Winslet because she is married to Branson's nephew, Ned RocknRoll, and Hawking because Branson wanted to offer the legendary astrophysicist a chance to go into space.

- Daily Mail

Burkina Faso’s army dissolves parliament after day of unrest

Burkina Faso’s army dissolves parliament after day of unrest

World sabahdaily   7:36 AM

Burkina Faso’s military dissolved parliament and announced a transitional government today after violent protests against President Blaise Compaore, but it was not immediately clear who was in charge.

Army chief General Honore Traore said the new government would be installed after consultation with all political parties and would lead the country to an election within 12 months. He also announced a curfew from 7pm until 6am.

The move came after tens of thousands of angry protesters packed the streets of Ouagadougou to demand Mr Compaore’s departure, storming parliament and setting it on fire and ransacking state television. At least three protesters were shot dead and scores wounded when security forces opened fire on the crowd.
“Given the need preserve the country from chaos and preserve national unity . . . the National Assembly is dissolved, the government is dissolved,” Gen Traore told a news conference.

However, he declined to say whether Mr Compaore, whose attempt to extend his 27-year rule has sparked months of tension in the landlocked country, remained the head of state.

Diplomatic pressure

Regional west African bloc ECOWAS had said earlier today that it would not accept any party seizing power through non-constitutional means – suggesting diplomatic pressure to leave Mr Compaore in place.

Before the military’s announcement, the president had issued a statement announcing a state of emergency to be enforced by the army and calling for talks with the opposition.

The protests were sparked by the government’s attempt to push a constitutional change through parliament to allow the 63-year-old president to seek re-election next year. Large protests also erupted in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina’s second biggest town, and Ouahigouya, in the north.

In the capital, the crowd faced off with security forces outside the presidential palace in a tense standoff that lasted several hours as opposition leaders held talks with senior military officials in an attempt to ease Mr Compaore from power. Both opposition leaders and protesters on the streets have made it plain they would not allow any role for Mr Compaore.

Hundreds of angry protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the armed forces following the president’s statement, many of them shouting “Blaise Leave” and “No More Blaise”. “We want Blaise Compaore to leave. We want change,” said George Sawadogo, a 23-year-old student.

Closely watched

The departure of Mr Compaore, a close military ally of the United States and former colonial power France, would be closely watched by other governments across west and central Africa, where a number of long-serving leaders are reaching the end of their constitutional terms.

Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest nations but has positioned itself as a mediator in regional crises. It is also a key ally in western operations against al Qaeda-linked groups in west Africa.

Amid uncertainty over how the army’s announcement would be received abroad, Ghana’s foreign minister Hanna Tetteh said in a tweet the country’s embassy in Burkina confirmed a military takeover of power. She declined to provide further details.

White House spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan had earlier said in a statement that the United States was deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Burkina Faso and called on all parties to end the violence and respect democratic norms.

France, which has a special forces base there that conducts operations across the Sahel, also appealed for restraint by all sides. Its embassy had held talks with opposition leaders today.

Mr Compaore has ruled the nation with a firm grip but has faced increasing criticism in recent years, including defections by members of his party. He weathered a military and popular uprising in 2011 thanks to the support of his elite presidential guard.

But diplomatic pressure has mounted over the past year for Mr Compaore to step down in 2015. – (Reuters)

Six days of darkness, NASA says not gonna happen

Six days of darkness, NASA says not gonna happen

World sabahdaily   12:28 AM

For the last several days we are being bombarded about the six days of darkness that is set to ‘darken the whole world’. There are reports –and by the way almost every newspaper and website has covered it –that more than ninety percent of the earth will be darkened by the absence of sunlight.
The rumors suggest that the sunlight will not reach the earth due to the massive solar storms and flares that will be hitting the sun for more than two hundred hours in one stretch.

These rumors claim that these solar storms will be so much powerful that a look of complete pitch-dark night will descend all over the earth. Many such rumors ask people to stock all the essentials as due to the continuous night for over six days shopping malls and local stores will not remain open.

The fact that the solar surface is experiencing one of the worst solar storms these days might have convinced many people to believe the report. Last week, there were three massive x-class solar flares and their impact was felt on earth as they caused radio blackout over a large area.

But thankfully this is just a rumor and there is no truth in it. ‘Six days of total darkness’ is nothing but hoax and NASA has said that it is not going to happen not just thins year but in our whole life time and the lifetimes of many a generations to come. But despite strong rebuttal from NASA, the hoax is spreading like wildfire and the whole world seems to be talking about it right now.

There are rumors doing the rounds for the last several weeks that in December this year, the whole world will remain without sun coming out even for minutes. Many people had warned that the difference between day and night will be blurred and that it will be very difficult to differentiate as to whether it was day or night.

Had it been true, it wouldn’t have been less than catastrophic. While NASA has debunked it as completely baseless people are not believing the rebuttal. A user on a social networking site says, “Unfortunately, people are going to find out very soon that this information is FAR from a hoax.

Likely the public is being tested on reactions before the real “actual” news is revealed that this event will happen in the near future. So laugh all you want now but when the truth comes out, try to keep a level head about it. There is likely nothing that can be done to prevent what is coming so stay calm and carry on. Help those around you and do the best you can do”. There are many others who are also talking in the same way.

Though there were confusion about the origin of the rumor, but now it is clear as to who started it. The origin of the ‘news’ has now been confirmed to be a satirical news site Huzlers.com. The website is not just spreading rumors about the impending six days of the darkness across the world, it is also asking its Facebook and Twitter users to post whatever trash they can post on their walls and write everywhere they could. In a report on its website, it tries to make the rumor real.

The report says, “NASA has confirmed that the Earth will experience 6 days of almost complete darkness and will happen from the dates Tuesday the 16 – Monday the 22 in December. The world will remain, during these three days, without sunlight due to a solar storm, which will cause dust and space debris to become plentiful and thus, block 90% sunlight…This is the head of NASA Charles Bolden who made the announcement and asked everyone to remain calm. This will be the product of a solar storm, the largest in the last 250 years for a period of 216 hours total”.

-nvonews

Nasa Confirms Six Days of Darkness in December'

Nasa Confirms Six Days of Darkness in December'

World sabahdaily   12:31 AM

It may feel like winter is slowly squeezing all the sunlight out of your day, but if you see any news stories claiming the Earth is headed for ‘Six Days of Total Darkness’ then don’t start stocking up on the tins of beans and torches just yet.

‘Satirical news site’ Huzlers.com has been spreading this fake story far and wide on the web this week, taking in numerous Facebook and Twitter users and encouraging them to post about what they’re going to be up to during the six days of darkness.

The story on the vaguely official looking website titled “Nasa Confirms Earth Will Experience 6 Days of Total Darkness in December 2014!” claims that an incoming solar storm is to blame, causing "dust and space debris to become plentiful and thus block 90% sunlight”.

This is false. Although solar storms certainly are real phenomena (they occur due to fluctuations in the Sun’s magnetic field) they’re not like terrestrial storms that can blow up dust and dirt.

In pictures: The best debunked myths and fake news stories
Instead they create very minor disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere. Historically there have been rare storms that could knock out electrical systems today, but they're mostly of the order of magnitude only likely to throw a homing pigeon slightly off course – not blot out the Sun.

However, the hoax story even drafts in some credible-sounding sources including Nasa chief Charles Bolden, who reportedly warned the public to stay calm. Some users even linked to a (real) video of Bolden talking about “emergency preparedness” – an official-sounding phrase that apparently bypasses common sense to hit the big button marked ‘PANIC’ in the brain.

In actuality Bolden recorded the video to encourage US families to think about what they would do in the event of an earthquake or hurricane – natural disasters that are a real enough threat in America.

This total-darkness hoax apparently comes in a couple of flavours (some claim that a non-existent “photon belt” is responsible for the blackout) and are so widespread that Nasa employees even had to debunk the rumours themselves back in 2012.

-indipendent

Mark Zuckerberg and 5 Other Billionaires Now Basically Own Hawaii

Mark Zuckerberg and 5 Other Billionaires Now Basically Own Hawaii

World sabahdaily   9:46 PM

In a billionaire move that nearly out-Bransons Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg just bought part of Hawaii. Yeah, he just bought part of a state.
The Facebook founder dropped $100 million on two adjacent chunks of land on Kauai’s north shore. Forbes confirmed that Zuckerberg purchased 700 acres on Hawaii’s fourth-largest island to build a private sanctuary for his family. Zuckerberg must have a really big family.

So what, exactly, does $100 million get you in the Aloha State? The first piece of land, Pila’a Beach, features 393 acres of pristine white-sand beaches. The second plot, the Kahu’aina Plantation, is a 357-acre former sugarcane plantation that boasts 2,500 feet of shore and a working organic farm.


But it looks like Zuckerberg isn’t looking to widen his social network. The plantation currently houses about two dozen small huts used by locals as vacation spots or permanent homes. It’s rumored that Zuckerberg is paying these residents large sums of money to vacate so that his compound can be totally secluded. How much do you wish you owned one of those huts right now?

Zuckerberg’s team is staying hush-hush about the acquisition. A Facebook spokesperson said, “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation, but thank you for reaching out!”

Under Hawaiian law, the beaches on his land will have to remain public, as the state has no private stretches of sand. So if you want to hang out with the 32-billion-dollar man, just head to Kauai. Maybe he’ll build a sand castle with you.

Here are some of the other bigwigs who own land in Hawaii:


Larry Ellison

In 2012, Oracle founder Larry Ellison bought the island of Lanai. No, we didn’t stutter. In true billionaire fashion, the software tycoon dropped an estimated $500-$600 million to buy Hawaii’s sixth-largest island (the actual figure was confidential). In reality, Ellison owns 98 percent, or 87,000 acres of the Polynesian island, where he reportedly plans to invest in tourism. The previous owner of Lanai was David Murdock, the billionaire behind Dole Foods who appropriately nicknamed it Pineapple Island.
Steve Case

You can take the boy out of Hawaii, but you can’t take the Hawaii out of the boy. Former AOL Time Warner chairman, Steve Case, was born in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School. In 2000, he paid $26 million to buy 36,000 acres on the historic Grove Farm, which is a former sugarcane plantation. He also acquired the majority share of Maui Land & Pineapple, which owns 26,000 acres in Hawaii.

Michael Dell

Michael Dell doesn’t own an island, but don’t feel bad for him. The founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell owns a $64.7 million (assessed value) home in the Kukio development on Hawaii’s big island. The Raptor Residence, as it is called, sits on 4.3 acres of land and has seven bedrooms, several bathrooms, and gorgeous waterfront views.


Kamehameha Schools

Forget a booster club, this school system has enough land to pay its bills. Kamehameha schools is a private school system in Hawai’i founded by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, a royal descendant of Kamehameha I. Bishop owned 9 percent of Hawaii, which totals more than 365,000 acres spread out across the islands. When she died, she left the expansive area of land to the school system in an endowment.

Alexander and Baldwin

In 1831, Samuel Thomas Alexander and Henry Perrine Baldwin purchased 561 acres on the island of Maui to cultivate sugarcane. Today the company of Alexander & Baldwin owns about 87,000 acres throughout the state. It still produces Maui Brand sugar, but it has added the Matson shipping company and luxury residential properties to its holdings.

-yahoo news

What Venezuela's Security Council Seat Means for the U.S.

What Venezuela's Security Council Seat Means for the U.S.

World sabahdaily   6:52 AM

In an election sure to be a thorn in the side of the U.S., Venezuela on Thursday won the non-permanent member seat on the U.N. Security Council for the Latin American region. The country, which has had frosty relations with the U.S., is unlikely to be an ally on key issues involving Syria, Iran and Russia in a time of global turmoil.

Socialist Venezuela traditionally has opposed U.S. and Western positions on international issues. Jason Marczak, deputy director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council, says the country’s presence on the council will mean a vote against the American position on nearly every topic.

“Whatever global issue you can think of that the U.S. would have an opinion on, I think Venezuela is going to take an opposing viewpoint,” Marczak says.

Relations with former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013 of cancer, were strained, and things have not improved under Nicolas Maduro. In February, the current president expelled three American officials, charging that they had recruited students to take part in protests that were spreading across the country. Citizens were dissatisfied over shortages of goods, high inflation, growing crime and increased censorship of the media, but Maduro has continually accused the U.S. of supporting an opposition he's said is planning a coup. Forty-three people were killed in the violence over three months.

Venezuela is likely to be an ally of permanent Security Council member Russia as that country continues to foment dissent in neighboring Ukraine. In March, Venezuela was one of just 10 (other than Russia) countries to vote against a U.N. resolution that recognized Crimea as falling within Ukrainian borders.

The Latin American country is also likely to oppose any attempted Security Council action against Iran, another ally. The U.S. and five other world powers are engaged in nuclear negotiations with Iran, but additional sanctions against the country could be pursued in the Security Council should the negotiations fail. Maduro also has been a vocal opponent of Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom the U.S. has long wanted to step down.

Venezuela ran unopposed for the seat to represent Latin America, in line with a closed-door agreement to allow the spot to rotate among countries in the region. Chavez sought a seat in 2006, but the U.S. opposed the campaign and succeeded in shutting it down.

This time, the U.S. was silent on Maduro’s bid, which Marczak attributes in part to so many other world crises requiring attention. It also downplays the significance of the winning bid.

“The approach of the U.S. to Venezuela joining the Security Council is to not give Maduro an opportunity to further play up this as a diplomatic success at home,” Marczak says. “The way he’d be able to do that is by showing the opposition of the U.S. and his ability to overcome the U.S. opposition, and by the U.S. being quiet, it’s much less of a diplomatic victory for Maduro.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, D-Fla., said that due to Venezuelan support of “state sponsors of terrorism like Iran, North Korea and Syria,” the U.S. should have actively tried to stop the country's bid for a Security Council seat. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle called on Secretary of State John Kerry to oppose Venezuela's effort.

-us news