US Justice Department to withdraw Stevens charges

Published Updated Uncategorized

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The United Stated Department of Justice has asked for corruption charges against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens to be dropped because evidence was withheld from the defense team by the original prosecutors. The Justice Department has stated that they will not retry Stevens.

In a statement, US Attorney General Eric Holder said, “After careful review, I have concluded that certain information should have been provided to the defense for use at trial. In light of this conclusion, and in consideration of the totality of the circumstances of this particular case, I have determined that it is in the interest of justice to dismiss the indictment and not proceed with a new trial.”

Stevens was convicted in October on seven felony counts of lying on senate disclosure forms about gifts, largely in the form of free renovations to his home, received from an oil service company; his conviction is thought to have been a large factor in his November electoral defeat to former Anchorage mayor Mark Begich, the current junior Senator from Alaska. Stevens immediately appealed his conviction and has maintained his innocence.

The prosecution case has met with a number of procedural difficulties, with US District Court judge Emmet G. Sullivan holding the prosecution in contempt in March for failing to turn over documents concerning an FBI whistleblower’s reports of mishandling of the case. The Justice Department has since replaced the case’s prosecutors, and the allegations of misconduct have held up sentencing from the original convictions.

The filed papers indicate that notes were never turned over from an interview that has the oil contractor estimated the house renovation for far less then he specified at trial.

The original trial team was removed, but in the end Attorney General Eric Holder thought it would be best if the case was dropped. NPR’s source indicate that Holder wish to forcefully transmit that prosecutorial misconduct will not be tolerated. The trying prosecutors are under investigation by the Justice Department for their conduct in the matter.

Stevens, now 85, served as Alaska’s Senator from 1968 to 2009.

What Causes A Stud Bolt To Loosen}

Published Updated Dog Rescue

What Causes a Stud Bolt to Loosen

by

Charles BahandiStud bolts are highly beneficial when dealing with larger steel like stainless steel pipes and steel flanges, due to its strength, wider flexibility of length, and ability to more or less permanently fasten the joint. Aside from the obvious strength issue, the problem that may occur with stud bolts and nuts is the possibility of it to self-loosen as the time passes, and eventually put the integrity of joints at risk, most especially when exposed to vibrations and movements.

How Will a Stud Bolt Fail?

Often fatigue failure is a result of the stud bolt self-loosening which reduces the clamp force acting on the joint. Joint slip then occurs which leads the the bolt being subjected to bending loads and subsequently failing by fatigue.

Stud bolts are manufactured in such a way that the bolt shank will fail first before the threads strip, this just means that the full strength of the thread can ride out forces greater than what would be necessary to fracture the actual bolt shank. But for it to actually be fractured, there must be a minimum amount of bolt thread engaging the nut, known as minimum thread engagement.

It is believed that vibration causes bolt loosening. By far the most frequent cause of loosening is side sliding of the nut or stud bolt head relative to the joint, resulting in relative motion occurring in the threads. If this does not occur, then the bolts will not loosen, even if the joint is subjected to severe vibration. By a detailed analysis of the joint, it is possible to determine the clamp force required to be provided by the bolts to prevent joint slip.

What is the Preload of a Stud Bolt?

For the most part stud bolts don’t face the above problem due to the ability to produce what is called a clamping load, or a preload, which if large enough, will ensure joint integrity. The preload is the force that is created when torque is applied to a bolt to fasten two or more objects together. The bolt is pulled into tension as torque is applied, while the fastened parts experience compression.

This tension, as long as it’s within the elastic limit of the bolt, exerts an equal and opposite force called the tensile stress which works to keep the bolt from loosening. Above all secondary safety measures such as lock nuts and washers, the principle of tightening the bolt down sufficiently to begin with, is the most crucial factor in preventing premature loosening.

THERE ARE THREE COMMON CAUSES OF THE RELATIVE MOTION OCCURRING IN THE THREADS:

Bending of parts which results in forces being induced at the friction surface. If slip occurs, the head and threads will slip which can lead to loosening.

Differential thermal effects caused as a result of either differences in temperature or differences in clamped materials.Applied forces on the joint can lead to shifting of the joint surfaces leading to bolt loosening.

Article Source:

eArticlesOnline.com}

Manned Soyuz space mission aborts during launch

Published Updated Uncategorized

Friday, October 12, 2018

Soyuz MS-10, a manned Russian space mission bound for the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month stay, was forced to abort by a booster rocket failure Thursday morning. Rescue teams successfully recovered both crew members, Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin and United States astronaut Nick Hague, shortly after they landed safely in Kazakhstan.

About two minutes after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, which took place at 8:40 UTC on Thursday, a problem arose with the rocket boosters attached to the Soyuz rocket, during the process of booster separation. As the abort rocket system had been jettisoned a few moments earlier per normal launch procedure, the crew used the Soyuz capsule’s steering rockets to direct the spacecraft into a ballistic descent trajectory. During the descent, Ovchinin and Hague reportedly were subjected to forces of six to seven times Earth’s gravity. Ovchinin and Hague were safely recovered along with the spacecraft’s descent module about 12 miles (19 km) east of Jezkazgan, Kazakhstan, and 250 miles (402 km) from the launch site, approximately an hour and a half after lift-off. Both were taken to a hospital in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, for overnight observation as a precaution.

The incident, which is only the third mishap involving a manned Soyuz rocket since 1975 and the first since 1983, neither of which resulted in a fatality, comes nearly a month and a half after ISS mission controllers detected an air leak aboard the Soyuz MS-09 capsule presently docked at the ISS. Astronauts later found the leak to be the result of a drilled hole in the capsule’s wall before repairing it. Shortly after Thursday’s abort, the Russian government announced the formation of a state commission to investigate the launch failure.

Director General of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin tweeted, “To clarify the cause of the accident at the Soyuz-FG LV, by my decision, a state commission was formed […] Telemetry is being studied. Rescue services work [sic] from the first second of the accident. The emergency rescue system of the Soyuz-MS ship worked normally. Crew rescued.”

Ovchinin and Hague were due to join the crew of Expedition 57 aboard the ISS in low Earth orbit, which would have brought the current ISS crew from three to five. The next manned Soyuz launch to the ISS, Soyuz MS-11, was originally slated for December, though it is now unclear when that mission will be launched, pending the Russian investigation.

Asbestos victims file 6.6 billion yen class action lawsuit in Tokyo

Published Updated Uncategorized

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Construction workers and next of kin of deceased workers filed a lawsuit in Tokyo, Japan Friday seeking damages of approximately 6.6 billion yen (about US$64 million) from the government and manufacturers related to illnesses stemming from exposure to asbestos. 178 plaintiffs; including construction workers and family members filed the suit in Tokyo District Court against 46 building manufacturers and the Government of Japan.

According to the Mainichi Daily News, the class action suit is the first that has been filed in Japan related to health damages caused by asbestos exposure at construction sites. The plaintiffs hail from the Japanese prefectures of Tokyo, Saitama and Chiba.

The plaintiffs claim that the government and manufacturers knew of the dangers of asbestos inhalation but failed to take proper precautions, including ceasing to promote asbestos as a cheap fire retardant and banning production of the material.

They state that after inhaling asbestos in the workplace, 172 people have developed lung cancer or mesothelioma, and that almost half of those afflicted are now dead. Plaintiffs argue that the government and health ministry did not act quickly enough after international organizations issued warnings in 1972 that asbestos could be a carcinogen.

Plaintiffs also place blame with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry for sanctioning the use of asbestos under Japanese Industrial Standards, and with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for approving the use of materials comprised of asbestos and other substances under Japan’s Building Standards Law.

We will do our utmost until we win the suit.

“We will do our utmost until we win the suit,” said Kazuo Miyajima, 78, who heads the group of plaintiffs. Lawyers for the plaintiffs released a statement saying: “We seek complete relief for the victims by clarifying the liability of the state and the manufacturers.”

Approximately 40 construction workers from Kanagawa Prefecture plan to file a similar lawsuit in June in Yokohama District Court.

After a 2005 revelation that residents who lived near a factory in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture developed diseases related to asbestos, the government implemented a law in 2006 which provides monetary assistance to asbestos victims and relatives of deceased family members. The plaintiffs argue that the amount of financial assistance given to families and victims of asbestos-related diseases is not sufficient.

Asbestos has been used in Japan as a fire retardant, for sound absorption, and for insulation. It was mixed in concrete and water and sprayed on walls and ceilings, but the practice of spraying asbestos in this manner was banned in Japan in 1975.

How To Buy A Good Down Jacket

Published Updated Workshop And Engineering Equipment

How to buy a good down jacket

by

Dilly Danny

Firstly; How to identify a down jacket.

A. Put the down jacket on a smooth desk, with both hands gently pat it, if its feathers of flocculent fleeciness up degree is high, and filled with air, it will be a true down jacket. If its hair dies, fluffy don’t get up, it may contain acrylic cotton.

B. False feather often has fabrics of flocculent in the inner layer, the quantum parts of the feather is acrylic cotton, when buying a down jacket, you should carefully touch and feel it by hand. Comparing internal and external appearance if you feel hard one side, and soft the other side, it is likely a fake one.

C. Please note that some customers thought the more soft it feels, the better it is, MAO infarction is the fewer the better. Actually it’s not, because the feather in total more or less contains some fixed proportion of wool (known as MAO stems). If it feels no MAO, be about to consider whether it is a fake one.

Secondly; how to choose and buy a down jacket.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5AzbDJ7KYI[/youtube]

Choosing a good or bad down jacket is related to consumer interests and possibly brings disadvantages to human health. When choosing and buying a down jacket, you should pay special attention to the following aspects:

A. style: innovative, unique, suitable body, generous, practical.

B. price: generally with a moderate price, if the price is too low, the feather quality cannot assure, it is easy to produce all sorts of quality issue.

C. recovery: press the fleeciness down jacket, then release it, if it rapidly rebound and restore in the original state. it illustrates the quality of the coat is good.

D. preventing drilling performance: the inner material of the coat should have preventing drilling flocking performance. Pat it, if it can be found the eiderdown fluff, it must be an inferior product. Due to the characteristics of eider down with soft cloth with soft nap, a little silk from suture appliances is normal.

E. permeability: feather cannot drill flocking, but should also have certain permeability, for example, if the permeability of fabrics, in material, bravery material are poor, first, when someone is dressed in it, the process of water vapor is not easily to be sent out, it will cause damp and you won’t feel comfortable or warm. Second, it is not easily dry after being washed. The above two factors can make the quality of the coat worse in damp conditions and metamorphism, stink in different degree.

F. bouquet: smell it, take a deep breath clingy eiderdown, avoid buying a coat with a pungent flavor inside. But because it is animal plumage, a certain smell is normal.

Special remind:

(1) The feather on the various markers shall be complete, such as the names and addresses, fabric in material content, feathers, filling the type and HanRongLiang, RongLiang index, washing mark, quality grades, executive standard code, etc.

(2) Special attention should be paid to whether the feather lined with plastic film and fake material without the airtight line makings.

(3) You’d better go to large and medium-sized bazaar with standard feather quality prestige, after-sales service to choose and buy a down jacket. Because it will be helpful for protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

Dilly Danny is a editor and author of

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How to buy a good down jacket

Gaza looters destroy Palestine Authority property

Published Updated Uncategorized

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Frenzied destruction of empty Jewish settlements in Gaza by Palestinian looters have marred plans for exploiting those facilities to create much needed jobs for the area.

Greenhouses in Gaza have been partly destroyed as crucial equipment was stripped by the Palestinians. Looters took everything from water pumps, plastic sheets, tubing and equipment. This makes at least one third of the hothouses at least temporarily unusable to feed the families of Gaza and for potential export to Israel.

The facilities were purchased by a group of Jewish-American donors and given to the Palestinian government to encourage economic development. It was initially anticipated over four thousand Palestinians could be given work at the greenhouses, however all offers have been suspended prior to the damage being assessed and repairs arranged.

Wikinews Shorts: December 14, 2008

Published Updated Uncategorized

A compilation of brief news reports for Sunday, December 14, 2008.

The Indian navy has announced that it has captured 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates in the Gulf of Aden who were attacking an Ethiopian ship named the MV Gibe. The Indian INS Mysore, which was escorting merchant ships near the coast of Somalia, hurried to the MV Gibe after it sent out a distress call, saying that they were being fired upon by two boats.

The pirates, when apprehended, attempted to flee, but were caught by the Indian ship. Arms and equipment were seized from the pirates.

Sources

  • Jeremiah Marquez. “Indian navy captures 23 pirates in Gulf of Aden” — Associated Press, December 13, 2008
  • “Indian navy ‘captures 23 pirates'” — BBC News, December 13, 2008

Ajmal Kasab, the gunman who was captured in last month’s Mumbai attacks that killed hundreds of people, has told the police that he originally planned to take hostages and make demands from the media, according to his confession statement.

The seven-page confession states that Kasab and another person, who attacked Mumbai’s main train station, were planning to have a standoff atop a roof, but the plan backfired when no access to a roof was found.

They did manage to kill tens of people inside the train station itself, however, it is still not known whether or not they had hostages.

Sources

  • “Confession sheds light on Mumbai attacks” — MSNBC, December 13, 2008
  • “Mumbai gunman’s chilling confession sheds light” — The Bismarck Tribune, December 13, 2008

A recent fire has hit former Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s church in Wasilla, Alaska. Investigators have deemed the fire “suspicious,” and consider arson as a possible cause.

A group of women and children were in the church when the fire broke out, but no one was injured.

“We have no idea what caused it,” said the Rev. Larry Kroon of the nondenominational Wasilla Bible Church.

Sources

  • Celeste Katz. “Suspicious fire burns Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin church in Wasilla” — Daily News, December 13, 2008
  • Monte Plott. “Fire hits Palin’s church in Alaska” — CNN, December 13, 2008

Protest rallies were held in Australian capital cities on Saturday to protest against the Rudd government’s proposed internet filtering scheme. Under the scheme, a so-called “clean feed” would be provided to all Australians with content on a list kept by the Australian Communications and Media Authority blocked. A secondary filter, which may be opted out of will block material deemed inappropriate to children.

Hundreds attended the protests in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth and Hobart which were organised by the Digital Liberty Coalition.

Sources

  • Andrew Ramadge. “Digital Liberty Coalition protests against web filter held across Australia” — news.com.au, December 13, 2008
  • Angus Kidman. “IN PICTURES: hundreds protest govt net censorship” — Australian Personal Computer, December 13, 2008

UK Environment Secretary Hilary Benn prompted speculation regarding a possible cabinet split over plans to expand London’s Heathrow airport with comments made in an interview given to the Sunday Times.

Mr Benn warned concerns regarding noise and air-pollution could stall plans to build a third runway and expressed doubts regarding suggestions that a technological solution could be found to the problems.

Heathrow is currently in breach of EU rules governing air pollution, although the UK currently has an opt-out from the rules, this runs out in 2015.

Other senior cabinet members, including Commons Leader Harriet Harman and Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Milliband, are also believed to have serious reservations about the expansion of Heathrow.

Sources

  • Jonathan Oliver and Jon Ungoed-Thomas. “Cabinet split over proposed Heathrow third runway” — The Sunday Times, Sunday 14th December 2008
  • inthenews.co.uk. “Hilary Benn ‘doubtful’ on Heathrow expansion” — inthenews.co.uk, Sunday 14th December 2008

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This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.

2008 Canadian Championship: Toronto FC vs. Montreal Impact

Published Updated Uncategorized

Thursday, May 29, 2008

May 27, 20087:30 PM (EDT)
Toronto FC 1–0 Montreal Impact Saputo Stadium, Montreal, Quebec Attendance: 12,083 Referee: Paul Ward
Brennan 32’Wynne 37’Dichio 41’Smith 41’Valez 72′ (1) 24′ Di Lorenzo 24′ Ribeiro 37′ Pesoli 53′ Pesoli

Toronto FC opened up the Nutrilite Canadian Championship with a 1-0 win against Montreal Impact at Saputo Stadium on Tuesday night.

Reds defender Marco Velez scored the only goal of the game, 1st in tournament history. Velez jumped to head home a cross from Laurent Robert. The goal came in the 72nd minute.

Montreal played for much of the 2nd half with 10 men after defender Stefano Pesoli was sent off for a second yellow card.

Toronto FC striker Danny Dichio has been struggling with a groin strain in recent weeks and was forced to leave the game before half time. He was replaced by Jarrod Smith.

Toronto FC now prepare to face Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at BMO Field. Toronto FC play their next Nutrilite Canadian Championship game on July 1st against Vancouver Whitecaps at BMO Field. The Impact’s next game is on Friday against the Portland Timbers at Saputo Stadium.

Living The Green Way With 11 Tips}

Published Updated Clothing

Living the green way with 11 tips

by

Ecofirm

1 Green way to clean faucets, sinks or stainless steel: CUCUMBER

Use a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean. It will remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine without leaving streaks. The most important is it will not harm your fingers or fingernails.

2 Green way to remove oily stains: BABY POWDER

Put some baby powder on the stained area for some time before washing with detergent.

3 Green way to clean your sink or toilet ball: USED TOOTHPASTE

Cut the used toothpaste into half or three parts. Brush out the remaining toothpaste and apply it all over the sink or toilet bowl. Leave it for 10 15 minutes and then use a scrub to clean the areas. It will leave the sink and toilet bowl sparkling clean!

4 Green way to remove bad smell in the kitchen cabinet: PANDAN LEAVES

As we know, kitchen cabinet always a place full of cockroaches, lizards and ants. Hence, this makes the cabinet smells bad. We can use pandan leaves to make the cabinets smell fresh the natural way. It is cheap, your cabinets smell fresh, and the cockroaches stay away.

5 Green way to refresh cutting boards: LEMON

Rub the cutting boards all over with the cut side of a half lemon or wash it in undiluted juice straight from the bottle after chopping the onions, crushing garlic, cutting raw and cooked meat and chicken, and preparing fish to get rid of the smell and sanitize the cutting board.

6 Green way to fill the cracks in a flower pot or a dog bowl: CHEWING GUM

We can use piece of well-chewed gum to fill a crack in a clay flower pot or a dog bowl.

7 Green way to absorb vegetables odor: BREAD

Most of the people love cabbage or broccoli very much, but hate the smell white it is cooking! We can actually put a piece of white bread on top of the pot when cooking up smelly vegetables to absorb the odor.

8 Green way to iron out wrinkles: ICE CUBES

No time to wash your ready to-wear shirt which is full of wrinkles! Never mind! Wrap an ice cube in a soft cloth and rub over the wrinkle before ironing and the shirt will smooth out.

9 Green way to condition your hair: MAYONNAISE

We actually can condition our hair in a natural way. Massage mayonnaise into your hair and scalp it like the way you use hair conditioner. Cover your head with a shower cap few minutes and shampoo. The mayonnaise will moisturize the hair and give it a lustrous sheen.

10 Green way to make frozen fish taste fresh: MILK

Try this trick to make frozen fish taste fresh. By placing the frozen fish in a bath of milk until it thaws. The milk will make it taste fresher.

11 Green way to disinfect/ clean the cutting boards: VINEGAR

Do not use water and dishwashing detergent to disinfect the wood cutting board as it can weaken its surface fibers. We can disinfect by wiping them with full-strength white vinegar after each use. Vinegar is effective against many harmful bugs.

Samuel Tow is the Founder of the ecofirm organization. Please visit our website at http://ecofirm.org or submit your green site to http://ecofirm.org/directory

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Living the green way with 11 tips}