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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 26, 2019 16:11:26 GMT
"Say hello to Scotty” Yikes! That is one huge T-Rex. You stagger out of your cave one fine morning and he is standing there...……….
Crystal
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 26, 2019 16:21:39 GMT
Khmer Times
Chinese experts help preserve Cambodia’s Angkor temples, forge China-ASEAN cultural bond
Mao Pengfei & Nguon Sovan March 25, 2019
Ta Keo temple is under restoration.
As the sun sets over the ancient city of Angkor in the deep jungle in northwestern Cambodia, a massive temple-mountain named Ta Keo glows golden in the rays.
Abandoned around 900 years ago soon after its ornamentation started, the magnificent structure has been revived in the hands of Chinese and Cambodian archaeological experts.
The ongoing project is the second phase of the Chinese government’s aid for preserving, conserving and restoring Angkor temples, after the Chausay Tevada temple project ended in 2008.
Chinese experts have been working with local colleagues for over two decades to revive the invaluable treasures of Cambodia.
China-Cambodia cooperation in preservation and development of Angkor is a symbol of the longtime friendship and close cultural connection between the two countries. It also reflects the upgraded China-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) cooperation framework’s emphasis on promoting people-to-people exchanges.
REVIVING GEMS OF CIVILIZATION
The Angkor complex consists of 200 stone monuments spreading over an area of 400 square km in northwestern Cambodia. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1992.
However, due to heavy rains, looting and lack of protection for centuries, most temples of Angkor, built between the 7th and the 13th centuries, were seriously damaged.
In order to better protect and conserve these gems of human civilization, China joined the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor), an international campaign launched by Cambodia and UNESCO in 1993.
From Chausay Tevada to Ta Keo, the Chinese team has earned trust from the Cambodian people and established a good reputation for their professional experties.
Jin Zhaoyu, a cultural relic protection engineer from the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage (CACH), first arrived at Angkor in 2013 at the age of 35.
“I had read quite a lot of documents and seen many pictures of Ta Keo in China, but I was still stunned by its grandeur at the first sight,” Jin said. He has devoted himself to saving the ancient temples.
Climbing up the stairs of the pyramid-shaped Ta Keo, Jin told Xinhua that it was very unique among all the temples in Angkor. “It was abandoned before the completion of the building, leaving many facades plain and pediments uncarved, which gives this temple-mountain a mixed character of magnificence and simplicity.”
“Its unfinished status shows the construction procedures of temples in Angkor, like ‘slices of time’,” said Jin. “This gives Ta Keo irreplaceable value in the study of Angkor’s architecture.”
Such uniqueness, however, presented greater challenges to the Chinese team.
PRESERVING UNIQUENESS
Located in the central zone of the Angkor Archaeological Park, the half-finished Ta Keo is a pyramid of five levels with five upper towers rising more than 50 meters high.
It was built by King Jayavarman V and Suryavarman I from the late 10th century to the early 11th century. The kings dedicated this temple to Hinduism, according to a document from the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism.
Compared with Chausay Tevada, Ta Keo covers a larger area and had more risks including unsteady stone structures, a poor drainage system and fallen key parts that are hard to be restored, said Jin.
“Because the construction is not completed, many fallen parts are not carved, leaving little information of its relations with other parts.”
Jin showed the archives of those fallen parts, each with its ID file including picture and dimensions, in the office of the China-Cambodia Government Team for Safeguarding Angkor in Cambodia’s Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap.
“Every stone is unique. If one stone is in the wrong position, the gap will grow wider as you restore the structure layer by layer and an accurate restoration will be impossible,” said Jin.
“Simply speaking, our priorities are ‘searching’ and ‘matching.’ Finding the fallen parts and putting them back to the perfectly correct positions.”
To better understand the temple’s structure and precisely restore it, the Chinese team applied the most advanced technologies, including 3D laser scanning and mapping, structural research and drone recording, to build a complete digital model of Ta Keo.
Jin demonstrated the 3D model system, with which the team restored the temple hundreds of times.
“I can measure the dimensions of every stone and every gap in computer, and search the right stone that can fit in the gap,” Jin said.
This is much easier said than done.
Dozens of Chinese experts from various fields including mapping, geology, archaeology, architecture and biology worked together with Cambodian colleagues to overcome a string of obstacles. It took them eight years to restore Ta Keo.
The conservation of Angkor marks the first time for China to officially participate in a large international heritage program, and to some extent it reflects the cultural cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative in ASEAN countries, said Xu Yan, deputy director of the CACH.
“We integrated the internationally recognized conservation concepts into Chinese restoration principles and developed our Chinese mode for the conservation of Angkor,” Xu said. “Our work was highly praised by Cambodia, UNESCO and the ICC-Angkor.”
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE EXCHANGES
China and ASEAN have mapped out a blueprint, the China-ASEAN Strategic Partnership Vision 2030, to further advance their strategic partnership and forge wider mutually beneficial cooperation so as to build a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future.
While encouraging people-to-people exchanges and cooperation for a better future, the two sides said they will promote youth exchanges in language learning, culture, art and heritage.
The protection of cultural heritage is of great importance for the sustainable development of mankind, and can serve as an important platform to promote people-to-people exchanges, said Hu Bing, deputy director of China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration.
China has been a key partner in helping renovate and preserve Cambodia’s cultural heritage, Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona told Xinhua.
“I highly value and thank the Chinese government for supporting Cambodia in preserving our national heritage,” Sackona said, adding that China’s assistance has not only protected ancient temples, but also helped train Cambodian archaeologists on renovation and preservation tasks.
“When we worked here, both sides — Chinese and Cambodian teams — worked together smoothly, got on well with each other like brothers,” said Nuth Poeng, leader of the Cambodian technician team in the Ta Keo project, sitting on a stone stair of the Ta Keo temple.
“We have learned a lot of skills from them. The Ta Keo project is finished but I really want them to stay here with us and help us restore more temples in Angkor.”
Before long, the renovation of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thom will commence with financial aid from China.
As the third phase of China’s aid to Cambodia in the protection and restoration of Angkor, the Royal Palace project is expected to last for 11 years.
“We’re confident in the abilities of the Chinese experts, and through these projects, we hope that Cambodian experts will be capable enough of renovating temples by themselves in the future,” said Minister Sackona.
www.khmertimeskh.com/50590121/chinese-experts-help-preserve-cambodias-angkor-temples-forge-china-asean-cultural-bond/
Crystal
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2019 6:52:00 GMT
Sprint Cancels Cookout
A Sprint cell phone tower will be removed from a California elementary school after four students and three teachers were diagnosed with cancer. Weston Elementary School in Ripon, CA went on high alert after the controversy erupted two years ago - with some parents even pulling their children from school over the tower which Sprint has been paying the school $2,000 per month to place on its property. The Ripon Unified School District initially defended the cell phone tower earlier this month, with board president Kit Oase saying tests done on the tower had found it was operating within safety standards. Monica Ferrulli, whose son was treated for brain cancer in 2017, said RUSD has cited an obsolete American Cancer Society study in keeping the tower in place since the controversy erupted two years ago. “It is just denial,” Ferrulli told the board. She vowed that parents will continue to fight and keep their children out of the school. -Modesto Bee Around 200 parents attended a meeting after a fourth student was diagnosed with cancer on March 8. Richard Rex, whose family lives across the street from Weston School, said a bump appeared on his 11-year-old son’s abdomen a month ago. He said his son’s classroom is near the tower. The parents first thought it was a skating injury. Instead of going to science camp, 11-year-old Brad was taken to doctors for examinations and tests that found a tumor wrapped around his liver. The boy now has a portal for starting cancer treatment, the parents said. Richard Rex said he’s hearing different options for treating the cancer. “They said they can shrink it and cut it out. They’re also talking liver transplant. It is very scary,” Rex said. -Modesto Bee Sprint representative Adrienne Norton said that the company has been "working with the community in Ripon to address their concerns." The potential negative health effects from electromagnetic fields (EMFs) emitted by cell towers or transmission lines have been long debated. While the National Cancer Institute cites studies which conclude that EMFs are a possible human carcinogen based on research which focused on childhood leukemia. The institute's website says there are no increased risks from brain tumors or other cancers based on European epidemiological studies. According to notices posted by RUSD, the school district hired engineers for an evaluation in 2018 on the cell tower’s compliance with guidelines for limiting human exposure to electromagnetic radiation. The testing found exposure levels for people nearby were below the federal standard, the notices says. -Modesto Bee So while parents are blaming the Sprint cell phone tower is responsible for the cancer cluster at Weston Elementary School - it's entirely possible that other environmental factors are at play.
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 27, 2019 11:50:08 GMT
Good morning, good morning,
Richard Dolan 26 March 2019
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Crystal
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 27, 2019 11:52:43 GMT
Mysterious Universe
Multiple UFOs and a Crop Circle Appear in Venezuela During Electrical Blackout
Paul Seaburn March 27, 2019
Power outages are nothing new in Venezuela – they seem to be happening weekly and often occur cross multiple states. UFO sightings over Venezuela are infrequent but happening more often, but it still seems improbable that a recent one recorded on video by a motorist in the state of Trujillo is related to the blackout he was driving through, yet that’s one of the explanations given by a reporter who investigated it. Is there really a connection? Are Venezuelans and leaders around the world pointing their fingers at the wrong cause for that country’s problems – at least its electrical power ones? And why are there so many recent UFO sightings there … including one with a crop circle?
more after the jump:
mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/03/multiple-ufos-and-a-crop-circle-appear-in-venezuela-during-electrical-blackout/
Crystal
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 28, 2019 12:24:23 GMT
Good morning lovely UFOCasebookers,
Space.com
US Military Shoots ICBM Target Out of the Sky in Missile Defense Test
By Elizabeth Howell 28 March 2019
Missiles shot from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base successfully destroyed an airborne target Monday (March 25) as part of a U.S. missile defense test, military officials said.
The target was an intercontinental ballistic missile launched from the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, about 4,000 miles (6,440 kilometers) from Vandenberg.
During the test, sensors in space, on the ground and at sea helped guide two ground-based interceptors (GBI) fired from Vandenberg. The first interceptor destroyed the target, a re-entry vehicle, while the second one searched the remaining debris for other threatening objects. Since there were no re-entry vehicles in the debris, the second missile hit the next "most lethal object" in the wreckage and also destroyed it, U.S. Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency (MDA) officials said in a statement: www.mda.mil/news/19news0003.html
"This was the first GBI salvo intercept of a complex, threat-representative ICBM target, and it was a critical milestone," Lt. Gen. Samuel A. Greaves, director of the MDA, said in the statement. "The system worked exactly as it was designed to do ... The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system is vitally important to the defense of our homeland, and this test demonstrates that we have a capable, credible deterrent against a very real threat."
Officials added in the statement that they are evaluating the system performance to get more information, but everything received so far shows that the test "met requirements."
This is the latest in a series of tests testing examining how the United States would respond to ICBM threats. One possible nation that could be threatening is North Korea, which has conducted its own tests and said in the past that the United States is among the nations it hopes to destroy.
www.space.com/us-missile-defense-system-aces-icbm-shootdown-test.html
Crystal
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 28, 2019 12:28:10 GMT
azfamily
Published on Mar 26, 2019
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Crystal
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 28, 2019 12:35:12 GMT
Son, "Dad are you serious?"
Latest Tech
Published on Mar 27, 2019
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Crystal
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Post by swamprat on Mar 28, 2019 19:49:49 GMT
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Post by swamprat on Mar 28, 2019 20:19:17 GMT
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 29, 2019 11:36:52 GMT
Good morning, good morning,
Ahram (Egypt)
New temple palace discovered at Ramses II's temple in Upper Egypt's Sohag
'The new discovery will change, for the first time, the plan of the temple more than 160 years since its discovery,' said the secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities
Nevine El-Aref , Friday 29 Mar 2019
The remains of the discovered temple palace
Excavation work carried out in Ramses II’s temple in Abydos, Sohag, has uncovered a new temple palace belonging to the 19th Dynasty king.
The discovery was made by the New York University mission, directed by Sameh Iskander.
“It is a very important discovery which will change, for the first time, the plan of the temple more than 160 years since its discovery,” said Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
He describes the new discovery as “an important contribution to our understanding of the development of the temple palaces during the Ramesside period.”
The location and layout of the palace exhibits a noteworthy parallel to the temple palace of Ramses II’s father Seti I in Abydos some 300 metres to the south.
During the work of the mission around the temple to recover the architectural elements south of the temple, Iskander told Ahram Online, the mission accidently stumbled upon a stone walkway at the south-western door of a temple.
This walkway led to an entrance of a palace building that contains the cartouches of Ramses II.
He explained that the walls are built of limestone and mud brick, the floors are made of limestone, and the temple’s second hall has a sandstone column base and lintels with inscriptions of the king. Other fragments decorated with stars were found.
Ayman Ashmawi, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Department, stated that the temple foundation inscriptions have an extremely rare depiction of Ramses II’s cartouches.
They appear on all four corners of the temple, showing Ramses II’s birth and throne names painted in a golden colour. They are surmounted with double feathers with a sun disk in between, and beneath them a decorative gold sign.
The cartouch of king Ramses II
english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/329050/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/New-temple-palace-discovered-at-Ramses-IIs-temple-.aspx
Crystal
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 29, 2019 11:41:33 GMT
SBS Australia
Published on Mar 28, 2019
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Crystal
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 29, 2019 11:47:32 GMT
BIGFOOT CASE FILES
Published on Mar 28, 2019
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Crystal
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Post by swamprat on Mar 29, 2019 15:11:52 GMT
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Post by WingsofCrystal on Mar 29, 2019 23:10:33 GMT
Telegraph
NASA creates helicopter to fly on Mars in 2021
The helicopter is scheduled to reach Mars in two years time as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission
Hasan Chowdhury
29 March 2019 • 6:12pm
NASA has successfully completed the first test flight of a helicopter built to fly on Mars as the space agency looks to find new ways of exploring the red planet.
The helicopter is scheduled to reach Mars in two years time as part of NASA’s Mars 2020 rover mission, which aims to answer key questions such as whether humans could one day live in its harsh environment.
But flying it won’t be easy. Remotely controlling a helicopter from hundreds of millions of miles away, on top of Mars' thin atmosphere and temperatures as low as -90C, is an incredibly difficult technical feat.
To ensure its success, NASA had to replicate the red planet’s environmental conditions at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena California.
"The Martian atmosphere is only about one percent the density of Earth's," said NASA project manager MiMi Aung.
"Our test flights could have similar atmospheric density here on Earth - if you put your airfield 100,000 feet (30,480 meters) up. So you can't go somewhere and find that. You have to make it."
The space agency put the 1.8kg helicopter through its paces in a vacuum chamber by replacing nitrogen and oxygen in the air with carbon dioxide - the gas that makes Mars’ atmosphere so thin.
According to Teddy Tzanetos, a researcher on the Mars helicopter project, getting the helicopter into an “extremely thin atmosphere” is only part of the challenge.
“To truly simulate flying on Mars we have to take away two-thirds of Earth's gravity, because Mars' gravity is that much weaker,” he said.
NASA has equipped the helicopter with propellers that spin 10 times faster than the blades of a helicopter on Earth so that it can generate enough power to stay in the air.
During testing, its total flight time was one minute in the chamber at an altitude of 5cm.
Eventually, the helicopter will carry a range of communications technology and a high-resolution colour imager, as well as a solar panel and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Given Mars’ cold temperatures, it is designed to have heaters to keep its equipment warm.
Made of materials such as carbon fiber, aluminium and silicon, the helicopter will serve as a “technology demonstration”, but could one day be used as a scout for rovers on the Martian surface, or more advanced versions could be used to explore the planet on their own.
Momentum has gathered in recent years around the exploration of Mars, with the likes of SpaceX founder Elon Musk setting the goal of sending humans to the planet 33.9m miles away.
The boss of the private space company has previously stated that he would consider moving to the planet himself and expects people to be on their way to Mars by 2024, despite recognising that the “probability of dying on Mars is much higher than on Earth”.
“These initial missions will also serve as the beginnings of the first Mars base, from which we can build a thriving city and eventually a self-sustaining civilisation on Mars,” SpaceX’s mission statement says.
Humanity’s possible future on the red planet is some distance away, but could spring to life depending on the data NASA’s helicopter and rover can gather from geological assessments
“This recent test of the flight model was the real deal,” said Aung. “This is our helicopter bound for Mars.”
www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/03/29/nasa-creates-helicopter-fly-mars-2021/
Crystal
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