₦airaland Forum

Earth Could Have Once Been a Waterworld Covered by a Global Ocean, Study Suggests
BY MICHELLE STARR
MARCH 02, 2020

Evidence found in the geologic record suggests that, around 3.2 billion years ago, our currently 4.5-billion-year-old homeworld was covered by a global ocean.
If confirmed, such a finding could help to resolve questions around how life emerged roughly 3.5 billion years ago; in particular, whether it got its start in freshwater ponds on landmasses, or in salty seas. If there were no bodies of dry land to host freshwater, the question is rendered moot.

"The history of life on Earth tracks available niches," explained geobiologist Boswell Wing of the University of Colorado Boulder. "If you've got a waterworld, a world covered by ocean, then dry niches are just not going to be available."

The research team was actually trying to take early Earth's temperature, a question that has long proven difficult to resolve. It's unclear whether the planet was much warmer or cooler (or around the same temperatures as today) when life was emerging.


https://www.sciencealert.com/geologists-think-earth-could-have-once-been-a-sloshy-continent-free-waterworld#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

With only three official cases, Africa's low coronavirus rate puzzles health experts

Issued on: 01/03/2020 - 14:45
Modified: 01/03/2020 - 14:44
France 24

Nigeria was the first sub-Saharan country to report an official case of coronavirus, when an Italian working in the country came back from Milan on February 24 carrying the virus.
Nigeria was the first sub-Saharan country to report an official case of coronavirus, when an Italian working in the country came back from Milan on February 24 carrying the virus. © Pius Utomi Ekpei,

Whether it's a matter of faulty detection, climatic factors or simple fluke, the remarkably low rate of coronavirus infection in African countries, with their fragile health systems, continues to puzzle – and worry – experts.


To date, only three cases of infection have been officially recorded in Africa, one in Egypt, one in Algeria and one in Nigeria, with no deaths.

This is a remarkably small number for a continent with nearly 1.3 billion inhabitants, and barely a drop in the ocean of more than 86,000 cases and nearly 3,000 deaths recorded in some 60 countries worldwide.

Shortly after the virus appeared, specialists warned of the risks of its spreading in Africa, because of the continent’s close commercial links with Beijing and the fragility of its medical services.

“Our biggest concern continues to be the potential for Covid-19 to spread in countries with weaker health systems,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, told African Union health ministers gathered in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on February 22.

In a study published in The Lancet medical journal on the preparedness and vulnerability of African countries against the importation of Covid-19, an international team of scientists identified Algeria, Egypt and South Africa as the most likely to import new coronavirus cases into Africa, though they also have the best prepared health systems in the continent and are the least vulnerable.

‘Nobody knows’

As to why the epidemic is not more widespread in the continent, “nobody knows”, said Professor Thumbi Ndung’u, from the African Institute for Health Research in Durban, South Africa. “Perhaps there is simply not that much travel between Africa and China.”

But Ethiopian Airlines, the largest African airline, never suspended its flights to China since the epidemic began, and China Southern on Wednesday resumed its flights to Kenya. And, of course, people carrying coronavirus could enter the country from any of the other 60-odd countries with known cases.

Favourable climate factors have also been raised as a possibility.

“Perhaps the virus doesn’t spread in the African ecosystem, we don’t know,” said Professor Yazdan Yazdanpanah, head of the infectious diseases department at Bichat hospital in Paris.

This hypothesis was rejected by Professor Rodney Adam, who heads the infection control task force at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. “There is no current evidence to indicate that climate affects transmission,” he said. “While it is true that for certain infections there may be genetic differences in susceptibility...there is no current evidence to that effect for Covid-19.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Read more

https://amp.france24.com/en/20200301-with-only-three-official-cases-africa-s-low-coronavirus-rate-puzzles-health-experts#aoh=15831224348536&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

HEALTH NEWS
What is the coronavirus? Here's what we know about it.
Here's what to know about the new coronavirus, which causes a disease called COVID-19.

What is a coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a group of viruses that can cause a range of symptoms including a runny nose, cough, sore throat and fever. Some are mild, such as the common cold, while others are more likely to lead to pneumonia. They're usually spread through direct contact with an infected person.

The coronavirus gets its name from the crown-like spikes on its surface, according to the CDC. (Corona is Latin for crown.) Including the newly identified form of the virus, there are a total of seven coronaviruses that can infect humans, the CDC says. Other well-known coronaviruses include SARS and MERS.

The new virus caused a disease called COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, the year it was discovered. It's unclear how easily it spreads from person to person, but the CDC recommends that anyone who may have been exposed to the illness monitor themselves for 14 days after close contact with an infected person.


Symptoms to watch for include fever, cough, shortness of breath, trouble breathing, body aches, sore throat or vomiting and diarrhea.

How does the coronavirus spread?
Researchers are still learning precisely how the new virus spreads from person to person.

"While we do not know all of the mechanisms of spread of the epidemic so far, there is likely spread by droplets and contaminated surfaces, and possible airborne [spread], similar to SARS," Dr. Mark Denison, a virologist at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said.

Coronaviruses in general are spread through close contact — a range of about 3 to 6 feet. The virus is primarily spread through a sick person coughing or sneezing on someone, said Dr. Kathy Lofy, a health officer in Washington state.

HEALTH
Can the coronavirus be spread by people who don't have symptoms?
A person could also become infected through contact with the virus particles on a surface, though it's unknown how long the new coronavirus can survive on surfaces outside of the body. If an infected person sneezes or coughs onto a surface, such as a countertop or doorknob, and another person touches that surface and then rubs his or her eyes or nose, for example, the latter may get sick.


The SARS virus was also spread through feces. Denison suggested the same spreading mechanism may be found in the new virus, but it's too early to know for sure.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1119081#referrer=https://www.google.com

Sale of Ottoman sultan’s throne stirs debate
Ömer Erbil - ISTANBUL
Daily News February 27 , 2020
A throne, which is believed to belong to Abdülhamid II, the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, has been sold for 100,000 Turkish Liras ($16,200) on the condition that it was not taken abroad, but the sale has stirred reactions.

A businessman bought the throne at the Istanbul Art and Antiques Fair by Nilgün Şensoy, a lecturer and antiquarian at the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University.

Yıldız Palace, where Abdülhamid II used to stay, was looted and partially burned by the public upon the abolition in 1909 after the 31 March Incident, a counter-coup by the anti-monarchist Ottoman generals.

Although Şensoy stresses that the throne does not belong to Abdulhamid II, she says that the throne was made by the Armenian Hapet and Nezeren Brothers, the carpenters who used to work for Yıldız Palace and was gifted.

“After each sultan was deposed, his belongings used to be sold by auction. My grandfather bought it at auction. My mother lived in a modern house, hiding this throne in the attic,” she said.

Sebahattin Türkoğlu, the former museum director of Yıldız Palace, reminded of the historical looting incident and said that another throne was put up for sale 20 years ago during his mission, but he stopped the sale and seized the throne.

“Does this work really belong to Yıldız Palace, it is doubtful. If this throne really came out of the palace, the authorities would have to seize this work and bring it to the museum,” he said.

UNESCO Turkey National Committee member Nezihi Başgelen said that the people who owned the artifact should be investigated how they obtained it.

“Yıldız Palace is a looted palace. We know that many works have been sold at auction before,” he added.

https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/amp/sale-of-ottoman-sultans-throne-stirs-debate-152504

budaatum:
I guess you've never been a member of a jury because even if you were called up you'd likely be rejected due to no evidence of a critical thinking capacity in your head.

Here's a thread where you might get some critical thinking capacity.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's entire school system, from elementary to high schools, will be asked to close from Monday until spring break late in March to help contain the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday.

The dramatic escalation of Japan's fight against the virus follows rising criticism of what has been seen as a lukewarm government response.

"This coming week or two are an extremely important period," Abe told a coronavirus task force.

DictatorZAR1:
Im not surprised, this coming from a pedophile like you. It is plainly affident that you support the current rape culture by powerful men who thinks they have the right to abuse woman and children alike.

Saudi Arabia launches women's football league
25 February 2020 Middle East. BBC

Saudi Arabia is to launch a female football league, two years after women were first allowed into stadiums in the Gulf kingdom.

The league will play its matches in the capital, Riyadh, and two other cities.

https://www.bbc.com/news/amp/world-middle-east-51635107#aoh=15826817512421&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

February 24,. 2020, 6:11 PM EST
By Daniel Arkin and Adam Reiss
NBC news

Harvey Weinstein, the once-powerful Hollywood mogul, was found guilty of rape in the third degree Monday .
The jury in New York convicted Weinstein, 67, of third-degree rape of Jessica Mann, a former aspiring actress, as well as a count of criminal sexual act in the first degree against Mimi Haley, a former "Project Runway" production assistant.

He now faces a sentence of five to 25 years on the top count.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/harvey-weinstein-found-guilty-rape-landmark-metoo-era-case-n1137956

Creator of copy and paste command, Larry Tesler, dies aged 74
https://www.computerhope.com/people/pictures/larry_tesler.jpg
Scientist copied the printing technique of physically cutting and glueing printed text


Tributes have been paid to Larry Tesler, the computer scientist who introduced the cut, copy and paste commands, after his death at age 74. The Stanford University graduate, who was a pioneer of early computing, died on Monday in San Francisco.
He worked for blue-chip firms including Apple, Amazon and Yahoo. Tesler appropriately began his Silicon Valley career at photocopying company Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (Parc) before being recruited by Apple’s founder, Steve Jobs.
Xerox wrote on Twitter: “The inventor of cut/copy & paste, find & replace, and more, was former Xerox researcher Larry Tesler. Your workday is easier thanks to his revolutionary ideas.”
Tesler worked at Apple for 17 years and rose through the ranks to become chief scientist.



https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/20/creator-of-copy-and-paste-command-larry-tesler-dies-aged-74#img-2

Racism The ugly downside of privilege.

Methodology
To determine the most and least racist U.S. states, we collected tweets featuring neutral terminology and tweets containing racial slurs. We then calculated the share of hateful tweets in the total volume of tweets per state.

Say, in California, there were 7317 race-conscious tweets vs. 1298 tweets containing racial slurs. Therefore, the share of hateful tweets in California is 1298/(7317+1298) = 15.07%.

10 most racist U.S. states according to tweets

Delaware (21.4% of all race-related tweets contained slurs)
South Dakota (20%)
Maine (19.25%)
Mississippi (18.59%)
Hawaii (17.06%)
Kansas (16.95%)
Wisconsin (16.95%)
Arkansas (16.83%)
West Virginia (16.78%)
Maryland (16.59%)

10 least racist U.S. states according to tweets
Vermont (6.96% of all race-related tweets contained slurs)
New Hampshire (11.56%)
Alaska (11.59%)
Texas (12.46%)
Wyoming (12.49%)
North Dakota (13.08%)
Massachusetts (13.24%)
Michigan (13.5%)
New York (13.6%)
Georgia (13.69%)



https://awario.com/blog/most-racist-states-social-listening-study/

Frozen bird found in Siberia is 46,000 years old
By Jack Guy, CNN
Updated 5:34 AM ET, Fri February 21, 2020 (CNN)
https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2020/frozenbirdtu.jpg
The 46,000-year-old specimen was identified as a horned lark.



https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200221024523-02-frozen-bird-ice-age-exlarge-169.jpg
The bird was found in north-eastern Siberia at a site which also contained other frozen specimens.

Scientists studying the remarkably well-preserved remains of an Ice Age bird have identified the specimen as a horned lark.

Buried and frozen in permafrost near the village of Belaya Gora in north-eastern Siberia, the bird was discovered by local fossil ivory hunters, who passed it on to a team of experts, including Nicolas Dussex and Love Dalén from the Swedish Museum of Natural History, for testing.
Radiocarbon dating revealed the bird lived around 46,000 years ago, and genetic analysis identified it as a horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), according to a paper published Friday in the journal Communications Biology.
Dalén told CNN that research showed the bird may be an ancestor to two subspecies of lark alive today, one in northern Russia and the other on the Mongolian steppe.
"This finding implies that the climatic changes that took place at the end of the last Ice Age led to formation of new subspecies," he said.
The preservation of the bird is explained in large part by the cold of the permafrost, explained Dussex, but this specimen is in extraordinarily good condition.
"The fact that such a small and fragile specimen was near intact also suggests that dirt/mud must have been deposited gradually, or at least that the ground was relatively stable so that the bird's carcass was preserved in a state very close to its time of death," said Dussex.
The next stage of research involves sequencing the bird's entire genome, said Dalén, which will reveal more about its relationship to present day subspecies and estimate the rate of evolutionary change in larks.
Scientists working in the area have also found carcasses and body parts from other animals such as wolves, mammoths and wooly rhinos.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/21/europe/frozen-bird-ice-age-scli-intl-scn/index.html

SenecaTheYonger:
No pix

budaatum:
I'm delighted its Republican led Utah promoting polygamy. It would be evil only if it were liberal Democrats proposing it!

Utah senate unanimously moves to decriminalize polygamy
Sponsor says bill would help otherwise law-abiding polygamists gain access to critical services, but critics say polygamy is harmful

Reuters
Tue 18 Feb 2020 20.07 EST
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The Utah state senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to effectively decriminalize polygamy among consenting adults, reducing penalties for a practice with deep religious roots in the predominantly Mormon state.

The bill, which would treat the offense of plural marriage as a simple infraction on par with a parking ticket, now moves to the Utah house of representatives, where it is likely to face greater resistance.

The bill swiftly cleared the Republican-controlled senate on a vote of 29-0 with little discussion.


Under current law, polygamy – typically involving a man who cohabits with and purports to marry more than one wife – is classified as a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

If the senate bill becomes law, punishments for plural marriage would be limited to fines of up to $750 and community service.
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/18/utah-senate-decriminalize-polygamy-bill#referrer=https://www.google.com

https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Kingsbanner.png

10. AETHELRED II


Aethelred’s tenure as king of England led to the inglorious epithet of Aethelred the Unready. However, a better translation of the moniker would be ‘ill-advised’, as it is generally agreed that the counsel Aethelred received was little and poor.

Although he was too young to have been complicit in the murder of his older brother (Edward the Martyr), who was killed after having been on the throne for only two and a half years, the crime was carried out by those loyal to him in order that the younger sibling would take his place. This meant that there was a lot of mistrust surrounding the young monarch and, as the reputation of the murdered boy grew after his death, it would become increasingly difficult for Aethelred to unite his subjects.

And the necessity for a united British army was urgent with a renewed threat from the north. The Danes had recommenced raids along England’s coast, breaking the treaty they had made with Aethelred’s father, Edgar. After the English suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Maldon in 991, Aethelred began paying tribute to the Danes in return for peace. However, the Danes were hard to appease and had restarted hostilities by 997.

Finally, in 1002, Aethelred reached breaking point and took drastic action. On 13 November he issued an order that all Danes in England should be executed, calling it “a most just extermination”. It was an indiscriminate attempt at a show of strength that claimed the life of Danish leader Sweyn’s sister, Gunhilde, and Sweyn invaded in retaliation, leading to Aethelred’s downfall.

9. LOUIS I
Louis the Pious was, in many ways, as sensible a leader as his nickname would suggest. His father, Charlemagne, appointed him king of Aquitaine at the tender age of three. He became king of the Franks and emperor of Rome upon his father’s death in 814 and decided that, in order to avoid any diplomatic issues, any of his unmarried sisters would be packed off to nunneries.

When Louis nearly died in an accident in 817, he decided to ensure that, should he suddenly expire, there would be a neat plan of succession to set out who ruled what in the Frankish empire. He confirmed that his nephew Bernard would remain the king of Italy, but the will described his son Lothair’s position as ‘overlord’, implying that Italy would be submissive to him. Needless to say, the wording of this document did not please Bernard and, spurred on by rumours that Lothair was to invade, he set about preparing a rebellion.

However, word quickly reached Louis I of Bernard’s plan and the king immediately took an army to confront his errant nephew. Bernard was shocked by the speed of the king’s reaction and went to try and negotiate, before being forced into surrender. It’s here that Louis’ place in this list of murderous kings is assured…

He sentenced his nephew to death, before deciding that he should be blinded instead – a punishment that was apparently merciful. However, the procedure was not entirely successful. As a result, while Bernard was indeed blinded, he spent two days in unbearable pain before dying anyway. Three civil wars would follow but the legacy of this killing would haunt the deeply religious ruler for the rest of his life.


8. CHARLES II of Spain
The reason for Charles II’s reputation as a bloodthirsty king is very much rooted in his heritage. He was the last of the Habsburg line – a lineage that was so devoted to preserving the purity of its bloodline through inbreeding that it eventually led to a man like Charles. Disfigured, infertile and cursed to spend his life suffering from various illnesses, the king was in a similar amount of mental anguish.

Charles II’s condition was no secret among the European court. He was just three years old when the throne became his and his mother, Mariana, became queen regent, designating much of the work of governing the country to advisors.

His mother remained regent long after Charles could have taken kingship himself, but it was decided that such a move would be unwise. A struggle for power began when Mariana was exiled, and Don Juan José (Charles’s half-brother) took responsibility for the country and the king.

Charles’s illness was grotesquely misunderstood at the time – interpreted as a sign that the king was probably bewitched; he would even undergo an exorcism in the final years of his life.

His worst crime was the 1680 auto-de-fe (display of public penance and executions) in Madrid, during which many heretics were burned. Charles II attended the trial and burnings, though the executions were probably ordered by someone else. A blood-soaked reign, but a misunderstood one.

7. CHARLES II of Navarre
Charles II believed that the kingdom of Navarre was far too small for a man with such a noble lineage as his and spent his life trying to wheedle his way to a more important status. He ordered the assassination of the Constable of France in 1354 and made a deal with the English, forcing the French King John II to make peace.

John grew tired of his treachery and finally arrested him in 1356, only for Charles to be broken out in 1357. When John II agreed to a peace treaty with the English, Charles II freed all the prisoners in Paris. With the city on the verge of revolution, Charles U-turned and took the opportunity to lead the aristocracy at the Battle of Mello and the subsequent massacre of the rebels.

He blindly swore patriotism and honour while consistently reaching out to the opposition in the hope of a better deal. His meddling in the war between Castile and Aragon proved disastrous and he staged being captured to avoid having to participate. Towards the end of his life he tried to convince English king Edward III to invade and overthrow Charles V, as well as being involved in two attempts on Charles’s life. When his scheming with Gascony against Castile went wrong, Navarre was invaded in 1378 and he was forced to agree to an alliance with Castile and France. He burned to death in 1387, allegedly when the sackcloth filled with brandy he was bathing in caught fire.



6. HEROD I


There are many who would claim that King Herod committed his most heinous deed with the Massacre of the Innocents. However, the story of the slaughter of all boys in Bethlehem under the age of two is only found in the Bible; there are no historical records from the time detailing such an atrocity. Herod’s crimes were much more personal.



https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Kingsbanner2.png



5. RICHARD I
The man dubbed ‘Lionheart’ spent most of his life fighting. He first took up arms against his father, Henry II, in 1173 and continued to aggressively pursue the throne until Henry’s death in 1189, when some quite reasonably suggested that Richard had driven the king to his grave.

Blood was spilled on the same day that Richard took the crown, when the barring of Jewish figures from the coronation was misinterpreted as an order to instigate violence against all of London’s Jews. Richard ordered the executions of those who took part, but the instances of copycat ‘Christian’ violence would set the tone for a king who was desperate to join the Crusades.

4. EDWARD I
When Edward I came to the throne he had a very clear goal in mind: to take back what he saw as English land which had been stolen.


3. ERIK XIV
While many kings can lay claim to ordering the deaths of hundreds – even thousands – during the course of their reign, not many can say they committed murder with their own hands.

The king of Sweden Erik XIV suffered from mental instability, but not to an extent that made him incapable of ruling. He strengthened Sweden’s position in northern Europe by claiming territory in Estonia, leading to the Seven Years’

2. HENRY VIII
English king Henry VIII’s voracious nature and hot temper have become the stuff of legend. He is renowned for being a man of ferocious appetites – in all aspects of life – and he was prepared to use any means necessary to quell his opposition.


1. LEOPOLD II
Desperate to establish a colony overseas, Belgian king Leopold II turned to Africa and the potential riches of the Congo. To circumvent his own parliament, he created a dummy organisation called the International African Association, which he claimed would act in the interests of philanthropy and scientific research with a view to converting the citizens to Christianity. It was all completely legal and it gave the monarch the freedom to act however he wanted in the land under his control.

Its stated aim could not have been further from the truth. What had attracted Leopold to the Congo, in addition to the notion of creating an empire, was the tremendous supply of rubber in the area. He would spare nothing in order to get what he wanted. Despite having promised that he would protect the people of the Congo from slavers, Leopold promptly and brutally turned the country into a slave state.

The treatment of the workers was savage and uncompromising. Leopold allowed some missionaries into the Congo in order to allay the fears of foreign powers who believed he might be doing exactly what he was doing, and reports began to reach Europe about the maiming and executions of the men and women working on the plantations, as well as of the mass dumping of corpses.

It’s impossible to know exactly how many people died during Leopold’s rule of the Congo but the estimated figure is in the millions. The atrocities led to the establishment of the first human rights movement and Leopold was finally compelled to give up the Congo to the Belgian parliament in 1908.

https://www.historyanswers.co.uk/kings-queens/win-victoria-series-3-on-dvd/