Ice storm paradox: It's colder because the Earth is warmer

With the American South locked in a deep freeze, you can be sure that plenty of the folks suffering through the snow and ice storms are interpreting the big chill as more proof that global warming is a hoax. “Warming?” they scoff. “How can the planet be warming when it’s so darn cold?”

People in other parts of the world seem to have no great difficulty understanding the science but, in the good old USA where quite a few people consider science just another political opinion, it is going to take a lot longer to get most people to accept the cold facts about a warmer world.

Put very simply, here is what the predominant science says: Average global temperatures have been rising in recent decades. Some of the warming could be part of a natural cycle but, almost certainly, increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by the burning of fossil fuels are a pivotal factor in intensifying the phenomenon. The starkest evidence of the temperature jump is the rapid melting of the polar ice caps and the disappearance of the world’s glaciers. 

Is George Clooney correct? Should Britain return the Elgin marbles?

While promoting his new film Monuments Men, about returning art taken by the Nazis to its rightful owners, George Clooney has said that the UK should give back the Parthenon marbles to Greece. Are you with him?


The Elgin marbles from the Parthenon on display at the British Museum. Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

Should Britain return the Elgin marbles to Greece?
87%	Yes
13%	No

Poll closes in 1 day

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/poll/2014/feb/12/george-clooney-elgin-marbles-monument-men-poll

George Clooney, Bill Murray and Matt Damon back return of Elgin marbles

Hollywood actors say Greek sculptures have had a "very nice stay" in Britain but should be returned


Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and George Clooney promote their new movie The Monuments Men. Photograph: Dave M. Benett/WireImage


Part of the Athens marbles, taken by Elgin. Photograph: PjrTravel/Alamy

They came to promote a film showing how millions of artworks were rescued and returned to their rightful owners after plunder by the Nazis. But George Clooney, Bill Murray and Matt Damon left implying that Britain, too, needed to have a long, hard, look at itself.

The Hollywood actors had become embroiled in one of the fiercest of all heritage controversies: should the Elgin marbles, removed from the Parthenon 200 years ago, be housed in London or in Athens?

At the National Gallery, Clooney repeated his belief that it would be a good thing if the British Museum gave the 2,500-year-old sculptures back to Greece. He was backed by Murray, who said they had had "a very nice stay here" but now should be returned.

The actors joined a dispute which has simmered ever since enormous chunks of the Parthenon's statuary were removed by Lord Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman empire, in the early 19th century.

Later bankrupt, Elgin sold them to the British government for £35,000 and they made their way to the British Museum, where they have remained a star attraction ever since.

In Berlin, on Saturday, while promoting his new movie The Monuments Men – based on the second world war platoon which rescued and returned thousands of artworks stolen by the Nazis – Clooney said it would be "very nice" if the marbles went back to Greece.

Foto olympics 2014 Sochi

Greek Byzantine Church in the Heart of Russian Olympic Games

Those who are in charge of organizing the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, together with with the Moscow Patriarchate’s authorities, constructed a glorious Byzantine style Greek Orthodox church.

It is an impressive Byzantine temple devoted to Christ the Savior. In fact the temple’s name is The Holy Face of Christ the Savior Church. There is no other church in Russia built-in such a uniquely impressive way. When observing the church, one can notice the byzantine influence by the astonishing domes gracing the outer shell.

However, the temple’s interior has been decorated with beautiful religious icons, as the Russian school dictates.

Yesterday, the Russian Patriarch Kirill held a divine liturgy at the church. Members of the Russian Olympics along with the Olympic teams from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldavia were in attendance.

http://eu.greekreporter.com/2014/02/06/greek-byzantine-church-in-the-heart-of-russian-olympic-games/

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Στην αρχαία Αιτωλοακαρνανία

Δύο είναι οι βασικοί άξονες όπου η Αιτωλοακαρνανία μπορεί και οφείλει να στηρίξει κάθε αναπτυξιακή της προσπάθεια: Το φυσικό περιβάλλον και ο πολιτισμός. Δύο είναι και οι χαρακτηρισμοί του νομού μας: Μοναδικό υπαίθριο αρχαιολογικό μουσείο και μνημείο της φύσης. Πολιτισμός και περιβάλλον δεν πρέπει να αντιμετωπίζονται ως διαφορετικές έννοιες, αποκομμένη η μια απ’ την άλλη. Είναι τόσο αλληλένδετες όσο ακριβώς και η ανθρώπινη δημιουργία ανά τους αιώνες στο συγκεκριμένο περιβάλλον.

Και είναι συνυφασμένες με σκέψη και ενέργεια, με κάθε αιτία και κάθε αποτέλεσμα δράσης των ανθρώπων του σήμερα, του χθες και του αύριο. Η δημιουργία, συνεπώς, ενιαίων δικτύων πολιτισμικών διαδρομών και φυσικού περιβάλλοντος, είναι ίσως το όχημα μετάβασης σ’ αυτό που η Αιτωλοακαρνανία πραγματικά είναι… στη σχετικότητα του χρόνου που γίνεται χρόνος μυθικός, αλλά και του χώρου.

4 Dead in Metro-North Train Derailment in the Bronx

By J. DAVID GOODMAN and JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN
Published: December 1, 2013

At least four people were killed after a Metro-North Railroad train derailed Sunday morning in the Bronx along the Hudson River, officials said.

A total of 67 people were injured, including 11 critically, a New York Fire Department spokesman, Jim Long, said.

The derailment occurred when several cars of a train headed south from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., left the tracks about 7:20 a.m. near the Spuyten Duyvil station under the Henry Hudson Bridge on the Hudson Line, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman, Aaron Donovan.

At a news conference, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said the operator of the train was among the people injured and was being treated. The families of the four victims had not yet been notified as of midmorning, he said.

“It’s obviously a very tragic situation,” Mr. Cuomo said.

Three of the four people who were killed were thrown from the train during the derailment, fire officials said.

Any curve in the tracks would have speed restrictions, officials said. They said that investigators would examine the track, the equipment, the signal system and the operator.

Joel Zaritsky had just fallen asleep in the fourth car of the train when the train started to roll over and landed almost on its side, he said.

The World Trade Center Ship, From Stern to Stem

A. Michael Pappalardo/AKRFWarren Riess of the Darling Marine Center of the University of Maine and his wife, Kathleen, inspecting the bow of the 18th-century sailing vessel found at the World Trade Center site.

After finding the stern of an 18th-century sailing vessel in landfill where the new World Trade Center is being constructed, what could be better? Finding the bow — or at least enough to gain a clearer picture of the length of the vessel and how it was constructed; all of which might help solve the mystery of what it was doing anchored off Lower Manhattan in the first place.

The most intriguing theory now in circulation is that the vessel may have been used around the time of the Revolutionary War as a troop carrier of some sort. “That ties in really neatly with the British military button found between the frames,” said Warren Riess of the Darling Marine Center at the University of Maine.

Archaeologists unearthed the boat in July 2010, west of and perpendicular to Washington Street, between Liberty and Cedar Streets, where the waters of the Hudson once reached. It was immediately evident that the sunken hull had long ago been sundered by underground excavation. The remaining wood was so deteriorated that archaeologists couldn’t even tell at first whether they were looking at the fore portion or the aft.

Η Ελλάδα πάει στο Μουντιάλ.Μπράβο Εθνικη Ελλαδος! Μας έκανες υπερήφανους!

Η Ελλάδα είναι στο Παγκόσμιο Κύπελλο της Βραζιλίας!

Η ομάδα του Φερνάντο Σάντος, πανηγυρίζει την πρόκριση στα γήπεδα του Ρίο, αφού έφυγε με το 1-1 από το Βουκουρέστι και σε συνδυασμό του 3-1 του Φαλήρου, πέταξε εκτός τους Ρουμάνους.

Ο Κώστας Μήτρογλου (23’), «χτύπησε» και πάλι, μετά από τρομερή ασίστ του Καραγκούνη, όμως ένα απίστευτο αυτογκόλ (55’), από… συνδυασμό των Τοροσίδη και Χολέμπας, στέρησε από τους διεθνείς μας να φύγουν με τη νίκη και από τη Ρουμανία.
Πιστός στο ραντεβού με τα αντίπαλα δίχτυα ο Μήτρογλου, εξαιρετικός ο αρχηγός Καραγκούνης, κορυφαίος όλων ο Χολέμπας, ο οποίος πραγματοποίησε την καλύτερη εμφάνισή του με τη φανέλα της Εθνικής.

Parthenon, an Icon of Global Citizenship

Created over 2000 years ago, by the same people that introduced the concept of Democracy to humanity, the Parthenon immediately became an icon of global citizenship. Its influence continues in modern times as we see attempts to replicate its stature in famous buildings around the world. The temple of Athena has become a symbol of Eternal Perfection arising out of the marriage of Aesthetics and Science.

The second International Colloquy “Parthenon, an Icon of Global Citizenhsip” will take place at the University of Sydney on 15 to 17th November. Participate to an open discussion about the current significance of the Parthenon as an Icon of Global Citizenship.

http://www.archaiologia.gr/en/blog/agenta/parthenon-an-icon-of-global-citizenship/

Rings Yellow Gold 18-k

Necklace 18k

Yellow gold 18k Necklace Diamonds

Finally, the new $100 bill hits the streets

By Ylan Q. Mui, Wednesday, October 9, 12:24 AM

The government accomplished at least one thing Tuesday: It released a new $100 bill!

Okay, so maybe it has taken Uncle Sam more than three years to debut the new Benjamins. And maybe the printing got messed up twice, leaving some bills with blank spots and others with reportedly too much ink. (Those had to be destroyed.)

But the new $100 bill is here, with fancy new security features, such as an image of the Liberty Bell that appears in an inkwell and a 3D blue motion strip down the center.

Here are some more interesting facts about our favorite greenback:

■About $900 billion worth of $100 bills is in circulation, and about half to two-thirds of it is held overseas. The Federal Reserve is overseeing the introduction of the new bill and targeting much of its messaging to foreign countries. Judging from the list of languages that the Fed’s marketing materials are translated into, major holders of hundreds include Azerbaijan, Russia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Korea.

Bracelet Yellow Gold

Bracelet yellow gold 18-k
Stones: Diamonds

Rings Gold

New York Today: Your Turn

By ANDY NEWMAN

Illustration by Randy Jones

After a contentious campaign, mayoral candidates face the voters.

Updated 8:45 a.m. | Like it or not, New Yorkers will have a new mayor very soon.

Today is your first chance to have a say in the process.

After a bruising, circuslike primary race, it’s time to vote.

For Democrats, the field is led by the public advocate, Bill de Blasio; the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn; and William C. Thompson Jr., a former comptroller.

The Republican front-runners are a former transit chief, Joseph J. Lhota, and the grocery magnate John A. Catsimatidis.

Voters will also pick their party’s candidates for comptroller, public advocateand other offices. (You must be registered with a party to vote in the primary.)

We asked The New York Times’s City Hall bureau chief, David W. Chen, what to look for over the day.

“If turnout is really heavy in brownstone Brooklyn and the Upper West Side, then that’s probably a very good sign for de Blasio because he’s doing very well there,” Mr. Chen said.

Typhoon jets sent to Cyprus to guard against possible Syrian retaliation

RAF confirms fighters' presence is 'precautionary measure' against any potential attacks on bases if intervention is agreed
Nick Hopkins
theguardian.com,

RAF Typhoons, like the ones that will be on standby in Cyprus. 

Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images


The UK is sending six of the RAF's Typhoon fast jets to Cyprus to defend the strategically important bases on the island from potential retaliatory attacks from the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed the fighters were flying to the Mediterranean on Thursday morning, ahead of any possible militaryaction against Syria in the coming days.

The MoD stressed the jets were not being sent to conduct potential ground-attack missions against Assad's regime, but were there as a "precautionary measure".

The UK has two sovereign base areas on the former British colony – at Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The aircraft will be based at the airport in Akrotiri, which has been a key staging post for military flights to and from Afghanistan.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Friends Island Hop in Greece

By Joanna Varikos
“Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker is taking a tour of the Greek islands on a luxury yacht with her husband, Matthew Broderick, and a few friends, including Academy Award winning actor Jeremy Irons.

The 48-year-old actress took a dip in the water last week near Kefalonia as Broderick snapped some photos. Known for her keen fashion sense, Parker sported a pretty blue one-piece swimsuit that showed off her figure. Later in the evening, the couple enjoyed a meal aboard the yacht with Jeremy Irons, his wife, Sinead Cusack, and a group of friends.