#Metoo

Women are posting messages on social media to show how commonplace sexual assault and harassment are, using the hashtag #MeToo to express that they, too, have been victims of such misconduct.

The messages bearing witness began appearing frequently on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, when the actress Alyssa Milano posted a screenshot outlining the idea and writing “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”

It follows further allegations of rape against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

More than two dozen women - among them actresses Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Rose McGowan - have made accusations against him including rape and sexual assault. Weinstein insists sexual relations he had were consensual.

Although the #MeToo hashtag is trending worldwide - including in the UK, US, India and Pakistan - other hashtags are also being generated.

In France, Twitter users are using #balancetonporc or "rat on your dirty old man" to encourage women to name and shame their attackers, while #Womenwhoroar is another term being used to encourage victims of bullying or sexual abuse to speak

The #MeToo movement is not the first to use social media to highlight abuse against women. In 2014, a #YesAllWomen campaign drew notice on social media after a man cited his hatred of women as his reason for killing people in Southern California. The activist Laura Bates started the #EverydaySexism campaign in 2012 to document widespread sexism, harassment and assault.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/20/women-worldwide-use-hashtag-metoo-against-sexual-harassment

Philippine tarsier

With its teeny tiny body, bat-like ears and bug eyes, the Philippine tarsier might be the most peculiar primate on earth.

It's also the second-smallest, weighing just three to five ounces and measuring up to six inches long.

Just how tiny is that? About the size of an adult palm.

Native to the southeastern Philippines, the 45-million-year-old species faces a triple threat to its existence: low birth rates, exploitative tourism and habitat destruction from logging and mining.

According to the International Primate Protection League, there are between 5,000 and 10,000 Philippine tarsiers left in the wild and the number is plummeting.

In recent years, the Philippine tarsier was named a specially protected faunal species by the government and designated as "near threatened" by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

"Part of the problem is these animals require a specific habitat," Joannie Mary Cabillo, of the Philippine Tarsier Foundation, tells CNN.

"They only live in forests with bushy vegetation, and lots of insects to eat. They don't have that many homes in the world."

In the town of Corella on Bohol Island, the Philippine Tarsier Foundation set up shop in 1996, aiming to provide a natural habitat for the animals and an opportunity to study their behavior.

The Foundation looks after roughly 100 of these animals across an 8.4-hectare forested sanctuary, with one open observational enclosure that allows tarsiers to come and go as they please.

"Since tarsiers are so rare, many people try to exploit them -- turning tarsiers into an attraction," explains Cabillo.

"Thousands of tourists come to Bohol to see these creatures every year. But they're often under stressful and unnatural conditions. They're being shown off during the day, when they should be sleeping."

If the animals are up all day, they can't hunt at night, which causes a destructive cycle.

"They'll be hungry and unhappy, and struggle to reproduce," says Cabillo.

"The less the human intervention for the tarsiers, the better."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Tarsier

Biodiversity can offer protection to weakies species

If you pit a pair of gladiators, one strong and one weak, against each other 10 times the outcome will likely be the same every time: the stronger competitor will defeat the weak. But if you add into the field additional competitors of varying strength levels, even the weakest competitors might be able to survive -- if only because they're able to find a quiet corner to hide.

The same is true in the natural world, where in some ecosystems species compete with others for the space to survive and reproduce, according to a long-held scientific theory.

In a new study Yale researchers illustrate that, in the case of fungal communities, maintaining a diverse collection of species indeed not only safeguards weaker species but also protects the genetic diversity of the larger community.

Or, as the researchers suggest, biodiversity begets biodiversity. Understanding this phenomenon, they say, will help in efforts to protect some of the world's most threatened ecosystems, including coral reefs.

For the study, the researchers observed interactions between 37 distinct types of wood-decay fungi, which are any species of fungi that grow on dead wood. Unlike other plants, fungi species grow toward other species and compete for space. "They're much more like territorial carnivores," said Dan Maynard, a doctoral student at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) and lead author of the study. . "They have a territory from which they gather resources, and they want to protect that territory very strongly."

In a series of experiments the researchers placed pairs of fungal species on opposite ends of a 10-centimeter Petri dish -- more than 600 separate combinations -- and then watched as the opposing species grew toward the empty space in the middle. Typically the fungi would meet near the center after about 20 days, after which they would begin an "interference competition" in which each species sought to overtake the other and claim available space.

Often the competitions would end in a stalemate. But in many cases the stronger species would overtake the other, growing on top of and then decomposing the weaker species.

The researchers then ranked the competing species based on a variety of traits -- including how fast they grew, the density of their biomass, and the types of enzymes they produced (which presumably were used to eliminate each other). They noticed that those species that grew fast, developed greater density, and produced more varied enzymes were most successful overall.

Once they ranked the species in terms of their relative strengths and competitive traits, they modeled how they would compete within a larger community comprised of many different interacting species.

They then ran those results through a simulation model that predicted how the different species would perform within larger, more diverse communities -- including, for example, landscapes including three, five, 10 and more additional fungi species.

According to their results, common traits emerged among species that were able to dominate single competitors -- just as strong gladiators all presumably shared similar competitive strategies and traits. But when additional species were added to the community, those competitive advantages meant less, allowing even the weakest species to maintain a foothold.

https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/news/diversity-begets-diversity-competition-space

Clean the air

A Russian architect hopes to realise his dream of a skyscraper that can filter dirty air - but is it just a pipe dream?

"When I read the news about people selling oxygen in canisters in Chinese cities... I think sometime as early as 2025, my project will be realised," says Russian architect Alexei Umarov, 31, the man behind the idea of a skyscraper which he says could clean the polluted air surrounding it.

Alexei lives in the Russian city of Khabarovsk on the border with China. He says that his project, the HyperFilter skyscraper, looks something like a giant tree, which he claims can suck in and purify the city's polluted air.

He is not the only visionary to be seduced by the desire to construct smog-eating buildings.

Many architects have been attracted to the idea of using materials and devices which could play a part in removing impurities to improve the air we breathe.

One of the most high-profile is the Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde, who has created towers in cities like Beijing which have been billed as filtering impurities in the air.

The fact that no serious evidence exists that such constructions can make a significant dent in pollution levels has not stopped architects from taking out their pens and getting down to the design board.

https://www.currentnewsbulletin.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Could-a-Russian-architect039s-skyscraper-clean-the-air.jpg

Thoiry and the Rhinoceros

A zoo director says a 5-year-old rhinoceros at the wildlife park he runs near Paris has been shot three times in the head by assailants who stole the animal’s horn.

Thierry Duguet told The Associated Press that poachers broke into the Thoiry Zoo overnight and used a chain saw to remove the horn from the rhino named Vince. Zookeepers discovered his carcass Tuesday in the rhinoceros’ enclosure.

Duguet says police are investigating and the suspects still are at large.

The Thoiry Zoo is famous for its safari park that can only be explored from inside a vehicle.

According to Le Parisien newspaper, a rhinoceros horn can be sold for up to 40,000 euros on the black market because of a strong demand linked to the belief that the horns have aphrodisiac powers.

http://www.lemonde.fr/biodiversite/article/2017/03/08/enquete-difficile-sur-le-rhinoceros-tue-au-parc-zoologique-de-thoiry_5091536_1652692.html

The end of free education ?

Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-right National Front party has called for an end to free education in France for children of undocumented immigrants.

"I've got nothing against foreigners but I say to them: if you come to our country, don't expect that you will be taken care of, treated (by the health system) and that your children will be educated for free," Le Pen said.

"That's finished now, it's the end of playtime," she told an audience at a conference organised by a polling group in Paris.

Opinion polls suggest the leader of the National Front (FN) will finish second in next year's presidential election but she is hoping for new momentum after Donald Trump's victory in the United States

Speaking to AFP afterwards, she clarified that she wanted to block education for immigrants who are in France illegally, not all foreigners.

Such a move would contravene current French law which guarantees school places for all children.

She also said that any foreigner using the public education system without paying tax in France would have to contribute.

"We're going to reserve our efforts and our national solidarity for the most humble, the most modest and the most poor among us," Le Pen told the conference.

The staunchly nationalist FN sees itself as part of a global revolt against immigration, established political parties and globalisation epitomised by Trump's victory last month.

Its leaders regularly criticise the use of France's chronically over-budget social security system for foreigners, arguing that needy French people should be prioritised.

Le Pen falsely claimed on Thursday that anyone aged over 65 could arrive in France and start claiming old-age social security payments.

Polls currently show her qualifying for the second-round of May's election where she is forecast to face -- and be defeated by -- rightwing Republicans party candidate Francois Fillon.

Few analysts see her as likely to take power, but it has been an unpredictable year in politics and France's sickly economy and immigration are top issues for voters.

The country last ran a federal budget surplus in the 1970s and has a national debt approaching the equivalent of one year's economic output, or 98.4 percent of gross domestic product.

Le Pen wants to withdraw France from the eurozone and has called for a referendum on the country's membership of the European Union.

Illegal and condemned

Trump made controlling illegal immigration a key part of his pitch to American voters, regularly railing against crime committed by foreigners and the country's "open borders."

Immigration was also crucial in swinging Britain's referendum on the European Union in June when many voters backed the Leave campaign to gain control over their borders.

Le Pen's proposals have echoes of plans reportedly drawn up by the interior ministry in Britain in 2015 when it was headed by Theresa May, who is now prime minister.

Leaked documents revealed by the BBC last week showed that her department had argued for immigration checks in schools and suggested headteachers could withdraw places for the children of illegal immigrants.

French Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem immediately attacked Le Pen's proposal as shameful and unworkable on Thursday.

"With these words, which I condemn with the greatest force, Madame Le Pen proves... her complete indifference to the terrible human circumstances faced by young children," she said in a statement.

She underlined that France guaranteed free education for all school-age children on its territory under its national laws and the international conventions it has signed.

"I remind you that it's a matter of honour for the French republic to guarantee to children, to all children, the right to an education -- in other words, the right to a future," she said.

After a string of terror attacks over the last two years and the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, hardline rhetoric on immigration is seen as a vote-winner on the right.

Fillon has talked tough on newcomers, promising to reduce immigration to a "strict minimum."

Giraffe extinction

Wild giraffes are not just dropping in numbers at an alarmingly high rate–they’re doing so without much attention from governments and other protective agencies, according to a new report.

The population of wild giraffes has dropped by 40% over the last 15 years, according to a new survey by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF). The organization calls the problem a potentially “silent extinction” due to a lack of public awareness, which revolves around African elephants, rhinos and gorillas, Mother Nature Network report.

“Giraffes are the forgotten megafauna,” GCF executive director Julian Fennessy told scientific American. “They’re really not getting the attention they deserve.”

The giraffe population has fallen due to habitat destruction by humans repurposing land for agricultural uses, according toMNN. Giraffes have also historically been hunted for their durable, patterned skin, a process that has reportedly increased in Tanzania due to a myth that giraffe brains and bone marrow can cure HIV.

But giraffe conservationists hope the wild giraffe population can be restored with some intervention. When the West African giraffe nearly went extinct in the 1990s due to human causes and droughts, conservationists won legal protection for the animals, and their population has since increased five-fold.

Supermoon

The most spectacular supermoon since 1948 will light up the sky, appearing 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than usual.

The event on Monday November 14 - described as "undeniably beautiful" by American space agency Nasa - is the result of the moon coming closer to Earth than it has done for 69 years.

Nothing will match it until the moon makes a similar approach on November 25 2034.

On top of the moon's bigger than usual size, they will then be treated to an additional "low-hanging moon" effect.

This is an optical illusion caused by the moon being close to the horizon, where it can be measured against familiar objects such as trees and houses.

But

What is a supermoon ?

The impressive sight happens when a full moon is closest to Earth. It orbits our planet in an oval shape so sometimes it comes closer to us than at other times. To us Earth-lings, the moon appears 30 per cent brighter and 14 per cent bigger. 

By the way, supermoon is not an astrological term. It's scientific name is perigee-syzygy, but supermoon is more catchy, and is used by the media to describe our celestial neighbour when it gets up close.

Of The Times http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/chance-of-supermoon-sightings-wane-as-cloud-and-fog-sweep-in-fwtzcvj8r

Some words :

catchy : likely to attract interest or attention

shape : the appearence of an object

Leonard Cohen, the Blues Rocker

I learnt this morning than Leonard Cohen died this Thursday, he was 82

The singer of "Halleluja" was born in Montreal on Sept. 21, 1934, and grew up in the prosperous suburb of Westmount. His father, Nathan, whose family had emigrated to Canada from Poland, owned a successful clothing store ; he died when Leonard was 9, but this will included a provision for a small trust fund, which later allowed his son to pursue his literary and musical ambitions. His mother, the former Masha Klonitzky, a nurse, was of Lithuanian descent and the daughter of a Talmudic scholar and rabbi. "I had a messianic childhood", Mr. Cohen would later say.

Over a musical career that spanned nearly five decades, Mr. Cohen wrote songs that addressed ( in spare language that could be both oblique and telling ) themes of love and faith, despair and exaltation, solitude and connection, war and politic. More than 2,000 recordings of his songs have been made, initially by the folk-pop singers who were his firsts champions, like Judy Collins and Tim Hardin, and later by performers from across the spectrum of popular music, among them U2, Aretha Franklin, R.E.M, Jeff Buckley, Trisha Yearwood and Elton John.

This singer was one of the most important for me, his songs rocked mi childhood and will continue to enchant me every time I will listen to one.

source : ABC journal

Some words : 

Fund : a sum of money set aside for a specific purpose

Talmudic : of or pertaining to the Talmud

Messiah : The promise deliverer of the jewish people

Oblique : indirectly expressed

New Phone Boxes

I finally retuuuuuuuuuuuurned 

( for work... bur anyway )

Today, I'll talk about the new phone boxes in British cities.

So, Why this new phone boxes will interest the people, we are in the age of the smartphones, no ? 

One company is giving a new utility to these booths, as small offices.

Pod Works ( the company ) is hoping to lure people from coffe shops to work on its revamped booths, boast wifi, plug sockets, a phone, a printer, a scanner and free coffee and tea.

Pod Works has lauched its first work station in London's Russell Square in September and it is opening others across the capital soon. It plans to expand to other cities in October.

Complicated words : 

Booth : a small place wich allows privacy for telephoning, for example

Lure : attract

Revamped : renovated

Plug sockets : that we use to have electricity for computer, mobile...

http://www.newsinlevels.com/products/new-phone-boxes-level-3/