Indian Railways tie up with Bombardier Transportation

Thursday, November 9, 2006

The Indian Railways (IR) has tied up with the Canadian transport solutions major Bombardier Transportation to produce electronic freight locomotives in the country for the proposed Rupee (Rs) 22,000-crore (one crore is 10 million) dedicated freight corridors on the eastern and western routes.

Bombardier produces regional aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment.

Bombardier Transportation officials have met Railways’ officials for exploring the option of setting up a greenfield electronic freight locomotive manufacturing facility and an assembling unit in India.

Analysts feels that IR will need at least 500-600 electronic freight locomotives, besides the same number of diesel locomotives for dedicated freight corridors in the first phase. “Conservative estimates for a normal locomotive are between Rs 13 crore and Rs 15 crore. The investment required for manufacturing electronic freight locomotives is around Rs 10,000 crore,” the analysts said.

It is also been learned that IR would also pick up a stake in this project.

Bombardier President, Transportation, Andre Navarri confirmed talks with IR, “We are keen to take part in the dedicated freight corridor project, but the nature of the agreement with the Indian government is yet to be finalized.”

IR will come up with a detailed plan and tenders for the proposed corridor by mid-November.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Studies carried out by researchers near the village of Khiam found radio active material at the site of bombing by Israel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The UN says that it has found no evidence of urianum-based munitions.

Two previously unknown Lebanese professors of physics, Mohammad Ali Kubaissi and Ibrahim Rachidi claim that the levels of radiation, about 700 nanosieverts per hour, twenty times the average levels, are consistent with the use of a depleted uranium bomb casing. Military use of depleted uranium is quite controversial due to its toxicity and low level radioactivity. Depleted uranium features in the list of weapons capable of causing mass destruction, superflous injury and unnecessary suffering, passed by the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the UNHRC in 1996 and 1997.

This analysis has been partially coroborated by an independent consultant specialising in career, organisation and community psychology issues, Dai Williams, affiliated with the environmentalist organisation Green Audit, with testing done by Chris Busby, a member of the Defence Depleted Uranium Oversight Board of the British Ministry of Defence and a director and co-founder of Green Audit. Williams believes that these anomalies may have been caused by Israel’s use of uranium based weapons involving some secret physical techniques, not nuclear fission; however, there are no known such physical processes.

The U.S. is currently the only nation known to use depleted uranium bomb casings and munitions. Some observers have claimed that Israel used depleted uranium muntions during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war; however, U.N. observers have never found Israel using depleted uranium.

This level of radiation is also consistent with Israel having destroyed some form of storage facility for nuclear material. Such facilities are speculated to exist in the Middle East, often controlled by Islamic extremist groups who (allegedly) hope to construct a dirty bomb.

Dirty bombs are not considered to be as effective militarily as merely using more explosives. Post September 11th news reports about the dangers of dirty bombs have been criticized as fear mongering for fallaciously assuming years of continued exposure by victims without acounting for clean up procedures, or even rain fall.

Saturday, March 5, 2005The US military is funding the research and development of a weapon that could be used to inflict excruciating pain from up to 2 kilometres away, but is meant to otherwise leave victims unharmed. Pain researchers have been left furious after work aimed at controlling pain has been used to develop technology aimed at maximising it.

Intended for use against protesters and rioters, the research focuses on the effect electromagnetic pulses can have on pain reception. Due to be ready by 2007, the Pulsed Energy Projectile (PEP) weapon will fire a burst of electrically charged gas, or plasma, which will generate an electromagnetic pulse on impact. It is this pulse which will trigger impulses in nerve cells causing extreme pain.

A review of the non-lethal weapon by the US Naval Studies Board in 2003 concluded that PEPs produced “pain and temporary paralysis” in animal test subjects. Studies ongoing at the University of Central Florida in Orlando aim at optimising this effect. The ultimate aim is to generate a pulse which will trigger optimum pain in the subject without damaging tissues. Studies due to be carried out on lab grown cells aim at identifying the threshold of pain that can be inflicted on someone without causing death. There is some concern that the studies will fall short of demonstrating a safe level for a plasma burst.

The work came to light after documents were released under the US’s Freedom of Information Act to the Sunshine Project, an organisation who aims to expose biological weapons research. One document entitled “Sensory consequences of electromagnetic pulses emitted by laser induced plasmas” concerned the generation and firing of PEPs. Pain researchers have condemned the research, claiming that it could be put to use as a means of torture and that it is unethical.

“I am deeply concerned about the ethical aspects of this research,” said Andrew Rice, a consultant in pain medicine at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. “Even if the use of temporary pain can be justified as a restraining measure, which I do not believe it can, the long-term physical and psychological effects are unknown.”

Clinical psychologist at University College London, Amanda Williams expressed concern that victims risk long term harm. “Persistent pain can result in a range supposedly non-destructive stimuli which nevertheless change the functioning of the nervous system,” she says. Studies “cannot tell us about the pain and psychological consequences of such painful experience,” she said.

Monday, June 4, 2012

Monday, May 5, 2008

Computers and technology make our modern lifestyle more convenient, but they also create new risks like computer viruses and hacking. Many people want to enjoy the convenience of new technology, but they may not be aware of its problems.

WiMAX is being promoted in Taiwan by the Taipei Computer Association, the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China. It is considered by some to be the communication standard for the next generation of mobile devices.

Information security companies are concerned increasingly by Internet crime, and some of them question the security of WiMAX. After all, everyone wants to welcome this new technology but is afraid of its potential to cause security issues.

Some companies have analyzed potential security issues which threaten the success of WiMAX. But what have they found?

Taking the opportunity of two press conferences in Taiwan, Wikinews Journalist Rico Shen briefly interviewed both Hsiao-wen Hung, President of Microsoft Research Asia and Li Chang, Deputy Secretary General of Taipei Computer Association. With their experience in the IT industry, they agreed to comment on this question.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

The 2006 New Zealand Music Awards, or Tuis, were announced yesterday night at Auckland.

Campbell Smith, organiser, said it has been encouraging to “see the Tuis spread among a wide group of artists, rather than being dominated by one or two. It shows the New Zealand music scene is vibrant, diverse and growing.”

The album of year was won by Bic Runga for her album, Birds. She beat other musicians including Dave Dobbyn and Don McGlashan.

Pluto with their single Long White Cross, won the single of the year. This beat other singles by Bic Runga, Goldenhorse, Mt Raskil Preservations Society featuring Hollie Smith, and The Feelers.

Elemeno P won the best group. They beat other bands, Bleeders and Fly My Pretties.

Dave Dobbyn was the best male solo artist, taking it out over Che Fu and Don McGlashan.

Bic Runga was the best female solo artist beating Aaradhna and Anika Moa.

Bleeders were announced as the breakthrough artist of the year beating Aaradhna and Frontline.

The best music video was awarded to Mark Williams for the music video of Fat Freddy’s Drop; Wandering Eye.

Bleeders won best rock album for their album, As Sweet As Sin, beating Blindspott and Elemeno P.

The best urban/hip hop album was awarded to Borrowed Time by Frontline. This album beat Fresh Men by Nesian Mystik and Kaleidoscope by Opensouls.

The best dance/electronica album was Chaos By Design by Concord Dawn. Concord Dawn beat other groups Recloose and Sola Rose to win the prize.

The Return of Fly My Pretties by Fly My Pretties won the best Aotearoa roots album.

Te Reotakiwas Dunn by Te Reotakiwa Dunn won the best Maori album by beating Mahara Tocker with their album Hurricane’s Eye and Rodger Cunningham with Toto.

Juliagrace won the best gospel/Christian album.

Spirit of the Land by Tower Voices of New Zealand won the best classical album.

Fat Freddy’s Drop was awarded with the people’s choice award, beating Pluto, Frontline, Elemeno P, Bic Runga and Goodnight Nurse.

The Warehouse highest selling New Zealand album was awarded to Fat Freddy’s Drop, Based on a True Story.

All I Ask by Rosita Vai won the highest selling NZ single.

The NZ on Air radio airplay record of the year was won by The Feelers for their record, Stand Up.