Chechen Failed Assault on Aleppo Prison

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The assault initiates with a large SVBIED. Their T-72 appears to take a direct RPG hit at 6:44. After taking casualties, the Chechen group falls back. A mortar round sends lethal shrapnel into the rendezvous, killing Commander Saifullah al-Shishani.

~Will

Police working on a “live Google Earth” to monitor small areas

APRIL 21, 2014

While it will be a long time before we see a live version of Google Earth, as Frank recently explained, there are some places where small scale real-time imagery is starting to come out.

The most recent example is in Compton, California, where they can monitor a 25 square mile area for six hours at a time thanks to a company called Persistent Surveillance Systems(PSS).

PSS attaches high-resolution cameras to aircraft that fly around and stream the imagery back to the ground. You can learn quite a bit more about it in this video or by reading this blog post on Gizmodo.

A lot of people wonder about Google Earth imagery. Why is the image of my house so old? Why can’t I get a picture of my car accident from a month ago? Why doesn’t Google get newer pictures? This article gives a broad perspective about how Google gets the imagery and why it’s hard to get more recent imagery. It also provides you with ways to see lots more imagery built in to Google Earth by showing you where to look.

You would be surprised how many people initially think Google Earth (GE) will show imagery in real-time. Or, that surely it will only be a day or two old. I guess part of this thinking comes from watching the news deliver weather satellite photos which are only a few hours old, or spy TV shows with “live” satellite imagery (that’s pretty much science fiction except in rare expensive military operations). But, the problems of getting quality high resolution imagery are very challenging. Weather satellites are at geosynchronous orbits (36,000 km) and take low resolution imagery. High resolution satellites (e.g. those operated by commercial satellite companies like DigitalGlobe or by the government/military) operate just a few hundred kilometers above the Earth. This means they only see a small part of the Earth with their camera as they orbit over. They typically go around the Earth every 90 minutes, but only cover about 1% of the Earth on each pass – but, most of the area covered in a pass is water. Not only that, but imagery for Google Earth is only going to be good if the sun is at a high angle when the satellite goes over (fewer shadows), when there are no clouds, and as little haze/pollution as possible. Believe it or not, the times when all these factors come together are pretty rare. It can take months or years for a good quality image to be taken by satellite even if you pay lots of money!

Once the imagery is taken, it takes time to process the data before it is available to customers. Google is one of these customers (a really big one). Google has to evaluate the new imagery against the current imagery to determine whether the new is better than the current. They have computers to automate as much of this as possible. But, for important areas with large populations the process to check and verify the quality takes time. Once an image is selected, it has to be processed into the format and coordinate system of Google Earth’s databases. Then it has to go through a quality control process and fed into a processing system before it gets distributed to the live Google Earth database servers. This is one reason why you usually do not find any imagery younger than about 6 months in Google Earth and Maps. And why updates usually only happen about once every 30 days.

Not all the imagery in Google Earth comes from satellites. A lot of the imagery comes from aerial photographers – mostly in airplanes with special high resolution cameras. Some of the imagery even comes from kites, balloons, and drones. Google acquires imagery from a variety of sources. Some of the imagery is given to Google by city or state governments. The age of the imagery varies greatly, but most of the high resolution imagery is between 6 months and 5 years of age. Again, because the imagery comes from a variety of sources, the process to get this imagery into Google Earth is complex and involves a great deal of time and effort.

Another reason why you don’t find imagery that is newer is that it can cost a great deal of money to acquire quality aerial imagery. The companies who spend this money need a way to recover their costs. More recent imagery is more valuable than older imagery. As a result, these companies are reluctant to have their newest imagery available for free for anyone to view in Google Earth. Read the agreements for Google Earth before you try to use its imagery for business applications (more information). You can’t sell or use the imagery from Google Earth for business purposes without permission.

Google has been known to release much more recent imagery in GE for unique events. For example, for the 2008 Beijing Olympics Google released 2-week old imagery for the Beijing area.

However, near real-time imagery of Earth is available in Google Earth! “What?! After all that you are saying it is available?” you ask. Sure, there’s the Weather->Clouds layer. The clouds are actually taken from weather satellites and are a global picture of the clouds as recent as 3 hours old. Ok, so that’s not the kind of imagery you were thinking about?

There used to be a cool layer for Google Earth from NASA which showed the entire Earth at a medium resolution (about 250 meter resolution per pixel). The imagery was taken by the MODIS Terra satellite and was processed as quickly as possible and showed the entire Earth between 6 – 12 hours old. The imagery was continuously updating. You could see dust storms, large fires, volcanoes, haze conditions, droughts, floods, and – of course – clouds. This was the most recent, highest resolution imagery of the Earth continuously updating available to the general public, but it’s not available now. But, the resolution was too low to see things like your house or car clearly. There are a few new commercial companies launching multiple low-earth-orbit satellites in an attempt to get more near-real-time imagery of the Earth at at least medium-resolution, at an even more frequent update rate. We’ll be following these efforts closely, and hope layers to view them will appear in Google Earth.

Since Google Earth version 5, Google has the historical imagery feature, so you’re not limited to just the imagery shown by default in Google Earth. Google has archives of imagery from many sources and dates. For many places, Google has 2, 3, or even 30 different images over time for any one location (sometimes decades old). In some cases, you can even find newer imagery than the one shown by default. Usually in a case where the older imagery looks better overall than the newer. The historical imagery feature is a an amazing resource, which I encourage everyone to check out.

Let’s not forget to mention Google’s ground-level Street View imagery which is increasingly available in places all over the planet (viewable in Google Earth and Maps as well as on mobile). But, can also be months or years old for similar reasons (challenges of covering the entire planet and processing huge amounts of data).

Anyway, I hope this article helps provide a better understanding of the imagery in Google Earth and how it all works. This is a high-level overview and is based on my own observations and opinions.

Rohingya: The Hidden Victims Of Burma's Ethnic Violence (+playlist)

Thousands of Rohingya have been forced to flee violence, driven by an extreme Buddhist ideology in Burma. On route to Malaysia, many fall prey to unscrupulous human smugglers, and face slave labour in Thailand.

"Sixty Bath? He not have money...", fears Durman, whose Rohingya relative is being kept captive in the jungle, on one of Thailand's paradise islands. The sixty Bath, or two thousand dollar bail, is an impossible obstacle to freedom. The road to democracy in Burma has been beset by explosive ethnic conflicts. In 2012, Buddhist fundamentalist's torched houses belonging to Rohingyas. Now many flee in unseaworthy boats to Malaysia, a Muslim country quietly accepting them. Mohammad, who escaped one of the prison camps, describes the "torture" which he was subjected to for months. The human trade is allegedly conducted with the assistance of the police and military. Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, Police Major General admits he's heard reports of officials getting involved: "I have seriously investigated this issue. But I still do not have any evidence yet". Chutima, a journalist investigating the extent of human trafficking, and the involvement of Thai police and military, is heartbroken. "It's worse and worse, day by day. Nobody cares".

Reggio Calabria - Sequestrati oltre 200 chilogrammi di cocaina (28.04.14)

Reggio Calabria - Gli uomini del Comando Provinciale di Reggio Calabria, unitamente a funzionari dell'Agenzia delle Dogane - Ufficio Antifrode di Gioia Tauro, hanno individuato e sequestrato un ingente carico di cocaina purissima.

Il quantitativo di stupefacente, pari a circa 235 kg., è stato rinvenuto occultato all'interno di due container che trasportavano banane, provenienti dall'Ecuador e giunti nello scalo portuale di Gioia Tauro.

L'operazione è stata eseguita attraverso una serie di incroci documentali e successivi ed attenti controlli di container sospetti, anche a mezzo di sofisticate apparecchiature scanner, lungo i 5 chilometri della banchina portuale, ove sono di norma allineati migliaia di container.

La cocaina sequestrata avrebbe fruttato, con la vendita al dettaglio, circa 47 milioni di euro: in sostanza, con l'attività odierna è come se una "striscia" interminabile, pronta per lo sniffo, di oltre 45 chilometri di coca fosse stata annientata ed incenerita.

L'attività della Guardia di Finanza, in sinergia con l'Agenzia delle Dogane, si inserisce nell'ambito della più generale intensificazione delle attività di controllo volte al contrasto del traffico di sostanze stupefacenti nel porto di Gioia Tauro che ha portato, dall'inizio dell'anno, al complessivo sequestro di oltre 655 kg. di cocaina.

Solo per rendere l'idea, a testimonianza dei risultati operativi conseguiti, negli ultimi 10 mesi, i sequestri di cocaina delle Fiamme Gialle reggine, tutti ai danni della 'ndrangheta che gestisce in toto i traffici illeciti, sono stati di 1.204 chili. (28.04.14)

The Thorium Car – This Car Runs For 100 Years Without Refuelling

If your car was powered by thorium, you would never need to refuel it. The vehicle would burn out long before the chemical did. The thorium would last so long, in fact, it would probably outlive you.
That’s why a company called Laser Power Systems has created a concept for a thorium-powered car engine. The element is radioactive, and the team uses bits of it to build a laserbeam that heats water, produces steam, and powers an energy-producing turbine.

Thorium is one of the most dense materials on the planet. A small sample of it packs 20 million times more energy than a similarly-sized sample of coal, making it an ideal energy source.
The thing is, Dr. Charles Stevens, the CEO of Laser Power Systems, told Mashable that thorium engines won’t be in cars anytime soon.
“Cars are not our primary interest,” Stevens said. ”The automakers don’t want to buy them.”
He said too much of the automobile industry is focused on making money off of gas engines, and it will take at least a couple decades for thorium technology to be used enough in other industries that vehicle manufacturers will begin to consider revamping the way they think about engines. We’re building this to power the rest of the world,” Stevens said. He believes a thorium turbine about the size of an air conditioning unit could more provide cheap power for whole restaurants, hotels, office buildings, even small towns in areas of the world without electricity. At some point, thorium could power individual homes.
Stevens understands that people may be wary of Thorium because it is radioactive — but any such worry would be unfounded.
“The radiation that we develop off of one of these things can be shielded by a single sheet off of aluminum foil,” Stevens said. ”You will get more radiation from one of those dental X-rays than this.”

Technology Update: Pushing boundaries of space exploration

Russia celebrated Cosmonauts' Day on 12 April in honor of Yury Gagarin's historic flight in space, so we wanted to get into the spirit of things and see what's changed since then. On this month's cosmic special, Russia's latest space capsule promises to make spaceflight more comfortable than ever. We learn how solar wind helps us tune into our favorite show on the old wireless and a ray gun represents the latest in cutting-edge technology.

40 Incredible Secret Places Most Travelers Don't Know About. The Last One Blew Me Away...

Mella Noha 602290

The Eiffel tower, Golden Gate Bridge and the Colosseum may be amazing in their own right, but there's something special about going to a spectacular location that few travelers venture to. Take a virtual journey with me to these secretly underrated places...

Ristorante Grotta Palazzese, Italy

Ristorante Grotta Palazzese, nestled in the caves of Polignano a Mare beach, is one of the greatest places to eat in all of Italy, if not the world.

Chichilianne, Rhone Alpes, France

The breathtaking Mont Aiguille is nearly 7,000 foot tall and offers amazing views of the French Prealps.

Tiger’s Nest Monastery, Paro Valley, Bhutan

tigersnestbhutan.com

This 17th century temple sits on the edge of a cliff 3,000 feet above the Paro valley. The holy site was built to protect the cave in which Guru Padmasambhava, a leader of Buddhism, meditated for three years, three months, three weeks, three days and three hours.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is a medieval city is still largely intact. So much so, that parts of the city are used as King’s Landing in Game of Thrones. The city is brimming with amazing architecture and surrounded by the Mediterranean on one side and walls on the other.

Albarracín, Aragon, Spain

Albarracín is a beautifully preserved medieval village in Northern Spain. The rock paintings in the cliff-foot caves of the Albarracin Cultural Park (some of the most important evidences of the Levantine prehistoric art of Spain) and the "Picaportes" (door knobs) are something to marvel at!

Bagan, Burma

http://iliketowastemytime.com

Bagan is an ancient city hidden deep inside Burma. At the height of the Kingdom of Pagan, the city had over 10,000 Buddhist temples. Today, over 2200 of these are still standing, making it an amazing place to visit.

Aescher, Switzerland

Aescher hotel is so high up on the Appenzellerland mountains that you have to hike or get a cable car to reach it. Amenities are intentionally basic but the food is hearty and the nearby trails lead to exhilarating adventures.

Haiku Stairs, Hawaii

Known as the Stairway to Heaven, this fairly unknown hiking trail can be found on the island of O’ahu. The trail is steep and ends at a peak 2,800 feet above the sea, which offers amazing views of the island.

Þingvallavatn Lake, Iceland

Found deep within this huge National Park is the boundary between North America and Europe. Lucky divers can swim in between the tectonic plates of these two continents, which is getting 2 centimeters wider every year.

Chefchaouen, Northwest Morocco

Chefchaouen is best known for its blue buildings, painted in a spectrum of soothing hues. If you want to escape the city, make sure to check out the nearby Rif mountains and the Cascades d'Akchour!

Lord Howe Island, Australia

all-that-is-interesting.com

This beautiful island is mostly untouched by man, with a tiny native population and only 400 tourists being allowed to visit each year. The limit is in place to protect the amazing natural landscape of Howe Island, which is home to a beautiful crystal lagoon and coral reef.

Bishop Castle, San Isabel National Forest, Rye, Colorado

Bishop Castle is undoubtedly one of the craziest castles in the world, created by the one-man castle builder Jim Bishop. It's an incredible place to get married or just to visit for inspiration. 

Huacachina, Peruvian desert

Huacachina is a tiny village of just over 100 people built around a lush oasis in an otherwise barren desert. For a few bucks, you can rent sandboarding equipment and try one of the locals' favorite thrills.

The Bastei Bridge in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, Germany

Visit also Lilienstein, one of several small mesas in Saxony - it's surreal to watch the fog roll over.

Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, best known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities and cave towns.  All of which is best seen from the sky, with dozens of hot air balloons offering amazing bird eye views.  

Hallstatt, Austria

Hallstat is a medieval village which is home to less than 1,000 people. High in the mountains of Hallstat, you can explore prehistoric mines that were some of the first in the entire world.

Leptis Magna, Tripoli, Libya

Leptis Magna was once a major city of the Roman Empire. Now, its ruins act as an adventurer's playground. If you want to experience the amazing sights of ancient Rome, but avoid competing with the crowds, this is the place to go.

The Alcázar of Segovia, Spain

The Alcázar of Segovia is a stone fortification, located in the old part of the city. It's one of the most distinctive castles in Spain by the virtue of its shape – like the bow of a ship.

Alter do Chao, Brazil

This town straddles the Amazon rainforest and an amazing beach known as the Island of Love. Only a few meters from the beach is a huge lagoon, Lago, Verde, which is home to myriad animals and can only be explored by canoe.

Hotel Moulin de Roc, France

Deep in the province of Dordogne, you'll find an old mill transformed into an amazingly quaint hotel on the banks of a peaceful river, with nothing around for miles. It's also home to the renowned Michelin Star restaurant, with plenty of outdoor seating.

The peacock room in Castello di Sammezzano, Tuscany

Within the abadonded castle Castello di Sammezzano you can find the Peacock Room. A hidden jewel features intricate Moorish designs and a breathtaking assortment of patterns and colors. The beauty of the memorizing interiors is simply beyond comparison.

Deception Island, Antarctica

This ring shaped island is so remote that it can only be accessed by tour boats. The inside of the island offers sanctuary from storms and icebergs for a host of creatures, including hundreds of penguins. If you want to escape the cold, the island is situated on an active volcano and home to hot springs galore.

Melissani Cave, Kefalonia, Greece

In Greek mythology, nymphs (female nature deities) inhabited this breathtaking cave and lured men in with their beauty. Under a high sun, the amazingly blue is illuminated for any lucky swimmers.

Meghalaya, India

The hills of Meghalaya receive nearly 40 feet of rain every year, meaning that the valley floors of this beautiful but remote forest are often transformed into rivers. Complex series of skybridges help you to navigate the environment.

Craco, Matera, Basilicata

The medieval village of Craco is part of an incredible region with undulating shapes and vast farmland. Since the sudden abandonment of the village, rumour has it that the ruins have become inhabited by ghosts.

Quinta da Regaleira, Sintra, Portugal

Quinta da Regaleira is an estate located near the historic center of Sintra, classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Make sure to check out the Gruta do Labirinto (the Labyrinthic Grotto) and it's mysterious wishing well! This 27 meter deep well resembles an inverted tower. Depending on the direction you choose, either a journey down into the depths of the earth, or a climb out of the darkness into the light awaits.

Weißgerbergasse, Nuremberg, Germany

Be sure to also visit the small town of Bamberg and the Altenburg castle, which sits on the tallest of the seven hills, overlooking the city!

Procida, Italy

Procida is a beautiful Mediterranean island paradise. Terra Murata is the highest point on the Island aswell as its heart.

Lofoten Islands, Norway

The Lofoten Islands are a group of islands found in Northern Norway, within the arctic circle. The islands are home to seductively quaint fishing villages, the world’s deepest coral reef and amazing views of the Northern lights.

Cocos Island, Costa Rica

underseahunter.com

Cocos Island is an uninhabited island located 300 miles off the shore of Costa Rica. As a national park, the island is untouched by civilization and acts as one of the best scuba diving spots in the entire world because of its spectacular marine fauna.

Rock tombs in Myra, Lycia, Turkey

After visiting the tombs you can go to the real Saint Nicholas Church. The perfect place to go to ask Santa why he got you the wrong gift last year.

Herrenchiemsee New Palace, Lake Chiemsee, Germany

In 1873 King Ludwig II of Bavaria acquired the Herreninsel as the location for his new Royal Palace. Modelled on Versailles, this palace was built as a "Temple of Fame" for King Louis XIV of France, whom the Bavarian monarch fervently admired. And trust me - Ludwig II was absolutely crazy - the "mad king" even had a “magic table” inspired by the Grimm’s Fairy Tale in his dining room!

Fès, Morocco

You're looking at the Leather Souq, the oldest leather tannery in the world. Don't miss the marvelous Bab Boujloud (the blue gate) as well!

Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovin

Blagaj stands at the edge of the beautiful Buna river.

Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

This town was first founded in the 13th century and little has changed since then. Stepping into the castle grounds is like going back in time, specially if you go during the Renaissance festival which is held every June.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Saint Petersburg, Russia

You should go inside, I have never seen such a colorful church in my whole life! The city has so much more to offer, like the State Hermitage Museum or the inaugurated Amber Room in the Catherine Palace!

Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland

Both pronouncing and getting to Ittoqqortoormiit can be difficult, but it’s totally worth the effort. From the capital of Iceland, you’ll need to get on a once-weekly plane to Greenland and then get a helicopter ride to this small, colorful town which sits by the longest glacial river system in the world.

Mount Ai-Petry, Crimea, Ukraine

Located on the Kastron mountain, the fortress of Cembalo is also nice to visit. It's a facade of spectacular views overlooking the sea off the Bay of Balaklava.

Marsaxlokk, Malta

Home to Marsaxlokk fish market, a sprawling and endless market held each Sunday in town!

Monument Valley, Utah

If you think this valley seems familiar, it’s because the area was commonly used as a filming location in the heyday of Western movies. The vast sandstone structures dominate the landscape of this vast valley which is far quieter than similar sights like the Grand Canyon.