Manitoba volunteers go to war against Red River flooding

Monday, April 6, 2009

Over 1,600 volunteers registered to help build approximately 65,000 of the 500,000 sandbags to create dikes 20.5 feet (6.2 meters) high to protect the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba in the war against the Red River of the North flood.

700 volunteers answered at the rural municipality of St. Andrews alone. Once sandbags are filled for West St. Paul, St. Andrews, and Selkirk, then frozen culverts must be cleared.

The height of the river is expected to be Thursday, and predictions are that it will be less than Flood of the Century of 1997. There is no precipitation in the forecast, and snow in the province should be melted by the end of the week.

“The fear right now is we have to get that ice out of the river. The Amphibex [Excavators] are still working and breaking the ice apart, and everyday we buy with the warm weather and the current, it is thinning the ice down a bit, so when it does start to move, the better chance it’ll move right out into the lake,” said Paul Guyder, the emergency coordinator for the RMs of St. Andrews and St. Clements.

“I feel that we’ve done everything humanly possible to get ready,” said Gary Doer, Premier of Manitoba, “But … there are fallibilities with human behaviour. We can take every preventative measure as human beings possible and we can still get Mother Nature proving again she is superior.”

Communities with ring diking will partially or fully close their dikes at the beginning of the week. Provincial officials are considering opening the Red River Floodway gates around mid-week before ice is fully melted.

Ice jams could cause flooding within the city, however opening the gates could spare neighbourhood flooding when the river rises to the estimated 6.3 meters (20.7 feet) height. The province does have back up plans for dealing with ice jams within the city if they do occur. The unpredictability of ice jams and the ensuing water level rise may cause neighbourhood flooding. The city is raising dikes where the river has jammed with ice in the past such as on tight curves and past bridges. Likewise there are excavators and backhoes positioned at these points.

Vulnerable neighbourhoods on the river banks have been reinforced with sandbag dikes at vulnerable areas from the massive volunteer effort over the weekend. Guyader feels no more extra volunteers are needed, however volunteers are still being asked to leave their names and number in case of unpredicted need. Existing personnel will assess roads, and help with clean up.

Approximately 400 of the 800 people who evacuated the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation have returned to their homes.

Former Premier, Dufferin Roblin, brought forward the floodway as a protection for Winnipeg residents and economy following the 1950 Red River Flood. The Red River floodway, “Duff’s Ditch” was finally finished in 1968, and its floodway gates have been opened 20 times saving Winnipeg from an estimated CA$10 billion in damages. The floodway expansion began in 2005 at a price of $665 million.

Polish and Chinese experts have come to survey the Red River Floodway, and Dennis Walaker, mayor of Fargo, North Dakota recognises the need for Red River flood defences down river. “Every town that you drive by from the Canadian line up to Winnipeg is either elevated or ring-diked,” said Walaker.

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Five Different Suggestions To Consider When Shopping For Kid’s Night Lights

Submitted by: Martha Caldwell

Are you presently sick of getting up in the middle of the night to a moping kid who is crying purely because they believe the bogeyman is without question under their bed or they believe that one of their stuffed toys has changed into a creature? Clearly the easy solution to get rid of this issue is to buy a night light. It will not only help your children sleep considerably better, but it will even ensure that you have an adequate amount of lighting to come in and give them a goodnight kiss without having to turn on the light that will awaken your kids. Below I am going to include some tips that may help you select the right night light for your kids.

1. Consider the theme of your respective child’s bedroom

If your child has a jungle theme you might want to opt for a night light that has got something related to the jungle or alternatively if your youngster has a sports theme then you definitely should go with a night light that targets one sport or possibly uses several different sports. Another popular theme, which is used, in kids bedrooms are often the plaids, stripes and/or polka dots themes, with one of these themes you’ll want to play up a lot of color contrasts, for example, pink/green, red/green, black/pink, blue/brown, and so on.

2. Take into account the gender of your infant

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8MBX-SXnmg[/youtube]

Pink and purple are fantastic color options for young girls and blue and green night lights tend to be a great color selection for young boys. For those who are with child and not aware of the sex of your baby, primary colors like bright red, yellow, and blue make wonderful unisex colors, in addition, just about any shade of green from lime green, apple green to a soft sage green should be considered. In the event a softer palette is desired, night lights with a buttery yellow, mint green, peach and lavender can be utilized.

3. Figure out if a light bulb happens to come already added

If perhaps it does not I propose getting a fluorescent light bulb mainly because not only does fluorescent light bulbs create higher-quality light, in addition, it has a longer bulb life expectancy and over time you will save extra money on your utility bill because fluorescent light bulbs don’t use as much electric power as standard light bulbs.

4. Ensure there is an on/off button

The primary reason that you might want an on/off switch is because, in the morning, it’s easier just to change the switch to off versus needing to disconnect the night light each and every time, not only will this be more convenient for you or your little child, but it will, as a result, prevent the chance of damage occurring caused by frequently unplugging it in and out of the light socket.

5. Remember to consider your child’s opinion

Children can provide you with some terrific insight into what they do and do not really like; it will not only be fun to your child to aid you when decorating, but it will also allow them to have a feeling of worth in the household, and it will make it possible for great bonding time that is invaluable. When choosing a night light with your kid make sure you explain to your kids exactly what a theme is and what colors complement that theme so that your whole decor within the room meshes nicely as one.

About the Author: In addition, you can purchase childrens night lights and find more helpful and useful information at

nurserylights.net

. Nursery Lights is a site that is dedicated to helping you find the

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

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SpaceX scrubs Falcon I rocket launch

Monday, November 28, 2005

SpaceX called off the much-delayed inaugural launch of their new Falcon 1 rocket on Saturday from Kwajalein’s Omelek Island launch site. The intent was to launch the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat 2 satellite, which will monitor plasma interactions with the Earth’s upper atmosphere and magnetosphere.

The launch was delayed, then finally cancelled after an oxygen boil-off vent had accidentally been left open. The oxygen was unable to cool the helium pressurant, which then proceeded to evaporate faster than it could be replenished. A main computer issue, probably serious enough to cause a scrub on its own, was also discovered.

This long-anticipated flight was originally expected to be launched in January 2005, however a series of setbacks forced a series of delays, with the flight most recently scheduled to be in early 2006. It was intended to be launched from the Kwajalein atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The maiden voyage was originally intended to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California with a Naval Research Laboratory satellite and a Space Services Incorporated space burial payload.

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CanadaVOTES: NDP candidate David Sparrow in Don Valley West

Friday, October 10, 2008

In an attempt to speak with as many candidates as possible during the 2008 Canadian federal election, Wikinews has talked via email with David Sparrow. Sparrow is a candidate in Ontario’s Don Valley West riding, running under the New Democratic Party (NDP) banner. The riding was set to vote in a by-election on September 22, 2008, following the resignation of John Godfrey, but Stephen Harper’s sudden election call nulled that effort.

Also running in the Toronto riding are Liberal Rob Oliphant, Conservative John Carmichael, Green Georgina Wilcock, and Communist Catherine Holliday.

The following is an interview with Sparrow, conducted via email. The interview is published unedited, as sent to Wikinews.

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Help Your Branding Efforts With Color Postcards

Help Your Branding Efforts With Color Postcards

by

Kaye Z. Marks

Postcard printing may not be as popular as other branding tools. Nevertheless, this is a good investment to help a branding campaign.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDF6cIRup9Y[/youtube]

Whatever kind of product or service that you may want to promote, such can actually be easily adapted and customized to present the kind of brand that you want. If you want to give color postcards a go for your branding efforts, then let me give you five essential things that you can do with them to help in branding. Just read the list below and you should see how this kind of custom postcard branding works. 1. Uses in direct mail marketing – postcards have long been used in direct mail marketing. Their nature has in fact contributed to the ease with which visual and text-marketing messages can be communicated through the postal service. You can use this same tool to promote your specific kind of brand to specific consumers. In this way, the best and most responsive people can know your brand and try it out eventually. So if you can invest on this for your branding campaign, use those cards for quick and easy direct mail marketing and branding. 2. Leave at the shop for visibility – You can also use these as an in shop tool for promoting your brand. Many big and small businesses leave their customized cards at their shop for people to just pick up. These materials with branding images tend to be easy style promotional tools that people can digest easily without a second thought. This helps you maintain that brand image in their minds, helping you gain a psychological advantage in sales. The more people pick up those these tools for branding, the more your brand becomes recognized and memorable of course. 3. Give as freebies for customers – using these cards and giving them as freebies to customers. These are great as giveaways since people tend to have many other uses for them. They use such as collectibles, as actual mailing materials or even as bookmarks, collage items or just for plain decoration. By deploying them just like this, you can promote your specific brand quite easily as the readers do the distribution themselves. 4. Sell as novelty items or collectibles – Now, you can also do a one up in your branding efforts by actually selling them as novelty items or collectibles. If you can design a great looking enough full color layout, this can be your way to deliver that brand and still get profits in the matter. All you have to do is to integrate your brand logo and maybe even your brand theme in these novelty designs. This allows you to subtly deliver your branding message in a nice card without really going over-commercial about it. 5. Include in other kits and marketing products – Finally, you can squeeze in your branding postcards in other types of public relations kits and marketing products. This allows you to reinforce your brand image and presence in all your other types of kits and products for a well-rounded and extensive branding campaign. The more your brand is visible, the more it can succeed. This is how you can use your marketing tools to help with your branding efforts. As you can see, postcard printing can be used in a variety of ways and venues to deliver that branding message in a great and cunning manner.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in

postcard mailing

and

postcard printing

that help businesses in their marketing and advertising campaigns.

Article Source:

ArticleRich.com

Five injured as Adam Air 737 overruns Batam island runway

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

On Monday, five people were injured after a Boeing 737-400, operated by Adam Air, overshot the runway today while landing at Hang Nadim Airport on the island of Batam in Indonesia.

The aircraft skidded 75 metres (245 feet) into a grassy field after touching down in rainy conditions. Damage was done to the right wing, hydraulics and main landing gear. The plane came to rest with the nose in the air and leaning towards the right.

Of the 176 passengers (one source says 174) and crew on board, five passengers required treatment for neck and head injuries.

Adam Suherman, president of the airline, said the plane had skidded 10 metres beyond the extreme end of the runway. He also gave the time of the crash as 10:40 and noted that the plane was currently resting on soft ground.

Suherman gave the registration of the aircraft as PK-KKT. This would make the aircraft the one Boeing gave the serial number 24353 and owned by CIT Group Incorporated.

Adam Air spokesman Danke Drajat described the plane as having been in “good condition” at its last major inspection in December. He suggested the weather condition may be to blame for the crash, the third to strike the budjet carrier in just over a year. On New Year’s Day in 2007 Flight 574 crashed into the sea, leaving 102 missing, presumed dead. The following month the fuselage of Flight 172 cracked in half during a hard landing. Both involved Boeing 737 aircraft.

Pantun Banjarnahor, Hang Nadim Airport’s chief of operations, said that visibility was adequate for a safe landing. The airport was closed for over two hours. It is unclear how many flights were affected.

The National Transportation Safety Committee is investigating.

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Toothpaste fills cavities without drilling

Thursday, February 24, 2005

A paste containing synthetic tooth enamel can seal small cavities without drilling. Kazue Yamagishi and colleagues at the FAP Dental Institute in Tokyo say that the paste can repair small cavities in 15 minutes.

Currently, fillers don’t stick to such small cavities so dentists must drill bigger holes. Hydroxyapatite crystals, of which natural enamel is made, bond with teeth to repair tiny areas of damage.

Yamagishi and colleagues have tested their paste on a lower premolar tooth that showed early signs of decay. They found that the synthetic enamel merged with the natural enamel. The synthetic enamel also appears to make teeth stronger which will improve resistance to future decay. As with drilling, however, there is still the potential for pain: The paste is strongly acidic to encourage crystal growth and causes inflammation if it touches the gums.

The paste is reported in the journal Nature.

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Bank of England governor warns housing market is biggest threat to UK economy

Sunday, May 18, 2014

The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has warned that the state of the housing market in the United Kingdom is the current biggest domestic threat to the country’s economy, due to lack of house building, and regulatory issues.

In an interview to be aired on Sky News today, he said the housing market is the “biggest risk” to the economy and has “deep, deep structural problems”. Of house building he said: “There are not sufficient houses built in the UK. To go back to Canada, there are half as many people in Canada as in the UK, twice as many houses are built every year in Canada as in the UK and we can’t influence that.”

“We’re not going to build a single house at the Bank of England. We can’t influence that. What we can influence […] is whether the banks are strong enough. Do they have enough capital against risk in the housing market?”

Carney also said the Bank of England would look into the procedures used to issue loans and mortgages to see if they were being granted appropriately: “We’d be concerned if there was a rapid increase in high loan-to-value mortgages across the banks. We’ve seen that creeping up and it’s something we’re watching closely.”

Kris Hopkins responded to Carney on behalf of the government, saying the government “inherited a broken housing market, but our efforts to fix it are working”. “We’ve scrapped the failed top-down planning system, built over 170,000 affordable homes and released more surplus brownfield sites for new housing. We’ve also helped homebuyers get on the housing ladder, because if people can buy homes builders will build them. Housebuilding is now at its highest level since 2007 and climbing. Last year councils gave permission for almost 200,000 new homes under the locally-led planning system and more than 1,000 communities have swiftly taken up neighbourhood planning. It’s clear evidence the government’s long-term economic plan is working.”

Earlier this month, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development called on the UK government to “tighten” access to the ‘Help to Buy’ scheme introduced by George Osborne and the coalition government in 2013. ‘Help to Buy’ has also recently been criticised by three former Chancellors of the Exchequer — the Conservatives Norman Lamont and Nigel Lawson, and former Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling. Darling said: “Unless supply can be increased substantially, we will exacerbate that situation with schemes like Help to Buy.”

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Using Electronic Muscle Stimulation Systems To Prevent Muscle Atrophy

By Amy Nutt

Electronic muscle stimulators, or EMS devices, are electronic devices that stimulate the muscles. Many bodybuilders use them to speed up muscle repair after a strenuous workout. When they have worked out hard, they get microscopic tears in their muscles and it is the healing of those tears that allows their muscle mass to grow. This would explain why EMS systems are commonly used in preventing muscle atrophy in those who are physically disabled.

For a person who has a disease or has been in an accident that prohibits them from using certain muscles, those muscles will begin to deteriorate over time. You may notice someone with atrophy in their legs have legs that are smaller than they should be. This is because the muscle is deteriorating away. Along with that muscle mass goes the strength. Although they may not be able to use the atrophied muscles anyway, it is healthier to prolong or altogether prevent the atrophy from occurring.

Other reasons to prevent atrophy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KIKTU1X35c[/youtube]

Another reason in which EMS systems are used to prevent muscle atrophy is the fact that there have been medical breakthroughs that have enabled individuals who have not been able to use their muscles for years to suddenly use them. People who could not so much as stand are standing, so it was important to keep the muscles stimulated. Even if there is no hope of a person being able to utilize those muscles, they still need to be stimulated since medical breakthroughs are happening every single day. One just never knows when they’re going to be notified of a new development, so their muscles have to be primed and ready to go.

How an EMS system works

EMS systems involve having more than one electrode placed upon the skin. From there, small electronic pulses are emitted, usually by the push of a button. These pulses cause the muscles to contract. The contraction is similar to what is received when exercising. This is the very contraction that is needed to keep the muscles stimulated. It is true that an EMS system can’t be connected all of the time, but it is great to have that available at a certain point or at points during the day to make sure the muscles get that bit of “exercise” that they need.

As for the effectiveness, EMS systems are quite effective, which is why so many individuals own them for various different reasons. As stated before, bodybuilders own them to help them in their bodybuilding routines. There are even some who use them to relieve muscle pain. The best way to relieve pain is by stimulating the muscle so that it can heal. If you’ve ever heard the saying, “Work it out,” then you understand how an EMS system can do this. These are all reasons why doctors prescribe them to be used for those with such conditions as Muscular Dystrophy, for paraplegics, and for those who have encountered severe injuries that have resulted in severe muscle damage.

Luckily, EMS systems are not an incredibly high investment. Many individuals are able to afford them and every individual can invest in the device that fits their particular needs. Certain ones give off a certain voltage, are different colors, different sizes, come with more or less electrodes, etc. Some may come with one type of electrode while others come with electrodes specially designed for different areas of the body. But again, they are not very expensive, making EMS systems an easily accessible treatment method for anyone. Anyone with a muscle disorder or injury should invest in an EMS system to improve the quality of their life and to keep up a healthy appearance.

About the Author: Tone-A-Matic offers top quality electronic muscle stimulators to supplement your regular workout program without putting stress on your joints, lower back or neck and shoulders.

Source: isnare.com

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Short-haired bumblebees reintroduced to UK

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

A small population of Bombus subterraneus, the short-haired bumblebee, was reintroduced to the UK yesterday. The bee was declared extinct in Britain in 2000.

Around 100 queen bees were captured from Skåne, Sweden after the Nordic nation gave the go-ahead. After quarantine, around half of these were rejected to avoid introducing parasites alongside the bees. The rest have been released into a nature reserve in Dungeness, England.

“We’ve screened for four different parasite species,” explains biologist Dr Mark Brown of the University of London, where the bees spent two weeks at Royal Holloway. The parasites “can all damage bees in different ways.”

Work has been ongoing at Dungeness for years, establishing flowers the bees are known to like in meadows at the site, which, although rural, lies at the heart of an industrial area. Habitat loss is blamed for the bees’ extinction in the UK, with more intensive farming methods destroying meadows. South Sweden has less intensive farming, allowing the Swedish population to thrive. A normal survival rate of 20–30% is expected.

Organisations including the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Natural England, and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are involved in funding the project, with the reserve itself belonging to the RSPB.

The bees were last seen in Dungeness in the 1980s. The same spot lost the shrill carder bee at around the same time, but shrill carder bees have recently been rediscovered there.

It is the second attempt to reintroduce short-haired bumblebees to Britain, after an effort in 2009 using bees removed from New Zealand. British bees were introduced to New Zealand to aid pollination before they were threatened. The bees died in the UK and tests established they had low genetic diversity. There are plans to add more bees to the Dungeness programme to increase genetic diversity there.

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