Mars Curiosity Mission on Mars

At this time the Mars Curiosity is landing on the red planet.

Follow live at:  NASA Live Cast


The landing was a sucess. As the info was reaching the NASA JPL Lab in Passadena all the room was celebrating. Alltough the first picture was not good as expected the mistery was promptly sloved, dust. When the dust settle we saw it, the whell of the rover. After that another of the shadow of the rover. Again celebration, after eight months of wait since its launch on November 26 last year, and 8 years of hard work the mission was a sucess.

We are on Mars again.

Syrian Army Pound Rebel Positions in Aleppo

After some promising wins in Aleppo the rebels of the Free Syrian Army are being pounded by the Syrian Army. The country biggest city has become a key battleground in the nearly year and a half uprising against Bashar Al-Assad. According to the Syrian Human Rights Watch the number of deaths is now at 21 thousand persons, since March 2011. Sunday 40 more Syrians were killed across the country, 25 were civilians.

Other subject receiving international attention is the 48 Iranian nationals kidnapped Saturday in Damascus. Iran says the victims were religious pilgrims, but the Free Syrian Army said they are elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Iran has already asked for Turkey and Qatar help. The Iranians support the current regime while Turkey and Qatar support a new, less authoritarian one.

Wisconsin shoting: 7 dead confirmed

So far there are 7 dead confirmed in the shooting at a Sikh temple in the Milwaukee suburb of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, authorities said. A witness who talked to a priest said that a cerimony was taking place when an unknown number of gunman entered the temple and started shooting hitting around 25 people, same witness said. After the police arrive one gunman was shot and killed. The police is  not sure if there is other shooter on the loose. At the temple website you can read that the temple has between 250 and 400 worshipers.

New evidence of ancient culture

The earliest Unambigous evidence for modern human behaviar has been discovered by an international team of researchers in a South African cave. The region where this artefacts where found is in the region of the African San people, in the border of South Africa and Swaziland. Among the findings where the first indication of poison in arrow heads. The findings per se are not new, found in the 70's by Dr Peter Beaumont, only receive the deserved relevance due to advances in the technologies that made possible to confirm this "discovery", proving that we don't know all there is to know about our selfs and our ancestry.

Russian Suply Ship Docks with ISS

The Russian cargo ship, Progress, has docked with the International Space Station after a failed attempt on the 23. The first endouver of the unmanned ship to dock failled because of problems with the new docking system. Progress was sent to pick up the garbage, then be sent to burn up in the atmosphere. The new docking system named Kurs-Na is automatic, and acordding to the russians this new system is the work of years of research, and  is said to be saffer and accurate. There are 6 astronauts in the ISS now Malachenko, Padalka and Revin from Russia, Williams and Acaba from US and the Japanese Hoshide.

Syria: Key cities battles heat up

Damascus and Aleppo, came under shell fire on Thursday as troops loyal to President Bashar Assad stepped up efforts to crush rebels threatening the government's two main power centres.  A new rebel group boasting some 1,000 fighters launched an operation Sunday to capture Aleppo, while government troops using helicopter gunships and heavy artillery rolled back opposition gains in the capital Damascus.


 One of the most senior figures to defect from Assad's inner circle, Brigadier General Manaf Tlas, put himself forward as someone who could help unite the fragmented opposition inside and outside Syria on a blueprint for a transfer of power. 


Regime and rebel forces battled in several Damascus neighborhoods, and the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk endured "fierce helicopter shelling with machine guns," the Local Coordination Committees of Syria said. The death toll for Thursday has climbed to 112 across Syria: 29 in Damascus and its suburbs; 27 in Daraa, including 22 in the Al-A'ajamy Valley; 20 in Aleppo; 16 in Idlib; 10 in Homs; four in Hama; five in Deir Ezzor; and one in Qunaitra, the LCC said. Some of those killed in the Al-A'ajamy Valley were defected soldiers seeking "to save civilians fleeing from shelling," the group said. On Wednesday, at least 129 were killed, including 22 in Aleppo and 27 in and around Damascus, the LCC said.


UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, addressing the Bosnian parliament in Sarajevo, said the world must unite to end the "slaughter" in Syria, recalling the inertia of the United Nations in 1995 during the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia. At the UN Security Council, members blamed each other for rising violence in Syria. Western states pledged to seek an end to the conflict outside the world body, while Russia warned of "likely catastrophic consequences" with that approach.


Russia, an ally of Syria, and China have repeatedly blocked Western-backed Security Council resolutions on Syria.

Happy 50th Birthday Rolling Stones

Four teenageres are on stage at the Marquee Club, in Oxford Street, London. Keith Reichards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Mick Jagger.When asked if they already have a name for the band they answer "The Rollin' Stones" - with no G. The Rolling Stones are born. It was 50 years ago. In 1963 Charlie Watts joins the band, and the nowadays formation was reached in 1991 when Bill Wiman left the band, after Ron Wood joined in 1974. Their first album was The Rolling Stones one of the best-sellers in 1964, remaining for 12 weeks in #1. Often seen as their most notable albuns are Exile On Main Street, Let It Bleed, Beggars Banquet and Sticky Fingers. Some of them considered real classics. 

The Stones have survived numerous personnel changes as well as an often strained relationship between Jagger and Richards, the core of the band. In his 2010 colorful autobiography "Life" Keith Richards took several swipes at Jagger for accepting a knightwood from Queen Elizabeth II. The two seem to be on the same pace, as Richards said in a recent interview, "He (Jagger) and I have had conversations over the last year of a kind we havo not had for an extremely long time and that has been incredibly important to me". In the A Bigger Bang world tour The Stones gave a show to one of the bigger audience about 1.2 million persons in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Rolling Stone magazine reported last month that the band is considering at least one live concert this year to mark their anniversary.  To celebrate the Band 50th birthday a photographic exhibition is beeing launched in London.


Happy Birthday Stones!

Egypt clash over power

Recently apointed Islamist-dominated parliament and President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood clashed with powerfull military and highest court over the apparent irregularities in last elections.


Last mounth the supreme constitutional court rulled to dissolve the parliament. The military chiefs vowed to uphold the rulling while Morsi countered, ordering the parliament to reconvene, decision that the constitutional court said had no legal ground.


The two sides are now more cautious after the first show of strenght. The President supported by his own people, whose 17 months ago made 30 year power of Mubarak fall. The military is one of the best equiped in the Middle East and counts with support from Israel and the US.

DNSChanger Shutdown

Despite the hysteria around DNSChanger malware application worst case scenario - almost 300 000 computers lose internet connection - didn't came true mainly because of the Internet Service Providers (ISP) precautions.


The number of infected computers continues to decrease without any major crisis in call center operations. US, Italy and India are the most affected countries by DNSChanger.


Another potential catastrophe successfully avoided by those good fellas of the FBI. 

US on heat wave and Europe on rainy summer

While on US a heat wave is causing substancial problems, buckled highways, a minor train derailment, on Europe torrential rain along Russia's Black Sea coast, causing flash floads and landslides.

In Philadelphia 100ºF (38ºC) were forecast and several heat warnings were issued across the Midwest. Still not forgot is last week storms that have cut power from Michigan to the East Coast, and some problems are not yet resolved.

At least 24 people died due to the heat wave. In Russia the number is higher, 103 lives were taken by the rain and landslides. Russian authorities have sent helicopters to assist in rescue efforts. In Krymsk, 12 feet of water fall from the skies and Monday is expected to bring more rain.

Germany and UK are also beeing afected by off season weather.

277K PC's can go offline

Next monday 277 000 computers can go offline. The reason is a malware that could have breached at least 50 companies of the Forbes Fortune500. The malware may had infected the computers almost a year ago.

All over the Internet FBI warnings have been circulating, specially on social networks. 


Last year a hacker group controled about 570 thousand computers around the world. After their arrest in late 2011 FBI understood that shutting down the servers that controlled the infected computers would result in lost internet connection on those same computers. FBI will shutdown the servers on July 9.

RIP Sergio Farina

Today was the last for Sergio Pininfarina, age 86, he born in 1926, the italian designer was know to many because of his work with Ferrari.

 But Peninfarina did more than work with the red brand. In 2005 he was appointed by President Carlo Ciampi Senator for life. Besides his designer works Pininfarina was a well know and respected member of Italian Society.


Let's remind him with beautiful thoughs, just like his cars, and apreciation for outstanding steps forward in design, that still today influence a new generation of car manufacters.


RIP

Sarkozy, lost election, lost imunity

When the French elections results came out on June 17 Nicolas Sarkozy was disapointed at least, but he probably didn't tought the problems where just starting. While enjoying a country vacations with is wife, Carla Bruni, in one of Canada's richest families estate, his own home and office, in Paris, were being raided by French Police.


Authorities were looking for proof of illegal financing of the 2007 presidential campain, linking the former President to Liliane Bettencourt, L'Oréal heiress and non-executive director.


Sarkozy is suspected of receiving aprox $64,000 (€50,000) very far from the $5,873 maximum allowed by French Law.


The accusations were denied by Sarkozy and he presented his personal agenda to the prosecuter to prove it.