-
-
I love the Alfa, a fabulous freaky piece of art. :)
-
-
African Union peacekeepers' death toll in Somalia fighting is 'at least 53'
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/915.jpg
Major offensive against Islamist militants during past two weeks has seen higher casualties
More than 50 African Union peacekeepers have died in fighting in Somalia since a major offensive against Islamist militants began two weeks ago, officials have said.
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
A baby elephant braces for a hit during a training session in a Karen village in Burma. The training session is coined the 'crush' as its goal is to break the elephant's spirit. Wild elephants are typically tied up and beaten for 3 days straight and left to starve. Burmese Karen mahouts near the Thai border operate a clandestine and illegal trade network smuggling elephants into Thailand to be sold to mahouts for the Thai tourism industry. Officials estimate that 1 Burmese elephant is smuggled into Thailand every week.
-
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Although it started out as a cloudy day in Gloucestershire, England, things cleared up just in time for backyard astronomer Rob Bullen to capture the space shuttle Discovery (left) as it approached the International Space Station on February 26.
Bullen, who described the frame as "a once-in-a-lifetime image," snapped the spacecraft rendezvous with a digital camera mounted to an 8.5-inch telescope, according to NASA.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
While attending an aurora conference in Poker Flat, Alaska, NASA's James Spann witnessed the start of a geomagnetic storm, which sparked a northern lights display on March 1.
The storm intensified throughout the day, leading to aurora reports in Northern Ireland, Latvia, Norway, and Sweden
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Some supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies seem to have voracious appetites, gobbling up material so fast that some of it escapes as jets of radiation. But others, including the black hole at the heart of our own Milky Way, are oddly dormant.
According to new research, published March 10 in the Astrophysical Journal, hungry black holes also generate wider swaths of radiation that drive strong winds of gas. As illustrated above, these winds push material out of reach, until there's nothing near enough to fall into the black hole's grasp. Starved, the black hole goes dormant. Published March 4 2011
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Bright stars punctuate the watercolor swirls of the nebula M43 in a newly released picture from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The cloud of interstellar gas and dust is so close to the famed Orion Nebula that M43 sometimes called Orion's little brother.
Both nebulae are part of the massive stellar nursery called the Orion molecular cloud complex, which nearly spans the "belt" of its namesake constellation.
Published March 4, 2011
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
The Sunflower galaxy is pretty in pink in a new infrared picture from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope released March 3.
Also called M63, the Sunflower is a spiral galaxy about 37 million light-years away. Spitzer's infrared eye allows astronomers to trace the dusty structures in the galaxy's spiral arms and see where new stars are being born.
Published March 4, 2011
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Balancing Act
Image courtesy SSI/NASA
The cratered face of Saturn's moon Rhea (top) looms large over the wispy moon Dione, which seems to balance on the planet's thin rings, in a newly released picture from NASA's Cassini orbiter. The rings were actually closer to the spacecraft than Dione was at the time.
Cassini has been touring the Saturnian system since 2004, studying the giant planet, its rings, and its many moons. The long-lived probe is currently in the second extension of its mission, which will run through September 2017.
Published March 4, 2011
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Seen in infrared light (left), the Orion molecular cloud seems fairly serene. But a new picture of radio wave observations, released February 25 by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, shows that the cloud of molecular gas is a violent stellar birthing ground.
Massive stars in the cloud send out huge amounts of powerful ultraviolet radiation. When this UV light hits dense clumps of material, the gas collapses to form new stars.
Published March 4, 2011
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Before being taken underwater, "Silent Evolution" sculptures stand on a Cancún, Mexico, beach in September 2010.
Upon the installation's completion, the total weight of the statues will total more than 180 tons, according to a museum statement.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
School of Rock
The sculptures (pictured in December) are made of a special kind of marine cement that attracts the growth of corals, according to creator Taylor. That in turn encourages fish and other marine life to colonize the reef, he said.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Pictured in late 2010, "Sarah," modeled after a U.K. linguistics professor, is the only "Silent Evolution" statue with a false lung, according to Taylor.
Divers can either fill the lung by blowing bubbles into a hole on her back or using air from their tanks. The air then slowly escapes though the opening in her mouth.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Casting call
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
A stalk of the newfound fungus species Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani, grows out of a "zombie" ant's head in a Brazilian rain forest.
Originally thought to be a single species, called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, the fungus is actually four distinct species—all of which can "mind control" ants—scientists announced Wednesday.
The fungus species can infect an ant, take over itsbrain, and then kill the insect once it moves to a location ideal for the fungi to grow and spread their spores.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Lodged in a zombie ant's brain, the fungi species "direct" the dying ants to anchor themselves to leaves or other stable places, as pictured above—providing a stable "nursery" for the fungus.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
A white fungus stalk (left) of the Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis species begins to poke through the head of a zombie ant two days after death. Also noticeable are faint, white, slightly fuzzy fungal growths on the ant's joints.
Once the insect dies, the fungus rapidly spreads through the body. During the first couple days, though, very little evidence of the fungus is visible from the outside.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
The mature fungus stalk, shown growing from a zombie ant's head during the final stage of infection, differs among fungi species.
For instance, Ophiocordyceps camponoti-rufipedis creates just a single stalk (pictured), while Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani forms a forked stalk (as seen in the first picture).
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Ants aren't the only zombie-fungi hosts—other insects also fall prey to fungus. Above, a wasp is infected by a Cordyceps fungus species that hasn't yet been named or formally documented.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
-
-
'Slumdog' star among 2,000 made homeless by fire in Mumbai shanty town
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Rubina Ali, who acted as young Latika in the oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire", sits amid the ruins of the Gharib Nagar slum.
-
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/922.jpg
A Spitfire has taken to the skies over its birthplace to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the world famous aircraft.
The fighter, piloted by Carolyn Grace, flew over Southampton for 20 minutes in honour of the 1936 test flight that paved the way for the aircraft to become a mainstay of the RAF during the Second World War.
The aircraft built in 1944 and credited with shooting down the first German plane on D-Day, was seen by thousands who came out in chilly conditions across the city and along Southampton Water to see the flight.
The aircraft was designed by the famous RJ Mitchell at Supermarine's factory in Southampton and first flew from the then Eastleigh airfield - now Southampton International Airport.
RJ Mitchell never lived to see the Spitfire become one of the most famous aircraft in the world as he died in 1937 of cancer aged just 42.
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Peru's Presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo, of the political party Peru Possible, wearing traditional clothes, waves to supporters during a campaign rally in Ayacucho, Peru, Friday, March 4, 2011. Peru's presidential elections are scheduled for April 10 2011
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
A man holds a placard reading "The king is gone" - referring to British designer John Galliano - prior to the Dior fall-winter 2011-12 ready-to-wear show in Paris, Friday, March 4, 2011. Galliano wasn't on hand for Friday's show even though the Dior collection was designed under his supervision. Dior CEO Sidney Toledano made a statement on the catwalk before the show lamenting the "very painful" situation in the wake of an uproar over Galliano's alleged anti-Semitism
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Delhi policemen request members of India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party to stop from trying to break a barricade during a protest against alleged corruption and price rise, outside the ruling Congress party office in New Delhi, India, Friday, March 4, 2011. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has faced a series of corruption scandals ranging from the country's hosting of the Commonwealth Games last year to the irregular sale of cell phone spectrum in 2008 that reportedly cost the government tens of billions of dollars.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Norway's Petter Northug gestures to his teammates, on the finish line at the cross country men's relay 4x10 km at the Ski World Championships in Oslo, Norway, Friday, March 4, 2011. Team Norway won the competition.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
An injured person rushes an injured child to a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday, March 4, 2011. A bomb blast has killed many worshipers at a mosque in Nowshera of northwestern Pakistan, police said.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Pakistani Christians shower rose-petals on the casket of their slain leader Shahbaz Bhatti during a funeral in his native village Khushpur near Faisalabad, Pakistan on Friday, March 4, 2011. Shirtless men beat their chests and women wailed in grief as the body of a Christian politician killed for opposing Pakistan's harsh blasphemy laws was buried in his home village. In the capital, the prime minister promised mourners at a funeral Mass that the government would do its utmost to bring the assassins to justice.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Battocletti closes a transfer vehicle holding transfer cases containing the remains of Army Staff Sgt. Chauncy Ryan Mays, Army Sgt. Kristopher James Gould and Army Spc. Christopher Glenn Stark, Friday, March 4, 2011 at Dover Air Force Base, Del. According to the Department of Defense, Mays, 25, of Cookville, Texas, and Stark, 22, of Monett, Mo., died Feb. 28, 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked thier unit with an improvised explosive device and Gould, of Saginaw, Mich. also died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Worshipers carry a giant effigy called "ogoh-ogoh" that represents evil spirits during a parade a day before Nyepi, the annual day of silence marking Balinese Hindu new year in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, March 4, 2011. Hindus in the world's most populous Muslim country will celebrate their new year Saturday by observing a day of silence in which they have to stay inside their homes and meditate in silence and darkness for the entire day.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
This year's King Momo, the crowned and costumed Milton Rodrigues, center, flanked by the Carnival queen and two princesses, pose for pictures during carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, March 4, 2011. Covered in confetti and to the sound of drums, Rio's mayor Eduardo Paes handed the key to the city to King Momo, the mythical figure who reigns over the chaos of Carnival, officially opening this seaside city's five-day annual exaltation of music, booze and flesh.
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
A Filipino man pours unleaded gasoline being sold in soda bottles at P56 (about US$ 1.3) per liter into the tank of his motorcycle at Manila's poor district of Tondo, Philippines on Thursday, March 3, 2011. Oil prices hovered above $102 a barrel Thursday in Asia as fierce fighting in Libya appears to have cut crude output in the OPEC nation more than previously estimated.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
A young Member of "Traditsia" (Tradition), a Bulgarian National Patriotic organization, takes part in Statehood Day ceremony in Sofia, Thursday, March 03, 2011. Bulgaria celebrates its national day, marking the 133rd anniversary of its liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Delegates listen to a speech at the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, China, Thursday, March 3, 2011.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Anti-government protester attend a demonstration demanding the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, March 3, 2011. Two anti-government protesters are shot and killed in southern Yemen, where a hospital official said the deaths occurred during demonstrations in the town of Sadr, in the province of Lahaj. Protesters also clash with government supporters and security forces in the Red Sea city of Hodeida.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich speaks during a news conference on Thursday, March 3, 2011, in Atlanta. Gingrich says he is launching a website to explore a run for president.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Libyans carry the coffin of a rebel killed in fighting with troops loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Wednesday, during a mass funeral in Ajdabiya, eastern Libya, Thursday, March 3, 2011.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
U.S. soldier from the 2nd Infantry Division wearing a gas mask and anti-chemical gear participates during a joint military drill between U.S. and South Korea for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear detection and response capabilities at U.S. military base, Camp Casey in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 3, 2011. South Korean and U.S. troops kicked off their annual drills Monday, while North Korea slammed the maneuvers as a rehearsal for invasion that could trigger a nuclear war on the divided peninsula.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
U.S. actor Johnny Depp reacts during a photo session at his news conference to promote his film "The Tourist" in Tokyo, Thursday, March 3, 2011. Depp was in Tokyo for the Japan premiere of the spy thriller which also stars Angelina Jolie.
-
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/937.jpg
Sanaa, Yemen: An anti-government protester flashes the victory sign through a sea of national flags at a demonstration demanding the resignation of the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/939.jpg
Greenwich, London: New Jersey Nets v Toronto Raptors in the first NBA basketball regular season game to be held in Europe at the O2 Arena. During a time-out, the New Jersey mascot Sly Fox performs a slam-dunk routine after running and bouncing on a trampoline
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/942.jpg
Beijing, China: A plainclothes security officer in front of doorway during the opening session of the national people's congress (NPC) in the Great Hall of the People
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/944.jpg
Gori, Georgia: A man carries a portrait of Joseph Stalin outside the house where the Soviet dictator was born about 45 miles west of Tbilisi. Georgian communists gathered in Stalin's hometown to mark the anniversary of his death
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/945.jpg
Ras Lanuf, Libya: A rebel shoots at an oil company advertisement board with a portrait of Muammar Gaddafi
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/948.jpg
Mumbai, India: Rubina Ali, who acted as Latika in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, amid the ruins of the area where she lived in the slums of Garib Nagar. A fire gutted the large shanty town, which is home to thousands, next to Bandra station in Mumbai's suburbs
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/950.jpg
Madrid, Spain: French company members of Karnavires perform their show Odysseus in the main square during the Madrid carnival
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/952.jpg
Săo Paulo, Brazil: Members of the Academicos do Tucuruvi samba school dance around a float during the opening night of parades at the Sambadrome as part of carnival celebrations
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/955.jpg
Tunisia-Libya border: Workers from Bangladesh who have fled the violence in Libya wash themselves at a refugee camp
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/954.jpg
Manila, Philippines: An activist reacts as anti-riot police used their shields to push her back during a protest in front of the US embassy. The rally is held to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day on Tuesday and to protest against the government's adherence to economic interests of foreign countries
-
-
-
-
More pics from Mumbai
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Rubina Ali, right, who acted as young Latika in the oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire", sits with her family amid the ruins of the Gharib Nagar slum in Mumbai on March 5. A fire gutted the slum, a large shanty town which is home to thousands of residents next to Bandra station in Mumbai's suburbs on Friday evening. The makeshift shack where Ali lived was also destroyed in the blaze.
-
-
Africa in Pictures
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1015.jpg
3 detainees thought to be mercenaries in the pay of the Libyan government
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1017.jpg
Evacuees enjoying a break from the turmoil
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1022.jpg
A wire sculpture in the village of Tafaiti
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1019.jpg
Events to mark the 35th anniversary of the fight for self-determination in Western Sahara
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1020.jpg
The construction of a barrier to prevent immigrants from Egypt crossing into Israel
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1021.jpg
Robert Mugabe enjoys celebrations on Saturday to mark his 87th birthday
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1024.jpg
A presidential hopeful Gen. Buhari during a campaign rally in Kaduna, Nigeria
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1026.jpg
A cultural troupe entertains in the Nigerian state of Jigawa
https://teakdoor.com/images/imported/2011/03/1028.jpg
A policeman in Benin informs supporters that the elections are being postponed as 1 million people have been left off the electoral roll. An easy mistake to make :mid:
-
Thanks for all of the fine work, Lick!
-
It's a pleasure DK, thanks for your comments, much appreciated
-
^^Yes, seconded - great way to wake up and look at the news, thanks