Category Archives: Viva!

Lavender fields of Provence from above

Lavender. It’s an incredible scent and color that’s unfortunately been abused by corporations, perverted into abysmal scents that linger in an Airwick “air freshener” or mangled into a dryer sheet. Lavender is an incredibly vivid plant that, when seen en masse, is actually quite stunning. Back in July, Stories In Motion filmed the lavender fields of Provence with stunning results.

What you see here is a *single* day of shooting with the DJI Phantom 3 by Joshua Karthik! This is the very first day we flew this amazing little quadcopter which in its 3rd iteration has revolutionised the way aerial cinematography is done – it is quick to set up, painless to operate and delivers mind blowing results.

Agreed.

Turkey – Turkey jails foreign journalists for first time in 15 years

After three days in police custody in the mainly Kurdish southeastern city Diyarbakir, three foreign journalists were placed in pre-trial detention on a terrorism charge late yesterday. This is the first time since 1998 that this has happened to foreign media personnel. The police arrested the three journalists, who include British reporters Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury of VICE News, on the evening of 27 August, searching their hotel rooms and seizing their equipment. They were initially accused of filming without accreditation, before being charged yesterday of working on behalf of a terrorist group. Reporters Without Borders calls for their immediate release and the dismissal of the absurd charge brought against them, and condemns the fact that the authorities have yet again resorted to Turkey’s anti-terrorism legislation to silence journalists covering sensitive stories. Their lawyer, Ahmet Ay, told Reporters Without Borders that they are charged under article 220 of the criminal code, which penalizes “crimes committed in a terrorist organization’s name” in the same way as membership of a terrorist organization. Little else is so far known about the charges because of the confidential nature of the investigation. Although Turkish journalists are often placed in pre-trial detention on the flimsiest of evidence, it is extremely rare for foreign journalists to suffer the same fate. When foreign reporters are charged, they are usually released conditionally after a few days in police custody or they are deported. According to the information available to Reporters Without Borders, the last foreign reporter to be jailed in Turkey was Dino Frisullo, an Italian journalist who was held for several months in 1998. “By arbitrarily jailing foreign journalists, the Turkish authorities are taking their disregard for media freedom to a new level,” said Johann Bihr, the head of the Reporters Without Borders Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. “This is just the latest of many demonstrations of the draconian nature of Turkey’s anti-terrorist legislation. Despite the timid reforms of the past few years, its extremely vague wording allows the authorities to bring arbitrary charges against anyone who bothers them. We demand the immediate release of the three journalists, who were just doing their job by covering story in which there is a great deal of interest.” Kevin Sutcliffe, head of news programming in Europe for VICE News, said the Turkish authorities had “levelled baseless and alarmingly false charges” against the his journalists “in an attempt to intimidate and censor their coverage.” The number of violations of freedom of information has soared since the government launched a “war on terrorism” at the end of July in which the PKK is the main target. The peace process initiated in late 2012 with the Kurdish rebels is over and the toll of dead and wounded is mounting. Turkey is ranked 149th out of 180 countries in the <a href=”http://index.rsf.org/

Source: Turkey – Turkey jails foreign journalists for first time in 15 years

IRIN Asia | When Myanmar votes, Rohingya must stay home | Myanmar |Faux Racism – shame

Rohingya advocates say many were full citizens upon independence from Britain in 1948, and they point out that members of their community have voted in each election since then. But their citizenship status has been gradually eroded over half a century of military rule.By the time the 2010 election rolled around, most Rohingya had “white cards”, which are temporary identification papers. Holding white cards kept them suspended in stateless limbo, but it did allow them to vote, and that enraged nationalists who argued that only bona fide citizens should have that right.The Rakhine National Party played a crucial part in lobbying against white card holders’ voting rights.“My party submitted in parliament to reject white card holders – it (is in line with) our constitution,” said Aye Maung, leader of the RNP. “Citizens can vote and citizens can be members of parliament. This is not for non-citizens.” People with white cards can, in theory, take part in a citizenship verification process, and if they are deemed to be citizens of Myanmar they could participate in the November poll. But the process has been excruciatingly slow and it is unlikely to be completed in time.Part of the problem is that Rohingya who want to acquire citizenship must agree to identify themselves as Bengali, which implies they are from Bangladesh. The vast majority refuse to do so.

Source: IRIN Asia | When Myanmar votes, Rohingya must stay home | Myanmar | Governance | Human Rights

Dawn and the Sea #poetry

Baja, I miss you madly and this poem – grin – makes me miss you all the more – miss the sea at dawn, noon, 4 pm and midnight – grin

penned in moon dust

tidal foam

my eyes long to caress you smooth as silk

your bronze glow accentuated by dawn

my fingers can only momentary trace a message

watery “I love yous” fade away

as the sea draws lacy covers back

remnant of a long night blurrs

gold red rays warm your skin

 long legged birds celebrate your awakening

I a mere voyeur watch…

the morning rises from slumber

 meeting the sea’s welcome embrace

I inhale the beauty of a new day

sandpiper dawn

This week’s prompt at Poet’s United Midweek Motif is Beauty. Where in the world do you see beauty?

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Found in the Forest #poetry #photography

The forest is alive and this brings it to new life

penned in moon dust

forest path

I stop… mesmerized

sunshine reaches down

they’re holding hands

radiance from the ground

I stand… reaching

with my eyes

I soak in warmth

kneel where nature lies

I breathe…silence

listen to holy teaching

never quite the same

for truth I’m always seeking

forest leaf

Sharing with the poets at Poet’s United – Sunday’s Poetry Pantry always has room for more poets to share their work.

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Mexican chemical engineering student creates a way to clean clothes without water or detergent

Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective Latina Lista: News from the Latino perspective – News from the Latino perspective. Mexican chemical engineering student creates a way to clean clothes without water or detergent by Latina Lista

LatinaLista — With the drought hitting cities, states and countries around the world, people are waking up to how essential water is for daily existence, far beyond just for drinking. For example, what would people do about washing their dirty clothes if there was no water?

A young Mexican chemical engineering student believes she has the answer.

Jessica Cruz Aguirre
Jessica Cruz Aguirre
, a student at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous University of Mexico), discovered one way that clothes can be cleaned without water or detergent — but by using bacteria.

The bacterias used are mostly associated with metals but Aguirre has fine-tuned the “eating” properties of the bacteria to create a cleaning agent for clothes. Aguirre trained the bacteria to eat the organic materials associated with wine stains. Without genetically modifying the bacteria, Aguirre allowed the bacteria to learn to recognize wine as a food source. Over time, the bacteria naturally modified itself to see wine as food. Once it accomplished that, Aguirre mixed wine with cooking oil and sweat so that the bacteria can see those mixtures as dirt and eat them too.

Aguirre and her project partner, Paulina Mar Lucas, envision their creation as a single container that has two sprays. One spray releases the bacteria onto the dirty garment where on contact the bacteria eats organic particles, removes odor and stains. A second misting kills these organisms and adds softening and perfumes to the clothes so they feel soft and smell pleasant.

Aguirre’s project won her the National Award and brought her second place in the Latin America Henkel Innovation Challenge. Yet, while such an idea has most of the world anxious for its completion, Aguirre concedes further testing needs to be done to make sure the release of the bacteria doesn’t pose a health or environmental hazard.

For now, Aguirre is leaving the further development and testing of her idea to the Mexican business Sinaqua, which will finance future testing, securing the patent and commercialization of the product over the next few years.

Aguirre is scheduled to receive her degree by February and March of next year and already has plans to open up her own business. “I like biotechnology,” Aguirre told an interviewer from her university. “But I’m not closed to other options. I try to think of innovative ideas and build something. After a year or two, I’ll pursue my Master’s but for now, I don’t know what I want to specialize (my studies) in and want to wait until I’m sure of what I want to do.”