HARGAILAH MASA, BANYAKKAN MEMBACA

19 Oktober 2010

Typhoon lashes the Philippines

Swirling ... NASA satellite image of Typhoon Megi

A SUPER typhoon lashed the Philippines with huge waves, torrential rain and ferocious winds this morning.

Electricity poles were toppled, one man drowned and massive emergency preparations were triggered after Typhoon Megi struck.

Thousands sought shelter while authorities warned millions of residents and rice farmers along the typhoon's path to prepare for damage to crops, homes and power lines.

Flood-ravaged areas of China and Vietnam were also bracing for more rains from the powerful storm.

Megi packed winds of 140mph and gusts of 162mph as it made landfall at Palanan Bay in north-eastern Isabela province.

It is expected to move on toward southern China, which has already evacuated more than 100,000 people from villages because of earlier flooding.

The typhoon, bringing nearly two inches of rain per hour, Megi was the most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines in four years, government forecasters said.

SURGING currents sucked a bus off a flooded highway and swept away 20 of its passengers, including a girl ripped from her mother's arms, as flooding caused 30 deaths in Vietnam

New 463-ft. 'Dream Ship' Will Be World's Largest Sailing Superyacht

The incredible 289-ft. Maltese Falcon is still the world's largest, best designed, and most expensive sailing yacth - but not for much longer. Turkish yachtbuilder Dream Ship Victory just signed a contract with the same team that designed the Maltese – naval architects Dykstra & Partners and Ken Freivokh Design – on a new 463-ft. sailing superyacth (above) that will literally dwarf the competition and become one of the largest yachts in the world. Unlike the Maltese however the new Dream Ship will be constructed entirely of wood, and will boast four masts to the Falcon's three. An initial concept of the new behemoth, which features an Art Deco-inspired streamlined design, was presented at the Monaco Yacht Show on the Dykstra & Partners stand and construction is slated to begin in 2011.

Lambang Batman di Jepun

PETA enjin carian Google menunjukkan lambang seperti Batman (dalam bulatan) di Pangkalan Tentera Udara Amerika Syarikat (AS) di Kadena, Pulau Okinawa, Jepun.

KADENA, Jepun - Beberapa gambar pemandangan udara yang diperoleh daripada enjin carian Google di Internet menemui lambang Batman pada sebuah hangar di Jepun, lapor sebuah akhbar semalam.

Simbol adi wira itu ditemui oleh seorang pengguna peta Google yang tertera pada bumbung sebuah hangar di Pangkalan Udara Kadena milik Tentera Udara Amerika Syarikat di sini, pulau Okinawa.

Lambang itu dicat dengan warna putih pada salah sebuah hangar yang menempatkan pesawat-pesawat pejuang skuadron Ke-44 Tentera Udara AS.

Skuadron berkenaan yang mengendalikan jet F-15 Eagle, menggunakan kelawar sebagai simbolnya. - Agensi

18 Oktober 2010

Serangga terbesar di dunia.

Bugs tend to freak us out. Mosquitoes, spiders, wasps, centipedes... you name it. If it crawls, bites or buzzes (especially anywhere near our faces), then we squirm, swat and run. But what's worse than a little bug crawling on, or biting you? How about a really, really big one?

Here are some pictures of the biggest bugs on Earth. Enjoy!

Belostomatidae

Belostomatidae is a family of insects better known as "giant water bugs" or "toe-biters." Most species in the Belostomatidae family are relatively large (2 cm or more) with some of the largest, such as Lethocerus, exceeding 12 cm, and nearly reaching the dimensions (length and mass) of some of the larger beetles in the world.

All bugs in the Belostomatidae family are fierce predators which stalk, capture and feed on aquatic crustaceans, fish and amphibians. They often lie motionless at the bottom of a body of water, attached to various objects, where they wait for prey to come near. They then strike, injecting a powerful digestive saliva and suck out the liquefied remains. Yum!

Their bite is considered one of the most painful that can be inflicted by any insect. The saliva liquefies muscle tissue. In rare instances, their bite can do permanent damage to humans. So don't get drunk and pass out with your face near one of these guys.

Occasionally when encountered by a larger predator, such as a human, they have been known to "play dead" and emit a fluid from their anus to make them look less appetizing. Giant water bugs are a popular food in Thailand.

Atlas Moth

(Attacus Atlas)

Atlas moths are...

...considered to be the largest moths in the world in terms of total wing surface area. Their wingspan is often up to a foot long.
...are said to be named after either the Titan of Greek mythology, or their map-like wing patterns.
...unsteady fliers and the female does not stray far from the location of her discarded chrysalis.
...found in the tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia.

Giant Camel Spider

When American soldiers aren't worrying about insurgents and IEDs, they have to keep an eye out for Giant Camel Spiders. Iraq's Giant Camel Spiders have even been found hiding in sleeping bags. Fortunately, the giant desert camel spiders native to Iraq aren't venomous. But they are FAST. Giant Camel Spiders have been known to run around 10 MPH. Although most Camel Spiders are about the size of a credit card, they have been know to grow larger than 10 inches, especially in the deserts of the Middle East.

The above photo was taken in the desert area outside of Baghdad. The 2 camel spiders were in a fight to the death. The spider on the bottom has his fangs locked on the torso of the spider above.

The image below is of a U.S. solider stationed outside of Kuwait. He was bitten by a Camel Spider in his sleep. The infected wound was so bad doctors couldn't stitch it up. They had to leave it open to drain and heal from the inside out. The bitten soldier now has a scar the size of a penny on his elbow.

Camel Spiders are common in the Middle East, but they can also be found in the southwest U.S. and Mexico. The Mexican's call Camel Spiders matevenados, which translates to"deer killers" in English.

Giant Walking Stick

Many stick insects are easy to care for, and believe it or not make good tropical pets.

Indian stick insects are all female and reproduce by themselves (parthenogenesis) and seem content living without mates or kin. Occasionally part-male part-female individuals are reared in captivity, but never true males.

The stick insects molt and may eat their own shed skin. By the 6th molt, the stick insect will lay eggs. Yum!

Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing

(Ornithoptera alexandrae)

Queen Alexandra's Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is the largest butterfly in the world. The species was named by Lord Walter Rothschild in 1907, in honor of Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. Female Birdwings can reach a wingspan of about 14 inches, a body length of 3-4 inches and a body mass of up to 1/2 ounce. These are all enormous measurements for a butterfly and actually much more common for small birds.

Goliath Beetle

The Goliath beetles are among the heaviest insects on Earth. They are found in Africa. The heavily armored adults are so large that when flying, they produce a sound akin to a toy helicopter in flight. They are scavengers and eat rotting fruit, vegetables and animal feces off the jungle floor. Jungle poop. It's what's for dinner.

Giant Weta

Weta are extremely large by insect standards. They can weigh more than 70g, making them one of the heaviest documented insects in the known world. The Giant Weta can't even jump because it's so heavy. Giant Weta and are classified in the genus Deinacrida, which is Greek for terrible grasshopper. They are found primarily on small islands off the coast of the main islands, and are examples of island gigantism. Wetas like to hide under rocks or plant debris.

Giant Isopod

The Giant Isopod isn't technically an insect. Believe it or not, it falls under the Crustacean class along with crab, shrimp and lobster. That's right kids, it's aquatic. Like a giant sea roach.

Although rarely found on food menus in most of the world, it's not uncommon in some Eastern Asian countries to find seaside restaurants serving boiled Giant Isopods.

Even though the Giant Isopod is a deep sea dwelling creature, it might look strangely familiar to you. A close cousin of the Giant Isopod is the much smaller terrestrial Woodlouse (3-30 mm). But you might know the Woodlouse by one of its more common nicknames like pill bug or roly-poly. Woodlice are usually found in damp, dark places, rotting logs and typically eat decaying plant material.

Genetically, Woodlice and Giant Isopods have been unchanged for over 160 million years.

Afghanistan, 1983

What’s going now in Afghanistan is not for the first time.

27 years ago Russian army entered Afghanistan to help the Afghani president protect his power against the Islamic forces terrorizing the country.

Russian army stayed there 9 years and 1 months. It was opposed by troops lead by Usama Bin Laden who was that time officially sponsored by USA, in order to prevent a victory of USSR there and not allowing Soviet Union to establish there another regime supported by communists.

During these 9 years more than 14,000 Russian soldiers were killed, half thousand people were captured by the opposing Afghani forces. Practically all of them were forced to turn into Islam. And more than 50,000 Russian soldiers were wounded there and 10,000 of them continued their life as disabled as a result of the war.

But what can be most interesting is that just a few months after the Soviet troops left Afghanistan the radical Islamic movement took over the country again and was just becoming stronger and stronger until the USA troops came into a play. Now, when USA military presence is not high there it has been heard that only center of the country is being controlled by “democratically chosen president”, all the distant regions are again under the rule of radical Islamists. So probably there is no way on turning this country to Western system of good and bad.

On these photos you can see Russian soldiers together with Afghani ones, and some scenes from everyday life in 1983.

russian soldiers in afghanistan

Special uniform hats were used in Afghanistan for Soviet soldiers.

russian soldiers in afghanistan

Photos are from Alexandr Prokopchuk, they were made by his father Nikolai who was shot dead in Januar, 1984 in Afghanistan, half year later after he made these photos.