Physics Subset

I have started a new blog " to support the various Physics teaching and educational activities I have recent become involved with" here in Guyana.

Stabroek News web site problem

I visited the website this morning only to be told by my browser (Firefox) that:

"This web page at www.stabroeknews.com has been reported as an attack page and has been blocked based on your security preferences."
And that
"Attack pages try to install programs that steal private information, use your computer to attack others, or damage your system.

Some attack pages intentionally distribute harmful software, but many are compromised without the knowledge or permission of their owners."

Now this may not be the fault of the web site manager. If a web server is sharing an IP address with other web sites then one of those other web sites might be the cause of the problem. But given the size of the Stabroek News web site I would expect they have their own address.

A more likely cause of the problem is ads which appear on the Stabroek News web site but which are generated by third parties who are careless or irresponsible.

The additional information provided by Firefox seems to suggest that the ads were indeed the problem.

Iran's seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders

There have been many calls for the release of the seven innocent Baha'i leaders imprisoned in Iran. Many Baha'i leaders in Iran have been executed over the past several decades without just cause. Concern for the Baha'is in Iran has been expressed by many including (recently):

• UN Human Rights Council
• Amnesty International
• European Union
• the Prime Minister of Canada
• Roman Catholic Archbishop of Delhi
• Swami Agnivesh

The latest news on this secretive process is that the trial seems to have ended but no one seems to know the outcome...

Trial of seven Iranian Baha'i leaders appears to have ended

Congratulations to the President

President Bharrat Jagdeo has been awarded the 2010 Champions of the Earth Award by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) for Biodiversity Conservation & Ecosystem Management. Also awarded was President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives. Only a few Heads of State have been awarded since the first awards in 2005.

Links
Guyana Chronicle
UNEP

And also in the Caribbean - underwater volcanic vents

Explorers in the Cayman Trough have found the world’s deepest known underwater volcanic vents called smokers which emit very hot mineral solutions and gases and provide an envionment for exotic and strange creatures. The Cayman Trough lies just north of Jamaica and south of Cuba.
See this picture of a smoker from Wikipedia:

For more on this see:
http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/videos/Black-smokers-found-in-Cayman-Trough
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100412/world/eu_britain_volcanic_vent
http://www.noc.soton.ac.uk/nocs/news.php?action=display_news&idx=723