To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Freak Storm Hits England, Northern Europe
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 10:21:05 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

12/03/1999 18:37:00 ET

Freak Storm Hits England, Northern Europe

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - At least seven people died on Friday when
gale-force winds swept across England, over the North Sea and smashed
into Denmark in what the Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen called its
worst storm of the century. Winds of over 100 miles per hour left a trail
of destruction and caused severe travel problems.

Two women, one a German, and a man were killed in three separate car
accidents blamed on the storm in Denmark, national television reported.
Another woman was killed by debris from a roof torn off by the gale.

In central England, three people were killed when a large tree hit three
vehicles on a busy road near Birmingham during the morning.

The British Meteorological Office said winds gusted to around 100 miles
per hour. The Danish Meteorological Institute said winds reached 180 kph
in the North Sea before sweeping inland west-to-east. Germany's North Sea
coast was put on a flood alert, including the major port of Hamburg.

The Danish Institute said it was the most damaging storm of the century to
hit Denmark.

The Danish Insurance Information Service estimated it could cost
insurance companies there more than one billion crowns ($135 million).

The previous highest storm damage cost was 827 million crowns in 1981,
the Ritzau news agency said.

Hospitals around Denmark treated numerous injuries. Police advised
people throughout the country to stay at home.

Rescue workers and police evacuated people from flooded areas along the
North Sea coast. In the worst affected areas, the sea rose more than 16
feet above normal levels, Ritzau said.

Trains, city buses and ferries ceased running and road authorities
closed bridges across major waterways. Dozens of lorries toppled by
strong winds blocked highways.

Power blackouts were reported in many parts of the country.

Airports, including the international airport at Copenhagen, were
closed.

In Britain, the Meteorological Office had earlier issued a general storm
warning for England and Wales as the gale moved across the country.
Rain, snow and heavy winds caused serious travel problems in Scotland.

Danish maritime rescue authorities said a 1,500-dwt coaster with about 10
crew aboard was in trouble 43 miles off Esbjerg on the west coast of
Jutland and a helicopter was heading for the scene.

via: hblondel@tampabay.rr.com

_________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
message to the same address with the word "unsubscribe" in the
subject.

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Dec 5, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 16:48:06 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

8:00 PM Eastern

 DISC - CASINO! - Security and comp systems ensure that the
          house always wins.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - UNMASKED: EXPOSING THE SECRETS OF DECEPTION
          Hoaxes are revealed: crop circles, seances, mind
          readers.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 DISC - BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY? - Police forces work to
          subdue mobs with non-lethal weaponry.(CC)(TVPG)

 HIST - SACRIFICE AT PEARL HARBOR - Documentary uncovers
the politics behind the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - COUNTDOWN 100: THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS OF
THE 20TH CENTURY - Inventions; explorations; social upheavals;
          artistic achievements.(CC)(TVPG)

10:00

 CNN - MILLENNIUM - "Century of the Machine" - The steam
 engine; Darwin's voyages; American continental expansion; the
 opium wars; worldwide industrialization.(CC)

10:30

 HIST - HISTORY UNDERCOVER - "Japanese War Crimes &
          Trials: Murder Under the Sun" - Japanese war crimes from the
          1931 attack on China through World War II lead to trials of
          the perpetrators.(CC)(TVPG)(Ends 11:30pm)

_________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
message to the same address with the word "unsubscribe" in the
subject.

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Mir gets a lead so it can go walkies in space
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 4 Dec 1999 18:14:19 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

The Independent (London) / November 29, 1999, Monday

MIR GETS A LEAD SO IT CAN GO WALKIES IN SPACE;

 Steve Connor Science Editor

IT HAS survived collisions, blow-outs, fire and computer failure.
Now the Russian Mir space station faces the prospect of being
hung in its orbit by a single copper thread.

A group of space engineers has applied for permission to attach a
"space tether", seven miles long but less than half-an-inch thick, to
Mir. In theory, this would prevent it from plunging to Earth
sometime next year and keep it in orbit as a privatised alternative
to the International Space Station (ISS).

The plan is not as crazy as it seems. Space tethers are well-
established in theory but have not been fully tested. By pumping an
electric current through the tether, the scientists hope to boost
Mir's orbit without the enormous cost of launching a fresh fuel
supply.

A private consortium of space engineers and venture capitalists
has applied for an export licence from the US so the tether can be
launched by Russian rockets early next year. "Mir is not pretty and
new, but it's functional. So having this facility available makes
sense," said Joe Carroll, head of Tether Applications in San Diego,
one of the companies involved in the scheme.Chances of receiving
the export licences were good, he said.

Although Mir is 13 years old and has suffered just about every
mishap that can happen in space, the group of Americans and
Russians believe its continued survival could be commercially
viable. They have struck a deal with Energia, the Russian space
agency, and formed a company called MirCorp to renovate and
operate Mir as an alternative to the ISS.

However, time is running out. As Mir glances through the Earth's
upper atmosphere, its orbit gets lower each day. A decision has be
made soon on whether to bring Mir down in a controlled descent or
to boost it higher in order to free it of the Earth's atmospheric drag.

If the plan goes ahead, Russian cosmonauts will attach the tether
during a space walk so that Mir's solar panels can energise the
copper wire with electricity, with the Earth's electrically charged
ionosphere completing the circuit.

The tether will be travelling through the Earth's magnetic field at
thousands of miles per hour and so its current will generate an
electromagnetic force that will slowly accelerate the spacecraft and
gradually lift it into a higher orbit.

"Basically, the electromagnetic tether acts as a very unusual
electric motor. It's exactly the same principle worked out by
Michael Faraday in 1831," Dr Carroll said. The project also has the
support of Arthur C Clarke, the science -fiction author and space
guru, who was one of the first people to propose the practical uses
of cosmic tethers.

Nasa has also put its weight behind the concept of space tethers,
saying it offers the prospect of "propellant-free propulsion" that will
reduce the cost of placing and keeping satellites in orbit. "When
properly controlled, the forces generated by this electrodynamic
tether can be used to pull or push a spacecraft to act as a brake or
a booster," said a Nasa spokesman.

via: transhumantech@onelist.com

_________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
message to the same address with the word "unsubscribe" in the
subject.

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.