Sunday News Post: 1/5/16

Woolly Wolf Spotted in Nepal Is Likely a New Species

Pausing at a clearing, a sudden streak of black against the carpet of white snow moved in the corner of Madhu Chetri's eye. 

It was 2004, and Chetri, now a Ph.D. student at Norway's Hedmark University College, was trekking through the roof of the world: Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area.

Looking up, he caught the gaze of a wolf, who regarded him with curiosity.

“I was struck by these golden yellow eyes. They were so bright. I was so excited,” says Chetri, who was exploring the Upper Mustang region as part of his conservation work. (See "12 of Our Favorite Wolf Photos.")

The area had plenty of feral dogs, but Chetri knew right away that this big, woolly creature was no dog. 

It was the Himalayan wolf, which had never before been seen in Nepal. 

Opinions:

Scientific research and the discovery of a new species as a result is always an exciting prospect, the biodiversity within the region is amazing. And it's always nice to learn about the genetic differences which not only characterise this set of animals, but future ones too.

Marketing and Promotion

Promotion:

It is about raising customer awareness of a product or brand, It is used to generate sales and create brand loyalty. Promotion is also defined as one of five pieces in the promotional mix or promotional plan, these are; personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and publicity.

Marketing:

It is a term used to describe the means of communication between the company and the consumer audience. It is meant to induce behavioural change on a short or permanent basis: for example it can be used to position an audience to react a certain way to a product, or change perceptions about something.

Television Regulation

Television Regulation 

Television regulation within the UK is dictated by Ofcom, they are a independent regulatory and competition authority. As the regulation author their duties include; 

- Specification of the broadcast code, it provides a mandatory set of rules which broadcast programmes must comply with. Failure for a broadcaster to comply with the code results in warnings, fines and potential revocation of a broadcasting license. 

- Rules on the amount and distribution of advertising. 

- Examining specific complaints by viewers or other bodies about programmes and sponsorship 

- Public consultations on matters relating to TV broadcasting. The results of the consultations are published by Ofcom, and inform the policies that Ofcom creates and enforces 

In 2008, Ofcom issued fines to the total of £7.7m. This included £5.67m of fines to ITV companies, including a £3m fine to LWT over voting irregularities on Saturday Night Takeaway, and fines totalling £495,000 to the BBC. Ofcom said phone-in scandals had contributed significantly to the fine totals. 

Sunday New Post: 06/03/2016

New ISIS Video Shows Execution Of Alleged Russian Spy, Threatens Attack On Vladimir Putin

The Islamic State group’s branch in the Northern Caucasus region of Russia released a video Saturday that showed the execution of an alleged Russian spy. The new ISIS video reportedly called on Russian Muslims to “kill apostates” in the country and threatened to carry out an attack on President Vladimir Putin.

In the video, which was released on social media, the group’s militants in Chechen — commonly referred to as Chechnya — urged Muslims in Russia to join ISIS’ fight against the West, claiming that "the Caliphate is already here,” according to the Jerusalem Post.

The video reportedly begins with a news report being broadcast on a Russian TV channel about a car bombing that hit the town of Dzhemikent in Dagestan province on Feb. 15, killing two Russian police officers. The video later shows the militants in front of a black ISIS flag talking about the importance of "striking the apostates,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

"Today we do have a place where we can implement Sharia. Thanks to Allah, we have many brave brothers here with us and millions of Muslims in Russia. Let's get together my brothers, seize a territory and expand it,” one of the leading members of the group reportedly said in the video. "If someone does not find us, he shall start killing Russian apostates on his own. It is not difficult to find weapons in Russia."

Opinions:

Sunday News Post: 24/02/2016

Oil is now so cheap even pirates aren’t stealing it any more

Stealing the oil from a ship is no mean feat.

Oil tankers are enormous, and ships that carry expensive cargo are designed to be difficult to board. Stealing can mean hijacking the original tanker, disabling its tracking devices, taking it to a location where it can’t be spotted, and transferring thousands of heavy barrels to a different vessel that can then be sailed away. Stealing crude also means finding a buyer for it, or else getting involved in the messy and dangerous business of illegal refining.

Over the past six months, the price of oil has plunged due to a global oversupply. And for some pirates, it’s just not worth stealing it any more.

Opinions:

This is positive as it means less crime on the high seas, however it is also a worry as Oil is so cheap that Nigeria Niger Delta militants have changed business to abducting their government personnel and family members demanding a ransom to release them. This also is prevalent when making comments about other illegal practices, for example it is scary to think what would happen if the US drug war was ended. As if the criminals could no longer profit from drugs, they may turn to even more negative activities.

The Rise and proliferation of ‘Jessie J’ and ‘Adele’

Jessie J

Jessica Ellen Cornish was on the 27^th of march 1988 in London, she has been involved in performing arts since she was young- gaining a role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s west end production of ‘Whistle Down the Wind’. As a result of this role she joined the ‘National Youth Music Theatre’. During her teenage years she studied at the BRIT school where she stayed for some time before signing to Gut records, allowing her to write for artists such as Miley Cyrus and Chris brown. She spent a while in the backgrounds of the Music industry till she rose to prominence with her debut single “Do it like a Dude”, which released in November 2010 to much success. She reached number 2 on the UK singles chart and won a MOBO Award in 2011 for best song.

Jessie is often recognised for an unconventional musical and performance style, she is known to mix soul vocals with contemporary R&B beats. In total she has gained a number of nominations for her music including; 2011 Critics’ Choice Brit award and the BBC’s Sound of 2011. She is a known philanthropist, having worked with a number of charitable organisations such as BCC Children in Need and Comic relief.

Adele

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on the 5^th on May 1988, in Tottenham London. Her father left when Adele was two, leaving her mother to raise her. She graduated from the BRIT school in May 2006, she was a Classmate of Jessie J. Her first major success was with the release of her single “Hometown Glory”, which came out in 2007. It was released as a limited edition piece to begin with – as only 500 copies were made. However, despite this – the high amount of downloads for the song still allowed it to gain a place in the UK top 40. In 2010 it gained a Grammy Nomination for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance’, but lost to Beyoncé’s Halo.

Her first album ‘19’ entered the British charts at number one. At the 51^st Annual Grammy Awards in 2009, Adele received the award for ‘Best New artist’ – in addition to the award for ‘Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for ‘Chasing pavements’. On the 19^th of October 2012 her son was born. A controversial topic for Adele is her weight, although she has stated that she is ‘Happy with her weight’. She is a recognisable philanthropist, she has worked with a broad spectrum of Charities such as giving a free concert for ‘Pride London’ a registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London.

In conclusion both singers have had a clear impact on the current British music industry, they share a similar upbringing and hold similar values. They are quite alike in that regard, although their music is different. They are both a good example of contemporary British music.

Sunday News Post: 14/02/2016

Einstein's gravitational waves 'seen' from black holes

They have observed the warping of space-time generated by the collision of two black holes more than a billion light-years from Earth.

The international team says the first detection of these gravitational waves will usher in a new era for astronomy.

It is the culmination of decades of searching and could ultimately offer a window on the Big Bang.

The research, by the Ligo Collaboration, has been published today in the journal Physical Review Letters.

The collaboration operates a number of labs around the world that fire lasers through long tunnels, trying to sense ripples in the fabric of space-time.

Opinions:

The scientists say the waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes 1.3 billion years ago. For a brief fraction of a second, it was producing more power than the rest of the visible Universe combined. This marks a new frontier for astronomy and hopefully a renewed interest in space as a subject.

Sunday News Post: 31/01/2016

Scientists get 'gene editing' go-ahead

It is the first time a country has considered the DNA-altering technique in embryos and approved it.

The research will take place at the Francis Crick Institute in London and aims to provide a deeper understanding of the earliest moments of human life.

It will be illegal for the scientists to implant the modified embryos into a woman.

But the field is attracting controversy over concerns it is opening the door to designer - or GM - babies.

DNA is the blueprint of life - the instructions for building the human body. Gene editing allows the precise manipulation of DNA.

In a world-first last year, scientists in China announced they had carried out gene editing in human embryos to correct a gene that causes a blood disorder.

Opinion:

This is an important step in human evolution, this kind of work will allow sufferer's of hereditary diseases to not pass on those same genes to their children. It is a cause for concern in another sense as in the future if this is to become a common thing it could allow people to design their baby and could create a whole industry much like dog breeding of attempting to create the perfect human, or even worse attempt to create certain traits that could confuse what it is to be Human.

Sunday News Post: 17/01/2016

Tsai Ing-wen elected Taiwan's first female president

Ms Tsai, 59, leads the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that wants independence from China.

In her victory speech, she vowed to preserve the status quo in relations with China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan's democracy and both sides must ensure there are no provocations.

China sees the island as a breakaway province - which it has threatened to take back by force if necessary.

In her speech, Ms Tsai hailed a "new era" in Taiwan and pledged to co-operate with other political parties on major issues.

The will of the Taiwanese people would be the basis for relations with China, Ms Tsai said.

Opinions: 

Having won by a 3 million vote margin it is clear what the Taiwanese people want from this new government, however it will be difficult to push for complete independence as China is not likely to give up. Remaining on good terms with China is important, so it will be difficult to find a happy medium. 

W.O.W: Disney and Sony

   On December 31, 2009, The Walt Disney Company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Both Marvel and Disney stated that the merger would not affect any pre-existing deals with other film studios for the time being, although Disney said they would distribute future Marvel projects with their own studios once the deals expired.


Discussions relating to the possibility of The Walt Disney Company purchasing Lucasfilm officially began in May 2011. Lucas told Iger he was considering retirement and planned to sell the company, as well as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion, with approximately half in cash and half in shares of Disney stock.



In 2006, Disney ultimately agreed to buy Pixar for approximately $7.4 billion in an all-stock deal. Following Pixar shareholder approval, the acquisition was completed May 5, 2006. The transaction catapulted Steve Jobs, who was the majority shareholder of Pixar with 50.1%, to Disney's largest individual shareholder with 7% and a new seat on its board of directors.

Sunday News Post: 10/01/2016

For the first time in 41 years, nobody made it to the summit of Mount Everest in 2015, in spite of record numbers trying.

For the first time since 1974, nobody climbed to the top of Mount Everest last year.

In spite of being the subject of a major movie, the world's tallest peak remained untouched by human beings, as a series of tragedies and avalanches led to the mountain being effectively shut off.

Commercial organisations were stopped from bringing expeditions to the mountain, in the aftermath of the horrific earthquake that killed thousands in Nepal in April 2015.

At least 24 people were killed on Everest that month in the aftermath of the earthquake, which in turned had caused a major avalanche on the mountain. It's the highest annual death toll amongst those tackling Everest.

As National Geographic reported, 359 people - a record number - gathered at base camp at the start of 2015's climbing season. Yet April's tragedy, a second earthquake that followed in May, and broken ladders, led to each of them abandoning their plans to reach the top.

Opinions:

Following the Nepal Earthquake in April it is no small wonder as to why it was closed for climbing despite the record number of people who were going to attempt it. It was the right move to halt climbers following the devastation, though it is a shame that the 41 year streak is broken.