Japan’s private small rocket Momo-F4 falls into ocean after engine shutdown during launch

The Japanese space company Interstellar Technologies has failed to launch its fourth Momo sounding rocket, two months after a successful launch of the Momo-F3.

The one-ton, 10-meter-long vehicle took off from its launch pad in Taiki, on the island of Hokkaido, but didn’t reach the intended altitude of 100km. Instead, the onboard computer shut down the rocket’s engine after detecting abnormality some 13km in the air. It safely fell into the ocean.

The Momo-F4, which was fueled by liquid oxygen and ethanol (apparently sake from a local brewery), was meant to deploy several origami paper planes after reaching apogee.

Russians are coming… to the polls. Israeli politicians are finally waking up

“Immigrants from the former Soviet Union believe in strong leadership more than they believe in the democratic apparatus,” Remennick said. “The drunken democracy they experienced in the 1990s immediately after the dissolution of the Soviet Union was essentially chaos: there was no law and order, no work, and nothing to eat, which is why [Russian President] Vladimir Putin was able to rise to power and stay there for 20 years. People cling to the order and stability that a strong leader can provide.”

While the Russian sector traditionally tends to vote for right-wing parties, its overall voting patterns are relatively similar to those of the general Jewish sector.

8% of immigrants from the former Soviet Union voted for left-wing parties, compared to 14% of Israelis; 29% said they voted for centrist parties, compared to 26% of the Jewish population; and 54% of the immigrants voted for right-wing parties, in comparison to 55% of the native-born Jewish population.

The younger generation of Russian speakers in Israel “serve in the military. They work hard, they pay taxes and they carry all the other sectors that don’t pull their own weight.”

 

Header image: Israeli World War II veterans of the Allied armies of Russian origins take part in a parade marking the 71st anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, in Jerusalem, on May 8, 2016. (AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON)

An article by ‎IRA TOLCHIN IMMERGLUCK

Read full : Times of Israel

Chandrayaan-2: India’s Orbiter-Lander-Rover mission

Chandrayaan-2 is India’s planned second mission to the Moon, which is expected to launch in 2019. It is a follow-up mission from the Chandrayaan-1 mission that assisted in confirming the presence of water/hydroxyl on the Moon in 2009.

Chandrayaan-2 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, aboard a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket.

According to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the new mission will consist of an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The orbiter will perform mapping from an altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles), while the lander will make a soft landing on the surface and send out the rover.

The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter will circle the Moon and provide information about its surface, ISRO stated. “The payloads will collect scientific information on lunar topography, mineralogy, elemental abundance, lunar exosphere and signatures of hydroxyl and water-ice,” ISRO said on its website.

The mission will send a small, 20-kilogram (44 lbs.), six-wheeled rover to the surface; the rover will move semi-autonomously, examining the lunar regolith’s composition.

Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander is expected to land around Sept. 6.

Rights, fights, and equal rights – LGBTQ and the Straight

Latest news from Israel is disheartening. It seems that among the problems of leadership there is an anti-religious movement attempting to gain traction.

Israeli Education Minister, Rabbi Rafi Peretz, is sitting on a pile of hot coals. Peretz is an orthodox rabbi and has been approved by the Israeli Prime Minster Bibi Netanyahu to join the coalition. By doing that he has given the religious parties a major role boost in forming the political leadership and policy.

Rabbi Peretz, in keeping with the Jewish traditions, will not shake hands with a woman nor approve the LGBTQ movement.

The left wing political parties are livid, calling for the immediate removal of the Education Minister.

Here in the USA the Mississippi Republican state Representative, Robert Forster, refuses to be with a woman reporter for a ride-along private day. This is in keeping with the famous Minister Reverend Billy Graham’s policy that kept him out of trouble ‘No man should be with a woman in a room or private area unless there is another man with them.’ Our Vice President, Mike Pence, refuses to be alone or even dine with a woman unless there is another person present.  There have been too many outcries of abuse and disrespect for women and too much harrassment by men.

I wonder, if we kept the Reverend Billy Graham’s rule, would the President Clinton fiasco have happened?  Would President Moshe Katsav of Israel have been sent to jail for sex abuse of his office staff?  Would we have movie producers or money investors, or anyone in power being accused of sexual harassment or worse?

Now we are being forced to reevaluate our attitude in how we should think and judge moral values. This leads me to make the following observation.

Lately many of our leaders consider themselves moral experts -“mavens.”  The Pentagon, Mental Health experts, ecclesiastic leaders, senators and congressman all wish to debate the rights of alternate life-styles for the LGBTQ. This has suddenly become the debate of our generation.

What rights are they talking about?  Who is not getting their rights?  I had always thought that these practices had to do with the Greek way of life.  The subject had been put to sleep when we witnessed the disappearance of the Greek influence and became enlightened through Judaeo-Christian religious values.  Now it seems that I have missed the boat.

I have a question:  what is a “right” anyway? And how is it defined?

When I grew up, I went to a “Yeshiva” (a Jewish parochial school).  I studied the Old Testament laws and was taught right from wrong.  In the school hallway there was an old bulletin board stating the Ten Commandments.  In the Sanctuary was a huge painting of Moses carrying the Tablets.  Every child over five years was required to know the Ten Commandments.  My Christian neighbor assured me that his version of the Ten Commandments was the very same as mine.  That was one thing we always agreed on.

As a child I never fully appreciated the depth and wisdom of the Ten Commandments.  But as I grew older, I began to relate to the Commandments that spoke of honoring my parents and the big “NO-NO’s”; you shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, testify falsely, nor covet your neighbor’s wife, servant, etc.  After all, flesh is weak and who doesn’t desire wealth, property, and possessions?  There are some of us who would like to take something belonging to another; their money, a beautiful home or even the wife of our neighbor.

Are we to accept these desires as the norm, as a right to take what we see?  After all, Homo Sapiens have needs, some real and others illusionary.  The answer is we dare not!  These actions are forbidden in the Bible.  Adultery and desire are temptations that we need to control.  The Commandments put control on things.

When taking a look at the Old Testament we find that the Almighty forbade incestuous sexual relationships and provided mankind with normal sexual outlets and encounters.  At the same time the Almighty forbade certain cruelties and indecencies.  The Bible never made distinctions for sexual rights.  It just states that which is right or wrong;  thou shalt not commit murder; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal.  No explanation or reason is given nor is one needed.

“Well”, you may say, “people have rights.”  But do they have a right to pick which Commandment to obey and which to disregard? Do they have a right to impose their way of life on us? To do so publicly?

What would happen if a person came to me and explained that he wanted to sleep with a married woman, the wife of a congregant?  Would I even think of condoning this as his right?  Furthermore, what would happen if a few adulterers got together and decided to set up a new congregation called “The United Adulterers’ Nation” with a non-profit status?  This would create a new movement uniting adulterers!

They would then explain and debate the rights of adulterers; they would demand protection from society (mostly husbands), anti-discriminatory legislation for housing rentals, and respect for their personal needs.  All would be paid for by your tax dollars and granted by the Constitution of the United States.

They might even have a scientific study explaining that their aberration is due to the size of their brain.  They are born with a peculiar shape of their brain and being different predisposes them to adultery.  They would postulate that this behavior is actually a human need and a right that must be granted.  Now just because they may be after the wives of others, or your wife, should be no cause for alarm; after all, they cannot control themselves; their brain size produces this uncontrollable drive within them. In time controversial studies will prove it.  True, they may end up with the most incurable sickness but that’s their life and their choice.  Give them a break and grant them their rights.  This is America, a free country.

Would anybody in their right mind accept this impaired reasoning?

The answer is obvious! Just as there is no way to justify adultery under the explanation of uncontrollable needs, so too we have no reason to debate the rights of a LGBTQ life style.  It is an individual decision. There is no need to air political disagreements nor call for a consensus.  Just as there is no justification for adultery, as it’s a non-negotiable act, so too is homosexuality non-negotiable.

True there are those who engage in alternate lifestyles but that’s no reason to change the basic premise. I would rather live with a good old-fashioned hypocrite than a self-revealed LGBTQ.  At least the hypocrite knows he is doing something that is not deserving of public acceptance..

We also know that this does not create a new generation.  Imagine the results had their parents followed a LGBTQ lifestyle: they, the LGBTQ would not exist.  This trait is self-debilitating and selfish.

I truly, believe that sexual orientation is based on free choice. Therefore, there is no insult intended, nor is a derogatory attitude suggested.  One is to act towards a LGBTQ in a respectful and sensitive fashion.

It’s high time for the American leadership to stand up and speak the truth.  LGBTQ lifestyles have, in the past, contributed to the destruction of society.  Now it’s making people sick, wrecking families and causing havoc to our world order.

It’s our right to be right about the right things!

 

Rabbi Eli Hecht – Arutz Sheva

‘They’re trying to silence the rabbis’

Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar on Tuesday expressed support for Education Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz.

At a Torah scroll dedication ceremony, Rabbi Amar said: “Today we’re facing difficult challenges. There are things which are inconceivable, various behaviors which people would have been embarrassed even to think about, and today they’re trying to make it into pride. If the Education Minister made a statement, now, everyone is criticizing him – seriously, he said what’s written in the Torah.”

“People want to shut the rabbis’ mouths. They want to make people keep quiet. Anyone who says what the Torah says is a criminal, a betrayer, he needs to be thrown out. It’s not just that they’re not embarrassed. I’m sure that the day will come when they will regret and be embarrassed of everything they said and did.

“Gentlemen, there are things that are forbidden, that we don’t do, but they say that some people have a desire for it and they want it. It’s all nonsense. Rabbi Rafi Peretz is Education Minister but he was the IDF Chief Rabbi. They’re trying now to close the rabbis’ mouths. We will not give in. They want to fire us for it – we’re willing to be fired, whatever you want.”

On Saturday evening, Rabbi Peretz told a Channel 12 interviewer that he believes homosexuals can change. On Sunday, he clarified his remarks, emphasizing that he does not believe it is necessary to send homosexuals for conversion therapy.

SpaceX’s ‘Starhopper’ test craft bursts into flames on launch pad

SpaceX’s ‘Starhopper’ – the test vehicle for a reusable long-haul spacecraft project – has burst into flames after a series of tests in Texas. The craft was left damaged by the blaze.

After successful tests last week saw the Starhopper literally hop several inches off the ground, SpaceX’s engineers lined up a more ambitious series of experiments for Tuesday night. With one of the company’s ‘Raptor’ rocket engines affixed, the Starhopper was set to lift 20 meters off the ground without a tether, and to maneuver side-to-side before touching down again.

However, before the craft could get airborne, disaster struck during static-fire testing of the rocket. After an initial ignition test, the rocket ignited what appeared to be leaked fuel, setting off an enormous fireball that engulfed the prototype craft.

The craft smouldered for several hours, and appeared to have been at least superficially damaged by the blaze. Technicians began making the launch pad safe on Wednesday morning, but the fire forced that day’s scheduled flight tests to be postponed.

SpaceX hopes to begin using the Starhopper for commercial spaceflight by 2021.

Israel – Tender launched for 5G next-gen mobile networks, to provide higher speeds

Bidding for frequencies will be open both to local and foreign players, said Tal Elimelech, in charge of the initiative at the ministry, in a briefing with reporters. He declined to disclose if any foreign companies had expressed an interest in bidding.

“No official comment” was forthcoming at the briefing regarding the participation of Chinese companies in the tender or possible limitations on the use of Chinese technologies and components by bidding companies.

Regulators in the US are leading an effort to remove components developed by China’s Huawei and other firms from the telecommunications networks of US firms because of national security concerns.

In April, South Korea claimed to have beaten the US in becoming the first country to roll out a 5G mobile network. Verizon’s 5G service was launched in parts of Chicago and Minneapolis that month.

According to a July 3 report of the Global Mobile Suppliers Association, 280 operators in 94 countries are investing in 5G networks in the form of tests, trials, pilots, and planned and actual deployments.

In the tender, Israel will auction frequencies ranging from 700 MHz-2100 MHz, which are also used for 4G services, to 2600-3800 MHz, which is only for 5G services.

Companies that win the bid will be able to delay payment for the frequencies until 2022, so they can more easily invest the significant amounts of money needed to deploy the network. The 5G network, which would be an added layer on existing 4G networks, is estimated to cost around NIS 2 billion ($562 million).

In 2011, the Communications Ministry started a reform in the cellular market, which was dominated by three main players, Pelephone, the cellular operator of Bezeq Israel Telecom; Cellcom Israel Ltd.; and Partner Communications Co. The reform enabled customers to more easily switch from one provider to another, keeping their phone numbers, and, more importantly, allowed new entrants into the game.

This generated fierce competition between the firms and has help cut prices of cellphone calls for Israelis by as much as 90 percent. The cellular providers, however, have seen their revenues and profits plunge in the process.

“Where in the world do you have a country with some 8.5 million people where there are six cellular operators competing with each other and a monthly subscription price close to the cost of a falafel,” said Ilanit Sherf, head of research at Psagot Brokerage.

 

Full article: Times of Israel

Leviathan natural gas platform on its way to Israel

The largest energy project in the history of the State of Israel is reaching its final stages of completion and remains on schedule to deliver first commercial gas sales to the Israel domestic market and regional markets before the end of the year.

In recent weeks the Leviathan partnership –comprised of Noble Energy, Delek Drilling and Ratio – completed the construction and testing of the production units (topsides) of the Leviathan Platform that will process natural gas from the reservoir and transport it to Israel’s national gas pipeline.

The first of five operational units that comprise the topsides set sail from Texas. In the coming weeks, the remaining units will set sail for Israel.The topside units, built during the past 26 months by Noble Energy experts and subcontractors specializing in complex offshore projects, will cross the Atlantic Ocean and arrive in Israeli waters at the end of the Summer.

Considerable activity will take place in the Leviathan Platform area offshore after the topside units arrive on large barges. They will be accompanied by a fleet of vessels that will enable a team of workers to assemble the five topside units on top of the platform jacket into a complete operational structure in September. The hoisting and assembly work will be performed by the largest offshore crane in the world.The area will be closed to maritime traffic. The entire process will take approximately four weeks, after which the crane and barges will leave the area. Crew vessels and supply boats will continue to serve the platform over the life of the platform.

The Leviathan Platform will be set at a water depth of 86 meters, and the height of the topsides from sea level to the top level is 47 meters. The platform boom, which reaches a height of 130 meters above sea level, is part of the platform safety system.

The platform topside decks, which are 102 meters long, 80 meters wide and weigh 38,000 tons, will be located approximately 10 kilometers from the shore.

The topsides will house the platform’s gas processing facilities, accommodations for the team of workers, work areas and helipad. The flare located at the tip of the platform boom is part of the platform’s safety systems and is designed to prevent hydrocarbon emissions into the atmosphere. In addition, the topsides will contain all of the utilities required to operate the platform including power generation, water desalination and waste treatment. In essence, the platform is not dependent on onshore facilites for any of its utility needs.

After connecting and assembling the topside units of the platform, Noble Energy will start a series of commissioning tests before initiating commercial gas flow to the domestic market before the end of 2019.

For the first time in history, Israel will also become a significant energy exporter when flow of Leviathan natural gas to Israel’s neighbors begins.

Connecting the Leviathan pipeline will make it possible for the Israeli energy sector to be based almost exclusively on electricity generated by natural gas, leading to a significant reduction in pollution and improved air quality in Israel.

Noble Energy has discovered 40 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of recoverable natural gas resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. The 22-Tcf Leviathan reservoir discovered in December 2010, 125 kilometers west of Haifa, was one of the largest natural gas finds in the world in the last decade.The Leviathan Partnership invested $3.75 billion in development of the reservoir.

The first phase of the Leviathan development included drilling four production wells at an average depth of 5 kilometers below sea level. Each well has a production capacity of 300 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (MMcf/d), with a total annual production capacity of around 12 billion cubic meters (Bcm) – more than doubling the quantity of natural gas produced in Israel today.

Natural gas from the reservoir will be transmitted through two 120-kilometer sub-sea pipelines directly to the Leviathan Platform. Natural gas will be processed at the platform before the treated gas and stabilized condensate flow from the platform through a northern entry pipeline connected to the INGL (Israel Natural Gas Lines) national gas transmission system, as defined in the National Outline Plan.

Macron booed & told to ‘step down’ during Bastille Day parade in Paris

Numerous people started to vent their anger at Macron moments before his motorcade – accompanied by the French horse guards – showed up at the Champs Elysees avenue on Sunday afternoon.

https://youtu.be/siSZ7GLXD5o

Some were seen waving France’s national flag as the President and his entourage headed down the street to review participating troops. The protesters were encircled – though were not confronted – by dozens of police officers wearing riot gear.

At some point, however, the situation became more tense, with police using pepper spray during small scuffles in downtown Paris. It is unclear how many ‘Yellow Vests’ were present as they had been urged not to wear their iconic high-visibility jackets on this national day.

It has been reported that protest leaders, Eric Drouet, Maxime Nicolle and Jerome Rodrigues, were apprehended by police at the main military parade route, the Champs Elysees avenue.

It comes just one day after the ‘Yellow Vests” took to the streets again on Saturday, marking the 35th consecutive week of the nationwide protest against the Macron government’s policies. Simultaneously, leaders of the protest movement urged followers to take part in the rally on Bastille Day.

Bien fait, “enculé”…

WordPress Theme Review Team Seeks to Curb Obtrusive Admin Notices with New Requirement to Follow Core Design Patterns

The Theme Review Team is taking action to curb obtrusive notices that fall within its purview – those generated by themes hosted in the official directory.

During this week’s the meeting, cited Storefront, WooCommerce’s flagship theme, as one example of a theme-generated notice that does not follow the core design pattern and is shown on every page.

Another example is this style of activation notice on the Noto theme from Pixelgrade (header image).

In the past these notices have not been expressly forbidden, although they are generally frowned upon by those who want to keep the WordPress admin from being overtaken by large, branded notices and calls to action.

There don’t seem to be any specific requirements that would restrict the use of branding within the admin notices as long as they follow the core design pattern.

This new requirement will affect many popular themes on WordPress.org and will likely be applied the next time existing themes go through the update review process.

Themes already known to be in violation of this guideline will be prompted by the TRT to change their notices as soon as possible or risk suspension.

Tilda – Assigning your own domain

Go to Project Settings > Domain. Put the name of the domain in the field Custom Domain. For instance, mysite.com

Next you will have to go to the domain settings on the site where you have registered the domain itself.

There, you need to add a type A record for a domain or a record like CNAME for a sub-domain. You don’t have to change NS records for your domain.
If you run into any issues, try reading instructions at the domain name registrar or talk to their support service.

For a domain

E.g. mysite.com

1. Go to the control panel of your domain
2. In the settings, find something like ‘Add a record to DNS’
3. Add a type A record with the IP address 185.203.72.17 

For a subdomain

E.g. sub.mysite.com
Add a A record with the IP address 185.203.72.17

Note that it may take 6-72 hours for the changes to apply.

[Review] Tilda – A Different Kind of Website Builder

In simple terms, Tilda is a website builder. But it’s a representative of a new breed of builders. The focus of Tilda’s is perfect balance between simplicity and flexibility.  I’ve tested a lot of different page builders over the years and I have to say, Tilda really does stand out.

The features Tilda offers

First of all, Tilda is structured around individual pages. Meaning, you get to create each page of your site one by one, rather than creating “a website” and having a bunch of out-the-box pages already in it.

This gives you more control and also clarity as to what’s there on your site already.

You can create any number of pages, obviously, and pick which one should be your homepage.

Overall, Tilda is ready to serve business websites, landing pages for products or services, events, personal websites.

There are more than 450 pre-designed content blocks that you can use on your pages. There’s also something called a Zero Block, which is an advanced web design editor for professional designers. It enables more in-depth edits of all the elements present on the page. You can even add some truly impressive animations to your content via the Zero Block.

As for those 450 other blocks, there really is everything there that you might need, all neatly categorized.

There are blocks for covers, text, images, menus, forms, titles, feature displays, stages, tariffs, team, reviews, video, dividers, links, services, raw HTML, and a lot more.

Adding consecutive blocks to your page is also intuitive, you just put one block after the other and change the block’s settings accordingly.

Tilda is highly focused on good typography and making sure that your site looks great on all devices, and it shows through how the settings are structured.

Some of the other, notable features of Tilda:

  • possibility to connect a custom domain and turn on HTTPS
  • out-the-box mobile optimization and responsiveness
  • custom font collections, Google Fonts, and downloading fonts from Typekit
  • free icon collections and built-in free image library
  • support for full-screen photos and ambient background videos
  • photo galleries
  • built-in enhanced photo editor (to crop your photos, add effects, etc.)
  • YouTube and Vimeo embeds + any other third-party code embeds
  • form builder, including forms for email marketing + integration with MailChimp, SendGrid, SendinBlue
  • integration with Slack, Google Sheets, Trello, Pipedrive, Zapier, and others via WebHook
  • email campaign builder – you can design email messages in Tilda and then have them exported to your email platform such as MailChimp
  • on-site analytics + Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager support
  • online store features (cart, order form, product cards, promo codes, payments, etc.)
  • accepting payments with Stripe or PayPal
  • A/B testing
  • advanced SEO features throughout Tilda – this includes the main SEO panel for the whole site, as well as individual SEO metrics for individual content blocks and pages
  • social media share buttons and integration with Facebook Open Graph
  • ability to add custom HTML, JS, CSS code for the whole website or an individual page
  • full HTML export
  • developer API
  • plugin for integrating Tilda pages with a WordPress website

The cool thing here is that you can host your site on Tilda under a subdomain for free, or upgrade to a paid plan if you prefer to use a custom domain.

Who should use Tilda

Overall, Tilda seems like an excellent choice both for people who want to build their own website fast, as well as designers working on sites for clients. It can also be an effective tool in the hands of marketers, marketing departments and small agencies.

That Zero Block makes it possible to basically fine-tune every little element on the page, so it’s not limiting the designer’s creativity.

The main selling point of Tilda is that you can go from blank canvas to a working site in less than a couple of hours. There’s enormous flexibility in what the tool offers, while not sacrificing ease of use.

All of that you get either for free (if you’re okay with just the basic blocks and subdomain), or for $10 a month when paid annually (for a fully featured Personal license for one site, with a custom domain). The Business license for $20 a month lets you have up to 5 websites + source code exports. If you need more than 5 websites, there are Pro plans for that. And should you need any assistance, there’s support available via online chat, social channels, and email.

STEFAN – made in (free) Tilda