'For those interested in bombs'

I couldn't embed this BBC video but here's a link to the Newsnight clip. Reporter Mark Urban visits the The IEDD Felix Centre at DM Kineton, Warwickshire. The clip is called 'Learning to be a bomb disposal operator'.

In the Firing Line.

Click here to read the latest report by Greenpeace:

IVSA conference, Carlisle

'The production of micro-time'.

Returned recently from the International Visual Sociology Association conference at the University of Cumbria, Carlisle. I was on a panel focusing on military landscapes led by Rachel Woodward and Neil Jenkins from Newcastle University. Other panelist included Ed Walley (Leeds Metropolitan University) and Gair Dunlop (University of Dundee). Both gave fine papers: Ed focused on the visibility/invisibility of the military presence in Yorkshire with an emphasis on the Cold War, while Gair's paper, Regimes of Time and the Militarised 20th Century, explored what he called the 'production of micro-time' (issues relating to nuclear detonation) through to the 'extended' time of obsolescence and entropy. Gair also produced this astounding image from Operation Tumbler-Snapper. I nearly fell off my chair. It still gives me the shivers today. I subsequently learned that the image, of a 'rope trick fireball' was taken one millisecond after detonation.

‘Dare to dream...'

The 4^th of July celebrations kicked off at RAF Feltwell with a rousing speech by the director of ‘Tops in Blue’ USAF performance troop, in which we were encouraged to ‘dare to dream’ - about what, however, wasn’t all that clear. It seemed less about the possibility of a change in American foreign policy and more about shoring up those ‘values’ which are apparently so crucial to life in a democratic society. Anyway, this all took place in one of the remaining American military enclaves in East Anglia. Lakenheath and Mildenhall are close by but are possibly too sensitive to host an event which is open to local civilians or interested party crashers like yours truly. Feltwell, it seems is no longer the home of the 5th Space Surveillance Squadron (departed in 2003) which, according to Global Security was ‘responsible for detecting, tracking and identifying the status of satellites orbiting Earth’ using ‘the Deep Space Tracking System (DSTS) and low altitude satellites using the Low Altitude Space Surveillance (LASS) system’. That would account for the unavoidable presence of four unique radomes, one of which was used as an improvised projection screen for a vast image of the Statue of Liberty. The 48th Fighter Wing, our host, (also known as the Statue of Liberty Wing) is also based at RAF Lakenheath where, two days earlier, Joe Biden flew in on a ‘unspecified mission’. I didn’t see him here, anyway…

Whatever happened to Greenham Common?

Image from the Greenham Common Trust, 1996

Greenham Common: 'Scheduled Ancient Monument'.

Despite being no longer in use, the GAMA cruise missile silos at Greenham Common are still surrounded by three rings of steel fencing. Behind them the 'Scheduled Ancient Monument' still looks pretty forbidding though. Curious to know what plans English Heritage have for the site. I'm particularly looking forward to the 'Cold War Experience' (or some such enterprise), and the chance to part with a tenner for a look inside. Currently, however, the Greenham Common trust owns the area of the original base and have sensibly returned most of it to heathland and installed a memorial to the 1980's women's peace campaign. The trust also encouraged small businesses to settle in the old 'domestic' section of the site.

BUTTERFLYS IS THE TREND OF THIS SUMMER 2009. New Season Trend.

A butterfly can symbolize many thing. It can signify a spring or immortality of soul. But for many fashion designers a butterfly means femininity, freedom and independence.

Prints with butterflies look very good on transparent fabric. This combination makes dresses lighter and sexier. If you don't like printed fabrics choose jewellery with butterflies. Such jewellers as Van Cleef & Arpels love butterfly theme very much.

Badgley Mischka

Diane von Furstenberg

Tibi

Airspace Models

This images is a Google Earth model of the airspace over the island of Foulness on the Thames estuary. I built it recently as a means of visualising the following Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Danger Areas: D136 (alt 10,000 ft), D138 (alt 35,000 ft), D138A (alt 35,000 ft), D138B (alt 5,000ft). The image also accompanied a paper presentation titled, The Shoeburyness Complex, at the Miltarized Landscapes conference, Bristol University on the 6^th September 2008.

Watchkeeper

Model of a Watchkeeper UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

taken at the Salisbury Plain Airspace Change public consultation drop-in session at the Bowman Centre, Amesbury on Thursday 11 June, 2009.

Domestic Drone Space

Domestic Drone Space.

In a move away from the complex questions surrounding the application of UAVs within the battle space, it is worth addressing their integration into training exercises in domestic airspace. For me this raises a whole new set of problems that relate to a continued blurring of the distinction between military and civil space.

The land owned by the Ministry of Defence for training and defence in the United Kingdom has remained steady for the last ten years at around 1% of the countries total landmass (with another ½ % being leased to them more or less whenever they need it). In most cases this land is relatively clearly defined but where ownership and use is more ambiguous there are the familiar flags, temporary barriers and stop gates employed to restrict entry to these flexible zones. In addition to this, however, are the intangible and barely quantifiable spaces such as transit routes, three dimensional ballistics hazards, the radial spaces defined by noise pollution and, of course, airspace.

The ‘militarized’ airspace of the UK is a highly regulated continuum of invisible but complex architectures. Many exist for only a few minutes at a time, others exist for duration of the working week but many more are permanently off-limits to the passing civilian aircraft. The intersection of permanent aerodrome volumes, bombing ranges, temporary NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen), Air Tactical Areas (ATA) around the coasts and low-fly zones combine to create a uniquely managed environment – one that is created to coordinate a high volume of mixed air traffic. It is one that also currently resists unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has strict guidelines regarding the use of UAVs for military or civilian use. It stipulates that UAVs over 7kg can only operate in UK airspace which is segregated (temporarily or otherwise) from that of manned aircraft. While this may, in part, be the impetus for developing smaller UAVs for domestic applications in urban environments, it also places considerable constraints on the MoD’s burgeoning UAV Watchkeeper program. Judging from a recent application to extend its military airspace to the region south of Salisbury Plain, the MoD must be having considerable difficulties in integrating these drones into training and Mission Rehearsal Exercises. The Watchkeeper’s medium range capabilities are constrained by the existing airspace architecture at Salisbury Plain Training Area which itself is heavily regulated and highly dangerous in equal measure.

The design of this new segregated military airspace and the ensuing consultation process are being managed by QinetiQ on behalf of the MoD, and the opinions of local and national stakeholders organisations are also being solicited as a requirement of CAA procedure. But whether the new space will become a semi-permanent Danger Area such as MoD Shoeburyness on the Thames estuary, the bombing ranges on the Lincolnshire coast and many other sites around the country remains to be seen. If this were the case, however, another block of the sky would be appropriated by the MoD for training activity and another section of the civilian landscape will presided over by military technology. The final go-ahead from the CAA may be some months away and as QinetiQ point out, the airspace design may be subject to changes, but however complicated and drawn-out this procedure may seem, it is something that should be valued for its potential to expose the utility of the technology in question and any further incursions of military spatial production into the civilian realm.

Plans are afoot, however, to eliminate segregated airspace for drones and establish an integrated air traffic policy where manned and unmanned vehicles fly side by side. Industrial and military stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic seem to crave a future where UAV’s fill their domestic skies. In the USA, the Office of the Secretary of Defence stated in 2004, rather worryingly, that this must happen for the sake of national defence and homeland security. There is no reason to suspect that this strategy will change in the near future. Similar objectives are sought for the skies of the UK by a consortium of defence and aerospace giants who gather beneath the banner of Astraea. Under license from the National Aerospace Technology Strategy, Astraea seeks to ‘reinterpret’ the current regulatory framework provided by the CAA to facilitate the desegregation of British airspace.

Of course, the questions surrounding the segregation or desegregation of domestic airspace somewhat lacks the immanence or the strategic consequences of the battle space but they are nevertheless part of the ‘bigger picture’ of UAV deployment. For now the CAA seem to be ahead of the game in terms of restricting UAV deployment until their collision avoidance capability matches that of the human pilot. But with the assumption that deregulated airspace will happen at some stage in the near future and additional pressure from both the state and private sector it seems likely that the CAA will follow suit.

For me, it was a blistering summers day on the Oslo Fjord in 2004 when the airspace divisions were shattered and the ethical implication of drone technologies became immediately apparent. Lying on my back, passively enjoying the usual seaside sensations, an alien buzzing filled the air and a white Predator-type drone calmly passed over me at a unnervingly low altitude. I had vaguely heard about these things but imagined them confined by mountains of red tape to the hidden plains of Nevada or maybe to high altitude reconnaissance over distant war zones. The moment was both alarming and strangely prescient of future when even the most benign holiday activity is monitored by the inscrutable eye of an autonomous drone.

Further reading:

Airspace Integration Plan for Unmanned Aviation, Office of the Secretary of Defence, November 2004, available from:

www.acq.osd.mil/uas/docs/airspace2.doc

Information on Astraea at:

http://www.projectastraea.co.uk/?OBH=354

QinetiQ’s stakeholder consultation plan for the Salisbury Plain UAV airspace extension plan can be found at:

http://www.qinetiq.com/home_salisbury_uav.html

Civil Aviation Authority guidelines for UAV operations in UK airspace can be found at:

http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=415

Star Trend: Bag Tod's. Style Lesson.

Celebrities want to carry much stuff with them as normal people do.But they have to stay fashionable and elegant.

That's why Carla Bruni, Kate Winslet, Julia Roberts and many other celebrities chose G-bag Tod's like they made plans with each other to to it together. It suits casual attire and austere style as well. All the bags are hand made and made of soft genuine leather.




1. Kxenia Sukhinova 2. Halle Berry 3. Freida Pinto 4. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy 5. Anne Hathaway 6. Katherine Heigl 7. Kate Winslet 8. Julia Roberts 9. Ingeboga Dapkunaite

Fashion Must-Haves of This Season. Fashion Spring-Summer 2009.

Here come nine most fashionable things of the Summer 2009. Fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories that you MUST have in your wardrobe this summer.

1. Heel-strap sandal booties.
This Fall and Winter we get used to booties. And now in summer neither fashion-conscious people nor designers want to part with them. As a result we have very open booties or very closed sandals. You can wear them on bare feet or with pantyhose. Sandal booties look very sexy and beautiful. Anyway this must-have is a real hit of the catwalks. Look for them in Yves Saint Laurent, Kenzo, Maison Martin Margiela, Paul Smith, Chanel and Alexander McQueen's collections.

Models Chanel and Bottega Veneta

2. Overalls.
This summer overalls will compete with our favorite dresses, all the more so fashion designers prepared for us many variants of the overalls. You can put on black classical overall going to your office, light coloured overall is good for party, short cotton overall is for beach. Interesting models of overalls you can find in Moschino Cheap & Chic, D&G, Missoni and Fendi's collections.

Matthew Williamson, Fendi and D&G's models

3. Stylish separate swimsuit.
Such swimsuits make silhouettes visually more graceful and this makes them very popular! But there is one disadvantage about them - sunburn will be quite fanciful. But designers of such trends as Agent Provocateur, La Perla, Topshop and Marc by Marc Jacobs are absolutely comfortable with that!

Models Melissa Odabash and Topshop

4. Sunglasses Ray-Ban Wayfarer.
Sunglasses Ray-Ban Wayfarer are "HELLO" from 80's. In 80's they were extremely popular in Hollywood. Let's remember "The Blues Brothers" with Daniel Aykroyd and John Belushi or "Rain Man" with Tom Cruise. Today the Ray-Ban sunglasses are favourite accessory of Hollywood celebrities such as Nicole Richie, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Mischa Barton and others.


5. Military style of jackets.
This thing became must-have in spring Fashion Week in Paris. According to streetstyle photos it is the most popular attire there. Duh! This thing underlines a figure very nicely!

3.1 Phillip Lim, Balmain, Topshop

6. Antique style dresses.
In new season ancient Greek goddess is a beauty standard for many designers and modelers. Asymmetric light dresses with complicated drapery are very popular. Versace, Valentino, Elie Saab and Lanvin offer us such chic attires.

Lanvin, Elie Saab, Versace

7. Torn jeans.
This season the condition of the jeans is much more important than its shape. This summer jeans style of 90's is very popular. Small and big holes, long and short. Many holes or just few of them - as you wish. Besides you can make this fashionable thing by yourself! Or you can find it in Balmain, Acne or House of Holland collections.


8. Bright shawls.
Here comes hippie and ethnic style! It keeps make us glad. This accessory will make any boring classical suit positive and summery. It can be tied up as a turban on your head.

Dior, Paul Smith, Missoni.

9. Wide bangles.
Wide bangles are extremely fashionable three summers running. However this season we can see wooden bangles not only plastic ones. Besides, this summer you can wear two or even three wide bangles on one wrist. It is very fashionable!

Plastic bangles Fendi, wooden bangles Bottega Veneta

Boyish Style Saves Us From Girlish One. Fashion Tendency.

For those who are tired of ruches, frills and flowers, in other words for everybody who is sick of all the feminine style here comes BOYISH LOOK. It is really time to have a break and enjoy some fresh boyish things. But it doesn't mean total turning girls into men. It is just an alternative way to show the true you. Just run away from the girly body for fun, and enjoy the handsome simplicity of boys. The most audacious girls can change their long hair into classic men's short haircut. But you don't have to do that if you dont want to.



Try men's shirt with hot short shorts or skintight pants and suspenders. Do you like what you see? Boyish style is very hot and sexual.

Be Happy Pls

Hey don ever be sad ...
Even if u r sad, don cry.. think wat to do next...

Motivate yourself.. Share ur problems to ur parents... IF NOT..

IF NOT.. Share it ur dear friends.. Then ur friend will take care of U :)

Then be happy and keep smiling...

Kepps miling alwasys... :) :)

Ruches and Frills Fashion. Womanly Trends.

>
Seems like femininity is in fashion this season. Flippant trimmings of ruches and frills on spring dresses will make a romantic girl from any serious businesswoman. We can see light spring dresses with ruches and frills at Alberta Ferretti, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Moschino's and many other designers' Spring 2009 Fashion collections.

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Click To Enlarge

1. Gray sundress Arden B. 2. Pink sundress Fendi

3. Marc by Marc Jacobs 4. Aquascutum 5. Wet Seal 6. Evening pink dress See By Chloé

Kids

Ha ha wow wat a look !!!
Its always good to take care of others :) even this kid do it.. Y cant you?
We have do our works by ourself !! See how this kid do shopping...
Its time to enjoy but with care...
ha ha kids likes toys and take care of them ...

Spring - Summer 2009 Trend. Fashionable Overalls.

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Fashion tendency keeps gladdening us with new TRENDS. Overall a new fashion trend of Spring - Summer 2009 ! This season an overall is for the all cases. Blue denim overall is for business noon, an overall made from silk is for cocktail party, an overall from variegated silk is for party in your garden. It is a good alternative to dresses. Overalls are as self-sufficient as dresses but look much more defiant than dresses.

See Fashionable Overalls Gallery below. Click image to enlarge.

Summer silk overall Leonard

Green cocktail overall Pucci

Denim everyday overall DKNY

Silk evening overall BCBG

Smart red overall Salvatore Ferragamo

Light summer overall Moschino Cheap & Chic

Chic evening overall Chloe