[Law174] It is Okay, But we need more Laws .. Don't we ?!

Few hours separate us from lunching the new Law prohibiting smoking in closed public spaces in Lebanon. This compaign was organized by IndyACT, Tobacco Free Initiative - TFI and in collaboration with AUB -Tobacco Control Research Group (TCRG) at the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Smoking ban will be implemented in many public places including but not limited to: governmental buildings, schools, universities, hospitals, clinics, workplaces, banks, private businesses, malls, airport and public transport & the hospitality sector : Restaurants, Cafes, Hotels (20% of total number of rooms can be used by smokers), Bars, Clubs, theaters.

Ban selling and serving tobacco products to underage youth such as cigarettes, electronics cigarettes and hooka pipe etc… [as if it was allowed to buy and sell tobacco products for people under 18 !  #WhoCares]

The inclusion of a "No Smoking" sign:
Smoke free signs with specific specifications are to be included in highly visible locations in rooms, entrances, receptions, cafeterias, bathrooms as well as public transportation [Sure, It is easy also to include a Non-Smoking sign in your living room #NotaBigDeal]

Promotions and Advertising logos, brands and trademarks of Tobacco Products [TV/Radio, Internet, Media, ...], not to forget sponsorship ban (a complete ban on any forms of sponsorship by tobacco industries such as: cultural, sports and business events etc…). And then, we start a new war against people working in the Tobacco Industries #BroadenYourThinking

Health warning to cover 40% of tobacco packaging:
A health warning should cover 40% of both sides of cigarette packs and packaging. This also applies to all locally or imported tobacco products. Ban of all tobacco products with misleading messages (a year after bylaws) 
The removal of products from the market which include misleading messages such as: light, super light, mild, color coded etc… 

At the end, I think nobody is against any project that will improve national health system. However, many things could have been done in the past without the need of creating a new law. Also, we could have created new laws related to Drugs, Guns, Sexual abuse, Criminal Acts, Right of workers... and other laws [we really need] and that should enhance the life of every Lebanese citizen !

For more information, check out the following...

Tobacco Free Initiative

AUB Tobacco Control Research Group

Important Changes to Microsoft Services Agreement and Communication Preferences‏

We've updated the Microsoft Services Agreement, which governs many of our online services - including your Microsoft account and many of our online products and services for consumers, such as Hotmail, SkyDrive, Bing, MSN, Office.com, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Mail Desktop, and Windows Writer. Please read over the new Microsoft Services Agreement here to familiarize yourself with the changes we've made.

The updated agreement will take effect on October 19, 2012. If you continue to use our services after October 19th, you agree to the terms of the new agreement or, of course you can cancel your service at any time.

We have modified the agreement to make it easier to read and understand, including using a question and answer format that we believe makes the terms much clearer. We also clarified how Microsoft uses your content to better protect consumers and improve our products, including aligning our usage to the way we're designing our cloud services to be highly integrated across many Microsoft products. We realize you may have personal conversations and store personal files using our products, and we want you to know that we prioritize your privacy.

Finally, we have added a binding arbitration clause and class action waiver that affects how disputes with Microsoft will be resolved in the United States.

Thank you for using Microsoft products and services!

A near miss from asteroid

Earth is set for an astronomical near-miss from a passing asteroid this November – when a rock measuring almost a quarter of a mile in diameter will come closer to the Earth than the moon is. The asteroid, officially named 2005 YU 55, will approach the earth at 0.85 lunar distances – around 200,000 miles – making it the closest object to have passed by Earth since 1976.

Although the rock has been designated a “potentially hazardous asteroid” by the Minor Planet Centre in Massachusetts, David Moore of Astronomy Ireland says the asteroid should be seen as a mere reminder of how Earth is in a “shooting gallery” for asteroids. Though the distance of 200,000 miles might seem close.

In 2029, Apophis will come within 20,000 miles, which is only a couple of earth diameters away.That’s even closer to Earth than the geostationary satellites that give us satellite TV, telephones and the likes. But because Apophis still has “billions of miles to travel” before it reaches proximity with earth, trying to pin down exactly where it will travel is difficult – particularly because the gravitational fields of other objects could swerve its path.

There’s one particular sweet spot that it might pass through – and if it passes through that spot in 2029, it’s going to come back and hit us in 2036. And with Apophis being “about the size of Croke Park”, the impact would result in what could only be described as “major devastation”.

The earthquakes that would follow would devastate any larger area, while the volume of dust raised by it would block out the sun for months. Thankfully the chances of Apophis passing the gravitational ‘sweet spot’ are around 1-in-100,000.

There are comets coming from way beyond the planets, from halfway to the nearest star, and we get no warning of those because of their great distance – we might only get a few months’ warning that they’re coming.

Le Plus Beau Lyrics de l'epoque, C'est un rêve !

Céline Dion, La Reine !

Je voudrais oublier le temps Pour un soupir, 

pour un instant Une parenthèse après la course 

Et partir où mon cœur me pousse. 

Je voudrais retrouver mes traces 

Où est ma vie, où est ma place 

Et garder l’or de mon passé 

Au chaud dans mon jardin secret. 

Je voudrais passer l’océan 

Croiser le vol d’un goéland 

Penser à tout ce que j’ai vu

Ou bien aller vers l’inconnu. 

Je voudrais décrocher la lune 

Je voudrais même sauver la terre 

Mais avant tout, Je voudrais parler à mon père, Parler à mon père. 

Je voudrais choisir un bateau 

Pas le plus grand ni le plus beau 

Je le remplirais des images 

Et des parfums de mes voyages. 

Je voudrais freiner pour m’asseoir 

Trouver au creux de ma mémoire 

Les voix de ceux qui m’ont appris 

Qu’il n’y a pas de rêve interdit. 

Je voudrais trouver les couleurs 

Du tableau que j’ai dans le cœur 

De ce décor aux lignes pures 

Où je vous vois, qui me rassure. 

Je voudrais décrocher la lune 

Je voudrais même sauver la terre 

Mais avant tout, Je voudrais parler à mon père, Parler à mon père. 

Je voudrais oublier le temps 

Pour un soupir, pour un instant 

Une parenthèse après la course 

Et partir où mon cœur me pousse. 

Je voudrais retrouver mes traces 

Où est ma vie, où est ma place 

Et garder l’or de mon passé 

Au chaud dans mon jardin secret. 

Je voudrais partir avec toi 

Je voudrais rêver avec toi 

Toujours chercher l’inaccessible, Toujours espérer l’impossible. 

Je voudrais décrocher la lune 

Et pourquoi pas sauver la terre 

Mais avant tout, Je voudrais parler à mon père, Parler à mon père.

A Tool for Studying the Ecology of Hydrosystems

The hyporheic zone is defined as an area where water and matter exchange through the sand, gravel, sediments and other permeable soils under and beside streams. Its impact on the hydro-system function is determined by the proportion of subsurface biogeochemical reactions and the fluxes of water exchanging with the hyporheic zone and flowing through the porous sediments.

The objective of our study is to develop and to apply a directly coupled model of hydraulic, transport and transformation that can be used for studying eco-hydrology of large river systems.

D. Peyrard¹ , Ph. Vervier¹ , S. Sauvage¹ , J.M. Sánchez-Pérez¹ , and M. Quintard^2
1 Laboratoire d’Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes, Toulouse
² Institut de Mécanique des Fluides de Toulouse

Schematic representation of flow-transport interactions in a meandering stretch of a stream