Archive for August 30th, 2015
Hot posts this week (August 5/2015)
Look to Africa as a hotbed of innovation?
- Occupy Wall Street Calls for New Mental Shift: “Protest Is Broken” and The End of Protest?
- FRAUD DETECTOR: SKIN IN THE GAME
- Big USA recycling myths tossed out: Plastic industries behind these delays
- Can break Tor anonymity without even touching encryption? MIT researchers
- All kinds of Human trafficking: This is how it works
- Yalla, Bye: Departing letter of Tom Fletcher, British Ambassador to Lebanon
- Nokia Tech’s Lebanese CEO: Ramzi Haidamus
- Ban on (artificial Intelligent) AI and autonomous weapons: Killer Robots?
Was Office working Formula Devised for Men? Is it chilly at work?
Summers are hot in Omaha, where heat indexes can top 100 degrees. But Molly Mahannah is prepared.
At the office, she bundles up in cardigans or an oversized sweatshirt from her file drawer. Then, she says,
“I have a huge blanket at my desk that I’ve got myself wrapped in like a burrito.” Recently, “I was so cold, I was like ‘I’m just going to sit in my car in like 100-degree heat for like five minutes, and bake.’”
Ms. Mahannah, 24, who posted on Twitter that at work she felt like an icy White Walker from “Game of Thrones,” said a female co-worker at her digital marketing agency cloaked herself in sweaters, too. But the men? “They’re in, like, shorts.”
Right. It happens every summer: Offices turn on the air-conditioning, and women freeze into Popsicles.
Finally, scientists (two men, for the record) are urging an end to the Great Arctic Office Conspiracy. Their study, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, says that most office buildings set temperatures based on a decades-old formula that uses the metabolic rates of men.
The study concludes that buildings should “reduce gender-discriminating bias in thermal comfort” because setting temperatures at slightly warmer levels can help combat global warming.
“In a lot of buildings, you see energy consumption is a lot higher because the standard is calibrated for men’s body heat production,” said Boris Kingma, a co-author of the study and a biophysicist at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands.
“If you have a more accurate view of the thermal demand of the people inside, then you can design the building so that you are wasting a lot less energy, and that means the carbon dioxide emission is less.”
The study says most building thermostats follow a “thermal comfort model that was developed in the 1960s,” which considers factors like air temperature, air speed, vapor pressure and clothing insulation, using a version of Fanger’s thermal comfort equation.
PMV = [0.303e-0.036M + 0.028]{(M – W) – 3.96E-8ƒcl[(tcl + 273)4 – (tr + 273)4] – ƒclhc(tcl – ta) – 3.05[5.73 – 0.007(M – W) – pa] – 0.42[(M – W) – 58.15] – 0.0173M(5.87 – pa) – 0.0014M(34 – ta)}
It is converted to a 7-point scale and compared against the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied, a gauge of how many people are likely to feel uncomfortably cool or warm.
Seems simple enough.
But Dr. Kingma and his colleague, Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt, write that one variable in the formula, resting metabolic rate (how fast we generate heat), is based on a 40-year-old man weighing about 154 pounds.
Maybe that man once represented most people in offices.
But women now constitute half of the work force and usually have slower metabolic rates than men, mostly because they are smaller and have more body fat, which has lower metabolic rates than muscle. Indeed, the study says, the current model “may overestimate resting heat production of women by up to 35 percent.”
“If women have lower need for cooling it actually means you can save energy, because right now we’re just cooling for this male population,” said Joost van Hoof, a building physicist at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, who was not involved in the study.
“Many men think that women are just nagging,” he said. “But it’s because of their physiology.”
Physiology and clothing.
The authors also note that the model is not always calibrated accurately for women’s summer wardrobes. Dr. van Hoof, who wrote a commentary about the study, observed that many men still wear suits and ties in the summer but many women wear skirts, sandals and other lighter, more skin-baring clothes.
“The cleavage is closer to the core of the body, so the temperature difference between the air temperature and the body temperature there is higher when it’s cold,” he said.
So for the planet’s sake, men should “stop complaining,” Dr. Kingma said. “If it is too warm, the behavior thing you can do is take off a piece of clothing, but you can only do that so much. You could also say let’s keep it a very cold building and women should just wear more clothes.”
But his study offers another solution: Change the formula.
Some experts doubt the proposed formula would be easily adopted.
Khee Poh Lam, an architecture professor at Carnegie Mellon, said even if the industry accepted a change to the longstanding model, buildings often house different businesses or “squeeze more people in” than they were designed for and partition offices so thermostats and vents are in different rooms. Given these improvisations, he added, “whether this actually affects energy, I think that’s a big leap.”
Still, he said, “we need to keep pushing” for improvements because “the phenomenon of women getting cold is very, very obvious,” and cold or hot employees are less productive.
Individualized temperature controls are the eventual answer, said Dr. Lam, who helped design a “personal environmental module” in the 1990s that was deemed too expensive for commercial development.
Now others are developing systems to let workers make their cubicles warmer or cooler.
Cold offices are gender-discrimination Lynn Zarif
Will take more than Tear Gas and Bullets this time around. What The Hell: We Choose a civil political system in Lebanon
Posted on: August 30, 2015
We Choose Lebanon: It will take more than Tear Gas and Bullets.
Aside from this being a political matter, it is not a matter of who’s right and who’s wrong.
This is no longer about trash Sukleen, electricity, roads, water, or pollution.
This is simply about the right that was acknowledged internationally in 1948 in the universal declaration of human rights:
” Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”…
What’s actually funny is that these words were written by mainly 5 people, including a Lebanese man.
But hey let’s not cry about the past and say that it was all better in 1948 for our own damn constitution, the one all noble politicians in our country are striving to apply guarantees that right in its 13th article.
On this night, we as a population that considers itself as “outstanding” and most of us are, especially every individual that was in the manifestation today, WE got attacked by our employees.
Our employees who received orders by employees who have “for our sake” decided to rape our right to vote for 2 years till now,and today decided also to rob us from our right to protest. (Parliament extended its tenure twice for lame excuses)
You see our rappers are amazing, they’re just great after doing their “3amle” they decide to proceed with lies!
Going publicly and denying these acts? Where do these damn soldiers get their orders? A ghost?
For the love of anything that’s precious to them, Money mostly, buy some damn respect.
I am not just appalled by how I am being treated for expressing my opinion but how I’m being lied to!
Have they become so shameless that such orders were given, for bullets to rain on protestors?
On this night, the men, women and children who went to those streets in order to express themselves were somehow considered terrorists because somehow we ended up being shot at, Lebanese citizens in the middle of Beirut, but not da3ech in 3ersel.
On this night, I congratulate my government or actually my rapist for all that he has done.
This totally unproductive government not only tried to suck out every right I have but actually hit me when I said that their shit smells bad.
Choose LEBANON.
I refuse to live in denial anymore.
I refuse to stand by watching others asking for their rights. There are too many loose ends. There are too many questions unanswered.
The parliament might have the money, the power, the ability to amend and change laws as they please, the ability to influence the media to make us believe whatever their next plan is to rape us and our pockets…
But what they don’t have is whatever we’ve got.
We got heart and the last bit of hope they couldn’t kill in us, that no tear gas or bullet can kill, take down one, but you can’t KILL a whole nation.
We’ve got brains and a whole lot of guts to look your guns in the eye and tell you to move along.
We’ve got no religion controlling us or political party biding our thoughts.
We have too much heart to be passive and indifferent and we choose LEBANON over whatever reward this government has been choosing.
We will choose Lebanon every time and time and time again.
What The Hell Happened Yesterday In Riad el Solh?
Note: This was the first day of the peaceful rally and most of the crowd were educated youth, demonstrating peacefully
Posted By : Najib
When I wrote a post yesterday morning on how to gear up for today’s protest, I never thought for a second that we might actually need to protect ourselves from tear gas canisters, water cannons, rubber bullets and live ammunition.
I never imagined that the ISF and the Lebanese Army would attack the protesters this way and would storm a group of peaceful protesters, beat them up and arrest them.
I haven’t slept all night following up on the news and checking on my friends to make sure they are all safe.
To be honest, I think we are very lucky that no one died in the protests yesterday because things were totally out of control
So what really happened?
I got to Riad el Solh around 6:20pm and walked all the way to the statue where protesters were chanting slogans and waving banners against the government.
Things were relatively calm until the riot police started firing water cannons.
People stepped back a bit and then all of a sudden tear gas canisters were fired in the middle of the crowds and one of them fell few meters away from me.
I’ve never been tear gassed upon before and I hope I never do again because it’s the worst feeling ever. Your eyes start burning and you feel as if you’re suffocating.
One protester got the tear gas right in his face and fainted for a second, while parents who had come with their children were panicking and running away from the gas.
At that time, I wasn’t aware what was happening near Annahar building but then we heard gun shots that were being fired in the air by the Lebanese Army as shown in many videos.
At the same time, the riot police kept throwing more tear gas and started attacking the crowds and trying to disperse them all the way from Riad el Solh to Beirut Souks.
Rubber bullets were used at this point. The clashes continued till around midnight when things calmed down and the police was ordered by our Interior Minister to free all the detainees.
The protesters were pushed back outside Riad el Solh square but they resisted and decided to set up tents and spend the night there.
I will not bore you with more details because the pictures and videos speak for themselves but I still can’t figure out what triggered all this mess, and who gave the order to fire at protesters but it’s outrageous and shocking.
Thousands of Lebanese men, women and children went down to protest for their most basic rights and for a clear and transparent solution to the garbage crisis away from politics and were all suppressed in an unnecessarily violent and disproportional way.
Even the press was caught off-guard and got its share of the beating. I have no idea what to expect next but hopefully things will be clearer by next week.
Whatever happened yesterday should NEVER be repeated and those who assaulted and fired at harmless protesters need to be reprimanded and this garbage crisis needs to be resolved once and for all in a transparent and efficient way.
(Note: Firing live ammunition and rubber bullets backfired and people from the 4 corners of Lebanon converged to spend the night with the protesters)
Witnesses Detail Police Violence: Lebanon #You Stink movement
(Beirut) – Lebanese authorities should take immediate measures to ensure that there is no repeat of violence against protestors in downtown Beirut and that perpetrators of violent attacks are held accountable, Human Rights Watch said today.
(How can the government stops violence if the godfather of the militia gangs, Nabih Berry and Chairman of the parliament for over 30 years, ordered the parliament guards and the army protecting the parliament to open live ammunition on the peaceful protestors?)
Lebanese security personnel used rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, water cannons, butts of rifles, and batons to control protesters on August 22 and 23 in downtown Beirut.
Security forces also fired live ammunition, reportedly in the air, to disperse protesters.
On August 23, Lebanon’s state prosecutor Samir Hammoud tasked military prosecutor judge Sakr Sakr, who under Lebanese law has jurisdiction over crimes committed by the security forces, to investigate the violence. Lebanese authorities should ensure that the investigation into violence by security forces is independent, effective, and transparent, and that security personnel responsible for unlawful use of force are held accountable.
The standoff with the security forces quickly escalated as security forces appeared to fire live ammunition in the air to disperse the protesters, who responded by throwing bottles and sticks at them. Human Rights Watch researchers later collected 5.56mm bullet casing cartridges – used in the M16 rifles issued to Lebanese security forces – at the site.
Several of those interviewed also showed Human Rights Watch 5.56mm cartridges they had collected. Protesters and activists shared images of live bullet shells on social media.
Violence also erupted near the Grand Serail (the seat of the PM), where members of the riot police and other units from the Internal Security Forces used tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets, and apparent live fire in the air to forcibly disperse protesters from Riad al-Solh square.
The events were caught on camera by TV stations broadcasting live from the protests. Clashes between security forces and groups of protesters throwing rocks and sticks continued until late at night with heavy use of gas canisters, rubber bullets, and water cannons.
In three cases Human Rights Watch documented, wounded protesters or their friends said that security personnel shot rubber bullets at them from close range, resulting in severe injuries that required hospitalization. Three protesters said they suffered minor injuries from rubber bullets that hit them in their legs, arms, or stomachs as they tried to flee.
Another three protesters described being pursued and beaten by baton-wielding policemen even though they were leaving the protest area and had not taken part in any violent act. Many experienced mild suffocation problems from the dense teargas. A female activist helping to organize the protests said that a police officer beat her in the head.
According to the Lebanese Red Cross, 75 protesters were injured on August 22, 15 of whom were hospitalized for their wounds. The Internal Security Forces said that 35 policemen were also injured that night. The state prosecutor told the newspaper Al-Joumhouria that investigations showed “that no one was wounded with live bullets and the injuries that occurred at the first day of protests [August 22] were due to the use of rubber bullets.”
The Skeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, which monitors freedom of the press, documented nine cases of violent attacks against journalists on August 22 and 23, identifying most of the attackers as security personnel. Nada Andraos, a journalist from LBC TV, a local station, told Human Rights Watch that ISF members hit her and her photographer with a stick and sprayed them with a water hose. Beating journalists covering a protest is unlawful and an indefensible attack on press freedom, Human Rights Watch said.
“Policing demonstrations can be challenging, but what happened on Saturday was clearly an unjustified excessive use of force,” Houry said. “The police seemed more interested in teaching protesters a lesson than in maintaining public order.”
On August 23, new protests took place in downtown Beirut, with many protesters calling for the resignation of the government and accountability for the violence against the protesters. Groups of protesters threw rocks at the police and tried to forcibly remove barricades set up by the security forces. Security forces responded with teargas, rubber bullets, and water cannons. Some protesters also set fire to trashcans, and destroyed public property such as traffic lights and parking meters.
The ISF reported that 99 people were wounded, including protesters and security officers, and that 32 people were detained. Clashes between protesters and security forces erupted again on August 25.
In policing demonstrations, security forces, including the military, should abide by the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Human Rights Watch said. The principles call upon law enforcement officials to apply nonviolent means before resorting to force, to limit the use of force in proportion to the seriousness of the offense, and to use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect life.
The Internal Security Forces adopted a code of conduct in 2011 that stipulates that “Police members will not resort to the use of force unless it is necessary, proportionate and after exhausting all possible non-violent means, within the minimum extent needed to accomplish the mission.”
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouq announced on twitter on August 23 that everyone who gave orders to shoot, and every police officer who shot at protesters will be held accountable. The state prosecutor told local media on August 26 that investigations are ongoing and surveillance cameras are being used to identify the troublemakers who started riots. The prosecutor said that members of the security forces were also questioned.
Impunity for violence by security forces is a recurring problem in Lebanon. Investigations into previous incidents of excessive, and in some cases lethal, violence against protesters, if initiated, have not been concluded. All public information available indicates that Lebanon never investigated incidents in which security forces, including the army, used force against protesters, such as the violent dispersal of Palestinian protesters in Northern Lebanon on June 29, 2007, which left two Palestinians dead and at least 28 injured; and the violent dispersal of protesters in Hay al-Sellom, a poor neighborhood in Beirut, on May 27, 2004, which killed five protesters and wounded dozens.
“It’s long past the time for Lebanon to get serious about holding its security forces accountable,” Houry said. “The authorities need to deliver on their promises of effective investigations and accountability, or the laws that are supposed to protect Lebanese from abuses and ensure respect for basic rights will have no deterrent effect.”
Accounts From Witnesses, August 22
Elias, protester:
Elias said that he started running away from Riad al-Solh square towards a shopping area called the Beirut Souks when ISF units fired tear gas canisters to disperse protesters in front of the Grand Serail. He said that they appeared to be directly targeting protesters with the canisters.
“But I didn’t just want to run away,” he said. “I turned back and gave the peace sign to the police officers and started to march slowly toward the front lines with my hands over my head indicating for them not to shoot. Then, I saw someone get hit and I rushed over to them. Then the security forces fired an object directly at me – at my head.” He does not know what hit him. He was rushed to the hospital where he received about a dozen stitches.
Abdullah, protester:
Abdullah said he was watching TV on the evening of August 22 when he decided to join the protest to support his fellow countrymen and voice his frustration with the lack of adequate public services and high unemployment rates. He arrived at the Azarieh building, which leads down toward Riad al-Solh square.
“Within 10 minutes of arriving to the area, I realized how out of control things had gotten,” he said. “I saw a police officer crouch behind a car aiming at protesters. Before I knew it, I heard a loud sound. I was hit and fell down. I don’t know what he fired at me but it left a gaping hole in my arm. Others rushed to my side and I was transported to Rizk Hospital for surgery.”
He said his injuries have kept him from riding the moped he uses for his job as a deliveryman. He fears that he will be fired. “The hospital staff said that the Health Ministry will cover our hospital costs, but who will compensate me to cover my living expenses while I am out of work?”
Ahmad, protester:
Ahmad said that policemen were shooting riot guns and rubber bullets from close range, directly toward him and other protesters. The police charged and started firing teargas canisters and beating him and the others with sticks in Beirut Souks, he said.
“I saw a woman in the middle of the road who was suffocating from the teargas bombs,” he said. “I yelled out don’t shoot and tried to run to her to help her – instead I got shot in my stomach. He said that the Lebanese Red Cross immediately took him to the emergency room at Hotel Dieu. “The doctors cut me open from my chest to his stomach, making sure that my vital organs had not been perforated before they sewed me up,” he said
Other protesters:
A protester who asked not to be named said that his friend was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet at close range and was rushed to Hotel Dieu hospital. The friend who was injured provided Human Rights Watch with multiple pictures of his leg wounds and the rubber bullet that was extracted from his leg at the hospital, but asked not to have the photos or his name made public because he did not want his family to know that he had been participating in protests.
Another male protester who preferred not to be named said that as he ran away from Riad al-Solh square toward Nejmeh square, he saw an ISF officer using a stick to beat a woman who appeared to be fleeing the chaos and had not been attacking anyone. He said he saw the police unit guarding parliament beating other protesters with sticks and firing bullets into the air.
Another protester said that he and some of the organizers tried to form a buffer zone between the security personnel and protesters to calm things down while security forces started to fire rounds of live ammunition into the air.
He said that he and his friends pleaded with the officers to stop using live ammunition and that in response an officer hit him in his back with the butt of his rifle.
Adonis Diaries 
