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National Hotels lobby joins calls to transfer Air Malta workers to private sector
National COVID-19: Two deaths, active cases fall below 10,000
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[WATCH] Muscat calls out PN: 'Useless bragging about joining EU when sowing division'
Fifteen years after EU membership, Muscat said the country was living up to European ideals and proving it could succeed
1 May 2019, 5:07pm
by Yannick Pace
Muscat said the PN couldn't brag about leading Malta to EU membership while also stoking a xenophobia and a fear of foreigners. (Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)
It is useless for the Nationalist Party to brag about being the party to lead Malta towards EU membership if it is today going to use divisive rhetoric that resembles the far-right's, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said on Wednesday.
Muscat was addressing Labour Party supporters at its yearly Workers' Day mass meeting, where he insisted that the European Union was not about bureaucracy, but about dialogue and respect for one another.
"It's useless to praise those who came before you for their work towards Malta joining the EU, if today you sacare people about the very advantages of the EU, if you try to use foreigners to scare people and if you are going to sow hatred against those who aren't Maltese," Muscat said.
He said that 15 years after joining the EU, the country was showing that it was able to be successful in Europe, something it would continue to do in the years to come.
Thousands of Labour Party supporters have descended on Castille square for the party's annual Workers' Day mass meeting. (Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)
Rather than filling the country with foreigners, as had been suggested by the PN, Muscat said that in actual fact the government had filled the country with work and opportunities.
The PN's messaging, he said, was too similar to that of the far right, but he insisted that this was not Malta. "Our heart is in the right place, Malta's heart is in the right place."
"It's useless waving the European flag if instead of tolerance you contribute to increased prejudice. Malta is today a part of the European family more than ever before," he said.
Muscat added that for a country to be successful in Europe, it needed to believe in itself and its people, something the PN evidently did not.
Ultimately, Muscat said, the upcoming elections would present the nation with a choice between job creation and division, hope and fear, inclusion or isolation.
Above all, he said the choice would be between Joseph Muscat and Darian Delia.
(Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)
He said that Malta had the credentials to find solutions, even on a European level, that could improve people's lives, as it had done on migration where it was able to balance the need to save lives with a firm belief that responsibility needed to be shared between member states.
The Prime Minister ran highlighted the country's achievements, from increasing pensions and the minimum wage, to the introduction of civil liberties that ensured all in society had equal opportunities.
He said the Labour Party had taken a country that regularly registered a deficit to one that was today registering a surplus, which it was investing in improving the country.
"We inherited a country that had fallen behind on civil liberties and made it a country that others follow," he said. "We took a country in which poverty was increasing, with a government was denying it was the case, and turned it into one in which poverty has been halved."
Despite this, he said the government was focused on those who had fallen behind, pledging to do all in his power to see them rise out of their current situation.
Government, he said, would not shy away from implementing more change, appealing to those present to place their faith in the "most reformist government in the country's history".
One example of this, he said, was the proposed reform that will be seeking to increase female representation in parliament. "What the country did not manage to do in 70 years we will do in one legislature," he said, emphasising his belief that the country's highest institution should reflect the composition of society.
"Your daughter or your niece will have the same opportunities as their male friends."
He said that at the end of the day, while people knew what to expect from the Labour Party, the same could not be said about the Opposition.
"Others will tell you that our men and women are the worst in Europe…we will keep working to be the best in Europe"
He insisted that his government would not make the mistake of detaching itself from the aspirations of a changing society. "While others expected to be thanked for the little they did, this government believes that every it has done, it was obliged to do."
Muscat again spoke of plans to create the country's largest open space for people to enjoy, insisting that while the land could have been used for development, the government wanted to ensure there were spaces for people to be able to enjoy time with their family.
'Congratulations for turning around a country that was struggling'
European Commission vice president, speaking ahead of Muscat, insisted that the Labour Party had turned around the country and changed it from one that was struggling to one that was "one of the pearls in the crown of the European Union today".
"Congratulations for transforming the country and brining more social justice to Malta," he said, adding that the country had reason to be very proud.
"Many would have thought this was impossible 15 years ago," he said, adding however that there was no room for complacency.
He said Europe needed to work harder to reduce the pay gap between men and women and to increase LGBTIQ rights all across Europe "even where it will be difficult."
Joseph Muscat with the lead candidate for the Socialists and Democrats Frans Timmermans. (Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)
In this regard, he said Malta had much to offer and could lead the way.
Timmermans also emphasised the need to strengthen trade unions across the bloc to ensure that workers could effectively fight for better working conditions.
"It's time that we prepare Europe for a sustainable future," he said, thanking Commissioner Karmenu Vella for his effort to rid oceans of plastic. "I wanting to thank the guy, Karmenu Vella, for working with me for these past five years"
He told those present to think where they were when Labour came to power six years ago and where they were today. "I also want you to think about where you want to be in five years' time and which party and take you there."
Despite being in much better place than it was five years ago, he said it could be in an even better position if voters put their faith in the Labour Party and the European Socialists.
The meeting was also addressed by deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne who said that the Labour Party's dream 90 years ago, when Workers' Day was celebrated for the first time, was for workers to no longer be poor.
Through the work of successive Labour Prime Ministers, the dream was now for workers to be rich. "We want everyone here to live the best moments of their life."
Fearne again appealed to Muscat to stay on, insisting that the country still needed him to guide it.
Yannick Pace was a MaltaToday reporter between 2016-2020
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Mexican president proposes reform supporting same-sex marriage
FILE – In this March 11, 2010 file photo, same sex couples celebrate after getting married at City Hall in Mexico City. The couples wed under Latin America's first law that explicitly approves gay marriage. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Tuesday, May 17, 2016, proposed legalizing gay marriage, a move that would enshrine on a national level a Supreme Court ruling last year that it was unconstitutional for states to bar same-sex couples from wedding.(AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
Published May 18, 2016 at 8:05 PM
Mexico is one step closer to legalizing gay marriage. President Enrique Pena Nieto has proposed a constitutional reform that, if approved, would make his country the fifth in Latin America to do so.
CCTV America's Martin Markovits reports.
Follow Martin Markovits on Twitter @MartinMarkovits
In a groundbreaking move, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said he would submit a proposal to Congress to legalize gay marriage nationwide.
"This ensures that, in our country, all Mexicans regardless of their social condition, religion, sexual preference, [or] ethnicity have the opportunity for complete marriage," Nieto said.
Same-sex marriage was already legal in a handful of states and in Mexico City. But a Supreme Court decision last year declared same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional across the country. Pena Nieto's proposal came because many states did not comply with that ruling.
This is part of growing a trend of Latin American countries embracing same-sex marriage as the region becomes more secular, despite its overwhelming Catholic majority.
There are still many who oppose the decision. Consuelo Mendoza Garcia, President of the National Union of Families, feels that the president's decision is leaving those with "natural" families behind.
"A president cannot force a way of life on the people he is governing," Garcia said. "He needs to represent the interest of all Mexicans."
Pena Nieto's decision has come as a surprise since he never championed this issue in the past. But with low approval rating numbers and his poor record in human rights, some analysts said politics may have prompted him to make this historic decision.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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King Khan & BBQ Show
The band is composed of former Spaceshits bandmates Mark Sultan and Blacksnake, alias King Khan. Mark Sultan, under the pseudonym BBQ, contributed vocals, guitar, tambourine, bass drum, and snare drum, while King Khan provides lead guitar and vocals. An entertainer named Leo Chips, formerly known as Age of Danger of the Deadly Snakes, (the SHOW in King Khan & BBQ Show) joined the group as a drummer and organist for some shows during the Invisible Girl U.S tour in 2009.
Although the duo originally broke up in 2010, in 2011 they announced they had started recording together again and discussed the possibility of several new albums. This was followed up with continued touring in 2012 and a return to normality for the band.
Looking to Book King Kahn & BBQ Show?


For those of us, who have ever been blessed to have another living being, non-human that is, rely on us, trust us, be loyal to us, and just simply be given unconditional love in return, will undoubtedly at some point, be faced with the heartbreaking decision of having to say goodbye.
It is really an odd thing, that as a human, we possess enough compassion to deal with our fur friends with more compassion than for those who are able to speak of their pains and sufferings. As people, many of us have seen people suffer with cancer, ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), AIDS, and many other serious maladies. But there is something that makes us have more compassion, with someone who cannot voice what they are feeling or enduring, under duress.
There will be two times when this compassion can be tested. One is when a vet informs you of a terminal situation, whether by accident or disease, and the other, if lucky, simply old age. It would be easier on all of us, if our fur friends would just cross over to the Rainbow Bridge without us having to make the painful decision of euthanasia.
First, understand, no vet, and I mean no vet, ever wants to be in a position of putting a family pet down. When in that position, the vet knows it is in the best interest of the animal. But ultimately, the decision still lies with the owner. How do you know when it is time to release your furry loved one from its sufferings? When does it become selfish to hang on for just one more day?
My belief, you just know. You just know when the time is right. I have known many people who have gone to extraordinary measures, five figure expenses just to continue the life of their fur family member, because that is what they believed needed to be done. And in those cases, to their owners, they knew the time was not right.
In recent years, I have found myself in the position of having to make the decision to end my pets' suffering twice. I had a cat, that of all things had Lymphoma. I had lymphoma and beat it, and we are a society that finds cures from animals. Unfortunately, for Flash, our gray and white cat, he could not be cured. And the lymphoma was creating issues with his stomach and being able to eat. And there was no guarantee that by treating him for the lymphoma, that would resolve the lack of hunger issue. Flash had already been exhibiting "avoidance" behavior, a common behavior of sickly animals, that hide from everyone else, just to go in peace. And it took a long time, to find him just to get him to the vet to look at him.
But even more difficult, was when I had to make the decision to put my Golden Retriever Pollo down. Approaching 15 years of age, and not having any issues with hip dysplasia, cancer, or cardiac, I had honestly hoped that with Pollo, when the time came, it would just be peaceful in his sleep. I have written about his last few years, and love of mushrooms, that led to issues for him physically in his later years.
Truth be told, I made "the appointment" for him, at least twice, and both times something made me change my mind. And honestly, it gave me more time with Pollo, selfish as it was. But I had one guideline that I was using. Pollo had only one way to communicate with humans, and that was his smile and his tail. And my rules was simple, since Pollo's tail wagged all of the time, yes, even in his sleep, if the time would come, that his tail no longer wagged, that would be his way of telling me it was time to let him go.
That particular November morning, I went to let Pollo outside for his morning "business." But, just as had happened occasionally, he needed help to stand up this morning. Once I had him standing, he would not move. I knew at this point, Pollo had lost much of his vision, and was fairly certain, most of his hearing too, but his tail never stopped wagging.
I could not get Pollo to move forward toward the patio door. And then he relieved himself on the den floor. I reluctantly looked, and his tail was no longer wagging. Pollo seemed frozen where he stood, and assuming he could not see or hear, and that may have been his hesitation, I put my hand in front of him, as if to calm him if he could at least smell my scent. But he could not. Pollo was now in a world that he could not see, smell, or hear. It was time.
Although at the time, it was the hardest thing in the world to let Pollo go, I knew it was the right thing to do. The pain of his absence at home, would occasionally cause me to wonder, had I done the right thing? Maybe another session of Reiki could have helped like the other two times did. And it is normal to want to wonder, could we have done more to have more quality time with each other.
It is a year and a half later, and I still miss him. But in my rational mind, I knew then, and know now, he was suffering. And as his best friend, I told him I would see him at the Rainbow Bridge some day, and said goodbye.


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17/11/2021 « Back
As part of the work to prevent and monitor forest damage, the government has invested money in a National Center for Forest Damage. The Center is a collaboration program, where SLU's Skogsskadecentrum (Forest Damage Center) has participated in several projects in collaboration with other actors.
Ground trap used to catch Hylastes. Photo: Kristina Wallertz
SLU's Unit for Field-based Forest Research received a small sum to start up a number of pilot experiments, one of which is at SITES Asa Research Station, focused on developing a method for catching black bark beetles (Hylastes) in ground traps.
Hylastes can cause severe damage to newly planted seedlings by eating the bark of the roots, sometimes severe enough to kill the seedlings. The damage seems to have increased in recent years in southern Sweden. At Asa, experiments investigating the damage of Hylastes on seedlings have been conducted. However, since Hylastes mainly feed on roots in the ground, it is necessary to harvest the seedlings in order to investigate the damage, which is a very labor-intensive and costly effort. Therefore, the study was designed to catch the insects in ground traps. A standardized method monitoring the presence of Hylastes with ground traps increases knowledge about occurrence, species variation, etc.
Here, the experimental parks are an excellent resource for broadening the monitoring and contributing with long-time series in a wider geographic area.
However before investigating on such a larger scale, the methodology needs to be tested and staff trained.
Pilot project at Asa
A Hylastes spotted on a tree branch during the experiment. Photo: Kristina Wallertz
In the present pilot project, insects were collected from eight different clear-cuts near Asa experimental park. Ten ground traps per location were placed and emptied at regular intervals during June-August 2021. All insects were stored for later species identification.
Åke Lindelöw, field entomologist with long-term experience and well-known knowledge of Hylastes, helped to train the team to distinguish between the different species found in the traps. During the season, 3791 Hylastes were collected from the traps of which about 7% were Hylastes brunneus and 93 % Hylastes cunicularius.
"We have learned a lot from the study, both in terms of species determination and methodology. With small changes, we can make collection both easier and more efficient. We also think we are quite good at distinguishing between the two species of Hylastes and excluding other species from the catches. Now we only hope for a positive message for future financing which makes it possible to continue but also expand this monitoring of Hylastes." - Kristina Wallertz


Hey guys! Today I will be sharing my thoughts on the Volume Elixir Mascara. So let's get started!
The colour of mascara I picked was brown. & I am very happy with my choice. On the wand the colour looks like a medium brown but on the lashes it looks darker. For me I love to consistantsy of the formula. It's not too wet or too dry.
I don't really feel that this mascara gives me volume. Length? Yes. Volume? No. It makes them more noticeable because they're darker & longer but that's pretty much all & I don't. In my last mascara review you found out about some of the issues I have with my eyes when it comes to dealing with mascaras. However I really didn't have to much problems with this one. It wore for about 4-5 hours & it held on very well. I'm pretty impress with this mascara all together because there are so many positives too it.
I would recommend checking this out if you're looking for a new mascara or just like shiny packaging.


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Christ and Pop Culture | Where the Christian faith meets the common knowledge of our age
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General Culture
Fear's Great Revelation
October 30, 2013 by Alan Noble
Fear's Great Revelation October 30, 2013 Alan Noble
Photo by Gene Page/AMC
Perhaps our deepest modern fear is the collapse of society, but if recent films and TV shows are any indication, it is also one of our most satisfying fantasies. Whether it's a zombie infestation, the biblical apocalypse, a terrorist attack, or even an economic crash which returns us to the gold standard, we are fascinated and horrified at the idea of the world we know ceasing to exist. Why is that?
We fear and crave the end of civilization because it is through civilization that we come to know ourselves. We learn our place and value in life through the narratives, institutions, and values of our culture. Social forces like the church, government, and the media may teach us that the Good Life is defined as limitless freedom to be ourselves and follow our dreams; or that the Good Life entails a college education, a nice family, a powerful job, and lots of impressive things; or that the Good Life means feeding the homeless. But however way we conceive of our identity and hopes in life, our social world has had a dramatic impact. The fear of society's collapse is the fear of losing our identity. After all, how do I know if I'm a good person without society to help me interpret myself? What future should I pursue if there is no conceivable future for humanity?
As horrifying as that is, we love stories of civilization's collapse. Part of this attraction comes from the knowledge that this world is precariously balanced and that at any moment the order we see in the world which defines us may unravel. What ties will bind us? What lights will orient us? We are haunted and excited by these questions. We want to imagine the end of the world so that we might imagine a way past the end.
Download the entire issue, here!
The most popular current example of this type of story is The Walking Dead. As strange as it may sound, this series may be too comforting for our own good, particularly the TV adaptation. Yes, some parts of the story help us to reconsider what it means to be human by peeling away the structures of society: the government is gone, family structures are challenged, and secular moral order is revealed to be completely fluid. Most significantly, we never get a good explanation for why the outbreak happened. The characters are so preoccupied with survival that questions of causes and origins seem irrelevant. Human life is pared down to the essentials. But the TV show mostly allows us to avoid identifying those essentials because the characters always seem to find communities, and through those communities, hope and purpose. There are children, food still grows, good survivors can group up out of common interests. The survivors face many terrible tragedies, but there isn't quite the sense that their efforts are in vain.
This isn't true of the comic series. The source material for AMC's The Walking Dead is much darker and more unforgiving. The reader very quickly gets the sense that these characters are merely going on, with no explanation for the outbreak, no clear hope for the future, no way of building lasting communities, and nothing sacred. Why and how do you survive in a world without hope? By bracketing off all the social structures we use to define ourselves and our hopes, the comic series forces the reader to consider what's left to define us and give us a hope that makes it worth living through terrible suffering. In that way, the comics are far more terrifying than the TV show.
Image- Todd Kopriva via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
Cormac McCarthy's The Road gives us another version of this story, one which resonates more with the Christian faith. The novel is both starker and more unrelenting than even The Walking Dead comics and yet more hopeful. In McCarthy's world, we have no reason to believe that humanity can come back from the end. Almost nothing grows. Everything is falling over and burning and turning to ash. But the father and his son continue walking down the road against all reason. They, rather inexplicably, hope that goodness, which McCarthy attributes to God, will care for them, somehow. This hope defines them, shapes their morals, and gives them purpose and meaning. They walk down the road in faith, and it is that faith that shapes them. Startlingly, a rescue of a kind comes in the final pages, validating their hope [for a very detailed explanation of Hope in The Road, see my journal article, here]. The novel, like all end-of-the-world stories, is frightening, but it is a fear that may lead us to know ourselves and rest in the goodness of God.
Fear reveals our heart's desires and hopes. In a civilization that asks us every waking minute to trust in it, to put our faith in it, to know our identity based on it, stories which deny characters civilization can allow us to reconsider who and why we are. They frighten us, but they also invite us to see ourselves.
This article was adapted from the editor's letter in the most recent issue of Christ and Pop Culture Magazine, Fear's Great Revelation.
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Covid-19 sees Q1-Q3 alcohol consumption drop
Overall alcohol consumption has fallen in the year to October as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which has witnessed the complete closure of many on-trade outlets since last March or significant restrictions being put in place for other outlets.
With pubs being responsible for 63% of beer sales it's unsurprising that official Revenue figures show beer sales volumes to have been hardest hit.
Revenue clearance data just published show a 4.5% drop in takings between January and September 2020 compared to the same period in 2019.
With pubs being responsible for 63% of beer sales it's unsurprising that official Revenue figures show beer sales volumes to have been hardest hit. Between January and September consumption fell by nearly 15% compared to 2019 and in Q3 alone, which covers July to September, beer consumption was down by 17.2%.
Net excise receipts for beer over the nine-month period to the end of September were down 12% to €272 million according to the provisional figures.
Cider consumption volumes too fell by 9.6% between January and September 2020 and by 14.1% in Q3.
Net excise receipts for cider over the nine-month period to the end of September were down 9% to €40.7 million.
Perhaps also reflecting the fact that nearly 70% of spirits sales are via the off-trade, spirits volumes showed but a slight drop of 1.3% over the nine-month period, but recording a drop of 4.4% between July and September.
Nevertheless, net excise receipts for spirits over the nine-month period to the end of September were very slightly up from €255 million to €255.4 million according to provisional figures.
Again, unsurprisingly, wine sales from January to October were up by 13% since over 80% of wines are sold via the off-trade. Net excise receipts for wine showed growth of 12% to €305 million to the end of Q3.
None of these gains proved enough to offset the overall loss in alcohol consumption over the nine-month period, however.
"The new Revenue data confirms that alcohol consumption fell between Q1 and Q3 as a result of Covid-19 restrictions, despite some suggestions to the contrary," points out Drinks Ireland Director Patricia Callan, "This was as a result of pubs, restaurants and hotels being closed for periods of time, or having to operate when they were open with restrictions in place."
beer cider COVID-19 Drinks Ireland Patricia Callan spirits wine


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Bishop establishes centre for the traditional Latin Mass in Devon
Bishop Mark O'Toole (Photo: Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk)
Bishop Mark O'Toole of Plymouth has established a permanent base for the traditional Latin Mass in Devon.
A Sunday morning Mass in the Extraordinary Form is now being celebrated at St Edward the Confessor, Peverell, Plymouth.
The weekly Mass will be a sung Mass, or Missa cantata. It is the first time a sung Mass in the old form has been celebrated at the church in 46 years, according to the Latin Mass Society.
Joseph Shaw, chairman of the Latin Mass Society, said: "We are very grateful to Bishop O'Toole for making this new provision for the traditional Mass possible, in a previously neglected corner of England."
The first Extraordinary Form Mass at the parish drew 50 people from all over Devon.
Parishioner Lydia Keogh said afterwards on Facebook: "I will be attending this Mass from now on – very blessed." Others described it as an important moment for Catholics in the West Country.
The Mass was celebrated by Fr Anthony Pillari from Lanherne monastery in Cornwall.
The old form of the Mass is celebrated every day at the monastery, which is home to 11 contemplative sisters.
Bishop Mark O'Toole
Diocese of Plymouth
Extraordinary Form
Latin Mass Society
Traditional Latin Mass
Bradford parish to become regular centre for Extraordinary Form Mass
St Joseph's Bradford will host the traditional Mass at a time when more people can attend
Extraordinary Form Masses drew 'record' numbers over Easter, says Latin Mass Society
Attendance was reportedly up by a fifth in key parishes
Megan Griffiths
Bishop of Plymouth calls for improved provision of traditional Mass
Bishop Mark O'Toole praises 'the fidelity of those who like to attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form'
David V Barrett


Novick D, Montgomery W, Treuer T, Koyanagi A, Aguado J, Kraemer A, Haro JM. Comparison of clinical outcomes with orodispersible versus standard oral olanzapine tablets in nonadherent patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2017 Jun 6;11:1019-25.
Katz EG, Hauber B, Gopal S, Fairchild A, Pugh A, Weinstein RB, Levitan BS. Physician and patient benefit-risk preferences from two randomized long-acting injectable antipsychotic trials. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2016 Oct 21;10:2127-39.
Boklage SH, Mangel AW, Ramamohan V, Mladsi D, Wang T. Impact of patient adherence on the cost-effectiveness of noninvasive tests for the initial diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori infection in the United States. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2016 Jan 21;10:45-55.
Hauber AB, Han S, Yang JC, Gantz I, Tunceli K, Gonzalez JM, Brodovicz K, Alexander CM, Davies M, Iglay K, Zhang Q, Radican L. Effect of pill burden on dosing preferences, willingness to pay, and likely adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2013 Sep;7:937-49.
Kauf TL, Davis KL, Earnshaw SR, Davis EA. Spillover adherence effects of fixed-dose combination HIV therapy. Patient Prefer Adherence. 2012 Feb 1;6:155-64.
Hauber AB, Gonzalez JM, Coombs J, Sirulnik A, Palacios D, Scherzer NJ. Patient preferences for reducing toxicities of treatments for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Patient Prefer Adherence. 2011 Jun 1;5:307-14.


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Emily Lakdawalla • May 02, 2007
MESSENGER aims for Venus
The MESSENGER team announced today that they accomplished the penultimate trajectory correction maneuver necessary to line the spacecraft up for its second gravity-assist flyby of Venus, due to take place about a month from now, on June 6. According to the mission update, there was a slight hiccup with this maneuver, but it wasn't serious enough to require any contingency actions to be taken:
Although this maneuver was designed to adjust MESSENGER's velocity by 0.767 meters per second (2.52 feet per second), mission controllers estimated that about 26% less than the intended velocity change was achieved. There was almost no error in the direction for the velocity change. "The result is that the current trajectory aim point is about 200 kilometers, or 124.3 miles, higher than the ideal target point for the flyby," explains APL's Eric Finnegan, the MESSENGER mission systems engineer.
According to Finnegan, the spacecraft orientation began to jitter slightly shortly into the maneuver. The spacecraft responded properly by pulsing other thrusters to maintain accurate pointing through the TCM, but this pulsing reduced the efficiency of the maneuver.
"The spacecraft compensated properly for the attitude oscillation, but because of the additional thrusting activity, the system would have needed more time to produce the commanded velocity adjustment," he says. "As a safety precaution in all MESSENGER maneuvers, the team determines the maximum expected maneuver time and instructs the spacecraft to shut the maneuver down if that time is exceeded. That's what happened here, so the maneuver was stopped before it reached 100% of the planned velocity change."
The flight team is analyzing the data from the attitude control system and tracking data to identify what caused the jitter so they can design future maneuvers to avoid it. Although TCM-15 resulted in a shortfall, it was sufficiently successful that a contingency maneuver, held in reserve for May 5, is not needed. The team can accommodate all adjustments in TCM-16, scheduled for May 25, to direct the spacecraft to the intended aim point 337 kilometers (209 miles) above the surface of Venus.
I'm really looking forward to this flyby. Unlike the first Venus flyby, this time around MESSENGER is going to be able to do science, taking pictures and other data. And judging from the beautiful animation they captured as they receded from the first Earth flyby on August 2, 2005, the MESSENGER images of Venus should be quite spectacular.
Read more: Inner solar system missions, MESSENGER, Mission status, Space missions


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Photo: Antoinette Haselhorst
There is something wonderful about children playing, from the sound of their laughter and squeals and interactions, to the inventiveness they display, striking a relationship with imagination and reality in a world of pretend. Climbing trees exploring abandoned places. We all are familiar with being children, from our own experiences to being a parent. This imaginary world is encapsulated by Paul's most recent works of The Pink Bear in a realistic and fictional environment lost or wondering, sometimes taking us into a more political storyline of the world as it is today. His compositions of the bear in various situations, from sitting in a tree like a boy is both beautiful and curious, it illustrates the alter ego of the artist or even our own. Painted from his meticulously orchestrated photographs. The Pink Bear, appearing in different situations or events. Isolated amongst melted ice caps, or on a beach eyeing a woman, or appearing lost in a forest at dawn as the sun's shafts of light gleam like razors through the trees.
I ♥ Day Dreaming by Paul Robinson
Tempest by Paul Robinson
Paul narrates the adult topics of climate change, the exploitation of our environment as well as our current affairs, through the eyes of innocence. These artworks come in themes, I used to be a Polar Bear, representing the idea that the Polar Bear may become a mythical creature in our future, where nobody will know whether he existed or not, as well as Pink Bear, Bed Time Stories and Pink Bear Is Coming To Town. It is renascence of childhood, loss of innocence and those lost moments of happiness that we all encounter within the realms of family. His bear inspired by an old photograph, of just that, family life with his mother, father and brother, as they meet a Care Bear in the 1980's. The patterns that Paul uses in his paintings, is the metaphysical layering of wallpaper that his mother painted over many times in the home where he grew up. His love of trees; as his father chopped down the apple tree to make room for a swing, when he preferred the real tree. The good intentions of parenting and the true effect it has on our innocence.
Rainbow Bright by Paul Robinson
Rarer than a Unicorn by Paul Robinson
When you meet Paul a tall man with a strong athletic build, one can easily forget the gentle soul that resides. A highly successful driven student, he accomplished A levels in Art, Design and Technology as well as Maths and Physics. He bought his own dark room as a young teenager with money he earned, then studied A level Photography, and completed a foundation course before applying to Goldsmiths. He didn't get in, he tells me grinning. After studying Fine art at Canterbury, Goldsmith approached him to talk about his Pink Bear artwork. Oh the irony!
Solar Rise by Paul Robinson
Naughty Step by Paul Robinson
Recollection of Innocence by Paul Robinson
If you are thinking to yourself that he was privileged; he grew up in Grimsby, made famous by channel 4's benefit street. Paul was an academic scholar though, always top of the class, as well as being an accomplished athlete. His determination did not deter him even after his parents split when he was 16, he was already showing his artwork by then "They supported me with anything I wanted to do." Choosing Art because it gave him the freedom to explore. His father is also an artist, a sculptor, however he spent most of his life working on the oil rigs in the North Sea to support his family, and now he is retired he does what he loves.
Wanderlust by Paul Robinson
After Uni in 2005, Paul moved to London. So he could pay the bills, he worked as a Creative Director for prestigious advertising agencies and charities. He is very cautious, treading a careful line, he doesn't want to have nothing. We touch on the subject that some successful artists have the advantage of having wealthy parents to allow them the freedom to be artists. Business acumen is what has become a necessary part of many modern artists today.
Followers by Paul Robinson
His artworks do create debate and are subjective, he was recently challenged by a woman at one of his shows at the art fair, who appeared a bit aggressive, as he tried to explain the artworks are about human trafficking. This conversation between humans through artistic mediums is so essential to our lives. Paul's painting decorates a wall in the exclusive Belgrave Hotel, alongside legendary artists Andy Warhol, Banksy, Damien Hirst, Joan Miro, and Mark Chagall. His work has appeared in 35 shows from every corner of London from Mayfair to Spitalfields, and around the globe from Dubai to Hong Kong. He is currently working on his next show, large canvases that he meticulously layers, that leave you to gaze for a long time. I heard a quote recently by a famous collector who said "You Gaze at art, gazing is much nobler than just looking"
Interview: Antoinette Haselhorst