STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

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SNAP 6

SNAP! 6 is a new case for the iPhone 6 that makes snapping professional pictures easier than ever before. Designed specifically for the new iPhone 6, the sleek and compact case features a special ergonomic grip and a hands-free strap, a built-in shutter button to snap shots as you would with a traditional camera, and comes with detachable macro and wide-angle lenses for taking photos with enhanced quality and amazing details and perspective. An app with professional settings is also included to help you take your photos to the next level.

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PONTOS S DIVER | BY MAURICE LACROIX

Winner of the prestigious Red Dot Award, the Pontos S Diver is a beautiful, vintage diving timepiece by Maurice Lacroix. The 43 mm retro design watch is powered by a self-winding ML115 mechanical movement and has a 38-hour power reserve, it was designed to professional specifications, and includes the essential features for a diving watch, an automatic helium escape valve, hands highlighted with Superluminova for excellent legibility when diving, and water resistance to 600 m (60 atm).

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Watch The US Navy's New Unmanned Swarm Boats In Action

The Navy is aiming to add its new unmanned swarm boats to the fleet within a year, and a video released by the Office of Naval Research shows what an asset these empty vessels will be.

The swarm boats are outfitted with sensors and software so the Navy can control them without putting anyone inside. Algorithms help determine the right speed and the best course of action. These boats are designed to act as an initial line of defence, and can quickly surround unknown or enemy boats as a deterrent. But they’re not just a warning sign. They can also fire .50 calibre machine guns if the deterring doesn’t work, though they don’t start shooting on their own. Like military drones in the sky, a person will control the weapons.

There isn’t a specific type of swarm boat. The Navy’s sensor and software technology can turn small vessels into unmanned swarmers, so they can retrofit older boats.

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Microsoft Wants To Turn Your Living Room Into An Xbox Game

Rememeber Microsoft’s balls-to-the-wall crazy IllumiRoom idea, when it wanted to use a projector-type gadget to transforms rooms into immersive gaming experiences by projecting video games all over them? Yeah, they’re still doing that. It’s called RoomAlive now.

RoomAlive is a proof-of-concept prototype showing what it’d be like if Microsoft figured out how to use Kinect and projectors to make you feel like you were in the world of the video game in your house. It detects where the walls are and sends holographic images accordingly.

This is still just a demo and the equipment used to make the prototype is way too expensive to reproduce for commercial purposes, so it’s not like you’re going to be able to pick one of these holodeck-style RoomAlive systems up in time to give your nephew an excellent holiday gift.

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9/11 terrorists caught testing airport security months before attacks, secret documents reveal

Mohammed Atta, right, and Abdulaziz Alomari, centre, pass through airport security, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 at Portland International Jetport.

AT least three eyewitnesses spotted al Qaeda hijackers casing the security checkpoints at Boston’s Logan Airport months before the 9/11 attacks.

They saw something and said something — but were ignored, newly unveiled court papers reveal.

One of the witnesses, an American Airlines official, actually confronted hijacking ringleader Mohamed Atta after watching him videotape and test a security checkpoint in May 2001 — four months before he boarded the American Airlines flight that crashed into the World Trade Center.

The witness alerted security, but authorities never questioned the belligerent Egyptian national or flagged him as a threat.

“I’m convinced that had action been taken after the sighting of Atta, the 9/11 attacks, at least at Logan, could have been deterred,” said Brian Sullivan, a former FAA special agent who at the time warned of holes in security at the airport.

The three Boston witnesses were never publicly revealed, even though they were interviewed by the FBI and found to be credible. Their names didn’t even appear as footnotes in the 9/11 Commission Report.

But what they testified to seeing — only revealed now as part of the discovery in a settled 9/11 wrongful-death suit against the airlines and the government — can only be described as chilling.

Stephen J. Wallace, a 17-year American Airlines technician, first alerted Logan authorities that two Middle Eastern men — one of whom he would ID as Atta from a photo array following the attacks — were acting suspiciously outside the main ­security checkpoint.

He remembers it vividly. It was the morning of May 11, 2001. One was videotaping and taking still photos of the flight board and the checkpoint from about 25 feet away, while the other was talking loudly in Arabic on a cellphone. The behaviour went on for 45 minutes.

Rescue workers survey damage to the World Trade Center in this September 11, 2001.

Wallace was so disturbed, he walked over to them and asked about the contents of their carry-on luggage, which he described as “brand-new” pilot bags.

“I said, ‘You guys don’t have any of this stuff in your bags, do you?’ ” pointing to a kiosk display of prohibited items.

“One of them said to the other, gesturing at me, called me a rather nasty name in Arabic,” Wallace added, explaining that he recognised the word because “I swear in Arabic.”

They then nervously packed up their bags and raced to another checkpoint, with Wallace hot on their heels. Before they entered the other checkpoint, Wallace alerted several authorities.

Modal Trigger

“I said, specifically, ‘These two clowns are up to something,’ ” he testified.

“They’ve been taking videos and pictures down at the main checkpoint.”

But authorities never followed up. The men boarded an American flight to Washington, DC.

Theresa Spagnuolo, an American Airlines passenger screener, told federal agents after the attacks that she also observed a short Middle Eastern man — Atta — videotaping the main security checkpoint in May 2001.

“She was bothered by Atta’s filming, so she spoke to her supervisor about it” and he “informed her it was a public area and nothing could be done about it,” the agents said in their investigation.

Her supervisor was James Miller Jr., who would later testify, “It looked weird to me.”

He said he reported Atta to higher-ups, who told him, as he relayed to Spagnuolo, that there was nothing they could do about it.

The twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York in this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo.

In fact, airport security had clear authority to investigate anybody surveilling a checkpoint at the time, and such activity should have raised major red flags. Just two months earlier, federal authorities advised airlines, including American, that al Qaeda terrorists typically conduct surveillance before attacking a target.

Instead, the worst terrorist hijacker in history was allowed to waltz through security without anyone stopping him, asking his name, checking his ticket, taking a picture, looking at his drivers license or passport, opening his bags or patting him down.

And Logan had failed to install security cameras at the checkpoint, so an image of Atta and his May 11 visit was never taken.

Four months later, on Sept. 11, Atta passed through the same security checkpoint. His carry-on bag got past screeners despite containing box-cutters and mace or pepper spray. He took his seat in business class of American Airlines Flight 11 unimpeded.

The eyewitness accounts surfaced in a lawsuit brought by the family of Mark Bavis, a Los Angeles Kings hockey scout who died in one of the hijacked Boston flights. Because the case was settled in 2011 for several million dollars and never went to trial, the evidence never aired in open court.

Over the objections of federal authorities, the Bavis lawyers later made the risky decision to dump the FBI interviews and deposition transcripts into the public archives.

The testimony is expected to factor prominently in another 9/11 lawsuit brought against the airlines by the owner of World Trade Center Properties. That case, which is on appeal, is expected to be heard next year.

Paul Sperry is a Hoover Institution media fellow and author of “Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington.”

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Australia enters the war against Islamic State in Iraq

AUSTRALIA has entered the war against ISIL, with two heavily armed RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jets taking off moments apart at 2.02pm on Sunday afternoon, or just after 9pm EST last night.

Australian authorities in the forward operating base in the United Arab Emirates said the jets returned to base without using any bombs because while they were in the air awaiting directions on a target, no directive came through.

Leading Aircraftman Cameron Newell inspects the landing gear on a Multi Role Tanker Transport at Australia’s logistic base in the Middle East.

Armament technicians with the weapons to be loaded on to RAAF Super Hornets.

Payload ... RAAF armament technicians load explosive ordnance on an F/A-18F Super Hornet.

Delicate work ... Leading Aircraftman Josh Lees, guided by Corporal Kim Cooper, load explosive ordnance on to a Super Hornet in the Middle East.

Refuel mission ... The RAAF KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport at work.

Ready for take off ... A Super Hornet on the runway before the first combat mission.

The two dual cockpit jets, carrying pilots and air combat officers, returned to base after almost eight hours in the air.

Australia gets involved ... Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircrew disembark a RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft after a mission in the Middle East.

The sortie marks Australia’s definitive entrance into the war against ISIL as it now joins the US, Britain, France and Gulf States, which have variously been striking at locations in Iraq and northern Syria.

The departure of the Super Hornets was preceded by the RAAF’s KC-30A Multiple Transport Tanker, a converted A330 Airbus that took off at the stroke of 2pm.

Twin beasts ... RAAF Super Hornets on the taxiway.

Refuel mission ... A nightime shot of a Super Hornet over Iraq.

Flight Lieutenant Daniel White prepares for the mission and A Super Hornet air combat fighter.

Its purpose was to refuel both jets during their long mission, which likely struck at locations in northern or western Iraq, where ISIL fighters are heavily concentrated as they try to push into Baghdad.

Some Australians at the forward operating base briefly tore themselves away from the rugby grand final to watch the jets depart.

Secret mission ... A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18F Super Hornet Air Combat Officer, mid flight, en route to the Middle East Region. Picture: Supplied.

Mission complete ... A RAAF Super Hornet in its hangar after completing the first combat mission.

The sight of the two fighters setting off low and fast out of the base made real for the 400 RAAF and 200 Special Forces in the Middle East that Australia was now formally involved in the fight.

The decision on what areas to target is understood to be determined on a day-to-day by US military intelligence in consultation with Coalition partners.

The Australians said the jets were fully prepared to strike but no target was identified for them while they were airborne.

The Australian fighter jets, both from 1 Squadron out of Amberley in Queensland, use infra-red targeting systems and can stay in constant contact throughout their mission with a Coalition operations centre located in the Middle East.

Fighter jets ... A Royal Australian Air Force technician checks an F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft after it flew a mission in the Middle East. P

Some service people said the jets appeared to be carrying extra fuel loads. The F/A-18Fs are capable of carrying an array of weaponry, including AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles, GPS guided bombs and nose-mounted cannons.

Australia so far has located six F/A-18 Super Hornets in the UAE and could bring in two more if required.

The US is understood is bolstering its jet fighter attacks on ISIL in Iraq and Syria with missiles launched from carriers in the Persian Gulf.

So far, Australia will confine its attacks to within Iraq, where the new government has invited it to strike back at the terror group that is running amok over a vast swathes of Iraq and Syria, drawing the region into chaos.

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Alcatraz Reimagined As The Luxurious Lair Of A Tech Mogul

Behold the island of Alcatraz as re-imagined by film director and concept designer Bastiaan Kooch for his near-future thriller Follow the Camera. Instead of a prison, it’s now the luxurious fortress-home of Steven, a powerful tech mogul. Given San Francisco’s current situation, this is totally believable.

Bastiaan sent us these renders after wrapping up the sound of the film at Skywalker Sound, along with this question:

How would we feel if Steve Jobs had done this or if Mark Zuckerberg does it now? This residence would be an actual metaphor of the service/product he created.

The film takes place in San Francisco, 2066 where domestic droids are commonplace. Patent lawyer Elisabeth Adelman must face her sister’s husband Steven Forcyth in the tech-case of the century. Steven, the chief architect of Fortune 500 company Immutech Robotics, plans to save his company by releasing a new, autonomous product to market.

[...] only someone extremely grandiose, powerful, narcissistic, and future-thinking could take over a major historical icon like Alcatraz and turn it into a showy private residence. Everyone in San Francisco is reminded of his presence every day because the island is in the center of the Bay. But because he is so visible and central, it’s like he is the one watching everyone in San Francisco from a safe vantage point and the “common people” in their city apartments can feel it, and they are curious… and afraid… and that ties in with what Immutech is making too!

Bastiaan Koch is a Dutch-American film director, artist, and concept designer. His work includes mecha and exoskeleton robotics design for Industrial Light & Magic.

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Few Things Are More Satisfying Than Seeing A Submarine Punch Through Ice

Pinching bubble wrap. Getting something stuck on your teeth out after trying for minutes. Watching pop tarts being made. And caligraphy. There are many strangely satisfying things in the world. Seeing a nuclear submarine breaking through arctic ice is one of them. Enjoy:

Here’s another clip from a older video:

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Top Gear Crew Violently Chased Out Of Argentina

Top Gear — the motoring show millions love and millions others love to hate — had a hell of a time last week. The hosts and the crew were reportedly chased out of Argentina by an angry mob of protestors after what started as a pretty insensitive joke delivered via a Jeremy Clarkson novelty license plate. Details are beginning to emerge over the conflict, and it sounds downright terrifying.

The Top Gear production circus trekked down from Britain to South America in the last few weeks to shoot the show’s annual Christmas special. The end-of-year travel special is now a hallmark of the BBC2 drive show.

The catalyst for the drama was reported last week, when it was revealed that host and professional thin ice-skater, Jeremy Clarkson, was found to be driving a car with a license plate that carried a coded message about the Falklands conflict in the 1980′s.

The conflict related to control of the Falkland Islands off the coast of Argentina. The UK and Argentina went to war, and Argentina lost the conflict, with the whole thing still fresh and painful in the minds of Argentinians.

The plate on the Porsche 928 Clarkson was driving read “H982 FKL”, which could be construed as a reference to the 1982 Faulklands conflict. The

The story of the team’s misadventures in Argentina broke last week as the team turned-tail and fled the country, as video emerged of the team outrunning a group of displeased locals.

Clarkson’s Sunday Times column over the weekend paints a pretty vivid picture of what went on, with the host insisting that “for once, we did nothing wrong”.

Jeremy Clarkson ✔ @JeremyClarkson

This was not a jolly jape that went awry. For once, we did nothing wrong.

Regardless, the hosts, the crew and the production staff were violently chased out of Argentina. In Clarkson’s words:

We were posing for all photographs, and happily accepting requests for autographs. The sun was out. All was calm. We were even referring to the slopes as “radiant.” Certainly there was no suggestion that we had walked into the middle of a war we thought had ended 32 years ago.

The column goes on, revealing how the crew were met by hostile youths and angry members of a local truckers union. Local politicians who had originally allowed the crew to be in Argentina then met up with the hosts and producers, saying they couldn’t guarantee their safety and encouraged them to leave.

As a result, Clarkson has levelled an accusation at the local leaders, saying it was a stunt for political capital.

Jeremy Clarkson ✔ @JeremyClarkson

They threw us out for the political capital. Thousands chased crew to border. Someone could have been killed.

For what it’s worth, Clarkson also stated that the number plate was a coincidence, and when the team found out the problems it was causing, it was changed.

On the last day they were there, Clarkson snapped a photo of his Porsche sans plate.

Jeremy Clarkson ✔ @JeremyClarkson

This is my car on its last day in Argentina. Note the plates that everyone says caused offence.

The crew has now made it out safely.

It’s going to be a very interesting Christmas special this year.

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Even The Sound Of Darth Vader Breathing Is Trademarked

Darth Vader’s caped getup and face mask is spooky and all, but there’s nothing like the grisly, mechanical sound of his breath. Which is why Lucasfilm keeps a close eye on who uses it — even going so far as to trademark 234 seconds of it with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

According to the USPTO, this is what’s called a “soundmark”, and it’s more common than you’d think. In paperwork posted today to Twitter, we get a glimpse at what’s involved, from an application filed by Lucasfilm in 2009 to the actual “specimen” itself, sent to the USPTO on a compact disc for filing.

In the production company’s filing, it explains what types of uses this Vader soundmark will apply to, listing “Costumes including masks; voice altering toys”, as well as “toy computers; handheld playthings; dashboard driver figurines.” In other words, any knockoff Star Wars toy companies will need to lawyer up before using Vader’s iconic gasping in their wares.

There’s even a little reference to the sound engineer who created Vader’s mechanical breath, Ben Burtt. In a section of the trademark filing entitled “miscellaneous statement”, Lucasfilm’s attorneys describe the sound as “rhythmic mechanical human breathing created by breathing through a scuba tank regulator.”Here’s a great little interview with Burtt describing the process of designing the sound — and how the first experimental mixes made Vader sound like a “moving operating room.”

You can listen to the final sound filed with the trademark — all 3:54 seconds of it — here.

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The Extraordinary Restoration Of A 1920s Temple Of Cinema

A little over a year ago, I visited the restoration of the run-down King’s Theatre in Brooklyn. Its moldy walls were being gutted, and what remained intact was being made into molds. The entire main stage and audience seating was filled with scaffolding. But today, fast approaching its deadline, the theatre is coming together — and it’s grand.

Kings Theatre, which was built in the 1920s, was once the epitome of glamor and show business. It laid in shambles for the past 40 years after a slow decline — but over the past year, it’s been resuscitated by a crew of dedicated craftsmen and workers.

I stopped by the construction site to see what progress had been made since my last visit. All the main entrance’s ceilings are exactly as I remember, ornamented in gold and complicated filigree. But besides them, everything had changed (except for the construction itself, of course). The original bathrooms were removed, a basement was repurposed for modern amenities, railings now finished in metal. It’s an entirely new building, living with the framework of the old.

The main amphitheater was where the progress stood out most. The last time I was here, there was what they called a “scaffold-jungle.” Now, all the scaffolding was removed and seating was being installed. I could see the amphitheater ceiling and incredibly detailed walls. It made the rest of the theatre look drab.

New draperies were already being hung and period-accurate light fixtures installed. The new fixtures worked wonders in bringing the walls back to life. The textures and style of the wall is one thing — but without the right lights, they don’t have the same effect.

The crew inside worked on restoring an unbelievably ornate nook that was completely deteriorated when the restoration started. In order to bring it back to life, molds on the nook across from it were made and it was built from scratch:

Crews worked placing the seating in as well. One worker marked where arms of the chairs would go in the ground while others fastened backs and seats to it.

On track to open by the end of the year, the theatre as a whole still looks like it has a long long way to go. But if you focus on the details a corner or section at a time, it’s not hard to image what this grand old space will look like once it’s finished, restored to its former glory.

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'A Terrible Slaughter Is Coming'

On the Turkish border, the world stands idly by as ISIS threatens a massacre in a Syrian town.

The theme of the week in the Syria conflict—that airstrikes are of only limited use in the struggle to degrade and destroy the Islamic State terror group—is about to be underscored in terrible fashion in the besieged border town of Kobani, which is under sustained, and mainly unanswered, assault by as many as 9,000 ISIS terrorists armed with tanks and rocket launchers.

I just got off the phone with a desperate-sounding Kurdish intelligence official, Rooz Bahjat, who said he fears that Kobani could fall to ISIS within the next 24 hours. If it does, he predicts that ISIS will murder thousands in the city, which is crammed with refugees—Kurdish, Turkmen, Christian, and Arab—from other parts of the Syrian charnel house. As many as 50,000 civilians remain in the town, Bahjat said.

"A terrible slaughter is coming. If they take the city, we should expect to have 5,000 dead within 24 or 36 hours," he told me. "It will be worse than Sinjar," the site of a recent ISIS massacre that helped prompt President Obama to fight ISIS. There have been reports of airstrikes on ISIS vehicles, but so far, Bahjat said that these strikes have been modest in scope and notably ineffective.

Kobani is located on the Turkish border, but Bahjat said he is receiving reports that Turkey is pulling its troops back, rather than risk armed confrontation with ISIS. "It's unbelievable—Turkey is in NATO, so you literally have NATO watching what is happening in this town. Everyone can see it—the TV cameras are there, watching. It's terrible."

He went on, "This just can't be allowed to happen. I'm upset personally as a Kurd, seeing my brethren killed. I'm upset as a secularist seeing the hope of freedom being murdered and I'm upset as a human being, watching these monsters commit genocide."

Kurdish fighters are outnumbered by ISIS, and they have no heavy weaponry. There are reports coming out of Kobani that at least one female Kurdish suicide bomber has struck at ISIS terrorists already. The situation is grim, growing grimmer, and one in which hesitation by the international community may not be easily forgiven.

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Ebola outbreak: Nurse infected in Spain

Spanish Health Minister Ana Mato has confirmed that a nurse who treated two victims of Ebola in Madrid has tested positive for the disease.

The nurse is said to be the first person in the current outbreak known to have contracted Ebola outside Africa.

The woman was part of the team that treated Spanish priests Manuel Garcia Viejo and Miguel Pajares, who both died of the virus, officials say.

Some 3,400 people have died in the outbreak - mostly in West Africa.

Meanwhile US President Barack Obama has said the White House is considering extra screening at US airports for people arriving from the worst-affected countries in West Africa.

He said the chances for an Ebola outbreak in the US were extremely low, but vowed to step up the pressure on larger countries to help with efforts to contain the disease.

It comes as the US tries to limit the spread from its first confirmed case, a Liberian in Dallas.

High fever

The Spanish nurse is in a stable condition, Ms Mato said. She started to feel ill last week when she was on holiday.

Manuel Garcia Viejo, seen in a file photo, was the second Spanish priest to be repatriated from Africa with Ebola

The nurse was admitted to hospital in Alcorcon, near Madrid, on Monday morning with a high fever, she said.

"Both the health ministry and public health authorities are working together to give the best care to the patient and to guarantee the safety of all citizens," the minister told a news conference.

Manuel Garcia Viejo, 69, died in the hospital Carlos III de Madrid on 25 September after catching Ebola in Sierra Leone.

Miguel Pajares, 75, died in August after contracting the virus in Liberia.

Experimental drug

Ebola spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of someone who has the virus and the only way to stop an outbreak is to isolate those who are infected.

There have been nearly 7,500 confirmed infections worldwide, with officials saying the figure is likely to be much higher in reality.

Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have been hardest hit.

Thomas Duncan, the first person to be diagnosed with Ebola in the US, is being treated at a Dallas hospital in isolation. He caught the virus in his native Liberia.

Mr Duncan's condition is critical but stable, doctors said on Monday.

He has been given Brincidofovir, a new experimental drug for treating Ebola which was developed in North Carolina.

Ebola virus disease (EVD)

• Symptoms include high fever, bleeding and central nervous system damage
• Spread by body fluids, such as blood and saliva
• Fatality rate can reach 90% - but current outbreak has mortality rate of about 70%
• Incubation period is two to 21 days
• There is no proven vaccine or cure
• Supportive care such as rehydrating patients who have diarrhoea and vomiting can help recovery
• Fruit bats, a delicacy for some West Africans, are considered to be virus's natural host

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North and South Korea 'agree to talks'

North and South Korea have agreed to resume formal high-level talks that had effectively been suspended since February, reports from South Korea say.

The agreement came during a surprise visit to South Korea by North Korean officials for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games.

The visit was led by two top-ranking North Korean officials seen as close aides to leader Kim Jong-un.

Both sides were said to have agreed to meet again within the next few weeks.

Hwang Pyong-so, seen as the second-most powerful man in North Korea, held talks with Ryoo Kihl-jae, the South's reunification minister, on Saturday after flying to Incheon to attend the sporting event.

Mr Hwang is the top political officer at the Korean People's Army. The other two members of the North's delegation were Choe Ryong-hae and Kim Yang-gon - key members of the ruling Workers' Party.

It is not known what was discussed at the meeting and neither party has commented publicly on the talks.

A change of tack

The talks are something of a breakthrough given the level of insult thrown at the South by the North in recent years.

Relations between the two have been practically non-existent for four years, but the North's economic troubles seem to have forced a change of tack, our correspondent adds.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict was ended with a truce.

The surprise meeting comes amid ongoing speculation about the health of the North's leader.

Mr Kim has not been seen in public since 3 September. A recent official documentary showed him limping.

Meanwhile, North Korea's ambassador to the UN, So Se Pyong, said on Friday that the country was ready to resume talks on its nuclear programme.

In an interview with Reuters news agency, Mr So also said the North was not planning any missile or nuclear tests.

North Korea pledged to abandon its nuclear programme in 2005, but it has been conducting missile and nuclear tests since the negotiations broke down in 2008.

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Geoffrey Holder, Bond villain and dancer, dies aged 84

Geoffrey Holder, the Tony-winning actor, dancer and choreographer known to millions as Baron Samedi in Bond movie Live and Let Die, has died at 84.

Born in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, Holder was also a composer, a designer and a celebrated painter.

He will be best remembered to many as the cackling Voodoo villain who dogged Roger Moore's footsteps in his first outing as secret agent James Bond.

His other films included 1982 musical Annie, in which he played Punjab.

Often cast in exotic roles, he played a tribal chieftain in 1967 film Doctor Dolittle and a sorceror in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask).

More recently, his distinctive bass voice was heard narrating Tim Burton's 2005 film version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Holder, one of four children, was taught to dance by his older brother Boscoe, joining his dance company at the age of seven.

He became director of the company in the late 1940s after Boscoe moved to London, before moving to the US in 1954.

Holder with son Leo at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington in 2010

Holder made his Broadway debut that same year in House of Flowers, a Caribbean-themed musical in which he first played Baron Samedi.

A top-hatted spirit of death in Haitian Voodoo culture, the character made full use of the actor's imposing physique and physical dexterity.

He won two Tony Awards for best costume design and musical direction in the original Broadway production of The Wiz, an all-black version of The Wizard of Oz. He also appeared in an all-black version of Waiting for Godot

According to a family spokesman, he died on Sunday in New York from complications caused by pneumonia, He is survived by his wife, Carmen de Lavallade, and their son Leo.

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Bermuda Triangle Doesn’t Like Runner in Giant Hamster Ball

We all know that the Bermuda Triangle eats ships and planes like they’re candy. So when it sees something in the shape of a giant ball with something soft inside, it’s probably thinking “Cadbury Egg!” That could explain why a man trying to run around the entire Bermuda Triangle inside a homemade floating human hamster ball failed only three days into his trek.

Iranian-born US national Reza Baluchi described his trip as a fundraiser “for children in need” and “to … inspire those that have lost hope for a better future.” The 42-year-old ultramarathoner’s goal was to travel around the Bermuda Triangle, from Miami to Bermuda to Puerto Rico to Miami, a 1,033 mile trip, to raise money for his charity, Plant Unity.

The Bermuda Triangle

Baluchi called his self-designed floating human hamster ball a “hydro pod bubble runner.” Built out of metal, soccer balls and 3mm-thick plastic, it’s propelled by running inside like a classic hamster ball. His plan was to run until he got too hot, jump into the water to cool off (while tethered to the ball), then climb back in and repeat. The pod had a hammock for sleeping, protein bars and bottled water for sustenance, fishing gear, a satellite phone and a waterproof pouch for his green card and passport. Baluchi said he successfully tested the pod last year in the Pacific and has been preparing for two years.

What could possibly go wrong? When dealing with the Bermuda Triangle, just about anything. Baluchi left Miami on Wednesday, October 1, and was spotted on Thursday, still on the Miami coast, by a person who told the U.S. Coast Guard he asked for directions to Bermuda. The Coast Guard picked him up on Saturday, October 4, about 70 miles from St. Augustine after he turned on his tracking beacon.

Where’s Baluchi’s big ball now? In the belly of the beast. The Coast Guard left it in the water and the Bermuda Triangle has by now devoured it as a warning to Baluchi and any future human hamsters crazy enough to try this stunt again.

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AUSTRALIAN V8 CHAINSAW

We’re not saying that a chainsaw powered by an 8-cylinder engine is necessary, we’re just saying that it’s completely awesome.

The single chainsaw to rule them all, this bad boy was built by the team at Whitlands Engineering out of Victoria. Powered by a 4.1-liter Holden V8 engine, this thing has the ability to mow right through performance 550m hardwood in just 2.4 seconds with ease. The custom chainsaw setup has been outfitted with a 3/4 Harvester chain along with a 1000mm Harvester bar. The fierce 120-horsepower setup could cause deafness to occur, and earmuffs are not just recommended, they are absolutely required to operate this Australia-built beast.

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Hiker discovers abandoned Tennessee town untouched and over 100 years old while trekking through Great Smoky Mountains National Park

One man made the discovery of a lifetime while out on a recent hike.

Jordan Liles, who currently lives in San Diego, California, was in Tennessee back in May 2013 when he decided to take some photos during a trek through Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Those photos turned out to be incredibly interesting when the young man managed to stumble across a seemingly forgotten town the woods.

What a find: Jordan Liles discovered an abandoned town in Tennesse

Haunting: Built over 100 years ago, the town has gone untouched of recent

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Roman nanotechnology inspires next-generation holograms for information storage

The Lycurgus Cup, as it is known due to its depiction of a scene involving King Lycurgus of Thrace, is a 1,600-year-old jade green Roman chalice that changes colour depending on the direction of the light upon it. It baffled scientists ever since the glass chalice was acquired by the British Museum in the 1950s, as they could not work out why the cup appeared jade green when lit from the front but blood red when lit from behind.

Later research confirmed the effect was caused by interference produced by the interaction of light with metallic nanoparticles. Now the same technology used to produce the unique features of the Lycurgus cup are being used to create holograms made of tiny particles of silver that could double the amount of information that can be stored in digital optical devices, such as sensors, displays and medical imaging devices.

According to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the interference produced by the interaction of light with nanoparticles allows holograms to go beyond the normal limits of diffraction, or the way in which waves spread or bend when they encounter an opening or obstacle.

When metallic particles have dimensions on the nanoscale, they display iridescent colours. The first known example of this phenomenon is the Lycurgus cup, a 4th century chalice made of glass impregnated with particles of silver and gold, ground down until they were as small as 50 nanometres in diameter, less than one-thousandth the size of a grain of table salt. This produced the optical phenomenon, known as dichroism, which occurs when the colour of the cup changes from green to red according to the position of the light source.

Scientists say the Roman artisans created the dichromic effect in the magnificent Lycurgus chalice by accident, however, others have argued that their work was so precise that it is ridiculous to assert that the outcome was accidental. In fact, the exact mixture of the previous metals suggests that the Romans had perfected the use of nanoparticles – “an amazing feat,” according to archaeologist Ian Freestone of University College London.

Only in the last 20 years have scientists begun to understand the phenomenon observed in the Lycurgus Cup, but until now, they have not been able to utilise its effects in currently-available technology.

To apply this phenomenon in modern optics, an interdisciplinary team of researchers have created nanoscale metallic nanoparticle arrays that mimic the colour effects of the Lycurgus cup, to form multi-colour holograms. This breakthrough could lead to the shrinkage of standard bulky optical devices.

“This technology will lead to a new range of applications in the area of photonics, as conventional optical components simply cannot achieve this kind of functionality,” said Yunuen Montelongo, a PhD student from the Department of Engineering, who led the research.

“The potential of this technology will be realised when they are mass produced and integrated into the next generation of ultra-thin consumer electronics.”

Using a single thin layer of silver, Montelongo and his colleagues patterned colourful holograms containing 16 million nanoparticles per square millimetre.

Each nanoparticle, approximately 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, scatters light into different colours depending on its particular size and shape. The scattered light from each of the nanoparticles interacts and combines with all of the others to produce an image.

The device can display different images when illuminated with a different colour light, a property not seen before in a device of this type. Furthermore, when multiple light sources are shone simultaneously, a multi-colour image is projected.

“This hologram may find a wide range of applications in the area of displays, optical data storage, and sensors,” said PhD student Calum Williams, a co-author of the paper.

“However, scalable approaches are needed to fulfil the potential of this technology.”

Isn’t it ironic that scientists now turn to the works of our so-called ‘primitive’ ancestors for help in developing new technologies?

[MIKA27]

10 FLASKS FOR EVERY TYPE OF SIPPER

The flask grows up with you. As a teen pulling Black Velvet under the football bleachers, you were juvenile and unctuous, and so, by the transitive property, was your swigger. Now, pulling it out during a cold or dull moment (or a dull, cold moment) among friends marks you as the unsophisticated sophisticate. It’s a reputation grounded in relativity: like any other form of power, the flask can be misused, badly. Pull that sucker out too often and you’ll earn all sorts of labels, all of them deserved but use it wisely and you’ll have that hint of lawless confidence; the look of wonder in your buddies’ eyes as you swig your just-so-uncouth booze will be all the sweeter. (Smokier, if it’s Balvenie 18.) These ones deserve a place in your coat pocket.

NALGENE

Yes, it looks like an empty bottle of mouthwash, but obviously you’re on a budget, and Nalgene makes sturdy products. The colored sleeve is ideal for hiding the pallid color of your dirt-cheap booze. Plus, if you need to imbibe someplace that has particularly uptight restrictions — say, court — it can get through metal detectors. [Purchase for $9]

COLEMAN STAINLESS STEEL

Sensible design, sensible material, and high enough capacity (8 ounces) to make you somewhat less than sensible. [Purchase for $10]

PRIMUS ALUMINUM

It’s like the Coleman with some extra strut; at 17 ounces, it’s also much larger. Ding up its logo’d exterior on camping trips for some woodsman cred, and use the extra liquid for manly things: making whiskey pancake syrup. Reminiscing with bears. Sterilizing amputations. [Purchase for $13]

STANLEY ADVENTURE E-CYCLE

The reasoning here is simple: preserving the environment is key to continued production of alcohol. Stanley’s flask is made with recycled plastic, and its two-stage lid that allows for easy cleaning is the most sensible invention since the flask itself. [Purchase for $21]

VARGO TITANIUM FUNNEL

There isn’t one especially strong justification for a titanium flask, but it does look sharp. The integrated silicon funnel is really what you’re paying for. [Purchase for $75]

FILSON STAINLESS STEEL AND BRIDLE LEATHER

It’s a less modest version of the stainless steel flask, in a genteel, drinking-in-the-stables sort of way, and it’s made in the U.S. of A. Translation: it was made to aid in public bourbon consumption. [Purchase for $78]

SNOW PEAK TITANIUM CURVED FLASK

A curved shape means it won’t hug your hip as well as a kidney style, but it’s also damn handsome. Just don’t lose the cap; the absence of a captive top and the given pairing with booze consumption means you may need to buy some spares. [Purchase for $150]

BEST MADE CO. “STAY SHARP”

Pewter is a traditional material for flasks, but it’s been largely phased out by stainless steel and titanium. Best Made Co.’s interpretation is made in England, engraved with a chipper motto (“Stay Sharp”), and rounds out its haughty coolness with an optional cotton-nylon case for an extra $50. [Purchase for $98]

KAUFMANN MERCANTILE COPPER

Copper is a beautiful material, its characteristic sheen either maintained or allowed to age for a patina. In flasks, though, it requires some extra work: copper flasks are unsafe to drink from until they are hot-tinned — i.e., dipped in molten tin. This one’s handmade by Jacob Bromwell, a nearly 200-year-old Tennessee company. If you’re going to spend $200 on a flask, you might as well get the stopper-topped version. [Purchase for $198]

SURNAME CONDUCTOR

Surname’s copper flask boasts all the positive properties of Kaufmann’s, but with a more modern, finished look — one that, fortunately, stops just shy of the monocle-and-top-hat steampunk look. [Purchase for $215]

[MIKA27]

THE HISTORY OF FLANNEL

Flannel is more than just plaid. Lumberjacks and grunge music aside, it’s a versatile fabric with a deep history that stretches back centuries. Today flannel is far reaching; its popularity transcends social gaps and gender, and never seems to stagnate. But it wasn’t always so. Long before “Smells Like Teen Spirit” blew out boomboxes and Gregory Peck captivated audiences in a flannel suit, the fabric was meant for one purely practical purpose: warmth.

Flannel first emerged in the 17th century, created by the Welsh as a replacement to their plain wool garb. Made out of worsted yarn, napped on one or both sides, and sourced from the country’s multitudinous herds of sheep, the fabric provided much better protection against the Welsh’s notoriously wet and windy winters; it’s unclear who named the stuff, but the French called it flanelle, the Germans, Flanell.

Because of its durability, affordability and warmth, flannel quickly became popular across European borders. Wool factories sprouted up all over England and France; by the 19th century, its production blossomed thanks to the more efficient mechanical “carding” process, utilized by mills all over Britain during the Industrial Revolution. In 1889 American entrepreneur Hamilton Carhartt, seeing the need to improve the working man’s uniform in the United States, opened his factory in Detroit, MI and started producing tough flannel garments.

In the late 19th century America was still in a transitional period; westward railroads were under construction, as were large factories. Flannel, already utilized during the Civil War as a cheap, tough material for soldiers’ undershirts and simple four-button coats, easily found a place as the ideal fabric for workmen; it was used to make one-piece union suits (long underwear) and work overalls for railroad and construction workers.

At the turn of the 20th century, perhaps because of its association with construction and frontiersmen, the flannel shirt became a symbol for rugged men. The American populace were captivated by the mythical giant Paul Bunyan, garbed in red plaid flannel shirt. His tall tales and heroics inspired workmen — especially loggers — and their children.

The fabric once again was called upon by the military during WWI, used to make undershirts, belts and sewn-on patches. When American soldiers were sent off to the Pacific and European theaters in 1942, they were still wearing flannel, including in the warm lining of the famous Parsons M1941 field jacket.

After the war, flannel proved it wasn’t exclusive to the undershirts, work clothes and bedding; it could also be sophisticated. The 1950s witnessed the rise of gray flannel suits, the standard for most all business men. In 1955, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, a novel by Sloan Wilson about a man navigating the new business world, was released to critical acclaim and prompted a film adaptation starring Gregory Peck (a style icon of the time) in a Fox Flannel suit.

The fabric continued to feature as a business essential in popular culture. Disney’s The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (1968) parodied the modern business man; Sean Connery rocked a few gray flannel suits in 1964’s Goldfinger.

Gregory Peck in The Man In The Grey Flannel Suit

In 1975 flannel was even turned into a scent by Geoffrey Beene; “Grey Flannel” was one of the first ever designer-made colognes.

Flannel resurged with a vengeance the early ’90s as part of the grunge music scene. The shirts that had united America’s working class in the 1950s became a symbol of the anti-conformity zeitgeist. Pacific northwestern bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam were garbed in messy plaid flannels that were both cheap and built strictly for comfort — the polar opposite of the neat gray flannel suit of the ’50s.

Today flannel is synonymous with outdoor wear. Often confused with plaid (which is just a pattern of woven flannel), flannel is a staple for outdoor brands such as LL Bean and Pendleton. The once rugged plaid shirts has transitioned to lighter cottons and more affordable synthetic fabrics. The newer shirts replicate the same plaid style, but don’t offer the same durability and warmth as the original.

Plaid flannel has also transitioned to high fashion. It was picked up by big-named brands — including Tommy Hilfiger, Dior and Ralph Lauren — and crossed the gender divide, finding use in women’s shoes, bags, dresses and everything inb etween. In their most recent AW14 runway shows, brands from Louis Vuitton, Valentino to Maison Martin Margiela have all showcased grey flannel suits, surely influenced by the resurgence of 1950s and ’60s style brought on by shows like Mad Men.

Both a sturdy staple and an ever-reborn product of cyclical fashion, flannel has grown from humble Welsh beginnings to clothe the builders of the railroads and inspire folklore, symbolized the American business work ethic and that idea’s angry cultural and musical counterpoint. Say what you will about its inferiority to new-fangled lab-created materials — it’ll be around longer than you will.

[MIKA27]

BEHIND THE VISOR: THE LIFE OF A WARBIRD PILOT

Warbird pilots, or pilots of vintage military aircraft, have an innate passion for flying. When other kids dreamed of hitting the ball out of the park, these guys fantasized about racing down the chute at Reno. “Passion is the perfect word to describe it”, says John-Curtiss Paul, a decorated Reno Air Race Pilot. “If you are a pilot you just need to fly. If you have that passion, it just needs to be fulfilled. I do it because I love it.”

In present-day aviation, safety is king; there’s little glory in being a maverick. Pilots have a meticulous life that only those those immersed in aviation can truly appreciate; most of their time is solitary, spent on the ground, committed to making sure planes are in top flying shape. “One of the greatest accomplishments [is] when somebody you admire or respect shows that same gratitude for your ability to be safe.”

There’s no denying it: in the air, a lot can go wrong. “I can tell you that I have over 11 people still in my cell phone that aren’t with us anymore”, Paul says. “I do fear getting killed in a plane crash. Chances are, it means I just did something stupid or I did something wrong. It’s a constant. It’s there. But it’s not something you can focus on, dwell on.” Even though as a warbird pilot Paul may be part of a dying breed, it’s clear that his passion for flying isn’t going anywhere. The short film Warbird Pilot: Behind the Visor follows John-Curtiss Paul as he balances aviation and family life.

[MIKA27]

Scenes from Daily Life in the de Facto Capital of ISIS

A source in Syria describes life in Raqqa, a city transformed under militant control, with sketches by Molly Crabapple.

Editor’s note: In the year since Islamist factions took over Raqqa, Syria, very little unfiltered news has made it out of the area. In the meantime, ISIS has established its de facto capital in the city. Vanityfair.com received the below text from a Syrian who claims Raqqa as a hometown. To protect this individual’s security in an area where speaking candidly about ISIS is dangerous, we’re not revealing his or her name.

Artist Molly Crabapple has completed sketches based on the scenes presented in the source’s photos. “With the exception of Vice News, ISIS has permitted no foreign journalists to document life under their rule in Raqqa,” Crabapple wrote. “Instead, they rely on their own propaganda. To create these images, I drew from cell-phone photos a Syrian sent me of daily life in the city. Like the Internet, art evades censorship.”

The below captions are written by the source in Syria, with occasional edits for clarity, who shared some context as well. “In March 2013, Raqqa became the first provincial city to be captured by the Syrian rebels in a four day-long battle,” the source wrote to VF.com. “Since then, focus has been shifted on the city, a turning point in the history of rather a quiet, neglected city.”

“Soon, the mostly Islamist-oriented, jihadi rebel factions (among them al-Qaeda’s wing in Syria—Jabhat Al-Nusra—and ISIS, which had yet-to-be-disowned by al-Qaeda) were the strongest to groups competing for providence,” the source continued. “By a year later, ISIS had kicked all other jihadist groups out, imposed its strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, and forced people to abide by its rules.”

The Bakery

In a society in which bread is essential for every meal, providing people with sufficient supply quantities is a challenge for any government—much less a rebel group. In Raqqa, which has been described, along with Hasakeh and Deir Ezzor, as a ‘bread basket’ for all Syria, residents face difficulties in getting a necessary amount of bread.

The Clock Tower

For decades, the Clock Tower—along with the statues placed on the top of it—has been among the few monuments by which Raqqa is known. Two peasants, a man and a woman, hold a torch high, and look at the sky. They represent a natural tendency inside human beings—to be free.

In November 2013, ISIS decided to cut the heads off the statues. A symbolic and threatening message. This was ISIS’s way of hinting that such a practice would later involve humans, in this very place. And that is what has happened.

Models’ Faces Blotted Out

In the effort to make sure everything looks Islamic (meaning to abide by the Sharia law of ISIS’s understanding), ISIS established what it calls Husbah. Husbah is a police-like body tasked with enforcing Sharia in public life. It has listed a number of forbidden misdeeds, including smoking tobacco, improper dressing, and swearing.

The list of forbidden things includes photos of models. According to Sharia law, as interpreted by ISIS, any depiction of human beings or animals on a wall is representative of God’s creation. Therefore, it’s haram, or sinful.

The owner of a men’s clothing store had to stain the faces of the models with red color, so that it will be in accord with the law.

Na’eem Square

Na’eem in Arabic means “paradise,” but ISIS changed this beautiful public place into the complete opposite. The square that was a favorite place for boys and girls to have dates, for little kids to play, and for the elders to relive their youths by taking in the activity of the city, is now the awful place of spikes upon which chopped-off heads are placed. The story of this square sums up the dark story of the whole city.

In the drawing, damage appears on the fence due to the Assad regime’s airstrikes. Assad’s forces targeted it as a symbolic way of retaliating for the many times heads of soldiers from within its force were horrifically placed on the fence.

Kids Searching Through Trash

From the very first day it placed its solid grip on the city, the Islamic State, has been engaged in a propaganda war to show the world how Raqqa prospers silently under Sharia law, in the hope that it can reverse the image of depression and oppression the world sees of life in its capital.

With multiple professionally edited videos and high-resolution photos, ISIS insists life in its caliphate is getting comfortable and secure day by day.

However, life is different away from ISIS’s cameras. In this scene, children search through trash in the hope they can find something of value, something worth selling for some trivial amount of money.

The Library

The Cultural Center was built in the 1960s. It has hosted many cultural activities, art exhibitions, and literary lectures since its opening. However, culture is not something of value in the eyes of Islamists. Ahrar al-Sham, one of the Islamist rebel groups fighting in Syria, deemed its strong building suitable for a headquarters. This prompted the Assad regime’s fighter jets to target it.

On March 4, 2013, the aerial attacks damaged and burned the library. Thousands of books turned to ash, and, according to a lecturer at the local Furat University, an entire heritage vanished in minutes.

This drawing depicts the back garden of the building, an odd place for a Syrian Army's Russian-made military truck (ural) to be parked.

The Traffic Policeman

Immediately after taking over Raqqa, ISIS established several departments to help organize the city’s affairs. Since traffic lights had been out of order for months, one such department concerned itself with regulating traffic. The “Islamic traffic police” officers are usually local recruits who sometimes mask their faces and wear specific uniforms denoting their job, armed with pistols, but no whistles. (ISIS has largely deemed whistles to be non-Islamic.)

Here, we see an Islamic traffic-police officer taking a break to have some tea while sitting on the pavement in front of al-Rasheed Park.

Connecting the Internet

Since A.D.S.L. service and cell-phone networks do not work, the only way for the people in Raqqa to connect to the world is via satellite Internet. People interested in this field of business have found ways to provide alternatives, which are exclusively via satellite dishes. However, to cover more space and extend signals to customers’ homes, these services usually use wireless repeaters, linked to a central network.

Nonetheless, satellite-Internet transmitters are not consistent regarding upload and download speeds, and the signal quality is usually poor. Here, a taxi driver, sitting on a chair in the street, finds a few minutes of free time to surf the Internet on his mobile.

A Wounded ISIS Soldier

Syria is a country where the concept of healthcare is totally uncommon. After more than three years of war, the situation of hospitals and medical-care centers is simply critical. The conditions of the already poorly equipped hospitals in Raqqa are serious—just like the conditions of their patients. Under such circumstances, the state-owned National Hospital is the hospital upon which the whole city depends.

Unlike other shortages, the lack of various kinds of medicine categories is severely fatal. Hospitals in Raqqa witnessed numerous deaths that would have been avoided if the required drugs and specialists were available. And with the ISIS threat to foreign aid-work organizations, the situation is descending from bad to worse. However, the National Hospital provides medical treatment not only for civilians but for ISIS fighters as well. This drawing depicts an injured ISIS fighter walking on crutches in the hospital’s corridor.

[MIKA27]

The 1920 British air bombing campaign in Iraq

British planes are involved in a third air campaign over Iraq in 23 years. But the RAF has bombed Iraq before - more than 90 years ago - and that controversial strategy has had a huge impact on modern warfare and the Middle East.

An armed rebellion in Iraq. Debate at Westminster on how to counter the insurgency. The deployment of RAF bombers to defeat the uprising.

With British planes once again in the skies over Iraq, it sounds like a story from the last few days. But Britain first tried to exercise control over Iraq from the air in the 1920s.

The end of World War One left Britain and France in command of the Middle East - as the defeated Ottoman Empire fell apart. The allies then carved up the region with a series of "mandates".

It gave them control of new countries, with the notion of independence postponed until the peoples of the region were considered ready to rule themselves.

One of Britain's mandates was Iraq - Mesopotamia as it was then. But welding together a new country and subjugating disparate ethnic and religious groups who felt that they had simply swapped one imperial Turkish master for another British one proved costly.

An uprising in Iraq in May 1920 united Sunni and Shia briefly against the British. It was put down, but required the deployment of more than 100,000 British and Indian troops. Thousands of Arabs were killed. Hundreds of British and Indian soldiers died. The military campaign cost Britain tens of millions of pounds - money it could not afford after the Great War.

David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill outside number 10 Downing Street in 1919

A new way of controlling Iraq was needed, and the man who needed it most was Winston Churchill. As war secretary in Lloyd George's coalition government, Churchill had to square huge military budget cuts with British determination to maintain a grip on its mandate in Iraq.

The result became known as "aerial policing". It was a policy Churchill had first mused on in the House of Commons in March 1920, before the Iraqi uprising had even begun.

"It may be possible to effect economies during the course of the present year by holding Mesopotamia through the agency of the Air Force rather than by a military force. It has been pointed out that by your Air Force you have not to hold long lines of communications because the distance would only be one or one-and-a-half hours' flight by aeroplane. It is essential in dealing with Mesopotamia to get the military expenditure down as soon as the present critical state of affairs passes away."

The defeat of the Iraqi uprising was credited in part to the deployment of RAF bombers. The embryonic RAF - attempting to carve out a permanent role for itself and avoid being consumed by the other armed services - took on command of all future military operations in Iraq.

When troubled flared again, villages held by rebellious tribes were attacked from the air.

British RAF armoured cars and bomber planes on duty in Iraq during the Mesopotamia conflict

The Air Minister, Lord Thomson, detailed how one district of "recalcitrant chiefs" was subdued in the Liwa region on the Euphrates in November 1923.

He wrote: "As they refused to come in, bombing was then authorised and took place over a period of two days. The surrender of many of the headmen of the offending tribes followed."

British armoured cars on patrol in Iraq in 1922

As far as the British government was concerned, the strategy was a pragmatic success. Iraq was subdued by a handful of RAF squadrons and a small force of troops. The RAF maintained its military control over Iraq until World War Two, even after Iraqi independence in 1932.

There was apparently little debate about the morality of bombing.

Lord Thomson went on to spell out why air power was essential in Iraq. The language may have changed over the last 90 years, but some of the argument sounds familiar.

"The alternatives to the employment of the air arm in backward countries of poor communications and with a wide scattered population are, first, an occupation by ground forces so complete as to put out of the mind of disaffected elements any hope or temptation to resist government authority. Occupation on this scale would involve large numbers of troops and heavy expenditure."

For the RAF though, the lessons of Iraq were doctrinal, not budgetary. They came to believe that bombing was enough to win a war. As the historian AJP Taylor put it: "Here was an independent strategy of the air. From this moment, it was accepted that bombs could not only quell tribal revolts, but could win a great war."

The 1921 Mesopotamia Commission, including Gertrude Bell (second from left, second row), T E Lawrence (fourth from the right, second row) and Winston Churchill (centre front)

The "great war" the RAF became convinced it could win by strategic bombing duly arrived in 1939. The lessons of Iraq were to be applied to Germany.

One of the RAF squadron leaders in Iraq was Arthur Harris - who in 1942 assumed the leadership of RAF Bomber Command. Several of his senior officers in Bomber Command had served in the same squadron.

For Harris, what was true of Iraq was true of Germany. As AJP Taylor said of him: "He genuinely believed that the German people could be cowed from the air as he had once cowed the tribesmen of Irak (sic)."

Arthur 'Bomber' Harris

The destruction of Hamburg, Dresden and scores of other German cities and towns followed. Around 600,000 Germans, mostly civilians, perished. But although the crews of Bomber Command fought with great gallantry - more than 55,000 crewmen were killed and 19 Victoria Crosses won - the RAF's strategic bombing campaign alone could not force Germany's surrender. The Allied armies were required to destroy Hitler's war machine.

More than 90 years after the RAF's first bombing campaign in Iraq, and 70 years since it flattened German cities in World War Two, does the legacy of "aerial policing" still persist?

For some modern historians the answer is an unequivocal yes. They see the US strategy in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan as the direct descendant of that original British campaign.

Prof Priya Satia, associate professor of Modern British History at Stanford University in California, has written extensively about the history of aerial campaigns in the region.

"Aerial strategy was developed by the British in the Middle East between World War One and World War Two. A bit of what the Americans do now is borrowed from that experience," she says.

"This reflexive recourse to an aerial strategy still in the Middle East is not a coincidence. It comes out of this long history that this part of the world can take it."

Day bombers fly over spectators at Hendon, during an RAF demonstration in 1926

Satia argues that it was cultural and geographical stereotyping as much as the issue of cost that persuaded Britain that using bombers in Iraq in the 1920s was justified. "They were used in Iraq because there were certain ideas about Iraq. It was perceived as all tribal, all desert, all Bedouin, and that such people and such terrain could take violence that others could not. The assumptions about the people who lived there made it permissible to use planes there."

She sees the strongest link in the deployment of drones - used by the US in Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan but also now in recent US strikes in Syria and Iraq against Islamic State. "The bombing of Iraq in the 1920s is very similar to what the US drones have done in Yemen and AfPak. It's aerial policing."

But there are some that make the case that any calculation about the use of air power alone must take into account modern technology. Collateral damage can be minimised more effectively than ever before, says Elizabeth Quintana, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute.

"The UK operates Dual-Mode Brimstone [missiles] which are by far the lowest collateral weapon system in the world and used in the battle for Misrata in Libya," she says. British forces were able to target pro-Gaddafi forces on one street and leave civilians unhurt on a parallel one, she adds.

"When you are operating in an area with enemy forces embedded within the local population," says Quintana, "then having a system that can be very precise is obviously advantageous."

But airstrikes alone are always unlikely to be sufficient, Quintana says.

MoD footage showed RAF jets targeting an IS armed pick-up truck during recent strikes

Satia is dismissive of the argument that today's aerial attacks are different because they are precise.

"There's always collateral damage, no matter how precise it is. Reports show that the designation 'militant' has been used much too freely. Secrecy surrounding strikes fuels suspicions of high casualties. The strategy creates anger and new recruits."

Yet there have been many who have backed drone strikes for the damage done to al-Qaeda's leadership. And strikes against IS seem a sensible option to many.

"If applied robustly and persistently, modern airpower can inflict a debilitating sense of helplessness on adversaries like ISIS, who lack effective air defences," says former major general of the US Air Force Charlie Dunlap Jr, now a law professor at Duke University law professor. "They can become more concerned about hiding from airstrikes in order to simply survive than about wreaking havoc."

"It is fair to say that ISIS has not yet felt the full potential of coalition airpower," he continues. "If a fully-resourced and truly determined air campaign takes place, the kind of ISIS that we will see in the future will likely be one that Kurdish, Iraqi, and Syrian opposition ground forces will have the capacity to effectively confront and dispatch."

Britain's aerial policing may have long faded from memories in the UK - partly, argues Satia, because of censorship at the time and "myth-making" about it.

That's not the case in Iraq, she says.

"What happened in the 1920s does still come up a lot. Shia Mullahs will say 'This is just like 1920 again'."

How HG Wells predicted air warfare

• In his 1907 story The War In The Air, HG Wells predicted the use of the aircraft in warfare

• The book followed Londoner Bert Smallways as he becomes accidentally involved in a plot to invade America by air

• It starts a new era of war, in which aerial bombardments obliterate the great cultures of the twentieth century

• HG Wells also predicted nuclear weapons and world wars in his books

[MIKA27]

Nevada’s secret underwater world

Beneath the surface of Lake Mead, located 35 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, a world unfolds in shades of teal. Palm-sized bluegill fish nibble the meat from cracked mussels, natural stone spires rise from the depths and shipwrecks slump along the silt bottom. But the lake also hides an array of historic landmarks that only scuba divers can visit: the remains of the massive Depression-era construction project that built the Hoover Dam, including cement tunnels and railroad tracks now decaying in the dark.

In 1931, construction began on what then was called the Boulder Dam. The project sought to tame the erratic Colorado River, prevent flooding in California’s Imperial Valley and generate electricity for the expanding west. Its other purpose was to add jobs: launched by the Bureau of Reclamation during the heart of the Great Depression, the Hoover Dam’s construction employed around 21,000 people and fundamentally changed the surrounding area, building an infrastructure that would lend itself to even more productivity. Train tracks were laid and power lines erected. Boulder City sprung up to house the workers. When the dam was completed five years later, it stood 726ft tall, had claimed at least 96 lives and created Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States.

An aerial view of Lake Mead

Today, on summer weekends, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area wakes up early. Marinas buzz with families readying for a day on the water and kids toss bread to massive carp that guard the docks. Meanwhile, the lake fills with speedboats, jet skis, kayaks and even the Desert Princess, a three-level paddleboat that cruises to the dam packed with camera-toting tourists intent on staying dry.

But look closely at the boats out on the water and occasionally you’ll spot a bright red flag with a single diagonal white stripe – the universal sign for scuba divers.

“Lake Mead is considered one of the top freshwater dives in the whole world,” said Bill Duckro, a local scuba instructor. “There’s 700 miles of shoreline. You could dive out there at a different dive site almost every day the rest of your life and not hit them all. And the depths. Even though the lake has dropped more than 130ft, it’s still more than 500ft deep in some places.” After careers as both a police officer and casino wedding chapel minister, Duckro got certified as a scuba diver at age 51 and immediately fell in love with the sport. Today, he owns the Scuba Views dive shop in north Las Vegas, where he leads charters and teaches recreational diver and more advanced certification courses. In a wet suit, he looks like a cross between a nautical Santa Claus and Dog the Bounty Hunter, with the kind of calm, authoritative demeanour that new scuba divers want when their brain kicks into panic mode the first time out.

A diver heads into the depths.

With Duckro as guide, my fiancé and I headed to Middle Boulder Island for the first of two open water dives in our scuba certification course. We docked just past the Las Vegas Boat Harbor along the rocky shore beneath the concrete shell of a massive tank that juts off the island. A souvenir from the dam’s construction, the tank once cleaned the water that was used to create the Hoover Dam’s concrete.

“We used to hit that tank 80ft underwater,” Duckro said. Today, it’s on dry land.

At its peak in 1998, Lake Mead measured some 1,215ft above sea level, its cool blue-green waters providing a massive break from the surrounding desert scrub. But a persistent drought and decreasing runoff over the last 10-plus years have dropped the water level by more than 100ft. It is now at a historic low, leaving a glaring, white “bathtub ring” of mineral deposit around the shoreline and driving dozens of headlines announcing impending doom for the US Southwest, Nevada and the Las Vegas Valley, all of which depends on the reservoir for fresh water.

Still, as we sank below the surface, there was plenty to see. The tiered ground beneath the tank was busy with fish accustomed to the sight of scuba divers. Duckro grabbed a couple of the invasive Quagga mussels that have infiltrated the lake and held their cracked shells out on an open palm. The fish darted in for timid tastes as we watched, wide-eyed. On the silt floor some 30ft down, train tracks stretched into the murky distance.

Though the dropping water level of the lake is gravely concerning, it does have a faint silver lining for scuba divers: some sites that were once too deep for recreational divers are now within the certification’s limits.

One such site is the Hoover Dam train hopper, where trains would dump loads of rock to be crushed and divided into the aggregate piles. A concrete tunnel runs under the hopper – 8ft high, 10ft wide, 125ft long and totally black inside – a thrilling experience for advanced divers. Recreational divers can explore from outside the tunnel.

Duckro’s other favourite sites include Wishing Well Cove, where wind-sculpted cliff walls narrow dramatically underwater, and the Crack, where natural rock spires rise from the bottom in a beautiful formation. “It’s like you’re going through a maze,” he said of the latter.

The depths of Lake Mead hide dramatic wrecks, too, like the PBY-5a Catalina plane that crashed into the lake in 1949 while attempting a water landing. The pilot and mechanic went down with the aircraft, which now rests a short boat ride east of Boulder Harbor. Even after 60 years in the water “everything is pretty well preserved”, said Steve Fanell, an experienced diver who works in marine salvage and has been exploring Lake Mead for 16 years.

Wreck Alley, a series of boat wrecks just off Sentinel Island, is well-known among the local scuba community. “The biggest wreck there is called the Southern Cross,” Fanell said. “It’s about a 37ft to 38ft wooden sailboat. It’s like the mother ship of all the wrecks.”

But regardless of sailboat size or fame among divers, Lake Mead’s underwater world is still something of a mystery to the people stuck on the surface. It’s a secret kept among a select group of people who dip below the waves.