The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Czechs turn Soviet nuclear warhead depot into Iron Curtain museum Posted: 17 May 2013 08:38 AM PDT
The mighty underground cement bunker was ordered by the Soviet leadership under Nikita Khrushchev, and built in the mid to late 1960s in a forest near the village of Misov southwest of Prague, 60km (37.5 miles) from the west German border. It was one of three such places in the former Czechoslovakia, and a dozen across Soviet Warsaw Pact allies, but the only one believed still to be intact. "This was the most secret place in Czechoslovakia. No Czechs had access there," said Vaclav Vitovec, head of the Iron Curtain Foundation that is preparing to open the site in August. Inside the bunker, buried under a forest and protected by machine-gun posts, there are thick concrete walls, two pairs of heavy iron gates and four chambers for storing up to 80 nuclear warheads that could be mounted on missiles. A twin bunker sits some 100 metres away. A succession of smaller rooms hosts the remains of equipment, from loading cranes to helium and vacuum pumps used to maintain the warheads, a diesel engine, gas masks, air filters and various tools. All of this will be on display along with pictures and texts on the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Historians say the site was so secret that it is not even known whether nuclear warheads were actually ever placed there. "The is no information anyone from the Czechoslovak side was ever there. And the Soviet side is silent. We do not have information that would confirm it," said Prokop Tomek, a historian at the Military History Institute. "(But) it was without doubt built for this purpose." Short- to medium-range missiles that could carry nuclear warheads were deployed in Czechoslovakia and some even provided to the Czechoslovak army. The warheads could be mounted on the rockets and fired within two hours to clear the path for the Czechoslovak army marching to Germany, as set in Cold War plans. The Iron Curtain Foundation leaders citing former Czechoslovak and Soviet generals, are convinced the depots were used. They say tools and equipment found on the site also indicate the facility was in operation. A 170-strong Soviet unit under direct command from Moscow was deployed there permanently. Soviet forces that invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 pulled out after the fall of Communism in 1990-1991, including special units deployed at the three nuclear depots. Since then, the Misov bunker was used for storing tonnes of Czechoslovak banknotes which were pulled out of circulation when the country broke up in 1992, and as a storage place for the remains of 4,000 World War II German soldiers. — Reuters |
| Shake off a bad mood with a happy song Posted: 17 May 2013 05:03 AM PDT  Listening to a happy song can help boost your mood. - AFP pic JEFFERSON CITY, May 17 — Music can affect how you feel, and now a new study finds that listening to a happy song to boost your mood can help you do just that. Researchers from the University of Missouri in the US enlisted 173 participants in a music listening experiment. Over the course of two weeks, two groups were asked to improve their moods by listening to the upbeat tune "Rodeo" by Aaron Copland or, alternatively, Igor Stravinsky's somber classic "The Rite of Spring." Two other groups listened to one of the two songs, but without being told to try to boost their mood. Interestingly, only the Copland group reported an improved mood, meaning only those actively seeking happiness through the music enjoyed the benefits. In a second experiment, participants reported higher levels of happiness after two weeks of lab sessions in which they listened to upbeat music while trying to feel happier, compared to control participants who only listened to music. "Our work provides support for what many people already do—listen to music to improve their moods," said lead author Yuna Ferguson. "Although pursuing personal happiness may be thought of as a self-centered venture, research suggests that happiness relates to a higher probability of socially beneficial behavior, better physical health, higher income and greater relationship satisfaction." However Ferguson warns to be cautious about getting too introspective and constantly wondering, "Am I happy yet?" "Rather than focusing on how much happiness they've gained and engaging in that kind of mental calculation, people could focus more on enjoying their experience of the journey towards happiness and not get hung up on the destination," said Ferguson. Findings, announced May 14, appear in the Journal of Positive Psychology. Prior research has found that from almost the moment we are born, our feelings are influenced by the music we hear. A 2008 study found that five-month-old babies reacted to happy songs and by nine months they recognised and were affected by sad songs. That study was published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development. - AFP-Relaxnews |
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