Figures du géant, des Lumières à nos jours

(Las figuras del gigante, de la Ilustración a nuestros días) es el texto de la conferencia presentada por el autor en mayo de 2008, en las XI Lecciones de Poética de la Cátedra Félix Huarte de Estética y Arte Contemporáneo (Universidad de Navarra)

Liquid ilmenite or liquidus ilmenite: a comment on the nature of ilmenite vein deposits

The interstitial character of ilmenite in common gabbroidic rocks has led to the idea that the last drop of liquid to crytallize in a rock could be pure ilmenite. When injected into enclosing rocks this liquid could give rise to ilmenite-pure veins. Fractional crystallization or immiscibility cannot produce a pure ilmenite melt. Actually, ilmenite is a liquidus mineral, which is the first or among the first mafic minerals to crystallize in Fe-Ti rich magmas. This is clearly shown by the sequence of crystallization in the Bjerkreim-Sokndal layered intrusion, by quantitative modelling of the liquid line of descent of jotunitic (hypersthene monzodioritic) magmas, and by experimental work. The interstitial character of ilmenite is therefore acquired subsolidus. Deformation can enhance the process. The synemplacement deformation linked to the diapiric uprise of anorthosite massifs is a suitable environment for the formation of layers of Cr- and Mg-rich ilmenite and their subsequent deformation and mobilization in discordant veins of pure ilmenite

The 1995 Attempted Derailing of the French TGV (High-Speed Train) and a Quantitative Analysis of 181 Rail Sabotage Attempts, MTI Report 09-12

On August 26, 1995, the Saturday of the final and busiest weekend of France’s summer holiday season, terrorists attempted to derail the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) between Lyon and Paris by planting a bomb. Fortunately, their crude triggering mechanism failed to detonate the bomb, and subsequent analysis indicates that even had the bomb gone off, the explosion would not have derailed the train. The TGV episode, one of a continuing series of case studies by the Mineta Transportation Institute, points to a continuing problem: Since 1995, terrorists have attempted to derail trains on at least 144 occasions. Because of the expansion of high-speed rail systems in Europe, Asia, and North America, where 15 high-speed rail projects are in preparation or under way in the United States alone, this case study has been expanded to include a chronology and statistical analysis of attempted derailments worldwide. This analysis examines the geographic distribution of the attempts, the methods used by the saboteurs, and the outcomes. Although based on a small universe of events, it underscores both the attractiveness to terrorists of attacking transportation systems—a successful attack can result in high body counts, significant disruption, dramatic images, and enormous publicity, all things sought by terrorists—and the difficulties of achieving success

Peculiar characteristics of the Bjerkreim-Sokndal intrusion (Rogaland anorthosite province, S. Norway) and implications for the layering formation

Version préliminair

An Exploration of Transportation Terrorist Stabbing Attacks

In his August 22, 2018 message to supporters of the Islamic State of Iraq and [greater] Syria (ISIS), Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi implored ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq as well as those on various jihadist fronts in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia not to be dismayed by military setbacks suffered by the Islamic State, but to continue fighting, confident that Allah would ultimately reward those who remained steadfast with victory. In the same message, he exhorted homegrown jihadists abroad— “the fierce lions in the lands of the Cross—Canada, Europe, and elsewhere” to carry out simple attacks within their limited capabilities that would nonetheless have great psychological impact because they would strike in the enemy’s homeland.Previous reports by the Mineta Transportation Institute have addressed bombings (see Suicide Bombings Against Trains and Buses Are Lethal but Few in Number and Explosives and Incendiaries Used in Terrorist Attacks on Public Surface Transportation: A Preliminary Empirical Analysis ). Car ramming attacks or what are sometimes called vehicular rammings have been the subject of more recent reporting. This report looks first at terrorist stabbing attacks against the public as a general phenomenon, and then examines stabbing attacks in public surface transportation venues