Eyewitnesses Not Buying FAA's Hole-Punch Cloud Explanation For O'Hare UFO

During one late afternoon at Chicago's bustling O'Hare Airport, pilots, managers and mechanics at the United Airlines terminal saw an odd, disc-shaped object hovering silently overhead, just below the dense cloud layer. A pilot announced the sighting over the radio; a United taxi mechanic moving a Boeing 777 heard radio chatter about the craft and saw it; so did a pilot waiting to take off who opened the cockpit windscreen to get a better view. Minutes later, the wingless vehicle shot straight up at an incredible speed and disappeared, leaving a crisp hole through the clouds with blue sky visible at the top. It was definitely not an airplane, witnesses said of the Nov. 7 incident, many of them shaken by what they saw. "I immediately called our operations center to confirm the sighting, and the FAA was contacted while I drove to the other concourse to talk to the witnesses," a United management employee wrote to the National UFO Reporting Center.

Record Power For Military Laser

A laser developed for military use is a few steps away from hitting a power threshold thought necessary to turn it into a battlefield weapon. The Solid State Heat Capacity Laser (SSHCL) has achieved 67 kilowatts (kW) of average power in the laboratory. It could take only a further six to eight months to break the "magic" 100kW mark required for the battlefield, the project's chief scientist told the BBC.

Robots Could Soon Be Calling The Shots

Someday you could be taking orders from a robot ... but in a nice way. For example, imagine a body suit with sensors that can guide you through a golf swing like Tiger Woods'. Or a robo-birdwatcher that can tell you where to look for that rare ivory-billed woodpecker. Or an android gardener that can show you where to plant your seeds. Those are just some of the examples of robot-human interaction sketched out by experts in the field — examples that may well become reality in the next 10 years. The next big trends in human-robot interaction were among the topics covered here last weekend during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, featuring such pioneers as Cynthia Breazeal from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "The technology is becoming virtually ubiquitous," she said. "Before, when the first computers came out, there were rooms and rooms of computers. ... Now, they're [embedded] in the doorknobs. Robotics is going to be the same way. You're already seeing robotics integrated into your car today." The anticipated rise of the robots in everyday life already has sparked worries that automatons could someday become overlords rather than underlings. Prominent futurist Ray Kurzweil projects that computers will match the capability of the human brain by the year 2029, leading to a socio-technological "singularity" that cannot be anticipated.

High Tech Monitoring System Protecting Students

A drivers license and a fingerprint are now needed to enter Cooper North Elementary. The school is the first in the area to use a high-tech computer system to track school visitors. One parent said, "I think it's wonderful, I think the more security we have around, the better." That's the same thought Lubbock Cooper ISD had when they chose Cooper North Elementary School as the pilot school for a new high tech visitor monitoring system. Principal Rita McDaniels is the principal of Cooper North and she said, "We chose this particular system because it did two things. It scan's the DPS, the Texas database but it also scans the national sex offender registry." Lisa Edmunds, Cooper North secretary said, "What this will do is it'll tell us today we've had 46 visitors, 22 still here in the building, 24 have signed out and we have our volunteers on here, any visitors, substitutes are on here," and they track everyone who comes and goes, "If we've had an incident, if they know the date, we can pull up that data and we'll have a picture ID of everybody who has been in the school that day," Edmunds added. Cooper North is the first school in the area to try out this program. However, Lubbock ISD is looking into similar programs.

Film and producers state Jesus's Tomb and bones discovered

A highly guarded new documentary film jointly produced by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and Oscar winning director James Cameron, claims that the cave in which Jesus Christ was buried has been found in Jerusalem. "If it proves true," one news report says, "the discovery, which was revealed at a press conference in New York Monday, is shaking up the Christian world as one of the most significant archeological finds in history. The coffins which, according to the filmmakers held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene is being displayed for the first time in New York." According to the filmmakers, the film’s claim is based on close work with world-famous scientists, archeologists, statisticians, DNA specialists and antiquities experts.

Great Barrier Reef Polluted by Pesticides

The Great Barrier Reef, already under threat from global warming, is also being affected by pollutants and pesticides from the land carried into the sea by flooded rivers, satellite images show. Pictures taken this month by NASA and US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites indicate that coral is being affected by the run-off at a greater rate than previously thought.

World's tiniest RFID tag unveiled

The world's smallest radio frequency identification tags have been unveiled by Japanese electronics firm Hitachi. The minute devices measure just 0.05mm by 0.05mm (0.002x0.002in) and to the naked eye look like spots of powder. They are thin enough to be embedded in a sheet of paper, Hitachi spokesman Masayuki Takeuchi says. RFID tags store data about the objects they are attached to, and companies are vying to create increasingly tiny versions. Recently, Hitachi unveiled another RFID tag, the Mu-chip, which measures 0.4mm by 0.4mm (0.02x0.02in). But the latest chips, which are yet to be named, can hold the same amount of data as the Mu even though they are much smaller. They have one major issue, however - they need an external antenna to work, and the smallest antenna developed so far is about 80 times bigger than the tags. Hitachi says it wants to study the tags' possible uses, but it does not yet have any plans to put its latest creation into commercial production. Unlike its predecessor, the barcode, an RFID tag's data can be extracted from afar - sometimes from hundreds of metres away - by radio-reading devices, and the technology is already widely used. Stores use it to track stock in warehouses and shops. Some countries are using the tags to hold passport data or for payments in transport systems, and they are even being used for animal identification.

Electric Shock For Internet Addicts In China

In a treatment that equates Internet addicts to mentally ill people, China is giving electric shocks to people who spend more time on the Internet than required. The Chinese government has launched a nationwide campaign to treat "Internet addiction" and many Internet-addiction clinics have been opened in this regard. A recent survey found that nearly 14 percent of teens in China are vulnerable to becoming addicted to the Internet. The Communist Youth League calls it a "a grave social problem" that threatens the youth of this Asian country. According to the Washington Post, one such clinic in Daxing, a suburb of Beijing, the capital, is the oldest and largest and is located on an army training base. It has 60 patients on a normal day and as many as 280 during peak periods. The country has also gone to the extent of implementing control programs that logs teens off networked games after five hours. The Communist government has limited programs for Web access and also censors sites to seek online control. The "addicts" are treated by counseling, military discipline, drugs, hypnosis and mild electric shocks. The clinic also has metal grates and padlocks on every door and bars on every window.

Making Martial Law Easier

A disturbing recent phenomenon in Washington is that laws that strike to the heart of American democracy have been passed in the dead of night. So it was with a provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush administration’s behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law. The provision, signed into law in October, weakens two obscure but important bulwarks of liberty. One is the doctrine that bars military forces, including a federalized National Guard, from engaging in law enforcement. Called posse comitatus, it was enshrined in law after the Civil War to preserve the line between civil government and the military. The other is the Insurrection Act of 1807, which provides the major exemptions to posse comitatus. It essentially limits a president’s use of the military in law enforcement to putting down lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion, where a state is violating federal law or depriving people of constitutional rights. The newly enacted provisions upset this careful balance. They shift the focus from making sure that federal laws are enforced to restoring public order. Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any “other condition.”

Russia Warns Neighbors Against Role In U.S. Scheme

Poland and the Czech Republic could be targeted by Russian missiles if they allow elements of the planned U.S. missile defence system to be sited on their territory, the commander of Russian strategic missile forces recently warned. The warning came as both Warsaw and Prague signalled they were likely to respond positively to U.S. requests for them to host anti-missile defence bases. Germany also expressed concern about the stand-off over the missile defence project, with Frank-Walter Steinmeier, foreign minister, criticising the U.S. and Nato for not addressing Russia's worries over the system earlier. Russia continued to make clear its deep opposition to the system as General Nikolai Solovtsov warned that basing parts of it in eastern Europe risked undermining strategic stability. "If the governments of Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries make this decision . . . [Russia's] strategic missile troops will be able to target those facilities," he said.

Anti-American Feelings Soar By Muslims

The War on Terror has radicalised Muslims around the world to unprecedented levels of anti-American feeling, according to the largest survey of Muslims ever to be conducted. Seven per cent believe that the events of 9/11 were “completely justified”. In Saudi Arabia, 79 per cent had an “unfavourable view” of the US. Gallup’s Centre for Muslim Studies in New York carried out surveys of 10,000 Muslims in ten predominantly Muslim countries. One finding was that the wealthier and better-educated the Muslim was, the more likely he was to be radicalised. The surveys were carried out in 2005 and 2006. Along with an earlier Gallup survey in nine other countries in 2001, they represent the views of more than 90 per cent of the world’s Muslims. A further 1,500 Muslims in London, Paris and Berlin are involved in a separate poll to be published in April. The findings come in a climate of growing mistrust between Islam and the West. Another recent survey in the US found that 39 per cent of Americans felt some prejudice towards Muslims.

Killerbee UAV Flies At Camp Pendleton

Swift Engineering has demonstrated its blended-wing KillerBee 3 (KB3) on February 17th at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in California. Flying in support of Northrop-Grumman's Electronic Systems' Beyond Line-of-Sight Tactical UAV Communications Relay (BTCR) program in an Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsored demonstration. Simultaneously an EPLAR and Motorola's Meshnet network relays were demonstrated. With the payload capacity of the KB3 crossbanding of these two networks was also demonstrated in the plane. Validating a tactical KB UAS can be used to enable over-the-horizon communications connectivity between troops on the move and their commanders within in a multiple network environment. The KB3 flights at Camp Pendleton marked the first time that a KillerBee UAS has flown at the historic home of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and 1st Marine Division. Looking forward, the slightly-larger blended-wing KillerBee4 (KB4) UAS will be Swift's entry in the Navy/USMC Small Tactical UAS/Tier II competition. The KB4 will provide tailored and more cost-effective support to Navy and Marine units prosecuting missions at sea and ashore.

U.S. Not Prepared For The Next 'Big One'

An estimated 90 percent of Americans now live along the coast, near flood zones and earthquake fault lines, or in other locations that are at a high or moderate risk of being hit by a major natural disaster. But since 9/11, we have been acting as though the only serious threat we face is terrorism and that the only way to manage that threat is by military efforts abroad. When an aggressive offense against terrorists is our only defense, homeland security and planning for natural disasters end up as lesser priorities.

Iran has speeded up Nuclear plans, says UN

Iran has speeded up its nuclear programme and plans to complete a large-scale uranium enrichment facility by May, the United Nations atomic watchdog recently said. By that time, according to a long-awaited report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran plans to install and start using 3,000 centrifuges to enrich uranium – despite UN demands that it suspend uranium enrichment related activities. If they functioned smoothly, the 3,000 centrifuges – organised into “cascades” of 164 machines apiece – could produce sufficient highly enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb within a year. The report said Iran intended “to continue progressively with the installation of the 18 cascades of the 3,000 machine hall and to bring them gradually into operation by May 2007”.

Skipping School May Get Your Child A Tracking Chip

Let's say your teenager is a habitual truant and there is nothing you can do about it. A Washington area politician thinks he might have the solution: Fit the child with a Global Positioning System chip, then have police track him down. "It allows them to get caught easier," said Maryland Delegate Doyle Niemann (D-Prince George's), who recently co-sponsored legislation in the House that would use electronic surveillance as part of a broader truancy reduction plan. "It's going to be done unobtrusively. The chips are tiny and can be put into a hospital ID band or a necklace." Niemann's legislation mirrors a bill sponsored by state Sen. Gwendolyn Britt (D-Prince George's). Both would provide truants and their parents with better access to social services, such as mental health evaluations and help with schoolwork.

Kinetic Energy Missile Successful In Final Flight Test

The U.S. Army and Lockheed Martin has conducted a successful flight test of the Compact Kinetic Energy Missile (CKEM) against a T-72 tank recently at Eglin Air Force Base, FL. All objectives for this test were achieved. The T-72, equipped with Enhanced Reactive Armor, was engaged at a range of 3400 meters. The flight evaluated CKEM's lethality while also gathering missile guidance and performance data. This was the last scheduled launch under the current CKEM Advanced Technology Demonstration (ATD), and was conducted with the Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center. Two key advantages of CKEM are its deployability and tremendous overmatch in lethality. The CKEM Weapon System provides increased countermeasure effectiveness and survivability while allowing the soldier to engage the toughest and most sophisticated targets. CKEM's ATD demonstrated a path forward for a smaller, lighter KE missile that can be integrated on to both current and future combat platforms and has the ability to fill current lethality gaps against enhanced reactive armor and active protective systems. CKEM will be particularly effective in bridging the Army's capability gaps identified for the Infantry Brigade Combat Team and the Stryker Brigade Combat Team by ensuring lethality at both close and extended ranges.

Ocean 'Dead Zones' Spell Disaster As Wind Patterns Change

A few months ago, the clear blue Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Oregon suddenly turned a thick greenish brown. A swell of nutrients produced a bizarre blooming of plankton that reached levels never seen before by scientists. Then the plankton died and sank, causing oxygen levels in the water to plummet to zero. The living ocean was transformed into a dead zone. Scientists conducted a submarine survey and found only the bodies of crabs and marine worms scattered across the ocean floor. There were no signs of any fish. Nothing had survived the cataclysm. Nor has this been the only such disaster to strike a marine ecosystem in recent years. As scientists reported at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco yesterday, unprecedented changes to ocean currents are having a devastating effect on finely balanced marine ecosystems all over the globe. Similar upheavals have been recorded in other parts of the world, particularly off South America and Africa. Marine researchers are convinced the evidence points to one culprit: global warming. Man-made changes to the climate are throwing previously predictable seasonal winds out of kilter.

Robots With 'Feelings' In 10 Years

As a depressed machine roaming through space in the fictional Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Marvin the Paranoid Android popularised the concept of a robot with feelings. However, the real thing will be available far closer to home in just 10 years, scientists predicted yesterday. They now claim it is essential to give robots their own emotions if they are to be capable of running independently and efficiently enough to take on a variety of domestic tasks. As well as Marvin, robots with feelings were envisaged by the -science fiction movie I, Robot, in which they delighted in performing tasks such as cleaning, walking the dog and even caring for elderly relatives. At present, commercially available robots such as automatic vacuum cleaners are little more than drones capable of carrying out only one task. However, speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Francisco yesterday, a panel of robotics experts said robots capable of multiple domestic tasks, that can also provide companionship for their owners, will be available within 10 years. And the scientists claim it is already possible to give robots such "feelings". A number of groups around the world are now developing robots that have basic emotions in a bid to motivate the machines.

Wizards and Diviners Abound in Britain, Says Psychic Survey

Britain's image as the home of sensible and practical types takes a knock today, with the publication of data showing just how many of us think we are wizards, time-travellers or able to divine water. Norse and Celtic influences moving down the centuries have led almost 10% of people in some areas to believe they can teleport their neighbours as well as read minds, crystal balls and tarot cards. The scale of a return to an island of ley lines and Merlin comes to light in a survey of psychic organisations backed by polling and research into cases of supposed witches, enchanters and close encounters of the third kind that have made the media, scientific and alternative journals in the past 100 years. Published by the SciFi TV channel to mark a drama series on the subject, the project was supervised by the Rev Lionel Fanthorpe, an Anglican priest who chairs numerous bodies concerned with unidentified flying objects and "anomalous phenomena".

New Credit Cards Can Broadcast Your Personal Information

You may be carrying a new type of credit card that can transmit your personal information to anyone who gets close to you with a scanner. The new cards--millions of which have been issued over the past year--use RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, technology. RFID allows scanners to use radio signals at varying distances to read information stored on a computer chip. According to a study from academic and business researchers at the University of Massachusetts, RSA, and Innealta, many of the cards will transmit your name, credit card number, and expiration date (but not the three-digit security code) in the clear to anyone nearby with a scanner. One of the researchers, Kevin Fu of the University of Massachusetts, provided an electronic copy of the report's just-finished final version to PC World. The draft version is available online. RFID is widely used to track shipments and store inventory--and now it's in credit cards, allowing customers to swipe the cards past readers in McDonald's restaurants, CVS pharmacies, and elsewhere, making for quick and easy transactions. Visa says more than 6 million "contactless" cards exist worldwide, and their number is growing rapidly.

Grocery Industry Prepares For Bird Flu Pandemic, Encourages Preparedness

Stocking up on food is as simple as a trip to the grocery store, a veritable land of plenty for Americans. But will fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, bread, milk and other household staples still be available if the U.S. is hit with an anticipated bird flu pandemic? If state and federal officials urge people to stay away from public places, like restaurants and fast-food establishments, will they be able to get the groceries they need to prepare food in their homes? Unlike other critical infrastructure sectors like water, energy and health care, the food industry isn't getting much help from state and federal governments when it comes to disaster planning. That puts the burden on individual supermarket chains and wholesalers to deal with a potentially large number of sick workers that could affect store operations and disrupt the food supply. "The industry is actively thinking through contingency plans, so if it should happen, our members would be well prepared to deal with it," said Tim Hammonds, president of the Food Marketing Institute, an advocate for grocery wholesalers and retail supermarkets nationwide.

U.S. To Stage Biggest Anti-Terrorism Exercise On Guam

The world's biggest anti-terrorism exercise will be held this year on Guam, underscoring the Pacific island's growing importance to Washington, officials recently said. Exercise TopOff4 is part of a series of large-scale maneuvers established to strengthen the U.S. ability to respond to terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. William Marhoffer, the U.S. Coast Guard commander in Guam, said the TopOff4 exercise would be bigger than last year's Valiant Shield war games, in which the United States mobilized 30 ships, 280 aircraft and 22,000 military personnel. "It will be bigger in some ways. Valiant Shield was a military exercise. It was a show of force. It was the first time we had three carrier strike groups in combined operations in the Pacific since the Vietnam War," he said. TopOff4 "is a domestic counterterrorism exercise. It involves the intelligence communities, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard." The exercise is expected to simulate a maritime terrorist attack.

Spacecraft Could Be Used To Deflect Killer Asteroids

An unmanned "tractor spacecraft" could eventually be used to drag an asteroid off course before it slams into Earth with catastrophic consequences, experts said Friday. NASA astronaut Edward Lu said Hollywood-style solutions such as detonating a nuclear bomb in outer space to destroy an oncoming asteroid could increase the chances of a hit on Earth. Speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting, Lu said the most viable tactic would be to use the gravitational pull of a spacecraft to alter the asteroid's trajectory. U.S. scientists are closely monitoring the progress of Apophis, which is scheduled to pass within about 32,000 kilometers (19,000 miles) of Earth in 2029. Experts have said previously it is possible that Apophis, which could obliterate a country the size of England if it struck, may change its orbit when it swings by Earth in 2029, putting it on a collision course with the planet when it is due to pass by again in 2036.

EU Air Passengers May Be Tagged

Questions have been raised at the European Union about a Brussels-funded project, in which Greece is participating, that could lead to air passengers being electronically tagged when they check in for flights. The project, known as Optag, is based at a research center at University College London but the telecommunication systems institute of the Technical University of Crete in Hania is also taking part in the scheme. Hungarian and French firms are also participating in the program, which began in 2005. The main aim of Optag is to allow airports to be fitted with a network of cameras and RFID (radio frequency ID) tag readers, which would monitor the movements of passengers inside the airport. Travelers would be issued with a tag at check-in and the surveillance system would allow airport authorities to track them within the terminal buildings. The system is being designed so that airlines can quickly locate late passengers, who are estimated to be responsible for 10 percent of flight delays. However, electronic tagging can also be used for security purposes and there are fears that this may lead to the constant monitoring of passengers and an invasion of their privacy.

RFID 'Powder' - World's Smallest RFID Tag

The world's smallest and thinnest RFID tags were introduced yesterday by Hitachi. Tiny miracles of miniaturization, these RFID chips (Radio Frequency IDentification chips) measure just 0.05 x 0.05 millimeters. These tiny RFID tags could be worked into any product; combined with RFID readers built into doorways, theft of consumer goods would be practically impossible. These devices could also be used to identify and track people. For example, suppose you participated in some sort of protest or other organized activity. If police agencies sprinkled these tags around, every individual could be tracked and later identified at leisure, with powerful enough tag scanners.

Army Seeks Drone "Human-Immobilizing High-Intensity Spotlight"

U.S. Army researchers want to fit a human-immobilizing searchlight to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to create a remotely operated or autonomous non-lethal weapon system to help insert and extract fighting forces from enemy-held areas. Officials of the Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Fort Eustis Va., are looking to Peak Beam Systems Inc. in Edgemont, Pa., to modify the company's hand-held Maxa Beam high-intensity light for aircraft use. The Maxa Beam system is a Xenon based searchlight that can be pulsed with a unique modulation strobe effect that results in immobilization to those within the beam. The super-bright light features a programmable strobe function that will immediately disable and disorient those within its beam. The light can shift from normal power to high power or strobe, and can spread the beam from a 1-degree spot to a 40-degree flood, and can vary its strobe rate.

Iowa Senate Approves Bill Promoting Human Cloning

The Iowa state Senate has approved a bill that would promote human cloning for research purposes. Backers of the bill say it would help promote embryonic stem cell research, which requires the destruction of human life. "It's the beginning of human cloning," said Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby during the debate. "This is the first step on a slippery slope."

Brave, New Biotech World – Human-Animal Mix Ethics

Most parties to the debate seem to agree in rejecting two extremes – one, a Luddite panic about chimeras that would squelch valuable and ethically harmless research; the other, an “anything goes” attitude that would open the door to Crichtonesque monstrosities. The problem, as always, is where exactly the “just mean” lies, with scientists pushing the envelope, and ethicists and spiritual leaders pulling in the reins. Doerflinger said that beyond the science involved, something deeper is at stake in the chimera debate. “Some would like to render the sanctity of human life technologically obsolete by demonstrating that species membership is fungible,” he said. “If so, then the idea of natural law based on a fixed human nature is over. You’d have to come up with some other basis for rights, like sentience.” Doerflinger called that prospect a “real threat, a real motivation on the part of some,” and hence “something worth worrying about.”

Physicist Hopes To See Time Travel In Near Future

Ronald L. Mallett didn’t reveal his desire to build a time machine for decades, fearing that he would be labeled a crackpot by fellow physicists. But that’s all in the past. Now Mallett, professor of physics at the University of Connecticut, is poised to conduct an experiment that could confirm his concept of a device that could bend time back on itself — the essential job of a time machine. Mallett has calculated that a circulating beam of laser light should produce enough gravity to twist space. With the energy stepped up, the swirling space should yield closed time loops. A closed time loop would allow information, a particle, and someday, a person, to return to the moment that the machine was switched on. What happens to the person is extremely strange, but it solves potential paradoxes that arise in time travel.

U.S. Is Ready To Attack Iran

American military operations for a major conventional war with Iran could be implemented any day. They extend far beyond targeting suspect WMD facilities and will enable President Bush to destroy Iran's military, political and economic infrastructure overnight using conventional weapons. The US army, navy, air force and marines have all prepared battle plans and spent four years building bases and training for "Operation Iranian Freedom". Admiral Fallon, the new head of US Central Command, has inherited computerised plans under the name TIRANNT (Theatre Iran Near Term).

DNA Data Deal 'Will Create Big Brother Europe'

Police across the EU are to be given free access to Britain's DNA, fingerprint and car registration databases in a move denounced last night as the creation of "Big Brother Europe". At a meeting in Brussels, the Home Office agreed to a deal that will set up a network of national crime records across 27 states. All member states will have access to other countries' DNA and fingerprint data, as well as direct online access to vehicle registries. The exchanges could be up and running as early as next year and might eventually lead to the creation of a single Euro-wide database. Police in one country will be able to find out whether another has data matching the profile of a suspected offender. But critics last night questioned whether access to the databases would have the same security safeguards throughout the EU. They also said British tourists fingerprinted in the UK as witnesses may find themselves sucked into foreign police investigations after innocently leaving prints, or DNA, at a location that later becomes a crime scene. British police have millions of fingerprints on file – and this number will grow when they are taken for passport applications from 2009. Britain also has by far the largest criminal DNA database in the world – 50 times the size of the French equivalent. When Labour took office in 1997, it held only 700,000 samples. By next year, it will hold the samples of some 4.2 million people – seven per cent of the population – and is growing by about half a million a year.

Nanobattery Created To Power RFID Tags

A nanotechnology company is developing a nanobattery which could prolong the shelf life of radio frequency identification (RFID) applications. New Jersey-based mPhase Technologies is working on the creation of a new version of its Smart Nanobattery product in order to provide an energy source which is long-lasting but quick to activate. The firm aims to integrate the battery within an RFID security solution which could then be used in tracking systems on cars, shipping containers and large-scale or costly medical equipment. "We are working with an active RFID vendor who is placing specific requirements on the nanobattery designs in order to extend the life of the active RFID tag," commented Ronald A Durando, chief executive of the company. He added that the reserve capability of a nanobattery provides the ideal energy unit for supplying power to active RFID tags in a variety of different locations. As an automatic method of identification, RFID tags can also be used on animals or people for verification via radio waves, with active applications requiring an independent power source.

Dark Matter And 'God Particle' Within Reach

The boundaries of knowledge in particle physics look set to be broken soon with scientists around the globe locked in a multi-billion-dollar race to solve two great mysteries. Their quest: find the secrets of dark matter and the 'God particle' - a sub-atomic particle that is fundamental to understanding the nature of matter, but so elusive that, physicists quip, it can only be compared to divinity.... Engineering studies for the ILC will start later this year with the idea of making a decision in 2010 on whether to press ahead with building the machine. If all goes well, ground will be broken in 2012 and the collider itself will be fired up at the end of the next decade. "The ILC probably represents the maximum that can be achieved with this type of technology," said Guy Wormser, head of France's Linear Accelerator Laboratory, who took part in the Beijing meeting. Scientists in the U.S. and Europe, meanwhile, are grappling to be first to detect the most eagerly-sought particle in physics - the Higgs Boson. Construed in the 1960s by a British physicist, Peter Higgs, the Boson is thought to exist in an all-pervading field, giving all other particles their mass.

Al-Qa'ida Targets Canada Oil To Cripple U.S.

Al-Qa'ida has called for terrorist strikes against Canadian oil and natural gas facilities to "choke the U.S. economy." An online message, recently posted by the Al-Qa'ida Organization in the Arabian Peninsula, declares: "We should strike petroleum interests in all areas that supply the United States ... like Canada," the No. 1 exporter of oil and gas to the U.S. "The biggest party hurt will be the industrial nations, and on top of them, the United States." The same group, the Saudi arm of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, claimed responsibility for last February's failed attack on the world's largest oil processing facility, at Abqaiq in Saudi Arabia's eastern province. The attack was foiled when guards opened fire on the terrorists, blowing up their vehicles filled with explosives before they could get through the site's gates.

Star Wars Cloaking Devices Sought For Satellites

As it happens, Advanced American Enterprises (AAE), a company DefenseReview has been writing about for some time now, believes that its optical cloaking technology (a.k.a. invisibility cloak, a.k.a. adaptive camouflage, a.k.a. electro-optical camouflage a.k.a. active camouflage a.k.a. chameleonic camouflage) may be able to assist in protecting U.S. military satellites from enemy ballistic missile and laser threats, provided that it's combined with anti-radar stealth technology.

Survey Predicts Majority of Retailers Will Accept RFID Payments by Fall 2008

Retailers are embracing RFID technology, with a growing number accepting or planning to accept RFID-enabled (contactless) payments in the coming months. Relatively few, however, have a clear roadmap on how to maximize a return on the investment required to adopt the payment technology, according to a new report from the Aberdeen Group, a Boston-based market research firm. More than 20 million RFID-enabled American Express, MasterCard and Visa credit and debit cards have been issued over the past 20 months to consumers in the United States alone. Last fall, Aberdeen interviewed 160 retailers—most located in the United States, with a few based in Europe or Asia. Of those surveyed, nearly 20 percent said they are already accepting RFID payments.

Solar flares might knock out cell phones and more

Solar flare activity is expected to build for the next three years to a crescendo that some scientists say could be cataclysmic, causing a telecommunication blackout that would down mobile phones and navigational systems. "The solar flares are expected to be at its maximum intensity by the year 2010," Markus Aschwanden, a solar physicist at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, told the Hindu News. "These solar flares and Coronoal Mass Ejections from the sun have the ability to travel all the way to the earth and create a black-out of cellular phone services and navigational systems like the GPS. Solar flares and CMEs occur when magnetic energy built up in the Sun's atmosphere is suddenly released. The flares carrying high amount of energy, travel at high speeds and reach the Earth in a matter of hours.

Chertoff Defends Biometric ID Mandate for 2008

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently defended the federalization of driver's licenses and asked a Senate panel not to block the Real ID law, but he urged members to make security changes in the visa waiver program. Mr. Chertoff said he is "pretty adamant" that the new identification for all U.S. citizens go into effect May 2008. "We don't want to keep kicking the can down the road," Mr. Chertoff told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Arizona May Outlaw Freedom Of Speech

Classrooms should not be forums for schoolteachers and college professors to espouse political opinions, a group of lawmakers concluded today. A House committee approved a bill that would prohibit any public school or college instructor from advocating one side of a social, political or cultural issue that's part of a partisan debate. The measure would also ban teachers from openly supporting any political candidate.

Biotech Will Drive Software Security In Post-Humans

As the IT industry continues to grow and become more profitable, the role of security will take on ever greater importance than it does today, and the human evolutionary process is a good place to look for guidance on what to expect. Software security will be even more important as humans become more of a hybrid of non-biological and biological technology and intelligence, said Ray Kurzweil, inventor, author and futurist, in a keynote speech Wednesday at the RSA 2007 conference in San Francisco. This convergence is already happening with neural implants designed for Parkison's Disease sufferers that are capable of downloaded software updates. "As devices shrink and get more powerful, software security is going to be more important," he said. Computational power in the 21st century will have more than enough power to simulate all functions of the human brain, and reverse engineering these processes into software will be a key challenge for the developers of the future. Already, 20 of the hundreds of known regions of the brain have been simulated in this fashion, Kurweil said.

Kodak Files Patent for Edible RFID Tag

The idea is that the RFID tag antenna -- the critical component which allows data to broadcast -- be composed of organic material that would dissolve as a result of certain chemical reactions within the human body. Once dissolved, the tag antenna, and therefore the tag itself, would stop transmitting a signal, indicating that the targeted chemical reaction had occurred. Kodak calls them "fragile tags" This invention is a system that uses intentionally fragile tags to provide useful information by identifying when such tags are destroyed. The system then responds to this basic change of state by providing a useful service. Such intentionally fragile tags can be composed of materials that can be not only be ingested but also digested with the understanding that breakdown is a desirable quality and one that enables the tag materials to be eliminated in the standard manner. Such a fragile tag that is also digestible lends itself to applications such as being included in objects meant to be ingested, such as pills, lozenges, and glycol strips.

January Weather Hottest by Far

It may be cold comfort during a frigid February, but last month was by far the hottest January ever. The broken record was fueled by a waning El Nino and a gradually warming world, according to U.S. scientists who report the data. Records on the planet's temperature have been kept since 1880. Spurred on by unusually warm Siberia, Canada, northern Asia and Europe, the world's land areas were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than a normal January, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. That didn't just nudge past the old record set in 2002, but broke that mark by 0.81 degrees, which meteorologists said is a lot, since such records often are broken by hundredths of a degree at a time. "That's pretty unusual for a record to be broken by that much," said the data center's scientific services chief, David Easterling. "I was very surprised." The scientists went beyond their normal doublechecking and took the unusual step of running computer climate models "just to make sure that what we're seeing was real," Easterling said.

Computer Based on Quantum Physics to be unveiled

"Quantum Computing." It's one of those things that bring a sparkle to the eyes of propellerheads -- and make the rest of us just scratch our heads. But it's been a holy grail in the arcane world of supercomputers -- and a Canadian firm claims it will be unveiling one in a day or so. Nevermind that most engineers thought quantum computers were decades away. D-Wave Systems, Inc., based near Vancouver, is the company that's been working on the project. Its machine is described as a computer that can perform 64,000 calculations at once. Following the odd laws of quantum mechanics, the digital "bits" that race through its circuits will be able to stand for 0 or 1 at the same time, allowing the machine, eventually, to do work that is orders of magnitude more complex than what today's computers can do. "There are certain classes of problems that can't be solved with digital computers," said Herb Martin, the firm's CEO, over a decidedly-noisy digital cell phone. "Digital computers are good at running programs; quantum computers are good at handling massive sets of variables." The prototype is as big as a good-sized freezer, and a lot colder. It uses superconducting circuits that have to be refrigerated, close to absolute zero. That's the kind of temperature at which electrical resistance fades nearly to nothing (think of the heat generated by a conventional laptop), so that massive calculations can be done.

Scientists Create Clone From Hair Follicle Stem Cell

Researchers report this week that they have cloned mice using stem cells from the rodents' hair follicle region. "This work opens the door for generating embryonic stem cells (easier than cloning mice) from adult skin stem cells," said Elaine Fuchs, co-senior author of the paper and head of the Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development at Rockefeller University in New York City. "If researchers overcome the current technical hurdles of making human embryonic stem cells by nuclear cloning, it may one day be possible to generate tailor-made embryonic stem cells from a patient's skin stem cells," she said.

The brain scan that can read people's intentions

A team of world-leading neuroscientists has developed a powerful technique that allows them to look deep inside a person's brain and read their intentions before they act. The research breaks controversial new ground in scientists' ability to probe people's minds and eavesdrop on their thoughts, and raises serious ethical issues over how brain-reading technology may be used in the future. The team used high-resolution brain scans to identify patterns of activity before translating them into meaningful thoughts, revealing what a person planned to do in the near future. It is the first time scientists have succeeded in reading intentions in this way. "Using the scanner, we could look around the brain for this information and read out something that from the outside there's no way you could possibly tell is in there. It's like shining a torch around, looking for writing on a wall," said John-Dylan Haynes at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Germany, who led the study with colleagues at University College London and Oxford University. The research builds on a series of recent studies in which brain imaging has been used to identify tell-tale activity linked to lying, violent behaviour and racial prejudice. The latest work reveals the dramatic pace at which neuroscience is progressing, prompting the researchers to call for an urgent debate into the ethical issues surrounding future uses for the technology.

EU devices will dictate car speeds and gear changes

Motorists are to be forced to change the way they drive to help car manufacturers to meet strict new emission targets, the European Union announced yesterday. All new cars will be fitted with devices that tell drivers when to change gear, what speeds to drive at and even when to pump up their tyres. The introduction of new technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ordered by Brussels yesterday, could add more than £2,000 to the price of a typical family car, manufacturers said. But the European Union said this would be offset by a reduction in fuel bills. Brussels also dismissed industry claims that the plans put up to 12 million European jobs at risk.

New York to Test Ways to Prevent Nuclear Terror

New York City is about to become a laboratory to test ways of strengthening the nation’s defenses against a terror attack by a nuclear device or a radioactive “dirty bomb.” Starting this spring, the Bush administration will assess new detection machines at a Staten Island port terminal that are designed to screen cargo and automatically distinguish between naturally occurring radiation and critical bomb-building ingredients. And later this year, the federal government plans to begin setting up an elaborate network of radiation alarms at some bridges, tunnels, roadways and waterways into New York, creating a 50-mile circle around the city. The effort, which could be expanded to other cities if proven successful, is a major shift of focus for the Department of Homeland Security. As it finishes installing the first generation of radiation scanners at the nation’s ports and land border crossings, the department is trying to find ways to stop a plot that would use a weapon built within the United States.

Raytheon Unveils ID Card, Fortifying RFID With Biometrics

The Intelligence and Information Systems business division of government defense, aviation and technology company Raytheon has unveiled a new RFID-based identification card. Dubbed the PAD—which stands for personal authentication device—this card incorporates a fingerprint biometric authentication function. The company is pitching the PAD for use in border security programs run by both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State. Raytheon believes the PAD is particularly fitting for use as the proposed RFID-enabled passport card, part of the PASS (People Access Security Service) system introduced last year by DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff. The intended purpose of the PASS card—which would be used instead of a passport for land or sea travel in the Western Hemisphere—is to improve border security while also facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade over U.S. borders (see DHS Proposes Vicinity RFID Technology for Passport Card). The agencies' plan is to embed passive EPC Gen 2 RFID tags in the passport card that conform to the ISO 18000 6-C specification and have a read range up to 20 feet.

Temple's location found, says Israeli archaeologist

Using maps created in 1866 by a British explorer and passages from the Jewish Mishnah, an Israeli archaeologist and professor at Hebrew University says he has pinpointed the location of the sacred Jewish Temple, twice built and twice destroyed in ancient times. While popular consensus places the Temple, built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. and rebuilt by Jews who returned from Babylon in the 5th century B.C., on the site of the present Muslim Dome of the Rock, Prof. Joseph Patrich says archaeological remains show its exact location – and the consensus is wrong. According to Patrich, the Temple, its corresponding courtyards, chambers and gates were oriented in a more southeasterly direction, sitting diagonally on what is the modern Temple Mount. The difference in orientation and the placement further eastward varies from the east-facing orientation of other scholars who believe the Temple was closer to today's Western Wall. However, that difference is why, Patrich says, the Temple did not sit over the rock believed by Jews to be the site where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac and where Muslims believe Muhammad ascended into heaven.

Threat Detection System Will Monitor Your Every Move

Tiny cameras the size of a fingernail linked to specialist computers are to be used to monitor the behaviour of airline passengers as part of the war on terrorism. Cameras fitted to seat-backs will record every twitch, blink, facial expression or suspicious movement before sending the data to onboard software which will check it against individual passenger profiles. Scientists from Britain and Germany are spending £25million developing a system which they hope will make it virtually impossible to hijack an airliner by providing pilots and cabin crew with an early warning of a possible terrorist attack such as 9/11. They say that rapid eye movements, blinking excessively, licking lips or ways of stroking hair or ears are classic symptoms of somebody trying to conceal something. A separate microphone will hear and record even whispered remarks. Islamic suicide bombers are known to whisper texts from the Koran in the moments before they explode bombs. The software being developed by the scientists will be so sophisticated that it will be able to take account of nervous flyers or people with a natural twitch, helping to ensure there are no false alarms. "We're trying to develop technologies that indicate the differences between normal passengers and those who may be a threat to others, or themselves," said Catherine Neary of BAE Systems. Mrs Neary, team leader of the Onboard Threat Detection System for the Paris-based Security Of Aircraft In The Future European Environment (SAFEE) project, added: "Blink rates come from lie-detection research and suggest the stress level is higher than normal." The project is also developing automated flight controls that will prevent a hijacker taking over an airliner and sensors at the aircraft's doors to detect if someone is carrying explosives or chemicals.

Witchcraft is Destroying the Church in Africa, Experts Say

Witchcraft is real, and it is destroying the church in Africa, Catholic experts warned this week. Scholars from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) expressed concern that the church continued to dismiss the dark arts as mere superstition, thereby unwittingly helping the devil advance his reign. For that reason, Christians who suffer because of witchcraft are often dismissed by priests as being superstitious. Because they do not get adequate help from pastoral agents, they seek the assistance of witchdoctors or join the mushrooming evangelical denominations that offer healing, exorcism and deliverance. It was said that many African priests fear witchcraft or are ignorant of their own power to confront the devil. Christians also visit diviners and magicians to seek practical solutions which the church and science apparently do not offer. The experts spoke in Nairobi during a three-day symposium on the pastoral challenge of witchcraft organised by the Institute of Spirituality and Religious Formation at Tangaza College. Dr Michael Katola, a lecturer in pastoral theology at CUEA, said from the African perspective, Christianity does not seem to have answers to all questions. And while the church demonised traditional experts such as medicine-men and diviners, it has offered no equivalent alternatives. "We have many Christians who go to consult fortune-tellers when they want to start a project or when faced with problems,"

Nanobots Get To The Heart Of The Matter

A new breed of nanobots is being designed to assist doctors by going where no surgeon or technology has gone before. Working at the scale of molecules, these micro-machines are taking their cues from bacteria and the way in which they find their way around the human body. If they are successful, they could bring about a new type of molecular surgery and a different perspective to our own inner space. The engineers and scientist working on the development of these nanobots -- the size of only a few molecules -- believe they could reach liquid parts of the body difficult or impossible to get to using today's medical practices, precisely delivering drugs to areas such as the eyeball cavity or arteries in the heart. They might sound like the stuff of science fiction, but at their most basic level these medical micro robots are man-made protein "machines" that produce movement through chemical reactions. Dr. James Friend, senior lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Monash University in Australia, is developing a nanobot propelled by a tiny rotor motor measuring about five-millionths of a meter. A simple injection would place the tiny machine into the body and it would swim to its intended target.

GPS Shoes Make People Findable

Isaac Daniel calls the tiny Global Positioning System chip he's embedded into a line of sneakers "peace of mind." He wishes his 8-year-old son had been wearing them when he got a call from his school in 2002 saying the boy was missing. The worried father hopped a flight to Atlanta from New York where he had been on business to find the incident had been a miscommunication and his son was safe. Days later, the engineer started working on a prototype of Quantum Satellite Technology, a line of $325 to $350 adult sneakers that hit shelves next month. It promises to locate the wearer anywhere in the world with the press of a button. A children's line will be out this summer. "We call it a second eye watching over you," Daniel said. It's the latest implementation of satellite-based navigation into everyday life - technology that can be found in everything from cell phones that help keep kids away from sexual predators to fitness watches that track heart rate and distance. Shoes aren't as easy to lose, unlike phones, watches and bracelets. The sneakers work when the wearer presses a button on the shoe to activate the GPS. A wireless alert detailing the location is sent to a 24-hour monitoring service that costs an additional $19.95 a month.

Witchcraft brings murder to Pacific paradise

Once hailed as an untouched Shangri-La, the mist-shrouded highlands of Papua New Guinea are undergoing a dramatic resurgence in sorcery and witchcraft. Age-old beliefs in black magic and evil curses are back with a vengeance in jungle-clad mountain valleys which were unknown to the outside world until the 1930s. Suspected witches – mostly women but including some men and even children – have been subjected to horrific torture before being hanged or thrown off cliffs. A growing Aids crisis and the collapse of health services have sapped villagers' faith in Western medicine and prompted a return to ancestral beliefs. Barely educated villagers living in remote mountain valleys are blaming the increasing number of Aids deaths not on promiscuity or a lack of condom use but on malign spirits. When Raphael Kogun's uncle died two years ago, his family blamed a middle-aged married couple who they were convinced had become possessed by evil spirits. "We chopped their heads off with an axe and a bush knife," said the 27-year-old farmer from Goroka, in Eastern Highlands province. "I felt sorry for them but they were witches, they deserved to die. If they were still alive they could hurt people with their magic. We buried the bodies but then the police found out and started digging them up."

EU Says 'Iran on course for nuclear bomb'

Iran will be able to develop enough weapons-grade material for a nuclear bomb and there is little that can be done to prevent it, an internal European Union document has concluded. In an admission of the international community’s failure to hold back Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the document – compiled by the staff of Javier Solana, EU foreign policy chief – says the atomic programme has been delayed only by technical limitations rather than diplomatic pressure. “Attempts to engage the Iranian administration in a negotiating process have not so far succeeded,” it states. The downbeat conclusions of the “reflection paper” – seen by the Financial Times – are certain to be seized on by advocates of military action, who fear that Iran will be able to produce enough fissile material for a bomb over the next two to three years. Tehran insists its purposes are purely peaceful. “At some stage we must expect that Iran will acquire the capacity to enrich uranium on the scale required for a weapons programme,” says the paper.

Carnegie Mellon Nanotech Researcher Proposes Artificial Cells To Fight Disease

Carnegie Mellon University's Philip LeDuc predicts the use of artificially created cells could be a potential new therapeutic approach for treating diseases in an ever-changing world. LeDuc, an assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering, penned an article for the January edition of Nature Nanotechnology Journal about the efficacy of using man-made cells to treat diseases without injecting drugs.

School Students Told: No Personal Barcode? No Entrance

By the end of the month, any student wishing to enter Trenton Central High School must carry an identification card with a special bar code. With just one swipe of the card, the student's picture and class schedule will appear on a computer screen. If the picture matches the student, he or she may gain access into the building. This new identification system is part of an effort led by Superintendent Rodney Lofton to control access into schools and strengthen security districtwide. The Comprehensive Attendance, Administration and Security System (CAASS) is being installed in all three high school campuses, Dunn Middle School, Hedgepeth/ Williams School and the Career Life Skills Center. CAASS is used in more than 400 schools in New York, as well as the Camden public school district and schools in Washington, D.C., according to a spokesman from the Pennsylvania-based Access 411, the company that produces the attendance tracking system.

Spy In The Sky UAVs For Civil And Military Uses

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are the wave of the future when it comes to aerial surveillance and are finding increasing applications across both the civil and military fields. The military uses for UAVs are pretty obvious as they provide an enormous amount of intelligence without putting a human in harm's way and also render the additional advantage of eliminating human fatigue. Illustrating this, UAV operators on long flights can simply hand over control to other operators, something impossible on surveillance aircraft such as the U.S. Air Force's venerable U2 spy plane. "In addition to the military applications, there are a number of civilian applications where UAVs or 'drones' as they are referred to are invaluable," notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Sivam Sabesan. "The applications list is quite extensive and includes the likes of being used to test for chemical and biological pollution checking without exposing humans to danger, to periodically check oil pipelines for cracks, or even helping fishermen locate and monitor large schools of fish."

Iran behind deadly bombs, US claims

The United States military says it has detected a significant increase in sophisticated roadside bombs in Iraq and believes that orders to send components for them came from the “highest levels” of the Iranian goverment, a senior intelligence officer said today. The officer, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said that that between June 2004 and last week, more than 170 Americans had been killed by the bombs, referred to by the military as “explosively formed projectiles" (EFPs) and capable of destroying an Abrams tank. The officer said American intelligence analysts believe the EFPs are manufactured in Iran and smuggled into Iraq on orders from the top of the Iranian government. American officials have long claimed that weapons were entering Iraq from Iran but had stopped short of alleging involvement by top Iranian leaders. The US officer said Iran was working through “multiple surrogates”, mainly “rogue elements” of the Shia Mahdi Army, to smuggle the EFPs into Iraq. He said most of the components are entering the country at crossing points near Amarah, the Iranian border city of Meran and the Basra area of southern Iraq.

Prison Sentences For Picking Wild Flowers Under EU Green Laws

Dumping hazardous waste, polluting protected areas and collecting wild flowers would all be punishable by jail and hefty fines under new plans for EU-wide 'green crimes'. The drive by Brussels to extend its lawmaking powers into criminal areas was revealed by the leak of a draft directive listing a string of offences. Company directors could be disqualified and firms forced to clean up if negligence is proved. The nine offences detailed in the directive include the 'taking or damaging' of wild flowers, damage to protected habitats and trading in ozone-depleting substances. Company directors would be made personally liable for pollution and could face jail or antisocial behaviour orders. Offences such as serious pollution or unlawful transport of nuclear and hazardous substances would carry a jail sentence of two to five years. If death or criminal gangs are involved, the prison sentence would rise to 10 years. Some EU states such as Britain already have criminal sanctions for breaches of environmental laws, but campaigners have long called for an Europe-wide approach, complaining that firms can move their business from one country with high environmental standards to others with weaker controls.

Blasphemy Site 'Playing Texas Hold 'Em With Eternity'

More than a month after atheists launched a campaign encouraging young people to blaspheme God in an online video clip, more than 800 people have done so, and a conservative analyst said the "boneheads" behind the initiative could only be pitied. Fighting against what he calls "the mental torture that is religion," atheist filmmaker Brian Flemming created the blasphemychallenge.com website, asking teens to commit "the ultimate sin" in return for a copy of his movie, "The God Who Wasn't There."
The "ultimate sin," in his view, is denying the Holy Spirit, based on the biblical injunction, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:29). The site asks people to videotape themselves saying "I deny the Holy Spirit" and to post the videos on YouTube. As of Friday, more than 875 submissions had been recorded. "Give it your own personal touches," posters are urged. "Possibly add extra blasphemy or maybe even a background story as to why you feel the way you do." The site also suggests recording "your video in a church or outside of a church."

Upstate N.Y. Digs Out From Nearly 12 Feet of Snow

By early Sunday, the persistent streams of squalls fueled by moisture from the lake had piled snow nearly 12 feet deep at the Oswego County town of Parish, about 25 miles northeast of Syracuse. But as efforts to dig out Parish and surrounding towns were ramping up, the weather system was winding down. The squalls shifted northward to the Watertown area Sunday morning and were expected to die down before drifting back to the south again, said meteorologist Steve McLaughlin at the National Weather Service in Buffalo. "We have a sharp front coming in Monday that's going to kick all this out. We may get one more burst of snow, but then it's over. Finally, some mercy," McLaughlin said. Residents of the nearby town of Mexico see 5- to 6-foot snowfalls every two or three years, but this time even hardened locals are amazed. The only signs of parked SUVs are their radio antennas or roof racks sticking up above the snow. Front doors are buried and footprints lead to second-story windows. Sidewalks that have been dug out look like miniature canyons. The state transportation department said 125 workers from elsewhere in the state had been sent in with snow equipment to help.

Iran threatens 'worldwide strike' if attacked

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has now warned that if under attack, Iran will hit back at U.S. interests worldwide. While it is not unusual for Iran to threaten such a wide-reaching response to U.S. action, the threat was issued as details were broadcast on state television that missiles had been test-launched today. Speaking at a meeting of Iranian air force commanders, Iran's supreme spiritual leader said: "The enemy knows well that any invasion would be followed by a comprehensive reaction to the invaders and their interests all over the world. "We believe that no one will make such an unwise and wrong move (to attack Iran) that would endanger their country and interests." He added: "Some say that the U.S. president is not the type who acts based on calculations or thinks about the consequences of his action. "But even these people can be brought to their senses." A televised broadcast revealed that Iran's Revolutionary Guards were test-firing missiles that could apparently sink "big warships" in the Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean.

3,500 Schools Now Use Finger Print Scanners

As many as 3,500 schools are taking fingerprints from pupils, often without their parents' permission, a new poll recently revealed. Soaring numbers require pupils to undergo biometric identity checks before they can register in the mornings, buy canteen meals and use the library. But the trend has prompted furious complaints from parents who are concerned their children's data will be stored on insecure databases. Under current laws, schools do not have to seek parental consent before taking pupils' fingerprints, although they should notify them. In an attempt to ease parental worries, schools are soon to be issued with new guidance urging them to gain permission as it is "best practice". But campaigners claim the move does not go far enough and are demanding a change in the law to abolish biometric scanners completely from school premises. While the Department for Education and Skills says it is unaware how many schools are using biometric data, an internet poll by a lobby group is now claiming 3,500 schools have bought the necessary equipment. The Leave Them Kids Alone group said the schools had purchased the technology from two DfES-approved suppliers, suggesting the true figure could be even higher.

Covert Iris Scanner Proposed by NJ Lab

A public iris scanning device has been proposed in a patent from Samoff Labs in New Jersey. The device is able to scan the iris of the eye without the knowledge or consent of the person being scanned. Iris recognition is a biometric identification system that requires a high-resolution picture of the irides of the subject's eye. Pattern recognition software is then used to match that picture against future iris scans. Iris scans are considered highly accurate; current iris recognition algorithms have an incredibly low false match rate. Good quality scans result in a "false match" less than one time per one hundred billion. The significant advantage of the newly proposed system is that it allows iris scans to be taken without the knowledge or participation of the subject.

Russia plans new ICBMs, nuclear subs to counter U.S. threat

Russia's defense minister recently laid out an ambitious plan for building new intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear submarines and possibly aircraft carriers, and set the goal of exceeding the Soviet army in combat readiness. Sergei Ivanov's statements appeared aimed at raising his profile at home ahead of the 2008 election in which he is widely seen as a potential contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin. But they also seemed to reflect a growing chill in Russian-U.S. relations and the Kremlin's concern about U.S. missile defense plans. Ivanov told parliament the military would get 17 new ballistic missiles this year — a drastic increase over the average of four deployed annually in recent years. The purchases are part of a weapons modernization program for 2007-2015 worth about $190 billion. The plan envisages the deployment of 34 new silo-based Topol-M missiles and control units, as well as an additional 50 such missiles mounted on mobile launchers by 2015; Russia so far has deployed more than 40 silo-based Topol-Ms.

Gideons arrested for handing out Bibles

Two men who are members of Gideons International, the Christian organization that is famous for, among other ministries, placing Bibles in motels and giving them to children, have been arrested after trying to hand out Bibles on a public sidewalk in Florida, according to a law firm. Officials with the Alliance Defense Fund have confirmed they will be representing Anthony Mirto and Ernest Simpson, who were arrested, booked into jail and charged with trespassing. Jeremy Tedesco, one of the ADF's lawyers on the case, confirmed to WND that the organization's clients were on a public sidewalk when they were handing out Bibles and school officials summoned police. "The First Amendment protects the right to engage in religious speech on a public sidewalk," ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman said. "Members of the Gideons have been highly respected for decades as peaceful providers of free Bibles to those who want them." The arrest happened Jan. 19, when Mirto and Simpson were on the sidewalk outside of Key Largo School in Key Largo, Fla., and were distributing copies of the Bible to those interested.

Nuclear terrorism risk seen growing

Western governments must take seriously the possibility of terrorists exploding a nuclear bomb as the necessary materials and know-how become easier to acquire, security analysts argue in two new reports. "The threat of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons is real ... moreover, the likelihood of terrorists acquiring such weapons is growing as more states aggressively pursue their own nuclear ambitions," the EastWest Institute said in a study. It said the first nuclear terrorist may turn out to be an American or European, reflecting a likely evolution in security threats over the next 10-15 years and a possible shift away from al Qaeda-style Islamist militancy toward eco-terrorism. In a separate report, London's influential Chatham House think-tank said it was feasible that terrorists could acquire an atomic bomb, build one themselves, create an "improvised nuclear device" or blow up a nuclear power station. Another risk was the collapse of government control over civil and military nuclear facilities and materials in countries like Pakistan or North Korea. The design, materials and engineering for a bomb "have all become commodities, more or less available to those determined enough to acquire them", said Paul Cornish, head of the international security program at Chatham House.

New ID System Reads Personal ID In Moving Vehicles

Traffic jams at U.S. border crossings aggravated by new passport laws could be eased by a new system that can read a personal ID card in a moving vehicle. The system developed by Raytheon uses ultra high-frequency radio signals to tie the personalized identification cards in with an automated reader that would be installed at border crossings. Raytheon recently said the Personal Authentication Device (PAD) would be able to validate the identities of travelers and truck drivers entering the United States from Canada and Mexico, who must now carry a passport under new U.S. security regulations. "Last week's passport requirement ... underscores how U.S. border travel is becoming increasingly more serious and complicated," said Guy Swope, senior biometrics architect for Raytheon Information Solutions in Reston. "With an estimated 13,000 trucks alone crossing through the Mexican border daily, Raytheon set out to create the next generation of travel ID card that not only secures the person's identity but also is sufficiently portable to track people quickly and efficiently through a busy border or customs gate." The system is based on fingerprint data stored in the card that is both read and tracked by the sensor, allowing border agents to verify the identity of a person 30 feet away, or even multiple individuals in a car traveling up to 60 miles per hour.

Christian Evangelists beaten by Muslims for handing out tracts

Four evangelists who are supported by Voice of the Martyrs have suffered beatings by a crowd of irate Muslims, but they first succeeded in handing out more than 13,000 Christian tracts at a conference on Islam. Officials with VOM, a U.S.-based Christian group helping members of the persecuted Christian church worldwide, said one of the beatings was so severe that the Christian apparently suffered internal bleeding as a result. But the message was delivered, much as Jesus described in Matthew 16:18, where he announces that "thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The team was at a Muslim festival in the city of Pakpattan on a Friday late last month. The four-member team handed out more than 13,000 Christian messages at that event before being attacked by radical Muslims. VOM reports that three members of the team were beaten up, then taken to the police station where they were detained and questioned before being released. The fourth member, however, "was badly beaten by a mob of more than 100 angry Muslims, who then dragged him through the crowd before taking him to the police station," the VOM reported. "He was beaten so severely that he reported blood in his urine and his stool."

Consumers Want Biometrics

A majority of consumers in the United States and the United Kingdom are so worried about the insecurity of their personal information that they overwhelmingly want companies and their governments to turn to biometrics to protect them. In the United States, 69% of citizens want banks, credit card companies, health care providers, and government agencies to adopt biometric technologies, rather than other security technologies like smart card readers and passwords. In the United Kingdom, the number is even higher, coming in at 92%.

Selling The Benefits Of Human Microchipping

With the approval of Food and Drug Administration, VeriChip (the medical microchip) has been able to be implanted in over 2200 patients across the world. The device takes no more than 20 minutes to insert under the skin, without the necessity of the stitches. VeriChip contains a code for physicians and other healthcare professionals to scan and obtain general medical information on the patient. through a database. While the issue of confidentiality remains to be voiced, this device could very well help a lot of individuals. Patients suffering from Alzheimer’s, who may not have a relative or friend to speak for them, when they are being admitted into the emergency room and/or hospital. Homeless individuals who may be disoriented could benefit. A child or adult who just got into a car accident and has loss consciousness or is in a coma.

Expert says North Korean Nuclear Crisis Could Lead To War Between U.S. and China

Over the past three years, Beijing has generally sided with the United States and other nations trying to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programs. But Teng Jianqun, an arms control specialist for the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, says that if the dispute ever led the U.S. and North Korea into war, it might be in Beijing's interest to defend North Korea. ‘It's not the Chinese will to go to war,’ he said. ‘But, they have to protect the … for example, the border, the interests in this region.’ Teng noted that China is bound by a 1961 mutual defense treaty with North Korea. He said the ultimate interpretation of that treaty would be up to Chinese leaders.

Swiss Court okays euthanizing the mentally ill

A Christian group that seeks to promote biblical morality in Europe says a recent ruling by Switzerland's highest court opens the door for people with serious mental illnesses to be euthanized against their will. The Federal Tribunal's decision puts mental illnesses on the same level as physical ones in a country that already allows physician-assisted suicide for terminally-ill patients. In its ruling, the tribunal said "If the death wish is based on an autonomous decision which takes all circumstances into account, then a mentally ill person can be prescribed sodium-pentobarbital and thereby be assisted in suicide." Phil Magnan is executive director of Biblical Family Advocates, a pro-family organization based in Budapest, Hungary. He says the ruling sends the disturbing message that suicide is a "viable, rational" option. "They have really crossed over an interesting dilemma because people who are not mentally capable of making decisions could actually be coerced, they could be encouraged, they could be told [that their] life really isn't worth living," he asserts. "And before you know it, we're going to slide down a very, very slippery slope."

A Third Of People Over Age 50 Are Having An Affair

Comfortably established at work and at home, the over-50s should be enjoying their most contented years. But nearly a third claim to be having affairs instead. Older people are much more likely to be tempted into infidelity than the young, a study has found. The reason, according to an examination of more than 13,000 sex lives, is that those in their 20s and 30s are not likely to have settled into marriage or a long-term relationship. And even if they have, they are more likely to be in "the first flush of romance". But the middle-aged find the lure of an affair "overwhelming", according to the survey results. After the hard work of maintaining a marriage and often a family for so long, perhaps they can't resist what they regard as a last chance for a little self-fulfilment. And it seems the general lessening of sex drive after 50 is no barrier to adultery. In some cases, it is in fact the final straw that causes a husband or wife to seek solace with a more accommodating lover. Psychotherapist Brett Kahr, who led the British Sexual Fantasy Research Project, said: "I would be hard pressed to recall any couple who presented for marital psychotherapy with a healthy sex life. "As we may not fully appreciate, sex might be the most sensitive barometer of the solidity of the relationship between husband and wife, or between two lovers. "When the gremlins of infidelity or inattentiveness or other forms of cruelty enter the relationship, then the sexual life will suffer as a consequence." The survey, which asked for detailed information on sex lives, was sent to more than 34,000 people. Just over 13,000 replied. The findings showed that 14 per cent of those under 30 had had sex with someone outside their marriage or long-term relationship, as had 23 per cent of those between 30 and 40.

Help stop NAFTA before it abolishes the USA

The plan to establish a North American Union is one of the most important topics confronting our country, as it threatens to abolish the USA and the freedom that it represents. On March 23, 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin, President Bush and President Vicente Fox, the respective leaders of Canada, USA and Mexico, met in Waco, Texas, to discuss plans to merge our three countries into a North American Union (NAU), calling their agreement the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP). In spite of our government's rhetoric to enforce a border, even build a fence, the SPP calls for the removal of our borders. It envisions a common economic system under a common currency, the amero, a common law, common enforcement of the law, common emergency domestic response for "common problems," and I would expect, a common military. Being a treaty, it would require senatorial approval only if our leaders uphold and defend the constitution of the United States. Instead, plans are being made to circumvent congress. Canada's Macleans magazine, in Meet NAFTA 2.0, has revealed a North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), which plans to implement the NAU by stealth. Its membership includes Lockheed Martin's Ron Covais, who stated, "We've decided not to recommend any things that would require legislative changes." He means government financing. Covais is a former pentagon advisor to Dick Cheney. NAFTA plans to circumvent budgetary debate by giving away concession rights to the foreign construction companies, after the land is secured by eminent domain. Hence, the construction companies will bear their own responsibility for generating funds and profit on the highways. Such a diabolical plan can only be blocked by members of the house and senate, whose oath of office demands their action. The general public can contact both Congressman McNerney and our senators, demanding they stop the NAFTA Superhighway and the NAU.

Britain 'preparing for human flu pandemic'

The Government is preparing "very seriously" for the possibility of a human flu pandemic as officials battle to contain the first avian flu outbreak in the UK. Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, spoke out as experts were continuing to slaughter 159,000 turkeys at a Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk where the potentially deadly H5N1 strain, which can be transmitted to humans, was found yesterday. She said: "It is a very remote risk but if it did happen it could be very serious indeed." Officials have ordered poultry owners living within the 2,090 sq km restriction zone set up following the outbreak to bring their birds inside. Jill Korwin, assistant head of Trading Standards for Suffolk, said officers were using the National Poultry Register to identify owners and would also be relying on the general public to provide information about anyone who was not abiding by the regulations. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs surveillance of wild bird deaths is ongoing, and members of the public are being asked to report single deaths of ducks, geese and swans, or groups of 10 or more dead birds of any one species in a single area. The outbreak has sparked fears of a potentially devastating customer backlash on the £3.4 billion industry.

Senior Citizens Are Drowning in Credit Card Debt

Seniors who grew up in frugal times and have usually been reluctant to go too far into debt are turning increasingly to credit cards to make do in retirement, says a study by the National Consumer Law Center. "Older people have generally held less credit card debt than younger consumers, but their generation is catching up," said Deanne Loonin, the principal author of the report by the Boston-based consumer advocacy group. The study quantifies a trend that credit counselors have seen recently. It found that the average credit card debt for consumers 65 to 69 skyrocketed 217 percent over the last decade to $5,844. Researchers calculated the inflation-adjusted increase by examining Federal Reserve data on the assets and liabilities of American families. The consumer advocacy group's report blames the trend on a combination of seniors' shrinking or stagnating incomes, higher expenses for housing, medical care and utilities, and creditor practices that push seniors to borrow. "It's not just that elders have more debt than before, but that many are buried in unaffordable debt," Loonin said.

Maine School Teaches Kids 'Transgendering'

The Christian Civic League of Maine is denouncing a high school's celebration of transgender that included a student currently undergoing sex-change therapy. The observance, says the group's spokesman, is part of the state government's taxpayer-subsidized promotion of the homosexual agenda. The head of a pro-family group in Maine is expressing outrage over his former high school's affirmation of transgenderism. Cony High School in Augusta adjourned at 8:30 in the morning recently for a "Diversity Day," which included a workshop for freshman students called "Transgendering." Mike Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, says the workshop hosted by his alma mater included a presentation by a former student who is now undergoing male hormone treatments and says she is a boy. Heath says such events are becoming more common in the state's schools. The government of Maine invests almost a quarter-million dollars a year "in promoting homosexuality and so-called 'sexual orientation' through the attorney general's office," he explains.

What can happen when an E-Bomb Explodes

There is sharp cracking sound in the distance. A moment later a low rumbling sound, like an innocent clap of thunder, shakes the ground slightly and the whole city becomes immobile, as if frozen in time. All florescent lights, neon tubes, and television sets glow with eerie brightness; even the ones that are turned off at the time. Smoldering plastic seeps from outlet covers, electric wires arc, and telephone wires melt into tangled piles of smoking jelly. Palm Pilots, DVD players, cell phones, portable appliances, and toys all feel warm to the touch because their batteries have become overloaded and are fried. Computers are toasted, and all the data on the hard drives is burned up and lost forever. Then, the surroundings go deathly still. The background sounds of civilization in a busy city die out without a whimper. Cars and trucks sit motionless, their internal-combustion engines now stopped, will never start again. This is a realistic assessment of the damage the Pentagon believes could be inflicted by a new generation of weapons called, E-bombs. An e-bomb (electromagnetic bomb) is a weapon that uses an intense electromagnetic field to create a brief pulse of energy that affects electronic circuitry without harming humans or buildings. The concept behind the e-bomb arose from nuclear weaponry research in the 1950s. When the U.S. military tested hydrogen bombs over the Pacific Ocean, streetlights were blown out hundreds of miles away and radio equipment was affected as far as away as Australia. Although at the time these effects were considered incidental, since that time researchers have sought a means of focusing that energy. A terrorist can build a crude E-bomb weapon for under $500 that is why E-bombs have been nicknamed the poor man's nuke.

U.S. Set to Begin a Vast Expansion of DNA Sampling

The Justice Department is completing rules to allow the collection of DNA from most people arrested or detained by federal authorities.The new forensic DNA sampling was authorized by Congress in a little-noticed amendment to a January 2006 renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, which provides protections and assistance for victims of sexual crimes. The amendment permits DNA collecting from anyone under criminal arrest by federal authorities, and also from illegal immigrants detained by federal agents.

New Superbug Kills Healthy Young Adults In 24 Hours

A new, dangerous superbug that kills within 24 hours has begun to spread across the industrialized world. The bacteria is called PVL-producing MRSA, and it is a highly-virulent strain of Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as the staph infection. This strain of staph infection is resistant to drugs, and particularly vicious. The strain of MRSA that produces PVL -- panton-valentine leukocidin toxin – decimates white blood cells and often causes boils to appear. But if it gets into an open wound or is strong enough, it starts the process for necrotizing pneumonia, which rapidly destroys lung tissue. The survival rate for necrotizing pneumonia is currently only 25 percent. The superbug is strong enough to kill healthy young adults: In 2004, a young, fit British Royal Marine named Richard Campbell-Smith contracted the disease and died within three days. In 2005, there were 106 cases of PVL-MRSA in England and Wales, including one confirmed death from the development of necrotizing pneumonia. So far, there have been fatalities in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Europe. Mark Enright, a microbiologist at Imperial College, London, told the BBC that this strain of the disease probably evolved from a previous strain found in the 1950s that included PVL. That strain did not have the resistance to drugs that this one does.

Food From Cloned Animals Won't Come With Warnings

When the government approves food from cloned animals, expected in the next year, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t plan special labels. Government scientists have found no difference between clones and conventional cows, pigs or goats. However, shoppers won’t be completely in the dark. To help them sort through meat and dairy products, one signal is the round, green USDA organic seal, says Caren Wilcox, who heads the Organic Trade Association. While many people choose organic to avoid pesticides or antibiotics, Wilcox says the U.S. Department of Agriculture label also means clone-free.

Arms race fears as Putin attacks missiles plan

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, prompted fears of a renewed arms race recently after he described American plans to move missiles into eastern Europe as an act of aggression against Moscow. In comments echoing the rhetoric of an earlier age, Mr Putin said that Russia would develop a new generation of inter-continental missiles capable of breaching the defensive shield Washington plans to build in Poland and the Czech republic. Last month Washington unveiled plans to construct a radar station and deploy interceptor missiles in eastern Europe in what it said was an attempt to counter the growing military threat of rogue states such as Iran. But Mr Putin, by his own admission in a combative mood, said it was clear that the Pentagon had Russia rather than Iran in mind, and the trajectory and range of Teheran's missiles meant that the positioning of the shield did not make sense. "These arguments do not hold water, in our opinion, and that has a direct bearing on us," he said at his annual press conference in the Kremlin. "And, of course, it will provoke a corresponding reaction."

Animal-Human Hybrid Embryos Get Go-Ahead

Government plans to ban the creation of human-animal hybrids in the laboratory have been dealt a serious blow after the regulatory body on embryos backed the research. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has told MPs that it does not believe the innovative research, which could help patients with Alzheimer's disease, should be outlawed. MPs are calling on the Government to reverse its decision to ban the creation of hybrid embryos, which scientists believe could further research into incurable conditions such as motor neurone disease. The authority believes thatresearch should be permitted as long as the embryos created in the laboratory are destroyed by the age of two weeks and are notused in human fertility treatments.

Iran working on Underground uranium plant

Technical crews have hauled centrifuges into Iran's vast underground Natanz complex and were on the threshold of launching a program that could be used to create nuclear arms, diplomats recently said. Hundreds of technicians have been "working feverishly" in recent weeks in the bunker-like hall beneath the desert near the central Iranian city of Natanz, said a diplomat accredited to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear monitor. They have installed and tested the pipes, wiring, control panels and air conditioning, setting the stage for hooking up the centrifuges that spin uranium into enriched levels. Iran says it wants to develop enrichment to generate power, with Natanz as the centerpiece of a program first to link 3,000 centrifuges, and then ultimately to expand to 54,000. The United States and other countries fear Tehran will enrich to a higher level than needed for energy and use the material for the fissile core of nuclear warheads. The recent activity in Natanz increases the tension between Tehran and the world's major powers over the Islamic republic's nuclear program, and will likely spur U.S. efforts to sharpen existing U.N. sanctions on Iran for its defiance of a Security Council demand that it freeze enrichment efforts. "This work is not necessary for a peaceful nuclear energy program, but is needed to give Iran's leaders the know-how to make highly enriched uranium for nuclear weapons," said Matt Boland, spokesman for the U.S. delegation to the IAEA.

6th-Grade Girls Would Have To Prove Vaccination

Girls entering the sixth grade would have to show their school proof that they have been vaccinated for cervical cancer or that their parents signed a form rejecting it under a measure backed by a state Senate committee. The proposal (Senate Bill 80) requires doctors to tell parents about the availability of the vaccine that prevents infections from two strains of the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer. Last year, federal officials recommended that girls be vaccinated at 11 or 12, before they become sexually active. At least 18 states are considering such measures this year. Drug giant Merck & Co., which makes the only vaccine now available, has funded a group called Women in Government and many of the people who have introduced the bills, including the Colorado sponsor, Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, are members.

The 'Read ID Act' and Drivers Licenses in 2008+

Under the measure, your new drivers’ license — the one you’ll be required to get starting in 2008 — will take a lot of work on your part. And, if you don’t get it done, you can forget about flying on an airplane, opening a bank account, collecting social security and for that matter taking advantage of many government services. You’ll have a heck of a time getting into a federal building too. The bill was designed to making us safer post-9/11. The hijackers used a loophole to obtain drivers’ licenses, which they then used to gain access through airport security onto airplanes. The best way to prevent that from happening, lawmakers determined, was to make anyone applying for a drivers’ license or a photo ID card prove not only who they are, but also that they are in the United States legally. Birth certificates, proof of address and citizenship, photo ID, and Social Security cards are just some of what you might be asked to present to the DMV clerk — the one probably not returning that smile — because they will be required to confirm each and every bit of that information before issuing you a new “Real ID”…a process that could take weeks. The Department of Homeland Security is in charge of the Real ID program — ensuring we all meet the new federal ID standards. To do so, each Real ID will be encoded on a strip in the back with a lot of our personal information.

A New Era Of Deadlier "Non-Lethal" Super Weapons On Horizon

Plasma clouds, microwave beams, electrified bullets -- military contractors have been developing futuristic new combat technologies under the public radar. For the past several years, Taser International, Inc. has been testing products with the military market in mind. Most recently it has been working on Tasernet, a weapon it describes as a "non-lethal area denial and force protection system." In October, the Taser Remote Area Denial (T-RAD) concept was officially unveiled at the annual United States Army meeting in Washington, D.C. When used in tandem with what Taser bills as the "companion computer networking system," Tasernet, the defensive weaponry amounts to a "Star Trek"-style forcefield, stunning uninvited guests. Tasernet can capture digital facial scans, allowing authorized users through the forcefield.

U.S. - Iran tensions could trigger war

Citing Iranian involvement with Iraqi militias and Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the Bush administration has shifted to offense in its confrontation with Iran — building up the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf and promising more aggressive moves against Iranian operatives in Iraq and Lebanon. The behind-the-scenes struggle between the two nations could explode into open warfare over a single misstep, analysts and U.S. military officials warn. Iraq has become a proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran, which is challenging — at least rhetorically — America's dominance of the Gulf. That has worried even Iraq's U.S.-backed Shiite prime minister, who — in a reflection of Iraq's complexity — also has close ties to Iran. Iran and the United States are already sparring on the ground.

Britain battles H5N1 bird flu outbreak in poultry

Britain scrambled to contain its first outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu in domestic poultry on Feb 3, after the virus was found at a farm run by Europe's biggest turkey producer. Some 2,500 turkeys have died since Thursday Feb 1, at the Bernard Matthews farm near Lowestoft in eastern England. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said all 159,000 birds there would be culled over the next few days. "We're in new territory," National Farmers' Union Poultry Board chairman Charles Bourns told Reuters. "We've every confidence in Defra but, until we know how this disease arrived, this is a very apprehensive time for all poultry farmers." Defra said the virus was the same pathogenic Asian strain found last month in Hungary where an outbreak among geese on a farm prompted the slaughter of thousands of birds.

Pandemic Flu May Be Only Two Mutations Away

A new study investigating the difference between the 1918 pandemic flu virus – which killed at least 50 million people – and a virus which kills but does not spread turned out to be two small mutations on the virus’s surface. Just two amino acids – the building blocks of protein – need to change on the virus’s surface in order to allow it to spread easily between people, the researchers found.

RFID-Enabled Cart to Provide Shoppers With Product Info, Ads

Media Cart Holdings has developed a shopping cart that uses RFID technology to inform consumers about items they pass in a store as they shop. Two grocery retailers, one on the East Coast and a second in the Dallas area, will begin using the system—each in a single store—in about three weeks. Media Cart's chief marketing officer, Jon Kramer, says the company is in discussions with numerous other "major retail stores" throughout the United States as well. With the new RFID system, Media Cart installs Avery Dennison UHF Gen 2 passive RFID chips every 2 feet throughout a store's aisles. The carts come equipped with a 12-inch high-resolution video display attached at the nose of the cart, facing the shopper. A ThingMagic 4E RFID interrogator and a power supply, both built by Media Cart, are attached to the bottom of the cart. When not in use, the units are parked in a corral so they can be charged.

Irans Ahmadinejad says: They have an AIDS Cure

"Giant achievements" by Iran will be unveiled by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in the coming days, the Iranian Fars news agency recently reported. The Iranian news agency said an upcoming dramatic announcement on Iran's nuclear "rights" would be made on February 11. The report was accompanied by a series of announcements heralding alleged Iranian technological and medical breakthroughs, including an "AIDS cure." Ahmadinejad's "administration is going to publicize the country's remarkable progresses and achievements within the coming days," the Fars news agency said. "The Iranian president also reiterated that February 11 is the day when the Iranian nation's inalienable right to access and use nuclear technology will be established," the agency added. "The Iranian nation will celebrate stabilization and establishment of its nuclear rights during the Ten-Day Dawn, (sic)" Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying. The "ten-day dawn" in early February marks the date of the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979. "When a nation decides to stand on its own feet to climb up the peaks, God helps it and that nation will embrace victory," Ahmadinejad said. "After seven long years of arduous work, Iranian scientists here on Saturday introduced a herbal medicine which cures Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)," Fars reported. "The drug named 'IMOD' is completely effective and safe with no proven side effects," Iran's Minister of Health Kamran Bagheri Lankarani claimed during a ceremony.

Feds to Tap Internet Phone Calls

Over the past several months, the FCC and Justice Department have been working overtime, and fighting hard to tap not only your landline phone, your cellphone, but to tap Internet phone calls, as well. Effective in May, those who provide "voice transmission," and broadband services will have to ensure that their equipment that is wiretap-ready, and accessible to your local police force, and the FBI. The new legislation is modeled after the 1994 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement, or CALEA, which was designed primarily to facilitate wiretaping of mobile phones. This new legislation is intended to expand governmental surveillance powers to cover companies like Vonage, so the progression evolves thus: first we can tap Ma Bell, then Cingular Wireless, then Yahoo emails, then Vonage.

'Putrid' orange snow falls in Siberia

When Frank Zappa penned the hit single "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" back in 1974, his words were meant as a warning to Eskimos to avoid the spots "where the huskies go." Yesterday Russian authorities were forced to repeat the American singer song-writer's advice for altogether different reasons after putrid smelling yellow, green and orange snow fell across a substantial swathe of Siberia. The bizarre phenomenon caused consternation across the affected regions of Omsk and Tomsk, where government officials told locals to stay indoors, tie up their pets and avoid either consuming the snow or using it "for household or technical needs." "The snow is oily to the touch and has a pronounced rotten smell," Anton German, an environmental official in Omsk was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency. Samples of the snow were flown to Moscow by the department for especially hazardous rescue operations, prompting rumours of a significant environmental disaster.

Violent Militias on rise in Iraq

The messianic Soldiers of Heaven militia that fought US and Iraqi troops in one of the fiercest battles of the war recently is among the more than two dozen extremist militias operating across Iraq that are fast becoming a powerful, and hidden, new enemy. US officials this week expressed concern about the explosion of splinter groups in Iraq, noting that their sheer number makes a political resolution to the ongoing violence in Iraq increasingly difficult. One Defense Department official said in an interview yesterday that the military is tracking at least 28 militias, many of them Shi'ite splinter groups, but knows little about their leadership or command structure. Paul Pillar , who served as the CIA's chief intelligence analyst for the Middle East before leaving in 2005 for a teaching position, said the number of groups continues to expand almost daily.

North Korea and Iran are cooperating in developing long-range missiles

Army Brig. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly said during a speech that North Korea test fired a long-range Taepodong missile in July, and Iran is working on a space launcher that would help develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could hit the U.S. "Not only North Korea, but Iran has shown some significant developments in their [own] missile systems," Gen. O'Reilly said in a speech to the George C. Marshall Institute. "They are working in concert with the North Koreans," he said. "They have made a claim that they are working towards developing a space launch capability, which also would give them an ICBM capability." The Pentagon believes Iran has a "new intermediate-range ballistic missile or space launch vehicle [SLV] in development," a Missile Defense Agency briefing slide stated.

FBI Turns To Broad New Wiretap Method

The FBI appears to have adopted an invasive Internet surveillance technique that collects far more data on innocent Americans than previously has been disclosed.
Instead of recording only what a particular suspect is doing, agents conducting investigations appear to be assembling the activities of thousands of Internet users at a time into massive databases, according to current and former officials. That database can subsequently be queried for names, e-mail addresses or keywords. Such a technique is broader and potentially more intrusive than the FBI's Carnivore surveillance system, later renamed DCS1000. It raises concerns similar to those stirred by widespread Internet monitoring that the National Security Agency is said to have done, according to documents that have surfaced in one federal lawsuit, and may stretch the bounds of what's legally permissible. Call it the vacuum-cleaner approach. It's employed when police have obtained a court order and an Internet service provider can't "isolate the particular person or IP address" because of technical constraints, says Paul Ohm, a former trial attorney at the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. (An Internet Protocol address is a series of digits that can identify an individual computer.) That kind of full-pipe surveillance can record all Internet traffic, including Web browsing--or, optionally, only certain subsets such as all e-mail messages flowing through the network. Interception typically takes place inside an Internet provider's network at the junction point of a router or network switch.

Bush Grants Himself Unprecedented Powers Over All US Agencies

President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy. In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Mr. Bush said that each agency must have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee, to supervise the development of rules and documents providing guidance to regulated industries. The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president’s priorities. This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts. It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats. The White House said the executive order was not meant to rein in any one agency. But business executives and consumer advocates said the administration was particularly concerned about rules and guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

More And More Students Buy Lunch Via Biometric Scanning

In the new Crichfield Elementary School, where high-tech is everywhere, the cafeteria has not been neglected. Judy Keim, director of food services for LaPorte Community Schools Corp., said that in the cafeteria, high-tech finger scanning is everywhere, not only at the new Crichfield, but in the corporation's older schools, too. As youngsters lined up in the Crichfield cafeteria Wednesday, no one seemed to have lost a lunch ticket or lunch money. “It's been our experience that very few children lose their fingers,” said Crichfield Principal Linda Wiltfong. At the end of the food line, youngsters nonchalantly paid with a swipe of a scanner, using the pointer finger of their left hands to activate their account. Parents pre-pay into a lunch account, and Wiltfong said that each day a child eats lunch and swipes his or her finger, the cost of the lunch is deducted from the account. “I personally like the system,” said Wiltfong. “It's much easier for me to write a check for my account than it is to wonder whether I have cash with me.” The system works the same way for children who get free or reduced lunches, said Keim. “No one needs to know who is getting free lunch,” she said. Do parents worry about what could be interpreted as an Orwellian invasion of privacy? Is the school keeping a record of every child's fingerprints? “No,” says Keim. “There are no fingerprints.” Although the scanner “reads” individual fingerprints, she said, it simply attaches a string of numbers as a kind of identification number, to the image. Although numbers are attached to various students, neither the school nor the computer keeps an image of fingerprints. “Most of our parents are very, very comfortable with this,” Keim said.

Robot Attack Copters For War And Law Enforcement

TAG has announced a new recoilless technology development that is to be implemented on their portable unmanned helicopters. Tactical Aerospace Group has signed a Joint Commercialization Agreement with Recoilless Technologies International of Australia to develop a recoilless weapons package for their aircraft as part of ongoing UCAV weaponization programs. Initial efforts will be directed towards 7.62 armament with future attention towards other calibers, grenade launchers and other fire power that might be adapted or suitable for this aircraft. This new enhancement will add additional capabilities to the current 2.75" missile project to ultimately provide the expeditionary and front line warfighter with a portable compact attack helicopter. Such a weapons package can provide a frontline first strike capability, especially for engaging in urban environments which are the typical new battlefield settings. Combined with the swarming and multi-platform control systems being developed by Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other industry leaders, this is a step closer to developing networked WarBots that can take the place of human warfighters where appropriate. We see additional utility for light unmanned attack helicopters in numerous situations where traditional air resources are restricted by terrain, structures or visibility and of course for well defended high risk targets. The introduction of recoilless weapons will open a wide range of possibilities for deployment of light weaponized UAVs.

Jerusalem Post Says: "US Plans Strike Against Iran"

The U.S. is drawing up plans to attack sites where Iran is believed to be enriching uranium before President George W. Bush's candidacy comes to an end, the UK-based Times reported recently. According to the Times, the Bush government has been inviting defense consultants and Middle East experts to the White House and Pentagon for tactical advice. The Pentagon is reported to be considering ways for the US to destroy nuclear facilities such as Iran's main centrifuge plant at Natanz, despite the fact that Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney hoped that diplomatic efforts to restrain Iran would succeed. Senior Pentagon planners recently advised the White House, however, that they did not yet have accurate intelligence as to the whereabouts of all Iran's nuclear enrichment sites. Iran's nuclear program has been generating world-wide tension in recent months, despite claims by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the research is for peaceful means. The UN has threatened to put sanctions on Iran if they do not abandon the program. According to analyst Shmuel Bar of the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center in Israel, an American strike would only trigger the Iranian regime's primordial survival impulse. This would almost certainly result in a full-scale Iranian assault on Kuwaiti and Saudi oil fields, in an attempt to exact a price that would dissuade the West from carrying its assault to the point of regime change, he told The Jerusalem Post. In addition, there is a 'real danger' that the Iranian regime could instigate labor strikes among the Shi'ites of southern Iraq, said Dr. Ian Bremer, president of the risk consultancy firm, Eurasia Group. This could drop oil production from over a million barrels per day, 'even to zero for short periods of time,' he warned.

Homeland Security’s Chertoff Warns of Nuclear Terror Threat

Today, the international community faces a test of its willingness to stop nuclear terrorism, says Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “You can’t put that genie back in the bottle once a weapon of mass destruction or a nuclear bomb gets into the hands of a terrorist,” Chertoff said in a January 26 panel discussion at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Terrorism is high on the forum’s agenda this year. It constitutes one of the top threats to global security, according to a survey of international business and political leaders attending the event. “What we face in the 21st century is the ability of even a single individual, and certainly a group, to leverage technology in a way to cause a type of destruction and a magnitude of destruction that would have been unthinkable a century ago,” Chertoff said. As the destructive potential of the next large-scale terrorist attack grows with every technological advance, Chertoff said, so too does the risk of failing to detect terrorists before they strike.

Europeans Fear US Attack On Iran As Nuclear Row Intensifies

Senior European policy-makers are increasingly worried that the US administration will resort to air strikes against Iran to try to destroy its suspect nuclear programme. As transatlantic friction over how to deal with the Iranian impasse intensifies, there are fears in European capitals that the nuclear crisis could come to a head this year because of US frustration with Russian stalling tactics at the UN security council. "The clock is ticking," said one European official. "Military action has come back on to the table more seriously than before. The language in the US has changed."

Anti-Semitic Attacks Reached Record Levels In Britain in 2006

Race hate incidents - ranging from death threats to physical assault - rose by more than 30 percent to almost 600. ‘These are the worst figures we have had in the 23 years since we have been monitoring it,’ said Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain's estimated 300,000 Jews on safety issues. ‘British Jews are stupidly blamed and randomly attacked over international tensions for which they bear no responsibility,’ Gardner said. British Jewish leaders say attacks have risen steadily since 2000, with British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks warning that ‘a tsunami of anti-Semitism’ was sweeping across Europe. Gardner said last year's incidents peaked during the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, adding the spike then was specifically anti-Semitic and not just anger with Israel. He said the trend was mirrored across Europe. ‘It happens in diaspora communities throughout Europe with any trigger like the Lebanon conflict,’ he told Reuters. ‘But it is quite difficult to compare with other countries as the sizes of the Jewish communities are quite different. The situation in France has improved slightly from the days when synagogues were being fire-bombed,’ he added. Gardner said four of the incidents last year were potentially life-threatening. A Jewish man was stabbed in London, others were beaten with metal bars and broken bottles. ‘I want to kill all Jews and my name is Hitler,’ one Arab shouted before punching an Orthodox Jew in the face at a London underground railway station and trying to push him off the platform.

Iran Set to Launch 'Star Wars' Satelllites, Systems

Iran is poised to launch a satellite into space, a step that could herald a new dimension in Tehran's strategic capabilities, Aviation Week and Space Technology, a U.S. publication, said last week. A recently assembled, 30-ton ballistic missile-turned space launcher could also be used for testing longer-range missile strike technologies, according to the report which the weekly magazine said would appear in its January 29 issue. The Iranian space launcher "will liftoff soon" with an Iranian satellite, said Alaoddin Boroujerdi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, according to the weekly.

New Exoskeleton Will Give Soldiers Super-Human Power

The Pentagon is hoping that a new type of suit will give its soldiers super-human powers. It would be made from a newly developed super-strong but super-lightweight fabric that could stop bullets and increase the soldiers muscle power up to a hundredfold. The US military has long been searching for an "Exoskeleton" that would amplify the muscle strength of combat soldiers. However, up until now each attempt had been too inefficient, cumbersome.

Preacher claims he is Jesus Christ

At first glance, the congregation gathered in a warehouse in Doral, Fla., seems like a typical Hispanic evangelical group. There's the 10-piece band, the singing and swaying, the whooping and hollering. But look a little more closely. There's not a cross in sight. The lectern is emblazoned with a near replica of the U.S. presidential seal, except that it reads in Spanish, government of god on earth. Off to the side stand three burly guys in dark suits with Secret Service-style earpieces. When a door by the stage opens, the guards leap into action. They surround the man with slicked-back hair who emerges and escort him to his seat. When the crowd spots him, it goes wild. People chant, "Lord! Lord! Lord!" It quickly becomes clear that they're referring to him. "It's Jesus Christ himself!" a preacher onstage announces. "Let's welcome Jesus Christ Man!" In the rapturous eyes of his flock, Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is, in fact, the second coming of Christ. As the head of the Growing in Grace International Ministry, he presides over a sprawling organization that includes more than 300 congregations in two dozen countries, from Argentina to Australia. He counts more than 100,000 followers and claims to reach millions more through a 24-hour TV channel, a radio show and several Web sites. In 1998, de Jesus avowed that he was the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul. Two years ago at Growing in Grace's world convention in Venezuela, he declared himself Christ. And just last week, he called himself the Antichrist and revealed a "666" tattooed on his forearm. His explanation: that, as the second coming of Christ, he rejects the continued worship of Jesus of Nazareth.

Chips push through nano-barrier

Chip-maker Intel has announced that it will start manufacturing processors using transistors just 45 nanometres (billionths of a metre) wide. Shrinking the basic building blocks of microchips will make them faster and more efficient. Computer giant IBM has also signalled its intention to start production of chips using the tiny components. "Big Blue", which developed the transistor technology with partners Toshiba, Sony and AMD, intends to incorporate them into its chips in 2008. Intel said it would start commercial fabrication of processors at three factories later this year.

Iran begins big nuclear build-up

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iranian officials had told him they planned to start installing the centrifuge equipment in an underground plant at Natanz, 150 miles south of Tehran. Centrifuges are the machines that spin uranium gas to enrich it to a grade suitable for nuclear power or weapons.
ElBaradei said he was worried that further sanctions against Iran, which the United Nations has threatened to impose next month if it fails to halt its enrichment programme, were “only going to lead to escalation”. He dismissed as “absolutely bonkers” suggestions that Israel or the US might mount a military attack on the Iranian nuclear sites. It might destroy the buildings, he said, but it would not deprive Iran of its nuclear expertise and would strengthen the hand of hardliners in the regime. The US has said it wants a diplomatic solution to the standoff but has not ruled out military action if that failed. In a move analysts said was a warning to Iran, it has sent a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf.