Al-Qaida video threatens Massive attacks on U.S.

An American member of al-Qaida warned President Bush on May 29, to end U.S. involvement in all Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11 suicide assault, according to a new videotape. Wearing a white robe and a turban, Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who also goes by the name Azzam al-Amriki, said al-Qaida would not negotiate on its demands. "Your failure to heed our demands ... means that you and your people will ... experience things which will make you forget all about the horrors of September 11th, Afghanistan and Iraq and Virginia Tech," he said in the seven-minute video. Gadahn, who has been charged in a U.S. treason indictment with aiding al-Qaida, spoke in English and the video carried Arabic subtitles. The video appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of al-Qaida's media wing, as-Sahab. Gadahn, who appeared in an al-Qaida video last September in which he called on Americans to convert to Islam, demanded that Bush remove all U.S. military and spies from Islamic countries, free all Muslims from U.S. prisons and end support for Israel. He said a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq alone would not satisify al-Qaida. Ben Venzke at IntelCenter, a U.S. government contractor that monitors al-Qaida messages, said the group likely did not believe any of its demands would be met. "It essentially allows al-Qaida to say that it has provided fair warning and is thus no longer responsible for the outcome," Venzke said in a statement.

Increased intelligence through genetic engineering

Scientists who have genetically engineered mice to be more intelligent, claim the results could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer's, post-traumatic stress disorder or drug addiction. The team of researchers, from UT Southwestern Medical Center, have conditionally knocked out a specific gene to prevent an enzyme called cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (Cdk5) from being produced, but only in the brain. This led to the mice becoming more adept at learning and also able to more quickly decipher environmental changes. This enzyme has been implicated in the progression of Alzheimers disease and drug addiction and understanding how it affects the brain and behaviour might help new treatments be developed, according to lead scientist Dr James Bibb, assistant professor of psychiatry.

Forced Microchipping Of Criminals Bill Sent Back To Senate For More Work

Legislation that would authorize microchip implants in people convicted of violent crimes was sent back to a committee for more work Wednesday after state House members questioned whether the proposal would violate constitutional civil liberties. The measure, approved by the Senate, authorizes microchip implants for persons convicted of one or more of 19 violent offenses who have to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, including murder, rape and some forms of robbery and burglary, while prohibiting government from requiring microchips implants in anyone else. The tiny electronic implants are commonly used to keep track of pets and livestock, but several House members questioned whether their forced use in people would be unconstitutionally invasive. “We are going down that slippery slope,” said Rep. Ed Cannaday, D-Porum. Lawmakers never voted on the measure. During debate, its author, Rep. Sue Tibbs, R-Tulsa, asked that it be sent back to a joint House-Senate conference committee where the exception for violent offenders was inserted. Cannaday and others said the measure may violate the Fourth, Fifth And Fourteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, the Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendment contains the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses. “I see it as invasive,” Cannaday said. He said many sex offenders and prisoners convicted of other crimes are already required to wear wrist or ankle bracelets when they are released from prison so their movements can be monitored by satellite tracking devices.

Woman minister re-appointed – as a man

A woman who has served as minister at St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore for five years has been re-appointed to the position – as a man, according to church officials. The announcement came at the Baltimore-Washington annual conference of the UMC, where the former Ann Gordon announced the change to Drew Phoenix, and talked of a "spiritual transformation" since the sex change procedure. The move was not without challenge. Some ministers asked for a "ruling of law," a move which automatically takes the issue to the church organization's highest court, the Judicial Council, which will be meeting next in October. The church denomination "officially" disapproves of homosexual behavior, but has no explicit policy regarding sexual identity changes or sex change operations, officials said. Gordon/Phoenix' congregation is among those that support what the members call the "reconciling" movement within the church, and campaigns to reject the church's traditional biblical teachings on marriage and sexual ethics. In a statement on the conference website, Gordon/Phoenix explained that the change was to reflect "my true gender identity."
"My transition to live fully as the male I know myself to be is very personal and deeply spiritual. As a Christian, I worship God – I AM. People frequently asked Jesus, 'Who are you?' His response was, 'Who do you say I am?' 'Who do YOU say YOU are?' I believe that our spiritual path is, in great part, the answer to: Who am I? I am..." said the statement.

Cyborg Bugs To Keep Eye On Terrorists

At some point in the not too distant future, a moth will take flight in the hills of northern Pakistan, and flap towards a suspected terrorist training camp. But this will be no ordinary moth. Inside it will be a computer chip that was implanted when the creature was still a pupa, in the cocoon, meaning that the moth’s entire nervous system can be controlled remotely. The moth will thus be capable of landing in the camp without arousing suspicion, all the while beaming video and other information back to its masters via what its developers refer to as a “reliable tissue-machine interface.” The creation of insects whose flesh grows around computer parts – known from science fiction as ‘cyborgs’ – has been described as one of the most ambitious robotics projects ever conceived by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), the research and development arm of the US Department of Defense. Rod Brooks, director of the computer science and artificial intelligence lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which is involved with the research, said that robotics was increasingly at the forefront of US military research, and that the remote-controlled moths, described by DARPA as Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, or MEMS, were one of a number of technologies soon to be deployed in combat zones. “This is going to happen," said Mr Brooks. "It’s not science like developing the nuclear bomb, which costs billions of dollars. It can be done relatively cheaply.” “Moths are creatures that need little food and can fly all kinds of places," he continued. "A bunch of experiments have been done over the past couple of years where simple animals, such as rats and cockroaches, have been operated on and driven by joysticks, but this is the first time where the chip has been injected in the pupa stage and ‘grown’ inside it. “Once the moth hatches, machine learning is used to control it.”

Pentagon details China's Frightening new military strategies

The Pentagon's forthcoming annual report on Chinese military power will reveal a growing threat from Beijing's new forms of power projection, including anti-satellite weapons and computer network attack forces. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said recently that the report, scheduled for release May 25, 2007, shows how China "has steadily devoted increasing resources to their military." According to defense officials familiar with the report, it also highlights new strategic missile developments, including China's five new Jin-class submarines, and states that Beijing continues to hide the true level of its military spending. The officials also said that the report will detail how China is developing two new types of strategic forces that go beyond what nations have done traditionally using air, sea and land forces by aiming to knock out modern communications methods on which the U.S. military relies for advanced warfighting techniques. First, U.S. intelligence officials estimate that by 2010 China's ASAT missiles will be capable of delivering a knockout blow to many U.S. military satellites. Second, China also is training large numbers of military computer hackers to deliver crippling electronic attacks on U.S. military and civilian computer networks. Mr.Gates described this year's report as an honest assessment devoid of "arm-waving" and said, "I don't think it does any exaggeration of the threat." "But it paints a picture of a country that is devoting substantial resources to the military and developing ... some very sophisticated capabilities."

Council on Foreign Relations Pushes for Three Regional Currencies in the World

Create a global lending institution that weakens the economy of wealthy nations, enslaves Third World countries, and prevents those nations from rising out of their impoverished conditions. Blame that institution for creating a plethora of global financial crises over the past fifty years. Then offer a solution of consolidating all of the economies of the world into three different regions, each of which will use one type of currency. Benn Steil, the CFR's Director of International Economics, argues that the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) practice of "lending" money to poor countries causes them to give up a portion of their sovereignty. The IMF is funded by the wealthy nations of the world, the U.S., Britain and Japan, to name a few. However, since the dollar is the currency of choice for much of the world, the lion's share of funds in the IMF and World Bank are made up of U.S. dollars. The United States, having the fortunate position of possessing the money that the rest of the world has faith in, will then sell government bonds to foreign governments that have just borrowed from the IMF to offset the deficit spending (such as funding the IMF) that Congress approves. To use an analogy, it is like buying a suit from a tailor and then receiving that same money back the next day in the form of a loan. Because of this process, he rightly calls the dollar an absurdity supported only by blind (or stupid) faith in man's wisdom. The logical answer from the perspective of a free marketer is for the U.S. to return to the gold standard, which is what gave the dollar a worldwide prominence in the first place. Not according to Steil, who says: "A revived gold standard is out of the question. In the nineteenth century, governments spent less than ten percent of national income in a given year. Today, they routinely spend half or more, and so they would never subordinate spending to the stringent requirements of sustaining a commodity-based monetary system."

California State Senate Passes Transsexual-Bisexual-Homosexual Curriculum Bill

Radical legislation mandating that schoolchildren as young as kindergarten learn about and support transsexuality, bisexuality and homosexuality has passed the California State Senate. SB 777 requires textbooks, instructional materials, and school-sponsored activities to positively portray cross-dressing, sex-change operations, homosexual "marriages," and all aspects of homosexuality and bisexuality, including so-called "gay history." Silence on these sexual lifestyles will not be allowed. Today's vote was on a party line -- Democrats for, Republicans against. Sadly, no Republican senator rose to speak against SB 777. After this non-debate, the school sexual indoctrination bill passed the Democrat-controlled Senate by three votes, 23 to 13. Republican Tom Harman abstained and Republican Jim Battin was absent; Democrat Dean Florez abstained, while Democrat Alan Lowenthal was absent. "The notion of forcing children to support controversial sexual lifestyles is shocking and appalling to millions of fathers and mothers," Thomasson said. "Parents don't want their children taught to become homosexual or bisexual or to wonder whether they need a sex-change operation. SB 777 will shatter the academic purpose of education by turning every government school into a sexual indoctrination center." Authored by lesbian Senator Sheila Kuehl, SB 777 adds an unnatural definition of "gender" to the Education Code: "Gender" means sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at birth. SB 777 also deletes the true definition of "sex" from the Education Code, which currently reads: "Sex" means the biological condition or quality of being a male or female human being. And because of the bill's wide-open definition of "sexual orientation," homosexual "marriages" and all aspects of homosexuality and bisexuality would be positively portrayed to children as young as kindergarten. SB 777 will teach these highly-controversial sexual subjects without parental permission. The new mandate would be enforced by the attorneys of the California Department of Education, which would sue school districts that don't comply.

'Al-Qaeda trying to go nuclear'

Al-Qaeda is searching for ways to create nuclear weapons for mass destruction, a former UN weapons inspection chief said during a press conference at an international convention ways to prevent a nuclear catastrophe being held in Luxembourg. Rolf Ekeus, currently High Commissioner at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and formerly Director of the UN Special Commission on Iraq, told reporters that the threat of a nuclear attack on a European city by al-Qaeda was tangible, and that steps are being taken to protect nuclear facilities from which terrorists can obtain enriched uranium. "Al-Qaeda is searching for nuclear technology," Ekeus said. "They are looking for simple weapons... for mass destruction," he added. Ekeus said al-Qaeda members "cannot be deterred. They are willing to sacrifice themselves," adding that prevention was the only means to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism.

Can Centaurs and Talking Pigs Be Far Behind?

Nobel laureate and famed geneticist Sydney Brenner once delivered a somewhat tongue-in-cheek lecture to students at Cambridge University about how to nonsurgically create a centaur. He concluded that one day soon it might be possible to create such a six-limbed vertebrate. Mermaids and other mythical hybrids might be on the way, too, as well as human-dog drudges trained to cook omelets and happily perform useful tasks around the house, like changing the light bulbs. This day has not yet arrived, but it may be inching closer with a recent amendment to a bill in the British Parliament that would legalize human hybrids for research. This legislation, offered by the British Department of Health, is a U-turn from government ministers who said last December that they supported a ban on creating chimeras. Since then, a vigorous and sometimes contentious debate has raged in the United Kingdom between supporters of a ban--some religious, some not--and the scientific community, led by Ian Wilmut (Dolly the sheep) and others who insist that a ban would stifle research into stem-cell treatments. On March 28, a lengthy report by the Science and Technology Committee in the House of Commons endorsed chimerical research as part of the legislation reauthorizing the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act of 1990. Wilmut and the other United Kingdom scientists are not interested in making mermaids--or mermen, either. They want to use animal eggs to grow human stem cells by cleaning out 99.9 percent of the animal materials from the eggs and injecting them with human DNA. These hybrids would provide a solution to the severe shortage of pure human eggs needed for embryonic stem-cell research, which now depends on human volunteers to provide eggs.

Bank of Canada Governor Says Single Euro-Style Currency 'Possible' For Canada, the United States and Mexico

But to get there, Canada, the United States and Mexico must first tear down barriers to the free flow of labour, which he pointed out Monday have “gotten a bit thicker” in recent years. Answering questions from the audience after a speech in Chicago, Mr. Dodge said a single currency was “possible.” The idea of a common currency has long been a subject of curiosity, particularly among Canadian academics, who see it as a way to escape sharp gyrations in the exchange rate. The recent surge in the Canadian dollar to a 30-year high against the U.S. currency makes Canadian products a lot less competitive in Canada's major foreign market. The high loonie also makes Canada a more expensive tourist destination. Some proponents have dubbed the single North American currency the “amero.” It is more likely, however, that a common currency would mean that Canada and Mexico would adopt the U.S. dollar, giving up significant economic control to a central bank dominated by the United States. Also Monday, Mr. Dodge told reporters that much of the Canadian dollar's recent increase is the result of a strong economy. But he said the bank is closely watching the impact of the dollar's gain on Canadian inflation, adding that prices had been coming in “a little bit stronger” than expected over recent months. “We will have to monitor that very closely,” Mr. Dodge said. In the past two months alone, the Canadian dollar is up about 8 per cent against the U.S. dollar, and is now worth more than 91 cents (U.S.). He declined to comment on “day-to-day and week-to-week” movements in the currency. The dollar is also rising as speculators bet that that the price of oil and other key commodities, which Canada has in abundance, will continue to rise. Mr. Dodge also said the U.S. housing slump is taking its toll on the Canadian economy. Canada supplies about a third of the nearly $10-billion a year worth of lumber that the United States consumes. “We're probably the only U.S. trading partner who gets really hurt by that,” he said.

Russia Promises 'Sword' Against U.S. Missile Shield

The official considered to be a leading contender to succeed President Vladimir Putin criticized a landmark Soviet-U.S. arms treaty as being a "relic of the Cold War," and promised that Russia would have a "sword" capable of piercing a U.S. missile shield. During a two-hour news conference recently, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov harshly criticized U.S. plans to deploy elements of its missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, saying that Moscow does not trust Washington's claims that they are intended to fend off potential missile threats from Iran. "A radar the U.S. is planning to deploy in the Czech Republic will be capable of scanning airspace up to the Ural Mountains," he said. Ivanov said that Russia was not going to build a strategic missile defense system similar to the one the United States is developing but would take "adequate steps" to respond to the U.S. move. "A more efficient sword can be found for every shield," he said. Ivanov also criticized the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, signed in 1987 by the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan. It eliminated an entire class of midrange missiles then based in Europe. Ivanov called the treaty "a relic, a rudiment of the Cold War," saying that dozens of nations had developed intermediate range missiles since the pact was signed and that many of them are located close to Russia's borders. But he stopped short of saying that Moscow would opt out of the pact. Ivanov also defended Putin's move to suspend Russia's observance of another critical Cold War-era agreement - the 1990 Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty - which limits the number of military aircraft, tanks and other non-nuclear heavy weapons around Europe.

North American union plan headed to Congress in fall

A powerful think tank chaired by former Sen. Sam Nunn and guided by trustees including Richard Armitage, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Harold Brown, William Cohen and Henry Kissinger, is in the final stages of preparing a report to the White House and U.S. Congress on the benefits of integrating the U.S., Mexico and Canada into one political, economic and security bloc. The final report, published in English, Spanish and French, is scheduled for submission to all three governments by Sept. 30, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies. CSIS boasts of playing a large role in the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 – a treaty that set in motion a political movement many believe resembles the early stages of the European Community on its way to becoming the European Union. "The results of the study will enable policymakers to make sound, strategic, long-range policy decisions about North America, with an emphasis on regional integration," explains Armand B. Peschard-Sverdrup, director of CSIS' Mexico Project. "Specifically, the project will focus on a detailed examination of future scenarios, which are based on current trends, and involve six areas of critical importance to the trilateral relationship: labor mobility, energy, the environment, security, competitiveness and border infrastructure and logistics."

Rabbi Signaling Return Of Messiah

Former chief rabbi Avraham Shapira, head of Mercaz Harav yeshiva, said yesterday that Jews are prohibited from going to the Temple Mount. Shapira's statement came after a pamphlet issued by religious-Zionist rabbis calling on people to go to the Temple Mount, and doing so themselves earlier this week in what has been called a historical change in their stand. Shapira (along with Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu) is considered a leading figure in the religious-Zionist movement. He made the statements at the traditional rally in honor of Jerusalem Day at the yeshiva. Rabbi Dov Lior, the head of the West Bank rabbinic committee and the chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba, who was among those who visited the Temple Mount with the group this week, was seated next to him. Rabbi Zalman Melamed, the head of the Beit El Yeshiva and a leader among West Bank rabbis, said, "Next year we will all go up freely to the Temple, which will be built, with the ashes of the red heifer, without disagreement and without questions." Until a few years ago, most rabbis prohibited Jews from going to the Temple Mount because no one knows for sure the exact location of the Holy of Holies, and the concern that today's Jews, considered "impure" by Jewish law, would enter prohibited zones. However, as a result of the strengthening Palestinian presence on the Mount, religious-Zionist rabbis have been pressured in recent years to permit visits to some parts of it. The committee of West Bank rabbis allowed ascent to the Mount a few years ago.

New technology is rapidly getting rid of cash

Conrad Chase, British co-owner of the VIP Baja Beach Club in Barcelona, makes an unlikely human debit card. Mr Chase and almost 100 other clubbers have opted to have tiny data chips implanted surgically under their skin. When they want to buy a drink, they simply wave their techno-enabled arms across the counter. The chip, made by the VeriChip Corporation, is only the size of a grain of rice but can transmit an ID number to a scanner allowing money to be taken from clubbers’ bank accounts. Mr Chase may be an extreme example but he demonstrates a wider point: Britons are rapidly embracing the cashless society. The Association for Payment Clearing Services, the UK industry body, forecasts that in less than a decade fewer than half of all payments will be made by cash. Banks, including HBOS, HSBC, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, are surfing the cash-free wave by introducing new credit and debit cards. Customers will be able to pay for items under £10 by tapping the cards on a terminal at the till – much as they would a transport fare card. Sandra Alzetta, head of innovation and acceptance at Visa Europe, says this will speed transactions: “Until now, cash has been king. Other methods have been too slow or too expensive for small ticket items with values of less than £10,” she said. “But contactless payments are much quicker than cash. If you’re buying a coffee or doing a grocery top-up, speed matters a lot.” Payment by mobile phone is also starting to take off. This week, the Post Office announced an electronic money-transfer service that allows recipients to receive funds using a bar code sent to a mobile or email address. The service is intended to allow companies to distribute promotional incentives and cash payments for less than the cost of a cheque. Companies send a reference code by text message or email, which customers take to any UK post office to receive instant payment. Visa is already testing a system in France that will allow consumers to pay for goods via mobile phone. In Britain, items such as parking and London’s traffic congestion charge can already be paid in this fashion. Another way cash is being edged out is through pre-paid cards that can be loaded up with cash and used like a credit card. PSE Consulting, the European payment consultancy, estimates that the total number of pre-paid cards issued in the UK will rise from 2m currently to 44m by 2010.

Bow To Your Robot Overlords!

Known as The Singularity, a theory exists for the future that is often the core premise behind science fiction novels. Described in Wikipedia; “The Technological Singularity is the hypothesized creation… of smarter-than-human entities that rapidly accelerate technological progress.” One of the fathers of this theory is Vernor Vinge, just in to his 60’s and for four decades has been writing science fiction with a definite realism to it. In his mind, it is not unimaginable to think that, the future we are currently building is totally unimaginable. It seems plausible,” Vinge says, “that with technology we can, in the fairly near future, create or become creatures who surpass humans in every intellectual and creative dimension. Events beyond such a singular event are as unimaginable to us as opera is to a flatworm.” “Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence… shortly after, the human era will be ended.”

Department Of Pre-Crime & Government Employees

GPS, council staff and other front-line government employees will be forced to report anyone they believe is likely to commit a violent crime to the police, under leaked Home Office plans. The proposals, which aim to identify and stop violent crimes before they are committed, would mean vast amounts of highly personal information, including medical records, would be shared between several government agencies. The draft plans, which were circulated around Whitehall by Simon King, head of the violent crime unit at the Home Office, propose the creation of two new bodies, one for criminals and one for victims. The agencies would collate reports from front line workers and perform risk assessments of each case. Details on the kind of action the agencies could take to prevent violent crimes taking place are sparse. However, the plans outline that potential criminals could be identified by a violent family history, drug and alcohol dependence or mental health problems. Potential victims could be flagged to the agency by their doctor or social worker. The draft “multi-agency information sharing” proposal, which was leaked to The Times, suggests that existing Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships could be “well placed” to manage the work. The document says: “Public bodies will have to access valuable information about people at risk of becoming either perpetrators or victims of serious violence. Professionals will obviously alert the police or other relevant authority if they have good reason to believe [an] act of serious violence is about to be committed. “However, our proposal goes beyond that, and is that, when they become sufficiently concerned about an individual, they must consider initial risk assessment of risk to/from that person, and refer [the] case to [a] multi-agency body.” Civil liberty groups have voiced concerns that the plans risk placing people who have never committed an offence under unnecessary scrutiny. Jago Russell, policy officer from the campaign group Liberty, said there were too many unanswered questions. Mr Russell said: “What does the Home Office propose to do with the people who have committed no crime but fit a worrying profile?”

Scientists Grow Simulated Brain in Switzerland

A network of artificial nerves is growing in a Swiss supercomputer -- meant to simulate a natural brain, cell-for-cell. The researchers at work on "Blue Brain" promise new insights into the sources of human consciousness. The machine is beautiful as it wakes up -- nerve cells flicker on the screen in soft pastel tones, electrical charges flash through a maze of synapses. The brain, just after being switched on, seems a little sleepy, but gentle bursts of current bring it fully to life. This unprecedented piece of hardware consists of about 10,000 computer chips that act like real nerve cells. To simulate a natural brain, part of the cerebral cortex of young rats was painstakingly replicated in the computer, cell by cell, together with the branched tree-like structure of the synapses. The simulation was created at the Technical University in Lausanne, Switzerland, where 35 researchers participate in maintaining this artificial brain. It runs on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, but soon even that computer will be too small. The goal is to build a much bigger electronic thinking machine -- one that would ultimately replicate the human brain. A project this ambitious would have been ridiculed a few years ago. "Today we have the computers we need," says biologist Henry Markram, 44, the project's director. "And we know enough to begin." Markram knows about the problems his group can look forward to. "But if we don't build the brain," he says, "we'll never understand how it works." In fact, there have been tremendous advances in brain research for years; but answers to the big questions are as elusive as ever. How does consciousness develop within the electric orchestra of cells? How exactly does a spark of intellect ignite from the interplay among genes, proteins and messenger substances? The Lausanne model, dubbed "Blue Brain," is the most radical attempt so far to investigate the mystery of consciousness. The idea is seductively simple: To determine how the mind emerges from biology, replicate the biology. It's a task that requires enormous patience and attention to detail, a process that ultimately means mimicking nature one molecule at a time.

Bush grants Directive for emergencies given Presidency authority without congressional oversight

President Bush has signed a directive granting extraordinary powers to the office of the president in the event of a declared national emergency, apparently without congressional approval or oversight. The "National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive" was signed May 9, notes Jerome R. Corsi. It was issued with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20, as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive. The directive establishes under the office of the president a new national continuity coordinator whose job is to make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all federal, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, as well as private sector organizations to continue functioning under the president's directives in the event of a national emergency. "Catastrophic emergency" is loosely defined as "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions." Corsi says the president can assume the power to direct any and all government and business activities until the emergency is declared over. The directive says the assistant to the president for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, currently Frances Fragos Townsend, would be designated as the national continuity coordinator. Corsi says the directive makes no attempt to reconcile the powers created for the national continuity coordinator with the National Emergency Act, which requires that such proclamation "shall immediately be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register."

Scientology In Your Kid's Classroom?

Inside the industrial looking brick walls of one of Louisiana's poorest performing middle schools, Scientologists finally have achieved a longtime goal. A study skills curriculum written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is being taught as mainstream public education. All the eighth-graders at Prescott Middle School are being taught learning techniques Hubbard devised four decades ago when he set out to remedy what he viewed as barriers to learning. The curriculum and textbooks used by Prescott's 156 eighth-graders are similar to methods and books used among Scientologists worldwide. And teaching the children is a Scientologist hired by the school district. Scientologists helped usher Hubbard's program into the school during the chaotic months after Hurricane Katrina. Celebrity Scientologists John Travolta and Isaac Hayes played key roles, as did a former Clearwater resident known for her persuasive voice. The people who run the program say Hubbard's teaching technique is divorced from Scientology, that it is just a masterful way to learn. They note that it has won the support of many non-Scientologists, including a number of academics. Other experts, though, question the quality of the program. And some church skeptics fret that it is an insidious plan ultimately aimed at promoting Scientology.

Beware the RFID mark of the beast

Technology is advancing so fast that consumers now live in a somewhat disturbing age where their underwear can track their movements and let others know what they are doing. Talking about the social implications of RFID at AusCERT 2007, Klein Consulting principal, Daniel Klein, warned delegates to be very afraid in this data pervasive society where good, bad, and potentially incorrect information is being made available to everyone. "Digital dirt is very real in the age of RFID, where sensor technology has the potential to track us without our knowledge, and secrets are harder to keep," Klein says. "Once upon a time knowledge was power. Now, access to data is power. Do you know how many surveillance cameras you pass in a day? Information is being gathered on us that we don't even know about." Pointing out that today's chips can be woven into clothing, allowing retailers to collect data on a customer's spending habits, Klein says consumers need to prevent misuse of information. "How can we expunge flawed records? So much information is preserved because computers don't forget," he says, adding that the problem with RFID is that it is such an easy mechanism for collecting that data. "The information kept on these chips can be read using a cheap receiver under $100. RFID has a reach of up to 23 metres away; not the three to 10 feet quoted by the providers. Klein says consumers are being tracked all the time with ISPs, search engines and the use of loyalty cards. He says RFID is being adopted across the globe following Wal Mart's mandate to its top 100 suppliers to implement the technology by 2006. A similar mandate was introduced by the US Department of Defense to its suppliers, while the Australian Defence Force is using it to track supplies sent to the Middle East. Klein says RFID technology certainly is not secure and is vulnerable to buffer overflows, SQL injections, worms and viruses. "Is it any wonder that RFID is often called the mark of the beast," Klein says.

UN: Three Species Per Hour Becoming Extinct

Human activities are wiping out three animal or plant species every hour and the world must do more to slow the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs by 2010, the United Nations said recently. Scientists and environmentalists issued reports about threats to creatures and plants including right whales, Iberian lynxes, wild potatoes and peanuts on May 22, the International Day for Biological Diversity. "Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate," U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement. Global warming is adding to threats such as land clearance for farms or cities, pollution and rising human populations. "The global response to these challenges needs to move much more rapidly, and with more determination at all levels -- global, national and local," he said. Many experts reckon the world will fail to meet the goal set by world leaders at an Earth Summit in 2002 of a "significant reduction" by 2010 in the rate of species losses. "We are indeed experiencing the greatest wave of extinctions since the disappearance of the dinosaurs," said Ahmed Djoghlaf, head of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity. Dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago, perhaps after a meteorite struck. "Extinction rates are rising by a factor of up to 1,000 above natural rates. Every hour, three species disappear. Every day, up to 150 species are lost. Every year, between 18,000 and 55,000 species become extinct," he said. "The cause: human activities."

VeriChip Adds 78 New Hospitals to Its Network

VeriChip Corporation, a provider of RFID systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today that 78 new hospitals agreed to participate in the VeriMed Patient Identification System network at the Emergency Department Practice Management Association's (EDPMA) tenth annual conference in Las Vegas on May 16-18. More than 600 hospitals have now agreed to participate in the VeriMed network. Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and CEO of VeriChip, commented, "We are very pleased with the continued acceptance of the VeriMed Patient Identification system by hospital emergency departments as they recognize the value it provides in improving patient care. VeriMed's footprint continues to grow in regions throughout the U.S. and we expect to enroll additional hospitals during the remainder of this year, with a goal of 800 hospitals in our network by year-end." The VeriMed Patient Identification System, which consists of a hand-held radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner, an implantable RFID microchip, and a secure patient database, is being used to help rapidly identify and provide access to important health information on participating patients. The new healthcare facilities agreed to use the VeriMed reader as standard protocol to scan patients that arrive in emergency rooms unconscious, delirious or confused. The Company continues to provide readers to hospitals and other healthcare facilities at no charge as part of its efforts to "seed" the infrastructure for the VeriMed patient identification system.

Fierce, Busy Storm Season Ahead, Experts Say

Far away, off the coast of South America, the waters of the Pacific Ocean are cooling ominously. In the Atlantic, the sea surface remains warm. And overhead, the atmosphere is evolving toward what forecasters said yesterday could be a dangerous hurricane season. Experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- the parent agency of the National Weather Service -- said such factors indicate the 2007 hurricane season could have 13 to 17 named storms, including seven to 10 hurricanes. Of those, three to five could be major hurricanes. The agency said past data also suggest the possibility of two to four hurricanes making U.S. landfall. The announcement came in a news conference at Reagan National Airport amid dire warnings from a host of federal government officials about complacency after last year's relatively quiet season, in which no hurricane made landfall on a U.S. coast. It was only the 12th year since 1945 that had no U.S. hurricane landfalls. "Last year was an unexpectedly easy season," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said yesterday. "There's no guarantee that this season is going to be anything less than tough. . . . It is a big mistake to count on being lucky. You're much better off preparing yourself for the worst, and then if you get lucky, that's a bonus." The NOAA hurricane forecast was the latest this spring to predict a stormy season. An average season has 11 named storms, with six becoming hurricanes and two of those becoming major storms, NOAA said. Last year had 10 named storms and five hurricanes -- two of which were major, Category 3 or higher, said forecasters at Colorado State University. In April, Colorado State experts predicted 17 named storms for this year, nine hurricanes and five major hurricanes. The university plans to update its forecast next week, with little change expected.

Iran expands Atomic Work, Defying U.N.

Iran has not only ignored a U.N. Security Council deadline to stop uranium enrichment activity but expanded it, according to a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report. Iran's defiance of another 60-day deadline set by the Council when it imposed a second set of sanctions on March 24 will expose Tehran to tougher penalties over its nuclear work, which the West fears is a front for assembling atom bombs. ‘Iran has not suspended its enrichment-related activities. Iran has continued with the operation of their pilot fuel enrichment plant and with construction of their (planned industrial underground) enrichment plant,’ the U.N. nuclear watchdog said in its report. ‘It has started feeding cascades with UF6 (uranium gas). Iran has also continued with its heavy water-related projects.’

Papers Please—and Your Biometric Data

The immigration bill currently wending its way through Congress “would require employers to re-verify the identity of every single person currently employed in the United States. Not only would it place a considerable burden on both government and business, but the verification system currently being tested has shown a significant rate of error.” Congress critter David Bonner, however, has proposed that the Social Security Administration require SS cards “contain an electronic signature strip that contains an encrypted electronic identification strip, unique to that individual,” according to Bonner’s web page. Neither Bonner’s scheme or the one included in the “immigration proposal with traction in Congress” specifies “what the biometric would be, but it could range from a simple digital photo to a fingerprint or even an iris scan.” As to be expected, the American Civil Liberties Union is clueless. “Do we really think the migrant workers are going to show up at the pickle farm and the farmer is going to demand ID and have a laptop in the field to check their ID?” said ACLU legislative counsel Tim Sparapani. It has nothing to do with pickle farmers or illegals streaming across the border in search of jobs that pay such dismal wages precious few Americans will take them. Rather, it has to do with eventually making sure every American—indeed, every person on the planet—has his or her papers in order. Of course, papers are so yesterday, so the idea is to capture biometric data on every person, beginning with workers. It will begin with an SS card and eventually a subdermal microchip, as cards are easily lost or stolen.

Police Want Iris Scans For Kids To Go National

The Berkshire County Sheriff's Office is starting a campaign to photograph the eyes of every school-age child in the county for inclusion in a national database meant to help identify recovered children more quickly. With "iris recognition biometric technology," law enforcement officials can access the database on laptop computers wirelessly via a secure Web site to identify a subject in 12 to 15 seconds, said Berkshire County Sheriff Carmen C. Massimiano Jr. At any location with access to a cell tower, the database will be wirelessly accessible. He noted that it also will be used for the elderly. "This is a wonderful tool for sheriffs and police throughout the commonwealth and the nation," Massimiano said. "We're going to every school that wants us to and take pictures of the children's irises for inclusion in the national database." It also will be useful for the elderly who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or dementia. "And many elders don't even have photo IDs," Massimiano said. The sheriff explained that no two irises are alike and that, after the age of 1, they remain the same throughout the aging process. The technology would come into play when a missing person is recovered; a law enforcement officer would need to confirm the identification of the subject quickly. Figures provided by the sheriff's office, collected in studies by the U.S. Justice Department, show that 2,000 children are reported missing daily nationwide. The figures also show that there are 47,000 active missing adult cases. The technology was made available through a state grant of $439,000 for all 14 counties in Massachusetts, which will pay for the hardware, software and training. According to Sean Mullin, president of BI2 Technologies, it will take about 18 months to record the irises of all the children in the county. He said the program is already in use in more than half the states, and there are already "well over 100,000" people in the database.

The Schools Where Four-Year-Olds Can Learn Gay Lifestyle

Children as young as four are being taught about same-sex relationships using puppets, plays and fairy tales in a Government-funded scheme, it emerged yesterday. Pupils are being invited to act the parts of gay characters during after-school arts clubs as well as in some literacy and drama lessons. In one primary school, youngsters put on puppet shows of the Cinderella story featuring male Cinderellas. Other primaries are inviting in touring theatre companies which stage plays featuring same-sex parents. Books being introduced to lessons include King & King, a fairy tale featuring a prince who turns down three princesses before falling in love with one of their brothers. In another primary school, a teacher discussed his civil partnership ceremony with the pupils. Fourteen primary schools are already taking part in the £600,000 project aimed at familiarising children with gay and lesbian relationships. The research team behind the project intends to post the findings on national websites to help all schools adopt the same techniques. It claims that introducing such books and activities will help schools fulfil their duties under new gay rights laws which came into force last month.

Al-Qaida is aggressively recruiting black Americans

Al-Qaida is aggressively recruiting black Americans for suicide operations against the homeland, say FBI analysts who have reviewed recent videotaped messages from the terror group's leaders. A speech released May 5 by Osama bin Laden's deputy confirms earlier fears that African-Americans are the No. 1 recruiting target for the next generation of attacks. Al-Qaida has been trying to lower its Arab profile to reduce the odds that its terror cells will be subjected to security scrutiny. "Federal and local law enforcement authorities should be aware that al-Qaida terrorists may not appear Arab," warns a recent Homeland Security intelligence report obtained by WND. "Non-Arab al-Qaida operatives could find it easier to avoid unwanted scrutiny since they may not fit typical profiles." In the latest message, al-Qaida No. 2 Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri clearly seeks to sow political and racial discontent among African-Americans. He makes frequent references to what he calls the "martyr" Malcolm X, and says "I want blacks in America to know that we are waging jihad to lift oppression from all mankind." Zawahiri encourages African-Americans to follow the example of Malcolm X, a.k.a. al-Hajj Malik al-Shabaaz, who he says was not afraid to sacrifice his life to fight American "oppression." According to a transcript of the hour-long screed, Zawahiri said this is "the culture which the struggler and martyr Malcom X (may Allah have mercy upon him) fought against when he told his repressed black brothers in America, 'If you're not ready to die for it, take the word "freedom" out of your vocabulary.'" "Freedom is something that you have to do for yourself," he quotes Malcolm X as as saying. "The price of freedom is death."

Scientists Develop Tiny Implantable Biocomputers

Researchers at Harvard University and Princeton University have made a crucial step toward building biological computers, tiny implantable devices that can monitor the activities and characteristics of human cells. The information provided by these "molecular doctors," constructed entirely of DNA, RNA, and proteins, could eventually revolutionize medicine by directing therapies only to diseased cells or tissues. The results will be published this week in the journal Nature Biotechnology. "Each human cell already has all of the tools required to build these biocomputers on its own," says Harvard's Yaakov (Kobi) Benenson, a Bauer Fellow in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences' Center for Systems Biology. "All that must be provided is a genetic blueprint of the machine and our own biology will do the rest. Your cells will literally build these biocomputers for you." Evaluating Boolean logic equations inside cells, these molecular automata will detect anything from the presence of a mutated gene to the activity of genes within the cell. The biocomputers' "input" is RNA, proteins, and chemicals found in the cytoplasm; "output" molecules indicating the presence of the telltale signals are easily discernable with basic laboratory equipment. "Currently we have no tools for reading cellular signals," Benenson says. "These biocomputers can translate complex cellular signatures, such as activities of multiple genes, into a readily observed output. They can even be programmed to automatically translate that output into a concrete action, meaning they could either be used to label a cell for a clinician to treat or they could trigger therapeutic action themselves."

VeriChip Shares Soar On Alzheimer's Microchipping

Shares of VeriChip Corp., which makes implantable locating and identification devices, soared recently on reports the company's VeriMed identification chip will be used for consenting Alzheimer's patients at a Florida adult care facility. The stock gained $1.17, or 27 percent, to reach $5.50 in afternoon trading. Shares have traded between $4.27 and $6.99 over the last 52 weeks. The VeriMed chip, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004, is only part of the company's business. Revenue mainly comes from what are called active radio frequency identification devices, such as bracelets placed on both mother and newborn child while in the hospital to avoid mix-ups and even kidnappings. The company also sells devices used to track patients with dementia. But the company is now making a large investment of time and money on its passive technology, or the VeriMed chip, with the view that it could become part of total care for patients with chronic conditions. Unlike the active technology, the chip, implanted just beneath the skin on a patient's arm, is dormant until scanned using a hospital-based reader to extract the medical data. The chip costs about $200 to install, plus between $20 and $80 annually, depending on the amount of information on it. It is not yet covered by insurance carriers, something the company hopes to achieve as it continues to collect ongoing post-approval studies and opinions by third-party advocates, such as the National Kidney Foundation. Meanwhile VeriChip has been installing the scanners free, leaving hospitals with only the expense of training staff. In all, 130 hospitals are using the technology, with 600 having signed on for installation. The markets mostly impacted are Boston, northern New Jersey and Washington D.C.

Local Governments Seek To Spy On The Public

With Homeland Security becoming an increasingly larger priority among many Americans, local governments in cities across the country have been installing surveillance cameras on street corners, stop lights and throughout business districts. Small Town, USA seems to be no exception. Some of the most complex and expensive surveillance equipment is being installed in places where one would assume crime is the least in the United States. Last month the city council of Reidsville, North Carolina, approved a measure that will pay for a $99,000, 11-camera surveillance system. According to 2000 census figures, Reidsville has a population of just over 14,000, definitely not a metropolis, and lies just to the north of the much larger Greensboro, North Carolina. But, why does a small town wish to install cameras to monitor its citizens? According to officials, it is to curb crime. The cameras will be installed along the downtown shopping districts. Video footage will be beamed via a wireless network to help police prevent break-ins and vandalism. Eventually the cameras will be equipped with night vision, eliminating the need for part-time patrolmen in those areas. While any American appreciates any move to prevent crimes, most also find surveillance cameras a bit creepy. Normally, images of Big Brother flash through our minds, and we question the logic of such systems. Some dispute the right of any government—whether federal, state or local—to place their citizens under mandatory surveillance.

Bishop Decries "Uncalculated Consequences" Of Breaching Species Barrier With Human-Animal Creations

A Vatican official lamented a British government decision to drop its opposition to forming hybrid animal-human embryos for stem cell research. Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said Thursday's decision to reject a proposed ban on the process is offensive to human dignity. "The creation of a hybrid animal-human embryo has been banned by everyone in the biotechnology field, until now -- and not just by religious groups," Bishop Sgreccia said. "This is because human dignity is compromised and offended and monstrosities will be created from these inseminations. "It is true that these embryos are suppressed and the cells taken out, but the creation of an animal-human being represents a natural border that has been violated, the most grave of violations." In an interview with Vatican Radio, he called for a complete moral condemnation of the practice, "in the name of reason and in the name of justice and science, which must be maintained for the well being of the person and respect for human nature." Bishop Sgreccia said he hopes that the international scientific community continues to hold the line, to defend "the conservation and respect of the species." "The human individual has not been respected because embryos are destroyed and sacrificed in many ways, as in the case of these artificial inseminations," the 78-year-old bishop said. "But the line between the species had always been respected. Now, this barrier too has been broken and the consequences have not been calculated.

Record numbers of young women are dabbling in witchcraft

A study of teenagers and their consumption of books, magazines, kits, film and other media found that there are some 700,000 internet sites for teenage witches. The Pagan Federation claims to have several hundred inquiries a week from young people, and has set up a network for those under 18. "There has been a noticeable rise in the number of young people identifying themselves as witches," saidDenise Cush, professor of religious studies at Bath Spa University. The trend is being boosted by American TV series such as Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Recently, several hundred witches gathered in south London for Witchfest, held at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon. According to Professor Cush's report, based on interviews with witches aged 18 to 24, it is the attitude to women that most attracts them: "Paganism and witchcraft appealed because of their clear feminist credentials and absence of homophobia. A main attraction is the positive valuation of women in comparison with other religions." According to the women and girls at Witchfest, their reasons for taking up witchcraft vary. Jayde Harris, 18, became interested because her mother is also a witch. "I don't always tell people about it," she said. Fellow Wiccan Lyn Jones said: "I do spells of good luck for people mainly. I sometimes want to do bad spells but I don't - they come back to you three times as bad." And Sarah Jayne Thompson, 13, said: "My family are Christian but it never seemed to fit with me so I began reading about Wicca. Lots of the younger kids at school are scared of me, which is cool."

Oceans losing ability to soak up CO2

Recent changes in the climate have weakened the Earth's ability to absorb carbon dioxide through the oceans and are speeding up global warming, scientists have found.
A four-year study of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica found that an increase in winds caused by greenhouse gases and ozone depletion is preventing the sea from absorbing more carbon, according to a study published this week. In fact, rather than storing more carbon, as emissions from industry, homes and transport have increased over the past 26 years, the sea has in fact absorbed the same amount as before and even given off some stored carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The study, which focused on measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide made at over 40 sites around the world since 1981, suggests that it will be even harder to stabilise carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and prevent the world's temperature rising more than an average of 2°C as the Government and the EU intend. The Earth's carbon "sinks" - forests and oceans - absorb about half of all human carbon emissions. About half of all carbon emissions since the Industrial Revolution have been absorbed in this way. Emissions have increased by 40 per cent since the beginning of the period studied in 1981.

Spies In The Sky Could Watch Britains Citizens Every Move

In an age of talking CCTV cameras, electronic tagging and satellites monitoring our car journeys, it is perhaps the inevitable next step towards a Big Brother state. The Home Office is working on a fleet of pilotless spy drones which will fly above our towns and cities, quietly recording our every move while watching for terrorists and criminals. Ministers have confirmed that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are expected to play a part in the fight against crime and terror, gathering intelligence and watching suspects from thousands of feet above the ground. UAVs are already widely used by the military around the world. American spy drones have even been fitted with missiles to create the first pilotless warplanes, successfully killing high-profile terrorist targets. Now Britain's police forces and spy agencies are to get in on the act, launching their own drones into UK airspace. Home Office Minister Tony McNulty acknowledged in a written parliamentary answer last night that his department's scientists were exploring the use of UAV technology for a 'range of policing and security applications.' Police have used airborne surveillance for years in the form of helicopters carrying conventional and heat-seeking cameras. In February this year officers in Birmingham drafted in a manned spyplane with electronic eavesdropping equipment to help hunt for terror suspects. UAVs offer huge advantages in that they can circle a target for many hours without refuelling - and their small and relatively quiet engines make them far more discreet - and cheaper to operate - than a noisy helicopter. MI5 could use small UAVs to watch a suspect's address for long periods or to track a car for miles up and down the country.

Russia warns of AIDS epidemic - 1.3 million people infected

Russia's AIDS epidemic is worsening with as many as 1.3 million people infected with HIV as the virus spreads further into the heterosexual population, Russia's top AIDS specialist recently said. Russia has registered 402,000 people with HIV, of whom 17,000 have died, but the real figure is much higher, said Vadim Pokrovsky, head of Russia's federal AIDS centre. "Not only is the number of Russians infected with HIV rising but there is an increase in the rate at which the epidemic is spreading, so a rise in the number of newly infected," Pokrovsky told reporters. "We have an estimate of up to 1.2 million to 1.3 million infected with HIV," he said, adding that the number of those registered as infected was rising by 8 to 10 percent a year. The United Nations estimates 65 million people worldwide have been infected with HIV and that 25 million people have been killed by AIDS since it was first recognized in 1981. AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). "On average for the country, one out of every fifty males is infected with HIV but in some cities it is one in ten," he said. Russia's northern city of St Petersburg was worst affected followed by Sverdlovsk region, greater Moscow, Samara region and Moscow, though Pokrovsky said figures for Moscow were probably much higher than the data indicated.

The "Eyebox" -Advertising that “Watches” You

A new invention known as eyebox2™, was just unveiled at Google’s corporate headquarters. The portable device tracks human eye movement and will tell advertisers just how many people looked at the advertisement. The new invention uses a camera that monitors eye movements in real time and automatically detects when you are looking at it from up to 10 meters away. “This camera mimics eye contact perception in humans, allowing us to pinpoint quite accurately what plasma screen or product shelf people are looking at,” says Dr. Roel Vertegaal, director of the Human Media Laboratory at Queen’s and inventor of the technology. The inventor claims that the surveillance is passive, meaning that it cannot detect the identity of the viewer, but only count the glances. Whether or not the technology could be used for surveillance purposes is not being discussed. However, it's safe to assume that advertisers (and others) would be interested in knowing who’s looking.

Breakthrough Reported In Radio Telescopes And Electromagnetic Weapons

A group of Russian scientists from Tomsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow have developed a series of unique compact generators capable of producing high-energy pulses of hundreds and even thousands of megawatts. This compares with the capacity of a major Soviet hydropower station on the Dnieper or an energy unit at a modern nuclear power plant. The new generators are sources of electromagnetic radiation rather than electricity. Their main feature is a capacity to produce enormous power in a matter of nanoseconds. The impulses can be generated with a very high frequency. Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Gennady Mesyats recalled that the first high-current electron accelerators were developed in the U.S.S.R. in the 1960s. Ten years later, Soviet scientists learnt to generate powerful microwave nanosecond pulses. The current generators have no counterparts in the world. In effect, Russian scientists have made a breakthrough in what is called relativist high-precision electronics. The pulse is primarily of interest for fundamental research. Reporting these results to the RAS Presidium at the beginning of this year, scientists emphasized that sources with super radiation effects can be broadly used in long-range high-resolution impulse-based radiolocation and in studies of non-thermal impact of powerful electromagnetic fields on radio electronic components and different biological species. Super-powerful pulse generators can test the reliability of radio electronic devices and the immunity of energy facilities to different impacts. They can imitate the interference caused by a lightning and even by a nuclear blast. Their tiny size and unique physical properties make their sphere of application extremely wide.

Genetic Armageddon Under Construction

Not only can they change their own genetic structure, they can do it in a way that will be passed on to their children and grandchildren. It takes the breath away. The brilliant 1997 science fiction movie Gattaca portrayed a chilling near-future in which parents routinely screen embryos for sex, height, immunity to disease and intelligence. The movie zeroed in on huge moral issues, which cut to the heart of what it means to be human, particularly a parent. Already, with access to genetic testing and manipulation, anxious parents obsessed with making sure their children are "successes" are coughing up money to U.S. companies such as MicroSort to have their babies' gender formed in test tubes before they even conceive. (Interestingly enough, most Americans are choosing girls.) And with genetics already being used in attempts to bulk up humans and make them taller, scientists are figuring out how it could soon easily be available to enhance human intelligence.

FBI Director Says: Bin Laden Wants to Strike U.S. Cities With Nuclear Weapons

Osama bin Laden and his terrorist group desperately want to obtain nuclear devices and explode them in American cities, especially New York and Washington, D.C., FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III recently said. In an exclusive interview, Mueller also acknowledged that bin Laden is still active, though isolated. The director revealed that the Bureau believes the terrorist leader continues to communicate with al-Qaida cells, some of which remain in the U.S. Mueller declined to say how often bin Laden communicates or to elaborate on the substance of his communications. Other intelligence sources tell NewsMax that U.S. security efforts have forced bin Laden to return to "horse-and-buggy days" — avoiding electronic communications in favor of using trusted couriers. But Mueller says though hemmed in, al-Qaida's paramount goal is clear: to detonate a nuclear device that would kill hundreds of thousands of Americans. In contrast to homegrown terrorists, al-Qaida is far more likely to be able to pull off such an attack. Mueller admits the nuclear threat is so real he sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night worrying about that possibility. "I think it would be very difficult to wipe out the United States, but you'd have hundreds of thousands of casualties from a nuclear device, depending on the size of that nuclear device," Mueller said. Al-Qaida could obtain such a device in one of two ways. "One is to obtain a nuclear device that's already been constructed from one of the former Iron Curtain countries, and the other way is to put together the fissile material and the expertise and do an improvised nuclear device," Mueller says. "And there's no doubt that al-Qaida, if it had the capability, would go down either route to get a nuclear device." Mueller also has little doubt as to al-Qaida's likely targets. "It would be someplace in the United States, in most likely Washington and or New York, depending on how many devices they have. Or both cities," Mueller says. Because the U.S. has not been attacked in almost six years, Mueller worries that "we are in danger of becoming complacent." "Al-Qaida is tremendously patient and thinks nothing about taking years to infiltrate persons in and finding the right personnel and opportunity to undertake an attack.

Ocean around Japan warming up fast

The ocean around Japan has warmed up faster than elsewhere in the world over the last hundred years partly because of global warming, Japan's Meteorological Agency recently said. The sea surface temperature around central, western and southern Japan has climbed by 0.7 to 1.6 degrees Celsius in the last century, far higher than the world average of a 0.5 degree Celsius increase, a survey conducted by the agency showed. The findings were based on data collected by research and commercial vessels that started in the late 19th century. The agency said global warming was partly to blame for the fast rise in the ocean temperature around Japan. "But the areas surveyed were so small that we cannot say the rise in the water's temperature has been caused entirely by global warming," it said. It did not specify why the ocean around Japan would be more affected than other parts of the world. The report comes at a time when the international community is struggling to take global action against climate change.

Hundreds in Hong Kong urge authorities to classify the Holy Bible as 'indecent' material

Hundreds of citizens are urging a media watchdog to classify the Bible as "indecent" due to the high amount of sex and violence throughout the Scriptures, and could force the Good Book to be sealed in plastic with a warning label. The Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority of Hong Kong said it received 1,406 complaints about biblical indecency by this afternoon. The sudden surge of complaints comes in the wake of the launch of an anonymous website, TruthBible.net, which claims the Bible "made one tremble" due to its graphic content, including rape, incest and bestiality. If authorities classify the book as "indecent," only people over 18 could purchase it, and the Scriptures would need to be sealed in a wrapper with a mandatory warning on the outside.

Climate Engineers Get Spooky Nod For Exotic Planetary Weapons

Military leaders in the United States and other countries have pondered the possibilities of weaponized weather manipulation for decades. Lowell Wood himself embodies the overlap of civilian and military interests. Now affiliated with the Hoover Institution, a think tank at Stanford ­University, Wood was a protégé of the late Edward Teller, the weapons scientist who was credited with developing the hydrogen bomb and was the architect of the ­Reagan-­era Star Wars ­missile ­defense system (which Wood worked on, too). Like Wood, Teller was known for his advocacy of controversial military and technological solutions to complex problems, including the chimerical “peaceful uses of nuclear weapons.” Teller’s plan to excavate an artificial harbor in Alaska using thermo­nuclear explosives actually came close to receiving government approval. Before his death in 2003, Teller was advocating a climate control scheme similar to what Wood proposed. Despite the large, unanswered questions about the implications of playing God with the elements, climate engineering is now being widely discussed in the scientific community and is taken seriously within the U.S. government. The Bush administration has recommended the addition of this “important strategy” to an upcoming report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the ­UN-­sponsored organization whose February study seemed to persuade even the Bush White House to take global warming more seriously. And climate engineering’s advocates are not confined to the small group that met in California. Last year, for example, Paul J. Crutzen, an atmospheric chemist and Nobel laureate, proposed a scheme similar to Wood’s, and there is a long paper trail of climate and weather modification studies by the Pentagon and other government agencies.

Plan to 'chip' Alzheimer's patients causes protest

It looks deceptively familiar. The patient rolls up his sleeve, the doctor sticks a needle into his arm, and soon it's all over. But this is no routine vaccination. Instead, the patient has been injected with a fleck of silicon that will uniquely identify him when zapped with radio waves. Now, nearly three years after their use was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, implantable radio frequency identification (RFID) chips are the focus of a new controversy. The battle lines are being drawn in a quiet corner of West Palm Beach, Florida. On 12 May, some 30 protesters held an inter-faith prayer vigil (pictured above) outside Alzheimer's Community Care, a day-care facility for people with dementia. At issue is the facility's plan to implant 200 patients with microchips manufactured and donated by VeriChip of nearby Delray Beach. When scanned, the chip reveals a unique ID number, which when entered into a password-protected database gives access to medical information about its owner. If the plan goes ahead, it will be the first time the technology has been tried on a group of people with a specific mental impairment. The forgetfulness that comes with Alzheimer's can make it impossible for people with the condition to pass on vital information when faced with a medical emergency, which is why advocates are keen to make use of RFID chips with this group. "If for whatever reason - an automobile accident or hurricane - the person becomes separated from their loved one, they are totally, totally helpless. They can't share what medically is wrong with them," says Mary Barnes of Alzheimer's Community Care. "This could be a safety net." Privacy advocates say that it is precisely this helplessness that makes the proposed use of the tags unacceptable. "This is a community that is not in a position to give fully informed consent or to say no," says Katherine Albrecht of CASPIAN, a Florida-based consumer rights organisation. "The nature of the disease is that they can't fully understand."
Albrecht likens "the violent and invasive act" of implanting a chip in someone who does not have the ability to consent to the act of rape. Others agree with the sentiment, if not the comparison. "This is by definition a way of doing something that denies a person control," says Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco. "If that doesn't strike at the heart of human dignity, I don't know what does." He and Albrecht would rather see a chip implanted in a bracelet. Barnes says a bracelet would not be nearly as useful. People might remove it if it got uncomfortable, especially those with Alzheimer's, who might not understand why they should wear it. Bracelets could also label people as mentally ill, whereas an implanted chip is much less obvious, says Rick Rader of the Orange Grove Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

California-Sized Area of Ice Melts in Antarctica

Warm temperatures melted an area of western Antarctica that adds up to the size of California, scientists report. Satellite data collected by the scientists showed clear signs that melting had occurred in multiple distinct regions, including far inland and at high latitudes and elevations, where melt had been considered unlikely. "Antarctica has shown little to no warming in the recent past with the exception of the Antarctic Peninsula," said Konrad Steffen of the University of Colorado, Boulder. "But now large regions are showing the first signs of the impacts of warming as interpreted by this satellite analysis." Changes in the ice mass of Antarctica, Earth's largest freshwater reservoir, are important to understanding global sea level rise. Large amounts of Antarctic freshwater flowing into the ocean also could affect ocean salinity, currents and global climate. NASA's QuikScat satellite detected snowmelt by radar pulses that bounce off of ice that formed when snowmelt refroze (just as ice cream turns to ice when it is refrozen after being left out on the counter too long.) Maximum high temperatures of 41 degrees Fahrenheit that persisted for about a week in Antarctica caused a melt intense enough to create an extensive ice layer. Evidence of melting was found up to 560 miles inland from the open ocean, farther than 85 degrees south (about 310 miles from the South Pole) and higher than 6,600 feet above sea level.

Real Military Terminator Kill-Bots To Be Run By System Called 'Skynet'

Following the announcement of the new Flying-HK-style "Reaper" death machines for the British forces, the prophetic nature of the Terminator movies has been further confirmed. Not only will the UK MoD deploy airborne cyber-gunships remarkably similar to those in the films, the flying robot assassins will be controlled by an IT project named "Skynet". This latest case of life imitating art (well, kind of art) was revealed recently, with the news that the first of the Skynet 5 satellites has gone operational and is now successfully carrying data to and from British forces fighting in Southwest Asia. "This important milestone is very good news for the armed forces," said Lord Drayson, the Minister for Defence Procurement. "Skynet 5 will supply about 2.5 times the capacity of the old system and generate a very significant improvement for our global communications systems - allowing us to pass more data faster. It is an excellent example of a successful Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deal." This PFI was the largest ever signed by the UK MoD, around £3.6bn in total. The Skynet 5 satellites are run by Paradigm Secure Communications and were built by EADS-Astrium. Skynet 5A was launched into space aboard an Ariane 5-ECA rocket from French Guiana in March, sharing the ride with an Indian TV platform. Skynet 5B and 5C will follow later this year and next. It seems pretty clear that the Reaper flying kill machines will be run using the Skynet satellites, not any other comms channels. "Take for example the capability of unmanned air vehicles. These generate a lot of imagery and that has to be passed over a secure communications link," according to Bill Sweetman, technology and aerospace editor for defence analysts Jane's. "The practice is to offload mundane traffic on to commercial satellites and then to use a complementary, secure proprietary system for the traffic that has to be protected." And it may not just be the Reapers that are controlled by Skynet. "Ground control segments for the new system have been upgraded," reported the Beeb today. "Ships, planes and land vehicles are being equipped to make the best use of the upgraded Skynet."

Older Australians Join Culture of Death

Hundreds of Australia’s elderly are joining the ever-growing death culture of those who wish to use medicine to commit suicide. More than 100 have smuggled the euthanasia drug, Nembutal, from Tijuana Mexico. At least 800 more are attempting to make the drug themselves in homegrown laboratories. The pro-euthanasia group, Exit Australia, is helping older Australians make or smuggle the drug. The euthanasia debate has been raging around the globe for over a decade. In 1996 Australia’s Northern Territory became the first place in the world to pass voluntary euthanasia laws. In September of that year 66-year old cancer patient, Bob Dent, decided to use those laws, and six months later, the Australian parliament overturned the legislation. Those who are involved in the smuggling or manufacture of euthanasia drugs in Australia say that when they can no longer take care of themselves they would rather end their lives in a peaceful manner, rather than suffer for a long time. Bron Norman, a 64-year member of a group that claims to be making euthanasia drugs in a secret lab, told Australian media that he doesn’t understand why he can’t have a drug that ends his life peacefully if he wants it that way. Norman claims that he and 20 other older Australians donated $2,000 Australian Dollars each in order to set up their lab, and that after two years of trying, they have now successfully made the drug. Some older Australians say they would rather end their life using a drug rather than be sent to assisted living homes.

Government, Military Officials Quietly Preparing Emergency Survival Program

As concerns grow that terrorists might attack a major American city with a nuclear bomb, a high-level group of government and military officials has been quietly preparing an emergency survival program that would include the building of bomb shelters, steps to prevent panicked evacuations and the possible suspension of some civil liberties. Many experts say the likelihood of al Qaeda or some other terrorist group producing a working nuclear weapon with illicitly obtained weapons-grade fuel is not large, but such a strike would be far more lethal, frightening and disruptive than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Not only could the numbers killed and wounded be far higher, but the explosion could, experts say, ignite widespread fires, shut down most transportation, halt much economic activity and cause a possible disintegration of government order. The efforts to prepare a detailed blueprint for survival took a step forward last month when senior government and military officials and other experts, organized by a joint Stanford-Harvard program called the Preventive Defense Project, met behind closed doors in Washington for a day-long workshop. The session, called "The Day After," was premised on the idea that efforts focusing on preventing such a strike were no longer enough, and that the prospect of a collapse of government order was so great if there were an attack that the country needed to begin preparing an emergency program.

Social Security Card May be changed into national ID Card

The Social Security card faces its first major upgrade in 70 years under two immigration-reform proposals slated for debate this week that would add biometric information to the card and finally complete its slow metamorphosis into a national ID. The leading immigration proposal with traction in Congress would force employers to accept only a very limited range of approved documents as proof of work eligibility, including a driver's license that meets new federal Real ID standards, a high-tech temporary work visa or a U.S. passport with an RFID chip. A fourth option is the notional tamper-proof biometric Social Security card, which would replace the text-only design that's been issued to Americans almost without change for more than 70 years. A second proposal under consideration would add high-tech features to the Social Security card allowing employers to scan it with specially equipped laptop computers. Under that proposal, called the "Bonner Plan," the revamped Social Security card would be the only legal form of identification for employment purposes. Neither bill specifies what the biometric would be, but it could range from a simple digital photo to a fingerprint or even an iris scan. The proposals would seem to require major changes to how Social Security cards are issued: Currently, new and replacement cards are sent in the mail. And parents typically apply for their children before they're old enough to give a decent fingerprint.

Atomic Agency Concludes Iran Is Stepping Up Nuclear Work

Inspectors for the International Atomic Energy Agency have concluded that Iran appears to have solved most of its technological problems and is now beginning to enrich uranium on a far larger scale than before, according to the agency’s top officials. The findings may change the calculus of diplomacy in Europe and in Washington, which aimed to force a suspension of Iran’s enrichment activities in large part to prevent it from learning how to produce weapons-grade material.

Pentagon: Bird Flu Could Kill 3 Million, Require Martial Law

The United States military has started to plan for a possible bird flu pandemic that could kill as many as 3 million Americans. The Pentagon's plan for dealing with a massive outbreak of avian flu has been posted on its website. It says a pandemic in the US could result in 20-35 per cent of the population becoming ill, 3 per cent being hospitalised and 1 per cent, that is 3 million people, dying. The Pentagon says the bird flu outbreak would overwhelm civilian and military health facilities and cripple the ability of authorities to provide even basic commodities or services. Possible scenarios include US troops being called in to put down riots, guard pharmaceutical plants and shipments, and help restrict the movement of people (establish Martial Law).

Council on Foreign Relations Sees End of National Currency

Global financial instability has sparked a surge in "monetary nationalism" -- the idea that countries must make and control their own currencies. But globalization and monetary nationalism are a dangerous combination, a cause of financial crises and geopolitical tension. The world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn. Capital flows have become globalization's Achilles' heel. Over the past 25 years, devastating currency crises have hit countries across Latin America and Asia, as well as countries just beyond the borders of western Europe -- most notably Russia and Turkey. Even such an impeccably credentialed pro-globalization economist as U.S. Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin has acknowledged that "opening up the financial system to foreign capital flows has led to some disastrous financial crises causing great pain, suffering, and even violence."

GM Livestock May Help Treat Ailments

Scientists have worked mostly with transgenic cows, pigs and goats to this point, Keefer said. Pigs, especially, have been used as models to study heart disease, organ transplantation and eye disease, while cow and goat milk has been a major source for biopharmaceuticals. The paper said transgenic animals are being engineered to produce human antibodies that scientists hope can be used to treat infections, cancer and autoimmune diseases. Others genes are being tweaked to create proteins that would usually have to be harvested from human blood. The paper says that can combat challenges the human blood supply faces such as shortages and the transmission of diseases HIV/AIDS.

Earth's Magnetic Field May Be About To Go Into Reverse

There is a growing body of evidence that the Earth's magnetic field is about to disappear, at least for a while. The geological record shows that it flips from time to time, with the south pole becoming the north, and vice versa. On average, such reversals take place every 500,000 years, but there is no discernible pattern. Flips have happened as close together as 50,000 years, though the last one was 780,000 years ago. But, as discussed at the Greenland Space Science Symposium, held in Kangerlussuaq this week, the signs are that another flip is coming soon. One of those signs is that the strength of the field has been falling by 5% a century recently. A similar (though more rapid) diminution accompanies the reversing of the sun's magnetic field, which happens every 11 years or so. Other evidence comes from old navigation records. Researchers such as Nils Olsen, of the Danish National Space Centre, have used such records to chart the growth of patches of abnormal magnetism. They are able to do so because these records use both compass bearings and astronomical observations to locate a vessel. The changing relationship between the two shows that patches of abnormal magnetism have been growing off south-east Africa and in the South Atlantic. Just when the magnetic field will flip is impossible to predict from what is known at the moment; the best guess is that there are still several centuries to go. Nor is it clear how long its protective shield will be down. (The record in the rocks is little help, since a geological eyeblink represents many human lifetimes.) But understanding how the magnetosphere works now should help to deal with the consequences if and when it vanishes.

A New Nuke Black Market for Iran?

Although U.S. and allied intelligence services have broken up parts of the nuclear-parts trafficking network run by A.Q. Khan, creator of Pakistan's atomic bomb, Iran has constructed a new — and possibly larger — clandestine network for acquiring nuclear technology, according to a new report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a respected London-based think tank. "Iran remains the most active customer in the nuclear black market, a customer that has built an equivalent if not even larger network than A.Q. Khan's," IISS proliferation specialist Mark Fitzpatrick told a gathering of reporters and proliferation experts in Washington recently. The IISS study, Nuclear Black markets: Pakistan, A.Q. Khan and the Rise of Proliferation Networks, concludes that despite Khan having been placed under house arrest by the Pakistan government in 2004, elements of his supply network, which spanned three continents, remain active and dangerous. "Iran has sought dual-use goods from some of the same people and firms that A.Q. Khan employed," Fitzpatrick said. "It has also been turning to new technology providers. And although some countries have tightened their vigilance, Iran still is trying to evade export controls by repeatedly changing front countries and financing arrangements."

Would an implanted chip help to keep my child safe?

If your child could wear an implant – a microchip that could tell a computer where he or she was at any time to within a few metres – would you buy it? After the horrific snatch of three-year-old Madeleine McCann from her bed in Portugal, the answer from many parents seems to be “yes”. Professor Kevin Warwick, who developed the technology that made it possible for the first child in Britain to volunteer to be “chipped” in 2002 – after the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman – has been bombarded with e-mails over the past few days from parents desperate to keep tabs on their children. As we talk, another e-mail drops into his inbox from a mother of two young children who says that she is deeply anxious about Madeleine’s disappearance and wants to know more about the chip technology. It works, in theory, by sending a signal via a mobile-phone network to a computer that can identify the child’s location on an electronic map. But there was the concern at the time over the ethics of tagging our children’s bodies – some groups, including Barnardo’s and Kidscape as well as sections of the media, said that it was a neurotic overreaction that would not benefit children in the long run. So Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics at Reading University, did not continue to develop the project nationally. “It caused such a backlash that we had to step back,” he says. “There were ethical concerns, and as a scientist you have to listen.” But he adds that the point about chipping is not that you would use it to track your children 24 hours a day – only in a worst-case scenario.

Richard Hoagland Thinks Dimensional Openings Connected To Bee Disappearance

All around the United States, reports have been coming in for months about the wholesale loss of bees by beekeepers. Apiarists are flummoxed over the losses which are not being suffered by native, wild bees. The "killer" bees or Africanized bees, are not affected. As much of your food relies on bee pollination skills to arrive at your tabletop, the public has cause for concern regarding this blight. Richard Hoagland, in addition to his hypotheses regarding life on other planets, has been a student of ancient civilizations and lost science. A consistent discovery, a common thread to Mr. Hoagland's life work has been the existence of the "hyper-dimension reality" For example, in order to explain the complexity of elementary particles that sub atomic physics observes in atom smashers, quantum physics postulates not just four dimensions, but perhaps as many as fifteen. You are familiar with four dimensions, the point, the plane, cube, and time. These other dimensions are hidden from you, unless an object from this other dimension, intersects with your world. If you refer to the diagrams, you will see, that an arrow that exists in a two dimensional world, is not seen unless that arrow crosses the plane of the two-dimensional world. A two dimensional person in the plane would perceive the arrow as a single point. In a similar manner, if you can wrap your mind around the concept, an object that exists in the tenth dimension only appears to you in four of its true dimensions, so that you have an incomplete picture of its true shape. The true shape of a ten dimension object would only appear to you if such a object laid "flat" in your four dimensions. Why are the domesticated "corporation farmed" bees suffering, and the wild ones are not? The answer lies in the honeycomb. The six sides of the honeycomb is not accident, the honeycomb cell has a larger multi-dimensional profile. The antenna of the bee is tuned to this six-sided structure in a multi-dimensional way. The bee can find his hive in the dark, and through the rain. A bee does not visually see his hive, he perceives it with his antenna. Why is this important? Commercial bees are started by beekeepers with a manufactured, starter honeycomb, the worker bees build the hive using this scaffold. This commercial honeycomb is not the same as the honeycomb that wild bees build for themselves. This commercial honeycomb has become invisible to the commercial bee. The bees are dying in a vain search for a home they cannot locate.

Insect Population "Biblical In Nature" Seen Coming

And the houses shall be full of swarms of insects, and also on the ground on which they stand. – Exodus 8:2. Climate change is not the wrath of God, but one possible consequence of rising global temperatures may be almost Biblical in nature: a population explosion of bugs. The world's shifting weather patterns are already having an effect, say scientists. Warmer weather is driving many insect species northward and to higher elevations, creating novel situations like the emergence of insect-borne tropical diseases in Canada. But some researchers suggest changes even more fundamental may be occurring. Hotter days and longer warm seasons in more places mean warm-weather insects have more time and more space to feed, develop and reproduce. It has been estimated that an increase of less than 4 degrees Fahrenheit can add one to five more life cycles per season for some insects. “Most species of insect are warm-adapted,” said Raymond Huey, a professor of biology at the University of Washington. “Warm-adapted insects generally have higher maximum rates of reproduction. If there's (evolutionary) selection from climate warming for species that do well at higher temperatures, it follows that you're going to see an increase in maximum rates of reproduction.”

England Positively Crawling With Witches, Warlocks, Wizards, Diviners

This grand old country of ours is steeped in history and legend. But you Americans always assume we're a sensible race - a bit quiet, slow to change maybe, not given to absurd flights of fancy. How wrong you are. In fact England is positively crawling with witches, warlocks, wizards and water diviners. There is a hardly a village in the Kingdom where you will fail to find someone gazing into a crystal ball, offering to tell your fortune, or getting involved in close encounters with aliens. Forget Salem, when it comes to the occult, we've cornered the market. Harry Potter isn't just a best seller and an international movie hit - it is real life for many of us. There are parts of England where one in ten of the people believe they have the power to teleport their neighbors - pick them up and spirit them away, literally. The northern county of Yorkshire, for example, is packed with telepathists, time-travelers, enchanters, mediums and astrologers. Essex - to the east of London - contains the highest number of people subscribing to ancient pagan customs and rituals, and my own home county, Kent - just south of the capital - has three times the national average of psychic healers.
This isn't just mumbo jumbo. It is the result of detailed academic research overseen by a leading cleric of the Church of England which normally has a vested interest in playing such things down. But even the Church can't disguise the extent of this occult revival.

Are We Close to Creating Super-Mutant Humans?

Nearly every day we are inundated with new genetic discoveries. Scientists can now pinpoint many specific genes including being lean, living a long life, improved self-healing, thrill seeking behavior, and having an improved memory among many other incredible traits. Many believe that these genes can be manipulated in ordinary humans, in effect creating Super-Mutants. Isaac Asimov, the famous thinker and sci-fi writer wrote, “The advance of genetic engineering makes it quite conceivable that we will begin to design our own evolutionary progress.” The options are nearly limitless. Theoretically, if a gene exists in another species, it can be brought over to a human cell. Imagine some of the incredible traits of the animal kingdom that humans miss out on- night vision, amazing agility, or the ability to breath underwater. The precedence for these types of radical changes is already in place. Experimental mice, for example, were successfully given the human ability to see in color. If animals can be engineered to have human traits, then humans can certainly be mutated to have desirable animal traits.

New Drug Bill Gives FDA Sweeping New Powers - Will They Take Your Prescription Meds Away ?

By a vote of 93 to 1, the Senate passed a bill on May 9, that gives the Food and Drug Administration sweeping new power to police drug safety, order changes in drug labels, and restrict the use and distribution of medicines found to pose serious risks to consumers. The bill calls for a fundamental change in the philosophy and operations of the FDA, requiring the agency to focus on the entire life cycle of a drug — not just the years prior to its approval, but also the experience of patients who later take it.
Senators said the bill was a response to a widespread loss of confidence in the ability of the FDA to protect consumers against the dangers of drugs like Vioxx, a popular painkiller withdrawn from the market in 2004. The bill would carry out many recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences and appears broadly acceptable to the House. The Bush administration has not actively opposed the measure and many drug manufacturers support it. The bill is widely seen as "must pass" legislation because it renews authority for the government to collect fees from drug companies to speed the review of their products. Without action by Congress, the authority would expire Sept. 30. "This legislation will make a major difference for families in America, ensuring the safety of our prescription drug system," said the chief sponsor of the bill, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts. "We will also have safer food for families and for pets." Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming, said the bill was the "most comprehensive drug safety overhaul in more than a decade."

Constitutional Liberty Becomes License in the Land of the Free

Since childhood most of us have sung those inspiring words "Our Fathers’ God to Thee, Author of Liberty, Of Thee I Sing". We reference America as the "land of the free and the home of the brave" and the word "liberty" is entrenched in our national consciousness as a foundational American value. Yet, the erosion of culture values in American society over the last few decades has turned our understanding of the meaning of liberty into something that would be considered quite foreign to our nation’s founding fathers. America is at a crossroads. Our singing of the patriotic words "Let freedom ring" will ring hallow if we further corrupt ourselves and allow license to replace liberty as a foundational constitutional value. When license replaces liberty then virtue becomes corruption. Benjamin Franklin stated: "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." The greatness of this nation lies in the fact that our love of liberty was founded in our love of virtue and goodness. Alexis de Tocqueville is quoted as saying: "America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." If our traditional values continue to be corrupted and true liberty becomes mere license then our nation will cease to be good. And with the cessation of goodness we will have lost our claim to greatness.

Artificial Intelligence Will Leap Humans by 2020

Artifical intelliegence will surpass human intelligence after 2020, predicts Vernor Vinge, 62, a pioneer in AI, who in a recent interview warned about the risks and opportunities that an electronic super-intelligence would offer to mankind. Vinge is a retired San Diego State University professor of mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author who is well-known for his 1993 manifesto, "The Coming Technological Singularity, in which he argues that exponential growth in technology means a point will be reached where the consequences are unknown. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels A Fire Upon the Deep, in which he envisions a galaxy that is divided up into 'zones of thought', in which the further one moves from the center of the galaxy, the higher the level of technology one can achieve, and A Deepness in the Sky, a preqel. Exactly 10 years ago, in May 1997, Deep Blue won the chess tournament against Gary Kasparov. Was that the first glimpse of a new kind of intelligence? Vinge was asked in an interview with Computerworld yesterday. "I think there was clever programming in Deep Blue," Vinge stated in the Computerworld interview, "but the predictable success came mainly from the ongoing trends in computer hardware improvement. The result was a better-than-human performance in a single, limited problem area. In the future, I think that improvements in both software and hardware will bring success in other intellectual domains." " It seems plausible that with technology we can, in the fairly near future," Vinge continued, create (or become) creatures who surpass humans in every intellectual and creative dimension. Events beyond such an event -- such a singularity -- are as unimaginable to us as opera is to a flatworm."

Simpy put, Who is the Current New World Order Leviathan

The main players are the 'Group Of Eight' as their called, The G8 is an international forum for the governments of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Together, the eight countries represent about 65 percent of the world economy. And simply put, if you control the worlds finances, you run the show.

Did Ancient Biotech Create "Nephilim"? Will Modern Science Bring Them Again?

"The benei Elohim saw the daughters of Adam, that they were fit extensions" (Gen 6:2, Interlinear Hebrew Bible). In the study of the Old Testament Book of Genesis, beings of great stature called "giants" appear, which some scholars believe came into existence after powerful angels known as 'Watchers' descended to earth and used women (or their biological matter) to construct bodies of flesh, which they used to "extend" themselves into the material world. What if, by corrupting the species barrier in which each creature was to recreate after its "own kind," Watchers had successfully mingled human-animal DNA and combined the hereditary traits of different species into a single new mutation? An entirely new being—Nephilim—might have suddenly possessed the combined intelligence and instincts (seeing, hearing, smelling, reacting to the environment) of several life forms and in ways unfamiliar to creation. Will modern biotechnology resurrect Nephilim? Today, molecular biologists classify the functions of genes within native species but are unsure in many cases how a gene's coding might react from one species to another. In recombinant DNA technology, a "transgenic" organism is created when the genetic structure of one specie is altered by the transfer of a gene or genes from another. This could change not only the genetic structure of the modified animal and its offspring, but its evolutionary development, sensory modalities, disease propensity, personality and behavior traits among other things. Such transgenic tinkering already exists in many parts of the world including the United States, Britain and Australia where animal eggs are being used to create hybrid human embryos from which stem cell lines can be produced for medical research. A team at Newcastle and Durham universities in the UK recently announced plans to "create hybrid rabbit and human embryos, as well as other ‘chimera’ embryos mixing human and cow genes." More alarmingly, the same researchers have already managed to reanimate tissue "from dead human cells in another breakthrough which was heralded as a way of overcoming ethical dilemmas over using living embryos for medical research"

Bill requires hiring 'gays,' cross-dressers

Following on the heels of an 'anti-discrimination' plan Christians insist would virtually outlaw their religious beliefs comes another proposal – introduced by openly homosexual U.S. Rep. Barney Frank – that requires businesses to give special privileges to "gay" and "transgendered" individuals. Shari Rendall, director of legislation and public policy for Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest women's public policy group, said H.R. 2015, the "Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007," would be a disaster. "This bill would unfairly extend special privileges based upon an individual's changeable sexual behaviors, rather than focusing on immutable, non-behavior characteristics such as skin color or gender. Its passage would both overtly discriminate against and muzzle people of faith. Former Secretary of State Collin Powell put it well when he said, 'Skin color is a benign, non-behavioral characteristic. Sexual orientation is perhaps the most profound of human behavioral characteristics. Comparison of the two is a convenient but invalid argument,'" Rendall said. The proposal, from U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., follows H.R. 1592, the House-approved plan that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of valid arguments for allegations of a "hate crime" and allow the federal government to intervene when those occur, or even in order to "prevent" one.

Conspiracy Theorists May Be Close To Truth about Radiation Testing

Randerson dismissively comments that the radiation experiments are "conspiracy theorists' dreams". Sadly, in this case, the conspiracy explanation may be the most accurate one. In the 50s and 60s Sellafield was run by the UKAEA, which had a dual mission: research and development for the civilian nuclear programme; and to create the fissile materials, such as plutonium and enriched uranium, and to design and build the warheads for the British atomic bomb programme. The experiments discussed by Randerson were developed in the wake of the major accident in October 1957 at the so-called atomic piles at Windscale, operated to make plutonium for weapons, the result of which ended in the uncontrolled distribution of large quantities of radioactive fallout across the north-west of England, Ireland and further afield.

U.S. and German officials fear Imminent Terror Attack

U.S. and German officials fear terrorists are in the advanced planning stages of an attack on U.S. military personnel or tourists in Germany. Law enforcement officialsrecently said that U.S. air marshals have been diverted to provide expanded protection of flights between Germany and the United States. ‘The information behind the threat is very real,’ a senior U.S. official said. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schauble told reporters, ‘The danger level is high. We are part of the global threat by Islamist terrorism.’ Of particular concern, according to U.S. and German law enforcement officials, is Patch Barracks, the headquarters for U.S. European Command, near Stuttgart. Security at all U.S. military and diplomatic facilities has been increased in the last month following reports that suspected terrorists had conducted surveillance of the Patch Barracks facility. ‘The attack would be designed to create high numbers of casualties among both Germans and the U.S. military,’ said ABC News consultant Richard Clarke, a former White House counter terror official.

RFID Microchips are becoming so inexpensive and tiny that they'll soon be in almost everything we buy

Microchips are becoming so inexpensive to make that they'll soon be in almost everything we buy. Early versions were developed by Allied forces to identify Second World War fighter planes. Later, Soviet spies used them to build covert listening devices. Now, more than 60 years on, you might not even know that these tiny radio-transmitting microchips exist, but they feature in everything from cows to car keys. And, as new advances make them microscopically small and as cheap as, well, chips, they are being used in even more ways - for example, as implants in tickets for the Beijing Olympics, which went on sale this month. Soon, they could be embedded in footballs, photos and even knee joints. The idea behind the technology, called RFID (radio frequency identification) chips, is simple. An antenna is coupled with a silicon memory chip that can store information such as names, addresses or serial numbers, built into a plastic tag. When it comes within range of a reader, it draws enough power from the radio field to return the information stored on the chip. That can be checked against a database to track a consignment of tea, let you into your office, verify that duty has been paid on your pack of cigarettes, or ensure that money is taken off your Oyster card account. Radio waves are hardly hi-tech. In the 1970s, the US Department of Defense used smart labels to track shipments of nuclear material. The civilian world soon caught up and tags began appearing in office access cards, clipped to cows' ears to help farmers track cattle, and on car windscreens for automatic road toll payment. But the challenge today has been to develop tags small enough to embed in everyday objects, and cheap enough to be disposable. In 2003, the Japanese electronics firm Hitachi launched the Mu-chip, which did away with the bulky metal insulating rings required by older tags in favour of thin layers of silicon dioxide. At just 0.16mm square and 7.5 microns thick, the Mu-chip is small enough to get lost in a teaspoon of sugar. In February, Hitachi released pictures of a new prototype in which the chip is dwarfed by salt crystals. With the potential for tags to find their way into so many of our belongings, the rise of RFID has alarmed privacy groups, who say that smart labels are yet another face of Big Brother. They fear that RFID "spychips" could trample consumer privacy by allowing retailers to gather unprecedented amounts of information about activity in their stores and link it to databases. More worrying is the possibility that governments, organisations or would-be thieves could monitor people's belongings via chips the individual might not even be aware of. As one American politician put it at a 2003 Senate hearing on the matter: "How would you like it if your underwear was reporting on your whereabouts?"

U.S. Debates Deterrence for Nuclear Terrorism

Every week, a group of experts from agencies around the government — including the CIA, the Pentagon, the FBI and the Energy Department — meet to assess Washington's progress toward solving a grim problem: if a terrorist set off a nuclear bomb in an American city, could the United States determine who detonated it and who provided the nuclear material? So far, the answer is maybe. That uncertainty lies at the center of a vigorous, but carefully cloaked, debate within the Bush administration. It focuses on how to refashion the American approach to nuclear deterrence in an attempt to counter the threat posed by terrorists who could obtain bomb-grade uranium or plutonium to make and deliver a weapon. A previously undisclosed meeting last year of President George W. Bush's most senior national security advisers was the highest level discussion about how to rewrite the cold war rules. The existing approach to deterrence dates from the time when the nuclear attacks Washington worried about would be launched by missiles and bombers, which can be tracked back to a source by radar, and not carried in backpacks or hidden in cargo containers. Among the subjects of the meeting last year was whether to issue a warning to all countries around the world that if a nuclear weapon was detonated on American soil and was traced back to any nation's stockpiles, through nuclear forensics, the United States would hold that country "fully responsible" for the consequences of the explosion.

Food Additives Tied To Child Behavior Problems

Parents have been warned to avoid artificial additives used in drinks, sweets and processed foods amid a link to behaviour problems in children. A study funded by the government's Food Standards Agency(FSA) is understood to have drawn a link with temper tantrums and poor concentration. There are also concerns about allergic reactions such as asthma and rashes. The findings are potentially explosive for the entire food industry, which faces the need to reformulate a vast array of children's products. Vyvyan Howard, professor of bio-imaging at Ulster University and an adviser to the FSA, called on parents and manufacturers to protect children. He said: "It is biologically plausible that they could be having an effect. "Parents can protect their children by avoiding foods containing the additives. I personally do not feed these sorts of foods to my 15-month-old daughter."

Changing Our Childrens Beliefs Through Myth and Magic

In the wake of Harry Potter's popularity, a tidal wave of dark, mystical children's books has arisen. Led by Scholastic, publishers across the country have adapted all kinds of occult beliefs and magical rituals to the tastes of young readers. Now, a decade later, children everywhere are learning to see paganism and syncretism (spiritual blends) as more "real" and "normal" than true Christianity. Scary stories and mystical forces excite human nature. They always have! So have the corrupting social values that follow those beliefs. But unlike the mind-changing revolutions of the past, the current changes are driven by worldwide social engineering. In other words, the tempting new values planted in unguarded minds through tantalizing tales fit the goals articulated by UN leaders more than half a century ago. Of course, the "reality" the books "reflect" is not real reality, but a preferred reality -- a persuasive vision of the social goal these educators are pursuing. That goal demands a new spirituality. For the biggest obstacle to mass acceptance of the new "attitudes, values and norms" are the timeless "certainties" of Biblical Truth. Contemporary change agents know that nothing undermines faith in those trusted truths faster than today's tempting alternatives. So they train our children to love evil and despise His Word." But God tells us the exact opposite: "Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good!" (Romans 12:9). As the boundaries erode between truth and myths, children are increasingly being exposed to the blatant promotion of paganism. The "new stories" become even more irresistible when cloaked in language that sounds Christian.

Marquette Professor Looks At Transhumanism

The "Bionic Man/Bionic Woman" in us gives thanks for microchips that help our damaged bodies, pills that keep our brains happy and focused, Palm Pilots that put information in our hands and eye implants that improve our vision. But will we welcome a future that includes: designer children, their brains 20% smarter and wiped clean of the most violent impulses; older adults living 20 years longer than today; wireless links connecting our brains to e-mail transmitters; perhaps even human eyes endowed with night vision? Quietly, technology that remedies the failings of our bodies and provides us with high-speed information might be leading us to the brink of a new and ethically complex frontier - one in which we have the ability to redesign ourselves and our children.

VeriChip Corporation Announces Sale of VeriTrace System to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation

VeriChip Corporation, a provider of RFID systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today that the State of Georgia, through the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, purchased the VeriTrace(TM) system for disaster relief and emergency management needs. The GBI purchased the system, which consisted of 500 chips, 5 customized Ricoh cameras and 5 VeriTrace Bluetooth(TM) handheld readers, as part of their cache of equipment used for disaster preparedness and emergency response needs. The GBI plans on using the VeriTrace system for assistance in the identification of human remains and for tagging and tracking evidentiary items associated with remains in the aftermath of a disaster. The VeriTrace system will also be utilized and featured today during a mock disaster drill with more than 500 emergency response personnel in Austell, GA. Besides the GBI, additional state, county and local agencies participating in the mock disaster drill include the Georgia Office of Homeland Security, Georgia Emergency Management Agency, Georgia Body Recovery Team, Georgia Search and Rescue, Cobb County public safety responders and other related agencies. The VeriTrace system was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where it proved helpful in identifying, tracking and accounting for the remains of victims from the hurricane. VeriTrace was used by the Federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) during the Hurricane Katrina recovery operations. The GBI personnel and other Georgia agencies assisted DMORT in the recovery efforts and utilized the new VeriTrace system. Recognizing the effectiveness and benefits of the system in body recovery and identification of remains was one factor which led the GBI to include VeriTrace in its cache of disaster preparedness and response equipment.

Scientists Approaching Up-Close Invisibility

A unique computer model designed by a mathematician at the University of Liverpool has shown that it is possible to make objects, such as aeroplanes and submarines, appear invisible at close range. Scientists have already created an 'invisibility cloak' made out of 'metamaterial' which can bend electromagnetic radiation – such as visible light, radar or microwaves – around a spherical space, making an object within this region appear invisible. Until now, scientists could only make objects appear invisible from far away. Liverpool mathematician Dr Sébastien Guenneau, together with Dr Frédéric Zolla and Professors André Nicolet from the University of Marseille, have proven - using a specially designed computer model called GETDP - that objects can also be made to appear invisible from close range when light travels in waves rather than beams. Scientists predict that metamaterials could be of use in military technology, such as in the construction of fighter jets and submarines, but it will be some years before invisibility cloaks can be developed for human beings. Dr Guenneau, at the University's Department of Mathematical Science, explains: "The shape and structure of aeroplanes make them ideal objects for cloaking, as they have a fixed structure and movement pattern. Human beings and animals are more difficult as their movement is very flexible, so the cloak - as it is designed at the moment - would easily be seen when the person or animal made any sudden movement.

Jewish Power Brokers Nuzzle Up To Apocalypse Pastor 'Rev. John Hagee'

Rabbi Moline’s participation marks the growing — if uneasy — acceptance of Rev. Hagee’s brand of pro-Israel activism across the Jewish community. Mainstream Jewish leaders are rushing to embrace him, despite continuing concerns about his apocalyptic views about Israel’s future, his open advocacy of war with Iran... critics are being pressured into silence... A Minnesota lawmaker who was invited to a “Night to Honor Israel” in Minneapolis sent a blistering letter to local organizers declining the invitation. In her letter, McCollum cited statements by the Texas mega-church leader suggesting that Hurricane Katrina was divine punishment because “New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God,” and that “those who live by the Koran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews.” She also cited his call for a “preemptive strike to take out the nuclear capability of Iran for the salvation of Western civilization,” and said Hagee’s views are “clearly inconsistent with our Minnesota values and I believe with the values of the people of Israel.”

Chimps are people too, insists scientist

An expert on primates is to tell a court that apes are people, in a groundbreaking case that will determine whether a chimp can have human rights. Jane Goodall, known worldwide for her study of chimpanzee social and family life, has agreed to testify that apes deserve the same treatment as humans. The case has been filed in an Austrian court by Paula Stibbe, 38, a Briton who wants to become the legal guardian of a chimp called Matthew. The case was accepted by the court before officials realised Matthew was a primate, but their efforts to have it dismissed have failed. The case centres around money given to Matthew by a well-wisher to safeguard his future after the animal home where he lived went bust. Ms Stibbe and her lawyers say he should have the same rights as a child and have a guardian to help him spend it. Ms Stibbe said: "Matthew likes watching TV and videos and playing games like any child, and can use signs and gestures to say what he wants. Of course he has the right to be recognised as an individual." This is the second legal action in Europe to address whether primates should be guaranteed human rights; the Socialist government in Spain has proposed a law to allow moral guardianship of great apes, akin to the care for severely disabled or comatose people.

Crackdown on Christians in Nigeria could go nationwide

Christians in Nigeria, who make up about half the population, are expressing fears Islamic law already being enforced in northern states will expand nationwide with the inauguration this month of a new "devout Muslim" president, according to a report from the Voice of the Martyrs. Musa Yar' Adua was governor of Katsina state in northern Nigeria, where he and nearly a dozen other governors over recent years have imposed Islamic religious law as the law of the government, officials said. As a result, Christians have lost basic rights such as having a location to meet and meeting there, officials have confirmed. "We have not been allowed to worship freely, as churches have been denied places of worship. In the Government Reservation Area, for example, it is not possible to get land for places of worship by Christians," Rev. Canon Williams said in a Voice of the Martyrs report. As WND has reported, Muslim rioters in Nigeria in 2006 were incensed over cartoons of Muhammad published in Denmark, and more than 130 Christians in the Nigerian cities of Maiduguri and Onitsha were slaughtered. The reports documented six children burned to ashes in front of their father, VOM said. WND also has reported nearly 1,000 homes of Christians and many churches have been destroyed in those regions, and documentation of Islamic law is everywhere.

To Test 'Incredible' Stem Cell Technique On Humans

In a new step within the ferocious debate about the ethics and application of stem cell research, the company, Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), said it had devised a simple method for taking stem cells from human embryos and differentiating them into the precursor cells of blood vessels. Injected into mice and rats, the researchers found that the cells migrated to damaged parts of the body and helped to repair them. "When injected into the bloodstream, they homed to the other side of the body and repaired damaged vasculature within 24 to 48 hours," said Dr Robert Lanza, who led the ACT team. Dr Lanza told Associated Press that the technique they had developed had "incredible reparative potential".

Goodbye U.S. dollar, hello global currency

The director of international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations has launched a scathing attack on sovereignty and national currencies. Benn Steil, writing in the current issue of CFR's influential Foreign Affairs magazine, says "the world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn." In the article, "The End of National Currency," Steil clearly asserts the dollar and the euro are temporary currencies, perhaps necessary today. He argues "economic development outside the process of globalization is no longer possible." His inevitable conclusion is "countries should abandon monetary nationalism." Steil tempers his embrace of one world currency, writing, "Governments should replace national currencies with the dollar or the euro or, in the case of Asia, collaborate to produce a new multinational currency over a comparably large and economically diversified area." He concludes: "It is the market that made the dollar into global money – and what the market giveth, the market can taketh away. If the tailors balk and the dollar falls, the market may privatize money on its own."

U.S. Developing Recoilless Tech to Weaponize War Drones

A U.S. firm has developed technology to enable the installation of weapons systems on unmanned aerial vehicles. The firm, Tactical Aerospace Group, has developed recoilless technology for use on a range of UAVs. The Los Angeles-based company said the technology would enable the installation of a 7.62 mm machine gun on an unmanned helicopter. TAG has signed an agreement with Australia's Recoilless Technologies International to develop a recoilless weapons package for their aircraft. Executives said the agreement was designed to enhance the effectiveness of 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," TAG said in a recent statement. TAG has already been developing capability for the unmanned helicopter to fire a 2.75 inch missile. Executives said the latest project was meant to provide a first strike capability in urban warfare missions. Both the helicopter and the weapons system consist of titanium and composites.

United Nations attacked for spreading Christianity

A deadly attack on May 8, against a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip was carried out by an Islamist extremist group, according to a statement faxed to WND claiming the U.N. was targeted because the international body was "spreading Christian missionary activity." "The UN is spreading Christian missionary activity. We will keep hitting them and trying to kill them. They are trying to convert our Muslims under the cover of an international organization," said the statement, signed by the group Jihadia Salafiya. Until now, Jihadia Salafiya has operated in Gaza as an Islamic outreach movement seeking to make secular Muslims more religious, but the overall leader of the organization, Abu Saqer, confirmed to WND today his organization recently opened what it called a "military wing" to target individuals, establishments and groups it claims are "corrupting Islam."

UFO ‘Evidence’Grows

A retired Air France pilot has backed Aurigny’s Ray Bowyer’s UFO sighting. Captain Jean-Charles Duboc claimed he saw a huge object over Paris on 28 January 1994 while flying an Airbus 320 from Nice to London. It was well documented in the French media and on internet sites. The 55-year-old’s sighting was supported by fellow flight crew and French radar, which picked up the object about 25 miles east of Paris for 50 seconds. ‘The observation of Captain Ray Bowyer is really impressive for several reasons,’ he said. ‘The fact it was daytime, a huge size, low altitude, nine minutes of sighting, passengers and another crew to confirm it. ‘In fact, Captain Bowyer’s observation is very similar to mine, except there was two objects and they were very low.’ However, unlike Captain Bowyer, who gave no suggestion as to what the UFO might have been, Captain Duboc believes the one he was was from another world. ‘My position about the sighting off Alderney is that an extraterrestrial civilisation wants to develop contacts with our planet and that they deliberately organise UFO sightings.’ He said that in the last 60 years, there have been approximately 1,300 sightings by pilots and about 15% have been confirmed by radar. ‘It is a really scary reality, but pilots have exceptional training and are the best qualified observers to identify UFOs.’

The Future of Food: The Biotech Threat To All Life

Biotechnology companies claim they're coming to the rescue with a new breed of genetically engineered crops that can produce more food, with greater farming efficiency, than ever before. What they don't tell you is that these GM foods contain pesticides and their use encourages the massive dumping of herbicides on croplands by farmers. Those synthetic chemicals wash right off the farms and into the aquatic ecosystems (rivers, wetlands, oceans) where they are creating "dead zones" that can't even support aquatic life. It's all being done for the sake of the almighty dollar. Corporations (and the governments they control) are sacrificing the very future of human civilization in order to boost next quarter's profits. The food supply is now toxic, the environment is being systematically destroyed, and government departments that should be protecting the public are now operating as marketing branches of the very companies they should be prosecuting for endangering the public.

Crowd Packs Amphitheater For Man Claiming He's Jesus Christ Reincarnated

A controversial religious figure who claims he is Jesus Christ incarnate with a following of millions with "666" tattoos on their bodies, filled an amphitheater in Orlando the weekend of May 5, and promised joy, peace and prosperity. Orlando police officers stood guard around the Lake Eola amphitheater as Dr. Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, 61, arrived in the city Saturday. Miranda, who has been banned from three countries, told Local 6 News cameras and a cheering crowd that he was Jesus Christ reincarnated. His followers believe that Miranda's life and his teachings replace those of Jesus of Nazareth, Local 6's Jamie Guirola said. "They believe that Jesus is going to come from the sky," Juan Sanchez said. "But, that is not the way he is going to come." "He is here?" Guirola said. "He is here." Sanchez said. Miranda said millions of people worldwide have tattooed their bodies with "666" in recognition that the second-coming of Christ has taken place, according to the report. "I have it proudly on my hand," a believer told Local 6's Jamie Guirola. "It is easier when they shake my hand. It is easier for them to ask. I am very proud to show it is a sign of love." A group of Christians protested the event, calling the following a cult. Police also removed two people from the amphitheater. "We are just questioning their faith and their '666' tattoos," a protestor told Local 6. "We just want to learn more so we can relate more between being a Christian and believing in this and who the true Jesus is." Miranda said he is known as God in at least 30 countries. Miranda is the founder of the Miami-based Growing in Grace Ministry.

Is Your Cell Phone Exposing Where You Are?

Imagine a world where you can be tracked anywhere you go. A decade ago that would have seemed like a paranoid delusion, but thanks to GPS-enabled cell phones and other technologies, it's more or less the way things now are. Many of today's cell phones are equipped with global positioning systems that are capable of pinpointing your exact position. Soon, thanks to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules, all phones will be able to transmit your location. The question isn't whether you can be found, but how that information will be used and who will have access to it. The FCC's Wireless 911 rules require that all U.S. cell phones be equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) or other technology so that emergency personnel can locate people who call 911 from their mobile phone. When the system is fully implemented, 911 operators will know your longitude and latitude, which is a good thing if you need help and can't report your exact location. But there's nothing in the rules that say that the technology can only be used for emergency services. In fact, there are numerous commercial services that are already piggybacking on this E911 location technology. And it's not just cell phones that can track your location. Laptop PCs, PDAs, Internet phones and other WiFi (wireless networking)-enabled devices can also be used to locate you, thanks to a company that's mapped out the location of millions of wireless Internet adapters around the US. While there are benefits to these technologies, there are also dangers. It's a bit scary to think about what could happen if these technologies were misused by stalkers, pedophiles, jealous spouses, nosy employers or overzealous government agents.

Russia 'hell bent' on new Cold War

A report by the Russian desk of Britain's secret intelligence service sees a "growing possibility" President Vladimir Putin is prepared to resurrect the climate of the Cold War. The report by MI6 chief John Scarlett to Downing Street comes at a time when a series of flashpoints are threatening to plunge relations between Russia and the West back into deep freeze – or possibly worse. The report concludes Putin is willing to use Russia's very substantial oil and gas reserves as leverage. "He demonstrated that when he switched off the gas supplies to the Ukraine last year to win a political battle between Moscow and [Kiev]. Increasingly Europe, and ultimately Britain, will become dependent on Russian gas supplies," the report says. The MI6 analysts also have focused on the words Putin used to warn that Russia views U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in Europe – with Poland as its lynchpin – as increasing "the risk of mutual destruction." It is the first time since the height of the Cold War that a Russian leader has chosen such chilling words.

Hotels Have Started Replacing the Bible with the Book "An Inconvenient Truth"

The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa in Napa Valley, and the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco are attempting to become the first hotels in California to achieve the status of being certifiably "green". Both hotels have replaced their old "modern" amenities with waterless toilets, and solar lighting, and use only recycled paper. Perhaps the most interesting thing that the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa has done is to replace the Bible with former Vice-President Al Gore’s book, An Inconvenient Truth.

Virulent New Strain of TB Raising Fears of Pandemic

A virulent strain of tuberculosis resistant to most available drugs is surfacing around the globe, raising fears of a pandemic that could devastate efforts to contain TB and prove deadly to people with immune-deficiency diseases such as HIV-AIDS. Known formally as extensively drug-resistant TB, or XDR-TB, the strain has been detected in 37 countries. It arises when the bacterium that causes TB mutates because antibiotics used to combat it are carelessly administered by poorly trained doctors or patients don't take their full course of medication. Rather than being killed by the drugs, the microbe builds up resistance to them. At least 50 percent of those who contract this strain of TB will die of it, according to medical experts. In trying to stop the spread of the disease, which can be transmitted through coughing, spitting or even speaking, health officials have imposed sometimes extreme controls on infected people.

School In Florida is testing scanners that allows students to buy lunch using fingerprints.

Technology that uses fingerprints to tell who is buying lunch is being tested at the school. Early indications are the finger scanners that record a digital image are speeding up cafeteria operations, which is the goal. If the trial is a success, the scanners could go in schools across the county, doing everything from recording what library books students check out to who is in which room and where kids get off the school bus. Scanners might replace the teacher's attendance book, as well as log students on to school computers. The scanner system could even keep track of students who must receive medications at school. "But first let's see how it works in the lunchroom. Let's see how the parents and community respond to it," said John Tracy, who is in charge of technology for Seminole County Public Schools. Only a handful of parents refused to let their children take part in the experiment at Pine Crest Elementary, the first use of the scanners in Central Florida schools. The school is testing a system produced by Educational Biometric Technology, a Minnesota firm that hopes to move heavily into the schools. "I had only five who didn't buy into it," Principal Dianne Lebruto said.

Syria President Predicts U.S. Failure In The Middle East

Syrian President Bashar Assad recently predicted that the U.S. vision for a "new Middle East" would fail as the region's conflicts continue to escalate. His comments come days ahead of a conference on reducing violence in Iraq that will bring together Iraq's neighbors — including Syria and Iran — and representatives of the big five U.N. Security Council members, including the U.S.

Coming National ID Card A Disaster In The Making

The very last paragraph of the 160-page Real ID document deserves special attention. In a nod to states' rights advocates, DHS declares that states are free not to participate in the Real ID system if they choose--but any identification card issued by a state that does not meet Real ID criteria is to be clearly labeled as such, to include "bold lettering" or a "unique design" similar to how many states design driver's licenses for those under 21 years of age. In its own guidance document, the department has proposed branding citizens not possessing a Real ID card in a manner that lets all who see their official state-issued identification know that they're "different," and perhaps potentially dangerous.

Electrode Hats to Exploit Soldiers' Subconscious Powers

The US military researchers are engaged in an effort to produce "soldier portable" digital imaging systems which can pick out "vehicle and dismount" threats 1-10 km away over a 120-degree or greater field of view, by scanning the user's brain. Yes, that's right. The idea is that the gizmo will pick out threats which the soldier has subconsciously spotted, but which his conscious mind remains unaware of. Then the gadget will do what the user's brain ought to have done for itself, cueing up the threat - a man with a gun, an approaching enemy car-bomber, whatever - and action can be taken. The programme is called Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS), and it's expected to come up with prototypes fast, by 2011 according to DARPA. At least for this project, the eccentric government boffins* are not interested in any solution which doesn't scan the user's brain. The FAQ for interested partcipants, available here (pdf), says "human brain activity must be an integral part of the target detection accomplished by the device".

Honeybee die-off threatens food supply

Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet. Honeybees don't just make honey; they pollinate more than 90 of the tastiest flowering crops we have. Among them: apples, nuts, avocados, soybeans, asparagus, broccoli, celery, squash and cucumbers. And lots of the really sweet and tart stuff, too, including citrus fruit, peaches, kiwi, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, cantaloupe and other melons. In fact, about one-third of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants, and the honeybee is responsible for 80 percent of that pollination, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Even cattle, which feed on alfalfa, depend on bees. So if the collapse worsens, we could end up being "stuck with grains and water," said Kevin Hackett, the national program leader for USDA's bee and pollination program. "This is the biggest general threat to our food supply," Hackett said.

Arctic ice is melting faster than forcasted

Since 1979, the Arctic has been losing summer ice at about 9% per decade, but models on average produce a melting rate less than half that figure. The scientists suggest forecasts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be too cautious. The latest observations indicate that Arctic summers could be ice-free by the middle of the century. "Somewhere in the second half of the century, it would happen," said Ted Scambos of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado.

The Sanhedrin’s peace initiative (Rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem)

A Jewish group (The Sanhedrin), devoted to rebuilding Temple in Jerusalem is sending letters to all world leaders, including Arab ones, inviting them to take part in a project, to attend the conference on the Temple Mount in Israel.After having tried their luck with the High Court of Justice and the government, the members of the Jewish group, have set out on a new track in their struggle for the Temple Mount, aimed at rebuilding the Temple in the Jewish capital. In recent days, the group members have drafted a letter that will be translated into 70 languages and sent to all government institutions in the world, including “the sons of Esau and Ishmael” who do not hold diplomatic ties with Israel. In the letter, the rabbis of the self-proclaimed Sanhedrin warn that the world is nearing a catastrophe, and write that the only way to bring peace among nations, states, and religions is by building a house for God, where Jews will worship, pray and offer up sacrifice, according to the vision of the prophets. The rabbis also call on the non-Jews to help the people of Israel fulfill their destiny and build the Temple, in order to prevent bloodshed across the globe. The letter will initially be translated into English, Spanish, Arabic, French and Farsi, and later also into Russian, Chinese and Japanese, and will include an invitation to world leaders to attend a conference dedicated to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem five months from now, during Succot. Prof Hillel Weiss of the Sanhedrin explained that the Torah and the prophets have tasked the Jewish people with the responsibility for world peace. He stressed that the group’s project was to rebuild the Temple, not a “church for all nations,” but added, “We have all descended from the same father, this is not another primitive and racist approach.”

Scientists find elixir of eternal life - in a worm

The seemingly far-fetched day when all of us could extend our life spans by up to 30 years simply by taking a pill has moved a step closer, with the discovery of a "longevity gene" in the humble worm. Scientists have long known that a 60 per cent reduction in calorie intake, while maintaining a healthy diet of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, consistently prolongs life by up to 40 per cent. That regime also reduces the risk of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, while staving off age-related degeneration of the brain and nervous system. However, the reduction in calories required is so drastic that many scientists joke that it only feels like you are living longer. But researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, have identified a critical gene in nematode worms that specifically links eating fewer calories to living longer. The researchers think the gene provides a crucial clue as to why persistent hunger promotes long life. Identifying this "longevity pathway" opens the door to the development of drugs that would mimic the effects of calorie restriction and might allow people to reap the benefits without adhering to an austere regime that only the toughest ascetics can endure.

Big Brother Microphones Could Be Next Step In Britain

Hidden mini-cameras and microphones that can eavesdrop on conversations in the street are the next step in the march towards a "Big Brother" society, MPs were warned recently. Richard Thomas, the Information Commissioner, said a debate had begun about whether listening devices should be set up alongside Britain's 4.5 million CCTV cameras. In evidence to the Commons home affairs committee, Mr Thomas said he would be hostile to such an idea. He was also alarmed by the prospect of tiny cameras, hidden in lamp posts, replacing more obvious monitors. Mr Thomas even considered that so-called ''talking CCTV'', which is to be trialled in 20 areas across the country, might be a ''bridge too far''. This system allows operators to bellow orders at those deemed to be behaving badly.

Syria Has Secret Underground 'Missile City' capable of striking Israel

Syria has built a fortified complex buried deep underground and cloaked in secrecy to manufacture and store ballistic missiles capable of striking Israel, an Israeli newspaper recently said. The complex includes 30 reinforced concrete bunkers, production facilities, development laboratories and command posts, the mass-selling Yediot Aharonot quoted "foreign experts" as saying, without specifying its location. The "missile city" houses mainly Scud missiles capable of reaching anywhere in Israel. Given its weak air power, Damascus is boosting its arsenal of surface-to-surface missiles and protecting them in the complex, Yediot said. According to the paper, Syria has 200 Scud-B missiles, 60 Scud-C and a certain number of North Korean Scud-D missiles with a range of 700 kilometres (434 miles), and has developed chemical warheads for all its Scuds. The chemical warfare agents are stored in a separate facility, Yediot quoted the foreign experts as saying. It also said that Iran recently supplied Syria with around 100 Chinese shore-to-sea C-802 missiles -- the same missile that Hezbollah used to hit an Israeli warship during last year's Lebanon war. In March, military and government sources told AFP that Syria had positioned thousands of rockets on its border with Israel, as part of indications that Damascus may be preparing for future "low-intensity warfare."

Spying on Americans

For more than five years, President Bush authorized government spying on phone calls and e-mail to and from the United States without warrants. He rejected offers from Congress to update the electronic eavesdropping law, and stonewalled every attempt to investigate his spying program. Suddenly, Mr. Bush is in a hurry. He has submitted a bill that would enact enormous, and enormously dangerous, changes to the 1978 law on eavesdropping. It would undermine the fundamental constitutional principle — over which there can be no negotiation or compromise — that the government must seek an individual warrant before spying on an American or someone living here legally. To heighten the false urgency, the Bush administration will present this issue, as it has before, as a choice between catching terrorists before they act or blinding the intelligence agencies. But the administration has never offered evidence that the 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, hampered intelligence gathering after the 9/11 attacks. Mr. Bush simply said the law did not apply to him.

US, Israel prepare for Iran strike in wake of new intelligence information

The intelligence information gathered by the Unites States regarding Iran's technological breakthrough that could lead Teheran to an atom bomb in less than three years bodes well with President George Bush's political desperation. The new intelligence indicates that Iran is making accelerated progress in acquiring the required amount of enriched uranium for assembling its first nuclear bomb. Until recently, American intelligence estimated that this would only happen in 2015. Now US intelligence is falling into line with its colleagues in Israel and is estimating that an Iranian bomb can be expected as early as 2010. Contrary to the war in Iraq, the American public does indeed view Iran as a real threat. The combination of a radical religious regime and weapons of mass destruction is America's worst nightmare. Publication of the information is part and parcel of the imminent beating of war drums: On the one hand the Bush Administration is building a significant naval force along the Iranian coast, and on the other it is signaling to the public that the Iranian threat is approaching in great strides. When the information was revealed on CBS, senior officials at the Pentagon were quoted as saying that now there will be more pressure on Israel to carry out a preventative strike on Iran, just as it did in 1981 in Iraq. And indeed less than two days elapsed since the publication and Israel's prime minister was quoted in the German weekly Focus as outlining the possibility of such an attack, which would include firing 1,000 cruise missiles in 10 days. The intelligence information that so appropriately fits President Bush's political needs also ties in well with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's war of survival. It seems that just a few hours prior to the publication of the Winograd report, the prime minister prefers diverting the public's attention to a completely different channel. Similar to Bush, Olmert also knows that when the public is apprehensive it tends to unite behind its leadership. The moment the information was received the US and Israel closed ranks. Both countries doubt that international sanctions would suffice in halting the Iranian bomb. Bush knows that in the event he decides to go to war with Iran, even the Democrats would support him. Olmert also knows that it would not be difficult for him to secure a similar coalition at home. The Pentagon expects Israel to do the job itself by use of the aircraft and arms it received from the US. However, either way, both Washington and Jerusalem know that the countdown has begun.

Department of Defense and Wal-Mart Revs Up RFID

This year, vendors of both the Department of Defense and Wal-Mart are expected to ship their products with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags; other major retailers and manufacturers are not far behind. The Center for eBusiness and Advanced Information Technology (eBizITPA) and the RFID Center of Excellence at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College will host the second annual R U Ready for RFID? Conference on May 23, 2007 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center in Erie, PA.

Physicists Gather To Find "God" In $9.5-Billion ATLAS Experiment

Those with a populist bent have dubbed the Higgs boson the God particle -- a nod to the notion that its discovery could answer one of the three great remaining mysteries of particle physics: Why does matter have mass? It is a disarmingly simple question. "We're like five-year-olds asking why the sky is blue," jokes SFU physics professor Michel Vetterli, who is the head of a consortium building a computing centre in Canada that will parse a vast amount of data in search of the God particle. Its discovery could shed new light on basic workings of the universe, including proof of the existence of black holes and even eventually incorporating the force of gravity into a unified physics theory -- a quest that many great minds in physics, including Albert Einstein, have pursued. So far, those are just hopes, as ATLAS gears up this year for the start of its decade-long experiment, now scheduled to begin in the spring of 2008. Involving 7,000 scientists from 54 countries over 10 years, ATLAS will be the biggest physics experiment ever.

Advancing Transatlantic Economic Integration Between the United States of America and the European Union

We, leaders of the United States of America and the European Union (EU): Believing that deeper transatlantic economic integration and growth will benefit our citizens and the competitiveness of our economies, will have global benefits, will facilitate market access for third countries and will encourage other countries to adopt the transatlantic economic model of respect for property rights, openness to investment, transparency and predictability in regulation, and the value of free markets; Affirming our shared commitment to increase the transparency and efficiency of our economic cooperation and to accelerate the reduction of barriers to international trade and investment; Desiring to improve the effectiveness of existing economic cooperation and to elevate and accelerate existing work to achieve tangible progress; Recognizing that the transatlantic economy remains at the forefront of globalization, and that the United States and the European Union are each other's most important economic partners, reflecting historical ties as well as a wide range of common fundamental values, such as the importance of free enterprise, rule of law, property rights, free trade, and competition, and the protection of health, safety and the environment for our citizens and workers.

New Science Changing View Of Death Itself

Biologists are still grappling with the implications of this new view of cell death—not passive extinguishment, like a candle flickering out when you cover it with a glass, but an active biochemical event triggered by "reperfusion," the resumption of oxygen supply. The research takes them deep into the machinery of the cell, to the tiny membrane-enclosed structures known as mitochondria where cellular fuel is oxidized to provide energy. Mitochondria control the process known as apoptosis, the programmed death of abnormal cells that is the body's primary defense against cancer. "It looks to us," says Becker, "as if the cellular surveillance mechanism cannot tell the difference between a cancer cell and a cell being reperfused with oxygen. Something throws the switch that makes the cell die."

Colleges: Bible verses contaminate textbooks

Officials at the highest levels of the University of California system are stomping on constitutional religious rights by banning Christian perspectives from educational materials high school students may use to prepare for college entrance, according to a case scheduled for trial later this year. The case was triggered by the university system's decision that basic physics, American literature and biology textbooks by major Christian book publishers such as Bob Jones University Press and A Beka Book wouldn't qualify for core requirements in the state because of the inclusion of Christian perspectives. The Association of Christian Schools International, which represents schools serving more than 1.1 million students worldwide, brought the lawsuit against the system run by Robert Dynes, UC president, alleging violations of the freedoms of speech, religion and association, and U.S. District Judge S. James Otero has refused the university's demand for a dismissal.

Pentagon to Merge Next-Gen Binoculars With Soldiers' Brains

U.S. Special Forces may soon have a strange and powerful new weapon in their arsenal: a pair of high-tech binoculars 10 times more powerful than anything available today, augmented by an alerting system that literally taps the wearer's prefrontal cortex to warn of furtive threats detected by the soldier's subconscious. In a new effort dubbed "Luke's Binoculars" -- after the high-tech binoculars Luke Skywalker uses in Star Wars -- the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is setting out to create its own version of this science-fiction hardware. And while the Pentagon's R&D arm often focuses on technologies 20 years out, this new effort is dramatically different -- Darpa says it expects to have prototypes in the hands of soldiers in three years. The agency claims no scientific breakthrough is needed on the project -- formally called the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System. Instead, Darpa hopes to integrate technologies that have been simmering in laboratories for years, ranging from flat-field, wide-angle optics, to the use of advanced electroencephalograms, or EEGs, to rapidly recognize brainwave signatures. In March, Darpa held a meeting in Arlington, Virginia, for scientists and defense contractors who might participate in the project. According to the presentations from the meeting, the agency wants the binoculars to have a range of 1,000 to 10,000 meters, compared to the current generation, which can see out only 300 to 1,000 meters. Darpa also wants the binoculars to provide a 120-degree field of view and be able to spot moving vehicles as far as 10 kilometers away. The most far-reaching component of the binocs has nothing to do with the optics: it's Darpa's aspirations to integrate EEG electrodes that monitor the wearer's neural signals, cueing soldiers to recognize targets faster than the unaided brain could on its own. The idea is that EEG can spot "neural signatures" for target detection before the conscious mind becomes aware of a potential threat or target.

Please Lord, Not the Bees - Humans Cannot Survive Without Them

Species loss as a harbinger of the Apocalypse has historically been a less salient fear than the threat of insect plagues. But that may change, as we seem to have a serious problem with bees. A strange new plague is wiping out our honey bees one hive at a time. It has been named Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, by the apiculturalists and apiarists who are scrambling to understand and hopefully stop it. First reported last autumn in the U.S., the list of afflicted countries has now expanded to include several in Europe, as well as Brazil, Taiwan, and possibly Canada. Apparently unknown before this year, CCD is said to follow a unique pattern with several strange characteristics. Bees seem to desert their hive or forget to return home from their foraging runs. The hive population dwindles and then collapses once there are too few bees to maintain it. Typically, no dead bee carcasses lie in or around the afflicted hive, although the queen and a few attendants may remain. The defect, whatever it is, afflicts the adult bee. Larvae continue to develop normally, even as a hive is in the midst of collapse. Stricken colonies may appear normal, as seen from the outside, but when beekeepers look inside the hive box, they find a small number of mature bees caring for a large number of younger and developing bees that remain. Normally, only the oldest bees go out foraging for nectar and pollen, while younger workers act as nurse bees caring for the larvae and cleaning the comb. A healthy hive in mid-summer has between 40,000 and 80,000 bees. Perhaps the most ominous thing about CCD, and one of its most distinguishing characteristics, is that bees and other animals living nearby refrain from raiding the honey and pollen stored away in the dead hive. In previously observed cases of hive collapse (and it is certainly not a rare occurrence) these energy stores are quickly stolen. But, with CCD the invasion of hive pests such as the wax moth and small hive beetle is noticeably delayed.

DARPA to Neutralize Sniper Fire

With modern urban warfare providing countless unseen havens for deadly snipers the U.S. Defense Department’s advanced research division is hoping to dramatically cut down deaths of coalition troops in the Middle East with the introduction of it’s C-Sniper system. Developed by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects), the C-Sniper system is being lauded as an effective way to locate and neutralise snipers, and not only by triangulating their positioning after they’ve opened fire but actually before they are able to launch their stealthy attacks. Perhaps naturally, especially considering the nature of the technology and its potential effects on the battlefield, DARPA provides scant little information concerning the operation of its C-Sniper system, although it’s not the first or only sniper location application open for use. For example, according to a related Wired report, the Air Force Research Laboratory has a counter sniper system known as BOSS (Battlefield Optical Surveillance System), which is allegedly built on laser location technology. And, San Diego-based Torrey Pines Logic Inc. is also developing its own sniper detection system, which is called the Mirage 1200. The Mirage is a portable binocular-style piece of field equipment that utilises (safe to the human eye) pulsed lasers in order to locate the long-range scopes on sniper rifles. DARPA claims its C-Sniper system will be capable of the “detection and neutralization of enemy snipers” in either daylight or night time conditions while delivering the system’s operator with data with which to track (and destroy) said target thanks to C-Sniper’s related weaponry. And, although development details are few and far between, DARPA believes that its C-Sniper system will arrive as a markedly more evolved option when placed alongside the likes of BOSS and Mirage 1200 thanks to the proposed integration with its existing Boomerang gunshot-locator device.

Gay N.H. bishop to make union official

The Rev. V. Gene Robinson became the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop. Now, he and his partner want to be among the first gay couples in New Hampshire to officially unite under a soon-to-be-signed civil unions law. New Hampshire is set to become the nation's fourth state to offer civil unions for gay couples after legislation approved by the state Senate on Thursday was sent to Gov. John Lynch, who has said he would sign it. "I think this moves us one step closer to the American promise to all its citizens of equality under the law," Robinson told The Associated Press. "My partner and I look forward to taking full advantage of the new law." Robinson, 59, was elected as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire four years ago, a move that made him a household name but also divided the Anglican community. Earlier this year, Anglican leaders demanded the U.S. denomination step back from its support of gays or risk losing its full membership in the world Anglican fellowship.

Convention ends with Satan and immigrants

Utah County Republicans ended their convention on April 28, by debating Satan's influence on illegal immigrants. The group was unable to take official action because not enough members stuck around long enough to vote, despite the pleadings of party officials. The convention was held at Canyon View Junior High School. Don Larsen, chairman of legislative District 65 for the Utah County Republican Party, had submitted a resolution warning that Satan's minions want to eliminate national borders and do away with sovereignty. In a speech at the convention, Larsen told those gathered that illegal immigrants "hate American people" and "are determined to destroy this country, and there is nothing they won't do." Illegal aliens are in control of the media, and working in tandem with Democrats, are trying to "destroy Christian America" and replace it with "a godless new world order -- and that is not extremism, that is fact," Larsen said. At the end of his speech, Larsen began to cry, saying illegal immigrants were trying to bring about the destruction of the U.S. "by self invasion." Republican officials then allowed speakers to defend and refute the resolution. One speaker, who was identified as "Joe," said illegal immigrants were Marxist and under the influence of the devil. Another, who declined to give her name to the Daily Herald, said illegal immigrants should not be allowed because "they are not going to become Republicans and stop flying the flag upside down. ... If they want to be Americans, they should learn to speak English and fly their flag like we do."

April sets European heat records

Last month has been the warmest April in Britain since records began nearly 350 years ago and all over Europe tourists are slapping on the sun cream several weeks ahead of schedule. Britain's Met Office said the average temperature in central England from April 1-25 was 11.1 degrees Celsius, 3.4 degrees above the norm and the highest since records began in 1659. Temperatures from Belgium to Italy are averaging more than three degrees above the 30-year norm. The office added there was a big chance of a repeat of the European heat wave of 2003 which killed some 35,000 people and which scientists attributed to global warming. As the spring rain stayed away, sidewalk cafes and outdoor leisure parks across Europe reported booming business but grain crops are showing signs of drought stress. In the Netherlands, the KNMI weather institute said this month had already broken records as the warmest, driest and sunniest April and noted global warming was one of the reasons. The Netherlands has not had rain since March 22 and April is set to be the driest in at least 100 years. Farmers have started pumping water from canals and rivers to irrigate their crops.

Could Black Holes Be Portals To Other Universes?

The objects scientists think are black holes could instead be wormholes leading to other universes, a new study says. If so, it would help resolve a quantum conundrum known as the black hole information paradox, but critics say it would also raise new problems, such as how the wormholes would form in the first place. Wormholes are warps in the fabric of space-time that connect one place to another. If you imagine the universe as a two-dimensional sheet, you can picture a wormhole as a "throat" connecting our sheet to another one. In this scenario, the other sheet could be a universe of its own, with its own stars, galaxies and planets. Damour and Solodukhin studied what such a wormhole might look like, and were surprised to discover that it would mimic a black hole so well that it would be virtually impossible to tell the difference. Assuming you could survive, and the wormhole was not symmetric, you might find yourself in another universe on the other side.

Ban on 'mom' and 'dad' considered – again in California Schools

A plan that has been launched in the California state Assembly – again – could be used to ban references to "mom" and "dad" in public schools statewide by prohibiting anything that would "reflect adversely" on the homosexual lifestyle choice. It's similar to a plan reported that was approved by lawmakers last year, but fell by the wayside when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it. "SB 777 forcibly thrusts young school children into dealing with sexual issues, requiring that homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality be taught in a favorable light," according to an alert issued by the Capitol Resource Institute. "Not only does SB 777 require that classroom instruction and materials promote and embrace controversial sexual practices, it also bans school-sponsored activities from 'reflecting adversely' on homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals," the group said.

U.S. Satellite to Test Missile Defense Technologies

A U.S. satellite has launched that will gather information that could be used for a future missile defence system in space. The satellite will study rocket exhaust plumes to glean information that would help future interceptors home in on enemy missiles. The project, called the Near Field Infrared Experiment (NFIRE), is run by the US Missile Defense Agency. The mission launched recently from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia, U.S. The MDA says it will launch test missiles in August and October so the NFIRE satellite can observe the plumes of exhaust they create. The point is to be able to locate a missile body by watching its plume with an infrared sensor – a capability that interceptors on the ground or in space would need to home in on and hit a missile. In fact, the NFIRE mission was originally supposed to include an experimental "kill vehicle" that would have been able to manoeuvre towards a missile and perhaps hit it. Critics charged that this type of mission would alarm other nations and the US Congress ordered the kill vehicle removed from the mission in 2004.

Terror Attacks Up Nearly 30%, Report Says

A State Department report on terrorism due out next week will show a nearly 30 percent increase in terrorist attacks worldwide in 2006 to more than 14,000. The annual report's release comes amid a bitter feud between the White House and Congress over funding for U.S. troops in Iraq and a deadline favored by Democrats to begin a U.S. troop withdrawal.

Ebola-like virus killing fish in Great Lakes

A deadly Ebola-like virus is killing fish of all types in the Great Lakes, a development some scientists fear could trigger disaster for the USA's freshwater fish. Because of a lack of genetic resistance to viral hemorrhagic septicemia, fish populations could be damaged in the same way the smallpox virus struck Native Americans and Dutch elm disease decimated elm trees, says Jim Winton, chief of fish health at the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle. The disease has been found in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Niagara River and an inland lake in New York. The aggressive virus, which causes fish to hemorrhage, was unexpectedly found in the Great Lakes in 2005. Last year, it resulted in large fish kills that struck at least 20 species. Scientists are watching to see whether the disease returns in mid-May when water in the lakes warms to temperatures at which the virus attacks. "VHS is the most important and dangerous fish virus known worldwide," Winton says. "Its discovery in our fresh water is disturbing and potentially catastrophic."

New Agers Channel Ancient Egyptian Spirits in the Pyramids

No sound was heard in the burial chamber of the Great Pyramid as a tall, slender woman lay down in the pharaoh’s pitted granite sarcophagus, her flowing silver hair spreading beneath her. Her dozen or so companions in the dank room lifted their arms, palms upward, eyes closed in meditation. As was prescribed in the training of priests in pharaonic Egypt, the woman had said, each member of the group had taken a turn in the sarcophagus; now she, their spiritual leader, occupied the space. Suddenly, her lips quivered, and a guttural moan escaped them, bouncing off the smooth stone walls and ceiling like an angry pinball. She climbed out of the sarcophagus, her face creased with determination, and formed the group into a circle, sitting cross-legged. In a deep voice, she read from the Emerald Tablets of Thoth, which she believes were translated from the ancient tongue of Atlantis. The leader’s name is Shari Billger, and her home is near Colorado Springs. But on this January day, she was leading a group of Americans and Japanese who had come to the pyramids to connect with the unique spiritual energy that many Western visitors to Egypt believe they will find there. Earlier, Ms. Billger had explained the group’s mission this way: When the advanced civilization of Atlantis fell more than 30,000 years ago, the accumulated knowledge of the ancients — sort of a spiritual Library of Congress — was placed on the site of the Great Pyramid. These modern travelers were there to make that wisdom accessible to all mankind. But to harness the energies required for this task, their spirits would temporarily have to leave their bodies. Ms. Billger had everyone lie down. “When ye have released the self from the body, rise to the outermost bounds of your earth-plane,” she intoned, “and speak ye the word Dor-E-Lil-La.” “Dor-E-Lil-La,” the bodies replied. This was not a cult; the participants had met only two days before. They were in Egypt on a package tour. New Age-style sacred travel, or metaphysical touring, is a growing branch of tourism, particularly in countries like Egypt with strong ancient-civilization pedigrees. Tourists with an adventuresome spiritual focus — predominantly middle-aged, upper middle class and female — come together to improve themselves and the world, as Ms. Billger’s group intended. Their ideas are best understood as an extreme on the continuum that includes yoga, tarot and astrology, and the rituals they perform at sites deemed sacred can vary widely.

Beware the True 'Rise of the Machines'

The large scale introduction of intelligent machines should be planned wisely and with a lot of reticence. If not, our values could take a nose-dive before we even realise what’s happening. And make no mistake, such robots are around the corner. They may not be the stuff of science fiction just yet but they’re definitely next-gen accessories that can have totally unfamiliar repercussions on the way we view our reality against a backdrop of ethical behaviour. Don’t think of them as smart vacuum cleaners who know where to mop up on their own, but as a South Korean military robot border guard that can shoot to kill targets up to 500 metres away.