Watch Out, Lest You Get E-tagged

A US-based surveillance provider has had two of its employees implanted with glass-encapsulated rice grain-sized microchips with miniature antennas embedded in their forearms. They say they need to safeguard access to vaults with sensitive information, and the chip implants serve as biometric entry and exit clearance codes as well as help employers track employee movements in secure/insecure areas. Tracking movement with bio-chips is nothing new. Biologists and wildlife experts have used the technology to follow animal migration and behaviour. Supporters of this technology for everyday application among people argue that it would help track down lost or kidnapped children, Alzheimer's patients who forget where they are, locate missing soldiers, and serve as effective surveillance tools. The thought is alarming. What this means is that when spy-tech biochips become a popular tool in hospitals, remand homes, military and other areas, the device and its use could become as ubiquitous as the mobile phone. There would be no getting away from Big Brother squatting inside you. The intruder in your life - the despoiler of your private space - could be your employer, insurance company, spouse or companion.

Boeing Awarded Contract To Develop Ruggedized Beam Control System For Mobile Laser Weapon System

Boeing has been awarded a U.S. Army contract valued at approximately $7 million to begin developing the initial phase for a truck-mounted laser weapon system that destroys rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds. Under the High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD) Phase I contract, awarded on July 20, Boeing will develop and complete a preliminary design of a rugged beam control system (BCS) on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. The contract contains options that, if exercised, will call for Boeing to build and test a significant component of the HEL TD system, comprised of the BCS integrated on a vehicle platform, and refine requirements for the entire HEL TD system. The options would increase the total program contract cost to approximately $50 million. The objective of the HEL TD program is to demonstrate that a mobile, solid-state laser weapon system can effectively counter rocket, artillery and mortar projectiles. The program will support the transition to a full-fledged Army acquisition program. "We consider this program an important win for Boeing because it supports a cornerstone of the Army's high-energy laser program," said Pat Shanahan, vice president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems. "We believe this is the next step for developing a weapon system that can change the face of the battlefield." Boeing leads the way in developing high-energy laser systems for a variety of warfighter applications. These systems include the Airborne Laser, the Advanced Tactical Laser and the Tactical Relay Mirror System.

'Declaration of North American Integration' unearthed

The endorsement by a major city mayor of a document described as "The Declaration of North American Integration" represents a long-term effort by local governments to bypass state and federal governments and work directly with Mexico and Canada to create agreements that integrate the continent below the radar screen, charges an activist. Adam Rott, founder of watchdog blog Oklahoma Corridor Watch, brought to light the document signed by Mayor Mick Cornett. The document was presented at the May 2004 summit meeting of the North American International Trade Corridor Partnership, or NAITCP. According to an Internet-archived summary report of the meeting, held in Kansas City, Mo., the document was signed by 90 people. "Oklahoma has been at work for almost 15 years to get I-35 designated as a NAFTA superhighway," Rott said. "I want to wake Oklahomans up to the reality that Oklahoma is on the front lines of the battle being waged by investment bankers, foreign investment consortia and politicians who stand to benefit to expand the TTC-35 north into Oklahoma." "What is so diabolical about Cornett's signature is that it has largely remained hidden from view since 2004," Rott charged. "It is disturbing to think that councilmen and councilwomen who live in our communities are working for North American integration in the mistaken notion that globalism will result in local economic development." Roth is skeptical of the promise North American integration holds for economic development in Oklahoma. "What we see is the sovereignty of the U.S. being compromised at a local level, and we have yet to see where globalism has benefited Oklahoma City," he said. "Our manufacturing base is deteriorating in Oklahoma City as plants close and multinational corporations outsource from Oklahoma to get cheaper workers in international markets." Oklahoma Republican state Sen. Randy Brogdon agrees. Brogdon said he believes "the ramifications of what Oklahoma City Mayor Cornett is doing is to destroy U.S. national sovereignty and to grab property like we have never seen before." "Economic development at the expense of our sovereignty is not a fair trade as far as I am concerned," he said.

Iris Recognition Comes to Windows Mobile Gadgets

Oki Electric has released middleware that can add iris recognition to cell phones and PDAs. The "Iris Recognition Technology for Mobile Terminals" software reportedly uses existing cameras and currently targets handheld devices running Windows Mobile, Windows XP or Symbian OS. For several years, Oki has been providing iris-recognition equipment, but these devices required dedicated infrared cameras. The company says its new middleware can now use any camera offering more than 1 megapixel. This permits developers to add biometric security to easily stolen mobile devices, without a fingerprint reader or other additional hardware. Devices will reportedly be able to scan a user's eye for authentication, then unlock themselves in less than half a second, as long as they have RISC processors clocked at 220MHz or above. If the host camera offers 2 megapixels or more, Oki says, false positives will occur in no more than one out of 100,000 scans.

Bush Executive Order: Criminalizing the Antiwar Movement

The Executive Order criminalizes the antiwar movement. It is intended to "blocking property" of US citizens and organizations actively involved in the peace movement. It allows the Department of Defense to interfere in financial affairs and instruct the Treasury to "block the property" and/or confiscate/ freeze the assets of "Certain Persons" involved in antiwar activities. It targets those "Certain Persons" in America, including civil society organizatioins, who oppose the Bush Administration's "peace and stability" program in Iraq, characterized, in plain English, by an illegal occupation and the continued killing of innocent civilians. The Executive Order also targets those "Certain Persons" who are "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction", or who, again in plain English, are opposed to the confiscation and privatization of Iraq's oil resources, on behalf of the Anglo-American oil giants.

Microchip implants rapidly becoming more mainstream

It appears that the effort to implant microchips into humans is not only alive and well but moving ever closer to getting under everyone's skin. Delray Beach firm VeriChip, the nation's only FDA-approved company allowed to produce microchips for injection into people, got a boost recently from the American Medical Association. The AMA said such devices "may help to identify patients, thereby improving the safety and efficiency of patient care." That was enough to create a stir in the technology and medical worlds as well as among privacy and religious folks. And enough to put a smile on VeriChip's face. Scott Silverman, chief executive officer of VeriChip, says the primary aim is to help high-risk medical patients such as those with diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer and heart conditions. The chip, implanted in the upper right arm, allows medical personnel to access a patient's medical history in the event the person is unconscious or otherwise unresponsive. The person's data is stored in VeriChip's database. Silverman says it could save lives, "it's fairly safe and there have been no side effects." VeriChip's sister corporation, Digital Angel Corp., has been implanting chips in pets for 15 years. The chip uses technology called a Radio Frequency Identification tag. Katherine Albrecht, a co-author of the book Spychips, points out that the RFID technology used in the chips is becoming increasingly pervasive throughout our society as merchants use it to track inventory and purchases. "If everybody had a chip in them ... we would be blissfully unaware of Big Brother," Albrecht said. Silverman says his company's focus is on medical patients. And the chip they use is "passive" or, simply stated, it does not emit a strong signal. To read the chip, medical personnel must use a scanner and be within 12 inches. And he says the data is stored in a facility as secure as any of the best. He does admit once you have a chip, it could be used for other "applications." You can tie financial accounts to them and other data. He points out a year ago one company injected two employees with chips for security reasons. In addition, nightclubs in Barcelona, Spain, Rotterdam, Holland, and Edinburgh, Scotland, use them so patrons can access VIP lounges and make purchases.

National Security and Biotechnology

If advances in biotechnology continue, con­structing a completely artificial organism from the "ground up"—creating synthetic DNA and proteins from raw materials and then combining them to form living cells—may be possible in the not too distant future. The challenge for the federal government is to figure out how to leverage cutting-edge biotechnol­ogy for national security purposes. Before 2001, the Department of Defense (DOD) was the primary arm of the federal government in funding biological defense and research related to national security. The DOD research program focused primarily on the battlefield uses of biotechnology.

Psychic Norwegian princess launches school to contact angels

Norway’s Princess Märtha Louise, daughter of King Harald and Queen Sonja, has emerged as a clairvoyant, and is launching an alternative school aimed at training students to contact angels. Princess Märtha Louise claimed to have “seen the light” in 2002, when she married author Ari Behn in a lavish royal wedding at the cathedral in Trondheim. The princess’ business partner has publicly confirmed the training program, which is billed as a means of “getting in touch with your own truths” through “readings, healing, crystals and hands-on treatment.” The princess, who still officially represents the Royal Family at various events, has named her new venture after “one of the oldest goddesses in the Middle East,” Astarte, and its website is registered at her home address in Lommedalen, just west of Oslo. The telephone number listed is that for the Royal Palace in Oslo. Even though use of the palace’s phone number implies the business is indirectly supported by the Royal Palace, palace officials won’t comment on it. “The palace never expresses itself on the princess’ private business ventures,” said a tight-lipped Sven Gjeruldsen, information adviser on the palace staff. He referred further questions to the contact information on Astarte’s web site. The princess wrote on her school’s new website, Astarte Education, that she’s “always been interested in alternative treatment programs,” suggesting she’s had psychic abilities since she was a little girl. The princess has launched Astarte Education with a friend, Elisabeth Samnøy, who describes herself on the website as a former ship mechanic who also attended a holistic academy. “After that I have been in a process where angels and their frequency opened contact with the divine in my heart.”

Do Spiritual Forces Hover Over Cultures And Effect Ethnic Groups And Nations?

It's a fascinating concept: that spiritual forces hover over areas. But what about cultures. Could it be that evil forces as well as angelic ones affect entire nations? We know from Paul in Ephesians 3 that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." If that's not clear enough, there is Daniel, wherein it's stated that "the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia." The spiritual "prince" of a region is known as a "principality." Those in spiritual warfare maintain that there are such forces assigned to every church, every community, and on a larger scale, every country. Would this not explain certain unsettling traits and habits and bondages of certain regions? Start with Persia: that's what we now know as Iran and that there is a dark stronghold over that nation is something that seems apparent. In China there's an ancient idolatry of strange gods -- of the dragon -- and look at the morality in China (when it comes to abortion, religious freedom, and human dignity). In Scandinavian nations, there is the tendency toward paganism, or simple and cold disbelief. In Africa the bondage of voodoo may be liable for the miseries there. In Iraq is ancient Babylon -- and constant turmoil, as we also find on old pagan stomping grounds in nations such as Egypt. Where blood has been spilled in ritual, or where land was cursed, we see today the results or at least the residue.

White House, FBI Agents Race to Disrupt 'Summer of '07' Terrorist Threats

Senior law enforcement officials said today that the growing signs of a "Summer of '07" terror attack on the U.S. have led the FBI to dispatch dozens of agents to track down new leads across the country. The threat has also led the White House to begin a weekly meeting of senior law enforcement and intelligence officials. The group met on July 20, and will meet again on July 25, in the White House Situation Room at 1 p.m., according to the officials. Dozens of FBI agents have been given a two-week deadline to run down more than 700 leads on an FBI "worry list," developed in the wake of the failed attacks in London and Glasgow. The list includes some 100 specific leads in the New York area, senior law enforcement officials said. Although the White House says there is no credible, imminent threat to the United States, the origin of the intelligence that a small group of al Qaeda terrorists was headed to the United States came from a credible intelligence source, who in the past has been reliable, officials said. The source of the intelligence specified the small cell was traveling from Pakistan. The new threat comes as FBI agents were already trying to sort through a mountain of e-mails, jihadist message board postings, telephone intercepts and human source intelligence, in an effort to pluck an intelligence gem from the background of "chatter" louder than has been heard in any recent summer season. There is so much terrorist "noise" that some agents and officers have already dubbed June and July a "summer of chatter." Agents also have been running down financial leads and telephone records that could have linked several members of the recent failed London and Glasgow, Scotland incendiary bomb plots to North America.

Medicine's future may involve brain chips

U.S. scientists are developing chips that, implanted in one's brain, could allow an amputee to control an artificial arm by thinking about it. The science fiction-like technology being developed at the University of Florida might also control epileptic seizures by interpreting signals in the brain and stimulating neurons to perform correctly. Using a $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grant, University of Florida researchers are creating a "neuroprosthetic" chip designed to be implanted in the brain. The researchers are studying the concept in rats but expect to develop a prototype within four years that could be tested in people. University of Florida Assistant Professor Justin Sanchez, director of the university's Neuroprosthetics Research Group, said the initial goal is to create a device that can correct conditions such as paralysis or epilepsy. The day may not be too far off when patients can control a prosthetic hand or leg just by thinking about it, Sanchez said. "It's becoming a reality."

Mythical satyr may be preserved in salt

Unicorns, giants and fairies — the UFOs of antiquity — have yet to turn up in any archaeologist's shovel. Aside from their frequent appearances on ancient frescoes, statuary and artwork, such fanciful creatures of mythology don't have a clear origin, although some have linked the mermaid to lonely sailors who glimpsed dugongs (also known as sea cows) in the distance and made a giant leap. But a recent discovery in an Iranian salt mine, one scholar suggests, may shed light on the origins of a famous satyr of antiquity, one so well known that it merited a visit from the emperor himself. The satyr is a goat-man in Greek legend who dances and frolics, playing pipes and chasing nymphs all day, living in a woodsy version of the Playboy Mansion. In June, a man's body, naturally mummified within an ancient salt mine, was found outside the Iranian city of Zanjan. Six such discoveries have been made since 1993, according to the Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies foundation based in London. Earlier salt man finds go back as far as 540 B.C., around the time of the ancient Achaemenid dynasty. The 540 B.C. salt man from Iran most resembles an elderly satyr figure commonly seen in Greek art, called Silenus, says Mayor. Silenus was usually depicted with long golden hair, a beard, a bulging forehead, a snub nose and an open mouth. Mayor suspects the early images of satyrs may have sprung from such discoveries, transformed into art (with the addition of a goat's body) in stories traded by travelers of the ancient world. "When I saw the picture of the salt man, I was just struck by how much like a satyr he looks," Mayor says. "Satyr plays were very popular in antiquity, so everyone knew what satyrs looked like. There's no reason to think people back then wouldn't have made the same connection."

Beware the real Manchurian Bots

In the popular sci-fi movie, Minority Report, the public of the future is heavily monitored by the government. Remember those small disks surveillance microrobots that spied on citizens? That type of technology may not be sci-fi for long. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is funding research for stealth surveillance robots that can fly and are the size and appearance of a common housefly. They believe the robot's small size and fly-like appearance will be an invaluable tool in their eavesdropping arsenal. "Nature makes the world's best fliers," says Robert Wood, leader of Harvard's robotic-fly project and a professor at the university's school of engineering and applied sciences. They chose the tiny housefly for the model because “you probably wouldn't notice a fly in the room, but you certainly would notice a hawk." If you’re paranoid about being spied on—get out your flyswatters. A life-size, robotic fly has already taken flight at Harvard University. Weighing only 60 milligrams, with a wingspan of three centimeters, the tiny robot's movements are modeled on those of a real fly. While work remains to be done on the mechanical insect, the researchers say that such small flying machines will likely eventually be used as spies as well as for other less controversial applications. If you think being worried about government spying is silly—you might have missed the news in January of this year when President Bush announced that he's allowed to open Americans' mail. We also learned about undisclosed Pentagon and CIA demands for citizens' financial records. For five years now, the National Security Agency has been reading email and tapping phones without a warrant—actions explicitly forbidden by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This legislation was the result of the violations the last time a president (Nixon) authorized the wiretapping of Americans citizens. The FBI delivers tens of thousands of National Security Letters that demand personal records from businesses, and gags recipients barring individuals from speaking out. Phone companies are now forced to “work in cooperation” with the feds by giving the NSA access to customers' private records.

U.S. airports warned of possible attack "dry runs"

Terrorists may be conducting "dry runs" at U.S. airports to test security before a possible attack, according to a Transportation Security Administration warning to airport screeners. In at least four incidents over the past year, security screeners have found items in carry-on luggage -- blocks of cheese taped to electrical components, for example -- that resembled homemade bombs, according to the TSA's July 20 memo. "Past terrorist attacks and plots show that such testing generally indicates attacks will soon follow," said the internal memo. None of the passengers in question has been linked with criminal or terrorist organizations so far, the memo said. The United States has tightened airport security since the September 11 suicide attacks by al Qaeda militants in 2001 using hijacked passenger planes. Passengers are now commonly required to remove shoes and belts and may not carry more than a small amount of toiletries or cosmetics on board. The TSA described its unclassified warning as one of 90 released this year and said it had no specific information of a pending attack.

That Cell Phone In Your Hand Is A Tracking Device

Cell phone signals are being used by law enforcement officials to find missing people in romote areas, to track terrorists and fugitives, and to place suspects near crime scenes, experts say. "The average citizen is not aware that they are carrying a location-tracking device in their pocket," said Kevin Bankston, a lawyer for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based group that works to preserve privacy rights. When turned on, cell phones constantly emit locator signals called pings so their companies know to which towers to route phone calls, Bankston said. Investigators can obtain logs from wireless companies containing such data to track people's movements, he said. In urban settings with many towers, the location can be narrowed down greatly - to within blocks. In more rural settings with fewer towers, a more general location can be established. Most new phones also contain Global Positioning System chips that communicate with satellites, allowing authorities to pinpoint a precise location of the handset. The chips are one way companies can comply with federal rules designed to give emergency dispatchers more information on the location of cell phone callers. Just how often law enforcement has used the technology to track down a body or help solve a crime was not available, mostly because agencies are reluctant to discuss their investigative tools. Bill Hagmaier, executive director of the International Homicide Investigators Association, said almost all major police agencies employ the technique to crack cases. "It's an outstanding tool. Who doesn't carry a cell phone these days? Cell phones are almost as popular as jewelry and wallets," he said. "It's a fairly new investigative tool but it's one that is certainly growing in use."

Unknown Species of the Underworld Discovered

For decades now scientists from around the world have been discovering hundreds of previously unknown species of cave-dwelling creatures. Even so, an estimated 90% of subterranean life has not yet been described. Cave animals are still quite mysterious to the world of science and often have bizarre adaptations and unique traits. Aside from their strange appearances, cave animals also live much longer than their surface counterparts—up to 10 times longer. Some of the most interesting discoveries come from caves with no access to the outside world, which has allowed its inhabitants to evolve over millions of years undisturbed. Humans have walked straight over these pockets of weird life, without suspecting what lived in the darkness beneath them. Some cave species, which are completely unique to the rest of the world, have a habitat range of only a few square meters! "Not only are these animals new to science, but they're adapted to very specific environments — some of them, to a single room in one cave," said Joel Despain, a cave specialist who helped explore 30 of the 238 known caves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks where around 30 new animal species have already been found. The discoveries included translucent insects with their internal organs clearly visible, a scorpion-like invertebrate, a type of daddy long legs with jaws bigger than its body, and a fluorescent orange spider, among other odd critters. "Many people will be looking at these trying to find where they fit in the tree of life," said cave biologist Darrell Ubick.

Womb-on-a-chip may boost IVF successes

Can conception, the most intimate of human experiences, be automated? Teruo Fujii of the University of Tokyo in Japan and his colleagues are building a microfluidic chip to nurture the first stages of pregnancy. They hope, eventually, to create a fully automated artificial uterus in which egg and sperm are fed in at one end and an early embryo comes out the other, ready for implanting in a real mother. They say using such a device could improve the success rate of IVF. "While there have been many advances in the production of in vitro embryos, these embryos are still sub-optimal [compared] to their in vivo counterparts," says Matt Wheeler of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign who is also working on automated IVF systems. One reason for this is that during IVF, eggs or embryos are often moved or washed with culture fluid, causing changes in temperature and pH, he says. To tackle these problems, Fujii's team has created a "lab on a chip" that is 2 millimetres across and 0.5 millimetres high, in which up to 20 eggs can be fertilised and then grown until they are ready for implantation. Endometrial cells, which line real wombs, are also grown in the device, so that the chemicals they produce can reach the embryos and help them grow. "We are providing the embryos with a much more comfortable environment, mimicking what happens in the body," Fujii says.

Biblical recipe produces virus-fighting oil

A professor from Tel Aviv University has used a passage of the Bible to produce a modern version of an ancient priestly oil that is capable of protecting against a wide range of viruses. Professor Michael Ovadia of the university's Department of Zoology told Israel21c that concoction is based on a recipe from a passage of the Bible describing the preparation of a special oil Israel's temple priests were to anoint themselves with prior to conducting animal sacrifices. “I had a hunch that this oil, which was prepared with cinnamon and other spices, played a role in preventing the spread of infectious agents to people,” said Ovadia. He prepared the oil according to the biblical recipe, and sure enough, found that it was extremely effective in preventing the transfer of viruses such as the Avian flu, herpes and even HIV. Last week, Ovadia sold his discovery to Frutarom, a multinational nutraceutical company that plans to use the oil in a variety of applications, including preventing the spread of infections in airports and hospitals.

Have Scientists Created Life?

Recent news reports suggest that scientists may be close to creating artificial (synthetic) life. None of this is happening by chance but by intelligent design and planning. Why, then, will many not give credit to God for the original DNA and life? In the case involving synthetic (artificial) life, scientists don't actually create or produce life itself from non-living matter. What scientists do in this case is create (by intelligent design) artificial DNA (genetic instructions and code) which is then implanted into an already existing living cell and, thereby, changing that cell into a new form of life.

One-world agenda dominates SPP summit as Document reveals plan for meeting of U.S., Mexico, Canada leaders

A multinational business agenda is driving the upcoming summit meeting of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America, according to a document obtained through an Access to Information Act request in Canada. The memo shows a secondary focus of the leaders' meeting in Montebello, Quebec, Aug. 20-21, will be to prepare for a continental avian flu or human pandemic and establish a permanent continental emergency management coordinating body to deal not only with health emergencies but other unspecified emergencies as well. President Bush, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexico's President Felipe Calderon will attend the third SPP summit. The Security and Prosperity Partnership is unveiled in Jerome Corsi's book, 'The Late, Great USA'. The document, obtained by Canadian private citizen Chris Harder, is a two-page heavily redacted summary of the ministerial meeting in Ottawa, held Feb. 23 between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterparts, Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay and Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa.

National Intelligence Director Is Worried About Terrorist Sleeper Cells In The U.S.

The nation's top intelligence official recently went further than ever before in outlining what he described as a heightened threat of an al Qaeda attack on American soil. 'Their attempt is to cause mass casualties,’ said Adm. Michael McConnell, director of national intelligence, ‘Second [priority] is political and possibly economic disruption.’ Just days ago, a new National Intelligence Estimate found al Qaeda has strengthened its ability to attack the United States. McConnell said al Qaeda is seeking the means to launch chemical, biological and possibly nuclear attacks. But the likeliest threat is harder to detect. ‘What we see currently is primarily a focus on explosives -- explosives that can generate a large explosion, but they're put together with commercially available material,’ he said. McConnell says small numbers of al Qaeda operatives are in this country raising funds. ‘I worry that there are sleeper cells in the U.S.,’ McConnell said. ‘I do not know.’

UK UFO sightings bring town to a standstill

A crowd of 100 stunned stargazers brought a town centre to a standstill when five mysterious UFOs were spotted hovering in the sky. Drinkers spilled out of pubs, motorists stopped to gawp and camera phones were aimed upwards as the five orbs, in a seeming formation, hovered above Stratford-Upon-Avon for half an hour. The unidentified flying objects lit up the otherwise clear night sky above Shakespeare's birthplace in Warwickshire on July 21. Although Air Traffic Control reported no unusual activity, some witnesses were convinced they were witnessing an extra-terrestrial spectacle. The strange episode started just after 10.30pm, when the lights were seen hovering slowly over the town before three of them formed a triangular shape with one positioned just to the right. A few minutes later a fifth came into view travelling towards the others at breakneck speed before slowing down and stopping a short distance away. Sceptics dismissed the UFOs as nothing more than hot air balloons, fireworks or even lanterns which had broken loose from a local rugby club. Others, however, claimed the speed and agility of the objects was unlike any known aircraft and said the odd movement, lack of noise and the length of time in the air discounted any man-made explanation. Tom Hawkes, who captured these amazing images, spotted the lights during his girlfriend Kate Lyall's birthday at the One Elm pub. He and the 15 other revellers were in the bar when they spotted some commotion outside. Tom, 30, said: "We walked outside and there was at that time a growing crowd of about 60 people looking up at something in the sky. "I saw this light appear, then three others. They came over our heads in formation but then manouvered into different positions. "Three had formed a triangular shape and one was to the right. Then another one came hurtling towards the rest at what looked like a very fast speed. But as it neared them it suddenly slowed and stopped altogether. "By this time more people had poured out onto the street. Two pubs had emptied, some people had come out of their houses and drivers slowed their cars. "The objects were there for about half an hour. It was very eerie because they didn't make any sound and they stayed still before moving slowly beyond the horizon. There were no stars in the sky, just them. "It was the most extraordinary thing I've ever seen and the way in which everyone gathered in the street to watch them reminded me of a scene from Independence Day." The extraordinary scenes were also witnessed by some of the staff of the One Elm pub.

Microchips mulled for HIV carriers in Indonesia's Papua

Lawmakers in Indonesia's Papua are mulling the selective use of chip implants in HIV carriers to monitor their behaviour in a bid to keep them from infecting others, a doctor said on July 24. John Manangsang, a doctor who is helping to prepare a new healthcare regulation bill for Papua's provincial parliament, said that unusual measures were needed to combat the virus. "We in the government in Papua have to think hard on ways to provide protection to people from the spread of the disease," Manangsang said. "Some of the infected people experience a change of behaviour and can turn more aggressive and would not think twice of infecting others," he alleged, saying lawmakers were considering various sanctions for these people. "Among one of the means being considered is the monitoring of those infected people who can pose a danger to others," Manangsang said. "The use of chip implants is one of the ways to do so, but only for those few who turn aggressive and clearly continue to disregard what they know about the disease and spread the virus to others,"

MS-13 Gang Seeks To Unite Nationwide

The international street gang MS-13 is unifying its violent members across the U.S., including the D.C. area, attempting to strengthen its criminal operation by creating a single organization. "Traditionally, the gang consisted of loosely affiliated groups known as cliques; however, law enforcement officials have reported increased coordination of criminal activity among Mara Salvatrucha cliques in the Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York metropolitan areas," states a confidential letter sent out earlier this month from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Illinois.

Congressman DeFazio asks the White House to see government plans for 'what would occur after another major terrorist attack', but he's denied access

Oregonians called Peter DeFazio's office, worried there was a conspiracy buried in the classified portion of a White House plan for operating the government after a terrorist attack. As a member of the U.S. House on the Homeland Security Committee, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure "bubbleroom" in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents. On Wednesday, July 18, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED. "I just can't believe they're going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack," DeFazio says.
Homeland Security Committee staffers told his office that the White House initially approved his request, but it was later quashed. DeFazio doesn't know who did it or why.
"We're talking about the continuity of the government of the United States of America," DeFazio says. "I would think that would be relevant to any member of Congress, let alone a member of the Homeland Security Committee." Bush administration spokesman Trey Bohn declined to say why DeFazio was denied access. Norm Ornstein, a legal scholar who studies government continuity at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he "cannot think of one good reason" to deny access to a member of Congress who serves on the Homeland Security Committee. "I find it inexplicable and probably reflective of the usual, knee-jerk overextension of executive power that we see from this White House," Ornstein said. "Maybe the people who think there's a conspiracy out there are right," DeFazio said.

Pentagon Plots Digital "Crystal Ball" to "See the Future" in Battle

Darpa, the Pentagon's way-out research arm, is looking to design a software suite that predicts the future for battlefield commanders. At the heart of the package: A digital "Crystal Ball" that forecasts how a mission is going to turn out, before it's done. The overall, three-year program is called "Deep Green." Its goal is to "allow the commander to think ahead, identify when a plan is going awry, and help develop alternatives 'ahead of real time.'" If it works out the way agency officials hope (a very big if), Deep Green will enable officers to out-hustle and out-think any potential foes -- and do all that planning and analysis with a quarter of the staff that it takes today. Deep Green has a half-dozen different interlocking components, including a "Sketch to Plan" program that reads a commander's doodles, listens to his words, and then "accurately induces" a plan, "fill[ing] in missing details." That allows an officer "to specify an option at a coarse level, then move on to the next cognitive task." A related program, "Sketch to Decide" allows a commander to "see the future" by producing a "comic strip" to represent his possible options in a given situation. That may "sound exotic," the Agency notes. But "since the 1970s (and perhaps earlier), there have been novels and game books in which the reader is asked to make a decision and then is directed to a different page or paragraph, depending on the choice made." To make these warzone versions of choose-your-own-adventure novels, Darpa proposes two pieces of software. "Blitzkrieg" will quickly model sets of alternatives, while "Crystal Ball" will take information currently coming into a headquarters to figure out which scenarios are the most likely to happen, and which plans are likely to work best. Crystal Ball will use this estimate to nominate to the commander futures at which he/she should focus some planning effort to build additional options/branches. Crystal Ball will identify the trajectory of the operation in time to allow the commander to generate options before they are needed.

German politician sparks controversy by pushing for creationist science classes

A German minister for culture has provoked outrage among politicians and some religious figures for suggesting theological questions about the origin of the world should be included in school biology lessons. The remarks by Karin Wolff, culture minister in the affluent western state of Hesse, have fuelled fears that creationist views could creep into science classes in Europe. Creationists believe God made the world in six days, as the Bible says, and oppose teaching of evolution. Mainly held by conservative Protestant Christians, creationism also has a Muslim version being promoted in Europe by Turkish Islamists. Critics, who see creationist views as anti-science, are worried the ideas that have increasing support in the United States are getting a toehold in Europe. Earlier this year Britain published school guidelines saying the issue should be discussed in religious education classes, rather than in science classes where U.S. creationists want it. Wolff, a Protestant who rejects charges she is promoting creationist ideas, sparked the debate in Germany by telling a newspaper she wanted "modern" biology lessons and that she saw common ground between natural sciences and religion. "I see no contradiction between biological evolution and the biblical explanation for the world's origin," she told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily. "In fact there is an amazing overlap between the Bible's explanation of the seven days of creation and scientific theory."

Conquering Canada: The Elite Re-Configuration of North America

Meant to tighten economic and security ties, SPP pushes the removal of barriers to energy and resource flows, and welcomes the creation of institutions to facilitate North American integration. Furthermore, SPP consultation meetings and its spin-off body, the North American Competitiveness Council, are comprised of major representatives from federal agencies and key multinational corporate players. It’s a merger of sorts, not just amongst nations, but also between federal authorities and multinational corporations – all bonding to achieve the quest of regional harmonization.

White House Preparing To Stage New September 11 - Reagan Official

A former Reagan official has issued a public warning that the Bush administration is preparing to orchestrate a staged terrorist attack in the United States, transform the country into a dictatorship and launch a war with Iran within a year. Paul Craig Roberts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, blasted Thursday a new Executive Order, released July 17, allowing the White House to seize the assets of anyone who interferes with its Iraq policies and giving the government expanded police powers to exercise control in the country. Roberts, who spoke on the Thom Hartmann radio program, said: "When Bush exercises this authority [under the new Executive Order], there's no check to it. So it really is a form of total, absolute, one-man rule. The American people don't really understand the danger that they face," Roberts said, adding that the so-called neoconservatives intended to use a renewal of the fight against terrorism to rally the American people around the fading Republican Party.

Some See Mark Of The Beast In Microchip Implants Growth

Innocuous? Maybe. But the news that Americans had, for the first time, been injected with electronic identifiers to perform their jobs fired up a debate over the proliferation of ever-more-precise tracking technologies and their ability to erode privacy in the digital age. To some, the microchip was a wondrous invention — a high-tech helper that could increase security at nuclear plants and military bases, help authorities identify wandering Alzheimer's patients, allow consumers to buy their groceries, literally, with the wave of a chipped hand. To others, the notion of tagging people was Orwellian, a departure from centuries of history and tradition in which people had the right to go and do as they pleased, without being tracked, unless they were harming someone else. Chipping, these critics said, might start with Alzheimer's patients or Army Rangers, but would eventually be suggested for convicts, then parolees, then sex offenders, then illegal aliens — until one day, a majority of Americans, falling into one category or another, would find themselves electronically tagged.

Bush Proclaims Unlimited Executive Privilege Powers

Bush administration officials unveiled a bold new assertion of executive authority yesterday in the dispute over the firing of nine U.S. attorneys, saying that the Justice Department will never be allowed to pursue contempt charges initiated by Congress against White House officials once the president has invoked executive privilege. The position presents serious legal and political obstacles for congressional Democrats, who have begun laying the groundwork for contempt proceedings against current and former White House officials in order to pry loose information about the dismissals.

Homeland Security Sees Lasers and Heart Sensors in the Future of Anti-Terror Screening

The Advanced Research Project Agency (HSARPA) wants to build a system that fuses information from remote eye, heart, breath and brain sensors and lasar radar to decide if you are a terrorist before letting you on that flight to LAs Vegas. The fuser will be the brains of the Future Attribute Screening Technology Project. And HSARPA wants the fuser to be a wicked smart learner. The group is so intent on bringing on the future, it is currently soliciting information from outside groups in hopes of making it show up faster. Persons involved in or planning to be involved in possible malicious or deceitful acts will show various behavioral or physiological abnormalities. Though these signs can, at times, be detected by trained observers, they often go undetected and even when detected, are not quantified in any measurable way. [Q]uantifiable inputs may include cardiovascular, respiration, infrared, lidar (ed. Note: lasar radar) , video, audio, eye tracking as well as other promising technology capable of providing behavioral indicators. The goal is to take the individual outputs of the distinct sensors and combine them into a decision matrix in order to provide a single decision.

GPS chips in cellphones track kids and help navigate, too

Cellphone carriers are mandated by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to provide location information for emergency use, and some employ technology that triangulates a cellphone signal among cellphone towers. As more phones come equipped with a small and relatively inexpensive GPS microchip, the technology is being used for all sorts of location-based services that telecommunications companies can offer to their customers. For example, the Family Locator service on a Walt Disney-branded mobile phone on the Sprint network uses GPS to track a child's whereabouts. Parents buy special "kid" and "parent" phones. The child's phone is programmed to beam its location to the parent phone, which has the ability to display and map the approximate street address where the child phone is at any moment. Sprint offers its own Family Locator service that provides parents with the child's location and alerts them when the child arrives at a specified location. The Sprint service can also be used to track adult family members, but the adult controls who can track the phone and gets a text message each time someone uses the service. Verizon's child locator, called Chaperone, goes a different route. It adds a "geofencing" service that allows parents to define an area — a school or babysitter's house, for example — where the child is permitted. Parents receive an alert on their handset when the cellphone of the child enters or leaves the zone. But GPS phones aren't just kids' stuff. A company called Wherify Wireless offers a line of GPS- enabled phones to track employees of elderly relatives.

Robotic Bird Designed to Spy on Humans

A shape-shifting, robotic bird that can sweep through the skies without a peep has all the right stuff for ground surveillance and even spying on its real-life inspiration—the common swift. Engineering students presented their design of the so-called RoboSwift at an annual Design Synthesis symposium at the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. The robotic bird measures 20 inches (51 centimeters) from wingtip to wingtip and weighs less than three ounces (80 grams). The team expects to build the micro airplane in the coming months and fly it in January 2008. They hope to enter three RoboSwifts in the First American-Asian Micro Air Vehicle competition in India in March 2008. The new robot has “unprecedented” features, the researchers say. It relies on only four “feathers” for morphing ability. To steer, it sweeps one wing back more than the other, creating a difference in lift force on the wings so that the craft can roll or make sharp turns in the air. Like real birds, the robot can adjust both the wing shape and surface area continuously throughout flight. Onboard lithium-polymer batteries power an electromotor that drives a propeller, allowing RoboSwift to follow a group of real birds for 20 minutes or perform ground surveillance for an hour. The RoboSwift's propeller can also fold back to reduce air drag. RoboSwift carries three onboard micro cameras, with two mounted on the wing and one in the belly pointing downward. A display mounted to the robo-plane’s head will beam the images to the ground where pilots can get a bird’s-eye view.

Chertoff Predicts Simultaneous LA-San Francisco Dirty Bomb Attacks

Homeland Security Head Michael Chertoff recently reported at the University of Southern California on port and supply-chain security and public infrastructure protection. A contact reported that Chertoff spoke about more "gut feelings" that he (Chertoff) has about a simultaneous Los Angeles / San Francisco dirty bomb attack that "our enemy is surely planning". I've had a hunch for a long time that the next false flag attack will be on the West Coast, so that it seems that the whole country is under attack, and not just the East Coast.

More people rejecting Christianity

A City University of New York survey found the number of non-religious adults grew from 8% to 14.3% between 1990 and 2001, to more than 29 million Americans. The current issue of The Atlantic magazine cites a study that showed 14% of Americans "were distancing themselves from organized religion as a symbolic gesture against the religious right." A 2006 Pew study found that 20% of today's 18-to 25-year-olds have no religious affiliation or are atheist or agnostic, up from 11% in the late 1980s. In Canada, the number of people who categorize themselves as atheists, agnostics, humanists or no-religion rose to 16.2% in the 2001 census, up from 12.3% in 1991, and 7.4% a decade earlier.

Current nuclear threat worse than during Cold War - U.S. expert

The risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia's early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, who is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in congressional testimony on July 18, that "the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident" still existed. "Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode," Perry, who served as U.S. defense secretary in 1994-97, said. "And the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War." After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Russia has heavily depended on its radars located abroad, particularly the Daryal facility in Azerbaijan and two Dnepr stations in Ukraine, near Sebastopol and Mukachevo. Some reports said the outdated radar facilities that Moscow is renting on the territories of former Soviet republics were in poor conditions, and Russia had developed "holes" in its early-warning missile threat coverage. In the same testimony, Perry blasted the Bush administration for concentrating its efforts on building defenses to protect the U.S. from a potential ballistic missile threat, while downplaying the danger of nuclear terrorism. "The centerpiece of our government's strategy for dealing with a nuclear attack is the National Missile Defense system now being installed in Alaska," he said. "But the greatest danger today is that a terror group will detonate a nuclear bomb in one of our cities," the expert said. "Terrorists would not use a ballistic missile to deliver their bomb, they would use a truck or a freighter," Perry said, adding that a missile shield alone would not reduce the nuclear threat to the country.

Sexually Transmitted Infections On The Rise In UK

A report from the Health Protection Agency on the spread of diseases paints an ever worsening picture of the nation's sexual health. There was a two per cent rise in the number of new cases of all STIs diagnosed at clinics between 2005 and 2006, figures showed. Genital herpes was a particular cause for concern, with a nine per cent increase between 2005 and 2006. Among teenage girls aged between 16 and 19, there was a 16 per cent rise in cases genital herpes, which cannot be cured but is treatable. Genital warts in this female age group also increased five per cent, but gonorrhoea fell three per cent and chlamydia was down one per cent. Earlier this week, a study was published suggesting that delays in the treatment of people with STIs could be blamed for facilitating the spread of disease. Of four clinics surveyed, more than 3,000 patients with symptoms were typically having to wait a week before receiving any treatment. During that time 44.8 per cent of men and 58 per cent of women continued to have sex, seven per cent of patients had sex with more than one partner, and 4.2 per cent had unprotected sex with a new partner.

Oregon DMV changes pave way for facial recognition anti-fraud software

Oregon residents soon will see a change in how DMV issues driver licenses and identification cards. During the summer DMV will convert all its offices to centralized issuance of driver licenses and ID cards. Under centralized issuance, DMV will issue an interim card to customers who qualify for Oregon driving privileges or an ID card. Customers will receive their permanent plastic cards - produced and mailed from a central location instead of provided at DMV field offices - typically within five to 10 business days after their visit to DMV. This is the same way that cards are issued in California, Washington and about a dozen other states. “The main difference customers will see is that they will get a paper interim card instead of the secure plastic card at the DMV office,” DMV Administrator Lorna Youngs said. “The only other difference is minor changes in appearance of the permanent card.” The centrally-issued permanent card will have the same design and security features as the over-the-counter plastic card that DMV has been issuing since 2004. However, the new printing process will create a slightly different look and feel. The bar codes on both the interim and permanent cards also will change under the central issuance process. Businesses that scan the new barcodes may get a false reading that a card is invalid and should check with their software provider for an update. People who have been issued the interim card and are awaiting their permanent card may wish to carry additional identification if they need to conduct business that requires ID. Banks, retailers, other businesses and government agencies may set their own policies for establishing identification of customers carrying the interim card. Oregon is converting to this new issuance process as a first step in installing anti-fraud “facial recognition” software by the July 1, 2008, deadline set by the 2005 Oregon Legislature. Once the new technology is in place, if an applicants' photo appears similar to an existing photo under a different name, DMV will not issue the permanent card and instead will contact law enforcement. In cases where photos are similar but not identical, DMV will ask those individuals to return to DMV with additional proof of identity.

Robotic Insect Takes Off for the First Time

A life-size, robotic fly has taken flight at Harvard University. Weighing only 60 milligrams, with a wingspan of three centimeters, the tiny robot's movements are modeled on those of a real fly. While much work remains to be done on the mechanical insect, the researchers say that such small flying machines could one day be used as spies, or for detecting harmful chemicals.

Visiting Syria, Ahmadinejad warns that this summer will be "hot" and will bring defeat for the "region's enemies."

"We hope that the hot weather of this summer would coincide with similar victories for the region‘s peoples, and with consequent defeat for the region‘s enemies," Ahmadinejad said, standing alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad. Ahmadinejad was speaking after a meeting in Damascus with Assad and Hassan Nasrallah, chief of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which last summer engaged in 34 days of confrontations with the Jewish state during which the group fired thousands of rockets into Israeli population centers. Nasrallah made the rare appearance in Damascus after months of largely keeping a low public profile in Lebanon. Ahmadinejad claimed unspecified "enemies of the region" have "plans to attack the interests of this region." He urges those enemies to abandon their war plans "or they would be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples." He described Syrian-Iranian relations as "amicable, excellent and extremely deep," stating the two countries have common stands on regional issues and face common enemies. Iran and Syria have a military alliance. According to Israeli security officials, Iran has been supplying the Syrian military with long-range rockets capable of hitting central Israeli population centers, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Goodbye America, Hello North American Union

In a month, August 20 and 21, the leaders of the United States, Canada, and Mexico will sit down together in Montebello, Quebec to discuss making the borders between these three nations disappear. They will discuss progress on a vast highway project passing through America to link Mexico with Canada. So far, no one has asked the citizens of these three nations whether they want to do this. It is not up for a vote in Congress and, indeed, Congress has no supervision over the gnomes in the U.S. Department of Commerce who are busily “harmonizing” the laws under the auspices of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). This, we’re told, is not a treaty so Congress has no constitutional oversight obligation. I guess it’s more like a nice big handshake between the presidents and prime minister of these three nations who, let’s face it, just know better than the rest of us. I mean, do Canadians really think they’re in charge of Canada? Americans should have a say about programs affecting America? Or has anyone asked Mexicans if they want to be part of some “harmonized” configuration not unlike the European Union? Last time I checked, the European Union lacked a constitution because some of its member states, notably France, had rejected the one that was offered. The Constitutions of the United States, Canada and Mexico are about three sovereign states determining their own regulations and laws. So far, fourteen U.S. States have passed resolutions in their respective and sovereign legislatures directing the federal government to abandon further activities involving SPP. Part of the opposition is directed at what is generally called the NAFTA Superhighway; an exceptionally wide corridor that would include rail lines, freeways, and pipelines from Mexico to the Canadian border. The Texas legislature passed a law intended to slow down the highway project with a two-year moratorium. The vote in the Texas House was 137-2. The Texas Senate passed it with only four votes in opposition, but the Governor vetoed it in late June, thus opening the door to the seizure of the private property needed for the Trans Texas Corridor (TCC). Turns out that Texas had already signed a 50-year lease with a private Spanish company named Cintra, one that permits for no competition by way of building new government roads or improving existing ones going in the same direction.

Evidence shows British Isles 'created by a Biblical flood'

A Flood of Biblical proportions swept away the hills which once joined England to France and created the British Isles, according to explosive new research which reshapes the geological history of Britain. While it had previously been thought that the English Channel was formed by slow erosion combined with rising sea levels, academics now believe it was created in weeks or months as a result of a cataclysmic flood which took place between 200,000 and 450,000 years ago. If they are correct, Neanderthal man in what is now Dover would have gazed out at a 400ft-high waterfall the size of Niagara, which poured out one million cubic metres of water per second. The water, which came from what is now the North Sea, but was then a lake that sat hundreds of feet above the Strait of Dover, punched through the soft chalk hills uniting England and France and flowed into the Atlantic. Chris Stringer, head of human origins at the Natural History Museum in London and one of the authors of a paper published yesterday in Nature magazine, said: "This could have been one of the most powerful flood events ever known on Earth."

DHS warns states not to reject Real ID

Despite several state and federal efforts to force noncompliance with the new federal identification law, or Real ID Act, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has continued work on the law's guidelines and warned states that they face consequences for failing to comply. The Real ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, mandates national standards for all state driver's licenses and other official documents. The DHS hasn't released a final version of the law, but the agency has said that it will require the documents to include a digital photograph and a bar code that can be scanned by electronic readers.

Special Training Black Ops Give Glimpse to America’s Future

Revealing that they had no idea who they were, a Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman, Katherine Sanguinetti told the A.P "We don't know who they were and I'm not sure we'll ever know who they were.” Statements admitted by officials within the Government of this United States that they are not sure who or what is going on, does not bode well for the average man or woman. The statement was part of a story on a mysterious group of ‘black-ops’ forces that had parachuted into a Colorado detention facility. Admitting that the special operations forces, as they were called by Army col. Hans Bush, spokesman for the command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla had missed their target by 3 miles gave a satisfactory explanation to those involved. However, the problem about the government today is the fact of such training and tactical maneuvers within the United States. More and more, such ‘black-ops’ have been seen across the nation. Another such incident was a “black-op helicopter hovering” in a neighborhood near a family. It was seen over the course of a half hour or so. The female of the house, name withheld, had been concerned over the sight of a mysterious, soundless, black helicopter hovering around her vicinity. Then when she looked out, the copter was staring her in the face, as it hovered in front of her house. This happened in Florida. In yet another incident, my wife and I had gone to the mountains in Wyoming as we had been doing on numerous occasions. It is these times when we have observed ‘black aircraft’ cruising at an altitude just above the surrounding hills, very low, in fact for any normal flying. These planes seemed to be maneuvering around the mountains in a certain pattern.

Retired generals predict US-Russia war

Capitalising on the increasingly bellicose rhetoric in Moscow, a group of influential retired generals yesterday said the United States was preparing to invade Russia within a decade. Interviewed by Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia's biggest circulation newspaper, the four senior generals - who now direct influential military think tanks - said the United States had hatched a secret plan to seize the country's vast energy resources by force. "The US is both laying the ground and preparing its military potential for a war with Russia," said Gen Leonid Ivashov, a former joint chief of staff. "Anti-Russian sentiment is being fostered in the public opinion. The US is desperate to implement its century-old dream of world hegemony and the elimination of Russia as its principal obstacle to the full control of Eurasia." The generals said the conflict would inevitably spark a third world war, but predicted it would be fought only with conventional weapons or "low impact" nuclear missiles. Dismissed by some critics as the Cold War nostalgia of a handful of Soviet dinosaurs, such opinions nevertheless reflect a growing mood of nationalism both within the Kremlin and among many ordinary Russians wistful for lost superpower status. Engaged in a bitter dispute with Washington over its plans to erect a missile defence shield in central Europe, Vladimir Putin has increasingly used the kind of anti-American rhetoric many assumed had disappeared with the Cold War. Once more casting the United States as Russia's main threat, the Russian president, a former KGB spy, has accused Washington of "diktat" and "imperialism" - even going so far as to liken America to the Third Reich.

Military Prepping for a Ray Gun War

No one has quite figured out how to put together a battlefield ray gun -- yet. But that isn't stopping the U.S. military from getting ready. The Air Force Research Lab is "conducting research... to accurately predict the effects of lasers on various threat targets. Laser vulnerability assessments on space, tactical/ground, and missile, systems, subsystems, and components shall be completed to accurately predict the consequences of lasers interaction with these targets.' The Naval Surface Warfare Center is launching "scientific investigations into the effects of Laser Weapons on marine mammals." And it's looking to "leverage of existing and/or Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) items into militarily useful laser weapon systems within two to three years." The Pentagon's High Energy Laser-Joint Technology Office is taking a slightly longer view, looking to kick in $10 million a year for all kinds of ray guns... from gas-powered lasers to electric ones to free electron lasers. Meanwhile, the Air Force wants to "conduc[t] research to identify the benefits, risks, and capabilities for a wide range of military RF/HPM radiation systems" -- weapons that rely on radio frequency or high-powered microwaves. The idea is to both "predict and mitigate the bio-effects of directed energy on personnel and mission performance" (protect our guys, in other words) and "to exploit the bio-effects of directed energy for [w]eapons applications" (zap foes with our new microwave guns).

Cambodia limits Christian activities

Cambodia's government issued a directive preventing Christians from promoting their religion in public places, or using money or other means to persuade people to convert, officials said on July 17. "They can do any activity inside their institutions, but are not allowed to go door-to-door," said Sun Kim Hun, deputy minister of cult and religion. He said the directive, dated June 26 but distributed Tuesday, follows similar proclamations in 1999 and 2003 and is a reminder to Christian groups not to break the law. The directive did not mention other religions. There were fewer than 70,000 Christians and about 170 churches in Cambodia in 2006, according to government figures. Cambodia's nearly 14 million people are more than 90 percent Buddhist. Cambodian Buddhists generally tolerate other religions, but last year about 300 Buddhist villagers razed a partially built Christian church near Phnom Penh.

Al Qaeda 'evolving' against U.S.

Al Qaeda terrorists are rebuilding their capabilities and continuing to plan mass-casualty attacks inside the United States, according to an intelligence assessment made public recently. "We assess [al Qaeda] has protected or regenerated key elements of its homeland attack capability, including a safe haven in ... Pakistan [tribal areas], operational lieutenants and its top leadership," according to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), a consensus analysis of 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. "Although we have discovered only a handful of individuals in the United States with ties to al Qaeda senior leadership since 9/11, we judge that al Qaeda will intensify its efforts to put operatives here," the report stated. Retired Vice Adm. Michael McConnell, the director of national intelligence whose office produced the NIE, said the United States will face a "persistent and evolving terrorist threat" in the next three years.

Gulf’s low-oxygen ‘dead zone’ growing

Researchers predict that the recurring oxygen-depleted “dead zone” off the Louisiana coast will grow this summer to 8,543 square miles — its largest in at least 22 years. The forecast, recently released by the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, is based on a federal estimate of nitrogen from the Mississippi River watershed to the Gulf of Mexico. It discounts the effect storms might have. The “dead zone” in the northern Gulf, at the end of the Mississippi River system, is one of the largest areas of oxygen-depleted coastal waters in the world. Low oxygen, or hypoxia, can be caused by pollution from farm fertilizer, soil erosion and discharge from sewage treatment plants, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The pollution is carried downstream by the Mississippi and comes from throughout the U.S. Excess nutrients can spur the growth of algae, and when the algae die, their decay consumes oxygen faster than it can be brought down from the surface. As a result, fish, shrimp and crabs can be forced to move or die, the consortium Web site says. Eugene Turner, a professor of oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University who is involved with the report, said it’s tough to determine whether fish are dying because of hypoxia or other factors, such as climatic effects. However, “we really don’t want to mess with this, to make it worse,” he said. The dead zone usually begins forming in the spring and stays through summer and into the fall. Though the size of the dead zone has shrunk some years, on average it has steadily grown larger, Turner said. If the prediction stands, it would be the largest dead zone measured since mapping began in 1985, the report says. The consortium has scheduled an assessment of the dead zone for summer’s end.

Nessie monster spotted in Chinese lake

The Loch Ness monster has been the stuff of Scottish legend for centuries - and now China has its own version of the much-hunted Nessie. A rare video, filmed by a tourist in remote Western China, has captured what appears to be several huge creatures swimming across Lake Kanasi. State-run television station Chinese Central Television described the footage as the clearest yet seen of a legendary beast rumoured to live in the depths of the lake. Two years ago, two 10 metre-long black creatures were spotted on the surface of the lake, swimming from the shore to the centre - but this is the first sighting since that time. Chinese Central Television did not attempt to identify the animals seen in the video, simply saying: “This time a large number of unidentified creatures emerged, bringing more mystery to Lake Kanasi.” Yuan Guoying of the Xinjiang Institute of Environmental Protection, has been on the trail of the unknown creatures since 1980 and experienced his first sighting in 1985. He said: “They looked like reddish-brown tadpoles because I could only see their heads on the surface. They opened their mouths to breathe and their length was about 10 to 15 metres.” Professor Yuan spotted the animals again on May 28, 2004 when he was standing looking down at the lake from a nearby hill. If you want to read a lot more about other creatures of Cryptozoology visit the website: Unknown Creatures

Christians crucified by terrorists in Iraq

Christians in Iraq, including converts from Islam and people involved in mixed-faith marriages, are being crucified by Muslim terrorists, according to a Dutch member of Parliament studying the war-torn country. Several Iraqi Christians "are nailed to a cross and their arms are tied up with ropes. The ropes are put on fire," Joel Voordewind told BosNewsLife, an online news agency focusing on Christians and Jews in difficult circumstances. According to the site, Voordewind described how a person, who "survived" a crucifixion, "even showed holes in his hands," apparently from nails. Voordewind said victims of the crucifixions are "in most cases Christian converts who abandoned Islam or people who, religiously speaking, are involved in mixed marriages."

Hogwarts-type School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to open in India

Amid enormous craze for the art of magic sweeping through India with the release of the fifth Harry Potter movie 'The Order of the Phoenix', world-renowned magician P. C. Sorcar Jr. has announced his plans to start a master degree in "Dramagic", which will help pupils learn the closely guarded secrets of his 2,000-year-old craft. The 61-year-old magician's version of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be an affiliate of the government-run Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal. The course is expected to begin next year. Sorcar will teach students the tricks perfected by his family over eight generations-such as pulling a horse out of an empty bag, vanishing after being sealed in a box crushed by a road-roller, and cycling through London and San Francisco with his eyes bandaged and plastered. He insists on the need to mop up the prevailing misunderstanding about the Indian magic among people. "Harry Potter has made magic popular in the world. A magic school will be able to attract many people. Indian magic is a misunderstood art. People think it's a rabbit out of a hat. I want to prove that wrong," Times Online quoted him as saying.

Astronomers Find The Most Distant Known Galaxies

Using natural "gravitational lenses", an international team of astronomers claim to have found a hint of a population of the most distant galaxies yet seen - the light we see from them today left more than 13 thousand million years ago, when the Universe was just 500 million years old. Team leader Professor Richard Ellis, Steele Professor of Astronomy at Caltech, will present images of these faint and distant objects in his talk on Wednesday 11 July at the "From IRAS to Herschel and Planck" conference at the Geological Society in London. The meeting is being held to celebrate the 65th birthday of Royal Astronomical Society President Professor Michael Rowan-Robinson.
When light from very distant bodies passes through the gravitational field of much nearer massive objects, it bends in an effect known as "gravitational lensing". In a pioneering technique, the Caltech-led group used massive clusters of galaxies - the best example of natural gravitational lenses - iin a series of campaigns to locate progressively more distant systems that would not be detected in normal surveys. The team found the galaxies using one of the most powerful telescopes in the world, the Keck II, which has a 10 m diameter mirror and is sited on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Richard Ellis explains, "Gravitational lensing is the magnification of distant sources by foreground structures. By looking through carefully-selected clusters, we have located 6 star forming galaxies seen at unprecedented distances, corresponding to a time when the Universe was only 500 million years old, or less than 4% of its present age." When the Universe was 300,000 years old it is thought to have entered a period when no stars were shining. Cosmologists refer to this phase of cosmic history as the `Dark Ages'. Pinpointing the moment of `cosmic dawn' when the first stars and galaxies began to shine and the dark ages ended is a major observational quest and provides the motivation for building future powerful telescopes such as the European Southern Observatory"s Extremely Large Telescope, the US/Canadian Thirty Meter Telescope and the space-borne James Webb Telescope.

Germany to launch 'Death Channel' on TV

A round-the-clock television channel devoted exclusively to ageing, death and dying will be launched in Germany this autumn. Eos TV, which takes its name from the Greek goddess of the dawn, will feature documentaries about graveyards, televised obituaries, and more. The €10 million (£7 million) project was conceived by Wolf Tilmann Schneider, 51, a former television producer who has joined forces with Germany's funeral association to launch the 24-hour, seven days a week, death-and-dying channel on cable television and the internet. Mr Schneider told The Sunday Telegraph: "More than 800,000 people died in Germany last year. Multiply that by four and you have a rough estimate of the number of relatives affected. They will be our target audience. We are convinced that Eos TV will attract viewers." The channel aims to capitalise on the changing demographics in a country that has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Last year there were almost 150,000 more deaths than births, and an estimated 2.1 million elderly people were receiving professional care. "There are millions of people confronting the issues of ageing and death," Mr Schneider said. Viewers who tune into Eos TV can expect to be entertained by documentaries highlighting the beauty and tranquillity of graveyards both in Germany and abroad. "It may come as a surprise, but older people really enjoy visiting cemeteries - not just to mourn, but for their peace and quiet," Mr Schneider said.

Robot air attack squadron bound for Iraq

The airplane is the size of a jet fighter, powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet. It's outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles. The Reaper is loaded, but there's no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada. The arrival of these outsized U.S. "hunter-killer" drones, in aviation history's first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill. That moment, one the Air Force will likely low-key, is expected "soon," says the regional U.S. air commander. How soon? "We're still working that," Lt. Gen. Gary North said in an interview. The Reaper's first combat deployment is expected in Afghanistan, and senior Air Force officers estimate it will land in Iraq sometime between this fall and next spring. They look forward to it. "With more Reapers, I could send manned airplanes home," North said.

2007 and The Materializing of Evil: The Light Bearer

Age of Niriru, age of Horus, the New Age, the next consciousness, no matter what you want to call it, it is here. That systematic revelation of a new light coming into mans inner consciousness. It is that light which is throwing off the old outdated ideas and will bring man into his own level of God hood. We are in that age, the age I call, “The Materializing of Evil, the arrival of the “Light Bearer”. In the world today there lays a thin thread which emits light to all who see it. Believe me, those who search for it, will indeed see the light. This light is a ‘deceptive’ light. It is not true light, not the brilliant light of truth, but a dimmed down version which brings into its folds truths that are false, and false ideas which shine out as truth. Thus the struggle of delusion, the Materializing of evil is taking place. It is that arena where the dark forces are in the ‘power of the air’ and are physically able to materialize into our arena of consciousness. It is in this depth of the struggle we see the battle shaping up for the hearts, souls, and minds of the people. It is a struggle which is bringing in a new age of awareness, one that both sides claim to have the truth. It is a struggle that many are calling the New Age, awaiting the arrival of Niriru, the beginning of the age of Horus, and the next step in mans evolution. No matter what you call it, it is here. It is an arena full of aliens, gods, star visitors, and balls of light, feelings of love and peace, and more. It brings people to the edge of awareness that they have not seen before. This is the day of the “Light bearer”. This is his time; he is bringing with him an army of brilliance which emits his own doctrine, gospel, and salvation. It is his time, he has already arrived, and we are not at all prepared.

Giant telescope to scan sky for planets like ours

One of the world's most powerful telescopes will begin spying on the universe on July 20, using its 34-foot wide mirror to search for planets similar to our own from a mountaintop on one of Spain's Canary Islands. Perched atop a 7,800 foot peak on the Atlantic island of La Palma, the Great Canary Telescope will receive its so-called "first light" — when the telescope is pointed toward the sky and focusses on the North Star. "The GTC will be able to reach the weakest and most distant celestial objects of the universe," the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute said in a statement. "One of its aims is to find planets similar to ours in other solar systems," the institute added. The telescope will have 36 hexagonal mirrors, of which 12 are already in place. Once the telescope has had its first light, the remaining 24 mirrors will be placed and adjusted, and the scope will be fully functional within a year, according to the institute. "With this (telescope) it will possible to capture the birth of new stars, to study more profoundly the characteristics of the black holes or to decipher the chemical components generated by the Big Bang," the institute said in a statement.

U.S. Army set to induct "Private Jones" Micro Air Vehicle

With the US Army successfully testing a miniature helicopter UAV, called the Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) in Iraq, it is now set to induct these "Private Jones" (DARPA nickname) robotic aerial vehicles into its inventory. The "Private Jones" MAV will supplement the popular, and numerous, hand launched 'Raven.' It will meet a long-standing desire of ground troops for a hovering UAV. The MAV is designed for surveillance and recognition missions and is a 13-inch high backpack device, weighing about 17 pounds. It is designed as a ducted fan air vehicle that will fly like a helicopter. Using a propeller that draws in air through a duct to provide lift, the MAV can attain altitudes of 500 feet, and is equipped with day and night cameras. It is expected to prove especially useful in urban environments, where it can quickly manoeuvre around buildings and other obstacles. The MAV is controlled using Honeywell's micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) electronic sensor technology. Honeywell is now gearing up to produce a hundred of these MAVs every month. The MAV has its blades contained within a cylindrical enclosure, and uses software control to keep it stable in flight. As for endurance, the MAV will stay in the air for about 60 minutes at sea level, before refueling. But at 10,000 feet, the average altitude in Afghanistan, it can stay in the air for only about 20 minutes.

Open Borders Leave U.S. Vulnerable To Attack

For the past several days Michael Chertoff, the current Secretary of Homeland Security has been appearing on various news programs conceding his concerns that Al Qaeda operatives are either attempting to enter the United States or have already done so in preparation for a major attack against the United States. He claims this is only a "hunch." I think that Mr. Chertoff is hedging his bets, being able to say "I warned you" if we are, in fact, attacked. Once again the name of the game seems to be "protecting his backside" while our country is left vulnerable to the specter of a terrorist attack. The article just posted by CNN in conjunction with the Associated Press. As you read the article, notice the reference to the extremely dangerous Visa Waiver Program that just a couple of weeks ago, former Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge said should be expanded to include an additional ten countries. Our nation's borders have not been secured even after the attacks of September 11, 2001, nearly 6 years ago. What is very important to bear in mind is the fact that the issue of border should not be limited to the physical borders of the United States but should be considered by understanding that immigration is a system and that the borders are but one component of that system. As I have often noted, it is estimated that perhaps as much as 40% of the illegal aliens in the United States did not run our nation's borders but rather entered the United States through ports of entry. Additionally, sleeper agents, that is to say, aliens who enter our nation with the goal of embedding themselves in our country in communities around our nation, hiding in plain sight, waiting for a message that informs them how, where and when they are to carry out a terrorist attack inside our nation, may well have secured lawful immigration status that would enable them to not only enter our country, but to move easily among us. They would be able to easily board airliners, enter secure government and corporate buildings and travel easily across our nation's borders.

We should farm cloned animals says Dolly expert

Professor Keith Campbell believes the country's farms should be populated by superstrong, super-sized offspring of clones. The U.S. expects to be eating clone-farmed burgers, pork and bacon within two years, and supporters of the method say Europe must follow suit. The Daily Mail revealed earlier this year how the daughter of a U.S. clone cow had been born on a British farm for the first time, making Frankenstein Farming a reality. The intention is that the cow - Dundee Paradise - will be used to help breed Britain's future milking cow herds. Professor Campbell said yesterday that this should be the first step to a far wider use of cloned animals to produce food from cattle, pigs, chicken and sheep. Campaigners insist that meat and milk from cloned offspring is identical to the food in supermarkets and should not be labelled.

Quest for Synthetic Organisms Calls for New Rules, Critics Say

When scientists recently announced that they'd successfully replaced the genome of one bacteria species with another, it was a key step forward for the emerging field of synthetic biology. The technique the J. Craig Venter Institute researchers used adds to the rapidly growing body of work by synthetic biologists who are designing genes and other cellular parts. They plan to custom-make microbes that can manufacture drugs, boost crops, clean up pollution and even generate fuel. But even with the best intentions, things can go wrong, and critics say questions about dangers that could arise from self-reproducing manmade organisms remain unaddressed.

Iran has 600 targets for missile strike in Israel if attacked

The Qatari newspaper Al Watan on Sunday quoted diplomatic sources in Damascus as saying that Iran has marked 600 targets in Israel for missile strikes in case it is attacked. The report said the targets are within reach of Iranian missiles and would be completely destroyed if Israel should attack Iran or participate in an American attack on the country. Iran's warning refers to talk in Israel and the United States of a possible military strike to prevent the Islamic republic from attaining nuclear capability. Various channels delivered the Iranian message, which also warns against an attack on Syria.

Terror Commander: New Attack Will Dwarf Failed Bomb Plot

As senior intelligence and law enforcement officials met recently in the White House Situation Room to deal with the "summer terror threat," a top terror commander said an attack was coming that would dwarf the failed bombings in London and Glasgow. Taliban military commander Mansour Dadullah, in an interview said the London attacks were "not enough" and that bigger attacks were coming. "You will, God willing, be witness to more attacks," he told a Pakistani journalist in an interview conducted just four days ago. Just last month, Dadullah presided over what was termed a terror training camp graduation ceremony in Pakistan, supposedly dispatching attack teams to the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Germany. In this new interview, Dadullah talked about the ease with which he and his men operate inside Pakistan. "We have many friends," he said. "It is very easy for us to go in and out of the tribal areas. It is no problem." Indeed, the rugged mountains of Pakistan have emerged as a safe haven for al Qaeda and the Taliban. "They are the central front for al Qaeda," said Seth Jones, who studies the area for the RAND Corporation, a national security think-tank. "They are the area al Qaeda has based its international and regional operations. It is a very serious threat to the U.S. security," he said.

Christian group locked out of university

A lawsuit has been filed against the University of Florida, accusing officials there of discriminating against a student organization because its members must be Christian men. The action was filed this week by the Christian Legal Society and the Alliance Defense Fund over the university's stance regarding the Christian fraternity Beta Upsilon Chi. "By denying BYX's application for recognition as a Registered Student Organization and the rights, benefits, and privileges thereto on the basis of BYX's requirement that its members be male college students, while extending Registered Student Organization status to other student organizations, including Christian fraternities and sororities, without regard to whether they select members on the basis of sex, Defendants have denied … equal protection of the laws guaranteed … by the 14th Amendment," the lawsuit said. "University officials refuse to recognize BYX as a registered student group because the group limits its membership to Christian men, but the school does not apply a similar standard to other student organizations," the groups said.

'Bush doesn't think America should be an actual place'

President Bush believes America should be more of an idea than an actual place, a Republican congressman says. "People have to understand what we're talking about here. The president of the United States is an internationalist," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. "He is going to do what he can to create a place where the idea of America is just that – it's an idea. It's not an actual place defined by borders. I mean this is where this guy is really going." Tancredo lashed out at the White House's lack of action in securing U.S. borders, and said efforts to merge the U.S. with both Mexico and Canada is not a fantasy. "I know this is dramatic – or maybe somebody would say overly dramatic – but I'm telling you, that everything I see leads me to believe that this whole idea of the North American Union, it's not something that just is written about by right-wing fringe kooks. It is something in the head of the president of the United States, the president of Mexico, I think the prime minister of Canada buys into it. "And they would just tell you, 'Well, sure, it's a natural thing. It's part of the great globalization ... of the economy.'

China sweeping Christians out - Biggest expulsion of missionaries since 1954

More than 100 foreign Christians in China have been accused of being involved in illegal activities and have been expelled in just a 90-day period, the biggest assault on the presence of Christianity in China since 1954, according to a new report from the Voice of the Martyrs. Most of those who have been expelled are from the United States, South Korea, Singapore, Canada, Australia or Israel, and had been working in or visiting Zinjiang, Beijing, Tibet and Shandong, according to the VOM report. A Christian who had worked in Xinjiang for 10 years told a VOM source that more than 60 foreign religious workers, many who had served people in the area for more than 15 years, were expelled from Zinjiang alone. officials also are reporting an increase in arrests of Chinese house-church pastors and leaders, who have been accused of being "suspects using evil cults to obstruct the enforcement of the law." VOM reported that the campaign against Christians is called Typhoon No. 5, and "is part of the Chinese government's efforts to prevent foreign Christians from engaging in mission activities before the Beijing Olympics in 2008." One Christian was jailed in China for no more than walking near the construction site of a hotel being prepared for the 2008 events. "This is the largest expulsion of foreign missionaries since 1954 when the Chinese Communist government expelled all foreign religious workers after taking power in 1949," reported a VOM source. "At least five different mission agencies and sources within the Chinese government report that in February, the government launched a massive expulsion campaign against foreign Christians."

Al-Qaida Works to Plant U.S. Operatives

Al-Qaida is stepping up its efforts to sneak terror operatives into the United States and has acquired most of the capabilities it needs to strike here, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment. The draft National Intelligence Estimate is expected to paint an ever- more-worrisome portrait of al-Qaida's ability to use its base along the Pakistan-Afghan border to launch and inspire attacks against the United States over the next several years. Yet, the government's top analysts concluded that U.S. soil has become a harder target for the extremist network, thanks to worldwide counterterror efforts since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Among the key findings of the classified estimate, which is still in draft form and must be approved by all 16 U.S. spy agencies: —The U.S. will face "a persistent and evolving terrorist threat" within its borders over the next three years. The main danger comes from Islamic terrorist groups, especially al-Qaida, and is "driven by the undiminished intent to attack the homeland and a continued effort by terrorist groups to adapt and improve their capabilities." —Al-Qaida is probably still pursuing chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and would use them if its operatives developed sufficient capability. —The terror group has been able to restore three of the four key tools it would need to launch an attack on U.S. soil: a safe haven in Pakistan's tribal areas, operational lieutenants and senior leaders. It could not immediately be learned what the missing fourth element is. —The group will bolster its efforts to position operatives inside U.S. borders. In public statements, U.S. officials have expressed concern about the ease with which people can enter the United States through Europe because of a program that allows most Europeans to enter without visas.

Oldest DNA samples found on Greenland

The world's oldest DNA samples, retrieved from beneath a mile-deep cap of ice, have revealed a "lost world" of forest animals and plants that once thrived on Greenland before it became a frozen desert. Muddy sediments from the bottom of a 2km (1.2 mile) ice core have, for the first time, provided direct evidence that Greenland was covered in a dense forest teeming with flora and fauna less than a million years ago. Scientists have extracted fragments of DNA estimated at 450,000-900,000 years old from a rich variety of organisms. These include beetles, butterflies and moths. It is the oldest authenticated DNA to be recovered from ancient biological material and represents a triumph for scientists trying to reconstruct past habitats destroyed by climate change. "We have shown for the first time that southern Greenland, which is hidden under 2km of ice, was once very different to the Greenland we see today. Back then, it was inhabited by a diverse array of conifer trees and insects," said Professor Eske Willerslev of the University of Copenhagen, who led the research team.

Al Qaeda as strong now as they were on Sep 11, 2001

Al Qaeda is the strongest it has been since the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a new U.S. government analysis concludes, according to a senior government official who has seen it. Despite a campaign of military action and counterterrorism operations, al Qaeda has regained its strength and found safe haven in the tribal areas of Pakistan, the report says, according to counterterrorism officials familiar with the report. The five-page intelligence analysis remains classified and was prepared for senior U.S. policymakers. It was not issued in response to a specific threat. Two intelligence officials said the report's finding are similar to what is expected to be in the National Intelligence Estimate anticipated to be released later this summer. The NIE is the intelligence community's collective analysis of pressing national security issues. The White House's view is that ‘over the past six years, we have prevented attacks from al Qaeda by taking the fight to them,’ a senior administration official said. ‘But they are an enemy that adapts.’ This new report backs up warnings by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and other officials that al Qaeda remains a serious threat and that the United States is vulnerable despite the numerous security changes made since September 11, 2001.‘We actually see the al Qaeda central being resurgent in their role in planning operations,’ John Kringen, head of the CIA's intelligence directorate, testified at the hearing on July 11. ‘They seem to be fairly well settled into the safe haven in the ungoverned spaces of Pakistan there. We see more training. We see more money. We see more communications.’

New York City to get London-style "surveillance veil"

It looks like New York City will soon be seeing a slew of new ever-watchful eyes, as The New York Times reports that the city is set to get a London-style "surveillance veil" that would eventually consist of thousands of cameras monitoring vehicles and individuals alike. Dubbed the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative, the system will initially include more than 100 cameras that are expected to be in place by the end of this year, each of which will be able to read license plates and send out alerts is suspect vehicles are detected. That appears to just be the tip of the iceberg, however, with some 3,000 public and privately-owned cameras set to be put into service by the end of 2008, along with a series of pivoting gates that'll be installed at critical intersections, giving authorities the ability to block off traffic at the push of a button. From there it'll apparently grow even further, with the entire operation expected to be up and running by 2010.

Latest China food scare: Don't eat pickled veggies

With hundreds now dead in Panama as a result of poisons in Chinese-made toothpaste, the translation of a shocking Chinese report on food safety on the mainland is not likely to ease growing consumer concerns in the U.S. and Europe over imports from the Communist country. The report, authored by Zhou Qing and titled "What Kind of God: A Survey of the Current Safety of China's Food," a finalist for the 2006 international Ulysses Award, reveals widespread use of toxic chemicals in the preparation of food meant even for domestic consumption. Pickled vegetables have long been one of the most popular snack foods in China. However, according to Zhou, they now "strike terror in people's hearts." "Although pickled vegetables were first made in Sichuan, there is hardly anyone in the whole country who hasn't tasted this delicious snack," he writes. "But now when you visit Sichuan, your friends will say to you: 'Do you like pickled vegetables?' There's a factory in Chengdu that pickles the vegetables in DDVP. In the past, everyone in Sichuan would have pickled vegetables with their meals, but now the managers of some pickled vegetable factories say that, 'We don't eat any of these pickles in Sichuan, we sell them to people from other provinces.'" What is DDVP? It is an acutely toxic, carcinogenic chemical used as a pesticide that can cause pain just through contact with human skin. Inhalation is known to cause convulsions, dizziness, sweating, labored breathing, nausea, unconsciousness and muscle cramps. Diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramps are caused by ingestion of even small amounts. Zhou says he learned the truth about pickled vegetables through a series of secret interviews. "The most important part of the pickling process is the soaking," he wrote. "I noticed that the salt used in the pickling was not only whiter than most salt, but the grains were finer. So I asked, 'How come it's so white?' The manager said, 'This salt is bought on the black market. It's cheaper by 50 yuan a jin.' Later, in the yard outside, I saw printed on the bags of salt the terrifying words, 'Industrial Salt' and 'Not for human consumption.'" Workers at the factory told Zhou they have always used the industrial salt and they knew other factories used it as well.

Scientists call for wider search for alien life

A panel of scientists convened by America's leading scientific advisory group says the hunt for extraterrestrial life should be greatly expanded to include what they call "weird life": organisms that lack DNA or other molecules found in life as we know it. "The committee's investigation makes clear that life is possible in forms different from those on Earth," the scientists conclude in their report, "The Limits of Organic Life in Planetary Systems," published by the National Research Council. Other experts hailed the report as an important rethinking of the search for life. "It's going to help us a lot to make sure we go exploring with our eyes wide open," said Michael Meyer, lead scientist for NASA's Mars exploration program. Starfish, sequoias, salamanders and the rest of Earth's residents may seem very diverse, but they are surprisingly similar on the molecular scale. All species that scientists have studied need liquid water to survive, for example. Further, they all rely on DNA to carry genetic information, and they all use that information to build proteins from the same set of building blocks, known as amino acids. NASA has long looked to life on Earth to guide its search for life on other worlds. Planets and moons that have hints of liquid water have been ranked high on the list of potential sites for life-detection missions. But there is good reason to suspect that other kinds of chemistry could support life as well, the authors of the new report argue. Weird life could differ from life as we know it in small or big ways.

U.S. cruise missile defense said possible in 14 months

The United States could deploy a system to protect an area ranging from Washington to Boston from sea-based cruise-missile attacks within 14 months at a cost of "several billion dollars," a top Lockheed Martin Corp. executive said on July 9. David Kier, who formerly was deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, said the technologies needed to track, identify and destroy any such missiles launched from ships off the U.S. coastline already existed or were under development. "It just requires a will to do it," he told congressional aides at a briefing. Subsonic cruise missiles are not difficult to destroy, Kier said. But it is essential to track them quickly, as they can reach a target within 11 minutes, and to destroy them over water to avoid damage from the debris, he added. Lockheed has long lobbied for a program to defend against cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles, a market valued by some analysts at upwards of $10 billion. Short-range cruise missiles are easy to hide, relatively cheap, and can carry a variety of warheads such as biological or chemical weapons, according to some experts.

Irwin Cotler says 'Threat to Israel at level unprecedented since 1938'

The Jewish people are facing a "gathering storm" in the form of threats posed by a genocidal Iran, Hizbullah, al-Qaeda, Hamas, and local terror cells which target Diaspora Jews, former Canadian Justice Minister and Jewish activist Irwin Cotler told a conference on the future of Jewish people in Jerusalem on July 10. The conference, organized by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) attracted Jewish leaders and representatives from around the world who came to discuss strategies for ensuring Jewish continuity. During his address, Cotler described the current threat level to the Jewish people as being "without parallel or precedent since 1938." He added, however, that "2007 is not 1938. There is a Jewish State, an antidote to vulnerabilities. There are non-Jews prepared to join the Jewish people. Israel has diplomatic relations with the two emerging super powers, India and China." "Ahmadinejad's Iran is threat not only to Israel but to international stability, peace and security as a whole," Cotler added. "I do believe there is a gathering storm, but there is no inevitability about the negatives," Cotler said. "We have some powerful historical assets at our disposal," he added. Dennis Ross, the former US ambassador to Israel said that "Iran is led today by a regime that believes in the destruction of Israel, and they're developing the means to actually do it."

First snowfall in Buenos Aires since 1918

Thousands of Argentinians cheered, threw snowballs and walked wide-eyed through the streets of Buenos Aires on July 9, as the city enjoyed its first proper snowfall since 1918. Wet snow fell for hours in the Argentine capital, leaving behind a mushy, thin white mantle by evening after freezing air from Antarctica collided with a moisture-laden low pressure system. “Despite all my years, this is the first time I’ve ever seen in snow in Buenos Aires,” said Juana Benitez, an 82-year-old who joined children celebrating in the streets. Argentina’s National Weather Service said it was the first major snow in Buenos Aires since June 22, 1918, though sleet or freezing rain have been periodically reported in the 90 years since then. One man stripped to his shorts to welcome the snow. Children scraped snow of cars and threw snowballs. Motorists honked horns, some with small snowmen on their hoods.

Tiny tablet provides proof for Old Testament

The sound of unbridled joy seldom breaks the quiet of the British Museum's great Arched Room, which holds its collection of 130,000 Assyrian cuneiform tablets, dating back 5,000 years. But Michael Jursa, a visiting professor from Vienna, let out such a cry on July 5. He had made what has been called the most important find in Biblical archaeology for 100 years, a discovery that supports the view that the historical books of the Old Testament are based on fact. Searching for Babylonian financial accounts among the tablets, Prof Jursa suddenly came across a name he half remembered - Nabu-sharrussu-ukin, described there in a hand 2,500 years old, as "the chief eunuch" of Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon. Prof Jursa, an Assyriologist, checked the Old Testament and there in chapter 39 of the Book of Jeremiah, he found, spelled differently, the same name - Nebo-Sarsekim. Nebo-Sarsekim, according to Jeremiah, was Nebuchadnezzar II's "chief officer" and was with him at the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC, when the Babylonians overran the city. The small tablet, the size of "a packet of 10 cigarettes" according to Irving Finkel, a British Museum expert, is a bill of receipt acknowledging Nabu-sharrussu-ukin's payment of 0.75 kg of gold to a temple in Babylon. The tablet is dated to the 10th year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, 595BC, 12 years before the siege of Jerusalem. Evidence from non-Biblical sources of people named in the Bible is not unknown, but Nabu-sharrussu-ukin would have been a relatively insignificant figure. "This is a fantastic discovery, a world-class find," Dr Finkel said yesterday. "If Nebo-Sarsekim existed, which other lesser figures in the Old Testament existed? A throwaway detail in the Old Testament turns out to be accurate and true. I think that it means that the whole of the narrative [of Jeremiah] takes on a new kind of power."

Pope: Other Christians not true churches

Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released on July 10, that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church. On July 7, Benedict revisited another key aspect of Vatican II by reviving the old Latin Mass. Traditional Catholics cheered the move, but more liberal ones called it a step back from Vatican II. Benedict, who attended Vatican II as a young theologian, has long complained about what he considers the erroneous interpretation of the council by liberals, saying it was not a break from the past but rather a renewal of church tradition.

World will face oil crunch ‘in five years’

The world is facing an oil supply “crunch” within five years that will force up prices to record levels and increase the west’s dependence on oil cartel Opec, the industrialised countries’ energy watchdog has warned. In its starkest warning yet on the world’s fuel outlook, the International Energy Agency said “oil looks extremely tight in five years time” and there are “prospects of even tighter natural gas markets at the turn of the decade”. The IEA said that supply was falling faster than expected in mature areas, such as the North Sea or Mexico, while projects in new provinces such as the Russian Far East, faced long delays. Meanwhile consumption is accelerating on strong economic growth in emerging countries. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that supply from non-members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase at an annual pace of 1 per cent, or less than half the rate of the demand rise. The widening gap between rising consumption and lagging non-Opec supply will force Opec to sharply increase its production in the next five years. Lawrence Eagles, head of the IEA’s oil market division, told the Financial Times: “If we get to the point were there is insufficient supply, the only way to balance the market will be through higher prices and a drop in demand.” Oil demand will grow at an annual rate of 2.2 per cent during the next five years, up from a previous estimate of 2 per cent, to reach 95.8m barrels a day in 2012. China, the Middle East and other emerging countries will lead the increase.

'Jesus Revolution' Hits Thailand

The Jesus Revolution began as a ministry to stir up Filipino youth with a passion for God. Now it's becoming a force for spreading that passion to other Asian nations - and it's already started in Thailand. Cindy Jacobs gave a prophesy at the Azusa Street Centennial Celebration in Los Angeles, Calif. in April that the Jesus Revolution would spread the gospel throughout Asia. Just one month after this prophecy, the Jesus Revolution - a Filipino youth movement - launched an outreach to Thailand. Seventy-nine young men and women left the comforts of home to spread God's Revival fire to this Southeast Asian nation. In the tsunami-stricken South, the young participants helped build community centers in Khao Lak and Phuket. They also visited tsunami victims in their homes and prayed for them. Edee Shinsato is a Jesus Revolution participant. She shared with us about how the tsunami victims, who are mostly Buddhists, are now open to the Word of God. "Many times, we will pray for them," Edee said. "We express God's faithfulness to them verbally, or we will share from the Bible. We ministered to one new Christian since she has moved into the village, since the tsunami. And so we believe that slowly but surely, people are coming to know the Lord." Up north in the city of Chiang Mai, the Jesus Revolution ministered to the different tribal groups, doing street evangelism and bringing Revival to the Christian churches.

Israel: 'Time running out for Iran strike'

Predicting that sanctions will ultimately fail to stop Teheran's nuclear program, Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, former head of Military Intelligence's Research Division, told The Jerusalem Post on July 9, that time to launch an effective military strike against Iran's nuclear installations was running out. According to Kuperwasser, who stepped down from his post last year, Iran is "very close" to the point that it will cross the technological threshold and have the capability to enrich uranium at an industrial level. Once they master the technology, the Iranians will have the ability to manufacture a nuclear device within two to three years, he added. "The program's vulnerability to a military operation is diminishing as time passes," Kuperwasser said, "and they are very close to the point that they will be able to enrich uranium at an industrial level."

Genetic Engineers Who Don’t Just Tinker

Forget genetic engineering. The new idea is synthetic biology, an effort by engineers to rewire the genetic circuitry of living organisms. The ambitious undertaking includes genetic engineering, the now routine insertion of one or two genes into a bacterium or crop plant. But synthetic biologists aim to rearrange genes on a much wider scale, that of a genome, or an organism’s entire genetic code. Their plans include microbes modified to generate cheap petroleum out of plant waste, and, further down the line, designing whole organisms from scratch.

It's Alive! TAU Takes First Steps In Creating Living Cyberbrain

A major challenge for pioneers in artificial intelligence has been to create a living neural network on an artificial substrate. Researching the field known as nanobiotechnology, Tel Aviv University scientists have shown that it is possible to store rudimentary memories in an artificial culture of live neurons. They are apparently the first in the world to have actually stored information in a cultured neural network for an extended period. Published in Physical Review E last month, TAU physics Professors Itay Baruchi and Eshel Ben-Jacob report the ability to record information in a man-made network of neurons. They say this is a step toward a cyborg-like amalgamation of living material and memory chips. The research may also help neurologists understand how our brains learn and store information.

The age of the superhero suit is upon us

It's Rock-Hard surface can take a full- on assault from a baseball bat, yet remains flexible enough to allow you to kick, leap and roll with perfect ease. Crafted from cutting-edge science, its unique molecular structure means that while providing armoured protection against crude concrete and even barbed wire, it remains light enough to allow you to run at high speed. It sounds like the stuff of Batman comics - but the superhero suit is here. Identified as a major breakthrough that could impact on every sector from the military to motor sports, the revolutionary shock-absorbent material d3o is taking the world by storm. Blessed with the kind of properties your average costumed crime fighter would kill for, it is being hailed as an invention with the potential to change entire industries and save real lives. "It has been a battle against the odds to get this far. I've had to struggle against ignorance of the major players, work out of a back bedroom and beg, borrow and steal to keep development going, but I never doubted that it could be done," said inventor Richard Palmer. "What we've developed is already being incorporated into everything from police body armour to protective sportswear, and the number of applications is almost infinite. "At the moment a complete superhero suit made of our material would be a bit too heavy and far too expensive, but those challenges should be overcome within the next few years." In a nutshell, d3o is an advanced polymer with an intelligent molecular structure that flows with you as you move but, when shocked, locks together to become rigid enough to absorb impact energy. In its simplest form, it is like an automatic knee-pad that can be sown seamlessly into a pair of jeans.

Bigfoot sightings lead to expedition in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

This week fifty people will take part in an expedition to find Bigfoot in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The expedition is being conducted by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization and will focus on Marquette County, Michigan, July 12-15. Four reported sightings have lead BFRO to head to Michigan. BFRO is hoping to find evidence that will confirm that there are indeed such creatures in Michigan, as well as to possibly speak with locals who have seen the creatures, but not yet reported them. While news of the “Bigfoot Expedition” in Michigan has been making the Internet circuit in the last couple of weeks, it is not the only place in the world where there have been enough sightings to merit investigations. Last month, The Australian reported that authorities in the Meghalaya state in India would be conducting an investigation in the Garo Hills area. Several “bigfoot”-like creatures have been frightening villagers in the jungles near the borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan. According to the local authorities the creatures have been spoken of and even seen by villagers for years; however, in recent months the sightings have risen so much that the authorities have decided to check into the matter more closely. The villagers are calling the creatures “Mande Burang”, or “Jungle Man”. One farmer told an AFP reporter that he saw four of the creatures at once: two large, two small. Malaysia is another country where a rash of sightings has led to an investigation. Malaysia received a great deal of publicity over the matter last year when the government sponsored an expedition into some its remote jungles to search for creatures that matched the typical “Bigfoot” description. The possibilities of a Bigfoot animal have been considered impossible by many scientists, despite the continuing rise in the sightings of such creatures. Cryptozoologists, those who study supposedly non-existing animals, are hoping the investigations in Michigan and India will change that line of thinking. To read a lot more about Bigfoot and other creatures of Cryptozoology, visit: http://www.unknown-creatures.com

Tunneling Near Iranian Nuclear Site Stirs Worry

The sudden flurry of digging seen in recent satellite photos of a mountainside in central Iran might have passed for ordinary road tunneling. But the site is the back yard of Iran's most ambitious and controversial nuclear facility, leading U.S. officials and independent experts to reach another conclusion: It appears to be the start of a major tunnel complex inside the mountain. The question is, why? Worries have been stoked by the presence nearby of fortified buildings where uranium is being processed. Those structures in turn are now being connected by roads to Iran's nuclear site at Natanz, where the country recently started production of enriched uranium in defiance of international protests. As a result, photos of the site are being studied by governments, intelligence agencies and nuclear experts, all asking the same question: Is Iran attempting to thwart future military strikes against its nuclear facility by placing key parts of it in underground bunkers? The construction has raised concerns at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Vienna-based U.N. watchdog that monitors Iran's nuclear program. On July 6, an IAEA spokeswoman confirmed that the agency has broached the subject with Iranian officials. "We have been in contact with the Iranian authorities about this, and we have received clarifications," said Melissa Fleming, the spokeswoman. She declined to elaborate. Calls to Iran's U.N. mission in Vienna were not returned. IAEA officials plan to press the issue further in a previously scheduled visit to Tehran later this week, according to informed sources. "The tunnel complex certainly appears to be related to Natanz," said David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based nonprofit group that provided copies of the photos to The Washington Post. "We think it is probably for storage of nuclear items."

Al Qaeda's No. 2 says end of West imminent

In a newly released videotaped message similar to a "fireside chat," al Qaeda's second-in-command issues advice and directives for the Muslim world, terrorism expert Laura Mansfield said on July 4. In the one-hour, 34-minute video, titled "The Advice of One Concerned," Ayman al-Zawahiri includes clips from other videos and news broadcasts, including one from al-Furqan, the video production arm of the Islamic State of Iraq, according to Mansfield, who obtained the video. Al-Zawahiri says in the message that the defeat of the West is imminent, and that "the enemy" is trying to forestall the inevitable, Mansfield said. "The good omens of the new dawn of victory have begun to loom on the horizon, with Allah's permission and will," he says. "And the stage preceding victory is normally, in the history of nations, the stage in which there is most seen an increase in conspiracies, plots and inciting of discord in an attempt by the enemy, who has begun to see his defeat approach, to push back and delay the defeat as much as he can."

Christian tracts censored at tribute to vets - Pastor asked to leave

A Maryland church pastor attending a July 4th community band concert and fireworks in a city park to honor veterans is reporting he was told by officials to leave, because he was handing out Gospel tracts. Dennis L. Watson, an associate minister at Pleasant View Baptist Church, initially revealed his experience at the publicly funded festival in North East, Md., on a website for a men's group, called Men of Valor. He called it a "slap in the face" to the veterans whose heroics were being honored at the "Salute to Cecil County Veterans" because of the fervent belief of those who founded the United States that "We have no king but King Jesus." "The reason that I mention this is because as I took the opportunity to pass out tracts at the event I was asked to stop because a public park that the taxpayers of Cecil County [paid for] and for which our soldiers have died was considered rented property and not a public venue for that night," he wrote. Cecil County manager Alfred Wein said that it was a separate group that obtained permission to use the city park, and therefore it was a private event. However, when told that the county had allocated $2,500 from its tax budget for the event, he said he would have to check. City officials in North East referred to a mail box set up for the committee that ran the event, and telephone calls to Carol England, identified by the city as the director of the event, went unreturned. Watson said that he had gone to the event with family and friends and it was a wonderful tribute to veterans. He said he was handing out a variety of tracts, including "million-dollar bills" as well as those saying "ticket" to heaven. "I was asking [people] if they wanted them or not. Some would say yes, and thank you, and some would say no." Then unidentified officials for the city approached him and told him to leave. "So I went outside the gate, then passed out some more tracts, but they told me, 'You're still on private property because of the event, go out there to the street,' which is what I did."

Obama Honors Transcendental Meditation, Comes Across As Spiritual Leader For New Age

To the frustration of the cameramen in the Fairfield town square, Obama delivered his remarks facing east, with the setting sun behind him blotting out their shots. But here, there’s a power even higher than the television networks: Obama had positioned himself in alignment with the rotation of the earth, in accordance with the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, whose followers moved en masse to this small Iowa city more than 30 years ago. The Maharishi’s transcendental meditators, along with vacationing pilgrims from the East Coast, turned out in large numbers in the town’s traditional green square to hear the Illinois senator deliver his stump speech on the night of July 3 — more people, Fairfield’s sheriff said, than had come out to greet a sitting president. “I saw him and I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is somebody who could lead us into a new era,’” said Nancy Watkins, an international student adviser at the Maharishi University of Management.

Iran becoming increasingly dangerous, says Rice

Iran has become "increasingly dangerous" U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC's "Closing Bell" program on July 6. "This (Iran) is a very dangerous state with very dangerous policies and we need the help and support and intensify efforts of the international community to deal with Iran," Rice said, while refusing to rule out a military solution to the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. In the interview, Rice said US President George W. Bush was still committed to "diplomatic solutions to the Iranian problem", but that Iran must know "there are coercive elements to our policy as well." "The president's never going to take his options off the table and frankly no one should want the American president to take his options off the table," she said. Iran, branded by the US as one of the "state sponsors of terrorism," has been under UN sanctions for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, which produces nuclear reactor fuel but can also be used as material for an atom bomb.

Indian Government turns to Wiccan queen to save girls

The government has enlisted the follower of a global pagan witchcraft movement to help curb the country's high female infanticide rate and end the neglect of the girl child, officials said recently. Ipsita Roy Chakraverti, a Wiccan and social activist, has been nominated by the government's National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) to head a panel tasked with improving the status of young girls, they said. Around 10 million girls have been killed by their parents over the last 20 years, the government says, as female infanticide and foeticide, although illegal, are still prevalent with boys preferred to girls as breadwinners. "This is a triumph for Wicca as the establishment was against Wiccans for years," Chakraverti said. Wicca is primarily a Western movement of nature worship based on pre-Christian traditions and is recognised as an official religion in the United States. Like many pagan religions, Wicca practises magic. Wicca witches believe that the human mind has the power to cause change in ways that are not fully understood by science. In their rituals, as well as honouring their deities, witches also perform spells for healing and help people with problems.

United Church of Christ backs same-sex marriage

The million-strong United Church of Christ (UCC) has become the first major US Christian denomination to come out in support of gay marriage. The UCC's general synod passed a resolution affirming "equal rights for couples regardless of gender". The decision is not binding and will not require pastors to marry same-sex couples, though some already do. Several other Churches have endorsed gay civil partnerships but have not given them the status of marriage. The Episcopal Church (the US branch of the Anglican Communion) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church permit same-sex unions, while the Presbyterian Church is seeking to resolve severe disagreements over the issue. US conservatives are seeking to amend the country's constitution to ban same-sex marriage, which is currently legal only in the state of Massachusetts. Vermont allows same-sex civil unions, giving gay couples the same benefits as married couples on matters such as life insurance, health care and child custody. Neighbouring Canada's lower house of parliament passed a law allowing gay marriages last week, which is expected to come into force in July.

Rumors of Strange Creatures Abound in Basrah

For over a month now, people in Basrah have been circulating rumors about a “strange,” bear-like deadly creature that attacks people at night with its strong claws. Locals in rural areas around Basrah claim it has killed three people and injured six others, and that it usually pounces on its victims as they are sleeping outdoors during hot summer nights, when electric power outages are common. Farmers at Garmat Ali, Abu Skheer, Jisr and Shikhatta were so alarmed, they assigned guarding duties at night to prevent its attacks, the Nahrain website and Radio Sawa reported last week. Eventually, several animals were caught or killed – up to 28, locals claimed – and cell phone videos of them were published on Iraqi websites and forums. The dead creatures look like honey badgers, compact but vicious omnivores that typically consume insects and small animals. Honey badgers are more prevalent in Iran--their presence in Iraq dwindled after the destruction of the salt marsh habitat in the south. Residents of Garmat Ali, north west of Basrah, hanged one of the killed badgers on the Garma bridge that connects the southern city to the main Baghdad-Basrah highway, according to Mudhar Nazar, a resident interviewed by the pan-Arab Al-Hayat daily. “It looks like a dog, but its head looks like that of a bear,” said Nazar. “It has short hands and 15-cm-long claws, and long hair and it only moves around at night.” The animal is known locally as the Garta or ‘the muncher,’ and mothers in Basrah used to tell scary stories about the Garta to their children so they would not wander out alone at night. Old families in Basrah believe the animal brings bad luck because it is mostly found in cemeteries at night. The unusual phenomenon, however, is their sudden appearance in large numbers near the city and their increasingly aggressive behavior.

Nuke terror better than even bet

Nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. is better than an even bet within the next few years, says a former assistant secretary of defense and author of a book on the subject. "Based on current trends, a nuclear terrorist attack on the United States is more likely than not," says Graham Allison, director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and author of "Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe." Allison, who has testified before Congress on the subject, says the illicit economy for narcotics and illegal alien trafficking "has built up a vast infrastructure that terrorists could exploit" in delivering a nuclear weapon to its target in the U.S. Al-Qaida, which has threatened to launch an "American Hiroshima" attack on the U.S., remains Allison's No. 1 suspect to pull off such a mission. "Former CIA Director George J. Tenet wrote in his memoirs that al-Qaida's leadership has remained 'singularly focused on acquiring WMD' – weapons of mass destruction – and willing to 'pay whatever it would cost to get their hands on fissile material,'" Allison wrote in an opinion piece appearing in the Baltimore Sun prior to Independence Day. Allison says there are several viable options open to terrorists determined to secure nuclear weapons. "They could acquire an existing bomb from one of the nuclear weapons states or construct an elementary nuclear device from highly enriched uranium made by a state," he wrote. "Theft of a warhead or material would not be easy, but attempted thefts in Russia and elsewhere are not uncommon." Allison says terrorists are capable of building their own nuclear weapons if they can simply secure the fissile material. "Once a terrorist group acquires about 100 pounds of highly enriched uranium, it could conceivably use publicly available documents and items commercially obtainable in any technologically advanced country to construct a bomb such as the one dropped on Hiroshima," he states. The threat is imminent, says Allison. "If terrorists bought or stole a nuclear weapon in good working condition, they could explode it today," he explains. "If the weapon had a lock, detonation would be delayed for several days. If terrorists acquired 100 pounds of highly enriched uranium, they could have a working elementary nuclear bomb in less than a year."

Russia Vows To Aim Missiles At U.S. Bases

Russia warned on July 5, that it would position its rockets close to the Polish border and point missiles at U.S. bases in Europe if Washington rebuffed its latest offer of cooperation on missile defence. Russia's hawkish first deputy prime minister, Sergei Ivanov, made it clear that Moscow would be forced "to respond" if the Bush administration snubbed Vladimir Putin's offer to work together on missile defence using a Soviet-era radar base.

DARPA Wants Rocket-Powered Earth Eyeball

The Rapid Eye program is an exploratory development program with the overall goal of developing and demonstrating the ability to deliver a persistent ISR capability anywhere on the globe within one hour and remain on-station until relieved or the mission is completed. It is envisioned that this program will, at a minimum, develop and demonstrate all the technologies necessary for the rocket delivery of a High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAV. These technologies may include: low ballistic coefficient aerodynamic decelerators; low stored volume, deployable UAV structures; and high efficiency propulsion systems for vehicles operating at high altitudes. Other advanced technologies may also be developed and demonstrated as required by the architectures proposed by Offerors. The Government is not interested in approachs that employs any form of buoyant flight for this application. The Rapid Eye program will research and develop technologies and systems which will enable the military to: (i) rocket deliver a HALE UAV on a ballistic track to the approximate area of interest (ii) decelerate the launch package from reentry speeds to the UAV deployment speed, (iii) deploy the UAV and start its propulsion system, and (iv) provide persistent ISR on-station at high altitudes for a minimum of seven hours. The air vehicle ISR payload is nominally 500 lbs with a 5kW power requirement. It is envisioned that this proposed system will utilize a current inventory launch vehicle or one planned to be in the inventory by the end of 2009. Launch vehicle should not require significant modifications (minor modifications, common to other launches, such as changes to fairing configuration, are permissible).

45 Muslim doctors planned U.S. terror raids

A group of 45 Muslim doctors threatened to use car bombs and rocket grenades in terrorist attacks in the United States during discussions on an extremist internet chat site. Police found details of the discussions on a site run by one of a three-strong "cyber-terrorist" gang. They were discovered at the home of Younis Tsouli, 23, Woolwich Crown Court in south-east London heard. One message read: "We are 45 doctors and we are determined to undertake jihad and take the battle inside America. "The first target which will be penetrated by nine brothers is the naval base which gives shelter to the ship Kennedy." This is thought to have been a reference to the USS John F Kennedy, which is often at Mayport Naval Base in Jacksonville, Florida. The message discussed targets at the base, adding: "These are clubs for naked women which are opposite the First and Third units." It also referred to using six Chevrolet GT vehicles and three fishing boats and blowing up petrol tanks with rocket propelled grenades. Investigators have found no link between the Tsouli chat room and the group of doctors and medics currently in custody over attempted car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow. However, sources said it was "definitely spooky" that the use of doctors for terrorist purposes was being discussed in jihadi terrorist circles up to three years ago.

Fingerprints and iris scans as Australian hospitals tighten security

Doctors in South Australian hospitals may be subjected to biometric fingerprint and iris scans if they want to access sensitive patient records and prescribe drugs. The technology, which includes keyboard-mounted fingerprint scanners and smartcard readers, could be deployed in hospital emergency departments within 12 months. The scanners would be used to strengthen security around patient records as hospitals build new links between the numerous information systems used to manage medical data. It could also have lifesaving implications by making it faster for doctors and nursing staff to access critical records that are controlled at present by large numbers of passwords. South Australia Department of Health chief information officer David Johnston said the organisation had already completed several in emergency departments and general hospital wards. A further pilot involving 300 users is being planned, and specialist consultants have also been contracted to review already completed trials. "It is intended to cover all health employees within a four-year timeframe," Mr Johnston said. "Emergency departments are likely to be the first production users within 12 months." Mr Johnson said the Department of Health was primarily focused on fingerprint scanning and smartcards, but he said iris scanners were also being examined. Iris scanners have been adopted by other organisations, including prisons.The move by the Department of Health to regulate access to hospital computer systems through fingerprint scans and smartcards is part of a $375 million information systems project.

New Drug Deletes Bad Memories

Do you have a really bad memory, or past heartache, that you would prefer to forget? Researchers at Harvard and McGill University (in Montreal) are working on an amnesia drug that blocks or deletes bad memories. The technique seems to allow psychiatrists to disrupt the biochemical pathways that allow a memory to be recalled. In a new study, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, the drug propranolol is used along with therapy to "dampen" memories of trauma victims. They treated 19 accident or rape victims for ten days, during which the patients were asked to describe their memories of the traumatic event that had happened 10 years earlier. Some patients were given the drug, which is also used to treat amnesia, while others were given a placebo. A week later, they found that patients given the drug showed fewer signs of stress when recalling their trauma.

18 Battle Bot Robots To Be Deployed To Iraq

They've spied on the enemy, sniffed for deadly chemical and radioactive emissions, and sacrificed themselves to detonate terrorist bombs. Now robots are ready to strap on guns and fight the battles too. This spring, the United States armed forces are expected to deploy 18 Talon robots to Iraq. The semi-autonomous machines will be capable of firing rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and rockets with better accuracy than human soldiers. They're the latest step in a surge of battlefield "bots" that are increasingly shouldering the military's most dangerous jobs.

Terrorist Are Coming To The U.S.

While the verdict is still out regarding who is responsible for the placement of the car bomb in Piccadilly Circus, London, England, one thing is for sure, terrorism is alive and well and it's on it's way here. The media in the United States, however seems more intent on covering the latest episode of Paris Hilton, than the six home grown Jihadist in New Jersey that wanted to kill as many American as possible. So much pabulum for the masses, that laps it up like it was candy! Is America on the verge of "A clash of Civilizations," as Dr. Henry Kissinger succinctly labels it The Jihadist want to destroy our civilization and our way of life? Attempts that are thwarted by our Homeland security or the British authorities should be applauded but they also should send every one of us a warning that this is not going to go away. The threat of terrorism here in the United States is very real.

Robot cop: coming to a city near you soon

Real-life Robocops, robots armed with lethal weaponry and a programmed determination to eliminate foes, could become a key element in global counter-terrorist and military operations within 10 years, a US security expert said on July 3. John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org in Virginia, was commenting on plans announced this week by a US firm, iRobot Corp, to arm its track-wheeled PackBot robot with a Taser X26 stun gun. Until now, the PackBot, which looks like a small first-world-war tank, has been used for remote-controlled bomb disposal, dangerous search and surveillance missions. Now it will have the ability to "remotely engage, incapacitate and control dangerous suspects", iRobot said. "The addition of Taser technologies on to iRobot platforms will provide a critical tool for Swat (Special weapons and tactics), law enforcement and military to handle a variety of dangerous scenarios," said Admiral Joe Dyer, president of iRobot Government & Industrial Robots. "The new Taser-equipped robots will add a new ability to control dangerous suspects while keeping personnel, the suspect, and bystanders out of harm's way," a company statement said. The first robot of its kind "with an onboard, integrated Taser payload" would go on show next month in Chicago.

Israeli Scientists Develop 'Fantastic Voyage'-Like Robot Sub

Israeli scientists have actually created the imaginary technology depicted by the 1966 science fiction movie Fantastic Voyage, in which a submarine is reduced to microscopic size, injected into the bloodstream and able to travel through the body to provide medical treatment. A tiny "submarine" robot has been designed by Dr. Nir Schwalb of the Judea and Samaria College in Ariel and Oded Solomon of the mechanical engineering department of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. They say it has the unique ability to "crawl" through tubes with the width of human veins and arteries, even going against the flow of blood at the speed in which it passes through blood vessels.

Senator Lieberman says 'Iran Has Declared War on the U.S.'

Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman asserted on July 2, that the Iranian government has in effect declared war on the United States. Lieberman commented after a U.S. military spokesman said Tehran's senior officials were aware of efforts to encourage violence against Americans in Iraq. "The fact is that the Iranian government has by its actions declared war on us," said Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats. As a result, he continued, "The United States government has a responsibility to use all instruments at its disposal to stop these terrorist attacks against our soldiers and allies in Iraq, including keeping open the possibility of using military force against the terrorist infrastructure inside Iran."

Terror Attempts Seen As Dry-Run Model for New Attacks On U.S. Soil

The next terrorist assault on the United States is likely to come through relatively unsophisticated, near-simultaneous attacks -- similar to those attempted in Britain over the weekend -- designed more to provoke widespread fear and panic than to cause major losses of life, U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials believe. Such attacks require minimal expertise and training and are difficult to prevent. Although British investigators have not claimed al-Qaeda involvement in the latest incidents, officials here said they may constitute a "hybrid" phenomenon, in which al-Qaeda inspires and guides local groups from afar but establishes no visible operational or logistical links. The incidents in England and Scotland, counterterrorism officials said, coincide with recent U.S. intelligence indicating stepped-up movement of money and people from al-Qaeda camps in the ungoverned tribal areas of Pakistan, near the Afghan border. Several senior U.S. military officials were sharply critical yesterday of what they saw as the Pakistani government's unwillingness to move forcefully against the camps and the U.S. administration's failure to press Pakistan harder to curtail what one called a terrorist "growth industry."

Ottawa Canada Prepares For 'Dirty Bomb' Attack

A new federal study says the explosion of a small dirty bomb near the CN Tower would spew radioactivity over four square kilometers, resulting in mass anxiety, a rush on Toronto's medical facilities and an economic toll of up to $23.5-billion. The nightmarish scenario — detonation of a device containing a modest amount of americium-241, a silvery plutonium byproduct — is among several sobering projections quietly mapped out by federal officials to prepare for a terrorist attack in urban Canada. The study led by Defense Research and Development Canada also predicts economic costs of up to $8.75-billion should a similar americium-laden device be set off outside Vancouver's B.C. Place Stadium — a venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics — and as much as $2.25-billion if one exploded near the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ont., and Detroit. The grim outline is not far-fetched. A database of lost and stolen radioactive items compiled by The Canadian Press reveals that an industrial gauge similar to the device in the study was snatched by thieves in Red Deer, Alta., in June 2003. Though later recovered, the gauge was missing for five days before its owners even noticed it was gone. Two radiation safety experts consulted by The Canadian Press confirmed the device, used to measure oil wells, is a high-risk instrument that would pose a danger if the americium inside were successfully dispersed in an explosion. The findings come mere months after the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said a dirty bomb assault was ‘overdue.’

U.S. - Russia Differences Remain On Missile Shield

Despite an intensive charm offensive by US president George Bush, Moscow and Washington remain divided over whether to place parts of a US anti-missile shield in Central Europe, with Russian president Vladimir Putin tabling new proposals to divert such plans. Speaking at the Bush family summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine on Tuesday (2 July), Mr. Putin reiterated his surprise offer from last month to build a joint site in the Russia-rented station Gabala in Azerbaijan. He also suggested using the newly-built radar with an early warning system in the south of Russia and setting up two information exchange centers - one in Moscow, the second one in Brussels. ‘In this case, there would be no need to place any more facilities in Europe - I mean, these facilities in the Czech Republic and the missile base in Poland’, said Mr. Putin, the first world leader to be invited to Kennebunkport, the Maine summer retreat of George Bush Senior. According to the Kremlin, such cooperation ‘would result in raising to an entirely new level the quality of cooperation between Russia and the United States...and lead to a gradual development of strategic partnership in the area of security’. But US president George W. Bush made it clear that the proposal would not halt the ongoing US negotiations with Prague and Warsaw. ‘I think that the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the system’, the White House chief said.

Iraqi Security Chief Warns Of Rising Terror In Europe

Iraq's National Security Adviser Muaffak al-Rubaie declared in Rome there are strong indications that there is going to be a movement of terrorists from Iraq to Europe and other Arab countries. He urged coordination among intelligence services and cooperation to defeat global terror. Rubaie said Italy could assist by applying pressure on regional actors to stop meddling in Iraq's internal affairs. But he stressed that a major concern is the migration of terrorists from Iraq to European nations. ‘This reverse migration is worrying and there are strong indications that there is a reverse migration from Iraq to the Arab world, to the Arab countries and all Europe,’ he said. Rubaie said that is a large percentage of suicide bombers coming from north African nations, crossing the border to Syria and into Iraq. He said there is nothing stopping them from going back to their own countries if they run out of targets in Iraq. ‘If we don't control the security situation in Iraq it will spill over to Europe and to neighboring countries in no time. And it will certainly enflame the whole region,’ he said. ‘So I believe we need to be extremely careful in controlling the instability in Iraq and this is to the benefit of everybody.’

More London Bombings On The Way, Warns Muslim Leader

The thwarted car bombings in London last week and the terror attack this weekend against Scotland's busiest airport were ‘completely justified’ and likely the beginning of many more attacks in Britain, a prominent UK Islamist leader connected to terror supporting groups said. ‘There is no doubt whatsoever that there will continue to be attacks against the British government, its interests and the home front as long as we see the continued British and American occupation of Muslim land in Iraq and Afghanistan, support for criminal Israel, and draconian measures taken against Muslims in the UK,’ said Anjem Choudary, founder and former chief of two Islamic groups disbanded by the British authorities under antiterror legislation. ‘A war is being waged against Muslims on every level. There are many in Britain who take their ideology from Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and are ready to carry out many more attacks,’ Choudary said. Choudary said the attempted terror attacks the past few days were ‘probably carried out by local British Muslims.’

Secret Document: U.S. Fears Terror 'Spectacular' Planned

A secret U.S. law enforcement report, prepared for the Department of Homeland Security, warns that al Qaeda is planning a terror "spectacular" this summer, according to a senior official with access to the document. "This is reminiscent of the warnings and intelligence we were getting in the summer of 2001," the official said. U.S. officials have kept the information secret, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on July 2, that the United States did not have "have any specific credible evidence that there's an attack focused on the United States at this point." U.S. law enforcement officials received intelligence reports two weeks ago warning of terror attacks in Glasgow and Prague, the Czech Republic, against "airport infrastructure and aircraft." The warnings apparently never reached officials in Scotland, who said this weekend they had received "no advance intelligence" that Glasgow might be a target. Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff declined to comment specifically on the report, but said "everything that we get is shared virtually instantaneously with our counterparts in Britain and vice versa." Unlike the United States, officials in Germany have publicly warned that the country could face a major attack this summer, also comparing the situation to the pre-9/11 summer of 2001.

Iran, Venezuela in "axis of unity" against U.S.

The presidents of Iran and Venezuela launched construction of a joint petrochemical plant on Monday, July 2, strengthening an "axis of unity" between two oil-rich nations staunchly opposed to the United States. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who both often rail against Washington, also signed a series of other deals to expand economic cooperation, ranging from setting up a dairy factory in Venezuela to forming an oil company. "The two countries will united defeat the imperialism of North America," a beaming Chavez told a news conference during an official visit to the Islamic Republic, which the United States has labeled part of an "axis of evil". "When I come to Iran Washington gets upset," he said. The two presidents -- whose countries are members of the OPEC oil producing cartel -- earlier attended the ceremony to start building a methanol facility with an annual capacity of 1.65 million tons on the Islamic Republic's Gulf coast. "Iran and Venezuela -- the axis of unity," read one of many official posters at the site near the port town of Assalouyeh, showing the two leaders hugging each other and shaking hands.

Roswell officer's amazing deathbed admission raises possibility that aliens did visit

Lieutenant Walter Haut was the public relations officer at the base in 1947, and was the man who issued the original and subsequent press releases after the crash on the orders of the base commander, Colonel William Blanchard. Haut died last year, but left a sworn affidavit to be opened only after his death. Last week, the text was released and asserts that the weather balloon claim was a cover story, and that the real object had been recovered by the military and stored in a hangar. He described seeing not just the craft, but alien bodies. He wasn't the first Roswell witness to talk about bodies. Local undertaker Glenn Dennis had long claimed that he was contacted by authorities at Roswell shortly after the crash and asked to provide a number of child-sized coffins. When he arrived at the base, he was apparently told by a nurse (who later disappeared) that a UFO had crashed and that small humanoid extraterrestrials had been recovered. But Haut is the only one of the original participants to claim to have seen alien bodies. Haut's affidavit talks about a high-level meeting he attended with base commander Col William Blanchard and the Commander of the Eighth Army Air Force, Gen Roger Ramey. Haut states that at this meeting, pieces of wreckage were handed around for participants to touch, with nobody able to identify the material. He says the press release was issued because locals were already aware of the crash site, but in fact there had been a second crash site, where more debris from the craft had fallen. The plan was that an announcement acknowledging the first site, which had been discovered by a rancher, would divert attention from the second and more important location. Haut also spoke about a clean-up operation, where for months afterwards military personnel scoured both crash sites searching for all remaining pieces of debris, removing them and erasing all signs that anything unusual had occurred. This ties in with claims made by locals that debris collected as souvenirs was seized by the military. Haut then tells how Colonel Blanchard took him to 'Building 84' - one of the hangars at Roswell - and showed him the craft itself. He describes a metallic egg-shaped object around 12-15ft in length and around 6ft wide. He said he saw no windows, wings, tail, landing gear or any other feature. He saw two bodies on the floor, partially covered by a tarpaulin. They are described in his statement as about 4ft tall, with disproportionately large heads. Towards the end of the affidavit, Haut concludes: "I am convinced that what I personally observed was some kind of craft and its crew from outer space."

Chávez hints at nuclear future for Venezuela

President Hugo Chávez on June 28, hinted that Venezuela could try to become a nuclear power, during a visit to Russia apparently timed to antagonise the White House. Mr Chávez defended Iran's right to pursue a nuclear programme and said it might be a good idea if Venezuela eventually did the same thing. Speaking before an audience of communists and other elements hostile to America, Mr Chávez said: "Iran has a right to have a peaceful atomic energy industry, as it is a sovereign country. "The Brazilian president has declared his atomic energy initiatives, and Brazil has a right to do that as well. Who knows, maybe Venezuela will ultimately follow suit." Mr Chávez said he wanted a "multi-polar world in which "real freedom" was possible as opposed to "American freedom", which he characterised as the right to "threaten other nations and destroy cities".

Extreme weather is waking U.S. up to climate change

U.S. public opinion is rapidly waking up to the threat posed by global warming, despite the best efforts of the Bush Administration and much of industry to deny the problem. There has been a double-digit increase in the proportion of Americans who say environmental problems are a major global threat - from 23 per cent to 37 per cent, according to a comprehensive survey published this week by the Pew Centre in Washington. The environment is increasingly in the news in the U.S., thanks to violent and unusual weather patterns - mainly floods and severe drought - combined with the rising cost of petrol. The past few days have seen dramatic rainfall across the southern states. More than a foot of rain fell across central Texas and Oklahoma yesterday, with more storms predicted. Hardly a day passes without a report being issued pointing to new environmental threats. A study released recently revealed how much damage Alaska, which is currently experiencing forest fires, would suffer from higher temperatures, melting permafrost, reduced polar ice and increased flooding. The cost of repairing Alaska's roads, runways and railroads which are being swept away as the permafrost melts is due to leap from $6.1bn (£3bn) at present to $40bn, according to the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska.

Iran and North Korea missile threat rising

The top U.S. missile defense official warned recently that the ballistic threat from Iran and North Korea was rapidly growing and defended Washington's plans to base parts of its anti-missile shield program in Central Europe. But NATO called for more evaluation of the potential danger, saying there was "no assessment of the immediacy of that threat to NATO and Europe." Washington is in talks with Poland on the deployment of 10 interceptor missiles in the country, and with the Czech Republic on a radar base. The U.S. says the two sites are need to supplement bases in Alaska and California and create a network to defend Europe and North America from a potential attack by Iran or North Korea. "The missile defense system addresses a real and growing threat. We believe it's prudent to stay ahead of this threat," Patricia Sanders, executive director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, said at a hearing at the European Parliament.

Doctors back plan to store medical info under your skin

Doctors could soon be storing essential medical information under the skin of their patients, the American Medical Association says. Devices the size of a grain of rice that are implanted with a needle could give emergency room doctors quick access to the records of chronically ill patients, the nation's largest doctors group said in a report. The association adopted a policy on June 25, stating that the devices can improve the "safety and efficiency of patient care" by helping to identify patients and enabling secure access to clinical information. These radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs) are already used by Wal-Mart and other businesses to speed up their shipping systems by sending out small signals that can be scanned more easily than bar codes. Implanting them in people "can improve the continuity and coordination of care with resulting reductions in adverse drug events and other medical errors," said the report prepared by the association's ethics committee.

Emergency Motion on Protecting the Honeybee

Honeybees have been disappearing worldwide. Across the United States, beekeepers have been losing 30 to 90% or more of colonies in a "colony collapse disorder" (CCD)... CCD has been reported from Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and the UK... The most important single factors identified by the Institute of Science in Society in CCD were sub-lethal levels of insecticides, in particular, a class of new systemic neonicotinoid pesticides widely used to dress seeds and in sprays on crops, and microwave radiation from wireless telephone transmitters and base stations... Will the European Commission take the appropriate measures to halt the colony collapse of the honeybees? This would include banning Bt crops and systemic neonicotinoid pesticides while their synergistic action in killing honeybees in combination with parasitic fungi and other infections are thoroughly investigated.

Special Operations Preparing Commandos for Domestic Terrorism, Martial Law Throughout U.S.

The U.S. Northern Command, the military command responsible for "homeland defense," has asked the Pentagon if it can establish its own special operations command for domestic missions. The request, reported in the Washington Examiner, would establish a permanent sub-command for responses to incidents of domestic terrorism as well as other occasions where special operators may be necessary on American soil. The establishment of a domestic special operations mission, and the preparation of contingency plans to employ commandos in the United States, would upend decades of tradition. Military actions within the United States are the responsibility of state militias (the National Guard), and federal law enforcement is a function of the FBI. Employing special operations for domestic missions sounds very ominous, and NORTHCOM's request earlier this year should receive the closest possible Pentagon and congressional scrutiny. There's only one problem: NORTHCOM is already doing what it has requested permission to do. When NORTHCOM was established after 9/11 to be the military counterpart to the Department of Homeland Security, within its headquarters staff it established a Compartmented Planning and Operations Cell (CPOC) responsible for planning and directing a set of "compartmented" and "sensitive" operations on U.S., Canadian and Mexican soil. In other words, these are the very special operations that NORTHCOM is now formally asking the Pentagon to beef up into a public and acknowledged sub-command.