Ultra-violent MS-13 gang found in 42 states

Cliques of the ultra-violent Latin American MS-13 gang have been identified in 42 U.S. states, according to the director of an FBI task force, speaking at a conference here. Another violent group, the 18th Street Gang, is in 37 states, said Brian Truchon, director of the FBI MS-13 National Gang Task Force, or NGTF. Truchon spoke at the Third Gang Enforcement Conference 2007 conference, which is focusing on MS-13. "One thing we figured out with the on-going cases was that Los Angeles is our starting point," Truchon stressed. "When the gang migrates throughout the U.S., there is always a road back to L.A. From L.A., there is always a road back to Central America." The FBI has identified 13 core cities for MS-13 in the U.S.: Los Angeles, Washington, Baltimore, New York, Houston, Charlotte, Sacramento, Seattle, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Omaha, Newark and Boston. Currently, the FBI has in excess of 110 MS-13 investigations in 40 different FBI field offices. For the 18th Street Gang, the FBI has more than 20 on-going investigations in 15 FBI field offices. The FBI has found foreign connectivity from MS-13 and the 18th Street Gang back to El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. "One piece of information a particular FBI field office develops may fit into an international puzzle," Truchon emphasized. "The information might actually help us with a case we are developing in an entirely different city." Truchon said individuals in gang cliques in the U.S. often are influenced by gang members in Latin America, even from within the prisons. "Gang members in a prison in El Salvador are able to reach out from prison and kill gang members in L.A.," he said.

The Mark Of the Beast "On" Or "In" The Hand?

Revelation 13:16 "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: Ever since the Revised Version (RV) and American Standard Version (ASV), users of modern versions have been given the misleading translation of this verse in such a manner: ASV Rev: 13:16 "And he causeth all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the bond, that there be given them a mark on their right hand, or upon their forehead;" RSV Rev: 13:16 "Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead," There is only one problem with most of these versions, and that that the mark of the beast is stated to be on the hand and not in it as the KJV tells us. These two prepositions are small words, but the error is not a small one at all. Some translations go so far as to mislead readers by insinuating that the mark is a tattoo. This is not impossible, since a tattoo is both on the skin and in the skin, but it is not stated in any Greek text and at best it is a guess. At worse, it is a lie to misguide those who fall for the new version scam. Today, we can be reasonably confident that the mark of the beast will be a biochip that will be inserted under the skin. Such chips have been injected into livestock and pets for decades, and it has long been theorized that people are to be targeted for these chips. There was a time when some naive and ignorant people guffawed the idea that such tracking devices would ever be placed in people, but only the most foolish of the willingly ignorant can pretend that it is not happening now. The Bible makes it clear that the mark will be used for buying and selling, as well as for identification. Decades of planning and theorizing have gone into shifting the economies of the world into cashless societies. Only in a cashless society where money is intangible and under the control of a central authority can people be reduced to total livestock. America, including America's Christians, have allowed our country to be taken over by an international banking cartel called the Federal Reserve with armed thugs (IRS, BATF, FBI, FEMA, etc.) that enforce their godless will on the masses through terror. We have been numbered like prisoners with the Socialist Slavery Number, which some confuse with social security. The Bill of Rights and Constitution have been null and voided and the Bible has been removed from the public arena, and has been replaced with faith-based community organizations and other 501(c)3 government corporations that have turned away from Christ and turned toward Caesar. We have allowed devils and degenerates to rule over us, and as a consequence, the technology for the mark of the beast is ready now for those too weak and reprobate to take a stand.

Iranian official says Iran will strike U.S., Israel if attacked

Iran will strike U.S. interests around the world and Israel if attacked over its disputed nuclear program, a senior official was quoted recently by the official IRNA news agency as saying. "Nowhere would be safe for America with (Iran's) long-range missiles ... we can fire tens of thousands of missiles every day," said Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, the deputy interior minister in security affairs. 'With long-range missiles Iran can also threaten Israel as America's ally.' Iran says its Shahab-3 missile with a range of 1,250 miles (2,000 km) is capable of hitting Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf.

Veteran Talks of the 'Foo Fighters'

Pilots in the 415th encountered and reported 'foo fighters' (or luminous, unidentified objects) during the night over the German-occupied Rhine River valley. The sightings were recorded between November 1944 and April 1945, when the 415th was operating from landing strips in Dijon and Ochey, France. The sightings posed a baffling question to air war buffs, scientists, the media and the public. What were they? The pilots could find no explanation that fit all of the sightings.

Christians in bull's-eye in new 'hate crimes' plan

A fast-tracked congressional plan to add special protections for homosexuals to federal law would turn "thoughts, feelings, and beliefs" into criminal offenses and put Christians in the bull's-eye, according to opponents. "H.R. 1592 is a discriminatory measure that criminalizes thoughts, feelings, and beliefs [and] has the potential of interfering with religious liberty and freedom of speech," according to a white paper submitted by Glen Lavy, of the Alliance Defense Fund. "As James Jacobs and Kimberly Potter observed in Hate Crimes, Criminal Law, and Identity Politics, 'It would appear that the only additional purpose [for enhancing punishment of bias crimes] is to provide extra punishment based on the offender's politically incorrect opinions and viewpoints,'" said Lavy. The proposal has been endorsed by majority Democrats on the committee, and already has 137 sponsors in the full House, making it possible it could be voted on in a matter of days or weeks. "This is a terrible thing, to criminalize thought or emotion or even speech," Lavy told WND, referring to H.R. 1592, now pending at the committee level in the U.S. House. Democrats there have been turning back amendments that would strip it of its worst provisions, according to an observer. Bishop Harry Jackson, chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition, said the plan, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Protection Act of 2007, is no more than "a surreptitious attempt by some in Congress to strip the nation of religious freedom and the ability to preach the gospel from our church pulpits." "It will stamp all over our doctrine and practice of our faith," he said. "We believe what the Bible says. If you start there we've got a major problem."

Drugs. Implants. Virtual Reality. Do We Really Want Joy 24/7?

We're entering an age in which technology may allow us to produce pleasant sensations all the time. Hints of that future go back to Prozac and other neurotransmitter-controlling drugs introduced in the late 1980s. But our ability to manipulate the molecules and electrical impulses whizzing through our heads is reaching a newly sophisticated level.... It's reminiscent of the scenario laid out by another prescient thinker, H. G. Wells. In his book The Time Machine, Wells wrote about a world where the happy, indolent elite — the Eloi — are served by industrious outsiders called Morlocks. The Eloi are also the hardworking Morlocks' food.

Security software vendor McAfee says 'RFID Chips Represent Vast Danger'

The current generation of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is vulnerable to eavesdropping, cloning and forging. That's according to an April security trends report (download PDF) from security software vendor McAfee Inc. The Sage report is issued semiannually by McAfee Avert Labs based on its research into high-tech threats. The report warns that as RFID technology becomes more pervasive, the risk for users increases dramatically. The study notes that the technology is increasingly embedded in clothing, food and health care products and that some companies are even embedding RFID chips into the bodies of employees. Some states have already passed laws to prohibit forced implantation of the chips. The report found that the rapid spread of RFID technology is making it very attractive to hackers, who can clone chips and steal authentication information to gain access to a users' personal information. Some researchers have warned that a virus placed on an RFID chip can infect other networked chips, and ultimately assault vulnerable databases. Government agencies and large retail firms are playing a key role in the spread of the technology -- and adding to the growing list of vulnerabilities, the report said. For example, the U.S. Department of State last year began issuing passports embedded with and RFID chip containing the holder's date of birth and biometric information, such as a digital photo or a copy of their fingerprints. Critics claim that the e-passport could allow hackers to read the chip embedded inside and that the biometric data could be stolen for the purpose of identity theft. It could also allow Americans on foreign soil be tracked by enemies, critics say. In the retail industry, the report predicted, RFID chips will soon replace bar codes as the tracking technology of choice. It cited retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s highly publicized efforts to use RFID to track pallets and cases from its suppliers to the store. The Sage report noted that many retail executives expect that RFID technology will save their companies time and money performing inventory counts and doing restocks.

Plasma Shield May Stun and Disorientate Enemies

The U.S. Army hopes, within a few years, to deploy a plasma shield – a machine that generates a protective screen of dazzling mid-air explosions – to stun and disorient an enemy. The device uses a technology known as dynamic pulse detonation (DPD). A short but intense laser pulse creates a ball of plasma, and a second laser pulse generates a supersonic shockwave with the plasma to generate a bright flash and a loud bang. The Plasma Acoustic Shield System will eventually combine a dynamic pulse detonation laser with a high power speaker for hailing or warning, and a dazzler light source. PASS has already been demonstrated by the system's makers, Stellar Photonics. "It uses a programmed pattern of rapid plasma events to create a sort of wall of bright lights and reports (bangs) over the coverage area," says Keith Braun of the U.S. Army's Advanced Energy Armaments Systems Division at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey, U.S., where the system is being tested.

China to force rain ahead of 2008 Olympics

Chance of showers during the 2008 Beijing Olympics: 50 percent. But Chinese meteorologists have a plan to bring sunshine. The meteorologists say they can force rain in the days before the Olympics, through a process known as cloud-seeding, to clean the air and ensure clear skies. China has been tinkering with artificial rainmaking for decades, but whether it works is a matter of debate among scientists. Weather patterns for the past 30 years indicate there is a 50 percent chance of rain for both the opening ceremony on Aug. 8, 2008 and the closing ceremony two weeks later, said Wang Yubin, an engineer with the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. The forced rain could also help clean Beijing's polluted air, said Wang Jianjie, another meteorologist with the bureau. "When conditions permit, we will artificially increase rainfall," she said. "Rainfall is a way to naturally clean the air."

Has U.S. Defense Sec. Accelerated Ancient Prophecy Of Russian Attack On Israel?

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates may well have accelerated an ancient prophecy about Russia and Iran attacking Israel by offering the Russians an opportunity to see how America would defend herself against Iranian missiles made with Russian-assistance. Gates was trying to sweeten the pot for Russian approval of U.S. missile defense deployments in Poland and the Czech Republic. Gates, however, came away from the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin with no change in Russian policy, but a certain agreement that the Russians will have access to American missile defense technology. Gates announced that Russia and the United States have agreed to cooperate by forming a working group where the U.S. will share technical aspects of the proposed missile shield and develop a joint missile defense effort. The Russians, however, remained concerned that the missile defense systems to be deployed may be turned against Russia in the future. While the Russians apparently agreed to participating in the working group and getting a first hand view of the inner workings of American missile defense systems, Russian Defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov told reporters that “The Russian position remains unchanged.” Gates agreed to share with Russia the technology, radar interceptors and development aspects of the missile shield that would be used by the United States. According to reports, Gates even invited the Russians to visit the American missile defense sites in Alaska and California to see the non-explosive interceptors and the missile tracking radar systems that would be used in Eastern Europe. Russia is likely to absorb all the technical detail it can on U.S. anti-missile installations because Iran would use missiles similar to Russia’s in the event of an attack. According to the New York Times, the owners of Russia’s largest independent radio network, The Russian News Service, have ordered the network to portray the United States as an enemy. It appears that Gates and the Bush Administration do not understand the Russian intent. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:14, “But their minds were blinded: for until this day remains the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament.” The reading of the Old Testament, especially in Ezekiel 38, shows that Russia is prophesied to join with Iran in coming against Israel. The United States may have accelerated this prophesy by agreeing to share missile defense technology with the Russians.

Bee's Dying Around The World, Now Taiwan stung by millions of missing bees

Taiwan's bee farmers are feeling the sting of lost business and possible crop danger after millions of the honey-making, plant-pollinating insects vanished during volatile weather. Over the past two months, farmers in three parts of Taiwan have reported most of their bees gone, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported. Taiwan's TVBS television station said about 10 million bees had vanished in Taiwan. A beekeeper on Taiwan's northeastern coast reported 6 million insects missing "for no reason", and one in the south said 80 of his 200 bee boxes had been emptied, the paper said. Beekeepers usually let their bees out of boxes to pollinate plants and the insects normally make their way back to their owners. However, many of the bees have not returned over the past couple of months. Possible reasons include disease, pesticide poisoning and unusual weather, varying from less than 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) to more than 30 degrees Celsius over a few days, experts say. "You can see climate change really clearly these days in Taiwan," said Yang Ping-shih, entomology professor at the National Taiwan University. He added that two kinds of pesticide can make bees turn "stupid" and lose their sense of direction. As affected beekeepers lose business, fruit growers may lack a key pollination source and neighbors might get stung, he said. Billions of bees have fled hives in the United States since late 2006, instead of helping pollinate $15 billion worth of fruits, nuts and other crops annually. Disappearing bees also have been reported in Europe and Brazil.

Futuristic Beam of Sound Aims Marketer's Messages

Advertisers have a new way to get into your head. Marketers around the world are using innovative audio technology that sends sound in a narrow beam, just like light, making it possible to direct messages right into consumers' ears while they shop or sit in waiting rooms. The audio spotlight device, created by Watertown firm Holosonic Research Labs Inc., has been used to hawk everything from cereals in supermarket aisles to glasses at doctor's offices. The messages are often quick and targeted -- and a little creepy to the uninitiated.

Britians Police track ethnic groups with profile technology

Police are analysing people’s surnames to conduct secret ethnic profiling. Racial equality campaigners said they were “very saddened” that organisations would now target black and Asian households without their consent and feared that the technology would become a tool for racists. Already several police forces have used the ethnic-profiling system, which uses a person’s name to work out which country his or her ancestors are likely to have come from. NHS trusts have also used the system, called Mosaic Origins, as have groups such as Amnesty International. It has attracted interest from Labour and the Conservatives, banks, supermarkets and other commercial organisations, which could soon have access to it. “I’m really very saddened that forces can’t see the inherent dangers of police having this information,” Keith Jarrett, the president of the National Black Police Association, said.

Cloned Dogs To Be Mated In Fertility Test

The world's first cloned dog will be mated with the world's second dog clone, in an experiment to see whether they can reproduce normally. Snuppy, an Afghan hound who was the first dog to be created through a cloning process, will be mated later this year with second-in-line Bona, researchers in South Korea said. Snuppy will celebrate his second birthday on Tuesday while Bona was born in June last year.

DHS Adds Chlorine Bombs To Preparedness Need

The Homeland Security Department is warning U.S. chemical plants and bomb squads to guard against a new form of terrorism: chlorine truck bombs. At least five chlorine truck bombs have exploded in Iraq in recent months, killing scores of people and injuring many more after they breathed the toxic fumes. A chlorine truck blast April 6 in Ramadi killed 27 people and injured dozens more. "This is now being used as a tactic against us in another part of the world," says Robert Stephan, Homeland Security's infrastructure protection chief. "We've got to be prepared for it."

Device Keeps Organs Alive Outside The Body

A pioneering device that keeps organs "alive" outside the body could dramatically improve the success of transplants and provide new ways of treating tumours and liver disease. For the first time, scientists at the University of Oxford have managed to disconnect an organ from the body's blood supply and keep it functioning on an artificial blood circuit. The procedure has allowed them to keep livers viable outside the body for more than 72 hours - four times the current time limit. It is hoped the technique will make it possible to transplant organs that would previously have been unusable - alleviating the problems caused by a shortage of donors. Organs are capable of regenerating high levels of damaged tissue when isolated from the rest of the body, the scientists found. A version of the technique could also be used to treat organs with high doses of chemotherapy to combat cancers without harmful side-effects on the body. Such treatments might also be developed to fight liver disease caused by alcohol and hepatitis. Scientists are now planning the first clinical trials in patients and hope to use the technique on other organs including the lungs, kidneys and pancreas. They hope the procedure will be widely used within five years.

First Stop On The Road To ET Contact? Potentially Habitable Planet Found

Astronomers reported on April 25, they had discovered a "super-Earth" more than 20 light years away that is the most intriguing world found so far in the search for extraterrestrial life. About five times the mass of Earth, the planet orbits a cool, dim "red dwarf" star located in the constellation of Libra, the team from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said in a press release. The star, Gliese 581, has already been identified as hosting a planet similar in size to Neptune, the frigid gas giant on the edge of our own Solar System. The new planet is 14 times closer to Gliese 581 than the Earth is to the Sun. But because Gliese 581 is so cool, the planet is not scorched by solar radiation. It zips around the star at express speed, making just 13 days to complete an orbit. "We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius (32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit), and water would thus be liquid," said lead researcher Stephane Udry of Switzerland's Geneva University. "Moreover, its radius should be only 1.5 times the Earth's radius, and models predict that the planet should be either rocky -- like our Earth -- or covered with oceans." "Liquid water is critical to life as we know it," said Xavier Delfosse, a team member from France's Grenoble University. "Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extra terrestrial life. He added: "On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X."

V-Tech Killings Have Scientists Looking At GM Mind Control

Strides in understanding human brain chemistry and genetics are giving scientists hope they may be able to defuse violent behavior to avoid tragedies like last week's university massacre in Virginia, neurologists say. "There is no doubt in my mind that if we could have examined his brain (the killer at Virginia Tech) we would have found anomalies, and we would have been able to suggest for him to get therapies," said Dr. Allan Siegel, a neurologist and researcher at the University of Medicine of New Jersey (UMDNJ). The front region of the brain, or the prefrontal cortex, including the limbic system, appears to play an important role in violent behavior, according to the neurologist.

Texas Senate waves through cell phone wiretapping bill

A bill extending wiretapping provisions to cell phones and covering a wider range of crimes - including kidnaping, human trafficking and money laundering - has been approved by the Texas Senate. Only murder, drug-related crimes and child pornography investigations are covered by existing lawful interception laws in Texas, AP reports. Wiretaps authorised by the proposed laws could be used to authorise the tracking of suspect's mobile, land line and online activities in multiple locations; unlike current laws which are location specific. The draft Homeland Security legislation also places tighter controls on the sale of prepaid phones. Retailers will be asked to keep records of customers in a move that means prepaid phones can no longer be bought over the counter without ID. Customers will have to supply their name and address, date of birth or Social Security number, while sales would be limited to five prepaid cell phones at a time. Police in Texas were also given the legislative go-ahead to use CCTV footage at toll booths to prosecute crime. Sen. John Carona, the architect of the bill, argued that the legislation would help police to fight organised crime and terrorism in the state. Critics said the measures extended crimes labeled as homeland security issues too far.

Moving Toward Designer Genes

Since scientists first began manipulating genes, they have been envisioning a brave new world in which diseases from Huntington's chorea to sickle-cell anemia to possibly diabetes could be cured simply by inserting the correct strip of DNA into the body's cells. So far, though, most of the genetic tinkering has been limited to transplanting genes into isolated cells in laboratory dishes or into bacteria. But the dawn of designer genes is slowly moving closer. Researchers are now extending their experiments to living animals. In April, scientists at the University of California in Los Angeles reported they had inserted into intact adult mice a gene that makes cells resistant to a specific drug. Last week a team of Yale University scientists announced they had altered an animal's hereditary makeup at a more basic level: by injecting foreign genes into a mouse at its earliest stage of development, a fertilized egg.

British Intelligence says: Al-Qaeda Planning Hiroshima-Level Attack

Al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq are planning the first “large-scale” terrorist attacks on Britain and other western targets with the help of supporters in Iran, according to a leaked intelligence report. Another plot could be timed to coincide with Tony Blair stepping down as prime minister, an event described by Al-Qaeda planners as a “change in the head of the company”. The report, produced earlier this month, appears to provide evidence that Al-Qaeda is active in Iran and has ambitions far beyond the improvised attacks it has been waging against British and American soldiers in Iraq. There is no evidence of a formal relationship between Al-Qaeda, a Sunni group, and the Shi’ite regime of President Mah-moud Ahmadinejad, but experts suggest that Iran’s leaders may be turning a blind eye to the terrorist organisation’s activities. The intelligence report also makes it clear that senior Al-Qaeda figures in the region have been in recent contact with operatives in Britain. It follows revelations last year that up to 150 Britons had travelled to Iraq to fight as part of Al-Qaeda’s “foreign legion”. A number are thought to have returned to the UK, after receiving terrorist training, to form sleeper cells. The report was compiled by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) - based at MI5’s London headquarters - and provides a quarterly review of the international terror threat to Britain. It draws a distinction between Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda’s core leadership, who are thought to be hiding on the Afghan-Pakistan border, and affiliated organisations elsewhere. The document states: “While networks linked to AQ [Al-Qaeda] Core pose the greatest threat to the UK, the intelligence during this quarter has highlighted the potential threat from other areas, particularly AQI [Al-Qaeda in Iraq].” The report continues: “Recent reporting has described AQI’s Kurdish network in Iran planning what we believe may be a large-scale attack against a western target. “A member of this network is reportedly involved in an operation which he believes requires AQ Core authorisation. He claims the operation will be on ‘a par with Hiroshima and Naga-saki’ and will ‘shake the Roman throne’. We assess that this operation is most likely to be a large-scale, mass casualty attack against the West.”

Redefining Marriage Will Ultimately Lead Vatican To Tougher Questions

This week the Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official called gay marriage "evil," adding that "parliaments of so-called civilized nations where laws contrary to the nature of the human being are being promulgated, such as the approval of marriage between people of the same sex ..." The comment comes at a time when a highly controversial law is being considered in Italy that would give homosexual couples legal recognition. Groups opposed to the law are planning a national rally in Rome next month. Religious organizations such as the Presbyterian and the United Church of Christ have gone the other direction, allowing ministers in their denominations to conduct domestic partnership ceremonies. The debate over recognizing homosexual unions will undoubtedly continue in public opinion polls, but a related issue of monstrous proportions is also on the horizon. It is certain to make resolutions by Vatican and similar councils inevitable. It involves changes in laws regarding "gender definition" as a result of sex-change operations, and a related subject, transhumanism, both of which challenge the orthodox rendering of "the divine order."

Worker fired after posting picture of Jesus

A call center employee says he has been dismissed from his job for posting an artist's rendition of the crucifixion during Easter week, even though other employees were allowed to post pictures and art as they chose in their cubicles. Chris Romansky, a former employee of Barclays, said he was told there had been a complaint about the picture he put up to remind himself of Christ's sacrifice on the cross, a foundational belief in Christianity. A company spokeswoman, Donna Sokolsky, said that the job termination "had nothing to do with anything religious whatsoever." But she said she was not permitted by human resources to know "more beyond that." Romansky said his dismissal was effective April 13, and he has contacted state labor regulators about filing a complaint. "We're actually allowed to hang up pictures on our cubes. I had a picture of my wife, and there's a cross in the background but that didn't seem to bother anybody," he said. He also had posted a couple of Internet clippings, but those generated no response either. Then during the Easter season, he said, "I hung a picture of the crucifixion, actually it was before Easter. It was of the crucifixion of Jesus and it showed the Resurrection and it said 'Happy Easter.'" "I came in on the following Tuesday, and it was face down on my desk, so I put it back up," he said. Then a team manager came and told him there had been a complaint that it was "offensive" and he had to take it back down. The manager called him into her office. "She told me people were offended, and she told me anything with Jesus and God can't be up," Romansky said.

Russia Is The Sole Target For U.S. Missile Shield In Europe

The U.S. missile defense system in Europe is only directed against Russia, a Russian first deputy prime minister said in a recent interview with The Financial Times. Sergei Ivanov, who in mid-February was promoted from defense minister and given a supervisory role in the country's nuclear power and defense sectors of industry, was interviewed in his Moscow office April 12. He said there is no need to intercept medium-range missiles from Iran, and even less so from North Korea, adding that Iran is definitely not going to have ICBMs in the foreseeable future. "Since there aren't and won't be ICBMs, then against whom, against whom, is this system directed? Only against us," he said.

Our benevolent surveillance state even knows what meds were all taking

Is there any good reason whatsoever why the federal government should be maintaining "files" which contain information about the pharmaceutical products which all Americans are consuming? The noxious idea has taken root in our country -- even before the Bush presidency, though certainly greatly bolstered during it -- that one of the functions of the federal government is to track the private lives of American citizens and maintain dossiers on what we do. If that sounds hyperbolic, just review the disclosures over the course of recent years concerning what data bases the Federal Government has created and maintained and the vast amounts of data they contain -- everything from every domestic telephone call we make and receive to the content of our international calls to "risk assessment" records based on our travel activities to all sorts of information obtained by the FBI's use of NSLs. And none of that includes, obviously, the as-yet-undisclosed surveillance programs undertaken by the most secretive administration in history. The federal government data base which contains all of our controlled substance prescriptions, for instance, was mandated by a law -- The National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act -- passed in 2005 by the Republican-controlled Congress (though with full bipartisan support) and signed into law by the "conservative" Leader. That law appropriates funds to each state to create and maintain these data bases which are, apparently, accessible to federal agencies, federal law enforcement officials, and almost certainly thousands of other state and federal employees (as well as, most likely, employees of private companies).

Conspiracy Surrounds Lavish Washington, D.C. Temple Of Freemasons

Mammoth sphinxes guard the House of the Temple of the Scottish Rite, a formidable neo-Classical building in the heart of Washington, D.C. Inside, Egyptian hieroglyphics adorn a soaring atrium. The building's nine-foot-thick walls hold human remains. Bronze coiling snakes flank a large wooden throne, canopied in purple velvet, in a second-floor inner sanctum called the Temple Room, where men from around the world gather behind closed doors every two years. Over the centuries the select membership has included signers of the Declaration of Independence; George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Gerald Ford and 13 other presidents; Senators Charles Schumer and Robert Dole; Chief Justice Earl Warren and other Supreme Court justices. Formally they are known as Freemasons, but most people know them simply as Masons. And this artfully forbidding edifice, a mile from the White House, is their southern headquarters.

Amish See Step Toward 'Mark Of The Beast' In Livestock ID Numbers

About 200 Amish dairy producers met with State Sen. Dan Kapanke and former State Sen. Brian Rude last week to express their concern over a state law that they say is forcing them to choose between religion and dairy farming. The law, known as the "premise ID" law, passed the state legislature three years ago and requires all farms with animals to register with the state and a get a farm ID number. There was an "animal ID" component to the law that would have required registering individual animals, but that has been put on hold. While meeting in an auction barn on Irish Ridge near Cashton, a number of Amish producers cited specific Bible passages (Revelations chapter 13, verse 7 and chapter 19, verse 20) that refer to buying and selling of animals that are numbered and consider it the "mark of the beast."

China's Police force abortions on Christian women

Dozens of unborn babies have been killed in a sweep by Chinese authorities of the Guangxi province that snared pregnant women and brought them against their will to a hospital for fatal abortion injections, according to a Christian ministry that monitors the district and ministers to those in need. "After 41 women were forced to have abortions on April 17, China Aid Association has learned that the Youjiang District People's Hospital of Baise City performed forced abortions for at least 20 more pregnant women on April 18," an alert from the organization said. China Aid, which has its U.S. offices in Midland, Texas, confirmed that eyewitnesses are reporting that the latest roundup of pregnant women involved more than 20, who were transported to a hospital by government "Family Planning" authorities. "Within 30 minutes, about 10 of them were injected forcefully for an abortion. This means within [the] last 24 hours, at least 61 babies were killed by forced abortions," the sources within China told CAA. "At bed Number 37, Ms. He Caigan was nine months pregnant. Officials injected her baby's head and 20 minutes later, her baby stopped moving and died," the sources confirmed. Many of those targeted in the killing rampage were Christians, CAA said.

The ' Dover Demon ' Bewitches Still, 30 Years Later

This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of the alleged sightings of the mysterious creature known as the 'Dover Demon', described by several witnesses as about 4 feet tall with a thin body and arms, glowing eyes, and a huge, egg-shaped head. The Dover Demon has gained notoriety among paranormal enthusiasts around the United States and the world. "The Dover Demon case is one of the most widely publicized creature sighting reports of all time," said Chris Pittman, a Franklin resident who presides over the Massachusetts UFO Resource Site, a website focused on the paranormal. "I don't think it would be possible for anyone interested in paranormal mysteries not to have heard of this case." These days the creature is included in a number of books and websites about strange creatures right alongside Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. For example, About.com (a website owned by The New York Times, parent company of the Globe) puts the Dover Demon on its list of the "Top 10 Most Mysterious Creatures of Modern Times," and a Japanese toy company has manufactured Dover Demon figurines. The creature was reportedly seen on three separate occasions on April 21 and 22, 1977. William Bartlett , who was the first person to report seeing the creature, said he wasn't aware the Dover Demon incident was turning 30. "I don't really think about it, unless someone calls me to ask about it," said Bartlett, an accomplished painter in the realist style who lives in Needham but grew up in Dover. When asked, Bartlett stands by his story. Bartlett, who was then 17, said he spotted the creature while driving his Volkswagen Beetle along Farm Street about 10 p.m. that April 21. He got a good look at the creature for 10 to 15 seconds, he said, and knew right away that it was like no animal he had ever seen. The creature's head was nearly as big as the rest of its body, and it had long, spindly fingers, he said. It was walking on all fours atop a stone wall. "As I drove by it turned its head to look at me," Bartlett said in a recent interview. "You get that moment where your eyes meet. I remember that happening. It freaked me out." Bartlett said he went home, told his parents what happened , and immediately began sketching a picture of the creature. He was already an aspiring artist at the time and has always had a good visual memory, he said. Bartlett's sketches have become the most-used representation of the creature. This and information on numerous other creatures of cryptozoology can be found at the website, Unknown Creatures: http://www.unknown-creatures.com

Argentine Cow-Human Clones Produce Insulin In Milk

Argentine scientists say they have created four cloned and genetically modified calves capable of producing human insulin in their milk, a step they said could cut the cost of treating diabetes. The newborn Jersey heifers – who the scientists have named Patagonia 1, 2, 3 and 4 – will start producing the human hormone when they reach adulthood, said the biotechnology company behind the project, Bio Sidus. "This model of a genetically modified cow is a model that allows us to produce large quantities of products at very low cost," said managing director Marcelo Criscuolo, adding that insulin produced by cows would be at least 30 per cent cheaper. "The cattle-ranching know-how we have in Argentina has really given us a startling advantage in generating the technology," he said at a news conference. To produce pharmaceutical products from cow's milk, scientists insert the human gene of interest into an embryo before implanting it into a surrogate mother cow. In this case they used a gene for insulin.
Once milk is obtained from the genetically modified cow, it will be purified and refined to extract the insulin. Similar techniques have already been used to produce human proteins in goats and cows.

DARPA's Incredible Arsenal Of The Near Future

DARPA has begun on dozens of weapons that close the gap between old-fashioned military hardware and the virtual future. One of the most promising, in the Pentagon’s view, is the Brain Machine Interface, a system of embedded neural transmitters and computer software that bridges thought and action. It is being developed by Duke University scientists, who have already created a computerized system in which a lab monkey can move a robotic arm in a laboratory 1,000 kilometres away just by thinking about it. In the future, military commanders with brain implants will use more advanced versions of this technology to deploy unmanned gun ships and robotic tanks in battlefields half a world away. The military is also planning unmanned spaceships that will carry huge tungsten bolts, nicknamed “rods from God,” that can be dropped with devastating impact on even the smallest target anywhere on the planet.

Chinese make first artificial snowfall

China claimed recently to have caused a snowfall for the first time as part of its increasingly ambitious attempts to control the weather. Officials in the meteorological bureau in Tibet said they had used "rain-seeding" techniques to trigger a snowfall over the city of Nagqu last week. "This proves it's possible for humans to change the weather on the world's highest plateau," said Yu Zhongshui. The bureau said it had produced just under half an inch of snow at a height of 15,000ft. Mr Yu said the experiment was conducted in the hope it would lead to alleviating drought on the northern Tibetan plateau, whose grasslands are turning brown as global warming melts and drains its permafrost. The government also hopes that the project will benefit the great river systems of China. The Yellow, Yangtse, Salween, Mekong and Brahmaputra rivers all rise in Tibet, and the effects of damming and over-extraction for agriculture are beginning to threaten water supplies to major cities. China is the world's largest practitioner of rain-seeding, a controversial procedure that involves releasing silver iodide as a catalyst into clouds either by aircraft or by firing cannon shells into them. It employs 37,000 people on the program, which it uses to trigger rainfall principally to maximize water supply in the drought-prone north of the country, although in Beijing it is often said to be part of attempts to ensure a blue sky for major events. Authorities have already promised to use rain-seeding before the Olympics to clear the often gloomy August skies for the opening ceremony.

If Ruins Of An Ancient Civilization Are Discovered On Mars, Will You Lose Your Religion?

NASA's recently released ultra high resolution pictures of the "face on Mars" reveal details as small as a few inches across including what some believe to be girders, windows and walls from ancient structures. Richard Hoagland and his Enterprise Team believe this is the smoking gun. "The debate is over," he says. "I no longer need to prove that these are ruins, my critics need to prove that they are not."

Microchip Elderly People, Says Science Minister

Elderly people should be "tagged" to enable the authorities to keep tabs on them, a government minister suggested today. Science minister Malcolm Wicks said satellite technology could be used to allow families to monitor frail or elderly relatives, it was reported today. According to the Mirror newspaper, Mr Wicks said many families worried about elderly relatives or "what's happening about an 80 or 90-year-old who may have Alzheimer's", and using the technology could let them know their loved one was safe. Mr Wicks said: "Satellites currently monitor the planet in a variety of different ways. I'm raising this as an issue for discussion. Are there other uses of technology that could benefit society? "We've got an ageing population with many people frail and many suffering from dementia, including Alzheimer's. "How can we get the balance right so that these people have the freedom to live their lives, to go out in the community and go shopping?" Similar technology is used to "tag" and keep track of convicted criminals who have been released from prison.

The Evolution and Potentially "Extinction" Consequences of Synthetic Biology

In the 1970s, genetic engineering was the hot new technology in which DNA molecules from one organism could be spliced into another organism's DNA. Today, synthetic biology could likewise revolutionize our way of life. But synthetic biology is orders of magnitude beyond genetic engineering because it can create completely novel DNA sequences. By human "intelligent design," synthetic biologists could conceivably create new life-forms previously unknown to this planet. Given our current understanding, it's hard to know whether this is a good or bad thing. But since life-forms--at least the nonsynthetic ones--are typically unpredictable, how can we make sure that synthetic biologists create new life that would be purely beneficial?

Virginia Tech University convocation told of Allah, Buddha, Dalai Lama but not Jesus

Speakers at the Virginia Tech convocation called on Allah and Buddha in their efforts to minister to the survivors, family and friends of victims of the shooting massacre at the school – but Jesus wasn't mentioned by name. President Bush did offer a biblical message of hope, when he suggested the school community that lost 32 members to the shootings by an out-of-control resident alien student find "comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God." But even he didn't bring Jesus, the only hope of comfort and future life for Christians, into the memorials. "I'm sitting here watching the convocation service at VT," wrote a person who was given anonymity. "Five minutes ago they had four representatives from the local 'religious community.' The Muslim specifically invoked Allah's blessings… and he didn't shy away from saying the name of Allah. The Jewish rep asked for God's blessings. Buddha was represented. The only name that [was] omitted, of course, Jesus Christ."

"American Hiroshima" At 50% Chance Of Detonation Within 10 Years

How likely is it that terrorists will some day be successful at detonating a nuclear device in a major American city? That was the question debated in an online forum sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations this week. And while Harvard's Graham T. Allison and the CFR's Michael A. Levi may disagree over the likelihood of such an attack, they agreed it is a serious threat and much more needs to be done to avoid the disastrous consequences. "In the hotly contested American presidential election in 2004, the two candidates agreed on only one fundamental point," he said. "In the first televised debate, they were asked, what is 'the single most serious threat to the national security to the United States?' President Bush, answering second, said: 'I agree with my opponent that the biggest threat facing this country is weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist network.'" Allison cited other authorities, including former Sen. Sam Nunn, who is on record as saying the likelihood of a single nuclear bomb exploding in a single city is greater today than at the height of the Cold War. Perhaps no one, however, has studied the issue more thoroughly than Allison. In his book, based on the current trend line, he concludes the chances of a nuclear terrorist attack in the next decade are greater than 50 percent. He said former Secretary of Defense William Perry believes that assessment underestimates the risk. "From the technical side, Richard Garwin, a designer of the hydrogen bomb who Enrico Fermi once called, 'the only true genius I had ever met,' told Congress in March he estimated a '20 percent per year probability with American cities and European cities included' of 'a nuclear explosion -- not just a contamination, dirty bomb -- a nuclear explosion.'

Alert! FDA Formalizes Proposal to Regulate Herbs, Vitamins

The federal Food and Drug Administration is proposing to regulate a wide variety of alternative medicine products, from vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements to lotions and stones used by massage therapists. "This could be potentially devastating, not just to my business but to any business relating to supplements," said Sophy Winnick, a Felton mother of four who has been selling Youngevity products for 10 years. "People better get on the horn about this"

Homeland Security is evaluating chipped license proposal

The Department of Homeland Security is proceeding to evaluate Washington state's proposal for a driver's license "enhanced" with a radio frequency identification, or RFID, chip that would encode personal information. DHS spokeswoman Naomi Elmer said the Washington state proposal was being considered as an initiative under the Real ID Act – the controversial measure passed in 2005 that includes standardization of state driver's licenses. Nearly half the states have voted not to participate amid criticism it will result in a de facto national ID card. DHS has issued requirements that as of Jan.23, U.S. citizens traveling by air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda are now required to present a valid passport to enter or re-enter the U.S.

Animal intelligence: Startling new evidence emerges

We've known for some time that apes are brainy. Until a couple of years ago, there had been no observation of gorillas using tools in the wild. Then, in 2005, Thomas Breuer of the Wildlife Conservation Society, while observing lowland gorillas in the Republic of Congo, saw something remarkable. A female gorilla, named Leah, waded upright into a pond until waist deep, and then, unsure of herself, returned to the water's edge, grabbed a stick and proceeded to use it as a depth gauge. Chimpanzees also fashion tools out of twigs, and in tests, one bonobo chimp named Kanzi used a computer to ask him: "Can you make the [toy] dog bite the [toy] snake?" Kanzi found the toys, put the snake in the dog's mouth and squeezed it shut - he understood that "dog" was the subject of the verb "bite" and that the direct object was "snake". Dutch primatologist Carel van Schaik discovered orang-utans do something chimps don't - they use leaves as rain hats and make leak-proof roofs over their nests. The Harvard University psychologist James Lee recently argued that orang-utans are the most intelligent apes of all, knocking chimps off their pedestal - but these findings have yet to be verified. An experiment just reported in the US found that rats are smart enough to know when they don't know something - an ability called metacognition. It was once thought that only humans had this ability, and later it was discovered that some apes have it too. In the recent study, lab rats had to decide whether a sound was short or long. A right answer led to a large food reward; a wrong answer to no reward. But if the rats declined the test, they got a small reward. When the sounds were clearly long or clearly short, discriminating was easy, but when the sounds were of a medium duration, the rats soon worked out that it was better to settle for the small reward, rather than risk an incorrect answer.

IAEA Says, Iran Is Making Nuclear Fuel In Underground Plant

Iran has started enriching small amounts of uranium gas at its underground plant at Natanz, according to the UN's nuclear agency, the IAEA. The agency said eight cascades of more than 1,300 centrifuges, the machines that spin uranium gas into enriched material, were now operating. Earlier this month Iran's president said Natanz was ready to enrich uranium on an industrial-scale. The West suspects Iran of seeking atomic weapons, a charge Iran denies. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Teheran for its failure to scale back its nuclear program. Diplomatic sources have confirmed to the BBC the contents of what was a confidential letter from the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iranian officials. The document - a letter signed by IAEA deputy Director General Ollie Heinonen - said the Agency took note of the information provided by Iran that it is running more 1,300 centrifuges - the machines used to spin the gas into enriched uranium. It said some UF6 uranium gas was being fed into the centrifuges.

New Laws of Robotics Proposed for US Kill-Bots

A new set of laws has been proposed to govern operations by killer robots. The ideas were floated by John S Canning, an engineer at the Naval Surface Warfare Centre, Dahlgren Division – an American weapons-research and test establishment. Many people will be familiar with the old-school Asimov Laws of Robotics, but these are clearly unsuitable for war robots – too restrictive. However, the new Canning Laws are certainly not a carte blanche for homicidal droids to obliterate fleshies without limit; au contraire. Canning proposes that robot warriors should be allowed to mix it up among themselves freely, autonomously deciding to blast enemy weapon systems. Many enemy “systems” would, of course, be themselves robots, so it's clear that machine-on-machine violence isn't a problem. The difficulty comes when the automatic battlers need to target humans. In such cases Mr Canning says that permission from a human operator should be sought.

Britain Steps Closer Toward a Biometric ID Card

Toward the end of 2009, the United Kingdom hopes to have a national identity card scheme up and running for citizens and residents. The personal information of millions of people will be included in a computer database, along with biometric details such as fingerprints and facial characteristics. At the beginning, the new scheme will be voluntary from 2008. It will be developed and problems worked out as more people join. The government is estimating that approximately 60% will obtain the card during this phase. Then by 2014 it is planned that it will be compulsory for people to own a card. One of the reasons for the card is that people will be required to present it when obtaining various services. Documents were published by the Department for Work and Pensions under the Freedom of Information laws earlier this month. Some of the working assumptions are based upon analysis from late 2004, in which it is suggested that up to 30% will refuse to show their card or other biometric data. 10% are expected to confirm their identity by allowing biometric methods to be used. Foreign national residency permits would account for about 3% of all identity cards. Both citizens and immigrants using social services will be required to have a card, which will also help confirm the immigration and visa status of people. The current government maintains that the identity cards are necessary not only for security, but that they will up to halve identity fraud in the United Kingdom. Most foreign nationals living in Britain will have to carry a card, and the government has said it wants the cards to eventually become compulsory in order to fight terrorism and identity fraud.