LEAMINGTON, Ont. - Damage is expected to be in the millions of dollars after what is believed to be a tornado ripped a path of destruction along Lake Erie in Leamington.
Deputy Mayor Rob Schmidt declared a state of emergency early Sunday as crews worked feverishly to clean up hundreds of downed trees, reopen streets and restore power to those residents left in the dark following the storm.
Hundred-year-old trees have been snapped like toothpicks and uprooted throughout the south end of town.
Many homes and businesses south of Seacliff Drive were damaged, some heavily.
Staff Sergeant Ed Marocko said as far as police were aware, no serious injuries were reported.
Erie Street South from Seacliff Drive to the Leamington Dock, resembles a war zone.
“I woke up and thought my air conditioner was rumbling, but soon realized it was more than that,” said Jerry Sovie, who lives on Bayview, just east of Seacliff Park.
“By the time I realized it might be a tornado, it was over.” Damage reports are coming in from other parts of the municipality as well.
Kosher Kingdom News Reader. "Reporting events in a world of despair, without Jesus"
Kingdom News
Monday, June 7, 2010
US cluster bombs 'killed 35 women and children'
The deaths, immediately prior to the discovery of Yemeni links to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the alleged "underpants bomber" who tried to blow up a plane over Detroit on Christmas day, caused outrage across the country.
The Yemeni government, anxious not to stir anti-American feeling, denied initial claims that the attack was carried out by the US.
But a study Amnesty International said a US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the site, judging by photographs of debris studied by a weapons expert. The warhead include cluster bombs, at least one of which remained in the area unexploded afterwards.
The Pentagon has refused so far to confirm the allegations, but the deaths would represent the biggest civilian loss of life in an American attack in Yemen.
In the attack on al-Majala in Southern Yemen on December 17, 55 people are thought to have been killed. Yemeni forces said 14 of these were al-Qaeda members.
They included a local al-Qaeda leader, Mohammed Saleh al-Kazimi.
The others were civilians, and 14 were women and 21 children, including al-Kazimi's family.
Photographs smuggled out to Amnesty International showed the remains of the payload, mid-body, aft-body and propulsion sections of a BGM-109D Tomahawk cruise missile, the study said. This kind of missile is designed to carry a payload of 166 cluster bomblets, and one of the photographs showed an unexploded BLU97 A/B bomblet.
Only American forces are known to hold such weapons. Its serial number was traced to the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant, with a date of September 1992.
Amnesty said it was "gravely concerned" by the evidence of use of cluster bombs, since most states have promised to ban their use.
The Yemeni government, anxious not to stir anti-American feeling, denied initial claims that the attack was carried out by the US.
But a study Amnesty International said a US Tomahawk cruise missile hit the site, judging by photographs of debris studied by a weapons expert. The warhead include cluster bombs, at least one of which remained in the area unexploded afterwards.
The Pentagon has refused so far to confirm the allegations, but the deaths would represent the biggest civilian loss of life in an American attack in Yemen.
In the attack on al-Majala in Southern Yemen on December 17, 55 people are thought to have been killed. Yemeni forces said 14 of these were al-Qaeda members.
They included a local al-Qaeda leader, Mohammed Saleh al-Kazimi.
The others were civilians, and 14 were women and 21 children, including al-Kazimi's family.
Photographs smuggled out to Amnesty International showed the remains of the payload, mid-body, aft-body and propulsion sections of a BGM-109D Tomahawk cruise missile, the study said. This kind of missile is designed to carry a payload of 166 cluster bomblets, and one of the photographs showed an unexploded BLU97 A/B bomblet.
Only American forces are known to hold such weapons. Its serial number was traced to the Kansas Army Ammunition Plant, with a date of September 1992.
Amnesty said it was "gravely concerned" by the evidence of use of cluster bombs, since most states have promised to ban their use.
New oil plume evidence uncovered
St. Petersburg, Florida -- As if the pictures of birds, fish and animals killed by floating oil in the Gulf of Mexico are not disturbing enough, scientists now say they have found evidence of another danger lurking underwater.
The University of South Florida recently discovered a second oil plume in the northeastern Gulf. The first plume was found by Mississippi universities in early May.
USF has concluded microscopic oil droplets are forming deep water oil plumes. After a weeklong analysis of water samples, USF scientists found more oil in deeper water.
"These hydrocarbons are from depth and not associated with sinking degraded oil but associated with the source of the Deep Horizon well head," said USF Chemical Oceanographer David Hollander.
Through isotopic or microscopic fingerprinting, Hollander and his USF crew were able to show the oil in the plume came from BP's blown-out oil well. The surface oil's so-called fingerprint matched the tiny underwater droplet's fingerprint.
"We've taken molecular isotopic approaches which is like a fingerprint on a smoking gun," Hollander said.
The University of South Florida recently discovered a second oil plume in the northeastern Gulf. The first plume was found by Mississippi universities in early May.
USF has concluded microscopic oil droplets are forming deep water oil plumes. After a weeklong analysis of water samples, USF scientists found more oil in deeper water.
"These hydrocarbons are from depth and not associated with sinking degraded oil but associated with the source of the Deep Horizon well head," said USF Chemical Oceanographer David Hollander.
Through isotopic or microscopic fingerprinting, Hollander and his USF crew were able to show the oil in the plume came from BP's blown-out oil well. The surface oil's so-called fingerprint matched the tiny underwater droplet's fingerprint.
"We've taken molecular isotopic approaches which is like a fingerprint on a smoking gun," Hollander said.
Some Say BP's Oil Spill Heralds the Apocalypse
A growing conversation among Christian fundamentalists asks the question that may have been inevitable: is the oil spill in the gulf a sign of the coming apocalypse?
About 60 million white evangelicals live in America, and about one third of them believe that the world will end in their lifetime, according to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Broadly speaking, these Christians subscribe to a theology called "premillennial dispensationalism." In this world view, they are warriors on the side of God: a cosmic battle—culminating in apocalypse, judgment, and, finally, the reign of Jesus in “a new heaven and a new earth”—will come soon. The most determined of these believers mine the Book of Revelation for signs that the end is near. A text of terrifying and mysterious prophesy, Revelation forecasts the apocalypse in coded language; Christians have spent lifetimes trying to break that code by correlating its verses to current events. (A New York minister named William Miller used Revelation and other sources to predict that the world would end on Oct. 22, 1844. He had previously predicted—wrongly, obviously—that the date would be March 21, 1843. The Millerites, once a powerful and fast-growing sect, quickly became extinct.)
Now blogs on the Christian fringe are abuzz with possibility that the oil spill is the realization of Revelation 8:8–11. “The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed … A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water, because it was made bitter.” According to Revelation, in other words, something terrible happens to the world’s water, a punishment to those of insufficient faith. The foul water, according to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, mirrors one of the plagues God called upon Egypt on behalf of his people Israel.
Though maybe it’s Revelation 16:3: “The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.”
Some interpreters are very sure: The oil spill matches biblical prophesy and is another predictor of the end. One commenter at Godlike Productions argues that the redness of the oil seen in pictures can be interpreted as blood. “The water is tinted red from the oil … it ACTUALLY looks like blood. coincidence??? NOT!!!!” On Facebook, at least two discussion groups are devoted to mining the parallels between events in the gulf and those predicted in the bible; and in a heart-rending interview with CBS, a Louisiana minister named Theodore Turner, whose congregation is one third fishermen, said he knew it to be so. “The Bible prophesized hardships,” he said. “If we believe the word of God is true—and we do—we also know that in addition to prophesying hardships he promised to take care of us.”
But there’s a problem. In the place where American religion and politics intersect, signs of the end times have traditionally been interpreted by members of the right as punishment for ungodly behavior by those on the left. And because the values of the religious right have mirrored those of the Republican Party—at least before the last presidential election—the "good guys" in the cosmic battle have tended to look like Republicans on the far-right fringe and the “bad guys” like liberal Democrats. Thus Hurricane Katrina was brought down upon New Orleans because it was, in the words of Christian minister John Hagee, a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah: the city had a gay-pride march planned for the day the storm struck.
And, according to such fringe commentators as this one, President Barack Obama embodies many of qualities of the Antichrist, as described in Revelation 13:5–7: “The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God … It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it.”
Yet through a biblical lens, it’s hard to see the oil spill as anything but God’s punishment for greed and a disrespect of Creation—and both of those sins fall mostly on the shoulders of the Republicans, who have been aggressively lobbying for more offshore drilling, without, obviously, ensuring that appropriate safeguards are in place. (Remember “Drill, baby, drill”? According to OpenSecrets.org, Republicans in the last decade have far outstripped Democrats in donations from big oil, sometimes by a factor of four.) So the question for biblical literalists becomes one of political alliances. Does God wreak apocalyptic wrath on members of one’s own party—or only on the opposition?
About 60 million white evangelicals live in America, and about one third of them believe that the world will end in their lifetime, according to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Broadly speaking, these Christians subscribe to a theology called "premillennial dispensationalism." In this world view, they are warriors on the side of God: a cosmic battle—culminating in apocalypse, judgment, and, finally, the reign of Jesus in “a new heaven and a new earth”—will come soon. The most determined of these believers mine the Book of Revelation for signs that the end is near. A text of terrifying and mysterious prophesy, Revelation forecasts the apocalypse in coded language; Christians have spent lifetimes trying to break that code by correlating its verses to current events. (A New York minister named William Miller used Revelation and other sources to predict that the world would end on Oct. 22, 1844. He had previously predicted—wrongly, obviously—that the date would be March 21, 1843. The Millerites, once a powerful and fast-growing sect, quickly became extinct.)
Now blogs on the Christian fringe are abuzz with possibility that the oil spill is the realization of Revelation 8:8–11. “The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea became blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed … A third of the waters became wormwood, and many died from the water, because it was made bitter.” According to Revelation, in other words, something terrible happens to the world’s water, a punishment to those of insufficient faith. The foul water, according to the New Oxford Annotated Bible, mirrors one of the plagues God called upon Egypt on behalf of his people Israel.
Though maybe it’s Revelation 16:3: “The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.”
Some interpreters are very sure: The oil spill matches biblical prophesy and is another predictor of the end. One commenter at Godlike Productions argues that the redness of the oil seen in pictures can be interpreted as blood. “The water is tinted red from the oil … it ACTUALLY looks like blood. coincidence??? NOT!!!!” On Facebook, at least two discussion groups are devoted to mining the parallels between events in the gulf and those predicted in the bible; and in a heart-rending interview with CBS, a Louisiana minister named Theodore Turner, whose congregation is one third fishermen, said he knew it to be so. “The Bible prophesized hardships,” he said. “If we believe the word of God is true—and we do—we also know that in addition to prophesying hardships he promised to take care of us.”
But there’s a problem. In the place where American religion and politics intersect, signs of the end times have traditionally been interpreted by members of the right as punishment for ungodly behavior by those on the left. And because the values of the religious right have mirrored those of the Republican Party—at least before the last presidential election—the "good guys" in the cosmic battle have tended to look like Republicans on the far-right fringe and the “bad guys” like liberal Democrats. Thus Hurricane Katrina was brought down upon New Orleans because it was, in the words of Christian minister John Hagee, a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah: the city had a gay-pride march planned for the day the storm struck.
And, according to such fringe commentators as this one, President Barack Obama embodies many of qualities of the Antichrist, as described in Revelation 13:5–7: “The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for 42 months. It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God … It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it.”
Yet through a biblical lens, it’s hard to see the oil spill as anything but God’s punishment for greed and a disrespect of Creation—and both of those sins fall mostly on the shoulders of the Republicans, who have been aggressively lobbying for more offshore drilling, without, obviously, ensuring that appropriate safeguards are in place. (Remember “Drill, baby, drill”? According to OpenSecrets.org, Republicans in the last decade have far outstripped Democrats in donations from big oil, sometimes by a factor of four.) So the question for biblical literalists becomes one of political alliances. Does God wreak apocalyptic wrath on members of one’s own party—or only on the opposition?
Crisis not 'wasted': Obama to nationalize oil companies?
While management of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has shaken many Americans' confidence in the current administration, some voices in entertainment, news and academia see the crisis as reason to give the federal government even more power – namely, the ability to take over the oil industry.
The notion is catching on with the public, too. A CBS poll recently tabulated 63 percent of Americans believe the Obama administration should be doing more in response to the spill, and activists working through the SeizeBP.org website are planning protests in 50 cities throughout the week demanding the federal government take over BP, the company that owns and operates the leaking oil drill.
The Seize BP organization is demanding BP assets be nationalized not only to clean up the spill, but also to compensate families affected by what the organization calls "this capitalist-made disaster."
Public pressure for greater government involvement in the spill has raised alarms among some writers who recognize the same trend of federal takeovers mentioned by Reich and wonder what might be next.
Rabbi Dov Fischer, an adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, recalls in an article in FrontPageMag.com the words of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who told the Wall Street Journal, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."
"In other words," Fischer writes, "when there is tragedy and suffering, intense human pain and disaster, a political expert enjoys a unique opportunity to push the least popular parts of his agenda past a distracted electorate."
Citing how stimulus spending and Obamacare were passed quickly on the swell of perceived crises, Fischer continues, "Considered in the light of this prior experience, it becomes understandable why the Obama Administration has opted to curtail oil exploration, suspending and rescinding permits, in response to the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill off the Gulf of Mexico."
Indeed, CNN reports, the president has pledged in light of the Gulf spill that the government would seek aggressive, new operating standards and requirements for offshore oil companies. The federal government has further suspended planned oil exploration of two locations off the coast of Alaska, canceled pending lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and the proposed lease sale off Virginia, extended an existing moratorium on deepwater drilling and halted the issuance of new permits for deep-water wells for six months. Action also was suspended on 33 deepwater exploratory wells in the Gulf area.
Furthermore, in a speech at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University earlier this week, Obama tied the oil spill to a renewed effort to pass cap-and-trade legislation that has until now been stalled in Congress.
"The votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months," said Obama, who also argued it was time for "finally putting a price on carbon pollution."
"I will make the case for a clean energy future whenever and wherever I can, and I will work with anyone to get this done," the president pledged. "And we will get it done."
As for capitalizing on the crisis to socialize the oil industry, however, the administration has thus far downplayed the idea. President Obama has repeatedly affirmed the government is already "fully engaged" in the cleanup efforts in the Gulf.
A Treasury official told FoxNews.com that it's unclear whether the U.S. even could put BP into receivership, as Reich suggests.
"I have no idea what the answer is," the Treasury official said. "It's not clear we even have the authority [to put BP into receivership]. We have no plans to pursue this."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also said earlier this week, "I'm not entirely sure what legal mechanism one would have to do that."
The notion is catching on with the public, too. A CBS poll recently tabulated 63 percent of Americans believe the Obama administration should be doing more in response to the spill, and activists working through the SeizeBP.org website are planning protests in 50 cities throughout the week demanding the federal government take over BP, the company that owns and operates the leaking oil drill.
The Seize BP organization is demanding BP assets be nationalized not only to clean up the spill, but also to compensate families affected by what the organization calls "this capitalist-made disaster."
Public pressure for greater government involvement in the spill has raised alarms among some writers who recognize the same trend of federal takeovers mentioned by Reich and wonder what might be next.
Rabbi Dov Fischer, an adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, recalls in an article in FrontPageMag.com the words of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who told the Wall Street Journal, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."
"In other words," Fischer writes, "when there is tragedy and suffering, intense human pain and disaster, a political expert enjoys a unique opportunity to push the least popular parts of his agenda past a distracted electorate."
Citing how stimulus spending and Obamacare were passed quickly on the swell of perceived crises, Fischer continues, "Considered in the light of this prior experience, it becomes understandable why the Obama Administration has opted to curtail oil exploration, suspending and rescinding permits, in response to the tragic Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill off the Gulf of Mexico."
Indeed, CNN reports, the president has pledged in light of the Gulf spill that the government would seek aggressive, new operating standards and requirements for offshore oil companies. The federal government has further suspended planned oil exploration of two locations off the coast of Alaska, canceled pending lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and the proposed lease sale off Virginia, extended an existing moratorium on deepwater drilling and halted the issuance of new permits for deep-water wells for six months. Action also was suspended on 33 deepwater exploratory wells in the Gulf area.
Furthermore, in a speech at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University earlier this week, Obama tied the oil spill to a renewed effort to pass cap-and-trade legislation that has until now been stalled in Congress.
"The votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months," said Obama, who also argued it was time for "finally putting a price on carbon pollution."
"I will make the case for a clean energy future whenever and wherever I can, and I will work with anyone to get this done," the president pledged. "And we will get it done."
As for capitalizing on the crisis to socialize the oil industry, however, the administration has thus far downplayed the idea. President Obama has repeatedly affirmed the government is already "fully engaged" in the cleanup efforts in the Gulf.
A Treasury official told FoxNews.com that it's unclear whether the U.S. even could put BP into receivership, as Reich suggests.
"I have no idea what the answer is," the Treasury official said. "It's not clear we even have the authority [to put BP into receivership]. We have no plans to pursue this."
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also said earlier this week, "I'm not entirely sure what legal mechanism one would have to do that."
Member of parliament: Execute those Christians! (Afghanistan)
A member of parliament in Afghanistan has called for the public execution of Christians, sending many members of the faith into hiding over concern for their lives, according to a new report from International Christian Concern.
The organization said it had learned from Associated Free Press that Abdul Sattar Khawasi, deputy secretary for the lower house in the Afghan parliament, had called for the execution of those Afghanis who converted from Islam to Christianity. The public call to violence came after a video was broadcast by Noorin TV, an Afghan television network, that showed Christian men being baptized and praying in Farsi.
According to the ICC report, Khawasi said, "Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public, the house should order the attorney general and the NDS (the state police intelligence agency) to arrest these Afghans and execute them." Aidan Clay, an ICC official who deals with issues in the Middle said, called it "absolutely appalling that the execution of Christians would be promoted on the floor of the Afghan parliament. "Khawasi's statement sounded a whole lot like the tyrannical manifesto of the Taliban, not that of a U.S. ally," he said.
The organization said it had learned from Associated Free Press that Abdul Sattar Khawasi, deputy secretary for the lower house in the Afghan parliament, had called for the execution of those Afghanis who converted from Islam to Christianity. The public call to violence came after a video was broadcast by Noorin TV, an Afghan television network, that showed Christian men being baptized and praying in Farsi.
According to the ICC report, Khawasi said, "Those Afghans that appeared in this video film should be executed in public, the house should order the attorney general and the NDS (the state police intelligence agency) to arrest these Afghans and execute them." Aidan Clay, an ICC official who deals with issues in the Middle said, called it "absolutely appalling that the execution of Christians would be promoted on the floor of the Afghan parliament. "Khawasi's statement sounded a whole lot like the tyrannical manifesto of the Taliban, not that of a U.S. ally," he said.
WHO scandal exposed: Advisors received kickbacks from H1N1 vaccine manufacturers
A stunning new report reveals that top scientists who convinced the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare H1N1 a global pandemic held close financial ties to the drug companies that profited from the sale of those vaccines. This report, published in the British Medical Journal, exposes the hidden ties that drove WHO to declare a pandemic, resulting in billions of dollars in profits for vaccine manufacturers. Several key advisors who urged WHO to declare a pandemic received direct financial compensation from the very same vaccine manufacturers who received a windfall of profits from the pandemic announcement.
During all this, WHO refused to disclose any conflicts of interests between its top advisors and the drug companies who would financially benefit from its decisions. All the kickbacks, in other words, were swept under the table and kept silent, and WHO somehow didn't think it was important to let the world know that it was receiving policy advice from individuals who stood to make millions of dollars when a pandemic was declared.
The report was authored by Deborah Cohen (BMJ features editor), and Philip Carter, a journalist who works for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London. In their report, Cohen states, "...our investigation has revealed damaging issues. If these are not addressed, H1N1 may yet claim its biggest victim - the credibility of the WHO and the trust in the global public health system."
In response to the report, WHO secretary-general Dr Margaret Chan defended the secrecy, saying that WHO intentionally kept the financial ties a secret in order to "... protect the integrity and independence of the members while doing this critical work ... [and] also to ensure transparency."
During all this, WHO refused to disclose any conflicts of interests between its top advisors and the drug companies who would financially benefit from its decisions. All the kickbacks, in other words, were swept under the table and kept silent, and WHO somehow didn't think it was important to let the world know that it was receiving policy advice from individuals who stood to make millions of dollars when a pandemic was declared.
The report was authored by Deborah Cohen (BMJ features editor), and Philip Carter, a journalist who works for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London. In their report, Cohen states, "...our investigation has revealed damaging issues. If these are not addressed, H1N1 may yet claim its biggest victim - the credibility of the WHO and the trust in the global public health system."
In response to the report, WHO secretary-general Dr Margaret Chan defended the secrecy, saying that WHO intentionally kept the financial ties a secret in order to "... protect the integrity and independence of the members while doing this critical work ... [and] also to ensure transparency."
'Banks' allow members to pay with time, not cash
ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA -- No money? No problem! Pay with time, instead. That's what Maria Villacreses did when the economy put a hitch in her wedding plans: She used "time dollars" on everything from a wedding-day makeover to an elaborate seven-layer cake.
In a modern twist on the ancient practice of barter, people like Villacreses are joining time banks to help them get the things they need or want without having to spend cash. In a time bank, members get credit for services they provide to other members, from cooking to housekeeping to car rides to home repair. For each hour of work, one time dollar is deposited into a member's account, good for services offered by other members.
Scores of time banks are being started in hard-hit communities around the nation - and thousands of devotees are helping each other survive tough financial times
In a modern twist on the ancient practice of barter, people like Villacreses are joining time banks to help them get the things they need or want without having to spend cash. In a time bank, members get credit for services they provide to other members, from cooking to housekeeping to car rides to home repair. For each hour of work, one time dollar is deposited into a member's account, good for services offered by other members.
Scores of time banks are being started in hard-hit communities around the nation - and thousands of devotees are helping each other survive tough financial times
Gaza blockade: Iran offers escort to next aid convoy
Iran has warned that it could send Revolutionary Guard naval units to escort humanitarian aid convoys seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza – a move that would certainly be challenged by Israel.
Any such Iranian involvement, raised today by an aide to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would constitute a serious escalation of already high tensions with Israel, which accuses Tehran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon and of backing Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza.
"Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces are prepared to escort the peace and freedom convoys that carry humanitarian assistance for the defenceless and oppressed people of Gaza with all their strength," pledged Hojjatoleslam Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's personal representative to the guards corps.
The threat came as the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, dismissed a UN proposal for an international commission to investigate last week's commando assault on aid ships, in which nine people died. Another aid ship, the Rachel Corrie, carrying Irish and other peace activists, was boarded peacefully by Israeli forces on Saturday, escorted to the port of Ashdod, and its passengers deported.
Netanyahu has defended Israel's right to maintain the blockade by arguing that without it Gaza would become an "Iranian port" and Hamas missiles would strike Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel's undeclared aim is to weaken or bring down the Hamas government.
Iran continued to exploit the "freedom flotilla" affair to lambast Israel. Its foreign minister, Manuchehr Mottaki, told the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah on Sunday that Israel's crime was "another instance of the Zionist regime's brazen and merciless treatment of Muslims, especially the oppressed Palestinian people."
Mottaki also called for a UN resolution condemning Israel . . . .
Israel's no-compromise attitude to aid convoys could be tested again after two Lebanese organisations pledged to send boats to Gaza in the next few days. Reporters Without Borders is attempting to assemble 25 European activists and 50 journalists for a boat leaving Beirut. The Free Palestine Movement is planning a similar attempt.
George Galloway, the founder of Viva Palestina, announced in London that two simultaneous convoys "one by land via Egypt and the other by sea" would set out in September to break the Gaza blockade. The sea convoy of up to 60 ships will travel around the Mediterranean gathering ships, cargo and volunteers.
Any such Iranian involvement, raised today by an aide to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would constitute a serious escalation of already high tensions with Israel, which accuses Tehran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon and of backing Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza.
"Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces are prepared to escort the peace and freedom convoys that carry humanitarian assistance for the defenceless and oppressed people of Gaza with all their strength," pledged Hojjatoleslam Ali Shirazi, Khamenei's personal representative to the guards corps.
The threat came as the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, dismissed a UN proposal for an international commission to investigate last week's commando assault on aid ships, in which nine people died. Another aid ship, the Rachel Corrie, carrying Irish and other peace activists, was boarded peacefully by Israeli forces on Saturday, escorted to the port of Ashdod, and its passengers deported.
Netanyahu has defended Israel's right to maintain the blockade by arguing that without it Gaza would become an "Iranian port" and Hamas missiles would strike Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel's undeclared aim is to weaken or bring down the Hamas government.
Iran continued to exploit the "freedom flotilla" affair to lambast Israel. Its foreign minister, Manuchehr Mottaki, told the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Jeddah on Sunday that Israel's crime was "another instance of the Zionist regime's brazen and merciless treatment of Muslims, especially the oppressed Palestinian people."
Mottaki also called for a UN resolution condemning Israel . . . .
Israel's no-compromise attitude to aid convoys could be tested again after two Lebanese organisations pledged to send boats to Gaza in the next few days. Reporters Without Borders is attempting to assemble 25 European activists and 50 journalists for a boat leaving Beirut. The Free Palestine Movement is planning a similar attempt.
George Galloway, the founder of Viva Palestina, announced in London that two simultaneous convoys "one by land via Egypt and the other by sea" would set out in September to break the Gaza blockade. The sea convoy of up to 60 ships will travel around the Mediterranean gathering ships, cargo and volunteers.
3 dead after natural gas line explodes in Texas
CLEBURNE, Texas – Officials say three people have been killed and several other injured after a natural gas line exploded in rural north Texas.
Officials say workers apparently hit the underground line south of Dallas while digging on Monday.
Johnson County Emergency Management Coordinator Jack Snow says about six people were transported by air or ground ambulance to hospitals.
Laura Harlin is a resident of nearby Granbury and she says the explosion made a "huge rumbling" and sounded like a tornado even from eight miles away.
The explosion caused a massive fire that sent orange flames and black smoke streaming into the air.
Cleburne is about 50 miles south of Dallas.
Officials say workers apparently hit the underground line south of Dallas while digging on Monday.
Johnson County Emergency Management Coordinator Jack Snow says about six people were transported by air or ground ambulance to hospitals.
Laura Harlin is a resident of nearby Granbury and she says the explosion made a "huge rumbling" and sounded like a tornado even from eight miles away.
The explosion caused a massive fire that sent orange flames and black smoke streaming into the air.
Cleburne is about 50 miles south of Dallas.
Rising Hunger Trend Affects 1 in 4 U.S. Children
Nearly one in four children in the United States lived in a home that suffered from food insecurity in 2008, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In total, 16.7 million children, or 22.5 percent, were from families that had difficulty putting enough food on the table last year. That’s 4.3 million more children than in 2007.
“Child hunger is not just a casualty of the recession,” commented the Rev. David Beckmann, president of the Christian anti-poverty group Bread for the World, in response to the data. “It was a problem before the recession, and unless we take the necessary steps, kids will continue to suffer after the economy recovers.”
In making his point, Beckmann pointed to record high participation in the federally-funded food assistance program called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) as a barometer of food security. More than 36 million people – half of them children – received SNAP benefits in August 2009 – a 24 percent increase compared to August 2008.
The new USDA data also shows more than one in seven, or over 49 million American households, suffered from food insecurity in 2008. The figure – an 11 percent increase from 2007 – represents the largest one-year increase since the USDA first began publishing data on food security in 1995.
President Obama described the report as “unsettling” and said he was particularly troubled by the finding that children in 500,000 U.S. families experienced hunger multiple times last year.
In total, 16.7 million children, or 22.5 percent, were from families that had difficulty putting enough food on the table last year. That’s 4.3 million more children than in 2007.
“Child hunger is not just a casualty of the recession,” commented the Rev. David Beckmann, president of the Christian anti-poverty group Bread for the World, in response to the data. “It was a problem before the recession, and unless we take the necessary steps, kids will continue to suffer after the economy recovers.”
In making his point, Beckmann pointed to record high participation in the federally-funded food assistance program called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp Program) as a barometer of food security. More than 36 million people – half of them children – received SNAP benefits in August 2009 – a 24 percent increase compared to August 2008.
The new USDA data also shows more than one in seven, or over 49 million American households, suffered from food insecurity in 2008. The figure – an 11 percent increase from 2007 – represents the largest one-year increase since the USDA first began publishing data on food security in 1995.
President Obama described the report as “unsettling” and said he was particularly troubled by the finding that children in 500,000 U.S. families experienced hunger multiple times last year.
Update: Helen Thomas quits after Israel comments
Journalist Helen Thomas, who has covered every administration since Eisenhower's and occupies front-row center in the White House briefing room is taking heat for comments she recently made on Israel.
The latest Thomas controversy erupted Friday after a rabbi asked her and other attendees at a Jewish American Heritage Month celebration, held May 27 at the White House, "Any comments on Israel?" A portion of her interview was posted online (a week late because the rabbi's webmaster son was taking finals), and Part 2 is "to come soon," RabbiLive.com promises:
Thomas, a longtime critic of Israeli policy, replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine." She continued to say that the Palestinians are "occupied" and that the Jews should "Go home" — to Germany, Poland, America and "everywhere else."
Rabbi David Nesenoff, who interviewed Thomas and published the clip on his RabbiLive.com site, told Yahoo! News that she should lose her job with Hearst Newspapers. "Of course they've got to get rid of her," he said.
Hearst, asked by the Washington Post's Greg Sargent whether it would remove Thomas, issued a statement over the weekend: "We deeply regret Helen Thomas' remarks, which in no way reflect the views of Hearst Newspapers or its employees. Helen has expressed her own profound regret over the incident." Its spokesman refused to go further.
Since going viral, the short clip of Thomas has spawned criticism across the political spectrum.
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), on Monday's "Morning Joe," said her comment "borders on anti-Semitism" and "anyone who runs her stories has a credibility issue."
Sarah Palin took to Twitter to condemn Thomas (and the media): "Helen Thomas press pals condone racist rant?Heaven forbid'esteemed'press corps represent society's enlightened elite;Rest of us choose truth."
Ari Fleischer, who tangled with Thomas when he was press secretary during the Bush administration, told the Huffington Post that Hearst should drop the veteran journalist.
"She should lose her job over this," Fleischer said. "As someone who is Jewish, and as someone who worked with her and used to like her, I find this appalling."
The latest Thomas controversy erupted Friday after a rabbi asked her and other attendees at a Jewish American Heritage Month celebration, held May 27 at the White House, "Any comments on Israel?" A portion of her interview was posted online (a week late because the rabbi's webmaster son was taking finals), and Part 2 is "to come soon," RabbiLive.com promises:
Thomas, a longtime critic of Israeli policy, replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine." She continued to say that the Palestinians are "occupied" and that the Jews should "Go home" — to Germany, Poland, America and "everywhere else."
Rabbi David Nesenoff, who interviewed Thomas and published the clip on his RabbiLive.com site, told Yahoo! News that she should lose her job with Hearst Newspapers. "Of course they've got to get rid of her," he said.
Hearst, asked by the Washington Post's Greg Sargent whether it would remove Thomas, issued a statement over the weekend: "We deeply regret Helen Thomas' remarks, which in no way reflect the views of Hearst Newspapers or its employees. Helen has expressed her own profound regret over the incident." Its spokesman refused to go further.
Since going viral, the short clip of Thomas has spawned criticism across the political spectrum.
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), on Monday's "Morning Joe," said her comment "borders on anti-Semitism" and "anyone who runs her stories has a credibility issue."
Sarah Palin took to Twitter to condemn Thomas (and the media): "Helen Thomas press pals condone racist rant?Heaven forbid'esteemed'press corps represent society's enlightened elite;Rest of us choose truth."
Ari Fleischer, who tangled with Thomas when he was press secretary during the Bush administration, told the Huffington Post that Hearst should drop the veteran journalist.
"She should lose her job over this," Fleischer said. "As someone who is Jewish, and as someone who worked with her and used to like her, I find this appalling."
6 bodies found in cave near Cancun, 3 with hearts cut out; attack on girl's party kills 3
CANCUN, Mexico — Police discovered six dead bodies in a cavern near the tourist resort of Cancun on Sunday, three of them cut open and their hearts removed.
Authorities are investigating the identities of the four men and two women found dead in the natural cave, said Francisco Alor, the Quintana Roo state attorney general.
"They were apparently tortured and their chests were opened to remove the hearts," Alor's office said later in a statement.
Three of the bodies had the letter "Z'' carved on their abdomens — a possible reference to the Zeta drug gang, though officials did not make an explicit connection to cartel violence that has plagued many parts of Mexico.
More than 22,700 people have died nationwide in drug violence since late 2006, when President Felipe Calderon sent soldiers and federal police to battle the cartels.
Also Sunday, armed men in two cars barged into a girl's coming-out party in the southwestern town of Coyuca de Catalan, sparking a deadly gunbattle.
Some of those attending the "quinceanera" celebration were also armed and returned fire, Guerrero state police said in a statement. Two partygoers and one attacker were killed, while three people were wounded.
Police have not yet determined a motive, but the area is plagued by drug trafficking.
Authorities are investigating the identities of the four men and two women found dead in the natural cave, said Francisco Alor, the Quintana Roo state attorney general.
"They were apparently tortured and their chests were opened to remove the hearts," Alor's office said later in a statement.
Three of the bodies had the letter "Z'' carved on their abdomens — a possible reference to the Zeta drug gang, though officials did not make an explicit connection to cartel violence that has plagued many parts of Mexico.
More than 22,700 people have died nationwide in drug violence since late 2006, when President Felipe Calderon sent soldiers and federal police to battle the cartels.
Also Sunday, armed men in two cars barged into a girl's coming-out party in the southwestern town of Coyuca de Catalan, sparking a deadly gunbattle.
Some of those attending the "quinceanera" celebration were also armed and returned fire, Guerrero state police said in a statement. Two partygoers and one attacker were killed, while three people were wounded.
Police have not yet determined a motive, but the area is plagued by drug trafficking.
Bank of America to Pay $108 Million in Mortgage Abuse Case
Bank of America has agreed to pay $108 million to settle
charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the bank's
Countrywide Financial mortgage subsidiary collected excessive
fees from struggling homeowners and engaged in other abusive
practices in the years before the bank acquired Countrywide
in July 2008. In announcing the settlement on Monday, the
commission said the payment would be used to reimburse
homeowners.
charges by the Federal Trade Commission that the bank's
Countrywide Financial mortgage subsidiary collected excessive
fees from struggling homeowners and engaged in other abusive
practices in the years before the bank acquired Countrywide
in July 2008. In announcing the settlement on Monday, the
commission said the payment would be used to reimburse
homeowners.
White House criticizes Thomas for Israel remarks
Thomas, a columnist for Hearst Newspapers, has apologized for comments that were captured on video by an interviewer for the website http://www.rabbilive.com. On the May 27 video, Thomas says Israelis should "get the hell out of Palestine," suggesting they go to Germany, Poland or the U.S.
"She should and has apologized," Gibbs said. "Because obviously those remarks do not reflect certainly the opinion of most of the people here and certainly not of the administration."
Thomas had been scheduled to speak at the June 14 graduation of Walt Whitman High School in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Md., but Principal Alan Goodwin wrote in a Sunday e-mail to students and parents that she was being replaced.
"Graduation celebrations are not the venue for divisiveness," Goodwin wrote.
Thomas wrote on her website that "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians."
She added: "They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."
"Her suggestion that Israelis should go back to Poland and Germany is bigoted and shows a profound ignorance of history," Foxman said in a statement. "We believe Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere apology for the pain her remarks have caused."
"She should and has apologized," Gibbs said. "Because obviously those remarks do not reflect certainly the opinion of most of the people here and certainly not of the administration."
Thomas had been scheduled to speak at the June 14 graduation of Walt Whitman High School in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Md., but Principal Alan Goodwin wrote in a Sunday e-mail to students and parents that she was being replaced.
"Graduation celebrations are not the venue for divisiveness," Goodwin wrote.
Thomas wrote on her website that "I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians."
She added: "They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon."
"Her suggestion that Israelis should go back to Poland and Germany is bigoted and shows a profound ignorance of history," Foxman said in a statement. "We believe Thomas needs to make a more forceful and sincere apology for the pain her remarks have caused."
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Upwards of Eight Thousand Protest 911 Mega Mosque on D Day!
Despite weather forecasts of thunderstorms and rain, the skies were clear and beautiful -- but not as beautiful as this patriotic crowd of great Americans and Europeans. It was a real cross section of humanity .......... ever race, creed, color and religion were out in all their glory.
Robert and I were expecting 500; imagine our wonder when close to 5,000 showed up. This is just the beginning. We are going to sue to designate the Burlington building a war memorial. There is a large piece of an airplane in that building. That is a war memorial. Instead of a mega mosque at ground zero, let's build a 911 war memorial to the victims. The current plan for a 911 museum is several floors underground, like a dungeon. And the mosque plan calls for the mosque to be on the top floor, looking down triumphantly on the burial ground of Ground Zero.
I don't think so. The Burlington building must be a war memorial, an historic landmark. We will sue to make that happen. We will protest again in September and stage sit-ins in front of the mosque should they try to break ground. Three thousand good and decent Americans did not die in vain.
The crowd was so huge that it filled the police pens and Zuccotti Park, and overflowed to the other side of the street. American Sheepdogs with an SIOA banner were down the block, across the street, right outside Charley's.
There was little big media there, which indicates how biased they are against the Ame rican people. NY News actually ran four segments repeatedly of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered parade since I got home. And Fox is running ....get this -- Greta Van Susteren's years old interview with Natalee Holloway's murderer.
They started showing up long before the rally began at noon today. They came from Washington state, California, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, South Carolina, Florida, and elsewhere. They were Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, atheists, Muslims of conscience. They were lovers of freedom.
An hour before the rally began, they numbered 1,000. Zuccotti Park's owners sided with the Islamic supremacists and withdrew their permit to allow us to gather there, and so the police repeatedly requested that people leave the park and move into the pens that the police had set up at Church and Liberty streets. Before noon, however, the pens were full -- and so, with free citizens having every legal right to be in the park, the park became a site for the rally despite the best efforts of its clueless dhimmi owners.
By the time the rally was in full swing, the crowd filled the pens, the park, and the other side of the street. Police estimated that 5,000 people were there, and other estimates ranged as high as 10,000. The crowd carried signs expressing their love for freedom, their contempt for Sharia, and their anger at Islamic supremacism and insult to the memories of those murdered on 9/11 that this mosque represents.
And we had a full spectrum of top quality speakers. There were 9/11 family members, including C. Lee Hanson, who lost his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter on 9/11. There were people who experienced the oppression of Sharia firsthand, such as the Egyptian ex-Muslim Nonie Darwish, the Sudanese ex-slave Simon Deng, and the Hindu human rights activist Babu Suseelan. There was Dennis McKenna, who worked recovering remains from the ruins of the World Trade Center; Alan T. DeVona, the patrol sergeant on duty on September 11, 2001; and Keith LeBow, an ironworker who was one of the first responders on the scene on September 11. There was Herb London of the Hudson Institute and Beverly Carlson of the Band of Mothers -- and a host of other speakers, all lovers of America and lovers of freedom.
The theme among all the speakers was common: the mosque is an insult to the Americans who were murdered there. It is a manifestation of a radically intolerant belief system that is incompatible with the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. And even with all the political elites against us, and the mainstream media indifferent or compromised (5,000 to 10,000 people at the rally, and no mainstream media coverage!), we will prevail. All we have on our side is the truth.
Pamela Geller did interviews with Al-Jazeera, AP, Chilean television, Italian television and many others; I was interviewed by Italian television and TV Asia. ABC? NBC? CBS? CNN? Even FOX? AWOL.
And the truth is powerful. The forecast had called for rain, but it didn't start raining in New York until after the rally had broken up. Many took it as a sign that we represented the cause of right and justice. And even with all the indifference of the politicians and the media, we sent a signal today: we will not let this injustice stand. We will be rallying again in September, and again when construction begins on the mega-mosque. We will be filing suit against the Federal Government, asking that the Burlington Coat Factory site where the mega-mosque is going to be built be designated a war memorial, a la Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg, etc., because of the part of one of the 9/11 airplanes that crashed into the roof there, and that is in the makeshift mosque that Muslims are using there now.
Robert and I were expecting 500; imagine our wonder when close to 5,000 showed up. This is just the beginning. We are going to sue to designate the Burlington building a war memorial. There is a large piece of an airplane in that building. That is a war memorial. Instead of a mega mosque at ground zero, let's build a 911 war memorial to the victims. The current plan for a 911 museum is several floors underground, like a dungeon. And the mosque plan calls for the mosque to be on the top floor, looking down triumphantly on the burial ground of Ground Zero.
I don't think so. The Burlington building must be a war memorial, an historic landmark. We will sue to make that happen. We will protest again in September and stage sit-ins in front of the mosque should they try to break ground. Three thousand good and decent Americans did not die in vain.
The crowd was so huge that it filled the police pens and Zuccotti Park, and overflowed to the other side of the street. American Sheepdogs with an SIOA banner were down the block, across the street, right outside Charley's.
There was little big media there, which indicates how biased they are against the Ame rican people. NY News actually ran four segments repeatedly of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered parade since I got home. And Fox is running ....get this -- Greta Van Susteren's years old interview with Natalee Holloway's murderer.
They started showing up long before the rally began at noon today. They came from Washington state, California, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, South Carolina, Florida, and elsewhere. They were Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, atheists, Muslims of conscience. They were lovers of freedom.
An hour before the rally began, they numbered 1,000. Zuccotti Park's owners sided with the Islamic supremacists and withdrew their permit to allow us to gather there, and so the police repeatedly requested that people leave the park and move into the pens that the police had set up at Church and Liberty streets. Before noon, however, the pens were full -- and so, with free citizens having every legal right to be in the park, the park became a site for the rally despite the best efforts of its clueless dhimmi owners.
By the time the rally was in full swing, the crowd filled the pens, the park, and the other side of the street. Police estimated that 5,000 people were there, and other estimates ranged as high as 10,000. The crowd carried signs expressing their love for freedom, their contempt for Sharia, and their anger at Islamic supremacism and insult to the memories of those murdered on 9/11 that this mosque represents.
And we had a full spectrum of top quality speakers. There were 9/11 family members, including C. Lee Hanson, who lost his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter on 9/11. There were people who experienced the oppression of Sharia firsthand, such as the Egyptian ex-Muslim Nonie Darwish, the Sudanese ex-slave Simon Deng, and the Hindu human rights activist Babu Suseelan. There was Dennis McKenna, who worked recovering remains from the ruins of the World Trade Center; Alan T. DeVona, the patrol sergeant on duty on September 11, 2001; and Keith LeBow, an ironworker who was one of the first responders on the scene on September 11. There was Herb London of the Hudson Institute and Beverly Carlson of the Band of Mothers -- and a host of other speakers, all lovers of America and lovers of freedom.
The theme among all the speakers was common: the mosque is an insult to the Americans who were murdered there. It is a manifestation of a radically intolerant belief system that is incompatible with the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. And even with all the political elites against us, and the mainstream media indifferent or compromised (5,000 to 10,000 people at the rally, and no mainstream media coverage!), we will prevail. All we have on our side is the truth.
Pamela Geller did interviews with Al-Jazeera, AP, Chilean television, Italian television and many others; I was interviewed by Italian television and TV Asia. ABC? NBC? CBS? CNN? Even FOX? AWOL.
And the truth is powerful. The forecast had called for rain, but it didn't start raining in New York until after the rally had broken up. Many took it as a sign that we represented the cause of right and justice. And even with all the indifference of the politicians and the media, we sent a signal today: we will not let this injustice stand. We will be rallying again in September, and again when construction begins on the mega-mosque. We will be filing suit against the Federal Government, asking that the Burlington Coat Factory site where the mega-mosque is going to be built be designated a war memorial, a la Pearl Harbor, Gettysburg, etc., because of the part of one of the 9/11 airplanes that crashed into the roof there, and that is in the makeshift mosque that Muslims are using there now.
Update: Ohio tornado kills 7, wrecks cop cars, graduation
MILLBURY, Ohio – A tornado unleashed a "war zone" of destruction in northwest Ohio, destroying dozens of homes and an emergency services building as a line of storms killed at least seven people and threatened to do more damage Sunday as it hit the Northeast.
Storms collapsed a movie-theater roof in Illinois and ripped siding off a building at a Michigan nuclear plant, forcing a shutdown. But most of the worst was reserved for a 100-yard-wide, 7-mile-long strip southeast of Toledo now littered with wrecked vehicles, splintered wood and family possessions.
The tornado ripped the roof and back wall off Lake High School's gymnasium about 11 p.m. Saturday, several hours before the graduation ceremony was supposed to begin there. The school board president said one of the victims was the father of the class valedictorian.
Two buses were tossed on their sides and another was thrown about 50 yards, landing on its top near the high school's football field. More than 10 hours later, its right turn signal was still blinking.
Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer flew over the damaged area and said at least 50 homes were destroyed and another 50 severely damaged, as well as six commercial buildings. The storm fell over an area of farm fields and light industry, narrowly missing the heavily populated suburbs on the southern edge of Toledo.
Storms collapsed a movie-theater roof in Illinois and ripped siding off a building at a Michigan nuclear plant, forcing a shutdown. But most of the worst was reserved for a 100-yard-wide, 7-mile-long strip southeast of Toledo now littered with wrecked vehicles, splintered wood and family possessions.
The tornado ripped the roof and back wall off Lake High School's gymnasium about 11 p.m. Saturday, several hours before the graduation ceremony was supposed to begin there. The school board president said one of the victims was the father of the class valedictorian.
Two buses were tossed on their sides and another was thrown about 50 yards, landing on its top near the high school's football field. More than 10 hours later, its right turn signal was still blinking.
Lake Township Police Chief Mark Hummer flew over the damaged area and said at least 50 homes were destroyed and another 50 severely damaged, as well as six commercial buildings. The storm fell over an area of farm fields and light industry, narrowly missing the heavily populated suburbs on the southern edge of Toledo.
Washington, D.C. Prohibits Prayer and Free Speech on the Public Sidewalk in Our Nation's Capitol
For many years, the pro-life community has been allowed to pray, counsel and have a peaceful witness on the public property surrounding the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Washington, D.C.
Several weeks ago Planned Parenthood put up a fence around that public property and police are now threatening to arrest anyone who stands inside that fence.
The Christian Defense Coalition is challenging this unconstitutional crushing of prayer and free speech and has applied for a permit to hold a prayer vigil on the public sidewalk leading up to Planned Parenthood.
That prayer vigil will take place on Tuesday, June 8, at 11:00 A.M. at Planned Parenthood 1108 16th St. NW Washington, D.C.
Faith leaders will risk arrest before they surrender their First Amendment rights or allow prayer to be banned on the public sidewalk in the heart of our nation's capitol.
Several weeks ago Planned Parenthood put up a fence around that public property and police are now threatening to arrest anyone who stands inside that fence.
The Christian Defense Coalition is challenging this unconstitutional crushing of prayer and free speech and has applied for a permit to hold a prayer vigil on the public sidewalk leading up to Planned Parenthood.
That prayer vigil will take place on Tuesday, June 8, at 11:00 A.M. at Planned Parenthood 1108 16th St. NW Washington, D.C.
Faith leaders will risk arrest before they surrender their First Amendment rights or allow prayer to be banned on the public sidewalk in the heart of our nation's capitol.
Major cuts: High schools face hard economic lessons
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Students graduating from high school this spring may be collecting their diplomas just in time, leaving institutions that are being badly weakened by the nation's economic downturn.
Across the country, mass layoffs of teachers, counselors and other staff members — caused in part by the drying up of federal stimulus dollars — are leading to larger classes and reductions in everything that is not a core subject, including music, art, clubs, sports and other after-school activities.
Across the country, mass layoffs of teachers, counselors and other staff members — caused in part by the drying up of federal stimulus dollars — are leading to larger classes and reductions in everything that is not a core subject, including music, art, clubs, sports and other after-school activities.
Army to Stage Massive Wargames
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Army Commander General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan announced
that his forces are scheduled to stage a series of massive military drills
in the country's southwestern provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam next
September.
General Pourdastan further pointed out that five divisions and seven
sovereign units would showcase innovative military strategies and skills
during the exercises.
He also said that Iran's latest achievements in weapons production will be
tested in the maneuvers, and added, "The wargames are also aimed at
practicing new military skills in a combat theater with rough terrain."
The Iranian commander noted that some of the weaponry planned for use and
testing during the drills includes refurbished and upgraded tanks utilizing
laser systems, helicopters and Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs).
that his forces are scheduled to stage a series of massive military drills
in the country's southwestern provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam next
September.
General Pourdastan further pointed out that five divisions and seven
sovereign units would showcase innovative military strategies and skills
during the exercises.
He also said that Iran's latest achievements in weapons production will be
tested in the maneuvers, and added, "The wargames are also aimed at
practicing new military skills in a combat theater with rough terrain."
The Iranian commander noted that some of the weaponry planned for use and
testing during the drills includes refurbished and upgraded tanks utilizing
laser systems, helicopters and Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs).
Feds Arrest 2 NJ Men Headed To Terror Camps
Federal authorities arrested two New Jersey men late Saturday night as they tried to leave the country for terrorist training camps in war-torn Somalia, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
The men, identified as 20-year-old Mohamed Hamoud Alessa and 26-year-old Carlos Eduardo Almonte, were taken into custody by FBI agents and others at J.F.K. International Airport outside New York City. They were set to take separate flights to Egypt and then make their way to Somalia, where an Al Qaeda-linked group known as al-Shabaab has been warring with the nation’s fledgling transitional government.
One source called Somalia "the Afghanistan of now," suggesting that the near-anarchist state in Somalia has allowed the country to become a fertile training ground for terrorist recruits from around the world.
Alessa, a U.S. citizen, and Almonte, a Jordanian citizen believed to also have dual U.S. citizenship, "grew up" in the United States, becoming the latest in a "disconcerting pattern" of "people living among us" who are radicalized with extremist ideology, one source said.
The men, identified as 20-year-old Mohamed Hamoud Alessa and 26-year-old Carlos Eduardo Almonte, were taken into custody by FBI agents and others at J.F.K. International Airport outside New York City. They were set to take separate flights to Egypt and then make their way to Somalia, where an Al Qaeda-linked group known as al-Shabaab has been warring with the nation’s fledgling transitional government.
One source called Somalia "the Afghanistan of now," suggesting that the near-anarchist state in Somalia has allowed the country to become a fertile training ground for terrorist recruits from around the world.
Alessa, a U.S. citizen, and Almonte, a Jordanian citizen believed to also have dual U.S. citizenship, "grew up" in the United States, becoming the latest in a "disconcerting pattern" of "people living among us" who are radicalized with extremist ideology, one source said.
At Least 4 Killed as Tornadoes, Thunderstorms Sweep Across Midwest
MILLBURY, Ohio -- Tornados and thunderstorms that swept through the U.S. Midwest overnight killed at least four people in Ohio, sent several to hospitals, destroyed 50 homes and damaged scores more, as well as a high school gymnasium where a graduation ceremony was to be held Sunday.
Authorities in northwest Ohio are still searching through homes and couldn't say whether anyone else is missing, Lake Township Fire Chief Todd Walters said. Walters flew over the damage Sunday morning and estimates the storm left an 8-mile (13-kilometer) path of destruction in a straight line over an area of farm fields and light industry. The storm that hit around 11 p.m. Saturday narrowly missed the heavily populated suburbs on the southern edge of Toledo.
A township police and emergency medical services building looked to be a total loss. The storm ripped off most of the building's back half, tossing a car into where the building once stood. A patrol car nearby was flattened.
Authorities in northwest Ohio are still searching through homes and couldn't say whether anyone else is missing, Lake Township Fire Chief Todd Walters said. Walters flew over the damage Sunday morning and estimates the storm left an 8-mile (13-kilometer) path of destruction in a straight line over an area of farm fields and light industry. The storm that hit around 11 p.m. Saturday narrowly missed the heavily populated suburbs on the southern edge of Toledo.
A township police and emergency medical services building looked to be a total loss. The storm ripped off most of the building's back half, tossing a car into where the building once stood. A patrol car nearby was flattened.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Religious coalition protests against Comedy Central Jesus cartoon
The newly formed Citizens Against Religious Bigotry said Thursday that it believes the "JC" series would be offensive. They accuse Comedy Central of a double standard in mocking Christian figures and beliefs while recently refusing to let "South Park" depict the Prophet Muhammad for fear of offending Muslims.
"You don't have to be a Christian to be offended by this," said Brent Bozell, head of the watchdog Media Research Center.
Comedy Central said last month that "JC" is one of two dozen series it has in development. The concept is to depict Christ as a "regular guy" who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow."
Network spokesman Tony Fox noted that "JC" is nothing more than an idea now, without even a completed script. In television, only a minority of projects in development ever make it on the air.
Mr Fox said the groups should save their energy for when a decision is made about whether the series will ever be completed.
"You don't have to be a Christian to be offended by this," said Brent Bozell, head of the watchdog Media Research Center.
Comedy Central said last month that "JC" is one of two dozen series it has in development. The concept is to depict Christ as a "regular guy" who moves to New York to "escape his father's enormous shadow."
Network spokesman Tony Fox noted that "JC" is nothing more than an idea now, without even a completed script. In television, only a minority of projects in development ever make it on the air.
Mr Fox said the groups should save their energy for when a decision is made about whether the series will ever be completed.
Something hit Jupiter ... again!
Just as astronomers were telling the world that they figured out what gave Jupiter a black eye last July, yet another cosmic impact left a mark on the giant planet today. And this time, it was caught on video.
Actually, two of the world's best-known amateur observers of Jupiter both saw the flash of impact at 20:31 GMT today (4:31 p.m. ET). In Australia, Anthony Wesley captured a picture of the hit just before sunrise Friday (Down Under time). And in the Philippines, Christopher Go turned his pictures into a short video that was posted on SpaceWeather.com.
"I still can't believe that I caught a live impact on Jupiter," SpaceWeather quoted Go as saying.
It's not known exactly what caused the impact, but whether it was an asteroid or a comet, it's likely to have left a mark on Jupiter's cloud tops. So the call has gone out for all astronomers, professional and amateur, to monitor Jupiter in the hours ahead.
Actually, two of the world's best-known amateur observers of Jupiter both saw the flash of impact at 20:31 GMT today (4:31 p.m. ET). In Australia, Anthony Wesley captured a picture of the hit just before sunrise Friday (Down Under time). And in the Philippines, Christopher Go turned his pictures into a short video that was posted on SpaceWeather.com.
"I still can't believe that I caught a live impact on Jupiter," SpaceWeather quoted Go as saying.
It's not known exactly what caused the impact, but whether it was an asteroid or a comet, it's likely to have left a mark on Jupiter's cloud tops. So the call has gone out for all astronomers, professional and amateur, to monitor Jupiter in the hours ahead.
West Dallas residents seek answers about mysterious booms at night
What is it? From where does it come?
During those deep, dark nights, Janet Reid wonders. So do Betty Wrigley and Jo Ann Brown and the others.
Also Online
More news, information about Dallas
"It's scary because we don't know what it is," says Reid. "Sometimes it's loud, and sometimes it's real loud."
"It was kind of like a little earthquake, a trembling," says Wrigley.
Says Brown: "It was loud enough, it shook the house."
"It" would be the Mystery Booms of West Dallas.
"We've been having these big explosions and no one knows where it's coming from," Brown told Mayor Tom Leppert during a recent community meeting at Lakewest YMCA.
The mayor didn't know. Neither did Deputy Police Chief Rick Watson. Or Assistant City Attorney Milton Henderson. Or any of the other several hundred or so people gathered that night in the YMCA gym. At least no one was talking.
"It's a toughie," Henderson said later. As the city's West Dallas community prosecutor, he has taken the lead in getting to the bottom of this boom business.
It hasn't been easy tracking "It" down.
The window-rattling, wake-up surprises have been random, often occurring late at night, but not always. People have reported the sounds with varying degrees of imprecision and little sense of direction.
"I'm thinking it's some kind of explosion, and then you get up and don't see anything," Reid said. "We need to know what's going on."
Henderson agrees.
"People have a right to know when they hear a boom it's not bad," he said. "And this is approaching the level of a nuisance."
So he's been hitting the streets and talking to people. "We're trying to figure it out the old-fashioned way," Henderson said.
From descriptions, he said, "it sounds like a pressure blast of some kind, a manufacturing process of some sort. ... From what I'm hearing, it's not a railroad sound, not a large metallic clang."
He's targeting an industrial area along Singleton Boulevard after speaking with neighboring workers.
During those deep, dark nights, Janet Reid wonders. So do Betty Wrigley and Jo Ann Brown and the others.
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"It's scary because we don't know what it is," says Reid. "Sometimes it's loud, and sometimes it's real loud."
"It was kind of like a little earthquake, a trembling," says Wrigley.
Says Brown: "It was loud enough, it shook the house."
"It" would be the Mystery Booms of West Dallas.
"We've been having these big explosions and no one knows where it's coming from," Brown told Mayor Tom Leppert during a recent community meeting at Lakewest YMCA.
The mayor didn't know. Neither did Deputy Police Chief Rick Watson. Or Assistant City Attorney Milton Henderson. Or any of the other several hundred or so people gathered that night in the YMCA gym. At least no one was talking.
"It's a toughie," Henderson said later. As the city's West Dallas community prosecutor, he has taken the lead in getting to the bottom of this boom business.
It hasn't been easy tracking "It" down.
The window-rattling, wake-up surprises have been random, often occurring late at night, but not always. People have reported the sounds with varying degrees of imprecision and little sense of direction.
"I'm thinking it's some kind of explosion, and then you get up and don't see anything," Reid said. "We need to know what's going on."
Henderson agrees.
"People have a right to know when they hear a boom it's not bad," he said. "And this is approaching the level of a nuisance."
So he's been hitting the streets and talking to people. "We're trying to figure it out the old-fashioned way," Henderson said.
From descriptions, he said, "it sounds like a pressure blast of some kind, a manufacturing process of some sort. ... From what I'm hearing, it's not a railroad sound, not a large metallic clang."
He's targeting an industrial area along Singleton Boulevard after speaking with neighboring workers.
Congresswoman: White Supremacist Groups Behind Arizona Immigration Law
A California congresswoman is pointing the finger at white supremacist groups, who she says have inspired Arizona's new law cracking down on illegal immigrants.
Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., told a Democratic Club on Tuesday that white supremacist groups are influencing lawmakers to adopt laws that will lead to discrimination.
"There's a concerted effort behind promoting these kinds of laws on a state-by-state basis by people who have ties to white supremacy groups," said the lawmaker, who is of Mexican descent. "It's been documented. It's not mainstream politics."
Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., told a Democratic Club on Tuesday that white supremacist groups are influencing lawmakers to adopt laws that will lead to discrimination.
"There's a concerted effort behind promoting these kinds of laws on a state-by-state basis by people who have ties to white supremacy groups," said the lawmaker, who is of Mexican descent. "It's been documented. It's not mainstream politics."
Iran to test state-of-art weaponry
A top Iranian military commander has said that Iran is preparing to hold a massive aerial maneuver in coming months.
Deputy Air Force Commander, Mohsen Darrehbaghi, said Thursday that the country will put to the test a new set of advanced air-to-ground weaponry and gunnery equipment.
"All Iranian aircraft and warplanes will take part in the military exercise, including the F-4, F-5, F-7 and the Sukhoi SU-24 fighter jets," said Darrehbaghi in an address to the female staff of the Iranian Air Force.
He added that the Mirage F-1 fighter jets have been "fully refurbished and upgraded" by Iranian Air Force personnel and are therefore ready for trial.
"Our Mirage fighters are fully equipped with domestic air-to-ground weaponry, including advanced machine rifles and rocket launchers, all of which will be tested during the exercise," said the Iranian commander.
He said that Iran's success in refurbishing the Mirage fighters prove more than ever that international sanctions will never stop the country from improving its military skills.
Deputy Air Force Commander, Mohsen Darrehbaghi, said Thursday that the country will put to the test a new set of advanced air-to-ground weaponry and gunnery equipment.
"All Iranian aircraft and warplanes will take part in the military exercise, including the F-4, F-5, F-7 and the Sukhoi SU-24 fighter jets," said Darrehbaghi in an address to the female staff of the Iranian Air Force.
He added that the Mirage F-1 fighter jets have been "fully refurbished and upgraded" by Iranian Air Force personnel and are therefore ready for trial.
"Our Mirage fighters are fully equipped with domestic air-to-ground weaponry, including advanced machine rifles and rocket launchers, all of which will be tested during the exercise," said the Iranian commander.
He said that Iran's success in refurbishing the Mirage fighters prove more than ever that international sanctions will never stop the country from improving its military skills.
Army slams door on Obama details
An Army "investigating officer" has banished evidence about the controversy over President Obama's eligibility – or lack thereof – to be commander-in-chief from a pending hearing for a career military doctor who announced he is refusing orders until Obama documents his constitutional status.
"In my view our constitutional jurisprudence allows Congress alone, and not a military judicial body, to put the president's credentials on trial," wrote Daniel J. Driscoll in a memorandum determining what evidence the defense for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin will be allowed to explore at next week's hearing.
"It is my opinion the discovery items pertaining to the president's credentials are not relevant to the proof of any element of the charges and specifications set forth in the charge sheet," he continued. "Consequently I will not examine thedocuments or witnesses pertinent to the president or his credentials to hold office."
The ruling came prior to a scheduled Article 32 hearing for Lakin, who posted a video inviting his own court hearing because of the status of the president and questions over whether his eligibility means orders given under his control would be invalid.
"In my view our constitutional jurisprudence allows Congress alone, and not a military judicial body, to put the president's credentials on trial," wrote Daniel J. Driscoll in a memorandum determining what evidence the defense for Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin will be allowed to explore at next week's hearing.
"It is my opinion the discovery items pertaining to the president's credentials are not relevant to the proof of any element of the charges and specifications set forth in the charge sheet," he continued. "Consequently I will not examine thedocuments or witnesses pertinent to the president or his credentials to hold office."
The ruling came prior to a scheduled Article 32 hearing for Lakin, who posted a video inviting his own court hearing because of the status of the president and questions over whether his eligibility means orders given under his control would be invalid.
The UN and Obama Versus Gun Owners
Gun owners might not feel besieged right now, but they should be very concerned. Last week the Obama administration announced its support for the UN Small Arms Treaty. This treaty poses real risks for freedom and safety in the United States as well as the rest of the world.
According to the U.N., guns used in armed conflicts cause 300,000 deaths worldwide every year. Their proposed solution is a simple one. Keep rebels from getting guns by requiring that countries “prevent, combat and eradicate” what those countries define as “the illicit trade in small arms.”
The UN’s solution isn’t too surprising when one looks at the long list of notorious totalitarian regimes, such as Syria, Cuba, Rwanda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and Sierra Leone, which support these “reforms.” But not all insurgencies are “bad.” To ban providing guns to rebels in totalitarian countries is like arguing that there is never anything such as a just war.
In hindsight, during World War II, should the French or Norwegian resistance movements simply have given up? Surely this would have minimized causalities. But that is hardly a one-time event. What about Afghanis in their fight against the Soviet Union or Nicaraguan rebels fighting communist dictators during the 1980s? Was it wrong to help out? What about totalitarian governments that massacre their citizens? Don’t they have a right to protect themselves?
Many countries already ban private gun ownership. Rwanda and Sierra Leone are two notable examples. Yet, with more than a million people hacked to death over the last decade-and-a-half, were their citizens better off without guns?
Political scientist Rudy Rummel estimates that 262 million people were murdered by their own government during the last century -– that is 2.6 million per year. This includes genocide, the murder of people for political reasons, and mass murder. Even if all 300,000 deaths from armed conflicts can be blamed on the small arms trade, an obviously false claim, people have much more to worry about from their governments. Adding the U.N.’s estimated deaths from gun suicides, homicides, and accidents still provides a number that is only a ninth as large.
Second, the treaty is a backdoor way to get more gun control laws adopted in the US. “After the treaty is approved and it comes into force, you will find out that it has this implication or that implication and it requires the Congress to adopt some measure that restricts ownership of firearms,” Former UN Ambassador John Bolton warns. “The [Obama] administration knows it cannot obtain this kind of legislation purely in a domestic context. … They will use an international agreement as an excuse to get domestically what they couldn’t otherwise.”
In addition, to keep track of guns, licensing and registration will be pushed, despite their complete failure to trace crime guns in the places in the US that have tried it or Canada. One also just needs to look no further than how Mexican President Felipe Calderon has blamed his country’s crime problems on the sun setting of the US “assault weapons” ban. Somehow semi-automatic guns, essentially deer hunting rifles that have a cosmetic outside that look like AK-47s or other similar weapons, are being painted as military weapons. The same claims now being made for Mexico will be made even more forcefully under the UN treaty.
Third, gun bans also produce another problem: increased murder rates. UN gun control advocates don’t want to acknowledge that everyplace in the world that we have crime data for has seen that gun bans result in higher murder rates. Americans have seen the increase in murder rates in DC and Chicago after their bans, and the sudden 25 percent drop in DC’s murder rates last year after their ban was removed. But as recent research shows, gun bans have consistently lead to higher murder rates around the world. Even island nations, who can’t blame some neighbors for their supply of guns, have seen increases in violent crime rates.
The Small Arms Treaty is just a back door way for the Obama administration trying to force through gun control regulations. With the huge standing ovation that House and Senate Democrats recently gave Mexican President Calderon for his advocacy of a new so-called “Assault Weapons Ban,” Americans who care about self-defense have been put on notice. The threats to gun ownership are as real as ever.
First our guns then our bibles are next...
According to the U.N., guns used in armed conflicts cause 300,000 deaths worldwide every year. Their proposed solution is a simple one. Keep rebels from getting guns by requiring that countries “prevent, combat and eradicate” what those countries define as “the illicit trade in small arms.”
The UN’s solution isn’t too surprising when one looks at the long list of notorious totalitarian regimes, such as Syria, Cuba, Rwanda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and Sierra Leone, which support these “reforms.” But not all insurgencies are “bad.” To ban providing guns to rebels in totalitarian countries is like arguing that there is never anything such as a just war.
In hindsight, during World War II, should the French or Norwegian resistance movements simply have given up? Surely this would have minimized causalities. But that is hardly a one-time event. What about Afghanis in their fight against the Soviet Union or Nicaraguan rebels fighting communist dictators during the 1980s? Was it wrong to help out? What about totalitarian governments that massacre their citizens? Don’t they have a right to protect themselves?
Many countries already ban private gun ownership. Rwanda and Sierra Leone are two notable examples. Yet, with more than a million people hacked to death over the last decade-and-a-half, were their citizens better off without guns?
Political scientist Rudy Rummel estimates that 262 million people were murdered by their own government during the last century -– that is 2.6 million per year. This includes genocide, the murder of people for political reasons, and mass murder. Even if all 300,000 deaths from armed conflicts can be blamed on the small arms trade, an obviously false claim, people have much more to worry about from their governments. Adding the U.N.’s estimated deaths from gun suicides, homicides, and accidents still provides a number that is only a ninth as large.
Second, the treaty is a backdoor way to get more gun control laws adopted in the US. “After the treaty is approved and it comes into force, you will find out that it has this implication or that implication and it requires the Congress to adopt some measure that restricts ownership of firearms,” Former UN Ambassador John Bolton warns. “The [Obama] administration knows it cannot obtain this kind of legislation purely in a domestic context. … They will use an international agreement as an excuse to get domestically what they couldn’t otherwise.”
In addition, to keep track of guns, licensing and registration will be pushed, despite their complete failure to trace crime guns in the places in the US that have tried it or Canada. One also just needs to look no further than how Mexican President Felipe Calderon has blamed his country’s crime problems on the sun setting of the US “assault weapons” ban. Somehow semi-automatic guns, essentially deer hunting rifles that have a cosmetic outside that look like AK-47s or other similar weapons, are being painted as military weapons. The same claims now being made for Mexico will be made even more forcefully under the UN treaty.
Third, gun bans also produce another problem: increased murder rates. UN gun control advocates don’t want to acknowledge that everyplace in the world that we have crime data for has seen that gun bans result in higher murder rates. Americans have seen the increase in murder rates in DC and Chicago after their bans, and the sudden 25 percent drop in DC’s murder rates last year after their ban was removed. But as recent research shows, gun bans have consistently lead to higher murder rates around the world. Even island nations, who can’t blame some neighbors for their supply of guns, have seen increases in violent crime rates.
The Small Arms Treaty is just a back door way for the Obama administration trying to force through gun control regulations. With the huge standing ovation that House and Senate Democrats recently gave Mexican President Calderon for his advocacy of a new so-called “Assault Weapons Ban,” Americans who care about self-defense have been put on notice. The threats to gun ownership are as real as ever.
First our guns then our bibles are next...
Scientists create artificial mini 'black hole'
The scientists, who are from Southeast University in Nanjing, China, explain in their study published in the New Journal of Physics that this is the first experimental demonstration of an omnidirectional electromagnetic absorber in the microwave frequency region. To build the absorber, the researchers used the unique properties of metamaterials to manipulate light waves and achieve the wave trapping and absorbing properties.
The device itself is composed of a thin cylinder containing 60 concentric rings of copper-coated metamaterials arranged in layers. Each layer is imprinted with alternating patterns of resonant and non-resonant metamaterial structures. The design traps and absorbs microwaves coming from all directions by spiraling the radiation inward and converting its energy into heat. As with a black hole, electromagnetic radiation cannot escape from the device.
The device itself is composed of a thin cylinder containing 60 concentric rings of copper-coated metamaterials arranged in layers. Each layer is imprinted with alternating patterns of resonant and non-resonant metamaterial structures. The design traps and absorbs microwaves coming from all directions by spiraling the radiation inward and converting its energy into heat. As with a black hole, electromagnetic radiation cannot escape from the device.
Women forced to abort under China's one-child policy
Every 2.4 seconds, a woman in China undergoes a forced abortion because of the communist nation's one-child policy, totaling about 35,000 abortions a day, a panel of four experts said.
"Over 400 million children are not living in China because of the one-child policy," said Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women's Rights Without Borders. "That's more than the population of the United States."
Tuesday's panel discussion -- dubbed "No Choice Allowed" -- featured Ms. Littlejohn; Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican; Chai Ling, a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests; and Capt. Xiong Yan, another Tiananmen leader. About 70 people attended the discussion, which was held in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Mr. Smith, who has been calling attention to the issue since 1982, said the one-child policy is "the most egregious human rights violation," which is little-known outside China.
"Many people in America know about the one-child policy but don't know it leads to forced abortions," Ms. Littlejohn said, describing how women in China are dragged to hospitals and strapped to beds for abortions.
"Over 400 million children are not living in China because of the one-child policy," said Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women's Rights Without Borders. "That's more than the population of the United States."
Tuesday's panel discussion -- dubbed "No Choice Allowed" -- featured Ms. Littlejohn; Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican; Chai Ling, a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests; and Capt. Xiong Yan, another Tiananmen leader. About 70 people attended the discussion, which was held in the Rayburn House Office Building.
Mr. Smith, who has been calling attention to the issue since 1982, said the one-child policy is "the most egregious human rights violation," which is little-known outside China.
"Many people in America know about the one-child policy but don't know it leads to forced abortions," Ms. Littlejohn said, describing how women in China are dragged to hospitals and strapped to beds for abortions.
China Investing Estimated $200 Billion in 'Imperialistic' Military to Rival U.S., Warns Pentagon Sr. Strategist
With China holding over $700 billion in U.S. debt, a lot of caution has been applied to the diplomatic relations between the United States and China by the Obama administration. However, gone relatively unnoticed has been the expansion of the Chinese military.
On CNBC’s June 3 “Street Signs,” host Erin Burnett explained the Chinese military would have a compact fighter jet rivaling the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 in eight years. She aired and interview she conducted with U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, which comes on the heels of China snubbing Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Huntsman pointed out the refusal of the Asian superpower to engage the United States and said it was a “huge problem.”
“On the military issue generally, the lack of transparency and the lack of dialogue and interaction is a huge problem for the United States,” Huntsman said to CNBC. “And we need more interaction. We need interaction at the junior officer level and we need interaction at the senior officer level and we're getting very little of it right now. And when you have no dialogue, when you have no interaction, you have cultures that sort of build up on both sides. And they're built up based upon suspicion and lack of trust.”
According to Burnett, China contends it is spending $40 billion to $50 billion on its military. However, Retired Army Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis, a senior strategist for the Pentagon told CNBC it was three or four times those estimates and offered a litany of things China is procuring to bulk up its armed forces.
“Well, it’s three or four times that Erin because the People's Liberation Army has all sorts of side businesses,” Maginnis said. “And of course, the pay to the average soldier there is very low. But by in large for the last 20 years, we've seen double-digit increases in their defense budget and we've seen very tangible evidence of that. They have a new strategic force. They have submarine-launched ballistic missiles. They have anti-access weapons systems. In other words, they can stop our carriers now. And oh, by the way, they are making their own carriers. I mean, their navy has been described by our admiral in the Pacific as pretty dramatic increase in their capabilities.”
Maginnis explained this shift in military spending is clear evidence the Asian superpower is set to rival the United States militarily. He also noted this was a shift in strategy – from defensive to an aggressive global power.
On CNBC’s June 3 “Street Signs,” host Erin Burnett explained the Chinese military would have a compact fighter jet rivaling the U.S. Air Force’s F-22 in eight years. She aired and interview she conducted with U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, which comes on the heels of China snubbing Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Huntsman pointed out the refusal of the Asian superpower to engage the United States and said it was a “huge problem.”
“On the military issue generally, the lack of transparency and the lack of dialogue and interaction is a huge problem for the United States,” Huntsman said to CNBC. “And we need more interaction. We need interaction at the junior officer level and we need interaction at the senior officer level and we're getting very little of it right now. And when you have no dialogue, when you have no interaction, you have cultures that sort of build up on both sides. And they're built up based upon suspicion and lack of trust.”
According to Burnett, China contends it is spending $40 billion to $50 billion on its military. However, Retired Army Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis, a senior strategist for the Pentagon told CNBC it was three or four times those estimates and offered a litany of things China is procuring to bulk up its armed forces.
“Well, it’s three or four times that Erin because the People's Liberation Army has all sorts of side businesses,” Maginnis said. “And of course, the pay to the average soldier there is very low. But by in large for the last 20 years, we've seen double-digit increases in their defense budget and we've seen very tangible evidence of that. They have a new strategic force. They have submarine-launched ballistic missiles. They have anti-access weapons systems. In other words, they can stop our carriers now. And oh, by the way, they are making their own carriers. I mean, their navy has been described by our admiral in the Pacific as pretty dramatic increase in their capabilities.”
Maginnis explained this shift in military spending is clear evidence the Asian superpower is set to rival the United States militarily. He also noted this was a shift in strategy – from defensive to an aggressive global power.
109 die in fire in Bangladesh
-- At least 109 people were killed in a fire in the capital city in Bangladesh, the country's national news agency reported Friday.
The blaze was caused by an explosion of an electric transformer in Dhaka Thursday, fire officials told the news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
The blaze then engulfed a plastic factory and four nearby buildings, the agency reported. Flames jumped some 300 feet in the sky as firefighters struggled to control it.
Along with the dead, about 50 people were critically injured.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she was shocked at the tremendous loss of life and pledged to support the families of the victims.
The blaze was caused by an explosion of an electric transformer in Dhaka Thursday, fire officials told the news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.
The blaze then engulfed a plastic factory and four nearby buildings, the agency reported. Flames jumped some 300 feet in the sky as firefighters struggled to control it.
Along with the dead, about 50 people were critically injured.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said she was shocked at the tremendous loss of life and pledged to support the families of the victims.
New York begins gay couple commitment ceremonies
- New York City officials began offering wedding-like ceremonies for same-sex couples on Thursday, drawing as much criticism as praise from gay rights advocates who want nothing short of full marriage rights.
U.S.
The ceremonies provide no new rights or advantages to same-sex couples -- other than the opportunity to have a wedding in the city's renovated marriage bureau.
The city has allowed gay and lesbian couples to register as domestic partners since 1993 but the additional rights conferred upon them lack validity outside city limits. Domestic partnership bestows gay couples more rights, such as bereavement leave, health insurance benefits and hospital visits as family members.
Now the city is hoping to attract same-sex partners to its marriage bureau, which underwent a $12.3 million renovation and re-opened last year in a direct challenge to Las Vegas as a destination for people to get married. The bureau features a floral and bridal gift shop and two simple, yet elegant chapels where couples are married by a marriage clerk.
The new rules allowing the same-sex ceremonies took effect on Thursday, but only two same sex couples turned up for the ceremony, said City Clerk spokesman Michael McSweeney.
U.S.
The ceremonies provide no new rights or advantages to same-sex couples -- other than the opportunity to have a wedding in the city's renovated marriage bureau.
The city has allowed gay and lesbian couples to register as domestic partners since 1993 but the additional rights conferred upon them lack validity outside city limits. Domestic partnership bestows gay couples more rights, such as bereavement leave, health insurance benefits and hospital visits as family members.
Now the city is hoping to attract same-sex partners to its marriage bureau, which underwent a $12.3 million renovation and re-opened last year in a direct challenge to Las Vegas as a destination for people to get married. The bureau features a floral and bridal gift shop and two simple, yet elegant chapels where couples are married by a marriage clerk.
The new rules allowing the same-sex ceremonies took effect on Thursday, but only two same sex couples turned up for the ceremony, said City Clerk spokesman Michael McSweeney.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Israel strikes OIL and set to become gas exporter
Consortium finds enough gas to secure energy needs for 50 - 70 years.
A consortium led by billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva announced on Thursday that it has struck natural gas in a field called 'Leviathan' off the coast of Israel.
The field is estimated to contain 15 trillion cubic feet of gas and is the second large scale gas find in a month. Last month's find, in a field called 'Tamar', is thought to contain enough gas to supply Israel for the next twenty years.
Speaking to Channel 2 news, Uzi Landau, Minister of National Infrastructure said that
"we have enough gas to supply all our needs for the next 50 to 70 years".
Mr Yitzhak Tshuva is the owner of the Delek Group and a major player in the consortium which made the latest find. Other partners include Noble Energy and Razio.
Noble Energy are based in Houston, Texas and say the neighboring Tamar field probably contains more then previously estimated, about 8.4 trillion cubic feet, a 33 percent increase in the earlier estimate.
Tshuva also says there may be an oil field beneath the gas.
This will fulfill a prophecy quoted by other Evangelist!!! Israel will break off from the world, to include U.S. The time is really near...
A consortium led by billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva announced on Thursday that it has struck natural gas in a field called 'Leviathan' off the coast of Israel.
The field is estimated to contain 15 trillion cubic feet of gas and is the second large scale gas find in a month. Last month's find, in a field called 'Tamar', is thought to contain enough gas to supply Israel for the next twenty years.
Speaking to Channel 2 news, Uzi Landau, Minister of National Infrastructure said that
"we have enough gas to supply all our needs for the next 50 to 70 years".
Mr Yitzhak Tshuva is the owner of the Delek Group and a major player in the consortium which made the latest find. Other partners include Noble Energy and Razio.
Noble Energy are based in Houston, Texas and say the neighboring Tamar field probably contains more then previously estimated, about 8.4 trillion cubic feet, a 33 percent increase in the earlier estimate.
Tshuva also says there may be an oil field beneath the gas.
This will fulfill a prophecy quoted by other Evangelist!!! Israel will break off from the world, to include U.S. The time is really near...
`Panic,' then silence over suspicious Chinese drywall
At least two builders were ``panicking'' in late 2006 over the smell coming from drywall they had acquired from Miami-based Banner Supply, according to e-mails and letters, and the builders had isolated the problem to wallboard made by a Chinese manufacturer.
Despite concerns -- one builder said it could not sell some of its homes because the smell was so potent -- none went public with their problems. It wasn't until at least two years later that homeowners began reporting the effects of hydrogen sulfide emissions from the drywall eating away at their properties, and some believe, their health.
The letters and e-mails are part of court files in local and federal lawsuits against many companies in the drywall production and supply chain. The documents offer a glimpse of what some call a concerted effort to deceive consumers.
``What I can say for the consumers: They were duped,'' Miami attorney Ervin Gonzalez said.
Despite concerns -- one builder said it could not sell some of its homes because the smell was so potent -- none went public with their problems. It wasn't until at least two years later that homeowners began reporting the effects of hydrogen sulfide emissions from the drywall eating away at their properties, and some believe, their health.
The letters and e-mails are part of court files in local and federal lawsuits against many companies in the drywall production and supply chain. The documents offer a glimpse of what some call a concerted effort to deceive consumers.
``What I can say for the consumers: They were duped,'' Miami attorney Ervin Gonzalez said.
Cartels recruit Guatemalans in Mexico drug war
ACAYUCAN, Mexico - On a balmy evening in April, five sport-utility vehicles full of gunmen roared up to the gates of the immigration detention center here.
The gunmen pointed assault rifles at the guardhouse but entered without firing a shot. They loaded up 13 Guatemalan detainees. Then, they sped off into the night.
The raid is evidence of a disturbing new trend in the U.S.-backed war against Mexico's drug cartels. The gunmen were apparently drug-cartel henchmen, and the people they freed were Central Americans who had been on their way to a cartel training camp.
Mexican traffickers are increasingly turning to Central America for reinforcements, ammunition and help from corrupt authorities there, experts say. The cartels are training Central American recruits at camps in Guatemala and Mexico, infiltrating weak Central American police forces and carving out "safe zones" in foreign countries beyond the reach of Mexican authorities.
The gunmen pointed assault rifles at the guardhouse but entered without firing a shot. They loaded up 13 Guatemalan detainees. Then, they sped off into the night.
The raid is evidence of a disturbing new trend in the U.S.-backed war against Mexico's drug cartels. The gunmen were apparently drug-cartel henchmen, and the people they freed were Central Americans who had been on their way to a cartel training camp.
Mexican traffickers are increasingly turning to Central America for reinforcements, ammunition and help from corrupt authorities there, experts say. The cartels are training Central American recruits at camps in Guatemala and Mexico, infiltrating weak Central American police forces and carving out "safe zones" in foreign countries beyond the reach of Mexican authorities.
N.Korean Soldiers in Border Village Don Steel Helmets
North Korean soldiers stationed at the border truce village of Panmunjom started wearing steel helmets at the end of last month instead of their usual army caps, a South Korean military spokesman said Wednesday.
The switch is apparently intended to show the North's resolve as tensions mount on the peninsula since the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan.
The North has warned it will shoot at equipment if the South resumes so-called psychological warfare, and Seoul ordered front-line troops to fire at least three retaliatory shots for each one fired by North Korea.
The switch is apparently intended to show the North's resolve as tensions mount on the peninsula since the sinking of the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan.
The North has warned it will shoot at equipment if the South resumes so-called psychological warfare, and Seoul ordered front-line troops to fire at least three retaliatory shots for each one fired by North Korea.
Newt Gingrich says Michigan, U.S. must create work ethic comparable to China's
MACKINAC ISLAND -- Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich ignited the Mackinac Policy Conference today with a call for big, bold and even unusual steps to turn Michigan's economy around.
Like making Detroit a federal tax free zone, similar to Pureto Rico, to attract new investments.
And making Michigan a right to work state, or at least for public employees, including teachers.
And requiring those receiving unemployment benefits to work or go to school, as is required from welfare recipients.
Or perhaps paying school students to read or paying their parents cash if their children enter school able to read, and giving students Kindle books instead of textbooks, which would allow them to be updated instantly.
"Poor people respond to money," and will turn to illegal activities if it's not available through other means, he said, as an example of how the free enterprise can lift people.
Gingrich, former U.S. House Speaker and a leading conservative provocatuer, told several hundred conference-goers that Michigan and the U.S. must do more to create a work ethic that can compete with China, the country he said is the most direct threat to siphoning away jobs and prosperity.
Like making Detroit a federal tax free zone, similar to Pureto Rico, to attract new investments.
And making Michigan a right to work state, or at least for public employees, including teachers.
And requiring those receiving unemployment benefits to work or go to school, as is required from welfare recipients.
Or perhaps paying school students to read or paying their parents cash if their children enter school able to read, and giving students Kindle books instead of textbooks, which would allow them to be updated instantly.
"Poor people respond to money," and will turn to illegal activities if it's not available through other means, he said, as an example of how the free enterprise can lift people.
Gingrich, former U.S. House Speaker and a leading conservative provocatuer, told several hundred conference-goers that Michigan and the U.S. must do more to create a work ethic that can compete with China, the country he said is the most direct threat to siphoning away jobs and prosperity.
Eat less meat to save the planet
The group of international scientists said the greatest cause of greenhouse gas emissions is food production and the use of fossil fuels.
But while the use of coal and oil could be gradually replaced by renewable energy sources like wind and solar, the world will always need to eat.
As the world population increases it is feared that the production of food will become the main cause of climate change and environmental degradation.
The International Panel of Sustainable Resource Management pointed out that agricultural production accounts for 70 per cent of global freshwater production, 38 per cent of land use and 19 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
The report, that will be presented to world governments, said the only way to feed the world while reducing climate change is to switch to more a more vegetarian diet.
But while the use of coal and oil could be gradually replaced by renewable energy sources like wind and solar, the world will always need to eat.
As the world population increases it is feared that the production of food will become the main cause of climate change and environmental degradation.
The International Panel of Sustainable Resource Management pointed out that agricultural production accounts for 70 per cent of global freshwater production, 38 per cent of land use and 19 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
The report, that will be presented to world governments, said the only way to feed the world while reducing climate change is to switch to more a more vegetarian diet.
Obama Gives Benefits to Workers' Same-Sex Partners
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is extending child care, medical leave and other benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.
Obama on Wednesday directed federal agencies to immediately begin allowing domestic partners and their children some of the same rights available to spouses and children of employees. That includes child-care services and subsidies, expanded family and medical leave and relocation and other benefits.
Obama's memorandum covers only benefits that can be extended under existing law, without congressional action. Legislative action would be required for a full range of health care and other benefits.
It's the president's latest step on gay rights. He's also supported a rollback of the military's "don't ask don't tell" that governs gay military members.
Obama on Wednesday directed federal agencies to immediately begin allowing domestic partners and their children some of the same rights available to spouses and children of employees. That includes child-care services and subsidies, expanded family and medical leave and relocation and other benefits.
Obama's memorandum covers only benefits that can be extended under existing law, without congressional action. Legislative action would be required for a full range of health care and other benefits.
It's the president's latest step on gay rights. He's also supported a rollback of the military's "don't ask don't tell" that governs gay military members.
Gulf spill workers complaining of flulike symptoms
NEW ORLEANS — For days now, Dr. Damon Dietrich has seen patients come through his emergency room at West Jefferson Medical Center with similar symptoms: respiratory problems, headaches and nausea.
In the past week, 11 workers who have been out on the water cleaning up oil from BP's blown-out well have been treated for what Dietrich calls "a pattern of symptoms" that could have been caused by the burning of crude oil, noxious fumes from the oil or the dispersants dumped in the Gulf to break it up. All workers were treated and released.
"One person comes in, it could be multiple things," he said. "Eleven people come in with these symptoms, it makes it incredibly suspicious."
Few studies have examined long-term health effects of oil exposure. But some of the workers trolling Gulf Coast beaches and heading out into the marshes and waters have complained about flu-like symptoms — a similar complaint among crews deployed for the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.
In the past week, 11 workers who have been out on the water cleaning up oil from BP's blown-out well have been treated for what Dietrich calls "a pattern of symptoms" that could have been caused by the burning of crude oil, noxious fumes from the oil or the dispersants dumped in the Gulf to break it up. All workers were treated and released.
"One person comes in, it could be multiple things," he said. "Eleven people come in with these symptoms, it makes it incredibly suspicious."
Few studies have examined long-term health effects of oil exposure. But some of the workers trolling Gulf Coast beaches and heading out into the marshes and waters have complained about flu-like symptoms — a similar complaint among crews deployed for the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.
Oil Spill Threatens Gulf Seafood
* Fishermen along the Gulf are racing against the clock before the oil spill affects their harvest.
* Americans eat more than four pounds of shrimp per person each year, topping the list of favorite seafood.
* Although no contaminated seafood has yet turned up, restaurants are already refusing Gulf shrimp.
The looming threat of the oil spill forced authorities to start shrimping season two weeks early. Click to enlarge this image.
Gulf Coast fishermen are hustling to harvest shrimp, oysters and fish before the environmental disaster gets any worse. For shrimp- and oyster-lovers, the message is keep on eating -- at least for now.
Seafood industry officials say it's too early to tell whether the summer catch will end up being a disaster, or merely a setback.
"Our brand has been damaged severely, but we still have significant fisheries operating," said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. "Our biggest challenge is letting consumers know we still have 70 percent of our fisheries open. The seafood is safe and the fish and waters are being tested."
* Americans eat more than four pounds of shrimp per person each year, topping the list of favorite seafood.
* Although no contaminated seafood has yet turned up, restaurants are already refusing Gulf shrimp.
The looming threat of the oil spill forced authorities to start shrimping season two weeks early. Click to enlarge this image.
Gulf Coast fishermen are hustling to harvest shrimp, oysters and fish before the environmental disaster gets any worse. For shrimp- and oyster-lovers, the message is keep on eating -- at least for now.
Seafood industry officials say it's too early to tell whether the summer catch will end up being a disaster, or merely a setback.
"Our brand has been damaged severely, but we still have significant fisheries operating," said Ewell Smith, executive director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. "Our biggest challenge is letting consumers know we still have 70 percent of our fisheries open. The seafood is safe and the fish and waters are being tested."
Top US Democrats: 'Israel Has Right to Defend Itself
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went on the offensive Wednesday to defend Israel's right to protect its territorial waters.
Biden told reporters on Wednesday that Israel was within its legal rights in stopping the Turkey-sponsored six-ship flotilla from violating its territorial waters and breaking its naval embargo on Gaza.
Biden said during an interview on the “Charlie Rose” television program, “You can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not, and the – but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know... whether or not arms are being smuggled in.”
Biden told reporters on Wednesday that Israel was within its legal rights in stopping the Turkey-sponsored six-ship flotilla from violating its territorial waters and breaking its naval embargo on Gaza.
Biden said during an interview on the “Charlie Rose” television program, “You can argue whether Israel should have dropped people onto that ship or not, and the – but the truth of the matter is, Israel has a right to know... whether or not arms are being smuggled in.”
Roman Catholic bishop stabbed to death in Turkey
ANKARA, Turkey – A Roman Catholic bishop was stabbed to death in southern Turkey on Thursday, a day before he was scheduled to leave for Cyprus to meet with the pope, officials and reports said.
Luigi Padovese, the pope's apostolic vicar in Anatolia, was attacked outside his home in the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun. Dogan news agency video footage of the scene showed the bishop lying dead in front of a building.
Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz, the governor for the province of Hatay, said police immediately caught the suspected killer.
He said the man, identified only as Murat A., was Padovese's driver for the last four and a half years and was mentally unstable.
Luigi Padovese, the pope's apostolic vicar in Anatolia, was attacked outside his home in the Mediterranean port of Iskenderun. Dogan news agency video footage of the scene showed the bishop lying dead in front of a building.
Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz, the governor for the province of Hatay, said police immediately caught the suspected killer.
He said the man, identified only as Murat A., was Padovese's driver for the last four and a half years and was mentally unstable.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Children as young as 4 'to be fingerprinted to borrow school books'
Students in Manchester are having their thumbprints digitally transformed into electronic codes, which can then be recognised by a computer program.
Under the scheme, pupils swipe a bar code inside the book they want borrow then press their thumb on to a scanner to authorise the loan. Books are returned in the same way.
The scheme is being trialled on junior classes at Higher Lane Primary in Whitefield, Bury, Greater Manchester.
Officials confirmed it is due to be extended to all pupils at the school, one of the areas largest primary schools, with 453 pupils aged four to 11.
School authorities defended the scheme on Thursday, and moved to reassure parents that the voluntary system, is heavily encrypted or coded and that no images of fingerprints would be stored.
But critics said they were “appalled” at the system, developed by Microsoft which is also being trialled in other parts of the country.
“This is quite clearly appalling,” said Phil Booth, national coordinator of NO2ID, a privacy campaign group.
“For such a trivial issue as taking out of library books the taking of fingerprints is way over the top and wrong.
Under the scheme, pupils swipe a bar code inside the book they want borrow then press their thumb on to a scanner to authorise the loan. Books are returned in the same way.
The scheme is being trialled on junior classes at Higher Lane Primary in Whitefield, Bury, Greater Manchester.
Officials confirmed it is due to be extended to all pupils at the school, one of the areas largest primary schools, with 453 pupils aged four to 11.
School authorities defended the scheme on Thursday, and moved to reassure parents that the voluntary system, is heavily encrypted or coded and that no images of fingerprints would be stored.
But critics said they were “appalled” at the system, developed by Microsoft which is also being trialled in other parts of the country.
“This is quite clearly appalling,” said Phil Booth, national coordinator of NO2ID, a privacy campaign group.
“For such a trivial issue as taking out of library books the taking of fingerprints is way over the top and wrong.
Obama's FTC plan to reinvent America's news media
What's widely-known is that Americans are not buying newspapers anymore in droves.
What hasn't been widely-known, until now, is that a year ago the new Democrat administration of Barack Obama launched a major internal study intended to design a major government rescue plan for the nation's financially-troubled information media, primarily newspapers.
That strident sound you hear are the alarms going off in minds and offices across the country: Government helping the press? Which press? How help? In return for what?
Well, two years ago who'd have thought the feds would own General Motors with major holdings in a bunch of banks and financial institutions, reshaped the healthcare industry, spent $787 billion on who-knows-what to create some jobs, have rewritten a package of new financial regulations to corral Wall Street and still not be securing the U.S.-Mexico border?
The Federal Trade Commission has just released a major staff study of modern American media titled "Potential Policy Recommendations to Support the Reinvention of Journalism." And....
...silly you thought the private business of journalism was doing that by itself in its own stumbling ways without the help of the Washington branch of the Chicago Democratic political machine.
The study notes those industry-wide revival efforts and adds:
There are reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism. History in the United States shows that readers of the news have never paid anywhere close to the full cost of providing the news. Rather, journalism always has been subsidized to a large extent by, for example, the federal government, political parties, or advertising.
True, there have been government subsidies over the decades in the form of below-cost postal rates and printing contracts. But this FTC study is rated R for anyone who thinks the federal government, the object of copious news coverage itself, has no business deciding which sectors of the private media business survive and thrive through its support, subsidies and encouragement with things like tax incentives.
Yet that's what this Obama administration paper is suggesting as another of the ex-community organizer's galactic reform plans.
Would you believe: major changes to the copyright law, including government licensing provisions; government pilot programs to investigate potential new media business models, antitrust changes to allow media companies to unite on imposing online pay walls, establish a journalism division of AmeriCorps with government underwriting the training of young journalists, tax incentives per news employee, increased funding of public broadcasting, a 5% tax on consumer electronics and/or assessments on users of public airwaves.
Another idea would be to allow taxpayers to direct a portion of their taxes -- perhaps up to $200 -- to a specific media institution as payment for media services rendered. (Now, if taxpayers could direct such sums to individual bloggers.... )
Our thanks to Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner for his trenchant observations titled "Will journalists wake up in time to save journalism from Obama's FTC?"
What hasn't been widely-known, until now, is that a year ago the new Democrat administration of Barack Obama launched a major internal study intended to design a major government rescue plan for the nation's financially-troubled information media, primarily newspapers.
That strident sound you hear are the alarms going off in minds and offices across the country: Government helping the press? Which press? How help? In return for what?
Well, two years ago who'd have thought the feds would own General Motors with major holdings in a bunch of banks and financial institutions, reshaped the healthcare industry, spent $787 billion on who-knows-what to create some jobs, have rewritten a package of new financial regulations to corral Wall Street and still not be securing the U.S.-Mexico border?
The Federal Trade Commission has just released a major staff study of modern American media titled "Potential Policy Recommendations to Support the Reinvention of Journalism." And....
...silly you thought the private business of journalism was doing that by itself in its own stumbling ways without the help of the Washington branch of the Chicago Democratic political machine.
The study notes those industry-wide revival efforts and adds:
There are reasons for concern that experimentation may not produce a robust and sustainable business model for commercial journalism. History in the United States shows that readers of the news have never paid anywhere close to the full cost of providing the news. Rather, journalism always has been subsidized to a large extent by, for example, the federal government, political parties, or advertising.
True, there have been government subsidies over the decades in the form of below-cost postal rates and printing contracts. But this FTC study is rated R for anyone who thinks the federal government, the object of copious news coverage itself, has no business deciding which sectors of the private media business survive and thrive through its support, subsidies and encouragement with things like tax incentives.
Yet that's what this Obama administration paper is suggesting as another of the ex-community organizer's galactic reform plans.
Would you believe: major changes to the copyright law, including government licensing provisions; government pilot programs to investigate potential new media business models, antitrust changes to allow media companies to unite on imposing online pay walls, establish a journalism division of AmeriCorps with government underwriting the training of young journalists, tax incentives per news employee, increased funding of public broadcasting, a 5% tax on consumer electronics and/or assessments on users of public airwaves.
Another idea would be to allow taxpayers to direct a portion of their taxes -- perhaps up to $200 -- to a specific media institution as payment for media services rendered. (Now, if taxpayers could direct such sums to individual bloggers.... )
Our thanks to Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner for his trenchant observations titled "Will journalists wake up in time to save journalism from Obama's FTC?"
Groups want FCC to police hate speech on talk radio, cable news networks
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is being urged to monitor "hate speech" on talk radio and cable broadcast networks.
A coalition of more than 30 organizations argue in a letter to the FCC that the Internet has made it harder for the public to separate the facts from bigotry masquerading as news.
The groups also charge that syndicated radio and cable television programs "masquerading as news" use hate as a profit model.
"As traditional media have become less diverse and less competitive, they have also grown less responsible and less responsive to the communities that they are supposed to serve," the organizations wrote to the FCC. "In this same atmosphere hate speech thrives, as hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television program masquerading as 'news.'"
The organizations, which include Free Press, the Center for Media Justice, the Benton Foundation and Media Alliance, also argue that the anonymity of the Web gives ammunition to those that would spread hate.
The groups did not mention any specific programming on the right or the left in their letter, which supports a petition filed by the National Hispanic Media Coalition last year requesting a probe of the relationship between hate speech and hate crimes.
The groups argue the Internet has made it harder for the public to separate the facts from bigotry masquerading as news.
"The Internet gives the illusion that news sources have increased, but in fact there are fewer journalists employed now than ever before. Moreover, on the Internet, speakers can hide in the cloak of anonymity, emboldened to say things that they may not say in the public eye."
"For these reasons, as the Commission deliberates how the public interest will be served in the digital age, it should consider the extent of hate speech in media, and its effects."
A coalition of more than 30 organizations argue in a letter to the FCC that the Internet has made it harder for the public to separate the facts from bigotry masquerading as news.
The groups also charge that syndicated radio and cable television programs "masquerading as news" use hate as a profit model.
"As traditional media have become less diverse and less competitive, they have also grown less responsible and less responsive to the communities that they are supposed to serve," the organizations wrote to the FCC. "In this same atmosphere hate speech thrives, as hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television program masquerading as 'news.'"
The organizations, which include Free Press, the Center for Media Justice, the Benton Foundation and Media Alliance, also argue that the anonymity of the Web gives ammunition to those that would spread hate.
The groups did not mention any specific programming on the right or the left in their letter, which supports a petition filed by the National Hispanic Media Coalition last year requesting a probe of the relationship between hate speech and hate crimes.
The groups argue the Internet has made it harder for the public to separate the facts from bigotry masquerading as news.
"The Internet gives the illusion that news sources have increased, but in fact there are fewer journalists employed now than ever before. Moreover, on the Internet, speakers can hide in the cloak of anonymity, emboldened to say things that they may not say in the public eye."
"For these reasons, as the Commission deliberates how the public interest will be served in the digital age, it should consider the extent of hate speech in media, and its effects."
Pelosi Says She Has a Duty to Pursue Policies in Keeping With The Values of Jesus, 'The Word Made Flesh'
-- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says she believes she must pursue public policies "in keeping with the values" of Jesus Christ, "The Word made Flesh."
Pelosi, who is a Catholic and who favors legalized abortion, voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion that was enacted into law in 2003.
“And that Word," Pelosi said, "is, we have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the Word. The Word. Isn’t it a beautiful word when you think of it? It just covers everything. The Word.
“Fill it in with anything you want. But, of course, we know it means: ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.’ And that’s the great mystery of our faith. He will come again. He will come again. So, we have to make sure we’re prepared to answer in this life, or otherwise, as to how we have measured up.”
Pelosi, who is a Catholic and who favors legalized abortion, voted against the ban on partial-birth abortion that was enacted into law in 2003.
“And that Word," Pelosi said, "is, we have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the Word. The Word. Isn’t it a beautiful word when you think of it? It just covers everything. The Word.
“Fill it in with anything you want. But, of course, we know it means: ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us.’ And that’s the great mystery of our faith. He will come again. He will come again. So, we have to make sure we’re prepared to answer in this life, or otherwise, as to how we have measured up.”
Gold to $10000?
Peter Schiff, president and chief global strategist at Euro Pacific Capital thinks gold could reach US$5,000 to US$10,000 per ounce in the next five to ten years.
“People are afraid of the debasement of all the currencies,” he told BusinessWeek. “What’s surprising is that gold is still as low as it is.”
When benchmarked against the CPI, money supply and GDP, there is no doubt that gold can easily double from here, according to David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff + Associates.
“Demand is always difficult to forecast, especially for jewellery, but we do know that central banks have very deep pockets and bought more gold last year (425 tons) than at any other time since 1964,” he said in a note.
“People are afraid of the debasement of all the currencies,” he told BusinessWeek. “What’s surprising is that gold is still as low as it is.”
When benchmarked against the CPI, money supply and GDP, there is no doubt that gold can easily double from here, according to David Rosenberg, chief economist and strategist at Gluskin Sheff + Associates.
“Demand is always difficult to forecast, especially for jewellery, but we do know that central banks have very deep pockets and bought more gold last year (425 tons) than at any other time since 1964,” he said in a note.
Delaware beekeepers abuzz about mysterious epidemic
FRANKFORD -- Between the twin blows of a cold, wet winter and a mysterious global epidemic, Stan Schaffer said most of his bee colonies didn't stand a chance of pollinating strawberries this year.
By the time flowers were in bloom, 28 of his 96 hives remained.
In some colonies, he found the cold-blooded insects starved to death, grouped together for warmth just inches from their stores of honey. Other colonies had abandoned boxes that contained a full supply of food, one of the tell-tale signs of colony collapse disorder.
"I can't give you a number of how many that happened to," he said. "They're dead, and that's it."
This winter was particularly hard for beekeepers, as more than one-third of their colonies failed to survive the winter.
According to Dewey Caron, a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware, bees suffered a 33.7 percent mortality nationwide.
By the time flowers were in bloom, 28 of his 96 hives remained.
In some colonies, he found the cold-blooded insects starved to death, grouped together for warmth just inches from their stores of honey. Other colonies had abandoned boxes that contained a full supply of food, one of the tell-tale signs of colony collapse disorder.
"I can't give you a number of how many that happened to," he said. "They're dead, and that's it."
This winter was particularly hard for beekeepers, as more than one-third of their colonies failed to survive the winter.
According to Dewey Caron, a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware, bees suffered a 33.7 percent mortality nationwide.
Phoenix-area hospitals fight highly toxic 'supergerm'
Maricopa County health officials have confirmed that a relatively new, extremely toxic strain of bacteria has been found in hospitals and other health-care facilities in the Valley.
The germ, known as Clostridium difficile, has long plagued the medical profession and is blamed for an increasing amount of illness in patients.
But this is the first time the new strain, known in medical circles as "NAP1," is believed to have been linked to patient illness and deaths in Arizona, health officials said. It carries at least 20 times as much toxin as the original strain.
According to the county, at least 10 patients have fallen severely ill from this new type of C. diff since early March. Two of those who were infected have died, though the germ has not been named conclusively as the cause of death. All the patients were elderly and suffered from health problems.
"Assuming this continues to evolve, it is going to be a real pain for our health-care communities," said Dr. Bob England, director of the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Like other "supergerms," all strains of C. diff are resistant to powerful antibiotics, and the infection is difficult and expensive to treat. The germ causes pronounced diarrhea and, in severe cases, can lead to inflammation of the colon, which can be fatal.
Healthy and younger people usually don't get C. diff. Most cases occur in health-care facilities, and those represent only a small fraction of the tens of millions of admissions to U.S. hospitals and nursing homes every year. But the number of cases has risen sharply over the past decade, to nearly 500,000 in 2007, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The germ, known as Clostridium difficile, has long plagued the medical profession and is blamed for an increasing amount of illness in patients.
But this is the first time the new strain, known in medical circles as "NAP1," is believed to have been linked to patient illness and deaths in Arizona, health officials said. It carries at least 20 times as much toxin as the original strain.
According to the county, at least 10 patients have fallen severely ill from this new type of C. diff since early March. Two of those who were infected have died, though the germ has not been named conclusively as the cause of death. All the patients were elderly and suffered from health problems.
"Assuming this continues to evolve, it is going to be a real pain for our health-care communities," said Dr. Bob England, director of the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Like other "supergerms," all strains of C. diff are resistant to powerful antibiotics, and the infection is difficult and expensive to treat. The germ causes pronounced diarrhea and, in severe cases, can lead to inflammation of the colon, which can be fatal.
Healthy and younger people usually don't get C. diff. Most cases occur in health-care facilities, and those represent only a small fraction of the tens of millions of admissions to U.S. hospitals and nursing homes every year. But the number of cases has risen sharply over the past decade, to nearly 500,000 in 2007, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Magnitude 6.2 earthquake rattles Papua New Guinea
CANBERRA, Australia -- The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.2 earthquake has rattled the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea.
No casualties or damage was immediately reported.
No casualties or damage was immediately reported.
Moon to turn red during partial lunar eclipse this month
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will have a chance to see the moon turn red during a partial lunar eclipse expected this month, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
According to the agency’s astronomical diary for June, a lunar eclipse will appear as a partial lunar eclipse in the country on June 26. Around half of the moon will be covered, with PAGASA estimating the eclipse’s magnitude (the size of the eclipsed part) at 54.2 percent.
The eclipse will begin at 4:55 p.m. local time, with the greatest eclipse at 7:38 p.m. and end at 10:21 p.m.
“Lunar eclipses are safe to watch and observers need not use any kind of protective filters for the eyes. A pair of binoculars will help magnify the view and will make the red coloration of the moon brighter,” said PAGASA Administrator Prisco Nilo.
The annual Bootid meteor shower will also be active from June 26 to July 2. While the peak of the shower is slated for June 27, PAGASA said little or no showers are expected to be visible because of a full moon on June 26.
The shower comes from debris ejected by Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke. The radiant of the shower will originate from the constellation of Bootes, the Herdsman, which lies in the northern sky.
According to the agency’s astronomical diary for June, a lunar eclipse will appear as a partial lunar eclipse in the country on June 26. Around half of the moon will be covered, with PAGASA estimating the eclipse’s magnitude (the size of the eclipsed part) at 54.2 percent.
The eclipse will begin at 4:55 p.m. local time, with the greatest eclipse at 7:38 p.m. and end at 10:21 p.m.
“Lunar eclipses are safe to watch and observers need not use any kind of protective filters for the eyes. A pair of binoculars will help magnify the view and will make the red coloration of the moon brighter,” said PAGASA Administrator Prisco Nilo.
The annual Bootid meteor shower will also be active from June 26 to July 2. While the peak of the shower is slated for June 27, PAGASA said little or no showers are expected to be visible because of a full moon on June 26.
The shower comes from debris ejected by Comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke. The radiant of the shower will originate from the constellation of Bootes, the Herdsman, which lies in the northern sky.
'Perfect' sinkhole forms during Guatemala storms
A cavernous and almost perfectly round sinkhole swallowed an entire intersection in Guatemala City during a tropical storm.
The hole is 66 feet across and plunges nearly 100 feet down.
Geologists said that the circular shape suggested a cave formation underneath, but what exactly caused the sinkhole was still a mystery.
"I can tell you what it's not: It's not a geological fault, and it's not the product of an earthquake," said David Monterroso, a geophysics engineer at the National Disaster Management Agency. "That's all we know. We're going to have to descend."
The sinkhole formed Saturday and gulped down a clothing factory about three miles from the site of a similar sinkhole three years ago.
"The boys were lucky," resident Honora Oliva said. "They left at six that afternoon, an hour before the earth opened up."
Neighbours said a weekend security guard also was spared because he had left to tend to his house, which flooded from heavy rain as Tropical Storm Agatha bore down on Central America. The storm has killed at least 179 people.
Some neighbours believe one or two people might have disappeared, but authorities said no deaths had been reported.
Crews were waiting for blueprints of the city's drainage system before investigating further.
The hole is 66 feet across and plunges nearly 100 feet down.
Geologists said that the circular shape suggested a cave formation underneath, but what exactly caused the sinkhole was still a mystery.
"I can tell you what it's not: It's not a geological fault, and it's not the product of an earthquake," said David Monterroso, a geophysics engineer at the National Disaster Management Agency. "That's all we know. We're going to have to descend."
The sinkhole formed Saturday and gulped down a clothing factory about three miles from the site of a similar sinkhole three years ago.
"The boys were lucky," resident Honora Oliva said. "They left at six that afternoon, an hour before the earth opened up."
Neighbours said a weekend security guard also was spared because he had left to tend to his house, which flooded from heavy rain as Tropical Storm Agatha bore down on Central America. The storm has killed at least 179 people.
Some neighbours believe one or two people might have disappeared, but authorities said no deaths had been reported.
Crews were waiting for blueprints of the city's drainage system before investigating further.
Wildfires likely to flare in U.S. hot spots
Parts of the desert Southwest, Alaska, northern Great Lakes and Gulf Coast are facing above-normal chances of significant wildfires this month, a federal agency says.
A forecast Tuesday by the National Interagency Fire Center also warned of increased fire risk later this summer for parts of Northern California and Nevada; a large area of northern Idaho, western Montana and Wyoming; and parts of eastern Washington state.
"That area had low snowpack this winter," said Rick Ochoa, national fire weather program manager for the federal center's predictive services. "We're anticipating a hotter-and-drier-than-normal summer … so we anticipate we'll see a potentially active fire season in that area."
A forecast Tuesday by the National Interagency Fire Center also warned of increased fire risk later this summer for parts of Northern California and Nevada; a large area of northern Idaho, western Montana and Wyoming; and parts of eastern Washington state.
"That area had low snowpack this winter," said Rick Ochoa, national fire weather program manager for the federal center's predictive services. "We're anticipating a hotter-and-drier-than-normal summer … so we anticipate we'll see a potentially active fire season in that area."
The Soul-Crushing Horror This Disaster Is Causing
It is incredibly hard to put into words the absolute horror that is happening in the Gulf of Mexico right now. The millions of gallons of oil that have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico and BP's efforts to fight the massive leak are turning the Gulf into a lifeless toxic stew of oil and chemicals. The damage caused to wildlife in the Gulf by this spill will be incalculable.
Entire species are at risk of being wiped out. Scientists are telling us that the primary dispersant being used by BP ruptures red blood cells and causes fish to bleed. This is by far the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history, and there is no end in sight. It is a worse environmental and economic disaster than all of the hurricanes of the past ten years combined. The great wetlands and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico will never be the same in our lifetimes.
The seafood and tourism industries in the Gulf are being completely destroyed. The thousands of jobs and businesses being wiped out by this disaster could potentially throw the entire Gulf coast region into a depression. The damage already caused by this oil spill is beyond measure and yet the government tells us that up to 19,000 barrels (798,000 gallons) of oil a day continue to flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
Federal officials have expanded the "no fishing" area in the Gulf of Mexico to 75,920 square miles. That is 31 percent of all federal waters in the Gulf. As the oil continues to spread out there may soon be nowhere to fish.
And the oil is starting to come ashore in more places. Red-brown oil was found on Alabama's Dauphin Island on Tuesday. As Gulf coast residents slowly watch this oil destroy everything around them they are starting to realize that this is it.
Entire species are at risk of being wiped out. Scientists are telling us that the primary dispersant being used by BP ruptures red blood cells and causes fish to bleed. This is by far the greatest environmental disaster in U.S. history, and there is no end in sight. It is a worse environmental and economic disaster than all of the hurricanes of the past ten years combined. The great wetlands and beaches along the Gulf of Mexico will never be the same in our lifetimes.
The seafood and tourism industries in the Gulf are being completely destroyed. The thousands of jobs and businesses being wiped out by this disaster could potentially throw the entire Gulf coast region into a depression. The damage already caused by this oil spill is beyond measure and yet the government tells us that up to 19,000 barrels (798,000 gallons) of oil a day continue to flow into the Gulf of Mexico.
Federal officials have expanded the "no fishing" area in the Gulf of Mexico to 75,920 square miles. That is 31 percent of all federal waters in the Gulf. As the oil continues to spread out there may soon be nowhere to fish.
And the oil is starting to come ashore in more places. Red-brown oil was found on Alabama's Dauphin Island on Tuesday. As Gulf coast residents slowly watch this oil destroy everything around them they are starting to realize that this is it.
Bloomberg Moves to Block Teachers’ Raises
After warning of widespread teacher layoffs for months, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced Wednesday morning that the city would eliminate planned raises for all of its public-school teachers and principals for the next two years, which he said would “save the jobs of some 4,400 teachers.”
“This was not an ideal decision and it certainly does not solve all our budget issues,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement, which was released after he notified Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, about his decision. “In our conversation this morning, Michael Mulgrew and I agreed that we would go together to Albany and Washington to press our case to restore more education funding.”
“This was not an ideal decision and it certainly does not solve all our budget issues,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement, which was released after he notified Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, about his decision. “In our conversation this morning, Michael Mulgrew and I agreed that we would go together to Albany and Washington to press our case to restore more education funding.”
Missionaries a 'threat' to Sri Lanka?
Buddhist leaders in Sri Lanka may soon pass an anti-conversion law that would punish Christian missionaries working in the country.
The proposed law calls for penalties, including fines and prison time for anyone who tries to convert a Sri Lankan citizen from one religion to another by using force, fraud or allurement.
The measure was drafted by a political party whose leadership is comprised of Buddhist monks. A leader of that party has said that U.S.-funded Christian missionaries are one of the country's greatest threats.
K.P. YohannanK.P. Yohannan is president of Gospel for Asian (GFA), a ministry which has missionaries working in Sri Lanka.
"Persecution in Sri Lanka is not uncommon. Hard-line Buddhists and Hindus attacking Christians and persecuting is a continuous problem," he points out. "But pray that somehow the freedom to preach the gospel and help the poor and needy will remain, because the hard-line anti-Christian politicians are very much wanting to pass that law."
The nation was recently hit with record rainfalls, and GFA has been working to help more than 600,000 people who were displaced from their homes.
The proposed law calls for penalties, including fines and prison time for anyone who tries to convert a Sri Lankan citizen from one religion to another by using force, fraud or allurement.
The measure was drafted by a political party whose leadership is comprised of Buddhist monks. A leader of that party has said that U.S.-funded Christian missionaries are one of the country's greatest threats.
K.P. YohannanK.P. Yohannan is president of Gospel for Asian (GFA), a ministry which has missionaries working in Sri Lanka.
"Persecution in Sri Lanka is not uncommon. Hard-line Buddhists and Hindus attacking Christians and persecuting is a continuous problem," he points out. "But pray that somehow the freedom to preach the gospel and help the poor and needy will remain, because the hard-line anti-Christian politicians are very much wanting to pass that law."
The nation was recently hit with record rainfalls, and GFA has been working to help more than 600,000 people who were displaced from their homes.
Mobile phones responsible for disappearance of honey bee
The growing use of mobile telephones is behind the disappearance of honey bees and the collapse of their hives, scientists have claimed.
Their disappearance has caused alarm throughout Europe and North America where campaigners have blamed agricultural pesticides, climate change and the advent of genetically modified crops for what is now known as 'colony collapse disorder.' Britain has seen a 15 per cent decline in its bee population in the last two years and shrinking numbers has led to a rise in thefts of hives.
Now researchers from Chandigarh's Punjab University claim they have found the cause which could be the first step in reversing the decline: They have established that radiation from mobile telephones is a key factor in the phenomenon and say that it probably interfering with the bee's navigation senses.
They set up a controlled experiment in Punjab earlier this year comparing the behaviour and productivity of bees in two hives – one fitted with two mobile telephones which were powered on for two fifteen minute sessions per day for three months. The other had dummy models installed.
After three months the researchers recorded a dramatic decline in the size of the hive fitted with the mobile phon, a significant reduction in the number of eggs laid by the queen bee. The bees also stopped producing honey.
Their disappearance has caused alarm throughout Europe and North America where campaigners have blamed agricultural pesticides, climate change and the advent of genetically modified crops for what is now known as 'colony collapse disorder.' Britain has seen a 15 per cent decline in its bee population in the last two years and shrinking numbers has led to a rise in thefts of hives.
Now researchers from Chandigarh's Punjab University claim they have found the cause which could be the first step in reversing the decline: They have established that radiation from mobile telephones is a key factor in the phenomenon and say that it probably interfering with the bee's navigation senses.
They set up a controlled experiment in Punjab earlier this year comparing the behaviour and productivity of bees in two hives – one fitted with two mobile telephones which were powered on for two fifteen minute sessions per day for three months. The other had dummy models installed.
After three months the researchers recorded a dramatic decline in the size of the hive fitted with the mobile phon, a significant reduction in the number of eggs laid by the queen bee. The bees also stopped producing honey.
Gaza flotilla activists wanted to be 'martyrs'
Prior to its violent confrontation with Israeli commandos, the commander of the six-ship pro-Palestinian flotilla announced participants were planning to use "resistance" and declared the ship's activists wanted to die as "martyrs" more than they wanted to reach the Gaza Strip, according to Hamas television.
Israeli naval commandos encountered heavy resistance and live fire when they raided the flotilla. Nine activists were killed, and dozens of others reportedly were injured. Several Israeli commandos also were hurt.
One day before the confrontation, a university lecturer in Gaza stated on Hamas-run Al Aqsa television the commander of the Gazaflotilla had announced participants were planning to use "resistance" and that they wanted to die.
Abd Al-Fatah Shayyeq Naaman, a lecturer in Islamic law at a university in Yemen, who visited Gaza, stated: "The [Gaza] flotilla commander said yesterday: 'We will not allow the Zionists to get near us and we will use resistance against them.' How will they wage resistance? They will resist with their fingernails. They are people who seek martyrdom for Allah, as much as they want to reach Gaza, but the first [Martyrdom] is more desirable."
Israeli naval commandos encountered heavy resistance and live fire when they raided the flotilla. Nine activists were killed, and dozens of others reportedly were injured. Several Israeli commandos also were hurt.
One day before the confrontation, a university lecturer in Gaza stated on Hamas-run Al Aqsa television the commander of the Gazaflotilla had announced participants were planning to use "resistance" and that they wanted to die.
Abd Al-Fatah Shayyeq Naaman, a lecturer in Islamic law at a university in Yemen, who visited Gaza, stated: "The [Gaza] flotilla commander said yesterday: 'We will not allow the Zionists to get near us and we will use resistance against them.' How will they wage resistance? They will resist with their fingernails. They are people who seek martyrdom for Allah, as much as they want to reach Gaza, but the first [Martyrdom] is more desirable."
Irish aid vessel still sailing for Gaza, ‘most serious consequences’ promised if passengers harmed
Irish humanitarian aid ship the MV Rachel Corrie is still sailing for Gaza, in spite of Israel's recent, devastating attack on other vessels in the Gaza aid flotilla, resulting in at least nine dead activists and hundreds of prisoners.
The ship, named after 23-year-old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie -- who was crushed to death in 2003 by an American-built bulldozer operated by the Israeli army -- has been pleading with the international community to pressure Israel into leaving them alone.
The Irish government, for its part, has threatened Israel with "the most serious consequences" if any Irish national, captured or currently aborad an aid vessel, is harmed.
"If any harm comes to any of our citizens, it will have the most serious consequences," Taoiseach Brian Cowen said, according to The Irish Times.
The ship, named after 23-year-old U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie -- who was crushed to death in 2003 by an American-built bulldozer operated by the Israeli army -- has been pleading with the international community to pressure Israel into leaving them alone.
The Irish government, for its part, has threatened Israel with "the most serious consequences" if any Irish national, captured or currently aborad an aid vessel, is harmed.
"If any harm comes to any of our citizens, it will have the most serious consequences," Taoiseach Brian Cowen said, according to The Irish Times.
Two more boats head for Gaza as Israel vows to stop them
With two more vessels due to set sail in the next 48 hours to continue the challenge to Israel's Gaza blockade, Deputy Defence Minister Mattan Vilnai admitted Tuesday, June 1 that the Israeli commando seizure of the six-boat Gaza-bound flotilla Monday, May 31 had its faults. But he stressed the mission was nonetheless bravely accomplished. None of the six vessels reached Gaza port - albeit with regrettable loss of life. While the IDF would learn from its mistakes and do things differently, access to Gaza would continue to be blocked for as long as the Hamas-ruled territory was at war with Israel.
The deputy minister contemptuously dismissed furious demands at home for defence minister Ehud Barak to resign, saying the critics had "never go their feet wet." Images of Israeli elite commandos beaten with iron bars - one was thrown off the top deck - have infuriated Israelis.
Vilnai admitted: We underestimated the murderous intentions of the activists aboard the Turkish Marmora vessel and the force of international reaction to televised shots of a brutal situation - real battles never look good on television, he said. In that sense, the organizers of the Turkish-led international expedition achieved their aim. And indeed the UN Security Council early Tuesday capped the chorus of international disapproval by calling for Israel to conduct a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation of the flotilla incident, condemning acts causing loss of civilian lives and requesting the immediate release of ships and civilians held by Israel.
The deputy minister contemptuously dismissed furious demands at home for defence minister Ehud Barak to resign, saying the critics had "never go their feet wet." Images of Israeli elite commandos beaten with iron bars - one was thrown off the top deck - have infuriated Israelis.
Vilnai admitted: We underestimated the murderous intentions of the activists aboard the Turkish Marmora vessel and the force of international reaction to televised shots of a brutal situation - real battles never look good on television, he said. In that sense, the organizers of the Turkish-led international expedition achieved their aim. And indeed the UN Security Council early Tuesday capped the chorus of international disapproval by calling for Israel to conduct a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation of the flotilla incident, condemning acts causing loss of civilian lives and requesting the immediate release of ships and civilians held by Israel.
Sinkhole, Guatemala, natural disaster? or from someone else?
Here are some of the worst disasters that have plagued the earth in this century.
Poisonous Gas Cloud
On August 21, 1986, in a valley in northwestern Cameroon, some 1,700 people and 3,500 animals suddenly dropped dead for no apparent reason. Scientists later discovered that Lake Nyos, sitting above the valley in the crater of a dormant volcano, had, over many years, slowly absorbed the carbon dioxide emitted by the magma far below it. When the water finally became saturated with the poisonous gas, it expelled it all at once in a toxic cloud moving at 125 miles per hour. The plume spread over 16 miles, suffocating many living things in its wake.
Snake Invasion
Mount Pelée, on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean, was the site of one the worst volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing tens of thousands in 1902. But days before it blew, dozens of people living in the small towns below it met an even grimmer fate. Hundreds of venomous snakes, sensing the impending blast, streamed into the streets, biting and killing at least 50 people and 200 animals along the way, according to San Diego State University’s Department of Geological Sciences.
Elephant Rampage
What does it take to drive an elephant insane? Extremely high temperatures and not a drop to drink. In the spring of 1972, India's Chandka Forest, already scorched by drought, was hit by an unforgiving heat wave. The two events in combination began to affect the behavior of local wildlife. By mid-summer the local elephants, normally not a threat to humans, collectively lost their minds and stampeded through five villages, according to India’s news agency, leaving considerable destruction and 24 dead in their wake.
Fatal Heat
Your average heat wave, this was not. In 2003, record-breaking temperatures took the lives of 35,000 people across eight countries in Europe. France bore the brunt of the losses with 14,802 dead. According to a report on the climate phenomenon by the Earth Policy Institute, "Though heat waves rarely are given adequate attention, they claim more lives each year than floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined."
Killer Cold
It was the real-life version of The Day After Tomorrow. In 1816, since known as the Year Without a Summer, waves of frigid air brought heavy rains, frost, and snowfall across parts of the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe throughout the entire year. The freak weather conditions decimated crops and led to widespread famine. A piece in The Quebec Gazette read, "Under circumstances so unfavorable to the productions of the earth throughout so great an extent of country, precautions against scarcity cannot be too strongly recommended....Nothing which may provide sustenance for man or beast ought to be neglected..." Over 100,000 died as a result.
Asteroid Strike
The Tunguska asteroid event was so unusual that witnesses believed it was a visitation from a vengeful god. NASA now estimates that the 220 million-pound space rock hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 33,500 miles per hour over Siberia on June 30, 1908, and had an impact equal to 185 Hiroshima bombs. It felled an estimated 80 million trees, but because the area it hit was so sparsely populated, no one was killed as a direct result of the strike.
Flaming Tornado
A fire tornado, or fire whirl, is perhaps one of Earth’s rarest and most terrifying natural events. Fire whirls form when the rising heat of a fire is spun by wind into a conical shape, creating a column of spinning fire that can become as strong as a tornado. After the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, which devastated Tokyo, a firestorm that included fire whirls killed 38,000 people in just 15 minutes.
Deadly Smog
London’s 1952 killer smog was more than an eyesore, when 12,000 people died in four days from the toxic combination of fog and coal smoke. A sudden cold snap on December 5 of that year mixed with the city’s ubiquitous chimney smoke, causing dense fog to roll in. Within two days, visibility in London was down to one foot. By the fourth day, thousands were dead, animals were stricken with black lung, and then, as quickly as it had arrived, the deadly smog was swept out to sea by the wind.
Hail Deluge
Hailstorms are familiar to any regular reader of Little House on the Prairie,, but not hail that weighs 2.25 pounds like in the giant balls of ice that fell from the sky in the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh in 1986. The hail was considered the heaviest on record, and 92 people were killed when it pummeled the area.
Annoying Volcano
Though not as deadly as some other disasters, the recent Icelandic ash cloud became a disaster in and of itself, shooting a cloud up 20,000 feet into the air. Over the next few weeks, winds caused the cloud to expand south and east, eventually hovering over most of Europe and even into Russia. Hundreds of thousands of flights were grounded, although scientists said the eruption was not strong enough to have a long-term impact on the climate.
Poisonous Gas Cloud
On August 21, 1986, in a valley in northwestern Cameroon, some 1,700 people and 3,500 animals suddenly dropped dead for no apparent reason. Scientists later discovered that Lake Nyos, sitting above the valley in the crater of a dormant volcano, had, over many years, slowly absorbed the carbon dioxide emitted by the magma far below it. When the water finally became saturated with the poisonous gas, it expelled it all at once in a toxic cloud moving at 125 miles per hour. The plume spread over 16 miles, suffocating many living things in its wake.
Snake Invasion
Mount Pelée, on the island of Martinique in the Caribbean, was the site of one the worst volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing tens of thousands in 1902. But days before it blew, dozens of people living in the small towns below it met an even grimmer fate. Hundreds of venomous snakes, sensing the impending blast, streamed into the streets, biting and killing at least 50 people and 200 animals along the way, according to San Diego State University’s Department of Geological Sciences.
Elephant Rampage
What does it take to drive an elephant insane? Extremely high temperatures and not a drop to drink. In the spring of 1972, India's Chandka Forest, already scorched by drought, was hit by an unforgiving heat wave. The two events in combination began to affect the behavior of local wildlife. By mid-summer the local elephants, normally not a threat to humans, collectively lost their minds and stampeded through five villages, according to India’s news agency, leaving considerable destruction and 24 dead in their wake.
Fatal Heat
Your average heat wave, this was not. In 2003, record-breaking temperatures took the lives of 35,000 people across eight countries in Europe. France bore the brunt of the losses with 14,802 dead. According to a report on the climate phenomenon by the Earth Policy Institute, "Though heat waves rarely are given adequate attention, they claim more lives each year than floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes combined."
Killer Cold
It was the real-life version of The Day After Tomorrow. In 1816, since known as the Year Without a Summer, waves of frigid air brought heavy rains, frost, and snowfall across parts of the U.S., Canada, and Western Europe throughout the entire year. The freak weather conditions decimated crops and led to widespread famine. A piece in The Quebec Gazette read, "Under circumstances so unfavorable to the productions of the earth throughout so great an extent of country, precautions against scarcity cannot be too strongly recommended....Nothing which may provide sustenance for man or beast ought to be neglected..." Over 100,000 died as a result.
Asteroid Strike
The Tunguska asteroid event was so unusual that witnesses believed it was a visitation from a vengeful god. NASA now estimates that the 220 million-pound space rock hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 33,500 miles per hour over Siberia on June 30, 1908, and had an impact equal to 185 Hiroshima bombs. It felled an estimated 80 million trees, but because the area it hit was so sparsely populated, no one was killed as a direct result of the strike.
Flaming Tornado
A fire tornado, or fire whirl, is perhaps one of Earth’s rarest and most terrifying natural events. Fire whirls form when the rising heat of a fire is spun by wind into a conical shape, creating a column of spinning fire that can become as strong as a tornado. After the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923, which devastated Tokyo, a firestorm that included fire whirls killed 38,000 people in just 15 minutes.
Deadly Smog
London’s 1952 killer smog was more than an eyesore, when 12,000 people died in four days from the toxic combination of fog and coal smoke. A sudden cold snap on December 5 of that year mixed with the city’s ubiquitous chimney smoke, causing dense fog to roll in. Within two days, visibility in London was down to one foot. By the fourth day, thousands were dead, animals were stricken with black lung, and then, as quickly as it had arrived, the deadly smog was swept out to sea by the wind.
Hail Deluge
Hailstorms are familiar to any regular reader of Little House on the Prairie,, but not hail that weighs 2.25 pounds like in the giant balls of ice that fell from the sky in the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh in 1986. The hail was considered the heaviest on record, and 92 people were killed when it pummeled the area.
Annoying Volcano
Though not as deadly as some other disasters, the recent Icelandic ash cloud became a disaster in and of itself, shooting a cloud up 20,000 feet into the air. Over the next few weeks, winds caused the cloud to expand south and east, eventually hovering over most of Europe and even into Russia. Hundreds of thousands of flights were grounded, although scientists said the eruption was not strong enough to have a long-term impact on the climate.
Will Sinkholes Swallow This Citys of Guatemala?
The residents of Ciudad Nueva, a middle-class neighborhood near downtown Guatemala City, thought they had it bad Friday morning, when they woke up to find their cars, streets, and backyards covered by toxic ash spewed by the nearby Pacaya volcano. They thought things couldn’t get worse on Saturday morning, when the country got hit by Tropical Storm Agatha. Then, at 8 p.m. on Saturday night, a seemingly bottomless hole opened in the earth and swallowed a chunk of their neighborhood.
Hamas Refuses to Allow Flotilla Aid into Gaza Strip
As of right now, the State of Israel has loaded 20 trucks with various types
of aid found onboard the flotilla. Expired medication, clothing, blankets,
some medical equipment and toys were among the aid found on the ships.
Unfortunately, the Hamas terror organization is unwilling to accept the
cargo and the trucks filled with humanitarian aid have not been allowed to
enter the Gaza Strip. It appears that Hamas is in fact stopping the transfer
of the humanitarian aid.
of aid found onboard the flotilla. Expired medication, clothing, blankets,
some medical equipment and toys were among the aid found on the ships.
Unfortunately, the Hamas terror organization is unwilling to accept the
cargo and the trucks filled with humanitarian aid have not been allowed to
enter the Gaza Strip. It appears that Hamas is in fact stopping the transfer
of the humanitarian aid.
China says 'no thanks' to U.S. defense chief
WASHINGTON -- China has ruled out a stopover by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who hoped to make improved military ties with Beijing the centerpiece of his trip to Asia this week.
Mr. Gates leaves Wednesday for an around-the-world trip that will take him to countries in Asia and Europe, but aides said China has explained that this is not a convenient time.
Beijing didn't elaborate, but China leaders were angered by the Obama administration's recent decision to go ahead with arms sales to Taiwan worth more than $6 billion.
Mr. Gates leaves Wednesday for an around-the-world trip that will take him to countries in Asia and Europe, but aides said China has explained that this is not a convenient time.
Beijing didn't elaborate, but China leaders were angered by the Obama administration's recent decision to go ahead with arms sales to Taiwan worth more than $6 billion.
Graduations at Conn. Church Ruled Unconstitutional
Two Enfield, Conn., schools have been prohibited by a federal judge from holding their 2010 graduations inside a church.
U.S. District Court Judge Janet C. Hall ruled on Monday that holding the ceremonies at First Cathedral, a megachurch, is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
"We are pleased that the court has found that holding a public high school graduation ceremony in an overtly religious setting is inappropriate when comparable secular facilities are available," said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, which filed the suit against Enfield Public Schools together with the national ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church.
Those attending graduation ceremonies at First Cathedral, she said, would encounter, among other things, a large cross on the church's roof, a large central cross at the main entrance, a stained glass depiction of worshippers in the main entrance, and a large cross behind the stage "that undoubtedly constitutes the focal point of the entire sanctuary."
"Upon consideration of the evidence from the perspective of such a reasonable observer, the court concludes that plaintiffs have made a substantial showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that holding 2010 graduations at First Cathedral constitutes an impermissible endorsement of religion because it conveys the message that certain religious views are embraced by Enfield Schools, and others are not," Hall ruled.
"[B]y requiring a graduating senior – or a parent of one – to enter First Cathedral in order to be able to participate in his or her graduation – or to watch their child graduate – Enfield Public Schools has coerced plaintiffs to support religion."
Though the Enfield School Board expressed an intention to cover or remove religious images and objects, Hall said that would also be unconstitutional.
"By attempting to 'neutralize' the First Cathedral by covering up many (albeit not all) of its religious images, Enfield Public Schools unconstitutionally entangles itself with religion," she concluded.
U.S. District Court Judge Janet C. Hall ruled on Monday that holding the ceremonies at First Cathedral, a megachurch, is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.
"We are pleased that the court has found that holding a public high school graduation ceremony in an overtly religious setting is inappropriate when comparable secular facilities are available," said Andrew Schneider, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, which filed the suit against Enfield Public Schools together with the national ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church.
Those attending graduation ceremonies at First Cathedral, she said, would encounter, among other things, a large cross on the church's roof, a large central cross at the main entrance, a stained glass depiction of worshippers in the main entrance, and a large cross behind the stage "that undoubtedly constitutes the focal point of the entire sanctuary."
"Upon consideration of the evidence from the perspective of such a reasonable observer, the court concludes that plaintiffs have made a substantial showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claim that holding 2010 graduations at First Cathedral constitutes an impermissible endorsement of religion because it conveys the message that certain religious views are embraced by Enfield Schools, and others are not," Hall ruled.
"[B]y requiring a graduating senior – or a parent of one – to enter First Cathedral in order to be able to participate in his or her graduation – or to watch their child graduate – Enfield Public Schools has coerced plaintiffs to support religion."
Though the Enfield School Board expressed an intention to cover or remove religious images and objects, Hall said that would also be unconstitutional.
"By attempting to 'neutralize' the First Cathedral by covering up many (albeit not all) of its religious images, Enfield Public Schools unconstitutionally entangles itself with religion," she concluded.
Church Relief Network Condemns Israel Flotilla Attack
Israel’s deadly attack on a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza is “a crime,” said a large network of church-based relief organizations.
Related
“This incident could easily have been avoided. This aggression has been heavily criticized and condemned by the worldwide members of ACT Alliance,” said John Nduna, general secretary of Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance.
ACT is an alliance of 100 humanitarian and development organizations working in 130 countries, including the Gaza Strip.
Related
“This incident could easily have been avoided. This aggression has been heavily criticized and condemned by the worldwide members of ACT Alliance,” said John Nduna, general secretary of Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance.
ACT is an alliance of 100 humanitarian and development organizations working in 130 countries, including the Gaza Strip.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Agatha deaths rise to 179 in Central America
GUATEMALA CITY – Villagers used hoes and pick axes to hunt for victims of landslides that have killed at least 179 people in Central America while officials in Guatemala's capital tried to cope with a vast sinkhole that swallowed a clothing factory.
Thousands remained homeless and dozens still missing following the season's first tropical storm. Rescue crews struggled to reach isolated communities to distribute food and water.
"This is a total tragedy," said Jose Vicente Samayoa, president of a neighborhood group in Amatitlan, a flooded town south of Guatemala's capital.
Officials in Guatemala reported 152 dead but said 100 people were still missing. In the department of Chimaltenango — a province west of Guatemala City — landslides buried rural Indian communities and killed at least 60 people.
Curious onlookers also gathered at a massive and almost perfectly circular sinkhole that swallowed an entire intersection in Guatemala City over the weekend, gulping down a clothing factory but causing no deaths or injuries.
Authorities estimate the hole is 66 feet (20 meters) wide and nearly 100 feet (30 meters) deep, but they are still investigating what caused it.
Nearly 125,000 people were evacuated in Guatemala and thousands more fled their homes in neighboring Honduras, where the death toll rose to 17 after two youths disappeared while bathing in a turbulent river despite official warnings to stay away from swollen waterways.
Thousands remained homeless and dozens still missing following the season's first tropical storm. Rescue crews struggled to reach isolated communities to distribute food and water.
"This is a total tragedy," said Jose Vicente Samayoa, president of a neighborhood group in Amatitlan, a flooded town south of Guatemala's capital.
Officials in Guatemala reported 152 dead but said 100 people were still missing. In the department of Chimaltenango — a province west of Guatemala City — landslides buried rural Indian communities and killed at least 60 people.
Curious onlookers also gathered at a massive and almost perfectly circular sinkhole that swallowed an entire intersection in Guatemala City over the weekend, gulping down a clothing factory but causing no deaths or injuries.
Authorities estimate the hole is 66 feet (20 meters) wide and nearly 100 feet (30 meters) deep, but they are still investigating what caused it.
Nearly 125,000 people were evacuated in Guatemala and thousands more fled their homes in neighboring Honduras, where the death toll rose to 17 after two youths disappeared while bathing in a turbulent river despite official warnings to stay away from swollen waterways.
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To the Scattered Brethren in the Nations
This news break & Ministry insights are brought to you by the Love of the Brethren Sojourners, Temple Knight & it's elder J.Blair in Jesus Christ Love.
To all pilgrims in dispersion, to the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the father, in sanctification of the spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
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