Did UFO land on Cannock Chase in Roswell style incident?

It’s being dubbed the Midland’s own Roswell. The controversial American flying saucer reports were brought to public attention thanks to a whistleblower in the intelligence arm of the US Air Force. And it was US Navy third class petty officer S M Brannigan who raised alarm bells about a mysterious crash in Penkridge, a town on the edge of the River Penk, near Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, between February and March, 1964. Click here to find out more! He said three bodies were recovered from the operation to deal with the incident at Cocksparrow...

School Says “Jesus” Shirt is Hate Speech

A Canadian high school student was suspended for a week because wore a t-shirt promoting his Christian beliefs and he was told if he wears it again – he could be suspended for the remainder of the school year. William Swinimer, a student at Forest Heights Community School in Nova Scotia, was punished for wearing a shirt that read, “Life is wasted without Jesus.” The shirt is a reference to a passage of Scripture from the New Testament. Swinimer told Fox News that he was told the shirt was a form of “hate talk.” “I’ve been told by my principal that...

US should return stolen land to Indian tribes, says United Nations

A United Nations investigator probing discrimination against Native Americans has called on the US government to return some of the land stolen from Indian tribes as a step toward combatting continuing and systemic racial discrimination. James Anaya, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said no member of the US Congress would meet him as he investigated the part played by the government in the considerable difficulties faced by Indian tribes. Anaya said that in nearly two weeks of visiting Indian reservations, indigenous...

Biden on Gay Marriage: 'Absolutely Comfortable With Men Marrying Men, Women Marrying Women'

Vice President Joe Biden is not convinced the economic recovery has flatlined, doesn't think Mitt Romney has a jobs plan and is "absolutely comfortable" with gay marriage. During a wide-ranging interview with David Gregory on NBC's "Meet The Press" on Sunday, Biden weighed in on a wide range of topics--the economy, foreign policy, gay marriage, blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangjang, Mitt Romney and Osama bin Laden--six months ahead of the general election. Biden said "it's not a concern" that job growth appears to have stagnated

Peru coast littered with dead birds, dolphins

The government of Peru has warned people away from beaches along the country's northern coast due to the hundreds of dead birds and dolphins that have washed up on shore. More than 1,000 dead birds, a majority of them pelicans, and hundreds of dead dolphins have washed up in recent weeks. The alert did not shut down beaches, but local officials were warned to wear protective gear such as gloves and masks when handling the dead animals. While initial examinations of the dolphins indicate their deaths may have been...

Space weather expert has ominous forecast

A stream of highly charged particles from the sun is headed straight toward Earth, threatening to plunge cities around the world into darkness and bring the global economy screeching to a halt. This isn't the premise of the latest doomsday thriller. Massive solar storms have happened before — and another one is likely to occur soon, according to Mike Hapgood, a space weather scientist at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford, England. Much of the planet's electronic equipment, as well as orbiting satellites, have been built to withstand these...

Mexico city distributes volcano masks

Mexico City's government has started distributing 483,000 masks to residents who might need protection from the ash being spewed by the Popocatepetl volcano. The Federal District's Public Safety Secretariat activated its strategic plan on Saturday, distributing the masks and starting a series of "talks on the preventive measures that should be taken" by the eight million people living in the capital's boroughs. A total of 222 teams from the secretariat went to the boroughs of Iztapalapa, Milpa Alta, Tlahuac, Xochimilco, Tlalpan, Venustiano Carranza...

‘March of Millions’ Turns Violent in Moscow

The “March of Millions” staged in Moscow on the eve of President-elect Vladimir Putin’s taking office turned from a somewhat peaceful march down the street into violent clashes with a number of both police and protesters injured and some 400 demonstrators detained. According to social networks, some 18,000 people signed up for the demonstration, but police put the official number at only 8,000. Organizers on the other hand say there were over 100,000...

Iran readies secret salt desert bunkers for clandestine nuclear facilities

When International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Yukiya Amano declared Friday, May 4, that “Parchin (the suspected site of nuclear-related explosion tests) is the priority and we start with that,” he may have missed the boat. As he spoke, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak said it was possible that Iran was already putting in place the infrastructure for building a nuclear bomb in 60 days. In this regard, debkafile’s military sources disclose that Iran had by the end of 2009 early 2012 completed the construction of a new chain of underground...

Israel warns Hizbollah over Iran

Despite the inevitable international outcry, Israel would be left with no choice but to lay waste to swathes of southern Lebanon because Hizbollah has entrenched itself so deeply within the civilian population, he said. The unusually stark warning comes after months of heightened speculation that the Israeli government is considering unilateral military action against Iran's nuclear installations despite opposition from the United States. Although the prospect of an attack in the next few months is unlikely until after Israelis vote in a September general...

Bibi's October surprise for Obama? Israeli PM preparing to strike Iran before U.S. November elections

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling early elections so that he and his government will be free to deal with Iran’s nuclear program this September-October, one of Israel’s best-informed political commentators said on Friday night. Netanyahu is set on Sunday to announce that he is dissolving parliament and calling elections for September 4 — a year ahead of schedule. In the weeks immediately after that vote, said well-connected commentator Amnon Abramovich on the top-rated Channel 2 news, Netanyahu will head a transition government at home and have no need to worry about voter sentiment, and he knows that President Barack Obama will be paralyzed by the US presidential campaign. Netanyahu has shocked the nation in the past few days by indicating that he will be calling elections...

'Supermoon,' Meteor Shower and Solar Eclipse to Grace May Skies

The month of May looks to be a promising one for skywatchers around the world, with the largest full moon of the year — a so-called "supermoon" — kicking things off this weekend. But the moon is just one of several tantalizing sky events this month, which include a meteor shower from Halley's comet and the first solar eclipse of the year. The skywatching action starts with a celestial double-feature. On Saturday and Sunday (May 5- 6) a "supermoon" of 2012 and the Eta Aquarid meteor shower will both hit their peak. While the bright full moon...

Windermere massive sinkhole threatens Florida home

WINDERMERE, Fla. - A massive sinkhole has opened up in the backyard of a Windermere home. The sinkhole is about 50-feet wide and 50-feet deep. Officials said the sinkhole swallowed up four trees. Crews with the Orange County Fire Rescue are working to stabilize the sinkhole and monitor the situation.

USDA quarantines 2 farms in mad cow investigation

(CNN) -- Two farms have been quarantined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the agency continues to investigate last month's discovery of mad cow disease at a California dairy farm. Authorities also have launched an investigation at a calf ranch where the initial infected cow was raised 10 years ago, according to a statement released late Wednesday by the USDA. Last week, the USDA documented the fourth confirmed U.S. case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) -- a brain wasting disease affecting cattle -- known commonly...

Samsung Galaxy S III Tracks Your Eyes, Knows When You’re Ready to Call

After months of speculation, Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone is here, and just as rumored, it has a massive touchscreen and a speedy quad-core processor. It’s also the official smartphone of the 2012 Olympic Games. As Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S III in London Thursday, it focused less on spec details and more on the concept that the phone can actually predict your next move — a talent you won’t find in rival phones like the HTC One X and Apple’s iPhone 4S. One new feature, Smart Stay, uses eye-tracking technology to put the phone to sleep...

Powerful surveillance cameras read texts

Surveillance cameras are now so powerful that they were able to zoom in on individual spectators at the Rugby World Cup and read their text messages. Details of police monitoring used for the first time during the tournament were discussed at a privacy forum in Wellington yesterday, at which it was revealed that the average person is digitally recorded about a dozen times a day – and even more if they use email and social media frequently. Superintendent Grant O'Fee told the forum how one incident at the Rugby World Cup "tweaked in my...

EU Plot To Scrap Britain

SENIOR Eurocrats are secretly plotting to create a super-powerful EU president to realise their dream of abolishing ­Britain and other nation states, the Daily Express can reveal. A covert group of EU foreign ministers has drawn up plans for merging the jobs currently done by Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. The new bureaucrat, who would not be directly elected by voters, is set to get sweeping control over the entire EU and force member countries into...

It's out there: Science journal publishes details of deadly lab-made bird flu that 'could cause global pandemic'

The science journal Nature has published the first of two controversial papers about laboratory-enhanced versions of the deadly bird flu virus - described by some as a 'recipe' for a bioterror attack. The virus sparked fears among U.S. biosecurity experts that it could be used as a recipe for a bioterrorist attack. Bird flu is lethal in humans, but in its natural form, is unable to be spread from person to person by coughing or sneezing. The publication of the paper by Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, on Wednesday follows...

Syria uprising creates chemical weapons concerns

THE HAGUE - With an uprising in Syria loosening the grip of president Bashar Assad, world powers are worried that he could lose control of a secret stockpile of chemical weapons, giving terrorists access to deadly poison gas. Syria is one of just eight states - along with its arch foe Israel and nearby Egypt - that have not joined the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which means the world's chemical weapons watchdog has no jurisdiction to intervene there. Western countries believe that Damascus has the world's largest remaining stockpile of...

Earthquake swarm strikes off West Coast again

Experts say a "swarm" of small earthquakes off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island are part of the normal seismic activity in the area, and they could continue for several more days. A 4.0 magnitude earthquake that struck just after midnight on Tuesday morning was the eighth small quake with a magnitude between 3.8 and 4.7 to strike the region since April 22. Pacific Geoscience Centre Seismologist Gary Rogers said the activity is focused along a 20-kilometre stretch along an area called the Raveer Delwood Fault, located about 200 kilometres...

Muslims bypass Mormons as fastest-growing religion in Illinois

Muslims have become the third-largest religious group in the state after Roman Catholics and independent evangelicals. Not to mention, the fastest-growing one. That's according to a census of American religious congregations unveiled Tuesday in Chicago. This year, for the first time, the nationwide aggregation of religious traditions, dubbed the "Religion Census," counted nondenominational evangelical congregations, ranging from storefront sanctuaries to megachurches with multiple sites such as Willow Creek Community Church.

Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro has reached a record high,reflecting the strength of the eurozone's spreading recession. Official figures show joblessness across the single currency bloc rose by 169,000 in March, taking the rate up to 10.9 % - its highest level since the euro was launched in 1999. The number of unemployed workers across the region rose by 169,000 to a total of 17.4 million, the agency Eurostat said. The rate was up from 10.8% in February and 9.9% a year ago and comes as nearly half of the eurozone's...

Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro has reached a record high,reflecting the strength of the eurozone's spreading recession. Official figures show joblessness across the single currency bloc rose by 169,000 in March, taking the rate up to 10.9 % - its highest level since the euro was launched in 1999. The number of unemployed workers across the region rose by 169,000 to a total of 17.4 million, the agency Eurostat said. The rate was up from 10.8% in February and 9.9% a year ago and comes as nearly half of the eurozone's...

Flights disrupted as North Korea jams GPS signals

South Korea says electronic jamming signals from the communist North have disrupted hundreds of civilian flights, but says no aircraft is in danger. The signals have prompted Seoul to issue a warning notice for pilots and airlines. South Korea says about 250 flights operated by South Korean and foreign airlines had been affected by the GPS jamming from North Korea since last weekend. "We've confirmed the GPS jamming signals have been stemming from the North," said Lee Kyung-Woo, a deputy director at the state Korea Communications...

North Korea has enough uranium for six nuclear bombs, expert claims

NORTH Korea has stockpiled enough weapons-grade uranium for six nuclear bombs, amid growing concerns it could be primed for another nuclear test, an expert claimed today. Sign up for your free 2 month trial The South Korean nuclear expert told the Yonhap news agency that Pyongyang appeared to have started relying on enrichment activities because of its dwindling stock of plutonium after two rounds of nuclear tests. In November 2010, North Korea revealed its uranium enrichment plant to US scientist Siegfried Hecker, claiming it was being...

'Israel spied on Turkish Air Force training flights'

Israel listened in on communications between Turkish fighter jet pilots in order to discover details of the Turkish Air Force's training programs and flight strategies, Today's Zaman reported Wednesday, citing a report in the Turkish daily Habertürk. According to the report, Israeli spies wiretapped conversations between pilots of Turkish jets during training exercises at the Konya 3rd Main Jet Base Command. The Israeli espionage has prompted the Turkish Air Force to initiate a program to encrypt communications between fighter jet pilots on...

India ready for war with China: Nehru

India ready for war with China: Nehru NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said in the Lower House of Parliament yesterday that India was now relatively stronger than before to face any contingency of war with China. Replying in a three-day debate on the Presidential inaugural address to Parliament, Mr Nehru said: “Broadly speaking, we do not want — we dislike intensely — a war with China. But that is not within our control.

Ancient seal found in Jerusalem

A small stone seal at least 2,600 years old and bearing a Hebrew name has been found near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Tuesday. According to the ancient Hebrew inscription, the seal belonged to a man named Matanyahu, meaning ”gift of God.” It identifies him as the son of a man whose name started with the letters “Ho” — the rest did not survive. No more than two dozen such seals have been found since excavations began in Jerusalem in the 1800s, according to Antiquities Authority archaeologist Eli Shukron. “Finding something like this is like getting regards from a real person who lived here thousands of years ago,” he told The Times of Israel. The seal was found in a structure adjacent to the Temple Mount that dates to what biblical archaeologists think of as the time of the First Temple – between the end of the 8th century BCE and 586 BCE. Workers excavating a Roman-era drainage tunnel along the western side of the Temple Mount uncovered the structure and removed rubble that was then sifted by volunteers, resulting in the seal’s discovery. The area around the sacred enclosure known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and the adjacent neighborhood of Silwan, just outside the Old City walls, are the scene of intense and often controversial archaeological activity. The digs, including the one in which the seal was found, are carried out by the Antiquities Authority and funded by Elad, an organization associated with the Israeli settlement movement that also works to move Jewish families into the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan, the site of an important excavation known as the City of David.

‘The time is finished’: Religious sect erects billboards in Toronto ahead of the ‘transformation’

ST. CATHARINES, ONT. — Doris Rosado watches her teenage daughters, Ninette and Kiara Mongrut, get the numbers “666” tattooed on their wrists, beaming with pride. The number typically conjures up biblical symbolism tied to the Antichrist, but this St. Catharines, Ont., family belongs to a obscure Christian sect for which “666” is a positive symbol of their group’s messianic leader. “They wanted to do it,” Ms. Rosado, 45, said at the St. Catharines tattoo parlour where her daughters were inked. “But now it’s more important because we’re... “They wanted to do it,” Ms. Rosado, 45, said at the St. Catharines tattoo parlour where her daughters were inked. “But now it’s more important because we’re counting down… I’m so proud.” For this family, and other members of Growing in Grace International, these tattoos are a way of demonstrating their faith as true believers of Jose de Luis de Jesus — who they fervently believe is the second coming of Jesus Christ — before a day of reckoning they believe will wipe out most of humanity.The group, which they say has branches in five Canadian cities and members in more than 130 countries, believes that on June 30 (or July 1 across the international dateline), their Texas-based leader and his followers will be transformed, said Alex Poessy, the group’s bishop in Canada. To spread the word, Growing in Grace put up billboards in Toronto this week featuring Mr. de Jesus. “That day, the body of Jose de Luis de Jesus, who is a human like you and me, his flesh is going to be immortal…. He’s going to be living forever. And that will happen to him, but also his followers.” But, said Mr. Poessy: “All those that are not believers are going to be destroyed.” Growing in Grace International is not the first to prognosticate that the so-called end of the world will come this year. The Mayan calendar famously picks Dec. 21, 2012. Courtesy of The Government of God Jose Luis De Jesus, leader of Growing in Grace International But Mr. de Jesus also predicts that the “transformation” will endow him, and his loyal followers, with superpowers, such as the ability to fly and walk through walls, said Axel Cooley, the bishop’s daughter. “[We can] run and not get tired. Go through fire and not get burned…. I could be talking to you right now, and then I could go through that wall. So, you’ll know there is a difference,” Cooley said. The global economy will collapse as currency markets “fail” and governments around the world will be forced to resign. These predictions are based on biblical passages, she adds. “The world’s not going to end. What is going to end is the system…. All the governments and the currencies will fall. The new government of the 666 will take over,” she said. The group’s billboards feature a picture of Mr. de Jesus, with such messages as “666, number of wisdom” or “Countdown to the transformation June 30, 2012.” The group is eyeing billboard locations in Ottawa and Kitchener as well, she said. Growing in Grace has also put up billboards in at least 10 countries, including the U.S., Brazil and Puerto Rico, Ms. Cooley said. Mr. de Jesus, whom followers lovingly call “Dad,” had a vision in 1973 while living in Massachusetts of two angels coming to him. “The body of Christ manifested in Jose de Luis de Jesus, and all of a sudden, that’s when he knew,” Ms. Cooley said. By 1986, he founded Growing in Grace, or Cresciendo en Gracia, in 1986 in Puerto Rico. His teachings are based on the writings of the Apostle Paul, Ms. Cooley says. The group has come under fire and accused of being a cult. Regina Albarracin of Pembroke Pines, Fla., whose son Alvaro became estranged from his family after he joined Growing in Grace, said its members are “brainwashed.” Aaron Lynett / National Post “They’re stupid people who believe in stupidities,” she told the Miami New Times in 2006. “They’re like those people in Waco, Texas. When you go there, you get brainwashed.” Questions have also been raised about the funds flowing from followers into Growing in Grace’s coffers.

All Hail the Robotic Farmers and Pilots of the Future

NEW YORK — Fighter pilot Mary “Missy” Cummings saw it coming while landing her F/A-18 supersonic jet on a Navy aircraft carrier — the world-changing disruption barreling toward the present. Instead of landing the multi-million-dollar machine on the small deck of the ship herself in the 1990s, a computer accomplished the tricky feat for her. “Here the computer was taking off better than I could, landing itself better than I could and doing the mission better than I ever could,” Cummings said Tuesday during the Wired Disruptive by Design business...

Televangelist Richard Roberts gets probation for DUI

Richard Roberts gets an 18-month deferred sentence and no jail time for a DUI. He was in court earlier today and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of DUI and speeding 26 to 30 miles per hour above the speed limit. Roberts will be under no formal supervision during his 18-month probation and will report back in October, 2013. He was assessed fees and court costs and will attend DUI school and complete 56 hours of community service. Roberts was arrested in January after an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper said Roberts was...

Ottawa investigates mysterious Windsor hum

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird's parliamentary secretary, Bob Dechert, was in Windsor, Ont., and Detroit on Friday to address the issue of the mysterious Windsor hum. "The Windsor hum is having a negative effect on the day-to-day lives of Windsor residents,” Baird said in a media release. “We are prepared to collaborate with stakeholders and other levels of government to identify the source of the problem so that potential mitigation measures can be designed and implemented.” Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis met with Dechert. "We had...

Rupert Murdoch's Fox broadcast licences targeted by US ethics group

A Washington-based ethics watchdog is calling on federal regulators to revoke News Corporation's 27 Fox broadcast licences in the wake of the highly critical report on phone hacking from the UK parliament. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew) has written to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, calling on the regulator to pull the plug on Rupert Murdoch's lucrative television licences on grounds of character. The letter argues that the final report of the UK Commons...

Iranian naval exercise follows on Israel’s northern border drill

Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak offered the view this week that the next round of Six-Power talks with Iran taking place on May 23 in Baghdad would lead nowhere, throwing cold water on the current optimism. As for US media reports of a lessening in war tensions over Iran because of the internal debate in Israel over an independent attack, they were soon overtaken by significant military steps embarked on Tuesday, May 1, by the US, Israel and Iran. The large-scale Israel Defense Forces war game on the borders of Syria (Golan) and...

Pentagon is planning ‘contingency’ for Iran and North Korea

The U.S. military is discussing significant changes in its war plans to adhere to President Obama’s new strategic guidance that downplays preparing for conflicts such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and counts on allies to provide additional troops. War planning for Iran is now the most pressing scenario, or what the Pentagon calls a contingency. U.S. Central Command believes it can destroy or significantly degrade Iran’s conventional armed forces in about three weeks using air and sea strikes, according to a defense source familiar with the...

Seattle mayor issues emergency order after May Day mayhem

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says he's making an emergency declaration allowing police to confiscate items that can be used as weapons following violent May Day protests that left storefronts and car windows shattered. Police said officers made at least three arrests after hundreds of people marched through downtown Tuesday afternoon. A 23-year-old man was arrested for vandalism and a 19-year-old man with a knife was also arrested. Protestors dressed in black clothing smashed windows of retail stores and banks, and spray-painted parked cars, reported Q13 FOX News. NikeTown, American Apparel, HSBC, and Wells Fargo were among the businesses protesters vandalized. McGinn said protesters were using items that looked like flagpoles as weapons. He said his order would enable police to take...

Pioneer of global peace studies hints at link between Norway massacre and Mossad

Johan Galtung, Norwegian sociologist nicknamed the “father of peace studies,” made anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli remarks while lecturing at the University of Oslo, in an article published afterward in the Norwegian press and in an interview with Haaretz that followed. Among other statements, Galtung claimed that a possible connection exists between the terrorist responsible for the massacre of children in Norway last summer, and the Mossad. “The Jews control U.S. media, and divert for the sake of Israel,” wrote Galtung in an article...

Global unemployment an 'alarming' situation: ILO

GENEVA — Fiscal austerity and tough labour reforms have failed to create jobs, leading to an “alarming” situation in the global employment market that shows no sign of recovering, the International Labour Organization says. In advanced countries, especially in Europe, employment is not expected to return to pre-crisis levels of 2008 until the end of 2016 — two years later than it previously predicted — in line with a slowdown in production. An estimated 196 million people were unemployed worldwide at the end of last year, forecast to...

Genetically modified crops' results raise concern

Washington -- Biotechnology's promise to feed the world did not anticipate "Trojan corn," "super weeds" and the disappearance of monarch butterflies. But in the Midwest and South - blanketed by more than 170 million acres of genetically engineered corn, soybeans and cotton - an experiment begun in 1996 with approval of the first commercial genetically modified organisms is producing questionable results. Those results include vast increases in herbicide use that have created impervious weeds now infesting millions of acres of cropland...

EPA official resigns over ‘crucify’ remark

Embattled Environmental Protection Agency official Al Armendariz, under fire after being caught on video bragging that he’d “crucify” oil and gas companies in order to send a message to the industry, has stepped down. “While I feel there is much work to be done for the people of this country in the region that I serve, after a great deal of thought and consideration, I have come to the conclusion that my continued service will distract you and the agency from its important work,” he said in a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. His resignation took effect Monday. The former head of EPA’s Region 6, Mr. Armendariz was responsible for oversight and regulatory enforcement in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico — some of the nation’s most potent energy-producing states. His 2010 “crucify” statement, offered at a Texas town hall meeting, was first revealed last week by Sen. James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican. Mr. Inhofe produced a video of Mr. Armendariz apparently responding to a question about the agency’s enforcement strategy and its ability to keep oil and gas companies in line. “I was in a meeting once, and I have an analogy to my staff about my philosophy of enforcement, and I think it was probably a little crude and maybe not appropriate for the meeting, but I’ll go ahead and tell you what I said,” Mr. Armendariz said. “It was kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean. They’d go into a little Turkish town somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they saw, and they would crucify them. And then, you know, that town was really easy to manage for the next few years. So, that’s our general philosophy.” The remarks immediately drew harsh criticism from across the energy sector and from many congressional Republicans, some of whom called for Mr. Armendariz’s firing. Ms. Jackson accepted his resignation over the weekend and acknowledged on Monday that the “crucify” quip had become a major distraction for the agency. “I respect the difficult decision he made and his wish to avoid distracting from the important work of the agency,” she said.

Activists allege forced abortions, sterilizations in China

(CNN) -- When Ji Yeqing awakened, she was already in the recovery room. Chinese authorities had dragged her out of her home and down four flights of stairs, she said, restraining and beating her husband as he tried to come to her aid. They whisked her into a clinic, held her down on a bed and forced her to undergo an abortion. Her offense? Becoming pregnant with a second child, in violation of China's one-child policy. "After the abortion, I felt empty, as if something was scooped out of me," Ji told a congressional panel in September...

Are You Ready for Doomsday?

Super volcanoes, nuclear war, economic collapse and polar shifts—many Americans believe the end of the world is coming. Whether sparked by the recession, the end of the Mayan calendar, natural catastrophes or turmoil in the Middle East, many Americans are preparing for the ultimate worst case scenario—doomsday. All around this grand country of ours, people are preparing for the day when all of society breaks down, civility loses the battle with man’s savage nature and humanity reverts to a new dark age. If fact, this growing movement has gained so much traction that there are even television shows and dating sites dedicated to the idea of doomsday preparation. One particular show called Doomsday Preppers, which I admit I’m a fan of, takes a peek into this growing American subculture. Many of the so called “preppers” profiled on the television program differ vastly from one another. The show broke the common misconception that all doomsday preppers are either gun- loving Jesus freaks or survivalist nuts, a stereotype that while true in some cases is not the status quo for all those who plan for the worst. For instance, one particular episode profiled a family who didn’t believe in arming themselves at all. They considered themselves pacifists. Most of us go through life without giving a second thought to the end of world, but is there any validity to a complete social collapse? Unfortunately, the idea of a doomsday scenario may not be so farfetched. Those of us who lived in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots or even the 1994 Northridge Earthquake remember how quickly what we call society crumbled for a brief period. However, one doesn’t even need to go that far back in history. Look at New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, for example. The whole area fell into chaos within a very a short span of time. Even some of those sworn to uphold the law turned their guns on the very citizens they took an oath to protect. As for natural events such as big earthquakes, super volcanoes or an asteroid striking the earth, scientists will tell you that it’s not a question of if it will happen, but when. Of course, the chances of an asteroid hitting the earth, Yellowstone’s super volcano erupting or complete financial collapse may be very slim in our lifetimes—but they do still exist. Also, when one begins to discuss the idea of "the Big One" mega quake or super bug, the probabilities for a worst case scenario begin to rise. Those living in the San Gabriel area are all too familiar with power outages, fires and mudslides, so preparation is nothing new for many of us. A good emergency preparation plan will keep you alive for at least a week or two. However, learning what plants are edible in your natural areas, what animals to hunt or how to maintain a good sustainable garden can stretch that time even further, which is what a doomsday preparation is meant to be—a plan to survive in case the lights never turn on again. Yet, the most important element stressed by every doomsday preparation book or show is the building of a community. Getting to know your neighbors and learning how to contribute and depend on each other are as critical to survival as any other necessity, which is what makes sites like Patch so great. Most electronic mediums of information tend to disconnect people but Patch allows people to come together by providing a venue to post events, share ideas and make announcements. I know what you are thinking; did he just take this doomsday column and use it to plug Patch? Yes, I did. After all, the internet will be one of the last things to go in case of total collapse. Of course, there is also a psychological element for those obsessed with doomsday. The advent of agriculture, technology and the information superhighway were meant to make our lives easier, but some would say they have failed to do so. Instead, most of us seem to be enslaved to our iPhones, computers and jobs, making societal breakdown and freedom from our electronic chains an enticing scenario.

Caribbean again warned to prepare for tsunamis

The Caribbean has yet again been put on notice to prepare for tsunamis. This warning comes two years ahead of a planned warning system for the region from Assistant Director-General, Wendy Watson-Wright at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Watson-Wright has urged the Caribbean’s 40 million people to take cases of a tsunami seriously as it was not a case of “when and not if” an earthquake triggered tsunami or one caused by volcanic activity...

Yellowstone: New Picture Emerges Of A More Active, Less ‘Super’ Volcano

New research is casting doubts on the frequency or even the possibility of a ‘super-eruption’ that could blot out the sun from the Earth with a thick veil of volcanic ash. A joint research team from Washington State University and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre said the biggest Yellowstone eruption on record was actually two different eruptions at least 6,000 years apart. According to the study published in the June 2012 issue of the Quaternary Geochronology, these eruptions are thought to have created the Huckleberry Ridge...

May Day Protest? White Powder to Banks

Envelopes containing suspicious powder were sent through the mail to at least seven locations in Manhattan, primarily Wells Fargo banks, police officials said. "This is a reminder that you are not in control," said a message that arrived with the envelopes. "Just in case you needed some incentive to stop working we have a little surprise for you. Think fast you have...

Global communist resurgence! Occupy Wall Street socialists plot May Day shut down of cities

Occupy Wall Street demonstrators, whose anti-greed message spread worldwide during an eight-week encampment in Lower Manhattan last year, plan marches across the globe today calling attention to what they say are abuses of power and wealth. Organizers say they hope the coordinated events will mark a spring resurgence of the movement after a quiet winter. Calls for a general strike with no work, no school, no banking and no shopping have sprung up on websites in Toronto, Barcelona, London, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, among hundreds of cities in North America, Europe and Asia. In New York, Occupy Wall Street will join scores of labor organizations observing May 1, traditionally recognized as International Workers’ Day. They plan marches from Union Square to Lower Manhattan and a “pop-up occupation”...