Kosher Satellite Radio Breaking News

Iran to install fuel rods in Nuclear reactor on Wednesday Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/iran-to-install-fuel-rods-in-nuclear-react

2012-02-15T14:30:00.000-08:00

Tehran: Iran will insert its first domestically-produced nuclear fuel rods into a research reactor in Tehran on Wednesday, a top Iranian official said.

"Because western countries were unwilling to help us, we began enriching uranium to 20 percent to make nuclear fuel rods," Ali Bagheri, deputy chief of Iran's National Security Council, said in an interview.

"These nuclear rods, the first created by Iranian specialists, will be inserted tomorrow into the Tehran Research Reactor in the presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," Bagheri said on Tuesdsay.

Insertion of the domestically-produced nuclear fuel rods would mark a significant step forward in Iran's nuclear programme, experts said.

Ahmadinejad announced last weekend that Iran would make an "important" announcement about its nuclear program this week.

Iran says its nuclear program is confined to production of peaceful atomic energy which it says is a fundamental right of any country.

Western nations and Israel have charged that Tehran is secretly working to build nuclear weapons - an assertion Iran vehemently denies.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/iran-to-install-fuel-rods-in-nuclear-reactor-on-wednesday-176393&cp

Strong 6.0 earthquake strikes off Oregon coast

2012-02-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

(Reuters) - A strong 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck on Tuesday roughly 160 miles off the coast of Oregon, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake struck at 7:31 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 6.2 miles in the Pacific Ocean 159 miles west of Coos Bay, Oregon. It was felt as far away as San Francisco, California, according to the USGS.

A spokesman for the Portland police said he did not feel the quake. There were immediate reports of damage or injuries.

No tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center

Here's The Presentation Where Jeff Gundlach Dares To Compare The US To The Roman Empire

2012-02-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

Jeff Gundlach just hosted a webcast with clients. The title of his presentation: "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." Not surprisingly, Gundlach drew parallels between the U.S. and Ancient Rome. Like the U.S., he noted that Rome had an insufficient tax system and a huge military budget. Like Rome, the U.S. faces "persistence of a destitute underclass," as reflected by the excruciatingly slow job recovery. Gundlach's talk also included commentary on the year-to-date performance of markets as well as his outlook for the rest of the year. As usual,..

U.S. concerned about spike in Iran-Israel ‘shadow war’

2012-02-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

The “shadow war” between Israel and Iran is escalating, Middle East analysts say, as a wave of terrorist incidents in far-flung corners of world unsettles U.S. officials. Monday’s bombing of an Israeli diplomat’s car in New Delhi, a foiled attack the same day on Israeli officials in Tiblisi, Georgia, and an explosion involving a suspected Iranian bomb maker in Bangkok on Tuesday are just the latest examples. All three follow attacks that targeted Iranians during the past two years, but the New Delhi bombing bore striking resemblance to one last month in which...

Turkey says considering all possible options in Syria crisis

2012-02-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

The Turkish foreign minister, whose country has been at the forefront of those calling for action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, has said the international community needed to look at all options as the crisis continues to unfold in its southern neighbor. “We cannot be silent as these humanitarian tragedies continue,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at a news conference with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. “At this moment we are talking on diplomatic and humanitarian steps to be taken. But for other scenarios...

The Bloomberg administration says churches must leave school buildings now

2012-02-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

ALBANY — The Bloomberg administration Tuesday rejected a federal judge’s request to delay the eviction of religious groups from city schools. “This case has been litigated for 16 years,” said the city’s Law Department. “It’s now time for it to come to an end.” Federal Judge Loretta Preska asked the city to hold off on its ban of churches in public schools while she considers a last-ditch lawsuit by the Bronx Household of Faith. More than 60 churches are getting the boot starting Sunday. Alliance Defense Fund lawyer Jordan Lorence, who represents the...

Stricken Fukushima nuclear plant at dire risk of massive new earthquake, scientists warn

2012-02-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

Scientists have issued a dire warning that the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is at risk of a massive new earthquake. Research using data from more than 6,000 recent tremors has found that last March's disaster has reactivated a seismic fault practically beneath the power station. Now scientists are telling Japanese authorities to urgently shore up the damaged reactor in expectation of more massive 'quakes. Fukushima Daiichi was the scene of the worst nuclear disasters in history after it was damaged by the March 11, 2011, magnitude 9...

Biometric scans for all overseas Games athletes

2012-02-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

More than 10,000 Olympic athletes and their coaches are having fingerprints and face-scans taken by UK officials around the world in the biggest operation of its type to prevent the London Games being targeted by illegal immigrants or terrorists. Ministers fear that besides the vast numbers of genuine "Games family members (GFMs)" – not only an estimated 10,500 athletes but their training teams, accredited media and officials – would-be terrorists or illegal immigrants could use the influx of people at Heathrow in the days before the Games...

Female Passengers Say They Were Targeted for TSA Body Scanners

2012-02-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

TSA agents in Dallas singled out female passengers to undergo screening in a body scanner, according to complaints filed by several women who said they felt the screeners intentionally targeted them to view their bodies. One woman who flew out of Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport several months ago said a female agent sent her through a body scanner three times after the agent commented on her “cute” body. “She says to me, ‘Do you play tennis?’ And I said, ‘Why?’‘You just have such a cute figure,’” Ellen Terrell recalled to CBS News in...

Online surveillance bill ‘will put an electronic prisoner’s bracelet on every Canadian’

2012-02-15T14:20:00.001-08:00

The Conservative government has called its controversial new electronic surveillance bill the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act as it attempts to win support for the planned laws that would give authorities unprecedented new powers to monitor the online and phone habits of Canadians. The so-called “lawful access” legislation, tabled in the House of Commons Tuesday, will require Internet service providers and cellphone companies to hand over basic customer information — including name, address, phone number, email address, and...

Nuclear submarine fire left Russia on ‘brink of the biggest catastrophe since the time of Chernobyl’ in December: report

2012-02-15T14:19:00.000-08:00

Russia came close to nuclear disaster in late December when a blaze engulfed a nuclear-powered submarine carrying atomic weapons, a leading Russian magazine reported, contradicting official assurances that it was not armed. Russian officials said at the time that all nuclear weapons aboard the Yekaterinburg nuclear submarine had been unloaded well before a fire engulfed the 167-metre vessel and there had been no risk of a radiation leak. But the respected Vlast weekly magazine quoted several sources in the Russian navy as...

Joint chiefs chair: Chinese hacking not necessarily a hostile act

2012-02-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. top military officer said that, should China's military be found to be behind hacks into the U.S. infrastructure, it would not necessarily be a hostile act. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he "believe(s) someone in China is hacking into our systems and stealing technology and intellectual property, which at this point is a crime." But Dempsey said in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee that he cannot attribute the Chinese hacking to China's military, the People's Liberation...

US weighing steep nuclear arms cuts

2012-02-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is weighing options for sharp new cuts to the U.S. nuclear force, including a reduction of up to 80 percent in the number of deployed weapons, The Associated Press has learned. Even the most modest option now under consideration would be a historic and politically bold disarmament step in a presidential election year, although the plan is in line with President Obama's 2009 pledge to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons. No final decision has been made, but the administration is considering at least three options for lower total numbers of deployed strategic nuclear weapons cutting to: 1,000 to 1,100; 700 to 800, and 300 to 400, according to a former government official and a congressional staffer. Both spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal internal...

Lake Kivu gas: Turning an explosion risk into a power source

2012-02-14T14:43:00.000-08:00

More than 1,000 people died in 1986 when a lake in Cameroon released a cloud of CO2 that suffocated entire villages. A much larger lake in Rwanda - with two million people living nearby - is also at risk of eruption, but plans are afoot to make it safer. In the early evening on Lake Kivu, along Rwanda's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, lights bob on the surface of the water. They're fishermen's lanterns hanging off wooden boats to attract herring. Lake Kivu's fish are a crucial source of food for the two million people who live around the...

White House Economic Adviser: "We Need A Global Minimum Tax"

2012-02-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

“He supports corporate tax reform that would reduce expenditures and loopholes, lower rates for people investing and creating jobs in the U.S., due so further for manufacturing, and that we need to, as we have the Buffett Rule and the individual tax reform, we need a global minimum tax so that people have the assurance that nobody is escaping doing their fair share as part of a race to the bottom or having our tax code actually subsidized and facilitate people moving their funds to tax havens," Gene Sperling said in a meeting with the White House's...

Feds shut down Amish farm for selling fresh milk

2012-02-14T14:41:00.002-08:00

The FDA won its two-year fight to shut down an Amish farmer who was selling fresh raw milk to eager consumers in the Washington, D.C., region after a judge this month banned Daniel Allgyer from selling his milk across state lines and he told his customers he would shut down his farm altogether. The decision has enraged Mr. Allgyer’s supporters, some of whom have been buying from him for six years and say the government is interfering with their parental rights to feed their children. But the Food and Drug Administration, which launched a full..

Social Security reserves forecast to run dry in 2022

2012-02-14T14:41:00.001-08:00

Social Security’s bank account will go bust in 2022 — the first time the program’s combined trust funds will run a deficit, according to President Obama’s budget released Monday. One of Medicare’s trust funds also will be in the red for much of the next decade, according to the numbers in the briefing book that the White House provided to Congress along with the budget, which lays out Mr. Obama’s tax and spending plans for fiscal year 2013 and beyond. Social Security has taken in less in taxes than it has paid out in benefits since 2010, but the...

Reactor 2 heat spike reading said faulty

2012-02-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

A thermocouple device in the pressure vessel of reactor 2 at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 power plant read over 285 degrees Monday but Tepco dismissed the reading, claiming the device is faulty. Two similar reactor 2 thermometers at the same height — about 3 meters from the bottom of the pressure vessel — as the apparent faulty one gave readings of about 31 to 33 degrees Monday. The problematic one read over 90 degrees in the morning but hit 285.4 at 3 p.m. after Tepco checked its status by gauging its electrical resistance...

Archaeologists strike Biblical gold with discovery of the Queen of Sheba's fabled mines Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-210

2012-02-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

British archaeologists have struck gold with a discovery that may solve the mystery of where the Queen of Sheba unearthed her fabled treasures.

According to the Bible, the ruler of Sheba, which spanned modern-day Ethiopa and Yemen, travelled to King Solomon in Jerusalem, bringing 120 talents (four-and-half tons) of gold.

Now an ancient goldmine, together with the ruins of a temple, has been found on the high Gheralta plateau in northern Ethiopia, part of the Queen's former territory.

Russia to Deploy S-400 Air Defense Systems Near Borders

2012-02-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

Russia will place several new S-400 Triumf air defense systems near its borders in 2012, Air Force Commander Alexander Zelin said. “The Russian Armed Forces will receive several S-400 Triumf air defense systems this year,” Zelin told RIA Novosti on Monday. “This time they will be deployed in air defense units guarding [Russia’s] border regions.” Russia currently has two S-400 regiments protecting the airspace around Moscow. Zelin did not specify the deployment locations for new S-400 units, but some of them will most likely be placed in the Russian...

Newsweek: Israel keeping U.S. in the dark on Iran attack

2012-02-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Mossad head Tamir Pardo's visit to Washington around two weeks ago was meant to evaluate how the United States would react if Israel decided to attack Iran's nuclear facilities on its own, Newsweek magazine reports this week. A senior American official quoted in the story said that Pardo had come to Washington to "check the pulse" of the Obama administration and to ascertain the degree to which Washington opposes an Israeli strike. According to the report, Pardo posed a number of questions during his talks with senior administration officials,..

‘Iran and its proxy Hezbollah are behind’ Israeli embassy attacks: Netanyahu

2012-02-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

Israel accused arch-enemies Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of being behind twin bomb attacks that targeted Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia on Monday, wounding four people. Tehran denied involvement in the attacks, which amplified tensions between two countries already at loggerheads over Iran’s nuclear program, and accused Israel of carrying out the attacks itself. Hezbollah made no comment. In the Indian capital New Delhi, a bomb wrecked a car taking an Israeli embassy official to pick up her children from school, police said. The woman needed surgery to remove shrapnel but her life was not in danger. Her driver and two passers-by suffered lesser injuries. Israeli officials said an attempt to bomb an embassy car in the Georgian capital Tbilisi failed, and the device was defused.

Fukushima No. 2 reactor temperature rises to 82 C

2012-02-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday the temperature at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant rose further to 82 C, but the reactor has not gone critical.

While the thermometer reading at shortly after 2 p.m. marked a new high since the reactor attained a cold shutdown in December, the utility said it has confirmed that sustained nuclear reactions are not taking place in the reactor as no radioactive xenon has been detected inside its containment vessel.

Tepco reported the latest development immediately to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry as the temperature exceeded the limit of 80 C designated by the company's safety regulation for maintaining a cold shutdown, it said.

It is considered desirable to keep the temperature below 80 C, while the bottom of a reactor pressure vessel must be kept below 100 C in a stable cold shutdown, in view of the margin of error of thermometers, according to Tepco officials.

Tecpo plans to increase the amount of water injected as a coolant by 3 tons per hour and pour 1 ton of boric acid later Sunday to prevent any event of criticality.

As a reason for what is causing the temperature rise, Tepco said it is possible the water flow is unstable and thus failing to cool the reactor stably, while also saying it will check the thermometer for any irregularities. The temperature was measured at 78.3 C at 10 a.m. and fell to 75.4 C at 11 a.m.

The decline occurred after Tepco on Saturday night increased the amount of water being injected into the reactor to 14.6 tons per hour from 13.6 tons, after seeing the temperature rise to 73.3 C at 9 p.m. It reached 74.9 C at 11 p.m. Saturday. The temperature readings began rising on Feb. 1.

One of the three thermometers at the bottom of the reactor's pressure vessel stayed between 67 C and 71 C from Friday evening to Saturday evening after hitting 73.3 C on Monday.

Readings from two other thermometers that check the temperature at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor vessel were around 35 C, Tepco said.

Frozen continent! Europe's rivers, lakes and even seas are iced over as bitter Siberian cold leads to temperatures of almost -40C

2012-02-13T14:43:00.001-08:00

You would be forgiven for thinking these stunning vistas lay deep in the heart of Antarctica. But they are, in fact, what has become of the European landscape as temperatures plummet to nearly -40C - the coldest snap in decades. Rivers, lakes, beaches and even seas have been iced over by a Siberian freeze, creating some incredible sights, but also more tales of tragedy. Thousands enjoyed a day out on the frozen Lake Pfaeffikersee, near Zurich, Switzerland, today, while ice anglers looked more like Eskimos as they braved the conditions on a...

Massive sunspot that has DOUBLED in size in recent days could send solar storms careering toward Earth

2012-02-13T14:42:00.001-08:00

A massive double-barrelled sunspot that has doubled in size in the past few days could now send a series of solar flares towards Earth. Though the severity of the disruption is yet unknown, some scientists are predicting the spot could send off medium-scale solar flares. These could cause radio blackouts and disruptions in the Earth’s polar regions. According to SpaceWeather.com, the sunspot in active region 1416 could send out ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic energy in what is known as an M-class flare. Though M-class flares aren’t nearly as...

Will Nuclear Megaton Shockwave Avert Earth-Bound Asteroid?

2012-02-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory are using a supercomputer - with the power of 32,000 processors - to calculate what an atomic blast of one megaton would do to inbound space rock with its sights on Earthly destruction.

Lawsuit Claims Unlawful Distribution of 'Charitable Assets' by TBN Directors

2012-02-13T14:39:00.000-08:00

A lawsuit recently filed by the former head of finance for the Trinity Broadcasting Network claims that the directors of the widely-viewed Christian television network have illegally taken advantage of more than $50 million in "charitable assets" for their own good. Brittany B. Koper, granddaughter to TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch, previously served as the chief financial officer, director of finance, corporate treasurer and director of human resources for Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, which conducts business as TBN. Tymothy MacLeod...

Vatican in turmoil after letter 'reveals plot to assassinate Pope'

2012-02-13T14:38:00.000-08:00

Sensational claims of a plot to assassinate Pope Benedict XVI have whipped Italy into a frenzy and focused the world's attention on the poisonous atmosphere seeping through the corridors of the Holy See. The Italian daily newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano published an unsigned letter, written in German, which spoke of a Mordkomplott – death plot – against Benedict and quoted the Archbishop of Palermo, Paolo Romeo, as predicting that the Pontiff would die with in 12 months. The anonymous missive, dated 30 December and marked "strictly confidential...

Slump in shipping freight sparks fears for world trade

2012-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

Global Maritime Investments (GMI) said it would pay Glencore $2,000 a day to lease its vessel the Angelina, which will transport grain on a round trip from South Korea to northern Europe. Glencore, the trading giant, is known for its commercial nous but this is the first time an operator is believed to have paid to lease its own vessel. There is a commercial logic on the part of GMI, which said it was paying Glencore to reposition its ship. “The reason it makes sense for us is the fact that Glencore is paying for the fuelling,” Steve Rodley,..

'Spy networks near Iran an open secret'

2012-02-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

Is there a Mossad base near Iran? The London Times published Sunday an interview with a man claiming to be an Azerbaijan-based agent of Israeli intelligence agency, who confirmed the existence of such a base. The man, identified in the article as "Shimon," told the paper that there were dozens of Israeli Mossad agents working out of the base. "This is ground zero for intelligence work," he said. "Our presence here is quiet, but substantial. We have increased our presence in the past year, and it gets us very close to Iran. This is a wonderfully porous...

'Iran must attack Israel by 2014'

2012-02-13T14:35:00.002-08:00

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's strategist provided the legal and religious justification for the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people, in a document published on conservative Farsi website Alef. Reports of the document began to circulate the internet this week. The document, written by strategy specialist Alireza Forghani, outlined the reasons why, "In the name of Allah, Iran must attack Israel by 2014." Claiming to only represent the personal opinion of its author, and not the Iranian government, the doctrine was published on a...

US admiral says Navy forces are prepared to confront Iran

2012-02-13T14:35:00.001-08:00

MANAMA, Bahrain – The top U.S. Navy official in the Gulf said Sunday he takes Iran's military capabilities seriously but insists his forces are prepared to confront any Iranian aggression in the region. Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet, told reporters at the naval force's Bahrain headquarters that the Navy has "built a wide range of potential options to give the president" and is "ready today" to confront any hostile action by Tehran. He did not outline specifically how the Navy might answer an Iranian strike or an effort to shut the entrance to the Persian Gulf, though any response would likely involve the two U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships cruising the waters off Iran. "We've developed very precise and lethal weapons that are very effective, and we're prepared," Fox said. "We're just ready for any contingency."

Israel blames Iran after attacks on embassy staff

2012-02-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel accused arch-enemies Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah of being behind twin bomb attacks that targeted Israeli embassy staff in India and Georgia Monday, wounding four people.

Tehran denied involvement in the attacks, which amplified tensions between two countries already at loggerheads over Iran's nuclear program, and accused Israel of carrying out the attacks itself. Hezbollah made no comment.

In the Indian capital New Delhi, a bomb wrecked a car taking an Israeli embassy official to pick up her children from school, police said. The woman needed surgery to remove shrapnel but her life was not in danger.

Her driver and two passers-by suffered lesser injuries.

Israeli officials said an attempt to bomb an embassy car in the Georgian capital Tbilisi failed, and the device was defused.

Israel had put its foreign missions on high alert ahead of the fourth anniversary this past Sunday of the assassination in Syria of the military mastermind of Hezbollah, Imad Moughniyeh - an attack widely assumed to be the work of Israeli agents.

Israel is believed to be locked in a wider covert war with Iran, whose nuclear program has been beset by apparent sabotage, including the unclaimed killings of several Iranian nuclear scientists, most recently in January.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed both Iran and Hezbollah, accusing them of responsibility for a string of recent attempted attacks on Israeli interests in countries as far apart as Thailand and Azerbaijan.

"Iran and its proxy Hezbollah are behind each of these attacks," said Netanyahu, who dismisses Iran denials that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapon. "We will continue to take strong and systematic, yet patient, action against the international terrorism that originates in Iran."

'Cyborg' moth can be steered with electric neural probe - and could be used as tiny spy

2012-02-09T14:48:00.000-08:00

Researchers at MIT have successfully implanted a 'neural probe' into a fist-sized moth, and can 'steer' the moth using electrical signals. The scientists can tell the moths to turn left and right, and even how hard to turn - much as you might steer a remote control plane. It's the first fruit of an $18.5 million U.S. government project aimed at 'controlling' insects using electrical signals. The technology could be used one day to use insects as tiny spies. Part of the funding comes from the military. The 'neural probe' is attached to a radio receiver and a battery...

Vending machine dispenses emergency contraception

2012-02-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

(CNN) -- Vending machine offerings at a Pennsylvania university are expanding beyond the world of junk food and into the world of contraception. Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania now offers the emergency contraceptive Plan B One-Step in a vending machine in the school's Etter Health Center, according to Peter Gigliotti, Executive Director for University Communications and Marketing. According to Gigliotti, the university started making Plan B available after a survey found that 85% of students supported doing so.

Scientists reach underground lake that could "transform the way we think about life"

2012-02-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

The vast depths of Lake Vostok could hold life from the distant past, or clues to the search for life on other planets. Scientists have described reaching the lake as "a meeting with the unknown". "In the simplest sense, it can transform the way we think about life," Nasa's chief scientist Waleed Abdalati told The Associated Press by email. As such, researchers have been wildly anticipating the break-through for years. There are hopes it will allow a glimpse into microbial life forms that existed before the Ice Age, or precious evidence of what...

Iran: We can attack U.S. interests "anywhere"

2012-02-09T14:44:00.002-08:00

The Iranian ambassador to Russia reportedly said Wednesday that his country has the means to attack U.S. interests "anywhere in the world." Ambassador Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi told reporters in Moscow that it would only exercise such capability if attacked by the United States, according to the Reuters news agency. "The Americans know what kind of country Iran is. They are well aware of our people's unity," Sajjadi said. "And that's why Iran is fully able to deliver retaliatory strikes on the United States anywhere in the world." Sajjadi also said that...

CNN: US preparing military contingencies for Syria

2012-02-09T14:44:00.001-08:00

The United States has begun an internal review of its military capabilities vis-a-vis Syria despite remaining committed to diplomatic and economic pressure on Damascus, CNN's "Security Clearance" blog reported on Tuesday. The report did not specify whether the White House had ordered the review or if it was initiated in the Pentagon. One senior US official told CNN that the US military "would not be doing its job if it did not put some ideas on the table," adding that "absolutely no decisions have been made on military support for Syria." Senior officials reiterated to the cable news channel that the US's position remains focused on diplomatic and sanctions-based actions but said the preliminary military planning was being done for the eventuality that US President Barack Obama asked for a military option.

Iran turns to barter for food as sanctions cripple imports

2012-02-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

PARIS/TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran is turning to barter - offering gold bullion in overseas vaults or tankerloads of oil - in return for food as new financial sanctions have hurt its ability to import basic staples for its 74 million people, commodities traders said Thursday.

Difficulty paying for urgent import needs has contributed to sharp rises in the prices of basic foodstuffs, causing hardship for Iranians with just weeks to go before an election seen as a referendum on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic policies.

New sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union to punish Iran for its nuclear program do not bar firms from selling Iran food but they make it difficult to carry out the international financial transactions needed to pay for it.

Reuters surveys of commodities traders around the globe show that since the start of the year, Iran has had trouble securing imports of basic staples like rice, cooking oil, animal feed and tea. Grain ships have been held at its ports, refusing to unload until payment can be received for cargo.

With Iran's rial currency tumbling, the prices of rice, bread and meat in Iranian bazaars have doubled or more in dollar terms in recent months.

Iranian grain importers have in the past side-stepped sanctions by booking business through the United Arab Emirates, traders said, but this option was cut off by the UAE government in response to sanctions.

Fast-Spreading Animal Virus Leaps Europe, UK Borders

2012-02-08T14:48:00.002-08:00

A newly identified disease is moving rapidly through livestock in Europe and has authorities both worried and puzzled. The disease, dubbed Schmallenberg virus for a town in west-central Germany where one of the first outbreaks occurred, makes adult animals only mildly ill, but causes lambs, kids and calves to be born dead or deformed. The United Kingdom’s Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AVHLA) said today that the virus has been found on 29 farms in England; in the past few weeks they found it in sheep, but today...

Israel embassies preparing for Iran strike?

2012-02-08T14:48:00.001-08:00

Preparing for Iran strike? Foreign embassies in Israel have recently started to formulate contingency plans to evacuate their citizens from the Jewish State in case of a missile attack on Israel. Senior officials in Jerusalem said that several diplomatic missions have shown great interest in preparing for various emergency situations, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday. In the framework of the preparations for possible fallout in case of an Israeli strike on Iran, foreign diplomats stationed in Israel requested that the Foreign Ministry equip them and their...

'Hezbollah will choose response to strike on Iran'

2012-02-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday stated that in the event of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Hezbollah would decide itself how to react, rather than taking orders from Tehran. "Some are wondering what would happen if Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, and although I rule out this possibility I assure you that the Iranian leadership will not ask Hezbollah to do anything. On that day, we have to sit down and think before we decide what to do," Lebanese website Naharnet quoted Nasrallah as saying. In a speech delivered via...

Rising U.S. student debt could be next ‘bomb’ for economy

2012-02-08T14:42:00.000-08:00

Almost half of U.S. bankruptcy attorneys representing consumers say that potential clients with student-loan debt have “significantly increased” over the past three to four years, a survey found. The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, a group that represents consumer debtors and their lawyers, released a survey today of 860 bankruptcy attorneys in the U.S who are members of the organization. Federal and private student-loan debt is approaching US$1-trillion and surpassed credit-card debt for the first time in 2010,..

No way of stopping leak of deadly new flu, says terror chief

2012-02-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

The bioterrorism expert responsible for censoring scientific research which could lead to the creation of a devastating pandemic has admitted the information "is going to get out" eventually. Professor Paul Keim, chairman of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, controversially recommended that researchers be stopped from publishing the precise mutations needed to transform the H5N1 strain of birdflu virus into a human-transmissible version. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, he argued...

Spying on Europe’s farms with satellites and drones

2012-02-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

Farmers who claim more EU subsidies than they should, or who break Common Agricultural Policy rules, are now more likely to be caught out by a camera in the sky than an inspector calling with a clipboard. How do they feel about being watched from above? Imagine a perfect walk in the country, a few years from now - tranquillity, clean air, birdsong in the trees and hedgerows, growing crops swaying in the breeze. Suddenly a model plane swoops overhead. But there is no-one around manipulating radio controls. This is not a toy, but a drone...

Air Force Removes ‘God’ From Logo

2012-02-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

A Virginia lawmaker is calling on the Air Force to reverse a decision to remove a Latin reference to “God” from a logo after an atheist group complained. Rep. Randy Forbes, (R-VA), said the Air Force removed the logo several weeks ago from the Rapid Capabilities Office. The patch included a line written in Latin that read, “Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money.” But after the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers complained, Forbes said the line was rewritten in Latin to read, “Doing Miracles with Other People’s Money.” Forbes...

Army defends chaplain intervention over letter criticizing contraceptive mandate

2012-02-08T14:37:00.000-08:00

The Army said Tuesday that a request for chaplains not to read a letter in Sunday Mass that expressed disapproval of a new regulation in the Obama administration's health care law was not an attempt to "censor," but rather a cautionary move to preserve "military order and discipline." The Army acknowledged that Chief of Chaplains Donald Rutherford had asked chaplains to only distribute, but not read, the Jan. 26 letter sent by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio. The concern was apparently over a single line. "The Chief of Chaplains was concerned that one line in the 456-word letter could be misinterpreted as a call to civil disobedience within our nation's military ranks," the statement said. A senior Army official separately confirmed that the offending line stated: "We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law."..

N. Korea developing unmanned attack aircraft: report

2012-02-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

North Korea is developing unmanned attack aircraft using US target drones imported from the Middle East, a report said Sunday. They are based on MQM-107D Streaker target drones, which are used by the US army, and imported from a Middle East nation believed to be Syria, Yonhap news agency reported. It cited an anonymous Seoul military official, adding the communist state would likely deploy them, once completed, near the tense maritime border with the South on the Yellow Sea. The US drone, which flies at 40,000 feet (12,000 metres)...

Archeologists make new finds at the Hill of Jonah

2012-02-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

An archeological find at the Hill of Jonah near Ashdod may prove that the area had been occupied during the time when archeologists believe Jonah the prophet walked the Earth. Archeologists have discovered the remains of massive walls, possible the remains of a fortress, that were dated to the late eighth and early seventh centuries BCE, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced on Monday. The find is significant because the discovery of life at the site, which is traditionally the landmark site for the tomb of Jonah for both Muslims and...

Water temperature rising in No. 2 reactor at Fukushima nuclear plant

2012-02-07T14:31:00.001-08:00

TOKYO — Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said Monday that the water temperature in the No. 2 reactor at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has risen from 45 degrees on Jan 27 to 69.2 degrees on Monday. One of three thermometers in the reactor has shown that the temperature has risen by 20 degrees in the last four days, NTV reported. TEPCO said it is continuing to pump more water into the troubled reactor to cool it down, but so far, the utility has not been able to pinpoint the exact cause of the rising temperature...

Pa. Bishop Does Not Recant Saying that Hitler And Mussolini 'Would Love Our (Public School) System'

2012-02-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

(CNSNews.com) – The Catholic bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., has apologized for offending anyone with his recent comments that Hitler and Mussolini “would love” the public school system in Pennsylvania, because it is similar to what they sought to create in their totalitarian states.

But in a statement issued by the diocese of Harrisburg, Bishop Joseph McFadden did not retract comments he made during an interview on Jan. 24 with WHTM-TV, the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg.

The bishop made a comparison between the interests of the public school system and totalitarianism, while discussing what he sees as a lack of school choice in Pennsylvania.

“In the totalitarian government, they would love our system,” McFadden said. “This is what Hitler and Mussolini and all them tried to establish -- a monolith; so all the children would be educated in one set of beliefs and one way of doing things.”

McFadden’s comments drew immediate criticism from the Anti-Defamation League and the American Civil Liberties Union – which complained that the bishop had raised the specter of the Holocaust.

"We respect the Bishop and his position in the Church. We appreciate his commitment the education of children and the viability of Catholic schools. However, he should not be making his point at the expense of the memory of six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust," Barry Morrison, Eastern Pennsylvania/Southern New Jersey regional director of the Anti-Defamation League.

"The Holocaust was a unique experience. It does not lend itself to inappropriate analogies. We have an obligation to protect the memory of those who suffered because of it from those who would distort it and undermine and trivialize the history of the Holocaust, however inadvertently. Our role should be to honor those who fought to defeat the murderous Nazis, and not to inappropriately draw reckless comparisons."

FBI: More locals seek help with anti-government extremists

2012-02-07T14:26:00.002-08:00

The FBI is being inundated with calls from local government officials asking for assistance in dealing with anti-government extremists, officials said. Stuart McArthur, deputy assistant director of the FBI's Counterterrorism Division, said the extremists -- part of the so-called sovereign citizen movement that advocates a rejection of government authority -- have the "potential'' to prompt violence in their day-to-day encounters with police, judges, inspectors and other local government officials. "Our focus has been increasing,'' McArthur said...

Doomsday 2012: 'Preppers' Prepare for Worst, Turn a Profit

2012-02-07T14:26:00.001-08:00

The never-ending hysteria over a Doomsday cometh has sparked a growing movement of people called "preppers," who prepare for the end of the world as we know it -- and in some cases, make a profit. Tim Ralston, a married father of two from Arizona, is one such "prepper." "There's a lot of different things that could happen," Ralston said. "For me, I look at prepping as kind of like insurance. You have car insurance, health insurance, life insurance." Call it Apocalypse insurance. Ralston turned his family's two-car garage into a staging area...

With world population rising, era of low food prices over

2012-02-07T14:24:00.002-08:00

The era of falling food prices has come to an end with the world population set to add another 2 billion people, according to Cargill Inc., the U.S. farm commodities trader. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization has said global food output must rise 70 per cent by 2050 to feed a world population expected to grow to 9 billion from 7 billion now and as increasingly wealthy consumers in developing economies eat more meat. Food prices tracked by the FAO climbed to the highest ever a year ago on surging grain prices.

Shipping Costs Have Plunged So Hard, Companies Are Now PAYING Customers To Use Their Boats

2012-02-07T14:24:00.001-08:00

We've been following recent plunges in the Baltic Dry Index—a measure or commodity shipping costs—because it's near its lowest value since August 1986. Today Bloomberg reports that vessel operators have actually begun to transport goods for free and even cover some of clients' fuel costs on infrequently traveled routes, in particular on "backhaul" trips that move a boat from the Pacific to the more highly trafficked Atlantic. In particular, the report cites Glencore International Plc, which shipped grains to Europe using a ship operated by...

Netanyahu can't fly solo in Israel to attack Iran

2012-02-07T14:19:00.000-08:00

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Three decades ago, an Israeli prime minister faced his cabinet and invoked the Holocaust in an emotional appeal to approve an air strike against an Arab atomic reactor.

Menachem Begin got the nod, cautioning that a nuclear-armed Iraq under Saddam Hussein would pose a threat to the existence of the Jewish state. On June 7, 1981, Israeli warplanes destroyed the nuclear facility near Baghdad.

The current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would also need ministerial backing, from his 15-member security cabinet, should he seek to attack Iran, despite Washington's warnings of the risks to the global economy and U.S. regional interests.

Precedents such as the bombing in Iraq and a similar 2007 sortie against Syria, suggest that Netanyahu, fearing for operational secrecy given Israel's talkative political culture, would count on the reduced government forum to represent cross-partisan agreement on any risky mission against Iran.

Much would hinge on whether he would deem striking Iranian nuclear sites an "operation" and thus sidestep a decade-old Israeli law requiring the full cabinet ratify the launching of a war.

"In the State of Israel, any process of a military operation, and any military move, undergoes the approval of the security cabinet and in certain cases, the full cabinet," Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said on Sunday when asked in an interview how a green-light to attack Iran might be given.

"In any event, the decision is not made by two people, nor three, nor eight," he told Israel's Army Radio on Sunday, alluding to media speculation that Netanyahu might make do with conferring with his defense minister, or with the foreign minister as well, or with his eight-member inner council.

U.S. President Barack Obama, with whom Netanyahu has had a frosty relationship, said on Sunday he did not believe Israel has made a decision on a course of action towards Iran. Washington, Obama said, was not taking any options off the table to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.

Tehran says it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes and has accused Israel, widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, of hypocrisy. It has threatened to wipe Israel out and, more recently, to retaliate against U.S. and European sanctions on its finances and oil sales.

Virtual reality contact lenses that beam images directly into your eyes could be on sale in 2014

2012-02-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

Contact lenses which focus 3D screens directly into people's eyeballs could be on sale as early as 2014, says U.S. company Innovega. The tiny 'screens' sit directly on users' eyeballs and work with a pair of lightweight glasses with a built-in translucent screen. The experience is equivalent to a 240-inch television viewed at a distance of 10 feet, says Innovega's CEO Steve Willey. The devices can 'pair' with smartphones and portable game devices to deliver up-close video - or switch to a translucent 'augmented reality' view, where computer information...

Magnitude 5 Earthquake Strikes Near Iran’s Bushehr Nuke Plant

2012-02-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck near the Bushehr nuclear power plant in south Iran, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its website on Sunday. The earthquake struck at 9:40 a.m. local time (06:10 GMT) on Sunday some 70 km (45 miles) southwest of Bushehr, with its epicenter registered at a depth of 10 km. There were no reports so far of any casualties or damage to the nuclear power plant caused by the quake. The deadliest quake in Iran was in June 1990, which measured 7.7 points on the Richter scale. About 37,000 people were killed and...

Rabbi's 'Kosher Jesus' book is denounced as heresy

2012-02-06T14:48:00.000-08:00

For an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, Shmuley Boteach has a deeply unorthodox streak. The bestselling author and TV host has written books on "Kosher Sex," "Dating Secrets of the 10 Commandments" and his relationship with the late pop star Michael Jackson. But nothing he has done in a career as one of America's best-known rabbis has caused quite the stir of his latest book. Even before its publication this month, Boteach came under withering attack in his own Orthodox community, with critics accusing him of exploiting controversy to boost...

Ayatollah: Kill all Jews, annihilate Israel

2012-02-06T14:47:00.002-08:00

The Iranian government, through a website proxy, has laid out the legal and religious justification for the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of its people. The doctrine includes wiping out Israeli assets and Jewish people worldwide. Calling Israel a danger to Islam, the conservative website Alef, with ties to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the opportunity must not be lost to remove “this corrupting material.

Iran vows to attack any country used by 'enemies' to strike its soil

2012-02-06T14:47:00.001-08:00

Iran will attack any country whose territory is used by "enemies" of the Islamic state to launch a military strike against its soil, the deputy head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards told the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday. "Any spot used by the enemy for hostile operations against Iran, will be subjected to retaliatory aggression by our armed forces," Hossein Salami said, during military maneuvers. The Revolutionary Guards began the two-day ground exercises on Saturday as a show of military might as tension rises between Tehran...

'Hezbollah will hit Israel if Syria attacked'

2012-02-06T14:46:00.001-08:00

Hezbollah is prepared to attack Israel if Western powers interfere in Syria against the regime in Damascus, a Lebanese Hezbollah official said Sunday according to the Palestinian News Network. The unnamed official said Hezbollah was prepared if Western powers intervened in Syria in order to stop Syrian President Bashar Assad's crackdown on anti-government protesters, even if the "price for it" is to engage the IDF in battle in order to divert attention away from the Syrian arena. According to the report, Hezbollah - which is believed to...

Obama says US, Israel 'in lockstep' on Iran

2012-02-06T14:45:00.000-08:00

AFP - President Barack Obama on Sunday sought to reassure Americans over the threat posed by Iran, saying the United States was working "in lockstep" with Israel to bring Tehran to heel over its suspect nuclear program. Obama said the Islamic republic was "feeling the pinch" of ever tougher sanctions imposed by the international community, and dismissed concerns that Tehran could retaliate by striking US soil, saying such a strike was unlikely. "I've been very clear -- we're going to do everything we can to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear...

Joint drill with US to be held after delay

2012-02-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

Israel and the United States will hold the postponed Austere Challenge missile-defense exercise before the end of the year, likely in October or November. Senior American military officers from the European Command are scheduled to arrive in Israel later this month to finalize plans to hold the exercise, which has been billed as the largest joint missile-defense exercise in the countries’ history. The drill was initially scheduled for April and was supposed to see the deployment of thousands of US troops and various sophisticated American military equipment in Israel. In December, however, Defense Minister Ehud Barak asked the Pentagon to consider the possibility of postponing the drill until later this year. Talks about postponing the drill took the Americans as well as the Israel Air Force’s Air Defense division, which is...

The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics

2012-02-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

Gilad Atzmon's New Book: The Wandering Who? A Study Of Jewish Identity Politics

Jewish identity is tied up with some of the most difficult and contentious issues of today. The purpose in this book is to open many of these issues up for discussion. Since Israel defines itself openly as the ‘Jewish State’, we should ask what the notions of ’Judaism’, ‘Jewishness’, ‘Jewish culture’ and ‘Jewish ideology’ stand for. Gilad examines the tribal aspects embedded in Jewish secular discourse, both Zionist and anti Zionist; the ‘holocaust religion’; the meaning of ‘history’ and ‘time’ within the Jewish political discourse; the anti-Gentile ideologies entangled within different forms of secular Jewish political discourse and even within the Jewish left. He questions what it is that leads Diaspora Jews to identify themselves with Israel and affiliate with its politics. The devastating state of our world affairs raises an immediate demand for a conceptual shift in our intellectual and philosophical attitude towards politics, identity politics and history.

You can now order the book on Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

'Panetta believes Israel will strike Iran soon'

2012-02-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

'Panetta believes Israel will strike Iran soon'

US defense secretary estimates Israel likely to strike Iran between April and June – before it reaches 'zone of immunity' in development of nuclear bomb, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius says

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes that Israel is likely to strike Iran in the coming months, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius said Thursday.

"Panetta believes there is strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June – before Iran enters what Israelis described as a “zone of immunity” to commence building a nuclear bomb," Ignatius wrote.

Asked by journalists whether he disputes the report, Panetta said, "No, I'm just not commenting."

He added, "What I think and what I view, I consider that to be an area that belongs to me and nobody else."

He noted that Israel has stated publicly that it is considering military action against Iran, adding that US has "indicated our concerns."

Panetta, along with US President Barack Obama warned Israeli officials against opting for a military offensive in Iran, saying it would jeopardize the international sanctions program and other non-military efforts to stop Iran from crossing the nuclear "red line."

Even so, Ignatius claimed that senior officials in the Obama administration have yet to decide how to respond if an Israeli military strike materializes.

The columnist states that "Israeli leaders are said to accept, and even welcome, the prospect of going it alone and demonstrating their resolve at a time when their security is undermined by the 'Arab Spring'."

Another strike in a few years

The Israeli scenario, according to Ignatius, is a five day limited offensive, followed by a UN-brokered ceasefire. The relatively light damage that is expected to be inflicted on Iranian nuclear facilities will require Israel to stage another offensive a few years down the line.

Ignatius notes that American officials see two possible options to dissuade Israel from attacking: Serious talks with Iran – including full access and supervision over its nuclear program – or increased US covert operations that will undermine the nuclear program to the extent that Israel is convinced an attack is no longer necessary.

However, such options might be in vein because Prime Minister Netanyahu has already made a decision to attack in the next six months, Ignatius claims.

Thousands Trapped As Eastern Europe Freezes

2012-02-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

Thousands of people are trapped in snow-blocked villages in Serbia and the freezing weather has caused a 20-car pile-up in Italy. Severe cold spells have gripped eastern Europe, forcing officials to air-lift emergency food and medical supplies to some areas as the number of dead rose past 120. At least 11,000 villagers remain trapped in remote areas of Serbia that cannot be reached because of icy roads, with temperatures sinking below -30C in some areas. Some 34 people were injured in the car crash in a Milan road tunnel. Incredibly, no one was...

Awesome in the Outback: Comet shimmers over Australian swamp as it blazes a trail through night sky

2012-02-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

This is the out-of-this world photograph of the beauty of an amazing comet streaking across the cosmos. Caught on camera over a swamp in Australia the stunning image shows the trail of the Comet Lovejoy as it passed close to Earth. Lying in wait in the darkness in Poocher Swamp Game Reserve near Adelaide, was photographer Wayne England who took this amazing snap. As his picture shows the darkness of the swamp and the reflection of the water made the perfect backdrop to reflect the comet zooming across the sky. Mr England, 40, who is a...

Christian group banned from claiming it heals the sick in street prayer sessions outside Bath Abbey

2012-02-03T14:33:00.000-08:00

A Christian group has been banned from claiming it can heal people after complaints to the advertising watchdog. Healing on the Streets - Bath (HOTS) stages regular sessions outside the city’s abbey and says 'scores of people' have been 'physically healed' as a result of its work. But atheist Hayley Stevens, from Wiltshire, took offence to the group’s adverts and claimed it could give terminally-ill people false hope. She complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to say the claims by HOTS could 'not be substantiated'...

Farm State Outrage Intensifies Over Labor Dept. Proposal to Ban Children From Doing Some Chores on Farms

2012-02-03T14:30:00.002-08:00

(CNSNews.com) - Farmers and congressmen from farm states continue to slam proposed U.S. Department of Labor farm regulations, which would bar farm children under 16 from operating tractors and other machinery and working with livestock. “This is what happens when big city bureaucrats try to craft policies for rural America,” Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) said of the proposals. Rehberg, who has become of the proposal’s most ardent opponents, criticized the Labor Department for drafting regulations that he says are unnecessary. “(The) most...

Former DEA Chief: Hezbollah Eyeing Southwest Border, ‘Hell to Pay in the Not Too Distant Future’

2012-02-03T14:30:00.001-08:00

(CNSNews.com) – The Iranian-supported Shi’ite terrorist group Hezbollah has spread its influence all the way to the U.S. border with Mexico, a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Iran’s influence in the Western Hemisphere heard on Thursday. Michael Braun, a former chief of operations at the Drug Enforcement Agency, said Hezbollah had developed relationships with the powerful Mexican drug cartels to “move their agenda forward.” He cited a plot, recently uncovered by the DEA, involving an Iranian operative in Mexico allegedly...

NYPD eyed Shiites amid worries over Iran

2012-02-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

(AP) NEW YORK - The New York Police Department recommended increasing surveillance of thousands of Shiite Muslims and their mosques, based solely on their religion, as a way to sweep the Northeast for signs of Iranian terrorists, according to interviews and a newly obtained secret police document. The document offers a rare glimpse into the thinking of NYPD intelligence officers and how, when looking for potential threats, they focused their spying efforts on mosques and Muslims. Police analysts listed a dozen mosques from central...

Israel says Iran seeking U.S.-range missile

2012-02-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

JERUSALEM, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday Iran had been working on developing a missile capable of striking the United States at a military base rocked by a deadly explosion three months ago. The blast on Nov. 12 killed 17 Iranian troops, including an officer regarded as the architect of Iran's missile defences. Iran said at the time the explosion at the facility, 45 km (28 miles) from Tehran, was an accident and occurred during research on weapons that could strike Israel. Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon, addressing Israel's annual Herzliya security conference, challenged the Iranian account that the weapons project was focused on targeting Israel, and implied Iran was seeking to extend its strike range fourfold. He said the base was a research and development facility where Iran "was preparing to produce...

Exclusive: Israel Warns US Jews: Iran Could Strike Here

2012-02-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

Israeli facilities in North America -- and around the world -- are on high alert, according to an internal security document obtained by ABC News that predicted the threat from Iran against Jewish targets will increase.

"We predict that the threat on our sites around the world will increase … on both our guarded sites and 'soft' sites," stated a letter circulated by the head of security for the Consul General for the Mid-Atlantic States, Eliran Avitan. Guarded sites refers to government facilities like embassies and consulates, while 'soft sites' means Jewish synagogues, and schools, as well as community centers like the one hit by a terrorist bombing in Buenos Aires in 1994 that killed 85 people.

The head of Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service, told an audience at a closed forum in Tel Aviv recently that Iran is trying to hit Israeli targets because of what it believes are Israeli attacks on it nuclear scientists. Yoram Cohen said that Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the same militant wing of the government linked to the recent alleged plot against the Saudi ambassador to the U.S., is working tirelessly to attack Israeli and Jewish targets abroad in order to deter Israel.

Local and regional law enforcement and intelligence officials in U.S. and Canadian cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Toronto have been monitoring the situation closely for several weeks, and have stepped up patrols at Israeli government locations and Jewish cultural and religious institutions. They have issued awareness bulletins reminding officers to stay vigilant.

Federal officials in those cities told ABC News that they have also increased their efforts to watch for any threat stream pointing to an imminent attack on either Israeli facilities, Jewish cultural or religious institutions or other "soft targets."

Incredible image of 'black hole' shows one of the coldest and most isolated places in the universe

2012-02-02T14:41:00.001-08:00

In a sky filled with bright stars, this image appears to show a massive black hole in its centre. But, rather than being a genuine black hle, the eerily dark 'hole' in this photograph is a cloud of matter - known to astronomers as a dark molecular cloud - which blocks all light from passing through it. In infrared images, though, it becomes transparent (below). The interiors of molecular clouds are some of the coldest and most isolated places in the universe. The bizarre sight is formed due to a high concentration of dust and molecular gas absorbing...

Pelosi: Planned Parenthood's Relationship to Girl Scouts ‘Very Valuable’

2012-02-02T14:39:00.002-08:00

(CNSNews.com) – House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Planned Parenthood’s relationship with the Girl Scouts of America is “very valuable,” Wednesday, at a congressional reception to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the organization for young girls. Rep. Pelosi was featured at the reception with a group of female government leaders to promote the Girl Scout’s new initiative “To Get Her There,” which seeks to create “gender balanced leadership” in one generation. After the event CNSNews.com asked Pelosi: “The Girl...

The World from Berlin - Germany's Power 'Is Causing Fear' in Europe

2012-02-02T14:39:00.001-08:00

The EU summit on Monday was overshadowed by a new upsurge in fears of German domination following reports over the weekend that Berlin was proposing dispatching an EU commissioner to Athens to seize control of the Greek budget. Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted the summit to send out a positive message about a commitment to jobs and growth, but failed to dispel the impression that Germany is throwing its weight about in the euro crisis. Greek newspaper Ta Nea published a cartoon of Merkel holding Greece like a marionette..

San Onofre Nuclear Plant Closed After Radiation Leak

2012-02-02T14:38:00.000-08:00

A small quantity of radioactive gas leaked inside one of the buildings at San Onofre nuclear power plant north of San Diego, according to a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The spokesman said the radiation levels were “barely measurable,” but the plant was shut down as a precaution. “At no point were the public or our workers in any danger,” Southern California Edison spokesman Gil Alexander told ABC News. Officials say the radiation leak likely occurred in the steam generator tubes of San Onofre’s reactor #3. The steam...

Syria: Russia warns against crossing 'red line'

2012-02-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

New York, 1 Feb. (AKI/Bloomberg) - Russia warned Arab leaders against crossing a “red line” in trying to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and said it wasn’t the job of the United Nations to dictate who stays in power and who goes. Arab League leaders, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European foreign ministers called yesterday for the Security Council -- and indirectly Russia -- to adopt the Arab-European plan that would have Assad delegate his authority to a deputy who would start talks with the opposition within two months...

Iraq becomes dollar source for Iran, Syria

2012-02-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

BAGHDAD - In the money changing shops dotted around Baghdad's Karrada district, Iraqi merchants dabble in many currencies, but these days some joke that banknotes from neighboring Iran and Syria are only worth plastering on windows as decorations. Discounted Iranian rials and Syrian pounds are pouring into the shops as Western economic sanctions against those two countries make it harder for them to conduct trade with much of the rest of the world, arrange international bank transactions and obtain hard currency. Iraq, which...

India bracing for limited conflict with pushy China, says top US intel official

2012-02-02T14:35:00.000-08:00

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army may be preparing for a limited conflict with China, says the US' top intelligence official. In a testimony to the US Senate, James Clapper, director of national intelligence, said, "Despite public statements intended to downplay tensions between India and China, we judge that India is increasingly concerned about China's posture along their disputed border and Beijing's perceived aggressive posture in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific region." Commenting on the Indian military modernization, Clapper said, "The Indian Army believes a major Sino-Indian conflict is not imminent, but the Indian military is strengthening its forces in preparation to fight a limited conflict along the disputed border, and is working to balance Chinese power projection in the Indian Ocean," he said. Giving a glimpse of...

Alaska volcano lava dome forms, alert level raised

2012-02-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

Alaska volcano lava dome forms, alert level raised
The warning level for a remote Alaska volcano has been raised after a new lava dome began forming, indicating the mountain could explode and send up an ash cloud that could threaten aircraft. The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Tuesday elevated the alert status for Cleveland Volcano. Officials say the new lava dome was spotted in the summit crater. The observatory says as of Monday,..

Mind-reading program translates brain activity into words

2012-02-01T14:49:00.000-08:00

Scientists have picked up fragments of people's thoughts by decoding the brain activity caused by words that they hear. The remarkable feat has given researchers fresh insight into how the brain processes language, and raises the tantalising prospect of devices that can return speech to the speechless. Though in its infancy, the work paves the way for brain implants that could monitor a person's thoughts and speak words and sentences as they imagine them. Such devices could transform the lives of thousands of people who lose the ability to speak...

Senators Demand Study of Airport Scanners for Possible Cancer Exposure

2012-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:00

Chances are, if you have been at an U.S. airport lately, you've been inside a tubular body scanning machine called a "backscatter," named for the way it scatters electrons. On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to determine whether the scanners emit harmful levels of cancer-causing radiation, as some experts believe. The bill would also require signs at airports to clearly alert travelers of alternative screening options available in lieu of the X-ray devices. Primary bill sponsor Sen. Susan Collins, top Republican on the...

U.S. Navy takes major step towards its first 'rail gun' - a hi-tech electromagnetic weapon that fires projectiles at 5,000MPH

2012-02-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

The U.S. navy has awarded a $10 million contract to research a power supply for its hi-tech 'rail gun' - an electromagnetic weapon that hurls projectiles at 5,000 miles per hour. 'This new system will dramatically change how our Navy engages enemies,' said Joe Biondi, vice president of of Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business, which received the contract. The gun use electromagnetism to hurl projectiles it along a track-like 'rail' instead of down a gun barrel. The shells it fires aren't explosive - they damage targets by sheer force of...

What is it? Man captures video of spinning blue UFO 'cruising slow' over Utah

2012-02-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

The stunning image of a UFO was captured on video last week, but is it an alien craft, or is there a simpler explanation? Anthony Piceno, of American Fork, Utah, said he was drawn to the sight in the air because it was like nothing he had ever seen before. His footage of the object later appeared on The Weather Channel. The video shows the blue craft resembling a spinning top floating in the sky and moving very slowly. Mr Piceno said: ‘I looked up in the sky and, you know, it was just a different object, it was neon blue, red flashing lights’.

Israel sets up elite command unit to strike behind 'enemy' lines

2012-02-01T14:41:00.000-08:00

Israel has set up a specialist commando unit designed to carry out missions deep inside enemy territory amid growing consensus in government circles that military strikes must be contemplated if economic sanctions do not halt Iran's nuclear programme. The "Depth Corps" has been organised with the aim of co-ordinating deep penetration operations in other countries at a time when the defence ministry acknowledges that the number of covert Israeli operations abroad has increased significantly in the last year.

U.S. Intel: Iran could strike U.S. if threatened

2012-02-01T14:40:00.000-08:00

(AP) WASHINGTON — Top U.S. intelligence officials on Tuesday asserted that Iran has the means to build a nuclear weapon but has not yet decided to follow through, in contrast to Israel's insistence that time is running out to stop Iran from developing such a weapon. But Iran is likely to strike out at U.S. interests if it feels threatened, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate Intelligence Committee in an annual report to Congress on threats facing America. Citing last year's thwarted Iranian plot to kill the Saudi...

Holy war over health care law? Obama angers Catholic leaders

2012-02-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

While President Obama will deliver another speech on the economy Wednesday in Northern Virginia to keep the focus on jobs, Catholic leaders across the country are warning another issue may blow up in his face come November. Catholics are fired up over new rules implementing Obama's health care reform law forcing Catholic universities, hospitals, and charities to provide insurance for their employees covering contraception -- even though that violates church teachings. "When you push people of faith and you tell them the government is going to knock down the wall of separation of church and state and overreach like the Obama administration, you've got a war on your hands," Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, told Fox News. In an extraordinary move this past weekend, New York...

Senator Booted From Restaurant Over ‘Homophobic’ Views

2012-01-31T14:26:00.000-08:00

A Knoxville, Tenn., restaurant owner has drawn cheers and jeers for refusing to serve a state senator whose beliefs she viewed as homophobic. Republican state Sen. Stacey Campfield told ABC News he went out to brunch at The Bistro at Bijou restaurant on Sunday with some friends after doing a radio show, but the owner of the restaurant quickly approached him, refusing service. “We were just standing there waiting for a table, and this woman came up to me saying ‘I’m not serving you, I’m not serving you, you hate gay people,’” Campfield said...

George Soros: Not "Much Difference" Between Romney And Obama

2012-01-31T14:24:00.000-08:00

Billionaire investor George Soros explains why there wouldn't be much difference for Wall Street between President Obama and Mitt Romney. He also tells Chrystia Freeland why his billionaire constituents see him as a traitor to his class. "If it's between Obama and Romney, there isn't all that much difference except for the crowd that they bring with them," George Soros told Reuters in Davos, Switzerland. "So it won't be that great a difference and I think there won't be a great deal of enthusiasm on either side of the battleground...

Anti-mafia priest sent pig's head in Godfather-style warning

2012-01-31T14:22:00.000-08:00

The pig's mouth was stuffed with a wad of cloth in what was interpreted as a clear warning to the clergyman by the 'Ndrangheta mafia. The bloody head was left outside Father Ennio Stamile's home in the town of Cetraro in Calabria, the 'Ndrangheta's stronghold. The macabre gesture had chilling echoes of a famous scene in The Godfather in which a Hollywood producer who refuses to do business with Don Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film of the same name, wakes up to find the severed head of his favourite racehorse at...

Report: Turkey may replace Iran as Hamas' financier

2012-01-31T14:21:00.000-08:00

Turkey may reportedly replace Hamas' chief financier, Iran, to alleviate the Gaza ruling party's financial pain as it has faced difficulty in receiving aid from the Islamic republic. Israeli daily Haaretz quoted Turkish sources on Saturday that stated Gazan Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh conveyed his party's financial difficulties to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his first visit to Turkey and that Turkey is seriously considering funding Hamas, a party Israel and the US list as a terrorist organization. The report added that Haniyeh...

India defies sanctions, won't cut Iran oil imports

2012-01-31T14:20:00.002-08:00

MUMBAI, India – India has joined China in saying it will not cut back on oil imports from Iran, despite stiff new U.S. and European sanctions designed to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program. "It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the import from Iran drastically because, after all, the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economy, Iran is an important country amongst them," India's finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters Sunday in Chicago. India and China together accounted for...

New Study Sheds Light On Little Ice Age

2012-01-31T14:20:00.001-08:00

University of Colorado researchers report that they have answered some questions surrounding Earth’s Little Ice Age, which started between A.D. 1275 and 1300, and lasted into the late 19th century. According to the new study, the Little Ice Age was triggered by repeated, explosive volcanism and sustained by a self-perpetuating sea ice-ocean feedback system in the North Atlantic Ocean. Professor Gifford Miller, who led the study, said the team’s evidence from radiocarbon dates from dead vegetation that emerged from melting icecaps on...

Scientists warn of huge quake east of Japan Trench

2012-01-31T14:19:00.001-08:00

Japanese researchers say the March 11th disaster has increased the risk of a major quake and tsunami east of the Japan Trench off northeastern Japan. The research was carried out by a group at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. The Japan Trench is where the Pacific Plate begins to sink under the tectonic plate extending from land. The March 11th earthquake originated closer to land from the plate boundary. The research group installed 20 seismometers on the seabed east of the Japan Trench to analyze aftershocks that occurred between late April and early July last year. The data showed that the March quake apparently changed the dynamic force deep inside the Pacific Plate. Before the disaster, many of the deeper quakes involved faults that form when the plate is being compressed.

Aliens and Nazis: Ten Holographic-like UFOs -- Over one state alone

2012-01-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

A South Carolina witness reports watching 10 spheres "moving erratically with flashing white lights and a low flying triangle-shaped object, according to January 26, 2012, testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database. The reporting witness was first alerted to the objects by a phone call from a friend who lived 20 miles away. "I went outside and to the west I saw about 10 spheres moving erratically with flashing white lights," the witness stated. "These lights moved in all directions including around each other. The night sky...

Fran Drescher Abducted by Aliens - UFO Claim by Actress

2012-01-30T14:44:00.000-08:00

Fran Drescher believes she was abducted by aliens. Is the actress being serious about her UFO claim? She believes it. She claims that long before they were married, both she and her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson were abducted by aliens on separate occasions and in separate locations. "You know, it's funny because Peter and I both saw [aliens] before we knew each other, doing the same thing, driving on the road with our dads," Drescher told the Huffington Post recently. "We were both in junior high. A few years later, we met, and...

Explosive volcano may lurk beneath Death Valley

2012-01-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

California's Death Valley, already one of the hottest places on Earth, may have the potential to get a whole lot hotter — and live up to its name in a surprising (and possibly scary) new way, according to new research. Scientists have long known that the craters that pepper this dry landscape were formed by long-ago volcanic eruptions, triggered when hot magma ascending from inside the planet hit pockets of water. Some researchers now think the area erupted far more recently than thought, meaning the parched swath of central California, home to...

Scientists admit non-stick cookware and fluorine compounds cause vaccines to fail

2012-01-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

(NaturalNews) Many consumer and industrial products contain perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), which are highly-persistent organofluorine compounds that make certain materials oil, water, and stain resistant. But according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, PFCs in non-stick cookware, clothing, furniture, and food packaging appear to be responsible for causing vaccines to fail as well, as they can reduce antibody concentrations to levels below what is considered effective for warding off disease.

Philippe Grandjean, MD, DMSc, from the Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues evaluated 656 children born at the National Hospital in the Faroe Islands, a country located in the Norwegian Sea, between 1999 and 2001. This study location was considered ideal because people living in the region consume lots of fish, which is closely associated with high intake of PFCs.

The team measured blood serum levels of antibodies for tetanus and diphtheria toxoids in the children at ages five and seven, and compared these levels to those of various PFCs. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were found to be in the highest concentrations compared to all other PFCs, and were directly associated with lowered antibody counts.

A two-fold increase in PFOS exposure among five-year-old children, for instance, was associated with a 39 percent reduction in anti-diphtheria antibody concentration. And in seven-year-old children, a two-fold increase in PFOA exposure was associated with a 36 percent and 25 percent reduction, respectively, for tetanus and diphtheria antibodies.

"The perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are highly persistent and cause contamination of drinking water, food, and food chains," wrote the authors. "If the associations are causal, the clinical importance of our findings is therefore that PFC exposure may increase a child's risk for not being protected against diphtheria and tetanus, despite a full schedule of vaccinations."

PFCs are everywhere, as evidenced by a 2004 US government study which found the chemicals in a shocking 98 percent of blood samples taken from a large pool of Americans. So if the chemicals really do inactivate vaccine potential by disabling antibodies, then vaccines may have been shown once again to be medically useless for most Americans.

At the same time, PFCs are also likely responsible for lowering natural antibody counts as well. A 2011 study out of West Virginia University found that PFCs disrupt hormonal balance and lead to early menopause in women (http://www.naturalnews.com/031846_cookware_hormones.html), while a 2009 study linked PFCs to liver damage and depressed immunity (http://www.naturalnews.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034803_fluorine_vaccines_non-stick_cookware.html#ixzz1kz5FIFhL