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Archive for February, 2011

How Space Weather affects the US Power Grid

February 4, 2011 Comments off

The US power grid is a complex electrical apparatus that has well-known sensitivities to space weather disturbances. Recent changes in its design and utilization have significantly reduced its operating margins to supply us with on-demand electricity. This means there is less flexibility available with which to deal with power shortages and blackouts.

Space weather events can damage equipment over wide geographic regions so that recovery delays become substantially longer and more costly.

The 23rd Cycle – Chapter 4 – Describes in detail the state of the US power grid, and the forces which are driving it to be far more vulnerable to solar storms than at any time in the past.

“As North America has evolved into a unified power-sharing network of regions, each buying and selling a diminishing asset, US domestic power has become more vulnerable to Read more…

Categories: electricty, United States Tags: , , ,

Russia Fields Ballistic Missiles in South Ossetia, Report Says

February 4, 2011 Comments off

Russia has moved Tochka ballistic missiles to the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia, Interfax reported last week (see GSN, Aug. 26, 2010).

“The Georgian special services have been informed about the presence of the rockets in South Ossetia, which are capable to effectively repel any aggression from Tbilisi,” Georgia, an insider from Russia’s Southern Military District told the news agency.

Also called the SS-21 Scarab, the short-range, single-warhead missile can hit targets within 75 miles, according to Interfax (Interfax, Jan. 24).

Georgia and Russia fought a brief war in summer 2008 after Tbilisi tried to re-exert control over South Ossetia. Since then, Moscow has recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and constructed military facilities in the two areas.

Georgia last week denounced the reported transfer of the Read more…

Categories: Georgia, Russia, South Ossetia Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Even Donald Trump Is Warning That An Economic Collapse Is Coming

February 4, 2011 Comments off

In a shocking new interview, Donald Trump has gone farther than he ever has before in discussing a potential economic collapse in America.  Using phrases such as “you’re going to pay $25 for a loaf of bread pretty soon” and “we could end up being another Egypt”, Trump explained to Newsmax that he is incredibly concerned about the direction our economy is headed.  Whatever you may think of Donald Trump on a personal level, it is undeniable that he has been extremely successful in business.  As one of the most prominent businessmen in America, he is absolutely horrified about what is happening to this nation.  In fact, he is so disturbed about the direction that this country is heading that he is seriously considering running for president in 2012.  But whether he decides to run in 2012 or not, what Trump is now saying about the U.S. economy should be a huge wake up call for all of us.

Trump says that the U.S. government is broke, that all of our jobs are being shipped overseas, that other nations are heavily taking advantage of us and that the value of the U.S. dollar is being destroyed.  The following interview with Trump was originally posted on Newsmax and it is really worth watching….

Now, you may or may not think much of Donald Trump as a politician, but when a businessman of his caliber starts using apocalyptic language to describe where the U.S. economy is headed perhaps we should all pay attention.

The following are 12 key quotes that were pulled out of Trump’s new interview along with some facts and statistics that show that what Trump is saying is really happening. Read more…

Categories: America, Coming Events, COMMODITIES, Dollar, Economy, Federal Reserve, Food Crisis, OPEC, United States Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Yes, Islamists Are Coming Through Mexico

February 4, 2011 Comments off

Said Jaziri was seen getting in the trunk of a smuggler’s car by bystanders, captured only by luck and their patriotism.

When chaos reigns supreme in a nation that shares an almost two-thousand mile border with the United States, and that border is not protected to the extent it should be, undesirable elements sneaking their way from Mexico into the U.S. becomes the rule instead of the exception. We have all been made aware of the drug shipments that come into the U.S. through the porous and undermanned Mexican border, and we all know of the steady stream of Mexicans that for decades have snuck through looking for a better life in the U.S. for themselves and their families back in Mexico. However, it is next to impossible to tell who else comes across the U.S./Mexico border until they are apprehended, or worse.

On January 11, U.S. Border Patrol agents pulled over a BMW near the Golden Acorn Casino, 50 miles east of San Diego, California. The vehicle was driven by Kenneth R. Lawler. Border Patrol agents found Lawler had tucked away in the trunk of his car a souvenir of sorts from Mexico: a radical Muslim cleric by the name of Said Jaziri.

Lawler was arrested and is being held on charges of alien smuggling, while Jaziri is being held for Read more…

Categories: Mexico Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Invisibility cloak enters the real world

February 4, 2011 Comments off

Scientists are a step closer to creating a Star Trek-style cloaking device after making an object visible to the naked eye disappear for the first time.

Invisibility cloak enters the real world

The research works by using a naturally forming crystal called calcite which has extraordinary light bending abilities Photo: CORBIS

 

In the past researchers have only been able to “cloak” microscopic objects using extremely complicated physics and so-called meta-materials made on a tiny scale.

But a new study at the University of Birmingham has taken a massive step forward by making a paper clip invisible – an object thousands of times bigger than previous experiments.

The research works by using a naturally forming crystal called calcite which has extraordinary light bending abilities.

By placing the crystals over an object it “bounces” light around it rendering it totally invisible to the naked eye.

Dr Shuang Zhang, a physicist and lead investigator from the University of Birmingham, said: ‘‘This is a huge step forward as, for the first time, the cloaking area is rendered at a size that is big enough for the observer to ‘see’ the invisible object with the naked eye.

“By using natural crystals for the first time, rather than artificial meta-materials, we have been able to scale up the size of the cloak and can hide larger objects, thousands of times bigger than the wavelength of the light.”

The new technique is only limited by the size of the naturally formed crystals.

Calcite crystals can be up to 21ft long so it could be used on a car or a military vehicle.

It may also be possible to manufacture crystals with similar qualities.

Dr Zhang said: “Previous cloaks have succeeded at the micron level – much smaller than the thickness of a human hair – using a nano- or micro-fabricated artificial composite material.

“It is a very slow process to make these structures and they also restrict the size of the cloaking area.

“We believe that by using calcite, we can start to develop a cloak of significant size that will open avenues for future applications of cloaking devices.”

The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Categories: Technology Tags: , , ,

Study: Coup possible in Morocco, Saudi Arabia too

February 4, 2011 Comments off

Tomer Velmer

The first signs for the governmental instability in Egypt were detected as early as two years ago, according to a new study conducted by political scientists from Hebrew University.

The study, which will be published soon by the Journal of Conflict Resolution, was conducted by Prof. Tamir Sheafer and Dr. Shaul Shenhav. The researchers measured the “democratic gap” in about 90 democratic and non-democratic countries.

“The democratic gap is the difference between the democratic aspirations of a country’s citizens and the level of democracy given to them by the state’s institutions,” explains Prof. Sheafer.

According to the study’s findings, political stability will be in danger only in the case of a “negative democratic gap”. In other words, when the citizens’ expectations for democracy are unfulfilled, there is a higher chance that the citizens will Read more…

Categories: age of rage, Morocco, Saudi Arabia Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Tens of thousands turn out for rival rallies in Yemen

February 4, 2011 Comments off
By Borzou Daragahi and Noah Browning, Los Angeles Times

Yemeni protesters shout slogans during their "day of rage" rally against President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (Gamal Noman, AFP/Getty Images / February 3, 2011)

Large competing rallies for and against the longtime leader of Yemen unfolded Thursday without incident in one of the Arab world’s poorest, most volatile and violent nations.

The Arabian Peninsula nation’s opposition, inspired by the revolt in Tunisia and the ongoing uprising against President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, had called for a “day of rage” against the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has held his title since 1978 and has been accused of corruption and mismanagement. Saleh and his supporters sought to upstage the protesters by holding a simultaneous counter-demonstration across town.

The two rallies drew tens of thousands of people and, unlike in Egypt or Tunisia, unfolded largely peacefully with no major arrests or clashes, according to a Yemeni official. The day’s relative calm suggested that the political passions unleashed by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia will play out in different countries in different ways

In the North African nation of Read more…

Categories: age of rage, Tunisia, Yemen Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Arizona to secede (without OFFICIALLY doing so)

February 4, 2011 Comments off

E.J. Montini

Members of the state Legislature, including Arizona’s de facto governor, Senate President Russell Pearce, have introduced a bill that essentially would have Arizona secede from the union without having to do so officially.

Really.

It’s called SB1433, (See it here.) It creates a 12-member committee within the legislature that could “vote by simple majority to nullify in its entirety a specific federal law or regulation that is outside the scope of the powers delegated by the people to the federal government…”

Committee members themselves would decide this, then pass along their recommendation to the full Legislature. If, in turn, a majority of state lawmakers go along with the committee then, according to the bill, “this state and its citizens shall not recognize or be obligated to live under the statute, mandate or executive order.”

The nullification committee also would be permitted to Read more…

Categories: Arizona, GOVERNMENT Tags: , , , ,

Mexico supplies electricity to wintry Texas

February 4, 2011 Comments off

MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Mexico’s state electricity company on Wednesday started supplying electricity to the US state of Texas, where demand shot up amid unusually cold temperatures and caused power outages.

Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission “was determined to support Texas with electrical energy faced with the problems the state is suffering due to climatological conditions,” a statement said.

An energy transfer of 280 megawatts began at midday (1800 GMT) via the north Mexican border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Reynosa and Piedras Negras, it added.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said in a statement that power and emergency management experts were working with utility providers to ensure power was restored as quickly as possible.

“Until that happens, I urge businesses and residents to conserve electricity to minimize the impact of this event,” Perry added.

An epic winter storm Wednesday buried more than a third of the United States in drifting snow, sleet and ice that brought air and road travel to a halt.

Snowstorms also paralyzed air transport, blocked operations in factories and caused schools to shut in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.

Ciudad Juarez mayor Hector Murgia said the temperatures of around minus 13 degrees centigrade (8.6 Fahrenheit) were the lowest recorded in almost 50 years.

Categories: electricty, Mexico, power grid Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Egypt’s economy draws parallels to US economy

February 4, 2011 Comments off
Categories: America, Economy, Egypt, United States Tags: , , ,