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DHS To Begin Testing Portable DNA Scanner (Video)
Why the World Must Watch Europe
Beyond the EU Debt Crisis
The continent’s financial crisis gave rise to bailouts, infighting and demands for sweeping financial reform. Could there still be a bright future over the horizon for the European Union?
Amid the shift in global superpowers, two names come up as heavyweight world championship opponents: China and the United States.
The constant media exposure and speculation could be likened to a pay-per-view boxing matchup.
In one corner: the world’s largest energy consumer—with a 1.3-billion-strong population—endlessly stockpiling natural resources—and holding nearly $900 billion in United States’ debt.
In the other: longtime democratic world champion—largest economy—and leader in manufacturing.
China is the clear favorite, but the U.S. is still in the running. On its way down from unmatched superpower, it is still a formidable opponent, with its manufacturing sector out-producing China by 40 percent.
Yet America is weighed down by a $14 trillion federal debt and rampant Read more…
Israeli military says new weapon shot down Gaza anti-tank rocket in first combat test
JERUSALEM — A new Israeli weapons system knocked down a Palestinian anti-tank rocket in its first combat test Tuesday, the military said, showing off technology that could protect the heavy vehicles that have been the mainstay of the world’s ground forces for decades.
Palestinian militants said they fired a rocket-propelled grenade at an Israeli tank as it patrolled near the Gaza-Israel border, a frequent occurrence. This time, the “Trophy” system sensed the incoming rocket and fired its own projectile, blowing it up away from the tank, the military said.
Trophy is thought to be the only active defence system of its kind in the world. Up till now, tanks have relied on heavier and thicker armour plating to protect against more powerful anti-tank weapons.
Experts say the active defence concept, if it works consistently, could allow the construction of smaller, lighter and more efficient tanks.
The Israeli military did not make Read more…
A National ID Card For American Citizens? Get Ready – The Real ID Act Goes Into Effect On May 11
For a moment, imagine a future where you are not able to drive a car, get on a plane, get on a train, vote, enter a federal building, open a bank account or get a job without a national ID card. You don’t think that could ever happen in America? Well, you might want to brush up on the Real ID Act because it is going to go into effect on May 11, 2011 unless something is done to stop it. When I first learned this, I was absolutely stunned. After all, wasn’t the Real ID Act supposed to be “dead”? A few years ago state legislatures across the nation were in an uproar over this law. The Department of Homeland Security was forced to delay implementation of it several times. But now it is back. You see, this is what the federal government often does. They will try to push something very unpopular through, and if they meet resistance they will “play dead” until the uproar has died down and then they will come right back and implement it anyway. This is what is happening with the Real ID Act.
As of May 11, all driver’s licenses across the United States will be required to Read more…
Dolphin deaths in Alabama, Mississippi may be caused by measles-related illness
http://blog.al.com/live/2011/03/dead_dolphins_measles_related.html
MOBILE, Ala. — With six new dolphin carcasses discovered in Mississippi and Alabama since Saturday, a review of the scientific literature associated with similar mass die-offs of marine mammals around the world suggests a common culprit: a morbillivirus.
In the same family as the viruses that cause measles in humans and canine distemper in dogs, there are well-documented outbreaks of fatal morbillivirus infections in dolphins, whales and seals around the world since the 1980s.
Jerry Saliki, a University of Georgia researcher and veterinarian who has published a number of scientific papers on morbillivirus infections in dolphins, said the virus could be responsible for the current mass die off.
“It is certainly possible. In the past, there have been significant die offs in the Gulf with dolphins that were attributed to morbillivirus,” Saliki said Monday. “But, there are Read more…
Will $200 oil kill the economy?
Unrest in key oil-producing nations opens the door to price spikes that could push gas to $7 a gallon and spin the world back into recession. Here’s how we’d get there, and how to protect your portfolio.
Are your pocketbook and portfolio ready for $200-a-barrel oil?
This kind of dramatic price spike may seem less likely now than a few days ago, with oil markets calming down a bit and the price slipping below $100. But given the instability and unrest rolling through the Middle East and North Africa, it’s a definitely a viable scenario.
For the moment, most oil sector analysts have gone off high alert because of a Saudi Arabian pledge to increase production to make up for any shortfalls sparked by unrest. But that ignores a key angle in all this: There’s simply not enough spare capacity to make up for the production losses we’d see if the rolling crises in the region hit just two or three major producers at once.
This could easily happen, given the heightened Read more…
Food prices to skyrocket, riots could follow, suggests USDA
http://www.naturalnews.com/031545_USDA_food_prices.html
(NaturalNews) When the upswing in commodity prices eventually makes its way throughout the food system in mid-to-late 2011, food prices are sure to spike with levels potentially reaching those of 2008, announced U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) economist Ephraim Leibtag at the agency’s annual Outlook Forum. And if conditions escalate rapidly, there is also the potential for food riots and other civil unrest.
The USDA is predicting a 3.5 percent increase in food prices in 2011, which is about twice the overall inflation rate but less than the 2008 increase, according to a recent Reuters report. In 2008, food prices rose 5.5 percent, which represents the highest increase since 1990. But the possibility of food prices dramatically rising in 2011 like they did in 2008 is a definite possibility.
“Given that it’s still earlier in the year, I’m prone to be conservative on the side of the forecast,” said Leibtag. “It’s a possibility,” he added, concerning the likelihood of massive inflation in Read more…
Omani Forces Break Up Demonstration
Omani forces have dispersed demonstrators who were blocking the road to a port in the northern industrial city of Sohar, where protests earlier this week turned deadly.
Reuters news agency quotes witnesses as saying one person was injured Tuesday when security forces fired warning shots into the air. Witnesses said tanks were also deployed.
The protesters had taken to the Read more…
Iran Seeks Missile Components in Norway, Official Says
Norway yesterday said it had thwarted a number of attempts by Iran to obtain from small domestic firms components suited for incorporation in nuclear-armed missiles, Reuters reported (see GSN, Feb. 10).
(Mar. 1) – Iran‘s Sajjil 2 missile lifts off in a 2009 test. The Middle Eastern nation has unsuccessfully sought potential missile components from Norway on several recent occasions, a top Norwegian security official said yesterday (Vahi Reza Alaee/Getty Images).
Entities targeted by Iran deal in “special components that can … be used in weapons of mass destruction, for building missiles,” Norwegian Police Security Service General Director Janne Kristiansen said. The United States and several European powers suspect Iran’s nuclear program is geared toward weapons development, a contention consistently denied by Tehran (see related GSN story, today).
Iran has focused in the past 12 months on acquiring Read more…
Eyewitnesses: 30 tanks spotted en route to Bahrain from Saudi Arabia
Bahrain–Eyewitnesses have reported seeing an estimated 30 tanks being transported into Bahrain from Saudi Arabia on Monday night at around 6:45pm local time. The tanks were sighted along the King Fahd causeway, which links the small island-nation of Bahrain to Saudi Arabia.
Commuters traveling along the 25-km causeway were held up due to the presence of “15 tank carriers carrying two tanks each heading towards Bahrain.” Civilian eyewitnesses could not, however, confirm whether the tanks belonged to the Saudi military.
The presence of Saudi military hardware in Bahrain is considered Read more…
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