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China to expedite delivery of 50 fighter jets to Pakistan: WSJ
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani (L) speaks to China’s Premier Wen Jiabao after a singing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 18, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee
Pakistan’s already strained ties with its ally and major donor were battered after U.S. forces on May 2 killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a garrison town near Islamabad.
The fact that bin Laden was found in Abbottabad, and had been living there for years, has prompted many in Washington to call for a review of the billions of U.S. civilian and military aid that Read more…
Anti-locust programme in Central Asia and Caucasus
19 May 2011, Rome – FAO will assist ten countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus to save up to 25 million hectares of cultivated farmland from a locust crisis. Locusts are a serious threat for agriculture, food security and livelihoods in both regions including adjacent areas of northern Afghanistan and the southern Russian Federation.
A five-year programme to develop national capacities and launch regional cooperation is about to start thanks to assistance from the United States of America. Support from other donors is expected soon.
Ten countries at risk
In all, ten countries are at risk: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. There are three locust pests in the Read more…
North Korean Missile Reach Will Extend to U.S.: Senior Intel Official
WASHINGTON — North Korea’s ballistic missile program would eventually yield systems capable of delivering nuclear weapons to the United States, a senior U.S. intelligence official said on Wednesday (see GSN, April 14).
(May. 19) – A North Korean missile unit, shown in a 1992 military parade in Pyongyang. North Korea is on track to one day produce ballistic missiles suited for carrying nuclear weapons to the United States, a high-level U.S. intelligence official said on Wednesday (Getty Images).
The North Korean missile threat is “very different from what we had 40 years ago with the Soviet Union and the threat of first strikes,” Raymond Colston, the new national intelligence manager for Korea at the National Intelligence Director’s Office, said during a Capitol Hill panel discussion of Korean Peninsula security issues.
“No one is looking at the North Koreans as building these systems to have a first-strike capability or anything like that. That’s not what we’re really concerned about. But they are certainly building missiles that eventually will be capable of targeting the U.S., and these missiles will be capable of having nuclear weapons.”
The North has an aggressive missile development program that has included two apparent test launches of its Taepodong 2 long-range ballistic missile, in 2006 and 2009. The first flight ended in less than a minute, while the second rocket flew farther but apparently crashed down with the second and third stages failing to separate.
Pyongyang is not known to have yet developed nuclear warheads that could be loaded onto missiles. The regime, though, is believed to hold enough plutonium for six weapons and last November unveiled a uranium enrichment plant that could give it a second route for preparing weapons material.
Years of diplomatic activity under the six-party talks process have failed to persuade the regime to accept nuclear disarmament.
North Korea’s proliferation of weapons systems is a “very serious concern,” added the official, who spoke on the third day in his present position at the National Read more…
Fierce forecast: Feds predict up to 10 Atlantic hurricanes in 2011
Federal forecasters Thursday called for an “above-normal” hurricane season this year. They predict anywhere from 12-18 named storms to form in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane Earl spins in the Atlantic Ocean last September. Although it didn’t make landfall, Earl came the closest to hitting the USA of any 2010 hurricane.
Of those named storms, six to 10 should become hurricanes, including three to six “major” hurricanes, with wind speeds above 111 mph.
Tropical storms are given a name when wind speeds reach 39 mph. They are upgraded to hurricane status when their sustained winds reach 74 mph. An average Atlantic hurricane season sees 11 named storms, including six hurricanes; two become major hurricanes.
Forecasters do not predict the number of storms that will make landfall.
Climate factors in this outlook include unusually warm Atlantic Ocean water and temperatures two degrees above average, reports Gerry Bell, lead seasonal forecaster at the Climate Prediction Center. Additionally, the impacts of the La Nina climate pattern, such as reduced wind shear, are expected to continue into the hurricane season.
“In addition to multiple climate factors, seasonal climate models also indicate an above-normal season is likely, and even suggest we could see activity comparable to some of the active seasons since 1995,” Bell said.
Since 1995, Bell says the Atlantic is in an era of increased hurricane activity. There are consistently favorable ocean and atmospheric conditions for storm formation.
Thursday’s NOAA forecast is similar to earlier predictions by researchers at Colorado State University and the AccuWeather commercial weather service. The Colorado State team, led by Read more…
China Central Bank: New IMF Leadership Should Reflect New World Order
There’s a funny thing about the New World Order: it eventually gets too big and bites the hand the feeds it. Enter the PBoC: “The new IMF leadership needs to reflect changes in the world economic order and be more representative of emerging market economies, Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Thursday in his first public comments since the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. “The senior management team of the IMF should better reflect changes in world economic patterns and should be more representative of emerging market economies.” Translation – no more European of American cronies. It is also probably safe to say that Lagarde’s odds of pulling the white smoke out of the conclave bag have just plunged. It is also safe to say that with China now unofficially Europe’s backstopper (and there were those wondering why China is buying all those Spanish and Portuguese bonds), what China wants, China gets.
From Market News:
Zhou also said he regretted Strauss-Kahn’s decision to resign as the Managing Director of IMF.
“The current world economy is recovering slowly from the financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis is at a key stage. A powerful IMF support is needed to overcome current difficulties facing Europe and ensure world economic developments are on a robust, sustainable and balanced track,” Zhou added.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated earlier today that the next head of the International Monetary Fund should be a European again.
And so the stage is set for the next big geopolitical theater: Germany vs China over the largely symbolic issue of who gets to scare the Sofitel maids next.
China acknowledges Three Gorges dam ‘problems’
The Three Gorges is the world’s largest damChina has admitted that the Three Gorges Dam has created a range of major problems that need solving quickly.
Top leaders say the project has led to environmental problems and issues involving relocating 1.3m people.
The Three Gorges is the world’s largest dam and could have cost up to $40bn. This appears to be the first time that central government leaders have admitted to problems with the project.
The admission came in a statement from top government body, the State Council.
The statement initially praised the scheme’s achievements, saying it had helped alleviate flooding, improve navigation and generate electricity.
But it went on: “There are urgent problems that need to be addressed, such as stabilising and improving living conditions for relocated people, protecting the environment, and preventing geological disasters.”
‘Catastrophe’
China’s revolutionary leader Mao Zedong dreamed of building the Three Gorges Dam. Construction started in 1994.
H.J.res. 62. Amending the Constitution to end states rights?
H. J. Res. 62, Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to give States the right to repeal Federal laws and regulations when ratified by the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States
Sounds like a great deal..right? Wrong! The states already have the right to repeal Federal laws and regulations. It is called nullification under the 10th Amendment.
Or, states can refuse to contract with the Federal government or any of its privately owned corporate agencies thereby refusing the contract and any of its provisions (regulations or laws).
Secondary to this action, is the refusal to accept any federal funding offered to implement what is usually a series of laws or regulations, (these being written by unelected bureaucrats, lobbyists and other interested stakeholders), meant to deprive you of your rights, intrude on your privacy, interfere with your right to engage in business and otherwise reduce and abrogate your constitutionally protected freedoms.
Article 5
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
Any amendments to the Constitution must be ratified by the legislatures of three/fourths of the states. Congress, neither House nor Senate, has the authority to alter or amend anything in the Constitution in and of their respective bodies.
So what are they after? Read more…
Atmosphere Above Japan Heated Rapidly Before M9 Earthquake
Infrared emissions above the epicenter increased dramatically in the days before the devastating earthquake in Japan, say scientists.
Technology Review
Published by MIT
Geologists have long puzzled over anecdotal reports of strange atmospheric phenomena in the days before big earthquakes. But good data to back up these stories has been hard to come by.
In recent years, however, various teams have set up atmospheric monitoring stations in earthquake zones and a number of satellites are capable of sending back data about the state of the upper atmosphere and the ionosphere during an earthquake.
Last year, we looked at some fascinating data from the DEMETER spacecraft showing a significant increase in ultra-low frequency radio signals Read more…
Mississippi Nears Crest in Historic Vicksburg, Natchez
May 18 (Bloomberg) — The engorged Mississippi River is cresting in the state that bears its name, rising to major flood stage and above in towns famous for Civil War battles, riverboat landings and antebellum homes.
The river left standing its 1927 record in Greenville, Mississippi, when it crested there yesterday at 64.2 feet, below the 65.4-foot mark that helped lead to the creation of the U.S. Flood Control Act of 1928 for river management.
A crest of 57.5 feet, more than a foot above the 1927 high, is expected tomorrow at Vicksburg, while downstream at Natchez the river is forecast to top out May 21 at 63 feet, 5 feet above a 1937 record.
“We have the levee there and we’re praying it holds,” said Beth Hite, 53, bartender at Natchez’s Under-the-Hill Saloon, which bills itself as a place where thieves and gamblers roamed in the days when the town was a major riverboat stop. “We have been sandbagging and now they are building those artificial levees.”
Farther down the river, in Louisiana, 15 gates are open on the Morganza spillway, diverting the Mississippi’s excess into the Atchafalaya River basin. The opening of the spillway for the first time since 1973 eased the threat of flooding for Baton Rouge, New Orleans and a major petrochemical zone while sending the water into Cajun country.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said yesterday that the Read more…
Global Biometric Forecast to 2012
Biometric market has been growing as one of the fastest emerging markets for the past few years especially due to rising need for personal security concerns, and the advent of new technologies that offered numerous future growth opportunities. Recent developments, larger & wider scale adoption, significant capability & performance advancements, standards development, and consumer acceptance, indicate looming and substantial market expansion of the biometric industry.
Many governments across the world are adopting biometric technologies to strengthen national security and maintain individual identity. Besides, corporate security and identity theft are fueling growth in the global biometric market. According to our new research report “Global Biometric Forecast to 2012”, the global biometric market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of around 23% during 2011 – 2013. The report explains prevalent market trends and future scenario of the biometric market in different verticals, technologies, and regions, underlining the future potential areas and key issues crucial for the market development.
Among the technologies, fingerprint recognition is possibly the most widely used and familiar biometric technology. Further, biometrics is also becoming a Read more…
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