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Poll: Only 52% of Americans approve of God’s performance

July 22, 2011 1 comment

rawstory

Dissatisfaction and anger with the federal government is nothing new, but now even Almighty God is having a tough time getting support from the public.

A recently released survey (PDF) by Public Policy Polling (PPP) found that only 52 percent of American voters approve of God’s performance, while nine percent disapprove and 40 percent are just not sure.

Among “very liberal” respondents, 19 percent disapproved. Only four percent of “very conservative” voters had a problem with the deity.

At 71 percent, God got His highest marks for creating the universe. His handling of animals was approved by 56 percent, and 50 percent even approved of His handling of natural disasters.

The same polling firm recently found that 44 percent of Republicans thought President Barack Obama would Read more…

Categories: GOD, United States Tags: , ,

HR Bill 1505 allows for DHS takeover of seashores and coastal areas

July 21, 2011 Comments off

lossofprivacy

A new house bill wants to allow the Department of Homeland Security to have jurisdiction over all federal lands on national seashores and coastal areas.

HR Bill 1505, the “National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act,” would force the Secretary of the Interior to cede authority of coastal public lands, as well as lands located along the borders of Canada and Mexico, to the Secretary of Homeland Security when the latter sees fit. It would give the Dept. of Homeland Security the ability to construct roads and fences, deploy patrol vehicles and set up “monitoring equipment” in the National Seashore with impunity. And it would waive the need for the Dept. of Homeland Security to comply with environmental laws in areas within 100 miles of a coastline or international border.

The laws from which the Dept. of Homeland Security would be exempt include the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Read more…

Categories: GOVERNMENT, United States Tags: , , ,

Police Use of iPhone Iris Scanners Raise Privacy Concerns

July 21, 2011 Comments off

siliconangle

The so-called “biometric” technology, which seems to take a page from TV shows like “MI-5″ or “CSI,” could improve speed and accuracy in some routine police work in the field.  Dozens of police departments nationwide are gearing up to use a tech company’s already controversial iris- and facial-scanning device that slides over an iPhone and helps identify a person or track criminal suspects.

But its use has set off alarms with some people who are more concerned about possible civil liberties and privacy issues.  Constitutional rights advocates are concerned, in part because the device can accurately scan an individual’s face from up to four feet away, potentially without a person’s being aware of it.

“This is (the technology) stepping out of the cruiser and riding on the officer’s belt, along with his flashlight, his handcuffs, his sidearm or the other myriad tools,” said John Birtwell, spokesman for the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department in southeastern Massachusetts, one of the first departments to use the devices.

“What we don’t want is for them to become a general surveillance tool, where the Read more…

Categories: Biometrics, United States Tags: , , , , , , ,

Drought and wildfire threaten America’s cattle capital

July 21, 2011 1 comment

csmonitor

* A mother and her calf idle in dead grassland on the Swenson Ranch outside Stamford, Texas, in this photo from May 21. Severe drought and millions of acres of wildfires have delivered a potent one-two punch this year, forcing tough decisions on ranchers across cattle country. Elliott Blackburn / Reuters /. File

Chicago-As if the heartland hasn’t faced enough this summer, with wildfires, droughts, and punishing heat, cattle ranchers are now facing a hay shortage.

The triple-digit temperatures, expected to result in the worst drought north-central Texas has ever experienced, follows spring wildfires, which scorched millions of acres that traditionally nourish the nation’s largest steer population – five million head of cattle.

Most Texas pasture and range lands – 86 percent – are currently “poor” or “very poor,” according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The same rating applied to 69 percent of Oklahoma and 40 percent of Kansas.

The hardships this year “don’t compare to any in recent years,” says Jason Miller, a county agriculture agent for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service (TALES). “The ranchers are just holding on.”

July temperatures have topped 110 degrees in the heart of cattle country, from Texas to Kansas. Ranchers complain that Read more…

Categories: Droughts, United States Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Anger at government highest in 19 years: poll

July 21, 2011 Comments off

rawstory

Dissatisfaction and anger with the federal government are at a nearly 20-year high, according to the results of a

new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday.

When asked how they felt about the federal government, 80 percent of poll respondents said that they felt dissatisfied or even angry about the work the government is doing. The last time such a peak of ill will was felt was during 1992’s economic slump, under President George Bush’s leadership.

The public’s slumping opinion of the country’s political class can be actively attributed to the negotiations surrounding the debt ceiling: The dissatisfaction numbers rocketed up 11 points between this month and last.

Indeed, congressional Republicans are facing the fire of poor public opinion. The ABC News/Washington Post poll shows a 28 percent approval rating for them, with 77 percent of participants saying the Republican leadership is unwilling to negotiate, further slowing debt talks.

A CBS poll released earlier this week is even darker for the Republicans — they garnered only a 21 percent approval rating in that poll.

President Barack Obama and the Federal Reserve have declared a rapidly approaching August 2 deadline for a solution to the nation’s debt.

Categories: GOVERNMENT, United States Tags: , , , , ,

Heat Warnings Issues in 17 States

July 19, 2011 Comments off
christianpost

The majority of the U.S. is in for another sweat dripping next few days as this weekend’s heat wave lingers into the work week.

The heat index is as high as 126 degrees in portions of the upper Midwest. Heat warnings, watches, and advisories remain in effect for most of central U.S. Seventeen states have issued heat warnings for this week and 36 states are expected to see 90 degrees or above today.

The Midlands are expected to see heat index values between 110-115 between Thursday through Sunday of this week. Air temperatures will likely break records and by Wednesday the midlands are expected to be at or around the century high mark.

According to Accuweather, a high pressure system over the Great Plains is the cause for sizzling temperatures from Texas through the Midwest. The plains and Mississippi Valley are likely to feel the worst of the Read more…

Categories: United States, Weather Tags: , , ,

Government Increases Hysteria Over Cyber Attacks in Push to Crack Down on Internet

July 18, 2011 Comments off

infowars

Last week Republican senator John McCain called for the government to establish a special panel to come up with legislation to address supposed cybersecurity threats facing the United States.

“The only way to move comprehensive cyber security legislation forward swiftly is to have committee chairmen and ranking members step away from preserving their own committees’ jurisdiction … (and) develop a bill that serves the national security needs of all Americans,” McCain said.

As if on cue, the Pentagon announced two previously unpublicized attacks following McCain’s call for a bipartisan action.

On Thursday, out-going deputy secretary of defense Bill Lynn said a foreign intelligence service had stolen 24,000 files on a sensitive weapons system from a defense contractor’s network.

Lynn said the Defense Industrial Base Cyber Pilot was established to work with the private sector in the battle against cyber foes.

“Our success in cyberspace depends on a robust public Read more…

Categories: internet, United States Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

US raised debt ceiling 102 times – economist

July 17, 2011 Comments off

rt.com

President Obama has warned the US is running out of time to deal with its financial troubles – the Congress must raise the current $14.3-trillion debt ceiling again. And as Professor Rodrigue Tremblay told RT, this has become a tradition in the US.

­The US repeatedly gets away with raising the debt ceiling, Rodrigue Tremblay told RT.

“This system that the US has, has been in place since 1917. They raise the debt ceiling each year, they have done it 102 times; eight times under George W. Bush alone. Most countries do not run their Read more…

Categories: Deficit, Economy, United States Tags: , , , ,

The World Says China Will Overtake America

July 16, 2011 Comments off

peopleforum               wsj.com

In the past decade, anti-Americanism grew around the world. This was in response to concerns about the unchecked global power of the U.S., when it invaded Iraq in the face of very wide international opposition. In sharp contrast, today America is seen as on its way to losing its status as the dominant global superpower.
A new Pew Global Attitudes survey released today finds that while the U.S. is better regarded around the world now than it was in the Bush years, in 15 of 22 nations surveyed most say that China either will replace or already has replaced America as the world’s “leading superpower.” This view is especially widespread in Western Europe, where at least six in 10 respondents in Britain, France, Germany and Spain see China eventually overtaking the U.S.The emerging perception of China’s superpower status no doubt reflects global recognition of its growing economic might, and the fact that the U.S. is increasingly seen as trailing China economically. Nowhere is this more evident than in Read more…
Categories: China, Coming Events, United States Tags: , , , , , , ,

Pentagon declares the Internet a war domain

July 16, 2011 Comments off

thehill

The Pentagon released a long-promised cybersecurity plan Thursday that declares the Internet a domain of war but does not spell out how the U.S. military would use the Web for offensive strikes.

The Defense Department’s first-ever plan for cyberspace states that DOD will expand its ability to thwart attacks from other nations and groups, beef up its cybersecurity workforce and expand collaboration with the private sector.

Like major corporations and the rest of the federal government, the military “depends on cyberspace to function,” the DOD strategy states. The U.S. military uses cyberspace for everything from carrying out military operations to sharing intelligence data internally to managing personnel assignments.

“The department and the nation have vulnerabilities in cyberspace,” the document states. “Our reliance on cyberspace stands in stark contrast to the inadequacy of our cybersecurity.”

Other nations “are working to exploit DOD unclassified and classified networks, and some foreign intelligence organizations have Read more…

Categories: internet, United States Tags: , , , , , , ,