Red alert? Stay home, await word
If the US escalates to 'red alert,' which is the highest in the color-coded readiness against terror, you will be assumed by authorities to be the enemy if you so much as venture outside your home, the New Jersey's anti-terror czar says.
Sid Caspersen, NJ's director of the office of counter-terrorism and a former FBI agent, was briefing reporters when, for the first time, he disclosed the realities of how a red alert would shut the state down.
A red alert would also tear away virtually all personal freedoms to move about and associate.
A red alert means there is a severe risk of terrorist attack, according to federal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security."
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
BIG BROTHER
Pentagon to Track American Consumer Purchases
A massive database that the government will use to monitor every purchase made by every American citizen is a necessary tool in the war on terror, the Pentagon said.
Edward Aldridge, undersecretary of Acquisitions and Technology, told reporters that the database, which he called another "tool" in the war on terror, would look for telltale signs of suspicious consumer behavior.
Examples he cited were: sudden and large cash withdrawals, one-way air or rail travel, rental car transactions and purchases of firearms, chemicals or agents that could be used to produce biological or chemical weapons.
It would also combine consumer information with visa records, passports, arrest records or reports of suspicious activity given to law enforcement or intelligence services.
Rear Adm. John Poindexter, former national security adviser to President Reagan, is developing the database under the Total Information Awareness Program. Poindexter was convicted on five counts of misleading Congress and making false statements during the Iran-Contra investigation. Those convictions were later overturned, but critics note that his is a dubious resume for someone entrusted with so sensitive a task.
A massive database that the government will use to monitor every purchase made by every American citizen is a necessary tool in the war on terror, the Pentagon said.
Edward Aldridge, undersecretary of Acquisitions and Technology, told reporters that the database, which he called another "tool" in the war on terror, would look for telltale signs of suspicious consumer behavior.
Examples he cited were: sudden and large cash withdrawals, one-way air or rail travel, rental car transactions and purchases of firearms, chemicals or agents that could be used to produce biological or chemical weapons.
It would also combine consumer information with visa records, passports, arrest records or reports of suspicious activity given to law enforcement or intelligence services.
Rear Adm. John Poindexter, former national security adviser to President Reagan, is developing the database under the Total Information Awareness Program. Poindexter was convicted on five counts of misleading Congress and making false statements during the Iran-Contra investigation. Those convictions were later overturned, but critics note that his is a dubious resume for someone entrusted with so sensitive a task.
TIME AND TIDE
Artist's concept of the LISA mission. LISA needs to measure the distance between proof masses, separated by five million kilometers, with an accuracy of 10 picometers (10 millionths of a micron).
LISA to attempt gravity wave detection
Gravitational waves passing through the solar system will generate small changes in the distance between three spacecraft in an equilateral formation, 5 million kilometres apart.
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, will observe gravitational waves from very massive black holes found in the centers of many galaxies.
Gravitational waves are one of the fundamental building blocks of our theoretical picture of the universe, yet they have not been observed.
TEUTONIC REMEDY
Picking a winner by ... a nose
"With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system. Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine. Modern medicine is constantly trying to do the same thing through far more complicated methods, people who pick their nose and eat it get a natural boost to their immune system for free."
So says Austrian lung specialist Professor Doctor Friedrich Bischinger, and he should know.
"With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner. And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system. Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine. Modern medicine is constantly trying to do the same thing through far more complicated methods, people who pick their nose and eat it get a natural boost to their immune system for free."
So says Austrian lung specialist Professor Doctor Friedrich Bischinger, and he should know.
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
CONSCIOUS UNIVERSE
Study shows psychic mediums really can read your deep secrets
Researchers at the Scottish Society for Psychical Research (SSPR) say mediums who took part in their tests beat odds of a million to one to correctly reveal information about volunteer test subjects.
Tricia Robertson, vice-president of the SSPR, a registered charity with around 250 members, said: “We were not trying to prove the existence of the afterlife or that personalities live on, but I think it is now important to recognise that mediumship can honestly gain information that ordinary people can’t.
Researchers at the Scottish Society for Psychical Research (SSPR) say mediums who took part in their tests beat odds of a million to one to correctly reveal information about volunteer test subjects.
Tricia Robertson, vice-president of the SSPR, a registered charity with around 250 members, said: “We were not trying to prove the existence of the afterlife or that personalities live on, but I think it is now important to recognise that mediumship can honestly gain information that ordinary people can’t.
THE OTHERS
Spidery 'man' in silver spooks anglers then disappears
Kevin: “You couldn’t see no facial. Its head didn’t move, its arms didn’t move, ‘til it turned, a little bit, and it took one step and it was gone. It kind of moved sideways and gone, disappeared.”
That’s when Steve threw his fishing pole in the water, took off running.
Tim: “I didn’t have fear, but him taking off like that with the panic that he had there, it was like, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, maybe we should get out of here’.”
Kevin: “What really got us to go and run, was when it stepped off that tree, it disappeared. It didn’t drop into the water, it just disappeared.
Kevin: “You couldn’t see no facial. Its head didn’t move, its arms didn’t move, ‘til it turned, a little bit, and it took one step and it was gone. It kind of moved sideways and gone, disappeared.”
That’s when Steve threw his fishing pole in the water, took off running.
Tim: “I didn’t have fear, but him taking off like that with the panic that he had there, it was like, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, maybe we should get out of here’.”
Kevin: “What really got us to go and run, was when it stepped off that tree, it disappeared. It didn’t drop into the water, it just disappeared.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Making noise over the hum
The Kokomo hum is drone so incessant that some claim it is making their lives miserable and ruining their health. While residents realize not everyone can hear their hum, they say it's time for the state to hear their pleas.
'We are appealing to the state, 'Will you help us?' ' said Gael Deppert, an Indianapolis attorney who said she is volunteering her services to help residents. 'We need to bring in scientists knowledgeable in various fields to try to grapple with this situation. We're asking the state to come in with an open mind.'
More than 100 people -- including Jeff Symmes, a Lafayette-area resident who says he became ill while working in Kokomo -- have complained of severe headaches, nausea, joint pain, debilitating heart problems or memory loss after they began feeling or hearing the hum.
[Testing HAARP's RHIC-EDOM, Radio-Hypnotic Intracerebral Control & Electronic Dissolution of Memory technology, perhaps?]
The Kokomo hum is drone so incessant that some claim it is making their lives miserable and ruining their health. While residents realize not everyone can hear their hum, they say it's time for the state to hear their pleas.
'We are appealing to the state, 'Will you help us?' ' said Gael Deppert, an Indianapolis attorney who said she is volunteering her services to help residents. 'We need to bring in scientists knowledgeable in various fields to try to grapple with this situation. We're asking the state to come in with an open mind.'
More than 100 people -- including Jeff Symmes, a Lafayette-area resident who says he became ill while working in Kokomo -- have complained of severe headaches, nausea, joint pain, debilitating heart problems or memory loss after they began feeling or hearing the hum.
[Testing HAARP's RHIC-EDOM, Radio-Hypnotic Intracerebral Control & Electronic Dissolution of Memory technology, perhaps?]
EARTH CHANGES
Global warming spirals upwards
Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have jumped abruptly, raising fears that global warming may be accelerating out of control.
Measurements by US government scientists show that concentrations of the gas, the main cause of the climate exchange, rose by a record amount over the past 12 months. It is the third successive year in which they have increased sharply, marking an unprecedented triennial surge.
Scientists are at a loss to explain why the rapid rise has taken place, but fear that it could show the first signs that global warming is feeding on itself.
Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have jumped abruptly, raising fears that global warming may be accelerating out of control.
Measurements by US government scientists show that concentrations of the gas, the main cause of the climate exchange, rose by a record amount over the past 12 months. It is the third successive year in which they have increased sharply, marking an unprecedented triennial surge.
Scientists are at a loss to explain why the rapid rise has taken place, but fear that it could show the first signs that global warming is feeding on itself.
WATCH THE SKIES
Canadian PM has airborne close encounter with fiery asteroid
What the prime minister's plane and many others saw that night was almost certainty a chunk of a comet or an asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere and burned up into fragments.
An amateur astronomer in Calgary captured the blazing streak on videotape. And it appears one or more such fireballs were seen by people across the Prairies and as far east as Quebec.
What the prime minister's plane and many others saw that night was almost certainty a chunk of a comet or an asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere and burned up into fragments.
An amateur astronomer in Calgary captured the blazing streak on videotape. And it appears one or more such fireballs were seen by people across the Prairies and as far east as Quebec.
OUR COSMOS
Earth on the 'Wimp highway'
Earth would be sitting in this stream of Wimps (Image by David Low)
Mysterious sub-atomic particles from another galaxy could be raining down on planet Earth, according to a collaboration of astronomers. If so, it could explain controversial results from a particle-detection experiment deep inside mountains to the east of Rome.
The story concerns Wimps - weakly interacting massive particles - which astronomers think may make up the bulk of the Universe. For every kg of material made up from atoms like the ones we have in our bodies, or which make up the stars, there are up to 20kg of something completely different, whose principal quality is that it has never been actually observed directly by scientists.
Which is why they call it dark matter. But they know it is there because its effect on the movements of galaxies can be weighed.
If Wimps exist, they would fill the spaces between the stars, and would interact with normal matter so weakly that they would pass right the way through the Earth.
Earth would be sitting in this stream of Wimps (Image by David Low)
Mysterious sub-atomic particles from another galaxy could be raining down on planet Earth, according to a collaboration of astronomers. If so, it could explain controversial results from a particle-detection experiment deep inside mountains to the east of Rome.
The story concerns Wimps - weakly interacting massive particles - which astronomers think may make up the bulk of the Universe. For every kg of material made up from atoms like the ones we have in our bodies, or which make up the stars, there are up to 20kg of something completely different, whose principal quality is that it has never been actually observed directly by scientists.
Which is why they call it dark matter. But they know it is there because its effect on the movements of galaxies can be weighed.
If Wimps exist, they would fill the spaces between the stars, and would interact with normal matter so weakly that they would pass right the way through the Earth.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Lies and character assassination are hallmarks of Team Bush
FBI translator Sibel Edmonds charged before some '50 reporters and 12 television cameras,' following yesterday's depositions to the 9/11 commission, that she was offered a 'substantial raise and a full time job to encourage her not to go public that she had been asked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to retranslate and adjust the translations of [terrorist] subject intercepts that had been received before September 11, 2001, by the FBI and CIA.'
"Attorney General John Ashcroft told me he was invoking 'State Secret Privilege and National Security' when I told the FBI I wanted to go public with what I had translated from the pre 9-11 intercepts."
And what was in her original translations that Ashcroft wanted suppressed? 'My translations of the pre 9-11 intercepts included [terrorist] money laundering, detailed and date specific information enough to alert the American people, and other issues dating back to 1999 which I won't go into right now'.
FBI translator Sibel Edmonds charged before some '50 reporters and 12 television cameras,' following yesterday's depositions to the 9/11 commission, that she was offered a 'substantial raise and a full time job to encourage her not to go public that she had been asked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to retranslate and adjust the translations of [terrorist] subject intercepts that had been received before September 11, 2001, by the FBI and CIA.'
"Attorney General John Ashcroft told me he was invoking 'State Secret Privilege and National Security' when I told the FBI I wanted to go public with what I had translated from the pre 9-11 intercepts."
And what was in her original translations that Ashcroft wanted suppressed? 'My translations of the pre 9-11 intercepts included [terrorist] money laundering, detailed and date specific information enough to alert the American people, and other issues dating back to 1999 which I won't go into right now'.
Monday, March 29, 2004
DID YOU KNOW
Supreme commander. suppreme irony
Military rules used in 1974 to ground two Washington Air National Guard airmen with access to nuclear weapons also applied to a Texas Air National Guard unit where Lt. George W. Bush was a fighter pilot.
Some military researchers and a former Texas Guard lieutenant colonel believe the stringent regulations -- known as the Human Reliability Program -- may have been invoked to stop Bush from flying Texas Air National Guard jets in 1972.
Military rules used in 1974 to ground two Washington Air National Guard airmen with access to nuclear weapons also applied to a Texas Air National Guard unit where Lt. George W. Bush was a fighter pilot.
Some military researchers and a former Texas Guard lieutenant colonel believe the stringent regulations -- known as the Human Reliability Program -- may have been invoked to stop Bush from flying Texas Air National Guard jets in 1972.
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Earth has near miss by 25m asteroid
Another small asteroid flew past Earth this weekend. 2004 FY15, which measures about 25 meters (75 feet) across, was only 0.6 lunar distances from our planet on March 27th (20:00 UT). At closest approach, the space rock was about as bright as a 14th magnitude star; now it's receding and fading fast.
Another small asteroid flew past Earth this weekend. 2004 FY15, which measures about 25 meters (75 feet) across, was only 0.6 lunar distances from our planet on March 27th (20:00 UT). At closest approach, the space rock was about as bright as a 14th magnitude star; now it's receding and fading fast.
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
FLEETING GLIMPSE: Chevron's oiltanker the Condoleezza Rice, named when she was on the board, plies the Caspian Sea.
White House Trying to Explain Rice Policy
Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser to President Bush, says the Bush administration has a good story to tell about fighting terrorism and she's pouring it out in television appearances, interviews and newspaper articles.
The one place she won't talk is in public, under oath, before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
CRIME TIME
French lawyer to defend Saddam
The French lawyer known for defending Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and guerrilla Carlos the Jackal says he had accepted the job of defending Saddam Hussein and suggested his strategy would focus on the role played by the United States and other countries in supporting the Iraqi leader in the 1980s.
'We know very well that the Anglo-Americans armed Saddam Hussein, that the chemical weapons were sold by the allies," Verges said in a telephone interview. Washington helped Saddam obtain intelligence and military equipment and, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control document in the U.S. Senate record, Iraq also obtained from the United States biological agents that could have been turned into weapons.
Verges singled out U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a key advocate of last year's U.S.-led war to oust Saddam, for his role 20 years ago as a special envoy of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
[In an interview with ABCNews, Verges stated, "The United States considers they are the master of the world and they are not to be judged."]
The French lawyer known for defending Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie and guerrilla Carlos the Jackal says he had accepted the job of defending Saddam Hussein and suggested his strategy would focus on the role played by the United States and other countries in supporting the Iraqi leader in the 1980s.
'We know very well that the Anglo-Americans armed Saddam Hussein, that the chemical weapons were sold by the allies," Verges said in a telephone interview. Washington helped Saddam obtain intelligence and military equipment and, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control document in the U.S. Senate record, Iraq also obtained from the United States biological agents that could have been turned into weapons.
Verges singled out U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a key advocate of last year's U.S.-led war to oust Saddam, for his role 20 years ago as a special envoy of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
[In an interview with ABCNews, Verges stated, "The United States considers they are the master of the world and they are not to be judged."]
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
Operation Iraqi Infoganda
Real journalism may be reeling, but faux journalism rocks. As an entertainment category in the cultural marketplace, it may soon rival reality TV and porn. Television is increasingly awash in fake anchors delivering fake news, some of them far more trenchant than real anchors delivering real news.
Turn on real news shows and you might find Jayson Blair, the lying former reporter of The New York Times, continuing to play a reporter on TV as he fabricates earnest blather about his concern for journalistic standards.
Elsewhere on the dial you'll learn that a fake news show has been in a booking war with a real news show over who would first be able to interview the real (I think) Desmond Tutu.
At such absurd moments, and they are countless these days in our 24/7 information miasma, real journalism and its evil twin merge into a mind-bending mutant.
Real journalism may be reeling, but faux journalism rocks. As an entertainment category in the cultural marketplace, it may soon rival reality TV and porn. Television is increasingly awash in fake anchors delivering fake news, some of them far more trenchant than real anchors delivering real news.
Turn on real news shows and you might find Jayson Blair, the lying former reporter of The New York Times, continuing to play a reporter on TV as he fabricates earnest blather about his concern for journalistic standards.
Elsewhere on the dial you'll learn that a fake news show has been in a booking war with a real news show over who would first be able to interview the real (I think) Desmond Tutu.
At such absurd moments, and they are countless these days in our 24/7 information miasma, real journalism and its evil twin merge into a mind-bending mutant.
WATCH THE SKIES
NASA believes test jet hit Mach 7
Three years after its first test flight ended in an explosion, NASA on Saturday successfully launched an experimental jet that the agency believes reached a record-setting speed of about 8000 kph.
Flight engineer Lawrence Huebner said preliminary data indicated the needle-nosed jet reached a maximum speed of slightly over seven times the speed of sound after a rocket accelerated it.
Huebner said it was the first time an "air-breathing" jet had ever traveled so fast. The rocket-powered X-15 reached Mach 6.7 in 1967.
Three years after its first test flight ended in an explosion, NASA on Saturday successfully launched an experimental jet that the agency believes reached a record-setting speed of about 8000 kph.
Flight engineer Lawrence Huebner said preliminary data indicated the needle-nosed jet reached a maximum speed of slightly over seven times the speed of sound after a rocket accelerated it.
Huebner said it was the first time an "air-breathing" jet had ever traveled so fast. The rocket-powered X-15 reached Mach 6.7 in 1967.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
WEIRD SCIENCE
Scientists create magnetic carbon 'nanofoam'
Researchers have created a new form of carbon: a spongy solid that is extremely lightweight and, unusually, attracted to magnets.
The new structure was created when physicists at the Australian National University in Canberra bombarded a carbon target with a laser capable of firing 10,000 pulses a second. As the carbon reached temperatures of around 10,000 ºC, it formed an intersecting web of carbon tubes, each just a few billionths of a metre long. The researchers have called the solid a 'nanofoam'.
It is the fifth form of carbon known after graphite, diamond and two recently discovered types: hollow spheres, known as buckminsterfullerenes or buckyballs, and nanotubes.
Researchers have created a new form of carbon: a spongy solid that is extremely lightweight and, unusually, attracted to magnets.
The new structure was created when physicists at the Australian National University in Canberra bombarded a carbon target with a laser capable of firing 10,000 pulses a second. As the carbon reached temperatures of around 10,000 ºC, it formed an intersecting web of carbon tubes, each just a few billionths of a metre long. The researchers have called the solid a 'nanofoam'.
It is the fifth form of carbon known after graphite, diamond and two recently discovered types: hollow spheres, known as buckminsterfullerenes or buckyballs, and nanotubes.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Mars rover parked at edge of ancient seashore
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is parked by the shore of what used to be a salty martian sea, scientists say.
'We think Opportunity is now parked on what was once the shoreline of a salty sea on Mars,' said Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the science payload on Opportunity and its twin Mars exploration Rover, Spirit.
"This dramatic confirmation of standing water in Mars' history builds on a progression of discoveries about that most Earthlike of alien planets," said Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for space science.
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity is parked by the shore of what used to be a salty martian sea, scientists say.
'We think Opportunity is now parked on what was once the shoreline of a salty sea on Mars,' said Steve Squyres, principal investigator for the science payload on Opportunity and its twin Mars exploration Rover, Spirit.
"This dramatic confirmation of standing water in Mars' history builds on a progression of discoveries about that most Earthlike of alien planets," said Ed Weiler, NASA associate administrator for space science.
NEW WORLD ORDER
Airport security as political bullying
A recent trip by Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 79, to see for herself what is happening to Palestinians under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza ended with shocking humiliation.
Epstein says she was questioned for five hours by a security team at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. After it was discovered that she had visited the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Qalqilya and participated in protests against the separation wall Israel is building, she was taken off to a side room.
A woman security officer carried out a "strip search of every part of my naked body," she recalls. "The only shame these security officials expressed was to turn their badges around so that their names were invisible.
Shot British peace activist dies
A recent trip by Holocaust survivor Hedy Epstein, 79, to see for herself what is happening to Palestinians under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza ended with shocking humiliation.
Epstein says she was questioned for five hours by a security team at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. After it was discovered that she had visited the Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Qalqilya and participated in protests against the separation wall Israel is building, she was taken off to a side room.
A woman security officer carried out a "strip search of every part of my naked body," she recalls. "The only shame these security officials expressed was to turn their badges around so that their names were invisible.
Shot British peace activist dies
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Asteroid scare prompts NASA to formalise responses
An asteroid flew past Earth last week so close that it nearly entered an orbital halo where weather satellites roam. Scientists spotted it March 15 and watched it zoom by just three days later. It posed no threat, but there are hundreds of thousands more where that one came from.
And while asteroid 2004 FH, as it is known, was watched calmly by astronomers, a more frightening scenario unfolded two months earlier:
An unprecedented asteroid scare in January had astronomers worried for a few hours over a rock that had a 1-in-4 chance of hitting Earth within days. At the time, some of the scientists were unsure who should be notified. The event has prompted NASA to set up a formal process for notifying top officials in the future of any impending impacts, SPACE.com has
learned.
An asteroid flew past Earth last week so close that it nearly entered an orbital halo where weather satellites roam. Scientists spotted it March 15 and watched it zoom by just three days later. It posed no threat, but there are hundreds of thousands more where that one came from.
And while asteroid 2004 FH, as it is known, was watched calmly by astronomers, a more frightening scenario unfolded two months earlier:
An unprecedented asteroid scare in January had astronomers worried for a few hours over a rock that had a 1-in-4 chance of hitting Earth within days. At the time, some of the scientists were unsure who should be notified. The event has prompted NASA to set up a formal process for notifying top officials in the future of any impending impacts, SPACE.com has
learned.
FORTEAN FIRES
Mysterious fires and rain of stones in India
The people of Ratria village in Neemuch, a district in western Madhya Pradesh, for the last one week have been coping up with unexplained fires and stone pelting. And they do not know who is behind them.
Not only the villagers, even the district administration and the police have till now failed to provide any solace to the villagers.
To the horror of the villagers fire outbreaks soon became very common. "Fire breaks out anywhere in the village and at anytime of the day," said Sardar Singh Gurjar, the headman of Ratria village.
And according to the villagers, they suddenly have to face showers of stones. "Many people have been injured in the stone pelting till now," said the chief.
[A similar event occured recently in Sicily. More... and Still more... ]
The people of Ratria village in Neemuch, a district in western Madhya Pradesh, for the last one week have been coping up with unexplained fires and stone pelting. And they do not know who is behind them.
Not only the villagers, even the district administration and the police have till now failed to provide any solace to the villagers.
To the horror of the villagers fire outbreaks soon became very common. "Fire breaks out anywhere in the village and at anytime of the day," said Sardar Singh Gurjar, the headman of Ratria village.
And according to the villagers, they suddenly have to face showers of stones. "Many people have been injured in the stone pelting till now," said the chief.
[A similar event occured recently in Sicily. More... and Still more... ]
TIME AND TIDE
Test examines mystery of time
An aptly titled ''Time Shift Experiment'' combines some of the most complicated physics concepts with simple machines and -- Florida physics professor Carlos Dolz said -- may prove that time travel is possible.
Time shifts are not uncommon, the professor said. There have been experiments in the past that compared atomic clocks on fast-flying planes to those on the ground. The clocks on board the planes showed a slight shift forward.
He said he became even more fascinated by time when he was studying gravity -- he found that he could not truly understand one without the other.
The experiment involves putting a digital clock under immense force by spinning it on a centrifuge.
The basic idea behind the experiment is to speed up the frequency of the pulses, or ticks, produced by the clock with force to push it ahead.
An aptly titled ''Time Shift Experiment'' combines some of the most complicated physics concepts with simple machines and -- Florida physics professor Carlos Dolz said -- may prove that time travel is possible.
Time shifts are not uncommon, the professor said. There have been experiments in the past that compared atomic clocks on fast-flying planes to those on the ground. The clocks on board the planes showed a slight shift forward.
He said he became even more fascinated by time when he was studying gravity -- he found that he could not truly understand one without the other.
The experiment involves putting a digital clock under immense force by spinning it on a centrifuge.
The basic idea behind the experiment is to speed up the frequency of the pulses, or ticks, produced by the clock with force to push it ahead.
OUR COSMOS
'God particle' may have been seen
A scientist says one of the most sought after particles in physics - the Higgs boson - may have been found, but the evidence is still relatively weak.
Peter Renton, of the University of Oxford, says the particle may have been detected by researchers at an atom-smashing facility in Switzerland.
The Higgs boson explains why all other particles have mass and is fundamental to a complete understanding of matter."
Sunday, March 21, 2004
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Soldier resists: 'This war is evil'
A Florida National Guard soldier from Miami who served six months in Iraq refuses to return and seeks conscientious objector status.
A Miami soldier who served six months in Iraq and then refused to return after a leave said Monday ''I can no longer be an instrument of violence,'' and turned himself in to military authorities.
A Florida National Guard soldier from Miami who served six months in Iraq refuses to return and seeks conscientious objector status.
A Miami soldier who served six months in Iraq and then refused to return after a leave said Monday ''I can no longer be an instrument of violence,'' and turned himself in to military authorities.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
New 'planetoid' Sedna raises possibility of another Earth-sized object in our Solar System
Scientists can't figure out how Sedna, the most recently-discovered planetoid -- about three-quarters the size of Pluto, came to have such a strange orbit around the Sun. Sedna's path is highly elliptic. It ranges from 76 astronomical units (AU) when it is closest to the Sun to 1,000 AU when it is farthest.
'How on Earth could anything get into an orbit like that,' wonders astronomer Brian Marsden. He suggests another sort of Earth might have had something to do with putting Sedna on its current, odd course.
Richard A. Muller's Nemesis theory -- that our Sun has a companion star responsible for recurring episodes of wholesale death and destruction here on Earth -- seems to reemerge periodically like microbes after a mass extinction. It's a theory that has many detractors. And it's a theory that has been beaten down and left for dead in the minds of most scientists.
Yet it is a theory that just won't die.
Nemesis is cautiously supported by a handful of scientists. Muller meanwhile acknowledges the possibility that the whole idea could turn out to be wrong, but he is nonetheless confident that Nemesis will be found within 10 years.
Nemesis, as Muller sees it, is a dwarf star that would be visible if only we knew which of some 3,000 stars to look at. These are stars that have been cataloged, but their distances are not known. Muller figures Nemesis' orbit ranges from 1 to 3 light-years from the Sun.
On its closest approach, the lethal companion would pass through a vast, but sparsely populated halo of primitive comets called the Oort Cloud, which surrounds our solar system from beyond Neptune's orbit out to nearly a light-year away. (The Sun's nearest known star, Proxima Centauri, is about 4.25 light-years away).
During this passage through or near the Oort Cloud, the gravity of Nemesis would scatter a furious storm of primordial comets that had been relatively undisturbed for 4.5 billion years, since the solar system came into being.
Scientists can't figure out how Sedna, the most recently-discovered planetoid -- about three-quarters the size of Pluto, came to have such a strange orbit around the Sun. Sedna's path is highly elliptic. It ranges from 76 astronomical units (AU) when it is closest to the Sun to 1,000 AU when it is farthest.
'How on Earth could anything get into an orbit like that,' wonders astronomer Brian Marsden. He suggests another sort of Earth might have had something to do with putting Sedna on its current, odd course.
Richard A. Muller's Nemesis theory -- that our Sun has a companion star responsible for recurring episodes of wholesale death and destruction here on Earth -- seems to reemerge periodically like microbes after a mass extinction. It's a theory that has many detractors. And it's a theory that has been beaten down and left for dead in the minds of most scientists.
Yet it is a theory that just won't die.
Nemesis is cautiously supported by a handful of scientists. Muller meanwhile acknowledges the possibility that the whole idea could turn out to be wrong, but he is nonetheless confident that Nemesis will be found within 10 years.
Nemesis, as Muller sees it, is a dwarf star that would be visible if only we knew which of some 3,000 stars to look at. These are stars that have been cataloged, but their distances are not known. Muller figures Nemesis' orbit ranges from 1 to 3 light-years from the Sun.
On its closest approach, the lethal companion would pass through a vast, but sparsely populated halo of primitive comets called the Oort Cloud, which surrounds our solar system from beyond Neptune's orbit out to nearly a light-year away. (The Sun's nearest known star, Proxima Centauri, is about 4.25 light-years away).
During this passage through or near the Oort Cloud, the gravity of Nemesis would scatter a furious storm of primordial comets that had been relatively undisturbed for 4.5 billion years, since the solar system came into being.
MIND AND BRAIN
Memories harder to forget than currently thought
While it might not seem so the next time you go searching for your car keys, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that memories are not as fluid as current research suggests. Their findings challenge the prevailing notion on how memories are stored and remembered or that a recalled memory could be altered or lost as it is "re-remembered."
According to the researchers, the prominent theory of how memories are stored cannot account for the return of a supposedly forgotten memory. Accounting for the temporary loss of memories following the act of remembering will require further study.
While it might not seem so the next time you go searching for your car keys, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have shown that memories are not as fluid as current research suggests. Their findings challenge the prevailing notion on how memories are stored and remembered or that a recalled memory could be altered or lost as it is "re-remembered."
According to the researchers, the prominent theory of how memories are stored cannot account for the return of a supposedly forgotten memory. Accounting for the temporary loss of memories following the act of remembering will require further study.
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
US charged with war crimes: the evidence file
The complaint is directed against members of the U.S. armed forces—who are not yet identified— for war crimes described below, against the officers who commanded them in as far as those officers have given orders for illegitimate military actions, or have failed to act to the best of their abilities, when they had knowledge about orders given with respect to these violations or of facts indicating the start of their execution while in the ability to prevent their continuation or stopping them. This is particularly the case for Colonel Bryan P. McCoy, commander of the Third Marine Battalion of the 4th Regiment who has encouraged his men to fire at ambulances and civilians.
This complaint is likewise directed against General Tommy Franks, commander of the U.S. and U.K. forces involved in the recent war on Iraq during which numerous war crimes, described below, particularly the massive and repeated use of cluster bombs against civilian targets, couldn’t have been committed if not on the orders of the highest commander of the troops. In any case, this commander should have had knowledge about orders given with respect to the execution of such a violation of facts indicating the start of their execution. Being the highest commander, General Tommy Franks could have prevented the continuation of these war crimes or stopped them.
[The video and pictures in this report contain graphic images of the reality and horror of the invasion of Iraq.]
The complaint is directed against members of the U.S. armed forces—who are not yet identified— for war crimes described below, against the officers who commanded them in as far as those officers have given orders for illegitimate military actions, or have failed to act to the best of their abilities, when they had knowledge about orders given with respect to these violations or of facts indicating the start of their execution while in the ability to prevent their continuation or stopping them. This is particularly the case for Colonel Bryan P. McCoy, commander of the Third Marine Battalion of the 4th Regiment who has encouraged his men to fire at ambulances and civilians.
This complaint is likewise directed against General Tommy Franks, commander of the U.S. and U.K. forces involved in the recent war on Iraq during which numerous war crimes, described below, particularly the massive and repeated use of cluster bombs against civilian targets, couldn’t have been committed if not on the orders of the highest commander of the troops. In any case, this commander should have had knowledge about orders given with respect to the execution of such a violation of facts indicating the start of their execution. Being the highest commander, General Tommy Franks could have prevented the continuation of these war crimes or stopped them.
[The video and pictures in this report contain graphic images of the reality and horror of the invasion of Iraq.]
OUR ALIEN MASTERS
Bush camp exposed as 'serial liars'
US President George Bush and his four top advisers made a combined total of 237 misleading public statements on the threat posed by Iraq.
The claim was made in a congressional report released on Tuesday.
Most of the statements were misleading because they expressed certainty where none existed or failed to acknowledge the doubts of intelligence officials, according to the report.
Ten statements were just completely false.
US President George Bush and his four top advisers made a combined total of 237 misleading public statements on the threat posed by Iraq.
The claim was made in a congressional report released on Tuesday.
Most of the statements were misleading because they expressed certainty where none existed or failed to acknowledge the doubts of intelligence officials, according to the report.
Ten statements were just completely false.
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
PROPAGANDA CENTRAL
US videos, for TV news, come under scrutiny
Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.
The videos are intended for use in local television news programs.
Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.
The videos are intended for use in local television news programs.
DEATH OF DEMOCRACY
Diebold, electronic voting and the vast right-wing conspiracy
If Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has his way, Diebold will receive a contract to supply touch screen electronic voting machines for much of the state. None of these Diebold machines will provide a paper receipt of the vote.
Diebold, located in North Canton, Ohio, does its primary business in ATM and ticket-vending machines. Critics of Diebold point out that virtually every other machine the company makes -- ATMs and ticket vending machines -- provides a paper trail to verify the machine’s calculations. Oddly, only the voting machines lack this essential function.
Proponents of a paper trail were emboldened when Athan Gibbs, President and CEO of TruVote International, demonstrated a voting machine at a vendor’s fair in Columbus that provides two separate voting receipts. Mr Gibbs died in a car crash earlier this month.
[Diebold’s current CEO Walden "Wally" O’Dell, is on record stating that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President" this year.]
If Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell has his way, Diebold will receive a contract to supply touch screen electronic voting machines for much of the state. None of these Diebold machines will provide a paper receipt of the vote.
Diebold, located in North Canton, Ohio, does its primary business in ATM and ticket-vending machines. Critics of Diebold point out that virtually every other machine the company makes -- ATMs and ticket vending machines -- provides a paper trail to verify the machine’s calculations. Oddly, only the voting machines lack this essential function.
Proponents of a paper trail were emboldened when Athan Gibbs, President and CEO of TruVote International, demonstrated a voting machine at a vendor’s fair in Columbus that provides two separate voting receipts. Mr Gibbs died in a car crash earlier this month.
[Diebold’s current CEO Walden "Wally" O’Dell, is on record stating that he is "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President" this year.]
OUR ALIEN MASTERS
Bush out of touch ... with the earth
For days now, the job at one US national park has been to follow the order from the White House through the Secret Service and down to the park workers: 'The president's feet are not to touch the dirt.'
So all yesterday, large crews drawn from all county parks worked to ensure that, as always in his life, George Bush's feet do not touch the ground when he appears in the big park today."
For days now, the job at one US national park has been to follow the order from the White House through the Secret Service and down to the park workers: 'The president's feet are not to touch the dirt.'
So all yesterday, large crews drawn from all county parks worked to ensure that, as always in his life, George Bush's feet do not touch the ground when he appears in the big park today."
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
It's another world . . . but is it our 10th planet?
NASA is expected to announce today the discovery of the space object, which some experts believe could be a new planet. It is provisionally known as Sedna, after the Inuit goddess of the sea.
Measurements suggest Sedna's diameter is almost 2000km – the biggest find in the solar system since Pluto was discovered 74 years ago. It is believed to be made of ice and rock, and is slightly smaller than Pluto.
NASA is expected to announce today the discovery of the space object, which some experts believe could be a new planet. It is provisionally known as Sedna, after the Inuit goddess of the sea.
Measurements suggest Sedna's diameter is almost 2000km – the biggest find in the solar system since Pluto was discovered 74 years ago. It is believed to be made of ice and rock, and is slightly smaller than Pluto.
TALIBAN IN SUITS
Tax cuts for the rich -- because "wealth is a mark of God's favor"
We in the enlightened West smile at theocratic quibbling: Imagine, national leaders insisting that a modern state be governed solely by divine authority! Governments guaranteeing the right of religious extremists to impose their views on society!
But the "Constitution Restoration Act of 2004" is no joke; it was introduced last month by some of the Bush Regime's most powerful Congressional sycophants. If enacted, the Act will effectively transform the US into a theocracy, where the arbitrary dictates of a 'higher power' can override law.
The Act -- drafted by a minion of television evangelist Pat Robertson -- is the fruit of decades of work by a group of extremists known broadly as "Dominionists." Their openly expressed aim is to establish "biblical rule" over every aspect of society -- placing "the state, the school, the arts and sciences, law, economics, and every other sphere under Christ the King." Or as Attorney General John Ashcroft -- the nation's chief law enforcement officer -- has often proclaimed: "America has no king but Jesus!"
We in the enlightened West smile at theocratic quibbling: Imagine, national leaders insisting that a modern state be governed solely by divine authority! Governments guaranteeing the right of religious extremists to impose their views on society!
But the "Constitution Restoration Act of 2004" is no joke; it was introduced last month by some of the Bush Regime's most powerful Congressional sycophants. If enacted, the Act will effectively transform the US into a theocracy, where the arbitrary dictates of a 'higher power' can override law.
The Act -- drafted by a minion of television evangelist Pat Robertson -- is the fruit of decades of work by a group of extremists known broadly as "Dominionists." Their openly expressed aim is to establish "biblical rule" over every aspect of society -- placing "the state, the school, the arts and sciences, law, economics, and every other sphere under Christ the King." Or as Attorney General John Ashcroft -- the nation's chief law enforcement officer -- has often proclaimed: "America has no king but Jesus!"
MILITARY INTELLIGENCE
Agency initiates steps for selective draft
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is adamant that he will not ask Congress to authorize a draft, and officials at the Selective Service System, the independent federal agency that would organize any conscription, stress that the possibility of a so-called 'special skills draft' is remote.
Nonetheless, the agency has begun the process of creating the procedures and policies to conduct such a targeted draft ... just in case.
US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is adamant that he will not ask Congress to authorize a draft, and officials at the Selective Service System, the independent federal agency that would organize any conscription, stress that the possibility of a so-called 'special skills draft' is remote.
Nonetheless, the agency has begun the process of creating the procedures and policies to conduct such a targeted draft ... just in case.
GOOD GOVERNMENT
Blunkett charges miscarriage of justice victims ‘food and lodgings’
On Tuesday, UK's Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett will fight in the Royal Courts of Justice in London for the right to charge victims of miscarriages of justice more than £3000 for every year they spent in jail while wrongly convicted.
Blunkett’s fight has been described as “outrageous”, “morally repugnant” and the “sickest of sick jokes”, but his spokesmen in the Home Office say it’s a completely “reasonable course of action” as the innocent men and women would have spent the money anyway on food and lodgings if they weren’t in prison. The government deems the claw-back ‘Saved Living Expenses’.
A few of examples
Paddy Hill was one of the Birmingham Six. He spent 16 years behind bars for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA. Hill now lives on a farm with his wife and children near Beith in Scotland. He has been charged £50,000 for living expenses by the Home Office.
Mike O’Brien spent 10 years in jail wrongly convicted of killing a Cardiff newsagent. His baby daughter died while he was in prison and he was charged £37,500 by the Home Office for his time behind bars.
Vincent Hickey, one of the Bridgewater Four who was wrongly convicted for killing a paperboy, was charged £60,000 for the 17 years he spent in jail. He said: “If I had known this I would have stayed on hunger-strike longer, that way I would have had a smaller bill.”
On Tuesday, UK's Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett will fight in the Royal Courts of Justice in London for the right to charge victims of miscarriages of justice more than £3000 for every year they spent in jail while wrongly convicted.
Blunkett’s fight has been described as “outrageous”, “morally repugnant” and the “sickest of sick jokes”, but his spokesmen in the Home Office say it’s a completely “reasonable course of action” as the innocent men and women would have spent the money anyway on food and lodgings if they weren’t in prison. The government deems the claw-back ‘Saved Living Expenses’.
A few of examples
Paddy Hill was one of the Birmingham Six. He spent 16 years behind bars for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA. Hill now lives on a farm with his wife and children near Beith in Scotland. He has been charged £50,000 for living expenses by the Home Office.
Mike O’Brien spent 10 years in jail wrongly convicted of killing a Cardiff newsagent. His baby daughter died while he was in prison and he was charged £37,500 by the Home Office for his time behind bars.
Vincent Hickey, one of the Bridgewater Four who was wrongly convicted for killing a paperboy, was charged £60,000 for the 17 years he spent in jail. He said: “If I had known this I would have stayed on hunger-strike longer, that way I would have had a smaller bill.”
Monday, March 15, 2004
NEW WORLD ORDER
Memos a blueprint for war?
The group, the Project for the New American Century, or PNAC, was founded in 1997. Among its supporters were three Republican former officials who were sitting out the Democratic presidency of Bill Clinton: Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz.
In open letters to Clinton and GOP congressional leaders the next year, the group called for 'the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power' and a shift toward a more assertive U.S. policy in the Middle East, including the use of force if necessary to unseat Saddam.
And in a report just before the 2000 election that would bring Bush to power, the group predicted that the shift would come about slowly, unless there were 'some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor.'
The group, the Project for the New American Century, or PNAC, was founded in 1997. Among its supporters were three Republican former officials who were sitting out the Democratic presidency of Bill Clinton: Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz.
In open letters to Clinton and GOP congressional leaders the next year, the group called for 'the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime from power' and a shift toward a more assertive U.S. policy in the Middle East, including the use of force if necessary to unseat Saddam.
And in a report just before the 2000 election that would bring Bush to power, the group predicted that the shift would come about slowly, unless there were 'some catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor.'
Thursday, March 11, 2004
OUR ALIEN MASTERS
We See That Now
"George W. Bush cannot be, as we've screamed till we're blue in the face, the cretinous finger puppet of an incalculably cynical and malevolent cabal and a ruthless neo-Confederate, bent on creating a plutocratic ruling class at home and a rapacious corporate imperium abroad. He's one or the other. We cannot have it both ways. We see that now."
-- Tony Hendra
"George W. Bush cannot be, as we've screamed till we're blue in the face, the cretinous finger puppet of an incalculably cynical and malevolent cabal and a ruthless neo-Confederate, bent on creating a plutocratic ruling class at home and a rapacious corporate imperium abroad. He's one or the other. We cannot have it both ways. We see that now."
-- Tony Hendra
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
OUR ANCESTORS
Phylogenetic tree of early hominids, apes and humans.
A new branch of primitive humans reported found in Ethiopia
Dr. Yohannes Haile-Selassie, member of a scientific team working in Ethiopia, and his colleagues have found dental evidence that elevates the hominid subspecies Ardipithecus ramidus kadabba to its own species, Ardipithecus kadabba. This new species, dating between 5.54 and 5.77 million years old, is the oldest member of the genus Ardipithecus.
Haile-Selassie, curator and head of Physical Anthropology at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, said, "Ardipithecus kadabba may also represent the first species on the human branch of the family tree just after the evolutionary split between lines leading to modern chimpanzees and humans.
NEW WORLD ORDER
The ultimate crowd control vehicle unveiled
The new Smar Truck lll concept, designed for America's homeland security was built in partnership with International Truck and Engine Corporation. The vehicle showcases the latest in armor protection, and detection and deterrent capabilities.
Smar Truck lll is equipped with a weapons station module featuring a remote controlled .50-caliber machine gun which rises from the back of the vehicle and has sniper-detection directional sound capabilities.
EARTH CHANGES
Scientist 'gagged' after warning of global warming threat
The UK Government tried to muzzle it's top scientific adviser after he warned that global warming was a more serious threat than international terrorism.
Ivan Rogers, Mr Blair's principal private secretary, told Sir David King, the Prime Minister's chief scientist, to limit his contact with the media after he made outspoken comments about President George Bush's policy on climate change.
In January, Sir David wrote a scathing article in the American journal Science attacking Washington for failing to take climate change seriously. 'In my view, climate change is the most severe problem we are facing today, more serious even than the threat of terrorism,' he wrote.
The UK Government tried to muzzle it's top scientific adviser after he warned that global warming was a more serious threat than international terrorism.
Ivan Rogers, Mr Blair's principal private secretary, told Sir David King, the Prime Minister's chief scientist, to limit his contact with the media after he made outspoken comments about President George Bush's policy on climate change.
In January, Sir David wrote a scathing article in the American journal Science attacking Washington for failing to take climate change seriously. 'In my view, climate change is the most severe problem we are facing today, more serious even than the threat of terrorism,' he wrote.
OUR ALIEN MASTERS
So Dubya, how do you feel about your mom and dad?
"Authoritarian personalities are organised around rabid hostility to 'legitimate' targets, often ones nominated by their parents' prejudices. Intensely moralistic, they direct it towards despised social groups. As people, they avoid introspection or loving displays, preferring toughness and cynicism. They regard others with suspicion, attributing ulterior motives to the most innocent behaviour. They are liable to be superstitious. All these traits have been described in Bush many times, by friends or colleagues."
-- Psychologist Oliver James analyses the behaviour of the American president
"Authoritarian personalities are organised around rabid hostility to 'legitimate' targets, often ones nominated by their parents' prejudices. Intensely moralistic, they direct it towards despised social groups. As people, they avoid introspection or loving displays, preferring toughness and cynicism. They regard others with suspicion, attributing ulterior motives to the most innocent behaviour. They are liable to be superstitious. All these traits have been described in Bush many times, by friends or colleagues."
-- Psychologist Oliver James analyses the behaviour of the American president
Saturday, March 06, 2004
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Large sunspot emerging
A large sunspot, several times wider than Earth, is emerging over the sun's eastern limb. Its potential for solar flares won't be known until it rotates into more direct view. See the spot yourself using safe solar observing techniques.
Friday, March 05, 2004
CAT PEOPLE
'Heartbroken' cat makes the long journey home
A homesick cat walked a hundred kilometres back home after being given away by its Beijing owner, a news report said on Thursday.
The three-year-old cat ran away from its new home and spent 40 days finding its way back to its old owner in the Chinese capital, according to the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily.
The female owner, who had given the cat away to a friend outside the city, was stunned when the cat turned up on her doorstep on Tuesday, the newspaper said.
The cat had shed 2,5kg and weighed just 800g when it arrived home. The owner told the newspaper she would never let the cat go again.
A homesick cat walked a hundred kilometres back home after being given away by its Beijing owner, a news report said on Thursday.
The three-year-old cat ran away from its new home and spent 40 days finding its way back to its old owner in the Chinese capital, according to the Hong Kong edition of the China Daily.
The female owner, who had given the cat away to a friend outside the city, was stunned when the cat turned up on her doorstep on Tuesday, the newspaper said.
The cat had shed 2,5kg and weighed just 800g when it arrived home. The owner told the newspaper she would never let the cat go again.
Thursday, March 04, 2004
TIME AND TIDE
Time can be turned back
On January 27, 1995, American and British scientists who were conducting investigations in Antarctica noticed some spinning gray fog in the sky over the pole which they believed to be just ordinary particles. However, the gray fog did not change form nor move over time.
US physicist Mariann McLein said the researchers launched a weather balloon with equipment to register wind speed, temperature and air moisture. But the weather balloon soared upwards and immediately disappeared.
In a little while, the researchers brought the weather balloon back to the ground by its tether and were shocked to see that a chronometer aboard the weather balloon displayed the date as January 27, 1965, the same day 30 years ago.
The experiment was repeated several times after the researchers found out the equipment was in good repair. But each time the watch was back it displayed the past time. The phenomenon was called 'the time gate' and was reported to the White House.
[There is a deal of doubt as to the existence of a US physicist named Mariann McLein. Pravda RU appears to be turning into an east bloc National Enquirer/News of the World.]
On January 27, 1995, American and British scientists who were conducting investigations in Antarctica noticed some spinning gray fog in the sky over the pole which they believed to be just ordinary particles. However, the gray fog did not change form nor move over time.
US physicist Mariann McLein said the researchers launched a weather balloon with equipment to register wind speed, temperature and air moisture. But the weather balloon soared upwards and immediately disappeared.
In a little while, the researchers brought the weather balloon back to the ground by its tether and were shocked to see that a chronometer aboard the weather balloon displayed the date as January 27, 1965, the same day 30 years ago.
The experiment was repeated several times after the researchers found out the equipment was in good repair. But each time the watch was back it displayed the past time. The phenomenon was called 'the time gate' and was reported to the White House.
[There is a deal of doubt as to the existence of a US physicist named Mariann McLein. Pravda RU appears to be turning into an east bloc National Enquirer/News of the World.]
ANDROPHAGEOUS PETS
Pet spider kills, eats its owner
A MAN who lived in his own “zoo” of lizards and insects was fatally bitten by a pet black widow spider — then eaten by the other creepy-crawlies.
Police broke in to Mark Voegel’s apartment to find spider Bettina along with 200 others, several snakes, a gecko lizard called Helmut and several thousand termites had gorged on his body.
Neighbours alerted police after becoming alarmed by the stink.
A police spokesman said: “It was like a horror movie. His corpse was over the sofa.
“Giant webs draped him, spiders were all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth. There was everything there one could imagine in the world of reptiles.
A MAN who lived in his own “zoo” of lizards and insects was fatally bitten by a pet black widow spider — then eaten by the other creepy-crawlies.
Police broke in to Mark Voegel’s apartment to find spider Bettina along with 200 others, several snakes, a gecko lizard called Helmut and several thousand termites had gorged on his body.
Neighbours alerted police after becoming alarmed by the stink.
A police spokesman said: “It was like a horror movie. His corpse was over the sofa.
“Giant webs draped him, spiders were all over him. They were coming out of his nose and his mouth. There was everything there one could imagine in the world of reptiles.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
SYCOPHANT NATION
Australia now cites US alliance as a key reason for joining Iraq war
Both before and after the war, Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer repeatedly cited Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as the principal justification for joining President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing."
But Howard said Tuesday that in all his public addresses arguing the case for joining the US-led invasion, he had "placed very heavy reliance on the importance of the American alliance."
The change in emphasis came a day after being accused by a parliamentary panel of exaggerating the case for joining the Iraq war.
Australia committed 2000 Australian troops to the US-led conflict.
Both before and after the war, Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer repeatedly cited Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as the principal justification for joining President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing."
But Howard said Tuesday that in all his public addresses arguing the case for joining the US-led invasion, he had "placed very heavy reliance on the importance of the American alliance."
The change in emphasis came a day after being accused by a parliamentary panel of exaggerating the case for joining the Iraq war.
Australia committed 2000 Australian troops to the US-led conflict.
OUR SOLAR SYSTEM
Rosetta probe heads for comet
Europe's Rosetta spacecraft has launched successfully and is now heading into space on its daring journey to chase and land on a comet....Rosetta is primed for a 7bn-km journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Once in orbit around the mountainous ball of ice and dust in 2014, the craft will despatch a small lander to the comet's surface to study its chemistry.
Europe's Rosetta spacecraft has launched successfully and is now heading into space on its daring journey to chase and land on a comet....Rosetta is primed for a 7bn-km journey to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
Once in orbit around the mountainous ball of ice and dust in 2014, the craft will despatch a small lander to the comet's surface to study its chemistry.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
POT AND KETTLE
'Blair slept rough as homeless drop-out'
UK Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair reportedly told guests her future husband was forced on to the streets near London’s Euston station during his gap-year in 1971-72.
The story comes after 15 people were arrested on the first night of a controversial drive to clear beggars off the streets of London’s West End. They were picked up as part of a 48-hour blitz by Westminster Council designed to disrupt and deter begging in the area.
UK Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair reportedly told guests her future husband was forced on to the streets near London’s Euston station during his gap-year in 1971-72.
The story comes after 15 people were arrested on the first night of a controversial drive to clear beggars off the streets of London’s West End. They were picked up as part of a 48-hour blitz by Westminster Council designed to disrupt and deter begging in the area.
CLOAK AND DAGGER
The whole world is bugged
From the National Security Agency's imposing headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland, ringed by a double-chain fence topped by barbed wire with strands of electrified wire between them, America 'bugs' the world.
Nothing politically or militarily significant -- whether mentioned in a telephone call, in a conversation in the office of the secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, or in a company fax or e-mail -- escapes its attention.
Its computers 'vacuum the entire electromagnetic spectrum', homing in on 'key words' which may suggest something of interest to NSA customers is being transmitted.
From the National Security Agency's imposing headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland, ringed by a double-chain fence topped by barbed wire with strands of electrified wire between them, America 'bugs' the world.
Nothing politically or militarily significant -- whether mentioned in a telephone call, in a conversation in the office of the secretary general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, or in a company fax or e-mail -- escapes its attention.
Its computers 'vacuum the entire electromagnetic spectrum', homing in on 'key words' which may suggest something of interest to NSA customers is being transmitted.
EARTH CHANGES
New calls for planetary defense
A four-day discussion was kicked off by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the US House Science Committee's Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee with his noting that it took the attacks of Sept. 11 for the world to focus on global terrorism.
"I hope that it won’t take that type of catastrophe for us to start paying attention to the threats of near-Earth objects," he said. Rohrabacher said the political reaction to the worries over space rocks has garnered "a very tepid response" to date, noting that money spent so far on the issue has been "a pittance".
A four-day discussion was kicked off by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the US House Science Committee's Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee with his noting that it took the attacks of Sept. 11 for the world to focus on global terrorism.
"I hope that it won’t take that type of catastrophe for us to start paying attention to the threats of near-Earth objects," he said. Rohrabacher said the political reaction to the worries over space rocks has garnered "a very tepid response" to date, noting that money spent so far on the issue has been "a pittance".
NEW WORLD ORDER
Macedonian PM and the plane "crash"
Boris Trajkovski was hardly a household name outside his native land. But the death of the Macedonian president in a plane crash last week was a painful blow for the EU's attempts to try to export stability to its troubled Balkan backyard.
[The US wants to prevent the emergence of a cohesive and united Europe that would have the power to stand against the "coup de monde" that the Neocons in Washington have been planning for so long. When an 'irony' occurs -- such as the death of Trajkovski on the very day his country was applying for EU membership -- alarm bells ring regarding the machinations behind such 'accidental' events.]
Boris Trajkovski was hardly a household name outside his native land. But the death of the Macedonian president in a plane crash last week was a painful blow for the EU's attempts to try to export stability to its troubled Balkan backyard.
[The US wants to prevent the emergence of a cohesive and united Europe that would have the power to stand against the "coup de monde" that the Neocons in Washington have been planning for so long. When an 'irony' occurs -- such as the death of Trajkovski on the very day his country was applying for EU membership -- alarm bells ring regarding the machinations behind such 'accidental' events.]
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