FDA approves Crestor for people who have no health problem to correct

Big Pharma has been trending this direction for a long time: marketing medicines to people who don't need them and who have nothing wrong with their health. It's all part of a ploy to position prescription drugs as nutrients -- things you need to take on a regular basis in order to prevent disease.

The FDA recently gave its nod of approval on the matter, announcing that Crestor can now be advertised and prescribed as a "preventive" medicine. No longer does a patient need to have anything wrong with them to warrant this expensive prescription medication: They only need to remember the brand name of the drug from television ads.

This FDA approval for the marketing of Crestor to healthy people is a breakthrough for wealthy drug companies. Selling drugs only to people who are sick is, by definition, a limited market. Expanding drug revenues requires reaching people who have nothing wrong with them and convincing them that taking a cocktail of daily pharmaceuticals will somehow keep them healthy.

All this is, of course, the greatest quackery we've yet seen from Big Pharma, because once this floodgate of "preventive pharmaceuticals" is unleashed, the drug companies will be positioned to promote a bewildering array of other preventive chemicals you're supposed to take at the same time. Did you take your anti-cancer pill today? How about your anti-diabetes pill? Anti-cholesterol pill? Don't forget your anti-Alzheimer's pill, too.

Medications are not vitamins
The very idea that these drugs can somehow prevent a person from becoming sick in the future strains the boundaries of scientific credibility. Only natural therapies like nutrition can prevent the onset of disease, not patented chemicals that don't belong in the human body in the first place.

The logical argument of the drug companies who push these "preventive" prescriptions is essentially that the human body is deficient in pharmaceuticals, and that deficiency can only be corrected by taking whatever brand-name drugs they show you on television. Forget about deficiencies in zinc, or vitamin D, or living enzymes; what your body really needs is more synthetic chemicals!

The FDA agrees with this loopy logic. And why wouldn't it? Subscribing to this pharmaceutical delusion is an easy way to instantly expand Big Pharma's customer base by tens of millions. Overnight, the market for Crestor ballooned from a few million people with high cholesterol to the entire U.S. population of 300 million people.

If Crestor can help healthy people be healthier (which it can't, but let's play along with this delusion for the sake of argument), then it's only a matter of time before they start adding Crestor to infant formula. I mean, why not? If it's so good for healthy people, then it must make babies healthier, too, right?

So let's add Crestor to sports drinks. Let's sprinkle it into the iodized salt supply. Let's drip it into the municipal water! (Don't laugh: This idea of dripping cholesterol drugs into the water supply has already been suggested by more than one doctor.) Let's merge the pharmaceutical supply with the food supply and charge people prescription drugs prices for "functional" foods laced with these chemicals!

Pharmaceutical deficiency
That's really where all this is headed. When medicines are approved as preventive "nutrients" for the human body, it's only a matter of time before the industry starts talking about your "pharmaceutical deficiency."

Not taking any medications? You have a pharmaceutical deficiency, and it needs to be corrected by taking more prescription drugs. But don't bother with actual nutrition, because nutrients have absolutely no role in preventing disease, the FDA claims. No nutrient has ever been approved by the FDA for the prevention or treatment of any disease whatsoever.

The message from the FDA is quite clear on this: Nutrients are useless, and you should eat medications as if they were vitamins.

Source: http://www.naturalnews.com/027834_Crestor_marketing.html

Rare New Year's Eve 'blue moon' to ring in 2010

LOS ANGELES – Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue — the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor.



A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the full moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse on New Year's Eve when part of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The eclipse will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month — a blue moon — occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical significance, said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the almanac defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the error decades later, the definition caught on. For purists, however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a blue moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay posted on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm out celebrating, I'll take a peek at that brilliant orb as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_on_sc/us_sci_blue_moon

Detroit scare sparks debate on full-body scanners

Technology exists that might have detected explosives hidden in the underwear of a Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a plane over Detroit, but cost and privacy worries have until now prevented its widespread use.

A sign explains the procedure for going through the whole body scan machine, or millimeter wave machine as passengers wait in line at a security check point at the Salt Lake International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 10, 2009.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, is suspected of trying to ignite an explosive called PETN using a chemical-filled syringe as Northwest Flight 253 approached Detroit on Christmas morning.

He had passed through security checks in Lagos and Amsterdam, where standard metal detector archways failed to spot his weapon.

Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has at least 15 full-body "millimeter wave" scanners that see underneath passengers' clothes to detect suspicious packages or weapons.

The problem: their use has been only voluntary because of concerns that the scans reveal passengers "naked" to the operators and anyone else passing by the machine's screen.

The costs are also substantial. Whereas a traditional archway metal detector runs up to $15,000, more intensive whole-body scanners cost about 10 times as much.

"I don't anticipate myself that there'll be a rush to buy new equipment because airport operators are strapped for cash at the moment and the equipment itself, whilst good, is not a solution to the problem," said Kevin Murphy, product manager of physical security for Qinetiq Group, a British-based defense and security technology group.

"Some passengers are reassured that there's new technology there and are prepared to give up some measure of their privacy for it, and others have been outraged by it."

Airport operators need effective security plans, behavioral modeling and hiring processes just as much as they need advanced hardware, he told Reuters. Qinetiq is focusing its efforts on "standoff screening" that scans passengers even before they reach security checkpoints.

SEEING UNDER CLOTHES

Both "millimeter wave" and "backscatter X-ray" scanners try to do roughly the same thing -- see under clothes and identify unusual objects by their different densities relative to the human body.

Industry experts say public fears about radiation from the X-ray machines are unwarranted. But stronger than the health concerns are the privacy fears, in the United States and especially in Europe.

Germany's interior ministry, which sets the standards for domestic airport security, declined to use body scanners last year after it decided they were an invasion of privacy, although their usefulness and safety are still being tested.

"They were rejected as going too far into the private sphere of travelers," said Verena Meyer, spokeswoman for the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, an independent parliamentary watchdog.

An interior ministry spokeswoman said on Tuesday that certain conditions had to be fulfilled, including masking people's intimate details and making explosives more easily recognizable.

In Britain, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: "We intend to be at the cutting edge of all this new technology and to ensure that we put it in place as quickly as possible."

But progress until now has been slow. A spokesman for Manchester airport said it was running trials but had made no decision on implementation, while Heathrow operator BAA said it was not using body scanners at all.

The European Parliament has consistently opposed body scanners on privacy and health grounds and has asked for more studies in both these areas.

Nonetheless, "there are no EU rules preventing member states from using them if they want to," a spokesman for the Commission said on Tuesday.

NO GUARANTEES

Speculation about increased demand has boosted shares of scanner makers this week. Some smaller companies such as ICX Technologies and OSI Systems, worth only a few hundred million dollars to begin with, rose 10 percent or more on Monday.

Larger players like Smiths Group and L-3 Communications have also benefited, with their machinery already in trials in airports around the world.

Schiphol's chief operating officer and director of security said on Monday they intend to make millimeter wave scanners mandatory once they get EU approval. Schiphol officials rejected X-ray machines as too unsafe for the public for regular use.

They stressed repeatedly that no matter what technology they chose, they could not be certain last week's outcome would have been any different.

"There is no 100 percent guarantee we would have caught him," Schiphol Group COO Ad Rutten said of Abdulmutallab.

The industry was quick to praise Schiphol's decision but just as quick to add that it might not be enough.

"Absolutely without a shadow of doubt this is a good thing. But one solution will not address every vulnerability. It needs to be a set of solutions," said Jane's Aviation analyst Chris Yates.

($1=.6256 Pound)

Source: http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre5bs24z-us-security-airline-scanners/

Passengers help foil attack on Detroit-bound plane

By JIM IRWIN, Associated Press Writer Jim Irwin, Associated Press Writer – 6am ET

ROMULUS, Mich. – An attempted terrorist attack on a Christmas Day flight began with a pop and a puff of smoke — sending passengers scrambling to subdue a Nigerian man who claimed to be acting on orders from al-Qaida to blow up the airliner, officials and travelers said.

The commotion began as Northwest Airlines Flight 253, carrying 278 passengers and 11 crew members from Amsterdam, prepared to land in Detroit just before noon Friday. Travelers said they smelled smoke, saw a glow, and heard what sounded like firecrackers. At least one person climbed over others and jumped on the man, who officials say was trying to ignite an explosive device.

"It sounded like a firecracker in a pillowcase," said Peter Smith, a passenger from the Netherlands. "First there was a pop, and then (there) was smoke."

Smith said one passenger, sitting opposite the man, climbed over passengers, went across the aisle and tried to restrain the man. The heroic passenger appeared to have been burned.

Afterward, the suspect was taken to a front-row seat with his pants cut off and his legs burned. Multiple law enforcement officials also said the man appeared badly burned on his legs, indicating the explosive was strapped there. The components were apparently mixed in-flight and included a powdery substance, multiple law enforcement and counterterrorism officials said.

The White House said it believed it was an attempted act of terrorism and stricter security measures were quickly imposed on airline travel. The incident was reminiscent of Richard Reid, who tried to destroy a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes, but was subdued by other passengers.

Multiple law enforcement officials identified the suspect in Friday's attempted attack as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab. He was described as Nigerian.

One law enforcement official said the man claimed to have been instructed by al-Qaida to detonate the plane over U.S. soil, but other law enforcement officials cautioned that such claims could not be verified immediately, and said the man may have been acting independently — inspired but not specifically trained or ordered by terror groups.

All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

The man was being questioned Friday evening. An intelligence official said he was being held and treated in an Ann Arbor, Mich., hospital. The hospital said one passenger from the flight was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, but referred all inquiries to the FBI.

Melinda Dennis, who was seated in the front row of the plane, said the man involved was brought to the front row and seated near her. She said his legs appeared to be badly burned and his pants were cut off. She said he was taken off the plane handcuffed to a stretcher.

One law enforcement official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said Mutallab's name had surfaced earlier on at least one U.S. intelligence database, but he was not on a watch list or a no-fly list.

The suspect boarded in Nigeria and went through Amsterdam en route to Detroit, Rep. Peter King, the ranking GOP member of the House Homeland Security Committee, told CNN. A spokeswoman for police at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam declined comment about the case or about security procedures at the airport for Flight 253.

Schiphol airport, one of Europe's busiest with a heavy load of transit passengers from Africa and Asia to North America, strictly enforces European security regulations including only allowing small amounts of liquid in hand luggage that must be placed inside clear plastic bags. After the attempted attack, passengers to the U.S. were being frisked at the gate as an added security measure, said airport spokeswoman Mirjam Snoerwang.

A spokesman for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Akin Olukunle, said all passengers and their luggage are screened before boarding international flights. He also said the airport in Lagos cleared a U.S. Transportation Security Administration audit in November.

"We had a pass mark," Olukunle said. "We actually are up to standards in all senses."

Delta Air Lines Inc., which acquired Northwest last year, said a passenger caused a disturbance, was subdued, and the crew requested that law enforcement officials meet the flight.

Passenger Syed Jafri, a U.S. citizen who had flown from the United Arab Emirates, said the incident occurred during the plane's descent. Jafri said he was seated three rows behind the passenger and said he saw a glow, and noticed a smoke smell. Then, he said, "a young man behind me jumped on him."

"Next thing you know, there was a lot of panic," he said.

Federal officials said there would be heightened security for both domestic and international flights at airports across the country, but the intensified levels would likely be "layered," differing from location to location depending on alerts, security concerns and other factors.

Passengers can expect to see heightened screening, more bomb-sniffing dog and officer units and behavioral-detection specialists at some airports, but there will also be unspecified less visible precautions as well, officials said.

The FBI and the Homeland Security Department issued an intelligence note on Nov. 20 about the threat picture for the holiday season, which was obtained by The Associated Press. At the time, officials said they had no specific information about attack plans by al-Qaida or other terrorist groups.

President Barack Obama was notified of the incident and discussed it with security officials, the White House said. Officials said he is monitoring the situation and receiving regular updates from his vacation spot in Hawaii.

___

Associated Press Writers Lara Jakes in Baghdad, Iraq, Jon Gambrell in Lagos, Nigeria, Arthur Max in Amsterdam, and Larry Margasak and Devlin Barrett in Washington contributed to this report.

Found at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091226/ap_on_re_us/us_airliner_attack

'Extremely Dangerous' Blizzards Move Into Midwest

Fierce wind, heavy snowfall, icy roads threatening Upper Midwest as 'monster' storm moves east

A fierce winter storm was leaving dangerous ice, heavy snow and vicious winds in its wake as it slogged eastward Wednesday, threatening to wreak havoc on commuters in the Upper Midwest and closing schools across New England.

More than a foot of snow was expected in parts of Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa, where the National Weather Service warned of "extremely dangerous blizzard conditions" and near whiteout driving conditions. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph could build snow drifts between 8 and 15 feet tall.

Parts of New England also girded themselves for bone-chilling wind gusts and snow accumulations of up to a foot by the end of the day.

"It's horrible out there," said Todd Lane, an assistant manager of a Quik Trip convenience store in Des Moines, where several inches of new snow was reported overnight.

Although business was fairly normal overnight, it nearly all came from snow plow drivers — most looking for coffee and energy drinks, he said.

"Outside of the city there's 15-foot drifts and people are stuck in them," Lane said the drivers told him. "It sucks and it just keeps on coming."

Between 4 and 6 inches of snow fell in western and central Michigan, while blizzard warnings also covered parts of Nebraska, Kansas and Minnesota.

"For the most part, we're telling people to stay home," said Roger Vachalek, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Des Moines. He said if motorists get stranded, "you might end up being out there for quite a while."

In the West, pounded by rain and snow earlier this week, bitter wind chills as low as 40 below were sweeping across portions of southern Montana. The biting winds also were moving across Wyoming and South Dakota, according to the National Weather Service.

By the time the storm moves off the Maine coast Thursday night, it may have affected as much as two-thirds of the country, said Jim Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines.

"It's a monster of a storm," Lee said.

Maine and New Hampshire could see snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches capped off by rain and sleet in the evening. In northern New York, as much as a foot of snow was expected to accumulate Wednesday and more than 3 feet was expected by the week's end near the Great Lakes.

Hundreds of schools across New York's eastern half were closed or delayed the start of classes Wednesday. Schools also were closed in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Hundreds of flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Tuesday; all departures were canceled out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and only a few were scheduled at Des Moines International Airport.

The storm drenched California with rain, blanketed the mountain West with snow and brought 100 mph winds to New Mexico earlier this week. More than 20 inches of snow fell over Flagstaff, Ariz. — more than four times the record of 5 inches set in 1956.

At least five deaths were blamed on the weather, including an Arizona hunter who was killed Monday night when a large pine tree snapped and crushed him as he slept in a tent. The driver of a sport utility vehicle that plunged 90 feet off an icy road into the Texas Panhandle's Palo Duro Canyon also died.

Heavy rain hit some parts of the South with more than 4 inches reported in spots in New Orleans. A possible tornado was reported near Lake Pontchartrain, the National Weather Service said.

Cold temperatures also were threatening California crops, where only about 10 percent to 15 percent of the navel and mandarin orange crops have been harvested, said Bob Blakely, director of industrial relations for the California Citrus Mutual.

"We've got a lot on the line," Blakely said. "Both of them combined you're probably looking at over a billion dollars in fruit hanging out there on the trees."

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=9287108

Palmer Says 'Sorry' For Teen's Hit-And-Run Death

SACRAMENTO, Calif. --
A man seemed remorseful as he was sentenced Tuesday in connection with the death of a Del Campo High School student.

Tyrone Palmer
"I'm so sorry … I am," Tyrone Palmer said, as he was led away in handcuffs from a Sacramento courtroom.

Palmer was convicted in October of second-degree murder. He was also convicted of eight other counts, including vehicular manslaughter and assault. He was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years and four months to life in prison.

"I hope you rot" and "Have a good time, buddy," were said to Palmer by watchers as he was taken out of the courtroom by a sheriff's deputy.

Valerie Schmidt, Shelly Curry and Kailey McGagin
Kailey McGagin, 17, Saychelle Curry and Valerie Schmidt were hurt after a hit-and-run wreck in 2007. Curry remains in a vegetative state.

A statement from Curry's father was read in court Tuesday, saying, "She stays in a local nursing home, needing 24-hour care."

McGagin's mother, Erin McGagin, was emotional in court and said her daughter "touched so many lives, even in death."

Erin McGagin
"My purpose has been taken. I have been mom for 17 and a half years and now, I don't get to ever get to hear 'Mom' again," Erin McGagin said.

Palmer turned around to look at the victim's mother after she asked for an apology, saying, "I just want to know that you would take it back because of everything that happened."

A teary Palmer said, "Yes, I would. I'm so sorry."

"And that is what I need. At the end of all of this, thank you," Erin McGagin said.

The three girls, all Del Campo High School students, left a birthday party on Oct. 13, 2007, and came across Palmer as he was stealing a trailer.

One of the girls threw an egg at him, prosecutors said.

Palmer jumped into his truck and chased a Honda carrying the teens, police said, using his truck to ram the Honda and cut it off. The Honda's driver lost control in Fair Oaks, hitting a pole and then a tree.


In court on Tuesday, Palmer said he never saw the crash.

After the sentencing, Erin McGagin said, "He's sick, and he's where he needs to be."

Source: http://www.kcra.com/news/21640996/detail.html

---

Man Sentenced For Deadly Crash Talks To CBS13

The man convicted of killing a local teen in a car crash, was sentenced to 22 years in prison today. After he was sentenced, he gave his first and only interview to CBS13 from behind bars.

Tyrone Palmer spoke with CBS13 from behind bars Tuesday.
"I'm so sorry, I'm just so sorry for everything," said Tyrone Palmer. "I didn't want to hurt anybody."

Seventeen-year-old Kailey McGagin died in the crash. The driver, 18-year-old Seychelle Curry or "Shelly" remains in a vegetative state. Seventeen-year-old Valerie Schmidt suffered two broken legs.

A lot of people who admit their guilt go to prison without saying they're sorry, but this man apologized directly to the victims' families. Back in jail, Palmer talked to us, remorseful to the point where he could barely talk without crying.

Tyrone Palmer had more than an apology for Kailey McGagin's mother.

"I wanted to give her a hug and tell her I was so sorry," said Palmer.

They said they knew he was chasing them, and they were scared.

"What she is going through, no mother should be going through," said Palmer.

Palmer was a convicted felon with a history of assault. One October morning, of 2007...he was stealing a license plate off a trailer when a group of girls coming back from a high school party threw eggs at him.

"I was angry, but not to cause injury or death," said Palmer. "And then when I passed them and I realized it was girls, I was like, 'oh, it's girls'."

Palmer got into his truck and followed them. He quickly ran into the back of the car, stopping the driver Shelly Curry.

The driver drove off and Palmer pursued.

"I never saw them hit the pole. That was behind me," said Palmer. "I never saw the accident."

Palmer drover home and the CHP put out surveillance video showing the stolen truck he was driving.

Valerie Schmidt, Seychelle Curry and Kaylie McGagin (l-r)
"Did you see your truck on the news?" I asked.

"Yes, but that was a couple days later," said Palmer.

"So, then why didn't you call and say hey that's me let me explain my side of the story," I asked.

"I was scared," said Palmer.

A few months after the crash, Palmer went to jail for stealing that infamous white truck, and it was in jail that they connected him to the crash.

Source: http://cbs13.com/crime/tyrone.palmer.sentenced.2.1318248.html

NASA finds water on the moon

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A "significant amount" of frozen water has been found on the moon, the US space agency said Friday heralding a giant leap forward in space exploration and boosting hopes of a permanent lunar base.

Preliminary data from a dramatic experiment on the moon "indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater," NASA said in a statement.

"The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon," it added, as ecstatic scientists celebrated the landmark discovery.

"Yes indeed we found water and we did not find only a little bit but a significant amount," said Anthony Colaprete, project scientist and principal investigator for the 79-million-dollar LCROSS mission.

The data was found after NASA sent two spacecraft crashing into the lunar surface last month in a dramatic experiment to probe Earth's nearest neighbor for water.

One rocket slammed into the Cabeus crater, near the lunar southern pole, at around 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) per hour.

Moon holds key to solar system's secrets

The rocket was followed four minutes later by a spacecraft equipped with cameras to record the impact which sent a huge plume of material billowing up from the bottom of the crater, untouched by sunlight for billions of years.

"In the 20 to 30 meter crater we found maybe about a dozen, at least, two-gallon buckets of water. This is an initial result," Colaprete told reporters.

"We are ecstatic," he added in a statement.

"Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapor plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact.

"The concentration and distribution of water and other substances requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water," Colaprete said.

Scientists had previously theorized that, except for the possibility of ice at the bottom of craters, the moon was totally dry.

Finding water on Earth's natural satellite is a major breakthrough in space exploration.

"It's very exciting, it is painting a new image of the moon," said Gregory Deloy, from the University of California hailing it as "an extraordinary discovery."

He theorized that "one of the possible source of water is a comet."

"We're unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbor and, by extension, the solar system," said Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington.

"The full understanding of the LCROSS data may take some time. The data is that rich," Colaprete cautioned.

"Along with the water in Cabeus, there are hints of other intriguing substances. The permanently shadowed regions of the moon are truly cold traps, collecting and preserving material over billions of years."

Only 12 men, all Americans, have ever walked on the moon, and the last to set foot there were in 1972, at the end of the Apollo missions.

But NASA's ambitious plans to put US astronauts back on the moon by 2020 to establish manned lunar bases for further exploration to Mars under the Constellation project are increasingly in doubt.

NASA's budget is currently too small to pay for Constellation's Orion capsule, a more advanced and spacious version of the Apollo lunar module, as well as the Ares I and Ares V launchers needed to put the craft in orbit.

A key review panel appointed by President Barack Obama said existing budgets are not large enough to fund a return mission before 2020.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091113/ts_afp/sciencespaceusmoon

Iran accuses 3 detained Americans of espionage

TEHRAN, Iran — A senior Iranian prosecutor accused three Americans detained on the border with Iraq of espionage on Monday, the first signal that Tehran intends to put them on trial.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called for the release of the three. The announcement came as Washington and Tehran are maneuvering over a deadlock in negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.

"We believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever," Clinton told reporters in Berlin. "And we would renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian government exercise compassion and release them, so they can return home."

Clinton said the U.S. would continue to make that case through the Swiss channels who represent U.S. interests in Tehran.

Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal, all graduates of the University of California, Berkeley, were arrested July 31 after straying over the Iranian border from northern Iraq. The U.S. government and their families say there were on a hiking vacation and crossed accidentally.

Tehran chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi says the three "have been accused of espionage" and that investigations were continuing, according to the state news agency IRNA. He said an "opinion (on their case) will be given in the not distant future."

It is not clear from his comments whether formal charges had been made, but such announcements are often a sign that charges are imminent if not already filed. In Iran's opaque judicial system, the process of indictment and trial often takes place behind closed doors.

The timing of the announcement raised the possibility that Iran was using the case to pressure the United States amid the negotiations over its nuclear program. Iran is also holding another American, academic Kian Tajbakhsh, who was arrested amid Iran's postelection turmoil and was sentenced last month to 12 years in prison for an alleged role in opposition protests.

In January, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was arrested in Tehran, was convicted of espionage, then released on appeal in May. Two months later, U.S. forces in Iraq freed five Iranians who they had been holding for months.

This undated file photo, released by freethehikers.org, Aug. 20, 2009, shows Americans Shane Bauer, left, and Sarah Shourd.

This image made from a July 29, 2009 video released Oct. 27, 2009
by Shon Meckfessel shows Fattal in the Kurdish city of Irbil, Iraq.

Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUarMRGfLCax53RhHap9iLIi11hAD9BS2G182

Deadly shootings at US army base

A US army major has opened fire on fellow soldiers at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, killing 11 people and 31, officials say.

Base commander Lt Gen Bob Cone said the shooter had been killed in the incident and two suspects arrested. All three were US soldiers.

Lt Gen Cone said the motive for the shooting was not known. One of the dead was a policeman, others were soldiers.

President Barack Obama described it as "a horrific outburst of violence".

US officials identified the shooter as Major Malik Nidal Hasan

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, named the gunman as Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

He was reportedly a military psychiatrist in his late 30s or early 40s and due to be sent on a mission to Iraq.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington, President Obama said: "It is difficult enough when we lose these brave men and women abroad, but it is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on US soil."

He extended his condolences to the families of the victims, adding: "We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident."

FORT HOOD
Largest US base in the world
Home to about 40,000 personnel
Built in 1942
Focus for anti-war protesters
Includes two museums and a lake

Mr Obama said the White House was working with the Pentagon, FBI and Department of Homeland Security to make sure Fort Hood was secure.

Fort Hood, near the town of Killeen, is the largest US base in the world.

Home to about 40,000 US troops, the base lies between Austin and Waco, about 60 miles (100 km) from each city.

Lt Gen Cone said the shooting had begun at about 1330 (1930 GMT) at a personnel and medical centre at Fort Hood, where soldiers who are preparing to deploy go for last-minute medical check-ups.

He said the shooter, who had two handguns, had opened fire and "due to the quick response of the police forces, was killed".

President Obama: "A number of American soldiers have been killed...in a horrific outburst of violence"

Two more suspects were apprehended in an adjacent facility, he said, adding that some eyewitness accounts suggested there might have been more than one shooter.

A serviceman stationed at Fort Hood who asked to remain anonymous told the BBC: "I heard the emergency announcement over the speakers outside and saw people rushing to get indoors."


Map showing Texas

The BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington says units at Fort Hood are among those deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and some will have returned from there.

The base has a centre that deals with combat stress, our correspondent adds.

Hilary Shine, of the Killeen Fire Department told the BBC's News Channel Fort Hood was like a small city.

"It has schools, a hospital, a convenience store even. And it has a large daytime population - including civilians working on the base - with as many as 80,000 in this area during the daytime."

Local congressman John Carter, speaking to NBC News, said gunfire had erupted half an hour before a graduation ceremony was due to begin.

Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison said in a statement: "I am shocked and saddened by today's outburst of violence at Fort Hood that has cost seven of our brave service members their lives and has gravely injured others.

"My heart goes out to their loved ones."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8345713.stm

A Letter to Ahmadinejad

H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Tehran, Iran

November 2, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to appeal to you to intercede with the appropriate authorities for the immediate release of my friends Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal from detention in Iran.

I traveled from Damascus to Iraqi Kurdistan on vacation with Shane, Sarah and Josh in July. Several of our friends in Damascus had previously visited northern Iraq and recommended that we too make the trip to a region they told us was beautiful, peaceful and safe. We set out the day after celebrating the wedding of local friends at Shane and Sarah's apartment and had planned to be away for one week. That was three months ago.

Had I not had a cold and remained behind at our hotel when my friends hiked to the Ahmed Awa waterfall near your country's border, I would undoubtedly be in detention with them now. I was, in fact, en route to meet them when I received Shane's call that they had been taken into custody.

On August 6, I published a statement about our trip to northern Iraq which I attach to this letter. I had hoped the statement might clarify why we were in the area and help the authorities understand that Shane, Sarah and Josh had no intention of entering Iran. As I said in that statement, if they did so, it was because of a simple and very regrettable mistake.

Since then, I have maintained silence in deference to the investigation. As much as my friends' absence has been acutely painful, I understood that investigators would want to clarify the circumstances of their trip. I had hoped that the misunderstanding would be resolved quickly. Three months have now passed, and I cannot imagine what more the Iranian authorities might have to learn about my friends or what they were doing in the area. To help put to rest any such questions, I would like to offer to submit a notarized statement to your country's mission to the United Nations vouching for my friends and detailing the circumstances of our trip. If this is not sufficient, I would be willing to come to Tehran to attest to their characters in person.

Mr. President, by continuing to deprive Shane, Sarah and Josh of their liberty, Iran is working against some of the very causes it supports. Each of these three has a long and public record of contesting injustice in the world and addressing some of the inequities between rich and poor which you have spoken about through their humanitarian work in their own country and overseas.

I first met Shane in October 2005, after we had corresponded about our common interest in the Balkans, where I had lived for a time and where Shane had worked for one year in "Balkan Sunflowers," an independent organization helping Albanian and Roma youth in post-war Kosovo. Back in the United States, Shane continued his work with the underprivileged, as illustrated by his excellent "Hotel Poverty" photographic essay for the San Francisco Chronicle, and his article "Divorcing the US," from a trip we took to the poorest county in our country.

As a fluent speaker of Arabic, Shane has focused on injustices in the Arab world, in Iraq and Palestine in particular. The Christian Science Monitor published Shane's January 7 interview with Musa Abu Marzook, the only English-language interview with a Hamas leader during Israel's attack on Gaza. Two of his articles on the American occupation of Iraq were published as cover stories of major magazines just this summer.

Sarah and I met, by coincidence, the month after Shane and I met, when we found ourselves in the same car from San Francisco to New Orleans to help poor people begin to rebuild their homes after Hurricane Katrina. We both appear in a documentary entitled "Solidarity Not Charity" made about our group of volunteers. In Oakland, Sarah worked for one year in "Just Cause," which helped poor people fight evictions from their homes in the US.

I met Josh a week before we left on our trip, and was immediately drawn in by his warmth and humor. In the time we spent together, I was struck by his passion for justice, environmental sustainability, and intercultural understanding, as attested by his work with the Aprovecho community in Oregon, and as a teaching fellow on a study abroad program for university students.

I would like to mention one more friend who may be relevant. Earlier in July, Shane and I traveled to an Israeli hospital to spend time with Tristan Anderson, an American peace activist with whom Shane, Sarah and I have been close friends for many years. Tristan was shot in the head and critically wounded by an Israeli soldier after attending a non-violent protest against Israel's separation wall. He continues to fight for recovery. Shane and Sarah also visited Tristan in late March with Sarah's mother Nora, a nurse who counseled Tristan's family. There's a very simple explanation for these trips: We wanted to show solidarity with a dear friend whose support for Palestinian rights has been acknowledged in the Iranian media, throughout the Middle East and beyond.

I hope that this letter will help the Iranian authorities understand the true character of my friends. They have now been in custody for almost 100 days, which I hope you agree is more than sufficient punishment for their mistake. Please do everything you can to ensure that they are immediately released into the arms of their loving friends and families, who miss them more than my words can express.

Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely

Shon Meckfessel

Source: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20091116/meckfessel

Arrests in Calif. Gang Rape Increase to Six

The number of people arrested in the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl outside a high school dance in Northern California has increased to six and could get higher, authorities said.

Jose Carlos Montano, 18, was arrested Thursday evening outside his San Pablo home. He was being held on $1.3 million bail, on suspicion of rape, rape in concert with force and other charges, Richmond police said.

Authorities were still looking for suspects, and have said as many as 10 people ranging from 15 to the mid-20s may have attacked the girl for more than two hours Saturday in a dimly lit area. Montano's arrest came after three other teen suspects appeared in court for the first time Thursday. See more articles on rape.

Cody Ray Smith, 15, pleaded not guilty, while Ari Abdallah Morales, 16, and Marcelles James Peter, 17, did not enter pleas during their arraignment in Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Smith, Morales and Peter each were charged with rape in concert and sexual penetration with a foreign object. They were being held without bail and could be eligible for life in prison, if convicted. The three were charged as adults because of the severity of the crime, prosecutor Dara Cashman said.

Another suspect, 19-year-old Manuel Ortega, was arraigned separately but did not enter a plea. He is charged with rape, robbery and assault causing great bodily injury, and is being held on $1.2 million bail. Salvador Rodriguez, 21, also remained jailed but has not been charged. See pictures of crime in Middle America.

Peter's aunt, Monica Peter, said before Thursday's hearing that her nephew told her he was only a bystander and didn't participate in the attack. She said he didn't do anything to stop the attack because he feared reprisal.

Morales' attorney, Ernie Castillo, said he was still learning details about the case and didn't know "what limited role, if any," his client played in the attack.

Cashman said her office has received numerous calls and e-mails about the case, mostly "expressions of outrage from all over the country."

Police said the victim left the homecoming dance at Richmond High School and was walking to meet her father for a ride home when a classmate invited her to join a group drinking in the school courtyard. The girl had consumed a large amount of alcohol by the time the assault began, police said. Her father tried to call her cell phone, but no one answered.

Police said they received a tip about a possible assault on campus from a former student, who heard two males bragging about it. Officers found the girl semiconscious and naked from the waist down near a picnic table.

Authorities have said as many as two dozen people watched the attack without calling police.

The girl was released from a hospital Wednesday.

Source: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1933405,00.html

Jay Carciero, Psych Patient, Is Killed After Attack On A Doctor

BOSTON — A man stabbed a doctor while being treated at a psychiatric office at a Boston medical building Tuesday and was fatally shot by an off-duty security guard who saw the attack, police said.

The attack took place in the afternoon at a high-rise affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital.

The female doctor, identified by hospital officials as Dr. Astrid Desrosiers, was in serious, but stable condition. Police said the suspect died of the gunshot wounds. He was identified as Jay Carciero, 37, of Reading.

"During the course of the stabbing incident an off-duty security officer who was armed interceded. He produced a weapon and ordered the suspect to drop the knife. And when the suspect did not comply, he shot the suspect," said Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis.

The security guard was not affiliated with the hospital and just happened to be on the fifth-floor of the building where the attack occurred, according to Bonnie Michelman, the hospital's security director.

"Certainly heroic, we are happy he was here," said Michelman.

The victim also works as an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and is affiliated with the Haitian Mental Health Program. Public records show the 49-year-old Desrosiers was licensed to practice in the Massachusetts 16 years ago.

Desrosiers is a graduate of the State University of Haiti's School of Medicine and Pharmacy and the Harvard University School of Public Health. Her major research interests include the role of psychosocial factors in the treatment of mood disorders, health disparities and the impact of multicultural issues on patient care.

"A caring and dedicated professional, Dr. Desrosiers has spent her career providing extraordinary care and treatment to patients who are among the most vulnerable and those with the most severe psychiatric disorders," Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement. "Her commitment, compassion and courage are an inspiration to all of us. The entire MGH family is pulling together for her speedy recovery."

Carciero's sister-in-law, Lisa Carciero, said the family was devastated by the news and would not make public comments. Carciero and his brother, John, did not have home phones listed.

Police temporarily locked down the Staniford Street building, telling employees and patients they could not leave. Nearby streets were shut down for about an hour. They were let back in when authorities determined the danger had passed.

David Schoenfeld, a biostatistician who works in another suite of offices on the fifth floor, where the attack took place, said he heard a commotion and found the suspect lying on the floor.

"Two nurses rushed in and administered as much first aid as they could until the ambulances arrived a couple of minutes later," Schoenfeld said.

Schoenfeld said he did not see the doctor who had been stabbed.

The attack took place at the Massachusetts General Hospital Bipolar Clinic & Research Program, in a building near the main hospital. The program provides clinical care, conducts research and educates the community about bipolar disorder, according to its Web site.

The building is in a largely commercial area that includes businesses with treatment specialties and several medical groups associated with Massachusetts General.

"There wasn't too much panic or confusion in the building," said Arthur Frigault of Waltham, who was with his wife for an ophthalmology appointment on the sixth floor.

Frigault, who did not hear the shots, went to the lobby but was not allowed to leave as police entered the building. He later saw a man and a woman taken, on stretchers, from the building. He said the woman was "all bloodied up."

David Wert, who lives near the medical building, was home with his infant daughter when he saw the commotion outside and became worried about his wife, Alicia, who works on the second floor.

"We came out to see if Mommy was OK," said Wert, who was carrying his child. Police did not allow him in the building, but his wife called him about five minutes later to say she was all right.

"It was pretty nerve racking," Wert said.

Found at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/27/jay-carciero-psych-patien_n_336294.html

US declares swine flu 'emergency'

US President Barack Obama has declared swine flu a national emergency.

The White House said the president signed the proclamation concerning the 2009 H1N1 outbreak on Friday evening.

It increases the ability of treatment facilities to handle a surge in H1N1 patients by easing the implementation of emergency plans.

Last week US officials said swine flu activity was widespread in 46 states. More than 1,000 US deaths have been linked to the virus.

Health officials say the infections are already comparable to peak season flu levels.

Vaccine warning

US officials said the president's declaration was similar to ones issued before hurricanes make landfall.

SWINE FLU SYMPTOMS
Human body with internal organs
Typical symptoms: sudden fever (38C or above) and sudden cough
1. Other symptoms include: Tiredness and chills
2. Headache, sore throat, runny nose and sneezing
3. Stomach upset, loss of appetite, diarrhea
4. Aching muscles, limb or joint pain
Source: UK NHS

It allows authorities to bypass certain federal requirements in order to deal more effectively with emergencies.

The aim of the directive is to remove bureaucratic hurdles, allowing sick patients to receive treatment more quickly and giving health-care providers more flexibility in providing it.

Paperwork on patients can be reduced and additional health centres set up outside hospitals to care for the sick.

In his proclamation statement, Mr Obama says the 2009 H1N1 pandemic "continues to evolve".

"The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities."

He said the US had already taken "proactive steps" by implementing public health measures and developing an effective swine flu vaccine.

However, the government has admitted there are delays in the delivery of vaccines.

It had hoped to roll out 120 million doses by mid-October.

It now hopes for about 50 million by mid-November and 150 million in December.

Dr Thomas Frieden, of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said on Friday: "We are nowhere near where we thought we'd be by now."

Given the shortfall, New York State on Friday stayed a directive ordering health care staff to be inoculated or risk losing their jobs.

The CDC says widespread influenza activity in 46 states is "unprecedented during seasonal flu".

It said the hospitalisation rates for laboratory-confirmed swine flu were still climbing.

Although figures are hard to verify, it is thought H1N1 has hospitalized about 20,000 people in the US.

Visits to the doctor for influenza-like illnesses were also much higher than expected for the time of year, the CDC said.

The seasonal flu peak is usually between late November and early March.

Children and young adults have been among the hardest hit by H1N1. Almost 100 of the deaths have been children.


Flu viruses mutate over time causing small changes to proteins on their surface called antigens. If the immune system has met a particular strain of the virus before, it is likely to have some immunity; but if the antigens are new to the immune system, it will be weakened.


The influenza A virus can mutate in two different ways; antigenic drift, in which existing antigens are subtly altered, and antigenic shift, in which two or more strains combine. Antigenic drift causes slight flu mutations year on year, from which humans have partial, but not complete, immunity. By contrast, the new strain of H1N1 appears to have originated via antigenic shift in Mexican pigs


The name "swine flu" is a slight misnomer as it is believed pigs acted as a mixing pot for several flu strains, containing genetic material from pigs, birds and humans. Most humans have never been exposed to some of the antigens involved in the new strain of flu, giving it the potential to cause a pandemic.


The new virus has made the jump from pigs to humans and has demonstrated it can also pass from human to human. This is why it is demanding so much attention from health authorities. The virus passes from human to human like other types of flu, either through coughing, sneezing, or by touching infected surfaces, although little is known about how the virus acts on humans.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8324070.stm

---

2009 H1N1 Flu: Situation Update

Key Flu Indicators

Each week CDC analyzes information about influenza disease activity in the United States and publishes findings of key flu indicators in a report called FluView. During the week of October 11-17, 2009, a review of the key indictors found that influenza activity continued to increase in the United States from the previous week. Below is a summary of the most recent key indicators:

* Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) increased steeply since last week in the United States, and overall, are much higher than what is expected for this time of the year. ILI activity now is higher than what is seen during the peak of many regular flu seasons.

* Total influenza hospitalization rates for laboratory-confirmed flu are climbing and are higher than expected for this time of year.

* The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report has increased and has been higher than what is expected at this time of year for two weeks. In addition, 11 flu-related pediatric deaths were reported this week; 9 of these deaths were confirmed 2009 H1N1, and two were influenza A viruses, but were not subtyped. Since April 2009, CDC has received reports of 95 laboratory-confirmed pediatric 2009 H1N1 deaths and another 7 pediatric deaths that were laboratory confirmed as influenza, but where the flu virus subtype was not determined.

* Forty-six states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. They are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. This many reports of widespread activity are unprecedented during seasonal flu.

* Almost all of the influenza viruses identified so far are 2009 H1N1 influenza A viruses. These viruses remain similar to the virus chosen for the 2009 H1N1 vaccine, and remain susceptible to the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir with rare exception.

Center for Disease Control 2009 H1N1 Flu U.S. Situation Update link - http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/updates/us/

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm

Mumm's the Word for NASA's Secret Space Plane X-37B

You would think that an unpiloted space plane built to rocket spaceward from Florida atop an Atlas booster, circle the planet for an extended time, then land on autopilot on a California runway would be big news. But for the U.S. Air Force X-37B project — seemingly, mum's the word.

There is an air of vagueness regarding next year's Atlas Evolved Expendable launch of the unpiloted, reusable military space plane. The X-37B will be cocooned within the Atlas rocket's launch shroud — a ride that's far from cheap.

While the launch range approval is still forthcoming, SPACE.com has learned that the U.S. Air Force has the X-37B manifested for an April 2010 liftoff.

As a mini-space plane, this Boeing Phantom Works craft has been under development for years. Several agencies have been involved in the effort, NASA as well as the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) and various arms of the U.S. Air Force.

Over the last few months, I've been in touch with DARPA, Boeing, the Pentagon, the U.S. Air Force Space Command, as well as NASA itself. Either you get a "not in our portfolio" or are given a "go to" pass to another agency. Just a few weeks ago, I even commandeered a face-to-face "no comment" from a top Pentagon official for Air Force space programs about X-37B.

Tight-lipped factor

The tight-lipped factor surrounding the space plane, its mission, and who is in charge is curious. Such a hush-hush factor seems to mimic in pattern that mystery communications spacecraft lofted last month aboard an Atlas 5 rocket, simply called PAN. Its assignment and what agency owns it remains undisclosed.

But in a brief burst of light eking from the new era of government transparency, I did score this comment from NASA.

While the program is now under the U.S. Air Force, NASA is looking forward to receiving data from the advanced technology work.

"NASA has a long history of involvement with the X-37 program. We continue to monitor and share information on technology developments," said Gary Wentz, chief engineer Science and Missions Systems Office at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "We are looking forward to a successful first flight and to receiving data from some advanced technologies of interest to us, such as thermal protection systems, guidance, navigation and control, and materials for autonomous re-entry and landing."

The vehicle itself is about 29 feet long with a roughly 15-foot wingspan and weighs in at over five tons at liftoff. Speeding down from space, the craft would likely make use of Runway 12/30 — 15,000 feet long by 200 feet wide — at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Vandenberg serves as an emergency space shuttle landing strip, as a second backup after California's Edwards Air Force Base – which has also been noted as a landing spot for the X-37B.

Once in orbit, what such a vehicle might enable depends on the eye of the beholder. Intelligence gathering, kicking off small satellites, testing space gear are feasible duties, as is developing reusable space vehicle technologies.

Space test platform

Just last month, a U.S. Air Force fact sheet noted that the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO), located in Washington, D.C. "is working on the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle to demonstrate a reliable, reusable, unmanned space test platform for the United States Air Force."

The mission of the RCO is to expedite development and fielding of select Department of Defense combat support and weapon systems by leveraging defense-wide technology development efforts and existing operational capabilities.

"The problem with it [X37-B] is whether you see it as a weapons platform," said Theresa Hitchens, former head of the Center for Defense Information's Space Security Program, now Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva, Switzerland.

"It then becomes, if I am not mistaken, a Global Strike platform. There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about Global Strike as a concept," Hitchens told SPACE.com.

The implications of the program as a possible space weapon are surely not lost on potential U.S. competitors, Hitchens said, who may well see anti-satellites (ASATs) as a leveler.

"Would this thing be vulnerable to ASATs? Yes, if it stayed on orbit any length of time," Hitchens added. "While I see value of such a platform as a pop-up reconnaissance or even communications platform, if weaponized it becomes yet another reason for other nations to consider building dangerous ASATs," she cautioned.

Another mission question is, to what extent the X-37B might play into the recent announcement that NASA is partnering with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop a technology roadmap for the commercial reusable launch vehicle, or RLV, industry.

All that said, and after years in the making, the X-37B is approaching its first globe-trotting, milestone making and historic flight – that much is known.

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,569143,00.html

How the Media Treats Murder

Why isn't the story of several missing women in North Carolina getting attention?

Ten women have been found slain or have been declared missing in Rocky Mount, N.C., in recent years. But the rest of the country hasn't heard about a possible serial killer stalking the young women in this Southern town of 60,000. The latest victim, Elizabeth Jane Smallwood, was identified on Oct. 12. Why have the Rocky Mount homicides been largely ignored?

"When you think about the famous missing-person cases over the last few years it's Chandra Levy, Natalee Holloway, and Laci Peterson," notes Sam Sommers, associate professor of psychology at Tufts University. All these women had a few things in common—they were white, educated, and came from middle-class families. The victims in Rocky Mount—which residents describe as a "typical Southern town," and is about 40 percent white and more than 50 percent black—were different. They were all African-American, many were poor, and some had criminal histories including drug abuse and prostitution.

"If it was someone of a different race, things would have been dealt with the first time around; it wouldn't have taken the fifth or sixth person to be murdered," says Andre Knight, a city-council member and president of the local NAACP chapter. "All these women knew each other and lived in the same neighborhood; this is the sign of a potential serial killer. When it didn't get the kind of attention it needed, it made the African-American community frustrated."

Police have not officially linked all the murders and disappearances, but community members claim the similarities among the women, their lifestyles, and the location of their bodies make a connection all too obvious. "If you find two bodies in the same location, this could be the work of the same person or people," says Rocky Mount Police Chief John Manley, who would not comment on a connection, but implied the possibility.

Rumors are running rampant around the town about the identity of the serial killer. There is not much physical evidence, leading some to speculate it's a former law-enforcement officer or someone in the military. Others have deduced that the killer is targeting specific women as a form of revenge for contracting HIV from a prostitute. Along with Smallwood, the murders of Taraha Nicholson, 28, Jarniece Hargrove, 31, Ernestine Battle, 50, Jackie Nikelia Thorpe, 35, Melody Wiggins, 29, and Denise Williams, 21, remain unsolved. Authorities are also searching for Yolanda Lancaster, 37, Joyce Renee Durham, 46, and Christine Boone, 43.

One man is in custody for the murder of Nicholson, who was the fourth victim, discovered back in 2005. This past September, police charged Antwan Maurice Pittman, 31, with her murder. He is accused of strangling Nicholson and dumping her partially clothed body in the woods. So far, authorities have not linked Pittman to the other murders. "There's a lot of mixed sentiments about Pittman," says Knight, referring to community speculation about whether police have charged the right man.

"In this Information Age, cases get solved through sheer publicity, whether it's an Amber Alert or America's Most Wanted, anyone could have a tip or be a potential source of information," Sommers says.

But the national media did show some interest in the story after it was revealed that five women were murdered in or around the town. "Nancy Grace called and wanted to have some of us on her show, but before it aired there was a white woman from Georgia that went missing. The Nancy Grace show was canceled," Knight says. HLN network, which broadcasts Nancy Grace, confirmed that Knight was booked for the show, which was ultimately canceled to profile the disappearance of Kristi Cornwell, a white woman from Blairsville, Ga., who went missing during an evening walk. Representatives from Nancy Grace told NEWSWEEK, "The booking was changed due to news that was breaking that day," and emphasized the change had nothing to do with the race of the victim. On Aug. 12, Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees covered the story.

That bit of media exposure brought new resources to the investigation. Originally, only a small amount of reward money was collected for information about the case. After the story aired on CNN , New Jersey philanthropist Peter Pinto, of the Kefalas-Pinto Foundation, donated $10,000 from a personal trust. In late September, the city donated an additional $5,000, which was matched by a $5,000 county donation, bringing the amount of reward money to $20,000. If there were no media coverage, there might have been no reward. The money isn't just going to help with the investigation, it's helping the families of the victims, specifically their children.

The money proved to be a blessing for Jurary Tucker, the mother of Yolanda Lancaster, who has been missing since February 2008. "We were able to use some of the money to get [Yolanda's] children ready for school," Tucker says. "They have to wear uniforms to school and they are very expensive; the money came at a good time." Tucker became the primary custodian of her granddaughter and grandson after Lancaster's disappearance.

When Annie Le, a 24-year-old Yale pharmacology graduate student, went missing on Sept. 8, it only took three days for the university to offer a $20,000 reward. In the case of the Rocky Mount women, it took more than six years to raise that same amount of money for 10 women.

Concerned residents of the town tried to promote the case by distributing fliers and purchasing a billboard advertisement featuring the women, but their efforts may have backfired. Mug-shot photographs of the victims, many pictured in orange jumpsuits, sometimes appearing disheveled or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, were used in their efforts. Unlike the images of a smiling Annie Le, these images showed the women during darker times.

"Everyone has a dark side at some point, but you want to put your best out front when you are trying to appeal [to the public] for help," Chief Manley says. "When you look at obituaries in the newspaper, [the photos] show a bright time in someone's life; you really want to show the person when they are doing well."

Manley says the police department used the victims' driver's license photographs to help with search efforts. "You don't need to air dirty laundry. Seeing someone's dark side doesn't appeal to the conscience of other people," he says.

Concern over the buried headlines and lack of national media attention isn't the only thing upsetting residents; some say there are deeper festering racial tensions in the community. When a candlelight vigil was held to commemorate the murdered women, only black community officials attended. When other vigils were organized for deaths in Rocky Mount, there was no racial divide, and community members, both black and white, attended the events in droves. "When a prominent attorney's wife died, we all came together and the church was full, but when the community was coming together to share their pain and reach out to these families, only black elected officials were there," Knight says. "They [white officials] didn't have an excuse, they just didn't come."

White officials, including the mayor, say they weren't invited to the memorial. "It's hard to attend something that you don't even know is occurring," says David Combs, mayor of Rocky Mount. "I was glad that we had the vigil and had people who were involved."

For the families who just want to locate their daughters or bring closure to their murders, the investigation has been a long, drawn-out process. Tucker speaks about her daughter in the past tense, quickly catches herself, and shifts to the present tense, emphasizing her commitment to finding her daughter. "As far as the investigation goes, I just hope they continue to do the best they can to put closure to the missing girls and the girls that have been found," Tucker says. "Whatever it is, we are here waiting."

"Regardless of drug addiction or other problems, that still doesn't give a person the right to kill another," says Knight. "If we can give a terrorist a day in court, we can get these women justice."

"While LA Sleeps" - VIDEO: http://video.newsweek.com/#?t=31292764001&l=1825927394

Source: http://www.newsweek.com/id/218911

Many angry man wouldn't marry interracial couple

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana's governor and a U.S. senator joined Friday in calling for the ouster of a local official who refused to marry an interracial couple, saying his actions clearly broke the law.

Keith Bardwell, a white justice of the peace in Tangipahoa Parish in the southeastern part of the state, refused to issue a marriage license earlier this month to Beth Humphrey, who is white, and Terence McKay, who is black. His refusal has prompted calls for an investigation or resignation from civil and constitutional rights groups and the state's Legislative Black Caucus.

Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal said in a statement a nine-member commission that reviews lawyers and judges in the state should investigate.

"Disciplinary action should be taken immediately — including the revoking of his license," Jindal said.

Bardwell did not return calls left on his answering machine Friday.

Bardwell has said he always asks if a couple is interracial and, if they are, refers them to another justice of the peace. Bardwell said no one had complained in the past and he doesn't marry the couples because he's worried about their children's futures.

"Perhaps he's worried the kids will grow up and be president," said Bill Quigley, director of the Center for Constitutional Rights and Justice, referring to President Barack Obama, the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas.

Obama's deputy press secretary Bill Burton echoed those sentiments.

"I've found that actually the children of biracial couples can do pretty good," Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One as it flew to Texas.

Humphrey and McKay were eventually married by another justice of the peace, but are now looking into legal action against Bardwell.

Humphrey said she called Bardwell on Oct. 6 to ask about a marriage license. She said Bardwell's wife told her that Bardwell would not sign marriage licenses for interracial couples.

Bardwell maintains he can recuse himself from marrying people. Quigley disagreed.

"A justice of the peace is legally obligated to serve the public, all of the public," Quigley said. "Racial discrimination has been a violation of Louisiana and U.S. law for decades. No public official has the right to pick and choose which laws they are going to follow."

A spokeswoman for the Louisiana Judiciary Commission said investigations were confidential and would not comment. If the commission recommends action to the Louisiana Supreme Court, the matter would become public.

U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said in a statement Bardwell's practices and comments were deeply disturbing.

"Not only does his decision directly contradict Supreme Court rulings, it is an example of the ugly bigotry that divided our country for too long," she said.

Tangipahoa Parish President Gordon Burgess said Bardwell's views were not consistent with his or those of the local government. But as an elected official, Bardwell was not under the supervision of the parish government.

"However, I am certainly very disappointed that anyone representing the people of Tangipahoa Parish, particularly an elected official, would take such a divisive stand," Burgess said in an e-mail. "I would hope that Mr. Bardwell would consider offering his resignation if he is unable to serve all of the people of his district and our parish."

Bardwell, a Republican, has served as justice of peace for 34 years. He said he has run without opposition each time, but had decided earlier not to run again. His current term expires Dec. 31, 2014.

Found at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091016/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff

People reveals new photo of Jaycee Dugard

This morning People magazine revealed its new cover featuring a photograph of a beaming Jaycee Dugard. The image of the 29-year-old Dugard is the first to be released to the public since she was was freed after spending the past 18 years in captivity and reunited with her family. A quote from Dugard accompanies the cover photo that says simply, "I'm so happy to be back with my family."

Friends and family members close to Dugard, who was not directly interviewed for the 10-page article in the issue hitting newsstands nationwide Friday, spoke to People magazine about her abduction, the years she spent imprisoned inside of a hidden encampment of tents and sheds, and the struggles she and her children, Angel, 15, and Starlet, 11, are having as they adjust to a normal life.

Erika Shulte, a Dugard family spokesperson, told Ann Curry of the "Today Show" that despite all they've been through, the Dugards are "very close and comfortable and happy." She added, "If you didn't know the circumstances, it would just seem like any other family." Shulte said that a therapist is using horseback riding as a way of helping Dugard and her daughters (both of whom were fathered by Dugard's captor, Phillip Garrido), assimilate into modern society.

Whether or not People paid for the cover photo, which was taken by a private photographer, is unknown. In an interview with the "Today Show"'s Matt Lauer, People's managing editor, Larry Hackett, would only say "We have bought photographs in the past ... I don't want to go into the details." Hackett added that Dugard and her mother, 50-year-old Terry Probyn, decided to grant the magazine permission to publish the photo as part of an effort to control the story of Dugard's abduction and release, a story that has garnered intense interest from the media and the general public.

Garrido kidnapped Dugard when she was waiting to catch the school bus near her family's home in South Lake Tahoe, California, on June 10, 1991, when she was just 11 years old. Dugard and her daughters were freed on August 26th of this year after an employee of University of California at Berkeley expressed concern for their safety to a campus police after Garrido and the children visited her office to inquire about holding a Christian event on the school's campus. The campus police then ran a background check on Garrido, became alarmed upon learning that he was on parole for rape and contacted his parole officer, who immediately called Garrido in for a meeting. Later in the day, Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy showed up for the meeting with his parole officer with Dugard and her children, whose true identities were discovered by authorities after being separated from the Garridos. Jaycee Dugard and her children were reunited with her family the next day, while Phillip and Nancy Garrido were taken into custody and remain in jail on charges of kidnapping and various other crimes. Additionally, Phillip Garrido is being investigated for his possible involvement in a string of unsolved murders in the area.



Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts948

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First Photo: Kidnap Survivor Jaycee Dugard Emerges from the Shadows

After being held against her will for 18 years, much of it in a backyard hell straight out of a horror film, Jaycee Dugard wants the world to know:

"I'm so happy to be back with my family," she tells PEOPLE.

Now living in seclusion with her mom, Terry Probyn, 50, and the two daughters – Angel, 15, and Starlit, 11 – fathered by her alleged kidnapper, Phillip Garrido, Dugard, 29, has begun the slow process of recovery. She rides horses, cooks meals and is thinking of collaborating on a book.

"They live a surprisingly normal life, considering the circumstances," says Terry's stepmother, Joan Curry.

For much more on Jaycee Dugard's new life – including stunning photographs of her family, details of her reunion with the sister she hadn't seen since 1991 and her deepening bond with her mother – pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

Source: http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20312090,00.html

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2009

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

Source: http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/home/announce-2009/

CBS worker arrested in Letterman blackmail plot

NEW YORK – A CBS News employee is accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman, forcing the late-night host to admit in an extraordinary monologue before millions of viewers that he had sexual relationships with female employees.

Letterman said that "this whole thing has been quite scary." But he mixed in jokes while outlining what had happened to him, seeming to confuse a laughing audience at Thursday's taping about whether the story was true.

The network said the person who was arrested works on the true-crime show "48 Hours" and has been suspended. A person with knowledge of the investigation said the suspect is Robert J. Halderman. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because authorities have not released the suspect's name.

A "48 Hours" producer named Joe Halderman was part of a team nominated for an Emmy for outstanding continuing coverage of a news story in a news magazine in 2008. Two numbers listed for Halderman were disconnected, and a message left at a third number was not immediately returned Thursday.

The Manhattan district attorney has scheduled a news conference for late Friday morning to talk about the arrested employee, who the DA says is from Connecticut.

Letterman's "Late Show" audience was the first to hear the story, which came as a shock since the 62-year-old Letterman had married longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko in March. The couple began dating in 1986 and have a son, Harry, born in November 2003. Fatherhood and his heart surgery in 2000 had seemed to mellow Letterman, who took over as the most popular late-night comedy host this summer after NBC replaced Jay Leno with Conan O'Brien on the "Tonight" show.

Letterman sat behind his desk to outline the scheme after a monologue that targeted some frequent foils like Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney.

Three weeks ago, Letterman said, he got in his car early in the morning and found a package with a letter saying, "I know that you do some terrible, terrible things and that I can prove that you do some terrible things." He acknowledged the letter contained proof.

He said it was terrifying "because there's something insidious about (it). Is he standing down there? Is he hiding under the car? Am I going to get a tap on the shoulder?"

Letterman said he called his lawyer to set up a meeting with the man, who threatened to write a screenplay and a book about Letterman unless he was given money. There were two subsequent meetings, with the man given a phony $2 million check at the last one. Letterman joked it was like the giant ceremonial check given to winners of golf tournaments.

He told the audience that he had to testify before a grand jury on Thursday.

"I was worried for myself, I was worried for my family," he said. "I felt menaced by this, and I had to tell them all of the creepy things that I had done."

He said "the creepy stuff was that I have had sex with women who work for me on this show. My response to that is yes, I have. Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Yes, it would, especially for the women."

Whether they wanted to make the relationships public was up to them, he said.

"It's been a very bizarre experience," he said. "I felt like I needed to protect these people. I need to protect my family. I need to protect myself. Hope to protect my job."

CBS said in a statement that "we believe his comments speak for themselves."

Perhaps as a defense mechanism, Letterman sprinkled his remarks with jokes: "I know what you're saying," he said. "I'll be darned, Dave had sex."

He said he wouldn't talk further about it, and recited a Top Ten list. But it wasn't far from his mind. During banter with actor guest Woody Harrelson, Letterman said, "I've got my own problems."

It was not immediately clear when the relationships took place or how long they lasted. Letterman's "Late Show" has been on the air since 1993. Before that, "Late Night with David Letterman" aired on NBC from 1982 to 1993.

Letterman won't be taping a show Friday. Friday night's show was taped Thursday.

Alicia Maxey Greene, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's office, declined to comment.

It's the second set of embarrassing headlines for Letterman in four months. In June, he apologized to Palin for making a crude joke about the former Republican vice presidential candidate's 14-year-old daughter. Although there was a small "fire Letterman" demonstration outside of his studio later, CBS stood by its late-night star.

Last fall Letterman sharply denounced Palin's running mate, John McCain, for abruptly canceling a "Late Show" appearance. Weeks of withering jokes by Letterman eventually forced McCain to come on the show and beg for forgiveness.

Letterman was also the victim of a 2005 plot by a former painter on his Montana ranch to kidnap his nanny and son for a $5 million ransom. The former painter, Kelly A. Frank, briefly escaped from prison in 2007 before being recaptured.

Another alleged extortion scandal surrounding a public figure, Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino, similarly forced him this summer to acknowledge an affair.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091002/ap_on_en_tv/us_tv_letterman_extortion