Saturday, May 31, 2008

Obama's goal? 'Jeopardize U.S. battlefield superiority'

An organization dedicated to the mission of protecting and defending individual freedoms and rights under the U.S. Constitution is criticizing presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama for promising to cut, and possibly gut, U.S. military defense spending.

The Center for Individual Freedom, a non-partisan, non-profit, has posted one version of a YouTube video of Obama "inexplicably" pledging" to "unilaterally jeopardize American military superiority."

"When you find yourself in a hole, just keep digging," the organization said in its accompanying commentary. "That appears to be the logic of Sen. Barack Obama, who already finds himself in the proverbial hole on defense and national security issues. At this pace, he'll reach China by November."

The organization said the Obama video, which originally was posted online by BarackObamadotcom in late 2007 but has been reproduced in other versions too, he tells an audience at a group called Caucus4Priorities he would cut "tens of billions of dollars" in spending.

He also guarantees he will "cut investments in unproven missile defense systems," and he "will not weaponize space," and that "unnecessary" spending will be eliminated.

More at WorldNetDaily

Obama Quits Chicago Church After Long Controversy from Kentucky.com

14 Habits That Make You Fat

Think you know whay makes you fat? Sometimes the habits we adopt have a lot to do with it. Check and see how many of these you do frequently. Keep them up and your health will suffer.

From Health Assist

Also from Good, Pure and Wonderful - 50 Habits of Naturally Thin People.

China crackdown hits house churches hard

House churches across China have been hit by a wave of arrests and detentions, says China Aid Association (CAA), the leading support group for China’s persecuted Christians.

CAA said that the sudden increase in incidents throughout May involving the Religious Affairs Bureau and the Public Security Bureau is “indicative of a crackdown”.

House church meetings have been disbanded and a number of Christians have been arrested, including two Christians in Xinjiang province who were charged with being “separatists”. Throughout the province, officials have posted signs asking citizens to report any “evil cult activity”, a label which encompasses house churches.

In Hebei province, officials closed down a Bible school on May 13, while on May 15 Public Security Bureau officials broke up a prayer meeting held by more than 20 Christians for victims of the earthquake and for the Olympics.

CAA said that Chinese government officials had turned away and also arrested some house church members who had volunteered to help victims of the devastating May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province.

It compared the behaviour of the Chinese Government to that of the Burma military junta in initially refusing international aid.

“Such biased behaviour is a reminder of the irrational prejudice the CPC [Communist Party of China] holds against house church members who want nothing more than to have true religious freedom and help their fellow countrymen in this hour of need,” the group said.

CAA asked for prayers and aid from churches around the world in the wake of the earthquake, and said it was actively working with the Chinese house churhces to bring relief items to survivors.

Due Largely to the House Church Movement, China will soon have more Christians than the U.S.

From Christian Today

Texas children roped into Islamic training

Public school students at Friendswood Junior High in the Houston area have been roped into Islamic training by representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations during class time, prompting religious leaders to protest over Principal Robin Lowe's actions.

Pastor Dave Welch, spokesman for the Houston Area Pastor Council, confirmed the indoctrination had taken place and called it "unacceptable."

According to a parent, whose name was withheld, the children were given the Islamic indoctrination during time that was supposed to be used for a physical education class.

"I am simply trying to get the word out to those whose kids may not have told them about an Islamic presentation that all kids were required to attend," wrote the parent, who was working to assemble protests to the school board.

WND previously has reported how public school textbooks used across the nation have begun promoting Islam, teaching even the religious doctrines.

WND also has reported on several other schools that have taught Islam as a required subject.

Frustration is Making Americans Fly Less

Deep frustration with the U.S. air travel system caused American travelers to avoid taking an estimated 41 million trips over the 12 months to the end of April, a survey commissioned by the Travel Industry Association suggests. Americans' unwillingness to take domestic flights cost the U.S. economy more than $26 billion, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Travel Industry Association (TIA).

The 1,003 air travelers who responded to the survey, conducted by the bipartisan polling firms of Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group, also expressed little optimism for positive change, with nearly half saying that the air travel system is not likely to improve in the near future.

100,000 Americans Petition Congress to Drill for Oil Now

American Solutions for Winning the Future announced today that more than 100,000 Americans have now signed a petition urging Congress to immediately start drilling for oil domestically to ease gas prices. The petition is part of the "Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less" campaign American Solutions launched last week.

American Solutions for Winning the Future is a new, non-partisan organization built around three goals: to defend America and our allies abroad and defeat our enemies, to strengthen and revitalize America's core values, and to move the government into the 21st Century. Its General Chairman is former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Read the Petition Here

Friday, May 30, 2008

Plan transforms doctors from healers to killers

By just two votes, the California State Assembly passed a bill yesterday that detractors say allows doctors to push patients toward medically assisted suicide.

The bill, AB 2747, enables doctors to provide a patient declared to have less than one year to live with a long list of end-of-life options, including a last-moments option that looks suspiciously like euthanasia.

Critics of the bill point to a provision that adds "palliative sedation" and VSED (voluntary stopping of eating and drinking) to a patient's end-of-life options, extreme measures that have been previously reserved for patients within a few hours to a few days of death.

If the bill becomes law, critics say, a doctor could pronounce a patient within a year of death, encourage him to consider complete (sometimes irreversible) sedation, then proceed with VSED until the patient, unconscious and unaware, is starved and dehydrated to death. In effect, the critics argue, this is physician-assisted suicide for anyone deemed "within a year of death."

Brain-Eating Amoeba Strikes in Summer

Six young men died last year after swimming in lakes or pools infested with a brain-eating amoeba, the CDC reports.

The bad blobs -- known as Naegleria fowleri or N. fowleri -- thrive in warm, fresh water all over the world. But the key word here is warm. The amoeba loves heat. In the U.S., it inhabits the relatively hot waters of lakes, hot springs, and poorly maintained pools in Southern or Southwestern states.

How Brain-Eating Amoebas Attack

That food source is the human brain. The CDC doesn't like to call N. fowleri "the brain-eating amoeba," but that's what it does.

"It actually is using the brain for food," Yoder says. "So it is a very tragic situation for the person unfortunate enough to have that happen."

After the amoeba enters the nose, it finds its way to the olfactory nerve. N. fowleri appears to be attracted to nerve cells, so it follows the nerve into the brain. That's when bad things happen.

The amoeba has mouth-shaped structures on its surface called food cups. It's perfectly capable of chewing up brain and blood cells with these food cups, but the blob finds it more efficient to secrete enzymes and proteins that dissolve brain cells so it can suck up the debris with its food cup.

Obviously, this causes a lot of damage. And it happens fast: Victims usually die seven to 10 days after infection, although symptoms may not appear for up to 14 days.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Secondhand Smoke Leaves Kids Prone to Severe Infections

Here's another reason why adults shouldn't smoke around kids: In addition to developing asthma and respiratory infections, children in households where someone smokes are more likely to catch a whole range of severe infections, including meningococcal disease. Many even have to be hospitalized, a new study found.

Being around smoke during the first few months of life was most dangerous, especially if the newborn was born underweight or premature.

"This is just adding to the list of why people should not be smoking," said Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "It's probably that smoking is not just a respiratory irritant, but many things in smoke affect the immune system." And exposure to secondhand smoke during a baby's first six months of life increased the likelihood of a hospitalization by 45 percent by the time the child was 8. Babies born prematurely were twice as likely to be hospitalized, while those born with a low birth weight were 75 percent more likely to be hospitalized during the first eight years of life, the study found.

More at Yahoo News

10 things your restaurant won't tell you

It pays to be wise, especially in times when every dollar counts. Eateries are feeling the pinch too, and they may be cutting some corners, or at times deceiving you outright. Here are some thing you really ought to know before you eat out.

The Smart 10 from MSN Money

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Energy drinks linked to risky behavior among teenagers

Health researchers have identified a surprising new predictor for risky behavior among teenagers and young adults: the energy drink. Super-caffeinated energy drinks, with names like Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle and Amp, have surged in popularity in the past decade. About a third of 12- to 24-year-olds say they regularly down energy drinks, which account for more than $3 billion in annual sales in the United States. The trend has been the source of growing concern among health researchers and school officials.

Around the country, the drinks have been linked with reports of nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and emergency room visits. New research suggests the drinks are associated with a health issue far more worrisome than the jittery effects of caffeine, Risk Taking.

In March, The Journal of American College Health published a report on the link between energy drinks, athletics and risky behavior. The study's author, Kathleen Miller, an addiction researcher at the University of Buffalo, says it suggests that high consumption of energy drinks is associated with "toxic jock" behavior, a constellation of risky and aggressive behaviors including unprotected sex, substance abuse and violence.

More from the Chicago Tribune

Muslims equate Christians with terrorists

Christian missionaries are "as dangerous as terrorist activities or the illegal drug trade," Islamic theologians in Uzbekistan declared.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports a new documentary called "In the Clutches of Ignorance," featuring Uzbek experts, state officials and representatives of Orthodox and Catholic churches in Uzbekistan, claims missionaries pose a serious threat to the Islamic republic.

The Uzbek state film criticized Jehovah's Witnesses, the Christian Gospel Church and Blagodat (evangelical charity), saying they cause a "global problem, along with religious dogmatism, fundamentalism, terrorism, and drug addiction."

Norway's Forum 18, an organization defending religious freedom, reports intolerance of religion is steadily growing in Uzbekistan as police invade private homes, seize Christian literature, arrest converts and deport missionaries.

More from WorldNetDaily

Broke boomers may be forced to delay retirement

The economic woes that are forcing homeowners into foreclosure, choking spending on nondiscretionary goods and driving up credit-card bills may claim another group of victims in the coming years: Broke baby boomers.

Consumers 45 years and older are raiding or compromising their 401(k) accounts, shirking monthly payments and skipping regular medications and doctor visits at an alarming rate, according to the American Association of Retired Persons.

More at MatketWatch

Communist band opens for Obama

A hip rock band that features the Soviet national anthem and communist-inspired lyrics was on stage to open for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at his record-breaking Portland, Ore., rally that attracted 75,000.

The Decemberists, a Portland-based group with a large local following, also closed the May 18 event.

The Decemberists typically begin their concerts with a Russian-language recording of the USSR's national anthem.

A YouTube video shows the Decemberists beginning an April 31, 2007, concert at Messiah College in Grantham, Pa., with the anthem.

"Decemberists" refers to an uprising at Senate Square in St. Petersburg Dec. 14, 1825, when a group of Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in protest as Nicholas I assumed the throne, after Czar Alexander died without an heir.

The Decemberists have posed for publicity photos in period Russian costumes with the red flag of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 waving behind them.

Also -Officers: Memorial Used As Porta-Potty Pit Stop At Obama Rally, from KPTV.com

PETA's Sexy TV ads show cats in 'kitty porn'

A new campaign featuring cats engaged in the act of making kittens is apparently too frisky for some television networks which are banning the "kitty porn." The public service announcement, titled "Sex and the Kitty," a take-off of the new movie "Sex and the City," is produced by PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The spot shows animatronic cats in heat, to say the least, as it focuses attention on the need for animal birth control.

The animal-rights group issued a release, claiming its PSA was banned from MTV.

More from WorldNetDaily

New Intestinal "Superbug" Is On The Rise

The number of people hospitalized with a dangerous intestinal superbug has been growing by more than 10,000 cases a year, according to a new study.

The germ, resistant to some antibiotics, has become a regular menace in hospitals and nursing homes. The study found it played a role in nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in 2005, more than double the number in 2000.

The infection, Clostridium difficile, is found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis. It is spread by spores in feces. But the spores are difficult to kill with most conventional household cleaners or antibacterial soap.

C-diff, as it's known, has grown resistant to certain antibiotics that work against other colon bacteria. The result: When patients take those antibiotics, competing bacteria die off and C-diff explodes.

More from CBS News

Gum Disease May Raise Cancer Risk

Men with a history of gum disease may be more likely than other men to develop cancer, a new study shows.

The study included more than 48,000 male health care workers who were followed from 1986 through January 2004.

When the study started, the men were asked if they had a history of gum disease with bone loss. They also answered questions about their diet, physical activity, smoking, and medical history.

The men completed health surveys every two years and dietary surveys every four years.

During the study, the group had 5,720 new cases of cancer, not counting nonmelanoma skin cancer prostate cancer that hadn't spread beyond the prostate. or

Compared to men with healthy gums, men with a history of gum disease were:

14% more likely to develop cancer overall
49% more likely to develop kidney cancer
54% more likely to develop pancreatic cancer
30% more likely to develop blood cancers

Lead Exposure can lead to Violence in Youth

The first study to follow lead-exposed children from before birth into adulthood has shown that even relatively low levels of lead permanently damage the brain and are linked to higher numbers of arrests, particularly for violent crime. Earlier studies linking lead to such problems used indirect measures of both lead and criminality, and critics have argued that socioeconomic and other factors may be responsible for the observed effects.

The average lead levels in the study "unfortunately are still seen in many thousands of children throughout the United States," said Philip J. Landrigan, director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

The link between criminal behavior and lead exposure was found among even the least-contaminated children in the study, who were exposed to amounts of lead similar to what the average U.S. child is exposed to today.

More from the LA Times

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

US on track to break record for tornadoes

Another week, another rumbling train of tornadoes that obliterates entire city blocks, smashing homes to their foundations and killing people even as they cower in their basements.

With the year not even half done, 2008 is already the deadliest tornado year in the United States since 1998 and seems on track to break the U.S. record for the number of twisters in a year, according to the National Weather Service. Also, this year's storms seem to be unusually powerful.

The brutal numbers for the U.S. so far this year: at least 110 dead, 30 killer tornadoes and a preliminary count of 1,191 twisters (which, after duplicate sightings are removed, is likely to go down to around 800). The record for the most tornadoes in a year is 1,817 in 2004. In the past 10 years, the average number of tornadoes has been 1,254.

"Right now we're on track to break all previous counts through the end of the year," said warning meteorologist Greg Carbin at the Storm Prediction Center, also in Norman.

And it's not just more storms. The strongest of those storms - those in the 136-to-200 mph range - have been more prevalent than normal, and lately they seem to be hitting populated areas more, he said. At least 22 tornadoes this year have been in the top part of the new Enhanced Fujita scale, rating a 3 (for "severe") or a 4 ("devastating") on the 1-to-5 scale.

What makes up the price of a gallon of gas?

So how exactly are gas prices set? What determines the hair-pulling figure you see displayed in large electronic or plastic numbers? Why is a gallon of gas, say, $4.11 — not $4.10 or $4.12? Why is the price different across the street?

It all starts with oil.

Will our kids be dumb and broke?

The situation is dire. According to a survey commissioned by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and released in April:

A third of Americans have no personal nonretirement savings.

A quarter have saved nothing for retirement.

One in 10 have trouble with mortgage payments.

Millions struggle to pay bills on time, with 7%, or about 15 million adults, getting calls from collectors or considering bankruptcy.

Remember to teach your children well.

More from MSN Money

Monday, May 26, 2008

Average gasoline prices around the world

Here is a look at Gas Prices from around the world and it is pretty interesting. Many places are much worse off than we are, and in the case of Europe, it often is mainly due to excessive taxes. Those countries with an over abundance of oil tend to have it very easy. Due to limits set by the template of this blog the whole list will not show but you can view the whole list at Wikipedia.

Country/Territory	US$/gal	US$/L	Local units	As of	Sources
Australia	$5.60	$1.48	A$1.54/L	2008-05-27 2008-05-27	[1]/XE.com
Bahrain (Manama)	$1.02	$0.27	BHD 0.100/L (95 Octane) BHD 0.080/L (90 Octane)	2008-04-29 2008-04-29	[2]
Belgium (Brussels)	$8.44	$2.23	€1.45/L^[3]	2008-05-12 2008-05-12	^[4]^[5]^[6]
Brazil (São Paulo)	$6.01	$1.56	R$2,59/L	2008-04-29 2008-04-29	^{[citation needed]}
Canada	$5.18	$1.37	C$1.35/L	2008-05-05 2008-05-24	GasBuddy/XE.com
China	$2.80	$0.74		2008-05-27 2008-05-27	CNN Money/[3]
Croatia	$7.38	$1.95	HRK 8.99/L	2008-05-23 2008-05-23	INA Unleaded 95 [4]
Cyprus	$6.18	$1.63	€1.04/L	2008-03-20 2008-04-22	for Unleaded 95[[5]
Denmark (Copenhagen)	$8.14	$2.15^[5]	DKK10.76/L^[6]	2008-04-21 2008-04-21
Egypt (Cairo)	$1.23	$0.32^[7]^[5]		2008-05-05 2008-05-05	^[8]
Eritrea	$9.58^[9]			2008-05-06 2008-05-06
Finland	$8.91	$2.36	€1.50/L	2008-05-22 2008-05-22	[6]
France	$8.07^[9]			2008-05-06 2008-05-06
Germany	$8.91	$2.36	€1.50/L	2008-05-22 2008-05-22	[7]
Greece	$4.93	$1.30	€1.24/L	2008-05-12 2008-05-12
Honduras	$4.26	$1.07	Lps. 81.00/G	2008-05-26 2008-05-26
Hong Kong	$7.56	$1.997	HK$15.54/L	2008-03-05 2008-04-12	Shell Hong Kong/[8]
Hungary	$7.51	$1.985	HUF 315/L	2008-05-15 2008-05-15
Iceland	$8.06	$2.13	ISK 159.20/L	2008-05-27 2008-05-27	Olís/[9]
India (Bangalore)	$4.61	$1.22	INR 55.15/L	2006-10-13 2006-10-13
Indonesia	$2.46	$0.65	IDR 6,000/L	2008-05-24 2008-05-24	Pertamina/[10]
Iran	$0.41	$0.11		2007-06-01 2007-05-05	CNN Money/[11]
Israel	$7.20	$1.91	NIS 6.58/L	2008-05-01 2008-05-01	Israel Min. of National Infrastructures (Hebrew)[12]
Italy	$8.79	$2.32^[5]	€1.49/L^[6]	2007-11-08 2008-05-18
Japan	$5.83	$1.54	¥160.1/L	2008-05-12 2008-05-12	The Oil Information Center Japan[13]
Kuwait (Kuwait City)	$0.78	$0.21	KWD 0.060/L (91 Octane) 0.065/L (95 Octane)	2006-04-13 2006-04-13	[14]/Kuwait Oil Company
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur)	$2.01	$0.53	RM1.92/L	2006-02-13 2006-02-13	[15]/Google exchange calculator on 15 May 2006
Mexico (Mexico City)	$2.36	$0.62	MX$6.80/L	2007-05-05 2007-05-05	Banco de Información Económica/[16]
Monaco	$8.31^[9]			2008-05-06 2008-05-06
Netherlands	$8.95	$2.36	€1.52/L	2008-04-28 2008-04-28	Shell/[17]
New Zealand	$6.12	$1.62	NZ$2.059/L	2008-05-27 2008-05-27	Pricewatch/fx.com on 2006-09-29
Nigeria (Lagos)	$0.38	$0.10		2005-03-13 2005-03-13	CNN Money/[18]
North Korea	$2.69	$0.71	101.139 KPW/L	2006-11 2006-11	2007 GTZ[19]
Norway (Oslo)	$9.71	$2.56	NOK 12.99/L	2008-04-14 2008-04-14	Shell/[20]
Pakistan	$4.01	$1.06	Rs 68.81/L	2008-05-04 2008-05-04	PSO/[21]
Philippines (Manila)	$3.54	$0.94	P 40.57/L	2007-09-17 2007-09-17	Shell Philippines/[22]
Portugal	$8.90 ^[9]	$2.35	€1.494/L (95 Octane) €1.634/L (98 Octane)	2008-05-26 2008-05-26	Mais Gasolina/[23]
Qatar (Doha)	$0.83	$0.22	QAR 0.75/L (97 Octane) QAR 0.67/L (90 Octane)	2007-09-17 2007-09-17	[24] / The General Secretariat for Development Planning - State of Qatar
Romania (Bucharest)	$6.46	$1.71	RON 3.8/L	2008-05-17 2008-04-15 [25]
Russia (Moscow)	$3.79	$1.00	RUR 23.82/L	2008-05-07 2008-05-07	^[10]
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh)	$0.45^[8]	$0.12	SAR 0.82/L (91 Octane) and SAR 1.02/L (95 Octane)	2007-05-16 2007-05-16	^[11]
Sierra Leone	$18.42	$4.87	14400 Leones/L	2008-05-01 2008-05-01	[26]
Singapore	$5.19	$1.37	S$1.97/L	2008-01-02 2008-01-02	PetrolWatch/XE.com
South Korea	$6.25	$1.65	1,723.89 KRW/L	2006-11 2006-11	2007 GTZ[27]
Sweden	$8.72	$2.30	SEK 13.64/L	2008-05-22 2008-05-22	JET/
Switzerland (Zurich)	$6.24	$1.65	CHF 1.79/L	2007-12-19 2007-12-19
Thailand	$4.47	$1.18	38.39 Baht/L	2008-05-15 2008-05-15	Ministry of Energy, Thailand/[28]
Trinidad and Tobago	$1.82	$0.48	$3TTD/L	2008-05-26 2008-05-26
Turkey	$10.13	$2.68	YTL 3.44/L	2008-04-22 2008-04-22	NTV/[29]
Turkmenistan	$0.29	$0.08	TMM 400/L	2006-11-25 2006-11-25	Turkmenistan.ru/[30]
UAE	$1.70	$0.45	AED 6.25/gal (95 Octane) AED 6.75/gal (98 Octane)	2008-05-04 2008-05-04	[31]/Bahrain Tribune
Ukraine	$4.43	$1.17	UAH 5.9/L	2008-04-18 2008-04-18
United Kingdom	$8.53	$2.26	£1.14/L	2008-05-22 2008-05-22	petrolprices.com/XE.com Unleaded price graph
United States	$3.93	$1.04	$3.93/gal	2008-05-18 2008-05-25	^[12]
Uruguay (Montevideo)	$6	$1.6	U$ 32/L	2008-01-12 2008-01-12
Venezuela (Caracas)	$0.17^[8]	$0.05	Bs. 97; BsF. 0.097	2008-01-12 2008-01-12

Obama's views on abortion would be the most radical and extremist of any president in history

A Christian organization is preparing a new educational campaign to inform voters about Barack Obama's pro-abortion views since it appears he is more likely to become the Democratic presidential nominee. The Christian Defense Coalition says Obama would become the "abortion president."

The group told LifeNews.com on Thursday that Obama's views on abortion would be the most radical and extremist of any president in history.

The CDC says they are completely out of step with the opinions of mainstream America.

"For all his talk on change and social justice, Senator Obama clings to and embraces archaic and radical pro-abortion policies that most Americans find appalling," says Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, director of the group.

"While the majority of Americans are growing more and more uncomfortable with abortion rights, Senator Obama wants to radically expand them and even ask people of faith to pay for abortions," he added. "Senator Obama, this is change we can live without."

Smoothies 'can damage your teeth'

Dentists have warned the current popularity of fruit smoothies could lead to widespread tooth damage.

It was claimed last week that the fruit drinks could be twice as healthy as first thought.

But dentists warn that the beneficial effects of boosting consumption of fruit are likely to be far outweighed by damage the drinks cause to teeth.

They warn that the high levels of sugar in the drinks can promote decay without good dental hygiene.

Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, said: "Fruit smoothies are becoming increasingly popular and the fruit content can make them seem like a good idea.

"However, they contain very high levels of sugar and acid and so can do a lot of damage to the teeth."

More at the BCC

Big Earthquakes Spark Jolts Worldwide

Until 1992, when California's magnitude-7.3 Landers earthquake set off small jolts as far away as Yellowstone National Park, scientists did not believe large earthquakes sparked smaller tremors at distant locations. Now, a definitive study shows large earthquakes routinely trigger smaller jolts worldwide, including on the opposite side of the planet and in areas not prone to quakes. "Previously it was thought seismically active regions or geothermal areas were most vulnerable to large earthquake triggers," says Kris Pankow, a seismologist at the University of Utah Seismograph Stations and a co-author of the new study.

But Pankow and colleagues analyzed 15 major earthquakes stronger than magnitude-7.0 since 1992, and found that at least 12 of them triggered small quakes hundreds and even thousands of miles away, according to the findings published online May 25, 2008 in the journal Nature Geoscience.

Gasoline isn't only rising cost for drivers

Does filling the gas tank leave your wallet empty and spirit sputtering? Get used to both because almost everything car-related is costing more.

From oil changes to parking lot fees, sticker shock will make this summer even stickier.

"Everything is more expensive," said Raj Amber, a partner at AAA Limousine in Alexandria, Va., bemoaning the recent oil change cost increase to $30, up from $25.

Travel agency AAA estimates that the average cost of owning and operating a car in 2008 will be $8,121, up from $7,823 last year.

More fro Wired

Tasmanian Devils Decimated by Mystery Cancer

Starting in the late 1990s Tasmanian wildlife authorities began receiving unusual reports: Some of the island's Tasmanian devils were spied with their faces marred by ulcerated sores. Small and furry, the carnivores are known for their unearthly howl and cranky temperament. They are also well loved as a species unique to Tasmania, an island outpost calved from mainland Australia.

But what was initially a bit of a scientific curiosity soon became a potential catastrophe. The results of the first investigative survey revealed that tens of thousands of Tasmanian devils had died from a disease now known as Devil Facial Tumor Disease.

Devil Facial Tumour Disease causes cancers to appear first in and around the mouth before spreading down the neck and, sometimes, into the rest of the body. Both male and female adults are more commonly affected than juveniles.

Sick devils also become emaciated, because the tumors interfere with eating, and many mothers lose their young.

What if gas cost $10 a gallon?

In four years, U.S. gas prices have doubled to more than $3.70 a gallon, and crude oil has tripled to around $125 a barrel. Allowing for inflation, that's higher than prices were during the 1978–83 oil shock that triggered a recession and sky-high interest rates. But . . .

What if gas cost $10 a gallon?

Sunday, May 25, 2008

EU Court to Hear Case Granting Human Status to Apes

The European Court of Human Rights has agreed to a preliminary hearing to determine whether chimpanzees are entitled to the legal status and protections granted to human beings.

The action is being sponsored by the Association Against Animal Factories, an activist group based in Vienna. Eberhart Theuer, the group's legal advisor says, "This case is about the fundamental question: Who is the bearer of human rights? Who is a person according to the European Human Rights Charter?"

A win for the group could have sweeping ramifications for the entire European Union, with legal precedent existing for apes -- and possibly other animals -- to receive the rights, protections, and even medical, financial, and social benefits of human beings.

Suddenly, Is Europe turning into "The Planet Of The Apes"? See What happens when you believe in evolution and forsake God.

More Monkey Business from Daily Tech

Pirate attacks around the world rise by 20 percent

Mariners are being warned of a growing threat from pirates around the world after attacks on shipping rose by 20 per cent over the last year.

Gone are the cannon and cutlass, to be replaced by rocket propelled grenades and automatic rifles, but according to new figures from the organisation that collates reports of global piracy, the spirit of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow is alive and terrorising the ocean waves.

The sharp rise in pirate attacks is blamed in large part on the collapse of law and order in Somalia and political unrest in Nigeria. The seas around the two African countries are now regarded as some of the most dangerous in the world.

More at The Telegraph

Energy fears looming, new survivalists prepare

Convinced the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.

The exact number of people taking such steps is impossible to determine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the movement has been gaining momentum in the last few years.

These energy survivalists are not leading some sort of green revolution meant to save the planet. Many of them believe it is too late for that, seeing signs in soaring fuel and food prices and a faltering U.S. economy, and are largely focused on saving themselves.

More at Yahoo Green

Bad news for Detroit is spelled MPG

It appears that the prospect of $4 gas finally has Americans getting serious about fuel economy.

Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) CEO Alan Mulally said Thursday that his company has seen a "tipping point" in buyers' preferences towards smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles.

But the problems are not limited to Ford. According to sales tracker Autodata, full-size pickup sales were down 22% in April compared to a year earlier, while and large SUV sales plunged 32% over the same period.

Ford warned Thursday that its North American auto unit would not return to profitability next year because of the change in buyer preferences.

In addition, light trucks have made up a majority of U.S. sales at General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler LLC for years.

You know if you can't afford to drive that big SUV anymore, maybe the kids could still use to camp out in, parked in the backyard.

More at CNN