JERUSALEM — It was 2 a.m. when masked gunmen raided Al Wafa Net in the Khan Yunis camp in Gaza where 17 young men were surfing the Internet. ‘The gunmen tied their hands, then forced them to stand at the stairs while they broke all the screens, and then the server and the television and the photocopier,’ said the owner, Hamad, of the attack a few months ago. ‘Then they burned all 36 computers.’ In recent months in Gaza, there have been similar attacks on music and video shops and pharmacies accused of selling Viagra, as well as on American and United Nations schools. A standoff between the Lebanese Army and Islamists at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon has focused attention on a jihadist element taking root there as well as a radicalization in the Palestinian areas themselves. With the fragmentation of authority in Gaza, and its isolation, said a Gazan analyst, Taysir Mhaisin, ‘there is an increase of fundamentalism and the birth of groups believing in violence and practicing violence as a model created by bin Ladenism.’ Mouin Rabbani, a Jordan-based analyst of Palestinian politics for the International Crisis Group, said, ‘There is […]
NEW YORK — A lawsuit that alleges soft-drink manufacturers, including PepsiCo Inc., are selling drinks made with ingredients that can form cancer-causing benzene can go move forward, a Kansas federal court has ruled. The suit is one of five lawsuits filed in various states. Plaintiffs are asking soft-drink makers to remove the drinks from store shelves, reformulate their products, and offer refunds to consumers who bought them. Benzene can form in soft drinks containing vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Scientists say factors such as heat or light exposure can trigger a reaction that forms benzene in the beverages. The ruling late Thursday by U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil denied a motion to dismiss filed by the defendants in the case, which include PepsiCo Inc. and privately-held Sunny Delight Beverages Co. and Rockstar Inc. ‘We’re now going to see how well the defendant companies hold up when their case is exposed to heat and light,’ said Gregory M. Garvin, an attorney for the plaintiffs with the Kansas City law firm Sader & Garvin LLC. The plaintiffs said Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi has benzene levels nearly four times […]
Normally, it’s the government that presses for more inspections while industry that drags its heels, but just the reverse is true when it comes to a meat packer in Kansas. Creekstone Farms wants to test all of its cows for Mad Cow Disease but the U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to stop them. Under current regulations, USDA tests less than one percent of all slaughtered cows for the disease, which can be fatal if meat from affected animals is ingested by humans. To prevent that, Creekstone Farms has announced its intention to test every cow moving through its plant. But the federal government has taken the company to court to try to stop it. Why? For one thing, testing all of its cattle could give Creekstone Farms an advantage over larger meat packers, who haven’t even considered such a move. If Creekstone can advertise the fact that 100 percent of its beef is tested, competitors worry they could lose market share. USDA also argues that expanding the use of the test could lead to inaccurate results. A number of false positive readings, the agency says, could do the industry harm. Though a […]
Booming sales of laptops have led to a surge in the number of computer users with back and muscle problems, experts have warned. Girls as young as 12 are being diagnosed with nerve damage caused by slouching over screens, a group of leading chiropractors said. Millions of others are at risk of ‘irretrievable damage’ to their spines, necks and shoulders because of poor posture when using laptops, it was claimed. Back specialists say as many as four in five patients have chronic nerve damage caused by working on portable PCs. The problem is being driven by falling prices and the increasing availability of wireless technology, which makes portable computers more attractive. Laptop sales in PC World went up by more than 25 per cent last year. In addition, laptops used at work are not subject to the same health and safety regulations as desktop computers. This makes it more likely they will be used incorrectly. A common problem is perching a laptop on the legs so users stare down at the screen and put strain on their necks, spines and legs. London-based chiropractor Michael Durntall was among those calling for more […]
The earth’s ability to soak up the gases causing global warming is beginning to fail because of rising temperatures, in a long-feared sign of ‘positive feedback,’ new research reveals today. Climate change itself is weakening one of the principal ‘sinks’ absorbing carbon dioxide – the Southern Ocean around Antarctica – a new study has found. As a result, atmospheric CO2 levels may rise faster and bring about rising temperatures more quickly than previously anticipated. Stabilising the CO2 level, which must be done to bring the warming under control, is likely to become much more difficult, even if the world community agrees to do it. The news may give added urgency to the meeting in three weeks’ time between the G8 group of rich nations and the leading developing countries led by China, at Heiligendamm in Germany, when an attempt will be made to put together the framework of a new world climate treaty to succeed the current Kyoto protocol. ‘This is a timely warning in advance of Heiligendamm and the G8 that the climate clock is beginning to tick faster,’ said the leading environmentalist Tom Burke, visiting professor at Imperial College London. ‘The shift that […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
