JERUSALEM — Like hundreds of thousands of other Jerusalem residents, Salim Shabane considers himself a Palestinian. But his life and work are intertwined with Israel, where he runs an auto shop. So, despite his tacit support for a Palestinian state, Shabane is part of a new surge of Jerusalem Arabs applying for Israeli citizenship. ‘I live in Israel,’ said Shabane, ‘why shouldn’t I be an Israeli citizen?’ Shabane has plenty of company. After decades of living under Israeli rule and years watching the Palestinian Authority struggling to govern, more Arabs in Jerusalem are casting their lot with Israel. Last year, as peace talks revived the possibility of handing over parts of Jerusalem to a new Palestinian nation, the number of Arab residents applying for Israeli citizenship more than doubled. In 2007, according to the Israeli Interior Ministry, Shabane and 500 other residents of East Jerusalem requested Israeli passports, up from 200 in each of the previous three years. Shabane’s decision to seek full Israeli citizenship reflects the awkward reality for Arabs in Jerusalem: Though many want to see an independent Palestinian state, they don’t want to be part of it. ‘My work and […]
Radiation from mobile phones delays and reduces sleep, and causes headaches and confusion, according to a new study. The research, sponsored by the mobile phone companies themselves, shows that using the handsets before bed causes people to take longer to reach the deeper stages of sleep and to spend less time in them, interfering with the body’s ability to repair damage suffered during the day. The findings are especially alarming for children and teenagers, most of whom – surveys suggest – use their phones late at night and who especially need sleep. Their failure to get enough can lead to mood and personality changes, ADHD-like symptoms, depression, lack of concentration and poor academic performance. The study – carried out by scientists from the blue-chip Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University in Sweden and from Wayne State University in Michigan, USA – is thought to be the most comprehensive of its kind. Published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Progress in Electromagnetics Research Symposium and funded by the Mobile Manufacturers Forum, representing the main handset companies, it has caused serious concern among top sleep experts, one of whom said that there was now ‘more than sufficient evidence’ to […]
In a dramatic breakthrough that could change the way we use electricity, scientists have made a 60-watt light bulb glow by transmitting energy to it wirelessly. In the past, beaming electromagnetic energy has proven difficult because it scatters broadly, radiating in all directions rather than to just the intended electrical device. A series of successful experiments conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests otherwise, however. MIT physicists believe they can project a magnetic field from a length of wire whose ends nearly touch. The gap between the ends makes electrons surge back and forth at a specific rate, creating a magnetic field with a characteristic frequency. Since the electrons in a matching coil would have the same frequency, they would pick up the magnetic field. Just as a singer can break a crystal glass that resonates at the same frequency as her voice, the MIT scientists discovered how to get a recharging device and a power-hungry gadget to resonate at the same frequency, allowing the efficient exchange of energy. To prove their theory, the physicists — who dubbed the process WiTricity — used a pair of copper coils with a 2-foot diameter. One was […]
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — As health care generates debate in this year’s presidential campaign, about 68 percent of Americans say individuals should be required to have medical insurance, with government help for those who cannot afford it, a survey released on Tuesday found. According to the survey by The Commonwealth Fund, an independent foundation working toward health policy reform, health insurance mandates were supported by 80 percent of Democrats, 52 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Independents. The problem of how to provide health insurance to all Americans is one of the top campaign issues being confronted by Democratic and Republican contenders for their parties’ nominations to the November presidential election. About 47 million people in the United States do not have health insurance. ‘It is a significant issue as the number of uninsured people climbs every year and more and more middle-class people are affected,’ said Sara Collins, assistant vice president at The Commonwealth Fund. The group said that while both leading Democratic and Republican candidates want to expand health coverage through the private insurance market, there were several key differences: None of the Republican candidates would require that people have health […]
WASHINGTON — Iraq’s army and police could be ready to take over security in all 18 provinces by the end of this year as the U.S. military moves toward a less prominent role in the country, U.S. officials said on Thursday. ‘We look at it every month. We make recommendations. I think that if we continue along the path we’re on now, we’ll be able to do that by the end of 2008,’ Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the No. 2 commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said when asked when Iraqi forces could take the lead in all provinces. He said that a joint operation under way led by Iraqi troops and supported by U.S. troops against al Qaeda militants in the northern city of Mosul was a model for the future. ‘That’s how I see our role frankly in the future here,’ he told Pentagon reporters via videolink from Baghdad. Iraqi security forces are now in control of nine provinces after assuming control of Iraqi’s southern oil hub, Basra, in December. Iraqi forces are also expected to take control in Anbar province, a one-time insurgent stronghold, as early as March. The ability of Iraqi […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
