The world’s first pet cloning service is to offer animal lovers the chance to recreate their dead companions, it was announced today. South Korean company RNL Bio will work alongside scientists who created the first cloned canine. A company spokeswoman said it was already working on its first order from an American who wanted a clone of her dead pit bull. The client, Bernann McKunney, of California, was very attached to the pet because it had saved her life during an attack by another dog. Kim Yoon said that ear tissue from the dog had been preserved at a US biotech laboratory before its death. DNA from the sample could now be used in an attempt to create a clone, she said, although the chances of success were about 25%. RNL Bio is charging customers $150,000 (£75,000) for the clones, which clients pay only after they receive their new pet. The cloning is to be carried out by Seoul National University scientists led by Dr Lee Byeong-chun, a veterinary professor. Prof Lee had worked with the disgraced stem cell scientist Dr Hwang Woo-suk, whose purported breakthroughs in the creation of human stem […]
The Pentagon’s plan to shoot down a failed satellite with a missile defense interceptor in the coming days is aimed at preventing toxic fuel from reaching earth. But U.S. officials and experts said yesterday it would also signal that U.S. missile defenses can be used to counter China’s strategic anti-satellite weapons. China conducted its first successful test of an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon on Jan. 11, 2007, in what defense and military officials called a new strategic threat to the United States. Bush administration defense and national security officials involved in interagency discussions on the satellite destruction plan said one reason for using the missile defense system against a space target would be to highlight its potential as an ASAT weapon. The Pentagon has been discussing ways to deter and counter China’s ASAT weapon, which can threaten U.S. military and civilian communications, especially command and control systems involving satellites. Publicly, however, officials who announced the plan yesterday sought to play down the ASAT capability. The Greyhound bus-sized intelligence satellite failed shortly after launch in 2006. Intended to conduct both electronic eavesdropping and photographic intelligence-gathering, the satellite contains a large tank of unused toxic fuel called hydrazine. The […]
WASHINGTON — The House broke for a week’s recess Thursday without renewing terrorist surveillance authority demanded by President Bush, leading him to warn of risky intelligence gaps while Democrats accused him of reckless fear mongering. The refusal of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, to schedule a vote on a surveillance measure approved Tuesday by the Senate touched off an intense partisan conflict over the national security questions that have colored federal elections since 2002 and are likely to play a significant role again in November. Trying to put pressure on Democrats, Mr. Bush offered to delay a trip to Africa to resolve the dispute and warned that failure to extend the expanded power under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires Saturday, could hamper efforts to track terrorists. ‘Our intelligence professionals are working day and night to keep us safe,’ Mr. Bush said, ‘and they’re waiting to see whether Congress will give them the tools they need to succeed or tie their hands by failing to act.’ But Ms. Pelosi and other House Democrats said Mr. Bush and Congressional Republicans were at fault because they had resisted temporarily extending the bill to allow disagreements to […]
WASHINGTON — A Bush administration spending plan that would slash money for the Forest Service could lead to massive layoffs at the agency charged with managing 193 million acres of national forests, Democratic lawmakers said Wednesday. Spending for the Forest Service would be cut by nearly 8 percent next year, to $4.1 billion, in a budget plan submitted by President Bush. The plan could mean the loss of more than 2,700 jobs – nearly 10 percent of the agency’s work force – as well as reductions in dozens of non-fire related programs, from road and trail maintenance to state assistance, land acquisition and recreation, lawmakers said. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., chairman of the House Appropriations Interior subcommittee, called the budget plan ‘an unmitigated disaster’ that ‘would cause real harm to our 193-million acre national forest system.’ The only bright spot in the budget was a request to increase spending to fight wildfires by about $148 million to just under $1 billion, Dicks said. The figure based on the 10-year average of firefighting costs and responds to a frequent complaint by lawmakers that firefighting costs typically exceed the amount budgeted. The Forest Service spent $1.4 billion […]
WASHINGTON — The House voted Thursday to hold two of President Bush’s confidants in contempt for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into whether federal prosecutors were ousted for political reasons. Angry Republicans boycotted the vote and staged a walkout. The 223-32 vote Thursday targets presidential chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers. The citations charge Miers with failing to testify and accuse her and Bolten of refusing Congress’ demands for documents related to the 2006-2007 firings. Republicans said Democrats should instead be working on extending a law - set to expire Saturday - allowing the government to eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mails in the United States in cases of suspected terrorist activity. The White House said the Justice Department would not ask the U.S. attorney to pursue the House contempt charges. It is the first time in 25 years that a full chamber of Congress has voted on a contempt of Congress citation. Yearlong clash with White House The action, which Democrats had been threatening for months, was the latest wrinkle in a more than yearlong U.S. constitutional clash between Congress and the White House. […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
