Vanguard Defense Industries was hacked by AntiSec.
Vangard Defense sells the UAV “ShadowHawk” to the military, police and even private companies.
The AntiSec hackers put Vangard documents online, they belong to Senior Vice President Richard T. Garcia. They contain internal meeting notes, contracts, schematics, non-disclosure agreements, employee’s personal information, and counter-terrorism documents.
Japan says it will offer less developed countries money, and other aid, to help them develop infrastructure and industries, in exchange for exclusive mining rights for rare earth minerals.
China has been using the same tactic for decades. Japan says they’re adopting such a policy in order to compete with China.
Rare earth minerals are used in high tech products like cell phones and hybrid cars. Because of the rapid development of high tech devices, and the increasing global dependence on them, rare earth minerals could become the “oil” of the 21st century.
“Fiat is intensively examining St. Petersburg along with Nizhniy Novgorod. No decision has been made yet. Most likely the Italian automaker will select a green field site. We expect that they will make a decision on the site in the fall.” –Dmitry Levchenkov, Russia’s Economic Development Ministry
Fiat, the owner of Chrysler, is actively looking to start factories in Russia, to build cars and spare parts. The reason? Car sales are booming in Russia.
Just in the first 8 months of 2011, Fiat saw a 59% increase in sales in Russia. That’s impressive when you realize that most Russians are hesitant to own a Fiat: “Few Russian drivers opt for Fiat because the service and spare parts are difficult to find in Russia. However, if Fiat builds an assembly facility and handle the production and create a unique distribution channels with service centers its world popular five door hatchbacks could invade the Russian cities frequently.”-Alexandr Tsipin, journalist
Fiat has already made deals with Russian car maker GAZ. Fiat hopes to build 120 thousand cars per year in Russia.
The major reason for Fiat’s huge jump in sales, they’re the cheapest foreign car in Russia.
I wonder what Fiat will do with it’s Chrysler operations in the U.S. and Canada? Canadian labor unions have been warning that Fiat will shut down Chrysler factories.
It’s called Ground Force One, a $1.1 million dollar bus made in Canada, and used by the Obama administration.
There’s also a Ground Force Two, because your government bought two of these behemoth buses. And your taxes paid for them!
Ground Force Two is actually being called Stagecoach. But don’t blame Obama, the second bus will be used to transport the Republican candidate for the 2012 election campaigns.
Officially the public is being told the buses came from a Tennessee company, but ABC News found out they were built in Canada, and only modified in Tennessee.
“Anonymous demands that this activity revolving around censorship cease and desist and we know you are already planning to do this again.”-warning to BART police from Anonymous
In retaliation for the Bay Area Rapid Transit police cutting off cell service, to prevent a mass protest, Anonymous hacked them and took personal data of at least 2,000 BART users.
San Fransisco’s BART officials say the Anonymous hack will not stop them from cutting off cell service in the future: “It’s one of the tactics we have at our disposal. We may use it; we may not. And I’m not sure we would necessarily let anyone know in advance either way.”-Jim Allison, BART
Operation BART is now being investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.
“I have believed for a long time that Israel wants this al-Aqsa Mosque simply not to exist.”-Mark Dankof
August 11, Israel orders the construction of 1,200 illegal settlement homes around al Quds (Jerusalem). On top of that one Israeli official said they are about to authorize another 2,700 more homes in occupied Palestinian territory.
Some officials say they’re going ahead with the illegal settlement homes to address the bad economy that so many Israelis are protesting. Officials say the settlements will provide affordable housing.
The European Union says Israel’s continued illegal settlement construction guarantees there will be no peace: “Settlement activity threatens the viability of an agreed two state solution and undermines ongoing efforts to resume negotiations.”-Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Egyptian and Russian officials have stressed that the settlements are illegal. They violate UN resolution 452, which bans settlement construction in occupied Palestinian territory.
The Journal of Glaciology, and NASA, says that 18 hours after the massive March 11 tsuanami hit Japan, it torn off huge chucks of ice at the South Pole.
Large pieces of the Sulzberger ice shelf, one the size of Manhattan, broke off between March 12 and 16. NASA scientists watched and took pictures of the event using a satellite.
NASA said they immediately turned there eyes towards the South Pole when the March 11 tsunami hit Japan. They wanted to test a long time hypothesis, that large numbers of ice bergs appearing in the ocean coincide with large earthquakes and tsunamis. They got their proof.
Amazingly the tsunami was only one foot high when it hit the Sulzberger ice shelf.
Ever since Tokyo Electric Power Company installed a water decontamination and recirculation system, they’ve had problems after problems. Now the entire system has crashed.
The system includes filters and pumps designed in the United States and France. The idea is to decontaminate the massive amount of radioactive water flooding into the basements of the reactor buildings, then re-use that water to cool the unstable reactors.
The most common problem, in the many weeks since it’s installation, has been the fact that the decontamination part is not working well, the radiation levels are not being reduced to a level TEPCo would like (this is another proof that radiation levels coming out of the reactors are much higher than TEPCo would like to admit).
The next most common problem is that pumps keep failing. This time all the pumps have failed, including the back up pumps.
Beginning Thursday, 04 August 2011, pumps began failing. By Saturday, 06 August, all the pumps were down. As usual TEPCo does not know why, and is investigation to find out why!!!
TEPCo is planning on hooking up a Japanese designed filters and pumps to the system, as if that’s the solution.
Japanese scientists have successfully made sperm from stems cells, called iPS cells. Note only that but they have a bunch of baby mice to show for it.
The iPS cells were mixed with a protein, which turned the iPS cells into primordial cells that can develop into sperm.
Don’t worry men, you’re still involved. The primordial cells are then injected into the male’s testis, where they develop into sperm. The experiment worked with mice. It’s hoped this process could help men who can’t develop their own sperm.
Chemical weapons have been in use ever since recorded history. The substances used in chemical warfare are known as agents. Agents used for concealment or signaling, such as smoke, or for causing fires, called incendiaries, or those producing odors, have been used for ages prior to the 20th Century. No thanks to the industrial revolution of the 19th Century, much more lethal chemical agents have been created.
The first use of modern chemical weapons took place during World War 1. Two types of agents were used; chlorine, a choking agent, and mustard, a blister agent. Mustard gas is what Iraq used during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, and it’s what is currently leaking out of a storage site in Colorado.
Prior to World War 2, the Germans developed an even more potent gas while searching for a better way to kill insects. Most people know it as bug spray, or Raid. For military purposes it is known as nerve agent.
After WW2, advanced chemical agents were developed, produced, and stockpiled by various countries, with the United States and the Soviet Union leading the way. The irony is that many of those countries, including the U.S.A., and the USSR, signed agreements not to develop chemical weapons.
There is plenty of evidence that the U.S. used chemical weapons in Vietnam, and the Soviets used chemicals in Afghanistan.
Choking agents work by inflaming the bronchial tubes and lungs. In severe cases the lungs fill with fluid and you drown. Chlorine and phosgene are types of chocking agents. Many people have accidentally made a chocking agent by mixing bleach and other cleaning chemicals together. Many people actually die from this mistake. If exposure is not severe some allergy medications can help counter the effects.
Blister agents have no immediate effect, but produce inflammation (blisters), burns and destroy mucus membranes. The most famous type is Mustard. If you look at the video of the victims of Iraq’s Mustard gas attacks you’ll notice a grey white substance around their mouth and nose. It is their destroyed mucus membranes. You must wear a gas mask with a proper filter, and a protective suit. The most serious effect of Blister on your skin is incredibly large blisters. You can not wear a wet cloth for protection, because moisture actually attracts the chemical. There is little that can be done for a victim of blister agent. If it is not severe the victim will have permanent injuries.
Riot control agent, aka tear gas, irritates the mucus membranes causing watery eyes, runny nose and difficulty breathing. My experience with it only caused pain in my eyes, while others around me suffered from the most extreme case of runny nose I’ve ever seen. People who have respiratory problems can die, as well as anyone who inhales huge amounts of the agent. Unlike Blister agents, a wet cloth is your best defense with Riot agents. Fresh air is the best treatment.
Blood agents are inhaled, and kill or injure by preventing your red blood cells from carrying oxygen. The most common type is carbon monoxide. Many people who kill themselves use this method by breathing in the exhaust of gas powered cars (it’s actually difficult to kill yourself with the exhaust of diesel powered cars). Fresh air is the best treatment, but if not soon enough permanent brain damage occurs.
Nerve agent, aka bug spray, destroys your ability to control your muscles by blocking the enzyme cholinsterase. A small amount can blur your vision, cause headaches and chest tightening. A moderate amount causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and muscular convulsions. Heavy exposure causes severe convulsions, coma and death. Next time you spray a bug with insecticide pay attention to how it dies, because it’s basically how you’ll die when hit with nerve agent. The only protection is a gas mask with proper filter, and a full protective suit (nerve agent can be absorbed by your skin). The only treatment for nerve agent is also deadly. Atropine can be taken no more than three times after heavy exposure to nerve agent, more than three times and you could die from the atropine. Atropine taken at any other time can kill you. Atropine is also used in medicine, mainly to treat certain poisonings, but, atropine is also a poison derived from the Deadly Nightshade plant.
Chemical weapons have proven to be inefficient weapons. That’s why they’re not really used that much. The main reason is that wind and rain can totally cancel out their affects on the battlefield. Chemical weapons work well only in confined areas, like valleys protected from high winds, or city streets surrounded by tall buildings, or gas chambers.
Also, studies show that well trained troops have a 98% survival rate when hit with chemical weapons. There are studies that suggest that governments might be keeping chemical weapons because they work well on civilians. One study says that a civilian population hit with chemical weapons, and with the right atmospheric conditions, would suffer 80% fatalities.
Other studies show that the most likely cause of civilian deaths would be from an accident involving the transport, or storage, of chemical weapons.