Added: Sept. 17, 2008
Source: YouTube
Government
FDA Considers Engineered Animals For Food
Agency Will Accept Industry Proposals To Sell The Public Animals With Mixed DNA
Two featherless chickens peck around in some grass at the Hebrew University in Rehovot. Israeli scientists at the Agriculture department of the university have genetically engineered bare-skinned chickens as part of a research project to develop succulent, low fat poultry that is environmentally friendly. (AP)
(CBS/AP) The U.S. government will start considering industry proposals to sell genetically engineered animals as human food.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday a government review will ensure that such animals are safe to eat.
Genetically engineered animals are created when scientists insert a gene from one species of animal into the DNA of another animal to reprogam some of its characteristics.
U.S. Senate passes $612 bln defense spending bill
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a $612.5 billion defense spending bill for fiscal 2009, including $70 billion for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As passed on an 88-8 vote, the measure would authorize $103.9 billion for Pentagon procurement, $1.2 billion more than President George W. Bush’s request. Overall, Bush had asked for $611.1 billion for national defense.
The bill shifts more of the costs of Iraq’s reconstruction onto Baghdad. It also puts further restrictions on contractors working in Iraq, including prohibitions on interrogations and the performance of “inherently governmental functions” in combat.
Russian stock markets closed until Friday
Medvedev calls for more measures
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia closed its stock exchanges for a second day Thursday as President Dmitry Medvedev pledged a 500 billion ruble ($20 billion) injection into financial markets to stem a dizzying plummet in share prices — and quash fears of a repeat of the country’s 1998 financial collapse.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reiterated that the government — which sits on the world’s third-largest foreign reserves — is in a strong position to handle the crisis, which threatens to undermine an eight-year economic success story and a resurgence in national pride.
Russia threatens to seize swathe of Arctic
President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia should unilaterally claim part of the Arctic, stepping up the race for the disputed energy-rich region.
The expedition to plant a Russian flag on the seabed beneath the ice of the North Pole last August Photo: REUTERS
“We must finalise and adopt a federal law on the southern border of Russia’s Arctic zone,” Mr Medvedev told a meeting of the Security Council, in remarks carried by Interfax news agency.
“This is our responsibility, and simply our direct duty, to our descendents,” he said. “We must surely, and for the long-term future, secure Russia’s interests in the Arctic.”
Federal bank insurance fund dwindling
Federal bank insurance fund dwindling, regulators consider options for replenishing it
WASHINGTON (AP) — Banks are not the only ones struggling in the growing financial crisis. The fund established to insure their deposits is also feeling the pinch, and the taxpayer may be the lender of last resort.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., whose insurance fund has slipped below the minimum target level set by Congress, could be forced to tap tax dollars through a Treasury Department loan if Washington Mutual Inc., the nation’s largest thrift, or another struggling rival fails, economists and industry analysts said Tuesday.
Lawmakers Question Results of Anthrax Investigation
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) told FBI leaders this morning that he does not believe “in any way shape or manner” that lead anthrax suspect Bruce E. Ivins acted alone.
Leahy, an intended recipient of one of the anthrax-packed 2001 letters, publicly cast doubt on the bureau’s conclusion last month that the bioweapons researcher carried out the notorious attacks as the sole culprit.
“I believe there are others involved either as accessories before or after the fact,” Leahy told FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III this morning at a committee hearing. “I believe there are others out there who should be charged with murder.”
Read moreLawmakers Question Results of Anthrax Investigation
Gold Soars Most Since 1999 as Investors Seek Haven From Turmoil
Gold up 10%, Silver up 12%
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Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — Gold surged the most in nine years as investors sought the safety of precious metals on concern that the credit crisis will deepen, leading more financial institutions to fail. Silver soared the most since 1995.
Equities tumbled even after the Federal Reserve took over the biggest U.S. insurer. The cost of borrowing dollars for three months jumped the most since 1999 as banks hoarded cash. Central banks in the Philippines and Venezuela said they may buy gold. In March, the metal reached a record as the government steered JPMorgan Chase & Co. to buy Bear Stearns Cos.
“With paper assets in question, gold represents the textbook storehouse of value,” said Ron Goodis, the futures trading director at Equidex Brokerage Inc. in Closter, New Jersey.
Read moreGold Soars Most Since 1999 as Investors Seek Haven From Turmoil
SEC issues new rules against abusive naked short-selling
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. securities regulators issued new rules Wednesday designed to protect investors against so-called “naked” short-selling, including requiring short sellers to deliver securities by the close of business on the settlement date and making clear that those lying about their ability or intention to deliver on time are breaking the law.
“These several actions today make it crystal clear that the SEC has zero tolerance for abusive naked short selling,” said Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox.
Read moreSEC issues new rules against abusive naked short-selling
City uses DNA to fight dog poop
PETAH TIKVA, Israel (Reuters) – An Israeli city is using DNA analysis of dog droppings to reward and punish pet owners.
Under a six-month trial programme launched this week, the city of Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, is asking dog owners to take their animal to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA.
The city will use the DNA database it is building to match faeces to a registered dog and identify its owner.
Russian Markets Halted Again as Emergency Funding Fails to Halt Rout
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) — Russian markets stopped trading for a second day after emergency funding measures by the government failed to halt the biggest stock rout since the country’s debt default and currency devaluation a decade ago.
The ruble-denominated Micex Stock Exchange suspended trading indefinitely at 12:10 p.m. after its index erased a 7.6 percent gain and plunged as much as 10 percent within an hour. The benchmark fell 17 percent yesterday, the biggest drop since Bloomberg started tracking the gauge in May 2001. The dollar- denominated RTS halted trading after similar declines.
Read moreRussian Markets Halted Again as Emergency Funding Fails to Halt Rout
Troops arrest Bolivian governor
 Mr Fernandez supported an autonomy referendum earlier in 2008 |
Bolivian troops have arrested the governor of a northern province wracked by deadly anti-government violence in recent days, state television reports.
Leopoldo Fernandez, an opponent of President Evo Morales, is accused of backing violence in Pando in which some 16 people died.
Mr Morales declared a state of emergency in Pando last weekend.
The region is among several demanding autonomy and opposing Mr Morales’s plans for constitutional reform.
Government troops who took control of the state capital of Pando, Cobija, moved to detain the governor on Tuesday, according to reports.
Russia halts trading after 17% share price fall
(Financial Times) – Russian shares suffered their steepest one-day fall in more than a decade on Tuesday, losing up to 20 per cent, as a sharp slide in oil prices and difficult money market conditions triggered a rush to sell.
The heads of the Russian central bank, the finance ministry and the financial market regulator met on Tuesday night for an emergency discussion on ways to halt the crisis.
Earlier, trading had been suspended on both the Micex and RTS stock exchanges as investors ignored assurances by Russian officials and a cycle of distrust set in amid liquidity fears.
Margin calls forced domestic traders to liquidate positions and brokers pulled credit lines. At least one Moscow bank failed to meet payments.
The rouble-denominated Micex Index closed 17.75 per cent down, the sharpest one-day drop since the August 1998 financial crisis, while the dollar-denominated RTS index closed down 11.47 per cent, its lowest lvel since January 2006.
Cheney Misled GOP Leaders, New Book Says
A GOP congressional leader who was wavering on giving President Bush authority to wage war in late 2002 said Vice President Cheney misled him by saying that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had direct personal ties to al-Qaeda terrorists and was making rapid progress toward a suitcase nuclear weapon.
Hindu-Christian riots spread in India
NEW DELHI, India (CNN) — Three weeks after an apparent misunderstanding sparked a confrontation, deadly Hindu-Christian riots continue unabated in the remote east Indian state of Orissa.
Police officers chase away a protester in Mangalore, India, Monday.
By Tuesday, about 20 deaths had been reported, said Praveen Kumar, the superintendent of police in the worst-affected Kandhamal district.
The latest casualty is a police officer who died after an armed mob of about 400 to 500 mostly Hindus torched a police station in the district on Monday, Orissa state police said.
IAEA: Iran blocks probe into alleged atom bomb work
VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran has blocked a U.N. inquiry into whether it researched ways to make a nuclear bomb, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Monday, as Britain said it would push hard for tougher sanctions against Tehran.
A confidential IAEA report said Iran had raised the number of centrifuges enriching uranium by 500 to 3,820 since May and was stepping up development of an advanced model able to refine nuclear fuel 2-3 times faster, in defiance of U.N. resolutions.
But a senior U.N. official familiar with the International Atomic Energy Agency findings said Iran seemed a good two years away from enriching enough uranium for an atomic weapon, if it eventually chose to do so.
Iran denies its nuclear work is aimed at developing a bomb.
Read moreIAEA: Iran blocks probe into alleged atom bomb work
Wilbur Ross: Possibly a Thousand Banks Will Close
In an exclusive interview with CNBC.com, Wilbur Ross, chairman and CEO of WL Ross & Co., says he sees possibly as many as a thousand bank closures in the coming months. And this will create opportunities for investors.
(Watch the full CNBC.com exclusive interview with Wilbur Ross )
“I do think a lot of the regional ones will (close), just as they did in the last savings and loan crisis in the 1990s,” Ross said.
Controlled drugs dumped uncontrolled into water
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – In a frustrating quirk in government policy, the most tightly controlled drugs – like painkilling narcotics prone to abuse – are the ones that most often elude environmental regulation when they become waste.
Federal narcotics regulators impose strict rules meant to keep controlled pharmaceuticals out of the wrong hands. Yet those rules also make these drugs nearly impossible to handle safely as waste, say hospital environmental administrators.
Many would like to send controlled substances to landfills or incinerators to keep them out of waterways as much as possible. Instead, they are nearly always dropped into sinks and toilets by hospitals, nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
The problem is huge, because more than 365 medicines are controlled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration – almost 12 percent of all prescriptions, the agency says. They include widely used narcotics, stimulants, depressants and steroids – drugs like codeine, morphine, oxycodone, diazepam (often sold as Valium) and methylphenidate (often sold as Ritalin).
Govt. Report Says Fluoride Added to Water Supply May Harm Population
(NaturalNews) A government-sponsored report has concluded that levels of fluoride that people are regularly exposed to in drinking water can cause serious malfunctioning of the thyroid gland, leading to even more serious health problems.
“A low level of thyroid hormone can increase the risk of cardiac disease, high cholesterol, depression, and, in pregnant woman, decreased intelligence of offspring,” said study co-author Kathleen Thiessen.
The comprehensive review of the scientific literature on fluoride exposure and thyroid toxicity was conducted by a panel appointed by the National Research Council of the National Academies (NRC). It found that fluoride exposure was associated with low levels of thyroid and parathyroid hormones, and an abnormally enlarged thyroid gland (goiter). They also found that fluoride tended to concentrate in the thyroid more than in any organ but the kidneys.
“Fluoride has detrimental effects on the thyroid gland of healthy males at 3.5 mg a day. With iodine deficiency, the effect level drops to 0.7 milligrams a day for an average male,” said Robert Carton, an environmental scientist with 30 years of experience working for the government.
Read moreGovt. Report Says Fluoride Added to Water Supply May Harm Population
Home Office: Car journeys to be stored on a national database for five years
CCTV cameras, converted to read ANPR data, capturing people’s movement. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Reuters
The police are to expand a car surveillance operation that will allow them to record and store details of millions of daily journeys for up to five years, the Guardian has learned.
Paul Lewis on police plans to store car surveillance records Link to this audio
A national network of roadside cameras will be able to “read” 50m licence plates a day, enabling officers to reconstruct the journeys of motorists.
Police have been encouraged to “fully and strategically exploit” the database, which is already recording the whereabouts of 10 million drivers a day, during investigations ranging from counter-terrorism to low-level crime.
But it has raised concerns from civil rights campaigners, who question whether the details should be kept for so long, and want clearer guidance on who might have access to the material.
Read moreHome Office: Car journeys to be stored on a national database for five years
Pakistani troops fire on US soldiers near Afghan border, reports say
Security officials say soldiers were trying to enter South Waziristan by helicopter
Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border. Photograph: Matiullah Achakzai/EPA
Pakistani troops opened fire on US soldiers trying to enter the country’s lawless tribal area today, according to reports, marking a dangerous further deterioration in relations between the two anti-terror allies.
Details of the incident, in South Waziristan, are unclear. According to local security officials and tribesmen, however, two US helicopters breached Pakistani airspace in the early hours but were forced to retreat when they came under fire.
The US forces were likely to have been on a hit-and-withdraw mission against suspected militants in the area, similar to the first documented US ground raid into the tribal territory earlier this month, when choppers flew in commandos. That enraged the Pakistani army and public.
Read morePakistani troops fire on US soldiers near Afghan border, reports say
Bolivia’s President Morales declares martial law in rebellious state
Supporters of Bolivia’s President Evo Morales burn dolls representing Leopoldo Fernandez, governor of the opposition state of Pando, in La Paz, Monday, Sept. 15, 2008. Several opposition provinces are seeking greater autonomy from Morales’ government and insist on the cancellation of a Jan. 25, 2008 referendum on a new constitution that would help him centralize power, run for a second consecutive term and transfer fallow terrain to landless peasants. At least 30 people have been killed in clashes this week, according to authorities (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – South America’s presidents converged on Chile for an emergency summit Monday aimed at preventing the collapse of Bolivia, whose leftist president has lost control of about half the country and said bloody unrest there amounts to an attempted coup.
Evo Morales said he would explain to his fellow presidents how his political foes in Bolivia’s rich eastern lowlands have mounted a “civic coup,” inciting “crimes against humanity by groups massacring the poorest of my country.”
At least 30 people were killed in political violence last week, prompting Bolivia’s first indigenous president to declare martial law in the rebellious state of Pando – where Morales says thugs used machine guns against his supporters – and seek the arrest of its governor.
Gov. Leopoldo Fernandez denied any responsibility for the deaths, calling it an armed clash between rival groups and accusing Morales of “mounting a farce.”
Morales has lost control over most of eastern Bolivia, where protests have blocked highways and closed border crossings and pipeline sabotage has forced a cutoff of nearly half his nation’s natural gas exports to Brazil.
Read moreBolivia’s President Morales declares martial law in rebellious state
Chinese Baby Formula Scandal Widens
BEIJING — China’s Ministry of Health on Monday announced that two babies have died in recent months and 1,253 others have been sickened by contaminated milk powder in a widening food safety scandal that has exposed persistent weaknesses in the country’s regulatory system.
More than 340 infants remain hospitalized, including 53 in serious condition. Inspection teams are visiting dairy farms and processing centers in the country’s four main milk-producing provinces to ensure that producers are not violating safety standards.
The Chinese authorities have confirmed that the tainted baby formula was laced with melamine, a chemical additive sometimes used to make plastics and fertilizer. Last year, after thousands of pets became ill in the United States, the same chemical was found in pet food and traced to a Chinese ingredient.
Lehman Files Biggest Bankruptcy Case in History
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) — Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the fourth-largest U.S. investment bank, succumbed to the subprime mortgage crisis it helped create in the biggest bankruptcy filing in history.
The 158-year-old firm, which survived railroad bankruptcies of the 1800s, the Great Depression in the 1930s and the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management a decade ago, filed a Chapter 11 petition with U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan today. The collapse of Lehman, which listed more than $613 billion of debt, dwarfs WorldCom Inc.’s insolvency in 2002 and Drexel Burnham Lambert’s failure in 1990.
China Detains 19 as Toxic Formula Sickens Hundreds of Infants
SHANGHAI – China said Saturday that 19 people had been detained by the police as part of an investigation into how baby formula had become contaminated with an industrial chemical. The formula is implicated in the death of one infant, and at least 432 others have been afflicted with kidney problems.
Read moreChina Detains 19 as Toxic Formula Sickens Hundreds of Infants