Christmas and Easter are Pagan holidays! Jesus' birth was a real event, even though it didn't happen on December 25th.
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Diplomatic Shockers in Latest WikiLeaks Upload
Amplify’d from endrtimes.blogspot.com
Diplomatic Shockers in Latest WikiLeaks Upload
Other red flags raised by U.S. diplomats include the security of Pakistan's nuclear program. which was described as vulnerable to smuggling and corruption.
U.S. Spying on United Nations Chief, Diplomats?
A classified directive which appears to blur the line between diplomacy and spying was issued to U.S. diplomats under Hillary Clinton's name in July 2009, the Guardian reports, demanding forensic technical details about the communications systems used by top UN officials, including passwords and personal encryption keys used in private and commercial networks for official communications.
The New York Times also interprets the newly-released diplomatic documents as showing an expanded role of American diplomats in collecting intelligence overseas. Including orders to State Department personnel to gather the credit card and frequent-flier numbers, work schedules and other personal information of foreign dignitaries.
(Go to article for links to these documents)
Embarrassing Revelations Abound in Leaked U.S. Cables (CBSNews.com)
WikiLeaks Defies U.S., Releases Embassy Cables
Cables Shine Light Into Secret Diplomatic Channels (NYT)
The US Embassy Cable (Guardian)
A Superpower's View of the World (Spiegel, in English)
Los papeles del Departamento de Estado (El Pais)
Wikileaks: Dans les coulisses de la diplomatie americaine (Le Monde)
Iran's Neighbors Want Military Action Against Iran
The U.K. Guardian reports King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has repeatedly urged the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear program, according to leaked U.S. diplomatic cables that describe how other Arab allies have secretly agitated for military action against Tehran.
Leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt referred to Iran as "evil", an "existential threat" and a power that "is going to take us to war," the Guardian reports from the released documents.
North Korea Providing Nuclear-capable Missiles to Iran
Secret American intelligence assessments reported that Iran has obtained a cache of advanced missiles, based on a Russian design, that are much more powerful than anything Washington has publicly conceded that Tehran has in its arsenal, diplomatic cables show, according to a New York Times reading of the documents.
Iran obtained 19 of the missiles from North Korea, according to a cable dated Feb. 24 of this year, the Times reports.
On the same subject, Politico notes the shipment of missiles to to Iran was widely known in intelligence circles, but the WikiLeaks disclosures represent the first confirmation that Iran now possesses complete missile systems.
Planning for North Korea's Collapse
The New York Times reports that American and South Korean officials have discussed the prospects for a unified Korea, should the North's economic troubles and political transition lead the state to implode. The South Koreans even considered commercial inducements to China, according to the American ambassador to Seoul, who told Washington in February that South Korean officials believe that the right business deals would "help salve" China's "concerns about living with a reunified Korea" that is in a "benign alliance" with the United States.
Security Concerns for Pakistan's Nuclear Program
Intelligence reports from U.S. diplomats raise red flags over the security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, reports the U.K. Guardian. Officials warned that as the country faces economic collapse, government employees could smuggle out enough nuclear material for terrorists to build a bomb.
Want a Meeting with Obama? Take a Prisoner
The New York Times reports on pressure tactics used by American diplomats pressing other countries to resettle detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison, the closing of which was one of President Obama's unfulfilled campaign pledges.
The Times reports several diplomatic tactics used to unload the prisoners:
-- Slovenia was told to take a prisoner if it wanted to meet with President Obama
-- The island nation of Kiribati was offered incentives worth millions of dollars to take in Chinese Muslim detainees
-- Belgium was told accepting more prisoners would be "a low-cost way for Belgium to attain prominence in Europe."
Chinese Gov't OKs Hack of Google
A Chinese contact tipped off the U.S. Embassy in Beijing that China's Politburo OK'd a huge effort to hack and eavesdrop on Google computers as part of a nearly decade-long cyber-sabotage effort aimed at American companies and supporters of the Dalai Lama, reports Politico.
Yemen to Petraeus: We'll Take the Blame for Missile Strikes
Politico reports on U.S. documents in which the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, told Gen. David Petraeus that he would continue to take the blames for U.S. missile strikes on suspected al Qaeda operatives in Yemen.
"We'll continue saying the bombs are ours, not yours," Saleh is quoted as saying in a recent summary of the talk.
Source
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WikiLeaks 'Should Be A Terror Organisation'
Amplify’d from endrtimes.blogspot.com
WikiLeaks 'Should Be A Terror Organisation'
"WikiLeaks presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States," he said. "I strongly urge you (Foreign Secretary Hillary Clinton) to work within the Administration to use every offensive capability of the US government to prevent further damaging releases by WikiLeaks."
The Foreign Office said the actions of WikiLeaks risked British lives and security.
WikiLeaks presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.
New York Republican Peter King on WikiLeaks
"They can damage national security, are not in the national interest and, as the US have said, may put lives at risk."
The White House was also critical of the leak of US cables.
"These cables could compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders, and when the substance of private conversations is printed on the front pages of newspapers across the world, it can deeply impact not only US foreign policy interests, but those of our allies and friends around the world," a spokesman said.
"Such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world."
Roger Cressey, a former US cyber and counter-terrorism official, said the leaks would have a "devastating" effect on diplomatic relations and on the fight against al Qaeda.
"The essence of our foreign policy is our ability to talk straight and honest with our foreign counterparts and to keep those conversations out of the public domain," he said.
"This massive leak puts that most basic of diplomatic requirements at risk in the future."
The really secret information, I would suggest, is still pretty safe and probably won't end up on WikiLeaks.
Prof Michael Cox, associate fellow of the think-tank Chatham House
He added: "Think of relations with Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Afghanistan, governments who we need to work with us in defeating al Qaeda.
"This kind of leak will seriously hinder our ability to persuade these governments to support our counterterrorism priorities in the future."
However, Professor Michael Cox, associate fellow of the think-tank Chatham House, said the political fallout had been exaggerated.
"As to whether it's going to cause the kind of seismic collapse of international relations that governments have been talking about, I somehow doubt," he said.
"The really secret information, I would suggest, is still pretty safe and probably won't end up on WikiLeaks."
Source
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WikiLeaks Disclosure: Clinton ordered spying operation on UN diplomats
Amplify’d from endrtimes.blogspot.com
WikiLeaks Disclosure: Clinton ordered spying operation on UN diplomats
According to the Daily Mail, American staff in embassies around the world were ordered by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to obtain frequent flyer numbers, credit card details and even iris scans, fingerprints and DNA of foreign officials.
Meanwhile, the Wikileaks website crashed. In a Twitter statement the organisation said it was suffering a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack - i.e. an effort to make the site unavailable to users, usually by flooding it with requests for data. (ANI)
.
Source
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Man falls to death during game at Chicago's Soldier Field
Amplify’d from www.cnn.com
Man falls to death during game at Chicago's Soldier Field
(CNN) -- Police in Chicago, Illinois, are investigating the death of a man who fell from the upper level of Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, to the ground outside the stadium, police said.
The incident happened around 5 p.m. Sunday while the Bears were playing the Philadelphia Eagles, said Veejay Zala of the Chicago Police Department. The 27-year-old man was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 5:27 p.m.
The man's name was not immediately released.
Last week, a 2-year-old boy fell to his death from a luxury suite at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The boy fell at the conclusion of an National Baskeball Association game and later died at the hospital.
In July, a fan trying to catch a foul ball at a Texas Rangers game in Arlington, Texas, fell 30 feet, injuring himself and four others. Tyler Morris tumbled over the railing on the club level of the stadium, hit the railing on the suite level and then landed on the lower deck. His injuries were not life-threatening.
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Government of Zambia praises Adventists
Amplify’d from www.zambianwatchdog.com
Government praises Adventists
Government has praised the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) for actively participating in the enhancement of socio-economic development of the country.
Gender in Development Minister Sarah Sayifwanda said government is appreciative of the church in offering health and agricultural training opportunities to the communities aimed at bettering the welfare of people.
Ms Sayifwanda said this in a speech read on her behalf by acting Legal and Governance Director Monde Gwaba at the new Libala SDA church ground breaking ceremony in Lusaka today.
She said the declaration of Zambia as a Christian Nation has seen unprecedented growth of various churches which is key in nurturing a prosperous nation.
Speaking earlier, SDA Central Zambia Conference Executive Secretary Goliath Nine said the church has embarked on the construction of an ultra modern church at a cost of K6 billion to accommodate over 3000 congregants.
Pastor Nine said the development is outlined in the church’s Strategic Plan for 2009 to 2014.
The church that currently has a sitting capacity of 1,500 will be expanded to a capacity of at least 3000 to accommodate the growing membership.
And in a related development, Lusaka Province Minister Charles Shawa has said government and the church will continue working together in finding solutions to various socio-economic problems affecting the wellbeing of people in the country.
Mr Shawa said government and the church are inseparable partners in the maintenance of peace which is a prerequisite for national building and development.
He said this in a speech read for him by Lusaka Province Local Government Officer, Francis Ndhlovu during the fundraising and promotion day for a public address system at Matero Main SDA Church in Matero Township today.
Mr Shawa said with the advancement in technology, the church should also benefit from technology as a modern communication tool in its evangelism ministry.
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Stalled, Nations Meet Again on Climate Change
With record low temperatures in the U.K., Nations are meeting in warm and sunny Cancun over climate change!
With Agreement on Emissions Looking More Distant than Ever, Focus will Be on Money at Leaders Meet in Cancun
Amplify’d from www.cbsnews.com
Stalled, Nations Meet Again on Climate Change
With Agreement on Emissions Looking More Distant than Ever, Focus will Be on Money at Leaders Meet in Cancun
Interactive Global Warming
The greenhouse effect, a look at the Kyoto Protocol and a history of the Earth's climate.
Photo Essay A Warming Effect
A behind-the-scenes look at the 60 Minutes team's trip to Patagonia, Chile and Antarctica.
Beginning Monday, 15,000 government delegates, environmentalists, business leaders, journalists and others will gather in the meeting halls of this steamy Caribbean resort for the annual conference of the 193-nation U.N. climate treaty.
They meet late in a year that may end tied for the hottest globally in 131 years of record-keeping.
As the world warms, the long-running U.N. negotiations have bogged down, unable to find consensus on a legally binding agreement requiring richer countries — and perhaps some poorer — to rein in emissions of carbon dioxide and other industrial, transportation and agricultural gases blamed for global warming.
The Republican takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives and a recent historic shift in emissions — developing countries now produce more greenhouse gases than the old industrial world — all but guarantee the standoff will drag on, at least for another year or two.
"The world is waiting for fruitful negotiations," Mexico's environment secretary, Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, told The Associated Press.
U.N. officials hope for "incremental progress" on side issues, not an overarching deal, in two weeks of negotiation ending with three days of high-level bargaining among the world's environment ministers.
"Governments need to prove the intergovernmental process can deliver and come to an agreement," U.N. climate chief Christiana Figueres told reporters outside the beachside Moon Palace Hotel.
Mexican naval vessels offshore joined a giant security cordon ringing this sprawling resort area in a country plagued by drug wars, kidnappings and other crime.
Hoping to revive momentum in the talks, delegates look for decisions leading to better terms for developing nations to obtain patented "green" technology from advanced countries, and toward a system for compensating poorer nations for protecting their forests.
In particular, the developing world wants a significant deal on finance, a decision to establish a green fund to handle billions in aid dollars pledged by developed nations to help poorer countries adapt to a changing climate by, for example, building shoreline protection and upgrading water systems to deal with drought, and to install clean energy sources.
In a nonbinding Copenhagen Accord reached by world leaders at last year's climate summit in the Danish capital, richer nations set a goal of $100 billion annually in such climate finance by 2020.
The fund's operational and leadership details would likely be left for post-Cancun negotiation, as would the key question of how it would be financed. A U.N. panel of international political and financial leaders has presented a menu of revenue-raising options, including levies on international flights and on foreign-exchange transactions.
More immediately, less-developed nations will raise concerns about short-term aid, "fast-start finance" promised in the Copenhagen Accord.
"There's been too little for small island developing states. It's a trickle," said Grenada's U.N. ambassador, Dessima Williams, chair of an alliance of island states.
At Copenhagen, industrial nations as a group pledged $30 billion in quick financing over 2010-2012. Independent analysts find that governments individually since have promised $28 billion for the three years.
Poorer nations complain much of the money may not be new, but funds simply reshuffled from other development programs. At Cancun, they're expected to demand a clearer accounting of fast-start finance.
That "would build confidence in the overall funding process," Robert Orr, a U.N. assistant secretary-general, told reporters in New York. "We need new and additional money to address the problem, not repackaged money."
On the flip side, the developed north will seek a better accounting from China, India and other emerging economies of the south on what they're doing to slow the galloping growth of their greenhouse gas emissions.
Nations north and south pledged under the 2009 accord to voluntarily lower emissions by specific amounts or, in the case of emerging economies, to slow emissions growth. Developing countries also agreed to some international scrutiny of the steps they take, but the U.S. complains China has backtracked on that.
At Cancun, India will submit a compromise monitoring plan it hopes will help satisfy the north on the south's emissions actions, while the south obtains a better accounting on climate finance.
Monitoring is "the crux of all issues at Cancun," India's environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, told the AP in New Delhi.
The Copenhagen emissions pledges, even if all were met, would take the world only 60 percent of the way toward preventing serious climate change, the U.N. Environment Program reported last week.
Scientists say emissions overall should be cut 25-40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 to prevent a dangerous temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F) above preindustrial levels. Temperatures already rose 0.7 degrees C (1.3 degrees F) in the 20th century.
The Copenhagen pledges would together reduce emissions by only 18 percent, independent analysis shows. In the U.S. case, emissions would be cut by only 3 percent below 1990 levels.
For 13 years the U.S. has refused to join the rest of the industrialized world in the U.N. climate treaty's Kyoto Protocol, a binding pact to curb fossil-fuel emissions by modest amounts.
The rise of Republicans in Washington, many of whom dismiss powerful scientific evidence of global warming, seems to rule out for now U.S. legislation to cap emissions, essential for drawing others into a binding global deal to succeed Kyoto, expiring in 2012.
American negotiators say Washington will never submit to a new Kyoto-style deal on emissions unless China, India and others take on commitments under a legally binding treaty. The Chinese and Indians counter that they're still too poor to risk stifling economic growth, and the historic responsibility for industrial emissions lies with the north.
The Obama administration, meanwhile, seeks limited emissions reductions via executive action. But the rest of the world, from Europe to island states facing rising seas, is skeptical of the American will to take demanding long-term action.
As the debates drag on, heat-trapping carbon dioxide fills more of the atmosphere. From 280 parts per million before the Industrial Revolution, the concentration stood at 386.8 ppm in 2009.
If too little is done, temperatures this century may rise by up to 6.4 degrees C (11.5 degrees F), leading to severe climate disruption, say scientists of the U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The disruption may already have begun.
Researchers point to this summer's historic heat wave in Russia and nationwide floods in Pakistan as portents of things to come. In the Arctic Ocean, the summer melt of the ice cap has reached unprecedented proportions in recent years, and studies suggest the summer ocean may be ice-free as early as this decade.
Here in Mexico, research points to a drying out and shrinking of farm output in some regions, which might lead to a greater exodus of Mexican migrants to the U.S.
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"State TV Reports a 2nd Prominent Nuke Scientist Wounded in Apparent Double Drive-By Bombing"
Amplify’d from www.cbsnews.com
Bomb Kills Iran Nuclear Scientist
State TV Reports a 2nd Prominent Nuke Scientist Wounded in Apparent Double Drive-By Bombing
Fast Facts Iran
Learn about the people, economy and history.
The state television website says attackers riding on motorcycles attached bombs to the car windows of the scientists as they were driving to their workplaces on Monday morning.
One bomb killed Majid Shahriari, a member of the nuclear engineering faculty at the Tehran University, and wounded his wife.
The second blast seriously wounded nuclear physicist Fereidoun Abbasi.
At least two other Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in recent years. Iran has said it suspects the attacks were part of a covert attempt by the West to undermine the country's nuclear program.
The attacks come as thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables, revealed to the public by the WikiLeaks organization, shed light on Arab leaders' deep concerns over Tehran's nuclear program.
Some of the cables include statements by leaders in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, urging the U.S. to attack Iran to end the isolated regime's uranium enrichment program.
Iran temporarily stopped enriching uranium earlier this month for unspecified reasons, the U.N. nuclear agency said last week.
The finding was contained in a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency for the U.N. Security Council and the 35 IAEA board member nations. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the restricted report.
Diplomats first told the AP of a temporary shutdown of Iran's enrichment program on Monday. They also said they did not know why the thousands of centrifuges stopped turning out material that Iran says it needs to fuel a future network of nuclear reactors.
Speculation focused on the Stuxnet worm, which cyber experts have identified as configured to damage centrifuges.
But Iran on Tuesday denied that Stuxnet had caused any damage.
Vice President Ali Akbar Salehi said details about the virus became known only after Iran's "enemies failed to achieve their goals."
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Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans
Would you want to live forever in this world of sin?
Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk
Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice – now for humans
Harvard scientists were surprised that they saw a dramatic reversal, not just a slowing down, of the ageing in mice. Now they believe they might be able to regenerate human organs
Ian Sample, science correspondent
In mice, reactivating the enzyme telomerase led to the repair of damaged tissues and reversed the signs of ageing. Photograph: Robert F. Bukaty/AP
Scientists claim to be a step closer to reversing the ageing process after rejuvenating worn out organs in elderly mice. The experimental treatment developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School turned weak and feeble old mice into healthy animals by regenerating their aged bodies.
The surprise recovery of the animals has raised hopes among scientists that it may be possible to achieve a similar feat in humans – or at least to slow down the ageing process.
An anti-ageing therapy could have a dramatic impact on public health by reducing the burden of age-related health problems, such as dementia, stroke and heart disease, and prolonging the quality of life for an increasingly aged population.
"What we saw in these animals was not a slowing down or stabilisation of the ageing process. We saw a dramatic reversal – and that was unexpected," said Ronald DePinho, who led the study, which was published in the journal Nature.
"This could lead to strategies that enhance the regenerative potential of organs as individuals age and so increase their quality of life. Whether it serves to increase longevity is a question we are not yet in a position to answer."
The ageing process is poorly understood, but scientists know it is caused by many factors. Highly reactive particles called free radicals are made naturally in the body and cause damage to cells, while smoking, ultraviolet light and other environmental factors contribute to ageing.
The Harvard group focused on a process called telomere shortening. Most cells in the body contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, which carry our DNA. At the ends of each chromosome is a protective cap called a telomere. Each time a cell divides, the telomeres are snipped shorter, until eventually they stop working and the cell dies or goes into a suspended state called "senescence". The process is behind much of the wear and tear associated with ageing.
At Harvard, they bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase that stops telomeres getting shorter. Without the enzyme, the mice aged prematurely and suffered ailments, including a poor sense of smell, smaller brain size, infertility and damaged intestines and spleens. But when DePinho gave the mice injections to reactivate the enzyme, it repaired the damaged tissues and reversed the signs of ageing.
"These were severely aged animals, but after a month of treatment they showed a substantial restoration, including the growth of new neurons in their brains," said DePinho.
Repeating the trick in humans will be more difficult. Mice make telomerase throughout their lives, but the enzyme is switched off in adult humans, an evolutionary compromise that stops cells growing out of control and turning into cancer. Raising levels of telomerase in people might slow the ageing process, but it makes the risk of cancer soar.
DePinho said the treatment might be safe in humans if it were given periodically and only to younger people who do not have tiny clumps of cancer cells already living, unnoticed, in their bodies.
David Kipling, who studies ageing at Cardiff University, said: "The goal for human tissue 'rejuvenation' would be to remove senescent cells, or else compensate for the deleterious effects they have on tissues and organs. Although this is a fascinating study, it must be remembered that mice are not little men, particularly with regard to their telomeres, and it remains unclear whether a similar telomerase reactivation in adult humans would lead to the removal of senescent cells."
Lynne Cox, a biochemist at Oxford University, said the study was "extremely important" and "provides proof of principle that short-term treatment to restore telomerase in adults already showing age-related tissue degeneration can rejuvenate aged tissues and restore physiological function."
DePinho said none of Harvard's mice developed cancer after the treatment. The team is now investigating whether it extends the lifespan of mice or enables them to live healthier lives into old age.
Tom Kirkwood, director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, said: "The key question is what might this mean for human therapies against age-related diseases? While there is some evidence that telomere erosion contributes to age-associated human pathology, it is surely not the only, or even dominant, cause, as it appears to be in mice engineered to lack telomerase. Furthermore, there is the ever-present anxiety that telomerase reactivation is a hallmark of most human cancers."
Related
More on ageing
Can we reverse the ageing process?
An intensive study of a thousand people in Newcastle over 85 years old may provide the key to new treatments for diseases of old age
America's $88bn anti-ageing industry: dangerous and with no scientific backing
Aubrey de Grey: We don't have to get sick as we get older
New genetic test can predict your chances of living to 100, claim scientists
The oldest living organisms: ancient survivors with a fragile future
Living fast? Scientists show lifespan is linked to DNA
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