for life and liberty

‘Yak insurance’ plan saving Nepal’s endangered snow leopard

"Four years ago Sherpa, 48, founded with other locals an insurance plan for livestock that conservationists say is deterring herders from killing snow leopards that attack their animals. In doing so the scheme has given hope for the endangered cat, whose numbers across the mountains of 12 countries in south and central Asia are thought to have declined by 20 percent over the past 16 years. Under the scheme, herders pay in 55 rupees ($1.50) a year for each of their hairy yaks, the vital pack animal that is also kept for milk and meat, and are paid 2,500 rupees for any animal killed by the endangered cat." Continue reading →

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Saving the rhino with U.S. military surveillance drones

"A rhino farmer in South Africa is planning to use surveillance drones designed for the US military to combat poachers who are driving the animals towards extinction. Clive Vivier, cofounder of the Zululand rhino reserve in KwaZulu-Natal province, said he has been granted permission by the US state department to buy the state-of-the-art Arcturus T-20 drone. He is now seeking clearance from local civil aviation authorities to put 30 of the drones in South African skies. He appealed for the US, UK or other countries to help raise the necessary funds." Continue reading →

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Blind juggling robot keeps balls in the air for hours

"Researchers at the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control (IDSC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich have created a juggling robot, the so-called 'blind juggler,' which, in spite of its lack of visual sensors, is capable of flawlessly juggling a ball or balls for hours. The robot was designed by Philipp Reist and Raffaello D’Andrea and uses only mechanical sensors in its paddle, which is slightly curved. The robot registers nine different aspects of each bounce of the ball, including speed, angle and spin." Continue reading →

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Double-barrelled 50 kW German laser weapon shoots down drones and mortar rounds

"German defense contractor Rheinmetall has shown off a new two-part laser system with a combined output of 50 kW, capable of shooting down drones and intercepting mortar rounds in mid-flight. The high-energy laser (HEL) weapon consists of a 30 kW primary laser mounted on a rotating turret and a 20 kW secondary beam for targeting stationary objects. In tests conducted in late November, the beams combined to slice through a 15mm steel girder at a distance of roughly 1,000 yards, while the 30 kW laser on its own was able to intercept a drone moving at more than 110 mph." Continue reading →

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‘Citizen Drone Warfare’: Hobbyist explores a frightening scenario

"Less than a month ago, rumors that celebrity news and gossip website TMZ was interested in obtaining a paparazzi drone prompted privacy concerns and public debate about the appropriate personal and commercial uses of unmanned aerial vehicles. Now, a new online video poses a more troubling question: What if civilian drones are equipped to shoot more than just pictures? Titled 'Citizen Drone Warfare' and posted to YouTube last week anonymously, a video shows a hobbyist drone equipped with a custom-mounted paintball pistol flying over a grassy field and peppering human-shaped shooting-range targets with pellets." Continue reading →

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Read more about the article While America continues to shoot itself in the foot — Products manufactured in Sweden instead of US!
The Arizona Sentinel

While America continues to shoot itself in the foot — Products manufactured in Sweden instead of US!

When you snooze you lose!!!!!!!!!!!!!! While the federal agencies destroy Americas forest and timber production capabilities by killing the logging industry. Sweden has capitalized on their forest and sustainable timber production. While the United States stands still, Sweden says, “Lets getter done”. Watch this: http://documentarylovers.net/?p=3800 Ikea – Ultimate Factories Watch Now 0 Comments Category: Technology [...]

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An American Stasi

"America is building its American Stasi openly. Some parts of its operations will be open, and critical parts will be secret. Many Americans will support it. No matter whether the American Stasi is open or secret, each isolated American will face a powerful foe, even more powerful than the Stasi, in a one-sided contest whose outcome is predetermined. The captured Stasi files on East Germans are 65 miles long, excluding 16,000 sacks of shredded documents that are being reconstructed. The American Stasi's files will be, for all practical purposes, infinite, because of the advances in technology and information storage." Continue reading →

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I Met the Enemy

"I recently had an opportunity to visit Iran. Family and friends warned me not to go because everyone knows the people in Iran all hate Americans. I found the Iranian people to be among the friendliest I have ever met anywhere in the world. I have new friends there that I will hold dear to my heart for the rest of my life. Oh how I wish a million Americans would visit Iran and meet the people there. If more Americans could see for themselves what I saw, they would demand our government change its policies toward these wonderful people. I met the enemy ... and I love them." Continue reading →

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Tunisian president stoned by protesters

"Protesters on Monday hurled rocks at Tunisia’s President Moncef Marzouki and parliamentary speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar in Sidi Bouzid, cradle of the revolution that erupted exactly two years ago. The police held back, after violent clashes over the past few months, which have often followed attempts to disperse protesters angry over the Islamist-led government’s failure to improve living conditions in the poor region. Clashes and strikes, as well as attacks by hardline Islamists, have multiplied across Tunisia in the run-up to the second anniversary of the start of Tunisia’s revolution." Continue reading →

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Paula Was Not the Only One in Bed With Petraeus

"Petraeus got what he wanted from the relationship with the Kagans as well. Each time Petraeus descended on Capitol Hill he was treated like a god by lawmakers. That was the Kagans' doing. They rushed home from their extended stints 'running' the war in Afghanistan to pen saccharine pieces on the glories of Patraeus, just the kind of hero the pro-war faction in Congress (as in the entire Congress minus a handful) needed. This, in a nutshell, is why the desperate race to solve the 'fiscal cliff' is in reality a desperate race by Congress and the president to avoid any cuts in the military budget. Otherwise the Fred Kagans of the world will sic their think tank brigades on you." Continue reading →

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