Mainstream News

Riot in India as ‘poisonous’ school lunch kills 21 children

"Twenty-one children have died after eating a free lunch feared to contain poisonous chemicals at a school in eastern India, officials said Wednesday, sparking angry protests as mobs ran riot. Another 30 children remained ill in hospital after consuming the meal of lentils, vegetables and rice. Free lunches are offered to poorer students in state-run schools as part of government welfare measures in many of India’s 29 states. Educators see the midday meal scheme as a way to increase school attendance. But children often suffer from food poisoning due to poor hygiene in kitchens and occasionally sub-standard food." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRiot in India as ‘poisonous’ school lunch kills 21 children

Millions of U.S. license plates tracked and stored – and it’s not just government agencies

"'License plate readers are the most pervasive method of location tracking that nobody has heard of,' said Catherine Crump, ACLU lawyer and lead author of the report. 'They collect data on millions of Americans, the overwhelming number of whom are entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.' Crump said that the creeping growth of licence plate scanners echoed the debate over the National Security Agency. 'It raises the same question as the NSA controversy: do we want to live in a world where the government makes a record of everything we do – because that’s what’s being created by the growth of databases linked to license plate readers.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMillions of U.S. license plates tracked and stored – and it’s not just government agencies

Colorado town considers licensing bounty hunters to shoot down drones

"A six-page petition circulated by a resident says that the threat of surveillance from drones — regardless of who is piloting them — is a threat to 'traditional American ideas of Liberty and Freedom'. According to the proposed ordinance, which will be considered by the town council at its next meeting on Aug. 6, prospective bounty hunters can get a one-year drone-hunting license for $25. Proposed bounties will be $25 for those turning in the wings or fuselage of downed aircraft and $100 for mostly intact vehicles. To collect the bounty, the wreckage must have 'markings, and configuration … consistent with those used by the United States federal government.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColorado town considers licensing bounty hunters to shoot down drones

Aide to man with Down syndrome killed by police in theater had warned police, report says

"Moments before off-duty Frederick County sheriff’s deputies tried to force a young man with Down syndrome out of a movie theater — a move that eventually led to his death —Robert Ethan Saylor’s 18-year-old aide warned them that he would 'freak out' if they touched him. 'Next thing I know, there are I think three or four cops holding Ethan, trying to put him in handcuffs,' the aide told authorities, according to documents from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Department obtained Monday by the Associated Press. 'I heard Ethan screaming, saying ‘ouch,’ ‘don’t touch me,’ ‘get off’ and crying. Next thing I hear is nothing.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAide to man with Down syndrome killed by police in theater had warned police, report says

Medical research on animals often biased, scientists warn

"Researchers examined 160 previously published meta-analyses of 1,411 animal studies on potential treatments for multiple sclerosis, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injury, all done on more than 4,000 animals. Just eight showed evidence of strong, statistically significant associations using evidence from more than 500 animals. Only two studies seemed to lead to 'convincing' data in randomized controlled trials in humans, it said. The rest showed a range of problems, from poor study design, to small size, to an overarching tendency toward publishing only studies in which positive effects could be reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedical research on animals often biased, scientists warn

China shuts down $88 million mocked museum with ‘fake’ national treasures

"Chinese authorities have closed a museum which contained scores of fake exhibits, including a vase decorated with cartoon characters billed as a Qing dynasty artefact, state-run media reported Tuesday. The facility, built in northern China’s Hebei province at a cost of 540 million yuan ($88 million), has 'no qualification to be a museum as its collections are fake', a local official told the Global Times newspaper. It had been closed, the paper said, while its founders have been placed 'under investigation' after local residents accused them of wasting money." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina shuts down $88 million mocked museum with ‘fake’ national treasures

British scientists use urine to charge cell phone

"British scientists on Tuesday reported they had harnessed the power of urine and were able to charge a mobile phone with enough electricity to send texts and surf the Internet. The team grew bacteria on carbon fibre anodes and placed them inside ceramic cylinders. The bacteria broke down chemicals in urine passed through the cylinders, building up a small amount of electrical charge which was stored on a capacitor." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritish scientists use urine to charge cell phone

HAARP Facility Shuts Down

"The High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) — a subject of fascination for many hams and the target of conspiracy theorists and anti-government activists — has closed down. HAARP’s program manager, Dr James Keeney at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, told ARRL that the sprawling 35-acre ionospheric research facility in remote Gakona, Alaska, has been shuttered since early May. 'Currently the site is abandoned,' he said. 'It comes down to money. We don’t have any.' Keeney said no one is on site, access roads are blocked, buildings are chained and the power turned off." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHAARP Facility Shuts Down

Former air accident investigator alleges cover-up in 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800

"A former air accident investigator campaigning for a new probe into the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 said Monday that US authorities appear to be taking his request seriously. 'TWA 800' cites radar data from the instant of the disaster as the “smoking gun” that suggests the flight might have been the victim of surface-launched proximity fuse missiles. The film also quotes some of the hundreds of witnesses interviewed by FBI agents, but never summoned before the NTSB, who say they saw what appeared to be a missile soaring into the evening sky, followed by an explosion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer air accident investigator alleges cover-up in 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800

Gibraltar tries to lure London hedge fund bosses with promise of low taxes

"Gibraltar is launching a campaign to persuade hedge funds to ditch their plush Mayfair offices for the low taxes of 'the Rock'. Last week hedge fund managers were invited to the peninsula where they were told income tax could be limited to £30,000 a year no matter how many millions they earned. Gibraltar also boasts no VAT and social security payments of just £120 per family a month. In the UK the top rate of income tax is 45%, VAT is 20% and national insurance is levied at 14% of weekly earnings above £797. Corporation tax on activities undertaken on the rock is levied at 10%, compared with 24% in the UK." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGibraltar tries to lure London hedge fund bosses with promise of low taxes