Post by Michael James Stone on Sept 6, 2012 5:27:03 GMT -8
06 Sep 12
U.S. ability to compete slips
The United States’ ability to compete on the global stage has fallen for the fourth year running as confidence in the country’s politicians continues to decline, an annual survey from the World Economic Forum found Wednesday. Even though the world’s largest economy saw its overall competitiveness rise on the back of its status as a global innovation powerhouse, the Forum says the U.S.’s ranking has dropped two places to seventh this year. The Netherlands and Germany have moved ahead of the U.S. on the top 10 leaderboard.
U.S. ability to compete slips
The United States’ ability to compete on the global stage has fallen for the fourth year running as confidence in the country’s politicians continues to decline, an annual survey from the World Economic Forum found Wednesday. Even though the world’s largest economy saw its overall competitiveness rise on the back of its status as a global innovation powerhouse, the Forum says the U.S.’s ranking has dropped two places to seventh this year. The Netherlands and Germany have moved ahead of the U.S. on the top 10 leaderboard.
The Democrats of 2012: For Israel, Is the Party Over?
The party -- certainly the convention -- seems firmly under the control of those ambivalent about, if not outright hostile to, the State of Israel and its people.
Quantum Teleportation Goes the Distance: Record-Breaking Distance of 143 Kilometers Through Free Space
The experiment saw the successful teleportation of quantum information -- in this case, the states of light particles, or photons -- between the Canary Islands of La Palma and Tenerife. The breakthrough is a crucial step toward quantum communications via satellite. Unlike the teleportation of solid objects popularized in science fiction, the experiment involved the teleportation of quantum states, an essential pre-requisite of quantum computing, quantum communication and other powerful technologies under development at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at Waterloo.
Democrats Undemocratically Bring Back God and Jerusalem
There’s nothing like trying to reinsert language about God and Jerusalem that you removed and then tried to put back to fix your broken image, only to be booed by your own delegates who clearly aren’t fans of either God or Jerusalem… to show the country what you really stand for.
Michael becomes hurricane No. 7
Tropical Storm Michael became the seventh hurricane of the season Wednesday night far out in the Atlantic Ocean, U.S. forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. AST advisory Michael was pumping out winds near 75 mph on a sustained basis as it moved northeast at 7 mph. Tropical storm-force winds extended as much as 70 miles from its center.
Leslie now hurricane No. 6
Leslie became the sixth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season but was not threatening land Wednesday night, U.S. forecasters said. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said in its 11 p.m. AST advisory Leslie was expected to drift north through Friday. The Category 1 hurricane was about 445 miles south-southeast of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour and was moving north at 2 mph.
Earthquake swarm detected north of Virgin Islands
Between 3 a.m. Monday and continuing throughout the day Wednesday, more than 50 very minor to moderate earthquakes were recorded near Latitude 19 degrees north, north of the Virgin Islands, according to a statement VITEMA issued Wednesday. Those tremors included a 5.2-, 4.6- and 4.7-magnitude earthquake between 3 and 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Eurozone fall akin to Great Depression: economist
“The Great Depression of the 1930s was not a slam-bang crash, either,” Weinberg wrote. “It was the cumulative result of a decade of cascading economic declines.”
‘Something really wrong’ with fish die-off along Lake Erie: officials
Colby said he’s never smelled such a sewage stench on the lake and he’s never seen anything like the scenes of large dead fish littering the beach.
TSA Moves On From Your Underwear to Your Starbucks
“I asked [the agent] what they were doing,” he writes. “One of the TSA ladies said that they were checking for explosive chemicals (as we are drinking them). I said ‘really..inside the terminal? You have got to be kidding me’. I asked them if they wanted to swab us all. She responded with something like, yes sometimes we need to do that. I then asked if she wanted a urin [sic] sample.”
West Nile virus death toll in US jumps by a third
The death toll from US cases of West Nile virus, which has killed scores of people, has risen by nearly a third in a week, according to health officials. Eighty-seven people have now died from the mosquito-borne illness, up from 66 the week before, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Feds Say Mobile-Phone Location Data Not ‘Constitutionally Protected’
The Obama administration told a federal court Tuesday that the public has no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in cellphone location data, and hence the authorities may obtain documents detailing a person’s movements from wireless carriers without a probable-cause warrant.
FBI denies hacking group claims it has a database of millions of Apple accounts
FBI officials said the bureau never asked for and never possessed the database that the group, which calls itself AntiSec, is posting on a website. The group has released a link to a database of more than 1 million unique identification numbers for Apple devices, which could include iPhones and iPads.
US judge backs key provision of Arizona migrant law
A US federal judge has ruled Arizona officials can enforce a controversial provision and demand to check the immigration status of suspects. Critics say the provision, dubbed "show me your papers", will encourage racial profiling. But lawyers for Arizona's governor argued that police would need "reasonable suspicion" to trigger the demand.
Israel readies 'secret weapon' for Iran attack
Israel sees Iranian nuclear weapons as an existential threat, and plans are in place to carry out strikes to cripple the nuclear program by the middle of next month.
Jerusalem And God Vote Gets Booed At Dem Convention
Delegates and members of the Democratic party booed after former Gov. Ted Strickland (D-OH) discussed God and moved to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Rivlin: Obama only put J'lem back in platform for votes
The addition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital to the Democratic platform does not make up for the party's original intentions, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin said on Thursday "I have no doubt that [US President Barack] Obama put Jerusalem back in his party's platform out of political and electoral considerations and because of the sharp criticism from Israel and the US," Rivlin stated.
Turkey accuses Syria of 'state terrorism'
Turkey accused Syria of "state terrorism" Wednesday after a sharp spike in the death toll from the Syrian civil war, and Iran came under new scrutiny with the U.S. alleging that Tehran is flying weapons to President Bashar Assad's regime across Iraqi airspace.
eds Seek Prison Time For Obama "Hope" Artist
Federal prosecutors want Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the Barack Obama “Hope” poster, to serve time in prison following his misdemeanor conviction for destroying and fabricating documents in connection with a civil lawsuit over the iconic campaign image.
Syria troops 'bombard Aleppo districts'
Security forces have shelled parts of Syria's second city of Aleppo, killing at least 19 people, activists say. Troops began to bombard the districts of Bustan al-Qasr, Marjeh and Hananu before dawn. Many of those killed were reportedly women and children.
Convention floor erupts as Dems restore references to God, Jerusalem in platform
The floor of the Democratic National Convention erupted Wednesday over a sudden move to restore to the platform a reference to "God" and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital -- after heavy criticism from Republicans for initially omitting them. Democrats, though, were hardly in agreement over the reversal. A large and loud group of delegates shouted "no" as convention chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, called for the vote late Wednesday afternoon.
Gaza: Israeli Airstrike Kills Three Militants
An Israeli airstrike killed three Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip late Wednesday and seriously wounded a fourth, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials. Israel said the militants had been preparing to launch a rocket to attack Israel.
Iraq Rejects U.S. Claims That Iran Using Airspace to Send Arms to Syria
U.S. officials were angry today over reports that Iraq is allowing Iran to use its airspace to supply the embattled Syrian regime with military equipment, but Iraq demanded evidence to back up the American accusations.
Anti-Christian Hate Speech Spews From The Palm Beach Dem Chair
Here are a couple of the offensive comments made by the Palm Beach Democratic Chairman: “I’m Jewish, I’m not a fan of any other religion than Judaism.” “The worst possible allies for the Jewish state are the fundamentalist Christians who want Jews to die and convert so they can bring on the second coming of their Lord.”