The Michigan State Department of Natural Resources has outlawed feral pigs. They say that the now-illegal swine are considered invasive and, as of April 1, they can arrest farmers that own hogs that match nine characteristics described by the state. Mark Baker of Baker’s Green Acres is one of two farmers in the state battling for the right to have feral pigs.[jwplayer mediaid="11799"]
Tag Archives: United States
Big Brother News: Monsanto has been on a mission to control US and global agriculture?
Monsanto has been on a mission to control US agriculture. With the help of politicians and regulation agencies, the biotechnology company has been putting many farmers out of business. Many critics of the company believe it is the right of the people to know if they are consuming genetically-modified food. Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception, joins us with more on the Monsanto.[jwplayer mediaid="11735"]
United States jobless claims rise for second straight week
US jobless claims rise for second straight week
By Staff Reporter
AFP American Edition
Apr 12, 2012 09:24 EDT
New claims for US unemployment benefits rose for the second consecutive week after falling to a four-year low, official data showed Thursday in a report signaling a rise in layoffs.
The Labor Department reported 380,000 initial jobless claims were filed in the week ended April 7, an increase of 13,000, or 3.5 percent, from the prior week’s upwardly revised estimate.
The number for last week was the highest since January, while most analysts had expected it to fall, to 355,000 claims.
The four-week moving average also rose, by 4,250 claims to 368,500.
The overall trend in claims, however, has been in retreat as conditions slowly improve in the troubled job market.
US unemployment dropped unexpectedly, to 8.2 percent in March, the lowest rate in more than three years, from 8.3 percent in February the government reported last week.
But the economy created only 120,000 jobs in March, much lower than the 200,000 forecast by economists.
Source: AFP American Edition
Romney Beats Obama On Matters Of The Economy According To A Recent Poll
Trouble for Obama: Voters trust Romney to handle the ballooning federal budget deficit by 51 percent to 38 percent
Romney Beats Obama On Matters Of The Economy According To A Washington Post/ABC poll
On the most important issue the economy Barack Obama draws very negative marks for his business acumen, with nearly half of respondents (46 percent) saying it’s a reason to oppose his reelection, compared to 32 % saying it’s a reason to support him.
Voters, by more than 3 to 1, still see the United States economy in a recession, and such pessimism will leave Barack Obama vulnerable in the November election if he is perceived as being unable to turn the country around.
Mitt Romney’s lead in the protracted Republican nominations race is now nearly unstoppable, and the general election is shaping up to be a battle between him and Obama, who is seeking a 2nd term.
Mitt Romney is ahead or within the poll’s 3.5% margin of error on some pressing economic issues that will be front and center in the election.
On handling the economy, Romney leads 47 percent to 43 percent.
Romney’s lead on handling the federal budget deficit is a more substantial 51-38
Drone Wars | United States draws up plans for nuclear drones | World News
American scientists have drawn up plans for a new generation of nuclear-powered drones capable of flying over remote regions of the world for months on end without refuelling.
The blueprints for the new drones, which have been developed by Sandia National Laboratories – the US government’s principal nuclear research and development agency – and defence contractor Northrop Grumman, were designed to increase flying time “from days to months” while making more power available for operating equipment, according to a project summary published by Sandia.
“It’s pretty terrifying prospect,” said Chris Coles of Drone Wars UK, which campaigns against the increasing use of drones for both military and civilian purposes. “Drones are much less safe than other aircraft and tend to crash a lot. There is a major push by this industry to increase the use of drones and both the public and government are struggling to keep up with the implications.”
The highly sensitive research into what is termed “ultra-persistence technologies” set out to solve three problems associated with drones: insufficient “hang time” over a potential target; lack of power for running sophisticated surveillance and weapons systems; and lack of communications capacity.
The Sandia-Northrop Grumman team looked at numerous different power systems for large- and medium-sized drones before settling on a nuclear solution. Northrop Grumman is known to have patented a drone equipped with a helium-cooled nuclear reactor as long ago as 1986, and has previously worked on nuclear projects with the US air force research laboratory. Designs for nuclear-powered aircraft are known to go back as far as the 1950s.
The research team found that the nuclear drones were able to provide far more surveillance time and intelligence information per mission compared to other technologies, and also to reduce the considerable costs of support systems – eliminating the need, for example, for forward bases and fuel supplies in remote and possibly hostile areas.
A halt has been called to the work for now, due to worries that public opinion will not accept the idea of such a potentially hazardous technology, with the inherent dangers of either a crash – in effect turning the drone into a so-called dirty bomb – or of its nuclear propulsion system falling into the hands of terrorists or unfriendly powers.
Sandia confirmed that the project had been completed: “Sandia is often asked to look at a wide range of solutions to the toughest technical challenges. The research on this topic was highly theoretical and very conceptual. The work only resulted in a preliminary feasibility study and no hardware was ever built or tested. The project has ended.”
According to a summary of the research published by the Federation of American Scientists, an independent thinktank, computer-based projections were used to test the concepts. “Based on requirements and direction provided by Northrop Grumman, Sandia performed focused studies to translate stated needs into conceptual designs and processes that could be transferred easily from Sandia to industry design and production personnel,” the document says.
So sensitive is the issue that the summary does not spell out the fact that it is referring to a nuclear-powered drone, referring instead to “propulsion and power technologies that went well beyond existing hydrocarbon technologies”. However, the project’s lead investigator at Sandia, Dr Steven Dron, is well known as a specialist in nuclear propulsion, having co-chaired a session at the 2008 Symposium on Space Nuclear Power and Propulsion, held at the University of New Mexico in 2008.
The research summary also stated that the results “were to be used in the next generation of unmanned air vehicles used for military and intelligence applications”, where they “would have provided system performance unparalleled by other existing technologies”.
It added that “none of the results will be used in the near-term or mid-term future”, due to political constraints.
The potential impact of nuclear-powered drones can be gauged by comparing them with existing aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper, which is used extensively in Afghanistan and Pakistan in operations against insurgents. The Reaper presently carries nearly two tonnes of fuel in addition a similar weight of munitions and other equipment and can stay airborne for around 42 hours, or just 14 hours when fully loaded with munitions.
Using nuclear power would enable the Reaper not only to remain airborne for far longer, but to carry more missiles or surveillance equipment, and to dispense with the need for ground crews based in remote and dangerous areas.
Coles believes the increasing sophistication of drones poses many threats: “As they become low-cost, low-risk alternatives to conventional warfare, the threshold for their use will inevitably drop. The consequences are not being thought through.”
via US draws up plans for nuclear drones | World news | guardian.co.uk.
