News Headlines - 17 April 2012

Tar Sands Update  
Oil, Energy and Mining
You might not know this, but Canada has oil reserves of 170 billion barrels, more than Iran and Nigeria combined.


Video shows dramatic details of Tibetan immolation  
Protests and Uprisings
Video obtained by an overseas pro-Tibet group shows Chinese security forces beating a man who had set himself on fire in one of several self-immolations by Tibetans protesting Chinese rule....


DPR Korea condemned for weather rocket...and Israel?  
Current Events
The world community has heaped criticism on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for testing a weather system, in the same way that it heaps criticism on Iran for pursuing a nuclear energy programme. But what about Israel, which sits on nuclear weapons, has ballistic missiles and has violated countless UNSC Resolutions?


Kohler: US sleepwalks towards a fiscal cliff  
Economy
The trouble with kicking the can down the road is that you eventually encounter it again. That’s what’s happening to American fiscal policy at the end of this year.


Top 5 US Internet Firms Dodged $1 Billion In UK Tax Using Offshore Accounts  
Economy
The top 5 US internet firms used offshore companies to avoid paying $1 billion dollars in taxes on profits they made in Great Britain.
Apple, Amazon, Google, eBay, Facebook.


Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin warns very powerful forces have lined up against the open internet on all sides and are attacking it all around the world.  
Civil Liberties & Privacy
The principles of openness and universal access that underpinned the creation of the internet three decades ago are under greater threat than ever, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

In an interview with the Guardian, Brin warned there were 'very powerful forces that have lined up against the open internet on all sides and around the world'. 'I am more worried than I have been in the past,' he said. 'It’s scary.'


Anatolia gas link wins backers  
Oil, Energy and Mining
The Trans-Anatolia project for Caspian gas to Europe, initiated as an Azerbaijani-Turkish project, is attracting interest from Western gas producers in Azerbaijan, transit companies and European importers.


U.S. troops to have 'super vision' as Pentagon orders electric contact lenses that let them 'see' through drones flying overhead  
Arms & Arms Races
The Pentagon has placed an order with Innovega for lenses which focus 3D battlefield information from drones and satellites directly into people's eyeballs.


Hybrid Insect Micro Electromechanical Systems  
Arms & Arms Races
The Hybrid Insect Micro Electromechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) program is aimed at developing technology to provide control over insect locomotion, just as reins are needed for effective control over horse locomotion.


Group to World Bank: Stop Funding Water Privatization  
Human Rights
The Bank's cozy relationship to private water corporations has led it to 'consistently prioritize the profits of the water industry over meaningful interventions with the potential for lasting and broad impact. For more than two decades the Bank has promoted corporate control of water as the primary solution to the world’s water woes, without substantiation or accountability for the results.'


Judge defends decision to order man to serve three-day jail sentence for wearing sagging pants  
Oddities & Humour
The Alabama judge who sentenced a man to three days in jail for contempt of court for wearing pants that sagged too low has told how he is shocked by the attention his decision has received.
You know you're getting old when you side with the judge on this one.


Study shows just how 'green' electric cars are  
Environment
Switching to a battery-powered vehicle will yield measurable savings in a motorist’s energy bills, according to a new study, while also reducing global warming emissions.


Fracking Tied to Unusual Rise in Earthquakes in U.S.  
Oil, Energy and Mining
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey said that for the three decades until 2000, seismic events in the nation’s midsection averaged 21 a year. They jumped to 50 in 2009, 87 in 2010 and 134 in 2011.


Arsenic double whammy for cancer  
Health & Diseases
Not only does arsenic turn cells cancerous, those cells in turn make stem cells become malignant too.


Nearly 3,000 of the mammals are thought to have died this year so far, with 615 counted by conservationists along a 90-mile stretch of beaches near the city of Lambayeque on Wednesday  
Environment
Nearly 3,000 of the mammals are thought to have died this year so far, with 615 counted by conservationists along a 90-mile stretch of beaches near the city of Lambayeque on Wednesday.


'It's 99% certain there is life on Mars': Shock finding as scientists re-analyse soil samples from Seventies Viking lander  
History Revisited
Mathematical analysis of the samples concluded that salts in the soil on Mars 'threw off' initial estimates - and that the soil samples show strong evidence of microbial life.


iPhone stalking app is a wakeup call about Facebook privacy  
Civil Liberties & Privacy
It’s when you push the radar button that 'Girls Around Me' does what it says on the tin. I pressed the button for my friends. Immediately, Girls Around Me went into radar mode, and after just a few seconds, the map around us was filled with pictures of girls who were in the neighborhood.
.. and their facebook profiles and photos.


Nuclear chess in Istanbul  
Current Events
Iran says it is 'ready to hold progressive and successful talks on cooperation' when it sits down on Saturday with six other countries to discuss its nuclear program, adding that 'the language of threats' has never yielded results. Above all, Tehran does not see the meeting as a 'do or die' occasion, as the United States would have it.


How the US uses sexual humiliation as a political tool to control the masses  
Civil Liberties & Privacy
In a five-four ruling this week, the supreme court decided that anyone can be strip-searched upon arrest for any offense, however minor, at any time.


Italy’s Gold Exports to Switzerland Soaring  
Economy
An exponential pick up in Italy’s gold exports clearly is a sign that ex- Goldman Sachs Senior Adviser and leading Bilderberg Group member Mario Monti’s ‘economic reforms’ are starting to take effect. And by effect, we mean the looting of the Italian people.


'Al-Jazeera changed by Doha politics'  
Main Stream Media
A top ex-manager with the Al-Jazeera news channel says the network has gone through a great change from the flag bearer of objective journalism to what many people consider to be a foreign politics-led news organization.


High Court tobacco legal battle begins  
Health & Diseases
A High Court battle has started over the federal government's plan to force tobacco companies to sell their products in drab packaging.


As Ice Cap Melts, Militaries Vie for Arctic Edge  
Environment
>While the corporate media continues to keep alive a false narrative that the world's scientists are still divided over global climate change - new reports show the military has moved beyond that debate. The Associated Press reports today that 'to the world's military leaders, the debate over climate change is long over.'


Hacking Expert David Chalk Joins Urgent Call to Halt Smart Grid  
Computing & IT
'Unless we wake up and realize what we're doing, there is 100% certainty of total catastrophic failure of the entire power infrastructure within 3 years,' said Chalk. 'This could actually be worse than a nuclear war, because it would happen everywhere. How governments and utilities are blindly merging the power grid with the Internet, and effectively without any protection, is insanity at its finest.'


IDF Admits Barring Palestinians' Access to Own Fields  
Human Rights

The state has confirmed that, acting without a court order, the army has barred Palestinian villagers from freely accessing their farmland for two years. The admission was made in the state's response to a High Court petition filed last year by Beit Furik residents.


Oracle Opens Up Fight With Google Over Java  
Computing & IT


How did I get this ticket? San Francisco buses are watching  
Civil Liberties & Privacy


Stripper nuns danced for Berlusconi, trial told  
Politics & Corruption
I am continually astounded by the corruption and sheer audacity of this man.


Photos: Hail Piles up Several Feet in Texas  
Environment


Just One of Monsanto's Crimes, Or Why We Can't Trust the EPA  
Lies & Cover-ups


Strict new Arizona abortion laws decree pregnancy begins TWO WEEKS before conception  
Oddities & Humour
More 'oddity' than 'humour'.


Zombie Survival 'Google Map' For Guns, Food After Apocalypse  
Oddities & Humour
Presumably also useful in the event of economic uprising. :)


Stunning timelapse photography (Video)  
Arts & Artists


TSA Tests ID Scanning Machines At Washington Dulles  
Civil Liberties & Privacy


Israel officer filmed smashing activist with rifle  
Human Rights


Image of Kabul horror wins Pulitzer prize  
Wars & Conflicts


Lost Boy Finds His Mother Using Google Earth  
Computing & IT


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