WHO: E. coli outbreak may be from toxic new strain

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43248315/ns/health-food_safety

LONDON — Scientists on Thursday blamed Europe's worst recorded food-poisoning outbreak on a "super-toxic" strain of E. coli bacteria that may be brand new.

But while suspicion has fallen on raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce as the source of the germs, researchers have been unable to pinpoint the food responsible for the frightening illness, which has killed at least 18 people, sickened more than 1,600 and spread to least 10 European countries.
An alarmingly large number of victims — about 500 — have developed kidney complications that can be deadly.
Chinese and German scientists analyzed the DNA of the E. coli bacteria and determined that the outbreak was caused by "an entirely new, super-toxic" strain that contains several antibiotic-resistant genes, according to a statement from the Shenzhen, China-based laboratory BGI. It said the strain appeared to be a combination of two types of E. coli.
"This is a unique strain that has never been isolated from patients before," Hilde Kruse, a food safety expert at the World Health Organization, told The Associated Press. The new strain has "various characteristics that make it more virulent and toxin-producing" than the many E. coli strains people naturally carry in their intestines.
However, Dr. Robert Tauxe, a foodborne-disease expert at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, questioned whether the strain is truly new, saying it had previously caused a single case in Korea in the 1990s. He said the genetic fingerprints from the two samples may vary a little, but not enough to say that the strain in Europe is new.

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North Korea jams Souths guided missiles - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/07/3156542.htm?section=world

North Korea has used sophisticated jamming equipment to block South Korean military signals and disrupt its guided missiles.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency is reporting that strong jamming signals were transmitted from the communist North last week.
The jamming is believed to have prevented some US and South Korean bombs from hitting their targets during a military drill
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/03/08/North-Korea-jams-Souths-guided-missiles/UPI-49341299621609/
SEOUL, March 8 (UPI) -- Seoul has accused North Korea of using sophisticated jamming systems to block South Korean military signals and disrupt its guided missiles.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the strong jamming signals have been transmitting from the northern border city of Keasong since last week.
The purported purpose of the jamming was to disrupt navigational devices using Global Positioning Systems as a major joint military exercise is under way northwest of Seoul.
The jamming is believed to have prevented some U.S and South Korean bombs from hitting their targets during a military drill. The Korea Communications Commission said they caused minor inconvenience last week.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2011/03/08/North-Korea-jams-Souths-guided-missiles/UPI-49341299621609/#ixzz1G8Y2pwFV

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North Korea threatens to attack South Korea, US

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110227/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_clash;_ylt=AvGEaV0pHV.Tkw_nM10hUH6s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNmZGFpcnNmBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwMjI3L2FzX2tvcmVhc19jbGFzaARjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzMEcG9zAzkEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA25vcnRoa29yZWF0aA--

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Hyung-jin Kim, Associated Press – Sun Feb 27, 10:24 am ET

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea threatened Sunday to enlarge its nuclear arsenal and "mercilessly" attack South Korea and the United States, as the allies prepared for joint military drills which the North considers a rehearsal for invasion.
North Korea routinely issues threats over the annual joint military drills, but its latest warning could rekindle tensions that rose sharply after two recent deadly incidents blamed on the North.
North Korea fired artillery at a front-line South Korean island in November, killing four people. Forty-six sailors died when a South Korean warship sank eight months earlier. North Korea has denied firing a torpedo at the ship.
North Korea called the South Korea-U.S. drills, which begin Monday, a "dangerous military scheme."
"The army and people of (North Korea) will return bolstered nuclear deterrent of our own style for the continued nuclear threat by the aggressors," North Korea's military said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
It accused South Korea and the U.S. of plotting to topple the North's communist government. It said if provoked, North Korea would start a "full-scale" war, take "merciless counteraction" and turn Seoul into a "sea of flames."
North Korea also warned it would take "our own missile striking action" against what it called moves by the U.S. and South Korea to eliminate the North's missiles. The statement didn't elaborate.
Earlier Sunday, the North's military warned that it would destroy South Korean border towns if Seoul continues to allow activists to launch propaganda leaflets toward the communist country.

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N. Korea details nuclear program amid tension - World news - Asia-Pacific - msnbc.com

Image by Getty Images via @daylifehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40427485/ns/world_news-asiapacific

SEOUL — Secretive North Korea detailed for the first time its expanded nuclear program on Tuesday, saying it had thousands of working centrifuges, as pressure built on China to rein in its ally amid tensions on the peninsula.

Pyongyang's revelations about its uranium enrichment, which gives it a second route to make a nuclear bomb, came a week after it fired an artillery barrage at a South Korean island, killing four people including two civilians.
Although North Korean rhetoric remained high — the country warned the U.S.-South Korea military drills could trigger "full-blown war" — a senior North Korean official left Pyongyang for talks with leaders in China.

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Experts have voiced surprise at the sophistication of a uranium enrichment plant and light-water reactor at the North's main nuclear complex, which were shown to a U.S. scientist earlier this month.

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China proposes emergency talks on Korea crisis - World news - Asia-Pacific - North Korea - msnbc.com

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeGet ready folks this could very well become a major problem.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40401513/ns/world_news-asiapacific

YEONPYEONG ISLAND, South Korea — China called for emergency talks on resolving a crisis on the Korean peninsula on Sunday, and Seoul and Tokyo said they would study the proposal, as the U.S. and South Korean militaries started a massive drill.

Beijing's move to bring the two Koreas to the negotiating table comes after global pressure on China to take a more responsible role in the standoff and try to rein in ally Pyongyang.
China made clear that the talks would not amount to a resumption of six-party disarmament discussions which North Korea walked out of two years ago and declared dead. South Korea said it would carefully consider China's suggestion.

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Both Beijing and Pyongyang have been pressing regional powers to return to talks, in some form or other, for the past few months, in a move analysts say is designed to extract concessions.
China, which agreed with South Korea that the situation was "worrisome," suggested the emergency talks for December among North and South Korea, host China, the United States, Japan and Russia. It did not say whether Pyongyang had agreed to join.
Japan was non-committal. "We want to respond cautiously while cooperating closely with South Korea and the United States," Kyodo news agency quoted Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama as saying.
Beijing has longstanding bonds with Pyongyang, and has sought to shield its small, poor neighbor from a backlash that China fears could draw an even more ferocious reaction from North Korea and dangerously destabilize the region.

Critics in Washington and other capitals say China's approach amounts to coddling a dangerous nuclear-armed state.

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North Korea bombs S. Korea

Image via Wikipediahttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40329269/ns/world_news-asiapacific

INCHEON, South Korea — South Korea warned North Korea on Tuesday of "enormous retaliation" if it took more aggressive steps after Pyongyang fired scores of artillery shells at a South Korean island in one of the most serious attacks on its neighbor since the Korean War ended in 1953.

The South fired back after Tuesday's attack and sent fighter jets to the area, close to a disputed maritime border on the west of the divided Korean peninsula and the scene of deadly clashes between the two rivals in the past.
South Korea was conducting military drills in the area at the time but said it had not been firing at the North. Pyongyang blamed Seoul for starting the fight, which killed at least two South Korean marines and wounded at least 15 other troops along with three civilians and razed scores of houses on the island of Yeonpyeong.

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Calling the incident "an invasion of South Korean territory," South Korean President Lee Myung-bak warned that future provocations could be met with a strong response, although there was no indication of immediate retaliation.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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REALITY REPORT #47 - Mass Tea Party Attack

As much as I have studied on RFID and Real ID, Pass ID, Biometrics and National ID. The quotes on here about Arizona, I tend to have hard time going with the report on here. Mostly because I don't see it in the bill itself. But, I will say it's something we might want to keep an eye on.
The rest of this I really like the way the present what's really going on.

clipped from realityreport.blip.tv http://RestoreTheRepublic.com | http://RealityReport.TV | Why is Chris Matthews attacking the Tea Party? Are the recent events in China, Israel, and Korea signs of the next World War? Why are Los Angeles Police officers attacking bike riders? Are you holding a “Don’t Tread On Me” movie screening? Are biometrics soon going to be used in your child school? Join us on this weeks edition to help us answer these questions. Plus, Gary sits down with Liberty Pulse founder, Kurt Wallace, to discuss how the media is manipulating the Tea Party. We also have a clip from Gary’s guest appearance on “Declare Your Independence” with Ernest Hancock. Kurt Wallace Interview: http://blip.tv/file/3701393 http://blip.tv/file/3658429

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NKorea warns of war if punished for ship sinking

clipped from apnews.myway.com SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Tensions deepened Thursday on the Korean peninsula as South Korea accused North Korea of firing a torpedo that sank a naval warship, killing 46 sailors in the country's worst military disaster since the Korean War. President Lee Myung-bak vowed "stern action" for the provocation following the release of long-awaited results from a multinational investigation into the March 26 sinking near the Koreas' tense maritime border. North Korea, reacting swiftly, called the results a fabrication, and warned that any retaliation would trigger war. It continued to deny involvement in the sinking of the warship Cheonan. South Korea and the U.S., which has 28,500 troops on the peninsula, could hold joint military exercises in a show of force "If the (South Korean) enemies try to deal any retaliation or punishment, or if they try sanctions or a strike on us .... we will answer to this with all-out war,"

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Morocco: Christians Deported

clipped from www.persecution.com The Moroccan government has deported twenty-eight Christian workers so far in May, according to The Voice of the Martyrs contacts. “The Moroccan government continues political pressures against us Moroccan believers and against the foreign workers, and if it stopped for a while before, it was only to restart again and strongly,” VOM contacts said. “Please continue to pray and also to act, because if this … continues, soon we’ll not be deported but [we will be] arrested or even killed.” In recent months, the government has increased its crackdown on Christians, expelling as many as 60 Christian aid workers from the country. Moroccan police have accused Christian aid workers from the United States, Korea, Netherlands and England of violating Morocco’s anti-proselytism laws. “When [authorities] visited an American-founded orphanage in the town of Azrou, they drew several young children aside and demanded they demonstrate the ‘proper’ way to pray,”

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The Long Shadow Of The Progressives: Maurice Strong To Obama

Motorcity.com

clipped from motorcitytimes.com All government, of course, is against liberty. Who is Maurice Strong you ask? Via Mike at the Classic Liberal: But any understanding of the real efforts that job entails should begin with a look at the long and murky career of Maurice Strong, the man who may have had the most to do with what the U.N. has become today, and still sparks controversy even after he claims to have cut his ties to the world organization. From Oil for Food to the latest scandals involving U.N. funding in North Korea, Maurice Strong appears as a shadowy and often critically important figure. The World Commission on Environment and Development was created in 1983 Strong Stated: “It is clear that current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle-class … involving high meat intake, consumption of large amounts of frozen and ‘convenience’ foods, ownership of motor-, numerous electric household appliances, home and workplace air-conditioning … expansive suburban housing … are not sustainable.”

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105 countries to send reps to interfaith meet in Manila

Image by Martin Beek via Flickr

clipped from www.gmanews.tv At least 105 countries will be represented in the Special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting (SNAMMM) on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development in Manila from March 16 to 18. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Rafael Seguis, who is also NAM National Organizing Committee Secretary General, said the SNAMMM highlights the Philippines' leading role in interfaith dialogue worldwide. "The SNAMMM is the biggest inter-governmental meeting in recent years, and the first of its kind ever to be hosted by the Philippines. It aims to promote interfaith dialogue and cooperation to cultivate a culture of respect, tolerance, understanding and harmony among people of different faiths, cultures and religions," Seguis said in an article on the DFA website. Other NAM member-countries that will be sending high-level representatives include Chile, Korea, Kuwait, Peru, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam.

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Inside the cat and dog meat market in China

Image by Erwyn van der Meer via Flickr

clipped from www.cnn.com Guangzhou, China (CNN) -- Dogs bark and whine behind high chain-link fences, some of them gnawing the wire so hard they bleed at the mouths while cats packed into crowded cages cower in fear if anyone approaches. This isn't a pet store -- it's a meat market in Guangzhou, a city in southern China where eating cats and dogs is common practice. "Dog meat is good for your health and metabolism," explains Li, the hostess who declined to give her first name. "In the summer it helps you sweat." Should cat and dog meat be banned? But these local restaurants may have to find a new specialty. The Chinese government is considering legislation that would make eating cats and dogs illegal. Eating dog meat is a long-standing culinary tradition not just in China, but also Korea. Cat meat can be found on the menu in China, Vietnam and even parts of South America.

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