Gold prices are going up, and today they hit a record $1,500-per-ounce price. Image: Flickr / theredproject / CC BY-SA

Like all commodities, gold prices fluctuate. Today, after quality of United States debt was questioned by Standard and Poor’s, gold commodities hit a record high, $1,500 per ounce. This continues the upward trend in gold prices, though experts are split on the meaning of this milestone.

Spot price of gold hits record high

The price of gold has two major markers. The commodity price of gold is the general market price of purchasing shares of or stock in gold, usually known as “exchange-traded products.” It is also possible to purchase gold coins and gold bullion bars. Coins, which are more difficult to counterfeit, are usually sold at a higher price. Gold certificates are a middle ground, a promise that the gold indicated on the certificate is available and belongs to the owner. The spot price of gold is tied to the commodity price. Today’s spot price of gold hit $1,500 in U.S. dollars, an amount that gold has never hit in the past.

Worries of speculation in the gold market

Every time financial markets go through a downturn, the price of gold tends to spike. Investors often view gold as a hedge, a “safe haven” of investment. The idea is that gold will always maintain or increase in value, unlike currency. Since the value of currency of the United States was decoupled from gold, demand for gold has been going up. Gold is seen as a “hard” currency that will always maintain its value. Some financial experts are concerned that some individuals are using short-term financial solutions or installment loans as a way of buying into the gold market that may or may not be worth the investment. Speculation, over-investment and a possible bubble could mean that gold prices, like the prices of all other investments, could drop at any time.

Be wary of gold-investment advisers

Gold, like every other investment, comes with certain risks and rewards. Gold has historically been a strong investment, but dips in prices are possible with fluctuating demand, central bank policies changing and inflation levels of various currencies fluctuating. Some gold-investment advisers are pushing gold as the “only smart investment in today’s economy.” Many of these advisers are also selling gold investments. Gold can be a good investment, but as with all investment options, it should be balanced with other financial options.

Sources

Wall Street Journal
Kitco
Gold News

Military families will not have to worry about having to get payday loans or other support now that Congress has averted a government shutdown. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The United States Congress recently passed the federal budget for fiscal year 2011 after a long standoff. Among concerns about a possible government shutdown were that military service personnel would have to resort to payday loans and other financial means if a deal could not be made. Thankfully, the shutdown was avoided.

Shutdown could have crippled families of deployed personnel

Congress upheld a budget for Fiscal Year 2011 for some time, and the past few weeks were fraught with tension over a possible government shutdown. Thankfully, the shutdown was averted, but it was well known that Congress would have continued to receive their pay while thousands of government employees would have gone on a forced furlough. Thousands more would have been forced to work without pay. Members of the military, for instance, would not be paid for their work during a shutdown. Federal regulations prohibit service personnel from getting payday loans or similar subprime credit products, and most service personnel, according to MSNBC, make close to the average wage in America, it would have been a devastating blow to military families.

Military personnel salaries

Nearly three of every four people in the armed services are in the six lowest ranks and are paid $31,000 a year or less. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates median earnings in the United States at $36,587 per year and mean earnings at $44,901. By either criteria, with median being the middle and mean being the average, military personnel are low on the income ladder. A 2008 Department of Defense survey, according to the Washington Post, indicated many service families struggle with debt. Bankruptcy rates for military members may be higher than the general population as well; a 2004 study by the Government Accountability Office found that 1.2 percent of active duty military personnel file for bankruptcy. Federal court statistics indicates that more than 1.5 million people filed for bankruptcy in 2010, which is 0.5 percent of the U.S. population.

Dire straights for those in harm’s way

The people who elect to serve this country do not get rewarded much for their efforts. There are also incentives to not go into debt; service members can lose their security clearance if they fall into unmanageable debts. Granted, had the shutdown occurred, there would have been options for some people. The Naval Federal Member Bank offered low interest personal loans to members in case of a shutdown, like other credit unions and banks for federal employees have done in previous shutdowns.

Sources

MSNBC

Washington Post

Bureau of Labor Statistics (PDF – Requires Adobe Reader)

Federal Court statistics on bankruptcies (PDF – Requires Adobe Reader)

Government Accountability Office (PDF – Requires Adobe Reader)

When it comes to frivolous tax arguments, the IRS has zero tolerance for clowning around in the name of tax evasion. Image: CC Stephen Brace/Flickr

When it comes to frivolous tax arguments, the IRS hears new ones every year. On an annual basis, the IRS releases an updated list of frivolous tax arguments made by people trying to avoid paying federal income taxes. Some frivolous tax arguments are amusing, but instead of a laugh, taxpayers who try to use them will get a hefty fine from the IRS.

A caution for would-be tax cheats

The Truth About Frivolous Tax Arguments is an annual report the IRS has just released for 2011. The 87-page document defines the most popular tax evasion scenarios of all time. The document also includes the official legal policies the government has used to get frivolous tax arguments rejected by courts, as well as the penalties and sanctions levied against would-be tax cheats as a result. Most of the arguments are spread on the Internet by a growing number of scam artists posing as brave crusaders against an unjust government and include refusal to pay federal income taxes for moral, religious, semantic or philosophical reasons.

The cost of frivolous tax arguments

Frivolous tax arguments listed by the agency include cases in which people claim not to be a “person” as defined by the IRS. Others have argued that the federal income tax is unconstitutional or that paying taxes is voluntary. To some taxpayers, military income is exempt and only foreign income is taxable. It has been estimated that every year at least 10,000 people attempt to evade taxes with a frivolous argument, and the number is growing. The IRS penalty for filing a frivolous tax return argument is $5,000. Taxpayers who go to court with their frivolous arguments can receive an IRS penalty up to $25,000. Since the 2000 tax year, the Department of Justice has filed injunctions against more than 455 companies and individuals for frivolous tax arguments.

Popular, and hopeless, tax evasion scenarios

Some of the most popular frivolous tax arguments, according to the IRS, include the claim that paying taxes is against one’s religion, that paying taxes violates the Fifth Amendment and that taxes are considered servitude, which violates the 13th Amendment. The Supreme Court often rules that saying “paying taxes is against my religion” simply will not fly. The Fifth Amendment says a person shall not be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” But the law gives the government authority to collect taxes from U.S. citizens. The 13th Amendment outlaws slavery, but the claim that paying taxes is servitude has been consistently rejected by courts.

Sources

Main Street

Portfolio.com

Christian Science Monitor

A fake mustache was all it took to fool security at the Rio casino. Image: Flickr / ginnerrobot / CC-BY

Casino security, for the second time in as many months, has been foiled. Some are wondering if security always sits back and watches as a disguised man robs a Vegas casino. This robber apparently got away in a taxi cab with $35,000 in chips.

Rio gets hit: disguised man robs Vegas casino

The Rio casino on the Las Vegas strip is known for opulence. On Thursday night, a man wearing a fedora, sunglasses and fake mustache simply walked into the casino and grabbed chips off a table. The dealer watching the table tried to stop the robber, but the man showed a gun. The disguised robber then walked out the front door, got into a taxi and escaped the scene.

The simplest plan may have been the best

Much like the Bellagio robbery last month, this robbery appears to have included very little planning. The robber simply donned a dime-store disguise, walked in the front door, brandished a weapon, took the chips and walked out. There is no word on whether the cab driver got paid in casino chips, though it is possible. In the Bellagio robbery, it took less than a month to find the perpetrator.

Casino chips can be tracked

Casino chips are often stolen in amounts large and small. Casinos, however, have ways to protect themselves. High-value chips are often embedded with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags, and casinos have been considering adding the tags to all chips. Casino chips also change over time — every few years, the casino has a “final redemtpion” period, after which the old-design chip is no longer worth face value. That means anyone who steals a large quantity of chips has to sell them online, try to redeem them in the casino or find some other way to turn the chips back into actual cash.

Source

Yahoo News

Moammar Gadhafi's former justice minister claims to have evidence the dictator issued personal orders to the Lockerbie bomber. Image: CC openDemocracy/Flickr

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi personally ordered the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, according to Libya’s former justice minister. Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988, killing 270 people aboard and on the ground. Gadhafi allegedly pulled strings to get the Lockerbie bomber released from Scotland on “humanitarian grounds” in 2010, fearing that the dictator’s role in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 would be revealed.

Ex-justice minister betrays his boss

Mustafa Abdel-Jalil told a Swedish tabloid Wednesday he had evidence Gadhafi ordered the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, to commit the terrorist act that brought down Pan Am flight 103. Abdel-Jalil, who was Gadhafi’s justice minister, resigned Monday in protest over Gadhafi’s violent crackdown against Libyan protesters demanding the dictator’s ouster. In recent moves to restore Libyan relations with the west, Gadhafi renounced terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. He also admitted Libya was responsible for the Lockerbie bombing and paid compensation to families of al-Megrahi’s victims. But he blamed the demise of Pan Am flight 103 on rogue Libyan intelligence officers.

The Lockerbie bomber

One of those rogue Libyan intelligence officers was al-Megrahi, who was also head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines. An intense investigation by Scotland Yard and the FBI pinned the crime on al-Megrahi and the station manager for Libyan Arab Airlines based in Malta. The Scottish government filed charges against the two suspects in 1991. In 1999 Gadhafi double-crossed his minions and handed them over to Scotland. They stood trial in the Netherlands, and al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 as the Lockerbie bomber. The Lockerbie bomber was released from prison in 2009 and returned to Libya on humanitarian grounds. It was reported that al-Megrahi had terminal cancer and six months to live.

A desperate dictator

Analysts are inclined to take Abdel-Jalil at his word, considering that a such an order in the centralized Libyan dictatorship likely came from the highest level.  Abdel-Jalil said Gadhafi took every measure possible for al-Megrahi’s release to avoid being implicated, including the promise of a lucrative Libyan oil deal with British oil giant BP. Today the supposedly terminal al-Megrahi is alive and well in Libya–conditions that may not apply to Colonel Moammar Gadhafi, who has vowed to fight the Libyan uprising to his death, much longer.

Sources

The Local

Associated Press

Daily Mail

Several studies found that zinc taken at the onset of cold symptoms helped people get well faster. Image: CC crispy_dewdrops/Flickr

Zinc may limit the duration of the common cold. Recent studies examining the effects of zinc as a cold remedy concluded that people who take zinc when they catch a cold could get well faster. The studies also suggested that taking zinc may lower the chances of catching a cold.

The zinc cold remedy studies

Taking zinc in the form of lozenges or syrups within 24 hours of coming down with a cold shortened colds by one day in the studies. The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research, also found that people who took zinc tended to have milder cold symptoms. The review of zinc as a cold remedy was drawn from 15 studies with 1,360 participants. Subjects ingested either a zinc supplement or a placebo when they started feeling cold symptoms. Colds, which commonly last about a week, were shortened by a day.

How much zinc will fight a cold?

The zinc studies did not reach a conclusion on the recommended daily dose of zinc required to prevent or shorten the common cold. Zinc lozenges and syrups found in pharmacies typically include instructions to take a dose every two to three hours while awake for five days. The standard daily dose for most zinc products used to treat colds is about 60 milligrams in lozenge form and about 30 milligrams in syrup. The Cochrane study did not examine zinc nasal sprays. In 2009 the FDA issued a warning to consumers about Zicam zinc-based nasal sprays after 130 people reported a permanent loss of smell from using them.

Why zinc may fight a cold

No one is sure why zinc could shorten the common cold. Researchers suggest that zinc either prevents cold viruses from attacking nasal cells, slows the replication of the virus or inhibits the body’s production of histamines, which trigger cold symptoms. The body uses trace amounts of zinc for different chemical reactions, including DNA synthesis and cell division. Zinc is also linked to maintaining a healthy immune system and sense of smell and taste.

Sources

Los Angeles Times

Reuters

About.com

Curveball's confession validated suspicions that the Bush administration cooked intelligence to justify the Iraq war. Image: CC PaulMorseMinsweeper@Wikimedia Commons

“Curveball,” the CIA informant who helped the Bush administration rationalize starting the Iraq War, has admitted he was lying. In the run-up to the war, Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi, an Iraqi defector code-named Curveball by the CIA, said Iraq had secret biological weapons laboratories. Curveball now says he lied about weapons of mass destruction so the U.S. would invade Iraq and get rid of Saddam Hussein.

Cuveball’s lies repeated by Bush and Powell

Claims by Curveball that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction have long been discredited. Curveball has insisted for years that he told the truth. But on Feb. 16 he told The Guardian newspaper he made it all up. After escaping Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and fleeing to Germany, al-Janabi began telling German intelligence agents that Iraq had hidden mobile bioweapons laboratories throughout the country. Curveball’s claims were presented as the truth in a speech by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to the United Nations and George W. Bush’s 2003 State of the Union address. The U.S. invaded Iraq in March 2003, and Bush was eventually forced to admit that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.

CIA doubted Curveball from the beginning

From the moment al-Janabi showed up, German intelligence agents doubted him. Tyler Drumheller, former head of the CIA in Europe, suspected that al-Janabi’s false testimony about Iraqi bioweapons had to do with his asylum application. Drumheller never believed his inconsistent story and warned CIA Chief George Tenet that Curveball was unreliable. After al-Janabi fessed up, Drumheller told The Guardian that if Curveball lied to oust Saddam Hussein, then he is “one of the world’s greatest strategic planners.” Drumheller also said members of the Bush administration used Curveball’s story to justify the war to the public because it was the only evidence they had, regardless of the truth.

Curveball faces backlash for coming clean

The man called Curveball said he was proud of helping the Bush administration start the Iraq war, which has killed nearly 4,500 U.S. military personnel and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians. But  in his adopted home of Germany, a German politician said al-Janabi violated a warmongering law that makes actions that lead to war a criminal offense. Germans also want to know why German intelligence paid al-Janabi $4,000 a month for five years after it was known he lied. In Iraq, politicians scorned his stated desire to return and called for his permanent exile.

Sources

The Guardian

New York Times

Los Angeles Times

New York University has accepted the resignation of Nir Rosen after he made disparaging remarks about Lara Logan. Image: Wikimedia Commons

CBS reporter Lara Logan has spoken out about a violent sexual assault she experienced while reporting in Egypt. Fellow reporter Nir Rosen has resigned from his fellowship at NYU after his reaction raised eyebrows — and ire. Nir Rosen has since apologized to Lara Logan, but the damage from his remarks appears to be done.

CBS reporter Lara Logan’s assault

While she was reporting on the protests in Egypt, Lara Logan was repeatedly hassled as a possible Israeli spy. In the crush of people in Tahrir Square on Friday night, Lara Logan was separated from her crew. According to a CBS statement, Logan was “surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating.” Logan was eventually saved by a group of women and soldiers. She is back in the United States and plans to return to work within weeks.

Nir Rosen’s attacks on Lara Logan

Nir Rosen is a freelance reporter and author who was, until today, a fellow at New York University’s Center on Law and Security. On his Twitter account this week, Rosen repeatedly attempted to make light of Lara Logan’s sexual assault. First, Nir Rosen accused Logan of trying to “outdo” Anderson Cooper, who was hit in the head while reporting in Egypt. After some of his Twitter followers responded negatively, Nir Rosen continued to dig himself deeper by saying:

“Yes yes its wrong what happened to her. Of course. I don’t support that. But, it would have been funny if it happened to Anderson too”

“Jesus Christ, at a moment when she is going to become a martyr and glorified we should at least remember her role as a major war monger”

“Look, she was probably groped like thousands of other women, which is still wrong, but if it was worse than [sic] I’m sorry”

Aftereffects of Rosen’s comments on Logan

The reaction to Nir Rosen’s comments about Lara Logan has been near-immediate. Rosen resigned from New York University and deleted the messages, saying he was “too ashamed of how i have hurt others and the false impression i gave of who i am.” Though Rosen has lost his job and is being lambasted for misogyny and insensitivity, many are wondering why New York University wasn’t more swift and harsh in its reaction to Nir Rosen.

Sources

Washington Post
Politics Daily

Theories about the existence of a distant planet called Tyche may be confirmed or denied by NASA telescope data released this spring. Image: CC ShardsOfBlue/Flickr

An undiscovered planet orbiting the sun unseen in deep space may be revealed by a new NASA telescope. The behavior of comets and a recently discovered dwarf planet have led astronomers to believe that a huge undiscovered planet may exist. A pair of astrophysicists are hoping that data from NASA’s WISE infrared telescope offers proof that a planet larger than Jupiter they have named “Tyche” does exist.

Evidence of Planet Tyche

Theories about a huge new planet in deep space are based on a hypothesis by astrophysicists John Matese and Daniel Whitmire at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. They theorize that the gravitational influence of  a planet they have named Tyche (Ty-kee), up to four times the mass of Jupiter, may be responsible for sending comets from a region in space called the Oort Cloud toward Earth. Tyche is also believed responsible for the unusual orbit of the dwarf planet Sedna, a planetoid discovered in 2003 that travels from 7 trillion to 92 trillion miles from the sun during its travels. The period of Tyche’s alleged orbit — 27 million years — has also been linked to theories about mass extinctions on Earth credited to comet impacts.

Is Tyche hiding in the cold darkness of deep space?

The new planet Tyche is a variation on a theory proposed in 1984 that a distant companion to the sun — a cold, brown dwarf star dubbed “Nemesis” — may account for comet activity. Tyche, if it exists, is estimated to orbit the sun at 15,000 times the distance at which Earth orbits. Tyche may have escaped detection until now because at that distance the planet would not radiate heat or reflect light. Whitmire said that Tyche is probably a huge ball of condensed hydrogen and helium with a colorful, banded surface similar to Jupiter. Tyche is also likely to have moons.

WISE telescope could confirm Tyche

The existence of Tyche in the Oort Cloud could be confirmed or denied in April when data from a sky survey taken by NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope is released. NASA launched the WISE telescope in December 2009 on a 10-month mission to map the entire sky. In addition to discovering numerous asteroids and comets, WISE observed brown dwarfs and dark galaxies that shine in the infrared spectrum of light.

Sources

CNN

Space.com

New York Daily News

The Real Life Superheroes are donning costumes to fight crime and do good works. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Over the past few years, there has been a rising number of real-life comic book style superheroes. Real people are putting on costumes and going out to perform charitable works and try to fight crime. Costumed crusaders were the subject of “Superheroes,” a documentary that was shown at the Slamdance Film Festival.

Caped crusaders break out of comic books

There are real life superheroes patrolling city streets all over North America, performing a wide variety of functions to serve the greater good. Many belong to an organization called Real Life Superheroes” a registry and database of civilians who don capes, masks or any other costume they see fit and go out into their communities to perform civil services. Many of them don’t physically confront criminals, according to MSNBC, but they patrol areas to encourage community awareness of crime and other social problems. Many of these real life caped crusaders focus on charitable works. Portland, Ore., based Zetaman, creator of the Real Life Superheroes website, often goes out distributing food, blankets and other supplies to the homeless.

Documentary calls attention to phenomenon

A documentary about real life superheroes titled “Superheroes” recently debuted at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, where the Sundance Film Festival is held every year. The film is creating some buzz and calling more attention to the services that the Real Life Superheroes perform. They do encounter danger; a superhero in Seattle, Wash., called Phoenix Jones appeared on “Good Morning America” after he received a broken nose while trying to break up a street fight.

Not the first of their kind

The Real Life Superheroes are certainly attracting attention, but community responsibility and involvement is not new in the United States. Since the 1970s, an all-volunteer neighborhood watch group called the Guardian Angels has been patrolling communities all over the world, and they do intervene with crimes in progress. The group, according to Reuters, has lately been very active in cities such as Camden, New Jersey, that lost police officers to budget cuts. The Guardian Angels, founded by Curtis Sliwa, are now located in 144 cities across 15 countries.

Sources

MSNBC

Real Life Superheroes

Reuters

Recovery and physical therapy have gone so well for Gabrielle Giffords that she speaks now, after being shot in the head a month ago. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Reports are emerging the Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords speaks again. Giffords is undergoing intense physical therapy after being shot in the head and reportedly asked medical staff for toast with her breakfast. Giffords is recovering at an incredible pace, given the wounds she sustained.

Wounded Arizona Congresswoman makes big progress

Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was recently moved to a physical rehabilitation facility in Houston, Texas, from the hospital in Tuscon, Ariz., where she was recovering from a traumatic brain injury. Giffords had been making incredible advances in recovering from the wounds she sustained in the Tuscon shooting rampage allegedly carried out by Jared Lee Loughner. On Jan. 8, she was rushed to a Tuscon hospital after being shot in the head, and nearly a month later, she has begun speaking again, according to CBS. Her physical therapy regimen at TIRR Memorial Herman Hospital is intense. Giffords was moved there because the hospital specializes in physical therapy for victims of severe head and brain trauma.

Giffords speaks and asks for toast

Part of recovery for Giffords includes speech therapy, which a spokesperson said is paying off. It isn’t known exactly how she is speaking, as Giffords had previously been fitted with a breathing tube and would need either a speaking vent placed in the tube, or the ventilation tube to be removed for her to be able to speak. She has also regained an appetite. Her husband, Mark Kelly, recently posted to her Facebook page that “Gabby’s appetite is back — even though it’s hospital food.” Kelly will rejoin the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the swan song of that shuttle craft, possibly as soon as April.

Courthouse to be named for victim

Congress recently passed a bill that would name a federal courthouse to honor one of the victims of the Tuscon shooting rampage that left six dead and 13 wounded, according to Reuters. A new courthouse is being constructed in Yuma, Ariz., which will be named for Chief Judge John M. Roll. The building should open in 2013.

Sources

CBS

Reuters

Thousands have flooded Tahrir Square calling for a "Day of Departure" for embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Photo: Monasosh/Flick.com/CC-BY

Thousands of people have filled Tahrir Square in Cairo pushing for a “Day of Departure” for Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak, the long serving president of Egypt, has said he will not run for re-election in September of this year. His promise to leave office has only intensified the protests against his rule.

Protests begin anew in Tahrir Square after violent clashes

Tahrir Square in Cairo has been plunged into chaos over the last few days, as protests against the government of President Hosni Mubarak have been met with retaliatory attacks from Mubarak supporters. After several days of violent clashes, thousands of anti-government protesters have filled the area, pushing for Mubarak to leave at once. They are demanding a “Day of Departure” or alternately “Friday of Departure,” according to NPR. President Mubarak had previously made the concession that he would not seek re-election in September, but protesters are adamant that Mubarak must leave immediately. There is a growing chorus of calls for Mubarak to leave office immediately from the international community as well.

Mubarak supporters infiltrate protest area

Tahrir Square is currently cordoned off by the Egyptian army and largely filled with anti-government protesters. However, pro-Mubarak protesters have infiltrated the area for the past few days, which has led to violent clashes. During the prolonged clashes, journalists were singled out by Mubarak supporters, according to the Christian Science Monitor. More than 100 incidents of physical assault occurred, including an incident where CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was beaten and threatened with further harm while fleeing the scene. Foreign and domestic journalists have been in harm’s way, as the Cairo offices of Al-Jazeera were stormed by pro-Mubarak “thugs.”

Mubarak’s defiant stance

From the beginning of the protests, President Mubarak has been defiant about leaving. He has been in office for nearly 30 years, but a full democratic election confirming him to office has never taken place. In a recent interview, he said that he was tired of public service but claimed that “there will be chaos” and “the Muslim Brotherhood will take over” if he leaves immediately, according to MSNBC. He has invited leaders of opposition groups to begin talks to possibly create a transitional government.

Sources

NPR

Christian Science Monitor

MSNBC

The VX nerve agent briefly missing at Dugway Proving Ground was enough to kill several hundred thousand people. Image: CC Timothy A. Streaty, US Marines/Wikimedia Commons

A missing vial of VX nerve agent sparked an emergency Wednesday at Dugway Proving Ground, a U.S. military weapons testing facility in Utah. The VX nerve agent was later found, but not before Dugway Proving Ground was locked down overnight. A stockpile of VX nerve agent, the most toxic weapon of mass destruction synthesized by man, was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

Missing VX hides in plain sight

Dugway Proving Ground was locked down at 5:24 p.m. MST Wednesday. About 2,200 people were on the base at the time. During inventory, the amount of VX nerve agent on hand did not match up with records. Dugway commander Col. William E. King promptly locked down the 801,505-acre installation for an intensive search. The VX nerve agent was right under their noses. After testing sensor equipment, workers entrusted with the deadly substance put it in a mislabeled vial. A Dugway Proving Ground spokesman said the VX nerve agent was accounted for and no one was ever in danger.

How deadly is VX?

The vial that triggered the commotion at Dugway contained about a milliliter, or one-fifth of a teaspoon of VX nerve agent. The median lethal dose of VX nerve agent is about 734 micrograms through the skin and 30-50 micrograms if inhaled. A single gram of VX nerve agent could kill 200,000 people. VX is viscous like motor oil, so it doesn’t evaporate. If a human is exposed to VX, the toxin destroys the individual’s nerves, and death by paralysis occurs in minutes. The only known human victim of VX was killed in Osaka, Japan, by a member of the Aum Shinrikyo terrorist group in December 1994.

VX remains a threat

VX nerve agent is coveted by terrorists. In 1998 a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan linked to Iraq and Al Qaeda was suspected of attempting to synthesize VX. U.S. military jets destroyed the plant and chemicals used to produce VX were later identified. During the cold war, the U.S. and Russia made enough VX nerve agent to kill all life on Earth several times over. VX was set up for delivery in missiles, artillery shells and land mines. The last of the U.S. VX stockpile was destroyed in December 2008. The U.S. and Germany continue to subsidize Russia’s efforts to destroy its stockpile of VX.

Sources

Salt Lake Tribune

Reuters

Wikipedia

In the State of the Union address, President Obama called for greater investment in the future and greater cooperation between parties. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The past week or so in Washington, D.C., there has been a lot of buildup to Obama giving the State of the Union address. In the speech, Obama called for greater investment in the future, and for greater cooperation between parties. Response has been mixed.

State of the Union address from Obama calls for investing in future

There has been a lot of buildup to the State of the Union address by President Obama. The annual presidential address to Congress is always a huge television event and sets the tone for the rest of the year. Obama called for greater investment in the future and announced he is putting together a bill aimed at doing exactly that. He spoke about needing advances in education, especially in math and the sciences, citing that America needed to have a “Sputnik moment” that put the United States ahead of the international pack. He also stressed the need for improving infrastructure and putting America in the forefront of greener technology in transportation and power generation. Obama also praised Republicans and asked for greater degrees of cooperation between the parties.

Republican response from Paul Ryan

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was chosen to deliver the State of the Union rebuttal. He praised Obama’s reaching out to Republicans but addressed concerns about fiscal policy. In the Republican response, Ryan highlighted that federal debt has been increasing without affecting unemployment to the degree desired. Ryan reiterated the pledge to repeal the Obama health care law and replace it with one that places less burden on taxpayers. He also maintained that people were justified in being “skeptical of both parties” that getting government spending to sustainable levels was an issue for everyone.

Michelle Bachmann speaks for tea party

Michelle Bachmann, the controversial tea party Republican from Minnesota, gave a separate rebuttal from Rep. Ryan. In the tea party rebuttal, she called for drastically reducing spending and the federal debt. She also mentioned the Battle of Iwo Jima, saying it was a defense against tyranny, and that liberty had to be spread by cutting government waste.

Sources

Transcript of Obama’s State of the Union Address

Republican rebuttal

Bachman rebuttal

They are sold as "bath salts," but MDPV is a dangerous drug. Image: Flickr / paussus / CC-BY-SA

In convenience stores around the United States, drugs are being sold as bath salts. Known as MDPV, mephedrone or cathinone, the drugs sold as bath salts are snorted or injected. The bath salts drugs are usually MDPV, which is chemically related to cathinone.

The difference between cathinone and mephedrone

Cathinone is a drug derived from the khat plant. The amphetimine-like effects of khat and cathinone have led to it being listed as a Schedule 1 drug by the DEA and international community. Mephedrone and MDPV — Methylenedioxypyrovalerone — are very chemically similar to cathinone. Cathinone’s effects include suicidal thoughts and actions, hallucinations, euphoria, arousal and a wide variety of stimulant effects. The drugs are known as Ivory Wave, Cloud 9, White Lightning, Red Dove, White Dove and Ocean.

Drugs and bath salts in the United States

MDPV is often sold as a bath salt additive in the United States. It has an earthy scent, especially when exposed to air. The packets of “designer bath salts” are sold for between $20 and $40. MPDV has been banned in Louisiana, after dozens of calls to emergency services. MDPV, much like cathinone, has been causing suicidal effects in many drug users seeking their next high. Areas that are restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine seem to be experiencing an increase in the use of MDPV and reports of related suicidal behavior.

Banning cathinone and MDPV

Though Louisiana has banned the sale of these bath salt drugs, they are still legal in most states. Australia also has legal MDPV. The United Kingdom has already banned MDPV as a cathinone derivitave. Finland, Denmark and Sweden also banned MDPV. Many states are wondering, though, if the time, money and effort spent to ban a drug is as effective as putting the time, money, and effort into addiction treatment programs.

Sources

Wall Street Journal
Wikipedia

Obama will give his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, Jan. 25. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

President Obama is due to deliver the annual State of the Union address to the houses of Congress soon. The focus of the annual presidential address to the legislature will be on the economy and increasing competitiveness of American businesses. He will also be discussing government spending policy.

President due to give second State of the Union address

President Barack Obama is going to give the second State of the Union address of his presidency on Tuesday, Jan. 25. It’s one of the biggest political events of the year, and there’s a new theme for this year’s address, according to ABC. Instead of traditional seating, where each party has its own wing of the chamber, some seating will be mixed with Democrats and Republicans seated together. Members of Congress will be taking “dates,” asking members of the other party (often the opposite gender) to sit with them, which was the brainchild of Senator Tom Udall (D-Colo.), as a show of bipartisan solidarity in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tuscon.

Topic will focus on economy and ‘competitiveness’

The subject of the 2011 State of the Union will largely be devoted to the economy, the largest issue of the Obama presidency. President Obama is to focus on education,  job creation and initiatives to increase the competitive stature of the United States in international trade, according to the Washington Post. Obama has been emphasizing the need to be an international powerhouse economically in recent stump speeches and is expected to expand on the theme in the annual address to Congress. Fiscal policy and gun control may be topics as well; both have come into sharp focus in recent months.

Foreign relations also to feature in broadcast

Some discussion of foreign policy is also to likely be included, as nearly all troops are expected to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of the year and from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The State of the Union will be heavily broadcast on most major networks and news channels. State of the Union addresses typically draw huge viewer ratings.

Sources

ABC

Washington Post

A cold fusion reactor could produce eight times more energy than it uses, with no radiation, carbon emissions or waste. Image: CC Wikimedia Commons

Cold fusion, the holy grail of physics, promises a virtually unlimited supply of clean energy. Cold fusion is a nuclear reaction that is considered a myth by the contemporary physics establishment. Undaunted, Italian researchers have announced that cold fusion is real and ready for the energy market.

Cold fusion defies known laws of physics

Cold fusion was first announced by a pair of physicists in 1989, but other physicists failed to replicate their results and cold fusion was dismissed as junk science. Cold fusion is still considered theoretically impossible, but Italian scientists Andrea Rossi and Sergio Focardi demonstrated a cold fusion reactor at the University of Bologna last Friday. They claim their device generates power via cold fusion, but they can’t explain exactly why. Their application for a patent was rejected for lack of a theory conforming with accepted laws of physics. But they are confident a commercial cold fusion reactor can be developed in as little as three months.

Nuclear fission versus cold fusion

The sun creates massive amounts of energy with nuclear fusion. Rossi and Focardi claim to have successfully achieved cold fusion — a process occurring at room temperature — by fusing the atomic nuclei of nickel and hydrogen. The reaction produces copper and a lot of energy in the form of heat. Atomic reactors and nuclear weapons generate energy via nuclear fission — which splits atoms to release energy along with a great deal of radiation and toxic waste. The Italians said their cold fusion reaction uses just 400 watts of power to generate 12,400 watts. They claimed a commercial version of their cold fusion reactor could produce eight times more energy than it takes to operate. Their cold fusion power would cost about 1 cent per kilowatt-hour. The average cost of coal generated power in the U.S. in 2004 was 7.62 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Coming to a power plant near you

Rossi and Focardi wrote a paper on cold fusion that was rejected by peer-reviewed journals. They created their own online journal “The Journal of Nuclear Physics,” and published it themselves. They say operating their cold fusion reactor is as simple as flicking a switch and following the instructions. Their reactor would be refueled every six months by an authorized dealer. A Greek utility company has said it is interested.

Sources

Popsci.com

Physorg.com

Coaleducation.org

More than 100 mobsters were arrested in an FBI sweep similar to the operation that brought down John Gotti, pictured here. Image from Wikimedia Commons.. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies have concluded a sweep of arrests of mobsters on the East Coast. More than 100 members of the mob were arrested in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. Charges range from racketeering to murder.

More than 100 mobsters arrested in FBI sweep

A coordinated operation involving the New York state police, the New York Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation culminated in the arrests of more than 100 mobsters on the East Coast recently, according to the New York Times. Police arrested more than 100 people connected to the mob in the states of New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island. The charges that organized crime members were arrested for included racketeering, gambling, extortion, loan sharking and murder. Some of the arrests were for labor racketeering, as mafia members in that area still have a heavy hand in construction and dock loading trade unions. Arrest warrants were issued from four different districts, with more than 12 different indictments.

Attorney General to make statement

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is due to make a statement about the arrests and the charges. It may be the largest raid of its kind ever carried out, according to ABC, as arrests were made throughout New England and at least one in Florida. The mob has been thought to be in a rebuilding phase, as more attention has been focused on terrorists rather than organized crime, but whatever influence might have been gained in the post-9/11 era was likely wiped out by this massive sweep.

Mafia influence waning

The Italian mafia, or La Cosa Nostra (“this thing of ours”) as they call it, has been dealt an increasing number of crippling blows over the past few years. More people have been willing to break the oath of silence until death, called Omerta, and become informants. John Gotti, the “Teflon Don,” was convicted partly thanks to the testimony of Salvatore Gravano, also known as “Sammy the Bull.” Recently, Salvatore Vitale turned state’s evidence and was sentenced only to time served, after committing at least 10 murders.

Sources

New York Times

ABC

In Spokane, Wash., a bomb was discovered just before a Martin Luther King Day parade marched past the device. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

A Martin Luther King Day parade in Spokane, Wash. was interrupted as authorities found a suspicious backpack that was found to contain a bomb. Before the parade began, city employees for Spokane discovered a backpack which had wiring, and the police were alerted. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is pursuing the matter.

Spokane police defuse bomb before parade began

In Spokane, Wash., a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade was very nearly turned into the scene of a terrible tragedy, as employees of the city of Spokane found a bomb, according to MSNBC. The Spokane bomb was found by city employees, looking over the parade route a half hour before it was set to begin. The city workers found an unattended backpack sitting on a metal bench. The backpack stuck out because it had suspicious looking wires coming out of it, which caused the city workers to call the Spokane Police. The bomb disposal unit rushed to the scene to safely contain and dispose of the device, and the parade was delayed and rerouted.

Device would have been lethal

The Federal Bureau of Investigation quickly took over the investigation, and the agent in charge said that the bomb was “viable” and would have been able to “inflict multiple casualties” had it gone off, according to the Spokesman Review. The bomb was intentionally positioned for the improvised explosive device to face the parade marchers, and would have sent shrapnel into the crowd. Two t-shirts were found in the backpack, one reading “Stevens County Relay for Life 2010″ and one reading “Treasure Island Spring Break 2009.” The pipe bomb found in the backpack, according to ABC, was rigged to be detonated remotely by radio.

Motive unknown

The motivation to bomb the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade is unknown. It is certainly clear that the person who planted it intended on injuring or killing a large number of people. The Spokane and Northern Idaho area have been known to be home to hate groups, notably the Aryan Nations white supremacist group which was sued into bankruptcy as an organization several years ago.

Sources

MSNBC

Spokesman Review

ABC

Warnings of a super storm in California turned out to be a hypothetical scenario discussed at the ARk Storm Summit. Image: CC Edward Hicks via Wikimedia Commons

Warnings of a super storm in California surged across the Internet Monday. A storm with the potential to dump 10 feet of rain and cause $300 billion in damage was discussed in a government press release published last Friday. But the California super storm was explained as merely a hypothetical scenario once the sensationalism subsided.

A California superstorm fit for an ARk

A super storm in California was the topic of a United States Geological Survey conference called the ARk Storm Summit held in Sacramento, Calif., Jan 13-14. A press release following the conference offered details about the potential of a devastating California superstorm. Based on historical data, a super storm in California is expected to occur about as often as a major earthquake. The ARk Storm Summit discussed the possible effects of historic California storms that occurred in January 1969 and February 1986 if they were to hit back-to-back.

ARk storm compared to category 5 hurricane

Researchers from the USGS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Emergency Management Agency determined that a super storm in California of that magnitude would overwhelm the state’s flood control and disaster response systems. A USGS scientist said few California residents realize that a super storm could be just as devastating as the category 5 hurricanes that hit the Gulf coast and southeastern Atlantic. The USGS recounted a storm in the winter of 1861-62 that lasted 45 days, turning California’s Central Valley into a lake 300 miles long and 20 miles wide that stretched from Sacramento to Bakersfield.

Super storm warnings merely media hype

The hypothetical super storm in California was labeled an “ARk storm” by the USGS because of severe wet weather systems called “atmospheric rivers,” or ARs. When the term ARk storm hit the Internet in the wake of heavy rains that plagued southern California in late December, sensational headlines started to appear. But a voice of reason emerged on a weather blog called The Weather Space. Meteorologist Kevin Martin called reporting on the California super storm “premature and irresponsible.” He reminded readers that the ARk Storm Summit discussed a scenario, not an actual storm.

Sources

New York Times

SanDiego.com

The Weather Space

USGS.gov