Report: U.S. thwarts Israeli plan to bomb Iranian nuclear facility

The above photo was captioned “A bomb blasts above northern Gaza Strip on Jan. 9, 2009.” What  is this “bomb”? It seems to be sending out hundreds of tentacles or bomblets. Is it one of these?

In 2006, Israel dropped thousands of tons of bombs on Lebanon. The bombs were courtesy of the United States. Among the bombs employed were cluster bombs, which when used release hundreds of bomblets which, when detonated, shoot out hundreds of fragments capable of penetrating 4-inch steel. It is estimated that 1 million bomblets did not detonate at the time and have killed or wounded more than 300 Lebanese since 2006. – lohud

Disgusting.

Here is an interesting story about the U.S., Bush, Israel and Iran. Bush actually stopped an attack?

U.S. President George W. Bush rejected last year an Israeli request to provide sophisticated, deep-penetration bombs to attack Iran’s underground nuclear enrichment facilities, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The Bush administration also rebuffed Israel’s plan to fly through U.S. controlled Iraqi airspace to reach the Iranian territory, unidentified Pentagon officials were quoted as saying.

The Israelis had not proposed a specific date for an attack, and it was not clear how far along the planning was when the requests were made, the officials said.

Apart from the report by the Washington Post, the New York Times Website reported on Saturday that President Bush, in an attempt to soften his refusal, told the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he had authorized a new covert action program to sabotage Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

The reports by the two leading U.S. newspapers have not been confirmed by the White House or the State Department.

Both the United States and Israel regard Iran as a major threat in the Middle East, accusing the Islamic Republic of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of civil nuclear program.

Iran denied the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

via Report: U.S. thwarts Israeli plan to bomb Iranian nuclear facility_English_Xinhua.

Scanner paints a virtual crime scene

Forensics experts and road-accident investigators could soon revisit the scene of a crime without leaving their office, thanks to a 3D scanner that “paints” a virtual model of the area.

The hand-held scanner makes it possible to record a scene with millimetre accuracy and creates a computerised 3D model that can be navigated as if investigators were at the site, says Robert Valkenburg of Industrial Research in Auckland, New Zealand, which developed the technology.

The device consists of a laser scanner coupled to a digital camera. The scanner creates a 3D model of the scene, onto which images from the camera are overlaid. To ensure this is done accurately, the device needs to keep a constant track of its position. It achieves this using a sort of local GPS system, in which a number of “satellites” placed on tripods around the scene emit laser pulses. These are detected by sensors fitted to the scanner, allowing the device to calculate its position by triangulation. At least 20 of these laser beacons are needed, says Valkenburg – the more beacons, the greater the accuracy.

As the device is swiped in front of objects, walls or other surfaces, they automatically appear on screen “like brushstrokes”, says Valkenburg, as part of the emerging 3D model. A number of other scanning technologies are available, but none can capture scenes with such photorealism, he adds.

The device could also be used to scan heritage sites, historical artefacts and movie and video game props, Valkenburg says.

via Scanner paints a virtual crime scene – tech – 11 January 2009 – New Scientist.

2008 saw notable increase in moderate Southern California earthquakes

Do you think the ground feels a little shakier these days? It’s not your imagination.

Last year saw a significant increase in the number of temblors of magnitude 3.0 or greater in Southern California and the northern portion of Baja California, according to data from Caltech and the U.S. Geological Survey.The region recorded 267 shakers with magnitudes of 3.0 and above last year, compared with 125 in 2007. Seismologists said 2008 had the highest number of such quakes of any year since 1999.

What experts don’t know is whether the quake cluster is a harbinger of bigger quakes to come. The 1990s was considered a seismically active decade in Southern California, producing the magnitude 7.3 Landers quake in 1992 and the destructive Northridge temblor in 1994. During the quake cluster of 1999, the region was hit by the magnitude 7.1 Hector Mine temblor in the desert and several sizable aftershocks. There were 828 quakes with magnitudes of 3.0 and above that year.

Lucile Jones, a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that although experts can’t predict future quake activity, it appears Southern California is waking up from a steep drop-off in seismic activity so far this decade.”It looks more like we’re returning to a more normal rate,” she said. “The last 15 years was one of the quietest times we’ve had in terms of [magnitude] 3′s, 4′s and 5′s.”

But the shift underscores one of the more perplexing elements of seismology: That quakes tend to happen in clusters, but not in any patterns that are easy to understand.

The clusters often come and go cyclically, but it’s not clear whether they are laying the groundwork for a major quake.

via 2008 saw notable increase in moderate Southern California earthquakes – Los Angeles Times.

5 Somali Pirates Drown With Share of $3M Ransom

Fark comment:

Apparently the pirates that made off with three million dollars ransom for the oil tanker, didn’t think about how much three million weighs. Rubber boats + three million = capsize

Photo:

Jan. 9: A parachute dropped by a small aircraft is observed as it drops over the MV Sirius Star during an apparent payment via a parachuted container to pirates holding the ship. Somali pirates released the oil-laden Saudi supertanker after receiving a $3 million ransom, a negotiator for the bandits said Friday.

Story:

Five of the Somali pirates who released a hijacked oil-laden Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a reported $3 million ransom after their small boat capsized, a pirate and port town resident said Saturday.

Pirate Daud Nure says the boat with eight people on board overturned in a storm after dozens of pirates left the Sirius Star following a two-month standoff in the Gulf of Aden that ended Friday. …

He said five people died and three people reached shore after swimming for several hours. Daud Nure was not part of the pirate operation but knew those involved.

Jamal Abdulle, a resident of the Somali coastal town of Haradhere, close to where the ship was anchored also confirmed that the boat sank and that the eight’s portion of the ransom money that had been shared between dozens of pirates was lost.

U.S. Navy photos showed a parachute, carrying what they described as “an apparent payment,” floating toward the tanker. The Sirius Star and its 25-member crew had been held since Nov. 15. Its cargo of crude oil was valued at US$100 million at the time.

The capture was seen as a dramatic demonstration of the pirates’ ability to strike high value targets hundreds of miles offshore.

On the same day the Saudi ship was freed, pirates released a captured Iranian-chartered cargo ship, Iran’s state television reported Saturday. It said the ship Daylight was carrying 36 tons of wheat when it was attacked in the Gulf of Aden Nov. 18 and seized by pirates. All 25 crew are in good health and the vessel is sailing toward Iran, the TV report said.

The U.S. Navy announced this week it will head a new anti-piracy taskforce after more than 100 ships were attacked last year.

NATO and the European Union already have warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden and have intervened to prevent several ships from being captured.

More than a dozen ships with about 300 crew members are still being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, including the weapons-laden Ukrainian cargo ship MV Faina, which was seized in September.

via FOXNews.com – 5 Somali Pirates Drown With Share of $3M Ransom – International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News.

I wonder if the five dead pirates were eatten by God the immortal metazoan.