Genetic mutation of A/H1N1 flu found on mainland

BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — Genetic mutation had been detected in eight A/H1N1 flu cases on the Chinese mainland, an official with the Chinese National Influenza Center said here Wednesday.

Shu Yuelong, director of the center, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Health, said in an interview that the mutated virus was not resistant to drugs and could be prevented by vaccines.

According to Shu, the first mutated strain of the A/H1N1 flu was discovered in June this year in an imported case from Britain. Similar strain was detected three months later in Zhejiang Province.

The health department of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) announced one human swine influenza (HSI) virus which had the same mutation as the one detected in Norway recently.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), same mutation had been found in other countries including Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Ukraine and the United States.

« Mutations were almost inevitable in influenza viruses, » Shu said.

Shu said the mutation detected recently was isolated and the cases were not interrelated to each other.

« This kind of mutant virus has been found in patients with slight and heavy symptoms as well as those who have recovered. The virus has not widely spread so far, » said Yu Hongjie, an expert from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The WHO concluded that the mutation’ s affection to the public health had not been clear but it reminded health workers to strengthen the monitoring of the flu virus, Yu added.

« As far as we know, the vaccines are still effective in the prevention of this kind of mutant virus. » said Chen Weiyun, spokeswoman for the WHO Representative Office in China.

Chen said the WHO had not decided to shift its focus from battling the flu to combating its virus mutations.

If the study revealed that mutations would be a threat, the WHO would advise the governments of all countries to adjust their measures.

Severe reactions to swine flu vaccine in Canada: WHO
Agence France-PresseNovember 24, 2009 5:05 AM

GENEVA — An unusual number of severe allergic reactions to swine flu vaccinations have been recorded in Canada, where a batch of the vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline has been recalled, the WHO said on Tuesday.

“An unusual number of severe allergies to the vaccine have been detected in Canada,” World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham told AFP.

“We need to understand what happened in Canada,” he added.

Mr. Abraham said, however, that the WHO had not changed its recommendations regarding swine flu vaccines.

Last week, the WHO said checks on many of the 30 deaths recorded following mass pandemic flu vaccinations had so far ruled out a direct link to the vaccines.

The fatalities made up a minute fraction of at least 65 million doses of swine flu vaccines which have been administered, said the WHO, citing data from 16 countries.

For every 10,000 doses of vaccines administered, only one report of adverse effect had been logged.

Of every 100 reports of adverse effects, five are serious cases such as death, according to the WHO.
© Copyright (c) National Post

Search is on for Johannesburg Meteorite!

From Eye Witness News

Johannesburg and Pretoria residents have come forward, claiming they spotted a meteor in the skies on Saturday night. People in Gauteng saw the bright light at around 11pm on Saturday night, heading towards the north of Pretoria “We saw this big green ball of fire. it kind of came out of the sky, out of the blue,” one resident said.

“There was sudden flash. Like an orange stripe in the sky, followed by a very bright explosion where the sky lit up as if it was daytime,” another explained. Astronomers and scientists are still trying to find out where the meteor landed. Ronnie McKenzie collects meteorites and said something like this is very rare. “I would say it probably happens around two or three times a year around the world,” he said.

Allegedly the search is already on! Astronomers and Scientists are hoping to find he remains of what was likely a stray Meteorite from Leonid the Meteor Shower. Had one of the meteors hit our atmosphere it would light up in exactly the way eye witnesses describe. Coloured green and yellow light would also indicate a meteorite of interesting composition. The knowledge we could gain from any remains of the Meteorite would be invaluable.

Let’s hope it didn’t burn up entirely and that there’s a small impact crater hiding somewhere in Jozi.

If anyone has any photos or video, please let us know via the comments.

http://www.nickhuntdavis.com/?p=123

The Russo-Chinese Oil and Gas Agreements Initiate a New Era in Geopolitics of Oil
2009-11-20 07:39:28 – Russia agreed to supply oil to China for 20 years in lieu of a $25 billion loan to OAO Roseneft, a state run oil company and OAO Transneft, a state run pipeline company

In October 2009, Russia and China signed multiple oil and gas agreements to strengthen their collaboration in the energy sector. In 2009, they signed oil agreements worth $100 billion. . Gazprom, the Russian oil and gas giant, aims to build two gas pipelines to deliver 80 billion cubic metres of gas annually to China. This will give Gazprom an opportunity to penetrate into new markets beyond its traditional European markets. China also plans to offer a $10 billion credit to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (The group comprises of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Russia and China). Further, Chinese sovereign wealth fund will invest $300 million in Nobel Holdings Investments (a Russian oil producing company).

With the global financial crisis affecting the Russian oil and gas sector, Chinese oil agreements have revived optimism. To safeguard its economic growth, China has invested in major oil and gas companies
worldwide since December 2008, and Russia, with its huge oil and gas reserves, has been an attractive investment destination for Chinese oil and gas companies. By becoming a major supplier to China, Russia plans to reduce its risk of overdependence on oil and gas revenues from Europe.

…

http://www.pr-inside.com/print1594361.htm

Contact Information: GlobalData
Contact Person: Rajesh Gunnam
Phone: +914066166782
email: e-mail
Web: http://www.researchviews.com/

Cern’s Large Hadron Collider makes first collisions
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News
Monday, 23 November 2009

Engineers working on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) have for the first time smashed together proton beams inside the giant machine.

The step was described as a « great achievement » for those working on the huge physics experiment.

The low-energy collisions came as researchers circulated two beams simultaneously in the LHC’s 27km-long tunnel earlier on Monday.

The LHC will smash together beams of protons to shed light on the cosmos.

Researchers working on the collider have said they are delighted with the quick progress made since the machine restarted on Friday.

Operated by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern), the LHC is the world’s largest machine and will create similar conditions to those which were present moments after the Big Bang.

« It’s a great achievement to have come this far in so short a time, » said Cern’s director general Rolf Heuer.

« But we need to keep a sense of perspective – there’s still much to do before we can start the LHC physics programme. »

Housed in a tunnel 100m beneath the Franco-Swiss border, the LHC uses some 1,200 « superconducting » magnets to bend proton beams in opposite directions around the tunnel at close to the speed of light.

At allotted points around the « ring », the proton beams cross paths, smashing into one another with enormous energy.

Large « detector » machines located at these crossing points will scour the wreckage of these collisions for discoveries that could roll back the frontiers of knowledge.

The four main detectors at the LHC are: Atlas, the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), Alice and LHCb. Atlas and CMS are so-called multi-purpose detectors, while Alice and LHCb are designed with more specific experiments in mind.

Cern’s director of communications said the first collisions had taken place after 1300 GMT during a Monday press conference to discuss progress on the machine’s restart.

« We didn’t have time to analyse them then. We waited until all four of the (detectors) had seen good candidates (for collisions), » he told BBC News.

Scientists will search for signs of the Higgs boson, a sub-atomic particle that is crucial to our current understanding of physics. Although it is predicted to exist, scientists have not yet detected it.

Paul.Rincon-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk

A photo of the destroyed al-Kibar reactor in Syria. The IAEA says Syria has uranium as its other nuclear sites. (Photo courtesy of U.S. government)

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=778&sid=1816869

November 19, 2009 – 6:41am
J.J. Green, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – The International Atomic Energy Agency and Syria are walking a tightrope and appear to be headed toward a collision over two nuclear sites where undeclared uranium was recently found.

The agency found traces of uranium at the Dair Alzour nuclear site that are not included in Syria’s declared inventory, according to a just released report. The Syrians said the uranium came from the Israeli missiles used to destroy the nearby al-Kibar reactor in September 2007.

The presence of uranium particles was detected at a second site near Damascus — the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor. Syria said it came from the accumulation of samples and reference materials used in neutron activation analysis.

The IAEA is not buying either of the two explanations and is pressing Damascus for more answers and wants to know from where the uranium came. The agency has run its own tests and is certain the Syrian government is not telling the truth.

That’s where the tightrope act comes in. The IAEA won’t comment on what clearly appears to be evasive behavior by the Syrian government because of concern about its tenuous relationship with Syria.

The Syrian government, also aware of the slippery state of affairs, tells WTOP:

« We are taking up the matter with IAEA, and are in constant consultation with them. We are going through appropriate channels and Syria stands by its legal obligations to the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty). »

A U.S. counter-proliferation official is not convinced.

« Syria has a record of concealing nuclear activities. The whole world saw that with the al-Kibar reactor, an undeclared facility, destroyed in 2007. »

Considering Syria’s close relationship with Iran, which has refused to bend to international will to stop its nuclear weapons production activities, there is concern Syria is following the same path.

« I think it should be a significant worry, » says David Kay, senior research fellow at the Potomac Institute. « This is what the Syria case points to. States can, on their own, clandestinely make arrangements to acquire at least portions of a nuclear weapons production cycle. »

The precarious, global nuclear state of affairs involving Iran, North Korea and Pakistan is troubling to Kay.
Lire le texte complet…

Canada promises India help over Rana, hopeful of nuclear deal (Roundup)

India, Canada aim at free trade, to seal nuclear pact soon

New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) Hoping to conclude a civil nuclear agreement soon, India and Canada Tuesday decided to expand their counter-terror cooperation by exchanging information about Tahawuur Hussain Rana, a Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin who along with David Headley, a US citizen, was arrested last month for hatching a terror plot against India.

The two sides also sought to add more economic muscle to their ties by agreeing to set up a panel to explore the possibility of a free trade area between them.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on a range of bilateral issues, including trade and investment, civil nuclear cooperation, as well as the global financial crisis, terrorism and climate change.

Two pacts were signed after wide-ranging talks. The pact on energy is aimed at accelerating cooperation in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency, oil and natural gas, power generation, transmission, distribution and end-use, energy research and development.

The other pact mandated the setting up of a joint study group to explore the possibility of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Canada. The joint study group will hold the first meeting in the first half of December, with the aim of concluding the study within six months.

The two sides focused on a wide array of steps, including creating a broad institutional framework, aimed at tripling bilateral trade from around $5 billion to $15 billion in the next five years.

“The two governments welcomed ongoing efforts to strengthen the institutional framework for bilateral relations, including working towards concluding negotiations on the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, the Social Security Agreement, and the civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement,” a joint statement said.

But a civil nuclear agreement, which was speculated to be the showpiece of Harper’s visit to India, did not materialise as some finer details remained to be sorted out. The deal may now be signed when Manmohan Singh goes to Canada to attend the G20 summit in June next year where he will also hold bilateral talks with the Canadian leader on the sidelines.
Lire le texte complet…

Original article:
Iran creates new spy agency to fight protests

Friday, 13 November 2009

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has created a powerful new intelligence organisation to try to quell any further public unrest in the wake of June’s disputed election, an exiled Iranian opposition group said yesterday.

The new organisation, responsible for intelligence and security, is an off-shoot of the Revolutionary Guards and will report directly to the Supreme Leader’s office, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a Paris-based group that has followers in Europe and claims many in Iran.

The shift is the largest overhaul of the intelligence structure since 1989, when Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died, the NCRI believes, and reflects the depth of the leadership’s concern about post-election protests.

« Although the mullahs have made public declarations about the new organisation, they have nonetheless concealed its real dimension and true nature, » Maryam Rajavi, the leader of the NCRI, told a news conference in Brussels. « Its command structure is linked directly to Khamenei. Its formation marks an unprecedented transformation for the regime’s intelligence and suppressive apparatus. »

The organisation, called the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, took shape in June, soon after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected in a vote his opponents said was rigged, a charge the authorities reject.

Ms Rajavi said work on the new body was completed last month, and that the information came from sources in Iran. Iranian officials have yet to comment on reports of a revamped intelligence organisation.

Pirate Bay: Telenor gagne en justice contre l’industrie du divertissement

(AFP) – 6 nov 2009

OSLO — Un tribunal norvégien a donné raison vendredi à l’opérateur de télécoms Telenor qui refusait de bloquer l’accès au site de partage de fichiers The Pirate Bay comme le réclamaient plusieurs acteurs de l’industrie musicale et cinématographique.

Selon le tribunal de première instance d’Asker et Baerum (sud), Telenor, en tant que fournisseur d’accès à internet (FAI), ne peut être tenu pour complice des violations des droits d’auteur entraînées par le téléchargement illégal de musique et de films sur le site.

Dans le cas contraire, cela « conduirait Telenor et les autres fournisseurs d’accès, en tant qu’entreprises privées, à devoir trancher sur le blocage ou non de sites internet », selon un extrait du verdict rendu public par Telenor.

« C’est une tâche qui incombe d’ordinaire au législateur et, selon le tribunal, il n’est pas naturel dans la situation actuelle de transférer une telle responsabilité à des sociétés privées », ajoute le juge.

Selon les médias norvégiens, l’industrie du divertissement au Danemark a dans le passé obtenu en justice le blocage de l’accès à The Pirate Bay par l’opérateur Tele 2.

Mais Telenor a fait valoir que les législations norvégienne et danoise étaient différentes.

« On ne peut pas traîner en justice un producteur d’échelles parce que quelqu’un a utilisé une de ses échelles pour commettre un cambriolage », avait déclaré Atle Lessum, un porte-parole de Telenor, au journal Verdens Gang avant le procès.

« Nous refusons par conséquent de nous voir imposer une censure comme celle-ci », avait-il ajouté.
———————————

Note de Caporal DJon:
Connaissez-vous le film « Steal This Film »? Sérieusement, c’est un must et un MINIMUM d’avoir la version de l’histoire des gars de PirateBay… ce qu’est exactement « Steal this film »: http://www.stealthisfilm.com/Part2/download.php

Il y a un mirror de la partie 1 sur TacticalFM, je viens de me rendre compte que la 2ième partie est sortie
http://www.tacticalfm.com/files/movies/StealThisFilm.divx

Voici sous forme de podcast très court, la conclusion en quelque sorte du blocage de TacticalFM du réseau Wi-Fi de la Ville de Québec.

Il faudrait juste avoir une saisie d’écran de confirmation maintenant.

Voici le lien de la compagnie dont il est question dans le podcast, vérifiez votre blog:
http://www.fortiguard.com/webfiltering/webfiltering.html#urllookup

Bonne écoute gang.

Caporal DJon

Podcast: Jouer dans sa propre fenetre | Download (Duree: 19:07 — 17.5MB)