China ‘could reach moon by 2020′.

Nasa administrator Michael Griffin has said: “China is capable of sending a manned mission to the Moon within the next decade, if it so wishes”.

It is possible the the first people on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 could be planting a flag with five stars, not 50.

During a visit to London, at BBC News website, Dr Griffin said: “Certainly it is possible that if China wants to put people on the Moon, and if it wishes to do so before the United States, it certainly can. As a matter of technical capability, it absolutely can.”

Chinese officials say: “ There is no plan and no timetable for a Moon landing, and have expressed doubt that one could be made by 2020”.

A recent report by the US consultancy firm, Futron, found other countries were expanding their space capabilities at an astonishing rate, “threatening US space leadership”.

Also, India’s space programme is smaller than China’s, but is making great strides. The South Asian country will launch its Chandrayaan unmanned Moon probe later this year.

Dr Griffin now says: “Even if a new president and a new Congress decided they wanted to shorten the gap between shuttle retirement and Ares and Orion deployment, at this point with water over the dam, even if they were substantially increasing our funding, we would be talking about 2014 as the earliest.”

Source: BBC NEWS.

“Enjoy” first Guantanamo video.

Click here to see the film!!!

The video was filmed secretly through an air duct.

A videotape of a detainee being questioned at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay has been released for the first time.

“It shows 16-year-old Omar Khadr being asked by Canadian officials in 2003 about events leading up to his capture by US forces”, Canadian media have said.

During the 10-minute video of his questioning in Guantanamo a year later, he can be seen crying, his face buried in his hands, and pulling at his hair. He can be heard repeatedly chanting: “Help me.”

“I’m not a doctor, but I think you’re getting good medical care,” one of the officials responds.

Mr Khadr says: “No I’m not. You’re not here… I lost my eyes. I lost my feet. Everything!” in reference to how his vision and physical health were affected.

“Canadians should demand to know why they’ve been lied to.”

Mr Khadr, now 21, faces multiple terrorism-related charges, the most serious of which is murder. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Source: BBC NEWS Americas.

Pre-quake changes seen in rocks

A team of US researchers has detected stress-induced changes in rocks that occurred hours before two small tremors in California’s San Andreas Fault.

The observations used sensors lowered down holes drilled into the quake zone. The team says we are a long way from routine tremor forecasts but the latest findings hold out hope that such services might be possible one day.

“If you had 10 hours’ warning, from a practical point of view, you could evacuate populations, you could certainly get people out of buildings, you could get the fire department ready,” said co-author Paul Silver of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Washington.
Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk

The Kellogg Twenty is Coming Home

For the first time in about three decades the Kellogg Twenty will come back to Baltimore. The 154-year-old $20 gold coin was a unique California Gold Rush specimen, which, for a certain period of time, was owned by John Work Garrett, who was a Baltimore resident, as well as a diplomat. The Kellogg Twenty is considered by a lot of coin collectors to be one of the finest gold coins in the United States from the middle of the 19th century.

It is worth mentioning that the grandfather of John W. Garrett (1872 – 1942) was the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad executive John Work Garrett (1820 – 1884), who was also the company’s president. In his turn John Work Garrett was the eldest son of T. Harrison Garrett (1849 – 1888), who started collecting coins during his life as a student at Princeton. The collecting of rare coins marked lots of new rarities when the two sons of T. Harrison, John and Robert (1875 – 1961), became passionate with numismatics.

Source: Dig4coins.Com

500,000 Square Miles of Rocky Mountains to be Acquired for $500M

A company with headquarters in Seattle agreed to sell 300,000 acres from the Rocky Mountains for conservation. It is worth mentioning that in such a way the company looks forward to protect some of the most prized territories in the region from development. The current land deal is considered to be the largest of its kind in the history of the United States.

Over 300,000 acres of land featuring threatened and endangered animals such as grizzly bears and lynx will be transferred to public ownership after the government made a deal with the Seattle-based company, Plum Creek Timber. The deal is valued at $500,000 and for signing the agreement a ceremony took place in Montana on June 30.

Source: Bizaims.com

U.S., NATO Casualties in Afghanistan Exceed Those in Iraq

For a second month in a row there were more casualties of NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan than in Iraq. It is worth mentioning that the fundamentalist militia was able to stag a complicated jailbreak, the result of which was the escape of 886 prisoners. Afterwards militia promptly penetrated a strategic valley outside Kandahar.

According to the information provided by the Pentagon last week, the Taliban are going to maintain or even increase the pace of its assaults, which already increased by 40 percent this year in comparison with 2007. A number of observers consider that the rebellion has achieved its peak.

Source: CoinsDig.Com

Prices for New Investment Coins

Recently the Bank of Russia presented three new investment coins: St. George the Victorious, Sable and One Chervonets. The peculiarities regarding the three specimens are presented below.

Investment Coin

St. George the Victorious

This coins was issued on February 1, 2006. Below there are several characteristics of the St. George the Victorious investment coin.

Source: Dig4coins.Com

Tech Companies Create Group to Buy Patents

The number one search engine, Google, is a member of a group that consists of big technological companies that fight against the threat coming from the lawsuits on patent violation. This information was provided by the official website of Wall Street Journal. According to the newspaper’s website the group of tech giants is called Allied Security Trust and it looks forward to acquire key intellectual property before it comes into the possession of other parties, which in their turn might use it against the tech giants.

Source: CoinsDig.Com

EBay Ordered to Pay 40M Euros for Selling Fake Louis Vuitton Goods

On June 30, a Paris court ordered one of the biggest Internet auctioneers, eBay, to pay 40 million euros (which is about 63 million USD) in damages to the French-based luxury fashion and leather goods brand and company, Louis Vuitton, due to the fact that the auctioneer was selling counterfeit luxury goods of the brand online. In addition the commercial court banned the Internet auctioneer from selling such perfume brands as: Christian Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy and Guerlain, having the goal of providing a message about copyright protection.

Source: Bizaims.Com

English Rose Commemorative Coins

Rose growers have often commemorated landmarks in the Queen’s history by breeding a new variety of her favorite flower. Innovations created in the Queen’s name have also changed the history of rose horticulture. The three roses included in this elegant design are the Queen Elizabeth, the Silver Jubilee and the Gracious Queen.

The Queen Elizabeth Rose was introduced by Dr W. E. Lammerts at the beginning of her reign and was presented in 1954 one year after the Coronation. It is a stately rose that lives up to its name. Growing tall it is especially suited to the backs of borders and hedges and is china pink in colour with a light fragrance. The Royal National Rose Society presented a bed of the rose to the Queen, which was planted in the gardens at Buckingham Palace.

Source: Dig4coins.Com