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A temporary flight restriction has been issued by the FAAfor a major North Pacific air corridor, covering air routesR-222, R-580 and A-590. The restriction covers the datesSeptember 10-15. The cloture of these major routes is highlyunusual, is said to be due to a Department of DefenseStrategic Defense Initiative, but the nature of thatinitiative has not been revealed.

The FAA has said that aircraft can fly north of the affectedroutes into Russian airspace, but Russian securityregulations limit the number of available altitudes, raisinga safety question during high-traffic periods on these majorroutes.

Extra time and fuel will be needed to fly the alternateroutes. An airline pilot comments, “I have never seen amajor international route closed like this.”read more

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E. coli bacteria is found in food that hasn’t been adequately refrigerated or has been mishandled during preparation, often by people who don’t wash their hands after visiting the bathroom. It gives most people no more than a stomach ache, but can be dangerous for the elderly or people whose immune systems are compromised. This is why health authorities are worried about a type of superbug E. coli that is rapidly spreading in the UK. In August, E. coli was found in meals that were to be served to passengers on British Airways. If this continues to happen, it is inevitable that the antibiotic-resistant version will arrive on our shores.
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Intelligence experts have intercepted recent al-Qaeda threats against Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia. Since these are transmitted between members of the terrorist group in coded images, they must be carefully analyzed for meaning. Before September 11, 2001, investigators later found that one of the terrorists had emailed another one about an image of a cake with two candles on it, referring to the date 911.
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Folding FEMA into Homeland Security may have made it inevitable that the same mistakes were made in both places, whether we are battling insurgents or the weather. Vice President Cheney’s former corporation Halliburton has been put in charge of housing and feeding refugees from the storm, just as they feed and house US soldiers in Iraq. The private security company Blackwater, which has also worked in Iraq, has men patrolling the streets of New Orlenas openly carrying assault weapons. As they did in Iraq, the government is missing the chance to recruit loyal followers by giving these much-needed jobs to locals.
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