California Community Slowly Sinking Into Ground

Russian billionaire reveals real-life 'avatar' plan and says he will upload his brain to a hologram and become immortal

A Russian billionaire has revealed controversial plans to upload his own brain and become immortal by 2045.

32 year-old Dmitry Itskov believes technology will allow him to live forever in a hologram body.

His '2045 initiative' is described as the next step in evolution, and over 20,000 people have signed up on Facebook to follow its progress, with global conferences planned to explore the technology needed.



Still some work to do: 32 year-old Dmitry Itskov, seen here in prototype robotic form, believes he will be able to upload his brain to a hologram body in 2045 and live forever

'We are in the process of creating focus groups of experts,' said Itskov.

'Along with these teams, we will prepare goal statements and research programs schedules.'

The foundation has already planned out its timeline for getting to a fully holographic human, and claims it will be ready to upload a mind into a computer by 2015, a timeline even Itskov says is 'optimistic'.

'The four tracks and their suggested deadlines are optimistic but feasible,' he said of the foundation's site.

'This is our program for the next 35 years, and we will do our best to complete it.'

The ultimate aim is for a hologram body.

'The fourth development track seems the most futuristic one,' said Itskov.

'It’s intent is to create a holographic body. Indeed, its creation is going to be the most complicated task, but at the same time could be the most thrilling problem in the whole of human evolution.'



Four steps to becoming an Avatar: The 2045 initiative says it will be able to upload a human mind to a hologram body by 2045 - and that the first mind transfer could happen in 2015



32 year-old Dmitry Itskov believes technology will allow him to live forever in a hologram body.

To help realize the lofty aim, he has set up the Global Future Congress, which held its first meeting in Moscow last year.

The congress will meet again in New York City this June, where it promises to unveil the most human-like robot the world has ever seen.

It will also addressing the ethical and social issues of immortality.

'Modern civilization, with its space stations, nuclear submarines, iPhones and Segways cannot save mankind from the limitations in the physical abilities of our bodies, nor from diseases and death,' the '2045' Strategic Social Initiative says in its manifesto.

'We believe that it is possible and necessary to eliminate aging and even death, and to overcome the fundamental limits of the physical and mental capabilities currently set by the restrictions of the physical body.

'Before 2045 an artificial body will be created that will not only surpass the existing body in terms of functionality, but will achieve perfection of form and be no less attractive than the human body.

'People will make independent decisions about the extension of their lives and the possibilities for personal development in a new body after the resources of the biological body have been exhausted.'

The initiative also believes the first generation of 'android' bodies will have superhuman capabilities.

'The new human being will receive a huge range of abilities and will be capable of withstanding extreme external conditions easily: high temperatures, pressure, radiation, lack of oxygen, etc.

'Using a neural-interface humans will be able to operate several bodies of various forms and sizes remotely.'

The project is also addressing the moral issues of living forever.


'We suggest the implementation of not just a mechanistic project to create an artificial body, but a whole system of views, values and technology which will render assistance to humankind in intellectual, moral, physical, mental and spiritual development.'



Itskov, a 31-year-old media entrepreneur, says that he aims to transplant a human brain into a robot body within 10 years. He says his technology will be of interest at first to the 'disabled and close to dying'

'This project is leading down the road to immortality,' Itskov has said previously.

'A person with a perfect Avatar will be able to remain part of society. People don’t want to die.'

Itskov envisages surgically 'transplanting' a human consciousness into a robot body within 10 years.

He hopes to then 'upload' minds without surgery, leaving human bodies as empty husks as their owners 'live on' inside robots.

The project is called Avatar after the James Cameron movie, set far in the future, where human soldiers use mind control to inhabit the bodies of human alien hybrids as they carry out a war against the inhabitants of a distant world.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2322703/Want-live-forever-Russian-billionaire-reveals-real-life-avatar-plan--says-upload-brain-hologram-immortal-2045.html#ixzz2TBg8vnsA

The World Health Organisation sounds warning on coronavirus strain

The World Health Organisation has given warning that a new strain of the coronavirus could be passed on between people in close contact.

The warning on Sunday came after authorities confirmed that a man who had shared a hospital ward with France's first victim had been infected. The second patient's condition has deteriorated, requiring treatment in intensive care, Health Minister Marisol Touraine said at a news conference.

The minister added that the first patient was "in a stable but worrisome situation".

The novel coronavirus has killed 18 people since being identified last year, out of more than 30 confirmed cases reported to the World Health Organisation since September 2012.

The first France patient had just returned from vacationing in the United Arab Emirates when he fell ill.

He shared a room with the second patient for a few days in late April at a hospital in Valenciennes. Now both are being treated at the Lille Hospital in northern France.

The coronavirus, known as nCoV-EMC, is a cousin of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 800 people in the East Asia in 2002-03.

Most of those infected since the virus was identified had travelled to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan or Pakistan. There also have been cases in Britain and Germany.

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal said that the biggest cluster has been found in Saudi Arabia. He said for now the coronavirus is nowhere near as widespread as SARS was 10 years ago.

'Need for awareness'
WHO Assistant Director-General Keiji Fukuda told reporters in Saudi Arabia, the site of the largest cluster of infections,
there was no evidence so far the virus was able to sustain "generalised transmission in communities" - a scenario that would raise the spectre of a pandemic.

But he added: "Of most concern ... is the fact that the different clusters seen in multiple countries ... increasingly support the hypothesis that when there is close contact, this novel coronavirus can transmit from person to person.

"There is a need for countries to ... increase levels of awareness," he said.

Benoit Guery, head of the Lille hospital's infectious diseases unit, said the transmission between patients should not be taken as an indication that the virus was more contagious than previously thought.

"Thankfully it is not comparable to SARS," he said.
"It has been circulating for a little less than a year, and we're at 34 reported cases, whereas with SARS it only took a few months to get to 8,000 cases."

Saudi Deputy Health Minister for Public Health Ziad Memish told reporters that, of 15 confirmed cases in the most recent outbreak, in al-Ahsa district of Eastern Province, nine had died, two more than previously reported.

Saudi Arabia's Health Ministry said in a statement the country had had 24 confirmed cases since last summer, of whom 15 had died. Fukuda said he was not sure if the two newly reported Saudi deaths were included in the numbers confirmed by the WHO.

Fukuda, part of a WHO team visiting Saudi Arabia to investigate the spread of the disease, said although no specific vaccine or medication was yet available for novel coronavirus, patients were responding to treatment.

"The care that is taken in the hospitals, in terms of using respirators well, in terms of treating pneumonia, in terms of treating complications, in terms of providing support, these steps can get patients through this very severe illness," he said.

Fukuda said that as far as he knew all cases in the latest outbreak in al-Ahsa district were directly or indirectly linked to one hospital.


Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies

South Carolina to criminalize implementation of Obamacare

(NaturalNews) More and more states are beginning to challenge the Obama Administration over what they view as unconstitutional abuses of power, especially regarding firearms and health care. The latest example comes from South Carolina, whose legislature has passed a measure declaring Obamacare to be "null and void" and criminalizing its implementation.

Lawmakers in the House passed the Freedom of Health Care Protection Act by a vote of 65-39, which seeks to "prohibit certain individuals from enforcing or attempting to enforce such unconstitutional laws; and to establish criminal penalties and civil liability for violating this article."

According to reports, the measure would permit the state attorney general, with reasonable cause, "to restrain by temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, or permanent injunction" anyone who is believed to be causing harm to any state resident or business through implementation of the Obamacare law.

'Not now, not ever'House members appear to be following the lead of Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, who declared in her State of the State Address earlier this year that South Carolina neither wants nor can afford President Obama's signature legislative accomplishment, "not now, not ever."

"To that end, we will not pursue the type of government-run health exchanges being forced on us by Washington," she said. "Despite the rose-colored rhetoric coming out of D.C., these exchanges are nothing more than a way to make the state do the federal government's bidding in spending massive amounts of taxpayer dollars on insurance subsidies that we can't afford."

The measure moved to the state Senate May 2 and has been referred to the Committee on Finance, the Washington Times reported.

Obamacare has been declared constitutional by creative fiat, thanks to a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the law's individual mandate requiring Americans to purchase health insurance (the first ruling of its kind requiring citizens to engage in commerce). Parts of the law are still in court, however, such as challenges to the law's mandated coverage of contraceptives.

'Not in South Carolina'In March, Haley - during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference - said she does not support the law's expansion of Medicaid coverage to low-income Americans; the nation's highest court, in the same ruling, found that Congress did not have the authority to mandate that states expand the benefit program.

"Not in South Carolina," she said. "We will not expand Medicaid on President Obama's watch. We will not expand Medicaid ever."

Other sections of the law are already showing signs of weakness or fraying:

• The insurance exchanges called for in the law are not ready. "The Obama Administration now says a special system of exchanges designed to make it easier for small businesses to provide insurance will be delayed an entire year - to 2015," Fox News has reported. The exchanges were supposed to be up and running when the law fully took effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

"Lots of small businesses struggle with providing insurance for their workers so this was supposed to facilitate it and make it easier for small business to do this," Jim Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told Fox News in April. "It was a huge portion of the sale job. When they passed the law in 2010 there were many senators and members of Congress who were saying 'I am doing this because it's going to help small businesses.'"

• Even the bill's authors lack confidence. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., one of Obamacare's principal authors, has told Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, whose department will oversee major portions of Obamacare implementation, "I just see a huge train wreck coming down." Baucus is up for reelection in 2014; the six-term senator's approval ratings tanked following his involvement in, and unwavering support for, Obamacare, The Associated Press has reported.

• The law is already affecting employers and employment - negatively. For months employers have been voicing concerns that they won't be able to afford the law's requirements for employee health care coverage. In fact, many say they are considering busting full-timers down to part-time status in order to avoid the requirement to insure full-time workers (http://www.huffingtonpost.com).

Sources for this article include:

http://www.washingtontimes.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/healthcare/reduced_work_hours13.pdf

http://www.latimes.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040315_South_Carolina_Obamacare_states_rights.html#ixzz2TBKscZFG

Russia staffs Mediterranean fleet.

Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Chirkov said Sunday, May 12, that the process is underway for creating a permanent staff to run Russian fleet operations in the Mediterranean Sea. Speaking at Sevastopol, the Black Sea fleet’s home port, Adm. Chirkov said a staff of 20 officers was already in place. And the Mediterranean deployment would comprise five to six warships and their service vessels as well possibly as nuclear submarines which, say our military sources, are armed with nuclear ballistic missiles.

DEBKAfile’s military sources: The new permanent deployment is the next Russian step for safeguarding Bashar Assad’s regime in Damascus and deterring military attacks on his Hizballah allies and Iranian interests in their three-way bloc.
Moscow is also announcing loud and clear that Russia is finally restoring its military presence to the Middle East in 2013 after the last Soviet squadron exited the Mediterranean in 1992.

The Russian naval step came 24 hours after two car bombs reduced to rubble the center of the Turkish town of Reyhanli near the Syrian border, killing 46 people and injuring scores. Turkish ministers at the scene Sunday openly blamed Syrian military intelligence for the attack’s planning and execution.

This raised concerns in Moscow that Ankara was preparing to deliver a serious reprisal, possibly in the form of an aerial or missile assault, on Syrian military targets.

Russian tacticians reckoned that, after Israel’s two air strikes against Assad regime targets, the Tayyip Erdogan’s government could hardly avoid direct action without appearing to be failing in courage in the eyes of the Turkish public.
Some action is doubly pressing as Prime Minister Erdogan prepares to travel to Washington to meet President Barack Obama on May 16 and present him with evidence that Assad has used chemical weapons in his war on Syrian rebels.

The Reyhanli bombings and Turkey’s potential retaliation sent a fresh wave of alarm across the Syrian neighborhood. Once again, Israeli Air Force warplanes thundered Sunday across South Lebanon and over Hizballah strongholds in the eastern Beqaa Valley near the Syrian border.
Given all these circumstances, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s chances are virtually nil of getting anywhere in his trip to the Black Sea resort of Sochi to persuade President Vladimir Putin to hold back advanced S-300 anti-air missiles from Syria. He can expect to find the Russian president driving full speed for arms deals - not just with Syria, but also with Iraq, Yemen and Sudan.
Putin clearly regards Obama’s decision to keep the US clear of military involvement in the Syrian conflict as an open gateway for a Russian military comeback to the Middle East after a 21-year absence, armed with a cornucopia of weapons for winning clients. For now, there is no stopping him, not even if Turkey or Israel were to embark themselves on military intervention.
DEBKAfile

India Trade Deficit Deteriorates As Gold Imports Soar 138%

India's economic boogeyman, the monthly trade deficit, continues to rear its ugly head, this and every time, driven be the country's insatiable desire for gold which is so powerful, the country took full advantage of the plunge in gold prices, and saw business imports of gold soar by 138% y/y in April, forcing the trade deficit to hit a 3 month high of $17.8 billion as more fiat left the country in return for bringing in more of the "barbarous relic." 

Gold imports more than doubled on both a Y/Y and sequential basis, with gold accounting for $7.5 billion, or 18% of total imports, compared to $3.1 billion in March.

From Goldman:

Main points:

India's trade deficit worsened more than expected to US$ 17.8 Bn in April after a sharp improvement in March, as per provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The surprise came from an increase in imports, led by a sharp increase in gold/silver imports which increased by 138% yoy in April. Gold imports in April were $7.5 billion, compared to $3.1 billion in March. This was driven by the sharp fall in gold prices during the month. Oil imports growth also recovered to 3.9% yoy after a sharp fall of 16.6% yoy in the previous month. However, imports growth declined sequentially.

Export growth moderated to 1.6% yoy suggesting a weaker external demand environment in April. On a qoq basis, exports were up 3.6% sa, the same as in March.

It wasn't only India where demand for gold manifested itself in the economic bottom line. Here is how gold lead to a push in Chinese retail sales:

Sequential mom in April fell to negative territory, which reflects weak aggregate demand growth. Because last April saw one of the softest sequential mom growth momentum on record (including late 2008), the yoy growth of IP was up slightly. Heavy industry IP rebounded to 9.6% yoy in April from 9.1% yoy in March, while light industry IP rebounded to 8.5% yoy in April from 8.2% yoy in March.

The slight rebound in retail sales was boosted by higher consumer prices, the rush to buy gold, which occurred towards the end of April (April jewelry sales was 72% yoy, up from 17.7% in January-March period), and strong automobile sales (which accelerated to 13.4% yoy from 10.7% in March). This is partially offset by the continued moderation in the sales of the catering industry, which saw its growth fall to 7.9% yoy from 8.7% yoy in March.

And form SocGen:

Following a sharp decline in the gold price, Chinese households’ purchase of jewellery surged 72% yoy in April, substantially faster than the 17.7% yoy in Q1. This gold rush contributed nearly 2ppt to the headline in April, up from about 1ppt in March.

So a surge in gold demand is suddenly... good economic news? Funny how that works.

As long as the price suppression of paper gold prices continues, don't expect any notable changes to both of the above trends.

Zero Hedge

Raw: Ice Wave Comes Ashore in Minnesota

Obamacare Must Report Personal Health ID Info to IRS

When Obamacare’s individual mandate takes effect in 2014, all Americans who file income tax returns must complete an additional IRS tax form.

The new form will require disclosure of a taxpayer’s personal identifying health information in order to determine compliance with the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.

As confirmed by IRS testimony to the tax-writing House Committee on Ways and Means, “taxpayers will file their tax returns reporting their health insurance coverage, and/or making a payment”.

So why will the Obama IRS require your personal identifying health information?

Simply put, there is no way for the IRS to enforce Obamacare’s individual mandate without such an invasive reporting scheme. Every January, health insurance companies across America will send out tax documents to each insured individual. This tax document—a copy of which will be furnished to the IRS—must contain sufficient information for taxpayers to prove that they purchased qualifying health insurance under Obamacare.

This new tax information document must, at a minimum, contain: the name and health insurance identification number of the taxpayer; the name and tax identification number of the health insurance company; the number of months the taxpayer was covered by this insurance plan; and whether or not the plan was purchased in one of Obamacare’s “exchanges.”

This will involve millions of new tax documents landing in mailboxes across America every January, along with the usual raft of W-2s, 1099s, and 1098s. At tax time, the 140 million families who file a tax return will have to get acquainted with a brand new tax filing form. Six million of these families will end up paying Obamacare’s individual mandate non-compliance tax penalty.

As a service to the public, Americans for Tax Reform has released a projected version of this tax form to help families and tax specialists prepare for this additional filing requirement. Taxpayers may view the projected IRS form at www.ObamacareTaxForm.com. On the form, lines 3-4 show where taxpayers will disclose their personal health ID information.

Read more: http://atr.org/obamacare-taxpayers-must-report-personal-health-a7611#ixzz2TB5RmOAY
Follow us: @taxreformer on Twitter

McGrath The Gun Vilolence Lie