Former President Jimmy Carter Blasts NSA Spy Program
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has gained attention for strongly criticizing the National Security Agency’s spying this week during an event in Atlanta. According to the translation of a quote that appeared in the German magazine Der Spiegel, Carter said, “America has no functioning democracy at this moment.”
Caribbean has lost 80% of its coral reef cover in recent years
A major survey of the coral reefs of the Caribbean is expected to reveal the extent to which one of the world’s biggest and most important reserves of coral has been degraded by climate change, pollution, overfishing and degradation. The Catlin scientific survey will undertake the most comprehensive survey yet of the state of the region’s reefs, starting in Belize and moving on to Mexico, Anguilla, Barbuda, St Lucia, Turks & Caicos, Florida and Bermuda. The Catlin scientists said the state of the regions’ reefs would act as an early warning of problems besetting all of the world’s coral. As much as 80% of Caribbean coral is reckoned to have been lost in recent years, but the survey should give a more accurate picture of where the losses have had most effect and on the causes.
Recalling 50,100 pounds of ground beef products
National Beef Packing Company, a Liberal, Kan., firm, is recalling approximately 50,100 pounds(more than enough to sculpt a cube three stories high) of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. Children are especially vulnerable. As of this writing, there have been no confirmed illnesses.