Jets To Brazil

Gamma ray bursts are the most powerful explosions known other than the Big Bang. Many appear to be caused by the death of a massive star collapsing into a black hole. Others might be from merging black holes or neutron stars. In either case, the event likely produces twin, narrow jets in opposite directions, which carry off tremendous amounts of energy. If one of jets points to Earth, we see this energy as a gamma ray burst. ...

The first two blasts, called X-ray flashes, occurred on September 12 and 16. These were followed by a more powerful burst on September 24. The burst seems to be on the cusp between an X-ray flash and a full-fledged gamma ray burst, a discovery interesting in its own right. If these signals lead to supernovae, as expected, scientists would have a tool to predict star explosions, and researchers could watch explosions from start to finish. ... [Read More]

USIA Electronic Journals 11/96 - Randal

By putting several pieces of circumstantial evidence together, the problem was traced to a very heavy snow melt, followed by a lot of rain -- both after several years of severe drought. More specifically, deer mice turned out to be a natural reservoir for hantavirus and the indigenous deer mouse population had exploded because the abundance of water in their environment had produced a bumper crop of pine nuts, their favorite food. Forced by their greater numbers to expand their territory, these rodents -- which are not made ill by hantavirus -- exposed humans to it when they released it in their urine and feces and the releases found their way into the dust particles that the victims inhaled. ... [Read More]

USIA: Global Issues, July 1996 - International

Corruption. At the core of the struggle against the drugtrade is a battle against corruption. Drugs are primarily a meansto make vast sums of money. Gram for gram there is no morelucrative commodity than drugs. Substances that are relativelycheap to produce generate criminal revenues on a scale that hasno historical precedent. At an average of one hundred dollars agram on the streets of the U.S., a metric ton of cocaine is worth$100 million if pure, double that amount if the cocaine is cut.The U.S. government typically seizes more than 100 metric tonsannually, or a quantity of drugs exceeding $10 billion to thedrug trade, as much as the gross domestic product of manycountries. To put these numbers in perspective, the U.S.government in fiscal year 1995 spent a little over $810 millionon all its international drug control activities. In quantitiesof cocaine, that translates into approximately eight metric tonsof cocaine. Large jets flying into Mexico have carried in as muchor more ... [Read More]

International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, Economic Perspectives, October 2000 -- International Transportation: Moving The Global Economy Forward

The United States is moving forward on all fronts to open new opportunities for the global aviation industry, building on the successes of the past to meet the challenges of the future. We have made considerable progress already.Our efforts to liberalize the aviation regime began in Europe. In partnership with the Netherlands, we began forging the Open Skies path in 1992. As part of an initiative announced by then U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Peņa in late 1994, we concluded Open Skies agreements with nine other European partners in 1995: Luxembourg, Finland, Iceland, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Belgium. The landmark Open Skies agreement with Germany followed in May 1996. Subsequent partners included the Czech Republic, Romania, Italy, Portugal, and Turkey. Today, nearly half of air traffic between the United States and Europe moves under Open Skies arrangements.At the same time, we are pursuing the possibility ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Transcript: Total Victory is Only Option in War on Terror, Bush Says

At the same time, 31 countries have contributed 21,000 forces to build security in Iraq. I will continue to challenge other countries to join in this important mission. In most of Iraq today, there's steady progress toward reconstruction and civil order. Iraq's Governing Council, representing the nation's diverse groups is steadily assuming greater responsibility over the country. The coalition provisional authority, led by Ambassador Paul Bremer, is implementing a comprehensive plan to ensure a successful, democratic Iraq, and a better future for the Iraqi people. ... [Read More]

International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports

INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL STRATEGY REPORT, APRIL 1993US DEPARTMENT OF STATEBUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS MATTERSDEPARTMENT OF STATE PUBLICATION 10047RELEASED APRIL 1993The Report is for sale by the Government Printing Office, Superindendent of Documents. Stock No.: 044-000-02370-9THIS SEGMENT OF THE INCSR REPRESENTS INDIVIDUAL REPORTS FOR SOUTH AMERICA, MEXICO, CANADA, CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEANSOUTH AMERICA Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay VenezuelaMEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA Belize Canada Costa Rica El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Mexico Nicaragua Panama THE CARIBBEAN Bahamas Cuba Dominican Republic Guyana Haiti Jamaica Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Eastern Caribbean Antigua and Barbuda Barbados Dominica 210 Grenada St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines French Caribbean UK Dependent Territories in the Caribbean ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report
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