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Authorities are debating whether or not video surveillance should be increased in the United States due to their importance in uncovering the suspects of the Boston Marathon bombings. Lawmakers are in talks about the importance of increasing surveillance and how CCTV (close-circuit television) cameras will be able to increase security and protect citizens as well as help authorities track down suspects. Many lawmakers believed that if there are more security cameras installed in cities, it would help speed up the process of identifying suspects and catching them before they get very far. Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, states that they had recently increased surveillance in New York's midtown and downtown areas due to the tragic events of the Boston bombings. He says, "The Boston bombing is a terrible reminder of why we've made these investments-including camera technology that could help us deter an attack, or investgate and apprehend those involved. [The added video surveillance can] alert police to abnormalities it detects on the street, such as an abandoned package that is left on a corner." However, calls for extra video surveillance has left many privacy advocates concerned. They believe that increasing video surveillance can be a potential invasion of privacy for the general public. They also state that since the authorities were able to track down the Boston bombers within only a few days, there really isn't any need for any extra surveillance tools. A lawyer for the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Alan Butler, says,

"World|Wed, Jan. 27 2010 11:45 AM EDT Islamic Militants in Somalia Murder Christian Leader By Simba Tian|Compass Direct News * Single Page * * E-mail * * Print * * RSS * * digg Facebook Twitter Stumble Reddit del.ico.us Buzz Share * * Text * G-bookmarks * Live * Technorati NAIROBI, Kenya (Compass Direct News) - Islamic extremists shot the leader of an underground church to death outside the capital city of Somalia this month and have threatened to kill his wife, his tearful widow told Compass. Having learned that he had left Islam to become a Christian, Somali militants from the Islamic extremist al Shabaab murdered 41-year-old Mohammed Ahmed Ali at about noon on Jan. 1, Amina Ibrahim Hassan said. He was killed sometime after leaving his home in Hodan, on the outskirts of Mogadishu, she said. She and other family members were not immediately aware that he had been killed. "We waited for him that day, but he did not turn up," said Hassan, who has since fled to Nairobi. "The following day, on Jan. 2, I was informed by the fellowship that my husband had been killed." Ali led an underground church. Christian sources said members of al Shabaab, said to have links with al Qaeda terrorists, had been monitoring Ali and his wife for indications that they had left Islam. Ali had organized New Year's Day festivities for Christians to take place in Medina, about 15 kilometers (nine miles) outside of Mogadishu. Al Shabaab extremists killed him after word of the planned party leaked to them, Hassan said. Hassan, who worked for a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) before leaving the country, said she received threatening calls from members of al Shabaab on Jan. 3. "We know who you are working for," Hassan said one extremist told her. "We also know your home and that you are a follower of the Christians, and we are going to kill you the way we killed your husband." Aware of the Islamic extremist

"A devastating quake left Haiti's capital in ruins, knocking down hospitals, high-rises, and churches Tuesday - and leveling the presidential palace. "There must be thousands of people dead," Catholic Relief Services representative Karel Zelenka told colleagues by phone, just before service went out. "People were screaming 'Jesus, Jesus' and running in all directions," said Reuters reporter Joseph Guyler Delva from the capital Port-au-Prince. "It's total chaos." "The whole city is in darkness, you have thousands of people sitting in the streets, with nowhere to go," said Rachmani Domersant of the relief group Food for the Poor. He and others have reported many downtown buildings collapsed in the city of 2 million, including the parliament, UN headquarters and other other official buildings. Photographs showed the famed domed presidential palace almost completely destroyed."

"A charity supporting oppressed believers around the world has warned that persecution against Christians is set to worsen in North Korea in 2010. Practising Christianity is currently illegal in the reclusive communist country and Christians can face imprisonment, torture and even execution for their faith. Release International works through local Christian partners to support North Korean refugees fleeing to China or South Korea, by providing pastoral care, safe houses, and Christian literature and Bibles. Partner Tim Peters said North Korea was one of the world's worst trouble spots for Christians. In the latest edition of the Release magazine, he said he had received reports of worsening persecution against Christians as the North Korean economy continues to collapse. "2010 is forecast to be a year of tremendous hardship and food shortages since the country's harvest in 2009 was a poor one," he said. Kang Cheol Hwan is a former prisoner who converted to Christianity after finding refuge in South Korea. He told Release the situation was getting worse in North Korea. "It is like a giant prison camp has crossed the land. Starvation spreads out over the entire nation; it has become the norm," he said. "I lived in Yoduk prison camp for 10 years; I was treated like an animal there. I had watched many people die from starvation and beatings. "I witnessed open executions and watched helplessly as people died miserably. "These fearful scenes have not left my mind.""

"RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rescue crews on Saturday intensified the search for victims at a plush Brazilian beach resort ravaged by mudslides and flooding that have killed at least 64 people in three states. World | Green Business | Brazil Firefighters waded through mountains of mud and sifted through the remains of a lodge and homes that were destroyed in the early hours of Friday when a hillside collapsed in the luxury beach resort of Angra dos Reis, removing 35 bodies, authorities said. Angra dos Reis, the nearby island of Ilha Grande and other towns on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro state are a magnet for local and foreign tourists over the New Year's holiday. Heavy rain also left several cities without power in the state of Sao Paulo, where six tourists died in a mudslide in the town of Cunha. At least three people died because of mudslides in Juiz de Fora, a city in Minas Gerais state. In Rio de Janeiro state, where Brazil has most of its oil reserves and has long been the nation's flagship tourist destination, the death toll climbed to 55, authorities said."

"Iran warned on Saturday the West has until the end of the month to accept Tehran's counterproposal to a U.N.-drafted plan on a nuclear exchange, or they will start producing nuclear fuel on their own. The warning from Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki showed a hardening in Iran's stance over its controversial nuclear program. While the West fears it shows Iran has nuclear ambitions, Tehran insists the program is only for peaceful, electricity production purposes. The Iranian foreign minister's message was broadcast on Iranian TV. He says that Iran gave [the West] an ultimatum, and they have one month left, giving them to the end of January [to accept]. He adds that [the West] must choose between one of the two proposals [that Iran has made], which is either to purchase uranium [directly from France or Russia] or to swap it [on Iranian soil]. Otherwise, he insists that Iran will go ahead and produce [high grade] enriched uranium fuel using its own talented experts. Western powers, including the United States, have called on Tehran, under the draft U.N. nuclear deal worked out last November, to ship around 70 percent of its low-grade uranium abroad. That fuel would then be transformed into more highly enriched (20 percent grade) uranium and shipped back to Iran. Iran, however, came up with a counterproposal insisting that its uranium stockpile be sent abroad in small batches, in quick transfers on Iranian soil, preferably on Iran's own Kish Island. Iran's proposal is unacceptable to the West, because it allows Iran to keep significant quantities of enriched uranium to produce nuclear weapons. "

"Is the H1N1 swine flu vaccine causing miscarriages? Is the vaccine safe for pregnant women to take? Those are questions that thousands upon thousands of pregnant women have wrestled with over the past couple of months as they have decided what to do about the swine flu. The WHO and U.S health authorities insisted that the H1N1 swine flu vaccine was perfectly safe for pregnant women and pushed them to the front of the line. So thousands of women did run out and get themselves injected with the vaccine. Now reports are pouring in from all over the United States of women who have lost their babies very quickly after receiving the H1N1 vaccine. Many of these women are overcome with pain and a feeling of loss and are looking for answers. They end up on sites like this one because the mainstream media won't touch this story with a ten foot pole (lest they offend the pharmaceutical giants and their millions of dollars in ad money). Fortunately there are alternatives to the mainstream media now. The following are stories from 9 of our readers who have lost their babies very soon after getting the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. We challenge anyone who still believes in the safety of this vaccine to read all of the following stories and then to explain to the rest of us why we should not be concerned. The truth is that the H1N1 swine flu vaccine is NOT safe for pregnant women. The following are unedited personal testimonies left as comments by readers of this site..... #1) Kelly: If you haven't had a miscarriage, you shouldn't comment about someone that has. This is my second miscarriage. I know my first miscarriage had absolutely nothing to do with the H1N1 shot (because it was in 2003), however, this time I believe there definitely could be a connection. I had 3 healthy babies after my first miscarriage. When I went to have my H1N1 shot (which was HIGHLY recommended by the Health Office workers since I WAS pregnant and I higher risk of H1N1), I was around 5 wee

"TEHRAN, Iran - A senior physics professor who publicly backed Iran's opposition leader was killed when a bomb-rigged motorcycle exploded as he left for work Tuesday. The government blamed the U.S. and Israel for the attack. The blast apparently was set off by a remote trigger, but it was unclear why the professor was targeted. The victim was a 50-year-old researcher with no prominent political voice, no published work with military relevance and no declared links to Iran's nuclear program. Hard-line backers of the Islamic system have urged stronger measures to try to crush and intimidate anti-government forces. But the Tehran University professor, Masoud Ali Mohammadi, was far from a front-row political player. He joined a list of 240 faculty members in a declaration supporting opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi before June's disputed presidential election, but did not take any known high-profile role in the protests after the vote. The attack was an oddity in Tehran, where such targeted bombings are rare. "There's a lot of conflicting and confusing aspects to this," said Mehrzad Boroujerdi, an Iranian affairs expert at Syracuse University. "About the only thing we can probably say is that this may bring lots more pressure on the opposition.""

"PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The largest earthquake ever recorded in the area shook Haiti on Tuesday, collapsing a hospital where people screamed for help. Other buildings also were damaged and scientists said they expected "substantial damage and casualties." With communications disrupted there were no reports of deaths or injuries soon after the quake, as powerful aftershocks shook the country. The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 and was centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It had a depth of 5 miles (8 kilometers). It was the largest quake recorded in the area, said USGS analyst Dale Grant, and the last major one since a magnitude-6.7 temblor in 1984. An Associated Press videographer saw the wrecked hospital in Petionville, a hillside Port-au-Prince district that is home to many diplomats and wealthy Haitians. Elsewhere, a U.S. government official reported seeing houses that had tumbled into a ravine. Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., Raymond Joseph, said from his Washington office that he spoke to President Rene Preval's chief of staff, Fritz Longchamp, just after the quake hit. He said Longchamp told him that "buildings were crumbling right and left" near the national palace. He said he has not gotten through by phone to Haiti since. Don Blakeman, an analyst at the USGS in Golden, Colorado, said such a strong quake carried the potential for widespread damage."

"I spent twenty-two years serving in the Colorado criminal justice arena. I worked as a municipal police patrolman, a police detective, a patrol sergeant, and as a uniformed county sheriff's deputy and detective. Following twenty years as a cop, I also spent two years on the other side of t he Courtroom as an Investigator for the Colorado State Public Defender's Office. So, I saw crime and punishment from both sides of the Courtroom. I spent my share of time at crime scenes gathering facts and evidence, then in Courts of Law, presenting the evidence and testifying under oath in trials. Sometimes, warrant in hand, I actually kicked in doors and made arrests at gunpoint, but not exactly like this Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" operation. Real cops don't get to do business like Dirty Harry did - but it is fun to watch his movies. To convince a judge to sign a search or arrest warrant I had to first make sure that in preparing my affidavit for arrest or search warrant I had jumped through all of the hoops within the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees protection from unreasonable police searches of our homes, and capricious or illegal arrests. All of my reports, photos, and collected evidence were a matter of public record, available to defense attorneys through motions for discovery, to lay members of the public, and to members of the press via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Imagine now a foreign international police department that does not have to worry about the constraints of the Fourth Amendment, an agency that has license to bypass American Courts of Law, can investigate and arrest American citizens within our own borders, haul them off to Court in a foreign land, and does not have to reveal any records or documents to anyone in the United States. Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me. I can foresee American military officers and enlisted personnel, CIA agents, former White House policy makers, even Dick Cheney and George Bush in jeo

"PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Desperately needed aid from around the world slowly made its way Thursday into Haiti, where a leadership vacuum left rescuers scrambling on their own to save the trapped and injured and get relief supplies into the capital. President Barack Obama announced that "one of the largest relief efforts in our recent history" is moving toward Haiti, with thousands of troops and a broad array of civilian rescue workers flying or sailing in to aid the stricken country - backed by more than $100 million in relief funds. To the Haitians, Obama promised: "You will not be forsaken." The nascent flow of rescue workers showed some results: A newly arrived search team pulled a U.N. worker alive from the organization's collapsed headquarters. He stood, held up a fist in celebration, and was helped off to a hospital. Planes carrying teams from China, France, Spain and the United States landed at Port-au-Prince's airport with searchers and tons of water, food, medicine and other supplies - with more promised from around the globe."

"India launches biometric census Indian President Pratibha Patil fills in a census form (1 April 2010) The full results of India's national census will be released in mid-2011 India is launching a new census in which every person aged over 15 will be photographed and fingerprinted to create a biometric national database. The government will then use the information to issue identity cards. Officials will spend a year classifying India's population of around 1.2 billion people according to gender, religion, occupation and education. The exercise, conducted every 10 years, faces big challenges, not least India's vast area and diversity of cultures. Census officials must also contend with high levels of illiteracy and millions of homeless people - as well as insurgencies by Maoists and other rebels which have left large parts of the country unsafe. President Pratibha Patil was the first person to be listed, and appealed to fellow Indians to follow her example "for the good of the nation". "Everyone must participate and make it successful," she said in Delhi. "

"Divorce agreement " Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al: We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way. Here is a model separation agreement: Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes. We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU. Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them). We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood. You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security. We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values. You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McC