Occupy May Day underway

"San Francisco, once a stronghold of the dispossessed, has become a playground for the rich and a living hell for those of us who can't keep up or have no interest in capitalist relations," Bay Area protest organizers said in a statement.

But morning rush hour traffic was still flowing on the Golden Gate Bridge, despite protesters' threats to shut it down.

Early Tuesday morning, protesters -- including Occupiers, labor unions, and community and religious organizations -- were picketing against unfair labor practices at Los Angeles International Airport, according to Occupywallst.org.

The L.A. airport issued a traffic advisory, and the airport's website said two blocks of nearby Century Boulevard were shut down in anticipation of a march by at least 1,200 union members at 3 p.m. ET.

May Day protests were also held in Greece and Turkey. Two thousand people gathered in Syntagma Square in Athens, and another 7,000 protesters gathered outside a factory where employees haven't been paid in six months, according to their union.

Thousands of protesters in Istanbul's central Taksim Square were met with a police presence.
A march was planned in London, ending at Trafalgar Square, and road closures were also in the works. Three men were arrested in Exchange Square outside Liverpool Street.
In New York, Occupy Wall Street has been planning protests at bridges and tunnels, with picket lines slated at the Chase Building, the New York Times building, Sotheby's and Manhattan's main U.S. Post Office.

Biggest Full Moon of 2012 Occurs This Week

This Saturday, the moon will come within 221,802 miles from Earth.

This month's full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average.

Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend.

The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And because this month's full moon coincides with the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year's biggest.

The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon.

And not only does the moon's perigee coincide with full moon this month, but this perigee will be the nearest to Earth of any this year, as the distance of the moon's close approach varies by about 3 percent, according to meteorologist Joe Rao, SPACE.com's skywatching columnist. This happens because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular.

This month's full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average. In contrast, later this year on Nov. 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moon's farthest approach, offering a particularly small and dim full moon.

Though the unusual appearance of this month's full moon may be surprising to some, there's no reason for alarm, scientists warn. The slight distance difference isn't enough to cause any earthquakes or extreme tidal effects, experts say.

However, the normal tides around the world will be particularly high and low. At perigee, the moon will exert about 42 percent more tidal force than it will during its next apogee two weeks later, Rao said.

The last supermoon occurred in March 2011.
To view this weekend's supermoon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon. There, you can catch a view of the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon seem even larger than it really is.

Discovery Channel Crashes a Passenger Jet… for Science

This past weekend, Discovery Channel orchestrated the crash of a Boeing 727 passenger jet in a remote and uninhabited Mexican desert as part of a scientific experiment for an unprecedented international television documentary for Discovery Channel, Channel 4 in the UK and Pro Sieben in Germany.
The pilot evacuated the 170-seat aircraft (via parachute) just minutes before the collision after setting it on a crash course. It was then flown remotely from a chase plane. The crash went according to plan and there were no injuries or damage to property.

The plane was packed with scientific experiments, including crash test dummies in lieu of passengers. Dozens of cameras recorded the crash from inside the aircraft, on the ground, in chase planes and even on the ejecting pilot’s helmet.

An international team of experts will use the data to study the crash-worthiness of the aircraft’s airframe and cabin, as well as the impact of crashes on the human body, with the goal of finding new ways to help increase passenger survivability. The experiment will also help them evaluate new “black box” crash-recording technology.

The plane was crashed in a remote and unpopulated part of the Sonoran Desert of Baja California, Mexico. The location was chosen after an extensive international search to find a suitable location offering the perfect conditions for this groundbreaking scientific project.
For safety reasons, an exclusion zone at the crash site was manned by security teams, as well as the Mexican military and police. Ahead of the crash, a full safety review of the project was undertaken by the highly-qualified pilots and commanders as well as the Mexican authorities who concluded that it was safe for all concerned.

Following the crash, the aircraft will be salvaged and an extensive environmental clean-up operation is being carried out by a reputable agency with the full cooperation of the Mexican authorities
“For the first time, leading scientists and veteran crash investigators, who have been enthusiastic supporters of this project, witness a plane crash in real time and explore what happens to the airframe and cabin, as well as the effects on the human body during a catastrophe of this magnitude. We hope to provide new information about how to improve the chances of survival while providing scientific results on passenger safety and new technologies, including new ‘black box’ flight data recording systems.”
Executive Producer, Sanjay Singhal, from Dragonfly Film and Television Productions, said: “NASA were the last people to attempt a crash test of a full passenger jet three decades ago. Now, with the improvements in filming and remote control technology we felt that the time was right to do it again. It’s never been safer to fly, but we want to use this as an opportunity to provide scientific data that might help to improve passenger safety in those extremely rare cases when a catastrophic aircraft accident does occur.
“This has been an extraordinary feat of organization, involving up to 300 people on location, including the production team, pilots, experts, risk management, plus local crew, military, fire teams and police. This is the culmination of four years of planning and hard work. We’re particularly grateful to the Mexican authorities for their assistance and support.”
carried out by a reputable agency with the full cooperation of the Mexican authorities.

Rare glimpse inside Hitler's bunker

Unpublished: Russian soldiers and a civilian struggle to move a large bronze Nazi Party eagle which once loomed over a doorway of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, 1945. (William Vandivert—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
With only candles to light their way, war correspondents examine a couch stained with blood (see dark patch on the arm of the sofa) located inside Hitler's bunker, 1945. (William Vandivert—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)
Unpublished: LIFE correspondent Percy Knauth (left) sifts through debris in the shallow trench in the garden of the Reich Chancellery where, Knauth was told, the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun were burned after their suicides. (William Vandivert—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Satellite Pic after Tsunamis

FILE - This satellite image released by DigitalGlobe shows an overview taken Jan. 2, 2005 of southern Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia after the Indian Ocean tsunamis. The U.S. Geological Survey said early Wednesday April 11, 2012 a 8.7-magnitude quake was centered 20 miles (33 kilometers) beneath the ocean floor around 269 miles (434 kilometers) from Aceh's provincial capital.

U.S. battling giant shrimp invasion

Do not be alarmed, but the cannibal shrimp invasion has begun.

The influx of the jumbo-sized shrimp (which look more like a small lobster than the little pink crustaceans you see at the grocery store) has increased 10 times in the last year, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey—from 32 in 2010 to 331 in 2011. The shrimp-eating shrimp have been spotted in waters from North Carolina to Texas.

Tony Reisinger of the Texas Sea Grant Extension Service, told CNN that the tiger prawn "are cannibalistic as are other shrimp, but it's larger so it can consume the others."

The black-and-white-striped sea creatures have shown up in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast coast and, unlike their bottom-feeding cousins, are big enough—up to 13 inches long and up to a quarter-pound—to gobble up smaller shrimp.

Researchers worry that the Asian cannibal species is preying on the smaller, native sea life, competing for resources and carrying disease.

The increase "is the first indication that we may be undergoing a true invasion of Asian tiger shrimp," said marine ecologist James A. Morris, who works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research.

Scientists don't know exactly how the Asian variety got to the Gulf Coast—the possibilities include breeding in the local waters or being carried to the area by currents.

No matter how they got to the U.S., they're not welcome. Said Morris, "The Asian tiger shrimp represents yet another potential marine invader capable of altering fragile marine ecosystems."

The  numbers are probably much higher than the reported amount. Pam Fuller, the USGS biologist who runs the agency's Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database, said, "The more fisherman and other locals become accustomed to seeing them, the less likely they are to report them."

The USGS will next look into the tiger shrimp DNA for clues to its origins, and asks anyone who spots a tiger shrimp to report its location to the USGS.

World Trade Center to Become Tallest Building in NYC

The lower Manhattan skyline shows One World Trade Center, April 27, 2012 in New York. By Monday April 30, 2012 the rising steel frame of One World Trade Center is expected to become the tallest building in New York City and in the Western Hemisphere. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images )

"Seven days a week..." The tower has taken 6 years to get to this point, growing at a rate of a floor a week. As the tower nears the day that it can reclaim the title of tallest building in New York, construction continues at the World Trade Center site around the clock?24 hours a day/7 days a week?as long as the weather cooperates. (Lana Zak/ABC)

"You know it's a good view when even the guys who work here are taking out their cameras..." From the 84th floor, lower Manhattan looks like a monopoly board with matchbox cars, while workers at the top enjoy views of all five boroughs, the Hudson and East Rivers, and the always awe-inspiring Statue of Liberty. (Lana Zak/ABC)

 

Australian billionaire plans to build Titanic II

A new Titanic could be sailing the high seas within a few years.

Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer. (AFP Photo/Tertius Pickard)Australian mining magnate Clive Palmer announced plans Monday to build an ultra-modern, luxury version of the doomed ocean liner in China.

Palmer, one of the richest people in Australia with an estimated worth of more than $5 billion, said he had commissioned a state-owned Chinese company to construct Titanic II with the exact dimensions as the ill-fated original.

"It will be every bit as luxurious as the original Titanic but of course it will have state-of-the-art 21st century technology and the latest navigation and safety systems," Palmer said, according to AFP.

He said Titanic II would make its maiden voyage from England to New York in late 2016.

The news comes just two weeks after the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, which hit an iceberg on its first voyage across the Atlantic on April 15, 1912, sending 1,500 people to their deaths.

"Titanic II will be the ultimate in comfort and luxury with on-board gymnasiums and swimming pools, libraries, high class restaurants and luxury cabins," Palmer said.

The cost of the new ship was not disclosed.

Palmer announced his Titanic plans the same day he revealed he would make a run for Australia's Parliament.

Palmer said he would seek the conservative opposition's candidacy for the seat currently held by Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan.

"Politics is about ideas," the billionaire told reporters. "You are not going to become rich being a politician."