2 New Subatomic Particles Found By CERN Scientists – 20 November 2014

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider scientists have discovered two new subatomic particles each made from three quarks bound together by the strong force. They were predicted to exist by the Standard Model of particle physics.

Officials at the lab on the French-Swiss border known by its French acronym CERN announced the discovery in a statement Wednesday and submitted a paper reporting the finding to Physical Review Letters.

The particles are part of the baryon family and are made from three quarks bound together – one beauty (b), one strange (S), and one down (d) quark – and are within the so-called “Standard Model” theory, which explains the building blocks of matter.

The particles are known as Xi_b’- and Xi_b*- and although scientists had predicted their existence they had never actually been seen before. A related particle called Xi_b*0 was found in 2012.

“Nature was kind and gave us two particles for the price of one. The Xi_b’- is very close in mass to the sum of its decay products: if it had been just a little lighter, we wouldn’t have seen it at all using the decay signature that we were looking for,” said Matthew Charles, of the LPNHE laboratory at Paris VI University, a CERN collaborator.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

Advertisements

Navy Vet To RT: I Was Fired, Called ‘Terrorist’ For Posting Photos Of DHS Vehicles Near Ferguson – 20 November 2014

image from Mark Paffrath Facebook page

Mark Paffrath, a Navy veteran, was fired and branded a “terrorist” for taking pictures of dozens of Homeland Security vehicles parked at the hotel where he used to work in Ferguson, as grand jury decision on Michael Brown shooting is due, he told RT.

Protesters are already gathering in and around St Louis for what they believe will be no indictment decision for the police officer who shot 18-year-old Ferguson resident Michael Brown.

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing, too. Mark Paffrath, who worked for the Drury hotel chain, about a 30-minute drive from Ferguson, managed to take photos of the vehicles the DHS in the hotel’s parking lot and posted them on social media.

It cost him his job.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

Steve Lendman – Keystone XL Pipeline: Down But Not Out – 20 November 2014

On November 18, Senate Democrats derailed Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline plans. For now.

Republicans controlling next year’s 114th Congress vowed to continue fighting for passage. It remains to be seen what follows.

Obama is veto-shy. Twice only so far. Compared to GW Bush’s 12. Including pocket vetoes. Clinton’s 37. Reagan’s 78.

Dwight Eisenhower’s 181. Truman’s 250. FD Roosevelt’s astonishing 635. Overriding presidential vetoes seldom happens.

Throughout US history, presidents vetoed legislation 2,564 times. Overridden 110 times. Around 4% of the time.

Half Of UK Councils Face Financial Collapse – Report – 20 November 2014

Half the UK’s local councils are at risk of collapse, the government’s official auditor has said, warning that one in six may be unable to provide basic services this year. The warning comes after severe cuts in national government funding.

In a report produced by the government’s official auditor, the National Audit Office (NAO) on Wednesday, 52 percent of councils were said to be at risk of not having enough resources to fund public services, including education and social care.

Additionally, around 16 percent of councils were said to be struggling to fund public services within the current financial year.
Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

‘US-UK Torture’ Victim Wins Right To Sue British Government – 20 November 2014

Britain’s High Court has dismissed the UK government’s claim that US-UK relations would be compromised if a Pakistani man who claims to have suffered brutal torture at the hands of American and British troops is given the right to sue for damages.

Yunus Rahmatullah claims he was tortured for a decade following his capture by UK Special Forces in Iraq, and his subsequent handover to American soldiers in Afghanistan.

Following the High Court’s ruling, Mr Justice Leggatt said on Wednesday that British courts would be failing in their fundamental duty to uphold the law if they didn’t deal with the claims. Whether the court eventually finds US forces acted in an unlawful manner is irrelevant, he said.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

7 US Corporations Paid CEOs More Than Govt In Taxes – 20 November 2014

In 2013, seven of the 30 largest US corporations paid their chief executive officers more in remuneration than they paid in US federal income taxes, according to a new study.

The seven companies came out ahead after taxes, accruing $1.9 billion more than they owed, according to the Institute for Policy Studies and the Center for Effective Government, the study’s co-authors. Combined, the seven last year reported more than $74 billion in US pre-tax profits.

The CEOs of all seven corporate giants were paid an average of $17.3 million last year.

The seven companies included Boeing Co., Chevron Corp., Citigroup Inc., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Verizon Communications Inc.

Boeing and Ford both paid their CEOs more than $23 million in 2013 while receiving hefty tax refunds, the study found.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

John Ward – Crash2 : Why The Roadmap From Italy To Global Debt Frogiveness Is Highlighted In Dayglo – 20 November 2014

Frankfurt, Rome, Paris, Berlin, London & Washington: the forced march of two opposing philosophies

Here’s a point that may have escaped you. Probably you know that eurozone sovereign nations have joint and several responsibility for the zone’s debt. But the amount each country is liable to cough up in the event of a euro default is based on their size and gdp track-record, not their own current debt problems.

This brings with it all sorts of unpleasant ramifications. France alone, for example, is responsible for 20% of the debt…a relatively modest €160bn. But its own national debt is €2.1 trillion…and its economy is in recession….and the recession is getting worse.