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GLOBAL NEWS NASA'S MISSION TO BOMB THE MOON Atlantic Ocean] to Latitude 8° North [Indian Ocean] Latitude 19° South [Indian Ocean] between the longitudes of 46° West, 33° West, 46° East and 33° East, and which covers the greater part of the African tectonic plate. The reason for this unprecedented warning, these reports state, are the rapid formations of "geomagnetic storms" emanating from the boundaries of the African tectonic plate that, due to their intensity, have caused the loss of two passenger aircraft during the past month, leaving nearly 300 men, women and children dead. (Source: Macedonian International News Agency, 30 June 2009, http://tinyurl.com/ kohs3) more damaging. In Europe, 10 per cent of deaths are caused by drinking alcohol, with the peak in the former Soviet Union, at 15 per cent. But the death rates are higher in developing countries and especially in South East Asia relative to the lower amount that is drunk. "Globally, the effect of alcohol on the burden of disease is about the same size as that of smoking in 2000, but it is greatest in developing countries,” the authors write. They point out that most of the adult population worldwide actually abstains from drinking alcohol. Nonetheless, the cost of alcohol, in terms of healthcare and social harm, reaches one per cent of GNP in high- and middle-income countries. (Source: Guardian.co.uk, 26 June 2009, http://tinyurl.com/I6f6hs) ASA has launched a spectacular mission to bomb the Moon. Its LCROSS mission blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 18 June, carrying a missile that will blast a hole in the lunar surface at twice the speed of a bullet. The missile, a Centaur rocket, will be steered by a shepherding spacecraft that will guide it towards its target: a crater close to the Moon's south pole. Scientists expect the blast to be so powerfu that a huge plume of debris will be ejected. The attack on the Moon is not a declaration of war or an act o wanton vandalism. Space scientists want to see if any water ice or vapour is revealed in the cloud o debris. The spacecraft will not head straight for the Moon. First it wil orbit the Earth a number of times while its precise target is identified. Finally, it will send the missile into he Moon at twice the speed of a bullet on 8 October. The shepherding spacecraft will ollow close behind, taking pictures and analysing the ejected debris as it looks for evidence of water. It has just four minutes to do this before it crashes into the Moon itself, producing a spectacular explosion hat should be visible in amateur astronomers’ telescopes. (Source: Scientific American, 17 June 2009, http://tinyurl.com/Ir649x) ALCOHOL CAUSES ONE IN TEN DEATHS IN EUROPE oO” in 10 deaths in Europe, and one in 25 deaths globally, are caused by alcohol, according to a recent study. Doctors writing in the Lancet say that drinkers mostly die from injuries, cancer, heart disease and liver cirrhosis. People have drunk alcohol since the beginning of recorded history, the authors say, but it has become UNITED NATIONS BACKS DRUG DECRIMINALISATION IN WORLD DRUG REPORT n an about-face, the United Nations lavishly praised drug decriminalisation in its annual report on the state of global drug policy. In previous years, the UN drug czar RUSSIANS ORDER FLIGHT CHANGES AFTER MAGNETIC SHIFT DOWNS AIRCRAFT eports are circulating in the Kremlin that Russian Air Force commanders have issued warnings to all of their aircraft to exercise "extreme caution" during flights “in and around” an area defined as Latitude 17° North {North Atlantic Ocean], Latitude 3° South {South NEXUS ¢ 7 "And if elected | promise to run a transparent government." AUGUST — SEPTEMBER 2009 www.nexusmagazine.com