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BEIJING -- China has opened its first bio-safety level four laboratory, capable of conducting experiments with highly pathogenic microorganisms, according to the national health authority on Thursday. Wuhan national bio-safety level four lab of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Wuhan P4 lab) is part of Sino-French cooperation in prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases, said the Department of Health Science, Technology and Education with the National Health and Family Planning Commission. Level four is the highest bio-safety level, used for diagnostic work and research on easily transmitted pathogens which can cause fatal disease, including Ebola virus. The Wuhan P4...

The iconic A-10 Thunderbolt II will be flying into the late 2030s thanks to a re-winging project completed by the U.S. Air Force. Air Force Materiel Command said in a press release on Monday that 162 A-10s received new wings thanks to a $1.1 billion project that began in 2011. The contract, awarded to Boeing in 2007, required the creation of new parts for the plane’s fuselage. “At the end of the program, making sure we had all the pieces and parts that we needed to make that happen required a really significant team effort,” said Stephen Zaiser, director of...

On Wednesday morning, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of the restrictions placed on female track athletes with high levels of testosterone by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The landmark decision means that women like Caster Semenya of South Africa, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 800 meters, must take testosterone suppressants in order to continue competing in certain middle-distance events. Since 2009, when Semenya won the World Championship 800 meters in Berlin at the age of 18, the middle-distance runner has been heavily scrutinized by the IAAF. At 5-foot-10 and with a...

Forget the college cheating scam. The biggest scam in America is the Democratic Party. Its platform is based on legalizing cheating. I have no idea why anyone in America should obey the law anymore. Just ignore any law you think is unfair -- just like Democrats do. Just days ago, 13 parents, including famous Hollywood actress Felicity Huffman, agreed to plead guilty in the college admissions cheating scandal. Now, don't get me wrong. I hate arrogant, rich, entitled jerks as much as the next guy -- maybe more. I went to Columbia University with hundreds of these liberals. It was...

Now that we've all had a good airing of grievances about elite colleges and their attendant injustices, let's get some perspective. While the numbers of high school graduates heading off to college has increased in recent years, the percentages graduating with a four-year degree have not increased much. Many students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend college, drop out before receiving a degree. (They cannot drop out of student loan payments though.) Data from the Lumina Foundation show that among Americans aged 25-64, 52.4 percent have no more than a high school diploma (though 15.4...

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 50 people involved in cheating and bribery in order to get their children admitted to some of the nation's most prestigious colleges and universities such as Georgetown, Yale, Stanford, University of Texas, University of Southern California and UCLA. They often paid more than $100,000 to rig SAT or ACT exams. In some instances, they bribed college officials and secured their children's admissions to elite schools through various fraud schemes. As corrupt and depraved as these recent revelations are, they are only the tip of the iceberg of generalized college corruption and gross dishonesty. According...

Tell the truth.  After the initial shock of hearing that a group of affluent parents paid massive sums to get their progeny into elite colleges, were you really surprised this happened?  It had to happen.  It was destined to happen.  College as a whole has become a scam.All that was needed for this to happen was a guy like Rick Singer, the Bernie Madoff of college admissions.  You look at his website and it is written all over it.  “You need more than a school-appointed college counselor to help your son or daughter unlock the door to academic, social, personal...

The new JT15D-5 turbofan-powered "401 Jet" of Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites in Mojave, Calif is a small, stealthy, single-engine jet variation on the very novel, 30 year-old "Ares" light attack jet. Never having entered production, Ares was actually an acronym, standing for Agile Responsive Effective Support: Experts note that the X401 would have piloted and drone versions, leading to speculation that the pair could work together synergistically in a "loyal wingman" arrangement, possibly with some form of laser or directed energy weapon occupying the weapons bay, partially visible in the landing flare photo below. A 6-minute YouTube vid explains...

As the market for crop dusters converted into light surveillance and attack aircraft continues to expand, another contender has appeared on the market at the annual Paris Air Show at the French capital city’s Le Bourget Airport. However, potential customers might be turned off by the company’s already sordid reputation, which involves accusations of dubiously legal business practices, potential violations of international embargoes and sanctions, and a connection to infamous mercenary Erik Prince. On June 19, 2017, the first day of the show, a modified Thrush 510G agricultural aircraft sat out in the sun at Le Bourget. Bulgarian firm LASA...

The core of the southern Filipino city of Marawi was seized by Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants, which are directly affiliated with the Islamic State, on May 23th. Since then, Philippines armed forces have performed a a rolling counter-assault on the area in an attempt to dislodge the extremists. The Philippine Air Force's go-to weapon system for the battle? The OV-10 Bronco. The mission has proven to be extremely difficult as the fighters clearly had been planning and preparing the area for the battle for some time before executing their blitz. Stores of supplies and ammunition are said to be...

By David Cenciotti A new prototype of the weird Qaher 313 stealth jet has conducted taxi tests. Footage and photographs showing a new prototype (marked “08”) of the famous Qaher F-313 stealth fighter jet have just emerged as Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani participated Saturday in an exhibition displaying the achievements that the Defense Ministry Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan gained during the past two years.Indeed, an “upgraded version” of the “faux stealth fighter” can be observed performing taxi tests. The aircraft appears to be slightly different from the one unveiled on Feb. 2, 2013, that was nothing more than a poorly designed...

Known as the 'flying gun', the A-10 Warthog plane was a hero during Operating Desert Storm – but has since been deemed vulnerable and costly to operate. Now, a Minnesota-based startup has unveiled designs for a new attack plane called the 'Machete' that consists of a new metal foam developed in conjunction with the US Department of Energy. The metal foam is lightweight and strong - and is capable of stopping bullets and other projectiles in much less space than traditional armor, while the plane boasts the same 30mm cannon as the Warthog it could replace.

Check the video at this link. John McCain earning his pay at the hearings for phasing out the A-10. "The B1 Bomber will now be used for close air support? This is why we can't take you seriously..."

Even though the USAF has shuttered the 65th AGRS based out of Nellis AFB, its only F-15C/D aggressor squadron, our friends at Combat Aircraft Monthly say a new F-16 unit is slated to be activated at the base. This new unit will be made up of eight Block 40 F-16C/Ds, with the squadron envisioned to grow to 16 aircraft as the F-35 comes on line and replaces the Viper in front-line units. The F-16s' mission will reportedly be tightly focused on close air support. Combat Aircraft writes: “The CAS Integration Group’s mission will include high-end training as well as an...

The US Air Force has begun studying future close air support (CAS) aircraft to succeed the Fairchild Republic A-10 as the Pentagon evaluates the weaponry it needs for “prolonged operations” of one year or more. The flying branch is looking at tactical air support platform alternatives for low-intensity “permissive conflict” like counterterrorism and regional stability operations, similar to the types of missions being conducted Iraq and Afghanistan today, where air superiority has been achieved and coalition aircraft can roam relatively freely in support of ground troops. USAF officials say a portion of a "combat air force study” is dedicated to...

All about the Barack Hussein Obama Muslim connection to Common CoreIn the last few years we have seen a movement in our country to nationalize our educational system, to implement Common Core in all schools. Inside the schools, the most drastic change has been an overwhelming influence of Islam and Sharia law. Education publishing giant, Pearson, whose biggest investor is the Libyan Investment Authority, is a major supplier of Islam-oriented text books for American schools. As is the nation of Qatar.Pearson owners are deeply involved in the Muslim Brotherhood and linked to CAIR. “Muslim Brotherhood documents seized by the...

With a roaring engine, 30-mm. cannon and nose painted like a toothsome, snarling beast, the A-10 Thunderbolt sends ISIS fighters scattering like cockroaches on the Iraqi desert plains, but the legendary fighter plane pilots call the "Warthog" may be fighting for its own life. The venerable plane, first built for destroying Soviet tanks, has been on the chopping block since the sequester of 2011 mandated steep cuts in the Pentagon budget. Although the planes haven't been built in more than 30 years, the Defense Department believes it can save maintenance costs by phasing them out. Air Force brass believes newer,...

Designers competing to create an aircraft that could directly support troops on the battlefield were hampered by the weight of the ‘flying tank’, low air speed and flimsy protection. The Il-2 was the answer to these challenges. One of the key lessons of the First World War was that the airplane had a crucial role to play in effective military campaigns in the new era. With this in mind, in the 1920s and 1930s Europe’s leading nations expended significant efforts and resources on developing new aircraft that could be used to provide support for infantry and tanks. The Soviet Union...

Textron AirLand's new military jet prototype, the twin-engine Scorpion, is breezing through the development phase and is now ready to make its international debut. With more than 105 hours of flight-testing on its prototype, the Wichita, Kansas-based company plans to send the Scorpion on its way on a multi-day, 4,700-nm flight from Wichita to RAF Fairford-Gloucestershire today. The prototype will be shown off to potential customers attending the Farnborough International Airshow and The Royal International Air Tattoo, both set to take place in the United Kingdom in the middle of this month. Textron AirLand president Bill Anderson said the airplane...

The U.S. House on Thursday overwhelmingly adopted an amendment to the 2015 defense appropriation bill that would prohibit the Pentagon from spending any money to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II jet — a mainstay of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. But the fate of the venerated “Warthog” close-air-support jet remains far from certain, as the Senate still must act, and the issue will likely be hammered out in conference committee. The amendment’s bipartisan adoption was a victory for Rep. Ron Barber, a Tucson Democrat, and other A-10 supporters, who were chagrined when the House Appropriations Committee left A-10 funding out of...