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RT
2013-03-29 15:30:00
Law enforcement intelligence-processing fusion centers have long come under attack for spying on Americans. The Arkansas director wanted to clarify the truth: centers only spies on some Americans - those who appear to be a threat to the government. In trying to clear up the 'misconceptions' about the conduct of fusion centers, Arkansas State Fusion Center Director Richard Davis simply confirmed Americans' fears: the center does in fact spy on Americans - but only on those who are suspected to be 'anti-government'. "The misconceptions are that we are conducting spying operations on US citizens, which is of course not a fact. That is absolutely not what we do," he told the NWA Homepage, which supports KNWA-TV and Fox 24. After claiming that his office 'absolutely' does not spy on Americans, he proceeded to explain that this does not apply to those who could be interpreted as a 'threat' to national security. Davis said his office places its focus on international plots, "domestic terrorism and certain groups that are anti-government. We want to kind of take a look at that and receive that information." But the First Amendment allows for the freedom of speech and opinion, making it lawfully acceptable for Americans to express their grievances against the US government. The number of anti-government groups even hit a record high in 2012, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Many of these groups are 'hate groups' that express disdain for minorities. But unless they become violent, these groups are legally allowed to exist. |
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| Puppet Masters |
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Clay Rossi
legalexaminer.com 2013-04-02 16:31:00
It's time for a brief post-mortem on the events leading to the passage of the Monsanto Protection Act (MPA). Now that President Obama has signed the legislation which included the MPA into law, there are certain facts that need not be forgotten for the next time (and there will be a next time) big business buys itself judicial immunity from Congress. As a refresher, the MPA prevents federal courts from interfering with the sale or planting of genetically modified seeds regardless of the evidence presented to the court about the health and safety effects of those seeds. For starters, remember that Monsanto purchased bi-partisan support for this abomination. It was Missouri Senator Roy Blount, a Republican, who worked with Monsanto on crafting the legislation and Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat, who introduced the provision. Moral of the story is that loyalty to rank-and-file party members or constituents concerns didn't matter is the face of Monsanto dollars. Also the White House failed to stop the measure despite petitions and protests urging President Obama to stand up against the measure. This is a bleak fact. |
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Arabi Souri
Global Research 2013-03-31 16:02:00
A Syrian's Perspective: Bashar al-Assad's Democratic Movement Bashar al-Assad has been systematically demonized by the mainstream and so-called alternative media who claim that he is a brutal dictator. Actually Bashar is a reformer who has done much to further the causes of democracy and freedom. It is the "opposition" and their foreign supporters which represent the most repressive elements of the former ruling party in Syria. To fully understand this its is helpful to look at the historical context of the current crisis. The so-called "spontaneous popular uprising" started in Daraa on March 15th, 2011. The court house, police stations, governor's house, and other public buildings were looted and torched by the "peaceful protestors" in the first week of the crisis. The people in Homs then began to protest in solidarity with Daraa, but this was uncharacteristic of peaceful Homs and many Syrians knew that it was a fake revolution. About 110 unarmed police officers were murdered in Daraa and Homs, sparking anger against the "revolutionaries." There was an incident in the city Baniyas where an Alawite truck driver was attacked by an armed mob, skinned, and paraded through the city. This was strongly resented by almost all Syrians and since then not a single major city actually rebelled against the government. The foreign backed "revolutionaries" would attack a neighborhood, police station, or army base, from across the borders of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Then they would claim that the city was in rebellion. |
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RT
2013-04-02 15:47:00
A Palestinian prisoner sentenced to life has died of cancer in Israel, sparking unrest and a three-day hunger strike in several jails. The Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas has blamed the death on Israel. Maisara Abu Hamdiyeh, serving a life sentence since 2002 for attempted murder, membership in Hamas and weapons possession, was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus two months ago. The Israeli Prison Service turned to the pardons committee to carry out the inmate's release a week ago when his condition worsened drastically, but he died at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba before the procedure was complete. His death set off a series of riots in the Ketziot, Eshel and Ramon prisons, with inmates banging on cell doors and throwing objects. Police had to be called to calm the unrest, with security stepped up in case of further incidents. Palestinians also demonstrated over the death in the Hebron area, throwing Molotov cocktails at police. Qadura Fares, head of an advocacy group for Palestinian prisoners, indicated to AFP that Israel is to blame for the prisoner's death because of its "refusal to release him for treatment," despite repeated requests, some of which came from abroad. |
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RT
2013-03-28 15:38:00
Still wondering about the mystery of flying saucers and 3-foot tall aliens dressed in metallic clothing, which the FBI described in a 1950 memo? The agency has released a statement with details about the famous document. The memo describing the mysterious UFOs was created in 1950, three years after the Roswell incident, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation claims they are not connected. In a blog post published this week, the agency says it never investigated the mysterious sightings - even though it could not explain what Guy Hottel, former head of the FBI's Washington, D.C. field office, described. "An investigator for the Air Force stated that three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico," Hottel wrote in the memo, which was addressed to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. "They were described as being circular in shape with raised centers, approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape but only 3 feet tall, dressed in metallic cloth of a very fine texture. Each body was bandaged in a manner similar to the blackout suits used by speed fliers and test pilots." According to the document, three men including a police officer, a highway patrolman and an army guard had all reported seeing a "silver colored object high up approaching the mountains at Sardina Canyon" which then "appeared to explode in a rash of fire". It also explained that several residents had reported witnessing two explosions, followed by a falling object. |
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RT
2013-04-02 15:25:00
The Federal Bureau of Investigation lost an appeal Monday to delay a lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a privacy advocacy group that's suing the agency for information related to its StingRay cellphone surveillance technology. StingRay technology first began to attract attention when it was revealed to have been used to apprehend David Rigmaiden, a suspect in an electronic tax fraud ring indicted in 2008. Rigmaiden's requests to provide details of how the FBI was able to locate him revealed the use of StingRay, a technology which fools cell phones within a certain range into linking with the technology, as though it was a real cell tower. By harvesting the data provided by a mass of cellphones, StingRay can physically locate a designated device. Privacy advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU argue that StingRay's bulk data collection method violates the privacy of cell phone users who are unwittingly targeted by the tool. In addition, the ACLU has presented evidence that the FBI has not always been honest about its intent to deploy StingRay when filing warrants with federal judges. If the ACLU's lawsuit is successful, it would imply that the FBI has knowingly requested "general warrants," which would violate Americans' Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure. |
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RT
2013-04-02 15:19:00
Julian Assange's chances to snatch a seat in the Australian Senate are pretty high, his campaign manager Greg Barns told RT, adding that the WikiLeaks founder would force the country's government run their policies more honestly if that happens. Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK for the past nine months, but that hasn't dampened his political aspirations. The whistleblower has just appointed high-profile campaigner Greg Barns to manage his bid for the Australian Senate in September's election. Barns, a former Australian Republican Movement head and barrister, says his employer enjoys wide public support in his homeland, with the possible success in the vote increasing his chances of returning home to Australia. |
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David Edwards
Raw Story 2013-04-02 15:15:00
The FBI arrested New York state Sen. Malcolm A. Smith (D) and five others including Republican New York City Councilman Daniel J. Halloran III in an elaborate plot to secure Smith the Republican mayoral nomination for New York City. According to the New York Times, Smith paid bribes to multiple individuals in hopes of securing their endorsements to run as a Republican. Smith, 54, was taken from his Queens home Tuesday morning in handcuffs. Halloran was arrested at the same time. Among others taken into custody included Republican leaders from Queens and the Bronx, Noramie F. Jasmin, who is the mayor of Spring Valley, New York, as well as her deputy, Joseph A. Desmaret. Gerald L. Shargel, attorney for Smith, told reporters that his client has done nothing wrong, "Malcolm Smith is a dedicated and highly respected public servant and he steadfastly denies these charges." The lawyer said he would address the charges further when he has had a chance to study them. Smith and the Republicans are charged with an elaborate scheme in which Smith paid Halloran to provide him with access to Republican officials so that they would agree to sign statements that Smith should be allowed to run for mayor as a Republican even though he is a registered Democrat. In return, they were paid lavish fees and promised that Smith would steer lucrative projects to their districts. |
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Ma'an News Agency
2013-04-03 14:08:00
Gaza City (Ma'an) --Israeli warplanes bombed the Gaza Strip early Wednesday, causing damage but no injuries, in the first airstrike on the enclave since a November ceasefire. Two airstrikes hit a tile factory in the Shujaiyeh neighborhood, east of Gaza City, and farm land in Beit Lahiya in the north, locals said. The raids were the first since Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire on Nov. 21 to end an 8-day war on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said the two attacks were in response to rocket fire from the enclave. "In response to several rocket fire incidents directed at Israel, an Israel Air Force aircraft targeted overnight two extensive terror sites in the Northern Gaza Strip," it said in a statement. |
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Michael Kelley
Businessinsider.com 2013-04-02 11:14:00
A Dutch court has ruled that the pedophile club Martijn cannot be outlawed, Michael van Poppel of BNO news reports. Martijn is a Dutch association that advocates the social acceptance of pedophilia and the legalization of sexual relationships between adults and children. In June 2012 a Dutch court deemed the group to be illegal and ordered it to disband immediately. Prosecutors had successfully argued that the club's work and ideas were contrary to public order and morality - especially since the harmful effects of child sexual abuse infringe upon the rights and interests of children. | |
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Comment: "No threat of social disruption"? It's truly
shocking the lengths people will go through in order to rationalize what
can only be called sick behavior. For more information on pedophiles
and how they are often protected by the law, see these Sott links:
The Traumatic Impact of Pedophilia Sex Rings Pedophilia in the Justice System Still Evil After All These Years: The Franklin Scandal and Pedophilia in High Places The Pedophocracy |
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Pamela Olson
If Americans Knew 2013-04-02 01:48:00
Israel has a population of approximately 7.8 million, or a million fewer than the state of New Jersey. It is among the world's most affluent nations, with a per capita income similar to that of the European Union.[1] Israel's unemployment rate of 5.6% is much better than America's 9.1%,[2] and Israel's net trade, earnings, and payments is ranked 48th in the world while the US sits at a dismal 198th.[3] Yet Israel receives approximately 10% of America's foreign aid budget every year.[4] The US has, in fact, given more aid to Israel than it has to all the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean combined - which have a total population of over a billion people.[5] And foreign aid is just one component of the staggering cost of our alliance with Israel. Given the tremendous costs, it is critical to examine why we lavish so much aid on Israel, and whether it is worth Americans' hard-earned tax dollars. But first, let's take a look at what our alliance with Israel truly costs.
Before the Iraq War in 2003
Direct Foreign Aid According to the Congressional Research Service , the amount of official US aid to Israel since its founding in 1948 tops $112 billion, and in the past few decades it has been on the order of $3 billion per year.[6] (In 2011, for example, this amounted to over $8.2 million every single day.) But this money is only part of the story. For one thing, Israel gets its aid money at the start of each year, unlike other nations.[7] This is significant: It means Israel can start earning interest on the money right away. And it costs the US more than the typical year-end disbursements because the US government operates at a deficit, so it must borrow this money to pay Israel and then pay interest on the amount all year. Israel is also the only recipient of US military aid that is allowed to use a significant portion annually to purchase products made by Israeli companies instead of US companies. (The costs to Americans caused by this unique perk are discussed below.) In addition, the US gives roughly $2 billion per year to Egypt and Jordan in aid packages arranged largely in exchange for peace treaties with Israel. The treaties don't include justice for Palestinians, and are therefore deeply unpopular with the local populations.[8] On top of this, the US gives roughly half a billion to the Palestinian Authority each year,[9] much of it used to rebuild infrastructure destroyed by Israel and to bolster an economy stifled by the Israeli occupation.[10] This would be unnecessary if Israel were to end the occupation and allow the Palestinians to build a functioning and self-sustaining economy. Yet there's still much more to the story, because parts of US aid to Israel are buried in the budgets of various US agencies, mostly the Department of Defense. For example, since at least 2006, the American Defense budget has included between $130 and $235 million per year for missile defense programs in Israel.[11] In all, direct US disbursements to Israel amount to approximately 10% of all U.S. aid abroad, even though Israelis only make up 0.001% of the world's population. In other words, on average, Israelis receive 10,000 times more US foreign aid per capita than other people throughout the world, despite the fact that Israel is one of the world's more affluent nations.[12] And that number rises significantly when one considers disbursements to Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority and Defense spending on behalf of Israel. |
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RT.com
2013-04-02 13:37:00
An Israeli teenager has been sentenced to 14 days in jail, his eighth term in the past six months. He's served more than 100 days for refusing to serve in the IDF and "participate in a cynical game," referring to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. On Tuesday, conscientious objector Nathan Blanc came to the IDF Recruitment Bureau for the eighth time since November. There, at a military base near Tel Aviv, as with the previous seven times, he informed the army that he refuses to undertake the duty every Israeli teenager is required to perform. In accordance with Israeli law, following his refusal to enlist, Blanc was arrested. The sentence requires between 10 and 20 days in Military Prison Number 6. Blanc belongs to a tiny minority of those who refuse to serve on grounds of principle. Out of the 300-400 prisoners housed in the prison, he has been the only conscientious objector since November. So far, in total he has spent 116 days in jail, of which 11 were taken off for good behavior, Haaretz reports. Blanc first declared his refusal in November 2012. Military service in Israel is required upon graduation from high school, and lasts three years for boys and two for girls. It has become synonymous with carrying out one's duties as an Israeli citizen, refusal is not an option. "It was a very hard decision, it took me a long time to get to it," the Guardian quoted Nathan. |
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David Edwards
Raw Story 2013-04-02 18:31:00
Officials in Florida on Monday said that an elected Florida Republican Party committeeman had been arrested on multiple charges of possessing and transmitting child pornography. Walton County Sheriff Mike Adkinson confirmed to The Northwest Florida Daily News that Lane Rees, a former Walton County Commissioner, was taken into custody around 5 p.m. on Monday after a month-long investigation. Deputies recovered "multiple images" of child pornography after serving a search warrant on his home in Santa Rosa Beach. |
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David Edwards
Raw Story 2013-04-01 18:27:00
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is being sued by a woman who says that officers violated her civil rights when they pepper-sprayed her entire family - including a 2-year-old child and a 5-month-old baby. In the lawsuit obtained by Courthouse News Service on Monday, Marilyn Taylor accuses Officers Maripily Clase, Suranjit Dey and Jermaine Hodge overacting when they saw her pushing the stroller through a service entrance instead of going through the subway turnstile. According to the complaint, officers told her 4-year-old child that "everything will be OK," but then began pepper-spraying the entire family. "The pepper-spray caused the children to scream out and choked the two-year old, who went into fits of vomiting," the lawsuit says. "Ms. Taylor was then placed in handcuffs as the minor children cried in fear and pain." |
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David Edwards
Raw Story 2013-04-01 18:22:00
Televangelist Pat Robertson on Monday explained to his viewers that "sophisticated" Americans received less miracles because they had learned "things that says God isn't real" like evolution. On Monday's episode of CBN's The 700 Club, Robertson responded to a viewer who wanted to know why "amazing miracles (people raised from the dead, blind eyes open, lame people walking) happen with great frequency in places like Africa, and not here in the USA?" "People overseas didn't go to Ivy League schools," the TV preacher laughed. "We're so sophisticated, we think we've got everything figured out. We know about evolution, we know about Darwin, we know about all these things that says God isn't real." |
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Ken Jorgustin
Modern Survivial Blog 2013-03-30 18:02:00
Colorado, and apparently Texas (next) are being targeted with an attempt to set up a federal authority framework that will enable Secret Service agents (not just those guarding the president), and others of the U.S. Secret Service including uniformed division officers, physical security technicians and specialists, and other 'special officers', to arrest and remove an elected sheriff for refusing to enforce the law (or anyone breaking the law). The bills being introduced defines law as including any rule, regulation, executive order, court order, statute or constitutional provision. Why are they doing this? Here's why... It would establish federal authority police powers in a State, enabling an enforcement arm reporting directly to the president (the Secret Service). It would potentially lead to enabling the president / executive branch to theoretically override the actions and preventative measures that are now being taken by many States throughout the country who are trying to preserve 2nd Amendment gun rights and who are prohibiting the enforcement of unconstitutional law passed by Congress or pushed by executive order. As some of you may know, a growing list of sheriffs (more than 340 so far) across the country have expressed that they will not enforce a Washington mandate that clearly violates the Second Amendment. |
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| Society's Child |
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Philip Bump
The Atlantic Wire 2013-04-02 00:03:00
About 90 million Americans believe aliens exist. Some 66 million of us think aliens landed at Roswell in 1948. These are the things you learn when there's a lull in political news and pollsters get to ask whatever questions they want. Public Policy Polling has raised weird polls to an art form. During last year's presidential campaign, the firm earned a bit of a reputation for its unorthodox questions; for example, "If God exists, do you approve of its handling of natural disasters?" Today PPP released the results of a national survey looking at common conspiracy theories. Broken down by topic and cross-referenced by political preference, the results will not inspire a lot of patriotism. If you need to defend your fellow countrymen, be sure to note that the margin of error is 2.8 percent. We took the findings and arranged them from most- to least-believed. And, just to inspire additional shame, figured out how many actual Americans that meant must believe in things like the danger of fluoride in water. (28 million, if you're wondering.) |
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Courtney Subramanian
Time 2013-04-02 21:23:00
On April 4 Chinese everywhere will honor their deceased loved ones by packing up bags of gifts, flowers and fare to take to their graves as part of Qingming festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, a national holiday of adulation for Chinese ancestors. But the more than 2,500-year-old ancient tradition underscores a crippling theme in much of the now-urbanized China: there's no room. As Quartz reports, city officials are ramping up efforts to change the perceived importance of grave burials by also offering mass burials at sea for the recently departed on Tomb Sweeping Day. Cities like Shanghai, Guangzhou and Jiaxing in Zhejiang province are covering costs for transportation, the sea burial and even offering subsidies ranging from $60 to an upwards of $800. This year Shanghai increased its sea burial subsidy five times more, subsequently leading government officials to add another ship to its sea burial fleet to meet a growing demand. |
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Max Keiser
RT.com 2013-04-02 00:19:00
Google trends shows an explosive growth in the Bitcoin meme. Like a tsunami, it started as a ripple and didn't look like much, traveling for miles on the digital sea, and then Cyprus hit and the ripple became a roar. Nearly all financial news outlets and blogs have weighed in with their opinion on Bitcoin; the majority indicating they either like or love the idea with a few dissenters. The dissenters keep coming back to the argument that Bitcoin's success is capped by how far the government will allow it to succeed before stepping in and calling time. | |
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Comment: For more background information on Bitcoin, read:
What Bitcoin Is, and Why It Matters Bitcoin: A New Kind of Money That's Beyond the Reach of Bankers, Wall St. and Regulators? |
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Dan Walters
The Sacramento Bee 2013-03-28 00:00:00
Were California's state government a business, it would be a candidate for insolvency with a negative net worth of $127.2 billion, according to an annual financial report issued by State Auditor Elaine Howle and the Bureau of State Audits. The report, which covers the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, says that the state's negative status -- all of its assets minus all of its liabilities -- increased that year, largely because it spent more than it received in revenue. During the 2011-12 fiscal year, the state's general fund spent $1.7 billion more than it received in revenues and wound up with an accumulated deficit of just under $23 billion from several years of red ink. Gov. Jerry Brown has referred to that and other budget gaps, mostly money owed to schools, as a "wall of debt" totaling more than $30 billion. Last November, voters passed an increase in sales and income taxes that Brown says will balance the state's operating budget and allow the debt wall to be gradually dismantled. |
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Eric W. Dolan
Raw Story 2013-04-01 18:17:00
Daily Download editor-in-chief Laura Ashburn on Monday slammed the New York Times' obituary of female rocket scientist Yvonne Brill. Brill was instrumental in the development of propulsion systems for satellites, but the opening line of her obituary emphasized her cooking skills rather than her stunning scientific achievements. "I have never seen a more sexist obituary in my life than the one that was in the New York Times on Sunday," she remarked. "This women, who was 88-years-old, died - world-class rocket scientist and the opening was, 'she made a mean beef stroganoff'... I mean, no male obituary would start like that." |
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Arturo Garcia
Raw Story 2013-04-02 18:12:00
The town of Nelson, Georgia, followed through on its proposal to require residents to own a gun Monday night following a unanimous vote by the city council. WGCL-TV reported that the law will apply to heads of household, with exceptions built in for the disabled, mentally ill and those objecting to gun ownership for religious reasons. Convicted felons will not be allowed to own a firearm. "If anything should happen that they would need to use a firearm, [now] they are backed up by their government, their city government," council member Edith Portillo told the station. However, according to the Associated Press, another council member, Duane Cronic, said the new "Family Protection Ordinance" will not be enforced, making it more of a symbolic gesture. "I likened it to a security sign that people put up in their front yards," Cronic said. "Some people have security systems, some people don't, but they put those signs up. I really felt like this ordinance was a security sign for our city." |
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| Secret History |
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No new articles. |
| Science & Technology |
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Raw Story
2013-04-02 15:10:00
Astrophysicists have witnessed the rare event of a black hole awakening from its slumber to snack on a planet-sized object in a galaxy 47 million light years away, the University of Geneva said Tuesday. The observation made using the European Space Agency's INTEGRAL satellite project, revealed a black hole that had been slumbering for years chomping on a giant, low-mass object that had come too close. Scientists at the Swiss university analyse the data collected by INTEGRAL, launched in 2002 to study gamma rays and throw light on events far from Earth's galaxy. They spotted a light flare coming from a black hole in the centre of the NGC 4845 galaxy, which has a mass more than 300,000 greater than the Sun and had been dormant for more than 30 years, the university said in a statement. Matter-sucking black holes normally lurk dormant and undetected at the centre of galaxies, but can occasionally be tracked by the scraps left over from their stellar fests. |
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Raw Story
2013-04-01 18:08:00
People age 65 and older who eat fish may live an average of two years longer than people who do not consume the omega-3 fatty acids found mainly in seafood, a US study suggested on Monday. People with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids also had an overall risk of dying that was 27 percent lower, and a risk of dying from heart disease that was 35 percent lower than counterparts who had lower blood levels, said the study. The research was led by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health and was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. While other studies have demonstrated a link between omega-3 fatty acids and lower risk of heart disease, this research examined records of older people to determine any link between fish-eating and death risk. Researchers scanned 16 years of data on about 2,700 US adults aged 65 or older. Those considered for the study were not taking fish oil supplements, to eliminate any confusion over the use of supplements or dietary differences. |
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| Earth Changes |
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David J. Mitchell
The Advocate 2013-04-01 15:55:00
The head of Louisiana's Department of Natural Resources named 13 scientists and other experts Friday to serve on a blue-ribbon commission tasked with determining the long-term stability of the area around northern Assumption Parish's sinkhole. The 13-acre sinkhole and consequences of its emergence and continued growth, such as methane trapped under the Bayou Corne area, have forced the evacuation of 350 residents for more than seven months. The sinkhole, found in swamps between Bayou Corne and Grand Bayou on Aug. 3, is believed to have been caused by a failed Texas Brine Co. LLC cavern mined into the Napoleonville Dome. Members of the new panel are being asked to set up scientifically based benchmarks in regard to the sinkhole and then determine when they have been met in order to give assurances that the Bayou Corne area is safe for the return of evacuated residents. "The work of this commission is crucial to the future of public safety in the Bayou Corne area," DNR Secretary Stephen Chustz said in a prepared statement announcing the 13 appointments. |
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Ashish Khanal
Update 10:49 UTC : The swarm continues and the most
recently listed earthquakes had a Magnitude of M4.3 and M4.2. The number
of earthquakes during the last 48 hours has risen to 484 ! The
hypocenter depth is mainly varying in 3 layers, one at only a few
hundred meter, another at 1.1 km and the last one at 20 km.Earthquake Report 2013-04-03 13:39:00 Most of the epicenters are located in an area of 15 to 30 km from Grimsey. There have been earthquakes cycles of a similar nature in 1969, 1974, 1980, 1986, 1994 and 2002. The cycles were all from a few days up to several weeks.
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Megan Gannon
LIveScience 2013-04-03 09:24:00
Sickly, emaciated sea lion pups have been turning up on California's coastline in unusually high numbers since January - with live strandings nearly three times higher than the historical average. Officials say the strandings have intensified this month, and they're starting to investigate the possible causes, while marine mammal rehabilitation centers in the area have been overwhelmed with starving, hypothermic and dehydrated pups. The problem is most pronounced in Los Angeles County, where 395 sea lion strandings have been reported this year as of March 24, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). During the same period in 2012, just 36 strandings were reported. Stranding rates are also high in Orange County, where 189 sickly sea lions have come ashore, compared with 20 last year. And in San Diego County, strandings stood at 214, compared with 32 last year. |
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YouTube
2013-04-03 11:34:00
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The Jakarta Post
2013-04-03 11:29:00
Garut Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) chief Zat Zat Munazat has instructed Garut residents, especially those living close to Mount Guntur, to stay calm after the volcano's alert level was raised to waspada (caution) or level 2 from normal or level 1. "Mount Guntur is still at a level that poses no danger; so we ask people not to panic," Zat Zat told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Tuesday evening. Mount Guntur spewed lava and pyroclastic materials such as hot gas, volcanic ash and rocks, between 1840 and 1847. "Mount Guntur has not erupted for 162 years," said Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) head Surono via text messages. |
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Katrina Stokes
The Advertiser (Australia) 2013-04-04 09:05:00
Swimmers and fishers have been reassured that they have nothing to fear from the water in Spencer and St Vincent gulfs in the wake of mass fish and dolphin deaths off the state's coastline. SA Health told The Advertiser algal blooms, found across the state's coastline most likely due to March's prolonged hot weather and heavy winds, did not affect human health in any way. "Consumption of fish caught alive do not represent health concerns, however SA Health advises fish caught dead should not be eaten due to concerns over decomposition and spoilage," a spokeswoman said yesterday. The assurance comes as a taskforce of experts today start testing water to help solve the mystery of the thousands of dead fish and 16 dead dolphins. The Fisheries Department, Environmental Protection Authority and SA Water will lead the taskforce, which will also conduct tests on the fish and some of the dolphins. Several other nations around the world have also experienced unexplained mass sea deaths in recent months. |
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Anthony Watts
I loathe having to write this story because I truly dislike giving any
attention to the people who are known as the "slayers" from the Slaying the Sky Dragon book. They now operate under the moniker of "Principia Scientific".WattsUpWithThat.com 2013-04-03 09:28:00 But, somebody has to do it because some really bad mangling of the intent of a NASA press release by the "slayers" group is getting some traction. They have completely misread the NASA study and reinterpreted it for their purpose, claiming in a story titled "New Discovery: NASA Study Proves Carbon Dioxide Cools Atmosphere" : NASA's Langley Research Center has collated data proving that "greenhouse gases" actually block up to 95 percent of harmful solar rays from reaching our planet, thus reducing the heating impact of the sun. The data was collected by Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry, (or SABER). SABER monitors infrared emissions from Earth's upper atmosphere, in particular from carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitric oxide (NO), two substances thought to be playing a key role in the energy balance of air above our planet's surface.Source The NASA story is about the thermosphere when it gets hit by solar flares. Here's the Press release
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The Extinction Protocol
The Civil Protection office of the National Commissioner in Iceland has
declared a State of Uncertainty in North Iceland because of a series of
earthquakes. The first earthquake came around one o'clock last night
(GMT) and the quake was measured to be 5.5 points in magnitude. The
earthquake originated East of Grimsey Island. Another earthquake came
shortly after, and it was measured to be 4.3 points in magnitude. The
State of Uncertainty means increased surveillance with events, because
at later stages the safety of people in the area might be compromised.2013-04-03 09:19:00
To declare a State of Uncertainty is part of regular procedure at the Civil Protection in Iceland, to insure formal communications and flow of information between emergency teams. According to Sigthrudur Armannsdottir, scientist at the Icelandic Meteorology Office, it is expected that the earthquakes will continue and their effects might be felt on mainland Iceland. These earthquakes do not come as a surprise to the scientists. There is nothing that indicates that an eruption will begin. The earthquake last night is one of the largest for quite some time, but an earthquake of 7 in magnitude happened in the same area roughly one century ago. But an earthquake of 5 in magnitude happened last in 2002, in that area. - News of Iceland |
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Alize Proisy
Witn.com 2013-03-28 03:55:00
An unusual bird is making its way to our Crystal Coast and dying, and scientists are trying to figure out why. Dovekies are usually found further north in the arctic. While they are not related to the penguin, they look like a miniature version of one. They wobble around on the sand walking on their two feet, but they are used to living full-time in the sea. They don't do well on land. Possumwood Acres in Onslow County has had about 15 come in the past couple weeks. Unfortunately they are young, hurt, and haven't been able to survive. Many people are finding them stranded on our beach. "They're really not supposed to be here. When we get them they are very compromised and they need some help. We're not exactly sure what is going on with them. They come in, they seem bright eyed and bushy tailed, very, very healthy and well, and within a couple days we tend to see problems and a lot of them pass," said volunteer Megan Tetreau. Tetreau says one of the reasons they could be down here is because of an abnormal migration. |
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CBS News
Hundreds of dead squid in the Gorge Waterway turn out to be part of the circle of life2013-04-01 14:09:00
Hundreds of dead squid mysteriously turned up in Victoria's Gorge Waterway this past week, but the gruesome sight may just be a sign that the ecosystem is healthy. Passers-by first began noticing the dead cephalopods over the weekend, grouped together at the floor of the waterway. Theories abounded about how they got there. Some thought a shipment of expired calimari had been dumped. |
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Times of India
Torrential rains in Argentina's capital have triggered flooding responsible for at least five deaths.2013-04-02 16:48:00 A record 6.1 inches (155 millimeters) of rain fell in just two hours in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. That's equal to all of normal rainfall for April. The storm caused power outages, flooded subway lines and turned the streets into rivers. Emergency officials are asking people to stay at home after a subway worker died when he was electrocuted after stepping on wet railway lines and after three men and a woman drowned to death. Service on a subway line has been interruupted, and trains on other lines are delayed. Officials are asking people to avoid driving to prevent accidents. The Argentine National Metereological Service expects more storms Tuesday in Buenos Aires and says heavy rains will continue until Friday.
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Dr. Norman Page
Watts Up With That? 2013-04-02 00:00:00
1. Methods and Premises My approach to climate science is based on Baconian empirical principles as presented in a series of earlier posts on this site notably: 6/18/10 Thirty Year Climate Forecast 7/19/12 30 Year Climate Forecast -2 year Update 10/30/12. Hurricane Sandy-Extreme Events and Global Cooling 11/18/12 Global Cooling Climate and Weather Forecasting 1/4/13 Response toWUWT post on Neutrons and 1970 cooling period. 1/22/13 Global Cooling Timing and Amount 2/18/13 It's the Sun Stupid - the Minor Significance of CO2 |
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Jennifer Viegas
Discovery news 2013-04-02 14:27:00
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill happened in the Gulf of Mexico nearly three years ago, but the estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil that it released are still killing dolphins, sea turtles and other marine life in record numbers, according to new research. The report, "Restoring a Degraded Gulf of Mexico: Wildlife and Wetlands Three Years into the Gulf Oil Disaster," found that dolphins were among the hardest hit animals. As of just earlier this year, infant dolphins were dying six times faster than they did before the spill. Scientists aren't even yet sure of the extent of the massive spill, given that it was impossible to fully clean up the chemical-laden, carcinogenic oil. "Three years after the initial explosion, the impacts of the disaster continue to unfold," Doug Inkley, senior scientist for the National Wildlife Federation and lead author of the report, said in a press release. "Dolphins are still dying in high numbers in the areas affected by oil. These ongoing deaths - particularly in an apex predator like the dolphin - are a strong indication that there is something amiss with the Gulf ecosystem." An infographic summarizes some of the findings. |
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BBC
2013-04-01 17:56:00
Climate change is expanding Antarctica's sea ice, according to a scientific study in the journal Nature Geoscience. The paradoxical phenomenon is thought to be caused by relatively cold plumes of fresh water derived from melting beneath the Antarctic ice shelves. This melt water has a relatively low density, so it accumulates in the top layer of the ocean. The cool surface waters then re-freeze more easily during Autumn and Winter. This explains the observed peak in sea ice during these seasons, a team from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) in De Bilt says in its peer-reviewed paper. Climate scientists have been intrigued by observations that Antarctic sea ice shows a small but statistically significant expansion of about 1.9% per decade since 1985, while sea ice in the Arctic has been shrinking over past decades. |
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| Fire in the Sky |
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No new articles. |
| Health & Wellness |
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Reed Davis
Paleohacks.com 2013-04-03 16:57:00
Did you know that 60% of the American population suffers from at least one system of poor digestion - gas, bloating, belching, heartburn, constipation, diarrhea, and more? While you may have heard that you are what you eat, the truth is that you are actually what you absorb and assimilate. Although your diet may be flawless, a dysfunctional digestive system may be negating its effects. In this video, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition founder Reed Davis breaks down the anatomy and function of the intestinal tract, pointing out why it may take some time to heal your gut via removing inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, and legumes. He also gives you tips on how to fix it! | |
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Comment: Learn more about the benefits of a Paleo Diet:
The paleo diet explained Have you heard about the Paleo diet? A Real Paleo Diet - Grassfed Meat, Fat, and Organ Meats The Unspoken Truth about the Paleo Diet & Weight Loss The Paleo Diet: Should You Eat Like a "Caveman"? Should You Eat a Paleo-Diet for Health Like These Californians? In addition tune into the excellent discussion on SOTT Talk Radio: Paleo food - Staying Healthy in a GMO world |
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RT
2013-04-03 19:56:00
Researchers have discovered that the Fukushima nuclear disaster has had far-reaching health effects more drastic than previously thought: young children born on the US West Coast are 28 percent more likely to develop congenital hyperthyroidism. In examining post-Fukushima conditions along the West Coast, researchers found American-born children to be developing similar conditions that some Europeans acquired after the 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. "Fukushima fallout appeared to affect all areas of the US, and was especially large in some, mostly in the western part of the nation," researchers from the New York-based Radiation and Health Project wrote in a study published by the Open Journal of Pediatrics. Children born after the 2011 meltdown of Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are at high risk of acquiring congenital hyperthyroidism if they were in the line of fire for radioactive isotopes. Researchers studied concentration levels of radioiodine isotopes (I-131) and congenital hypothyroid cases to make the association. |
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Masanori Tonegawa, Yomiuri Shimbun
The Spokesman Review 2010-03-28 09:34:00
The Japan Society for Lipid Nutrition has drawn up new guidelines stating that high cholesterol levels are better for living longer, defying conventional wisdom. There are two kinds of cholesterol - low-density lipoprotein (LDL) that is considered "bad," and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is regarded as "good" cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is delivered to cells throughout the body, while HDL is excess cholesterol collected from the body. The Japan Atherosclerosis Society, an organization focusing on lifestyle-related diseases, has advocated people lower their LDL cholesterol levels by improving dietary habits and using medication, because high LDL levels could cause heart disease. In 2007, the society set diagnostic criteria for hyperlipemia, or elevated levels of lipids in the bloodstream, flagging LDL cholesterol levels of at least 140 mg/dl and HDL levels less than 40 mg/dl as dangerous for both men and women. "According to domestic and foreign research, the higher LDL levels become, the more arterial stiffening advances. Correspondingly, incidence of heart disease also rises. We concluded that LDL cholesterol levels more than 140 mg/dl could easily cause heart disease," said Hirotsugu Ueshima, professor emeritus at Shiga University of Medical Science, who devised the atherosclerosis society's criteria. However, Tomohito Hamazaki, a professor at Toyama University's Institute of Natural Medicine, who compiled the new cholesterol levels guidelines for the Japan Society for Lipid Nutrition, countered Ueshima's argument. "When examining all causes of death, such as cancer, pneumonia and heart disease, the number of deaths attributable to LDL cholesterol levels exceeding 140 mg/dl is less than people with lower LDL cholesterol levels." | |
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Comment: Cholesterol is good for you!:
There is only one type of cholesterol: here's why Dispel the Myths: Why You Should Eat Cholesterol Cholesterol - The good, the bad, and the ugly How to Interpret Cholesterol Test Results Insanity: Cholesterol Drugs for Kids Why You Should Eat More (not less) Cholesterol How Standard Dietary Advice To Avoid Cholesterol-Rich Foods Is Misguided LOW Cholesterol: The Risks, Dangers & The Reality Higher Cholesterol Levels Associated with Lower Risk of Death from Cardiovascular Disease in Japan The cholesterol - heart disease scam: How the medical-industrial complex is raking in billions at our expense |
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Alan Schwarz and Sarah Cohen
The New York Times 2013-03-31 00:00:00
Nearly one in five high school age boys in the United States and 11 percent of school-age children over all have received a medical diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to new data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These rates reflect a marked rise over the last decade and could fuel growing concern among many doctors that the A.D.H.D. diagnosis and its medication are overused in American children. The figures showed that an estimated 6.4 million children ages 4 through 17 had received an A.D.H.D. diagnosis at some point in their lives, a 16 percent increase since 2007 and a 41 percent rise in the past decade. About two-thirds of those with a current diagnosis receive prescriptions for stimulants like Ritalin or Adderall, which can drastically improve the lives of those with A.D.H.D. but can also lead to addiction, anxiety and occasionally psychosis. "Those are astronomical numbers. I'm floored," said Dr. William Graf, a pediatric neurologist in New Haven and a professor at the Yale School of Medicine. He added, "Mild symptoms are being diagnosed so readily, which goes well beyond the disorder and beyond the zone of ambiguity to pure enhancement of children who are otherwise healthy." | |
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Comment: The over-diagnosis of ADHD has been an
economic windfall for BigPharma. In many cases children are just
exhibiting normal behaviours and in others, behavioural treatments would
prove more beneficial. In addition, there are a myriad of side
effects to these drugs.
ADHD drugs prescribed to 'all academically struggling' children ADHD Drugs Proven Absolutely Useless for Children - Plus, They Stunt Growth ADHD - Another Dangerous over Hyped Drug |
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| Science of the Spirit |
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No new articles. |
| High Strangeness |
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No new articles. |
| Don't Panic! Lighten Up! |
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Stephen C. Webster
The Raw Story 2013-04-02 11:29:00
In a study published Monday by The Journal of Comparative Psychology, researchers at the University of California Santa Cruz announced that they've discovered "the first non-human mammal to be able to keep a beat." The creature who earned that distinction is a seal named Ronan, trained to follow a simple repetitive sound with her head. While that may not sound all too impressive, what happened next shocked the researchers, who captured the amazing sight on camera and shared the footage on YouTube, embedded below. "Once she had learned, without any further training, Ronan was able to find and keep the beat in complex stimuli, including music," one of the researchers explains in the video as the seal dances to "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind and Fire, and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys. While the skill of beat mimicry has previously only been observed in humans and some types of birds capable of vocal mimicry, Ronan's ability suggests that many more species could have untapped musical abilities. |
