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Eric Worrall
Watts Up With That 2015-05-11 21:21:00
The Express reports that a colossal one mile wide asteroid will brush past the Earth this Thursday, with a closest approach of 3 million kilometres - far too close for comfort, with a rock that big. According to The Express; On this occasion a collision seems unlikely - but it doesn't take much of an orbital perturbation to put an Earth grazer onto a collision course. | |
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Tony Cartalucci
New Eastern Outlook 2015-05-11 18:56:00
US policy think-tank Brookings Institution confirms that contrary to propaganda, US-Saudi "moderates" and Turkey-Qatar "Islamists" have been coordinating all along. The war in Syria continues to drag on, with a recent and renewed vigor demonstrated behind an opposition long portrayed as fractured and reflecting a myriad of competing foreign interests. Chief among these competing interests, the public has been told, were the US and Saudis on one side, backing so-called "moderate rebels," and Turkey and Qatar on the other openly backing Al Qaeda and its various franchises including the Islamic State (ISIS). However, for those following the conflict closely, it was clear from the beginning and by the West's own admissions that success hinged on covertly providing arms, cash, equipment, and both political and military support to Al Qaeda and other sectarian extremists, not opposed by Saudi Arabia, but rather by using Saudi Arabia as the primary medium through which Western material support could be laundered. And this fact is now confirmed in a recent article published on the Brookings Institution's website titled, "Why Assad is losing." It states unequivocally that (emphasis added):
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Comment: Isn't it obvious to everyone by now that the US-led 'war on ISIS' is nothing but a farce?
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Mac Slavo
SHTFplan 2015-05-11 15:18:00
The banksters, who nearly tanked the global market in their collective effort to loot the peoples of the world, are operating out of "larger than ever" big banks. They are not only "too big to fail," but too big to contain. The derivatives have not been stopped or controlled; leveraging ratios are still out of control; and bank runs could happen at anytime, subjecting big banks to desperate calls on cash they would be unable to fulfill; apparently everything they have is loaned out and sometimes demanded back "each and every day." The entire thing is a dangerous high wire act that looms over our otherwise ordinary lives with great peril. The Corporate Reform Coalition (CRC) did a study titled Still Too Big to Fail (PDF) that underscores the dangers of the current funny money schemes and the fact that even the weak-kneed requirements of the Dodd-Frank "Wall Street Reform Act" have not been fulfilled. | |
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| Puppet Masters |
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Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse 2015-05-11 20:01:00
The UN plans to launch a brand new plan for managing the entire globe at the Sustainable Development Summit that it will be hosting from September 25th to September 27th. Some of the biggest names on the planet, including Pope Francis, will be speaking at this summit. This new sustainable agenda focuses on climate change of course, but it also specifically addresses topics such as economics, agriculture, education and gender equality. For those wishing to expand the scope of "global governance", sustainable development is the perfect umbrella because just about all human activity affects the environment in some way. The phrase "for the good of the planet" can be used as an excuse to micromanage virtually every aspect of our lives. So for those that are concerned about the growing power of the United Nations, this summit in September is something to keep an eye on. Never before have I seen such an effort to promote a UN summit on the environment, and this new sustainable development agenda is literally a framework for managing the entire globe. If you are not familiar with this new sustainable development agenda, the following is whatthe official United Nations website says about it... | |
Comment: Human caused climate change -- code for global warming -- is complete bunkwhich means the UN's entire sustainability platform is based on a blatant lie. As the author correctly stated, this agenda is all about control of the masses.
For more with Michael Snyder, listen to the Truth Perspective's most recent interview. | |
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Andrew Korybko
Sputnik 2015-05-12 18:33:00
The massive terrorist attack in Kumanovo is the latest provocation in the quest to create a Greater Albania and simultaneously sabotage Russia's Balkan Stream project. The Republic of Macedonia was rocked by a large-scale terrorist attack on Saturday when over 40 armed individuals fought with police for control of the city of Kumanovo close to the country's capital. The attackers were from the so-called "Kosovo Liberation Army" (KLA), a former terrorist group that was thought to have been disbanded after NATO occupied the Serbian province, and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said that some of them had received their militant training in the Mideast. The combined carnage wounded 37 police officers and killed 8 of them, while ultimately eliminating 14 terrorists and leading to the capture of 30 others. | |
Comment: Fascist-era ideologies, ISIL Wahhabists, it's like Dr. Michael Parenti said, the US would support the devil himself.
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RT
2015-05-12 13:31:00
The Ukrainian president's decision to reclaim Donetsk Airport, a key strategic point in the conflict in the country's east, are in violation of the Minsk peace deal, says the Kremlin. Petro Poroshenko vowed on Monday to take the airport back: "I have no doubt - we will free the airport, because it is our land. And we will rebuild the airport." He also promised to erect a monument to the "cyborgs," which has become a common nickname for the Ukrainian soldiers that fought against the forces of the self-proclaimed eastern republics for control of Donetsk Airport. Poroshenko spoke at the premier of the documentary Airport, which was dedicated to the siege. When asked if he thinks such words violate the Minsk peace deal, the Russian president's press secretary said they do: "Of course, they are a violation. In fact, we have repeatedly said that Ukraine is not complying with the Minsk agreement." | |
Comment: More evidence Poroshenko has no plans to follow the Minsk Agreements.
No surprise: Poroshenko confirms Kiev uses ceasefire to rearm troops | |
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RT
2015-05-11 17:24:00
The "industry of death" exists in the world as many people in power live off war, Pope Francis told Italian schoolkids in the Vatican on Monday. "Many powerful people don't want peace because they live off war," the Pontiff said as he met with pupils from Rome's primary schools in the Nervi Audience Hall. Talking to children during the audience organized by the Peace Factory Foundation, he explained that every war has the arms industry behind it. "This is serious. Some powerful people make their living with the production of arms and sell them to one country for them to use against another country," the Pope was cited by AGI news agency as saying. The head of the Catholic Church labeled the arms trade "the industry of death, the greed that harms us all, the desire to have more money." "The economic system orbits around money and not men, women," he told 7,000 kids present at the audience. Despite the fact that wars "lose lives, health, education," they are being waged to defend money and make even more profit, the Pope said. "The devil enters through greed and this is why they don't want peace," 78-year-old Francis said. "There can be no peace without justice," the Pope said and asked the children to repeat those words out loud three times. | |
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RT
2015-05-11 18:24:00
Around 20 vessels representing nine NATO member states have begun the Baltic Fortress 2015 exercises, taking place off the Lithuanian Baltic Sea coast. Warships from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and the UK are participating in the exercises, accompanied by a Lithuanian Navy submarine unit and two airplanes from the country's Air Force. The maneuvers in the Lithuanian territorial waters are scheduled to last until May 14, Lithuania's Ministry of National Defense said. The ships will practice interactions between NATO allies during international operations, including cooperation with bloc's rapid reaction forces, Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1. The Baltic Fortress 2015 program will see the vessels performing joint maneuvering, shooting, de-mining, interception and the escorting of vessels as well as search and rescue operations, the ministry added. Baltic Fortress drills have been held annually since 2008 with the host country rotating every year. Neighboring Latvia will provide the venue for the exercise next year. NATO's ground forces are also currently involved in two exercises in the Baltic States. Up to 3,000 Lithuanian troops are taking part in the Zaibo Kirtis (Lightning Strike) drills, aimed at perfecting joint action by the army and civilian authorities against so-called hybrid threats combining both military and non-military methods of fighting. | |
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Michael Snyder
End of the American Dream 2015-05-11 02:48:00
Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has uncovered one of the biggest lies in modern American history. It turns out that much of what the American public was told about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden was a blatant lie. According to Hersh, Osama bin Laden had been captured by Pakistan all the way back in 2006, and he was being held by the ISI as a prisoner at the Abbottabad compound that the Seals ultimately raided in 2011. In addition, Hersh says that the ISI and Pakistan's military knew about the Seal raid in advance. Arrangements were made so that the Black Hawk helicopters could travel through Pakistani airspace safely, and the ISI guards at Osama bin Laden's compound were pulled away before the Seals got there. And by that time, Osama bin Laden was reportedly in such bad health that he was essentially a cripple. There was no "firefight" at all - only a turkey shoot. Afterwards, Osama bin Laden's body never made it to the USS Carl Vinson for a "burial at sea". That was all just part of the cover story according to Hersh. Of course the White House and Obama's lackeys at CNNare strongly denying all of this, and they will continue to deny the truth for as long as they possibly can. But there are individuals in the U.S. military and in the U.S. intelligence community that can come forward and tell us what really happened. Let us hope that at least some of those individuals still care enough about this country to do that. According to Hersh, one of the biggest lies that Obama told was that Pakistani leadership had no idea that the Seals were coming in. Actually, the truth is that the head of the army, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the director general of the ISI, General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, were both heavily involved in the planning of the operation. The following is an excerpt from Hersh's article for the London Review of Books...
When the Seals got to the compound in Abbottabad, bin Laden and his family were completely unguarded. That is because the ISI guards had already been pulled back. | |
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Paul Craig Roberts
Institute for Political Economy 2015-05-11 00:00:00
Comment: An excellent if short summation of the policies that have wrecked the U.S. economy and the thinking behind U.S. aggression towards Russia and China. Paul Craig Roberts, Keynote Address to the Annual Conference of the Financial West Group, New Orleans, May 7, 2015 The defining events of our time are the collapse of the Soviet Union, 9/11, jobs offshoring, and financial deregulation. In these events we find the basis of our foreign policy problems and our economic problems. The United States has always had a good opinion of itself, but with the Soviet collapse self-satisfaction reached new heights. We became the exceptional people, the indispensable people, the country chosen by history to exercise hegemony over the world. This neoconservative doctrine releases the US government from constraints of international law and allows Washington to use coercion against sovereign states in order to remake the world in its own image. To protect Washington's unique Uni-power status that resulted from the Soviet collapse, Paul Wolfowitz in 1992 penned what is known as the Wolfowitz Doctrine. This doctrine is the basis for Washington's foreign policy. The doctrine states: | |
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| Society's Child |
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John W. Whitehead
The Rutherford Institute 2015-05-11 00:00:00
Why is the federal government distributing obscene amounts of military equipment, weapons and ammunition to police departments around the country? Why is the military using southwestern states as a staging ground for guerilla warfare drills (Jade Helm 15)? What exactly is the U.S. government preparing for? Whatever the answer, John W. Whitehead, in this week's vodcast, warns of the pending day when our so-called "government of the people, by the people, for the people" is no longer answerable to "we the people." | |
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Saeed Ahmed
CNN 2015-05-12 12:51:00
The attack on bloggers critical of Islam has taken on a disturbing regularity in Bangladesh with yet another writer hacked to death Tuesday. Ananta Bijoy Das, 32, was killed Tuesday morning as he left his home on his way to work at a bank, police in the northeastern Bangladeshi city of Sylhet said. Four masked men attacked him, hacking him to death with cleavers and machetes, said Sylhet Metropolitan Police Commissioner Kamrul Ahsan. The men then ran away. Because of the time of the morning when the attack happened, there were few witnesses. But police said they are following up on interviewing the few people who saw the incident. "It's one after another after another," said Imran Sarker, who heads the Blogger and Online Activists Network in Bangladesh. "It's the same scenario again and again. It's very troubling." | |
Comment: These gruesome public killings definitely create fear. Some of these attackers don't even know what a blog is so never read them. This brings to mind that the attacks are orchestrated with the masterminds hidden. The people can't rely on the government for protection. People must organize to defend their free speech.
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RT
2015-05-11 22:39:00
A California woman has sued her former employer, which fired her shortly after she disabled a GPS tracking feature on her company iPhone. The app was used to monitor employees even on their personal time, the lawsuit alleged. Myrna Arias has claimed that her boss, John Stubits, at money transfer service Intermex in Bakersfield boasted about monitoring employees' locations while they were not on the job, according to the lawsuit filed in Kern County Superior Court. Arias, a sales executive for the company, said she was "scolded" and subsequently fired -- even though she "met all quotas during her time with Intermex -- after she uninstalled Xora, a mandatory job-management app that was applied to company phones. "After researching the app and speaking with a trainer from Xora, Plaintiff and her co-workers asked whether Intermex would be monitoring their movements while off duty," the suit says. "Stubits admitted that employees would be monitored while off duty and bragged that he knew how fast she was driving at specific moments ever since she installed the app on her phone. Plaintiff expressed that she had no problem with the app's GPS function during work hours, but she objected to the monitoring of her location during non-work hours and complained to Stubits that this was an invasion of her privacy. She likened the app to a prisoner's ankle bracelet and informed Stubits that his actions were illegal. Stubits replied that she should tolerate the illegal intrusion...." The suit alleged invasion of privacy, retaliation, and unfair business practices, among other accusations. "This intrusion would be highly offensive to a reasonable person," the lawsuit claimed. Arias' attorney told Ars Technica that the mandatory app was intrusive in its constant monitoring. "The app had a 'clock in/out' feature which did not stop GPS monitoring, that function remained on," Gail Glick said. "This is the problem about which Ms. Arias complained. Management never made mention of mileage. They would tell her co-workers and her of their driving speed, roads taken, and time spent at customer locations. Her manager made it clear that he was using the program to continuously monitor her, during company as well as personal time." Arias is seeking damages in excess of $500,000. Intermex did not immediately respond to Ars Technica for comment. | |
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Reuters
2015-05-10 03:10:00
A gunman killed three relatives and a neighbor in a late-night rampage in a Swiss village before turning his weapon on himself, local police said on Sunday. The presumed killer, a 36-year-old Swiss national who was separated from his wife and the couple's three children, shot dead his father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law, police told a news conference. The killings took place late on Saturday in and around a residential building in Wuerenlingen, a community of some 4,500 people north-west of Zurich. Police said the gunman lived in another part of Switzerland and was known to police for violent behavior. The murder weapon was unregistered, they said. | |
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| Secret History |
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Rossella Lorenzi
Discovery News 2015-05-11 14:18:00
The height of the pharaohs who ruled ancient Egypt supports historical records that they might have married their sisters and cousins, says new research into 259 mummies. It's known from historical sources that incestuous marriages were common among the ancient Egyptian royalty. The pharaohs believed they descended from the gods so inbreeding was seen as a way to retain the sacred bloodline. But it is hard to prove incest in royal marriages through genetic testings because of ethical consideration when destroying mummies' tissues. Frank Rühli, director of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine at the University of Zurich, and colleagues used a highly hereditable character, body height, to look for evidence of incest in 259 mummies of both commoners and royals. "It is actually one of the largest collections of body height of ancient Egyptians and spans all major periods of their history," Rühli told Discovery News. The researchers tested the hypothesis of royal incest by studying variation (difference between individuals) of body heights of royals and comparing it with variations among commoners. | |
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| Science & Technology |
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Science Daily
2015-05-11 00:00:00
Young children who hear more than one language spoken at home become better communicators, a new study from University of Chicago psychologists finds. Effective communication requires the ability to take others' perspectives. Researchers discovered that children from multilingual environments are better at interpreting a speaker's meaning than children who are exposed only to their native tongue. The most novel finding is that the children do not even have to be bilingual themselves; it is the exposure to more than one language that is the key for building effective social communication skills. Previous studies have examined the effects of being bilingual on cognitive development. This study, published online May 8 by the journal Psychological Science, is the first to demonstrate the social benefits of just being exposed to multiple languages. "Children in multilingual environments have extensive social practice in monitoring who speaks what to whom, and observing the social patterns and allegiances that are formed based on language usage," explained Katherine Kinzler, associate professor of psychology and an expert on language and social development. "These early socio-linguistic experiences could hone children's skills at taking other people's perspectives and provide them tools for effective communication." | |
Comment: Researchers have discovered that speaking more than one language improves cognitive ability. Those who are bilingual have been shown to have better problem-solving skills, improved ability to think creatively and that they process information more efficiently and easily. Bilingualism also tends to forestall the onset of Alzheimer's by about five years.
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Phys.org
2015-05-12 11:17:00
To measure distances in the universe, astronomers use cepheids, a family of variable stars whose luminosity varies with time. Their role as distance calibrators has brought them attention from researchers for more than a century. While it was thought that nearly everything was known about the prototype of cepheids, named Delta Cephei, a team of researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), the Johns Hopkins University, and the European Space Agency (ESA), have now discovered that this star has a hidden companion. They have published an article about the discovery in The Astrophysical Journal. Delta Cephei, prototype of the cepheids, which has given its name to all similar variable stars, was discovered 230 years ago by the English astronomer John Goodricke. Since the early 20th century, scientists have been interested in measuring cosmic distances using a relationship between these stars' periods of pulsation and their luminosities (intrinsic brightness), discovered by the American Henrietta Leavitt. Today, researchers from the Astronomical Observatory of UNIGE, Johns Hopkins University and the ESA show that Delta Cephei is, in fact, a double star, made up of a cepheid-type variable star and a companion that had thus far escaped detection, probably because of its low luminosity. Yet, pairs of stars, called binaries, complicate the calibration of the period-luminosity relationship, and can bias the measurement of distances. This is a surprising discovery, since Delta Cephei is one of the most studied stars, of which scientists thought they knew almost everything. | |
Comment: Despite recent studies supporting the binary star system hypothesis, these researchers are still "shocked" at this discovery.
It may be time to incorporate the data they do have into the winning Electric Universe theory and review what they thought they knew about how the cosmos actually works. Earth Changes and the Human-Cosmic Connection It could be that such twin's are not always 'in sight'. Perhaps our own sun has a 'dark companion' - Nemesis? Nemesis: Does the Sun Have a 'Companion'? | |
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Bob King
Universe Today 2015-05-11 02:08:00
We don't know exactly what those mysterious white spots on Ceres are yet, but we're getting closer to an explanation. Literally. The latest images from the Dawn spacecrafttaken a mere 8,400 miles from the dwarf planet Ceres reveal that the pair of spots arecomprised of even more spots. "Dawn scientists can now conclude that the intense brightness of these spots is due to the reflection of sunlight by highly reflective material on the surface, possibly ice," said Christopher Russell, principal investigator for the Dawn mission from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dawn recently concluded its first science orbit, making a 15-day full circle around Ceres while gathering data with its suite of science instruments. This past Saturday, May 9, its ion engine fired once again to lower the spacecraft to its second science orbit which it will enter on June 6. On that date, the probe will hover just 2,700 miles (4,400 km) above the dwarf planet and begin a comprehensive mapping of the surface. Scientists also hope the bird's eye view will reveal clues of ongoing geological activity. | |
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Science Daily
2015-05-11 00:00:00
A new study shows that the microbial communities we carry in and on our bodies -- known as the human microbiome -- have the potential to uniquely identify individuals, much like a fingerprint. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers and colleagues demonstrated that personal microbiomes contain enough distinguishing features to identify an individual over time from among a research study population of hundreds of people. The study, the first to rigorously show that identifying people from microbiome data is feasible, suggests that we have surprisingly unique microbial inhabitants, but could raise potential privacy concerns for subjects enrolled in human microbiome research projects. | |
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| Earth Changes |
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cbc.ca
2015-05-12 21:15:00
A large sinkhole has opened up in Burnaby near the 4800 block of Albert Street on Monday evening. Metro Vancouver crews estimate the sinkhole is 16 feet long, six feet wide and three to four feet deep. An investigation is underway into what caused the road to collapse, says Metro Vancouver spokesman Don Bradley. "There has been a considerable amount of infrastructure, work performed in the area over the past several years but the investigation will determine the cause and appropriate next steps," he said. Albert Street is closed for one block between Gamma and Delta Avenues. A security crew will watch over the sinkhole overnight and cleanup crews will be back Tuesday morning. | |
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Sarah Chaffin
Channel 7 News has received numerous reports of flooding across the state following heavy rains and storms over the weekend into Monday morning.KATV.com 2015-05-11 17:39:00
The Arkansas River Trail on the North Little Rock side is "basically closed" due to the high water from the Arkansas River. As of 3:30 p.m. Monday, the river is at 15 feet and beginning to encroach on the trails. By Tuesday night the river will be at 21 feet and most of the trails will be completely underwater. Specifically, the trail is closed from the entrance to the Big Rock Quarry to the Big Dam Bridge. The closure is expected to last for at least a few days. Toad Suck Park in Bigelow, just outside of Conway, was evacuated Monday due to increased flow of the Arkansas River. No flooding has been reported yet, but the Corps of Engineers says it is anticipating flooding overnight into Tuesday. National Weather Service meteorologists continue to monitor releases from Remmel Dam in Hot Spring County. The water is rushing from Lake Catherine down to the Ouachita River. Officials are warning residents of significant flooding downstream. In Garland County, officials are also monitoring the waters flowing from Carpenter Dam into the Ouachita River. There are several reports of flooding at Lake Hamilton, with water covering many boat docks and rising over yards. Several county roads have been washed out. | |
Comment:
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A northern Manitoba community is in shock after an 11-year-old girl was found dead, her body showing signs of a possible bear attack. Teresa Robinson went missing on May 5. Her body was discovered six days later, on Monday. David Harper, Grand Chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said Robinson's remains were found near her Garden Hill First Nation home. He told The Canadian Pressthat it appears the girl was mauled by an animal, and that a bear in the area could be the culprit. "Bears were seen wandering there Tuesday night on the east side," he said. "It's just awful ... no one's heard of this happening before." Investigators have yet to release an official cause of death for the girl. Harper said wild dogs also live in the area, and it could be up to 48 hours before it's clear exactly what killed Robinson. | |
Comment: See also: Camper killed by black bear near Mackenzie, British Columbia
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Sarah Lagan
The Royal Gazette 2015-05-12 17:02:00
Straddling a dead whale floating on the open ocean as its carcass is ripped apart by three species of shark isn't something you can expect to do every day but it's something Bermudian videographer Choy Aming can now add to his bragging rights. He received a text on Sunday from a fisherman telling him that there was a dead adult sperm whale floating in the water about 12 miles off shore on the eastern side of Challenger Banks. Within an hour Mr Aming, along with photographer Chris Burville and a small group of friends, were able to watch the drama unfold as about a dozen tiger, blue and dusky sharks made a meal of the 30-35 feet leviathan. Mr Aming told The Royal Gazette: "I had two sharks within two feet of my face while I was sitting on the back of a dead whale just ripping flesh out of it. I have never been able to get that close. It's not the largest number of sharks I have seen at once but it was just pretty intense over all because the feeding was quite ravenous. "We were on Chris's boat but once I saw the sharks sticking their heads out of the water I thought, 'I've got to climb on the whale'. I was probably sitting there for 45 minutes with my GoPro camera but it was very shaky and unstable — when the swells came the whale would roll. | |
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Bald Head Island Conservancy officials found a dead whale on shore Monday morning. According to Assistant Director Poul Lindegaard, his crew came upon the animal in the middle of South Beach and notified officials immediately. The UNCW Stranded Marine Mammal Team is determining the cause of death.
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Rowan Hooper
New Scientist 2015-05-12 00:32:00
If California's prolonged dry spell is eventually recognised as a megadrought, no one can say we weren't warned. Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the US, has hit its lowest level ever. Feeding California, Nevada and Arizona, it can hold a mind-boggling 35 cubic kilometres of water. But it has been many years since it was at capacity, and the situation is only getting worse. "We're only at 38 per cent full. Lake Mead hasn't been this low since we were filling it in the 1930s," said a spokeswoman for the US Bureau of Reclamation in Las Vegas. | |
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AFP
2015-05-12 00:00:00
Australia's Bureau of Meteorology Tuesday warned the El Nino weather phenomenon, which can spark deadly and costly climate extremes, will pack a punch this year after declaring its onset in the tropical Pacific. El Nino is associated with drought conditions in Australia and occurs when the trade winds that circulate over waters in the tropical Pacific start to weaken and sea surface temperatures rise. It is the weather system's first appearance in five years. "This is a proper El Nino effect, it's not a weak one," David Jones, manager of climate monitoring and prediction at the Bureau of Meteorology, told a media briefing. "You know, there's always a little bit of doubt when it comes to intensity forecasts, but across the models as a whole we'd suggest that this will be quite a substantial El Nino event. An El Nino had been predicted to start in 2014 and officials said it was a "near miss", but thresholds have now been hit in the tropical Pacific for the first time since March 2010. | |
Comment: Unfortunately, this could accelerate the conditions we are already seeing such as the droughts in California and Brazil, and intensification of the hurricane season in the Pacific.
'Double El Niño? Rare weather phenomenon about to change our world? | |
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A waterspout that formed with a thunderstorm over the Croatan Sound ripped across Roanoke Island Monday evening, leaving behind damaged roofs and downed tree limbs before continuing into the Roanoke Sound. Garnette Guyton of Duck Cottage Downtown Books captured dramatic video of the waterspout moving parallel to the Nags Head-Manteo Causeway. Damage has been found so far in the Vista Lake Drive neighborhood and along U.S. 64 on the south end of Manteo. No injuries have been reported. The National Weather Service in Newport/Morehead City it will be Tuesday or Wednesday before they could get a meteorologist in the area to determine the exact strength of the twister. But according to our video and photos, they would classify it unofficially as an EF-0 or low-end EF-1 tornado.
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A young northern B.C. man was killed by a black bear at a remote campsite this weekend while his fiancée slept inside their motorhome, say authorities who are now warning people to exercise extreme caution in the province's backcountry. Daniel Ward Folland O'Connor and his wife-to-be were in a small campground near MacKenzie Saturday night when the fatal mauling apparently occurred. The BC Coroners Service said O'Connor fell asleep near a fire pit, while his fiancé went to bed in their motorhome. "After getting up in the morning, [she] realized something was wrong and went for help," said spokesperson Barb McLintock. The incident was reported to RCMP at 10 a.m. Sunday, and conservation officers located the bear believed to be responsible a short time later. The 300-pound male black bear, as well as a wolf, were shot dead after the 27-year-old's body was found on a remote logging road. "The injuries Mr. O'Connor suffered were consistent with a black bear attack," said McLintock, adding that campers need to be well aware of the risks that wildlife can pose in remote campgrounds. | |
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The Peninsula
2015-05-10 14:17:00
A man has died after being bitten multiple times by a shark while swimming off the Pacific Ocean island of New Caledonia, famed for its idyllic turquoise waters and white sandy beaches, police said Sunday. The man, described as around 50 years old, who was on a cruise with friends in the south of the archipelago, was swimming just metres from the boat when he was attacked by a bull shark, a military police spokesman told local radio. "It was really a savage and sudden attack. Most people onboard were health workers, the first aid given was significant but the injuries were such that unfortunately there was not much that could be done," said the spokesman, without giving the dead man's nationality. New Caledonia, off north-eastern Australia, is a French overseas territory but formulates its own tax, labour laws and trade policy. The sun-drenched island, which boasts the world's largest enclosed lagoon with magnificent coral, is a popular tourist destination. Source: Agence France-Presse | |
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Huge amounts of rain fell in Corsicana, Texas during the late hours of Sunday 10 May into the early hours of Monday 11 May 2015. Corsicana Fire department say they responded to 16 flood-water rescues involving a total of 29 people, many of them trapped in their vehicles. One man died after his car became stranded in flood water. According to local reports, the man got out of his car and was then swept away by the floods. The heavy rain was brought by a line of thunderstorms that tracked over Navarro County for more than five hours. Flooding was reported in Navarro and Henderson counties. By 10:47 pm on Sunday 10 May, NWS Dallas / Fort Worth reported that 9.83 inches (249 mm) of rain had fallen in Corsicana since about 8:30pm.
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Comment: See also this chart for the increasing number of flood reports from across the planet for the last 4 years.
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At least ten people were killed and seven injured during Monday night's heavy rains in Nairobi. Eight of the victims were killed after a perimeter wall collapsed on their structures in Mukuru Fuata Nyayo area, South B. Seven others were injured in the incident, in which the wall of a mosque went down following the heavy rains. Police said two other people were swept away by floods in Dagorretti area and along Jogoo Road. Their bodies were discovered after midnight. Nairobi police boss Benson Kibui said the wall is believed to have soaked with water before it went down. "Eight people died while seven others were taken to hospital after the wall collapsed on their structures. There were also two drowning incidents in the city," said Kibui. He said among those who died at Fuata Nyayo were two juveniles, four women and two men.
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Evan Bleier
Daily Mail, UK 2015-05-11 12:12:00
A Florida surfer sparked a little bit of a panic after he spotted a large snake on the beach and posted pictures of it slithering through sea foam on the internet. Swimmer and surfers alike were alarmed to see the reptile, believed to be a yellow rat snake, in the online photos from the seashore in Mayport. They needn't have worried as yellow rat snakes are nonvenomous and mostly harmless. Pictures of this snake were first posted on 911surfreport.com. Surfer Bo Miller said: 'It's definitely sketchy.' Lifeguards said snakes on the beach are rare, but the tides have been unusually high in recent days, News4Jax reported. The tides may have caused the snake's arrival or it's possible it was accidentally dropped by a bird of prey that was trying to eat it for dinner.
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