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02/21/12

AJE:
China factory explosion leaves many dead
“An explosion at a steel plant in northeastern China has killed at least 10 people and injured another 17, a company official has said, in the latest industrial accident to hit the world’s second largest economy.”
“The blast happened late on Monday in a steel casting workshop owned by state-run Angang Heavy Machinery in the city of Anshan in Liaoning province, a spokesman for parent company Ansteel Group said.”

02/20/12

Guardian UK:
Canada threatens trade war with EU over tar sands
“The move is a significant escalation of the row over the EU’s plans, which Canada fears would set a global precedent and derail its ability to exploit its tar sands, which are the biggest fossil fuel reserve in the world after Saudi Arabia. Environmental groups argue that exploitation of the tar sands, also called oil sands, is catastrophic for the global climate, as well as causing serious air and water pollution in Alberta.”
   Governments around the world will come to an abrupt realization soon that backing antiquated energy systems and the mega-profiteers who control their governments is going out the door.  It is the natural citizenry of a country who are the greatest natural resource on the planet.  We all can, and will, release that creativity to manifest free energy and clean energy in the not to far future.   Again, I encourage any reader to watch the documentary “The PRIZE: Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power.”

02/05/12

SanLuisObispo Com:
Marine wife killed in Ca. explosion was Iowan, 31
“Greg Hardin and the couple’s two children were not hurt in the Friday night explosion at a housing unit in the Mono

Marine wife killed in Ca. explosion was Iowan, 31 Feb 05 2012

County town of Coleville that serves the U.S. Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, where Marines train for mountain operations.”
“The explosion was related to the housing area’s propane distribution system, and was not associated with activities at the Marine base, which is about 30 miles away, according to Marine spokesman Capt. Nicholas Mannweiler.”

01/18/12

WaPo:
Obama administration rejects Keystone XL pipeline

Obama administration rejects Keystone XL pipeline Jan 18 2012

“President Obama, denouncing a “rushed and arbitrary deadline” set by congressional Republicans, announced Wednesday that he was rejecting a Canadian firm’s application for a permit to build and operate the Keystone XL pipeline, a massive project that would have stretched from Canada’s oil sands to refineries in Texas.”
“While the current Keystone XL permit application is dead, the pipeline might not be. The administration will allow TransCanada to reapply for a permit after it develops an alternate route around the Nebraska Sandhills, a sensitive habitat.”
   Watch the powerful documentary “The PRIZE: Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power” and you will understand more fully exactly the type of pompous, imperialistic, greedy people like Boehner serve.
BTW, creating jobs in industries that promote destruction of one’s own “home” (environment) is more than counterproductive, it’s self-destructive madness.

12/21/11

Think Progress:  Boehner Dismisses Nebraska Keystone XL Pipeline Concerns As “Nonsense‘…
“Appearing on on Sunday’s Meet the Press, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) defended the Republican decision to attach a two-month deadline for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline in the unrelated middle-class tax cut bill. He also repeated discredited, grossly inflated claims about the economic impact of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline project, which the State Department and independent estimates agree would create no more than 6000 temporary jobs, and possibly as few as 500.”

Friends of the Earth:
Keystone XL pipeline
“Giant oil corporations invested in Canada’s tar sands are counting on the Keystone XL pipeline to make the expansion of oil extraction operations profitable: The pipeline would double imports of dirty tar sands oil into the United States.   Before TransCanada can begin construction, however, the company needs a presidential permit from the Obama administration.”
“Your voice is needed to tell the Obama administration to say “no” to the Keystone XL pipeline and the highly polluting tar sands oil that would come with it.”

01/16/12

Chron:
Chevron: Rig catches fire off Nigeria’s delta
“Chevron said two workers were missing and 152 others found, but gave no further detail on the missing persons.”
“Chevron did not immediately say what caused the fire. However, Nigeria’s government believes a “gas kick” — a major build up of gas pressure from drilling — was responsible, said Levi Ajuonoma, a spokesman for the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.”

01/03/12

NOLA:
Wastewater well in Ohio triggered earthquakes, expert says
“A northeast Ohio well used to dispose of wastewater from oil and gas drilling almost certainly caused a series of 11 minor quakes in the Youngstown area since last spring, a seismologist investigating the quakes said Monday. Research is continuing on the now-shuttered injection well at Youngstown and seismic activity, but it might take a year for the wastewater-related rumblings in the earth to dissipate, said John Armbruster of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York.”

12/23/11

The Olympian:
Russian oil rig sinking casts doubt on Arctic plan
“The sinking of a floating oil rig that left more than 50 crew dead or missing is intensifying fears that Russian companies searching for oil in remote areas are unprepared for emergencies – and could cause a disastrous spill in the pristine waters of the Arctic.”
“Only four months ago, Russian energy giant Gazprom sent Russia’s first oil platform to the environmentally sensitive region, and industry experts and environmentalists warned it is unfit for the harsh conditions and is too far from rescue crews to be reached quickly in case of an accident. They are demanding Russia put Arctic oil projects on hold.”
   Seems that many stories of late point to “wrenches” being thrown into grandiose, greedy plans on this planet.

12/18/11

CBS News:
Russian oil platform capsizes; 4 dead, 49 missing

Russian oil platform capsizes; 4 dead, 49 missing (AP photo/ Andrei Pronin, File) (AP Photo/Andrei Pronin) Dec 18 2011

“By nightfall Sunday, four men had been confirmed dead, 14 others had been plucked alive from the churning, icy waters by the ship that had been towing the Kolskaya drilling platform. But the search for the remaining men was hampered by freezing temperatures, a driving blizzard and strong winds.”
“The Emergencies Ministry said that 67 people had been aboard the platform as it was being towed about 200 kilometers (120 miles) off the coast of Sakhalin, a large island just north of Japan in the Sea of Okhotsk in the western Pacific Ocean that until the late 19th century had been the Russian Empire’s most remote penal colony.”

12/19/11

Procurement Leaders:
Explosion at Apple supplier’s plant injures 61

Explosion at Apple supplier's plant injures 61 Dec 19 2011

“Apple said it was investigating the incident, which is the latest in a string of events in recent months to bring to light safety concerns at Chinese factories. In November, Chinese environmental pressure groups voiced a number of concerns about working conditions and environmental and safety standards at the factories of Apple suppliers. ” [emphasis mine]

11/21/11

GAP:
Gas Company Whistleblower Reveals Reckless Practices: Daily Whistleblower News
“A former gas company employee and several other residents of a Pennsylvania town are suing the company because of negligence leading to high levels of methane gas in the public water supply. The former employee has also blown the whistle on the company’s attempts to cover-up, or at least minimize, details of several gas spills and reckless operations.”

12/15/11

Haaretz:
Workers at Israel’s Dimona nuclear reactor say leaks at plant gave them cancer
“A hearing was held on Wednesday on the complaint by 44 employees and their families that the workers are suffering from cancer and other diseases due to radiation at work. Their attorney cited memos purportedly showing that safety problems led to the leak of radioactive substances. “

Workers at Israel's Dimona nuclear reactor say leaks at plant gave them cancer Dec 15 2011

11/11/11

CBCNews:
Radioactive iodine detected over Europe
“The agency said the cause was not known but was not the result of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which spread radiation across the globe in March. The ‘very low levels of iodine-131 have been measured in the atmosphere,’ the agency said in a statement. It said such radioisotope will lose much of its radiation in about eight days.”

How do iodine-129 and iodine-131 get into the environment?

11/10/11

Tar Sands Action:
Big news: We won.  You  won.
“Not completely. The president didn’t outright reject the pipeline permit. My particular fantasy–that he would invite the 1253 people arrested on his doorstep in August inside the gates for a victory picnic by the vegetable garden–didn’t materialize.”
 Congratulations for the victory!  The destruction of our environment must end.  Of course, as I have written in the past, climate change doesn’t just involve what is going on here on Earth; it is going on in the entire solar system.  A wider vision will help more in where the larger dangers exist.

Monstrous Keystone XL Pipeline project decision delayed and probably killed Nov 09 2011

10/31/11

Kansas City Star:
Three dead, three still missing in Atchison grain elevator explosion

Several dead in Atchison Kansas grain elevator explosion Oct 30 2011

“The explosion blew a two- to three-story structure called a head house off the top of the 125-foot elevator. Most of the concrete structure, which stands about 300 feet from the Missouri River, appears intact, but parts of the head house, where much of the elevator’s machinery is housed, is still hanging from the top of the elevator.”

AP Enterprise: Rules Lag Amid Deadly Dust Blasts

10/03/11

KOLD/CBS Arizona:
Chemical mixing sparks massive Texas plant fire

Chemical mixing sparks massive Texas plant fire Oct 03 2011

“WAXAHACHIE, Texas (AP) – A fire sparked as workers mixed chemicals at a plant south of Dallas shot massive plumes of black smoke and bright orange flames into the sky Monday, forcing schoolchildren and residents to evacuate or take cover indoors to avoid possible exposure to dangerous gases.”
“Flames engulfed a large complex at a Magnablend Inc. facility in Waxahachie. The fast-moving blaze overwhelmed a sprinkler system and consumed a fire truck, but no injuries were reported from the fire or resulting smoke.”

09/28/11

Telegraph UK:
A Pipeline Divides Along Old Lines: Jobs Versus the Environment
“GLENDIVE, Mont. — The final days of rancorous public debate over a $7 billion oil pipeline that would snake from Canada through the midsection of the United States have taken on an unexpected urgency this week, as the economic and environmental stakes of the massive project snap into focus at a time of festering anxiety about the nation’s future.”

Knox News:
State Dept. heads to Neb. for oil pipeline hearing

Tar seeps at Tar Sands Mine Sep 27 2011

“After a largely amicable first round of public hearings into a proposed Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, officials from the U.S. State Department could encounter much fiercer resistance Tuesday during a listening session in Nebraska.”
“More than 500 people packed a meeting Monday evening in the Southeast Texas refinery town of Port Arthur to discuss the project. Most of the more than 100 speakers spoke in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing it would create thousands of much needed jobs, increase national security by lessening the country’s demand on oil from countries that may not be friendly to the U.S.”
As far as I’m concerned, the rationale behind this project proposal is as smart as trying to resolve Bee Colony Collapse by further disrupting environmental diversity for the bees and moving the offending agents closer to the beehives. Developing jobs for people that involve putting tons more into the pockets of the 1% and destruction of this planet simply means we work, but with very few workers rights and a much shorter human- and planetary-lifespan. Job creation must come from the grassroots—the 99% who actually care about living beings and the environment.

09/13/11

France24:
Fatal blas rocks nuclear waste site in southern France
“At least one person was killed and four others were wounded by an explosion at the nuclear waste management site

Fatal blast rocks nuclear waste site in southern France Sep 12 2011

of Marcoule in France’s southern Langedoc region on Monday. Authorities said there was no risk of a radioactive leak.”
“An expert at the Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety in Paris, Olivier Isnard, said radioactive levels in the oven were only around 17 becquerels per kilo — “very, very low” — at the time of the blast.”"

Fuel Fix:
At least 61 Kenyans dead after gas pipeline explosion

At least 61 Kenyans dead after gas pipeline explosion Sep 12 2011

“NAIROBI, Kenya — A leaking gasoline pipeline in Kenya’s capital exploded on Monday, turning part of a slum into an inferno in which at least 61 people were killed and more than 100 hurt.”
“Resident Joseph Mwangi, 34, said he was feeding his cow when people went running past him, calling out that there was a leak in the pipeline. He said others started drawing fuel and that he was going to go and get a bucket and get fuel too when he heard an explosion around 9 a.m. By then fuel had leaked into the river and parts of the river had also caught fire. People in flames were jumping into the fiery, stinking mess, he said.”

Mother Jones:
Missing: Tons of US-Supplied Nuclear Weapons Material

Missing: Tons of US-Supplied Nuclear Weapons Material Sep 13 2011

“The United States cannot fully account for more than 16,000 kilograms tons of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium that it has shipped to 27 “friendly” countries in recent decades, and it lacks any coherent policy to track down the materials, a Government Accountability Office report concluded late last week. In fact, according to auditors, the country’s atomic accounting is so shoddy that the International Atomic Energy Agency—the same agency sent to search for Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction—could potentially find the United States in violation of its international anti-proliferation treaty obligations. Even as it has fretted about Iranian nuclear proliferation and alleged Iraqi purchases of yellowcake uranium from Africa, the United States has lost track of enough fissile material to make hundreds of nuclear warhead cores.”

08/28/11

Seattle PI:
Sounds heard from Chinese mine where 22 missing
“”Rescuers heard knocking sounds Monday from a flooded Chinese mine where 22 workers have been trapped for nearly a week.  The noises came from a 920-foot (280-meter) pipe that was drilled late Sunday to allow fresh air into the illegal mine in the Heilongjiang province city of Qitaihe in the northeast of China, the official Xinhua News “

08/24/11

NTD TV:
Rescurers Race to Reach 26 Trapped Miners in Heilongjiang, China
“Forty-five miners were underground when the pit in Boli County was flooded with underground water.

Rescurers Race to Reach 26 Trapped Miners in Heilongjiang, China Aug 24 2011

Only nine miners escaped according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.”
“The mine belongs to Hengtai Coal Mining Co. Ltd. State-run media CCTV reports it was ordered to halt production in 2007, but had remained in operation illegally.”

08/13/11

Wellsite:
Shell confirms oil leak in North Sea
“Royal Dutch Shell has said it is working to contain an oil leak at its Gannet Alpha platform in the North Sea, but declined to specify the size of the leak.”
““Whatever the outcome of this incident, it certainly underlines the need for the oil industry to publish proper response plans, as Greenpeace have been asking them to do. If they refuse to do so, ministers should act to make it a condition of their licences.”

08/03/11

Guardian UK:
Shell accepts liability for two oil spills in Nigeria

Shell accepts liability for two oil spills in Nigeria (photo: Amnesty Intl) Aug 03 2011

“Shell faces a bill of hundreds of millions of dollars after accepting full liability for two massive oil spills that devastated a Nigerian community of 69,000 people and may take at least 20 years to clean up.”
“Papers seen by the Guardian show that following a class action suit in London over the past four months, the company has accepted responsibility for the 2008 double rupture of the Bodo-Bonny trans-Niger pipeline that pumps 120,000 barrels of oil a day though the community.  Ogoniland is a small region of the Niger delta which threw out Shell in 1994 for its pollution but then saw eight of its leaders, including the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, executed by the government.”

07/28/11

Xinhuanet:
Cyprus cabinet resigns amid public pressure
“NICOSIA, July 28 (Xinhua) — Cyprus government ministers on Thrusday submitted their resignations to President Demetris Christofias, opening the way for a reshuffle in the aftermath of a massive blast almost three weeks ago that killed 13 people.”
“Christofias had made known his intention to reshuffle his government after facing unprecedented criticism for the handling of a confiscated cargo of Iranian explosives and munitions bound for Syria in 2009, which blew up on July 11 in a naval base in southern Cyprus.”

07/11/11

AJE:
Deadly blasts st Cyprus military base

Deadly blasts st Cyprus military base July 11 2011

“At least eleven people have been killed due to a series of explosions at a munitions dump in southern Cyprus, state television reports.  Several huge explosions hit the Zygi naval base early on Monday morning.  There were 98 containers of gunpowder. ‘Two of them [caught] fire and huge explosions occurred,’ the Cyprus News Agency quoted a police spokesman as saying.”
” ‘It looks like a bombed-out landscape,’  a witness told Sigma television.  A spokesman for the state-run electricity authority said that the blasts, which struck shortly before 0600 local time (0300GMT), also damaged the island’s largest power station.”

  Where is the wisdom here in stacking 98 containers of gunpowder in one place, without some sort of massive firewall or other sturdy safety mechanism?

07/07/11

Guardian UK:
Yellowstone river oil spill throws spotlight on ExxonMobil and regulators  

Yellowstone river oil spill throws spotlight on ExxonMobil and regulators July 07 2011

“BILLINGS, Mont. — Boaters were warned to stay off an oil-fouled stretch of Montana’s popular Yellowstone River on Friday, as lawmakers on Capitol Hill pressed regulators to bolster the country’s pipeline safety rules following a string of high-profile spills and explosions.”
“The warning to stay off a 22-mile stretch of the Yellowstone between Laurel and Lockwood follows an Exxon Mobil pipeline failure that spewed an estimated 1,000 barrels of crude into the flooding river on July 1.”
“At a pipeline safety hearing in Washington, D.C., lawmakers questioned the government’s top pipeline regulator and asked whether her agency had been overly cozy with the industry.”

05/03/11

CNEWS:
Accident at small Mexico coal mine – Rescuers pull bodies, others trapped
“SABINAS, MEXICO – Mexican rescuers with oxygen tanks searched for nine miners feared dead Wednesday, a day after a coal mine explosion killed five others, a reminder of dangers facing the thinly regulated industry.”

03/24/11

CBS Miami:
Fuel Tank Fire Causes Cancellations at Miami’s Airport

Fuel Tank Fire Causes Cancellations at Miami's Airport March 24 2011

“A number of travelers have found themselves stuck at Miami International Airport after an overnight fire in the fuel farm forced several airlines to cancel flights on Thursday.   The fire broke out around 11 p.m. Wednesday in one of the tanks in the fuel storage area located east of the runways. The fuel farm has six fuel tanks, each holding up to a million gallons of fuel.”
“A preliminary investigation into the cause has found that a malfunction near one of the fuel pipelines most likely sparked the fire. Because the pumps that provide fuel to the airport are shutdown during the investigation, airport officials have gone to a back up plan to get fuel to the jets.”

03/21/11

BBC:
Pakistan mine gas explosions ‘kill 24′ in Balochistan

Pakistan mine gas explosions 'kill 24' in Balochistan March 21 2011

“A series of methane gas explosions at a mine in Pakistan’s Balochistan province have killed at least 24 workers, officials say. The mine, near the provincial capital, Quetta, was declared dangerous two weeks ago but those warnings were ignored, reports said.”

Fox:
Inspector Fired for Allegedly Falsifying Report on Miniature Train Before Crash That Killed Boy
“A South Carolina agency says an inspector falsified a report on a miniature train that derailed Saturday at a park, killing a 6-year-old boy, as that and other new details raise questions about the safety of the ride.”
“Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation chief Catherine Templeton told reporters that the inspector, Donnie Carrigan, could not have tested the ride March 16 because a battery in the train was dead, making it inoperable. Carrigan marked the train’s operation at proper speed as ‘satisfactory,’ according to the agency’s report.”

02/10/11

Philly Com news:
3 dead in Pa. natural gas explosion; 2 missing

Residential natural gas explosion, Allentown, PA Feb 08 2011

“ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A natural gas explosion rocked a downtown neighborhood overnight, leveling two houses and spawning fires that burned for hours through an entire row of neighboring homes. Three people were killed, including an infant, and at least two others were unaccounted for Thursday.”
“The cause of the explosion was unclear. The state Public Utility Commission is investigating and looking for any violations of state or federal law, said agency spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher.  ‘We don’t know if it was the main, we don’t know if it was the service line, if it was inside the house, outside the house,’ Kocher said. ‘It’s all very preliminary at this point.’  The blaze was put out early Thursday, delayed by the difficulty of digging through packed layers of snow and ice to a ruptured underground gas line that was feeding the flames, Scheirer said. About 500 to 600 people who were evacuated were allowed to return home”

12/19/10

Salon Com:
Thieves cause pipeline blast in Mexico, killing 27

Thieves cause pipeline blast in Mexico, killing 27 (AP Photo/Rodolfo Perez) Dec 19 2010

“A pipeline exploded in central Mexico early Sunday as thieves were trying to steal oil, killing at least 27 people and sending rivers of flaming crude through city streets.  The principal explosion, followed by four additional minor blasts, forced hundreds to flee the city of San Martin Texmelucan, 55 miles (90 kilometers) east of Mexico City.”
“The state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said in a statement that it had shut down the pipeline. Government authorities said the fire was under control by midday, and fires are burning the remaining crude. The area was without electricity or water.  Civil protection authorities, firefighters and military officers are investigating and trying to ensure there are no more explosions. No one has been detained. Pemex has struggled with chronic theft, losing as much as 10 percent of all of its product. “

11/21/10

AJC:

29 escape barefoot from flooded Chinese coal mine Nov 21 2010

29 escape barefoot from flooded Chinese coal mine
“Some 35 miners were initially trapped Sunday morning when waters from a nearby abandoned mine flooded a shaft in the small, privately owned Batian mine in southwest Sichuan province, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. While 13 managed to escape, another seven entered the mine trying to rescue their colleagues and became trapped, the report said.”

Huffington Post:
Exxon Mobil To Pay $25M In NYC Oil Spill Settlement

In this Feb. 16, 2006 file photo, an oil sheen swirls on the surface of Newton Creek in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn, NY (Bebeto Matthews FILE) Nov 17 2010

“The settlement with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and a related agreement with the environmental group Riverkeeper will settle years of litigation over the toxic legacy of the refineries that once lined the Brooklyn waterfront.”
“For the first time, the company will be held to deadlines for cleaning up portions of the spill, said Cuomo, New York’s governor-elect. Exxon Mobil will also be required to clean contaminated soil and ensure that fumes from the spill are not entering people’s homes.”

Update 11/24/10

The Australian:
Huge second blast ends hope for NZ Pike River mine rescue

Huge second blast ends hope for NZ Pike River mine rescue Nov 24 2010

“A FIVE-DAY rescue effort for the 29 miners missing in New Zealand’s Pike River coal mine ended in despair today as a second, even mightier gas explosion eliminated any hope of finding survivors. The explosion at 2.37pm local time (12.37 AEDT) came as, for the first time, authorities planning a rescue attempt were considering sending crews into the mine after gas levels appeared to be stabilising and declining.”

11/19/10

Salon Com:
Explosion shakes New Zealand coal mine; 27 missing

Explosion shakes New Zealand coal mine; 27 missing (AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Stewart Nimmo) Nov 19 2010

“Police said that shortly before the blast the electricity went out in the mine, which may have caused ventilation problems. That may have contributed to a buildup of gas underground. Rescue teams were waiting for word that the mine was safe to enter.”
“Television footage showed blackened and singed trees and light smoke billowing from the top of a mountain where a 360-foot (110-meter) -long ventilation shaft emerges. A nearby hut had been blown down, suggesting a powerful blast had shot up the shaft from deep in the mine.”

10/17/10

France 24:
Death toll rises to three in Ecuador mining accident
“The four became trapped after a collapse blocked their exit, leaving them stuck some 150 meters (492 feet) below ground in the Casa Negra mine.

Death toll rises to three in Ecuador mining accident Oct 17 2010

‘Three of the four trapped miners have been found dead,’ said a civil defense source on condition of anonymity, adding that recovery workers had so far been able to extract the body of the chief miner, Walter Vera, 31.”
“The Casa Negra gold and silver mine, which employs around 100 people, is located near the town of Portovelo in El Oro province, some 405 kilometers (252 miles) from the capital Quito, near Ecuador’s border with Peru. Portovelo, established in 1542 by the Spanish on the western slopes of the Andes, has a population of 14,000 and is one of the main mining centers in the province. The US-based South American Development Company (SADCO) operated Casa Negra for half a century until it pulled out in 1950.”

Guardian UK:
Rescuers fear miners trapped by China explosion may have suffocated

Chinese rescuers prepare to enter the coal mine in Yuzhou, where a blast has killed 26 people and left 11 trapped. Photograph: Xinhua/Reuters Oct 17 2010

“Rescue workers today said they feared the 11 Chinese miners trapped by a gas blast yesterday could have suffocated or been buried by coal dust as loved ones kept a vigil. The death toll from the explosion at the Pingyu Coal & Electric Co mine in the city of Yuzhou, about 430 miles (690km) south of Beijing, has risen to 26, with five more bodies recovered.”
“He Qiaofei, the mother of a missing 20-year-old miner who has worked in the mine for about a year, said: ‘This place is not even safe. They don’t care about the workers’ safety – they only care about their production.’ Two years ago, another gas blast at the same mine killed 23 people, state media reported. Mining fatalities in China have decreased in recent years as many illegal mines have been closed or absorbed into state-owned companies, but have increased again in the first half of this year.”

10/13/10

Huffington Post:
Chilean Miners Rescued!

08/27/10

France 24:
Video message gives tour of trapped Chilean miners’ refuge “The 33 Chilean miners trapped 700 metres underground appeared relatively healthy and in good spirits in a video message released by Chile’s government late on Thursday.”
“What the men may not know is that the mining company that hired them is doing nothing to join them in a rescue. The San Esteban company says it can’t afford to pay their wages and may go bankrupt. San Esteban is in such bad shape that it has neither the equipment nor the money to rescue the men; Chile’s state-owned mining company is going to drill the escape tunnel, which will cost about $1.7 million.”

08/23/10 Las Vegas Sun:
Joy and fear: miners found alive, stuck for months “Chile’s government reinforced a lifeline Monday to 33 miners trapped deep inside a gold and copper mine, preparing to keep them supplied with food, water, medicine and communications during the four months it may take to carve a tunnel wide enough to pull them out.”
“Rescuers had drilled repeatedly in an effort to reach the shelter, but failed seven times. They blamed the errors on the mining company’s maps. According to Gomez’s note, at least some of those earlier probes were close enough that the trapped miners heard them. The eighth attempt finally worked.”
“Chile is the world’s top copper producer and a leading gold producer, and has some of the world’s most advanced mining operations. But both the company that owns the mine, San Esteban, and the National Mining and Geology Service have been criticized for allegedly failing to comply with regulations. In 2007, an explosion at the San Jose mine killed three workers.”

Chile: 2nd bore hole reaches 33 trapped in mine Aug 23 2010

09/16/10

Philly Com:
Lawsuit: Gas drilling fluid ruined Pa. water wells

Allentown, PA: Thirteen families file lawsuit claiming gas drilling fluid ruined PA water wells (AP photo) Sep 16 2010

“ALLENTOWN, Pa. – Thirteen families in the heart of the gas-rich Marcellus Shale say their water wells have been contaminated by poisonous fluids blasted deep underground by a drilling company using a technique at the center of a fierce nationwide debate. “
“”A faulty gas well drilled by Houston-based Southwestern Energy Co. leaked toxic fracking fluid into local groundwater in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna County, exposing residents to dangerous chemicals and sickening a child, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.”
“The lawsuit , one of the first in the nation to link hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to tainted groundwater , said the well’s cement casing was defective. It also cites spills of industrial waste, diesel fuel and other hazardous substances.”

09/14/10

TMC NET TN:
6 hurt in explosion at Tenn. plant making flares

6 hurt in explosion at Tennessee plant that makes flares for the military Sep 14 2010

“Hardeman County Sheriff John Doolen said firefighters at Kilgore Flares Co. in Toone were monitoring the blaze because of the danger there could be another explosion.   ‘There’s a lot of material in that building,’ he said Tuesday. ‘I just think there’s a possibility of another explosion.’ Smoke continued to rise from the plant about 75 miles northeast of Memphis long after the explosion happened shortly before noon Tuesday. Authorities haven’t said what caused it but they have ruled out terrorism.

09/11/10

Business Week:
Fire breaks out at refinery pier in Venezuela

Venezuela: Fire breaks out at Cardon refinery Sep 11 2010

“A fire broke out at a Venezuelan oil refinery loading pier Saturday, forcing the evacuation of workers and ships from the area.”
“The precise cause wasn’t clear, but the statement linked it to a flare while the ship was being loaded.”

Archival 04/18/06

Petroleum World:
Shutdown at Venezuela’s PDVSA Cardon refinery
“Venezuela’s oil company PDVSA Cardon oil refinery, in Easter Venezuela, is now complete Shutdown due to an explosion on Monday that put out a catalytic unit.”

Winnipeg Free Press:
Barge leaks more than 100 tons of gasoline into Nile River in south Egypt
“The vessel was docked in Aswan, about 700 miles (1,100 kilometres) south of Cairo, when part of the barge sank below the surface and began spewing gasoline into the river Saturday.
“The barge belongs to the Nile Company for River Transport
“Officials in three southern Egyptian provinces have declared a state of emergency to contain the spill and to prevent it from spreading down river.”
The Unverse is cojuring up some big lessons for the big-wigs these days

08/12/10

Nile Cargo expands ‘environmentally-friendly’ barge fleet:
“The company explained that the new barges will have a carrying capacity of 1,500-1,600 tons or 92 TEUs per barge. The design was provided by Ship Design Group, while Bureau Veritas, a marine certification body, supervised barge construction and the classification process to meet international safety and quality standards.”
“Yasser Areeda, managing director of Nile Cargo, said, “The efficient and environmentally considered design allows us to dramatically cut per-unit shipping costs, while producing lower levels of emissions compared to road transportation.”

09/10/10

Chicago oil leak second one associated with Enbridge Energy Partners Sep 09 2010

Yahoo!:
EPA: Ill. oil pipeline leak slowing, size unclear

“Oil was no longer rising to the surface Saturday and crews cut open pavement and dug about 5 feet to reach the 34-inch diameter pipe. Pipeline owner Enbridge Energy Partners — which also owns a pipeline that leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a southern Michigan waterway in July — will drill through the top of the pipe to extract remaining oil, Borries said.”
“”We’re going to make that determination whether it’s related to Marshall or not,” Nicholson said. “If the mechanism of failure is similar to what we find in Marshall, then it’s going to be something that we’re interested in seeing. Even though they’re different lines, it could be the same root cause.”

09/02/10

Wood8TV:
Enbridge cleanup subcontractor fired
“On Wednesday in Winnie, Texas, 42 undocumented workers were arrested along the Gulf of Mexico. A local television station reported the workers said they’d been hired to clean up the nearly 1 million gallons of crude that spilled when the Enbridge-owned pipeline broke.”
They worked for Hallmark Industrial, believed to be based in Texas.

07/26/10

MarketWire:
Enbridge Energy Partners Lakehead System Pipeline Leaks Crude Oil Near Marshall, Michigan

Michigan: More than 850k gallons of oil from pipeline operated by Enbridge Energy Partners spills into Talmadge Creek July 26 2010

“Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:EEP) (the ”Partnership”) reported today that a pipeline on its Lakehead System leaked at approximately 9:45 a.m. CDT near the company’s Marshall, Mich., pump station. Initial estimates are that approximately 19,500 barrels of crude oil may have been released as a result. The pipeline was shut down and isolation valves were closed, stopping the source of the oil.”

L.A. Now:
San Bruno fire chief puts explosion death toll at 6

Massive gas pipeline explosion and fire in San Bruno, CA Sep 09 2010

“We were overwhelmed. We had multiple neighborhoods on fire,” he said.”
“Barringer said the neighborhood has not had problems with gas leaks in recent years. A PG&E crew of several men with hard hats, shovels, an earth mover and two trucks was out at the corner of Claremont and Sneath Lane as he spoke, digging through the concrete, but they referred questions to a spokesman. Neighbors standing across the street claimed a gas line runs nearby, and a slight scent of gas was in the air Friday morning.”
Interestingly, the video below was a “breaking news” report and many people seemed to be certain a plane had crashed, but it was later confirmed that it was actually a gas pipeline explosion.  Also, in the video posted at the above link for this event at L.A. NOW, the reporter tells us the police are keeping away journalists because they are treating it as a “crime scene.”  This seems somewhat like a miniversion of how  9/11 unfolded.  I have a vague feeling this story is not going away.  More will be uncovered, I think.

Updates:

09/22/10

Sac Bee:
Despite accidents, pipeline info is elusive
“Citing fears that terrorists might try to blow up the nation’s natural gas pipelines, federal regulators and the industry have made it extremely difficult for homeowners to learn the location of pipelines and any history of inspections and repairs – information that safety advocates say could save lives.”
“In the wake of a deadly pipeline blast earlier this month in San Bruno, Calif., and serious leaks in Michigan and Illinois, the secrecy surrounding the nation’s 2.5-million-mile network of gas transmission lines is facing criticism.”

09/11/10

Mercury News San Jose:
More remains found in San Bruno fire; PG&E checking major pipelines for flaws “Two days after a massive pipeline blast engulfed a Peninsula neighborhood in a hellish inferno, search teams made the grisly discovery of what appeared to be two more bodies in a home destroyed by the explosion, and new information surfaced about a 2008 sewer project that could have weakened the gas line.”
“PG&E representatives for the second day in a row did not answer questions about when they last inspected the pipeline that exploded and through what methods.”

LA Now:
Coroner identifies 3 victims in San Bruno explosion One of the victims was identified as “Jacqueline Greig, who was
“…an employee of the California Public Utilities Commission. She worked for an independent branch of the commission called the Division of Ratepayer Advocates, which provides input to regulators in defense of consumers.”

09/10/10

The State:
Crews try to reach smoldering homes after blast “State Assemblyman Jerry Hill, who represents San Bruno and surrounding cities, said he has heard multiple reports from constituents who had alerted PG&E of gas odors in the neighborhood before the disaster.
“The residents ‘deserve to know if PG&E used the correct procedures in the days and weeks leading up to this disaster,’ Hill said.”

09/07/10

Global Report:
Blast rips through Pemex Mexico oil refinery

Workers stand around ambulances that arrived to rescue victims of an explosion in the oil refinery at Pemex's Cadeyreta complex, in Cadeyreta near Monterrey REUTERS/Kristian Lopez Sep 07 2010

“Pemex, the world’s No. 7 crude producer and a large fuel importer, said a 32-year-old engineer was killed and two workers were severely burned when a compressor leak at the Cadereyta refinery’s gas oil hydrotreater unit triggered an explosion and a fire.”
“Francisco Montano, a Pemex spokesman in Mexico City, said the blast occurred in one of the refinery’s hydrotreating units, which removes sulfur from fuels under high pressure in the presence of explosive hydrogen gas.”

09/05/10

Chron:
Congo: 70 dead, 200 missing in 2 boat capsizes “Two boats

Two boats capsized over the weekend in separate incidents on Congo's vast rivers, leaving 70 people dead and 200 others feared dead, and both vessels were heavily loaded and operating with few safety measures. Sep 05 2010

capsized over the weekend in separate incidents on Congo’s vast rivers, leaving 70 people dead and 200 others feared dead, and both vessels were heavily loaded and operating with few safety measures, officials said Sunday.”
“In the first incident in northwest Congo, Engumba said officials think the boat’s lack of lighting was responsible.  ‘We are going to arrest people involved who are in charge of regulating the boat’s movement who failed to stop that boat from traveling at night,” she said.’ “
“In the second incident, survivors said the boat was overloaded with people and goods. A local official said two of the boat’s crew were arrested but both refused to say how many people were aboard. The official said the passenger manifest apparently vanished in the fire.”
Boat owner  [Mwamba Mwati Nguma Leonard] said “I was just told on phone that it was while seamen were putting fuel into the tank that an explosion occurred after the oil touched the vessel’s battery.”

KRQE Albuquerque:
5th gas poisoning hits Heights complex “The city of Albuquerque is ordering an apartment complex to inspect all 220 units after another

5th gas poisoning hits complex in Albuquerque Sept 02 2010

carbon monoxide leak sent a family to the hospital. It’s the fifth carbon monoxide poisoning in a month.”
““We want them to look at the water heaters, ovens, stoves to make sure that there isn’t going to be anyone that is going to suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning in their units,” city spokesman T.J. Wilham said.”
A strong reminder to landlords across the country: Take gas leaks like these seriously and have everything inspected top to bottom annually. The safety of your tenants should be paramount or it will cost you dearly down the line.

09/02/10

247WallStreet:
Reports Of Another Oil Rig Explosion In The Gulf Of Mexico, Platform Is Still On Fire, Leak “According to the San Jose Mercury News, there are confirmed reports that a second oil rig has exploded in the gulf of mexico, off the Louisiana coast. At the moment, all thirteen members of the rig have been accounted for, with one injury of undetermined severity reported. It has not, however, been determined whether the damage has caused a leak in the well, or merely to the platform structure.”

A second oil rig explosion event occurs, Sep 02 2010

09/01/10

Rapid City Journal:
Blasts rock Pa. welding firm; 5 civilians injured “A series of explosions at a welding supply company on Wednesday injured 5 people, forced evacuations and sent thick black smoke billowing over the area.  The explosions at Scully Welding Supply occurred around 1 p.m. in an industrial area about seven miles southwest of Philadelphia, Delaware County spokesman Bill Lovejoy said.

A series of explosions at a welding supply company injures 5 people, forced evacuations Sep 01 2010

Buildings in a 3,000-foot radius were evacuated, many until the six-alarm fire was brought under control shortly after 6 p.m., he said.”

08/26/10

WECT News:
7 in intensive care after Ala. ammonia leak “About 130 people have sought treatment since ammonia spilled Monday at Millard Refrigerated Services in Theodore, creating a vapor cloud that also caused respiratory problems for people working nearby.”
“Hospitals say people are still showing up with complaints. Many of those taken to hospitals were working with BP’s oil spill response along the Theodore Industrial Canal.” [watch BP-related TIC raw video at
WKRG.com News]

7 in intensive care after Alabama ammonia leak Aug 24 2010

KOB ABQ:
OSHA: 45-minute lag in warning of Ala ammonia leak “Federal regulators say they’re investigating a lag of about 45 minutes between an ammonia leak at a refrigeration plant and the first siren blasting an offical warning to area residents.”
“Some residents complained the lag left them unaware as ammonia escaped the plant. Some 130 people sought medical attention for breathing problems and one remained in intensive care Wednesday.”

08/24/10

Huffington Post:
Key Federal Regulator Took Gifts From Oil Company, Misused Travel Funds, Investigation Shows “SANTA FE, N.M. — An investigation has found that a former Bureau of Land Management official in New Mexico who oversaw one of the largest onshore mineral production areas in the U.S. took gifts from an oil company and misused travel funds.”
“The investigation says former Farmington BLM district manager Steve Henke (heen-KEY’) took gifts from Williams Exploration and Production – golf tickets, lodging and meals – and solicited donations for his son’s youth baseball teams.”

Farmington NM: Investigation into BLM official Steve Henke: (T)ook gifts from an oil company and misused travel funds." Aug 2010

Archival news: 12/04/07 Slaughter of gelded America’s Wild Horses suspected “The Grand Jury investigation into illegal wild horse slaughter began with two BLM employees: Mr. Galloway and Mr. Sharp, both working under the direction of Steve Henke, currently still employed by BLM as a District Manager in Farmington, New Mexico.”

Ah, this might explain Ken Salazar’s “quiet” visit in NM? (below)

07/19/10 KOB Albuquerque:
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar holds listening session in New Mexico “Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and other administration officials will be in Albuquerque on Saturday (it was July 12) for a listening session as part of President Barack Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.”
“The officials want to hear from people in the region about developing a conservation and recreation agenda and reconnecting Americans with the outdoors.
Mr. Salazar’s visit appears to have been either overshadowed by a major domestic workplace killing spree that occurred on the same day, or it was meant to be low profile. Many did not know he visited here. I for one would have been there if I knew, just to give a report. Darn!

Video below is from A Colorado speech given while on the SW tour.

07/26/10

Pittsburgh Channel Com:
2 Dead As Gas Well Fire Erupts In Indiana Township “Two people died Friday morning when a shallow gas well caught fire in a wooded area with no nearby fire hydrants in Indiana Township, Allegheny County.”
“The well site is owned by Monroeville-based Huntley & Huntley according to Helen Humphreys, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.”

Indiana: Gas well explosion kills two workers, ignites a fire 07/24/10. Courtesy WPXI-TV

07/20/10

BBC:
China launches oil spill clean-up after pipeline blasts “China has launched an operation to clean up a large oil spill in the Yellow Sea after two oil pipelines exploded in the port city of Dalian. The explosions and fire occurred when a pipe carrying oil from a tanker to a storage tank blew up, causing another nearby pipeline to explode.”

07/13/10

KOB ABQ:
Kirtland Air Force Base Fuel Tank Collapses—again! “One of the two new fuel storage tanks collapsed Saturday night during very strong winds. This is the second time this has happened in just two months.”

KAFB, NM: Ongoing groundwater jet fuel issues capped by collapsed fuel stg. tank--twice

05/05/10 KOB ABQ:  Jet fuel spill threatens Albuquerque groundwater: The source is “…leaking pipes from a 1950s-era fuel loading facility at Kirtland Air Force Base. In recent months, New Mexico’s top environmental regulator has grown frustrated by what he claims are Air Force delays, saying now it’s time to get serious about cleanup.”
Billions of our tax dollars fighting illegal wars, and the MIC doesn’t even invest in preventing our own environmental threats, which are becoming more of a national security problem producing far more damage than any “terrorism” could do.

06/30/10

Mining Weekly:
At least 32 feared dead as Ghana mine collapses “At least 32 artisanal miners are feared dead in Ghana after the gold mine they were working in collapsed due to heavy rain, a local official said on Tuesday. The accident took place in Dunkwa Akyempim in central Ghana on Sunday but rescue efforts have been hampered by flooding of the mine.”
I’m not sure why, but my first thought when I read this particular story was that the flooding and recovery efforts would eventually lead to a very ancient finding. Just a flash-thought.

Ghana: at least 32 miners from Dunkwa Akyempim feared dead after illegal gold mine collapses from torrential rains June 30 2010

More….

Afrique en ligne:
Ghana: Hopes fade for trapped illegal miners in Ghana “Illegal miners, whose number varies from 35 to 80, were said to have been trapped on Sunday when the pit caved it. As many as 120 people illegally mining gold were said to have been in the pit, but some escaped when it started to cave in, police said.”
“Illegal mining is a lucrative business, although it is dangerous for the miners and the community as the environment is polluted by the miners who use dangerous chemicals in mining.”

06/17/10

SKY News:
Colombia Mine Blast: Dozens Feared Dead “At least 16 bodies have been pulled from the San Fernando mine in northwestern Antioquia province. The death toll is expected to rise.”
The explosion, believed to have been caused by a build-up of methane gas, collapsed part of an access tunnel that is more than a mile long and drops to a depth of 500 feet.”

Columbia Mine Blast: Family Member await fate of loves ones June 2010

Huffington Post noted in their coverage of this story: “Mining Minister Hernan Martinez said the mine’s records indicate it lacked a methane ventilation pipe and gas detection devices – basic safety features in all coal mines, where methane gas buildup is common.”

06/07/10

Charleston WVa Gazette:
Northern Panhandle gas well blast injures seven “MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A crew drilling a natural gas well through an abandoned coal mine in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle hit a pocket of methane gas that ignited, triggering an explosion that burned seven workers, state and company officials said Monday.”
Drilling company has been cited for previous problems

WVa: Crew drilling natural gas well through abandoned coal mine hit a pocket of methane gas that ignites, causing explosion that burns seven workers June 07 2010

NBC News 2 Online:
3 people killed in 2 Texas natural gas explosions “LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) – An explosion in the Texas Panhandle that killed two men was the second deadly blast in the state in two days involving workers who have accidentally hit natural gas lines.”
“After investigators finish looking over the site, workers will repair the ruptured pipeline, which is expected to take several days, said Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners L.P. , which partially owns the 36-inch-diameter line. It is a 395-mile segment of a pipeline extending from western to eastern Texas, the company said.”

Lubbock, Texas: 3 people killed in 2 Texas natural gas explosions June 06-07 2010

04/02/10

Tesoro refinery explosion in in Washington state kills 5 April 02 2010

Chron:
Tesoro refinery explosion kills 5 “In what officials say is the worst refinery accident since 2005, an explosion at Tesoro Corp.’s plant in Washington state killed five employees Friday and prompted renewed safety concerns by U.S. officials.”

Tesoro Explosion - Anacortes refinery fire claims 4 lives in Washington state
“A tragic explosion occurred earlier Friday at the Tesoro corporation oil refinery in Washington state. The Tesoro explosion caused an Anacortes refinery fire north of Seattle. It’s considered the deadliest refinery blast in five years. Four workers were killed in the blast, while at least three others were critically injured due to major burns suffered. They remain hospitalized in critical condition for treatment.”

01/12/10

WRAL Com:
NC port shut down after PETN containers punctured: “Nine drums filled with an explosive compound were punctured by a forklift early Tuesday as they were being unloaded at the state port in Morehead City, prompting officials to close the port.
punctured containers of the same explosive used in a Christmas Day airline bombing attempt.”
“Colorless PETN crystals are used in detonating cords for industrial explosions, and the compound also was a component of the explosive that Richard Reid, the convicted “shoe bomber,” used in 2001 to try to blow up an airliner. A Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas told authorities he had PETN in his underwear.”

More from Atlanta Bus News: “A company called Maxam UEB shipped the PETN, said Karen Fox, a spokeswoman for the North Carolina State Ports Authority, but she did not know where in the U.S. it was headed.”
“According to business directories, Maxam is an explosives manufacturer based in the town of Galdakao, near Bilbao, in Spain’s northern Basque country.”

Morehead NC: Nine drums filled with PETN punctured by forklift, closes port Jan 12 2010

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West Virginia Massey Mining Disaster

02/22/12

WVVA:
W.Va. mine boss charged with fraud in deadly blast
“CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The superintendent of the West Virginia coal mine where an explosion killed 29 men was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to defraud the federal government, becoming the highest-ranking employee to face criminal prosecution in an investigation that appeared to be moving steadily up the corporate ladder.”
  As the father of a young man who died in that mess, “It’s about time.  It’s a good start.”

12/17/11

WSAZ Charleston:
Feds Say Upper Big Branch Sentencing Can Send Message
“CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — Federal prosecutors want the only conviction related to the Upper Big Branch mine explosion to send a strong message after 29 miners died.”
“Prosecutors say the former security chief played a key role in causing the explosion, mainly because of what they say was the systematic practice of providing advanced warning of inspections at UBB.”

12/07/11

SunHerald:
Families demand prosecutions in W.Va.  mine blast
“Money – even a lot of it – is cold comfort to some relatives of the 29 men who died in the worst mining disaster in decades. They want justice, the kind that comes with a courtroom and a prison cell.”
” ‘These people don’t care. They’re all wondering who they can pay off,’ Jones said. ‘I want to see people go to jail because this was preventable.’   Federal regulators agreed in their final report, saying the explosion was the result of a series of basic safety violations and entirely preventable.”
  This settlement is unconscionable.  Of course the people demand TRUE JUSTICE—PRISON!

11/17/10

Star Tribune:
Feds cite Massey Energy for impeding investigation of W. VA. coal mine explosion that killed 29
“The Mine Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday that it cited the Richmond, Va.-based coal company on Nov. 10. The citation says a Massey employee refused to provide water for a pressure test on sprayers on the Upper Big Branch mine’s main mining machine.”

06/23/10Fredericksburg Com:
Massey Energy sues MSHA over mine ventilation, WV “Massey Energy is suing to strip the federal government of its ability to influence how coal mines are ventilated.”
“The troubled Richmond, Va.-based coal company unveiled the lawsuit Tuesday. Among other things, Massey wants a judgment limiting the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration’s oversight of mine ventilation to reviewing plans for consistency with prudent engineering practices.”

06/14/10

Democracy Now!:
Mine Workers Union and Families Sue to Open Federal Probe into Deadly Massey Coal Mine Explosion “Just a few weeks before the April 20th explosion on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf, twenty-nine coal miners died after an explosion at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Although the Mine Safety and Health Administration has launched an investigation into the disaster, unlike the open federal investigation into the BP oil spill, the probe into Massey is taking place entirely behind closed doors. The United Mine Workers of America and families of victims killed in the West Virginia coal mine explosion recently filed suit in federal court to open up the federal investigation. We speak to journalist Jeff Biggers.”

06/05/10

Common Dreams:
The Next Great Coal Spill? Massey’s Billion Gallon Disaster in Waiting “In 24 states across the country, coalfield citizens have been living with area watersheds contaminated by toxic coal slurry and coal ash for decades. Thousands of miles of streams have been jammed and sullied with coal waste from strip-mining and mountaintop removal operations.”
“But it’s the magnitude of the massive coal slurry impoundments and dams hovering above communities in the mountains of the Appalachian coalfields that bring home the sickening images of the Gulf oil spill.”

05/21/10

C-SPAN:
Senate Comm: Mine Safety Company Panel “Witnesses testified on proposals to invest in mine safety programs, focusing on efforts to prevent mine disasters. Panel Two• Don L. Blankenship, chairman and CEO, Massey Energy Co., Richmond, Va. • Cecil Roberts, international president, United Mine Workers of America.”

05/20/10

Sky News:
Rescuers Find 28 Dead In Turkish Coal Mine “The methane explosion at the Karadon mine near the Black Sea port of Zonguldak buried the miners some 1,700ft (540 metres) underground on Monday afternoon.”
“The blast is the third mining accident in Turkey in just six months.”

Rescue teams in Turkey find bodies of 28 miners after an underground blast at a coal mine May 20 2010

05/14/10

ABC News:
Massey CEO to Testify at Senate Hearing Next Week “The head of Massey Energy Co. will face lawmakers next week for the first time since an explosion killed 29 workers at his company’s Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia.”
“Some lawmakers blame the company for clogging the system with legal challenges to safety citations to delay stronger penalties. Massey has defended its safety record.”

Don Blankenship, owner of Massey Energy, faces hearing on the WVa Upper Branch Mine Explosion on April 05 2010

05/09/10

NY Times:
Twin Explosions at a Siberian Mine Kill 12 and Trap Scores “Twin methane gas explosions killed 12 coal miners and trapped 80 underground in western Siberia under conditions so dangerous that officials called off all rescue operations for fear of sending additional men to their deaths.”
“The first blast rocked one of Russia’s largest coal mines, the Raspadskaya, just before 9 p.m. Saturday, when more than 312 workers were inside. Hundreds had made it to the surface when, four hours later, a second blast destroyed the main air shaft, trapping the miners and rescue workers inside amid dangerous levels of methane.”

Twin Explosions at a Siberian Mine Kill 12 and Trap Scores May 09 2010

05/14/10 Russia Today Angry miners blame management’s negligence for deaths of their colleagues “Rescue operations have been suspended at the Raspadskya mine due to the threat of a new explosion. Last weekend the mine was hit by a deadly blast claiming 66 lives, according to the most recent figures.”
“The atmosphere in the town of Mezhdurechensk is tense. Workers from the Raspadskaya coal mine are angry. They say the reason why dozens of their friends and colleagues died in last Saturday’s blasts was because safety regulations were considered less important than the pressure to produce coal.”

05/13/10 Russia Today:
Raspadskaya mine general director resigns

04/07/10

Raw Story:
W.Va. mine owner accused of putting safety second “The coal mine rocked by an explosion that killed at least 25 workers in the nation’s deadliest mining disaster since 1984 had been cited for 600 violations in less than a year and a half, some of them for not properly ventilating methane — the highly combustible gas suspected in the blast.”
6…hundred!?! If that’s not a typo, allowing that mine to run with that kind of record is beyond the pale.

04/06/10

Bloomberg:
Rescuers Seek Survivors at Massey Mine After Blast (Update2) “April 6 (Bloomberg) — Rescuers are trying to locate four miners who may be trapped in a Massey Energy Co. coal mine in West Virginia, where an explosion yesterday killed 25 people, the worst death toll in 26 years.”
“Workers at the Upper Big Branch mine were drilling three holes near where the missing miners may have been during the blast, Governor Joe Manchin told reporters at the site early today. Other efforts were halted because of dangerous levels of methane and carbon monoxide.”

04/06/10

Oakland Press:
25 dead in West Virginia mine blast, worst since 1984 “MONTCOAL, W.Va. (AP) — A huge underground explosion blamed on methane gas killed 25 coal miners in the worst U.S. mining disaster since 1984, and rescuers on Tuesday began a dangerous and possibly futile attempt to rescue four others still missing.”
“Methane is one of the great dangers of coal mining, and federal records say the Eagle coal seam releases up to 2 million cubic feet of methane gas into the Upper Big Branch mine every 24 hours, which is a large amount, said Dennis O’Dell, health and safety director for the United Mine Workers labor union.”

WVa: Huge underground explosion blamed on methane gas killed 25 coal miners in worst U.S. mining disaster since 1984. April 2010

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Monsanto

ADDED:

02/13/12

Reuters:
Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning in France
“A French court on Monday declared U.S. biotech giant Monsanto(MON.N) guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, a judgment that could lend weight to other health claims against pesticides.”

01/10/12

WakeUp World:
Leaked Cable: US to Start ‘Trade Wars’ with Nations Opposed to Monsanto, GMO Crops
“The United States is threatening nations who oppose Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) crops with military-style trade wars, according to information obtained and released by the organization WikiLeaks. Nations like France, which have moved to ban one of Monsanto’s GM corn varieties, were requested to be ‘penalized’ by the United States for opposing Monsanto and genetically modified foods. The information reveals just how deep Monsanto’s roots have penetrated key positions within the United States government, with the cables reporting that many U.S. diplomats work directly for Monsanto.” (emphasis embedded in article)

Democracy Now! reported on this leaked cable about a year ago. Also see: Complex and Explosive Wikileaks v. World Leaders v. Pentagon v. Media War

12/31/11

MSNBC:
Bugs may be resistant to genetically modified corn
“One of the nation’s most widely planted crops — a genetically engineered corn plant that makes its own insecticide — may be losing its effectiveness because a major pest appears to be developing resistance more quickly than scientists expected.”
It never dawns on those who continually try to manipulate Mother Nature in self-serving ways that Mother Nature will eventually thwart these interventions. The very nature of “Nature” is that it insists on harmony and balance. Interfere with that and Mother Nature will take off her nurturing apron and put on her fighting armor to protect her “home.”

07/18/11

UTNE:
Organic v. Monsanto – 270L organic farmers sue Monsanto
“More than 270,000 organic farmers are taking on corporate agriculture giant Monsanto in a lawsuit filed March 30. Led by the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association, the family farmers are fighting for the right to keep a portion of the world food supply organic—and preemptively protecting themselves from accusations of stealing genetically modified seeds that drift on to their pristine crop fields.”

03/29/11

Reuters:
Organic farmers sue, seek protection from Monsanto
“A consortium of U.S. organic farmers and seed dealers filed suit against global seed giant Monsanto Co. on Tuesday, in a move to protect themselves from what they see as a growing threat in the company’s arsenal of genetically modified crops.”
“[Dan] Ravicher [executive director of PUBPAT] said co-existence is not possible for organics alongside Monsanto’s biotech crops and said it was in Monsanto’s financial interest to eliminate organic seed ‘so that they can have a total monopoly over our food supply.’ “

03/15/11

11-year-old boy exposes Monsanto and tells Monsanto where they can shove it.. Yeah!

08/15/10

Las Vegas Sun:
Judge’s ruling uproots use of biotechnology beets “A federal judge has revoked the government’s approval of genetically altered sugar beets until regulators complete a more thorough review of how the scientifically engineered crops affect other food.”
“Andrew Kimbrell, the Center for Food Safety’s executive director, hailed Friday’s decision as a major victory in the fight against genetically engineered crops and chided the Agriculture Department for approving the genetically engineered seeds without a full environmental review. ‘Hopefully, the agency will learn that their mandate is to protect farmers, consumers and the environment and not the bottom line of corporations such as Monsanto’, Kimbrell said in a statement.”

03/02/10

NY Times
Rapid Rise in Seed Prices Draws U.S. Scrutiny “During the depths of the economic crisis last year, the prices for many goods held steady or even dropped. But on American farms, the picture was far different, as farmers watched the price they paid for seeds skyrocket. Corn seed prices rose 32 percent; soybean seeds were up 24 percent. “
“The Iowa attorney general, Tom Miller, has also been scrutinizing Monsanto’s market dominance. The company’s genetically engineered traits are in the vast majority of corn and soybeans grown in the United States, Mr. Miller said. ‘That gives them considerable power, and questions arise about how that power is used,’ he said. “

Iowa AG scrutinizes market dominance in US corn, soybeans. That gives them considerable power, and questions arise about how that power is used, March 2010

You know, with Globalist financial and political ganstas’ barely holding a thread on their quest for world dominance right now and the near-fist-fights taking place in Washington over healthcare and Israel’s illegal stunts [and probably even what color the Congressional gavel should be], it could be that their well-placed puppets in businesses that control food and energy are getting ready to pull out all the stops—what comes to my mind is if we can’t have our way with the world, we’ll take the world down with us. Sick, isn’t it?

Watch Video “Bio-tech Seeds May Never Take Root“

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JAPAN QUAKE, TSUNAMI, AND NUCLEAR DISASTER NEWS

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Latest Posts

ADDED:

02/13-14/12

6.0 quake off the Coast of Oregon

5.6 quake off the Coast of No. California

02/02/12

Magnitude 6.9 earthquake 10 miles off Vanuatu

MrCometWatch (video below) wonders if this quake is connected to a ferry sinking off Papua New Guinea (BBC News)

01/21/12

Winnipeg Free Press
Magnitude 6.2 quake hits off coast of southern Mexico
“The quake at 12:47 p.m. local time (1:47 p.m. EST; 18:47 GMT) broke windows in the Chiapas state capital of Tuxtla Gutierrez and sent frightened residents into the streets in numerous cities. It was felt from the Mexican state of Veracruz, through Pacific regions of Guatemala and into El Salvador.”
“The temblor, which some said felt like waves, also shook the Mexican cities of Comitan and Tapachula, said Jose Manuel Aragon, spokesman for the Chiapas Civil Protection agency.”

01/20/12

Nevada Appeal:
Remorseful man admits he caused big Reno blaze
“An ‘extremely remorseful’ elderly man admitted Friday he accidentally started a brush fire that exploded into a wall of flames and destroyed 29 homes when he improperly discarded fireplace ashes at his home south of town, fire officials said.”

01/20/12

HuffPost:
Reno Wildfire: 10,000 Evacuated As Wind-Whipped Blaze Burns Several Homes

Reno Wildfire: 10,000 Evacuated As Wind-Whipped Blaze Burns Several Homes (AP Photo/The Reno Gazette-Journal, Tim Dunn) Jan 20 2012

“RENO, Nev. — Fire officials say they have stopped the forward progress of a fast-moving brush fire south of Reno, Nev., that burned several structures and forced about 10,000 people to flee their homes.”
“Reno Fire Chief Michael Hernandez says crews were able to stop the wall of flames before it reached Galena High School. That’s where Vice President Joe Biden spoke Thursday before the fire threat forced him to cut his appearance short.”

Perth Now:
Storm strikes coast: people, houses hit by lightning

Storm strikes coast: people, houses hit by lightning (Picture: Grahame Kelaher Source: PerthNow) Jan 20 2012

“FOUR people have been struck by lightning and thousands are without power as dangerous weather sweeps Perth and the outer metropolitan coast.”
“‘ ‘If you live between Minilya, Mount Augustus, Paynes Find, Corrigin, Narrogin, Mandurah, along the coast to Dongara and inland to Minilya, including the Perth metropolitan area, you should take action with more dangerous weather to come,” FESA said.”

01/17/12

Jurist:
New Jersey legislature passes one-year fracking ban   “The New Jersey Legislature [official website] passed an amendment to a bill [A567 text, PDF] on Monday that establishes a one-year ban on a natural gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking [JURIST news archive]. “

Courthouse News Service:  Ski Resorts Say Uncle Sam Illegally Grabbed Their Water   “DENVER (CN) – The National Ski Areas Association claims the U.S. Forest Service illegally seized privately owned water rights without compensation from 121 resorts on federal lands, via a ‘stunning and unprecedented directive’.”

01/05/12

The Hill:
Oil industry: ‘Huge political consequences’ if pipeline rejected
“A top oil industry official delivered a clear warning to President Obama Wednesday: approve the Keystone XL pipeline or face ‘huge political consequences.’ “
“Republicans, meanwhile, stand to score a political victory if Obama OKs the pipeline. But their successful effort to force a decision could backfire if the president rejects the pipeline and pins blame on the GOP for rushing the review.”
  Enuf!  The oil industry’s  Mafioso threats to the government of We The People must be pounded down.  The Snake is hissing and their venom is a clear and present danger to planet Earth’s environment and life.

01/02/12

Guardian UK:
Dead herring mystery for Norway as thousands wash up on beach

Dead herring mystery for Norway as thousands wash up on beach (Photo: Scanpix Norway/Reuters) Jan 02 2012

“Norwegians have been left puzzled at the sight of thousands of dead herring carpeting a beach in the northerly district of Nordreisa with some wondering if a predator had driven them to their death or a storm had washed them ashore.”
“Scientists were hoping to test the fish to see if they could ascertain the cause of death. Locals had more pressing concerns: how to clean up the 20 tonnes of dead creatures before they decay.”

Sott:
US: Thousands of Blackbirds Fall to Their Death in Arkansas Town for Second New Year’s Eve In a Row
“Given the amount of birds and the condensed time and location of their deaths, there has to be some commonality behind the bizarre event, but scientists remain baffled. “
“The fact that the birds were even flying in the middle of the night makes no sense because that is not something that they are trained to do. “
  Something motivated them enough to take flight at night.  My hunch is an excruciating high-pitched sound device was involved.  Hope they find the cause soon.

01/04/11

MSNBC:
Second State experiences mass bird kill
“Just a few days after 3,000 blackbirds fell from the sky in Arkansas, about 500 birds dropped to their death in Louisiana, littering a stretch of highway near Baton Rouge. It wasn’t clear if the deaths were linked, but such massive wildlife kills are far from uncommon.”
The birds were the second mass wildlife death in Arkansas in recent days. Last week, about 83,000 dead and dying drum fish washed up along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Beebe. Wildlife officials say the fish deaths are not related to the dead birds, and that because mainly one species of fish was affected, it is likely they were stricken by an illness. Full test results could take up to a month.
Perhaps a massive weird bird death occasionally is not uncommon, but massive deaths within two days and within 300 miles?

01/03/11

PhysOrg:
1000s of dead birds fall from sky in Arkansas
“So for the small town of Beebe, Ark., where New Year’s revelers spent the holiday weekend cleaning up between 4,000 and 5,000 dead red-winged blackbirds,

1000s of dead birds fall from sky in Arkansas Jan 03 2011

The Mystery of Why the Birds Fell Out of the Sky remains unsolved. Some speculated that a bout of bad weather was to blame. Others said one confused bird could have led the group in a fatal plunge. A few spooked schoolkids even guessed that the birds had committed mass suicide.”
“Some 360 miles to the south of Beebe, Louisiana state biologists were investigating a similar bird die-off. The Advocate reported that about 500 red-winged blackbirds and starlings fell from the sky Monday in Point Coupee Parish, near the city of Labarre. It was not immediately clear if the mysterious mass bird deaths were linked.”

12/22/11

CBC News:
Strong earthquake rattles New Zealand’s Christchurch
“The 5.8-magnitude quake struck Friday afternoon 26 kilometres north of Christchurch at a depth of four kilometres, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue an alert.”
  Two more recorded subsequently (5.9 and 5.3).  All very shallow-less than 5.0 km.

06/13/11

Guardian UK:
Christchurch hit by two large earthquakes:
“Two large aftershocks have struck Christchurch, less than four months after the New Zealand city was devastated by a massive earthquake that killed 181 people.”
“The region has been hit by dozens of earthquakes since a magnitude 7.1 quake in September last year, which caused widespread damage but no fatalities.”

02/22/11 Icelandic News: Icelanders escape deadly New Zealand earthquake
A forceful earthquake which rocked Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, at around midnight (GMT) has killed at least 65 people. The dozens of Icelanders in the city are physically unharmed, despite damage to some of their houses.

09/04/10 Guardian UK: Earthquake strikes Christchurch in New Zealand “

Earthquake strikes Christchurch in New Zealand Sept 04, 2010

A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck New Zealand‘s South Island last night, causing widespread damage to buildings, although there were few injuries. Christchurch mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency four hours after tremors rocked the region, warning that continuing aftershocks could cause masonry to fall from damaged buildings.

What is Liquefaction?

12/11/11

Chron:
Strong quake shakes from Mexico City to Acapulco
“The U.S. Geological Service initially estimated the quake at magnitude at 6.8, but downgraded it to 6.7 and then 6.5. A quake of that magnitude is capable of causing severe damage, although the depth of this temblor lessened its impact.”

12/04/11

Ice News:
Inuit lifestyle ‘to be wiped out’
“An academic who spent a year living with an Inuit tribe in Greenland says their traditional way of life could be completely eroded in just 25 years.”
““Some of the younger people are extremely angry that their way of life is being threatened by a problem they did not cause. The elders accept it as part of a natural cycle and do not accept it is a consequence of man-made global warming.”
  The Elders have the wisdom to know that the climate throughout our entire solar system is changing, so they would understand its “natural cycle” in a far broader view.

11/08/11

CNN:
Alaska faces one of its worst storms ever, experts say

Alaska faces one of its worst storms ever, experts say Nov 08 2011

“Alaska is facing a life threatening winter storm with near hurricane force winds, more than a foot of snow and severe coastal flooding, the National Weather Service says.”
” ‘This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm which will be one of the worst on record over the Bering Sea and the west coast,’ NWS forecasters said in a bulletin Monday afternoon.”

11/06/11

USGS:5.6 quake in Oklahoma 21 miles NNE of Shawnee, OK
AccuWeather: Strongest Earthquake in Oklahoma’s History

 USGS records this a only 3.1 miles in depth.   This string of Oklahoma quakes have occurred at very shallow depths.

11/05/11

Oklahoma State Univ:
String of small earthquakes recorded in/near Prague, Oklahoma near New Madrid fault zone (see Comment recorded 05/08/11 below) The 4.7 was recorded as only 2.5 miles deep.

10/30/11

MSNBC:
Snow smacks Northeast; power could be out for days
“Millions of people from Maine to Maryland were without power as an unseasonably early nor’easter dumped heavy, wet snow over the weekend on a region more used to gaping at leaves in October than shoveling snow. “
“The storm smashed record snowfall totals for October and worsened as it moved north. Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit. Snowfall totals topped 27 inches in Plainfield, and nearby Windsor had gotten 26 inches by early Sunday. It was blamed for at least three deaths, and states of emergency were declared in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and parts of New York.”

10/28/11

6.9 mag earthquake shakes Peru’s coast “The U.S. Geological Survey said Friday’s quake was centered 31 miles (51 kilometers) south-southwest of Ica, a provincial capital of about 200,00 people which suffered widespread damage in the 2007 quake. It was at a depth of 21.7 miles (35 kilometers).”

Mt Etna Erupts as Solar Flare Arrives

 The video below gives an interesting report on Mt. Etna, the quake in Turkey, and the Canary Islands

10/17/11

KOAT7 ABQ:
Earthquake Shakes Northern New Mexico
“The earthquake came from less than a mile underground. Experts said the earthquake is ‘historically unusual.’ “

Nambe resident Dennis Ortiz said his home in the hills is usually quiet, but that wasn’t the case Monday.  ‘”It was a boom. I felt a big boom and then a big jolt,’ Ortiz said. ‘I felt the whole mobile home in motion. I just freaked out. I didn’t know what was going on.’ “
 Though not big in magnitude, it’s worth noting that the same area shared with the CO border experienced an unusually strong quake in August, same day as the East coast quake (see below); it was less than one mile deep (very unusual), and resident described in above article “a big boom” before the “big jolt.”  Very unusual.

AP Impact: Foreign insects, diseases got into the U.S.
“FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Dozens of foreign insects and plant diseases slipped undetected into the United States in the years after 9/11, when authorities were so focused on preventing another attack that they overlooked a pest explosion that threatened the quality of the nation’s food supply.”
 Yet another “lapse” in our government directly related to 9/11.  This is unconscionable.

09/29/11

Sun Herald:
Cantaloupe illnesses and deaths expected to rise

Cantaloupe illnesses and deaths expected to rise Sep 28 2011

“Federal health officials say an outbreak of listeria in cantaloupe is expected to cause more illnesses and may lead to more deaths in coming weeks. So far, the outbreak has caused at least 72 illnesses, including as many as 16 deaths, in 18 states.”
“The heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that consumers who have cantaloupes produced by Jensen Farms in Colorado should throw them out. If they are not sure where the fruit is from, they shouldn’t eat it.”

Mercury News:
Blackout a reminder of power grid vulnerabilities

09/05/11

Chron:
Wildfire destroys nearly 500 homes in Texas

Wildfire destroys nearly 500 homes in Texas (Photo: Austin American-Statesman, Jay Janner / AP) Sept 2011

“At least 5,000 people were forced from their homes in Bastrop County about 25 miles east of Austin, and about 400 were in emergency shelters, officials said Monday. School and school-related activities were canceled Tuesday.”

Texas Forest Service website

08/29/11

Las Vegas Sun:
Mount Etna’s eruption intensifies in Italy
“Mount Etna is spewing out ash and shooting spectacular bursts of lava high into the air as the eruption on the island of Sicily intensifies. ”
“Italy’s Civil Protection agency said Italy’s geophysics and volcanology institute on Monday registered increased explosive activity by the volcano, eight days after the latest eruption began.”

See National Geographic’s stunning photos of Mt. Etna erupting

Mount Etna's eruption intensifies in Italy Aug 2011

08/07/11

Youtube – Italy: Mount Etna erupts for 2nd time in a week

8/28/11

CBS NY:
Hurricane Irene Lashes New York, New Jersey, Connecticut

Palm Beach Post:
Irene: Wet, deadly and expensive, but no monster

Irene: Wet, deadly and expensive, but no monster August 28 2011

“ Stripped of hurricane rank, Irene spent the last of its fury Sunday, leaving treacherous flooding and millions without power — but an unfazed New York and relief that it was nothing like the nightmare authorities feared. Slowly, the East Coast surveyed the damage — up to $7 billion by one private estimate. The storm lost its tropical characteristics and crossed into Canada late Sunday, but for many the danger had not passed.”

The diameter of Hurricane Irene almost doubles a typical one.  See satellite images here.

08/24/11

USA Today:
Strong earthquake hits northern Peru
“The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 and was centered 50 miles north of the jungle city of Pucallpa, near the border with Brazil, the U.S. Geological Survey said.”
“Peru’s Institute of Geophysics registered the quake’s magnitude at 7, but an official at the institute said that because of its depth, it only felt like a 5-magnitude quake to Pucallpa’s residents. The official was not allowed to be identified by name.”

 This quick succession of large quakes in two days—CO/NM border, the East Coast, and Chile [so far]—suggests to me that a massive asymmetric gravitational pull is affecting deeper Earth.     My 8/17/11 “premonition” suggested a coastal quake but felt like the west coast, in the region of the Bay Area—Santa Cruz, San Jose.

08/23/11

ABC: Earthquake measured at 5.9 rattles East Coast from Virginia to New Hampshire
“A 5.9 magnitude earthquake jolted the East Coast, rattling people from Martha’s Vineyard to Washington, D.C. to North Carolina, prompting the evacuation of Congressional buildings, slowing rail and air traffic, and taking two nuclear reactors offline.”

9News Colorado:
Largest Colorado quake since 1967 shakes homes
“The magnitude 5.3 earthquake (later upgraded to 5.8-5.9)was recorded at about 11:46 p.m. MDT Monday about nine miles southwest of Trinidad, Colo., and about 180 miles south of Denver, according to the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. The quake followed two smaller ones that hit the area earlier in the day.

08/09/11

Guardian UK:
Brazil moves to prevent ‘massacre’ of Amazon tribe by drug traffickers

Brazil moves to prevent 'massacre' of Amazon tribe by drug traffickers Aug 08 2011

“The head of Brazil‘s indigenous protection service is to make an emergency visit to a remote jungle outpost, amid fears that members of an isolated Amazon tribe may have been “massacred” by drug traffickers.  Fears for the tribe’s wellbeing have been escalating since late July when a group of heavily armed Peruvian traffickers reportedly invaded its land, triggering a crisis in the remote border region between Brazil and Peru.”

06/23/11 AJE: ‘Uncontacted’ Amazon tribe found in Brazil   “Government researchers in Brazil say they have found one of the world’s last uncontacted tribes in a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest.  Aerial pictures revealed by the Brazilian government’s agency of indigenous affairs (Funai) showed four large thatched huts fully surrounded by various crops in the Vale do Javari region.”
“Aloysio Guapindaia, a Funai director, also said they would work to keep the tribe isolated and safe. The tribe is thought to belong to the Pano linguistic group that straddles the border between Brazil, Peru and Bolivia.”
YouTube from Feb 2011:

08/04/11

KTLA LA:
Recall Ordered After California Man Dies from Salmonella Tainted Turkey

Recall Ordered After California Man Dies from Salmonella Tainted Turkey (Getty image) Aug 04 2011

“The USDA is recalling 36 million pounds of Cargill ground turkey in the wake of a multi-state outbreak of antibiotic resistant linked to the death of California man.”
“All of the packages recalled include the code “Est. P-963″ on the label, according to Cargill.”

07/11/11

KOB ABQ:
Dixon’s orchard recovers from (Los Alamos Conchas; see below) fire, prepares for floods
“Dixon’s Apple Orchard was hit hard by the massive Las Conchas fire. People there remain on alert, shifting their attention from fires to floods.  KOB Eyewitness News 4 checked back in on the orchard Sunday to find out what’s being done to prepare.”
“The scars of the Las Conchas fire are a constant reminder to owner Becky Mullane that the crisis hasn’t gone away.”

07/07/11

Historic sandstorm over Phoenix, Arizona

Historic sandstorm over Phoenix, Arizona - Sand wall over 4000 ft. high July 07 2011

“The National Weather service declared that the storm was historic in size and density. The website for the NWS posted that the desert dust storm was an “impressive event.” Winds rushed up to 50 mph. Airlines delayed flights, many cars diverted to the side of the road, and there were reports of zero visibility across the city. “

06/27/11

Three U.S. nuclear power plants threatened by Mother Nature now—one by fire, two by flooding

Govt Exec:
Fire closing in on Los Alamos National Laboratory

“The forest fire that prompted Los Alamos National Laboratory to close Monday has engulfed nearly 38,000 acres in less than 24 hours and triggered a mandatory evacuation of the New Mexico city adjacent to the nuclear lab.”
“Kevin Roark, a lab spokesman, said the blaze, known as the Las Conchas fire, has burned one acre in a portion of the lab known as Technical Area 49– a site used in 1960 and 1961 to test high explosives and radioactive materials, leaving residues of uranium and plutonium in holes drilled 120-feet deep, according to a 2005 lab report.”
“The lab uses plutonium to craft atomic bomb cores. InciWeb reported that ‘all radioactive material is appropriately accounted for and protected.’ “
 To that last line from this excerpted news item above was a caveat made by a local LANL fire department spokesman:  ”….for now.”

YouTube

MSNBC: Thousands flee as fire nears Los Alamos nuke lab

06/24/11

Flooding in Minot, North Dakota

MPR News:
River hits record flood level in Minot:
“ Geese and airboats on patrol shared the streets of Minot on Friday as the Souris River set a new record for flooding,

River hits record flood level in Minot: June 2011

rising so quickly that it could be seen climbing up the side of homes in the North Dakota city.”
“The Souris broke a more than 130-year-old record at noon when it measured 1,558.52 feet above sea level at the city’s Broadway Bridge. That was about 9. 5 feet above flood stage and a half-foot higher than the record set in 1881.”

06/23/11

Watts Up With That?
7.2 Earthquake in Alaska – Tsunami Warning Canceled

06/22/11

Video updates on Chile volcano

06/08/11

National Geographic:
Chile Volcano Plume Explodes With Lightning

Chile Volcano Plume Explodes With Lightning (Photo by Francisco Negroni, Agenci Uno/European Pressphoto Agency) June 06, 2011

“In a scene no human could have witnessed, an apocalyptic agglommeration of lightning bolts illuminates an ash cloud above Chile’s Puyehue volcano (map) on Sunday.
“The minutes-long exposure shows individual bolts as if they’d all occurred at the same moment and, due to the Earth’s rotation, renders stars (left) as streaks. Lightning to the right of the ash cloud appears to have illuminated nearby clouds—hence the apparent absence of stars on that side of the picture. After an ominous series of earthquakes Saturday morning, the volcanoerupted that afternoon, convincing authorities to evacuate some 3,500 area residents. Eruptions over the course of the weekend resulted in heavy ashfalls, including in Argentine towns 60 miles (a hundred kilometers) away.” —With reporting by Christine Dell’Amore

YouTube

06/11/11

Tucson Citizen:
Wallow Fire spreads into New Mexico
“Arizona is turning out the be the most important state. Not always for the best reasons, but one thing is sure and that is that the stuff happening here is dirtying the entire nation, first with xenophobic laws such as SB1070, massive loss of life in the desert, and now from our forest fires.  The latest is that the Wallow Fire has now spread into New Mexico.”

06/04/11

Wood TV:
Arizona fire burns, forces more evacuations:

Arizona fire burns, forces more evacuations June 04, 2011

“TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) – One of the largest wildfires in Arizona’s history grew even bigger Friday as it cast an orange glow over people fleeing their mountain homes and sent smoke across skies 200 miles away. Dozens of other fires blazed in several Western states.”
“Fire incident commander John Philbin told The Associated Press that the fire pushed northward and expanded by 15,000 acres to 120,600 acres, or 187 square miles. That made the blaze the state’s third largest ever. The biggest, the Rodeo-Chediski, burned 469,000 acres in 2002 and the Cave Creek complex fire burned 248,000 acres in 2005. The Wallow fire just surpassed the Willow fire, which burned 120,000 acres in 2004.

KRQEAlbuquerque: Heavy smoke in metro area & around N.M. (frm Arizona fires)
I live in ABQ and the smell and density of smoke from Arizona has at times has been as though the fire is right around the corner.

Below are pics taken by Albuquerque resident of the extreme smoky haze.  The first one shows the thick smoke coming over the neighborhood and the second one, taken 10 minutes later shows how the density of smoke actually blotted out the sun completely.

06/05/11

German hospitals overwhelmed with E. Coli outbreak June 2011

Sign On San Diego:
German hospitals overwhelmed with E. Coli outbreak
“Hospitals in northern Germany are being overwhelmed as they struggle to provide enough beds and medical care for patients stricken by an outbreak of E. coli, the German health minister admitted Sunday. “
“While suspicion has fallen on raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce as the source of the bacterial outbreak, researchers have been unable to pinpoint exactly where or what food was responsible.”
“Critics have questioned the slow pace of the investigation. The medical director of Berlin‘s Charite Hospitals, Ulrich Frei, said it made him “anxious” that a month after the outbreak there was still no clue as to what caused it and said experts “should have interviewed the patients right away.”

You Tube: E. Coli infections spread..

Science News: Here’s What’ Different About This New, Virulent Strain of E. Coli

05/23/11

AJE:
(Another Iceland volcano)  Ash cloud disrupts Europe Travel
“The spread of dense ash from the erupting Iceland volcano could force the cancellation of up to 500 commercial

(Another Iceland volcano) Ash cloud disrupts Europe Travel May 22, 2011

flights in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of Scandinavia, the European air traffic agency has said.”
“Between 200 and 250 flights had already been cancelled, Brian Flynn, head of network operations at Eurocontrol, said on Tuesday.”

The Joplin Globe:
Tornado and Storm descends on Joplin, Missouri

Tornado and Storm descends on Joplin, Missouri (photo: Roger Nomer for the Globe) May 22, 2011

“JOPLIN, Mo. — A tornado, which at its zenith was three-quarters of a mile wide, roared across the heart of Joplin at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds.”
“Keith Stammer, emergency management director for Joplin and Jasper County, said whole apartment complexes were blown away. Also hit were nursing homes.”

Update 06/10/11 Denver Post: Survivors of Joplin tornado develop rare infection “In the aftermath of the Joplin tornado, some people injured in the storm developed a rare and sometimes fatal fungal infection so aggressive that it turned their tissue black and caused mold to grow inside their wounds.”
” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that it was conducting tests to help investigate the infections, which are so uncommon that even the nation’s largest hospitals might see only one or two cases a year. ‘To my knowledge, a cluster like this has not been reported before,’ said Dr. Benjamin Park, head of the CDC team that investigates fungal diseases. ‘This is a very rare fungus. And for people who do get the disease, it can be extremely severe.’ “

05/08/11

Fox:
Memphis Residents Evacuate as Mississippi River Set to Reach Near-Record Levels

Memphis Residents Evacuate as Mississippi River Set to Reach Near-Record Levels May 07, 2011

“MEMPHIS, Tenn. — More Memphis residents were being told Sunday to flee their homes for higher ground as the mightyMississippi edged toward the city, threatening to bring more flooding to parts of an area already soaked.”
“Downriver in Louisiana, officials warned residents that even if a key spillway northwest of Baton Rouge were to be opened, residents could expect water 5- to 25-feet deep over parts of seven parishes. Some of Louisiana’s most valuable farmland is expected to be inundated.”

 Katrina, the BP disaster, and now the Mississippi river.  I feel the southern states should pay closer attention to the New Madrid faultline.  The floods and disasters make it ripe for a pretty big seismic quake.  As these flood events create a shift weight, it undoubtedly will cause a reaction in the earth structure at some point soon.

05/01/11

Quad Cities:
Mayor orders evacuation of flood-threatened city

Mayor orders evacuation of flood-threatened city (AP photo) May 01, 2011

“CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The mayor of a small southern Illinois city threatened by two swollen rivers ordered all residents to leave by midnight Saturday because a ‘sand boil,’ an area where river water was seeping up through the ground behind the levee, had become dangerously large.”
“City clerk Lorrie Hesselrode described the boil as ‘kind of like Old Faithful,’ the famous geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. ‘There’s so much water pressure it forces the water under ground.’ “
” ‘It’s kind of scary. It’s pretty big. We’ve had sand boils before but nothing like this. It is under control but other boils have popped up,’ she told The Associated Press.”

04/27-28/11

Miami Herald
Dozens of tornados devastate South, killing at least 240:

"Mile wide" tornado south of Athens, Alabama (AP Photo - The Decatur Daily, Gary Cosby Jr.) April 27, 2011

“PLEASANT GROVE, Ala. — Dozens of tornadoes ripped through the South, flattening homes and businesses and killing at least 248 people in six states in the deadliest outbreak in nearly 40 years

Tornado Emergency in Alabama – Current tornado warnings

Severe Weather, Flooding Hits Middle of US

Violent weather pounded several Southern states for a second straight night

 04/20/11

Telegraph UK:
Colombia floods are “unprecedented tragedy”

Colombia floods are "unprecedented tragedy" (photo: AP) April 20, 2011

“Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos warned: “There are going to be a lot of needy people, there has never been a tragedy of this scale in our history.”
“Columbia has suffered from the wettest rainy season on record and the floods have been building since December of last year.”

04/17/11

St. Louis Today:
Twisters leave dozens dead, ruin in 6 states
“Rescue crews searched for survivors in wind-blasted landscapes Sunday in North Carolina, the state hardest hit by a storm system that spawned dozens of tornadoes from Oklahoma to Virginia and left dozens dead.”
“The spring storm, North Carolina’s deadliest in two decades, spun off 62 tornadoes in that state alone Saturday night. Eleven people were confirmed dead in rural Bertie County, county manager Zee Lamb said.”

04/15/11

Las Vegas Sun/AP:
Scientists map volcanic plume under Yellowstone

Twisters leave dozens dead, ruin in 6 states (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds) April 17, 2011

“Scientists using electric and magnetic sensors have mapped the size and composition of a vast plume of hot rock and briny fluid down to 200 miles below Yellowstone National Park’s surface, according to a new study soon to be published.”
“The new data, which measured the plume’s electrical conductivity to create the image, supplements Smith’s seismic data that gave scientists their first detailed look at the plume in 2009. Both seismic and electrical conductivity are imaging technologies that reveal different things.  Together, the data reveal a plume that is larger and contains more brine and fluid than previously believed.”

01/19/11

NatlGeo:
Yellowstone Has Bulged as Magma Pocket Swells
“Yellowstone National Park‘s supervolcano just took a deep “breath,” causing miles of ground to rise dramatically, scientists report.
“The simmering volcano has produced major eruptions—each a thousand times more powerful than Mount St. Helens’s 1980 eruption—three

Yellowstone Has Bulged as Magma Pocket Swells 01/19/11

times in the past 2.1 million years. Yellowstone’s caldera, which covers a 25- by 37-mile (40- by 60-kilometer) swath of Wyoming, is an ancient crater formed after the last big blast, some 640,000 years ago.”
“Ground deformation can suggest that magma is moving toward the surface before an eruption: The flanks of Mount St. Helens, for example, swelled dramatically in the months before its 1980 explosion. (See pictures of Mount St. Helens before and after the blast.)”
Uh, oh.

04/07/11

AL Jazeera Breaking:

7.4 Earthquake in Japan & 6.5 Earthuake in Veracruz, Mexico USGS reports

02/02/11

Chron:
Massive cyclone bears down on NE Australian Coast

Massive cyclone bears down on NE Australian Coast Feb 02 2011

“The storm will compound misery in Queensland, which has already been hit by months of flooding that killed 35 people and inundated hundreds of communities. Cyclone Yasi is due to hit north of the main waterlogged area, but emergency services are already stretched and the whole state is flood-weary.
” ‘This is a cyclone of savagery and intensity,’ Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in a nationally televised news conference as the storm moved toward the coast. ‘People are facing some really dreadful hours in front of them.’ “

This image provided by NASA shows Tropical Cyclone Yasi as it approaches Queensland, Australia, Wednesday Feb. 2, 2011. This NEXSAT image captured this natural-color image at 04:32 GMT Wednesday Feb. 2, 2011. The Category 5 storm is expected to make landfall at approximately noon GMT Wednesday. Gusts up to 186 mph (300 kph) were expected when Cyclone Yasi strikes the Australian coast Wednesday after whipping across Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The storm front is more than 310 miles (500 kilometers) wide and Yasi is so strong, it could reach far inland before it significantly loses power. (AP Photo – NASA – Jeff Schmaltz)

Miami Herald:
Midwest buckles under storm…
“The monstrous storm billed as the worst in decades delivered knock-out after knock-out as it made its way from Texas to Maine. It’s brought Chicago and the rest of the Midwest to a halt and prompted a region-wide snow day.

01/15/11

Germany bans 934 more farms in dioxin scare
“Germany’s dioxin-tainted food scandal widened Saturday, as authorities banned another 934 farms from selling eggs, poultry and pork after finding out that one company had hidden its deliveries of contaminated livestock feed.
“Prosecutors in Lower Saxony state have opened an investigation after finding out about the tainted feed deliveries to those farms, Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner said.”
“The scandal broke last week when investigators found excessive levels of dioxin in eggs and chickens, leading authorities to slaughter hundreds of animals and freeze sales from more than 5,000 farms. Excessive dioxin levels were also found in some pork.”

01/11/11

TJI:
Snow present in 49 of 50 states

Snow present in 49 of 50 states Jan 11, 2011

“Put another way, that means snow is present in 69.4 percent of the lower 48, which is more than double than December.  This is extremely unusual, though it’s hard to put a date on when this last happened because records aren’t kept on this kind of event.”
“Now that the southern-track storm has moved into the Atlantic and is moving north, the other Midwest storm is going to merge with it, creating a Nor’easter event that could dump up to two feet of snow in the Northeast.  Winter storm warnings and advisories have been posted for the event – 32 states have winter storm advisories issued, by the way.”

Sign on San Diego:
Dozens missing from flooding in Australian valley

Dozens missing from flooding in Australian valley Jan 11, 2011

“Military helicopters searched Tuesday for scores of people missing after a tsunami-like wall of water ripped through an Australian valley, tossing cars like toys in the deadliestepisode of a weekslong flood crisis.”
” ‘This is a truly dire set of circumstances for the people of Queensland, with more flooding to come,’ Prime Minister Julia Gillard told Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. She said she had been ‘absolutely shocked’ by television footage of Monday’s flash flood.”

Related?   From 08/08/10 Sydney Morning Herald:
The rainmaking comes to Queensland
“A rain-making method developed by Thai king Bhumipol Adulyadej is set to aid Queensland in battles with drought after an agreement between the state government and the Thai royal household.”
“The technique largely relies on cloud seeding generally undertaken using chemicals that promote the formation of water droplets within the cloud formations.”

CT Post:
Frozen South: Could be days before thaw comes

Frozen South: Could be days before thaw comes (AP Photo/John Amis) Jan 11, 2011

“In the South, snow ranging from several inches to more than a foot Sunday and Monday blanketed states from Louisiana to the Carolinas — a region where many cities have only a handful of snow plows, if any. And more misery was on the way: The snow began turning to freezing rain in numerous areas, and low temperatures threatened to turn roads that may have thawed icy overnight.”
“The storm shut down most cities and towns, closed many businesses, and canceled most flights at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the world’s busiest. At least nine people were killed in weather-related traffic accidents.”

12/27/10

Washington Post:
East coast storm strands travelers, vexes drivers

East coast storm strands travelers, vexes drivers (Reuters photo) Dec 27 2010

“A powerful East Coast blizzard menaced would-be travelers by air, rail and highway Monday, leaving thousands without a way to get home after the holidays and shutting down major airports and rail lines for a second day.”
“The monster storm is the result of a low pressure system off the North Carolina coast and strengthened as it moved northeast, the National Weather Service said. Because of it, parts of the South had their first white Christmas since records have been kept.”

12/21/10

Red Sky News:
2,000 Flee as Storm Hits California
“A storm pounding California with record rain forced authorities in the San Joaquin Valley to order 2,000 residents to evacuate the farming community of McFarland due to major

2,000 Flee as Storm Hits California Dec 20 2010

flooding. An estimated 400 to 500 homes were in danger, Kern County Fire Department spokesman Sean Collins said.”
“Stormy weather has gripped California since late last week, triggering mostly minor flooding, mudslides, road closures and power outages. Forecasters warned of worsening conditions Tuesday and Wednesday, as more storms bore down on the state and threatened to dump another 5 to 10 inches of rain.“

Middletown Journal
LONDON: Winter disruptions turn travel bitter and chaotic

LONDON: Winter disruptions turn travel bitter and chaotic (AP Photo/Lewis Whyld, PA) Dec 20 2010

“The Christmas travel season turned angry and chaotic Monday as British officials struggled to clear snow and ice that paralyzed rail and air links and spawned cancellations and delays stranding thousands around the world.”
“Forecasters have said Britain is experiencing some of the most severe winter weather in a century, with continued freezing temperatures and snowfall accumulations expected Monday afternoon and evening. Experts said the extreme winter weather may be related to climate change due to global warming. With a warmer climate, there’s more moisture in the air, which makes storms including blizzards more intense.”

12/16/10

WikiLeaks Uncovers Government Bee Killing Conspiracy

WikiLeaks Uncovers Government Bee Killing Conspiracy Dec 16 2010

”The November 2nd memo, leaked to a Colorado beekeeper, indicates that the EPA was well-aware that the pesticide Clothianidin posed some serious risks to honey bees. There have been concerns about this chemical from as far back as 2003, and it’s already been banned in Germany, France, Italy and Slovenia because of its toxicity. But the EPA chose to sweep all that under the rug to keep the pesticide on the market.”
“Clothianidin, marketed as ‘Poncho’ by Bayer, is widely used on corn, as well as canola, soy, sugar beets, sunflowers and wheat. As if the $262 million cash crop from last year wasn’t enough, Bayer wants to keep expanding the pesticide’s use. And the company’s original registration was based on some seriously flawed science: they evaluated the wrong crop, with the wrong controls to assess the impact on bees.”

09/05/10

Treehugger:
New Honeybee Breed Key to Combating Colony Collapse Disorder “A British beekeeper has been working on creating a new strain of honeybee resistant to the varroa mite, a prime suspect in colony collapse disorder (CCD), and it looks like he’s hit a high note after 18 years of careful observation and selective breeding. Ron Hoskins found that bees in one of his hives figured out what a great idea mutual grooming can be — they learned to clean the mites off one another. Hoping that this learned behavior is hereditary, he spread the genes of bees from this colony to his other hives. It worked. Now, combating CCD could be linked in no small part to how quickly the new strain of bee spreads across the country.”

06/23/10

Organic Consumers Assn:
Group Seeks Endangered Listing for Bumblebee “A conservation group filed a petition Wednesday to add a bumblebee from Southern Oregon and Northern California to the endangered species list.”
“Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the of the Xerces Society in Portland, said the petition is part of an effort to reverse the decline of bumblebees and other native bees around the world due to habitat loss, pesticides and diseases spilling out of commercial greenhouses.”

Colony Collapse Disorder: The Vanishing of the Bees 2007–?

02/10/10

Earthfiles:
U.S. Honey Bee Deaths Increase Again “The reports that I have gotten from beekeepers is that about 30% of the healthy colonies that have gone to California -for this 2010 almond pollination to fulfill pollination contracts – have died in two or three weeks”-
Jerry Hayes, Asst. Chief, Apiary Inspection, Florida Dept. of Agriculture.

American Scientist:
Bees in more trouble than ever after bad winter “Two federal agencies along with regulators in California and Canada are scrambling to figure out what is behind this relatively recent threat, ordering new research on pesticides used in fields and orchards. Federal courts are even weighing in this month, ruling that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overlooked a requirement when allowing a pesticide on the market.”

Wikipedia:
Colony collapse Disorder causing Honey Bee disappearances “From 1972 to 2006, there was a dramatic reduction in the number of feral honeybees in the U.S. (now almost absent);[17] and a significant, though somewhat gradual decline in the number of colonies maintained by beekeepers. This decline includes the cumulative losses from all factors such as urbanization, pesticide use, tracheal and Varroa mites, and commercial beekeepers retiring and going out of business. However, late in the year 2006 and in early 2007 the rate of attrition was alleged to have reached new proportions, and the term “colony collapse disorder” was proposed to describe this sudden rash of disappearances.[2]”

12/12/10

St. Louis Today:
Weather Service warns of 8-state Midwest blizzard
“A blizzard warning was in effect Sunday for Chicago and much of northern Illinois, all of Iowa, large sections of southern Minnesota and Wisconsin,

Weather Service warns of 8-state Midwest blizzard (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt) Dec 12 2010

and smaller areas in North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri and Michigan, according to the National Weather Service. Most of the rest of the region was under a winter storm warning or a hard freeze watch. Wisconsin authorities issued a statewide no-travel advisory Saturday, citing blizzard and winter storm warnings in nearly every county.”

Minneapolis Metrodome roof collapses after storm

10/08/10

EHExtra:
Earth crack a mystery

200-yard long crack in the earth in Menominee County, MI. EagleHerald/Rick Gebhard Oct 06 2010

“BIRCH CREEK – One day the land was flat and filled with trees shooting straight into the air. Twenty-four hours later there’s a 600-foot-long crack, 4-feet deep twisting its way through the woods – and those vertical trees are now pointed 30 degrees left and right where the earth has mounded 15 feet high. No, it’s not a disaster movie; it’s what happened Monday at the home of Eileen Heider on Bay de Noc Road in Birch Creek.

News 13 Albuquerque:
Battering storm staggers Kewa Pueblo

Battering storm staggers Kewa Pueblo Oct 07 2010

“KEWA PUEBLO, NM {KRQE} – New Mexico had its own bout of severe weather last weekend and one pueblo between Albuquerque and Santa Fe is still reeling from the blast it took.
“The hail damage at Kewa Pueblo is unbelievable, roofs have caved in, walls are unstable and roads are washed out.”

10/05/10

Guardian UK:
Landmark Hastings Pier destroyed by [arson] fire
“Two men have been arrested on suspicion of arson after

Historic Hastings Pier destroyed alleged by arsonists Oct 05 2010

Hastings pier burned down in a “major blaze” that started in the early hours of this morning. The fire, which was reported at around 1am, destroyed 95% of the structure, East Sussex fire and rescue service said. Amateur footage of the blaze uploaded to YouTube showed the Victorian pier engulfed in flames several metres high.”

GAP:
Whistleblowers: Food Integrity Campaign!

Whistleblowers: Food Integrity Campaign Oct 2010

“The mission and long-term objective of FIC is to enhance overall food integrity by facilitating truth-telling. FIC seeks to accomplish this mission by strategically working to alter the relationship of power between the food industry and consumers; protecting the rights of those who speak out against the practices that compromise food integrity; and empowering industry whistleblowers and citizen activists.

10/01/10

SignsOnSanDiego:
Mighty rains deluge cars, close roads in Northeast

Mighty rains deluge cars, close roads in Northeast

“Torrential downpours from a faded tropical storm inundated the Northeast on Friday, forcing evacuations, toppling trees, cutting power to thousands and washing out roads during a snarled morning commute. Water pooled so deeply in a Philadelphia suburb that a car literally floated on top of another car.”
“Meteorologist Tim Armstrong with the National Weather Service in Wilmington, N.C., declared the 22.54 inches to be the rainiest five-day period there that he could find on record since 1871. It easily beat Hurricane Floyd’s 19.06 inches in 1999.”

09/30/10

Earthfiles:
Invasion of ‘Super Bed Bugs’ in America

Invasion of Super Bed Bugs in America Sep 30 2010

“Blacksburg, Virginia – Two weeks ago on the weekend of September 18, 2010, the Nike sports company shut down its 95,000-square-foot Niketown store in Midtown Manhattan. And kept it closed for more than a week. To do what? To exterminate the bed bugs that had literally taken over every nook and cranny of the building.”
“New York City is now rated Number One city for bed bugs, but the rest of the United States is also infected. “It’s the biggest pest problem we’ve encountered in several generations,” Bob Rosenberg, Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Pest Management Association told The Washington Post. In fact, beyond New York, one of the biggest hot spots for bed bugs is Ohio where Governor Ted Strickland wrote  a June 30th letter to the Environmental Protection Agency saying, “The bed bug problem has created a very real physical, emotional and economically devastating situation for many Ohioans.” One Dayton, Ohio apartment complex owner spent more than $180,000 trying to clean up his buildings, but the bugs come back.”

The Independent:
Australia faces worst plague of locusts in 75 years

“The warm, wet weather that prevailed last summer meant that three

Australia faces worst plague of locusts in 75 years Sep 27 2010

generationsof locusts were born, each one up to 150 times larger than the previous generation. After over-wintering beneath the ground, the first generation of 2010 is already hatching. And following the wettest August in seven years, the climate is again perfect. The juveniles will spend 20 to 25 days eating and growing, shedding their exoskeletons five times before emerging as adults, when population pressure will force them to swarm.”
“And the spraying itself comes at a cost. Apiarists have complained that their bees are in danger from pesticides and ecologists fear for the many animals that treat the locusts as a moving smorgasbord. Concerns have also been raised by bloggers and activists that some of the chemicals used could harm humans.
” The best hope for phasing out the chemicals comes from research. But the goal, says Professor Sword, is control not eradication. ‘They were here long before humans arrived,’ he said.”

09/23/10
PhysOrg:
56 pilot whales die after stranding on NZ beach
“At least 40 out of 80 pilot whales that stranded themselves on the remote northern New Zealand beach have died, and more whales are joining them on land.”
“Large waves and strong winds lashed Spirits Bay as rescuers struggled to move survivors above the tide-line. It was the second mass beaching in the region in a month.”

TRAGIC: Of the 58 pilot whales stranded on Karikari Beach, only 15 are still alive Aug 20 2010

08/21/10

Stuff Com NZ:

Whale refloating unsuccessful “The Department of Conservation (DOC) in Kaitaia received a call about 10.30am advising of a mass whale stranding. Carolyn Smith, community relations programme manager for the DOC in Kaitaia, said the whales had probably stranded during the night, and that was why so many perished before being discovered.”
“Kimberly Muncaster, chief executive of Project Jonah, told NZPA the 15 surviving whales were in a ‘fairly poor condition’ “.

09/20/10

Denver Post:
Guard commander takes responsibility for wildfire

Guard commander takes responsibility for wildfire Sep 20 2010

“HERRIMAN, Utah—The commander of the Utah Army National Guard took responsibility Monday for a fast-moving wildfire that led to the evacuation of 1,600 homes, saying Guard officials erred when they allowed live-fire training despite high wind warnings. “
“Gen. Brian Tarbet said he was ‘deeply sorry’ about what he called a ‘systematic failure’ at Camp Williams, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. The flames also destroyed three houses and damaged a fourth.”
“Lt. Don Hutson of the Unified Police Department, the agency that oversees Salt Lake County, called the practice flare-up a ‘perfect storm’ that kicked up violently with winds of 40 mph to 50 mph. ‘Literally, the fire was coming down into the backyards of many of these residents,’ he said. “

09/17/10

Times Union:
Weather service to probe whether tornado hit NYC

Weather service to probe whether tornado hit NYC Sep 17 2010

” ‘A huge tree limb, like 25 feet long, flew right up the street, up the hill and stopped in the middle of the air 50 feet up in this intersection and started spinning,’ said Steve Carlisle, 54. ‘It was like a poltergeist.’”
“The streets were still littered with large branches Friday, one day after the sky went black, thunder rumbled, and the wind blew through the neighborhood, rattling doors and windows and snapping branches — and even whole trees — like sticks.”

Telegraph UK:
10,000 birds trapped in Twin Towers memorial light

10,000 birds trapped in Twin Towers memorial light Sep 11 2010

“Two beams [ ACTUALLY, a THIRD beam was lit there on 09/11/10] emanating from Manhattan, known as the Tribute of Light, had to be turned off five times to allow the migrating birds to continue on their journey last week.”
“He said: ‘We have a protocol in place in partnership with the Municipal Arts Society in case something happens like it did. There were huge numbers of birds flying through and large numbers did have difficulty navigating out of the beams.’ “
There’s a metaphor here somewhere.

WIFR Illinois:
Investigators Say Egg Company Knew of Salmonella
“The farm received hundreds of positive results for salmonella two years before the massive recall. “
“A letter to the company’s owner, released [09/14], says investigators obtained records showing between 2008 and 2010 Wright County Egg received 426 positive test results for salmonella.”

08/23/10

Twin Cities Com:
Iowa farms recalling eggs share suppliers “Two Iowa farms that recalled more than a half-billion eggs linked to as many as 1,300 cases of salmonella poisoning share suppliers of chickens and feed as well as ties to an Iowa business routinely cited for violating state and federal law.”
“The egg industry has consolidated over recent years, placing fewer, larger businesses in control over much of the nation’s egg supply to consumers. The salmonella outbreak has raised questions about federal inspections of egg farms. The FDA oversees inspections of shell eggs, while the Agriculture Department is in charge of inspecting other egg products.”

08/20/10

KQOW Wisc:
Egg Recall expands to more than half a billion eggs “Half a billion eggs have been recalled in the nationwide investigation of a salmonella outbreak that has already sickened more than 1,000 people.”
“Iowa’s Hillandale Farms said Friday it was recalling more than 170 million eggs after laboratory tests confirmed salmonella. The company did not say if it is connected to Wright County Egg, another Iowa farm that recalled 380 million eggs earlier this week. The eggs recalled Friday were distributed under the brand names Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms and West Creek. The new recall applies to eggs sold between April and August.”

“]

Egg Recall expands to more than half a billion eggs (AP photo) Aug 20 2010

09/15/10

Yahoo!
Massive fish kill reported in Louisiana

Massive fish kill reported in Louisiana - BP? Dead Zone? Sep 15 2010

“What you see above isn’t a rural gravel road. It’s a Louisiana waterway, its surface completely covered with dead sea life — a mishmash of species of fish, crabs, stingray and eel. New Orleans CBS affiliate WWL-TV reports that even a whale was found dead in the area, a stretch of coastal Louisiana hit hard this summer by oil from BP’s busted Gulf well.”
“The area is rife with dead zones — stretches where sudden oxygen depletion can cause widespread death. But those kills tend to be limited to a single species of fish, rather than the broad sort of die-off involved in this kill.”

Chron:
TS Karl headed to Mexico; Julia a Cat 4 hurricane

TS Karl headed to Mexico; Julia a Cat 4 hurricane Sep 15 2010

“CANCUN, Mexico — A strengthening Tropical Storm Karl neared the Yucatan Peninsula on Wednesday, bearing down on the resort beaches of the Mayan Riviera.
“Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Hurricane Julia rapidly intensified, becoming a powerful Category 4 storm early Wednesday, and still far from land, Hurricane Igor’s top winds weakened slightly.”

09/09/10

Newser:
Remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine flood northern Texas, killing at least 2; buffet Oklahoma

Remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine caused widespread flooding in northern Texas and began buffeting southern Oklahoma Sep 06 2010

“The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine caused widespread flooding in northern Texas and began buffeting southern Oklahoma on Wednesday, killing at least two people and submerging low-lying pockets of Arlington under several feet of water.”

09/07/10

CBS4 Denver:
Fourmile Wildfire Grows To 3,500 Acres “About 1,000 homes in

About 1,000 homes in the mountains west of Boulder under evacuation orders in Fourmile, Colo wildfire Sep 06 2010

the mountains west of Boulder remain under evacuation orders as the Fourmile wildfire continues to burn. Officials aren’t sure so far how many homes have been destroyed. “
“Boulder County’s Office of Emergency Management was activated as part of the disaster response and evacuation centers were set up during the day at New Vista High School and the North Boulder Rec Center. They also set up a center at the Nederland Town Center.”

YouTube

09/05/10

Washington Times:
Guatemala mudslides kill at least 28; 2 buses hit “Torrential rains

People stand in front of a bus partially covered by a landslide caused by heavy rains on the Pan-American Highway at Tecpan, Guatemala, on Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010. At least 12 passengers were killed and 25 injured, rescue workers said. (AP Photo) Sep 05 2010

from a tropical depression caused mudslides that have killed at least 28 people in Guatemala — most of them in separate disasters along the same highway.”
“Regional fire department Maj. Otto Mazariegos told reporters that some of the victims of the second slide were rescuers.  ‘We are told that there are 150 missing,’ he said. ‘Under the earth there is a bus that carried we don’t know how many people, and there are those who tried to help the victims of the first slide.’ “

09/01/10

Earthfiles:

“Hurricane Earl is gathering some serious strength. Please keep a watchful eye on this one” ISS Astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock, Aug 31 2010

“Large and Intense” Cat 4 Hurricane Earl Photographed from International Space Station “National Hurricane Center has issued a hurricane watch from Surf City, N. C., to the Virginia border.”

08/31/10

Daily Express UK:
Man Eating Giant Squid Devouring Fish Stocks “Millions of killer giant squid are not only devouring vast amounts of fish they have even started attacking humans.”
“Two Mexican fishermen were recently dragged from their boats and chewed so badly that their bodies could not be identified even by their own families.”

Millions of killer giant squid are not only devouring vast amounts of fish they have even started attacking humans Aug 29 2010

08/27/10

Unknown Country:
The Oceans: Something is Wrong “Since July, there have been a number of mysterious ocean kills reported from around the world, only one of which has been mentioned by the general media in the west.”
“The kills involve a massive mollusk kill in Pakistan, seal mutilations in Great Britain (see below) and, most recently, a huge kill in Brazilian waters.

6 million dead fish, alligators, turtles and dolphins floating down Brazilian, Bolivian rivers Aug 2010

08/24/10

Earthfiles Interview:
Dead Seals with “Corkscrew” Cuts in Scotland and England
“Dave Thompson, Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland:
“At St. Andrews, we first noticed this weird mortality event about this time last year in late July or early August 2009. We had two harbor seal yearling pups – animals that were 11 or 12 months old at the time. They were found dead on the beach with corkscrew wounds – a very deep cut spiraling from the face of the animal around the body 1.5 or 2 rotations with the cut coming off the animal towards the back end.”

08/13/10

Norfolk (England) Constabulary:
Norfolk seal deaths investigation “Officers from Wells Police Station are investigating a number of unexplained seal deaths which have taken place in the Blakeney, Morston and Wells area for some months. Work has been carried out in conjunction with other partner agencies including the National Trust, The Marine Management Organi(z)ation, the RSPCA, Natural England, National Wildlife Crime Unit, Eastern Sea Fisheries, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (through DEFRA) and the Norfolk Wildlife Trust to discover the source of the incidents.”

Scores of seals are washed up dead with horrific corkscrew injuries Aug 18 2010

Southport Globe:
Mystery in the Sound: Why are the shells of lobsters wasting away? “About 30 percent of the lobsters in the eastern basin of Long Island Sound are suffering from a disease that causes their shells to waste away, and scientists aren’t sure why this is happening.
It’s common knowledge that the shells are being eaten by bacteria, but the real question for scientists is: What’s preventing the lobster from defending itself from this microbial attack while it’s still alive?”

Whats preventing the lobster from defending itself from this microbial attack while its still alive? Aug 2010

08/26/10

BBC:
Rare ‘fire tornado’ filmed in Brazil “”A whirlwind of flames spiralling several metres high danced across fields, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby road, before it disappeared.  The phenomenon followed weeks of drought which have sparked brush fires across the country.”

Rare fire tornado filmed in Brazil Aug 26 2010

08/21/10

El Paso Times:
Mexico catches suspects with 3,756 sea turtle eggs “Guerrero state police say the six men were caught with the Olive Ridley turtle eggs in a coastal town east of the resort city of Acapulco.”
“Olive Ridley turtles are protected under Mexican law. They nest on the Mexican coast, and harvesting their eggs is punishable by prison terms of one to nine years.”

Poachers caught stealing eggs of this endangered species, the Olive Ridley Turtle Aug 20 2010

08/19/10

Las Vegas Sun:
Small businesses learn hard lessons from floods “When flood waters washed through Ames, Iowa, last week, Jim Howe got his latest lesson in how hard it can be to protect a business from disaster. And to recover.
“Howe Welding and Metal Fabrication flooded for the fourth time since 1993. He’s still cleaning up and getting his machinery working again.”
“Hennessey didn’t have flood insurance because he wasn’t in an area considered at risks for flooding. “There was no reason for us to think we needed flood insurance,” he said.”

08/13/10

NBC Philadelphia:
Cause of Fish Kill: Low Oxygen or Scared to Death? “Originally estimated in the tens of thousands, and now thought to be millions, piles of dead peanut bunker fish covered eight miles of beach along the Delaware Bay Wednesday. Each stinky corpse measures at about 3.5 to four inches long and the reason for the sudden mass fish death is still unknown.”
“Department of Environmental Protection officials say water samples showed the level of oxygen in the ocean in Cape May County was low and considered ‘biologically stressed.’ ”

Fishy theories don’t explain why seagulls won’t eat the dead fish washed up on the shore

08/06/10

Ghosts of Sheep:
“Mystery Object” found on a hiking trail. “It is definitely not a N/S/E/W marker. My best guess is that it is a traverse control point (as in geodetics). Hmm.“

"Mystery Object" found on hike

"Mystery Object" magnified view Sept 11 2009

Interesting. Looking through the 1000+ GPS control points photographed the geocaching gallery, I can’t find one similar to the above find. The one above does not appear to be marked with the usual “Geodetic” ID. Well, is it a control traverse point..or what?

07/30/10

Christian Monitor:
<a href=”http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0730/Third-California-wildfire-erupts-first-two-now-half-containedThird California wildfire erupts, first two now half contained “The fires serve as a wake-up call for residents and officials, says former Tehachapi mayor Deborah Hand. ‘Each time we have one of these fires in California, it points up the need for better planning and education about prevention,’ says Ms. Hand, who has long been active in a new general plan for the city, promoting smart-growth principles. ‘There needs to be a giant education campaign that instructs people that if you are going to live in these areas, you have to behave responsibly and are obligated to make your house fire safe.’ ”

Third California wildfire erupts, first two now half contained July 30 2010

07/28/10  Sign On San Diego:
Calif. firefighters gain on the worst of wildfires “Hundreds of firefighters gained ground Wednesday against the most destructive of two big wildfires that have burned homes and forced 2,300 people to evacuate mountain communities on the edge of the Mojave Desert and in the southern Sierra Nevada.”

07/26/10

Fredericksburg Com:
Power outages plague DC area after storms; 2 dead “Hundreds of thousands of people were without electricity Monday in the Washington area and may not get power back for days after powerful storms toppled utility poles, power lines and trees and left two people dead.”

07/24/10

Chicago Tribune:
State of emergency declared in flooded Westchester ‘A state of emergency was declared in west suburban Westchester today as officials used boats and a helicopter to search for people stranded because of unprecedented flooding from last night’s pounding rainfall.”

State of emergency declared in flooded Westchester July 24 2010

07/09/10

News 10 Albany NY:
East Coast to get relief from heat, not humidity “A 100-degree reading at noon in Trenton, N.J., broke a 17-year-old record. Philadelphia hit 100 for the second straight day, breaking a record of 98 degrees set in 1999. Newark, N.J., hit triple digits for the fourth straight day, something that hasn’t happened since 1993. Raleigh, N.C., reached 101 degrees Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of 100 in 1977.”

07/07/10

The Eagle:
Mexico, Texas evacuate homes as Rio Grande floods “NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — Drenching storms have raised reservoirs along the U.S.-Mexico border to their highest levels in decades, forcing officials to dump water into flooded rivers on Wednesday and evacuate tens of thousands of people from homes, with yet another storm on the way.”
“The dramatic rise of the Rio Grande caused by Hurricane Alex and continuing rains forced the closure of at least one major border crossing between downtown Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.”
“Officials evacuated the flood-threatened Vega Verde subdivision in Del Rio, Texas, some 110 miles upstream from Laredo, while high waters in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila have already damaged some 10,000 homes — many swamped in waist-deep water.”
[News on plane crash associated with flooding]

Rio Grande the rapidly rising on riverbanks in downtown Laredo, Texas July 7 2010

07/02/10

Hurricane Alex: Stormchasers Jim Ebbs & Jeff Gammons

06/26/10

Daily Press NH:
Forecasters: Tropical storm Alex strengthens in Caribbean; unclear if it will hit oiled Gulf “Tropical Storm Alex was strengthening fast in the western Caribbean on Saturday, and forecasters said it too soon to say if it would hit the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters have said they can’t speculate about what rough weather would do to oil in the water.”
No event is independent of another event, particularly with weather systems, IMHO. Whether or not it directly hits the vicinity of the Gulf oil mess, it will create an unseen hyperdimensional force that will affect the area. The nature and character of the entire region has changed and I suspect that the nature and character of the hurricane in its response will take on a new dimension. Let us hope that the Gulf is spared.

RT YouTube

06/23/10

National Post:
Thousands without power after Ontario tornado “Roughly 8,200 homes in the Midland region were without power Thursday morning, after a tornado ripped through the central Ontario community the night before, injuring residents and damaging homes.”
” ‘I looked out and there was this huge vortex going through the neighbourhood with debris going around it. We decided it would be good to step away from the plate glass windows, and that’s when it started,’ Mr. MacLean said.”

06/20/10

João Pessoa, Paraíba Paradise:
Over 32000 displaced in Brazil floods “Heavy rains are still continuing for the third week. Residential buildings in 21 localities have been flooded.”
“Meanwhile, 39 towns in Alagoas have sounded an situation due to dengue fever. More than 6,000 people have contracted the disease since the year start, officials said. They said rains and subsequent flooding have increased the number of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, who are the key transmitters of the disease to humans.”

Flooding in Brazil June 20 2010 displaces 32000

Billings, Montana Tornado Destroys MetraPark

Salon Com
Tropical Storm Celia nears cusp of hurricane force “Tropical Storm Celia threatened to become a hurricane during the day Sunday as it howled off Mexico’s Pacific coast, churning up dangerous surf, forecasters said.”

06/11/10

Fayetteville News, AR:
Governor Says 16 Dead In Arkansas Floods “Gov. Mike Beebe says the death toll from flash flooding along a pair of Arkansas rivers has risen to 20. Rescue teams are also searching for more than 40 people reported missing.”
“More than 40 people were unaccounted for after the Caddo and Little Missouri rivers rose quickly overnight — at times faster than 8 feet per hour, said Gary Fox, a retired emergency medical technician who was coordinating with families to determine who had died and who had yet to be found. ‘This is not a one- or two-day thing,’ Fox said outside a command post near Langley next to the Little Missouri. ‘ This is going to be a week or two- or three-week recovery.’ “

Flash floods swept through a campground in western Arkansas overnight, killing at least 16 people as they slept and leaving an unknown number missing Jun 11 2010

06/09/10

EnviroPolitics:
New Jersey fisherman hauls in a mustard-gas catch “In a bizarre incident that spotlights the vast amount of chemical weapons and munitions debris littering the ocean floor, a crewman aboard an Atlantic City, NJ clamming boat remained hospitalized yesterday for exposure to mustard gas after his vessel dredged up World War I-era munition shells, the Boston Globe reports.”The military used the ocean as a dumping ground for munitions from after World War II through 1970. While the tons of old chemical weapons beneath U.S. waters present a danger to fishermen, experts don’t believe they are a possible source of weapons for terrorists.”
A prime example of a military culture not projecting ahead to the potential safety hazards posed for the future generations.

Fisherman sickened by gas canisters like these. A military culture not projecting ahead to the safety hazards posed for future generations.

Discussion thread at Above Top Secret (ATS).

05/30/10

Accuweather:
Tropical Storm Agatha Pounds Guatemala, El Salvador “Flooding and mudslides have left more than a dozen people dead in Guatemala and El Salvador. Agatha, as a tropical storm, made landfall in southern Guatemala Saturday night.”
“Agatha could also affect the region’s coffee crop, which already may have been left in jeopardy by the eruption of [the volcano] Pacaya.”

Deadly Agatha Pounds Guatemala, El Salvador, killing at least 150. May 30 2010

05/29/10

Telegraph UK:
Ecuador and Guatemala volcanoes erupt “President Alvaro Colom of Guatemala declared a 15-day state of emergency around the Pacaya volcano, 30 miles south of the capital, Guatemala City.”
“In Ecuador, the Tungurahua volcano exploded into action on Friday, forcing the evacuation of at least seven villages and closing down the airport and public schools in Guayaquil, the country’s largest and most populated city.”

Ecuadors Tungurahua volcano exploded into action on 05/28/10

Volcano Discovery Com:
Pacaya volcano Guatemala “Following the violent eruption on 28 May, a large 90-m-wide lava flow was emitted on 29 May that traveled SSE at an estimated rate of 100 m per hour and burned three houses on the Pacaya Grande ranch. The lava was within 450 m of some other properties including El Chupadero, located 2-2.5 km S of the crater, and disrupted an access road from El Caracol (3 km SW) and Los Pocitos (5.5 km S).
Explosions ejected ash 300-500 m above the crater.
INSIVUMEH reported on 1 June that the Strombolian activity continued. Explosions ejected ash as high as 700 m above the crater and ash plumes.”
From: LA Observed: A Guatemalan TV reporter was  killed in eruption

National Post
Giant sinkhole in Guatemala “The sinkhole is a result of rainwater saturating the ground after tropical storm Agatha. The image is not a photoshop-job (see other angles of the sinkhole in at website) despite looking as if a giant hole had been punched in the Earth.”

"The sinkhole stretches for about half a kilometre, and occurred in an area not usually prone to landslides May 11 2010

05/28/10

Above Top Secret discussion thread:
Something very strange hit almost EVERY seismograph in the US at the same time. “Apparently at about 1620-1630 MDT [05/25/10] a large seismographic reading hit almost every station in the world!”
[Mark Allin from ATS discusses this on the Coast To Coast AM 05/28/10 show. NOTE: Requires paid subscription]

Did something very strange hit almost EVERY seismograph in the US at the same time? May 28 2010

5/21/10

Earthfiles:
Fungus In White-Nose Bat Deaths Has Spread Rapidly in MO and OK “The Natural Resources Defense Council reports that the white-nose fungus, Geomyces destructans, has spread faster and farther by May 2010 than anyone expected. The fungus has been wiping out bat populations along the eastern U. S. and spreading north into Quebec and Ontario, Canada. Now it is in the Great Smoky Mountains and other caves of Tennessee and has spread into Missouri.”

US Fish & Wildlife Service:  White-Nose Syndrome: Something is killing our bats

White-Nose Syndrome: Something is killing our bats

05/12/10

Canada CBC News:
4 missing after Quebec home falls in sinkhole “Quebec emergency workers are searching for a family of four who disappeared after a sinkhole swallowed their house Monday night.”

Sinkhole stretches about half a kilometre, occurring in an area not usually prone to landslides May 11 2010

04/21/10

BP Deepwater Horizon rig explodes: CLICK HERE for chronology.

04/19/10

ITNews:
Spectacular footage taken above Iceland’s volcanic eruption

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JAPAN QUAKE, TSUNAMI, AND NUCLEAR DISASTER NEWS

Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log

02/06/12

Zero Hedge:
Fukushima Reactors Heating Up Again … Water Fails to Cool Them Down
“Indeed, nuclear expert Arnie Gundersen, who used to build spent fuel pools, says that – if the fuel pool at reactor 4 collapses due to an earthquake – people should get out of Japan, and residents of the West Coast of America and Canada should shut all of their windows and stay inside.”
  As I read through this article, it appears there is a another disaster there just waiting to happen.

01/05/12

Fukushima Diary:
Breaking News: More shallow earthquakes at Fukushima plants
“Following up this article http://fukushima-diary.com/2012/01/breaking-news-shallow-earthquake-right-under-fukushima-plants/ “
“2 more earthquake (sic) happened. Epicenters of both earthquake are right under Fukushima plants.”

01/01/12

Guardian UK:
Japan struck by magnitude 6.8 earthquake
“A strong earthquake has jolted eastern and north-eastern Japan, but there are no immediate reports of injuries or damages. No tsunami warning has been issued.”
“The earthquake, at a depth of nearly 217 miles, was recorded south-southwest of Hachijo-jima off Japan’s south-eastern Izu islands on Sunday at 5.27am GMT, the US Geological Survey reported.”

12/28/11

ENE News:
UN Agency: Reactor 3 exploded a second time 24 hours later — Then wind and rain brought high levels of radiation over Tokyo, Sendai, Nagano

12/26/11

Tricity Herald:
Japan probe finds nuclear disaster response failed
“The disturbing picture of harried and bumbling workers and government officials scrambling to respond to the problems at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was depicted in the report detailing a government investigation.”
“The report criticized the use of the term ‘soteigai,’ meaning ‘outside our imagination,’ which it said implied authorities were shirking responsibility for what had happened. It said by labeling the events as beyond what could have been expected, officials had invited public distrust.”
   Bush, Condy Rice et. al. shamefully pleaded the same “excuse” after 911, after another devious coverup. Enuf.

03/16/11 Raw Story:  IAEA warned Japan that quakes could be too much for nuclear facilities, leaked cable reveals  “During a December 2008 G8 Nuclear Safety and Security Group (NSSG) meeting in Tokyo, an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that saftey plans were out of date and that earthquakes could be a “serious problem” for aging Japanese nuclear reactors.”
“A cable released Tuesday night revealed that Taro Kono, a liberal Democrat and member of Japan’s DIET, or parliament, allegedly told American diplomats about coverups carried out in Japan’s nuclear plants.”

08/02/11

CNN:
Workers find ultra-high radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi plant
“The ultra-high levels of radiation were measured Monday afternoon on the grounds of the facility, between

Workers find ultra-high radiation levels at Fukushima Daiichi plant Aug 02 2011

reactors No. 1 and 2, Tokyo Electric Power Company spokesman Naoki Tsunoda. The lethal radiation was found at the bottom of a ventilation tower.”
“The radiation levels — 10,000 millisieverts per hour — are high enough that a single 60-minute dose would be fatal to humans within weeks.”

   This is what happens when the only vision available to global “entrepreneurs” and investors is the vision of boatloads of money.  The only plan for a disaster like this or like the BP oil spill appears to be on-the-job, trial and error damage control? These scenarios should have been thought out long before the foundations were even built.

06/16/11

AJE:
Fukushima: It’s much worse than you think
” ‘Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind,’  Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, told Al Jazeera.”

Fukushima: It's much worse than you think (Gallo/Getty photo) June 16, 2011

“Japan’s 9.0 earthquake on March 11 caused a massive tsunami that crippled the cooling systems at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan. It also lead to hydrogen explosions and reactor meltdowns that forced evacuations of those living within a 20km radius of the plant.”
“Gundersen, a licensed reactor operator with 39 years of nuclear power engineering experience, managing and coordinating projects at 70 nuclear power plants around the US, says the Fukushima nuclear plant likely has more exposed reactor cores than commonly believed.”

 I cannot even fathom these pro-nuclear people when they give arguments such as “no one was killed by the nuclear disaster….” blah, blah, blah.   NOT YET!  Don’t these people have vision, foresight at all?  Many people exposed to the nuclear fallout are DYING  SLOW, UNTIMELY DEATHS NOW!  Generations will suffer from this.  Sea life will suffer from this.  They do not even have the foresight to understand that nature is a fragile and interconnected web of give and take. Be gone, you destroyers of everything beautiful.

05/20/11

SMH AU:
Japan’s TEPCO posts record loss as president resigns:
“Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power on Friday posted a record $15 billion loss and its under-fire president resigned to take responsibility for the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl 25 years ago.”

04/06/11

KSL Com:
Tsunami-hit towns forgot warnings from ancestors

Tsunami-hit towns forgot warnings from ancestors April 06 2011

“MIYAKO, Japan (AP) – Modern sea walls failed to protect coastal towns from Japan’s destructive tsunami last month. But in the hamlet of Aneyoshi, a single centuries-old tablet saved the day.
” ‘High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants,’ the stone slab reads. ‘Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.’ “
“It was advice the dozen or so households of Aneyoshi heeded, and their homes emerged unscathed from a disaster that flattened low-lying communities elsewhere and killed thousands along Japan’s northeastern shore.”

AlterNet:
Snapshot -Japan’s nuclear crisis Lists “main developments after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeast Japan and crippled a nuclear power station, raising the risk of an uncontrolled radiation leak.”

Washington Post:
Amid nuclear crisis, Japan’s Tepco planned new reactors:
“Even as it struggled to contain the world’s worst nuclear disaster in a quarter-century, Tokyo Electric Power Co. late last month quietly set out big plans for the future: It proposed building two new nuclear reactors at its radiation-spewing Fukushima Daiichi power plant.”
“Tokyo Electric, known as Tepco, informed Fukushima prefecture on March 26 of its desire to start building the reactors as early as next spring, local officials said. That was just two weeks after an explosion at the utility’s tsunami-crippled complex set off a cascade of catastrophes.”

03/24/11

Yahoo:
Breach in reactor suspected at Japanese nuke plant

Breach in reactor suspected at Japanese nuke plant March 24 2011

“TOKYO – A suspected breach in the reactor at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean more serious radioactive contamination, Japanese officials revealed Friday, as the prime minister called the country’s ongoing fight to stabilize the plant ‘very grave and serious.’ “

Japan Earthquake And Tsunami Death Toll Exceeds 10,000

03/15/11

Philly Com:
Radiation level soars after Japan nuke plant fire
“SOMA, Japan – Dangerous levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors Tuesday after an explosion and a fire dramatically escalated the crisis spawned by a deadly tsunami.”
“In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation had spread from the four stricken reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant along Japan’s northeastern coast. The region was shattered by Friday’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the ensuing tsunami that is believed to have killed more than 10,000 people, plunged millions into misery and pummeled the world’s third-largest economy.“

03/11/11

Time:
60 Killed in Tsunami after 8.9 Japan Quake

Major tsunami after 8.9 Japan Quake March 11 2011

“A ferocious tsunami spawned by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded slammed Japan’s eastern coast Friday, killing at least 60 people as it swept away boats, cars and homes while widespread fires burned out of control. Tsunami warnings blanketed the entire Pacific, as far away as South America, Canada, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast. “

USGS Earthquake summary

Japan earthquake leads to state of emergency at Fukushima nuclear power plant
Oil refinery explodes in Japan after earthquake

Although Japan is geographically in the Asian (Eastern) region, it is part of the “Western World” politically, economically. Therefore, I have placed this event in the “Western World” category.

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ADDED

02/17/12

Lancaster Online:
Cold snap in Eastern Europe kills more than 650

Cold snap in Eastern Europe kills more than 650 (Visar Kryeziu / AP Photo) Feb 15 2012

“Since the end of January, the region has been pummeled by the deep freeze, which has brought the heaviest blizzards in recent memory. Tens of thousands have been trapped in often-freezing homes and villages by walls of snow and unpassable roads, and officials have struggled to reach out to the vulnerable with emergency food airlifts.”
“Authorities in Russia and Ukraine alone reported Wednesday that more than 300 people have died in the bitter cold.”

Video: Arctic Vortex Shift/Europe Freezes

02/06/12

Yahoo Com:
6.8 quake in Philippines kills 13, buries homes

Philippine magnitude 6.8 earthquake Feb 06 2012

“The 6.8-magnitude quake, in a narrow strait just off Negros Island, caused a landslide in Guihulngan, a city of about 180,000 people in Negros Oriental province. As many as 30 houses were buried and at least 29 people were missing, Mayor Ernesto Reyes said.”
“The epicenter was closest to Tayasan, a coastal town of about 32,000 people flanked by mountains in Negros Oriental province. Two died there, including a child when a concrete fence of a house collapsed, said Benito Ramos, head of the Office of Civil Defense.”

01/10/12

BBC:
Indonesia quake triggers brief tsunami alert

Indonesia magnitude 7.3 quake Jan 10 2012

“Residents ran into the streets after the 7.3 magnitude quake struck 423km (262 miles) south-west of Banda Aceh. No damage has been reported.”
“Officials lifted the tsunami alert two hours later.”

12/30/11

Chicago Sun Times:
Endangered African elephants suffer worst year in decades

Endangered African elephants suffer worst year in decades (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File) Jan 01 2012

“JOHANNESBURG — It’s been a disastrous year for elephants, perhaps the worst since ivory sales were banned in 1989 to save the world’s largest land animals from extinction, the wildlife trade monitoring network TRAFFIC said Thursday.”
“A record number of large seizures of elephant tusks represents at least 2,500 dead animals and shows that organized crime — in particular Asian syndicates — is increasingly involved in the illegal ivory trade and the poaching that feeds it, the group said.”

MSN NZ:
Some crew still aboard burning Russian (nuclear) sub

smoke rises from a dock where the Yekaterinburg nuclear submarine is for repairs at the Roslyakovo shipyard in the Murmansk region, Russia (AP Photo/Ru-RTR Russian state channel) Dec 29 2011

“Some crew are still aboard a Russian nuclear submarine whose hull has caught fire during shipyard repairs and is still burning, hours after the accident, the defence ministry says.”
“Emergency workers had earlier launched a massive operation to douse the flames after the blaze broke out on the 11,740-tonne Yekaterinburg on Thursday while it was docked in the Murmansk region, near Russia’s border with Norway.”

12/29/11 RT:  Crews put out nuclear sub blaze at Northern Russia dockyard “Authorities say that the wooden scaffold around the submarine caught fire, which then spread to the outer skin of the vessel. However they rule out the possibility of the fire getting inside the submarine.”

12/27/11

CBC News:
6.6-magnitude earthquake hits Russia

Quake magnitude 6.6 hits Russia Dec 27 2011

“The epicentre of the quake, which hit at 10:21 a.m. ET, was 6.9 kilometres deep and about 96 kilometres east of Kyzyl, Russia and 336 kilometres northeast of Ulaangom, Mongolia, according to the USGS.”
 The increase in the shallowness (<30 km deep) of these earthquakes under continents, in relation to the magnitude, should be making some news.  Recent Christchurch, NZ and Japan quakes also very shallow at under <9 km.

12/17/11

SunHerald:
Philippine storm toll exceeds 650, 900 missing
“Tropical Storm Washi blew away Sunday after devastating a wide swath of the mountainous region on Mindanao island, which is unaccustomed to major storms. It killed at least 652 people and left more than 900 others missing, the Philippine Red Cross said.”

11/06/11

Telegraph UK:
Underwater volcano toxic gas closes coast in Canary Islands

 The narrator in the video (below) was right about the Canary Islands – good work.

10/23/11

 The video below gives an interesting report on Mt. Etna, the quake in Turkey, and the Canary Islands

 7.2 earthquake hits near Turkey/Iran border 

Video below covers this earthquake, as well as the major flooding in  Thailand (below) 

10/17/11 Thailand floods leave thousands stranded “Worst floods in decades have affected huge swaths of the country, forcing tens of thousands of people to seek refuge in shelters.”

Floods in Thailand leave thousands stranded (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images) Oct 17 2011

09/19/11

USA Today;
Earthquake Mag. 6.9 in India – more than 91 killed

Earthquake Mag. 6.9 in India - more than 91 killed Sep 19 2011

“The 6.9 magnitude earthquake Sunday evening killed at least 91 people across northeast India, Tibet and Nepal. Rescue efforts have been hampered by heavy rain and mudslides that blocked the roads leading to villages in the remote, mountainous region.”
“The death toll from the quake was spread across a wide swath of the Himalayan region, with officials reporting 60 dead in Sikkim, 12 in West Bengal, six in Bihar, six in the neighboring Nepal and another seven in the Chinese region of Tibet. The toll was expected to rise as rescue workers gained access to remote villages in the sparsely populated region.”

07/26/11

Kaiser  Daily Global Health Report:
Somalia’s Famine Is An ‘Act of Mass Murder’
“In his latest Foreign Policy column, Charles Kenny, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, argues that famine is a crime. Famines ‘don’t happen any more in any country where leaders show the slightest interest in the wellbeing of their citizenry. … In order to ensure widespread death by starvation, a governing authority must make a conscious decision: it must actively exercise the power to take food from producers who need it or deny food assistance to victims…’ “.

Somalia: The Real Causes of Famine “The mainstream media casually attributes the famine to a severe drought without examining the broader causes. An atmosphere of “lawlessness, gang warfare and anarchy” is also upheld as one of the major causes behind the famine.”
But who is behind the lawlessness and armed gangs?
 They nailed it.

07/10/11

BNet:
Severe Drought Affecting Millions in Horn of Africa

Severe Drought Affecting Millions in Horn of Africa July 2011

“A severe drought in the Horn of Africa—which includes Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and Djibouti—is affecting almost nine million people, causing widespread hunger in the region while stripping local farmers of their livelihood, the United Nations’ World Food Program announced Wednesday.”
“This drought, caused by lower than expected rainfall in the region between April and June, has launched a humanitarian crisis that is further exacerbated by rising food prices and conflict, the statement said. The problem is expected to worsen in the coming weeks, the announcement said, and needs global attention.”
 Were this happening in, say, the whole of Midwest America, help would have arrived long before it got this far.  There are powerful cabals on this planet who are working to manipulate and manage depopulation events to their own end—which is to “save” only those populations whom they “approve” to live.  No conspiracy here.

03/25/11

Emirates 24/7:
Massive sandstorm shuts Kuwait airport

Massive sandstorm shuts Kuwait airport March 25 2011

“Kuwait was struck by a massive sandstorm on Friday evening, causing major disruptions and forcing the civil aviation to shut down the airport.”
“In view of bad weather conditions, dense dusty storm, and strong winds blowing in the country, all incoming flights were transferred to nearby airports while all outgoing flights were halted until weather conditions improve,” Isam Al Zamil, the head of operations at the airport, said, quoted by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).”

03/24/11

Washington Times:
Two 7.0-magnitude quakes strike Myanmar; no tsunami

Two 7.0-magnitude quakes strike Myanmar; no tsunami March 24 2011

“Two strong earthquakes struck northeastern Myanmar less than a minute apart Thursday night. They could be felt as far away as Bangkok, but a tsunami was not generated.”
“The first 7.0-magnitude quake was just six miles (10 kilometers) deep, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by another of the same strength but far deeper: 140 miles (230 kilometers).”

USGS earthquake details (records 6.8)

02/20/11

Huffington Post:
Mount Bulusan Eruption in Philippines
“The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology confirmed the ash explosion and says it was caused by steam buildup. The institute advises all aircraft to avoid the vicinity and warns that the ash emission could trigger respiratory illnesses for those near the volcano. People are advised not to enter the 4-kilometer danger zone around Mount Bulusan.”

11/02/10

PhysOrg:
Indonesian volcano forces flight cancellations
“Officials in Yogyakarta, the gateway to the famed 9th-century Borobudur temples visited by 1 million tourists a year, and nearby Solo, have cited poor visibility and heavy ash on the runway.”

10/26/10

3News NZ:
Indonesia hit by deadly tsunami, volcanic eruption

Mount Merapi, Indonesia volcano

Indonesia's Merapi volcano 'becoming more active' Oct 26 2010

10/08/10

Telegraph UK:
Hungarian Toxic Sludge Reaches Danube
“The industrial accident triggered by the collapse of walls at the factory reservoir on Monday has been described as an ecological disaster and is now threatening the entire ecosystem of the Danube, Europe’s second longest river which runs from Hungary through Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine before flowing into the Black Sea.”

10/05/10

Independent UK:
Hungary sludge flood called ‘ecological disaster’

Hungary sludge flood called 'ecological disaster' Oct 05 2010

“Hungary has declared a state of emergency in three counties after a flood of toxic red sludge from an alumina plant engulfed several towns and burned people through their clothes. One official called it “an ecological disaster” that may threaten the Danube and other key rivers.
“ The toll rose to four dead, six missing and at least 120 people injured after a reservoir failed Monday at the Ajkai Timfoldgyar plant in Ajka, a town 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Budapest, the capital. ”
“The sludge, a waste product in aluminum production, contains heavy metals and is toxic if ingested. Many of the injured sustained burns as the sludge seeped through their clothes, and two faced life-threatening conditions. Two women, a young man and a 3-year-old child were killed in the flooding.”

10/18/10

BBC:
Super Typhoon Megi hits northern Philippines

10/06/10

Las Vegas Sun:
Death toll from Asian floods tops 100

Death toll from Asian floods tops 100 (AP Photo/Abdul Muin)

“Hundreds of homes were damaged when a river burst its banks in the hardest-hit Indonesian village of Wasior, sweeping away residents in a fast-moving wall of sludge, rocks and heavy logs and leaving thigh-high water in its wake.
“On China’s nearby island province of Hainan, meanwhile, seven straight days of heavy rains left two people missing and forced 64,000 to evacuate, said an official in the provincial flood control office who gave only his surname, Wu.”

09/15/10

Las Vegas Sun:
NKorea: Typhoon Kompasu killed dozens of people

NKorea: Typhoon Kompasu kills "dozens" of people (AP – photo via Korea News Service in Tokyo) Sep 15 2010

“The official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday that landslides, strong winds and heavy rains caused by the typhoon killed ‘dozens’ of people. Heavy rains washed away 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) of farmland, and landslides ‘completely ravaged’ railroads and tracks.”
“Late last month, an overflowing river swamped farmland, houses and public buildings in and around the northwestern city of Sinuiju. About 23,000 people were displaced, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. South Korea’s Red Cross said that in all, an estimated 80,000-90,000 people were affected by the flooding.”

09/09/10

Hong Kong Hit By Record 13,000 Lightning Strikes in One Hour Sep 09 2010

Bloomberg:
Hong Kong Hit By Record 13,000 Lightning Strikes in One Hour
“The Hong Kong Observatory reported 13,102 bolts of lightning struck ground across the city in the hour after midnight. That’s the most since such data was first collected in 2005, said David Hui, a scientific officer at the observatory. The storm raged from 9 p.m. yesterday to 4 a.m. today.”
“The weather was linked to Tropical Storm Meranti, which is moving north through the South China Sea, according Chan Sai- tick, acting senior scientific officer at the observatory. The weather pattern ahead of Meranti caused high temperatures across Hong Kong and southern China yesterday.”

09/02/10

ABC13 Las Vegas:

Indonesian volcano spews new burst of ash “An Indonesian volcano that was quiet for four centuries shot a new, powerful burst of hot ash more than 10,000 feet (three kilometers) in the air Friday, sending frightened residents fleeing to safety for the second time this week.”
“Mount Sinabung had last erupted in 1600, and government vulcanologists acknowledged they had made no efforts before the mountain started rumbling last week to sample gases or look for rising magma or other signs of seismic activity.”

08/29/10

Earthtimes:
Thousands flee volcanic eruption in Indonesia “A volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra erupted Sunday for the first time in 400 years, shooting black smoke and ash up to 1,500 metres into the air and prompting the evacuation of thousands of residents.”
“Indonesia’s state-run Directorate of Vulcanology upgraded the volcano’s danger status to the highest level minutes before the eruption of the 2,451-metre peak, located about 1,300 kilometres north-west of Jakarta.”

Thousands flee when Mt Sinabung volanco in Sumatra erupts minutes after highest alert issued, Aug 29 2010

08/27/10

Unknown Country:

The Oceans: Something is Wrong “Since July, there have been a number of mysterious ocean kills reported from around the world, only one of which has been mentioned by the general media in the west.”

“The kills involve a massive mollusk kill in Pakistan, seal mutilations in Great Britain and, most recently, a huge kill in Brazilian [and Bolivian] waters. On July 17, 2010, millions of dead and dying mollusks washed up along the Arabian Sea shore of Pakistan, and were videotaped on Clifton Beach in Karachi.”

Massive mollusk kill---nightly!---on the beaches of Pakistan Aug 2010

“No Scientific Explanation::: Millions of Seashells apearing [sic] every day on Clifton beach, karachi, Pakistan.”

“Wat [sic] is surprising is that not a single private TV channel has covered this huge Event,.”

CLICK HERE for 2nd part

ATS Discussion thread

Times Union:
UN: 1 million more displaced by Pakistan floods “U.N. spokesman Maurizio Giuliano said about 1 million people have been displaced in Thatta and Qambar-Shadadkot districts since Wednesday.”
“The United Nations, the Pakistani army and a host of other local and international relief groups have been rushing aid workers, medicine, food and water to the affected regions, but are unable to reach many people.”

08/23/10

Real Clear World:
Official: Seoul not considering food aid to NKorea “South Korea has no intention of resuming food aid to North Korea, an official said Monday, a day after the ruling party chief questioned whether the assistance should restart because of recent flooding in the impoverished North.”
“The North’s economy is in shambles and the country has relied on outside food aid to feed much of its 24 million people. The North’s chronic food shortage was feared to worsen after flooding from an overflowing river over the weekend swamped farmland, houses and public buildings in the North’s northwestern city of Sinuiju.”

North Korea: The North's chronic food shortage feared to worsen after flooding from an overflowing river swamped farmland, houses and public buildings in the North's city of Sinuiju. Aug 23 2010

08/11/10  SPACE GIZMO Tropical Storm Dianmu (Diana?) moves toward N. Korea “Tropical Storm Dianmu blew over the East China Sea in early August 2010, traveling slowly toward the Korean Peninsula. On August 10, 2010, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Dianmu had winds of 55 knots (100 kilometers per hour) with gusts up to 70 knots (130 kilometers per hour). JTWC stated that the storm was roughly 270 nautical miles (500 kilometers) south-southwest of Seoul.”

08/20/10

Seattle Times:
Celebrated Russian seed bank fights for its land “The world’s first seed bank survived World War II thanks to 12 Russian scientists who chose to starve to death rather than eat the grain they were saving for future generations.”
“International organizations dedicated to agricultural diversity have appealed directly to President Dmitry Medvedev to save the Pavlovsk Agricultural Station, which they say could be crucial for sustaining fruit crops around the world as climate change and other threats weaken existing varieties.
“Medvedev has ordered an investigation, but with the first plot of station land to go on the auction block on Sept. 23, scientists worry that a decision may come too late.”

Russia's Pavlovsk Seed Vault Threatened by Real Estate Developers Aug 2010. You can help save it by signing petition below the 08/20/10 article

SIGN the PETITION at Global Crop Diversity Trust to help save the seed vault.

In these times when Russia and the world is experiencing food shortages from a changing climate, this action should be called criminal. One simply has to wonder if an engineered plan for food scarcity is not in the works.

08/18/10

SmartTrend News:

“More landslides hit another area of China on Wednesday. The AP reports that after days of heavy rains landslides hit the Puladi township in Yunnan province. Access to the area has been cut off, and the incident left at least 67 people missing.”

Wenchuan county, Sichuan province Aug. 17, 2010 AP photo

Radio Free Europe
Russian Scholar Warns Of ‘Secret’ U.S. Climate Change Weapon “As Muscovites suffer record high temperatures this summer, a Russian political scientist has claimed the United States may be using climate-change weapons to alter the temperatures and crop yields of Russia and other Central Asian countries.”
Areshev’s article references HAARP and “an unmanned spacecraft X-37B, an orbital test vehicle the Pentagon launched in April 2010. The Pentagon calls X-37B a prototype for a new “space plane” that could take people and equipment to and from space stations. Areshev, however, alleges that the X-378 carries “laser weaponry” and could be a key component in the Pentagon’s climate-change arsenal.”
But of course, “The Pentagon was not immediately reachable for comment.”

HAARP in AlaskaAmateur sky-watchers spotted Air Force miniature space plane traveling in low-earth orbit at an inclination over Iraq and Afghanistan, among other nations. Why?

Real Clear World:
Insurgents, police clash amid Pakistan flooding “Militants exploiting the flooding chaos in Pakistan clashed with police overnight, authorities said Wednesday, as desperately needed international donations for the millions of victims picked up pace three weeks after the deluge began.”
“U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson said Tuesday that it was too soon to understand what impact the disaster would have on the Taliban and al-Qaida in Pakistan, but that it was a concern for Washington. The U.S. has pushed Pakistan to eliminate militant hideouts it fears are being used as rest stops for insurgents engaged in the war in Afghanistan.”

08/17/10

Accuweather:
Russia Drought, Heat Further Cut Grain Forecast “The worst drought and heat in over a hundred years have taken a severe toll upon the nation’s grain yield, which is forecast to drop as much as 40 percent versus that of 2009.”
“The major heat wave is ending this week as a cold front settles eastward and southward over western Russia from neighboring Ukraine and Belarus.”

Al Jazeera:
Pakistan’s ‘Timber mafia’ made floods worse “When the residents of Mian Gujar village in Peshawar, northwestern Pakistan went to bed on the night of [July] 31, they noticed nothing unusual about the water level of the nearby Shah Alam River. But in the early hours of the morning they were woken by shouts from the street and floodwater gushing into their homes.”
“Experts too believe the water levels rose at an alarming rate and say that inadequate forest cover in the north-west of the country was largely to blame for the intensity of the floods.”
“Locals say that in Dir, Swat and Nowshera, the floods swept away large amounts of lumber and that at one point the River Panjkora contained so much wood that the surface appeared to be black. Much of this timber had been stored in ravines by the country’s powerful timber mafia, which engages in illegal logging, while it was awaiting transportation to the south. Dislodged by the floods and swept away by the water, the timber destroyed almost all of the bridges in its path and filled the Turbela Dam Reservoir.”

Pakistan flooding

Dollars-to-Donuts, their “timber mafia” ultimately has aglobal corporate predator at the capstone.

Bloomberg
Flooding in China’s Gansu Kills 36 People, Adding to Landslide Death Toll “Torrential rain since Aug. 11 left at least 36 people dead and 23 missing in western China’s Gansu, adding to the 1,200 killed this month in rain-triggered mudslides in the mountainous province.”
“Flooding and landslides in Longnan city also injured 295 people and forced the evacuation of 122,835 residents as of 4 p.m. local time yesterday, Xinhua News Agency said. The death toll from the Aug. 7 mudslide in Zhouqu county rose to 1,254 yesterday, with 490 people still missing, Xinhua reported.”

Pakalert Press:
Pakistan flood crisis raises fears of country’s collapse ”The humanitarian and economic disaster caused by the worst floods in Pakistan’s history could spark political unrest that could destabilize the government, dealing a major blow to the Obama administration’s efforts to fight violent Islamic extremism.”
“The World Bank said Friday that an estimated $1 billion worth of crops have been wiped out, raising the specter of food shortages. Damage to irrigation canals, the bank added, will reduce crop yields once the floodwaters are gone. The situation worsened Friday as authorities ordered the evacuation of Jacobabad, a city of 1.4 million people in southern Sindh province, and forecasters warned that fresh monsoon rains in the mountainous northwest would send a new wave of flooding south down the central Indus River valley over the weekend.”
A prelude to the above story byPakAlert states the following:

“The Sinister Plan is in final phase now.. Pakistani citizens simply have no idea that they are facing the worst ever crises in recent history. Floods will bring hyper-inflation, storage of food, power and potentially collapse of entire political and economical system if this devastation continues. Now America-Israel-India-Nato will have the perfect excuse that Pakistan nuclear weapons could go in hands of Taliban or Al Qaeda in these chaotic times when Pakistani armed and security forces are fully occupied doing rescue, relief and rehabilitation work in hundreds of cities and villages while the economy is collapsing fast and extremists are on the loose!”

Operation Enduring Turmoil

08/15/10

ITN: Ban Ki-Moon arrives in flood-hit Pakistan

08/14/10

RIA Novosti:
Drought to scorch Russia’s hopes for lower inflation “Russia’s state statistics service registered a leap in inflation in early August, an indication that consumer price growth is likely to accelerate in the second half of the year and scorch the government’s hopes for bringing inflation down to 6-7% in 2010, analysts told RIA Novosti on Thursday.”
” ‘With such rates, the government will have to revise its CPI forecast. From the outset, the government’s forecast did not take into account the drought and its consequences. This is an obvious force majeure factor, which has to be reckoned with,’ Vladimir Bragin, an analyst with National Bank Trust, told RIA Novosti.”

08/11/10

National Geographic:
Russia Fires, Pakistan Floods Linked?  ”They’re raging a continent apart, but two deadly natural disasters—the Russian wildfires and the Pakistan floods—may be connected by the Asian monsoon, one of the most powerful atmospheric forces on the planet, scientists say.”
” ‘The key message is that it’s not just natural variability and not just global warming’ but a combination of both, Trenberth said. For instance, the last months of a recent El Niño—a cyclical warming of tropical waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean—likely contributed to the high sea temperatures in the Indian Ocean.”
I think it is safe to say that a probably far more powerful driver for the extremes [aside from HAARP or CERN] occurring on this planet is this:

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According to Space Com 08/01/10:  “The timing of these events suggest they are connected, and a review of SDO movies strengthens that conclusion. In this movie (171 Å), a shadowy shock wave (a “solar tsunami”) can be seen emerging from the flare site and rippling across the northern hemisphere into the filament’s eruption zone. That may have helped propel the filament into space.”
In short, we have just witnessed a complex global eruption involving almost the entire Earth-facing side of the sun.

Aug 02 2010 Complex "Solar Tsunami" occurred

Tropical Storm Dianmu moves toward Korean Peninsula, August 10, 2010

Grist:
Russia struggles against heat wave, spreading wildfires and Chernobyl “Russia struggled Thursday to contain the worst wildfires in its modern history. The blazes, which are spreading to the south, have killed 50 people and are raising concerns about radiation levels.”
“Shoigu said the emergency services were working hard to prevent the fires spreading to a region in western Russia where the soils are still contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe of 1986 in neighboring Ukraine. The authorities have deployed thousands of workers to prevent an even greater calamity as wildfires raged within a few miles of the country’s top-secret nuclear research facility in Sarov, a city closed to foreigners. Officials said all dangerous nuclear materials had been moved away. ‘The situation is under control,’ the Interfax news agency quoted an official as saying.”

Jakarta Post:
China landslide toll rises to 702; Pakistanis flee “The disaster in China’s Gansu province was caused when a debris-blocked swollen river burst, swamping entire mountain villages. Tian Baozhong, the director of civil affairs in Gansu province, said the death toll now stood at 702.”

Search teams gather: Zhouqu, Gansu province August 8, 2010

“In hard-hit Pakistan, people streamed out of Muzaffargarh, a major city of about 250,000 people in Punjab province, after authorities issued warnings using loudspeakers on mosques. ‘There is chaos,’ said Mohammed Amir, a police official in the city.”

08/08/10

BBC:
Pakistan floods ‘hit 14m people’ “The worst floods in Pakistan’s history have hit at least 14 million people, officials say.
“Meanwhile, it has emerged that a charity connected to a group with alleged al-Qaeda links has been providing flood relief. With flood victims bitterly accusing the authorities of failing to come to their aid, the disaster has piled yet more pressure on an administration struggling to contain Taliban violence and an economic crisis.”

08/04/10

Foreign Policy Today:
Wildfires threaten Russian nuclear labs “Russia’s nuclear chief admitted today that the deadly summer wildfires ravaging the country have forced his agency to pack up and remove ‘all explosive and radioactive material” from a top-secret research lab east of Moscow’.” More at Press TV.

Outside the town of Vyksa, Russia July 29, 2010. REUTERS/Mikhail Voskresensky

08/03/10

Mail Online UK:
Wildfires raging across Russia in weeks of devastation “At least 48 people have been killed in weeks of wildfires that continue to wipe out forests and villages in Russia.”
“More than 400 new blazes have been spotted in the country since yesterday as it suffers its worst heatwave since records began. Fears are growing that there are not enough crews to battle the devastating fires, which have destroyed 2,000 homes.”

Russia, outside St. Petersburg

And can you believe that in the midst of all the environment chaos in the world right now, the EPA wants to “crack down on…. farm dust I need to start a post called something like “Stupidist Ideas of the D.C. Crowd.”

Guardian UK:
Pakistan floods: ‘By the time I had got the children, the water was waist high’ “One of the hardest hit areas was the scenic Swat valley, further north, where the population is only just recovering from the Taliban takeover and a military operation last year to drive out insurgents.”
“Tourists had returned this summer, only to be stranded by the flood waters. ‘We saw destruction during the three years of the Taliban and then during their fight with the army. But the destruction we have seen in the last three days is much more,’ said Fazal Maula, a resident of Imam Dheri, one of the many village (sic) in Swat where houses, shops, vehicles and crops were decimated.”

08/02/10

Guardian UK:
Pakistan floods: medical teams sent to devastated areas a cholera fears grow “Pakistan today sent medical teams to the flood-hit north-west of the country amid fears that cholera could spread after the worst flooding in the country’s history displaced up to 2 million people.”
“Survivors face the threat of waterborne disease, which could kill thousands if health workers cannot deliver enough clean drinking water and treat and isolate victims in crowded relief camps.”

08/01/10

Jakarta Post:
Death toll from Pakistan floods rises to 1,100 “The death toll from massive floods in northwestern Pakistan rose to 1,100 Sunday as rescue workers struggled to save more than 27,000 people still trapped by the raging water.”

07/29/10

Aljazeera:
Scores dead in Pakistan Flood “Muhammed Ateeb Siddiqui, the director of operations for Pakistan’s Red Crescent Society, said that rescue efforts everywhere were being impeded by the downpour.”
” ‘The scale of the devastation is so large that I don’t think that even at the provincial level they will be able to cope with the efforts,’ he told Al Jazeera from Islamabad.”

Washington Times:
26 Killed, 38 Missing as Typhoon Hits Philippines “The first typhoon to lash the Philippines this year flooded parts of the capital, toppled power lines and killed at least 26 people Wednesday, many of them trying to scramble to safety as the storm changed course.”
“Newly elected President Benigno Aquino III scolded the weather bureau for failing to predict that the storm would hit Manila. ‘This is unacceptable,’ Aquino told officials during a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, noting that government agencies were relying on the weather bureau for their preparations. ‘I hope this is the last time we are all brought to areas different from where we should be.’ “

The first typhoon to lash the Philippines this year

07/12/10

Business Week:
Russia Drought Hurts Half of Grains in Stricken Areas “Russia’s worst drought in a decade has damaged more than half of grain planted in 11 regions and hot, dry weather may continue for the rest of this month, a meteorologist said. ”
” ‘Unfavorable conditions’ persist across the Urals despite some decline in temperatures’, she said. More than half of the grain crop is damaged in the Chelyabinsk region and as much as 30 percent in the Kurgan region.”

07/10/10

Russia Today:
Video of flying cars as wild tornado hits “Residents in a Saint Petersburg suburb in Russia were shocked to witness the rare sight of a strong tornado. Locals reported seeing powerful winds lift a vehicle over a fence into a parking lot, before crashing into other cars. The uncommon weather conditions, triggered by a thunderstorm, lasted for around 5 minutes – no injuries were caused. Meteorologists say the tornado could have been the result of a sharp change in temperature.”

New Scientist 06/28/10:

Vital fruit and berry collection set for destruction “The world’s largest scientific repository of fruits and berries, outside St Petersburg, Russia, could be bulldozed later this year to make way for new homes.”
“This week Cary Fowler, director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust in Rome, Italy, called for scientists to intervene to prevent ‘the largest intentional, preventable loss of crop diversity in my lifetime – during the International Year of Biodiversity’.”

“We won`t have a society if we destroy the environment.
“Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

 07/07/10

Riz Khan:
The other oil spill—spotlight on the Niger Delta

“The BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico is now the biggest oil disaster in US history. But beyond the media spotlight in Nigeria, environmentalists say as much as 550 million gallons of oil have poured into the Niger Delta River in the past 50 years and people who live there blame Shell for ruining their land and livelihoods.”

Newsweek's "The Other Spills": A Niger Delta oil spill in 2003

06/21/10

World News:
South China Flood Toll “The death toll from severe flooding in southern China rose to at least 175 dead and 107 missing, with 1 million people forced to abandon their homes, the government said Monday.”

06/12/10

Are there any reasonable explanations for spectacular sinkholes?

Road surface suddenly collapses on Zhejiang Huang Qu Nan highway June 04 2010

For sinkholes that occurred in both Canada and Guatemala in May 2010, CLICK HERE

05/16/10

Nature News:
GM crop use makes minor pests major problem “Growing cotton that has been genetically modified to poison its main pest can lead to a boom in the numbers of other insects, a ten-year study in northern China has found.”
“Numbers of mirids (insects of the Miridae family), previously only minor pests in northern China, have increased 12-fold since 1997, they found. ‘Mirids are now a main pest in the region,’ says Wu. ‘Their rise in abundance is associated with the scale of Bt cotton cultivation.’ “

Genetically Modified Cotton makes minor pests major problem in China May 13 2010

It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. When Her natural system is being attacked by foreign substances, her WBCs will start a fight! When will we learn…

03/24/10

Sandstorms Across China Prompt Health Warnings “Winds blowing from the northwest have been sweeping sand across the country since Saturday, affecting Xinjiang  in the far west all the way to Beijing in the country’s east. The sand and dust were carried to parts of southern China and even to cities in Taiwan, 1600 miles (2600 kilometers) away from Inner Mongolia where much of the pollution originated.”

Bejing, China: Permeating yellow sands over financial ave. in downtown Beijing March 22 2010

01/12/10

AsiaOne:
770,000 tons of Australian wheat barred due to pesticide

Taiwan: 770,000 tons of Australian wheat barred due to pesticide Jan 12 2010

“TAIPEI, Taiwan – Some 770,000 tons of wheat shipped from Australia have been barred from entering Taiwan after pesticide residues were discovered in the shipments, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.”
“A concentration of 0.47 ppm of Fenitrothion was detected in random checks of a first shipment of 550,860 kilograms of wheat originating from Australia that a local food importer tried to clear through customs on Dec. 8, 2009, said Tsai Shu-chen, a division chief with the DOH National Laboratories of Foods and Drugs.”

Jump to:
Latest Posts
News surrounding BP and the Lockerbie Bomber case

Liar Liar – The Pen is Blue!

NO MORE LIES! We MUST get to the Truth about the greedy, arrogant, self-serving individuals and the machinations that led to the BP Gulf oil drill explosion, which is rapidly becoming one of the most serious corporate environmental castastrophes visited on this planet. This, coupled with the reignited issue of Israel and the Middle East, means we do not have TIME to fiddle around with political ideologists with hidden agendas who refuse to come clean on their dirty deeds!

§ ≈∞ ≈∞ ≈∞ ≈ §

Latest Gulf Spill Posts

ADDED:

01/26/12

Guardian UK:
Gulf of Mexico oil spill: BP loses bid to make others pay compensation
“BP, Transocean and Halliburton have been sparring over who was at fault for causing the blowout. Federal investigators have said BP, the well’s owner, bears ultimate responsibility for the spill but have faulted all three companies to some degree.”
“The ruling comes as BP, the US southern states affected by the disaster and the federal government are discussing a settlement over America’s largest offshore oil spill.”

01/24/12

Courthouse News Service:
Whistleblower Says BP Fired Him for Refusing To Skew Cleanup Data
“NEW ORLEANS (CN) – A leader in BP’s oil spill cleanup claims the company fired him for refusing to change data so that BP could claim the cleanup phase was over and it could begin restoration, which a BP vice president told him ‘would have an upward impact on BP stock prices.’ “
“Walter says that when BP’s operations section chief, Mike Harrison, saw the Mississippi shoreline treatment response data, he was unhappy with the numbers and ‘basically demanded that Walter falsify the data by changing the number of segments that still needed to be cleaned to a lower number. This was all based on money and had nothing to do with actually cleaning up the oil or meeting the STR or environmental requirements.’ “

01/21/12

Courthouse News:
Gulf Oil Spill Could Bring Up to $20B in Fines
“  ‘These are civil penalties – they’re not intended to make the people whole. It’s intended to punish,’ Department of Justice Senior Attorney Steven O’Rourke told U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier.”
“O’Rourke told the court: ‘Transocean is saying it came from the well so BP and Anadarko are liable; Anadarko and BP are saying it came from the vessel so Transocean is liable. The government says all of them are correct. They’re all liable.’ ” [emphasis]
That’s a tidy sum.  Those affected are entitled to prosecutions as well, though.

RELATED: Also from CNS: Appeals Court Won’t Block Ecuadoreans’ $18B Chevron Win ” ‘The Ecuadorean communities affected by Chevron’s contamination are one step closer to justice as a result of today’s ruling,’ their spokeswoman, Karen Hinton, said in a statement. ‘For almost two decades, Chevron has stood in the way of a comprehensive cleanup of billions of gallons of crude oil and toxic wastewater it deliberately dumped into the pristine rainforest. Thousands of people have died or suffered as the oil giant and its legions of lawyers have fought to distract attention from the overwhelming evidence against the company.’ “
  Justice is a beautiful thing, no?
Related: Mining, Fuel, Chemicals & Lives Endangered By Corruption, Laxity Of Safety Oversight

12/06/11

CNN:
BP says Halliburton “intentionally destroyed evidence” after Gulf oil spill

BP says Halliburton "intentionally destroyed evidence" after Gulf oil spill Dec 06 2011

“BP alleges in its filing that Halliburton destroyed evidence on cement testing and violated court orders by not bringing forth “inexplicably missing” computer modeling results.”
” ‘BP has now learned the reason for Halliburton’s intransigence — Halliburton destroyed the results of physical slurry testing, and it has, at best, lost the computer modeling outputs that showed no channeling. More egregious still, Halliburton intentionally destroyed the evidence related to its nonprivileged cement testing, in part because it wanted to eliminate any risk that this evidence would be used against it at trial,’ the BP papers say.”

04/21/11

Law Com:
BP Sues Rig Owner for $40B, Alleging Negligence in Oil Spill

BP Sues Rig Owner for $40B, Alleging Negligence in Oil Spill April 21, 2011

“The British company said in papers filed in federal court in New Orleans that it is suing rig owner Transocean for at least $40 billion in damages, accusing it of causing last year’s deadly blowout in the Gulf of Mexico that led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. BP says every single safety system and device and well control procedure on the Deepwater Horizon rig failed.”
“It also is suing Cameron International, which provided a blowout preventer with a faulty design, which caused an unreasonable amount of risk that harm would occur.”
“Also Wednesday, Transocean filed court papers demanding that judgments be made against BP, Cameron and other companies in its favor. Among other things, Transocean wants a judgment against BP for $12.9 million and a judgment against cement contractor Halliburton and other companies for $20 million.”

03/30/11

Washington Post:
Manslaughter, other charges considered in gulf oil spill probe
“The Justice Department is considering manslaughter charges, along with a range of other possible violations, in its criminal probe into the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, law enforcement and other sources familiar with the investigation said Tuesday.”
“The intensive inquiry could lead to manslaughter counts in the deaths of the 11 workers killed when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded April 20, the sources said. Any such charges would probably involve BP or Transocean, which leased the rig to BP, they said.” [emphasis mine]

12/15/10

Guardian UK: Cablegate
WikiLeaks cables: BP accused by Azerbaijan of stealing oil worth $10bn

WikiLeaks cables: BP accused by Azerbaijan of stealing oil worth $10bn Dec 15 2010

“The president of Azerbaijan accused BP of stealing billions of dollars of oil from his country and using “mild blackmail” to secure the rights to develop vast gas reserves in the Caspian Sea region, according to leaked US cables.”
“In one cable in October 2007 Socar threatened “extra-legal” measures against the consortium and to have BP’s Azerbaijan boss, Bill Schrader, put on trial for “stealing ten billion dollars worth of Azerbaijani oil”. Another cable that month reads: “If a good response is not found, Azerbaijan ‘will make public that BP is stealing our oil‘, [President] Aliyev stated.”"

11/08/10

Independent Panel to share findings on Gulf Spill (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) Nov 08 2010

Sign On San Diego:
Independent panel to share findings on Gulf spill
“In a preview of what is likely to come, the panel’s chief investigator, Fred H. Bartlit Jr., revealed in a letter last month that testing on cement mixtures similar to those used in the well showed that the formula was unstable before the blowout, but BP and Halliburton used it anyway. Bartlit said the companies should have reconsidered the type of cement used in the well. Cement is an essential barrier to preventing blowouts.”

Washington Post:
Scientists find damage to coral near BP well

Scientists find damage to coral near BP well Nov 05 2010

“For the first time, federal scientists have found damage to deep sea coral and other marine life on the ocean floor several miles from the blown-out BP well – a strong indication that damage from the spill could be significantly greater than officials had previously acknowledged.”
“Coral is essential to the Gulf because it provides a habitat for fish and other organisms such as snails and crabs, making any large-scale death of coral a problem for many species. It might need years, or even decades, to grow back.”

10/18/10

Bloomberg:
BP Sells Venezuela, Vietnam Assets to TNK-BP for $1.8 Billion

BP Sells Venezuela, Vietnam Assets to TNK-BP for $1.8 Billion Oct 18 2010

“BP Plc agreed to sell assets in Venezuela and Vietnam to Russian oil venture TNK-BP for $1.8 billion as it raises money to help pay for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.”
“BP plans to sell $30 billion in assets to cover costs linked to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst in U.S. history. TNK-BP, which accounts for about a quarter of BP’s output and a fifth of reserves, is seeking to increase value by expanding outside Russia.”

10/05/10

NBC26 Greenbay:
Panel: Transocean thwarts efforts to get documents
“Members of a federal panel investigating the cause of the Gulf of Mexico rig explosion and oil spill and how to improve safety and oversight are accusing rig owner Transocean of thwarting their efforts to get to critical documents and a witness.”
“Transocean lawyers say the document request is too cumbersome. They say whether the witness testifies isn’t within their control.”
Lives and livelihoods were destroyed due to this calamity.  And Transocean lawyers have the unmitigated gall to say that going through documents is “too cumbersome“? In the end, all get their deserves.  Their turn is coming.

10/02/10

WSFA 12 Alabama:
Judge asked to postpone trial for Gulf spill cases

Halliburton Energy Services, Cameron International ask Judge to postpone Guil Oil trial Oct 02 2010

“Some of the companies sued over the massive Gulf oil spill are asking a federal judge to postpone a trial designed to assign percentages of fault in the ill-fated Deepwater Horizon drilling project.”
“A court filing Friday by Halliburton Energy Services, Cameron International and other companies says they need more time to prepare for a trial on the case’s ‘limitation and liability allocation issues.’   U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier was asked to delay the trial from October 2011 to February 2012. Barbier didn’t immediately rule.”

09/18/10

Miami Herald:
Cement flows for permanent plug of BP’s Gulf well

Cement flows for permanent plug of BP's Gulf well Sep 18 2010

“Engineers initially had planned to pump in mud before the cement, but a BP spokesman said that wasn’t necessary because there was no pressure building inside the well.”
“BP expects the well will be completely sealed – and declared permanently dead – sometime Saturday, five months after the catastrophe began April 20, when an explosion killed 11 workers, sank a drilling rig and led to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. “
Something tells me they should have “done the mud”, too.

09/17/10

WXOW La Crosse:

BP’s Hayward defends safety record to UK lawmakers

BP's Hayward defends safety record to UK lawmakers

“Hayward, who will be replaced on Oct. 1 by chief executive Bob Dudley, an American, told Parliament’s Energy and Climate Change Committee the industry at large would improve safety as a result of the spill.   He said the oil industry will ‘significantly enhance the testing protocols of blowout preventers’ following the explosion at the Macondo well on April 20, which killed 11 workers and triggered the massive spill.”

“The Financial Times reported Wednesday that all but one of BP’s North Sea installations examined by government inspectors last year were cited for failure to comply with emergency regulations on oil spills. Citing inspection records obtained under Britain’s Freedom of Information Act, it revealed BP had not complied with rules on training for offshore operators and had failed to conduct adequate oil spill exercises.”

09/11/10

BP Exec Andy Inglis Leaving Board of Russian Joint Venture TNK-BP to make way for Tony Hayward Sep 11 2010

BP oil well blowout preventer reaches NASA facility in Louisiana Sep 11 2010

09/08/10

NY Times:

BP releases Gulf oil report, finds several companies at fault in spill Sep 08 2010

Report by BP Finds Several Companies at Fault in Spill “Conducted by the company’s safety chief, Mark Bly, and a team of about 50 mostly BP employees, the inquiry was initiated almost immediately after the April 20 explosion that killed 11 and spilled almost five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.”

“Because of its authorship, the report is unlikely to carry much weight in influencing the Department of Justice, which is considering criminal and civil charges. It is, however, a first glimpse at BP’s probable legal strategy in defending itself against the claims and it represents the first in a series of such reports in the coming months.”

BP Report Site

09/03/10

LA Times:

BP: Blowout preventer that failed to stop Gulf of Mexico oil leak removed from well “BP PLC said the blowout preventer that failed to stop oil from spewing into the Gulf of Mexico was removed from the company’s well on Friday afternoon.”

“The blowout preventer is considered a key piece of evidence in the spill investigation. Investigators will examine it and hope to gain insight into why the device failed to prevent the spill. Late Friday, the government said another blowout preventer had successfully been placed on the blown-out well.”

BP blowout preventer parts successfully raised to surface Sep 04 2010

08/27/10

NOLA:

BP engineer who wrote telling e-mails pleads the Fifth to avoid testifying at oil spill hearings “Brian Morel, a BP engineer who was part of a team that designed the Macondo well that blew April 20, is the second witness to invoke his constitutional right to not answer questions from a joint Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management panel.”

“Morel is significant because of e-mail messages he sent and received in the days leading up to the disaster. Those messages were released by a congressional committee.”

Atty William W. Taylor, III explains joint investigation board members that his client, BP drilling engineer Brian Morel, formally takes the 5th. Aug 262010

Watch testimonies on C-SPAN

08/26/10  WBTV S. Carolina:

For panel, details on BP’s structure out of reach ” ‘Everybody in charge, nobody in charge,’ U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Hung Nguyen, co-chairman of the investigative board, said in frustration after repeatedly questioning BP senior vice president Kent Wells about who oversaw safety on the Deepwater Horizon, and the company as a whole.”

“Attorneys and the joint panel of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement spent the bulk of the hearings seeking basic information about BP’s personnel structure. Yet those details remained out of reach, with Nguyen and other board members repeatedly voicing their frustration.”

Statesman:

Engineers to remove temporary cap from Gulf well “The federal government said engineers will start work Monday to remove the temporary cap that stopped oil from gushing out of BP’s blown-out Gulf well so that crews can raise a key piece of equipment from the seabed.”

“The Department of Justice and other federal investigators are overseeing the work to remove the blowout preventer, Allen said. The 50-foot, 600,000-pound device — which was designed to prevent such a catastrophe — will be taken out of the water with the well pipe still inside to ensure the pipe doesn’t break apart any more than it already has.”

Bellingham Herald:

BP ruled out bid for drilling off Greenland “  BP PLC said Thursday that it decided not to bid for a drilling license near Greenland, a move government officials there say may be due to its tarnished safety image after the disastrous blowout of a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico.”

“The announcement put the North Atlantic territory in the spotlight of global concerns about the risks of drilling at sea. Greenpeace’s ship Esperanza was circling the oil rig in protest over what spokesman Ben Steart called ‘the reckless push toward an Arctic oil run.’ “

BP PLC decides not to bid for a drilling license near Greenland; may be due to Gulf oil calamity Aug 26 2010

08/24/10

Palm Beach Post:
Oil spill panel hears about Halliburton warning “E-mails released by Congress in June show that a BP engineering official conveyed Halliburton’s conclusions to a BP well team leader and his own concerns that BP needed to install the extra centralizers. The well team leader responded he didn’t like the idea because it would take 10 hours to install them.”

” ‘BP then in turn decided not to run the additional centralizers without consulting me or their in-house specialists,’ Jesse Gagliano, the Halliburton official, told members of the joint U.S. Coast Guard-Bureau of Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement investigative panel.”

“Nathaniel Chaisson, a Halliburton cementer who was on the rig assisting with the job, said he saw the additional centralizers on board the rig, but BP still decided against using them.”

Jesse Gagliano, Halliburton tech advisor, testifies before Deepwater joint investigation Aug 24 2010

Daun Winslow, Transocean performance division manager testifies before joint investigation Aug 24 2010

08/19/10

Smart Trend News:
Scientists report undersea oil plume “The Washington Post is reporting that scientists have found evidence contrary to the Obama administration claim that most of the oil from BP’s spill is either gone or rapidly disappearing. They cite the discovery of an undersea “plume” of oil stretching more than 21 miles from the well site.”

“News of the plume was announced Thursday afternoon by researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The cloud of oil droplets, which is more than a mile wide and as tall as a 65-story building, was found in late June.  Researchers have also questioned the math used in the government’s accounting. Although the spill has not had the repercussions initially expected, many are criticizing the government for painting a less than realistic picture.”

I sense Impeachment proceedings in the wind here, not just of the President but resignations of all Corporate and AIPAC holdovers surrounding him and in Congress.

Hon. Kevin Davis vs. Fed. Government. WHO is protecting WHO? “Under US Dept of Homeland Security The United States Coast Guard sent a letter threatening potential jail time for non compliance with the Federal Government to the Honorable Kevin Davis, Parrish President of St. Tammany Parish Government at 21490 Koop Drive Mandeville, LA 70471 if he does not repeal his executive order enacted at the local level designed to protect Louisiana residents during Hurricane Season.

” The Federal Government wishes to remove key barriers in place designed to keep Louisiana safer during the well known Hurricane Season. The Federal Government appears to be preparing to force removal of the barriers leaving the area more exposed to forthcoming hurricanes.”

Las Vegas Sun:

BP accused of withholding ‘critical’ spill data “The company that owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico is accusing BP of withholding what it describes as critical evidence needed to investigate the cause of worst maritime oil spill in history, according to a confidential internal document obtained by The Associated Press.”

“Transocean said that certain limited information it has been able to retrieve from BP came only after the company reluctantly signed a confidentiality agreement.”

” ‘Ultimately, and despite our reservations, we agreed to BP’s condition of secrecy because there is no other source of key well data,’ the letter says. The company is seeking 16 pieces of technical information from BP, including pressure tests, logs, and other data.”

Huffington Post from 08/09/10:

Matt Simmons Dead — Oil Man Who Predicted the End of Oil “Matt Simmons passed away today from a heart attack at the age of 67. Matt was the founder of Simmons and Company — one of the leading energy investment banks in the world.”

“Last month he officially launched the Ocean Energy Institute which will focus on maximizing energy from the ocean including offshore wind and wave energy. Recently, Matt was outspoken on the BP oil disaster. He pointed to the strong possibility of several leaks, not just the one BP showed in the videos. He predicted BP may eventually have to declare bankruptcy from the spill aftereffects.”

Matthew Simmons, energy investment banker, advocate for alternative energy, energy adviser to George W. Bush: Found dead Aug 08 2010

Rest in Peace, Mr. Simmons. This occurred a week ago and as much as I try to follow news, I only stumbled upon it today when several citizen reporters uploaded on YouTube. It seems the MSN outlets rather buried this like a footnote; I’ve found no report from Fox news. I suspect the Truth about his high suspicious death will not remain covered for long, though.

ATS Forum Thread

08/16/10

Independent UK:

President goes for a swim in the Gulf – or does he? “The official picture was intended to provide evidence that the region’s beaches are back to normal. Yet it soon emerged that the private beach on which it was taken, off Alligator Point in St Andrew Bay, north-west Florida, isn’t technically in the gulf.”

08/06/10

Real Clear Politics:

Spill investigators want to find undersea evidence “Now that BP appears to have vanquished its ruptured well, authorities are turning their attention to gathering evidence from what could amount to a crime scene at the bottom of the sea.”

“Hundreds of investigators can’t wait to get their hands on evidence. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation, the Coast Guard is seeking the cause of the blast, and lawyers are pursuing millions of dollars in damages for the families of the 11 workers killed, the dozens injured and the thousands whose livelihoods have been damaged.”

08/04/10

Miami Herald:

BP plugs well with mud; feds say much of oil gone “BP claimed a key victory Wednesday in the effort to plug its blown-out well and the government said much of the spilled oil is gone – though what’s left is still at least quadruple the amount that poured from the Exxon Valdez.”

“But the mud that was forced down the broken wellhead to permanently plug the gusher is only half the story. To call the mission a success, crews working on a flotilla of vessels on a desolate patch of water need to seal off the well from two directions.”

This may just be the end of the beginning. This calamity certainly changed the geoconfiguration at the seabed and below and spewed an alarming amount of toxic gases all around the region. Only time will tell.

08/01/10

WXVT 15 Mississippi:

3 squabbling companies must cooperate to plug well “On shore, BP, Halliburton and Transocean are engaging in a billion-dollar blame game over the blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. At sea, they’re depending on each other to finally plug up the environmental disaster.”

“The roles of the three companies in the relief kill effort are much the same as they were on the Deepwater Horizon, the exploratory rig that blew up soon after a temporary cement cap was placed on its well, killing 11 workers. The conflicts began almost as soon as oil started flowing.”

How grudgingly they pursue cooperation even in the face of calamity. I just get this picture of a bunch of little boys playing big-shot and running to mummy crying when they don’t get their way.

07/28/10

RT

Russian High Life for BP CEO BP CEO Tony Hayward is packing up and getting off easy. There are only rumors of his resignation but there’s already word that Hayward will be moving to Russia and reportedly joining the board of TNK-BP Oil Company, a 50/50 joint Russian venture. RT Correspondent Katerina Azarova joins Alyona from Moscow to share the word on the street. And she explains the lavish and extravagant lifestyle waiting for him.

05/26/10

Platts

Russian supreme court backs antitrust fines against TNK-BP “Russia’s Supreme Arbitration Court (SAC) Tuesday backed a ruling by the country’s antimonopoly service fining TNK-BP for abusing antitrust legislation and setting artificially high oil products prices, in a decision widely seen as setting a precedent for similar cases against other oil companies.”

“The SAC said the decision by the Federal Antimonopoly Service to impose a Rb1.1 billion fine on Anglo-Russian venture TNK-BP for abusing its dominant position in domestic wholesale market was ‘legal and justified,’ the service said in a statement late Tuesday.”

07/27/10

Chicago 2:Barge Hits Well Near Gulf, Sends Oil, Gas Spewing “While there was no estimate of how much oil was spewing Tuesday, officials said the mile-long slick it created was small compared with the Gulf spill.”

“The towboat captain told investigators the well was not lit as required, Coast Guard Capt. John Arenstam said.”

07/07/10

Daily Business Review:

Gulf of Mexico awash in 27,000 abandoned wells “More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, an environmental minefield that has been ignored for decades. No one — not industry, not government — is checking to see if they are leaking, an Associated Press investigation shows.”

“As a forceful reminder of the potential harm, the well beneath BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig was being sealed with cement for temporary abandonment when it blew April 20, leading to one of the worst environmental disasters in the nation’s history. BP alone has abandoned about 600 wells in the Gulf, according to government data.”

MSNBC:

BP’s new CEO: Gulf spill was a wake-up call “Robert Dudley will become BP PLC’s first ever non-British chief executive, the company said as it reported a record quarterly $17 billion loss and set aside $32.2 billion to cover costs from the spill.”

“Ending weeks of speculation, BP confirmed that gaffe-prone Tony Hayward will step down Oct. 1 as the London-based company seeks to reassure both the public and investors that it is learning lessons from the spill.”

Robert Dudley will become "BP PLC's first ever non-British CEO", replacing "gaffe-prone Tony Hayward"

BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg (C), flanked by outgoing Chief Executive Tony Hayward, (L) and incoming Chief Executive Robert Dudley (R) July 27, 2010

07/26/10

Daily Herald:

Tony Hayward leaving as BP CEO, U.S. official says “A change in leadership will not change the mammoth tasks ahead of BP, from stopping the offshore oil gusher for good, to cleaning up the millions of gallons that have already leaked, to paying billions in claims – all while defending its stock price and repairing its battered reputation.”

“Hayward joined BP in 1982 as a geologist, and currently makes 1.045 million pounds (US $ 1.6 million) a year as the company’s head, according to their annual report. In 2009, he received a performance bonus of more than 2 million pounds (US$ 3.1 million) plus other remuneration, bringing his total pay package to more than 4 million pounds (US$ 6.1 million).”

07/22/10

NY Times:

Workers on Doomed Rig Voiced Concern About Safety “A confidential survey of workers on the Deepwater Horizon in the weeks before the oil rig exploded showed that many of them were concerned about safety practices and feared reprisals if they reported mistakes or other problems.”

“Only about half of the workers interviewed said they felt they could report actions leading to a potentially ‘risky’ situation without reprisal. ‘This fear was seen to be driven by decisions made in Houston, rather than those made by rig based leaders,’ the report said.”

Sun Herald:

Tropical depression races toward BP’s leaky well “A tropical depression racing toward the Gulf of Mexico Thursday increased pressure on BP and the U.S. government to decide whether to evacuate dozens of ships at the site of the ruptured oil well.”

“Worse yet, the government’s spill chief said foul weather could require reopening the cap that has contained the oil for nearly a week, allowing oil to gush into the sea again for days while engineers wait out the storm. If the work crews are evacuated, it could be two weeks before they can resume the effort to kill the well. That would upset BP’s timetable, which called for finishing the relief tunnel by the end of July and plugging the blown-out well by early August.”

This chilled me with its underlying current. A powerful geopolitical power war is taking place here, perhaps starting even before the diaster took place. This event has all the ingredients of a Perfect Storm (trooper).

Sac Bee:

Judge halts oil, gas development on Chukchi Sea “A federal judge on Wednesday stopped companies from developing oil and gas wells on billions of dollars in leases off Alaska’s northwest coast, saying the federal government failed to follow environmental law before it sold the drilling rights.”

“U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline said that the Minerals Management Service failed to analyze the environmental effect of natural gas development despite industry interest and specific lease incentives for such development.”

It comes down to this for me: We have the choice to wreak havoc on the planet for profits and have no planet to enjoy or we learn to conserve our excessive energy demands. The Quakers do very well on this point.

07/18/10

Huffington Post:

BP Well Cap: BP, Feds Clash Over Reopening Capped Gulf Oil Well “BP and the Obama administration offered significantly differing views Sunday on whether the capped Gulf of Mexico oil well will have to be reopened, a contradiction that may be an effort by the oil giant to avoid blame if crude starts spewing again.”

“The concern all along — since pressure readings on the cap weren’t as high as expected — was a leak elsewhere in the wellbore, meaning the cap may have to be reopened to prevent the environmental disaster from becoming even worse and harder to fix.

“The official, who would not clarify what is seeping near the well, also said BP is not complying with the government’s demand for more monitoring. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the Obama administration’s spill response chief, demanded BP provide results of further testing of the seabed by 9 p.m. EDT Sunday night.”

Does BP have a Death Wish here? This is a gul-dern 3rd British invasion (counting the Beatles).

07/15/10

Examiner:

BP chokes off the oil leak; now begins the wait “Now begins a waiting period during which engineers will monitor pressure gauges and watch for signs of leaks elsewhere in the well. The biggest risk: Pressure from the oil gushing out of the ground could fracture the well and make the leak even worse.”

“Even if it works, the cap is not a permanent fix, and not the end of the crisis by any means. BP is drilling two relief wells so it can pump mud and cement into the leaking well in hopes of plugging it permanently by mid-August. After that, the Gulf Coast faces a monumental cleanup and restoration that could take years.”

I hope it works, I really do, but there may be an unseen set of geologic physics at play in this deep sea calamity that somehow unsettles me. Of course this is not the end of the book, only the end of the chapter for BP et. al. There’s that nagging little issue about BP allegedly pushing the political pressure button on Britains’ -or- the old terrorist-for-oil ploy. We really need to kick big business lobbyists (especially foreign lobbyists) out of congress, ya know?

Washington Post:

Leaky Pipe repaired, BP resumes preparation for test “Federal officials green-lighted the ‘integrity tests’ after a 24-hour delay, during which government scientists and outside experts demanded more information from BP about possible hazards posed by stopping the flow of the well. They are concerned that a spike in pressure as the flow is clamped could blow oil and gas out of the casing of the well and into the geological formations. Throughout the crisis, engineers have feared the possibility that efforts to fix the problem could make it worse.”

“Allen said Wednesday that during the top kill, the well pressure never surpassed 6,000 pounds per square inch of pressure. That befuddled engineers, who did not know where the mud, furiously pumped into the blowout preventer from surface ships, was going. They wondered if it was flowing through breaches in the well casing into the geological formation.”

07/14/10

NPR:

After Days Of Progress, BP Freezes Work In Gulf “The development was a stunning setback after the oil giant finally seemed to be on track following nearly three months of failed attempts to stop the spill, which has sullied beaches from Florida to Texas and decimated the multibillion dollar fishing industry.”

“Oil continued to spew nearly unimpeded into the water, with no clear timeline on when it would stop. BP shares were down 2.5 percent in afternoon trading in London after recouping some of their oil spill losses earlier this week, when the cap project seemed to be moving ahead.”

07/10/10

Chron:

BP: Cap on gushing well removed, oil flows freely “Officials say a containment cap over the gushing leak in the Gulf of Mexico has been removed so a better one can be installed. BP spokesman Mark Proegler says the cap was removed at 12:37 p.m. CDT on Saturday. Oil is now flowing into the Gulf without being collected from the well head.”

“If all goes well, the oil could be contained sometime Monday. A permanent solution is still weeks off. That involves an attempt to plug the well far below the gushing well head.”

MSNBC:

EU considers deepwater oil restrictions: report “European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger told La Stampa newspaper the 27-nation bloc could evaluate if it needed another agency to oversee offshore exploration or if the European Maritime Safety Agency could take action on deepwater rigs.”

“Oettinger repeated his suggestion for a moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits until more secure rules were in place. He did not give a time limit for a freeze, but said: ‘We want to be able to put together a catalog of the possible consequences for every new well. And we want it this year.’ “

07/08/10

Media Blackout of a New Orleans News Crew.mp4

NOLA:

Tar balls reach Lake Pontchartrain “Showing just how unpredictable and all-consuming the massive Gulf oil spill can be, tar balls and small sheens of oil have entered Lake Pontchartrain and are hitting Texas shores for the first time.”

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“Lopez said oil made its way into the lake because of winds from the far edges of Hurricane Alex last week as well as sustained east and southeast winds during the weekend. The winds from Alex pushed a large amount of oil into the Mississippi Sound for the first time, and the east winds during the past few days pushed oil into Lake Borgne, the Rigolets and eventually the eastern stretches of Lake Pontchartrain.”

07/06/10 Huffington Post: Tar Balls Hit Texas, BP oil Spill Now Reaches All Gulf States “Tar balls from the Gulf oil spill found on a Texas beach were confirmed Monday as the first evidence that gushing crude from the Deepwater Horizon well has reached all the Gulf states.”

07/06/10

Washington Post:

BP has steady sales at Defense Department despite U.S. scrutiny “The Defense Department has kept up its immense purchases of aviation fuel and other petroleum products from BP even as the oil company comes under scrutiny for potential violations of federal and state laws related to Gulf of Mexico well explosion, according to U.S. and company officials.”

“So far, members of Congress have discussed barring BP from any new oil and gas drilling leases, not from fuel sales to the government. Rep. George Miller(D-Calif.), who co-chairs the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, said last week that he would introduce legislation to shut BP out of such leases for the next seven years, as punishment for what he described as ‘serial’ legal violations.”

Shame, shame, shame.

ProPublica:

BP Texas Refinery Had Huge Toxic Release Just Before Gulf Blowout “Two weeks before the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, the huge, trouble-plagued BP refinery [1] in this coastal town spewed tens of thousands of pounds of toxic chemicals into the skies.”

“The release from the BP facility here began April 6 and lasted 40 days [2]. It stemmed from the company’s decision to keep producing and selling gasoline while it attempted repairs on a key piece of equipment, according to BP officials and Texas regulators.”

07/04/10

Coast To Coast A.M.: “George Noory was joined by Richard C. Hoagland for a discussion on the potential catastrophic dangers that could result from the accumulation of methane in the Gulf. He pointed to evidence which suggests that a massive bulge of methane is forming beneath the ocean floor.”

“(H)e urged C2C listeners to contact Louisiana resident and prominent TV pundit James Carville, in the hopes of creating momentum in the mainstream media for this information to be made public. “

Unknown Country:

MORE Oil Spills in the Future “Anthropologist Bret Gustafson says, ‘BP and other oil companies have tried to portray this spill as an accident or an aberration, but in fact there are spills on off-shore and on- shore sites around the world, increasingly.’ A rig sank off the coast of Venezuela in May. Last October, a rig spilled oil for two months into the Timor Sea off of Australia. There are recurring spills in virtually every oil region, such as the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon and Nigeria.”

” ‘These environmental and public health catastrophes are almost always accompanied by corruption and violence tied to oil activities,’ Gustafson says. ‘In the United States, which is more of a consumer than producer of oil, we are generally ignorant about this reality of oil until something like this comes home to roost.’ “

Huffington Post:

BP’s Smoking Gun and the Manipulation of Oil Prices“ In an eye-opening front page article the “New York Times gives smoking gun evidence of the manipulation of oil and oil product prices through trading on the commodity exchanges. It places into focus the question: what benefit is derived from these exchanges as currently constituted, other than providing a speculation platform and con game for insiders and an instrument for oil producers to hype the price of their commodity? At the heart of the article and as shining example of miscreant trading behavior are our good friends at BP.”

06/30/10

CNN–Strong allegations from an executive who will testify before a Senate panel that BP is sinking oil by using dispersants.

06/29/10

NY Times:

BP Protesters Stage Mini-Spill Outside (London) Tate Britain Museum“Protesters took their dissatisfaction with BP to the steps of the Tate Britain museum in London, using the occasion of a summer party celebrating that oil company’s 20-year sponsorship of the museum to call attention to its handling of the calamitous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.”

“On Monday, The Guardian newspaper published a letter protesting the party, signed by more than 100 artists, critics and curators, saying that relationships like the one between the Tate and BP ‘enable big oil companies to mask the environmentally destructive nature of their activities with the social legitimacy that is associated with such high-profile cultural associations.’ ”

Yes!

Guardian UK:

BP ‘staked future on expanding offshore drilling’ “BP staked its future on expanding offshore drilling a month before the catastrophic explosion on the Deepwater Horizon triggered the United States’ worst environmental disaster, according tocompany documents revealed yesterday.”

“In tackling the Gulf disaster, BP has often cited the depth of this well as a primary challenge to containing the gusher [11]. By now, multiple reports—including one in today’s New York Times—document how the technology to drill to greater depths has surged ahead, while the technology to clean up a spill hasn’t been updated for decades [12].”

06/27/10

MSNBC YouTube:

Rep. Markey on the Deteriorating BP Wellhead and the Need to Plan for Worst Case Scenario

06/26/10 (MT)

Scotsman:

Another twist in BP soap opera as predators circle weakened giant “The drama that is unfolding is the stuff of the dizziest soap opera. A president of the US taking on what was Britain’s biggest company. A chairman dodging verbal bullets for a hapless chief executive making matters worse every time he speaks. A flotilla of vessels and aircraft circling the ever-widening spill into the ocean.”

“There are parallels with the banking crisis. Those driven by unrestrained ambition, for more growth and more profit, didn’t see the crisis unfolding around them. The shares crashed and dividends were suspended. Is BP too big to fail? Where have we heard that before?”

“The company is being referred to as Bust Petroleum as it considers putting its US business into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Predators are circling, including US giant Exxon.

Always, there is dishonor among thieves.

06/25/10

SunHerald Mississippi:

Jindal vetoes bill to open oil spill records“Gov. Bobby Jindal rejected a bill Friday that would have required him to make public and to preserve all his office’s documents involving the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Senate sponsor of the public records provision said Friday night that Jindal’s veto was expected. He noted that the governor has repeatedly fought attempts to require preservation and open most of his office’s records to public scrutiny.”

(Sen. Robert Adley, R-Benton) Adley also called it hypocritical for the governor to push BP to open some of its records to the state even as Jindal refuses to release his own. ‘How in the world would making our records public let BP off for what they’ve done? That makes absolutely no sense,’ Adley said.”

So, what is Gov. Jindal afraid of exposing those records? My hunch is that it would show improprieties in his own cozy relationship with corporate oil. Public servants who refuse to be transparent with their constituants should be recalled or legally held to account by that constituancy. Period point.

06/24/10

Kindra Arnesan, Venice LA: “This Venice LA local has been granted security clearance to see it all.”

Kindra Arnesen Turns Whistleblower, Exposes BP And Govt Coverup July 2010

Yet another point of Light.

Guardian UK:

BP refits Gulf of Mexico oil cap as Barack Obama’s rating drops “BP says it has reinstalled an oil-siphoning cap on its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico and has resumed collecting crude after an accident led to oil flowing unhindered into the ocean for several hours yesterday.”

“The political risks from the disaster were underscored by a poll showing Barack Obama’s job performance rating has dropped to the lowest level of his presidency. The Obama administration is appealing a court ruling blocking a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling.”

06/23/10

Palm Beach Post:

More oil gushing into Gulf after problem with cap “The Coast Guard says BP has been forced to remove a cap that was containing some of the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.”

“Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen says an underwater robot bumped into the venting system. That sent gas rising through vent that carries warm water down to prevent ice-like crystals from forming in the cap.”

“The current worst-case estimate of what’s spewing into the Gulf is about 2.5 million gallons a day.”

I wonder if Dr. Boylan’s off-planet “Altamarian” scientists, who theoretically could clean up this mess in a human-paced heartbeat, are nonetheless telepathically throwing wrenches into this humongous disaster, hoping to provide a big, BIG lesson for humanity about how greed, avarice, arrogance, hubris in this world will ultimately destroy us if we

Chron:

Judge who nixed drilling ban has oil investments “The Louisiana judge who struck down the Obama administration’s six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas industry, according to financial disclosure reports. He’s also a new member of a secret national security court.”[ ]

“(U.S. District Judge Martin) “Feldman’s 2008 financial disclosure report — the most recent available — also showed investments in Ocean Energy, a Houston-based company, as well as Quicksilver Resources, Prospect Energy, Peabody Energy, Halliburton, Pengrowth Energy Trust, Atlas Energy Resources, Parker Drilling and others. Halliburton was also involved in the doomed Deepwater Horizon project.”

06/22/10

BBC News:

US Gulf oil drilling ban overturned by federal judge “The moratorium was put in place in the wake of the massive oil spill triggered by an explosion at a rig in April.”

“The judge said the lengthy ban was ‘invalid’ and could not be justified, as the negative impact on local businesses was simply too great.”

06/17/10

Breitbart:

BP CEO Tony Hayward on way out as pointman “BPs chairman said Friday that CEO Tony Hayward is on his way out as the company’s point man on the Gulf oil spill crisis, a day after Hayward enraged members of Congress by offering few answers about how the environmental disaster happened. It was unclear when the switch will occur.”

“BP’s move overshadowed some positive news in the cleanup effort. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen announced earlier Friday that a newly expanded containment system is capturing or incinerating more than 1 million gallons of oil daily, the first time it has approached its peak capacity.”

NY Times:

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to oversee Gulf Coast rehabilitation effort “Ray Mabus, the Navy secretary and a former Mississippi governor, was appointed on June 2010 to oversee the Obama administration’s rehabilitation effort along the Gulf Coast in the wake of the largest oil spill in United States history.”

“Mr. Mabus served as the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996 under President Bill Clinton. In 1998, he was involved in a divorce that drew national attention for his secret taping of a conversation between his wife and his family priest that he used against her in court proceedings.”

For those who follow the scholarly works of Nostradamus as presented by John Hogue, the name “Mabus” has long been discussed as the possible “third antichrist”, so it is perhaps a coincidence and quite unfortunate for Ray Mabus to carry that surname in these chaotic times.

C-SPAN: House Energy/Commerce Committee:

BP CEO Tony Hayward during Congressional Hearings June 2010

Watch Testimony of Tony Hayward (multipart)

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Arlington) retracts apology to BP “When Rep. Joe Barton R-Arlington apologized to BP chief executive Tony Hayward on Thursday and accused the Obama administration of conducting a ‘shakedown’ of the oil giant, he drew quick denunciations from members of both parties.”

“With an uprising brewing among Republicans, Barton retreated. He apologized for using the term ‘shakedown’ and retracted his apology to Hayward.”

Congress, stop acting as though you are on “Romper Room” and start behaving as the adult representatives that We The People elected you to be.

06/15/10

Clarion Ledger:

Ship fire halts oil capture in Gulf “A bolt of lightning struck the ship capturing oil from a blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday, igniting a fire that halted containment efforts in another setback for the embattled company in its nearly two-month struggle to stop the spill, the company said. ‘At the moment, there’s no capture, no containment going on, but we’ll start up the Enterprise when it’s safe to do so,’ BP spokesman Robert Wine said.”

Unbelievable.

06/14/10

Miami Herald Business:

BP engineer called doomed rig a ‘nightmare well’ “The comment by BP engineer Brian Morel came in an e-mail April 14, six days before the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion that killed 11 people and has sent tens of millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf in the nation’s worst environmental disaster.”

“In an e-mail on April 16, a BP official involved in the (shortcut) decision explained: ‘It will take 10 hours to install them. I do not like this.’ Later that day, another official recognized the risks of proceeding with insufficient centralizers but commented: ‘who cares, it’s done, end of story, will probably be fine.‘ “

06/13/10

George Ure’s Urban Survival:

“Looks like the FAA is closing down the Gulf of Mexico to ‘unauthorized’ aircraft…This coming as a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued late Wednesday night that just popped up in my flying emails this morning: No pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this NOTAM (except as described).”

Common Dreams From the Ground: BP Censoring Media, Destroying Evidence “With oil undisputedly hitting the beaches and the number of dead wildlife mounting, BP is switching tactics. In Orange Beach, people told me BP wouldn’t let them collect carcasses. Instead, the company was raking up carcasses of oiled seabirds. ‘The heads separate from the bodies,’ one upset resident told me. ‘There’s no way those birds are going to be autopsied. BP is destroying evidence!’ “

Independent UK:

Cameron warns Obama over criticising BP “David Cameron last night issued a veiled warning to President Barack Obama not to undermine BP’s ‘economic importance’ to Britain and the United States, as the two men held crisis talks over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.”

“In return, the President maintained pressure on BP by telling Mr Cameron that the company must pay ‘tens of thousands’ of economic claims for the oil spill and that the ‘large, wealthy company lives up to its obligations’.”

Since corporations in general arrogantly categorize themselves as a “person“, they should face the very same consequences any natural person such as a Bernie-Madoff-type would face for ruining the economic welfare of an entire American sector. Unfortunately, Madoff’s clients suffered greatly but they did succeed in getting most of his assets sold to help compensate and he is in jail to boot. BP had no contingency plan for cutting off this disaster and I’m sure their shareholders were never informed of this. They simply should take BP to court themselves, IMHO.

06/11/10

Democracy Now!

Rolling Stone’s Tim Dickinson on How BP Got Away With Murder

Telegraph UK:

BP oil spill: shares plummet as US warns it will ‘take action’ to stop dividend “Shareholders have seen another £5bn wiped off the value of BP, putting pressure on David Cameron to intervene in a row engulfing the oil company.”

“Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, this morning became the most senior UK politician to defend BP, saying ‘anti-British rhetoric’ levelled at the company was a matter of ‘national concern’ and that the oil giant was paying ‘a very, very heavy price’ for what had been an accident.”

A gull coated in heavy oil in the surf June 4, 2010

06/09/10

NY Times:

Plumes of Oil Below Surface Raise New Concerns “The government and university researchers confirmed Tuesday that plumes of dispersed oil were spreading far below the ocean surface from the leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico, raising fresh concern about the potential impact of the spill on sea life.”

” ‘Those readings suggest that a large plume, probably consisting of hydrocarbons from the leak, stretches through the deep ocean for at least 15 miles west of the gushing oil well’, Dr. Joye said. ‘The top of the plume is about 3,600 feet below the sea surface; the plume is three miles wide and as thick as 1,500 feet in spots’, she said.”

Guardian UK:

BP: More oil-collecting help converging on Gulf “Help is on the way to bolster the work being done to contain the crude spewing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, including a tanker from the North Sea that will provide an important assist, the point man for the government’s response to the disaster said Wednesday.”

“The oil now being captured is being pumped to a ship on the surface where workers are burning off the natural gas attached to the crude and shipping the remaining oil to shore. In addition, the British oil giant is preparing to deploy a device called an EverGreen Burner that turns the oil-and-gas mixture into a vapor that is pushed out its 12 nozzles and burned without creating visible smoke.”

So we have a polluted Gulf water, polluted air, polluted land, and now they bring in the fire to make a vapor to make it all invisible

06/06/10

Wildlife Apocalypse Video of Gulf birds, fish caught in BP oil spill

Self-explanatory and very, very heart wrenching.

06/02/10

Obama heads to Gulf hoping to exert control over BP oil spill disaster June 02 2010

The Hill:

Federal government announces ‘aggressive’ criminal probe of spill “Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday the federal government has launched a criminal and civil investigation into the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and pledged a review that would be ‘meticulous’ and ‘aggressive.’ “

“Holder said during a trip to the Gulf Coast to tour the affected area that the government was reviewing whether BP and federal regulators had violated federal laws in the lead-up to the April explosion of a BP-leased rig, which triggered a massive spill that has yet to be contained.”

Federal government announces ‘aggressive’ criminal probe of spill June 01 2010

05/31/10

Bloomberg:
BP Lacked Well Control Six Weeks Before Gulf Rig Disaster, E-Mails Show “BP Plc told regulators six weeks before its well in the Gulf of Mexico exploded that workers were having trouble maintaining control, according to e-mails released yesterday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee investigating the spill.”

05/30/10 WWLTV: “Legal analysts say criminal charges likely In BP oil spill “As civil lawsuits mount, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has assigned a group of federal prosecutors to monitor the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster and determine if any laws were broken before or after the rig explosion.”

“Legal analysts say that could lead to a full blown criminal investigation into the BP spill. ‘I can almost guarantee you that a grand jury will be convened to take testimony, receive documents, hear evidence about exactly what happened,’ said former federal prosecutor Chic Foret. ‘I think the question really is not whether criminal charges are going to be brought, but when and what type of charges,’ said Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino.”

Above Top Secret:

Did Halliburton lay waste to Gulf Rig with explosives ? Topic under discussion: “Was the disaster on the BP rig off the coast of mexico actually an act of terrorism? Is there a split in the Bilderberg Group members….?“

This is a discussion thread that brings up some intriguing areas of interest, although this will all be sorted out in criminal investigations. IF independent science finds a solid case for a staged event as has been proved with 9/11, We The People will not fight against coverups 8 years and counting—we’re no longer naïve.

An interesting piece of background information from this discussion: Halliburton bought Boots & Coots, who provides pressure control services for oil and gas wells. [Comment from user "frankensence": "(T)hat raises the spectre of the response team uncovering any foul deeds causing the disaster - so how coincidental is it that Halliburton would buy Boots & Coots shortly before the disaster struck? Guess they had to be brought into the fold."

Halliburton agrees to buy Boots & Coots: Bought out to shut up? April 09 2010

05/29/10

60 MINUTES Exposé — THE BLOWOUT

TOP KILL FAILS–NBC NIGHTLY NEWS MAY 29TH 2010

The Week:

BP oil spill: 9 strange facts: “4. BP thinks there are walruses in the Gulf of Mexico.”

MSNBC Dylan Ratigan Show

Firedoglake:

Obama Fires MMS Director“…Elizabeth Birnbaum, the Director of Minerals Management Service, who testified before Congress only yesterday, will be fired. But the question is: is she just a scapegoat? Birnbaum has only been Director since last July, while most of the deficient environmental and safety reviews for the Deepwater Horizon permits occurred before her tenure. Why her and not Salazar?”

05/28/10

Bloomberg:

Obama Extends Moratorium as MMS Chief Steps Down “President Barack Obama will cancel a plan to drill for oil off Virginia’s coast and extend for six months a moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits, as the head of agency responsible for issuing the permits stepped down.”

Ed Show: Papantonio: We Need a BP Perp Walk

05/26/10

LA Times:

Gulf oil spill: Coast Guard calls back 125 cleanup ships after reports of illness “The illnesses came a day after BP reported that it had heard of no health complaints from local fishermen who had taken jobs with the company laying boom and skimming oil from the Gulf. The Times reported that several fishermen complained of similar symptoms while working around oil and chemical dispersants. Even as the oil company dismissed the claims, a Louisiana congressman pressed a request to the federal department of Health and Human Services for assistance in placing mobile health clinics in the rural areas of south Louisiana where oystermen and shrimpers live.”

9/11(Bush), Katrina (Bush), AIG (Bush/Obama) and now the Gulf of Mexico spill (Obama). Had enough?

Syracuse Com:

Alaska oil pipeline partially owned by BP shuts down after spill “Several news sources are reporting that thousands of barrels of crude oil spilled Tuesday at the Trans-Alaska Pipeline’s Pump Station 9, located about 100 miles south of Fairbanks. Officials have no estimate of how many barrels spilled or when the pipeline will start again.”

I’m speechless.

05/25/10

Raw Story:

Oil inspectors let companies fill in own audits… “The Inspector General’s report was previewed Tuesday in the New York Times. The report is sure to set off a bombshell in Washington, where Congress is probing how a massive and still-growing oil leak was allowed to happen in the Gulf of Mexico. None of the reports findings directly address the lead-up to the spill from the sinking of Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig in April, but they certainly draw a picture of a watchdog asleep — or high — at the wheel.”

“The report also found that during the tenure of President George W. Bush, from 2005 to 2007, ‘inspectors accepted meals, tickets to sporting events and gifts from at least one oil company while they were overseeing the industry,’ the Times said.”

IT IS TIME TO OPEN A NEW INVESTIGATION INTO 9/11, which will shed light on the Truth in the very darkest of corners of this “other” government. Period point.

04/30/10 Firedog Lake:

Halliburton Presentation May Explain Horizon Oil Rig Explosion and Fire “What More Can Halliburton Tell Us About the Horizon Oil Blowout and Its Risks?”

“A publicly available Halliburton PowerPoint presentation from last November might tell us a lot about what could have caused the oil blowout, fire and massive oil gushing at the Horizon rig.”

I’ve noticed that the news seems to be steering away from Halliburton’s (Cheney’s co.) role in this disaster and focusing on BP, Transoceanic, and Minerals Management. Let’s not forget that Halliburton is just as culpable (possibly most culpable) in this calamity.

05/24/10

Chris Matthews: Nationalize BP, Kill The CEOs

Proponents of off-shore drilling have this mantra that as devastating as this is, the safety record has been great and gee-by-golly, this was just a “fluke”; that 1000s of deep water rigs are operating safely. All I have to say is, sure, the Hadron collider experiments have been on the whole moving forward without a major problem lately, but it will only take a ONE-TIME miscalculation to wreak havoc on our entire planet. Is that worth the curiosity?

NASA: Satellites view growing Gulf oil spill

How fragile is our planet.

05/21/10

Miami Herald:

Month after oil spill, why is BP still in charge? “That sense of frustration is shared by an increasing number of Gulf Coast residents, elected officials and environmental groups who have called for the government to simply take over.”

“Still, as simple as it may seem for the government to just take over, the law prevents it, [Coast Gard Commandant Thad] Allen said. After the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, Congress dictated that oil companies be responsible for dealing with major accidents – including paying for all cleanup – with oversight by federal agencies. Spills on land are overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency, offshore spills by the Coast Guard.”

NOLA: Gulf of Mexico oil spil is adding up to mind-boggling numbers “Using worst case scenarios calculated by scientists, a month’s worth of leaking oil could fill enough gallon milk jugs to stretch more than 11,300 miles. That’s more than the distance from New York to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and back. That’s just shy of 130 million gallons.”

” ‘No matter what, it already is way too much oil for the delicate parts of the Gulf ecosystem’, said Darryl Felder, a biologist at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. ‘A lot of this is diffused now in deep layers,’ said Felder, who is coordinating a seven-volume scientific encyclopedia on the Gulf. ‘It’s like it’s under the rug. You can’t see it on the surface, so it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind. But it’s not out of mind to most of the biologists who are concerned about its long-term effects.’ “

05/20/10

REAL NEWS NETWORK:

Oil leak may be 19 times larger than BP and U.S. government say “Jesse Freeston interviews journalists at McClatchy’s DC bureau to get the latest on the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Journalists believe that BP and the Government may be hiding information on the severity of the leak. Those who fish for a living in the Gulf of Mexico are after BP for compensation. The central question yet to be answered to help resolve the question of how the explosion happened. And, the Cuban government is concerned but not vocal, given it’s own aspirations for deep sea drilling.”

05/19/10

WCBSTV :

Inventors Say BP Ignoring Their Oil Spill Ideas ” ‘They’re clearly out of ideas, and there’s a whole world of people willing to do this free of charge,’ said Dwayne Spradlin, CEO of InnoCentive Inc., which has created an online network of experts to solve problems.”

“BP spokesman Mark Salt said the company wants the public’s help, but that considering proposed fixes takes time.”

Based on the completely ruthless character of BP and corporate mentality, I would suggest that they are very afraid that a very successful solution from an expert or small company outside their control could steal the show—afraid of competition BP?

05/18/10

C-SPAN:

Senate Comm. Hearing: Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, Federal Response “Witnesses testified at a a hearing on the federal response to the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Panel One Lisa P. Jackson, administrator, EPA Ken Salazar, secretary of the Interior Nancy Helen Sutley, chairwoman, Council on Environmental Quality Panel Two Rear Adm. Peter V. Neffenger, deputy national incident commander, Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response, U.S. Coast Guard Jo-Ellen Darcy, assistant secretary of the Army for civil works John Fernandez, assistant secretary of Commerce for economic development, Economic Development Administration.”

05/17/10

Institute for Southern Studies:

Air tests from the Louisiana coast reveal human health threats from the oil disaster ” (T)he Louisiana Environmental Action Network released its analysis of air monitoring test results by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA’s air testing data comes from Venice, a coastal community 75 miles south of New Orleans in Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish.”

“The media coverage of the BP oil disaster to date has focused largely on the threats to wildlife, but the latest evaluation of air monitoring data shows a serious threat to human health from airborne chemicals emitted by the ongoing deepwater gusher.”05/16/10

PhysOrg:

Scientists find huge oil plumes deep in Gulf of Mexico: report “Scientists have discovered enormous plumes of oil in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, in an indication that the leak from an underwater well could be far worse than previously estimated, The New York Times reported late Saturday.”

In this image, 28 April 2010 at 03:45 UTC, oil spill is visible as a lighter grey whirl on the left side of the large black pattern stretching across the Gulf. Credits: ESA

If our extraterrestial brethern are observing this, they must be shaking their heads at the utter stupidity of human beings.

05/15/10

CBS News:

BP’s Own Probe Finds Safety Issues On Atlantis Rig “The company whose drilling triggered the Gulf of Mexico oil spill also owns a rig that operated with incomplete and inaccurate engineering documents, which one official warned could ‘lead to catastrophic operator error,’ records and interviews show.”

“In February, two months before the Deepwater Horizon spill, 19 members of Congress called on the agency that oversees offshore oil drilling to investigate a whistle-blower’s complaints about the BP-owned Atlantis, which is stationed in 7,070 feet of water more than 150 miles south of New Orleans.”

05/14/10

MSNBC Olbermann:

Alaska Senator Murkowski Halts Law To Hold BP Accountable For Oil Spill and former Alaska oil Whistleblower Mike Mason

Alaska Senator Murkowski Halts Law To Hold BP Accountable For Oil Spill May 13 2010

08/25/10 Update on Sen. Murkowski:

Boston Com:

Alaska GOP Sen. Murkowski in jeopardy

“Murkowski would be the seventh incumbent — and fourth Republican — to lose in a year in which the tea party has scored huge victories in GOP Senate primaries and voters have shown a willingness to punish Republicans and a handful of Democrats with ties to Washington and party leadership. Miller is a Gulf War veteran and self-described ‘constitutional conservative.’ ’’

As you may recall, Sen. Murkowski refused to Hold BP accountable for the Gulf oil spill. That is not the vote of a “constitutional conservative”; that is the vote of a senator bought and sold by oil interests.

Companion Post: 2010 And Beyond: In The Midst of Nightmares, The Awakening Struggles for A Voice

Palm Beach Post:
Obama pledges permit review, end to cozy oil links “Declaring himself as angry as the rest of the nation, President Barack Obama assailed oil drillers and his own administration Friday as he ordered extra scrutiny of drilling permits to head off any repeat of the sickening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Engineers worked desperately to stop the leak that’s belching out at least 210,000 gallons of crude a day.”

“Obama, whose comments until now have been measured, heatedly condemned a ‘ridiculous spectacle’ of oil executives shifting blame in congressional hearings and denounced a ‘cozy relationship’ between their companies and the federal government. ‘I will not tolerate more fingerpointing or irresponsibility,’ Obama said in the White House Rose Garden, flanked by members of his Cabinet.”

Don’t let it stop there, Mr. President. It is time for you to show the American people that you will bring charges of Treason regarding 9/11 and the subsequent illegal wars, as well as Goldman Sachs and other Financial Fraudsters who have wrecked the world economy. The list keeps getting longer.

11/18/08
Seashepherd Org:
Ex-EPA Official Faults Probe of BP Alaska Oil Spill “The former head of an EPA criminal probe into pipeline spills at a BP oil field in Alaska claims the Justice Department prematurely shut down the investigation and settled with the company for less than the case may have warranted.”
“Mr. West says his inquiry began in July 2005 — before the actual spills — after some BP engineers told him that a pipe rupture and leaks were inevitable, and that their warnings had been repeatedly ignored. The engineers were steered to him by Charles Hamel, a former oil-tanker broker who serves as a conduit for oilfield workers’ complaints in Alaska. In March 2006, a corroded line broke, spilling about 200,000 gallons of crude on the tundra. In August 2006, a spill of about 1,000 gallons took place at another corroded line nearby. No injuries resulted from either spill. BP, which in its plea agreement admitted to negligence in not preventing corrosion on oil-transit lines at Prudhoe Bay, then ordered almost the entire field shut down to repair corroded pipes. The company has said it replaced miles of the lines at the field.”

05/06/10

Democracy Now!
History of BP Includes Role in 1953 Iran Coup After Nationalization of Oil “As tens of thousands of gallons of oil continue to spew into the Gulf of Mexico from the BP oil spill we continue our series on BP. Sixty years ago, BP was called the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. We look at the story of the company’s role in the 1953 CIA coup against Iran’s popular progressive Prime Minister Mohamed Mossadegh.”

Some background of Anglo-Iranian (later BP oil):

U.S. and Them: Operation Ajax – Iran and the CIA coup

05/12/10

CBS News:

Gulf Oil Rig Plagued by Problems, Probe Finds “Bad wiring and a leak in what’s supposed to be a ‘blowout preventer.’ Sealing problems that may have allowed a methane eruption. Even a dead battery, of all things.”

“The gushing well’s blowout preventer – supposedly ‘fail-safe’ – never shut off oil flow as intended in emergencies, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.That allowed methane gas to enter, possibly triggering the rig’s deadly explosion. BP documents show this blowout preventer had design flaws, leaks in its hydraulic system, and a dead battery in its control pod.”

You know, rather than listen to political tug-of-wars over oil, I would like to see cities actively applying renewable energy that will sustain until the Pentagon/Black Ops finally lets go of the free energy technology they are holding back. Sooner or later, the Light will shed Truth on that matter.

LA Times:

Political patience wanes as massive Gulf oil spill grows; new hope lies in 2nd containment box

“Political patience is washing away for BP executives who can’t stop a broken underwater well from spewing oil into the Gulf, where crews were trying the latest solution — submerging a second containment box designed to funnel the gusher to a waiting tanker.”

“Senators sought assurances that BP PLC will pay what could amount to billions of dollars in economic and environmental damages. McKay repeatedly said his company would pay for cleanup costs and all ‘legitimate’ claims for damages, and not try to limit itself to an existing federal cap of $75 million on such damages.”

05/11/10

C-SPAN:

Senate Committee BP oil spill testimony “Witnesses testified on issues surrounding the oil spill in the Gulf, including the impact on the economy and the environment. Panel One · Lamar McKay, chairman and president, BP America · Steven L. Newman, president and CEO, Transocean Ltd. · Tim Probert, president, Global Business Lines, and chief health, safety and environmental officer, Halliburton Panel Two · Steve Bortone, executive director, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council · Garret Graves, director, Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities, state of Louisiana · Keith Overton, chairman of the board, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and senior vice president and chief operating officer, TradeWinds Island Resorts · Eric May, research scientist, Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore · Meg Caldwell, executive director, Center for Ocean Solutions, and senior lecturer, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University · Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas G. McInerney.”

NBC Hardball:

The Very Corrupt Side of Dick Cheney

ABC News:

BP, Other Companies Point Fingers in Oil Rig Blast “Early finger-pointing erupted Monday among companies involved in the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico and unstopped leak of millions of gallons of oil, on the eve of the first congressional hearings into the accident.”

” ‘All offshore oil and gas production projects begin and end with the operator, in this case BP,’ CEO Steven Newman said in his Senate testimony, also obtained by the AP. Newman said BP was responsible for submitting a detailed plan specifying where and how a well is to be drilled, cased, cemented and completed. Newman also said BP’s contractor, Halliburton Inc., was responsible for encasing the well in cement, putting a temporary plug in the top of the well and ensuring the cement’s integrity. That cementing process was dictated by BP’s well plan, Newman said.”

05/10/10

Washington Post:
Will BP’s Washington connections help it now? “With millions of dollars invested in campaign donations and an all-star lobbying team, BP executives could give an advanced class in how to build influence in Washington. But with millions of gallons of leaking oil bearing down on Gulf Coast beaches and bayous, they could also teach how to lose it.”

05/08/10

Accidents & Disasters:

APNewsBreak: Bubble of methane gas, series of failures deep underwater, led to oil rig blast “While the cause of the explosion is still under investigation, the sequence of events described in the interviews provides the most detailed account of the April 20 blast that killed 11 workers and touched off the underwater gusher that has poured more than 3 million gallons of crude into the Gulf.”

“Portions of the interviews, two written and one taped, were described in detail to an Associated Press reporter by Robert Bea, a University of California Berkeley engineering professor who serves on a National Academy of Engineering panel on oil pipeline safety and worked for BP PLC as a risk assessment consultant during the 1990s. He received them from industry friends seeking his expert opinion.”

A dead sea turtle is seen on the sand in Waveland, Mississippi, May 05 2010

05/05/10

Washington Post:

U.S. exempted BP’s Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study “The Interior Department exempted BP’s calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year, according to government documents, after three reviews of the area concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely.”

“The decision by the department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP’s lease at Deepwater Horizon a ‘categorical exclusion’ from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009 — and BP’s lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion to expand those exemptions — show that neither federal regulators nor the company anticipated an accident of the scale of the one unfolding in the gulf.”

What greedy, money-hungry global business companie need is a Group Epiphany—that ‘ah-ha” moment when they realize that their lives are uselessly wrapped up in $$ and power. I doubt they would recognize an epiphany if they had one, though.

05/05/10

Palm Beach Post:

BP CEO Hayward tested by Gulf of Mexico spill “Tony Hayward promised to focus ‘like a laser’ on safety when he landed BP’s top job three years ago, heralding a new era for the company after a series of accidents — including the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion that killed 15 people.”

“Promoted precisely to restore BP’s tarnished reputation, Hayward now finds himself dealing with the company’s biggest disaster yet. His handling of the Gulf of Mexico crisis — and investigations into how the London-based company let it happen — could determine his future, and that of the oil giant.”

05/03/10

Press Register:

Despite plan, not a single fire boom on hand on Gulf Coast at time of oil spill “The ‘In-Situ Burn’ plan produced by federal agencies in 1994 calls for responding to a major oil spill in the Gulf with the immediate use of fire booms. But in order to conduct a successful test burn eight days after the Deepwater Horizon well began releasing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf, officials had to purchase one from a company in Illinois. ‘They said this was the tool of last resort. No, this is absolutely the asset of first use. Get in there and start burning oil before the spill gets out of hand,’ Bohleber said. ‘If they had six or seven of these systems in place when this happened and got out there and started burning, it would have significantly lessened the amount of oil that got loose.’ “

05/03/10

Chron:

Calif. governor ends support for offshore drilling “Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday withdrew his support of a plan to expand oil drilling off the California coast, citing the massive oil spill that resulted from a drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.”

“On Monday, Schwarzenegger said his support had been based on numerous studies finding it was safe to drill. But now, ‘I see on TV, the birds drenched in oil, the fishermen out of work, the massive oil spill, oil slick destroying our precious ecosystem,’ the governor said.

And 11 people were killed. Let us remember them and their families. I am so glad he saw the Light on this. If big business continues to insist on destroying planet Earth—our home!—they will no longer have a paradise on this planet to take their swanky island vacations, buy their luxury homes. What’s the point? It really is time for alot of business executives to take stock of their deeds and do some very deep, deep Soul searching.

05/02/10

CNN:

Obama vows ‘relentless’ response to oil spill “President Obama said Sunday his administration has mounted a ‘relentless response’ to the oil spill unleashed by the sinking of an offshore drill rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama met with local, state and federal officials involved in the cleanup in southeastern Louisiana, the closest stretch of coastline threatened by the massive spill. Afterward, he said that despite ‘the most advanced technology available,’ the spill may not be stopped for many days.”

“All three officials interviewed by CNN repeatedly emphasized that BP is legally responsible for spill and clean-up efforts. They avoided direct criticism of the company, but said BP must do more to try to cap the gushing well.”

If BP does not own up to its responsibility to pay all costs for this disaster, or the government goes soft on demanding that they do so, I have no doubt the American Public and worldwide customers will band together and put BP out of business. Period point.

04/30/10

First Victim of Oil Spill Image

04/29/10

Government Accountability Project:

Troubling Details Emerge about BP’s Oil Rig Explosion and Spill “Many troubling details are beginning to come out about the explosion and sinking of the oil platform Deepwater Horizon, which oil giant BP was leasing from Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor. The platform exploded on April 20 and sank two days later, leaving 11 workers missing and presumed dead, and producing one of the largest oil spills in history in U.S.water.”

Deep Horizon Rig in it's Last 4 minutes

04/29/10

Bloomberg:

BP Oil-Rig Explosion Hurts U.S. Bid to Expand Offshore Drilling “President Barack Obama’s bid to expand offshore drilling may be set back after a BP Plc rig exploded and sank last week, reminding the public of the danger of oil extraction, environmental and industry groups said.”

“Democratic Senators Bill Nelson of Florida and Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez of New Jersey called for hearings, saying the incident raises ‘serious concerns,’ over the industry’s safety claims. The accident on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig, about 41 miles (66 kilometers) off the Louisiana coast, created an oil spill 600 miles in circumference, roughly twice the size of Maryland, the Coast Guard said today.”

This unfortunate event reminds me of the unusual amount of helicoptor crashes to/from offshore oil platforms I had documented:

“Too many helicoptor crashes in the past few months going to/from offshore oil platforms:”

• 01/05/2009: 18 killed off Louisiana : “On Sunday afternoon, a Lafayette-based Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI, Inc.) helicopter bound for the offshore oil fields crashed shortly after taking off from its Amelia base, into a marshy area near Bayou Penchant about 100 miles southwest of New Orleans. “
• 02/18/2009: 18 survive helicoptor crash off Scotland: “The Super Puma ditched about 120 miles east of Aberdeen while approaching an offshore platform”
• 03/12/2009: 18 aboard helicoptor crash off Canadian coast: “A helicopter ferrying workers to an oil platform has crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Canada’s coast with 18 people on board.”(all had 18 passengers and crew?)
• 04/01/2009:At least 10 dead after helicopter crashes in North Sea: “The Bond Super Puma aircraft, with 14 passengers and two crew, was returning from an oil platform, just before 2pm, when it went down 35 miles from Aberdeenshire. The accident occured at about 1400 BST.

04/21/10

Salon Com:

At least 11 workers sought after oil rig explosion “Helicopters, ships and an airplane searched waters off Louisiana’s coast Wednesday for at least 11 workers missing after an explosion and fire that left an offshore drilling platform tilting in the Gulf of Mexico.”

So unfortunate and sad….and so preventable, it seems to me.

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News surrounding BP and the Lockerbie Bomber case

ADDED:

09/13/10

NY Daily News:

British officials won't meet with US Lockerbie investigators over release of Abdelbasset al-Megrahi Sep 13 2010

UK officials won’t meet US Lockerbie investigators

“The UK government denied a request from an American Senate committee to meet this week as part of the investigation into the release of the Lockerbie bomber, the Associated Press reported on Monday.”

“With the 58-year-old al-Megrahi still breathing, the prisoner transfer agreement became the focus of international outrage after a report emerged that British oil giant BP lobbied the Tony Blair administration in 2007 for the release to help the company in negotiations over access to Libyan oilfields.

08/24/10

Asia One News:

<a href=”http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/World/Story/A1Story20100819-232889.htmlUS senators hunt possible BP role in Lockerbie release “US senators doggedly investigating the Lockerbie bomber’s release one year ago hope an ever-wider dragnet will reveal whether embattled oil giant BP improperly shaped the widely condemned decision. Frustrated by what they have condemned as ‘stonewalling’ by BP and the British and Scottish governments, the lawmakers have even appealed to informants to share behind-the-scenes secrets on the official deliberations.”

“The goal: Get as much information as possible before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a public hearing in September on the forces that shaped the decision to free Libyan national Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi.”

08/16/10

NY Daily News:

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset al-Megrahi’s cancer doc: I would’ve been more vague on terrorist’s fate ” ‘If I could go back in time, I would have probably been more vague and tried to emphasize the statistical chances and not hard fact,’ Dr.Karol Sikora, one of several experts who examined Megrahi.”

Actually, if Dr. Sikora could “go back in time”, he might have chosen to be an honest physician in a small town somewhere. Too bad he chose to mix medicine with dirty politics.

08/08/10

Toronto Sun:

Faulty medical reports led to Lockerbie bomber’s release “On Aug. 20, 2009 the Scottish government, led by the left-wing Scottish Nationalist Party, chose to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds citing failing health. Megrahi had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and with doctors fearing he only had a short time to live, it was decided to release him allowing the convicted terrorist to spend his last days surrounded by family in Libya.”

“Megrahi’s health never deteriorated the way Scottish doctors had predicted: he now reportedly lives in a luxury villa just outside of Tripoli.”

“The idea that Megrahi was released to secure BP an oil deal in Libya have been denied in the past but the American politicians point to a letter by former Labour cabinet minister David Miliband. In the letter Miliband warned Scottish officials that British interests, including business interests would be harmed if Megrahi ‘were to die in a Scottish prison.’ “

Seems the ones who are sick are the megalomanics who arranged this man’s release for purposes of corporate self interest.

07/24/10

Sky News:

JackStraw Faces US Lockerbie Senate Probe “Jack Straw has been invited to attend an influential US senate hearing that is investigating links between oil giant BPand the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdulbaset Ali al Megrahi.”

” ‘It is, in my experience, highly unusual for the legislature of one sovereign state to conduct an inquiry into decisions of another sovereign state, including, as in this case, decisions by a devolved administration on the release of a prisoner.’”

“…highly unusual”? There is no such thing as business as usual these days, thank goodness. And BP? I think they are almost ready for my GMORK page.

07/29/10

The Australian:

White House backed release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi “Correspondence obtained by The Sunday Times reveals the Obama administration considered compassionate release more palatable than locking up Abdel Baset al-Megrahi in a Libyan prison.”

 ”The document, acquired by a well-placed US source, threatens to undermine US President Barack Obama’s claim last week that all Americans were ‘surprised, disappointed and angry’ to learn of Megrahi’s release.”

“Despite the controversy over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and Megrahi’s release, it emerged over the weekend that BP is planning deep-water drilling off Libya.”

Cameron: release secret Libyan documents

 

07/16/10

 SF Gate:

BP admits role in Lockerbie bomber’s release “Oil giant BP faced a new furor Thursday as it confirmed that it had lobbied the British government to conclude a prisoner-transfer agreement that the Libyan government wanted to secure the release of the only person convicted for the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing over Scotland, which killed 270 people, most of them Americans.”
“After an initial demand for an investigation Wednesday by four senators from New York and New Jersey, further calls for an inquiry by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were made Thursday by California Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.”

07/13/10

 

CNN:

Senators question if BP played role in Pan Am bomber’s release ” A group of U.S. lawmakers have called for an investigation into whether BP may have played a role in lobbying for the release of Abdel Basset al Megrahi to secure an oil contract with the Libyan government.”
 “Brian Flynn, who lost his brother in the attack and fought vigorously to deny Megrahi’s freedom, said he isn’t surprised that Megrahi is still alive and believes BP was directly responsible for his release. ‘You can’t allow the process of justice to be corrupted by the cynical mercantilism of one company,’ Flynn said.”

08/30/09

UK Sunday Times:

Secret letters reveal Labour’s Libyan deal “The detailed correspondence seen by The Sunday Times confirms that the Lockerbie bomber’s fate was regarded by the UK government as pivotal to relations with Libya. It also shows how anxious the government was to curry favour with Colonel Muammar Gadaffi by being seen to open the way for Megrahi’s release. “

“During Blair’s 2007 visit [in Libya], BP signed its exploration deal with Libya’s National Oil Corporation. ‘This is a welcome return to the country and represents a significant opportunity for both BP and Libya to deliver our long-term growth aspirations,’ said Tony Hayward, BP group chief executive, who signed the contract with Blair looking on.”

British PM Tony Blair (l), CEO Tony Hayward (middle l. seated) and Dr. Shokri Ghanem (middle r. seated) sign 2007 deal between BP and Libya

06/22/10 Loon Canada :

Hayward does a bunk on planned speech on ‘responsibilities of international oil companies.’

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Companion Posts

Chronicle of Financial Greed and Megalomania

Hunt For Justice -or- Bagging the Collective Parasites

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Discussion on Crop Circles on Facebook

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ADDED:

The crop circles are now being discussed on FACEBOOK, so I direct readers there for details and will post intermittently here. 

08/10/11

This is Wiltshire UK:
Pipe-smoking alien crop circle attracts tourists
“HUNDREDS of people from all over Europe descended on the Cherhill white horse after a mysterious crop circle – featuring an alien smoking a pipe – appeared in a corn field below the monument.”

  An alien joke? A hoax?  Time will tell.  While this appears to be cartoon or prank on its surface, it likely was not intended as that.  Maybe a symbolic “peace pipe” or “we’re not all that different from you earthlings”…along those lines.  The main point is that it is drawing alot more attention exactly because of the cartoon-ish aspect, a point made in and of itself.   

Furze Knoll, Bishop Cannings, Wiltshire.  Reported 6th August

Furze Knoll, Bishop Cannings, Wiltshire. Reported 6th August.

  My first impression was of Mars and its two moons suspended between dimensions. 

07/11/11

CCC:
Honeystreet (3), Nr Alton Barnes, Wiltshire. Reported 4th July. 

Honeystreet (3), Nr Alton Barnes, Wiltshire. Reported 4th July.2011

  Linda Howe at Earthfiles has a great report on what appears to be a second “Pi” formation in the U.K.        Below is a diagram submitted to Earthfiles: 

Diagram of possible second "Pi" crop circle submitted by Earthfiles emailer July 2011

I am reminded about that stunningly ignorant congressional bill  introduced in March 2011:  Conservative Pie; Republicans Introduce Legislation Redefining π as Exactly 3.  Interesting.

01/17/11

Follow up on Old Sarum, nr Salisbury, Wiltshire. Reported 5th May 2010 (see below): “The purpose of ETC is to warn humanity about soon beginning of global cataclysms and to give the instructions for continuation of life. ETC mission is to help people make the right decision about the Transition from the level of global cataclysms to another safe level of the material world through the unification of consciousness.”
“Summary. The only way to avoid global catastrophes for humanity is to make the Transition to the Highest level of the material world through unification of consciousness. ”

Avebury Avenue, nr Avebury, Wiltshire. Reported 16th August.

Images John Montgomery Copyright 2010

Well, however this was made, it appears like a modernized Winged Disk to me.

"He of the Colourful Feathers"

Northdowns, nr Beckhampton., Wiltshire. Reported 13th August

Images Frank Laumen Copyright 2010

 I saw this right away as an emphasis or redundant reference to the growing intensity of the solar flares directly impacting (and surrounding) Earth, so I have to agree with the analysis made by Bob Gilbert at  CCC.  As well, the numbers 3 and 6 appear (6 inner waves surrounded by a half circle “3″ with 3 straight shots to earth).

Horton, nr Devizes, Wiltshire. Reported 9th August.

Horton, nr Devizes, Wiltshire

My immediate thought?: Feminine energy superimposed over “peace” sign, which originally symbolized nuclear disarmament. Theme numbers: 3 (creativity), 6 (nurture), 9 (compassion), all surrounded by shield of armor (protection against nuclear war?). I just write what comes to me first. Very beautiful pattern in any case.

Stanton Bridge, nr Honey Street, Wiltshire. Reported 8th August

  First thought: Milky Way (the serpent) eclipsing Sun.

Whitefield Hill, nr Woodsend, Wiltshire. Reported 3rd August.

"sensational design is directly next to an ancient barrow and a radio mast"

Linda Moulton Howe at Earthfiles has filed an amazing report on the above design along with a video taken of orbs in the area.

Wickham Green (North of M4), nr Hungerford, Berkshire.  Reported 30th July.

First impression? A calculation on an exaggerated abacus.  Apparently, this crop circle was duplicated in an adjoining field.  Perhaps emphasizing hyperdimensional (“string”) math?  Just my take.

Beggar’s Knoll, Nr Westbury, Wiltshire. Reported 27th July.

"Mysterious radiating markings can be be seen in the field below this wonderful formation." Julian Gibstone

Roundway Hill, nr Devizes, Wiltshire. Reported 25th July

Image Olivier Morel Copyright 2010

To me, this is an abstract reference to the Aztec Calendar and the time of the “Awakening” Sun.  Again, my intuition tells me that splitting of atoms are depicted and a redundant reference to wave interference.  

Woolaston Grange, Nr Clap-Y-Ares. Gloucestershire. Reported 18th July.

"We see here the interaction between two wave patterns in which energy is transmitted outwards from both sources and pass through each other... " Julian Gibstone, CCC

07/18/10

Crop Circle Connector:
Fosbury nr Vernham Dean, Wiltshire. Reported 17th July“An amazing Hypercube has appeared below the Fosbury Hill fort on Haydown Hill. Once again we see glimpses of other dimensions. This is now the third in what appears to be a sequence of formations so far.”

07/09/10

Danebury Hill, nr Nether Wallop. Hampshire

Danebury Hill, nr Nether Wallop. Hampshire July 09 2010

3, 6, 9 dominant numbers. “Crack in the cosmic egg” immediately came to mind. Well, it does look like an egg crate tipped over to me.
Seriously, this is quite stunning to me in a mathematical way that I am sure is light years above my pay grade.

07/05/10

St Martin’s Chapel, Nr Chisbury, Wiltshire. Reported 3rd July

With no rhyme or reason, I immediately had the thought that this is related to Mars and Venus. Having taught astrology in the past, I find that a Venus/Mars conjunction will occur in the constellation of Libra, broadly in the period Aug 15-27 (particularly Aug 21-23) and together in an angle of 150 degrees to the lunar node/moon in Capricorn. Something quite “fateful” may occur in this timeframe. The keywords coming to mind: Warring diplomats, emotional discordance, “fateful” decision, tide-turning event related to media/public opinion that will bring down a powerful autonomous structure, perhaps in the U.S.A. (for the better). Well, that’s my take anyway. White Sheet Hill, Nr Mere, Wiltshire. Reported 25th June.

Ten crop circles so far this month. This one clearly utilizes the numbers 6, 18, 24, all of which are divisible by 6 (or by 2 [2, 9, 12]. Intuition informs me there is a specific set of frequencies (as in the “number of complete oscillations per second of energy” in the form of waves) associated but I need to study this more. It resonates with me, though.

05/05/10

First Crop Circles for 2010-11 season!

Old Sarum, nr Salisbury, Wiltshire. Reported 5th May.

On seeing this one (Old Sarum), it seemed to me immediately as a 3-D design, as though one could walk on the center line from lower right to upper left through a”circular” structure. From my perspective, if that could be done, one could stand in the middle of the circle on the ground, look up, and see the large “donut” shape with a “cage” emanating from it in an arc. That large “donut” appears to arrange itself just outside what appears to me to be our “dimension”. The one at Stonehenge (right) appears to me some sort of diagram of opposing forces effecting a spinning motion on the “orb.” (Acceleration?)

Companion Posts:

Humanity’s Ride Through The Galactic Carwash
ClimateGate Chronology of Deceit—Silence Was Betrayal