Oklahoma: Turning Disasters Into a Military Style Takeover?

A witness (below) tells of the "war zone" in Moore Oklahoma after the devastating mile-wide tornado touched down.  He said, all of the "abc" agencies are everywhere, including the FBI, however, he claimed, they're not there to help the people...they're there to issue threats of lethal force and to issue lock-downs, as if the survivors are not traumatized enough. 

Moreover, the  witness said the schools were on lock-down prior and during the tornado, and the message now, is, "if you loot, we will shoot". In this type of situation, I would think it's hard to tell who is a looter and who is desperately searching for loved ones, possessions, food, water.  He said people were literally walking down the interstate with nowhere to go.

Unfortunately, all immediate federal disaster aid seems to come  in the form of a military presence and bi-partisan authoritarian posturing and very little, if any actual help.

Meanwhile, Barbara Boxer pushes for carbon tax, blaming the tornado on global warming.

Read more...

April: The Cruelest Month?

T.S.Eliot called April the cruelest month, and indeed, at the end of this April, in particular, it may seem that a twisted sort of reverence is being paid to the tragedies of Aprils elapsed in time.

“April is the cruelest month, breeding
lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
memory and desire, stirring
dull roots with spring rain.”

― T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land

Bloody April, "officially" refers to April 1917.It's the name given to the British air support operations during the Battle of Arras, during which particularly heavy casualties were suffered by the Royal Flying Corps at the hands of the German Luftstreitkräfte.

Interestingly, on April 1, 1778, Oliver Pollock, a New Orleans businessman, created the "$" symbol, a mark that, no doubt, underlies much of the bloodletting and violence,  not only in April, of course, but throughout history.

Let's take a look at a few of these notable man-made events that took place in the cruelest of months:

April 1, 1933 - Nazi Germany begins persecution of Jews boycotting Jewish businesses
April 1, 1934 - Bonnie and Clyde encountered two young highway patrolmen near Grapevine, Texas. Before the officers could draw their guns, they were shot dead.
April 1, 1945 - U.S. forces invade Okinawa during WWII. The Battle of Okinawa has been called the largest sea-land-air battle in history. It is also the last battle of the Pacific War.

April 2, 1986 - Four U.S. passengers killed by bomb at TWA counter Athens Airport Greece
April 2, 2012 - One Goh shot and killed seven people at Oikos University, a Korean Christian college in Oakland, Calif., where he had previously studied.

April 3, 1975 - The Easter Sunday Mass Murders: James Rupperts plotted and schemed to kill his family in order to collect more than $300,000 in life insurance, savings, investments and real estate.
April 3, 2009 - Naturalized immigrant Jiverly Wong shot and killed 13 people and himself at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, N.Y. He left a note complaining about harassment from the police and his inability to get a job.

April 4, 1968 - Civil Rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed by a sniper in Memphis, Tennessee.

April 5, 1862 - Battle of Yorktown began as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War.
April 5, 1894 - Eleven striking miners killed in riot at Connellsville, Pennsylvania,
April 5, 1951 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are sentenced to death.

April 6, 1815 - The massacre at Dartmoor Prison. The English militia shoots prisoners of the War of 1812, indiscriminately, hundreds killed
April 6, 1917 - U.S. entered World War I in Europe.
April 6, 1968 - Richmond Indiana explosion: Gunpowder stocks at a sporting-goods store explode, killing 41 and injuring over 150 people.
April 6, 1994 - The beginning of genocide in Rwanda as a plane carrying the presidents of Rwanda and Burundi was shot down. They had been meeting to discuss ways of ending ethnic rivalries between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes. After their deaths, Rwanda descended into chaos, resulting in genocidal conflict between the tribes. Over 500,000 persons were killed with two million fleeing the country.
April 6, 2012 - White supremacists Jake England and Alvin Watts shot and killed three black pedestrians in Tulsa, Okla., in a racially motivated attack.

April 7, 1712 - In New York City, 27 black slaves rebelled, shooting nine whites as they attempted to put out a fire started by the slaves. The state militia was called out to capture the rebels. Twenty one of the slaves were executed and six committed suicide.
April 7, 1818 - General Andrew Jackson conquered St. Marks Florida from Seminole Indians during the first Seminole war.
April 7, 1862 - Battle of Shiloh: Grant defeats Confederates at Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, the bloodiest battle in United States history up to that time.
April 7, 1865 - Battle of High Bridge: Together, the battles at High Bridge were tactically inconclusive, despite the 847 Union casualties (including 800 captured) versus only about 100 Confederate.

April 8, 1864 - Battle of Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, in De Soto Parish, Louisiana. The Union forces had suffered 113 killed, 581 wounded, and 1,541 captured. Confederate loss was "about 1,000 killed and wounded".

April 9, 1864 - Battle of Pleasant Hill of the American Civil War, near Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, between Union forces was essentially a continuation of the previous day's Battle of Mansfield, fought nearby, which ended around sunset due to darkness.
April 9, 1917 - Battle of Arras began.
April 9, 1940 - German cruiser Blucher torpedoed and capsizes in Oslofjord, 1,000 die.
April 9, 1945 - A U.S. Liberty ship loaded with aerial bombs explodes, setting three merchant ships afire, killing 360 people in Bari harbor, Italy.
April 9, 1945 - The Allied tanker Nashbulk collides with the U.S. freighterSt. Mihiel in fog
off Massachusetts, killing 15.

April 10, 1863 - Battle of Franklin in Williamson County, Tennessee, during the American Civil War.
April 10, 1917 - Eddystone Ammunition Corporation, a munitions factory explodes in Eddystone PA, kills 133 workers, mainly women and girls. 52 never identified
April 10, 1942 - The WWII Bataan Death March began as American and Filipino prisoners were forced on a six-day march from an airfield on Bataan to a camp near Cabanatuan. Some 76,000 Allied POWs including 12,000 Americans were forced to walk 60 miles under a blazing sun without food or water to the POW camp, resulting in over 5,000 American deaths.
April 10, 1966 - First large scale B-52 bombing raid on North Vietnam

April 11, 1863 - Battle of Suffolk (Hills Point), in Suffolk Virginia
April 11, 1942 - Three thousand Jews from Zamosc, Poland, are deported to the Belzec death camp.

April 12, 1861 - Battle of Fort Sumter: The American Civil War began as Confederate troops under the command of General Pierre Beauregard opened fire at 4:30 a.m. on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina.
April 12, 1864 - Fort Pillow Massacre, The battle ended with a massacre of surrendered Federal black troops by soldiers under the command of Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Military historian David J. Eicher concluded, "Fort Pillow marked one of the bleakest, saddest events of American military history.
April 12, 1864 - Battle of Blair's Landing in Red River Parish, Louisiana.
April 12, 1908 - Fire leaves 12 dead, 85 missing and presumed dead, and 17,000 homeless in Chelsea Massachusetts.
April 12, 1963 - Birmingham police use dogs and cattle prods on peaceful demonstrators
April 12, 1982 -  Three CBS employees were shot to death when they stumbled upon the abduction of a woman in a rooftop parking lot on a pier on Manhattan's West Side

April 13, 1863 - Battle of Irish Bend near Franklin, the seat of St. Mary Parish in southern Louisiana.
April 13, 1918 - Electrical fire kills 38 mental patients in Norman State Hospital in Oklahoma City.
April 13, 1919 - Amritsar Massacre-British troops fired on a crowd of unarmed Indian protesters, killing hundreds.
April 13, 1945 - Gardelegen Massacre, SS burns and shoots 1,100 inside a barn near the Medieval walled town of Gardelegen in eastern Germany

April 14 - France declares war on Austria, starting French Revolutionary Wars
April 14, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded while watching a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington. He was taken to a nearby house and died the following morning at 7:22 a.m.
April 14, 1994 - Black Hawk Down incident. U.S. F-15 accidentally shoots 2 U.S. helicopters down over Iraq, 26 die

April 15, 1912 - In the icy waters off Newfoundland, the luxury liner Titanic with 2,224 persons on board sank at 2:27 a.m. after striking an iceberg just before midnight. Over 1,500 persons drowned while 700 were rescued by the liner Carpathia which arrived about two hours after Titanic went down.
April 15, 1986 - U.S. air raids Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, comprised air-strikes by the United States against Libya. The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps via air-strikes, in response to the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing.

April 16, 1854 - The Powhatan sank off the coast of New Jersey in a severe storm, with no survivors. The loss of life was estimated by various sources to be between 250 and 311 people.
April 16, 1947 - The Texas City disaster, the deadliest industrial accident in U.S. history, and one of the largest non-nuclear explosions. Originating with a mid-morning fire on board the French-registered vessel SS Grandcamp (docked in the Port of Texas City), its cargo of approximately 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate detonated, with the initial blast and subsequent chain-reaction of further fires and explosions in other ships and nearby oil-storage facilities killing at least 581 people, including all but one member of the Texas City fire department. The disaster triggered the first ever class action lawsuit against the United States government, under the then-recently enacted Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), on behalf of 8,485 victims.
April 16, 2007 – Virginia Tech Massacre – 32 killed; 17 injured.
April 16, 2013 – Boston Marathon Explosions– 3 killed; 107 injured.

April 17, 1961 - A U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba failed disastrously in what became known as the Bay of Pigs fiasco.

April 18, 1862 - Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip the decisive battle for possession of New Orleans in the American Civil War.
April 18, 1864 - Battle of Poison Springs, in Ouachita County, Arkansas as part of the Camden Expedition.
April 18, 2013 – Fertilizer plant explosion, Texas – 14 killed, hundreds injured

April 19, 1775 — Revolutionary War began with the Battle of Lexington and Concord, which made the Masonic-led Revolutionary War inevitable.
April 19, 1904 — The Great Fire of Toronto.
April 19, 1943 — After trapping the last Jewish Resistance Fighters in a storm drain in Warsaw, and holding them for several days, Nazi Storm Troopers began to pour fire into each end of the storm drain, using flame-throwers. They continued pouring the fire into the drain until all fighters were dead. Blood sacrifice brought about by a fiery conflagration.
April 19, 1989 - 47 U.S. sailors were killed by an explosion in a gun turret on the USS Iowa during gunnery exercises in the waters off Puerto Rico.
April 19, 1993 – Waco Massacre: An FBI assault lead to the burning down of the compound of a sect named Branch Davidians, killing 76 men, women and children.
April 19, 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing – 168 people killed.
April 19, 2010 - BP Oil/Deep Water Horizon disaster

April 20, 1889 - Birthday of Adolf Hitler. 
April 20, 1898 - Spanish American War declaration: Congress adopted a resolution declaring war against Spain.
April 20, 1914 - Ludlow Massacre: Miners in Ludlow, Colorado, were attacked by National Guardsmen paid by the mining company. The miners were seeking recognition of their United Mine Workers Union. Five men and a boy were killed by machine gun fire while 11 children and two women burned to death as the miners' tent colony was destroyed.
April 20, 1985 — ATF raid on The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord compound in northern Arkansas.
April 20, 1999 – Columbine High School Massacre - 13 people murdered, 21 injured.

April 23, 1946 - U.S. Sailor, 19, goes berserk on Yangtze; kills 9 shipmates in sudden frenzy

April 24, 1915 - Armenian genocide In Asia Minor during World War I, the first modern-era genocide began with the deportation of Armenian leaders from Constantinople and subsequent massacre by Young Turks. In May, deportations of all Armenians and mass murder by Turks began, resulting in the complete elimination of the Armenians from the Ottoman Empire and all of the historic Armenian homelands. Estimates vary from 800,000 to over 2,000,000 Armenians murdered.

April 26, 1986 - At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Ukraine, an explosion caused a meltdown of the nuclear fuel and spread a radioactive cloud into the atmosphere, eventually covering most of Europe. A 300-square-mile area around the plant was evacuated. Thirty one persons were reported to have died while an additional thousand cases of cancer from radiation were expected. The plant was then encased in a solid concrete tomb to prevent the release of further radiation.

April 27, 1865 - On the Mississippi River, the worst steamship disaster in U.S. history occurred as an explosion aboard the Sultana killed nearly 2,000 passengers, mostly Union solders who had been prisoners of war and were returning home.

April 28, 1996 - The Port Arthur massacre was a killing spree in which 35 people were killed and 23 wounded, mainly at the historic Port Arthur prison colony, a popular tourist site in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia.

April 29, 1992 -  Rodney King riots erupted in Los Angeles following the announcement that a jury in Simi Valley, California, had failed to convict four Los Angeles police officers accused in the videotaped beating of an African American man.

Read more...

Lessons of the Eastland Lost:: When Technology and Profit Trumps Humanity:

Early, one sunny Saturday morning, July 24, 1915, 7,000 eager and excited men, women and children, dressed in their summer Sunday best, prepared to board chartered lake steamers that would carry them across Lake Michigan, from the Chicago River piers to the picnic site in Michigan City, Indiana for Western Electric's 5th annual company picnic. The festive mood was thoroughly contagious.  Laughter and shouts filled the air as a mandolin-and fiddle orchestra belted out upbeat ragtime tunes, making the tens of thousands of people gathered at the dock, looking out at the "sea of white shirts, white duck trousers, and fluttering white handkerchiefs" waving from on deck of the large steamship, [1] totally immune to thoughts of potential tragedy.

Of all the chartered steamers, it was the SS Eastland that was the star. Bold and breathtaking, with her sleek lines, twin funnels from which rose tall plumes of smoke, at 265 feet long, 38 feet wide, weighing 1,963 tons, she was built for speed; her reputation, the fastest boat on the lakes. Despite, the Titanic tragedy, just three years prior, "newspaper ads heralded her as: 'the Twin-Screw steel ship, Eastland, Largest, Finest, and Fastest Excursion Steamship...' The ads neglected to mention that the Eastland had a history of being an unstable ship." [2]

It wasn't long before hints of impending disaster became obvious to anyone paying attention; however, the jovial atmosphere, and the encouragement of uniformed officials, and crew blinded all, but the most observantly realistic to what was to become one of the greatest and heartbreaking maritime tragedies in recent history. Oh, people noticed the tilt of the massive ship, especially upon embarking, but, apparently, thought nothing of it, given the celebratory festivity, and, even more importantly, the emboldening promotions of authority. 

Yes, the star of the show, the Eastland, was listing at an angle of at least thirty degrees! That's before the massive ship even departed. People were herded like cattle, pressed cheek to jowl, on the upper deck, waving their handkerchiefs in the air as the captain gave the order for the tug to pull her down the river, out into Lake Michigan

“When boarding the boat we all remarked jestingly: ‘The boat is listing!’ Reaching the big dancing hall on the lower deck where many hundreds of excursionists were enjoying the music, we noticed that the floor was strongly tilted. Then a man cried: ‘All hurry to the other side, lest the boat tip!’ Even now we enjoyed rushing up the sharply inclined dance floor, when suddenly the mighty boat rolled to the opposite side, and all occupants were hurled into a helpless heap. In the dance hall the furniture, the tables and chairs, the heavy piano, the large icebox and counter of the tavern, crashed upon the poor victims, so that many were killed outright. Those who had been on deck were trapped deep down in the river, under twenty-three feet of water.”

“I was one of the few who came out of the water although I was imprisoned inside the dance hall. I could swim well and tried to rescue a little girl, but a man took hold of my arm and pleaded, ‘Lady, please save me!’ I screamed: ‘Let me go! I have all I can do to save myself and this child!’ Then the fellow pulled me and the child down to the bottom. I fought him off, and in the scuffle I lost hold of the poor child. Only five other girls and men were swimming within the dance hall. Luckily they found a ledge to which they now clung, and they called me to come and hold on. For half an hour we took this rest, but the suspense became unbearable. We screamed for help. Finally we were noticed and strong arms drew us through a porthole.” - an anonymous passenger gave her account to a news reporter after she was rescued

While still moored to the dock, all aboard suddenly noticed that the ship was tipping over into the river.  After a moment of surreal silence, the horrified screaming began. "Men, women and children slid from her like ants brushed from a plank. ... The entire surface of the river was black with writhing, drowning humanity." [3] Out of the 2,500 on board, 812 met their death in all of six terrifying minutes. The death toll later reached up to as many as 1080, wiping out 22 entire families.

Later, it was disclosed that the SS Eastland was known as "the crank ship of the Lakes." This was not the first time the ship started to tip. Several times before, passengers had been ordered to shift from side to side until she stabilized. However, on this perilous day, the passengers couldn't have shifted if they wanted, they were so tightly packed together. In fact, reports of the Eastland's instability had become so widespread that in 1910 her owners, the Port Huron firm,  had run an ad in the newspaper offering $5,000 to professionals who would claim her seaworthiness.

People lined up outside the temporary morgue at the Second Regiment Armory to identify victims of
the Eastland disaster

All of the evidence pointed to the fact that the only goal of the shipbuilders was "a ship fast enough to make the 170-mile round trip between Chicago and Grand Haven Michigan, twice, in 24 hours", safety, be damned. Lawsuits were brought into the courts, by survivors courts as late as 1935.  Despite overwhelming evidence of neglect and conspiracy to cover up life threatening flaws, no one one was indicted for contributing to the disaster.

The entire Sinclair family- all eight members -perished on the Eastland

Fireman holds dead child after the Eastland tipped over.

Moreover, in a tragic twist of fate, the mandated - by the 1915 federal Seaman's Act passed because of the  Titanic disaster - complete set of lifeboats, absent on the Titanic, made the already top heavy Eastland, more so.  Although the lifeboats required by this act were said to have the potential to cause many Great Lakes boats to capsize, it was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, anyway. Never mind that the SS Eastland was already so top-heavy that it had special restrictions concerning the number of passengers that could be carried. The additional weight of the new lifeboats made the ship even more unstable than before.

The interior of the Eastland changed suddenly, as if by the dark magic of a fun house mirror. Floors became walls, port holes became skylights, and the gigantic influx of water turned the mahogany trimmed rooms into sealed chambers worthy of Harry Houdini’s worst nightmares. - Jay Bonansinga wrote in his book, The Sinking of the Eastland: America's Forgotten Tragedy

One has to wonder why this tragic event was brushed under the rug while the memory of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, is as fresh as if it happened last year. Could it be that the Eastland's passengers were not as worthy of the attention, due to their "working class" status? Possibly. But more than likely, it has to do with the lessons that could have been learned from this atrocity that could've been easily prevented. What lessons? The danger of blindly trusting "officials" or so-called "authorities", while ignoring the proverbial elephant in the room. The danger of valuing profit and technology over human life. In other words, diminishing the value of humanity to a technological, profit-above-all-else society is not only dangerous to mankind, left unchecked, this type of society can wipe out mankind, or, at least, those of us who aren't in "the club".

Reference:

[1] Griggs, John. "Excursion to Death" American Heritage. February 1965: 32-35, 111.

[2] ibid.

[3] ibid.

Read more...

Paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta..The Black Death Is Here.

Where the hell are you, Sanjay? Nearly three weeks have passed since doctors in Joplin, Missouri, discovered a rapid, very aggressive fungal infection (zygomycosis although the name has formally changed to mucormycosis) that started showing up amongst the 1700 victims treated after the tornado from Hell ravaged Joplin, Missouri. This deadly black fungus causes nerve damage, blindness, brain and lung blood clots and ultimately, death.

This subcutaneous form of fungus, invades underlying blood vessels of tissue, and cuts off circulation to the skin causing the area to become black according to Dr. Schmidt who says it is “very invasive.” If the fungus stays in a limb, amputation of the infected limb may save the patient; however, as soon as it enters the brain tissue, it's too late.

Up to as many as eight people (3-4 people are being reported, however, my source tells me that 8 people have died to date) have died as a direct result. It wasn't until June 9, that health officials issued a staff warning about the killer fungus. Still, a close approximation of the number of people infected with the deadly fungus is not being revealed.

Spokesperson Jacqueline Lapine said the agency "is not confirming any deaths related to the reported fungal infections." She said samples taken from the suspected cases are being subjected to further testing at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Cover up? 

As always, if you want an answer to any question concerning our profit driven society, follow the profits, or potential lack thereof. 

If there is no potential profit or potential loss of profit, the CDC will likely take their time, as they are doing now, regarding Morgellon's disease. After having  received reports of "Morgellon's Disease" since the 1990s, the CDC still refuses to officially recognize it. Why?   Perhaps, because of the disease's possible link to GMOs...wouldn't want to jeopoardize Monsanto profits, now, would we?. 

But, what could possibly be the reason for stalling/covering up in this case? Well, besides the fact that there is no profit inducing vaccine waiting in the wings, it could have something to do with what the tornado recirculated from another recent disaster, as a tornado is a natural blender of sorts.

Remember, the news reporters who tried visiting the morgue surrounded by armed guards in Joplin, Missouri, where police not only prevented them from doing ; they ordered cameras be placed in the back of the reporters' vehicle (CNN did cover this story)?  Of course, this does not prove anything, in and of itself; nevertheless, it raises the suspicion level.

So, as farfetched as this may sound, the two-million gallons of Corexit used to break up the BP oil spill, which is very toxic to life, is circulating in the air and the water all around us. It very well may factor into the extraordinarily rare deadly fungus that's killing people in Joplin, MO, as Corexit destroys the natural skin barrier, making people much more vulnerable to infection.

Read more...

Extreme Weather: Natural or Nurtured?

The "historically ferocious twister" that destroyed a good part of Joplin, Missouri, leaving at least 125 dead and more than 900 people injured, with initial reports of a staggering 1,500 missing - recently whittled down to 232 missing - appears not to be the end of the nightmare for this tornado prone zone, as the ever-present threat of more tornadoes looms. The National Weather Service issued tornado watches and a series of warnings in a dozen states, stretching northwest from Texas though the Mississippi River valley to Ohio.

The sheer intensity and length of these storm fronts is unbelievable. Video captured in Joplin, Missouri appears to show the tornado triple in size in seconds. Is that normal? Or is something else going on?

Some are trying to blame human beings for this devastating extreme weather seen around the world.  Isn't that convenient?  Especially when so much profit is to be made.  The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) was formed to buy and sell carbon credits , the currency of cap-and-trade. Founder Richard Sandor estimates the climate trading market could be "a $10 trillion dollar market." Maurice Strong, Al Gore, GE, and many other 'global warming' profiteers will reap the enormous rewards should "cap and trade" legislation prevail. In fact, the United Nations is pushing Hollywood to promote this climate alarmist bullsh*t.

Moreover, guess who helped establish the market for, and became the major trader in, EPA’s $20 billion-per-year sulfur dioxide cap-and-trade program? Enron!

This cap and trade exchange of NOx and SO2 emission allowances caused Enron’s stock to rapidly rise. It was the forerunner of today’s CO2 trading, now taken up by CCX. Enron was a promoter of the Kyoto Protocol since it would increase their profits. Enron’s Ken Lay had meetings with Clinton and Gore to try to get Kyoto promoted: “Enron officials later expressed elation at the results of the Kyoto conference. An internal memo said the Kyoto agreement, if implemented, would "do more to promote Enron's business than almost any other regulatory initiative outside of restructuring the energy and natural gas industries in Europe and the United States."”

Now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just published “Forensic Meteorology Solves the Mystery of Record Snows” in which they conclude that there is no human "fingerprint" that implicates human involvement in global warming, or cooling or whatever the hell is happening to the climate.

“They found no evidence — no human “fingerprints” — to implicate our involvement in the snowstorms. If global warming was the culprit, the team would have expected to find a gradual increase in heavy snowstorms in the mid-Atlantic region as temperatures rose during the past century. But historical analysis revealed no such increase in snowfall. Nor did the CSI team find any indication of an upward trend in winter precipitation along the eastern seaboard.”

So, a $10 trillion dollar market is one hell of an incentive to interfere with Mother Nature. However, is weather modification possible...now?

Weather modification will become a part of domestic and international security and could be done unilaterally... It could have offensive and defensive applications and even be used for deterrence purposes. The ability to generate precipitation, fog, and storms on earth or to modify space weather, ... and the production of artificial weather all are a part of an integrated set of technologies which can provide substantial increase in US, or degraded capability in an adversary, to achieve global awareness, reach, and power. (US Air Force. Air University of the US Air Force, AF 2025 Final Report, http://www.au.af.mil/au/2025/)

Links:


Congress has been notified about 'HAARP Rings' by constituent letter

Read more...

Japan: A Ticking Time Bomb?

Over one month later, after a catastrophic earthquake, tsunami, Chernobyl levels of radiation, and liquefaction - the process whereby earthquake shaking causes poorly consolidated ground with high water content to behave like a liquid - the people of Japan, despite their country's earthquake history (approx 1,500 earthquakes strike the island nation every year) still has no idea what to expect. All they know is that things are not good.

Even, the normally cheerful and optimistic Physics Professor, Michio Kaku called Fukushima reactors "ticking time bombs.







Links:

Japan Quake Map

Read more...

Fukushima Nuclear Disaster May Become Worst in History.

Japan's damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima has been emitting radioactive iodine and caesium at levels approaching those seen in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident in 1986 according to   New Scientist. Moreover, the Fukushima plant contains "1760 metric tons of fresh and used nuclear fuel on site last year, according to a presentation by its owners, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco)."  Chernobyl contained only 180 tons.

What's even scarier is that the plant's Unit 3 reactor contains MOX, , a combination of uranium and plutonium fuel that according to the Nuclear Information Resource Center (NIRS); "this plutonium-uranium fuel mixture is far more dangerous than typical enriched uranium -- a single milligram (mg) of MOX is as deadly as 2,000,000 mg of normal enriched uranium".

Read more...

Japan Earthquake Victims: Erosion of Trust in Institutions? DIY.

Notes left behind by Japanese evacuees looking for loved ones inside a shelter in the earthquake and tsunami-destroyed town of Rikuzentakata, Japan on March 21. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Japan has proven to be resilient when it comes to surviving and reversing natural disasters, because it has a culture and mentality that facilitates rebounds and recovery, especially regarding earthquakes. However, this earth-changing quake may render Japanese efforts, less effective, in the long run, mainly because of the enormity of the catastrophe, the invisible threat of radiation, and most importantly, the lack of trust in the institutions with all of the crucial information needed to navigate this calamitous event.

"Japan is in a highly active tectonic zone where the Eurasian, Philippine Sea, Okhotsk and Pacific Plates converge. The unexpectedly strong quake took place where the Pacific Plate sinks under the Okhotsk Plate (subduction). In the affected region, the submerging Pacific Plate is very old and heavy and is sinking into the Earth’s core at a relatively high speed of 8 to 10 centimeters per year."

The western mainstream media's  coverage of Japan's post-earthquake and post-tsunami activity is already fading into the background, and was/is not giving a fully accurate picture.  On top of that, supposedly, Japan's "bureaucracy-media complex" is even worse, according to freelance journalist Takashi Uesugi, even though, since 2009, the Japanese press has become more aggressive after the end of 54 years of Liberal Democratic Party rule that shattered many of the cozy relationships between the ruling elite and the big media outlets.

So, what do you do when you can't trust the official word, or the accuracy of official radioactivity measurements. Well, DIY.  Create a croudsourced map of Geiger counter readings that contains a distributed network of 215 Geiger counter.

PICTURES: Japan Earthquake, Two Weeks Later

A photograph is seen in the rubble of a destroyed house in Otsuchi, Japan, on March 22. (Reuters/Damir Sagolj)

A car sits on headstones in a cemetery in Higashimatsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture, on March 22. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Tayo Kitamura, 40, touches the covered body of her mother Kuniko Kitamura, 69, after Japanese firemen discovered the dead woman inside the ruins of her home in Onagawa, northeastern Japan, on March 19. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Family members and relatives transfer the bones of Masaichi Oyama, who was killed by the tsunami, by chopsticks into an urn during a cremation ceremony on March 24 in Kurihara , Japan. The family lost three family members from the earthquake and tsunami. Under Japanese Buddhist practice, a cremation is the expected traditional way of dealing with the dead, but now with the death toll so high, crematoriums are overwhelmed and there is a shortage of fuel to burn them. Local municipalities are forced to dig mass graves as a temporary solution. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

A traditional Japanese sandal, worn with formal kimono dress, lies in the rubble in the earthquake and tsunami destroyed town of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan on Sunday, March 20. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

A house rests upside down in an open field along the coast near Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Friday, March 25. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

A person walks under snow through the town of Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, on March 23. (AP Photo/Yomiuri Shimbun, Tetsuya Kikumasa)

Links:

Know your nukes: understanding radiation risks in Japan

Unique Japan tsunami footage boon to scientists

Read more...

Fukushima Fifty and the Moral Courage of Japanese Citizens

As Japan continues to come to grips with the devastating toll exacted by the earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear meltdown that seems unavoidable, Japan's culture that emphasizes taking care of the other, contributes to the remarkable resilience of the Japanese in this horrific disaster,  providing them with the moral courage that makes heros out of ordinary citizens.

The Fukushima Fifty and all of the other courageous souls willingly put the needs of others above their own needs. Greed is almost non-existent in Japan. There is no price gauging or looting, as it would not be tolerated in such an other-centered culture.

If Japan shows us anything, it's the transience of worldy goods.  Maybe, it's time we take a page from their book,  try to put aside the  "greed is good" philosophy that has so permeated our culture over the last 30-years.

These first images of inside the stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant reveal the terrifying conditions under which the brave men work to save their nation from full nuclear meltdown.

The Fukushima Fifty - an anonymous band of lower and mid-level managers - have battled around the clock to cool overheating reactors and spent fuel rods since the disaster on March 11.

Outside the men connect transmission lines to restore electric power supply to Unit 3 and Unit 4

Workers in protective suits work on a transmission tower to restore electricity to Units 5 and 6

Read more...

Large Earthquake Warning for West Coast Between March 19th and 26th

Geologist Jim Berkland, who predicted the 8.9 "World Series" earthquake, four days before it hit the San Francisco Bay area in 1989, said there is a high probability of another big earthquake hitting North America (Pacific-Northwest), this month (a top seismic window is developing between the 19th and 26th of March).

This is due to the coinciding of three of the maximum tide-raising forces:  a full moon on the 19th;  the closest approach of the moon, within an hour of the full moon, to the earth until 2016; and the very next day, an equinoctial tide. Not only that, the massive fish-kills near Redondo Beach and Mexico and the beaching of whales in San Diego point to changes in the magnetic field that often predict larger earthquakes.

The "official" word from former Department of Homeland Security inspector general Richard Skinner is that we're not prepared as as we should be for an earthquake on the scale of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan."



Links:

What If Disaster Struck the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant?

NASA: Super Full Moon

Read more...

What does BP stand for?

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has published documents relating to its hearings into the Deepwater Horizon accident and subsequent oil leak, and what should come as a surprise to no one,  BP made a series of money-saving shortcuts and blunders that dramatically increased the danger of a destructive oil spill in a well that an engineer ominously described as a "nightmare" just six days before the blowout.

Congress wrote a letter to Tony Hayward outlining its concerns that BP took shortcuts and undertook risky practices, in an attempt to keep costs down. This letter was written in preparation for Hayward's testimony on Thursday of this week.

Worse yet, oil and gas industry insider, Matt Simmons has been warning that the scale of the spill is much bigger and that there's a larger leak several miles away.  He also thinks that sealing the gush of oil might very well entail  "what the Soviet Union did decades ago -- setting off a bomb deep underground so that the fiery blast will melt the surrounding rock and shut off the spill."

Despite BP's egregious history and continuance of corporate criminality -  in addition to its behavior before and after the the Deepwater Horizon oil spill - BP, which stands for Beyond Prosecution

"...the Justice Department (DOJ) abruptly shut down West's investigation into BP in August 2007 and gave the company a "slap on the wrist" for what he says were serious environmental crimes that should have sent some BP executives to jail."

and will no doubt avoid the harsh consequences it deserves, as BP stands for  Bankruptcy Protection.

They have about a month before they declare Chapter 11. They're going to run out of cash from lawsuits, cleanup and other expenses. One really smart thing that Obama did was about three weeks ago he forced BP CEO Tony Hayward to put in writing that BP would pay for every dollar of the cleanup. But there isn't enough money in the world to clean up the Gulf of Mexico. Once BP realizes the extent of this my guess is that they'll panic and go into Chapter 11. -- Matt Simmons

Meanwhile, T. Boone Pickens, Rand Paul, and  Mike Bloomberg think we're being too hard on BP.

On his weekly radio show, the mayor of New York said, "The guy who runs BP didn't exactly go down there and blow up the well."

No, he didn't "go down there"...he didn't have to "go down there." Remote control is just as effective.

In other news, over the weekend, oil spilled once more.  21,000 gallons from a Chevron pipeline leaked into the Red Butte River which runs through the center of Salt Lake City.

Chevron is expected to unveil a cleanup plan this morning, after a day in which the company focused on containing an oil leak that fouled Red Butte Creek and Liberty Park pond, in hopes of keeping the toxic spill from reaching the Great Salt Lake.

Read more...

Ain't it Obvious? We Can't Trust BP to Do the Job.

BP's only interest is the bottom line. From no plans in case of a disaster, to its audacious short-cuts throughout the entire process, judge shopping, and the outright lies BP has told since the beginning, this company is useless and good for nothing, except maybe for its lobbying talents. 

Greed is the essential component in the formula for disaster. Why? Because ultimately, greed leads to negligence, incompetence and most of all bold faced lies, which, thanks to Rachel Maddow, is eloquently demonstrated in a segment of "The Rachel Maddow Show"(video below).

So, it follows that when the only incentive given to each player is individual profit,  (huge windfall profits) the incentives of the company will never align with the needs of public safety...or the public good.

It's very clear. Mad dashes for profit and perverse incentive structures = disaster.

BP is one of the biggest spenders on lobbying in the oil and gas industry to represent its interests in Washington.

During the first quarter of 2010, it spent $3.5 million on lobbying, second only to ConocoPhillips, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Yet despite the far from resolved Gulf Oil disaster and as plenty of evidence suggests, BP's responsibility, they want to avoid curbs on new drilling, according to  its lobbyists.

BP officials, who put profits above all else, including safety, wanted to proceed quickly as possible in order to save money on the current well's cost, and  so they could begin on another well, which was behind schedule.

Lies and more lies.

BP, Government Risk Larger Spill to Stem Leak

BP CEO disputes claims of underwater oil plumes.

BP Lowballing Oil Flow

BP is vastly understating the amount of oil flowing into the Gulf in order to decrease fines, which are based on the number of barrels leaked per day. Host Scott Simon talks with Markey about his criticism of the oil company and its efforts to contain the oil spreading in the Gulf of Mexico.

Read more...

One Death a Tragedy...One Million a Statistic...

I had an immediate visceral reaction to "little Mary" a 12-year-old Ugandan girl whose lips were cut off by rebel fighters, and no visceral reaction to the 4 million killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Of course, I know that killing 4 million people is so heinous, it's beyond words but apparently it's beyond feeling as well, at least in my case.

Psychological research, reported by Professor Paul Slovic in the March edition of Foreign Policy, suggests we respond most to just one example of suffering. Big numbers don't move us and in fact, the higher the number of people involved in a crisis, the less likely we are to "feel" for each additional death.

Read more...

"Watching the Soft Waters of the Amazon Drain Away"

The severe drought currently affecting the Amazon Rainforest is a disaster that could possibly make all other disasters, natural or otherwise pale in comparison.

The drought conditions are created by the combined affects of global warming and deforestation which could cause the Amazonia to collapse. 40% of the rainfall over Brazil is created through a process called evapotranspiration from the Amazon forest. Deforestation, caused by progressive logging will lead to a point beyond which the forest is no longer dense and large enough to recycle enough water to fall as rain to survive.

The earth's ecosystem is dependent on the Amazon Rainforest, due to its unparalleled biodiversity, to help stabilize our climate and regulate our weather.

Read more...