After Julian Assange crashed and burned in his threat to release documents that expose fraud at Bank of America, many thought he had been only bluffing, and that BofA is actually clean. Not so fast. A member of the hacker collective Anonymous, which singlehandedly destroyed "hacker defense" firm HB Gary, who goes under the handle OperationLeakS "is claiming to be have emails and documents which prove "fraud" was committed by Bank of America employees, and the group says it'll release them on Monday" reports Gawker. As to the contents of the possible disclosure: ""He Just told me he have GMAC emails showing BoA order to mix loan numbers to not match it's Documents. to foreclose on Americans.. Shame." If indeed this makes the case against BofA' foreclosure practices stronger, it certainly explains why the banking consortium is scrambling to arrange a settlement, and also why Bank of America recently split off its $2 trillion in mortgages into "good bank" and "bad bank" entities.
Freaky, ominous, and "Holy crap! When will this disaster strike?" footage from CNN Ireport, via Godlike Productions..
Remember, please, when you see the earth tearing, swaying, and water squirting upwards where there was no water previously, that this is real. This is what a Worst-Case-Scenario looks like before it happens.
Japanese authorities are venting radioactive steam into the air after the earthquake on Friday critically damaged a nuclear reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The Japanese government on Friday declared a nuclear emergency at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station after the reactor's cooling system failed. The government ordered thousands of people living within 6 miles of the plant to evacuate. Early Saturday, it declared a nuclear emergency at a second power plant where a cooling system had also failed.
"It has the potential to be catastrophic," said Robert Alvarez, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, and a former senior policy adviser to the Energy Secretary during the Clinton administration.
Why would the west coast USA be in danger? The prevailing jet stream winds are blowing from Japan directly across the Pacific ocean to the west coast of the United States. Any airborne radiation would make its way across with the jet stream, reaching the U.S. in approximately 36 hours, depending on the actual speed of the jet. And: Update, Clarification from NHK World News Japan… a second location, Fukushima II, not far from the Fukushima I nuclear power plant, is also experiencing cooling problems. The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said equipment failures have made it impossible to cool 3 of the plant’s 4 reactors. (Translation: ‘impossible’ is not a good word). And: Update, Reuters is now reporting that Tokyo Electric Power Company has lost ability to control pressure at some of the reactors at its Fukushima II (Daini) plant nearby the Daiichi power plant (Fukushima I), both suffering from core cooling problems.If battery power at Fukushima II is depleted before AC power is restored, the plant will stop supplying water to the core and the cooling water level in the reactor core will drop. And: Update, Kyodo news reports, “the operator of the two plants in Fukushima Prefecture is set to release pressure in containers housing their reactorsunder an unprecedented government order, so as to avoid the plants sustaining damage and losing their critical containment function.”…”the action would involve the release of steam that would likely include radioactive materials”
Radiation inside a Japanese nuclear reactor surged to 1,000 times its normal level after today's 8.9-magnitude earthquake knocked out power to a cooling system, and tsunami floods have hampered efforts to get it restored.
It reportedly was one of five Japanese nuclear reactors that lost cooling ability, prompting a race against the clock to install fixes.
In the worst case, at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant's No. 1 reactor, heat-induced pressure built up inside the crippled reactor, prompting widespread evacuations within a 10 kilometer radius and stoking fears of a potentially catastrophic radioactive event.
This is close to the depth of the Christchurch quake, but the Magnitude is just so, so, so much more powerful..
Several quakes had hit the same region in recent days,including a 7.3 magnitude one on Wednesday.
Thirty minutes after the quake, tall buildings were still swaying in Tokyo and mobile phone networks were not working. Japan's Coast Guard has set up task force and officials are standing by for emergency contingencies, Coast Guard official Yosuke Oi said.
MSNBC just carried a Press Conference by the Japanese Prime Minister. Standout passage? He said it looks as if no radiation from Japan's Nuclear power plants has leaked. That's comforting, I guess..
An 8.8 magnitude earthquake has been reported out of Japan, and a tsunami warning has been issued for the country. The news out of the country is not good right now, especially with some of the statements that CNN has issued about cars toppling off bridges in the area.
I'm watching the tsunami rolling over farmland and populated areas. The initial images are beyond description. This one's gonna be heartbreaking.. Continuing coverage begins now.
Colonel Gaddafi's forces today blasted an oil terminal to smithereens as Libya's bloody civil war entered its blackest day.
Rebels retaliated by firing back with rockets as a fireball exploded from one of the oil tanks and the sky above the Es Sider terminal, in the east of the country, filled with hideous smoke.
A witness said one of the smoke plumes was the biggest he had seen in the conflict so far.
The fresh onslaught came as Gaddafi deployed tanks and snipers to 'shoot anything that moves'.
BENGHAZI, LIBYA - Rebel forces in Libya engaged in intense fighting on two fronts Wednesday, claiming to break through a three-day standoff with government fighters in the town of Bin Jawwad but suffering another day of heavy casualties in the besieged western city of Zawiyah.
In Zawiyah, government forces were heavily shelling the main square, residents said, with airstrikes, tank and mortar fire, machine guns and artillery.
"We need some international aid here," said Mohammed, an opposition spokesman in the city, which was bombed for a sixth consecutive day by forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi. "At least stop them from having airplanes fly over us."
Most likely he is desperate and over the years he must have been haunted by the fantasy that he really created a country of his own and therefore no one has the right to challenge his ownership of Libya. He must believe what he keeps repeating: that he is neither a president nor a king to resign; he is an uncontested leader of a revolution, who possesses nothing but his gun and he will use it to regain control. He also claimed that he turned power to the people to govern themselves, a form of democracy superior in his view to any other system of government yet devised. If he is truly insane, it is just because he believes this hallucination.
Nearly three weeks after Libyans surprised themselves by revolting against Muammar Gaddafi's brutal 42-year rule, euphoria at the prospect of swiftly deposing the dictator has given way in the rebel capital, Benghazi, to the grim prospect of a popular uprising evolving into a drawn-out military conflict.
That is stoking fears about the consequences of losing, as Gaddafi's forces use tanks and artillery to crush the revolutionaries' takeover of the city of Zawiyah, near Tripoli, and stall the rebel advance from Benghazi hundreds of miles short of the Libyan capital.
Inside Libya, Gaddafi’s former justice minister, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who now heads the opposition National Libyan Council in Benghazi, called for foreign air strikes and a no-fly zone.Citing sources within the council, the New York Times reported that this stance was adopted at a heated council meeting where “others strongly disagreed”. There has been deep opposition to such a call within popular protests against Gaddafi, because of fears of a return to neo-colonial rule—fears that Gaddafi is exploiting to posture as a defender of Libyan sovereignty.
DOCTORS from the scene of violent anti-government protests in Yemen's capital said that what was thought to be tear gas fired by government forces on demonstrators may have been nerve gas, which is forbidden under international law.
Military personnel opened fire on Tuesday night and used what was originally assumed to be tear gas to disperse a group of demonstrators who were trying to bring additional tents into the protest area outside Sanaa University. And: Earlier reports indicatedthat the gas used was tear gas, but doctors who have been treating the wounded refuted that claim today.
"The material in this gas makes people convulse for hours. It paralyses them. They couldn't move at all. We tried to give them oxygen but it didn't work," said Amaar Nujaim, a field doctor who works for Islamic Relief.
"We are seeing symptoms in the patient's nerves, not in their respiratory systems.I'm 90 per cent sure its nerve gas and not tear gas that was used," said Sami Zaid, a doctor at the Science and Technology Hospital in Sanaa.
Mohammad Al-Sheikh, a pathologist at the same hospital, said that some of the victims had lost their muscular control and were forced to wear diapers.
Yeah; That's nice.. And the rest of the country seems to be collectively gearing up for a fight.. From the Chicago Tribune. Excerpts:
"This is the moment. We cannot go back from here," said protester Wael Sakkif, pointing to the blood on the pavement. "This is all Yemen's blood."
The unrest followed a large riot in the nation's largest prison as inmates added their voices to demands for Saleh's removal, news reports and human rights groups said.
Prisoners set mattresses and blankets on fire Monday and marched into the central courtyard of the facility in Sana, the capital. Police used tear gas and fired live ammunition to disperse them. Twenty-five inmates were injured, said Amal Basha, chairwoman of the Sisters Arab Forum, a rights group.
And:
Protesters and opposition figures say the government is trumping up internal threats to gain domestic and international support for Saleh, a key U.S. ally in the battle against Islamic Islamist militants. The Yemeni government has long fought an armed separatist movement, a rebel insurgency and the growth of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an Al Qaeda offshoot based in Yemen's tribal areas. And: .. negotiations collapsed late last week, and there has been "a total breakdown of talks" between opposition leaders and Saleh, said Aidroos Naqeeb, head of the Yemeni Socialist Party.
The number of police vehicles, soldiers and trucks armed with water cannons deployed in Sana increased this week.
A government news release stated that the increased security measures were in response to "multiple terror attacks on security and army personnel" last weekend, but tension at the anti-Saleh camp increased anyway.
"It looks like the government is getting ready for a fight," one protester said.
The use of nerve gas, IF true, is a major escalation as to what Saleh (And the rulers of the next country to fall, and the next..) is capable of, what will be utilized, and how far he'll go, all for the sake of retaining power. Saleh has shown his hand. What will happen next?
As America and the U.N. take some time deciding on a response to Libya, I am troubled by the two directions/ reactions offered as "solutions" to Libya's accelerating spiral into chaos. Establishing a No-Fly Zone involves Western troops and, more importantly, Western troops attacking another Arab country. All that militarism (not to mention explosions) plays into negative perception of all things American/ Western, all around the region.
Do nothing at all? Hell, NO. Something must be done. The Libyan people MUST be helped. Is this, really, the best the government can do? Could the West help the Libyan People organize, change the direction of the revolution, and accomplish all this from a distance?
Visualize two men facing each other, fighting. Another man dives onto all fours behind one man, and the other man pushes. The man on all fours gets up and walks away, and is not involved further. The UN is the man on all fours. Here's how that would work:
Deliver thousands of units of satellite phones, batteries, and chargers to safe areas (or safer, the closer to Tripoli) controlled by the opposition. Now, rather than having the Libyans have to set them up and charge them and establish networks, those tasks are already done. In fact, the Libyans are much less tech savvy than other parts of the region, so not only will the phones be networked with Internet, text, pictures, everything, the IT Support on the whole project would be massive, the likes of which not seen in customer service, not to mention in any military application! Technological cave men could pick up the phone, dial 0, and accomplish functions(sending mass text/emails, surfing the web, teleconferencing, uploading pictures and documents, and tracking the Gaddafi family/ government by picture and GPS) by telling the agent on the other end!
This undertaking would require some logistics. A lot of fucking logistics.. Creating groups of components, systems, and applications into a network, and then fostering the most user friendly service environment for optimum organization and efficiency during an armed conflict will be of some expense(No idea. A Lot., I'm sure), but less expense than any military action would require, and the human cost would be much lower, too. Note: There might *Might* be a scenario where popular opinion wouldn't be against a U.N. "targeted missile strike," if it were accurate. The GPS application helps minimize the risk of missing the target. If it boiled down to action, a quick, powerful, accurate, one time only response is the preferred response.
Several upsides:
If this network idea actually worked, it would put an end to the armed part of the revolution.
When Gaddafi's gone, the Libyans can use this network to jump start into technological society. Techno-literacy would be a great compliment to Libya's rising prominence as a Middle Eastern agricultural powerhouse.
No troops from either Iraq, Afghanistan, or Reserve would have to be used in armed conflict. The military still might be used for delivery or support, but major operations would be unaffected.
Could be used in future crisis situations that require action, but not necessarily military action..
"Al Queda," whatever that is, wouldn't have a lot of propaganda to work with, as American forces weren't involved.
And coolest of all, the West got in and helped without getting in and "helping" by "destroying." If this undertaking were performed well and we did help and we didn't stay, the entire region's stance might soften on us, not much, but maybe just enough upon which to start building trust, which has to start somewhere..
To end on a pessimistic note: This scenario is not likely to happen: Not at all. It's probably too unconventional for conventional minds to embrace.
The Hermanus Space Weather Warning Centre (SWWC) on Sunday said a large solar flare was currently being experienced in South Africa. The solar flare would result in higher radiation levels from the sun.
SWWC’s forecaster Kobus Olckers said people should be careful when they go outside.
"People must wear high sunscreen factor at the moment or preferably go shopping," he said.
The PGMs remain on the back burner this morning as gold and silver continue to dominate, opening higher in Asia with gold currently up 0.5% and silver a further 2.3% touching a fresh 31-year peak of $36.51 a short while ago, leading the AU/AG ratio below 40:1 for the first time in 13-years.The new highs in silver could prompt some profit taking later in the day but with the situation in the MENA region still extremely volatile and oil continuing rise both gold & silver are likely to extend on a mix of safe-haven and anti-inflationary hedging with silver set to challenge $38-40/oz but ultimately the all-time record of $50/oz.
The threat of terrorism from an unstable Yemen will be high on the agenda for Prime Minister David Cameron as he ends a four-day Middle East tour in neighbouring Oman. .. Mr Cameron met with Omani Sultan Qaboos Bin Said last night in part to thank the country for its key logistical role as a "bridge" for UK armed forces deploying to Afghanistan.
Yemen's besieged president defiantly rejected a proposal Saturday to leave office early and possibly end weeks of protests and bloodshed, while Oman's ruler pushed out three more top-level officials in attempts to quell widening demands for economic reforms and justice for the killing of a demonstrator.
Just when Turkey’s local industry thought it caught a niche in several Middle Eastern markets, the region began to shake with popular revolts, but Ankara's export planners say "it is business as usual."
A senior procurement official dealing with exports of Turkish-made systems mostly to Middle Eastern and eastern markets said that previous contracts would not be affected by the revolts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
"Egypt is a market and partner with previously signed contracts. Tunisia and Libya were prospective markets. They still are for the longer term. As the dust settles we will roll up our sleeves to help the (Turkish) industry for new contracts," he told Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review Thursday.
Kuwait has the Gulf's most powerful parliament, and opposition lawmakers already have taken bold shots at the ruling emir's inner circle, including two no-confidence motions since December 2009 that nearly brought down the prime minister. The plan now is to take demands for a political overhaul to the streets. .. Libya and Yemen are all-or-nothing fights to bring down the leadership. Oman seemingly has cooled after an angry start — with protesters staging sit-ins to push for more jobs while being careful not to speak ill of the lute-playing sultan who has ruled for 40 years. Bahrain's protests tap into deep-rooted claims of discrimination by the majority Shiites against the Sunni monarchy.
The rumblings in Saudi Arabia — where protesters have called for a show of force Friday — seek even small breaks in the absolute control in the ruling House of Saud. .. Kuwait joins the protest roster with quite a bit of experience. Its opposition bloc in parliament — a mix of Islamists and reformists — has gone toe-to-toe for years with the hand-picked government of the emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, over allegations that include financial mismanagement and attempts to roll back political freedoms.The dissident lawmakers draw heavily from the desert provinces outside Kuwait City, where many feel cut out of oil wealth.
The most significant change this week could be adding pro-reform youth groups into the fray.At a strategy meeting last week, some organizers of new youth-oriented factions — including one called Kafi, or Enough, in Arabic — pledged to occupy a main square in Kuwait City to copy the round-the-clock stand by demonstrators in Bahrain's Pearl Square.
Chals Wontewe, Oxfam's Country Director in Liberia said: "This could become Africa's latest forgotten crisis.Thousands of civilians are fleeing for their lives yet the international community is failing to respond adequately. The world risks being seriously unprepared for the escalating crisis in West Africa.
"For more than three months now the people of Ivory Coast have been living with the threat of violence, intimidation, economic collapse and sexual assault. The situation is now deteriorating rapidly and urgent action is needed to avert a humanitarian crisis. The conditions for refugees and communities hosting them in Liberia are extremely worrying. People are in dire need of the very basics - clean water, food and shelter."
Tensions ignited in Ivory Coast following the contested presidential election in November 2010 and has resulted in months of instability and a steep increase in violent clashes in the past week. As well as rising political and military tensions, many banks remain closed, prices of basic goods are rocketing and more than 500,000 people have lost their jobs.
Rebels opposed to the strongman Laurent Gbagbo seized a town near the Liberian border yesterday, a rebel spokesman said, in a further sign of Ivory Coast’s possible slide toward civil war.
A top commander of Gbagbo-allied forces in the west, near the border, declined to comment, but the head of a leading civil society organization in the region confirmed that the town of Toulepleu had fallen to the rebels, extending an advance in which they have taken several small towns on the Liberian frontier in the past 10 days.
A weeklong campaign of looting and burning in Abidjan aimed at the homes of ministers allied with Gbagbo’s rival, Alassane Ouattara, continued yesterday, underscoring the growing lawlessness in this sprawling economic capital.
Ouattara won a presidential election in November, according to most of the international community, but Gbagbo refused to step aside. The standoff prevailing here since then has taken an increasingly violent turn.
Well, wonder no more! This thread will point you in the right direction.. And please, check it out: If you've got twelve minutes and a pair of headphones, it's worth your while.
Imagine, if you will, a thin band of energy directly over your head, over everyone's heads, really, and throughout the normal course(statistical average) of your (or anyone else's) life, it remains. It is, but it is never accessed. Imagine one day, for whatever reason, you were able to stick your head through, and into, that band of energy, the method similar to that of sticking one's head into a roaring river, but into energy, not water. Think about it for a minute.. Now: Imagine opening your eyes to an oncoming torrent of energy. In another density, this force would be destructive, catastrophic, instant death. But here at this frequency, the energy vibrates through, expanding, accelerating, shredding, rejuvenating, and crystallizing simultaneously. You would "feel" many things.
From poorrichards blog I have never heard of this. Wow.. I'm sure there are a lot of entities interested in grabbing some control of Gaddafi's Engineering Wonder.., a gigantic fresh water pipeline originating in Southern Libya, ultimately(before, you know, what's happening now..) bringing water to the majority of Libya, creating a self sustaining Agricultural economy. Excerpts from Libya’s Great Man-Made River Project, contained within poorrichards' post. (Colored highlights are from poorrichard)
The 1st of September marks the anniversary of the opening of the major stage of Libya's Great Man-Made River Project. This incredibly huge and successful water scheme is virtually unknown in the West, yet it rivals and even surpasses all our greatest development projects. The leader of the so-called advanced countries, the United States of America cannot bring itself to acknowledge Libya's Great Man-Made River. The West refuses to recognize that a small country, with a population no more than four million, can construct anything so large without borrowing a single cent from the international banks. .. In the 1960s during oil exploration deep in the southern Libyan desert, vast reservoirs of high quality water were discovered in the form of aquifers. The emphasis here is mine..
...In Libya there are four major underground basins, these being the Kufra basin, the Sirt basin, the Morzuk basin and the Hamada basin, the first three of which contain combined reserves of 35,000 cubic kilometres of water.These vast reserves offer almost unlimited amounts of water for the Libyan people.
The people of Libya under the guidance of their leader, Colonel Muammar Al Qadhafi, initiated a series of scientific studies on the possibility of accessing this vast ocean of fresh water. Early consideration was given to developing new agricultural projects close to the sources of the water, in the desert. However, it was realized that on the scale required to provide products for self sufficiency, a very large infrastructure organization would be required. In addition to this, a major redistribution of the population from the coastal belt would be necessary. The alternative was to 'bring the water to the people'. .. The Great Man-Made River, as the largest water transport project ever undertaken, has been described as the "eighth wonder of the world".It carries more than five million cubic metres of water per day across the desert to coastal areas, vastly increasing the amount of arable land. The total cost of the huge project is expected to exceed $25 billion (US).
Consisting of a network of pipes buried underground to eliminate evaporation, four meters in diameter, the project extends for four thousand kilometres far deep into the desert. All material is locally engineered and manufactured. Underground water is pumped from 270 wells hundreds of meters deep into reservoirs that feed the network. The cost of one cubic meter of water equals 35 cents. The cubic meter of desalinized water is $3.75. Scientists estimate the amount of water to be equivalent to the flow of 200 years of water in the Nile River. poorrichards emphasis: The goal of the Libyan Arab people, embodied in the Great Man-Made River project, is to make Libya a source of agricultural abundance, capable of producing adequate food and water to supply its own needs and to share with neighboring countries. In short, the River is literally Libya's 'meal ticket' to self-sufficiency.
This strengthens Libya's potential asresource provider for the region, maybe stretching further into Europe or Africa or both.. Knowing this adds an extra dimension for interpretation of events.
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BOOK:
This, ultimately, will be a record of the evolution of my consciousness through life experience. It's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle at the moment, but the archive is close to achieving some form of order.
I'm not sure this.. will have an "end," as much as a stopping point.
BLOG:
I have unusual interests. I seek out alternative news, philosophies, and cosmologies. Heres a sample of my reading life. Thanks for peeking in..
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