Journey To The Economic Center Of The World

Flawed economic model?  1980's?  Who did this?  Wait a minute; I know this one..  Zero Hedge:

The most recent decade of 2000 to 2010 has seen the fastest rate of change in the global economic balance in history. During this period, a recent McKinsey research article notes, the world's economic center of gravity has shifted by about 140km per year - about 30% faster than in the period after World War II when global GDP shifted from Europe to North America. The world’s center of economic gravity has changed over past centuries. But since the mid-1980s, the pace of that shift—from the United States and Europe toward Asia— has been increasing dramatically as China is urbanizing on 100 times the scale of Britain in the 18th century and at more than 10 times the speed. One has to wonder what the difference would be were it not for the flawed economic model adopted since the 1980s that relied on debt and asset price inflation to drive demand (as opposed to wage growth linked to productivity growth).



Final answer, Regis:  David Stockman.

A Side Note About This Heat..

It's a curiousity.  Every heatwave I can ever remember was always accompanied by news of heat-related deaths.  Even if only a few people died, it was deemed newsworthy.  News reports always included B-roll of elderly people in front of box fans, refrigerator trucks, and a interviews conveying a general sense of alarm from the community. 

With this rather young, but intense heatwave dominating a huge part of the United States, 100 plus temperatures over wide portions of the country, I find it odd that I haven't heard of any heat related deaths attributed to this event.  Not that there haven't been any deaths, but if there has been any, it is not being mentioned (or highlighted) in the media.  And it's a little amazing there haven't been any major power outages of note, either.  Don't get me wrong:  I'm glad there has been neither event, I'm just a little surprised they haven't, as they usually seem to be a side effect from the prolonged heat.

Are we getting more heat-tolerant?  Has our national power grid gotten that much stronger?  Did the media determine heat deaths not newsworthy?  Maybe the focus is soley on Colorado.  This is probably nothing, but I'll let this post stand. 

And yes, I do feel a little better for typing it out, thank you..

The Canary Islands El Hierro Has Raise Up Two Inches In Four Days

Thanks for the find, Cookiepuss! 

This isn't the super scary History Channel La Palma-causes-mega-tsunami island, but any island blown up and dropped into the ocean is going to cause a few ripples.  From ABC dot es.  Note the translation of the first two paragraphs would have benefitted greatly from the word "bulge."  Whole post:

The pressure of the magma detected in El Hierro has caused in the past four days on the island deformation of four to five inches vertically and three to four horizontal, as reported by the Security Directorate of the Canary Islands. (There's a translation issue here.  Or a nuance issue in the headline.  "Has raised up at least" would make more sense.  But that's just my guess..)


 The energy released has reached 420,000 million joules, a fact which, together with the ground deformation evidence magmatic process acceleration on the Canary Island, where there is an inflation process is centered in the area which earthquakes occur.


The General Directorate of Security, who coordinates the Civil Protection Plan Risk Volcanic Islands, said that since the beginning were found in magmatic process, last Sunday, have occurred in El Hierro over 750 earthquakes.


In the Sea of ​​Calm


The earthquake with greater magnitude of 4.0 degrees on the Richter scale, occurred on Wednesday at 18.55 hours in the Sea of ​​Calm, 2 km from the coast and 20 kilometers deep.


The seismic activity began in the Sea of ​​the Gulf (north of El Hierro) and then move to the center of the island, coinciding with the point of intersection of the ridges, to subsequently migrate to the west.


From noon on June 25 the seismicity is concentrated in an area that includes the west and the dorsal side of the Julan, and from 1200 hours on June 27 the focus of the earthquake begins to migrate towards the Sea of ​​Calm .

Let's hope the magma flow slows and things return to normal.  If you live near or on any Atlantic coast head's up!  Maybe this is nothing.  Or maybe this is not nothing.  At the least you should know so you can decide.

[Photos] Demonstration of 200,000 people occupied official residence against nuclear restart

From Fukushima Diary.  The Japanese are waking up and finding their voice.  45 thousand people came out for the last demonstration, 11 thousand the time before.  Let's go!-Ja-pan!!  Excerpts, with photos at the link:

The organizer states 200,000 people joined the demonstration. People who joined commented it was more than 4 times as before. Last time, 45,000 people joined.



Actually, most of the people collected information from the internet to join the demonstration, it was very difficult to count how many people took part in.


It's kind of hard for the Japanese media to ignore 200 thousand of their fellow screaming countrymen, isn't it?

Republican mega-donor’s firm accused of ‘directing’ prostitution at its casinos

Color me shocked.  Macau Casino Mogul plus prostitutes plus millions of dollars to influence American Politics plus..  Mitt Romney and/or Newt Gingrich?  Shocked, I tells ya..  The Raw Story.:

A former executive at the Las Vegas Sands Corp. Steve Jacobs, has filed a wrongful termination suit in which he accuse the company of “controlling and directing” prostitution at its Macau casinos.



The charges are politically significant because the company’s chairman, billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has been perhaps the most generous GOP donor of the current campaign cycle. He has promised to supply “limitless” funds to defeat President Barack Obama, much of which would be channeled through 501(c)(4) non-profits that do not divulge the names of their donors.


Adelson’s donations appear to be inspired in large part by his close personal friendship with Israel’s conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as his opposition to any kind of two-state solution for the Palestinian territories.

According to RightWeb, “Adelson received widespread public attention during the 2012 U.S. presidential race because of his massive donations to groups backing the campaigns of Newt Gingrich and later Mitt Romney, as well as to the Karl Rove-backed Crossroads GPS and PACs linked to the billionaires Charles and David Koch and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). The New York Times estimated in June 2012 that all told, Adelson and his spouse had already donated $60 million during the 2012 election cycle.”



Adelson’s donations have drawn the ire of Senator John McCain, who charged in a June 2012 interview that “Much of Mr. Adelson’s casino profits that go to him come from his casino in Macau, which says that obviously, maybe in a roundabout way foreign money is coming into an American political campaign.”

In a statement issues on Thursday, a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Sands Corp. called the prostitution allegations “baseless,” noting that “Mr. Adelson has always objected to and maintained a strong policy against prostitution on our properties” and calling Jacobs’ charges “a blatant and reprehensible personal attack on Mr. Adelson’s character.”

Uh huh.  Uh huh.  Mr. Adelson and his billions must be very hurt.  It's nice to have friends though, right?

Baltic Sea UFO: Ocean X Team Shows Amazing 3D Sonar Picture – Update June 28, 2012

Are you kidding me?  There's a second anomaly?  The suspense is killing me here!  Rather than finding one or two unknown entities, what if explorers have happened upon an unknown/unexplained area?  One of the coolest stories of 2012.  The Truth Behind The Scenes.  Excerpts:

Baltic Sea UFO Update June 28, 2012.



This is turning into one of the most amazing and perplexing discoveries in history. If you thought all of the questions surrounding the Baltic anomaly would be answered by the return trip, then you’d be wrong. The OceanX team have discovered right angles, walls with absolutely smooth surfaces and cavities-like corridors inside the object as well as something resembling a staircase – the weird just got weirder.
And:
In a recent Swedish radio interview, Aasberg described some amazing features which seem to indicate that the object is man made, or perhaps a natural formation that has been altered or engineered. In various radio and TV interviews the team have described the surfaces of the dome to be similar to concrete both in texture and appearance. The massive pillar on which the dome rests may be made of a different material indicating that the entire anomaly may not be one complete piece but rather two separate objects with the dome resting on top of the main pillar, and if so, who or what placed the dome on top? Also, when we say pillar – this is a pillar that is approx 180-190 feet thick.



“We arrived there twice, and the question mark has become so much bigger now, “says Dennis Åsberg.The area is a completely circular plate with 180 metres in circumference, and therefore believed that it was the first traces of a meteor.”


“But there are 1,500-metre track in bed until the subject matter-and they have also discovered right angles, walls with absolutely smooth surfaces and cavities-like corridors inside the object.– When we went out and saw the walls which were straight and smooth, it was frightening, as in a science-fiction film, “says Dennis Åsberg on Ocean x-team as soon exploring the unknown object again.“


During the dive, the team swam slowly over the top of the object looking down where they encountered the first of many strange sights. Stone circles, like “fireplaces”, of hard black “almost petrified” burnt looking stone each a few inches in diameter, like 4 or 5 pearls in a necklace in various arrangements on top of the dome some 12 metres high off the seabed. The stones appear to be arranged in definite circular shapes, so there is no possibility of this being done through any natural process of weathering or even glaciation.
And:
Some 200 metres away lies the second strange anomaly which is amazingly yet to be explored! The initial sidescan sonar images show something described by the team as shaped like a “gothic church window”. Similar to the main anomaly this object also has an area leading up to it of disturbed seafloor or what could be a ridge. The divers were so amazed by the main anomaly that they simply didn’t have time to dive on the second one. The return trip in two weeks time should present an opportunity for this to finally be explored.

There is the real possibility that the second anomaly may help give clues to the origin and nature of the main object.

Lindberg concludes: “The 3D Multibeam sonar data take a while to process. It will not be until end of next week we will be able to see the first 3D images from the area. I have seen the raw data though and if what I have seen will be confirmed by the finished result we will get some quite amazing facts to think about.”

So tantalizing..  I can't wait!  Provided this isn't a hoax, this could be a huge discovery..  But where?  Again:  What is this?  Alien technology?  Ancient settlement?  UFO?  Rooftop?  Outskirts of something larger? 

Somebody somewhere needs to fasttrack and enlarge this project yesterday already!  This discovery could be big clue for us, about us.  It has that potential.  I hope it's made a priority.

Mike Krieger: Where Food Stamps Go to Die

We live in fun times.  Guest post from Zero Hedge.  Excerpts:


Nothing exemplifies the ghetto status of the U.S. economy more than the success of Wal-Mart in the face of the ongoing destruction of what was once a vibrant and strong middle class. In case you missed it, Marion Nestle, Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU, came out with some interesting tidbits regarding the food stamp program. One of them is extraordinarily disturbing. She shows that Wal-Mart’s gets as much as 25% to 40% of revenue at some stores from food stamp dollars. This says it all folks. Food stamps are or course the perfect business for Wal-Mart and JP Morgan, which as I pointed out previously makes a lot of money running the program and keeping the populace in perpetual serfdom. Meanwhile, guess what another of the best performing stocks this year is? Corrections Corp of America, ticker CXW, up 41% YTD! Guess what they do? Yep, you guessed it. They lock up the serfs that get out of line. This is the Bloomberg description of CXW.



Corrections Corporation of America provides detention and corrections services to governmental agencies. The Company owns correctional and detention facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. Services include design, construction, ownership, renovation, and management of new or existing jails and prisons, as well as long distance inmate transportation services.
There you have it folks. What sectors are leading the American economy in the “recovery”: Food stamps and Prisons. They are actually perfectly complimentary. If the food stamps don’t work the prisons will.

Or hip hop.  Don't forget the hip hop..

Middle East Rumors

Interesting little thread from Lunatic Outpost.  Real time rumors, speculation, propaganda, and some genuine nuggets of information all included here.  Please remember the truth is always not only the first casualty of war, but also of the pre-war run up..  Please exercise discretion when reading!

Jon Stewart mocks media reactions to the health care ruling

Here in Universe B, the buffoon is the competent journalist, and the "competent journalists" are buffoons.  Raw Story-Complete with video!  Excerpts:

On his show Thursday night, The Daily Show host Jon Stewart mocked CNN and Fox News for falsely reporting that the individual mandate in President Barack Obama’s health reform bill had been struck down by the Supreme Court.
Both networks claimed the individual mandate was ruled unconstitutional.


“It was a moment of great drama and, like many of our greatest dramas, a work of complete fiction,” Stewart joked.


But while Fox News was able to correct itself within a matter of minutes, CNN continued to claim the individual mandate was unconstitutional for 7 minutes.



“No sympathy, CNN,” Stewart said. “You’ve been driving us nuts with this shit for months, it’s like Christmas morning for you guys.”


He also took aim at Romney’s reaction to the ruling, noting that Romney apparently wanted to keep all of “Obamacare” except for the individual mandate.


“So you’re going to keep everything but the mandate, A.K.A the thing that pays for all of it?” Stewart wondered. “So the fiscally responsible Republican is saying, don’t worry, you’re going to get all the goodies, but not the bill. Cus that would be taxes, and that is tyranny.”  Well John, when you put it that way, Romney's position sounds so hollow and stupid..

Psst:  Hey CNN and Fox, you made MSNBC look professional!

Record radiation levels detected at Fukushima reactor

If we have yet to invent technologies that can effectively demolish, decontaminate, and contain nuclear disasters, shouldn't we admit that nuclear power is beyond our scope of control?  Accordingly, shouldn't we be working on those technologies before we build any more reactors or utilize this Pandora's Box of death?  Don't forget:  It's all done to boil water.  Terra Daily, via The Extinction Protocol:


June 28, 2012 – JAPAN – TEPCO, the operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, said Wednesday record amounts of radiation had been detected in the basement of reactor number 1, further hampering clean-up operations. TEPCO took samples from the basement after lowering a camera and surveying instruments through a drain hole in the basement ceiling. Radiation levels above radioactive water in the basement reached up to 10,300 millisievert an hour, a dose that will kill humans within a short time after making them sick within minutes. The annual allowed dose for workers at the stricken site is reached in only 20 seconds. “Workers cannot enter the site and we must use robots for the demolition,” said TEPCO. The Fukushima operator said that radiation levels were 10 times higher than those recorded at the plant’s two other crippled reactors, number two and three. This was due to the poor state of the nuclear fuel in the reactor compared to that in the two others. The meltdown at the core of three of Fukushima’s six reactors occurred after the March 11, 2011 earthquake and ensuing massive tsunami shut off the power supply and cooling system. Demolition of the three reactors as well as the plant’s number 4 unit is expected to take 40 years and will need the use of new technologies.  (As yet un-invented technologies..)

40 years?  Do you really think we have that much time?  I doubt it..  All to boil water..

Autopsy report: ‘Miami cannibal’ was not high on bath salts

I had a feeling this whole bath salts meme was crap, and NO!, they better not try to blame this on weed, as millions of potheads worldwide would beg to differ!  The Raw Story.  Full article:

The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner reported on Wednesday that the so-called “Causeway cannibal” had not ingested any synthetic drugs before tearing off a homeless man’s face with his teeth.



Rudy Eugene was shot dead by police after he was found eating another naked man’s face on the MacArthur Causeway in Miami. Police had claimed Eugene was overdosing on synthetic stimulants sold under the name “bath salts.” The media quickly picked up on the story and news outlets have since blamed other attacks on the drug.


But the toxicology report released Wednesday did not find evidence that Eugene had ingested any psychoactive substance besides marijuana. Whether Eugene was high on marijuana at the time of the attack is unclear because of the length of time marijuana can remain detectable in the human body.  (So don't jump to any other false conclusions, dumbasses..)


“The department has also sought the assistance of an outside forensic toxicology reference laboratory, which has confirmed the absence of ‘bath salts,’ synthetic marijuana and LSD,” the report said. “Within the limits of current technology by both laboratories, marijuana is the only drug identified in the body of Mr. Rudy Eugene.”



Eugene’s victim is expected to recover, despite losing nearly 80 percent of his face.

(In a related knee-jerk reaction..)On Tuesday, the Senate passed legislation that outlaws 26 drugs, including synthetic stimulants like “bath salts” and synthetic alternatives to marijuana like “K2″ and “Spice.”


“This ban can’t come quickly enough,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said. “Just about every day, there’s a new tragedy related to K2 or bath salts. The sooner this poison is off the store shelves, the better. I hope the president will sign this measure into law very quickly.” (Ahh..  Chuck Grassley:  God love 'im, he isn't EVER afraid to be wrong, now is he?)


By the way, I was right.  The authorities never specifically stated it was bath salts, but the media ran with, and for two weeks, unsubstantiated allegations ruled the day.. 

Maybe now police will  focus on Rudy Eugene's missing time the morning and afternoon before the attack, no?  So it looks like he "snapped," came under a "voodoo curse," or..  What's the other unknown?  ..Like a light switching on..  Or off..  Huh..  I wonder if we'll ever get a true follow up or answer to what really happened, here.  Don't hold your breath..

Quantum Researchers Able to Stop and Restart Light

Fucking amazing.  What a time we in which we live!  Now, what are we gonna do with this?  Waking Times.  Full article:

In two independent experiments that defy the notions of Einstein, researchers have been able to stop, then restart a beam of light.



Ordinarily, light travels at the speed of 186,282 miles per second, but the research team of Lene Hau, a professor of physics at Harvard, who in 1999 was able to slow light down to 38 miles per hour, has been able to trap light in a cloud of sodium atoms super-cooled to near ‘absolute zero.’

“It’s nifty to look into the chamber and see a clump of ultracold atoms floating there,” Hau says. “In this odd state, light takes on a more human dimension; you can almost touch it.”

In an independent experiment, an easier approache was tried by the team of Ronald Walsworth and Mikhail Lukin at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA).

They shot laser beams through a dense cloud of rubidium and helium gas. (Rubidium, in its solid or natural form, is a soft, silver-white metal.) The light bounced from atom to atom, gradually slowing down until it stopped. No supervacuum or ultra-cold was needed. In fact, the chamber where the light stopped was at a temperature of 176 degrees F.

Both experiments accomplish almost the same thing, however, in the CfA experiment researchers were only able to store about half of the incoming light, and the storage time was about half that of Hau’s experiment.

Think of both contraptions as sophisticated light switches that control not just light but information. Incoming light can carry information expressed by changes or modulations of its frequency, amplitude, and phase. When the light stops, that information is stored just like information is stored in the electronic memory of a computer. To access the information, you turn on a control laser, and out it comes. 

Remarkably, scientists are somewhat uncertain about the implications and practicality of this research.

“We hope for wonderful things,” says David Phillips, who worked on the CfA “stop light” project. “Our imagination hasn’t figured out what the possibilities are yet.”

However, there appear to be clear implications for using experiments like this to ultimately improve the speed of computers, potentially creating the possibility to shift from binary computing to quantum encoding of data.

Computers operating by these so-called quantum effects are much more efficient that those available today, or even on the drawing board. (“Quantum” refers to changes in the energy levels of the atoms.) Today’s machines represent information in bits, electronic combinations of zeros and ones. Bits represented by quantum states of atoms could carry much, much more information. Cubic inch for cubic inch, quantum computers could tackle problems that would stymie the most super of conventional computers. For example, they could perform many calculations simultaneously. 

The eminent physicist Albert Einstein theorized that it was impossible for light to travel at a speed faster than 186,282 miles per second, and in this case he has not yet been proven wrong.

Einstein never said anything about slowing light down, now did he?

Furious Turkey mobilizes tanks, troops to Syrian border

Tensions continue to rise.  The Times of Israel.  Excerpts:

The Turkish military mobilized large numbers of reinforcements from its eastern provinces to the Syrian border on Tuesday, amid rising tension with Damascus, after the downing by Syria of a Turkish Air Force jet on Friday, Turkish media reported.



Large numbers of Turkish troops — including at least 15 long-range artillery pieces and tanks – moved to the Syrian frontier from the eastern city of Diyarbakir. A video published by the Turkish Cihan News Agency showed Turkish tanks being transported by carrier trucks toward the frontier.

The mobilization followed statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the Turkish military will respond to any future violation of its border by Syrian military elements.



“As awe-inspiring as Turkey’s friendship is, Turkey’s wrath is equally awe-inspiring,” Erdogan told the Turkish parliament on Tuesday.  (He seems angry..)


“The rules of engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces have changed,” Erdogan said. “Any military element that approaches the Turkish border from Syria posing a security risk and danger will be regarded as a threat and treated as a military target.”


Erdogan closed his remarks with an especially harsh condemnation of Syrian President Bashar Assad: “Turkey and the Turkish people will continue to provide all support until the people of Syria have been saved from this tyrannical, murderous, bloody dictator and his gang.”

But not everyone is in favor of Erdogan's tough stance, including the father of one of the missing pilots..


The father of one of the two missing pilots who were shot down in Friday’s incident told Turkish newspaper Hürriyet Daily News that he opposed Turkey going to war over his son.


“It is not appropriate for a country to go to war over a pilot, an airplane or 50 airplanes,” Ali Erton said. He said he was aware of the risks his son took as a military pilot, but added “what matters is that my son serves his country.”


NATO’s North Atlantic Council condemned Tuesday Syria’s downing of the Turkish jet on Friday, but did not recommend military action for the act, as Ankara has requested.


At an emergency meeting, requested by Turkey and chaired by NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the council clearly denounced Syria’s aggression “in the strongest terms,” calling the shooting down of a Turkish jet over the Mediterranean “unacceptable.”


“It is another example of the Syrian disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life,” said the NATO chief, expressing his solidarity with Turkey, but making no mention of retaliatory action.

The back channel lines between Damascus and Ankara and Ankara and Tel Aviv must be burning up right about now..  I'm having a really hard time believing that there's not more going on here, and that none of it is what it seems.  Maybe I'm just a paranoid conspiritard, but this still doesn't pass the smell test, and NATO doesn't seem to be having any of it, either..  As always, I could be spectacularly wrong, so keep watching the Turkish/Syrian border babies!

Here's The Thing About Fukushima..

I've been bothered by the total, universal lack of interest from Society regarding all things Fukushima.  This is an ongoing nuclear emergency, and..  Crickets.  No global protests, no "It's Day 473"-type broadcasts, much less wall to wall or even continual coverage.  No outrage.  No real reaction.  So very little news, but evidently enough to quench collective curiousity. 

There are many valid reasons for this phenomenon, and I think these reasons are contributive and re-enforce each other, curtailing the drive for knowledge, encouraging silence.  Of those, I'll focus in on Denial.

In the case of Fukushima, Denial due to fear is one part, but Denial due to inability to fully process and understand the implications of this disaster, even a very little bit, is as important than fear.  The continual, contaminating effect of radiation is incomprehensible to a large swath of our population, not to mention the implications of a Reactor 4 catastrophic event.  Or radiation from Reactors 1, 2, or 3 reaching the water table.  These crises loom so large, yet we continue on, oblivious to what could very well happen, and what is happening now.  If I can't see radiation, then it must not really exist, right?  Maybe you can call someone on your cell phone to have them help you figure it out!

A contributing factor to the Global Disaster Malaise that is Fukushima?  Short answer:  People can't wrap their heads around the implications, so they ignore it. 

More implications are becoming apparent.  Soon, there will be more.  And then, those implications will be next to impossible to ignore, anymore..

Spain formally asks Eurogroup for bank aid

Because of the huge news day we had yesterday, Spain asking for bailout got lost amongst the chaos.  Make no mistake:  This is a big story.  CNN Money via The Extinction Protocol.  Post:

June 25, 2012 – SPAIN - The Spanish government made a formal request to the Eurogroup on Monday for up to €62 billion ($77 billion) in financial aid for its troubled banking sector. “I have the honor to write to you, in the name of the Spanish government, to formally request financial assistance for the recapitalization of the Spanish banks that require it,” wrote Economy Minister Luis de Guindos, in a letter to Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker. In a worst case scenario, Wyman found that Spanish banks would need between €51 billion and €62 billion in additional capital. Berger estimated the banks would need €51.8 billion. The auditors used stress tests similar to those conducted by the International Monetary Fund, which said last month that banks need to raise €40 billion. The Spanish government did not specify the exact amount it would need. The uncertainty around Spanish banks has raised speculation that Spain will need a bailout similar to those given to Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Investors are also worried about how Spain’s problems will impact Italy. The fear is that bailing out Spain would drain the euro area’s crisis resources and leave Italy without a safety net. The leaders of the four biggest eurozone economies agreed Friday on a plan to boost economic growth in the troubled currency union. Without going into detail, the leaders said they agreed on a set of growth-enhancing policies equal to about €125 billion, or 1% of eurozone gross domestic product.

Spain's GDP is bigger than Greece, Ireland, and Portugal together.  Spain very well could be the Eurozone's Tipping Point into collapse. 

Something MAJOR Has Changed Regarding Fukushima Reactor 4.

[LIVE] Tepco is removing the upper part of reactor4  Fukushima Diary seems caught off guard.  He's got a live feed, if you're interested.. Demolition, or urgent deconstruction of the upper part of the Reactor building began without an announcement.  This is important.  Somethings happening.

After a year and a half of watching the severely understaffed workers try to stabilize three Reactors from criticality and clear debris, very little other has been done to stabilize the Reactor 4 building, until just a few weeks ago.  You'd think 1551 fuel assemblies packed in a damaged Spent Fuel Pool 90 feet in the air that is a potential World-Ender would be a priority, but it has not.  Again, until now.

So today TEPCO decides to bust ass on a project that was just a week ago moved up to this fall from the end of 2013, and was moved up today to..  Well, today.  Ominous.

The wind is blowing directly into Tokyo, by the way..

And there's this..

Experts warn of nuclear fire at Fukushima  Audio post from ABC News.  Released earlier today, before deconstruction.


Holy shit!  What the fuck is going on at Fukushima?  Godlike Productions.  The first page of this thread overstates the doom(for the moment), but the thread itself has some good sources.  Like this one. 

One note:  During this thread, the appearance of demolition/construction men on the upper levels of 4 are called out as evidence that this whole thing is a hoax(As the radioactive threat is not real, and this all has been a cover up for Something Else..).  Not quite.  Reactors 1,2, and 3 had meltdowns, and 4 was damaged in an explosion, but the Reactor itself was shut down.  The primary danger of Reactor 4 has always been the Spent Fuel Pool, not overwhelming radiation like the first three.


Any accident involving Reactor 4's Spent Fuel Pool could be catastrophic.  I wish the men dismantling this potentially world ending time bomb nimble-ness, efficiency, and the utmost of safety!  No pressure, fellas:  The fate of the world's on your shoulders; that's all..

Triangle UFO near the Sun appears on June 17 and June 24, 2012

The Truth Behind The Scenes.  Go to the link for the videos, courtesy of Streetcap1.  That's one big triangle..

Clif's Latest Dispatch: The Gift Of..

Shit.  The gift of shit.  Halfpasthuman.  Excerpts: 

Into everyone's life, shit happens. When the shit happens in your life, be aware that this is universe providing you the necessary precondition for transformation.


By rejecting the process of transformation which is triggered by the shit reaching too damn high, you are sticking your chin out as far as you can, and inviting Fate to bitch slap the shit right out of you.

You see, the shit must go. That is how universe works. It piles shit up to the rafters as a method of forcing us lazy pie eaters to get out of our kitchens and deal with the transformation, that we know, deep in our gut, is required.

Universe does not provide us with what we want. It gives us what we need.
..
Universe rewards courage. It removes obstacles, smooths the path, and brings additional opportunities, once courage is demonstrated. By embracing Destiny, one can avoid Fate. The difference is the intent to recognize, and harmonize with the 'gift of shit' from universe. The ability to harmonize grows over time and is not a prerequisite to universal process. It is the decision, apparently, to take all that comes from universe as grist for our personal mill of transformation, that changes the experience from fate to destiny. Thereafter it is keeping to that decision that is necessary. No small task. Beyond that, the ability to listen to universe, and effectively harmonize, are skills that grow over time with failure (success rarely teaches anything).


This is true both personally and collectively.

Universe rewards courage, both personally and collectively. Paradoxically, in order for the populace to have courage collectively, the individual must have it, and be prepared to demonstrate it. Once demonstrated by one individual, courage runs through a populace like flame through brush. This is what scares the QE (quivering elites). This is why they work so hard to manage the flow of shit to coincide with their schedule of things....as they are aware that even shit will ignite if you pile it deep enough.


The shit has been piled this deep on this planet before. The evidence shows that those ancient peoples denied their Destiny and were consumed by Fate.
It is our turn now..

Great post.  Be sure and read the whole thing at the link.  There's a special toy surprise waiting for you..!

Greek Finance Minister Resigns Just Days After Appointment; Cyprus Officially Requests Bailout

Bad Omen Monday..  Like, two-headed crow flying backwards, ten feet above your head shrieking "NOOOO!," bad..  Zero Hedge.  Whole Post:

This has to be a record:

•GREEK FINANCE MINISTER RAPANOS RESIGNS; PRIME MINISTER ACCEPTS


This is the same guy who was appointed last week, and who fainted after seeking the official Greek numbers. In fact we are not sure he ever got an official appointment. And elsewhere:


•CYPRUS REQUESTS EU AID


•CYPRUS SEEKS EXTERNAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM EURO AREA: China just said NEIN


Prepare the bath salt firehose.


Repanos: we hardly knew thee. Courtesy of William Banzai:

Welcome, Cyprus!  If you haven't been paying attention, you're in for some "excitement!"

Can Parallel Universes Explain The Déjà Vu Phenomenon?

Zen Haven.  Excerpts, with video from Michio Kaku at the link:

Have you ever had a déjà vu experience? It’s the feeling, or impression that you have already witnessed or experienced a current situation.


The term déjà vu is French and means, literally, “already seen.”
It is a rather common, yet little understood phenomenon. Most of us have experienced being in a new place and feeling certain that we have been there before, but we have difficulties understanding how it is possible.

For a long time, this eerie sensation has been attributed to everything from paranormal disturbances to neurological disorders.

In recent years, as more scientists began studying this phenomenon, a number of theories about déjà vu have emerged, suggesting that it is not merely a glitch in our brain’s memory system.


Psychologists have suggested that déjà vu may occur when specific aspects of a current situation resemble certain aspects of previously occurring situations.
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Alternative explanations associate déjà vu with prophecy, past life memories, clairvoyance, or a mystic signpost indicating fulfillment of a predetermined condition on the journey of life.



Whatever the explanation, déjà vu is certainly a phenomenon that is universal to the human condition, and its fundamental cause is still a mystery.


Another intriguing possibility is that there is a hidden connection between déjà vu and the existence of parallel universes.

As some already know, the multiverse is a theory in which our universe is not the only one, but states that many universes exist parallel to each other. These distinct universes within the multiverse theory are called parallel universes.

According to Dr. Kaku, quantum physics states that there is the possibility that déjà vu might be caused by your ability to “flip between different universes”.

But you already knew that, didn't you?

Forget the PIIGS, the EU as a Whole is Insolvent

Impending Systemic Collapse has an ominous ring to it.  Zero Hedge has the bad news..  Excerpts:

Europe is heading into a full-scale disaster.
You see, the debt problems in Europe are not simply related to Greece. They are SYSTEMIC. The below chart shows the official Debt to GDP ratios for the major players in Europe.


As you can see, even the more “solvent” countries like Germany and France are sporting Debt to GDP ratios of 75% and 84% respectively.



These numbers, while bad, don’t account for unfunded liabilities. And Europe is nothing if not steeped in unfunded liabilities.


Let’s consider Germany. According to Axel Weber, the head of Germany’s Central Bank, Germany is in fact sitting on a REAL Debt to GDP ratio of over 200%. This is Germany… with unfunded liabilities equal to over TWO times its current GDP.
To put the insanity of this into perspective, Weber’s claim is akin to Ben Bernanke going on national TV and saying that the US actually owes more than $30 trillion and that the debt ceiling is in fact a joke.
What’s truly frightening about this is that Weber is most likely being conservative here. Jagadeesh Gokhale of the Cato Institute published a paper for EuroStat in 2009 claiming Germany’s unfunded liabilities are in fact closer to 418%.

And of course, Germany has yet to recapitalize its banks.


Indeed, by the German Institute for Economic Research’s OWN admission, German banks need 147 billion Euros’ worth of new capital.

To put this number into perspective TOTAL EQUITY at the top three banks in Germany is less than 100 billion Euros.

And this is GERMANY we’re talking about: the supposed rock-solid balance sheet of Europe. How bad do you think the other, less fiscally conservative EU members are?
Think BAD. As in systemic collapse bad.

Tickticktick..

Ron Paul Senior Advisor Doug Wead on the Still-Presidential Candidate's Curious (and Often Successful) Delegate Strategy

August promises some surprises.  Hopefully, the biggest will be in Tampa at the Republican National Convention.  KPFK's 'BradCast':   From Brad Blog.  Excerpts:

So, remember way back in the not-so-cold month of January when, on the night of the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucuses the GOP announced Mitt Romney as the "winner"? And then, a couple of days later when, thanks to publicly counted hand-marked paper ballots used by the GOP for their own caucuses across the entire state, a Ron Paul supporter was able to come forward to point out that the GOP had reported inaccurate Caucus Night tallies on their website? And then, several weeks later when the GOP was forced to admit their previously reported tallies were indeed wrong, and the citizens who actually witnessed the counting on Caucus Night with their own eyes were right and that, in fact, Santorum, not Romney had actually received the most votes?


Well, funny thing. Over the weekend, at the Iowa GOP State Convention, neither Santorum nor Romney was the winner. The winner of the state of Iowa --- at least the man who will have, by far, the most delegates representing him at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August --- is Ron Paul. Thanks to Paul supporters turning out in droves at district, county and then the state convention, Paul will have 21 of the state's 25 delegates at the RNC in August. And Iowa is not the only state where that has been happening.


Last week while I was guest hosting the nationally-syndicated Mike Malloy Show, I interviewed Presidential historian, author and Ron Paul Campaign Senior Advisor Doug Wead about the fascinating strategy, and extraordinary, even violent push-back (see here and here for just two examples caught on video) from the GOP establishment against the Ronulans turning out in democratic support of their candidate at these conventions. And almost all of it seems to be quietly happening well below the MSM radar at GOP state convention after GOP state convention.

Not for long, babies.  Holy shit, if Ron Paul were to stage an upset at The Convention, how awesome would that be?  That won't happen, but there's a chance a Bigass floor fight could erupt, as the Romneybots don't like losing:  Ever.  August in Florida is already hot.  Wait until the Ronulans arrive..

Parts of Mars Interior as Wet as Earth's

That's a nice-sized puzzle piece, right?  Space dot com.  Excerpts, plus kickass stop motion video at link:
The interior of Mars holds vast reservoirs of water, with some spots apparently as wet as Earth's innards, scientists say.

The finding upends previous studies, which had estimated that the Red Planet's internal water stores were scanty at best — something of a surprise, given that liquid water apparently flowed on the Martian surface long ago.

"It’s been puzzling why previous estimates for the planet’s interior have been so dry," co-author Erik Hauri, of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, said in a statement. "This new research makes sense and suggests that volcanoes may have been the primary vehicle for getting water to the surface."

The scientists examined two Martian meteorites that formed in the planet's mantle, the layer under the crust. These rocks landed on Earth about 2.5 million years ago, after being blasted off the Red Planet by a violent impact.

Using a technique called secondary ion mass spectrometry, the team determined that the mantle from which the meteorites derived contained between 70 and 300 parts per million (ppm) of water. Earth's mantle, for comparison, holds roughly 50-300 ppm water, researchers said.

"The results suggest that water was incorporated during the formation of Mars and that the planet was able to store water in its interior during the planet’s differentiation," Hauri said.

Some of this water apparently made its made to the surface in the ancient past. NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers, which landed on the Red Planet in 2004, have found plenty of evidence that Mars was far warmer and wetter billions of years ago than it is today.

The two golf-cart-size robots have even spotted signs of ancient hydrothermal systems, suggesting that some places on the Red Planet once had both water and an energy source — two key ingredients for the existence of life as we know it.

The video looks exactly like coastlines and water. See for yourself. Amazing. Mother Mars yields a few more of her secrets, and the Big Picture becomes a little bit clearer.