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Here we go.. Greek financial and political discourse is about to get really rocky.. With real rocks. The Roundup begins now.. The Extinction Protocol, via Reuters.. Excerpts:
Historic cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens on Sunday as black-masked protesters fought Greek police outside parliament, while inside lawmakers looked set to defy the rage by endorsing a new EU/IMF austerity deal. State television reported violence spread to the islands of Corfu and Crete, the northern city of Thessaloniki and towns in central Greece. Shops were being looted in the capital in the worst breakdown of order since 2008 when violence gripped Greece for weeks after police shot a 15-year-old schoolboy. As parliament prepared to vote on a new 130 billion euro bailout to save Greece from a messy bankruptcy, a Reuters photographer saw buildings in Athens engulfed in flames and huge plumes of smoke rose in the night sky.
Yeah, it's burning..
So, what does this all mean? Tyler Durden from ZeroHedge 'splains and sums up..
The Greek parliament just passed the latest proposed austerity plan with a majority voting Yes. Judging by the reaction of the EURUSD, which experienced a modest 40 pip short covering squeeze in the last few minutes, one would imagine that today's Greek vote outcome is surprising. It isn't: after all, all Greece has done is promise to do something it won't do in hope it can get another bailout package, this time amounting to €210 billion (of which its people will pocket a de minimis 19%). As we said earlier: "The only real questions are i) what the Greek population may do in response to this latest selling out of a population "led" by an unelected banker, which if history is any precedent, the answer is not much, and ii) how Germany will subvert this latest event, and put the bail [sic] back in Greece's court once again."
Plus, a little funny for you..
..everyone knows revolutions in heavily socialist countries only start between 9 am and 5 pm, with a 2 hour break for siesta.
Not funny, though, is how the Greek people will respond to these financial shenanigans. Not well is the answer; Not well at all..
I fear for a social explosion: Greeks can't take any more punishment The Guardian. Excerpts:
Despair has enveloped Greece. This weekend the bankrupt nation, for that is what it is, began negotiating the latest act of a drama that many fear will end in catastrophe – financially, socially and politically.
In an electric atmosphere, with thousands demonstrating outside parliament, MPs began debating the arduous terms of a €130bn (£110bn) rescue package that the interim prime minister, Lucas Papademos
"A disorderly default," he said, referring to the 20 March deadline that Greece faces of repaying €14.5bn in maturing debt, "would plunge our country in a disastrous adventure. It would create conditions of uncontrolled economic chaos and social explosion."
..
But in both parties MPs are far from convinced. The country has reached a crossroads, of that there can be no doubt. But almost two years since it was first "rescued" with €110bn, the nation's acceptance of this latest lifeline puts it in a perilous place. Politicians, almost without exception, believe they are "damned if they do and damned if they don't".
After more than two decades reporting from Athens, I can only concur. For the truth – as unpalatable as it may be for the IMF, EU and European Central Bank, Greece's "troika" of creditors – is that, far from plugging the country's budget black holes, the harsh austerity pursued in the name of deficit-reducing goals has pushed it towards economic and social collapse. Relentless wage and pension cuts, tax rises and cost-cutting reforms have left the country a shadow of itself. In its fifth successive year of recession, Greece is a hollowed-out version of what it once was, coming apart at the seams a little more with each day. Men and women forage through rubbish bins late at night. More sleep on the streets. Last week as Eurostat, the European statistic agency, announced that poverty had engulfed more than a third of the nation, it was revealed that unemployment had also exceeded one million people, from a record 19% to 20.9% in one month.
"Nothing functions. Nobody pays anybody any more and the state is not just crumbling but in complete stasis," said Giorgos Kyrtsos, a prominent political commentator. "These guys," he said of officials in the troika of European agencies negotiating the bailout, "should really lose their jobs. They've miscalculated everything. I understand on Friday the police trade union called for their arrests. Well, maybe they are right!"
..
A series of resignations by ministers on Friday, unwilling to support the latest measures, not only underlined the panic of the political class – in a country where MPs no longer feel safe walking in the streets – but proved how tenuous public support is for the bailout. If there is to be a social explosion, many said that it would come because Greeks had been pushed too far. The loan agreement not only will lead to job losses and more cuts in salaries and pensions but a 22% reduction in the minimum wage.
Ferment on the street is back. The clashes during last week's second general strike are generally expected to be a prelude to something much more ominous. "There is going to be a huge social eruption," said Apostalia Kiroudi, an unemployed jeweller shouting herself hoarse in front of parliament.
"Our politicians lied to us. They never told us the truth, and now they want to pass policies that they have no mandate to do. As that sign says over there," she said, pointing to a friend holding a placard, "We choose to be free. Keep your money."
Things are going to devolve rapidly. The bankster gangsters won't take The People's shit, and vice versa. And the Greeks have proven time and again they're always up for a fight, and a fight they shall have. I sure hope Riot Dog has been resting up--In the coming days, he's going to be busy!
The end is nigh, bitches.. Natural News. Excerpts:
A lot of people believe the world as we know it is going to end on December 23, 2012. Nonsense, I say. The far more honest answer is that the end of the world as we know it has already begun. And it doesn't mean the end of the world; it means the closing of one era and the birth of a new one. It is a transition between the ages. This particular transition, however, promises to be the most tumultuous and costly transition humankind has ever seen.
But don't wait around for December 2012 to look for the signs. Here are 14 signs that the world as we know it is unraveling right now. We are living through the end of one era and the birth of a new one. In the future, they'll look back and call this all one moment in history, but when you're living through it, it seems to move forward at almost a snail's pace. But make no mistake: We are living through the opening chapters of the end of the world as we know it, and on the other side of all this will emerge a new world that's very different from the one we know today.
#1 - Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis
#2 - The silence of the bees (Colony Collapse Disorder)
#3 - The failure of nuclear science (In a word, Fukushima..)
#7 - The runaway destruction of the world by energy companies (Ahh.. Delicious Corexit!)
#11 - The plummeting intelligence of the masses
#13 - The ongoing pharmaceutical pollution of our world
#14 - The radioactive contamination of the global food supply
Get the whole list and descriptors at the link. It's a tad disturbing to see them all grouped together like this, but then again, maybe more people will understand the severity of our collective situation. Probably not, though..
Reactor 2 seems to be in trouble; again.. E News (via Rense).. Excerpts:
[Masanori Naito, director in charge of nuclear safety analysis at the Institute of Applied Energy] presumes portion of the fuel which had been recorded before the board of the mesh condition which supports the fuel and dissolved fell to the bottom of the reactor, local like the hill, because accumulating, the calorific value (temperature) increased, with.
Bad Babelfish translation, but Big Picture? Problems. Nuclear Problems. Lots of 'em.
Integrity of Reactor No. 4 building a major concern among experts — Collapse of spent fuel pool could be even worse than 3 reactor meltdowns E News. Excerpts:
Again with the Babelfish translation, but you'll get it..
[...] TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto [...] said officials are investigating the cause of that leak, but that it was unlikely the pipe had been loosened by the many aftershocks that have hit the plant.
The structural integrity of the damaged Unit 4 reactor building has long been a major concern among experts because a collapse of its spent fuel cooling pool could cause a disaster worse than the three reactor meltdowns. [...]
Aside from the multiple meltdowns that have already happened..
Bird numbers plummet around stricken Fukushima plant Harbinger of The Future. The Independent. Excerpts:
Researchers working around Japan's disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say bird populations there have begun to dwindle, in what may be a chilling harbinger of the impact of radioactive fallout on local life.
In the first major study of the impact of the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, the researchers, from Japan, the US and Denmark, said their analysis of 14 species of bird common to Fukushima and Chernobyl, the Ukrainian city which suffered a similar nuclear meltdown, showed the effect on abundance is worse in the Japanese disaster zone.
..
Many species show "dramatically" elevated DNA mutation rates, developmental abnormalities and extinctions, they add, while insect life has been significantly reduced.
Thankfully, no one will notice until they get HUGE and start attacking humans.
"Backup" Tokyo (Capital of Japan) to Be Considered Somewhere in Japan to Preserve Government Functions in Case of Disaster Ex-SKF. Excerpts:
Democratic Party of Japan will hold the first meeting of "the working group for backing up the core functions of the capital" (headed by Sumio Mabuchi. It is to prepare for the case of Tokyo devastated by an epicentral earthquake. The focus will be whether the group designates a location to temporarily move the function of the Prime Minister's Official Residence and the central government ministries. The group will submit the report to the government by the end of March.
The expert committee at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation started the discussion on backup functions of the capital last December, in light of the March 11, 2011 earthquake/tsunami. The committee says it won't specify the location [to which the functions will be moved], but heated campaigns to become a "backup" capital have already started among locations including Hokkaido, Osaka, and Fukuoka City.
Well, even after the Fukushima I Nuke Plant accident, they still do not (or cannot) say they should consider a potential nuclear disaster when planning a backup capital. If they do consider, there may be nowhere in Japan that's suitable.
Pardon my pessimism, but isn't this talk a bit late? Really late?
US ex-diplomat pulls no punches on Japan Google. Wait; Google? Excerpts:
..Maher's main thesis is that Japan -- which has had six new prime ministers since 2006 -- has been crippled by a failure of its politicians to accept responsibility and, hence, to make hard decisions.
Maher pointed to the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was devastated by the March 11 tsunami, and dismissed the government's declaration last month that it had stabilized the leaking reactors.
"It's not stable," Maher said recently at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. "Tokyo is safe, but Fukushima Daiichi is in really bad shape."
And:
Maher said that the US government was privately terrified over the unfolding crisis. He accused Japan's then prime minister, Naoto Kan, of evading responsibility and trying to pass the problem over to the plant's operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Co.
"I remember sitting on a task force many a time thinking, 'Who the hell is in control in Japan?' The government's not doing anything. Kan made one trip and flew up and got in the way and came back," Maher said.
Maher said that he watched in horror as he saw television footage of a sole helicopter dropping water on the stricken plant.
"Is that the best Japan can do?" Maher said.
Disconcerting, yet snarky news from Eurasia Review (via Godlike Productions). Excerpts:
..They’re (Foreign press outlets) renting the right to put film crews and reporters on the city’s rooftops (Hebrew) during the upcoming war in order to cover the anticipated Iranian counterattack. That way they can get great photo ops and pictures of missiles wreaking havoc on the city. What a story! What a feast for the eyes! Other news organizations like CBS, Fox News, and NBC are sending their senior producers to Israel to scope out the place in case they have to send in the big boys–the news anchors and senior correspondents (especially since no one can report from Teheran!).
We can’t wait!
Are you getting the feeling 2012 won't be quiet, peaceful, or a piece of cake? Me, too..
Activist Post. As a frequent visitor to long term care facilities, this news is Not Awesome.. Excerpts:
This is possibly our biggest infection control dilemma yet.
Although cases of this particular pneumonia infection have been on the rise worldwide for the past 10 years, there is an alarming spread recently across the US.
What makes this opportunistic “superbug” such a nightmare is that it is Carbapenem-Resistant, meaning “last resort antibiotic” resistant. It’s a Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP); Klebsiella pneumoniae is a strain of Klebsiella which is related to E. Coli and Salmonella from the family Enterobacteriaceae.
Thirty-seven states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico have reported the outbreak, up from thirty-five states last year. The CDC believes it is also spreading in 14 other US territories but is going unreported.
..
Found inside the gut; outside of the gut, it can cause lethal infection. The major reservoirs of infection are the gastrointestinal tracts of patients, catheters, ventilators, unclean instruments, and the hands of hospital personnel. It zeros in on hospitals, ICUs, long-term care facilities like nursing homes, and those with immune-compromised conditions.
It is a potential community-acquired type of pneumonia (one not acquired from hospitals) and the bug has an incredible ability to mutate and resist. It does indeed carry a fatality rate of up to 50 percent or more! That's 10 percent more than last year's reports.
..
Now is an ideal time to avoid typical healthcare facilities and make or stock colloidal silver -- the best defense against resistant superbugs such as CRKP.
Since I can't, for the time being, avoid hospitals or nursing homes, it's all about washing hands and colloidal silver.. Stay away, Captain Tripps!
King what? King Hypocritical Homophobe? King DownLow? King Kocksucker? King Loonyhomo? (The last one's my favorite, btw..) Looks like we're headed for a psychotic break of some kind.. Megalomania much, "Bishop?" BET.com has some of the mystifying details..
After being named a king at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in January, Bishop Eddie Long has now abdicated his throne and apologized to the Anti-Defamation League for the dubious coronation ceremony where he was draped in an alleged “Holocaust Torah.” (Seriously, would you believe this if someone had written it?)
"The ceremony was not my suggestion, nor was it my intent, to participate in any ritual that is offensive in any manner to the Jewish community, or any group. Furthermore, I sincerely denounce any action that depicts me as a King, for I am merely just a servant of the Lord," Long wrote in a letter addressed to Bill Nigut, southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights anti-semitism. (Respectfully, "Bishop," I call bullshit. Every bit of this circus smacks of you! Own it, baby..)
Some members of the Jewish community were outraged when a video of Long’s ceremony circulated on the Internet depicting Long being presented with Jewish scrolls alleged to date back 300 years and which were rescued from Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The ceremony was presided over by self-ordained Rabbi and Bible teacher Ralph Messer, who was visiting New Birth.
Nigut said he was "horrified" by the service, which had no roots in Jewish traditions.
And(Precursor/Stressor event):
Long has recently returned to the helm of his church after taking a leave of absence that coincided with his wife’s decision to file for divorce. Last year, Long also grabbed headlines for allegations of sexual abuse from several young men who were members of his Atlanta church.
This shocking bit Kraaazee! is a portent of something much larger, much more shocking, and much, much more Kraaaaaazzee! He just can't help himself.. In whatever shape it assumes, the next Shoe is about to Drop.. And hard.. Poor Eddie. Only the truth shall set you free. Your truth? You like dudes. Get over it.
World holds its breath for Russian scientists drilling in Antarctic - as they try to find 'alien' underground lake before Tuesday 'date of no return' Somewhere, Peter Jackson salivates. The Daily Mail. Excerpts:
The scientific community is holding its breath for a team of Russian scientists that has been out of contact with colleagues in the U.S for six days, as they drill into a lake buried beneath the Antarctic ice for 20 million years.
They have to evacuate their station by Tuesday - when winter proper kicks in and temperatures start to drop to an inhospitable minus 90C.
The scientists are currently battling conditions of up to minus 66C at Lake Vostok as they raced to drill into a lake buried two miles beneath the ice before the weather closed in.
They were hoping water in the lake, the most inhospitable region of the planet, would reveal more about ancient life on our planet - but they have fallen silent just days before the deadly winter is due to begin.
Nice, horror movie setup here..
Their radio silence has chilling echoes of classic horror film The Thing, where scientists dig up a buried spacecraft in the Antarctic ice, only to unleash an extraterrestrial horror within.
Geothermal heat under the ice keeps the lake liquid, and its conditions are often described as 'alien' because they are thought to be akin to the subterranean lakes on Jupiter's moon Europa.
The water inside the lake will have had no contact with man-made pollutants or Earthly life forms for millions of years.
..
Valery Lukin, chief of the Russian Antarctic Expedition, said last month: 'We do not know what is waiting for us down there.'
Bonus "Nothing to see here--move along" statement:
But he (John Priscu, a Montana State University Antarctic researcher) insists the Russians are not lost.
'I can assure you that they are not lost or out of contact,' he wrote in an email to Foxnews,com. 'I never said the Russians were lost.'
He said they were 'working round the clock and trying to reach their goals as winter approaches. I completely understand why there are not communicating as frequently in the past.
'What I can tell you is that they are doing something that has never been done before — think of it, sampling a lake under 2.5 miles of ice at a location that is the highest, driest and coldest desert on our planet.
'I don't think there's anything sinister or ominous,' he added. 'The Russians have their own way of dealing with things, particularly the media, which I respect.
'There is nobody to call.'
I hope they bring back a really big alien or UFO, not some lame-ass ancient microbial contagion that kills everybody without us seeing it! What fun would that be? None! No fun whatsoever!
Gamer lies dead in internet cafe for 9 HOURS before anyone notices 30 people sat around Chen Rong-yu did not realise anything was wrong.. Tragic and infuriating. The Daily Mail. Excerpts:
A young gamer lay dead in an internet cafe in Taiwan for nine hours before anyone noticed.
Chen Rong-yu, 23, is thought to have suffered a heart attack after playing League of Legends for 23 hours.
He was apparently still sat on the chair with his hands stretched out in front of the keyboard as if he was still playing in the cafe in New Taipei City.
..
Initial tests revealed he died after suffering a heart attack brought on by low temperatures, fatigue and lack of movement.
His family told the authorities he had been treated for a heart condition in September.
What's worse: Continuing sedentary behaviors with heart problems, or dying, and no one noticing? Is this the manifest behaviors of the technological "new normal?" "League of Legends" must be quite a little game..
Dire, Catastrophic, or Pre-Apocalyptic? We're one big earthquake or explosion from finding out. Fukushima Diary. Excerpts:
A Japanese journalist (a former secretary of Japanese prime minister) tweeted about reactor 4.
More people are concerned about the situation of reactor 4.
..
A Tepco manager from engineering department showed this map of the fifth top floor of reactor 4. This is confidential.
When 311 happened, it (Reactor 4)was in periodic checkup, large cranes or other heavy facilities were gathered too much. The weight constitution is inverse pyramid, very unstable and dangerous.
Meanwhile, NOT on the fifth floor, Reactor 4 is cracked, so we've got that to look forward to..
Astrological History Happens Today. From Robert Wilkinson's Aquarius Papers. Excerpts:
Neptune will re-enter Pisces on February 3, 11:03 am PST, 2:03 pm EST, 7:03 pm Greenwich. This begins a 14 year long, strange journey that will lead humanity along spiritual lines that happen only once every 164-180 years. It is also where we first turn the corner in a 500 year sub-Age that began 1888-1894.
..
Still, April and May gave us the first sense of the impending plunge into a great oceanic dreamscape that confronts humanity. In those months we got a front end experience of the larger collective atmosphere about to commence.
..
The end of Aquarius represents a culmination point of managed collective energies. It is where we go through spiritual transfigurations, emerge from a chrysalis, and transform our lives forever within a larger collective consciousness. Through Neptune we have all experienced this on some level, subtle or obvious.
It is a point where our understanding of ourselves as a collection of congealed light particles can be seen from a holistic angle of vision, where we see ourselves as “merest specks in the ocean of light.” Perhaps that’s why the reality of Light as the composing energetic factor in all material creation is now an accepted fact. All material creations derive from light, both in waves and particles. Those who have been open to these energies are now experiencing their “light nature,” whether they know it or not.
And:
So as Neptune says goodbye to Aquarius for about 135 years, take a moment to reflect on the fact that you’ve now experienced the exact point of "the cusp of the Age," where our past 2000 year Age of Pisces will soon give way to the coming 2000 year Age of Aquarius. This is a profound moment in the past and future history of humanity, and by understanding what we’ve felt about our Higher Self and purpose these past 22 months, we’ve tuned into the very first impressions of the coming Great Age of Aquarius.
It all starts today! Neptune has come home, and Pisces is In Full Effect. Don't dream it: Be it.
From The Extinction Protocol. Excerpts:
An ongoing swine flu outbreak in Mexico has left at least 29 people dead and nearly 1,500 others infected, health officials confirmed on Saturday. Thousands more are also ill as the country faces several types of flu this season. Since the start of the ongoing winter season, at least 7,069 people have reported suffering from symptoms similar to those of swine flu. Lab tests are still underway and have so far confirmed 1,456 cases of the disease, which is officially known as A/H1N1. According to Mexico’s Health Ministry (SSA), at least twenty-nine people have died of swine flu so far this season. While no health emergency has been declared, officials expect the death toll will rise in the coming weeks as Mexico also faces A/H3N2 and B influenza.
Lest we forget that Bird Flu has also reared its ugly head again.. We should be OK, though, as long as no Mexicans visit China, Egypt, Vietnam, or Indonesia.. Let's all do our part to keep potential pandemics isolated, and neutered!
..British police arrest 5 in tabloid bribery probe Go little Energizer Scandal; Go! Yahoo Finance. Excerpts:
The criminal investigation into British tabloid skullduggery turned full force on a second Rupert Murdoch publication Saturday, with the arrest of four current and former journalists from The Sun on suspicion of bribing police.
A serving police officer was also held, and authorities searched the newspaper's offices as part an investigation into illegal payments for information.
..
Murdoch's News Corp. confirmed that all four were current or former Sun employees. The BBC and other British media identified them as former managing editor Graham Dudman, former deputy editor Fergus Shanahan, current head of news Chris Pharo and crime editor Mike Sullivan. (Systemic, much?)
A fifth man, a 29-year-old police officer, was arrested at the London station where he works.
..
The investigation into whether reporters illegally paid police for information is running parallel to a police inquiry into phone hacking by Murdoch's now-defunct News of the World.
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"News Corporation made a commitment last summer that unacceptable news gathering practices by individuals in the past would not be repeated," it said in a statement. (Read: Next time, we won't get caught!)
..
Thirteen people have now been arrested in the bribery probe, though none has yet been charged. They include Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of Murdoch's News International; ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson — who is also Prime Minister David Cameron's former communications chief; and journalists from the News of the World and The Sun.
Two of the London police force's top officers resigned in the wake of the revelation last July that the News of the World had eavesdropped on the cell phone voicemail messages of celebrities, athletes, politicians and even an abducted teenager in its quest for stories.
..
As well as investigating phone hacking and allegations that journalists paid police for information, detectives are looking into claims of computer hacking by Murdoch papers.
News Corp. has admitted that the News of the World hacked the emails as well as the phone of Chris Shipman, the son of serial killer Harold Shipman. And The Times of London has acknowledged that a former reporter tried to intercept emails to unmask an anonymous blogger.
Lessee.. Top Murdoch executives, high ranking policemen, Prime Minister Cameron's former Communications Chief, computer and phone hacking.. Sure sounds like "a few bad apples" to me! Also, I'm sure none of those practices happen over here in the U.S., what with our Librul Meeedeeuh and all.. Happy 2012, Newscorp! We wish you well! So.. Much.. Well!
Two more former aides to Scott Walker charged with crimes Daily Kos. More in-depth article here. Juicy tidbits? The behavior was Systemic, and comes complete with a Secret Email Network! Oh, so very Austin Powers, no? Excerpts:
As I posted a few days ago, additional charges were filed today in the ongoing John Doe Probe into the goings-on in Scott Walkers office while he was Milwaukee County Executive. These are in addition to the already filed charges that have come out of this case.
What most folks don't realize, though, is that these charges of political activity while using taxpayer funded facilities, equipment, and while being paid to perform official business for a taxpayer funded paycheck was where this John Doe Probe started in the fall of 2010. The investigation has gone in several different directions since then.
That means: this is the tip of the iceberg.
The scope of the investigation can be guessed at in the charges already levied.
Already charged was a businessman and supporter of Scott Walker who sidestepped campaign donation limits by funnelling additional funds to the Walker campaign through his employees. His plea bargain for this felony, in return for no jail time, was to pay the highest fine ever in Wisconsin history.
Now facing trial after being charged last week are 3 men, one of whom was Walkers Deputy Chief of Staff, charged with embezzling funds from a veterans group fund and child enticement.
What began as an investigation into the use of taxpayer resources and official time for political activities has taken several different directions since its inception. More and more wrongdoings are being uncovered. Todays charges are the only ones related to the original scope of the investigation.
Also coming out today is information that these weren't just a few rogue employees doing campaign work or political work on the taxpayers dime. This was an organized, systematic use of taxpayer resources to help Walker and his fellow Republicans:
Pop some popcorn. The Walker Takedown starts shortly, and man, it's gonna get ugly..
Earthquakes, that is..
Unofficial Notice courtesy of Godlike Productions..
USGS list here..
Now, Japan has lots of seismic activity, and a lot of earthquakes. Earlier this week, though, this forecast was released: 'Major quake could hit Tokyo within 4 years' Excerpt:
A new study is warning that the Tokyo region has a 70-per-cent chance of being hit directly by a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake within four years.
Couple that with yesterday's king-hell X solar flare, Japan might see some big shaking, real soon..
So, head's up.
Scoop with your knees, not your back. Stay warm, Geschies.. The Extinction Protocol. Excerpts:
The snow into Thursday could end up being one of Seattle’s biggest snowstorms on record. The storm and its heavy snowfall have the potential to close passes in the Cascades, clog streets at sea level with tons of snow and slush and force flight delays and cancellations.
..
The combination of heavy, wet snow with gusty winds in some areas will down trees, taking power lines with them.
..
The heaviest rate of snow will hit Seattle Wednesday, when the snow could come down at an inch-per-hour pace for a time.
Note descriptors "heavy," "wet," not "powder," "dry." Don't let the projected amounts fool you; This could be a big, big storm. Prep time's done; it's almost here.
Crap. Zero Hedge. Excerpts:
When it comes to attempts at predicting the future, it often appears that the most desirable outcome by everyone involved (particularly those from the status quo, which means financial institutions and media) is that of the "muddle through" which is some mythical condition in which nothing really happens, the global economy neither grows, nor implodes, and it broadly one of little excitement and volatility. While we fail to see how one can call the unprecedented market vol of the past 6 months anything even remotely resembling a muddle through, the recent quiet in the stock market, punctuated by a relentless low volume melt up has once again set market participants' minds at ease that in the absence of 30> VIX days, things may be back to "Goldilocks" days and the muddle through is once again within reach. So while the default fallback was assumed by most to be virtually assured, nobody had actually tried to map out the various outcome possibilities for the global economy. Until today..
The Point?
"A “muddle through” positioning is potentially dangerous: Our main message is that the muddle-through scenario might be the most plausible alternative, but its joint occurrence in the US and Europe is less likely than the result of a coin toss. Uncertainty is bad for multiples." Specifically - it is 37%
So, Economically, this is still The Lead Up.. Then things go boom!/Get bad..
From The Truth Behind The Scenes Creepy stuff. The sounds from the Czech Republic are pretty scary, like the- last-sounds-you'll-ever-hear scary, and Hungary and Alberta seem more like Inter-dimensional Aural Bleed through. No, I'm not claiming to be right, or, for that matter, sane. But that's still my guess. If I were to imagine what The Matrix sounds like when its brakes are going out or its transmission failing, it would sound something like this..
And it's happening in some pretty divergent places, world wide.. Second guess? Alien battles overhead. Which could be, still, my original answer.
We all could be, scientists say — and an MIT-developed instrument might someday provide the proof Old article, but what the hell.. MIT News. Excerpts:
Are we all Martians? According to many planetary scientists, it's conceivable that all life on Earth is descended from organisms that originated on Mars and were carried here aboard meteorites. If that's the case, an instrument being developed by researchers at MIT and Harvard could provide the clinching evidence.
..
The idea is based on several facts that have now been well established. First, in the early days of the solar system, the climates on Mars and the Earth were much more similar than they are now, so life that took hold on one planet could presumably have survived on the other. Second, an estimated one billion tons of rock have traveled from Mars to Earth, blasted loose by asteroid impacts and then traveling through interplanetary space before striking Earth's surface. Third, microbes have been shown to be capable of surviving the initial shock of such an impact, and there is some evidence they could also survive the thousands of years of transit through space before arriving at another planet.
So the various steps needed for life to have started on one planet and spread to another are all plausible. Additionally, orbital dynamics show that it's about 100 times easier for rocks to travel from Mars to Earth than the other way. So if life got started there first, microbes could have been carried here and we might all be its descendants.
So.. Mission To Mars is partially a documentary?
More vegetables are deformed from stress Fukushima Diary. Delicious pictures featured at the link. Dig in!
It's a dream apartment. What's the catch? Radioactive Apartment in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima, Measuring 1.2 Microsievert/Hr Inside Ex-SKF. Excerpts:
Relatively high levels of radiation have been detected from the concrete in an apartment building in Nihonmatsu City [in Fukushima Prefecture]. The Ministry of the Environment suspects that radioactive materials were in the concrete, and is investigating.
The apartment was built in September last year in Nihonmatsu City. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the glass badge worn by a student who lives in the apartment registered 3-month cumulative radiation exposure of 1.5 millisievert on December 27, prompting the city to survey the surrounding area.
The survey found 1.4 microsievert/hour from the concrete foundation of the apartment, and 1.2 microsievert/hour inside the apartment. The Ministry of the Environment thinks the apartment was built using concrete with radioactive materials, and is asking the building contractor for details.
I wonder if it is just concrete.
If you recall, 446,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from the sewage sludge in Fukushima City on May 8, 2011. The sludge had been sold to cement companies until the detection at Koriyama City on April 30, when 26,400 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from their sewage sludge. In the case of Koriyama City, over 900 tonnes of this radioactive sludge had been sold to one cement company (Sumitomo Osaka Cement) alone.
If the surface radiation level of the concrete is 1.4 microsievert/hour, I believe the concrete has at least 100,000 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium in it, if the radiation measurements of sludge and rooftop sediment are any indication.
No security deposit and the first three months free? I'll take it!
Question: Is it still "News" if it's nine months old? NRC March Email: “The walls of the Unit 4 spent fuel pool have collapsed, and there is no water in there”
From: Boska, John
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2011 11:31 AM
To: Guzman, Richard
Cc: Pickett, Douglas
Subject: Developments in Japan
Importance: High
Rich, please review and comment, for distribution to our branch.
In a briefing with Joe Giitter that just ended, we were informed that the situation is now much worse in Japan. The walls of the Unit 4 spent fuel pool have collapsed, and there is no water in there. There were a large number of fuel assemblies in the pool, and the fuel may no longer be intact. The radiation levels are increasing so much that it may prove difficult to work on the other 5 reactors at the site, which could lead to more fuel damage and releases. [...]
The answer? Yes. Yes it is still news, and catastrophic to boot..
Breaking News: Possible rapid increase of temperature at Reactor 2 Fukushima Diary. Excerpts:
One of the heat gauges at or near the bottom of the container vessel of reactor 2 measured heat over 100.
According to the explanation of Tepco, it’s the gauge of the equipment for moving control rod.
17:00 1/12: 48.4
23:00 1/12: 102.3
5:00 1/13: 116.4
Because the gauge at the bottom of the vessel measures 48, Tepco still asserts it’s in the state of cold shutdown. They assert it’s not because the fuel has moved or recriticality happened, only because the gauge was broken.
Broken temperature gauge. Check. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to Keep Shopping so the terrorists won't win and our economy won't sink. So.. Who's gonna win that Super Bowl?
BAM! Oh, the insolence shown to this king among men! From The Raw Story. Excerpts:
When News Corp. mogul Rupert Murdoch attacked Google on Twitter for its opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act, he had no idea what he was letting himself in for.
“Piracy leader is Google who streams movies free, sells advts around them. No wonder pouring millions into lobbying,” Murdoch tweeted to his followers.
As Business Insider quickly noted, however, the reaction from the tech community was swift and snarky — and by Sunday even included a Google policy manager.
Journalism professor and author of What Would Google Do? Jeff Jarvis was one of the first — and nastiest — writing, “Google doesn’t pirate and it doesn’t hack dead girls, @rupertmurdoch. I am so happy I pulled my book from you.”
..
And comedian Rob Delaney urged Murdoch, “Sup bro you’re doing great on Twitter nobody thinks you’re a weird asshole or anything keep it up.”
And:
And an editor with the Newcastle Evening Chronicle remarked, “Interesting to see @rupertmurdoch rallying at Google’s copyright infringement. Will remember that next time his newspapers lift our stories.”
My, how the old fartbag's fortunes have turned! Keep on, keepin' on Skidmark; Your cautionary tale hasn't fully played out. Now, about that hacking scandal that hasn't gone away..
Time traveller, who came back after 74 years, died at the age of 31 years old From The Truth Behind The Scenes. Excerpts:
Translated: Did a space-time vortex snatch a man from the 1800s and plop him down in the middle of traffic on a busy New York City street? Many witnesses—including the New York Police Department—say YES…
..
The Spanish website sinmisterios.com recounts the tale of the best documented occurrence of time travel in recorded history. The incident is allegedly corroborated by witnesses 74 years apart.
All details are said to be documented by official law enforcement records.
Rudolf Fenz, Senior disappeared in 1876. Despite an intense search by police, Fenz was never found. Yet his family always held out hope that the kindly immigrant from Europe would return. They waited years, eventually dying one-by-one still with the hope that their beloved Rudolf might come back.
The return of Rudolf Fenz
Long after all his living relatives had died, Rudolf Fenz returned. And he returned in the most incredible fashion possible. For Rudolf Fenz suddenly materialized on June 1950 in the middle of a busy Fifth Avenue in downtown Manhattan—74 years after vanishing without a trace.
Seconds after appearing in the midst of heavy traffic he was struck down and killed by a car.
There's much more to the story. That's just a taste. Check it out. It's worth the click.
Update: A friend emailed with the official-debunk--an urban legend started from a portion of a short story by Jack Finney. Too bad; The Alanis Morissette-iness of the episode is delicious! Thanks for the head's up, M!
Whether time travel ever proves to be reality or not, I will continue to put my faith in The Infinite Sophistication of The Universe, the sophistication that flows both through and to humanity, and to the infinite possibilities that that sophistication provides.
Oh! The Possibilities!
7.3 magnitude earthquake strikes off the west coast of northern Sumatra The Extinction Protocol. Excerpts:
A 7.3magnitude tectonic earthquake at a depth of 29 km (18 miles) was recorded on Tuesday, 420 km (260 miles) south west of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, the U.S. Geological Survey said. No immediate tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center for its Indian Ocean area but later that was changed. The epicenter of the strong earthquake was about 1789 km (1111 miles) WNW of Jakarta, Java, Indonesia. The earthquake lasted for about 30 seconds, and residents in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, rushed out of their homes in fear, an AFP reporter said. They later returned indoors. In recent weeks, a spasm of earthquakes have rattled the region in around Indonesia and currently 7 volcanoes in the very geologically-active archipelago are on high alert status.
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