Former News International boss Rebekah Brooks and her husband among six arrested over phone hacking 'cover-up'

I bet this was a "busy phone day" within the Murdoch Publishing Empire..    From The Daily Mail.  Today's highlights and excerpts:

*  Five men and one woman arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
*  Rebekah Brooks and millionaire husband Charlie held at their Chipping Norton home, which was  being searched by officers
*  Charlie Brooks wrote that yesterday - the first day of the Cheltenham Festival - is his 'happiest of the year'
* News International head of security Mark Hanna among those held
* 23 people have now been arrested under Operation Weeting, the phone-hacking probe

Rebekah Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband Charlie were arrested in dawn raids yesterday by police investigating allegations of a cover-up in the phone hacking inquiry.



The former News International chief executive and her husband – both close friends of David Cameron – were held on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.


They were among six people detained by detectives from Operation Weeting, the inquiry into illegal hacking of voicemail messages.

Mrs Brooks, the former editor of The Sun and the News of the World, has been on bail since last summer when she was arrested on suspicion of phone-hacking and corruption.



That arrest in July was ‘by appointment’ but yesterday the couple were woken by a sharp, unexpected, knock on the front door of their Cotswolds mansion.


The dramatic new police action is hugely embarrassing for the Prime Minister, who was flying to the United States for an official visit to President Obama while his friends and neighbours in the so-called Chipping Norton set were being questioned by police.

Earlier this month Mr Cameron’s links with the couple came under fresh scrutiny over the ‘Horsegate’ revelation that the Met Police had lent Mrs Brooks a retired police horse. He was forced to admit he may have ridden the horse with Mr Brooks, a friend from their Eton days.



Asked about the arrests, a Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The Prime Minister is travelling to Washington. It is an operational matter for the police. You wouldn’t expect him to comment on it.’


Chris Bryant, the Labour MP who was a victim of phone hacking, tweeted: ‘Cameron flees the country as his mates are arrested.’
And:
Court documents released last month allege a cover-up of phone-hacking at the now-defunct News of the World with bosses creating a policy of deleting emails which could be used against it in court. The papers, filed in the High Court, said the policy’s aim was ‘to eliminate in a consistent manner’ emails that ‘could be unhelpful in the context of future litigation in which a News International company is a defendant’.



The number of people arrested in Operation Weeting, which has been running since last January when police reopened investigations, stands at 21. Two other linked investigations – Operation Elveden into corrupt payments to police and Operation Tuleta into computer hacking – have resulted in 26 arrests.


Previous Operation Weeting arrests for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice include Cheryl Carter, a PA to Mrs Brooks.
The Mail also gives great Timeline.  Here's that..

PHONE HACKING PROBE: TIMELINE OF EVENTS AT NEWS INTERNATIONAL



2007: January 26 - The News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, is jailed for four months and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire receives a six-month sentence after they admit intercepting voicemail messages on royal aides' phones. The paper's editor, Andy Coulson, resigns,


2009: July 9 - The Guardian reports that the News of the World's publisher has paid over £1 million to settle cases that threatened to reveal evidence of its journalists' alleged involvement in phone hacking.
Scotland Yard says it will not be carrying out a new investigation into the allegations, but the Crown Prosecution Service announces a review of material provided by the police in 2006.


2010: February 24 - A Culture, Media and Sport Committee report finds no evidence that Mr Coulson knew phone hacking was taking place at the News of the World, but says it is 'inconceivable' that no-one apart from Goodman was aware of it.


May 11 - Mr Coulson becomes head of the new coalition Government's media operation after Mr Cameron enters 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister.


September 5 - The New York Times publishes an article which claims Mr Coulson knew his staff were carrying out illegal phone hacking. The story also raises questions about how vigorously Scotland Yard pursued the case.


2011: January 21 - Mr Coulson announces he is standing down as Downing Street communications chief, saying the claims about illegal eavesdropping under his editorship was making his job impossible.


January 26 - Scotland Yard launches a fresh inquiry into the phone hacking controversy, called Operation Weeting, after receiving 'significant new information' from News International, which publishes the News of the World.


April 8 - News International admits liability and apologises "unreservedly" to a number of public figures whose phones were hacked.


July 4 - The Guardian reports that the News of the World hacked the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler after she went missing in 2002.


July 6 - Mr Cameron announces a public inquiry into the scandal. Rupert Murdoch describes the phone hacking allegations as 'deplorable and unacceptable' but backs Rebekah Brooks to continue as News International chief executive.


July 7 - News International chairman James Murdoch announces he is closing the News of the World.


July 8 - Mr Coulson is arrested on suspicion of phone hacking and corruption and held for questioning before being released on bail.


July 14 - Former News of the World executive editor Neil Wallis is arrested on suspicion of phone hacking, putting Scotland Yard under pressure to explain why it employed him as a PR consultant in 2009-10.


July 15 - Mrs Brooks resigns as chief executive of News International and is arrested two days later on suspicion of phone hacking before being bailed.


July 18 - Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner John Yates stands down following criticism of his handling of a review of the initial probe into phone hacking at the News of the World.
Former News of the World journalist and phone-hacking whistle-blower Sean Hoare is found dead at his home in Watford, Hertfordshire.


July 19 - Rupert and James Murdoch, along with Mrs Brooks, give evidence to the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee.


September 6 - The News of the World's former editor Colin Myler and ex-legal manager Tom Crone tell the Culture, Media and Sport Committee they informed James Murdoch in 2008 about an email that proved hacking went beyond a single 'rogue reporter' on the News of the World. Mr Murdoch denies their claim.


November 8 - The BBC reports that the News of the World paid private detective Derek Webb to spy on Prince William, the parents of Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe and a host of other high-profile individuals.


November 14 - The Leveson Inquiry, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, starts hearing evidence about the culture, practice and ethics of the British press.


December 12 - A lawyer for Scotland Yard tells the Leveson Inquiry it is 'unlikely' that News International journalists erased messages from Milly Dowler's phone three days after she went missing in 2002, contrary to the Guardian's original report in July.


2012: January 6 - Mrs Brooks's former personal assistant, Cheryl Carter, is arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice and questioned before being released on bail.


January 19 - The High Court hears that dozens of celebrities and politicians, including Jude Law and Lord Prescott, have now settled damages claims over the News of the World phone hacking scandal.


January 23 - A report reveals a News of the World journalist told police in April 2002 that they got Milly Dowler's mobile phone number and pin from other schoolchildren.


January 26 - Former defence secretary Liam Fox said attempts were made to hack his phone, though not while he was a government minister, and says he has met with officers from Scotland Yard's hacking inquiry Operation Weeting


January 28 - Four former and current Sun journalists and a serving Metropolitan Police officer are arrested over alleged illegal police payments. Senior Sun employees Chris Pharo, 42, and Mike Sullivan along with former executives Fergus Shanahan, 57, and Graham Dudman, are detained by officers from Operation Elveden. They are later bailed.


February 2 - Labour MP Tom Watson says he has received a letter from Scotland Yard informing him that police are investigating allegations of email hacking at The Times, after the newspaper admitted one of its reporters tried to access a private account. The Times named Lancashire detective Richard Horton as the author of the award-winning NightJack blog in June 2009 after the High Court refused to grant him anonymity. Editor James Harding later told the Leveson Inquiry that one of his reporters - named as Patrick Foster - was issued with a formal written warning for professional misconduct for gaining unauthorised access to Mr Horton's email account.


February 7 - The Metropolitan Police force admits at the High Court that it failed to warn victims and potential victims of phone hacking at the time of its original investigation into the scandal.


February 8 - Steve Coogan and Paul Gascoigne are among 15 phone-hacking damages claims which settle close to trial. The payments mean 54 of the original 60 cases have been settled. Five more are due to be heard later, while singer Charlotte Church and her parents have refused to settle, paving the way for a landmark trial on February 27.
February 11 - Eight people, including five employees from The Sun, a serving member of the Armed Forces, a Ministry of Defence employee and a Surrey Police officer, are arrested in connection with the probe into inappropriate payments to police and public officials.
Police confirm Operation Elveden has widened to include the investigation of evidence uncovered in relation to suspected corruption involving public officials who are not police officers.

February 13 - Trevor Kavanagh, associate editor of The Sun, accuses police of treating the paper's journalists like 'members of an organised crime gang'.
He also tells BBC Radio 4's The World At One that there were concerns at the way evidence passed to the police by the NI's Management and Standards Committee (MSC) was being used.


February 16 - Rupert Murdoch arrives in the UK to take charge of the latest crisis involving one of his titles.


February 17 - Mr Murdoch declares his 'unwavering support' for the Sun's journalists and announces he is lifting the suspensions of all arrested staff.
He also confirms he will begin publishing the top-selling tabloid seven days a week by launching a new paper called the Sun on Sunday 'very soon'.


February 19 - News International announces The Sun on Sunday will be published on February 26 for the first time.


February 27 - Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers, the police officer leading the phone hacking investigation, tells the Leveson Inquiry officers have uncovered a 'network' of corruption and evidence suggesting 'culture of illegal payments' at The Sun which appeared to have been authorised at a 'senior level'.


March 1 - Virginia Wheeler, 32, defence editor of The Sun, is arrested on suspicion of paying public officials for information. She becomes the 23rd person to be arrested by officers working on Operation Elveden.


March 6 - It emerges that the Attorney General is looking into concerns that Ms Akers's evidence could have prejudiced any potential trials.

March 13 - Rebekah Brooks and her racehorse trainer husband are among six suspects arrested by detectives investigating phone hacking at News International. They are held on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Stay tuned!  It's going to be a wonderful spring..

Gigantor-Triangle Hole-Thing Opens On The Sun..

"What the hell is that thang?"
"I don't know, but take my pitcher with it!"

Seriously, what is this? It looks to be about one-fifth of The Sun's visible surface!  Combine this with the spherical object near The Sun spotted earlier this week, and we've got ourselves a genuine, bona-fide, simultaneous, anomalous occurrence!

Spaceweather calls it a Coronal Hole, and that solar wind from this hole could arrive here on Earth as early as the 16th.  If other geometric shapes appear on the face of The Sun, I will let you know, provided, of course, we're all not solar-microwaved first.. 

Don't forget to take your Vitamin D this week!

Found it all on Godlike Productions..

Fukushima One Year Later: 1. Still Ain't Over 2. Only Getting Worse..

The Dangerous Myths of Fukushima  Counterpunch.  Excerpts:


The myth that Fukushima radiation levels were too low to harm humans persists, a year after the meltdown. A March 2, 2012 New York Times article quoted Vanderbilt University professor John Boice: “there’s no opportunity for conducting epidemiological studies that have any chance for success – the doses are just too low.” Wolfgang Weiss of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation also recently said doses observed in screening of Japanese people “are very low.”



Views like these are political, not scientific, virtually identical to what the nuclear industry cheerleaders claim.
..
But just one year after Fukushima, the “no harm” mantra is now being crowded by evidence – evidence to the contrary.



First, estimates of releases have soared. The first reports issued by the Japanese government stated that emissions equaled 10% of 1986 Chernobyl emissions. A few weeks later, they doubled that estimate to 20%. By October 2011, an article in the journal Nature estimated Fukushima emissions to be more than double that of Chernobyl.
..
Where did the radioactive particles and gases go? Officials from national meteorological agencies in countries like France and Austria followed the plume, and made colorful maps available on the Internet. Within six days of the meltdowns, the plume had reached the U.S., and within 18 days, it had circled the Northern Hemisphere.



How much radiation entered the U.S. environment? A July 2011 journal article by officials at Pacific Northwest National Lab in eastern Washington State measured airborne radioactive Xenon-133 up to 40,000 times greater than normal in the weeks following the fallout. Xenon-133 is a gas that travels rapidly and does not enter the body, but signals that other, more dangerous types of radioactive chemicals will follow.
A February 2012 journal article by the U.S. Geological Survey looked at radioactive Iodine-131 that entered soil from rainfall, and found levels hundreds of times above normal in places like Portland OR, Fresno CA, and Denver CO. The same places also had the highest levels of Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 in the U.S. While elevated radiation levels were found in all parts of the country, it appears that the West Coast and Rocky Mountain states received the greatest amounts of Fukushima fallout.


L.A. Times: Speculation that “supercritical fission event” occurred at Fukushima reactor irradiating plutonium, says nuclear expert — Explosion so massive investigators found fuel rod fragments a mile away  ENews.  Excerpts:


Robert Alvarez, a former senior policy adviser in the U.S. Energy Department
"They were irradiating plutonium in Unit 3, which experienced the biggest explosion"



The explosion was so massive that investigators found fuel rod fragments a mile away, leading to speculation that a supercritical fission event may have also occurred.


Much remains unknown one year after the disaster.


Authorities can't say exactly where breaches occurred in the reactor vessels and spent fuel pools that caused contaminated water to flood the plant's lower levels.


The last two excerpts within the article might be misinformation..  The commentors in the following section seem to think so!  Plutonium 241 release at 1/10,000 of Chernobyl?  Uh-huh..  Uh-huh.. 


"Planetary Genocide": Fukushima One Year Later : The Poisoning of Planet Earth  Global Research via Before It's News.  Excerpts:


Early on, even essential radioactive monitoring was shut down. In May 2011, the prestigious Norsk Institute’s online site was blocked from the US. They had been monitoring on a daily basis the worldwide radioactive contamination to which we were all –and continue to be– exposed. Conveniently, any early radiation monitoring in the US was inconsistent, with numerous sites supposedly not working for one or another reason. Then the so-called “acceptable” radiation levels in food were raised in the US and EU:

..
So, what is not monitored, or where the radiation rates are manipulated, then no one –government officials and corporations– can ever be held accountable, nor can increased death rates, diabetes, stillbirths, birth defects ever be attributed to this catastrophic planetary event.



When have we ever been told the truth about our life-long systemic radiation poisoning? For decades, we have been uninformed experimental laboratory rats since before the Manhattan Project. There never were any ethical or precautionary considerations. Greed and secret agendas trumped everything else.


With various half-lives –some eons-long– of numerous radioactive components, the human race and every other living creature on our planet is on its way to extinction, due to the known sterilization effects of radiation. Here is a short list of the half-life of five of the radioactive isotopes that are and will continue to poison all of our children, and us, ad infinitum, in the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink and in which we bathe:
Cesium 137: 30 years
Plutonium 239: 24,000 years
Strontium 90: 29 years [mimics calcium in the body]
Uranium 235: 700-million years
Iodine 131: 8 days [absorbed into the thyroid and gives heavy radiation dose. Also goes into the soil, passed onto us through cow’s milk.]
..
Any reasonable safety precautions or realistic evacuations never took place at Fukushima or elsewhere. In addition, a collection of 40-years worth of 600,000 spent fuel rods posed an immediate HazMat threat that never went away. The water poured over them evaporated into radioactive steam to go directly into our planet’s atmosphere and the tons of sea water sprayed on the entire nuclear conflagration were criminally dumped into the Pacific Ocean. Again, because it was not monitored, we will never know how many millions of tons of radioactive water were dumped into the Pacific Ocean. The entire web of ocean life then was irreversibly contaminated with radioactive nuclear waste and detritus, as the ocean currents carried this nightmare to the west coast shores of North America (California, Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver).
..
While hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions?) will develop various radiation-related illnesses (cancers and diabetes, as well as radiation-induced miscarriages, stillbirths and birth deformities) over the next decades, the coffers of the medical profession, pharmaceutical companies, and nuclear industry will be bursting with profits. The 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl continues its deathly impact –and that was only one reactor.(2) Fukushima had six reactors.



Most Important Video of the Year? Asahi TV: “Unbelievable” — If Unit 4 pool gets a crack from quake and leaks, it would be end for Tokyo -Expert — Doesn’t have to be large tremor, already shaken many times  You don't really need to watch the video or even read the excerpts from ENews.  Just re-read the previous three sentences.


All of Western US and most of East Coast, Midwest, Canada covered with airborne particles at various altitudes on March 20, Fukushima plume model shows — Based solely on Reactor No. 1 explosion (PHOTO)




Look at the plume simulations for March 20th.  March 22nd was the first day I can remember a Metallic taste to the air.  I was jogging, and in SW Missouri, it was drizzling.  I knew, just knew my imagination was getting the best of me.  Again, I second guessed my intuition.  I guess it really doesn't matter now, does it?  The damage continues to be done, and it continues to be Too Late.  Happy Anniversary, everyone!

Greece Has Defaulted: Here Is Where We Stand

This weekend should be interesting.  From Zero Hedge.  Excerpts:
1) Greece was able to write off 100 billion euros worth of debt in exchange for a 130 billion rescue package of new debt, of which Greece itself will receive 19%, or about 25 billion, so that it can continue to operate as an ongoing concern. Somehow Greece is in a better position than before, with more debt and less sovereignty and still---by virtue of sharing a common currency---trying to compete toe-to-toe with the likes of Germany and the Netherlands, kind of like being the Yemeni National Basketball team in an Olympic bracket that includes the US, Spain and Germany. At least a "within the euro" default prevented bank runs in Portugal, Spain, Italy et al.



2) As a result of the bond haircuts, Greece has many pension plans that can no longer even pretend to be viable, at least according to the original contracted scheme, but pensionholders still working can take heart in the fact that their current wages will be cut, too.
And:
8) Given how much angst was caused by the drawn out Greek affair, the Spanish leader knows he has enormous leverage with EU leadership and he can continue to do what he has been doing with regard to ignoring the deficit targets demanded/suggested by the EU. The EU might well bark at him, but they cannot afford to bite at this time. Muchos gracias, Greece.

Solar storm headed toward Earth may disrupt power

The One/Two Punch begins to smack Earth about midnight tonight Central Standard Time..  CBS News.  Excerpts:

The largest solar storm in five years is racing toward Earth, threatening to unleash a torrent of charged particles that could disrupt power grids, GPS and airplane flights.



The sun erupted Tuesday evening, and the effects should start smacking Earth between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. EST Thursday, according to forecasters at the federal government's Space Weather Prediction Center. They say the storm, which started with a massive solar flare, is growing as it speeds outward from the sun.


"It's hitting us right in the nose," said Joe Kunches, a scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He called it the sun's version of "Super Tuesday."
..
The solar storm is likely to last through Friday morning, but the region that erupted can still send more blasts our way, Kunches said. He said another set of active sunspots is ready to aim at Earth right after this.



But for now, scientists are waiting to see what happens Thursday when the charged particles hit Earth at 4 million mph.
..
But there is potential for widespread problems. Solar storms have three ways they can disrupt technology on Earth: with magnetic, radio and radiation emissions. This is an unusual situation when all three types of solar storm disruptions are likely to be strong, Kunches said.



That means "a whole host of things" could follow, he said.


The magnetic part of the storm has the potential to trip electrical power grids. Kunches said utility companies around the world have been alerted. The timing and speed of the storm determines whether it knocks off power grids, he said.
I think we'll all be cool as long as no one tells Nicholas Cage.. 

Good news potheads, Pat Robertson is on your side

Which just goes to show you that even the most broken down, spiritually bankrupt clocks still give correct time twice a day..  MSN.  Excerpts:

Regular viewers of The 700 Club may have wondered what their favorite televangelist was tokin' about when he declared on air that marijuana should be decriminalized. It's a whiplash-inducing turn to the left for (Marion, his real name)Pat, who now figures he is "sort of a hero of the hippie culture."

Yeah, Pat, that's it..  Hero to Hippies, not Crazy Grandpa that embarrasses entire countries with his God-hates-fags-and-will-kill-them-with-hurricanes Alzheimer's flavored rhetoric.

Yeah, Pat, you're right about weed, but even hardcore potheads won't forget all the other bullshit you've said.  So Marion's score stands at Reason:  One, Insane Rantings: Infinity.

Why Won't Ron Paul Quit?

I'll spare you the rehash of Mainstream Media theories.  You've probably heard them all.  Ron Paul continues on, in my opinion, for two reasons: 

1.  He's building a Movement.  Movements have patience.  He was branded a lunatic in 2008, half-serious in 2012, and what of 2016?   I think Paul's organization will be utilized by the next Paul Libertarian as a big leap towards establishing a serious Third Party challenge.   

A Movement isn't dependent on Cult of Personality, rather, those who share ideology.  What if Paul is paving the way for future Libertarians?  Then, Ron Paul becomes the seminal first Presidential candidate for what turned into the first competitive Third Party candidate in modern history.  If that were to happen, Ron Paul gets a big ol' hat-tip in tomorrow's history books!

2.  He's waiting for every other candidate to be called out, politically destroyed, or indicted for their various massive cronyism and corruptions.  I think Ron Paul intends on being the true Last Man Standing.

That's just my two drachmas, worth just as much.

X-Flare! Incoming!

Sunspot 1429.  Earth-directed.  Satellites and electronics MAY, may be affected, but the colors should be intense!  Something something..  Prophecy..  Something something..  Fulfilled..

Israel’s Channel 2: U.S. Officials Believe Netanyahu Has Already Decided to Strike Iran

Yikes..  From The Algemeiner, via the awesome Urban Survival.  Excerpts:

Channel 2 in Israel, sourcing a “senior American official”, says that the decision has already been made by the Israeli government to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.



“All U.S. intelligence officials are confident the Israeli leadership has already decided to attack Iran, unless a significant change happens in the coming weeks or months with the Iranian nuclear program,” Channel 2 reports.


The report comes just hours ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC in Washington.

I bet the back-channel chatter is at a fever pitch, at the moment..

March 4, 2012

Could Earth be impacted by large asteroid February 15-16, 2013?  The Extinction Protocol.  Excerpts:


Scientists are predicting that the asteroid 2012 DA14 has a good chance of colliding with earth in eleven months. Watch the skies in February 2013!  According to RT, NASA has confirmed that the 60 meter (or 197 feet) asteroid, which was spotted by Spanish stargazers in February this year, has a good chance of colliding with earth. The scientists suggest confronting this asteroid with either big guns or, more strangely, with paint. The problem with either option is that there is no time to build a spaceship for the operation. A spaceship could either shoot the asteroid down or simply crash into it – this would either break it into pieces or throw it off course. NASA expert David Dunham suggested: “We could paint it.” The paint would change the asteroid’s ability to reflect sunlight, alter its spin and change its temperature. However, even taking the asteroid off course could be dangerous when it returns in 2056..

Paint it!  Let my future relatives deal with it!

Two "File Under's" from Gawker.

File Under:  Funny that this even needs to be said..  Mormon Church to Members: Quit Baptizing Dead Jews 

File Under:  It was only a matter of time..  "Ultimate Fighter" Reality Show Rising Star Has Gay Porn Background  Mmm..  Sexy punching..



Weeeeeeeeeeeeirdd..  Bibles found in Bin Laden compound prompt speculations of ‘jihad teachings’  Al Arabiya.  Excerpts:

Two Bibles were found at the compound where Osama bin Laden was killed, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday, prompting speculation that the al-Qaeda leader had used the religious books for “teachings of jihad.”



Security officials discovered the Christian holy books when demolition crews were sent in to tear down the compound in Abbottabad this week, according to the newspaper.


The officials said that certain lines in the English language Bibles were highlighted and they contained pages that were folded over. Two radio sets were also found during a final sweep of the compound before demolition.


A commanding officer from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence told The Sun: “Maybe he was looking for teachings of jihad.”


“The Bibles were in English and we cannot be sure why they were there. These copies were found as we checked the rooms for the final time before demolishing the building.


“The radios are in working condition and will be given with the Bibles to the investigators. Some pages were folded and we will see later what was of most interest to bin Laden.” the officer added.

A 7th advertiser pulls out of Limbaugh's show.  Wake me at  "20 sponsors defect," or when Limbaugh cries, shits himself on national TV. I know it's temporary, and he'll recover, but let me dream, please..

Silver Explodes As DJIA Closes Above 13,000, As Understood By A Dog

From Zero Hedge.  I'm trying to self educate on economic theory, but today, it Does Not Compute..  I imagine myself as a dog listening to someone speaking, straining to understand anything, comprehending nothing but all but the simplest sentences.  And my name, of course..  In my Fido Mind, the article reads..

"Blahblahblahblah blahblahblahblah, blah-blah, blah blah blah blah, b-blah..  Silver was the massive winner, now up an impressive 4.3% since Friday and 30% YTD..  blahblahblahblah, blah blah blah.."

I understand The Best Part.  Now give me Pupperoni!  And some more silver!

Report: Gov't "collapsed" during Japan nuke crisis

Timely.  And by "Timely," I mean just in time for the one year anniversary of the Birth of Nuclear Godzilla!  CBS News.  Truly awesome excerpts:

The one year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan is less than two weeks away, but details about the nuclear meltdown that happened that tragic day are just beginning to emerge. (Just.  Beginning.)

..
CBS News correspondent Lucy Craft reported that in the hours after the tsunami struck the nuclear plant, Japanese officials huddled in an emergency bunker struggled to grasp the size of the catastrophe.



"As we listened to our top nuclear experts, we politicians had no idea what they were talking about. Was anyone going to suffer radiation contamination? Would this be another Chernobyl or Three Mile Island? No one could give us a straight answer," Fukuyama recalled in the report.


After 300 interviews with officials and nuclear experts, the report said government was partially at fault for not having an emergency plan if a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the country.


However, investigators concluded the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric, was to blame for the majority of the problems. "They were astonishingly unprepared for this nuclear accident," lead investigator Youichi Funabash told CBS News.


It seems that Tokyo Electric was unprepared for a power failure. Without electricity, the cores of the reactor couldn't stay cool, and it triggered explosions and meltdowns.  (It's excellent that TEPCO didn't know this, but the rest of us were forewarned simply by watching Simpsons episodes..)

And:

"Terrified doesn't begin to describe how we felt," Fukuyama told investigators months after the scare. A "no go" zone still remains around the plant because radiation levels are too high. Clean up at the plant is estimated to take 40 years.  (This is still a conservative estimate, btw..)

"When we learned the reactors had in fact melted down, I was overwhelmed, by our inability," he added.  Oh, Mr. Fukuyama, we're all overwhelmed by your, TEPCO's, and Japan's inabilities..


Pretty compelling evidence for allowing private sector industries to regulate themselves, no?  For my radioactive superpowers, I'd like invisibility, the power to fly, or to be impervious to bullets and explosions, please!

The Daytona 500 Feels Really Ominous Tonight..

Channel surfing through, I found the race in rain delay, listened for less than a minute, and got a really charged This Ain't Right vibe.

37 laps to go.  Let's hope I'm wrong.

Update:  I was wrong, and glad to be!  Even though it was a bang-up race, the whole thing didn't go tragic, which is cool.  I probably just transferred my anxiety about the end of this week to last night's race.  Again; I'm glad to be wrong on this one..

AnonyOps Defacement: Team Matrix Hackers Declare War on Anonymous

Hmm..  I wonder what kind of hackers hack Anonymous?  International Business Times.  Excerpts:


A group of hackers calling themselves Team Matrix has declared war on the Anonymous collective, promising to hack its sites and publish its members names.


The Team Matrix hackers made the declaration of war via a video posted on YouTube. In it, the Matrix hacker claimed responsibility for defacing the AnonyOps website - one of Anonymous central news centres.


Moving past the claim, the Matrix representative posted a statement promising the attack was the opening shot in an ongoing campaign against the hacktivist collective.


"Greetings anonymous, We are team matrix. For many months our hacking group has sat back and watched your actions. We have decided that the time has come, a time that you have been waiting for, a time that could go down in history. We have decided to go to war, a war that will change everything, you know this," read the statement.


Team Matrix gave no clear reason for its declaration of war past a general disapproval of Anonymous; "your actions represent those of people who hack for a reason they believe in and that is exactly what we are going to do. You may think you are untouchable, you may think you can bully people and take the law into your own hands." 


Later into the video statement Team Matrix promised it would continue its campaign, targeting other sites associated with Anonymous before going on to reveal the identities of its members to the public.


"We have already defaced one of your affiliated sites anonyops.com, (Defaced?  Horrifying!)we will continue our attacks until we are satisfied. we will continue to target the anonymous community on face book and every website linked to anonymous. we will take down any websites you use to assist you in operations, then finally we will start revealing identities to the public."

Yawn..  Team Matrix sounds so..  insincere or cynical or fake, as names go..  I wonder who these people are?  The comments section provide some pretty spot on clues.  This ought to be relegated to footnote, considering The Return of Assange is just a few hours away. 


 ..And then, a shit-ton of new information begins to wash over the planet..

UFO Scout Ship Lands In New Mexico?

From Rense, via You Tube.  Wooooooooooooooo!

Greece Is Just A Preview Of What's Coming For The Rest Of Us

From Chris Martensen at ZeroHedge:  Funfun! Excerpts:

All eyes are on Greece these days, with hopes the situation there can soon be resolved and the global recovery kicked into high gear.



Sadly, those hopes are misguided claims Ben Davies, CEO of Hinde Capital. In fact, he says, Greece's pain foreshadows the future awaiting the rest of the world.


It all comes down to simple math. Greece has increased its debts at a rate far faster than its income has grown. At some point, the debt became so large that the country could no longer service it.


What makes the rest of the PIIGS(Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) immune from a similar fate? Or Japan? Or the US? Or the OECD, in general?
Nothing.
And:
The cold hard fact Greece is facing is that it's now at the point where extraordinary losses need to be taken. The problem is, no one wants to take them. And all the sturm und drang being exhibited by Brussels, the ECB, sovereign debt holders, and other world leaders is nothing more than a frantic game of hot potato.



The one thing we can be confident of is that at some point, these losses will be taken. The market will eventually force it.


And the second thing we can predict is: we don't know what will happen when they are. There is so much complexity in the counterparty exposure to Greece debt - as well as the much larger derivative exposure tied to this debt - that anything between "not much" and "worldwide financial conflagration" could be possible.

Not specific, but scary, nonetheless..

Japan Earthquake: Before and After

From The Atlantic, via Gawker.  Excerpts:

In just over two weeks, Japan will be observing the one-year anniversary of the disastrous magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck its east coast in March of 2011. The destruction was unprecedented and the loss of life and property were staggering -- more than 15,800 are confirmed dead, with another 3,300 still listed as missing nearly a year later. Photographers documented the many faces of this tragedy and have now returned to give us a look at the difference a year can make, re-shooting places that were photographed during and immediately after the quake. Collected here are 20 of these pairings. They are interactive: Starting with number 2, click the images to view a fading before/after comparison.

Amazing photos.  Really; Check it out.

Claim surfaces of Anne Frank baptism by Mormons

More Creepy than Weird, or more Weird than Creepy?  Either way, Super Off-Putting.  Century Link News.  Excerpts:

A new claim has surfaced that the Mormon church has posthumously baptized a Holocaust victim, this time Anne Frank.



The allegations come just a week after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apologized when it was brought to light that the parents of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal were posthumously baptized by church members at temples in Arizona and Utah in late January.


Researcher Helen Radkey, a former Mormon who revealed the Wiesenthal baptisms, said this week she found Frank's name in proxy baptism records dated Feb. 18, showing the ritual was performed in the Santo Domingo Temple in the Dominican Republic.


The Mormon church almost immediately issued a statement, though it didn't mention Frank by name.


"The Church keeps its word and is absolutely firm in its commitment to not accept the names of Holocaust victims for proxy baptism," the Salt Lake City-based church said. "It is distressing when an individual willfully violates the Church's policy and something that should be understood to be an offering based on love and respect becomes a source of contention."

I didn't realize that Mormons baptized people after their deaths, with or without their approval; That that was Policy..  Not until Mitt Romney's actively-Atheist-in-life Father-In-Law got baptized, that is.. 

Unsettling, and Un-Necessary.  Unless of course, South Park was right.  Then, I'll say, "Thanks, Mormons!".

Evidence of ADVANCED technology thousands of years ago in Peru

NOT IN OUR HISTORY BOOKS.  Indeed.  From Godlike Productions.  I'll let the original poster's videos do the heavy lifting here..

Video One:    Video Two:  Video Three:

Don't believe it?  Ok, then;  Let's here YOUR theory!  The precision of this masonry suggests mathematical knowledge and construction skills not normally attributed to neither the Incas nor this time period.  And yet, here's the evidence..  

More, please.. 

Hey, Look At That! Religious And Political Repression, Shame, And Hypocrisy Strike Again!

GOP Candidate And AZ Sheriff Admits He’s Gay After Accusations Surface That He Dated An Illegal Immigrant  Gosh, where to start?  Do as I say, not as I do?  Pay no attention to the man behind the closet door?  Anti-immigrant, but he gots a taste for the hot sauce?  Oh, Sheriff Babeu, this is what happens when you throw your lot in with what should be your sworn enemies:  People point and laugh when your hypocrisy is exposed!  From Mediate.  Excerpts:

Arizona is currently in the midst of a very fiery sex scandal as Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, a well-known anti-illegal immigrant proponent and Republican Congressional candidate, has been exposed as gay by a source telling the Phoenix New Times that he was Babeu’s ex-lover, and that Babeu threatened him with deportation several times when he refused to promise to keep the affair under wraps. Babeu responded by admitting in a press conference that he was gay, stepping down (from)the Romney campaign(Ha!), and denying the rumors that he threatened anyone with deportation.

..
As the relationship soured, Babeu allegedly sent his lawyer’s after Jose. “The latest of the alleged threats were made through Babeu’s personal attorney, who’s also running the sheriff’s campaign for Congress in District 4,” according to the New Times. José provided text messages and the above photos, as well as an Adam4Adam (think OKCupid’s less self-important gay cousin) profile. Gay culture and politics blog Towleroad reports that the couple met through a Gay.com (Match.com’s less self-important gay cousin) profile. José began, he says, working with Babeu by keeping his social media and web work up to date, but they eventually began an affair. The Tuscon Citizen, another local publication, is deeming this a “sex slave operation,” but that doesn’t seem to be based on any information not in the Phoenix New Times report.


Turns out, Jose's not here illegally!  Let's see, Babeau and Jose dated for over five years, and the Sheriff doesn't know his immigration status!  Keen..  Observational..  Powers..  Bonus:  This was the guy from the McCain "build the fence!" commercial!  If this scandal were dessert, I'd have diabetes!

Already, some conservative sites(Won't link to these idiots) are calling out anyone calling out Babeau as "gay hating progressives."  Ask yourselves, douchebags, wasn't it social conservatives that made faggotry a life or death political issue in this country?  It's not "gay hating" as much as it is "hypocrisy hating," especially when there are sooooo many more important issues our country should be dealing with!  Damn, people!  Grow the fuck up and stop caring who kisses who, and concern yourself with what's crumbling faster:  Our economy, or our Infrastructure!?!

Also:  Will Fox News ever have Babeau back as a guest?

Zero Hedge Nails It..

Guest Post: When Debt Is More Important Than People, The System Is Evil  From Zero Hedge.  The excerpt is from the site, red emphasis theirs, light colored emphasis mine:



The ethics of debt, at least in the officially sanctioned media, boils down to: nobody made them borrow all those euros, and so their suffering is just desserts. What's lost in this subtext is the responsibility of the lender. Yes, nobody forced Greece to borrow 200 billion euros (or whatever the true total may be), but then nobody forced the lenders to extend the credit in the first place. Consider an individual who is a visibly poor credit risk. He would like to borrow money to blow on consumption and then stiff the lender, but since he cannot create credit, he has to live within his means. Now a lender comes along who can create credit out of thin air (via fractional reserve banking) and offers this poor credit risk $100,000 in collateral-free debt at low rates of interest. Who is responsible for the creation and extension of credit? The borrower or the lender? Answer: the lender. In other words, if the lender is foolish enough to extend huge quantities of credit to a poor credit risk, then it's the lender who should suffer the losses when the borrower defaults. This is the basis of bankruptcy laws--or used to be the basis. When an over-extended borrower defaults, the debt is cleared, the lender takes the loss/writedown, and the borrower loses whatever collateral was pledged. He is left with the basics to carry on: his auto, clothing, his job, and so on. His credit rating is impaired, and it is now his responsibility to earn back a credible credit rating....The potential for loss and actually bearing the consequences from irresponsible extensions of credit was unacceptable to the banking cartel, so they rewrote the laws. Now student loans in America cannot be discharged in bankruptcy court; they are permanent and must be carried and serviced until death. This is the acme of debt-serfdom.



Much more at the link.  Required reading. 

Touch Screen Voting Manipulation? How Very 2002. Republicans Just Now Wake Up To Its Existence..

Wow..  And all it took was Republican on Republican vote rigging for (some of) them to wake up!  It's not like this has been an issue for over 10 years..  It's not like over 85 percent of vote tally software is under the control of two brothers, both Republicans, and that less than 30 dollars can swing an election..  But wow, some Republicans gets screwed, and now it's a national issue! 

It's funny (peculiar), conservatives have spent the last 10 years casting legitimate questions about the no-verification, highly corrupt voting apparatus this country so willingly embraces as 'whacked out conspiracy theories,' until it effected them.  Now, because they're the ones making the accusations, This Issue Is Serious!  That's not the only reason people think wingnuts are self-absorbed douchebags, but it is a pretty good example.

Fukushima at Increased Earthquake Risk, Scientists Report

An old fault line reactivates almost right underneath Fukushima?  Not awesome.  Really Not Awesome, considering Reactors 2 and 4 seem to be much worse than thought.  The only ingredient missing for Catastrophe is a 7.0 or greater quake.  According to the article, there's a 70 percent chance of that happening this year, and a 98 percent chance of that happening in the next three years.

Not If.  Only When.

Moody's Downgrades Italy, Spain, Portugal And Others; Puts UK, France On Outlook Negative - Full Statement

Uh-oh.  All of Europe's gonna get Greece-d.  Zero Hedge's Tyler Durden has the details.  Excerpts:

As anticipated in November 2011, Moody's Investors Service has today adjusted the sovereign debt ratings of selected EU countries in order to reflect their susceptibility to the growing financial and macroeconomic risks emanating from the euro area crisis and how these risks exacerbate the affected countries' own specific challenges.
Moody's actions can be summarised as follows:

- Austria: outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative
- France: outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative
- Italy: downgraded to A3 from A2, negative outlook
- Malta: downgraded to A3 from A2, negative outlook
- Portugal: downgraded to Ba3 from Ba2, negative outlook
- Slovakia: downgraded to A2 from A1, negative outlook
- Slovenia: downgraded to A2 from A1, negative outlook
- Spain: downgraded to A3 from A1, negative outlook
- United Kingdom: outlook on Aaa rating changed to negative
..
The main drivers of today's actions are:



*The uncertainty over (i) the euro area's prospects for institutional reform of its fiscal and economic framework and (ii) the resources that will be made available to deal with the crisis.


*Europe's increasingly weak macroeconomic prospects, which threaten the implementation of domestic austerity programmes and the structural reforms that are needed to promote competitiveness.


*The impact that Moody's believes these factors will continue to have on market confidence, which is likely to remain fragile, with a high potential for further shocks to funding conditions for stressed sovereigns and banks.


To a varying degree, these factors are constraining the creditworthiness of all European sovereigns and exacerbating the susceptibility of a number of sovereigns to particular financial and macroeconomic exposures.


When everything collapses, don't forget to yell "Jenga!!"  And, as always, don't forget to stock up on canned goods and bottled water!  Happy Valentine's Day, yo!