Friday, 21 September 2007 (old news)
News that Mr Chavez was pondering the time shift first surfaced at the end of August. Only now is he telling his citizens to be ready for the one-off shift on Monday, meaning that they must put their clocks back by 30 minutes at midnight on Sunday.
It is the latest in a flurry of activity by the never- passive president since his re-election last year. In the pursuit of his socialist vision for Venezuela he is rewriting the constitution and nationalising swathes of industry but the clock-changing has some wondering if he has gone cuckoo.
Mr Chavez said on his weekly television show on Wednesday: "I don't care if they call me crazy, the new time will go ahead. I'm not to blame. I received a recommendation and said I liked the idea."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/confusion-reigns-as-timelord-chavez-turns-back-clocks-in-venezuela-403057.html
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Wicked Lasers S3 Arctic Spyder III
http://www.wickedlasers.com/lasers/Spyder_III_Pro_Arctic_Series-96-37.html
Wicked Lasers radically redefines the way we see lasers yet again. For the first time in history, direct blue laser diodes have now become available in the consumer market. The laser powered home theater projector is the first of a large family of audio and video media technology to feature direct blue diodes. Wicked Lasers took the direct blue laser diode components and made the world's first 445nm direct blue diode laser, the Arctic.
The Arctic emits a 445nm cool blue, ultra high power 1W beam which appears up to 4000% brighter than the Sonar's 405nm violet beam. This direct blue laser diode is the result of the evolution of laser technology. Less than one year ago, this laser would have cost thousands of dollars to build. Don't let the Arctic name fool you, this laser possesses the most burning capabilities of any portable laser in existence. That's why it's also the most dangerous laser ever created. In recognizing and mastering the power of direct blue diodes, the Wicked Lasers' Arctic shall become the standard by which all other blue lasers are judged.
As an additional safety precaution, each Arctic comes with a removable training lenses and standard lenses. The removable training lenses allows our users to initially start out using the Arctic but at a fraction of its maximum output power. Replace the training lenses with the included standard lenses for maximum power.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Jack Whittaker
Andrew Jackson “Jack” Whittaker, Jr. (born c. 1947 in Jumping Branch, Summers County, West Virginia) is a West Virginia businessman who became famous when he won US$315 million in the Powerball multi-state lottery. At the time it was the largest jackpot ever won by a single winning ticket in the history of American lottery.
Whittaker, who already had a net worth of $17 million, received a $114 million check after taxes(!!! wtf $201 million?!). He gave money to Christian charities and a personal foundation supporting low-income families.
Whittaker did some good, but his bad deeds make his story. He was arrested twice, once for drunk driving and once for threatening a bar manager followed. A woman sued him after he groped her at a dog racetrack. Thieves took $545,000 in cash from Whittakers car while he was visiting a strip club. About a year later, thieves again stole $200,000 from his car. Caesars Atlantic City sued him for bouncing $1.5 million in checks. His wife divorced him.
Then, there were the dead bodies. In 2003, Whittakers granddaughters boyfriend was found dead of an overdose inside Whittakers home. His 17-year-old granddaughter, whom he had been giving a $2,100 weekly allowance, fatally overdosed months later, at a different location. His daughters mother of the dead granddaughter died this year of as-yet-undetermined causes.
In this messiest of lotto stories, nobody seems to have won.
Paper Industry Tests Genetically Altered Trees
Are genetically altered eucalyptus trees the answer for the paper industry? Australian eucalyptus trees grow faster than native hardwoods and produce high-quality pulp perfect for paper production, but thus far, they have been able to thrive only in very warm climates. ArborGen genetically altered the trees to withstand freezing temps.
The commercial paper industry's plans to plant forests of genetically altered eucalyptus trees in seven Southern states has generated more cries from critics worried that such a large introduction of a bioengineered nonnative plant could throw natural ecosystems out of whack.
ArborGen, a biotechnology venture affiliated with three large paper companies, got U.S. Department of Agriculture approval last month for field trials involving as many as 250,000 trees planted at 29 sites during the next few years. Much smaller lots of the genetically altered trees have been growing in some of the states for years.
http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=0330039X9XN0&full_skip=1
New Book Claims Death Row Was An FBI Front To Ruin Black Activism & Take Out 2Pac
(AllHipHop News) A new book being published claims that Death Row Records was actually a front for the FBI in an attempt to assault and end black activism.
The new book The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders: U.S. Intelligence’s Murderous Targeting of Tupac, MLK, Malcolm, The Panthers, Hendrix, Marley, Rappers & Linked Ethnic Leftists.
According to the book’s author, Baltimore area native and Columbia University graduate John Potash, he extensively researched the book, which claims to show the FBI’s consistent pattern of undermining black activism.
The book claims that Shakur was deliberately targeted by the government, like other black leaders, due to his growing influence in the African-American community, utilizing Hip-Hop music.
"What I think it was was that he had become the most influential black man in the black community in the country," Potash told The Baltimore City Paper. "The CIA and U.S. intelligence, what they have to do is win the hearts and minds of the people. They don't want to control us by force, they want us to control ourselves by having us believe in a certain way--that we don't need national health care, for example. And here, Tupacwas threatening to win over the hearts and minds of people, he was able to counter so much of the propaganda in the black community."
The FBI War on Tupac Shakur took ten years to research, utilizing court testimony, FBI documents and a number of previously unseen documents provided by The Black Panthers to Potash.
As for Death Row, Potash claims that the government was definitely involved in the record label’s operations, in a continued attempt to harass Shakur and derail his career.
"I believe that Death Row Records, which included dozens and dozens of police officers at all levels, according to a high-level police officer that investigated them, was a front company and was trying to continue penal coercion and mess up [Tupac Shakur's] head," Potash said.
A research documentary also accompanies the self-published book.
http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/06/17/22270000.aspx
The new book The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders: U.S. Intelligence’s Murderous Targeting of Tupac, MLK, Malcolm, The Panthers, Hendrix, Marley, Rappers & Linked Ethnic Leftists.
According to the book’s author, Baltimore area native and Columbia University graduate John Potash, he extensively researched the book, which claims to show the FBI’s consistent pattern of undermining black activism.
The book claims that Shakur was deliberately targeted by the government, like other black leaders, due to his growing influence in the African-American community, utilizing Hip-Hop music.
"What I think it was was that he had become the most influential black man in the black community in the country," Potash told The Baltimore City Paper. "The CIA and U.S. intelligence, what they have to do is win the hearts and minds of the people. They don't want to control us by force, they want us to control ourselves by having us believe in a certain way--that we don't need national health care, for example. And here, Tupacwas threatening to win over the hearts and minds of people, he was able to counter so much of the propaganda in the black community."
The FBI War on Tupac Shakur took ten years to research, utilizing court testimony, FBI documents and a number of previously unseen documents provided by The Black Panthers to Potash.
As for Death Row, Potash claims that the government was definitely involved in the record label’s operations, in a continued attempt to harass Shakur and derail his career.
"I believe that Death Row Records, which included dozens and dozens of police officers at all levels, according to a high-level police officer that investigated them, was a front company and was trying to continue penal coercion and mess up [Tupac Shakur's] head," Potash said.
A research documentary also accompanies the self-published book.
http://www.allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/06/17/22270000.aspx
Thursday, June 17, 2010
What's wrong with the sun?
SUNSPOTS come and go, but recently they have mostly gone. For centuries, astronomers have recorded when these dark blemishes on the solar surface emerge, only for them to fade away again after a few days, weeks or months. Thanks to their efforts, we know that sunspot numbers ebb and flow in cycles lasting about 11 years.
But for the past two years, the sunspots have mostly been missing. Their absence, the most prolonged for nearly a hundred years, has taken even seasoned sun watchers by surprise. "This is solar behaviour we haven't seen in living memory," says David Hathaway, a physicist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The sun is under scrutiny as never before thanks to an armada of space telescopes. The results they beam back are portraying our nearest star, and its influence on Earth, in a new light. Sunspots and other clues indicate that the sun's magnetic activity is diminishing, and that the sun may even be shrinking. Together the results hint that something profound is happening inside the sun. The big question is what?
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627640.800-whats-wrong-with-the-sun.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=space
NASA Prepares for Potentially Damaging 2011 Meteor Shower
NASA is assessing the risk to spacecraft posed by the upcoming 2011 Draconid meteor shower, a seven-hour storm of tiny space rocks that has the potential to ding major Earth-orbiting spacecraft like the crewed International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope.
The meteor shower risk assessment is actually more art than science, and there has been some variation in the projected intensity levels of the 2011 Draconids by meteoroid forecasters. But spacecraft operators are already being notified to weigh defensive steps.
Current meteor forecast models project a strong Draconid outburst, possibly a full-blown storm, on Oct. 8, 2011, according to William Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/draconid-meteors-2011-spacecraft-risk-100616.html
The meteor shower risk assessment is actually more art than science, and there has been some variation in the projected intensity levels of the 2011 Draconids by meteoroid forecasters. But spacecraft operators are already being notified to weigh defensive steps.
Current meteor forecast models project a strong Draconid outburst, possibly a full-blown storm, on Oct. 8, 2011, according to William Cooke of the Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/draconid-meteors-2011-spacecraft-risk-100616.html
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Dean Koontz
When he was a senior in college, Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and has been writing ever since. His books are published in 38 languages. He has sold 375,000,000 copies, a figure that currently increases by more than 17 million copies per year.
Eleven of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list (ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN, FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE, MIDNIGHT, COLD FIRE, THE BAD PLACE, HIDEAWAY, DRAGON TEARS, INTENSITY, SOLE SURVIVOR, THE HUSBAND and ODD HOURS), making him one of only a dozen writers ever to have achieved that milestone. Fourteen of his books have risen to the number one position in paperback. His books have also been major bestsellers in countries as diverse as Japan and Sweden.
Odd Thomas is a thriller novel by American writer Dean Koontz, published in 2003. The novel derives its title from the protagonist, a twenty-year-old short-order cook named Odd Thomas.
Odd Thomas is silently approached by the ghost of a young girl brutally raped and murdered, and through his unique ability to understand the dead, is psychically led to her killer, a former schoolmate named Harlo Landerson. With this opening, we are introduced to Odd's world. Koontz soon discloses how Odd was named and begins, layer by layer, to show how Odd's disfunctional upbringing has shaped his life, and as those details are uncovered, his supernatural abilities begin to make more sense.
We see Odd at work as a short order cook in a California desert town, and in a fateful 24-hour period, he meets a suspicious-looking man in the diner followed by bodachs, shadowy spirit creatures who appear only during times of death and disaster. This man, who Odd nicknames "Fungus Man" (due to his waxy complexion and blonde hair that resembles mold), has an unusually large swarm of bodachs following him, and Odd is convinced that this man is connected to some terrible catastrophe that is about to occur. To gather more information about him, Odd uses his gift of supernatural intuition, which his soulmate Bronwen (a.k.a. Stormy) Llewellyn calls "psychic magnetism," to track him down.
Odd's sixth sense leads him to Fungus Man's home, and Odd begins to uncover more details about the man and a mysterious other-worldly link to the dark forces about to be unleashed on the town of Pico Mundo. Accompanied sometimes by the ghost of Elvis Presley and encountering other memorable spirits, including a murdered prostitute, Odd is soon deeply involved in an attempt to prevent the disastrous bloodshed he knows will happen the next day.
Eleven of his novels have risen to number one on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list (ONE DOOR AWAY FROM HEAVEN, FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE, MIDNIGHT, COLD FIRE, THE BAD PLACE, HIDEAWAY, DRAGON TEARS, INTENSITY, SOLE SURVIVOR, THE HUSBAND and ODD HOURS), making him one of only a dozen writers ever to have achieved that milestone. Fourteen of his books have risen to the number one position in paperback. His books have also been major bestsellers in countries as diverse as Japan and Sweden.
Odd Thomas is a thriller novel by American writer Dean Koontz, published in 2003. The novel derives its title from the protagonist, a twenty-year-old short-order cook named Odd Thomas.
Odd Thomas is silently approached by the ghost of a young girl brutally raped and murdered, and through his unique ability to understand the dead, is psychically led to her killer, a former schoolmate named Harlo Landerson. With this opening, we are introduced to Odd's world. Koontz soon discloses how Odd was named and begins, layer by layer, to show how Odd's disfunctional upbringing has shaped his life, and as those details are uncovered, his supernatural abilities begin to make more sense.
We see Odd at work as a short order cook in a California desert town, and in a fateful 24-hour period, he meets a suspicious-looking man in the diner followed by bodachs, shadowy spirit creatures who appear only during times of death and disaster. This man, who Odd nicknames "Fungus Man" (due to his waxy complexion and blonde hair that resembles mold), has an unusually large swarm of bodachs following him, and Odd is convinced that this man is connected to some terrible catastrophe that is about to occur. To gather more information about him, Odd uses his gift of supernatural intuition, which his soulmate Bronwen (a.k.a. Stormy) Llewellyn calls "psychic magnetism," to track him down.
Odd's sixth sense leads him to Fungus Man's home, and Odd begins to uncover more details about the man and a mysterious other-worldly link to the dark forces about to be unleashed on the town of Pico Mundo. Accompanied sometimes by the ghost of Elvis Presley and encountering other memorable spirits, including a murdered prostitute, Odd is soon deeply involved in an attempt to prevent the disastrous bloodshed he knows will happen the next day.
FBI onderzoekt beveiligingslek iPad
De Amerikaanse federale opsporingsdienst FBI is een onderzoek gestart naar een beveiligingslek op de iPad, het nieuwste hebbeding van technologieconcern Apple. Dat heeft de FBI donderdagavond bekendgemaakt.
De website Gawker.com meldde de kraak als eerste. Een groep onder de naam Goatse Security slaagde er volgens de Gawker in de beveiliging te kraken en zo persoonlijke gegevens van duizenden abonnees van telecomreus AT&T in handen te krijgen.
Onder hen bevindt zich naar verluidt een aantal hooggeplaatste overheidsfunctionarissen, beroemdheden en vooraanstaande zakenmensen. Goatse zei contact opgenomen te hebben met AT&T om hen op het lek te wijzen en te hebben gewacht met de bekendmaking totdat het concern maatregelen had genomen.
AT&T gaf toe dat er een beveiligingsprobleem was, maar zei dat inmiddels te hebben opgelost. De hackers hebben volgens het concern alleen een lijst met emailadressen kunnen ontfutselen.
De website Gawker.com meldde de kraak als eerste. Een groep onder de naam Goatse Security slaagde er volgens de Gawker in de beveiliging te kraken en zo persoonlijke gegevens van duizenden abonnees van telecomreus AT&T in handen te krijgen.
Onder hen bevindt zich naar verluidt een aantal hooggeplaatste overheidsfunctionarissen, beroemdheden en vooraanstaande zakenmensen. Goatse zei contact opgenomen te hebben met AT&T om hen op het lek te wijzen en te hebben gewacht met de bekendmaking totdat het concern maatregelen had genomen.
AT&T gaf toe dat er een beveiligingsprobleem was, maar zei dat inmiddels te hebben opgelost. De hackers hebben volgens het concern alleen een lijst met emailadressen kunnen ontfutselen.
Congress Worries That Solar Flares Could Spell Disaster
High-energy electric pulses from the sun could surge to Earth and cripple our electrical grid for years, causing billions in damages, government officials and scientists worry.
The House is so concerned that the Energy and Commerce committee voted unanimously 47 to 0 to approve a bill allocating $100 million to protect the energy grid from this rare but potentially devastating occurrence.
The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act, or H.R. 5026, aims "to amend the Federal Power Act to protect the bulk-power system and electric infrastructure critical to the defense of the United States against cybersecurity and other threats and vulnerabilities."
It cites electromagnetic pulses from geomagnetic or solar storms as the big threat to our energy distribution grid, and demands "an order directing the Electric Reliability Organization to submit … reliability standards adequate to protect the bulk-power system from any reasonably foreseeable geomagnetic storm event."
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/10/electronic-armageddon-solar-flares-disaster/?test=latestnews
The House is so concerned that the Energy and Commerce committee voted unanimously 47 to 0 to approve a bill allocating $100 million to protect the energy grid from this rare but potentially devastating occurrence.
The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act, or H.R. 5026, aims "to amend the Federal Power Act to protect the bulk-power system and electric infrastructure critical to the defense of the United States against cybersecurity and other threats and vulnerabilities."
It cites electromagnetic pulses from geomagnetic or solar storms as the big threat to our energy distribution grid, and demands "an order directing the Electric Reliability Organization to submit … reliability standards adequate to protect the bulk-power system from any reasonably foreseeable geomagnetic storm event."
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/06/10/electronic-armageddon-solar-flares-disaster/?test=latestnews
Friday, June 11, 2010
Cardinal Cross or 'Giant T' 2010
This year is experiencing something monumentally extraordinary...the Cardinal Cross or 'Giant T'. This event hasn't happened in the past 5,000+ years.
The event is marked here on Earth by 2 New Moons. The first New Moon is on June 12th, one day prior to the beginning window of the alignment on the 13th of June.
The second New Moon is the day after the ending window of the alignment the 12th of July.
Moon Phases Link
- June 12, 2010: New Moon
- June 13, 2010: Planetary Alignment (Big-T)
- June 26, 2010: Partial Lunar Eclipse
- July 11, 2010: Total Solar Eclipse
- July 12, 2010: New Moon
- December 21, 2010: Total Lunar Eclipse
On June 13, 2010, a window will open as six of the largest planets in our solar system will begin their procession into a balanced alignment. Along with the sun, their combined gravitational pull offers an enormous contribution to a phenomenal event.
The alignment of planets will appear from Earth like a straight line of six planets with the sun in the middle; Uranus, Jupiter and Mercury lined up on one side of the sun, while Venus, Mars and Saturn will be lined up on the opposite. The Earth will thus be perpendicular to this alignment, forming a giant T-shape.
“Given historical precedence and the archetypal dynamics involved, The Saturn, Pluto, and Uranus T-Square of 2010 should coincide with a period of socio-political upheaval and destabilization, if not crisis. This alignment is arguably one of the most important astrological signatures of the first half of this century, certainly of the first three decades.
This T-Square symbolically represents a turning point in which economic, cultural, and political difficulties of the last decades come to a head and demand resolution.
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Anxious that Wikileaks may be on the verge of publishing a batch of secret State Department cables, investigators are desperately searching for founder Julian Assange. Philip Shenon reports.
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http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-06-10/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-hunted-by-pentagon-over-massive-leak
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Arctic seabed leaking huge amounts of methane.
The research published in the journal Science shows the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic shelf, which was thought to be a barrier sealing methane, is perforated.
Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences say more methane will be released if the permafrost is further destabilised.
CSIRO spokesman Pep Canadell says the study identifies a possibly overlooked source of methane in the atmosphere.
"Maybe before we were wrongly attributing it to cows or rice paddies or whatever(no shit), all the major sources of methane we have," Mr Canadell said.
"And now when we measure fluctuations in the atmospheric methane concentration we can more properly attribute where these sources are coming from."
He says the study provides, for the first time, an estimate of the contribution of the Arctic to overall methane emissions.
Current average methane concentrations in the Arctic are the highest in 400,000 years.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/05/2837124.htm
Scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences say more methane will be released if the permafrost is further destabilised.
CSIRO spokesman Pep Canadell says the study identifies a possibly overlooked source of methane in the atmosphere.
"Maybe before we were wrongly attributing it to cows or rice paddies or whatever(no shit), all the major sources of methane we have," Mr Canadell said.
"And now when we measure fluctuations in the atmospheric methane concentration we can more properly attribute where these sources are coming from."
He says the study provides, for the first time, an estimate of the contribution of the Arctic to overall methane emissions.
Current average methane concentrations in the Arctic are the highest in 400,000 years.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/05/2837124.htm
Semi-submersible drilling rig expected to capture and burn about 420,000 gallons of oil daily.
Kent Wells, BP's senior vice president of exploration and production, said Thursday that a semi-submersible drilling rig was expected to be up and running early next week and would capture and burn about 420,000 gallons of oil daily.
BP opted to burn the oil because storing it would require bringing in even more vessels to the already crowded seas above the leaking well.
"It was going to become too congested, it was not the safest way to do it," Wells said. A drill ship already at the scene can process a maximum of 756,000 gallons of oil daily that's sucked up through a containment cap sitting on the well head.
Testing on the oil-burning system should begin over the weekend, and full production should start early next week, Wells said. Work is also expected to begin this weekend to build a more robust containment system meant to better withstand the force of Gulf hurricanes.
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20100609/US.Gulf.Oil.Spill/
BP opted to burn the oil because storing it would require bringing in even more vessels to the already crowded seas above the leaking well.
"It was going to become too congested, it was not the safest way to do it," Wells said. A drill ship already at the scene can process a maximum of 756,000 gallons of oil daily that's sucked up through a containment cap sitting on the well head.
Testing on the oil-burning system should begin over the weekend, and full production should start early next week, Wells said. Work is also expected to begin this weekend to build a more robust containment system meant to better withstand the force of Gulf hurricanes.
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20100609/US.Gulf.Oil.Spill/
Lungs of steel
Guillaume Nery is a world champion free diver and in this video he decides to show off his breath holding skills by diving into Dean’s Blue Hole until he reaches the bottom.
Guillaume Néry (born 11 July 1982) is a French free-diver specialised in Constant Weight free-diving.
He broke the world record in 2002 at -87 meters in the Villefranche-sur-Mer harbour, in Alpes-Maritimes, France. Then, in 2004, he pushed the record to -96 meters in Saint-Leu, la Réunion. On September 6, 2006, he broke the record again at -109 meters in Nice (this record was subsequently broken by Herbert Nitsch at -112 meters in November 2007).
On July 3, 2008, he dove to -113 meters and set a new world record.[1]
Guillaume Néry (born 11 July 1982) is a French free-diver specialised in Constant Weight free-diving.
He broke the world record in 2002 at -87 meters in the Villefranche-sur-Mer harbour, in Alpes-Maritimes, France. Then, in 2004, he pushed the record to -96 meters in Saint-Leu, la Réunion. On September 6, 2006, he broke the record again at -109 meters in Nice (this record was subsequently broken by Herbert Nitsch at -112 meters in November 2007).
On July 3, 2008, he dove to -113 meters and set a new world record.[1]
L.A. Preparing for Nuclear Attack Exercise in June
April 14, 2010 by national
As world leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., to discuss the threat of nuclear terrorism, local officials said they are gearing up for an exercise in June that simulates the detonation of a 10-kiloton nuclear device in Los Angeles.
Mike Contreras, director of emergency operations for the county Department of Public Health, said the county and city are preparing for “Golden Phoenix” to test the ability of police, fire and other agencies to respond to a catastrophic incident.
“We in Los Angeles County are working hard to try to prepare for such an event and have a response in place,” Contreras said. “This exercise, Golden Phoenix, is really our first step in taking a look at this problem and seeing what kinds of things we need to do to be ready for this.”
The exercise, involving emergency operations officials from cities countywide, will give local agencies a chance to learn when it's necessary to evacuate areas of the Los Angeles basin that are not affected by initial radioactive fallout.
After the detonation of a nuclear bomb, the wind would carry the plume in a certain direction. Through the exercise, officials hope to learn how to best notify the public of whether to evacuate or to shelter in place.
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2010/04/14/l-a-preparing-for-nuclear-attack-exercise-in-june/
As world leaders gathered in Washington, D.C., to discuss the threat of nuclear terrorism, local officials said they are gearing up for an exercise in June that simulates the detonation of a 10-kiloton nuclear device in Los Angeles.
Mike Contreras, director of emergency operations for the county Department of Public Health, said the county and city are preparing for “Golden Phoenix” to test the ability of police, fire and other agencies to respond to a catastrophic incident.
“We in Los Angeles County are working hard to try to prepare for such an event and have a response in place,” Contreras said. “This exercise, Golden Phoenix, is really our first step in taking a look at this problem and seeing what kinds of things we need to do to be ready for this.”
The exercise, involving emergency operations officials from cities countywide, will give local agencies a chance to learn when it's necessary to evacuate areas of the Los Angeles basin that are not affected by initial radioactive fallout.
After the detonation of a nuclear bomb, the wind would carry the plume in a certain direction. Through the exercise, officials hope to learn how to best notify the public of whether to evacuate or to shelter in place.
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2010/04/14/l-a-preparing-for-nuclear-attack-exercise-in-june/
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Media Blackout Over Oil Leak
http://www.katu.com/news/photos/95866799.html
James Fox in Grand Isle, LA during a radio interview with VeritasRadio speaking about the media blackout resulting in arrests. There are also unconfirmed reports of troops on the ground.
http://www.manticoregroup.com/radio/2010/06jun/jamesfox2010.mp3
Federal law enforcement official confirms extortion plot involving Natalee Holloway's mother
(CNN) - A federal law enforcement official confirms the FBI paid Joran Van der Sloot $25,000 in an undercover investigation of a plot to extort money from Natalee Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway. The source familiar with the case said the FBI and U.S. Attorneys Office in Alabama arranged for a meeting where an undercover agent paid Van der Sloot $10,000 in cash and another $15,000 in a wire transfer for his information on the location of Holloway's body in Aruba.
Van der Sloot then was able to leave Aruba and travel to Peru. The federal official rejected a suggestion that U.S. officials were slow in moving against van der Sloot. The official said authorities were intent on learning if the body was located so they could assist Aruba officials in bringing murder charges.
http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/09/breaking-news-federal-law-enforcement-official-confirms-extortion-plot-involving-natalee-holloways-mother/
Van der Sloot then was able to leave Aruba and travel to Peru. The federal official rejected a suggestion that U.S. officials were slow in moving against van der Sloot. The official said authorities were intent on learning if the body was located so they could assist Aruba officials in bringing murder charges.
http://insession.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/09/breaking-news-federal-law-enforcement-official-confirms-extortion-plot-involving-natalee-holloways-mother/
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
6
about 12 miles off the mouth of the Mississippi River we encountered another leaking oil rig! The plume was either coming from the drilling operation or the boat itself. In any case it is large enough to be reported.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Big Fireball on Jupiter Spotted by Amateur Astronomers
A huge fireball has been spotted on Jupiter in yet another collision from space caught on camera and video by amateur astronomers.
The new Jupiter crash occurred on June 3 at 20:31 UT (4:31 p.m. Eastern Time) and was spotted by skywatcher Anthony Wesley in Australia and fellow amateur astronomer Christopher Go in the Philippines.
This new impact on Jupiter comes less than a year after a spectacular crash on July 19, 2009, when what scientist now think was an asteroid about 1,600 feet (500 meters) wide slammed into the planet. That collision created a massive bruise the size of the Pacific Ocean.
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/jupiter-fireball-new-collision-100604.html
Spiral over Australia
SIGHTINGS have been reported throughout the state's southeast of a mysterious light travelling in an erratic fashion across the sky in the early morning hours.
Witnesses reported watching a ball of light move across the sky for up to five minutes at about 5.50am on Saturday.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/bright-light-moving-strangely-in-the-dawn-light-over-southeast-queensland/story-e6frf7jx-1225875818046
Saturday, June 5, 2010
nr 3 :-)
A growing conversation among Christian fundamentalists asks the question that may have been inevitable: is the oil spill in the gulf a sign of the coming apocalypse?
Though maybe it’s Revelation 16:3: “The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.”
Some interpreters are very sure: The oil spill matches biblical prophesy and is another predictor of the end. One commenter at Godlike Productions argues that the redness of the oil seen in pictures can be interpreted as blood. “The water is tinted red from the oil … it ACTUALLY looks like blood. coincidence??? NOT!!!!”
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/04/blood-in-the-water.html
Though maybe it’s Revelation 16:3: “The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.”
Some interpreters are very sure: The oil spill matches biblical prophesy and is another predictor of the end. One commenter at Godlike Productions argues that the redness of the oil seen in pictures can be interpreted as blood. “The water is tinted red from the oil … it ACTUALLY looks like blood. coincidence??? NOT!!!!”
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/04/blood-in-the-water.html
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Oil about to reach the U.S.
PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. – For now the coast is clear, which is good news for tourists enjoying some fun in the sun this week on Florida's white-sand beaches.
But for residents whose livelihoods depend on a steady flow of summer vacationers, news that oil is within striking distance here left many with looks of pained resignation in their faces.
Sandy Gray grew up in the area. She donned a bikini and headed to the beach Wednesday – her digital camera in tow – to capture what she fears are the dwindling final days of pristine shoreline for quite a while.
But for residents whose livelihoods depend on a steady flow of summer vacationers, news that oil is within striking distance here left many with looks of pained resignation in their faces.
Sandy Gray grew up in the area. She donned a bikini and headed to the beach Wednesday – her digital camera in tow – to capture what she fears are the dwindling final days of pristine shoreline for quite a while.
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Oil spills in the North Sea tripled
Published 3:06:10 pm. 11:59 11:59
Both Norwegian and German observationsfly have Thursday morning and morning overflown area in the North Sea, which happened Tuesday night was obseveret a major spill of oil from one of the many oil rigs in Danfeltet
The oil, however, spread over a considerably larger area since then, said Mon Thursday morning in the Environment Agency.
"We have been informed by the Norwegian authorities that one of its surveillance has detected a leak of more than 300 square kilometers in an area 200 km west of Esbjerg. It is so far from coastal areas to the North Sea, there is no danger whatsoever for that oil will reach the coastlines, "explains engineer Anna Cecilie Skovgaard Environmental Protection Agency.
link
Both Norwegian and German observationsfly have Thursday morning and morning overflown area in the North Sea, which happened Tuesday night was obseveret a major spill of oil from one of the many oil rigs in Danfeltet
The oil, however, spread over a considerably larger area since then, said Mon Thursday morning in the Environment Agency.
"We have been informed by the Norwegian authorities that one of its surveillance has detected a leak of more than 300 square kilometers in an area 200 km west of Esbjerg. It is so far from coastal areas to the North Sea, there is no danger whatsoever for that oil will reach the coastlines, "explains engineer Anna Cecilie Skovgaard Environmental Protection Agency.
link
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Tropical Storm Leaves Behind Massive Sinkhole And Trail Of Death In Guatemala
Officials say flooding and landslides from the season's first tropical storm have killed at least 144 people in Central America.
Dozens are still missing, thousands have lost homes and emergency crews are struggling to reach isolated communities cut off by washed-out roads and collapsed bridges caused by Tropical Storm Agatha.
In hardest-hit Guatemala, where downpours created a giant sinkhole in Guatemala City, officials reported 120 dead and at least 53 missing.
The sinkhole swallowed up an entire street intersection and two nearby buildings, residents told CNN. They said a poor sewage drainage network was to blame.
Unconfirmed reports claim that a private security guard was killed when the sinkhole opened up.
Thousands more have fled their homes in neighbouring Honduras, where the death toll rose to 15 even as meteorologists predicted three more days of rain. Two dams near the capital, Tegucigalpa, overflowed into a nearby river.
In El Salvador, the heavy rain caused numerous landslides and 11,000 people were evacuated.
Agatha made landfall near the Guatemala-Mexico border on Sunday as a tropical storm with winds up to 75 kph. It dissipated the following day over the mountains of western Guatemala.
The rising death toll is reminding nervous residents of Hurricane Mitch, which hovered over Central America for days in 1998, causing flooding and mudslides that killed nearly 11,000 people and left more than 8,000 missing and unaccounted for.
Rescue efforts in Guatemala have been complicated by a volcanic eruption last week near the capital that blanketed parts of the area with ash and closed the country's main airport. Officials are now allowing helicopters and propeller planes to take off, but commercial flights
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10648986
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