http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18540381

I have been doing some thinking about what so many have said about the government/military comming around and collecting any food that you might have in a food shortage.  The Zettas say so.  Others have mirrored that thought.  Seems to me that it is a ploy to get you to not prepare.  Why do I say that?  Think for your self!  With the food warehouses of Wallmart, Cosco, A&P, Pick and Save, Survival stores, and so many more food supplies to pillage from, why would the government/military want a few cans of corn from you?   In a real melt down, I will also be going to Cosco, etc.  and not my neighbors.  The only way that we here can survive a meltdown is to prepare for one.  To do nothing is just plane stupid!  And to believe someone who tells you not to prepare is even stuipeder!  So think for yourself! 

EL DORADO COUNTY (CBS13) – People from all over El Dorado County say they’re hearing loud booms several times a week, but there are many theories on what is causing them.

http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/08/24/source-of-loud-boom-in-foothills-a-mystery/

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/floaters/09L/flash-avn-long.html

So, the advice to stay away from volcanoes that were active up to 10,000 years ago looks like it needs to be revised to, perhaps, stay away from any volcanoes no longer how long ago they were active.  If it were ever an outlet for magma, why could it not become one again, considering the stresses the Earth is undergoing?

http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/alert-level-raised-on-previously-extinct-colombian-sotara-volcano-an-eruption-would-be-first-known-in-recorded-history/

From the comments: 

"Extinct volcano is defined as having no believed activity in the last 10,000 years.
However this is considered a Holocene volcano – i.e. has been active during this current interglacial period. – 12,000 years.

Chaiten in Chile violently erupted in 2008. It was also considered extinct (last eruption approx 9600 years ago).

A debunker piece, but interesting pictures...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48783029/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.UDkCIs1HA8u

I find this interesting as it talks about GE crops.  They rejected putting a label on GE products.  It is obvious they want us to eat the stuff to fill us up in the short term and kill us in the long term. What do they who are in congress eat?  They even have their own farms!  And I will bet there are no GE crops there.

http://www.stonyfield.com/blog/2012/06/29/farm_bill_update/

Crossroads News : Changes In The World Around Us And Our Place In It

Freedom  :  The Right To Choose Safe Healthy Food

Small Farmers of Heritage-Breed Pigs Under Attack in Michigan

By Dr. Mercola

The vast majority of the nearly 66 million pigs raised for food in the United States are born and raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs),¹where they are subject to extreme mental and physical anguish, not to mention subject to incredibly unhealthy practices, like the administration of unnecessary low-dose antibiotics and living in their own waste.

Swine CAFOs are notorious not only for their ammonia emissions into the air, which have been called a public health threat linked to decreased lung function, cardiovascular ailments and premature death, but also for drinking water contamination from the massive amounts of animal waste generated.

It could be argued that swine CAFOs are one of the biggest public health nuisances around …

Ironically, the state of Michigan appears to be ambivalent to the damages being caused by giant swine CAFOs, and instead is choosing to target small farmers raising heritage-breed hogs, in humane, sanitary, outdoor conditions that nature intended.

These small farmers, they say, are raising “invasive species” of feral hogs – and they must be stopped at all costs …

Farmers Raising Pigs Outside of CAFOs Could Face Felony Charges, Jail Time, Large Fines

On April 1, 2012, the Invasive Species Order (ISO),²issued by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), went into effect.

The ISO prohibits anyone in the state from possessing what they define as “invasive species of swine,” which the state says are carriers of many parasites and disease, and a major source of damage to forests, agricultural lands and water resources. MDNR states that by the end of 2011, more than 340 feral swine had been spotted³… but the ISO does not simply apply to these so-called rogue feral pigs running wild through the forests.

While the dictionary definition of “feral” refers to an animal running wild, Michigan authorities have taken it a step further and extended the definition to include enclosed private hunting preserves and small farms that are raising heritage breed pigs.

There is no genetic test to determine whether the species on these farms are truly invasive, so authorities are basing their cases against these farmers solely on visual observations. MDNR uses this vague description to describe the prohibited hogs, and makes it clear that this does not apply to the domestic hogs raised on CAFOs:⁴

“Wild boar, wild hog, wild swine, feral pig, feral hog, feral swine, Old world swine, razorback, eurasian wild boar, Russian wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus). This subsection does not and is not intended to affect sus domestica involved in domestic hog production.”

Other descriptions supplied by the MDNR include such a wide variety of characteristics that virtually any pig other than the familiar pink domestic breed raised on CAFOs could potentially be deemed “feral”:

• Erect or folded/floppy ear structure
• Straight or curly tail
• Solid black, wild/grizzled, solid red/brown, black and white spotted, or black and red/brown spotted coat colorations
• “Other characteristics” not currently known to the MDNR

Any farmer or other individual found to be in possession of such a hog could be charged with a felony and subjected to up to two years in jail and a $20,000 fine. But the real rub is that virtually any hog could be technically defined as feral under the MDNR’s outrageous ISO. The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) explained:⁵

“ … under the [M]DNR’s declaratory ruling, the department can determine that a hog is prohibited under the ISO if it possesses physical characteristics common to any pig even if the animal was raised under the husbandry of humans. In other words, all pigs not raised in confinement cannot possess even one illegal DNR characteristic listed in the declaratory ruling; this is impossible since all swine will have at least one DNR characteristic and would therefore be an invasive species and illegal to own.”

The Way Hogs Were Designed to be Raised

in the video above, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm shows the way hogs shouldbe raised. Unfortunately, this is a far cry from what occurs on hog CAFOs.

Pastured Pork, Illegal?

What does all of this mean for residents of Michigan? Soon they will be unable to purchase sustainably and humanely grown meat from non-CAFO pigs, like the Mangalitsa “wooly” hogs raised on Baker’s Green Acres farm. This particular breed is being raised by only a handful of small farms across the country; whereas more than 2 million pigs are slaughtered each week in the United States, only about 50 of them are Mangalitsas (which have been called the “it” pig by the New York Times, as several high-end restaurants and specialty markets have featured the rich, naturally raised meat⁶).

But, of course, this issue is about much more than pasture-raised pork from a heritage breed … it’s about your ability, your right, to purchase and consume pure, unadulterated food from small farmers, not CAFOs – a right that continues to be threated for those living in the United States. FTCLDF continued:

“The ISO is a significant threat to private property rights, freedom of food choice, the ability of small farmers to make a living, and genetic diversity.”

Interestingly, the Big Pork industry has been planning this anti-feral pig campaign for years, and even bragged about it in a 2010 newsletter.⁷It was the same newsletter where they declared a win against the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) in Ohio, where HSUS was seeking legislation to end the practice of sow gestation stalls (cages so small the sow can’t turn around or move).

The Agricultural Leaders of Michigan (ALM), a coalition of agri-business groups including Michigan Pork Producers Association, the Michigan Corn Growers Association, Michigan Allied Poultry Industries, and others, has been instrumental in backing the ISO, and killed an effort in March to have the order delayed. As FTCLDF stated:

“If the ALM had their way, all farm animals in Michigan would be raised in confinement facilities and there would be no opportunity to purchase animal products from those raising them differently. ALM has been a consistent source of misinformation claiming that swine raised outside are diseased, are a threat to become feral, and are a threat to spread disease to animals raised in confinement.

… ALM, like the rest of agri-business, wants only the white pork produced and they want it produced inside of buildings in confinement. If the public stays quiet concerning the ISO, and it’s allowed to stand, the right for farmers to raise food animals the way many people want them raised (outdoors and not in confinement) is on the path to becoming illegal.”

The ISO is Not a Law, and It Can Still be Rescinded …

This means we need your help now. MDNR has already begun filing claims against heritage breed hog farmers, a game ranch operator, and a swine pet owner in the state.

But the ISO is not a law; rather, it’s an “action” or “order” that’s been taken by a state agency. Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has the authority to tell MDNR to rescind the ISO, but so far has refused to do so.

Thousands of people have already contacted Governor Snyder’s office to protest the ISO. In March, sixteen Senators and Representatives sent a letter asking Governor Snyder to either rescind the ISO or amend it so it only applies to feral swine (pigs running at large outside fences), “not those under the husbandry of humans and inside a fence,”⁸FTCLDF reported. MDNR Director Rodney Stokes even had to step down, presumably because the ISO has generated such public backlash.

There are a few ways you, too, can get involved to express your opinion and help get this ISO rescinded. Remember this impacts not only the state of Michigan, but could also set a worrisome precedent that affects the rest of the United States as well. FTCLDF explained:

“There are reports that a number of other states are looking to see whether Michigan DNR gets away with enforcing this ISO because, if they do, other states will be trying to implement the exact same thing.”

To get involved and take a stand to protect your right to food freedom and small farmer’s rights:

• Sign the online petition opposing the ISO
• Send a fax to Governor Snyder asking him to order MDNR to rescind the ISO
• Follow up with phone calls to let Governor Snyder know that we will not let up until justice is rendered and the ISO rescinded (517-335-7858)

 

Call Toll Free: 877-985-2695

Related articles

• The New Slavery: Pigs are Tigers and Farmers are Felons (activistpost.com)
• Conservation Dept Seeks To Rid Missouri Of Feral Pigs (fox2now.com)
• Mo. department seeks to oust feral pigs (kshb.com)
• 3 Northwest states launch feral pig campaign (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Humane Society to Sue 51, Pork Plants Over Ammonia Emissions (schweingehabt.wordpress.com)

Earth Watch Report – Saturday August 25th, 2012

August 25, 2012 by desertrose

Biological Hazards / Wildlife / Hazmat

Today

Biological Hazard

Canada

Province of Manitoba, [Pelican Lake]

Biological Hazard in Canada on Saturday, 25 August, 2012 at 03:51 (03:51 AM) UTC.

25.08.2012

Biological Hazard

USA

State of California, Burbank [700 block of Screenland Drive]

Biological Hazard in USA on Thursday, 23 August, 2012 at 06:35 (06:35 AM) UTC.

Back

Today

HAZMAT

USA

State of Texas, Mount Pleasant [Pilgrim's Pride Corporation]

HAZMAT in USA on Saturday, 25 August, 2012 at 03:53 (03:53 AM) UTC.

Today

Environment Pollution

USA

State of Alaska, [Fort Knox Gold Mine]

Environment Pollution in USA on Saturday, 25 August, 2012 at 03:40 (03:40 AM) UTC.

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Articles of Interest

Collapse of New Bridge Underscores Worries About China Infrastructure

By KEITH BRADSHER

A nearly 330-foot-long section of a ramp of the eight-lane Yangmingtan Bridge in the city of Harbin dropped 100 feet to the ground. Four trucks plummeted with it, resulting in three deaths and five injuries.

The 9.6-mile bridge is one of three built over the Songhua River in that area in the past four years. China’s economic stimulus program in 2009 and 2010 helped the country avoid most of the effects of the global economic downturn, but involved incurring heavy debt to pay for the rapid construction of new bridges, highways and high-speed rail lines all over the country.

Questions about the materials used during the construction and whether the projects were properly engineered have been the subject of national debate ever since a high-speed train plowed into the back of a stopped train on the same track on July 23 last year in the eastern city of Wenzhou. The crash killed 40 people and injured 191; a subsequent investigation blamed in particular flaws in the design of the signaling equipment.

Photographs on Chinese Web sites on Friday appeared to show that the collapsed section of the Yangmingtan Bridge’s ramp had fallen on land, not in the river.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, the Yangmingtan Bridge was the sixth major bridge in China to collapse since July 2011. Chinese officials have tended to blame overloaded trucks for the collapses, and did so again on Friday.

Many in China have attributed the recent spate of bridge collapses to corruption, and online reaction to the latest collapse was scathing.

“Corrupt officials who do not die just continue to cause disaster after disaster,” said one post on Friday on Sina Weibo, a Chinese microblogging service similar to Twitter.

Another Internet user expressed hope “that the government will put heavy emphasis on this and investigate to find out the real truth, and give both the dead and the living some justice!” A third user was more laconic, remarking, “Tofu engineering work leads to a tofu bridge.”

Chinese news media reported that the bridge had cost 1.88 billion renminbi, or almost $300 million.

(ANI): Drinking sugared fizzy drinks could be even more harmful than previously thought, experts have warned.

The soft drinks don’t just pile on the pounds because of the calories in them – they alter the way your body burns fuel.

Your muscles grow to ‘prefer’ sugar to fat as a fuel, and thus losing weight becomes harder.

And worryingly this effect lasts long-term which can raise levels of blood glucose leading to diabetes.

This study proves our concerns over sugary drinks have been correct. Not only can regular sugar intake acutely change our body metabolism; in fact it seems that our muscles are able to sense the sugars and make our metabolism more inefficient, not only in the present but in the future as well, the Daily Mail quoted Dr Hans-Peter Kubis, of Bangor University, as saying.

This will lead a reduced ability to burn fat and to fat gain. Moreover, it will make it more difficult for our body to cope with rises in blood sugar, he noted.

The move to an inefficient metabolism was seen in male and female participants who were lightly active, and drinking soft drinks for just four weeks.

These factors show that regular use of sugar sweetened soft drinks drives alterations in muscles similar to those found in people with obesity problems and type 2 diabetes.

What is clear is our body adjusts to regular soft drink consumption and prepares itself for the future diet by changing muscle metabolism via altered gene activity – encouraging unhealthy adaptations similar to those seen in people with obesity problems and type 2 diabetes,Dr Kubis said.

This would relate to all kinds of soft drinks with a high sugar content, including fruit juices, he added. (ANI)

Related articles

• Drinking fizzy pop for a month ‘can lead to lifelong health problems’ (telegraph.co.uk)
• Fizzical harm: Drinking sugary drinks doesn’t just pile on the pounds – it changes your body so it’s harder to lose weight (engineeringevil.com)
• Drinking sugary drinks doesn’t just pile on the pounds – it changes your body so it’s more difficult to lose weight (dailymail.co.uk)
• Sugary drinks can Change Muscles in a Month! (whatthenaturopathsaid.com)
• Having seen the evidence, I don’t touch fizzy drinks any more. Frankly they’re evil, says leading biologist (prn.fm)
• Every part of your body wrecked by fizzy drinks (thesun.co.uk)
• Drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks leads to fat gain (medicalxpress.com)
• Sugary drinks can change your muscles in just one month (completecoach.wordpress.com)
• Fizzy Drinks Negatively Impact Metabolism (pmiuk.wordpress.com)
• New Study: Soft Drink Consumption Leads to Flabby Muscles (fooducate.com)

(ANI): Mediation, an eastern philosophy which was once dismissed as pretentious, can be effective in treating mental illness, brain scans have proved.

The buzzword is mindfulness. Meditation, which is practiced a lot in India and in parts of Islington, is an NHS-approved treatment that combines conventional psychotherapy with meditation techniques, breathing and yoga.

It is sitting around trying to think about nothing and letting out the occasional “ommmm”.

Meditation has been around since the Seventies, but in the past decade there has been growing evidence that it is highly effective. Researchers at Britain’s most respected medical centers have found that it can halve the risk of relapse for those with depression.

“Psychotherapy involves patients analyzing thoughts and feelings, with the hope that by understanding them some kind of change can be made. Mindfulness has some of this but it also involves meditation,” the Daily Mail quoted Mark Williams, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry and co-developer of one of the many variants, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), said.

“Meditation, which is an ancient practice and part of Eastern spiritual philosophy, involves sitting, usually in silence, and focusing on one thing, such as the sensations of breathing in and out.

“The mind wanders, so you invite your attention to come back to the thing you are focusing on. People who do this regularly feel very calm. And due to modern scanning techniques that measure activity in the brain, we are beginning to understand why,” he said.

Williams’s colleagues in the US and Canada have been able to pinpoint the parts of the brain that undergo changes during meditation, and the results are astonishing.

“Meditation helps to reduce the activity of part of the brain called the amygdala, which governs feelings of stress. Those who are more stressed and anxious have an amygdala that is overactive. Meditating reduces this.

“And there is an effect on the insula, the part of the brain involved in deep emotions, including love.

“We know from other studies that the insula allows us to feel emotions, so when we are heartbroken we really do experience a kind of pain.

“Normally activity in this area is closely linked to the part of the brain involved in analytical thought. So if we have a fight with our partner, we not only feel dreadful but we start to think about why, what this says about our relationship and what might happen if we don’t put it right,” Williams said.

In those with mental illness, this loop becomes overactive – the thinking feeds the emotions, which feeds more thinking until it becomes overwhelming.

“Meditating breaks this cycle by reducing the links between the insula and the parts of the brain that analyse, as we have seen on brain scans.

“It doesn’t stop a person from feeling or thinking but it uncouples these two parts of the brain, giving the patient more control.

“Further to that, we’ve discovered in clinical trials that mindfulness works as well as antidepressants in preventing relapse of depression. It can also be used alongside drugs,” he said.

Janet Jones, 48, was diagnosed with severe depression 10 years ago. The mother of two was introduced to mindfulness in 2008.

“I was very sceptical at first. But gradually it became part of my everyday life,” she said.

“I would find it difficult to get out of bed and when I got to work, I would feel miserable. Once I committed to mindfulness, my approach changed and my life improved. Mindfulness has given me more control over my life. I now know that no matter how painful something is, it will pass,” Jones added. (ANI)

Related articles

• How Meditation Can Make You a Better Leader (openforum.com)
• How to Meditate Effectively (answers.com)
• Evidence Supports Health Benefits of ‘Mindfulness-Based Practices’ (tricitypsychology.com)
• Top Scientists Question Brain Scans for Mental Illness (madinamerica.com)
• Psych meds can shrink the brain, but meditation is found to increase brain size: heal your brain! (beyondmeds.com)
• Time Magazine: Can Meditation Make You Smarter? (karahpino.me)

Earth Watch Report – Saturday August 25th, 2012

August 25, 2012 by desertrose

Solar Activity

spaceweather,com

Solar wind speed: 576.5 km/sec density: 0.0 protons/cm3 explanation | more data Updated: Today at 0935 UT X-ray Solar Flares 6-hr max: B9 0301 UT Aug25 24-hr: C1 0236 UT Aug25 explanation | more data Updated: Today at: 0900 UT Daily Sun: 25 Aug 12 A new sunspot is emerging at the circled location. Credit: SDO/HMI Sunspot number: 69 What is the sunspot number? Updated 25 Aug 2012 Spotless Days Current Stretch: 0 days 2012 total: 0 days (0%) 2011 total: 2 days (<1%) 2010 total: 51 days (14%) 2009 total: 260 days (71%) Since 2004: 821 days Typical Solar Min: 486 days Update 25 Aug 2012 The Radio Sun 10.7 cm flux: 104 sfu explanation | more data Updated 25 Aug 2012 Current Auroral Oval: Switch to: Europe, USA, New Zealand, Antarctica Credit: NOAA/POES Planetary K-index Now: Kp= 3 quiet 24-hr max: Kp= 3 quiet explanation | more data Interplanetary Mag. Field Btotal: 6.7 nT Bz: 5.7 nT north explanation | more data Updated: Today at 0936 UT Coronal Holes: 25 Aug 12 A stream of solar wind flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth on Aug. 26-27. Credit: SDO/AIA. SPACE WEATHER NOAA Forecasts Updated at: 2012 Aug 24 2200 UTC FLARE 0-24 hr 24-48 hr CLASS M 10 % 10 % CLASS X 01 % 01 % Geomagnetic Storms: Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm Updated at: 2012 Aug 24 2200 UTC Mid-latitudes 0-24 hr 24-48 hr ACTIVE 20 % 25 % MINOR 05 % 05 % SEVERE 01 % 01 % High latitudes 0-24 hr 24-48 hr ACTIVE 20 % 15 % MINOR 30 % 30 % SEVERE 25 % 35 %

Link Found Between Cold European Winters and Solar Activity

ScienceDaily

Scientists have long suspected that the Sun’s 11-year cycle influences climate of certain regions on Earth. Yet records of average, seasonal temperatures do not date back far enough to confirm any patterns. Now, armed with a unique proxy, an international team of researchers show that unusually cold winters in Central Europe are related to low solar activity — when sunspot numbers are minimal. The freezing of Germany’s largest river, the Rhine, is the key.

Researchers have linked low solar activity to a localized, temporary cooling of Central Europe, by studying the freezing of the Rhine river. (Credit: Warburg via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons license)

Although Earth’s surface overall continues to warm, the new analysis has revealed a correlation between periods of low activity of the Sun and of some cooling — on a limited, regional scale in Central Europe, along the Rhine.

“The advantage with studying the Rhine is because it’s a very simple measurement,” said Frank Sirocko lead author of a paper on the study and professor of Sedimentology and Paleoclimatology at the Institute of Geosciences of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany. “Freezing is special in that it’s like an on-off mode. Either there is ice or there is no ice.”

From the early 19th through mid-20th centuries, riverboat men used the Rhine for cargo transport. And so docks along the river have annual records of when ice clogged the waterway and stymied shipping. The scientists used these easily-accessible documents, as well as other additional historical accounts, to determine the number of freezing episodes since 1780.

Sirocko and his colleagues found that between 1780 and 1963, the Rhine froze in multiple places fourteen different times. The sheer size of the river means it takes extremely cold temperatures to freeze over making freezing episodes a good proxy for very cold winters in the region, Sirocko said.

Mapping the freezing episodes against the solar activity’s 11-year cycle — a cycle of the Sun’s varying magnetic strength and thus total radiation output — Sirocko and his colleagues determined that ten of the fourteen freezes occurred during years when the Sun had minimal sunspots. Using statistical methods, the scientists calculated that there is a 99 percent chance that extremely cold Central European winters and low solar activity are inherently linked.

“We provide, for the first time, statistically robust evidence that the succession of cold winters during the last 230 years in Central Europe has a common cause,” Sirocko said.

With the new paper, Sirocko and his colleagues have added to the research linking solar variability with climate, said Thomas Crowley, Director of the Scottish Alliance for Geoscience, Environment, and Society, who was not involved with the study.

“There is some suspension of belief in this link,” Crowley said, “and this study tilts the argument more towards thinking there really is something to this link. If you have more statistical evidence to support this explanation, one is more likely to say it’s true.”

The study, conducted by researchers at Johannes Gutenberg and the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich, Switzerland, is set to be published August 25 in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

When sunspot numbers are down, the Sun emits less ultraviolet radiation. Less radiation means less heating of Earth’s atmosphere, which sparks a change in the circulation patterns of the two lowest atmospheric levels, the troposphere and stratosphere. Such changes lead to climatic phenomena such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, a pattern of atmospheric pressure variations that influences wind patterns in the North Atlantic and weather behavior in regions in and around Europe.

“Due to this indirect effect, the solar cycle does not impact hemispherically averaged temperatures, but only leads to regional temperature anomalies,” said Stephan Pfahl, a co-author of the study who is now at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science in Zurich.

The authors show that this change in atmospheric circulation leads to cooling in parts of Central Europe but warming in other European countries, such as Iceland. So, sunspots don’t necessarily cool the entire globe — their cooling effect is more localized, Sirocko said.

In fact, studies have suggested that the extremely cold European winters of 2010 and 2011 were the result of the North Atlantic Oscillation, which Sirocko and his team now link to the low solar activity during that time.

The 2010 and 2011 European winters were so cold that they resulted in record lows for the month of November in certain countries. Some who dispute the occurrence of anthropogenic climate change argue that this two-year period shows that Earth’s climate is not getting any warmer. But climate is a complex system, Sirocko said. And a short-term, localized dip in temperatures only temporarily masks the effects of a warming world.

“Climate is not ruled by one variable,” said Sirocko. “In fact, it has [at least] five or six variables. Carbon dioxide is certainly one, but solar activity is also one.”

Moreover, the researchers also point out that, despite Central Europe’s prospect to suffer colder winters every 11 years or so, the average temperature of those winters is increasing and has been for the past three decades. As one piece of evidence of that warming, the Rhine River has not frozen over since 1963. Sirocko said such warming results, in part, from climate change.

To establish a more complete record of past temperature dips, the researchers are looking to other proxies, such as the spread of disease and migratory habits.

“Disease can be transported by insects and rats, but during a strong freezing year that is not likely,” said Sirocko. “Also, Romans used the Rhine to defend against the Germanics, but as soon as the river froze people could move across it. The freezing of the Rhine is very important on historical timescales.”

It wasn’t, however, the Rhine that first got Sirocko to thinking about the connection between freezing rivers and sunspot activity. In fact, it was a 125-mile ice-skating race he attended over 20 years ago in the Netherlands that sparked the scientist’s idea.

“Skaters can only do this race every 10 or 11 years because that’s when the rivers freeze up,” Sirocko said. “I thought to myself, ‘There must be a reason for this,’ and it turns out there is.”

************************************************************************************************************

Space

Earth approaching objects (objects that are known in the next 30 days)
Object Name	Apporach Date	Left	AU Distance	LD Distance	Estimated Diameter*	Relative Velocity
(2012 FM52)	25th August 2012	0 day(s)	0.0599	23.3	510 m – 1.1 km	17.17 km/s	61812 km/h
66146 (1998 TU3)	25th August 2012	0 day(s)	0.1265	49.2	3.0 km – 6.8 km	16.03 km/s	57708 km/h
(2009 AV)	26th August 2012	1 day(s)	0.1615	62.8	670 m – 1.5 km	22.51 km/s	81036 km/h
331769 (2003 BQ35)	28th August 2012	3 day(s)	0.1585	61.7	240 m – 530 m	4.64 km/s	16704 km/h
(2010 SC)	28th August 2012	3 day(s)	0.1679	65.3	16 m – 36 m	9.56 km/s	34416 km/h
4769 Castalia	28th August 2012	3 day(s)	0.1135	44.2	1.4 km	12.06 km/s	43416 km/h
(2012 LU7)	02nd September 2012	8 day(s)	0.1200	46.7	440 m – 990 m	8.16 km/s	29376 km/h
(2012 FS35)	02nd September 2012	8 day(s)	0.1545	60.1	2.3 m – 5.2 m	2.87 km/s	10332 km/h
(2012 HG31)	03rd September 2012	9 day(s)	0.0716	27.9	440 m – 990 m	10.33 km/s	37188 km/h
(2012 PX)	04th September 2012	10 day(s)	0.0452	17.6	61 m – 140 m	9.94 km/s	35784 km/h
(2012 EH5)	05th September 2012	11 day(s)	0.1613	62.8	38 m – 84 m	9.75 km/s	35100 km/h
(2011 EO11)	05th September 2012	11 day(s)	0.1034	40.2	9.0 m – 20 m	8.81 km/s	31716 km/h
(2007 PS25)	06th September 2012	12 day(s)	0.0497	19.3	23 m – 52 m	8.50 km/s	30600 km/h
329520 (2002 SV)	08th September 2012	14 day(s)	0.1076	41.9	300 m – 670 m	9.17 km/s	33012 km/h
(2011 ES4)	10th September 2012	16 day(s)	0.1792	69.8	20 m – 44 m	12.96 km/s	46656 km/h
(2008 CO)	11th September 2012	17 day(s)	0.1847	71.9	74 m – 160 m	4.10 km/s	14760 km/h
(2007 PB8)	14th September 2012	20 day(s)	0.1682	65.5	150 m – 340 m	14.51 km/s	52236 km/h
226514 (2003 UX34)	14th September 2012	20 day(s)	0.1882	73.2	260 m – 590 m	25.74 km/s	92664 km/h
(1998 QC1)	14th September 2012	20 day(s)	0.1642	63.9	310 m – 700 m	17.11 km/s	61596 km/h
(2002 EM6)	15th September 2012	21 day(s)	0.1833	71.3	270 m – 590 m	18.56 km/s	66816 km/h
(2002 RP137)	16th September 2012	22 day(s)	0.1624	63.2	67 m – 150 m	7.31 km/s	26316 km/h
(2009 RX4)	16th September 2012	22 day(s)	0.1701	66.2	15 m – 35 m	8.35 km/s	30060 km/h
(2005 UC)	17th September 2012	23 day(s)	0.1992	77.5	280 m – 640 m	7.55 km/s	27180 km/h
(2012 FC71)	18th September 2012	24 day(s)	0.1074	41.8	24 m – 53 m	3.51 km/s	12636 km/h
(1998 FF14)	19th September 2012	25 day(s)	0.0928	36.1	210 m – 480 m	21.40 km/s	77040 km/h
331990 (2005 FD)	19th September 2012	25 day(s)	0.1914	74.5	320 m – 710 m	15.92 km/s	57312 km/h
1 AU = ~150 million kilometers,1 LD = Lunar Distance = ~384,000 kilometers Source: NASA-NEO

………………………………………..

ICELAND AURORAS:

As the midnight sun sets, aurora season has resumed around the Arctic Circle. Last night’s display was photographed by Antony Spencer from Kirkufell, Snaefellsnes, Iceland:

“The midnight sun is now long gone in Iceland,” says Spencer. “I was heading back from a sunset photo shoot when I noticed the auroras. They were bright enough to see right through the sunset colors.”

More auroras are in the offing. A stream of solar wind is heading for Earth, due to arrive on August 26-27.

STARWATER – A Look at Our Changing Planet

Published on Aug 24, 2012 by Suspicious0bservers

Was that a meteor lighting up NorCal, Reno last night?

Witnesses said it lit up the sky for four seconds

(KCRA) —Reports of a large meteor had many people buzzing Wednesday morning.

Viewers called the KCRA 3 newsroom and the sheriff’s departments in several parts of Northern California, along with Reno, to ask about a meteor that appeared about 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Witnesses said it lasted for about four seconds and lit up the sky.

Online meteor tracking sites and blogs report the meteor could be seen over parts of Oregon, California and Nevada.

Milky Way Now Has a Twin (or Two): Astronomers Find First Group of Galaxies Just Like Ours

ScienceDaily

Research presented Aug. 23, 2012 at the International Astronomical Union General Assembly in Beijing has found the first group of galaxies that is just like ours, a rare sight in the local Universe.

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The Milky Way is a fairly typical galaxy on its own, but when paired with its close neighbours — the Magellanic Clouds — it is very rare, and could have been one of a kind, until a survey of our local Universe found another two examples just like us.

Astronomer Dr Aaron Robotham, jointly from the University of Western Australia node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) and the University of St Andrews in Scotland, searched for groups of galaxies similar to ours in the most detailed map of the local Universe yet, the Galaxy and Mass Assembly survey (GAMA).

“We’ve never found another galaxy system like the Milky Way before, which is not surprising considering how hard they are to spot! It’s only recently become possible to do the type of analysis that lets us find similar groups,” says Dr Robotham.

“Everything had to come together at once: we needed telescopes good enough to detect not just galaxies but their faint companions, we needed to look at large sections of the sky, and most of all we needed to make sure no galaxies were missed in the survey”

Sophisticated simulations of how galaxies form don’t produce many examples similar to the Milky Way and its surrounds, predicting them to be quite a rare occurrence. Astronomers haven’t been able to tell just how rare until now, with the discovery of not just one but two exact matches amongst the hundreds of thousands of galaxies surveyed.

“We found about 3% of galaxies similar to the Milky Way have companion galaxies like the Magellanic Clouds, which is very rare indeed. In total we found 14 galaxy systems that are similar to ours, with two of those being an almost exact match,” says Dr Robotham.

The Milky Way is locked in a complex cosmic dance with its close companions the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which are clearly visible in the southern hemisphere night sky. Many galaxies have smaller galaxies in orbit around them, but few have two that are as large as the Magellanic Clouds.

Dr Robotham’s work also found that although companions like the Magellanic Clouds are rare, when they are found they’re usually near a galaxy very like the Milky Way, meaning we’re in just the right place at the right time to have such a great view in our night sky.

“The galaxy we live in is perfectly typical, but the nearby Magellenic Clouds are a rare, and possibly short-lived, occurrence. We should enjoy them whilst we can, they’ll only be around for a few billion more years,” adds Dr Robotham.

Dr Robotham and colleagues have been awarded further time on telescopes in New South Wales and Chile to study these Milky Way twin systems now that they’ve been found.

The Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey is an international collaboration led from ICRAR and the Australian Astronomical Observatory to map our local Universe in closer detail.

ICRAR is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia providing research excellence in the field of radio astronomy.

Earth Watch Report – Saturday August 25th, 2012

August 25, 2012 by desertrose

Climate Change

Drastic desertification: Researchers study Dead Sea climate past, finding dramatic results

Arctic cap on course for record melt: US scientists

by Shaun Tandon

 

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Rising Seas

U.Va. institute assists Virginians with sea-level rise

Earth Watch Report – Saturday August 25th, 2012

August 25, 2012 by desertrose

Extreme Temperatures/ Weather / Drought

Today

Forest / Wild Fire

USA

State of Alaska, [Dry Creek]

Forest / Wild Fire in USA on Saturday, 25 August, 2012 at 03:54 (03:54 AM) UTC.

UN agency calls for global action plan on drought

***********************************************************************************************************

Storms 

Active tropical storm system(s)
Name of storm system	Location	Formed	Last update	Last category	Course	Wind Speed	Gust	Wave	Source	Details
Tembin (15W)	Pacific Ocean	19.08.2012	25.08.2012	Typhoon II	260 °	139 km/h	167 km/h	5.18 m	JTWC

 Tropical Storm data

Bolaven (16W)

Pacific Ocean

20.08.2012

25.08.2012

SuperTyphoon

325 °

232 km/h

278 km/h

5.49 m

JTWC

 Tropical Storm data

Isaac (AL09)

Atlantic Ocean

21.08.2012

25.08.2012

Hurricane I

310 °

111 km/h

139 km/h

4.57 m

NOAA NHC

Tropical Storm data

NASA sees an active tropical Atlantic again

by Staff Writers
Greenbelt MD (SPX)

This NOAA GOES-13 satellite image taken on Aug. 21 at 7:45 a.m. EDT shows three of the four tropical systems being watched in the Atlantic Ocean basin. From left to right are: System 95L, Tropical Depression 9 and System 96L. Post-tropical Storm Gordon is just beyond the horizon. Credit: NASA/NOAA GOES Project.

Related Links
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Published on Aug 16, 2012 by fidockave213

The  latter  half  of  August

Fireballs impacting the ground

Honduras Investigates Alleged Meteorite Crash

Large meteorites found after fireball lands in Manitoba, Canada

Meteorite starts fire in Itatiba, Brazil following separate Fireball incident in neighbouring Campinas days earlier

Meteorite hits moving car in Sioux City

More strange sky sounds

More strange sky sounds, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Strange Sounds Over Suffern, New York

Strange Sounds in Germany

Multiple tornadoes/waterspouts

Nine waterspouts spotted on Lake Michigan

Multiple waterspouts touch down in Black Sea, near Foros, Ukraine

Multiple waterspouts touch down off Polish coast

Unusual lightning strikes

Lightning kills two brothers in Russia's Kursk region

3 Lightning strike survivors on Mt Whitney, CA: 'We thought we were on fire'

Lightning injures 10 New Jersey soldiers at New York's Ft. Drum

Lightning-sparked huge fire burns to edge of 3 small California towns

Authorities ID Wisconsin boy killed in lightning strike

Increase in Lightning Observed Across Japan... What the Hell Is That?!

Five seriously injured in French lightning strike

Lightning Strike Kills Wisconsin Boy, 9, and Injures Seven Others on Sailboat

This in from Susan...

Entire West Coast is having major precursors Alaska down to Baja:  http://quakes.globalincidentmap.com/

On the heels of the strange report and video posted last week of an 'Alien' looking creature shot dead in South Africa  - another odd one surfaces today. 

From the Hopi Prophecy

“There will be many strange beasts upon the Earth in those days, some from the past and some that we have never seen. . The nature of mankind will appear strange in these times we walk between worlds and we will house many spirits even within our bodies  After a time we will again walk with our brothers from the Stars, and rebuild this Earth But not until the Purifier has left his mark upon the universe.:

 Giant 'Gorgakh' killed in Pakistan

 Pakistan Creature: Source)

An amazing photo was posted to YouTube on Thursday of a strange, alien-like creature, locally called a "Gorgakh", and killed by villagers in Swabi, Pakistan.

The reason for all the amazement is because the creature is so unusually large. Some speculate it is a giant version of a Pangolin, an anteater or armadillo, found on the African continent.

But those animals generally don't grow beyond three feet in length. The one in the photo is as big as a full-grown man and twice as wide.

Naturally, many people are calling it an alien. That's because it bears an uncanny resemblance to the monster in the Alien movie franchise. It's got a scaly coat, a gigantic, droopy head with a long snout and thick legs with immense claws.

Locals in Pakistan are claiming the creature is responsible for digging up and eating dead bodies and possesses supernatural abilities. Perhaps that's why they killed it.

(South African Creature: Source)

Locals came across this strange creature while they were escorting a shooting party in Namibia. Witness’s state that the creature was spotted apparently foraging for food, one of the shooting party wounded it with his rifle and it escaped into the thick brush. The locals tracked it to a nearby lair or nest where they found three more creatures of similar size. The wounded creature attacked one of the shooting party and it was shot dead, the others escaped into the brush. The body of the creature was taken back to the local camp, police later removed its corpse and a full forensics investigation is under way. A video is pending on this so I will post if and when I receive it. So what is this guys, an Alien, Goblin, maybe a new species of pigmy or something more sinister, as always you decide.

 

 

http://marketdailynews.com/2012/08/23/mystery-surrounding-1-2-billion-rounds-of-ammo-solved/

What do you think? 

Politics, Legislation and Economy News

Government Overreach  :  Corruption

‘Fast and Furious’ ATF Official Granted Paid Leave to Take 6-Figure Job at JP Morgan

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversigh and Government Reform Committee (AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – The long-awaited inspector general’s report on the Justice Department’s botched gun-running scheme is finished, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said on Wednesday.

But along with that news comes more questions: Issa and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are demanding to know why a top ATF official involved in Operation Fast and Furious remains on paid leave from ATF — while simultaneously drawing a six-figure salary from J.P. Morgan, a major investment bank.

In a letter to the acting head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Issa and Grassley asked why the Justice Department would approve such a special arrangement for Bill McMahon.

“Under any reading of the relevant personnel regulations, it appears that ATF management was under no obligation to approve this sort of arrangement,” wrote Issa and Grassley. “Given McMahon’s outsized role in the Fast and Furious scandal, the decision to approve an extended annual leave arrangement in order to attain pension eligibility and facilitate full-time, outside employment while still collecting a full-time salary at ATF raises a host of questions about both the propriety of the arrangement and the judgment of ATF management.”

Issa and Grassley say the ATF has made it possible for McMahon to “double dip for nearly half a year by receiving two full-time paychecks — one from the taxpayer and one from the private sector.”

They  noted that the treatment of McMahon is “in sharp contrast” to how the ATF has treated whistleblowers such as Special Agent John Dodson, “who is told he must wait until the Inspector General’s report is complete before the agency will even consider his simple request for a statement retracting the false statements made about him by agency leadership.”

Issa and Grassley noted that ATF approved the arrangement for McMahom before the Justice Department inspector general finished his report on the failed gun tracking scheme.

As for the IG report examining Fast and Furious, as well as the Justice Department’s knowledge of and response to it, Issa said the report is done:

“We know that the IG report is finished, we know that it’s at Justice, and we know that we can’t see it. We’re hoping, though, that they will release it,” Issa told Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren on Wednesday.

Issa said he’s “positive” that the IG’s report “is going to say the same thing our report has said, which is — this is somebody (Bill McMahon) who is responsible for and signed documents that he told our committee he didn’t see, didn’t know about. Now, the only question is — did he not read them and sign them?”

“We’re dealing with somebody who should have been fired from ATF,” Issa added.

According to the final congressional report on Fast and Furious, William McMahon was a supervisor at ATF headquarters who served as a “crucial link” between ATF headquarters and the Phoenix Field Division.

“He received a wealth of information about Fast and Furious” — including the fact that straw purchasers had bought over 900 firearms, many of which ended up in Mexico — “but did not view it as his role as supervisor to ask questions about events in the field. He has publicly admitted to having failed in his duty to read information presented to him about the case.”

The report says McMahon rubber stamped critical documents that came across his desk without reading them.

McMahon also “gave false testimony to Congress about signing applications for wiretap intercepts in Fast and Furious,” the report says.

Operation Fast and Furious began in the fall of 2009 as part of a plan to track guns illegally purchased in the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels. The ATF lost track of most of the 2,000 weapons that were allowed to “walk” into Mexico, and two of the straw-purchased guns ended up at the scene of a U.S. border agent’s murder.

(Issa told Fox News that news of McMahon’s double-dipping will produce “more outrage for the family of fallen Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.)

According to the final congressional report, “From the outset, the case was marred by missteps, poor judgments, and an inherently reckless strategy.”

Issa, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has accused Attorney General Eric Holder and other Justice Department officials of undermining his investigation into Fast and Furious.

Related articles

• REPORT: Senior ATF Agent In Charge Of Fast ‘N Furious Gun Running Program Was Also Working For JPMorgan (dailybail.com)
• ‘Fast and Furious’ ATF Official Granted Paid Leave to Take 6-Figure Job at JP Morgan (weeklyintercept.blogspot.com)
• ATF official resigns after Issa, Grassley nail him in congressional Fast and Furious report (conservativeread.com)
• GOP lawmakers rip ATF double dip (thehill.com)
• Lawmakers seek answers on official at center of ‘Fast and Furious’ (cnn.com)
• OIG Report On Fast And Furious Delivered To Holder For Review (onlygunsandmoney.blogspot.com)
• Republicans Looking Into ‘Fast and Furious’ Agent Holding Second Job (foxnewsinsider.com)
• DOJ Inspector General Report On Fast & Furious Delivered (freedomoutpost.com)
• Taxpayers Subsidize Fast & Furious Supervisor- While He Works for J.P. Morgan? (shepherdspiehole.typepad.com)
• Republican lawmakers question ATF official’s ‘double-dip’ arrangement (channel6newsonline.com)