Month: December 2014

30 Years Later Bhopal Survivors Are Still Fighting For Compensation

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After 30 years Bhopal survivors are still fighting for compensation

– Why are Bhopal survivors still fighting for compensation? (BBC, Dec 2, 2014):

On the night of 2 December 1984, Lakshmi Thakur was putting her children to bed when her eyes started stinging.

She went outside to investigate, thinking a neighbour was frying chillies, and found people running in panic, clutching their faces.

Someone told her there had been an accident at Union Carbide India’s pesticide plant behind her house in Bhopal, the capital of the central state of Madhya Pradesh, and the burning wasn’t from cooking, but from leaking gas.

Lakshmi gathered her family and fled towards a bus stop by the factory. On the way, one of her sons started to vomit and another doubled over with diarrhoea. Her 20-year-old daughter didn’t live to see morning.

More than half a million people were poisoned by deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas that night. Several thousands of them died.

Read more30 Years Later Bhopal Survivors Are Still Fighting For Compensation

Heavy snowfall in Japan

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– Heavy snowfall in Japan (Ice Age Now, Dec 4, 2014):

The city of Nayoro was buried in 70 cm (27 inches) of snow, while 46 cm (18 inches) fell in Horokanai and 40 cm (16 inches) in Otaru.

This is according to the Japanese language website Hokkaido Nippon News (posted 12/4/2014).

http://www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/news/donai/578119.html

Michigan: Sault Ste.?Marie shatters 125-year-old November snowfall record

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– Sault Ste.?Marie shatters 125-year-old November snowfall record (Ice Age Now, Dec 4, 2014):

November’s snowfall of 65.3 inches shattered the all-time record for Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, since official statistics began in 1888.

“In terms of breaking the record,” said Meteorologist Mike Boguth of the National Weather Service in Gaylord, looking at the local numbers. “It was almost by 20 inches.”

The National Weather Service’s official numbers show the previous record for snowfall was 46.8 inches in 1989.

Read moreMichigan: Sault Ste.?Marie shatters 125-year-old November snowfall record

Waist-deep snow in China – Most severe snowstorm in years

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– Waist-deep snow in China – Most severe snowstorm in years (Ice Age Now, Dec 4, 2014):

The snow is up to 3 feet (90 cm) deep, leaving residents struggling to open doors.

A blizzard lasting more than 60 hours hit Fuyuan County, a border town in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province on Thursday.

Local communities banded together to clear snow from roads, and the county government said a contingency plan is in place to relieve economic stresses due to the snow.

Parts of China resemble Antarctica

Read moreWaist-deep snow in China – Most severe snowstorm in years

Record snowfall in Juneau, Alaska

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– Record snowfall in Juneau, Alaska (Ice Age Now, Dec 4, 2014):

1 Dec 14 – Eight-and-half inches of snow fell at Juneau International Airport on Sunday, breaking the previous record of 6.3 inches set back in 1946, while 9.1 inches fell at the National Weather Service office on Back Loop Road. That broke the record of 5.4 inches set in 2010.

An 11-year-old record of 5.8 inches of snow at Lena Point was broken with Sunday’s snowfall of 9.6 inches.

Meanwhile, Pelican received 4.5 inches on Sunday,  nearly double the old record of 2.5 inches on Nov. 30, 2006.

http://www.ktoo.org/2014/12/01/first-winter-snowfall-breaks-juneau-records/

Seattle obliterates previous low temperature record

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– Seattle obliterates previous low temperature record (Ice Age Now, Dec 4, 2014):

“Record low temperature shattered at Seattle WA WFO…”

A record low temperature of 24 degrees was set at Seattle Washington WFO  today. This obliterated the old record of 32 set in 1991.

… Record low temperature also set at Quillayute WA Airport…

A record low temperature of 19 degrees was set at Quillayute WA Airport today. This breaks the old record of 23 set in 1976.

Read moreSeattle obliterates previous low temperature record

Record Low Temperatures In Saskatchewan

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– Record lows in Saskatchewan (Ice Age Now, Dec 4, 2014):

“Bitterly cold conditions prevailed” on Monday morning as a ridge of high pressure lingered over Southern Saskatchewan,  said the weather summary for Southern Saskatchewan issued by Environment Canada on Monday, 1 Dec 2014.

Five new record low temperatures were established across the province,

Read moreRecord Low Temperatures In Saskatchewan

Serbia: Ice storm and deep snow – People experiencing mental breakdown after 48 hours without electricity, water and heating

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– Serbia – Ice storm and deep snow – People experiencing mental breakdown after 48 hours without electricity, water and heating (Ice Age Now, Dec 3, 2014):

3 Dec 14 – “48 hours of agony in Majdanpek, people mentally break!” says headline.

Put your coat and hat and get under a blanket, waiting to pass this evil, say angry residents of Majdanpeka. At night is very cold.

Read moreSerbia: Ice storm and deep snow – People experiencing mental breakdown after 48 hours without electricity, water and heating

CIA Torture Report To Be Published On Monday Without The Word ‘Torture’

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Flashback:

– Former UK ambassador: CIA sent people to Uzbekistan for extreme torture, to be ‘raped with broken bottles,’ ‘boiled alive’ and ‘having their children tortured in front of them’ (Video):

…

Craig Murray, the rector of the University of Dundee in Scotland and until 2004 the UK’s ambassador to Uzbekistan, said the CIA not only relied on confessions gleaned through extreme torture, it sent terror war suspects to Uzbekistan as part of its extraordinary rendition program.

“I’m talking of people being raped with broken bottles,” he said at a lecture late last month that was re-broadcast by the Real News Network. “I’m talking of people having their children tortured in front of them until they sign a confession. I’m talking of people being boiled alive. And the intelligence from these torture sessions was being received by the CIA, and was being passed on.”

…

cia-torture-waterboarding

– CIA torture report to be published on Monday without the word ‘torture’ (RT, Dec 4, 2014):

The long-awaited publication of the so-called “CIA torture report” is expected to finally occur early next week, but would-be readers, be warned: according to leaks, the executive summary will be absent any and all use of the word “torture.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), the chair of the United States Senate Intelligence Committee, now says that the public will be able to read the executive summary of her panel’s years-long investigation into the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation techniques next week, with journalist Jason Leopold reporting that the release of the document will come as early as Monday.

Read moreCIA Torture Report To Be Published On Monday Without The Word ‘Torture’

Putin: Talking To Russia From Position Of Strength Is Meaningless

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Putin - Talking to Russia from position of strength is meaningless

– Putin: Talking to Russia from position of strength is meaningless (RT, Dec 4, 2014):

Russia is open to the rest of the world and ready for developing equal partnership with other countries, said Vladimir Putin He dismissed treatment Russia through strength and sanctions as ineffective and warned against scheming.

“Talking to Russia from a position of strength is meaningless,” said Putin in his annual state of the nation address to the Federal Assembly, stressing that the ‘deterrence policy’ towards Russia is nothing new.

“The deterrence policy was not invented yesterday, it has been always conducted towards our country, for decades, if not centuries,” Putin noted.

“Every time somebody considers Russia is becoming too powerful and independent, such instruments are turned on immediately,” said Putin.

US manipulating foreign relations of Russia’s neighbors

The US has always been, either directly or behind the scenes, affecting relations between Russia and its neighbors, the president said.

Read morePutin: Talking To Russia From Position Of Strength Is Meaningless

Putin Offers Full Amnesty For Money Repatriation, Threatens Crackdown Against FX Speculators

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From the article:

To wit:

I announce a full amnesty for capital returning to Russia, and i repeat, a full amnesty. What does that mean? Those people who fully legalize, fully bring back their capital to Russia, should be protected from being dragged to various law enforcement agencies, and from having to prove where they got their money from, and from being exposed to criminal investigations.

We need to reverse the history of capital flight from our country, we need to end this era…. We have already done a lot of work to improve our investment climate, and now we need to turn to implement that legislation.

Do Russians want to be “ripped-off abroad” once again when the next Cyprus takes place? Their best choice is to return to Russia, Putin added.

putin kremlin

– Putin Offers Full Amnesty For Money Repatriation, Threatens Crackdown Against FX Speculators (ZeroHedge, Dec 4, 2014):

Earlier today Putin used his his annual speech to both houses of parliament, delivered in a chandeliered ceremonial hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, to give a pep talk to an economy that has been faltering in recent months as a result of, if not so much western sanctions which have hurt Europe more than Russia, then certainly tumbling oil prices. As Bloomberg notes, “the ruble is near a record low, the economy is headed for a recession and banks are pleading for state aid.” It was Putin’s task to try to persuade Russians today that panic isn’t the answer to their economic pain.

Read morePutin Offers Full Amnesty For Money Repatriation, Threatens Crackdown Against FX Speculators

Online News Sites To Be Blacked Out During Next Major Catastrophic Event?

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Obama-internet-kill-switch

– Online news sites to be blacked out during next major catastrophic event? (Natural News, Dec 4, 2014):

According to what I’m hearing from several sources in my network of contacts, the U.S. government is putting systems in place to black out online news sites like Natural News, Drudge Report, The Blaze and many others. A practice run that took place earlier this week in California has already achieved this result and confirmed the technical ability to make it happen at will.

The recent outage of news sites experienced by internet users in California was reported by this article on BeforeItsNews.com and confirmed by The Washington Times, The Blaze and other sites. The Natural News reader service team also recorded numerous complaints from California users who were unable to reach our website even though our site was fully functional and serving pages worldwide.

What was especially telling about this outage is that it only affected online news sites while allowing other internet traffic to flow normally. This selective targeting of news websites could have been accomplished by “deep packet inspection used inside the routers that move information packets along the internet,” reported Before Its News technical staff. “This technology allows ISP’s to look inside the packets your computer sends and receives and then make a decision to allow the packets through, modify the packets or block them. This technique can also be used to slow or speed up traffic.”

Read moreOnline News Sites To Be Blacked Out During Next Major Catastrophic Event?

Stunning Video Footage Of Chernobyl Devastation Captured By Drone

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– Stunning Video Footage Of Chernobyl Devastation Captured By Drone (ZeroHedge, Dec 4, 2014):

With the Fukushima disaster having disappeared from all media coverage in recent months (and with the plan to encapsulate the radioactive plant in an ice sarcophagus recently scrapped, Japan has still to reveal what its plans are for dealing with the disaster area), the world occasionally needs a reminder of the waste land that follow when nuclear power goes horribly wrong.

For that we go back to the original nuclear disaster, Chernobyl, and US photographer Phillip Grossman who, while having taken numerous pictures of the radioactive sarcophagus and its surroundings in the past, has produced his most amazing work yet courtesy of a camera-equipped drone. It allowed him to use a high powered camera and get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding landscape.

The stunning result is shown in the video below.

Some further details: the American, who has always had a fascination with nuclear power plants (and perhaps even disasters as he grew up 11 miles away from Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, which was the scene of the worst nuclear disaster on US soil) talks to RT about his artistic vision.

Read moreStunning Video Footage Of Chernobyl Devastation Captured By Drone

The New Exodus: 700,000 Young Spaniards Have Left Home Looking For Work Abroad

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Francisco-Pizarro-New-World

– The New Exodus: 700,000 Young Spaniards Have Left Home Looking For Work Abroad (Sovereign Man, Dec 4, 2014):

When Francisco Pizarro returned to Spain from the New World in 1528, he told King Charles I of the vast material riches that were found in abundance on Peru’s shores.

He petitioned for permission to conquer the new lands in the name of the crown, and was granted governorship over a vast amount of territory as long as he succeeded in conquering it.

Hungry to get their hands on Incan gold, some 168 Spaniards joined him on the conquest.

In the first battle, the Incans lost 2,000 men while the Spanish lost only 5.

Read moreThe New Exodus: 700,000 Young Spaniards Have Left Home Looking For Work Abroad

House of Representatives passes resolution against Russia

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FYI.

– House of Representatives passes resolution against Russia (RT, Dec 4, 2014):

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a document which strongly condemns Moscow’s actions against its neighbors, calling them a policy of aggression.

Passed with 411-10 votes, the resolution slams Russia’s “continuing political, economic, and military aggression” against Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova and the “continuing violation of their sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.”

Read moreHouse of Representatives passes resolution against Russia

Brutal police beating of model shocks Australia (VIDEO)

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– Brutal police beating of model shocks Australia (VIDEO) (RT, Dec 4, 2014):

A video showing three Sydney police officers brutally beating a young woman has gone viral, with over 750,000 views on Facebook. During the clip, the victim is repeatedly hit with a police baton and appears to be kicked in the head by a male officer.

Police brutality has been hitting the headlines in the US, but now it seems the unfortunate trend has made its way to Australia. The woman in question, Claire Helen, who works as a model and actress and was on the receiving end of recurring blows from a police officer, said: “It was the most frightening and humiliating experience of my life.”

Read moreBrutal police beating of model shocks Australia (VIDEO)

17 States Sue Obama Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Executive Action On Immigration

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obama1

– 17 States Sue Obama Over “Unconstitutional” Executive Action On Immigration (ZeroHedge, Dec 3, 2014):

A year ago, following the whole Supreme Court farce, a bevy of states proved there are more than just “idiot voters” left in the US, when they decided to sue Obamacare outright over one or more of its provisions. They were promptly shut down by a judicial system that is as corrupt as the government itself (needless to say, both working at the behest of their true financial puppetmaster: Wall Street). And yet, in the aftermath of the now epic fiasco that is Obamacare, and not to mention the violent reaction to the administration as demonstrated in the midterm elections, the president may have a tougher time to brush away the next round of adverse reactions against his latest hugely unpopular executive order, one involving the amnesty of over 5 million illegal immigrants.

According to AP, Texas is leading a 17-state coalition in suing over the Obama administration’s recently announced executive actions on immigration.

Read more17 States Sue Obama Over ‘Unconstitutional’ Executive Action On Immigration

How JPMorgan Rushed To Hire Trader Because He Knew How To Rig The Electricity-Markets

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OliverTwist
A JPMorgan Employee Uses a Photo of Oliver Twist to Joke in an Email About How His Group Is Manipulating Electric Markets in California.

– JPMorgan Rushed to Hire Trader Who Suggested on His Resume That He Knew How to Game Electric Markets (Wall Street On Parade, Dec 3, 2014):

On April 29, 2010 at 7:47 in the evening, Francis Dunleavy, the head of Principal Investing within the JPMorgan Commodities Group fired off a terse email to a colleague, Rob Cauthen. The email read: “Please get him in ASAP.”

The man that Dunleavy wanted to be interviewed “ASAP” was John Howard Bartholomew, a young man who had just obtained his law degree from George Washington University two years prior. But it wasn’t his law degree that Bartholomew decided to feature at the very top of the resume he sent to JPMorgan; it was the fact that while working at Southern California Edison in Power Procurement, he had “identified a flaw in the market mechanism Bid Cost Recovery that is causing the CAISO [the California grid operator] to misallocate millions of dollars.” Bartholomew goes on to brag in his resume that he had “showed how units in reliability areas can increase profits by 400%.”

Read moreHow JPMorgan Rushed To Hire Trader Because He Knew How To Rig The Electricity-Markets

THIS Is What Happens When You Call The Cops (Video)

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– Video of the Day – This Is What Happens When You Call the Cops (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Dec 4, 2014):

In a healthy, moral and civilized society defined by the rule of law, police can play an important role. They should be people who come from the communities they promise to “protect and serve.” They should view themselves as a part of these communities, not as something separate and distinct. Police should see their jobs as having a great degree of risk, and must be willing to accept that risk. This means not pretending to be a solider at war, not choosing the most violent solution to every problem, and not viewing the citizenry as milk cows ready and willing to be drained of their assets via civil forfeiture.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the state of the police in America in 2014, and it’s quickly becoming obvious to everyone. Ferguson was a key moment in this awakening, when white pundits and others typically confined to less distraught communities, witnessed the militarized police in all its SWAT team horror for the first time. In the piece, “A Good Time Was Had By All” – The Obamas Dance the Night Away as Ferguson, Missouri Burns, I wrote:

Read moreTHIS Is What Happens When You Call The Cops (Video)

Fight Breaks Out In Parliament When Ukraine Learns It Has Quietly Become The Newest US Puppet State

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– Fight Breaks Out In Parliament When Ukraine Learns It Has Quietly Become The Newest US State (ZeroHedge, Dec 4, 2014):

It appears not all the government members approve of the new foreign-born members of the Ukraine parliament…as this fight just broke out…

And the result when other members discovered this…

The fight occurred after the majority of people’s deputies supported the draft resolution on the appointment of the number of (foreign) members of parliamentary committees.

Read moreFight Breaks Out In Parliament When Ukraine Learns It Has Quietly Become The Newest US Puppet State

It’s All Coming To An End, Bill Gross Warns

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Related info:

– PIMCO Paid Bill Gross & Mohamed El-Erian Over $500 MILLION Dollars In 2013 Bonuses

–  It’s All Coming To An End, Bill Gross Warns (ZeroHedge, Dec 4, 2014):

Say what you want about Bill Gross, but the legendary bond investor is absolutely spot on in the following paragraph from his latest, December, investment outlook:

How could they? How could policymakers have allowed so much debt to be created in the first place, and then failed to regulate their own system accordingly? How could they have thought that money printing and debt creation could create wealth instead of just more and more debt? How could fiscal authorities have stood by and attempted to balance budgets as opposed to borrowing cheaply and investing the proceeds in infrastructure and innovation? It has been a nursery rhyme experience for sure, but more than likely without a fairytale ending.

Here is the full letter (link):

Read moreIt’s All Coming To An End, Bill Gross Warns

“We Are All In A Ponzi-World Right Now, Hoping To Get Bailed-Out By The Next Person”

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– “We Are All In A Ponzi-World Right Now, Hoping To Get Bailed-Out By The Next Person” (ZeroHedge, Dec 4, 2014):

One of the most important Zero Hedge posts of the last few years was “The “Muddle Through” Has Failed: BCG Says “There May Be Only Painful Ways Out Of The Crisis”” where The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) helped explain how the economic establishment is trying everything to move the system further with ever more cheap money and debt, why this will fail, and the inevitable wealth taxes that will be imposed to refloat the system from the ashes.

One of the authors of the infamous “Back to Mesopotamia” report(if 1984 is the instruction manual for political leaders, then this is the instruction manual for monetary leaders) was BCG senior partner Daniel Stetler, now blogger, and author “Debt In The 21st Century” who sees debt and leverage as the main factors driving wealth and inequality – a fact clearly overloked by Piketty.

Stetler was recently interviewed by Portugal’s Janela na web magazine, his insights are significant and worrisome…

Some key excerpts:

Read more“We Are All In A Ponzi-World Right Now, Hoping To Get Bailed-Out By The Next Person”

Norwegian Authorities Ban GM Fish Feed Over Antibiotic Resistance Fears

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– Norwegian Authorities Ban GM Fish Feed over Antibiotic Resistance Fears (Sustainable Pulse, Nov 30, 2014):

According to the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority has stopped approving (on a yearly basis) GMOs for use in fish feed that contain genes coding for antibiotic resistance. According to the Advisory Board, this applies to 8 out of 19 GMOs which the fish feed industry had previously been given permission to use since 2008.

fish-farms-norway

Norwegian Source:  bioteknologiradet.no

Source: GM Watch

“The fear is that genes in the GM feed that code for antibiotic resistance may be taken up by various bacteria in the soil in the country where the GMO is produced, in the feed production chain, or in the gut of the fish. Scientists know little about to what extent, or if, this happens with genes that are inserted via genetic modification, but few would deny that it could happen. If the genes first have entered into a bacterium [during the genetic engineering process], they may quickly spread further.”

Read moreNorwegian Authorities Ban GM Fish Feed Over Antibiotic Resistance Fears